Dawn of Worlds the 2nd!

[Digital Vulpine]

Dark times are upon Foxkind.  Beset by demons from without, xenos and heretics from within, they must constantly be on their guard.

On advice from the scholars of the Empirical Truth, the Council declares that any creature found bearing the red "pom" of The Beast is to be slain on sight, impaled lengthwise upon a pike, and flayed.  The corpse and hide are then to be burned separately, with sufficient fuel to ensure no flesh remains.  Additionally, anyone found to be keeping, harboring, tending, or otherwise aiding the abominations shall be whipped, have their eyes put out, and be hung until dead.

The Ordo Cabalis Illuminus is declared a heretical cult, and the Council offers rewards for any information leading to the arrest of cult members or the identity of their leader.  Regarding convicted heretics, or any determined to be subject to demonic influence, the Council decrees that they are to have all their limbs amputated and be left to bleed to death.  The body shall then be burned to ensure no taint remains.

Command Avatar: 1 point
With the Council's resources increasingly devoted to crushing corruption and heresy within the realm, they find their ability to lead the war against the demons greatly diminished.  Following a vote, the Council nominates the Primarch to lead the military forces of Foxkind as their Emperor.  The Emperor raises the 1st Ironworks Imperial Regiment in Ironworks to renew the offensive against the ruinous powers.

Command Race: 4 points
However, discovery, exploration, and trade continue to move forward amidst the dire struggle against corruption, heresy, and chaos.  Fox diplomats make contact with a curious race known as the Batosians.  A strange, whimsical, and naive race, but one that seems to have abstained from heresy if only by sheer luck.  While their technology is fascinating, Foxkind cannot comprehend how they tolerate the corpse-like stench of their fuel source.  As word of these technologies circulates among the scholars of the Empirical Truth, however, they are struck with inspiration on how to deal with that problem.  They found the coastal city of Blackwell at the head of the river in D7 with two purposes: to extract the oil in that region, support the Imperial Navy on the Eastern side of the continent, and facilitate trade with the Batosians.  Three purposes.

Advance Civilization: 5 points
One day while performing experiments in his kitchen, a Foxkind alchemist knocked over some beakers containing Oil of Vitriol and Aqua Fortis.  Frustrated at the setback he reaches for a nearby cotton cloth, cleans up the mess, and forgets about it.  Until the cloth spontaneously detonates on the drying rack, and blows a hole the size of his table in the wall.  With great excitement he immediately reports his findings to his fellow scholars of the Empirical Truth, and Foxkind discovers gun cotton.  Seeing great potential for this substance in the war against the demons, the Empirical Truth contracts the forges of Ironworks to devise weapons using this new explosive. Foxkind invents guns, fitting their navy with gun cotton cannons and developing smooth bore muskets for their infantry.

Points remaining: 2

[Geary]

Prosperous times are upon Batosians. Establishing their trade with both the industries of Foxkind and the smaller settlements of Men, the settlement of Co'Mu'Non collects a great deal of oddities that they send back to the plateaus of Cek'Poi'Net and An'Ter'Ia. The Batosians find that they very much appreciate the attempts at in-depth communication by Men, even though they often misinterpret what level of familiarity they're supposed to use, and the semi-frequent faux pas make their interaction just as valuable as their goods. The Foxkind, however, seem to be less informal, and Batosian traders dealing with them tend to either use their language or stick to the more simple and verbal component of Batosian language. Even still, Foxkind's goods and trinkets are much more understandable to the Sparks than Men's fantastical devices, and the former are much less frustration to divine their workings.

However, Batosians notice something odd about Foxkind, in that they seem to really like playing some sort of hide-and-seek game. Various citizens will often ask to be hidden in Co'Mu'Non, and are accepted, but are always followed within the week by a good deal of armed member of Foxkind, who ask for his location. Naturally, Batosians are a good sport, and will give them decent clues, which the practical-minded visitors divine the meaning of in a wonderfully swift fashion. Sadly, the losers of these games tend to be sore losers, as they kick and scream when they're found and escorted out of the city.

Advance City (4): As the settlement of Co'Mu'Non flourishes into a hub of eager traders, it finds that the relatively small airships they had grown used to using aren't up to the task for transporting sufficient quantities of Hu'Mor'On oil to keep the city running at peak efficiency. In light of this, Co'Mu'Non creates the Barge Class Airship, at least, that's what it became known as to other races, given the inventor decided that it warranted no less than fifteen verbal segments to its name.

The Barge Class is, unlike the typical Batosian airship, very uniform in their construction. While most airships are subject to the whims and fancies of their constructors and commissioners, the Barge Class is always constructed with very little variance in design, exceptions only being where the design needs to be altered slightly to fit the commissioner's purpose. The standard Barge Class is eighty meters long and forty meters wide, with two balloons of equal width and doubled length keeping the Barge Class aloft. The vast majority of the Barge Class's hull is empty, meant to be used for the transport of vast quantities of goods, while the rest of the space is divided between crew quarters and the machinery which keeps the airship functioning.

