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[Exalted, ?] Most High

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Alright, it looks like Thaumaturgical is winning for sure, so let's throw some dice...

EDIT: You lucky bastards actually got a ten...
Rihaku threw 5 10-faced dice. Total: 26
3 3 8 8 10 10 1 1 4 4
 
Alright! Occult raised to five, one somewhat useful and one "more effective than 1x Governance" ritual. I'd say that paid off quite well. :D
 
[X] Thaumaturgical Explorations
[X] Consolidate Power
[X] Govern Wisely, Govern Well x3
-[X] Bankrupt

Sorcery sounds... a bit difficult to easily/openly use.

Meanwhile, if we govern well, we'll be taking care of Luseng, meeting expectations or showing ourselves to be great rulers -- helpful if/when we'll be talking with Lily and Saery I imagine -- and if we do something terrible to the Viziers well it's much easier for people to stomach if we've also done Govern Well x3 + Bankrupted right?

Compare that to if we spent all our time cloistered to learn Sorcery and Limit Break over the Viziers. City popularity and morale might not be too high.

(Actually, is Saery going to be coming by to visit for a bit, or...? Because we still need to handle the reveal to her at some point.)
 
Rihaku said:
Nope, not too late.
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I read this at first as "Nope, too late". Gave me a very slight heart attack. Still, I'm suddenly not sure how long the completion will take, as it keeps getting longer as I write it.

EDIT: Realized just now how stupid that sounded. The end goal seems to be getting longer, I meant. Of course a text keeps getting longer as I write more.
 
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Fanwork## 1384 Words


*****

Awakening the Sable Scale


"Good to see you Ulyssian! How things are back at Luseng?"

Such simple if cheerful greeting shouldn't have roused anything special in Ulyssian's heart, but coming from the Death's Lawgiver, they managed to cause reactions in him quite unlike anything he'd been exposed to before in this life.

Except for Empty Moon, whose voice somehow bypassed any mental defenses he had. Was it because they were old and true friends? It could be that added with Exalted excellence. Ulyssian silently approved this in his mind. Training one's strong areas until the raw talent was sharpened to deadly weapons was an activity which he wholeheartedly supported.

But enough iddle daydreaming. Moon was set to arrive with Nilul in a few days, and he had seeked out The Lily for a purpose. It wouldn't do not to greet his friend back.

"Greeting, Lily. And fine, thank you. I've managed to make the city grow, the trade flourish, the wishes of my people bloom, the traitors wilt, the tentative alliances I have cared for to bring fruit-" he listed methaphors before The Lily interrupted him. "You are making fun of me! And again with the gift I gave you! Ancestors, you really are a terrible friend to have! Wait, what was that about-" said The Lily, just realizing something wrong in the satrap's airy response, and was in turn interrupted by Ulyssian. "I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I need your help to strengthen my mind, after which I'm going use it to force an awakening for some of the dormant power of the Sable Scale, here and now."

The Dusk Caste was somewhat suspicious at the sudden change in topics, but decided not to touch the issue for now. She glanced at the the black armor on Ulyssian that had been her's only a short time ago, before answering with a wistful tone. "Truly? Not only can you beat me in a duel, lead armies, govern a satrapy in crisis and still make things better for it. But that you can also manage such esoteric tricks too? All mere half a year after your Exaltation? You shame me with your effort and accomplishments to push my own training harder."

Ulyssian nodded. "Truly, there can never be enough training. Also, one of my oldest friends said to me similiar words once. I think you would get along quite well." The Lily raised an eyebrow to this. "Oh? They must have felt quite frustrated when trying to match your potential and will to become even stronger. Even among Exalts, the gaps between our powers can be often exceedingly cruel."

It was then that he understood why Nilul couldn't stop herself from annoying others when amongst friends, where she could lower her mask at least partially. The opportunity was just too tempting. "Actually, yes, that person had Exalted before we even first met, but I personally were a mortal back then. " After this, he carefully schooled his features to a stoic facade that didn't show even a hint of a smirk, while The Lily's beautiful face had developed a twitch next to one of her red eyes. "Your way of handling the subject of asking a friend for their help is most appropriate. Indeed, all should follow your virtuos and humble ways in these matters. There could be no better example!"

Ulyssian, while beginning to feel that quipping like this was actually an enjoyable way of wasting time, decided it was still what it was at its core, a waste of time. "I thank you for your vote of confidence", he said with a flourishing bow to The Lily "but more seriously, I'm worried. I haven't heard anything from some of my enemies for quite some time. Considering my successes till now, silence like this is usually a sign of those enemies moving in secret to strike you. I fear not only for myself, but that my people or friends that are arriving soon might get caught between our clash, or maybe even used against me as hostages or something similiar." He paused to take a breath, while the deathknight looked him with apprehension. "What about my people, then?" she asked with a worry in her voice. "Was it a mistake to send them to Luseng if such a powerful enemy, who causes even you to hesitate to face them, is making their move against you?"

