azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
Like Aleph pointing at Gauto?
General Exalted Thread
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
What's wrong with a custom charm for lifespan extension based on magnitude of descendants? That seems to be within the themes of the DBs.
Sidereal have a hard 5000 year cap because the Maidens wrote it into the destinies that they made the sidereal from, IIRC, which fits their theme of being "fated."
Sidereal have a hard 5000 year cap because the Maidens wrote it into the destinies that they made the sidereal from, IIRC, which fits their theme of being "fated."
FaeGlade Plural
Semper Legens
- Location
- Land of Bureaucracy
- Pronouns
- Plural/They
You don't even need a charm, Sorcerous Workings can do it.
Guess who is the most adept at sorcery of all Dragonbloods?
Figure in her huge resources (the Sword of Creation alone should have a ton of those), and I don't really see an issue with her lifespan at all.
Now, you can still point to her style of ruling as being more "solar-themed", but I honestly don't see it.
The way she set up the various houses, all with dynastic ties to herself and set them up against each other to maintain control strikes me as very un-solar-like. A Solar would probably make such a system heavily merit-based, or maybe go with an entirely different system.
Now yes, the Empress is not using any "Cooperation"-themes for her rulership. But honestly, Solars should not be the sole Exalts who can rule alone, "L'estat, c'est moi"-style. Yes, rulership is one of their themes - but it's "god-king rulership", which is a more specific thing. The realm has more dynastic elements, so I don't see too much overlap.
Guess who is the most adept at sorcery of all Dragonbloods?
Figure in her huge resources (the Sword of Creation alone should have a ton of those), and I don't really see an issue with her lifespan at all.
Now, you can still point to her style of ruling as being more "solar-themed", but I honestly don't see it.
The way she set up the various houses, all with dynastic ties to herself and set them up against each other to maintain control strikes me as very un-solar-like. A Solar would probably make such a system heavily merit-based, or maybe go with an entirely different system.
Now yes, the Empress is not using any "Cooperation"-themes for her rulership. But honestly, Solars should not be the sole Exalts who can rule alone, "L'estat, c'est moi"-style. Yes, rulership is one of their themes - but it's "god-king rulership", which is a more specific thing. The realm has more dynastic elements, so I don't see too much overlap.
- Location
- The end of all things
It's not like just any Solar can trivially use the Sword of Creation. Given its apocalyptic destructive potential the security measures in place are going to be both insane and designed to stop unauthorized Solars just as much (or even more) than anyone else.
If you really want the Empress to be a Solar (not necessarily an Eclipse) then I would suggest that she Exalted while seizing control of the Sword. She was originally just a mortal assistant on the expedition. This scenario is far simpler and more dramatic.
A fun thing about this scenario is what it says about the hypocrisy of the Bronze Faction. Or, generously, the utter pragmatism of the Rose Gold Faction. The Solars must never again rule. Except Scarlet. We can manage her.
No one has said that the Empress finds it trivial. Or that a Solar should.
Hmm another random crossover Idea:
Exalted/Wolfenstein: The New Order
A fusion story. Earth is Creation. The Nazi's got there hands on some First Age Tech and used it to conquer the world. The Nazi's talk about racial purity grew from their attempts to keep the bloodlines of there Dragon Blooded elite pure.
Now the Solars are returning. This is going to be good.
Ideas? Suggestions? World Building thoughts?
Exalted/Wolfenstein: The New Order
A fusion story. Earth is Creation. The Nazi's got there hands on some First Age Tech and used it to conquer the world. The Nazi's talk about racial purity grew from their attempts to keep the bloodlines of there Dragon Blooded elite pure.
Now the Solars are returning. This is going to be good.
Ideas? Suggestions? World Building thoughts?
Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Soooo... Keris and Dulmea finally hit Coadjutor 5 via emotionally touching Sorcerous declarations of delegated authority, Keris attempts to run off the side of her Domain and into the fathomless non-space Elsewhere, Echo gets more use out of her Mischievous Scene-Stealing Prana Charm and a new soul shows up. Who apparently inherited all the shyness that Keris hasn't used since she was seven years old.
Or to put it more succinctly; Kerisgame happened.
Or to put it more succinctly; Kerisgame happened.
