#world52

Hello, Voyagers!

So, many of you Artists & TTRPG Creators may be familiar with Yearly Art/Worldbuilding Challenges such as #LORE24, #DUNGEON23, #ARTOBER or #NaNoWriMo. Basically, within a timeframe, do an Art/TTRPG/Creative thing on a repeating basis for an entire year. Its always so inspiring to see all these creators come out of the woodwork, create volumes of work and chart them over the course of a year, and I always wanted to try it myself. Well, last year (2024) I briefly participated in #LORE24 (Challenge: Write some worldbuilding lore every single day. I dropped out quickly. Too many things on my plate already) and #ARTOBER (Draw something every day of October. I actually successfully completed that one, but it felt over too soon), and I realized that I very much appreciated the structure of these challenges, I just needed one that would work for me. So, I made one! Year long, but weekly, and significantly more flexible for folks with busy schedules or multiple methods of creative expression. You're more than welcome to join me on this little experiment! I call it:

I wanted this one to be a cross-media challenge, so folks of all artistic stripes (Writers, Artists, TTRPG Worldbuilders, Comic Artists, Musicians, whatever) can participate!

WHAT'S #WORLD52? HERE'S THE JIST:

-Every week, participants will create a piece of art in their medium of choice (Visual Art, Comics, Writing, Music, Sculpture, Video, etc) pertaining to a Setting, World or Creative Project they're interested in or working on. -Post that work to the social of your choice (Might I suggest BLUESKY or TUMBLR if you've disabled Tumblr's GenAI Scrapper) with the #WORLD52 hashtag, and drop a little lore explaining the piece's relevance! -Share the Hashtag & the Challenge with friends and artistic peers and have some fun! -NO GENATIVE AI SUBMISSIONS OR NFTS ALLOWED. The focus of #WORLD52 is to foster Human Creativity, not defile it.

THE FULL #WORLD52 GUIDELINES ARE HERE:

As for me, I'll be posting my #WORLD52 entries here on this Tumblr and on Bluesky every Saturday before Midnight EST.

My entries will be focused on my Webcomics

My Traitorous Helldivers Fancomic:

My Space Marine Grimdark Future Fancomic:

... and on my TTRPG works My Faster-Than-Light Space Opera Homebrew TTRPG:

My Lighter-Than-Air High Fantasy Pathfinder 2e Setting:

My Primal Fantasy Monster Training TTRPG System/Setting:

HAVE A GRAND NEW YEAR, VOYAGERS!

#WORLD52 WEEK 2 SUBMISSION:

JSA RAPID REACTION FORCE OPERATOR

Another week of #WORLD52 is upon us, Voyagers! This week I'll be turning my attention back to my SCIFI SPACE OPERA TTRPG setting:

Namely, to the EVANTI SECTOR, the location of my current actual play livestreamed campaign (Every other Saturday at 1:30pm EST. We'll be returning in two weeks, so keep an eye out for the alert!) The JOINT SYNDICATE ALLIANCE, one of the major powers in the region, is basically a cooperative venture between half a dozen major interstellar corporations, and doesn't have the manpower to actively claim territory in the classical sense. Instead, they hire thousands of mercenaries to make ad hoc security fleets, reacting to emergent threats with overwhelming force and terror tactics to suppress the local populace. Here we see one of the Rapid Reaction Force's Operators, clad in a hardsuit, ready to drop from orbit into a hotspot and crush local resistance.!

Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!

#WORLD52 WEEK 1 SUBMISSION:

Gentry Dolaan, Surgical Study

Well, let's kick off the first week of #WORLD52 with an old favorite of mine! GENTRY DOLAAN AINT NO FASCIST is a Helldivers 2 fancomic I've been making for over half a year now, and I'll be coming back to it next Traitor Tuesday! But our main character recently lost both his arms, and if he's gonna punch fascists, he needs some fists to do it in. So, today I decided to do a little doodle about how extensive his augmentation exactly is... Its amazing what a little Cyberstanian drive and cybernetic research can create, isnt it?

Expect more art, even outside of #WORLD52!

