https://wiki.rpg.net/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=Rivers+Between+Us 2026-05-15T05:26:17Z User contributions MediaWiki 1.43.0 https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=48551 2007-04-12T18:35:11Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its eons-forsaken ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the many chains that trailed back to a smouldering fleet. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless ships were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the withered tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll see the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px|left]]<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved... mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, as I served your grandfather before you, so heed my advice as he once did. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. Who is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> ==Part 2: Varsi==<br /> <br /> There are deep places in the forests of the East, hidden in verdant groves of carnivorous trees, accessed by warded paths, patrolled by the ghosts of those that came before. Woodland streams are as likely to be water as they are bubbling pitch or molten sulfur in her forest, homely comforts for those denizens of malpheas charged to guard there until Gaia herself slouches down to the void and all the stars burn out. In the center of that dark place, surrounded by a fetid moat where crododiles grow man-high at the shoulder, there is a mound of rough stones. If such could be called a house, it is her home, and if a creature were mad enough to approach, they would hear her voice whispering through the cracked basalt, pumice, and obsidian.<br /> <br /> &quot;Skin of grass, for the land that spawned him, bones of the plum tree where he made his first fortress. Flesh of ash for the sunfire that fills him, and hair of the horse for his prideful mane. Teeth of stone for the earth he has split...&quot;<br /> <br /> She pauses, her gnarled hands suspended over the labor of her hands. It gleams wetly with tallow, blood, and spit.<br /> <br /> &quot;...and eyes, eyes of the gorge-leaping tiger, for the worthy foe.&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> ''to be continued''<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=NR3_Strain&diff=47091 2007-03-28T03:32:42Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:Syph1.jpg|left|200px]] <br /> <br /> Have you noticed something new in your life? Perhaps a nagging headache, or persistent feelings of paranoia? A sore that won't heal properly, alternating flashes of heat and cold? Have you been leading a risky lifestyle that brings you into unprotected contact with individuals from other levels? If you answered yes to all or any of these symptoms, you may have caught the NR3 Strain of Syphilis.<br /> <br /> But how can you be sure? The answer is: you can't. Maybe you don't show any of the above symptoms, but you've noticed injuries sealing more quickly than usual, or you suspect that one of your partners may be a carrier. Unfortunately, there is no test that can conclusively prove that you have the NR3 Strain. Many, but not all carriers have scars with dark coloration that appear at the point of infection. However, if you have encountered the strain during intercourse, no detectable marks will appear. This silent plague can spread like cockroaches through the criminal elements of society; that's why it's been called &quot;The Jenny Curse&quot; in certain sublevel communities. This kind of negative stigma has caused countless diseased individuals to hide the signs of their infection, for fear of the social ostracization that is certain to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[Image:Syph3.jpg|right|200px]] That's why the first step, if you suspect that you may have been infected, is to consult your local physician and '''register with your level's security officer'''. The NR3 plague feeds on ignorance; don't be a Dull-Dan, talk to your doctor! Once you have been added to the rolls of known carriers of the disease, you may qualify for subsidized medical treatments and counseling to help you deal with this new facet of your lifestyle. Hundreds of desperate people, on discovering their infection, have been driven by the intense loneliness and despair that accompanies the strictly enforced solitary lifestyle into taking their own lives to end the suffering. There can be some hope for victims of this disease, maybe, in the next twenty to thirty years.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, there is absolutely no cure or treatment for the NR3 strain. Once you have contracted the disease, there is no way that you can return to a normal, healthy life. That's why registration and prevention are so important! Just follow the &quot;ABCs&quot; of NR3 infection prevention.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Syph2.jpg|left|200px]]<br /> <br /> '''A'''lways wear sturdy gloves and closed toe shoes.&lt;br&gt;<br /> '''B'''e a safe friend. Intercourse leads to infection. Don't be a plague-rat!&lt;br&gt;<br /> '''C'''lip your finger and toenails regularly. 73% of new infections are caused by an unintentional scratch.&lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> If you follow these three simple rules, then you can be free of the heartrending guilt that accompanies spreading the virus to one of your loved ones. Your life may be essentially over, but that doesn't mean that your coworkers, healthcare providers, or children should suffer the same fate. In the handful of years before your undoubtedly agonizing and untimely death, make sure that you avoid all close human contact to keep from spreading this vile contagion. And don't forget to register!<br /> &lt;br&gt;<br /> &lt;br&gt;<br /> &lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> The NR-modules provide the following advantages and disadvantages initially to those infected:<br /> <br /> * Feature: Claws (+10 unarmed damage)<br /> * Contamination: through claws (level 2: takes 1 month of incubation)<br /> * Regeneration: 1 pt per round<br /> <br /> * Owned: Virus (acting against the virus's interests leads to physically uncomfortable symptoms, ranging from headaches to death).<br /> * Marked: Black scars (generally large, or in an obvious place)<br /> * Vulnerability: EM shielding (none of the advantages work when you're in an EM shielded area)<br /> <br /> However, over time the virus tends to mutate and evolve, usually providing further advantages.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=NR3_Strain&diff=47090 2007-03-28T03:28:43Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:Syph1.jpg|left|200px]] <br /> <br /> Have you noticed something new in your life? Perhaps a nagging headache, or persistent feelings of paranoia? A sore that won't heal properly, alternating flashes of heat and cold? Have you been leading a risky lifestyle that brings you into unprotected contact with individuals from other levels? If you answered yes to all or any of these symptoms, you may have caught the NR3 Strain of Syphilis.<br /> <br /> But how can you be sure? The answer is: you can't. Maybe you don't show any of the above symptoms, but you've noticed injuries sealing more quickly than usual, or you suspect that one of your partners may be a carrier. Unfortunately, there is not test that can conclusively prove that you have the NR3 Strain. Many, but not all carriers have scars with dark coloration that appear at the point of infection. However, if you have encountered the strain during intercourse, no detectable marks will appear. This silent plague can spread like cockroaches through the criminal elements of society; that's why it's been called &quot;The Jenny Curse&quot; in certain sublevel communities. This kind of negative stigma has caused countless diseased individuals to hide the signs of their infection, for fear of the social ostracization that is certain to follow.<br /> <br /> <br /> [[Image:Syph3.jpg|right|200px]] That's why the first step, if you suspect that you may have been infected, is to consult your local physician and '''register with your level's security officer'''. The NR3 plague feeds on ignorance; don't be a Dull-Dan, talk to your doctor! Once you have been added to the rolls of known carriers of the disease, you may qualify for subsidized medical treatments and counseling to help you deal with this new facet of your lifestyle. Hundreds of desperate people, on discovering their infection, have been driven by the intense loneliness and despair that accompanies the strictly enforced solitary into taking their own lives to end the suffering. There can be some hope for victims of this disease, maybe, in the next twenty to thirty years.<br /> <br /> Unfortunately, there is absolutely no cure or treatment for the NR3 strain. Once you have contracted the disease, there is no way that you can return to a normal, healthy life. That's why registration and prevention are so important! Just follow the &quot;ABCs&quot; of NR3 infection prevention.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Syph2.jpg|left|200px]]<br /> <br /> '''A'''lways wear sturdy gloves and closed toe shoes.&lt;br&gt;<br /> '''B'''e a safe friend. Intercourse leads to infection. Don't be a plague-rat!&lt;br&gt;<br /> '''C'''lip your finger and toenails regularly. 73% of new infections are caused by an unintentional scratch.&lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> If you follow these three simple rules, then you can be free of the heartrending guilt that accompanies spreading the virus to one of your loved ones. Your life may be essentially over, but that doesn't mean that your coworkers, healthcare providers, or children should suffer the same fate. In the handful of years before your undoubtedly agonizing and untimely death, make sure that you avoid all close human contact to keep from spreading this vile contagion. And don't forget to register!<br /> &lt;br&gt;<br /> &lt;br&gt;<br /> &lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> The NR-modules provide the following advantages and disadvantages initially to those infected:<br /> <br /> * Feature: Claws (+10 unarmed damage)<br /> * Contamination: through claws (level 2: takes 1 month of incubation)<br /> * Regeneration: 1 pt per round<br /> <br /> * Owned: Virus (acting against the virus's interests leads to physically uncomfortable symptoms, ranging from headaches to death).<br /> * Marked: Black scars (generally large, or in an obvious place)<br /> * Vulnerability: EM shielding (none of the advantages work when you're in an EM shielded area)<br /> <br /> However, over time the virus tends to mutate and evolve, usually providing further advantages.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=File:Syph3.jpg&diff=47088 2007-03-28T00:58:59Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=File:Syph2.jpg&diff=47087 2007-03-28T00:58:30Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=File:Syph1.jpg&diff=47086 2007-03-28T00:57:05Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Public_Safety_Bulletins&diff=47085 2007-03-28T00:54:32Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>Has an unprotected encounter left you feeling out-of-sorts, with strange new urges? You could be a carrier of the [[NR3 Strain]] of syphilis. Read this informative pamphlet for more information!<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Future_Imperfect&diff=47084 2007-03-28T00:36:33Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Present Tensions */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:FutureImperfectLogo2.jpg]]<br /> <br /> <br /> Future Imperfect is a speculative [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk Cyberpunk] roleplaying game of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Post-human post-human] heroes and anti-heroes played using the Tri-Stat dX system as presented in the [http://www.guardiansorder.com/ Guardians of Order] book [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ex_Machina_%28role-playing_game%29 Ex Machina]. This wiki is designed to serve as a &quot;series bible&quot; and resource for the players and GM, to help keep better track of everything that appears in the game. Anyone is free to edit the wiki and add to our game.<br /> <br /> ==Cogs in the Machine==<br /> * [[Player Characters]]<br /> * [[Important NPCs]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Ones and Zeroes==<br /> * [[Future Imperfect - Character Creation|Character Creation]]<br /> * [[Future Imperfect-specific Rules]]<br /> * [[New Attributes]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Present Tensions==<br /> * [[Technology]]<br /> * [[C-Port]]<br /> * [[Public Safety Bulletins]]<br /> <br /> ==Resources==<br /> * [[Inspirations]]<br /> * What else can I Wiki? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia] <br /> * What is a RPG? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game RPG Wiki]<br /> * What is a GM? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster Game Master]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Future_Imperfect&diff=47001 2007-03-27T05:25:07Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>As with [[Heaven's Mandate]], this page will be used to keep track of who's contributed what to the wiki, if you feel inclined to track your writings.<br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> (3/6) Future Imperfect, Present Tensions.