Dreams of the Second Age - Additional IC

Sherwood

Sherwood

Luna's Concubine
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Our new In Character thread.


Rine - Twilight Caste - JayTee


Zen-Aku; Endless Blades of the Sun - Dawn Caste - Seeker of the End


Aredin - Eclipse Caste - Rykon


Mask of the Tranquil Waters in Heaven - Night Caste - PirateLexi


Nikola Trotsky - Twilight - RettieSetGo
 
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Seven days before Calibration. Yu-Shan


The light of the Unconquered Sun rises high in to the dome covering Yu-Shan, the Celestial City, marking His current lead in the Games of Divinity. Duncan stands at the window of his Sifu's manor house and looks out but he no longer is overwhelmed by the glory of the grand city any more. With a deep sigh, he says, "Sifu, is there no other way? Some argument that can be made to sway the Fivescore Fellowship?"


Olivia gently dips her pen into the inkwell, careful to hold her sleeve out of the way of the wet ink as she writes. "Everything that could be done has been. Do you not think that all of us that are against this insane plan haven't been wracking our brains for some solution? It is like hitting our heads against the wall, trying to break through to the members of this Bronze Faction. Our plan is the only way."


Duncan turns from the window and walks over to Olivia's side. "Yes, Sifu. I understand, and I believe you. I . . . I just don't know what to think anymore."


She smiles at him, a sad smile. "I understand, my young padawan. The ones we have selected are going to be faced with a nigh insurmountable task. I just hope that they will have the strength of will to be able to overcome the challenges before them. Imagine, trying to rebuild from the ashes in years what took centuries to form."


"They are free from the madness of the rest of the Deliberative, and are powerful enough to be able to stand up for themselves. If anyone can do this, it will be them. And us, of course. We will be there, helping them. Right?"


Olivia looks old for a moment, old enough to show her age at several thousand years. Then, she nods. "Yes, of course. We will do all that we can to help them." She blows gently on the parchment to dry the ink, then folds the letter up and seals it in wax. "Now, I need you to go ahead to Rathess and give this Vassik. He will know what to do. Then, wait for me to arrive. I will be there before Calibration starts to say my farewells to the Sleepers. If I didn't trust you to be able to do this, I would not have taken you into my confidence. I hope you know that."


Duncan feels a lump in his throat as he stammers out a reply, "Thank you, Sifu. That means a lot to me."


"Call me Olivia. You have earned that."


"Yes, Si-, uh, Olivia. Don't do anything crazy now, ok? That's my job as your student to get into trouble, not yours as my teacher." He grins as his hand rests briefly on her shoulder. "I leave within the hour."


Three days before Calibration. Rathess


Dark storm clouds fill the sky above the city, blackening the sky. Almost as if the Unconquered Sun Himself has turned His face from Creation. It is due to rain soon, but that is not unusual in the rain forests of the South-East. One by one, the Exalts involved in this grand conspiracy make their way to the ancient city. They travel in secret instead of reveling in their roles as Lords of Creation. If any were to know what is about to happen, word could get back to the Deliberative, and years of planning will be lost.


Deep under the city, there are many levels of tunnels that are occupied by both the Dragon Kings that make Rathess home and to many humans that also serve the Unconquered Sun. Some of these chambers have been set aside for this secret plan, the plan to be able to restore the fallen Deliberative from the traitors that will act against it. Special chambers that have been carefully warded against prying eyes and the effects of the Loom of Fate. Many of these chambers have been loaded with books filled with the knowledge of the Solars, money, trade goods, weapons, and even a few select followers that have been sent into stasis prior to the day that Calibration will start, the day that will mark the end of an Age.


Duncan meets each of you as you arrive in the city, and he guides you through the maze of passages to the shielded rooms that will be your sleeping chamber for the next hundred and fifty years. Olivia is waiting down in the depths. She gives you each a warm embrace as she sees you. "Ah, my friends. I wish we were meeting under more favorable circumstances. Duncan, go keep watch while I go over a few things with my friends."


"Yes, Sifu."


