[Exalted, ?] Most High
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
-
- Tags
- exalted (white wolf)
meianmaru
The Devourer of Fiction
Wait, what? The update is already being written? Damn it, damn it! Must. Finish. Omake. Quickly.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
Uh 3E Abyssals are allowed to go off the leash and act as hero's to save people and such without repercussions you know? And sure we can have Lily openly help us due to the Immaculate faith being seriously weak among the populace and us just using our bitching Exalted powers to convince our subordinates to shut up and do what we say.
GOD DAMMIT! Not another Polemgaos moment.
Last edited:
Rihaku
The Internet
There's also "Join me and I will host your refugees with my already-overcrowded but extremely wealthy city-state."
You're doing okay, not nearly as one-sided as your other fights, but you're ahead (for now). The tables could still be turned at any time, though.
Last edited:
Well, damn. I was considering writing letters later when I had more time, but it seems like it's too late for that.
Rihaku
The Internet
No, I just mean she would have gotten one-shotted, not necessarily died. 50+ levels of damage'll do that to ya.
It's not being written, I'm just playing out the fight. Still don't know whether you'll turn her or she'll turn you or neither or both, for example.
You're capable of outputting roughly 5 times the damage you were capable of when you fought Polemgaos.
Rihaku
The Internet
The next update will only cover a very brief span of time, so letters are still possible unless you die.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
I meant in the "Accidentally murdering our opponent who happens to be a cool person and possible ally AGAIN" sense
DOOM INTENSIFIES!
- Location
- The savanna.
As opposed to intentionally murdering our ideologically compatible and extraordinarily useful possible ally simply because he's not a waifu candidate?
Gee, it's almost like this option isn't as devoid of risk as people made it out to be!
Rihaku
The Internet
Didn't you guys kill him for the XP or something? I'm kind of sad about Seeds too, he had such potential.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
Mosaic of Black and Gold
The Lily's leap shattered the stump of earth underneath her feet with a loud crack of thunder as she propelled herself into the night air. Odyssial drew Ambition upward in his guard stance, bracing himself by instinct as he eyes scanned the night sky for the blur of movement that marked his foe. Faster than any mere mortal or Dragonblooded, Lily descended upon him; faster than any mere mortal or Dragonblooded, Odyssial slashed out Ambition and met her blade strike with his own.
The pressure of the strike thrust Odyssial back through the earth, gouging a great furrow into the ground. He grit his teeth, his muscles burning with essence as he withstood a strike that would have obliterated lesser men. For the briefest of moments the point of contact between Ambition's gleaming white orichalcum blade and the black Soulsteel diaklave wielded by Lily blazed with a spark the illuminated the arena of their combat. His eyes sought hers in that moment, peering into the depths of her being, and Odyssial found her doing the same to him.
The moment was as intimate and profound as it was brief.
After the barest second of clash Lily withdrew her sword and flipped backward to land on her feet some yards away, not once having touched the ground before. "You're strong, Odyssial," she said, her blood-red lips curling upward and exposing her ivory teeth in a genuine smile. "So why spend that strength on meaningless pursuits? Power, wealth, and fame are fleeting. Everyone dies, whether a king or a pauper."
Odyssial crouched himself into another guard and approached Lily carefully, with Ambition held two-handed before him. The merest effort would be expended to parry or to thrust. "Is that the purpose of the Abyssal Exalted, then? To bring death to everyone, like Seeds of the Poppy attempted."
Lily frowned and shook her head. "Of course not! Oblivion will claim everything eventually. I see no reason, good Sir, to speed life to a swift conclusion. There's much to enjoy in life before then. I wish more people just appreciated that and would stop throwing theirs away."
"An Abyssal defending life before death?" Odyssial's mouth quirked up in amusement. It was half a ruse, though, for he flash-stepped over the broken ground in a blur of golden light and swung Ambition in a grand arcing blow to cut down Lily from behind.
Lily countered by pivoting on a single foot, in a swift and fluidly elegant pirouette, accentuated by tendrils of black essence coating her form. Their swords clashed again, sending sparks like newborn stars up into the night sky. Odyssial leapt back this time, springing over a small boulder just up to his waist.
"Everyone dies, but not everyone gets to live," Lily said sorrowfully. "The warmth of a mother's love, the joy of friends gathered together, the gentle caress of a lover, the satisfaction of seeing one's children grown, the contentment found in a death surrounded by loved ones; aren't all of these more precious than all the jade in this mountain?"
"Perhaps they are," Odyssial allowed. "And yet, Creation denies them to so many. It is easier to destroy than to create. Effort is only sporadically rewarded. Fortune rewards the vicious as well as the virtuous. Without ruthlessness, tragedy. And without power there can be no change."
