Ascensions and Transgressions: the Tales of Keris Dulmeadokht (Exalted game)

[Indivisible]

So I've been mulling over this ark so that I can give good feedback.

I think that this set of arcs has caused me to revise down my estimation of Keris's power level. I'm not sure how much of it was not facing opponents she was much more powerful than, and how much was using the new quest system when she was designed in a different system but she lost more than I was expecting.

• Her rescuing of Baisha and her brother's family.

It was very touching. I liked the way she was able to help and reconnect with her family, and that they will continue to be supporting cast members when she returns home. I liked the way it changed her relationship with Dulmea, and how Keris literally stole her from the Yozis.

It was nice to see Keris let loose and wreck a group of people who had counted on extorting those weaker than them.

• The birth of her twins, and Kali and Ogin themselves.

This was a long time coming and didn't disappoint. I do think it's good that Keris has come up with empowered nanny-gales so that she doesn't need to spend as much time with them as a normal new mother would.

• Rathan and Calesco and how they've become siblings.

I like it. Contentious siblings is more interesting than mutual hatred. It shows them becoming more than the intimacies that they're based off of, and also shows how Keris changing her need to revenge to a need for fairness has impacted how it relates to her compassion.

• The view we've had of Malra; an openly Solar-led nation.

It's done a good job of showing the benefits of infrastructure and enhanced underlings. I think the Kimberry training charms will get a lot of use once Keris is back in the South-West

• Keris's tumultuous relationship with Ney Adami.

The dice fairies seem to love him. I didn't trust him for a long while because the way he kept outdoing Keris made it seem like he could be manipulating her without her noticing.

He's been a good showcase of how Solar magic works.

• Maryam, her yidak, and all that she did to Keris.

This arc has done a good job of showing how alien and unsafe the Dead are. Keris, the previously most prominent Dead character, was more harmless and sad, with her creepy moments being mostly off camera. Keris never felt threatening to Keris.

Maryam, in contrast, was a monster. She viciously used the people she knew cared about her, and had no thought towards limiting the body count of her vengeance. Her abuse of Keris was prett awful, and definitely made Mother Before Daughter seem much more dangerous than it did before.

• The five trials Keris passed to gain the Sapphire Circle.

It was only obvious in retrospect that she was making the journey, which I loved. When Keris declined to send her mother on I thought you were deferring Saphire Circle Sorcery until a later arc.

• Oula and Rounen's maturation and Firisutu's birth.

I've been pretty hyped about the various keruby breeds growing up, and I wasn't disappointed. It seems like you scrapped the child-teenager-adult path in favour of a child-adult one, which I think was a good idea.

I was surprised by Firisutu's transformation, but I guess being the first demon a proto-titan ever made comes with more perks than I thought. He fills a needed role in Krisity, but I don't have a firm feel for his personality yet.

 

[Atoshi]

So my feelings on this arc/pair of arcs.

• Her rescuing of Baisha and her brother's family.

Keris interacting with mortals is always interesting, especially so here. I'm curious as to how things will go once she's back in the southwest with them. And the look into Keris' birth culture was fascinating, watching her regain these lost parts of herself. I particularly liked Xasan; this guy who knows he's surrounded by demons and the even more deadly and just gives no damns anymore.

• The birth of her twins, and Kali and Ogin themselves.

I'd prefer to see more of them. Their birth was very memorable, and there was a lot of buildup, and now they're just kind of there being cute. I don't know exactly what else they'd do, it'll probably be years before they're able to do anything particularly exciting, but this is just an observation.

• Rathan and Calesco and how they've become siblings.

It was a surprise, but one I liked. I think it's always more fun to have this kind of dynamic than outright distain. And it helps set up the wolfpack dynamic that the siblings will one day have.

• The view we've had of Malra; an openly Solar-led nation.

Interesting. Very interesting. I'm curious about the impact this has had on the surrounding nations, and the culture of the area. I'd be interested in seeing more of it, or more Exalt-run places, since Malra was pretty unique and memorable, and ripe with plot hooks.

• Keris's tumultuous relationship with Ney Adami.

Not going to lie, I didn't like their interactions for a lot of the arc. I like Ney, he's fun and it's cool to see someone physically on par with Keris for once (or almost on par, anyway), but the way Keris suddenly went full stereotypical tsundere, complete with cliché dialogue, felt jarring. It came out of nowhere to me. Their more recent interactions are better, with Keris spending more of their conversation teasing and being a bit haughty; it feels like she's coming to terms with her power as a social sledgehammer and feels appropriate to the character.

• Maryam, her yidak, and all that she did to Keris.

Oh boy. I spent most of this storyline in horror, but good-narrative horror. It was so painful, from the moment I realised whose yidak it was Keris was fighting, and spent a lot of time mentally yelling at Keris to stop letting Maryam do this to her. The whole thing was painful, and flowed so well. And I agree, Maryam's death was such a Disney villain climax (but not in a bad way).

• The five trials Keris passed to gain the Sapphire Circle.

The moment of realisation when it kicked in during the scene with Kallash that that's what was happening was brilliant. It really hammered home that increasing your circle requires a sacrifice. Something that's raw and painful and leaves you changed. A piece of you gone forever.

