Sz/PMEExalts

Too Many

So. Currently, in Creation, there are at least seven distinct types of Exalts running around. They can be grouped into three categories, which are Celestial, Terrestrial and Primordial.

Celestial Bodies

When the Elements were shattered and the bounds of Creation spilled over, reality spread thin and far. The light of the Unconquered Sun was brilliant and strong, but even his glory was not enough to shine over Creation any more. From the far edges, the Wyld chewed its way in. Even if the Elemental Dragons were to be restored, darkness will triumph over a half of Creation. Shall, then, the Unconquered Sun, the Burning Heart of Gaia, forfeit and concede Creation to the forces of darkness, his sworn enemies?

Mercury devised a solution. Where there is void and darkness, she will tear a hole to Elsewhere. Through this world of mirrors and reflections, the warmth of the Sun shall shine through. As a meteor, the Maiden of Journeys has traveled across and through Creation, puncturing the weakened fabric of space where she saw fit. After a five-day voyage, a total of twenty five stars were born in places where Mercury found cosmomantically appropriate. For the warmth and light, Luna guided the newly formed planets and satellites--the remains of her lover, Gaia--toward the stars, away from the endless nothingness of dark space. The Maidens, seeing harmony in the behavior of solar systems, decreed that this shall become the cornerstone of new world order. The Unconquered Sun keeps the cold and the darkness at bay with his brilliance, as Luna protects and promotes all life, making home in the many islands of the new Creation. The Maidens shall guide the flight of the stars, so the constellations they form shall always be balanced and appropriate.

When Autochthon suggested the idea of Exaltation to the Celestial Incarnae, they wished that their children shall be born as the new reality was first shaped. The Exalted of the Unconquered Sun shall embody the unparalleled might and brilliance of the suns, and they shall be called the Solars. The Exalted of Luna shall embody the indefatigable urge to live and change of all that lives, and they shall be called the Lunars. The Exalted of the Five Maidens shall embody the subtle and harmonious motion of the stars, and they shall be called the Sidereals.

Terrestrial Sphere

There is only one type of Terrestrial Exalted in Creation, and it's the Dragon-Blooded. The observed Creation spans nearly a light-year across, but there are enough Dragon-Blooded for them to remain an imposing presence in every human settlement. Or something like that. Compared to the Celestials, who collectively number no more than 450-500, there are infinitely many Dragon-Blooded. Usually, they occupy themselves as overmen in human society.

Cosmological Constants

And then there are the Primordial Exalted, which are Celestial Exalted that have been warped by the Primordials. They are the Abyssals, the Alchemicals and the Infernals. The Abyssals are Solars that have been corrupted by the Neverborn and her Deathlords. They are intent on destroying Creation wholesale, so Gaia may lose all connection to living and finally die. The Alchemicals are Lunars whose pulsating majesty of life has been replaced by the calculating majesty of the inorganic at the hands of Autochthon, the Machine God. The Alchemicals seek to subvert the natural order of Creation and reshape it in Autochthon's likeness. When that is over, they will conquer Malfeas, then the Underworld, and then they will attempt to conquer the entirety of the infinity of Deep Chaos. They will expand Autochthon's being until there is no more space to expand. Obviously, they do not appreciate the Abyssals, because what they do results in less conquest in Autochthon's honor. And finally, the Infernals are inverted Sidereal Shards. They are servants to Malfeas, the Yozi, whose identity has been so eroded by Deep Chaos, he is nearly indistinguishable from it. They have no goal except to be. They are passion and emotion incarnate and their trail blazes in glory and insanity.

On Infernals

Like other Exalts, the Infernals are divided into five groups, which are determined by their talents and geniuses. The Infernal grouping is called a Grace, and they are Staff, Cup, Sword, Cup and Heart. In relation to the Sidereals, the Grace of Cup corresponds to the Chosen of Journeys, Cup to Serenity, Sword to Battles, Cup to Secrets and Heart to Endings.

Hopefully the association between the PME Infernals and the canon Fair Folk has become obvious now.

The Sidereals are masters of the system and champions of the status quo. Their powers ensure that stability remains and order remains orderly. The Infernals are heroes of individualism and self-expression. They are fires of passion and fonts of heroism. Their mere existence brings change and revolution and they can't help doing so. Without human emotion, they would starve and thirst and die, so they inspire emotion in others.

The Magical Material associated with the Infernals is called Gossamer. PME Gossamer is somewhat unlike canon Gossamer, as it's more like magical plutonium than dreamstuff. Gossamer's still got its dreamlike qualities, but when you look at unpurified Gossamer, you know that it's brimming with pure force and will to bring about change. If you handled it poorly, it might break down and transform itself into pure, consuming fire, a fire that is much like the feeling of an instinctual rage or the feeling of hopelessly falling in love. Gossamer can be harvested from creatures of the Wyld, the Fair Folk, or, with the right trick, from dreams. In the First Age, there was a technology which utilized harvested raw Gossamer as a fuel and a weapon...

On Alchemicals

Sooner or later, the authentic and the synthetic become indistinguishable. The Alchemicals are nothing more than a prophecy to this imperative truth. A flower, in one's eyes, is a symbol of beauty, of nature and of youth. The flower reminds one of his memories and desires. Within the context, the flower is given a meaning and relevance. However, in truth, a flower is nothing more than an elaborate matrix of Essence and a collection of fates. Just as such, a human being is nothing more than an elaborate matrix of Essence and a collection of fates. Yet, a human being is so much more than that. This synthetic worth of a human being, residing in one's mind, is so much more than the authentic one, residing in the objective reality. Could it be that the synthetic is... more real, than the authentic? How could this be?

Such a question is irrelevant, as the distinction between the synthetic and the authentic is merely an artifact of sentimentality. There is no innate glory in the human form, so one is free to tamper with it. Recreate your body as a tool, as a weapon, as something that is more efficient for your being. Sharpen and alloy your mind so it becomes more nimble and more vast. Calculate your friendship and hostility to bring about the optimal change in interpersonal "chemistry" and fealty among a society's members. In the purest essence, seen with clarity, the concept of boundaries becomes absurd. When nothing truly limits you to mere humanity, why stay?

The Alchemicals are a transhumanist prophecy, or at least somewhat. They are about blending the organic and the inorganic to bring about what is more than the sum of its parts.

Alchemicals are divided into three Materials, named after Autochthon's three materials. They are Orichalcum, Moonsilver and Starmetal. In correspondence to the Lunars, Orichalcum replaces Full Moon, Moonsilver replaces Changing Moon, and Starmetal replaces No Moon.

The Magical Material which the Alchemicals resonate most closely to is Adamant, which is, some would argue, the blank slate of all matters. Adamant's traitlessness represents the rawness of materials. With the right skill and the right knowledge, something mundane and purposeless is shaped into a tool, something with a purpose. The Alchemicals are like these raw materials, which will be shaped by the hands of the Machine God and, most importantly, their own resolve. Within Alchemical hands, an Adamant tool gains the purity of purpose.