Could it be that Rathan was behind everything and Echo just has guilty-face?!
I was sure that Keris would eventually steal that manse with Tiger-Blossom Empire until I read the clause about no stealing manses. So cruel.
I really enjoy the relationships between Keris and her souls. Especially Dulmea. I'm sorry we don't have the opportunity to see the beginning of that relationship.
I'm wondering if Keris will start learning charms derived from her souls, as was mentioned in the Pantheon charms write-up post. She doesn't seem to need them yet.
I was sure that Keris would eventually steal that manse with Tiger-Blossom Empire until I read the clause about no stealing manses. So cruel.
I really enjoy the relationships between Keris and her souls. Especially Dulmea. I'm sorry we don't have the opportunity to see the beginning of that relationship.
I'm wondering if Keris will start learning charms derived from her souls, as was mentioned in the Pantheon charms write-up post. She doesn't seem to need them yet.
Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
If you mean the one she found en route to the Middle Lands, that wasn't a manse; just a summer house (and she will totally be stealing it if she ever remembers where it is and is nearby again).
Aleph
Princess of Stabbity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Not... currently, no. Anima powers are sort of a bit up in the air - Keris doesn't really use hers often, so we've not done much with them. It's on our list of things to consider.
I'm glad! I like their dynamic, and Dulmea has been the thing holding them back from hitting Coadjutor 5 for a while - that "Knowing My Place" Principle of hers means she's terrified of over-reaching. It was tricky working out how to get her over it. Eventually I came up with the solution in this session; a Sorcerous declaration that "her place" is now "in charge, second only to Keris herself".
Heh. I did rather like that bit - the surrender oaths show that things of that nature are possible (though they're considerably more drastic in scope). I'm gonna have to think about what form the next such soul-altering declaration I have planned will take, and when Keris will make it.
I guess until you get someone with metagaos mythos exultant you won't consider it with the anima hack either. Oh well.
Reading Kerisgame is surprisingly amusing either way, what with Rathan "no it wasn't me" aura and poor echo taking the blame
Reading Kerisgame is surprisingly amusing either way, what with Rathan "no it wasn't me" aura and poor echo taking the blame
Jon Chung
=][=
Part of the point of the Dragon-Blooded is a society which reproduces and passes down power in family lines, so you can play the family-related drama we keep seeing in our own historical record (and fiction - see Game of Thrones, then see Romance of the Three Kingdoms, then see... etc). If you have immortal super powerful progenitor-figures, what you get is assuredly not that, as the narrative stops being about the family and about that one dude who started the ball rolling. The immortality of a dynast is in the continuation and strengthening of their dynasty, not in their person.
This is also why the Scarlet Dynasty having one empress for the entirety of its existence is dumb: the Realm is the one place in the setting you can properly play CK2 dynastic style, why is its shining exemplar and near-mythological founder behaving like a Solaroid?
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azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
Hahaha, no.
Jon Chung
=][=
Alone of the Exalted Host, the Terrestrials reproduce. They build power and wealth and pass those to their children. They die of old age and the next generation carries on. They exist as part of a society with inherited obligations as well as inherited power. Celestials do not do this, by definition: if you want to have dynastic elements in the game, the Dragon-Blooded slice of the setting is where they go.
Things that destroy the ability of the Dragon-Blooded to do this (such as immortal house progenitors or easily accessed technology to extend the rule of the aged to insane lengths) should be avoided for obvious reasons.
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Understandable. Rewriting the entire mechanics of a game isn't going to be easy. I'll be interested in seeing what you decide on if it does come up.
@Jon Chung
What about the Sidereals and the Realm Defense Grid?
If the Empress isn't the immortal, monolithic individual of canon, but merely the first or latest in a line of tyrants, wouldn't the Sidereals have somewhat greater control over the Dynasty AND have wrested control of the Imperial Manse?
I'm being won over to your side of things, but I'm curious how you handle the consequences.
What about the Sidereals and the Realm Defense Grid?
If the Empress isn't the immortal, monolithic individual of canon, but merely the first or latest in a line of tyrants, wouldn't the Sidereals have somewhat greater control over the Dynasty AND have wrested control of the Imperial Manse?
I'm being won over to your side of things, but I'm curious how you handle the consequences.
