I Now Walk Into the Wyld: Reprise (IC)

[Recaiden]

As of two days ago, a significant fraction of the East has always been aware of the aeon-old tradition of the Great Pastry Faire. This event is truly beyond compare, a gathering of those legendary pastry chefs whose names are whispered in awe by the masters of chocolate, cream, and sugar. Why, Panicus has been famous for his lemon tarts for decades.

The Faire is an opportunity like none other to partake of delicacies beyond the wildest dreams of the gods themselves, and everyone who is anyone (and weak willed enough to realize it) will be hurrying there. Brash young crust makers, experienced artisans in fondants, sage old patissiers... it is a chance to discover desserts like nothing else in Creation, meet friends and rivals, and contest for the wondrous prizes of the Great Pastry Faire.

This year, especially, the competition is intense and towering confections rise by the tents, stalls, ovens, and furnaces of the grand masters. For the prizes are such as to beggar the imagination, and experts in cakes (lies) and other marvels are all ready to begin.

Last year's final event was the supreme duel between the Inimitable Danish Princess and her greatest foe ever, the Four Story Tall Death By Chocolate Cake. This year promises to be even more sensational, as chefs from beyond Creation gather to make the Great Pastry Faire an even grander event!

So reads the invitations some of you have received. And how could you pass up a chance to attend such an important event?
Of course, not everyone is here to be a competitor in the cooking contests. Not even a significant fraction of them.

But you all have your reasons, you know why you're here: Was it fun, or did you have an ulterior motive? Were you hoping to bake the empyreal artifact? Did you hear that a certain Solar was here?

The 968th Annual Great Pastry Faire has been open for a while now. Are you enjoying the festivities, or just searching the crowds?

This year, the grounds Around the Shattered Table have been chosen to host it. A hugely spacious clearing in the redwood forests, not too far from wherever you were, around an ancient broken pillar of shaped basalt. Just a stone's throw into the Wyld (assuming the stone has wings and is launched by siege engine).
Tents, pavilions, and the all-important ovens have sprung up in the clearing, and pastry chefs are hard at work.
All manner of people can be found here, from all around. And all manner of not-people, for that manner. Any number of exotic vehicles are stored in and on the trees at the edge of the fairground. Cooks and assistants rush to and from the Ingredient Repository near the Table itself, while fair-goers mill about, comparing the merits of various cream puffs, competing in the salt toss, and more.

Nearly every type of guest is represented. Humans, mutants, materialzied gods, elementals (mostly wood), fae, the occasional exalt.
The Church of Balor Bake Sale is doing fine business with its skeletal attendants eternally grinning.
There's a band of demons over there whose chocolate eclairs are just to die for.
A hovering ball of water that should contain a sorcerer rolls hither and thither, keeping to the shadows.
A beautiful snake-lady is putting on some sort of concert over by the western treeline.
Everything.



Now, however, it seems the year's faire will be coming to an unexpected end.

Shana saw it first, the sharp-eyed Lunar was appraised of everything happening here. The Chaos Lord didn't care for distance...perhaps it doesn't care for pastry either. Whatever the reason, it's coming this way. Does she flee? Sound an alarm? Set out to fight it? Or just keep watching, as she has this whole time?

A while later other people start to take note of it. A shape in the distance, an inverted 'Y', rising up to meet the dome of heaven and scattering the clouds as it drifts this way and that. Looks to be made out of wood, if you can see that well. Ovens are turned off, stalls clear out, chefs vanish through silk doors that close and vanish behind them.

Another few minutes, and it's clear that it is coming exactly this way. The suppressed Wyldness of the fairgrounds surges to life: plants flourish and writhe, growing sugarplums and shoes from their flowers, and the color of the sky twists and shimmers in a complex spiral. A flock of pretzel-flies has attacked the Ingredient Repository, trying to steal enough flour to build up a hive. Unattended donuts start getting up and rolling themselves away.
You are now in the Bordermarches, and the approaching shape now exudes streams of smoke, further concealing its impossible features. The nervous whispers of raksha guests give a name to the thing, 'Shirrduname'.

Just in case you care, there are a few obvious exits to the clearing. East, a path leads into the woods. Southwest, where most of the guests have come from, leads back towards the river flowing away south and to civilization. North, there's the mouth of a cave from which odd pale folk selling mushrooms and quiche came up. Not quite sure whether they're earth fae or simply mutants.

Roll Int+Occult if you care to find out.

Add 1 success on below. That thing is Outside Fate.

Add 1 success on below. That's an unshaped raksha. They bring the wyld with them it's going to get more chaotic the closer it gets
This is common knowledge, open all the spoilers.

That's bad. You probably don't want to be here.

That's an Unshaped Raksha, or Chaos Lord. They're kind of a big deal, but usually avoid shaped areas and other real people.

They bring the Wyld with them; things are going to get more and more chaotic around here, and shaping magic will get harder. This one is clearly Wood-aspected, maybe being out of the forest would be safer.

This is Shirrduname, the Colossal Walker Amongst the Trees. He is very, very old, and stirs himself to quiet great noise, or punish the use of certain shaping combat styles.








The false-commoner bows to the Lady and hands her her prize, a moonsilver(?!?) cord strung with the teeth of dozens of different beasts.
A 2 dot Ring, not made into anything.
Her behemoth withdraws to a defensive stance, considering the fight over, and she herself, far from launching some impossible attack with a backup grace, adjusts her form, trading an apron for a fur coat and a human shape for a wolf's.

