From his Circle that we inexplicably didn't proceed to kill as well or from anti-Realm opinionated people that would simply want to kill us because we're a powerful DB that's only gaining in status and strength and likes to murder the Realm's enemies?
[Exalted, ?] Most High
- Thread starter Rihaku
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- exalted (white wolf)
Rihaku
The Internet
Fighting one Solar vs fighting five is a pretty big difference! Even if you do have AMBITION's evocations.
Or rival Dynasts, angry Lunars, angry Sidereals, etc. Declaring a successful assassination like that would be announcing that a new power had emerged, especially to those in the know about Bull. A new kid that the rest of the powers that be would attempt to co-opt, or failing that assasinate. It would gives us some obvious leads to exert influence but it would also strap a bull's-eye to our back.
Though most of that could be more beneficial than negative.
meianmaru
The Devourer of Fiction
Fanwork##
787 Words.
***
Ulyssian Training Montage
Slash. Cut. Burn.
Sesus Ulyssian was immensly enjoying training with his newfound (returned?) powers. Essence readily leaped to his call, allowing him to excel in every move he made. It was also getting just a little more responsive and less wasteful every time he used it. The daiklave made out of red jade danced in his hands, whirling and trailing crimson fire in everchanging kata against enemies simulated in his mind.
The pattern was fair in defense, yet still lacking in offense that was the signature of those Fire Aspects who were combative. A significant time spent being a mortal in a military academy meant for the Dragon-Blooded had made him value his defense more than normal, when the other students had been able snap him like a stick if they weren't careful. Or burn him alive if they meant to.
With a burst of supernal speed, he finished his imaginary opponents. Still not good enough. The essence expenditure was too inefficient to be useful in extended encounters. He needed an attack that was useful against multiple weaker opponents, without it being too costly for him...
"Open your form a little bit so that your opponents see a chink in your armor. It can make certain types of enemies less defensive and cautious. Against lesser enemies, you can just strike faster than they can attack you. And even if they manage to land a hit, you don't have to be so worried about bleeding out or permanent injuries anymore, at least in most of the cases."
Ulyssian did not turn his head towards the speaker who had not been there are moment ago, but just adjusted his stance as instructed.
Then he was desperately blocking attacks that were blindingly fast even for him, the near-invisible blue katana just a blur and seemingly striking from every angle at once, off balance as Lung Feng Zao exploited the hole in his defenses that he had been instructed to make.
"Of course, it can be a somewhat foolish if you are not certain enough that a more powerful opponent isn't just waiting you to get impatient, especially if defeating those in front of you can be done at a leissure."
He had to gain some room, or Zao would take his head at this rate. Or more likely, be incredibly annoyed at him after stopping his blows just short of ending Ulyssian's life, but still drawing blood. And cutting off his arms and legs. Again.
He slid backwards in a space between heartbeats, evading Zao's last attack, who was now sheating his blade in-
As he became aware it, he had already dodged the blade of air Zao had launced, with only millimeters to spare. The ancient Air Aspect had created it by drawing his katana out of the sheat with a burst of Essence drawn behind it, and then it was already secured by his side again before Ulyssian had even started registering conciously the first movement.
Zao seemed as pleased as he could be, meaning he was smiling slightly. "Well, it seems that you aren't completely inadequate anymore. I think that we can up your training level."
Afterwards, he wasn't exactly sure about what had happened, but just that it had involved Zao turning into a near literal maelstorm of elemental essence, and his body being subjected to varying degrees of exposure to that as he sought a way through the storm. In the end, he had been still standing when the headmaster called the training with him to be over for now. Having suffered only a few missing fingers from his left arm, his right eye that had been boiled away, a few pulverized bones here and there, and some nerve damage from soul-freezing cold (and lightning), he was willing to call that a win.
As they were walking toward the infirmary, Zao nodded to him approvingly. "You are making good progress. After you have been patched up, you will be attending the party that your uncle is holding."
