On the first day, Oko Bluebird, Herald of Blueray, awoke.
She was smitten willingly, died accidentally, and resurrected to fight the most harmless of foes for the glory of her Lady. From this violent birth she kept an invisible scar.
On the first night, Oko Bluebird, gentle hunter of mimes, received her first godly blessing and gained the power to convince people who already agreed with her.
“I think I get it now. I have the great honor of being chosen for an inscrutable purpose by a supreme being. Thank you, my Lady. I will not let you down!”
On the second day, Oko Bluebird, kind combiner of friendship tokens, took the motto No god, no problem. Her Lady, in her mansuetude and lack of knowledge of the human character, allowed this heresy.
On the second night, Oko Bluebird received her second blessing and gained the power to be invisible when no one looked at her. Despite her growing love of the drink, she displayed righteous behavior.
Pantheon of Creation: 2750
“I swear to drunk I’m not god.”
On the third day, she found a second golden brick and understood how their collection should be her purpose.
On the third night, Oko Bluebird, virtuous crafter of useless trinkets, received her third blessing and gained the power to drink one more beer than her usual average. This gift, meant as a reward for her newfound goal, weakened the heroine’s resolve.
“Almighty, sometimes I wish you would pray to me. Then I’d ignore your requests so you’d know what it feels like.”
On the fourth day, Oko Bluebird, being of pure good, won her second arena skirmish – proving that her first win had not been a fluke. She then proceeded to lose her third fight in the most grueling display of cowardice.
On the fourth night, despite herself and thanks to a hundred godly encouragements, Oko’s soul ascended to the status of saint.
Saint, 3rd rank
“I was just dreaming of a time when heroes can live in peace with all of your creations, Great One.”
On the fifth day, Oko Bluebird, wielder of the chopstick, became one of the hundred most holy heroes. Not because she willed it, but because her Lady decided so.
When night fell she finally reached a positive fighting value and the title of champion. The Lady gave her fourth blessing as a reward, giving her herald the power to equip weapons below her level. Just in case.
Champion, 3rd rank
Pantheon of Creation: 67
“The Silent Alarmist and the heroine are sharing complaints about micromanaging deities…”
On the sixth day, the champion of Blueray reminded the ancient god Walerion Rayyn about why they loved this universe by letting herself be bludgeoned in the arena.
Out of pity and resignation, her goddess pulled her higher and higher on the pantheon of most encouraged minions. Oko Bluebird celebrated late into the night, defacing her saintly status with her drunken speeches.
Pantheon of Creation: 11
“No matter what I do, my Goddess, you can always fit me into your divine plan, right?”
On the seventh day the Lady took a break, following her desire for rest, meditation, and general need for a greater data plan.
When she couldn’t hold her curiosity anymore, the Almighty Blueray checked the status of her herald. Oko Bluebird, in the span of a mere day, had leveled up, wrestled The Governator, paid children to write her Lady’s glory everywhere, slayed over a hundred monsters, renounced her faith, took it back for lack of a life goal, decided to join a guild to get a life goal backup and grown a villainous moustache.
As soon as her goddess manifested, Oko Bluebird looted a Guide to Evil Laughs and crushed her opponent in a free will duel – rejoicing in this parody of fight where gods had no influence over their champions.
The Lady was shaken with foreboding.
Favorite, 3rd rank
Pantheon of Creation: 41
“This diary entry has been removed by the spam filter.”
And thus the first week ended.
The second week began in the most violent manner, with Oko Bluebird demanding trials challenging enough for her to display her newfound will and martial ability.
And her ability she displayed: champion of the first hour, lurker in the shadows of free will, the heroine made it her specialty to engage foes when their protectors had no say in the matter. This outlet drained her animosity and each time she left the arena, victorious or not, she saw no problem in letting her Lady lift her soul to greater heights. And thus with effort, care, and blindness, the goddess veiled the devil within her champion and drew a pretense of sanctity over it.
Soon Oko Bluebird rose again, higher than all but one, in the pantheon of holiest heroes.
Pantheon of Creation: 2
“A priestess told me that my goddess wants me to ‘go forth and multiply’. Too bad I only know how to divide monsters.”
At last, with one ultimate encouragement, Oko Bluebird became so purely good her alignement needed an exclamation mark. She reigned as the holiest of all holy heroes. Her soul was pure as can be, but still her spirit longed for something else.