<br /> <br /> # New: Stub page for [[C-Port]]<br /> # New: [[Upperlevel Security Enforcement]].<br /> <br /> (3/18) Pleas wait, loading...<br /> <br /> # New: [[Yevgeniy Garcia]]<br /> # New: [[Detective Garcia's private log]]<br /> <br /> ==Jesse Cox==<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> # New: [[Area 16]]<br /> # New: [[Jack Scratch]]<br /> # Added: Picture to Jack Scratch. I only mention it because it's pretty sweet...<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> <br /> ==Lori Priebe==<br /> <br /> 3/24 - Mike's bio has been removed and replaced with [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike_Forester Mike's first story].<br /> <br /> 3/26 -- [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike%27s_Personal_Blog Mike's Personal Blog Entries 410 and 411]<br /> <br /> <br /> -----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Jack_Scratch&diff=47000 2007-03-27T05:22:31Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:Jack.jpg|Jack Scratch|frame|right]]<br /> <br /> Jack is not tall, but he uses what he has. Today he’s wearing his crap-kicking steel toes covered in stitched tire treads, scaled aluminum chaps that jingle when he walks, and an open sin-leather vest (the kind they grow in vats, not the plastic syn-leather garbage the tribes wear when they go thrashing in 16). He always wears open vests, transparent shirts, or low tank tops. Jack Scratch never lets anyone forget what the scratch stands for. Four parallel black scars sweep across his lean chest from the left shoulder to the right hollow of his waist. They are broad and jagged. They’re often mistaken for gaudy tattoos. Shumai knows better.<br /> <br /> When he enters the apartment, he finds her already at the door with her hand on the knob. There’s a bag in her hand, the same crummy valise she had when he first brought her to Tier level, a month ago. She has that green slicker on that he always hated, and he finds himself wanting to shred it off her shoulders with his bare hands. She’s shaking. He can handle this.<br /> <br /> “…hell are you doing?” He asks brusquely, and then kicks the door wide open. Jack watches with satisfaction as she backs into his apartment, towards the overstuffed couch with the fat brown cushions.<br /> <br /> Shumai pulls her white floating lock out her eyes, and it only irritates him more (he paid a lot for that g-m!) “I’m leaving you,” she says, her voice flat. She doesn’t move for the door.<br /> <br /> “No. Sit down.” He turns around to close the door, not even watching her, but still satisfied when he hears the sound those baby-butt smooth couch cushions crinkle. “What’s gotten into you? You want me to drop you off back in midlevel, and go back to that job making pissholes for midkids?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what you do, and where you work, but when I came up here a month ago I got an anonymous call from the Tier Community Development Committee. I guess that means TierSec. They told me if I even decided to leave you, I would have an apartment in Upper, paid through the end of the year. I’ll do just fine without you.”<br /> <br /> Jack turns around and sees her sitting on the couch, her knees together, the floating lock drifting over her cropped black hair like an aimless cloud. He spits in the flower vase on the windowsill and mutters “Frigging agency interfering with my life.” He walks over to her and puts one foot on the coffee table, feeling the satisfying crack as the wood splinters under his boot. “A month ago you said this was what you wanted. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll make it for you.”<br /> <br /> “When I first met you, I thought you were really something. I don’t know what it was about you,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing the thin black scratches on the inside of her left wrist, “but I could tell it was something… something exciting. Like you could change the whole Heart if you felt like it, just with your laugh. Now…” The young woman looks down at his foot, and her knuckles whiten as her fists clench. “Trust me, Jack, or whoever you really are, you don’t want me here tonight when you go to sleep.”<br /> <br /> Jack snarls and kicks off the table; it bangs painfully into her shin. He slams the door back open. “Fine! Leave! Get the hell out here. See if I care! You were trash when I found you, and you’ll still be trash tonight when your ass lands in that Upper shack!” He keeps yelling until she is out the door, saying similar things and worse, and then pushes the door closed so hard that it buckled in the frame.<br /> <br /> Alone in his room, he looks around at the decorative prints on the walls, the floor to ceiling holovid projector, the couch and divan. He breaths an inarticulate snarl and swipes his hand across the couch cushions. Silver flashes and his fingers elongate; pale and fibrous stuffing explodes into the air. Another slash and the coffee table shatters in half, another and the prints fly in shreds to the floor. A scant dozen minutes later and the rooms is in shambles, the walls laid bare to the support beams, A-V equipment smoldering in a heap.<br /> <br /> Jack Scratch flicks on his comm. “Hello? Jack. I need a new apartment. Furnished. Three hours. Park view. None of your damn business.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Jack_Scratch&diff=46999 2007-03-27T05:16:57Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:Jack.jpg|Jack Scratch|frame|left]]<br /> <br /> Jack is not tall, but he uses what he has. Today he’s wearing his crap-kicking steel toes covered in stitched tire treads, scaled aluminum chaps that jingle when he walks, and an open sin-leather vest (the kind they grow in vats, not the plastic syn-leather garbage the tribes wear when they go thrashing in 16). He always wears open vests, transparent shirts, or low tank tops. Jack Scratch never lets anyone forget what the scratch stands for. Four parallel black scars sweep across his lean chest from the left shoulder to the right hollow of his waist. They are broad and jagged. They’re often mistaken for gaudy tattoos. Shumai knows better.<br /> <br /> When he enters the apartment, he finds her already at the door with her hand on the knob. There’s a bag in her hand, the same crummy valise she had when he first brought her to Tier level, a month ago. She has that green slicker on that he always hated, and he finds himself wanting to shred it off her shoulders with his bare hands. She’s shaking. He can handle this.<br /> <br /> “…hell are you doing?” He asks brusquely, and then kicks the door wide open. Jack watches with satisfaction as she backs into his apartment, towards the overstuffed couch with the fat brown cushions.<br /> <br /> Shumai pulls her white floating lock out her eyes, and it only irritates him more (he paid a lot for that g-m!) “I’m leaving you,” she says, her voice flat. She doesn’t move for the door.<br /> <br /> “No. Sit down.” He turns around to close the door, not even watching her, but still satisfied when he hears the sound those baby-butt smooth couch cushions crinkle. “What’s gotten into you? You want me to drop you off back in midlevel, and go back to that job making pissholes for midkids?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what you do, and where you work, but when I came up here a month ago I got an anonymous call from the Tier Community Development Committee. I guess that means TierSec. They told me if I even decided to leave you, I would have an apartment in Upper, paid through the end of the year. I’ll do just fine without you.”<br /> <br /> Jack turns around and sees her sitting on the couch, her knees together, the floating lock drifting over her cropped black hair like an aimless cloud. He spits in the flower vase on the windowsill and mutters “Frigging agency interfering with my life.” He walks over to her and puts one foot on the coffee table, feeling the satisfying crack as the wood splinters under his boot. “A month ago you said this was what you wanted. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll make it for you.”<br /> <br /> “When I first met you, I thought you were really something. I don’t know what it was about you,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing the thin black scratches on the inside of her left wrist, “but I could tell it was something… something exciting. Like you could change the whole Heart if you felt like it, just with your laugh. Now…” The young woman looks down at his foot, and her knuckles whiten as her fists clench. “Trust me, Jack, or whoever you really are, you don’t want me here tonight when you go to sleep.”<br /> <br /> Jack snarls and kicks off the table; it bangs painfully into her shin. He slams the door back open. “Fine! Leave! Get the hell out here. See if I care! You were trash when I found you, and you’ll still be trash tonight when your ass lands in that Upper shack!” He keeps yelling until she is out the door, saying similar things and worse, and then pushes the door closed so hard that it buckled in the frame.<br /> <br /> Alone in his room, he looks around at the decorative prints on the walls, the floor to ceiling holovid projector, the couch and divan. He breaths an inarticulate snarl and swipes his hand across the couch cushions. Silver flashes and his fingers elongate; pale and fibrous stuffing explodes into the air. Another slash and the coffee table shatters in half, another and the prints fly in shreds to the floor. A scant dozen minutes later and the rooms is in shambles, the walls laid bare to the support beams, A-V equipment smoldering in a heap.<br /> <br /> Jack Scratch flicks on his comm. “Hello? Jack. I need a new apartment. Furnished. Three hours. Park view. None of your damn business.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Jack_Scratch&diff=46998 2007-03-27T05:15:55Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:Jack.jpg|Jack Scratch|Frame|left]]<br /> <br /> Jack is not tall, but he uses what he has. Today he’s wearing his crap-kicking steel toes covered in stitched tire treads, scaled aluminum chaps that jingle when he walks, and an open sin-leather vest (the kind they grow in vats, not the plastic syn-leather garbage the tribes wear when they go thrashing in 16). He always wears open vests, transparent shirts, or low tank tops. Jack Scratch never lets anyone forget what the scratch stands for. Four parallel black scars sweep across his lean chest from the left shoulder to the right hollow of his waist. They are broad and jagged. They’re often mistaken for gaudy tattoos. Shumai knows better.<br /> <br /> When he enters the apartment, he finds her already at the door with her hand on the knob. There’s a bag in her hand, the same crummy valise she had when he first brought her to Tier level, a month ago. She has that green slicker on that he always hated, and he finds himself wanting to shred it off her shoulders with his bare hands. She’s shaking. He can handle this.<br /> <br /> “…hell are you doing?” He asks brusquely, and then kicks the door wide open. Jack watches with satisfaction as she backs into his apartment, towards the overstuffed couch with the fat brown cushions.<br /> <br /> Shumai pulls her white floating lock out her eyes, and it only irritates him more (he paid a lot for that g-m!) “I’m leaving you,” she says, her voice flat. She doesn’t move for the door.<br /> <br /> “No. Sit down.” He turns around to close the door, not even watching her, but still satisfied when he hears the sound those baby-butt smooth couch cushions crinkle. “What’s gotten into you? You want me to drop you off back in midlevel, and go back to that job making pissholes for midkids?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what you do, and where you work, but when I came up here a month ago I got an anonymous call from the Tier Community Development Committee. I guess that means TierSec. They told me if I even decided to leave you, I would have an apartment in Upper, paid through the end of the year. I’ll do just fine without you.”<br /> <br /> Jack turns around and sees her sitting on the couch, her knees together, the floating lock drifting over her cropped black hair like an aimless cloud. He spits in the flower vase on the windowsill and mutters “Frigging agency interfering with my life.” He walks over to her and puts one foot on the coffee table, feeling the satisfying crack as the wood splinters under his boot. “A month ago you said this was what you wanted. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll make it for you.”<br /> <br /> “When I first met you, I thought you were really something. I don’t know what it was about you,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing the thin black scratches on the inside of her left wrist, “but I could tell it was something… something exciting. Like you could change the whole Heart if you felt like it, just with your laugh. Now…” The young woman looks down at his foot, and her knuckles whiten as her fists clench. “Trust me, Jack, or whoever you really are, you don’t want me here tonight when you go to sleep.”<br /> <br /> Jack snarls and kicks off the table; it bangs painfully into her shin. He slams the door back open. “Fine! Leave! Get the hell out here. See if I care! You were trash when I found you, and you’ll still be trash tonight when your ass lands in that Upper shack!” He keeps yelling until she is out the door, saying similar things and worse, and then pushes the door closed so hard that it buckled in the frame.