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Ebeli Quest: How to Manage your Plot Devices and Save Creation

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Yog said:
This. So much this. Ebeli works with demons as long as she can get them to work with her. Terrifying them into an unwilling binding is not how she oeprates and is counter productive for her.
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Orballis is a bit of an exception, as he is just an ass, not to mention seeing him piss himself was both cathartic and hilarious. Plus that coherced binding was just to obtain a way of finding Hunhow, not to make him reveal the Yozi's secrets.
 
Strypgia said:
As I understand it, Neverborn come about when something (Usually a Solar Exalt) kills a Primordial. Since Creation was not built to have to ever see a Primordial die, death results in a 'Divide By Zero' error for reality, and the Primordial becomes a Neverborn, i.e., they were retroactively not alive, but aren't dead but were alive but are dead aageasgaaewrerewrs'mv;m

And reality can't handle it. So weird shit happens.
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I recall Jenna Moran describing it as, essentially, Primordials being so large that the process of dying causes them to gain as much or more experiences than they lose.
There's this thing where the models people have of themselves are always flawed, because we can't *fit* as much information about ourselves in our brain as we can fit self.

That is, if I have 1,000,000 microbrains worth of storage in my head, and assuming that I use at least one or two of those for, you know, me, there are less than 1,000,000 microbrains available for a model of me.

One of the philosophical issues I have with death is that it's the experience of no longer having experiences. It's not clear that the idea is coherent.

But one of the things that death seems to do and be, in Exalted, is a division that cuts the references- the data pointers all a'pointing to the self, the thing-looking-outwards and the name and the internal model of the self and such- from the actuality.

It struck me a while back while thinking about Oblivion implementation that the big issue the Neverborn might have is that it's possible that the references the Primordials have are actually larger than their actual self—-that the data in the name, the thing-looking-outwards, the model, all the things that the ghosts have, is actually more information than the whole, or, perhaps, exactly as much.

And what I think Oblivion might be, in that sense, is that first you lose your life, leaving only the references.

No more alive. Just, the things that looked at life. The thing that you have that is aware that you are dead. The name that is the indicator of something lost. The model of the self, that updates to indicate that that self is dead.

And for a person, for a normal person, that's smaller. Less data. Less than 1,000,000 microselves. Maybe 300,000. Maybe 999,999. But smaller.

And then, because you are in Oblivion, it happens again.

Bit by bit, until there is only 0, and that dereferences endlessly or sinks into the substance of the void and becomes it, or simply stops being math and unravels like a number theory scrawled on paper thrown into a fire.

But the problem that the Neverborn have is that it goes a little differently for them.

First they die. They lose their lives. They have only the part that looks outward and sees that they are dead. They have only the name that is the name of something that is lost. They have only the model of the self, that is updated to indicate the self that it references is departed.

And that is as much data, or more.

They haven't become smaller, more digestible, further on towards dissolving entirely. They've grown. The awareness of their death, the knowledge of their ending, the self that is experiencing the nonexistence of their self, the ghost is larger than the thing.

That would mean, of course, that Oblivion can never be large enough to swallow them. That would mean, of course, that they are mad not because they are dead gods, but because they are dead dead gods. Dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead, dead gods. Dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead dead, dead dead gods.

And still endlessly unraveling and unfolding into ever greater death, loss, experience of no longer having experiences, being the names of something that are ever further away from living, and still falling, and still somehow stuck.
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GreggHL said:
Then Elsewhere opens behind him. As was agreed upon. The End of All Wisdom turns to the entrance to the Antitime and Nonplace, and sees the immense rotating maw of soulsteel blades extending out. When asked what it was, Autochthon summed it up as such:

Mechanical God Separator.

"Orabillis," the voice of the Great Maker booms, "I have returned!"

Lightning lasers connect the spikes into an infinite horror combine harvester.

"FOR YOU."