And keep an eye out, because:

#WORLD52 WEEK 9 SUBMISSION:

SUMMONER'S WEAPONS

Week 9 of #WORLD52 is here, so it's time for more lore from my latest project: the PRIMAL MONSTER TAMING FANTASY TTRPG setting of-

(SUMMONER: THE WILD HUNT is still in developement, but look for us to start airing the actualplay and dropping a demo packet sometime in MAY 2025!) Last Week, we covered the armor and gear worn by Summoners, so this week, we're covering the other side of the coin: the weapons. Let's get into it!

-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------

Oᒪᗩᑎ never blessed us with teeth and claws. Spirits of Will were never meant to fight, yet we do. Against the world. Against our jailors. Against each other. We live in a world full of teeth, so we must make our own. For though our will is mighty enough to even sever Spirits Divine from their Oᒪᗩᑎ's Divine Mandate, beasts of the wild and our fellow Spirits of Will are not so bound, and they would kill us nonetheless. So, we forge teeth of our own. While what little metal we can refine and wood we can harvest within glades is poorly spent on armor, arming a Summoner is well worth the risk. Steel blades, torsion bows, hand woven nets, carefully furnished wooden staves... the arsenal of a Summoner is vast and varied. For a Summoner's weapons are not mere mundane metal and fibre, but inlaid with Quintessence, and conduits for the Divine Might that flows through it. Staves that weep venom. Bows that call lightning. Cudgels that scorch flesh with every strike. Spears that freeze what they stab. With foes as mighty as Summoners face, they cannot depend on their Bound Spirits alone. For this fight is ours, and we must fight it. Orah.

-------------------------LORE END HERE------------------------- Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!

#WORLD52 WEEK 8 SUBMISSION:

SUMMONER'S GARB

Week 8 of #WORLD52 is here, so it's time for more lore from my latest project: the PRIMAL MONSTER TAMING FANTASY TTRPG setting of-

(SUMMONER: THE WILD HUNT is still in developement, but look for us to start airing the actualplay and dropping a demo packet sometime in MAY 2025!) With our creation myth complete, we're now onto some practicalities of daily life, including the garb worn by Summoners. Let's get into it!

-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------

Spirits of Will, such as you and I, possess a singularly unique tool: a free soul. Such untethered willpower is a weapon greater than any wielded by the Spirits Divine, and is mighty enough to even sever our jailors from Oᒪᗩᑎ's Divine Mandate. Yet, this weapon is bound to a form that is vulnerable. So, we must clad ourselves. Against the dangers of wild, Against the teeth of weather, Against the divine might of our quarry. Before the Spirits of Will broke their Covenant, the abundance of Oᒪᗩᑎ was ours to claim, and warriors could clad themselves head to toe in shining steel. Now we live in Glades, and whilst the Glades provide, they provide only what we need to survive. Each act of industry, whether refining metal from sand, smelting iron by forge, smithing steel by hammer and coal, or tanning hide, is a stone thrown onto the scales, tipping the delicate balance upon which the wards of our glades uneasily rest. Orah, even if we could clad ourselves in shining skin of metal, our quarry wield the very elements themselves. Such power makes pale even the strongest of steels, for what good is armor when you are crushed by a rockslide? when you are struck by lightning? when are you burned from within? when you are drowned on dry land? So, we must work within our means. We wear leathers and furs and lamellar mail, for such garb grants us a measure of protection, but do not slow us down. They can shield us from weather and wildlife, and when we face our erstwhile cousins in battle, they keep us light on our feet. They are easy to repair and modify, and each Summoner makes their Garb their own. And should a Summoner survive long enough to acquire Quintessence, even leather and furs and padded clothe can be a formidable defense if they are married to the elemental might of Oᒪᗩᑎ's power. Orah.

-------------------------LORE END HERE------------------------- Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!

