??? Kaed 2018/01/16(Tue)20:29 No. 858968 ID: f9400c
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A dragon lives a very long time.

But not even a dragon's lifespan is eternal.

As my final days approached, I could feel the day coming when my reign would be over. Some dragons were willing to let themselves pass over. Others bound their souls into items or locations, or chose to become some form of undead.

Not me.

That was thinking too small, as far as I was concerned.

I wanted divinity.

It took me a while, but I worked out a way. At long last, the preparations are complete. My followers are willing and ready. Today, they shall sacrifice themselves in my name, and their act of devotion will propel me to godhood.

All had left to do was kill myself as they all ended themselves in my name. As the altar's sharpened spire pierced my chest, I knew there was no turning back. But I knew I was right too.

As I felt myself slipping away, my blood pooling around me, I felt uplifted. Power flowed into me as my loyal subjects completed their task, and the world below me slipped away. Form and light and time slipped away from me as I grew and expanded, the many souls bonding to me and forming a greater whole.

Then, finally, after what felt like interminable age I unfolded into my new form.

It was done. I am finally a god, all powerful and immortal!

??? Kaed 2018/01/16(Tue)20:30 No. 858970 ID: f9400c
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For my first act as a divine being, I had already decided I would raise a grand cathedral for myself, one that befitted my power and splendor.

I gathered the vast power I had within together into a sphere of pure divine potential, and-

What.

As the trickles of power drifted away from my failed manifestation of godly power, I felt a presence appear nearby, and turned to regard an unfamiliar entity

"Hello! Congratulations on your recent apotheosis! I am your Fount!"

"What. I'm busy trying to figure out is going wrong, go away."

"Then you need me, I think! All new gods are issued a Fount by the god of knowledge, to ease them into their new role as a member of the pantheons."

"... Fine. Then explain to me why my divine powers just fizzled out."

"Oh, that's easy! You probably tried to do something outside of your divine bailiwick, or something that was outside of your level of divine power! How many worshippers do you have, and what are you a god of?"

... I began to see a potential error in my calculations. My temper began to raise in frustration

"... Uhm. What? I already sacrificed all my followers to become a god. Why do I need more?!"

"You- oh dear. You uh... you need to have worshipers to exercise divine power. You don't have... a single one left? You should be able to sense the wishes and minds of anyone who worships you!"

I cast out my new senses cautiously, trying to someone who still worshipped me, and found... nothing. I couldn't feel anyone. Aside from this annoying Fount, I was alone.

"I... no. I don't think I have anyone worshipping me..."

"Ah. Hm. Well, I have good news, then! I have determined the reason why your powers did not work earlier!"

Well, shit.

Looks like you may have jumped the gun there buddy

Whelp, all hail ???, god of Rushing and Not Researching Enough! Anyway, ask Illuminati dude what is a Fount and whats in for the god of knowlege, also, who is him, can you interact with the world in any way?

I worship you, God of Lust

>>858970
What are you a god OF? Maybe someone will come across the remnants of your sacrifice and realize you have ascended, and begin worshiping you.

Appraise Fount.
Review services you can perform that are not too far beneath your dignity to consider.
Maybe other gods will trade for followers!
Or at least send out some stone tablets or something. There is always some edgelord out there looking for a religion that nobody else is following...
Just remember the basics of trading! Don't trade away your only fount for a bunch of followers that are about to die...

Then there is intimidation. This whole "no followers" thing suggests that you are weak and pathetic as far as gods go, but you did rise from a mighty dragon! Maybe you can mug some halfling god of hangovers or something...

On that note, with no way to influence the mortal world, you are going to need to influence the divine world. Meditate upon the unique nature of hangovers, sense the blazing overshadowing of the mind, reach out and touch that unique blend of irritation, desperation, dehydration, and brain-damage...
Soon you will make contact with the god of hangovers, who is no doubt weak and easily swayed. *snickers* Enjoy finding out that you embody the first concept that you make contact with!

??? Kaed 2018/01/16(Tue)22:00 No. 859027 ID: f9400c
File 151616885485.gif - (159.68KB , 1500x1000 , Lecture.gif )

>>858976
>>858982
>>858994
>>859007
>>859011

"... What is that whispering sound?"

"Whispering? Ah, interesting! You appear to be largely composed of an amalgamation of devotee souls. This is likely due to your method of ascension. I recommend you listen to them, once and a while. After all, they did give their everything to grant you divinity!"

"... For all the good it's doing me... Anyway, they have a point. What is a Fount, and why is the god of knowledge giving me one?"

"Well, for most new gods, omniscience is too much for them to handle, even if it is limited to the subjects of their divinity. The god of knowledge therefore grants a Fount to new gods, so they can know anything they need to know, as long as they ask for it. As a minor aspect of the god of knowledge, I can know all things that I need to know for the purpose of advancing your progress to higher divinity. Naturally, should you ever grow enough in power and experience, you will consume me to gain your first spark of divine omniscience!"

"What if I just did that no-"

"I think you have a ways to go before you can manage that, friend."

"... Right. So uh. About my divine power... level. Thing. How can I fix that if I don't have any worshipers? And I just.. stuck?"

"Not at all. You have a few options. First, you could request to be a supplicant demigod for a stronger diving being-"

"Yeah, that's not happening."

"- or, you could ask around, and see if any of the other gods will grant you some of their power in exchange for later favors-"

"Crawl around on my belly, begging for scraps? Never!"

"-and lastly, you could return to the mortal world to try and gain followers again."

"... Tell me about that one."

"Well, for starters, what are you a god of?"

"Uh.. I guess myself?"

"You will seek worshippers on the basis that they will be awed by you on your own merits?"

"Of course! I was a dragon in life, and many people worshiped me because I was awesome and powerful!"

"Hmmm.. I don't think that will work, I'm afraid. It has been approximately a century and a half since your mortal expiration."

"WHAT?"

"Yes, it seems to have taken you some time to mature to proper divinity. Frankly, it is a miracle in itself that you managed this with a total lack of followers. If only you had left a few to worship you and spread word of your ascension, you could have shaved decades off your apotheosis. As it is now, you are barely a footnote on history, and the remains of both your old body and followers are scattered."

"Oh no... so I'm doomed to feeble pathetic goodhood, then?"

"Not at all, but you'll have to start fresh. I think your best option here is to return to a place relevant to your divinity - in this case, the temple where you ended your life - and become a genius loci. From there, you will be able to reach out to nearby mortals and entice them to your temple."

"Oh, that doesn't... sound that bad at all."

"Unfortunately, I think at your current strength, you will be limited to sentient beings within a mile or two of your temple at best, and I believe you will only be able to reach out to reptilian races, given the affinity you have towards them from your soul amalgamation."

"I guess.. it could be worse.."

"You also still need to choose what you are going to represent as a god."

"What?"

