An Apeiron Story: The Day Off

Hey everyone! Before we begin a quick reminder that there’s only 5 days left on our Season 1 Speedrun Leaderboard! You still have time to…

Hey everyone! Before we begin a quick reminder that there’s only 5 days left on our Season 1 Speedrun Leaderboard! You still have time to engrave your name in Godiverse history! Now, to prepare your mindset for the epic grind to come, we have a short story to share with you, the first of several exploring some of the backgrounds of Apostles not yet present in the demo…but who you can certainly expect to see in the future! There’s also some information about doody life in the Axis Mundi — the Center of Creation — and some of the many gods and doods who make it their home. Lots of details for lore nerds :]

So let’s go explore the godiverse right…wait for it……..now!

________

Nob woke up and looked out the window.

Sunday morning.

He smiled.

It had been a busy week. He was a builder in the city and they had been preparing for a festival, which meant a lot of work for him. He’d hardly had time for snacks between meals! But that all changed today. It was time for a break.

He had the whole day planned out. First he would have a nice big greasy breakfast. Then after that he would sit with some tea and biscuits by his little window and read his book until lunch. After lunch, he would take a nap, waking up in time for afternoon tea and more reading. Dinner would follow, then desserts. The previous day he had bought a small (well, small-ish) cake on the way home from work which would serve as a perfect dessert for him and his wife, Flanny. Then he would simply read until he fell asleep.

It had to be said that he was particularly looking forward to reading his book today. He was currently just near the climax of Vance Dood’s Doodimus the Ninth, a series famed for its inclusion of a free sandwich once you proved you finished reading the book. Doodimus was one of the most popular of dood heroes — an ingredient hunter — one of those bold doods who went out of their way to find new things for dood society to eat and add to existing recipes, an adventurer and culinarian par excellence. Nob couldn’t wait to find out what happened next in Doodimus’ latest adventure of daring-do (and he wanted to get that free sandwich, too)!

He sighed contentedly as he lived through his perfect day in his mind, snuggling back down under his covers for 5 more minutes. Or 10. Or 20! Who cared? It was his day off after all.

It was at that exact moment that, unfortunately for Nob, events began to transpire such that his day would not go quite as he planned out. In point of fact, this would be his last day in the White City of the Axis Mundi and the start of his own adventure, though he was not to know it then. Alas, poor Nob! Ah well. He’s hanging in there. But back to the story…

“Nooooooob!” shouted Flanny, his wife, from somewhere in their small house.

He sighed and squinched his eyes shut tighter. Maybe she would stop shouting if he didn’t respond…

“Noooooooooooob!” she shouted again.

He sighed. “Whaaaaaaaaaat?” he shouted back.

“Are you awake?”

“No!”

“Well can you get up?”

“Why?”

“Just come down here please!”

He put his pillow over his head and sighed into it. Then, grumbling ferociously, he lurched out of bed and over to the door, where he donned his slightly-too-small dressing gown and marginally-too-large slippers and went downstairs.

There was Flanny, smiling prettily at him. His heart sank. She only smiled like that when she felt guilty about something. And he had a feeling this was somehow going to affect his plans for a perfect day.

“Morning!” she chirped.

“Morning,” he gruffed. “What’s up?”

“Umm…remember how you told me to prepare the food yesterday? The burgers and bacon and stuff?”

“Yes?”

“Well, the meeting of the DUCT ran late yesterday…and I got hungry so…” Flanny sighed. The DUCT — the Doods United for Cleanliness and Tidiness — was a special counsel that worked under the supervision of Sparkle and Joy, Twin Gods of Cleanliness and Tidiness in the Axis Mundi. Among the gods living in and above the White City, the Twins frequently came round to make sure everything was clean and tidy, and the DUCT was a key part of their cleanup efforts. It was an important group, and Nob was very proud of his wife for being a member. But they did get busy…

“You…ate…everything?” he asked, slightly baffled.

“Sorry!” apologized Flanny. “I got hungry. Been so busy with preparing for the festival tonight.”

“Wait, it’s today? I had totally forgotten…”

“Yeah and actually I gotta run. So, uh, you gotta get your own food today Nob.”

“Oh um…ok. No problem.”

“Righty ho. Love you! Byee!” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and with that was off.

Nob stood there for a minute and then sighed again. Still, there was nothing for it. Sulking wasn’t going to put food in his belly. Well, he thought, maybe if he hurried to the market he could get back in time to have the afternoon to himself, at least, before he needed to go to the festival. He would cook some simple fried noodlies for lunch and read as he ate.

Yes, everything was going to work out just fine.

