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The Southern Convention of the Bureau of Destiny

Life is hard for the Southern Convention, as it is hard everywhere - but perhaps less harsh than in most domains. The Bureau here does not need to oversee the vast array of Essence-users that propagate across the Blessed Isle and the East, nor do they suffer from the chronic underfunding of the West. In fact, since the rise of Bagrash Kol, it has been generally agreed that assignment to the South is the closest thing that young Sidereals can have to an easy job - not as lush as those who spend their lives in the hustle of the Realm, of course, but not as harried either.

Events here proceed in a slow, measured progression. The heat of the South lingers in every god and elemental of the region, in the people and the destinies that coil lazily around the land. In the South, too much motion is not advisable - there are times when the world here simply rests, lest it burn itself to ashes. The Bureau tries to avoid letting this attitude infect them, but it can't be argued that there is a more relaxed attitude towards investigations, a trend to let events unfold and see when the right instant of action will undo years of action by the enemy.

Leaders of the Southern Convention

Gannelan Ikelle, Convention Chair of the South

Elder Sidereal, Chosen of Serenity

The leader of the Convention of the South was born over eight hundred years before the Usurpation, in the shining city of High Nyunda. Flying above the world, she watched the Solars rule, and saw as it fell into ruin. Reluctantly and with a heavy heart, she sided with the Bronze Faction of the Great Prophecy, and put all of her efforts towards overcoming them. This culminated in the battle of High Nyumba, when according to official reports Ikelle destroyed the city rather than let Virtuous Jacinth, the city's elder ruler, drive it into the Last Supplicant.

This reputation has dogged her for over seven hundred years - her softness and the seeming ease with which she grants requests and dodges politics disguises a will of absolute steel. Only the foolish assume that she is not managing her domain carefully, or that her honesty is a sign of weakness. Ikelle has risen steadfastedly through the ranks to command the fate of the South, and she pays very close attention to what goes on, even when she does not take action.

Shan Mar

Elder Sidereal, Chosen of Battles

A master astrologer and skilled martial artist, Shan Mar hails from the Blessed Isle. Born just under five centuries before the Usurpation, he grew up in the Era of Dreams, the grandest height of the first age. A brash youth, he ran afoul of Solar madness early in his life, and was nearly destroyed by a Third Circle demon - his body, it is said, still bears the scars of the punishment that was leveled on him for insolence. When the Great Prophecy came, his voice was one of the loudest against the Solars, and his participation in the ambush at the Calibration Feast was as swift as it was brutal. He then settled into the Shogunate, trying to manage the many wars between districts of the new Dragon-Blooded empire.

The Shogunate's reign taught Mar patience, and the Crusade taught him fervour - when the Fair Folk rode in, he deployed himself to the East, and was at the forefront of the battle against him. Even as his entire Circle fell one by one to fend the monsters off, his fighting only became more resolute. Afterwards, he was assigned to the South, as they lacked a skilled Chosen of Battles.

Shan Mar is unyielding and grim, never laughing, rarely speaking except to give judgment. His Crimson Armor, the prototype from which all other models in the First Age were designed, is always worn by him in his public life, and few of his fellows actually know what he looks like. Fewer care to - whispers of the demonic scars that coat his body are as lurid as they are unlikely.

Nazri

Master Sidereal, Chosen of Endings

Born and raised in the early days of the Shogunate, Nazri is by nature a front line soldier, a hunter of demons and fae who slips across the South when not taking part in his duties as a member of both the Convention on Natural Disasters and the Convention on Fair Folk, which was extremely large in the immediate aftermath of the Contagion but has faded significantly in the last century. Nazri's most famous act, however, remains his vitriolic speech just weeks after the Contagion, during a heated argument in the Division of Endings over what to do about Solars who had survived the Crusade. Excoriating both the Bronze Faction and the Gold Faction, Nazri announced his hatred of factional politics in general, and declared himself done with them forever.

Since then, Nazri has been given a suspicious amount of work, to the point that he is practically the leader of the Convention on Fair Folk (technically, that Convention is run by Shimmering Leaf, the only other remaining elder on the Convention, but she pays far more attention to her regional duties in the East). He does not seem upset by this, instead throwing himself into his work with intensity and attention. Nazri is a good-natured man most of the time, but is profoundly impatient with politics and unafraid to show it.

Veterans of the Southern Convention

Emerald Sky

Veteran Sidereal, Chosen of Secrets

The only veteran in the South to have survived the Great Contagion, Emerald Sky is close to three hundred years old, having Exalted late in the years of the Shogunate. Hailing from the South originally, her Circle had only been dissolved for a decade when the Balorian Crusade roared over the world. Swan fought alongside those of her fellows who had not been slain by plague, but was struck by a devastating spell levelled by the Unshaped and badly crippled. Unable to properly battle, Sky was forced to the sidelines, doing her best to weave destinies as her companions fought and died.

As the Crusade faded, so did the magic afflicting her, and she dedicated herself to repairing the world. Sky seems to have recovered from those days, and is now a generally cheerful and upbeat woman who instills hope and works to disguise signs that a nation might be weak, but those who know her whisper that her cheer is only skin-deep - she does not make friends with her fellow Sidereals, not anymore.

Distant Steel

Veteran Sidereal, Chosen of Journeys

A wanderer and troubleshooter, Distant Steel is a warrior and traveller, a reserved man whose occasional bursts of wisdom or humour only rarely crack his solemn surface. Hailing from the far North, he was an icewalker warrior before his Exaltation, a life that he only rarely discusses. Transferred to the South to join the now-dissolved Bright Sands Circle, he learned the ways of the sand, and now mostly works amongst the barbarian tribes of the South, guiding their destinies and watching them for signs of demon-worship or corruption by the Wyld. Steel is not an easy man to get to know, but he is unfailingly polite and basically friendly to everyone he meets.

