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  1. - Top - End - #1
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueWizardGirl

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    Default The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Continued from The Lotus Blossoms! and The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume II - OOC Thread

    The 2nd of Descending Fire, RY 772

    Off The Coast of An-Teng


    The theme song kicks in.

    "Greetings, champions. It's been a while."

    That's an understatement. It's been just over a year since (most of) you first convened in an ancient sun-baked arena, hidden deep in the Dreaming Sea. That was the first and last day you saw this man wearing his own face. That face looks thinner now, the muscles of his still-shirtless body more wiry, less sculpted. He's had a hard year, wearing someone else's Fate as the price of escaping death at Bronze Faction hands. But he's still recognizable as Lupo, leading Sifu of the Gold Faction of the Five-Score Fellowship of the Sidereal Exalted.

    Now, instead of the crumbling stone of the Arena of the Sun, you stand on the weathered, but ever-renewed, decking of the living ship Remora, a wonder of latter-day Solar craftsmanship. The Circle standing here is different than the loose collection of rivals who gathered that day... reduced in size, changed a little in composition, but increased in strength. Fire-forged. You, most of you, battled across the length and breadth of the South together, facing down gods and Exalts, queens and tyrants.

    Slang, bold Tya captain of the Remora. Tuoni, enigmatic Linowan shaman. Skymoth, brother to Ahlat's brides. Brown Leaf, heterodox monk. Kelam, the Mourning Blade. Wirric Stanton, conflicted genius. Together, they thwarted a plot to wrest control of The Last Supplicant of Endless Power, the secret might of the statue-mountain popularly called The Penitent, which could have rent the South apart, and they restored its long-lost guardian, Swan Dragon, true Censor of the South.

    And then they drifted apart.

    They've not all returned today. The peregrine Skymoth follows his own path, and poor Wirric... Stars only know if that tortured soul has found his peace. On the other hand, Ivory Knife, one of their original companions, has found her way back to the group, having left the intrigues of Chiaroscuro behind.

    "As my message said, Ayesha and I could use your help again, if you're willing. There's a new threat building in the West. A small-time 'privateer' out of Coral-"
    Lupo actually does the air quotes with his fingers "-emerged out of nowhere and built a power base in less than a season. We believe he's Solar, but his Fate is heavily occluded... heavily edited... and he seems... unreasonably powerful for someone previously unknown to Heaven. We suspect the Hortatum is backing him. He's already shifting the balance of power in the West; that much is unavoidable. We... Ayesha and I and the Gold Faction... want you to act as a counterbalance. Another hand on the wheel."

    He sighs, and there's a faint twitch underneath his eye, a tic that wasn't there the last time he addressed you.

    "Make no mistake, this guy isn't anyone you would want to make friends with. He styles himself 'Admiral Iron,' but even his friends have another name for him - The Iron Bastard. He doesn't have a code, he doesn't have mercy, he doesn't have restraint. He's out to burn his mark onto the world, no matter who has to suffer the cost."


    He glances around the Remora's upper decks. Its Tya crew is veteran, led by a Solar, reinforced by a full Circle of Celestial Exalts, but it's only one ship, and not a particularly large one at that.

    "The 'Admiral' in his name isn't just an affectation. He has a fleet, and it's growing by the day. You'll need to find allies if you're going to confront him. We can help to a degree, but temporal power is... not something that comes naturally to Sidereals, at least not directly exercised."

    His eyes go to Ivory Knife, the most politically astute of the Circle by far.

    "Are you up to the task of building a coalition?"


    Before you can answer that, he seems to remember something, lifting a finger.

    "Ah, wait, before I forget. At the outset of your journey, we promised you something. The Blossom of the Perfected Lotus. Initiation to, and instruction in, the secret martial arts of the Sidereal Exalted. Heaven's finest combat arts."


    A flicker of discontentment flits across his face.

    "I was meant to be your Sifu. I would treasure the chance - Any teacher worth their salt would be overjoyed to have the chance to share knowledge with pupils so singularly gifted - but the situation in Yu-Shan is... complicated, and I have many obligations I have left unattended over the past year. But. I will not renege on our promise, or delay your instruction any further. This is Promise of Midsummer Rain. She is a gifted martial artist and, I believe, shows promise as a Sifu."


    He gives the woman to his right a slight encouraging smile as he gestures her forward. Subtle, but undeniable.

    "The style she specializes in might not suit... all of you, but the rudiments are the same across Sidereal styles, and I have supplied her with manuals from the vaults of Heaven..."


    He cuts a sharp look at the gathered Circle.

    "...most of which were not meant to leave the vaults of Heaven, so if you are speaking with anyone outside this Circle, they do. not. exist. But in any case..."

    He waves away the forbidden secret as if it's a scent on the air he can waft away.

    "...any questions? Objections?"
    Last edited by Ascension; 2022-09-08 at 06:12 PM.
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Promise of Midsummer Rain is a tall woman of youthful mien. Part of that, perhaps, is because she's standing next to Lupo - who while hardly a greybearded elder could never be mistaken for young - but not all of it: there's a lankiness to her frame, as of a youth grown into her full height but not yet used to it, a trace of childish roundness still visible in her cheeks. She has fair skin, mostly untouched by the sun, and dark hair tumbling down past her shoulders. Her clothes are silks dyed in the deep ebullient blues of the Maiden of Serenity, loose flowing skirts and a simple band of cloth wrapped around the chest for a top. The only visible jewelry she wears are a pair of wide silver bracelets.