"No one is going to worship a long dead dragon no one remembers the name of, I'm afraid. You'll need an aspect to entice followers with and grant miracles and boons in relation to. Common genius loci aspects include things like Harvest, Fertility, and Hunting, but some have managed to get by on more esoteric things like Fire, and the Moon. I highly recommend you only pick one for now, because if you offer your followers too much, you may spread yourself thin and, well... if they ask for a miracle and you are out of power, you're going to loose worshipers when it doesn't happen."

"Hmm..."

>>859027
Well dragons certainly are affiliated with fire. They're also associated with beauty, flight, strength, wisdom, magic, power, fear, destruction, and death.

Fire's a good start.

A God of Harvests, later Fire, and eventually ALL SHALL PRAISE THE SUN GOD! \[T]/

Fire seems to be a logical one. I'm also thinking wood or stone.

>>859027
Dragons are sexy, so you could be the god of lust, right?

.....ok, fine, be the fire god like everyone else is saying.

Fertility, because the one common aspect across all dragons is that they can cross-breed with damn near anything and seem to often do. Also has the benefit that our followers will tend to be extra fruitful and multiplying so we'll have a greater growth in their numbers over time, which can be further bolstered by our blessings.

I'm also wondering if another route we could take is to be reborn as a mortal dragon but retain our memories and at least part of our power, then work to do this whole ascension business again the right way. Like, possess a dragon still in its egg right before it hatches, then use the benefit of a previous lifetime of knowledge and experience to quickly rise to the top.

>>859040
On second thought, I change my vote to this. Become the God of Fertility!

>>859027
Fire and Death.

What? It's not an edgelord thing. You were a dragon, dragons breathe fire and dispense death. You don't have to be an evil god, but you're definitely an impressive god.

Dragons love hording gold. Why not a wonderful dragon of riches?

Sure, you might not have a horde now, but use that brain of yours. Invest a few coins in the right places and soon enough you'll be known for elevating entire kingdoms with your financial wisdom, and people will literally just pour coins over your head.

I mean, dragons that breath fire are hated, but imagine a dragon that invests riches. You'd be DROWNING in followers.

Lets go for Death, the Legions of Undead shall march fourth at our command.

We should do fortune because dragons are known for having vast amounts of wealth.

Food and EXP, because dumb and easily-manipulated 2-dimensional adventurers seem to focus on these more than gold for some reason.

I am also for Harvest as the first pick

You were a dragon of all things, at the end of its massive lifespan, who ascended to break free of the bonds of time!
Vitality!
Longevity!
Immortality!
The very stuff of Chronology itself!
What greater lure could there be for the fragile mortals you would tempt than the very life that sustains them? Don't debase yourself with a horde of hedonistic livestock too busy satisfying their base urges to care for you. Done bind yourself to some frivolous party trick for the young and foolish seeking to use you for some brief burst of magic that fades to rumour as soon as whatever random heroics they pretend have ceased to be topical and they move on to others after their ridiculously early retirement atop a pile of looted riches with no further need of your gifts.
Seek out the already wise and powerful seeking to continue their work. Be a bastion to the sages and archmages of the world who have expended their time and will forever need you to prolong their glory, and in doing so extol your own...

Butfirst! Ask if you need to choose now? I mean the Fount "says" that you need a hook to get followers, but just think about how many tryhard Emo Edgelord teenage "rebels" you had to deal with when you didn't want to just roast the families of your own followers all willy-nilly but they kept whining for secret dragon powers...
Just spin a pretty story about being banished by the forces of chaos, and how you just need one hero of limitless potential to wield the powers of an ancient dragon-god in order to gain your freedom and save the land from some vague threat that you can string along as a series of villains over years. You know there is a whole army of random kids out there, who ran off to show their parents how they were right all along... You really shoudn't need a gimmick when teen angst is in such bountiful supply.
It ought to be worth at least trying it out before you commit to anything.

Or just be a god of, umm, dragon-ish-ness... draconianism? draconicness? If you are stuck with reptiles, it should be a pretty easy sell to offer them the chance to be more like their betters. It would be right up your alley(no innuendo intended, but, umm, do dragons even have fixed genders? I mean, I heard there was that whole shapeshifting thing and they seem pretty territorial. It makes sense that a highly morphic and extremely territorial species would benefit if whatever random neighbours there were didn't have any restrictions when the mood took them... It isn't like a perfect being like dragons have to worry about evolution...) and well within your comfort zone(again, no innuendo intended, but I am confident that you could pull off any gender you wanted) so I can't see it being any sort of affront to your dignity. Unless you wanted to be something even more than you were before?

But to get my foot in the door, I will just say for now that being Time Wizard would be cool. Go Time!

Dang, I had to rewrite this for the update.

Your ascension left evidence. Journals. Written by those who followed you until the end. They worshipped you, idolized you, *loved* you. The words left behind described you as many things. Ambitious, Wise, Strong.. But most of all, you we're known your Perseverance. A dragon of the days of old who sought more than the considerable centuries of a lifespan fit for an elder dragon. You desired eternity. To stand strong when others would crumble to dust. Perseverance, Ambition and Eternity. Those are the pillars of your Divinity.

You are the God of Immortality.

>>859061
Longevity sounds good maybe also luck with it.

Become an aspect of Immortality, then teach any followers you gain what they need to become demigods of you. A pyramid scheme well into the next life!

>>859071
But if they become demigods wont they suck your followers? ask Founty (thats his name by the way) if its sustainable, if not I choose fire instead of immortality

So we seam to be going for FIRE, DEATH, FERTILITY, HARVEST, FORTUNE and IMMORTALITY. Are we going to become the god of the endless cycle? Life to death and to life again, reaping and sowing, the ever turning wheel of fortune and fate.

>>859063
>>859061

Man, I like these.

Immortalis Primaris. Perpetua Ultima. Pseudolatinus Coolnamis. What better boon to bestow upon your mortal followers than to overcome the Reaper of Age, the Ravages of Time, perhaps defeat the Pale Man himself?

A large portion of all maladies and diseases can be linked to aging, and is therefore one of the biggest sources of pain and suffering. Imagine that how many followers would flock to you, and even the ones that doubted at first might find themselves doubting as their skin wrinkles, their bones weaken and their vision and mind grows dim.

Well gosh... you certainly didn't do a very good job of that! Should have asked me I could have helped you ascend easily!

But oh well hard way for you it is!
I would suggest picking something that is connected to dragons!

Silver, Gold, Jewels, the Moon, fire, flame that sort of thing. Something that reflects the type of dragon you where

Pick technology.

Look I know those ramps and wheels don't look like much now, but trust me, it'll pay off.

>>859218
You sir have captured my attention. I am into that.

