(Exalted 2.5) To Defend Against a Snake in the Grass. Ch 1

[Tenshi]

Realm Year 768
Moth of Resplendent Water

Echo of the Unspoken

It had been two years now since the kingdom of Knoth had last seen an Imperial tax collector. Over four since the Empire had done anything in this region to earn their tribute. Hundreds of miles south of here, the massed forces of House Tepet were destroyed or scattered in battle with what they called an Anathema. Imperial forces had barely dared come this far north since.

The forces of the Ice Walker Barbarian Yurgen Kaneko—called the Bull of the North—had left no shadow of a doubt in Echo's mind that the Heroes of the Sun had returned from the First Age. Nor did the Bull give Echo any reason to doubt that the Sun's Chosen were just as human as ever. Perhaps idealistic. Undeniably powerful. Painfully human.

Though Imperial Governed Ragara Palo still bore the hearthstone of the manse that was the royal palace of Knoth, Palo had never learned of the secret library in the depths of the Manse. The books deep within had introduce Echo to many secrets of the First Age that the Empire would be quick to declare heretical. They'd also introduced him to the arts of sorcery.

It was just after lunch. Echo was reviewing yet another treatise on first age governance in his chambers. The smart rap on his door suggested the presence of someone official on the other side.

 

[Tenshi]

Challenger

North of the Great White Road, past Linowan Territory, a trade road runs through northern city states and on to the Great White Sea. Challenger's wanderings had lead him in this direction, not really knowing where he was going. Perhaps the Bull of the North would prove to be a worthy opponent—if he could find the man.

Up ahead, where the dirt shoveled off of the road made a great mound, Challenger saw four men in lamelar armor scramble up to the top of the dirt pile. “Stand and deliver, stranger,” one man called. “Your silver or life.”

 

[Junior]

Challenger grimaced to himself as he walked barefoot along the path. He should have bought warmer clothes before going this far, but he didn't have enough money to buy them in the eastern territories, where the natives dressed lightly and such goods were overpriced for their rarity. Already, the fighter was thinking about how he'd scrape up enough coin to buy one in the next settlement. He couldn't just rely on bandits to attack him every time he traveled, after all. It occurred to him that he just might, after all, as the armored brigands revealed themselves and shouted their challenge.

He spared them just a glance. One look that showed those mortals the intensity in his brown eyes as he made his way to walk right past the mound. They would ignore his subtle warning, he already knew. They would surround him, they would attack him, and he would have leathers to trade for furs at the next outpost.

 

[Tenshi]

Challenger

The bows bent back and another three men appeared on the top of the rise, these holding chopping swords drawn. The men sighted down their bows, about to loose...

“Stop,” a man's voice came firmly from behind them. Head and shoulders taller than the armored bandits in front of him, this man wore similar gear, but his lamelar was of polished white jade—shiny except for the mud spattered boots. He had an oversized hammer shouldered, and a grin on his lips. The man was nearly as fair as the jade, bald, with eyes like agate stones.

“No bows. This one's different. Show me what he's capable of.”

The other six bandits gave a big of a grunt, but shouldered their bows and scrambled down the side of the hill to the road.

Roll Join battle: Wits + Awareness.
Also Intelligence + Lore.

 

[Junior]

They had bows. It was a detail Challenger had failed to notice until he heard the wood creaking and straining behind him. The humbly dressed solar turned just in time to see things get interesting. A man who was clearly chosen like he was, but perhaps not by the same entity. The martial artist was so intensely focused on this new foe that he almost forgot the other six who were rapidly approaching.

(Join Battle: 1 success.
Lore: -1 success.)

 

[Tenshi]

Challenger

Tick
1 Terrestrial
2
3 Bandit 1-6
4 Challenger

The towering warrior rested his hammer on his chest and watched intently.

The first three bandits advanced with almost military precision, starting to encircle Challenger. They made long swipes with their choping swords, trying to wear him down by cutting at his legs and arms before moving in close for a telling blow.

