Creation: Book 3: Strandbinder Complete!

Working together, they figured out a basic breakdown with unlocks and systems for the first tier, and began to work on the rest of the series. They ran into several roadblocks as they went, then tried to fix some while knowingly leaving others open for those who were smart enough to find them. Walker had a very long argument with Neus about it, as the green squirrel wanted to create what he called a "seamless system", but John sided with him. They both felt it was important to allow the clever to rise on Symphony just as much as the strong.

Once they finished the generic portions, they had another lengthy round of pushing each other around on their ideas with the agriculturally specific tasks. Neus began to show more initiative the longer they worked at it, as he had a better understanding of what Walker was looking for as time went on. After a break where Walker did some soul work on his crappy couch, he jumped back in and asked John to show them a single screen for reference. The reason he asked for only one was because the tiered breakdowns had bloated to a massive size.

Levels Tiers Names

Unlocks, Requirements, and Rewards

11-20 2 Agrarian Settlement

Territory system generic requirements:

Settlement must have donated at least five original items to the Territory system.

Settlement must have housing for all and no food shortages for at least a month.

At least 50% of all citizens must have a job through the Profession system.

Must have 500 or more Citizens.

Agrarian requirements:

Settlement must have at least five different types of crops.

Settlement must have at least one Faction.

Settlement must have at least one at least one Farm Manager through the Profession system.

Unlocks:

An Increased Citizenry count to 1,000

The Auction House system (Regional): One free intermediate Auction House is provided by the system at no cost.

Looking at the update, he smiled. This was exactly what he had always wanted. As the territories grew in size, they would naturally...wait a second...Walker asked what the controlled area of each Territory was set for and received a stark answer.

One mile.

This began another series of pokes and prods at what the generic system unlocks would provide, and a systematic expansion of territorial boundaries. It also required them to restrict which landmasses could even hold territories in the first place. Chipper's land was too small for the system's scale to work on. Walker began to theorycraft with John and Neus about the potential of merging landmasses entirely so that Territories could expand over the maximum limit, which was currently set for level 100. They settled on the first level granting a mile, and the one-hundredth, or tenth tier, granting fifty miles in segmented incremental expansion through levels. Each level would push the distance of the territorial control, or what they could build on, by half a mile until it maxed out.

Walker also worked with John to better understand how to create a territory extender as a form of reward. They discussed it for a moment until John requested that Walker provide another Foundation Stone for study. Since it'd been a full day, he stepped out and grabbed one from near the Creation Instrument, then popped back into the Territory system. John analyzed the magical shotgun again and said he would only need a foundation stone at a tenth of the power Walker was currently holding in order to classify it as a territory extender.

John continued his explanation, "It's about not draining the Territory while still providing a just reward. Each time the territory expands, it's going to drain the ambient magical resonance within the immediate area to claim it for themselves. It wouldn't be a great reward if every time you wanted to gain the advantage provided to you, you also weakened your immediate region."

"I agree." Walker replied after thinking it over. He hopped over to the Item System and spoke with the basic AI. The system stated it could re-absorb the current Foundation Stone Walker was holding and use the magical output to create a smaller, less powerful version, although doing so would sacrifice his first que'd stone. He agreed, then Walker asked if they could attach this option to all future Foundation Stones and received a positive response. The reason he wanted it was simple. Options.

Each time an entity gained a Foundation Stone as a reward, they'd have the option to start a new territory. But what if they already had one? Symphony's economy was a deviously tricky situation that he had been considering for quite a while. How do you jumpstart an economy in a world that doesn't have one? Trade and barter would only last so long. It was something he had thought about a lot during his last soul-work. The answer was obviously the Faction system, but he could sow the seeds early to make things easier in the future.

Walker hopped over to John and Neus again, holding a newly minted Foundation Seed. He considered naming it a Foundation Pebble for the thematic matching, but it wasn't the same. John added it into the system as a possible reward, dependent on the current magical resonance found on Sonata. Sure, territories could try to make them with the interconnected item system if they wanted, but it would also drain them heavily of any magical permeance around them. That could set them back in other ways. In other words, more options were provided.

Refocusing on the Agrarian series, they completed the basis for what the territorial levels would look like with a promise that the series would be like a living document. As they found issues, they would add to it over time to fix them. Walker then had them shift to the next-in-line alphabetically.

