Exalted Essence: The Young Exalts and the Sea IC

[jaydude]

As the five of you fly towards the mountain range, a movement within the vicinity catches your eyes. Looking at it closer, you see what appears to be a large host of winged creatures flying in the direction of the crashing Seahawk.

The lizardman flying alongside takes a telescope from his belt and focuses it upon the host for a few seconds, before taking his steed close to your own. "That is Lady Telai, along with her personal bodyguard and a warband," he says. "My guess is that she plans to claim the ship for herself and slay the Dragon-blooded in command of it."

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[Random Word]

The Old Realm curse uttered by the Commandat-Governor of Tzatli as the icy island city tumbled from the sky in the midst of the Usurpation, crisp, clear, and poignant, redolent of bitterness and despair, was captured in a memory crystal by Tzatli's city father - and later pawned to make ends meet. It has since made the rounds as a prized part of private art collections in the most fashionable salons of Yu-Shan. Ijara heard it for the first time three months ago, and never did she think it would feel so woefully insufficient. She mutters it now, darkly, under her breath.

She calls out to the eagle-riding beastman, "Sir! We are lost travellers. The world outside is chaos, as you well know. Where is this land, and what date is it by your calendar?"

Armed with her reply she addresses Sojiro quietly, "This man hates you, and the thing we visit is a nightmare that hates you more deeply still. You well know anything he tells you is likely a trap, and anything she tells you a poison. To seek her out is not wise. In shattering this illusion we have unleashed upon the world something worse than this behemoth, and we should consider whether this prize is still worth the risk."

 

[jaydude]

The beastman's reply - after a perplexed glance - confirms to Ijara what some of the group might have guessed. He names the date as one set just after the Usurpation, long before the Great Contagion and invasion of the Fair Folk.

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[Psychie]

Garret looks over at the rest of the group and murmurs in a quiet voice, "If we plan on using that airship, we'll have to tell the locals here something of what is going on or else we are going to have a fight on our hands trying to take the ship from them. I don't think we should say too much, though. That can cause more problems than it solves."

 

[Rykon]

Armed with her reply she addresses Sojiro quietly, "This man hates you, and the thing we visit is a nightmare that hates you more deeply still. You well know anything he tells you is likely a trap, and anything she tells you a poison. To seek her out is not wise. In shattering this illusion we have unleashed upon the world something worse than this behemoth, and we should consider whether this prize is still worth the risk."

Sojiro took in the advice with a nod to ease the sorcerer's wary disposition, though in the wake of recent events it didn't serve to change much. He was always prepared for foul play in a scenario like this. Ultimately, adding more voices to the chorus of 'suspect and kill everything' just filtered into the rest of the social conditioning of his upbringing.

And yet... Anathema have been crawling out of the woodwork since Aigaion's return. It seemed every time Sojiro turned his gaze another was revealed. For a kind supposed to be so few in number, they were seemingly everywhere. All at such a suspicious moment of crisis to boot. Something profoundly wrong was taking place. Still, Sojiro would not stomach shrinking away from his task simply because it'd be found distasteful by typical sensibilities back home. After all, their typical sensibilities nearly wiped out his house.

There was a job to do, and he'd see it done one way or another. The devils in the dark might test him but they would not stop him.

Garret looks over at the rest of the group and murmurs in a quiet voice, "If we plan on using that airship, we'll have to tell the locals here something of what is going on or else we are going to have a fight on our hands trying to take the ship from them. I don't think we should say too much, though. That can cause more problems than it solves."

"Somehow, I don't think telling them we plan on using it to dispatch a flying behemoth on a rampage is likely to make them kill us any faster than they normally might. Though I suspect they may insist on some assurances we're not putting on some sort of show or a cruel prank." The shikari shrugged and turned to the group, most notably Garret and Maya. "That said, perhaps our group composition will be striking enough to get their attention and take our story seriously. Seems like bad blood was just spilled yesterday by their reckoning. Such an alliance should be unthinkable unless we were telling the truth."

The young soldier held a hand to his chin for a few moments of thought before nodding with a contented smile, "Yes, the more I think about it, the more I think the open and direct approach to be the best leading effort. Best not overthink it and go where the wind takes us."

 

[jaydude]

Random Word , Ijara is in control of the group's ride. Do you want to take everyone towards Telai?

 

[Random Word]

Ijara nods grimly and sets the cloud off towards what may well prove the undoing of the West. A Realm Before Lunar at the height of their power with an island empire intact and preserved against the ravages of time is close to a worst case scenario for Destiny. She nods to Fabian in her sleeve - there will be records of this Tenai, and the Bureau will need to be warned.

