The Book Of Fire/Gods3
TEMURA, SHOGUN OF MARTIAL ARTS
In Heaven, there is an Office that represents the Supernatural Martial Arts used in Creation. Each martial art style has a god representing it, which answers to a god representing the schools that teach those styles, who answers to the regional martial arts gods, who answer to the Three Sages: Bei Pai, God of Terrestrial Martial Arts; Nan Quan, God of Celestial Martial Arts; and Emei Shan, Goddess of Sidereal Martial Arts. And they, in turn, answer to Temura.
Temura the Diamond-Fisted represents the art and craft of supernatural martial artistry. All the reports dealing with who has learned or created which style, and documenting all duels throughout Creation, what charms were used and who won, pass over his desk. And frankly, he's getting bored.
Temura remembers the days when the Celestial Exalted openly strode Creation, inventing and dueling with high-Essence skills the likes of which the world has not seen on display for thousands of years. Indeed, Temura was often called upon to referee many of these formal matches, especially the Grandmaster Tournament atop Mt. Meru (a service he still performs in Yu-Shan's tournaments).
But with the Solars gone and the Lunars and Sidereals in hiding, it seems those glory days are over. Even those Terrestrials who push themselves to learn Celestial level skills are mere technicians, not the true artists that Temura was once awed by...
But now the Solars have returned, and there are many promising fighters among them. Temura is no fool, he knows that the Sidereals still hold all the heavenly influence, and so it behooves him to stay quiet for now. But the Sidereals are no fools either, and have already figured out that he will most likely throw his considerable support to the Gold Faction, perhaps on the condition that they start training their Solars in forbidden Sidereal techniques as quickly as possible...
But another concern grips Temura: The Deathknights have shown fighting arts that were created outside of Heaven's jurisdiction, meaning that for the first time in his existence, martial arts are being practiced that he is completely ignorant of. Worse, he has heard that one of the primary sources of these dark styles is a wandering Deathlord, whose skill and might may just surpass his own...
Temura can't wait to meet him.
Temura's primary Motivation is to restore the World of Martial Arts to its former First Age glory and he will do much to assist one who can aid that goal (or who manages to rescue the City of Dojos). His greatest weakness is likely his inability to consider the various ramifications of his attitudes and actions, unlike the more political gods around him. If he didn't have his workers' immense respect (and weren't so damn good at his job), then he may well have been displaced long ago...
Temura is a God of the Fifth Rank, with all that that implies. Easily one of the greatest fighters in Heaven (or anywhere else), he currently holds the Grandmaster's Chair of the House of Iron and Adamant in Heaven and is one of the few gods who regularly gives the Incarna a decent workout. He has the capability to greatly enhance or cripple Exalted martial artists, although he has never before done so. His largest regret is that, after overseeing so many fantastic styles, he has never managed to create a new one, unique to himself...
In addition to having all the Excellencies, he also he also has Eye of Authority, Hand of Destiny, Divine Decree, Domain Manipulation Scenario, Mind-Knife Sacrament, Spice of Custodial Delectation, and Symbol of Invincible Authority, all for Martial Arts. He has also mastered all martial arts weapons, and possesses powerful Artifact versions of many, which he may lend to his champions.
Temura also has the unique ability to perform all the supernatural martial arts within his purview that he meets the requirements for, even Sidereal ones (tho he still may not teach those), and can combo their charms as though they were Spirit charms. He is also a supremely competent teacher in his field, and an Exalt training under him halves both XP costs and training times.
GOUJIAN, SULTAN OF SWORDS
From the time the Primordials created the gods until the end of the First Age, Goujian, holding the high office representing one of the most ubiquitous weapons in Creation, was one of Creation's most honored and powerful Celestial gods. Every sword forged, from the most mundane broadsword to the most majestic Daiklave, was done so invoking his blessing. He personally instructed the earliest Exalted in the elaborate processes of creating Artifact swords, by example.