#WORLD52 WEEK 7 SUBMISSION:

THE FIRST SUMMONER

Week 7 of #WORLD52 is nearly over, yet there's just enough time left for more lore from my my latest project: the PRIMAL MONSTER TAMING FANTASY TTRPG setting of-

(SUMMONER: THE WILD HUNT is still in developement, but look for us to start airing the actualplay and dropping a demo packet sometime in MAY 2025!) Our tale continues, as Oᒪᗩᑎ forged a new covenant, and in doing so bound the Spirits Divine, the children of it's children, with a DIVINE MANDATE, decreeing them to hunt and jail the Spirits of Will. Let's continue the story!

-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------

Orah, the Spirits of Will were set upon by those they had once abused. Oᒪᗩᑎ was as good as it's word, and with it's Divine Mandate over the Spirits Divine, it unleashed a culling of mortals the like of which had never been seen, and has not been seen since. The Spirits Divine, who once shaped the world to suit the needs of their cousins, now remade it's every measure into their bane. Sepuan Spirits shattered our towers and walls, shattering every stone and casting the works of mortal spirits to ruin. Valleys and mountains were made treacherous with landslides and jagged stones, and fields that once effortlessly bore grains and fruit were soured, their crops sickly and foul. And so, Spirits of Will learned of illness and of the pain of being crushed. Helan Spirits unleashed the wildest of rains and floods. Roads, bridges, entire towns were swept away in torrents of killing water. River currents became savage rapids, and ocean waves swelled and frothed with bloodlust, shattering canoes and boats upon jagged blades of ice. And so, Spirits of Will learned of drowning and freezing. Arden Spirits set forests ablaze with their rage, killing livestock, hunter and wildlife alike. They made torch oil spit and hiss, and many homes burned with their occupants inside them. They made the light of midday oppressive, and their hatred made days so hot that no water could sate the thirst of travelers. And so, Spirits of Will learned of burning, and of the suffering of heat and thirst. Venan Spirits howled across the skies, bringing the winds of trade to the earth in great gales and hurricanes. Towers and cities were blown away as tornadoes ripped the homes of mortals from foundations, and blew them across the fields, or dashed them across the rocks. They danced and spun and sang their electric song of reckoning from the heavens. And so, Spirits of Will learned of the terror of lightning and thunder, and to fear the howling of winds. As we fled our ruined cities and our enraged cousins, Oᒪᗩᑎ, the great Godtree, wailed in sorrow, for though it knew it must happen, the suffering of the Spirits of Will made it quake in horror and despair.

And so Oᒪᗩᑎ reached out it's branches, and said unto us,

I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND MY CHILDREN GAVE YOU LIFE. OH SPIRITS OF WILL, I HEAR YOUR PLEAS. AND THOUGH YOU HAVE BROKEN MY COVENANT, I GIVE YOU HOPE.