 

[jaydude]

At the head of the airborne host is an indigo and white colored bird the size of a great roc, with Ijara recognizing it as an extinct species from a part of Creation long since subsumed by the Wyld. As the five of you approach, it lets out a series of screeches before turning and hurtling straight towards you, with a couple dozen nearby bird riders doing the same. Some instinct tells you all that this has to be Telai - the ruler of this island - in a bestial form.

Upon seeing the gigantic bird and its escorts change course like this, the bird riders around the five of you break off, clearly thinking it best to get out of the way. The gigantic bird meanwhile rises up into the sky as if preparing to swoop down upon you, but right as it's opening its mouth in preparation to let out a screech, something it sees makes it tilt its head as if in bewilderment, and it drops down before turning in a fast semicircle that has it flying side by side with you in a matter of seconds. You all get the feeling it could fly circles around you if it wanted.

"It is always good to see a fellow Chosen of Luna during these turbulent times." The words come out in Old Realm, and in a loud, deep, feminine - and unmistakably human - voice. Any confusion as to their source is soon solved by the sight of the bird's great beak opening and closing in accordance with their syllables. "That said, your appearance here also causes me no small amount of confusion. My illusion was supposed to be impenetrable by all but the greatest sorcery and artifice, and yet it was thwarted almost immediately after I cast it. To say nothing of how you appear to be traveling with two Dragon-blooded, as well as what appears to be some manner of Solar construct."

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 0 Anima, 3/5 Motes, 2 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[Psychie]

Garret offers up a deep bow to his fellow Lunar. If she was the one to cast this illusion, she is in a category far beyond anything that he can match. In a voice loud enough to be heard by the other Exalt, he says, "I offer you my most sincere apologies for disrupting your illusion and coming here uninvited, but there are some things that must be addressed. According to our best estimates, your illusion was cast many thousands of years ago, and you have been here for all those years, sheltered from the passage of time by the power of your magic. Much has changed in Creation that you need to be aware of. May we land and discuss this at length unmolested? Oh, where are my manners? I am called Garret One Tusk, a member of the Silver Pact and a Sword of Luna, and I am honored to meet you."

 

[jaydude]

The bird gives a great jerk of its huge head. "You say that this island has been frozen in time? That is impossible. My working was never intended to..."

The Lunar narrows the eye currently focused on Garret, as if looking for any sign that he might be lying. The eye relaxes after a couple of seconds, and the five of you can just imagine what's going on inside the bird's head, the great avian brain conflating this revelation with the other facts of this matter.

===

In the end, the bird decides to land upon a small plateau, accompanied by a couple dozen riders. The rest of the host continues in the direction of the Blue Seahawk.

Once the five of you land, the bird shrinks down and changes shape, becoming a regal yet tough-looking woman with brown skin. She wears an exquisite buff jacket adorned with indigo feathers, and in her right hand she carries what appears to be a wrackstaff crafted largely from Moonsilver, with accents of Orichalcum and Starmetal.

Before the woman lets you approach her, she shapes a small, six-winged messenger spirit seemingly from thin air, and whispers a few hushed, urgent-sounding words to it. Once the message has been provided, the spirit zips off at a speed fast enough to conceivably reach the Elemental Pole of Wood in less than a day.

"I've sent word to my astrologers to check the skies," she explains, her eyes focused on Garret. "If what you say is true, the stars should be very different from how they remember them. We can converse while they work.

"You may already have guessed, but I am Lady Tenai, a Chosen of Luna and the ruler of this island," she says to the group as a whole. "Garret here has introduced himself, but who are the rest of you, and why have you come here?"

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 0 Anima, 3/5 Motes, 2 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[Random Word]

Ijara tries not to grimace as Garret delivers the shocking news to the ancient elder Anathema. Better you than me. She was going to figure it out soon enough. Heaven willing she takes it well.

To stand before your natural predator is a terrifying thing, and 'young Sidereal' is a choice morsel for an elder Lunar, but a Tepet, a House of Bells graduate, and a member of the Crimson Panoply who cannot stare down death with grace is a sorry thing indeed. At least she doesn't know about the Mask. Yet. Ijara steps forward slowly, back ramrod straight and hands clasped behind, expression studiously neutral to avoid showing her fear, and addresses the monster calmly and clearly, "Shale of Medo, great Lady. I sought your isle and shattered your Working to find the long lost Blue Seahawk. Not all your works have crumbled to dust in the millennia since you walked Creation. Your contemporary Xandar built a weapon that outlived him - I'm sure you know it - and it preys still upon the people of Creation. We seek to destroy it once and for all before it can kill more innocents. Your assistance in this matter would be a great boon to all the peoples of the West in a trying time. The world is... not as you knew it."