<br /> <br /> Alone in his room, he looks around at the decorative prints on the walls, the floor to ceiling holovid projector, the couch and divan. He breaths an inarticulate snarl and swipes his hand across the couch cushions. Silver flashes and his fingers elongate; pale and fibrous stuffing explodes into the air. Another slash and the coffee table shatters in half, another and the prints fly in shreds to the floor. A scant dozen minutes later and the rooms is in shambles, the walls laid bare to the support beams, A-V equipment smoldering in a heap.<br /> <br /> Jack Scratch flicks on his comm. “Hello? Jack. I need a new apartment. Furnished. Three hours. Park view. None of your damn business.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Jack_Scratch&diff=46997 2007-03-27T05:15:13Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:Jack.jpg}|Jack Scratch|Frame|left]]Jack is not tall, but he uses what he has. Today he’s wearing his crap-kicking steel toes covered in stitched tire treads, scaled aluminum chaps that jingle when he walks, and an open sin-leather vest (the kind they grow in vats, not the plastic syn-leather garbage the tribes wear when they go thrashing in 16). He always wears open vests, transparent shirts, or low tank tops. Jack Scratch never lets anyone forget what the scratch stands for. Four parallel black scars sweep across his lean chest from the left shoulder to the right hollow of his waist. They are broad and jagged. They’re often mistaken for gaudy tattoos. Shumai knows better.<br /> <br /> When he enters the apartment, he finds her already at the door with her hand on the knob. There’s a bag in her hand, the same crummy valise she had when he first brought her to Tier level, a month ago. She has that green slicker on that he always hated, and he finds himself wanting to shred it off her shoulders with his bare hands. She’s shaking. He can handle this.<br /> <br /> “…hell are you doing?” He asks brusquely, and then kicks the door wide open. Jack watches with satisfaction as she backs into his apartment, towards the overstuffed couch with the fat brown cushions.<br /> <br /> Shumai pulls her white floating lock out her eyes, and it only irritates him more (he paid a lot for that g-m!) “I’m leaving you,” she says, her voice flat. She doesn’t move for the door.<br /> <br /> “No. Sit down.” He turns around to close the door, not even watching her, but still satisfied when he hears the sound those baby-butt smooth couch cushions crinkle. “What’s gotten into you? You want me to drop you off back in midlevel, and go back to that job making pissholes for midkids?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what you do, and where you work, but when I came up here a month ago I got an anonymous call from the Tier Community Development Committee. I guess that means TierSec. They told me if I even decided to leave you, I would have an apartment in Upper, paid through the end of the year. I’ll do just fine without you.”<br /> <br /> Jack turns around and sees her sitting on the couch, her knees together, the floating lock drifting over her cropped black hair like an aimless cloud. He spits in the flower vase on the windowsill and mutters “Frigging agency interfering with my life.” He walks over to her and puts one foot on the coffee table, feeling the satisfying crack as the wood splinters under his boot. “A month ago you said this was what you wanted. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll make it for you.”<br /> <br /> “When I first met you, I thought you were really something. I don’t know what it was about you,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing the thin black scratches on the inside of her left wrist, “but I could tell it was something… something exciting. Like you could change the whole Heart if you felt like it, just with your laugh. Now…” The young woman looks down at his foot, and her knuckles whiten as her fists clench. “Trust me, Jack, or whoever you really are, you don’t want me here tonight when you go to sleep.”<br /> <br /> Jack snarls and kicks off the table; it bangs painfully into her shin. He slams the door back open. “Fine! Leave! Get the hell out here. See if I care! You were trash when I found you, and you’ll still be trash tonight when your ass lands in that Upper shack!” He keeps yelling until she is out the door, saying similar things and worse, and then pushes the door closed so hard that it buckled in the frame.<br /> <br /> Alone in his room, he looks around at the decorative prints on the walls, the floor to ceiling holovid projector, the couch and divan. He breaths an inarticulate snarl and swipes his hand across the couch cushions. Silver flashes and his fingers elongate; pale and fibrous stuffing explodes into the air. Another slash and the coffee table shatters in half, another and the prints fly in shreds to the floor. A scant dozen minutes later and the rooms is in shambles, the walls laid bare to the support beams, A-V equipment smoldering in a heap.<br /> <br /> Jack Scratch flicks on his comm. “Hello? Jack. I need a new apartment. Furnished. Three hours. Park view. None of your damn business.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=File:Jack.jpg&diff=46996 2007-03-27T05:14:21Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Future_Imperfect&diff=46985 2007-03-27T03:12:10Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>As with [[Heaven's Mandate]], this page will be used to keep track of who's contributed what to the wiki, if you feel inclined to track your writings.<br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> (3/6) Future Imperfect, Present Tensions.<br /> <br /> # New: Stub page for [[C-Port]]<br /> # New: [[Upperlevel Security Enforcement]].<br /> <br /> (3/18) Pleas wait, loading...<br /> <br /> # New: [[Yevgeniy Garcia]]<br /> # New: [[Detective Garcia's private log]]<br /> <br /> ==Jesse Cox==<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> # New: [[Area 16]]<br /> # New: [[Jack Scratch]]<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> <br /> ==Lori Priebe==<br /> <br /> 3/24 - Mike's bio has been removed and replaced with [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike_Forester Mike's first story].<br /> <br /> 3/26 -- [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike%27s_Personal_Blog Mike's Personal Blog Entries 410 and 411]<br /> <br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Future_Imperfect&diff=46984 2007-03-27T03:11:37Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>As with [[Heaven's Mandate]], this page will be used to keep track of who's contributed what to the wiki, if you feel inclined to track your writings.<br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> (3/6) Future Imperfect, Present Tensions.<br /> <br /> # New: Stub page for [[C-Port]]<br /> # New: [[Upperlevel Security Enforcement]].<br /> <br /> (3/18) Pleas wait, loading...<br /> <br /> # New: [[Yevgeniy Garcia]]<br /> # New: [[Detective Garcia's private log]]<br /> <br /> ==Jesse Cox==<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> # [[Area 16]]<br /> # [[Jack Scratch]]<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> <br /> ==Lori Priebe==<br /> <br /> 3/24 - Mike's bio has been removed and replaced with [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike_Forester Mike's first story].<br /> <br /> 3/26 -- [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike%27s_Personal_Blog Mike's Personal Blog Entries 410 and 411]<br /> <br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46792 2007-03-24T15:52:54Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its eons-forsaken ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the many chains that trailed back to a smouldering fleet. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless ships were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the withered tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll see the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px|left]]<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved... mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, as I served your grandfather before you, so heed my advice as he once did. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. Who is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46791 2007-03-24T15:43:01Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Part 1: Celeren */</p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its eons-forsaken ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the many chains that trailed back to a smouldering fleet. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless ships were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the ancient tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px|left]]<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information to offer you. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, in memory of your grandfather, so heed my advice. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. What is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46785 2007-03-24T05:42:47Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its ancient ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the many chains that branched from the single arc of links that wrapped over his shoulder. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the ancient tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px|left]]<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information to offer you. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, in memory of your grandfather, so heed my advice. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. What is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46784 2007-03-24T05:42:10Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its ancient ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the many chains that branched from the single arc of links that wrapped over his shoulder. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the ancient tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px|left]]<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information to offer you. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, in memory of your grandfather, so heed my advice. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. What is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46783 2007-03-24T05:41:22Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its ancient ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the many chains that branched from the single arc of links that wrapped over his shoulder. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the ancient tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px]]<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information to offer you. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, in memory of your grandfather, so heed my advice. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. What is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46782 2007-03-24T05:40:02Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>==Part 1: Celeren==<br /> <br /> Suequmann the Sunrise Destroying Hammer stepped onto the beach. His head lolled to one side, resting almost lovingly on the fist-thick links of the iron chain draped over his shoulder. The seas foamed and howled behind him, still raging at the memory of his presence, unwilling to be reminded of its ancient ally. With each step the ancient demon heaved on the chain, which behind him branched into dozens of chains. Suequmann’s neck had bent at that angle ever since it had been shattered by Appointed Blasphemy, swung by Eottra Dyclasm in the Paling Wars at the edge of Dazraban. Behind his grizzled visage, his long white tail twisted in undulous arcs through the dozes of chains that branched from the single arc of links that wrapped over his shoulder. Each step he took tore great gouges in the sand of the seashore, bringing him only a few inches farther inland, but with each step he took, three dozen mastless were drawn a few inches closer to shore.<br /> <br /> At the side of his general, Ledaal Kebok Omeger watched approvingly, confident that his bargain had been well made. The Vermilion Legion had arrived in the Marukan.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]<br /> <br /> “I know how that tree feels.”<br /> <br /> High on a seaward walkway of the Celeren Manse, Tepet Ejava was now free to note the plight of a juniper clinging to a rugged promontory north of the city. Blasted by the wind and waves, with barely a fingerhold of purchase for the roots, the ancient tree seemed destined to be destroyed at any moment.<br /> <br /> “Excuse me, general?” She had not noticed the arrival of her overeager lieutenant, so intently her attention had been diverted.<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned and twisted back a lock of her auburn hair, away from her eyes. “Ah. Lieutenant [[Virra Amalia]]. I assume you have important news?”<br /> <br /> “Two things. Mayhiros Lyra has requested the particulars regarding the duration of your...”<br /> <br /> The general interrupted. “You tell her that as soon as we have the supplies we’ve requested, we’ll be on our way. She claims to be nothing more than a merchant; I assume she’ll the benefits of having the Red Piss Legion move on.”<br /> <br /> Amalia blinked her flame golden eyes. “We’ll be leaving soon?”