To this, Ulyssian shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Creation is full of danger everywhere, so while they are marginally more in danger near me, they are also better protected by me and my army behind the city walls. Not to mention that they have better living conditions, which mean diseases and hunger are less of a danger than living in the wilderness, now that Luseng is starting to get back on its feet again. And to better protect them, I need more power."

After looking back to where the formelly large camp of refugees who had been flocking to her had been, now only dotted with a few campfires where her closest followers cooked their food, The Lily seemed to come to a decission and stepped towards Ulyssian. "Very well. I will entrust you to be a man of your word and see to best of your ability that they are not harmed, and help you however I can in your pursuit of might", she declared.

"I will", Ulyssian answered. "Now, lets get started."

***

Brutal. Cunning. Changing. Unyielding. This is what Ulyssian felt when his essence and mind touched his armor for the first time deeper than just the surface of the bottomless pitch-black pool. Qualities that seemed shift beneath his observation as he tried to make sense out of them, while paradoxically staying unchanging at the same time.

The artifact armor was nothing like Ambition, which shone with Unconquered excellence in its every aspect. Instead, the Sable Scale felt far more primal in its core. It was like watching a species slowly changing, generation by generation, each one filtered through the survival against death for long enough to pass its essence. Not necessarily stronger or faster, but more fit for the environment it found itself in.

And so, he too let his essence be filtered to through the armor, optimal paths being found by trial and error, followed by the gathered information's dissection by his war-mind. Quickly, non-viable paths were eliminated and ways to power formed from the remaining ones.

Cycling of essence through the armor, its movements adapting to those of opponents as the fight went on, making hitting the black armor and the one inside it more and more difficult. Changing the composition of the mixture made from liquid moonsilver with traces of soulsteel floating in it on the surface, so that it could better resist certain types of attacks after being hit by them once. Near-complete invisibility, as the same surface-mixture took a form capable of bending light around the completely sealed-in wearer. Miniscule slivers of soulsteel shards pressing to and piercing the user's flesh to hold together broken bones and block cut arteries from bleeding out, the pain being transformed to a fear of death which drove the recipient to exceed their own limits and to fight for their survival even harder.

Rather than a tool to protect its wearer, the abilities Sable Scale seemed more like ones that fused the wearer and the armor to a one constantly evolving monstrous being.

That was fine by him. After all, he already had been something far worse in his previous life.

And so, a monster opened its eyes.

*****

An alternative way of The Lily deciding to do things, instead of a kiss to the cheek:

Ulyssian: Um. Lily? What is this with all the instruments? And people from your camp? I thought you were going to help me with my effort?
The Lily: Well, I was going to just cheer you on with these pom-poms in hands-
Ulyssian: Wait, what are pom-poms?
The Lily: BUT THEN, I realized I could do much better with music! So we are going to rock your world out! OH YEAH!
Ulyssian: ...I'm sorry, what?
The Lily: Get ready! One, two, one, two, three, FOUR!
*The band starts to play*
The Lily: AWAKEN!
 
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I came up with a new vote just for fun. As on reflection both the other paths seem unappealing to me.

[X] Retake the Great Library
[X] Thaumaturgical Explorations
[X] Consolidate Power
[X] Govern Wisely, Govern Well
[X] Propagate the Grand Heresy
 
Do you guys have any particular Evocation ideas for the Sable Scales? Even if I don't use 'em, they could help on the stunt roll!
 
It grows eyes and other sensory organs dedicated to the detection of threats to the wearer. Buff to perception perhaps? And awareness I would guess. Just add's dice or maybe make it cheaper? Perhaps a reroll since the senses are coming from two different but connected senses?

Anti-assassination evocations. Passive but always on rather then active.
 
Fanwork##
654 words Unlikely aftermath for the Lily.

"If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine."

Many interests had been aroused by the Emerald Mountains, of those, none would have been compelled to correct the Thorns when he described the rocky structures as a natural vault. Indeed, as most safes, its very appearance spoke in equal measures of risks and rewards to the wandering eye and if the rumor was to be believed, the doors of that strongroom had been breached and its guardian brought low. As usual the news spread like wildfire and coursed from mouths to ears on currents of accommodating winds, carrying grains of truths among a copious amount of exaggerations, deformations and outright lies.

The glade which opened the path to the Mountain had been devastated. Some of the threes arrayed on its edges had been torn to ribbons while others had simply exploded, their pulped remains blending with the patches of grassy ground torn from the soil, in a grayish soup the feets sunk in.
The hill guarded by this green honor guard had not be spared the fate of its defenders, utterly leveled, it had fallen prey to the cataclysm responsible of their fall. One could forgive the would be thief confronted with such vista and emboldened by the words rushing on the winds, for the lack of caution they demonstrated upon encountering the guardian of the vault.