Aaron Peori
Rest in Peace
Why?
No, seriously, why?
Keep in mind that, as we are talking from the authorial stand point there is nothing we can't change about canon to suit our whims. If a Dragonblooded was capable of fighting off Sidereal social magic and pressure enough to retain control of the weapon herself then there is no reason her heirs could not do the same thing.
And if this reduces the monolithic power of the Empress over the dynasty and makes her partnership with the Sidereals and their puppet the Immaculate Order that much more precarious... good. The dynamic of secular versus religious power, especially in a society that bases so much of its secular power on religious beliefs, is an interesting one to explore. It's less interesting when one is clearly dominant. The canonical Empress didn't need the Order. A Realm which does need it to not only hunt down Solars but as the key to the ground level social control required by all empires in history is a much more interesting place.
And this isn't just speaking from a Dragonblooded perspective. A game about Sidereals is much more interesting when any assignment to the Blessed Isle is a massive political move, and games about Solars and Lunars become much more interesting when you can exploit the differences between dogma and law in your enemies.
There's also the fact that while the Sidereals are powerful, they're also extremely few in number and their influence is necessarily muted by the fact that no one remembers them. This is especially troublesome for them in a setting where the leader of the Realm isn't an autocrat: in a Realm with less concentrated power, the number of people you need to influence to get what you want can be significantly larger.
Though are you certain about the Empress not needing the Order? I always got the impression that the order did provide social control.
Aaron Peori
Rest in Peace
It does, theoretically. But the Empress as written is explicitly the more powerful one in that relationship and dictates policy to them, not the other way around. Especially considering she apparently has "elder Dragonblooded" level social Charms which walk over into Solar level bullshit Charms territory.
- Location
- The end of all things
Is the fundamental limitation of mortality as an inescapable hard constraint truly necessary to preserve the dynastic characteristics of Dragon-Blooded society? As it is they already live long enough that their systems of inheritance will be very weird by our standards. Further, the nature of exponential growth dictate that a progenitor will eventually be vastly outnumbered by their descendents. Overthrowing one's tyrannical ancestors is peanuts compared to overthrowing the Solars.
Even allowing for reasonable amounts of Elder bullshit, their ability to continue ruling relies on pleasing an increasing number of descendents. This requires an increasing amount of resources. Worse, the difficulty of ruling and managing and spying on them will grow nonlinearly. Any individual lacking truly scale-invariant techniques for population management will inevitably be overcome by the complexity.
One obvious option is to subtly cull them through external warfare to secure their desires. This is necessary, but risky. Kill too many, and a rival house that didn't may crush you. Kill too few, and you won't be able to keep them in line. Controls on procreation are another option, but the Dragon-Blooded don't respond well to being told they can't breed. You have to be a bit more subtle than that: see the Imperial educational system.
Ruling is thus a very precarious state unless one possesses a truly singular advantage. Mere skill alone, no matter how great, will eventually see one dead. An individual interested in attempting immortality, or even in merely living out their old age, may thus find it desirable to have the option of stepping out of the rat race into a sort of retirement. This benefits their descendents, because they may be able to avoid a bloody coup while maintaining the wisdom and power of the Elders against annoying things like Lunar invasions. This benefits the elders, because they get to not die, though some may object to this arrangement. They generally won't last long, especially if this behavior becomes the expected practice.
Thus an Elder who clings to power too long and too greedily becomes seen not as lucky or resourceful, but as an affront to the very principles of Dragon-Blooded society. If they don't have something truly potent to maintain their supporters with they won't last long. At the same time, it is totally possible to have ancient Dragon-Blooded masters who have largely retreated from worldly affairs, and who vaguely remember whatever historical events and forgotten legends the ST desires. Or who can actually challenge a young Solar.
Even allowing for reasonable amounts of Elder bullshit, their ability to continue ruling relies on pleasing an increasing number of descendents. This requires an increasing amount of resources. Worse, the difficulty of ruling and managing and spying on them will grow nonlinearly. Any individual lacking truly scale-invariant techniques for population management will inevitably be overcome by the complexity.
