With nothing but darkness and stars beyond, the glassy firmament seems as a translucent plane, a great sphere that surrounds the world below.
[Adam's Character spends half of every day shedding light on the world with the shield of Saimonius.]
::The Goddess Expedian, garbed in provocative seafaring swashbuckling clothes and equipment, manifests before you, her rapier sheathed but with a hand resting on it, and several of her divine items dangling from her belt, including the Sextant of Perfect Direction, the Glass of Horizon's Eye, and the Pipe of Rousing Splendor. Her great elven features are weathered yet still charming, and her many tattoos demonstrate the great monsters of the sea, storms over sailing ships, and other symbols of travel and seafaring. She manifests in her native form, adorned in her divine regalia, but withholds her divine presence and terrifying aura. She locks eyes with you as she appears, but only after a longing glance at your shield.::
"Greetings Traveller, I am Expedian, Goddess of Travel, Journeys, and Travellers. I have come to offer an exchange. You carry a great burden, one that was denied me by the bastard Radius, who refused to trust me with the task that now, due to his arrogance, falls to you."
::She demonstrates sadness and a little anger when talking about the dead god.::
"You found and repaired that shield in the underdark, where it was lost so many years ago. You have carried it, protected it, and and cared for it. It is so closely bound with it's function, that my task, that which I shouldered and wished to fulfill, is impossible. I will not stop you from doing this, but I would take that burden from you, I would let you rest like you should, and fulfill your destiny. Some would ask you for worship, which I would not refuse, as I can provide you some of the same power you now enjoy independently, but I would rather offer you a barter, one of my items of power in exchange for that which you found. Tell me, are you ready to unshoulder this burden? To allow things to happen as they should have, so long ago?"
"Greetings Traveller, I am Expedian, Goddess of Travel, Journeys, and Travellers. I have come to offer an exchange. You carry a great burden, one that was denied me by the bastard Radius, who refused to trust me with the task that now, due to his arrogance, falls to you."
::She demonstrates sadness and a little anger when talking about the dead god.::
"You found and repaired that shield in the underdark, where it was lost so many years ago. You have carried it, protected it, and and cared for it. It is so closely bound with it's function, that my task, that which I shouldered and wished to fulfill, is impossible. I will not stop you from doing this, but I would take that burden from you, I would let you rest like you should, and fulfill your destiny. Some would ask you for worship, which I would not refuse, as I can provide you some of the same power you now enjoy independently, but I would rather offer you a barter, one of my items of power in exchange for that which you found. Tell me, are you ready to unshoulder this burden? To allow things to happen as they should have, so long ago?"
::Loken takes a knee and kneels to Expedian. He looks up to Expedian and begins to talk::
"Goddess Expedian, I am not ready to take on responsibility of Deities at this time. There is still a lot I need to accomplish on the material plane that I have not accomplished yet. I know that your portfolio includes the Sun. I am ready to unshoulder my burden. I am not willing to just hand over the shield, as I would like your word that you would keep the Sun in balance with the natural order.
I know that the weather lately has been unbalanced. The crops are not growing as they should, the temperature has been unseasonably cold, and the weather is causing much distress among the peoples of the world. I am not sure what is causing it, warring of the Gods, apathy of the Gods, or some sort of outer planer influence.
If the changes in weather have been in someway caused by your actions, Expedion, I would not be willing to trust the Sun in your care. The Sun is way to important to all living creatures. if it goes out, the night terrors will overrun everything, crops will not grow and the world will grow cold."
"Goddess Expedian, I am not ready to take on responsibility of Deities at this time. There is still a lot I need to accomplish on the material plane that I have not accomplished yet. I know that your portfolio includes the Sun. I am ready to unshoulder my burden. I am not willing to just hand over the shield, as I would like your word that you would keep the Sun in balance with the natural order.
I know that the weather lately has been unbalanced. The crops are not growing as they should, the temperature has been unseasonably cold, and the weather is causing much distress among the peoples of the world. I am not sure what is causing it, warring of the Gods, apathy of the Gods, or some sort of outer planer influence.
If the changes in weather have been in someway caused by your actions, Expedion, I would not be willing to trust the Sun in your care. The Sun is way to important to all living creatures. if it goes out, the night terrors will overrun everything, crops will not grow and the world will grow cold."
