Ashes to Ashes
Rihaku
The Internet
Ashes to Ashes
He couldn't think about Moon. Ulyssian well knew that he could do little for her now, and there were too many critical lines of thought to address.
They took a brisk pace, walking swiftly to the Headmaster's office. Ulyssian's mind raced, passing between concepts with an unnatural fluidity. There was so much to do, so many avenues to grow... in idle hours, he'd often mused what he would do differently, if he could send his consciousness back to the time of his childhood. There were so many exercises he could have done, so many adjustments he could have made, to train faster, work harder, even within the scope of a child's developing willpower.
This was like a second pubescence, his thoughts alight with countless paths to improvement. Training could only take him so far, that much was clear; all texts agreed that, for the Chosen, the highest tiers of supernal skill required active exercise against true adversity. Nonetheless, there were practical ideas, if only he had the time. He feared he would not. His memories of the Age of Glory could hold invaluable knowledge as well, but after Exaltation they were fragmentary; he'd need hours, if not days, to properly place them into context. He felt, vaguely, that he was in many ways diminished from Odyssial-that-was, but did not know what heights he'd fallen from. That was for the best; it would be decades, if not centuries before he grew into the fullness of his power, and it would serve little purpose to be taunted by what he could not attain.
They arrived at last to the security of the office. Pearl took up a post to the side of the door as it closed. Zao sat, motioning for Ulyssian to sit as well.
"Is Moon-" Ulyssian began, but Zao cut him off.
"She'll be fine," the Headmaster said tersely, distant concern in his eyes. "Numida is competent, if nothing else. You can do nothing for Moon, but she will live and recover in full. A day, maybe three. That is all Numida needs. Let us talk about what you can do."
"Sir," Ulyssian replied, "I haven't thought through my goals yet. I am still in the process of recovering my memories from the First Age. There could be critical information there."
"You have memories?" He frowned. "That is not unheard of, but, aside from the location of your prior incarnation's tomb, they are rarely useful, often distracting."
"Not just memories," Ulyssian said. "At the close of the First Age, I arranged for my Exaltation to seek out my soul again, and commanded Lethos not to erase its characteristics. My memories I maintained on the Exaltation itself. I remember the Age of Glory, some parts of the Primordial War, and after that, only generalities. I believe my mind-state by the High First Age had grown too complicated for this brain to parse. Likely those memories will be released to me as I grow in strength."
Zao stared.
Ulyssian paused as a more recent memory came to the fore. "Headmaster, you deliberately avoided telling any direct lies during that charade. You also said that all Creation was on the line. What did you mean by that?"
"I meant what I said," Zao replied, grimacing. "I don't think Creation is going to outlive my natural lifespan, and I have barely more than a century. If we're lucky, we'll get fifty years, at the rate things are currently developing. In twenty, we'll all be living in a war-torn ruin. Creation has too many enemies, and they are too strong. Its would-be defenders are too busy murdering each other. Your behavior was likely to attract a Solar Exaltation. I'm almost surprised it took this long. I thought, if I could just find a Solar that was willing to listen, and teach him everything I knew, maybe he would be able to do what I could not."
"We need to acquire as much power as we can, as quickly as we can," Ulyssian said immediately.
"Yes," said Zao. "And the Realm is still the most powerful entity on the face of Creation. Just not powerful enough. If you are as capable a Solar as you were a mortal, however, I think there is a chance. We will have to move quickly, though. You cannot waste your time here. Within a year, I want you either to be in control of House Sesus, or in a position of similar influence, hopefully betrothed to an equally powerful House, without neglecting the growth of your personal power."
Head of House Sesus? Him? Zao thought it was a realistic prospect. Everything had changed. But there was no time to reel. There was no time to sort things through the timidly advancing, languorous pace of human emotions. If the world was going to end, then Ulyssian, who was Odyssial, could give nothing less than his utmost. The value of every day, every hour, had to be maximized ruthlessly. It was... comforting. Everything had changed, and nothing had.