And now I pray to all the Maidens she does not have some way to take control of it. We could hardly hide it from her.

 

[Sherwood]

Maya offers up her own deep bow, saying, "Noble Exalt, I am called Most Assurant of Three Assemblies, but for easier conversing I have taken on the name Maya. I am an Exalt forged by the Solars of your own Age with the assistance of Autochthon Himself, then placed in stasis until such time as I was needed to serve the people of Creation in this time of great turmoil and strife. We had no idea that this domain was hidden here, and I offer up my own apology for intruding. We wouldn't have come here at all under normal circumstances, but our need to stop the behemoth that threatens so many lives is great, and we had hope of finding that airship," she points at the Blue Seahawk, "in good enough condition to bring the fight to our flying foe."

 

[jaydude]

"Noble Exalt, I am called Most Assurant of Three Assemblies, but for easier conversing I have taken on the name Maya. I am an Exalt forged by the Solars of your own Age with the assistance of Autochthon Himself, then placed in stasis until such time as I was needed to serve the people of Creation in this time of great turmoil and strife."

"So Autochthon had Exalts of his own, did he?" Tenai asks. "Your design is most impressive. Were it not for the hints of Orichalcum about you, you could pass for a mortal."

===

Tenai listens to the two women speak. "I know a little about Xandar," she says in a grim tone once they're finished. "As far as I'm aware, he was one of the worst of the Solars. His existence almost justifies the Dragon-blooded and Sidereals' overthrow of the Solar Deliberative in my eyes."

"If you seek to slay one of Xandar's monstrosities, if nothing else, I can respect your desire to claim that airship," she then says. "But if what Garret says about my illusion freezing this island in time is true, the world will be very different to the one I remember. Tell me now; should you succeed in slaying this behemoth, what would you do with the Blue Seahawk?"

You get the hint that she's trying to use the question - and your answers - to find out about your individual allegiances, and what factions there are to align oneself to in this supposed new version of Creation.

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 0 Anima, 3/5 Motes, 2 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[Psychie]

As Garret thinks about how to answer Tenai, he releases the Essence tied up in his Deadly Beastman Form and eases into his human one. He recalls his teachings from the Silver Pact telling him of manners amongst his fellow Lunars, and that maintaining the DBT in another's territory is an overt threat of impending violence. With Tenai's level of power and knowledge, if combat breaks out she could probably take them all out with ease.

He finally lets out a chuckle. "That's a good question about the future of the airship. I certainly don't like the idea of turning it over to the Scarlet Empire, and I am damn sure that the Dynasts of the group don't want some 'anathema' to take possession of it. I would almost prefer to see it destroyed to avoid a pitched battle among us over it."

"M'Lady, many of the Dragon Blooded of this Age don't take kindly to Solar or Lunar Exalted, and I have no idea what God that our dear Maya follows to know how she will be treated. We are an alliance of necessity, having to work together to save the lives of the people living in the Western Isles from this behemoth, and trust is slow to build when the Realm teaches to every ear that will listen of the evils of the Celestial Exalted."

 

[Random Word]

Ijara tries hard not to wince. Rarely has she empathised more with the Forbidding Manse. Sometimes people are better off not knowing certain things. Like Tenai, right now. As calmly as she can she adds, "I appreciate your faith in our chances of survival, Lady. It is my hope that, should we survive, we can all agree to dedicate the vessel to a suitably noble " - and neutral - " cause. Rescuing sailors, fighting piracy and Lintha, delivering aid. We have admittedly given the subject little thought, as we have more pressing " - dare I say Celestial - " concerns."

Who needs the Realm to teach of the evils of the Celestial Exalted when Xandar is doing such a stellar job all on his own?

 

[jaydude]

As Garret thinks about how to answer Tenai, he releases the Essence tied up in his Deadly Beastman Form and eases into his human one. He recalls his teachings from the Silver Pact telling him of manners amongst his fellow Lunars, and that maintaining the DBT in another's territory is an overt threat of impending violence. With Tenai's level of power and knowledge, if combat breaks out she could probably take them all out with ease.