Advance Civilization (5): After trading several technologies with the Foxkind, Batosians begin attempting the emulation of their workings using their own source of fuel. The result is the Hu'Mor'Gun, a firearm that uses small canisters of Hu'Mor'On oil to propel small pieces of metal into a deadly projectile, also nicknamed 'stink-sticks' due to the lingering smell they leave on their target and the discolored path of air where the bullet traveled. The device has higher effective range and stopping power than the firearm it's based off of, but it's also much easier to track where it was fired from.

That being said, Batosians have not yet created nor founded the concept of a military or any structure to train themselves in the use of these weapons, and, as a result, they often belong to individuals who practice sharpshooting as a hobby, challenging themselves and others to see how far of a target they can hit and how accurately they can hit it under increasingly ridiculous distractions and terrain.

---

Stats

Points: 13
Cost: 4 + 5 = 9
Total Points: 4
Points Spent: 85

[Virmir]

Starting Points: 14

Foxkind was in a tizzy over The Beast.  The Beast was on everyone's mind. Fear and paranoia waved though the populace.

Somewhere, canid teeth glinted in what can only be described as a Gray Fox Grin.


Create Avatar (-7)
Divine Agent Smith

A foxkind approached a crowd. He said, "heavens, have they found another?"

And a foxkind said, "It was eating my garbage!"

And the first foxkind said, "They are a menace. Shame the government can do so little. Did you know they eat children?"

Another foxkind said, "surely that is just a rumor!"

"Oh, not at all. There was a small boy down in Cadia... tragic, really."

 "I don't believe I've seen you around these parts. Who are you, anyway?"

The first Foxkind bowed and tipped his hat. "Smith. Surely you remember? We went to school as kits."

"No, I'm afraid I don't."

Smith then lowered his smoked glasses, and peered into the second foxkind's eyes, which became distinctively swirly.  The foxkind shook his head and corrected himself. "Oh yes, Smith. I vaguely recall..."

"Very good."


Command Avatar (-1)
Divine Agent Smith: Create Order: The Foxkindish Inquisition

Smith was very good at finding the Beast. Considering how rare these creatures were, his success won him much attention.

He started much like a humble rat exterminator. Calls were made to him. His men knew where to look. How to drive them out of sheds and cellars. How to catch them.  They were very good at flaying.

The Beast looked more and more terrifying each time. Long scaley spikes and claws. A multitude of wings. And of course, the tell tale bladed pom. They eat children, you know.

Smith became popular. He bowed low before the emperor. His exterminators became a bit more than simple rat catchers. They became an institution. The institution became an agency.

----

Meanwhile deep down in the sewers of Luminurbis, a winged vixen sung out.

"Oh, where are your people, oh silver one? Oh bringer of rocks from the sky? Oh kicker of mountains? Oh detestable lord of making nice hot climates wretched and cold?  I know you can hear me~..."

She waited for a moment in the dramatic silence, and then produced a bottle from her armor. Shadows lashed inside, with angry glowy-slitted eyes. The label read BAD KARMA.

"That's right-- they should hide. Hide in the shadows forever! Remember, we're out for you."

She disappeared in a POOF. The bottle remained, hung in the air for a moment, then shattered upon the sewer tiles.


Command Avatar (-1)
Luciledragon: Create Race: Shades

Shades live under your bed. In your closet. In your drainpipes and sewers. They live on your fears, your doubts, your anxiety. They look like them too.

Currently they look like the Beast.

They live in the murky sewers of Luminurbis and are rapidly spreading throughout Foxkind lands.  Because they feed upon the hatred of the Beast, they have taken a distorted, shadowy resemblance of their form. Side by side, you probably could tell a difference... but the Beast are rare, are they not?

Where the Beast steal from garbage, the Shades knock the cans over and claw them. Where the Beast are seen in the shadows of alleys, the Shades leap out and scream at you.

The Shades eat children.

Individually they are quite weak. A brave, clear-minded individual would have no trouble impaling a few.  They are dangerous in groups in the same way that if you encounter a swarm of 100 rats you are also in trouble.


Associated Order: The Hive

The Shades are not entirely mindless. They tend to steal odds and ends-- loose pieces of fabric and metal and, deep down in their sewers, construct little idols and bow to them ceremoniously. These idols have antennae-hair.


Command Avatar (-1)
The Great and Very Long Shin Foxdragohu'hil'heen'': Create City

 The Great and Very Long Shin Foxdragohu'hil'heen'' knew that there was another avatar in his lands, but this one seemed to have style and didn't seem to be making things colder, so he could ignore him for now. Instead he turned his attention further south.

There were some bird people already on the island he wanted the fox-foxes to expand to, but they didn't seem very cold or capable of dropping rocks from the sky either, so also didn't view them as much of a threat. When fox-fox officials asked him for guidance, he just shrugged and told them to do whatever. He wasn't about to let the birds have the whole island though, so he told the fox-foxes to build another port town in the peninsula at C5.


Point usage: 14 - 7 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 4 remaining

[Donnie]

IN THE LAND OF MAN...

T'was many years the empire of Man has devoted time and effort into studying these creatures known as the Tiporea. Indeed it has been a rather controversial research, many wizards questioning the viability of these subjects as specimen due to their tendency to mutate incredibly fast when exposed to new, potential genetics. Many Man who were claimed by the Tiporea  had to be quickly put down as well as the subject in question to prevent whatever Man has from becoming part of the Tiporea  gene pool. Many a Man shuddered to think what their great race would become if absorbed into the Tiporea gene pool.