______

Flanny hadn’t been kidding when she said it was busy. The cobblestone streets of the White City were positively packed with doods. Nob felt like a pebble being bounced around on a riverbed as he made his way through the crowd — and he was a big dood to begin with. In such fashion he made his way slowly to the markets, picking up here and there on the local chatter as he went.

The talk of the town was the festival, the so-called Festival of Purity, which the DUCT was holding to celebrate a recent clean-up and tidying effort in light of all the preparations that had been going on. The gossip was that it wasn’t just the DUCT members who would be giving speeches tonight, but that the Twins themselves would be descending from the parties of the Empyrean Palace to give the City doods their personal blessings.

It wasn’t every day that a dood got to see a god around these parts. The White City, where the doods lived, was located some distance below the Empyrean Palace which floated high in the clouds. It was a huge city: the biggest dood city in the godiverse. It was also ancient — the foundations haven been laid out by High Goddess Cosmos herself. The city was square in shape, with streets running smoothly in straight lines north-south and east-west. Districts were built around temple squares dedicated to various of the Axis Mundi gods, and market streets where the doods conducted their business.

It was to one such market street that Nob strolled now. He lived in the Twins’ District, suitably so, since Flanny was one of the Twins’ chief worshippers. His district was particularly well-maintained — you could have eaten off of the streets, they were polished so clean (and some doods did) — and the buildings were shining white. He was proud of his district, even though it took some extra effort to keep it that way. The Twins usually were pretty good at rewarding their followers with extra snacks to make up for it.

In a relatively quiet corner of the busy market street, where doods had strung up colorful awnings to provide some relief from the perpetually sunny white city (with the Twin’s permission and oversight), was a small shop “Ribrib’s Meat.” Nob had known Ribrib for many years and had always been impressed by the dood’s selection. But when he got there, the meat display case was almost cleared out. Ribrib gave him a sad wave of greeting.

“‘Hullo Nob”

“Hullo Rib. Not so much meat today?”

The butcher sighed. “Not so much meat any day, Nob.”

“Eh? How come?”

Rib shrugged. “War.”

“Oh. Yeah.” Nob really didn’t know much about it. It wasn’t Axis Mundi business.

“I used to get supply from all over,” moaned Ribrib. “So much yummy meats. Not anymore.”

“What’s going on out there anyway?”

Rib’s eyes flew from side to side nervously. “Best not to talk about it,” he whispered. Then he resumed, more normally. “Well, what do you want anyway? We haven’t got much, but we’ve got enough for you, I reckon.”

Nob picked up a hunk of Dolt meat for his fried noodlies and then went on his way. He quickly got the rest of what he needed and then started to make his way home. His heart was heavy as he walked back. And it was making him annoyed. This was supposed to be his day off! He shouldn’t be shopping and thinking about whatever was going on out there — he should be relaxing! It was enough to make him-

But no. He took a deep breath and thought about his book, and the adventures of Doodimus. Soon. Soon everything would be alright. Nice lunch, chill afternoon, festival. That sounded alright, didn’t it?

________

After another battle of pushing through the busy streets, he was on the road home. Finally he arrived at the door to his little home. All the doods of the White City lived in small, square houses with a big, open area on the first floor (living room and kitchen) and a small upper floor for sleeping and a toilet. They were cozy above all else, and right now Nob just wanted to curl up in his bed, eat, and read.

“Oi, Nob!”

He looked up. There was Trub and Kolt, standing at his door, looking bashful. Trub and Kolt were two of his builder dood colleagues, and they only came to find him if they needed help with something at work. But today was Sunday! What could it possibly-

“Sorry Nob, we need ya. There’s been an accident over in the market. Some dood claimed another dood took his doodburger (you know how that goes) and a fight broke out and they knocked over the awnings and now it’s a big mess down there.”

“And it’s the festival…” said Kolt. “We would say just leave it ’til tomorrow but what with them gods coming down, well, you know how they like it…and besides that, you’re the strongest dood in the city…”

They looked at him beseechingly. Nob could feel a rising fury welling in his chest. He hadn’t eaten breakfast (ridiculous) and now he was going to have to skip lunch too!? And on his day off? The whole day was going from bad to even badder. “Right then,” he huffed.

“So you’ll come?” Trub asked hopefully.

“Yeah. Lemme just drop off these shopping bags.”

“Great! Thanks boss! You’re the best! We’ll see you down there.”

The two doods trotted off briskly. Nob stood for a moment, his shopping bags of food on the ground by either arm, and put his forehead on his houses’ cool door. He closed his eyes. Just a little more, he told himself. Just fix up the market as quick as a flash and then come back for a bite to eat and a clean up, then off to the festival to find Flanny. Simple as that. The festival probably wouldn’t go on that long. He could home and rest and read at long last.

But in truth, he was starting to doubt the assurances he was telling himself.