The rock offered only momentary securing. It was Lily's turn to charge, and she flew over the ground like a bolt of lightning, wrapped in the eerie blacker-than-black cloak of her anima. The boulder shattered at her approach, though Odyssial kicked a piece of it right toward her even as he brought Ambition up in a blur of gold and white to intercept her blow. She dodged the rock with a minute adjustment to her form and was upon him, their swords clashing a fraction of a second later.
"I have power enough to change the circumstances for my friends," Lily said, her pretty face disfigured by a growl. "They will get to live, and love, and to die peacefully. If Creation would deny this to them, I will defy it."
"Good for your friends," Odyssial responded calmly. The Lily was not all grace, he thought as he allowed himself to be pressed back toward the road. She had power, plenty of it. For the first time since his Exaltation he was mildly concerned at the possibility of defeat. "But what of those you do not know? Those you will never meet? Who you will simply not be able to protect because you are protecting others? What of their suffering, Lily?"
Lily pressed her assault, her sword slashing out, thrusting, and sweeping upon him from multiple angles all at once. Ambition moved to counter all of these angles of threat just as swiftly. The space between them looked like an indistinct cloud of black and gold.
"I cannot be everywhere at once," she finally said as her assault tapered off. "I would have as many friends as possible and some of them will also be powerful. They might follow my example and, I hope, pursue my dream. Together, the Exalted could bring as much light as possible into all of Creation and ease the passage into Oblivion for everyone."
"That is the flaw in your approach," Odyssial. "You would limit yourself to what is possible. In that way you accept the boundaries of this flawed Creation. I do not." He stood tall as Lily's blows ended and the Abyssal prowled in a circle ahead of him looking for an opening. "The flaws of Creation are great; we must mend them. And I will find a way to do so. I always find a way."
Lily's eyes narrowed as she sensed what was coming. She swung around into a parry as Odyssial exploded into a frenzied assault, flash-stepping to strike her from the front, from the side, and even from the rear at increments of the barest delay. His blows rained down upon her… but as her defense was overwhelmed she stepped sideways into a thrust of Ambition and the sword slashed through mere shadow.
She was coming down from the night sky in a diving slash when Odyssial threw up Ambition to intercept. His sword clashed with hers in another explosion of light. This time their anima banners flared up as well, creating a display visible for miles around them. The fury of their blows could not be sustained, and as the clash exploded they were both hurled away in a sudden conflagration of white light.
Odyssial flipped himself around in mid-flight and forced him to land on the dirt road to the mountain. His landing created a deep crater that scarred the path. He glanced over into the darkness where Lily had continued flying, smashing into another boulder. The impact smashed the rock into gravel, and Lily was on her feet in a blur of black too fast for any mortal to process. Odyssial assumed another guard stance and allowed himself a brief respite to gather breath.
"Seeds of the Poppy wanted to change Creation too," Lilly said casually as she stalked toward Odyssial. "He would make the same claim. That he had to use whatever means were available to change Creation for the better. You saw what Seeds of the Poppy did to pursue his aims, did you not?"
At that, Ulyssian faltered. For the briefest of moments that telling observation cut through Odyssial's invincible mental armor. Then he shook it off. "I have my friends as well, Lily. And I can rely on them to aid me in my quest. That includes warning me away from the path of simple expediency. That is what will keep me from pursuing the path that Seeds would take."
She looked surprised, for the briefest of seconds; but then she was upon him again. Their swords continued to clash in a flurry of blows, ringing through the night like thunder and lightning. A dozen miles away those few awake hastened to prepare for the storm approaching them. Ulyssian's superior skill and superior power was pitted against the impossibly effortless grace of Lily and neither faltered. Neither would or could give way.
"And Dragonlord Jaekha?" Ulyssian took the chance to ask as Lily pressed close to him in a quicksilver strike aimed at strike his hold on Ambition. "You slaughtered her. One of many you've killed. Because she threatened your friends?"
"Naturally," Lily answered coolly. "I will defend mine. I warn everyone who faces me. I plead with them to turn back and enjoy this life. But some people simply won't listen, and if they want to throw their lives away I won't let them destroy my friends as well."
"And what of your worshippers?" Ulyssian shoved her away with effort, and retaliated with a series of thrusts and slashes that probed the web of her defense. "You allow them to devote themselves to you with lives which you spare. How can you say you don't seek power?"
"I didn't ask them to worship me," Lily objected. And she met his complex dance of blows with an unexpectedly violent thrust that Ulyssian only barely intercepted in time. "I'm not going to drive them away, and it lets me keep them safer. If it makes them happy in life that's what matters, but I never require anyone to do that. I just want everyone to learn to appreciate their life before they pass on."
"And so you'll guard them with your life," Ulyssian huffed as he put some distance between them. "But what of your life?"
Lily paused and looked at him piercingly. "I have already had my life. The miracle of Oblivion which rescued me came at the close of my time in Creation. It granted me power and I use it to take responsibility for teaching others. And for protecting them. That is the price of being Exalted."
Despite himself, Ulyssian found that he liked Lily.
"Still, that's only part of it," he observed. And he smiled. "You like combat, don't you?"
"There is satisfaction to be found in facing a challenge," she admitted. "If combat is inevitable then isn't it good to take a little pleasure from it? But I find enjoyment only from the thrill of survival and for putting my training to good use. I assure you I find nothing pleasant about slaughter for the sake of slaughter."
And Ulyssian admitted he wasn't really any different. Facing Polemgaos had been thrilling when it should have been terrifying. This clash with a peer opponent, allowing him to use his techniques to the fullest, was the most satisfying battle in quite some time. But it had to end.
"And you are a worthy opponent, even if you declare yourself without honor," Lily continued. "Why not embrace a noble role and put your strength to good use? We shall be friends. I will defend you and yours, and you will defend me and mine. It may or may not be possible to transcend Creation, but surely it is possible to teach and show all of its inhabitants to enjoy their time alive in peace and without regrets."
"It is surely possible," Ulyssian admitted. "And yet I still declare myself without honor. Because sometimes, forsaking honor is the only way to defend what matters to you."
They charged at each other, a black blur closing in one a golden blur. The sounds of their clashing and parrying filled the sky now dozens of miles away. Their anima banners reached up to the highest heavens and obscured the stars. Every blow taken and answered told them about the other. Every clash gave them more insight and a keener awareness of how closely matched they were.
Ulyssian felt the fight slipping away from him as Lily maneuvered him toward a field of stones. She stepped lightly above the ground, using one stone as a step for greater leverage, then flash-leaping to another and another, while allowing her platforms to absorb some of the strength of his blows. At last she swooped down from the sky in a stooping dive that would have taken his head had he not reached deep within himself and summoned forth his essence to swing Ambition in a golden blocking blow.
They both paused for the moment, sizing each other up. It was as if the duel was starting over again. But neither wanted to extend it longer. There was an unspoken agreement leaping between them; the next exchange would be decisive. Ulyssian gathered his strength and energy and broke into a powerful stride that ate up the distance between himself and Lily with a flash of golden light. She was nothing more than a blur of black as she raced up to meet him.
Their swords clashed one more time. The earth shook underneath them as the Heavens were illuminated in a blaze of light. The crash of thunder was deafening and could be heard as far away as Luseng itself. Raw power met grace; will met will.
Ulyssian won.
His blade batted aside the arc of Lily's daiklave and slashed a blow into her shoulder that deflected to score itself down the front of her breastplate. Blood splattered into the night between them and Ambition flashed crimson as Ulyssian raised it back up into a guard position. Lily swayed back out of his reach, and then took a bow.
"You win, good sir." There had been no agreement that the duel would be to first blood, but at their level they both knew whoever took the first wound would lose in the end. "As we agreed, I will yield my armor. But I implore you, do not go into the Mountain. Something there is… a grave threat."
Ulyssian nodded. "I did not come here tonight for the mountain." His features shifted with a golden flash and he was recognizable again as the Dragonblooded Satrap. "You ask me to be your friend? Very well. Join me," he said, and extended his hand, "and together we will change Creation for the better. Not just for the people in our presence but for all mortals, everywhere."
Lily stood uncertainly, her deathly pale face finally flushing with color as she blushed. "V... very well, if you'll listen to me when I tell you if you're going down the wrong path."
"What are friends for, if not for that?" Ulyssian stood, awkwardly, as he waited for her to take his hand. "You have my word."
She shook his hand as her cheeks returned to their usual pallor. The wound on her shoulder had already been staunched of bloodflow. And to his surprise she pulled him into an embrace and kissed him on the cheek. Ulyssian was startled as she stepped back and began skipping around. "Yay, new friends! I'll have to introduce you to everyone else back at the camp now, and I'm sure there's so much you have to do, but first…"
Dumbfounded, Ulyssian stood and watched her enter a manic episode while he silently wondered what he had gotten himself into.
~2,500 words
The Lily's leap shattered the stump of earth underneath her feet with a loud crack of thunder as she propelled herself into the night air. Odyssial drew Ambition upward in his guard stance, bracing himself by instinct as he eyes scanned the night sky for the blur of movement that marked his foe. Faster than any mere mortal or Dragonblooded, Lily descended upon him; faster than any mere mortal or Dragonblooded, Odyssial slashed out Ambition and met her blade strike with his own.
The pressure of the strike thrust Odyssial back through the earth, gouging a great furrow into the ground. He grit his teeth, his muscles burning with essence as he withstood a strike that would have obliterated lesser men. For the briefest of moments the point of contact between Ambition's gleaming white orichalcum blade and the black Soulsteel diaklave wielded by Lily blazed with a spark the illuminated the arena of their combat. His eyes sought hers in that moment, peering into the depths of her being, and Odyssial found her doing the same to him.
The moment was as intimate and profound as it was brief.
After the barest second of clash Lily withdrew her sword and flipped backward to land on her feet some yards away, not once having touched the ground before. "You're strong, Odyssial," she said, her blood-red lips curling upward and exposing her ivory teeth in a genuine smile. "So why spend that strength on meaningless pursuits? Power, wealth, and fame are fleeting. Everyone dies, whether a king or a pauper."
Odyssial crouched himself into another guard and approached Lily carefully, with Ambition held two-handed before him. The merest effort would be expended to parry or to thrust. "Is that the purpose of the Abyssal Exalted, then? To bring death to everyone, like Seeds of the Poppy attempted."
Lily frowned and shook her head. "Of course not! Oblivion will claim everything eventually. I see no reason, good Sir, to speed life to a swift conclusion. There's much to enjoy in life before then. I wish more people just appreciated that and would stop throwing theirs away."
"An Abyssal defending life before death?" Odyssial's mouth quirked up in amusement. It was half a ruse, though, for he flash-stepped over the broken ground in a blur of golden light and swung Ambition in a grand arcing blow to cut down Lily from behind.
Lily countered by pivoting on a single foot, in a swift and fluidly elegant pirouette, accentuated by tendrils of black essence coating her form. Their swords clashed again, sending sparks like newborn stars up into the night sky. Odyssial leapt back this time, springing over a small boulder just up to his waist.
"Everyone dies, but not everyone gets to live," Lily said sorrowfully. "The warmth of a mother's love, the joy of friends gathered together, the gentle caress of a lover, the satisfaction of seeing one's children grown, the contentment found in a death surrounded by loved ones; aren't all of these more precious than all the jade in this mountain?"
"Perhaps they are," Odyssial allowed. "And yet, Creation denies them to so many. It is easier to destroy than to create. Effort is only sporadically rewarded. Fortune rewards the vicious as well as the virtuous. Without ruthlessness, tragedy. And without power there can be no change."
The rock offered only momentary securing. It was Lily's turn to charge, and she flew over the ground like a bolt of lightning, wrapped in the eerie blacker-than-black cloak of her anima. The boulder shattered at her approach, though Odyssial kicked a piece of it right toward her even as he brought Ambition up in a blur of gold and white to intercept her blow. She dodged the rock with a minute adjustment to her form and was upon him, their swords clashing a fraction of a second later.
"I have power enough to change the circumstances for my friends," Lily said, her pretty face disfigured by a growl. "They will get to live, and love, and to die peacefully. If Creation would deny this to them, I will defy it."
"Good for your friends," Odyssial responded calmly. The Lily was not all grace, he thought as he allowed himself to be pressed back toward the road. She had power, plenty of it. For the first time since his Exaltation he was mildly concerned at the possibility of defeat. "But what of those you do not know? Those you will never meet? Who you will simply not be able to protect because you are protecting others? What of their suffering, Lily?"
Lily pressed her assault, her sword slashing out, thrusting, and sweeping upon him from multiple angles all at once. Ambition moved to counter all of these angles of threat just as swiftly. The space between them looked like an indistinct cloud of black and gold.
"I cannot be everywhere at once," she finally said as her assault tapered off. "I would have as many friends as possible and some of them will also be powerful. They might follow my example and, I hope, pursue my dream. Together, the Exalted could bring as much light as possible into all of Creation and ease the passage into Oblivion for everyone."
"That is the flaw in your approach," Odyssial. "You would limit yourself to what is possible. In that way you accept the boundaries of this flawed Creation. I do not." He stood tall as Lily's blows ended and the Abyssal prowled in a circle ahead of him looking for an opening. "The flaws of Creation are great; we must mend them. And I will find a way to do so. I always find a way."
Lily's eyes narrowed as she sensed what was coming. She swung around into a parry as Odyssial exploded into a frenzied assault, flash-stepping to strike her from the front, from the side, and even from the rear at increments of the barest delay. His blows rained down upon her… but as her defense was overwhelmed she stepped sideways into a thrust of Ambition and the sword slashed through mere shadow.
She was coming down from the night sky in a diving slash when Odyssial threw up Ambition to intercept. His sword clashed with hers in another explosion of light. This time their anima banners flared up as well, creating a display visible for miles around them. The fury of their blows could not be sustained, and as the clash exploded they were both hurled away in a sudden conflagration of white light.
Odyssial flipped himself around in mid-flight and forced him to land on the dirt road to the mountain. His landing created a deep crater that scarred the path. He glanced over into the darkness where Lily had continued flying, smashing into another boulder. The impact smashed the rock into gravel, and Lily was on her feet in a blur of black too fast for any mortal to process. Odyssial assumed another guard stance and allowed himself a brief respite to gather breath.
"Seeds of the Poppy wanted to change Creation too," Lilly said casually as she stalked toward Odyssial. "He would make the same claim. That he had to use whatever means were available to change Creation for the better. You saw what Seeds of the Poppy did to pursue his aims, did you not?"
At that, Ulyssian faltered. For the briefest of moments that telling observation cut through Odyssial's invincible mental armor. Then he shook it off. "I have my friends as well, Lily. And I can rely on them to aid me in my quest. That includes warning me away from the path of simple expediency. That is what will keep me from pursuing the path that Seeds would take."
She looked surprised, for the briefest of seconds; but then she was upon him again. Their swords continued to clash in a flurry of blows, ringing through the night like thunder and lightning. A dozen miles away those few awake hastened to prepare for the storm approaching them. Ulyssian's superior skill and superior power was pitted against the impossibly effortless grace of Lily and neither faltered. Neither would or could give way.
"And Dragonlord Jaekha?" Ulyssian took the chance to ask as Lily pressed close to him in a quicksilver strike aimed at strike his hold on Ambition. "You slaughtered her. One of many you've killed. Because she threatened your friends?"
"Naturally," Lily answered coolly. "I will defend mine. I warn everyone who faces me. I plead with them to turn back and enjoy this life. But some people simply won't listen, and if they want to throw their lives away I won't let them destroy my friends as well."
"And what of your worshippers?" Ulyssian shoved her away with effort, and retaliated with a series of thrusts and slashes that probed the web of her defense. "You allow them to devote themselves to you with lives which you spare. How can you say you don't seek power?"
"I didn't ask them to worship me," Lily objected. And she met his complex dance of blows with an unexpectedly violent thrust that Ulyssian only barely intercepted in time. "I'm not going to drive them away, and it lets me keep them safer. If it makes them happy in life that's what matters, but I never require anyone to do that. I just want everyone to learn to appreciate their life before they pass on."
"And so you'll guard them with your life," Ulyssian huffed as he put some distance between them. "But what of your life?"
Lily paused and looked at him piercingly. "I have already had my life. The miracle of Oblivion which rescued me came at the close of my time in Creation. It granted me power and I use it to take responsibility for teaching others. And for protecting them. That is the price of being Exalted."
Despite himself, Ulyssian found that he liked Lily.
"Still, that's only part of it," he observed. And he smiled. "You like combat, don't you?"
"There is satisfaction to be found in facing a challenge," she admitted. "If combat is inevitable then isn't it good to take a little pleasure from it? But I find enjoyment only from the thrill of survival and for putting my training to good use. I assure you I find nothing pleasant about slaughter for the sake of slaughter."
And Ulyssian admitted he wasn't really any different. Facing Polemgaos had been thrilling when it should have been terrifying. This clash with a peer opponent, allowing him to use his techniques to the fullest, was the most satisfying battle in quite some time. But it had to end.
"And you are a worthy opponent, even if you declare yourself without honor," Lily continued. "Why not embrace a noble role and put your strength to good use? We shall be friends. I will defend you and yours, and you will defend me and mine. It may or may not be possible to transcend Creation, but surely it is possible to teach and show all of its inhabitants to enjoy their time alive in peace and without regrets."
"It is surely possible," Ulyssian admitted. "And yet I still declare myself without honor. Because sometimes, forsaking honor is the only way to defend what matters to you."
They charged at each other, a black blur closing in one a golden blur. The sounds of their clashing and parrying filled the sky now dozens of miles away. Their anima banners reached up to the highest heavens and obscured the stars. Every blow taken and answered told them about the other. Every clash gave them more insight and a keener awareness of how closely matched they were.
Ulyssian felt the fight slipping away from him as Lily maneuvered him toward a field of stones. She stepped lightly above the ground, using one stone as a step for greater leverage, then flash-leaping to another and another, while allowing her platforms to absorb some of the strength of his blows. At last she swooped down from the sky in a stooping dive that would have taken his head had he not reached deep within himself and summoned forth his essence to swing Ambition in a golden blocking blow.
They both paused for the moment, sizing each other up. It was as if the duel was starting over again. But neither wanted to extend it longer. There was an unspoken agreement leaping between them; the next exchange would be decisive. Ulyssian gathered his strength and energy and broke into a powerful stride that ate up the distance between himself and Lily with a flash of golden light. She was nothing more than a blur of black as she raced up to meet him.
Their swords clashed one more time. The earth shook underneath them as the Heavens were illuminated in a blaze of light. The crash of thunder was deafening and could be heard as far away as Luseng itself. Raw power met grace; will met will.
Ulyssian won.
His blade batted aside the arc of Lily's daiklave and slashed a blow into her shoulder that deflected to score itself down the front of her breastplate. Blood splattered into the night between them and Ambition flashed crimson as Ulyssian raised it back up into a guard position. Lily swayed back out of his reach, and then took a bow.
"You win, good sir." There had been no agreement that the duel would be to first blood, but at their level they both knew whoever took the first wound would lose in the end. "As we agreed, I will yield my armor. But I implore you, do not go into the Mountain. Something there is… a grave threat."
Ulyssian nodded. "I did not come here tonight for the mountain." His features shifted with a golden flash and he was recognizable again as the Dragonblooded Satrap. "You ask me to be your friend? Very well. Join me," he said, and extended his hand, "and together we will change Creation for the better. Not just for the people in our presence but for all mortals, everywhere."
Lily stood uncertainly, her deathly pale face finally flushing with color as she blushed. "V... very well, if you'll listen to me when I tell you if you're going down the wrong path."
"What are friends for, if not for that?" Ulyssian stood, awkwardly, as he waited for her to take his hand. "You have my word."
She shook his hand as her cheeks returned to their usual pallor. The wound on her shoulder had already been staunched of bloodflow. And to his surprise she pulled him into an embrace and kissed him on the cheek. Ulyssian was startled as she stepped back and began skipping around. "Yay, new friends! I'll have to introduce you to everyone else back at the camp now, and I'm sure there's so much you have to do, but first…"
Dumbfounded, Ulyssian stood and watched her enter a manic episode while he silently wondered what he had gotten himself into.
Finally noticing that Ulyssian's hadn't moved for a good five minutes, Lily paused her celebration and looked quizzically at him. Then she started as well, and her features were animated by a blush as she calmed down. "Gggggoood sir, ah, Odyssial, I'm flattered, I really am, but… well… I'm not really interested in men that way…."
And then Ulyssian silently thanked Venus.
And then Ulyssian silently thanked Venus.
~2,500 words
I don't really care at this point if she end with our blade in her skull.
- Location
- The savanna.
Some people. Others voted to kill him because he was mutually exclusive with the Lily and they were oh so desperate to ally with her even before she appeared on screen.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
That had nothing to do with "Waifus" (it was a freaking JOKE)
Eh partly that, partly to save our subordinates and partially because personally he gave off a bit of a crazy mad scientist vibe complete with Rose-tinted view of his past and how he'll SHOW THEM ALL!!! (plus he seemed kinda bad at the whole Social and PR stuff)
Rihaku
The Internet
To be fair, Lily can boost your Wake the Sleeper rolls and make you better at social, so she does cover your weaknesses in that sense. You would likely have gotten Sorcery anyway, which would have made the Seeds psuedo-redundant (though redundancy is still quite valuable among the Exalted, since it lets you double your output of Exalted actions).
Well, what's past is past. Just like your attack.
- Location
- The savanna.
Oh, spare me the bullshit. You've been pushing the Lily since we first heard of her.
- Location
- Southern Virginia
[X] Partial Commitment
[X] Bladesmaster Suite
[X] Engage Socially
Presumably too late to matter, but my votes. The only one I feel much need to engage with at length is Blademaster over Staying Power. Counterattack Charms close a major ability gap for Ulyssian and it's the suite that will most help in combat situations where we need help, which is to say fighting against peer-level enemies. That it is "only" useful for fights which actually matter and pose a real danger to Ulyssian is, frankly, all the better reason to grab it. Some Ox-Bodies just won't have the same impact on his combat capabilities, and forcing Ambition to cough up Evocations that don't fit with its themes is a waste of XP. If we really need those, well, that's what a sweet suit of armor is for.
[X] Bladesmaster Suite
[X] Engage Socially
Presumably too late to matter, but my votes. The only one I feel much need to engage with at length is Blademaster over Staying Power. Counterattack Charms close a major ability gap for Ulyssian and it's the suite that will most help in combat situations where we need help, which is to say fighting against peer-level enemies. That it is "only" useful for fights which actually matter and pose a real danger to Ulyssian is, frankly, all the better reason to grab it. Some Ox-Bodies just won't have the same impact on his combat capabilities, and forcing Ambition to cough up Evocations that don't fit with its themes is a waste of XP. If we really need those, well, that's what a sweet suit of armor is for.
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
Or you know we didn't want to get locked into an alliance with him before we even got a chance to see the other ally options. (also the only way to ally with him was to murder our subordinates)
Because she sounded like an interesting and nonbackstabbing character who seemed ACTUALLY heroic? You CAN like a character without "waifuing" them you know.
- Location
- The end of all things
To be fair, that was only because Ulyssian didn't pull the blow because he was testing his immortality, which turned out to be a particularly half-assed trick. If it had worked in the fashion of Alloyed Reinforcement of Flesh or even Uncanny Shroud Defense he would have been just fine.
Watch as Ulyssian somehow manages to repeatedly trigger her limit gain condition, sending her into a killing frenzy.
Fanwork##
words 913. Well...after having read Cavalier's effort I'm kinda reluctant to post this ^^ Eh.
Man his write in is like basically everything I wanted to convey ten times better.
- - - - -
The self-styled knave crouched under her decapitating blow, twisted and rose, gliding at her side in the span of millisecond, avoiding completely the rippling wave of energy she had unleashed. Even as the wooden he had stood in front of an instant ago was turn asunder, three uprooted or simply ripped to pieces, his voice rose, audible even in the fracas. " Is it your calling then, to protect Creation's denizens ? "
The speed of her spin was so great that her form blurred, it was like she did not so much turn than warp reality, shaping it in such a way that it wasn't a matter of her moving toward him but more of her having always been facing Odyssial. Despite that impossible swiftness, her following thrust punched through air rather than flesh and bones as her foe tilted his head slightly away in a gesture reminiscent of a nod. " From threats like this one, I guess. If your intent is solely to forbid entrance to anyone, I would not impede you in your task".
It had been a nod, she thought with some incredulity, he had tilted his head away from her blade but also toward the Emerald Mountain. Coming to grips with that absurd notion gave her sufficient pause for the length of her opponent blade to flash between them, the motion too fast to track, a sunbeam surging into a starless night, as unexpected and as arresting. Separated- or connected, it was hard to say- from him suddenly by this blinding gulf of light, she stood rooted to the spot as he pursued. " That would be a proof of terrible cognitive dissonance, my goal after all involve saving Creation itself."
That delivered with the same bluntness, in the same dry tone, that his introduction, and in such total contradiction with that depiction of himself that she felt compelled to answer in kind. The nimbus of power surrounding her pulsated with her blurring motion, as she threw a mantel of darkness upon the dawn he had raised, her blade encased in shades entwining with his, diverting it down then away in a brusque and inexorable motion. "Are you jesting, good sir, why would a knave without honor care for the fate of our world ?"
Not waiting for an answer she sprung forward straight into the hole her maneuver had opened in his defense. He did not retreat or at least he did not seem to when she had him in her sight, which did not last long because a gale of wind blew suddenly toward her, slowing her jumping form and the sunlight she believed to have extinguished, sparked again to life, blazing ever brighter right before her. Her arm rose without conscious command from her, the sword it wielded colliding with the radiant missile and diverting it from his trajectory. The though that he had thrown his weapon hadn't yet drifted past the forefront of her mind that she came upon him, only to make the same blade raised in defense, as if it had never left his hands.
The momentum of her charge was simply stopped, immediately and without apparent strain, the blazing aegis standing fast as he addressed her from behind its shelter. "Without ruthlessness, tragedy. One must be a knave to find a way beyond the crushing wheel grounding down on Creation's people, be ready to anything to oppose any threat and bear the strain of that duty of protection you claim to shoulder." As a candle blown by a gust of wind, the light she strained against vanished suddenly leaving her momentarily off balance only to blood black nuclear bright, the heavy resistance it had put against shifting suddenly forward, breathtakingly fast and blowing her off her feets, as if a giant hand had slapped a passing mote.
But such frail creature she was note, and as she twisted in the air carried by the strength of this attack , she remained mostly intact, her armor having blunted most of the attack and her nimble form able to twist itself upright in flight. His voice followed her till she regained her feets on the devastated ground, while himself did not.
" Words, they are like the wind. Actions prove often worthier of consideration. You and I have the same intent, regardless of the means we use to this end. You say this Mountain is a threat, join me and we should deal with it, right here and right now. If any other arise, we will oppose them, or I will stood vigil as you have done this day."
Words are like the wind indeed, or almost like them for this unexpected declared succeed where the gusts he had summoned had failed and her rooted her to the spot. Transfixed she lowered her blade, even as mirroring her motion, he continued, his words falling as so many nails pounded by the hammer of his conviction upon the very stuff of reality and her stunned mind. "If you or yours need shelter, I will provide it: the haven I have safeguarded from the Fae ? It can house and feed those hungry mouths you have under your protection. Understand me, I lost long ago any shred of complacency in my self-appointed task, if I have disregarded honor it is only because I have understood the price it exacted upon those I wished to preserve. I am merciless only by humanity. You sword doesn't lack conviction, I do not think your heart does either. "
- - - -
words 913. Well...after having read Cavalier's effort I'm kinda reluctant to post this ^^ Eh.
Man his write in is like basically everything I wanted to convey ten times better.
