Beneath a Hundred Ringing Bells [Exalted Shonen Quest]
- Thread starter Kymme
- Start date
- Fantasy
- Location
- Vermont
[X] Upright Huntress
-[X] ...her yumi bow and quiver. They've served her well all her life and they'll be invaluable tools in the House of Bells. Also, they're something of a calling card for Rineera. People might recognize her for her bow.
-[X] ...her vellum-bound copy of The Thousand Actions of the Upright Soldier, the pinnacle military textbook in the Realm. This book will be an invaluable tool for composing strategies, not to mention impress her instructors to boot. Plus, it's a gift from her grandmother.
-[X] ...her set of hunting knives. Gifted to her by her father, this set of knives is beautiful and has everything Rin needs to clean and prepare kills. In field exercises or other situations where cadets are expected to feed themselves, these tools will prove useful.
-[X] ...her yumi bow and quiver. They've served her well all her life and they'll be invaluable tools in the House of Bells. Also, they're something of a calling card for Rineera. People might recognize her for her bow.
-[X] ...her vellum-bound copy of The Thousand Actions of the Upright Soldier, the pinnacle military textbook in the Realm. This book will be an invaluable tool for composing strategies, not to mention impress her instructors to boot. Plus, it's a gift from her grandmother.
-[X] ...her set of hunting knives. Gifted to her by her father, this set of knives is beautiful and has everything Rin needs to clean and prepare kills. In field exercises or other situations where cadets are expected to feed themselves, these tools will prove useful.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Let's Be Late to Class
Additionally, I feel like we should take the following:
-[X] ...a small jade icon of a dog headed dragon. It belonged to a heretical sect that revered the prosperity aspect of Pasiap; grew extremely popular among the poor and dispossessed. Being a physical, non-abstracted representation of Pasiap it is very... unorthodox; sure to bring censure. However, it was given to you by an elderly servant who treated you with such kindness and love that it would fill you with some guilt to just leave it behind. Also the other servants might see it.
Additionally, I feel like we should take the following:
-[X] ...a small jade icon of a dog headed dragon. It belonged to a heretical sect that revered the prosperity aspect of Pasiap; grew extremely popular among the poor and dispossessed. Being a physical, non-abstracted representation of Pasiap it is very... unorthodox; sure to bring censure. However, it was given to you by an elderly servant who treated you with such kindness and love that it would fill you with some guilt to just leave it behind. Also the other servants might see it.
- Location
- The North
It looks like we've got something of a four-way tie going here. I'm going to take the 4 plans and have a second vote where people can cast their choice for one of the them.
Deciding Rineera's Approach
[ ] Plan Upright Huntress
[ ] Plan Weapons and Paper
[ ] Plan Adventuring Pack
[ ] Plan Late to Class
I'll leave this vote open for 20 hours or so and then start writing up my next post.
I'm super thankful for everyone's involvement! You've all be great. If anybody would like to weigh in with how they're feeling about the quest so far, how my writing is coming across, etc, then please feel free. Any feedback will make the quest better.
Deciding Rineera's Approach
[ ] Plan Upright Huntress
[ ] Plan Weapons and Paper
[ ] Plan Adventuring Pack
[ ] Plan Late to Class
I'll leave this vote open for 20 hours or so and then start writing up my next post.
I'm super thankful for everyone's involvement! You've all be great. If anybody would like to weigh in with how they're feeling about the quest so far, how my writing is coming across, etc, then please feel free. Any feedback will make the quest better.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Plan Late To Class
👍
👍
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I'm willing to switch to
[X] Plan Adventuring a Pack
[X] Plan Adventuring a Pack
- Location
- Burgundian Netherlands
[X] Plan: Weapons and Paper
Hunting knives cover a too specific niche I feel, and our katana can serve as bladed implement in a pinch. The calligraphy set is kind of obvious as one of our styles relates to calligraphy. The book is solely for the impressing instructors factor, as I imagine there'd be sufficient copies on hand in the academy itself.
Hunting knives cover a too specific niche I feel, and our katana can serve as bladed implement in a pinch. The calligraphy set is kind of obvious as one of our styles relates to calligraphy. The book is solely for the impressing instructors factor, as I imagine there'd be sufficient copies on hand in the academy itself.
[X] Plan Adventuring a Pack
[X] Plan: Weapons and Paper
I suspect that this is one of those votes where the equipment we pick also says something about our character - there should be strategy texts available, but choosing to grab it now means we're prioritizing it.
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[X] Let's be late to class!