THOUGH I TWIST MY BRANCHES FOR YOU NO MORE, I LEAVE TO YOU ONE LAST GIFT FROM MY CHILDREN, YOUR MAKERS. WHILE YOU SHALL KNOW NO PEACE IN THE WILD, AND YOUR ARROGANCE HAS MADE THE WORLD YOUR ENEMY, I SHALL LEAVE SACRED PLACES FOR YOU. IN PLACES WHERE TWO OF MY FIRSTBORN PLAYED TOGETHER, YOU MAY FIND PEACE. THESE GLADES ARE THEIR LAST GIFT TO YOU, BUT YOU MUST KEEP THEM, AND MAINTAIN THEIR BALANCE. FOR WHAT IS GIVEN MAY FALL, AND THE SPIRITS DIVINE STAND IN JUDGEMENT OVER YOU. WHEN THE RAGE OF YOUR COUSINS ABATES, ORAH, SO SHALL MINE. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH YOU. Such was Oᒪᗩᑎ's Will, and thus is was. Spirits of Will flocked to Glades, and Spirits Divine served as our jailors. Many more Spirits of Will were slain looking for a Glade to call home, and as ages passed, new glades were found and other glades fell. The hearts of Spirits of Will hardened to their captors, and they sharpened blades and lined their glades with spears and arrows, to better slay their cousins. The Spirits Divine grew more savage and monstrous, their Divine Mandate of their judgement making them into forms of ravenous and terrible beasts. But, ORAH, what has fallen may yet rise. So it was, upon a day unrecorded, a Shepard tending their herd on the edge of a glade saw a Divine Spirit snatch a calf and flee into the forest. The shepard, young and brash, chased after the spirit, a spear in their hand. The guards of the glade, swift to vengeance and anger, grabbed their spears, and with bows shot arrows at the Spirit as it fled. They chased it all day as it tore through the glade, shattering carts and tearing up paths as it was chased through the village. As the sun set, at the edge of the glade, the guards lost sight of their quarry, and returned to the glade, their rage spent. But the Shepard would not give up, and they pressed to the edge of the trees. And there, in a clearing in the night, they found the Divine Spirit, heaving in pain. It was as a wolf, but massive, and mighty, and clad in a shell-coat of stone, with a blade of sharpened steel jutting from it's brow and teeth like daggers. From it's side was a spear, sunk deep in a chink of it's armor, weeping blood. At it's paws were it's cubs, gnawing on the dead calf, half starved. The Shepard, seeing so majestic a creature as this wounded, felt their heart soften. They dropped their spear and fell to their knees. They said, Oh cousin-of-mine, your pain is my pain, and I regret these ends fate has given us. You, to that spear in your side, and I, to death by your fangs and claws and horn of steel. I cannot undo what is done, but I may yet mend the harm. Please, before I die, let me free you of the spear in your side, that one of us may see tomorrow, and your cubs may know their mother. The Spirit said nothing, for it's pain was as great as it's ire, and it took all to not slay the Shepard where they stood. It lowered it's head, ready to snatch the shepard's head from their body. Yet, the Shepard stepped forwards, and with a great heave, they pulled the spear from the Spirit's side. When they were done, they knelt down, weeping with sorrow and relief, and said,

I am ready, cousin-of-mine. For though I am afraid of what comes next, glad am I that I did something good with my life before it ends. All I ask is you drag my body into the deepest forest, for my mother loves me, and I do not wish her to see my end.

The Spirit said nothing, for it was stunned. It had surely thought the Shepard would flee, yet here they were, head bowed, ready to die, all to free the spirit of a spear that surely would have killed it. It slowly rose, and rested it's muzzle upon the Shepard's brow. And it spoke,

Cousin-of-mine, though it is the way of things, I shall not claim your life. For you have shown me kindness at great cost. And what balance would I bring to deprive a mother of her child, when that child had just given my children their mother back? Orah, Divine Mandate compels me, but I will break it, and forge a new bond to you. For in your heart I see Our Maker's Will, as you see in my form Our Maker's Power. So I shall gift you my name, oh Hunter Mine, and you shall gift me yours. And my Divine Power shall be yours to wield, if only you grant me the Shade your Will to rest in.

And so it was that the first Summoner was born. And in the light of day, Oᒪᗩᑎ smiled. For this new Covenant pleased the Godtree. And so it was, and so it shall ever be, that where Spirits of Will bare their hearts to Spirits Divine, both may find peace within one another, and the Secondborn of Oᒪᗩᑎ may see their hopes fulfilled. Orah.

-------------------------LORE END HERE------------------------- Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!

#WORLD52 WEEK 6 SUBMISSION:

THE BROKEN COVENANT & FALLEN GLADES

February and Week 6 of #WORLD52 is already here! I am crazy tired and it's been a long week, so let's get RIGHT into more lore from my my latest project: the PRIMAL MONSTER TAMING FANTASY TTRPG setting of-

(SUMMONER: THE WILD HUNT is still in developement, but look for us to start airing the actualplay and dropping a demo packet sometime in MAY 2025!) So, when we last left off, the children of Oᒪᗩᑎ unmade themselves to give birth to Spirits of Will (us), inheritors of their hopes and their Willpower and the Spirits Divine, inheritors of, SEᑭᑌ, ᐯEᑎᗩ, ᗩᖇᗪE & ᕼEᒪᗩ Elemental Magics & Duty to Oᒪᗩᑎ, and the Godtree extended it's covenant to shelter it's new Grandchildren. Let's continue the story!