When the Usurpation went down, Goujian was one of the few gods to actively oppose it. It took a sneak attack by Circle of Sidereal Martial Artists to restrain him, and some say it was Chejop Kejak himself who threw the final blow (tho Kejak himself is unsure of this, due to the fall of Arcane Fate), shattering his body, spirit and mind, and sealing the pieces away in Heaven's vaults...
More out of a desire to make a statement of defiance rather than any real hope, gods sympathetic to the Solars stole his shattered form and cast them across the world. His office was left unclaimed, an unprecedented move by the Celestial Bureaucracy (and a silent show of their disapproval).
Goujian's remnants have mostly taken the shapes of various powerful swords, each corresponding to one of his Virtues. His Valor has manifested as a Daiklave of Conquest. His Compassion has become the mystic sword known as Kind Edge. His Conviction formed the Moonsilver weapon Flying Silver Dream. His Temperance materialized as the Scabbard of the Living Weapon. And his Willpower appears as a young orphan boy in dusty rags with a perpetual dazed look on his face; he does not speak, only mutely begs for something that is not food or drink. None have ever thought to give him a sword, but if they do, they will find he is one of the deadliest swordsmen they have ever seen with it...
Unknown to most, if an Exalted craftsman with a minimum LoreThe_Book_Of_Fire/Craft of 6 were to take all of the above to certain rare consecrated forges (such as Autochthon's secret manse in the Imperial Mountain), and perform a week-long forging ritual (a custom Solar Circle Spell), then all the pieces could be reunited and the original Sword God will live again (if the ritual fails, then all the parts become ruined pieces of junk; if it botches, then the Sword God is whole, but dangerously insane).
Goujian is very honorable, and will gratefully pledge his services to the one who healed him for the rest of his span of days (for a high Celestial God, even the lifespan of a single Solar isn't that much), serving as his own personal weapon (Artifact NThe_Book_Of_Fire/A, Mentor 5). He will, of course, be quite wrathful upon hearing of the current state of Heaven and Creation, and will be quite adamant about crusading to set things to rights, again...so the one who "owns" him had better be prepared for an interesting life.
In his true form, Goujian is a magnificently formed Grand Daiklave, incorporating every Magical Material, including Adamant. As the (still technically official) representative of all swords in Creation, he has an effective Essence score of 8, and a Melee of 10 (+3 Himself). He does not need a wielder to attack, but can channel his skill through one. One does not attune to the Sword God to make use of its abilities; instead Goujian uses the Ride Charm on his "wielder", which, if the wielder is not powerful enough, could make them more of a vessel of the god. Any who try to wield him without his permission find that they cannot lift him (this is a Perfect Effect), while those who have his favor find him perfectly light and balanced.
Goujian has two Unique Powers: The first is that he can approximate every Melee Charm of every form of original Exalted that he meets the minimums for; indeed, he has innumerable Combos derived from these Charms. In additional to these Charms, he has also mastered most Martial Arts that use the sword as Form Weapon, including Violet Bier of Sorrows (but not Even Blade Style, which did not exist until recently). He may also teach these MA Charms.
His second Unique Power is the ability to duplicate the powers of ANY sword forged in Creation, regardless of Artifact level, so long as he can pay the cost of such powers (he may tap into his wielder's Essence Pool to do so). This was easily done back when he oversaw the entire process, but now he must actually witness the capabilities of any sword that has since been forged while he was away from his duties. This ability does not extend to swords forged in the Underworld, Malfeas or the Wyld.
Some Charms of the Sword God are: All Melee Excellencies, including Divine Subordination, Principle of Motion, Eye of Inspiration (Melee), Melodious Diagnostic Report, Tracking (those he has wounded), Calculated Order of Immediate Action (swords), Domain Manipulation Scenario, Host of Spirits, Shapechange, Loom Stride, Mind-Knife Sacrament, Stoke the Flame (JusticeThe_Book_Of_Fire/Vengence), Bread of Weak Spirit, Meat of Broken Flesh, Symbol of Invincible Authority, All Curses, All Edges.