[Obscurejones]

Pressing with his finger across the thin brass bridge Jack pushes his glasses up his nose. Peering through the subtly smoked glass he studies the phenomenon for a moment.
"Shirrduname. Containing the word name within itself. She would be proud. It is named. It is known by the denizens of the wyld. Let us assume that it has power then, enough to impress the weak. But the strong are scattering as well. Those with what we might assume is sufficient power to face down many if not most phenomena are fleeing. To summarize. Big. Bad. Scary."
Snatching a pretzel out of the air Jack takes a bite with gusto.
"Groovy. Let's go take a look."
Intelligence 4 + Occult 4 [roll0]
Stunt, if any is given by the great and merciful ST. [roll1]

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady graciously accepts victory and Isiphepho once again ceases its thunderous roaring as the cloud seems to fade away, rising back above the clouds with only the lightest of rain now flowing up towards it once more. As She inspects the spoils of Her victory, Her melodious voice fills the air,"You fought well and proved to be a fun antagonist for a short while, what is your name and how would you like to join my retinue, become a supporting character to my Story?"


um just normal persuasion, not Shaping, so CHA+Presence:[roll0]

stunt (probably 1 die):[roll1]

[Django]

Seven Daggers Sparrow rises from his chair among the pastry-sellers, where his stall- with calligraphic placard advertising, simply, "Real Cookies"- has done little business.

With an eye on the approaching wyldstorm, he lights a cigarette and inhales. He notes the exotic, capering shapes formed by the aromatic smoke- we're definitely in the Bordermarches now, he says to himself. Tossing aside his plain white apron, he walks calmly in the direction of the inverted-Y, against the flow of departing wyld-chefs. They swerve away from him without realizing, consumed by their own worries.

Raising both hands, Seven parts the chaos-charged curtain of reality, and steps through. His Sidereal unobtrusiveness is magnified, and the man with the violet scarf passes through the bakery like a memory of a dream.


Int+ Occult
[roll0]

[Soft Presence Practice], [Walking Outside Fate]

[MeklorIlavator]

Willow had been enjoying the fair, with so many new things, both from Creation and from the wyld. But in a moment things change, and now it seemed like everyone was trying to get out of here, which didn't surprise him: he could feel it, in the air. Power. Like a the moments before a stampede of wood spiders, except more focused, more single-minded. For the first time since the Dragons came into his life, he feels truly small. All he can do is stand there, thinking about the stories he's heard, the information about the wyld he sought out, and how it pales in comparison to what he see approaching, and despite that trying to match some legend to what approaches.


Int+Occult:[roll0]+possible stunt: [roll1]

[Kell_tamer]

Shana glowers at the chaos lord.

She keeps her hand on her weapon. "This is not good. what is it doing here?"

Intelligence 3 OCcult 1 Wyld 1 5 dice
[roll0]

+1 success for being a lunar it seems

[MeklorIlavator]

He might not recognize the name Shirrduname, but he can recognize an unshaped, lords of the Wyld. And it's coming towards him. Joy.

Well, not just him. There are still a few others in the clearing. Turning towards a barbarian child, he answers her question, pitching his voice to carry.

"Who knows? But it's coming here, and I for one don't want to see what it's going to do to anyone here when it gets here. So, run or hide?"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana doesn't take her eyes off the thing. She answers the dragon with a simple display. Her tattoos take on a pale glow and the grip upon the hilt of her ax grows tighter. Stewards stand.

This one did anyway.

[Recaiden]

"Rainbow March."

The wolf howls, the sound lost somewhat among the clamor and confusion, but carrying enough.

"Supporting? You're not quite cool enough for that, miss. But we can run together for a while. Could be fun."
"What's your plan for the big guy coming this way?"



There are fewer and fewer people who are staying, much less heading towards the distant Unshaped. Those who are stand out more and more: a hobgoblin here, a man armored in brass and sea-foam there, and those mentioned above.

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady turns and looks upon the Chaos Lord, the Colossal Walker Amongst the Trees, with a look of amusement. Even it could not ignore the draws of the faire it seemed...

She grins and looks back at Rainbow March,"So March, you up for a journey?" she says with a twinkle in her eye and a twisted joy on her face. She marches in Her regal glory towards the impending storm, signaling her attendants to announce her approach (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bIYMAuPEiE8) with the noise echoing throughout the faire. Isiphepo strikes the air and unleashes its terrible roars in unison with the Lady's retinue, alerting the Chaos Lord to the advance of his mistress.

Light bounces off her robe and water splashes against her wings as the Monarch of Chaos walks towards that which dwarves the world,"Colossal Walker Amongst the Trees I recognize your presence and announce my own. I am the Future and Present Queen of That Which is Not, Empress of Dreams Passed and Nightmares to Come, and the Reverie Monarch. I am her Anarchic Majesty, the Lady and I challenge you to a Quest of arms!"

extending the challenge for a Sword Quest. Difficulty 3, while beating difficulty 5 allows me to Quest for a higher level artifact.

Dexterity (7)+Performance (5) (7 if Inspiring Raksha can apply):[roll0]

stunt:[roll1]

[Sephir]

"That depends on why that oversized stick is here" A voice is heard behind the wolf, as a man holding with great care a plate with a chocolate eclair appears with a dust clod following him due to his great speed. It was no hard task for a Green Sun Prince to make some second circle demons have him a taste . "If he is about to cause a ruckus , then i would not really mind, but if targets me or my friend Brass here especially, we are going to have a problem, or it is going to have a problem. Depends on far too many variables. Hold on a minute , i am not sure how strong this Shar-watchamcallit is." .

Finishing his plate, Vitriolic Jade Phoenix calmly adjusts his cravat as his eyes met the Chaos Lord. He was not sure if the Unshaped could see him, but in case it could he would see the Infernal smiling in a relaxed manner , his posture not being threatening. The Prince of Asam was not looking for trouble, or rather, he was not looking for this kind of trouble. Trying to pervade the strange mist surrounding the Chaos Lord, his eyes momentary flash with a green light (Difficulty 4 perception+Awareness to notice). Chaos Lord sounded like a big Deal , but Vitriolic Jade Phoenix was not one to be cowed by long winded titles and grandiose names. Otherwise he would not even think about hunting a man named Radiant Starfall.

