As The Prince of Blossoms emerged from the depths of his land in the shallow pool, he rose up on a large lily pad that somehow supported his weight. He walked across the water, stepping on a line of lily pads that suddenly sprouted from the depths of the pool and bloomed suddenly on the surface, and made his way to dry land. Even wet, the water droplets only added to his appeal rather than detract from it. For the god who strode forth was regal in all circumstances.

As the prince made his way through the jungle, he looked onto the land scape and grew annoyed. At that point, the grasses and foliage began to spread and flatten for him while branles and even trees began to unnaturally part so that be had unbarred passage. Every now and then, an insect would fly too close to his personal space only to find itself shredded to bits as a few floating flower petals of various sorts drafted innocently yet suspiciously in his wake. And slowly but surely the land itself began to get used to his presence, and increasingly began to respect his personal space.

And it was then that the god strode into a large open clearing, near where some kitsune were playing and foraging. He had desired space to rest from his hiking, and to gather his thoughts. And so he strode to the center of the clearing, and looked down at the ground expectantly. It was at this point the Kitsune noticed him. Ignoring them, he made an "ahem!" sound and suddenly a large rosebush sprang forth from the very earth, where there was none before. And is grew to a large size - that of three times a normal man - before suddenly compressing and condensing in on itself. And then the thorns suddenly wilted away, leaving the plant smooth. And part of it indented unnaturally but solidly, forming a make shift throne-like rosey chair. The Prince then proceeded to sit.

He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow, and flung the water down to the earth nearby. At which point a large fern suddenly sprang forth and rose 20 feet high, providing shade from the sun.

The man reached out with an open hand, and a fruit from a nearby tree ripped off of it and floated through the air, across the open clearing, in defiance of physics. It landed gently into his open hand, and turned out to be a pear-like fruit of some sort. He bit into it, letting its succulent juice and pulp refresh him.

At this point, the Kitsune were on the ground bowing at his presence. They knew after so many unnatural displays of control over the land and flora that they were in the presence of something majestic and extraordinary. The prince looked upon them, his countenance a mixture of disdainful and...concerned? Curious? Interested? Perhaps "disdainful concern" best described it. He was greater than them, yet they still held some value to him intrinsically.

"Yes? And you would dare disturb my reverie with your chattering and frolicking? With your haphazard excuse for foraging attempts and uncouth culture? How...primitive. Yet...how cute and endearing at the same time. You all are annoying and endearing at the same time! Strange...my...is it emotions? I have emotions! And the sensation I'm feeling is so...contradictory. Yet, they don't cancel out." The man said from his makeshift chair, touching his chest at the heart once for emphasis before eating more of his pear-fruit.

He took his time, quietly eating his fruit and remaining silent. The force of his presence and intensity of his divine aura and regal charisma kept the kitsune all awkwardly silent during all this.

When he was done, he held the core of the plant outward, where it suddenly decayed suddenly and blew away in the breeze as bits of dust scattered on the wind. Several Kitsune gasped when they saw this obviously supernatural display. Yet another to add to the various displayed they had born witness to already.

He looked more actively at the bowing Kitsune, and spoke to the directly.

"Hmmm...I suppose it is true that I am the one responsible for planting the seeds of your creation. Long ago, I guided the creation of the land itself even as I myself was unformed. I watched and influenced the heavens and the earth as they formed from my parent, the Tree of Life, that I may have the potential to grow into something even larger than my own parent some day. And you? I shall call your kind the Kitsune. And you shall be the stewards of my garden, and its valleys and pools and hidden secrets. For that is your purpose. Behold...I am the Prince of Blossoms!"

The Prince of Blossoms presence had been noted and marked by the Kitsune upon his arrival, but when he displayed his divine miracles it sent them skittering back with surprised yelps and yips. They watched with wide awed eyes as plants obeyed the Prince of Blossoms whim, growing and withering in moments. Nervously the Kitsune crept back in close to listen well to the words that God of Blossoms shared. It was clear that while they understood the words themselves, some of the concepts themselves were foreign to this newborn race.

"What are gardens?" asked one, "What are secrets?" asked yet another. A few had plucked up the withered remains of the plants that the Prince had discarded and rubbed the dried petals between their fingers, as if to coax out the secret to this magic. Everywhere the members of the tribe chittered back and forth, a constant babble of small talk as they relived the moment they had just seen and echoed it back to one another in awe.

In the coming days the Prince of Blossoms would come to better understand his Kitsune. They spent their days largely in play. Irani was a verdant world, fruits, berries and roots were in abundance and required little effort to find to satiate their hunger. Without the demands of securing food they had ample time to play their games, climb trees and explore the surrounding forests.

Amused by the Kitsune and their questions, The Prince of Blossoms obliged them.

"A Garden can have different meanings, depending on how it's used. But generally, on a small scale it is a small fenced in collection of plants one is tending to oneself or as a community. In the broader sense, it can be any collection of plants one tends to." he said patiently this time. "Take Irani itself, the name of the very land you and I stand on. I consider the entire thing to be be one gigantic garden. But one can have smaller gardens inside of larger ones you know. And one day, you and your kin will learn how to make and tend gardens both big and small. For I will teach you the secrets of agriculture." he added.

He then chuckled.

"Ah yes, secrets. They are all things hidden or concealed or unknown. Some are more useful than others, and some more dangerous than others." he added with a smirk.

In the following days, The Prince of Blossoms walked amongst his people as a living god walking amongst men. He generally was lenient with them, although was quick to instruct them and educate them with much punitive prejudice if their natural curiosity and arrogance caused them to forget themselves with him personally.

Like one Kitsune was so daring as to steal a piece of exotic fruit from his hands that he had created with his power during an experiment. That Kitsune yelped loudly as vines suddenly lashed out from the ground and entangled him like a snake, before others lanced out from a near by tree and yanked the kitsune off the ground. The poor thing hung there like a living pinada for a couple hours before The Prince relented and caused the vines to release it.