Ulyssian tried to keep his distaste from showing, but he wasn't confident about having succeeded in it. "Sir, I think we could benefit more from skipping this event. It isn't even a major gathering, so training time might be a better way to optimize-"
"Ulyssian. You are attending it exactly because it is a small gathering. Your skill in politics and other social situations is abmyssal. I'm not yet willing to throw you into a situation where you would likely be more harm than use, or even give yourself away. And stop sulking, or at least learn to conceal it better now that you are training for such things anyway."
"...Sub-optimal...why can't they just..."
787 Words.
***
Ulyssian Training Montage
Slash. Cut. Burn.
Sesus Ulyssian was immensly enjoying training with his newfound (returned?) powers. Essence readily leaped to his call, allowing him to excel in every move he made. It was also getting just a little more responsive and less wasteful every time he used it. The daiklave made out of red jade danced in his hands, whirling and trailing crimson fire in everchanging kata against enemies simulated in his mind.
The pattern was fair in defense, yet still lacking in offense that was the signature of those Fire Aspects who were combative. A significant time spent being a mortal in a military academy meant for the Dragon-Blooded had made him value his defense more than normal, when the other students had been able snap him like a stick if they weren't careful. Or burn him alive if they meant to.
With a burst of supernal speed, he finished his imaginary opponents. Still not good enough. The essence expenditure was too inefficient to be useful in extended encounters. He needed an attack that was useful against multiple weaker opponents, without it being too costly for him...
"Open your form a little bit so that your opponents see a chink in your armor. It can make certain types of enemies less defensive and cautious. Against lesser enemies, you can just strike faster than they can attack you. And even if they manage to land a hit, you don't have to be so worried about bleeding out or permanent injuries anymore, at least in most of the cases."
Ulyssian did not turn his head towards the speaker who had not been there are moment ago, but just adjusted his stance as instructed.
Then he was desperately blocking attacks that were blindingly fast even for him, the near-invisible blue katana just a blur and seemingly striking from every angle at once, off balance as Lung Feng Zao exploited the hole in his defenses that he had been instructed to make.
"Of course, it can be a somewhat foolish if you are not certain enough that a more powerful opponent isn't just waiting you to get impatient, especially if defeating those in front of you can be done at a leissure."
He had to gain some room, or Zao would take his head at this rate. Or more likely, be incredibly annoyed at him after stopping his blows just short of ending Ulyssian's life, but still drawing blood. And cutting off his arms and legs. Again.
He slid backwards in a space between heartbeats, evading Zao's last attack, who was now sheating his blade in-
As he became aware it, he had already dodged the blade of air Zao had launced, with only millimeters to spare. The ancient Air Aspect had created it by drawing his katana out of the sheat with a burst of Essence drawn behind it, and then it was already secured by his side again before Ulyssian had even started registering conciously the first movement.
Zao seemed as pleased as he could be, meaning he was smiling slightly. "Well, it seems that you aren't completely inadequate anymore. I think that we can up your training level."
Afterwards, he wasn't exactly sure about what had happened, but just that it had involved Zao turning into a near literal maelstorm of elemental essence, and his body being subjected to varying degrees of exposure to that as he sought a way through the storm. In the end, he had been still standing when the headmaster called the training with him to be over for now. Having suffered only a few missing fingers from his left arm, his right eye that had been boiled away, a few pulverized bones here and there, and some nerve damage from soul-freezing cold (and lightning), he was willing to call that a win.
As they were walking toward the infirmary, Zao nodded to him approvingly. "You are making good progress. After you have been patched up, you will be attending the party that your uncle is holding."
Ulyssian tried to keep his distaste from showing, but he wasn't confident about having succeeded in it. "Sir, I think we could benefit more from skipping this event. It isn't even a major gathering, so training time might be a better way to optimize-"
"Ulyssian. You are attending it exactly because it is a small gathering. Your skill in politics and other social situations is abmyssal. I'm not yet willing to throw you into a situation where you would likely be more harm than use, or even give yourself away. And stop sulking, or at least learn to conceal it better now that you are training for such things anyway."