Rolling Awareness+Perception [roll0]
Discerns the strength and aspect of the target’s Essence relative to his
own.

[Recaiden]

Another piece of the monstrous stick figure comes into view.

An arm, sweeping down through the clouds, sending brief showers of rain and gusts of wind shooting across the landscape. At the end of its arm is a simple fist, each curled finger sufficient to be a pillar of the world.

But then, there is a challenge. before he has a chance to crush the dog that dares raise sound to his ears, a call on the old laws is made. He slows his motion, unfolds his hand, and lowers his open palm to the fairgrounds to allow the challenger entry.
A Quest against the Unshaped has begun! The Lady will lead, Rainbow March will assist, and anyone who is with her when the hand arrives to collect her may join her circle. Without graces, what one might do there is limited, but those in the circle are protected from the Chaos Lord's wrath, have chances at different sorts of treasure, and should at least have an interesting time. It might also make an attack on the thing easier, though such would be most treacherous.

On the other hand, no guarantees can be made for those who are in the fairgrounds but not participating in the quest.

Seeing the Lady draw its attention, the foam-armored man flees towards the caves to the north. Seems he chose hiding.

Further analysis reveals the form coming towards you to be unlikely to be vulnerable to normal combat.
This is only a shell, a location. Striking it would be only slightly more useful than stabbing the ground in order to harm the Earth Dragon.

Any attack that encompasses less than a 15-mile radius will be ignored unless it attacks his few traits directly or is very special in some other way. Phoenix may wish to get a bigger sword. Even then, any damage that is not magically permanent will be repaired, not instantly, but far faster than a giant wooden structure normally would.

The vulnerable portions of the fae are hidden somewhere inside, beyond armies of minions and space-warping wyld magic.

[Obscurejones]

Sprinting aboard the platform Jack gives a quick half bow to the shaped Rakalakashakalakaboombasha.
"Milday, I do dearly hope you are in need of a squire. And a structural engineer. Although I'll gladly be the first without the second if need be."

[Kell_tamer]

Shana loosens her grip on the ax. "Well I didn't have much better to do today..." She walks over to the Lady.

[ChaosArchon]

As the hand moves toward her, the Lady has a brief moment of doubt. What if she hadn't been heard? What if her claim was not recognized? She would be disgraced in front of all of shaped rakshadom, how would she ever be able to rally them behind her banner?!

But then the hand stops and her moment of terror is over. As massive smile larger than existence reaches across her face as she flashes her pointed teeth to the world, as if inviting it to join her in her Quest. She looks at Rainbow Marches and says,"Perhaps after this quest you'll be more likely to join me, and if not well it still was an adventure."

As Jack walks up to her, the Lady makes a slight bow before saying,"Greetings, We would be honored to accept you to squire for us and an engineer would be even better! You could alert us to any approaching engines. What is your name, sir squire?"

Before Jack responds though, Shana arrives and the Lady floats over and high-fives the battle-ready Lunar, completely avoiding the fact that she looks ready to go to war rather than meeting a friend,"Shana how are you, I hope you've had a good time at the faire so far."

[Kell_tamer]

I am. And you? she high fives back and then gives a nod to Brass.

[Obscurejones]

Jack opens his mouth to speak and is then surprised as the Lady drifts away before he can.
Interesting. Short attention spans. Common to the kind, or specific feature?
He reaches up and with a gentle knock with the back of his hand, shuts his mouth again. Returning Shana's nod he keeps his mouth decidedly shut. After all, easier to learn through listening.

[Django]

Seven moves in closer, traversing a path of unintuitive angles toward the Chaos Lord. He keeps an observatory narrative to himself, noting the pertinent details of the unfolding crisis.
(... This is interesting. A shaped Fair Folk has moved to engage the Unshaped... this one's got moxie. Unshaped seems to be accommodating the shaped... What's this now? Little Shana's on the hand as well, along with an unknown man...
Well, anything's better than being trampled. And firsthand experience of a Chaos Lord in Creation would make for one hell of a report...)

Seven Daggers Sparrow closes his eyes for a long beat. He opens them as a pulse of violet ripples through his sclera, illuminating the near future to his senses. Thus ensured, Seven hops onto the periphery of the massive wooden palm, careful to keep his obscuring charms in place. It wouldn't do to reveal himself just yet.
Prior Warning

[Sephir]

"Well, since Jack's in i see not reason for me not to" Phoenix said, as he looked into the Chaos lord "That thing's huge, and it's Essence is off the charts, literally. But i like a challenge when i see one" . He glanced back to the Lady , making a short gentlemanly bow "The name is Vitriolic Jade Phoenix, heir to the Crown of Asam . If you need to go fast, or see a man dead before you can blink, I'm your man. Pleasure to make you an acquaintance in this endeavor

[Kell_tamer]

"I do hope you are not one who simply revels in violence Wayward Prince. " The girl glances up at the Infernal. "Good as I am at it, I prefer its use to not have to come up."

[Sephir]

"Revel would be a poor choice of a word little one" Jade Phoenix replies with a wicked smile "I do not interest my self in pointless murders if that's what you ask . Being good at killing people is part of the task i have shouldered myself with. Bringing a solar to justice is one of the things you have little -if any- chance of succeeding if you don't have a knack for violence ."
He gazed around the fleeing crowds.; Radiant Starfall was not the running away kind of person, but he would indeed find it hilarious if he shrank where Phoenix did not . Scanning the scenery, he looked for the all familiar face of the Zenith caster solar. THe second circle demon would be turned into vitriol if his sources proved to be fake. He had to be there somewhere

Perception+Awareness [roll0]

[Kell_tamer]

"Looking for a Solar? I can help you find that. I'm a lunar. we are hunters. And I am not a fan of Exalts who abuse their powers. There's an entire civilization of them already." Shana adjusts the ax on her back.