You know, we shouldn't pick vague and ambiguous concepts. We should pick simple concepts so followers can easily understand the concept you stand and get into worshipping you (also a bit niched so similar gods doesn't simply whisk potential worshippers away before you could get to them. Those guys have greater reach (and advertisement) than you.) Time, immortality, and draconism is a bit out there, wouldn't be likely to rack up some followers and has a likelihood of pissing off big gods of death, seasons, harvest, and maybe purity. Fire is a good start and has very crevices and connotations that may be left unnoticed. As well as stone, wood, harvests, and even the sun is as good as fire. Fortune, luck, longevity, and technology are pretty good and flexible, but a bit more abstract. Though, these are just my thoughts. We can always branch a bit later if our powers can allow it.

rebirth

??? Kaed 2018/01/17(Wed)23:18 No. 859322 ID: f9400c
File 151625988660.gif - (305.86KB , 1000x650 , Loci.gif )

>>859028
>>859029
>>859030
>>859040
>>859047
>>859049
>>859061
>>859063
>>859068
>>859071
>>859101
>>859122
>>859125

"Why do I have to go with just one aspect? I can plan ahead for other things. Why go for just being a lame fire spirit when I can offer a whole slew of things related to fire and, say, longevity? Or even immortality?"

"Well, technically, nothing. I'm just trying to offer you advice to take things slowly and not overextend yourself. Almost every major deity spans at least several related aspects. A genius loci is almost always very focused on a single concept."

"But why?"

"... I suppose because most of them are not very deep thinkers. Most genius loci arise because of an event, and they are not generally far above sentience. I suppose in your case, you are only going to be acting as one because you have little other choice."

"Yeah, I'm definitely intelligent, so there's no reason I need to act like a dimwitted nature spirit."

"As you wish."

"So... what's the potential of being a god of immortality?"

"Mmm.. not very good, really. For a start, you can't grant a mortal immortality. That should be self-evident."

"Uh, what? I'm proof that a mortal can become immortal, so clearly that's not true."

"Incorrect. You sacrificed your mortal body and the souls of hundreds of followers to create an rough abstraction of divinity. You could not have achieved this if you still had a mortal body - they are not designed to perform the tasks or have the senses of an divine being. They grow old, they weaken, they die, and their soul is small and weak in comparison. That is what the word mortal means. Unless you wish to teach your followers how to perform the same very inefficient method of achieving godhood, you have no method to grant them immortality. While it is true that some other gods have arisen from mortals in the past, this has always happened posthumously, and always because they represented something that many other mortals believed strongly in. As in, entire armies or nations worth of belief. You are an anomaly, not the standard."

I mulled that over, and decided after a time that I would worry about that later. I was eager to get started, and from what my Fount had said, I could return back to the temple where I had died. I didn't need it to tell me everything to do, and I tried reaching out to the image I remembered of my temple. It did not take me long to find it - there was a sort of very thin thread between me and the temple spike where I had impaled myself. I grasped hold of it and pulled myself down, back into the material world again. I wasn't really sure where I had been before, but it wasn't where I needed to be right now.

It didn't take long to reach the altar spike. I couldn't see anything else around it, and most of what I saw seemed to be a dark blur. On a hunch I willed myself to occupy it. My senses expanded outwards, encompassing more of the temple, but... something was still wrong. There was no colors to my sight, and everything seemed to be just sort of a vague outline. And I couldn't see anything farther away, it continued to be a dark blur. In frustration, I called out for assistance.

"Fount!"

The little twerp faded into view nearby almost immediately. "Yes?"

"Why can't I see anything? What's wrong with my vision?"

"I would hazard a guess that you cannot see because you do not have eyes."

"Excuse me?"

"You are a genius loci. You do not possess a physical body, nor have any senses that would normally be attributed with one. You can directly sense your demesne - this temple - and anything inside or within it, but beyond that, your senses are much murkier."

"Ugh. Well, how do I get a body and eyes, then?"

"By manifesting one."

"... Okay? And how do I do that?"

"You? I would say get yourself a few dozen worshipers, and you might be able to form some small material vessel to travel around in, like a bird, or a lizard. For a limited distance from your central locus point, anyway."

"Are you kidding me?! How am I supposed to find anyone if to worship me I can't see or leave this spot?! This is ridiculous and contrived!"

"Did you think divinity would be easy? I am sorry, it is not. In any case, as I told you earlier, you should be able to sense the minds of sentient creatures within a mile or so from your central locus. But you'll have to cast out your senses, and be listening for a particular kind of thought. A wish, a cry for help, or a prayer, related to a particular concept. This is why I said you needed to decide on an aspect earlier."

"Okay... and then what?"

"And then, you try your best to lure them in by nudging their subconscious. Once they are close enough, you will be able to communicate with them on a level they can more easily perceive."

I tried my best to bottle up my frustration and relax. It was a lot easier to control my temper than it had been when I was alive, really. My thoughts felt more fluid and focused when I wanted them to be. Maybe that was part of what the little eyeball was trying to tell me about the difference between mortals and immortals.

It did not take long for my to cast out my thoughts looking for something simple and easy, that I thought would find plenty of mortals. Fire. And I had been right. Maybe a few too many thoughts registered for me.

"..hole in my tent.. the winter is getting in, and I'm cold.."
".. do I have enough firewood to make it through the season?.."
".. this burn is starting to fester, I think.."
".. I hope he learned his lesson about touching the coals.."
".. I'm so cold.. I don't think I'm going to make it home.."
".. I hope I cut enough firewood for my sister.."
".. why does he get to have a bigger fireplace than me?.."
".. If I burn their homes down, then maybe they'll finally understand what it's like.."
".. even with my hearth burning, it's so cold in here.."
".. I hope they don't notice that I stole some of their wood.."
".. why can't I stay warm like him? It's not fair.."
".. I hope that burn of his doesn't get infected.."

Two of them were particularly notable to me, for their intensity of emotion. One was full of hopelessness and fear, and the other was filled with rage and frustration. It was hard enough to pointpoint them, so I could only focus on one of them. I just had to pick which mortal to focus my efforts on luring closer. Both offered different opportunities for what I could offer followers.

I'm so cold.. I don't think I'm going to make it home
if we help this guy maybe he can spread word of us. Plus he is probably the most susceptible at the moment to accepting a deal to worship us for keeping them alive. The wrest can be done after that because they are less time sensitive.

>cold
>fire
... An opportunity.

Goad the one filled with rage to find the one filled with despair, rescue their new minion, and pick a 'random' direction that leads to your loci. Give them both shelter and training.

They will think you can fulfill their every desire. But in truth, they will bind their futures to your will.

>>859322
>"..I'm so cold..I don't think I'm going to make it home.."
Focus on this voice. If you help the hopeless and fearful mortal and you manage to save its life, then that mortal will spread the word of how you saved it and then you’ll get more followers!

>".. I'm so cold.. I don't think I'm going to make it home.."
Let's help this guy. He's likely to spread the word of us if we help him survive. The general populace are usually very receptive at gods that help.

>".. I'm so cold.. I don't think I'm going to make it home.."
This one. You can snag the other one afterwards. Saving someone's life may grant you stronger devotion than granting an angry person power.

