SoK Chapter 204

There was no reason why the Boss couldn’t run away if it was losing. Of course it could, it was a damn bird. Yes, it could fly, and if the direction it wanted to fly was directly away from him, there wasn’t anything that TJ could do, especially considering how much faster it was than him. He’d run away from the Chindi forest back in the Tutorial and there was no rule or reason why a creature that felt it wasn’t about to win the fight couldn’t run away. And honestly, TJ was so bloodied that he didn’t know if he’d be able to survive the fight himself, but with his blood up, he’d wanted to continue to throw himself into battle, and he’d never considered the possibility of the Boss running away. He needed to step away from thinking about the monsters as mobs in video games, but as living breathing creatures that didn’t want to die. Having the Boss display new Skills that he knew nothing about just to escape with the rest of its followers also didn’t feel good, but there was nothing for it and he’d chalk it up to a learning experience.

If only the rage that continued to thrum in his heart agreed.

Sarah didn’t stop cursing the entire way down, her neck craned up to follow the silhouettes of the fleeing Boss and other Thunderbirds. Each insult flowed more colorfully and vehemently than the last as she glared in their enemies’ direction. As they finally touched down on solid ground, Sarah flipped the birds the bird and focused on TJ. He slumped out of his coatl form and stood tall, his own blood coating his body and slicking the ground beneath his feet. The storm continued to grant the bonuses in recovery through Storm Soul and Divine Authority, so all of his resources climbed every minute. Even with his body and Skills pulling their weight, the injuries he sustained were severe and TJ smiled in thanks as Michelle approached and placed her hand on his shoulder. Healing energy washed through him and brought no small measure of relief as TJ nodded at his followers.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to kill them all.” TJ addressed the anxious people. Every one of them except for Luz was Bronze now, but so many were too weak–willed to have done anything to save themselves. “I’m your leader, and I’m supposed to be the strongest person here. I’m going to be taking steps to ensure that the next time they show their sorry beaks around here, I can kill every last one of them. In service of that, I’m making my first true command and mandate to you all as my followers. Do everything that you need to to ensure that the ritual circles I prepare are made permanent. As a leader, and as he who will lead the pantheon that we create, I will take responsibility for protecting you, guiding you, and championing you. As such, I require that you continue to believe in me and willingly offer some small measure of your strength so that I can destroy every enemy that threatens you. In return, I will be at the forefront of every fight.”

As she usually was, Sarah was the first to respond, raising her fist and saying, “I believe in you, Storm Serpent. What you need from me, I freely give.”

“I believe in you.“ Gertrude was the next to speak, her aged voice quivering with emotion. “You will bring vengeance on my enemies, and you will turn the storms of the Earth’s anger into my support. May you prosper always.“

Others stepped forward, those who’d known him longest guiding them. Tessie, Molly, and Seth’s declarations were lost in the clamor, but TJ understood the intent of each. Even those who hadn’t yet sworn themselves to him stepped forward, either swept along by the environment or by their own devotion, and promised their belief and support. As they did so, TJ felt a thin connection stretch out to them, giving a greater familiarity as he officially took all 30 followers under his wing as the Nascent Storm Serpent. As they made their declarations, TJ intimately understanding what the System had guided them to say, they all received a new System notification.

You have founded a religion and a holy site, that of the birthplace of the worship of the Nascent Storm Serpent. If you so desire, you can change the name of this site from its default Title: the Storm Serpent’s Birthplace.

As the founder of a new religion, you have gained the title: God Maker.

Effects of title: God Maker; You have established a holy site. As you are the object of devotion, the more worshipers you have at the holy site, the more you will gain as a bonus to your Nascent Deity Title. For each inhabitant or worshiper that you have who has chosen to take up residence within one of your holy sites, you will gain an additional 50% of the initial empowerment granted to a single attack as per the Nascent Deity Title. In addition, you have gained an additional aspect to the Nascent Deity title, the addition of the Established Religion Aspect.

TJ knew that the notifications that his followers got were different from his own, but the excitement in their face was obvious and took him from immediately demanding that the System give him answers. He’d never heard of “the established religion aspect” of his Title, and he desperately wanted to know. Instead, he cocked an eyebrow at Sarah, who chuckled and shared the System’s description with him.

You have joined as one of the primary worshipers of the newly established Nascent Storm Serpent religion. Until now, you have followed the Nascent Storm Serpent without any promise of reward. Your dedication is now blessed with the opportunity to give the object of your devotion your praises. Once per day, you can offer up a prayer to the Nascent Storm Serpent, which will grant you a 24 hour boost to your experience gain, as well as a 1% increase to all of your Attributes. In order to worship the Nascent Storm Serpent, you must be within the territory of one of his dedicated holy sites and perform one of his approved methods of worship.

TJ felt his eyebrows climb as he read it, figuring that he would have a mirror to that of some sort in the aspect of “an established religion” to his godhood. Before he could look at it, though, Sarah spoke.