Once her student leaves, Olivia settles into a seat. The chamber is large, having several stasis pods inside it. Many are occupied by a select cadre of Dragon Blooded that are still loyal to the ideals that the Deliberative once stood for. Other pods are open and waiting for you, to keep you safe for the next century and a half. "The chamber is guarded with as many wards as I could come up with and still maintain our aura of secrecy. The outer door is a complex Essence lock, requiring the opener to use up a sizable portion of their energies to unseal it. Next, several extremely deadly traps and automations stand guard, keeping all away from the inner chamber. That has the greatest ward on it. Once the lock is engaged, the entire room will shift into Elsewhere for the next hundred and fifty years, keeping you all completely safe and away from any efforts by my fellow Sidereals to find you and terminate you while you Sleep. After that time has passed, only one with this key," she raises up a ornate cylinder made of a blend of the four Magical Materials, "will be safe to enter from the outside. I know that I'm being paranoid, but I have to wonder, am I paranoid enough? What haven't I thought of? This has been keeping me awake at night for weeks. No matter what else happens, you must succeed. That much has been made clear to me. Whatever challenge that is coming will require you to steel you resolve. But, never forget that you are Exalted for a reason. I never knew what drew me to the five of you as you came to Meru for the first time, all those years ago. Something about you stood out, and called to me to nurture you in the quagmire of politics that has overtaken the Deliberative." Her eyes shift as she thinks back to the first time she has met each of you, a slight smile on her face. Then she returns her attention to the here and now.


"I cannot guarantee that I will be the same person you know now when I come for you. If I have gone onto my next Exaltation, I will leave instructions for Duncan to follow, and he will be here, waiting for you. He may be young now, but he will have the benefit of extra training for the next time you see him. When we next meet, I suspect that you will be the elders and I will be the wide eyed pupil looking to you for guidance."
 
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Zen-Aku remained solemn and silent during most of the Sidereal's speech. He realized the gravity of the situation around him, and although he had prepared as best he could, gathering up weapons and armor both artifact and mundane, he was still daunted by the monumental task before him.


He was familiar with combat, with building armies and guiding soldiers, but a situation like this was a new experience for him. But it was an unwelcome challenge.


"No plan is perfect," Zen-Aku rumbled, "We have all prepared the best we could. But as much as I loath to say this, the Deliberative is crumbling. This... usurpation is only a symptom of a greater problem that even we Exalt struggle to solve. We have no choice but to start anew."


His thoughts turned towards a certain individual but he cast the thoughts away, "The events have been set in motion. It will be our part to see them through."
 
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Araneus





Araneus looked particularly uneasy surrounded by so many loyal to the Gold, though he shared their sympathies, he was not one of them. Perhaps that was why he had been chosen as the sole Celestial of the Heavens to represent them after what was coming. Regardless, he would be trusting his own safety to these four; fists can only do so much in the face of the Unconquered Sun.


Much, much younger than Olivia, and even Duncan was his elder, though not by anywhere near as much, he still deferred to them.


"As much as I have tried to remain neutral, there is still much that I have to learn. What I do know is that they have chosen poorly, and there must be some way to provide at least some relief from the chaos that will follow. Fate has led me here, as it has much of my life; I choose to believe that the Maidens are at least wise in who they grant their gifts." He shook his head, the hair flinging about it gently as he then shrugged.


"We may not be able to retake the old order, but perhaps we can push it in the right direction once it's over. An ending is not always an ending, but sometimes a new beginning."


Araneus was not particularly prone to waxing philosophical, despite his violet eyes, and yet it seemed somewhat appropriate at this dark hour.
 
Olivia shifts about a little on her seat. "If all goes perfectly, I'll be here waiting for you when you wake up. If not, you'll know that something has gone wrong. At that point, trust no one of the Sidereals. You will not know which ones are a part of the conspiracy to wipe out the Solars, and they possess long memories. Obviously, Duncan is on our side, but anyone not in this room besides him should be considered a potential enemy, and handled carefully until they have earned your trust. Also, be wary of the remaining Dragon Blooded. They are victims of the plot as much as you, but they are being used to further the plans of the Bronze Faction in this. I'm not saying that there is no merit to what they say; after all, many of the Solars have gone mad with power. Something must be done, but I do not think that a systematic elimination of our best and brightest is the answer."
 
"What of the Lunars? Do any of them know about this?" Zen gestured towards themselves, "Ideally it would have been nice if one could accompany us. It will be hard to gain their trust considering those among us. I have seen the Lunar Bond abused more than once, they will be hesitant to trust us. And we will need their help if the reconstruction of the Deliberative is to succeed."
 
Aredin stepped forward, his hand leaving a Jade egg as it entered Elsewhere, "As much as I would appreciate the companionship of the Lunars, this world will need as many of them as possible in our absence. I loath the thought of what could happen should there not be enough Celestial Exalted to watch over Creation. As much as it may hurt to lose standing with them, they must walk a different path than us." Aredin brushed at his sleeves, face mournful of what was to come.
 
"The Maidens have guided me to select only the few Exalts we have here to be a part of this great conspiracy. The reasons are known only to them. I do know that both the Solars and Lunars are targets of the purge. We can only hope that they have the wisdom and ability to weather the coming storm before us."