<br /> <br /> “I said nothing of the kind, but that’s what you will tell her. The second thing?” Tepet Ejava turned away from the young woman and rested her hand on Thorn. The strength of the jade was ever renewing.<br /> <br /> The young fire aspect shifted uneasily in her lamelar. “There’s a shinobi here to see you... she claims to be an Iselsi...”<br /> <br /> “Show her in and dismiss yourself.”<br /> <br /> “Sir, if you’re certain that it’s wise, I...”<br /> <br /> “That is all, lieutenant.” As she withdrew, the Roseblack reminded herself once again it was the Vermilion Legion, and that she couldn’t expect as much from ex-convicts and found eggs as the shattered legions in which she had served most of her career. She did not have time to muse further on the subject.<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px]]<br /> <br /> “General Tepet.” The rasping voice fell harshly on her ears. Instinctively she walked to the sculpted pink marble railing, looking away from the hideous jade mask. Iselsi Sherem knelt in a crouch three paces behind her and one pace to her left.<br /> <br /> “Your instructions were that if and when we were forced to make landfall in Marukan Lands, you should have a report prepared on the situation here. That time has come, in spite of our best efforts.”<br /> <br /> “I understand. I have achieved mixed results.”<br /> <br /> Tepet Arada let her head fall forward. “I could use good... Sherem, you smell of rot and brine.”<br /> <br /> “That is understandable, as I have spent the last three weeks at the bottom of a salt marsh. I was discovered by one of the anathema’s agents, and they sent their warlord and a pair of heretic monks to root me out. Rather than compromise the mission... I hid.”<br /> <br /> “I fail to see how these results can be mixed, since it sounds like you have no information for me whatsoever.”<br /> <br /> “I have better than second hand information to offer you. Two things I offer you. In three days time the exiled owner of this manse will be arriving. I guarantee he will be useful if you should ever need... native support.”<br /> <br /> “His name?”<br /> <br /> “[[Mayhiros Tesos]].”<br /> <br /> “He’s lost once, I’m not sure his support is entirely noteworthy.” The Roseblack gripped the hilt of her wavecleaver more tightly in her fist. “Curse it all, Sherem. What would you do? We lost a full dragon in a single day, more than the Lintha claimed in a year! I can’t believe I’m leading the last of our men into another Battle of Futile Blood. Grandfather was right. I should have ignored the orders and slain the messenger.”<br /> <br /> “If the situation is so dire, my lady, perhaps you are willing to consider unorthodox alliances?” Sherem’s head tilted up slightly, hidden as always behind black jade filigree.<br /> <br /> “Ha. If the immaculate ‘deposition’ that’s traveling with us heard that proposition... or even the overeager lieutenant that brought you here... I’d be dead by dawn. Even if they failed...”<br /> <br /> “...which they would...”<br /> <br /> “...I could never come within a thousand miles of the Blessed Isle again. They’re just looking for a reason to execute me as is. I see now why Lookshy cared nothing for offering this wretched bargain, or why the anathema were so cavalier about warning us of the Mask’s forces. We’re damned no matter where we turn.”<br /> <br /> Sherem shifted noiselessly. “Long have I watched over your career, in memory of your grandfather, so heed my advice. I have heard tell of the strength of these anathema. An alliance with them or a stronger pact with Lookshy might turn the tide against the Mask... and the realm.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm. How could I reconcile myself to such a treaty? The Mask conquers Thorns, and the anathema conquer the Marukan. What is to say that one is a lesser evil than the other?”<br /> <br /> “I am.” Tepet Ejava whirled to see that a third had joined them on the balcony. The young man was dressed in shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks and a shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46781 2007-03-24T03:37:05Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Heaven%27s_Mandate&diff=46780 2007-03-24T02:53:41Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>Howdy exalts. Anyway, I thought that we could post here about what we actually did to the site so that we can easily see what kind of new material has been posted. Related changes just doesn't cut it. So, post your latest adds, starting with what you've posted since the last session. <br /> <br /> Exp scale (subject to extreme fudging):&lt;br&gt;<br /> 1/2 pt: Half page of flavor, or moderate structural changes. Great for filling in entries on people and places, but doesn't require a lot of thought or creativity.&lt;br&gt;<br /> 1 pt: One or two pages of flavor. Usually more labor intensive, requiring cross-referencing, and they add new information to the setting.&lt;br&gt;<br /> 2(+?) pts: 3 or more pages. These entries are really adventures in themselves, and go beyond character exploration into character development.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> # New: [[Special Training for the Marukan First Legion]]<br /> # New: [[A Tea Ceremony, Interrupted]]<br /> <br /> (10/27) Bad news for tea-lovers everywhere.<br /> <br /> # New: [[Crossroads of Tea and Karma]], and an Epilogue: [[The Reprimand]]<br /> # New: Stub entries for Nameless Ravine's father's two Monkey Bodyguards, [[Raging Panda]] (kohai) and [[Leaf-Catcher]] (sempai)<br /> # New: Stub entry for [[Charms of Apotheosis]]<br /> <br /> (10/28-10/29) Some post-game follow-up:<br /> <br /> # New: An [[Unexpected Theology Lesson]] for the Marukan First Legion<br /> # New: The Litany of Inferior [[Marukan Regional Teas]]<br /> # New: Finale: [[The Bureaucrat and the Deity]]<br /> <br /> (11/07) Oops. Some consequences.<br /> <br /> # New: Unity of Nightmares, [[Act 1: Curtain Call]]<br /> # Coming Soon: Acts 2-5, plus an intermission. I'll put these on their own page once they're done.<br /> <br /> (11/09) Daybringers Fanfic. Heaven help us all. (Servants of the Righteous, Part 1)<br /> <br /> # New: Chronicles of the Daybringers, [[Gaiden 3.5]]<br /> # New: Renamed &quot;Unity of Nightmares&quot; to &quot;Nameless Ravine's Nightmare&quot;. Added [[Act 2: Boameth and the Fox]]<br /> <br /> (11/13-11/16) Stone Bone Trees. (Servants of the Righteous, Part 2)<br /> <br /> # New: The lead-in for [[Shai Mei]]'s entry got out of hand and turned into its own tale: [[Gaiden 5.6]]: Marta's many tools. Shai Mei's own entry remains blank...<br /> # New: Entry for [[Shai Mei]]. Needless to say, it features rampant tree-philosophy.<br /> # Updated: [[Reforging the Promise]]. Added the results of the first post-reforging test-run.<br /> # New: [[Intermission: Rivers and Spoilers]]<br /> # New: [[Act 5: Fifteenth Son Shatters the River]]<br /> # Updated: [[Raging Panda]] teaches Nameless Ravine a new charm.<br /> # New: [[Rededicating the Promise]], with a cameo from SSW<br /> <br /> (12/21) The Faces of The Enemy (Messages and their Bearers)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Clearfield]]<br /> # New: [[Amilar Agathon]]<br /> # Updated: Soho gives us a guided tour of the completely remodelled [[Flying Pearl Lake]]<br /> <br /> (12/30) Staring Into the Abyss (A Trial of Valor)<br /> <br /> # New: Poor [[Soho]] doesn't have his own entry yet, but he does guest-star in [[Gaiden 6.5]]: Unlikely Sifu, Unlikely Student<br /> # Updated: [[Sha Yan Shi]] - Added &quot;Part 3: The Calm Before...&quot;<br /> # New: [[Act 4: Torrent of Woe]].<br /> # Coming soon: The (chronologically challenged) nightmare sequence concludes with [[Act 3: Darkest Before the Dawn]]<br /> <br /> (1/9) Angry Angry Deathlord (The Consequences of Action)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Four Farewells]] - The first part of Nameless Ravine's adventures between the end of the SSW arc and whatever comes next<br /> # New: [[Hope in Varsi]]<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Wayward Eye of Ma-Ha-Suchi]]<br /> <br /> (1/14) Beneath Open Skies (The Righteous Strike Back)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Thirsty Soku and the Righteous Man]]<br /> # New: [[The Prison of Oaken Rebuke]]<br /> # New: [[Soho]] finally has a short entry. I think I'll need to play him in game to get a feel for him before he gets some serious adventures of his own.<br /> <br /> (1/21) Phoenix Rebirth (Distant Peals of Thunder)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Monkey-Picked Messenger]]. I'm enjoying this *way* too much.<br /> # New: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Intended as a list of every entry, arranged in game-world chronological order (regardless of author and date of composition), cross-referenced by subplot. Lots of cleanup and formatting and typo-fixing yet to do. There's almost certainly chronology errors in there as well. Also, someone else should volunteer to add in-game calendar dates to the session-headings.<br /> # Updated: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Fixed the broken links, and added commentary about the ordering scheme. Added a link off of the main page.<br /> <br /> (2/11) Meanwhile... (Darkening Skies)<br /> <br /> # New: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added Part 1: &quot;Not One Tiger Warrior&quot;<br /> # Updated: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added &quot;A Conspiracy of Virtue&quot;<br /> # Updated: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added &quot;No Man's Land&quot;. I'm tempted break this tale into multiple pages, in which case &quot;No Man's Land&quot; will probably be reclassified as &quot;Daybringers Gaiden 7.5: What Might have Been&quot;. If for no reason other than to goad David into finishing DB8. Curse you Hans!<br /> # The Chronology-monkeys have been busy; the Second Southern Expedition has been split into [[Not One Tiger Warrior]], [[A Conspiracy of Virtue]], and [[Gaiden 7.5]], with more coming soon.<br /> <br /> (2/17) Meanwhile... (Sapphire's Bad Day)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Mandate of Heaven]] - Best. Topic. Title. EVAR.<br /> # New: [[Powder Kegs (and other delicate matters)]]<br /> # New: [[Divine Intervention]] - Fun with evil, evil, evil cliffhangers; You are a horrible, horrible man, Hans Christian Andersen. :) - JK<br /> # New: [[Hurry Home, Sweet Voice]] - The funny part is, Jason, there was only a ninety-minute window of truly-evil cliffhanger-dom before I posted this next part. Not that there's any real resolution, but still.<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Law of the Pack]] - The problem with being a half-caste in a full-moon world is that you have to deal with... another Evil, Evil, Cliffhanger! Mwa ha ha! ''She '''''did not''''' just say &quot;In the name of the Moon, I will punish you&quot;...?! -mac''<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Long Dark Night]] - What? No cliffhanger? Inconceivable!<br /> # New: [[Agathon's Findings]] - I wrote this ages ago to explore the events that brought Agathon into disgrace in Lookshy, but forgot to post it. With Marta's wedding and Soho's impending trial, it's suddenly quite relevant. ''You know that nothing links to it right now but this Talk page, right? :) - JK'' (''Yeah, posted it this morning before work. Haven't yet decided the best place to put it... okay, Agathon's entry links to it now. - HCA'')<br /> # Updated: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Added the last several sessions' worth of entries. The simian scribes were uncertain of the timing of some of them, particularly Jason's works.<br /> <br /> (2/24) Secret Teachings of Secret Avalanche (Going to Ground)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Gaiden 7.6]]: Soho no baka! - This was going to be the last entry in the Second Southern Expedition, but then it got melodramatic enough that I was forced to reclassify it as Daybringers Gaiden. Such a shame that I couldn't number it 8.5. ''(goad, goad! -HCA)'' Can something really count as Daybringers' Gaiden if it doesn't actually contain any reference to the Daybringers? - JK (Crap, I *knew* I forgot a crucial detail. Expect an edit sometime soon.)<br /> # New: [[Peleps Deled's Vault]] - [[Storm of Amber]] is not the only exalt seeking the Third-Arm Glaive...<br /> <br /> (3/10) A Long-Awaited Party (?)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Shai Mei's Place]] - The Little Tree vanquishes a nasty hangover...<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> # Edit: [[The Vitreous Fulcrum]] now includes changes after the last battle.<br /> # New: road system described under [[Eye of Hiparkes]].<br /> # New: town at the center of the Eye of Hiparkes: [[God Crossing]].<br /> # New: Automata section begun with [[The Gardener]].<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Selenn]], Nathan's mother, added to the contacts for Rivers.<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Salvar]], Nathan's brother, added to contacts for Rivers.<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Othoclase]], gemlord.<br /> <br /> --battle of three forces, 8/12--<br /> # New: [[Battle of Breaking Iron]] is complete (first draft).<br /> <br /> --failure and intrigue, 8/20--<br /> # New: [[Kena]], that seductress, added.<br /> # New: [[The Divisions]], the list of good and bad little spirits.<br /> <br /> --The Halls of Venus, 9/2--<br /> # New: [[Scales of the Dragon]], the white jade superheavy plate.