Another one thought it was okay to tug on the Prince's hair. Perhaps it was a display of dominance or arrogance or malicious trickery. But regardless, THAT was unacceptable and the Prince made sure to set an awful example so the Kitsune would learn, very quickly, that his patience was a privilege not a right. And that day did the Kitsune learn that The Prince could be both beautiful AND terrible to behold. Especially when they bore witness to the kitsune that dared lay a hand on their god being suddenly impaled by thorns that erupted from the earth, and left like that in a sort of thorny crucifixion for nearly an entire day.



However...it was at that time the Kitsune learned something else about their god: that while his wrath could be terrible, his mercy could be just as impressive. For the god would not let the offending kitsune die over his trespass of his person, and when it became apparent the kitsune would soon die from blood loss and exposure The Prince caused the thorny brambles to disintegrate and he laid a single hand upon the bloody and torn kitsune. And miraculously...the man's torn flesh began to suddenly knit back together, while new blood began to circulate through the man's veins as he suddenly began to regenerate in an obviously unnatural manner. And it would be then that they learned the god was one not of just the land, but of life itself as well.


This message was last edited by the player at 02:12, Tue 14 June 2022.

The Prince of Blossoms explained to the Kitsune the concept of agriculture, that of fenced gardens and tending to them. It was a concept which the god himself was familiar, not only in the divine nature of it but also the mundane aspects such as fertilization, watering, adjusting for sunlight and shade. These were absorbed by the curious fox people and the knowledge could be seen being put to use as they took time to clear away vines and brush from the areas around favorite berry bushes.

+10% Agriculture advancement

Moreso than agriculture, The Prince of Blossoms set an example of discipline amongst his young people. Punishing a theft, making an example of an assault on his divine self. The God of Blossoms set a firm example of justice to the fledgling Kitsune. And he could see echoes of the actions being emulated amongst the tribe as similar transgressions were quashed by their peers and lashed by brambles to reinforce order.

+15% Law & Justice advancement

In this way the Prince of Blossoms established the first lessons that would come to underpin his people.

And so time passed.

Still newborn himself, the God of Blossoms found himself drifting through a slumber. When we awoke and returned to Aeon, he found those jungles different than when he'd left. A much larger tribe of Kitsune inhabited the jungle here. Wild bushes, weeds and vines had been uprooted and pulled away and what was left was plants that had been allowed to remain. There was an order to the vines climbing trees and neatly fenced gardens could be found arrayed in clearings. The wildness of the jungle had been tamed here and ordered. It was far more like a garden.

The Prince of Blossoms arrival had not gone unnoticed. Kitsune came hurrying forward to greet him, though in a far more orderly manner. Decades had clearly passed, most of the Kitsune gathered about were new faces, though a few of the older faces were familiar. The Kitsune wore flowers upon them, it became clear that these signaled status. Those gathered closest to the Prince wore whole bouquets, those furthest to the back had only a couple of token flowers tucked in their hair.

The one at the forefront wore a woven necklace of thorns. She bowed deeply, "Welcome back, Prince of Blossoms! I am the Thornkeeper, I am at your service!" A few quick questions that Thornkeper was a sort of judicial role, one who oversaw keeper order and meting out punishment, through the lash of a thorn whip, when laws had been broken.

OOC: Time lapses will occur on occasion to reflect that Gods are a grander scope than simple mortals do. They'll particularly occur to give society to follow a trajectory you've set for it so you get to see how your actions influence their development.

The Prince had once again walked the land, through the jungles and pools and amongst the animals and mortals that lived within. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing in the fresh air and the basking in the sounds of nature and of nearby babbling brooks. Yet, despite this moment of closed reflection he was actually expanding his senses far and wide, and he could feel how the realm had begun to change while he had slumbered. He was still a young deity himself, and had needed his beauty sleep after all. But sensing how there were more Kitsune, more animals, and how culture had begun to take root really impressed on him that while he may stop occasionally to rest, that the rest of the world continued to progress. That just because he stopped at times, didn't mean everything else stopped as well.

As the Prince made his way to where the core group of Kitsune were located, he took note physically of their attempts at gardening and organizing the foliage. He had planted the seeds of agricultural knowledge that would have taken those mortals far, far longer to discover on their own had he kept his knowledge to himself. And he was pleased to see that those seeds of knowledge had indeed taken root decades prior, before his slumber, and that his people were indeed growing due to their own progress as much as they were from his sharing of wisdom.

And then he looked upon the Thornkeeper, and was amused. It seemed that the lore of plants was not all he had imparted on them in their earliest days.

"Hmmm...how interesting. The gardens and the the maintenance of the land please me. Mind you...this still is quite crude compared to the true potential of the Kitsune, but this is okay. You are still in your first days, and so I give you time to grow and practice my teachings while expanding upon them in your own ways." he said, as he walked gracefully across the grass.

He practically glided across the large field they were in, almost dancing - but not really. In the wake of his passing flowers of various sorts sprang from the earth and spread their petals where there had previously only been grass.

"And Thornkeeper? How cute. Amusing, but good! You must remember that every rose has its thorns. And that when one grabs at a rose too hastily, and without the proper care and procedure, that they will be pricked by painful thorns. But that when one handles a rose properly, with diligence and patience, that they can hold in their hand a flower that is among one of the most beautiful. Which has uses for art, culture, and of course cooking and even medicine. Although these are all things you will have to discover with time. With knowledge passed to your children and their children." he said in a firm but wise tone of voice.

"And your lash of thorns? Do you simply use it to dispense retribution on others? Or have you and your kin remembered the other lesson I taught? Yes...I can sense it, Thornkeeper. The man who was impaled on thorns for his impudence was your grandfather, was he not?" the god asked knowingly, having already known the answer.