    Also in stark contrast to Lupo is her expression, open and unreserved in its enthusiasm and curiosity. The elder Sidereal is not exactly cold - indeed, by his standards this greeting is downright effusive - but Promise is actively restraining herself from bouncing up and down in excitement. She's been looking forward to this since... well, ever since Ayesha Ura first mentioned that they might have students for her, if she had the time. If she had the time! As though she would pass up an opportunity like this!

    She bows from the waist as Lupo introduces her, deeply, but popping upright again inside of a second. "It's an honor and a pleasure to meet you all at last! I've heard so much about you."
    Last edited by The_Snark; 2022-08-28 at 02:33 AM.
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Ivory Knife looks much like the party last saw her, long ago as that was. She's a very plain woman wearing nice robes; a bit heavy for shipboard activity, but they don't seem to bother her. She's short and somewhat heavyset, with a complexion that's a bit less tanned after her time in Chiaroscuro, but a few weeks on the Remora will probably fix that. Her only remarkable feature is the burn scarring along half of her face and one of her hands, the skin wrinkled and discolored.

    She returns Promise's bow, and smiles -- a painted wooden fan held in one of her hands veils her mouth, accentuating the expression of her eyes. "Always an intimidating phrase. But it's a pleasure to meet you, sifu."

    To Lupo, she nods calmly. "I may have to twist some arms, but I'm sure I can get people to act in their own self-interest eventually."
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Brown Leaf's black eyes sparkle as she takes in the sight. Her circle, rejoined if not complete. She'd greeted each of her companions with a crushing bear-hug when she'd seen each of them in turn, her small-but-muscular frame lifting her fellow chosen off the ground with casual ease. She refrains from doing so now, but can't hide her joy. She smiles at her new sifu, even white teeth show in a friendly grin as she bows, somewhat ruining the solemnity of the moment Lupo created. She's clad today in comfortable sand-colored robes and wraps, corded sandals separate her feet from the wooden deck she helped enchant what feels like half a lifetime ago. Her shaved dark scalp is protected by a reed hat with an iron frame, much like the one she possessed back on the Isle of the Sun.

    As she straightens up, she loosens a tattooed hand from her robe and takes the hand of the pale woman next to her. This is it, the moment they'd been waiting for. Reunion. "Well shoot, ain'tchya'll a sight fer sore eyes. Feels more'n ten years since I done seen this buncha so-in-so's! I can't lie, it ain't a moment too soon."
    Sorry for making things complicated!
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    The woman holding Leaf's hand is dressed differently than her old Circlemates will remember. Her customary armor - damaged, mended, still faintly stained with her old master's blood - is laid below amongst her and Leaf's sparse luggage. She wears instead a crisp, stark white burial kimono which blends with her pale porcelain skin to ghostly effect. A night-black sash edged in gold defines her waist; the black katana tucked into it exudes a sense of menace at odds with the calm she otherwise displays. Her long black hair is pulled back in a high tail, and a black parasol shades her from the unforgiving Sun.

    "Heading West..." she murmurs to herself, a wave of melancholy lapping over her. Native to Wu-Jian, once oathsworn to the Silver Prince, her history in the West is long... and largely unpleasant.
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    The Tya Captain leans against the main tree mast as they listen to the man they've heard about from their circlemates. The Remora feels more animated with more of the Circle onboard, but occasionally the Captain scans the sky, looking for a familiar whirlwind. Ah, well. Hopefully, he'll find what he needs soon.

    Slang smiles at Brown Leaf's enthusiasm and bows their head to Lupo and Promise. "Nice to meet you both. I'm sure can call on some other Tya for information and help. It'll be interesting to sail in our old stomping grounds."

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Pale-faced Tuoni greets the group with barely a raised hand; though he shows no more expression than he ever has those who took the time to learn his body language can see he's a man at war with himself. He's glad to see them, to be sure - his steps are light, his mortal limp barely noticeable and what passes for his face facing them full-on. But his shoulders are tense and he's hesitating in a way the normally-headstrong shaman rarely does.

    It's no surprise. He has someone with him, and he's not happy about it.

    The 'someone' is another Linowan. She's young; her exact age is hard to tell behind her intricately-carved wooden mask but it'd be surprising if she was out of her teens. She's also blatantly staring at the assembled exalts and hiding half-behind her elder, whatever resolutions she might have made about making her first impressions completely forgotten. Tuoni steps forwards and it's a moment before she realizes she's been exposed and steps forwards in turn.

    "Hello, everyone. It's good to see you all. To address the tyrant lizard in the room, I'd like to introduce you all to my daughter, Loviatar." He gestures and she steps forwards, making something that could charitably be called a bow. "She decided she wanted to see the world, and managed to find me a short while back."

    Of course, while he's saying that, Lovi seems to have finally decided who in the party is worth staring at. "Hi..." she murmurs, and then points a finger full at Kelam. "Is it true you're really dead?! Dad told me you were in a letter, but you're not a ghost!"