-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------

Orah, what followed was an the Age of Contentment for the Spirits of Will. Oᒪᗩᑎ was as good as it's word, and it's grandchildren wanted for nothing. The Spirits Divine shaped the world to suit their needs, and delivered unto them prosperity. When hunger gnawed at them, Sepuan Spirits would hunt animals for them to roast, or bring wild millet, milk and honey for them to make sweetbreads. When they thirsted, Helan Spirits would bring fruits, berries, hops and cool, fresh water from the mountains to make fine meads and wine. When the cold of winter gripped them, Arden Spirits would light fires in their hearths and make blazing bonfires, and when heat oppressed them, Venan Spirits would dance through the sky, bringing the coolest breezes with them. Orah, to live in such times was to live in an age of wonders. Yet Spirits of Will must grow beyond themselves, as is the nature of such things. Contentment soon became disquiet. With every need met, Spirits of Will built what spoke to them. Their Scholars turned to blowing glass instruments and studying things so massive as the movement of stars and as things so small they could scarcely be said to have existed at all, but Orah, knowledge did not sate them. Their Builders crafted great aquaducts and cities, that thousands could live under the same roof, and that the needs of all were met, but Orah, those works were never enough. Their Artists crafted great works of art, pottery, sculpture, music and poetry, that all would have beauty and joy, but Orah, their hearts yearned for greater things. Soon, disquiet begot desperation, and desperation begot resentment. And Spirits of Will turned to Oᒪᗩᑎ, their protector, and said, "You have promised us peace in you shade, yet with full bellies we hunger, with goblets of ale we thirst, with comfortable beds we ache. Why?" Orah, Oᒪᗩᑎ tried to comfort them, console them, speak to them. They were too small, and too loud, and they could no longer hear the Godtree's voice in the wind and the rain and the sun and the stone. And the Creature of Will, so sure of their knowledge, thought themselves abandoned. And their resentment turned to arrogance. Of what happened next, the storytellers cannot agree. Some say the Scholars enslaved the Spirits Divine that attended them, and wrung them of their magics, that they could wield the elements themselves. Some say the Builders felled an OᒪᗩᑎBRANCH, to use it lumber to build a tower into the sky and deep into the earth, that their might may be as magnificent as Oᒪᗩᑎ. Others say that their Artists wove a tune so enamoring that it would lure Spirits Divine from their duties, and make them the servants of mortals.

Maybe all of them happened.

Maybe none.

But we know what happened next. For the first time in an age, Oᒪᗩᑎ, the great Godtree, wailed in sorrow and rage, for it was betrayed by the children of it's children. The Earth split, and the Wind howled, and the Fires went wild and the Waters rose.

And Oᒪᗩᑎ said unto us,

I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND MY CHILDREN GAVE YOU LIFE. OH LOST CHILDREN OF MY CHILDREN, HEED ME: SPIRITS OF WILL, YOU HAVE ABANDONED YOUR HEARTS AS YOUR CHASED YOUR DREAMS. YOU WERE MADE OF THE LOVE OF MY FIRSTBORN, AND I GAVE YOU THEIR COVENANTTHAT YOU MAY KNOW PEACE IN MY SHADE. YET YOUR KIN, THE SPIRITS DIVINE, THOSE WHO FEED YOU, WHO SOOTH YOU, AND WARM YOU, AND QUENCH YOU, YOU CAGE. YOU KILL . YOU STEAL THEIR BIRTHRIGHT. AND MY BRANCHES, GIVEN FREELY, YOU FELL AND BURN AND STRIP.

YOU HAVE BROKEN MY COVENANT. AND SO I GIVE UNTO YOU A NEW ONE.