He finally lets out a chuckle. "That's a good question about the future of the airship. I certainly don't like the idea of turning it over to the Scarlet Empire, and I am damn sure that the Dynasts of the group don't want some 'anathema' to take possession of it. I would almost prefer to see it destroyed to avoid a pitched battle among us over it."

"M'Lady, many of the Dragon Blooded of this Age don't take kindly to Solar or Lunar Exalted, and I have no idea what God that our dear Maya follows to know how she will be treated. We are an alliance of necessity, having to work together to save the lives of the people living in the Western Isles from this behemoth, and trust is slow to build when the Realm teaches to every ear that will listen of the evils of the Celestial Exalted."

Tenai's expression becomes grimmer as she listens to Garret's words and finds genuine belief in them, and thus unwanted reinforcement of his earlier claim. For whatever reason, it seems she really doesn't want to believe that her island's been frozen in time for so long.

Ijara tries hard not to wince. Rarely has she empathised more with the Forbidding Manse. Sometimes people are better off not knowing certain things. Like Tenai, right now. As calmly as she can she adds, "I appreciate your faith in our chances of survival, Lady. It is my hope that, should we survive, we can all agree to dedicate the vessel to a suitably noble " - and neutral - " cause. Rescuing sailors, fighting piracy and Lintha, delivering aid. We have admittedly given the subject little thought, as we have more pressing " - dare I say Celestial - " concerns."

"If such idealism is truly your way, then I applaud it, Shale," she says, not unkindly. "For me though, neutrality vanished as an option after the Dragon-blooded and Sidereals betrayed us and the Solars."

Her mood appears to have soured a bit further, as if Ijara's attitude - that neutrality exists - is too stark a difference from the Creation she remembers. She then looks towards Sojiro and Tuyak. "I am not familiar with either the Realm or the Scarlet Empire. And what is a 'Dynast'? Is that what the Dragon-blooded of this supposed future call themselves?"

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 2 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[EbonChevalier]

Her mood appears to have soured a bit further, as if Ijara's attitude - that neutrality exists - is too stark a difference from the Creation she remembers. She then looks towards Sojiro and Tuyak. "I am not familiar with either the Realm or the Scarlet Empire. And what is a 'Dynast'? Is that what the Dragon-blooded of this supposed future call themselves?"

"Well from what I know of the realm it's what those Dragonblooded born on the Blessed Isle call themselves. Awhile after the Solars were overthrown the Dragonblooded took power. There was government called the Shogunate for a bit but after a great calamity a Dragonblooded woman known as the Scarlet Empress took over. I'm not sure how but she got control over a powerful weapon and conquered the blessed isle and other lands beyond it. But not all Dragonblood bow down to her. 'Outcastes' like me are born in the threshold and we have our own loyalties."

 

[jaydude]

Tenai gives a nod in reply to Tuyak's explanation, moments before her eyes widen as if hearing something unpleasant. None of you can hear anything however. A few seconds later, Tenai's expression becomes something truly dark.

"My lady, what is wrong?" a member of her guard asks her.

"I have just received word from my people in the capital," she explains, speaking in a voice that could give the Elemental Pole of Air lessons in coldness. "It seems you are right. The stars are vastly different from the ones in my time. My illusion has inadvertently cast me and my people into the far future."

Her hand clenches tightly around the staff, as if hoping to snap the Moonsilver wonder in two. You get the feeling that she'd already come to such a conclusion herself; she just didn't want to believe it until she had no other choice.

"The Blue Seahawk is still unpossessed by any of us. I intend to go and rectify that now," she says. "For your sakes, I advise you all to stay out of our way."

She yells a few harsh-sounding words of some tribal tongue to the retinue on the ground with her; whatever she says causes them all to take to the sky on their winged steeds. Tenai then turns around and starts walking away from the five of you, and your instincts tell you that she's about to transform back into that great bird and take off, no doubt to initiate a massacre upon the Blue Seahawk.

What do you do?

Spoiler: Meta Spoiler

The Great Curse is in play, with Tenai in Enraged Behemoth Rampage. Just in case any of you are thinking of trying to gainsay her here and care about your characters

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 2 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 0 Will

 

[Sherwood]

Maya takes a step towards Tenai, saying, "Noble Exalt, hear me, please? Of all that are here, I can relate to what you are going through better than anyone else. I was forged by the hands of Solar artificers under the direction of Autochthon at the beginning of the First Age, probably before you were even born, and placed into stasis for what was supposed to be a short time. It turns out that I was sealed away for many hundreds of centuries before my awakening, just a few short years ago. But even so, I can only imagine what kind of an impact that you are going through with the news you have received. But consider this: is wholesale slaughter of the crew of the Blue Seahawk really what is needed right now? Your people are going to be suffering a terrible shock and are going to be in need of their leader, their anchor in rough waters. Be there for them, show them that while their lives are changing in ways that no one could have predicted, that you are there for them, to guide them through the troubled times ahead. Please, don't become the monster that many of this Age will fear you to be. Be a bastion of strength and compassion for those that follow you."

