PerfectionOfPaoC

Or, Something Wonderful Happens

The power of the perfected Prismatic Arrangement of Creation Form has been a secret of Sidereal masters since the First Age and before; only warped and battered versions of it have become public knowledge since. This power is a myth even among them; the wisest sifus and occultists claim it is true, but it cannot be proven. It is said that there are five Martial Arts Styles which, when taken together, allow an Exalt to emulate his progenitor most perfectly.

• Five Celestial elemental styles allow a Dragon-Blooded master to assume the aspect of Gaia herself.
• A pentacle of styles exists for each Sidereal Caste - two Terrestrial, a Directional style and a Season style to emulate the body of a Maiden and the beating of her heart, two Celestial, to emulate the Division and House he serves, the Maiden's place in the world and the way she changes it, and a Sidereal Style, a Maiden's soul and understanding. Mastery of these allows a Sidereal to wear the face of a Maiden flawlessly.
• Lunars and Solars both have pentacles as well, following the Sidereal pattern, though for them there is one pentacle rather than five. Modern, tattooed Lunars are unable to master the pentacle; learning the style of Luna's soul is too transformative.
• There could be analogous systems of Styles to fill the Abyssal, Infernal, and Alchemical places, but these have neither been studied nor developed.

Using the Prismatic Arrangement of Creation, these styles can be harmonized, in order to allow an Exalt to define the world by becoming a pillar of it. In effect, an octate of Exalts using the Prismatic Arrangement and the forty other Styles could create a replica of Creation in the Wyld by assuming places in it analogous to those of their progenitors in the Creation-of-before. This would cause the nearby Wyld to emulate the state of Creation as the styles define it, creating a stable world where the originating octate are the substance of its laws. Should the three "unnatural" Exalted types participate in this new Creation, their roles will be incorporated as a natural part of the world, rather than an incursion of alien energy as is the case in this Creation.

Why Didn't Someone Do This Already?

There are several stumbling blocks to using this method to create a world.

• There is no known way to teach a Terrestrial Sidereal Martial Arts.
• The Lunars have damaged their shards, making it difficult to teach them Sidereal arts as well.
• The eight could be transformed irreversibly by this act, becoming creatures entirely of their new Creation.
• There are far too few Sidereals to begin with - sacrificing one of each Caste to an experimental effort involving such extended labor is hardly wise or easy.
• At least one Faction has become totally dependent on its astrology - something that might not be available in this new world.

Comments

I would take this idea even further: perhaps this was the real reason behind the Usurpation. What would become the Gold faction was formed first, a small band of Sidereals working to accomplish this, and the Bronze faction was formed and the Usurpation initiated as a last-ditch attempt to prevent it, by sealing away the Solars before any could learn the fifth sun style. Perhaps Kejak & Co. fear what would happen to the Creation that already exists if malcontents were to attempt a replacement. - NatalieD

I don't like the reasoning that Lunar's can not learn it with tattoos. Tattoos don't stop them from using their own charms on themselves, only from other people or things changing them. -BogMod

But that includes Sorcery that they cast upon themselves. And both Martial Arts and Sorcery obey different, wacky laws. On the other hand, I'd also say that the Casteless aren't in much less damaged shape than their breathern. DS

This is a helluva cool idea, and a great play off a casual idea mentioned :) And maybe it did happen- you could play it up as an alternate Time of Tumult, with it's own unique type of Exalted, as either antagonists or something else entirely. Or possibly an alternate explanation for the Underworld- a botched attempt at this working. Or even Malfaes itself- the Yozi are not imprisioned in themselves, for fetich death may release them. But 8 Exalted sacraficed themselves to provide a prison world for their enemies, knowing it would mean eternal exile and torture. DS

Sometimes I think that this has happened in Scroll and Sword (my Sids game), where Fu is a fundamentally ordering force of existence. - willows