One obvious option is to subtly cull them through external warfare to secure their desires. This is necessary, but risky. Kill too many, and a rival house that didn't may crush you. Kill too few, and you won't be able to keep them in line. Controls on procreation are another option, but the Dragon-Blooded don't respond well to being told they can't breed. You have to be a bit more subtle than that: see the Imperial educational system.
Ruling is thus a very precarious state unless one possesses a truly singular advantage. Mere skill alone, no matter how great, will eventually see one dead. An individual interested in attempting immortality, or even in merely living out their old age, may thus find it desirable to have the option of stepping out of the rat race into a sort of retirement. This benefits their descendents, because they may be able to avoid a bloody coup while maintaining the wisdom and power of the Elders against annoying things like Lunar invasions. This benefits the elders, because they get to not die, though some may object to this arrangement. They generally won't last long, especially if this behavior becomes the expected practice.
Thus an Elder who clings to power too long and too greedily becomes seen not as lucky or resourceful, but as an affront to the very principles of Dragon-Blooded society. If they don't have something truly potent to maintain their supporters with they won't last long. At the same time, it is totally possible to have ancient Dragon-Blooded masters who have largely retreated from worldly affairs, and who vaguely remember whatever historical events and forgotten legends the ST desires. Or who can actually challenge a young Solar.
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This is the history of the Scarlets and the state of the Realm in Kerisgame, where things are... significantly different from canon.
On the Scarlet and the Current Affairs of the Realm
The first Scarlet, the saviour of Creation, was a woman of incredible will and amazing capacities. The world may not see her like again for another Age or more. In burning fire she forged an empire from the ashes of a world ravaged by plague and fae. The Shogun of Shoguns was a torch to the shattered Gens of the Shogunate, bringing them under her wing as the first and mightiest Great Houses of the Realm. Her great failures, as she always saw it, was the failure to add the Scavenger Lands to her triumphs and the pernicious independence of the Gens of the South West, who withstood her fury. Despite that, as she became advanced in age she chose to hand over the throne and induct her successor to the Realm Defence Grid, knowing that no man lives forever. It was this act of blazing foresight which may ensure her name survives in glory, and upon her death the whole Realm mourned for a decade.
The second Scarlet, her chosen successor, was more moderate in her inclinations and more cold in her passions. She established the Peace of Thorns with the forces of the Confederation of Rivers, bringing an end to the Realm's great wars against the Scavenger Lands. Her eyes were instead turned to the ocean, and under her the Realm turned its eyes to the West, building up their naval forces. A sorceress and weather-worker, she directed the Immaculate Order and her favoured sorcerer-engineers to tame the storm gods around the Blessed Isles and subjugate the wild Air Elementals to their service. Under her guide, the Shogunate-era docs of An Mathane were salvaged and brought back into working operation, laying the foundations for the continued naval dominance of the Realm. She was like the lightning - sharp and blinding in her brilliance. Despite all this, she was more advanced in years than might have been liked when she took the throne, and she chose to abdicate early, to focus on her love of the Realm's fleet.
The third to wear the scarlet was the first male to take the throne. In contrast to his predecessor and much like the first Empress, he lead the Realm in an aggressive policy of expansion. Like the strangling kudzu vine he spread across the lands, choking all dissent with strategy and pragmatism alike. Though he maintained the naval dominance, he promoted the idea that any lands washed by the Inner Sea should be within the Realm's sphere of influence, if not outright controlled and the Legions saw power like never before. This led to a growth in tensions with the Scavenger Lands, even though the Emperor focussed instead on the fertile lands south of the Inner Sea. By the time of his retirement, he had crushed the post-Shogunate empires of the South West, leaving jungles to grow in the ruins of their once-proud cities.
His successor, the Fourth Scarlet Empress, was chosen as heir only after the first heir had become inconvenient. She was selected as a capable administrator and negotiator, to ensure that the lands conquered by the Emperor did not slip away - and the retired Emperor showed full intent of adding more lands in his old age. Calm and still as a mountain pond, it is said she rowed in private with her predecessor and that they nearly came to blows over his provocations of her hard-negotiated peaces. She chose to focus on building up the dominions on the Inner Sea and sought to bring the eldest satrapies into the metropolitan Realm - preferring to slowly wash away at the resolve of an enemy than risk everything in battle. A strong devotee of the Immaculate Faith, she led them to immerse other cultures in the proper ways and to drown once and for all the Hundred Gods Heresy and the wicked ways of the ancestor cultists.
