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Aurrek

Aurrek was born the second child of about 800, a son of a time god and his rather prolific sand-goddess wife. He was assigned to duty as the God of Hourglasses for the rest of his immortal days. As a young god, Aurrek was deeply pleased with this, and set off to establish himself up in the north, near a small village known for its hourglass makers. He happily became their patron god.

The village he watched over since fell to ruin after a particularly difficult winter, punctuated by a run-in with a demon and a rather fierce bandit raid. Aurrek felt his powers leave him as the people who had believed in him died, leaving him behind with only the demon, whom he had sealed into the body of a crab, for companionship. After trying his own hand at rebuilding the village and ultimately finding no one to move into it, Aurrek gave up and wandered off, eventually arriving in Gaia.

Name: Aurrek Gravelord
Age: Older than he cared to keep track of. At least 2000
Profession: Former God of Hourglasses. Currently unemployed
Personality: Aurrek is an extremely cautious person, to the extent that he may sometimes come across as paranoid. In spite of his unusual durability, Aurrek also rather fears taking physical risks; he can still die of wounds just like any other human, even if they may be a bit harder to inflict. As a result of this Aurrek is hardly a man of action. He is a superb planner, moreso than he is likely to give himself credit for, but when it comes down to the punch, the god is much more likely to sit and second-guess himself than go and take any real action.

At first meeting, Aurrek generally comes across as jumpy and perhaps a bit high-strung, and also somewhat pessimistic. Having lost the village over which he was patron god, he has learned to expect the worst. He will rarely, if ever, mention his previous occupation as a god in conversation, and if it comes up, he will do his level best to change the subject.

A large white crab about the size of a dinner plate follows Aurrek where ever he goes, generally riding on his clothing. Aurrek calls the crab "Nordri", but will also usually refuse to talk about the crab's origins as well.

Aurrek suffers from acute ennui now that he is no longer a god with any real power. He looks out grimly on an eternal future no longer filled with the humans who worshiped him, but rather a bleak uncertainty that unsettles him deeply. He came to Gaia to try to find another job; he is likely to get upset with things changing too quickly, though, since he much prefers to settle into a regular, preferably eternal, schedule.

The deity is more social than he lets on, though. While he may seem jumpy at first, Aurrek rather enjoys the company of others, and secretly finds mortals quite interesting. He does not demand worship from them, but he can sometimes be bossy, or get frustrated with people who are not acting in a way that he is used to. He is definitely not above joining mortals in their fun, though, since any stimulation gives him something to do, and keeps his mind off of his uncertain future.

The Singer Within It

Friends and Enemies

Aurrek's Home

As a god of hourglasses, Aurrek is starting to accumulate a small collection again. The first is the hourglass he always had, that he takes with him everywhere on his sash. The other(s) he has acquired since coming to Gaia.

Seronil Designs custom
Lunarfox Designs special

十二/十四

ETC and OOC

Original entry, whited for spoilers? =o

Name: Fugue

Gender: Male

Personality: Fugue is the sort of person who looks at life with rose-colored glasses. He enjoys making music with his cricket wings, and so chirps frequently with the hopes that he is spreading cheer to others as well. As he grows up, Fugue may end up anywhere from wildly quixotic, running off on every whim to try new and exciting things, to more reasonably optimistic. Either way, he is likely to continue to expect the best, even after he finds out about his past, though this may put a temporary damper on his attitude.

In groups, or even in one-on-one relationships, Fugue immediately puts himself down until he feels he has established a position as a subordinate. While he may be more than happy to contribute ideas if asked, he does his best to maintain a speak-only-when-spoken-to disposition whether the group leaders require it of him or not. Though he may develop a bit more self-confidence during his upbringing on Gaia, Fugue will more than likely retain at least some of his self-depreciating habits into adulthood.

Though Fugue's bountiful energy rarely fails him, in tough situations, his resolve is quite likely to falter. While he still retains a positive outlook on whatever is going on, he is probably going to step aside and simply cheer someone else along, rather than working things through on his own. When forced to stick something out himself, Fugue frets, but eventually gets things done.