- Location
- St. Petersburg
A Race Against the Sun 2
- Location
- The North
The onrushing tide of cadets disperses some once they hit the main road. You see the crowd turn, pelting down the road through the parked horses and carriages. A few dozen brave cadets run straight for the edge of the road and leap down to the switchback below. Taking shortcuts like that is clever. They won't get caught up as easily in the shouting crowd. You take a moment to consider and then pass the idea out of your mind. They're welcome to keep their bravery and their risks - you'll stick with tactics.
The tide is thinning and you race to the front, never slowing for a moment. You pass carriage after carriage where fussy, panicked Dynasts shout orders at equally panicked servants, getting loaded head to toe with satchels and cases and packs. You leap over a pile of odds and ends where one cadet has all but torn their carriage inside out, desperately searching for something they cannot be without.
You withhold your judgement - in a few minutes you'll probably be joining them.
At some point Eresa catches up with you. You hadn't noticed his absence. He pulls you out of the path of a horse, raging down the center of the road - a ferocious Cathak scion on its back, looking girded for battle. Full lamellar, helmet and all. Great broad-headed glaive bouncing on his back. Dragons Above, how could he have put that on so quickly?
"Damn bastard," Nellens Eresa hisses, curling his hands into fists. "The Chozei said it herself: there's no roads from here to the House of Bells. He takes that horse through the forest and it's as good as dead. He's going to kill that poor animal, and for what?" Eresa takes off his ruby-cut lenses and pinches his brow, trying to steady himself.
You make a note of this and place a hand on Eresa's shoulder. "Put it out of your mind. Your chief concern ought to be getting to the House of Bells before nightfall." He's got to get moving. After all, you can't retrieve your possessions while Eresa's are in the way.
Eresa nods and places his lenses back his face, but he's silent the rest of the way down the hill. This matter isn't finished. You roll your eyes and put on an extra bit of speed for the final stretch to your carriage.
The lowest section of the hill is sparse of cadets but packed with carriages. You spot yours, red wood with the painted mons of House Sesus, beleaguered horses and weary driver. Forest of Robins spots you and calls down and by the time you arrive you're already surrounded by your servants and Eresa's.
Plum clasps his hands together and leans at the waist, confused. "What's going on? There's such great commotion. Should we start unloading your things, Exalted one?"
You flick your hand, trying to avoid snapping at any of your faithful servants. Panic is the enemy. "No need, Plum. This isn't the House of Bells." A gasp goes up from the assembled servants. "We cadets have been tasked with reaching the true House of Bells by nightfall, carrying whatever possessions we can on our backs. Plum, I need you to fetch me my bow and my sword. Bright Chime, you help Nellens' servants to retrieve whatever their master wishes."
You indicate Eresa with a tilt of your head. He looks at you confused for a moment and then turns to the servants. "I'll need my nunchaku and my journals, my day clothes, and… Well, I'll come with you and make sure you don't miss anything." He readjusts his lenses and follows Bright Chime and his servants to the rear compartment of your carriage. Once he's out of sight the panic sets in.
A tide of indignance and apprehension washes over you. What are these instructors thinking?! After you've travelled all this way, nearly halfway around the entire Blessed Isle, and now they expect you to break trail for ten miles. There's no hot meal to await you. No warm bath. No comfortable bed. No time to rest or relax. If you're lucky you'll have a handful of hours to sleep before some brute shakes you awake to start exercising before the sun rises. Your first 'day' at the House of Bells.
You take a shuddering breath and wrap your arms over your chest. You can hear cadets running past you, shouting and yelling and whooping. Will some of them give up and return home with their servants and carriages? How many of the peers you saw today will be here tomorrow, when the sun rises on this harsh and barbaric school? The weight, which you've done your best to hold up, is starting to crush you. You need to… to…
"Exalted one, I have your weapons." Plum says, beaming.
You need to focus. You thank Plum and take your bow, quiver, and sword. You are going to the House of Bells. You have a little less than five hours. Your destination is ten miles westward. This is not beyond your capabilities. This is not beyond your dream. One day your name will stand among the greatest in the isle, and carriages bearing your mons will transport First Year cadets bearing your name to this academy. You will surpass this challenge. The House of Bells has made its first demand. It asks for your focus.
The sash of your kimono serves as an ample harness for your sword and quiver, with your bow thrust through and bound tight for good measure. Beside you Eresa pulls a longer red jacket over his robe and tucks his nunchaku into an interior pocket. His two servants finish stuffing a pack full of books and tools and pass it to him with reverence.
Your servants will be back soon, and they'll need more instruction. What do you need? You can't afford to take anything too large. The wardrobe chests are out. Far too heavy. It's foolish to stake bets on whether the House of Bells provides its cadets with clothes, but they've left you with no other options. What, among your possessions, is absolutely essential?
