JadeBorn

Charles Grays The Jadeborn

The Jadeborn were the first children of the Great Maker, the armorers who supplied the solars and celestial exalts with the first weapons and the dragon blooded army with their immense arsenals. Even in the high first age, many exalts commissioned wonders from the Mountain Folk.

Most of the jade born were divided into workers and warriors, capable beings, reincarnating from generation to generation. A few, a very few were enlightened beyond their fellows mighty intellects nearly equal to the greatest minds of the exalted, and far greater than just about anything else. These Enlightened Jadeborn ruled their people, guiding them via the Conclave, and every few hundred years, another unenlightened would develop the “Spark” that permitted enlightenment. One day, many assumed, the entire race would be enlightened—thousands or tens of thousands of years in the future. But at the end of the primordial war, as the forces of creation looked upon their new domain, the Exalted and Jadeborn met and realized that they might very well come into conflict. So it was decided to make powerful binding oaths between the Jadeborn and the deliberative. The Jadeborns governance ended at the surface, and they were deeded the entire subsurface world for their domain—along with the responsibility of policing it. The Exalted were deeded the surface, and to be honest, the Jadeborn felt they got the better end of the deal—after all there was far more under the earth. In addition, the Jadeborn gave up any right to rule over mortals, ceding that to the deliberative and agreed to aid the deliberative in war. Many Mountain Folk heroes marched with the forces of the Solars during and after the pact, and many towns benefited from their council—while the Solars created the greatest artifacts, many mortal’s learned their skills from Mountain Folk savants, as did many exalts.

It was the mountain folk, in cooperation with the Great Maker, their god, and the exalts who created the first soul gems and alchemical exalts, and many mortals remained with them, especially those who had been soul gemmed, or the iron blooded, along with some alchemicals who preferred to remain under the earth, battling the enemies of the Mountain Folk. The usurpation was a disaster for the Mountain Folk, already reeling form the departure of their God. Solars and Sideral’s battled in their halls, and the sorcery unleashed slew tens of thousands. Seeing their disarry, the forces of the underbrood unleashed a massive offensive and there were no Solars to call upon for aid. Indeed, the Siderals and other forces moving against the solars had used a variety of powers, including curses and astrology to insure that the mountain folk would not be able to rise up and support their former allies. Armies retreating on all sides, the Mountain Folk retreated to the Blessed Isle, fortifying the approaches. Their Achilles heel, the pole of earth, where all new mountain folk came from was the key to their survival—or extermination. During the Shogunate the Jadeborn were barely able to extend their domain—so many had perished during the usurpation that those who survived were only barely able to hold on, and in all too many case, the newly formed jadeborn were thrown into the fight before they were ready.

But the Great Contagion, as horrible as it was, saved the mountain folk—for it decimated their enemies, and even though most died, enough survived to rebuild their defenses even in the chaotic aftermath of the Empresses rise. The few alchemicals who aided them remained, as did the iron blooded, and they were once again able to stabilize their front lines. Today, though, the mountain folk and the mortals and exalts that live with and among them face new challenges. Rumblings under the earth speak of something terrifying coming—almost as if some necrotic force is devouring the very vitality of the earth. The Undrebrood grow ever more deadly… And worst of all, not all Jadeborn are reincarnating properly. The same thing that is sucking the vitality of the pole of earth away, seems to be attacking the very souls of Autocthons first children. Should they fall, then the vast subsurface regions of Creation will become the domain of the underbrood—entire armies, many of them loyal to the Yozi’s preparing to rise up…eating at the core of creation like a cancer.

It is up to the Mountain Folk, the mortals living with them, the exalted who have never seen the light of day to prevent this. While armies clash far under the earth, brave scouts have been sent forth to find allies, tools, and perhaps even a way to communicate with the Great Maker to plead for his aid in this darkest hour.

Note: As written, the Jadeborn have a major problem-- if anyone manages to lift the great geas, the world fundamentally changes. However, what if the Jadeborn were in fact progressing towards universal enlightenment, but doing so slowly. That permits them to exist, without the automatic "I win" effect of changing the Great Geas.

Changes in ExaltedAscendent:

The GreatGeas