Alas, tragedy has struck the Realm. Ten years ago, the Emperor-Dowager and the Empress-in-Waiting were slain defeating the Anathema barbarian known as the Bull of the North and his vile compatriots. This military disaster left but one alive who could activate the Realm Defence Grid and no heir in training, a state unheard of since the days of the first Scarlet. The dragonfires of the First Temple went out that day, and have not been relit. Ill omens and dark tidings have been seen in the stars. The Anathema return in numbers never seen before.
And five years ago, the Empress vanished. Princess Nemone, her mother's reserve candidate - in itself a mild breach of protocol - had not successfully activated the Realm Defence Grid and been accepted by the arcane mechanisms. The Council of Ministers and the Deliberative refuse to acknowledge her claim to be the Empress-in-Waiting. By Imperial law, they are right to do so. Nemone sits and stews but waits for now.
Now the Scarlet Throne is empty. Princess Nemone, the half-trained would-be Empress, reaches for power but fears to risk everything in the Imperial Manse. Her sister, Princess Vanefa, flits from backing her sister to throwing the support of her faction to block her - and the Imperial House is split between the two sisters. Tepet Ejava, twin sister of the deceased Empress-in-Waiting and a famed general, considers if she might attain what her sister successfully did. Hotheads say that Cathak Cainan, the Minister of War, exemplifies the virtue of the Dynasty and should be appointed ruler by general acclaim. Idealists suggest Ledaal Kes as the only man with the cunning to rule in this Time of Tumult, though he speaks out against his own candidacy. Some politicians in the Deliberative ask in whispers if they need a new Scarlet. Perhaps they should look to the Shogunate for inspiration and elevate the Daimyo of the Treasury to the first among equals, ruling as long as he can maintain the backing of the Chambers and pass a budget.
In the meantime, the Council of Ministers rules from day to day. They are backed by the political factions of the Upper and Lower Chambers who possess the power to authorise taxation of the Houses. The Imperial House claims that the Scarlet Legions should answer to it, but should Princess Nemone start issuing orders unsupported by the Chambers it is unclear if they would obey. The All-Seeing Eye interferes in the political games, even as the Shogun of the Interior denies any involvement. The magistrates loyal to the scrupulously neutral Grand Minister of Justice refuse to get involved, and any magistrate who violates those orders will face the sanction of their peers. And the Immaculate Order seeks to extend its influence, hinting at its backing for any Minister and any House who act in the 'proper manner'.
On the Scarlet and the Current Affairs of the Realm
The first Scarlet, the saviour of Creation, was a woman of incredible will and amazing capacities. The world may not see her like again for another Age or more. In burning fire she forged an empire from the ashes of a world ravaged by plague and fae. The Shogun of Shoguns was a torch to the shattered Gens of the Shogunate, bringing them under her wing as the first and mightiest Great Houses of the Realm. Her great failures, as she always saw it, was the failure to add the Scavenger Lands to her triumphs and the pernicious independence of the Gens of the South West, who withstood her fury. Despite that, as she became advanced in age she chose to hand over the throne and induct her successor to the Realm Defence Grid, knowing that no man lives forever. It was this act of blazing foresight which may ensure her name survives in glory, and upon her death the whole Realm mourned for a decade.
The second Scarlet, her chosen successor, was more moderate in her inclinations and more cold in her passions. She established the Peace of Thorns with the forces of the Confederation of Rivers, bringing an end to the Realm's great wars against the Scavenger Lands. Her eyes were instead turned to the ocean, and under her the Realm turned its eyes to the West, building up their naval forces. A sorceress and weather-worker, she directed the Immaculate Order and her favoured sorcerer-engineers to tame the storm gods around the Blessed Isles and subjugate the wild Air Elementals to their service. Under her guide, the Shogunate-era docs of An Mathane were salvaged and brought back into working operation, laying the foundations for the continued naval dominance of the Realm. She was like the lightning - sharp and blinding in her brilliance. Despite all this, she was more advanced in years than might have been liked when she took the throne, and she chose to abdicate early, to focus on her love of the Realm's fleet.