And he was starting to get (h)angry.

_________

By the time they were finished cleaning up, the sun was about to set, transforming the White City into magnificent gold. Above in the sky, the Empyrean City gleamed in the fading light, defiant. It was time for the festival. Over in the Twins’ Temple Square, they could hear the communal drums begin to bang out a rhythmic beat.

Trub sighed as he looked towards the square where the festival was beginning to kick into gear. “We’ll never make it, not in the state we’re in. Too dirty, too messy. Best everyone heads home and clean up and make your prayers to the Twins later for forgiveness for not showing up.”

There were some sighs from the group, but no one disagreed. The Twins were very picky about appearances. There was simply nothing for it.

Nob straightened up the last awning pole with a THUNK. “I’m going.”

Trub grimaced. “Nob, I know Flanny will want to see you there with her being DUCT and all, but come on, you’re a total mess right now. If the Twins see you-“

“I. Am. GOING,” rumbled Nob, his voice a stone that heralded an avalanche.

Silence. Trub waved to the others to leave. “Good luck then, Nob,” he said grimly. “May the Twins forgive you.”

And with that, the other doods left. Nob was alone in the market. He kicked the air petulantly. “I clean up the market so the Twins don’t get annoyed, and they get annoyed that I’m messy? It’s not fair, not fair at all,” he grumbled. “And on my day off, too…ugh.”

He started to make his way towards Temple Square. There was a small part of him that warned him that this was definitely the wrong idea. I mean, he was likely to embarrass Flanny as much as anything. But he was, quite frankly, pretty peed off. Everything had gone wrong today. And he had decided that this was one thing that was going to go according to plan.

________

Twin Temple Square was packed, but unlike most dood gatherings, it was very organized. Doods sat on neat rows of benches before a large stage that had been set up in front of the Twins’ Temple of Two Towers. There was a cordoned off standing area behind the benches where doods without seats could stand and watch. The edges of the square were kept carefully empty so as to allow easy concourse out of the square, and these were being patrolled by DUCT members.

When Nob arrived, poking his head around the corner into the empty space at the edges, he immediately spotted Flanny. She was center stage wearing her DUCT member’s sash and just finishing a small speech welcoming the Twins. Flanking her on either side were the very tall and large forms of the Twins themselves.

Even though it wasn’t his first time seeing a god, his jaw still dropped. It was always impressive. They dwarfed the stage, easily looking out over the square and beyond the tops of the surrounding dood homes out into the city. Yet their sheer size in no way diminished their heavenly beauty: the Goddess of Cleanliness Sparkle wore a flashing smile that dimmed the surrounding lights, her black hair silkily falling around her slender shoulders, a lovely contrast to the white purity of her shining dress. Next to her, God of Tidiness Joy grinned warmly as he observed the proceedings with his piercing brown eyes, hair tidily coiffed, his cream-colored robes arranged just exactly so, offering a perfect pair with his twin divine.

“-and so with that being said, let’s give a warm doody welcome and all praise to our Twin Gods, Sparkle and Joy!” Flanny finished her speech with aplomb. The dood audience broke out into measured clapping, with just the right amount of cheering. Sparkle raised one of her pristine hands and waved forward, beginning her own speech.

“Welcome, all, to our festival of purity-” Sparkle’s voice, like other gods’, had a quality that made it resonant, pervasive and powerful.

While the doods in the crowd pretended to be interested, Nob saw his chance. If he could just sneak round the edge and find a little corner…so he surreptitiously began to make his way forward. Unfortunately, a couple of factors were working against him. First, he was — as his co-workers mentioned — quite a big dood. This made sneaking around a bit of a challenge given his girth. And second, DUCT members had been specifically instructed to allow no loitering of a surreptitious nature around the edge of the square.

“Oi! Nob! What are you doing??”

He had been spotted. It was a DUCT member. He knew the dood: Bluffins. “Heyo Bluffins. Just a bit late…”

“You’re an absolute mess Nob! Get outta here before the Twins notice, quick!” Bluffins hissed at him and motioned him towards the exits of the square.

“Look, Bluff, I just want to hang out round the edge here, no one needs to know-”

“Can’t allow it Nob, Twin’s orders. ‘Not a Dood out of line, no exceptions.’ You have to go!”

“Make me,” Nob answered matter of factly, crossing his arms in front of his chest. Bluffins paled. He looked at Nob’s thick muscles and huge fists and started to imagine what would happen if he was punched. He quickly shut down that line of thought.

“Look, Nob, I don’t know what to tell you. If you stay, they’re going to-”

“You there!”

Bluffins and Nob turned from their argument to find that the entire audience was staring at them, and up on stage, Sparkle, God of Cleanliness, was waving at them. There was a smile on her face but her eyes were as hard as polished tile. Nob couldn’t help but notice Flanny on the back of the stage. Her face was a picture of terror.

