Green Flame Rising (Exalted vs Dresden Files)

[DragonParadox]

To Move Mountains ​

8th of March 2007 A.D.

In your mind, gears whirl, a multidimensional fractal mosaic of interlocking details coming together in a union of magic and technology, of half-remembered flashes of ancient insight and the vision of a future yet to come.

Far above the Great Ring flared, waves of cascading plasma singing a song of creation.

Projected into mortally comprehensible dimensions it is a body of a titan writ in stone and fire, the ancient magma channels below the Caldera opening up a fortress for those manning it, a logistics hub for the products moved in and out, a weapon to be aimed at invaders, a Labyrinth.

It would have taken days to even begin explaining the plan to those assembled before you, brilliant as they are, called from all corners of your soul for a chance to work directly under their queen. But that is not needed, when they are, in effect, also part of the design, as it stretches in one more not just spatial, but temporal direction. Still, bolstered by your leadership, and equipped with the best tools possible, you speak of what you are bringing into being.

The channels of the ancient volcano are near perfect geomantic conduits, selected for the purpose. Formed for it? A part of you wonders, still shuddering a bit at the implications yet nothing of it shows upon the face beneath the Crown, only the smile of focused intent, eyes closed as one who listens to distant melodies, Eyes open and ever-searching.

Days pass almost unsleeping marked only by the slow turning of the moon's pale face as construction crews in pressurized suits, some with four limbs, some with eight, some with prosthetic enchancements some with burdens borne by magnetic levitation do their own part in the dance. From above the entire volcanic creator is lit by inner fire, revealing a labyrinth of stone, gnarled paths and tunnels forming strange patterns and defensive architecture from a coincidence of nature. At the center the portal hangs like a pupil, embedded in an iris of lava and bridged by jagged iron overhangs.

Thus it takes shape to those watchers technological and organic who buzz above an enormous eye filled with teeth. Threaded through it like nerves the maze and lines of magma form a name in the oldest language of an entity that doesn't yet exist, each line in turn a ward against harm for the defenders.

The deeper you sink into the great work the more that question keeps coming back: Am I doing this all now or is some of it work that was forever-always-done? That that there is a tense for that in the the Language is almost an answer in itself.

For her part Olivia has not been iddle shaping the power that wells up from below into a usable state, building delicate screens of sorcerous power to befuddle and decieve any invaders, carving ward-lines deep into stone that no demon or other horror may dare tresspass this way into Sanctuary.

What Ritual did Olivia learn over the past few days?

[] [Mana Manipulation] ••• Core Tap: Allows the Sorcerer to directly convert mana into energy in the form of flame (2 Successes) Ionized plasma (3 successes) or gravitation (5 successes). The ward must be connected to a leyline to function. +1 Success is required for every 10 miles distance from a ley line in which it is set up. It does Caster's Mana Manipulation Rating+Rating of the Nearest Dragon's Nest in damage die/round of contact. The Caster may choose to add extra successes to damage at a rate of 1 Success/1 Die of Damage.The size of the ward is 50 ft +50 ft/extra success.

[] [Psychic Invisibility] •••• Anchor Veil: Allows the Sorcerer to anchor an effect of similar strength to her Invisibility power to an area that hides a specific class of object: Innanimate object (1 Success); Non-Sentient living things (2 Successes); Sentient Beings (3 Successes); Sophonts (4 Successes). The size of the veil is 50 ft +50 ft/extra success

[] [Mind Shields] ••• Expand Shield: Allows the Sorcerer to exted the protection of her mind shield to 1 willing companion/success for up to 5 hours. During this time her Mind Shield does not apply against any person she has included in the protection

[] [Pcychoportation] •••• Skip-Gate: For the following 5 hours confers upon the Sorcerer the ability create a 'wake' of distorted space behind her when she teleports by spending 1 Mana which permits one other character to join her on by standing where she stood. Duration of each individual 'wake' is 1 Turn/2 Ritual successes. These can be chained together if the Sorcerer keeps spending extra Mana.

OOC: Enjoy.

 

[DragonParadox]

Scounting for Talent ​

8th of March 2007 A.D.

"Damn this is cool," Olivia laughs as she edits thousands of wall mounted laser emitters vanish from perception with a snap of her fingers... well really with several hours of work painstakingly painting runes of focus and control all over the wall in tree-stalker blood, but you of all people can't fault her for being dramatic. "I can't believe you actually have tree octopi for the record," she adds looking over her shoulder.

"I mean they aren't technically..." Briefly you consider going into details about how tree stalkers have five arms and not eight, but really the only other thing one could compare a banded tree stalker to is a facehugger, so maybe Internet memes are the better comparison. "That's not the 'forget you ever saw me' trick you can pull is it?" you ask instead.

