Ambisinister/TemplesVestment
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The Story of Temple
The being who later came to be known as Temple was once an Eclipse caste of middling power. Temple was a second generation Solar, and Exalted during the opening stages of the Primordial Wars. He participated in the early accelerated training regimens developed by his peers and was taught and indoctrinated into the dogma of the Incarna. After being deemed competent enough to serve afield he was put in charge of a smaller Celestial outpost. During his tenure as commander his base was assaulted and almost overrun by an unexpected Fae force striking from the Wyld. His command would have been lost if not for the intervention of forces loyal to the Primordials. In exchange for their aid, the Eclipse took in the survivors and wounded of the Primordial’s force. These troops were loyal to the Yozi now known as Adjoran. When word of his actions reached his superiors he was ordered to execute the Primordial troops. The Eclipse, a thoughtful man by nature, disagreed with these orders and refused them. In his mind, the enemy of an enemy is likely a friend, and were not the forces of the Wyld the true enemies of Creation? The armies of the Incarna dispatched a disciplinary group to the outpost and the Eclipse was forced to flee, along with some troops loyal to him and the remnants of Adjoran’s company. They fled into the Wyld and eventually fought their way back to one of Adjoran’s camps.
It was during this time that the Eclipse was swayed to the Primordial’s cause. It is a matter of speculation as to whether or not he was in full recognizance of his actions or was unduly influenced by the charms of the Yozi. The Eclipse adopted the name Temple and swore allegiance to Adjoran, reputedly becoming one of the first to be known as Akuma. Temple made it known that he was against the War and did everything in his power to resolve conflicts through negotiation as opposed to violence. It quickly became obvious to Temple that the Incarna were too stubborn and their commanders too loyal to be easily swayed. Over time his methods changed. He began implementing focused and what he believed to be necessary but regrettable violence against the forces of the Incarna. He often targeted leaders when possible and used his charisma and charms to sway their troops to his cause.
Temple proved to be exceedingly effective at his chosen tactics and was a tremendous detriment to the Incarna in the Southern theater. Temple eventually vanished towards the end of the War. Common belief is that he was seduced and eventually assassinated by the Lunar whose shard was inextricably bound to his. This has never been confirmed, however.
Temple’s Vestments
The Vestments were a gift to Temple by one of Adjoran’s lesser souls, a Second Circle demon known as Calystryx, one of the subservient souls of Jacint, as recognition for his service and to aid him in his tasks. The Vestments became a trademark of Temple and officers fighting in the South learned to fear their appearance on the battlefield.
The Vestments are comprised of five pieces, Clarion, Vigil, Cloister, Rosary, and Creed. Clarion, the Howling Blade, was an obvious manifestation of Adjoran’s power. It’s shrieking call was often the last thing heard by many of Temple’s opponents. The Vigil was representative of his masters’ unflagging vigilance; his back would always be watched as long as we walked the true path. Cloister provided a foundation of support, filling Temple with the spirit of his patrons and giving him the ability to accomplish his objectives wherever he would be most effective. The Rosary provided strength to his limbs. It’s whirling cry a herald of Adjoran’s might that invigorated Temple and those under his banner, always assuring that’d he’d have a body of troops at his back. Finally, the Creed was crafted to bolster Temple’s will. It served as a reminder of who he served and why he fought.
The Crunch
While powerful artifacts in and of themselves, the pieces of the Vestment reveal their true strength when all five are attuned to the same user. The effects of each piece are strengthened in such a case, in addition to the activation of a few other boons.
- Clarion: +1 to accuracy, defense, and rate
- Vigil: The wearer eliminates up to two points of visual environmental penalties and can see perfectly in all but lightless conditions.
- Cloister: add 1 to the character’s move and jump and 2 to his dash before multiplying these value’s with the armor’s effects.
- Rosary: Add a single to die to any Valor rolls made by the character and those under the effects of the Rosary’s invigoration.
- Creed: Increase the bearer’s Conviction by 2, this can raise it above five.
In addition to the above effects the user who attunes the Vestments receives the following bonuses:
- +1 to Essence: This effects everything normally governed by this ability except for the character’s ability to meet charm minimums and increase his ability caps.
- Reduce the total attunement cost of all five artifacts by half.
- By expending a willpower, the character has access to any of Calystryx’s charms that he meets the requirements to use, and which she permits him to access, for the rest of the scene.
- By expending a willpower, the character may access Calystryx’s essence pool for a single instance, so long as she also allows it.
- The character enters into a permanent telepathic link with Calystryx.
There are some strings attached to this power, however, because the link goes two ways:
Once attuned to all five artifacts, the user may be targeted by any of Calystryx’s charms at any time. In addition, ALL of his DVs are set to zero when targeted by Calystryx, Jacint, or Adjoran. Finally, by spending 5 motes or 1 willpower, the above entities can make any social attack into unnatural mental influence which the character must pay 3 motes to resist.
