Eh? What "weight"? We don't have any notable wealth or political power by the standards of the Great Houses, nor are we likely to skyrocket so rapidly in sorcerous power that we'll be a big get already at that point (though that would be pretty cool). The best we have is that we're our mother's daughter... but all of the Great Houses are by definition descended from her, and V'neef herself is the Empress's granddaughter by blood (subsequently adopted as her daughter upon formation of her House).
The current empress went out of her way to help give her former youngest daughter a hand in getting her house established. It stands to reason that amrbraea will recieve similar favor from her mother. As long as the possibility of a empress hastened rise remains there is nothing lost by courting her as an ally, and much to gain in preventing her from becoming an enemies asset.
Eh? What "weight"? We don't have any notable wealth or political power by the standards of the Great Houses, nor are we likely to skyrocket so rapidly in sorcerous power that we'll be a big get already at that point (though that would be pretty cool). The best we have is that we're our mother's daughter... but all of the Great Houses are by definition descended from her, and V'neef herself is the Empress's granddaughter by blood (subsequently adopted as her daughter upon formation of her House).
Post disappearance, IIRC, no heir/great house actually has the backing of any of the other heirs. Sure, we might not be influential individually, but being able to let someone have the endorsement of another heir is valuable, if only because no one else has it. This applies doubly to Vneef, who need as much legitimacy as they can get rn.
Also, there's always the chance we get handed the remnants of broken!Tepet and given the opportunity to forge something new out of it.
The best we have is that we're our mother's daughter... but all of the Great Houses are by definition descended from her, and V'neef herself is the Empress's granddaughter by blood (subsequently adopted as her daughter upon formation of her House).
V'neef is one of the Empress's biological children, like all three of the still-living House Founders, which is why I keep referring to her as Ambraea's half-sister. The only Great House explicitly founded by one of her granddaughters was Ledaal, and Ledaal has been dead for a while. Cathak and Iselsi were also founded by adoptive daughters, but with no relation to the Empress before that.
Post disappearance, IIRC, no heir/great house actually has the backing of any of the other heirs. Sure, we might not be influential individually, but being able to let someone have the endorsement of another heir is valuable, if only because no one else has it. This applies doubly to Vneef, who need as much legitimacy as they can get rn.
Also, there's always the chance we get handed the remnants of broken!Tepet and given the opportunity to forge something new out of it.
Fayhem is correct in general, though. The Empress has no official heir and was not set to name one until RY 1000, a bit less than two and a half centuries from when she is due to vanish. Being the Empress's daughters makes V'neef and Mnemon the two most likely candidates to seize the throne at that point, but they're also Great House matriarchs and founders with the resources that that comes with. The ones in that scenario who have the capacity to play Empress-maker are Houses Cathak and Sesus, who are the the two largest military powers on the Blessed Isle with Tepet broken and the Imperial Legions divided up among the Great Houses. The third most likely candidate for the throne, all things being equal, is Matriarch Sesus Raenyah, who is not one of the Empress's daughters, although she is married to one of the Empress's sons. Even the least likely of the other Great House matriarchs are far ahead of other Imperial daughters in terms of likely succession just by dint of having the power to enforce the claim should they make it.
In that situation, Ambraea will be largely adrift in a rapidly deteriorating situation, without her mother's protection and without the decades she expected to have in order to establish herself in the Dynasty. Becoming a skilled young sorcerer would certainly make her desirable to have on one's side in her person, but someone like V'neef or Mnemon would have alot more to offer her than the reverse.
V'neef is one of the Empress's biological children, like all three of the still-living House Founders, which is why I keep referring to her as Ambraea's half-sister. The only Great House explicitly founded by one of her granddaughters was Ledaal, and Ledaal has been dead for a while. Cathak and Iselsi were also founded by adoptive daughters, but with no relation to the Empress before that.
Edit:
Fayhem is correct in general, though. The Empress has no official heir and was not set to name one until RY 1000, a bit less than two and a half centuries from when she is due to vanish. Being the Empress's daughters makes V'neef and Mnemon the two most likely candidates to seize the throne at that point, but they're also Great House matriarchs and founders with the resources that that comes with. The ones in that scenario who have the capacity to play Empress-maker are Houses Cathak and Sesus, who are the the two largest military powers on the Blessed Isle with Tepet broken and the Imperial Legions divided up among the Great Houses. The third most likely candidate for the throne, all things being equal, is Matriarch Sesus Raenyah, who is not one of the Empress's daughters, although she is married to one of the Empress's sons. Even the least likely of the other Great House matriarchs are far ahead of other Imperial daughters in terms of likely succession just by dint of having the power to enforce the claim should they make it.