[Django]

Seven strolls closer to the two strangers- Vitriolic Jade Phoenix and Mister Brass, apparently- and examines their arcane armaments.
not sure I need to do two rolls or not
[roll0]
[roll1]

[ChaosArchon]

In response to Shana's question, the Lady spins a moonsilver necklace with various teeth around her finger, and giggles while saying "I had a lovely time,even went shopping for a little jewlery!" She notices the engineer fellow following behind and makes note to wait for him to say his name before floating away when yet another bows to her. "Hello Prince of Asam, it would be our pleasure to have you join us in this adventure!" and then bows out of the conversation as Shana and the prince begin to talk about those droll Solars.

She then turns back to Jack,"So sorry about that, Shana is an old... friend is the word I believe, and I just had to greet her. Anyway what is your name, I'm afraid I cut you off before you could answer."

[MeklorIlavator]

A fair folk, a Lunar, and two adventurers with what looked like powerful relics, especially if one was aiming himself against a Solar. Against the full might of the unshaped itself, it wouldn't amount to anything, but a quest isn't against the full might. And this might just be his only chance to actually interact with an unshaped.

Willow nods to himself, decided, and climbs onto the hand. "Well, with such a fine group for a quest, why not? It looks like it will be quite an adventure."

[ChaosArchon]

While waiting for Jack to respond, the Lady snaps her fingers, willing a table made of gold to appear since after all she needed a table and anything the Queen needs must exist, so why shouldn't it exist here. She sits down and a sign appears above her,"HELP WANTED- saving Creation the faire" in the most ornate and glorious typeface imaginable. Once it appears a phantasmal pattern spider appears on top of it, clutching an oversized key before skittering into nonexistence. While she waits for the others to line up, she reflects on all the details she knows of the Lords of Chaos, so she can tell her newly formed ring what to expect. She thinks back to her days as a formless being of infinite possibility, of limitless age, and unceasing movement. She thinks back to drifting through formlessness, the tides of chaos taking her where she willed it. She thinks back to the battles of her Emanations and their conflicts, of their glorious courts and holdings. And finally she thinks back to the instance of her flight from the Wyld, chased by the rabid hannya in their mindless hunger.


Staff Shaping action to will the table and sign into existence... they're totally not a reference: Manipulation [reality] (8)+ Dodge [logic] (7):[roll0]

Int+Occult for unshaped knowledge:[roll1]

stunt:[roll2]

[Sephir]

"Why thank you young Lady" Phoenox replies with a smile "Seem that the part where lunars are cringing obsessive over solars is not true. If you'd like to know, this solar goes by the name Radiant Starfall. He has dishonored my family through multiple crimes against the crown of Asam, including the death of princess Fragile Snow Lilly, my sister. He has quite a reputation for such endeavors."
Trying not to ruin the mood with grim flashbacks, he addressed the newcomer "Well if that's now a surprise,a motral would have ran away at the sight of this beast. Too human without any of the lunar's signature animalistic parts, way too gentle and humble for a solar, not enough black eyeliner for a deathknight. Dragon-Blooded i assume ?"

[Obscurejones]

She then turns back to Jack,"So sorry about that, Shana is an old... friend is the word I believe, and I just had to greet her. Anyway what is your name, I'm afraid I cut you off before you could answer."

"Jack, milady. A plain and unadorned symbol of myself I'm afraid, with no surname to call my own. The phoenix and myself had some small dealings a great while ago. We had occasion to join the same social organization. However I don't believe we've crossed paths since the resulting fete."
With a gentle nod Jack smiles at Phoenix and begins lying as hard as he can whilst silently praying to the Ebon Dragon that his fellow Warlock can understand the point of Jack's deceptions.
"A pleasure to see you again. It's been far too long. Nexus, wasn't it? I'm sorry but I've traveled so far since then that memory is fragile."

[Recaiden]

The future, Sparrow finds, contains a significant chance of violence.

Phoenix doesn't see his target. That doesn't mean that Starfall wasn't here, just that he's done something sensible in the face of the Unshaped.

Those artifacts? Identifiable. Mist razor, made of a demon's shell, quite a prize. And a pair of tempered orichalcum blades, fit for any hero who wants something more subtle than a proper daiklave.

The doctor's golden table and sign waver and struggle and warp, but eventually they are brought into being. Honestly though, it seems she already has her group. Everyone ascends to the plain of the unshaped's hand - a mile away lies the bend of his wrist. As you watch, an arch grows form the wood, forming an entrance more scaled for you all. Enter. The ground is the bark of a tree, broken here and there by small vents from which smoke issues. This whole place counts as the Middlemarches for shaping, but you feel the mutation and chaos vanish as you climb aboard.

Here and there you see a patch of bark open its eyes, or walk about, and realize they're just camouflaged creatures, as transparent as glass. It grows very quiet. You find it impossible to make any noise louder than a whisper (unless you spend a willpower on it). When everyone is aboard the hand lifts up, gravity staying in line with it, and there's not even a sense of moving, but you can see the ground growing small below you, the faire getting left behind.

The Lady, with her 2 die stunt, remembers basically everything. A manual "On The Nature of the Unshaped" briefly materializes to allow her organized access to her own memories, and she finds the book just as she had written it. You know all the things.

[Django]

Seven Daggers Sparrow reaches out an unseen hand, and with a silvery (yet unseen) flash, conjures Stella Sectora, a grand daiklave made of glittering starmetal. When danger appears, Sparrow should be able to make short work of it- whether from fae, or the two well-armed mystery men.

[MeklorIlavator]

Whispering as loud as he can, Willow directs a question to the self proclaimed future queen of all. "So, Lady, do you have any inkling what we'll be facing once we go through that gate?"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana slides up to Brass and gives him a curt muffled greeting. She pours essence into her senses once more, this time focusing on sounds. Near or far, loud or quiet, she would hear them. Her tattoos glow in response to the change.

