WaiyaddoNoDan/KaksuaHinoReport
Nuran has suggested that I should make a report about the reason I was absent for the first mission of YouZhao and so I shall. I was sent on a mission by the Forbidden Manse of Ivy to investigate strange rumors about a cult of the unconquered sun in the South East. The local spirits were reporting strange rituals without approval from the Bureau of Heaven. The temple was easy to find, it was an old solar manse, later I determined that it belonged to a Twilight named Mebla Dul. The structure was fairly simple, a square with a large entrance in front with columns lining the whole structure, supporting the overhanging roof. Blueprints obtained from records showed that this was the only way in and given the building was made of orichalcum and jade, going through the structure wasn’t going to happen.
Worship was to be done at dawn, given the requirements of the Bureau of Heaven, but when I arrived at dusk I found a group of guards at the entrance and a procession of local villagers heading to it. Finding an opportunity I knocked out the rear villager and threw his body into the nearby ditch. Using my hearthstone and armor, I made myself look like the villager and joined the procession. The guards gave me a brief once over and I continued into the temple. The inside continued the trend of smooth lines and columns, torches casting light and shadows across the corridors. I used this chance to roll into those shadows, to be able to observe easier. I found a nice nook in the wall to hide as the procession moved towards the inner sanctum. The noise of the group becoming but an echo, I headed down the corridor, letting every one of my senses take note. It was a good thing, as I dived behind a statue of a rather fetching woman, three blood apes swaggered by, their smell alerting me from around the corner. Moving even more cautiously than before, the marble on the floors seemed to grow warmer as a crept closer to the inner sanctum. More demon patrols passed me during this time, most blood apes, but a few tomescu and puppeteers as well.
When I reached the inner sanctum I found the villagers groveling on the ground with two of them tied to spits over what looked like wells, though they seemed to glow with essence (only a tiny bit, probably not noticeable to the villagers.) Two dragonblooded in blue armor stood in front of the group, reading from a large leather-bound book. As they spoke the wells seemed to glow brighter and brighter. At a certain point two more people came from a doorway in the back, dressed all in black they took out knives and gutted the villagers on the spits, blood gushing down the well. The two villagers screamed in pain, only then did I realize they were still alive. Using some essence, I slipped myself off my own fate line, obscuring myself among the cultists. Working along the wall, I got myself to the other side of the room and entered the doorway (a more detailed report on the actual ceremony is attached to the back, with a copy already sent to the Forbidden Manse of Ivy.) Inside was a plush, decadent room, the walls and ceiling lined with silk with orichalcum and what looked to be moonsilver lining. The room was full of orichalcum furniture, which included a rather large throne and a pedestal with an empty slot for a hearthstone. Hearing voices coming from a room behind the throne I stalked across the room towards them.
I was already at the throne, when I realized my mistake, a horn sound blared out from nowhere, “Intruder in attunement room, Intruder in attunement room.” Some security system installed before Mebla Dul was killed, was still active, and being harnessed by its current occupants (records show that it was a highly advance system that could somehow read the weave of fate to a minor degree, though it doesn’t show how she obtained such a dangerous system.) Knowing that my cover was blown I made haste to leave, but a huge man came storming in from behind the throne. All but his face was covered by a huge black cloak, his face was coarse and seemed to be red and blistered from the sun, though a black beard covered much of his face. His eyes swept over the room, pure black, which seemed to suck in your soul as he looked at you. After only a moment his gaze fixed on me, he laughed, “Puny Sidereal, you think you can escape now? Ha Ha Ha Ha.” Silver sigils appeared in front of him, and I knew that he was a powerful sorcerer. So I grabbed another string on the loom of fate and using my essence drew myself into it.
My lungs screamed in pain as heat enveloped me and dirt flew right into them. Jumping up, I hacked out what I could and looked around, the cloud of dust clearing to reveal the couple of dragonblooded and about a dozen assorted demons, how did they control them all? Needing no explanation, I ran the opposite direction. Going around the crater from their effect, which I had barely dodged. This chase had been going on for a few days now, they wouldn’t give up and reinforcements would be arriving soon, if those instant messengers had been true. To think they would believe me a solar, whatever gave them that idea I still have no idea. They weren’t ready to talk though, so I ran and ran and ran. This chase lasted for another week or so, playing cat and mouse among the forests, but their demons always somehow tracking me down. On the plains, I just ran, survival being my only thought. I was finally able to lose them in a large coastal town. Local gods gave me cover, as I they knew what I was. A few days later I arrived in Yu Shan and reported to Nuran.
Kaksua Hino, Forbidden Manse of Ivy
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