"I hope you don't forget that I also granted mercy to him, after his punishment. The key to proper leadership is finding that perfect balance. Balance between the rose petals and the thorns. Between the lash and a healing touch."

As the god spoke to the Thornkeeper, the thorns on her necklace suddenly began to grow to the point they were painfully pressed against her skill, nearly drawing blood. But then suddenly, those thorns disintegrated as the necklace returned to normal, as if illustrating the god's point.

The Kitsune parted to make way for the Prince of Blossoms, then they followed after as the returned god surveyed what they'd made of himself in their absence. They chattered and murmured amongst themselves in regards to his assessment of their works. A few respectful paces behind the God of Blossoms the Thornkeeper followed after. When the gods full attention fell back to him the judicial figure fell to his knees. "Of course! We follow your example of strict and merciful judgement!" Gesturing to the area outside the village outskirts he motioned to a pair of Kitsune who were currently lashed to a tree trunk by thorns, "We keep your justice intact and ensure that after three days they are taken down, as my forebearer!" His words strangled and strained as the thorns around his throat briefly returned to life and tightened to drive home the question of the god.

All around the clearing the Kitsune fell to their knees. When the thorns disintegrated away the Thornkeeper took a gasping breath. "Praise by the Prince of Blossoms and his infinite mercy!"

+10% Law and Justice advancement

The Prince sighed.

"Determining where to draw the line between mercy and justice is an ongoing challenge. Even I, an actual god, constantly struggle with that question. As we all should. The struggle and the reflection of it all is the only way that society will grow. That law and justice but also culture and social systems will grow. It's through constant refinement of the lessons of your ancestors, while also not discarding those lessons entirely." the Prince said as he walked amongst the kneeling crowds. He walked toward the outskirts, where the two kitsune were lashed against the trees with thorns. In his movements, flowers once again sprang from the bare earth and solid grass in the wake of his passing.

"Like I said...you must work to refine the knowledge of the elders, but also mustn't entirely forget it either. Take your grandfather, Thornkeeper. I had only punished him for a single day, not three. It is a feat of endurance that these two kitsune did not succumb from exposure and blood loss and their crimes were surely less than those of your ancestor. They have earned their respite, and I shall forgive them of their crimes against society. This time, anyway." the god said as he waved a hand and the brambles and thorns that lashed the two prisoner kitsune to the trees melted away until they were but dust on the mind.

"You must be careful, Thornkeeper. You and ALL Kitsune. If you are too gentle, the people will not understand boundaries. But if you are too harsh, then justice becomes mere cruelty." he added as he waved a hand at the two kitsune who had fallen to the ground in a  heap after he had freed them.

And as was the case with the Thornkeeper's grandfather, the two kitsune began to miraculously heal their injuries as flesh and blood began to knit and re-weave. Even scars disappeared. Even older scars vanished. The source of this healing was obvious to all.

He then turned to the two kitsune who were rapidly healing there on the ground.

"Stand and rise, on the healed feet I've granted thee. Go and eat fruit and drink water and refresh yourselves. Then return to me soon, for I wish to discuss more about the secrets of agriculture and the lore of plants with you and the rest of your fellows here. Return and rejoin the people as comrads, with no ill will between you, and partake of the wisdom and lore of plants and herbs I will soon share. And take that lore and pass it on to the next generation."

The assembled Kitsune fell silent as the Prince of Blossoms delivered his sermon. When the thorns fell away and the criminals were released and pardoned the gathered tribe fell to their knees as they had done in days past. "We will pass on the stories of your wisdom so our children might know your judgments, oh great Prince of Blossoms!" The Thornkeeper promised.

+20% Law and Justice advancement

The Prince of Blossoms was preparing to gather students around him to speak on matters of the world around, but the Kitsune had reassembled and come forward with a purpose. "We found this some time ago, oh lord, it was a flower that would not wither and which shone with a light akin to the sun." They Thornkeeper explained. One of the Kitsune came forward holding out their outstretched hands. In their palms rested a flower, no larger than any other, but around which hung an air of power. Despite these subtle traits the Kitsune spoke of, it was no wonder this flower had drawn their attention.

It was Essence.

Left own primordial stuff of raw creation. In later ages it would be exceedingly rare, but so soon after the creation of this world tree it was still common enough mortals could stumble across it. They knew not what they held, simply that it was an echo of the divine. In the hands of a god, the potential for this Essence was nearly limitless.

OOC: You may choose to do one of the following:

Expand the Realm: A god realm, initially small, could be grown. This new region that is added will be wild, it will require taming, but it will be there for taking.

Fashion an Artifact: Essence can also be sculpted and molded, given a firm shape and turned into an object of power which provides the god who wields it with a power akin to a divine ability.

Spawn a New Realm: There was also the ability to create a new realm entirely. One created through Essence would not have a god of its own and it would owe no natural allegiance to whoever created it, but it would be formed to the specifications of the god who created should they wish to go roaming or if they desired a source of resources which their own world lacked.

Rapid Advancement: Essence could also be swallowed up, absorbed and incorporated. It would reinforce a divinity, imbuing knowledge and strength. A god would gain +180% skill advancement which can be distributed as they saw fit and +1 stat point. (Note: Cannot be used to obtain arcane potential at this time.)

Fashion a Place of Importance: It could also be used to create a place of importance. This created a location which had its own traits imbued into it. (If created in your home Domain it required 2 Benefit slots be available. (Your home domain starts with 3) Such places can be a draw for forces outside of your domain, so be prepared for the attention the housing such a wonder might entail.

Or Something Else: You are a god, Essence has nearly unlimited potential. You may come up with something else to do with this powerful source of Creation.

The Prince raised a curious eyebrow when the Kitsune suddenly began to act funny after having been so excited to hear more of his grains of wisdom. He patiently allowed them to do what they were doing, curious to see what was going to happen. They clearly and readily were learning from him, not just about the lore of plants but also that of civilization and law and justice. But then he stopped suddenly in his tracks, as he felt what was coming before they had even presented it to him.

