Story Ennui

[Haku1]

Ennui.


Boredom.


Those were the things truly anathema to his kind.


Oh, there were those who claimed that cold iron was their bane. That the gaze of the dreadful tyrant of the heavens, the daystar, was the doom of those who held a trace of infinity in their hearts.


Those did indeed kill his kind.


But ennui and boredom, that which heralded the end of stories. That was the truth death of his kin from which there were no returning from.


After all, dying because of being slain was merely the pausing of a story. Where one could return in triumph and vindication.


But the state where even stories faded to dust. How could one return from that? Where was the pleasure, the joy, of continuing on in such a state?


And yet, here he was.


Upon a marbled throne gilded with gold and mother of pearl, in a darkened hall, with a fell mood resting within his heart.


Alone. For he had sent away his court.


Their mirth and jesting brought no cessation to the mood that had settled upon him. Their little games raised no more passion and joy in his heart.


There was nothing new. Merely repetitions, of countless patterns over and over in their myarid variants.


Once, he had raised his sword against all of the world. Heroes, villians alike had been his enemy. From the lest of nations to the greatest Empire of all, it and its ten thousand dragon-spawned lords.


Where had it all gone?


Victory had taken them away from him. There was no more challenges, for he had only grown in strength with each victory. With each cessation of opponents, reducing them to mere footnotes in history, he had grown. Now, there was naught that could challenge him.


Victory and time, it was they who had cursed him with ennui and boredom. Truly, the house of the Shaped was cruel beyond measure.


He could march against the Sun and the Moon and all the stars, but that wouldn't present a challenge. Only death and ruination awaited him in such a confrontation, for it was not in his story that he stand against such and win. Only the world.


Such a jest, what price victory if one attained and there was nothing further...


And so, he sat alone, in the darkened halls where once the princes of the earth danced, and which he had claimed as his own. Sat and thought as he drank deep of the wine 'dispair'.


Drinking deep of his wine, there was the notion. The lest of notions in the back of his mind, to stand forth and abandon the banal shores of the world.


To wander the infinite maze, and to pass once more the gates of Nirakara.


To shed the shape that he had worn as the Prince Clad in Yellow. To assume the truth that lay within in him as a pearl, that there was a king beyond compare.


"My ͘s͜erva͏nt͟ ̛tha͠t͢ ̶e͜xìst͠s ͞s̶o̕mewhe̡re̷ iņ t͟hi͝s ҉v̨a͢st͞ ҉u͜n̴i̕ve͝r͞s͟e."


He could swear that the laws of drama was demanding his presence, and yet... what was the point. Was he not playing the part of the jaded king well enough that the laws of narrativium were demanding that he play another part?


"͟My ͜d̡i̵v̀in҉e, w͟i҉s͟e,̴ ͜an͟d ͢bęa͜utif̢u̴l͠ ҉se̕r͏v̵an͡t.̀ ̸Hee̢d ̛my ́ca͡l͟l.́"


It certainly seemed that way, he could feel the fabric of reality buckle before him.


"͞I̡ ̴wi͞s̕h͝ ̵fr̨o̢m͜ the ̢ve͟ry̶ of ̴m̴y ̢hea͢r͞t.̧ M͠y ͟s͡ȩrva͝n̷t͘, ͞answ͡er m͏y̨ c͢al̛l͡ ͏an͡d̡ a̛p͝pear̛!͝"


The mirror sheen of the emeral oval before him was interestingly new. How could he not answer its call, even as a jaded king... such a thing. An invitation to adventure, to novelty, to something new.


***


Ennui


"There comes a time, thief, when the jewels cease to sparkle, when the gold loses its luster, when the throne room becomes a prison..."


- Conan


***

Familiar Of Zero x Exalted

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Fairfolk : The Summoning!

​

 

[Haku1]

And so, that dreadful and malevolent lord, clad in a raiment of colors danced out of the portal and drank deeply upon the awe and terror of those he found there.


Then he had his way with the one who summoned him.


The end.


Oh... is the story not to your liking? Perhaps, we could try this...


Once upon a time, on a dark and stormy night... oh come now, must we truly debase ourselves with what happened? Is not fiction better than reality?


Fine, very well... but only because I simply must insist that those who associate with one such as I gets exactly what is desired.


The tale that will now never told shall always be much better than that of banal histories.


But I digress... if you'll turn your attention just a tad over there in time, and somewhere else...


***


Ennui


"You are losing my interest and that is very dangerous. In a moment I will have forgotten you quite entirely, and will never be able to remember just what I did with you. What I forget not only ceases to exist, but never really existed in the first place."


