Edge of Creation (Exalted Quest)

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For a thousand years, the Mother of Dragons ruled all Creation from the center of the Blessed...
1. Arrival
Location
Texas
For a thousand years, the Mother of Dragons ruled all Creation from the center of the Blessed Isle. Six years after the disappearance of the Scarlett Empress, the world is all too quickly slipping from the grasp of those who would call themselves her heirs.

Reborn demons walk the land and steal the lives of the virtuous. Dragonblood houses draw their armies back from the edges of the world, preparing for a war of cousin upon cousin that all foresee. The dead walk the land, and sail the sea, and make war upon the living. Things gather at the edges of the world and gaze upon it hungrily, wondering if the time has come to tear at its belly once more.

And in the South, far from the centers of power, right before the edge of the world where the land begins to soften and flow like paint on an easel, is one small nation, small enough to think itself beneath the notice of distant demigods, and vain enough to spite them.

When it came time for the annual tribute to be dispatched to the Realm, the nation of Bar-Path sent nothing, and all their neighbors held their breath to see what doom would be visited upon them for this defiance.

When doom arrived, however, it came not from center of the world, but from the outskirts. A barbarian army invaded from the edges of the world, scaled the gem-studded walls of the fortress of Zangir, and seized it for their own.

Now the Sultana of Bar-Path sends her rubies not to adorn the robes of indolent aristocrats, but to hire grim soldiers with hungry blades to defend her remaining cities from the scourge that advances on her remaining cities day by day, burning and looting. Caravans of mercenaries and food stream into the capital by the hour, and the citizens lock their doors think of fleeing across the burning sands.

This is the cauldron which greets your eyes when you pass through the city gates, your only companion being:

[ ] Your ancient weapon (Which is?)
[ ] Your faithful mount (What is it?)
[ ] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
[ ] Write-in


Bar-Path is a land in need need of heroes, and you have come to provide the heroism. You came here:

[ ] For the pay. Saving a kingdom should be worth, oh, your own weight in rubies. To start.
[ ] For safety. The Realm doesn't approve of your kind, and this kingdom has no love for them or their Hunts.
[ ] For the people. Barbarian invasions aren't kind to the people in their path, and someone needs to stand up for them.
[ ] Because your mysterious mentor suggested it was a good idea
[ ] For Directions. You're on your way to Gem, and you're pretty sure that this is not Gem…
[ ] Write-in


Bar-Path will be the next step in the legend of:

[ ] Write-in (Who are you?)
 
[ ] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
[ ] For Directions. You're on your way to Gem, and you're pretty sure that this is not Gem…

This pair would be a riot
 
Now, with important Quest Information:

Chapter 1 Info:

Important people

Scion of a ancient and arcane lineage, incorporating the blood of demons and gods alike in a generational effort accrue power. Fadi is the latest, and self-proclaimed greatest of the line. He may well be right; he's a genuine sorcerer at a shockingly young age for a mortal.

Arak was beckoned to Creation by one of Fadi's ancestors long ago, and has been hanging around the family ever since. Typical for a Stomach Bottle Bug, Arak loves to consume poisons and toxins of all kinds, and can swim through the flesh of living creatures. Arak can serve as a very competent surgeon if the patient doesn't mind a head-sized insect playing doctor.

A band of experienced mercenaries in Bar-Path to sell their services. Around 250 people. Notable members include:
Captain Zuobi
Kalla, procurement
Cargel, quartermaster
 
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Well, let's see how this goes. Character creation seems very free-form, so here's an idea, if there's any interest in doing something a little lower-key than going full solar, at least to start. Even a heavily inhuman bloodline is still human and could exalt later, after all... or not.

[x] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
-[x] Arak-Devourer, the stomach bottle bug which has been companion and aid to one or another your family since its long-ago beckoning by your grandfather's grandmother.
[x] For the people. Barbarian invasions aren't kind to the people in their path, and someone needs to stand up for them.
[x] Fadi Fleet-foot, wandering sorcerer. Yours is an ancient and arcane lineage, learned mystics who have blended the blood of demons and gods alike into their line in an effort to bring each generation ever greater power, but it has come at the cost of a few quirks- such as the pulse of your grandmother's divine sandstorm inside your veins driving you ever onward, always discontent. Fortunately- or perhaps unfortunately- there is always another place in need of a good sandblasting ahead.
 