Kokaku Mira

Veteran Sidereal, Chosen of Battles

As kind as she is arrogant, Kokaku Mira is flashy and showy, and has been disciplined on several occasions for failing to show proper decorum or for revealing too much of her nature while on assignment. It never seems to take, and the Chosen of Battles has made it through life without her massive esteem in herself being badly shaken. Once a member of the now-defunct Bright Sands Circle, Mira can be patronizing, abrupt, or downright rude - however, she is also caring, good-natured, and quick to help. The result is that she has many friends, most of whom are exasperated with her at any given time. Mira is also helpful towards younger Sidereals, above and beyond the call of duty, and is always willing to step in and completely take over a situation whether she's been asked to or not. Mira is an easterner, having been born to the royal family of a minor Threshold nation that still exists as a part of the Confederacy of Rivers.

Jerah Silani

Veteran Sidereal, Chosen of Journeys

Born and raised on the Blessed Isle close to a hundred and thirty years ago, Silani was a member of a minor household of House Jerah, who continued to try and keep track of her house for decades after her Exaltation. She missed the slow corruption of her house by a powerful rogue automata, and was transferred to the South after her family was executed for treason due to fears that she might not be able to maintain her neutrality against those who had sentenced them, or the new House that grew from the ashes of her past.

Silani is a withdrawn woman, almost painfully shy, who spends much of her time scrutinizing fate and practicing her astrology. Officially, she is in charge of watching the South's trade patterns, and has recruited help in the past few years to watch over the Guild's attempts to take control of the region's finances.

Sandblown Mokara

Veteran Sidereal, Chosen of Endings

Born in the far Southwest in the dying days of the Contagion, Mokara's family were made refugees by the Balorian Crusade, forced to flee north to An-Teng with their baby daughter to avoid being destroyed by the fae. After her Exaltation, she set about studying the nature of the nations of the South, in order to understand why they were not joining together as those in the East did. Mokara is now the Arbiter of Lineages in the south, deciding when a family should end so that new families may grow from it, and helping to prevent monarchies from becoming hidebound and weak. In practice, however, many families protected by important gods are mysteriously chosen to live on, and some wonder if Mokara is as neutral as she should be, or if she is taking something into consideration that they can't see.

Mokara is diffident in person, disliking conflict or arguments, and prone to agreeing to whatever someone yelling at her is saying - only to go ahead and do what she was planning once they've left. She is pleasant around those who don't cause her stress, and tries to keep her life outside of her job as restful as possible.

Venerable Silk

Veteran Sidereal, Chosen of Serenity

Born in the aftermath of the Balorian Crusade, Venerable Silk is a soft-spoken and friendly man, whose connections and allies span the length and breadth of Heaven. A student of Ikelle, he has taken her methods to heart, using such subtle methods to weave his influence that even many Sidereals must look carefully to spot his hand in events. Silk is a born teacher, happy to show others how to work better or what they need to succeed, and rarely taking the credit for his assistance - something that has also earned him many friends in Heaven. Venerable Silk is a former member of the now-dissolved Bright Sands Circle.

Neonates of the Entwined Path Circle

Crimson Lotus

Neonate Sidereal, Chosen of Battles

The leader of the Entwined Path Circle by virtue of being twenty years older than any of its other members, Lotus hails from the city of Thorns, on the western edge of the Scavenger Lands, and grew up a child of the middle classes of the artisan's city before becoming a Sidereal forty years ago. Patient and thoughtful, she nonetheless prefers tactical considerations to the careful games of politics that are more commonly found in Heaven, and under her guidance, her Circle has become known for its flair, quick thought, and actions which have prompted some concerns among other Sidereals that the Entwined Path is not learning wisdom along with its dedication.

Haniki Perran

Neonate Sidereal, Chosen of Serenity

A skilled sorcerer and political gamesman, Perran was born in the far West, to a small island nation of no importance to anyone, least of all to himself. Uninterested in the concerns of a "tribe of mud-dwelling fishermen", as he puts it, he was happy to transfer his attentions to the much more luxurious Coastal States of the South, where he has spent the last twenty years helping to manage the local nations and to ensure that they remain loyal to the Realm. This has the added advantage of leaving him near the Convention headquarters for much of his time, when he's not off supporting his Circle. Perran is in a well-known relationship with his Circlemate, Soleni Millia.

Soleni Millia

Neonate Sidereal, Chosen of Secrets

The only member of the Circle to actually hail from the South, Soleni Millia grew up in the mighty Shogunate-remnant nation of Blueglass Springs, a child of the military who learned to hate it. Millia is a timid, chattering woman who wilts easily and inspires sympathy, although she has gotten into trouble on more than one occasion for her sometimes-excessive use of astrology to manage not just her own domain, but those of her Circlemates. Over her twenty years as a Sidereal, she has demonstrated an active interest in her partners' affairs, and is a proud member of her Circle.

Tirek Dal

Neonate Sidereal, Chosen of Endings

The youngest member of the Entwined Path, Dal has been Exalted for just over five years, putting him well behind his fellow Circlemates. Slavishly loyal to Lotus, who he idolizes, Dal is quick to support her plans and efforts, and he accepts the assistance of Millia and Perran with grace, if not always patience. Responsible for tracking disease patterns in the South, Dal is a skilled medic and investigator.

Neonates of the Player Character Circle

Willem Grex

Neonate Sidereal, Chosen of Journeys

Player Character

Yasu Yukio