However one man, known as Grand Wizard Ulric, has taken it upon himself to fully master and grasp the Tiporea's seeming mastery of natural transmutation and mutation. He presented his greatest specimen to other of his grand order, a Tiporea who's resilience and relatively pure genetic heritage has allowed Ulric to delve deep into the core of these 'Beasts' abilities. On one fateful day... he put his theory to the test: Remotely forcing this Tiporea  to absorb a specific attribute from a host creature, a Raven, without the Tiporea  encapsulating the avian into an egg or forcefully transmuting it's body.




Grand Wizard Ulric... is dead. Little he knew of the extent of which the MIND of the absorbed creature affected the Tiporea's mind. Gifted with uncanny cunning, the Tiporea assaulted Ulric. For a moment he lamented that he never foresaw the Tiporea possessing a particular emotion: 'Vengeance'. The last thought to cross his mind was of breakthrough, finally understanding how the Tiporea truly work. All that remains of Ulric... is a fleshy pile of organic material, disintegrated by the very magic he forced into the creature being accidentally released into himself.

Advance Race
The Mind of Man

Man was well in the right regarding their fear of assimilation at the hands of the Tiporea, for the specimen Ulric flaunted so much to the scientific community had absorbed not the simple human form but, rather, the mind of Man. The creature's brain grew and evolved with Man's attributes, becoming the first ever sapient Tiporea on the planet. It stared at Ulric's rotting pile in utter fear, having developed a sort of empathy. It fled the great city to rejoin it's kind within Fox lands.

Create Avatar
The Messiah

Rename Race
Pomharpi

The Beast that eventually came known to be 'The Messiah' reunited with its kind in Luminurbis. These Tiporea were often misshapen and sickly. The vicious Foxkind inquisition has been hard on their kind, forcing them even harder to scrounge for food and take in whatever other creature that could possibly help them survive. The Messiah pitied his own kind for their parasitic ways, but even he felt it difficult to drop instinct. He touched his PomPom onto others of his kind, purifying them of the dirty genetics that have plagued the species for many decades and centuries. These Tiporea would revert to a form similar to the Messiah though each individual is able to pick out the attributes it desires to carry.

Seeking to further purify his corrupted race, The Messiah forms a dedicated order to seek out and convert other Tiporea.

The Unity of Nod (collcting my free order from race creation)

The so called 'Land of Nod' isn't truly a land, but rather a term meaning 'Wandering' of sorts. To travel to the Land of Nod is to wander endlessly. The Unity of Nod travels the world, searching for Beasts to convert and join the greater race of Pomharpies. However, Nod has been given no inhibitions towards reclaiming their kind. Those feral Tiporea who resist may find themselves forcefully 'reborn' into the new Pomharpi race.

Foxkind will have noticed a sharp decline in vandalism and violence in their cities, but the abduction rate has increased by 15%. Sightings of Pomharpis is at an all time low due to their incredible intelligence in avoiding detection. There are rumors circulating by Foxkind citizens of some kind of possible device, Eziekiel's Wheel as it is rumored, that makes the Pomharpis invisible. This is of course complete balderdash and foolish rumor mongering.

The Batosians have yet to notice the effects of the Beast or Tiporea to a large extent due to the Mediators within Batosian society having an effect on the Tiporea. Considering the Tiporea are descended heavily from Batosians, and those that are still in Batosian lands still highly resemble Batosians physiologically, mediators are able to calm or pacify a Tiporea. A most extreme example is a powerful mediator convincing a Tiporea  to Egg itself and be reborn as a pet for said mediator.


Starting Points: 16
5+7: 12
Remaining Points: 4

[Dragyn]

(Erg...I feel like I've fallen behind...and I keep using that finger to type, so I need to be more careful...)

(I wish the faction map had a color key...would make my catching up much easier...)
---------------------------------


Beta the Wolf-Dragon, a magical creature of fire and accidental teleportation loops, did land abruptly into the lands of the non-magical foxkind.   And lo!  He did leave a crater in the upper-right of E6, larger than their cities, for he had fallen through his portal a great many times, and his mass and velocity were both greater than the Lurking Lord had calculated.

(For Beta was of an incredibly dense magical substance, which, upon realizing his mistake, the Lurking Lord did dub Betonium, and didst adjust future creations that they be made of a more mundane and practical material).

And Lo, Beta did stagger into the fear ridden lands of the foxkind, where he found himself hunted by Agent Smith, who was infuriurated by what he believed to be the work of the EVIL ONE, that he could not seem to harm (for lo, Betonium is dense, and resistant to most forms of assault, both toonish and technological).

And so did Beta stagger out of the cities of the foxkind, and did hide deep within the crater he had created, digging tunnels that twisted and spiraled below the ground, and then did he ponder what next he should do.


------------------------------------
43 pts. start
(Points spent:  1:  Command Avatar:  Shape Land)
Everything else I think counts a mundane, and as such costs nothing.

Ending points:  42

(I will try to watch more closely from here on.)