<br /> # New: [[The Halls of Venus]].<br /> # New: [[Chehbraterazim]], a sobeksis of the grey river.<br /> # Expanded: [[Salvar]].<br /> <br /> --The City Mastered, 9/16--<br /> # New: [[A School For All]]: (3/4) news spreads of a school beginning operation in the Plum Blossom Retreat.<br /> # New: [[Spring Market]]: (2/2) Rivers tries to have fun (A compilation project!)<br /> # New: [[Serpent Swords]]: (3/3) Irrational Hope and Unbreakable Faith.<br /> # New: [[The First Generation]]: (2/2) Power and Humanity: the first three amalgams.<br /> <br /> --Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First, 9/30--<br /> # New: [[Chronicles of the Daybringers]]: My totally serious, dark take on what could happen when one of our teams leaves home.<br /> # Expanded: [[Kena]]: Once again, mostly about love, sorcery, and the relationship between Rivers and his mentor.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 1]]: Carnage! Slaughter! We're ready for those things, but can we get a room for the night?<br /> # New: [[Pai and Pei]]: River's assistants.<br /> # New: [[Lyssa]]: Liaison to the Infinite City.<br /> # New: [[Under Bridges]]: River's horse, one of Murakan's finest.<br /> <br /> --Civil War Averted, 10/7--<br /> # New: [[Chapter 2]]: Gunzosha Powered Armor: Sure it's sexy, but in the summer?<br /> # New: [[The Bandit King]]: As you get older, the toys just get bigger.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 3]]: Why you don't mess with Yao Ye.<br /> # New: [[Blood Like Sparks]]: Yet another... enemy?<br /> # New: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Doomed souls struggling for the light. 2 quick sections.<br /> # Expanded: [[God Crossing]]: On Rivers' day off, the city's planning must continue.<br /> <br /> --Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips, 10/21--<br /> # New: [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # New: [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> # New: [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> # New: [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # New: [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 4]] Melee in the streets of Varsi?&lt;br&gt;<br /> # New: [[Gatehouse of the Five Winds]]: Fleets.<br /> # New: [[Panoply of the Sun]]: I started it, but it's going to take a beastload of work. Check it out!<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: A quick section added.<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Another quick section added.<br /> <br /> --Oops: 11/4--<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 5]]: Sagacious Shu Zhuang.<br /> # New: The [[Cerulean Sage]]: Preparing to learn a new style once snake is finished.<br /> # Expanded: Expansion to [[Marta]]: Part 1 of SSW intros, (the test).<br /> # Expanded: [[The Halls of Venus]]: Part 2 of SSW intros.<br /> # New: [[Unity of Dreams]]: Part 3 of SSW intros.<br /> # New: [[Seven Season's Widow]]: An entry of her own. (revised to reflect her lack of athletics).<br /> # Expanded: [[Berren]]: More description of life in God Crossing, with further Lookshy scheming.<br /> # New: [[Gaiden 5.5]]: Lu Fei, Seraph of the Burning Bastion.<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 6]]: Where has the sun gone?<br /> # New: [[Reforging the Promise]]<br /> # New: [[Mite Xu]]: just to add a little flavor to our amalgamated servants.<br /> # New: [[Lu Fei]]: Detailing a bit about Lu Fei's bad luck and his present situation.<br /> # New: Expansion of Lu Fei to include the letter requesting amabassadorial status.<br /> <br /> --Faces of the Enemy (Messages and their Bearers): 12/16/06--<br /> # Expanded: [[Mayhiros Tesos]].<br /> # New: Added [[Walker in Darkness]] and three of his servants as blank stubs.<br /> # New: [[Typhon]]. Busy little bugger.<br /> <br /> --A Trial of Valor: 12/30/06--<br /> # New: [[Crucible of Celestial Portion]]: It's River's job, so it's off screen, but that doesn't mean it's trivial.<br /> <br /> --The Consequences of Action: 1/6/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: The End and the Beginning.<br /> # New: [[Amilar Vondy]]: Lookshy politics have grown less subtle of late.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 7]]: Still More Day to Bring, with an appearance by the newest Daybringer.<br /> # New: [[Thorns]]: I'm not too happy with it, so I'll probably edit it, but it's a little picture of Rivers considering the city of Thorns.<br /> # Edited: Collected gens Amilar under one banner. The house is at the very least neutral, as its head appears to be.<br /> <br /> --The Righteous Strike Back: 1/13/07--<br /> # New: [[Open Skies Above]]: Sorry, you're not invited, but you can still send gifts. Hearthstones are preferred.<br /> # New: [[Putting Out Fires]]: Rivers and Skies and busting heads.<br /> # New: [[Falling Bridges]]: Reconstruction in the south, and moderate angst, deflected by Mite Xu.<br /> # New: [[Shadow of a Different Sun]]: Rock and a hard place.<br /> # New: [[Responsibility and Authority]]: Happy endings.<br /> # Expanded: [[Rivers Between Us]]<br /> # New: [[The Headless]]: Pity Wu.<br /> <br /> --Distant Peals of Thunder: 1/20/07--<br /> # New: [[Applications of Enlightenment]]: New page for organizing custom charms, since 1/2 of the players have them. <br /> # New: [[Defy the Armor's Dream]]: Posted the one custom charm that I have in full (I don't have the virtue listed for the spirit charms you sent me, Jason. Sorry!)<br /> # Edited: [[The Fivefold Chronology]]: Added dates as far back as I have them recorded as gm.<br /> <br /> --Wind in the Doorway: 1/27/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[Solar-Forged Glories]]: Added a couple of the artifacts from last session.<br /> # Picture: [[Sun-Blackened Pinions]]: Crane.<br /> # Expanded: [[Rivers Between Us]]: Tossed up his intimacies for funsies.<br /> <br /> --Darkening Skies: 2/10/07--<br /> # New: [[Secret Avalanche]] gets his own page. I wish I could have written it... without the crappy writing.<br /> # New: [[Root of the East]], Rivers' trusted advisor. Poor devil.<br /> <br /> --Cloud Break: 3/10/07--<br /> # New: [[Chapter 8]]: At last. So many double meanings it will take eight fully independent and flurry-able simultaneous actions to shake a stick at them!<br /> <br /> --Tree Hunting: 3/17/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[Cerulean Sage]]: Decided he should really be a divinity, and then brought him in to start teaching Rivers.<br /> # Added: [[Outside the Bear's Cave]]: The next story will begin soon. You are ready. Are they?<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> Good plan, David!<br /> <br /> # (7/30) Added [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]<br /> # (7/30) Added [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]<br /> # (7/30) Added [[The Dryads]]<br /> # (7/31) Added [[Grassfoot]]<br /> # (7/31) Added [[Amilar Amaki]]<br /> # (8/01) Moved River's Automata on the front page, under the [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#The_Book_and_the_Sword|Book and the Sword]] heading, since they're created things and not actual characters. <br /> # (8/01) Changed the formatting for [[An Oathsworn Circle]] to make [[River's Contacts]] stand out better.<br /> # (8/05) Edited David's [[Othoclase]] page, for added evil.<br /> # (8/05) Added a second section to the [[Grassfoot]] page.<br /> # (8/06) Edited [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]] to add a shrine and a way of signalling others.<br /> # (8/06) Edited [[God Crossing]] for logic, clarity and more added evil.<br /> <br /> '''8/12: Game Day! Battle of Three Forces'''<br /> # (8/14) Added a second section to [[The Dryads]].<br /> # (8/17) Added [[Lookshy]].<br /> # (8/17) Added [[Mayhiros Tesos]].<br /> # (8/19) Added a second section to [[Fear's Umbra]].<br /> <br /> '''8/20: Game Day! Failure and Intrigue'''<br /> # (8/26) Listed all of the Mask's known Abyssals on [[Sky-Spanning Devils]].<br /> # (8/26) Added [[Mayhiros Ruja]].<br /> # (8/26) Added [[Rhianna]].<br /> <br /> '''9/2: Game Day! The Halls of Venus'''<br /> # (9/4) Added [[The Mourning Field]]<br /> # (9/4) Added [[Flying Pearl Lake]]<br /> # (9/8) Added &quot;At the Altar of Storms&quot; to [[Shouting With Iron]]<br /> # (9/9) Added [[Soft the Valley's Song]]<br /> <br /> '''9/16: Game Day! The City Mastered'''<br /> # (9/17) Added [[Hiparkes' Mirror]]<br /> # (9/17) Added [[Sohei Reinforcement Armor]]<br /> # (9/18) Added [[Ma-Ha-Suchi]]<br /> # (9/18) Added a picture of the [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]<br /> # (9/24) Began [[Abbot of Hunger and Dust]]<br /> <br /> '''9/30: Game Day! Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First'''<br /> # (10/02) Finished [[Abbot of Hunger and Dust]]<br /> # (10/02) Added [[V'Neef Pahul]]<br /> # (10/06) Added &quot;The Living Voice of Ami Kang&quot; to [[The_Qinglong_Alliance]]<br /> # (10/07) Added &quot;Storm of Amber&quot; to [[Spring Market]]<br /> <br /> '''10/07: Game Day! Civil War Averted'''<br /> # (10/08) Added [[Storm's Eye Hill]]<br /> # (10/08) Added [[Fenghuang Temple]], Part 1<br /> # (10/11) Added [[Fenghuang Temple]], Part 2<br /> # (10/14) Added [[Deren's Ford]]<br /> # (10/15) Added [[Puyo]]<br /> # (10/15) Added [[Karacalla]]<br /> # (10/17) Added [[Varsi]], Part 1<br /> <br /> '''10/21: Game Day! Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips'''<br /> # (10/22) Added &quot;Fire in the Rain&quot; to [[The Zhuque Brotherhood]]<br /> <br /> '''10/28: Game Day! Insults Answered'''<br /> # (10/29) Added [[Perfected Vigilance of Stone]]<br /> # (10/29) Reorganized [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#Records_of_the_Grand_Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]] for clarity; includes moving [[My Town]] to [[Nexus]]<br /> # (10/29) Added [[War Games]]<br /> # (10/29) Added [[A Web Spun From Water]]<br /> # (11/02) Added [[The Marukan Alliance]] - FINALLY!<br /> # (11/04) Added [[Crumbling Pillar]]<br /> # (11/04) Added [[The Trials of Righteous Judgement]]<br /> <br /> '''11/04: Game Day! Oops'''<br /> # (11/04) Reorganized [[Heaven's Mandate]] for clarity - breaking off larger sections into self-contained pages<br /> # (11/05) Added [[Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Perfected Tears Upon Alabaster Sorrow]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Weeping Jade]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Black Caul Chiurgeons]]<br /> <br /> '''12/16: Game Day! Faces of the Enemy (Messages and their Bearers)'''<br /> # (12/17) Added Part 1 to [[The Qilin Fellowship]]<br /> <br /> '''12/30: Game Day! A Trial of Valor'''<br /> # (12/31) Added &quot;The Forge's New Master&quot; to the [[Flame-bond Forge]]<br /> # (12/31) Added [[Choshu Ishi]]<br /> # (12/31) Added &quot;Insolence&quot; to [[The Qilin Fellowship]]<br /> <br /> '''1/06: Game Day! Consequences of Action'''<br /> # (1/07) Changed [[A Web Spun From Water]] and [[Storm's Eye Hill]] to account for more defined genders/roles in the [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]<br /> # (1/07) Created [[The Soft Breath of Seasons]] and [[Chronicle of the Cycles of Time]] to clear up [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#Records_of_the_Grand_Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]] on the Main Page<br /> # (1/07) Added [[Nama Bi]]<br /> # (1/07) Added &quot;In the Dragon's Wake&quot; to [[Storm's Eye Hill]]<br /> # (1/07) Added [[Red the Sage's Roots]]<br /> # (1/07) Added pictures to [[Choshu Ishi]], [[Crumbling Pillar]], [[God Crossing]], [[Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages]], [[Nama Bi]] and [[Red the Sage's Roots]]<br /> <br /> '''1/13: Game Day! The Righteous Strike Back!'''<br /> # (1/15) Added &quot;Singular Geomancy&quot; to [[Storm's Eye Hill]]; in which I try, and fail, to get maudlin<br /> # (1/16) Added [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/17) Added &quot;Lightning Disperses the Clouds&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/18) Added &quot;The Crow Plucks the Corpse's Eye&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/19) Added &quot;The Formation Triumphs&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/19) Added [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]]<br /> <br /> '''1/20: Game Day! Distant Peals of Thunder'''<br /> # (1/24) Added [[The Righteous Stair]]<br /> <br /> '''1/27: Game Day! Wind in the Doorway'''<br /> # (1/28) Added [[Choshu Aya]].<br /> # (2/05) Added Intimacies for [[Storm of Amber]], [[Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory]], [[Cathak Nekuto]], [[Choshu Ishi]] and [[Choshu Aya]]; Storm's are complete, the rest still have some to add, in time.<br /> # (2/05) Added [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]]<br /> # (2/05) Edited [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]] to improve the quality.<br /> # (2/08) Added [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]].<br /> # (2/08) Added [[House of Courage]].<br /> # (2/08) Added &quot;In Mountains, Occupy the Heights&quot; to [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]].<br /> <br /> '''2/10: Game Day! Darkening Skies'''<br /> # (2/11) Added &quot;In Valleys, Deploy for Defense&quot; to [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]].<br /> # (2/11) Added the [[Pearl of Castigation]] to our hearthstones.