- - - - -
The self-styled knave crouched under her decapitating blow, twisted and rose, gliding at her side in the span of millisecond, avoiding completely the rippling wave of energy she had unleashed. Even as the wooden he had stood in front of an instant ago was turn asunder, three uprooted or simply ripped to pieces, his voice rose, audible even in the fracas. " Is it your calling then, to protect Creation's denizens ? "
The speed of her spin was so great that her form blurred, it was like she did not so much turn than warp reality, shaping it in such a way that it wasn't a matter of her moving toward him but more of her having always been facing Odyssial. Despite that impossible swiftness, her following thrust punched through air rather than flesh and bones as her foe tilted his head slightly away in a gesture reminiscent of a nod. " From threats like this one, I guess. If your intent is solely to forbid entrance to anyone, I would not impede you in your task".
It had been a nod, she thought with some incredulity, he had tilted his head away from her blade but also toward the Emerald Mountain. Coming to grips with that absurd notion gave her sufficient pause for the length of her opponent blade to flash between them, the motion too fast to track, a sunbeam surging into a starless night, as unexpected and as arresting. Separated- or connected, it was hard to say- from him suddenly by this blinding gulf of light, she stood rooted to the spot as he pursued. " That would be a proof of terrible cognitive dissonance, my goal after all involve saving Creation itself."
That delivered with the same bluntness, in the same dry tone, that his introduction, and in such total contradiction with that depiction of himself that she felt compelled to answer in kind. The nimbus of power surrounding her pulsated with her blurring motion, as she threw a mantel of darkness upon the dawn he had raised, her blade encased in shades entwining with his, diverting it down then away in a brusque and inexorable motion. "Are you jesting, good sir, why would a knave without honor care for the fate of our world ?"
Not waiting for an answer she sprung forward straight into the hole her maneuver had opened in his defense. He did not retreat or at least he did not seem to when she had him in her sight, which did not last long because a gale of wind blew suddenly toward her, slowing her jumping form and the sunlight she believed to have extinguished, sparked again to life, blazing ever brighter right before her. Her arm rose without conscious command from her, the sword it wielded colliding with the radiant missile and diverting it from his trajectory. The though that he had thrown his weapon hadn't yet drifted past the forefront of her mind that she came upon him, only to make the same blade raised in defense, as if it had never left his hands.
The momentum of her charge was simply stopped, immediately and without apparent strain, the blazing aegis standing fast as he addressed her from behind its shelter. "Without ruthlessness, tragedy. One must be a knave to find a way beyond the crushing wheel grounding down on Creation's people, be ready to anything to oppose any threat and bear the strain of that duty of protection you claim to shoulder." As a candle blown by a gust of wind, the light she strained against vanished suddenly leaving her momentarily off balance only to blood black nuclear bright, the heavy resistance it had put against shifting suddenly forward, breathtakingly fast and blowing her off her feets, as if a giant hand had slapped a passing mote.
But such frail creature she was note, and as she twisted in the air carried by the strength of this attack , she remained mostly intact, her armor having blunted most of the attack and her nimble form able to twist itself upright in flight. His voice followed her till she regained her feets on the devastated ground, while himself did not.
" Words, they are like the wind. Actions prove often worthier of consideration. You and I have the same intent, regardless of the means we use to this end. You say this Mountain is a threat, join me and we should deal with it, right here and right now. If any other arise, we will oppose them, or I will stood vigil as you have done this day."
Words are like the wind indeed, or almost like them for this unexpected declared succeed where the gusts he had summoned had failed and her rooted her to the spot. Transfixed she lowered her blade, even as mirroring her motion, he continued, his words falling as so many nails pounded by the hammer of his conviction upon the very stuff of reality and her stunned mind. "If you or yours need shelter, I will provide it: the haven I have safeguarded from the Fae ? It can house and feed those hungry mouths you have under your protection. Understand me, I lost long ago any shred of complacency in my self-appointed task, if I have disregarded honor it is only because I have understood the price it exacted upon those I wished to preserve. I am merciless only by humanity. You sword doesn't lack conviction, I do not think your heart does either. "
- - - -
Last edited:
- Location
- Fabulously Rainbow Ireland
I know, I'm just still a bit bummed because Polemgaos was so COOL!
- Location
- The savanna.
More lies. Not only were we not locked into an alliance if we negotiated, there was an option to keep everybody alive and ally with him (which did lock us in).
Uhuh. Because it's not like you were incessantly going on about harems or anything. No, not at all.
Rihaku
The Internet
Or what if she triggers his?
Those poor refugees...
By the way, how willing are you guys to Awaken Odyssial's Dormant Intimacies in the face of social attack?
- Location
- The savanna.
Count me in. I voted for Totality anyway.
Hatred: Titans is the one I'd tap first, with not to many qualms. After that It gets a bit more sketchy, as the mind break potential seems to rise sharply.