And it all becomes worth it when Orabillis, the End of All Wisdom, possibly the most dangerous demon to bind in all of Malfeas, trips over his own rug and scurries away from the immense horror machine while screaming like a little girl. You step out of the way, watching Autochthon gobble up chunks of the office, consuming scroll and book and decoration.
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Autochthon, summed up: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM"
 
In game terms, a Primordial or Yozi dies and becomes a Neverborn when all of its Dying health levels are filled with aggravated damage (TED has 10 Dying levels; filling them all kills him and turns him into The Dragon That Was). Normally, a Primordials' Cosmic Principle Charm makes it impossible for any amount of damage to reduce them to their Incapacitated health level, keeping their Dying levels safe and keeping them conscious and fighting. Ghost-Eating Technique, and a few other Exalted-only Charms, use the fragment of Oblivion built into each Exaltation to bypass this defense. The Primordials made Lethe to recycle the Essence and souls of any being that died in their Creation, but they never imagined that they themselves could die, so when they DID begin dying, it broke the cycle they had created. Presumably, Autochthon's genius plus the power and potential of the Exalted could repair and modify Lethe, allowing the Neverborn to reincarnate properly into new Primordials.

Oblivion, entropy in its purest form, existed from the moment Autochthon defined his theme of violating boundaries, but only in potential. When the first Primordial died, that potential was made actual.
 
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Fastness of Dying Stars and the Singularity Jouten
  • Threadmarks
    • [X]Find some more Third Circles to terrify into binding.
    -[X]Bind Utprerak, the Fastness of Shattered Suns, into protecting Creation and Hell from the Engine of Extinction.


    It     was decided that Orabillis was a right asshole and deserved what he got, and you would make it a point to bottle what you felt when you saw him shitting himself in terror because it would corner the market on Semtex. On the other hand, you worked well with demons because you respected them, and didn't want to get a reputation for terrifying them into compliance.

    Homkora's task completed, she was released from her binding. You did have the pearl you would need to track down Hunhow, of course. But first, you had another demon you wanted to bind.

    Third Circle Demons were on on the level of Celestial Gods. The most powerful of them comparable to the Incarnae. They would prove invaluable in protecting Creation against the forces of the Engine of Extinction. So, you did a bit of research and determined which one you'd summon and bind.

    "Ebeli? I just want to say that I have full confidence that you know what you're doing but this is still terrifying."

    Shell maintains her shield around them, all of you standing atop a great brass pillar. Sky stands to your other side, sword already drawn. Ray has anchors on the pillar to keep it steady, constantly flowing essence through them to keep the pillar from being drawn in. Ligier- well, Ligier just laughs. Ruvelia watches silently but with a smile- this one was among the first to fall on her world.

    You can't look directly at it, but the effects are obvious. Much of this area, for hundreds of miles around are drawn in, superheated and stretched into molten brass and light. It surrounds the immense form in a mantle of crimson and white, and there is nothing that can stop the devastation it leaves in its wake.

    You cannot look directly at it, for there is no light escaping from it. All you see is what it does to the Demon City. Its colors are the stretched and burning remains of city blocks. Its smells are the crushed and torched remains of countless beings that were beneath, above, and before it. The only sin of its shape are the immense, nation-sized hoof prints it leaves in its wake, and you know exactly what this is.

    The Antarch Stampede. The Collapsar That Walks. The Traveling Lens. The Singularity Jouten.

    The Black Boar that Twists the Skies.
    Isidoros.
    ​
    Curiously, you wonder if the spell and ritual made him redirect to here so you could summon his sixth soul. Maybe? It would definitely be an accomplishment. But the ritual is done, and you extend your hands towards the event horizon of the Yozi. It comes ever closer- you can tell because the light begins to turn blue.

    "I invoke the Sign of Separation. Hear me, for I open the gate.

    "I invoke the Mudra of Victory, and remind you of the oaths your progenitor once swore.

    "I invoke the Black Boar that Twists the Skies! Isidoros, Unstoppable, I call forth your Sixth Soul!

    "Hear me, Fastness of Shattered Suns! Come forth and be bound-

    "Utprerak!"

    Your own power forces down against hers- burning it down to something manageable as you grind your teeth to your own conviction to see it through. Power meets power- will meets will. You have your companions and loved ones by your side, and you will not fail at this task.

    (Ebeli, 20 dice, 8 successes)

    (Utprerak, 10 dice, 6 successes)

    (Ebeli, 16 dice, 2 successes)

    (Utprerak, 10 dice, 3 successes)

    (Ebeli, 16 dice 8 successes)

    (Utprerak, 10 dice, 2 successes)

    The blue shifting becomes brighter. Brighter still. But you can see through the glow something disengage from the event horizon of the Black Boar. An immense dreadnought of black crystal hovering over what you guess is the boar's head. It flies over to you- escaping impossible gravity and hovering above you. Innumerable armored eyes scan beneath the armored plate, and the league wide floating fortress shines a light down upon you.