In that situation, Ambraea will be largely adrift in a rapidly deteriorating situation, without her mother's protection and without the decades she expected to have in order to establish herself in the Dynasty. Becoming a skilled young sorcerer would certainly make her desirable to have on one's side in her person, but someone like V'neef or Mnemon would have alot more to offer her than the reverse.
Of course. But still, helping us out a bit would be a PR win, specifically for Vneef, as a 'youngest sibling' thing, and having the support of another daughter isn't nothing. And Vneef specifically needs everything it can get to have a shot at surviving.
V'neef is one of the Empress's biological children, like all three of the still-living House Founders, which is why I keep referring to her as Ambraea's half-sister.
Derp. Dunno how I mixed that up. Eh, I'll blame it on reading all of the Great House sections in the Dragon-Blood splat all in one sitting.
Speaking of, it was legit funny/evocative of the setting just how many of the Great Houses had relatively obvious highly viable paths to taking the Throne if they could just stop being petty little shits. Which of course means it's actually a virtually insoluble dilemma in their eyes. Seriously, this is what it's like:
Its more due to politics IMO. The Great House leaders ACT like they're absolutely in control, but none of them got to the top under their own power alone. They're no Solars.
Throwing your lot in behind a stronger candidate makes sense, except if you do that you get the following mess:
-Some of those supporting you have promises that need to be fulfilled which needs you on top. If you surrender your bid, then you cannot fulfill those promises. If you pass those promises on to the one you back, then they'd shift to the one actually meeting those promises.
-Some of those supporting you are just backing what they see as the most likely horse. As your power diminishes, they'd leave.
-Anyone independently strong and well established enough that they can take the above two blows is also strong and well established enough to have a serious shot at the throne if they don't take those blows.
-Anyone in charge of a Great House at all is not going to be unambitious.
Really, what it comes down to is that the children of the Empress don't really have much of an inherent advantage over any Dragonblooded of the same experience, beyond greater wealth and connections(as well as greater safety nets to take risks for growth at a younger age).
Its more due to politics IMO. The Great House leaders ACT like they're absolutely in control, but none of them got to the top under their own power alone. They're no Solars.
Individual Solars do not really have the capacity to just impose themselves on a social structure with thousands of Exalts in it, either. At one point they may have had the legitimate standing to hold together that kind of polity, but the Usurpation is what happens when they collectively lost that in the eyes of the Dragon-Blooded Host. There is no magic for ruling well or wisely, only magic that makes both your good and bad decisions have a larger impact.
You can't discount the societal/political structures at play and where specific people fit into them, especially when you're dealing with Dragon-Blooded, especially when you're dealing with Dynasts. Mnemon does not need to metaphysically be a super Dragon-Blooded with inherently unique powers to have a strong advantage over any other specific claimant to the throne.
Individual Solars do not really have the capacity to just impose themselves on a social structure with thousands of Exalts in it, either. At one point they may have had the legitimate standing to hold together that kind of polity, but the Usurpation is what happens when they collectively lost that in the eyes of the Dragon-Blooded Host. There is no magic for ruling well or wisely, only magic that makes both your good and bad decisions have a larger impact.
You can't discount the societal/political structures at play and where specific people fit into them, especially when you're dealing with Dragon-Blooded, especially when you're dealing with Dynasts. Mnemon does not need to metaphysically be a super Dragon-Blooded with inherently unique powers to have a strong advantage over any other specific claimant to the throne.
Yeah, but what I meant there is that because their power comes from the social structure they either represent or have somehow suborned, if they take an action the rest of the structure won't go with, then they may find themselves with nothing.
The Great Houses simply cannot back off from wanting the throne whatever their nominal ruler's opinions are. At best, the ruler might be able to limit the nature and extent of conflict until a strong enough leader emerges that they can concede with honor.
Four years, seven months before the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress
It's a very similar voyage by ship to the one you took nearly a year before, but the atmosphere is completely different. You're not sailing into the unknown, giddy with nerves and anticipation — you're all on your way to leave your long months of isolation, undefeated by your studies, and set to enjoy a well-earned rest.
