The Book Of Fire/Luminaries
SOLARS
GENERAL MIN: The General, as he is often called, is one of the Golden Hero Vassals, survivors of the Primordial War, and like most who weathered that dread conflict, he refuses to speak of it. Until recently, he was in a very dark place: The long eras of peace and plenty held little purpose for a dedicated war marshal like himself, and teaching his craft to the newly Exalted felt as hollow as the entertainments of his estate on Saigoth. To make matters worse, the General was the sole survivor of the loss of his Circle, while fighting a Deep Wyld Horror. All of them have reincarnated, but now Min has virtually nothing in common with those who have inherited the Essences of his boon companions for thousands of years. Just as they don't know how to deal with him, only inviting him along on their escapades to learn their new powers out of politeness. He always declines, both from knowing that they don't really want him around, and from the pain of seeing his old, lost friends occasionally reflected in one of their gestures or phrases.
Min endured this period of despair, until Operation: Wyldhand. At first, he only signed on for a lark, half intending to throw his life away in one last blaze of glory. But to his surprise, the Wyldtwisted hell the Deliberative made of the Northeast actually felt like the old warzones...like his time had come again. New life and purpose flooded the General, as he rallied the Deliberative forces and strode against its enemies like a god. Even his Circlemates, viewing him in his full splendor for the first time, were overcome with awe and admiration!
Now, Wyldhand is over and peace has once again returned, more painfully than ever. Almost without realizing that he is doing so, the General has quietly begun to loan his considerable aid to those who want to repeat the experiment. Perhaps Min knows that it's wrong, but on some level, he'll do anything to feel that rush of true war and meaningfulness again...
NOTES: Legendary Solar, Dawn. Essence/Willpower of 10. War and Integrity maxed out. Possesses many Artifacts dealing with warfare, including an Indomitable Conquest Platform and an Atlas of the Unconquered General. As one of the highest ranking members of the Deliberative's armed forces, has Legendary Command and Legendary Arsenal. One of the defacto heads of the Militant Party.
SWEETEST WHISPER: One of the original members of the Black Nadir Concordat, Sweetest Whisper is the First Age's greatest expert on the Underworld and Necromancy. She has traveled to the Underworld more than any other Celestial, and has even gone so far as to erect the first Manses on its nightmarish demenses. Dressed in funereal splendor, she is attended by ghostly and reanimated servants wherever she goes, which pushes the envelope of even the Deliberative's infamously jaded sensibilities. She has not yet confided to anyone about the strange whispering from which she took her newest name, however, although she suspects it's only a matter of time before her fellows discover her use of the remains of Celestial Exalted as exotic ingredients in some of the powerful Artifacts she has been experimenting with...
NOTES: Influential Solar, Twilight. Essence, Occult at 7; access to Shadowlands and Labyrinth Necromancy, of the Ajaian School, but with few spells, as most have not yet been created. Has pioneered an Infinite Resplendence Amulet based on Soulsteel, but is still finetuning it. Has closest ties with the Cauldronists, but is considering started her own Party...
SHAMASH: Proof that, while you can take the Exalted out of the barbarians, you can't take the barbarian out of the Exalt. Hailing from a nomadic tribe in the distant East, Shamash takes pride in resisting the civilizing influences of the Solar Deliberative. His life has changed little in the centuries since, only now he can wrestle, drink and whore on a scale undreamed of before!
Although he is more likely to brag about having had more women than any of his Solar fellows, he has also had more brawls than any of them, from singlehandedly wiping out entire armies of hobgoblins with his bare hands (he considers using weapons and armor cheating) to wrestling gargantuan behemoths into submission (many of the exhibitions of Behemoth Expeditions were captured by him). He has thoroughly cast himself into the life of an Epic Hero of the sort his people always told tales about, and in the process, has become perhaps the foremost practioner of Solar Hero Style in Creation.