"I'd like you to fetch my calligraphy set and my knife-roll. I've got an embroidered Cheraki satchel - put them in there." You send Plum off and take another moment to consider your options.
A commotion behind you catches your attention. Only a few stragglers haven't yet reached their carriages, but the road is beginning to fill again. Emerging from the crowd like a thunderbolt comes a cadet with long black hair braided into an elaborate coil. She sprints past on stilts of living bamboo, trailing thin leaves and sickly-sweet pollen. A half dozen more cadets sprint past before you recollect your thoughts.
Your hunting knives have been a boon to you in the past, and the wide chopping knife among them will keep your sword clean as you carve your way to the House of Bells. A plan begins to formulate in your mind. Head dead west and look for where a game trail empties out onto the rice paddies. Animals need to drink and the paddies, fat and full with spring rainwater, are the perfect place. There's bound to be a trail and once you've found it you can follow it west. There are clearings and open fields in the House's grounds, and you can cut a western path through those wherever you find them.
Plum and Bright Chime return with the tools you requested, tucked neatly into a satchel, when tightly worn, sits comfortably in the small of your back. You glance down at your feet, clad in Plum's leather sandals. You flex your toes and watch the pliable material bend and move. A deep breath through your nose steadies you, bringing with it a sliver of that feeling of oneness with the air. Mela willing, you'll arrive at the House of Bells before nightfall.
"Thank you," you say, addressing your servants. "You've done well for me. I'll make sure to praise you in my first letter home."
Plum blushes and beams. Bright Chime graces you with the slightest smile and nods her head. Forest of Robins, from up on her driver's bench, calls to you. "I know you'll make us proud, Exalted one. May the Dragons guide you."
They've done all that they can for you now. The House of Bells asks that you leave them behind.
"We'll see each other there, right?" You say to Eresa, stepping up beside him.
He turns to you and nods. "Yeah. Thanks for everything you've done for me. I'll have to pay you back somehow."
You smile. "I suppose you will. You've got a plan, I'm sure."
"Sure do. Find a path, follow it, and hopefully not run into another giant monster." He says, unfolding his arms and turning his eyes up the road. "Can't count on a dashing young lady to save me this time, so I guess I'll just pick a Dragon and pray."
Eresa takes the first opening he sees, setting off in a dead sprint just as another pack of cadets pass. You wait a bit longer, taking stock of as many people as you can. These young Dynasts will be your peers and your rivals, and knowing what you're up against this early on will surely help.
Across the road you spot a dark-skinned Ragara girl with a veil of black lace over her eyes lift an entire wooden trunk onto her shoulders and set off in a slow, stomping march. Overhead a young woman leaps from the switchback above and soars out across the fields, propelled by a blast of fire from her feet. A young man in the colors of House V'neef charges past, carrying a sword nearly as big as he is over one shoulder.
You start running.
The first bottleneck you encounter are the tightly packed buildings of the village. The citizens themselves have abandoned the streets, but the onrush of cadets has filled the narrow cart-roads to the absolute brim. Many cadets, following the main road, have spilled out onto the fields south of the Sanctum. Many others try to weave through the village to the fields on the west side, closest to the House of Bells. You spot a few cadets climbing or leaping onto rooftops in order to escape the crowd, Animas igniting around them as they invoke their Manifestations.
You consider joining them. No use. You've only had a few hours to recover your Essence, and another usage of your Manifestation would exhaust you. You slow down and let the push of the crowd carry you forward.
As you reach the village's edge you spy cadets peeling themselves from the pack, taking off in dead sprints towards the rice paddies.
You restrain yourself and soon you're running beside two other students along one of the high dirt berms between two glittering rice fields. The fields are arranged haphazardly and the pathways between them are a maze-like tangle, punctuated by the occasional wooden bridge. In the field to your left you spot a cadet running in a straight line through the rice-field, feet kicking off of the surface of the water. Some Dynasts get all the luck.
Scattered around the paddies are small boats filled with peasant children watching the spectacle of the Dragon-Blooded cadets running westward. It's difficult to appreciate from your perspective, with the pressure to excel bearing down on you, but you imagine these events must be unto a holiday for the local youth. The powers of the Exalted Host are a glorious and awe-inspiring thing to witness first hand, even when wielded by teenagers.
You turn and find yourself on a raised path that leads straight into the treeline at the edge of the rice paddies. You glance left and right, looking for a place where sparse undergrowth indicates the beginning of a game trail. All around, at the edge of the forest, cadets whose reckless sprinting won them an early lead now languish, exhausted and disheartened.