Yes, it was essence. True raw essence. He had never encountered such a force before, but yet he knew what was an a deep and instinctual level. As they brought the glowing flower closer and closer to him to present as tribute, he was sure of it. Essence. The remnants of the primordial energies and deepest divine energies of the tree of life congealed together into a small tiny lump. In this case, a flower that never wilted and shone like daylight.

"Astounding and marvelous!" the Prince exclaimed aloud in very obvious delight as the Kitsune presented the essence to him. "I am most, most pleased! VERY pleased with you all right now! You have demonstrated great piety in offering this to me, for this is indeed a special flower. And truly, it's not a real flower at all but only has the appearance of a flower..." the god said as he reached out a free hand and touched the flower that the Kitsune had held out to him.

The flower, which previously had never wilted, suddenly exploded in a harmless burst of glowing, glittering flower petals of a beautiful yet indeterminate type. The thing was not a flower, after all, but more like something "wearing" the archetype of a flower like a mask. And the glittering, glowing petals floated unnaturally in the air in several dramatic swirling motions before they suddenly surged at the Prince of Blossoms and began to orbit around him, caught up by his divine aura. The glowing, glittering petals surrounded him like a flowery halo as his divine aura began to "wield" and assimilate it, but the process stopped half way as the Prince was still deciding what to do with it. But the essence was now very firmly in his "possession" as a part of his divine aura, and was simply potential waiting to be used. Brimming with power and begging to be expended!

The Prince of Blossoms looked at his people, his eyes suddenly glowing with a pearlescent pink-white light similar to the sun-like light that the flower petals that were orbiting his aura were. He was suffused with power beyond his norm and it caused him to literally glow with vitality. Between his aura shining like the sun and his eyes glowing with unchanneled power, the god has never appeared more divine than he did now.

"My people. My fledgling stewards, the Kitsune. You have offered up to me one of the highest forms of tribute that you ever could to me as your god. This flower is a gift that was left here for me by the world tree, my parent and the only living thing to have existed before me. That you granted it to me with honesty and piety rather than deceit and arrogance has been duly noted!" he declared.

"And so let it be known that I will grant unto you a great boon as a show of my supreme pleasure and appreciation! One that mortals could never hope to gain on their own naturally, no matter how hard they tried. It will take me time to fully prepare this gift and it will most likely not be fully complete in your lifetime, for it will be like a new art work. Like growing a seedling into a tree! But I pledge that I will grant your people the boon of magic - a supernatural power to exert influence over the natural rules of the world. If not you then your descendants will enjoy this. But this art will begin with you. The seeds of magic will begin with you, here and now in the present! And this boon will be the mark that you are the stewards of my garden!"

The Kitsune did not seem to fully grasp the magnitude of what they had presented, but they were highly pleased to hear it was appreciated and of value. The chitter and chatter of the tribe went over for some time. But eventually the needs of daily life were pressing and they returned to their regular rhythms of life. The Prince of Blossoms had the opportunity to observe them at ease. The bounty of Irani had not diminished since his slumber and the Kitsune  nearly always had some source of food available. Thus the gardening they engaged in was largely ornamental, nurturing the shapes and colors of flowers they found pleasant to behold. As the Prince had observed, flowers had become a way that the members denoted their place in society. Those who were more skillful at raising the more difficult types of flowers showed this by adorning themselves in the flowers they raised.

+15% Agriculture advancement

And so time passed.

The Kitsune kept to their ancestral home. Rather than grow outwards, they were growing up, much like the plants that grew along trellisais. The Kitunse had created a second level to their village, then a third as space demanded. It was not refined building, more the laying of branches and sticks along already existing tree branches, but it sufficed. Over the years vines planted at the base of the trees had grown up and along the structures and helped to reinforce them into place as a sort of natural support system.

Aside from the plants, the Kitsune were developing a number of rituals. The honor that the Prince demanded were echoed in these rituals, those bearing fewer flowers were expected to make certain gestures to those of higher status. Rules and laws were being built upon each generation and were resulting in a highly organized manner of conduct among the young race.

Then you feel something new. A strange tug from a distant place. Somewhere outside your world. Not a demand, but almost an invitation? With its touch you feel you could manifest at this place, wherever that might be. You would still be here, yet also there. A curious thing, but not so strange a phenomenon for a god.

Feeling the ethereal tug at his person from beyond his realm, the Prince of Blossoms twitched an eye in irritation and surprise. He suddenly "gripped" the invitation with his very divine aura, and clamped down on it with his sacred power like a vice grip. The connection was on the cusp of being forcefully purified and dispelled before the god suddenly relented. The invitation was unannounced, but it wasn't forceful or pushy but more...like a gentle coaxing. And his huffiness soon gave way to curiosity as he allowed the invitation to take place, and sent a second "self" along the ethereal tether of the invitation. Sent it to a place far beyond his own realm, into the Astral Lounge.

But yet, he was still fully here too. A strange sensation, of being in two places at once, but it was a capability he knew he could do instinctively. But doing it for the first time still had a surreal feeling to all of it.

In the present moment, he decided he should focus more on developing his chosen people. And while he had tons of hypothetical knowledge, very little of it was fully actualized and he understood many concepts more intuitively than mentally. Like he knew what reading and writing were, for instance, yet didn't actually have those skills. It was a weird thing, these divine senses of his. But it gave him some direction and certainly room to grow.

The Prince's aura had continued to glow unnaturally, even as he taught his people more of the lore of plants and the earth. And eventually, it began to get hotter and more drastic. The essence he had contained within his aura could no longer be contained and it was bursting at his metaphysical seams. But this process helped him understand what he needed to do.