Hrmm, You were to have limited contact, only with reptilians.
Tent, coals, fireplace, homes to which burning down would be plausible, hearth, theft, infection.
Reptilians tend to be physically gifted against their environment, with little need for more involved buildings. This sounds like a settlement with stone-and-wood buildings, noncommunal ownership of basic goods, fuels, likely formalised portable shelter distinct from homes, some knowledge of medicine, and usage of fuels...
Either this is a particularly building-focused group of reptilians, or they are integrated with other cultures... Do you know of any reptilians that favour buildings?

There seem to be some common threads. Many mentions of a burn but only the one one of actually possessing one. Someone lost in the cold, and someone else unsure of their sister's needs. Perhaps their sister is no there to be asked?
I would suggest "make it home" in the hopes that it will save not just one, likely with only the need to bolster the flames of their vitality(though some flourishes would help prove your presence, perhaps grant some flames to their colouring?nothing says cool new god like racing-stripe flames on your priesthood! Or a touch of fire breath?), but also gain favour with their kin.
"Burn their homes" sounds unstable. Possibly they might have the will to conquer the region with a bit of fire magic, but more likely they will just run out onto the street demanding their kin be cowed by their power, and promptly be ended. Also, the ambitious types are notoriously disloyal...

Ah, how fortunate that we returned to the world when this region is in the depths of winter, for now is when fire is most needed to hold back the cold. Offering the warmth of a flame to those chilled to the bone will surely net you your first worshipers. ...Assuming you're able to create enough heat to warm even a single person against the cold. Fount, does our small god have even the smidgen of power to do that? Because if they can't make good on even that mini-miracle, then they're not gonna be able to snag any worshipers. ...Or is it that they have to get the person worshiping first to get the juice to warm 'em up?

Anyway, it's obvious by now that I'm for reeling in the "I'm so cold" prospect. The other one strikes me as being a source of trouble in the longer run. I also don't think you could offer them anything at your minuscule power level to aid them in their arsonist desires they couldn't do on their own with a tinderbox and some greasy rags.

>rage and frustration
Help this firebrand! I find it useful to have minions that don't freeze to death before they reach your lair.

".. I'm so cold.. I don't think I'm going to make it home.."

Like others have said, benevolence typically results in better, deeper trust and reverence. Since longevity was ultimately your personal goal, this would be the better path.

It's maybe fitting that shelter and warmth shall be the result of seeking longer life.

The firebug won't get you any good rap, a small cult in a best case scenario. A dead end. Guide the dying man to safety. Make a show of it too, so he knows there's godly forces at play.

Ok, besides "I'm so cold" dude, you cant try to snag:
"..hole in my tent.. the winter is getting in, and I'm cold.." Come here! no holes and hot as hell! (not literally)
".. do I have enough firewood to make it through the season?.." If you run out, you know where to find a nice warm place!
".. even with my hearth burning, it's so cold in here.." You wont here!
".. why can't I stay warm like him? It's not fair.." yea, you know the drill

How big is the place? a dragon and a hundred min cultist used to live here, can't be that small...

>>859328
>>859332
>>859333
>>859342
>>859348
>>859451
>>859500
Making a show of it we could create lines of warming fire bringing him to our temple so we could guide him towards worshiping us and keep him warm enough so survive.

>>859542
Such showmanship would be grand right now, but I very much doubt we could project what feeble power we have beyond the boundaries of the locale we are bound to.

??? Kaed 2018/01/19(Fri)02:21 No. 859621 ID: f9400c
File 151635724777.gif - (960.73KB , 1000x650 , Warmth.gif )

>>859328
>>859332
>>859333
>>859342
>>859344
>>859348
>>859451
>>859500

I decided that being a god of fiery vengeance wasn't really what I was going for now, though. The dying and lost one seemed like a better start for me. I reached out to him, tugging at them, encouraging his exhausted stumbling my way. It was hard to tell if it worked - I couldn't really see their location, only that they were out there, and the general direction. On the assumption that they were going to come to me, though, I made some preparations. Testing my limits, I found that I could in fact make small alterations to the temple structure, but it was a strain. I settled for adding a bowl-like depression to the front of the altar. I had a plan.

It took time, and a few more attempts to tug at the lost wanderer, but eventually, I felt something approaching the temple. It was small and weak, flickering, and I had trouble making it out until they reached the base of my temple stairs. At that point, I could tell it was one of the lizardfolk races, but I had an easier time making out their... soul, I hazarded was what it was... than the details of their body, which were hazy and indistinct. They shivered and whimpered, looking up at the staircase, their despair slightly abating for confusion. They didn't understand why they had come here.

>>859542
>>859546

When I had been alive, I had enjoyed the occasional dramatic flair as much as any dragon. That hadn't changed even after becoming a god. Using a trickle of my divine power, I made a trail of glowing wisps leading up the staircase. It was not much, but it did the job, and piqued the lizardfolk's interest. They began stumbling up the stairs, and I let the wisps fade away as they approached them. When they reached the top of the stairs, they looked around slowly, wondering why they had been led to this temple.

At that point, I gathered almost everything I had left in me and created a roaring fire from my essence, sprouting from the depression I had made earlier. It startled the lizardfolk, and they stumbled back, crying out. But the warmth from the fire was too enticing to run away from, and they edged closer to the flames, stopping to stand in front of them. They looked up at the spike on my altar, then sat down, curling up on the stone in front of the fire, and soon fell asleep.

I hoped it was enough, because I felt completely spent after that display. But as the exhausted mortal began to doze off, I felt a trickle of something leaking into me. It wasn't much, but it made my own drained feeling slowly start to abate. Was it faith? I had never been a god until now, so I wasn't sure. But I could felt their contentment and trust clearly, and their thoughts gradually became more clear to me.

Fairly certain I had gained my first worshiper, I considered what to do in the morning. I seemed to have a new kind of rapport with the sleeping lizardfolk, but I wasn't entirely sure how to actually communicate wishes to them. What was I supposed to do?

"It is a traditional to send one's prophet messages in their dreams."

I had almost forgotten about the Fount, but it was still there, offering unsolicited advice. Unless I had been thinking too loud? Either way, the Fount had a valid point, I'd heard plenty of stories about prophets before, even when I was alive.

But what kind of dreams should I give the the lizardfolk? I remembered the race being fairly honorbound, so they would probably feel a debt to me that I could use to encourage a particular course. Perhaps I should get them to try proselytize for me, spreading word of me far and wide, netting me a potentially large pool of followers. But it might be more effective to instead have them focus on trying to convert just their own clan and family members. There would be fewer of them, but they would be less likely to stick a spear through my prophet, too.

>>859621
A mix of the two approaches might work well. Convert those close to the prophet, then move on to more populated areas... with an entourage to protect them!

>>859621
you could appear in their dream in your godly glory, tell him who you are and that you saved him so he would be able to tell his people of a safe, warm and secure location where they can spend some time away from the ensuing cold. In exchange you could put forward that for this shelter and warmth all you ask is their faith and devotion.

What about this: welcome this poor soul to your temple. Tell them come here or pray to you for warmth when they are cold. Tell them to tell their friends and family to come to your temple or pray to you when they're cold.