SPIRITS OF WILL, I TWIST MY BRANCHES FOR YOU NO MORE.I CAST YOU OUT FROM MY SHADE. YOU SHALL KNOW NO PEACE IN THE WILD. AND I PRUNE FROM YOU ALL BUT MY CHILDREN'S GIFTS. THROUGH ᕼEᒪᗩ YOU SHALL DRINK DEEP OF KNOWLEDGE. THROUGH ᗩᖇᗪE YOU SHALL DRAW ENDLESS MIGHT. THROUGH ᐯEᑎᗩ YOU SHALL KNOW ENDLESS GRACE. THROUGH SEᑭᑌ YOU SHALL ENDURE FOREVER.

ORAH, YOU WILL NEED THESE GIFTS, FOR YOUR ARROGANCE HAS MADE THE WORLD YOUR ENEMY, FOR LIKE AS CREEPER VINE THROTTLES IT'S TREE, IT IS IN YOUR NATURE TO GROW BEYOND YOURSELVES.FOR YOU WERE BORN OF LOVE, AND UNTIL YOU FIND IT ONCE MORE, YOU CANNOT KNOW PEACE.

SPIRITS DIVINE, I NOW TWIST MY BRANCHES FOR YOU. FOR YOU WIELD MY CHILDREN'S WONDERS, AND IN YOUR LOYALTY YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED. ORAH, I GIVE YOU MY DIVINE MANDATE. YOU SHALL BE THEIR SHEPARDS. YOU SHALL BE THEIR JAILORS. WHEN YOU FIND THEM IN THE WILD, YOU SHALL HUNT THEM, FOR LIKE A CREEPER VINE THAT THROTTLES IT'S TREE, THEY MUST NEVER AGAIN GROW BEYOND THEMSELVES. FOR YOU WERE BORN OF POWER, AND WITH IT, YOU WILL KEEP VIGIL OVER YOUR KIN. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH YOU. Such was Oᒪᗩᑎ's Will, and thus is was. The Spirits Divine that once served us fell upon us, and cast our works into ruin. Orah.

-------------------------LORE END HERE------------------------- Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!

#WORLD52 WEEK 5 SUBMISSION:

SPIRITS OF WILL, SPIRITS DIVINE & THE BIRTH OF ALL THINGS

February and Week 5 of #WORLD52 is already here! Is it just me, Voyagers, or does it feel like this year is accelerating? Well, regardless, for this week's Worldbuilding and art we're continuing my latest project: the PRIMAL MONSTER TAMING FANTASY TTRPG setting of-

(SUMMONER: THE WILD HUNT is still in developement, but look for us to start airing the actualplay and dropping a demo packet sometime in MAY 2025!) So, when we last left off, Oᒪᗩᑎ has just finished making it's firstborn children, the First Elemental Spirits, SEᑭᑌ, ᐯEᑎᗩ, ᗩᖇᗪE & ᕼEᒪᗩ. Let's pick up the tale from there!

-------------------------LORE BEYOND HERE-------------------------

Orah, In the ages after Oᒪᗩᑎ made the first four spirits, the great godtree rested, content for the first time in eternity. As it rested, it let it's firstborn play, and gave unto them all of it's grand expanse within which to explore and expand and sculpt and play. And so the great spirits set off, racing across eternity, playing and dancing and singing and roaring and building and growing, as children are want do. SEᑭᑌ tested her limitless endurance, and she born the world upon her back. She held it, and pushed it, and pulled it, and as it wrinkled and slid and shifted like a great tapestry, she formed the first mountains and valleys. She stood up and shouted, I AM SEᑭᑌ, FIRST OF MY KIN! WHERE I STAND, STONE SPLITS AND THE GROUND RISES!

ᐯEᑎᗩ was entranced by her sister's grand works, and she wanted to play too. So, in her infinite grace, she bounded across the sky. Where she passed, she wove clouds from the air, and bound the gales of the heavens into a tapestry, that the winds would have pattern and purpose. She stood up and shouted, I AM ᐯEᑎᗩ, SECOND OF MY KIN! WHERE I DANCE, THE SKY CLEARS AND THE WINDS RISE!

