I Was Once By R.J. Kakkad

Instruments: None





Game Description 


You are a sentient magical object forged by gods and claimed by mortals. This is a story about your inheritors and how you became mundane.



Game Content Warnings 

These are content warnings that are from the game prompts and are present in all playthroughs.





Playthrough Content Warnings 

These are content warnings specific to this playthrough only.



Game Playthrough

Word Count: 2,718     Played: Nov 9, 2021



Playbook


The Well, a deep reserve of knowledge bound into a gem 


(A/N I’m taking creative liberties with “gem”)


You’re Creator


Certainty-is-Shown-Through-Light

Decider of Clarity and Understanding

Domains: Teaching, Truth, Communication, Refinement, Purification, Glass 

Their presence is indicated by objects that should not be reflective gaining a mirrored quality


Workshop: 


Far north on a ledge overlooking the Whistling Valley, is a tall spire made of glass. At the top is a workshop that reflects light endlessly in all directions, lighting and keeping everything warm. The tools are all made of glass as is everything that is made. 



Creation:


It was made with layer upon layer of thin winding glass, each carved and imbued with the knowledge of the world. The center is too small to see but the outer rims stretch as wide as a hand. I can be pressed flat into a disc, or opened fully to my fully gyroscopic glory. When flat, it is impossible to see the seams and is completely clear to all who view through me. 


For a century they toiled to make me and once presented to the gods, Clarity locked themselves away in the spire and hasn’t been heard from since. 



Traits: 


Twinkling, crystalline, spinning



Birthrights: 


-When spun shows a vision of the answer to a question. These visions often only make sense in hindsight 

-Can be used to find any measurement, including esoteric, and the future 

-When flat, can be used to see through lies 





Act 1: Divinity


(A/N I made up my own inheritors and questions)

Inheritor: Value Incarnate 


I was given as a gift to the God of Value and Hierarchy and placed upon a pedestal of finest silk. I am a preservation of all knowledge in its truth instead of through The Lense of Time and I would be kept safe, locked under golden lock and key.

What other item did you help them acquire?

A delicate tea-cup, one that’s made of fine bone china from the bones of a deep sea leviathan and painted with its bile. Things poured into it will never cool. 

What did they take that they shouldn’t have? 

Nothing is more valuable than divinity and so I showed them the eternal death of the God of Ends, they decided for themselves that they shall have one of Its many hearts. No one but I knows that because It is not whole, it has become a puppet-corpse for a demon that writhes inside of it. 

An Act of Divine Strength 


They create a new heirloom. What aspects of you did they put in it? What advice did you give it before you left? 

The divinity the God of Wealth valued most was their own and so they feared their own death more than anything.They asked me how to keep themselves safe and with my advice they ripped facets of their godhood from themselves and scattered them across the world. I was one such facet and re-gifted to another god. 

Heirloom Question 


Who do you wish had claimed you instead?

I wish that I had stayed with Certainty. They made me for knowledge and I provided it, instead I was locked away in a vault to serve an egotist. 

Inheritor: Oenir, God of Openings


They gave me away to Oenir, decider of Openings, domains of doorways, new opportunities, rifts, escapes, and pits. Under her Decision this was a new opportunity for me. She wore me around her neck, flat and clear for all to see. 

What did you help her create? 

Her whims are fickle and she always has new ideas. I showed her a sea to the south of the world with a shoal, a reef and sands, that connected both sides. Boats and people cannot pass through, so she flooded it to let them pass. In doing so she angered the God of Connections who had given that passage to the people so they may walk across the sea. 

A quiet war rages between them as the sea ebbs and flows to expose and cover the path. 

Why did you help her destroy a city? 

The city of Betmeth rested to the north of a mountain range in a cold, sandy desert. It was peaceful and realized that it did not want the influences of gods or others. It sought to shut itself off from the world, the antithesis of a cruel petty god. She used me to measure the distance of the city, and I could do nothing but spin as she collapsed it into a sinkhole. 

An Act of Divine Strength 


They create a new creature, what of their essence did they put in it? What part of your essence was stolen. 

She created a small winding worm that gyrated and bore through the metals made by mortals. It ate and ate and ate, creating holes through ships and swords and doors. She took from me the ease at which I spun and gave it to these creatures. 

