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

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EarthScorpion said:
In both cases, the Swamp is too active and too aggressive to be either environment. The borders of the Swamp are constant warzones, even at the biome level. Swamplife is constantly reaching out to try to subsume the Isles and the Meadows alike. The borders are in constant flux as the Swamplife reaches out to choke and grow - only then the fires they need don't come to refresh the soil and they die back.
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Calesco: Hany, is literally everything you make an expression of your imperialistic urges.

Hanyel: I'm sorry, I don't understand the question, why wouldn't they be?
 
greensun said:
Calesco: Hany, is literally everything you make an expression of your imperialistic urges.

Hanyel: I'm sorry, I don't understand the question, why wouldn't they be?
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That's what you get when you take Metagaos' corruption and infection, give it his Teeth Charms, weld it to Malfeas "power" Charms, and express it through the medium of Keris' greed and envy.

Of all her souls, Keris has probably put the most time into adjusting how Haneyl expresses her nature, and for a very good reason; she's made of very dangerous things. The fact that she's a greedy, arrogant-yet-insecure and spoiled princess is a sign of how well Keris has done, because she could be a lot worse. The fact that Haneyl loves feeding up people and gets angry when rulers don't do right by their subjects is a sign of how much effort Keris has put into her, because if she hadn't she'd just be take-take-take.

But of course, all their landscapes are an expression of their core nature. The Spires are just as bad as the Swamp, constantly trying to expand and regrow into the Ruin and the Sea and having to constantly be eroded down by wind and waves. The Meadows oozes and subsumes the Ruin and trickles tar into the rivers of the Swamp. The Isles attempt to "make pretty" the Swamp and the Sea, corrupting landscape into artwork. And so on.
 
This was a very emotionally touching session. That resolution has been a long time coming.

I must admit, I'm hoping that stealing her own heart will be an event significant enough to help Keris reach Enlightenment 10. I'm really looking forward to Dulmea's reaction when she grows second circle souls.
 
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Family Matters - Chapter 4
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    • Chapter 4! In which Zany finally gets healed, Keris finally gets to put them darn Vakotans in their places, and some uncomfortable opinions get aired between Keris and her big brother! Things are heating up here in Baisha! Where will she go next?!

    <squaring up to fight>
    EarthScorpion: So what's Keris looking to do here?
    Aleph: Show off a bit. Humiliate them. She won't let on that she's an Exalt - but she's shown her hair. So she'll probably casually dodge the first couple of swings, then move in with a brutal fist, hair and kick combo to wind her and break her nose, and then send her crashing straight into her friends. Hard. She's not looking to kill, she's looking to humiliate, injure and scare.
    Aleph: She may well break a wrist, though. On the same arm Xasan lost.
    Aleph: ... she will probably also steal the sabre.
    EarthScorpion: Contested Physique + Melee roll, then. 1-3 successes over the opponent means they both get beaten and bruised, 4-5 is a clear victory, 5+ is properly humiliating.
    EarthScorpion: In Keris's head, meanwhile, Eko is suggesting that she pretend to run away so she can get a good run-up and take out all five of them and their dogs all at once and Eko can wave hello to her uncle and great-uncle at the same time.
    Aleph: 5+5+2 stunt+3 Wild Alleycat+5 Adorjani ExSux {unconsidered variable, vicious whimsy, lays low the proud}=15. 6+5=11. Which has probably won me it easily, so can I stunt it as I wish?
    EarthScorpion: ... Jesus, she got 6 successes on 6 dice for her roll. Keris has to fucking work for her humiliating victory and very nearly got hit once through getting cocky.
    Aleph: Wow. Not bad.

    ...

