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Exalted Session 49

The Fall of the Temple

Last session- Shizu has followed Master Tanaka (currently suffering the worst day of his life due to the Vengeance of Heaven) up to the Diamond Palace. He is admitted to an audience with Auntie. Shizu, arriving minutes later is kept in an antechamber. She overhears an increasingly loud Tanaka shouting something about Anathaema and heresy… and the Wyld Hunt.

Then it goes quiet. There is some movement inside and the clinking of china porcelain. Then after 15 minutes or so, Shizu is invited to tea with Auntie.

As Auntie explains that Master Tanaka was quite tired and distraught and was going for a long sabbatical. Shizu needn’t worry because Master Tanaka would be away for some time. Shizu though is worried, as she smells the sharp scent of almonds and isn’t sure that its just the macaroons.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Watch sense a disturbance in the Essence flow around Gem. Seems to be coming from the Palace, as if some high Essence effect was erupting. They too race up to the Palace by wing (Rav & Alana), foot (a Monkey leaping Brand & Orchid) or horse (the Captain commandeering one). As Rav passes over the Immaculate Temple of 5 Harmonious Dragons, he senses waves of power rising from it.

Shizu meanwhile has said goodbye to Auntie and is still tracking Tanaka. Learning the Immaculate has not left by the main gate, he searches the Palace Dungeons. In a quiet corridor below, Shizu finds store room door fairly glowing with heat. Wrenching it open, he sees a dead Master Tanaka laid out on a stone slab. A brilliant red ruby on his chest is spewing fire out across the room and body. The fire conscious Shizu quickly shuts the door.

Gathering her courage after a few minutes, she opens it again, only to see a pile of ash and soot on the table, surrounding a large red-jade stone egg. Cracks of burning orange are spreading across the egg, and the flames in the room surge out!

Racing away, ahead of the wave of flame, Shizu meets the others as they enter the Palace. All are amazed to see a great, fiery bird with red plumage, 12 foot wingspan and wings of flame burst out and fly high into the sky, trailing smoke and flame. It is the mythical Phoenix! And its flying north. Towards the Blessed Isle…

Rav (in beastman form) grabs Orchid with a talon and takes wing after the Phoenix/Tanaka Reborn. They try to communicate with the flame bird, but it is unresponsive and hostile. And if it could spit the worlds “Anathaema!” through its beak, it would. Rav considers engaging it in aerial combat, outflying it and using Lunar charms to attack. But there is Orchid dangling in her feet to consider, and some 5,000 feet to the ground. Ravitsu lets the Tanaka-Phoenix return to the Realm and wings back to Gem.

The Captain and Alana are keeping the new Solar faithful busy with more sermons, commandments and lessons. The newly converted are eager to learn the Laws of the Unconquered Sun, so they can avoid transgressing against that mighty deity. So the Solars need to come up with Ten Commandments- The Captain suggests “Though shalt not spill my pint” as the first, and Orchid is keen on “Do what Orchid says” being a religious law , but Alana is going to codify and finalise the final set.

Alana is preaching a message of betterment, virtuous behaviour and restraint. The Captain takes this message, and adds his own comments as he too takes to sermonising. His message is more partisan- Gem is the best and most important place in the world! And the infidel and enemy needs to be smote down!

Very quickly the 2 day old Church of the Unconquered Sun, develops its mainstream faith (Alana’s) and the more militant wing (the Captains Army of the Sun). Needless to say, Anaria asks Alana to join the Army of the Sun (a surprise to the Zenith) and to help convert Aron… Alana will need to think about this… a helpful and zealous Anaria seems to be as much a danger and liability as the Immaculate zealot who used to regularly attack her!

Rav and Orchid manage to get an appointment with the Despot to discuss the geo-politics of the Second Age and realpolitik in particular. After the steeple-fingered Despot welcomes the Watch Commander and Watch Thaumaturge to his office, they warn him that Master Tanaka has some how survived death and even now flies north, presumably to raise the Wyld Hunt against the new Solar Church and the Celestial Exalts in the city.

“Indeed, we have long sought to delay the dispatch of the Hunt to Gem. It would be far better to have any such meeting a long way from city.”

“Perhaps we can head them off at the pass?” says Rav

“Well, they will be focused on the Exalts of Gem. If you are seen far enough away, then they will pursue you, and are likely to never visit our outlying city-state on the far edges of Creation. Might I suggest Paragon instead?”

“But what about the Abyssals here? I understand you are in negotiation with them?” demands Orchid.

“The embassy of the Lord of Silent Repose represents a strategic alliance” he says

“An alliance? Not with the Underworld!” exclaims Orchid

“Far better to direct them away from our city and against mutual enemies. Such as Paragon. Given that Paragon is on the coast close to the Blessed Isle, an Abyssal invasion there would inevitably draw a counter-response from the Realm. Especially if you could lead the Wyld Hunt into that city…”

“I see” says Rav, liking the plan.

“Of course, in order to give the Abyssals their opening, we’d need to arrange something… messy. With many live lost. Would you be able to do such a thing, if it ensured the safety of Gem?” asks the Despot, his voice calculating.

Rav and Orchid look at each other, conscience pangs writ across their face.