Communal territories are a focus he chose because some people like to live life...differently. Walker had always been a big advocate for personal privacy. His time in the military had prepared him for a loss of such privilege, but that had always been for relatively short bursts of time except for his one deployment. But, ever since he'd arrived here, every step they'd made had forced him to methodically destroy his old viewpoint. He absolutely hated to use the term "Greater Good", but without the Milestone system and the subsequent Leveling system, nothing would make sense. He had created a Communal territory archetype for those who liked that lack of privacy, and Walker didn't want the Territory system to be too exclusive, allowing for as many directions for the entity involved to choose as possible.

They began their work on the new archetype and continued to argue for several hours as they built it, literally, from the ground up. John showed an update screen after a particularly heated marathon in which Neus pushed for Communal territory rewards that just seemed nonsensical to his Creator. He lost, but not until he'd had his say, becoming more forceful the longer Walker denied him.

The problem with Neus's argumentative style was that he kept saying the same thing in different directions. He was still relatively too young to be able to form a coherent response, downloaded information or not. No, Communal archetypes didn't need to be formed by only tents dipped in pheromones. No, they didn't need to be focused on creating sexytime paraphernalia. No....they didn't need one single bed the size of a building. If they wanted to go that way, great. But they wouldn't be responsible for creating a massive amount of weird sex cults.

Honestly, for a squirrel robot, he had some weird thoughts.

They finished up the series and Walker had John present the screen showing the third tier this time.

Levels Tiers Names

Unlocks, Requirements, and Rewards

21-30 3 Enhanced Commune

Territory system generic requirements:

Commune must have donated at least fifteen original items to the Territory system.

Commune must have housing for all and no food shortages for at least 3 months.

Must have at least two defensive structures.

Must have 1000 or more Citizens.

Communal requirements:

Commune must have at least three advanced large gardens.

Commune must have at least one member over level 50 in the Class system, or over Tier 5 in the Monster system.

Commune must have at least one active school with a minimum of fifty junior citizens and one teacher.

Unlocks:

An Increased Citizenry count to 5,000

The Guard system (Local): The Administration system is upgraded, and one guard keep is provided by the system at no cost.

Advanced items are now available in the interconnected item system.

In the third tier, they had removed the need for citizens to have pre-allocated professions. At that point, citizens should have an understanding of the benefits that professions bring to the community and what value they hold in the overarching world that is Symphony. Walker had replaced it with the town's prescribed requirement of two defensive structures. Even Communal-focused territories should have an understanding of what kind of dangers this world can bring to their doorstep, and this was his way of making sure everyone had a chance at surviving.

Allowing the creation of advanced structures and items within the third tier would be important. Not every territory would be a catch-all, with the ability to focus not only on creating a smithy, but also a museum or amphitheater. By giving Stewards and Holders the ability to just slam down a pre-designed advanced structure, they would be able to pick and choose what their town needed at that time. They could build their own and donate the blueprints to the interconnected item system, but that was up to them. Walker said the last part out loud and Neus spoke up with an idea.

"What if every time a Citizen donated something to the interconnected item system in their territory, they were granted something of equal value?"

"Like what?" Walker asked as he leaned forward in his chair.

Neus mirrored him, "Well, we don't have any form of currency yet, but if it's advanced enough, you could build direct rewards based upon the initial analysis the territory provides. Like 500...I don't know...schmeckles for an advanced item."

"Weird currency, but that's interesssting." Walker said as he scratched his chin, "Do you have an example in mind?"

"Reminder." John interrupted, "Aside from the basic items provided upon the initial inception of the Territory system, you have not set up different tiers as of yet."

Walker leaned back, "That's because we don't have any items! Wait a second...I have a guy outside who can do that! Hold on a second, I'll be right back." Walker hopped out of his chair and quickly clicked out of the system while John gave him a feathered wave.

As he faded in, he started to run around the much larger Sonata, looking for one person in particular. He dodged Echidna and Minos at the garden, and scooted around Cupid trying to ask him about where all the humans were. He found who he was looking for after he turned a corner around the Tree of the Gods close to an hour later. Aphrodite was squirming underneath the attention of a heavily scarred man who had recently exited the Tree of the Gods. He quick-stepped over and soon entered hearing range.

"I just know you offered yourself to him." The man said in a calm voice as he looked at the green-dressed woman in front of him.

