- Location
- my house
Yeah, fear of Adorjan should be pretty powerful in its scope.
Ascensions and Transgressions: the Tales of Keris Dulmeadokht (Exalted game)
- Thread starter Aleph
- Start date
No, why would they? Demons like that are mostly-independent beings. The fact that Keris loves apples doesn't mean her souls do.
(In fact, Zanara detests the taste of apple)
And the fact that Keris has... complicated feelings about Adorjan does not mean her souls need to have complicated feelings. Rathan and Hanyel - as Dulmea assures them - are justifiably scared of her.
- Location
- my house
That's fair. I guess I just didn't realize how independent her progeny souls were from her.
Why? The Weaver of Voices is mostly independent of Ligier; Ligier is mostly independent of Malfeas. That's just how demons work. They are an aspect of the greater self, but that core is just a central pillar around which their personality is built. Calesco is Keris' Compassion, but nothing about raw Compassion implies gothyness, a thing for archery, or a beautiful singing voice. And at her heart Haneyl is Keris' raw greed and envy, but Haneyl is much more than that as a person.
- Location
- my house
I just didn't? I can't really give a reason why I didn't realize something
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
I was under the impression that most 3CDs were more tied to their essential theme than Keris' Progeny Souls are, with the latter given more freedom to grow and develop in ways not related to their themes by their greater degree of humanity.
Tehaani, the Exotic Connoisseur
People have mentioned wanting to see some of the future 2CDs who'll be spawned by Keris' souls when they ascend to 3CD level. So here is one; Haneyl's Indulgent Soul.
She says quite a bit about Haneyl and about what Haneyl says about Keris.
(She is also a reminder that Haneyl and Eko are half-sisters, and that they're both terrible)
Tehaani, the Exotic Connoisseur
Demon of the Second Circle
Indulgent Soul of the Flower Maiden
When the Flower Maiden grows bored then her favoured courtier, far-travelling Tehaani, is there to amuse her. Tehaani has the features of a handsome woman of the South-East, but her skin is the brilliant green of the Flower Maiden's flames, her eyes are a pale grey, and her hair is finely drawn gold that gleams in the light. She wears seven rings, each - she claims - gifted to her by a different prince who fell for her and swore undying love. In her presence the wind smells of sweet ash and sandalwood, and laughter echoes when it should not.
Tehanni travels in a lotus-airship loaded with trinkets and treasures, blown by tame winds stolen from a wind bear and born aloft by a green flame. When she wishes to pass unnoticed she sets the blossom on fire, saving the seeds for when she wishes to grow it again. Her garb is usually a mish-mash of things from across Creation, combined without care for their origins. She frequently acquires - and just as frequently sheds - tattoos and piercings , chosen solely for their aesthetic value. She is charming and witty, with an easy manner that never seems threatening. By her very nature she is a trend-setter, and those who gaze upon her feel an urge to dress and act as she does. In her wake she leaves societies twisted around her current fad, even as she strips everything of interest from the culture she vandalises.
For at her heart, the Exotic Connoisseur is a thief - not of mere gold or silver, but of ideas.. She hungers insatiably for novelty, and and will greatly reward those who offer memories of new things. Wherever she goes she leaves broken hearts from her whirlwind affairs as she 'samples' the men, women and gods of Creation. She is a peerless chef (with a cookbook full of stolen recipes), a masterful artist (working in purloined styles) and a preternaturally skilled navigator. She initially seems harmless, a mere flighty dilettante - and indeed that is what she is. Only when she is gone do those who have suffered her presence realise they struggle to recall that which she learned from them. A few brave - and attractive - people have managed to win back thoughts stolen from them, for she is a compulsive gambler. Most, though, lose their bets and must accompany her until she grows bored and abandons them somewhere in Creation.
Sorcerers invoke Tehaani as a courtier and a hunter for knowledge. She is an affable and witty demoness - if a little too fond of wordplay - whose disarming manner can help even the most awkward sorcerer in tense interactions. More potent, however, is her capacity to gather up knowledge from the places she goes and transport things across long distances. Within a week or two, she can compile all the folktales and local wisdom of an area, ready for her summoner to analyse for hidden secrets. Her flighty nature means that she gains a point of Limit for each day she is prevented from moving on from an area when she has taken everything of value from it. The Exotic Connoisseur can squirm out of her home realm when a traveller brags about the strange ways of a culture to a room full of people who have never heard of that group before.
She says quite a bit about Haneyl and about what Haneyl says about Keris.