    Tuoni flinches. "Aarni is going to kill me..."

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    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    "I..." Kelam is caught off guard by Loviatar's question, and her face goes blank as she tries to work out how to explain this to a child.

    "It's..." she stammers, staring at some point in the distance above Lovi's head, "...complicated?"

    She unthreads her clammy fingers from Brown Leaf's warm, tattooed hand.

    "My death was... suspended? I... can function as a living being, but I don't... need to?"


    She looks to Brown Leaf, frowning.

    "Does that make sense?"
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Brown Leaf smiles back at Kelam, and addresses Loviatar. "Shore nuff she kin be alive if'n she wants to. Heck, she's learned t' like jollof an' egusi in jes this last year. She's even got a home!" Her eyes dart upwards, looking for a passing thought. "Well, she will, it's under construction. Anyway!" She turns to face Kelam and takes both her pale hands, stroking her thumb along Kelam's fingers. "You don't worry none 'bout makin' sense t' others, jarabi. 'Member our trainin'. You define yersself an I..." Brown Leaf can't hide a slight flush "I don't push folk 'round so much if'n they ain't askin' me to."
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Promise offers the young Linowan woman a bright smile by way of greeting, but restrains herself from anything further - even though she is, in fact, very excited to met one of Tuoni's family. The masked shaman is probably the most imposing member of Lupo's Solar circle, to Promise's eye. Certainly he's the one she expects to have the most difficulty building a rapport with, from what Ayesha and Lupo's briefings have told her. His daughter's presence will make it easier for her to see the person behind the mask, so to speak. And that's to say nothing of Loviatar herself: a young god-touched woman who wants to see the world, oh my yes, that's an achingly familiar tale. If only Promise had been here when she was seventeen!

    (Seventeen-year-old Promise would never have been allowed within twenty miles of something this sensitive.)

    She's neither surprised nor offended when Lovi's attention fixes itself elsewhere. For her, this moment is about meeting her father's comrades-in-arms. The Sidereals are afterthoughts (and Lupo is probably the more eye-catching of the pair).

    "Ghosts actually can eat, if they want to," she chimes in, unable to stay quiet for long. "I understand food is a common offering among ancestor cults - it's easier to come by than most other types of grave goods, and it's always appreciated." She smiles at Kelam. "I would guess that your nature is closer to Ghost-Blooded than anything else in Creation: death-touched, but still alive for the most part, with both of your souls attached to your body and everything. But I don't know why I'm speculating when you're right here, I'm sure you know more about this than I do." She offers a little self-deprecating laugh. "As you can imagine, I've never met any other... um." She halts, looking slightly flustered. "I'm sorry, I don't... What should I call you? Deathknight is the term I hear most often, but that seems... impolite."
    Last edited by The_Snark; 2022-09-04 at 04:33 PM.
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Loviatar seems for a moment to be getting a handle on things, only for Leaf's sudden explosion of heavily-accented foreign words to send her back into a tailspin. Promise provides necessary context - apparently jollof and egusi are foods! - and the teen immediately gloms onto the brief anchor of sanity. "Oh, Ghost-Blooded? That makes sense, and I know plenty of those! A lot of mom's petitioners are ghost-blooded, what with her being technically a death god and all. Sometimes she sends us to intercede with the really annoying ones, that's always fun - we even got to go to the Underworld once! Though that was... wasn't..." She comes to a stuttering stop as she realizes her father is staring at her, and that she probably should have let her mother tell him about that trip.

    Tuoni, for his part, is working on keeping his breathing steady. As much as his instincts are screaming at him to step in and take control of the conversation, this is his daughters first time meeting the people she's going to be stuck on a small ship with for the foreseeable future. She needs to make her own impression. And he's able to keep his peace, at least until she says that last part. The Underworld, Aarni, really?! That's... That would be perfectly acceptable, for any god-blooded child who wasn't his daughter. Wait, she'd said "we". Had they both been down there? Kalma is fifteen, gods damn it!

    He'd send his wife a strongly-worded prayer, but he already knows what she'd dance around saying. He wasn't there. He can't judge her parenting decisions from half of Creation away, and the kids were still here, still safe. Still...

    "Yes... good..." he manages to choke out. "I'm going to go... talk to Lupo about the journey..."

    With that, he limps his was over in what can only be called a retreat.

    "Questions..." he starts, trying to get his head in order. "You said this pirate is based out of Coral. How have the Realm, or the local powers been responding?"

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    It's not that she's not enjoying seeing the other Solars again. It's not even that she doesn't like Promise or Loviatar. But it's been five minutes, and the first twitch of a headache is already starting to creep back in...

    Okay, maybe she's judging Tuoni a little for bringing his daughter to a war, and maybe seeing Brown Leaf and Kelam joined at the hip and ambiguously flirting makes her vaguely want to push them off the deck. But those are unhelpful thoughts, and she's more than capable of preventing them from showing on her face and damaging the group's cohesion.