• Oula and Rounen's maturation and Firisutu's birth.

The kereby maturations are fascinating, and I'm really liking them so far. We've spent plenty of time with new!Oula, but not with new!Rounen. I think with a character who came up so much beforehand, you need to give him a bit more of a spotlight so we can get to know him as he is now. As for Firisutu...the problem is it had been so long since he really came up. The odd mention and sorcery-anchor sure, but he hadn't interacted in any way. I'd completely forgotten who he even was by the time his maturation came around.

Overall, the final chapter of this arc may be my favourite out of the whole of kgame. It's very narratively and emotionally satisfying.

One thing that popped up again that has niggled at me for a while is that whilst Keris picks up a lot of strays, they don't always have a purpose in the narrative and end up just sitting around offscreen. Which is going to happen, since this is a game log and not planned out the same way as a piece of prose, but once formatted it reads in such a way that narrative flow and loose ends are noticeable. It happened before with the children Keris picked up from Nexus and we've heard from like, once since this, and now is happening again with the village girls Calesco saved and the little forge goddess. Too many side characters at once makes it difficult to keep track of and grow attached to them.

And one final thing:
"Kallash hugs Keris as she walks out the door.
But it's the little girl named Keris, not the grown woman. It closes behind her. And she's alone in the cold."
MY. FUCKING. HEART.

 

[EarthScorpion]

We're going to try a new thing out, and provide people a Discord server if they want to give more blow-by-blow reactions or instant updates or the like. This is going to be a provisional thing at first, to see how well it works out, but hey, it might. Anyway, it's what all the cool kids are doing these days, and we're shameless trend-followers.

So join up and we'll see how it goes!

Kerisgame Discussion Discord Server

 

[TenMoreMiles]

Also, the hilarious problem of a Conviction 5 baby.

No, the baby will not go to sleep and stop crying when you want them to.

Click to shrink...

Well Kerisa also apparently has very high Temperance so, uh, hopefully it balances out?

(No. No, it will not)

 

[Aleph]

Anyway, have a beautiful picture of Keris in the Sceptred Leaf, just after Family Matters and Trust Your Instincts! Commissioned from the lovely @Krekalie, who nailed my mental image of Keris's Cinnamon persona.

Spoiler: Tenné Cinnamon

Lots of little details on show like her little kris-earrings and the gold beads and silver feathers in her hair's mega-braid (plus the dress, ngh). And, of course, her scars from Adorjan - this being the first time we've seen them depicted. Her biceps are nice too (a fact Sasi agrees thoroughly with), and I adore the sense of Cinnamon's social-tsunami-fu in her expression. Sort of half "sultry but classy come-hither" and half "I am patiently waiting for you to stop talking so that I can tell you what is going to happen, at which point you are going to obey", with an edge of "that don't impress me much~". The challenging tilt to her eyebrows and half-smirk is definitely one Ney has seen a lot of during their verbal sparring matches, that's for sure.

 

[Aleph]

Aaaaand with the Parenthood arc wrapped up, it's time to kick off Hybrid Vigour with Part 114!

Spoiler: Mwaa ha ha haa~

First off on a minor note, Orobeneta cameo! Eeee, so cute! He is darling and adorable, and I totally "i c wat u did thar"'d ES when he showed up. Poor Fefenth. Much like Dulmea, he deserves a raise for putting up with this idiot nutcase and keeping him from getting himself killed.

Then we get to the more interesting stuff. Like genderfluid Ney. @EarthScorpion and I have tried to be respectful here; so please do speak up if you feel we've mishandled the representation. But yeah, I quite like how it's been foreshadowed that Ney likes putting on different faces, and how a disproportionate number of those faces are female. How Perfect Mirror is a very natural fit for him, and Keris likes him in large part because he appeals to her femmewards-leaning sexuality despite being a man. He's an edge-case; an fringe-walker and border-person like Keris who doesn't quite exist in any specific group but instead flits between many. Like Keris, he's uncomfortable being put in any single box, and finds himself naturally straddling various divides and not really belonging to anywhere as a result. It shows up even in their respective heritages - Keris a mixed-race mongrel with parents from different cultures; Ney from a border tribe that wasn't entirely Tairan or completely highlander.

Honestly, little wonder Ney fell for her. As @EarthScorpion says in the extras; a mixed race demonblooded weirdo like her was always someone who was going to catch his attention.

Buuuut of course, it does also help that she keeps surprising him, too. A couple of people have said that they don't like how he always seems to win - well, haha, fucking lol. Not only did Keris already have the major strategic win to his tactical victories by basically getting him on-side early with that initial win of "First Age Solars were awful people", but in this sneaky cheeky HEIST MOVIE episode she's definitely balanced the scales and then some. And I'll tell you something; it was tense as fuck. Keris had one day to scout out the terrain, tied up almost half her mote pool in commitments going in, couldn't flare her caste mark for fear of setting off essence-sensor alarms and giving away what she was after exposing herself at the gala, and set off from a starting position of 3 Willpower due to all the stress and heartache she suffered from Maryam the day before. I had to ration motes like crazy, hold off on scenelong buffs with willpower costs, and constantly second-guess rolls that I knew I couldn't apply Excellencies to. This is one of the ways in which the mote reactor hack acts as a soft nerf to stealth builds - it makes things like this difficult when you can't flare to regen motes in combat time.

