[Exalted, ?] Most High

I would just like to reiterate that Odyssial had his chance using his methods, and he failed. It is foolish to think going the same route won't end up in a similar result, with the entire world against us and either us being killed or us destroying the world. Choose a different path, and for me the better option is throwing away the sword. It'll be a lesson Odyssial never learned in that power and expediency isn't the only way to effect change rather than the blue option which is the kind/sorta/I don't know option which has a base cost of 250k XP for merely ending the LB, not to change it itself which requires a high roll. Even then that's just lessening the scale of Odyssial's terror.
Your wrong Rihaku had said this about Odyssial using the same methods again. So we can win if they attempt to kill us.

Odyssial was not put down without millions of dead Dragon-Blooded, dozens of slain Sidereal masters, entire civilizations leveled to dust, Directions shattered from collateral damage, and the very fabric of - not merely reality, but existence itself - pushed to the breaking point. The Incarnae themselves had to get involved and were forever maimed for their impertinence. Several very nearly were annihilated.

Creation could not survive attempting to put Odyssial down again, if he should grow into the fullness of his power.
 
So. Ulyssian has once again called upon the powers and mindset of a monster sprung from the mists of prehistory, and has hurt the people he loves in the process. The symmetry is almost amusing. Almost.

[X] Snap Out of It

This refocuses the quest on Ulyssian's identity and mitigates the fallout of this horrible event without costing us most of our experience and permanently crippling Ulyssian, damaging his ideals. All we have to do is sacrifice the Crown, but I think that is rather thematically fitting, since this... outburst has likely hurt peoples' faith in our leadership significantly.

I'm starting to be a bit annoyed that we didn't bring Lily close to Luseng so that she oils mitigate this crap. Fucking compromise vote.

At least it was just the viziers. Imagine if it had been a more general limit break. Shudders.

Thank god we took several actions to increase loyalty, are better at social fu thanks to Lily, and have Nilul here to help is mitigate the fallout.
 
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Though, as I think about it, I think the irony is that one of the things that draws me to the Red option is that I rather feel like Odyssial has more relationships and personality and conflict than Ulyssian.

Ulyssian has training and generally stable and healthy relationships. His internal struggles and goals were largely achieved with his Exaltation. Most of the conflict we've had in this story comes from Odyssial's plans, or feelings, or opinions. Odyssial has driven the entire plot. Nio, Pearl, the Lathe, Anys-stuff...
 
So. Ulyssian has once again called upon the powers and mindset of a monster sprung from the mists of prehistory, and has hurt the people he loves in the process. The symmetry is almost amusing. Almost.

[X] Snap Out of It

This refocuses the quest on Ulyssian's identity and mitigates the fallout of this horrible event without costing us most of our experience and permanently crippling Ulyssian, damaging his ideals. All we have to do is sacrifice the Crown, but I think that is rather thematically fitting, since this... outburst has likely hurt peoples' faith in our leadership significantly.

It also means we can start focusing on SURPASSING Odyssial and start working on filling his shoes without needing to go H10
 
[X] Embrace the Clarity [+250,000 XP, (permanent) 2x modifier to XP generation] - This is not an external mental influence. What it is, is the removal of all distraction, all mental impurities, all the fleeting and purposeless stimuli that constantly assail the mind. What it is, is the triumph of the will, the extermination of weakness and vice. For a man can only live with one purpose - to do otherwise is to be at war with one's self. Even after Limit Break ends, Uly will understand that the fastest way to grow stronger is to unlock Odyssial's memories, force the Exaltation to perform as it did under Odyssial, and that only strength can save this wretched Creation. He will re-orient his priorities accordingly.

Once, he was bound by a thousand tiny hooks of obligation and social necessity. Now, he is free.
 
I'm starting to be a bit annoyed that we didn't bring Lily close to Luseng so that she oils mitigate this crap. Fucking compromise vote.
Look at it this way, it could have been worse if Moon hadn't seen only the tail end of the Limit Break. Rihaku said this was... mild, compared to other possible outcomes. Which is probably the only thing keeping me from losing my shit right now. The consequences of a battle in the streets with the Lily would've been worse, because the collateral damage would have cost the lives of people who weren't corrupt.
 