    Focus on something productive. New people means a new dynamic, and since she can't count on anyone else to pay attention to these things, she'd better do it herself. She studies Loviatar and Promise's interactions, trying to get a sense for them. What do they want, what do they value, what are the points of friction that might bring this whole venture down in flames? She shoots an expression of amusement at Tuoni's back as he rushes off, veiling her scrutiny.

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    Ivory Knife will try to Read Intentions on Promise.

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    "Deathknight is... acceptable," Kelam says. "There are other terms. Abyssal Exalt. Chosen of the Void. Epithets for specific Castes can get... more poetic. 'They Who Sing Forsaken Hymns'... Peacebringers..."

    Brown Leaf can feel her shudder, and her voice trails off. She clings tightly to Leaf's grounding hand, though, and she rallies.

    "But truly, you can just call me 'Kelam.' I bear no higher honor than that name."


    She gives Brown Leaf's hand another squeeze, then she disentangles herself to take a step closer to Loviatar.

    "I hope you got to see some of the beauty of the Underworld,"
    she says to the girl, "Traveling its seas was one of the few privileges of my... former position which I can still treasure. But I also hope your mother taught you well how dangerous it can be. To the living and to the dead."

    ***

    "It's practically war in the Neck already," Lupo says in response to Tuoni's question, "but the political situation is complicated enough that the battle lines aren't fully drawn yet. Even though, in the big picture, he's making Coral money, the Iron Bastard is still unpopular with many of the lords in Azure, so he doesn't yet have full backing from the Admiralty Court, much less the Coral navy. On the Realm's side of things, Peleps and V'neef both have squadrons out 'hunting the Anathema pirate,' but they've been coming to blows with each other about as often as they have with pirates and privateers. To a degree they're still playing the incidents off as miscommunications or matters of jurisdiction, but make no mistake, civil war is here, and it's only a matter of time until they stop pretending it isn't. Meanwhile, Skullstone has yet to make any major moves to support anyone in the conflict. I've heard rumor that Iron may be courting them for an alliance, but the source isn't reliable."

    He frowns.

    "I'm not sure what would be worse, the chaos if every power broker active in the West acts independently of each other, or the total reconfiguration of the map which could happen if larger alliances start to form. From what we saw in the South, I would expect the Hortatum to encourage the chaos, but they may be trying something different this time."


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    Ex3 is making an effort to portray the Neck as less completely subjugated by the Realm, and I think it's a good idea. Thus, the indigenous population are a factor here; Lupo's failure to mention them is a blind spot. There's also a LOT of more minor powers who could become interested in the conflict who I haven't mentioned; this absolutely does not mean that they're off the board as potential players (either on your side or one of the others), just that they're more distant from the conflict as it currently stands.
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    To Ivory Knife's trained eye, Promise of Midsummer Rain is an open book. Her excitement at meeting new and interesting people is obvious, as is her desire to make a good first impression. She's tempered her enthusiasm a bit to avoid coming on too strongly, perhaps, but that seems her only concession to discretion.

    Which is not to say she's completely without guile. Ivory Knife can see echoes of her own social calculus as she watches Promise watch the others - cataloguing expressions, tracking who and what draws their attention, gauging their reactions to one another. But she doesn't seem worried about anyone watching her. It feels like a deliberate choice: this is not the untrained bluntness of someone like Brown Leaf, but someone trained in social niceties who took a look at reticence and decided she didn't care for it. She is an open book because she chooses to open herself.

    "Kelam it is!" she says brightly. "I've never been to the Underworld, myself. It's a little outside our remit."

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    Promise's Virtues are Compassion and Wonder, in that order. Her motives for the scene are pretty straightforward: meet her students-to-be (and Lovi), make a good first impression, start getting to know them. Relevant Intimacies include "I want people to like me" and "You can't build anything on dishonest foundations."
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    Barbarian in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Brown Leaf's beaming face falters for once, almost grimacing for a moment before she takes a more neutral expression. "I ain't sayin' it's got nothin' good goin' on in it, but I ain't sold yet on the Underworld. I been in many shadowlands an' don't git me wrong, they're fascinatin'...but there's somethin' goin' on there what don't sit right with me."

    Turning to Lupo, she takes on a pensive tone. "So, th' Hortatum's causin' trouble in th' West now, or at least this pirate is stirrin' things up an' it looks like th' Hortatum. Cap'n Slang's got a ship, we got muscle an' talent t' use. I git that. What I don't git is why you'n yours, beggin' yer pardon Sifu Promise, are willin' t' act so openly now. Travelin' with us? Teachin' us fancy new techniques? Last I checked, you're tryin' t' avoid attention. What's changed in th' last two years?"
    Sorry for making things complicated!
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    "Hmmm..." Tuoni rumbles, turning what Lupo said over in his mind. From the sound of it, there were crates of firedust less prone to exploding than this situation, and the Hortatum was doing their level best to act as a lit match. The question of 'why' still eluded them, but if he and his circle knew that then stopping them would be trivial. There was something Lupo hadn't said though, and the void it left in his explanation was large enough to be obnoxious. "And, do you and your fellow Sidereals have a preferred outcome? A return to the status quo? Separate powers, in uneasy detente? A free for all until someone manages to climb the pile of corpses? Or is it enough for you that the Hortatum fails, and what results from that is simply what it?"