... and yet despite all of that, she made it into the naib's innermost sanctum flawlessly and only alerted him at all by making a failure of judgement in which order to steal things in, rather than any failed roll. If this heist has taught us anything, it's that Keris really is a daimyo-tier assassin - a Shogunate term referring to an Anathema stealthy and subtle enough to get past a daimyo's defences, skilled and deadly enough to kill him without raising (much) of an alarm, and subtle or quick enough to escape after doing so. It is not a title given out lightly, and the few that held it were at the top of the Shogunate's hit list for a reason.

(Ironically, it was actually considerably harder to do that to a daimyo than to the shogun, for most of the era.)

This time, of course, Keris was only there to steal things. But it bears repeating that she made it all the way into the innermost sanctum of a Solar fortress-palace with only a single day of planning, half her mote pool, no caste mark and little if any willpower expenditure... and was sitting there fully armed, fully armoured and with a perfect opportunity for a leisurely surprise attack on the defenceless naib. Even with the golems, she could almost certainly have murdered the fuck out of him and gotten away, had she wanted to.

Which you might have noticed she kind of did. Yeah, Envious Heart is a hell of a drug. Every time she "defeats or exceeds the target of her envy in a meaningful way", she purges a dose of heartsap and regains 1wp. She did that four times over the course of this session and the end of the last. And regaining willpower feels great. It's like a full, comfortable night's sleep that leaves you rested and energised. Or a marathon session of spectacular sex. Or a dose of really good chalcanth. Keris taking an almost sadistic glee in spiting the naib and taking or trashing his stuff was no coincidence; Szoreny turns her into kind of a massive bitch.

When she Lets Go of the Principle and examines her actions in hindsight, she might be a little disturbed and resolve not to use that Charm on anyone she doesn't mind pissing the fuck off in future, because it's as much of a mental shift as Tragic Love Amusement or Mother Before Daughter in its own way - and we know how vicious at least one of those can be.

Le extras:

EarthScorpion: Hmm. How did Ney come across there?
Aleph: Good. I liked him. He's got that nice mix of hidden insecurity that... yeah, he really is a good foil to Keris.
Aleph: He's very like her in a lot of ways.
Aleph: Complete with always, always lying and hiding things about himself.
EarthScorpion:
EarthScorpion: Oh, Ney. A mixed race demonblooded weirdo like Keris is of course someone who was going to catch his attention.
Aleph: And that's twice now that Keris has snuck horribly potent social attacks past his guard.
EarthScorpion: She is very Kimbery about how she does things.
EarthScorpion: She doesn't go for your ideals. She goes for your feelings and your vices.
Aleph: Most of the time she's this fascinatingly prickly ball of issues and defensiveness and secrets, and then suddenly she unfurls into this painfully earnest caring compassionate friend who punches clean through all of your cynical shields with a bolt of pure sincere truth.
Aleph: Ney: "La, la, even without the impact of what she says, it's enough to give a man whiplash."
EarthScorpion: I'm almost a little concerned that I think Keris and Ney have far better chemistry on screen than Keris and Sasi.
Aleph: Hmm. Yes. We'll have to consider some more ways for Keris and Sasi to click once they're back in the same region.
Aleph: If Keris is a puzzle and Ney is a riddle-solver, as the heart of their dynamic...
Aleph: I'd say that Sasi and Keris are recursive security blankets for each other; both desperately scared and in need of protection.
Aleph: Keris protects Sasi physically, and Sasi protects Keris socially.
Aleph: Or... politically, I guess?
Aleph: W/e, you know what area I mean.
EarthScorpion: Hmm. Yes. I guess some of it is that... heh, Keris and Ney have chemistry.
EarthScorpion: Which is to say, they're constantly reacting to one another.
EarthScorpion: Also things are energetic.
EarthScorpion: Honestly, heh, it's almost like back in Matasque, when Keris and Sasi were flirting and travelling around and it was just the two of them.
EarthScorpion: Rather than Sasi being anchored in An Teng and their relationship being, heh, domestic.
Aleph: We may have to see if we can shake things up and get them reacting to each other again, then. : 3

...

