SJE/Session50
Session 50
Exalted Session 50
Uninvited Guests
16th Ascending Air
As the Watch look upon the devastated Street of Small Gods (stricken with inter faith jihads and score settling. Bodies of snakes, men, monks, war aurochs and garlands of flowers lay trampled in the street. Even now, a small thundercloud hovers above the Snake Tower of Ssseth and rains lightning bolts down whenever a Ssseth-worshipper opens the door.) they decide it might be best for the religious tension in the city if they make themselves scarce for a day or two. (Empirical testing has shown that there are 80% less spontaneous riots when the Captain is outside the city).
Orchid suggests her hunting lodge. So Brand, Rav, Shizu and the Captain fly out there in a Stormwind Rider. But since Orchid has never been to the hunting lodge, the 15 minute travel time lengthens to 2 hours until Brand is forced to jump out and ask a passing Guild caravan for directions! (the Guild are delighted to hear about the Immaculates’ crisis- means they can sell more opium and glitterdust in Gem without monks protesting)
The Hunting Lodge found, Orchid is displeased to find some uninvited guests- a large pride of Lions has settled there. And leading it is the largest Lion anyone has seen- 12’ from paw to mane. The Captain offers to chase them off by flaring his anima and charging it. He’s a little surprised when the big lion charges back, glowing with a silvery radiance! Single combat is joined between Dawn Caste Solar and Full Moon Lunar!
Battle is joined as the lion swipes at the Captains face, the Captain dodges and leaps on the Lunars back, bucking bronco style! Then the Lunar gets 13 successes on throwing the Captain off, and immediately pounces, rending and tearing. Blocking the lions huge jaws with his orichalcum smashfist, the Captain retreats into the hunting lodge, using the door to parry. Immediately, its smashed to flinders. Trapped inside, the Captain takes a running leap through the glass windows of the lodge (Orchid winces) and hauls the Lion up and throws him through both doorframe and wall of the lodge with rib-snapping force!
The Lunar lowers its head in submission and the Captain proclaims his victory (Brand is only narrowly able to avert him doing his victory dance, a killing insult to all who’ve been mocked by it). The Lunar stretches and shifts into a large Lion-man Deadly Beastman form. He is the King-Of-The-Desert, Lion of the South, and accepts that the Solar Champion has claimed the territory of the hunting lodge.
Orchid is eager to start a dialogue with this, the second Lunar she has ever encountered. He is a bit reluctant, and when invited to picnic with the Solars says in a rumbling purr-
“I mean no insult, Children of the Sun, but I have left the ways of man behind. Now I only eat what I catch!”
After a brief misunderstanding about offering the small boy with a huge ostrich feather that is fanning Orchid, King-Of-The-Desert consents to share water with them.
Discussions range over what both sides have been doing recently (the Lunar has torn apart 2 packs of Lion-Fae, sired a mighty child and eaten the heart of a Furnace Rhino and started carving its moonsilver tusk into a mighty Klaive), Lunar Society ( “It is forbidden to share our tales or show our shapes to those not mates, or of the kith-ra. The Elders must be obeyed in this or they rip out throats” ), the First Age (Solars mated with Lunars back then, and while Lunars have always eaten their prey, some Solars came to do the same, even eating the young manlings) and King-Of-The-Desert’s views on tearing down the weakness of civilisation, and defending his territory from settlers and merchants, but that he quite likes horse-riding nomads, and approves of the Mahdi’s army. Orchid diplomatically doesn’t mention the city-dwelling Ravitsu Cail, especially since the Lion of the South doesn’t care for the birds of the air. With that, the Lunar turns back to lion form, and leads his pack out to the next oasis.
Brand is inveigled to do a bit of DIY repair and make good the Captains damage to the lodge “Captain, with 20 miles of open desert all around, how do you still manage to destroy a house that survived 2 passing armies! ” accuses Orchid. The Solars camp out and make their way back to Gem in the morning.
Back in Gem, tensions are calmed. The Exalts discuss amongst themselves how to proceed and the consensus is to go to Heaven and sort out the following-
-Brands report to the Sidereal Committee for the Restoration of Auspicious Providence -The Loom of Fate mix-up intertwining the fate of Creation and Gem. -The Captains marriage to his wife, Burning Feather -Shizu’s investigation of the involvement of the Assassin of Fate and her twin brothers death or disappearance.
The Captain talks to the High Priest of Rulen (God of Mathematics and Trade) and learns about trade routes, food supplies from the Lap, the peace dividend with Paragon and free market theory in a monopoly driven economy.
Orchid continues ‘subverting’ the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile. But all this subverting leads to some Resonance backlash- on the 19th, the sun goes black at midday and all the newly dead in the city return to shambling life, leading to the Watch being called out to round up the confused dead. Fortunately it only lasts half an hour and Orchid claims credit for countering he ‘evil magics with my mighty sorcery’.
Orchid does go to see the Maiden again, and finds herself walking into a living room full of 5 Abyssals. Its like she has caused an uncomfortable silence on top of a pre-existing uncomfortable silence. The Maiden jumps up to introduce her and lead her away (the Lord of Silent Repose is a millisecond later- also apparently eager to escape the room. Orchids 3 housemates have been joined by two more Abyssals- a dapper Day Caste with black jerkin and loose-yet-comfortable- he is the Disciple of the Seven Forbidden Wisdoms. And he has just escorted to Gem the apparent source of the uncomfortable silence- a Midnight Caste called the Voice of Oblivion. The Voice of Oblivion is a man with chalk white skin, black Palpatine-style robes and strange eyes- black irises surrounding black pupils, surrounded by the the white of the <url= http://www.yorku.ca/eye/eye1.htm >sclera</url>. He neither speaks, nor touches the Solar visitor.
Orchid is dragged away by a nervous Maiden. When in private, the Maiden intimates that the local Abyssals consider the Voice of Oblivion to be extreme even by their standards. But as long as he doesn’t speak, Orchid will be OK. Should be.
“You haven’t brought a mime into my city?!” demands Orchid of her lover.
“No, he’s not a mime- he doesn’t move his hands or talk. But you always just know what he wants and you don’t ever want to be there when he opens his mouth….” Says the Maiden, shuddering at the thought of some greater horror!
20th Ascending Air-
The Solars assemble in the back yard of the Temple of Rulen. The Captain, appropriately intoxicated proclaims the name of his wife upwards, “Streetcar of Desire”-style “STELLA!! STELLL-LAH!!!!”. A Prayer strip materialises, and the Captain pins it to thin air. White lightning crackles out from it, arcing around to form a perfectly white portal, beyond which Heavenly choirs can be heard and pure light shines!
And with that, the 6 Watch Exalts step through….
-- So ends Sesson 50! --
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