She shakes her head. "I can just barely do that do that myself, edge of my abilities... You know if you're planning to break the Reds power maybe making more people like me's a good idea. Sure you can send some in from Sanctuary, but they aren't used to operating on Earth and they all need to have their history electronically inserted into the system. Don't get me wrong the Amethyst hand people are getting scary-good at that, but there is a limit on what you can do with computers. Earth isn't as wired in as over here. On the other hand if you empower people in the community and with a stake in it..."

"Er... Olivia, you do realize it's going to look like replacing one Court with another. When I awaken someone's Po it feels dark, almost but not quite like one of the Hungry Dead."

"So?" she shrugs. "We're not trying to look like, the cookie girls... 'girl scouts'? I've never been one, just saw them on TV."

You laugh, thinking back to less hectic time. "I have and trust me, if harnesing inner darkness would help them sell more cookies most of those girls would be on it in a flash."

"So what do you think?" your friend asks after a moment. "I could help..."

"No... you've got college and..."

"Fuck college," she cuts you off, the space around her crackling with black hairline fractures. "The Council is bad, its not representative it's opaque and it gives no appeal, but it's getting better, I've seen that. The Red Court, they're just monsters, they treat people like food, like toys, pretend they're gods. I've talked to Susan Rodrriguez since she came back to Chicago and it's bad over there. That's why I wanted to help set up the gate, it's a chance to help, but there are plenty of sorcerers in Sanctuary who can do this stuff. I am a very, very good shot."

There's something almost haunted to the looks she gives you, but no less determined for all that.

What do you do?

[] Agree with Olivia's idea that she should liaise with the Fellowship in efforts to fight the Red Court,the first of a new kind of agent, taking advantage of your ability to awaken the Po
(Olivia will still be availibile for actions during turn plans, but she will be in more danger at a baseline)

[] Argue against it, she can do more good helping set up organizations like the Order of the Cauldron, getting minor talents the information and connections they need to stay safe
(Olivia will work organizing minor talents, focusing on improving her social and networking skills)

[] Write in

OOC: No rolls for this one.

 

[DragonParadox]

Architect of the Spirit ​

8th of March 2007 A.D.

You look over at Olivia's fervent expression pensively for a moment, before jerking your head towards a nearby outcropping, well away from the ongoing arcane workings. "Sit with me a minute, would you?"

"Is this an intervention?" She peers up at you half-jokingly, which is to say half not as well. "'Cause it sure sounds like it?"

"No it's just..." a sigh comes out, not pushing, no essence carried with the breath, just normal Molly Carpenter, as normal as you can be here at least. "I'm not going to tell you no on this: I know how it feels to need to do something like this, and I'm not that sort of hypocrite." You give a short, wry laugh before your expression grows serious again as you gently, reach out to take her hands in your own. "But, Olivia I want you to consider how you do this really carefully, okay? Throwing yourself into things like this, especially if you're throwing other things away? It can..." you trail off a moment, your mind flashing to Harry in some of his darker moments; and to your dad, and the worry you've seen Mom try to hide, alone at night in a dark and quiet kitchen. And then... to ice and fear and a little bit of mind magic done with the best of intentions, honest.

"Hey, I'm a year and a half older than you remember, you do not get to pull this Zordon shtick on me," she speaks into the silence that lingers just a little too long. "We're not going to let the Red Court just keep going, right? 'Sure there's blood drinking monsters in South America along with the deforestation and the banana-driven corporate colonialism' and everyone just kind of knew that and factored it in." The face she makes is one of very genuine disgust. "That can't go on, right?"

"No, of course not," you answer reflexively. I might not have a plan, but one thing is for sure, the Red Court has to go, for the sake of the people they are abusing and all the ones they are putting in danger by calling out to the Old Ones and their puppets.

"Then that's OK then. College can go on hold. I can be in the ballet later. Stage isn't going anywhere."

Feeling a bit better about the whole thing now that you know this is less her wrenching her whole life around to be a freedom fighter against vampires and more putting it on snooze you still feel compelled to add: "It can really fuck you up, you know? Sometimes in ways you don't realize until you're a lot further down the line." Looking her dead in the eye you do your best to get across how much this means to you, how much her wellbeing means to you. "I don't want that for you, okay? I won't say no, but I want to make sure you're doing this in the right way, yeah?"

Instead of quipping again she just nods, determined.

There's one more task to do before you can put that determination to the test, call fourth the final defender of the gate, last line of defense... Well no, as Regina points out there is a whole world made up of more lines of defense behind the fortress, that is kind of the point, but the last thing you want is some enemy running loose in your soul. Perhaps ironically for a spirit of fire and stone The primary purpose of the keeper of this place is not to bar the way nor to burn foes with the deep fire that runs though its veins, a task for mazes and traps, for guards and turrets. No they are to...

Watch, a thousand fractal eyes looking out from between the angles between the worlds and to.

