Edith/EchoesOfOblivion

An Abyssal Campaign run by Edith, players include Senji and an ethereal Requiem (who can't actually make the sessions but occasionally plays by e-mail). Of course none of the write-up below really sums up the true spirit of the campaign, which has been one of back-stabbing paranoia.

The Campaign is now reaching a climax and is thus on hold for exams while people plan for the final battle of doom.

What's happened so Far: Setting: The Campaign is set after Last Flight of the Ravens, a campaign I was in last year, basically a servent of the lover took Soulmirror on a B-line for the Realm and was stopped somewhere in Lookshy. As a result the realm captured Lookshy. I have a couple of differences from canon:

• Everything published after Exalted: The Abyssals is ignored, mostly. That's where I started the campaign and I'm not bending over backwards to add more canon where it won't fit.

• There is no First and Forsaken Lion, The Princess Magnificent is also a full deathlord. Two of the unspecified deathlords are specified: The General of the Undead Host, Black Light's Aria of Infinite Remorse.

The players are servents of The General of the Undead Host. A deathlord known for wearing large black soulsteel armour and having a moderate milertary. Two and a half years ago the General sent his servants away with the instructions: "Go and become better Deathknights. I have a plan, I will call for you when I need you for it." And so they did.

The houses of the realm have formed alliances following the capture of Lookshy, the realm is decending into a state of internal cold-war. The factions are:

• Tepet-Ledaal-Iselsi: With Iselsi making up for the recent loss of Tepet dynasts, this faction hold Lookshy, the Red Piss and major parts of the All Seeing Eye
• Sesus-Cynis-Pelep: Control pretty much all trade in and out of the Blessed Isle
• Cathak-Ragara: Jade in pocket, jade in hand.
• Mnemnon: Attempting to go it alone, with moderate sucess
• V'neef: Holding out until the right moment to be king-maker
• Nellens: Looking for someone to touch them with a barge-pole

Prelude: A little adventure in Nexus before term for Cambridge people: Soul-mirror had been stolen in the process of taking it to the realm to be destroyed. A few weeks later a group known as "The Emerald Empire" showed up in Nexus offering to auction it off along with a host of First Age artifacts. Rumour is that they cracked a way into Hollow and were selling off the goodies. Naturally a number of exalts were interested in this, including several PCs. A series of incredible events followed which included:

• Warstriders patroling the streets of Nexus
• The death of at least 7 Celestial level exalts, including the Prince of Shadows
• At least two armies attempting to enter Nexus
• A meeting with the council of entities
• The death of Ragara's heir-apparent
• A thrilling high-speed chase towards the Wyld Malstrom of Hollow between three seperate cavelry divisions and an out of control landship packed with several tons of explosive.
• The destruction of a rather good brothel belonging to one of the PCs
• The discovery of a large fortress in the centre of Nexus with an emblem of one large skull with five hundred smaller ones containing a stargate affair which linked to an unknown, untouched first age palace.
• The PCs were recalled at the end after ensuring Soulmirror was properly destroyed at the orders of their master.

First Term: Subversion and politics. The PCs were then tasked with their mission: Subvert the Cynis-run Satrapy of Andalusite to the south of the threshold. They were given a very well defended base in the Caldera of a volcano which formed a manse, holding open a small shadowland in the area and a similicrum of their master to use as they see fit. Over the next 6 sessions the PCs managed to:

• Take over most of the criminal fraterity of the kingdom's two major cities.
• Start two major death cults
• Reduce the nation's most virtuous Immaculate Monk to a scandal-ridden suicide. Who was then summoned and erm... well best not ask too much.
• Perfect the technique of shoot first, ask questions later (party of 3 necromancers, Aggghhh!)
• Seduce most of the royal family (who are largely Cynis dragon-bloods).
• Take over a lost first-age city full of airships (Skira)
• Run into and briefly infiltrated a bunch of exalts known as the 7 Sparks of Freedom.
• Meet their master's servent Heartless Raven and her daughter, Charlotte.
• Run into the former servent of their master Grey Wind, who now works for the Mask of Winters
• Destroy a group of Solar pirates known as The Brilliant Mauraders and recruited their one survivor, Madam Cynn, to run their comercial ventures (along with the ghost of the former leader of the Brillian Maurauders.)
• Find a similar emblem to that in Nexus in Skira, a similar star-gate (defunct) was also discovered in Skira, as well as one in their main base and in another city in the satrapy.

Interlude: People went away for Christmas, other people showed up to play Dragon-blooded members of the Wyld hunt, called in to sort out all this anathema none-sense (note: 100XP Dragon Bloods are very very scary, they walked through this one leaving a trail of destruction behind them, which is what I wanted of course) Essentially the Ledaal run but Mnemnon populated Legion to the north, stationed in the neighbouring Mnemnon satrapy decided to send a group of "trouble-killers" to investigate and deal with the reported anathema occurances to the south. The Abyssal characters were well out of the way taking over Skira for this, everybody else wasn't. During which:

• A volcano exploded, destroying the capital and killing thousands, including the Dragon-Blooded king of the kingdom.
• Two Abyssal servents of another deathlord were killed
• Two interloping lunars from Ma Ha Suchi were killed. One local Lunar was killed helping them while the other two ran north to the relativly peaceful lunar tribes on the borders of the kingdom.
• The head of the Wyld Hunt was killed.
• The King's brother was viciously murdered.
• A rough peace was brokered with the Lunar tribes the North. Or at least the big ones. The marsh people broke off and began to prepare for war.