"...Sub-optimal...why can't they just..."
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Fanwork##
590 words, for a social thing. I'm not a fan of the vote-option ( Go Power/security ! ) but that's what came to me.
Wild beasts prowled around him, watching him with the attentive regard of predator to prey. Nothing that would concern him ordinarily, only he had been strongly advised against relying upon his usual reaction in such situations. Going for his weapon was out of question then. Filling the cups of half the guests with sleeping powder would probably be frowned upon. If the no doubt numerous substances coursing trough the veins of most of them didn't interfere with the process. Some of those must be drugged to the gills, there was no way for them to speak of such inane things otherwise. At least the ones giving him carnivorous smiles looked somewhat familiar.
In fact, dancing with one of the daughter of the owner of the domain hadn't been that different from a sword exchange. Balance and a sens of rhythm were necessary to any half-competent swordsman, who knew that being a superlative sword hand would make him an impeccable dancer ? Still, if he didn't have to fear for the feets of his dancing partners, opening his mouth had led to some interesting results.
While few had appreciated his candor, some, like the aforementioned, had seemed amused by his remarks on her outfit. " Hardly justifiable waste of cloth for the little it covered." Even to him that had seemed a little too frank, but Ynis had only asked if he would have preferred to see her naked. He had declined to answer this one, feeling that honesty could have unfortunate repercussions. He felt that he was learning.
Of course, all this was only the glittering aspect of the soiree. Under this veneer actual things were happenings. A not inconsiderable number of the Realm's legions officers were presents, even one admiral or two. The places where blood would be spilled in the name of the Scarlet Empress were discussed to the tilting sound of cutlery on porcelain. Whose garrison would be reinforced and who would be left to fend for themselves, the strategic aspects of the campaigns conducted at all corners of Creation, everything took root in such places.
He knew nothing of the codes of these gatherings, of the shifting balance of power which saw one star rise and another fall for a well placed word. He didn't know in which ear to whisper, whose attention scorn and whose crave. But war, this had been his business for a long time. And as things stood it would be so for the far future. Some men were great orators, dedicated to their arts and gifted for it, they commanded the attention of a room by capturing the attention of whoever was there to listen.
It was not his case. He knew how to kill, on a personal scale as well as on a grander one. He knew how to lead, but only by example and strength of conviction, where he had led people had followed, for he had been a beacon, a shining light in a troubled time when there was no established Realm to reform but a whole order to create. Later, there had been power such as no voice could reasonably oppose. Here and now, as a billions paths to victory flew in front of his mind at the sight of the stretched maps around which dignitaries gathered, he knew that if before he had managed to shape a legend for men to follow, here it would be necessary to bind them to him first by other means. For them to give him the means to do what he did best.
590 words, for a social thing. I'm not a fan of the vote-option ( Go Power/security ! ) but that's what came to me.
Wild beasts prowled around him, watching him with the attentive regard of predator to prey. Nothing that would concern him ordinarily, only he had been strongly advised against relying upon his usual reaction in such situations. Going for his weapon was out of question then. Filling the cups of half the guests with sleeping powder would probably be frowned upon. If the no doubt numerous substances coursing trough the veins of most of them didn't interfere with the process. Some of those must be drugged to the gills, there was no way for them to speak of such inane things otherwise. At least the ones giving him carnivorous smiles looked somewhat familiar.
In fact, dancing with one of the daughter of the owner of the domain hadn't been that different from a sword exchange. Balance and a sens of rhythm were necessary to any half-competent swordsman, who knew that being a superlative sword hand would make him an impeccable dancer ? Still, if he didn't have to fear for the feets of his dancing partners, opening his mouth had led to some interesting results.