The beautiful goddess replied, "I did not! You can ask anyone here!"

She looked left and right in a quickly rising panic, but didn't find anyone, at least, until Walker entered her viewpoint, "You! Creator! Tell him I did not offer my body to you!" She said with a huge amount of confidence.

"Ummm...." Walker mumbled as he caught his breath coming closer. Realizing this was a precarious moment, he popped the memory out of his mind and did a quick review. He didn't care so much if Aphrodite got in trouble, but he didn't want to alienate Hephaestus. He decided the truth was always best, "Technically she didn't. She asked Cupid if he thought I would make...love...to her. She angled the conversation in that direction, but didn't explicitly say so."

"See!" She said with a falsely proud expression on her face, "I didn't try to bed him!"

The scarred man's face shifted from angry, to neutral, before going back to angry again, "You just worked around the idea of it! That's not the same as not asking! Pahh!" He waved a hand at her, "I don't know why I even try, wife. All you ever do is try to bed the nearest man or woman next to you." He ran a hand through his short-cropped hair, "ughh...I really need to pound some metal."

A moment later, five basic iron ingots dropped next to his feet as Walker jumped out of the Item system. "Here you go" He said with a smile.

The god of smithing eyeballed the iron without touching it, "That's cast iron. I can't work with that garbage. I need something purer than that if you want me to make something." He looked up from the iron and met Walker's eyes, "So, you're the Creator huh? Thanks for not fucking my wife."

Walker mentally stumbled on that for a moment, "You're...uh....welcome I guess, Hephaestus."

"Call me Heph. It's less of a load on your mouth." Walker winced at how he had framed that. Hephaestus looked to his left quickly, "Ah, here she is" He said with open arms as Athena walked over. They embraced each other warmly, the god of blacksmith's awkwardly patting her on the back. After they separated, he asked, "How're you doing little sister?"

She smiled in return, "I am quite well brother. You're not causing Walker any trouble, are you?

"Me? Nooo....wait a second. Walker?" He scratched the top of his head, "Except for Father, you really only use people's titles when you speak to them." He looked over at Walker with a perplexed expression on his face, "Could it be..."

Athena's cheeks brightened a little as she looked back at him, but a laugh echoed out from the goddess of love.

She had a twisted look on her face as she said, "The virgin goddess is considering the Creator for a life-partner? What a joke. With me here, how could he ever want..."

A pulse of gold washed out of Athena as she turned to look at Aphrodite."Do we have a problem here?" the goddess of wisdom asked in a tight voice. The golden aura came back all at once, covering her body with small golden touches.

A similar pulse of pink responded from the goddess of love before covering her as well, "Would you like one?" she replied.

"STOP" Walker yelled out, as his own forest green burst out and smothered both of theirs. Like a flame finding a sudden lack of oxygen, they faded away until nothing was left. Athena gave him a quick grin while Aphrodite looked horrified.

I just wanted to talk about crafting damnit!

"Well well." was all Hephaestus said as he looked at Walker more closely than before. "You're not all for show." He looked over at Athena, "Fine, I approve but only for courtship right now. Not that you need it of course." He looked back at Walker, "Give me something real to work with, and I'll change the landscape of your world."

Walker clicked into the world editor and quickly scanned his resources in the corner. Making a decision, he dropped hundreds of pounds of steel in front of the scarred man, "This is what I have for now. I'm looking at making.."

Hephaestus waved a hand, "No no, this is just fine. Steel is it? I've seen some of that in your memories." He hefted a piece of steel in his hand, making Walker wonder just how strong the Primigenial was, "I've worked with similar material before, so this shouldn't be an issue." Taking the piece of steel, he tried to twist it, and while it gave in to the enormous pressure he was applying, it was only by a small amount. "Excellent. I've already seen the pitiful excuse for tools you've dropped for me. I'll make my own, thank you." He picked up the steel on the ground, likely weighing several hundred pounds, and walked away. "Give me a little bit of time." He called over his shoulder.

Aphrodite glared at Athena, gave Walker what he would assume was a smoldering look, then hopped after her husband while still proclaiming her innocence.

"How is he going to...never mind." Walker said with a shrug.

"Soul Crafting." She said with a smile, "Maybe you'll get lucky and he'll teach you how to do it as well. He only ever taught his Cyclops partners in the past, and Hermes of course, but who knows?" She said with a shrug. "He seems to like you."