(This is pretty subtle, I think. However, I don't have any experience in making prophetic dreams.)

Proselytize individual travelers. Specifically, start with the one who wants to burn down a village, and promise them fire. Build a squad of specialists that will become your priest-army. You don't really need to worry about backstabbers in the mook legions, they won't have enough political power to incite a rebellion if you give it all to your priests only.

How was the saying? Follower in faith is better than two in the that might kill your prophet?

>>859621
Start with converting just their own clan and family members.

It’s better to start small and not risk someone trying to kill your prophet.

Converting their clan sounds like a more effective clan. They should be easier to sway than random strangers to this individual, giving us more followers on a better timescale.

With more a following, converting others in farther regions will also become easier. The following will seem more believable with greater numbers.

Convert the family first. They can tend the flames of your power, and when it can stand up to a stiff breeze they can stick it under a bush to get a real fire going.

>>859621
Convert. Lone Proselytes are ostracized or killed.

I say convert.

On a tangential note, I realize I might be a little late to be offering my own answer to the Aspect question, but I realize that our circumstances might offer us a unique position to have an affinity for sacrifice and exchange. Perhaps alchemy, if we want to connect this to our fire attribute. (For instance, to make his dominant hand dominate in battle, a warrior could offer up his other arm for you to take, or a slave could be sacrificed to turn the fortunes of his master around; even more abstract things such as memories or romantic feelings are fair game to lose in exchange for boons.)

There are well established gods out there already, so there is little value in trying to outcompete your rivals. Stick to just the clan for now.

I don't trust the Fount. It looks too much like a monitor, watching you for its master. It might be that all new gods get a friendly "helper" and then, once their gain power enough to be worth the effort, one of the powerful gods come to claim your power for their own.
Try to see if Fount has any connections to anything beyond your influence.

Convert. Gotta get a chicken before you make a farm.

??? Kaed 2018/01/21(Sun)01:44 No. 860091 ID: f9400c
File 151652783467.gif - (569.83KB , 1000x650 , Offering.gif )

>>859645
>>859662
>>859665
>>859666
>>859675
>>859698
>>859713
>>859725

I decided it would be saver to try and encourage the lizardfolk to convert those they knew well before I started spreading my roots. At first, I wasn't really sure how to send them a dream, but even without asking the Fount for help - which I wasn't entirely sure was trustworthy, now that I thought about it - I managed to determine that it was the same as contacting them before, only now I could making a stronger link with them, because they were actively feeling devotion to me.

I just had to put on the right display of impressiveness and power. After some consideration, I decided to hazard towards formal speech and a bit of fake precognition.

"Hail, lost traveler. I foresaw your arrival, and have chosen to watch over you.
I return for sheltering you from the cold, I ask only that you bring others of your kin to me, that they may share in my gifts and protection."

The lizardfolk stirred in their sleep, but did not wake up. So I waited. I noticed too that time seemed to flower differently for me than it had when I was mortal. It was trivial now to let time slip by me, and waiting patiently for events to pass did not bother me anymore. It almost felt like I could speed up time when I wanted to. Was time control one of my abilities now?

"It is not. It is simply easy for an immortal being to alter their perception of the passing of time."

"Gah! Stop doing that! I didn't say you could read my thoughts!"

The Fount apparently chose to ignore this complaint, and continued as if I had not spoken.

"Boredom is a mortal frailty. Recall that you spent over a century collecting your current amalgamate form. Should you wish to, you could let a decade pass easily."

"Yeah, right. I'm in the middle of something right now, I'm not going to laze around."

The night passed, and the size of my fire shrank as it adjusted to the amount of divine power it could output. With a single follower, the size of the fire was not terribly impressive. I could probably surge it larger for the purposes of some sort of demonstration of power, but I could not currently hold a large flame for very long.

The lizardfolk eventually woke up, and though I could not see the sun, I seemed to intuitively know it was around an hour after dawn. They sat up, looking at the smaller fire, then up at the spike on my altar. They raised their arms, speaking for the first time. Sound was apparently I could pick up... though felt the sound against my temple more than 'heard' it from any particular direction.

"Mighty fire spirit! Thank you for your warmth! I will bring others to witness you, I promise. But I must return home now."

They bowed to my flame and ran down the steps of the temple, fading from my vision. But I could tell the direction they were in now with minimal effort, so their bond of devotion was still strong.

Hours passed, and at shortly after noon, the lizardfolk approached again. This time, there were other souls with them. Now that I could sense more than one of them at once, I could tell there was... a sort of distinct difference to the feel of each of the visitors soul. Even though I could not make out much of their features, I could tell them all apart fairly easily.

The other lizardfolk were clearly curious, and spent some time examining the temple, while my prophet kneeled in front of my fire patiently, radiating optimism and hope in my direction.

"-but I've been here before, this place was an abandoned ruin."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I think so, anyway.."
"Well, it's not now."
"Yes, Jissut says a fire spirit saved her from the cold."
"And they spoke to me last night!"
"Yeah yeah, I see the fire.."

The other lizardfolk seemed to be cautious, even if they were curious. After a while, they all left, including my prophet. I started to wonder if I had made an error, but over the next few hours, I sensed the faint tension of four more threads of devotion reaching out to connect with me. I wondered what had happened, and wished I could do more than sit inside a temple and wait for followers to come to me.

But I could tell they were come back to the temple now, and when they arrived, their emotions were mostly determination tinged with hope. They all gathered around my fire, kneeling and raising their arms. They were here to ask for something. In amusement, I noticed some of them were clearly worried that if they didn't flatter me enough, I wouldn't listen to them. I was already used to people groveling for me from when I was alive, though.

"Mighty fire spirit!"
"Great fire soul!"
"We bring you an offering!"
"Please accept our gift, fire spirit!"
"We beseech your aid, o... heated one!"
"...Heated one?! Seriously?"
"Ahem."
"Sorry..."

They were precious, just like some of the bumbling, anxious minions I had when I was alive. I missed my kobolds a little, now that I was reminded of them. I still was considering what to do with them when my prophet threw something into the fire. I felt a surge of faith and power as it was consumed by the flames, and they grew larger as the power flowed into me.

"... What was that?!"

"A sacrificial offering, of course! A mortal destroying or giving up something of value in the name of their deity provides their divine patron with a surge of power. There is a reason why mortals are rewarded for making offerings to their deity."

"That was... huh. That was just some meat, hemp, and wooden sculptures, though. That's hardly valuable."

"It matters how important it is to your followers, too. Food and construction materials matter to a society living on subsistence hunting, as does personal trinkets with sentimental value."

I supposed that made sense, if the my power came from the act of devotion rather than tangible value of the sacrifice. The lizardfolk began making their entreaty to me, and I listened.

"Please accept our offering, great fire spirit!"
"We beseech you for strength and protection!"
"Our enemies, the Longclaw tribe, have harassed for many months!"
"Yeah, help our weapons strike true, and bolster our scales!"
"Please, give us the strength to push them back!"
"Mighty fire soul, aid us, and we will bring many more offerings!"

