[X] [Fighting Style] Brutal and pragmatic hand-to-hand fighting, taught to him in secret by a mere Caravaner Caste soldier. Your Essence-hardened body is the only weapon you need to rely on.
[X] [Initiation] A Tribute of Gems
[X] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
[X] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[X] [Initiation] A Tribute of Gems
I for one believe an interventionist patron is a good thing. It'll be fun trying to navigate our school life while our patron tries (and maybe succeeds) in forcing us to bend to their whims.
I for one believe an interventionist patron is a good thing. It'll be fun trying to navigate our school life while our patron tries (and maybe succeeds) in forcing us to bend to their whims.
The whole reason we're going for a first year initiation is because the Empress has expectations of us. Would making ourselves beholden to an elemental, even a strong one, meet her approval?
[X] [Fighting Style] Brutal and pragmatic hand-to-hand fighting, taught to him in secret by a mere Caravaner Caste soldier. Your Essence-hardened body is the only weapon you need to rely on.
[X] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[X] [Initiation] A Tribute of Gems
Biggest concern with fucking with Yoxien is that we unleash it on Creation for the sake of power. And I'm not sure we wanna follow Mnemon's footsteps in taking on crafting projects.
Meanwhile, could we have any way to bring Amiti and Sola down to Earth with their sorcery?
[X] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[X] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
[X] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[X] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
[X] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[X] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
That would be the most obvious catch with him, but it's also not really what I have in mind. Yoxien is presenting himself pretty genuinely to Ambraea, and while there's complications associated with that choice, they're different ones from just "oh no, a second circle demon is just killing people now".
What I'd like to do with demons is like, make them weird and alien and have the complications come out of that, more than outright malicious or likely to go on a rampage the moment you make a wrong move.
[x] [Fighting Style] Spear fighting, such as he picked up during his stint fighting in wars of conquest in the Burano Legions. Speed and reach balance out your defensive magic.
[x] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
[X] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[X] [Initiation] Names Plucked Like Blossoms
I'm rooting for our small bird boy. And honestly, we're probably not the first daughter of the Scarlet Empress to make a deal with a demon while studying at a sorcery school. I'm sure it'll work out.
[X] [Fighting Style] Spear fighting, such as he picked up during his stint fighting in wars of conquest in the Burano Legions. Speed and reach balance out your defensive magic.
Spears are always the right choice.
[X] [Initiation] A Tribute of Gems
[X] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
[X] [Initiation] A Tribute of Gems
[X] [Fighting Style] Spear fighting, such as he picked up during his stint fighting in wars of conquest in the Burano Legions. Speed and reach balance out your defensive magic.
I prefer to vote with common sense when it comes to making a protagonist's decisions, and that common sense is yelling about limiting contact with demons as much as we can, even if it might sound spicy.
[x] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
This just gives us more reason to train with Sola more regularly, if we're the next-best swordswoman in our year. She'll appreciate it, we'll appreciate it, it'll be great.
[x] [Initiation] Names Plucked Like Blossoms
We know a bit about how to get value out of Yoxien already. That's a relatively safe and interesting bet. The Gems one feels similar enough, except it's more of a gamble and not a safe gamble--who is said elemental? Geomancy is likewise something with some sizable obvious downsides: Ambraea nearly kills herself if she tries that. If we go for it, that puts us on a crafting subplot tree, too, and I don't really feel like we're strapped for things to do. Better to focus than spread out.
Demons are one of the better ways to start here, honestly. Demons in Exalted aren't "perfectly corrupting tempters". They're just... alien. There's a tremendous amount of flexibility if we get what we need to summon a variety of First Circle Demons, and we'll get to do fun stuff with Yoxien and names.
Demons being more positive than not is very much in line with what Exalted gives us. This is a sidebar about summoning them in the current edition:
Demon's are boring and usually take over the narrative. I want the quest to be about the Realm and Ambraea's place in it.
[X] [Fighting Style] Brutal and pragmatic hand-to-hand fighting, taught to him in secret by a mere Caravaner Caste soldier. Your Essence-hardened body is the only weapon you need to rely on.
[X] [Initiation] Geomantic Mandala
I prefer to vote with common sense when it comes to making a protagonist's decisions, and that common sense is yelling about limiting contact with demons as much as we can, even if it might sound spicy.
I prefer to vote with common sense when it comes to making a protagonist's decisions, and that common sense is yelling about limiting contact with demons as much as we can, even if it might sound spicy.
Common sense can, when applied in specific contexts, be subject to tainting by common misconceptions. Demons are of alien minds, but within clear patterns. Yoxien is the Defining Soul of the Bottomless Library. Which, based on precedent set by Octavian and Mara in 2E, makes me suspect that it is Yoxien's nature to pursue the same outcome as the Bottomless Library's most renown form of influence through more direct means. While the particulars remain uncertain, a Bottomless Library implies a focus pertaining to knowledge. Not the inherent disaster that would come from initiation by... Octavian or Mara.
Mara's initiation is usually not a particular disaster for the person learning from her, so much as it encourages... Behaviour that wouldn't be great for others. She eats souls, but she doesn't try to screw over her favourites, typically. She is definitely one of the like, more generally horrifying examples of a second circle demon, though.
Which is why I said "inherent" rather than "immediate" or "blatant." I don't foresee such issues with Yoxien.
The main issue I see with Yoxien is the potential contacts with his contacts, which would mean both his siblings and whatever Dynasts have access to his room. I consider the latter an advantage, though, as a partial step into Realm politics and possible opportunity for Sidereal engagement.
Hmm, fighting style I'm feeling saber, for no particular reason. Possibly just that "practical and elegant" has a good vibe
All of the initiations are interesting though, hard to say there.
[x] [Fighting Style] Prasadi saber fighting, taught to him by his own father. Distinct in style from that common to the Blessed Isle, but both practical and elegant.
[x] [Initiation] Names Plucked Like Blossoms
The whole reason we're going for a first year initiation is because the Empress has expectations of us. Would making ourselves beholden to an elemental, even a strong one, meet her approval?
Is that a rare success, or a rare failure, though? How many children of the Empress are beholden to anything but their mother? We explicitly know nothing of his motives, beyond an intent to actively meddle. The elemental is more of a devil's bargain than Yoxien!
[X] [Fighting Style] Spear fighting, such as he picked up during his stint fighting in wars of conquest in the Burano Legions. Speed and reach balance out your defensive magic.
[X] [Initiation] Names Plucked Like Blossoms
The Nice Bird is Friend-Shaped. That is all.
"Well, yes," Amiti allows, "but, it's like instructor Sai was saying! It's not always about sheer quantity. There are so many more things that factor into it than just the number of deaths! And you can manipulate those things to make sure that it happens!"
[X] [Fighting Style] Spear fighting, such as he picked up during his stint fighting in wars of conquest in the Burano Legions. Speed and reach balance out your defensive magic.
[X] [Initiation] A Tribute of Gems
I mean we're already an Earth aspect sorcerer aspirant with mommy issues. If we add demons to the mix then they'll rightly call us Little Mnemon and we will never wash out the shame.
Come on people, what's a little near-death experience compared to making mommy satisfied with our progress? Vote Geomantic Mandala for all that delicious Realm political drama.