    Meanwhile, Lovi takes Kelam's name and stride and starts to gush about what she had seen in the ten-thousand islands of floating logs that made up Linowa's underworld.

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Lupo's face is a mask as unflinching as Tuoni's as he answers Brown Leaf's question.

    "We aren't,"
    he says simply. "As far as the records of Heaven are concerned, there is no 'we' here. In the event of censure by the courts of Yu-Shan, Promise of Midsummer Rain will be revealed as a rogue agent... possessed of pro-Solar leanings, of course, which have recently grown strong enough to push her towards rash action, but no member of the established Gold social circles. Her martial scriptures are stolen contraband, her motives her own."

    He tilts his head slightly, inquisitively, his eyes flicking to Promise and then back to Brown Leaf.

    "Is my meaning understood?"


    Looking to Tuoni, he says, "As to what... Promise wants..."

    Then he shakes his head, the mask slipping off as he discards the pretense.

    "As to objectives... I place my trust in you. All of you. Perhaps that is foolish, but... that's the ultimate test of the Vision of Gold. We can do all we possibly can to provide guidance, but your influence, your power, cannot be perpetually contained or denied. You are the Solar Exalted, the Lawgivers of Creation, and you will reshape the world with your passage. I trust... based on what we've seen from you in the past year and more... that you can shape it for the better. That you will do your best to minimize casualties and chaos. That you can make the Sun rise in the West, for once."


    He smiles thinly.

    "And if you should fail, the lack of a specific, agreed-upon plan will make it that much easier to disavow all your actions."
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Promise restrains herself from jumping to answer the Solars' questions, deferring to her elder as is right and proper...

    ... though it seems her answer may not have been the same as Lupo's; her smile grows brittle as he explains how, if matters should go wrong from Heaven's point of view, she will take the fall. It's not a surprise to her, exactly. She knows this mission is unsanctioned, as almost every mission concerning Solars is these days (whether Gold or Bronze). She knows neither faction can afford to show weakness in the celestial courts, and therefore it's not uncommon to disavow field agents who bungle sensitive missions, rather than burning favors and influence to shield them from legal consequences. She knows she's new to the Gold Faction, her loyalty to their cause yet untested, the bonds of mutual obligation not yet built. (Making the rogue agent narrative all the more plausible.) She has to earn their favor; that's just how patronage works.

    But it still stings to be hear it laid out so bluntly. Doubly so given that she'd first approached the Gold Faction seeking protection, of all things. If this goes badly, she'll be worse off than she would have been alone. Part of her can't help but wonder if she'd have been better off among the Bronze, who have less of a reputation for high-risk gambles... then again, between the return of the Solar host and the Scarlet Empress's mysterious disappearance, they're getting more and more desperate. No doubt they, too, would swiftly find use for an expendable, deniable asset. At least this way, her conscience will be clean.

    Besides, she reminds herself, if things go badly wrong, there's a good chance you'll be dead anyway! Worry about that before you worry about what comes afterwards. That much is not Lupo's fault; mortal peril is an unavoidable part of a Sidereal's life. She'd never blame her elders for giving her a dangerous mission - that's the only kind of mission there is - so it stands to reason that she shouldn't blame them for putting her in a different sort of danger, right...?

    "And, ah," Promise clears her throat, making sure her voice is steady before she continues, "if you're thinking about attention from powers outside Heaven, I wouldn't worry too much. We're good at passing unremarked - I fully expect most of you to eclipse my presence!" She musters a smile.
    Last edited by The_Snark; 2022-09-17 at 01:16 AM.
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  19. - Top - End - #19
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    MonkGirl

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Brown Leaf lets out a laugh that would have been hollow from anyone else. From the sun-darkened Zenith, it's sincere and full of mirth with only the faintest tinge of irony. "Malfeas below, if ya'll's skull-duggery don't give me a headache. Don't worry none, we ain't gonna fail."

    She looks over to Slang. "Cap'n. You an' Kelam know th' West better'n Tuoni and me and we're on yer ship. What d'you need fer us t' start?"
    Sorry for making things complicated!
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  20. - Top - End - #20
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Tuoni harrumphs at Lupo's equivocation. Asking decisions of this scale to be made by someone who couldn't find Coral on a map seems to him to just be asking for chaos; he can only hope he'll have time once he's arrived to make some kind of proper study of the place. That, and perhaps spend the journey interrogating the tya onboard.

    With a nod, he steps away from the sidereals to re-join his daughter. "I'd suggest finding yourself a place to sleep and stow your things; it seems that we'll be leaving soon." He says, before grabbing his own pack and making to do the same. "You can always bug Kelam about the Underworld later."
    Last edited by pfm1995; 2022-09-21 at 01:11 AM.

  21. - Top - End - #21
    Orc in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Slang shakes themselves from their thoughts and rejoins the conversation.

    "I'll set a course to Wu-Jian unless anyone has plans for a closer waypoint. I can pick up local news and gossip from the Tya guild house there, and then we can see what trail we want to follow."

    The Captain gives Kelam a teasing smile. "That should also give some of us time to make questionable food choices if we so wish."
    Last edited by Malozing; 2022-09-27 at 07:34 AM.

