un: suyou | video

[fistoftherabbit]

[Su You has his hair in a low pony tail, still dressed in the white robes he arrived in. Modern clothing is...odd.

He has some clementines in front of him, one of which he's peeling.]

Does anyone know a way to summon a god? Preferably one that is beginner friendly. [He pauses, then adds.] I suppose a method for summoning spirits may be suitable as well.

[Is he going to give context? No. At least he didn't ask about summoning demons...?

He takes a piece of clementine and puts it into his mouth...then makes a face when he chews it. He looks down at the fruit as if he had been betrayed by it.]

...this is supposed to be this world's sweetest orange? Why is it so sour...?

[Did someone believe the advertisement? Maybe.]

Comments

text; un:aliarra

[lockdownbuild]

Why?

[Aliarra is not familiar with the text conventions that would give emphasis to a word, which is probably for the best, because she'd overdo it and that would be bolded, triple-underline, all-caps, italicized, as large a font as she could make it, and for good measure, blinking.]

[And probably Comic Sans.]

[fistoftherabbit]

[He's even less familiar: he hasn't even figured out how to change to text.]

Someone I know could use a way to call for help.

[This may sound like a case of 'asking for a friend but the friend is me' except he's genuinely asking for someone else.]

[lockdownbuild]

[She'd made a point to learn it fast -- both since it appears to be common, and because it distinguishes this communication from magic. Sending spells, scrying spells, two-way communications, she understands all those well enough to know she doesn't dare forget that this isn't any of those.]

That's really going big, huh? Why not start with a simpler summoning and work up? There's no way summoning a god will end well.

[fistoftherabbit]

[...wouldn't it?

Ignoring the fact that he is the god in question, where he's from his people were sworn to prtect humans...?

He is so confused!]

Why wouldn't it?

[Is there some sort of consequence to doing that here...?]

[lockdownbuild]

[Definitely ignoring, or rather blissfully unaware, that anyone here might be a god.]

Lots of reasons. For one, getting a god to directly intervene in any problem is like getting water out of a bucket by dropping a boulder onto it. Sure, the water is out of the bucket, but it's everywhere and the bucket is destroyed. Second, direct divine involvement opens up the door for other gods to get involved, usually ones who DON'T want whatever the first god is doing to succeed.

[fistoftherabbit]

[He reads the words...then rereads it and slowly it occurs to him that what was probably happened here was that gods were, probably, different where this person was than where he was from.

It's something he would need to get used to.]

That's not really how it is where I'm from. The gods were all of the same tribe and our purpose was to protect humans...and I'm really only good at the sort of problem that can be resolved by fighting, so that's all I'm going to be summoned for. [He had learned that the hard way!

But also! It occurs to him now that this might have been easier if he introduced himself!] My name is Su You, I am from the Ling Xiao Celestial Tribe...if that helps.

[lockdownbuild]

[Aliarra immediately decides he's using the word 'god' very differently that she understands it, either due to cultural or linguistic differences. If this guy's ever granted a cleric a divine spell, she'll eat her magic banner.]

Aliarra Landsritter, Justicar of Skeldric.

[As much as she hates her title, dropping it here might offer a clue depending on his response.]

Considering the nature of some of the gods I'm familiar with, and the nature of divinity in general as I'm used to it, summoning 'a god' has a lot of potential for making things go very very far in a direction you don't expect.

text; un: magik

[lingeringshadow]

If you're asking, no one should give you the answer.

[fistoftherabbit]

[...????]

Why?

[lingeringshadow]

It's a dead giveaway that you don't have enough knowledge of this stuff to be asking about rituals at this level yet.

[fistoftherabbit]

[His expression of confusion does not abate.]

If I had enough knowledge why would I need to ask? Is the point of asking not to learn?

un; champion (video)

[twin_blade]

[ Have a skeptical looking half-elf. ]

I wouldn't bother. Probably won't work here. Hasn't so far.

[fistoftherabbit]

...it doesn't work here?

[But the array seemed to have responded when An Zhe tried...albeit, it had been incomplete and hadn't had enough spiritual energy poweing it....hm...]

That would be a problem. Do you know why it doesn't work?

