[Exalted] A Kingdom of Cinders

Vote closed
You are ignoring content by this member.
Scheduled vote count started by SunnySprings on Apr 11, 2022 at 2:02 PM, finished with 10 posts and 7 votes.

  • [X] Study him. Your studies included those of the nations and city-states beyond Amaya, and those tattoos might reveal something you can use.
    [X] Attack. You'll not let these insults on your house and your person slide, and he seems drunk enough that you can take him.
 
Chapter 1.5
You are ignoring content by this member.
Rather than castigating this man with the full force of Fire (or running him through with your spear), you breathe in, filling your lungs with more Air. You feel a calming wave of coolness spread from your chest to your head, and as you exhale, a small cloud of steam flows forth from your lips. Head cleared, you hone in on his tattoos, cross-referencing them with your cultural and historical studies of the greater Southern Threshold. For starters, it's a tradition among the outcastes of the region who ply their trade as mercenaries to get a tattoo for each new employer or campaign, as a form of advertising one's skills to future buyers; the fact that his arms are absolutely coated in them (and no doubt, his thick torso has room for far more) says he's done quite a lot of touring. The oldest tattoo you spot, its ink faded to a faint grey on his olive-brown arms, is a peacock, its tails fanned out and its claws clasping a mace and a crossbow. You recall a war that Urim, the Peacock City, waged against raiders from the desert about fifty years back, in 682; the timeline matches up with the age of the tattoo.

You then begin to take in the rest of the tattoos, a map of a life of violence forming within your head. He went to the east, to the Empire of Prasad, judging from the design of the broken-tusked elephant on his left bicep. Then, back west to Chiaroscuro (a map of the city's harbor on his right fist), followed by the recently conquered Realm satrapy of Gerun, symbolized by High Realm calligraphy in the shape of a hawk, the city's former coat of arms; you think it says, "To victory and jade well earned". Little tattoos fill the spaces here and there, one-off jobs you lack the context to understand. But one you spot is so very familiar to you: a burning rose, a bitter reminder of the Espina Rebellion. A secessionist movement in the north broke off from the Kingdom of Amaya after a devastating famine; you were born during the final year of the conflict in 713. Your grandfather lost his arm aiding the king in crushing the rebels, whose banner was a red rose on a yellow field.

So, you've got someone who has been campaigning for at least fifty years; in the Realm, an outcaste with that level of military service would be retiring with great honor and marrying into a patrician family. Even in the Threshold, you figure he'd have saved up a nest egg and would begin building up his own legacy, but instead he's here getting blackout drunk. His tattoos end abruptly around two years ago; the last conflict inscribed upon him is symbolized by a scepter with a diamond's head: the symbol of Rankar VII, Despot of Gem. Young Rankar VII's campaigns to conquer the region around him have described as downright genocidal at times, from what traders coming up from down South have said.

Your thoughts take only the blink of an eye in real time; by the time you are finished examining him, he's just begun with a new insult for you. He spits on the ground and says, "What, lose your courage, you beardless worm? That's nobles for you: all talk. You cowards sit back and let others do their dirty work-" He belches, as though he were almost about to throw up, and then resumes, "-but there's nobody here on your side, boy." You've decided that fighting him would be a measure of last resort now; even if he's about to puke, he'd still probably mop the floor with you. Still, there are other tactics to try.

[ ] Empathize with him. He's had a hard life like your grandfather. Get him a beer (a very watered down one) and sit down with him.
[ ] Inspire him to shape up. This is pitiful! He's a Dragon-blood, he's participated in so many wars, and he's acting like this? Raise him back up.
[ ] Engage in some trickery. He passed out before you got here; drink him under the table and deal with him in the morning, when he's sobered up somewhat.
 
Vote closed
You are ignoring content by this member.
Scheduled vote count started by SunnySprings on Apr 13, 2022 at 3:25 PM, finished with 7 posts and 7 votes.

  • [X] Engage in some trickery. He passed out before you got here; drink him under the table and deal with him in the morning, when he's sobered up somewhat.
    [X] Empathize with him. He's had a hard life like your grandfather. Get him a beer (a very watered down one) and sit down with him.
 
Back
Top