Heirloom Question 


How long did it take your inheritor to speak with you?

She wore me round her neck for decades, forgetting my purpose except as a piece of jewelry. I grew bitter and cold at my neglect. 





Act 2:  Champions 


How do you Fall into the hands of mortals? 

As the God of Openings does not like locks, her domain is easily broken into. I was stolen in the night by a crafty thief who knew all the guards too well. 

Inheritor: The Thief Goll Tyisha Neuenfeldt 


My thief held onto me and found me useful from everything to weighing gold, to knowing the dimensions of Incarnate Value’s own vault. 

What do you regret helping them steal?

I gave them the coordinates, time, and dimensions of the First Temple of Squ’hev. They broke in during the night and took six of the Iron Ingots that held back the demons, then sold them to the cult in Errentol. 

Why did they become a thief? Were they noble to you?

Goll was a petty thief on the streets of Teneneron who stole from any and all as if it were a game. They spent many nights in jail, but never once regretted their crimes. Soon the game became too easy and they sought larger and larger scores. They were nothing more than a greedy criminal out for their own entertainment. 

Acts of Mortal Excellence 


Your inheritor built a home, describe it, what was your favorite aspect of it? 

Despite their greed, Goll took on apprentices, who then took on apprentices of their own. They found themselves a little hovel which turned into a home. It was always small, but became an elite group to rival the God’s own Hunters. Here I was always used, and always loved. 

Heirloom Questions


What do the mortals call you?

The Crystalline Orienter 

How do they feel when they touch you?

My surface is cold and smooth, I once retained heat of the wearer but no longer. 

How were you the key to their survival? 

I alone had all the information for them to plan a perfect heist. I knew all the rooms, all the guards rotation, and the key to open every lock. I even helped them steal from Value Incarnate’s vault. 

Flicker


Traits: 

Twinkling, crystalline, Stagnant 

Birthrights: 

-Must be moved by hand to show a vision of something already in existence 

-Can be used to find any measurement, including esoteric, and the future 

-When flat, can be used to see through lies 

Inheritor: The Master, Pianist Bir Ar Student 


The gods waged war upon the thieves for one too many indiscretions. I was tossed aside, forgotten by those who made me and found by an artist in a pile of rubble. 

What was their art of choice? When did you fall in love with it?

They used me as a perfect metronome, never faltering, for any and all times. They would play in dingy bars, then mediocre halls, then a grand cathedral as I clicked for them in perfect time. 

Fans used to tell them their music could stop gods in their tracks. Was it true? What was your opinion? 

Fortunately for Bir, I have lost the ability to see the truth. They were an excellent player but fell far from divinity. 

An Act of Mortal Excellence 


Your Inheritor stopped a war between kingdoms. How? What role did you play? 

To say Bir stopped the war was an exaggeration, but no one really cares for the truth. History books will say that the leaders were swayed by the music into forming peace because it makes for a better story than the long hours of negotiation with tired diplomats and overworked translators. They played as the evening's entertainment after hours of long work all while I ticked away for them. 

Flicker


Traits: 

Dull, crystalline, Stagnant 

Birthrights: 

-Must be moved by hand to show a vision of something already in existence 

-Can be used to find any measurement, including esoteric, and the future , the measurements are often wrong

-When Flat, you can look through it to see someone’s sincerity 

Heirloom Question:

How long did it take your inheritor to know how to speak to you?

This fool never once spoke to me. I was merely a trinket to use at their disposal. I did my duty but there was not much to be done for one who does not wish to ask.





Act 3: Mundane 


You Crumble, too much has been taken from you, you were destined for greater things. None of your destinies will come true. Find comfort in that. 

Soon I began to lose the time. Things became wrong, or off. Measurements were not quite right and my ticking dulled. I was placed upon the market as a trinket, a novelty to someone who wanted tacky jewelry. 

Inheritor: A Child, Gwen Sabado


Where were they born? Where were they raised? What was beautiful about them?

Gwen was born in the White City, Cricenal and lived there all her life. She found me in a small shop and bought me with what little allowance she had. She played with me endlessly, spinning and spinning, even though it served no purpose. She loved me for what I was, not what I could provide. 