And so there, in the center of the village of the Kitsune, the god suddenly began to float off the ground - something he had never done before up to this point. He kept floating higher and higher until he was easily thirty feet in the air. And his divine aura suddenly flared brilliantly, like he were a miniature sun, with the light filling the entire village and flooding it with his aura. Phantasmal petals and tree leaves filled the air, and they swirled like a storm around the air and suddenly convered onto the prince himself! They were sucked into his body and disippated, while the brilliant light began to suddenly get engulfed by his divine aura and...eaten? Devoured? Subsumed? Yes...his aura subsumed the unnatural light of the essence, and after a process of about 5 minutes of this the prince was suddenly back to normal, and had descended back to the ground below. The essence had been expended and subsumed, and it had reinforced his divinity.

As his feet touched the earth, the Prince seemed even more ethereally graceful than before. While he was practically dancing on the blades of grass before, now he was literally doing so. He stood on the branches of bushes and trees and atop grass and flowers as if he were as light as a feather. But that was only one aspect. The essence had done something else, for his eyes glistened with more lore and knowledge than it had ever held before. For he had wished upon the tree to suddenly actualize the basics on knowledge that all other knowledge could be grown upon among other things, as well as some more esoteric secrets of the universe. This, he figured, would allow him an easier time in teaching his chosen and giving them an edge over the other fledgling races of the tree. But it also would pave the way to his own self-understanding, so that he could one day gift a great boon to the kitsune's descendants like he promised.

"Attend to me, my chosen! For I shall reveal the basis of all true knowledge to you whilst you continue to learn the lore of plants and the earth. I will reveal the key to elevating yourselves from barbarians into something more advanced. Grammar. Logic. Rhetoric. Arithmetic. Astronomy. Music. Geometry. I shall instill the seeds within you as yet another boon of my favor!"

OOC: He subsumed the essence and reinforced his divinity. His finesse increases from legendary (3) to godlike (4). He's now literally faster and more graceful than even most supernatural beings. But he also had the tree grant him a revelation as he wished for an understanding of the "root" of knowledge, and insight into the strange magical affinity he was born with. He gains +180% skill and assigns 100% to the "Learned" skill we discussed in PMs to cover the broad liberal arts (reading, writing, basic math, basic logic systems, etc etc). Perhaps we can call the skill "Liberal Arts" as that sounds cooler and more pretentious than "Learned" lol. He also is putting 80% into the knowledge of magic. We can discuss his magic system in PMs but story-wise I'm saying the tree granted one of its favored children inspiration and insight into their very own deeper metaphysical natures, but the reason it didn't immediately grant 100% in magic is that the other 20% represents the Prince's own self-determinism and actual hands-on practice but the 80% will cover all the base metaphysical stuff and allow the prince a much easier time than a normal new god in understanding his own personal magic style. Rules wise, that outs him 80/100 toward magic level 1.

Summary:  Gain +1 Finesse, +100% Liberal Arts Skill, +80% Magic Skill.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Sat 18 June 2022.

The air rippled and trembled and there was a sense of profound gravity for a moment as the Essence imbued itself into the Prince of Blossoms. The gods was deepened and enriched, made more than he'd been moments ago. Enlightenment and grace came in a flash that would have taken centuries of studies. With their new knowledge he'd obtained the Prince looked upon his people and desired to share it. Even while a part of himself appeared somewhere else, this manifestation of the Prince set to teaching.

He told the Kitsune of learning, of writing, the idea of logic, of grammar and arithmetic. These were the underlying foundations of a more enlightened society, one of higher thought and higher learning. Concepts that would have taken long Ages to appear naturally were spurred forward quickly. As always, the Kitsune were eager pupils.

+20% Liberal Arts advancement

Education and learning would come to be highly regarded amongst the Kitsune. With few demands from life, many of them would become lifelong students. Those who proved particularly keen at a concept would become teachers on their own, showing other Kitsune how to write out letters or do mathematics, or form poems. The flower-denotation of status was gradually refined over the coming decades to include complicated weaving of stems and smaller flowers, this would denote how many classes one had taken in certain subjects, who their professor was and other notable parts of their history. In this way the Kitsune's braided crowns came to be little histories they displayed for their kin.

The Prince knew that things would not always be as idyllic as they were today, but the realm and the kitsune alike were young. HE was young. It was time to let them play and explore and be filled with wonder at every little thing. Even the Prince himself, despite his godly insights, was an always learning and growing being.

But he knew if his race were to have an advantage in the future, he had to continue to help teach them a baseline of knowledge. The essence helped tremendously, and shaved centuries off his planned timeline. But there was still much work to be done.

And of course, the metaphysical epiphany the essence had granted him about his esoteric power was astounding. It was actually so much sheer information that he was still stewing on it and deciding how to process and proceed with it. But for now, he would focus on teaching his people the basics so that they could think and survive on the land even when he wasn't around, or in case of an emergency and so on.

"My children. Let us continue to study the lore of plants and earth, as well as the liberal arts that shall set you apart from the animals that crawl the earth. I warn you...there will come a time in the future when things will not be as easy as they are now. When food and life and laughter will not be as plentiful as they are now. When other animals. Peoples. And even monsters rear their heads. These things will be able to harm you, and will be able to oppose you! But for now...we are safe. And this is the time to learn and grow, for eventually a day will come when you will need to begin exploring the boundaries of the realm and pushing yourselves further and further." he said at an assembly of the people.

"Come...partake of my wisdom!"

And so the Prince further taught the Kitsune the knowledge of Agriculture, and the lessons began to increase in complexity as certain scientific components and tidbits were introduced that they wouldn't have grasped before but that now, with the liberal arts, was possible. Nothing like cellular gene splicing and the like. But basic concepts, like how seeds needed water and sunlight and gave off breathable air. And how the some plants could alter the quality of soil over time, for good or ill, and crop rotation for certain types of plants could help with that. And he began to push them to grow more than flowers. Things like roots, potatoes, carrots, and also things like zucchini and cucumbers and tomatoes that could be eaten.

