Chapter 259: A Whole Nother Tier (2/2)
All of a sudden the noise stopped, and he instantly felt the weight of a powerful being's attention. It was suffocating, and it made him feel like he was going to shrivel and disappear. Thankfully, it didn't last long.
The void quaked under the strain of a voice not meant for mortal ears, the force of which sent Mike hurtling back from whence he came. As his consciousness began to fade, his Communication Magic, working on overdrive, filtered the meaning of the being's utterance.
”Return. It is not yet time.”
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[Well...that's disconcerting.]
Mike opened his eyes and found himself staring at a smoke filled sky. Sitting up, he looked around and immediately raised a hand to block.
The skeletal fist, clad in grey energy, slammed against his palm, causing it to sting a little, but nothing else. Even the necromantic energy failed to harm him, as it seemed to stop just short of his skin.
”How are you still alive?!” The emotionally unhinged lich roared after his strike was blocked. ”What did you do?!”
Rather than responding, Mike studied his own hand, noting that he could sense a sort of barrier lying on top of it. One that seemed stretch across his entire body. It was reminiscent of the shield that Kultanis had gained following his acension.
[Is this just a normal part of being Tier 4?] Mike considered while idly blocking another of the Skull Lord's blows with his other hand. [Seems kind of unfair.]
Kultanis jumped back a few meters before taking to the skies once more. He began to chant, his raspy voice forming dark syllables laden with power. Judging from the flow of mana, whatever the lich was planning would be of catastrophic proportions.
So, Mike took the most reasonable course of action, and launched himself after the undead. During the split second it took to catch up, he mimicked the Skull Lord's favorite method of attack, focusing his mana into his right fist. It began to glow with a soft, white light.
Before Kultanis could finish his chant, Mike's punch smashed into his jaw. Broken teeth and shattered bone fragments flew through the air as a portion of the lich's skull simply disintegrated under the force of the blow. Not letting his enemy recover, Mike clasped his hands together, and brought them down on the undead's skull in an overhead swing.
Unable to block, he Skull Lord was sent careening downwards and slammed into the ground, which cratered under the force of the impact. The several meter depression was further expanded as Mike deliver his follow up blow, a mana infused stomp which actually shattered the earth and caused a rain of debris for dozens of meters in every direction.
Landing on the lip of the newly formed crater, Mike surveyed his handiwork.
[It feels like my mana control has improved dramatically. My attributes have been obviously enhanced, so I wonder if this might be the effect of one of the hidden ones I've yet to unlock.]
He glanced down at the rest of his body, marveling at the sheer power that seemed to be coursing through him. Nothing looked any different, but he could tell that he'd changed on some fundamental level.
”That was awesome!” Cariel's voice interrupted his thoughts. The paladin had evidently recovered to the point that she could bounce excitedly. ”I wonder if I can do something like that.”
She promptly began to stare at her fist, a look of extreme concentration and strain on her face. A few moments rolled by as the blood started travelling to her head, leaving her beet red.
[If she keeps this up, she's going to pass out.] He thought absently before turning back to the crater. For some reason he could tell that Kultanis had begun to stir once more. As such, he wasn't surprised when the skeletal figure exploded out of the earth, wisps of the tattered black robe still clinging to him.
With a roar, the Skull Lord surrounded himself with a cyclone of necromantic energy, the ghostly orbs of light that served as his eyes narrowing in rage.
Mike calmly watched all this while preparing his response, only to be interrupted by an exclamation from Cariel.
”I did it!” The paladin yelled excitedly, fist coated in a wash of golden light. She looked at it proudly for a few seconds before launching herself at the lich saying. ”Now I gotta try it.”
Sighing, Mike followed after.
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Biographies part 3.
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Lysande
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Also known as the God of the Stars, Lord of Magic, Master of the Unseen Library, Ruler of the Five Winds and a host of regional names and titles, Lysande is one of the Five Creator Gods of Ea.
Like all of the greater gods, he has no definite form, but usually appears as a grey haired, scholarly man in the prime of his life. He is known to carry a book with him wherever he travels.
While typically associated with insects of all types, he is not known to have a sacred animal. Instead, his sacred texts tend to elevate spirits and other energy based lifeforms.