    Before you appears an elder woman with tan skin and in shadowed, glass armor, cloaked in burning clouds.

    "I am bound," she says, "What task do you bind me towards, Sorcerer?"

    "The Engine of Extinction exists in another universe and has used the Well of Udr to access this one," you state, completely straight faced, "You are bound to defend the Well from anything that attempts to come through- and if necessary, to take the fight through it, to the Engine itself."

    To your credit, the third circle demon says nothing for long moments. Even as the Black Boar gets closer. And closer. And closer. Shell's eyes widen with concern and Ray keeps pouring essence into the chains holding the tower to the ground.

    "Understood," Utprerak says, "You have claimed the Well, I take it?"

    "Erembour's currently managing it," you respond, "So you should go so we can get out of his way."

    Utprerak shakes her head.

    "Not yet. He wants to talk to you."

    She vanishes, and the dreadnought flies away, flying up and into the malfean sky. You turn, and look up, and notice the blue shifting has stopped. Because there is something before you. Something immense which you can't look directly at.

    You harbor the Great Maker. I do not care that you do.

    The voice hits like something seismic.

    The shield ripples- it can defend against anything but the tower beneath you still shakes.

    I know he seeks to challenge Malfeas. He always has. But Malfeas will win, for he is King.

    With that, the Black Boar turns and continues on his way, pulling the remains of a city with him.



    You secured a townhouse in one of the nicer layers- not in Ligier's layer itself- as a home base. That way you could work without having to worry about Malfeas' eyes being too intent on you. He could technically see through Ligier's eyes, but he would not do so without cause, and Ligier made it a point to not look directly at Ruvelia while they were in Hell.

    "So we believe Hunhow is in Creation," Ruvelia says, "And the pearl will serve as an arcane link to find him."

    You nod. "I've contacted Mara and she's going to help me steal his shadow, as well. It'll give us a better idea of what he's plotting.

    You pocket the pearl, shoving it into your amulet. Autochthon is still in Elsewhere, working on something. You have that artifact he gave you on the belt of your dress, and it seems to have no weight, which is odd. But still. Though, for the most part this visit seems to be going well.

    "Of course, from what we know he intends to somehow destroy or despoil Creation. Perhaps a visit to the estates of the Infernals is in order?"

    You perk your ears at that. "The what?"

    "The Infernal Exalted," Ligier explains, waving it off, "I know only the barest details about what the Yozi intend for the Infernals, but most likely any breaking of the prison involves irreparable damage to Creation. As short-sighted as it may be."

    You nod. Sky is seated in one of the easy chairs of the sitting room, and Ray idly sips her tea. Shell finishes cleaning her beamklaive, sitting on a set of pillows.

    "Sounds good," you say, "Anything else?"

    Then, a set of immense, and very familiar black claws puncture the ceiling. The brass screams, tears off, and the top level of the townhouse flies off. It flips end over end, flying off into the city, and you look up.

    For a brief moment, you see the emerald light of the Green Sun shining down.

    Then the shadow blocks it and the Ebon Dragon looks down, announcing his presence with a jovial and giddy,

    HEY KIDS WANNA SEE A DEAD BODY?!

    [ ]Scream.

    [ ]Spend one willpower to not scream.

    [ ]Demand to know how he snuck up on you.

    [ ]Write in.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Summon Autochthon

    We'll use a Primordial to fight another Primordial!

    I mean, what's the worst that could happen?



    (Don't answer that question)
     
    Last edited:
    [X] Roll Join Battle!
    -[X] While screaming!

    We now have Ghost-Eating Technique as an anima power. We don't need to kill him, just hit him till his inability to channel Valor (Hollow Heart Transcendence) kicks in and he hightails it.
     
    [X] Of course the Ebon Dragon would show up.
    -[x] It's probably related to that ring Ruvelia got from her Ebon Dragon.
    -[x] Greet the Ebon Dragon, make sure not to do anything that can draw his attention to Ruvelia, including trying to draw his attention away from her.
     
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