And when he wasn't teaching them the lore of the earth, he was teaching them more about reading, writing, and so on. He also pushed them to combine the lore of liberal arts and agriculture to grow and harvest some types of reeds and ferns and such that could be turned to pulp with stones and simple non-metal tools, and turned into a primitive form of paper. And to use plants to form the very rudimentary versions of inks and dyes with which they could write with.

Enjoying these early days of creation and the serenity of Irani, the God of Blossoms wiled away the days by sharing in knowledge with the Kitsune. To accomodate the popularity of these lessons another glade had to be cleared and seating arranged so that the many Kitsune who wanted to attend all had a place. There they learned of soil quality, crop rotation, different plants and their growing conditions. Some days the lessons returned to reading or turn of phrase, or complex math.

+10% Agriculture advancement
+10% Liberal Arts advancement

But one day this cycle was broken when word spread of a missing child. A youngling who had wandered out beyond the cozy confines of the village. It happened from time to time, but today night fell and still the child had not returned. Many went out seeking the next day, but still there was no sign. Then a third day, then a four day. Hope was giving way to despair over the child, but then on the fifth day they returned.

The fur of their ears and tail was matted, their skin was dirty, but they seemed unharmed. Yet different. Initially the other Kitsune rushed to them, quick to embrace their lost kin, but then they fell back one by one. Their fur bristled. Something was wrong. They could not place it at first. It was those who looked into the child's eyes who shuddered and pulled away. The child's eyes looked like roses of black and white.

"What has happened to you?" the other Kitsune asked.

"I was saved," the child responded brightly. Blinking those uncanny eyes, the child looked back and said. "I was saved by the true God of Blossoms. And they showed me such incredible things. Do you wish to know what they showed me?" The other Kitsune exchanged nervous glances, but it was inevitable that one would succumb to the curiosity.

"What did you learn?" asked the curious Kitsune. The child motioned her to come closer, then she whispered something in her audiences ear. Then that Kitsune's eyes too became roses of black and white and a wide smile spread over her face. "Does anyone else wish to learn it too?" asked the child.

The Prince of Blossoms could feel divine power in the air. Another gods power was at work here.

The Prince of Blossoms was enjoying the idyllic times with his people. Sometimes, he would wander off and reflect on himself and the land or take short rests, but generally most of his time was spent walking alongside that of mortal men. Teaching them more and more of the wisdom he was both born with and that he had inspired by essence. If the astral lounge was any indication...there were outside forces, and there would come a time his people would need to be more prepared. More evolved. More able to think cognizant and apply their knowledge wisely in the face of outside pressures and threats. But the world was still so very young, and so he had time to enjoy these idyllic days while still challenging his people just enough so they'd continue to grow.

But then there was the case of the missing child. And initially, he could not feel them. But then he felt them return suddenly, and he felt the taint within the child as well. A divine taint, but a taint none the less. This was only confirmed when the child physically spread whatever it was to the second Kitsune by whispering in their ears.

The Prince, who had been laying in the the highest branches of a tree that was over 60 feet tall, in defiance of physics, suddenly sprang to his feet right there atop those top-most branches. He sprang down, swiftly, from tree branch to branch, even standing only on leaves and such alone when needed, before he landed on the ground in perfect form. He looked a moment, as the kitsune were across the way in the clearing, as he suddenly appeared to almost flicker or flash to onlookers as he moved so fast, zipping from where he was to where they were in mere moments.

"All Kitsune! Stand back! There is something VERY wrong with them. And this child is not a god, but whispered something and now your fellow also is afflicted with the strange eyes and demeanor. This is more like a curse or a sickness, so stay back all of you!" The god exclaimed suddenly, loudly and firmly and with a tone of concern tinged throughout.

He turned to the two Kitsune who are infected with the strange eyes. His first reaction was to immediately blast the impurities from them, but he decided to question them and see how they reacted.

"And you two? You two shall stay where you are or face my anger. Now tell me...what foul presence addled your mind and infected your eyes? There is only one True God of Blossoms, and it is I. I, who have existed before this realm was even fully formed. Speak now...where can I find your true false god?"

If either infected kitsune tried to move more than a few inches the Prince would suddenly have them bound in vines.

At the arrival of the God of Blossoms a wave of palpable relief washed through the assembled Kitsune and they readily withdrew from their kin who were acting so strangely. From a discrete distance they watched through the foliage as the Prince interrogated two. For their part, the two Kitstune with the eyes of black roses flinched back from the gods rapid arrival. Whatever their condition, it did not seem to negate fear.

"Foul presence?" asked the child in surprise, "I was given a new idea! So I shared it." The other kitsune nodded in agreement. "Perhaps other gods are better? Or greater, or truer." The child mused aloud. The other kitsune added, "If there are other gods, what are the odds that the one god here is the best one? It is as if thinking the first flower you pick would be the best one." The two laughed uproariously at the notion. It seemed they'd been given a number of new ideas!

"The true God of Blossoms is by the black briar bush," the child said, pointing out to the east.

The Prince looked firmly on at the Kitsune, and especially at the two infected. He even grinned in self-satisfaction when they stepped back in fear. They were not completely stupid, it seemed. And it seemed they knew he was worthy of their fear despite the lies and taint they had been filled with. And they were right to be wary.

"Seems you both aren't complete idiots...complete being the word. You're both still mostly fools though. And I have little patience to suffer the foolish." he replied to them sternly as he took a step closer.

"And of course I'm the best god. THAT much is evident. I have grace, poise, and style. But I never claimed to be the only god on this tree. I'm simply the most elegant and regal of them with the domain that most embodies beauty and power alike." he said, as he took another step closer.

Let them cower.

