[Exalted, ?] Most High
- Thread starter Rihaku
- Start date
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- exalted (white wolf)
Well, while I have less experience with the SV questing zeitgeist than I do with SB's, I do think that a set of capabilities which rewards straightforward action and the use of combat as a means of conflict resolution would be a good fit for us. We're rather good at... well, I don't want to say being a murderhobo, but it's kind of the truth.
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- Location
- The savanna.
Don't know what to say that hasn't been covered. Odyssial & Ulyssian just seem so wrapped up in the concept of conviction that Dawn really seems like the best fit. The others work too, and Night would've made for a great Accursed, but... Dawn just feels right.
VanusDraco
Special Projects Division
- Location
- The Bottom Line
[X] Twilight - Continue to observe until the sun disappears. This is crucial data, an irretrievable resource in a world where knowledge is often humanity's only recourse to power.
Last minute vote!
Last minute vote!
- Location
- The end of all things
I don't know. From what we saw of Odyssial in the previous quest, it was his crazy contingencies that struck me more than anything. That people were still terrified of what havoc his cunning plans and subtle preparations could wreck if they crossed him, even millennia after he died.
Sure he was badass and all, but it was his insane levels of preparation and cunning plans that made him truly terrifying.
Well, his motto was: "He always finds a way." (Which Control appropriated, the thieving bastard!) I guess the question is whether or not it's the 'way' or the 'always' portion that you find more intimidating. For me, it's the unconquerable conviction to persevere and cast back the limits of possibility that's truly horrifying. The transcendent genius is just icing on the cake of existential terror.
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Gngrgrngrhrh.
I may have to break my ideals and go to SV for this. But eeegh, this is a conflict within me that brings great pain.
I may have to break my ideals and go to SV for this. But eeegh, this is a conflict within me that brings great pain.
- Location
- The savanna.
You're not alone in making the pilgrimage, comrade.
Da Boyz
The Cutest Apocalypse.
Welcome to the fold!
One of us! One of us! One of us!
Fancy Face
Tactically Superior
- Pronouns
- She/Her
You could just, you know, browse both sites.
It's not like there's a law or anything.
Not that you know of, that is.
Da Boyz
The Cutest Apocalypse.
The Internet police are just waiting for as many unwitting rubes as possible to stumble into the trap. Then blam! Arrest quotas filled for the year.
- Location
- The savanna.
Famous last words. What'll the epitaph be? "Eaten by lawyers?"
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Oh! Hey, that's right, we might be able to not accidentally get Alveua killed this time. For all that she died in the update she appeared in, she was awesome, so I would like her to not die this time.
Pah.
One of you will proxy-vote for me.
I refuse to compromise my ideals, no matter how shiny the glorious sun is
Those boots were rather adorable, weren't they? Despite her wanting to cover the world in darkness and being a component in the soul structure of the creature that ultimately engineered the Great Curse, thus ruining everything for everyone everywhere... she was all right.
FishforBrains
Powered by eels
[X] Twilight
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Eh, the souls of the Ebon Dragon are probably equally as likely to want good things for the world as they are to have similar goals to him- by doing good they're betraying his principals after all.
Edit: And also, I'm pretty sure there's a charm (maybe a sidereal charm?) that can convert a willing demon into a god, so that's a thing.
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Prelude 2
Rihaku
The Internet
The First Sunset, II
Odyssial headed back to camp. There was work to do.
The sun fell faster than he thought. By the time his trek was finished, it had already begun to dip below the horizon. Blazing with a final, desperate radiance, it emitted streaks of unprecedented hue - the sombre blues, burnt reds, and soft violets of the first twilight. Odyssial spared a moment, squinting his eyes into the glare, to affix the sun's dying moments in his mind. It might well be the last anyone would ever see of it.
He squeezed his eyes shut to dispel the afterimages, blinding white behind his eyelids, as he crested the small bluff that overlooked their encampment. He smelled fire, much of it. That was good. If they had the presence of mind to act quickly, they could still steal away to a complex of caves before light and warmth fled the world.
Then he smelled the blood.
His eyes snapped open, and shock hit him like a freezing torrent. Below lay the ash-strewn ruins of their encampment, still smoldering. Below lay the people of his tribe, twenty-two in all, commingled with the ash and burning wood, resting in pools of their own blood. Below lay their murderer, a spindly-limbed creature whose six swords flashed iridescent in the dying light. He knew that figure - Larsyifex of the Contingent of Valour, a Daeva of the Second Circle. An existence so far above the warriors of his tribe that they may as well have been insects. Odyssial had seen the creature once or twice in the gambling halls of the great markets.