"I'm going to be staying with a cousin," Maia says, leaning against the railing of the ship. You wouldn't normally be this close to the edge yourself, but Maia being here helps — when a cold, salty spray crashes over the railing, it parts around her in clear deference, leaving the two of you dry.
"Home's too far?" you ask. You have the vague impression that Maia's household is on the southern coast of the Blessed Isle.
"I was born in Incas Prefecture," she agrees. Incas is wealthy and prosperous, nearly clear on the far side of the entire Isle from Chanos.
Your snake — newly dubbed 'Verdigris' — is around your shoulders. She gives a long, curious look in Maia's direction. Noticing this, Maia tentatively reaches out a hand toward Verdigris. Sensing your friendly feelings toward the Water Aspect, the snake stretches out to flick her metallic tongue over the palm of Maia's hand inquisitively. Maia smiles, and is distracted from spending anymore time glancing around at the rest of the ship.
Like that first day, things have mostly broken off into groups for conversation during the voyage. You and Maia are by yourselves, and not just because you're both standing a little closer to the side of the ship than many would like. Looking at the uninviting glances some of the others are sparing Maia, it's clear that the realities of the world outside of school are already reasserting themselves. Someone in Maia's position was to be tolerated when you were all shut up in the Heptagram together, roughing it without so much as a servant to your names, but no one else seems to have been scrambling to include the patrician girl in their groups. Not necessarily out of malice, in all cases, but certainly in some.
You understand what you're doing here. It's a sincere friendship — you enjoy her company, find her intelligent and talented, and don't regret having had her assigned as your roommate. You don't like to see her shut out like this. But you're also consciously deigning to show her more consideration than you entirely need to, and based on the grateful look in her eyes, she knows that, too. Perhaps there are some who would read something manipulative or false into this — but the concept that all your friendships would have a practical political element, positive or negative, is something that's been drilled into you from your earliest years. "Chanos is quite nice in the summer, I'm told," you say.
Maia smiles. "Do you think they just say that to make themselves feel better about the winters?"
"Yes, probably," you admit, and she laughs at your frankness. Ahead, the fog is beginning to thin, even as the unnatural storm winds that shroud the Isle of Voices begin to recede.
The port of Chanos is as busy as you recall it from the year before, awash with sailors and merchants, ships crossing the Inland Sea in both directions. This city is the famed Gateway to the North, through which the wealth of countless great nations flows back into the Realm: feathersteel, blue jade and other mineral wealth both mundane and fantastic, furs and rare timber from the Northeast, whale oil and ambergris from the White Sea, and much else besides. It's also the home port of the Air Fleet, the Northern branch of the Imperial Navy. Warships and other naval craft occupy a healthy chunk of the bay's shoreline, the city heavy with Imperial marines as well as with soldiers of the Sesus House Legions.
Above all of this, banners fly stark against the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the Imperial Mountain dwarfing all others. The red and black, dried blood shade of the House Sesus banners, as well as the true scarlet of the Imperial Navy.
Amid all this, the Heptagram maintains a small but well-kept private dock. Despite how busy the port is elsewhere, the crowds give your ship and its disembarking passengers a wide berth, and few captains seem inclined to moor their ships alongside the sorcery school's vessels.
Disembarking is more or less orderly, transportation having been arranged by the various students' families beforehand. Most students are not so eager to make an impression that they'd be gauche enough to summon magical transportation in the middle of a busy port, even where they were advanced enough to do so. Most students.
Simendor Deiza says something to the knot of students she's been talking to. Once again, you recognise Mnemon Keric, currently preoccupied with shooting her a disapproving look. That look quickly turns to shock as Deiza puts two fingers in her mouth, and lets out a long, piercing whistle. Short moments later, a spirit materialises out of thin air — a gigantic wasp, glittering in all the colours you can imagine, a creature of such beauty that, even knowing what it is, you feel your heart stir with wonder and admiration. Deiza pulls herself up onto its back, gives a parting grin, and then girl and creature both are gone in a rush of wind and a deafening buzz of wings.
Trust a Simendor to call up a demon just to show off. You refuse to be impressed.
