GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels

From Exalted - Unofficial Wiki
Revision as of 09:47, 25 January 2007 by GoldenCat (talk)
Jump to: navigation, search

A DANCE OF ANGELS

Winter is coming.

Air and Water, forming the Ice Scythe, bringing famine, cold and death.

The North, Elemental Pole of Air. The harshest piece of land left in Creation, with the harshest living beings on Creation... and yet, the most frail – nearly overrun by the lands of Chaos and Death, of those twisted by the faerie, of those hunted by ghosts, crying out Mela’s name before her winds bring them a cutting cold, a serene death. A little piece of Creation, hanging in the thread between chaos and death, at the gates of nothingness.

Once, demigods ruled it.

Once, demigods signed its destruction.

Wasted by the end of the First Age. Sparsely inhabited during the Shogunate.

Birthplace of things even gods fear.

Once, a woman opened the lock to nothingness, and forged it upon her soul, bringing the Void to the world, sword of Void and Onyx on hand. Once, a man whose lips could open the gates of heaven had his soul forged by her, with words found in the darkest of places that could bend it to his will. Once, one who was to oversee that all things ended saw to it that death would linger for all eternity. Once, a woman who should see the world for the silver lady bent things beyond it to her, and brought horrible things where they did not belong. Once, angels gave themselves to the open nothingness, and on the command of blades of Virtue and Ice, those not corrupted flew to war against their brethren.

Spirits of light, protection and humanity, the Lions of the north, the angels died that day, seeing the darkest of them. Its Chosen protectors died that day, falling upon each other’s swords. The survivors took the woman’s handwork, stole the power of the Mother of Death, and tried to keep the north whole, but so much of it was ridden with the Void, and the ice they branded slipped away with their gold, when the remaining angels fell with them on the usurpation... Its champions gone, all that was left was Chaos and Death, maintained so loosely by the hand of a faraway Empress.

But now it is Realm Year 768, and the Scarlet Empress is no more.

And now, as the cold winds cut through flesh and bone, winter comes. And all the enemies who waited millennia have returned. The death of a Lover’s whispers. The chant of a Bishop’s litanies. The sighs of the Princes of Chaos. The cold winds from beyond the world.

Already, the chorus of the Bishop echoes on Whiteshield, a nostalgic and beautiful memory of what could be, the one land to remember of gold and beauty of yore. Their monotone chants fill the lands, and his agents march towards Winlandia - the last refuge of the angels made by men, of the promise of wings and freedom for man, now threatened by all sides...

To this land, they return. The souls of those who gave it to Chaos and Death. The souls of those who, trying to prevent it, brought upon a fate almost harsher. Those who damned and saved the north return... and face the twisted dreams, lies and dark fates woven by their former lives, as they fight... to maybe, against all those odds, save the North.

Or burn it, once again, on the fires of their Exaltation.

To Dance

The Dance is a Soap Opera.

It is about the characters, their relationships, their emotions, their growth.

There are three steps in the Dance.

The first is what you bring with you. Your story, your goals, your beliefs.

Selina and her enemies. Moon and the Boil. Selina and Windia. Cael and Hanslanti. The Pale Angel Brigade. Kanti and her masters. Cael and the Sages. Alexsei and the prophecy. Father of Crows. Opal and her lost love. Days and Festival of Hearts. Whiteshield and Alex's blade. Gennadi and his affairs. Alex's family.

Those that dance are complex people, and each layer of complexity they bring is another step to it. Each bit of their lives is woven into the game, and exploited ruthlessly, for I am a lazy and sadist storyteller.

The second step is what is forced upon you. A Dance of Angels is about a pantheon that changed the North – and chances are, you met them before. You have been them before. You will have a set of former enemies and allies thrown into your lap, and the responsibilities and failures of your former self weighing down your shoulders – and, as terrible as they were powerful, this is not light. Or, on the cases of those whose essence does not travel through generations, you are an wildcard. You are amidst this. You have to deal with it. You have the chance to not make them repeat themselves.

And the third step is that this is the world of Exalted. The Balorians, the Yozis, the Sea of Mind, the Deathlords. The world is in trouble, and meeting and fighting canon characters is bound to happen.


