Arynne
Salmon of Doubt
Caste: Zenith (she gets very annoyed when people constantly mistake her for a Twilight)
Concept: Honest Mechanic
Motivation: Make a badly broken Creation run twice as well as it did before. Ash's major Intimacies include fixing things, Spring Thunder, and her circlemates. She has a negative Intimacy towards Fair Folk.
Anima: A towering figure in golden armor; when iconic, the figure brandishes a weapon.
At the end of a Solar's life, the shard of divinity than empowers her separates from her mortal soul and returns to Heaven, where Lytek, the god of Exaltation, cleanses it of stains and scars before releasing it to find a new host. Usually, this is a swift process, with the Loom of Fate and gods loyal to the Unconquered Sun guiding the Exaltation to a worthy hero. With the Sun's blessing, mortal and divine meet and join, becoming Exalted.
Sometimes, though, for reasons unknown, it takes its time.
When Red Sky in the Morning fell in battle during a Fair Folk incursion, his peers confidently expected his reincarnation within weeks or months at most. Instead, his Exaltation seemed to vanish from Creation after leaving Lytek's hands. Decades passed with no sign of him. Almost as troubling, expeditions sent to bring his remains back to Meru for honorable burial (and recover his Sunhawk-class warstrider and hearthstone) returned empty-handed. Attempts to contact his ghost failed. It was as though he no longer existed...
...until a young girl in a remote Northern mining town tumbled down a crevice in the earth and found herself in a strange cavern. The earth there seemed more like petrified bone than mud or rock: jagged ivory protrusions jutted from the walls, and the stone was splotched with blue and violet as if bruised.
At the far end, encased in roots, rock and mud, lay a titanic armored figure. Too curious to be really afraid, the girl, whose name was Ash, approached the immobile form and climbed into the hollow space in its chest. Inside lay the brittle bones of a man, which crumbled at her touch -- as an apparition appeared before her, a youth who appeared to be made of liquid gold, pleading in an unknown tongue.
Ash returned to the "metal man" many times over the months and years to come, eventually learning his language. She brought him the tools and supplies he asked for, cut away the roots and dug away the mud from his limbs, and, at his insistence, burned what was left of the skeleton. Under Thunder’s direction she also began repairing the damage to his enormous frame. The directions spilled into long conversations, as the spirit began to treat her as a confidant, telling about the gods and the Exalted and the nature of the world.
As time passed, a strange curse struck the lands around her village. Small animals, birds and insects were found dead. Hunters returned with less and less game. Even the trees seemed to fade, growing sickly and gray, and the villagers found they were exhausted, no matter how much they rested. Though as worried by the curse as anyone else, Ash never connected it with her new companion. Even as representatives of the local Terrestrial prefect descended upon them to investigate, she said nothing, never dreaming the two might be related.
She had always been the odd one out, with the red hair and very pale skin of the far North; and slightly built, in contrast to her people’s ideal of the sturdy, muscular miner, glowing with ruddy health. Her mother often fretted over her marriage prospects, but Ash did not care. She hugged her secret to herself in silence.
The morning after her sixteenth birthday, Ash left the house just before dawn. She had received a new set of hunting weapons as a birthday gift, and she was eager to try them out. But she was interrupted by the far-off clash of steel, by distant cries and silvery, inhuman laughter.
Ash knew what the sounds meant. But instead of running back, she ran deeper into the forest, following the fateful stream till she reached the cavern where the “metal man’’ lay, almost completely cleared of his earthen bonds. “Help us now,’’ she demanded. “Whatever you want, whatever you need, I promise I’ll do it, no matter what! Just help us. Help me stop them!’’
The golden man looked at her, sadly, she thought. “How Much Are You Willing To Give Up, To Save Them?’’ he asked. “Your Strength? Your Health?’’
“Yes,’’ Ash said. She felt strangely weak and dizzy.
“Your Life?’’
“Yes.’’