Aleph: keris u r teribluuuuuuuu
EarthScorpion: yes she is
EarthScorpion: and i'm not sure if you deserve XP for how much loot you picked up.
Aleph: Man, even if Envious Heart hadn't already been giving me 3-dot stunts in that breakout, I'd have been getting a shitload of them regardless.
Aleph: The sheer audacity...
EarthScorpion: oh snek keris
EarthScorpion: She really, really likes that shintai.
Aleph: it turns out snek keris is, in fact, fucking terrifying
Aleph: and damn well near unstoppable
EarthScorpion: She's never used her Adorjan Shintai
Aleph: Not yet, no. Though she's likely to once she's away from the, mm... away from Taira and Malra, which are very much closely linked to her past.
Aleph: When things are less personal she's likely to go for gale-form instead.
Aleph: but yes that was fucking hilarious
Aleph: Can I assume that the sorcery-necklace functions (or used to function) as a Collar of Dawn's Cleansing Light?
EarthScorpion: Well, it needs to be fixed up before it'll work, but yes, that's what the artifact is - a modified Collar of Cleansing Light made specifically for a HFA sorceress.
Aleph: sweet~
Aleph: Oh Keris. She's very smug about that. He didn't even know what he had.
Aleph: She managed to steal something he didn't even know he owned.
EarthScorpion: Very much so.
Aleph: So, uh
Aleph: How many years did she knock off his life by exploding out of stealth like that in his innermost, securest sanctum as a giant razor-feathered unstoppable snake monster?
Aleph: I'm thinking, like... a decade at least
EarthScorpion: Hah ha
Aleph: Especially since he didn't see her even after raising the alarm until she chose to reveal herself.
Aleph: The only thing scarier than an unstoppable Brute is an unstoppable Brute with a Stranger rating that can ghost past all your defences and start their murder-rampage from the middle of your base.
Aleph: At least you get warning with the first one.
Aleph: Hmm. The naib probably has Solar "perfect memory" Charms, so he can likely rewrite the notes and sorcerous research. It's infuriating that they got stolen, but more for the fact that someone else has them than him losing them.
Aleph: The tools and gems are... well, not a minor loss, but at least a fairly mundane one. The necklace may not even be noticed.
Aleph: So the main losses here are the scrying crystal, the daiklave and the damage.
Aleph: Set against the yidak being slain, the assassination attempt stymied and a lot of high-ranking nobles not being dead from poison.
Aleph: ... so still a painful net loss, and not one he'll be happy about, but Ney will at least quietly note to himself that Keris still didn't kill anyone.
EarthScorpion: Hehe. Yes.
EarthScorpion: She stole an absolute fortune, though.
Aleph: : D
Aleph: Also, if I got even 4xp out of that, I can dual-buy Squirming Root Mimicry and Hermetic Substitution Technique, which as Szoreny stealing charms are very appropriate for training time in the form of a massive theft heist from someone she envies in which she used both Szoreny root charms in a major way. : D
Aleph: Heh. And puts her one step away from Mirror World Evocation.
Aleph: ... ooo.
Aleph: Pinprick Pupils Perception doesn't have a commitment cost at E10.
Aleph: Hmm.
Aleph: ... now I'm kinda tempted.
Aleph: Keris: [becomes THE OMNI-RADAR]
EarthScorpion: Alternatively she could get just one Szoreny stealing charm and get another Szoreny charm as she's fed by the envy. Because I think Envious Heart dinged at least three times that night.
Aleph: Hmm. I could grab Wan Washed-Out Faces, yeah.
Aleph: I shall think about it.
EarthScorpion: Hehe, 4XP then. And we'll need to sit down and quantify what she's stolen.
Aleph: Well, let's see. From her time in Malra, Keris is toting...

• Artifact 3 poison-jewel containing a furious demon lord (Lei Mei)
• Artifact 3 hubnerite chunk containing a greater yidak (Maryam)
• blueprints for the design of the canvaswings, along with a folding model
• moonsilver grand daiklaive "serpent's fang"
• artifact scrying crystal "voices of distant regard"
• Shogunate-era gemcutting tools
• Several Res 4-5 uncut gemstones (assuming she finishes cutting them all)
• damaged collar of dawn's cleansing light
• adamant gems containing HFA sorcerous notes
• stolen sorcerous notes from the naib of Malra
• copied sorcerous notes from Malek Qaja
• most of her weight in chocolate
• a very pretty Harbourite dress
• a long-distance boyfriend?

Click to shrink...

 

[The Sandman]

Well, that was fun.

Bonus points to Keris if this little fiasco convinces the Naib to let Ney and his men handle internal security in the palace, thereby getting her new boyfriend a promotion.

Also if Ney ends up drawn into the poly relationship Keris was already part of, I want to see the look on Testolagh's face when he realizes that he's now playing Rock of Stability to a third Solaroid with issues.

So what price will Keris extract from Orange Blossom in exchange for the information Keris now knows?

And a weird, admittedly pedantic thought I had: would "autumn" even be a thing in Exalted, what with the Elemental Seasons?

 

[ImperatorV]

A new chapter arrives just when I get caught up? Perfect timing!

...Interesting that Pekhijira was less broken up about Maryam then Keris - could that indicate that Pekhijira isn't affected by Mother Before Daughter? Just spitballing from that bit about some of Keris's feelings not coming from her po. So far, I feel like Keris hasn't really noticed the mental changes caused by her Yozi powers, but maybe between this and Envious Heart she'll realize what's going on. I always think the scariest bit about being an Infernal is the risk that you could pick up some innocuous-seeming charm which turns out to rewrite your personality.

Also, that heist. And the memory gambit to convince Ney that no, she didn't do it. When she inhales that gale she's getting one hell of an ego boost.

 

[Morendin]

Fantastic!
I really hope Ney shows up again after we get a good dose of Sasi, not least to see his reaction when he gets through the misdirection and eventually figures out it was Keris all along.

 

[Azrael]

And a weird, admittedly pedantic thought I had: would "autumn" even be a thing in Exalted, what with the Elemental Seasons?

Click to shrink...

Canon books use those terms (referring to summer or winter or whatever), so it's apparently a thing.

