SJE/Session63
Session 63
Back in Solaria Minor, Burning Brand worked feverishly on his secret weapon against the darkness, with a brief pause for the Giant Robot Head (hereafter referred to as the GRH) to be blessed by Father Sun (a priest, that is, not the celestial body). Fade to: a ruined building in Solaria Magna. A building full of zombies, no less! Had said zombies been capable of saying anything but "Brainnnns!", they might have expressed surprise as a glowing figure ran inside and down the stairs leading to the cellar where the Disciple of 7 Forbidden Wisdoms was hiding.
This was Quiet Shadow, her anima now displaying her totemic silhouette of a rearing mongoose (or some other small, furry, yet quite vicious creature) due to the large amounts of essence she had already expended. There were no words exchanged as she flipped onto the cellar's ceiling and hurled a couple of shots from her sling at the patch of shadow concealing the fleeing Disciple - they both knew the rules: two exalts enter, one exalt leaves.
Then Ravitsu Cale followed Quiet Shadow into the cellar, making it three exalts. With Lightning Speed he plunged at the Disciple; the first blow connected, skewering the cowering Abyssal through the thigh, but the second skewered only air as the Disciple disappeared into a cloud of darkness. Fleeing for his (un)life, the Disciple ran out into the gloomy streets of Solaria Magna. There, he could see his four approaching circle-mates (the Knight of Dark Renown, the Voice of Oblivion, the Lord of Silent Repose, and the Maiden of the Mirthless Smile); but closer than them were two mysterious strangers . . .
By some strange twist of fate, two more Solar Exalts had come to Solaria Magna just in time to witness the battle against the Disciple of 7 Forbidden Wisdoms. One rode openly down the deserted streets; this was Nascent Amethyst Eye (known as Nasce to his friends), an Eclipse-caste Undead Hunter (though no relative of the infamous Venares Kutoa) from Sijan (played by Jabberwocky). The other sprang lightly from roof to roof; this was Unrivalled Grace (played by Rurouni Shimada), a Xenith-caste acrobat and master of Snake Style martial arts.
Just as the Disciple decided to flee, Unrivalled Grace felt a sudden chill from what used to be the Imperial Governor's Palace (and was that the faint tinkling of bells that she could hear on the wind?), and her caste-mark began to glow. Seeing the lurking darkness of the Disciple run out in front of him, Nasce summoned his Orichalcum Grimscythe and urged his horse into a run. It was then that Ravitsu literally flew out of the ruined building, his silver lance aimed squarely at the Disciple's back. The Disciple desperately tried to dodge, but he had barely poised himself ready to fling himself to one side when the spear ran him through and ripped out his heart.
For a moment, time seemed to stand still as the consequences of this deed rippled out across Creation. Ripped from its mortal shell before its time, the soul of the Disciple of 7 Forbidden Wisdoms either attained a new understanding of the mysteries of the void, suffered an embarrassing demotion, or discovered an eighth Forbidden Wisdom (possibly involving the tenacity of angry sharks). Perhaps the watching Abyssals gained a new appreciation for the power of Luna's Chosen. And the murder of Sesus Nalwah was avenged (not that Sesus himself was in any position to appreciate it). And in far-off Yu-Shan, the Unconquered Sun grudgingly paid up on his lost bet with Luna.
Back in Solaria Minor, Burning Brand muttered worrying remarks like "show them all!" as he used essence lenses and other arcane tools to calibrate the GRH. In Solaria Magna, the Knight of Dark Renown twitched slightly as he recalled his last conversation with his dark mistress, the Princess Magnificent: "Mistress, I have analysed the rebels' construction strategy, and I believe there is a risk, however slight. Shall I prepare your private escape tunnel?"
"What! Abandon Solaria in our hour of greatest triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!"
Quiet Shadow ran out onto the roof of the ruined building (not the one that Unrivalled Grace was currently occupying) just in time to witness the Disciple's Demise. Seeing from their sparkly jewellery that both Nasce and Unrivalled Grace were fellow Solars, Quiet Shadow invited them both back to Solaria Minor to join the party/war.