She then looks to the others of the group, hoping for similar calming words to help her out.

 

[Random Word]

Praise Venus for the Great Maker. What a bastion of sanity in a world of madness Maya turned out to be.

Pretending to be emboldened by Maya's words, Ijara steps forward, giving Maya a nod of gratitude. Many think negotiation the remit of the Cerulean Lute, but a contest of words is well within the purview of the Crimson Panoply. Ijara strains her foresight to the limit to peer down the many intertwined strands of fate this debate could travel, examining each and gently teasing out those most favourable to her ends: ensuring this remains a bloodless clash of philosophies and not a massacre. In the back of her mind, the strand connecting her to Fabian sings as he plucks it to send what information he can about the records of Tenai from the First Age in a manner even an elder Lunar cannot overhear.

Making her choice among the possible futures, she speaks soulfully, "Maya speaks the truth. I am a mere mortal, frail and short-lived, and though it is not my place to address you like this, it is precisely why I must. Two hundred of my ancestors have come and gone since your war. None of your enemies still draw breath. Your war is over. If we cast our gaze back to when the Scarlet Empress founded the Realm, and cast our gaze back that far again, still your enemies would have been long dead. Creation hung by a thread, nine tenths of it lost and countless millions dead, and the Empress saved it single-handedly to found the Gens we call the Scarlet Dynasty and the Dragon-blooded Deliberative. That was more than seven centuries ago, and Creation yet again clings to life by the skin of her teeth. Today we go to fight a relic of your ancient war that in all this time has not stopped its slaughter of innocents. It is its nature, and it cannot do otherwise. Please, prove it is not yours. Do not slay the daughter for the sins of the mother. Do not deny the Creation of today the swordarms that might defend her. Stay your hand, that it may be directed against the enemies of life. We can ill afford otherwise."

Argent Madonna, may you have chosen wisely.

Spoiler: Mechanics

Ijata will attempt a Dissuade social influence action.

Ijara will activate her Hearthstone to make this a Sagacity roll, peering into the future to study the best course of action. She will Excellency this, because our odds aren't good.
Force 4 + Sagacity 5 + Excellency 5 + Stunt 2 = 16 dice; Fabian adds 2 Successes; Maya didn't roll, but her net successes will add dice to this pool.

13 hits! Mars smiles upon us. I think the difficulty is about 10, but she might have Charms to raise it, so Maya's dice may yet be clutch.

 

[jaydude]

[OOC: Tenai has a Resolve of 4. As I indicated in the meta spoiler within my previous post , she's also currently manifesting the Great Curse - specifically in the form of Enraged Behemoth Rampage - boosting her Resolve to 10. No Charms in use at this stage.]

Tenai lets out an angry breath at Maya and Ijara's words, before slowly turning around. One look at her face tells you that however angry you might have thought her, it's a lot worse.

"I am in the greatest of rages right now, and offering to clear that airship of traitorous vermin for you, and yet you attempt to belay me!?" she roars. "My people were ready to see the Dragon-blooded onboard slaughtered as soon as we set off, and they will continue to follow me once I am done!"

You get the sense that she truly believes that last statement. Fabian meanwhile has a few words for Ijara.

"Lady Tenai once had a lover among the Solars of her time," the pattern spider explains. "A Dawn Caste woman by the name of Kinmei."

Ijara's smart mind is able to figure out the cause of Tenai's rage immediately after hearing that small statement. Garret told the Lunar sorceress that she had accidentally cast herself thousands of years into the future; considering that even Solars struggle to live that long, that's plenty of time in which Kinmei could've died while her lover was frozen within her own illusion.

