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A Vision in Bronze; A Sidereal quest

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Alectai said:
Because the big thing we've learned in this story so far is that you can't get away from your roots, for good or for ill. And there is serious social engineering involved in the Vendetta, that begins pretty much from birth (Which is why it was an open question whether Maia would actually slaughter her closest friends and confidants if it was demanded by her House, because it's so good that it can compete with a bond of that strength)
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Hey, now...

Article:
A legendary physician and a grandmaster of Citrine Poxes of Contagion style, Iselsi Dogara is sought out by gods and Exalted suffering from maladies beyond mortal ken. When a Sidereal returns from a mission infested with parasitic demons or with a sapling growing from the stump of a severed limb, Dogara is the man to turn to. He enjoys the challenge, to be sure, but enjoys the favors he extracts from his patients all the more.

Dogara was born into House Iselsi in its halcyon days, and his Dynastic upbringing still shows in his haughty manner and decadent tastes. A Bronze Faction devotee in his early days, he was a natural choice for assignments involving the Immaculate Order or the All-Seeing Eye, providing opportunities to stay in touch with his Dragon-Blooded kin that few other Sidereals could enjoy.

The fall of House Iselsi dealt Dogara a shattering blow, breaking his faith in the Bronze Faction. They didn't give the order, but neither did they try to intercede with the Scarlet Empress or stop the other Great Houses from picking Iselsi's bones clean. He supports his family from Heaven's shadows, spending the bulk of his amassed favors to supply them with information, resources, and materiel. He relies greatly on his fellow Sidereals for this but brings few into his confidences. Secrecy is as crucial to him as to his kin — were the Bronze Faction to learn of the Vendetta's full extent and the part that Dogara's played in it, his life may well come crashing down.

The Realm's impending collapse has become an obsession for Dogara. There's never been a greater opportunity for the Vendetta, but that's cold comfort if it leaves him as the last Iselsi. He's surprised even himself by returning to the Bronze fold, hoping against hope the faction actually can avert civil war, or at least delay it. Few among the faction's elders remember him fondly, but he's gone to great lengths to curry favor among its younger members.
Source: Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course pg.49


... Dogara is way older than the fall of Iselsi and was raised in a normal Great House. His involvement with the Vendetta comes from having witnessed the destruction of his house and been unable to do much of anything to stop it, and is something he's entered into as a rational actor with information and resources at his disposal that basically no one else in his house could hope to match.

I hope that helps and makes you feel better about Grace being beholden to him through an open ended favour!
 
[X] A crowded rooftop terrace, where you cause a very memorable and noisy scene.

While this has the chance of directing Heaven's eyes directly at Ambrea because she's going to be the center of attention in all of that, that could arguably be a good thing! If heaven remembers you, the planners will be more likely to include you in their plans! Which... probably isn't a problem, with us here looking out for somebody trying to write a tragic destiny for her or the like?
 
[X] A crowded rooftop terrace, where you cause a very memorable and noisy scene.

Ambraea being the subject of gossip sounds entertaining. Though the other plot hooks are also fun.
 
Gazetteer said:
Hey, now...

Article:
A legendary physician and a grandmaster of Citrine Poxes of Contagion style, Iselsi Dogara is sought out by gods and Exalted suffering from maladies beyond mortal ken. When a Sidereal returns from a mission infested with parasitic demons or with a sapling growing from the stump of a severed limb, Dogara is the man to turn to. He enjoys the challenge, to be sure, but enjoys the favors he extracts from his patients all the more.

Dogara was born into House Iselsi in its halcyon days, and his Dynastic upbringing still shows in his haughty manner and decadent tastes. A Bronze Faction devotee in his early days, he was a natural choice for assignments involving the Immaculate Order or the All-Seeing Eye, providing opportunities to stay in touch with his Dragon-Blooded kin that few other Sidereals could enjoy.

The fall of House Iselsi dealt Dogara a shattering blow, breaking his faith in the Bronze Faction. They didn't give the order, but neither did they try to intercede with the Scarlet Empress or stop the other Great Houses from picking Iselsi's bones clean. He supports his family from Heaven's shadows, spending the bulk of his amassed favors to supply them with information, resources, and materiel. He relies greatly on his fellow Sidereals for this but brings few into his confidences. Secrecy is as crucial to him as to his kin — were the Bronze Faction to learn of the Vendetta's full extent and the part that Dogara's played in it, his life may well come crashing down.

