Dawn of the Third age/IC Logs/Session 20
Session Start (Anshu:#celestialdeliberative): Fri Feb 11 12:57:55 2011 -0700
[12:57] *** Anshu has joined #celestialdeliberative
[12:57] *** Topic on #celestialdeliberative is: Exalted 2nd: Dawn of the Third Age / IC Channel
[12:57] *** Topic set by dakkareth (37 minutes ago at 12:20 PM)
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[13:14] *** Virgil has joined #celestialdeliberative
[13:15] *** Virgil is now known as Bright_Snow
[13:15] * Brazen_Sand walked towards the city walls, anxious to see if it's condition hadn't worsened in the hours they had been fighting.
[13:21] <~Anshu> With the battles with the Abyssal circle concluded, the time has come to gather your wits. Gem sits quietly, waiting for the return of its protectors as it fights its own battle against disease.
[13:23] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen threw the gates open, his great strength more then able to pull the massive bronze gates aside.
[13:30] <dakkareth> Several dozen miles outside Gem a nameless place in the open desert is home to a strange spectacle. Smoking craters pockmark the landscape. Sand has fused to glass where kinetic impacts were so fierce as to produce terrible searing heat. And in the middle of all that destruction a man in immaculate silken robes stands staring, staring at nothing at all.
[13:31] <~Anshu> Brazen is greeted by a small sea of worried faces - his people.
[13:31] <~Anshu> Waiting for news of what was happening.
[13:32] <Brazen_Sand> He held up a plate of soulsteel. "We have found those who attacked our fair and peaceful city, and we have brought JUSTICE TO THEM!" He announced for all to hear.
[13:32] <Brazen_Sand> But inside his guts, he felt a bit sick himself. It still wouldn't help those who were sick. All he could do was kill the people who had caused it
[13:34] <~Anshu> Some relief shows, and they move away, back to their lives, to their own private battles with sickness, hunger, the thousand inconveniences of mortal life.
[13:34] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen felt empty. He hadn't really helped them at all, and they didn't care.
[13:34] <Brazen_Sand> Was this what he was supposed to be?
[13:35] <Brazen_Sand> "WAIT!" He called out
[13:36] <~Anshu> They pause at the command of their king, looking back toward him.
[13:36] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen looked down at his hands and dropped the plate. It seemed to hang in the air for a long time before it hit the ground.
[13:37] <Brazen_Sand> "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO?!" He asked them, almost desperately
[13:37] <Brazen_Sand> "I...I NEED HELP." He said hesitantly. "I CAN'T DO THIS...I CAN'T HELP YOU AND IT'S KILLING ME!"
[13:38] <Brazen_Sand> He covered his face with his claws
[13:40] <~Anshu> There is silence for a time, as people think of what to say, or gather the courage to say it. Finally one young woman steps forward. "We know that you are doing what you can, Your Majesty. You have called your friends to help you take care of us, and that is helping."
[13:41] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen sat down in the middle of the street, a weeping heap.
[13:41] <Brazen_Sand> "I thought that I could just punch or kill every problem away...but I was wrong. You all deserved better then me." He said.
[13:42] <Brazen_Sand> He thanked the woman and took her hand. "Thank you. I...always wanted to be something other then a tyrant."
[13:44] <Brazen_Sand> "What's your name?" He asked her.
[13:46] <~Anshu> The woman looks slightly alarmed to have her hand (and lower arm) engulfed by Brazen's taloned paw, but does her best to take it in stride. "My name is Asali."
[13:46] <~Anshu> "Your Majesty."
[13:47] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen nodded and smiled. "Asali, you've shown great compassion today. Creation needs more people like you."
[13:47] <Brazen_Sand> "And it's just Brazen now. But thank you, you've given me what I needed to get through the day." he told her, surprisingly gently.
[13:47] <~Anshu> "You are no longer our king?"
[13:48] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen shook his head. "I will always love Gem, but no...you all deserve better then me, more then me. As I am, I can't be the leader you all need." He said so everyone could hear.