"You been well?" Her whisper extending as loud as it can from her lungs.

5 motes to activate Hearing Sharpening Change so people don't have to spend willpower to speak louder around Shana. she basically just get 4 sux on all hearing checks and doubles rolled or bought successes via excellencies and dice. 5 Peripheral.

[Obscurejones]

"I have been well enough, I suppose. Always good to see a friend. Have you traveled with the Lady long?"
Jack tucks his dagger along his arm, held inside close to his body. Violence was a last resort, but not one to be kept at a distance.

[ChaosArchon]

At the whispering Willow's request, the Lady nods her head and with a poof the book vanishes. However a Queen should never simply relay knowledge with mere words, no! Anything a Queen does must be as grand as the Queen herself and thus this bland scenery needed a makeover first. Thus the Lady glares at the waypoint itself, mentally impressing Her knowledge against it, going to war against the unknown with sheer intellect and genius. In an instant the scene reshapes itself to a form befitting of the lesson about to be given by the Savant Liege of Rakshastan and Beyond.

The wooden flesh of the hand morphs into planks and boards while other parts of the hand folds up to create wooden walls, a ceiling, and desks for her allies to sit in. Behind the Morphic Pedagogue, a verdigris piece of slate outlined in wood rises, complete with small stalks of chalk. Once the scene is set, the Lady beams at her companions and in a constant but cheery voice says,"I'd like to welcome everybody to Unshaped Raksha 101! My name is the Lady and I will be your professor for this semester."

She waves a hand over the blackboard and a visual aid appears as she launches into her first lesson,"So something you need to know about the Lords of Chaos is that just like normal raksha they have Graces, save that each Grace is no mere trinket but a sentient raksha unbeing who rules over large domains of waypoints in the Unshaped. These Emanations are not unlike the Third Circle whatevers of the former kings and creators of Creation, in that sense then, each embody a driving interest of the gestalt living location we call a Chaos Lord. These Emanations are the Heart, Ring, Staff, Cup, and the Sword of course."

http://i.imgur.com/11aVFKy.png

She lets this introduction sit for a little before waving her hand again, and with it comes another image. "Now this is a short lesson but an important one. For each Unshaped, there is one Emanation which rules it and is the primary driving force behind its actions. Normally this is the Heart Emanation but this is not a hard rule, and some even have a joint ruling of two."

http://i.imgur.com/DbhLCu4.png

Once again, she lets the image sit for a little before dismissing it and bringing forth another. "Now for this Quest, we will face a number of trials which we must complete in order to finish the Quest. Furthermore if the Quest leader, which is me, falls even once then the entire Quest fails and we are at the mercy of the Unshaped..."

http://i.imgur.com/owZdteQ.png

As that possibility hangs in the air, the Lady sweeps away another image and in its place rises a new one. "Now there are different types of Quests and the one I invoked is the Sword Quest, which means our primary antagonist will be the Sword Emanation. Again no hard rule on it, but general it means we'll be fighting hordes of monsters and the like before facing off against the Emanation itself. However occasionally the challenges will manifest as a hostile environment or even our greatest fears."

http://i.imgur.com/GwJy0IP.png

She waits yet one more time before summoning her final chalk drawing, and grinning says,"But we have an advantage, the Emanations are just like normal raksha beyond their greater strength. They have their own wants and desires, and frequently war against one another. If need be, we could try to court the Emanations to help us combat the Sword or even overthrow the current ruling Emanation, and in doing so change the Colossal Walker Amongst the Trees into something else." she pauses,"Any questions?"

http://i.imgur.com/jzBZgqa.png

ok Sword Shaping roll to vex the current waypoint to alter the scene for my needs

Int (5)+War (4):[roll0]

stunt:[roll1]

[Obscurejones]

As the scene changes Jack scampers to sit in his chair. This is... More or less exactly what he had been hoping for. A rakalakashakshaksha explaining their innerworkings, even refrencing his ultimate goal of rebuilding a primordial. As the lecture winds down he raises his hand to ask a question.

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady nods and says, her voice once again melodic,"Yes, Jack what is your question?"

[Obscurejones]

Jack's voice comes out in a bright, albeit soft, whisper. This seeking of knowledge clearly places him in one of his elements.
"You seem able to directly influence the area around us in accordance with your whims. Could you shape us a path to one of the Chaos Lord's graces, or does the structure of the quest preclude that? Also, if our Sword quest is likely to involve massed combat, what would the other quests have entailed?"

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady looks slightly disappointed with her answer as she says,"Unfortunately, no. Even though I can claim an unopposed waypoint and shape it to my desires, a journey between two waypoints is a fixed thing. Technically it passes instantly to the observer, as they travel from point a to b in a sort of fugue, dreamlike state. However you Creationborn absolutely love causality and so a journey is roughly thirty of your miles from one waypoint to another. So if I want to go to the Emanations place of power, which for a Sword would be a Stronghold, we first need to travel from connected waypoints that link this one to that one. As for the other Quests, a Cup Quest normally has something to do with desire such as stealing a valuable treasure, a Ring Quest usually involves a series of epic temptations of some sort, and a Staff Quest is trick and normally involves narrative twists and super sneaky planning which frankly is a whole lot less clever than the raksha really thinks it is. Anyway regardless of the Quest and despite the Grace Emanation being the primary antagonist, they all end the same. Upon finishing all the required trials and overcoming the Grace Emanation, the Questing Party travels to the Arcane Redoubt of the Heart and make a final Shaping attack against it. If the attack fails then the Heart is free to retaliate but if I succeed, then I demand a wyld artifact from the Unshaped as a reward for the finishing the Quest."

[Obscurejones]

Jack tries to hide a mercantile interest behind his curiosity.
"Are other treasures available to your vassals?"