I considered grovelling lizardfolk, and turned some of my attention to the Fount.

"Can I do that?"

"A blessing would be difficult for you to maintain for very far from your demesne with only five worshipers. But you could try. They did just make an offering, after all."

"Alright, sure."

"Sometimes, though, investing them with some confidence and bravery can sometimes work just as well. It's not like the mortals would know the difference, and it would save you the effort of straining yourself."

That was certainly something to think about. I could either use their offering to try and honor their request, or just fake it by influencing their minds, and keep it.

We could do it but say that if they want it to be at its fullest they have to be near or within the temple, getting them to move and setup camp around the temple.

>>860093
Either way Honor it.

honor it, sure it might drain you but if they can actually drive the other tribe off then that would probably bring even more followers to you... or at the very least make sure the ones you got are less likely to get themselves killed.

They gave you something tiny, you give them something tiny. Simple.

Give them an Everburning Emberscale that stays hot even if you stuff it in the cold! And is currently too weak to start a fire.

Then demand more for better stuff.

"Your meager tribute barely satisfies me! Take this tiny scale of my everburning fury that you might REMEMBER next time: FIRE FOR THE FIRE GOD, GOLD FOR THE GOLD THRONE!!

... And next time, look for shiny metal disks with markings on them. I will strengthen your abilities as hunters in exchange."

Well they are already loyal and doing the sacrifice thing, and there don't seem to be many of them. Blessing them might keep them alive and it would be a pain to start over from scratch. Losing the power would be a pain, but you can probably have time to save up enough of their worship energy for a minor show before they all get themselves killed, even in the worst case scenario. Honouring makes sense for now.

It might be a good idea to set some rules though. You don't want to be stuck personally answering every request. Perhaps you should only grant the requests of your priesthood? Well, as a general rule, nor reason not to just muck about if you are in the mood to, but avoid giving the impression that it is a pay-for-miracle service...

Give them all the confidence and just your prophet the boost. Be honest in the regard that the more members they bring to you, the more you can help them.

>>860091
Honor it. A god that ignores its followers' peril is a god that winds up dead, or worse, an inaudible voice drifting through the world, screaming into the void for help that will never come.

If anything, you should encourage them to move closer to your temple, that way you'll be able to protect them more readily.

>>860091
How about a little of both? Perform a minor blessing that you can definitely maintain, and embellish it with a trick of the mind. Efficient use of power is important.

>>860103
I suggest this. A little bit of both. Give 'em a boost you can handle supporting, and a little dusting of trick o' mind to make 'em use it more effectively.

Fake it til you make it! The power of the Waaaagh! shall see them through.

??? Kaed 2018/01/21(Sun)03:38 No. 860112 ID: f9400c
File 151653468530.gif - (233.52KB , 1000x650 , Sacrifice.gif )

>>860093
>>860095
>>860097
>>860100
>>860100
>>860102
>>860103

I opted to focus on honoring their request... within reason. I filled them all with warmth, warding off the winter cold. For my prophet, I also tried my best to try and imbue them with protection. I wasn't sure if that last one worked, though. If nothing else, I wanted to keep my first worshiper. I reached inside their minds and gently nudged away their fears and filled them with confidence... but not enough for them to be suicidal.

I tried to impress on them to be careful, and to try and fight near the temple, but they didn't seem to hear me. Perhaps I wasn't strong enough to do communicate with them directly when they were awake yet.

Even these minor blessings began to make me feel strained as they left the temple soon after, cheering and making battle cries. It was somewhat like trying to hold onto five different ropes at once, when they tugged harder and harder the longer I held on. But I wasn't going to just give up, even if it was exhausting work.

I held onto the blessings for hours, as my strength gradually ebbed, before I finally noticed the strain gradually loosening. I checked, and saw the five lizardfolk were returning. Eventually, they came into view, and four of them came up the steps, cheering and shouting triumphantly, while the last one lingered behind, seeming to be moving slower. Perhaps they were wounded?

They gathered around my fire, raising their arms and crying out.

"Praise! Mighty flame spirit!"
"We did not know you were so powerful!"
"Please accept out our apologies for our meager offering!"
"Yeah, thanks for burning down the Longclaws village!"
"Your incandescent flames consumed their village, but we brought you a greater offering, Fire Spirit!"

Wait, what? I hadn't done anything but bless them...

My prophet turned back, calling down the steps.

"Bring the Longclaw!"

The final member of my small posse of worshipers shuffled into view. He was not wounded, in fact, but was dragging another lizardfolk. Their soul had a distinctly different resonance from the others, and they were leaking terror like a stench. They were dragged up the steps, and pushed to their knees in front of my flame. It was hard to make out looked like they had their arms held behind their back, and they were making muffled sounds, like something was blocking their mouth.

"Mighty Fire Spirit! We offer you the last Longclaw! Many burned in your fires, and the rest fell in battle, for they did not recover weapons in time from your flames!"

"Oh, this is interesting. They're going to offer you a living sacrifice. You are potentially very lucky."

"What? Am I running a cult now? And what is this about a fire?"

"Consider it an opportunity. Sacrifice of a living, sentient mortal, especially a conquered enemy - and the last of their kin - is a very valuable act of devotion."

"Yeah, maybe... but if I start taking sacrificial victims, won't that make it harder to get people to worship me, and make many enemies?"

"Not necessarily. Taking such a path would jumpstart your divine path, and you would be able to offer many new things with such power. You don't have to be a benevolent god, you know. There are plenty of major divines who demand regular living sacrifices."

"I guess, sure... but I'm not really used to dealing in... that kind of business."

"The choice is up to you. You could certainly refuse the sacrifice, and demand they be spared in some fashion, if you prefer to maintain a more wholesome appearance. Perhaps even reprimand your worshipers. I only provide information, not a direction."

This was perhaps the most difficult decision I had to make since I became a divine being. As I watched them prepare to push the captive lizardfolk into my flames, considered what path to take. Did I want to be a Dark god, asking for my followers to sacrifice their enemies to me to feed my growth, or did I want to be Benevolent, and take the longer, higher road?

Dude, you're a sacrificial spike. Sharpen that point once more, and polish it with the blood of sacrifices!

... This is an outcome I have not anticipated of happening! Holy jeebus. If we go and demand regular living sacrifices, we'll probably end up with some mortals trying to avenge the dead and stop more from being thrown into our pyre, and they could have some cult following that opposes you, which would be bad. My idea is to not demand living sacrifice, but when they do offer you, you accept it. After all, it's those who tend to the fire are those who are responsible of what fuel goes into the pyre, and those which are thrown in are for the fire to be taken.

I kinda feel sorry for this guy. I kinda want to keep him in the temple, you know, to clean and welcome guests, but I have a nagging feeling he's going to like hold a grudge against us and take actions for revenge, which is not very nice.

>>860112
We should be benevolent and not go around doing sacrifices. Show your dislike for the idea of living sacrifices somehow.