Spoiler: Group Stats

Garret: 2 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Maya: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 1 Set of Stunt Dice
Tuyak: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Sojiro: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes
Ijara: 0 Anima, 5/5 Motes, 0 Committed Motes, 1 Set of Stunt Dice, 0 Will

 

[Psychie]

Garret shrugs, saying nothing for a moment. He then speaks up, "M'Lady, I have been hunted as a monster by the cronies of the Immaculate Order before, religious fanatics that want all Solars and Lunars dead just because of what we are. I am not saying that all Dragon Blooded are bad; in fact, many are rather good folks that are willing to listen to reason, including working with 'anathema' to serve the greater good. But the religious nuts of the Order? Not so much." He doesn't look over at the others as he talks, keeping his attention on Tenai. "If these Dragon Blooded on the airship are a part of the ones that were involved with the destruction of the First Age and are still locked into the mindset of trying to 'purge' Creation of Exalts like us, I couldn't care less about their lives. But if they are willing to listen to reason, I say that they have at least earned the chance to show that they are worth keeping around. I would say to let them live - at least for now. Being dead is just a bit hard to take back if it turns out that we need these Exalts alive, and if it turns out that they are liabilities instead of assets, then they can be dealt with."

 

[Random Word]

Well, it was hardly a resounding endorsement of peace, but it could have been a lot worse. The Gauntlet teaches us to take what we can get in any Age, but especially this one.

"We thank you for your mercy. Please, refrain from approaching until we have made peace." Ijara directs her cloud towards the Blue Seahawk at best possible speed. Where's Journeys when you need them?

 

[EbonChevalier]

“Besides.” Tulak called out as their cloud left for te Blue Seahawk. “We may yet make peace with them. Me and Sojiro are technically kinfolk to them.”

 

[Rykon]

"Garret here has introduced himself, but who are the rest of you, and why have you come here?"

"Sojiro of house Tepet. In short, a soldier deprived of his post, so I hunt demons to pass the time." He replied with a slight nod to his senior.

"But if what Garret says about my illusion freezing this island in time is true, the world will be very different to the one I remember. Tell me now; should you succeed in slaying this behemoth, what would you do with the Blue Seahawk?"

"Final custody of the vessel is sure to be a hotly contested issue, I'm sure. Obviously, I'd wish to claim it for my house as an asset against the storm of knives at our throats in the midst of a succession debacle that should have been avoided, all told." He said frankly. Even if his tone seemed rather crude and disrespectful to the hegemony on the isle, contesting his assertion would be a losing battle in a proper debate. "That said, I'm not so naive as to think most of the parties here wouldn't take exception to that. For now, I think the issue might not be worth drawing blood over as we have no idea if it'll even be operable or reparable by the time our quarry is slain."

She then looks towards Sojiro and Tuyak. "I am not familiar with either the Realm or the Scarlet Empire. And what is a 'Dynast'? Is that what the Dragon-blooded of this supposed future call themselves?"

"The Dynasty is just a fancy way of referring to our lineage, united by our Empress... Who unfortunately has disappeared within the last few years, leaving much chaos in that void thanks to certain decisions leading up to this point. We as 'Dynasts' are merely part of this lineage, much as I'm sure you remember our kind to be ordered in Gentes in the ages prior like the holdouts of Lookshy still do to this day."

“Besides.” Tulak called out as their cloud left for te Blue Seahawk. “We may yet make peace with them. Me and Sojiro are technically kinfolk to them.”

"Aye, so I won't be standing down if you push a fight... Even if they weren't of our blood... You're fools for wreaking havoc upon a sinking skyship that we still need for our battle to come. I'd have to put you down just for putting it and our mission at risk." Sojiro barked with annoyance.

He drew Aramitama in one smooth motion holding the blade down and the pommel up. He funneled his own essence and anima through the Draconic Daiklave and began to chant in a booming bellow. "By my breath, hear now I call. By claim of blood to take my right. The air I command, my rule of might. Vahkron hearken, thundering squall!"

Sojiro raised his hand as the seas began to churn and the sky trembled, overtaken by an overcast darkness. Winds began to roar as the rain fell. Air currents swept up beneath the sinking vessel from the shikari attempting to direct a gentler landing than whatever the lunar host intended. Should they intervene or attack, a storm wall would form impeding their every step and strike upon the time-torn kin of the Dragons.

Spoiler: Mechanics

Not sure how long the ship has been in the process of crashing and whether it has yet or not, but I think we'd all prefer to mitigate any damage to the vessel we can to the best of our ability. So this is just a narrative stunt enabled by activating Storm Calling Strategies, which will apply its penalties if combat is initiated.

Meanwhile, this may also hint to the crew there are other Dragon-Blooded around. Even if it pisses off the Lunar faction, Sojiro will take that chance.

1 mote spent, anima 1