  22. - Top - End - #22
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    BlueWizardGirl

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Kelam rolls her eyes, but her smile is good-natured.

    "It's not our fault so many foreigners have weak stomachs," she retorts.

    * * *


    The last few bits of logistics for the voyage are settled. Before Slang can ask Lupo what port he would like to be dropped off in, he begins to say his goodbyes, and a yellow gondola which hardly appears seaworthy - and which none of the veteran crew of the Remora saw approaching until it was within a harpoon's throw - pulls alongside the ship. The ship's oarsman is blindfolded, and says nothing to the crew or to Lupo as he collects the Sidereal master.

    Fortunately, that oddness does little to spook the crew - they have all seen more than their fair share of strangeness aboard the living ship, and it will take more than one mystery to put them on edge.

    When the Remora gets properly underway, it's pleasant sailing, at least by the featureless standards of the open ocean. The weather is uncommonly good, the late summer winds cooling less tempestuously than they typically do, and while the ship's passage may seem slow without clear landmarks to judge by, the Westerners can assure the landlubbers amongst them that the Remora is actually keeping a very good pace. (Though "Are we near our destination?" nonetheless remains a common refrain amongst Loviatar's barrage of questions for the crew.)

    The third day on the open sea since losing sight of the headlands north of An-Teng dawns as pleasantly as the prior two. Steady enough wind for a ship and crew as gifted at catching it as the Remora and its Tya, skies clear but for an innocuous handful of drifting white puffs. The ship's complement pass through routines which already feel well-worn - the crew's task rota, Promise's foundational classes, Lovi restlessly flitting between all the interesting people for whom she has questions (and, on occasion, surreptitiously picking bits of bark from the Remora's hull to whisper softly to the wood dying in her hands), etcetera.

    Just past seven bells into the morning watch, as the crew on deck begin to relax in anticipation of their off-duty rotation, a cry goes up from the Remora's lookout (Geep, the youngest in the crew now that Tonijn has gone off for schooling), equal parts baffled and urgent:

    "Man in the water! Afore the ship!?"

    Suddenly alert, crew - from the standing watch and off-duty alike - snap to station, picking up and passing along the emergency call as they do. Lovi manages to squeeze herself amongst the Tya rushing to the bow in time to see what's going on.

    Contrary to what one might expect, the "man overboard" hardly seems to be in distress. A single figure in a heavy saffron cloak stands on the water, positioned directly in the Remora's path. At this distance little detail can be seen, especially since their face is largely hidden by their hood, but the speed with which that distance closes is ample demonstration of the subtle swiftness of the Remora's travel.

    While crewmembers ready lines and buoys to attempt a rescue, the most pressing question is whether the Remora can steer clear of the person quickly and accurately enough to avoid either colliding with them or capsizing them in the wake of its passage. It would take a very talented hand on the wheel to pull that maneuver off...

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Everyone, where are your characters on the ship when the cry goes up? You can answer in the Discord if you feel you don't have enough material for a full post. Malozing, who is at the helm? Also, please find a moment to talk to me about the Navigate roll that's about to happen.

    We're doing this, folks! Action in Essence!
    Last edited by Ascension; 2022-09-27 at 01:27 AM.
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  23. - Top - End - #23
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Ivory Knife has become something of a night owl, lately. If left to her own devices, she spends much of the daylight hours asleep below decks, emerging in the evening and entertaining the night watch until dawn. She doesn't sleep very heavily, though, so it only takes a minute after the call for the door to swing open. When she sees the figure standing in the water, her eyebrows arch in surprise.

    "...Tuoni, any thoughts?"

    She doesn't know as much about gods as she'd like -- hence deferring to the expert -- but that doesn't exactly look like the behavior of a mortal.
    Last edited by Eurus; 2022-09-30 at 07:04 PM.
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  24. - Top - End - #24
    Orc in the Playground
     
    PirateGuy

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    When the call goes out, Slang straightens from their relaxed position leaning against the railing next to the helm, and they call out commands. "Koolvis, hard to port!"

    The leaves of the tree-mast shift to catch the wind and create drag to slow the Remora's forward momentum. Geep grips the edges of the crow's nest as the ship tilts to accommodate the sudden course change while the Tya gearing up to help the hooded person rush to the starboard side. Hopefully, the Remora doesn't plow or clip the crazy soul.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Using Waves-and-Rivers Ranging, and topping Koolvis off with Slang's Navigate Excellency.
    Dice Pool = 3 (Koolvis's Finesse) + 5 (Slang's Navigate) + 5 (Navigate Excellency) = 13
    (13d10)[6][6][1][4][2][7][10][7][4][7][2][4][1](61)

  25. - Top - End - #25
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
    BlueWizardGirl

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Koolvis is a veteran sailor, part of Zalm's crew since before the young Slang even came on board, but they've never attempted a maneuver quite this challenging or improvisational, with such a slim margin of error, in their life. They intend to simply veer port and hope for the best, but as their grip tightens on the wheel, they suddenly feel overcome with an astonishing sense of... surety. They can see the flow of the sea's gentle swells, they can feel each gust of the fickle wind, they understand the relationship between the Remora's mass and velocity, the flex of its rudder, the elasticity of the living boughs of its masts. They know exactly what to do to both avoid the hooded figure and to heave to such that the crew will be able to recover them from the sea, and in their hands, the wheel glides through careful, precise movements, and the ship itself works with them in perfect unison.