 

[horngeek]

Canon books use those terms (referring to summer or winter or whatever), so it's apparently a thing.

Click to shrink...

Iirc, 2e tends to use the seasons of Air, Fire, Wood, Water and Earth, not necessarily in that order. 3e doesn't, presumably under the assumption that most RPers will frankly think in terms of our own seasons anyway.

3e does still have Calibration, however.

 

[Azrael]

Iirc, 2e tends to use the seasons of Air, Fire, Wood, Water and Earth, not necessarily in that order. 3e doesn't, presumably under the assumption that most RPers will frankly think in terms of our own seasons anyway.

3e does still have Calibration, however.

Click to shrink...

I mean there are references to 'winter months' or 'a long summer' in the 2e corebook.

*Edit: Also, you know, the Mask of Winters is a thing.

 

[Lirana]

could that indicate that Pekhijira isn't affected by Mother Before Daughter?

Click to shrink...

Given that her Charmtech seems to get apportioned out between her various souls, I think you're probably right. From how she reacts, I'm guessing Dulmea got MBD. Or possibly Hanyel, from her various mother induced breakdowns, but I doubt it.

Also, that heist. And the memory gambit to convince Ney that no, she didn't do it. When she inhales that gale she's getting one hell of an ego boost.

Click to shrink...

The Heist was sweeeet! I was literally cackling reading it. > Of course, her Pershwan misdirection might have failed/backfired if the Naib has a lie detector charm, but she was pretty vague so maybe not.

 

[Pyro Hawk]

… Do the Solar lie detector charms work on what the third person said when someone is telling the Solar what that third person said?

Because if it doesn't, then... Well, because I'm near certain that the Naib wasn't closely following the giant lamia in super-heavy moonsilver armour that just annihilated his best guard golems without any effort, and also blows through the walls of his most secure base without any real effort. Especially because he's probably dealing with a new case of PTSD from how close he came to being utterly annihilated if Keris had been an assassin.

Then yeah, I think that provided the lie is believed by the people who heard it and it can't be disproved by any of the Solars or their helpers, then the Naib and probably Ney are going to be involved in a wild goose chase. And considering that the lie was a result of 10 successes, and how Keris looked during the break out... I think Ney might have some feelings to share with Keris when they next meet, if he's figured out what happened or Keris tells him/reveals it, by say, swinging around a grand moonsilver diaclave or something.

Also, Aleph? EarthScorpion? I absolutely loved the whole heist thing. It was so good to read, and I could easily picture how things looked as well. Oh, and that bit at the end where you set it up so that Keris could honestly tell Ney that as far as she was aware, she had nothing to do with the heist?

'falls over laughing'... Yeah, that definitely fit into my mental impression of 'What would Keris Do?'...

Thanks for yet another excellent chapter, and I'm really eager to see what happens next. It was also very nice to have this uplifting chapter after the trauma Keris went through last chapter...

 

[Aleph]

Bonus points to Keris if this little fiasco convinces the Naib to let Ney and his men handle internal security in the palace, thereby getting her new boyfriend a promotion.

Also if Ney ends up drawn into the poly relationship Keris was already part of, I want to see the look on Testolagh's face when he realizes that he's now playing Rock of Stability to a third Solaroid with issues.

Click to shrink...

I mean, it might also get Ney into considerable trouble. He was, after all, the one who brought Keris into the city and had her on his arm at the gala.

Though if it winds up a long-term relationship, it's actually more likely to settle into a Realm-style affair where Sasi has Testolagh and Keris has Ney and then Keris and Sasi are lovers on the side. Which Dynasts would see as perfectly fine as an analogy for two marriages and a homosexual affair with no chance of progeny.

(Admittedly in Keris's case that last part isn't true, and also Sasi still is technically married to her Dragonblooded husband, which complicates matters. But it serves as a metaphor for how things would be set up - there'd be minimal contact between Testolagh and Ney in such a set-up.)

...Interesting that Pekhijira was less broken up about Maryam then Keris - could that indicate that Pekhijira isn't affected by Mother Before Daughter? Just spitballing from that bit about some of Keris's feelings not coming from her po. So far, I feel like Keris hasn't really noticed the mental changes caused by her Yozi powers, but maybe between this and Envious Heart she'll realize what's going on. I always think the scariest bit about being an Infernal is the risk that you could pick up some innocuous-seeming charm which turns out to rewrite your personality.

Click to shrink...

Partly that, and partly also that Pekhijira isn't really sophisticated enough for things like guilt. She's very sad Maryam died, but the po is fundamentally instincts while the hun is ideas - and "I killed my mama I'm a terrible person and I deserve to be hurt and/or punished for it" is an idea. MBD is making it much worse, of course, but even without that I suspect Pekhijira would only be "grieving" - and also doesn't have the idea of a daughter's obligation to her mother suppressing her anger at how Maryam was hurting them.

… Do the Solar lie detector charms work on what the third person said when someone is telling the Solar what that third person said?

Because if it doesn't, then... Well, because I'm near certain that the Naib wasn't closely following the giant lamia in super-heavy moonsilver armour that just annihilated his best guard golems without any effort, and also blows through the walls of his most secure base without any real effort. Especially because he's probably dealing with a new case of PTSD from how close he came to being utterly annihilated if Keris had been an assassin.