Also, of course, at times it may feel crushingly depressing, dark or sexual. It happens.

It might be about rising above all this darkness and human cynicism, and showing you can be good in a world this dark. It might be about giving in to it, and ruling in those darkness. It might be about saving it, living as one can, tip-toeing between morality and amorality like any human. Your choice.

Have a nice dance!

Protean World

There are many things different in the Creation of A Dance of Angels! Did you know...

  • ... That the Deathlord First and Forsaken Lion is called The Forsaken Lion instead?
  • ... That on the Eastern shore of the White Sea, stands a great kingdom of winged humans, Winlandia?
  • ... That Winlandia has its share of First Age technology and a very European style, like most of the North in this game?
  • ... That the Eye of Autochton does not exist, and all of its appearances have different explanations?
  • ... That Walker in Darkness and Eye and Seven Despairs does not exist either? (It's something about eyes?)
  • ... That Autochton has not made half of what the books claim he did? Like Exaltation, The Loom of Fate, Humanity and the Celestial Hierarchy?
  • ... That he made the Mountain Folk as Humanity's copies, and that they do not number anywhere near what they do in Creation?
  • ... And that their artifact style is not technological, but rather, archaical?
  • ... That the Hanslanti League is not Barbarian, but rather a land of cold and polite people, of Victorian outlook and technology?
  • ... That one of the greatest states within the League is Iranor, on the Western side of the River of Tears?

The World We Burn

  • The Kingdom of Winlandia - Winlandia is one of the larger and more prosperous nations in the north, consisting of several large population centers and any number of smaller towns and hamlets. Home to a unique race of winged humans, generally referred to as Windians, it is a place of great beauty and magic built among craggy mountain sides and lofty frozen peeks. Ancient engines of the First Age have helped ensure Windias safety and prosperity where most smaller countries have failed, while the unique nature of most of it’s citizenship has granted it a regality and sort of awe among many of it’s neighbors. Ruled primarily by small but elite households of Dragon-Blooded Windians.
  • The Kingdom of Whiteshield - A strong northern nation, Whiteshield is engulfed by majestic mountains and edged to the south by the River of Tears. These beautiful yet formidable natural barriers have ensured that the kingdom has enjoyed a level of protection and seclusion that few other countries and the north can claim. While only consisting of a handful of cities and towns, Whiteshield is prosperous and wealthy. The people of Whiteshield have an unusually close relationship with many of it's native spirits, strengthening the ties most citizens feel to their land and making god-blooded children rather common. Even it's ruling family, the Holyswords, bare a strong divine lineage which dates back to the First Age. Yet what would be even more heretical in the eyes of most the world and kept secret only thanks to it's relative isolation, Whiteshield bares a long tradition of worshiping the Unconquered Sun. This risky practice has done little to deter diplomacy with it's neighbors and, indeed, Whiteshield is one of the more popular nations among the north, baring strong ties to it's nearest neighbor, Windia, and good relations with most other countries beyond.
  • Other Locales – The many new places that will dot the landscape of Creation...

Extra Steps

  • Quoteness! - To highlight the most interesting steps!
  • Calendar - A timeline of all events of the Dance!
  • Appearances - How to react to the dancers, to their appearances and reputation.

The Dreams We Weave

Prelude

The steps leading to the Dance... past acquaintances, past knowledge, past adventures!

Overture

Light falls. Darkness rises. A light of the north is shrouded by Void's church, and around its scion, for heaven, for oblivion, and for love, a Circle gathers. Together they come... those who ruled the North. Those who damned it. White Fire. Mother of Darkness. Daughter of Destruction. Lunar Angel. Worldsmith. The Legends return, to rise or fall with the north...

Crescendo

Soon as they come together, they part ways. Three stand in the light, and at their word, two venture into the shadows. Around them, the world grows. On a place of chaos and happyness. A healer's choices. A little girl's dreams. A city crushed. An old man's fear. An innocent girl's suffering. A broken bird's love. As they dance, the world shows them why fight. And Within themselves, as Raven and Hound give themselves to lust, as a Prince and a General clash mingle ideologies and breath... emotions, conflicts and scale rising to burn the North.