Pantheon of Creation: 1
“My Goddess, if I were to become an atheist, would you still love me?”
Thus the goddess realized she had to leave her creation struggle on her own if she ever was to fulfill the grand plans her Lady had devised for her. With a pang of guilt and a terrible feeling of loss, the Almighty Blueray stopped encouraging her pawn.
She watched as day ended.
“Can’t wait to be ashamed of what I’ll do tonight.”
And she watched as day began.
“I didn’t do it. Nobody saw me doing it. You can’t prove anything.”
And she watched.
“Decided to make a name for myself. So far, I’m struggling with the spelling.”
And she watched.
“Stopped and wished upon a falling star. Got hit by a meteorite.”
And watched.
Builder, 3rd rank
“Prayed at a wayward shrine.”
And then, on the morning of the twelfth day…
“Everybody keeps saying, “You only live once.” Let’s prove them wrong, my Goddess. Please?”
Oko Bluebird, loser of winning streaks both dueled and monstered, died from her own mistakes.
The Lady let her heroine meditate upon the gift of life. Together, yet without words nor touch nor sight between them, they contemplated the world. They observed the golden coins spilled from the body’s purse, the ranks lost in all pantheons, the invincible reputation they couldn’t reach, the guild members they couldn’t talk to, the friends they couldn’t bond with. Futility.
And so Oko Bluebird embraced death and healed her scars, both physical and not.
“I must be a very good person, Luminous One. I keep getting reincarnated as me!”
On the dawn of the third week, Oko Bluebird, wielder of the omni-impotence, had become a fine warrior, yet still displayed a pronounced taste for the drink. The Almighty Blueray sent countless warnings against this crippling habit – and still Oko Bluebird continued to waste both money and mind in taverns and sideroad inns.
Out of patience when her champion declined once more to heed her advice, the Lady overflowed with anger and smote her heroine.
“When I said I needed some therapy, I was thinking more aromatherapy and less fire-and-brimstone-electroshock therapy, my Goddess.”
And here was the true miracle: Oko Bluebird, hardened drunk, left her stool for actual questing. An action which might have triggered the ire of the herald was now accepted as a mean of communication. The Lady saw that her heroine had matured and chose to reward this behavior with a renewed vow of encouragement, and a fifth blessing.
Oko Bluebird, maker of friends and joiner of the lm guild, could now buy bricks with a mild chance of them being golden.
Both goddess and heroine chose to ignore how the punishment lightning had dented Oko Bluebird’s holiness.
“Exalted One, I hate to advocate alcohol, violence, and insanity, but they have always worked for me!”
More days passed and Oko Bluebird took on the look of a proper adventurer. Gone were the flimsy clothes and breakable weapons: she now bore shield and holy grenade launcher in her scissorhands. Her spacesuit and dreadlocks flowed in the wind. By day her name was sung at the top of the pantheon of creation and by night the gladiators of the arena learned to fear her presence. They knew that her goddess was a wilful one, sometimes pouring blessings over the fighters, sometimes making poison and lightning rain over them.
“Here’s your protection money — I mean, voluntary donation, my Lady.”
To both heroine and goddess, the loss of holiness felt like a fair tradeoff for pride and, ultimately, for fame.
Invincible, 3rd rank
Pantheon of Creation: 957
“Took time out from my busy schedule of death and destruction for a spot of knitting.”
Soon the virtuous champion of Blueray displayed long streaks of victories and gods both old and new welcomed her in the pantheon of the world’s most prolific fighters. It felt crowded and her rank was low – yet another challenge to overcome, yet another aspect to sacrifice her holiness to.
Pantheon of Duelers: 45
Pantheon of Gladiatorship: 14649
“The crowd here must love me! As soon as I entered the arena, they began showering me with gifts from the stands.”
And so the first month ended.
As the second month started, Oko Bluebird, lonely pursuers of victories, decided it was time to invest in companionship. But her friends were drunkards, thieves, bloodthirsty thugs. Reflections of her worst traits.
It was while fighting a dust bunny as common as every dust bunny was that the champion found her answer. The monster was vicious and cunning, yet strangely clumsy and unsure of itself. Oko Bluebird saw her beginner self in the creature. She approached the beast and bestowed the name Baloo upon it, taming the dust bunny with words she would have liked to hear upon her own arrival in the world of heroics.
“Baloo lay down next to the diminishing campfire and promptly fell asleep. It’s so peaceful here, I think I’ll have a nap too.”