>Mortal Sacrifice
"The wicked shall be punished, but not with the gift of the divine fire. CHAIN HIM TO MY EFFIGY THAT HE MAY REPENT AND EMBRACE THE FLAME OR DIE FREEZING."

>Yeah, thanks for burning down the Longclaws village
"... That was not my doing. However, I foresaw the one that performed the deed, an outcast Longclaw that has clearly shown his magnificent inner flame. If you choose the path of war, he will make a great champion. FIND HIM!"

Releasing the captive could be even more beneficial to our following. We have the strength to bring a warring tribe to the brink (we'll just piggyback on events for now), but also the strength to let them live.

Refuse the sacrifice. Our benevolence will even more greatly solidify ourselves as an individual worth worshiping.

>>860112
I mean, if you accept their sacrifice, the next thing you know, they’ll be trying to sacrifice themselves, which would consist of their criminals (including the ones that did minor crimes that shouldn’t be worthy of the death penalty), their elderly that willingly offer their lives because they know they’re about to die of old age and want their final act on this world to please you, start sacrificing their virgins to you (which is honestly kinda weird), etc.

Accepting living sacrifices is the first step towards becoming an evil cult god and having some “heroes” come and kill the entire cult to get rid of their “evil”, which would leave you with no followers and you’d be right back where you started.

So, I say you should be a Benevolent God. Try completely turning off your divine flame when they attempt to sacrifice that guy.

You could probably somehow announce that they only wanted help to defeat their enemies and that’s what they got. It might be easier to say this to your prophet, Jissut, as she is currently the one you’ve got a connection with.

>>860127
Perhaps showing mercy to their enemy will let you convert them? Because if I was that guy and my enemy’s god refused to take me as a sacrifice, then I would definitely get on my knees and worship that god.

Benevolent

How many famous gods do you know that accept living sacrifices?

How many do you know that openly reject such things?

Remember, the Cool Kids Club actively attacks other gods that do things they don't like.

What? Benevolent or Dark is actually imposed? Are we sure about this? I never did trust that Fount...

I feel as though the living sacrifices boat has sort of sailed. You say that you are not used to that business, but you do remember why we are here with you? And why you didn't have any followers? And how you escaped your own mortality? But that was your old religion, this is an opportunity to change!

If your really are forced to take a side, then think about the differences. Both sides are prone to back-stabbing, either over doctrinal differences or power plays regardless of how benevolent or pragmatic they claim to be. Both tend to have some priesthood that claims all the power for themselves. Dark is prone to preaching empowerment of the mighty while Benny tends to preach austerity in living and generosity to the cause...

Ugh, I say benevolent because it'll be easier to inspire public works and healthy living conditions for a larger population.

But even better than that, just be yourself and ignore all this benny versus dark stuff. Tell your followers to wait a tick. Read the sacrifice's heart and see if you like them or not and if they are likely to be a problem. You can be one of those purifying flames gods that judges and punishes. But in your case you really will judge, rather than just using it as an excuse to kill political rivals and minorities. Maybe you can develop some sort of purifying flame that only burns people who use naughty words...

>>860117
I’m all for the Neutral route of leaving the guy’s fate up to a test of repentance and courage. Not sure how to convey this, though. Are we powerful enough to talk directly to our prophet? If we can, make it clear that they can sacrifice his corpse if he fails. And maybe request somehow that more naps near the altar will be appreciated.

Only accept willing sacrifices. All the followers that helped you ascend did so willingly, and you sacrificed your living form willingly. Be benevolent, but if someone wants to sacrifice themselves then they may do so.

Its not like you are going to gain a lot of followers by sparing the last survivors of them, I say we burn him, and use the god-fuel to convince other tribes, give the prophet some lame fire powers to go all miracles on them. We should be peaceful with people that are peaceful to us, having a living sacrifice from time to time from an hostile tribe is not going to make as Vecna-like evil, and if later we prefer to became fuul good, we can always go New Testament later.

but don't go full evil, never go full evil.

>>860164
Ooh, I like this. Willing sacrifices only.

Willing Sacrifices only
Thank them for the blessing but point out that you know you don't want non-willing sacrifices

it just upsets the other gods and you are a dragon god damn it! You have standards

Sure I'll hop on the "willing sacrifices only" bandwagon. That's FAR closer to your original ritual anyway!

We already saw the problem inherent in willing sacrifices once. Suicide cults are a literal dead-end...

>>860214
It works in Amonkhet, it could work here too.

No willing sacrifices! That’s what happened last time and we had no power! And we don’t need everyone throwing themselves into the fire because we’ll have no worshippers again!

>>860226
Last time it was a large quantity of sacrifices in order to attain divinity. That's understandably a lot more difficult than simply gaining power as a god.

Speak to your prophet.
"I ask not of your prisoners but your wicked, your evil and irredeemable. Leave this one bound to my altar. I will decide his fate."

Okay first what was that about burning down the village? Did we do that? Font explain.

And secondly though I what us to be a benevolent god this dude just lost his whole tribe and village, everyone he cared for, dead. Not only will he hold a grudge but it would be cruel to force him to worship us.
We will take the sacrifice this one time and this one time only!

>>860368
I think that was a random fire in the middle of the conflict, that our followers took as a divine act

>>860165
I vote this. Even if we spare the guy, he won't eagerly forgive our followers for burning his village and everyone on it.

Benevolence.

Followers are a precious commodity, which makes sacrifices an even more precious commodity. Let the prisoner be the first to be 'saved' by your flames, and teach them that to be called to your fire is the greatest blessing. They have to be sure it's you, though: maybe you can project some symbol, a seal of approval so they know it's time. Something hard for mortals to mistake, like a will-o-wisp in your shape.
tl;dr angle towards (mostly) voluntary sacrifices, but only when you give the go-ahead.

Offer the prisoner the opportunity to become your acolyte and serve your prophet. If he refuses or hesitates, burn him.

>>860272
This.

>>860737
If we can do it then I choose this.

>>860272

Ignore my earlier opinion, this is clearly better. Do it if you can.

>>860272
I'd vote this as well, and if he were spared, it may be better in the long run than a sacrifice

Yeah, I'd say if possible, leave him chained here for a night or two and let's read his heart. Depending on what we see, we BURN him or SPARE him.

Sound good to everyone else?

>>866311
We set him ablaze either way. Whether he ends up as ash or as a born-again believer will be what’s up to him.

Not sure what this counts as, but I like to think it’s on the good-er side of things.

>>860272
I like it, not Dark but RIGHTEOUS fury.

I still prefer the "willing sacrifices only" schtick, it fits well with our godly origin.

Benevolent fits how we became a god: we should aim for willing sacrifices. It's "on-brand."

We all willingly sacrificed ourselves, all of us, that's the problem. The "Brand" is failure, a self-inflicted coma because nobody thought "if sacrificing yourself is such a good idea, why not let everyone do it!"... We already saw how willing sacrifices went and it was not good. We want people willing to sacrifice themselves who choose to put that devotion into more persistent endeavours.