"Now," Zao continued, "there are two matters to attend to. Number one, your prior life. I will take what you have said at face value, but I am not experienced in this field. Ivory is, and she may be able to help. You were a Solar of the First Age. Do you remember which Solar you were?"
"Odyssial," said Pearl, voice soft. She always had been dramatic.
"Odyssial," Zao exhaled. "I have heard that name before, in the secret councils of the Viziers, as they spoke with demons. A name they feared, that they dared only whisper. It was slightly ridiculous. I have seen it inscribed in ancient script on the furthest corners of the world. More than this, I do not know. Would you care to explain how you do, Ivory?"
"Sifu," Pearl said reproachfully, features conflicted. "it's not ridiculous. You wouldn't understand. Odyssial was the greatest and most terrible of all the Solar generals. The Maidens themselves feared what he might do. And I... one of my past lives, was very close to him. His personal advisor, in fact. As for how I know, well, they look and act exactly the same."
"You're not much different yourself, Pearl," said Odyssial, turning to glance at her. "Your features are all the same, you're merely taller." Sepulchral Pearl had grown up malnourished. Reminiscent Ivory, or whatever name she had been given, likely had not.
"Past lives," Zao muttered, shaking his head. "I don't have time for this. Deal with it amongst yourselves, tell me afterwards if anything needs to change. Ulyssian, Odyssial, whatever you prefer to be called, you will find me in the hospital wing. Ivory, I trust you will not forget the urgency of our current situation."
He stood and exited the room.
"I am not Sepulchral Pearl," Pearl maintained, voice trembling slightly. "She was just one of the previous holders of my Exaltation, and a monster. Uly, Ulyssian, there's not much to say. I may have memories, but my soul is not hers. What I did today, though you may not understand, was the equivalent of high treason to my Faction. I threw in completely with Zao, I-"
Cold fury burned within him. The Bronze Faction would pay in blood. Him, they had merely killed. Pearl, they had eviscerated.
Ulyssian shook his head. "No. The effects propagated to those I was closest to, I couldn't contain it to myself even if I'd wanted to. Lethos treats your soul and characteristics the same as it does mine. Your Exaltation is fated to search for you alone. That is likely why the Bronze Faction made sure to indoctrinate you, in each life, from an early age."
"That," she shook her head, so different now from the composed Professor that Ulyssian knew. She was almost petulant, in that particular way of Pearl's. "That can't be true. I know I'm similar to her, personality-wise, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm not her, I'm not her, I'M NOT!"
---
[ ] Prove It. Release Ambition from your anima. As her own memories will undoubtedly tell her, only four Exalts in all Creation can wield it without your express permission, and it cannot be fooled. If she is not Sepulchral Pearl - Exaltation and soul - she will not be able to use it. This is a critical moment, you cannot afford delay, not if Pearl is to recover herself. She died because she was close to you. You will not allow her to suffer any more at the hands of Chejob's lackeys.
For this to work, you will have to flash-purchase the Immortal Bladesmaster Title. Since you paid 150,000 XP before, I will discount the cost by 75,000 XP; the other half paid for the benefits of your extremely good Disguise outcome. You will therefore require 245,000 Normal XP to flash-purchase the Title, which grants, among other things, the power to summon your blade to hand, the power to banish and retrieve your personal arms from Elsewhere, the acquisition of Ambition, and greatly improved offensive skill.
[ ] Attempt to Persuade Her. You are newly Exalted, and less than confident in your social skills. Still, you must find a way to break through the Bronze Faction brainwashing and help her see the evident truth. Both that Pearl is her identity, and that Pearl was far from a monster. She was a Hero of Creation, instrumental to the defeat of more than one Titan. Her actions saved trillions. With an exceptional stunt, your chances are fair to good.
[ ] Accept It. It is the result of Bronze Faction brainwashing. But ultimately, only Ivory can decide whether she is or is not Pearl. As she herself was saying earlier, she has thrown in completely with Zao. She will be a reliable ally regardless. [+150,00 XP]
He couldn't think about Moon. Ulyssian well knew that he could do little for her now, and there were too many critical lines of thought to address.
