Sidereals in Creation

[JayTee]

Hui spent his time after the meal doing some light sparring with any of the Sidereals willing, or simply going through his Katas for practice.

 

[Sherwood]

Time passes. Soon, you can see by the clock that your deadline is approaching, and you are now clear to return to the Celestial City. Valeren has the spell of Summon the Heavenly Portal, so you can call the Calibration Gate to your current position. Do you do this in the middle of Nexus, some hidden alley, or do you head out of town for a bit before you cast the spell?

 

[Psychie]

Val is quite willing to find a out-of-the-way location in the city in order to summon the gateway. Once a quiet spot has been chosen, she turns to her comrades. "I am about to cast the spell, so prepare yourselves." Before doing so, she activates her Charm of Optimistic Security Practice, and then she prepares her Floating Ribbon for a fight. Once everyone signals that they are ready, she works her Essence into the forms for the spell.

Spoiler

Essence 22/17
Willpower 9

 

[Sherwood]

Essence is spent, and soon after, the Gateway materializes. Inside the gate are the usual three Celestial Lion guards that protect this side of the portal. As you step forward to enter, the Lions move to challenge you. "Greetings, noble Exalts. You are a bit late in coming through; you've missed the crowd of other Exalts hurrying their way to Yu-Shan. Is there something going on that we need to know about?"

A second Lion looks over at Hui and lets out a low rumble, drawing the attention of the other two guardians. "A Solar. We are a long time from Calibration; what makes you think that you are going to be welcome inside the Celestial City?" An accusatory glare is fired off at the three Sidereals, as if you are somehow to blame for the presence of this interloper.

 

[JayTee]

Ironhand Hui looked at the celestial city through the gateway for a moment, taking in the sights before addressing the Lion. "Because no law says I am barred from entering Yu Shan. Because I have no qualm with those who have no qualm with me. Because despite misgivings, I am still a child of the Highest of Heaven, and his faith in us has been renewed." He said.

Hui was no expert on Heavenly laws, but he knew what laws applied to him, and he knew that acting against him with aggression was highly, extremely and dangerously illegal. He also knew that while many aspects of Heaven were corrupt, there were still many gods who regarded the Solar Exalted favorably, and would not be foolish enough to miss the chance to have one in their debt should less aggressive methods be employed against him.

Jupiter's direct invitation was, of course, his ace in the hole at the moment.

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

Monsoon steps forward betweem the celestial lios and Hui. "As a Chosen of Mars, I regret to say that there will no fighting involved. The Celestial Lions are doing their jobs, while our Solar here has been invited to Heaven, by a decree of Jupiter." his Castemark blazing on his forehead.

 

[Psychie]

Valeren coils up her Floating Ribbon once more, knowing that the Lions are just doing their appointed duty and that they are not a threat to them. Pulling out the letter, she shows the envelope without opening the letter to reveal the details of the contents. "As you can see, this is official from the Incarne herself. Now please, we must be moving on. Time waits for no one."

 

[Sherwood]

The Lions trade a look, then one finally nods. "Very well. You may pass." He looks at Hui with a serious gaze. "Make sure you obey the laws of the City. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse." The three guardians step to the side, and allow you to enter. Past the heavy doors that separate Creation from Yu-Shan, you find six more of the noble Celestial Lions standing guard. They make no comment as the four of you go past and into the city proper.

For those that have spend centuries in Yu-Shan, it is just another day on the job. For Hui, it an awe inspiring sight. Golden spires reach up to the sky, which is a massive dome covering an area as large as the Blessed Isle. Gods and spirits of all shapes and sizes fill the streets, going about their business as airships buzz through the air.

Moving along, the four of you make your way to the nearest canal for a short trip into the center of the city. As you get closer to the grand meeting hall, you can see a startling sight: smoke rising up from the building. Alarm pylons are lit bright red as dozens of Celestial Lions are running to the site, and ships from the Aerial Legion are taking to the sky around the buildings of the Celestial Bureaucracy. Clearly, something horrible is going on.

 

[Psychie]

Valeren looks on in shock and horror as the fires burn in the Celestial Bureaucracy. "My God! What happened here? Where are the members of the Fellowship? Come on! We need to help!"

 

[Red Shadow Claws]

The moment Monsoon stepped into Yu-Shan, his godly familiar,
Sensō-jū, materialized, and performed as his steed, a majestic looking sabertooth tiger. At the first sign of trouble up ahead, Monsoon signaled his companions to stop. "We WILL help but we need to do it in a smart manner. Let us each assume a Form type Charm, and whatever long-lasting Charms we might need. But take care not to spend too much Essence. We do NOT need to alert whoever is behind this that more Sidereals are on the way. I hope you will all agree to act as my shadow fingers in this fight, as we might need to coordinate things fast."
With those words spoken, Victorious Monsoon assumes the form of a venerable and wise teacher, and looking at his Shadow Fingers, he closes his fist to seal them to his use.