[13:49] <Brazen_Sand> "I will always come to defend this city, but it's no longer my place to rule it." He announced.
[13:49] <Brazen_Sand> "You're free." He finished.
[13:49] <Brazen_Sand> Rather sadly
[13:50] <~Anshu> "You make it sound as though we suffered under you."
[13:51] <Brazen_Sand> "I see the looks in your eyes when I go down the street, or fly over the markets. I told myself that it was for the best, that you needed someone strong and harsh to survive in a harsh world."
[13:52] <Brazen_Sand> "But I'm wrong. I only thought the way the Y-the way my harsher instincts wanted me to think. I know that I was only fooling myself."
[13:52] <dakkareth> Finally, when Venus deigns to show herself in the sky shortly before dawn he seems to awake. He takes a deep breath, shuddering. Then he turns in the direction of the unseen city far away. His expression settles into a well-used mask of authority.
[13:52] <dakkareth> He inspects his reflection in a small hand mirror, nodding once when he sees all is as it should be. A sudden gust of wind obscures two footprints, the only sign a human-like being was here at some point - because Nomoe Hideaki is long gone.
[13:53] <Brazen_Sand> "You need someone who can actually take care of a city, run it properly. Look around you. People are dying, and I can do nothing!"
[13:54] <~Anshu> "We never thought you would hurt us... it is just that usually when you are about, there is trouble needing to be dealt with. Big, dangerous trouble. And... your form is not exactly comforting to gaze upon," she admits.
[13:55] <~Anshu> "All claws and fangs, harsh scales and flame."
[13:55] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen sighed. "I know...but it is who I am now." he said. "I'm sorry that it scares you all so. Perhaps someday I'll be able to return a better...entity, and then I will be seen as a figure of hope."
[13:56] <Brazen_Sand> "It is the heart inside that counts, I always thought."
[13:56] <Brazen_Sand> "Like I see with you, Asali."
[13:57] <Brazen_Sand> He leaned down extremely carefully and kissed her on the cheek...extremely lightly.
[13:57] <Brazen_Sand> And got up, then dusted himself off.
[13:58] <Bright_Snow> Back in the city, Snow awakes groggily stumbling up from among the refuse in an alley. Liking her paw she begins to clean herself, wishing the pounding in her head would go away. Glancing around for Wandering she fails to find her, remembering vaguely misplacing her fellow Lunar sometime during drinking they had engaged in the previous night.
[14:02] <~Anshu> "Thank you, Your Majesty. And whether you rule here or not, you will always be our king." She kneels before him, and slowly, in small groups, the rest of the people watching follow suit.
[14:03] <Brazen_Sand> "Get up, please get up." he said.
[14:03] <Brazen_Sand> "Asali, what are your dreams?" He asked.
[14:06] * Bright_Snow stumbles to the Lake shore, the sun shine making her ache all the more. Several people no doubt scatter as the Lioness form she now wears heads for rhe waters edge, leaping in with a wild abandon rarely seen in felines towards water.
[14:07] <Brazen_Sand> He heard a splash in the distance, but paid it no mind.
[14:07] <Brazen_Sand> Feeling that he was about to do something very important, somehow
[14:10] <~Anshu> "Ah... my dreams? I don't know... I'm in the militia, and I'd like to lead it someday...."
[14:12] <Brazen_Sand> He nodded and smiled. "That's a good dream...you need to follow it." He looked at everyone else. "I know that life is hard now, but the only way that things will get better is if we DARE to be extraordinary!" He told the gathered peoples
[14:13] <Brazen_Sand> "Anyone who wants you to just sit back and relax and not make wave...don't trust them! They just want to take advantage of your apathy!"
[14:14] <dakkareth> Normally there might be a bit of a disturbance if suddenly a man appeared in the middle of the bureaucratic clockwork of people and papers erected by two Lawgivers near the communicational center of Gem. This is not the case this morning, though.
[14:14] <Bright_Snow> Down in the water, grinning despite the fading pain the noise is calling, the Lioness smiles and pads out of the artifical lake.