It should be noted that, even before he recalls his past life, if someone human orders Fugue to do something, he will do it. In addition, Fugue shies away from excess of anything, particularly food, and will likely grow up skinny. Finally, he has perfect pitch, making him quite musically inclined; persistent high- or low-pitched sounds, and anything out of tune, however, upsets him, sometimes to the point that he gets unusually irritable and restless.

Six Traits: four arms, dark brown cricket wings, one pair of antennae, dark shiny skin, dark brown hair, nice springy legs

Backstory: After the Time of Flies, the insect kingdom blossomed into enlightenment again as the bookworms and indoor moths relearned how to read. This knowledge gave them insight on how to operate the numerous devices that the gods had left behind in their hasty departure of the planet surface.

The moths and bookworms jealously guarded their secrets, only selling their reading abilities to the stronger insect warlords in exchange for easy lives of plenty. However, not all of them were treated kindly. Many of the warlords drugged the moths for their "mystical" oracle powers, in order to ensure that they would not leave for another kingdom. Other bookworms were kept constantly confined, never allowed to venture out into open air. Many of them went insane as a result.

In one particular kingdom, there lived a court musician, a young and upcoming cricket gent. He was generally given free range of the ancient hollowed out palace where the warlord and her court reigned, but was prohibited from seeing the moths, like nearly all of the other citizens and palace workers.

The musician proved far too curious for his own good, though, and began to grow bored with the rest of the palace. He started to venture closer and closer to meeting the important insects kept hidden away as "oracles" for their prized ability to read. He had heard many things about the moths and their secluded lives, and how they provided the kingdom with premonitions of the future as well as amazing secrets of the past.

Before long, during one of his prohibited wanderings, the musician met a moth. He was fascinated by the creature, and the moth was surprised to see him, as well. The other insect was clearly of questionable sanity, though, and told the musician tales of how it had never seen the sun, and spent the majority of its days locked in a cage of golden wire. It then decided that it would share its amazing secret with the musician, if only so it could enjoy the cricket's company.

The musician humbly requested access to the oracle's quarters, in order to play his song for the prized moth. The warlord was wary, but finally granted it, and in the secrecy of the oracle's quarters, the cricket began his reading lessons with deep interest and perhaps even deeper fear. The moth was also terrified, but at the same time found it cathartic to finally share its secrets, starved as it was for companionship. It thought that, if all the insects of the kingdom could read, then its children would not be forced to suffer its fate, locked away in a golden cage.

And so the cricket played his music as it learned to read, but of course the secret arrangements could only go on so long before other members of the palace found out. The secret spread like wildfire until it reached the ears of the warlord. As with many crimes, the warlord decreed that the court musician be punished by death, while the moth was to be confined even deeper within the palace, to ensure that such a thing never occur again.

The musician tried to escape, but was captured before he left the palace. For the sport of the other palace insects, and to make an example to the rest of the citizens, the cricket was thrown into a ring with several fierce warriors, and he met his end quickly at their fangs.

Prompt 3: With your child remembering more and more about who they were every day, they are sometimes a little moody. From their point of view (either first person or third person limited omniscient), describe an argument between the guardian and their charge- what is it over? How is it resolved?
Prompt Answer:
"You arrogant insect!" the lady mantis warlord hissed at the cricket over the chittering and cheering of the crowds. "To think that you are privileged above all of us to read the sacred texts of the gods!"

"I- I-" the cricket stammered, turning in circles as the scores of insects around him and their noise made him dizzy.

"You know what you were doing!" the warlord shouted over him again. "And you knew you would be killed for it! You are nothing but a musician, Chirrk of Songwings! If you were meant to be an oracle, you would have been born one. You insult our kingdom by overstepping your place in such a fashion!"

"No! But the oracle-"

"You want to be an oracle? How could you read the future from the sacred texts if you could not even see your own future? Your actions were begging for your own death!" At the word 'death', if the crowd's noise redoubled, drowning out the warlord momentarily and causing the young cricket to shudder visibly. Much to their continued amusement.

"You wanted death. Now have it! Before the gods grow angry with us all for your transgressions!"

Beside her sat one of the gods. He was watching the cricket. His eyes were on Chirrk only. Disapproving.

The cricket's feet were frozen to the ground as the bugs who would carry out his execution circled around him, but the condemned's eyes were only on the human, the god.