<br /> # (2/15) Added [[The Five Changes of Fire]]<br /> <br /> '''2/17: Game Day! Sapphire's Bad Day'''<br /> # (2/17) Added [[Voices Prophesying War]]<br /> # (2/18) Added &quot;The Answer to the Earth&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]; anyone who gets the joke gets mad props from me.<br /> # (2/18) Added &quot;The Red Queen&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]<br /> # (2/20) Added &quot;Two Ladies and a Legion of Brass&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]; feedback especially appreciated on this one, I'm not sure how I feel about the writing. ''I liked it. Although...are you sure you can't work in a truly heinous cliffhanger ending? -mac''<br /> # (2/20) Rewrote &quot;&quot;Two Ladies and a Legion of Brass&quot; on [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]], for added bureaucracy; I'm much, much happier with this version<br /> # (2/20) Added [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]], thus initiating the final chapter in the first Choshu Ishi story; tales of his exploits in the south remain to be heard.<br /> # (2/23) Rewrote [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]]. Sorry, I'm feeling a bit perfectionistic this week.<br /> <br /> '''2/24: Game Day! Going to Ground'''<br /> # (2/25) Added &quot;On Home Ground, Initiate No Action&quot; to [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]].<br /> # (2/25) Added &quot;On Foreign Ground, Strike Deep&quot; to [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]].<br /> # (2/27) Added [[Hidden Riches]]. I feel bad for Choshu Ishi. Really I do.<br /> # (3/02) Added [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]<br /> # (3/02) Added &quot;Night of the Living Dead&quot; to [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]; in which the Ivory Dragon finally gets some respect.<br /> <br /> '''3/03: Game Day! '''<br /> # (3/08) Added [[A Two-Stone Game]]<br /> # (3/09) Added [[The Fate of Flowers in the Mirror]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> -- 8/12: Battle of Three Forces<br /> # (8/20): Added [[The Well of Roots]]<br /> # (8/20): Added [[Lun Kuai's Letter]]<br /> <br /> -- 8/20: Failure and Intrigue<br /> # (9/02): Added two sections to [[Allat]]<br /> <br /> -- 9/2: The Halls of Venus<br /> <br /> --9/16: The City Mastered<br /> # (9/25): Added [[Tokaki Kui]]<br /> # (9/29): Contributed last 4 paragraphs to [[The First Generation]]<br /> # (9/30): Contributed Leaf Shakes the Wind's section of [[Spring Market]]<br /> <br /> -- 9/30: Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First<br /> # (10/06): Added [[Iselsi Augus]]<br /> <br /> -- 10/07: Civil War Averted<br /> # (10/11): Added [[A Lesson In Humility]]<br /> # (10/16): Added [[Subaru Mao]]<br /> <br /> -- 10/21: Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips<br /> <br /> -- 10/28: Insults Answered<br /> # (11/01): Added &quot;A Matter of Interpretation&quot; to [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> # (11/01): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # (11/01): Co-wrote &quot;Trust&quot; in [[Site 4: An Teng]] with David<br /> # (11/02): Added &quot;Old Allies&quot; and Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> # (11/02): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # (11/02): Added [[Bones Like Jade]]<br /> # (11/02): Added [[Bones Like Jade: Stats]]<br /> # (11/03): Added &quot;Duty&quot; to [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # (11/03): Added &quot;Perspective&quot; to [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # (11/03): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> # (11/03): Added [[Sun-Blackened Pinions]]<br /> # (11/03): Added [[Alabaster Sunset]]<br /> # (11/03): Added Black Widow Razors, Sling of Deadly Prowess, Hearthstone Bracers, and Amulet of Shadow Walking to [[Panoply of the Sun]]<br /> # (11/04): Added [[The Assassin's Library]]<br /> <br /> -- 11/04: Oops!<br /> # (11/15): Added &quot;Twofold&quot; to [[The Empty Garden]]<br /> # (11/21): Added &quot;Part 1: Arrival&quot; to [[Sha Yan Shi]]<br /> <br /> -- (12/16): Faces of the Enemy<br /> # (12/28): Added &quot;Part 2: The Pen Is Mightier...&quot; to [[Sha Yan Shi]]<br /> <br /> -- (1/06): The Consequences of Action<br /> # (1/11): Added [[Juggernaut]]<br /> # (1/11): Added [[Something to Break]]<br /> <br /> -- (1/13): The Righteous Strike Back<br /> # (1/19): Added [[Chain of Regrets]]<br /> <br /> <br /> == Joe Jay-Dixon ==<br /> <br /> 10/17: Added four Abyssals to the Mask's roster, from a discussion on RPGnet.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> '''10/07: Game Day! Civil War Averted'''<br /> # (10/16) Added a new enemy, [[Virra Amalia]] <br /> # (10/20) Added Part One (of [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]'s background)<br /> # (10/28) Added Part Two (of [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]'s background)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''12/16 Game Day! Messages and Their Bearers'''<br /> # Working on [[The Price You Pay]]<br /> # Working on Part Three<br /> <br /> <br /> '''1/20 Game Day! Distant Peals of Thunder'''<br /> # New: Sapphire's Stats are [[Sapphire River at Midnight|here]]<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Hearthstones]] to add Sapphire's hearthstones<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Solar-Forged Glories]] to add Sapphire's artifacts<br /> <br /> <br /> '''2/10 Game Day! Darkening Skies'''<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Sapphire River at Midnight|Sapphire's stats]]<br /> # Updated: Added Charms spreadsheet [http://www.lesleymac.com/ex/exaltcharms.xls here]<br /> # Updated: Part Two of [[Sapphire's Past]] edited extensively<br /> # New: Added Hsuan Lin's [[Hsuan Lin|stats]]<br /> <br /> <br /> '''2/17 Game Day! Sapphire's Bad Day'''&lt;br/&gt;<br /> ''Honestly, sometimes I wonder if anyone likes anything they write.''<br /> &lt;br/&gt;This week, it is my intention to finish at least three articles and add them to the wiki. Wish me luck! and/or mock me mercilessly should I fail.&lt;br/&gt;<br /> # New: it will be called [[Walls and Tall Shadows]]<br /> # New: it will be called [[Sapphire's Bad Day]]<br /> # New: it will be called [[A Gift of Blades]]<br /> # Updated: Finished spending Hsuan Lin's banked exp and updated her [[Hsuan Lin|stats]]<br /> # Updated: Edited several articles, mainly to make character names fit convention<br /> # Updated: Changed the structure of things. &quot;Sapphire's Past&quot; is now located off of her character [[Sapphire River at Midnight|page]]. Also, each section of her past has its own page now. That thing was getting long, and I'm only about half done.<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Outside_the_Bear%27s_Cave&diff=46779 2007-03-24T00:53:23Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>== Part 1: Celeren ==<br /> <br /> [[Image:Ejava.gif|Tepet Ejava, The Roseblack|frame]]On rocky promontory north of Celeren, Tepet Ejava contemplated the winter sea. Her eyes misted as she watched the towering gray waves smash against the shore, over and over again. Farther south, the wooden docks of the city were filled with the battered fleet of the Vermilion Legion. Not a single ship was whole; all bore tattered sails, shattered prows, stove planks or splintered masts.<br /> <br /> &quot;General Tepet...&quot; the voice called from behind her. She did not turn. &quot;You asked that I report to you if you were forced to land in the Marukan...&quot;<br /> <br /> Iselsi Sherem approached at knelt, two paces behind her and one pace to the left. Ejava shook her head once, blinking her eyes, then gripped the hilt of Thorn and spoke. &quot;Then report. What have you discovered about the anathema that have conquered this land?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Little personally.&quot; Her voice rasped from behind the delicately carved jade mask, her head bowed slightly forward. &quot;I was just making some headway when I got too close to one of their agents. Rather than compromise the mission...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Yes?&quot; The Roseblack's eyes narrowed.<br /> <br /> &quot;...I was forced to spend three weeks under a salt marsh.&quot; Iselsi Kedem's voice was even and flat. &quot;Their warlord came to the city with a pair of heretic monks, and I was forced to go into deep cover. Fortunately, while I was there, I found a pair of contacts to support my efforts.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Who are?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;The first is an exiled leader of the territory. He'll be meeting with you in a few days; he's apparently met their chief in combat. The second should be here shortly to report to you directly.&quot;<br /> <br /> [[Image:Shinobi.jpg|Iselsi Sherem|thumb|210px]]<br /> <br /> Tepet Ejava's red locks, torn by the wind, blew across her eyes. &quot;Iselsi, I lost a full dragon of some of my best men to the sea. Even the Family never managed that in a single day. It will be just like the Battle of Futile Blood all over again.&quot;<br /> <br /> Iselsi Sherem was silent.<br /> <br /> &quot;The Mask will grind us into meal on land or sea. Grandfather was right.&quot;<br /> <br /> The spy's cloaked head dipped slightly lower. &quot;If the situation is, in fact, so dire, then perhaps you might accept unorthodox solutions?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;You think I haven't considered it, that Ledaal Kebok Omeger isn't hounding me over it day and night? After this devil's bargain with Lookshy, and that message... but what choice do I have? If I ally with Lookshy... or even those devils... can I ever return to the realm? I can barely keep those tonsured hotheads under control as is...&quot; She paused, then grunted a laugh. &quot;You can keep that under your mask, Iselsi.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;He's here.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;What?&quot;<br /> <br /> The Roseblack turned to see a second figure approaching along the promontory dressed shredded black cloth that floated about him in tatters, feathered by the breeze. His figure was slim, his face cold but with high spots of bright color on his cheeks, and shock of crested black hair on his head. He gave the general a deep bow and whispered, &quot;Good morning, young wood dragon. I understand you wish to know more about the Solar Exalted that shepherd the Marukan?&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=File:Shinobi.jpg&diff=46778 2007-03-24T00:50:09Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=File:Ejava.gif&diff=46777 2007-03-24T00:46:33Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div></div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Chronicle_of_the_Cycles_of_Time&diff=46776 2007-03-24T00:44:05Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>* Nameless Ravine's nightmare: The Torrent of Woe<br /> ** [[Act 1: Curtain Call]]<br /> ** [[Act 2: Boameth and the Fox]]<br /> ** [[Act 3: Darkest Before the Dawn]]<br /> ** [[Intermission: Rivers and Spoilers]]<br /> ** [[Act 4: Torrent of Woe]]<br /> ** [[Act 5: Fifteenth Son Shatters the River]]<br /> * [[On Demon Summoning]]<br /> ** [[The Price You Pay]]<br /> * [[Recollections of Tea and Karma]]<br /> ** [[A Tea Ceremony, Interrupted]]<br /> ** [[Things that Never Happened]]<br /> ** [[Crossroads of Tea and Karma]]<br /> ** Interlude: [[The Reprimand]]<br /> ** Interlude: An [[Unexpected Theology Lesson]] for the Marukan First Legion<br /> ** Conclusion: [[The Bureaucrat and the Deity]]<br /> ** Appendix: The Litany of Inferior [[Marukan Regional Teas]]<br /> * Solar Circle Sorcery: The journey of Rivers and Leaf as they travel creation, unlocking the final gate.<br /> ** [[An Early Departure]]<br /> ** [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> ** [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> ** [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> ** [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> ** [[Site 5: Gem]]<br /> * [[Unity of Dreams]]<br /> * Unlocking the Fifth Gate: [[An Oathsworn Circle|The circle's]] search for a greater understanding of their Essence.<br /> ** [[The Five Changes of Fire]]: Cathak Nekuto marches southwards in search of further enlightenment.<br /> ** [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]]: Storm of Amber seeks what consolation he can in the face of the Mask's threat and prepares for his meditation.<br /> *** [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]: What Sweet Brass did while Storm was in seclusion.<br /> * [[The Fate of Flowers in the Mirror]]<br /> * [[Outside the Bear's Cave]]: Visions from the borders of the Marukan.<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Heaven%27s_Mandate&diff=46607 2007-03-21T02:34:14Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>Howdy exalts. Anyway, I thought that we could post here about what we actually did to the site so that we can easily see what kind of new material has been posted. Related changes just doesn't cut it. So, post your latest adds, starting with what you've posted since the last session. <br /> <br /> Exp scale (subject to extreme fudging):&lt;br&gt;<br /> 1/2 pt: Half page of flavor, or moderate structural changes. Great for filling in entries on people and places, but doesn't require a lot of thought or creativity.&lt;br&gt;<br /> 1 pt: One or two pages of flavor. Usually more labor intensive, requiring cross-referencing, and they add new information to the setting.