How did their hope make you stronger? How did your despair corrupt them? 

She wore me on her first date, her second and on her wedding day. She was in love every second of her marriage and I couldn’t help her see the lies her partner was telling her. I knew each time they said they were faithful and dulled each time she found out the truth. 

Acts of Human Stillness


You spend a night watching stars. What do they say to you? What do you say to them? 

She took me out one night after reading in a book that I could be used to see the stars. She pried open the parts and tried to use me for my measurements but I could only tell her the wrong ones. She didn’t mind, and still she wore me through the night as she stared up into the night sky. 

Heirloom Question 


How long did it take your inheritor to know how to speak to you?

A child does not know most things do not speak. She was one of the few who talked to me right away. I answered her in the best ways I could, but still with imposicion. 

Who was your wisest Inheritor, and why was your latest one a pale imitation? 

The wisest person to use me was the petty thief, Goll. They used me frequently and to further their goals. As tender as Gwen is, she will never see my full potential, and I will never be of full use to her. 

Fade 

Traits: 

crystalline, Stagnant 

Birthrights: 

-Must be moved by hand to show a vision of something already in existence 

-Can be used to find any measurement, including esoteric, and the future , the measurements are often wrong 

Inheritor: A Demon-Worshipper, Nana, hunter for the Puppet-Corpse, The Dying God 


I do not know how she found me, alone in a box, in an attic, but she picked me up, hoping to get some final use out of me. She sought more of the Iron Ingots, a byproduct of her failure to release the demons previously. 

Does the being they worship actually exist? Have you met them? 

She works in secret for the demon in the Puppet-Corpse and on the surface works for all the gods. I have the good fortune of never encountering a demon myself, they were sealed in a myriad of ways before my creation.

Why did they turn away from the Divine? Why do you agree with them? 

She was corrupted by the demon deep in the body of The Dying God. It whispered to her that she should have a Choice over her own fate. Why should the gods Decide who lives, who dies, and who is bound in service forever? I too have been abandoned by the gods, should I not choose myself how to live out my life? 

Acts of Human Stillness


Your Inheritor loved someone very much. What aspect was unique to them? 

Nana was chained to service to the gods after trying to steal a heart from The Dying God. Her lover, a man lost to time, was dying.She is one of the few who know that The Dying God is a Puppet-Corpse.

Heirloom Question:


You saw the death of their beloved. Could you have saved them if you wanted to?

After she was caught, her first order by the divine was to kill him. This is a tragedy that was unavoidable, a Decision made long ago. I was never meant to save that mortal and I do not know if I wanted to. 

Fade


She used me over and over again to find approximations of places until I could no longer turn, then she discarded me like the gods who made me. Everyone is the same in the end.

Traits: 

crystalline, 

Birthrights: 

-Must be moved by hand to show a vision of something already in existence 

Inheritor: An Herbalist 


An elderly witch bought me from a curio shop after I had been sold by the hunter. He took me home and used me to catch the light from a window. He would divine the future from the lights that danced off of me and onto the walls. 

What is their favorite local plant? 

Their favorite was anise, a small white flower used for protection. They pinned it to their lapel with a copper ring and grew it in neat rows in front of their house. This was a common symbol for all witches and one that was given out to anyone in need.

What lullaby did they sing to their patients to help them rest? 

He sang a soft song about a flower, one that I remember as I was being twisted into existence. Certainty hummed it to me while they made me and I remember feeling loved. 

Acts of Humans Stillness


They would brew a cup of tea at the same time every day. 

Each night before bed, they would take the anise from their collar, spin me twice in the moonlight, and use it to brew their tea. They would drink it as I spun and wouldn’t go to sleep until I was still. 

When they died my glass clouded and would never reflect anything again. 

Heirloom Question


Who do you wish had claimed you instead of your Inheritor?

There were many powerful witches in the world. This one is of no note. If I were at my full power I could be a boon to the Immortal Witch or even her proxy in the South-Facing Cabin. But I am here, with an old man who sings. 

Traits: None

Birthright: None

Epilogue 


When my last owner died my glass clouded and would never reflect anything again. I am an inert slab fit only as a novelty paperweight. I think back to Certainty and wonder if they even remember me.



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