- The Last Unicorn


***


Robin


Age : Young Adult


Species : Golden Phantasmal Poison Frog


Essence : 1 dot (26 motes available)


Charms : First Martial Arts Excellency, Measure the Wind, Dreamscape, Malediction


Poison : Exceedingly Deadly


You are Robin, a golden phantasmal poison frog, a rather bright subspecies of poison frogs.


You are also a young courtier in the domain ruled by the great goddess, Grandmother Toad.


You are young, but are smarter than your kin and peers, having mastered command of your essence. And with it a few techniques to manipulate the very fabric of reality.


There are some who claim you are doomed to come to a no-good end, but you know better. You have wanderlust in your heart, and you desire to see new things. To go beyond the horizons of the realm ruled by Grandmother Toad, the greatest of heresy, some say.


It is a brand new day, and you find yourself at a loss, having awoken and traveled once more beyond the yond; where the lily pads no longer cover the surface of the water. An endless expanse of water greets you.


[X] What do?


[X] Continue On!


And you continue onwards, for adventure rests in your heart and yearns to venture further. Ever further.


And thus you swim away from the safety of the lily pads and into the endless pond of water.


Deep beneath the water, far below your ability to safely reach, you can see earth and mud with moving shadows darting in the shadows.


You are fairly certain they are fishes such as that which Grandmother Toad sups upon, but the distance and their deceptive sizes indicate that they might be worryingly large.


[X] What do?


[X] Roll Perception + Awareness and Intelligence + Occult!


As you swim onwards, hunger strikes you and and you look downwards, for you do not see any flys or insects in the air... but you DO see some small swimming things in the water beneath you. Small enough to feast on, they appear to be water insects.


And thus you dive downwards... trusting in your lungs being able to hold air for some time. At least long enough to dive deep enough.


There is a glimmer of green behind you.


Turning about in the water, you catch sight of a green oval in the water before you.


You have heard vague rumors of such a thing. It is said that those who enter the portal will never return as they were. Indeed, that most never return. But those who do...


Those who do return speak of a different world. Where one is contracted with a partner, to travel amongst ones known as humans.


Is there any actual need to decide?


[X] What do?


[X] Enter the portal!


You enter the portal...


And the world twists about you... and the sun shines once more upon you, and you are no longer on water but on land and some sort of non-lily plants.


An immense figure stands before you, waving something in the air before tapping you on your forehead.


There is a brief moment of pain, and as you gaze at She Who Summoned You. You realize that you know her and trust her. That she is Montmorency Margarita la Fere de Montmorency, more than that, you know that she is your partner and mistress.


You hop on to her lowered hand and are brought up to a level where you can see the kin of Montmorency. You even see a pink one step forward to perform a summoning.


But surprise and curiosity blossoms in your mistress' heart.


And you peer at the pink one as essence surges in your heart in reaction to the puissance unleashed by the pink one.


[X] What do?


[X] Keep watching! Spend essence only when necessary!


The impression of what is summoned is... yellow. Endless variations of yellow. Bright enough that it inverts to darkness, and only in its shadows can the hue be even seen beneath the light of the sun.


It looks like a kin of Montmorency, but it is also Yellow. More importantly, the smile, that bow as it lowered its upper body at the pink one. It carries a trace of mockery and yet... that flash of invory teeth. This was a dangerous predator.


And thus, you spend precious motes to form the mudra of awareness and sublime wind. [1 mote is spent on Measure the Wind!]


You feel the vibrations of reality upon your skin, your eyes sharpen to take in details of the Yellow one. You open your mouth to taste the essence that waffles off of it.


And you KNOW.


This was an extremely dangerous predator. One who fed upon souls and dreams, and whose development of essence was disturbingly great.


This was a being easily an equal if not superior to Grandmother Toad.


[X] What do?


[X] Scene fade to black!

 

[Haku1]

Once, there was a maiden who stood beneath the gazes of the twin moons in the heavens as they performed their intricate dance amidst an uncaring audience.


Thus, did the young maiden sigh as she wait for the appoint hour when the moons but touched each other. She was but a child, young yet and worse... pining for her beloved, as she awaited for the tryst she and her beloved had arranged.


In notes and codes, had their plans for the tryst being agreed upon.


She waited in the astrology room, with its many instruments to gaze upon the heavens. The spring breeze was refreshing and thus she leaned out a window. A bottle of chilled wine lay hidden in a basket with a small snack to sup upon with her beloved.