Your own transportation is much more respectable, once you've extricated yourself from a procession of courteous goodbyes. You spot a familiar face among the servants and attendants waiting with the assorted carriages staged nearby: A thin, solemn looking young woman, hair and eyes a seafoam blue that betrays Western heritage, despite her otherwise unremarkable servant's dress.You don't bother to suppress a very small smile at the sight of her — Demure Peony has been your personal servant for years, and it's good to see her looking the same as always. Or, almost the same.
"My lady Ambraea," she says as you approach. She gives you an appropriately low bow, and doesn't raise her head until you give her permission. There's something uncharacteristically nervous about her beneath the expected courtesy — exposure to so many strange, Exalted sorcerers, you assume. Although, given the way her eyes track Verdigris's movements, maybe there's a simpler explanation.
"Punctual as ever, Peony," you tell her. An unremarkable bit of praise that alludes to a shared joke — this is far too public a space for open familiarity, after all.
You don't receive so much as a smile, however. Peony merely ducks her head again. "I will strive to never be anything less, my lady," she says, opening the carriage door for you.
The stiffness is a little odd, but you don't give it too much thought, as you step up to duck through the door. You will end up thinking a great deal more about it later as it would happen, but here and now, you're far too beguiled by thoughts of collapsing into a very large, very soft bed.
Dragons all know, you can use a good rest.
Interlude 01: Favoured Daughter
You prefer not to think of yourself as a particularly spoiled creature. Perseverance and fortitude in the face of hardship are both among Earth's many illustrious qualities, after all. So you have refrained from joining in on the quiet griping from some of your yearmates about the conditions at the Heptagram: The shared rooms, the simple meals, the lack of any personal servants or various creature comforts. Brushing your own hair out everyday has certainly been an adjustment, but you comforted yourself by considering some of the stories you recall having heard from graduates of the Cloister of Wisdom. You'd all had proper beds, at least.
You would be lying if you said that this bath wasn't the single greatest of your life, however. The hot water seems to scour away the very memory of the clammy weather back on the Isle of Voices, heated from below by the geomancy of your mother's official Chanos residence. The Empress has homes like this in major cities across the Blessed Isle, and even in some particularly important satrapies. You strongly suspect that she hasn't so much as spent a night in half of them, but it's the principle of the thing. As long as the residence is there, properly maintained and waiting, it serves as a reminder that she might choose to show up for a stint at any time. It reinforces the knowledge of just whose Realm you're all living in.
The Chanos residence is a tall, narrow Fire Aspected manse, the red stone of its construction pleasantly warm to the touch. The baths are its best feature, each one large and spacious, deep enough to come up to your chest while standing, capable of heating to comfortably hot unnaturally fast. You fully intend to spend at least an hour like this, but you've barely been soaking for all of twenty minutes when you hear a throat being politely cleared.
You recognise the voice. "... Yes, Peony?" you ask, sitting up as you reluctantly open your eyes.
She stands near the door, polite and waiting, bowing once as if in thanks for you acknowledging her at all. "You've received a letter, my lady. I thought you would like to see it sooner rather than later. Apologies if I've overstepped."
You consider her, and the letter she's carrying on a handsome, carved wooden tray. She's sensible about these things, in your experience, and wouldn't be interrupting you to show you nothing of import. "Who is it from?" you ask.
"It carries the seal of House V'neef."
Silently mourning the loss of the rest of your bath, you sigh, and rise up out of the water.
In short order, an attendant helps to towel you off, then slips a robe around your shoulders. At a nod of dismissal from you, she scurries out of the room, taking obvious care to stay as far away from the cushion where Verdigris has been napping as possible. "Let's see, then," you say, taking the note from off the tray. Sure enough, the large, bulky letter has been sealed in brilliant green wax bearing the mon of House V'neef.
Unfolded, you see that it's actually two letters — one of them is from L'nessa, passing on her well-wishes and coyly noting that she hopes to see you sooner than expected. The other it's attached to illuminates why.
"It's from Matriarch V'neef," you say.
"Is it, my lady?" Peony asks, not breaking her air of servile composure.
"She's inviting me to visit her in Eagle Prefecture," you say.
Peony nods, but doesn't comment. You bite back an irritated remark that she hasn't reasonably earned.