    <examining Zany>
    EarthScorpion: What are you doing here?
    Aleph: A full diagnosis with some dictation to Rounen so Keris can get everything down and plan. Mostly as fluff of Keris being super-careful this time and putting her Cog 4 to use, but I figure investigation like this probably counts for tool dice, especially if she can dig up those notes from working on Kuha's heart - which she also had to do things to while it was still beating.
    Aleph: ... also I think it was only a couple of days ago that Keris swore to her that she could fix what was wrong with Zany's heart.
    EarthScorpion: Yes, but her response is more about "Ali, my worrying risk-adverse husband, says it's okay?"
    Aleph: Ah, well, yes.
    EarthScorpion: This is a longer, more comprehensive diagnosis, with an unknown difficulty. Cog + Occult, 30 minutes required, sophisticated tools required for such a complex internal problem.

    ...

    <healing Zany>
    EarthScorpion: So, this internal surgery is hard. Difficulty 8 is bullshit hard, because it's well beyond the means of modern Creation and takes the genius of an Exalt to even try. Likewise, it's necessary to have a suitable set of tools to even try without crippling penalties, including the tools required to keep her blood flowing when you stop her heart to work on it.
    Aleph: Okay. Does Keris qualify for the tools - is this roll valid?
    EarthScorpion: She has Flesh Weaving Tendrils, which "This removes any need for equipment, and renders such actions supernatural (where relevant)". I was just laying out the normal things that'd be required to do it, in good ol' "and this is how as an Exalt you're bullshit".
    Aleph: Hee. Indeed. Happily, Keris is a genius of an Exalt. Excellent. Does her long-diagnosis count as a bonus?
    EarthScorpion: It provides a +1 equipment bonus, and negates the external penalties for underestimating how frail she is. This therefore is a full 24 hour surgery by default as per Diff 8, so Keris probably wants prep time and maybe to train herself in the repurchase before even attempting it.
    Aleph: Yes. Sigh. Keris, no, don't practice opening and closing heart-holes on deer.
    Aleph: ... she is going to practice opening and closing heart-holes on deer. Which will be another day's training which completes the training time, I believe.
    EarthScorpion: Yes.

    ...

    Aleph: "Goo'ight Aunty Ke'is," << eeeeeeeee
    EarthScorpion: Keris is just like "... you're so cute. I want to keep you so you can be a cool elder cousin for my children."
    Aleph: Right?
    Aleph: Heh. Honestly, Hany is still probably young enough that if they wind up packing up and going with Keris, she won't really remember the time Before Auntie Keris when she's older. And will react with bewilderment to the idea that when she was little she didn't have a ridiculously lethal and embarrassingly overprotective aunt hanging around.
    EarthScorpion: And yes, as implied by some of the earlier stuff, Ali is a bundle of nerves and a worrier.
    Aleph: Like his father. While Keris... really does take after her mum.
    EarthScorpion: Amusingly, he's only slightly less brave than Keris, but he's much more aware of risks.
    Aleph: Well, and, bluntly, Keris is cocky when it comes to personal stuff because she feels invincible.
    EarthScorpion: Yes. And she's probably going to prove to be as much of a worrier about him.
    Aleph: Yes. Heh.
    EarthScorpion: So, yes, Keris now has five Vakotan sabres. In her opinion, they're not particularly good quality cutting blades. I mean, she could hold one in each hand-or-hair limb if she wanted, I suppose.
    Aleph: Honestly, she mostly took them out of spite. : P
    Aleph: She may reforge them into better versions. And then flaunt them.
    EarthScorpion: And Eko has decided she likes the way the Vakotans look and their swords are curvy like ribbons.
    EarthScorpion: ... honestly, the Vakotans don't dress entirely unlike the szilfa.
    Aleph: The one may lead to the fashions of the other.
    EarthScorpion: Hee. Oh, Keris. She's seen how the sziromkeruby and the orvenkeruby are growing up and played her role in shaping their maturations, but she's totally been ignoring the szelkeruby.
    EarthScorpion: Oula is wisely imparting her girl-talk derived knowledge to other girls, in much the same way that a tweenage girl who's read a teenage magazine talks to other girls about it.
    EarthScorpion: So basically Keris is Cosmopolitan to them.
    Aleph: ... didn't Keris tell her that makeup was like war paint and made it easier for you to feel brave and confess your feelings?
    EarthScorpion: Yes.
    Aleph: ... welp
    EarthScorpion: This may well be why moon wife faces don't match their bodies.
    Aleph: kerissssss
    Aleph: goddammit, how are you at one and the same time a distant figure of rumour and celebrity to keruby culture and also a massive defining influence on it whenever you interact with it briefly?
    EarthScorpion: Because when she deigns to interact with one of them, she's like a lead ball dropped on a rubber sheet.