[ChaosArchon]

Lady grins slightly,"Not directly but as the Questing hero I cannot lay claim to any artifacts we find except the one I receive at the end. But if one of my allies were to pocket one while we journied, well that's the cost of doing business isn't it," she says with a wink.

[Sephir]

Hm, so a Chaos Lord is much like a Yozi in that regard, an enormous entity that has multiple component souls Jade Phoenix thought . "A question if you would like, sifu" The infernal said with a smile, raising his hand "Excuse me for my ignorance of code of conduct between the Raksas, but what exactly stops this Chaos lord from taking back the artifact -and probably stomp us- once the quest is over ? Just asking if we should start running as soon as we snatch the artifact "

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady grins,"Well for one it wouldn't be very sporting of it to do so. However simply put, it is in no state to do so. The act of forging such a powerful wyld artifact weakens it such that it instead flees immediately after the Quest is complete, lest it be devoured by another Chaos Lord or strip mined for artifacts by a nearby noble raksha."

[Django]

Sparrow scribbles furiously into a small notepad kept on his person for just such an occasion as this. This report is going to knock their socks off.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana pushes the upper jaw of her hat back and a shock of red hair is seen briefly as she scratches her head. The full moon on her brow matching the glowing of the tattoos on her arms, legs, and stomach. "Alright, So are we pairing off or just going as a group?"

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady pauses and frowns,"I mean, we could break off into small groups but I'll be honest... I don't know what would happen to the non-Questing group. It might be that the instant you leave the waypoint you wind up walking outside, or perhaps the Unshaped just eats you, or maybe it ignores you completely as its focus is on the Questing. Point is I'm not sure at all."

yeah I could find no rules about this at all, so the ball is in Rec's court for what would happen

[MeklorIlavator]

"That sounds like an excellent reason to stay together. We ready to enter?"

Willow takes a step forward towards the gate, throwing knife in hand.
This kinda feels like the moment where we need to move forward for anything to happen.

[Obscurejones]

"Well not to be crass but who here thinks they can take the largest sucker punch? I'm a bit more of a squishy center of the group type."

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady sighs,"Perhaps for now we can all stick together. If need be we can split up into different groups but for right now let's enter as a whole party." And with a wave of her hand a door appears opposite of her blackboard, along with a small wicker-basket. "In the basket you each can pick up your diploma. You were a wonderful class and all aced your finals, congrats!"

She laughs once before stepping through the door, and with that she vanishes from the sight of the others.

[Django]

Seven Daggers Sparrow peers into the basket, somewhat curious as to whether or not there was a diploma for him in that basket.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana nudges Jack giving him a curt nod. Girl was small but could take a beating that most other Exalts would find difficult to come back from.

[MeklorIlavator]

Grabbing his diploma, Willow follows their strange guide into the Unshaped.

[Obscurejones]

Grabbing his diploma and stuffing it in a pocket, Jack slides into place behind Shana.

[Kell_tamer]

Shana takes her diploma and stuffs it under the upper jaw of her creature hat.

[ChaosArchon]

There is indeed a diploma for the wayward sidereal. While the Lady might not see him, being brought inside fate by the abomination of Shape, the waypoint is under no such limitation. The name on the diploma reads,"Mr. Sneaky"

[Django]

(... Yeah, that's probably me.)

Sparrow picks up the diploma, removing it from the entanglements of fate. Then, he walks resignedly through the gate, trying to take in the scope of the first challenge...

[Sephir]

Jade phoenix takes his diploma, safely stashing it in a pocket of his coat as he draws his twin daiklave, entering the Portal after Shana

[Recaiden]

The questing party climbs up from the hand, and embarks on a journey. As you pass through the portal, you leave the sculpted wooden platform, and enter a recursive forest, where trees grow up from the bark of a vastly larger tree, and whose branches are themselves smaller trees, so on and so on down to hairlike mazes of twigs you can barely see.

You aren't alone.

Something is following you. It makes no noise, but you catch a glimpse once in a while out of the corner of your eye, carried close on especially strung gusts of wind. Just what you're seeing, you can't say. Days go by, harrowed by this thing, hunted through these lifeless not-quite-woods.

Finally you see the light of the sun shining through the trees ahead of you, and emerge on a scrub-covered cliffside overlooking a cozy walled town, with fields stretching out around it, dotted with scattered farmhouses. A wavy red flag flies from the center of the town. The place is the very picture of civilization.

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady yawns a little, despite the Creationborn making the trip a tad linear for her tastes, traveling through waypoints always felt like taking a nap to her. She looks at the city for a moment before sighing,"I call bull, no way the city is safer than the forest." She turns around,"Hello, Mr. Beastie-Who-Was-Following-Us! How about you stop hiding and show yourself."

making a Staff shaping roll to coerce our pursuer to show itself, while also challenging the nature of the city.

Perception (5)+Dodge (Chaos Lord's narrative) (7):[roll0]

stunt:[roll1]

also rec, any chance I can get a stunt rating on Lady's teaching stunt? personally felt like it was either a high 2 or even a 3. mostly is just a question of pride since I've regened all my motes by now but still :smalltongue:

[Django]

Sparrow jumps, certain for a moment that the Fae Lady was talking to him. He was a bit jumpy, having supercharged his awareness in order to glean information about the group's phantasmal pursuer. From outside of Fate, he ranged ahead and behind the party, trying to isolate the vector by which the spectral hunter is tracking them.

Sparrow is a little bit obsessive; Sidereal are used to giving this treatment, not receiving it.


Second Awareness Excellency, 6m
Per+Awa: 6
[roll0]

[Kell_tamer]

Shana opens up her sense of smell to find the creature, if it was on the wind it had a smell and she would find it.

Her eyes close as she sniffs up sifting from ally to alien to the creature. She had smelled it but now it would be pungent.