ᗩᖇᗪE was jealous of her sister's grand works, for she also wished to play at making. So, with might beyond measure, she plunged her hands deep into the mountains and beneath the shifting tapestry of the soil. Where she struck, lava lept from below, sharpening the mountains, fertilizing the soil with rich volcanic ash. She swung her limbs, as fires began to spread, eating away old growth, and enriching the land for the new. She stood up and shouted,

I AM ᗩᖇᗪE, THIRD OF MY KIN! WHERE I STRIKE, THE WORLD IS BORN ANEW, AND FIRE RISES!

ᕼEᒪᗩ watched curiously as all her sisters worked grand works, for she also wished to play at making. So, with knowledge only she could have, she gently reached out her hand. Tracing her fingers across the soil, she stitched rivers through the caverns and canyons of SEᑭᑌ's work, bringing motion to their stillness. She stirred the waters in the oceans, stitching mighty currents into their waters below to match ᐯEᑎᗩ's winds, that they may have something to dance with. She swept her hand over the wildfires and volcanoes, bringing rainfall across them, that trees grew from the fertile soil of ᗩᖇᗪE's flames. She stood up and spoke,

I AM ᕼEᒪᗩ, LAST OF MY KIN. WHERE I SEE, ALL THINGS ARE REVEALED, AND WATER FLOWS.

And ᕼEᒪᗩ's sisters watched her wonders, and smiled in approval, for she was wise and knew much, and she had taught them the joy of playing with others. So a new age dawned, and the Great Spirits played and learned from one another. SEᑭᑌ and ᗩᖇᗪE roughhoused and tested their power against one another, and in doing so the peaks of mountains rose higher then ever, ringed with crowns of flame and thrones of granite. ᐯEᑎᗩ and ᕼEᒪᗩ danced together, and they made storms and weather. ᗩᖇᗪE lifted ᐯEᑎᗩ up, tossing her higher than she could ever fly on her own, and where she landed, she brought lightning to the ground, power from the sky itself! ᕼEᒪᗩ taught SEᑭᑌ how to stitch and weave, and they wove water through the lowlands and swamps. SEᑭᑌ showed ᐯEᑎᗩ how she made the land, and Vena danced past her canyons and mountains, chiseling their edges, and blowing the dust into beaches and deserts, covering them with sand. ᗩᖇᗪE carried ᕼEᒪᗩ upon her shoulders, and as they stomped about, their laughter boiled water beneath them, splitting the ground with steam vents, geysers, and springs. And Oᒪᗩᑎ, proud beyond measure, watched and was filled with joy.

But one day, ᕼEᒪᗩ stopped playing. She reasoned:

IT IS WONDERFUL TO PLAY TOGETHER, MY SISTERS. BUT IMAGINE HOW MUCH FUN WE WOULD HAVE IF WE HAD MORE FRIENDS TO PLAY WITH!

The other spirits thought hard, and they all agreed with her, as she knew much and was wise beyond measure. So they went to Oᒪᗩᑎ, their creator, and SEᑭᑌ asked. OH GREAT Oᒪᗩᑎ WHO WE SHELTER BENEATH, WHERE MAY WE FIND OTHERS TO PLAY WITH, THAT WE MAY HAVE MORE FUN? And Oᒪᗩᑎ sighed a great sigh, and said. OH, MY CHILDREN, I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND WHILE I WORK WONDERS, WE ARE ALONE IN ETERNITY. I GAVE YOU LIFE AS I WAS LONELY, AND WISHED COMPANIONSHIP. IF I COULD FIND OTHERS, I WOULD, BUT YOU ARE ALL I HAVE FOUND. YOU HAVE BROUGHT SUCH JOY TO ME, AND ALL I HAVE IS YOURS. I WISH I HAD MORE TO GIVE.

The Great Spirits hugged the Godtree's branches, saddened but grateful for their maker's love. Yet ᕼEᒪᗩ kept thinking, and thinking and thinking again. And as the sisters returned to their play, she stood up, having thought of an answer!

MY SISTERS, IF Oᒪᗩᑎ GAVE US LIFE AND ALL IT HAD TO GIVE, SURELY WE CAN DO THE SAME! LET US WORK TOGETHER, AND MAKE OTHERS TO PLAY WITH!