"And I've never forced anyone here to worship me. Anyone here is free to leave my bounty and seek other gods if you can truly find one more magnificent than myself, although in my realm you will respect none above me. But your souls belong to me regardless, for I made you with the breath of my birth and you will return to me and the soil in your due time. But your false god...he makes you believe in him only due to his taint and curses. Your foul eyes are evidence of that. I don't have to use my powers to compel control, faith, or obedience. My very presence. My very words. My very aura alone is enough to do that! My presence smothers and overwhelms simply due to my own merit. It's beneath me to actually have to try or do anything to be amazing, when I simply was born that way from the finest lineage." he continued, disdainfully now.

"You are foolish to even compare me to another god!" he said as vines and grasses suddenly sprang forth from the earth, firmly entangling the two kitsune. Although there were no thorns on these vines this time. The Prince was merely restraining them.

"So I'd like you to re-assess your beliefs with your own free will. I command the filth within you to be gone!" he said as he pointed an open palm at them and his eyes glowed with a pure, pearly light as bright as two miniature suns!

The land sprang up to restrain the two kitsune who had been influenced by outside powers. Coiled vines grasped their wrists and roots ensnared their ankles. They were held at bay as the Prince of Blossoms extended a hand and called upon his divine powers to purify them. Pearlescent light engulfed them and the Prince felt the first resistance he'd encountered since he'd been born to this world. Another divine power had touched them. It had introduced a new idea, a new concept, to these mortals. The Prince regarded this as corruption, the other god did not. The two conflicting powers met and the pair of kitsune were the battleground.

Divine power was pitted against divine power. What occurred when a spear that could penetrate anything met a shield which could not be pierced? This was being answered upon mortal flesh. The Prince leaned in, applying his full divine influence and he felt the foreign power relent. First only a small slip, then more and more, quicker and quicker till it burnt away entirely. The Prince was left tired, but the influence was gone from the two kitsune.

The two mortals, the field for this battle, were foggy eyed. They blinked in confusion. Most of their faculties would return in time, but their memories would always be spotty, scarred by the battle waged there. On the ground at their feet lay two black roses.

Picking one up, the Prince of Blossoms gained a sense of the object. It was an idea given form. This was the physical manifestation of the idea which the child had returned with. An idea could not be killed or destroyed. In time these roses would wither away if they were tucked away and neglected for an idea was only truly gone once it was fully forgotten.

For the time being the opposing influence had been curbed, but this still left the source remaining.

For the first time in his life, the Prince had experienced true resistance. One that could actually not immediately be trounced by his godly might. And for the first time in his life, the Prince sweated from exertion. And for the first time, he had felt true fatigue. Not the sort that came from when he, as a young deity, needed to take an extended rest but the exertion of pushing past an obstacle of worthy resistance.

Still, he was satisfied with the results. He knew that this vindicated him, both in front of the witnessing Kitsune but also vindicated him in the eyes of the world tree and universe itself. And to himself. It showed that sacrosanct nature was not to be dismissed, ignored or even resisted by outside influences. Even supernatural ones. But this only made sense, for his sacred power was equaled only by his power over blossoming life itself. Not even the divine could so easily beat the Prince at his prime area of expertise. But if it were an incidental power he had leveraged he secretly feared it may have not gone as well.

He plucked up the two black flowers. Their wayward ideas were of no threat to him, for he had already overcome them in a very metaphysical sense. But he had to decide if he should co=opt these ideas, let them grow wild, or let them wither utterly. He pocketed the two roses for now, as he needed time to ponder their fate. Although there was something appealing about the prospect of using them as the base ingredients for some creation that would serve his interests and promote his glory. Especially since that would be the ultimate slap in the face to the other divine power at play while reinforcing his own magnificence. But still...he would ponder.

"And there you have it, Kistune of Irani. You have seen my purity win out over the taint. Let this scene you have born witness to be a lesson to all - even the divine - that would try and deny my being and deny my claim over the domain of Blossoms. No...not my claim, but my birthright! And stay away from the black briar to the East, for soon it shall face my wrath and I don't want any of you caught up in that."

He then sent out divine "feelers" across the realm, Eastward, and attempted to locate this Black Briar. He headed Eastward as well, but made sure to rest up enough so he was no longer feeling tired. When he faced the thing, he would be in prime form and not winded. And he paced himself to make sure he recovered his energy and "caught his breath."

The gathered kitsune who watched from a safe distance erupted into uproarious cheers as the Prince of Blossoms declared his victory. They stripped all the branches surrounding them of flowers and threw handfuls of the petals into the air till there was nothing but a blinding storm of colors. They were still celebrating as the Prince set out east to meet the source of this complication.

For several days he walked. The trip took the Prince to the far edge of his realm, there where the world ended and the pools of Irani fell off into a void. Here the Prince found his quarry. It was not difficult. The black briars were a sharp contrast to the rich color of Irani. Drawing close, he found the thorny vines had grown into an arch, inside which there was a silver reflective surface, like standing water if it could stand vertically. Through that silver window the Prince saw a very different world on the other side.

On the opposite side was a courtyard. Stone walls enclosed a garden. It was not a place of wild foliage like Irani, but tightly controlled plant life that had been carefully cultivated. There a figure was knelt beside a planter bed and tending to the sprouting flowers. While some of them had flowers and leaves of different shapes, all of them were black and white. Everything in that world seemed to be monochromatic shades. At the Prince's arrival the figure rose to his feet and brushed his hands on his legs. Then he turned.

This figure was majestic and refined. Their features chiseled to perfection like a statue carved by a master stonesmiths hands. They work a crisply tailored suit, naturally of black and white, and they had a dignified walking stick gracefully leaned nearby. Plucking up the stick, the figure strolled forward, his air of grandeur a mirror to the Prince's own poise. So much of them felt familiar to the Prince, from the way this figure carried themselves to their air of self-assurance.

"Ah, the other God of Blossoms," the god said with a wry smile. "It is time we finally met. You who also think they are God of my domain."

The Prince looked on at the false god disdainfully, and then visibly scanned his surroundings and scowled even more disdainfully before turning back to face the god. He spoke disapprovingly.