Shana is using Sense Sharpening Change for 5 motes personal, given the time i assume shes had time to regain motes. double successes on smell checks, she gets 2 sux automatically and those are also doubled to 4

Perception 5 Awareness 3
8 dice
[roll0]
Stunt if any
[roll1]

[Obscurejones]

Jack steps to the side and quietly ducks forward so that he's got Shana between himself and whatever's been following them.

[Sephir]

Phoenix Stands beside Shana, daiklaves drawn. Unlike the others, not a single drop or stain of sweat appears to him. All this time he ran at maximum speed, outrunning their mysterious stalker by far. It was hard to differ the sounds of their hunter than his mocking laugh . "Well then, if we make our stand here, better be ready. I got bored of outrunning this thing anyway, more in the mood for slice and dice"

[MeklorIlavator]

Willow scans the appearance of civilization before him. Whatever this is, it could be just as deadly as whatever hunts them, and he's not about to trust an unshaped to rely on the most obvious threat. Still, he readies a knife, even if he wouldn't relish combat.

Should we make a stand? We're hunted, but what do we gain anything by fighting here, still in it's territory? Especially with that town there: I doubt it offers safety, but it might not be friends with that thing either.

[Recaiden]

On the wind? No, it is the wind that's been chasing them, currents of air with will and malice. No physical form chases them yet, just dreams of fear and flight and danger.

Phoenix, roll Stamina+Resistance for all that running.

1 stunt to the Lady, 2 to Sparrow, 1 to Shana.

The civilization before them might be a dream, or it might be semi-real. It seems, upon further inspection, forboding and grim, not a safe haven but an intrusion upon the wilderness.

"Hello?"
A voice calls up from down below, and briefly what can only be described as a shepherd-boy comes up along the path from down towards civilization. A cursory inspection reveals him as one of the wee-folk, a bit of animate faerie magic.
"Adventurers! Thank goodness, you have to help me!"
"It's the turning of the season and-" No it isn't, at least not back in reality. "-well, you'll see for yourself. My family's trapped back there."

[Sephir]

(Running to Forever, a charm that makes me dash without getting fatigued for as long as i want, and since i have Essence 3 it actually counts as resting for removing fatigue)

"Well then that sounds interesting" Phoenix chuckles "The timing is indeed quite suspicious. Just the moment we decide to not enter the village, a boy calls for aid. Well then, let us stick to the Lord's plot shall we ?"

[Kell_tamer]

Shana just grunts and moves on ahead.

[Django]

Sparrow moves ahead to the village, doing his best to keep the dashing Phoenix in his line of sight.

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady grins and nods at Isiphepo, it knows what to do. In concert with the motion of her finger, the titanic rain cloud moves over the imposing town and begins to unleash bolts of crimson lightning at the center of town. The Lady turns her back to the town and raises her arms in front of the party, as the shockwaves from the lightning strikes finally reach them and result in her robe and hair wildly flying around. "Kaboom."

[Django]

Just as he started to move, Sparrow skids to a stop, witnessing the red lightning as it smote the village below. He looks back to the Lady with suspicion, and a little bit of awe. Sparrow wasn't exactly clear on the rules of the Wyld-storm's game, but the Lady's light show looked more like flipping the board over to him.

Sparrow considers. The Lady represented the best chance for these adventurers to escape the Unshaped's clutches, but her erratic behavior might present its own dangers. He may have to take a more direct hand in this...
a little bit of retcon, assuming that Prior Awareness would have given him a heads-up

[Obscurejones]

"...That was... Primordial."
Jack can't help but shiver. That struck tremendously close to home. But with none of the forewarning that his watch would have provided against a yozi borne calamity.
"We are I hope perfectly certain that those village people were entirely figments of the contest?"
He pauses for a moment as a thought occurs.
"And ignoring the philosophical nature of the question of whether they were worthy of the dignity of life regardless?"

[ChaosArchon]

The Lady continues to watch the crimson strikes of energy batter the town for a little before answering,"Yes, all this is part of the Unshaped. All of it made as part of the Quest. Therefore they're all potentially enemies to us and if it feels pressed, you can even drop the potentially modifier." She chuckles,"Even then, death is but another role for us. After this Quest is over the town will return to what it once was, this little fellow will once again be separated from his loved ones, and the wind will still endanger the area. Or maybe next time the wee-folk will be the threat, the wind the being in need of help, and the village a rocky cliff where the wind spirit resides. Just another chapter in a very long book; it has all happened before and it will all happen again."

[Recaiden]

The boy cries out in terror as he sees the storm descend on the town.
"No. I'm too late!"
He runs off down the cliffside road, quickly taking the branch of the path that leads away from the village.

In the village, incidentally, everything is chaos. If it's a fantasy, it isn't one built to withstand the direct assault of a powerful behemoth, and it's being reduced to ruins. If there's anything real down there, it's not anything ready to fight a powerful behemoth on its own ground, and it won't keep existing in reality for long. Houses explode, buildings topple, ruins start to burn and sizzle. Screams rise from the inhabitants, but few of them carry all this way.

Another stormcloud gathers on the horizon beyond the town. Lightning flickers through it, forming shaky old realm glyphs.
IN WHAT MANNER DO YOU REMEMBER IT?
The wind behind them howls louder and louder.

Someone in the dying village imposes an idle fantasy. The quest is almost failed before it's begun, the treasure they sought to rescue irreparably damaged by this callous display of force, but not destroyed. Yet. A lone charismatic voice rallies the people who survive. This cataclysmic storm is a test, an attempt to disrupt the sacrifice and test their devotion - it will be overcome. The town elders remain, protected from the storm by their faith, while a mob forms and rages out from the village towards our party, led by a man without a face astride a white horse.
The walker deludes the town into continuing to exists and summons up a small army.[roll0]
An Emanation involved her Joins Action on Swift Wings [roll1]+4.
and Sword-attacks the Lady with Extras [roll2]. It isn't happy with her derailing the quest.
The guy in the front is more real than the others.