“Even Though You Are Not Close To Any Of Them Except Your Own Family? Even Though They Laugh At You Because You Are Different?’’
“Yes!’’ yelled Ash, sinking to her knees. She ached all over, as if she were running out of air, as if something terribly heavy were pressing down upon her, pressing hard --
Spring Thunder Over the Mountain smiled.
And suddenly, Ash was engulfed in golden light.
A voice echoed in her head, a voice that she had never heard before and yet somehow she had always known: YOU OF THE SKILLFUL HANDS AND THE GENEROUS HEART, I CLAIM YOU AS MY OWN. MEND THE BROKEN, TEACH THE IGNORANT, DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS AND FIGHT FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS ALWAYS. GO FORTH NOW INTO THE LIGHT, DAUGHTER, AND LEAD OTHERS THERE AS WELL.
When she came back to herself she was already strapped into Spring Thunder's fuselage; they tore their way free of the cave, reborn again, together.
Thunder's delicate Essence weapons had deteriorated into scrap during his long years underground, but he still had his mighty orichalcum fists and his deadly Charms. The unprepared Fair Folk were like butterflies caught in a rockslide. In an exultant haze of victory she heard the Dragon-Blooded addressing her respectfully (and warily) as "Excellency", saw the shock and awe on the faces of people she had known all her life.
It was only when she saw her eldest sister's features twisted with anger, resentment and a terrible jealousy that Ash began to understand she was now separated irrevocably from all she had once known and loved.
That was many years ago, but Ash still remembers it like yesterday. She may rule a principality and pilot a warstrider, but she still thinks of herself as a hard-rock miner's daughter. And she keeps in mind that not everyone loves the Exalted, especially in the cold North.
Sometimes, though, for reasons unknown, it takes its time.
When Red Sky in the Morning fell in battle during a Fair Folk incursion, his peers confidently expected his reincarnation within weeks or months at most. Instead, his Exaltation seemed to vanish from Creation after leaving Lytek's hands. Decades passed with no sign of him. Almost as troubling, expeditions sent to bring his remains back to Meru for honorable burial (and recover his Sunhawk-class warstrider and hearthstone) returned empty-handed. Attempts to contact his ghost failed. It was as though he no longer existed...
...until a young girl in a remote Northern mining town tumbled down a crevice in the earth and found herself in a strange cavern. The earth there seemed more like petrified bone than mud or rock: jagged ivory protrusions jutted from the walls, and the stone was splotched with blue and violet as if bruised.
At the far end, encased in roots, rock and mud, lay a titanic armored figure. Too curious to be really afraid, the girl, whose name was Ash, approached the immobile form and climbed into the hollow space in its chest. Inside lay the brittle bones of a man, which crumbled at her touch -- as an apparition appeared before her, a youth who appeared to be made of liquid gold, pleading in an unknown tongue.
Ash returned to the "metal man" many times over the months and years to come, eventually learning his language. She brought him the tools and supplies he asked for, cut away the roots and dug away the mud from his limbs, and, at his insistence, burned what was left of the skeleton. Under Thunder’s direction she also began repairing the damage to his enormous frame. The directions spilled into long conversations, as the spirit began to treat her as a confidant, telling about the gods and the Exalted and the nature of the world.
As time passed, a strange curse struck the lands around her village. Small animals, birds and insects were found dead. Hunters returned with less and less game. Even the trees seemed to fade, growing sickly and gray, and the villagers found they were exhausted, no matter how much they rested. Though as worried by the curse as anyone else, Ash never connected it with her new companion. Even as representatives of the local Terrestrial prefect descended upon them to investigate, she said nothing, never dreaming the two might be related.
She had always been the odd one out, with the red hair and very pale skin of the far North; and slightly built, in contrast to her people’s ideal of the sturdy, muscular miner, glowing with ruddy health. Her mother often fretted over her marriage prospects, but Ash did not care. She hugged her secret to herself in silence.
