Death, Taxes, and Cookies: to Rule an Underworld - INTERMISSION 2 END

[X] Ask it about why it came out of your wand.

I manage to regain enough of my composure to stand again. I take a moment to breathe. I don't feel like I really am the God of Death just yet, but maybe I can use the Aspect to my advantage. For starters...

Well... first thing's first.

Your new name is Barold.

...

Again, for a second I imagine it won't have any response to that, and open my mouth before quickly clamping myself shut.

VERY WELL.

DEATH WILL HENCE BE KNOWN BY THE NAME YOU HAVE GIVEN IT.

MORTAL-KIND SHALL WHISPER MY NAME IN HUSHED TONES AROUND THE SHRINE OF MY IMPLACABILITY.

I AM THE END. I AM THE ETERNAL.

I AM BAROLD.

...

Right, anyways.

I walk around the newly-named manifestation of Death, twirling my rod around in my fingers (slowly - it's pretty bulky and I'm not actually that dexterous).

Second thing's second.

Why did you come out of my wand... Barold?

Should I worry about more Aspects coming out of this thing?

NO.

AS THE GOD OF DEATH, YOU ARE A SOURCE OF A NEAR-INFINITE AMOUNT OF RAW DIVINE POWER.

HOWEVER, IT CANNOT YET BE CHANNELED THROUGH YOUR FORM. THUS, THE ROD OF DEATH.

MY MANIFESTATION IS SIMPLY AN EXPRESSION OF YOUR POWER AND DOMINION OVER DEATH.

A SINGLE WAY YOUR DIVINITY CAN PRESS UPON REALITY.

THERE ARE FAR MORE WAYS THAN MERE SUMMONING.

I AM THE ONLY ASPECT YOU YET HAVE.

So that's what it's called - the Rod of Death?

NO.

?

IT IS CALLED WHATEVER YOU WISH IT TO BE CALLED.

Is this what it's like to be a God? You point at something, call it something, and it has to live with that name forever?

The weight of the responsibility you now have to carry starts making itself apparent, regardless of how much you don't want to believe yourself to be the Lord of the Dead.

Oh, man...

...

You said something about other ways I can use my... divinity?

YES.

I should probably know about them, shouldn't I?

YES

...

...

Well-

ALLOW ME TO SHOW YOU SOMETHING. 

I see Barold shift, slightly, before revealing a shimmering purple tome, holding it towards me, apparently held in its' shadowy... being. I reach out to take it, and flip it open.

What is this? Why is my name on there?

IT IS THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. USEFUL IN MATTERS OF MANAGING YOUR UNDERWORLD.

YOUR NAME IS THERE BECAUSE YOU ARE THE GOD OF DEATH.

I'm guessing I can rename myself too, then?

YES.

...

Now that I think about it... that in particular is pretty tempting. I'd have to pick a good name if I'm naming myself... maybe a little less silly than 'Barold'. I could make a new identity. Or just keep being Colin.

Barold manages to point out a part of the book while continuing to have no obvious limbs.

ALL THE TABS OF THIS BOOK SHALL BE UNLOCKED IN TIME. FOR NOW, FOCUS ON THE FIRST TWO.

THE FIRST CONTAINS INFORMATION ABOUT YOU, THE LORD OF THE DEAD.

My lips tighten, my attention grabbed a little bit tighter.

AND OF THE FIRST, FOCUS ON "LORDSHIP" AND "STRESS" MOST OF ALL.


ALL STATISTICS WILL BE IMPORTANT IN TIME.

BUT THESE SHALL BE THE MOST USEFUL ONES TO KNOW OF FOR NOW.

Lordship and Stress, huh? What do they represent?

LORDSHIP IS THE MEASURE OF YOUR CAPABILITY TO RULE THE UNDERWORLD.

THE HIGHER THIS NUMBER IS, THE MORE SUITED YOU ARE TO RULE.

... Oh.

I mean, I guess that should be expected. But 15/100 is still a bit of a stinging figure. I look at the book with furrowed eyebrows.

DO NOT WORRY, HOWEVER.

FOR AS YOU MANAGE THE UNDERWORLD, THIS STATISTIC SHALL RISE.

...

STRESS IS, IN TURN, YOUR INABILITY TO RULE THE UNDERWORLD.

THROUGH WHATEVER MEANS THAT DISPOSE YOU.

AS YOU MANAGE THE UNDERWORLD, THIS STATISTIC SHALL RISE AS WELL.

... That doesn't sound like a good thing.

NO.

REMEMBER TO REST OFTEN. EVEN A GOD MUST BE WARY OF BURNOUT.

IF THIS MEASURE REACHES HALF OR MORE OF ITS' MAXIMUM CAPACITY, RUIN WILL BEGIN TO BEFALL US.

You really like using big, fantastical words and phrases, Barold.

YES.

...

...

TO BE A SUCCESSFUL GOD OF DEATH, YOU MUST MAKE CHOICES.

YET EVERY CHOICE, EVERY DECISION YOU MAKE, HAS BOTH REWARD AND RISK ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

RISK IS INSURMOUNTABLE. YET YOU MUST OVERCOME IT TO CREATE A FLOURISHING UNDERWORLD.

TO OVERCOME RISK, YOU MUST HAVE COMPETENCE.