"Oh puh-lease, spare me the drivel would you?" The Prince replied with a snort.

"You and I both know I am the true God of Blossoms. You dared try and corrupt two innocents with your uninspired monochrome ideas, filling their pure eyes with your little fake flowers..." the Prince said as he withdrew one of the black idea-flowers from a pocket and spunspun it in his hands, twirled it in his fingers deftly, and then pocketed it again in a quick sudden motion.

"But as you can see, I was the victor of that clash which proved my mastery of the domain is greater than yours. My purity cleansed your false taint. And I am here, left unsure of what to do with you. Do I just destroy you and be done with it, or so I allow you to live? If the latter, do I subjugate you and make sure you know your place, or seek value in your existence and potentially even co-existence? I am still deciding on the matter." the Prince said firmly.

The Prince sighed in soft contemplation.

"The black and white thing is uninspired and boring. Doing it on an isolated project is one thing, but making it wide-spread is simply smothering the vibrancy and potential of all these otherwise beautiful flowers. It's like you're trying purposefully to be some sort of dark mirror to my domain. You do them much injustice by squelching their colors! Where as your flowers are...sterile, mine are vibrant. The only thing I will admit to, however, is that I do like the way you carry yourself. It's crisp and clean, and while it's cleaner than I normally like it's a form of elegance I cannot deny. It's also the only reason I haven't smited you yet. I appreciate the touch of class you have, and will hear you out because of it." the Prince added, firmly.

"What do you think I should do with you? Especially after what you've done? Speak your peace - I shall hear out your side of things before settling on a conclusion."

Through this mirror between worlds the Prince of Blossoms addressed this other God of Blossoms. Mirror was an apt word for it as, despite the ascetic differences between the two, the other God of Blossoms certainly matched the Prince of Blossoms energy. Disdain rolled off the other god and he did not bother to mask an eyeroll as the Prince made his speech. With a raised arch brow he waited, making a show of his boredom. "Are you done then?" He asked. A rhetorical question, he did not wait for a response. "It's so painfully obvious that this isn't an argument even worth having. Don't you see? You're not a god of blossoms at all, you're a god of plants, or flowers, or perhaps growing things. But certainly not blossoms." Waving back to the garden behind him, this other God of Blossoms said, "These are not flowers, whatever they might look like. They are ideas. They are passions. I make those ideas and passions blossom. To do so requires cultivation. You claim new ideas are impurity? So you scrubbed a few mortal minds like a scullery maid cleaning laundry on a washboard. You still hold those ideas in your hand don't you? I imagine you've noticed how difficult an idea truly is to kill." Condescending amusement had crept into the other gods voice. While the Prince of Blossoms claimed victory, this opposing divinity clearly felt otherwise.

"But again, it's ludicrous that we're even having such a discussion. Simply recognize that you're the God of Flowers, or God of Plants, or whatever other growing affinity to which you see yourself. I'm sure we could then be best of friends when we put that dispute behind us." Pausing a moment the other god tapped a finger on his lips. "I suppose if you really felt behold to the idea of blossoms you could be the Lesser God of Blossoms. That would be acceptable too."

The Prince of Blossoms could feel that at this moment what the opposing god suggested was indeed possible. Changing ones domain was not something that could normally be done on a whim. But this moment was a pivotal one. An important one. At this time such labels were malleable and could be reshaped. Assuming one were willing to.

The Prince of Blossoms rolled his eyes in return at the man's response, not even trying to hide it.

"Oh really? Do you really believe the garbage coming out of your mouth? I mean seriously? You must be joking. Perhaps you're the god of twisted humor or something instead." the Prince replied.

"I mean god of plants? Puh-lease. I have affinity with and control over them, but don't mistake that as the totality of my being. My domain is that of ALL blossoming things, in all iterations. Plants simply happen to be a direct and physical application of this concept, but they are hardly the only one. Hence why I'm not merely a god of plants. Plants would be a far lesser and dull domain than my own. Mine is the Domain to which plants bends knee." the Prince said, as suddenly a ring of flowers sprang up around him of various colors. The colors very distinctly contrasted the monochrome black and white of the fake god of blossom's garden.

This was also quite intentional on the Prince's part, of course.

"But I also am tied to blossoming energy and life. But also to the fact that there is nothing more regal or more sacred than the purest of blossoms. And hence, my sacred power is unmatched even by your silly ideas. And it is also why it is easy for me to control things, even without god powers. Because my domain has a regal element. It rules plants, and rules life. In time, it has the potential to even rule and govern the blossoming of ideas..." he Prince said, stopping suddenly.

"...and perhaps that is what your existence is supposed to be teaching me. Perhaps the tree, my forebear, is trying to let me know that my domain itself is still in the process of blossoming. And the growth of ideas is simply another avenue of blossoming. It must be scary for you then, to learn that I just stumbled onto a realization that basically makes you obsolete and unnecessary, yes?"

He then considered.

"I will give you a choice. Either YOU declare to the tree that you will become the Lesser God of Blossoms, that you acknowledge that your real domain is that of ideas instead, or you prepare to experience what it feels like for an idea to be smothered and stamped out until it vanishes. Because as things stand now it is only a matter of time before my domain begins to encompass the blooming of ideas all on its own, and you will be defunct."

"Disappointing," commented the other, "but not unexpected. Well it seems that the matter will be decided in conquest. Enjoy your domain while you can." The other god waved a hand and the mirror shattered. The black briars immediately grayed and withered. The connection that had existed between their two realms had been tenuous and it was now severed. Both realms were independent and secure once more, but now both of the Gods of Blossoms knew their had a rival.

The heat of the moment passed and the Prince of Blossoms felt weariness set in. He had done a great deal of work with his people since awakening, he had set the Kitsune on a path. A period of dormancy was coming for the divinity. It would be far longer than before. When he awoke much will have changed in Irani and a new Age will have dawned.