[Fax]

Chief magi of the Ordo, Lore Bostic, was ready to begin the experiment. He had spent a great deal of time both covertly convincing the college of magi to investigate deeper the interactions of both the two major wild strains of the Beast and the demon infestation that plagues the land. The main justification being to develop a counteragent to the beast's conversion process. However, the greater intent was to gain greater insight into both the Beast and demons so that he might tap into their raw power and make it his own.
   This experimentation results in several divergent approaches to gaining the power sought. The most visible approach to this is an attempt to 'breed' new strains of the beast by exposing it to various other species and magical impulses resulting in numerous sub-strains arising. Curiously, although the beast was found to share its evolutions between various members one highly adapted and developed was discovered which would persistently resist this behaviour. Not only did the strain resist but when introduced into the presence of other specimins of the beast, it aggressively attempted to destroy them mercilessly.
   Puzzled by the behaviour, many magi, both collegiate and ordo alike attempted to in vain to devine the reason. However, while the collegiate magi were content to observe and examine, the ordo magi began attempting aggressively attempting to force a merger of the two strains. The end result of these attempts was a bizzarely unstable strain created in the presence of an extremely strong demonic taint. Unfortunately, the creatures produced were found to be highly aggressive and self destructive. It was at around this point that word of Ulric Nelthis' disaster reached the Ordo. The sudden change in behaviour after exposure to the wizard sparked a plan.
   A number of members of the collegiate had become problematic for the Ordo, protesting that experimentation on the beast and demons should be curtailed due the potential hazards. This would shut down most if not all of the research being done that the ordo both wished progressed and did not have the resources to do themselves. Thus the plan came into play: the ordo prepared a specimin of the unstable beast strain and a team of covert ordo wizards delivered it to the workshop of Grand Wizard Mordecai. Initially the experiment went exactly as planned, all the while Bostic and a number of Ordo agents observing from afar through use of foxkindish farseeing devices.
   The team, whose job it was to both release the specimine in such a way as it would absorb the grand wizard Mordecai and then be recaptured for further study, was completely unprepared for what ensued. Upon the expected absorption of Mordecai the beast seemed to undergo a radical metamorphosis which was further complicated by the development of a number of hitherto unknown magical abilities. The creature proceeded to overwhelm both the experimental team and a large number of bystanders who had been attending a talk put on by one of Mordecai's assisstants.
   Of the seven Ordo agents and twenty bystanders, six are rendered down to component sludges as the beast both absorbs their minds and falteringly attempts to use its newfound powers. The remainder save two are transmogrified into various non-human creatures and hybrids, though they retain their minds through the ordeal. One unlucky bystander's fate is of yet unknown, having been carried off by the beast while the other was reduced to a fine soot as they attempted to slay the beast through pyromancy only to have it turned back upon them.
   
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   In an effort to recover from their recent losses, the ordo use some of the results of their experimentation to start attacking known inquisitors and their associates. By infecting the inquisitor's personal belongings with a specially modified form of the demonic corruption, bolstered by transmutational magics, the ordo is able to spread a virulent and catastrophically effective form to a large swath of the inquisition. Using the resulting demonic corruption as an excuse, the beleaugered ordo then proceeds to incite a long series of uprisings amongst the foxkind (the justification being that the inquisition is attempting to maintain a dictatorship by removing/ destroying any opposition) Ultimately, their goal is to cause foxkind society to fragment and splinter through a series of messy uprisings and civil wars.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   A large number of fox-fox begin to declare that anything with only one head is inferior and that the more heads something the greater the that individual is. The fox-fox-fox does nothing to stop this behaviour and soon there is a large faction clamoring to attack the aerie as 'The birds are stealing land that rightfully belongs to the surperior fox-fox. Plus they taste great with a bit of gravy"



Corrupt civilization (Fox-Fox) - 3
Corrupt civilization (humans) - 3
Create Avatar (Specimen 35) - 7

[Fax]

Turn 8


Points
Radioactive Toast - 11 - 9 + 8 + 3 = 13
Kenku - 9 - 0 + 8 + 0 = 17
Dragyn - 43 - 1 + 7 + 0 = 49
Virmir - 14 - 10 + 11 + 3 = 18
Digital Vulpine - 12 - 10 + 7 + 3 = 12
Geary - 13 - 9 + 12 + 3 = 19
Donnie - 16 - 12 + 11 + 2 = 17
Fax - 42 - 13 + 10 + 0 = 39








(the images link to higher resolution versions)

Races
Batosians
Fluff Batosians
Fox-Fox
Aarie
Hu'Mor'On
Foxkind
Men
Pomharpi
Shades

Orders
The Society of Individuals Informed Against SATAN (Donnie), Batosian Division
The Sparks
The Society of Individuals Informed Against SATAN (Donnie), Fluff Batosian Division
The Rocketeers
The Temple of order
The Empirical Truth
The Society of Individuals Informed Against SATAN (Donnie), Fox-Fox Division
The Order of Flame
Ordo Cabalis Illuminus
The Unity of Nod
The Hive
The Foxkindish Inquisition

Avatars
The Avatar of the great DV.
Shin Foxdragohu'hil'heen''
Jije
The Phoenix
A slumbering creature
Beta, The Wolf-Dragon
Luciledragon
Cerefox, the Fox-Fox-Fox
Lore Bostic, Human cabal wizard
Specimen 35
The Messiah
Divine Agent Smith

Armies
Foxkind
-1 army in Porttown
-1st Ironworks Imperial Regiment in Ironworks

Humans
-1 army in Adamis

[William Swiftfoot]

(I'm Sorry Geary...but the oppertunity is too great!)