I must find a way, his mind spat out instinctively, and stopped.
There was no way to be found. Not even the daevas could restore a human from death, for man would hardly fear an impermanent demise.
On his arm, Nio's talisman had blackened. A wind stirred, and its petals blew away. Odyssial frowned, mind still reeling. Cold reason forged ahead while the rest of him staggered. When had it blackened? If it was correlated with Nio's... passing, that would give a clue as to the daeva's time of arrival. Any scrap of knowledge could help.
No, he remembered now, thinking as if through a haze. It had blackened gradually from the moment he'd decided to turn back. That had been only an hour ago, hadn't it? But Odyssial knew that talismans of this type rarely reacted to their maker's life or death, instead withering away as the power within was discharged. The lore of his people lived in Odyssial's mind; he was no stranger to mathematics. And it was strange that the sun, whose rate of movement had been so predictable in the hours before, would deviate as he decided to return.
He doubted Nio's talisman could affect the sun. But it could very well affect one man, make him think that three hours had only been one. Delaying the pace of his return to the camp. Keeping him safe from Larsyifex's rampage. Had that been his "good luck?"
Hollowness yawned within him. Why had they trusted him? Why had they looked to him? Why was he alive, when they were all gone?
He, who was supposed to look after them. To protect them. In the end, it was the smallest member of their tribe that had protected him.
He was alive because she had found a way. Not to prevent a loss, for that was too much to ask of this world, but to make the loss not as total. Perhaps that was all any human could ask for, here.
Cleverness. Treachery. Prowess. Will. Without power, none of it sufficed.
He knew that he should run, that he should not throw away the life that Nio had miraculously preserved. He could not make himself do it. It was the wise choice, the advantageous choice. But all this year he'd been incessantly seeking advantage, and for what? To keep them alive. Now, he could no longer protect them.
But he could still avenge them.
All he had to do was slay a Daeva of the Second Circle.
All he had to do, was the impossible.
---
Odyssial's Dossier
Larsyifex, Daeva of the Second Circle.
This six-armed beast towers above any man, its mottled red skin armored by a coating of what appears to be crushed volcanic glass. The armor, if that is what it is, appears to have an extremely low melting point. Smears of it track down its legs, closest to the flames. Odyssial is not terribly familiar with the creature, but he does know that it is the progenitor of the selantis, and that it possess a heightened version of their ability to sense hostile intent. For this and other reasons, Larsyifex is a particularly dangerous foe for Odyssial - this is not an enemy that can be effectively fought by drawing into a prepared killing field of traps. Spontaneous, multi-angled aggression is your best bet.
Larsyifex has a reputation as an indolent gambler, who revels in the hostility of those he cheats, savoring it like a fine vintage. A prideful aesthete, he is unlikely to lower himself by fighting Odyssial seriously, at least not before he's had his measure of fun.
Available equipment -
Cogolem stones - Taken from the corpses of slain cogolem, these pitch black stones shine with an unnatural smoothness. As they approach the ground, they grow heavier. Odyssial is trained in their use for the sling.
Lightning gems - Uncharged, unfortunately.
Bronze sword - Exceptionally sharp.
Brace of poisoned knives - Covered with the toxin of Lethos, but that's unlikely to work on a soul of Lethos.
---
[ ] Turn Aside - It's what Nio would want you to do. To stay and face this enemy is nothing short of death. It is madness even to contemplate: contemplate it too seriously and it'll sense you. A human simply cannot defeat a Daeva of the Second Circle. That is known, and well-known. Do not throw away Nio's gift so callously. As long as you live, there is the hope of vengeance, faint as it might be.
[ ] Destroy Him - Enough. No excuses. No retreat. No mercy. Creation is far too vast for a mortal to have any hope of tracking down a Daeva of the Second, not in the span of a human's years. You will no longer scrimp and cower in the face of senseless cataclysms, even if you must charge in with your death preordained. Today, as the sun falls into nothingness, a Daeva of the Second Circle falls to a mortal's blade. Today, the cataclysm answers to you. It has never been done before, but that means merely that you will be the first to do it.
Note: There is no guarantee you will Exalt before Larsyifex slaughters you. I'm serious, you will likely have to survive multiple updates if you go this route.
[ ] Write In - You could try to talk to him or something. You could try the traps plan, despite what you know.
There are hidden Greatness and Heartlessness modifiers in this choice as well.