It also means we can start focusing on SURPASSING Odyssial and start working on filling his shoes without needing to go H10

Yep. I mentioned before I had no intention of becoming as heartless as Odyissial. We can be more.

If we defeated death which was
supposed to be impossible even for us then we can do the impossible again and surpass what we were like in our past life without becoming as big a monster.
 
Something I'd like everyone to consider, do you really want to take on Anys Syn down 10 free motes or an effective 500,000 XP? Because we didn't manage to break the E5 ceiling and so are already at an extreme disadvantage in this imminent fight.
 
Look at it this way, it could have been worse if Moon hadn't seen only the tail end of the Limit Break. Rihaku said this was... mild, compared to other possible outcomes. Which is probably the only thing keeping me from losing my shit right now. The consequences of a battle in the streets with the Lily would've been worse, because the collateral damage would have cost the lives of people who weren't corrupt.

True this way we can justify our actions with us finally being done with the Viziers shit. And I thank god again we chose to do a focused limit break. This situation is actually worse than I expected because I was hoping Moon wouldn't be here to see any of our limit break.

At the very least us temporarily throwing away Ambition and the questions our friends will no doubt have for us should cause us to have some inkling about our Limit Break and unlike Ody we won't be using that knowledge to purposefully go into Limit Break.
 
So have a stunt that I find applicable for either of the Non-Red options, because I really don't want to have Perma-Limit Break Odyssial be the main character. I'll articulate my reasons more later, but that should suffice for now.

##Fanwork Word Count 1251
The flames burned ever higher. Within the mind of Sesus Ulyssian a war raged with the force and fury of an inferno. A cancer, a canker upon his soul had returned from beyond the endless realm of oblivion to menace him once again. His elder self, the Solar God King Odyssial, had created this poison. In his hubris, and unrelenting madness, he had forged from the Death Curse of fallen titans a deadlier and more personal blight.

To attain perfect greatness, to march towards a distant and eternal perfection, he had transformed a blight upon his spirit into a tool to use. In so doing he had stripped himself of the vast majority of the reasons why he had sought that golden tomorrow. The ends justified any means. He could perform horrors greater than any the Primordial lords of Creation had before he had cast them down, and it would all be worthwhile because of the purpose for which he worked.

Not for anything as transient as personal advancement, nor as ephemeral as emotional attachment, did Odyssial work. No, all his efforts had been turned towards transforming and altering the world itself, into creating a future greater than any that had existed. A world of perfection and glory that was undreamt of by all those who lived in the fallen Creation born from the fetid imaginations of mad gods.

He had worked horrors then. Done deeds as dark, and infamous, as any the Primordials had ever wrought. The Dragon's Shadow itself would applaud the immediate results of his efforts, for his every deed created a horde of foes inflamed by disgust and driven by hatred. When the Sidereal Exalted had thrown down the Solars and their Lunar mates in the Usurpation Odyssial's power had been so great, so terrible, that it had taken the intercession of the Celestial Incarnae themselves to halt his rampage. Even now, they were diminished from that conflict.

One of the greatest and most fell works of he who was Odyssial now assaulted the mind of his reincarnation. This horror, forged by an alien, arrogant, and horrific mind to further hone it, now sought to impose the might and very thought processes of that mind upon its inheritor. It would burn out all human weakness from the mind of Sesus Ulyssian, reforging him into the vessel of Odyssial's true will once more. All that he was, all that he cared for, all that made him unique and different from the God King he had once been, would cease, and fade to nothingness.

His friends? Lost. His Love? Ignored. Anything, and everything, that had mattered to him would fade into insignificance in the face of the threats facing Creation. To battle them, the Great Work of Odyssial would forge of Sesus Ulyssian a might weapon, uncaring for such things as sentiment or emotion, save where they might advance his cause.

Some might say this was for the best, that the return of this supernal excellence and transcendent might would make of Sesus Ulyssian an exalt among exalts, greater and more terrible than the most deranged dreams of Luna hirself. With this might, with this perfection, he would transcend the bonds of the base earth and reach enlightenment of a kind. True, in the end it would be the enlightenment of the machine, of the perfect Orrery of worlds, but it would save Creation from all that imperiled it, and would not that be enough? Others would bemoan this as the greatest work of the Neverborn, to turn what could have been a mighty champion reborn into an agent of peerless destruction, unrivaled under heaven or upon any land touched by their might. At the moment however, the outcome remained in doubt.

Sesus Ulyssian yet remained with the soul and mind that he once called his own. Besieged and befouled by the efforts of the Great Curse his own true essence yet remained beneath the words and works of Odyssial. He had come into being to serve as a renewal of that being, a way for Odyssial to survive and grow in a manner he had not since the earliest days of his life. As such, his very existence was the Final Work of Odyssial and so he might stand before the ever waxing tide that rose against him. But should he?

The alterations performed upon the Great Curse of the Neverborn altered it, changed it, so that it would serve the aims of Odyssial. So that it would reward him for actions that he would take anyway. Those actions... were they not just? Were they not worthy? Were they not what he would do were he truly unfettered? Who was Sesus Ulyssian to stand against this mighty work of Odyssial? To say that this action was not justified. The very act of standing against it would diminish his capacity, weaken his growth, and ensure that countless would die who might live.

The battle within the soul of the Exalt was fought as his mind contemplated and his body committed acts of great violence. Then, before the man who once bore the title of Most High, there appeared the one thing that might provide enough context, enough emotional resonance and reason for him to step back from the precipice of ego death. His dearest and closest friend stood before him, her face filled with horror at what he had done.

She who was just, she who had shown him kindness in a world filled with cruelty and pain, looked upon this work of the titan Odyssial and found it unpleasing to her eye. If the actions that he took while in the throes of Odyssial's personal Curse were so righteous, so well valued and proper as to be incontestable, then why did the eyes of Empty Moon shown nothing but fear for him?

They had not seen one another for months. He had revitalized Luseng, pushed it as far towards the idea lof paradise as he could in the time that he had, rather than make of himself a sorcerer fit to bend all of Creation to his whims, largely so that she might come here, look upon his works, and aide him in his quest to save creation. How could this horror upon her countenance be the result of such earnest work?

Thus did he cast down and harness the Work of Odyssial, lessening it, altering it to fit him as he was rather than who he had been. He would not allow the deeds of his past to dictate the path of his future. He would not allow the single minded intensity that had once dominated Creation to rob him of that which he valued now. Had this obsession existed when Odyssial was young could he have valued Lea or Pearl? Could their relationships ever have even been in the face of such horrible focus?

In the end, Sesus Ulyssian Remained Odyssial. He always found a way. In the here and now, he would take this Curse, this Working, and make it serve him, rather than rule him. His growth would be slowed, his might and capacity lessened, but he would remain himself rather than a man long dead and gone, able to think and operate in ways that would otherwise be impossible to a mind grown too vast and alien to sanction them.

Now to run damage control. "That was a Joke. Ha Ha...?" Sol in the heavens he needed to develop his social skills more!
 
It's not permanent limit break. It's not even close. It's simply a dedication to save as many people as possible, and to follow up on the Odyssial plothooks.

And, of course, opening up the plot-hooks that have driven literally every moment of importance in this game so far. I mean really...as I said, there was Pearl, Nio, Cathak Polemgaos and the Civil War, the Lily, Seeds, Anys Syn's actions...

Pretty much the entire plot has been driven by Odyssial's aspects. The game started with crafting Odyssial for a reason. Ulyssian's plotline has been nicely wrapped up with a bow, I feel. He's pretty vanilla as an Exalt - most of his plot was tied to being a mortal. So, honestly, I want to follow up on the plotlines that the entire game has had, rather than eliminating them to make us a more straightforward, less interesting character and losing that foreshadowing and hooks.

I think that's really what it comes down to. Of course, unlike some people I also think we'll still be in control of the character, it's not forcing us to be an absolute monster or anything. Yes, we'll be more willing to take ruthless actions, but we've been very....un-ruthless so far, so even if it adds a lot of ruthlessness points, there's plenty to balance it out.
 
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At the very least us temporarily throwing away Ambition and the questions our friends will no doubt have for us should cause us to have some inkling about our Limit Break and unlike Ody we won't be using that knowledge to purposefully go into Limit Break.
Yeah, I think focusing more on Ulyssian is honestly a good thing, especially if we don't want to prove Syn right. If we have the chance to do that without hurting our personal power to too great a degree and gambling with the lives of our friends, we should absolutely take it.
 
Look at it this way, it could have been worse if Moon hadn't seen only the tail end of the Limit Break. Rihaku said this was... mild, compared to other possible outcomes. Which is probably the only thing keeping me from losing my shit right now. The consequences of a battle in the streets with the Lily would've been worse, because the collateral damage would have cost the lives of people who weren't corrupt.

Not necessarily, the battle could have made it so OPTIMAL!Uly believed it would be inefficient to fight her and waste his time and energy (path of least resistance and all that)
 
Your wrong Rihaku had said this about Odyssial using the same methods again. So we can win if they attempt to kill us.
No we can't. For now we only have Odyssial's potential power, once we start going down his path once more all those people who opposed us the first time (aka the Incarnae themselves) will do so again. They will either kill us before we reach sufficient power levels, or we will kill them and in the process destroy creation. It even says this in the very quote you bolded.

The only way around this is for Odysiall to work with the Incarnae themselves, but who does that? It's far more expedient to just kill them .... right?

Odyssial had his chance and took it to the very limits he could, he failed. Let's not repeat his mistakes.
 
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The only way around this is for Odysiall to work with the Incarnae themselves, but who does that? It's far more expedient to just kill them .... right?

We are still in control of the character even if we pick Red. Please, remember that. It is not going to bind us to taking the most pointlessly violent option every time. Even if we were forced to pick the most optimal choice every-time, we are supposed to be a genius, and that's hardly optimal.
 
Dammit brain! Stop thinking about awesome quests, and let me sleep for once in a while! Anyway, after a short period of contemplation, I've come to a conclusion that I simply wouldn't enjoy the quest as much if I went for Embrace the Clarity, no matter how tempting its power would be. Though Resist the Clarity is even worse for me. Like Vel, I think its the most watered down of all choices. It just wouldn't feel as impactful if Uly simply fights temporarily down the urge to be optimal.

But on the other hand, Odyssial will fade away, which I'm still somewhat sad to see, even when now witnessing a glimpse of how truly monstorous he was. And so will probably the dream of the Lathe of Heaven evaporate... Or will it? Maybe it will take an another form, transformed to something gentler? I don't know. Still, transforming Luseng to a paradise through administration and sorcerous might, and through it the world would be a good first step towards something better. Maybe after this, when all are united and ready for transcendence, can Ulyssian do better where Odyssial failed.

Maybe The Lily's words have some meaning to them, after all. Paying cruelty upon cruelty might not be worth it after all, even if the Golden Forever lies at the end of the bloody road, and you can reach it by paying the grim toll.

[X] Snap Out of It

Plus this will be quite dramatic moment. And possibility with time, we will manage to resynchronize with Ambition in a different way than Odyssial, forging our own ideal in the place of the crown.

Though I have to admit, I'm still not terribly opposed to Embrace. I might even change my vote to it later on if convincing enough arguments for it are made, or I have some sudden insight that causes me to change my opinion.
 
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The only way around this is for Odysiall to work with the Incarnae themselves, but who does that? It's far more expedient to just kill them .... right?
The Incarnae are the very incarnations of the status quo, the things that uphold the order of the world that is so abhorrent to us. Odyssial failed before, but we're not starting over, we're building on the foundations he gave us to create a better tomorrow. What excuse do we have, for spitting in the face of that legacy? What would you say, to the hundreds of thousands who will suffer and die for our weakness, our sickening inability to do what must be done?

[X] Embrace the Clarity

To do otherwise spits on all of Odyssial's efforts. The world must be saved, no matter the cost.
 
[x] Snap Out of It

This option is the one most likely to make us suspicious about the existence of Limit Breaks. The loss of the Crown and sudden behaviour change when we toss the sword away should at least give us an inkling that what happened had something to do with Odyssial.

The loss of Metis is not as bad as it could be, with us having the Sable, as well as other people who can help cover our weak spots. It also gives us a plot hook to forge our own path with Ambition.

Also, aren't we glad we did not kill Ayala. Considering what happened here, I dont want to think about what would happen if we LB in the realm.
 