The third to wear the scarlet was the first male to take the throne. In contrast to his predecessor and much like the first Empress, he lead the Realm in an aggressive policy of expansion. Like the strangling kudzu vine he spread across the lands, choking all dissent with strategy and pragmatism alike. Though he maintained the naval dominance, he promoted the idea that any lands washed by the Inner Sea should be within the Realm's sphere of influence, if not outright controlled and the Legions saw power like never before. This led to a growth in tensions with the Scavenger Lands, even though the Emperor focussed instead on the fertile lands south of the Inner Sea. By the time of his retirement, he had crushed the post-Shogunate empires of the South West, leaving jungles to grow in the ruins of their once-proud cities.
His successor, the Fourth Scarlet Empress, was chosen as heir only after the first heir had become inconvenient. She was selected as a capable administrator and negotiator, to ensure that the lands conquered by the Emperor did not slip away - and the retired Emperor showed full intent of adding more lands in his old age. Calm and still as a mountain pond, it is said she rowed in private with her predecessor and that they nearly came to blows over his provocations of her hard-negotiated peaces. She chose to focus on building up the dominions on the Inner Sea and sought to bring the eldest satrapies into the metropolitan Realm - preferring to slowly wash away at the resolve of an enemy than risk everything in battle. A strong devotee of the Immaculate Faith, she led them to immerse other cultures in the proper ways and to drown once and for all the Hundred Gods Heresy and the wicked ways of the ancestor cultists.
Alas, tragedy has struck the Realm. Ten years ago, the Emperor-Dowager and the Empress-in-Waiting were slain defeating the Anathema barbarian known as the Bull of the North and his vile compatriots. This military disaster left but one alive who could activate the Realm Defence Grid and no heir in training, a state unheard of since the days of the first Scarlet. The dragonfires of the First Temple went out that day, and have not been relit. Ill omens and dark tidings have been seen in the stars. The Anathema return in numbers never seen before.
And five years ago, the Empress vanished. Princess Nemone, her mother's reserve candidate - in itself a mild breach of protocol - had not successfully activated the Realm Defence Grid and been accepted by the arcane mechanisms. The Council of Ministers and the Deliberative refuse to acknowledge her claim to be the Empress-in-Waiting. By Imperial law, they are right to do so. Nemone sits and stews but waits for now.
Now the Scarlet Throne is empty. Princess Nemone, the half-trained would-be Empress, reaches for power but fears to risk everything in the Imperial Manse. Her sister, Princess Vanefa, flits from backing her sister to throwing the support of her faction to block her - and the Imperial House is split between the two sisters. Tepet Ejava, twin sister of the deceased Empress-in-Waiting and a famed general, considers if she might attain what her sister successfully did. Hotheads say that Cathak Cainan, the Minister of War, exemplifies the virtue of the Dynasty and should be appointed ruler by general acclaim. Idealists suggest Ledaal Kes as the only man with the cunning to rule in this Time of Tumult, though he speaks out against his own candidacy. Some politicians in the Deliberative ask in whispers if they need a new Scarlet. Perhaps they should look to the Shogunate for inspiration and elevate the Daimyo of the Treasury to the first among equals, ruling as long as he can maintain the backing of the Chambers and pass a budget.
In the meantime, the Council of Ministers rules from day to day. They are backed by the political factions of the Upper and Lower Chambers who possess the power to authorise taxation of the Houses. The Imperial House claims that the Scarlet Legions should answer to it, but should Princess Nemone start issuing orders unsupported by the Chambers it is unclear if they would obey. The All-Seeing Eye interferes in the political games, even as the Shogun of the Interior denies any involvement. The magistrates loyal to the scrupulously neutral Grand Minister of Justice refuse to get involved, and any magistrate who violates those orders will face the sanction of their peers. And the Immaculate Order seeks to extend its influence, hinting at its backing for any Minister and any House who act in the 'proper manner'.
Is the eldest child of the monarch favoured over younger ones? Is the bias towards females codified, coincidence, a societal bias, or an emerging but unofficial tradition?
Evidently the current monarch select their successor (like the early Roman emperors?), but has the procedure been put into law, or is it fairly ad-hoc, ruled simply by precedent and the current Empresses willingness to force her choice down the Houses throats?