They took a brisk pace, walking swiftly to the Headmaster's office. Ulyssian's mind raced, passing between concepts with an unnatural fluidity. There was so much to do, so many avenues to grow... in idle hours, he'd often mused what he would do differently, if he could send his consciousness back to the time of his childhood. There were so many exercises he could have done, so many adjustments he could have made, to train faster, work harder, even within the scope of a child's developing willpower.
This was like a second pubescence, his thoughts alight with countless paths to improvement. Training could only take him so far, that much was clear; all texts agreed that, for the Chosen, the highest tiers of supernal skill required active exercise against true adversity. Nonetheless, there were practical ideas, if only he had the time. He feared he would not. His memories of the Age of Glory could hold invaluable knowledge as well, but after Exaltation they were fragmentary; he'd need hours, if not days, to properly place them into context. He felt, vaguely, that he was in many ways diminished from Odyssial-that-was, but did not know what heights he'd fallen from. That was for the best; it would be decades, if not centuries before he grew into the fullness of his power, and it would serve little purpose to be taunted by what he could not attain.
They arrived at last to the security of the office. Pearl took up a post to the side of the door as it closed. Zao sat, motioning for Ulyssian to sit as well.
"Is Moon-" Ulyssian began, but Zao cut him off.
"She'll be fine," the Headmaster said tersely, distant concern in his eyes. "Numida is competent, if nothing else. You can do nothing for Moon, but she will live and recover in full. A day, maybe three. That is all Numida needs. Let us talk about what you can do."
"Sir," Ulyssian replied, "I haven't thought through my goals yet. I am still in the process of recovering my memories from the First Age. There could be critical information there."
"You have memories?" He frowned. "That is not unheard of, but, aside from the location of your prior incarnation's tomb, they are rarely useful, often distracting."
"Not just memories," Ulyssian said. "At the close of the First Age, I arranged for my Exaltation to seek out my soul again, and commanded Lethos not to erase its characteristics. My memories I maintained on the Exaltation itself. I remember the Age of Glory, some parts of the Primordial War, and after that, only generalities. I believe my mind-state by the High First Age had grown too complicated for this brain to parse. Likely those memories will be released to me as I grow in strength."
Zao stared.
Ulyssian paused as a more recent memory came to the fore. "Headmaster, you deliberately avoided telling any direct lies during that charade. You also said that all Creation was on the line. What did you mean by that?"
"I meant what I said," Zao replied, grimacing. "I don't think Creation is going to outlive my natural lifespan, and I have barely more than a century. If we're lucky, we'll get fifty years, at the rate things are currently developing. In twenty, we'll all be living in a war-torn ruin. Creation has too many enemies, and they are too strong. Its would-be defenders are too busy murdering each other. Your behavior was likely to attract a Solar Exaltation. I'm almost surprised it took this long. I thought, if I could just find a Solar that was willing to listen, and teach him everything I knew, maybe he would be able to do what I could not."
"We need to acquire as much power as we can, as quickly as we can," Ulyssian said immediately.
"Yes," said Zao. "And the Realm is still the most powerful entity on the face of Creation. Just not powerful enough. If you are as capable a Solar as you were a mortal, however, I think there is a chance. We will have to move quickly, though. You cannot waste your time here. Within a year, I want you either to be in control of House Sesus, or in a position of similar influence, hopefully betrothed to an equally powerful House, without neglecting the growth of your personal power."
Head of House Sesus? Him? Zao thought it was a realistic prospect. Everything had changed. But there was no time to reel. There was no time to sort things through the timidly advancing, languorous pace of human emotions. If the world was going to end, then Ulyssian, who was Odyssial, could give nothing less than his utmost. The value of every day, every hour, had to be maximized ruthlessly. It was... comforting. Everything had changed, and nothing had.