(She is also a reminder that Haneyl and Eko are half-sisters, and that they're both terrible)
Tehaani, the Exotic Connoisseur
Demon of the Second Circle
Indulgent Soul of the Flower Maiden
When the Flower Maiden grows bored then her favoured courtier, far-travelling Tehaani, is there to amuse her. Tehaani has the features of a handsome woman of the South-East, but her skin is the brilliant green of the Flower Maiden's flames, her eyes are a pale grey, and her hair is finely drawn gold that gleams in the light. She wears seven rings, each - she claims - gifted to her by a different prince who fell for her and swore undying love. In her presence the wind smells of sweet ash and sandalwood, and laughter echoes when it should not.
Tehanni travels in a lotus-airship loaded with trinkets and treasures, blown by tame winds stolen from a wind bear and born aloft by a green flame. When she wishes to pass unnoticed she sets the blossom on fire, saving the seeds for when she wishes to grow it again. Her garb is usually a mish-mash of things from across Creation, combined without care for their origins. She frequently acquires - and just as frequently sheds - tattoos and piercings , chosen solely for their aesthetic value. She is charming and witty, with an easy manner that never seems threatening. By her very nature she is a trend-setter, and those who gaze upon her feel an urge to dress and act as she does. In her wake she leaves societies twisted around her current fad, even as she strips everything of interest from the culture she vandalises.
For at her heart, the Exotic Connoisseur is a thief - not of mere gold or silver, but of ideas.. She hungers insatiably for novelty, and and will greatly reward those who offer memories of new things. Wherever she goes she leaves broken hearts from her whirlwind affairs as she 'samples' the men, women and gods of Creation. She is a peerless chef (with a cookbook full of stolen recipes), a masterful artist (working in purloined styles) and a preternaturally skilled navigator. She initially seems harmless, a mere flighty dilettante - and indeed that is what she is. Only when she is gone do those who have suffered her presence realise they struggle to recall that which she learned from them. A few brave - and attractive - people have managed to win back thoughts stolen from them, for she is a compulsive gambler. Most, though, lose their bets and must accompany her until she grows bored and abandons them somewhere in Creation.
Sorcerers invoke Tehaani as a courtier and a hunter for knowledge. She is an affable and witty demoness - if a little too fond of wordplay - whose disarming manner can help even the most awkward sorcerer in tense interactions. More potent, however, is her capacity to gather up knowledge from the places she goes and transport things across long distances. Within a week or two, she can compile all the folktales and local wisdom of an area, ready for her summoner to analyse for hidden secrets. Her flighty nature means that she gains a point of Limit for each day she is prevented from moving on from an area when she has taken everything of value from it. The Exotic Connoisseur can squirm out of her home realm when a traveller brags about the strange ways of a culture to a room full of people who have never heard of that group before.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
A question: can she only take knowledge once? I assume she has some sort of way of figuring out who knows what? I'm just imagining a Sorcerer trying to use her as a weapon.
"Oh lord, make my enemies ridiculous" and all that.
- Location
- in the trash
It's not a question of "taking knowledge"; it's a question of "when she learns things from people, they find themselves forgetting it and instead embracing the fads and things she brings".
She's not just cultural appropriation; she's also cultural imperialism and homogenisation. She is the soul of a Disney princess [1], after all, and that means that when she's done with you, you only remember her version of Cinderella.
[1] As in, a princess who looks from a distance like a Disney princess, but is actually more of a Disney Corporation princess.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
Huh, interesting.
Question. Is this only when the Traveller is telling the truth, or can a storyteller free her as well?
The Sandman
So Zetta Slowpoke
- Location
- Wherever I am, which isn't where I'm not
Let me guess: her Anchor when in Creation is a Cult made up of travel agents?
No, it has to be something true. Otherwise, why would she be lured from her home realm to listen to the tale and go search out the place she's heard of?
Heh.
Seriously, though, Tehaani is incredibly horrifying if you stop to think about it. One's mind is their last sanctuary, their fortress of literal solitude. Somebody jaunting in and leaving the place a mess may sound funny, but it's actually kind of horrifying to know that you can't even trust yourself.
Now I'm wondering how much of the forgetting bit is teaching them her new and improved (and spicy) versions, rather than just making them forget how to make their normal food.
azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
Trust nobody, not even yourself.
... That said, I don't think this is an example of not being able to trust yourself, just some relatively run-of-the-mill memory fuckery (and not even the kind that tries to hide that something is missing).
Do the victims know that? Occam's Razor is a fairly obscure thought-tool that is somewhat difficult to correctly put into practice, and most people assign undue meaning to the phrase, "Where there's smoke, there's fire." Sure, some people might not (or not want to) believe that the traveling idea-thief did anything more than the obvious, but there's always that one guy who rides the line between sanity and insanity - the type that tend to become conspiracy theorists in real life - and, who knows, his ravings might be believed.
azoicennead
Overly-Affectionate Zombie Squad
- Pronouns
- He/They
That would be enabling paranoia, not making you unable to trust yourself.