The disappearance of its scaled carapace, leaving the porcelain skin it had sheltered barred to the gazes, made of the tale a truth in the mind of the robbers, even their leader, older and more canny by far, smelt blood in the water. She had been bested and in her loss found herself diminished, undefended. Or so they thoughts. Rather than sharks converging on a inattentive prey, they were like blood flies, flying upon her in a buzzing frenzy only to be swatted aside.

As if unburdened by the loss of her armor, she exchanged a relative invulnerability to a speed that made her untouchable. It was as if she had crossed some threshold till now unexplored, leaving the mere realm of distance abolishing swiftness to reach a celerity apt to warp time itself. She didn't content herself to rocket toward them in a devouring stride, gone was the running steps barely brushing the ground, the nimble form thrown like her namesake in the wind. Instead they faced an existence who scorned Creation's physical laws, as stretched as they were, and managed to be move as if she could be in different places at the same time. She did not rush from one target to the other so much as faded into and out of view. Even to his sharp gaze, it was as from one moment to the next she was somewhere then ceased to be in one place to be in another.

As his beastmens fell, tumbling in pieces or simply exploding in clouds of bloods and powdered flesh as she blurred toward him, Ragnar pondered the price of greed. The experience accumulated after an age of battles permitted him to catch the first blow. Still blown of his feets by the force of it, he was unable to intercept the follow up and only a judicious use of his shifting power preserved him. Shrinking to avoid a decapitating blow delivered with a strength fit to flatten an hill did not safeguard him from the blow-back generated by the attack, only the sacrifice of his remaining followers, who threw themselves at the reaper in their midst left him an opening to retreat.

As he ran followed by the sounds of slaughter, Ragnar could only shiver at the creature he left behind and at the nature of the crucible which had left her, not broken, not less, but more than she was. What kind of monster could have brought her low, only to leave her stronger than she ever was ?

- - - -

Since the Sables have adaptation among its themes could we imagine something like : once a type of attacks had been absorbed, diverted (ect.) by the armor, the wearer shall be left unarmed by this type of strike for x numbers of times ? Either because the armor would have grown impervious to it or because, animating, it would move the wearer in a way that would leave him able to dodge it ?
 
One of the armor's themes is adaptation, so an effect to adapt to an attack that hit could be possible. Maybe Hundred Shadow Way's charm adaptation but the attack needs to hit to adapt against a charm?
A shaping defence that also twists the attack into giving the wearer (temporary) positive mutations?
Soak increases every time you take damage, as the armor evolves to protect it's wearer?
Armor grows around the weapon that hits Uly, creating a disarming counter-attack?
 
Well, the two themes of the Scale are Eternity and Variability, they then come together to create Evolution. On the Eternity end I'd see evocations that related to shrugging off external manipulations, because they are as nothing in the face of eternity. On the variability side I'd say something that would let him move his dots around perhaps, or if not that then give the wearer a floating dot or two he could stick in appropriate places represented thematically by the ever changing nature of the armor?

On the Evolution theme I'd say evocations that made it so that if the wearer survived something once it didn't effect him again as he grew stronger htan it. Perhaps not outright immunity but significantly enhanced resistance. That would obviously combo well with the Eternity angle. There's also the temporary wyld mutations thought that meinamaru put forth, or maybe something about Evolve To Purpose? Picking a goal and then the wearer temporarily becomes what they must be to meet said goal?
 
The Berserk -ripoff that I threw in. Wound-penalties are reversed to bonuses for combat-actions, up to Essence. Cost includes one level of lethal. Other than that one level of lethal paid for the Evocation activation, the user can not inflict damage on themself or voluntarily stand still and take wounds as someone other causes them. If he does, the Charm becomes unavailable until the damage is healed and a day.
 
On the idea of filtered through death, perhaps if you kill enough (either in numbers or quality) the armor is empowered (Perhaps the souls are temporarily bonded to the armor, before being destroyed), temporarily granting increased Soak and Hardness. An upgrade could make some of the benefit permanent, signifying enough soul residue had rubbed of onto the armor to grant permanent increase.
 
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Rihaku said:
Do you guys have any particular Evocation ideas for the Sable Scales? Even if I don't use 'em, they could help on the stunt roll!
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Well there are the obvious options of soak charms, and ox-body analogs.

In the less obvious path maybe a charm that lets us disguise the armor itself as normal clothing of out choice while maintaining functionality for situations where wearing artifact armor isn't socially appropriate.

A stealth booster of some sort.

The ability to adapt to environmental effects so they can only inflict one round of harm before we become immune do to the adaptation aspect of the armor. Maybe even gaining greater soak as a battle goes on as it adapts to the immediate threats present.

Accelerated healing while wearing the armor. It is supposed to appear alive.

Reduced need for sleep, food and water due to eternity theme of the armor.
 
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