DHUMA
Once, near the end of the First Age, a Solar crafted a pair of Orichalcum Perfected Kata Bracers, which he used valiantly in the pursuit of justice. As with all items, these bracers had a Least God assigned to them, who was simply a nameless sprite who could be seen by those with the eyes to see occasionally polishing the bracers that were his home.
The bracers' owner was slain during the Usurpation, along with all his brethren, and he was buried with his belongings to prevent his ghost from rising and seeking revenge. His Sidereal mentor, however, had loved him greatly, and sorely regretted the need to slay him, and sought to leave some memorial to him, if only as a nameless hero. And so he took the bracers and set them up in a shrine deep in the Threshold, spinning many tales about it that the local folk repeated and came to believe were about a hero who had saved them at some distant time in the past...
Unknowingly, he had set up the beginnings of a small but devout Cult for the Least God, who slowly took on the name and qualities of the Hero the people believed in: A wondrously skilled fighter named Dhuma.
One day, while visiting the monument to his old friend in a resplendent disguise, the Sidereal was disgusted to discover ruffians disturbing the shrine. And he was as shocked as they were to see the Least Spirit, grown a little more powerful due to the centuries of steady worship, actually Materialize to scare them off!
Impressed, he approached the spirit, introduced himself, and offered him a job in Heaven. When Dhuma (for such he now was) expressed concern at leaving his home, it was pointed out that he need simply wear the bracers and he could take his home with him. Ironically, the virtues the people instilled in him, that of a wandering adventurer, ended up taking him away from them, and so he left with the old man, accepting the Willing Assumption of Chains...
For a while, he thought he'd been duped. Settling into an office job, doing paperwork recording the results of personal duels in that region of Creation was not as exciting as it sounded. The Salary and raise in Essence hardly seemed worth it. But Dhuma was constantly visited by his Sidereal mentor, who took him under his wing, and began teaching him all manner of personal combat systems. And when he judged him ready, he offered him yet another job: As the old man's personal bodyguard.
Now that job delivered! In the service of the Elder, under the effect of Sidereal Training Mandates, Dhuma traveled Creation and pitted himself against the Unquiet Dead, escaped demons, marauding Fae, and even the odd rebellious Terrestrial (although he wondered why his master would not hunt the few Solars who appeared from time to time). And whenever they weren't fighting threats to Creation, the old man ceaselessly drilled Dhuma, pushing him to increase his power and skills in ways that few spirits naturally do on their own...Perhaps he suspected that the master saw in him some trace of the Solar student he had been forced to betray so long ago...
Dhuma was not there when the old man finally died of old age. But he did receive a heavily coded message from him afterwards, stating that he had deliberately miscalculated his final horoscope to prevent his Sidereal rivals from getting ahold of his new incarnation and indoctrinating it in their beliefs. He begged only one favor from Dhuma, that he be the one to collect his new self.
Dhuma dutifully resigned his commission and left Yu-Shan for the final time. Easily finding the orphan girlchild his mentor's Essence now resided in, he took her for his own, and raised her as he was raised, while traveling in various guises.
That was fifteen years ago. Five years ago, the Solars returned to the world. Dhuma's contacts in Heaven informed him about the schism in the Fivescore Fellowship. He is uncertain about what he should do. He feels his master would have wanted him to reunite him with the modern Gold Faction, but Dhuma is...unaccountably uneasy about giving up the young girl he has raised to her teenage years. This is the only reason he has not already offered his services to the Gold Faction.
He has raised her to the best of his ability, although as a spirit, he is ill-equipped to understand or cope with the strange and quirky girls' mood swings. He believes her Exaltation will occur soon, and debates whether he should tell her of her true nature before then. He has trained her as a Heroic fighter, but has so far hesitated to Awaken her Essence as he's not sure if that could somehow damage the Sidereal Essence within her (if he learns that it won't, then he will do so immediately).