You spot the gateway to a trail and make a beeline for it. Your sandaled feet bite into the turf and the forest swallows you up. The sun vanishes above you, breaking apart into a thousand flitting beams that dapple the forest floor and shine off of the leaves and branches of the trail.
West. Ten miles. Forty minutes have elapsed since this test began. You have little over four hours to brave this forest and arrive at the main campus. You can do this.
---
This update was getting a bit long so I decided to break it up into two sections. I'll have the next one up, with a proper vote, up sometime on the first. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you're excited for Rineera's arrival at the House of Bells! I know I am.
The tide is thinning and you race to the front, never slowing for a moment. You pass carriage after carriage where fussy, panicked Dynasts shout orders at equally panicked servants, getting loaded head to toe with satchels and cases and packs. You leap over a pile of odds and ends where one cadet has all but torn their carriage inside out, desperately searching for something they cannot be without.
You withhold your judgement - in a few minutes you'll probably be joining them.
At some point Eresa catches up with you. You hadn't noticed his absence. He pulls you out of the path of a horse, raging down the center of the road - a ferocious Cathak scion on its back, looking girded for battle. Full lamellar, helmet and all. Great broad-headed glaive bouncing on his back. Dragons Above, how could he have put that on so quickly?
"Damn bastard," Nellens Eresa hisses, curling his hands into fists. "The Chozei said it herself: there's no roads from here to the House of Bells. He takes that horse through the forest and it's as good as dead. He's going to kill that poor animal, and for what?" Eresa takes off his ruby-cut lenses and pinches his brow, trying to steady himself.
You make a note of this and place a hand on Eresa's shoulder. "Put it out of your mind. Your chief concern ought to be getting to the House of Bells before nightfall." He's got to get moving. After all, you can't retrieve your possessions while Eresa's are in the way.
Eresa nods and places his lenses back his face, but he's silent the rest of the way down the hill. This matter isn't finished. You roll your eyes and put on an extra bit of speed for the final stretch to your carriage.
The lowest section of the hill is sparse of cadets but packed with carriages. You spot yours, red wood with the painted mons of House Sesus, beleaguered horses and weary driver. Forest of Robins spots you and calls down and by the time you arrive you're already surrounded by your servants and Eresa's.
Plum clasps his hands together and leans at the waist, confused. "What's going on? There's such great commotion. Should we start unloading your things, Exalted one?"
You flick your hand, trying to avoid snapping at any of your faithful servants. Panic is the enemy. "No need, Plum. This isn't the House of Bells." A gasp goes up from the assembled servants. "We cadets have been tasked with reaching the true House of Bells by nightfall, carrying whatever possessions we can on our backs. Plum, I need you to fetch me my bow and my sword. Bright Chime, you help Nellens' servants to retrieve whatever their master wishes."
You indicate Eresa with a tilt of your head. He looks at you confused for a moment and then turns to the servants. "I'll need my nunchaku and my journals, my day clothes, and… Well, I'll come with you and make sure you don't miss anything." He readjusts his lenses and follows Bright Chime and his servants to the rear compartment of your carriage. Once he's out of sight the panic sets in.
A tide of indignance and apprehension washes over you. What are these instructors thinking?! After you've travelled all this way, nearly halfway around the entire Blessed Isle, and now they expect you to break trail for ten miles. There's no hot meal to await you. No warm bath. No comfortable bed. No time to rest or relax. If you're lucky you'll have a handful of hours to sleep before some brute shakes you awake to start exercising before the sun rises. Your first 'day' at the House of Bells.
You take a shuddering breath and wrap your arms over your chest. You can hear cadets running past you, shouting and yelling and whooping. Will some of them give up and return home with their servants and carriages? How many of the peers you saw today will be here tomorrow, when the sun rises on this harsh and barbaric school? The weight, which you've done your best to hold up, is starting to crush you. You need to… to…
"Exalted one, I have your weapons." Plum says, beaming.
You need to focus. You thank Plum and take your bow, quiver, and sword. You are going to the House of Bells. You have a little less than five hours. Your destination is ten miles westward. This is not beyond your capabilities. This is not beyond your dream. One day your name will stand among the greatest in the isle, and carriages bearing your mons will transport First Year cadets bearing your name to this academy. You will surpass this challenge. The House of Bells has made its first demand. It asks for your focus.
The sash of your kimono serves as an ample harness for your sword and quiver, with your bow thrust through and bound tight for good measure. Beside you Eresa pulls a longer red jacket over his robe and tucks his nunchaku into an interior pocket. His two servants finish stuffing a pack full of books and tools and pass it to him with reverence.
Your servants will be back soon, and they'll need more instruction. What do you need? You can't afford to take anything too large. The wardrobe chests are out. Far too heavy. It's foolish to stake bets on whether the House of Bells provides its cadets with clothes, but they've left you with no other options. What, among your possessions, is absolutely essential?
"I'd like you to fetch my calligraphy set and my knife-roll. I've got an embroidered Cheraki satchel - put them in there." You send Plum off and take another moment to consider your options.
A commotion behind you catches your attention. Only a few stragglers haven't yet reached their carriages, but the road is beginning to fill again. Emerging from the crowd like a thunderbolt comes a cadet with long black hair braided into an elaborate coil. She sprints past on stilts of living bamboo, trailing thin leaves and sickly-sweet pollen. A half dozen more cadets sprint past before you recollect your thoughts.
Your hunting knives have been a boon to you in the past, and the wide chopping knife among them will keep your sword clean as you carve your way to the House of Bells. A plan begins to formulate in your mind. Head dead west and look for where a game trail empties out onto the rice paddies. Animals need to drink and the paddies, fat and full with spring rainwater, are the perfect place. There's bound to be a trail and once you've found it you can follow it west. There are clearings and open fields in the House's grounds, and you can cut a western path through those wherever you find them.
Plum and Bright Chime return with the tools you requested, tucked neatly into a satchel, when tightly worn, sits comfortably in the small of your back. You glance down at your feet, clad in Plum's leather sandals. You flex your toes and watch the pliable material bend and move. A deep breath through your nose steadies you, bringing with it a sliver of that feeling of oneness with the air. Mela willing, you'll arrive at the House of Bells before nightfall.
"Thank you," you say, addressing your servants. "You've done well for me. I'll make sure to praise you in my first letter home."
Plum blushes and beams. Bright Chime graces you with the slightest smile and nods her head. Forest of Robins, from up on her driver's bench, calls to you. "I know you'll make us proud, Exalted one. May the Dragons guide you."
They've done all that they can for you now. The House of Bells asks that you leave them behind.
"We'll see each other there, right?" You say to Eresa, stepping up beside him.
He turns to you and nods. "Yeah. Thanks for everything you've done for me. I'll have to pay you back somehow."
You smile. "I suppose you will. You've got a plan, I'm sure."
"Sure do. Find a path, follow it, and hopefully not run into another giant monster." He says, unfolding his arms and turning his eyes up the road. "Can't count on a dashing young lady to save me this time, so I guess I'll just pick a Dragon and pray."
Eresa takes the first opening he sees, setting off in a dead sprint just as another pack of cadets pass. You wait a bit longer, taking stock of as many people as you can. These young Dynasts will be your peers and your rivals, and knowing what you're up against this early on will surely help.
Across the road you spot a dark-skinned Ragara girl with a veil of black lace over her eyes lift an entire wooden trunk onto her shoulders and set off in a slow, stomping march. Overhead a young woman leaps from the switchback above and soars out across the fields, propelled by a blast of fire from her feet. A young man in the colors of House V'neef charges past, carrying a sword nearly as big as he is over one shoulder.
You start running.
The first bottleneck you encounter are the tightly packed buildings of the village. The citizens themselves have abandoned the streets, but the onrush of cadets has filled the narrow cart-roads to the absolute brim. Many cadets, following the main road, have spilled out onto the fields south of the Sanctum. Many others try to weave through the village to the fields on the west side, closest to the House of Bells. You spot a few cadets climbing or leaping onto rooftops in order to escape the crowd, Animas igniting around them as they invoke their Manifestations.
You consider joining them. No use. You've only had a few hours to recover your Essence, and another usage of your Manifestation would exhaust you. You slow down and let the push of the crowd carry you forward.
As you reach the village's edge you spy cadets peeling themselves from the pack, taking off in dead sprints towards the rice paddies.
You restrain yourself and soon you're running beside two other students along one of the high dirt berms between two glittering rice fields. The fields are arranged haphazardly and the pathways between them are a maze-like tangle, punctuated by the occasional wooden bridge. In the field to your left you spot a cadet running in a straight line through the rice-field, feet kicking off of the surface of the water. Some Dynasts get all the luck.
Scattered around the paddies are small boats filled with peasant children watching the spectacle of the Dragon-Blooded cadets running westward. It's difficult to appreciate from your perspective, with the pressure to excel bearing down on you, but you imagine these events must be unto a holiday for the local youth. The powers of the Exalted Host are a glorious and awe-inspiring thing to witness first hand, even when wielded by teenagers.
You turn and find yourself on a raised path that leads straight into the treeline at the edge of the rice paddies. You glance left and right, looking for a place where sparse undergrowth indicates the beginning of a game trail. All around, at the edge of the forest, cadets whose reckless sprinting won them an early lead now languish, exhausted and disheartened.
You spot the gateway to a trail and make a beeline for it. Your sandaled feet bite into the turf and the forest swallows you up. The sun vanishes above you, breaking apart into a thousand flitting beams that dapple the forest floor and shine off of the leaves and branches of the trail.
West. Ten miles. Forty minutes have elapsed since this test began. You have little over four hours to brave this forest and arrive at the main campus. You can do this.
---
This update was getting a bit long so I decided to break it up into two sections. I'll have the next one up, with a proper vote, up sometime on the first. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you're excited for Rineera's arrival at the House of Bells! I know I am.
Last edited:
- Location
- Vermont
Ah, dynasts. Thinking a ten mile run will take anywhere near four hours. Even going through the woods, an easy five miles would only take two.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
There might be something in the forest to occupy our time, else it wouldn't be a test.
- Location
- The North
Mind, this is a ten mile cross-country trek through wet forests and marshes with no actual trails, at least until Rin starts hitting roads. I'll have more details about the exact terrain in my next post.
Thank you!
Time will tell, I suppose.
If I were the Academy I'd totally sic second years on the firsties.
- Location
- Probably at sea
Fun! Liking the writing, liking the choice of setting, liking Rineera as a character so far.
I noticed we're not really specialising in traditional Air Aspect abilities, with the exception of Linguistics (and possibly Stealth for hunting). This would usually be quite a big deal as it would give us a pretty hefty mote surcharge if we wanted to buy Charms for those abilities in-game - are you planning on implementing something like this with your altered system or are you largely ignoring the mechanics in favour of telling a better story?
Either is fine, just wondering and worrying if we haven't hamstrung ourselves before starting.
Looking forward to reading more!
I noticed we're not really specialising in traditional Air Aspect abilities, with the exception of Linguistics (and possibly Stealth for hunting). This would usually be quite a big deal as it would give us a pretty hefty mote surcharge if we wanted to buy Charms for those abilities in-game - are you planning on implementing something like this with your altered system or are you largely ignoring the mechanics in favour of telling a better story?
Either is fine, just wondering and worrying if we haven't hamstrung ourselves before starting.
Looking forward to reading more!
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Thankfully, out-of-aspect mote surcharges aren't even remotely a thing anymore. Different Aspects are optimal for different builds, but there's nothing to stop a Third Edition Air Aspect from taking Melee, Archery and Survival as favoured abilities, and all that does is make it cheaper to buy stuff for them with experience. Ex3 doesn't punish you for trying to work outside of a rigid pigeonhole.
I've never actually seen a narrative or mostly-narrative Exalted quest pay super close attention to that kind of mechanical detail anyway, though.
A Race Against the Sun 3
- Location
- The North
The forest towers around you. Climbing vines, nourished by the spring rains, paint the dark trunks in bright splashes of green. The forest here seems to grow wild and untended, and occasionally you come to a fallen tree and must clamber over it. All around you come the echoing sounds of the other cadets - tearing the forest apart in their haste.
You press on, alert for any sign of danger. The House of Bells might curate their woods, but considering the vastness of the grounds you doubt it. Your eyes flick along the path of a sunbeam and sure enough you spot a fat boa, basking in the light on the flat length of a fallen tree. You move past the snake and redouble your efforts. Where there are snakes there are snake hunters - great birds, crocodilians, and noxious cobras.
Your game trail veers sharply off course and you stop for a moment to collect yourself. What options do you have? Follow the trail and pray it brings you closer rather than farther from your destination, or carve your own trail dead west. That would of course require you to orient yourself exactly west. Clouds overhead obscure the sun's position.
You hear a noise overhead, like a whooping shout, and squint upward. There's someone up there, moving quickly. Someone running along the treetops, so fast that their long sleeves whip behind them like banners. They pass over you with a single leaping stride, fast enough to tear leaves from branches. The flurry of green races down towards you, and you seize on a plan.
They're a cadet - you recognize their long sleeves, bright orange and patterned with blue stripes, from the grand hall of the Sanctum. They're heading west. So high above the trees they must easily be able to see the horizon and the position of the sun. If you can follow them through the forest you'll make it to the House of Bells in no time.
Their speed poses a complication. Even following the cascade of leaves and petals that they knock down, you'll scarcely be able to keep pace with them through the pathless wood ahead of you. The thick tangle of undergrowth is far too thick for you to hack through with your sword. Luckily you came prepared.
You pull your kniferoll from the pack on your back and unspool it into the air. The hilt of each blade flashes in the air, sheathed in a pocket along the roll's length. At its farthest end sits your long backknife, pristine and sharp, too large to tuck neatly into the roll. It spins in the air like a spindle with no thread. With a swift lug you coil the roll back into your left hand and pluck your knife from the air with your right. You place the roll back in your pack and brace your stance, turning slightly and holding your knife across your body, level with your hip. The draw-stance of Three Points Fulminating Edge.
You draw your knife up from your hip and lunge forward, bringing it down with all the weight of your body. You carve cleanly through a half-dozen cloying branches. You return to your stance, dash ahead, and slash again. With every stride and every slash your pace increases until you're darting through the forest as quick as your legs will carry you, hacking apart every branch or hanging vine that blocks your path. You charge over fallen leaves disturbed by the cadet up in the trees, and you keep sight of the flurry they leave in their wake for as long as you can.
Only when the forest parts before you and you stagger out into an open hillside does the trail run cold. You sigh and wipe the sweat from your brow. At least now you'll have a clear view of the sun.
Or at least, you assumed so. It seems that the cloud cover has grown thicker here, and you can scarcely judge the angle of the sun or its exact position in the sky. You still have time, though. The hillside juts out from the surrounding forest like a monk's tonsured head.
You scramble up the hillside, hoping that you might arrive soon enough to catch sight of the treetop-runner cadet.
Behind you a branch snaps.
You do not turn and look. Discipline and experience temper your reaction. You mustn't run, mustn't make any sudden movements. If a beast of the forest is hunting you your best course of action is to make it to the top of this hill, out of its sight, and prepare yourself. Careful not to let on that you've noticed, you scramble the rest of the way up the hill.
At the peak of the hill stands a fort of wooden logs, its high walls surrounded on all sides by tangles of logs and scaffolding and nets built over shallow troughs of water. An obstacle course the size of a small village. Through the structures you can see an open patch of dirt on the course's opposite side, and from there a road that plunges out of sight.
Sight of the road fills your mind with a simple hope - hope of success, in this first trial - that all but numbs you to the shaking under your feet. You leap aside just as the ground geysers upwards and go sprawling across the rough grass of the hilltop. You pull yourself up into a crouching position and peer through the dust. Your mind is racing. Is this hill trapped? Are there burrowing monsters?
The dust clears and you spot a cadet pulling himself up out of the ground, clumps of dirt lifting off of his embroidered silver jacket and orbiting him menacingly. From over the lip of the hill a second cadet leaps into view, a young woman with a long staff. Both cadets square off against you, sneering.
"Sesus Rineera!" The boy shouts your name, cracking his knuckles. "In that ratty getup I almost didn't recognize you. Do you remember me?"
Of course you remember him. He's…
[ ] ...Sesus Khem Po Fan, your cousin. Born a few months after you in an adjacent household he spent most of his life being compared to you, often unfavorably. You've only met him a half dozen times in your life, at Sesus galas which pitted you against one another as tools of your parent's vanity.
[ ] ...V'neef Hangbu, your old primary school rival. You humbled him time and time again with your archery skills over the years. He was actually expelled from your school post-Exaltation, when his audacious attempts to overshadow you wound up getting a fellow student injured.
[ ] ...Mnemon Tehou, you old primary school punching bag. Once, they held all of the power in your primary school - first in class to Exalt. After you took your Second Breath the tables were turned, and you quickly devoted your time and effort to crushing them in every field, from history lessons to calligraphy training. He was the kindling on which you stoked your Burning Muse Style.
You press on, alert for any sign of danger. The House of Bells might curate their woods, but considering the vastness of the grounds you doubt it. Your eyes flick along the path of a sunbeam and sure enough you spot a fat boa, basking in the light on the flat length of a fallen tree. You move past the snake and redouble your efforts. Where there are snakes there are snake hunters - great birds, crocodilians, and noxious cobras.
Your game trail veers sharply off course and you stop for a moment to collect yourself. What options do you have? Follow the trail and pray it brings you closer rather than farther from your destination, or carve your own trail dead west. That would of course require you to orient yourself exactly west. Clouds overhead obscure the sun's position.
You hear a noise overhead, like a whooping shout, and squint upward. There's someone up there, moving quickly. Someone running along the treetops, so fast that their long sleeves whip behind them like banners. They pass over you with a single leaping stride, fast enough to tear leaves from branches. The flurry of green races down towards you, and you seize on a plan.
They're a cadet - you recognize their long sleeves, bright orange and patterned with blue stripes, from the grand hall of the Sanctum. They're heading west. So high above the trees they must easily be able to see the horizon and the position of the sun. If you can follow them through the forest you'll make it to the House of Bells in no time.