[X] Plan: Fallen Nobility
[X] Your ancient weapon: Breeze's Edge - A artifact weapon made of Blue Jade forged in the shape of a Tai Chi Daito Sword.
[X] Write-in: For the Glory, A Barbarian invasion is simply another chance to prove worthy of the Dragon's Gift
[X]Who are you?: Cynis Leramar, A Dynast from House Cynis who at eighteen and a half years of age has not yet been chosen by the dragons, Leramar has been all but dismissed by his house for his apparent lack of talent. Desperate to exalt and shunned by his former peers, Leramar resorted to "appropriating" one of his House's many Artifact weapons and setting out into the Threshold to either achieve enlightenment or die trying.
 
[x] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
-[x] Arak-Devourer, the stomach bottle bug which has been companion and aid to one or another your family since its long-ago beckoning by your grandfather's grandmother.
[X] For Directions. You're on your way to Gem, and you're pretty sure that this is not Gem…
[x] Fadi Fleet-foot, wandering sorcerer. Yours is an ancient and arcane lineage, learned mystics who have blended the blood of demons and gods alike into their line in an effort to bring each generation ever greater power, but it has come at the cost of a few quirks- such as the pulse of your grandmother's divine sandstorm inside your veins driving you ever onward, always discontent. Fortunately- or perhaps unfortunately- there is always another place in need of a good sandblasting ahead.
 
I am fascinated to see all the discussion headed in the direction of un-Exalted mortals here. My original expectation was people leaning Solar, with some thought that there might be a big Dragonblood push or something instead.

And, @DarkLight140 , yes, I'm shooting for pretty free-form. In my head, this is pretty much the TV show version of Exalted, so whatever character gets made is going to have some strengths, and some weaknesses, and a lot of "unknown, hasn't come up yet".

So, if you pick an artifact sword for the companion slot, expect the character to be a very good swordsperson, but if you pick something else, that doesn't imply being a bad swordsman.

If you're a godblooded sorceror, expect to be good at sorcery, for a mortal at least. And at sandblasting things.
 
[x] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
-[x] Arak-Devourer, the stomach bottle bug which has been companion and aid to one or another your family since its long-ago beckoning by your grandfather's grandmother.
[X] For Directions. You're on your way to Gem, and you're pretty sure that this is not Gem…
[x] Fadi Fleet-foot, wandering sorcerer. Yours is an ancient and arcane lineage, learned mystics who have blended the blood of demons and gods alike into their line in an effort to bring each generation ever greater power, but it has come at the cost of a few quirks- such as the pulse of your grandmother's divine sandstorm inside your veins driving you ever onward, always discontent. Fortunately- or perhaps unfortunately- there is always another place in need of a good sandblasting ahead.
 
Something to keep in mind guys is that if we take [] Plan: Fallen Nobility we can do a Dragon - Blooded game if we want (since DBs can exalt anytime before their twentieth birthday) but if we decide we'd rather be some other type of exalt it won't lock us out of that.
 
I've always had a soft spot for house V'neef, either as a Dragonblood or a Solar, might try to make a plan for it in a bit.
 
[X] Plan Eugenic "Failure"
-[X] Your Trusty Companion - Kath Green-Scale, a Wood Elemental in the shape of a snake. Part of a colony of similar elementals serving your house, he is your guide and teacher in the arcane arts, as well as your companion in your travels.
-[X] Hoping to find ancient knowledge in this far away land, to further your studies and possibly your power and reputation as well.
-[X] You are V'neef Alerri, fifth child of the house of V'neef. Growing up you showed promise in your academic studies, but while all of your siblings exalted at a young age, only you did not, which strained your relationship with your family. At the age of eighteen, you decided to leave the inner province in which you grew up and travel to the south in search of purpose.

Couldn't decide if I wanted a Dragonblooded or a Solar, so the plan makes it possible to end up as either (a late bloomer or an anathema) or neither of them.
 
[X] Plan Eugenic "Failure"
-[X] Your Trusty Companion - Kath Green-Scale, a Wood Elemental in the shape of a snake. Part of a colony of similar elementals serving your house, he is your guide and teacher in the arcane arts, as well as your companion in your travels.
-[X] Hoping to find ancient knowledge in this far away land, to further your studies and possibly your power and reputation as well.
-[X] You are V'neef Alerri, fifth child of the house of V'neef. Growing up you showed promise in your academic studies, but while all of your siblings exalted at a young age, only you did not, which strained your relationship with your family. At the age of eighteen, you decided to leave the inner province in which you grew up and travel to the south in search of purpose.

I really liked reading your omake's and sub quest in Now You Feel Like Number None. Glad to catch a new quest of yours!
 
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[x] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
-[x] Arak-Devourer, the stomach bottle bug which has been companion and aid to one or another your family since its long-ago beckoning by your grandfather's grandmother.
[X] For Directions. You're on your way to Gem, and you're pretty sure that this is not Gem…
[x] Fadi Fleet-foot, wandering sorcerer. Yours is an ancient and arcane lineage, learned mystics who have blended the blood of demons and gods alike into their line in an effort to bring each generation ever greater power, but it has come at the cost of a few quirks- such as the pulse of your grandmother's divine sandstorm inside your veins driving you ever onward, always discontent. Fortunately- or perhaps unfortunately- there is always another place in need of a good sandblasting ahead.
 