Then yeah, I think that provided the lie is believed by the people who heard it and it can't be disproved by any of the Solars or their helpers, then the Naib and probably Ney are going to be involved in a wild goose chase. And considering that the lie was a result of 10 successes, and how Keris looked during the break out... I think Ney might have some feelings to share with Keris when they next meet, if he's figured out what happened or Keris tells him/reveals it, by say, swinging around a grand moonsilver diaclave or something.

Click to shrink...

So, Ney knows that Keris was genuine about her backstory and origins - slave raid, Nexus, etc - and will thus see through the Pershwan thing pretty easily given that he has prior evidence against and can confirm from witnesses that she was pretty vague about it (the idea of a frame job is not foreign to him). And he'll probably twig to it having been Keris when he gets told about the silver feathers in the snake-monster's long, prehensile hair or looks at her build on the artifact security cameras the naib no doubt has in his inner sanctum.

But you know what really is the most hilarious part?

Keris's caste mark, which Ney has seen several times, is a burning green brand that takes the form of an empty circle. He assumed that this was the same as his - the sign of a corrupted Night-caste.

But there's another type of Exalt that has an empty circle as their caste mark. Disregarding colour; it's also the sign of a New Moon Lunar. Who are the mystics, occult-specialists and weird(er) ones.

And - you can go back and check this if you want - Keris never at any point actually confirmed to him that her past life was a Solar Exalt. The closest she ever got was "Solars like my past life" - and that's ambiguous enough that she could have meant "young, inexperienced Solars who were in a similar position to my past life" instead.

It's great, because... let's be honest here. Keris would totally let Ney make a mistaken assumption like that and then just... never correct him about it, and quietly gloat about it to herself all the way to Malra without ever telling him. Hell, that's pretty much what she did do for how he actually guessed wrong. And Ney knows her well enough to be certain, with a horrible sinking feeling, that she'd gleefully never contradict him if he thought she was a Solar when she was actually a Lunar, and only get more and more overjoyed with his continuing obliviousness as she used multiple shapeshifting-aesthetic charms that turned her hands into roots or had her heal with metal and stone or made her turn bestial and predatory right in front of him.

I honestly treasure the thought of the conversation Ney will probably be having with the naib when he makes his report.

 

[Pyro Hawk]

I mean, it might also get Ney into considerable trouble. He was, after all, the one who brought Keris into the city and had her on his arm at the gala.

Though if it winds up a long-term relationship, it's actually more likely to settle into a Realm-style affair where Sasi has Testolagh and Keris has Ney and then Keris and Sasi are lovers on the side. Which Dynasts would see as perfectly fine as an analogy for two marriages and a homosexual affair with no chance of progeny.

(Admittedly in Keris's case that last part isn't true, and also Sasi still is technically married to her Dragonblooded husband, which complicates matters. But it serves as a metaphor for how things would be set up - there'd be minimal contact between Testolagh and Ney in such a set-up.)

Partly that, and partly also that Pekhijira isn't really sophisticated enough for things like guilt. She's very sad Maryam died, but the po is fundamentally instincts while the hun is ideas - and "I killed my mama I'm a terrible person and I deserve to be hurt and/or punished for it" is an idea. MBD is making it much worse, of course, but even without that I suspect Pekhijira would only be "grieving" - and also doesn't have the idea of a daughter's obligation to her mother suppressing her anger at how Maryam was hurting them.

So, Ney knows that Keris was genuine about her backstory and origins - slave raid, Nexus, etc - and will thus see through the Pershwan thing pretty easily given that he has prior evidence against and can confirm from witnesses that she was pretty vague about it (the idea of a frame job is not foreign to him). And he'll probably twig to it having been Keris when he gets told about the silver feathers in the snake-monster's long, prehensile hair or looks at her build on the artifact security cameras the naib no doubt has in his inner sanctum.

But you know what really is the most hilarious part?

Keris's caste mark, which Ney has seen several times, is a burning green brand that takes the form of an empty circle. He assumed that this was the same as his - the sign of a corrupted Night-caste.

But there's another type of Exalt that has an empty circle as their caste mark. Disregarding colour; it's also the sign of a New Moon Lunar. Who are the mystics, occult-specialists and weird(er) ones.

And - you can go back and check this if you want - Keris never at any point actually confirmed to him that her past life was a Solar Exalt. The closest she ever got was "Solars like my past life" - and that's ambiguous enough that she could have meant "young, inexperienced Solars who were in a similar position to my past life" instead.

It's great, because... let's be honest here. Keris would totally let Ney make a mistaken assumption like that and then just... never correct him about it, and quietly gloat about it to herself all the way to Malra without ever telling him. Hell, that's pretty much what she did do for how he actually guessed wrong. And Ney knows her well enough to be certain, with a horrible sinking feeling, that she'd gleefully never contradict him if he thought she was a Solar when she was actually a Lunar, and only get more and more overjoyed with his continuing obliviousness as she used multiple shapeshifting-aesthetic charms that turned her hands into roots or had her heal with metal and stone or made her turn bestial and predatory right in front of him.

I honestly treasure the thought of the conversation Ney will probably be having with the naib when he makes his report.

