Dawn of the Third Age/Setting/GrandCircle

Dawn of the Third Age

The Grand Circle

In theory, every member of the Celestial Deliberative is an equal peer. In practice, Solars are still recognized as being slightly more equal than others – but the members of the Grand Circle, the dozen or so Solars and their Lunar mates who claimed Denandsor and then the Sword of Creation, are the most equal of all. While they hold no more legal authority than any other Deliberator, they often hold multiple additional positions of influence, and then too, they possess the raw prestige of being the people who accomplished what they did – take the Sword of Creation, turn it on the forces of the Wyld as they seemed poised to swallow the world, and then begin rebuilding from the ashes. In the minds of many, they collectively occupy the space left by the Scarlet Empress after her disappearance.

The Solars

Dawn Caste

Starcc Antonee, the Adamant Man

... is a genius with magitech, especially military magitech. Despite some leanings toward the Hierarchists, he has not bothered to fully attach himself to either faction, focusing his energy instead on industrial development, and on acting as a father figure toward Cael.

Nuwa

... is a member of the Elevationist faction. Somewhat surprisingly for a Dawn, she has little interest in the Deliberative's military affairs, preferring more personal, contemplative forms of combat. She takes students from all corners and classes of Creation, and her mastery of the scalpel equals her mastery of the sword, for her compassion drives her to be a healer as much as she is a warrior. In that capacity she has also begun to teach, and she is reluctantly in charge of the Deliberative's ministry of health and medicine.

Zenith Caste

Solitary Talon of the Veiled Silverhawk Lady

... formerly Mnemon Opile, is the leader of the Hierarchist faction. She has outgrown the pettiness and petulance attendant with her privileged upbringing and teenage Exaltation, but her inclination towards hedonism is still strong, and she maintains good ties with House Mnemon – and by extension, the rest of the Dynasty – with her frequent and extravagant parties. She is a powerful force in the Deliberative, however, as the philosophy she embraces appeals to the pride and sense of superiority many of the Exalted possess – not to mention the fact that her close ties with the Dynasty give her a measure of influence in the newly invigorated Terrestrial Deliberative that can act as a check on her rivals in the Celestial Deliberative. She also possesses a high rank in the Deliberative military. She mostly eschews her role as a priest of the Sun, playing only the smallest role in the Immaculate Order's reformation.

Surely-Refulgent Anshu

... is the leader of the Elevationist faction. He advises the Mouth of Peace and the Immaculate Paragons, and is in charge of the transformed Wyld Hunt, often training new recruits personally in the martial arts. Like his rival Solitary Talon, he possesses a high rank in the Deliberative military. He is noted with some derision for being so eccentric as to take a position that places him subordinate to Terrestrials, although only the most credulous believe for a moment that his subordination is anything more than a formality. In fact, the more astute view it as a surprisingly sophisticated symbolic gesture which greatly eased the Dynasty's acceptance of their new Celestial rulers. He is known to have two children with his bondmate, twin daughters born roughly a year after the Sword of Creation was reclaimed, but they have been so far kept largely out of the public eye. Nevertheless, whispered rumors have it that one of them is not a Golden Child or Moon-Born, but an Abyssal Half-Caste.

Ta'an Aesin

... is a member of the Hierarchist faction. Once a Sijanese Ghost-Blood in the Mask of Winter's armies, she Exalted as a Zenith during a duel with Anshu, and was spirited away with the rest of the Grand Circle as they fled the conquest of Nexus. She worked with Anshu to incorporate a limited amount of ancestor-worship into the reforms he worked in the Immaculate Philosophy, and is currently serving as the Deliberative's ambassador to Sijan, negotiating for the ability to use their city as a beachhead for stabilization expeditions into the Wyld.

Twilight Caste

The Shining Lord of Gold and Ivory

... is a pre-eminent sorceror and demonologist. He leads the Deliberative’s occult research, and as a result works closely with Cerise and Starcc. He voted with the Elevationists on the issue of slavery, but has otherwise not been drawn into the factional struggles.

Rowan Marmalade

... is best known for his libido. He and his mate Cael have become quite famous for having a different young woman on their arms at every social event they attend. For a time, the Half-Caste population of the Imperial City was booming, and no few Dynasts in the Terrestrial Deliberative raised concerns that the two promiscuous Celestials were interfering with the Realm’s breeding programs. In response, Rowan and Cael worked together to create means of dimming their essence enough to not overwhelm Terrestrial blood at the moment of conception. Since then, there are still quite a few Solar and Lunar Half-Castes being born every year, but most of them to girls of patrician or lower status - though the girls in question (and their families) soon find their circumstances much improved, and the two Exalts visiting every so often. Promiscuous Cael and Rowan may be, but they are not altogether careless.

Night Caste

Invisible Crow Hunter

... is almost entirely uninterested in politics. He spends the majority of his time leading Wyld Hunts against Abyssal and Infernal sightings and is rarely seen in the halls of power.

