Olive
Silent Princess
So... the way in which he stalwartly refuses to undergo any sort of character progression?
Ascensions and Transgressions: the Tales of Keris Dulmeadokht (Exalted game)
- Thread starter Aleph
- Start date
Goddammit I was eating when I read that XD
You'd have to ask ES about the actual link, but I remember him commenting that every 2CD of Balanodo's a legit 2CD in the way it relates to his essential nature.
"Asarin"
Awwww, she made a friend.
*reads up on Asarin "The False (T)sun"*
:/ ...With a fair amount of potential parallels to her too.
*reads up on Balanodo and his other souls*
Okay, ES, I have to say I like the idea of the Harem Protagonist Demon Prince. It looks incredibly terrible but manages to be on point in a number of ways. And I like the example variation that the dynamic between third and second circles can be one where it almost seems like the second circles are pulling around their progenitor, or if not that then very close to hitting that point and snapping something in the process.
On which note I wonder what part of him Asarin personifies, "Love lessens you." perhaps? Then again by the other variants on that in the other second circles, that seems pretty core to Balanodo as a whole.
She's the Warden soul, so she's a statement on how harem protagonist shonen heroes "protect" their own essential nature.
And as she indicates, they do it by seeking to get stronger, endlessly training and power escalation. Hence, she's a tsundere who sets herself against her greater self and wants to beat him and surpass him, because it's in her nature to endlessly seek how to power up and go OVER NINE THOUSAND. She's conquered an empire in Malfeas that's only somewhat smaller than Octavian's, but that didn't work and now she burns and simmers in rage, trying to find occult lore and secrets that she could use to get more power she has to become stronger, stupid baka doesn't understand, why is he stronger than her and how dare he make her blush!
(the other thing about Asarin, of course, is that she's a brown dwarf. That is to say, she's a sun that wasn't big enough to begin proper fusion - and so really wants to become a "proper" sun. If she made it to Third Circle status, she'd ignite properly and become a red dwarf, thus coming into her full tsun sun power by becoming a redhead)
- Location
- Denmark
- Pronouns
- She/Her
sigh
es is being es again
that is to say
he is being terrible
es is being es again
that is to say
he is being terrible
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
Clearly the solution to Asarin's problem is feeding her lots of hydrogen.
The Phoenixian
The Glacier Witch
- Location
- My own little world
Well in that case, things that donate hydrogen to a solution are defined as acid. And sulfuric acid is otherwise known as Vitriol. And Keris has knowledge of body modification using Vitriol.
And to go along that chain from another direction: Vitriol is also a name for caustic commentary and behavior. Caustic commentary and behavior leads to spite and rage.
Thus it makes perfect sense that Asarin, a false sun tsun, can attain the hydrogen to grow further (via vitriol) either by intentional modification with Empyreal Alchemist Style, or by simply being utterly caustic and pissing her off enough.
And to go along that chain from another direction: Vitriol is also a name for caustic commentary and behavior. Caustic commentary and behavior leads to spite and rage.
Thus it makes perfect sense that Asarin, a false sun tsun, can attain the hydrogen to grow further (via vitriol) either by intentional modification with Empyreal Alchemist Style, or by simply being utterly caustic and pissing her off enough.
Reading about the souls that live in Keris's Tiger Empire again, I have to say I really like Rathan's Tengervel, the Twiceborn Mariner. I mean their birthing process is pretty cool and I like the way how they modify themselves to better serve their position in the crew.
...also, we need to figure out a way to get them that proposed third change so we can use them as support ships when Keris is playing Pirate Queen.
...also, we need to figure out a way to get them that proposed third change so we can use them as support ships when Keris is playing Pirate Queen.
Noctum
Dual Paradox
- Location
- Under the Skies Above
Not a Quest.
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
No Kerisgame this week, but Zanara is written up properly.
D'aww. So cute. And yes, they have a two-part Urge - which one affects them depends which body they're focusing on. As a result, interestingly enough, they're probably going to wind up the one most aware of their Urge of all of Keris's souls. It's also interesting that Keris instinctively gave them to Haneyl as a big sister - being raised by Rathan or Calesco would have led to quite a different Zanara, even with the Charm and Principle both being the same.