Despite this newfound friendship, Oko Bluebird’s expressions continued to grow sour and closed. Her smiles were reserved for the antics of her pet. His frisky personality and escalating shenanigans provided the heroine with much needed comic relief and filled the void of conversations between her and her goddess.
“My Lady, I have you and Baloo, but why do I still feel like something is missing from my life?”
A week later, Oko Bluebird, melter of coins and faces, doned the graveclothes of a Necromancer. Seven deaths she had suffered, and seven revivals she had been blessed with. Her streak of victories in the arena had been put to a violent end by Sadgrasan, master of the panda palm technique – a terrifying opponent who crushed her will and honor twice.
To comfort her heroine, the Almighty Blueray beckoned her sixth blessing: in order to revel in peace and learn what patience was, Oko Bluebird could now hear the sound of silence.
The figure of the meditating champion, poised atop mountains and casting her shadow over towns, became the talk of Godville.
WEEKEND GODVILLE, #2610
Day 2854 g.e.
Oko Bluebird – 19th-level adventurer, member of the “lm” guild, with the motto “No god, no problem”, stands at the 45th position in the pantheon of duelers under the vigilant supervision of the goddess Blueray. She was known to distribute counterfeit Godville invites during her youth.
Fame and solitude were becoming the new comrades of Oko Bluebird. The more people talked about her, the more distant they were – for mere mortals, she was a presence not to be meddled with and for other heroes, she was a hindrance among so many other newcomers. If it weren’t for Baloo at her side, the heroine would have become an epitome of seclusion.
Pantheon of Duelers: 25
Pantheon of Creation: 2462
“Who wants a hug? Somebody? Anybody? Nobody? Guess I’ll just hug myself then.”
She reached her fourtieth day of existence and her soul receded to a simple essence of kindness. Nothing more, nothing less.
When dueling became insufficient to fill the void in her heart, Oko Bluebird seized all and any occasion to fight. She offered to spar what little friends the great random had brought her, and would eagerly call upon herself the monstrosities living deep, deep beneath the surface.
Hunter, 3rd rank
Champion, 2nd rank
Pantheon of Creation: 7044
“I was suddenly overcome with a lust for battle so overwhelming that I lost my bearings in a wild frenzy. When I came to my senses, I was at the arena with rubble on my clothes and a smoking trail in my wake.”
When day 42 dawned, Oko Bluebird, persistent biter of ankles, finally reached a score which made her eligible for remarkable arena honors.
Pantheon of Duelers: 10
“My Goddess, why do I have to fight other heroes to prove myself?”
The heroine felt no joy at the news. She had wielded and broken so many weapons and so many armors, fought and crushed so many monsters and so many heroes, that her memories were nothing but a blurred vision of constant confrontation. Despite her plea for teaching them, her friends were seldom available for sparring and preferred to spend their time with guildmates – a luxury the heroine couldn’t afford, as her guild was bannered under a tongue she didn’t understand.
And so Oko Bluebird forgot what it meant to fight for anything other than her life.
Teeth gnashing, combat skill level 1
“Preparing for unforeseen consequences…”
Mindlessly following the trail of warmongering, the herald of Blueray invested her money in a microwave gun. Travelers with a good eye could see the wandering champion as she stood atop cliffs and hills, sniping monsters way before they could even notice her existence.
Gold and trophies were her daily food. Oko Bluebird, heroine of uncertain alignment, invested her winnings in golden bricks and amber beers. Stone by stone the temple rose.
“Ate. Prayed. Killed something.”
As she got closer to her two months anniversary, Oko Bluebird found it harder and harder to meet with other duelers. The arena was deserted. Contestants hid and the few who still stood above her never seemed to cross her path.
Pantheon of duelers: 4
“Well, it’s obvious now. I’m just so mighty and strong that nobody wants to fight me.”
The Almighty Blueray pushed her on, ordering and demanding and requiring relentlessly. Gone were the small jokes and trivial banter – her godpower was infused into formal influencing techniques only. Despite this detachment and her heroine’s growing numbness, the gods and goddesses who crossed their path enjoyed their tales of broken heroics. Word got around. Praises were exchanged. In a fit of self-congratulations, the goddess decided it was time for her herald to receive her seventh blessing: the heroine could now wield passive-aggressivity as a weapon.