"I do apologize," the voice was low and refined. It spoke of nobility, and held a presence that she had but experience only when she had been taken to royal court of Tristain upon the death of the old king. But that voice was one unfamiliar to her, it certainly wasn't that of her beloved, nor any of the instructors and students that she had met.


A swift turn from where she had been gazing out the window, and the young noble maiden whose brown hair matched her cape looked upon... yellow. All the hues and permutations of yellow, was arrayed before her...


"I am most likely in the wrong tower, as I trust that this isn't the tower of fire with the guest rooms?" A smile, or an impression of a smile, could be inferred by the slight movement of shadows.


"This. This is the tower of air," She blinked and allowed her eyes to adjust to the darkness in the room. "Ah... are you the familiar that everyone are talking about? The... spirit? summoned by the Zero."


An inclination of a head accompanied his response to her. "I am, indeed, the very same. If you don't mind my asking, what is such a lovely young lady such as yourself doing here all alone?"


The quick glance by the young lady in question at her little basket was really all the answer one needed, and certainly the familiar caught on quickly. "Ah. Young love. The purest love, some say."


The impression she got from the tone of voice, that slight smile, and how he replied. Why, he simply had to have great experience in such matters.


"Well... I am waiting for Guiche-sama," Certainly, she could trust him. How couldn't she, did he not feel familiar and trustworthy? Certainly, it was safe for her to open her heart to him.


***


Ennui


"Love is slowing you down, my lady. I will catch you at last, if you love much more. "


- The Last Unicorn


***


"And that's how I knew that Guiche-sama was the one for me," It seemed an eternity later, for the brown haired maiden, as she elucidated upon the subject of her love. A quick gaze outside showed that the moons had scarcely moved closer. Had it only been minutes?


"Mmmmh mmmmh," The nods of appreciation as he listened to her speak. Surely, her love was pure enough that even a spirit could sense it. "Well... certainly, your love is pure. Pure enough that I am touched."


"Please close your eyes," A simple enough request from someone that she knew she could trust. And thus she did as requested, and soon... she felt something placed in her hands. "A token of my appreciation of your time. As long as your love for your Guiche is true, so too will it shine in your words and none may deny."


Gazing into her hand, she saw a piece of amber shaped like a goblet. And within it, trapped by cunning artifice, was a grain of sand that resembled a stylized heart. "This... I couldn't possibly accept it."


"Please, it is but a minor token. Use it and wear it, and let your love shine as brilliantly as it did when you spoke of your love to me," the refusal to accept back the gift was accompanied by a gentle smile. "And remember to polish it in the light of the sun, for love is meant to flash as bright as the sun."


And with that, the familiar of zero wandered off.


Idly, the young maiden wondered if her summoning would bring forth a familiar to match that of the zero's.


And as she pondered such things, her beloved showed up and such thoughts were put aside.


***


With the advent of the new day, the young maiden floated thought her classes. Not even the monotony of having to listen to the history lessons by an ancient fossil of an instructor was enough to bring her down.


Her Guiche-sama had admited his love for her.


And they had done certain acts beneath the twin moons that reaffirmed the love between them. She was certain that if her friends knew what they had gotten up to, that they would surely be jealous.


But Guiche had asked her to keep their love quiet. For surely, her reputation would be sullied if word had gotten out that she was seeing an older student.


And so she had kept quiet during class of who she was seeing. Her friends could tell that she was seeing someone, had seen her beloved. Who, they knew not, just that she was seeing someone.


Not even when she saw her Guiche with one of his classmates while playing with his adorable mole familiar, did her feelings go down.


Why should it? When after speaking with them, he was happy to go with her to try out her souffle. Why he even admited that they were seeing each other to that classmate of his; letting the poor girl down from her delusions that he had some fancy for her.


And so, she enjoyed the afternoon with her beloved, as she fed him her home-cooked souffle as promised.


***


Writer's notes :


Oneiromancy Spell : Waking Circle - Truest love


Appearance : An amber jewelry in the form of a goblet, with a heart-shaped grain of sand at its core


Invocation : 10 motes and 1 gossamer


Duration : One Tale or Story


Components : 10 mutation points


Assumption of Dreams and Passion (Love)


- Provides its appearance and physical core


Mad God Mien


- Oneiromancy spells that incorporate the permanent version of this Charm are immune to all countermagic effects below Celestial Circle sorcery.


Imposition of Law (Charisma + Presence + specialty One's Beloved)


- The raksha becomes unable to fail at a chosen task, unless opposed by a stunt or Charm.