While few had appreciated his candor, some, like the aforementioned, had seemed amused by his remarks on her outfit. " Hardly justifiable waste of cloth for the little it covered." Even to him that had seemed a little too frank, but Ynis had only asked if he would have preferred to see her naked. He had declined to answer this one, feeling that honesty could have unfortunate repercussions. He felt that he was learning.
Of course, all this was only the glittering aspect of the soiree. Under this veneer actual things were happenings. A not inconsiderable number of the Realm's legions officers were presents, even one admiral or two. The places where blood would be spilled in the name of the Scarlet Empress were discussed to the tilting sound of cutlery on porcelain. Whose garrison would be reinforced and who would be left to fend for themselves, the strategic aspects of the campaigns conducted at all corners of Creation, everything took root in such places.
He knew nothing of the codes of these gatherings, of the shifting balance of power which saw one star rise and another fall for a well placed word. He didn't know in which ear to whisper, whose attention scorn and whose crave. But war, this had been his business for a long time. And as things stood it would be so for the far future. Some men were great orators, dedicated to their arts and gifted for it, they commanded the attention of a room by capturing the attention of whoever was there to listen.
It was not his case. He knew how to kill, on a personal scale as well as on a grander one. He knew how to lead, but only by example and strength of conviction, where he had led people had followed, for he had been a beacon, a shining light in a troubled time when there was no established Realm to reform but a whole order to create. Later, there had been power such as no voice could reasonably oppose. Here and now, as a billions paths to victory flew in front of his mind at the sight of the stretched maps around which dignitaries gathered, he knew that if before he had managed to shape a legend for men to follow, here it would be necessary to bind them to him first by other means. For them to give him the means to do what he did best.
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Vote tally:
##### 3.21
[X] Power & Security.
No. of votes: 23
LordOfMurder, SirLagginton, ebolasos, Robotninja, me.me.here, TMIoverload, Khaos, useofstrike32, Delwgun, Aloysius, Diller, Brain_Caster, Ridiculously Average Guy, 1986ctcel, DOOMPOTATO, Orm Embar, Tonaris, Savonarola, Emerald Oracle, Usernames, Brekouh, Reckless_Sun, Dark Lord Bob
[X] Develop Connections
No. of votes: 22
roffster, Guile, Xsi, Elero, Mask, Cavalier, inventive alias, Pipeman, The Nomad, sithmor, trekbook, afterthought53, kinglugia, CrawlingChaos74, CharlBaal, veekie, Koden, Ghost, meianmaru, Van Ropen, Serous, Thomasfoolery
There are still a handful of people who haven't recast their Swift Development votes, and there are Ambition votes of all kinds floating around. Did you want those too?
##### 3.21
[X] Power & Security.
No. of votes: 23
LordOfMurder, SirLagginton, ebolasos, Robotninja, me.me.here, TMIoverload, Khaos, useofstrike32, Delwgun, Aloysius, Diller, Brain_Caster, Ridiculously Average Guy, 1986ctcel, DOOMPOTATO, Orm Embar, Tonaris, Savonarola, Emerald Oracle, Usernames, Brekouh, Reckless_Sun, Dark Lord Bob
[X] Develop Connections
No. of votes: 22
roffster, Guile, Xsi, Elero, Mask, Cavalier, inventive alias, Pipeman, The Nomad, sithmor, trekbook, afterthought53, kinglugia, CrawlingChaos74, CharlBaal, veekie, Koden, Ghost, meianmaru, Van Ropen, Serous, Thomasfoolery
There are still a handful of people who haven't recast their Swift Development votes, and there are Ambition votes of all kinds floating around. Did you want those too?
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Guile
Having a really great time right now
There's not too much more to say on my end.
Power and Security provides the opportunity to devour our stock of XP and turn it into power. XP will be spent on Charms and Evocations, though the Evocations with what blade, we do not know. Develop Connections provides less training time, but provides more opportunities to gain XP. XP will likely be spent half on combat charms/evocations and half on social charms/attributes.
Power and Security provides the opportunity to interact with our friends, primarily Moon and Hero, given the focus on training… provided we voted to persuade Zao about Moon. If not… Hero and the Aust twins, perhaps? We'll also see more of Zao and Ivory, though I don't think they'll drop us directly into the deep end if we pick Develop Connections.
Develop Connections provides the opportunity to see into the wider world of Dynast politics, so I expect we'll interact with new characters, although it wouldn't surprise me to see Nagazzer (ironically more likely to see him if this is a non-Sesus shindig), Nilul (eminently in her wheelhouse, but only if she's willing to be seen with a fellow anathema who some look upon suspiciously), Saery (as a local friendly Great House heir – possibly the only one in the Academy - she presumably knows this stuff quite well) or even Zang Sfor, although he never struck me as a Dynast. Going with Saery or Nilul or even Nagazzer may imply certain things about our loyalties or alliances (and if we go with Zang, about our proclivities!); that may well be the first vote prompt we're offered, on that end.
I voted for Develop Connections myself, but it's not like Power & Security is a bad option. The way I see it; vote for Power & Security if you want to sword all your problems to death. Vote for Develop Connections if you want a more balanced blend of glorious battle and duels of cunning words in our rise to power. In either case, I fully expect that our rise will be glorious as the dawn, even if we end up snuffed out like a candle.
Power and Security provides the opportunity to devour our stock of XP and turn it into power. XP will be spent on Charms and Evocations, though the Evocations with what blade, we do not know. Develop Connections provides less training time, but provides more opportunities to gain XP. XP will likely be spent half on combat charms/evocations and half on social charms/attributes.
Power and Security provides the opportunity to interact with our friends, primarily Moon and Hero, given the focus on training… provided we voted to persuade Zao about Moon. If not… Hero and the Aust twins, perhaps? We'll also see more of Zao and Ivory, though I don't think they'll drop us directly into the deep end if we pick Develop Connections.
Develop Connections provides the opportunity to see into the wider world of Dynast politics, so I expect we'll interact with new characters, although it wouldn't surprise me to see Nagazzer (ironically more likely to see him if this is a non-Sesus shindig), Nilul (eminently in her wheelhouse, but only if she's willing to be seen with a fellow anathema who some look upon suspiciously), Saery (as a local friendly Great House heir – possibly the only one in the Academy - she presumably knows this stuff quite well) or even Zang Sfor, although he never struck me as a Dynast. Going with Saery or Nilul or even Nagazzer may imply certain things about our loyalties or alliances (and if we go with Zang, about our proclivities!); that may well be the first vote prompt we're offered, on that end.
I voted for Develop Connections myself, but it's not like Power & Security is a bad option. The way I see it; vote for Power & Security if you want to sword all your problems to death. Vote for Develop Connections if you want a more balanced blend of glorious battle and duels of cunning words in our rise to power. In either case, I fully expect that our rise will be glorious as the dawn, even if we end up snuffed out like a candle.
Rihaku
The Internet
You're at 267,400 Normal and 341,600 Solar XP, for a total of 609,000 XP. Last time I didn't include the 245,000 Flash purchase in the XP update, so your total was artificially high. Note that you need 200,000 Normal XP to reach Essence 3, so you have a bit over that, but not much over.
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
About the only thing I can add at this point that Power and Security has over Develop Connections is that it gains us Zao favor. Considering what an utter hardass that guy is, and the fact Ulyssian wants to be somehow involved with his daughter, this is not a thing to be sneered at. Other than that, both options have merits. I voted for Power and Security because I think it's a better option that gives us excellent rewards for our efforts. Develop Connections is good too, and offers a more diverse build for our Favorite Solar. Ultimately though, everything else aside, I just like the whole Zao liking us more thing, all else being equal.
Yeah, it's nice to have a balance of options that each seem appealing in their own way, as opposed to feeling as if you absolutely must prevail, or else all your hopes for the future will be snuffed out. I just think it makes more sense to focus on areas where we are already strong, rather than attempting to play to our weaknesses when wagering on the fate of the world.