And Oko Bluebird, gentle buyer of worse equipment, carried on training the few strangers she had met on the road.
Coach, 3rd rank
Pantheon of Storytelling: 2
“Complaining about the unrealistic nature of the goals set by her goddess…”
It was on the 58th day that their world broke apart. A storm of madness had caught the heavens: the eye of the Exalted One surveyed the arena during both day and night, on and on and on, teleporting the heroine in the Godville stadium every single time she was allowed to do so. Gone were the healing encouragements during quests. Gone were the friendly spars with fellow wanderers. Godpower had but one goal – to carry neutral Oko Bluebird to the highest honors in the pantheon of duelers.
Her first shackles were broken by Shack90, the wicked minion of god Jpainousm. He was a man Oko Bluebird had beaten once before, and whose god’s absence had allowed an otherwise unlikely victory. The heroine’s lack of experience was laid bare for all to see as the minion showed her what it meant to stand at the top of the pantheon. She lost.
Her second shackles were broken by Capt James Kirk, the virtuous herald of Dr. Hannibal Lecter. He was a man Oko Bluebird had fought and crushed many times before, counting on the unlimited scorn of her goddess. Her lack of inventiveness became obvious when she had to face him within the restrictions of a fair fight. She lost again.
Her third and final shackles were broken by Marius Cranz, the purely evil pawn of god Galaxo. He was a man Oko Bluebird had never met before. Still feeling the burn of her previous losses, the heroine put her all into the fight: cunning strategy, calculated risks, adaptative manipulation, unrestrained use of godpower, all techniques she had learned from those who had dominated her. The struggle was epic. It lasted forever. As Oko Bluebird raised her blade to deal the final blow, the great random decided to push her goddess’ encouragements away. Marius knocked her out with the very weapon Bluebird had blessed by mistake.
“Great One, why do you punish me?”
To call it a tantrum would diminish the absurdity and violence of Bluebird’s outburst of rage. Her charges were depleted, her ranking among gods destroyed, her trust in Oko Bluebird obliterated.
While the Almighty Blueray mulled over the idea to wipe out her existence, the young champion called for her attention. The creation wanted to talk to her creator.
“To heck with glory and heroic deeds! My life is more important.”
“Soul Supreme, I only wish to bring sunshine to your life and you send me lightning bolts.”
“Is there any hope of me becoming famous one day?”
“Everyone seems to ignore me, but at least I still have my goddess and my dust bunny.”
“You hear that, Exalted One?”
“I’ve decided to live every day as if it’s my last. After all, it often is.”
“I was just wondering if you could make something new happen.”
And something new she made happen.
Martyr, 3rd rank
This final smiting brought Oko Bluebird to the dawn of the second day of her second month of existence. It reminded both goddess and heroine of the first time willed lightning had caused unwilled death – on the very first day of the herald’s existence. The Almighty Blueray pondered over these happier days. Once more she distanced herself from her champion: this time not as a watchful observer, but as a repentant friend. If Oko Bluebird, arranger of deranged ranger rearrangements, noticed this newfound humility, she made no mention of it.
“Flipped through the Godville Times. Apparently the new phrase of the week is “That’s not how it works. That’s not how any of this works.”, Soul Supreme!"
As she accepted her hundredth quest, Oko Bluebird, virtuous teller of divine comedies, was missioned to succeed where all others had failed. The epic proportions of this crusade did not faze her: after all, she had been graced with the highest honors and had reached heights barely imaginable for one so inexperienced.
A large crowd gathered at the arena to acclaim the champions of this season and bestow upon them their laurels. And the herald of Blueray, oak cloaker, powerful sneezer, flying birder, and teeth gnasher, was praised to the skies till her name resonated within them.
Dueler, 1st rank
“Wading through the tides of fans…”
“THROUGH ME THE WAY INTO THE SUFFERING CITY, THROUGH ME THE WAY TO THE ETERNAL PAIN, THROUGH ME THE WAY THAT RUNS AMONG THE LOST.
JUSTICE URGED ON MY HIGH ARTIFICER; MY MAKER WAS DIVINE AUTHORITY, THE HIGHEST WISDOM, AND THE PRIMAL LOVE.
BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS WERE MADE, AND I ENDURE ETERNALLY. ABANDON EVERY HOPE, WHO ENTER HERE.”
Needless to say, her ego trip was rewarded with a well-placed lightning bolt.
In the distance, a bell rang half a year.