"Why did you start a fight with Aphrodite?" Walker asked, still confused by the turn of events.

"So she would know just how powerful you are, and so Hephaestus could gain a measure of you. He has never been much of a talker, preferring his work and the actions of those around him to speak for themselves."

Walker laughed, "goddess of wisdom indeed."

She smiled back at him, "Well, I prefer to think of myself as the goddess of critical thinking. Wisdom is learning from your mistakes, of which I try to make very few." She pulled a strand of hair and tucked it behind an ear, "This may be...what's the term...out of left field? Baseball?"

Walker nodded in encouragement.

She clapped her hands in excitement, "I knew it. Anyways, I know you are still busy, but can you answer a few more questions for me?"

Walker could use a break, so of course he agreed, "Sure!"

Athena had a weird look on her face, "Okay, this will seem strange, but please answer honestly."

"Alright then, shoot."

"What was your perfect day like back on Earth?"

"Oh...umm." He thought back to all of the days he'd spent with Matt in the summer, and those few lucky times in the colder seasons. "I...uhh..always enjoyed going to the beach and surfing if I got the chance. The feel of the waves, the sun, even the briny smell in the air. It was just a great feeling. Afterward, we'd hit a local 7-11 for a quick ice-cold blue raspberry and coca-cola slurpee and boom, I was in heaven."

"Slurpee?' She asked with a weird look on her face. "Who is 7-11 and why are you hitting them?"

Walker laughed, "Oh, sorry! A 7-11 is a...umm...merchant. They sell food and drinks. Slurpees are an ice-cold drink that is full of sugar and goodness, but will likely eventually kill you."

"Ah, I see. Okay. I don't know if you will be able to recreate that here, Walker." She said with a serious look on her face.

"Nooo, I don't suppose I will." He said with a shake of his head.

She squeezed his shoulder with a soft hand, "We'll figure it out, don't worry. Okay, question numbers two." Her face shifted from a soft look to a serious one, "What's your favorite book and why?"

Walker laughed again, "Oh! The big, serious questions now, is it? That one drives to the heart of an English teacher. Once upon a time, a man had an idea for a new type of book. What would happen if he wrote a series around a world where the hero succeeds in saving the day, but then goes insane and destroys everything he ever worked for. What if life was just a wheel, constantly spitting out the same people in a cyclical fashion?"

Walker explained who Robert Jordan was, and how his books had influenced his life. Regardless of the sub-par ending, and the strange harem fantasy too few people had noticed, it was still an amazing series. He also explained about how he used to love another series about a boy named Garion, until he got older and realized just how racist and sexist the entire series was. Athena lamented his lost love for the book series with him. Saying how a hunched over man had once written a book she too had loved, until she'd found a story that didn't represent her very well.

Struck by another idea, he convinced Athena to walk with him without explaining anything, and they quickly made their way over to the couch near his Creation Instrument. He stepped into the item system and had it produce a basic book and pen. He then asked her to sit with him and reached deep into his memories. Since he'd awakened he could recall anything with perfect clarity, including the time he'd spent reading the series. There were no copyrights in Symphony....yet.

For several hours Walker became a scribe, and wrote down what he had read in the past. Athena got up every so often to put out some fires with the other Primigenials, particularly when Cupid tried to play a prank on Apollo and got a split lip for it. Walker still hadn't talked to the twins, but that was fine. He'd deal with them when he could. Walker dotted the last period of the first book, albeit in the third basic book and eighth pen he'd had to make, and wrote The Eye of the World parts one, two, and three on each cover. Writing the author's name down just below them, he finished up and handed them over to the goddess of wisdom when she returned.

"Here you go. The start of one amazing series. I hope you enjoy them. Oh, one second."

Walker registered all three books into the item system, causing them to disappear, and then reproduced them for her. "Sorry they're not the original ones I wrote for you, but they're basically the same."

Athena gave him a huge smile, like the sunrise on a new day after witnessing a terrible event the night before, "Thank you so much, Walker. You have no idea what this means for me. I have been without anything to read for....thousands of years." A few tears dropped from her eyes as she held the books in her hands.

"My pleasure." He said as he smiled back. After he saw her sit down and carefully place the second and third books beside her before opening the first's cover, he stepped back into the Territory system feeling refreshed.

"Where were we?"