Tenth Soul of Keris
Whence comes Zanara? It is a question quite difficult to answer, for the youngest of Keris's souls is a puzzling one. The Tidal Artisan is twofold in form; twin bodies whose forms are fluid. They are known as the Art and the Artist, and for the most part they are male and female respectively; children of three years or so who copy one another's movements perfectly. Zanara cannot yet control both bodies separately, and so stores one as art at any given time - a stomach-churning sculpture or an abstract painting that brings migraines to those who gaze at it too long. They love beautiful things and bubble with inspiration and creative drive - the Artist eager to learn new forms of expression and the Art content to drink in artwork - often literally, as he can absorb it with his touch.
Zanara's nature twists the world around them. As the Artist, their work brings derangement and delusion to their audiences. As the Art, they warp their own flesh as easily as others change their clothes; ornamenting their skin with horns and eyes and dragonfly wings. Despite their often-unsettling appearance, the Perverse Placatory is startlingly adept at understanding others; piecing together their likes and dislikes with a natural ease. In their Artist form they often use this insight to explore taboos or cause deliberate offence, while they reserve their Art-body for persuading and bargaining for gifts and gratitude.
Principles
Urge
Siblings
Echo
Whence comes Zanara? It is a question quite difficult to answer, for the youngest of Keris's souls is a puzzling one. The Tidal Artisan is twofold in form; twin bodies whose forms are fluid. They are known as the Art and the Artist, and for the most part they are male and female respectively; children of three years or so who copy one another's movements perfectly. Zanara cannot yet control both bodies separately, and so stores one as art at any given time - a stomach-churning sculpture or an abstract painting that brings migraines to those who gaze at it too long. They love beautiful things and bubble with inspiration and creative drive - the Artist eager to learn new forms of expression and the Art content to drink in artwork - often literally, as he can absorb it with his touch.
Zanara's nature twists the world around them. As the Artist, their work brings derangement and delusion to their audiences. As the Art, they warp their own flesh as easily as others change their clothes; ornamenting their skin with horns and eyes and dragonfly wings. Despite their often-unsettling appearance, the Perverse Placatory is startlingly adept at understanding others; piecing together their likes and dislikes with a natural ease. In their Artist form they often use this insight to explore taboos or cause deliberate offence, while they reserve their Art-body for persuading and bargaining for gifts and gratitude.
Principles
Urge
Arouse the Audience / Enthrall the Crowd
5-dotArt (The Best Thing Ever!)
4-dotKeris (My Inspiration!), Keris (I Will Surpass!), Mutations (I Can Be Pretty), People Are Puzzles To Solve
3-dotLife Is The Best Canvas, My Own Nature (Cautious Reflection), Taboos and Customs (Curious Exploration), War Is a Waste of Time
2-dotArt Supplies (There Are Never Enough), Both Bodies (Trip Hazard), Dulmea (Pretty Music!), Fire (Admire From a Distance), Latest Art Style (Clearly the Best!), Metamorphosis (Fascination), Music (Perennial Favourite)
Siblings
Echo
I can't work out why she does things! And when I ask her for stuff she just laughs! It's frustrating!
RathanHe understands how much fun it is when everyone's attention is on you, even if he has a thin skin.
HaneylBig Sister looks after me and she's clever and pretty and nice! She is a little bit bossy though.
CalescoIt's like she's always putting on an act, but her only audience is herself. Nice, but what's it for?
ValiDoing everything the hard way seems exhausting, and... he doesn't seem to care what people think.
D'aww. So cute. And yes, they have a two-part Urge - which one affects them depends which body they're focusing on. As a result, interestingly enough, they're probably going to wind up the one most aware of their Urge of all of Keris's souls. It's also interesting that Keris instinctively gave them to Haneyl as a big sister - being raised by Rathan or Calesco would have led to quite a different Zanara, even with the Charm and Principle both being the same.
Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
I just want you to know, you are just as horrible as EarthScorpian. You tease and tease without giving satisfaction while producing such high quality work I can't stop following you!
Three Styles of Lilunu
Three of the Styles that Lilunu knows, and two of them are ones she has personally devised.