&lt;br&gt;<br /> 2(+?) pts: 3 or more pages. These entries are really adventures in themselves, and go beyond character exploration into character development.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> # New: [[Special Training for the Marukan First Legion]]<br /> # New: [[A Tea Ceremony, Interrupted]]<br /> <br /> (10/27) Bad news for tea-lovers everywhere.<br /> <br /> # New: [[Crossroads of Tea and Karma]], and an Epilogue: [[The Reprimand]]<br /> # New: Stub entries for Nameless Ravine's father's two Monkey Bodyguards, [[Raging Panda]] (kohai) and [[Leaf-Catcher]] (sempai)<br /> # New: Stub entry for [[Charms of Apotheosis]]<br /> <br /> (10/28-10/29) Some post-game follow-up:<br /> <br /> # New: An [[Unexpected Theology Lesson]] for the Marukan First Legion<br /> # New: The Litany of Inferior [[Marukan Regional Teas]]<br /> # New: Finale: [[The Bureaucrat and the Deity]]<br /> <br /> (11/07) Oops. Some consequences.<br /> <br /> # New: Unity of Nightmares, [[Act 1: Curtain Call]]<br /> # Coming Soon: Acts 2-5, plus an intermission. I'll put these on their own page once they're done.<br /> <br /> (11/09) Daybringers Fanfic. Heaven help us all. (Servants of the Righteous, Part 1)<br /> <br /> # New: Chronicles of the Daybringers, [[Gaiden 3.5]]<br /> # New: Renamed &quot;Unity of Nightmares&quot; to &quot;Nameless Ravine's Nightmare&quot;. Added [[Act 2: Boameth and the Fox]]<br /> <br /> (11/13-11/16) Stone Bone Trees. (Servants of the Righteous, Part 2)<br /> <br /> # New: The lead-in for [[Shai Mei]]'s entry got out of hand and turned into its own tale: [[Gaiden 5.6]]: Marta's many tools. Shai Mei's own entry remains blank...<br /> # New: Entry for [[Shai Mei]]. Needless to say, it features rampant tree-philosophy.<br /> # Updated: [[Reforging the Promise]]. Added the results of the first post-reforging test-run.<br /> # New: [[Intermission: Rivers and Spoilers]]<br /> # New: [[Act 5: Fifteenth Son Shatters the River]]<br /> # Updated: [[Raging Panda]] teaches Nameless Ravine a new charm.<br /> # New: [[Rededicating the Promise]], with a cameo from SSW<br /> <br /> (12/21) The Faces of The Enemy (Messages and their Bearers)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Clearfield]]<br /> # New: [[Amilar Agathon]]<br /> # Updated: Soho gives us a guided tour of the completely remodelled [[Flying Pearl Lake]]<br /> <br /> (12/30) Staring Into the Abyss (A Trial of Valor)<br /> <br /> # New: Poor [[Soho]] doesn't have his own entry yet, but he does guest-star in [[Gaiden 6.5]]: Unlikely Sifu, Unlikely Student<br /> # Updated: [[Sha Yan Shi]] - Added &quot;Part 3: The Calm Before...&quot;<br /> # New: [[Act 4: Torrent of Woe]].<br /> # Coming soon: The (chronologically challenged) nightmare sequence concludes with [[Act 3: Darkest Before the Dawn]]<br /> <br /> (1/9) Angry Angry Deathlord (The Consequences of Action)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Four Farewells]] - The first part of Nameless Ravine's adventures between the end of the SSW arc and whatever comes next<br /> # New: [[Hope in Varsi]]<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Wayward Eye of Ma-Ha-Suchi]]<br /> <br /> (1/14) Beneath Open Skies (The Righteous Strike Back)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Thirsty Soku and the Righteous Man]]<br /> # New: [[The Prison of Oaken Rebuke]]<br /> # New: [[Soho]] finally has a short entry. I think I'll need to play him in game to get a feel for him before he gets some serious adventures of his own.<br /> <br /> (1/21) Phoenix Rebirth (Distant Peals of Thunder)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Monkey-Picked Messenger]]. I'm enjoying this *way* too much.<br /> # New: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Intended as a list of every entry, arranged in game-world chronological order (regardless of author and date of composition), cross-referenced by subplot. Lots of cleanup and formatting and typo-fixing yet to do. There's almost certainly chronology errors in there as well. Also, someone else should volunteer to add in-game calendar dates to the session-headings.<br /> # Updated: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Fixed the broken links, and added commentary about the ordering scheme. Added a link off of the main page.<br /> <br /> (2/11) Meanwhile... (Darkening Skies)<br /> <br /> # New: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added Part 1: &quot;Not One Tiger Warrior&quot;<br /> # Updated: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added &quot;A Conspiracy of Virtue&quot;<br /> # Updated: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added &quot;No Man's Land&quot;. I'm tempted break this tale into multiple pages, in which case &quot;No Man's Land&quot; will probably be reclassified as &quot;Daybringers Gaiden 7.5: What Might have Been&quot;. If for no reason other than to goad David into finishing DB8. Curse you Hans!<br /> # The Chronology-monkeys have been busy; the Second Southern Expedition has been split into [[Not One Tiger Warrior]], [[A Conspiracy of Virtue]], and [[Gaiden 7.5]], with more coming soon.<br /> <br /> (2/17) Meanwhile... (Sapphire's Bad Day)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Mandate of Heaven]] - Best. Topic. Title. EVAR.<br /> # New: [[Powder Kegs (and other delicate matters)]]<br /> # New: [[Divine Intervention]] - Fun with evil, evil, evil cliffhangers; You are a horrible, horrible man, Hans Christian Andersen. :) - JK<br /> # New: [[Hurry Home, Sweet Voice]] - The funny part is, Jason, there was only a ninety-minute window of truly-evil cliffhanger-dom before I posted this next part. Not that there's any real resolution, but still.<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Law of the Pack]] - The problem with being a half-caste in a full-moon world is that you have to deal with... another Evil, Evil, Cliffhanger! Mwa ha ha! ''She '''''did not''''' just say &quot;In the name of the Moon, I will punish you&quot;...?! -mac''<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Long Dark Night]] - What? No cliffhanger? Inconceivable!<br /> # New: [[Agathon's Findings]] - I wrote this ages ago to explore the events that brought Agathon into disgrace in Lookshy, but forgot to post it. With Marta's wedding and Soho's impending trial, it's suddenly quite relevant. ''You know that nothing links to it right now but this Talk page, right? :) - JK'' (''Yeah, posted it this morning before work. Haven't yet decided the best place to put it... okay, Agathon's entry links to it now. - HCA'')<br /> # Updated: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Added the last several sessions' worth of entries. The simian scribes were uncertain of the timing of some of them, particularly Jason's works.<br /> <br /> (2/24) Secret Teachings of Secret Avalanche (Going to Ground)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Gaiden 7.6]]: Soho no baka! - This was going to be the last entry in the Second Southern Expedition, but then it got melodramatic enough that I was forced to reclassify it as Daybringers Gaiden. Such a shame that I couldn't number it 8.5. ''(goad, goad! -HCA)'' Can something really count as Daybringers' Gaiden if it doesn't actually contain any reference to the Daybringers? - JK (Crap, I *knew* I forgot a crucial detail. Expect an edit sometime soon.)<br /> # New: [[Peleps Deled's Vault]] - [[Storm of Amber]] is not the only exalt seeking the Third-Arm Glaive...<br /> <br /> (3/10) A Long-Awaited Party (?)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Shai Mei's Place]] - The Little Tree vanquishes a nasty hangover...<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> # Edit: [[The Vitreous Fulcrum]] now includes changes after the last battle.<br /> # New: road system described under [[Eye of Hiparkes]].<br /> # New: town at the center of the Eye of Hiparkes: [[God Crossing]].<br /> # New: Automata section begun with [[The Gardener]].<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Selenn]], Nathan's mother, added to the contacts for Rivers.<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Salvar]], Nathan's brother, added to contacts for Rivers.<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Othoclase]], gemlord.<br /> <br /> --battle of three forces, 8/12--<br /> # New: [[Battle of Breaking Iron]] is complete (first draft).<br /> <br /> --failure and intrigue, 8/20--<br /> # New: [[Kena]], that seductress, added.<br /> # New: [[The Divisions]], the list of good and bad little spirits.<br /> <br /> --The Halls of Venus, 9/2--<br /> # New: [[Scales of the Dragon]], the white jade superheavy plate.<br /> # New: [[The Halls of Venus]].<br /> # New: [[Chehbraterazim]], a sobeksis of the grey river.<br /> # Expanded: [[Salvar]].<br /> <br /> --The City Mastered, 9/16--<br /> # New: [[A School For All]]: (3/4) news spreads of a school beginning operation in the Plum Blossom Retreat.<br /> # New: [[Spring Market]]: (2/2) Rivers tries to have fun (A compilation project!)<br /> # New: [[Serpent Swords]]: (3/3) Irrational Hope and Unbreakable Faith.<br /> # New: [[The First Generation]]: (2/2) Power and Humanity: the first three amalgams.<br /> <br /> --Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First, 9/30--<br /> # New: [[Chronicles of the Daybringers]]: My totally serious, dark take on what could happen when one of our teams leaves home.<br /> # Expanded: [[Kena]]: Once again, mostly about love, sorcery, and the relationship between Rivers and his mentor.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 1]]: Carnage! Slaughter! We're ready for those things, but can we get a room for the night?<br /> # New: [[Pai and Pei]]: River's assistants.<br /> # New: [[Lyssa]]: Liaison to the Infinite City.<br /> # New: [[Under Bridges]]: River's horse, one of Murakan's finest.<br /> <br /> --Civil War Averted, 10/7--<br /> # New: [[Chapter 2]]: Gunzosha Powered Armor: Sure it's sexy, but in the summer?<br /> # New: [[The Bandit King]]: As you get older, the toys just get bigger.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 3]]: Why you don't mess with Yao Ye.<br /> # New: [[Blood Like Sparks]]: Yet another... enemy?<br /> # New: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Doomed souls struggling for the light. 2 quick sections.<br /> # Expanded: [[God Crossing]]: On Rivers' day off, the city's planning must continue.<br /> <br /> --Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips, 10/21--<br /> # New: [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # New: [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> # New: [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> # New: [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # New: [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 4]] Melee in the streets of Varsi?&lt;br&gt;<br /> # New: [[Gatehouse of the Five Winds]]: Fleets.<br /> # New: [[Panoply of the Sun]]: I started it, but it's going to take a beastload of work. Check it out!<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: A quick section added.<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Another quick section added.<br /> <br /> --Oops: 11/4--<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 5]]: Sagacious Shu Zhuang.<br /> # New: The [[Cerulean Sage]]: Preparing to learn a new style once snake is finished.<br /> # Expanded: Expansion to [[Marta]]: Part 1 of SSW intros, (the test).<br /> # Expanded: [[The Halls of Venus]]: Part 2 of SSW intros.<br /> # New: [[Unity of Dreams]]: Part 3 of SSW intros.<br /> # New: [[Seven Season's Widow]]: An entry of her own. (revised to reflect her lack of athletics).<br /> # Expanded: [[Berren]]: More description of life in God Crossing, with further Lookshy scheming.<br /> # New: [[Gaiden 5.5]]: Lu Fei, Seraph of the Burning Bastion.<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 6]]: Where has the sun gone?<br /> # New: [[Reforging the Promise]]<br /> # New: [[Mite Xu]]: just to add a little flavor to our amalgamated servants.<br /> # New: [[Lu Fei]]: Detailing a bit about Lu Fei's bad luck and his present situation.<br /> # New: Expansion of Lu Fei to include the letter requesting amabassadorial status.<br /> <br /> --Faces of the Enemy (Messages and their Bearers): 12/16/06--<br /> # Expanded: [[Mayhiros Tesos]].<br /> # New: Added [[Walker in Darkness]] and three of his servants as blank stubs.<br /> # New: [[Typhon]]. Busy little bugger.<br /> <br /> --A Trial of Valor: 12/30/06--<br /> # New: [[Crucible of Celestial Portion]]: It's River's job, so it's off screen, but that doesn't mean it's trivial.<br /> <br /> --The Consequences of Action: 1/6/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: The End and the Beginning.<br /> # New: [[Amilar Vondy]]: Lookshy politics have grown less subtle of late.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 7]]: Still More Day to Bring, with an appearance by the newest Daybringer.<br /> # New: [[Thorns]]: I'm not too happy with it, so I'll probably edit it, but it's a little picture of Rivers considering the city of Thorns.<br /> # Edited: Collected gens Amilar under one banner. The house is at the very least neutral, as its head appears to be.<br /> <br /> --The Righteous Strike Back: 1/13/07--<br /> # New: [[Open Skies Above]]: Sorry, you're not invited, but you can still send gifts. Hearthstones are preferred.<br /> # New: [[Putting Out Fires]]: Rivers and Skies and busting heads.