FrivYeti/WyldspanAhn

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Ahn-Aru, Destiny's Queen

At over twelve hundred years of age, Ahr-Aru is currently the oldest Exalt surviving in the Age of Infinity. She is three hundred years older than the next-most senior member of the Bureau, her second-in-command Mellan Yumis of the Caste of Distances, and believes that she is at least a hundred years older than any surviving Lunars, as well as having centuries on those few Solars or Abyssals who survived the Threefold War.

Over the centuries, the leader of the Bureau of Destiny has moved a great distance from her life as Sad Ivory, the Bronze Faction inquisitor, and she often reflects on the irony that it is a member of the Division of Endings that currently serves as leader of the Sidereals. She privately feels that she is unsuited to the position, and had planned to retain it only until Yumis reaches one thousand years of age, at which point she intends to turn political power over to him and work primarily as an advisor. That time is still over fifty years away, however, and the return of the Void has left her wondering if there was a greater plan to her leadership.

As one of barely over twenty living survivors of the Second Age that she knows of - only three of whom she considers friends - Ahn-Aru is in a strange position, isolated by her knowledge and age, but well aware that she has millenia yet before her death. She takes refuge in the company of the gods, who at least remember the world as she lived it, instead of the strange new one that most take for granted. Where once she felt strongly that only the Sidereals had the ability to shape the course of the future, the near-destruction of Creation in the Threefold War, and the fact that the Solars were necessary to the defense of the world, has badly shaken her confidence. When the Celestials gradually rose, she did nothing to stop it, and in fact encouraged the end of the Bronze Faction in favour of a new policy of alliance that worked on the concept of bringing all Exalt groups together as equals - a task that was not difficult, as only one other member of the Bronze survived the Threefold War, and he was far younger than Ahr-Aru. When Markian's empire rose alongside the Scarlet Reach, Sad Ivory encouraged the growth of both nations, hoping that their careful diplomacy would prevent a single tyrant from taking hold of Creation. Here, she was supported by the Silver Sky, with whom the Bureau has worked out several careful treaties. She has made attempts to reclaim Markian's Sidereal servants, but none that could be construed as an attack by the Solar Emperor.

Recent events in the Wyldspan have shaken her to the core, however. In Markian's reign, Ahn-aru fears that she sees the early echoes of the madness of the Solar Deliberative, and she does not approve of Soren Naganis - nor does she know how his predecessor died. With the Void growing stronger simultaneously, and the Bureau still understaffed, Sad Ivory is beginning to fear that the Bronze was right, and that there is no way for the Solars to exist without casting Creation in jeapordy. To date, however, she has been unwilling to reinstitute hostilities, and the Bureau of Destiny follows strict guidelines of neutrality between the two nations.

At her heart, Sad Ivory remains someone who would prefer to be on the front lines, and she has done her best to remain able to take on problems directly, using her trademarked tendancy to combine front-line action with a degree of stealth that ensures that few of her foes realize she was present until it is too late.

Character Sheet

Caste: Endings
Motivation: Protect the population of Creation

Strength 5, Dexterity 6, Stamina 4, Charisma 4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4, Perception 5, Intelligence 7, Wits 4

Distances: Resistance 5, Ride 6 (Moving Quickly +2), Sail 2, Survival 4 (Finding Bolt Holes +1, When Alone +2), Thrown 0
Serenity: Crafts (Fate) 6, Dodge 6 (Other Exalts +3), Linguistics 3 [Forest-Tongue, High Realm, Old Realm, Riverspeak], Performance 3, Socialize 5 (Border Nations +2)
Battles: Athletics 2, Archery 6 (Surprise Shots +2), Melee 4, Presence 5 (Intimidation +1, Blackmail +2), War 3
Secrets: Investigation 4, Larceny 0, Lore 6, Occult 5 (Demonology +2), Stealth 7
Endings: Awareness 7, Bureaucracy 5 (Small Nations +2), Integrity 6, Martial Arts 7 (One-on-One +3), Medicine 3 (Poisons +2)

Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, Valor 4

Willpower 9, Essence 7

Charms, Spells, and Colleges

• First Excellencies: Archery, Dodge, Martial Arts
• Second Excellencies: Presence, Resistance, Socialize, Stealth, Survival
• Third Excellencies: Performance, Presence
• Auspicious Excellencies: Archery, Crafts, Dodge, Martial Arts, Melee
• Propitious Alignments: Martial Arts, Stealth

• Resistance: Water and Fire Treaty, Optimistic Security Practice
• Ride: Yellow Path, Ordained Bridle Of Mercury, Spirit-Shaped Companion
• Survival: Sky And Rain Mantra, Becoming The Wilderness

• Crafts: World-Shaping Artistic Vision (People In Power), Destiny-Knitting Entanglement, Predestined Delivery Shaping
• Dodge: Absence, Duck Fate, Avoidance Kata
• Socialize: Shun The Smiling Lady, Fortuitous Fellowship, Life Without Compunction

• Athletics: Forgotten Earth
• Archery: Opportune Shot, Any Direction Arrow, Every Direction Arrow
• Melee: Harmony Of Blows, Impeding The Flow, Serenity In Blood
• Presence: Force Decision, Presence In Absence

• Investigation: Auspicious Prospects [Serenity, Endings], Efficient Secretary Technique
• Lore: Methodology Of Secrets, Of Truths Best Unspoken, Of Things Desired And Feared, Of The Shape Of The World, Of Horrors Best Unknown
• Occult: Mark Of Exaltation, Incite Decorum
• Stealth: Soft Presence Practice, Walking Outside Fate, Blinding The Boar

• Awareness: Prior Warning, Wise Choice, Inevitable Pursuit, Expected Pain
• Bureaucracy: Icy Hand, Terminal Sanction, Underling Invisibility Practice
• Integrity: Preservation of Resolve, Stern Essence Replenishment, Unhearing Dedication (Balance Between All Exalts), Death of Self Meditation, Unwavering Well-Being Meditation, One Direction Invocation
• Martial Arts: (Violet Bier of Sorrows) Secrets of Future Strife, Flight of Mercury, Blade of the Battle Maiden, Joy In Adversity Stance, Violet Bier of Sorrows Form, Death-Parrying Stroke, Horrific Wreath, Crimson Palm Counterstrike, Unobstructed Blow, Metal Storm, Life-Severing Blow, Conclusion-Pursuing Approach (Charcoal March Of Spiders) Unnatural Many-Stepped Stride, Dance of the Hungry Spider, Maw of Dripping Venom, Rain of Unseen Threads, Nest of Living Strands, Charcoal March of Spiders Form

Combos: Sad Ivory has four Combos, with a total XP cost of 30. These will be determined some time soon.

Colleges:

• Distances: Captain 4, Gull 2, Mast 2, Messenger 4, Ship's Wheel 4
• Serenity: Ewer 4, Lovers 2, Musician 3, Peacock 2, Pillar 4
• Battles: Banner 2, Gauntlet 3, Quiver 4, Shield 4, Spear 4
• Secrets: Guardians 3, Key 2, Mask 4, Sorcerer 5, Treasure Trove 3
• Endings: Corpse 4, Crow 2, Haywain 3, Rising Smoke 4, Sword 5

Backgrounds: Acquaintances 2, Artifact 5+, Backing 5, Connections [Bureau of Destiny] 5, [Scarlet Reach, Bureau of Humanity] 4 [Bureaus of Nature, Seasons, Abstract Ideas] 3, [New Imperium] 3, Manse 5, Salary 5, Savant 5

Notes

The corebook Sad Ivory is built on 750 XP [amusingly, the listed amount for a character one-third her age]. This version of Sad Ivory is built on 2250 XP, following my experience progression rules.

At the moment, Ahn-Aru is one of the eighteen users of Sidereal Martial Arts in all of Creation. To her chagrin, there are no surviving teachers of the Charcoal March, and she has had to rediscover the final Charms of the style for herself.