Warn, a myriad wave-forms of sound through the air and, through wire and arcane lineage electromagnetic elocution, a thousand thousand times more complex.​

There's more that could be done, you think as the spirit of the fortress pulls itself together, creation akin to a dreamer waking from deep slumber.

What splendors are you planning to include in the fortress?

[] Write in
(You have the time to create one Splendor of up to ●●●)

OOC: You rolled very well for making the god so you have some extra time on your hands within the confines of the action you already choose.

 

[DragonParadox]

Old Earth, New Sprouts ​

9th of March 2007 A.D.

The land was rich in life but it had not been rich for the works of the people, not at first. Then they had burned wood and spilled blood upon it, then with their hands they had tended it as with their minds they had imagined it, the rich earth from which would grow the crops to feed their children.

It's not you realize with some surprise the story of the Inca in their stepped mountain slopes, it is the story of the land now called the Amazon Basin, ones who had built in wood, their works lost to the shadows of the jungle and yet in the whispers if the spirits enuring. As the earth had been fed the blood of Jaguar and caiman so too would it now be fed the blood of worse things beset by darker hungers, its story writ in ancient syllables of soft, black loam. Should it come into contact with a vampire, be they demon's companion, nightmare beast or corpse infected with a hunger that would devour the world it would sprout.

Lost one Vampire Corpse

Malko gains Splendor: Rich Earth's Hunger

Spoiler: Rich Earth's Hunger

Description: This curious blessing takes the form of a coating of rich soil dusted across its master and their immediate possessions, as if they'd been working in some fertile field for hours. This sacred soil provides some basic ability to shape that which resonates with it, allowing its master to change the details of their immediate surroundings.

When a creature that feeds on mortals comes in contact with them or the dirt falling off their body it burrows in like the roots of an alien plant, spreading inside their body and rotting away what it touches into more soil.

If this kills the target then they fully decompose into rich fertilizer and their soul is drawn away to the earth that took them.

System: Each time a creature who feeds mortals that comes into contact with the owner of this splendor or the dirt coating their form while in their immediate presence they are subject to the Hunger of the Earth, a murderous magical poison.

Each turn they must make a stamina roll against difficulty 9 or suffer a level of unsoakable lethal damage. This will continue until they die or manage to succeed three turns in a row. If they die while subject to this effect their souls will be drawn into the splendor.

To avoid this fate they must either flee the presence of the splendor's master, surrender to them, or endure the damage.

There writ upon alien wall in a place that was not Earth and never had been in a script ancient when the sun was stardust is writ: [That Life-Living in its wisdom/change eternal might devour that which plagues it.] or if one must translate it into English: Life Finds a Way.

I'm glad no one here has watched Jurassic Park. A mental twinge alerts you to Usum's presence in the back of your mind. No one outside my head. There's a burst of static from your headphones.

"OK, OK, no one whose going to call me a geek aloud," you admit.

***​

Having finished your work in Sanctuary there is still plenty of it to he had on the other side. The Fellowship had managed with some help from sympathetic priests who may or may not belong to the Holy Office to ensure that about two thirds of your subversion targets would be present for the opening of the new Saint Basil Hospital in Bogota, a hospital which of course includes a chapel, holy ground.

"Duke Emiliano's not an idiot, we have a secretary and one of the generals aids marked a half-bloods." Martin explains even as he hands over a heavy manila folder. "Then there's the timing. It's an hour after sunset local time which means vampires could show up if the alarm goes up and not just elders. Getting that many of their people in one place at one time during the day, basically impossible I'm afraid, like I said the only reason why they don't have several vampire minders is that no one wants to risk something awkward happening like bursting into flames on camera because someone sanctified more of the ground that they said they did..."

"Did you...?" If Vampires do show up you'd like to know if they are a fire hazard.

"No, but we spread the word that rogue elements within the Church had, ones that weren't that interested in keeping the secret. Looks like they took the bait."

"You said two thirds, who are we missing?"

"A two star general and an adjunct for the Administrative Department of Security, they are both at home probably with a vampire sitting on them like a snake coiled around a tasty mouse. I'd have said we should wait for a better window since you can't be in two places at once but..." he motions at Regina.

"She can't break the addiction," you grimace then remember there's at least one other person you know who can make that kind of deal on side.

"Hi Tiffany, fancy cutting some deals...?"

How do you do the infiltration?

[] You will handle the hospital, that is where the more senior people are, Tiffany can deal with the rest

[] You will handle the back-ups, they are the ones likely to have vampiric guards, Tiffany can run rings around the half-bloods present there

[] Write in

OOC: So the Fellowship didn't roll all that well as you can see, though the details are hidden since the Red Court rolled as well and you have no way of knowing how well they did in character. All you know is Martin isn't looking like a happy camper right now.