Out there somewhere there is a Tarrasque eating delicious epic corn waiting to start a journey...
::A wry smile crosses Expedian's face, and she seems to consider you carefully for a moment before responding::
"I was warned that you would have intimate knowledge of the disputes amongst us, and Cumulus refused to support this effort, claiming that you are, however indirectly, responsible for the death of Radius, and that you should carry this burden as punishment, even though he too could carry this shield."
::She pauses for a brief moment before continuing::
"The seasons are indeed disrupted, and weather is indeed part of my responsibility. However, I share governance of weather with Clamorus, who has sided with Sabian, Agrian, and Respirion in the great dispute, and he has forced me to either allow his intervention, or 'take sides' in the conflict, which I have insofar refused to do. So in that way, perhaps by allowing his intervention I have been responsible for the disruption.
However, the course of the sun across the ecliptic is of such importance that I would be willing to oppose Clamorus and work to restore the seasons to their order, should such an oath convince you of my worth. I would side with Optimus, favoring the salvation of the soul of Xeromonius the Lich-Saint, though such a decision impacts me heavily, and would divorce certain of my allies, and force me to embrace certain of my enemies. I have remained neutral to the struggles of good and evil, law and chaos, but for something of this magnitude, I would take sides."
"I was warned that you would have intimate knowledge of the disputes amongst us, and Cumulus refused to support this effort, claiming that you are, however indirectly, responsible for the death of Radius, and that you should carry this burden as punishment, even though he too could carry this shield."
::She pauses for a brief moment before continuing::
"The seasons are indeed disrupted, and weather is indeed part of my responsibility. However, I share governance of weather with Clamorus, who has sided with Sabian, Agrian, and Respirion in the great dispute, and he has forced me to either allow his intervention, or 'take sides' in the conflict, which I have insofar refused to do. So in that way, perhaps by allowing his intervention I have been responsible for the disruption.
However, the course of the sun across the ecliptic is of such importance that I would be willing to oppose Clamorus and work to restore the seasons to their order, should such an oath convince you of my worth. I would side with Optimus, favoring the salvation of the soul of Xeromonius the Lich-Saint, though such a decision impacts me heavily, and would divorce certain of my allies, and force me to embrace certain of my enemies. I have remained neutral to the struggles of good and evil, law and chaos, but for something of this magnitude, I would take sides."
"If it will mean the weather coming into more order, I am willing to let you have the shield. I can not stand to see the suffering that the current state of the world is in. I need to do my part in fixing the problems of the world and lighting the Sun for half the day is not helping me reach my goals."
Out there somewhere there is a Tarrasque eating delicious epic corn waiting to start a journey...
::She pulls the Pipes of Rousing Splendor from her waistband and offers them, while holding out an empty hand for the shield.::
"My allegiance is not for sale, but you have my word that I will do as I've said, I shall join with Optimus' faction. I know you are one who makes magic with music, and these pipes, my personal creation, are yours in exchange for the shield."
::She awaits your final decision.::
"My allegiance is not for sale, but you have my word that I will do as I've said, I shall join with Optimus' faction. I know you are one who makes magic with music, and these pipes, my personal creation, are yours in exchange for the shield."
::She awaits your final decision.::
::The avatar of Expedian, colossal but otherwise identical to her, dutifully carries the shield through the firmament. At noon each day, the cloud cover breaks for just a brief moment, giving view of the sun, as her loyalty to sailors manifests, she shows them the position of the sun that they might take their bearings and discern their locations.::
::In struggling Aturia, the sun shines on the fields, but patchy clouds overhead prevent the destitute city from becoming uncomfortably hot. The days are punctuated by light, intermittent rainshowers, and the nights become cool, and the sky clears, that the stars and moon might shine freely on the city.::
::Elsewhere, the seasons normalize, and while many cities suffered under the undying winter, and the relief of natural seasons is great, Aturia seems favored by the winds and weather.::
::In struggling Aturia, the sun shines on the fields, but patchy clouds overhead prevent the destitute city from becoming uncomfortably hot. The days are punctuated by light, intermittent rainshowers, and the nights become cool, and the sky clears, that the stars and moon might shine freely on the city.::
::Elsewhere, the seasons normalize, and while many cities suffered under the undying winter, and the relief of natural seasons is great, Aturia seems favored by the winds and weather.::