The toughest fight he ever had was actually against his older Lunar mate, upon their first meeting. No one knows what started it, but the battle raged for days, demolishing a nearby RPC. The mortals wanted the Exalted to put an end to it, but they were only interested in placing bets, until a Chosen of Serenity intervened, settling the matter by distracting both combatants with an equally epic display of dance and sex that calmed both down. The Deliberative still keeps her on call, just in case the two get out of hand again...
NOTES: Established Solar, Dawn. Essence, MA of 7, has mastered all published Solar Hero Style Charms (with innumberable combos), as well as most Survival, Integrity, Resistance and Athletics Charms. While he normally disdains Artifacts, he will occasionally use an Orichalcum belt that gives him the benefit of the Spirit of Might spell (a gift from the Mountain Folk after he saved hundreds of them by holding up a mountainous cavern from collapsing for an entire day). Despises all Solar political Parties, but enjoys hanging out with Lunars, and is barely aware the Sidereals exist.
KALEVALA: Exalting in the far North, during a plague, Kalevala's instinctual medicinal prowess was likely all that saved her people. Upon being brought to the Deliberative, she was appalled at the callousness of her fellow Exalted toward the plights of the mortals they were supposed to be looking out for. In the centuries since, she has increased both her medicinal powers and her political capital, hoping to use both to allievate the suffering of mortalkind.
She is currently the head director of the Total Rejuvenation Hospital in Meru and sponsors many missions to bring food and aid to places beyond Deliberative reach. She is also a constant advocate of reforming the policy of Tributaries, requiring them to submit to constant investigations to be sure they are treating mortals correctly. She is also spearheading an initiative to convince elder Solars to "bottle" their healing charms, so that there might be a surplus in case of some Creation-wide disaster that stretches Solar ranks too thin. Needless to say, most of her fellows dismiss her ideas and wait for her to grow out of them. Except for the Chosen and Gods of the Bureau of Serenity, particularly Uvanavu, with whom she enjoys an excellent working relationship.
NOTES: Influential Solar, Zenith. Essence, Medicine of 7. Always carries her Resplendent Satchel of Healing and has access to many Artifacts of health and healing, including a Dragon King Regeneration Sphere. She has mastered Citrine Poxes of Contagion Style up to the Form Charm. A staunch member of the Faithful Party.
Blue Garda:
NOTES: Established Solar, Eclipse. Essence 6, has mastered all Charms and Spells relating to dreams, including Dreaming Pearl Courtesan and Quicksilver Hand of Dreams MA (the latter up to the Form Charm). Possesses a 4-dot Dream Broadcaster, as well as other dream-related Artifacts. Doesn't favor any Parties.
NINEVEH AND NIMROD: Solar and Lunar bonded pairs have many kinds of relationships, from friends to rivals to lovers. Relatively few among the lovers actually formalize the relationship. A notable example are these two, who Exalted together after their previous lives died fighting together. Further adding to the irony, the pair were already married! Renewing their vows, this time in the sight of the Sun and Moon, they were bound together by a Chosen of Venus (who now acts as their Sidereal advisor and constant companion).
Nineveh and Nimrod have taken to their new lives with an ease that many newly Exalted envy. Only a few centuries old, they are everything the mortal populace expects of its godkings: Beautiful, cosmopolitan, and generous with their wealth. The pair seems to have an insatiable appetite for travel and parties, and even many elder Solars consider them the darlings of the social whirl.
But actually, this is simply what they are like on the surface. The truth is, they fight crime. Nineveh and Nimrod seem to have an unmatched ability to sniff out the conspiracies and coverups of their fellow Exalted, from minor financial scams of Terrestrial prefects to the secret doings behind the Deliberative itself. Only the fact that they have befriended Queen Merela (and been quietly placed under her protection, For Special Services to the Crown) has protected them from retaliation, thus far. But their enemies are many and growing...
NOTES: Established Solar and Lunar, Twilight and Half Moon. Essence, Investigation of 6. They wear a pair of Orichalcum and Moonsilver Artifact wedding rings, that give them the benefits of the Sidereal Charm Lover's Oath. Having seen what most Exalted get up to without any authority to rein them in, they tend to support the Unionists Party.