Rihaku
The Internet
Nilul: "Ulyssian, are you crazy? Of course I'll go with you! If everyone thinks you're an Anathema, no one would possibly suspect that I am. After all, we'd have to be completely insane to go together."
Moon: "That tricky bitch."
But what about Cathak Vaela? House Cathak is strong, as are her pheromones! *hiss*
Wood Castes. Their orgiastic essence manipulation is not to be underestimated.
Or V'Neef? You might meet her if she hosts a party.
Or a nice Cynis girl, like your elders would want you to marry! They're quite adept at debauchery, you know! And Wood Caste to boot!
Hm, given the strength of the Integrity Voting Block, it may be more "gloriously ignoring everyone" in your rise to... cantankerousness
Emerald Oracle
Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force
- Location
- The Else
Remember, Ulyssian is the True Successor of Admiral Zao. Cantankerousness is a must!
Guile
Having a really great time right now
There's that cunning she's so famed for!
I will not hear your honeyed words, tempter!
On the other hand...
When did we start voting for that?!
On the upside, no one would question our Zao-cred then!
Van Ropen
Angry, angry about elves.
I repeat my previous argument, with an extra helping of praise for Glorious TotallyNotSolarWTFAreYouTalkingAbout Cantankerousness.
As Admiral Zao ' s heir apparent and a likely future head of House Seuss we bring a lot to the table for political intrigue and it would serve us best to become adept at the political game if we are to make use of the resources afforded to us as part of the Realms ' s ruling class. To maximize the returns of the decision to stay in Seacrown as opposed to disappearing, we must use this to our greatest advantage by courting alliances and building our support network. With the power gained by turning the Realm to our ends can we save Creation a great deal of grief.
SirLagginton
Shadow Cabal Caerbannog Bun-Bun
- Location
- Arrrghhh
This is all reliant that Zao survives, because like it or not, Zao is by far the greatest ensurer of our influence, more than any support network that we can possibly build up in the little time we have. Not only Power and Security gives us room to grow, along with the fact we can still network (we are in an academy with the top percentile of DBs), but allows us to keep close to Zao and help ensure his survival. The opportunities for social are not as great here, but that's why we have people like Ivory and Nilul to shore up our weaknesses. Delegation is a thing.
It could just as easily be argued that the best way to capitalize on staying is to fully exploit the resources that are available in Seacrown. Zao and Ivory's tutelage, opportunities to train our strengths, the potential to connect with classmates. Nowhere near on the level of the option dedicated to building connections, but the best way to develop our atrophied social skills is not to throw ourselves into the deep end of the Dynastic pool, and building bridges with the Realm's rising stars is a tempting secondary benefit when it comes with efficient training and a living mentor.
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- Location
- Southern Virginia
I'm like, 98% sure that if we give Zao Ambition, he'll live. Long enough, anyway. It'll be totally sweet and awesome. And anyway we always shy away from the high-risk, high-reward options, which is not at all what makes a good game of Exalted.
Totally should have stared down the Aerial Legion and fought Ligier...
Totally should have stared down the Aerial Legion and fought Ligier...
Hey, I wrote a stunt for fighting Ligier and everything.
Rihaku
The Internet
True enough, from a certain point of view.
Well, unless you intend to actually spend XP on such things, Ulyssian's just not going to have the time and energy to commit to improving in that aspect. People languish all the time, even when they get regular social interaction. Ulyssian won't languish, but perhaps 85% of his attention will be elsewhere, shadowboxing his next training session or planning a new strategy to fight Ivory or Zao.
Odyssial: Ivory or Zao? Why not Ivory and Zao?
Ulyssian: Because I'm not suicidal.
I suppose it's hardly surprising that Ulyssian defaults to not devoting time and effort to socialization, not that that's necessarily a bad thing. Combat prowess and ruthless pragmatism have served us well thus far.
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