The Eighth Day of Apollo

In Apollonian Caladon, each week was divided into eight days. The eighth day was reserved exclusively for worship at the Apollonian temples around the city.

The most notable feature of this worship was the process of blood-letting, during which members of the congregation would be selected for scarification. Although this scarification was believed to be random, although there is no specification along these lines in any of the remaining literature pertaining to the subject.

In truth, the Apollonian cult ruling over the city was a blood cult secretely devoted to summoning Nergal, the dog-faced poisoner.

Apollonian Caladon was ended during the Pythonite revolution, after which the city succumbed to the God-Craze.

Siphon

Musing on a duplicate world, no longer existing, into which all the magical properties of the alter-Earth were drained, indeed earning it that very name–the Siphon.

Of the Cherax

Of the Cherax, that terrible species that was responsible for the destruction of Los Pelos, little is known.

Typical Cherax range between 7′ and 12′ long, possess six legs, two strong front claws and jagged, gnashing mouth-pieces. Their bodies are protected by chitinous armour; only the underbelly, eyes and antennae are vulnerable to attack.

The Cherax are an aquatic species not known to leave the water except to carry out rapid and brutal invasions of landborne settlements. The purpose of these invasions remains a mystery, as the Cherax quickly abandon the ruined cities they have destroyed, taking nothing with them, and return to the water.

Many believe that the Cherax may be controlled by some separate guiding intelligence, but whether this would be in the form of some “Prime Cherax” or alxeetnr unencislef is unknown.

Punching Gravel

i’m so sad
that i want to punch gravel
until the flesh of my hands
is stripped away
and only bloody stumps remain
bones snapping and crunching
mangled remains
useless now
i strain and i scream
because it hurts so much
i have no hands left to punch with
and i’m still so sad

The Fifth Disturbance

When the glowing water was churned up and the bubbles rose to the top of it and the sirens screamed. Even as metal broke and bent and there was a great exhalation of corrosive steam and high above, control panels sat untouched. Even as the seats were empty and yet the office lights still hummed and a cursor blinked on one computer screen and the sirens screamed.

That rumble, that exhalation of corrosive gas that shreds the metal and opens to a sky that is the colour of infection. Glass breaks and the offices blink out of existence as they are plunged into sudden, obliterative darkness.

And the glowing water rises and spills and pours out of the building in every direction and with it the screams of the sirens. And the unknowing trees rock back and forth and a packet of crisps rolls across the road and the empty houses are silent as they suddenly blink out in one sudden, silent implosion of space and time.

Containing Chaos

Beyond the first eternity–that seventh primal element which had come into being as a result of the meeting and mixing of the other six, previously disparate, elements and came to be regarded as the Trickster (see Interviews with the Gridwalker, The Adventures of Autolycus) spread chaos wherever it went and destabilised a great many worlds.

Not bound by the philosophies of Love or Strife, nor guided by the primal impulses of the Manifest Elements (see Manifest Elements: A Beginner’s Guide), Chaos walked where it could and changed what it would, rapidly undermining the unsubtle laws of logic, reason, time and space.

Thus, a pact was formed around the Meeting Stone (see The Dark Place) whereby it was agreed that the Trickster should be captured and contained.

With the assistance of the Cerebellum (see Welcome to the Cerebellum) a prison was created in a form so labyrinthine and inconceivable  that any mortal to set eyes on it would be driven irrevocably insane.

But Chaos could not be restrained, for insanity was the Trickster’s very strength. And so they escaped and chaos spread across the multiverse.

It was clear then, by the non-Euclidean bendings of the Mad Prison (see Warren’s Companion to Strange Places) that Chaos could not be contained, but must instead be mitigated (see The Mitigating of Chaos).

Monolith Protrusions and Their Effects

“…the Monoliths, known in some worlds as ‘Foundation Stones’ and existing as they do in flux, have sometimes been proven to protrude into the worlds they were created to sustain.

Due to the many dangers associated with coming into contact with the stones (see Monolith Hazards), the locations of these protrusions are usually regarded as cursed and are, as such, avoided.

In some places, large-scale structures have been constructed in order to contain the dangerous Monolith protrusions, while some sentient species have discovered ways to use them to generate energy (see Harnessing the Monolith: Imaginary Energy).

Though ingenous, use of the Foundation Stones as energy generators can often lead to catastrophic consequences (see The Implosion of Shog-Ma, Tsunamis of Ether, On the Destruction of Worlds, Fused Worlds).

In rare cases, Monolith protrusions are capable of becoming gateways to the Sphere, though this is only possible should the individual in question know The Rules. In the event of such an incursion it is crucial to deal with the Interloper as soon as possible, through either elimination, capture or reintegration. In most cases succesful reintegration is impossible.”