[twin_blade]

I can't say why. Maybe because of this space, pocket universe, whatever we're calling it is separated from the rest and Echo is the one in charge. Perhaps Echo is the sole deity, but we don't actually know what Echo is, either.

All I know is, I can't contact a goddess of my world, and I've tried many times.

[fistoftherabbit]

Oh. If that's the case, maybe it won't be a problem. He only needs to summon me and I'm in this place too.

[twin_blade]

Wait, you're the god trying to be summoned? To where? Your world?

[fistoftherabbit]

[Okay this probably needs more explanation...]

I met someone who said they don't know how to fight. I promised they could call on me if they needed to be protected. [He is very good at fighting!]

...I never considered being summoned home. Where I'm from, the summoning doesn't move me physically, I only show up in spirit. [So it wouldn't actually help him escape! But also!!] I wonder if it would still work...?

[twin_blade]

In that case, I don't know, but I'm told time does not move at home when we're here, so it could be your friend won't try to call on you.

un: Wolfman | Video

[will_chase_balls]

Why would you want to summon a god?

[fistoftherabbit]

[He's a little confused because......was that really so strange? People had invented ways to summon them in Jiu Zhou, though the method ahd been long lost among the mortals, so this is surely something people did...?

Either way.]

I'm not asking for myself. I promised someone my protection and I thought maybe there was an easier way for them to call on me than the one I know.

[will_chase_balls]

Gods are not the sort of thing you'd want to rely on for protect--wait. Call on you? Why would you want a god to set something up so your friend can contact you? They gave us these communication devices when we arrived.

[He taps his earpiece.]

There's also spells that can send a message without trying to have some bloodthirsty god that doesn't care about the affairs of mortals deliver it for you.

[He has not yet worked out that this guy was the god in question, and why should he? Gods don't talk to people in his own world, though he's heard of gods showing up and killing elves that grew too powerful. Of course, that was actually a dragon attack, but Dwayne and the other Seekers aren't aware of that.]

[fistoftherabbit]

[He is growing increasingly confused and it's very obvious from his expression.

Gods were sworn to protect humans...? Though the term for demons where he's from had the word god in their titles they were not...gods?]

I know he can send me messages. [Well, he does now, anyway!

...then suddenly it clicks. Ah Maybe gods are different where this person is from? White hair may not even be a sign that someone is a god in other worlds!]

I'm the god he would be summoning. [Pause] Where I come from, the Ling Xiao Celestial Tribe are sworn to protect humans.

[will_chase_balls]

You're a god?

[He stares, a mix of wariness and confusion. Actually talking to a god wasn't something he expected to ever happen, and he doesn't trust any part of this.]

And have any of you ever actually protected humans? Where I'm from, gods usually don't show up, and when they do, people don't survive them showing up.

This first meeting is going so well. XD;;

[fistoftherabbit]

[Su You has never claimed to have the most patience or the best temper...actually, the handful of people who did know him would say that his temper is actually quite bad. So as he listened his expression became icy.

He took a deep breath...then exhaled it in the audible, 'haaa' of someone who, if this conversation was happening in person would be trying to not grab someone by the front of their shirt.]

Since you are asking, my mother died fighting the demons that regularly slaughtered entire human cities for amusement. One of my tribesman had been enslaved by a mortal and still chose to take on the misfortune of those he had been forced to lie to, knowing it would condemn him to a fate worse than death. My entire people are gone because we chose to seal a terrible evil in our realm so it would not terrorize the mortal one.

I can sympathize with how you feel. I can understand that you are not trying to be rude but are responding to the real crimes of these gods from your world. But it does not give you the right to speak of my people in this way, when you know nothing about the sacrifices we've made--that many of us had made willingly.

So very well! The challenges of different universes with very different concepts of gods

[will_chase_balls]

[He listens to this guy's backstory and is...confused. His head tilts, and he just stares.]

I'm sorry...your people? Gods have people? That can be wiped out? Are you sure you're a god? Maybe it's some kind of translation error, because last I checked, gods were unknowable entities of pure power that created the rules for what it means to live and die. Which one of you, while crafting the fabric of the universe, decided to make demons powerful enough to not only hold their own in a fight against the gods, but actually be able to wipe out entire tribes of gods?