Olivia seems about to go on, but Duncan comes running in. "Sifu! There is activity at the Gateway from Yu-Shan! Six Sidereals with six more Dragon Blooded. What are we going to do?"


The quiet calm that Olivia was showing is now replaced by a sudden burst of energy. "This is an unfortunate event, but hardly unexpected. Against such numbers, there is no way we can win a fight. You must activate the defenses and shift the room into Elsewhere. That is the only way you will be safe from them. My friends, our time here is growing short. I must go to slow down my fellow Sidereals. I wish you all the best." She embraces each of you before heading to the door. "Duncan, there is no reason for you to be here. Go before it is too late."


"Sifu, I am hurt that you think I would abandon you. I can help buy some much needed time."


"We don't have time to argue, but I must confess I am glad to have you at my side. Remember, my friends, trust no one. Hopefully, Duncan will be here to greet you upon your Awakening. If there is anything else you have to say, share it now."
 
"No, let us go. I will make sure everything goes quickly here as long as we aren't interrupted." Araneus moves swiftly, leading the others deeper in with a flourish of his scarf. He watches when Olivia and Duncan head outside to hold off the intruders, sadness underlying a smirk as he presses onwards.


"Be well, and stay safe."


Once the way is locked and the others are inside, he begins preparation to activate the defenses.
 
Your ears pop as the door seals up behind the two Exalts as they run out. Motors hum as the Essence capacitors begin to charge up the defenses, preparing to shift the entire chamber into Elsewhere for the next century. The enormity of what you are about to do is starting to sink in. No matter what, you are committed to this course of action. There is no turning back.


The Sleeping chamber is a network of crystal lattice linked by threads of the Magical Materials. Gleaming white walls line the room, with arched doorways leading off to other sections of the network of rooms that house the supplies you have stored away over the years. Five stasis chambers lie open and waiting for you to lie down for your long rest.
 
Before they left, Zen offered the two Exalts good luck, although he hated leaving his allies to die, he had no choice in the matter. He had no choice but to survive.


Zen sealed away his helmet as he approached his stasis pod, determined to begin his rest, "I guess I shall see you in the next century." he sighed as he lay down in his pod. Before the cryo-sleep claimed him, his thoughts drifted back to one of his closest allies who was not among them.


'Wait for me, Isli. I'll see you again soon, and I will free you. No matter how long it takes.'
 
One by one, all of you head to the stasis pods you have picked out four your long sleep. A quiet lassitude sets over you as the lids close up and you quickly sink into a dreamless sleep.


Time passes.


When awareness starts to return, you are groggy and stiff from your years of inaction. Joints creak as you slowly start to shift around inside your pods. A quick check tells you that your equipment you laid down with is still with you, safe and sound. As you look around, the gleaming white walls are now a dingy grey, with mold growing on the walls. A sure sign that the climate controls have begun to fail after all the years you were in here.


Finally pulling yourselves up and out of the stasis pods, you start to take in more details on what is going on around you. Rine notices several red lights on the control panel, indicating multiple system failures; something you were not expecting to see after such a short amount of time. Solar engineering is supposed to last much longer, after all. Perhaps the time in Elsewhere was more damaging to the equipment than originally thought. It will take a few moments to run a diagnostic and see just what is malfunctioning.


The massive door to the sleep chamber is still sealed up tight.
 
"Why in the name of Jupiter's chastity belt are the alarms going off?" Groused Rine to himself, running his hands over the controls to get a better assessment of the situation.


[dice]5510[/dice]
 
Zen is groggy for a moment before the alarms snapped him out of his cryogenic stupor in milliseconds. He gets out of the pod and notices that the Twilight is already checking the panels. Relying more on his natural perception he quickly scans over the room, the information gathered by his eyes processed in milliseconds, powered by his hearthstones and Essence.

Jewel of swift comprehension allows me to process information 8x as fast and reduces the difficulty of all Investigation rolls by 2, provided it involves visual input. Burning 5m on first investigation excellency and rolling Perception + Investigation.


[Dice]5511[/dice]
 
Araneus slides out from his pod, stretching in every way imaginable before he notices the malfunctions. When Rine goes over to the controls, he taps the spider tattoo on his shoulder, and it seemingly comes to life, a jeweled spider climbing up his arm to listen to a whispered question, "Find out what year it is."


The spider then does a backflip off his shoulder and vanishes, before Araneus joins the others at the controls.
 
It takes a moment for the controls to respond, but when they do, you can see that most of the traps and clockwork guardians have been destroyed. Quite an accomplishment, since you were one of the people that helped to build this hideaway, and you know just how tough one of the guardians you picked out are; let alone twenty of them! The Essence capacitors have been drained dry, which should not have happened. There was more than enough power to last for over a thousand years, but it is all gone. There is the possibility that some of the traps were draining power faster than they should have, but you should still have more power left over than you currently have.


