[Exalted] Heaven thy Home and Earth thy Slave

[X] A Fated Tragedy: Like Nine Saffron Impassioned Exhortation, the Shogun who had presided over the City's sacking, Holiest Gift has found herself a victim of fate. Destiny's hand has arrayed her against him and only one victor can emerge. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Sympathy to Holiest Gift.

I hate you guys. Here I come in expecting one of these votes to triumph and you give me a fucking 6/6/6 tie.

Tragedy is ahead

[X] A Worthy Adversary

Sir Coin, Breaker of Ties.

[X] A Caged Bird

[X] A Caged Bird

Despondency: a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage.

Not seeing the appeal of such a tie. Rivalry between captive and captor is much more captivating.

it's an alternate take on viewing the connection as tragedy. melancholy is a powerful and fascinating emotion! people have told stories about it many times.

I'm just here for the Mortal (for now only, hopefully)-Solar rivalry.

Randino Treviani said:

Despondency: a state of low spirits caused by loss of hope or courage.

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Just to clarify Despondency since it might not be as clear as Rivalry or Sympathy, but it refers to a sense of despondency at how Holiest Gift could have accomplished more; it's a despondency at the fallen state of the world.

[X] A Caged Bird

Just to clarify Despondency since it might not be as clear as Rivalry or Sympathy, but it refers to a sense of despondency at how Holiest Gift could have accomplished more; it's a despondency at the fallen state of the world.

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Oh... reads almost like and indirect respect for Holiest Gift. If that's the case, one has to wonder if RELaS would see her being synonymous with the City...

[x] A Caged Bird: Unlike Six Gold Surrounding Glory, the Shogun who moved the capital west, Holiest Gift does not live in an age of glories. She could accomplish great things but, constrained by her circumstances, is chained to the survival of a state that only holds her back. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Despondency to Holiest Gift.

After re-reading the update, this fits just as well, if not possibly better considering Mirza's ex-slave? friend emphasized this. That Gift is chained to the city she was born and raised in, taught to be a (potential?) shogun, an obligation unable to be denied.

One thing i'd like to complement (that I chose not to mention in my last vote cause it was late, I was tired and went to bed) in the update was that it did a good job of conveying Mirza's conflicting melancholy? sorrow?. That he, the future conqueror of Keinginan-i-Gehan (whom all his ancestors dreamed of taking) is feeling guilt for the harm this would cause to Gift, enough to pardon rebels he ordinarily would have executed. Compounded perhaps with the remorse from having to kill his own brother, who taught him to use a bow and hunt. All the while he Mirza, became an anathema! is excellent drama and pathos.

Past Dreams said:

One thing i'd like to complement (that I chose not to mention in my last vote cause it was late, I was tired and went to bed) in the update was that it did a good job of conveying Mirza's conflicting melancholy? sorrow?. That he, the future conqueror of Keinginan-i-Gehan (whom all his ancestors dreamed of taking) is feeling guilt for the harm this would cause to Gift, enough to pardon rebels he ordinarily would have executed. Compounded perhaps with the remorse from having to kill his own brother, who taught him to use a bow and hunt. All the while he Mirza, became an anathema! is excellent drama and pathos.

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Thank you very much for the kind words. I really wanted to explore Ruling-Exalted-like-a-Sovereign's thoughts and feelings, given not only the substantially different Yalpageshi culture, but also the complexity of his feelings for Gift and his legacy. I think it's fun to explore characters who are deeply bound by their society and the expectations on them, and I don't think he really understands that he is just as bound as Holiest Gift is. She didn't murder any siblings to be Shogun, after all.

[X] A Worthy Adversary: Like Eight Vermilion Grasping Creation, the Shogun who conquered all her enemies, Holiest Gift's reach is infinite but her grasp is not. A fearsome and clever rival who will fight to the last, her ambition is nonetheless her undoing. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Rivalry to Holiest Gift.

[X] A Fated Tragedy: Like Nine Saffron Impassioned Exhortation, the Shogun who had presided over the City's sacking, Holiest Gift has found herself a victim of fate. Destiny's hand has arrayed her against him and only one victor can emerge. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Sympathy to Holiest Gift.

[X] A Caged Bird: Unlike Six Gold Surrounding Glory, the Shogun who moved the capital west, Holiest Gift does not live in an age of glories. She could accomplish great things but, constrained by her circumstances, is chained to the survival of a state that only holds her back. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Despondency to Holiest Gift.

It's back!!!

That was quite the character study. It did a good job fleshing out the Mirza and the conflicting... necessities of expectation in his history, and the melancholy inflicted by what he's done to survive and chosen to do for his future after. I see we're in classic epic telling territory with him being thoroughly destabilized by meeting Gift only once. In a later telling in-universe that'd surely be a hesitation described to emphasize his great passions and conflict... but since the story has been focusing on Gift so far it's much easier for us to understand how even through the lens of sympathy and burden it's an emotion that doesn't rely on him knowing Gift well at all.

His projection of expectations here is an effective character element too - and from a different side, I wonder if it's not really just a convenient way for him to vent his frustrations about his leading part in these events and what led him here, by framing them through feelings directed at an individual who incidentally caught his attention.

[X] A Fated Tragedy: Like Nine Saffron Impassioned Exhortation, the Shogun who had presided over the City's sacking, Holiest Gift has found herself a victim of fate. Destiny's hand has arrayed her against him and only one victor can emerge. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Sympathy to Holiest Gift.

From that perspective, I think this vote makes for the strongest foil to previous Holiest Gift character votes, and also emphasizes the (perhaps well intentioned but ultimately self-motivated) condescension of a conqueror's justifications in his personal life.

(I also enjoyed the description of the routine and hierarchy at the Mirza's camp, and the musings on his family's way of doing things, and I found his companion introduced in the closing conversation to leave me with an interesting impression. I wonder what other part she'll have to play soon.)

Thank you again for the kind words. I will plan on closing voting tomorrow in the hope of new votes coming in to break the current tie.

[X] A Fated Tragedy: Like Nine Saffron Impassioned Exhortation, the Shogun who had presided over the City's sacking, Holiest Gift has found herself a victim of fate. Destiny's hand has arrayed her against him and only one victor can emerge. The Shogun-Mirza will gain a Major Tie of Sympathy to Holiest Gift.

Well it looks like, in an unexpected twist, A Luxuriating Cat wins.

Incredible vote.

[x] A Worthy Adversary

This man has not even read the quest and joins it just to tie. I am so mad. I am being unjustly bullied.

Chehrazad said:

This man has not even read the quest and joins it just to tie. I am so mad. I am being unjustly bullied.

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It's alright. I'm sure it won't un-tie and re-tie more than two more times. Not unless starting a conspiracy to cause precisely that to happen appeals to some soulless monsterharmless prankster. excuse me a sec. Need to talk to some "ConspiratorsFriends".