I don't know how to write an appropriate plan, but I'd really like to be a current mortal destined to become a Sidereal.
 
So this quest looks cool, I'll try and stay around, because I like some of the statements @Phigment has made about it, especially the part about not caring about Exalted's mechanics. So I'll try with a write-in based on the spoils of old conquests (read: a quest I should have continued).



(thanks to @Erebeal.)

[X] Plan Fire in the Wind
-[X] Your ancient weapon - Devil's Exhalation -
Since the earliest days of your family - which is not very old, but it's older than that! - you have held on to this Dragon Sigh Wand of the profane gold-bronze Orichalcum, also known as devil's gold. A terrible power lies within it, but it can only be unleashed by one willing to pay it's increasingly horrendous prices; something you definitely are not...

You aren't, right?

-[X] For Faith - You have come upon a crisis of faith, unable to truly believe in the cycle of reincarnation as professed by the monks of your native homeland in the blessed center of Creation, you will travel towards the southeastern reaches of Creation, where the great empire Prasad rules and where you hope you will find enlightenment.
-[X] You are V'neef Ayata, first child of V'neef Aliset, born to greatness and rulership of the greatest empire Creation has ever seen. In every aspect, you were taught to be the rest, to reach for the greatest fruits; for all of Creation's bounty was to be yours. And in every aspect, but earning your birthright of Exaltation - too late - you failed. Perhaps, there is redemption, at the edges of Creation, where chaos upends the order of the lives of men?
 
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I hesitated for a long time before accepting the truth. I like the concept and I'll vote for it. Changing plan.

[X] Plan Fire in the Wind
 
@ManusDomine couldn't let me have it :p
But I'll vote for both

[X] Plan Fire in the Wind

[X] Plan Eugenic "Failure"

-[X] Your Trusty Companion - Kath Green-Scale, a Wood Elemental in the shape of a snake. Part of a colony of similar elementals serving your house, he is your guide and teacher in the arcane arts, as well as your companion in your travels.
-[X] Hoping to find ancient knowledge in this far away land, to further your studies and possibly your power and reputation as well.
-[X] You are V'neef Alerri, fifth child of the house of V'neef. Growing up you showed promise in your academic studies, but while all of your siblings exalted at a young age, only you did not, which strained your relationship with your family. At the age of eighteen, you decided to leave the inner province in which you grew up and travel to the south in search of purpose.
 
[X] Plan Red Sonja
[X] Your faithful mount (What is it?)
-[X] Your pet Tyrant Lizard, Chomps.
[X] For Directions. You're on your way to Gem, and you're pretty sure that this is not Gem…
[X] Red. You were born to an Icewalker tribe in the North. Your mother named you for your red hair. You learned to hunt and to fight, as did all in your tribe. When House Ferem soldiers raided your tribe, you were taken as a slave and sold to some Dynast in the Blessed Isle. You Exalted as a Dawn while being transported by ship to the Blessed Isle, and to escape the Wyld Hunt had to keep going south. You met Chomps in the River Province, where you suplexed him for trying to eat you, and then tamed him. He now follows you anywhere like a cute, giant, murderous puppy. You heard the Despot of Gem pays well for champions, and figured you'd try your hand as a mercenary there, and Bar-Path was on the way...


Is this vanilla as hell? Yes it is. But I've never actually played a completely vanilla Exalted game, so figured I'll make the Solar pitch for this game, as opposed to a mortal game where we might turn Solar later on or a Dragon-Blooded.
 
Since not everyone voted by plan, strategic voting is messing things, so for now:

[X] Plan Fire in the Wind
 
Godblooded sorceror sounds interesting.

[x] Your comedic sidekick (Who it it?)
-[x] Arak-Devourer, the stomach bottle bug which has been companion and aid to one or another your family since its long-ago beckoning by your grandfather's grandmother.
[x] For the people. Barbarian invasions aren't kind to the people in their path, and someone needs to stand up for them.
[x] Fadi Fleet-foot, wandering sorcerer. Yours is an ancient and arcane lineage, learned mystics who have blended the blood of demons and gods alike into their line in an effort to bring each generation ever greater power, but it has come at the cost of a few quirks- such as the pulse of your grandmother's divine sandstorm inside your veins driving you ever onward, always discontent. Fortunately- or perhaps unfortunately- there is always another place in need of a good sandblasting ahead.
 
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