Demure Peony was very plainly named by someone with well-founded hopes for her career as a servant. A girl within a year of your own age and the daughter of your wet nurse, you'd grown up together, playing out the type of childhood companionship common among Dynasts and the children of their servants. Things had changed, of course, once you'd both gotten old enough for propriety to demand a certain distance. Then again when she'd entered your service directly, and again when the Dragons had Chosen you. Still, there'd been some warmth there. Some familiarity where it could be permitted — neither of you are prone to effusive displays of emotion, but a reference to an old joke here, an unasked for opinion there... you wouldn't have identified it as something important to you, until it was suddenly gone.
You've always been someone who could, if an uncharacteristically vicious mood took you, destroy Peony's life, and you've both understood that for many years. For the first time, though, you cannot shake the niggling feeling that behind her veil of professional courtesy, she's afraid of you. The thought of several months in this very nice house, alone except for strangers jumping at your every mild reprimand, starts to feel a lot less appealing, even with this very nice bath available. "Well," you decide, since this is apparently a one-sided conversation, "we'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. By ship, apparently, with only enough room for one attendant." Which obviously means Peony.
Peony nods, showing no visible reaction to the sudden news that she'll be traveling all the way to Eagle Prefecture. "Understood, my lady. I will make preparations for your departure. Shall I arrange for a visitor's gift?"
"Yes, thank you. Something memorable, but within my price range," you tell her.
Peony nods again to acknowledge the praise. "I should begin at once, then. With your permission, my lady?"
"You're dismissed," you tell her, and then try hard not to pay attention to the tiny flinch she gives on her way out, when Verdigris raises her head and yawns. With a sigh, you bend down to pick up the snake, and feel her wrap reassuringly around your arm. You'll think of... something to do about Peony, you suppose. You're just not sure what.
Your mother's Chanos home is strategically just on the edge of Emberswathe. The wealthiest and most defended part of the city, populated almost entirely by households of House Sesus and various hangers on.
This makes for a slightly circuitous route to the small dock that L'nessa's instructions have directed you toward. You can't help but notice that it's almost as far away from the naval docks as possible — House Peleps commands the Navy as its imperial remit, after all, and Peleps is no friend to House V'neef.
It's a gloomy, overcast day even out of the shadow of the buildings. You spot L'nessa right away, deep in conversation with a boy you recognise as a fourth year Heptagram student, the only other member of her fledgling house currently in attendance. Supplies and luggage are piled up neatly on the docks, managed by what look to be a crew of sailors. Oddly, you do not currently see a ship.
The door of your carriage is opened for you, and you step out into the cool summer air, making your way briskly down the dock toward L'nessa. You're aware of Peony following you at the expected distance, and of the activity of your things being removed from the carriage. "Well, the wind seems right for sailing," you say, as you draw near, "but I'm afraid you might be missing something."
L'nessa laughs, delighted. "An actual joke!" she exclaims. "The academic break suits you, I see! You look lovely."
This last is in reference to your outfit, sleekly practical for travel by sea. In particular, the finely tailored jacket you're wearing will keep out the worst of the wind while out on the water... as well as being exactly the right shade to match most of the chips of black quartz on your face and neck. For the first time since departing for the Heptagram, you're also wearing your sword, the curved length of the ornate, Prasadi style saber hanging at your waist. Diamond-Cut Perfection's scale hangs fully visible from your neck, accompanied by Verdigris, who is currently lounging in pride of place across your shoulders. You've gotten used to standing out ever since you Exalted and shot up a head in height in the same year. Based on the reactions from the mortal crew today, though, you must be cutting a particularly imposing figure despite your youth. "I can make those, now and again," you say.
"I'd be skeptical, if I hadn't just heard it," L'nessa says. She looks back over to her companion. "Fish, this is Ambraea, my aunt. Ambraea, this is my nephew, V'neef Darting Fish."
"Adoptive nephew," Darting Fish says, giving you a respectful bow of his head. "An honour to formally meet you, Lady Ambraea." He's a scant inch taller than you are, dressed well, but humbly, by Dynastic standards. He has a deep brown complexion, with hair and eyes a shade or two darker — but when they catch the light, his eyes seem to shift colour strangely, like the sea under a changing sky. His correction has the air of not wanting to seem above himself. That there's that much of a pecking order between V'neef's daughter by birth and, presumably, a grandson by one of her many adoptive daughters doesn't surprise you. Five years ago, Fish would have been a first generation Patrician. V'neef's Ascension had happened just in time for him to secure a seat at the Heptagram. Everything from his posture to his overly careful manner of speech betrays his discomfort with the high station life has conspired to thrust him into.