    ...

    EarthScorpion: Okay, hmm, in the next session, I think we're really going to have to make a conscious effort to push on. We're getting lots of nice character moments, but character moments are mostly all that we're getting.
    Aleph: Yeah, I got Xasan fixed and am now well set-up to do Zany. Then I just need to... honestly, I'll probably try to recruit an energised Zany into helping me talk Ali into going and finding Maryam and Kallash (and possibly Zany's parents if they weren't killed). And that'll put me back on the road again.
    EarthScorpion: Yes, Keris will probably find that Zany is much more driven than Ali.
    Aleph: I was suspecting as much.
    EarthScorpion: She's probably the one who pushed him into proposing. And also insisted on having a child.
    Aleph: Sigh. And here we see where Keris's weird gender roles come from. Apparently they are as much nature as nurture.
    EarthScorpion: Zany isn't even related to Maryam.
    Aleph: No, but she's a cousin of Keris, and therefore "strong brash forward women" runs in both halves of her family : P
    EarthScorpion: ... which heh, means the two of them do look like they're related to Cinnamon (and Hany will even more)
    Aleph: : 3

    ...

    EarthScorpion: It's kind of funny that her mortal relatives are better at pinning her down than Sasi.
    Aleph: Hmm? In what sense?
    EarthScorpion: If she'd been having that conversation with Sasi, she'd have wriggled out of things a lot more.
    Aleph: Heh. Yes. The Calesco in her, I suspect.
    Aleph: ... and also a tiny bit of arrogance, if I have to be honest. Because for all she says Ali has power over her; she's pretty sure he can't use that knowledge against her (and won't freak out about some of it like Sasi would).

    ...

    EarthScorpion: Also, did you get a little more of why Keris give Zanara the name she did? :p
    Aleph: Hmm. No, not really.
    Aleph: Well, hmm. To some extent the teasing of Ali and being provocative by, sigh, taking Keris up into the trees with her.
    EarthScorpion: Because when Keris knew her, she was the troublemaker who did things like tell Ali to climb places they weren't meant to - and encouraged Keris to also do it.
    Aleph: dammit zany it's probably partly your fault that Keris prefers to enter buildings through a first floor window ¬_¬
    EarthScorpion: (also, Keris hasn't seen it yet, but she likes to draw)
    Aleph: ... heh. I'd actually quite like to see someone pick up on that, just for the expression Ali's face at the thought that his wife is partly responsible for some of Keris's behaviours seventeen years on.
    EarthScorpion: Well, she was the free spirited one.
    EarthScorpion: (and she's the one, Keris has picked up just from talking to her, who wants out of Baisha and probably out of Taira altogether)
    Aleph: Yyyup

    ...

    Aleph: Hmm. Can Principles interact with Virtue rolls?
    EarthScorpion: Hmm?
    Aleph: Like, if Pirate Queen Keris gets super pissed off and starts flaring her anima and demonstrating Princess of Hell Style to the point that people need to pass Valor checks to avoid cowering, would Hanilyia be able to add her 3-dot "Auntie Keris Would Never Hurt Me" Principle to her Valor rating?
    EarthScorpion: Applicable alt-principles might be able to be rolled in place.
    Aleph: Heh. Neat. So yeah, 3-dot "I'm Safe With Auntie Keris" rather than Valor 2. Or something similar.
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    • Hanyel! You're childish escapades are being used for children stories, and you're not getting royalties!