If our god can hook up some sort of mind probe. Get a well-done snack from the people who are a problem, and just mildly warm the people who are useful to keep around, then suddenly they have a way to be relevant to people's lives and get a bunch of sacrifices that weren't going to be helpful to anyone anyway.

For now, do it manually. Perform the deepest scan of their mind that you can, make some sort of show of your power, like a burst of flame from the pyre, then see if they are in any way willing to respect you as a god(devotion not necessary, but if they plan to run off to their own gods and plot an attack or something...) and have a basic willingness to live in peace with your people, then have your flames burn without heat...

Ixnay on the burninate. We need the power sure, but the long term profits are slim.
Live sacrifices are fine, sure, but if a follower willingly giving up something close to them already provides a fair bit of power, how much better still is a follower willingly sacrificing themselves?

And you know what kind of people are most disposed towards doing so? People seeking redemption! Something to make their existence have had meaning. That means the down trodden, the oppressed and criminals and what have you.

Give this guy a chance to convert to beleiving in you if he wants to live. If you get this chump to do so, you set a precedent.
More people will be willing to turn to you in their darkest hour.

More people who feel like they owe you everything, even their very will to keep living. Not only are they fanatically faithful, but endlessly useful. We can worry about sacrifices later, for now we want a strong foundation. Play the slow game, the long con, and you can't go wrong.

Sacrifices with a twist: every sacrificee gets to declare one person off-limits to the sacrifice, forever. That way you retain at least 50% of your worship base.

Extinguish the flame as a way to deny their sacrifice.

>>970624
Holy necro, batman!

??? Kaed 2020/09/19(Sat)16:19 No. 976745 ID: 147147
File 160055756415.gif - (969.24KB , 748x782 , Rejected.gif )

>>860118
>>869351
>>860724
>>860128

It seemed like the best course of action was to refuse the sacrificial Longclaw survivor - at least for now. Perhaps at a later date I could request willing sacrifices, and perhaps try to convert this prisoner and future others to devotion of me under threat of firey doom.

But that also left me with the problem of communicating my wishes to my followers. As had already become clear, I was limited thus far to to reliable forms of communication - crude manifestations of fire and speaking to my prophet via dreams. I could not simply manifest some chains to indicate I wished the Longclaw restrained at my temple, nor could I think of a way to simply speak to them in out loud in regards to my wishes.

As such, I worked with what I had. The Fount had explained to me that all divine entities could alter their perception of time, and now that I knew about this, I could consciously utilize it with little effort. As they kicked the prisoner onto the flames, chanting praise, sped up my perception of time until the scene seemed to grind to a half, time all but stopped. Then I stretched out my influence and snuffed out the fire I had created.

As I brought my temporal perception back to 'normal' time, the Longclaw hit the ground in the flame basin, only to fine the flame underneath him had dissipated, leaving only a swirl of flame that swirled upwards and burst into sparks. This flair seemed to me to be sufficient to get my point across that the flame going out had been intentional.

But my followers became confused.

"The flames have gone out..."
"Have we displeased the fire spirit?"
"Why has it rejected us?"
"Perhaps... the sacrifice was too small?"
"The fire spirit must want more! Perhaps one of us?!"
"Yes! Speak to us, fire spirit, which of our bodies do you desire on the pyre?"
"Uhm... I'm not sure I want to jump in a fire?"
"Do you prefer the flame spirit curses us all for displeasing it?!"

Bother. At least they are eager, but perhaps a little too much. I needed to communicate the lack of desire for immediate sacrifice before they all killing themselves or each other in a grim parody of my old followers. The longclaw began to look around, surprised he was not dead yet, and going on the previous idea of restraining him, I cast a ring of flames around the sacrificial basin, blocking anything from entering or leaving. I made sure that it was far enough away from the prisoner to not burn them, but made it has hot as I could otherwise to make it clear no one was allowed to pass. With five enthusiastic followers, conjuring the flames was slightly easier, but still a bit of a strain, and I did not think I could hold it up and this hot for more than a few seconds.

But it got the point across, and even as the flames cooled down from searing to merely hot, my followers backed off, shouting in alarm.

"I don't understand! Why is it angry?"
"Does it not want our offering?"
"Perhaps.. it wants all of us to leap into the flames?"
"Maybe.. I believe it is trying to communicate it's displeasure somehow with with the sacrifice somehow."
"Is it protecting the Longclaw? Have we lost its favor?"
"Uh, I vote that it doesn't want any of us to jump in!"
"This isn't a vote, fool! We must find out what we have done wrong and make amends!"
"H-hey, just throwing this out there, maybe your flame spirit doesn't want to eat me and you should let me go?"
"Silence, prisoner! You have no say in the decisions of the mighty flame spirit!"

The display was just making them more confused, along with the Longclaw himself. I struggled to think of a way to convey my wishes with simple flame manifestations. I did not think I had quite the fine control to actually make flaming letters appear in the air, since just the circle was requiring a lot of focus to maintain, but there had to be something I could do...

>>976745
Uh. Okay.
How about you put some kind of indicator that the one saying nobody jumps in is the one that's correct. Like just point your flames at them.

>>976745
You know what? You should ask the Fount for advice on how to communicate with your followers. Make sure you speed up your perception of time again, so that you can have your conversation without worrying about your followers doing something before you make your decision.

>>976755
That might work. But it also might make everyone think we’re wanting that guy thrown in.

Of course, if they do try throwing that one in, we can always turn the flames off again. They might figure out what we’re saying if we do that again.

A flame that is not hot but gentle and warm may put the point across that you seek no harm to come from a sacrifice. Maybe have a wisp appear in front and circle around the one that said that we don’t want them to jump in.
To communicate you could go Up and down to say yes and side to side to say no with the wisp.

>>976755
>>976758
Maybe make a small spark or flicker of flame sprout above the heads of the prisoner and the one saying nobody jumps in for a brief second?

They are in disarray. Try to convey your resentment at their half-baked dedication; you will not accept a sacrifice until they ALL agree to the sacrifice.

The only choice is to wait until nighttime to speak to your prophet. In the meantime to ensure they don't resort to sacrificing the schmuck themselves, you'll need to make clear that he's in your hands, probably circling him with a fire barrier or something.

>>976864
>circling him with a fire barrier or something.
He just now did that already.

>>976830
Nope.

I propose creating a soft, warm non-consuming flame (which hopefully won't take too much energy), and using it to mark your five followers, starting with your prophet. Then after they've noticed, mark the sacrifice with it as well. HOPEFULLY the flame will come off as a sign of those who believe in you, and convey that we seek to convert the sacrifice, not kill him.

>>977002
smart symbolic enough and its nice ot have some new followers if we will get anywhere

>>977002
Now this is a suggestion. The prophet should get the more ornate or larger flame. The followers get a step down. Then make a show of the longclaw getting some cinders or a smaller ember.

What about making a heart-shaped flame?

I'm in full support of the heart shaped flame.