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well," you agree.
"You two are no fun at all," L'nessa complains, without a trace of venom. "Anyway, Fish was just about to bring out the ship."
You watch with interest as Darting Fish reaches into the inside of his coat, and pulls out what looks like a somewhat lackluster daisy, a little too long out of the soil. "Lady L'nessa, if I could ask for your assistance?"
L'nessa smiles good-naturedly, and reaches out a slender finger to touch the withered flower. There's a tiny spark of Wood Essence as the cutting immediately perks up, petals unfurling to their full glory. "There," she says.
"Thank you," Fish says. "One moment." He steps past you to the edge of the dock, staring out into the water. In one hand, he holds the flower. In the other, his hand flashes through a series of one-handed casting mudras. You can sense the power he's drawing from the ocean itself, and the Dragon Lines coursing through it, until finally, he casts the flower into the water. You feel a swell of sorcerous Essence, and the tiny plant floating on the waves explodes outward. Part of the stem becomes huge, elongated, wood-textured, solidifying into a green-tinged hull, even as the rest curves up, petals forming sails as expertly shaped as anything turned out by Imperial shipwrights.
In short order, what you're looking at is a small-sized craft, plainly suited for at least coastal sailing. Right away, the crew spurs into action, leaping onto the deck with ropes to secure it before it can float away. They at least seem used to the spell enough not to outwardly show fear of it, although you think you catch sight of Peony jerking back in shock. Onlookers from elsewhere on the docks look away quickly, and go about their business.
Despite having been formed from a living plant, the ship is clean and dry inside, smelling faintly of nectar and greenery, and seeming at least as watertight as any other craft you've ever been on. It takes a little while to bring aboard the supplies and luggage, but not so long, with everything already staged on the dock. There is limited cabin space, of course — just enough to put you and L'nessa up together, with a small space left aside for Darting Fish himself.
Soon enough, you're slipping out onto the bay, heading for the Inland Sea beyond. You pass by a navy galley going the other way, the sailors aboard giving the V'neef mon flying from the conjured ship's mast a look of wary contempt — at least until a particularly hard look from you sets them to ostentatiously minding their own business.
Darting Fish takes the helm himself, giving calm orders to his handful of sailors in what you have to admit is far better Low Realm than you speak. Under his attentions, the flower ship moves far faster than any you've ever been on, rapidly leaving Chanos and its bay behind, heading west along the shoreline. You'd trusted that the ship L'nessa would be traveling on would be able to cross the distance to Eagle Prefecture quickly enough to not eat up nearly the whole break in travel, but you have to admit, you're impressed.
And so it is that, two days aside, you spend the first week of the academic break sharing an even smaller room with L'nessa than you had at school. You consciously avoid directly contacting Perfection — if they found out about this situation, you know they'd laugh at you.
Article:
The visitor's gift is a tradition dating back to the Shogunate, demonstrating your friendship and gratitude to your host. While it is merely a social nicety for someone as wealthy as a Great House matriarch, this is your first time being invited as an adult, and it is an excellent chance to make a good first impression. Despite her youth, Demure Peony's judgment is very reliable in matters of hospitality and etiquette, and you have no compunctions at all approving her choice of gift to present to your half sister.
What do you plan to present to V'neef? This choice will affect how she reads you, but also informs the direction of Ambraea's first stumbling steps toward establishing herself in wider Dynastic society. All of these options will fall within the bounds of good taste.
[ ] Something mysterious and arcane: A novelty, but one that emphasises your fledgling status as a sorcerer
[ ] Something safe and traditional: An entirely respectable gift that demonstrates a commitment to stability and tradition
[ ] Something exotic: A gift that emphasises the foreign side of Ambraea's parentage
[x] Something exotic: A gift that emphasises the foreign side of Ambraea's parentage
The Scarlet Empress has many daughters. Some of the others are also sorcerers. Only one of them is this foreign. Let's play that up. It's our most unique trait.
The Scarlet Empress has many daughters. Some of the others are also sorcerers. Only one of them is this foreign. Let's play that up. It's our most unique trait.
"Yes, probably," you admit, and she laughs at your frankness. Ahead, the fog is beginning to thin, even as the unnatural storm winds that shroud the Isle of Voices begin to recede.