Now it was time for the Voice of Oblivion to be heard. Throwing back his hood to reveal his pale white hairless features, he opened his mouth wider than a politician's smile and vomited forth a stream of utter black at Ravitsu, Quiet Shadow, and Unrivalled Grace. With a single flick of his mighty wings Ravitsu soared above the black void, while simultaneously dropping the end of her spear for Quiet Shadow to nimbly leap onto and run up as she perfectly dodged the ravening void. Unrivalled Grace was less lucky, and even as she rolled and dived away, one foot was just caught by the advancing darkness. A sudden shimmer surrounded her as her Discrete Essence Armour became a lot less discrete, but even her enchanted jewellery could not stop all of the agonising cold.
Now it was the Knight of Dark Renown's turn to avenge his fallen comrade. Gathering his hands together, he launched a crackling bolt of dark energy towards Ravitsu, who was even then circling back round to pick up Unrivalled Grace. The bolt flew straight and true, but with delicate grace Ravitsu rolled in the air around the bolt, and flew on unscathed. The Maiden of the Mirthless Smile ran towards Luna's Chosen, using her sword to catapult herself into the air, while the Lord of Silent Repose duelled with Nasce, inflicting a small cut upon the Lawgiver.
Back in Solaria Minor, Burning Brand completed the final adjustments to his wonderous machine, using his All-Encompassing Sorcerer's Sight to attune the essence flows. Activating his Twilight Anima, he made himself a living part of the final circuit, and switched the machine on.
The light grew dim.
And then a line of Solar Fire leapt forth from the GRH, and began to cut the encroaching Shadowland in half. The line of fire widened into an onrushing wave of light, and the Shadowland began to shrink. The reserves of essence accumulated over the past weeks began to rapidly diminish. The wave of light began to falter, but Burning Brand poured his own essence into the machine. Holy techomagic contended against vile necromancy, and light and reason won. The Shadowland that had shrouded Solaria Magna and the surrounding desert was driven back to the very gates of the Governor's Palace before Burning Brand finally collapsed.
The Abyssals faltered in their steps as the full fury of the Sun Itself beat down upon them, awakening long forgotten memories within each of them of simpler, happier times before they became Agents of Oblivion. Taking this sudden daylight as a sign, and with their primary objectives accomplished, the forces of light made a discrete retreat. Within the Governor's Palace, the Princess Magnificent felt something she had not felt for a long, long time: doubt. She purged this strange feeling from herself by venting her fury upon the cowering Knight of Dark Renown: "Why did you not inform me that their Giant Robot Head was fully operational!?"
Observing the success of Brand's device, one of the Imperial Officers was moved to remark "Impressive. But might I suggest that for our next test, we choose a military target?"
Returning to Solaria Minor, Ravitsu called a council of war. Before the assembled Dragon-bloods, she threw down the body of what was once known as the Disciple of 7 Forbidden Wisdoms. "Behold the murderer of Sesus Nalwah!" The names of Cathaks Bella, Boone, and Bannion thus cleared, Unrivalled Grace called upon the power of the Unconquered Sun to consume the body in holy fire, hopefully sending the soul of the unlucky Abyssal onto his next incarnation. Only a pair of bracers forged out of soulsteel and a set of seven ominous scrolls survived the immolation; Burning Brand took charge of these for later cautious study.
Introductions were also made between Unrivalled Grace, Nascent Amethyst Eye, and the other Exalts present in Solaria Minor. Unrivalled Grace was also introduced to the faithful of the Unconquered Sun in that city, and clearly found their excess of faith disturbing. That night, in case any of the other Abyssals still present in Solaria Magna were also skilled at moving unseen, Quiet Shadow kept a watch for any further infiltrators (the senseless death of Sesus Nalwah still clearly preying on her conscience). Thus it was her, early the next morning, who first spotted the dust cloud on the horizon. An army approached Solaria Minor - but whose?
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