Duet

Split in time, split in space, the Circle moves in a perfect duet. Into Windia, into the Boil. Urging Crows and Silver Birds, inside and outside Whiteshield to combat, perfect movements, noble and sordid, sorrowful and hopeful... moving for the same goal. Moving for victory.

Waltz

Opens with a pace thus far unseen. The Boil burns in revolution. The wings raid Whiteshield. Powers clash, new dancers arrive, Boil and Spire burn. Fast. Violent. Glorious. Horrific. Chaotic. Care and Fear. Flame and Night. Death and Exaltation. Love and War. To this rhytm, the pairs dance...

Serenade

Romance. Passion. Love. Music. Oblivious to the shadow looming in the horizon, the Angels dance to sweet serenades in parties of magic and wonder, with demons and dead alike. Together, they witness the rise of the first sign. Together, they change pairs, to happyness and ruin. Together, they see the de Windia sisters come together. Together, they dance...

Symphony

The Obsidian Age. The Unfurling Spire. Hot Springs. Seals Broken. Shades of Eventide. The Circle comes together. All together. Distrust, Conspiracy, Love, Learning, Healing. A symphony of epic power, all together as the Shades of Eventide...

Rhapsody

Amber. Great Forks. Virdynn. Murder. Heaven. The Shades of Eventide burn with power, spreading through Creation and Beyond, beating back all the shadow throws at rising to it. Rising above it. And as they do, their world becomes grand, colorful, glamourous, insane.


The Roles on this Drama

A Million Shades of Light

  • Snowflakes - Each Snowflake is unique. As is each person they meet during the Dance!
The Apostles of the Shining One - The greatest Antagonists on the Dance so far.


The Heroes

Active Protagonists
  • Alexander Holysword - Prince of Whiteshield. Heroic Zenith Caste knight, struggling against the shadow that threatens to swallow his nation and his soul alike. (Played wonderfully by GoldenCat, who really doesn't give himself enough credit with Alex if he honestly doubts our beloved little knight doesn't deserve to be up here too. ^_^)
  • Demonic Gale - Iselsis, Izabella de Windia. Demon-Touched Air-Aspected Dragon-Blooded, child of House de Windia, a tough-as-nails survivor, exorcist and black ops operative for Windia, red-skinned, clad in trenchcoat and hat, and carrying a plasma-tongue repeater in each hand! (Played by Morrigu, the Akuma-lady, who utterly surprised me with our Van Hellsing - interesting, tough, and brimming with ACTION!)
  • Fortune's Fool - Gennadi Ilkov, Chosen of Serenity, loved by Adjordan, hated by his love, a mysterious, infuriating man always sporting a smile and a plan, with the original Winter Rose for a familiar, the only Virgin Neomah under his care, and chains to bind giants and relationships, there in every party, no matter how unlikely it would be... (Played By FiatVictrix, in ways so perfect I never imagined a Sidereal, or Chosen of Venus, could be played, in fun and mysterious ways, better by the moment!^^)
  • Seventh Moon - Full Moon gang-leader, the Dark Angel's paramour, Dog-Totem Lunar, tough as his home, the Boil, a man who does not know how to give up, a normal person losing his mind in a circus of insane gods and demons... (Played by Greymane, the whirlwind of creativity, who surprises me with our brawler, his decisions and background! Go Grey!^_^)
  • The Blood Angel - Elizabeth Holysword, Princess of Whiteshield. Waning Moon Lunar, the Great Bird as its Totem, cursed by her past in constant nightmares, filled with shards of the darkest blade, shining in silver, the Immortal lady returns home, wielding chaos and shadow, creating as she walks her path, her hands never ceasing to drip the blood of her crimes...(Played by SlipNine, who plays her with a creativity and uniqueness I can only envy!)
  • The Dark Angel - Selina de Windia. Culwyeh. Aine Blackwater. Black-winged Daybreak Caste assassin, avatar of the void, languid tyrant, death's whore. One of the most powerful Abyssals to walk on this world, promised Duchess of Windia, the Lover's favorite. (Played by Selina, of course, our great Dark Angel, with emotion, power and energy like one wouldn't imagine!)
  • The Garda Bird - Kanti, Broken Fire Aspect. Spear Saint. Knight of Heaven. Clad in her screams, dancing amidst the Wheel of reicarnation and incense, powerful and powerless, frail and compelling, scared and saintly, a former pet of Stars and Void, drifting among the Angels, always awake for fear of what her dreams might show...(Played by Kraken, who plays her in compelling and beautiful ways, making her certainly one of the most surprising and beautiful characters in the dance! Yay Kanti!)
  • The Gatekeeper - Alexsei Krauser. Funeral Priest, Chosen of Endings, bringer of swift passage. Protecting his wife always, ready to give respects to those she cannot heal, and scholar of the First Age. (Played by Kazuki! Playing his dark protectors well as always! ^^)
  • The Pale Angel - Vorpal deFay. Albino Dusk Caste Abyssal, Ghost-Blooded general in the service of the Lover, one of the most famous and powerful generals of the North, born of death, dispensing death, the ultimate authority to be obeyed at all costs, with a heart of gold that longs for romance... (Played by Arcahan, our odd bird, whom I never thought could be so scary until he took over our pretty Pale Angel. ^^)
  • The Snow Monkey - Child of Wyld Days. Horny, ammoral, powerful, grand, the quitessence of Raksha dancing among mortals and chosen, shifting between places, genders and parties with ease, and fighting with the arts of Celestials! (Played *very* amusingly By DarkheartOne, with all the Wyld fun our Raksha-boy could infuse in her!)
  • The Unfurled Belladonna - Twilight Solar Healer. Child of the Dynasty. Saintly caregiver, giving her all to the end the pain of others. (Played so martyrizing by DarkSirenSally, who gives her healer a heart so pure I almost feel sad for throwing her in this Dance of Darkness...)
  • The Windwraith - Cael Pattonna. Hanslanti's Most Wanted. Hunted by Heaven, Eclipse Caste pilot of the airship Quicksilver Zephyr, bearing the tatooed Empyrean Binds, a weapon feared like the Realm Defense Grid. (Played By Kraken, in the most smooth and classy way, with great style!)