Not one Scarlet so far has been a child of a previous one. After the First Scarlet lost two children she tried to train to the Manse, there is an unspoken rule that one does not train one's own children. That is something that Princess Nemone must contest against - the expectation that no child of a Scarlet would be able to do it properly given precedent.
Well, it's just that women are more rational, sensible, logical and less ruled by their hearts than men. Men are like fleeting pretty butterflies, torn between their loyalty of their House of birth and the House they marry into, and that leads them to be better suited for artistry and the more ephemeral pursuits rather than the more solid, grounded, logical thought of women. Men live in the knowledge that the blessings of the dragons pass down less strongly through them and the aspect of the mother more strongly determines the aspect of any child than their own aspect - they're just not quite as in tune with their element as women. And of course, the Houses don't tend to push their men as hard - after all, it'd be quite a waste if someone you'd invested so heavily in and were weighing all your hopes on went and married someone from another House and now had split loyalties!
Now, that's not to say that men can't excel in whatever field they choose to pursue. But it's just a question of bell curves. Have you noticed that all the best sorcerers are female? It's just women are more talented at the rational thought that Devonian sorcery requires, and men in their emotional sensitivity tend to be better in less... structured environments and tend to study Salinian sorcery, which just isn't as productive at producing research papers at the high end. There is a standing issue, and the Heptagram does need to work better at getting more men into studying more academically reputable sorcery, but that's a question of culture and, yes, male biology.
The Empress or Emperor can select whoever the fuck they want and train them however they like.
It's up to the Manse whether it'll accept them. You can't force it. The First Empress made that entirely clear when she told the heads of the Houses that if they wanted a say in her successor, they could go into the manse with her and face the Realm Defence Grid themselves. Four accepted. Three returned, shaken by what they'd seen, and told the others that it had destroyed the one who'd faced it, utterly. The Empress announced that a lot of her candidates were going to die anyway, so her heir would be someone she found who the Grid would accept, nothing less and nothing more.
The heir of the Scarlet is only a true Empress-in-Waiting once they've activated the Grid themselves successfully. That's the ultimate proof, and that's why the Realm is in trouble right now. Princess Nemone is only half trained and hasn't tried for a successful activation yet, so she isn't the Empress-in-Waiting. There is no Empress to complete her training. No one else can do it. She's the foremost candidate, but she knows she doesn't know what she doesn't know. It scares her. She knows so very many ways the Grid could kill her if she doesn't meet its standards.
(The Grid was built by super-genius Solars who exhaustively built it so no lone madman could use it to destroy Creation. It will kill anyone whose highest goal when activating it isn't the preservation of Creation - and it will refuse to activate for anyone who has defences up which would stop it killing them. It will kill you if you have mental defences up which stop it from reading your intent. It will kill you if you are not one of the types of Exalt which fought in the Primordial War. It will kill you if you have supernatural mental influence on you because that might mean someone is using you as a pawn. It will kill you if you are tainted by the Yozis. It will kill you if you are tainted by the Wyld. It will kill you if you are tainted by necrotic Essence. Even beginning the activation process is effectively an Eclipse oath that you will not prevent it from killing you if it finds you a threat to Creation.
If a lot of Cauldronists towards the end of the High First Age had tried to activate it? Even with the more generous conditions for using it when you're not a lone emergency user like the Scarlets, it would have killed them.
So, yes. If your goal in life is to become emperor, it will kill you. Which means the secret Nemone suspects and Ejava doesn't know is that the Grid will kill anyone who wants to be accepted by the Grid so they can become the Scarlet. The training of the Empress-in-Waiting is hard, painful, and intended to break you so you care more about Creation than your own ambition or even your own life, because that's the only way to successfully activate it as an emergency operator. The Scarlets are all a bit crazy, one and all - but they're a crazy where their towering force of will and sheer heroism (as exceptional Dragonblooded) is devoted towards the good of Creation.)
Chloe Sullivan
Subdefective
- Location
- 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale CA
I love the ole' "Your motivation must be the preservation of creation to use the RDG" thing.
The realm being matrilineal also really really makes sense.
Yoinking a lot of this for my own games...
The realm being matrilineal also really really makes sense.
Yoinking a lot of this for my own games...