Needles-and-Spires Style (Occult)
To willingly pierce one's one flesh is to assert one's will over one's nature. To that end, the sickened demon princess Lilunu has woven the principles of acupuncture and geomancy into a singular art, based around carefully manipulating the natural flows of energy in a body or landscape through through the insertion of needles, piercings or geomantic spikes. Lilunu teaches that there is no difference between the dragonlines of Creation or a Yozi and the energy flows within the body. This Style applies to medical actions to treat patients via acupuncture, to apply piercings, and geomantic actions to divert, prevent or encourage essence flows.
1: +1 to treating illnesses with acupuncture caused by the presence of foreign essence.
2: +1 to geomantic actions to purify the aspect of a demesne.
3: -1 Difficulty to diagnose the cause of a spiritual malaise in a body or landscape.
Temple-as-Body Style (Occult/Expression)
To the demon princess Lilunu, there is no divide between her humanoid form and her landscape body. She teaches her disciples to emulate this, and to transform the structures of Creation to conform to her vision. One's flesh and one's sacred places should give praise to the Yozis, for the All-Makers wrought both. All things should be made beautiful and powerful and nothing ugly should dwell within the sight of her or her disciples. This Style applies to actions to design and apply body art, and to design, modify, construct and decorate structures in the styles encouraged by the Conventicle Malfeasant.
1: +1 to the creation of essence-channelling body art (such as artefact tattoos)
2: +1 to the construction of Yozi-aspected manses.
3: Ignore one point of MDV when making social attacks which play off creations of this Style.
Killing Ray Style (Melee/Ranged)
The famed style of Gervasin, the Grieving Lord, Messenger Soul of Ligier, Killing Ray Style evokes the light of the green sun which casts no shadows. It is primarily a polearm style that encourages a highly linear combat style, controlling one line of approach totally before finishing the fight with a single deadly charge that punches through the thickest armour. Practitioners customarily carry several spears to battle, beginning with a ranged volley before closing. This Style may be practiced in armour, and is compatible with unarmed blows, with polearms and with thrown spears.
1: Ignore one point of range penalties when making a Ranged attack with a thrown spear
2: +1 Accuracy when charging with a polearm
3: Ignore one point of armoured soak on targets. This does not apply if the armour is made of a magical material, or lead.
Needles-and-Spires Style (Occult)
To willingly pierce one's one flesh is to assert one's will over one's nature. To that end, the sickened demon princess Lilunu has woven the principles of acupuncture and geomancy into a singular art, based around carefully manipulating the natural flows of energy in a body or landscape through through the insertion of needles, piercings or geomantic spikes. Lilunu teaches that there is no difference between the dragonlines of Creation or a Yozi and the energy flows within the body. This Style applies to medical actions to treat patients via acupuncture, to apply piercings, and geomantic actions to divert, prevent or encourage essence flows.
1: +1 to treating illnesses with acupuncture caused by the presence of foreign essence.
2: +1 to geomantic actions to purify the aspect of a demesne.
3: -1 Difficulty to diagnose the cause of a spiritual malaise in a body or landscape.
Temple-as-Body Style (Occult/Expression)
To the demon princess Lilunu, there is no divide between her humanoid form and her landscape body. She teaches her disciples to emulate this, and to transform the structures of Creation to conform to her vision. One's flesh and one's sacred places should give praise to the Yozis, for the All-Makers wrought both. All things should be made beautiful and powerful and nothing ugly should dwell within the sight of her or her disciples. This Style applies to actions to design and apply body art, and to design, modify, construct and decorate structures in the styles encouraged by the Conventicle Malfeasant.
1: +1 to the creation of essence-channelling body art (such as artefact tattoos)
2: +1 to the construction of Yozi-aspected manses.
3: Ignore one point of MDV when making social attacks which play off creations of this Style.
Killing Ray Style (Melee/Ranged)
The famed style of Gervasin, the Grieving Lord, Messenger Soul of Ligier, Killing Ray Style evokes the light of the green sun which casts no shadows. It is primarily a polearm style that encourages a highly linear combat style, controlling one line of approach totally before finishing the fight with a single deadly charge that punches through the thickest armour. Practitioners customarily carry several spears to battle, beginning with a ranged volley before closing. This Style may be practiced in armour, and is compatible with unarmed blows, with polearms and with thrown spears.
