Revision as of 17:40, 11 September 2005

Falling Sky

My character for Pseudoephedrine's PbP

Current status: Active

Mechanics

Name: Falling Sky
Caste: Twilight
Nature: Explorer
Concept: Wandering scholar and martial artist
Anima: A giant gold and emerald king's cobra composed of arcane symbols.

ATTRIBUTES
Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3
Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2
Perception 4, Intelligence 4, Wits 3

ABILITIES
Martial Arts 5 (+2 Staff), Endurance 1, Presence 1, Survival 2, Investigation 2, Lore 4, Medicine 2, Occult 4, Athletics 1, Dodge 3, Linguistics (Flametongue, Seatongue, High Realm, Old Realm) 3, Sail 1.

BACKGROUNDS
Mentor 2, Artifact 2, Sorcery 5

FLAWS: Enemy 3 (Unknown, Bronze Faction Sidereal, rival of his mentor), Throwback 2 (Nature: Leader, Empire-building previous incarnation), Vice 2 (Can't resist the lure of knowledge to be gained)

VIRTUES: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 4, Valour 2

Virtue Flaw: Contempt of the Virtuous (Trigger: Being held back by the self-indulgent and intemperate nature of others)

Willpower: 6/7
Essence: 3
Essence pool: 16/34 (39, 5 motes commited)
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -2, -4, Incapacitated

CHARMS

Martial Arts:
Secrets of Future Strife, Blade of the Battle Maiden, Striking Cobra Technique, Serpentine Evasion, Snake Form
Endurance:
Ox-Body Technique
Medicine:
Body-Mending Meditation
Occult:
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Dodge:
Reed in the Wind, Shadow over Water

SPELLS

Emerald Countermagic, Invulnerable Skin of Bronze, Conjuring the Azure Chariot, Incantation of Effective Restoration, Peacock Shadow Eyes

EQUIPMENT

Simple clothing, travel gear, a small medicine kit and a number of books, including the Black Treatise.

• Orichalcum War Staff "Root of the World" (Spd +8, Acc+3, Dam +6L, Def +4, Rate 4)

COMBAT
Base initiative: 7 Soak: 3B/1L (Unarmoured) or 15B/7L (Invulnerable Skin of Bronze)
Dodge: 10
Minimum Damage: 3

ATTACKS
Punch: Spd 7, Acc 10, Dmg 2B, Def 11, Rate 5
Kick: Spd 4, Acc 10, Dmg 5B, Def 6, Rate 3
Clinch: Spd 7, Acc 9, Dmg 2B, Def 9, Rate 1
"Root of the World": Spd 15, Acc 14, Dmg 8L, Def 15, Rate 4

MOVEMENT
Normal: 16 yds
Full: 32 yds

Description

It is quite obvious, that Falling Sky is not a native to the West. Dark-skinned, his head shaved in the custom of the southern regions and his beard finely trimmed, he could be a diplomat from one of the big cities of that direction, if his clothes were a little more extravagant. But though his best set of clothes retains some trappings of wealth, it is clear at a second look that they are worn, the colours faded and the style several years old. It is not his material possessions that define his impression, though. The serenity and calm evidenced in every unhurried movement and the razor-sharp mind working behind his brown eyes are, why wise men take him seriously even while fools underestimate 'that peasant with a stick'.

Falling Sky has been mistaken for a monk often, his usual abstinence from the base pleasures fitting well into the stereotypical image. And to a degree it is true, the gaining of knowledge is what he takes real pleasure in and he refuses to be side-tracked into distractions. That doesn't make him a fanatic or one who takes no joy from the beauty of Creation's wonders, quite the opposite in fact, but only those who get to know him closer see that. His loyalty, his wisdom and his strange interpretation of humour are likewise known only to his friends. Having strangers read him all wrong is something that brings a secret delight to Falling Sky.

Background

Falling Sky was a wanderer even before his Exaltation. Born as the fourth son to a wealthy merchant of Gem, he had quickly grown tired of the endless political and mercantile bickering that filled up his adult life without even the prospect of one day inheriting the family business. A scholar and explorer at heart he'd mined the libraries available to him for all they were worth long ago and when he left behind his old life it was with the intention to see the wonders of Creation with his own eyes, to explore in person all that he'd read about.

He was surprised himself at how well he took to the life of a wanderer, having grown up among great luxury. Travelling, he came to understand, doesn't simply mean that you are on the way to some interesting place, it also means learning in itself. Speaking with fellow scholars on the road can stimulate great insight as different points of view are debated. Travelling with mercenaries teaches one about the rough necessities of life. Walking with martial artists on the way to tournaments and away from pasts unspoken of a wanderer may find that he has a previously unsuspected affinity for that way of inner searching for harmony (and defending oneself).

By the time of his Exaltation Falling Sky had established himself as somewhat of an well-regarded local oddity around the villages of the South-West. Visiting a number of villages where he was well-received on a regular basis, helping with the harvest, treating diseases and employing a smattering of thaumaturgy in exchange for food and a place to stay he could lead a simple but interesting life. Of course it were his excursions into supposedly haunted forests and strange ruins as well as the occasional trip to a city with a library not yet known to him that were his real passion. When his Exaltation came, he was on the way to feast together with an immaculate monk he'd known for years, deep in a debate over points of philosophy. As he was just pointing out a loop of circular logic in the doctrine of the Dragon Blooded superiority and their mandate to rule over the common folk, the sun touched the horizon and in that moment he came to understand just how much truth was kept from the people.