    In that startling moment of nautical perfection, a close observer might think that they saw a flash of gold in the helmsman's eyes, flaring around their pupils in a brilliant ring. But it's gone an eyeblink later... it must have been a trick of the light, a mere glint of the morning sun o'erhead.

    The Remora passes within a scarce handful of yards of the hooded figure, close enough she can feel the wind of its passage on her face, but the spray of its wake falls just short of her rag-wrapped feet; not a drop gets on her. The ship heaves to scarcely past her; it's almost insultingly easy for sailors of the Tya's caliber to cast a line to her.

    She simply watches the first rescue line splash into the sea, letting it fall at her feet and sink. When the second is cast, her right hand darts out with a viper's speed and snatches hold of it in the air. Her hand is blistered black, gnarled, claw-tipped. With a supple twist of her wrist, she winds the line around her hand and grasps it in a fist.

    "You didn't wreck upon my rock," she speaks from beneath her hood. There's a grating rasp to her voice, but it carries clearly to the ship's crew. "A pity. It would've been easier for you. And less painful!"

    She rises from the sea, revealing that her feet rested not upon the waves themselves, but on a glistening pillar of black jade, its dark, seaslick stone previously concealed beneath the surface. The strange pillar rises and keeps rising, its subtly-tapered flanks studded with half-globes of gleaming white jadesteel. As her perch comes level with the Remora's poop deck, a gust of sea breeze blows back her hood, revealing a wild shock of snow-white hair, which contrasts sharply with her reddened, peeling, sun-scorched skin. She grins at her would-be rescuers, revealing a mouthful of teeth sharpened to predatory points. She keeps rising past the level of the ship's deck as, behind her, a black boulder breaches the surface. As the boulder rises, it reveals a horizontal slash of adamant crystal recessed into its surface; a baleful orb of white light glows from behind the crystal.

    The cloaked woman tugs spitefully on the rescue line she still grasps, the Tya on the other end is nearly pulled over the taffrail before their crewmates catch them short. With a scoff, the sun-blasted traveler casts the lifeline aside.

    Then, as the woman yet continues to rise, the shoulders of the black-jade warstrider beneath her surge out of the sea.

    From there, shapes rapidly resolve into meaning. The pillar on which the woman stands is a vast tetsubo, its full length near equal to that of the Remora's foremast, grasped in the hands of an implacable giant. The boulder is the warstrider's blunt dome of a head, the slit of adamant its faceplate. Immaculate scripture is picked out on its shoulder-plates in a curious, archaic High Realm, inlaid in white jade. Its arms and hands are those of a man in armor writ large; its chest slopes smoothly into a generous "belly"; a large and intricate white-jade lotus at about its Manipura chakra contains what might be an access hatch. It stops rising from the water when the waves lap about its waist, though the waters still churn violently around it, perhaps indicating the action of something beneath the surface working to hold its position within the water column.

    The woman looks down on the Remora and its crew and lets mocking laughter ring out.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Hey everybody! Roll Join Battle for me, why don't you? As a reminder, while everyone can roll (and stunt their roll), we're going to key off of the side which scores the single highest result acting first. If one of the players rolls the highest, then any player can be the first to act in combat; if one of their opponents does, then any opponent could be the first to act. Also, Essence actually lets you roll a combination of Attribute + Ability of your choosing for Join Battle, as long as your description justifies why it's appropriate.

    The Woman in the Saffron Cloak: (10d10)[1][9][6][5][8][10][6][1][3][8](57)
    The Warstrider Pilot: (8d10)[1][5][8][10][5][7][3][5](44)
    ???: (7d10)[2][8][1][5][5][5][8](34)
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    GMing The Lotus Blossoms! [Exalted 3E] (OOC)
    Playing Waldaharjaz in The Convergence of Sky [Exalted 3E]
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  26. - Top - End - #26
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    HalflingWizardGirl

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    *scritch-scritch-scritch*

    Somewhere, a woman kneels upon a cloud. She's scribbling on paper, the sheet balanced on her lap. The pen feels awkward in her hand: the quill tip sharper than she'd prefer. It takes some effort to control it, lest she tear through the flimsy pulp sheet. My kingdom for a brush. The resulting sheet is hardly something that'll win acclaim among calligraphers - a handful of lines, some crossed through and stained. Still, it's legible at least. There's solace to be found in that.

    A man stands over her. It's easy to see he's tense. The poor soul has had to endure this sound for a while, and it's wearing his patience thin. Finally his temper breakes, enough to warrant a brief snap at his companion. "Do you have to do that?"

    The woman winces at the harsh remark. She shouldn't, she knows that. But old habbits rear their head even now. She manages a smile for her fellow traveller. "If you know a better way to pass the time, I'm all ears." Still, she's done for the moment. She wipes her pen against the cloud, clearing the ink away before looking up. "Do you want to hear it?"

    The man snorts. "Hekobo's name, no! I'm not here for your lovelorn posey." That gets a chuckle from the woman. She glances over her lines one final time, before placing them atop a stack. She withdraws another sheet, about to begin the process once more...