Currently, the two reside in a Dojo he established to give her a more stable lifestyle than the endless wandering they were doing. Although his reputation (and frankly, her blossoming beauty) attract many students, none stay for long, which mystifies the two (this is because neither really understands the virtue of "holding back"!)...
Dhuma is also facing another dilemna: With the Solars returned to the world, what will he do if one approaches him for training? And what if Fate should deliver the current holder of the Essence of his original creator and owner to his very doorstep? Where do his loyalties lie then...?
In the meantime, Dhuma simply meditates, practices, and waits.
Sanctum: Dhuma has not forgotten his origins, and has no desire to gain a true Sanctum. When he feels the need to slumber, he does so inside the Perfected Kata Bracers that have always been his home (his young charge wears them in his absense).
Motivation: To protect that which is important to those who believe in him.
Attributes:
Str-5 Dex-6 Sta-5 Cha-3 App-4 Man-3 Per-4 Int-3 Wits-5
Virtues:
Compassion: 3 Conviction: 4 Temperance: 3 Valor: 5
Abilities: Athletics-6, Awareness-5, Bureaucracy-3, Dodge-6, Integrity-5, Lore-3, Martial Arts-6, Medicine-3, Melee-5, Occult-4, Presence-4, Resistance-5, Socialize-3, Survival-3
Backgrounds: Artifact (Perfected Kata Bracers)-4, Connections (Yu-Shan)-3, Connections (local Spirit Courts)-3, Cult-2, Library-4 (Supernatural Martial Arts Scrolls), Resources-3
Charms: Calculated Order of Immediate Action (Martial Arts Weapons) Divine Prerogative (Whatever he has sworn to protect) Dreamscape (Training Montage) Essence Bite Essence Plethora (x2) Eye of Inspiration (Martial Arts) Host of Spirits Hurry Home (Perfected Kata Bracers) Loom Stride Material Tribulation Divestment Materialize (70 motes) Measure the Wind Mind-Knife Sacrament (Seal Off MA Ability) Natural Prognostication Ox-Body (x4) Paralyze (Pressure Points) Principle of Motion (9 Banked Actions) Reserve of Will (x2) Shapechange Sheathing the Material Form (All-Encompassing) Spirit Cutting Words of Power (Kiai) First (Ability) Excellency: Athletics, Martial Arts, Melee, Presence Second (Ability) Excellency: Integrity, Martial Arts, Resistance Third (Ability) Excellency: Dodge, Integrity, Martial Arts All-Encompassing Divine (Ability) Subordination: Dodge, Martial Arts Dhuma has mastered any Terrestrial and Celestial Martial Arts the ST thinks are appropriate.
Join Battle: 10
Attacks:
Punch: Spd 4, Acc 17, Dmg 15BThe_Book_Of_Fire/L, Parry DV 12, Rate 3 Kick: Spd 4, Acc 15, Dmg 18BThe_Book_Of_Fire/L, Parry DV 10, Rate 2 Clinch: Spd 6, Acc 16, Dmg 15 BThe_Book_Of_Fire/L, Parry DV-0, Rate 1
Soak: 12L/12b (Orichalcum skin)
Health Levels: 0x1/-1x10/-2x10/-4x1The_Book_Of_Fire/Incap
Dodge DV: 9
Willpower: 9 (11) Essence: 5 Essence Pool: 115
Other Notes: Dhuma naturally looks like a tall, well-muscled, hairless man made from bands of Orichalcum, with eyes, teeth, nails and tattoos of Starmetal. However, he often disguises himself as an average-looking middle-aged Martial Arts Sifu.
Dhuma's MA attacks automatically incorporate the benefits granted by Orichalcum Perfected Kata Bracers, which are accounted for in his stats (this means that he automatically does Aggravated Damage to Creatures of Darkness). He does not need to attune to them to gain these benefits.