Shahani, the Riddle Without An Answer
- Location
- The sixth circle of Hell (second on weekends)
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Following on from ES's example, I believe I have mentioned that Eko is terrible and that her Expressive Soul, Shahani, is more so.
This is why.
Shahani, the Riddle Without An Answer
Demon of the Second Circle
Expressive Soul of the Joyful Wind
Oft-times in the Ruin of Krisity, there will come a great clamour of confusion and frustrated rage. Out of the gathering mob, laughing and taunting, will come the demon Shahani; swiftest and merriest of Eko's children. She carries a feathered rope dart and travels perched upon a spinning top that can be as small as a walnut or as large as a horse, whose spinning can summon whirlwinds or spawn dust-devils. Though many resent her for the vexation and mischief she has visited upon them, few bother attempting revenge. To pursue her merely invites further diablerie.
Shahani is a woman of variable height who drapes herself in the shawls, ribbons and veils of a travelling fortune-teller or a street-dancer. Her feet are those of a hare, and she wears a velvet scarf arranged about her head to mimic the ears of a rabbit. Actress, riddler, palm-reader and mischief-maker - Shahani is all these things and more. She delights in cryptic verse and enigmatic portents, making it her business to confuse and confound. Many of her performances seem to have no purpose beyond puzzlement, and it is true that she acts mainly for her own amusement.
This is not to say there is nothing deeper in her shenanigans, however. Whether Shahani taunts a band of heroes with a nonsensical riddle or lays down a dungeon full of traps and travails, it is her habit to give some reward to those who pass her trials. Such gifts are never what their recipient expects and often seem useless or worthless at first glance. More than one traveller has been saved, though, by a half-forgotten trinket won from Shahani and abandoned in a pocket until a crucial moment. Whether this is coincidence or part of some deeper design, none but Shahani can say - and this is a riddle she will never give the answer to.
Shahani is called upon through Sorcery by those who wish her to harass and annoy their foes. Her great speed and proclivity for mischief-making can tie together the shoelaces of an entire battalion, reverse all the road signs along a crucial stretch of highway or deface every warrant in a city with demonic runes that claim the bearer to be a child of Ligier. Though she rarely does harm to her victims, such pranks can slow, stymie and infuriate an enemy beyond measure. Some summoners may choose to run her gauntlet willingly in the hopes that her presents will prove useful at a later date - she cannot be ordered to gift such things offhand, as her observations of a victim's character are what lead her to make her choice of gift.
One thing alone frustrates Shahani, and that is those she cannot draw a reaction from - be it laughter, surprise or even her reliable fallback of irritation. The sight of someone unmoved by all her efforts is painful to her, and will drive her from their presence and cause her to gain both Limit and a grudge. Those who have recently gained a fortune by luck or trickery may sometimes meet her at a crossroads with an offer or a challenge meant to rob them of it.
This is why.
-----
Shahani, the Riddle Without An Answer
Demon of the Second Circle
Expressive Soul of the Joyful Wind
Oft-times in the Ruin of Krisity, there will come a great clamour of confusion and frustrated rage. Out of the gathering mob, laughing and taunting, will come the demon Shahani; swiftest and merriest of Eko's children. She carries a feathered rope dart and travels perched upon a spinning top that can be as small as a walnut or as large as a horse, whose spinning can summon whirlwinds or spawn dust-devils. Though many resent her for the vexation and mischief she has visited upon them, few bother attempting revenge. To pursue her merely invites further diablerie.
Shahani is a woman of variable height who drapes herself in the shawls, ribbons and veils of a travelling fortune-teller or a street-dancer. Her feet are those of a hare, and she wears a velvet scarf arranged about her head to mimic the ears of a rabbit. Actress, riddler, palm-reader and mischief-maker - Shahani is all these things and more. She delights in cryptic verse and enigmatic portents, making it her business to confuse and confound. Many of her performances seem to have no purpose beyond puzzlement, and it is true that she acts mainly for her own amusement.
This is not to say there is nothing deeper in her shenanigans, however. Whether Shahani taunts a band of heroes with a nonsensical riddle or lays down a dungeon full of traps and travails, it is her habit to give some reward to those who pass her trials. Such gifts are never what their recipient expects and often seem useless or worthless at first glance. More than one traveller has been saved, though, by a half-forgotten trinket won from Shahani and abandoned in a pocket until a crucial moment. Whether this is coincidence or part of some deeper design, none but Shahani can say - and this is a riddle she will never give the answer to.