Click to shrink...

You know... I really wish you guys did Interludes for this story. Because I also really wish I could see that scene...

Instead I'm just stuck imagining it, which might be better... But you guys are good enough I'm probably not getting the true scale of the hilarity that that scene would be.

 

[Aleph]

You know... I really wish you guys did Interludes for this story. Because I also really wish I could see that scene...

Click to shrink...

Well... I'm not promising anything, but Keris did just steal a certain magical crystal that whispers conversations about the person attuned to it~

And she probably did some serious damage to the anti-scrying wards all over the palace with her breakout...

: 3

 

[EarthScorpion]

I mean, it might also get Ney into considerable trouble. He was, after all, the one who brought Keris into the city and had her on his arm at the gala.

Though if it winds up a long-term relationship, it's actually more likely to settle into a Realm-style affair where Sasi has Testolagh and Keris has Ney and then Keris and Sasi are lovers on the side. Which Dynasts would see as perfectly fine as an analogy for two marriages and a homosexual affair with no chance of progeny.

(Admittedly in Keris's case that last part isn't true, and also Sasi still is technically married to her Dragonblooded husband, which complicates matters. But it serves as a metaphor for how things would be set up - there'd be minimal contact between Testolagh and Ney in such a set-up.)

Click to shrink...

Now, this led into thoughts about martial law and inheritance in the Realm (dammit @MJ12 Commando and @ManusDomine), and so I suspect that becoming an Anathema means a person is legally dead under Realm law. That means that Sasi's marriage would be terminated if anyone actually knew she was now a demon-fuelled Yozi-priestess hell-princess. And then I got to wondering how long someone would have to be missing to be declared legally dead - it's probably shorter for a mortal than an Exalt, because an Exalt always has the chance they got trapped in a First Age Ruin and are going to return in a decade fabulously rich and with essence cannons who's going to be irked if it turns out their love has remarried.

But then I got to thinking that the issue with being legally dead as an Anathema, of course, means that this might produce some weird legal edge cases. Like, presumably as soon as someone is identified as an anathema, inheritance law kicks in as if they'd just died, but then if they're legally dead if a criminal Exalts, they can't be done for their previous crimes. Only for being an Anathema.

But then again, maybe in a world with ghosts, you're allowed to execute a ghost for a crime they committed before they died. And does the concept of double jeopardy apply, and can you execute a ghost for a crime that their living self committed and was executed for?

Ah, all these unanswered necrolegal questions...

 

[BossFight]

Orobeneta

Click to shrink...

Who is this?

 

[Bugs]

Who is this?

Click to shrink...

Protagonist of one of the side stories. He's an expy of David Attenborough who's writing a documentary of Krisity's wildlife, and the story is presented in the form of the finished documentary.

 

[EarthScorpion]

I always think the scariest bit about being an Infernal is the risk that you could pick up some innocuous-seeming charm which turns out to rewrite your personality.

Click to shrink...

Incidentally, with the framework that I have for "how you learn Infernal charms", that can't happen. Because Infernal charms are personality charms. When you use Green Sun Nimbus Flare, you're not just making green flame with magic. You're fanning your arrogance, your hate, your contempt, or something else that's Malfeas Excellency-OK and it manifests as burning green flame. If you don't have the Malfean personality traits, you can't learn GSNF - and fluff-wise if not mechanically, if you don't have the right feelings, you'll find you can't use GNSF.

The same applies to the personality charms. Keris learned Mother Before Daughter because she was always someone fiercely loyal to her loved ones and the people who got close to her. Kimbery just made her more-so. Sasi got Witness to Darkness because for years she'd been hiding her true feelings and being a mask and smiling and making the best of things, living a lie. All the Dragon did was make her better at it (and also see in the dark perfectly).

So, no, at least with this model you can't pick up a charm that rewrites your personality. All they'll do is feed what's already there, even if it might have been below the surface.

It's honestly much like a Limit Break, in that a Limit Break has always been who you are.

And hence;

Which you might have noticed she kind of did. Yeah, Envious Heart is a hell of a drug. Every time she "defeats or exceeds the target of her envy in a meaningful way", she purges a dose of heartsap and regains 1wp. She did that four times over the course of this session and the end of the last. And regaining willpower feels great. It's like a full, comfortable night's sleep that leaves you rested and energised. Or a marathon session of spectacular sex. Or a dose of really good chalcanth. Keris taking an almost sadistic glee in spiting the naib and taking or trashing his stuff was no coincidence; Szoreny turns her into kind of a massive bitch.

Click to shrink...

No, Keris, the real massive bitch was inside you all along.

(Incidentally, I think that's one of the ways I wrote Szoreny much better than Kimbery. Kimbery uses sticks to force you into her modes of behaviour. The Intolerable Burning Truths are crude Compulsions. Szoreny just lures you with carrots. There's almost nothing in Szoreny forcing you to be an envious, shallow narcissist. It's just that basically everything enables it, or poisons you in a way that the only way to get rid of the poison non-painfully is to act that way.)

 

[Nervaqus987]

But then again, maybe in a world with ghosts, you're allowed to execute a ghost for a crime they committed before they died. And does the concept of double jeopardy apply, and can you execute a ghost for a crime that their living self committed and was executed for?