Personality:
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Of all of the Creator Gods, Lysande is credited with being the most rational and contemplative. Detractors might call him dry or unfeeling, but he is simply unconcerned with the mundane. While usually calm, in the presence of the new and unknown he becomes a passionate researcher, and will often go to extremes to track down the information he wants. He does not often speak in the presence of others, but when he does, his words carry great weight.
With the exception of Yilon, Lysande is the Creator God who is least involved in mortal affairs. He rarely answers prayers, and his clergy cannot expect much of anything from him. This has given him the reputation of being an absent and uncaring deity. As a result, he is rather unpopular with the common people.
This is not to say that he's completely unconcerned with the people of Ea. On the contrary, he often intercedes in a minor capacity to give subtle inspiration to deep thinkers like philosophers, inventors, and scientists. Many magical and technological discoveries have come about due to his subtle influence.
His clergy and temples are almost universal concentrated in areas of learning and knowledge, with scholars and mages being his most ardent followers. He holds a special place in the hearts of those who work with books and there are few authors or researchers who don't offer him a prayer before starting a new task.
Among the other gods, he is largely a recluse, rarely leaving his home realm. The Ascended tend to see him as being aloof and unapproachable, but those who manage to encounter him while he's in a rare talkative mood will be regaled with rare tidbits of knowledge. Whether or not such information is useful is typically inconsequential to Lysande.
Contrary to what might be expected, he actually has a fairly strong following among the Ascended, albeit a fractious and disunited one. His laissez-faire attitude to most things outside of his interests makes him quite popular for members of the Ascended who chafe under rules and restrictions. He also tends to get along with those gods outside of the major factions. As a result, he can be surprisingly influential under the right circumstances.
When interacting with his fellow Creator Gods, Lysande prefers to maintain a professional cordiality, with one notable exception. He has a very unstable romantic relationship with Teun. They seem to go through cycles of passionate love affairs, domestic bliss, arguments, break-ups and eventually reconciliations.
Spheres of Influence
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Lysande governs the Aspects of the Stars, Magic, Knowledge, Wind, Invention, and to a lesser extent Civilization and Cities. As he is essentially the god of Technology, he carries a fair amount of influence with nearly every facet of life for humanoid beings.
In some regions of the world, he's also associated with the, as of yet, unclaimed Aspect of Death. While he officially denies any involvement, it often falls to him to maintain this portion of Ea's Destiny since his sense of responsibility will not let such a vital part of the fabric of reality go unmanaged. Until a reliable God of Death appears amongst the Ascended, he will likely continue this thankless duty.
Much like the Twins, his following in primarily urban, but even more restricted. His temples are rarely found outside of places of learning or inventions, and are virtually unheard of in most rural communities. Of all regions, he is perhaps most heavily worshiped in Cadun, The City of Spells, where the Mage's Guild is based.
That said, it is not uncommon to encounter a traveling priest of Lysande in the midst of conducting field research. All members of his clergy are required to acquire and catalogue knowledge as part of their advancement in the church, and first-hand experience is viewed as being the most valuable. As such, there are a number of small and isolated societies whose only experience with organized religion might be a travel-worn priest of the God of Knowledge barging into their lives with a battery of seemingly nonsensical questions.
Lysande is the patron god of the Star Elves, and one of the Triune of Mirithia. Most Star Elf communities are little more than isolated and self-contained monasteries where the mysteries of the universe are explored, thanks in large part to the race's talent for nearly all forms of magic. He is also rather influential among Moon Elves due to his role as the God of Magic, which remains a point of contention between him and the Twins.
Dwarves and beastmen rarely worship the god, with only a small segment of their race's intellectual elite paying him homage. He is often associated with elves and humans far more than other races, something that makes him a little unpalatable to those outside of those particular groups. That said, it is not unheard of for dwarven craftsmen to offer up a prayer to the Lord of Invention when experimenting with new techniques.
Outside of major humanoid communities, Lysande has little following. Only rarely do sentient monsters even know of his existence. The noted exception being the sphinxes of the Shimmering Desert, who are best known for their penchant for intellectual puzzles and riddles.