1: Ignore one point of range penalties when making a Ranged attack with a thrown spear
2: +1 Accuracy when charging with a polearm
3: Ignore one point of armoured soak on targets. This does not apply if the armour is made of a magical material, or lead.
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Beasts of Krisity
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
As you may know, since there are many things I want to buy and never enough to spend, @EarthScorpion and I have come to an arrangement where I can write Kerisgame extras and short omakes and so on in return for demon-making, Style and occasionally special-purchase xp. You've already seen a few of these; things like Five Days Dreaming (which paid for Keris hitting E9), A Day in the Life of Haneyl, Annotations and Observations 4:393, etcetera.
This... is not a short omake.
So, how far am I willing to go for xp, you ask? Very fucking far, apparently! I answer. Because Beasts of Krisity is more than eighteen thousand words of bestiary-slash-cookbook. In it, there are a wide variety of strange and alien mortal-akuma, a number of cleverly hidden jokes and references, enough datapoints to write a small thesis on why sziromkeruby are a horrible ecological disaster to inflict on poor unsuspecting ecosystems, and hopefully some enjoyable entertainment for you; my beloved readers and followers. It also hasn't technically happened yet, because Orobeneta is set to finish it sometime in late Air, and is probably somewhere in the Isles at the current point in-game. The Sea and the Isles sections - the Yaleena bits, in other words - were contributed by @EarthScorpion, who I think got fed up with how long I was taking (or possibly just wanted to get in on the fun).
I am not currently planning to write any of Orobeneta's other referenced stories, but that may be subject to change. : 3
Feel free to quote bits from the doc if you want to discuss the beasts within. And yes, if I ever run Krisity Keruby Kwest, this will probably be an invaluable reference document.
This... is not a short omake.
So, how far am I willing to go for xp, you ask? Very fucking far, apparently! I answer. Because Beasts of Krisity is more than eighteen thousand words of bestiary-slash-cookbook. In it, there are a wide variety of strange and alien mortal-akuma, a number of cleverly hidden jokes and references, enough datapoints to write a small thesis on why sziromkeruby are a horrible ecological disaster to inflict on poor unsuspecting ecosystems, and hopefully some enjoyable entertainment for you; my beloved readers and followers. It also hasn't technically happened yet, because Orobeneta is set to finish it sometime in late Air, and is probably somewhere in the Isles at the current point in-game. The Sea and the Isles sections - the Yaleena bits, in other words - were contributed by @EarthScorpion, who I think got fed up with how long I was taking (or possibly just wanted to get in on the fun).
I am not currently planning to write any of Orobeneta's other referenced stories, but that may be subject to change. : 3
Feel free to quote bits from the doc if you want to discuss the beasts within. And yes, if I ever run Krisity Keruby Kwest, this will probably be an invaluable reference document.
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh, the trees. I am very proud of the trees.
Keris: "... Sasi, could you come take a look at this tree?"
Sasi: "What about it?"
Keris: "Just... check out the root system. Is it normal for them to do that?"
Sasi: *concentrates briefly*
Sasi: "... you mean is it normal for the roots of a plant to make straight for the roots of the nearest neighbouring tree, wind around them and start forcibly pumping sap into them through penetrating thorns?"
Sasi: "No. No, it is not normal."
Sasi: "... well, perhaps in the parts of the East. But not in general."
(Some areas of the Swamp have trees that have been infected over and over again, and if you look at their wood it's made of lots of things and riddled with splicing tumours. Even Haneyl's trees are imperialists.)
Skykisser goats, on the other hand, are basically just ibexes. Like, literally. The only things I changed were the number of hoof-bits and giving them metal horns.
Keris: "... Sasi, could you come take a look at this tree?"
Sasi: "What about it?"
Keris: "Just... check out the root system. Is it normal for them to do that?"
Sasi: *concentrates briefly*
Sasi: "... you mean is it normal for the roots of a plant to make straight for the roots of the nearest neighbouring tree, wind around them and start forcibly pumping sap into them through penetrating thorns?"