Ah, all these unanswered necrolegal questions...

Click to shrink...

Interesting to consider.

While other societies might have their own customs and ways of doing things, I think the Realm would consider the disposition of ghosts to be a spiritual matter rather than a legal one. Admittedly, a blurry topic in a world with spirits who are not beyond your ability to enforce your laws upon.

Immaculate Doctrine, IIRC, states that the natural course of things is the cycle of reincarnation. If one lives a virtuous life, they will reincarnate in better and better circumstances until they incarnate as Dragonblooded, while one with utmost enlightenment will become one with the Immaculate Dragons.

The inverse, of course, is also true. Living an inharmonious life will result in reincarnation further and further from the ideal of the Dragons. I think there's also the idea that if one keeps fucking around like that, you'll eventually end up reincarnating as a beast or a bug or something?

Ghosts are an unnatural existence that have fallen off the wheel of reincarnation. I'm not entirely sure about what the Immaculate Order says should be done about them, but presumably "Return them to the wheel before they are defiled by the impurity of the Underworld(they turn into Greater Dead)" is kinda up there. In that case, punishing a Ghost for their living crimes may well be consider one overreaching their authority. After all, how can you possibly punish a ghost more appropriately than what they shall receive in their next life?

 

[ImperatorV]

Incidentally, with the framework that I have for "how you learn Infernal charms", that can't happen. Because Infernal charms are personality charms. When you use Green Sun Nimbus Flare, you're not just making green flame with magic. You're fanning your arrogance, your hate, your contempt, or something else that's Malfeas Excellency-OK and it manifests as burning green flame. If you don't have the Malfean personality traits, you can't learn GSNF - and fluff-wise if not mechanically, if you don't have the right feelings, you'll find you can't use GNSF.

The same applies to the personality charms. Keris learned Mother Before Daughter because she was always someone fiercely loyal to her loved ones and the people who got close to her. Kimbery just made her more-so. Sasi got Witness to Darkness because for years she'd been hiding her true feelings and being a mask and smiling and making the best of things, living a lie. All the Dragon did was make her better at it (and also see in the dark perfectly).

So, no, at least with this model you can't pick up a charm that rewrites your personality. All they'll do is feed what's already there, even if it might have been below the surface.

Click to shrink...

So, it's not corruption in the "You absorbed too much evil energy" sense, but rather corruption in the "you embraced the parts of yourself you really should have denied" sense?

...That's way better. I bow to your superior expertise, EarthScorpion-sensei. It's a much more interesting story to have a person who falls because they chose to embrace their worst traits compared to a person who just took power from the wrong source and went crazy. And it also makes the Yozi's more insidious, tempting the Infernals to do something they'd do anyway, with just a little more emphasis on the parts the Yozi's want.

 

[EarthScorpion]

So, it's not corruption in the "You absorbed too much evil energy" sense, but rather corruption in the "you embraced the parts of yourself you really should have denied" sense?

...That's way better. I bow to your superior expertise, EarthScorpion-sensei. It's a much more interesting story to have a person who falls because they chose to embrace their worst traits compared to a person who just took power from the wrong source and went crazy. And it also makes the Yozi's more insidious, tempting the Infernals to do something they'd do anyway, with just a little more emphasis on the parts the Yozi's want.

Click to shrink...

Pretty much. It's the model for Infernal charms that I devised for A Green Sun Illuminates the Void, because I needed a much more solid model for how it feels to be an Infernal than just "learn magic power, get thing you spend motes to use".

(If I was updating AGSITV these days, I'd be even more rigorous in restricting Louise's Yozis and she'd basically be just Malfeas, Szoreny, Kimbery with barely any dips outside)

This model is also one of the reasons I don't have much time for Devil Tigers in their canon form. The Yozi charms are personality charms. They're you. Not necessarily parts of you you like, but they're there. There's no need for a special "you" charmset, because the charms you pick should be "you" anyway. And that's why Infernals are so much about "misusing" their charms to do things they want to that the Yozi wouldn't, because the manifestations of the Charms are you. That's also why the soul stuff in Kerisgame slots so nicely into this, because your souls - demons like Eko and Rathan and Haneyl and co - are you. They're a facet of your personality, shone through the lens of the Yozis.

And that, incidentally, is one of the reasons that Keris is a natural savant with self-modifying soul things. Because her conception of her souls as her children is actually very accurate as a metaphor - they're part her, part Yozi and thus they're kind of her progeny. Sasi's "my souls are metaphors for part of myself" and Orange Blossom's "my souls are my demonic familiars" aren't as constructive as paradigms for getting things done.

 

[Indivisible]

This was a great chapter, very cathartic and fun. Keris' heists are always a treat to read. I enjoy the combination of tension and confidence on Keris' part.

Choosing between Hermetic Substitution Technique and Wan Washed Out Faces is pretty tough. On the one hand better stealing and working towards creating mirror worlds. On the other hand WWOF provides information on everyone in sensory range and Keris' range of hearing has covered entire harbors, and it gets her closer to omni-radar Keris. I look forward to your choice.

The idea of Keris being mistaken as a Lunar is amazing! She even has an old school Tell with the feathers in her hair!