"Now," Zao continued, "there are two matters to attend to. Number one, your prior life. I will take what you have said at face value, but I am not experienced in this field. Ivory is, and she may be able to help. You were a Solar of the First Age. Do you remember which Solar you were?"
"Odyssial," said Pearl, voice soft. She always had been dramatic.
"Odyssial," Zao exhaled. "I have heard that name before, in the secret councils of the Viziers, as they spoke with demons. A name they feared, that they dared only whisper. It was slightly ridiculous. I have seen it inscribed in ancient script on the furthest corners of the world. More than this, I do not know. Would you care to explain how you do, Ivory?"
"Sifu," Pearl said reproachfully, features conflicted. "it's not ridiculous. You wouldn't understand. Odyssial was the greatest and most terrible of all the Solar generals. The Maidens themselves feared what he might do. And I... one of my past lives, was very close to him. His personal advisor, in fact. As for how I know, well, they look and act exactly the same."
"You're not much different yourself, Pearl," said Odyssial, turning to glance at her. "Your features are all the same, you're merely taller." Sepulchral Pearl had grown up malnourished. Reminiscent Ivory, or whatever name she had been given, likely had not.
"Past lives," Zao muttered, shaking his head. "I don't have time for this. Deal with it amongst yourselves, tell me afterwards if anything needs to change. Ulyssian, Odyssial, whatever you prefer to be called, you will find me in the hospital wing. Ivory, I trust you will not forget the urgency of our current situation."
He stood and exited the room.
"I am not Sepulchral Pearl," Pearl maintained, voice trembling slightly. "She was just one of the previous holders of my Exaltation, and a monster. Uly, Ulyssian, there's not much to say. I may have memories, but my soul is not hers. What I did today, though you may not understand, was the equivalent of high treason to my Faction. I threw in completely with Zao, I-"
Cold fury burned within him. The Bronze Faction would pay in blood. Him, they had merely killed. Pearl, they had eviscerated.
Ulyssian shook his head. "No. The effects propagated to those I was closest to, I couldn't contain it to myself even if I'd wanted to. Lethos treats your soul and characteristics the same as it does mine. Your Exaltation is fated to search for you alone. That is likely why the Bronze Faction made sure to indoctrinate you, in each life, from an early age."
"That," she shook her head, so different now from the composed Professor that Ulyssian knew. She was almost petulant, in that particular way of Pearl's. "That can't be true. I know I'm similar to her, personality-wise, but that doesn't mean anything. I'm not her, I'm not her, I'M NOT!"
---
[ ] Prove It. Release Ambition from your anima. As her own memories will undoubtedly tell her, only four Exalts in all Creation can wield it without your express permission, and it cannot be fooled. If she is not Sepulchral Pearl - Exaltation and soul - she will not be able to use it. This is a critical moment, you cannot afford delay, not if Pearl is to recover herself. She died because she was close to you. You will not allow her to suffer any more at the hands of Chejob's lackeys.
For this to work, you will have to flash-purchase the Immortal Bladesmaster Title. Since you paid 150,000 XP before, I will discount the cost by 75,000 XP; the other half paid for the benefits of your extremely good Disguise outcome. You will therefore require 245,000 Normal XP to flash-purchase the Title, which grants, among other things, the power to summon your blade to hand, the power to banish and retrieve your personal arms from Elsewhere, the acquisition of Ambition, and greatly improved offensive skill.
[ ] Attempt to Persuade Her. You are newly Exalted, and less than confident in your social skills. Still, you must find a way to break through the Bronze Faction brainwashing and help her see the evident truth. Both that Pearl is her identity, and that Pearl was far from a monster. She was a Hero of Creation, instrumental to the defeat of more than one Titan. Her actions saved trillions. With an exceptional stunt, your chances are fair to good.
[ ] Accept It. It is the result of Bronze Faction brainwashing. But ultimately, only Ivory can decide whether she is or is not Pearl. As she herself was saying earlier, she has thrown in completely with Zao. She will be a reliable ally regardless. [+150,00 XP]
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