Sasi: "No. No, it is not normal."
Sasi: "... well, perhaps in the parts of the East. But not in general."
(Some areas of the Swamp have trees that have been infected over and over again, and if you look at their wood it's made of lots of things and riddled with splicing tumours. Even Haneyl's trees are imperialists.)
Skykisser goats, on the other hand, are basically just ibexes. Like, literally. The only things I changed were the number of hoof-bits and giving them metal horns.
Dynamesmouse
Bzzzzzz
How much is ES paying in XP for this?
Dynamesmouse: Probably not enough.
Aleph: That was awesome. I rather liked the beasts that are wandering around the empire. Also, is this the first we have seen of the Foglands? I mean we had Keris try to breach the cloud wall ages ago, and then there was the expansion as she grew to E9 but I don't think we have set foot in here yet...then again my memory might be playing tricks on me.
Also, Haneyl forcing her generals to pay for the privilege of leading, and maintaining, her army is so typical.
Aleph: That was awesome. I rather liked the beasts that are wandering around the empire. Also, is this the first we have seen of the Foglands? I mean we had Keris try to breach the cloud wall ages ago, and then there was the expansion as she grew to E9 but I don't think we have set foot in here yet...then again my memory might be playing tricks on me.
Also, Haneyl forcing her generals to pay for the privilege of leading, and maintaining, her army is so typical.
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
It is! The next Kerisgame extra in the works is titled Trust Your Instincts, and involves Keris finding out about this part of her Empire. And also possibly another shift in geography...
Amusing, yes, but it also illustrates an important difference between Rathan and Haneyl's governing styles. Rathan is a feudal king - his nobles raise armies and act on the throne's behalf. Haneyl is an early modern absolute monarch - the armies belong to the crown, and are maintained by taxes.
Haneyl and Rathan are the ones with the most organised "government" systems. Calesco basically rules by fiat, despite her attempts to devise various forms of constitutional monarchy and democracy (her attempts run into the problem that her siblings deliberately try to break any system). Echo doesn't have the patience for government, so she basically has a circle of szelkerub friends and then if she sees anyone doing things she doesn't like she kills them. Vali doesn't have the temperament for government, and so he's basically implemented libertarian Nexan law - he's laid down a bunch of absolute rules (like, "No Slavery" and "No Mistreating Animals"), and then anyone else can do what they want. And Zanara is too young to really have come up with a system yet, and even then it's probably going to be letting people run individual islands and then smiting them if they break their rules. Or if Zanara is bored.
Dulmea just does everything herself, because she internalised Splintered Gale Shintai and thus she's all the important figures in her own government. Though she's probably set up six different sets of competing secret police, because she's the only demon in Kerisland that's actually from Malfeas and having competing secret police just comes naturally to a former-assassin.
Noctum
Dual Paradox
- Location
- Under the Skies Above
Someone really needs to do something nice for Fefenth. Keeping that reckless idiot who keeps poking things they shouldn't brave and intrepid explorer/naturalist Orobeneta alive cannot have been easy.
And Yaleena is so adorably tsundere in all the best ways.
And Yaleena is so adorably tsundere in all the best ways.
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and then eating them.
Noctum
Dual Paradox
- Location
- Under the Skies Above
I took that as a fact of life for sziromkeruby. I'd have been more surprised if he hadn't been trying to eat everything and anything.
- Location
- Somewhere on Earth
It probably says something that Calesco's land has the highest concentration of creatures directly analogous to real life, can't work it out for the life of me, though.
Apart from that, this is incredibly adorable, and also contains some interesting demonstrations of how sziromkerub are just a bit morally different from humans, her third thought, right after "How much can I write about this" and "What can I do with it" seems to regularly be "How does it taste?".
Oh hey she's basically the sziromkerub version of Naked Snake.
Apart from that, this is incredibly adorable, and also contains some interesting demonstrations of how sziromkerub are just a bit morally different from humans, her third thought, right after "How much can I write about this" and "What can I do with it" seems to regularly be "How does it taste?".
Oh hey she's basically the sziromkerub version of Naked Snake.
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
He, actually. Orobeneta is a boy.