We are still in control of the character even if we pick Red. Please, remember that. It is not going to bind us to taking the most pointlessly violent option every time. Even if we were forced to pick the most optimal choice every-time, we are supposed to be a genius, and that's hardly optimal.
So very many strawmen are being erected and set fire to, where the Red option is concerned. It's salvation, not pointless sadism. Didn't they see those numbers? Or do they only see the horror that is right in front of them, caring nothing at all for the well-being of all Creation? Those aren't mere statistics; each of them is a precious and unique existence, and we have just as much a duty to them as we do to our friends.
 
I will note again, as a PSA, that threats / bluffs / implications / etc that one can't play the quest anymore if a option wins are, 1) probably overblown (don't let your own strawmans become your beliefs; you will have a better chance of winning if you understand your opponent's actual arguments and position), and 2) will either be neutral or completely detrimental to your cause, argument-wise. This is because if we do not disincentivize that kind of behavior, the end result will be endless escalations of people threatening to leave the quest for increasingly silly reasons.

Note, then, that such behavior will ALWAYS, depending on what I decide, either not benefit you or impose a significant negative modifier on your arguments for that decision point; it will NEVER help you win that decision point.

Really first he abandons his duties, then he let's the Sidereals rebel without a peep and then he tries to murder the highest military authority in Creation? Clearly Sol Invictus cannot be trusted anymore.

Why do you think Odyssial broke his spear, man?

"So great boat you have here NIlul why don't we spend the next few hours here catching up on old times Talomar I wan this city cleaned yesterday!"

Nilul (perkily): It really is a nice boat, isn't it?

I don't care one way or the other, but I'm not interested in splitting the vote. Resist seems to have more steam at the moment.

I'll figure something out if the total votes / arguments for resist seem stronger than the total votes / arguments for Embrace, but this vote will be more strongly decided by arguments than most, I feel.

How big of a handicap would losing Crown of Metis have on our ability to function outside of combat?

BIG. It's probably worth at least 250,000 XP.

At least it was just the viziers. Imagine if it had been a more general limit break. Shudders.

C'mon, it's not like Odyssial would have killed innocent people for no reason. He just has a correct view of how much more powerful than the others he is, and how to maximally leverage that power.

Look at it this way, it could have been worse if Moon hadn't seen only the tail end of the Limit Break. Rihaku said this was... mild, compared to other possible outcomes. Which is probably the only thing keeping me from losing my shit right now. The consequences of a battle in the streets with the Lily would've been worse, because the collateral damage would have cost the lives of people who weren't corrupt.

Mild, insofar as Uly's relationship with Moon is concerned.

I don't think there would have been too much collateral damage in terms of lives; they're both pretty good about not killing innocents. There may have been tremendous property damage, though.
 
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Something I'd like everyone to consider, do you really want to take on Anys Syn down 10 free motes or an effective 500,000 XP? Because we didn't manage to break the E5 ceiling and so are already at an extreme disadvantage in this imminent fight.

What are you talking about? We turned Lily which means E5. She just isn't near Luseng thanks to the compromise vote.

What's the point of fighting Anys if it means she was right to betray everything, the Realm, the Bronze Faction, and Creation itself to stop us.

I have no intention of proving the crazy bitch was right about us. Also it's not worth killing Anys if it means that in the future we could be the ones kill our friends. Imagine if Anys kidnapped Moon to set a trap for us and had limit breaked then. We would've left Moon to her fate or killed her ourself if it meant having a better chance of killing Anys.

I did initially want to leave in the beginning but I has come to appreciate staying I the Realm as it meant we got to have all these great interactions with our friends like gaining the trust of Nilul.

As I've said before a major reason we've gained such power and trying to gain even more is so we can protect
and empower our friends. I absolutely refuse to put them in danger if we can avoid it.

While throwing away Ambition does lose us the crown that's it. We don't lose the XP for Sorcery as we don't had to pray for a dice roll to not only
take us out of limit break but to also mitigate future Limit Breaks

I'm not putting the safety of our friends to dice rolls if I don't have to thank you very much. The whole reason we had to use up so much Solar XP on Mastering Sable was because we did below average on the Wake the Sleeper Roll for Sable Scales. The dice gods will not always favor us.
 
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