    But yeah, great episode, I especially love Keris beating the crap outta those Mercs, though I do wish there was more ultra-violence. I'd worry about the ramifications of this bout of violence, but I figure that Keris will solve that problem tout-sweet. And Ali has some serious Issues, unsurprisingly. His frustration with his inability to defend his family or mend their ills is palpable, and I figure its something that the relatives of the Exalted feel often.
     
    EarthScorpion said:
    That's what you get when you take Metagaos' corruption and infection, give it his Teeth Charms, weld it to Malfeas "power" Charms, and express it through the medium of Keris' greed and envy.

    Of all her souls, Keris has probably put the most time into adjusting how Haneyl expresses her nature, and for a very good reason; she's made of very dangerous things. The fact that she's a greedy, arrogant-yet-insecure and spoiled princess is a sign of how well Keris has done, because she could be a lot worse. The fact that Haneyl loves feeding up people and gets angry when rulers don't do right by their subjects is a sign of how much effort Keris has put into her, because if she hadn't she'd just be take-take-take.
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    That's actually a very interesting point. They're her third-circle devas, so they're reflections of Keris as much as they're separate people. She may have decided to treat them as children, but...

    When she looks at Hany's greed, considers it unsightly and decides to moderate it, she's looking at herself. Every tendency she has, one of her children will personify. It means she's seeing herself the way others see her, which is probably *the* most critical aspect of being a good person--after that, it's simply a matter of implementing.

    She's up to compassion four, so it all fits together nicely, but I wonder... was this the plan all along? I don't see anyone close to Keris' headspace treating her subsouls this way and not ending up as a better person for it, so...

    =====

    This update was sweet, and Hany is adorable. Don't let the dice get to you; I like character moments better by far than the large-scale or hellish events. Those will happen anyhow.

    I'm waiting patiently for Keris' children to be introduced, of course. It's a pity that Eko's human form can't be one of them, because she'd get along with her grand-uncle like a house on fire, but she can't be the only one who wants to visit.

    Calesco won't want to, because she'd hurt them... which is a pity, and Zanara is probably too young. But the others? No-one can hate Rathan, and Haneyl would be over the moon about meeting her niece... Too bad she isn't around.

    Well, later. Some day it'll happen.
     
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    Aleph said:
    I wonder, I wonder; which will it be?
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    I bet it's Echo, there's no way letting her loose could go wrong. Just look at how well-behaved she was during Calibration!
    :V

    ... Sarcasm aside, I'm pretty sure Calesco is the only one anywhere near "safe" to bring out, and she seems like the best match for Keris's goals in Baisha.
     
    Aleph said:
    I wonder, I wonder; which will it be?
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    Zanara and Eko are right out, so of those available you have Vali, Calesco, and Rathan.

    Vali could work since he's a smith and would be up for smashing up the occupiers, but might be a bit blunt for Keris' purposes, and if something sets him off he becomes hard to control. Also, Keris might not want to show up her brother with a smith who is better than him after this latest session.

    No one mortal can really hate Rathan, but he's also among the most classically demonic, and might end up giving off the wrong impression.

    Calesco is basically an Old Testament "Be Not Afraid" Angel, but out of all of Keris' souls is probably the "safest" to let out around mortals. She should behave herself the best around Keris' family, if perhaps be more eerie to mortals than the other choices, but can also be set off by the cruelties of the occupation and could be trouble.

    I'm going to bet its either Rathan or Calesco.
     
    Aleph said:
    EarthScorpion: Because when she deigns to interact with one of them, she's like a lead ball dropped on a rubber sheet.
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    I would love to see a day in the life of a szelkerub. Running around, getting in gang wars, fighting for the attention/to get away from the attention of one of the higher souls, and torn with indecision about what she wants to change into, if she wants to change at all.

    And then the magnificent, magnanimous, munificent Keris descends from the fog-sky, green light flowing off her as she gently lands without disturbing the ground, all to deliver a precious message of guidance to the awe-struck deva.

    "Huh? Oh, I didn't notice you there. Surprised you haven't changed when you live so close to the meadows. Well, have fun!"