Odyssial headed back to camp. There was work to do.
The sun fell faster than he thought. By the time his trek was finished, it had already begun to dip below the horizon. Blazing with a final, desperate radiance, it emitted streaks of unprecedented hue - the sombre blues, burnt reds, and soft violets of the first twilight. Odyssial spared a moment, squinting his eyes into the glare, to affix the sun's dying moments in his mind. It might well be the last anyone would ever see of it.
He squeezed his eyes shut to dispel the afterimages, blinding white behind his eyelids, as he crested the small bluff that overlooked their encampment. He smelled fire, much of it. That was good. If they had the presence of mind to act quickly, they could still steal away to a complex of caves before light and warmth fled the world.
Then he smelled the blood.
His eyes snapped open, and shock hit him like a freezing torrent. Below lay the ash-strewn ruins of their encampment, still smoldering. Below lay the people of his tribe, twenty-two in all, commingled with the ash and burning wood, resting in pools of their own blood. Below lay their murderer, a spindly-limbed creature whose six swords flashed iridescent in the dying light. He knew that figure - Larsyifex of the Contingent of Valour, a Daeva of the Second Circle. An existence so far above the warriors of his tribe that they may as well have been insects. Odyssial had seen the creature once or twice in the gambling halls of the great markets.
I must find a way, his mind spat out instinctively, and stopped.
There was no way to be found. Not even the daevas could restore a human from death, for man would hardly fear an impermanent demise.
On his arm, Nio's talisman had blackened. A wind stirred, and its petals blew away. Odyssial frowned, mind still reeling. Cold reason forged ahead while the rest of him staggered. When had it blackened? If it was correlated with Nio's... passing, that would give a clue as to the daeva's time of arrival. Any scrap of knowledge could help.
No, he remembered now, thinking as if through a haze. It had blackened gradually from the moment he'd decided to turn back. That had been only an hour ago, hadn't it? But Odyssial knew that talismans of this type rarely reacted to their maker's life or death, instead withering away as the power within was discharged. The lore of his people lived in Odyssial's mind; he was no stranger to mathematics. And it was strange that the sun, whose rate of movement had been so predictable in the hours before, would deviate as he decided to return.
He doubted Nio's talisman could affect the sun. But it could very well affect one man, make him think that three hours had only been one. Delaying the pace of his return to the camp. Keeping him safe from Larsyifex's rampage. Had that been his "good luck?"
Hollowness yawned within him. Why had they trusted him? Why had they looked to him? Why was he alive, when they were all gone?
He, who was supposed to look after them. To protect them. In the end, it was the smallest member of their tribe that had protected him.
He was alive because she had found a way. Not to prevent a loss, for that was too much to ask of this world, but to make the loss not as total. Perhaps that was all any human could ask for, here.
Cleverness. Treachery. Prowess. Will. Without power, none of it sufficed.
He knew that he should run, that he should not throw away the life that Nio had miraculously preserved. He could not make himself do it. It was the wise choice, the advantageous choice. But all this year he'd been incessantly seeking advantage, and for what? To keep them alive. Now, he could no longer protect them.
But he could still avenge them.
All he had to do was slay a Daeva of the Second Circle.
All he had to do, was the impossible.
---
Odyssial's Dossier
Larsyifex, Daeva of the Second Circle.
This six-armed beast towers above any man, its mottled red skin armored by a coating of what appears to be crushed volcanic glass. The armor, if that is what it is, appears to have an extremely low melting point. Smears of it track down its legs, closest to the flames. Odyssial is not terribly familiar with the creature, but he does know that it is the progenitor of the selantis, and that it possess a heightened version of their ability to sense hostile intent. For this and other reasons, Larsyifex is a particularly dangerous foe for Odyssial - this is not an enemy that can be effectively fought by drawing into a prepared killing field of traps. Spontaneous, multi-angled aggression is your best bet.
Larsyifex has a reputation as an indolent gambler, who revels in the hostility of those he cheats, savoring it like a fine vintage. A prideful aesthete, he is unlikely to lower himself by fighting Odyssial seriously, at least not before he's had his measure of fun.
Available equipment -
Cogolem stones - Taken from the corpses of slain cogolem, these pitch black stones shine with an unnatural smoothness. As they approach the ground, they grow heavier. Odyssial is trained in their use for the sling.
Lightning gems - Uncharged, unfortunately.
Bronze sword - Exceptionally sharp.
Brace of poisoned knives - Covered with the toxin of Lethos, but that's unlikely to work on a soul of Lethos.