What on Terra had he been thinking!?

And then things changed. He was no longer himself, but simply a presence floating in space. Where Terra had been. There were only floating chunks of rock no larger than a weaver-spider could carry on its back.

And one of the gods' sky-trekking ships flying away from the scene. They had done their work, destroying Terra and all on it.

... Had not even his death been enough? If only he had been able to see this future....

Fugue sat bolt upright in bed, gasping and shaking. He pressed two palms to his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. It was not the first time he had had that dream, at least in part. And it was certainly not the first time he had awakened from it like this, sickened and upset. But never had the whole dream come to him in one night.

Maybe he was here again to set things right? Fugue had tried to be as kind as possible to the human-gods his whole life here on Gaia, so far as he could recall, but perhaps the dreams kept coming back to remind him that he had not done enough.

Maybe he was going to die again today for it, and the dreams were his warning?

Panicking again, Fugue leapt out of bed and bolted downstairs, searching for his father.

When he located Aurrek, Fugue threw himself down on the carpet in a kowtow, resting one pair of arms on the floor and using the other pair to cover the top of his head and to try to hold down his antennae and stop them from shaking.

"I'm so sorry, sir," he wailed to his now-rather-perplexed father. "I haven't overstepped any of my bounds, have I?"

"... What?" Aurrek blinked, staring down at the prostrate boy. "Fugue, it's nine-thirty in the morning. When are you up this early? What's wrong?"

"Everything about me, right? That's why I'm here!" the cricket shouted at the floor, keeping his head down. "I insulted you and all the gods, and now I have to make it all right." It sounded like such an enormous burden when he said it out loud like that. Why him?

Aurrek responded with a look of pure "I-totally-forgot-this-chapter-in-the-parenting-manual".

Fugue started to shake a little, but ventured to raise his head ever so slightly. "I'll stop reading. That'll make it better."

The hourglass god's mouth hung open for another moment. What the hell was going on? "Excuse me?" Then his brows furrowed. "Wait, you're going to stop reading? How will you finish school?"

"I guess- I guess I'll just stop going," the cricket-boy replied, venturing to look up at his guardian even as he sobbed a little. "I'm not supposed to, anyway. That's what caused all the trouble."

"Wait, so you mean to tell me that, after all the great pains I've put myself through to send you to a silly stupid school for mortals that you're not even going to go anymore?"

Fugue started to sit up, and nodded as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand. "And I'll never read again, I promise. I don't want to be trouble again."

"Mister Reads-Everything-He-Can is just going to drop reading?" What the heck had gotten into this boy? Aurrek was clearly at a loss for words.

And the cricket was quite clearly still upset and terrified. "I'm sorry," he murmured shyly, wanting to fill the sudden awkward silence with something.

"For what?" Aurrek had been starting to turn away, but he whirled back around to face the teenager. "Most days you're not even awake at this time." He threw his hands up in the air. "Just… think about what you're doing before you go acting on any of your strange new teen hormonal impulses, okay? And by the Moon's holy light, keep reading, alright?"

Fugue immediately leaned down to touch his forehead to the floor again, nodding as he did so. "Yes, sir."

Aurrek rolled his eyes. "'Aurrek' or 'Dad', and nothing else, remember? I thought we got over the 'sir' stuff weeks ago." He was silent for a minute, then sighed and touched the boy's shoulder lightly.

"Look," he told the cricket. "Just calm down for now, please. Go play the piano. There's nothing wrong with that, right? And you like the piano."

Nodding again, the boy raised his head and sniffled, though he was still hyperventilating from being so upset before. "Okay," he said simply, and started to climb to his feet.

Once he got himself into the other room and playing some music, Fugue found he felt much better. Still, though, there was a distinct unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach from what he had seen in his dreams.

Was he doing everything from his past life wrong again now? It occupied enough of Fugue's thoughts that he did not even care that the piano's middle C was starting to go sharp again.



Prompt 4: Your child's world had to end for them to become an Illusionary. Often, this means that the world ended with their death; what happened to your Illusionary's world to cause it- and the Illusionary- to die? Please note, you DON'T have to write this as your Illusionary. You could also write it as a deity of your Old World or an interplanetary historian.
Prompt Answer: