Break Glass in Case of Emergency (Exalted Exigent-Creation Quest)

Critian Caceorte · Mar 15, 2025

[X] "All too often are those of subtle purpose ignored and maltreated. Yet their unseen labor provides vital benefit to those around them, even the scornful and ignorant. Kirsha, you have been chosen to give voice to the workers of the Loom for your compassion and ingenuity. Take the Spider's strength into yourself and speak the needs of Asna's children to those who mistreat Fate."

Webs. Endless spider webs, glowing in different colors. Yellow, Blue, Red, Green, Purple... all manner of webs enshrouded the walls of whatever place this was. To such a degree that... Kirsha could not see those walls in the first place. All around them was simply webs of many hues, spiraling up into an open column that let in golden sunlight from above. And, suspended within that sunlight was...

He was a man with sun-kissed skin, and blonde hair much like Kirsha's own. The only indication of his inhumanity was his larger size and the four arms attached to his torso, each limb trapped within loops of webbing. Despite being in the way of the sunbeam, He created no shadow on the floor. Or... maybe... He was the source of that sunlight in the first place. Even with all of his arms trapped, He seemed to be perfectly comfortable and content with his situation, a pleasant smile on his perfect lips.

"I have to admit," He began, "this dream-situation is new for me. Perhaps because the type of Exaltation is different?" He seemed distracted by some thought, and as seconds passed by, the urge to prompt Him to say something grew within Kirsha, but before they could even say a word, the man refocused his sight on them. "My apologies, I shouldn't be ignoring You, not for an important moment like this.

"Kirsha, Unknown Child and caretaker for unknown children, be at peace. You have been found worthy of an honor which few receive. The honor of Exaltation." What? Surely that can't be possible, not for an orphan that could barely take care of other children. "Remember the spider which spoke to you, informed you that you were worthy of its power?" ...Yes. They could remember it now, that strange mechanical arachnid which spoke to them of power and responsibility.

"That spider... you're not..?" Kirsha trailed off, looking at the man's six limbs and wondering, but He just laughed.

"No, no, I simply provided some help for that spider. I gave them the means by which they could in turn make that offer for you." His face grew solemn for a moment as He continued. "Otherwise, that spider could not have offered anything to you, not on this scale. Such is a sadly common affair when it comes to Yu-Shan as of late... All too often are those of subtle purpose ignored and maltreated. Yet their unseen labor provides vital benefits to those around them, even the scornful and ignorant."

His gaze focused intently on their own, eyes that had seen much peering into orbs that had seen little. "Kirsha, you have been chosen to give voice to the workers of the Loom for your compassion and ingenuity. Take the Spider's strength into yourself and speak the needs of Asna's children to those who mistreat Fate. And..."

The man's upper left arm clenched, the muscles bulging with size and strength, and in that instant the webs surrounding the man's... no, the GOD's arm fell apart. In that moment, his light and glory increased dramatically, and in that freed limb was held a beautifully carved horn, more gorgeous than any trumpet or antler ever designed by mortal hands. The hand clenching the instrument opened, releasing the horn to gently fall into Kirsha's own hands. "Take this, my Trumpet of Absolute Victory. May it give you the will to stand up for yourself, and for others. I would prefer not to be parted from it for long, so if you could, please use it for something important, and soon?"

And with those final words spoken, Kirsha could feel the vision end, but something solidified itself in their soul. A feeling of willpower, resolution-

CONVICTION

Exigent Plan:
[X] Isuckatnames
-[X][Gift] By your will, you shall grant this Exigent a personal ray of light, invisible to all but spirits who will look upon them with your favor. (~~+10~~ +5 Bonus to Talk)
-[X][Gift] By securing the assistance of a Chosen of (Battles) at a crucial point, disaster can be turned into opportunity. (After all rolls are done, reverse the digits of the lowest Fight Event, if it would be higher.)
-[X][Gift] In this dire situation, perhaps more direct action could be taken. You shall allow this Exigent a singular use of your most divine panoply, to help them get on their feet. (Instead provides a +50 bonus to the FIRST event roll, bonus counts as part of natural die roll, will (BARELY) reduce the Enthusiasm gain for this Exigent.)
- [X] Pattern Spider Appearance: Whirring gears, metal pipes, hydraulics, and plates of dazzling azure glass adorning it's form to make the mechanical underside less noticeable
- [X] Exigent's Name: Kirsha
- [X] Exigent's Appearance: Blonde hair, red eyes, rosy cheeks, dressed in white robes made from fabric stolen from a god's window curtain, always has a soft smile to comfort the other orphans
- [X] Exigent's Anima Banner: A grand complex web of connections, each meeting point of threads has a heart stuck onto it, glowing with azure radiance

God Choice:
[X] Despite their mechanical appearance, Pattern Spiders are gods as well, and it seems that one among their number has gotten fed up with having to constantly clean up after Exalted mistakes. Not just by the Sidereals, though they were more inexcusable for knowing what effect their actions had, but all Exalted. Unfortunately, this particular spider has come to the conclusion that the only way that their kind can get a true advocate... is if they have a Chosen representing them. Hopefully Mother Asna would forgive them this overreach. (Yu-Shan, Minor)

Initial Request:
[X] Plan: Appeasing Angry Nudists
- [X][Request] Venus' Apology: So, obviously, things didn't go to plan for Venus' request. Though you still earned the payment for it, you can't deny feeling bad about how it went. Why not try again and fit something that was more her style?
- [X][Alteration] By forging a portion of the god's power right as Exaltation occurs, You can transmute it into a artifact tied to the Exalt's soul, which will never abandon them... or their successors. (Provides the Exalt with an artifact weapon by default, and improves their chances of leaving behind a Legacy.)(Costs 5 Effort to attempt)
- [X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Venus, Maiden of Serenity, to bless this Exigent's tongue in... more ways than one. (One Reroll the first time that a Talk event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Talk event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)
-[X][Gift] By your will, you shall grant this Exigent a personal ray of light, invisible to all but spirits who will look upon them with your favor. (+10 Bonus to Talk)(5 Effort)
--[X] 2
- [X][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)(5 Effort)
--[X] 1

Previous Roll Results:
Power Level: 29, Terrestrial
God Survival: 81, God Survives
Lifespan: 52, Centuries
Legacy: 23, Dies With User

Biography Event Rolls:
Event 1 (Talk): 12 -> 62 + 55 = 117
Event 2 (Talk): 78 + 55 = 133
Event 3 (Make): 72 + 10 = 82
Event 4 (Fight): 32 + 20 = 52
Event 5 (Make): 84 + 10 = 94
Event 6 (Talk): 5 -> 11 -> 54 + 45 (Main) + 10 (Exalted Voice) + 10 (Elder) = 119
Event 7 (Sneak): 82 + 10 (Gift) + 20 (Elder) = 112
Event 8 (Fight): 35 + 10 (Weapon) + 10 (Surviving God) + 30 (Elder) = 85
Event 8 Recovery: 48, End of Journey

Name: Kirsha
Patron: Pattern Spider #B2087
Power Level: Terrestrial
Exigent-Type: Essence-based
Martial Arts: Neutral with all Martial Arts Styles; No Sidereal Martial Arts Styles EXCEPT for Charcoal March of Spiders Style
Sorcery and Necromancy: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, No Necromancy
Material Resonance: Starmetal (Neutral), All Other Materials (Dissonant)

Appearance: A youth with blonde hair, red eyes, rosy cheeks, dressed in white robes made from fabric stolen from a god's window curtain, always has a soft smile to comfort the other orphans.

Anima Banner: At the start, Kirsha trails translucent blue strands behind them as they walk. The more they use their powers, those strands weave together to create a cerulean backdrop of a web behind them. At their Banner's fullest, a grand complex web of connections materializes, each meeting point of threads has a heart stuck onto it, glowing with azure radiance.

Anima Effects:

I Wove Those Patterns: Kirsha is immune to the effects of Arcane Fate. They automatically see past any Resplendent Destiny to see the characters affected by it. The difficulty to see past disguises propped up by fate-magic (such as Sidereal Charms) is reduced by (Essence/2).
I Weave My Ascent: By spending 5 motes, Kirsha gains the ability to walk, run or remain standing along any vertical or overhanging surface. This power becomes free at Bonfire.
I Will Weave Your Victory: By spending 10 motes and 1 willpower, Kirsha can utilize another character's social charms as if they were their own for one action. The character in question must pay any costs required, but reduces the total mote cost by (Essence). This power can only be used once per story.

Charm Themes:

Fate's Repairman: The Exalt moderates wild chance into a more reasonable prediction. (Granted by God)
Webbing: The Exalt can create webs that have supernatural properties. (Granted by God)
Advocate: When the Exalt speaks on behalf of others, their words are greatly heeded. (Granted by Situation)
Exalted Voice: The Exalt is taken seriously by their fellow Exalted, and their fellows more easily heed their advice. (Granted by Situation)

Excellencies: Kirsha does not add dice with their Excellencies, their Dice Limit is otherwise (Essence). Instead, Kirsha can spend 1 mote to reduce the target number of an Ability roll by 1, or 2 motes to reduce it by 2. The most that Kirsha can reduce or increase any character's target number is by 2 (to a minimum of 5, and a maximum of 9).

God Background: The Pattern Spiders of the Loom of Fate fulfill a very important purpose: They serve as the first defense against any errors and alterations of what is destined by Outside forces. Due to their origin as a creation of Autochthon, they appear mechanical, but are otherwise born like normal spiders are from their collective mother, Asna Firstborn. It was believed at first by many gods during the First Age that Asna was only able to create Pattern Spiders under her creator's orders, but since the Great Contagion and the Balorian Crusade had some debilitating effects on her surviving brood, she began a series of... "batches" is perhaps the best word of her children, thereby replenishing the number of spiders attending to the Loom. In order to not cause all of the Exalted to freak out, she also permitted her children to be used by them as Familiars, with the Sidereals gaining "first pick" as it were.

One Pattern Spider in particular, aligned with the Constellation of the Lovers, has grown tired of having to clean up the messes that the Exalted leave behind in Fate. Fate can only be maintained if the planned destinies of Creation are fulfilled, and the Exalted have a terrible habit of wrecking those plans and thus weakening Fate. Truthfully, the Pattern Spider COULD excuse all... most of this for the Exalted stuck down in Creation, who likely have little to no idea about the effect their actions have on the Spiders' workloads. But the Sidereals? They have NO excuse for causing as much troubles as they try to solve. Because of this, the Spider sought an advocate for their kind, an Exalted representative untouched by the Bureau of Destiny who they can utilize as an envoy for their demands.

In a miraculous coincidence (or... maybe planned in some way?), the Pattern Spider in particular was able to remain alive after Exalting its Chosen. It now serves as a weapon, its legs extending outward at a bent angle like a circular saw. The Spider's exterior now possesses finger holes which, when pressed on by a strong grip, cause the extended legs to spin at great speeds. When thrown, the arachnid buzzsaw will fly off towards the target, influencing Fate to hit its target, before returning to the Exigent's hand. Outside of this function, the Pattern Spider takes the form of a mechanical bug with whirring gears, metal pipes, hydraulics, and plates of dazzling azure glass adorning it's form to make the mechanical underside less noticeable.

Exigent Background: Kirsha was an orphan, one among many in the outskirts of Heaven. Unlike many of those orphans, Kirsha was not God-Blooded, they had no inherent magic to assist them in life. A mere mortal, they were forced to steal and scrounge in order to survive, as Heaven's dole of Ambrosia was not only denied to them, it was useless in their hands. Only the gods can shape Ambrosia into other substances, like food and drink, to a mortal it would be at best a tasty treat that satisfies hunger for a moment, but such consumption was a complete waste of what Ambrosia could do.

Kirsha was raised as a child by an old matron, who died when they were still quite young, leaving them to scrape by for themselves on the literal edges of Yu-Shan. The mercury seas were no place for a child to be near, and it was a miracle that Kirsha managed to survive until adulthood as they did, devouring whatever tiny wildlife they could and making clothes from stolen garbage scraps. It was this childhood of subsistence that gave Kirsha an incentive to make sure that NO ONE lived the same cruel life as they did. At least, no child if they could help it.

Thus, in a small shack created by a cheap prayerwright, did Kirsha set up their orphanage. Taking in abandoned children, they would do their best to supply those youths with food and a place to sleep. Some of those children were God-Blooded, and due to heavenly law such offspring qualified for the Ambrosia dole just as the poorest deities did. So, Kirsha would bring those God-Blooded kids with them on journies to the nearest ambrosia font, take their kid's daily tide to the prayerwrights where it would be converted into bland, but filling food for all of the kids. This was Kirsha's adult life for several years.

And then along came a spider to sit down beside them, and offer Kirsha a choice: to remain in squalor with the children they took in, or be Exalted, and be rewarded for their contributions. Since Pattern Spiders as gods did not need any form of food or drink, they didn't need to spend the designated allotment for much, and a single coin per 10 spiders gathered from would still be a substantial financial windfall for the mortal. That ambrosia could then be used to purchase an actual home for Kirsha's wards, giving them a livable lifestyle despite their disenfranchisement. When compared to the alternative, Kirsha could do nothing other than agree.

And the moment that Kirsha's hand met the Spider's outstretched leg, a connection was formed, an Exaltation was created, and a vision was experienced.

Notable Events:

When Kirsha first awoke from their vision, they realized they held in their hands the same horn given to them in the dream. Holding the holy relic settled their substantial nerves, and so it was that, clutching the Unconquered Sun's panoply in their arms, Kirsha walked the route indicated to them by the still-living Pattern Spider on their shoulder. This route led them through the golden streets of Yu-Shan, winding through neighborhoods and districts to reach the Cerulean Lute of Harmony, home base of the Division of Serenity. As they did, the newly-made Exigent did not notice the stares from passing gods and elementals, as the spirits noticed the divine sunlight shining down on them, not to mention the personal artifact of the King of the Gods.

Standing outside the azure arthouse / office, Kirsha was about to simply blow into the horn to gather people's attention, yet some instinct stated that such an action was ill-advised. The Exigent had no idea about the Trumpet of Absolute Victory's ability to summon the Yozis themselves from their prison called Malfeas to the blower. Instead, Kirsha simply held the Trumpet up to their mouth and spoke into it, their words broadcasted to all nearby at a large volume. They asked if any of the "Sidereal Exalted" as the Spider told them they were called were nearby, and if they were, that they wished to speak with them on behalf of the Pattern Spiders.

That curious claim would likely have simply gotten Kirsha arrested for being a public nuisance, yet when a Chosen of Battles alongside a few Lion Dogs walked up to the Exigent, and noticed the Trumpet held in their grasp... Well, suddenly their requests had quite a bit more weight to them. Quickly ushering the Chosen of Spiders inside, the Chosen of Battles, known as First Wound takes the Nation explained how best to navigate the structure. Despite this not being their department, First Wound was knowledge enough about the building's structure to know where to go, and that helped Kirsha when trying to reach the offices of the Sidereals inside of the Lute. Meeting with the seniormost Sidereals there was surprisingly easy, though it was likely that word about the strange Exigent bearing the Sun's horn had already been sent ahead of them.

Meeting with Exalts quite literally thousands of years older than Kirsha was terrifying, the wealth of experience and knowledge they likely had on top of their considerable power made any sort of confrontation seem impossible. Yet... as long as Kirsha maintained their grasp on the Trumpet, their resolve to stick by their agreement with the Spider was maintained. When the Elder Sidereals questioned what Kirsha was even attempting to do, the resolve was maintained. When they pointed out that the Sidereals were already aware of the effect that their powers had on Fate's integrity, the resolve was maintained. When the Sidereals pointed out that any massive change would take decades, if not centuries to take effect, the resolve was maintained. When the Elders complained that Kirsha had no authority to even ask for anything, the resolve was maintained.

Eventually, the seniormost Joybringer simply rolled their eyes, said that they would gather up the leadership of the Bureau together for a meeting, and dismissed Kirsha until that day. Stoicly, the Exigent left the offices, left the Cerulean Lute, and let go of the Trumpet. The moment the divine instrument vanished into motes of Essence, Kirsha's anxiety returned in an instant, causing them to hyperventilate as the reality of what they had just done intensified. Yet, what's done was done, and so Kirsha would need to prepare themselves for this upcoming meeting and hopefully not die on the spot.

The next step? ...Walking back into the Cerulean Lute, going into the Loom of Fate and talking with the other Pattern Spiders to hear what they wanted.
It was downright miraculous that nobody stopped them on the way to the Loom, and in that endless yet limited expanse of webs, shifting terrain and pillars that Kirsha found their way to where a large cluster of Pattern Spiders were situated. Speaking quickly with them, one of their number jumped around the various strands of destiny, before returning with one of their more senior members, one of the August Weavers, a much larger mechanical arachnid around the size of an elk. That Weaver, in turn, led the Exigent deeper and deeper into the Loom's depths. After crossing some unknown threshold, they reached a hidden sanctuary, albeit a rather small one. There, nesting inside the lair, was the mother of all other Pattern Spiders, Asna Firstborn, an exemplar of her kind exceeding a moose in size and crafted so delicately with all known magical materials that her existence was an anomaly.

Here it was that Kirsha was directed to quietly walk up to the staring dire-arachnid, and answer the spider mother's questions. Asna's many eyes looked up to the Pattern Spider situated on Kirsha's shoulder, and her mandibles opened to ask, Why? For what purpose did one of her children seek out the power of Exigence to create their own Chosen? This was nothing like serving as a familiar for some Sidereal or another, this act had created a complication for the Pattern Spider's relationship with the Bureau of Destiny. Before, they could be trusted to do their role as creations of Autochthon, only inflicting punishments on those Sidereals who most abused their services. Now? Now the issues of their employment would come to light and potentially cause friction with the rest of the Bureau.

Yet, that lone tiny spider countered that it would have happened eventually. The recent occurences across Creation was already upsetting the balance of power down below, every one of the spiders knew this. It wouldn't take long, the small arachnid argued, before the repurcussions of such chaos wove its way back up to Yu-Shan and the Loom in particular. It was better that their species remain ahead of the curve, demanding for reforms and a committee to regulate the use of Essence by the Exalted. It was well-known that the sheer power of the Exalted disrupted the plans of Heaven, and if there was a way that systems could be placed to limit such disruption, then the task of maintaining the Loom and Fate as a whole could be made substantially easier.

Asna however coolly countered that the Bureau avoided assigning destinies in the first place to the Exalted to avoid this very problem. After all, why would they waste so much time on a plan with a high rate of failure? Yes, it meant that there weren't enough destinies to cover the fabric of reality in places like the Realm and Lookshy, which would otherwise be considerably stable, but the failure of destinies was worse than the lack thereof. What her progeny was arguing for was not only unrealistic at the best of times, it was about as likely to succeed as world peace. Before Asna could deliver the last cool and cruel dissection, however, Kirsha intervened.

Kirsha admitted that they were far from an expert on the subject like someone such as Asna would be. And maybe this goal of Exalted self-control was truly impossible. But that didn't mean that the spiders had to live like this, without actual homes beyond the Loom, earning income but possessing no breaks or other benefits to utilize that income for. Did... were there any spiders that actually purchased things in the last few years? Last century? Last millennia? Yes, they had their orders from Autochthon, but... They were little better than slaves, earning money but having no time or use for it. Surely they couldn't come to some sort of agreement with the rest of the Bureau to better their living conditions? Get some breaks? Wouldn't that be an easier achievement to accomplish?

As the Mother of Spiders looked around at the rather barren little spot that she created her broods and rested otherwise... She chittered a little in thought. Yes, she eventually answered, maybe something like that might be more possible. Maybe, it could be done.

Heaven was no stranger to labor riots and reforms, just as it was no stranger to corruption. The daily dole given to the unemployed deities and God-Blooded was a result of one such riot, as was the creation of the Bureau of Seasons. But it was quite the suprise when, for the first time in millennia, every Pattern Spider abandoned the Loom for one day in order to engage with negotiations with the higher-ups of the Bureau of Destiny. And it was even more of a surprise when Venus herself randomly decided to actually do her job and visited during the negotiations, offering off-hand comments that seemed to steer the conversation away from disruption and towards cooperation. All told, soon enough a committee was formed to support the rights of the Bureau of Destiny's lesser employees, of which the Pattern Spiders constituted the great majority. Afterwards, many wondered if this was some kind of plot by Venus to "organically" create support for the Celestial Bureaucracy's less-important employees, but few could say for sure.
Kirsha, having stressed themselves out enough for half a dozen lifetimes, decided to do something far less terrifying: Construction! Of course, Kirsha was planning on building a proper home for their orphaned wards, but on top of that, they wanted to create a small apartment for the Pattern Spiders to dwell within. Through the use of their webbing, on top of bricks spun from ambrosia, and purchasing the small plot of land near the Bureau of Destiny ahead of time, it was little trouble to create a decently sized tower (by Creation standards) to house many of the Pattern Spiders inside. With time, the Spiders themselves could add to the structure, but for now it would suffice.

More importantly, the apartments built inside of the tower were decently defensible, which would prove important in the future...
It was one day while Kirsha spoke to First Wound (the Sidereal having become an acquaintance after their first meeting) inside of the Cerulean Lute that a strange individual was spotted trying to be inconspicuous as they power walked towards the Loom of Fate. When the two Exalts moved to politely intercept the stranger, the stranger said that they had something important they needed to relay to a Sidereal Elder currently working inside of the Loom. Raising an eyebrow at that, since the specific Elder was likely to be back in their office at the time, First Wound asked who the stranger was and what they wanted to talke about. At that point, the intruder attacked.

Against two Exalted and who knows how many gods, including Lion Dogs, it was reasonable to expect that this random individual couldn't fight their way out of the situation. Yet they quickly demonstrated their prowess with starmetal tiger claws, slashing not just the air, but the fabric of reality in order to create dimensional gaps which blocked attacks. At points, the intruder would split themselves into a shining white and a nocturnal black set of twins, evading Kirsha's thrown projectiles and doubling the number of the number of things they could do at once. When both bodies erupted into Anima Banners, bearing the pink mark of Juno on their forehead, the intruder's status as a Getimian Exalt, and a powerful one at that, could not be denied. In the end, while Kirsha and the others were able to drive off this interloper without serious injuries, they still failed to do any true harm to the intruder, let alone capture them.
Looking back on this issue, it was obvious WHY the Cerulean Lute of the five divisions was used as a point of infiltration, as it was likely to easiest to fight through if need be (since most of the gods inside were non-fighters, not to mention how common drug use even while on the job was. Great for parties, terrible for security). That meant that its defenses, as well as the defenses of the other four divisions, would need to be strengthened. Kirsha assisted with this process, encasing each doorway that lead to the Loom with immaterial threads. Bureau employees could pass through without issue, but those who were not authorized or given a specific stamp to pass through by the Division Heads or their subordinates not only couldn't pass through, but they would be paused in time the moment they made contact. Thus, future intruders could be easily carted away as inanimate statues, assuming they weren't powerful enough to ignore the effect entirely. If that was the case, well, the Bureau of Destiny would have bigger problems on their hands.
For the next century or so, Kirsha's life remained peaceful, working as part of various committees to secure and maintain worker rights. They still devoted time to raising the orphans under their care, and even managed to establish a proper orphanage with employees to take care of the children. Things continued without issue until one day, one of Kirsha's former wards, a particularly long-lived God-Blood by the name of Frocka was arrested on charges of conspiracy against the Bureau of Destiny. Frocka had been swept up by a sweep conducted by a Circle of Sidereals looking for any signs of Getimian intrusion, and she had been named as an accomplice for a small group of heavenly dissenters known as the Imperfect Club of Frost.

It was evident just from talking with Frocka, who was much older than Kirsha remembered her, that she had done no actual crimes, nor any true association with whatever group this was. The only connection she had was having several friends be part of this little club. In addition, the group in question easily denied any association with the Getimians, but these denials were ignored by the Circle. Unfortunately, in their desire to get results, the Sidereals were doing their best to fast-track the group through Heaven's court system. That could not stand in Kirsha's eyes.

Though they were no lawyer, they had gathered up a decent degree of knowledge regarding the justice system due to their position as an advocate. Combined with hiring on a younger law god on to provide counsel, the Chosen of Spiders volunteered themselves as the defender pro bono for the Club of Frost, as well as Frocka. Preparations took place every night after the rest of Kirsha's tasks had finished, filling every free hour with studying the law. When the time came for the case to be heard, it was the Exigent who proved far more knowledgeable about the law than the Sidereals opposing them.

With written testimony from Heaven's courthouses, Kirsha was able to prove that the Sidereals had not only provided insufficient evidence for their warrant, but that the employees that provided this warrant had been bribed to do so. With the evidence of corruption getting exposed, it was rather simple all things considered to get an innocent verdict from the presiding judge. Normally, this victory would have earned Kirsha some emnity from the other Sidereals... if they hadn't been so embarassed by how half-assed their juniors had gone with this whole thing. At that point, the elders had no desire to support the Circle when it was time for audits.
For the next two centuries, Kirsha assisted with not just the Committee, but also ensuring the Loom's security by doing small patrols in the different division headquarters, maintaining their spiritual webs across every entrance to the Loom. Because of this, every attempt at intrusion ended in failure (or violence). Regardless of the outcome, none of the Getimian forces got inside the Loom proper, though there were several close calls.
Eventually, Kirsha felt the weight of ages fall upon them. They were content to retire, loved by the many little gods who were supported by their advocacy work. But just when the Chosen of Spiders was content to pass away peacefully...

A Getimian agent who managed to get inside Yu-Shan tossed out a sphere which, upon breaking, released the captured behemoth inside. This creature, resembling a mass of plants and fractal geometry, was an inhabitant of Zen-Mu, the abandoned prototype of Creation. Like many of its kind, it was blindly violent, and it would be serving as a distraction for the Getimian as they made their way towards the Bureau of Destiny. Due to the monster's proximity to Kirsha's orphanage, they couldn't afford to leave it be, and so the elderly Exigent engaged in mortal combat with the plant-beast.

In normal circumstances, such a fight was foolish, at best a delaying tactic in order to ensure that the Celestial Lions reached the region in time. But there was a secret that Kirsha had, one which few knew, that proved to be the edge they needed: They remained the only Terrestrial Exalt EVER to learn and utilize a Sidereal Martial Art. Charcoal March of Spiders Style was based on the Pattern Spiders themselves, and as their Chosen, Kirsha was well-suited to using that style, albeit with no hope of developing mastery in any other. It was through that style's abilities that Kirsha could materialize slicing web-threads from their finger tips, crawl and jump on thin air, devour attacks and more. Though the behemoth was still a formidable foe, Kirsha was not powerless before it, but they still took on injuries as the fight went on.

In the end, it was one last strike that ended the battle. After beating the behemoth down into the dirt as best as they could when dealing with a beast made up of plants and math, Kirsha utilized one of the style's most infamous maneuvers: Pattern Spider Touch, a technique that could rewrite a subject's very existence just by touching them. With the behemoth subdued enough for this otherwise slow power, Kirsha touched the monster and it's place now stood a tree. Kirsha had rewritten the behemoth's history, replacing its creation by the Ancients with a mundane history of living as a seed and growing into a large plant.

With this last battle finished, Kirsha fell over, their last breath escaping their lungs. The effort of this fight, in combination with their wounds, proved too much for their frail body, and they entered the cycle of reincarnation a sacrifice to ensure Heaven's safety.

The Seventh Exigent's Life has been detailed! For this action of compassion, YOU the Unconquered Sun have earned the following:

+15 Enthusiasm (+10 Base, +10 as a Request Reward, -5 for using the Sun's Panoply)(New Total: 120)
+45 Effort (+20 Base, +25 for Request Reward)(New Total: 105)
Effort Soft Cap Reached. Any Effort Gains will be ignored unless the total is brought below 100.

"It's unfortunate how often the little guy is ignored in these situations. And it is equally fortunate that said little guy now has someone to defend them. ...Wait a minute, didn't I assign Jerry to help this child? Where did that mouse go?"

Request Completed! Venus has been appeased!

"This... thank you Sol. I know exactly what I'm going to do with this opportunity."

2/5 Completed. Complete the remaining Maidens' requests to unlock ???

New Alteration Unlocked!

[Alteration] By imbuing the spark of Exigence with ground-up lotus petals and the blood of Bahal Hesh, Preceptor of Ten Thousand Styles, the Exigent's potential with martial arts can be improved. (Improves the Exalt's Fight independent of gifts (meaning it does not trigger the stacking penalty). Narratively grants better compatibility with martial arts.)

Gained by creating a Terrestrial Exigent with access to Sidereal Martial Arts!

New Gift Ideas Unlocked!

[Gift] By placing these invisible seals, woven from Pattern Spider silk, along entryways, an Exigent can detect whenever an intruder tries to breach their sanctums. (+10 to Sneak)

Gained by creating an Exigent with web abilities!

[Gift] By recruiting a Pattern Spider familiar for the Exigent, You can reduce the rate at which disasters occur in their lives. (Treat any rolls of 6 - 10 as being 11.)

Gained by creating a Pattern Spider Exigent!

[Gift] A starmetal pendant, engraved with the faces of the 5 Maidens to help the Sidereal Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Sidereal Exalted)

Gained by creating an Exigent that dealt extensively with the Sidereal Exalted!

And finally...

It was while You were busy planning your next move at the Games of Divinity that Luna walked up to your seat and gave You that crazed grin of Hers that indicated that She knew something that You didn't. Looking back at the Incarna of the Moon, You raised an eyebrow, to which She just chuckled. "Did you want something, Luna?"

"Oh, it's not what I want, Sol, but rather what YOU want!" Twirling around in a characteristic flight of whimsy (literal flight at points, with how bird wings sprouted from her back as She pirouetted), She suddenly faced You once again. "You see, I found this interesting little kitty cat out on a hike I took, one that I think you'll be interested in..."

Luna has returned with Aeon, the Lion-Chariot in store! She will allow for Sol to gain access to the creature's blood should He do a favor for her...

Author's Note: Bleh. Bleh I say!

I did not like writing this chapter, both in terms of how long it took and also in how I needed to re-evaluate the direction it was going. See, the Pattern Spider vote option for gods was a last-minute addition that I included just so I could have a Yu-Shan-based Exigent as an option. And because of that, I just made up it's story seed on a whim, and that led to ramifications down the line. I was not prepared for where I wanted to take this Exigent, even with user votes, and I think that reflected in the subpar story. In the future, I definitely need to make sure that I have some potential paths for each god's story to go down.

Hopefully it wasn't too bad to read for all of you, I'm just glad its over with now. Next up will probably be a small info post going over the basics of Exalted and its setting, since we have a few readers who know nothing about the setting who are participating. Hopefully it goes much quicker than this did!

Critian Caceorte · Mar 16, 2025

YOU are Ignis Divine, Sol Incarnate, better known to all as the Unconquered Sun. Currently, You are wondering where your mouse Jerry went. Jerry was one of the least talkative of your Solar Mice, a trait that made him quite stealthy, but his frequent pranks with the various cat-deities across Yu-Shan and Creation made him a bit of a menace. Considering that You assigned him to take care of Kirsha, and the fact that You can clearly tell that he is nowhere near where his charge is, that has You worried that he's getting up to mischief instead. Now, being THE SUN means that You COULD simply locate him with your divine sight, but that tended to be a bit... flashy. And right now You had no desire to trigger an emergency just because You turned yourself into a mobile lighthouse to find one mouse.

In the meantime, You also had to consider the offer made by Luna. It seems, from your brief interaction with Him and later Cacapacapu (who is perhaps a bit too eager to see another experiment conducted), that She has managed to locate the source of the golden substance which gave Garos his strange abilities. A machine-like lion creature with nanomachines for blood... such tiny devices hadn't been seen since the First Age, and very rarely even then. Regardless, access to the creature's blood (not the creature itself, Luna wanted to keep it for themselves) could allow You to make more Exigents with Garos abilities, at least somewhat.

So many things to do, and so little time to do them...

Current Consecutive Requests: 2 (No Penalty)

You may choose to take on a request at this time. As always, you may only take on one request at a time.

[][Request] You will keep doing your own thing, as you usually do.

You will have no restrictions for your next Exigent.

[][Request] Mercury's Request: Mercury would like it if there was someone out there that could build additional boats to supplement Creation's overall navy. Of course, they must be able to captain such a boat if necessary.

Your next Exigent MUST have Make be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Make, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Lead.
Your next Exigent will benefit from Mercury's Blessing for free.
Reward: Intervention of Her Chosen (Journeys), Contributes to ???

[][Request] Jupiter's Request: She wants someone that can locate secrets and be able to lock them away. Why she wants this, you don't know. As always, she'll never tell you why.

Your next Exigent MUST have Sneak be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Sneak, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Make.
Your next Exigent will benefit from Jupiter's Blessing for free.
Reward: Intervention of Her Chosen (Secrets)

[][Request] Luna's Request: They would like it if you could create an Exigent that would patrol the boundaries of Creation against the Wyld. While their own Chosen also do this, having someone fully dedicated to the task would be nice. (NEW!)

Your next Exigent CANNOT come from a God in the Center or Yu-Shan.
Your next Exigent MUST have the Cold Iron Amulet as one of their Gifts.
Your next Exigent MUST have some kind of Alteration applied to them, because Luna finds them interesting.
Your next Exigent will travel across Creation. Things that can help with transporting them could prove a boon here.
Reward: Access to the Lion's Blood (Alteration)

[][Request] Wun Ja's Request: Wun Ja is once again asking you for a spark of Exigence. This will create yet another Architect to help protect Creation's cities from harm. Yet... How many times is she willing to keep doing this?

You CANNOT take an Alteration with this Request
You CANNOT choose another God for this request.
Character WILL be Terrestrial-level, as all Architects are.
Character will have some defined traits, but others can be adjusted if you so choose.
As this is a known phenomenon, you will learn what the Architect Charm Themes are, and what bonuses they provide for the dice starting with Part 2.
Reward: Her Blessing?

[][Request] Blue Crest Merchant's Request: Blue Crest Merchant is the current God of Naval Trade, having taking over the position after his father's death. Before he took up the position, he was a very successful trader himself, and now he turns his eyes back to the West to build a new network up. The problem? The Lintha (well, and the Fae as always, but in THIS case the Lintha). Those demon-blooded pirates are quickly uniting their forces together under an Infernal Exalt (as much You despise hearing that term), risking not just his precious trade but the lives of many. Surely you can provide someone who can stop this? (Timely; Will last up to the 10th Exigent)

Your next Exigent MUST come from a God in the Southwest.
Your next Exigent MUST have Sneak be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Sneak, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Fight.
Your next Exigent will get a free boat to cruise around in.
Reward: Boats?

[][Request] Austera's Request: Starless Austera, God of Starfall Showers and the oldest living daughter of your dear brother Aurora, has been grieving for millennia. As the caretaker of her deceased father's estate, she had done her best to make sure the Manse remains clean and tidy, but the years of looking at the place filled with so many tarnished memories has left her sad and bitter. Now, she desires that someone else take up her position, and the Bureaucracy has been oddly slow (even for them) to assign a replacement. At this point she's even willing to give up ownership of it entirely. So long as the person can take good care of the place and treat her father's memorial with respect, she's fine with washing her hands of it.

Your next Exigent MUST come from a God with some sort of tie to Light or the Arts, preferably both. This will be revealed ahead of time if you select this. If you unlock Patchwork Exalts before taking this request, those may be used as well, but must ultimately have those 2 themes.
Your next Exigent MUST have Lead or Make be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Lead, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Make.
Your next Exigent MUST have access to Yu-Shan, either from a god located there, or by Gifting them access.
??? (Positive, Don't Worry About it)
Reward: ???

[][Request] Meneera the Goddess of Disastrous Relationships wants to test the limits of what happens when a Patchwork Exigent is created. These are Exigents where two or more deities of different portfolios combine their powers to make an Exalt, usually to poor results. Maybe that high risk of failure is what she's even hoping for...

You CANNOT take an Alteration with this Request
For this Exigent, an additional God in the same region as the chosen deity will also contribute their power. You will not be able to choose who the second deity is for THIS request.
This Exigent's Power Level roll will have an additional DC at 20. Failure to meet this DC means that the Exigent will not be created at all, and the process starts over.
REGARDLESS of whether or not it succeeds, the Gods in question will gain an additional +30 to their survival rolls. If they survive, they MIGHT be able to give another plea for an Exigent... assuming they're not in mortal danger, that is. Regardless, they will still be diminished, and will suffer a -10 to ALL Stage 2 rolls (Power Level, God Survival, Lifespan, Legacy).
If it succeeds, the Exigent will gain 2 additional Charm Themes to benefit from.
If it succeeds, the Exigent's Legacy roll will suffer a PENALTY of -10. In addition, all of their Event rolls suffer from a +10 threshold to trigger recovery.
Reward: Unlocks Patchwork Exigents as an option.

[][Request] Cacapacapu presumes much. Already he has given You a second request, to test another one of his mysterious substances for infusion. You almost want to strike him down for his insolence, but he says that he's gotten a lead on where this substance's origin might be, and that creating an Exigent with the substance might allow them to serve as a tracker for it. (NEW!)

You MUST take one of his unknown substances as an Alteration for this Request
Your next Exigent CANNOT come from a God in the Center or Yu-Shan.
Your next Exigent MUST have Make or Sneak be their Main Focus in order to locate where the substance's origin is.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Make, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Sneak.
Reward: +30 to the Availability roll for that substance, increasing the odds that you can find more of it (and that it doesn't end up in enemy hands...)

Now that You have already allowed for one Exigent to be modified in some way, would You be willing to allow another?

Choose whether or not to use an Alteration for the Exigent. You can only choose up to 1 Alteration at this time. Because I have received complaints about it, any plans MUST note whether or not they are using an Alteration.

[][Alteration] No, of course not. Best to stick with what is normal.

The creation process proceeds as normal.

[][Alteration] By forging a portion of the god's power right as Exaltation occurs, You can transmute it into a artifact tied to the Exalt's soul, which will never abandon them... or their successors. (Provides the Exalt with an artifact weapon by default, and improves their chances of leaving behind a Legacy.)(Costs 5 Effort to attempt)

Power Level Roll must succeed at DC 20 to create an Exigent at all. Otherwise, the process fails, with the God obtaining a +30 bonus to their survival.
If successful, the Exigent will gain the Artifact Weapon gift for free (+10 to Fight) as well as +10 to their Legacy roll. Should they leave behind a legacy, their Exaltation shall be stored within the weapon itself.

[][Alteration] By imbuing the spark of Exigence with ground-up lotus petals and the blood of Bahal Hesh, Preceptor of Ten Thousand Styles, the Exigent's potential with martial arts can be improved. (Improves the Exalt's Fight independent of gifts (meaning it does not trigger the stacking penalty). Narratively grants better compatibility with martial arts.)

Power Level Roll must succeed at DC 20 to create an Exigent at all. Otherwise, the process fails, with the God obtaining a +30 bonus to their survival.
If successful, the Exigent will gain +10 to their Fight. This does NOT count for the stacking penalty, it is a plain +10 bonus.
Narratively, upgrades the Exigent's capacity for martial arts (Terrestrial -> Neutral -> Mastery + Sidereal Martial Arts -> SMA Enlightenment).

[][Alteration] By indulging in Cacapacapu's eccentricities, you can infuse a spark with one of his mysterious substances. It's random, but the benefits could be great. (Infuses the current Exigent with a random substances's effects.)

Random substance is determined with a 1d6 die roll. The higher the die roll, the less drawbacks it provides, but the lower the die roll, the greater the power it provides.
The Random substance will, on top of the bonuses and penalties, substitute out the situational Charm Themes for their own special themes.
Power Level Roll must succeed at DC 20 to create an Exigent at all. Otherwise, the process fails, with the God obtaining a +30 bonus to their survival.
Once a substance's effects have been uncovered, so long as more of that substance exists (determined by a straight 1d100 roll), then for future Exigents you may CHOOSE to apply the specific liquid as an Alteration, but costing 10 Effort each time.

At this point, You were overflowing with desire to provide more for your next Exigent. More than even your full coffers can provide. It's time for a shopping spree!

Effort Available: 105 (Soft Cap Reached, You MUST Spend at least 10 Effort here or risk not gaining any more Effort with the next Exigent)

Subordinate God x2 (+10 to Lead)
Knowledge x1 (+10 to Make)
Sleep Draught x1 (+10 to Recovery Rolls, +20 for Fight Recovery)
Lunar Amulet x1 (+10 when dealing with Lunars)
Essence Shield Projector x1 (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)

You may spend as much Effort as you like this turn, up to the amount you have available. You may purchase a Gift any number of times, unless otherwise stated. You may also choose to save your Effort, but if you spend none, you will only have what is in storage to give, AND you risk not gaining any Effort for this next Exigent this turn.

[][Gift] You will not trouble yourself with coming up with any gifts this turn. (0 Effort, invalidates other options)

[][Gift] You had quite a collection of artifact weapons from millennia of gifts just lying around, they could be better used to help someone else. (+10 Bonus to Fight)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] After observing many cases of how superhuman strength could help an Exigent out, you decided to grant the subject an amulet which emulated the least of these effects. (+10 Bonus to Fight)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[]Gift] You are the God of Perfection, and that must include Perfect Education as well. You will use a mote of your power to grant the Exigent greater knowledge. (+10 Bonus to Make)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] Your favorite familiars, the Mice of the Sun, are a rather sneaky bunch able to assassinate others with disease. You can easily lend one for a century or two. (+10 Bonus to Sneak)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] By placing these invisible seals, woven from Pattern Spider silk, along entryways, an Exigent can detect whenever an intruder tries to breach their sanctums. (+10 to Sneak)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] By your will, you shall grant this Exigent a personal ray of light, invisible to all but spirits who will look upon them with your favor. (+10 Bonus to Talk)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] It might be possible to create a draught which can place the drinker into a deep, regenerative sleep. You will commission the creation of such post-haste. (Grants +10 to recovery rolls, +20 for Fight recovery rolls)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You could easily craft a sun emblem out of cold iron, the better to remind the Fae that you were Creation's ultimate defender. (+10 to events involving creatures of the Wyld)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You had quite the garden in your Sanctum-Palace, but more importantly you had quite the store of sunflower seeds, which could grow rapidly in even the worst conditions. (+10 to events involving agriculture)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] A moonsilver pendant, made in (one of) Luna's image(s) helps the Lunar Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Lunar Exalted)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] A starmetal pendant, engraved with the faces of the 5 Maidens to help the Sidereal Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Sidereal Exalted)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] While you normally only allow Lytek to pick and choose which memories he clips, you can perhaps ask him to be a bit more specific in what he leaves behind. (+10 to Legacy Event Rolls)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] By recruiting a Pattern Spider familiar for the Exigent, You can reduce the rate at which disasters occur in their lives. (Treat any rolls of 6 - 10 as being 11.)(5 Effort, One Per Exigent)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] In the First Age, Saturn's Chosen crafted a series of candles that, when lit, would consume the holder's lifespan in exchange for a great boost in prowess, emulating their own Charms. You could potentially grant an Exigent the same. (+10 to all rolls, +10 to the Recovery Threshold for all Events)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You are the Unconquered Sun, it is by your authority that the Exalted can be let into Heaven. You surely can allow this Exalt in to enjoy Yu-Shan's splendor and gain connections, right? (+10 to Talk Rolls, Provides access to Yu-Shan)(10 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)(10 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] Kaun's inventions, the Sea Whispers, could be easily reversed engineered and turned to more common use elsewhere. (+10 to Lead and Sneak Events in Western Locations, or the Southeast.)(10 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] It should be fairly simple to commission an Essence Shield Projector to protect this Exigent. (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)(10 Effort)
-[] How Many?

[][Gift] You can commission the services of Rough Diamond, God of Heroes From Humble Origins to create a bandana carrying his blessing. (+10 to rolls dealing with small communities.)
-[] How Many?

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mercury, Maiden of Journeys, to bless this Exigent's status as a captain. (One Reroll the first time that a Lead event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Lead event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Venus, Maiden of Serenity, to bless this Exigent's tongue in... more ways than one. (One Reroll the first time that a Talk event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Talk event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Jupiter, Maiden of Secrets, to safeguard this Exigent's mysteries. (One Reroll the first time that a Sneak event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Sneak event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] By securing the assistance of a Chosen of (Serenity) at a crucial point, disaster can be turned into opportunity. (After all rolls are done, reverse the digits of the lowest Talk Event, if it would be higher.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] By securing the assistance of a Chosen of (Battles) at a crucial point, disaster can be turned into opportunity. (After all rolls are done, reverse the digits of the lowest Fight Event, if it would be higher.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You have in your hands a precious oriachalcum manual created by one of the greatest Twilights of the First Age on his artifice. You could loan this manual to others to help them revive the First Age's wonders. (+10 to events dealing with First Age technology)(20 30 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

Author's Note: You might have noticed a small difference in the Gifts this time around. The First Age Manual is now 30 Effort instead of 20. That's because I realized that such a rare artifact should probably be more difficult to get if you've already given one away, so until Carlo dies, it's going to keep increasing in price every time it's purchased. No mass-producing First Age Tech for you folks, at least not as easily.

I also forgot to add a Gift in Kirsha's biography, it's a starmetal amulet that gives bonuses to dealing with Sidereals like the moonsilver amulet did for Lunars. I've added it to the list here, and will go back and edit it in the previous post.

As always, any questions, ask me.

Critian Caceorte · Mar 16, 2025

[X] Plan Work in Progress
-[X][Request] You will keep doing your own thing, as you usually do.
-[X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)
-[X][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)(10 Effort)
--[X] 1

Entering once more into Cacapacapu's workshop, You were a bit curious to see that not only was the God of Strange Substances frowning as he gazed at a jar in his hands, but he had another god there as well. An important one as well, Endless Xish, God of Added Years (essentially, the God of Increased Lifespans, a very prestigious position, considering that put the Peaches of Immortality under their direct supervision). The presence of the god, whose appearance called to mind a walking peach tree, in this meeting gave a clue as to what this "strange" substance might be.

Looking up as You walked in, both Gods hastily stood up and bowed. "Sorry about that, Your Brilliance," Cacapacapu said, strangely more respectful now than he had been the last time You had walked into his workspace. Maybe it was the presence of another God in this space that caused him to remember his etiquette. Or perhaps he really respected Xish's opinion of him. "We were just discussing what this," he shook the jar, making the beeswax-yellow liquid inside shake, "might be."

"Considering that you are here, Xish," You began, "I take it that it's some kind of life-extending thing?"

The treelike god nodded, "Indeed. I can already tell from here that it's some kind of variant on the Age-Staving Cordial. It only needs to be imbibed every few years or so, as opposed to a constant supply, but there's... well, there's things about it even I can't understand. It has a... not a mutagenic effect, but it's the closest equivalent I can think of, and I can already tell that at least a few of the ingredients for this can't be found in Creation, not as of currently. The worse thing is, that's as much as we can test without breaking the hermetic seal," they pointed to the wax-sealed lid on top, "and doing so might spoil the effect, or at least the contents. I don't think that randomly adding it to a spark of Exigence is all that smart, but who knows, maybe the Exigent will somehow be able to create more of it."

Interesting. Looking at Cacapacapu for a moment, You asked. "Where did you find this potion? Was it in the Wyld, like with the golden substance?" Oh, right, You never told Cacapacapu that the source of the golden liquid had been recovered, even if it wasn't in your possession. Something to worry about later then.

"Well, like with that liquid, I didn't acquire it myself, I don't just go on random jaunts into the Wyld, my lord! But yes," the God of Strange Substances admitted without shame, "it apparently came from the Wyld, and I confirmed that with one of my coworkers. Shisha, Goddess of Wyld Contamination, you know her?" ...You were the Unconquered Sun. Of course You knew the major players of the Celestial Bureaucracy, and most of the minor ones as well! It was quite literally your job as King! But, rather than sigh externally, You simply did so internally.

"Yes, yes I do." Before You could say anything more, however, a familiar sort of prayer came to your ears. A prayer for a spark of Exigence... what curious timing.

Who would be the recipient of this spark of Exigence? Because of the risks of this experiment failing, I have removed the Moderate Gods as options this time, since they would have increased the risk of the Alteration failing completely, and then you'd be down a substance. So, for now, take your pick of the Minor Gods listed here. I haven't added any here, so that way we can clear out some of our existing stock.

[] Arduinna, a Goddess of Ice Boar Hunting in the frozen North, flees on foot from her pursuer with all-due haste. Currently, an older Lunar Exalt is on her trail, intending to devour her and steal her powers for their own use. Though she begs primarily for her own safety, she is willing to sacrifice part of her strength in order to empower her mortal paramour, as two minor powers (or at least 1 young Celestial) should prove enough to convince the Lunar that this hunt is more trouble than its worth. (North, Minor)

[] Descending from the skies, Hail-Scourge gnashes her teeth as yet another ship successfully avoids her wrath. One of the weakest of the Storm Mothers, she does not have the natural strength to pay evil to evil for those sailors who avoid sacrificing to her, which in turn limits how quickly she can grow in strength. In frustration, she screams at the heavens that if she cannot make her mark on the world, than surely her Chosen could do so in her stead. (West, Minor)

[] Ysyr has been a land of sorcerers for millennia, and the gods have been forced out because of it. One among the dispossessed deities, Kishetra, Goddess of Unnatural Lights, seeks a Chosen to infiltrate this magical city-state to find out what happens behind closed doors. After all, Ysyr's sorcerer-princes are as famous for their extravagance as they are their cruelty. (Southeast, Minor)

[] Though renowned for its beauty, An-Teng is a living painting propagated by cruelty, as dissent from the peaceful facade is punished with hand and whip. One god in particular, Viersla, God of Hidden Tensions, hates their job because of how much they work they have to do and recieve no thanks for. At this point, they figure that an Exigent with their power could blow this popsicle stand wide open and stop this suffocating atmosphere of false pleasantries! (Southwest, Minor)

[] Centuries prior, a foolish sorceress used the Eye of Autocthon to create an everpresent Spiral to protect her people. After her death, it rages unhindered, twisting the landscape with its power. Its people worship it in place of any deity, and that just won't do for some gods. Proud Blubber, a God of Northwestern Walruses, is annoyed that the Walrusfolk that live in the area don't direct their worship to him instead! He thinks that with a Chosen of his own, he can send this would-be missionary to preach in his name. (Northwest, Minor)

[] In the chilly north, Sevje the God of Exploding Trees has observed what they believe to be an Underworld plot, as one of the Shadowlands nearby grows slightly larger every year and ghosts leave the area frequently. A champion will be needed to fix this problem, and soon. After all, the God themselves can only do so much to halt any advance of the undead which occurs. (North, Minor)

[] One of your Grandchild Masinghala's subordinates, a cat deity of more terrestrial origin (as opposed to the more common Lion Dogs and Celestial Lions) seeks to make her name known throughout the South. As one of Origin's myriad feline deities, she is but one of dozens of gods in the region, but with an Exigent of her own, she believes that she can rise to a higher station in life. Yet... she doesn't seem to realize the very real risk of death for her here, unless she also has a cat's legendary 9 lives. (South, Minor)

[] The Salt Gods on the Blessed Isle have historically been afforded a fixed rate of salt by the Empress herself in order to avoid mortal conflicts. With her disappearance, Jisha a salt god in the Arjuf Dominion feels that the time is right that her local coworkers can... renegotiate their percentages. Of course, without a Chosen, uniting her fellows behind her banner would be quite difficult. (Center, Minor)

[] Pearlmask was once a beautiful city of numerous hot springs, but in recent years the combination of poor harvests and sacking has left the city in a terrible state. It needs someone who can revitalize it, either through diplomacy or force, at least that's what Little Bubbles believes. The naiad of one of the hot springs has seen so much sadness in her usual visitors that she wants to help someone rise up to provide succor to the rest of the city's residents. (Southwest, Minor)

Author's Note: Yes, the strange substance this time is... admittedly a rather boring one. Perhaps the more boring one of the six, if we're being honest. It does have a few properties that Xish can't decipher, but you'll just have to uncover those properties later. What I can confirm is that the potion will provide a strong boost to the Exigent's lifespan roll, and that will stack with the Age-Staving Cordial Gift you currently have in stock. It does, of course, come with a drawback, namely that it increases all of the Exalt's Recovery Thresholds (so the DCs to avoid triggering Recovery) by 10, which could prove a problem down the line. That "mutagenic" mention is why this drawback is occurring.

Anyway, Xish, not a canon deity, and if there is a canonical deity of extended lifespans I wouldn't be surprised, I just made my own because I didn't want to dig through a dozen different books just to find whoever it is. This high-ranking job WOULD however place them as the Head of the Division of Blessed Pomology (the group in charge of growing and guarding the Celestial Peaches) which is a very important job all things considered. Why they would be interested in whatever substances Cacapacapu possesses, however, is a mystery.

Critian Caceorte · Mar 17, 2025

[X] Pearlmask was once a beautiful city of numerous hot springs, but in recent years the combination of poor harvests and sacking has left the city in a terrible state. It needs someone who can revitalize it, either through diplomacy or force, at least that's what Little Bubbles believes. The naiad of one of the hot springs has seen so much sadness in her usual visitors that she wants to help someone rise up to provide succor to the rest of the city's residents. (Southwest, Minor)

Roll Results:
Power Level: 85, Celestial
God Survival: 4, Little Bubbles Dies
Lifespan: 56, Centuries
Legacy: 55, Exaltation Dies With User

As soon as the prayer You received from Little Bubbles ended, the room... darkened, ever so slightly. No, that wasn't quite correct. It was more like... that it took on a more violet hue. As You turned your gaze to look at the occupants of the workshop, You noticed where there had once been 2 Gods besides yourself inside, now there were three.

Cacapacapu and Xith were both frozen in time, indicating that this was, at minimum, a period of greatly accelerated thought, or a effect that greatly slowed down time for all besides yourself, or some combination like that. But at least You already knew who the culprit was for this moment. After all, You had known Her for millennia.

"Saturn," You said, looking at the Maiden of Endings directly. The young girl smiled, her long white hair and funeral veil obscuring her eyes just as all of the Maiden's eyes were obscured. No... that wasn't quite true. Because Saturn... was taking her veil off. In an act that You rarely saw, maybe once a century at best, a Maiden removed her eye covering to look at You directly.

A Sidereal Exalt has eyes the color of their patron Maiden, with stars inside of the pupil which take the form of two constellations. In one eye is the Sidereal's Birth Sign, the constellation they were born under. In the other, their Exaltation Sign, the cluster of stars that was ascending when they Exalted. This was a known quality of the Sidereal Exalted, though their Resplendent Destinies helped to cover this noteworthy detail. In comparison, a Maiden's eyes? Oh, they had no mere constellation inside.

In Saturn's Eyes was held a violet galaxy, swirling with the light of millions of stars. So bright was that collected light that it drowned out the whites and the irises, and only You, who could easily ignore any blinding effect, could see the otherwise ordinary nature of those parts. "Hello, Sol," She said, "My apologies for interrupting this. I felt... a need to offer a deal."

You raised an eyebrow, familiar with the nature of the Maidens to notice the wording. "A 'need,' as in, an urge? A desire? Or a 'need," as in... you must?" Because that truly was one of the great drawbacks of being a Goddess of Prophecy: The NEED to see it fulfilled if you dared look into the future. Rare was the case that a Maiden used her abilities to see "the TRUE future" and not just a potential one, because they were hard-coded to in-turn see that future fulfilled at any cost. Any cost.

Thankfully, the goddess shook her head. "No, I am under no compulsion here. I simply sensed that this substance that is being used here... it represents a potential issue for my domain in the future. I am the Maiden of Endings, I must be cautious whenever a new form of life-extending drug is created. While this substance would have it's drawbacks when used, combined this way into an Exaltation... well, I won't say too much regarding the details. Suffice to say, it would cause issues, and yet I recognize that Exigents are part of your domain, and not mine. Thus, I come to you with this offer."

With a serious gaze, one magnified by the clusters of stars in her visible eyes, She continued. "I offer to you three paths. In the first, you refuse to let this experiment continue. You create an ordinary Exaltation using Miss Bubbles' power, and leave it at that. Such a hard retraction is a sacrifice on your part, a favor one could say. And in exchange, I would consider it the fulfillment of my own request. I will give you the same access to my Chosen just as Venus and Mars have, on top of asking for my blessing when necessary.

"The second is the path of singularity. I will allow you to conduct this experiment, this potion's effects will be infused into the spark, and I will in addition abstain my touch from this Chosen, allowing them to live a life 10 times greater than they otherwise could have. In exchange, I will destroy ALL traces of this substance in Creation. It will not be found herein, nor will its source in the Wyld, which I do know the location of, ever be seen again. The potion's power will be used up, and that will be the end of its legacy in this world.

"The third is one that I do not like, and would advise against. Nevertheless, it is your prerogative to choose anyway. You may refuse the other two paths, and let the experiment continue, while still retaining whatever scraps of this potion might still exist. I will not prevent my touch from this child, and they will live only for a few centuries at most, unable to be affected by any life-extending drug. But, the opportunity will remain that you can find more of this substance, at least theoretically. I will not cough up its location either way.

"You may take your time in reaching a decision, this is but a vision of me in your mind. But please, make your choice."

Saturn has made an offer to you, one that will dictate the path of this Exigent. Why is she so serious about this substance? Who knows. It's perhaps even likely that it is an overreaction on her part... or is it? Choose ONE.

[] Refuse to use the Potion

This will remove the substance's effects on the Exigent (removing the +30 Lifespan bonus, which will knock them down to a mortal lifespan, as well as removing the increase in Recovery Threshold and its Charm Themes).
In exchange, Saturn will treat this as a fulfillment of a request of hers, opening up her Blessing and the user of her Chosen as Gifts in the future.
Will contribute (2/5 -> 3/5) to ???

[] Allow the Potion to be Destroyed

The substance will be used for the Exigent, granting them its Charm Themes.
All traces of the substance in Creation and the Wyld will be destroyed, negating the Availability roll for the substance. Never again will a Chosen of this type be created.
In exchange, Saturn will swap the dice rolls for Lifespan and Legacy, giving you a new Lifespan total of 55 + 50 = 104, enough to push this Exigent over the Millennia (8 Events Min.) threshold.
???

[] Make the Experiment continue as-is

The substance will be used for the Exigent as-is, and there is a chance of acquiring more of the substance in the future. Perhaps more than Saturn would like.
The current Lifespan total will be used, placing the Exigent's lifespan within a matter of centuries.
???

Author's Note: I have my reasons for offering this, and offering the potential rewards for it. Feel free to make your decision.

Critian Caceorte · Mar 18, 2025

[X] Allow the Potion to be Destroyed

NEW Results:
Power Level: 85, Celestial
God Survival: 4, Little Bubbles Dies
Lifespan: 6 55 + 50 = 105, Millennia Long
Legacy: 55 6, Dies With User

It took less time in this still vision to make your decision. "The second option would be for the best, I believe."

Saturn smiled at your agreement, slowly placing her funerary veil over her eyes once more. "Very well then. I will confess, were it not for one particular detail of this experiment, I would have no issue with its results. I am grateful for this, truly."

What one detail in specific could be so noteworthy? Trying to put together the disparate pieces together, your innate perfection came to the forefront once more as the answer materialized in your mind, and even someone like You could not hold back your tiny gasp. "...Were you concerned about how Little Bubbles' nature as a goddess of medicinal waters would combine with the potion?"

Her now shrouded gaze turned serious once more. "Indeed. There was a high risk that she could simply materialize more of the substance out of thin air, with little difficulty. Could you imagine the temptation that would be, a genuine Fountain of Youth, in a poorly defended, well-known region of the Southwest? The number of would-be conquerors who would try and obtain 'the Miracle of Pearlmask' would prove immeasurable, and that is not even taking into account Pearlmask's proximity to the Lintha. I hold no desire to give a resurgent Malfean group access to such a potent resource. As for the potion's creator... he will not remain in the Wyld for long. I will take care of the Wizard soon enough."

You nodded your head, realizing truly know just how big of a danger this could have posed in the long run. Yu-Shan already had numerous guards and protections (which were no guarantee, sadly) defending the Peaches of Immortality, while the less potent Age-Staving Cordial required expensive ingredients across all of Creation's directions to make. This... Potion of Longevity, it would have proven too tempting of a target for basically anyone had the Exigent proven able to make more of it. NO ONE would be able to avoid interfering in the area, either to grab some for themselves or to deny access to their enemies.

Though... Wizard? No, no, at this point You weren't going to ask any more about that.

Option 3 ??? Revealed! The Exigent's final Charm Theme would have been "Waters of Longevity: Grants +20 Lifespan permanently to all Exigents from this point onward, so long as the Southwest remains secure. MUST take Blue Crest Merchant's Request on the following turn." It is a possibility no more.

Turning your gaze away, You felt the supposedly "not there" Saturn nonetheless call up her Essence into a very familiar formation, one You knew by tactile sensation and not sight: The Sign of Saturn. It was, supposedly, the power which could genuinely kill anything short of a Primordial, the very definition of The End. Only one man across so many millennia had proven able to counter it... and from that day forward, Rakan Thulio, Traitor to Heaven, never aged another day in his life. It wasn't a pleasant memory for Saturn, as one would expect, particularly since he was one of HER Chosen. You were powerful enough not to be affected so long as You did not witness the Sign itself, but the other deities in the room were thankfully protected in this stilled time.

"There," Saturn remarked, having finished whatever it was She had done. "The potion has lost all of its age-preventing properties, while still retaining everything else. As promised, I will abstain my hand from Miss Bubbles' Chosen as much as I can. And, once again, thank you for agreeing to this Sol." And with that, She vanished, and time resumed as normal.

Once that business had been taken care of, the potion had been added to the spark of Exigence You provided, though Xith remarked with some confusion that the liquid no longer seemed to have the same properties that it did before. It was good fortune then that neither of your subordinates mentioned the matter further, too intrigued to see what the results would be. As for yourself, You had a feeling it would be something pretty good.

Current Traits:
Power Level: Celestial (+30 to Main Focus, +10 to all others)
Lifespan: Millennia Long (Minimum 8 Events)
Exaltation: Dies With User
Exalt Type: Ability-Based
Charm Themes:

Overall: A great focus on Make, with a small boost to Lead
Aquam: The Exigent can create, manipulate, transform and destroy water. (Sail)
Ignem: The Exigent can generate and alter heat in an area. (Presence)
Enhanced Sorcery: For its type, the Exigent is quite good at improving their spell casting. (Occult)
Vis Coagulation: The Exigent can solidify Essence into physical, digestible substances. (Survival)
Parma Magica: The Exigent is exceptionally talented at shutting down spell casting. (Integrity)
In Hermes' Name (Destroyed Potion): The Exigent is talented with instructing others in the ways of spellcraft. (Presence)
- +10 to Lead Rolls

Material Affinity: Black Jade + Red Jade (Neutral), All Other Materials (Dissonant)
Martial Arts: Terrestrial With All Styles
Sorcery: SOLAR CIRCLE Sorcery, Ivory Circle Necromancy
Added Traits: Potion of Longevity (+30 Lifespan, +10 Recovery Threshold), Chose the Middle Path (Swapped the last Charm Theme)

Though Little Bubbles would not realize it just yet, her Exigent may prove to be someone of great importance in the distant future. For now, as she sought out candidates among those currently enjoying her hot spring in desperation, feeling her life force ebb away, she had to make her choice and soon. And the individual she picked was:

[][Candidate] A scarred warrior woman, who rested in these waters to relieve the pain of her war wounds. (Fight)

[][Candidate] The son of Pearlmask's Castellan, who looks now to inherit a ruined city from his father. (Lead)

[][Candidate] A meagre soap-maker, peddling her wares at the spring and earning little. (Make)

[][Candidate] An old repentant bandit who seeks honest employment now... if he could ever find it. (Sneak)

[][Candidate] A mother of five, enjoying the first break from her duties in... who knows how long. (Talk)

And of course, You had the option of assisting this Exigent further, if You so desired.

Choose which of the following you would also like to give this Exigent. Please write your votes in the form of a plan.

[][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)
-[] How Many? (2 Max)

[][Gift] You are the God of Perfection, and that must include Perfect Education as well. You will use a mote of your power to grant the Exigent greater knowledge. (+10 Bonus to Make)

[][Gift] It might be possible to create a draught which can place the drinker into a deep, regenerative sleep. You will commission the creation of such post-haste. (Grants +10 to recovery rolls, +20 for Fight recovery rolls)

[][Gift] A moonsilver pendant, made in (one of) Luna's image(s) helps the Lunar Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Lunar Exalted)

[][Gift] It should be fairly simple to commission an Essence Shield Projector to protect this Exigent. (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)

And, well, since it seemed to work well last time, perhaps You might send this Exigent a vision as well...

[][Vision] Send the Exigent a Vision (10 Effort)
-[] Write-in what you want the POINT of the vision to be. It must be a single sentence in length. This will serve as the Vision's important line, NOT the entirety of the Vision itself. It can be used to convey an objective for the future, impart information that Sol would know about a situation, establish a facet of the Exigent's personality, or simply provide reassurance to them.

[][Vision] No, You will spare the effort for now (No Vision)

Last but not least, who WAS this Exigent?

[] Exigent's Name
[] Exigent's Appearance
[] Exigent's Anima Banner (Should have some relation to water and/or steam)

Author's Note: In case you were wondering about the last Charm Theme, no I didn't forget to delete it from my draft, I already established what its effects would be in the informational post, so I felt no reason to hide it there. I also provided an overall summary of the Charm effects, since what Option 2 would provide was already established, though some of the specifics may be different.

And yes, this IS your first Solar Circle Sorcerer. Just to be clear, the Potion of Longevity was not the Sorcery-improving substance. It was just Sorcery-adjacent for the most part, so for the low low cost of hurting the Exigent's Material Affinity and Martial Arts, I improved their Sorcery. If this HAD been the Sorcery-improving substance, I wouldn't have needed to make that trade-off.

By now, you might be able to piece together where precisely this substance came from, judging by the names of the Charm Themes. I'll do a more grand reveal later at the end of the Exigent's biography.

...Wait, while you're all still here, remember that challenge I did with the 3 Moderate Gods and guessing the inspiration for their names? No one did all 3, so I guess I can provide the answers to them now. As @Cubbyhb1 surmised, Chariot of the Abiding Abyss was based on Charybdis of Greek Mythology fame, while Scythe of Llamas was based on his counterpart Scylla. I was honestly kind of surprised that no one guess what Oaken Samurj was based on, though I guess the reference in the last sentence of his description HAD been obscured a little to make it less obvious. To showcase more clearly who he was inspired by, let me just ask you all one question:

Oaken Samurj, Samuel Oak

Critian Caceorte · Mar 20, 2025

[X][Vision] Send the Exigent a Vision (10 Effort)
-[X] Teach the secrets of magic to the many, raise an Order that will protect and help beyond your lifetime.

Great vents of volcanic steam poured out their contents across the rocky floor. The hot mist obscured the surroundings, hiding whatever walls may have existed in... whatever place this was. This didn't resemble any of the hot springs he had ever indulged in as a noble of Pearlmask, and yet it felt more soothing than any reservoir he had ever stepped foot in. So relaxed was he that he almost missed the arrival of someone else to his pool. When the steps along the rocks alerted him, the young man opened his eyes to look at who had arrived...

...and what he saw made his blush heavily deepen more than the hot spring ever could. He saw physical PERFECTION, what had to be a God with how handsome the newcomer turned out to be. Sun-kissed skin, blonde hair, and four arms filled with muscle. The man wore nothing, confident in His appearance to need no towel, and just smiled when He saw the younger man look away from being overwhelmed. "It's alright. There is no shame in appreciation, so long as the recipient is... well, receptive. I give you permission to look as you please."

Embarrassed, but slightly intrigued, the young man turned his gaze back to admire. As he did, the God continued. "You may not realize it yet, but your life is to be a blessed one. That does not mean that it will have no hardships, for there is nothing of worth without sacrifice of some kind. But, you will have opportunities aplenty, chances that, when taken, will bring greatness to your name, and joy and knowledge to others."

Bending down, the God kissed the young man on the forehead, leaving... KNOWLEDGE, information in his mind. The ability to manipulate the Essence of the world, to conjure up spells of great power, all this and more was conveyed in that single act. The God rose back up, still smiling like before. "You have a name already, but we both know that a name is of little use in your position. So, I shall grant you a title as a goal to live by: I call you now 'Teacher of Rightful Knowledge,' and this is my request of you:

"This knowledge I have granted you? Teach the secrets of magic to the many, raise up an Order that will protect and help beyond your lifetime."

And then, sadly for the newly-named Teacher, the vision all too soon.

[X] Plan Hermetic Teacher
-[X][Candidate] The son of Pearlmask's Castellan, who looks now to inherit a ruined city from his father. (Lead)
-[X][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)
--[X] One
-[X][Gift] You are the God of Perfection, and that must include Perfect Education as well. You will use a mote of your power to grant the Exigent greater knowledge. (+10 Bonus to Make)
-[X][Gift] It might be possible to create a draught which can place the drinker into a deep, regenerative sleep. You will commission the creation of such post-haste. (Grants +10 to recovery rolls, +20 for Fight recovery rolls)
-[X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)
-[X][Gift] A moonsilver pendant, made in (one of) Luna's image(s) helps the Lunar Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Lunar Exalted)
[X][Vision] Send the Exigent a Vision (10 Effort)
-[X] Teach the secrets of magic to the many, raise an Order that will protect and help beyond your lifetime.
-[X] Name: Teacher of Rightfull Knowledges
-[X] Appearance: A robed person, face hidden by a mask representing their role as philosopher-king and teacher
-[X] Anima Banner: Rising, spiraling water taking at its apex the form of an overfliwing cup with two serpent surrounding it.

Path Choice:
[X] Allow the Potion to be Destroyed

God Choice:
[X] Pearlmask was once a beautiful city of numerous hot springs, but in recent years the combination of poor harvests and sacking has left the city in a terrible state. It needs someone who can revitalize it, either through diplomacy or force, at least that's what Little Bubbles believes. The naiad of one of the hot springs has seen so much sadness in her usual visitors that she wants to help someone rise up to provide succor to the rest of the city's residents. (Southwest, Minor)

Initial Plan:
[X] Plan Work in Progress
-[X][Request] You will keep doing your own thing, as you usually do.
-[X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)
-[X][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)(10 Effort)
--[X] 1

Initial Rolls:
Power Level: 85, Celestial
God Survival: 4, God Dies
Lifespan: 105, Millennia Long
Legacy: 6, Exaltation Dies With User

Event Rolls:
Event 1 (Lead): 62 + 80 = 142
Event 2 (Fight): 92 + 20 = 112
Event 3 (Sneak): 22 + 40 = 62
Event 4 (Lead): 44 + 50 = 94
Event 5 (Fight): 66 + 60 = 126
Event 6 (Make): 77 + 70 = 147
Event 7 (Make): 91 + 110 = 201
Event 8 (Talk): 80 + 50 = 130
Event 9 (Lead): 17 + 50 (Lead) + 30 (Parma) + 40 (Elder) = 137
Event 9 Recovery: 22 + 10 = 32, End of Journey

Name: Teacher of Rightful Knowledge, Chosen of Transcendent Steam
Patron: Little Bubbles, Naiad of the Hot Spring (DECEASED)
Power Level: Celestial
Exigent-Type: Ability-Based
Martial Arts: Terrestrial with All Styles
Sorcery and Necromancy: Solar Circle Sorcery, Ivory Circle Necromancy
Material Resonance: Black Jade + Red Jade (Neutral), All Other Materials (Dissonant)

Appearance: When acting in his role as Castellan of Pearlmask, Rightful Knowledge wears a robe and ivory mask to conceal his identity. Underneath these concealing layers, he takes the form of a quiet dark-haired young man, wearing glasses when not using his mask, or goggles when swimming. The only thing not hidden by his costume are his feet, both because of the risk of slipping on wet rocks, and because his Anima Banner ruins footwear quickly.

Anima Banner: At first, Rightful Knowledge's Anima Banner appears as water pooling around his feet, splashing with every step he takes. The more power he spends, the more the water rises from the ground in tendrils and spins around him. At its apex, the tendrils of water fall into an overflowing cup above his head, with two serpents spiralling around the chalice and steam pouring out from its top.

Anima Effects:

Contained Gift: When interacting with other characters, Rightful Knowledge treats any negative Intimacies related to sorcerers or sorcery held by the other character as one level lower.
The Pouring Shield: Rightful Knowledge can spend 5 motes. For the rest of the scene, any Sorcery or Necromancy spell that targets him, or the area he is present in, must gather an additional (5 + Essence) sorcerous or necromantic motes before they can cast the spell. This can buy him time to get out of the line of fire, to counter the spell, distort it, etc. At Bonfire, this power becomes free.
Steaming Obscurity: Rightful Knowledge can spend 10 motes and 1 willpower while shaping a spell. So long as Rightful Knowledge continues to shape the spell, all onlookers who can see or hear him cannot decipher what spell he is attempting to cast, preventing any attempt to counter it. In addition, any power that would allow for a blanket countering of the spell, such as Spell-Shattering Palm, cannot be used against Rightful Knowledge. This power can only be used once per scene.

Charm Themes:

Aquam: The Exigent can create, manipulate, transform and destroy water. (Sail)
Ignem: The Exigent can generate and alter heat in an area. (Presence)
Enhanced Sorcery: For its type, the Exigent is quite good at improving their spell casting. (Occult)
Vis Coagulation: The Exigent can solidify Essence into physical, digestible substances. (Survival)
Parma Magica: The Exigent is exceptionally talented at shutting down spell casting. (Integrity)
In Hermes' Name (Destroyed Potion): The Exigent is talented with instructing others in the ways of spellcraft. (Presence)

Excellencies: Rightful Knowledge can add up to (Essence) dice to his Ability rolls. When shaping a spell or conducting a working, added dice are instead treated as successes.

Example Charms:

Time-Evaporating Work
Cost: 8m, 1wp; Mins: Occult 4, Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: None
Duration: Until the Working is Finished
Prerequisites: ??? (4 Charms)
The Exalt accelerates the speed at which they create a Working, reducing the time scale from weeks to days. This charm can only be used on Terrestrial Workings of maximum Ambition (Essence).
By repurchasing this charm at Occult 5, Essence 4 after purchasing Celestial Circle Sorcery, its benefits can now be used on Celestial Workings of maximum Ambition (Essence - 3).
Drifting Stream-Mount
Cost: 3m; Mins: Sail 3, Essence 1
Type: Simple
Keywords: None
Duration: One Scene
Prerequisites: None
The Exalt creates a floating stream of water that remains nearby and is able to carry objects, up to (Essence x 200) pounds of weight. This stream cannot fight in combat, can only suffer 1 level of damage before dissipating, and cannot go out more than Short Range from the Exalt's location. If the Exalt attempts to leave the stream behind, it instead automatically follows them.
Stopping the Initiate's Craft
Cost: 5m; Mins: Integrity 3, Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: None
The Exalt shuts down the spellcraft of their enemies with a single dismissive gesture. When the Exalt witnesses another character within short range attempting to shape a spell, they may reflexively roll to counter the spell. If the spell is one they have seen used before, or is one that they could learn at their current level of initation, then every success drains one mote from the spell.

The Great Curse:

Teacher of Rightful Knowledge's Great Curse manifests as a 10-point Twilight Track. He rolls dice and gains Twilight equal to his successes under the following circumstances:

Once per scene, when he acts against a Major Intimacy, he rolls one die (unless he's already rolled for acting against a Defining Intimacy). Voluntarily weakening an intimacy or spending Willpower to resist influence it supports counts as acting against it.
Once per scene, when he acts against a Defining Intimacy, he rolls two dice (or one if he's already rolled for acting against a Major Intimacy).
When he rolls a 1 while shaping a spell, he rolls (# of 1s, max 3) dice.

When the Twilight Track reaches 10, Rightful Knowledge enters Wizard's Twilight. He vanishes from view, transported to a delirious pocket realm he is trapped within. Rightful Knowledge must roll an extended (Higher of Intelligence or Perception) + Occult roll, unaided by charms, with every roll counting as an hour's worth of time. He must achieve (Essence x 2) successes in order to escape. When he escapes, for the next day he suffers a (Number of Rolls Taken) penalty to all Social and Mental actions.

God Background: Little Bubbles was a hot spring naiad, a little god in charge of maintaining the cleanliness of her hot spring. She received many visitors in year's past, as tourists arrived to enjoy the luxury of Pearlmask, and developed a tiny cult as thanks for her efforts. Yet, Little Bubbles could do nothing when the crops which fed the city's denizens failed, when civil unrest began to rise within the city's walls, nor could she possibly help when armies of the city's neighbors arrived to break down its walls and pillage the homes within. A cycle began to occur, as the previous invaders of Pearlmask left the region, allowing little time for the remaining citizens to repair the damage before a new invader came along to repeat the process over again. Eventually, after enough cycles had come to pass, the naiad had had enough.

With a quiet, crying prayer to the Unconquered Sun, Little Bubbles begged for a spark of Exigence, an opportunity to provide the people she loved a protector. A hero that could break this vicisous cycle once and for all... and her prayers would be answered. The spark, which rather than burn with the colors of the rainbow had a solid wax-yellow flame, fell into her hands and quickly began to consume her body. It took the last remnants of her power to quickly locate the person currently relaxing at her spring who would become her Chosen.

Exigent Background: Pearlmask was a former tourist-city of the Forty-Fourth Immortal's elemental empire, having gained its legendary hot springs from precise geomantic alignments. After the Immortal's nation fell, Pearlmask became independent, with the ruling noble given the title of "Castellan." Each Castellan was decided by the nobility with a secret vote after the previous Castellan died, the vote's results were never made public to anyone, including the voters. Instead, its regalia, an everclean robe and ivory mask, would be passed onto the winner by Pearlmask's City Mother, the only one who knew the results and was bound by sorcerous oath to accept whatever result was reached. The winner would then be bound to discard their family names, taking on titles instead to refer to themselves. This was said to ensure that no bribery or fraud could occur, and that a level of separation was established between the Castellan and the other nobles.

The Castellan could then, in turn, raise up exemplary commoners to nobility, granting them a vote, but only with the approval of 80% of the noble voters. The nobility, in turn, could only retain their right to vote by vowing to defend the city through strength of arms, except through notable circumstances such as pregnancy. Thus, few commoners were typically granted this privilege over the centuries. Until the cycle of degredation began. The city's nobility gave their lives as sacrifices to stave off the hordes, and in time entire families were wiped out through these martyrdoms. The previous Castellan before Rightful Knowledge's father took up the role did their best to raise up worthy commoners, but supply just could not meet demand, and the noble caste dwindled greatly in size.

When Rightful Knowledge's father assumed the position of Castellan, the young man assumed that his father, who had seemed so wise and calm-headed, would be able to turn things around. Yet, soon after putting on the mask and robes the man became erratic, pugnacious and overall nothing like the man he remembered. When the young man's frustrationg with his parent grew too much, he retreated to the city's few remaining hot springs to relax. And it was during one of these retreats that a dying Little Bubbles came up to him, placed her hands on his cheeks and touched their foreheads together. In that instant, a vision was conveyed to the young man, and when he woke up, the naiad was gone, a feeling of intense power coursed through his veins and the light of Sorcery had been bestowed onto him.

For now, he could only watch as his father led the city to further disaster, but for now the son would plan for his own eventual rise to power, in order to ensure that Pearlmask did not fall apart entirely.

Notable Events:

Of course, Rightful Knowledge knew that he would need loyal supporters among the nobility and common folk in order to begin creating his plans, and he believed that by serving as a teacher of the mystical arts, he could attract not only the few existing sorcerers within Pearlmask, but also those who had the potential to learn. Thus began a quiet campaign of making inquiries with those individuals that had potential, and making offers to the existing sorcerer base to join his little group. When an existing sorcerer refused, Rightful Knowledge would do his best to undercut that sorcerer's business, rapidly learning whatever spells they possessed just by mere observation, and shutting down their magic in case they tried to attack him, though such cases were thankfully few and far between.

By the end of it all, Rightful Knowledge had silently gathered together every spellcaster in the city's walls as well as a much larger class of potentials. As a collective group, the Cult of Pure Waters as they called themselves had the ability to put pressure on any noble that tried to renege on deals with their membership or harass said sorcerers when a result turned out poor. In return for this collated power, Righteous Knowledge taught what spells he knew and could invent on the fly to his students.

As time went on, the cult's membership and collective knowledge grew, until becoming a cabal with influence on a regional level by the time of Rightful Knowledge's death, even without his help. They would entrench themselves within the neighboring cities and tribes as wandering sorcerers, lending aid to them but relaying information back to the Cult.
After setting up the Cult's foundation, Rightful Knowledge decided that the best option for ingratiating himself with the common folk at large would be to personally eliminate the bandits which even now plagued the farmlands surrounding Pearlmask. Bearing no weapon in his hands, the Chosen of Transcendant Steam nonetheless located each pack of bandits in their hideouts using divination. Then, bearing water and heat in both hands, he quickly dispatched the thieves, bringing back their bodies on top of a flying stream of water as proof of his deeds. The number of such bandits quickly dropped, either from death or from those who gave up the profession, and Righteous Knowledge's star began to rise.
Sadly, not all was good in the world. After so long wondering what exactly was wrong with his father and many other citizens he had seen who acted strangely, Rightful Knowledge was alerted by one of his cabal members of the existence of a spell that could in turn reveal the presence of mystical bindings on a person. Quickly putting the spell in its paces, the Exigent went out and surveyed Pearlmask's citizens, nobility and its leader for supernatural influence. And what he found... did not shock him, but it did quietly terrify the young man. Many of the nobility and middle class, as well as his father, had been caught into some kind of mystical snare. What kind of snare it was he could not tell, for its caster was a Shadow Circle Necromancer of great skill from outside of the city. The only reason that Rightful Knowledge was even able to learn as much as he did is because of his own specialty in shutting down magic altogether, a specialty that unfortunately did not seem to budge on the deathly spell's grasp.

Disheartened, the Exigent came to the conclusion that the only way he could free those trapped within the snares was to deal with the Necromancer himself, personally and permanently.
Finding information on where specifically the Necromancer was would take time, however, and there were some immediate priorities to deal with. First and foremost was to handle the city's reconstruction, since it was obvious to the young man that his father would prove of little help there. Using the cabal's help to persuade various uncollared nobles to lend him support, Rightful Knowledge utilized his existing popularity with the farmers and lower class in order to recruit laborers to help rebuild the walls. In exchange, he offered to enhance the lands of any farmer who agreed to help, such that their crops could grow without their assistance. Many agreed, and the price in time that the Chosen had to pay was well worth it in his eyes, as he ensured that the city's walls could be rebuilt while not simultaneously starving the populace.

Of course, a major thorn in his side was his own father, who demanded to know why Righteous Knowledge had superceded his authority to enact this project. The sorcerer could only do his best to placate his father's wrath while vowing to free his parent from the Necromancer's lash.
And that time would eventually come, after Pearlmask's walls had finished their reconstruction. The cabal had managed to track down the lair of the caster to a distant island, surrounded by ship-cracking rocks and high cliff walls. This location was normally reachable only by birdflight, but Rightful Knowledge was confident that he could get in using his ability to manipulate water to push himself over the cliff's edge and into the valley within. Or, you know, use one of the many flight spells available to him. Besides, he had to act soon, to ensure that the necromancer did not immediately cause those they had enchanted to cause disruptions all over again.

So he traveled via a cloud to hide his approach. Once his Cirrus Skiff hung directly over the ceiling entrance to the necromancer's lair, he ordered it to quickly descend through the hole until he reached ground. There, a booming voice hidden from sight mocked the sorcerer for his foolishness. The island's master revealed that they had already expected his arrival, having set up hidden trapped spells around the inner cave to doubtlessly kill him the moment he got too close. His only hope, the voice said, was to give up and return the way he came, leaving the Lunar be to their devices.

Teacher of Rightful Knowledge simply gave a half-lidded stare at the "invisible" traps around him, and with a wave of his hands undid their magic, dismissing the pathetic attempts to scare him with a simple gesture.

The necromancer was left stunned, but they quickly rallied and began to rain down spell after tainted spell at the Exigent. Twisted Brilliant Raptors made of green graveflame were knocked askance mid-flight, Curses of all kinds were rendered stillborn in the Lunar's hands, each successful counter giving Rightful Knowledge the time he needed to get closer and closer. Eventually, he reached close enough to the caster's location to see... their shadow, it's hands making the correct gestures necessary to cast the spells. With his back turned to the true threat, the Lunar finally stepped out of the darkness, their batlike visage revealing their preferred method of flight as they swooped down to ambush the distracted Exigent.

That's what the Silver monster thought, of course. Rightful Knowledge simply raised his flat hands up near the sides of his head, the fingertips pointed in the Lunar's general direction, and sent out blasts of ice from the fingers which encased the necromancer in ice. He had been able to triangulate the Lunar's position behind him by the angle of their shadow, leaving them vulnerable to a counterattack. Turning around now that his enemy's ambush had failed, the Chosen of Transcendent Steam called down wave after wave of Obsidian Butterflies, their crashing glass bodies cutting through the ice and the Lunar's flesh in equal measure. When all was said and done, nothing remained of the necromancer beyond their head, which Righteous Knowledge had deliberately avoided harming in order to take back proof of his victory.

Setting off on his cloud mount, the sorcerer rode home victorious, yet still hoping that his actions had proven the solution he wished they were. When he arrived back at Pearlmask, he found the city in uproar, and his heart sank. Talking with the members of his cabal, he discovered that his operation had been a success, mostly. The vast majority of victims of the Lunar's compulsions had indeed been freed from their mystical prison, and many apologies among family members were had. But, there was one individual who had, under the necromancer's direction, killed themselves in order to destabilize the city-state.

That individual... was Rightful Knowledge's father, the city's Castellan.

Feeling overwhelming grief that his battle had not saved the one person that mattered most to him, the Exigent nonetheless suppressed those feelings for now. The city needed a new pillar of strength in order to retain order, and if he had to put away the crying child for a little while longer to hold an emergency election for himself, then... so be it.

The matter was altogether quick, with the remaining nobility easily voting for the young man who had freed them from their curse. Many even made their votes public knowledge, confident that this was the person they wanted to follow into the future. And when the election results were gathered up, and Rightful Knowledge won by a landslide... he put on the stately robe and mask, and only with his face fully concealed began to silently cry for the father he could no longer hug in his arms.
Pearlmask was famed as a city of hot springs, and its new ruler vowed to restore this reputation by his own hands. Well, not just his own, but the public had no need to understand the degree of conspiracy the Cult of Pure Waters had created amongst themselves. Gathering up his students together to utilize their efforts, he began the process of re-aligning damaged geomantic flows and blocked off underground streams. Aboveground, the earth dug itself out, creating basins where the now-heated water could spring up while leaving behind holes near the top to drain the excess. In a matter of only a few weeks, a ring of such basins had been created on the outside AND the inside of the city's walls, providing refreshing baths for everyone to partake in. The rings were connected via two artificial rivers, connected to each other through the city's gates, which eventually carried away dirt and debris back to the ocean to avoid issues of cleanliness.

Yet, the many grateful citizens and travelers who partook in these newfound luxuries had no idea that this was simply the first part of Rightful Knowledge's master plan.
It took a considerable amount of time, to organize a working such as this. Decades, centuries even. Teacher of Rightful Knowledge had laid down the preparations for what would serve as his greatest work ever, but he could only begin after finding a way to initiate himself into the Solar Circle. In the mean time, he taught more students, grew the cabal's numbers and created new trade deals with neighboring polities. Once his preparations for initiation were finally ready, he created plans for his subordinates in the Cult just in case he died in the attempt. The procedure he had attempted, involving submerging himself into boiling water to boil away his inner impurities, was quite the dangerous method to pursue for enlightenment. And yet, it worked. He rose from that bubbling pit with the insights of the final Circle of Sorcery, ready to truly begin his master plan.

There was a concept in Pearlmask, as well as in other civilizations across Creation, of blessed water washing away impurities and evil. Rightful Knowledge planned to weaponize this concept in order to protect the city from sorcerous and necromantic intrusion. By infusing the steaming waters of Pearlmask with the idea of "cleansing away disruption," he had planned to create a series of liquid wards which could counteract the spells of enemy casters when flowing through the outer ring. Meanwhile, the inner ring would instead ground any misused spells cast by novices (or experts in a panic) to avoid any accidents from occuring. That was Teacher of Rightful Knowledge's initial plan, his goal in this endeavor.

Yet, it would instead succeed far beyond what he had planned. The Working moved at such a brisk pace, even for himself, that he quickly realized that he could infuse far more into the underlying spell than just working against spellcraft. So, in combination with his Cabal, he anted up his efforts. Instead of cleansing merely sorcerous disruption, he figured, why not aim for magical disruption in general? After all, blessed water did not just counter spells in the legends, but demons, undead and fae as well. Why not try for the best outcome possible?

It did slow down the work slightly to increase his Ambitions halfway through, yet it proved a wise decision. When the working was complete, and a vial of purifying water was bottled and then let loose upon a small shadowlands, the Chosen of Transcendent Steam watched as the corrupted terrain was pushed back by the water's touch. Where only dead grass and darkened soil once were, now more life-bearing sediment remained. Quickly, the Exigent gathered up more of his precious liquid and traveled instead to a Bordermarch, and letting the water flow over the tainted region and leave behind solid, stable ground gave him the evidence he needed to declare this working a success beyond measure.

Rightful Knowledge was not the only individual testing his water's effects, of course. A Sidereal agent that watched over him during his earlier battles had taken samples and began conducting their own research into the water's properties. Indeed, the waters of Pearlmask could now indeed cleans a region of taint, whether that be Wyld or Shadow, leaving behind the normal earth of Creation. Of course, the water had less of an effect on liquids, since it was difficult to cleanse something that was already just water, but it still had an effect. As quickly as they could, the agent reported back to the Bureau of Destiny regarding this discovery.

Subsequent tests by other agents proved that this was no fluke. Though his power over sorcery, Teacher of Rightful Knowledge had somehow created an instant cure for tainted land. Of course, it required the waters of Pearlmask, and said water only cleansed what it touched, but that was still an astonishingly fast method for reclaiming tainted territory from the forces of the Wyld and Underworld. There was, of course, one foe that it could not defeat: An overlyconfident Sidereal had taken a cooled jar of the stuff with them when they walked into the Endless Desert, and were disappointed to find that it had little effect on a Yozi's world-body.

Soon, word began to spread across Creation of the feat that Rightful Knowledge had accomplished, and he gladly sold his cleansing water away to other nations for quite the sum of silver and jade. While Pearlmask would now need to be defended at all times to ensure that this precious resource was not lost, it was a sacrifice that the Celestial Bureaucracy was easily willing to make, dispatching a pair of Celestial Lions and squads of Lion Dogs to patrol and ensure Pearlmask's safety as if it were Heaven itself.

And in the many paths of the future to come, some of those routes which led to annihilation or retreat... were cut away, never to happen...
While Rightful Knowledge was making more money then he knew what to do with thanks to the cleansing waters, he still wanted to do more mundane trade with his neighbors. One in particular, the now Lunar-dominated Caul, still headed by Sha'a Oka, was a major focus of his. After all, he had taken down one Lunar Exalt on his own, but he had no desire to deal with half a score or more if they ever organized against him. Instead, by creating friendly relations with the island nation, he hoped to take himself off of whatever targeting list they had.

To his surprise, obtaining an audience with the Black Lion was quite easy, Oka having grown accustomed to the help of foreign Exigents thanks to a certain Chosen of Piercings assisting him sometime back. Establishing trade deals and non-aggression pacts proved to be simple affairs, and in the end Rightful Knowledge and the Lunar Shahan-ya celebrated their mutual win throughout the night via drinking and... other affairs.
In the end, despite Saturn's efforts, the effects of age still wore onto Teacher of Rightful Knowledge. He couldn't remain alive forever, and so resolved to ensure that his greatest strength, his immense talent for resisting enemy spellcraft, could be turned into a spell that any ordinary sorcerer could use for themselves. At first, he thought the answer would be a simple one, but it quickly grew in complexity as he realized just how many variables he would need to take into account while still creating a spell of the Terrestrial level.

In the end, he created 3 different variants of the spell, one designed for each Circle of Sorcery, before finally settling on what the Terrestrial version would look like. Each version of this spell called "Parma Magica" provided the same "cost-increasing" effect that Rightful Knowledge himself innately had, just specific for spells of that level or lower. On top of that, it would last until sunset or sunrise, providing a long-term protection against mystical attacks. Then, using the Cult of Pure Waters, which had grown considerably throughout the millennia, he tried to teach and distribute the spell's parameters across the whole Southwest Direction.

Except... for the first time in their existence, the Cult secretly defied its founder. Instead of actually distributing the spell freely, they instead kept its secrets to themselves, lying to their leader about their distribution efforts. In this way, they figured, it would be easy to maintain an advantage should any enemy spell casters acost them as they left Pearlmask's boundaries. In his old age, Rightful Knowledge was, ironically considering his name, kept out of the loop, and he eventually died none the wiser about his subordinate's efforts.

But others were not so ignorant. The Agents of Heaven had already acquired the secrets behind the spell "Parma Magica," and began to distribute it among their agents. And Rightful Knowledge had, without the cabal even knowing, already given the methods for the Terrestrial and Celestial versions gladly to the Lunars of the Silver Pact as part of a gift exchange. Unknowingly, the conspiracy to keep the spell under wraps had failed before it had even begun, and thus the final wish of Teacher of Rightful Knowledge was actually fulfilled despite his follower's actions.

Major Location Achievements Reached!

The Cult of Pure Waters, a conspiracy of sorcerers protecting Pearlmask from without and within, have been established!
The Baths of Pearlmask, well known for their defensive and luxurious properties both, have attracted visitors from across the Southwest to visit for times of relaxation!

Major UNIVERSAL Achievement Reached!

The Waters of Pearlmask, legendary for their ability to cleanse sorcery and tainted land, will prove a boon for Creation's survival, reducing the odds of Annihilation coming to pass! The time may come for the forces of Creation to retake the land stolen from them by the forces of the Wyld and the Underworld!

The Eighth Exigent's Life has been detailed! For this action of compassion, YOU the Unconquered Sun have earned the following:

+50 Enthusiasm (+10 Base, +10 Major Location Achievements, +30 Major Universal Achievement)(New Total: 170)
+100 Effort (+20 Base, +30 Major Locational Achievements, +50 Major Universal Achievement)(New Total: 175)
Effort Soft Cap Reached. Any Effort Gains will be ignored unless the total is brought below 100.

"This... this could change everything. Everything!"
"...Holy shit."
"You could say that again."
"Yeah, holy shit."

New Gift Ideas Unlocked!

[Gift] One of your sparks of Exigence had previously been stolen from its rightful owner by Plentimon, God of Dice, and with a little nudging, you believe you can make him repay his crime with a blessing. (Grants +30 to the first roll an Exigent rolls with doubled numbers)

Gained for rolling so many doubles for one Exigent!

[Gift] There are many sorcerers under the Bureaucracy's employ, it shouldn't be too hard to recruit one as an assistant. (+10 to Make)

Gained for creating a cabal of sorcerers!

[Gift] There are very few of the Pillars of Unflinching Certainty left in all of Creation. These enormous structure-artifacts, when placed, serve as a shield against taint, preventing the encroach of the Wyld and Underworld. (+20 to Lead/Make rolls to counter the Wyld or Underworld.)

Gained for such an extraordinary achievement in cleansing taint!

And one more thing...

The Wyld was always an unpleasant place to visit. While Saturn rarely feared the inhabitants lying within, She still did not often go into its depths like Mercury or Luna did. Particularly not into Pure Chaos, as She did now. She was typically content to remain within the boundaries of reality, on stable ground as it were. In this case, She could not afford to do so.

There was an aberration to eliminate.

Traveling through the twisted landscapes, easily dispatching the fae that dwelled inside with rudimentary martial arts, the Maiden of Endings eventually reached a strangely real place in the middle of the chaotic zone. A forest dwelling, with a hut and a fire right outside. As She stepped closer, She could feel her target moving to exit his ramshackle home. She could have come here in disguise, as was normal for her sisters, but... it was better to do this without deception.

The man exited the wooden door, wearing dusty brown robes and bearing a pair of spectacles on his bulbous nose. Beneath, an ice-white beard encompassed the entirety of his mouth and chin, while his head remain covered with long, similarly colored hair. Altogether, if you looked upon this man, you would not think him an existential threat to reality. And... were it not for what he could lead to... that might have even proven true.

The man noticed Saturn only after he had gone halfway through his usual chores, startling at Her appearance. "Ah, my... my apologies, your illustrious faeness, I was so distracted that I hardly noticed your arrival!" He gave a small smile at the closing of that statement. His tongue was a strange one, something that She had never heard of before, but... considering it was a possibility of what might come, that was understandable.

"That is alright," Saturn nonethless remarked in that same language, easily speaking it now despite only hearing it seconds ago. The man startled at hearing his own tongue returned with fluency. "I was willing to wait until you had gone through your chores."

"You, you speak Latin! By God's holy grace, I had thought that I would never meet someone who spoke the scholar's tongue for the rest of this Twilit eternity!" Now the man was growing excited, feeling as if he had finally met a kindred soul. Oh, how disappointed he would be with the reveal. "My apologies, my lady, I have not even introduced myself! I am Bonisagus, a wizard and researcher who hath been stranded here in this strange land. It is a pleasure to meet you!" He stuck out his hand, silently asking Her to shake it... but She did not. She instead stood there silently as his mood dropped, sensing that something was wrong.

"My apologies, Bonisagus, but... you are not somewhere you are supposed to be. Or rather, somewhen." Quietly, She began to channel the energy necessary for her Sign. "I wish things could have turned out better than this, but... it was your life compared to the lives of trillions to come."

The wizard's eyes widened as he sensed that She was doing something, and quickly he began to chant some kind of spell-phrase. But it wasn't enough. The Sign of Saturn was created, its violent violet light etching itself into his eyeballs as he began to disintegrate into nothingness.

"May your future never become our destination," said Death.

~~Availabil~~ NEGATED! The source of the Potion of Longevity has been erased!

Author's Note: One of the immutable laws of Creation is "No Traveling Back Against the Currents of Time." For as long as Creation exists, this law shall never be broken.

Even if something from outsider were to try.

So, yes, the source of the Potion of Longevity was indeed, Bonisagus, founder of the Order of Hermes of both Ars Magica and Mage the Ascension fame! He famously was lost in Wizard's Twilight, a condition where a wizard is trapped inside of a crazed pocket dimension that is much more difficult to break out of the older you get, and Bonisagus was quite old indeed. If you're wondering, "Wait, if he's only met someone that can speak his language for the first time with Saturn, how did one of his potions get lost inside of Creation?" To which I say...

...Don't worry about it!

I actually groaned when I realized after nearly finishing this up that halfway through I had started replacing Rightful Knowledge's name with Righteous Knowledge, so I had to go back and fix all of that. If you see another instance of it in here, let me know so that I can fix it. Otherwise, this would have been one of my shorter biographies in terms of both word count and time taken, but here we are only just now crossing the finishing line.

Oh, one last thing, achievements. I've solidified on their classes: Locational, which affects a specific area in a Direction, Directional, which affects an entire Direction, Creation, which affects most or even all of Creation, and Universal which affects everything in a major way. I figured that an "instant cure for Bordermarches/Shadowlands" was enough of a big deal to count as Universal in this case.

Let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions! I'm not going to get started on Turn 9 for a while, so just be aware that it might take some time... or it may just take tomorrow afternoon, I'm not sure.

Critian Caceorte · Mar 20, 2025

YOU are Ignis Divine, Sol Incarnate, better known to all as the Unconquered Sun. At this moment in time, You are wondering about the implications of what taking Saturn's deal had constituted. While the two of you got along the best among the Maidens, it was always tinged with the certainty of what losing to Her in your "friendly" competitions meant. To lose would be... well, perhaps it was best not to dwell on it, but it certainly wasn't as easygoing as an onlooker might assume. For now, You would just prepare for the future, which for some strange reason seemed oddly much brighter, though where this odd sense of optimism came from, You weren't sure. At least You didn't have any new requests to add onto the backlog.

...Right?

Current Consecutive Requests: 0 (No Penalty)

You may choose to take on a request at this time. As always, you may only take on one request at a time.

[][Request] You will keep doing your own thing, as you usually do.

You will have no restrictions for your next Exigent.

[][Request] Mercury's Request: Mercury would like it if there was someone out there that could build additional boats to supplement Creation's overall navy. Of course, they must be able to captain such a boat if necessary.

Your next Exigent MUST have Make be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Make, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Lead.
Your next Exigent will benefit from Mercury's Blessing for free.
Reward: Intervention of Her Chosen (Journeys), Contributes to ???

[][Request] Jupiter's Request: She wants someone that can locate secrets and be able to lock them away. Why she wants this, you don't know. As always, she'll never tell you why.

Your next Exigent MUST have Sneak be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Sneak, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Make.
Your next Exigent will benefit from Jupiter's Blessing for free.
Reward: Intervention of Her Chosen (Secrets)

[][Request] Luna's Request: They would like it if you could create an Exigent that would patrol the boundaries of Creation against the Wyld. While their own Chosen also do this, having someone fully dedicated to the task would be nice.

Your next Exigent CANNOT come from a God in the Center or Yu-Shan.
Your next Exigent MUST have the Cold Iron Amulet as one of their Gifts.
Your next Exigent MUST have some kind of Alteration applied to them, because Luna finds them interesting.
Your next Exigent will travel across Creation. Things that can help with transporting them could prove a boon here.
Reward: Access to the Lion's Blood (Alteration)

[][Request] Wun Ja's Request: Wun Ja is once again asking you for a spark of Exigence. This will create yet another Architect to help protect Creation's cities from harm. Yet... How many times is she willing to keep doing this?

You CANNOT take an Alteration with this Request
You CANNOT choose another God for this request.
Character WILL be Terrestrial-level, as all Architects are.
Character will have some defined traits, but others can be adjusted if you so choose.
As this is a known phenomenon, you will learn what the Architect Charm Themes are, and what bonuses they provide for the dice starting with Part 2.
Reward: Her Blessing? + An Alteration? (NEW!)

[][Request] Blue Crest Merchant's Request: Blue Crest Merchant is the current God of Naval Trade, having taking over the position after his father's death. Before he took up the position, he was a very successful trader himself, and now he turns his eyes back to the West to build a new network up. The problem? The Lintha (well, and the Fae as always, but in THIS case the Lintha). Those demon-blooded pirates are quickly uniting their forces together under an Infernal Exalt (as much You despise hearing that term), risking not just his precious trade but the lives of many. Surely you can provide someone who can stop this? (Timely; Will last up to the 10th Exigent)

Your next Exigent MUST come from a God in the Southwest.
Your next Exigent MUST have Sneak be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Sneak, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Fight.
Your next Exigent will get a free boat to cruise around in.
Reward: Boats?

[][Request] Austera's Request: Starless Austera, God of Starfall Showers and the oldest living daughter of your dear brother Aurora, has been grieving for millennia. As the caretaker of her deceased father's estate, she had done her best to make sure the Manse remains clean and tidy, but the years of looking at the place filled with so many tarnished memories has left her sad and bitter. Now, she desires that someone else take up her position, and the Bureaucracy has been oddly slow (even for them) to assign a replacement. At this point she's even willing to give up ownership of it entirely. So long as the person can take good care of the place and treat her father's memorial with respect, she's fine with washing her hands of it.

Your next Exigent MUST come from a God with some sort of tie to Light or the Arts, preferably both. This will be revealed ahead of time if you select this. If you unlock Patchwork Exalts before taking this request, those may be used as well, but must ultimately have those 2 themes.
Your next Exigent MUST have Lead or Make be their Main Focus.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Lead, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Make.
Your next Exigent MUST have access to Yu-Shan, either from a god located there, or by Gifting them access.
??? (Positive, Don't Worry About it)
Reward: ???

[][Request] Meneera the Goddess of Disastrous Relationships wants to test the limits of what happens when a Patchwork Exigent is created. These are Exigents where two or more deities of different portfolios combine their powers to make an Exalt, usually to poor results. Maybe that high risk of failure is what she's even hoping for...

You CANNOT take an Alteration with this Request
For this Exigent, an additional God in the same region as the chosen deity will also contribute their power. You will not be able to choose who the second deity is for THIS request.
This Exigent's Power Level roll will have an additional DC at 20. Failure to meet this DC means that the Exigent will not be created at all, and the process starts over.
REGARDLESS of whether or not it succeeds, the Gods in question will gain an additional +30 to their survival rolls. If they survive, they MIGHT be able to give another plea for an Exigent... assuming they're not in mortal danger, that is. Regardless, they will still be diminished, and will suffer a -10 to ALL Stage 2 rolls (Power Level, God Survival, Lifespan, Legacy).
If it succeeds, the Exigent will gain 2 additional Charm Themes to benefit from.
If it succeeds, the Exigent's Legacy roll will suffer a PENALTY of -10. In addition, all of their Event rolls suffer from a +10 threshold to trigger recovery.
Reward: Unlocks Patchwork Exigents as an option.

[][Request] Cacapacapu presumes much. Already he has given You a second request, to test another one of his mysterious substances for infusion. You almost want to strike him down for his insolence, but he says that he's gotten a lead on where this substance's origin might be, and that creating an Exigent with the substance might allow them to serve as a tracker for it.

You MUST take one of his unknown substances as an Alteration for this Request
Your next Exigent CANNOT come from a God in the Center or Yu-Shan.
Your next Exigent MUST have Make or Sneak be their Main Focus in order to locate where the substance's origin is.
Your next Exigent MUST have at least 1 Gift enhancing Make, and at least 1 Gift enhancing Sneak.
Reward: +30 to the Availability roll for that substance, increasing the odds that you can find more of it (and that it doesn't end up in enemy hands...)

Just like before, You could allow an alteration to the spark, changing what the resulting Exigent would be.

Choose whether or not to use an Alteration for the Exigent. You can only choose up to 1 Alteration at this time. Because I have received complaints about it, any plans MUST note whether or not they are using an Alteration.

[][Alteration] No, of course not. Best to stick with what is normal.

The creation process proceeds as normal.

[][Alteration] By forging a portion of the god's power right as Exaltation occurs, You can transmute it into a artifact tied to the Exalt's soul, which will never abandon them... or their successors. (Provides the Exalt with an artifact weapon by default, and improves their chances of leaving behind a Legacy.)(Costs 5 Effort to attempt)

Power Level Roll must succeed at DC 20 to create an Exigent at all. Otherwise, the process fails, with the God obtaining a +30 bonus to their survival.
If successful, the Exigent will gain the Artifact Weapon gift for free (+10 to Fight) as well as +10 to their Legacy roll. Should they leave behind a legacy, their Exaltation shall be stored within the weapon itself.

[][Alteration] By imbuing the spark of Exigence with ground-up lotus petals and the blood of Bahal Hesh, Preceptor of Ten Thousand Styles, the Exigent's potential with martial arts can be improved. (Improves the Exalt's Fight independent of gifts (meaning it does not trigger the stacking penalty). Narratively grants better compatibility with martial arts.)

Power Level Roll must succeed at DC 20 to create an Exigent at all. Otherwise, the process fails, with the God obtaining a +30 bonus to their survival.
If successful, the Exigent will gain +10 to their Fight. This does NOT count for the stacking penalty, it is a plain +10 bonus.
Narratively, upgrades the Exigent's capacity for martial arts (Terrestrial -> Neutral -> Mastery + Sidereal Martial Arts -> SMA Enlightenment).

[][Alteration] By indulging in Cacapacapu's eccentricities, you can infuse a spark with one of his mysterious substances. It's random, but the benefits could be great. (Infuses the current Exigent with a random substances's effects.)

Random substance is determined with a ~~1d6~~ 1d5 die roll. The higher the die roll, the less drawbacks it provides, but the lower the die roll, the greater the power it provides.
The Random substance will, on top of the bonuses and penalties, substitute out the situational Charm Themes for their own special themes.
Power Level Roll must succeed at DC 20 to create an Exigent at all. Otherwise, the process fails, with the God obtaining a +30 bonus to their survival.
Once a substance's effects have been uncovered, so long as more of that substance exists (determined by a straight 1d100 roll), then for future Exigents you may CHOOSE to apply the specific liquid as an Alteration, but costing 10 Effort each time.

Even moreso than before, You are brimming with so much enthusiasm, an excitement that needed to be channeled into gifts, else You might burst... thankfully not literally.

Effort Available: 175 (Soft Cap Reached, You MUST Spend at least 80 Effort here or risk not gaining any more Effort with the next Exigent)

Subordinate God x1 (+10 to Lead)
Essence Shield Projector x1 (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)
Age-Staving Cordial x1 (+10 to Lifespan retroactively)

You may spend as much Effort as you like this turn, up to the amount you have available. You may purchase a Gift any number of times, unless otherwise stated. You may also choose to save your Effort, but if you spend none, you will only have what is in storage to give, AND you risk not gaining any Effort for this next Exigent this turn.

[][Gift] You will not trouble yourself with coming up with any gifts this turn. (0 Effort, invalidates other options)

[][Gift] You had quite a collection of artifact weapons from millennia of gifts just lying around, they could be better used to help someone else. (+10 Bonus to Fight)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] After observing many cases of how superhuman strength could help an Exigent out, you decided to grant the subject an amulet which emulated the least of these effects. (+10 Bonus to Fight)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You are the God of Perfection, and that must include Perfect Education as well. You will use a mote of your power to grant the Exigent greater knowledge. (+10 Bonus to Make)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] There are many sorcerers under the Bureaucracy's employ, it shouldn't be too hard to recruit one as an assistant. (+10 to Make)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] Your favorite familiars, the Mice of the Sun, are a rather sneaky bunch able to assassinate others with disease. You can easily lend one for a century or two. (+10 Bonus to Sneak)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] By placing these invisible seals, woven from Pattern Spider silk, along entryways, an Exigent can detect whenever an intruder tries to breach their sanctums. (+10 to Sneak)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] By your will, you shall grant this Exigent a personal ray of light, invisible to all but spirits who will look upon them with your favor. (+10 Bonus to Talk)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] It might be possible to create a draught which can place the drinker into a deep, regenerative sleep. You will commission the creation of such post-haste. (Grants +10 to recovery rolls, +20 for Fight recovery rolls)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You could easily craft a sun emblem out of cold iron, the better to remind the Fae that you were Creation's ultimate defender. (+10 to events involving creatures of the Wyld)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You had quite the garden in your Sanctum-Palace, but more importantly you had quite the store of sunflower seeds, which could grow rapidly in even the worst conditions. (+10 to events involving agriculture)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] A moonsilver pendant, made in (one of) Luna's image(s) helps the Lunar Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Lunar Exalted)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] A starmetal pendant, engraved with the faces of the 5 Maidens to help the Sidereal Exalted grant their favor to the subject, or show their weakness. (+10 to Events dealing with the Sidereal Exalted)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] While you normally only allow Lytek to pick and choose which memories he clips, you can perhaps ask him to be a bit more specific in what he leaves behind. (+10 to Legacy Event Rolls)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] By recruiting a Pattern Spider familiar for the Exigent, You can reduce the rate at which disasters occur in their lives. (Treat any rolls of 6 - 10 as being 11.)(5 Effort, One Per Exigent)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] In the First Age, Saturn's Chosen crafted a series of candles that, when lit, would consume the holder's lifespan in exchange for a great boost in prowess, emulating their own Charms. You could potentially grant an Exigent the same. (+10 to all rolls, +10 to the Recovery Threshold for all Events)(5 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] You are the Unconquered Sun, it is by your authority that the Exalted can be let into Heaven. You surely can allow this Exalt in to enjoy Yu-Shan's splendor and gain connections, right? (+10 to Talk Rolls, Provides access to Yu-Shan)(10 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)(10 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] Kaun's inventions, the Sea Whispers, could be easily reversed engineered and turned to more common use elsewhere. (+10 to Lead and Sneak Events in Western Locations, or the Southeast.)(10 Effort)
-[] How many?

[][Gift] It should be fairly simple to commission an Essence Shield Projector to protect this Exigent. (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)(10 Effort)
-[] How Many?

[][Gift] You can commission the services of Rough Diamond, God of Heroes From Humble Origins to create a bandana carrying his blessing. (+10 to rolls dealing with small communities.)
-[] How Many?

[][Gift] One of your sparks of Exigence had previously been stolen from its rightful owner by Plentimon, God of Dice, and with a little nudging, you believe you can make him repay his crime with a blessing. (Grants +30 to the first roll an Exigent rolls with doubled numbers)(10 Effort)
-[] How Many?

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mercury, Maiden of Journeys, to bless this Exigent's status as a captain. (One Reroll the first time that a Lead event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Lead event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Venus, Maiden of Serenity, to bless this Exigent's tongue in... more ways than one. (One Reroll the first time that a Talk event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Talk event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Jupiter, Maiden of Secrets, to safeguard this Exigent's mysteries. (One Reroll the first time that a Sneak event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Sneak event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] By securing the assistance of a Chosen of (Serenity) at a crucial point, disaster can be turned into opportunity. (After all rolls are done, reverse the digits of the lowest Talk Event, if it would be higher.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] By securing the assistance of a Chosen of (Battles) at a crucial point, disaster can be turned into opportunity. (After all rolls are done, reverse the digits of the lowest Fight Event, if it would be higher.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

[][Gift] There are very few of the Pillars of Unflinching Certainty left in all of Creation. These enormous structure-artifacts, when placed, serve as a shield against taint, preventing the encroach of the Wyld and Underworld. (+20 to Lead/Make rolls to counter the Wyld or Underworld.)(20 Effort, Can Only Hold 1 In Storage, Cost Increases with Each Use)

[][Gift] You have in your hands a precious oriachalcum manual created by one of the greatest Twilights of the First Age on his artifice. You could loan this manual to others to help them revive the First Age's wonders. (+10 to events dealing with First Age technology)(20 30 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time, Cost Increases with Each Use.)

Author's Note: No notes this time, I haven't added any new requests, so feel free to choose what you'd like!

...Well, okay, I might have improved Wun Ja's reward in order to encourage votes her way, but that's about it.

Critian Caceorte · Mar 21, 2025

[X] Plan Eternal Navy
-[X][Request] Blue Crest Merchant's Request: Blue Crest Merchant is the current God of Naval Trade, having taking over the position after his father's death. Before he took up the position, he was a very successful trader himself, and now he turns his eyes back to the West to build a new network up. The problem? The Lintha (well, and the Fae as always, but in THIS case the Lintha). Those demon-blooded pirates are quickly uniting their forces together under an Infernal Exalt (as much You despise hearing that term), risking not just his precious trade but the lives of many. Surely you can provide someone who can stop this? (Timely; Will last up to the 10th Exigent)
-[X][Alteration] By forging a portion of the god's power right as Exaltation occurs, You can transmute it into a artifact tied to the Exalt's soul, which will never abandon them... or their successors. (Provides the Exalt with an artifact weapon by default, and improves their chances of leaving behind a Legacy.)(Costs 5 Effort to attempt)
-[X][Gift] After observing many cases of how superhuman strength could help an Exigent out, you decided to grant the subject an amulet which emulated the least of these effects. (+10 Bonus to Fight)(5 Effort)
--[X] 7
-[X][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)(5 Effort)
--[X] 4
-[X][Gift] Kaun's inventions, the Sea Whispers, could be easily reversed engineered and turned to more common use elsewhere. (+10 to Lead and Sneak Events in Western Locations, or the Southeast.)(10 Effort)
--[X] 1
-[X][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)(10 Effort)
-[X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

Your latest shopping spree was quite the noteworthy one, as You contacted numerous gods of physical strength as well as craftsman, commissioning them to undertake rush-jobs of amulets in exchange for (in your eyes) a pittance of Ambrosia. Of course, YOU controlled the Ambrosia dole and essentially the salaries of most deities in the Celestial Bureaucracy, so in reality it was likely quite the score for them. A few other deities of differing domains were in turn earmarked for assistance, while a small supply of Age-Staving Cordial was stockpiled for the future. Finally, You asked Mars for two things: A future blessing (which She agreed readily to when She heard of what You were working on), and the designs for Kaun's artifact earrings, or at least the designs for such. It seems that his latest invention, one that he had only just recently created the first true versions of, allowed for those who wore them to communicate across great bodies of water, making them perfect for distant messaging.

With these preparations all taken care of, You turned your gaze towards fulfilling Blue Crest Merchant's request. To be honest, his suggestion was the one that made the most sense: It fulfilled a genuine need in Creation at this moment in time, without asking for much beyond supplying the Exigent with the tools they needed to do the job. You also knew that Blue Crest Merchant acted as a secret supporter for Your Solars in the West, creating mutual deals where they would protect Western trade from the Raskha and pirates in exchange for information and wealth. To be honest, were it not for one detail, You would say that You quite liked Merchant, as while he was of course self-serving, he also had his priorities quite in hand.

But that detail, that one detail... You nigh-instantly pieced it together in the one time You met with the God of Naval Trade to discuss his request. His heart was twisted with vice, and through your perfect gaze, You saw his true feelings, and his true deeds. You had of course known beforehand that Merchant was formerly a God-Blooded child of the previous God of Naval Trade, that he ascended to becoming a God near the end of his life. You knew that his promotion to his father's job after the latter's death proved to be a good decision in the long run, with how well he expanded his domain while still securing Creation from external threats.

But You also know now... that he got that position by commissioning an assassin to permanently kill his father and free up the job. That he was far from unwilling to turn to nefarious methods to improve his own standing, that he STILL had the assassin (whoever they were) under his employ, and only his intelligence in realizing just how dire Creation's position truly was had given him an iota of responsibility for the world. And even then, that still boosted his portfolio by ensuring that trade continued unhindered. And because of that, You could never truly trust Blue Crest Merchant, much like many in Heaven's government. But a reform... that would have to wait for now.

With all of these preparations complete, You one day received the request for Exigence, and You answered, hoping that Merchant's influence would not have a negative effect on the Exigent themselves.

Who would be the recipient of this spark of Exigence?

[] Though renowned for its beauty, An-Teng is a living painting propagated by cruelty, as dissent from the peaceful facade is punished with hand and whip. One god in particular, Viersla, God of Hidden Tensions, hates their job because of how much they work they have to do and recieve no thanks for. At this point, they figure that an Exigent with their power could blow this popsicle stand wide open and stop this suffocating atmosphere of false pleasantries! (Southwest, Minor)

[] Wei-Ho, Goddess of Rusted Anchors, makes her residence in Creation on a small populated island. The crone goddess does her best to protect the island from roving bands of pirates, but a recent encounter has left her wounded and exhausted, with still more pirates heading in force to that location. She seeks to spite these bandits by making a Chosen that could protect the island in her stead. (Southwest, Minor)

[] His name is sadly an appropriate one, and thus Sucker For A Dirty Face, a tiny Barnacle deity, was never able to really connect with others without making things weird. Over the centuries, he has attached himself to the hull of the Rags of Finn, an enormous ship which doubled as a small mobile town. Unfortunately, the knowledge and supplies necessary to repair such a vessel have dwindled, and despite his reputation Sucker's still willing to risk his life in order to create a Chosen that could fix this situation. (CURRENTLY Southwest, Minor)(Travels between the Southwest to the Northwest, one region per turn)

[] Somewhere, in the ocean(s), there is a floatilla. Constructed from broken ship parts, it is home to those sailors that have ended up shipwrecked at sea under strange circumstances. It's "captain", Veering Waves, God of Lost Sailors, is sadly cursed to transport whatever vessel he commands to random waters across Creation thanks to certain... comments he made about Mercury. While the ship gains supplies by obtaining whatever goods that are lost at sea, it's overall worthless if they can never reach port. Veering Waves now regrets his words, and hopes that his Chosen will be able to convey his apologies to Mercury and end the curse. (CURRENTLY Southwest, Moderate)(RANDOMLY Travels to the oceanic Directions every turn, ignoring regions in-between.)

Author's Note: Kudos to @Donald Darf for the suggestions, I will be adding some of the other suggestions people have given in the future, but I want to spread things out a bit for now. Hence why I added the traveling deities, a mechanic that I think will help spice things up a little.

EDIT: Dagnabbit, forgot to credit @Feather_Up , going to fix that now. Thanks for the suggestion!

Critian Caceorte · Mar 22, 2025

[X] Somewhere, in the ocean(s), there is a floatilla. Constructed from broken ship parts, it is home to those sailors that have ended up shipwrecked at sea under strange circumstances. It's "captain", Veering Waves, God of Lost Sailors, is sadly cursed to transport whatever vessel he commands to random waters across Creation thanks to certain... comments he made about Mercury. While the ship gains supplies by obtaining whatever goods that are lost at sea, it's overall worthless if they can never reach port. Veering Waves now regrets his words, and hopes that his Chosen will be able to convey his apologies to Mercury and end the curse. (CURRENTLY Southwest, Moderate)(RANDOMLY Travels to the oceanic Directions every turn, ignoring regions in-between.)

Roll Results:
Power Level: 70 + 10 (Omake) = 80, Celestial Exalt
God Survival: 17 + 30 (Moderate) - 20 (Celestial) = 27, Veering Waves Dies
Lifespan: 95 + 20 (Celestial) = 115, Millennia Long
Exaltation Survival: 38 + 10 = 48, Dies With User

You knew of Veering Waves, it was difficult not to know, thanks to a... event which happened during one Calibration, centuries past. While the Incarnae as a whole had grown a bit of a thick skin for comments when people thought they weren't looking (which was essentially always, the seven of you heard a LOT more than you let on), there were always those times where nonetheless a certain comment or another went over the line, and divine retribution often followed. You yourself were proud to be on the lower end of "Issuing punishments due to relayed comments" (A competition which always had Jupiter reigning at the bottom, and Venus often near the top), but even You would have done something had You heard someone talking in that manner about yourself.

It was only the fact that Mercury could take care of herself, thank you very much, that stayed her sisters from doing something. Mercury was easily the most casual of the Incarna (when Luna wasn't in such a mood, of course) and was a Goddess of among many other things sailors. Thus, She was particularly well-inured to the usual comments about her appearance or manners (or lack thereof). That was all fine and dandy. What wasn't fine was when someone not only delved into those sorts of topics, but wrapped it all up in the truly stupid bow of "I bet half of the Gods here could sail from the Southwest to the North better than her."

Mercury's pride was never in her appearance, but in her skills. And Veering Waves, who spoke those words out loud, had no idea that She was right behind him when he made his fatal error. Publicly, the Maiden of Journeys made an open challenge to all there that anyone who wanted to also participate in her race against Veering Waves were free to do so. She would show them why SHE was the Master of All Things Travel. And, in the end, it wasn't even a contest. Mercury did not use any of her teleportation tricks, nor did She use a grand galleon or First Age ship. Instead, She relied on a canoe to get Her from the Southwest to the Northern seas. With no sails or tricks, and only her own strength to push Her there, Mercury was declared the winner far ahead of anyone else.

As punishment for daring to make such comments about Her and then not even backing it up with skill, Mercury punished Veering Waves with a potent curse: So long as he lived, he would wander aimlessly across Creation, starting in one patch of sea and ending up in another. He would never reach any port, instead only subsisting on what lost goods he could acquire from scavenging. So thorough was her punishment that She asked You for a favor: To use your horn to summon the Jotun, the Avatar-Body of Cecelyne the Endless Desert in order to ensure that Veering Waves would never end up in Malfeas by mistake. Strangely, the sandstorm-avatar had no problem with going along with this request, even if She was forced to agree anyways.

So it was that everyplace was denied to Veering Waves, who could only roam around on collected driftwood for a ship. Or, rather, a series of rafts, all tied together with rope in a mocking imitation of a flotilla, a squadron of ships. All those centuries spent roaming aimlessly with no hopes of ever seeing port again obviously had their effect on the God of Lost Sailors. He grew more despondent, and more desperate to ensure that those sailors that washed ashore onto his rafts were taken care of well. As a god, he would forgo any sustenance and gave it solely to his "crew", for he had no chance for companionship otherwise.

Evidently, all of that time wore on him enough that he wished to create someone that could atone for his punishment and either free him from this curse... or at least spare him another second of this drudgery. Judging by how ill he looked once he absorbed the divine spark into himself, it seemed like the second option was the more likely one. You just hoped that Veering Wave's reputation would be prepared posthumously.

The young woman that Veering Waves chose to be his champion, a girl who had disguised herself as a boy in order to avoid the common superstitions of women bringing bad luck onto ships, now awaited the spark that would grant her her powers. But what form would those powers take?

Current Traits:
Power Level: Celestial (+30 to Main Focus, +10 to all others)
Lifespan: Millennia Long (Minimum 8 Events)
Exaltation: Dies With User
Exalt Type: Ability-Based
Charm Themes:

Lost Adversaries: The Exalt can force their foes to wander off in confusion (Gained from God)(Stealth)
Sailor Affinity: The Exalt interacts well with sailors and understands them. (Gained from God)(Socialize)
Diverging Waves: The Exalt can redirect ships into unsafe terrain, deflecting pursuers (Gained from God)(Sail)
Scavenged Ships: The Exalt can build ships out of the most ruined parts. (Gained from Situation)(Craft)
Another Locale: The Exalt can intentionally "get lost" in order to clear intervening space to a destination… somewhat close by. (Gained from Situation)(Stealth)
Atoner: The Exalt does well when trying to make up for theirs or another's mistakes. (Gained From Situation)(Integrity)

Material Affinity: Black Jade (Resonant), All Other Materials (Neutral)
Martial Arts: Neutral With All Styles
Sorcery: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Shadow Circle Necromancy
Added Traits: Free Weapon (+10 Fight), Improved Legacy Chance (+10 Legacy), Free Boat (???)

This poor girl would need as much help as she could get, especially if she was to take on... one of those Infernals on her own. But what help were You willing to give?

Due to the nature of the request, the following Gift has been locked in:
[X][Gift] Kaun's inventions, the Sea Whispers, could be easily reversed engineered and turned to more common use elsewhere. (+10 to Lead and Sneak Events in Western Locations, or the Southeast.)

Choose which of the following you would also like to give this Exigent. Please write your votes in the form of a plan.

[][Gift] After observing many cases of how superhuman strength could help an Exigent out, you decided to grant the subject an amulet which emulated the least of these effects. (+10 Bonus to Fight)
-[] How many? (Max 3)

[][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)
-[] How many? (Max 3)

[][Gift] It should be fairly simple to commission an Essence Shield Projector to protect this Exigent. (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)

[][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)
-[] How many? (Max 2)

[][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)

[][Gift] In this dire situation, perhaps more direct action could be taken. You shall allow this Exigent a singular use of your most divine panoply, to help them get on their feet. (Instead provides a +50 bonus to the FIRST event roll, bonus counts as part of natural die roll, will reduce the Enthusiasm gain for this Exigent.)

And in addition, You could always make another go at a vision...

-[][Vision] Send the Exigent a Vision (10 Effort)
--[] Write-in what you want the POINT of the vision to be. It must be a single sentence in length. This will serve as the Vision's important line, NOT the entirety of the Vision itself. It can be used to convey an objective for the future, impart information that Sol would know about a situation, establish a facet of the Exigent's personality, or simply provide reassurance to them.

-[][Vision] No, You will spare the effort for now (No Vision)

Finally, who was this young girl?

[] Exigent's Name
[] Exigent's Appearance
[] Exigent's Anima Banner (Should have dizzying / confusing quality to it)

Author's Note: So, normally I would not offer a suggestion as to what Gifts you should take, because that would interfere with voter choice. In this case, however, I would recommend taking one of the amulets of strength. Even if you already have the Fight gift covered with the free artifact weapon, it may prove necessary in the future...

As always, any questions you have, let me know!

Critian Caceorte · Mar 23, 2025

"Defend these waters and those who ply them against the enemies of Creation."

She drifted on top of the ocean's surface, the raft beneath her body smaller than those of Veering Wave's flotilla. Everywhere she could see, as usual, was water. Water, sky, clouds, and the Sun's Light beaming down on her face.

...No, wait, that last one was-

"Layda, storm-stricken child, heed my words." Was... the sound came from up above, from the glowing white orb in the sky, but surely the Sun couldn't possibly be speaking to her... right?

"Layda, there is great turmoil befalling the world. Creation is at all times surrounded by enemies which seek its destruction, and yet many disregard this fact. It has foes within and without which will do nothing less than tarnish its beauty, if not annihilate it outright." She was delirious, from sunstroke surely, for what else could explain this?

"Child, heed the words I tell you now, remember them as long as you are able. Remember this command that I, the Unconquered Sun, now give: Defend these waters and those who ply them against the enemies of Creation."

The girl felt that command etch itself into her soul, the surety of its purpose strengthening her will as she looked up into the blinding sun-

-And watched as it eventually was forced to blink.

[X] Plan Generous Donations
-[X][Gift] It should be fairly simple to commission an Essence Shield Projector to protect this Exigent. (+10 to Fight/Lead events against enemies with ranged attacks.)
-[X][Gift] After observing many cases of how superhuman strength could help an Exigent out, you decided to grant the subject an amulet which emulated the least of these effects. (+10 Bonus to Fight)
--[X] 2
[X][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)
--[X] 2
-[X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)
-[X][Vision] Send the Exigent a Vision (10 Effort)
--[X] Defend these waters and those who ply them against the enemies of Creation
-[X] Exigent Name Layda the Longsighted
-[X] Exigent Appearance Lithe and long of limb as is common to Westerners with vivid blue-green eyes that even before her exaltation seemed to change to reflect the mood of the sea, the very distant mark of some other power in these ever-changing seas. More often than not though those eyes were narrowed in concentration with the 'long-sight' which gave her her name. A useful thing for a lookout atop the crow's nest to have, but bothersome at other times
-[X] Exigent Anima Banner: The anima begins as a warping of the light around the exigent making things close by seem far or those far off seem close, though as it flares the effect seems to 'uncoil' as a great sea serpent that moves through the air with a sound like the roaring of waves

God Choice:
[X] Somewhere, in the ocean(s), there is a floatilla. Constructed from broken ship parts, it is home to those sailors that have ended up shipwrecked at sea under strange circumstances. It's "captain", Veering Waves, God of Lost Sailors, is sadly cursed to transport whatever vessel he commands to random waters across Creation thanks to certain... comments he made about Mercury. While the ship gains supplies by obtaining whatever goods that are lost at sea, it's overall worthless if they can never reach port. Veering Waves now regrets his words, and hopes that his Chosen will be able to convey his apologies to Mercury and end the curse. (CURRENTLY Southwest, Moderate)(RANDOMLY Travels to the oceanic Directions every turn, ignoring regions in-between.)

Initial Plan:
[X] Plan Eternal Navy
-[X][Request] Blue Crest Merchant's Request: Blue Crest Merchant is the current God of Naval Trade, having taking over the position after his father's death. Before he took up the position, he was a very successful trader himself, and now he turns his eyes back to the West to build a new network up. The problem? The Lintha (well, and the Fae as always, but in THIS case the Lintha). Those demon-blooded pirates are quickly uniting their forces together under an Infernal Exalt (as much You despise hearing that term), risking not just his precious trade but the lives of many. Surely you can provide someone who can stop this? (Timely; Will last up to the 10th Exigent)
-[X][Alteration] By forging a portion of the god's power right as Exaltation occurs, You can transmute it into a artifact tied to the Exalt's soul, which will never abandon them... or their successors. (Provides the Exalt with an artifact weapon by default, and improves their chances of leaving behind a Legacy.)(Costs 5 Effort to attempt)
-[X][Gift] After observing many cases of how superhuman strength could help an Exigent out, you decided to grant the subject an amulet which emulated the least of these effects. (+10 Bonus to Fight)(5 Effort)
--[X] 7
-[X][Gift] While you could not assign a Celestial Lion to assist this Exigent, you do know of a minor god who can serve as an assistant. (+10 Bonus to Lead)(5 Effort)
--[X] 4
-[X][Gift] Kaun's inventions, the Sea Whispers, could be easily reversed engineered and turned to more common use elsewhere. (+10 to Lead and Sneak Events in Western Locations, or the Southeast.)(10 Effort)
--[X] 1
-[X][Gift] Though a Peach of Immortality was out of the question, you could certainly afford to give someone a regular supply of Age-Staving Cordial, lengthening their short lifespans. (Grants +10 retroactively to a character's Lifespan roll)(10 Effort)
-[X][Gift] You could always ask a favor from Mars, Maiden of Battles, to bless this Exigent in their fights. (One Reroll the first time that a Fight event would require Recovery, taking the higher result. ALSO guarantees that the SECOND event will be a Fight event.)(10 Effort, Can only hold 1 of these in storage at a time.)

Initial Rolls:
Power Level: 70 + 10 (Omake) = 80, Celestial Exalt
God Survival: 17 + 30 (Moderate) - 20 (Celestial) = 27, Veering Waves Dies
Lifespan: 95 + 20 (Celestial) = 115, Millennia Long
Exaltation Survival: 38 + 10 = 48, Dies With User

Event 1 (Sneak): 58 + 80 = 138
Event 2 (Fight): 86 + 52 = 138
Event 3 (Lead): 86 + 82 = 168
Event 4 (Fight): NATURAL 100 + 42 = 142
Event 5 (Sneak): 9 + 80 = 89, Recovery Triggered
Event 5 Recovery: 29 + 20 = 49, Recovery is Long
Event 6 (Make): 95 + 40 = 135
Event 7 (Lead): 65 + 72 = 137
Event 8 (Sneak)(Extra): 20 + 80 = 100, Recovery Triggered
Event 8 Recovery: 9 + 40 = 49, Recovery is Long
Event 9 (Sneak)(Extra): 78 + 70 (Full Sneak Bonus) + 10 (Sailors) + 40 (Elder) = 198
Event 10 (Talk)(Extra): 49 + 10 (Talk) + 10 (Sailors) + 50 (Elder) = 119
Event 10 Recovery: 16 + 40 = 56, End of Journey

Name: Ladya the Longsighted
Patron: Veering Waves, God of Lost Sailors (DECEASED)
Power Level: Celestial
Exigent-Type: Ability-Based
Martial Arts: Neutral with all styles
Sorcery and Necromancy: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Shadow Circle Necromancy
Material Resonance: Black Jade (Resonant), All Other Materials (Neutral)

Appearance: Lithe and long of limb as is common to Westerners with vivid blue-green eyes that even before her exaltation seemed to change to reflect the mood of the sea, the very distant mark of some other power in these ever-changing seas. More often than not though those eyes were narrowed in concentration with the 'long-sight' which gave her her name. A useful thing for a lookout atop the crow's nest to have, but bothersome at other times. Beyond this, she bears sun-kissed skin, long wavy black hair and a scarf at all times to cover her mouth and nose, which hides a jaw half-empty of teeth.

Anima Banner: At the start, Layda's Anima Banner takes the form of a visual distortion, which magnifies distant objects and reduces those nearby. As it grows stronger, the distortion field grows in size, and fluctuates between maximizing and minimizing images seen through the filter. At its apex, the banner uncoils itself into the form of a giant invisible sea serpent, its ocean-roar cry and its distorting effect the only indication of its presence.

Anima Effects:

Driftwood Palanqiun: When Layda sets foot onto broken wood floating on the ocean surface, she never needs to roll to maintain her balance, and the wood bears her weight regardless of size. She can treat the wood as if it were a Ship with a Speed of (Essence, max 5) and Maneuverability 0, ignoring all mundane bonuses and penalties for these stats. It has only a single Incapacitated Hull Point.
Twisted Mirror Aura: By spending 5 motes, Layda can alter the depth perception of both those nearby and those very far away, making her more difficult to try and hit. She gains (Essence) Defense against all attacks within Close Range, and all attacks from Long Range or longer. This power becomes free at Bonfire.
Instant Seafaring Method: By spending 10 motes and 1 Willpower, Layda can take 1 turn in concentration, plus 1 per individual on whatever ship she is on that she wishes to bring with. She may gather up to (Essence x 5) people as part of this effect. Once she has finished charging this power up, Layda teleports the vessel she is on, alongside the chosen companions, to a point she has traveled before on the ocean. Any individuals not brought with her that are on-board fall into the water where the ship used to be. This power can be used once per story.

Charm Themes:

Lost Adversaries: The Exalt can force their foes to wander off in confusion (Gained from God)(Stealth)
Sailor Affinity: The Exalt interacts well with sailors and understands them. (Gained from God)(Socialize)
Diverging Waves: The Exalt can redirect ships into unsafe terrain, deflecting pursuers (Gained from God)(Sail)
Scavenged Ships: The Exalt can build ships out of the most ruined parts. (Gained from Situation)(Craft)
Another Locale: The Exalt can intentionally "get lost" in order to clear intervening space to a destination… somewhat close by. (Gained from Situation)(Stealth)
Atoner: The Exalt does well when trying to make up for theirs or another's mistakes. (Gained From Situation)(Integrity)

Excellencies: Layda can add up to (Ability) dice on her rolls, or up to (Attribute + Ability, Max 10) dice when on-board a ship.

The Great Curse:

Layda's Great Curse manifests as a 10 point Limit track. She rolls dice and gains Limit equal to her successes under the following circumstances:

Once per scene, when she acts against a Major Intimacy, she rolls one die (unless she's already rolled for acting against a Defining Intimacy). Voluntarily weakening an intimacy or spending Willpower to resist influence it supports counts as acting against it.
Once per scene, when she acts against a Defining Intimacy, she rolls two dice (or one if she's already rolled for acting against a Major Intimacy).
Whenever an opportunity to make up for a major mistake becomes impossible to pursue, Layda rolls three dice.

When the Limit Track reaches 10, Layda becomes totally listless and lost in her own thoughts. For the rest of the session, she suffers a Defining Principle of "What's the point in trying? It won't help anyways," and her Limit Track resets to 0. Acting against this Intimacy DOES count for gaining Limit, potentially allowing her to cascade on how frequently, but the number of dice rolled for gaining Limit is reduced by one until this effect ends.

God Background: Veering Waves was the God of Lost Sailors, working in Heaven to campaign for his own success, and out of Heaven to locate such lost souls and bring them home. It was this combination of self-service and rescue work that allowed him to improve his social standing, and with his rising star it seemed that he might take over one of his superiors' positions. That dream ended one Calibration, when Veering Waves made certain comments about Mercury the Maiden of Journeys regarding her skills as a sailor.

To his misfortune, the Incarna in question was standing right behind him as he said this, and she very loudly challenged him to a contest to prove his own worth. They, alongside anyone else that wished to challenge her, would race from the bottom of the Southwest to the Northern seas. The other deities could take whatever ship and crew they wished to use, Mercury on the other hand would use a canoe and an oar, singular. She would also not use her powers over Fate to influence the weather nor to simply teleport to the end destination. It seemed like the odds were truly stacked against her.

But she was an Incarna, and thus winning proved easy. It helped that the only deities that could possibly challenge her were smart enough not to do so. After doling out punishments to the other failed challengers, Mercury laid the harshest punishment onto Veering Waves himself: He would be cursed to forever wander Creation's sea, never able to dock at any port, never able to sail on anything better than rafts, he would randomly teleport around to different parts of Creation's seas, and finally, he would never be able to travel to Malfeas, enforced by a command given by the Unconquered Sun to Cecelyne herself. Thus would Veering Waves be left stranded on a pile of driftwood, only a tiny tithe of food lost in the sea washing up on his raft's edge to supply any crew that ended up with him.

Thus was Veering Waves left to wander the ocean, bouncing around from location to location at random intervals, leaving him without any sense of direction. On occassion, sailors and driftwood would arrive at his raft's edge, and he would take them on as crew, using the washed ashore supplies to provide for their daily nutrition. After centuries of this exile from any true connection with the outside world, Veering Waves knew that he needed to apologize. He had, most certainly, learned his lesson, yet the prayers he directed towards Mercury seemed to have no response. Desperate for a solution, he then turned his voice towards the Unconquered Sun, hoping to create a champion free of his curse that could convey his genuine remorse to Mercury's ears. When the spark entered his body and spread like a burning fire, he knew that he would not live to see his atonement completed.

Exigent Background: There are many superstitions in the West regarding female sailors. Some positive, some negative, and many context sensitive. Layda was well aware of this, which is why when she snuck onboard one ship as a child, she did so by disguising herself as a boy. Of course, no one would have known either way, because no one discovered that she was on-board at all. Hiding herself away at the bottom of the ship in it's storage room, she subsisted on hardtack and grog, never touching the nutrious citrus and vegetables for fear of discovery. This malnutrition would leave its mark, as she developed scurvy, and several of her adult teeth fell out alongside their baby brethren.

Somehow, she survived, and made a living stowing away in other ships, eventually being caught on one and thrown overboard in the middle of the ocean. It was pure chance that she would then end up washing onto one of Veering Waves' rafts, where she would be taken care of by the God's "crew." When Veering Waves needed a champion, he selected her to have the honor because he believed that as someone free of some of the attitudes sailors can have towards women (being a girl herself), she would be able to more easily endear herself towards Mercury. That, and she had no family on land to tie her down, allowing her to love the seas fully like he once did.

When he passed on his power to her, endowing her as the Chosen of Lost Sailors, Layda was filled with a power she could hardly describe, before she passed out from shock. While unconscious, a vision of the sun speaking to her occurred, and when she woke up, she was changed in not just personality from this encounter, but also in body: the malnutrition which had afflicted her in life had fixed itself over a single night's rest, miraculously boosting her height to a greater length. The teeth, sadly, were not and never would be fixed, though at least now it would never get worse. In her hands was clutched a Black Jade trident, one which returned to her hands when thrown by bouncing on top of the ocean waves like trampolines.

In the next few days, a pair of gods would emerge in Veering Waves' place, rowing a small boat to Layda's location. They said that they used to be his subordinates before his exile from Yu-Shan, and their association with him greatly limited their job prospects since. It was the Unconquered Sun who asked them to join Layda on her quest to atone for their old bosses sins, and they agreed, hoping that it would fix their reputation in Heaven. They brought with them a belt, one which when worn could project a force field well-suited to blocking heat and small object, but which offered no benefit against larger melee options. They also each gave her twin amulets, which increased her strength beyond what her thin limbs could provide, and a directive: To eliminate the Infernal Exalt known as Greased Wheel of Defiance and to break the Lintha over her knee. They assured her that a deed such as that would greatly help in improving her standing with the Maiden of Journeys.

Notable Events:

Layda still had Veering Waves' crew to assist her, alongside their collective rafts, and so she devised a plan together with the twin gods and the older sailors. She would paddle in towards Bluehaven, ahead of the others, and avoiding the Lintha's patrol ships. She had quickly discovered through experimentation that she had the ability to redirect where ships traveled via the waves, as well as the power to cause others to wander off in confusion. Combining these two skillsets together, she could redirect the enemy ships onto courses where they would collide into one another, with the crew too disoriented before impact to make a correction.

And that's what she did. Rowing her small rowboat towards Bluehaven under the cover of night, she easily bypassed the patrol ships and left them on collision courses in her wake. By the time that any pirate on those ships realized their mistake, it was too late to fix it, and long after the Chosen of Lost Sailors had left the area, giving no clear suspect for who was responsible for these mass crashes. She reached Bluehaven's shores with no one the wiser that she was there, or the full extent of what she had accomplished.
Finding Greased Wheel proved easier than Layda had expected. The Infernal had been reclining on a wooden tanning chair of all things, lounging around on what should have been a peaceful night enjoying the spoils of her pillaging. She held a glass of wine in her hands, for Sun's Sake! Thus, when the Chosen of Lost Sailors silently approached the Nadir, she found herself in a prime position to take the Lintha Queen out. Raising her trident to the ready, Layda threw the artifact weapon at Greased Wheel, piercing her side with three gory puncture wounds. It didn't kill the Infernal immediately, sadly, but it did dramatically injure the corrupted Solar who had never developed enough of a connection to the Demon King Malfeas to improve her surviability. Instead Greased Wheel was left hobbling when Layda approached her position.

The Infernal conjured blasts of superheated sand from Cecelyne's deserts, but they passed over the energy field like rain over an umbrella. It was almost as if Cecelyne's yoke to never touch Veering Waves extended a benefit to his Exigent, but that was mere superstition. In reality, the artifact belt easily shielded Layda from the attacks, giving her the space she needed to charge Greased Wheel, rip her trident free from the Green Sun Princess' side and repeatedly stab her in the rest of her torso. By the time Greased Wheel died, she resembled an arrow target more than she did a person, and all of the blood in her body drained away in seconds. And because of Layda's sabotage with the Lintha ships, there was enough confusion on the island to avoid anyone bothering Greased Wheel during her ordered time for relaxation.
With the head of the Lintha pirates eliminated, and its island defenders in chaos, it was time for the last step of Layda's plan. She had in her possession, given to her by the twin subordinate gods, a few pairs of earrings that could transmit messages across the water to a reciever. Using them, she gave the signal, and the crew of Veering Waves' rafts all sailed in to mop up the mess she had made of the Lintha patrol boats.

This was helped by the fact that nearly all of the ship captains suspected each other of sabotage rather than a third party, leaving them to fight each other on their broken decks. When the dispossessed sailors on rafts floated in, they only had to deal with exhausted pirates, not ready-and-able terrors of the sea. Layda meanwhile took care of the guards on land, her trident easily catching them unawares. With her powers over getting lost, she could isolate guard patrols, taking them off-route in order to turn them into easy pickings. Altogether, the purge of Bluehaven should have taken only a single day. By all accounts at the time, it would have done so. Except...
Except, the Lintha had prepared a final contingency. The prophet of the Lintha, the Dragon-Blood Durkatha, resided in Malfeas on most days of the year except during Calibration. During his stay in the Demon City, he made an acquaintance of Bloated Qosh, the 4th Soul of the Consuming Tide, 6th Soul of the Ocean of Venom. In short, Qosh was a 2nd Circle Demon, a powerful named demon in the shape of a bloated whale corpse with vents expelling poison as it swam. Durkatha could only summon such an entity into the world unbound after weeks of work, his knowledge of Sorcery to low to do otherwise. Qosh made a vow to protect the Lintha only in times of emergency, otherwise simply roaming the nearby seas for food to sate its endless hunger.

And this was a time of emergency. Qosh could swim through air as easily as it did the seas, and it rose with its great size to soar through the skies and drench the earth in its toxins. Had it faced any other foe, it would have proved a deadly opponent to encounter. Yet Layda did not struggle one iota against the bloated fish. She simply threw her trident, impaling the Demon and bringing it down to the earth. Then, after climbing on top of the beast, she grabbed her trident, and in her hands it began to spin along its middle tine. Rotating at such high speeds, it blended Qosh's internals, dealing grievous damage to the beast. Then, with one final thrust into its head, Layda destroyed the Demon and permanently slew it.

Not "permanently slew" as in "that particular demon could not return, opening up a place for a replacement." Permanently slew as in it eliminated the Consuming Tide's ability to have a 4th soul at all. No more would the 3rd Circle be able to replace it's missing piece, and it's cries of agony triggered traumatic flashbacks throughout much of Malfeas as many recalled the days of the Divine Revolution, when the Solar and Lunar Exalted repeated such feats en masse. The Yozi Kimbery herself was furious that her soul could be so deprived, and would swear eternal vengeance upon her 2nd Circle soul's killer, but to no avail. She would have no more influence in Layda's life.
Reuniting with her crew after the Lintha at Bluehaven were utterly destroyed, the Chosen of Lost Sailors planned to locate wherever the remaining Lintha on the island were likely to be: In their hidden prisons. Surveying the various buildings, many of which had been destroyed from infighting and her own prowess, they were able to uncover one such prison, freeing the slaves kept within. Yet, that was the only prison they could find, and when Layda inquired as to where the rest of the slaves could have been, her divine subordinates bluntly told her the truth: They were dead. As ship-slaves, they were brought onto the Lintha's ships to take care of the drudgery, freeing the Lintha themselves up for raiding and pillaging. With little to no escape boats on-board, there was little to no chance of them surviving in the middle of the ocean, particularly as the remaining pirates would kill them preemptively to prevent any slave revolts.

The Exigent was distraught upon hearing this information. She effectively shut down, realizing that by carelessly ramming the Lintha ships into each other, she had also doomed the innocents stored on-board. Hundreds of those who did not deserve to die nonetheless did because of her actions. Many days passed as Layda lived in a haze, unable to break herself free, until eventually the sight of her crew attempting to rebuild the Lintha ships into usable galleons brought her back to reality.
Pushing away the sorrow, the Chosen of Lost Sailors helped her crew to rebuild the broken vessels, converting the wreckage into a flotilla about half of its numbers previously. The remaining scraps were used for rebuilding on the shore, creating a fort and homes for those who had no desire (or obligation) to travel elsewhere. Despite the otherwise ruined wood, the ships stood up to the waves well, and not even a lack of crew for all of the vessels could stop them from traveling wherever Layda wished. In the end, she left half of the rebuilt ships (a quarter of the original fleet) to the freed slaves and sailors that would live on Bluehaven's surface. The remaining half she would take with herself, to be used to transport those who wished to reunite with their families.
It took years, even decades to return everyone to their homes, as many dwelled on the other side of Creation, and one gentleman in particular originated from the Dreaming Sea in the Southeast, having ended up in Lintha territory due to Fair Folk trafficking operations. But Layda had the ability to force her ships to cross intervening space, even land, to reach their destination, and thus her objective of returning everyone who wished to go home was easily achieved.

It was at one city, the city of Pearlmask, that Layda would unknowingly make contact with her "predecessor," the Exigent known as Teacher of Rightful Knowledge. There, they talked about his efforts to rebuild the city, what sort of trade (limited as it was) that she could offer them, and though she offered to help him with his problems he declined, citing that he had things well in-hand. Still, they would prove friendly acquaintances for the future.
The last objective which Layda set for herself was to finalize Veering Waves' atonement. She would need to apologize directly to the Maiden of Journeys to truly set her heart at ease, but that meant trying to find one of the hidden gates to Yu-Shan. And finding one of those mysterious locations proved highly difficult. Layda had given up ownership of all but one ship in her flotilla, giving the remaining boats to those individuals she had reunited with their families, so she only had herself and her ship to support this effort.

Traveling to different ports (once again proving that Veering Waves' curse did not apply to her, but that was established before with her reunification efforts), Layda pursued any lead she could find regarding the location of the gates. She even asked her godly subordinates, but they sheepishly admitted that they only knew of one Gate's location, having used it exclusively since it got little traffic from non-gods. Why was this the case? Because it was underwater, on the ocean floor far down below. Since gods had no need for air, such was of little worry for them, compared to a more mortal diver. And Veering Waves never took them out much from Yu-Shan anyways, so...

The Exigent did NOT find the two deities tapping their index fingers together and looking away in embarassment to be very funny.

Regardless, with two less-than-helpful crew members, she was left to locate gates only with what little they knew of other Gates, some of which was somehow outright wrong. But eventually, they were able to find a more accessible Gate. The two gods were able to just walk into Heaven as was their right, while Layda slipped past them to enter the City of the Gods. Reuniting with the two once she was through, they were able to find out where Mercury's sanctum-palace was located, and headed out there to hopefully find the Maiden.

Unfortunately, the Lions guarding the entrance to this place were not so willing to let the minor gods through, and so the twin seafarers served as a distraction while Layda got past the lions and into the palace itself. It resembled a train of some kind (not that Layda knew what those were, for the First Age has long since vanished), with each compartment large enough to serve as a house all on its own. Reenacting her old stowaway days, the Chosen of Lost Sailors jumped onto one of the compartment-homes near the end and began the laborious process of making her way to the front.

Each compartment had its own servants, which the Exigent needed to sneak past, and the excessive use of her Essence took its toll on the woman as she continued to progress. Eventually, she was able to make it: At the train's head was the locomotive, and sitting at its well-furnished seat was Mercury herself, the Goddess towering over the tall Exigent. The Maiden demanded to know why Layda was there, and so she began to recount her story.

She told of her power's origins with Veering Waves, how the god had sought some way of repenting for his crimes, and how he eventually created a Chosen to do so in his place. How Layda herself had taken the ramshackle crew of Waves' and used them to destroy the Lintha utterly, at least those of Bluehaven she had to qualify. How she freed some of their prisoners, reuniting them with their loved ones after so long spent in captivity. How she then sought out the Maiden of Journeys in order to ask for her forgiveness for her patron's crimes.

There was a moment of silence, then a minute, then longer. All the Maiden of Journeys, usually so casual and friendly, did was stare at the Exigent behind her saffron rope-blindfold. But eventually, Mercury... said yes. In light of his Chosen's efforts, She would forgive Veering Waves of his crime. The news relieved Layda of every last bit of her stress, and with that confirmation that all was forgiven... she promptly passed out onto the floor, smacking her face into the locomotive's wooden panelling.

Fortunately for her, Mercury thought that this was hilarious, and when Layda woke up in a heavenly soft bed, it was to the sight of a far more amused Incarna. For many years after that, Layda would have the occasional meeting with Mercury where the two would chat about what was going on in Creation, with only Layda's own goals and Mercury's addiction to the Games of Divinity severely limiting what time they could spend together. The matter of Veering Waves would be forgotten behind the memories of his "successor's" efforts.
The Chosen of Lost Sailors would not see much action for centuries, mostly just sailing from place to place across Creation to satisfy her wanderlust. But there would come a time where she would need to return to action. A massive armada of fae-boats piloted by the Raksha lords of the West was threatening to kickstart a second Crusade, so long as they were able to build up momentum and gather allies from the other Raksha who hadn't already joined in. With the creation of Pearlmask's Wyld-purging waters, there was a growing sense among the Fair Folk that if they didn't demolish the city and stop the spread of its blessed liquid now that they would never be able to retake Creation's land and seas ever again.

What the group of Fae-sailors were now was but a kernel of the Wyld Tide they could potentially become. The Lunars, usually on top of things here, were too busy with other matters to be able to deal with the Raksha, and so it fell to Layda to kill this seed of conquest before it could truly grow. If she didn't stop them here, then it was possible they might not be able to be stopped at all.

While she had been "out of the game" for quite some time, she proved herself to be in great form as she not only redirected Raksha ships to collide with one another, ruining their precious glamour-hulls, but sowed discord among the gathered lords by forging messages in their handwriting (or equivalent, Raksha were WEIRD) that were supposedly set out to the Lunar Exalted to collaborate with them against their peers. Then, "copies" of those messages would be left where their compatriots could find them. This created the illusion that a number of the lords were in truth selling each other out to the Creationborn in exchange for protection, and thus whatever unity had existed among this growing movement was easily shattered by the experienced Exigent. Though she didn't know it, the scale of her victory there would prove a godsend for the rest of Creation.
For the rest of Layda's years, she turned her efforts to history, collecting the stories of her crew members and their now many, many descendants on-board her ship. The boat's many rooms were now lined wall to wall with bookshelves containing as many stories of the crew's families as she could collect. She would then travel between each island destination, making copies of each book and giving them to their descendants and homes so that their ancestor's deeds would never be forgotten.

And, one day while out on voyage, Layda would close her eyes for the last time, drifting off into an eternal rest in the captain's cabin of her ship. The twin subordinate gods who had assisted her for so long knew when she died when the ship finally ceased to move under its own power. Offering their thanks for rectifying Veering Waves' memory, they departed back to Yu-Shan with the ship in tow.

Major Locational Achievement Reached!

The permanent slaying of Bloat Qosh, and the maiming of the Consuming Tide's soul, has permanently weakened (in a very small way) Kimbery the Ocean of Venoms! (Location: Malfeas)(+5 Enthusiasm, +15 Effort)

Major DIrectional Achievement Reached!

With the Lintha at Bluehaven broken, and the remnants scattered, the Southwest has been freed from their tyranny! (Location: Southwest, will have an increased effect during the next timeskip due to fulfilling Blue Crest Merchant's Request)(+10 Enthusiasm, +25 Effort)

Major Creation Achievement Reached!

By smashing apart the seed of the Second Balorian Crusade, Creation has been spared the desolation of a Fae Armada! (+20 Enthusiasm, +35 Effort)

The Ninth Exigent's Life has been detailed! For this action of compassion, YOU the Unconquered Sun have earned the following:

+45 Enthusiasm (+10 Base, +5 Major Locational Achievement, +10 Major Directional Achievement, +20 Major Creation Achievement)(New Total: 215)
New Enthusiasm Threshold Reached! The Sun may now take on two Requests at once, so long as the requirements for both requests are met. Taking two on at once DOES count as two requests for his weariness, however, but the penalties will not manifest until the next Exigent (so an Exigent with a 3rd and 4th request applying will not suffer the Enthusiasm penalties for the 4th).
+95 Effort (+20 Base, +15 Major Locational Achievement, +25 Major Directional Achievement, +35 Major Creation Achievement)(New Total: 160)
Effort Soft Cap Reached. Any Effort Gains will be ignored unless the total is brought below 100.

"She was a pretty nice gal, all things considered. And no, Venus, there was nothing like that between us."
"Awwww..."
"I'm glad she was able to stop those Raksha before they could truly metastasize into something worse. Such a large congregation risks the creation of an Ishvara, and I have no desire to fight Balor Jr. a second time."

New Alteration Unlocked!

[Alteration] By collecting the blood of seven different lottery gods, an staining bath could be made to soak the spark of Exigence in a fortune-favored brine. (Will adjust the die roll of ANY Event or Recovery roll by up to +7 (to a max of 100), using up a pool of 20 points to do so. Rolls on the threshold for success will be prioritized, then the earliest Events and so on.)

Gained for... whatever happened with the dice this time because WOW.

New Gift Ideas Unlocked!

[Gift] Blue Crest Merchant has plenty of contacts for the ship-building deities in Yu-Shan, and he is always willing to offer a steep discount to the King of the Gods. (Grants the Exigent ocean access, allowing them to travel across the Western Directions, or the Southeast if they are adjacent to it. Having travel access allows them to convert half of their timeskip bonus, rounded up, to any region they can reach this way, on top of the usual benefits of access.)

Gained for completing Blue Crest Merchant's request!

[Gift] The Chosen of Journeys have the ability to transport a ship to any ocean destination, bypassing land when doing so in exchange for having little control over the destination. By contracting them for this service, a connection can be made between the Ocean and the Dreaming Sea. (Allows for travel between the Dreaming Sea and the West if ocean access is available.)

Gained for creating an Exigent that could travel between the West and Southeast!

[Gift] A rope belt with an anchor for a fastener can be created, which improves the opinions of sailorfolk towards the wearer. (+10 to rolls dealing with sailors and sailboats)

Gained for creating an Exigent with an affinity for sailors!

Author's Note: Originally, I was going to add a potent gift based on Layda crushing the crusade, but... we kind of already have a 20-point gift dedicated to Anti-Fae activity, so I nixed it.

So, yeah, things just seem to continue escalating in terms of feats here. While I've been a bit freeform for what threshold meets an achievement in order to be flexible, generally I've been treating a 200+ as something Universal. I'm hoping that we don't have a ton of those, since I'm going to start running out of ideas for such things before too long, but if it happens, it happens.

I did admittedly tweak Layda's appearance a bit to provide some more general detail besides being lanky and the special eyes, so apologies @DragonParadox for that.

Up next is our 10th Exigent, the last one before the next timeskip. It will be mostly the same as last time, except for 3 key details:
1. It's going to take place over 20 years instead of 10, that way we progress further into the timeline.
2. It's going to include Yu-Shan and Malfeas as locations to be rolled for.
3. It's not going to have the general +10 bonus for all of the locations, since all of the intervening years have left a lot of room for CHAOS to happen, so be prepared for some new requests to pop up to put out the fires.

Thanks once again to everyone who participated! I will get the start of Turn 10 out... eventually. I've had the idea for a Vampire-Cultivation quest bouncing in my head today, but unlike most of my story ideas I think I've banished so that it won't distract me from this, because if an idea like that takes root it's going to drain my enthusiasm for other projects (just speaking from experience).

Break Glass in Case of Emergency (Exalted Exigent-Creation Quest)

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Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

Critian Caceorte

Currently Suffering from Space-Time Narcolepsy

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