---
[ ] Turn Aside - It's what Nio would want you to do. To stay and face this enemy is nothing short of death. It is madness even to contemplate: contemplate it too seriously and it'll sense you. A human simply cannot defeat a Daeva of the Second Circle. That is known, and well-known. Do not throw away Nio's gift so callously. As long as you live, there is the hope of vengeance, faint as it might be.
[ ] Destroy Him - Enough. No excuses. No retreat. No mercy. Creation is far too vast for a mortal to have any hope of tracking down a Daeva of the Second, not in the span of a human's years. You will no longer scrimp and cower in the face of senseless cataclysms, even if you must charge in with your death preordained. Today, as the sun falls into nothingness, a Daeva of the Second Circle falls to a mortal's blade. Today, the cataclysm answers to you. It has never been done before, but that means merely that you will be the first to do it.
Note: There is no guarantee you will Exalt before Larsyifex slaughters you. I'm serious, you will likely have to survive multiple updates if you go this route.
[ ] Write In - You could try to talk to him or something. You could try the traps plan, despite what you know.
There are hidden Greatness and Heartlessness modifiers in this choice as well.
- Location
- The savanna.
Thaaaat went to shit quickly.
Da Boyz
The Cutest Apocalypse.
[X] Destroy Him - Enough. No excuses. No retreat. No mercy. Creation is far too vast for a mortal to have any hope of tracking down a Daeva of the Second, not in the span of a human's years. You will no longer scrimp and cower in the face of senseless cataclysms, even if you must charge in with your death preordained. Today, as the sun falls into nothingness, a Daeva of the Second Circle falls to a mortal's blade. Today, the cataclysm answers to you. It has never been done before, but that means merely that you will be the first to do it.
Hahahahaha fuck you asshole! So what if it's impossible we will always find a way, because none of this would have meaning if we didn't.
Hahahahaha fuck you asshole! So what if it's impossible we will always find a way, because none of this would have meaning if we didn't.
Rihaku
The Internet
Welcome to pre-Exaltation life!
Odyssial can definitely still die, even if it's the prelude. Larsyifex is extremely likely to underestimate you, but that's because he knows he has an almost insurmountable edge in power.
Da Boyz
The Cutest Apocalypse.
I don't think you heard me right oh omnipotent QM, we will find a way. Also I would just like to compliment you for somehow making this a gutpunch when we had never met any of these people and had less then five lines of dialogue from any them, it really is impressive if somewhat exploitative in a "burned hometown" sense. Now does anyone have a plan?
Lexica
Persevere
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Hmmm...
So, is Odyssial the type of person to ever let emotion hold sway over logic? Would he ever make a grand gesture, unknowing if he would succeed when he has the option to turn away?
He could turn away now, and perhaps find another group of humans to lead, to help survive- and that wouldn't throw away Nio's gift either. Yes, perhaps if he had arrived just after this happened naturally things would be different, but I don't think that he would throw himself into this fight when Nio's gift had just kept him out of it.
If there were people to save he would dive in without hesitation, 'he would find a way,' but now I think he's more likely to go and try to help others, because it is logical, it would allow him to better plan his revenge, and because it would be honoring what Nio did for him.
[X] Turn Aside - It's what Nio would want you to do. To stay and face this enemy is nothing short of death. It is madness even to contemplate: contemplate it too seriously and it'll sense you. A human simply cannot defeat a Daeva of the Second Circle. That is known, and well-known. Do not throw away Nio's gift so callously. As long as you live, there is the hope of vengeance, faint as it might be.
So, is Odyssial the type of person to ever let emotion hold sway over logic? Would he ever make a grand gesture, unknowing if he would succeed when he has the option to turn away?
He could turn away now, and perhaps find another group of humans to lead, to help survive- and that wouldn't throw away Nio's gift either. Yes, perhaps if he had arrived just after this happened naturally things would be different, but I don't think that he would throw himself into this fight when Nio's gift had just kept him out of it.
If there were people to save he would dive in without hesitation, 'he would find a way,' but now I think he's more likely to go and try to help others, because it is logical, it would allow him to better plan his revenge, and because it would be honoring what Nio did for him.
[X] Turn Aside - It's what Nio would want you to do. To stay and face this enemy is nothing short of death. It is madness even to contemplate: contemplate it too seriously and it'll sense you. A human simply cannot defeat a Daeva of the Second Circle. That is known, and well-known. Do not throw away Nio's gift so callously. As long as you live, there is the hope of vengeance, faint as it might be.