    The very next day, she awoke a mezkerub.
     
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    Llevelien, the Pearl Martyr
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    • So if the Defining Soul is "what's the actual objective core of the Third Circle?" (e.g. Munaxes being a chasm defined by the land around it, hence Octavian the conqueror of territory), the Reflective Soul is basically "how does the Third Circle view themselves?" This can often make for a very interesting glimpse into their worldview.

    Let's look at Rathan's, shall we?

    -----​

    Llevelien, the Pearl Martyr
    Demon of the Second Circle
    Reflective Soul of the Martyred Moon

    The demon Llevelien is everything Rathan claims to be in truth. Perfectly innocent and giving, unable to hurt so much as a fly and a sweet and charming beauty; it is his tragic fate that others abuse his vulnerable nature. Those with wicked hearts are drawn to make him a scapegoat who takes the blame for their sins, yet so loving, beautiful and wise is he that he bears this burden with noble dignity. Scrupulously fair and even-handed without a hint of bias, he always pays his debts without fail and never judges in error.

    The Pearl Martyr is a delicate, fragile, effeminate beauty who Dynasts would laud as a perfect example of the classical features of Air. He dresses in robes of rose and creamy pearl that are ever-stained by a bloodstain over his heart, for it bleeds whenever he is blamed for the wrongs of another.

    Llevelien is always accompanied by his companion Muicifircas; an albino calf who he dotes on and whose blood can cleanse away guilt and shame. He weeps with utmost heartbreak whenever he must kill his beloved familiar, but Muicifircas will walk willingly to the chopping block if asked. His meat may feed a starving town even as his blood redeems sinners, and should he lay down his life for his master he will return to life at the next new moon.

    Summoners call upon the Pearl Martyr as a scapegoat for another's crimes or to wash away the taint of their own fell deeds. Less callous men may command him to spread his benevolence and generosity to their people, or judge disputes with the wisdom of innocence. Should an innocent volunteer to bear the burden of guilt for a crime committed out of necessity or with good intentions, Llevelien may appear to spare them their sacrifice and take it on himself instead.
     
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    • I think Eko might be the safest soul to let out under the current circumstances, actually, given that we know that Eko takes care (well, tries to take care, at least) not to break the things she loves. Calesco's core nature is breaking the things she loves so they can rebuild themselves better than they were.

    Also, Eko is capable of tact. Calesco really isn't.

    As for the others, Vali and Zanara are too dangerous and too young, Haneyl isn't there, and Rathan is both a bit too likely to inadvertently turn Baisha into his first Creation-based fanclub and far too likely to end up in a teenage hormone-driven seduction-off with Kuha.

    I do wonder if Keris has considered reverse-summoning her family into her soul? At the very least it would be the safest way to transport them to her holdings in the Southwest.
     
    Aleph said:
    Let's look at Rathan's, shall we?
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    Aleph said:
    Llevelien is always accompanied by his companion Muicifircas; an albino calf
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    *Facepalm* I just started to writing this analysis when I suddenly got it. While I'm propably not the first to realize this, let me the first to formally congratulate one of you two (or both, whoever's idea it was) for being terrible, again. Because if I understood this correctly, while Llevelien is a methaphorical and metaphysical scapegoat as it was said in the post itself, Muicifircas is likely a literal baby goat who will readily die for the sins of others, even if the word "calf" can mean other cattle animals too. It managed to confuse me for second because I'm not a native english speaker, so I am not sure if it was intentionally inteded to obsfuscate things a little for the readers, but congratulations anyway.

    But I wanted to ponder and ask about something else when I first started writing this post: If Eko's soul's will be her children, and Haneyl's her lovers... Then what will be the relation between Rathan and his own 2CDs? I'm guessing something along the lines of King and his court, with appropriate titles and positions given according how much he favors them and their nature. The ruler and the lesser-but-still-important dukes, knight-captains, bishops, etc. And while it seems Haneyl will have this theme too with her 2CD lovers being also the members of her court IIRC, I bet this will be much more pronounced in Rathan's kingdom.