[14:14] <dakkareth> The man appearing in the middle of circularly arranged desks at which overworked bureaucrats organize the relief effort for Gem carries such infinite authority that gravity seems to shift around him. No matter where he walks, he is the center of all.
[14:14] <dakkareth> As one man the bureaucrats drop their implements and bow deeply, returning to their work only at a small gesture from the Lawgiver. Without a second's delay Nomoe has assumed control in Harmony's absence - he told Brazen Sand that he would help and the stars will rain from the sky before Nomoe Hideaki keeps not his given word.
[14:20] <dakkareth> A small voice somewhere far away outside exhorts him to follow dreams and chase phantoms. No matter. Nomoe ignores the madman, focusing on his work instead.
[14:22] <~Anshu> "I will take your words to heart, Your Majesty. Thank you."
[14:22] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen nodded and grinned, wanting their great memory of him to be a good one, a hopeful one, instead of a fearful one.
[14:23] <Brazen_Sand> He leapt into the air with a crash of displaced air and spread his wings, searching for the other Exalts.
[14:24] <Bright_Snow> As Brazen#s speech finishes, Snow nods satisfied, an odd gesture as a Lioness and pads her way North into the desert, towards the Lap
[14:38] <Bright_Snow> A few miles outside of Gem, she ripples and returns to Maiden's form and unpacks Triumph from his case. Communing with the AI inside as she does on every jounrey before mounting and riding off northwards.
[14:45] <Brazen_Sand> A shadow grew over Snow, blotting out teh sun before she lost sight of Gem itself
[14:48] <Brazen_Sand> It got larger and larger as something came closer to the Lunar
[14:49] <Bright_Snow> Slowing, she skids Triumph to a stop, whispering reassurance to the bike. Lifting her riding goggle's she directs her standard dead-eyed stare at the blob. "Morning Brazen."
[14:50] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen lazily hovered over her. "Leaving so soon?" he asked
[14:52] <Bright_Snow> "I've been here nearly a week. I've seen what I came to see and done what was necessary to be done." She says. "Moreso talking to Wandering and hearing your speech reminded me that there are things I have been neglecting, things I have left undone." She says her tone even, no emotion sounding in her words.
[14:52] *** dakkareth is now known as Nomoe_Hideaki
[14:53] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen landed in front of her.
[14:54] <Brazen_Sand> throwing up a wide curtain of sand from his weight
[14:58] <Brazen_Sand> "What about Nomoe-San?" Brazen asked. "You two were like this just yesterday night." He said, putting two claws together to illustrate his point.
[14:58] <Brazen_Sand> His brash and cocky voice didn't much conceal his concern
[14:59] <Bright_Snow> "We have an eternity Brazen, we will meet again... sometime, somewhen" she shrugs, other words hang in the air unspoken.
[15:00] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen moved towards her on all fours. "Something's wrong." he guessed. "What happened. Nomoe was jsut gone when I met you and Wandering."
[15:01] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen smiled when he mentioned his just-met Mate.
[15:03] <Bright_Snow> "Nothing Brazen... nothing at all." She ggazes northwestward, coincidentally the exact opposite direction from where she feels Nomoe to be."I intend to head North now, towards the Lap and then onward to An-Teng. I've seen much of the South but little of the West. You are welcome to join me Brazen, after all you intend to leave Gem behind, best to let them find their own feet."
[15:05] <Bright_Snow> Her tone continues to be quiet and as flat and emotionless as possible
[15:07] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen smiled at her. "I would like that, my friend." He said. "What do you hope to find?"
[15:09] <Brazen_Sand> "Can Launjilla come?"
[15:12] <Bright_Snow> She smiles, though it does not quite reach her eyes. "I bring my own friend," She pats her bike, "I do not see why you should not bring your own."
[15:13] <Brazen_Sand> Launjilla shimmered over beside Brazen.
[15:14] <Bright_Snow> "As to what we will find", her mask cracks, revealing wonder, "whatever there is to? After all have you ever wondered what lays over the horizon?"