Eclipse Caste

De'aneir'a Sera Vestra

... is a rarity of rarities: a survivor from the First Age, by dint of being put in suspended animation inside a secret manse. She holds the hearthstone of the Sword of Creation, and has since it was retaken. She is mostly neutral between the two factions, less out of a deliberate balancing act than because her views fall between the two – on the famous slavery vote, she sided with the Elevationists, but she has voted with the Hierarchists on many other questions involving the relative proper places of Exalted and mortals. She is an airship engineer and works with Starcc and the Deliberative Sky Fleet.

Ziyad Antarah

... belongs to no faction within the Deliberative. Whatever his private sympathies may be, he has maintained a careful, judicious neutrality between Solitary Talon's and Anshu's rival factions even since before the Grand Circle took the Sword of Creation. Where the rest of the Deliberative looks to the Grand Circle as the first among equals, the Grand Circle looks to Ziyad as its first among equals. In addition to a position in the military senior to either of the faction heads', he runs the ministry of education and propaganda.

The Lunars

Full Moon

Natalzu Chandra Dhiren

... is a vocal supporter of the Elevationists and the bondmate of Nuwa. He and Solitary Talon detest each other, and when he is feeling particularly ill-disposed toward her, he wears the form of Cynis Jesara, her cousin and the Dragon-Blooded who attempted to enslave him just before his Exaltation, to meetings of the Deliberative. He runs the ministry of agriculture and has several times gone out personally to deal with recalcitrant spirits impeding agriculture. He recently introduced and had passed a bill to create demesnes and build manses specifically to enhance the fertility and productivity of Deliberative-sponsored farmlands.

Waxing Moon

Rhyming Cadence and Rhythmic Harmony

... are twin sisters who Exalted simultaneously. The twins are unique, not only for their simultaneous Exaltation, but for the fact that their spirit shapes are inanimate weapons, and both are bonded to the same Solar, Ziyad Antarah. For a period during the peak of the Time of Tumult, some Lunar Exalted found their ancient castes returning for unknown reasons. Then, just as surprisingly, no more Lunars with the ancient Castes appeared – though the Lunars who had theirs restored did not lose them again. Also during this period, many Solars and Lunars found themselves with multiple bondmates. The trio of Ziyad Antarah, Rhyming Cadence, and Rhythmic Harmony are the only multiple bond to remain in the relative stability of the present. Theories are varied as to why this might be; currently it is believed that the two Waxing Moons actually share a single Exaltation which is bonded to Ziyad's, but nobody really knows for sure.

Half Moon

Li Jin Gang

... is bonded to Solitary Talon and a member of the Sun King Seneschals. He is an accomplished martial artist, having mastered a number of styles, and prefers not to pay attention to politics apart from supporting his bondmate. He is currently training to become a grandmaster of all five Immaculate Styles.

Waning Moon

Sakura Tenchi

... was once part of a multiple bond with Solitary Talon and Li Jin Gang. Though she is still a regular lover of both, she is now bonded to Starcc Antonee and handles the political side of things for her bondmate when he is busy in the lab or with his adopted son. One of her pet projects is the restoration of Lookshy and the Seventh Legion.

Changing Moon

Lilijana

... is bonded to the Shining Lord, and counts herself a member of the Elevationist faction. She bears an intense dislike for the Guild and its persistent attempts to skirt the edges of the law abolishing slavery, and some whispers claim her as the mistress of the Deliberative’s spy network.

Silveria Arc

... is bonded to Ta’an Aesin. She is one of Solitary Talon’s lovers and also her first cousin, having been born into a patrician family of House Cathak by a mother originally from House Mnemon. While she generally supports the Hierarchist faction for the sake of her bondmate and cousin, she broke with factional lines for the slavery vote and is a generally a voice of moderation and compromise. She is also rumored to be the head of the Deliberative’s spy agencies.

No Moon

Cerise of the Rose’s Thorn

... is extraordinary even by the standards of Exalted. Using a combination of potent Knacks and Artifacts, she has mastered all 3 circles of both sorcery and necromancy, and is a vital part of the Deliberative’s occult research. As a member of the Sun King Seneschals, she votes with the Elevationists, who are led by her bondmate, Anshu. They are a happy and devoted couple, but private. They attend relatively few social functions, preferring to remain in their own residence with their daughters when they are not working.

Cinnabar Mantid

... is the bondmate of De’aneir’a Sera Vestra, and is also a survivor from the First Age thanks to suspended animation. His skills are a perfect complement to hers - he is engineer, technician, pilot, and gunner, and he works with her in designing and testing new airships.

Corvid Rasp

... is a member of both the Sun King Seneschals and the Crossroads Society, and he is bonded to Invisible Crow Hunter. Like his bondmate, he mostly stays out of politics in favor of working out in the field with Crow.

Casteless

Cael

... is the youngest of the Grand Circle at 21, and mated to Rowan. He sides with the Elevationists on most issues relating to the proper treatment of mortals and the unprivileged, but otherwise follows his conscience wherever it takes him. He is a frequent guest at Solitary Talon’s parties, and he and his bondmate have been cutting a devastating swath through the young women of the Imperial City. He is famous for persistently refusing to be tattooed by the Silver Pact. This is very distressing to many Lunar Elders, as he has become a profligate shapeshifter despite the risks, relying on Order-Affirming Blow to keep chimerism at bay.