LUCK MAY SEE YOU THROUGH FOR A TIME, BUT SKILL BEGETS STABILITY.

THE HIGHER A SKILL YOU HAVE, THE MORE YOU WILL SUCCEED AT EVER MORE DIFFICULT ACTIONS.

I have a feeling this is a roundabout way of saying something obvious.

BUT YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO IS ABLE TO TEND TO THE UNDERWORLD.

The second tab...

YES.

THIS IS WHERE YOU WILL FIND INFORMATION ON YOUR SERVANTS, AS YOU OBTAIN MORE.

... I guess I should have expected that too. I'm not sure I can handle commanding a whole army of "Angels of Death". Matter of fact... I don't even know where I'm going to get new servants.

MY STATISTICS ARE NOT SO IMPORTANT FOR NOW.

THE ONLY ACTION WE CAN DO AT THIS TIME INVOLVES YOUR POWER.

Which is?

...

Barold presses down, its' giant form spreading across the ground like it was made out of inky black honey, its' skull head almost reaching down to my height. I step back a little, before its' body spreads over my feet. Its' eyes shimmer again, and suddenly...

... Circles cover the whole of the cave. Somehow, that feeling from when I summoned Barold comes back - something, a liquid inside me, feels like it's being pulled into these rings, spreading across not only the floor, walls, and ceiling, but the entire space of the cavern, flooding it with the flowing something.

A part of me realizes that this might be that "divine power" Barold was talking about a while ago.

What's going on?

YOU ARE TAKING CONTROL OF THIS SECTION OF THE UNDERWORLD, PLACING IT UNDER YOUR DOMINION.

THIS IS THE FIRST STEP TO ALL YOUR OPERATIONS HERE -

CLEARING SPACE.

The lavender spreads across the whole of the space, spreading and spreading, washing away the cavern from view, until...

... Where did the cave go?

WOULD YOU LIKE IT TO COME BACK?

?

UPON PLACING A LOCATION UNDER YOUR DOMINION, IT IS FORMED INTO A PURE, GENERIC NOTHINGNESS.

YET ONE FILLED WITH YOUR DIVINITY. THIS IS FOR EASE OF RENOVATION.

Renovation? Like, I can make whatever I want in this place?

... NOT EXACTLY.

AT THIS TIME, YOUR CONTROL OVER YOUR DIVINITY IS MORE COARSE THAN CAN BE DESCRIBED.

ONLY A FEW THINGS CAN BE REFINED FROM YOUR ESSENCE FOR NOW.

IN THE FUTURE, HOWEVER, YOU WILL LEARN HOW TO CREATE EVER MORE AMBITIOUS ARCHITECTURE.

THE SPECIFIC DESIGN OF WHICH WILL BE AS YOU DESIRE, AS WELL.

...

Every single thing about this is really, really surreal. But I guess it makes an internal kinda logic.

More coarse that can be described, huh? I take a glance at my wand, before turning back up to Barold.

What can I create now, then?

It tells me.

---

Turn 1

Time passed since death: ???

the Book of the Dead

- Lordship Actions -

[ ] Well, It's a Start - Look, you're not going to go into this wands blazing. You need to start small and simple. Like a chair. Chairs are small and simple. How could you possibly heck up making a chair?
Result: Create a chair for Colin to sit on. Unlock more Lordship actions. Negligible Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.

[ ] to Create - An Altar of Creation, the Aspect called it. Something like your unnamed wand-thing, but bigger, and more personalized. This should allow you to refine your control over your divinity.
Result: Create an Altar of Creation at a specified location, which unlocks more Lordship actions. Low Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] to Transform - A Crucible, the Aspect called it. Not actually a big pot, but a room, or a chamber, where your essence collects - where it is dense. Somewhere you could fill or change something with your divinity, for a variety of effects.
Result: Create a Crucible at a specificed location, which unlocks certain Omen and Mask actions. Low Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] to Judge - A Hall of Judgement, the Aspect called it. Much less flashy than its' name sounds, it would merely be a place where you could store dead souls - once you start collecting them, that is - and decide which part of your underworld they should be sent to.
Result: Create a Hall of Judgement at a specified location, which unlocks certain Lordship and Omen actions. Low Risk.
- [ ] Select location to place this construct.
- [ ] (OPTIONAL) Describe, roughly, how it could look.

[ ] Renovation - You're thinking of a new look for one of your locations. Your control of your divinity is still low, but you think you can create a good aesthetic regardless... Result: Change how a location in the Underworld looks, roughly. Free action (Colin can perform another action even if they take this one, and can take it multiple times).
- [ ] Select a location to renovate, and how, roughly, you change its' appearance.

- Misc Actions -

[ ] Relax - I've been feeling unwell lately. Maybe I should spend some time with my thoughts, lest they grow dark. Result: Lowers Stress. Taking this option too many times will have detrimental effects on the Underworld.

[ ] Q&A With Mx. Barold - Curiosity burns in my mind. I should talk to the Aspect about this. Result: Ask a question or questions to Barold, who will answer as best as it can. Free action.
- [ ] Ask a question, or questions, to the Aspect.

[ ] A New Name - I've come up with a great new name for something! Result: Rename something, from the Aspect, to an Angel, to a construct, to a location, the Book of the Dead, to even Colin themself, and more things besides. Free action.
- [ ] What do you rename, and what to?[/align]