CATASTROPHE! (10)

Over the period of 2 years, the city of Cek'Poi'Net was buffeted with powerful tremors, each stronger than the last. The tremors cause for small amounts of structural damage to the city over time, and rattled residents, some to the point of leaving the city for the mesa they used to call home. Thoes that stayed...had sealed there own fate...as at sunrise on the fate full day, thoes of the city and of the area around it, heard this fearful sound.

rumble...RUMBLE...KABOOOM!

With a gigantic blast, the entire plateau(which was a large caldera) exploded in a Gigantic Eruption, casting tons of Ash, Rock, and Molten Lava far into the sky, including what remained of the former Batsonian city.  The material it launched was carried in the winds, covering all land within two spaces in a later of volcanic ash. The Eruptions flowed down into the area within one space as well, causing for sea levels to rise.

As suddenly as the Eruption Started, it then stopped, leaving the bubbiling caldera in its wake. In time, thoes that survived the destruction began to rebuild about the edges of the volcano, as a remebering to what was Cek'Poi'Net.

Event(7) As the Aarie journey north, they came in contact with the Fox-Fox of SATAN, and through discovery, and discussion, began to spark up thoughts of trade. It is through that trade, that a blending of technologies occured, as each realized the other had a skill of mind. In time this discovered allowed one to learn the others strength. Aarie and Fox-Fox of the SATAN Order gain each others Mental Tech(Aarie gains Telekenisis, Fox-Fox gains Long Range Telepathy

[PrincessHotcakes]

Adamis and the lands of men quickly spread with terrifying stories, rumors of a great disaster and many a disappearance.  The mages, the closest students to the wise Jije, have gone wild, rogue, criminal.  

In the aftermath of the disaster, several of the surviving mage elders gather to try and decide what course of action to take.  Jije is far away, facilitating the construction of outposts.  The libraries and courts of Adamis and her daughter cities ring with indecision and paralysis, shaken by the realization of the peril they have invited into their midst; the plague-beasts and demons?  Both fused in magical experiments?  In an attempt to preserve stability, the mages convene a great council.  Protestations ring from the halls of power and learning, decrying the mages and their lust for knowledge.  

Faced with this unrest, the Council of Mages reacts with firm force, quelling dissent and arresting the loudest voices who decry their recent actions.  It seems that not only will these abominable experiments be condoned and the perpetrators remain unpunished, but the mages seem to be set to dominate the whole Realm of Man.

Create Avatar-7 points

The Phalanx of Adamis, Men's first true organized army, is called forth to assist the mages in preserving order.  The commander of the Phalanx, one Saul Angelos, complies with the mages' orders and enters the great city... to surround the council in a surprise maneuver and arrest them.

Saul Angelos decries the Council's actions, and their wanton disregard for the Mankind's safety, and their seemingly endless lust for knowledge.  The shocked councilors are marches to the edge of Adamis's floating isle and hurled off to the surface one by one, until the entire leadership has been executed.  Soon after Saul stands before the people and promises them such a tragedy will never befall them again.  The mages will not rule, nor will they run off on their own purposes.  Instead, they will serve the realm.  To facilitate a more centralized, orderly operation of the realm, Saul Angelos declares that he must serve the realm and hold it to order and justice, taking the title Basileus.

Jije, when he hears of these events, is greatly distraught.  Saul greets him openly in Adamis upon his quick return, lamenting the necessity of the bloodshed and tragedy that has occurred.  Alas, Jije can only be in one place at a time, something that Saul reminds him of as he recites the origin story of Man, who were created by Jije because he could not kill all demons by himself.  Reluctantly, Jije aggrees to the logic of the Basileus's argument, seeing that it seems Man needs a firmer hand than he originally envisioned.  He is too distraught with the precarious position of his children to question Saul's rapid seizure of power.

Command Avatar-1 point
Distraught at the failings of his children, Jije, realizes that more order could be something worth pursuing.  In large groups, it seems that force is unfortunately the best way to control Men, so in the fortress city of Su he creates another army, both to expand the fight against the demons who infest the land, and to keep an eye for the future...

Command Avatar-1 point

Basileus Saul Angelos quickly sees need to expand his authority.  He will after all need resources to fund armies, as well as to ultimately wipe demons off the face of the earth.  He also knows he has earned the enmity of many of the Realm's mages, who do not relish their new role as servants under the army.  He increases the sternness of the Realm to grab aquire all wealth and power it can.  The Batosians sound find Men far less amiable and more demanding in their trade negotiations.  Indeed, several hostage situations begin occuring as Men begin to be persuaded that Batosians are a weak, feeble people who will easily succumb to intimidation.  

Foxkind is now treated with outright distrust, and human patrols openly flaunt their battle magics in the vicinity of Foxkind groupings wherever they are found.

More ominously, the Basileus orders expansion into new lands, to secure more resources and procure more knowledge, technology and magics.  He orders a great host of air-chariots northwest to the island of D5, to establish an outpost for Man, the fortress of Trabzand

There they find two strange races awaiting on the island, one of whom is eerrily similar to Foxkind, but on all fours and possessing 2 heads... Relations with the Aerie prove to turn sour, as Men take to a great deal of posturing and bluster, while the Fox-Foxes are treated with outright hostility after first contacts with them result in misunderstandings that bring casualties on both sides.

