BogMod/ThePrinceOfAshAndDust
The Prince of Ash and Dust
Other Names: The Terrible Breaker
Like most of his fellows the Prince of Ash and Dust was one of those illuminaries of the first age. While the Lover Clad in a Raiment of Tears grew bored with pleasures he found himself bored in completely another way. There was no challange left for him. A powerful crafter he had taken on feat after feat as a personal challange and nothing bested him. What was the point when there was no challange to life anymore? He could see what a wasted life of pleasure and debauchery lead to. Then the Ursupation came and suddenly he was given a chance at the greatest challenge of all. The end of all life. He gladly took up the offer of the Neverborn and gave himself to the cause of Oblivion.
His initial zeal soon enough turned to disappointment. There was little if any cooperation amongst the Deathlords. The great things one could do with Necrotech so limited in Creation. Like the others he rose in power swift enough and took over a place in the southeast beyond the mountains and past the jungles. Still there was little the dead could do to truely destroy Creation. Even the Great Contagion, their greatest attempt, failed. No the dead could not destroy the living. It may be written that the living would never triumph over the Neverborn but it never said anywhere in Creation's stars that the living would end either. He became convinced that the power to end life lay with the living. To end Creation somehow the living would need to bring this doom upon themselves or at least be the key that set their end into motion.
He puzzled long on this and just consolidated his base in the far southeast. The others thought him a fool to put so much interest into the living and his personal beliefs on how to accomplish the final goal of them all. He saw the great armies of the Mask of Winters and the First and Forsaken Lion, the great navy of the Silver Prince and mused how could these break the armies of the Dragonblooded. Like his fellows he thought that true power lay with the Solars like they once were. Yet the Empress held the Imperial Weapons in her grasp. Dark fates though soon changed things in ways beyond what he could have hoped for.
The Abyssals were created. They seemed to personify his views. Living to end the living. The Solars were returned too but scattered. His plans came finally together like a man reaching an epiphany in his sleep. The Dead just needed the proper chance to attack and the living would make it happen. A brilliant artificier if not the greatest one of the Deathlords he has no less then seven Soulbreaker Orbs almost completed. All he needs now is to somehow convince a Solar to craft the remaining ingredients from the Wyld. Then his Abyssal agents having been given the weapons to wreck creation by the living will slip into seven great cities of the south, east and on the Isle itself. Those weapons unleashed seven great new Shadowlands will form for the dead to pour out of and when the east and south and center fall all will fall into Void.
His views of the other Deathlords are mostly the same. Tools like any to be used to meet this final challange. He holds a great respect for the Dowager and a great hate for the Bodhissatva. The others are just tools that sometimes try to act against what their maker intends. He hates the Sidereal servants of them as well. His plan he fears might only be stopped by those astrologers before the orbs can be activated. To that end he has begun to plot the death of the Green Lady not caring at the reprecusions he might earn from four deathlords. By the time they are ready to act against him for that he reasons he can have the orbs in place and they can do what tools are meant to do.
The Prince of Ash and Dust garbs himself in robes of the finest whites he can. These heavy robes cloak an armored body and he wears a great crown of soulsteel upon his head. His face though is oftentimes that of a normal and pleasent almost human males. When angers the illusion fades and the hateful skull with its eyes of burning black flame are all that remain.
The Prince's Domain
Some 500 miles north of the 58th Yu-Shan gate lies the shadowland that he calls home. It is not far expanded into Creation and is set atop and into a great cliff. Thousands were forced to jump to their death's during the Contagion giving him the Shadowland hold he needed to construct his base. In the Underworld his territory takes up more of the surrounding area. The ghosts of jungle tribefolk are turned to Soulsteel while many of the manses in his territory can also function as forge manses. His own fortress functions like a great and terrible factory cathedral like the Solar's once possessed but now turned to more horrible and terrible ends. The sound of prayer hyms asking for the Neverborn's blessings on crafted works, the screams of souls turned into soulsteel, the hammering of forgework ring endless in his great manse or fall completely silent at his wish. His distance from the other's is both his advantage and weakness. He works mostly uninterupted on his devices and schemes and yet it is hard for him to find suitable mortals for Exaltation and to meddle in the affairs of farther lands. It is good as well that he is so far distant from the Bodhissatva. The Prince of Ash and Dust was offeneded once shortly after the beginning of the Deathlords by the one now called the Silver Prince and has nursed a quiet hate to see him brought low.
http://hd42.de/images/exalted/Creation_Map_v7.1c.jpg
The Prince's Panalopy
The main weapon the Prince brings to bear in a fight is the Chain of Hate. A long chain of soulsteel has all the stats of a Dire Chain however it will automatically clinch a person on a successful attack roll and acts like Manacles of Night when they have clinched someone. The Chain of Hate can only clinch one person like this at a time however. In his advantage though the chain can still be used defensively with the excess length as it leaves one person helpless.
Beyond that one weapon the Prince of Ash and Dust remains a brilliant crafter. He focuses less on necrotech then the others but in uses of Soulsteel and artifacts that work in Creation he has a definite lead. As well he has all but finished seven Soulbreaker Orbs that will soon be the linchpin of his plan to open Creation up to the dead.
Combat Tactics
In any fight he can see coming the Prince can bring a wide assortment of artifacts and devices to win him victory. Yet to think him helpless away from his toys is a deadly mistake as well. He has mastered both the Solar Hero Style and the Dark Messiah style as well as making some advanced charms from both of them to enhance the deadly power of the Chain of Hate. Anyone who wishes to fight him had definitly best not come alone.
Servents of the Prince
The Prince of Ash and Dust sees his Abyssals as a means to an end, tools and little more. One might think that those with natural crafting talents would have his highest favor and interest but that is not so. He Exalts his Deathknights on the basis of purpose and missions. The are invariably all well equipped but often needed to be far from his base on tasks and missions. His first favorite is the Dirge That Sings of Ends, a dusk caste warrior and spy who comes from a musical kingdom in the Scavanger Lands called Tima. He has had great success over many missions to earn him this high place. Next is currently the one who he is watching, guiding and advising most closely. Silk of World's End is an educated concubine of the Daybreak Caste he was able to pluck from Chiaroscuro. Her beauty and ease with both men and women as well as her surprisingly keen mind have made her his chosen instrument to find and if necessary educate a Solar into the creation of the final pieces for his Soulbreaker Orbs.
Finally there is Perfected Zen of the Silence of the Abyss. A Day Caste this once jungle dweller has adapted well to his new role. Because the Prince of Ash and Dust must often exalt those far from his domain this master of poisoned knives is sent to retrieve those he chooses and if necessary help bring about the right circumstance so they have to make a choice. Currently he is near Marukan looking for the latest choice before the Mask of Winters finds out what is going on and snatches up the newly chosen Moonshadow for himself.
Series ideas
Seven World Ending Deaths: Deciding to push his plan forward more hurridly the Prince of Ash and Dust assigns a circle to getting the final pieces of the Soulbreaker Orbs for him. With that done those seven orbs must be brought to seven chosen cities and set off giving the other 12 Deathlords the perfect chance to strike. Getting the parts will be far easier then managing to set off all 7 orbs though.
Jungle Monsters: Somehow the Lunar known as Ma-Ha-Suchi has become aware of the Prince of Ash and Dust far to the South of him. Perhaps the Pince's agents meddled in too many jungle tribes or were investigating Rathess too much but now the jungles will run red with blood. His forces must be stopped. Perhaps if the Characters can capture some Lunars for their master their rewards would be immeasureable.