Spoiler

spending three actions to activate Sifu's Useful Fingers on each companion, and then Throne Sgadow Form, and Horrifuc Wreath, giving himself, and his Shadow Fingers the bonuses of the Starmetal Magical Material on all unarmed attacks, as well as the ability to deal lethal damage, and dealing aggravated damage to Creatures of Darkness.
All this for 10m.
Each of you also gains an extra dot of Martial Arts, and adds 5 to your calculation of Dodge MDV.

 

[Psychie]

With a curt nod, Valeren pauses, then activates her Form Charm for the Sapphire Veil of Passion style with its adder. As she is doing that, she once more readies her Floating Ribbon, hoping beyond hope that they won't be needed. With my spell use and these Charms, I am low on Essence. At least I will recover my power quickly with my current Charms that are active. "Alright. Move and stick together, and watch each other's backs. We don't know what we are getting ready to walk into."

Spoiler

Charms: Optimistic Security Practice, SFoP Form
Essence 0/16
Willpower 8

 

[JayTee]

Ironhand Hui said nothing, but allowed the techniques of Monsoon to embrace him. Cracks and pops sounded from Hui's knuckles as his hands were balled in to fists, and there was a small, almost imperceptible sharpening of his features.

"I am ready."

Spoiler: OOC

10m on Infinite Martial Arts Mastery
6m on Solar Hero Form
5m, 1wp on Flows LikeBlood
0/19 Personal Motes
39/41 Peripheral Motes, not enough for a flare.

 

[Blackadder]

Meno drew one of the prayer strips he always had on himself, and tossed into the air with a modicum of Essence, with the Elder Sutra of Prismatic Arrangement written upon it. With that to focus his abilities, he began the swift steps. For a few seconds, he faded out of Creation, and then back in. Then some of its related forms. A golden sheen lit itself around his body and his fingernails lengthened into starmetal claws.

"I'm ready."

Spoiler: OOC

Using the Elder Sutra of Prismatic.
Then sequentially (separate actions) activating Prismatic Form, 4 Magical Materials Form, then Soul Shaper Form.
Thanks to the cost breaks, it totals out to 2 wp, 11 motes.

WP: 6/8
Personal: 9/20
Peripheral: 51/51

 

[Sherwood]

The four Exalts run forward in a group into the burning building. As you approach the center of the building where the Grand Convention Hall is, you can see that the worst of the damage seems to be focused ahead of you, with the acrid smoke coming out of the Grand Hall. Several bodies litter the floor, you recognize them as various workers and lower level agents that serve the Fellowship.

You are just about to enter the Grand Hall when you are faced with two people coming out of the chamber. A woman with a shock of bright red hair and a massive hammer that she shouldn't be able to lift, and a bald headed man in some kind of toga. Both are covered in blood, and show signs of having been in a recent battle.

The woman looks at the four of you with a toothy grin. "Look, Gervesin! We have a bunch of late-comers! You missed the fun, but its not too late. Shall we deal with these fools?"
The man nods. "Yes, indeed." He drops into a martial stance, obviously ready to fight.

Give me a Int + Lore or Int + Occult roll to try and identify these two. A Join Battle roll couldn't hurt, either.

 

[Psychie]

Valeren raises up her Floating Ribbon, in preparation for a battle.

 

[Blackadder]

Meno rolled his shoulders and prepared for a fight.

 

[Sherwood]

With the mention of the name Gervesin, Valeren believes that he is a Second Circle Demon, and if that is true, the woman next to him with the hammer is Alveua, another Second Circle Demon. Needless to say, this is not a good sign. What are agents of Malfias doing in Yu-Shan?

 

[Psychie]

Valeren lets out a startled gasp. "Demons? Here?" She levels a glare at them. "You dare to threaten us here in the Celestial City? I had not realized that the servants of Malfias were so foolish!" Val looks to her allies. "We must cleanse Yu-Shan of the foul blight that these two bring!"

 

[Sherwood]

Join Battle rolls, please
Meno: 6 successes
Valeren: 4 successes

 

[Blackadder]

OOC: I thought my rolls had been included.

 

[Sherwood]

Meno is also quite convinced that you are facing off against a pair of Second Circle Demons. Somehow they made their way to Yu-Shan and they are now prepared to do violence. Or perhaps, more violence, given that they are both bloody messes.

 

[Sherwood]

Monsoon is also aware that you are faced with two demons, against a dozen or more laws of the Celestial City.

Join Battle rolls, please
Meno: 6 successes
Valeren: 4 successes
Victorious Monsoon: 4 successes

 

[Sherwood]

For the Bad Guys

 

[Sherwood]

Just holding on JayTee

Join Battle rolls, please
Meno: 6 successes
Valeren: 4 successes
Victorious Monsoon: 4 successes
Alevua: 3 successes
Gervesin: 2 successes

 

[JayTee]

The second he heard the word "Demons" Ironhand Hui moved in to action, rushing Alveua for a preemptive strike.

OOC
Join battle, 8 dice for 5 successes