4 points remaining

[Geary]

Untold horrors await the Batosians, and the naive race will never be capable of surviving through it on their own. Batosian envoys plea to the Foxkind for assistance against the forces of Men as they find their once-peaceful traders being terrorized and goods being outright stolen from them. However, the Batosians have no ability- or, rather, no will- to take the measures needed to defend themselves from Men.

Event (7): The Slumbering Creature senses a great suffering of the Batosians, both in the new lands and moments in the future upon the eruption of an inactive volcano. The Slumbering Creature wills itself awake and shatters its prison, revealing its form as a bat-like creature approximately three meters in height. Unlike Batosians, it possesses a leaf nose commonly associated with bats, and has two arms in front of its wings, which are positioned on its back. Most strikingly, it gives off a constant, bright shine of turquoise color, and the only features which can be readily identified are its eyes and mouth, which, when opened, are a lighter shade than the rest of its body, and whatever might be on the outline of its figure. All else melds into each other from the perspective of the unprotected eye.

The no-longer slumbering creature shudders for a moment before vanishing entirely from the plateau in which it had rested for so long, appearing in the center of Cek'Poi'Net the precise moment of the eruption, and spiriting those hundreds who would have perished into another dimension entirely.



One of the Batosians was able to speak through its state of awe, saying, "Thank-you, but... who are you?"



Advance Civilization (5) (x2): Words speak to the innovators and inventors among the Batosians, and, though they know not of what it means, the news the the Slumbering Creature has awoken fills then with both grave fear and indomitable determination.

The work being done on the Hu'Mor'Gun changes from a matter of curiosity to a matter of unknown survival, and dozens of Sparks work together until they find the burden upon their minds alleviated. Their masterpiece, dubbed the Resurgence Rifle, is a single-shot rifle which fires a bullet filled with the distilled and unstable essence of the Hu'Mor'On oil, causing a small but violent explosion when the cartridge ruptures inside the target. The rifle has diminished impact against armored foes, as the bullet is unable to breach anything thicker than leather prior to rupturing, but the explosion itself is generally enough to incapacitate foes. The main issue with the rifle is its massive length, which only Batosian arms are long enough to use properly, but their wings more often than not get in the way and diminish their accuracy severely.

Simultaneously, a dozen or so Sparks begin modifying the blueprint for the Barge class for reasons beyond their own comprehension. The sides are left with long, open windows along their lengths, and the very interior is devoted entirely to the engines to give the outside more open slits. They find that the openings are large enough to squeeze themselves through if they try very hard, but otherwise beyond their knowledge for what their purpose might be. Regardless, the engineers dub the newly designed ship as the Broadside Class airship.

Several hundred of the Resurgence Rifles and nearly a dozen Broadside Classes are built, before they both simultaneously vanish in a bright, blue light, leaving their builders both content with their work and filled with dread for the future of their race.

---

Stats

Points: 19
Cost: 7 + 5 + 5 = 17
Total Points: 2
Points Spent: 102

[Dragyn]

The Lurking Lord looked up from deep within his programming.

"This isn't working." Quoth he.  "Perhaps a different track..."

With a rapid series of inputs, he did give light to an idea within Beta, his creation.

Thus did Beta look to the sky, and, for the first time, did speak.  This, is what he spoke:

"I have wings, that I may fly.  Why must I cower within the darkness?  I am filled with fire, and endless life; why must I be alone?  I shall take to the skies, and find a more fitting place, and I will create a Child race, with I as parent object, and they shall be known as the NullPointerException!"

And so it was that Beta did take to the skies, teleporting high above the cities of the Foxkind, and did proceed to the West and South, and there did he land in the forested peninsula of F4.  There, he created the Lurking Lord's favored race, and he did declare them the NullPointerException.

And so the Lurking Lord did place his head against his keyboard, and mutter darkly about defining variables before release.

The NullPointerException were much like Beta, but of a more moderate size--they spanned but a few meters in length, rather than the considerable bulk that Beta held.  They bore wings of myriad colors and styles, and fur that ranged from reds, yellows and browns to whites and blacks.  They too could breathe fire, and the plates along their undersides was of Betonium, but NullPointerException were otherwise of flesh and blood, fur and fang.   Their reduced weight meant that they could fly without aid of teleportation, but in exchange lacked the inherent teleportation abilities of their direct creator, Beta, who they came to call The Godfather.

Then Beta did help the NullPointerException to create a city in  E4, and it came to be known as Null City, and they did build a manor house for Beta, from which he did his best to rule justly, and protect his children.

And the NullPointerException came to revere Beta, who did not find this strange at all.  His closest allies became known as Beta's Null, who were his most loyal worshippers.

This caused Beta to ponder deeply where the strength of his children lie, and so he took them out, and took to the skies, and they followed him.  There they practiced daily, sparring with one another with fang and flame, and they did become most skilled at aerial combat, that they may harass any who oppose them while protecting themselves should the need arise.

And Beta's Null did raise an army, and swore themselves to Beta's service.

And the Lurking Lord did smile a most mischievous smile.