Retired Protagonists
  • The Ashen Dove - Domiel Winterwing. Fae-Blooded fiddle player, a charming and talented changeling, riding a brave and powerful flaming elk, playing with emotions, getting in more trouble than he possibly could with his looks and talk ... (Played by Greymane, retired for not really feel like adventuring... our great performer is sorely missed!)
  • The Diplomat of Ruin - Rain of Unspoken Words is a sarcastic, playful Eshu, a noble Raksha who wielding the Sword and the Cup, an entertainer and warrior playing at Diplomacy... and breaking it into chaos for chaos' own sake, armed with an axe of pure unreason, able to warp reality and break everything on her path... (Played full of wondrous Sarcasm by SlipNine, who unfortunately did not really get a 'feel' for her and had to retire the ammoral Fae... who not only is missed, but went out with the bang to betray and nearly be the doom of them all!)
  • The Enchantress of Veils and Chains - Young Twilight Caste sorceress and healer, brave against the darkness, savior of heroes, standing in a field of obsidian butterflies and violet mists, chained in gold and surrounded by butterflies.... (Played by Russel, who didn't like the fall of Whiteshield, turning what was to be a great compliment to me, that he cared so much, in a tragedy of his leave. Fiona was kept due to the lack of development of the character and her importance on the logs... and her presence is always, always felt.)
  • The Jade Beauty - Exceedingly Sublime Opal. Jadeborn exile, master crafter and geomancer with the body of a perfect sculpture, able to create wonders and to rend the very fabric of Creation's Essence, ecstastic with knowledge and virginal as snow. ( Played By JDuel100, who had his fun with her, and still has, as Opal will never truly disappear!)