“So, how do I get this bonus? Give you a kiss or something?“ Sarah‘s face cracked in a white grin as she said it, and TJ waved off her foolishness. A part of him felt that old, tired anger at the thought of kissing, and he felt childish at the tender feelings he still retained for Mari. Not because he still cared for her, but because even now, over a year later, even hearing somebody suggest that he kiss them as a joke, made him angry. There was no infidelity there, and in however, many years remained before he could even touch the doors standing near true Divinity, there was a not insignificant chance that he found himself in some sort of romantic entanglement with somebody. Mari wouldn’t mind, because she was dead. Beyond that, he knew his wife, and while she’d have enjoyed some measure of pining, she’d be one of the first to mock him for decades and centuries of loneliness for the mere hope of seeing her again. And, more presently, would he become so petty of god as to lash out at a friend for making a stupid joke?

“Honestly, I say that you just need to say ‘ thank you, Storm Serpent,’ while thinking of me? That should be enough, right, System?”

New form of worship: give thanks; established.

That was all the confirmation that TJ needed, and he looked at Sarah, who was looking blankly at a notification from the System before she put her hands together, closed her eyes, and bowed her head as she said, “Thank you, Storm Serpent. You give me purpose, and you give me strength, and I hope to become more worthy every day of standing by your side and joining your pantheon.”

TJ jolted upright as he felt a small thread of experience come into him from the worship, and though he still wanted to look into and get more information regarding this new avenue for growth, he instead shook his head and forced himself to focus on the present as he said, “I’m pretty sure all that extra stuff wasn’t needed.”

“No, it wasn’t, but I knew it would be helpful to you.“ Sarah smiled, no longer teasing but genuine. When TJ raised his hands in confusion, she continued, “You’ll receive more experience when I show genuine appreciation and give a more honest prayer. I’m not one for waxing eloquent, mostly just kinda curse things out, but the reality is that I’m only alive because of you. I came looking for you in Tempe because I knew that’s where you were, and even if there wasn’t some benefit to doing it, I’d have followed you no matter where you went anyways. You’re a good man and a good leader, and that’s all I really need. Might as well help you out a little bit as I do it.” TJ was distracted by another half a dozen threads of worship coming his way, and instead of continuing talking to Sarah about her current wave of honesty, he wanted to understand this new option that has been presented to him by the System.

Nascent Deity: Aspect; Established Religion: you have organized your worshipers to follow you, for as long as they consider you worthy to be their god. Those who have elected to worship your pantheon will be able to gain benefits in accordance with the tier of your Divinity. As a return for your acting in accordance with their worship, you will gain experience commensurate to the devotion of your followers. The more sincere and taxing the form of worship your people take, the more experience you will gain.

“So not another point of Attribute growth for me,” TJ muttered to himself, “but instead a passive form of experience gain. I wonder if it’ll be enough to get me more levels. If I had more and more worshipers, I wonder if I’d even need to go out and kill things at all. After all, with my rituals, if I really dove into that…“

TJ‘s mind continued racing through various different possibilities, though he didn’t entertain too many very seriously. He’d already decided that he wasn’t going to be dependent on anybody in the apocalypse, that he himself was going to rise to the Divine Throne, and becoming some kind of couch potato (since he was talking about being a god, would that make him a cloud potato?) was not on his to do list. Instead, this would just serve as another avenue for him to continue to grow stronger while protecting his people. After all, if he fed, protected, and led them, the prayers would be more honest, more grateful, and another source of growth as more people devoted themselves to him.

“Okay, as I said, my next order of business is going to be making permanent versions of my ritual circles.” TJ repeated, looking around for William. “I don’t care what it takes from me, I’ll bleed myself dry to make sure that going up there next time I have the full might of my religion behind me. William, what were you able to learn while we were hunting?”

The man jogged over from his family, looking at TJ with a somewhat uncomfortable look on his face. After a couple seconds, he seemed to sigh to himself before saying, “I think that large amounts of your blood and higher quality materials are what we’re looking for. Maybe something with metal? That might be something that will work, or some organic material that can soak up your blood? That seems to be a common medium for what you’re doing. The sturdier something is, the better it’ll be, because it won’t wear off quite so easily. Keeping it covered from the elements is also going to be necessary, though I don’t know how much of that we can do while still retaining your connection to the sky. It’s going to take experimentation, and I don’t know if that’s all right with you. Divine Serpent, sir.”

“That’s Storm Serpent to you.” TJ joked back, but the way William’s face twisted up let TJ remember that it wasn’t a joke, not to the people who worshipped him, at least. He was this man’s god, even if he certainly didn’t feel or look like one. Instead of joking, he needed to reinforce William's belief that he, TJ, was worthy of respect and worship.

“I’m more than happy to conduct the experimentation necessary to ensure that I can protect you all when another threat appears. My presence will also be necessary in the establishment of the ritual circles, so I am happy to begin our experimentation today. We have new materials to experiment with, and between you and Michelle, I’m confident we can start making some good headway. If there’s any reason to delay, let me know, and if not, we’ll begin preliminary construction in 20 minutes.”

“Yes sir, Storm Serpent, sir.“ William's response came, and he turned on his heel to go speak with his wife. TJ fought to keep back his impulse to scratch at his jaw in mild surprise. Instead, he focused on the people in front of him, feeling the warmth of their worship, and the experience that came with it. So many things to do, so little time, and there were threats on every horizon. And they seemed to keep growing in number and power.