Shahani is called upon through Sorcery by those who wish her to harass and annoy their foes. Her great speed and proclivity for mischief-making can tie together the shoelaces of an entire battalion, reverse all the road signs along a crucial stretch of highway or deface every warrant in a city with demonic runes that claim the bearer to be a child of Ligier. Though she rarely does harm to her victims, such pranks can slow, stymie and infuriate an enemy beyond measure. Some summoners may choose to run her gauntlet willingly in the hopes that her presents will prove useful at a later date - she cannot be ordered to gift such things offhand, as her observations of a victim's character are what lead her to make her choice of gift.
One thing alone frustrates Shahani, and that is those she cannot draw a reaction from - be it laughter, surprise or even her reliable fallback of irritation. The sight of someone unmoved by all her efforts is painful to her, and will drive her from their presence and cause her to gain both Limit and a grudge. Those who have recently gained a fortune by luck or trickery may sometimes meet her at a crossroads with an offer or a challenge meant to rob them of it.
Notably, Eko's souls are her children in how she relates to them. That's Eko's particular quirk, likely inherited as much from Adorjan as from Keris. Her souls all resemble her in some way, whether her ribbon form or her human form. She plays favourites, and acts like an absent-minded and doting mother to them when she remembers to. She sort of tries to recreate the way Keris acts to her souls with her own souls, somewhat limited by her own nature and innate... uh, Eko-ness.
By contract, Haneyl's souls aren't her children; they're her lovers. When she embraces various aspects of her self, that's not just a metaphor. In adulthood, she's a decadent and self-indulgent empress and so her court is a warren of politicking and plotting - just the way she wants it. Her lovers have her favour, at least until she grows bored of them and picks a new favourite. Of course, her souls are also interacting, so it's basically a horrifically tangled love octagon with a tsundere at the centre of the web. Most of the rest of Kerisland is just happy that Haneyl's found a more peaceful way to satisfy her need for drama in her life that isn't declaring war on people (although Calesco makes some catty comments about how Haneyl is going to go blind).
By contract, Haneyl's souls aren't her children; they're her lovers. When she embraces various aspects of her self, that's not just a metaphor. In adulthood, she's a decadent and self-indulgent empress and so her court is a warren of politicking and plotting - just the way she wants it. Her lovers have her favour, at least until she grows bored of them and picks a new favourite. Of course, her souls are also interacting, so it's basically a horrifically tangled love octagon with a tsundere at the centre of the web. Most of the rest of Kerisland is just happy that Haneyl's found a more peaceful way to satisfy her need for drama in her life that isn't declaring war on people (although Calesco makes some catty comments about how Haneyl is going to go blind).
Shin Megami Tensei 5 DLC - Ascensions and Transgressions
What was here was a horrible, half-baked write-up of Keris's pantheon as SMT DLC bosses. I had planned on scrapping this page and pretending it never existed, but Aleph said I should repurpose it into an intro post for my write-ups of Keris's inner demons as SMT demons. So, here you go.
-What is SMT?
SMT stands for Shin Megami Tensei, which is a Japanese franchise published by Atlus. It's a series of role-playing games with little-to-no continuity between them, much like Final Fantasy. One of the recurring elements is that you summon demons, which in-setting is a catch-all term for anything that comes straight from legends and folklore. Notably, SMT is very faithful to its source material, and also uses some very obscure sources to draw from - we've all heard of a Centaur, but who here has heard of Pabilsag, Moh Shuvuu, or Yaldabaoth?
SMT has spawned a number of spin-offs, including the Devil Survivor series and the Persona series.
-What is A&T?
A&T stands for Ascensions and Transgressions. If you're reading this, you should know already what that is.
-What is SMT5?
Shin Megami Tensei 5 does not exist. It is an as-yet fictional game in the SMT series where YHVH is not the main villain.
-What is the A&T DLC?
The A&T DLC is a fictional DLC for a fictional game. There are the write-ups for them.
-What is SMT?
SMT stands for Shin Megami Tensei, which is a Japanese franchise published by Atlus. It's a series of role-playing games with little-to-no continuity between them, much like Final Fantasy. One of the recurring elements is that you summon demons, which in-setting is a catch-all term for anything that comes straight from legends and folklore. Notably, SMT is very faithful to its source material, and also uses some very obscure sources to draw from - we've all heard of a Centaur, but who here has heard of Pabilsag, Moh Shuvuu, or Yaldabaoth?
SMT has spawned a number of spin-offs, including the Devil Survivor series and the Persona series.
-What is A&T?
A&T stands for Ascensions and Transgressions. If you're reading this, you should know already what that is.
-What is SMT5?
Shin Megami Tensei 5 does not exist. It is an as-yet fictional game in the SMT series where YHVH is not the main villain.
-What is the A&T DLC?
The A&T DLC is a fictional DLC for a fictional game. There are the write-ups for them.
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