The Realm's impending collapse has become an obsession for Dogara. There's never been a greater opportunity for the Vendetta, but that's cold comfort if it leaves him as the last Iselsi. He's surprised even himself by returning to the Bronze fold, hoping against hope the faction actually can avert civil war, or at least delay it. Few among the faction's elders remember him fondly, but he's gone to great lengths to curry favor among its younger members.
Source: Sidereals: Charting Fate's Course pg.49


... Dogara is way older than the fall of Iselsi and was raised in a normal Great House. His involvement with the Vendetta comes from having witnessed the destruction of his house and been unable to do much of anything to stop it, and is something he's entered into as a rational actor with information and resources at his disposal that basically no one else in his house could hope to match.

I hope that helps and makes you feel better about Grace being beholden to him through an open ended favour!
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I mean, fair's fair, he's a modest-but-measurable influence on how they've managed to stay as strong as they are despite everything, and even now, he's only going "Oh shit, we can't leave a power vacuum when there's so much shit ready to fill it that's worse", not "The Vendetta might have been a mistake." Just that he's rational enough that he's not going to actively sabotage the Realm's chances if he doesn't have to.

Doesn't mean he won't take advantage of having Grace over a barrel to smooth things over for his kin, who are still 100% Ride or Die on the Vendetta, and don't even care if the Realm burns down as long as they're the last one standing in the end. This whole Fuckfest after all happened because they made common cause with a Giga Terrorist Lunar who wanted to assassinate V'neef and anyone else she could kill while she was at it because how dare you continue to exist when you benefit from the Worst Empire In Creation.

The fact you said "Grace isn't going to like returning that favor" is telling, since it suggests he is--in fact--going to use it to further the Vendetta in some way, or at the very least, covering up fuckups by his kin even when they are absolutely deserving of getting strung up for it.

That being said, I'm not trying to argue with you, just laying out the perspective I'm coming into the picture with, as an anxiety-ridden wreck who can't help but look for the Worst Case Scenario.
 
Alectai said:
Well shit, the guy who caught it is an Iselsi, which probably means he's going to force Grace to do something to further the Vendetta, especially since Maia backed down.

Because the big thing we've learned in this story so far is that you can't get away from your roots, for good or for ill. And there is serious social engineering involved in the Vendetta, that begins pretty much from birth (Which is why it was an open question whether Maia would actually slaughter her closest friends and confidants if it was demanded by her House, because it's so good that it can compete with a bond of that strength)
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He does predate the vendetta, which means he's both less consigned purely to it and more emotionally invested. Ultimately, I imagine he wants more for his house than squalor and an inevitable second purge via being too much of a nuisance to the dynasty. Odds are he'd rather the Iselsi restored than the realm torn down.
 
[X] A secluded memorial garden, where you interrupt a meeting you should not be present for

I'm desperately hoping we are interrupting one of the actual maidens here, because that would be funny.
 
Gazetteer said:
I'd hope not, because that would make it seem like you hadn't quite gotten the joke of me laying out worrisome information and then going "I hope that helps" immediately afterward in a tongue in cheek manner.
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Yeah, I'm just going through my usual cycle of "PANIC" and then "oh no I hope these blorbos get out okay T_T"

Anxiety and empathy are a nasty witch's brew to deal with.
 
I'm just going to have faith in three people.

I'm going to have faith in Grace to somehow make her two most significant relations with people who can forget her work somehow.

I'm going to have faith Maia, because no one else has ever been half so set on seeing Bitter Cherry Dead.

And I'm going to have faith in Grace's house, because she isn't the first uppity sidereal it's had to look after.
 
[X] The crypt of a forgotten abstract concept, where you badly scare someone very important
Gazetteer said:
To both your surprise, Amiti interjects. You'd almost forgotten she was there at all, after she'd slipped down off the hound behind L'nessa. "Dragons, L'nessa! She's a Sidereal, they work for Heaven, she was probably just here for the Anathema!" She reveals one of the great secrets of the Second Age with truly remarkable disinterest, utterly flummoxing you. Before you can properly react, Amiti casts a hot, tearful look between you and L'nessa that stops you short, the closest to anger you've ever seen from her. There's a tremulous, fragile note in her voice that makes her real feelings clear: "Please stop arguing and help Ambraea!"
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Sounds like Amiti didn't forget Instructor Sai by their next meeting after all
 
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[x] A crowded rooftop terrace, where you cause a very memorable and noisy scene

While the options all sound interesting, I like the idea of prim and proper Grace being remembered for causing scenes.
Also great update the tension was very palpable. And it was Amiti who saved the situation before it got out of hand. I am so glad we got here into the hearth at the end of the last daugther.
But we still learn only indirectly that Sava was apparently killed.
Gazetteer said:
"Why would Peleps Sava—" L'nessa lets it go with effort, frowning deeply. "One of these days, Maia, we are going to have an uncomfortable conversation.
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So much much happening there with Maia at the same time and we are limited to Grace's perspective. I am really curious!
 
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