Bandit 1 2 Success to hit.
Bandit 2 5 Successes to hit.
Bandit 3 3 successes to hit.

Tick
4 Challenger
5
6 Terrestrial, Bandit 4-6
7
8 Bandit 1-3

Tag Challenger

 

[Tenshi]

4 sucesses on Percpetion + War

Challenger quickly realzied that these 'bandits' were, in fact, hardened soldiers. Though he'd faced better in his time, they were nothing ot be taken lighty. Their swords and lamelar were steel, not the simple bronze machette he'd expect from lcoal bully boys.

 

[Junior]

As the bandits slashed for his limbs, Challenger pulled them in toward himself, narrowing his profile to a one-legged tower with his chest and face reflectively covered. The blades missed him by and inch and he shot his limbs out again, taking the form of his art with explosive motion and a firm stomp.

(Spending 6 personal motes, taking Instruction in Spirit form.)

 

[Tenshi]

Agate eyes widened a little and the dragon blooded leaned forwards, muttering, “What style is that?”

The bandits were now spread out enough that the other three could get to Challenger. Though surrounded, he stood undaunted, and seemed almost invulnerable. The bandits cringed a little bit and made cautious, tentative strikes when a whole hearted assault might have let them prevail. One overly wary bandit fumbled his blade...



Bandit 4 4
Bandit 5 0
Bandit 6 1
Bandit 1 4
Bandit 2 1
Bandit 3 1

9 Challenger, Terrestrial
10
11 Bandit 4, 6
12
13 Bandit 1-3 and 5.

 

[Junior]

The wanderer dodged every swing, posing himself in the spaces between blades rather than making any move to distance himself from them. The bold tactic paid off when one bandit bumped into another and momentarily stumbled. In less than a second, the clumsy attacker was staring right into those burning eyes. Even less time later, he was looking up into the sky as an uppercut that seemed to impact three times threw his head back about as hard as he could survive. The sheer momentum of Challenger's fist was enough to lift his body into the air, spinning rapidly until his hip reached head level and one leg extended. The whirling fighter made three revolutions at that height, knocking one or two bandits to the ground with each pass until none were left standing and he landed gracefully into his previous stance.

(Spent 4 pm, 1wp to use Ceaseless Progressive Arguments.)

 

[Tenshi]

Awesome stunt. Regain 4 motes or 1 willpower.

The terstrial's eyes went wide as the furious onsluaght of blinding fast attacks sent his men flying. "How can you be that fast?" he growled.

Pressing his palm into the bare earth, he focused. Essence rose in his body, making it a brighter white Motes of stone dust and crystal rose into the air around him.

Then he grinned and stepped down, hammer held at the ready, "A challenge at last!"

 

[Junior]

Challenger had been careful not to show his true nature during the fight. Seeing his real opponent's vulgar display of power was enough to have him considering it, though, especially as he approached armed and armored in a way that presented a very real threat. The wanderer remembered his training, however, and bowed respectfully to what he hoped would be a worthy foe.

 

[Tenshi]

The earth aspect darted in at Challenger. His weapon must have been eighty pounds of jade and steel. The terrestrial started with a slow, powerful swing that crossed through where the solar's chest had been a moment before.

Then, showing his true strength, the earth aspect stopped the hammer midswing and reversed the blow in a powerful backhand. It was a blindingly fast and acurarate swipe, trailing quartz-dust.

3m on the 1st Excellency for +6 dice.
9 successes to hit.
His Valor is 5.

Tick
2 Challenger
3
4
5 Earth Aspect

 

[Junior]

Ducking under the second swing just as easily as the first, Challenger straightened back up in a forward lunge that buried his fist into the larger man's gut. Or at least it would have, had his knuckles not slammed to a full stop against that armor.

(1pm for Stentorian Challenge. No damage.)

 

[Tenshi]

The terestrial grunted and staggered back three paces, but grinned. "Not strong enough."

