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Sidereals in Creation

In her most soothing voice, Valeren tries to ease the pain on Duncan's mind. "Be at ease. I might be able to help you with that wish, and can remove your burden in the process. From what we saw in the Grand Hall, there was a mighty battle, one that you were ill prepared for. Let me help you."

What do we know about Duncan? You did say he was new, but how long has he been an Exalt, what Faction he is aligned with, his Essence level (if we know)?
 
Duncan is quiet for a long moment before answering. "I - I don't know what to say. She spared me for a reason, to give a message to whomever that found me. I just don't want to remember what I had to see anymore."

Duncan is the newest member of the Fivescore Fellowship, having been an Exalt for only twenty years. He is a Chosen of Endings, and his old Sifu was a member of the Bronze Faction, although Duncan himself has not officially declared his allegiance to one side or another. You would also know that he is currently studying Violet Bier of Sorrow Style, but has not yet mastered that art. While you don't know his exact Essence level, you can guess that it is in the 3 to 4 point range.
 
Val slowly sits down on the bed next to Duncan, and reaches into one of her many pockets to pull out a small gemstone. She suddenly stops, though, when she hears the comment that he was left alive by 'her' to give out a message. "Do you know who it was that left you alive? What was this message that this woman gave you?"
 
Duncan looks Valeren in the eye as he answers. "Yes, I know who it was. This was all done by the Empress of the Blessed Isle, and she told me . . . she told me to say that she was back, and that all of Creation will tremble at her footsteps."
 
Valeren doesn't say anything at first. She just sits there, looking at Duncan, trying to get a read on if he is telling her the truth or not. "That . . . is quite a story. You will understand that in order for us to believe you, we must examine your memories. I am going to cast a spell that will allow us all to experience your memories to be able to see and hear what you did. This won't hurt, and it will be a valuable tool for all of us to know exactly what happened."

Assuming he doesn't object, I will cast my Theft of Memory spell to look over what happened.
 
Monsoon kept silent, but on the inside he was furious. How dare the Empress bring demons to Yu-Shan and slaughter the Five-Score Fellowship? She must have cut some deals with Malfeas. And that means that she needs to be stopped.
 
Valeren's spell goes off without a hitch, and the memories of the attack are now locked inside the jewel. One by one, you press the jewel to your heads to see the memory trapped inside. The images are quite disturbing.

It starts out with Duncan entering into the Grand Hall and taking his seat towards the back, with the older members of the Fellowship having their seats closer to the front of the hall. Chejop is up on the platform in front of the room with Ayesha seated next to him, and after a few minutes of waiting impatiently, he stands. "We can wait no longer for stragglers. There is a matter before us that is of critical importance to all of Creation, so severe that we must all put aside our differences and work together to resolve. To be blunt, we have discovered where the Scarlet Empress has been for these past five years, and more importantly, why. She is now in league with the Yozis, trying to free them from the prison of Malfias."

A shocked mutter goes up throughout the room as the news sinks in. When the leader of the Sidereals tries to speak once more, a series of explosions rip through the room. The blast knocks Duncan to the floor, briefly stunning him. As he struggles to his feet, the room is now filled with combat! Multiple Second and Third Circle demons are there, along with twenty to thirty other Exalts, savagely attacking the surviving members of the Sidereals.

Soon, the Empress herself makes an appearance, and she quickly joins in the fighting against the ranks of the Sidereals. In fact, she faces off against Chejop and Ayesha together, and she fights them both using powerful magics far beyond the ability of a mere Dragon Blood. She finishes off the leader of the Gold Faction off first, then proceeds to toy with Chejop, countering his every attack with ease.

By this time, Duncan is being restrained by a pair of demons as they force him to watch the Empress finish off her foe before she tears out his eyes. One of the strange Exalts points out Duncan to the Empress. "M'lady, we still have one alive. Shall I dispatch him for you?"

"No. Let him live." She approaches the helpless man with a wicked smile on her face. "We shall use him to deliver a message. Little man, you know who I am?" Duncan nods. "Good. I want you to tell all the fools here in Yu-Shan. I have returned, and all of Creation will tremble at my footsteps." She looks about the room and smiles. "My husband will be pleased with our work this day." The Empress turns and begins to walk away. "You may dispose of that trash, just make sure he lives "

"Yes, M'lady."

At this point, you can see one of the Exalts with the Empress order Duncan pressed up against the wall as he takes a spear from one of the fallen Sidereals. He then hurls it with such force that it impales the young man and pins him to the wall where you found him upon your entry into the room.
 
"Huh." Hui said, still processing that the Scarlet Empress was now an enemy of all Creation. "Well, I never liked her much anyway."
 
Valeren is speechless as she passes on the gemstone to the next person to observe the trapped memories inside. Finally, she is able to choke out the words, "This . . . I don't know what to say. How can the Empress be so powerful? Able to take on two of the most powerful Sidereals in all of Yu-Shan single handedly? There is no way that a dragon blood, no matter how old, could possibly do that. And the powers she was displaying! They were not those of a typical Exalt of her kind. Then there are the other Exalts that were with her! Who were they, and what kind of Exalted are they? There are too many questions and not enough answers."
 
"Well, Kejak dropped the ball." Meno grimly stated. "You know, there were Solar Exaltations all in that Jade Prison, some clearly had gotten into the hands of the Deathlords... I guess the Yozis had some as well. More than akuma. All this for years beneath our noses. But the good news, she had to boast. All the files on the Realm and the Illuminated. Every connection the Factions had, we will have access to. Let's remind Malfeas and company why they got locked up in the first place."
 
"But with the Five-Score Fellowship reduced to just four of us, we will face big hurdles. And some of those connections might be more reluctant than before.
What we need to do is get in touch with the Incarna. If a threat of this magnitude is looming, maybe they can be persuaded to act."
 