    Hmm. Now that I think about it, as Rathan seems to prefer lounging around and only occasionally interfering with what his subjects do by giving them broad goals to accomplish, will we be seeing a more active "council" of 2CDs running his kingdom most of the time in the future?
     
    Rathan has some pretty strong associations with cattle (and various other horned or tusked herbivores with herd behaviour and powerful counterattacks such as walrus and hippos) in adulthood, otherwise Muicifircas would indeed be a goat kid.
     
    Has anyone been wanting to contribute something to Kerisgame? Here's your chance!

    So, the whole "epic hero" side of Exalted contains among other aesthetics the idea that as your character goes around doing great deeds, they'll pick up titles and sobriquets. Some of these will be generic - "Anathema", "Copper Spider", "Green Sun Prince", etc. But others will be specific to the character themselves; based on what they've done and who they are. "Bull of the North", "Roseblack", "Queen of Fangs", etcetera.

    Keris has been Exalted for a little over two years at this point, but she's got quite a bit done. She's called "All-Queen" and "She Who Is All" by the denizens of the world she's built in her soul, and Jacinct has named her and Sasi the "Ruin of Nexus" for their part in its downfall (a title she prefers not to think about). I'm feeling playful enough to add a section to Keris's character sheet for this sort of thing, so feel free to suggest others. The rules are:
    • Sobriquets have to come from other characters, uncoerced. "Riyaah MuHiitiyah" is an alias, not a sobriquet, because while it is indeed what the Gullites call her; Keris made it up herself.
    • I'm more interested at present in sobriquets for deeds done by Keris, rather than by one of her many aliases - I won't ignore things referring to her goddess-identity, but they're not what I'm looking for primarily.
    • They must be limited to what the namer actually knows about her. Which means that quite a few of them are non-specific. The southwestern Realm trade ships may have a name for whatever's been making their ships disappear, but it can't refer to any details about her because they don't have any. Sadly, this means it'll take her a while (or someone she really trusts) to pick up "She With A Thousand Faces".
    • While "that bloody Anathema who killed all our sorcerers" does technically meet the above criteria, I'm inclined to go for the sobriquets that have at least some sense of poetry or epic feel to them.
    At a rough guess of categories, her work nabbing fae for Ligier will probably get her a story-moniker [1] circulating in the mass of narratives that make up the Wyld if she keeps it up (probably with associations of "Adrian-thing who doesn't just kill us but instead takes us to Hell for dire and unknown purposes"), the owlriders may call her by something other than "Kerishyra" for healing them all, and she might have a few from Hell - be it from Ligier, Lilunu, the Shashalme or the general population of the Conventicle. Though she's only Infamy 2 as far as that last one goes, and not as popular or boastful as, say, Naan.

    [1] Which will become increasingly more well-known by random fae as she continues kidnapping them - you'd be hard-pressed to find any raksha in the Eastern Wyld who doesn't know and fear Raksi, and she's probably known even in other Directions.
     
    I was going to suggest "Mistwalker" for her stunt in infiltrating Eshtok, but the Lookshyans who survived think she was an Abyssal, so that doesn't meet the prerequisites.
     
    All the time Keris spends with Lilinu has probably earned her some less modern equivalent of "Teachers Pet" from the rest of the reclamation.

    The fact that she has a lot of stuff going on with Shashalme and maybe doesnt seem like the kind of person capable of not falling to their charm might have also earned her a moniker that roughly translates to "Doomed Fool".
     
    I suspect any sobriquet from her work in Esme and Eshtok would, at this point, be pretty interchangeable with "that bastard/monster." Something the Lookshyians use either nervously or furiously. "The Ghost/Specter of Eshtok" feels like the right direction to me, if perhaps a bit too generic.

    Though h mm... taking into account Maugan Ra's thought on the matter... *Trails off and goes to look up traditional mist and fog related monsters*
     
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