He darted back at Challenger. Just before he arived, the earth aspect kicked up a spray of dirty slush, shifted his hammer, and brought it down hard!

Crystals hanging in the air around the terestrial were dstarting to sting!

3 motes on 1st excelency again, 11 to hit!

Tick
7 Challenger
8
9 Earth Aspect

 

[Junior]

Every muscle in Challenger's arm tensed visibly as he brought it up to divert the gigantic weapon, knocking it to the side with an audible grunt. He couldn't hide it anymore. His enemy would see the golden flare of anima, which meant he wouldn't see it for very long. Eager to end the fight and get out of such a public area, the waylaid martial artist gave it everything he had, pounding his glowing fists into the bandit leader's chest at such blinding speed that one impact was hardly distinguishable from the next. The jade armor sizzled as he pulled away, wearing the imprint of his knuckles in several places.

(Did a ridiculous combo and worked out the results with Tenshi.)

 

[Tenshi]

Ribs cracking, then pulverizing, the earth aspect staggered back from the hammerblows. His eyes widened at the display of golden light. Blood welled over his lips, and he crumpled to the ground, convulsing a little bit as he died.

 

[Junior]

A New Challenger wasted no time once his foe had hit the ground, severely battered and clearly dead. Rifling through the pockets of the fallen, he took only what he needed: Currency, winter clothes, and a book found on the dragon-blooded. It was good to have some reading for a long journey, and he found the subject matter intriguing, as well. Once his spoils had been claimed, the victorious solar took off down the road, breaking into a run to put some distance between himself and the scene of the battle.

 

[kckolbe]

Though he could take painfully little credit for it, Knoth had come far in Echo's lifetime, and many of his dreams were far more attainable now. The Empress was gone, and the great Dragon-blooded Houses of creation were quickly weakening. Echo's own line was growing stronger by comparison, meaning that individual strength was, for the first time since the fall of the Solar, the primary determination of one's destiny.

The Solar that were returning would, no doubt, be delighted at such a revelation were they not so concerned with the packs of Terrestrials that sought them out, simultaneously weakening two of Echo's threats to regional power. One day, reconciliation would need to occur, but Knoth was not in danger of immediate retaliation. There was still time to build alliances, as well as his own power.

Echo was no fool. He could still become stronger, of course, even enough to fall a single unprepared Solar, but even with his well above average pedigree he would never be a great warrior on par with the stronger Solars or even Lunars. He would need to sell something greater than the glory of personal combat while avoiding the falls of House politics. The standards of greatness would need to be changed, and First Age philosophy had not yet provided the answer.

"You may enter."

 

[Tenshi]

Edelweiss

A blond in the livery of a palace servant danced in, almost on her tip toes. She stopped a few paces back, hands crossed in front of her belt, and bowed. “My lord Echo,” she sing songed, fair cheeks faintly pink. She was jittery with excitement and trying to maintain elegant poise. “My name is Edelweiss. I'm your new evening shift maid.”

She was a pretty young girl, with bright, wide purple eyes and long hair like spun sunlight. She was young, but fully developed, and the uniform displayed her cleavage to pleasurable effect. A curiosity, though. Her delicate ears tapered to a delicate point about an inch higher than a normal person's ears. Her carefully arranged hairdo tried to deemphesise the fact, but it was noticeable.

 

[Tenshi]

“Your father requires you to appear in his office... I'm told his words were, 'With all reasonable alacrity.'”

A model warrior-king and consummate politician, Echoes father—Shard of the Sphere—had two vices. He loved younger women—well, he was over a century old—and was a helpless linguaphile.

Captain Noble Brook was exiting Sphere's study when Echo arrived. The mortal stepped out of his why and bowed. Though loyal to them, Brook's training in the Empire's legions had left him with outsider mannerisms—and even accent—that could be off putting.

When they were alone in the study, Sphere rose, came around his desk and clasped his son's hand warmly. “I trust you've had a satisfactory week, Echo? Have a seat.”