[15:14] <Brazen_Sand> brazen nodded smiling at the agatae and shook his head. "I don't need to ride anymore. I actually go faster on my own. But it's my friend. I can't just leave it."
[15:15] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen trotted alongside Snow and grinned with his fractal teeth showing. "I guess someone else was listening to me there, hm?"
[15:16] <Bright_Snow> She smiles and shrugs, pointing the bike north and kicks Triumph into gear.
[15:23] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen leapt into the air and spread his wings, with Launjilla in tow
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[15:41] <Brazen_Sand> ~Several weeks of travel had passed~
[15:44] <~Anshu> not yet
[15:44] <Brazen_Sand> ~Six weeks of travel had passed?~
[15:45] <~Anshu> ((No. No time had passed offscreen yet))
[16:04] <~Anshu> As Snow and Brazen proceed northward through the Southern Bordermarches surrounding Gem, a large freestanding gate suddenly materializes in their path.
[16:05] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen looked at it with confusion and curiosity
[16:05] <Brazen_Sand> His response was...naturally..."Whoa that thing has got to have something awesome in it!"
[16:05] <~Anshu> From it emerge 2 children, one in red, the other in green, accompanied by 5 Celestial Lions.
[16:06] <Brazen_Sand> ..."Babies?!"
[16:06] <Brazen_Sand> "And lions!"
[16:06] <Brazen_Sand> He turned to Snow. "Are we looking at some kind of Wyld hallucination or something?"
[16:07] <Brazen_Sand> He looked with his third eye. "Nope, these things are definitely real..."
[16:07] <Brazen_Sand> He spoke in Old Realm.
[16:07] *** Bright_Snow has quit IRC: Ping timeout
[16:08] <~Anshu> "Brazen Sand, halt!" the red one demands in official tones.
[16:08] <Brazen_Sand> "Awwww that's adorable!" Brazen said in an indulgent tone
[16:08] <Brazen_Sand> "Where's your parents, kids?"
[16:09] <Brazen_Sand> "It's not safe for kids, even Sidereal ones to walk out of giant golden buttholes unattended."
[16:10] <~Anshu> The child continues undeterred: "A few hours ago, Heaven detected a large surge of Yozi energies in a heretofore unknown pattern in Gem's immediate vicinity, as did sensors in the Sword of Creation."
[16:10] <Brazen_Sand> "
[16:10] <Brazen_Sand> "Oh yeah, that was probably me!" Brazen said, standing erect and proud
[16:11] <Brazen_Sand> "I'm pretty awesome."
[16:11] <Brazen_Sand> There was a slight smell of various forms of alcohol on his breath
[16:12] <~Anshu> "We are here to investigate the nature of that surge, its cause, and it's likely consequences."
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[16:13] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen laughed again and actually wobbled a bit, and put a massive arm on a tree for support
[16:13] <Brazen_Sand> The tree crashed to teh ground and Brazen looked rather awkward.
[16:14] <Brazen_Sand> "Well...here I am, guys. It's no problem though, the Unconquered Sun knows me. We're...we're bros. We're like this."
[16:14] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen brofisted himself.
[16:15] *** Virgil is now known as Bright_Snow
[16:17] <~Anshu> "The Highest of Holies has informed us of your arrangement. However, we are still obligated to investigate this incident and file a report on it, especially given the fact that the Essence surge was unlike any ever before seen. Would you please describe for us what it was that you did?"
[16:18] <~Anshu> Since their presence seems to be unnecessary, the Celestial Lions, save one, turn and head back through the gate.
[16:19] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen sat down on some kind of giant tortoise that had spontaneously generated out of the Wyld
[16:19] <Brazen_Sand> It stopped and retracted into it's shell.
[16:20] <Brazen_Sand> "Uhhhh...eh-heh, okay. Ummm...My Exaltation thingy, right?"
[16:20] <Brazen_Sand> "It's like...it's connected to Malfeas, you know?"