Comments

Nice... very, very nice. The game looks interestin. And the characters are all too notch. I do have a question thou, you made mention of converted dragonblooded 'hounds', but beyond the 'token' dragonblooded in the form of Kanti and Maera, there doesn't seem to be any Dragonblooded in the service of The Bishop. I know it's a minor nitpick... in any event, it looks stunning, the amount of work put into this. ~ Haku

The game is so so much fun to play in (so good I play in it twice >_<, but then I'm crazy like that) and Kanti is not a token Dragonblood :P But anyway, I know for a fact there are more. The leaders of the Dead Hand are dead Dragonbloods, if that counts ;) Also the General has about 4 Dragonbloods as his bodyguards, and I suspect we'll encounter more when we know more about the other Abyssals in the Bishop's circles. - Kraken

But Kanti does seem a token dragonblooded... yes, she does from my reading of the logs. ^_-

Heh, the Dead Hand don't quite count, but I suppose it's fair enough if their names never come up... they've been reduced to faceless Mook status! I hope more of the Bishop's plans come out and you manage to either save Creation or damn it to Oblivion.
~ Haku

Well, the majority of them *are* faceless mooks... but 90 out of the Bishop's millions of followers, so they are /very damn good/ faceless mooks^_^ And their leaders are not weak at all... Alabaster and Obsidian *did* beat Vorpy the Pale Angel down to bloody pulp, and the only reason they ended up being taken so fast by Selina and Alexander was because the fight had dragged on too long, so I made it faster. But they are all alive still, and I do hope Vorpy will shiver when she sees them again!

No no faceless mooks on the lords!

And on token DBs... well, the General will have four of them. I will split more if needed, but hey.. coming up with the fixed Deathknight number took priority. It's so hard to use Abbyes, what with their low numbers and all... even *Sids* have some 15 per direction, it is easier... *grumbles*

But there shall be more than Maera. Oh, there shall.

I do doubt if any will be scarier than a sadistic Water Immac, though >_> - GoldenCat

EDIT : Kanti is one of the most wonderful chars there, actually. She happens to be a Dragonblooded for the whole meek and her story. She is far, far more than a token!!!
Mmmmh... you do have a point there. She is far more then a token DB. ~ Haku surrending to GoldenCat

Mleh. This be DH. I might not be back for ANOTHER week or so. Long story, I'll explain when I'm back. -DarkheartOne

Mwah... what is going on, man...? We were worried ;_; Opal and Fiona are waiting to finish that scene... and well.. if you want to talk about it, my e-mail is Daniel.Queiroz.Lima@Gmail.com... if you can get on a 'net cafe or anything, please send a message. We are worried, and waiting for Raksha-boy to bring our cute monkey-girl *Nods* -GoldenCat

Just thought I'd note that I'm totally envious of everybody who plays in this game. - David.

Jeezus, GoldenCat, why is this so good?! I just finished reading the Infernal Linowan Shindig prelude, and I'm just utterly shocked. Kudos to you and your players! I can't wait to read the rest. --UncleChu

*Points at the Player list* Those reasons, and no less! The team of Selina, Jon and Mieu you saw is good indeed... and did I give Greymane the credit for playing Laken Knute? If not, then there! The game itself begins a little slower than that prologue, though... that remains my best suspense, ever. By the end of the First Movement it did catch a kind of a pace, at least... -- GoldenCat
Ah, indeed, the First Movement's slower. But its always that way when pitting a bunch of characters together. Inescapable. Domiel's currently my favorite character. A question, though. What sort of XP rate did you hand out? Did the characters walk out with like 120 XP after the First Movement? I'm doing a forum game now, and so its harder to judge progress and XP rate, so I'm curious how you handled it. --UncleChu
The exp is recorded here!, and, usually, it doesn't really have much of a formula to it. Usually, people get lots of exp from logs where big fights happened, or where they acted really well. So, drama = lots of points, relax = less so. Being amusing = lots too, though! And since we post so much and so long it might as well be forum-ish, you could do something like that. I usually award 4-5 exp for normal things, 6-10 for drama( being that I gave 12 for a couple big climaxes ). After awhile, minis begun to count only 2 per person. So, yes... kinda like that! And a pity for Dom, but he gets retired - Grey changes him for Moon! Sorry to tell you... we do want to make him appear more later, but only time - and me STing more than I am nowdays - will tell. --GoldenCat
Retrieved from "http://exalted.xi.co.nz/w/index.php?title=GoldenCat/DanceOfAngels&oldid=19281"