In physical measurements, the mob is Hundreds of yards away.

[ChaosArchon]

The slavish mob assails the Lady, but their struggle is for naught as their pitchforks shatter and their torches are snuffed out. The impervious avatar of wind rises above the motley mob, rising higher and higher until the clouds obscure her appearance. Only her glowing cyan eyes can be seen from the stormclouds as she imperiously glares at those who would oppose Her will.

The eyes glow for a short time before they disappear and their place appears a gigantic version of the Lady, filling the sky so that all who oppose her might witness her terrible and glorious wrath. Her six wings extend across the entire waypoint; visible no matter where one would look as they twist across the sky, illuminating the clouds which they are obscured by with a faint blue glow. The clouds drift below her visage, bowing in respect to their sovereign Queen, as a cacophonic hurricane encircles her below her waist and Isiphepo rests upon her shoulders. Amidst the flurry of wind streaks lightning bolts which warp strangely, in impossible ways as they join the zephyreal dress of her Empyreal Eminence. Her glorious, many-colored halo illuminates her face so that all make take in a sight so breathtaking all else pales in comparison.

For a moment the titan continues to inspect the army amassed against her, with a wrathful face. But in then the chaotic titan grins a terrible grin as she thinks Now it has begun!

Join Shaping:[roll0]

making Performance+Appearance Sword Shaping attacks, activating Endless Armies of the Storm (-5m, 1wp) and First Sword Excellency (x3) (-3m) (-8m & 1wp total, 12/20 personal essence and 3/5 willpower remaining)

Attack 1: Performance (5)+Appearance (7)+Weapon Accuracy (2)+FSE (1):[roll1]
Attack 2: Performance (5)+Appearance (7)+Weapon Accuracy (2)+FSE (1):[roll2]
Attack 3: Performance (5)+Appearance (7)+ Weapon Accuracy (2)+FSE (1):[roll3]

stunt:[roll4]

[Django]

(... If I didn't know better, I'd swear she was imitating the Scarlet Empress. But I don't think any Fae is THAT crazy.)

Sparrow makes his move. The gent without a face seems like a focal point for the mob; if he goes down, the angry villagers will likely disperse. With his long starmetal daiklave slung onto his back, he swiftly makes his way to the faceless rider.

Not sure how timing works, since the benchmark for this encounter is shaping actions. Do you want me to go ahead and take my action against the rider now?

[Kell_tamer]

Shana rolls her eyes at the display. She makes her way toward the crowd. Her tattoos begin to glow as she draws her weapon from her back. The massive axe blade larger than a childs torso glimmers with a silver light.

Her pace gradually quickened and traces of silver light began to highlight her musculature. As she gets near she is already alight with a moonlight bonfire.

Since this is clearly a bit of time before we get there, She spends 12 motes peripheral and 2 willpower to up her Strength and Dexterity by 2 each for the scene. This is commited. she commits another 2 motes to improve her soak by 4. 10 peripheral remain.

[Obscurejones]

Jack ponders for a moment before drawing his dagger and scampering after Shana.
"So quick to flee your squishy charge, my friend?"

[Sephir]

"There are some issues that should not be solved by violence" Jade Phoenix mused with a grin as he drew his twin Daiklave "THis, is not one of them". He charged at the faceless rider, dashing at his maximum speed as he rushed to get first blood .

[Recaiden]

The clouds tear free of whatever strange compulsion held them, and gather round to blot out the lady's image.

Sparrow heads out, and he and the rider meet ahead of the mob.
Don't worry too much about action scales. Go ahead and act now.

But it had better be fast, whatever's happening, as Jade Phoenix is catching up quickly, violence clear on his mind.

And here comes Shana too.
"Child, do not bother. The adults are talking. Do not be."
A distant star glimmers through the clouds. There is an impression of movement, of falling, and a two-pronged spear of Silver strikes the Lunar and drives her so far underground that the only sign she was ever here is a small crack and a brief cloud of dust.

[Django]

As Shana seemingly passes from existence, Seven Daggers Sparrow enters it. Stella Sectora, the starmetal grand daiklave, blinks into being like sudden nightfall. They hang for a moment, poised, just outside of the faceless rider's cone of vision.

In the instant of his appearance, Sparrow swings the Daiklave in a single, perfect arc. The blow falls into place perfectly, as the universe transforms into a guillotine- a mechanism designed to remove the rider's head from his shoulders.

Dex+Stealth: 10
[roll0]


Surprise Attack. Anyone trying to spot Sparrow takes a -3 internal from him being a Sidereal, -2 external for him Walking Outside Fate.

For the attack, he spends 4m, 1wp on Fateful Melee Excellency to make it an Auspicious success. He also spends 3m on First Melee Excellency. With two dice from stunt, that's 18 successes- if he got surprise, 36 successes. His damage is 16L/4.

[Sephir]

Phoenix dashes forward, emitting an aura of bring green as he draws his daiklaves. He did not mind showing his anima, he was confident nobody here could best him. His only concern as he threw the first strike was whether the man was worthy of his time. Was he even worthy of spending such resources ? Well, there was only one way to find out.
The second strike followed quickly after, and a third one, and a fourth one. In the blink of an eye the prince had made no less than half a dozen attacks, a true maelstrom of steel.


First Join battle (THat Django Forgot ) , using Join in Violence approach for 3 motes, gaining 3 automatic successes
[roll0]

THen using Self as a Cyclone Stance to make a flurry of 7 actions
1 Action: Dash to the target
2n: 6 attacks with vitriolic orichalcum short daiklaves, each with a -1 mod and the last one with a +2 dice due to stunt

1st [roll1]
2 [roll2][
3rd [roll3]
4 [roll4]
5 [roll5]
6 [roll6]
Each attack does 7/2 L damage
Ending with Pathetic Distraction Rebuke, ignoring any penalties to PDV