-------------------------------------
Point Breakdown
--------------------------------------
  49    Starting:
   -1    Command Avatar:  Create Race:  NullPointerException
            Create Order: Beta's Null: (0 pt, part of race creation)
   -4   Command Race:  Create City: Null City
   -3   Command Order: Beta's Null: Raise Army
   -5   Advance Civilization: NullPointerException: Aerial Combat
   -5   Advance Civilization: NullPointerException: Hit and Fade Tactics
___

   31 Ending Points

[Digital Vulpine]

Command Civilization: 4 points
A group of Foxkind rebels, having forsaken the Empirical Truth and embraced the worship of dark gods, attempts a coup in Cadia.  Their attempt fails miserably, as the loyal citizens of Cadia fight to defend their homes from the ruinous powers and drive the rebels out of the city.  The rebels flee south and east through the mountains, pursued and run down by the victorious Cadians until they reach the Chaos Wastes.  Here, deep in a region of such strong Demonic influence that even the Cadians fear to tread upon it, they lick their wounds and establish the city of Mordor in the southeast corner of F7, hiding from the eyes of both Fox and Men.

Command Avatar: 1 point
Hearing of trouble and turmoil on the home front, the Emperor appoints a general over the 1st Ironworks Imperial Regiment to carry on the Great Crusade in his name and returns to Foxkind lands to investigate the matter Himself.

Finding the Inquisition rife with corruption and the people in open rebellion, he assumes direct leadership of the Scholars of the Empirical Truth and undertakes a great purge.  No demonic taint can hide from the Emperor's holy light as he leads his faithful from street to street, house to house, purging the unclean wherever they are found.  The Inquisition's membership is decimated in the Purge, and their leadership is replaced by the most faithful scholars of the Empirical Truth.  The Inquisition will continue to exist, continue to carry out its duties, but now it will do so tightly bound to the will of the Emperor.

With the purge complete, the Emperor turns his attention to the rebels.  Clad in gleaming, golden plate armor and carrying a sword that burned eternally with holy fire, the Emperor set out to Cadia.  There he rallied the loyalists in the city to form the 1st Cadian Imperial Regiment and personally led the pursuit of the rebels.  His cape, red as blood and trimmed with gold, unfurled off the back of his armor as he led the charge to cut down the fleeing rebels.  With a mighty battle cry of "The Emperor protects!", the 1st Cadian Imperial Regiment pursues the rebels across the mountains and far from Imperial territory.

Command City: 4 points
Recognizing the value of Batosian trade and realizing that Man has clearly abandoned its crusade against the ruinous powers to become little more than common heretics, Blackwell Commissions the 1st Imperial Airship Fleet, utilizing the latest prototype Justicar-class airships.  Lifted by hydrogen derived from the promethium fuel that fires its steam boilers and equipped with lethal guncotton cannons, the Justicar class is designed to provide airborne escort for Batosian trade ships, transportation and close fire support for ground troops, and with support from the latest in ironclad wetships allow the Empire to project power at an unprecedented level.  The Imperial Navy issues a standing order that both airships and ironclads are authorized to intervene at their own discretion to protect the Empire's trade interests against predation by heretical Human pirates.

Points spent: 9
Points left: 3

[Virmir]

Starting Points: 18


Advance Civilization (-5)
Fox-fox power armor

The hostile and unwelcome presence of the furless MAN, coupled with the more inhospitable thinking some fox-foxes have displayed towards the singular-headed birds have lead to some speculation about how to resolve things in a peaceful manner. Clearly the logical approach to peace is to protect your body so you don't get hurt.


Advance City (-4)

Gottagetmeanamesburg swelled with activity as MAN set up shop to the south. Having had hostile first contact, it was clear fortification was needed. If the fox-foxes were going to make sure peace was going to happen, they needed to make sure peace didn't happen back.

- A wall is erected around the city along with a fortified tower somewhere within.

The fox-foxes looked to the sky to see if a drawing of their new tower/wall would appear, but the response came back as a very strong NO BLASTED WAY. WE'RE GOING ON TWO BLASTED HOURS NOW.

After marveling at their work, the fox-foxes said, "Wait, why does this town have such a stupid name? How did this happen?" And their other head said, "I don't know!"

- Rename town to Dual Point


Command avatar (-1)
Luciledragon: Command race: Fluffsville

Meanwhile, Luciledragon returned to the Tower of Zot and yelled at the fluff batosians for not doing anything interesting again. Terrified, a large number of the fluffs fled, renting their tailless cousins' airships for long distance travel, and built a town at the shores of B6. They decided to name it Fluffsville.


Advance Civilization (-5)
Flying Fox-Fox Units

Fox-fox explorers discover the fluff batosians and, despite them having only one head, find them trustworthy because they have very fluffy tails.  Talks and negotiations happen, and the two races reach a mutual agreement about how to better make sure peace is spread.

Command avatar (-1)
The Great and Very Long Shin Foxdragohu'hil'heen'': Gather Fox-Fox Army

The Great and Very Long Shin Foxdragohu'hil'heen'' looked upon the advancements of the fox-foxes and saw that they were ready for some organization. The TRUE ENEMY now had a name, and was out there.  But in the meantime, there were less savory types might need to be made peaceful if they don't know what's good for them.