Simendor Deiza says something to the knot of students she's been talking to. Once again, you recognise Mnemon Keric, currently preoccupied with shooting her a disapproving look. That look quickly turns to shock as Deiza puts two fingers in her mouth, and lets out a long, piercing whistle. Short moments later, a spirit materialises out of thin air — a gigantic wasp, glittering in all the colours you can imagine, a creature of such beauty that, even knowing what it is, you feel your heart stir with wonder and admiration. Deiza pulls herself up onto its back, gives a parting grin, and then girl and creature both are gone in a rush of wind and a deafening buzz of wings.
Trust a Simendor to call up a demon just to show off. You refuse to be impressed.
Simendor Deiza says something to the knot of students she's been talking to. Once again, you recognise Mnemon Keric, currently preoccupied with shooting her a disapproving look. That look quickly turns to shock as Deiza puts two fingers in her mouth, and lets out a long, piercing whistle. Short moments later, a spirit materialises out of thin air — a gigantic wasp, glittering in all the colours you can imagine, a creature of such beauty that, even knowing what it is, you feel your heart stir with wonder and admiration. Deiza pulls herself up onto its back, gives a parting grin, and then girl and creature both are gone in a rush of wind and a deafening buzz of wings.
Trust a Simendor to call up a demon just to show off. You refuse to be impressed.
The more ridiculous, pointlessly abrasive, and showoffish Deiza acts, the more I want to be friends with her. I'm going to make an executive decision to not examine what that says about me as a person.
[X] Something mysterious and arcane: A novelty, but one that emphasises your fledgling status as a sorcerer.
While I like the exotic gift option, I think it's important to remember that we've pacted with a lesser elemental dragon. That is rare. That's kind of insane, actually. We're not just any sorcerer, we're a daughter of potentially the strongest sorcerer alive, and one who's already doing crazy shit. Our sorcery is our biggest tangible asset; we will be extremely formidable one day.
Also, I think V'neef would appreciate having an Earth Aspect sorcerer sibling who does not want her dead! It'll be a nice change of pace.
I don't know, things feel really different when you're just hanging out with this awkwardly gangly fifteen year old dragon-blood you've grown up with who says she's going to be a great sorcerer, compared to like... a year later and she's grown a couple more centimeters and is filling out into this sort of dark/uninviting beauty, and her seriousness is rapidly calcifying into this weird and intimidating sort of intensity, and she has a scary snake made out of living metal just like, around her neck most of the time now and acts like that's normal.
The Realm having societal hangups about sorcery is not necessarily something you can just choose not to be affected by.
I don't know, things feel really different when you're just hanging out with this awkwardly gangly fifteen year old dragon-blood you've grown up with who says she's going to be a great sorcerer, compared to like... a year later and she's grown a couple more centimeters and is filling out into this sort of dark/uninviting beauty, and her seriousness is rapidly calcifying into this weird and intimidating sort of intensity, and she has a scary snake made out of living metal just like, around her neck most of the time now and acts like that's normal.
The Realm having societal hangups about sorcery is not necessarily something you can just choose not to be affected by.
This feels less like a realm thing and more a dissonance of expectations. Ambraea looks Peony and see's the same person as always and expects the same treatment she is familiar with, failing to appreciate the metamorphosis she has undergone over the past year. Had Ambraea maintained some awareness of the changes to her stature and bearing she might have taken steps that would have put Peony more at ease with her, even if she remained warry of magic.
I don't know, things feel really different when you're just hanging out with this awkwardly gangly fifteen year old dragon-blood you've grown up with who says she's going to be a great sorcerer, compared to like... a year later and she's grown a couple more centimeters and is filling out into this sort of dark/uninviting beauty, and her seriousness is rapidly calcifying into this weird and intimidating sort of intensity, and she has a scary snake made out of living metal just like, around her neck most of the time now and acts like that's normal.
The Realm having societal hangups about sorcery is not necessarily something you can just choose not to be affected by.
I still think Exotic is a good choice in showing something different but the mysterious and arcane is a good second choice for our big sister. Hopefully with the added benefit of being a step towards a close companion becoming inured to some aspect of our sorcerous nature.
Probably a bad idea to base our first social move as an adult facing a matriarch on drama in the household but Peony's what stood out most about the chapter for me.
[X] Something mysterious and arcane: A novelty, but one that emphasises your fledgling status as a sorcerer.
