Light of Summer [Exalted]

[Academia Nut]

Of course you also have to be careful about how the essence balances in the smelter and the forge, and how the tools you use to shape and work the metal can alter its fundamental essence balance and spiritual resonance.

There's a very deep well that can be gone down here that generally either gets brushed over in the work or becomes a cancerous system bloat, because crafting can be a story in of itself but combining it with getting new system bonuses tends to cause... issues.

 

[Aranfan]

The stars in the sky went out. Tia did not hesitate. Maachik did not cry out. Khurzin refused to look away. A sound between a roar and a wail went up from the assembled people below as Tia held the old man's heart aloft, blood slick upon her arms and chest.

The dance and the song went on as Maachik's body was taken away for cremation, and the next sacrifice was brought forth.

A war leader at Dawn, Wingleader Maachik Akhabozbeard Warson Highcliff Ma'ar.

A great hunter when the Sun is up but it is still Night in the shadow of the mountains, Huntermaster Aryin Sicklesight Bloodson Highcliff Ma'ar.

The eldest priest, Sunspeaker Feugik Firetongue Songson Invicta Ma'ar, given over when the Sun is at its Zenith.

The finest emissary, her face lined with tattoos to tell all of her ability to speak words of fire, escorted in the shaded Eclipse beneath a silver disc, Trademaster Amaya Silverpalm Silverdaughter Cita Ma'at.

Their wisest storyteller and wisdom keeper, Memorykeeper Dya Longtooth Golddaughter Highcliff Ma'at, sacrificed as the Sun slipped below the mountains to the west and afternoon turned to Twilight.

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Can I just say I love this. It speaks volumes of the culture and the worldbuilding. Do they not see how this fits in with the five types of Golden Anathema? Do they refuse to see because of how important it is to their religion? They are clearly going hard in the "Aztec Lucifier" style of 1e Sol Invictus, but they have also clearly Syncretized with the Immaculates.

I wonder how the council and Tia will react if or when it comes out that the Immaculates know that the Golden Anathema are the Solar Exalted. Assuming your incorporating that 3e-ism.

 

[Academia Nut]

Can I just say I love this. It speaks volumes of the culture and the worldbuilding. Do they not see how this fits in with the five types of Golden Anathema? Do they refuse to see because of how important it is to their religion? They are clearly going hard in the "Aztec Lucifier" style of 1e Sol Invictus, but they have also clearly Syncretized with the Immaculates.

I wonder how the council and Tia will react if or when it comes out that the Immaculates know that the Golden Anathema are the Solar Exalted. Assuming your incorporating that 3e-ism.

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Basically I'm running with the idea that there are a lot of Dragonking ruins in the general Southeast jungles/Summer Mountains south of the areas controlled by Harbourhead and that completely stomping out the traditions there needs more manpower than the Realm would care to ever provide, so the missionaries they send into the region are either 'flexible' in their interpretation of the texts or are zealots their superiors want to disappear (it was stated outright in an earlier draft but excised for the time being, but Tia is the bastard child of an Immaculate Monk who was of the more 'flexible' variety who wandered through the region a generation ago). The relative lack of skill in reading and writing also feeds into the situation.

The fact that a large number of the temples are outright dangerous to not maintain via various flavours of Sun worship also means that the number one cause of death of overly orthodox Immaculates is "death by First Age anti-iconoclast defence mechanism". More than one temple is a Solar manse on standby or a Solar tomb and while the Shogunate knew what needed actual ritual maintenance when they couldn't just shut it down, that knowledge is lost and the effort to send in Wyld Hunt killteams to beat the info out of the gods set up in these places to figure out what is and is not safe to shut down worship at just isn't worth it.

Also, the Immaculate Texts in Ma'a are strongly leaned towards the idea that Anathema stole power from the Sun via demons and deathlords, because that is one way to get them actually angry at Solars... only it was kind of adapted to the idea that there would be like fifteen or so Solars running around Creation at any one time. With the Realm and Heaven distracted and three hundred Solaroids running around that theory has run into problems.

 

[Hyacinthium]

I can't exactly say much on the scientific portions, as others already have, and im only just getting into Exalted proper. Mostly for Lunars too. So instead of that I'll focus on the description and characters. Your writing is glorious as per usual, with the ritual parts having a sense of very real progression. The characters themselves have delightful personalities and voice. And all of it gives a really clear imagery. I'm also liking how the solar is the subordinate here.

However... this really came to mind during Tia's description. The wheat crown thing. Could it be that someone else uses fashion as inspiration? 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓇𝓉 on in 2020 | Fantasy photography, Jessica stam, Portrait

 

[Pyro Hawk]

Also, the Immaculate Texts in Ma'a are strongly leaned towards the idea that Anathema stole power from the Sun via demons and deathlords, because that is one way to get them actually angry at Solars... only it was kind of adapted to the idea that there would be like fifteen or so Solars running around Creation at any one time. With the Realm and Heaven distracted and three hundred Solaroids running around that theory has run into problems.

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... Once the existence of Infernals, Abyssals and the re-emergence of Solar's becomes more know this is going to backfire on them so very hard, isn't it?

Because look at them! We've got a bunch of Solars Exalted by the Sun... And then we've got a bunch of Yozi-tainted Anathema and Neverborn-tainted Anathema. Obviously those are the Anathema that the Immaculates talk about and and the Solar's have been trapped until freed...

 

[Academia Nut]

... Once the existence of Infernals, Abyssals and the re-emergence of Solar's becomes more know this is going to backfire on them so very hard, isn't it?

Because look at them! We've got a bunch of Solars Exalted by the Sun... And then we've got a bunch of Yozi-tainted Anathema and Neverborn-tainted Anathema. Obviously those are the Anathema that the Immaculates talk about and and the Solar's have been trapped until freed...

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"Excuse me, but I am a Double Anathema and I worked very hard to get that title, thank you very much."

 

[zang269]

"Excuse me, but I am a Double Anathema and I worked very hard to get that title, thank you very much."

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Double Anathema is something that gets handed to abyssals and infernals. Now, a ghostblood infernal, they earn the rare and elusive Triple Anathema, and there's just no competition with that. I think a Faeblooded abyssal would just explode, at that point.

 

[astergremlin]

Welp can't wait for the wild hunt to hear about this