[16:21] <Brazen_Sand> "That's still how it is right?" "'s been awhile."
[16:22] <Bright_Snow> Starting from near silent surprise, a low growl slowly increases in volume from Snow's now thinly pressed lips. Hatred flaring her eyes.
[16:22] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen looked at her with heavy-lidded eyes. "Oh this is my friend Bright Snow, whoa Snow, what's eating you? Your aura is all like aggressive." "hahaha that's an Essence-sight joke!"
[16:23] <Bright_Snow> The bracelet at her wrist flickers swaying in time with her fury, speeding as the cresendo of the growl increases.
[16:24] <Brazen_Sand> "Uh-oh." Brazen slurred, then got up in front of her, unsteadily. "whooooa Snow, it's alright, we're just talking, you know?"
[16:25] <Bright_Snow> "Leave fast, if you wish to leave at all." She manages with effort.
[16:26] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen shook his massive head and tried to clear it with some effort.
[16:26] <Brazen_Sand> "Snow, snow, come on, they're just kids!"
[16:26] <~Anshu> "We cannot detect any connection to Malfeas, but that doesn't mean it isn't there," says the young greensid, who then glances at Snow. "Is there a problem, Steward? We are simply conducting an interview."
[16:26] <Brazen_Sand> He turned to the others. "Can we talk later?"
[16:27] <Brazen_Sand> "She has...issues...many many issues."
[16:27] <Brazen_Sand> "You know, Steward issues. They're always all...weird, right? Haha! Weird Stewards!"
[16:28] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen spread his wings to block them from view
[16:29] <Brazen_Sand> "Snow, I'd really like to not get executed by Yu-Shan, so if you could just do me a big big favor and walk away for a couple hours, I will totally owe you one, alright?"
[16:29] <Brazen_Sand> He murmered to her
[16:31] <Bright_Snow> "I can still hear them Brazen..." she does however begin to back away. Pulling Wandering with her. "I would not trust them either, children or not they are still Star-Born. They plot, betray and murder us from their second breath."
[16:32] <Bright_Snow> She says this loud and audibly
[16:32] <Brazen_Sand> "I'll be careful Snow, I promise. Besides, it's me, remember? I'm way too awesome to get beaten by kids."
[16:32] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen also said this audibly
[16:34] <~Anshu> "We do not! Those things you speak of were done before our grandfathers' grandfathers were even conceived," comes the voice of the redsid from behind Brazen.
[16:35] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen turned to look at the Redsid, giving her a "Shut uuuuup" look
[16:37] <~Anshu> "If it would make this easier, Warlock, we can continue this discussion in Yu-Shan, and return you to the Steward's company once we're finished."
[16:37] <~Anshu> That from the greensid. Both children are now standing in the center of a protective cordon of Celestial Lions.
[16:38] <Brazen_Sand> "Uh yeah, sure, we could do that, I guess."
[16:38] <Brazen_Sand> He turned to walk towards the portal
[16:41] <~Anshu> The lions part to allow him through to the gate, watching Snow carefully.
[16:42] <Bright_Snow> "Yet you've murdered friends of mine in my lifetime and I am no elder, Chosen of Mars." She glares, stopping now it is clear they are departing, "Tell your superior's that they have not escaped my revenge. Even if I have to kill every one of you to be sure." She yells after them.
[16:42] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen felt his hearts drop as he heard her yell at them. He hoped this was for the best. He was sure he was doing the best thing, but still...
[16:44] <~Anshu> The redsid looks to be biting her tongue, and turns and leads the way into the gate.
[16:44] <~Anshu> The greensid gestures for Brazen to go next.
[16:46] <Brazen_Sand> Brazen walked through, but first he looked to Snow and Wandering. "Be careful Snow, please!" He said, desperation in his eyes
[16:51] <Bright_Snow> She just stares in retunr watching the gateway slide closed, her gaze unwavering.
[16:53] <~Anshu> The Greensid follows Brazen, and the Celestial Lions are the last to come through before the gate closes and disappears.