The morning after her sixteenth birthday, Ash left the house just before dawn. She had received a new set of hunting weapons as a birthday gift, and she was eager to try them out. But she was interrupted by the far-off clash of steel, by distant cries and silvery, inhuman laughter.
Ash knew what the sounds meant. But instead of running back, she ran deeper into the forest, following the fateful stream till she reached the cavern where the “metal man’’ lay, almost completely cleared of his earthen bonds. “Help us now,’’ she demanded. “Whatever you want, whatever you need, I promise I’ll do it, no matter what! Just help us. Help me stop them!’’
The golden man looked at her, sadly, she thought. “How Much Are You Willing To Give Up, To Save Them?’’ he asked. “Your Strength? Your Health?’’
“Yes,’’ Ash said. She felt strangely weak and dizzy.
“Your Life?’’
“Yes.’’
“Even Though You Are Not Close To Any Of Them Except Your Own Family? Even Though They Laugh At You Because You Are Different?’’
“Yes!’’ yelled Ash, sinking to her knees. She ached all over, as if she were running out of air, as if something terribly heavy were pressing down upon her, pressing hard --
Spring Thunder Over the Mountain smiled.
And suddenly, Ash was engulfed in golden light.
A voice echoed in her head, a voice that she had never heard before and yet somehow she had always known: YOU OF THE SKILLFUL HANDS AND THE GENEROUS HEART, I CLAIM YOU AS MY OWN. MEND THE BROKEN, TEACH THE IGNORANT, DEFEND THE DEFENSELESS AND FIGHT FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS ALWAYS. GO FORTH NOW INTO THE LIGHT, DAUGHTER, AND LEAD OTHERS THERE AS WELL.
When she came back to herself she was already strapped into Spring Thunder's fuselage; they tore their way free of the cave, reborn again, together.
Thunder's delicate Essence weapons had deteriorated into scrap during his long years underground, but he still had his mighty orichalcum fists and his deadly Charms. The unprepared Fair Folk were like butterflies caught in a rockslide. In an exultant haze of victory she heard the Dragon-Blooded addressing her respectfully (and warily) as "Excellency", saw the shock and awe on the faces of people she had known all her life.
It was only when she saw her eldest sister's features twisted with anger, resentment and a terrible jealousy that Ash began to understand she was now separated irrevocably from all she had once known and loved.
That was many years ago, but Ash still remembers it like yesterday. She may rule a principality and pilot a warstrider, but she still thinks of herself as a hard-rock miner's daughter. And she keeps in mind that not everyone loves the Exalted, especially in the cold North.
Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4; Charisma 4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3; Perception 4, Intelligence 5, Wits 3
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, Valor 2
Virtue Flaw: Red Rage of Compassion
Abilities: Archery 4 (Flame Weapons +1), Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 1, Craft (Air) 2, Craft (Fire) 4, Craft (Water) 2, Craft (Magitech) 5, Dodge 3, Integrity 5, Investigation 1, Linguistics 3 (Native: Skytongue; Others: Old Realm, Forest-tongue, Riverspeak), Lore 5, Martial Arts 4 (Fighting in Armor +1), Occult 4 (Alchemy +2), Performance 4, Presence 5, Resistance 5, Ride 1, Stealth 1, Survival 3, War 1 (Solo Unit +2)
Backgrounds: Ally 3 (God of Raptors), Ally 5 (Warstrider AI), Arsenal 4, Artifact 5 (Royal warstrider), Artifact 5 (Flight system), Manses 5, Panoply 4, Savant 4, Wealth 4
Charms --
Excellencies: Archery (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Craft (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Integrity (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Lore (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Martial Arts (1st, 2nd, 3rd, Infinite Martial Arts Mastery), Occult (1st), Performance (1st), Presence (1st, 2nd, 3rd), Resistance (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