The first Fox-Fox regiment is gathered at Dual Point, consisting of armored ground and flying units.


Command avatar (-1)
City of Shadows

Divine Agent Smith had done his job. The Pom was synonymous with fear and corruption. They, the True Enemy, would never be able to gain a foothold in this land. Satisfied, he slipped into the sewers before the foxkind flipped out over the inquisitors who become corrupted due to the meddling of mages. What happened between foxkind and man was irrelevant.

In the darkness, the Shade lurked around.  He said, "Perhaps we can make more use of you yet."  He waved his cane and obediently they slunk through the pipes, through the cracks in the walls, until they found a cave deep underground in the middle of E7.  Here in the blackness they built twisted structures made from stolen junk, a City of Shadows.


Ending points: 1

[Donnie]

IN FOXKIND LANDS

His duty, for the time, complete, Divine Agent Smith strolls down the streets of one of Foxkind's grand cities, rife with fear and anxiety due to his actions with the vile Shade. Of course... as much as the Shade were able to mimic the various Pom races to instil fear in the Foxkind populace... Divine Agent Smith never really understood how the numerous Beast species worked individually...

CATASTROPHE


From the shadows, an offshoot strain of the Tiapora leaps out at an unsuspecting Agent Smith and transmutes him into a fetal egg. He never truly knew how the species worked, but he knew from rumors that the Tiapora never attack in the open, even at night... this one deviated and he paid the price. Whether for good or ill... the Pomharpii order, The Unity of Nod: Black Pom division discovered Agent Smith's egg and his perpetrator. The Black Pom wasted no time in fulfilling their honored duty of subduing, and converting the 'Diseased' into one of their own. Shocked they were to discover Smith's egg, however. They didn't know who it was that this Tiapora transmuted, but it was now one of the Pomharpiis. The squad leader touched the egg with his pom and cleansed the egg of the 'Diseased' influence.

Irony or not, Agent Smith was spared a life of feral beast... however he maintains his mind intact somehow.

A few weeks later, Smith is reborn. Hatched from his egg, he is given a blessing from Pomharpii midwifes who care for him. Of course... an avatar made to frame the Pomharpiis as evil has a difficult time accepting any care from his caretakers! Still, the first moment he could he escaped the Pomharpiis and attempted to rejoin the Inquisition... and somehow he managed to convince them he was Agent Smith before they flayed him alive.

It was a rough time for Smith. Having been converted into a Pomharpii despite him claiming to be an expert in fighting them has cost him a great deal of reputation amongst Foxkind. Foxkind will not see Agent Smith as being very trustworthy anymore.

;------------------------------------------------------------------

ADVANCE CIVILIZATION
Ezekiel's Wheel

A truly magical invention devised by The Messiah, utilizing the grand magics he learned from Wizard Ulric, he devised a magical wheel that is capable of warping light to such a degree that those who wear the wheel become utterly invisible save for a slight shimmering in the air. The Pomharpii Order, The Unity of Nod, make extensive use of this device. It is especially prominent within The Black Pom corps who use it frequently to slink around cities even in daylight without being seen.

;-------------------------------------------------------------------

COMMAND AVATAR

For generations, the various Tiapora races have settled themselves in the urban settlements in other races, relying on stealth and sly to remain unseen and procreate under the other race's noses. The Pomharpii are no different, really. The Messiah realizes that it is much more productive to live within these civilizations in secret rather than set forth and form their own land. After all... it's harder to deal with them when they aren't clustered in one place...

Build/Inhabit City
Luminurbis
The capital of Foxkind shall serve as the Pomharpii's expansion point throughout this land. Using their stealth and guile, the Foxkind inquisitions have a difficult time locating any Pomharpii that don't wish themselves revealed. Additionally, Ezekiel's Wheel ensures that the Pomharpiis need only to render their nests and homes invisible to the naked eye.

Abduction Rates in Foxkind lands has plummeted due to the vast purging of the Inquisition by The Emperor. The Pomharpiis have been ordered to cease abductions completely and focus solely on finding and converting 'The Diseased' to fill their numbers along with normal procreation. If anything, this is doing Foxkind a favor to remain undetected.

Points Used: 16
Points Remaining: 1

[Fax]

Specimen 35, in an effort to mock those that created him puts his immense volumes of stolen knowledge to a sinister purpose, transforming the corrupting energies of the demonic plagues and twisting them until they are able to easily overcome Humanity's natural resistence. Having crafted this new insidious power he uses the transformative magics stolen from the mages he had devoured to take on their forms: A near perfect disguise. With that in hand, 35 proceeds to spread his creation amidst the lands of humanity. It would take some time to truely take root. While waiting for it to do so Specimen 35 departed for the Batosian lands to find some amusement in taunting and playing with the naieve bat people.

Meanwhile, Lore Bostic, seeing that the lands were rapidly becoming more and more hostile to the Ordo sought out the ancient caverns beneath the fortress city of Su. Unsealing them secretly, he led the remnants deep into the caverns to carve out a secret city hidden below where they might be safe from the new regime. Outposts were secretly constructed so that the members of the Ordo might secret their way into Su, both to gather what supplies they could not produce themselves and to attempt to carefully recruit the now oppressed mages of Humanity.

(2x Command Avatar)