Second Term: And thus did the main players return and find a heap of shit left by the Dragon-Blood players. This term basically saw:

• The summoning of a Nephwrack to creation.
• The invasion and anhinalation of the Mnemnon forces to the north.
• The discovery of a whole bunch more of the skull made of five hundred skulls emblems.
• Evidence implicating the Abyssal PCs with the unknown deathlord Five Hundred Furies "Fourteenth and greatest of the Deathlords"
• The destruction of the barbarian tribe which tried to make war with the satrapy. And their Lunars (2).
• The accidental death of the queen's grandson at the hands of one of the PCs. In front of the queen. As she was about to hand over control of the kingdom to the PCs.
• The PCs still managing to talk the queen into handing over control of the kingdom in exchange for apparent immortality.
• The destruction of a level 5 manse by aforementioned Nephwrack. (Given Mnemnon was wearing the Hearthstone at teh time...)
• The entire group coming dangerously close to self-destruction several different times.
• The discovery of Grey Wind aiding the Mnemnon forces.
• An apparent coup being quashed, leaving the PCs still in charge.
• The PCs being recalled to the underworld, "mission accomplished"
• The PCs being sent to a counsel of the Deathlords in their master's place. Instructions: "Trade whatever of my treasury and lands you need to, just stop an invasion"
• The PCs realising a little too late that sending Deathknights in place of Deathlords is not a common practice.
• A meeting with the duel monarcy in which a number of truths were exchanged ("A truth for a truth")
• The Realm fell a little closer to full civil war with scirmishes near Juche.
• The PCs selling off most of their resources to prevent an invasion of their master's kingdom on the grounds of a "Weapons Inspection" (apparently his plan involves weapons of deathlord destruction)
• Their Master's kingdom being invaded anyway.

Easter Interlude: And once again, players come and go. And I decided to run a little sidereals interlude staring the most incompetant group of sidereals in existance (Omega Circle). Heaven's response to the Deathlord threat (Canon ignored then reinstated by means of plot). Stuff which happened three years prior to begining of main campaign:

• The players took a reading of the stars of the underworld.
• Heartless Raven and Grey Wind paid a visit via air-ship.
• The players met a pre-exalted Madam Cynn and nearly killed the Roseblack in a bar room brawl.
• The players entered the airship laden city of the Deathlord Five Hundred Furies and kidnapped an Abyssal. They also kidnapped a Solar by the name of Tiffany.
• The Players were arrested and audited for corruption to Lytek.
• Heaven was invaded by the Deathlord Five Hundred Furies and the Loom of Fate damaged. The day was saved by Checkop Kejak's younger, more incompetant nephew (the PCs superior) sacrificing himself to force the deathlord back through the calibration gate. Tiffany and the Abyssal escaped, but not before Lytek got to play with their souls.
• The Players were given the task of recovering a plot device (codename: McGuffin) from the First age ruins in Andalusite as punishment for their audit (a highly unfair task, given their basic lack of crime)
• In the course of locating the plot device the players suceeded in committing enough offences to earn their task. Checkop Kejak smiled.
• The Players got to the plot device but not before Grey Wind and Heartless Raven.
• The Abyssals wiped one of the party from all past, present and future existance with the plot device.

And then three years had passed. The convention on deathlords was suddenly competant and Omega circle had been sent to Andalusite to clear up a few little things:

• The secret base of one Abyssal player (The Lord of Storms), which had been built up over the past 10 sessions was basically wiped out in about 2 hours.
• The players witnessed a battle between an airship launched Abyssal Warstrider and the 7 Sparks.
• The Nephwrack escaped the Sidereals.
• A third circle demon was unleashed on creation. Ooops.
• 2000 troops who were supposed to die but didn't due to the Abyssals being competant leaders were slaughtered for the greater good of fate.
• A plauge similar to the great contagion was halted before the traitor to heaven involved could infect the first mortal victim.
• Madam Cynn, said third circle demon, the rest of The Lord of Storms' minions and what remained of the secret base disapeared before the Siderals could get to them. They left a note.

Term 3: The Finale. And now we get back to our Abyssal players. Only one session this term, with two more planned after exams. Essentially:

• The players return their master's citadel in time for an invasion by The Mask of Winters, The Lover, Black Light's Aria and Princess Magnificent, during which the General is cut to ribbons by the four other deathlords.
• The players take the oppertunity to ransack their master's citadel and search for their monsterances. Only to find that the monsterances and one or two other shiny items already gone.
• The players run back to their one safe haven, the base in the Caldera. Tony is most annoyed to find his other secret base destroyed by mass ariel strike in the interlude. We laugh.
• Urgent messages are sent out and the game decends to play by e-mail. I won't say more other than the players have ~2 weeks until the combined armies of 4 deathlords reach the Caldera and attempt to raze it to the ground.

So much more to mention. At some point I should post up my setting as I went into quite bit of detail on NPCs and such. Not now though. More than enough for my first day on ExaltedWiki I think.

At some point I swear I will also spell check this. But not while tired and under the influence.

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