”What do you mean?” they ask.

“Well, we do have a lot of firedust.” Suggests the Despot. Seeing the hesitation on their faces he continues- “How about a military target then? The Paragonese Army, or the Perfects ruling apparatus?”

“Perhaps” accedes Rav and Orchid.

”It will be our Great Firedust Plot” codenames the Despot. “Naturally, if you are caught, Gem will have to publicly disavow you.”

“Naturally” says an unhappy Orchid

“Gem of course thanks you and recognises you for your many efforts to protect it from harm” says the Despot smoothly “But unfortunately the most powerful nation on Creation disagrees with us. And until the Blessed Isle falls into internal conflict or collapse, no Threshold nation or city can publicly support the Solar cause. When that changes, hopefully soon, then Gem will be more than happy to support you”

Meanwhile…

Brand and Shizu have concluded that the magical stone that Shizu returned to Master Tanaka (the Fire Ruby of the Dragons- back in Session 37) may be what has transformed Master Tanaka into a fiery Phoenix. And if it’s a Hearthstone, then perhaps they can disrupt the Manse powering it. And presumably that Manse is the First Age building now known as the Temple of 5 Harmonious Dragons, dominating one entire end of the Street of Little Gods.

So they find themselves infiltrating the directionally aligned towers of the diamond shaped Temple and on the southern tower, open a red-jade stained glass window to look into tower interior filled by a raging furnace flame. This blazing hot environment is the chi-centre of the buildings Essence flow and Hearthstone room.

Hoping to disrupt the Essence flow, they eventually decide on a plan that will require Orchid to supervise and the Captain to cause a distraction.

I ask the Captains player how he intends to distract an entire Immaculate monastery.

“Well, we’ve got all these new followers right? And look, just made my Resource roll- I’m going to buy a bunch of saffron robes, flowers and drums.”

“Oh-kaaaaay….” wonders the GM

“Then we form a conga-line down the Street singing ‘HARE… HARE.. SOLAR!’ and handing out flowers!” beams Foyle as the table explodes in laughter and Orchid wonders if she can go join the Abyssal circle now….

So, as the Hari Solar worshippers following the most Enlightened Shining Master Guru Ibn’al Amarah, to love bomb the Immaculate monks (Rav sneaks along too, shapechanged), Orchid, Brand and Shizu make their way into the Monastery, Mission Impossible-style. 

There they quickly begin re-arranging rugs, turning statues around 180 degrees and re-painting the walls with contra-flow triangles under Orchids geomantic direction.

Outside, the crowd of blue and orange clad Immaculates wave their fists and martial arts weapons at the Hari Solars and their leader demands the guru “FIGHT ME!” Bruce Lee-style. The Captain gives him a flower and an inspiration message instead and takes a point of Limit.

Still the ninja redecoration team are slowly making progress. Orchid distracts a few curious monks with her American Beauty style rose petal fascination charm.

Outside as the minutes turn into hours, more and more of the Immaculates are losing interest in the pacifistic Hari Solars and starting to wander back into the Temple. Seeing this, the Captain changes tactics and makes a Calvinist speech about how greedy and corrupt the Immaculate monks are, taking gold from the faithful and sending back to the Realm. He calls upon his followers to stop this and the Hari Solars turn upon the Immaculate monks. Unfortunately, since the Hari Solars are armed only with garlands of flowers and kettle drums, and the monks have sais, chains, and staves, its going to be a massacre. The only thing going for the Solar side is the presence of the Captain and Ravitsu, who take pleasure in hurling monks about and bowling them aside with kettle drums.

The riot/brawl/fracas continues for hours… the Captain is near-overwhelmed by a dozen monks jumping onto him in a huge scrum as they all try to apply strangleholds and joint locks on him. With a burst of strength he bounds up, Matrix style, sending the screaming monks high into the air. Rav keeps fighting, but turns his attention to rescuing downed Hari Solars. And then he notices a slithering tide of serpents flooding out from the Snake Tower of Ssseth to indiscriminately bite Exalts and mortals, Immaculates and Hari Solars alike. And with that, the religious tinderbox that is Gem explodes, as Ahlats temple doors yawn open with blue light and a stampede of war aurochs bursts out, heading for the Temple of 5 Harmonious Dragons! Men, snakes and monks alike are trampled underfoot though the Captain does manage to crowd surf across the aurochs back to safety!

Back in the Temple, their work nearly complete, Orchid senses a great deal of red chi coming from the great battle outside. And now they have blocked the corridors from the tower sending calming blue chi towards the Fire tower, she starts to get a bad feeling about this as the rising Fire Essence begins to overload the furnace tower Hearthroom!

Ka-Boom!

The top of the Hearthroom tower explodes in a tower of flame, like that of oil platform. Fire Essence backdrafts along the compromised corridors of the Temple, and Orchid, Shizu and Brand must outrace the fiery explosion!

So, as the 16th Ascending Air dawns, the city of Gem must come to terms with the Fall of the Immaculate Temple, its Dragonblooded leaders fled or converted, its monks dead or injured, its faithful shaken in their convictions or converting to the Solar Church and the destruction of its spiritual heart.

All in a mere 2 days.

Only in Gem.

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