He regained consciousness to the immaculate's screaming as his travelling companion prepared to kill the abomination Falling Sky had become, as evidenced by the golden castemark glowing in the evening twilight. Unable to talk reason into the panicked monk and unwilling to take his life the newborn Solar could only defend himself. Finally the immaculate stumbled just as the Twilight struck and was knocked out. The confused Falling Sky was quickly led away by a cloaked stranger who explained to him the full significance of his new status as one of the Chosen of the Sun. He would be hunted, he said, and would need guidance in the arts of battle as well as sorcery to survive. For he and his kind would like to see the Solars take their rightful place in the world again.

A time of learning and instruction followed as the starchild called Green Seeker taught Falling Sky how to make use of his newfound powers through intuition and learned arts, showing him the basic forms of the martial arts he was a master of. As shard memories began to assert themselves, the study of sorcery began in earnest, now a formal education instead of aimless searching. Unfortunately together with the remembered spells of ages past fragments of foreign thoughts came to the fore, urging him to cease messing around with cantrips and to take back the empire that had been taken from him. The time of quiet learning came to an abrupt end, when one night agents of another Sidereal came to the safehouse where Green Seeker and Falling Sky lived. Among the deadly clash of blades and martial arts the young solar could do no more than grab his few books of sorcery and the staff recovered with the help of his mentor and flee.

Twice he had to face servants and unknowing tools of that elusive enemy since then, but something seems to prevent him from acting directly. Falling Sky like to think that his master still lives and is protecting him somehow, leading the other Sidereal astray. In his flight and subsequent travels he has crossed the mountains towards the west and reached the islands of that elemental direction by employing mighty sorcery. The great distance and the sheer ocean, he decided, would make a good protection from the emissaries of the empire. To make the best of the situation was always his credo and finding new regions full of secrets waiting to be found can't be that bad. For if there's one thing his memories, good, bad and sentient, have made clear, it is just how far the world has fallen from the glory of the past ages. But remains still exist, especially here, where so much is uncharted, and he who poses the right questions and looks in the right places might just be able to bring back a measure of enlightenment to Creation.

Goals

Short-term:

• Get away from his usual haunts, where he might be linked to the immaculate's disappearance (1)
• Find some way to elude detection / go somewhere without a Wyld Hunt (1)
• Earn a living, find a place to stay, get someone to finance an expedition

Long-term:

• Rebuild a reputation or possibly a base of power (fellow Solar Exalted?) to secure his position
• Find out where his mentor has gone and who the heck is after him (and 'convince' him to stop it)
• Continue research into sorcery and other subjects, focus on knowledge lost since the First Age (hard to find, but more viable than researching everything all over again)
• Bring the knowledge back to the people and reclaim some of the glory that has gone to ruins (more of a hazy 'final stage' idea)

(1) These are his reasons for going West

Artifacts

Root of the World
Artifact ••
Orichalkum War Staff
Speed +8, Accuracy +3, Damage +6L, Defense +4, Rate 4 (including 5MM bonus)
Commitment: 5

At first glance this artifact looks just like any other staff, freshly cut from a tree, the bark still undamaged. Only a second and third look reveals the ingenuity behind its construction. The Root of the World is in fact made of, or rather grown from pure Orichalkum in a precise imitation of a sapling tree, down to annual rings of green jade and the fibrous patterns of wood inside the metal. The outside of the staff proper is inlaid with masterful designs of brilliant green jade, spiralling around the golden surface and depicting the cycle of life in multiple representations, from the most arcane and abstract to actual pictures of living creatures and their stations in the grand wheel. These ornaments are usually hidden under the layer of bark covering the staff though, which is maybe the most curious thing about this artifact. Growing from the plain sun-metal it is very much alive despite its unusual origin and has exactly the same resilience as normal bark – parrying blades tends to cut it away, revealing orichalkum and jade beneath. Small damages repair themselves within a few days; by spending 10 motes the owner can speed this process to a single night even if the metal is completely bare, but the staff has to touch moist earth for this power to work. An expenditure of 5 motes causes the bark to explode away, revealing the glorious sight of pure Orichalkum. It is sometimes conjectured among Sidereal scholars, that the unknown Twilight artificer and his Wood Aspect aide imbued greater powers of essence into this artifact, but no sign of that has been found. Falling Sky, who believes to have wielded this weapon in earlier incarnations, certainly doesn’t seem to think so.

Notes on mechanical evolvement

Charms and spells to get at some point:

Ten Magistrate Eyes, Spirit Detecting Glance, All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight, Seven Shadow Evasion (Dodge 5 required)

Sting of the Ice Hornet, Flight of Separation, Burning Eyes of the Offender, Summon Elemental, Death of Obsidian Butterflies, Mists of Eventide

Crafting, Investigation, Medicine

Notes to Pseudoephedrine:

Bonus points: 15 +7 (flaws). Usage: Essence 3 [7], MA 5 (Staff +2) [3], Lore 4 [1], Occult 4 [1], Temperance 4 [6], Sorcery 5 [4].

I'm envisioning Falling Sky as rather new to this 'being an Exalt' business. He's had a good teacher, but his lessons were focused on survival in conflict and getting a grip on the sorcery that is his birthright. Once he has the time and opportunity to continue his research he'll realize that his newfound abilities are in fact much broader in scope and the channelling of Essence as a method can be applied to many other tasks. Also he doesn't realize that between his elusive mentor and his distant enemy neither can be trusted - in fact the one's directness might be preferable to being shaped into a weapon for a cause not his own by a kind and caring hand.

Comments welcome!