Valeren nods in agreement. "Either the Incarna themselves, or at least, check out the private files of Chejop and Ayesha to see what they have been sitting on this whole time as they try to plot against each other. We may not be able to break the big guys from the Games of Divinity, but with the scale of this disaster, we just might be able to succeed. Where shall we go first?"
 
Duncan pushes himself up a bit in bed. "I hope you are not planning on leaving me out of this. I may be the newest member of the Fellowship, but I can still offer up some assistance. Please, let me do something besides cower in the background, and let me make up for my failure to stop everyone from getting killed." He looks down, somewhat dejected. "Its not like I could have made any difference in the fight; but I still feel as if I failed somehow. If I were only stronger, I might have been able to make a difference."

As everyone is talking, one of the lesser security guards comes up with a list of the casualties. It would appear that there is one other Sidereal that has survived this dark night, a Chosen of Journeys named Olivia. Her current location is deep in the Labyrinth of the Underworld, and is investigating the Neverborn to gain personal knowledge for the Convention of the Underworld. It will take some time before she can get back to Yu-Shan to be of any use to you.

Where do you guys go first? The Jade Pleasure Dome or the offices of Chejop and Ayesha?
 
"I will go to the Jade Pleasure Dome." Hui said. "A Solar visiting Incarnate hasn't happened in millennia, and may be enough to rouse them from their games."
 
Valeren smiles at the thought of Hui walking up and kicking the doors open, demanding to see the Unconquered Sun. "We should all go with you, to keep you from getting detained by Yu-Shan security." Looking down at Duncan, she tries to soothe the agitated man. "Right now, you are needed here, resting and healing up. You are going to be of no good to us if you are too injured to hold your own in a fight. Be at ease, and know that you are one of us to the very end."
 
Hui shook his head. "I appreciate the sentiment, but, we have too few people and too many things that need to be done for us to all go together. I'm sure we can pull some strings and have an Celestial Lion escort me to avoid any problems with security. Right now we need to get as much as we can done as fast as possible, and the three of you taking a detour to see the Incarnate with me would just be time lost that we don't have to spare."
 
Val shrugs. "I you insist, we can always make a run on the private files kept by our Faction leaders. Its not like they can use those documents any more, and there might be items of use for us now."
 
So, we have Hui going to head to the Jade Pleasure Dome to give the Unconquered Sun a kick in the nads, and the three Sidereals (since Duncan is staying in the hospital for now) are going to go to go snoop into the offices of the leaders of the various Factions. Which office do you wish to go to first?
 
Meno plumped for Kejak's office, on account that he had the most secrets and probably knowledge of the Scarlet Empress as well.
 
Valeren joins Meno, knowing that there will most likely be some traps and and wards in the office. At least, if it were her office, she'd have wards and traps on the really valuables stuff.
 
Hui began his march towards the Jade Pleasure Dome, escorted by a Celestial Lion he had convinced to accompany him for his purpose.
 
Valeren, Meno and Monsoon head into the maze of corridors and rooms that lead to Chejop's office located on the upper level of the building. For the three of you, it has been centuries (if ever) that you have been to the personal offices of the leader of the Sidereals, so it is a humbling experience to see just how the upper crust of the Celestial Bureaucracy live and work. Thick, plush carpet line the floor, and the walls have tapestries and paintings of people long dead, along with the obligatory paintings of the various Celestial Incarne.

The office is larger than many mansions in Creation, with many places to entertain visiting gods and dignitaries in between times meditating and performing various martial katas to hone the mind and body. Where do you begin your search for answers?


Elsewhere, Hui and his Celestial Lion escort make their way to the Jade Pleasure Dome to make a personal appeal to the Incarne directly. As you walk, the Lion next to you makes the observation, "In all of my years in the Celestial City, I have never seen such a series of events happening. Even so, do you really believe that the Unconquered Sun will turn away from the Games of Divinity long enough to see you? What is your plan, Exalt?"

The Jade Pleasure Dome is easily the largest single building you have ever seen, spanning several miles across and just as many tall. Large airships look like tiny mosquitos buzzing about as they keep watch on the comings and goings around the Dome. There is a massive set of doors guarded by several guardians of various types including lesser gods and automations. As Hui approaches, several of the guardians step up to block your entrance. "Hold, you! None may enter unless under the authority of the Incarnae. What is your business here?"
 
"I seek audience with my Father." Hui said, letting his Caste Mark shine to verify his spiritual dependence from the Unconquered Sun. "Creation is in trouble, and Yu-Shan has been attacked in a way unseen since the days of the Primordial War. The Most High's guidance is needed now, more than ever."

Roll to persuade them to let me in: Charisma 5 + Presence 5 + Excellency 5 = 15 dice for 5 successes Spending 3 motes on Irresistible Salesmen Spirit to double that in to 10 successes
 
Valeren moves slowly into the office, her eyes darting about as she looks for signs of danger. Chejop was as old school as they get, so I'm guessing that he would have his files on some First Age data crystals. Now we just need to find them. Where to look first? She then decides to activate her Charm of Telltale Symphony to be able to hear the magical wards in place before tripping them - hopefully.

"If I were going to have records on the Empress, may she burn forever in the fires of my rage, I would have them where I could see them on a frequent basis. It's not a item I would leave in some back room filling cabinet, but rather, I'd keep it right next to me. Where is his desk?"
 
Recognizing that seeking whatever secrets might lie here is not exactly his forte, Monsoon walks over to where one can meditate and perform katas, and begins doing the katas for Scarlet Patterened Battlefield.
The old Chejop was a master of martial arts, and perhaps by going through the kata he might be able to get some insight into the deceased Chosen's mind.
 
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