“There's a problem in an outlying farming village that requires one of our personal attention.”

 

[Tenshi]

Later that evening, Challenger met up again with Clarity and the two made camp together.

The furs Challenger had retrieved from the bandits served to keep him quite a bit warmer. They had time to build a fire and cook anything they'd happened to bring or catch—or at least heat up their rations.

The book Challenger had looted proved to be quite interesting. It laid out the core of Dynastic military theory—both in the abstract and the concrete. It also touched briefly on half-remembered aspects of the Usurpation. Most noticeably in the first page of the treatise:

The warrior is the perfected ideal of the fighting individual. The warrior wields every weapon with unthinking mastery. The warrior survives every injury, showing no indication of weakness. The warrior defeats every opponent, evincing no emotion but fearless determination. The warrior is strong, proud, adaptable. The warrior is a storied hero whose name and whose legend resounds throughout history, never diminishing but only magnified with every retelling. To become a warrior is the pursuit of every able-bodied man and woman seeking what immortality fame provides.

This is the philosophy of the Anathema. They were defeated.

The warrior ideal is unrighteous, ignoble, selfish. To emulate it is self-indulgent folly. To attain it is to ensure one’s own ignominious destruction.

Seek instead to embody the ideal of the upright soldier. The upright soldier has no motivation but service. The upright soldier has no face, no sex, no name. The upright soldier is not a hero. No legends are told of an upright soldier’s deeds. The upright soldier is but a reflection across every corner of Creation and in every Age of history. It was not the singular might of the Anathema that subjugated this world, but the overwhelming masses of their armies. It was not the prowess of legendary Exalted heroes who cut the Anathema down in the Great Uprising following the hideous Era of Nightmares, but the coordination of the armies of the Thousand Gentes who set Creation free from those tyrants’ yoke. No upright soldier can hoard the glory of an army’s victory, but every upright soldier shares in it.

The upright soldier is the breath. The upright soldier is the drop of rain. The upright soldier is the ember. The upright soldier is the arrow. The upright soldier is the stone. Alone, each soldier is expendable and unremarkable. Yet the upright soldier does not, must not, exist alone. The upright soldier exists to magnify the efforts of those to the left and right, to the front and rear.

So shall you exist. So shall you serve. Not for yourself or your own glory, but for the dragons whose scales you are. You will be the upright soldier.

Victory will be your legacy.

 

[Hephaestus]

Clarity laid on her belly across one of the furs her shoulders drawn up and her breast resting on her crossed arms. Her feet drawn from the floor toward her buttocks playfully dance behind her drawing lazy circles as she read the book on the floor beneath her face. "This book sure takes itself seriously challenger. Its kinda sad that the bandits carrying it didn't heed its words. They would still be with the faceless drones this book espouses they should have been."

(Image just an example of posture and does not represent my characters appearance.)

 

[Junior]

Challenger sat cross-legged in front of the fire, meditating on the way it danced and licked at the air as he felt the divine essence seep back into his body. He'd asked Clarity to read the book to him, figuring both that she'd be interested in its academic value and that her pleasant voice would make the contents more bearable. It really did. Challenger hung onto her every word, pondering whether he was closer to warrior or upright soldier as the woman's subtle movements gradually took his attention away from the fire. Even in warm furs, her prone form was enough to distract the most temperate of the sun's chosen. The man sharing a fire and some light reading with her was anything but. "I doubt it was more than pilfered loot to them... Do you think they might have actually been soldiers?"

 

[Hephaestus]

"If I am right then they were from the Tepet Legions. Its been long enough since the legions were crushed for them to return to service and duty. This means that in addition to thieves and bandits they are deserters." Although as words she levels some harsh assertions there wasnt any actual malice in her tone it was a purely academic study of them.

"I could read some more to you if you would like but I would rather play a game or dance." Clarity looks up and at Challenger wondering what mood had stricken him currently. He seemed an active sort.