Archery: Essence Arrow Attack (Righteous Judgment), Flashing Vengeance Draw, Solar Flare Methodology (Plasma tongue repeaters, costs 5m, 1 wp)
Craft: Crack-Mending Technique, Craftsman Needs No Tools, Design Beyond Limit, Durability-Enhancing Technique, Holistic Miracle Understanding, Object-Strengthening Touch, Peerless Paragon of Magitech, Wonder-Forging Genius x2
Integrity: Integrity-Protecting Prana, Lion's Roar Recovery, Phoenix Renewal Tactic (Compassion), Righteous Lion Defense (A Fair Folk-proof Creation), Shedding Infinite Radiance
Lore: Chaos-Repelling Pattern, Harmonious Academic Methodology, Immanent Solar Glory, Legendary Scholar Curriculum, Terrestrial Edification Program
Occult: Spirit-Detecting Glance
Performance: Respect-Commanding Attitude
Presence: Enemy-Castigating Solar Judgment, Searing After-Image Passion (Motivation: Fix a broken world)
Resistance: Adamant Skin Technique (Conviction Flaw), Durability of Oak Meditation, Essence-Gathering Temper, Iron Skin Concentration, Spirit Strengthens the Skin
Martial Arts --
Righteous Devil Style: Blessing of Righteous Solar Spark, Blossom of Inevitable Demise Technique, Cloud of Ebon Devils, Kiss of the Sun Concentration, Lightning Draw Stance, Phantom Flamebolt Prana, Righteous Devil Form
Thaumaturgy --
Art of Alchemy: Adept Degree, all Procedures that use the Craft Ability.
Join Battle: 6
Attacks --
Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 3B, PDV 5, Rate 3
Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 6B, PDV 3, Rate 2
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 8, Damage 3B, PDV - , Rate 1
Exceptional Hook Swords: Speed 5, Accuracy 9, Damage 7L, PDV 6
Plasma Tongue Repeaters: Speed 5, Accuracy 12, Damage 10L, Rate 2 (one in each hand), Range 20
Soak: 6L/13B (Synthetic leather coat, +5L/8B)
Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incapacitated
Dodge DV: 9 (Hearthstone bracers +3)
Essence: 6
Personal: 25/25
Peripheral: 63/69 (10 of these motes come from Immanent Solar Glory and can only be restored by demonstrating leadership)
Committed: 6
Willpower: 7
Flaws: Code of Honor (3) -- Ash is honest to a fault and will not lie to, steal from, or betray people who are not actively her enemies.
Enemy (3) -- The raksha lord Ash and Thunder defeated and drove away...but did not destroy. Duke Chanis is now the ruler of the Silver Clouds freehold, and he has never forgotten the loss of his splendid army, or his humiliation at the hands of a mere child.
Equipment: Fuel bolt launcher (mounted on Thunder), plasma tongue repeaters, warstrider shock ram, synthetic leather clothing for lab work, badass long coat, steel swords, forge-hand gauntlets, clockwork automaton, pectoral of resplendent speech, various kinds of cool goggles (precision, Essence-scrying, etc), portable geomantic recharger, translation crystal, hearthstone bracers, resplendent personal assistant, hearthstone compass, fire pearls, hearthstone to her factory-cathedral, hearthstone amulet, flaw scanner, perfected boots.
Ash also holds the hearthstones to the five manses that power her factory, though they have no powers other than designating her the "hearthstone bearer" for the purposes of controlling their geomantic relays.
BPs: Craft – Magitech 5 (2), Integrity 5 (2), Lore 5 (1), Occult 4 (1), Resistance 5 (2), Ally 3 (2), Ally 5 (2), Artifact 5 (2), Artifact 5 (2), Manses 5 (2), Stamina 4 (4), Conviction 3 (1), Essence 5 (7), Willpower 7 (2), Art of Alchemy 2 (8), Craft - Water 2 (1)
XP: Performance 4 (5), Presence 4 (5), Terrestrial Edification Program (8), Essence 6 (45!), Infinite Martial Arts Mastery (8), Presence 5 (7), Searing After-Image Passion (8)
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