Bluffins immediately prostrated himself on the ground. “Oh great goddess Sparkle, please forgive our interruption-”

Nob looked at the goddess. And you know what? He wasn’t about to fall down on his knees. No sir, not today. He was dirty because he’d been cleaning up others’ messes: for them! For this bloody festival! So he stood there with his arms crossed and said: “Sorry.”

The Cleanest Goddess’ nose twitched slightly. “You don’t seem sorry.”

Nob shrugged. There were stifled gasps from the audience.

Joy, the Lord of Tidy and Neat, moved in to fix up this messy situation: “Young dood…Nob, is it?” His piercing eyes saw all. “Nob, yes. A builder? You have come to this festival — a mess. That in itself is a disgrace to the very reason we’re holding this ceremony. Now you interrupt my dear sister’s speech with your petty arguments. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“Well now that you mention it-” Nob decided to go all in. Hey, if you’re going to argue with a god, might as well make the most of it. “Today was supposed to be my day off. I was going to read my book. Well, I spent the morning shopping because someone ate all the food. I spent the afternoon cleaning up another dood’s mess. And I came here this evening because I wanted at least one thing to work out. And I’m sorry it hasn’t. But I’m not sorry I came.”

Silence.

Joy resumed, unmoved: “Sister, what think you?”

Sparkle sniffed daintily. “Excuses, brother. Classic dood excuses.”

Joy smiled. “Then we are of one mind.”

She nodded.

And suddenly Joy was striding forth. In one swift step he was over the crowd and towering above Nob. “Nob Dood, you will come with me and do a penance as my personal servant for the next fortnight, and let this be a lesson to all doods, that our mercy is such that despite this interruption, we use this opportunity to teach you-”

Even as he was talking, Joy reached down with a huge hand to grab Nob and hoist him aloft. And that was it. He wasn’t going to stand for being picked up and thrown about. Not today. Not now.

He saw red.

And he slapped aside Joy’s hand as it reached down, and dodged out of the way.

The whole audience gasped, at least one dood screamed, and Flanny, who had been more than put upon by this whole state of affairs, took this moment to faint.

For the slightest of moments, Joy, the Immaculate Supreme, was thrown off by this act of rebellion. A curl from his perfectly coiffed hair slipped down onto his forehead.

But in the next moment, the Sovereign of Spick and Span had righted himself and his errant curl. And now his sister Sparkle came beside him, and with speed that no dood could match grabbed Nob from behind. He didn’t even see it coming. And now he was helpless.

But Nob was caught in fury’s grip as much as Sparkle’s, and didn’t stop waving himself about, trying to find purchase to land another punch. “Put me down and let’s have a fair fight then! Come on! I ain’t afraid of no god!”

“Such rage…” mused Sparkle.

“…could be of use in the war against Chaos…” continued Joy.

“…but not here,” Sparkle finished.

She tossed him up like a ball, then, as he plummeted to the ground, she pulled back her leg and kicked him — right out into space. You see, doods have a special quality. When punted in this fashion by a god, they don’t explode. Rather, they get bounced right into space. Eventually they fall back down onto another planet. Eventually.

So off he went, yelling in pain (his buttcheeks were sore as hell) and fear (at first) and then — when he realized it would be awhile until he fell back anywhere — he closed his eyes and sighed, spinning through the void, off onto some other world, on an adventure not of his own choosing.

Goodbye, Axis Mundi, he thought. Goodbye Flanny. Sorry for the trouble.

He hoped he would be able to find a copy of his book (and a sandwich), out there, somewhere…

In the godiverse.

TO BE CONTINUED…

That’s the end of this one! What did you think? Did you enjoy this little tragicomic tale from the White City? Got any theories about the roles Nob, Sparkle, Joy, or any of the others might have in the future? Let us know! Join us on our Discord, where we talk about all things Apeiron related, all the time. Also follow our Twitter. Just ‘cause.

And as always, thanks for reading, godling. We’ll see you next time.

About Apeiron

Apeiron is the world’s first NFT-based Godgame. Apeiron will feature a unique card-based action-adventure combat system combined with god game simulation gameplay inspired by classic god games like Populous and Black & White. Players will be able to build up planets from above before descending to the ground as a powerful Avatar to solve the mysteries of the universe. Players will grow their planet to the point of developmental stagnation, then reset the planetary cycle via an Armageddon event to allow for even more advancement and thrilling late-game alliance level GvE and GvG activities. Apeiron will use a tri-token architecture, which means that there will be three separate tokens to navigate their ecosystem: a governance token, a play-to-earn token, and a premium alliance token.

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