Their speed poses a complication. Even following the cascade of leaves and petals that they knock down, you'll scarcely be able to keep pace with them through the pathless wood ahead of you. The thick tangle of undergrowth is far too thick for you to hack through with your sword. Luckily you came prepared.
You pull your kniferoll from the pack on your back and unspool it into the air. The hilt of each blade flashes in the air, sheathed in a pocket along the roll's length. At its farthest end sits your long backknife, pristine and sharp, too large to tuck neatly into the roll. It spins in the air like a spindle with no thread. With a swift lug you coil the roll back into your left hand and pluck your knife from the air with your right. You place the roll back in your pack and brace your stance, turning slightly and holding your knife across your body, level with your hip. The draw-stance of Three Points Fulminating Edge.
You draw your knife up from your hip and lunge forward, bringing it down with all the weight of your body. You carve cleanly through a half-dozen cloying branches. You return to your stance, dash ahead, and slash again. With every stride and every slash your pace increases until you're darting through the forest as quick as your legs will carry you, hacking apart every branch or hanging vine that blocks your path. You charge over fallen leaves disturbed by the cadet up in the trees, and you keep sight of the flurry they leave in their wake for as long as you can.
Only when the forest parts before you and you stagger out into an open hillside does the trail run cold. You sigh and wipe the sweat from your brow. At least now you'll have a clear view of the sun.
Or at least, you assumed so. It seems that the cloud cover has grown thicker here, and you can scarcely judge the angle of the sun or its exact position in the sky. You still have time, though. The hillside juts out from the surrounding forest like a monk's tonsured head.
You scramble up the hillside, hoping that you might arrive soon enough to catch sight of the treetop-runner cadet.
Behind you a branch snaps.
You do not turn and look. Discipline and experience temper your reaction. You mustn't run, mustn't make any sudden movements. If a beast of the forest is hunting you your best course of action is to make it to the top of this hill, out of its sight, and prepare yourself. Careful not to let on that you've noticed, you scramble the rest of the way up the hill.
At the peak of the hill stands a fort of wooden logs, its high walls surrounded on all sides by tangles of logs and scaffolding and nets built over shallow troughs of water. An obstacle course the size of a small village. Through the structures you can see an open patch of dirt on the course's opposite side, and from there a road that plunges out of sight.
Sight of the road fills your mind with a simple hope - hope of success, in this first trial - that all but numbs you to the shaking under your feet. You leap aside just as the ground geysers upwards and go sprawling across the rough grass of the hilltop. You pull yourself up into a crouching position and peer through the dust. Your mind is racing. Is this hill trapped? Are there burrowing monsters?
The dust clears and you spot a cadet pulling himself up out of the ground, clumps of dirt lifting off of his embroidered silver jacket and orbiting him menacingly. From over the lip of the hill a second cadet leaps into view, a young woman with a long staff. Both cadets square off against you, sneering.
"Sesus Rineera!" The boy shouts your name, cracking his knuckles. "In that ratty getup I almost didn't recognize you. Do you remember me?"
Of course you remember him. He's…
[ ] ...Sesus Khem Po Fan, your cousin. Born a few months after you in an adjacent household he spent most of his life being compared to you, often unfavorably. You've only met him a half dozen times in your life, at Sesus galas which pitted you against one another as tools of your parent's vanity.
[ ] ...V'neef Hangbu, your old primary school rival. You humbled him time and time again with your archery skills over the years. He was actually expelled from your school post-Exaltation, when his audacious attempts to overshadow you wound up getting a fellow student injured.
[ ] ...Mnemon Tehou, you old primary school punching bag. Once, they held all of the power in your primary school - first in class to Exalt. After you took your Second Breath the tables were turned, and you quickly devoted your time and effort to crushing them in every field, from history lessons to calligraphy training. He was the kindling on which you stoked your Burning Muse Style.
Last edited:
- Location
- St. Petersburg
A typo, and a missing dot.
[x] ...Mnemon Tehou, you old primary school punching bag. Once, they held all of the power in your primary school - first in class to Exalt. After you took your Second Breath the tables were turned, and you quickly devoted your time and effort to crushing them in every field, from history lessons to calligraphy training. He was the kindling on which you stoked your Burning Muse Style.
- Location
- Vancouver
[x] ...Mnemon Tehou, you old primary school punching bag. Once, they held all of the power in your primary school - first in class to Exalt. After you took your Second Breath the tables were turned, and you quickly devoted your time and effort to crushing them in every field, from history lessons to calligraphy training. He was the kindling on which you stoked your Burning Muse Style.