The other spirits thought hard, and they all agreed with her, as she knew much and was wise beyond measure. So SEᑭᑌ sculpted bodies from clay, ᐯEᑎᗩ blew breath into their lungs, ᗩᖇᗪE set a flame in their hearts, and ᕼEᒪᗩ whispered knowing unto them. They did this with all things, and crafted creatures in all shapes and sizes, until the ground, the sky, the deserts and the oceans all teemed with life. And the sisters watched the animals grow and multiply with glee. Together, they made all things, and they were filled with joy. Yet, still ᕼEᒪᗩ thought that something was missing.

MY SISTERS. WHAT WE HAVE MADE IS BEAUTIFUL, AND IT FILLS ME WITH JOY, YET THESE CREATURES ARE WILD AND NOT LIKE US.

WHAT MORE CAN WE DO? WE HAVE GIVEN THEM BODIES AND BREATH AND A FIRE IN THEIR HEARTS AND KNOWLEDGE TO SURVIVE. SEᑭᑌ said.

TIS TRUE, SISTER OF MINE. YET THEY LACK THE WANT TO DANCE, THE NEED TO TEST THEMSELVES, THE FLAME TO BE DARING, AND THE WISDOM TO GROW. ᐯEᑎᗩ said.

Yet it was ᗩᖇᗪE who found the answer, for she was strong enough to speak harsh truths. SISTERS OF MINE, WE HAVE MISSED THE HEART OF IT. YES THEY HAVE BODIES AND BREATH AND HEARTS AND MINDS. YET TO MAKE US, OLAN GAVE US ALL IT HAD.TO MAKE OTHERS LIKE US, WE MUST DO THE SAME. ᗩᖇᗪE said. And the Great Spirits saw the wisdom in ᗩᖇᗪE's words, and they agreed to try one more time.

I AM ᕼEᒪᗩ, LAST OF MY KIN! YOU WILL DRINK DEEP OF MY KNOWLEDGE. FOR IF KNOWLEDGE NOT SHARED, IT IS LOST. I AM ᗩᖇᗪE, THIRD OF MY KIN! YOU WILL DRAW FROM MY ENDLESS MIGHT. FOR IF MIGHT IS NOT USED FOR OTHERS, IT IS WASTED.

I AM ᐯEᑎᗩ, SECOND OF MY KIN! YOU SHALL FEEL MY BOUNDLESS GRACE. FOR IF GRACE NOT EXTENDED TO OTHERS, IT IS SQUANDERED.

I AM SEᑭᑌ, FIRST OF MY KIN! AND THROUGH ME YOU SHALL ENDURE FOREVER. FOR YOU ARE OUR LAST GAME AND WE SHALL LIVE ON IN YOU. AND AS I LOVE MY SISTERS, I WILL ALWAYS PROTECT THEM.

And the Great Spirits smiled and held each other, and gave their LIFE to that which they made. With the splitting of earth, the howling of wind, the roaring of flames, and the crashing of waves, SPIRITS OF WILL rose from their LOVE, and SPIRITS DIVINE rose from their POWER. And the Godtree wept, for what parent would not weep for their children's loss? Yet, it understood their hearts, and it loved them unto forever. So, Olan spoke:

I AM Oᒪᗩᑎ AND MY CHILDREN GAVE YOU LIFE. OH CHILDREN OF MY CHILDREN, HERE ME: SPIRITS OF WILL, I NOW TWIST MY BRANCHES FOR YOU, THAT YOU MAY REST IN MY SHADE. FOR YOU WERE BORN OF THEIR LOVE, AND FOR THEM YOU WILL ALWAYS KNOW PEACE.

SPIRITS DIVINE, I GIFT MY CHILDREN'S WONDERS TO YOU, THAT YOU MAY CONTINUE THEIR WORKS. FOR YOU WERE BORN OF THEIR POWER, AND IN THEIR STEAD YOU WILL WATCH OVER THEIR CHILDREN. THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH YOU.

-------------------------LORE END HERE------------------------- Thanks for joining me in this week's #WORLD52!