Also, you can see from the remote viewer that there is someone in the outer chamber, still separated from you by two different doors and a mere handful of functional traps.


Zen doesn't have the same level of technical experience that Rine does, but you cannot have lived in the First Age without having some knowledge of magitech. You quickly absorb the fact that the defenses have taken a beating, and you get to take a look at the man in the outer chamber. The room is a scorched junkyard, showing the remains of several of the clockwork guardians have fallen here. Puddles of stagnant water dot the room, dripping down from rock formations that have broken through the roof, and piles of garbage can be seen scattered around the room. Finally, your attention takes in the man. He appears to be in his mid twenties, wearing no armor, but he is carrying a sword. On his forehead is the glowing caste mark of one of the Chosen of Secrets, and his anima is filling the room with light, showing that he has been spending his Essence on Charms on his way down. You also can see that in his off hand is the Key to the chamber, an the last time you saw it, it was in Olivia's hand as she was running out of the room.


Araneus's mini pattern spider takes only a moment before it returns with the following date, that it is RY 789, a system of dating that you are not familiar with.
 
Rine absorbed all the information he could from his own assessments, mulling it over and giving himself a good few moments to think, before finally saying "We have a problem."
 
"Obviously. For whatever reason, the dating system has changed. And unless a year is a couple of months now, we've missed a very large number of them."


Araneus looks at the man on the monitor, trying to discern anything about him other than he's of his own kind.
 
"I can see that," Zen replied easily. He summoned his shield and Wave-Cleaver daiklave into his hands as he prepared for the worst outcomes. "Our perimeter has been breached by a Chosen of Secrets with Olivia's key. Somehow the things devices that kept us in Elsewhere have failed, considering that there is blighted water around us and our chamber is falling apart. Solar technology does not fail like this unless something terribly wrong happens."


He turns to Araneus, "What year is it on the new dating system?" Normally systems changed when something monumental occurred... such as the fall of the Solars. If his guess was correct...
 
"It is possible that, if a long time has indeed passed, that Olivia and Duncan are not who they were before. Perhaps even twice over." He nods to the little spider, which slides back down his arm and coalesces into the black tattoo across the length. "No need to waste resources until we're out, we can find out more than in here. The year is RY 789."





He then goes to his pod and pulls out his staff, his cloak forming around him making him slightly imperceptible to the eye. "But just in case..."
 
"I'll do a search to see what I can pick up from the machines here. In the mean time, I suggest we be cautious. We have no idea what to expect now. The plan went awry somewhere."" Said Rine, turning his attention back to the console.
 
The unknown Sidereal moves with confidence towards the outer door of the warded network of chambers and inserts the key into the lock. On the control panel in front of Rine it shows that the Key is working as designed; what few defenses are shutting down to allow the man entrance. It is a short walk to the inner door.


Before the inner door opens, you have time to activate any scene long Charms you wish.
 
Araneus holds one hand over his face, offering up a prayer to the strands of Fate to guide him in what is possibly an upcoming battle, and motes are spent as his eyes flare up for just a moment, his hand moving down to grip the Wrackstaff with both as he activated Joy in Adversity Stance, taking a defensive position, his legs spread in preparation.


"Keep working, if he is unfriendly, I am certain we can handle one tired man."




5m spent for Joy in Adversity, totals 21/21 Personal, 32/49 Peripheral (11 attuned, 7 spent)
 
The inner door makes a loud hissing sound as the air seal is broken for the first time in years. Before opening the door all the way, the Exalt in the hallway calls out in accented Old Realm. "I am a friend, and I come in peace. May I approach? I have messages from Olivia for you."
 
"His anima is flaring rapidly, the two of us should be able to handle him," Zen replied as he activated his combat charms with an exhale. He did not fall into a martial arts stance like the Sidereal, but it was clear that he was ready for combat. He drew upon the powers of the hearthstone implanted into his body and set his sword aflame with blue, gold, and crimson flames.

Activating Infinite Melee Mastery for 8m, 1wp. Also activating Protection of celestial bliss twice for 6m on my Daiklave and shield.


Personal: 12/31


Peripheral 30/30


WP: 9/10


Edit: dang it Sherwood!


Zen looks at the the Sidereal, questioningly. He is naturally wary of other, and this Sidereal claiming to be their ally is no exception. "Prove it," Zen replied, "You could have stolen the key and found this location from someone else." He uses Judge's Ear Technique to ensure that he speaks no lies.
 
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