    When a cry goes up from below.

    The travellers do not share a glance. They never have, and never will. The man steps to the edge of the cloud, his hand already on his belt. The woman rises to her feet, clutching the handful of completed works. These she furls into a scroll, hastily tied with ribbon, which she hands to the faithful metal bird that gently flaps above the scene. With a faint 'caw' of appreciation, the messanger bird takes the work in its talons and dives through the air, heading off towards the horizon.

    "Sending poetry to Wu Jian. May as well send a preacher to Nexus."

    The luckless poet chuckles as she joins her counterpart. She looks down upon the scene below. A monster of the ancient world, a fanged huntress, a ship of verdant woodland and a band of bold warriors. The poet hums to herself, her eyes flickering between the various figures. From so high above, they all seem like pieces on a game board. Some grand diorama to be played with. But how? What's the correct opening gambit here?

    Spoiler
    Show
    (16d10)[10][7][3][8][9][9][6][4][4][3][1][8][4][2][10][7](95) Finesse + Sagacity + Stunt. Spending a mote on the Sagacity excellency.
    (7d10)[2][1][10][8][8][9][3](41) Finesse + Awareness - Attendent.

  27. - Top - End - #27
    Ettin in the Playground
     
    Eurus's Avatar

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Ivory Knife can almost hear the music swell as the enormous mechanical figure rises from the waves... so she gives voice to it. She shifts her weight subtly to give herself stability on the ship's deck, and draws herself up in a "stance" like a poised performer on a stage. Then a dramatic, piercing sound, more like a flute than a human voice, erupts from her throat and rolls over the water. For a moment, the waves shimmer and ripple outward, as if a tremendous wind radiated from the Remora, but it doesn't so much as ruffle a hair on anyone's head.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Spending one mote on Hymns of Battle! IK treats her Join Battle roll as an Inspire Build Power action, giving the resulting power to Brown Leaf.

    EDIT: Excellency and Hymns of Battle are mutually exclusive, so ignore the last 5 dice.

    Finesse 4 + Performance 5 + Excellency 5 + Stunt 2
    (16d10)[8][2][2][3][6][5][2][4][10][9][8][2][3][8][1][7](80)

    Motes: 9/10
    Damage: 0/9
    Last edited by Eurus; 2022-10-01 at 12:10 PM.
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  28. - Top - End - #28
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    MonkGirl

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Brown Leaf was one of the first onto the deck. Not that she was close to the action. She had been fetching two barrels of water from the hold for the galley, but at the first muffled shout from above, she'd placed them in an alcove. When the ship lurched hard, she'd stretched a rope across their temporary home. When she heard the voice from above, she willed pure essence into her legs and dashed with preternatural speed onto the deck.

    Taking in the sight of the strange figure, the huge warstrider and everyone around her, Brown Leaf redirects the flow of essence to every strand of muscle. Her ears prick as Ivory Knife's old familiar keening cry begins, taking on her essence and readying for battle alongside her fellow southerner. She'll let Knife and the other finesse-fighters handle the lady on the pole, she's got her eyes on stopping that mech before it damages this beautiful ship.

    Spoiler: OOC & Rolls
    Show
    Brown Leaf is joining battle with Fortitude+Physique+Excellency+Stunt
    (16d10)[4][6][9][5][9][7][2][5][2][1][6][7][6][1][9][7](86)

    Edit:
    Health: 9/9
    Motes: 10/10
    Power: 3
    Last edited by Sticks; 2022-10-01 at 07:25 PM.
    Sorry for making things complicated!
    -Me

  29. - Top - End - #29
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    PirateGuy

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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    Oh, this ploy again. At least these two went with a more creative routine than a distressed ship. Slang steps toward the imposing warstrider, eyes locking onto the sun-scorched woman. One moment, the Captain stands upon the stern deck, and then the next, the sea spray created by the movements of the warstrider surrounds and obscures them from view.

    Spoiler: OOC
    Show
    Join Battle = Finesse 4 + Stealth 5 + Excellency 5 + Stunt 2 = 16 dice
    (16d10)[8][6][5][10][9][9][10][9][8][10][9][10][2][1][6][1](113)

  30. - Top - End - #30
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    Default Re: The Lotus Blossoms! - Volume III

    The skies of Heaven are eternally clear, shining with the light of sun, moon or stars by turns, but never clouds or rain. Promise of Midsummer Rain has spent much of the last two days on the deck, enjoying the sea air: the smell of salt, the sight of clouds scudding across the sky, the feel of the wind on her skin. Today's mishap catches her aloft in the rigging, resting amid rope and bough in a spot she hopes is out of the crew's way.

    Unfortunately, she is on the aft mast when the cry goes up, the sails obscuring her view of what lies ahead. She clings tightly to the nearest branch as Remora comes about - what is merely a tilt of the deck to those below sends her on a dizzying arc through the air - then vaults onto one of the spars as the ship settles into its new course, peering ahead at the towering jade figure.

    Spoiler
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    Finesse+Athletics, banking stunt dice: (7d10)[9][2][2][1][9][5][5](33)
    Avatar by GryffonDurime. Thanks!

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