<br /> # New: [[Falling Bridges]]: Reconstruction in the south, and moderate angst, deflected by Mite Xu.<br /> # New: [[Shadow of a Different Sun]]: Rock and a hard place.<br /> # New: [[Responsibility and Authority]]: Happy endings.<br /> # Expanded: [[Rivers Between Us]]<br /> # New: [[The Headless]]: Pity Wu.<br /> <br /> --Distant Peals of Thunder: 1/20/07--<br /> # New: [[Applications of Enlightenment]]: New page for organizing custom charms, since 1/2 of the players have them. <br /> # New: [[Defy the Armor's Dream]]: Posted the one custom charm that I have in full (I don't have the virtue listed for the spirit charms you sent me, Jason. Sorry!)<br /> # Edited: [[The Fivefold Chronology]]: Added dates as far back as I have them recorded as gm.<br /> <br /> --Wind in the Doorway: 1/27/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[Solar-Forged Glories]]: Added a couple of the artifacts from last session.<br /> # Picture: [[Sun-Blackened Pinions]]: Crane.<br /> # Expanded: [[Rivers Between Us]]: Tossed up his intimacies for funsies.<br /> <br /> --Darkening Skies: 2/10/07--<br /> # New: [[Secret Avalanche]] gets his own page. I wish I could have written it... without the crappy writing.<br /> # New: [[Root of the East]], Rivers' trusted advisor. Poor devil.<br /> <br /> --Cloud Break: 3/10/07--<br /> # New: [[Chapter 8]]: At last. So many double meanings it will take eight fully independent and flurry-able simultaneous actions to shake a stick at them!<br /> <br /> --Tree Hunting: 3/17/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[Cerulean Sage]]: Decided he should really be a divinity, and then brought him in to start teaching Rivers.<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> Good plan, David!<br /> <br /> # (7/30) Added [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]<br /> # (7/30) Added [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]<br /> # (7/30) Added [[The Dryads]]<br /> # (7/31) Added [[Grassfoot]]<br /> # (7/31) Added [[Amilar Amaki]]<br /> # (8/01) Moved River's Automata on the front page, under the [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#The_Book_and_the_Sword|Book and the Sword]] heading, since they're created things and not actual characters. <br /> # (8/01) Changed the formatting for [[An Oathsworn Circle]] to make [[River's Contacts]] stand out better.<br /> # (8/05) Edited David's [[Othoclase]] page, for added evil.<br /> # (8/05) Added a second section to the [[Grassfoot]] page.<br /> # (8/06) Edited [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]] to add a shrine and a way of signalling others.<br /> # (8/06) Edited [[God Crossing]] for logic, clarity and more added evil.<br /> <br /> '''8/12: Game Day! Battle of Three Forces'''<br /> # (8/14) Added a second section to [[The Dryads]].<br /> # (8/17) Added [[Lookshy]].<br /> # (8/17) Added [[Mayhiros Tesos]].<br /> # (8/19) Added a second section to [[Fear's Umbra]].<br /> <br /> '''8/20: Game Day! Failure and Intrigue'''<br /> # (8/26) Listed all of the Mask's known Abyssals on [[Sky-Spanning Devils]].<br /> # (8/26) Added [[Mayhiros Ruja]].<br /> # (8/26) Added [[Rhianna]].<br /> <br /> '''9/2: Game Day! The Halls of Venus'''<br /> # (9/4) Added [[The Mourning Field]]<br /> # (9/4) Added [[Flying Pearl Lake]]<br /> # (9/8) Added &quot;At the Altar of Storms&quot; to [[Shouting With Iron]]<br /> # (9/9) Added [[Soft the Valley's Song]]<br /> <br /> '''9/16: Game Day! The City Mastered'''<br /> # (9/17) Added [[Hiparkes' Mirror]]<br /> # (9/17) Added [[Sohei Reinforcement Armor]]<br /> # (9/18) Added [[Ma-Ha-Suchi]]<br /> # (9/18) Added a picture of the [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]<br /> # (9/24) Began [[Abbot of Hunger and Dust]]<br /> <br /> '''9/30: Game Day! Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First'''<br /> # (10/02) Finished [[Abbot of Hunger and Dust]]<br /> # (10/02) Added [[V'Neef Pahul]]<br /> # (10/06) Added &quot;The Living Voice of Ami Kang&quot; to [[The_Qinglong_Alliance]]<br /> # (10/07) Added &quot;Storm of Amber&quot; to [[Spring Market]]<br /> <br /> '''10/07: Game Day! Civil War Averted'''<br /> # (10/08) Added [[Storm's Eye Hill]]<br /> # (10/08) Added [[Fenghuang Temple]], Part 1<br /> # (10/11) Added [[Fenghuang Temple]], Part 2<br /> # (10/14) Added [[Deren's Ford]]<br /> # (10/15) Added [[Puyo]]<br /> # (10/15) Added [[Karacalla]]<br /> # (10/17) Added [[Varsi]], Part 1<br /> <br /> '''10/21: Game Day! Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips'''<br /> # (10/22) Added &quot;Fire in the Rain&quot; to [[The Zhuque Brotherhood]]<br /> <br /> '''10/28: Game Day! Insults Answered'''<br /> # (10/29) Added [[Perfected Vigilance of Stone]]<br /> # (10/29) Reorganized [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#Records_of_the_Grand_Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]] for clarity; includes moving [[My Town]] to [[Nexus]]<br /> # (10/29) Added [[War Games]]<br /> # (10/29) Added [[A Web Spun From Water]]<br /> # (11/02) Added [[The Marukan Alliance]] - FINALLY!<br /> # (11/04) Added [[Crumbling Pillar]]<br /> # (11/04) Added [[The Trials of Righteous Judgement]]<br /> <br /> '''11/04: Game Day! Oops'''<br /> # (11/04) Reorganized [[Heaven's Mandate]] for clarity - breaking off larger sections into self-contained pages<br /> # (11/05) Added [[Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Perfected Tears Upon Alabaster Sorrow]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Weeping Jade]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Black Caul Chiurgeons]]<br /> <br /> '''12/16: Game Day! Faces of the Enemy (Messages and their Bearers)'''<br /> # (12/17) Added Part 1 to [[The Qilin Fellowship]]<br /> <br /> '''12/30: Game Day! A Trial of Valor'''<br /> # (12/31) Added &quot;The Forge's New Master&quot; to the [[Flame-bond Forge]]<br /> # (12/31) Added [[Choshu Ishi]]<br /> # (12/31) Added &quot;Insolence&quot; to [[The Qilin Fellowship]]<br /> <br /> '''1/06: Game Day! Consequences of Action'''<br /> # (1/07) Changed [[A Web Spun From Water]] and [[Storm's Eye Hill]] to account for more defined genders/roles in the [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]<br /> # (1/07) Created [[The Soft Breath of Seasons]] and [[Chronicle of the Cycles of Time]] to clear up [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#Records_of_the_Grand_Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]] on the Main Page<br /> # (1/07) Added [[Nama Bi]]<br /> # (1/07) Added &quot;In the Dragon's Wake&quot; to [[Storm's Eye Hill]]<br /> # (1/07) Added [[Red the Sage's Roots]]<br /> # (1/07) Added pictures to [[Choshu Ishi]], [[Crumbling Pillar]], [[God Crossing]], [[Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages]], [[Nama Bi]] and [[Red the Sage's Roots]]<br /> <br /> '''1/13: Game Day! The Righteous Strike Back!'''<br /> # (1/15) Added &quot;Singular Geomancy&quot; to [[Storm's Eye Hill]]; in which I try, and fail, to get maudlin<br /> # (1/16) Added [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/17) Added &quot;Lightning Disperses the Clouds&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/18) Added &quot;The Crow Plucks the Corpse's Eye&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/19) Added &quot;The Formation Triumphs&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/19) Added [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]]<br /> <br /> '''1/20: Game Day! Distant Peals of Thunder'''<br /> # (1/24) Added [[The Righteous Stair]]<br /> <br /> '''1/27: Game Day! Wind in the Doorway'''<br /> # (1/28) Added [[Choshu Aya]].<br /> # (2/05) Added Intimacies for [[Storm of Amber]], [[Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory]], [[Cathak Nekuto]], [[Choshu Ishi]] and [[Choshu Aya]]; Storm's are complete, the rest still have some to add, in time.<br /> # (2/05) Added [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]]<br /> # (2/05) Edited [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]] to improve the quality.<br /> # (2/08) Added [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]].<br /> # (2/08) Added [[House of Courage]].<br /> # (2/08) Added &quot;In Mountains, Occupy the Heights&quot; to [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]].<br /> <br /> '''2/10: Game Day! Darkening Skies'''<br /> # (2/11) Added &quot;In Valleys, Deploy for Defense&quot; to [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]].<br /> # (2/11) Added the [[Pearl of Castigation]] to our hearthstones.<br /> # (2/15) Added [[The Five Changes of Fire]]<br /> <br /> '''2/17: Game Day! Sapphire's Bad Day'''<br /> # (2/17) Added [[Voices Prophesying War]]<br /> # (2/18) Added &quot;The Answer to the Earth&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]; anyone who gets the joke gets mad props from me.<br /> # (2/18) Added &quot;The Red Queen&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]<br /> # (2/20) Added &quot;Two Ladies and a Legion of Brass&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]; feedback especially appreciated on this one, I'm not sure how I feel about the writing. ''I liked it. Although...are you sure you can't work in a truly heinous cliffhanger ending? -mac''<br /> # (2/20) Rewrote &quot;&quot;Two Ladies and a Legion of Brass&quot; on [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]], for added bureaucracy; I'm much, much happier with this version<br /> # (2/20) Added [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]], thus initiating the final chapter in the first Choshu Ishi story; tales of his exploits in the south remain to be heard.<br /> # (2/23) Rewrote [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]]. Sorry, I'm feeling a bit perfectionistic this week.<br /> <br /> '''2/24: Game Day! Going to Ground'''<br /> # (2/25) Added &quot;On Home Ground, Initiate No Action&quot; to [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]].<br /> # (2/25) Added &quot;On Foreign Ground, Strike Deep&quot; to [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]].<br /> # (2/27) Added [[Hidden Riches]]. I feel bad for Choshu Ishi. Really I do.<br /> # (3/02) Added [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]<br /> # (3/02) Added &quot;Night of the Living Dead&quot; to [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]; in which the Ivory Dragon finally gets some respect.<br /> <br /> '''3/03: Game Day! '''<br /> # (3/08) Added [[A Two-Stone Game]]<br /> # (3/09) Added [[The Fate of Flowers in the Mirror]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> -- 8/12: Battle of Three Forces<br /> # (8/20): Added [[The Well of Roots]]<br /> # (8/20): Added [[Lun Kuai's Letter]]<br /> <br /> -- 8/20: Failure and Intrigue<br /> # (9/02): Added two sections to [[Allat]]<br /> <br /> -- 9/2: The Halls of Venus<br /> <br /> --9/16: The City Mastered<br /> # (9/25): Added [[Tokaki Kui]]<br /> # (9/29): Contributed last 4 paragraphs to [[The First Generation]]<br /> # (9/30): Contributed Leaf Shakes the Wind's section of [[Spring Market]]<br /> <br /> -- 9/30: Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First<br /> # (10/06): Added [[Iselsi Augus]]<br /> <br /> -- 10/07: Civil War Averted<br /> # (10/11): Added [[A Lesson In Humility]]<br /> # (10/16): Added [[Subaru Mao]]<br /> <br /> -- 10/21: Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips<br /> <br /> -- 10/28: Insults Answered<br /> # (11/01): Added &quot;A Matter of Interpretation&quot; to [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> # (11/01): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # (11/01): Co-wrote &quot;Trust&quot; in [[Site 4: An Teng]] with David<br /> # (11/02): Added &quot;Old Allies&quot; and Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> # (11/02): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # (11/02): Added [[Bones Like Jade]]<br /> # (11/02): Added [[Bones Like Jade: Stats]]<br /> # (11/03): Added &quot;Duty&quot; to [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # (11/03): Added &quot;Perspective&quot; to [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # (11/03): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> # (11/03): Added [[Sun-Blackened Pinions]]<br /> # (11/03): Added [[Alabaster Sunset]]<br /> # (11/03): Added Black Widow Razors, Sling of Deadly Prowess, Hearthstone Bracers, and Amulet of Shadow Walking to [[Panoply of the Sun]]<br /> # (11/04): Added [[The Assassin's Library]]<br /> <br /> -- 11/04: Oops!<br /> # (11/15): Added &quot;Twofold&quot; to [[The Empty Garden]]<br /> # (11/21): Added &quot;Part 1: Arrival&quot; to [[Sha Yan Shi]]<br /> <br /> -- (12/16): Faces of the Enemy<br /> # (12/28): Added &quot;Part 2: The Pen Is Mightier...&quot; to [[Sha Yan Shi]]<br /> <br /> -- (1/06): The Consequences of Action<br /> # (1/11): Added [[Juggernaut]]<br /> # (1/11): Added [[Something to Break]]<br /> <br /> -- (1/13): The Righteous Strike Back<br /> # (1/19): Added [[Chain of Regrets]]<br /> <br /> <br /> == Joe Jay-Dixon ==<br /> <br /> 10/17: Added four Abyssals to the Mask's roster, from a discussion on RPGnet.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> '''10/07: Game Day! Civil War Averted'''<br /> # (10/16) Added a new enemy, [[Virra Amalia]] <br /> # (10/20) Added Part One (of [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]'s background)<br /> # (10/28) Added Part Two (of [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]'s background)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''12/16 Game Day! Messages and Their Bearers'''<br /> # Working on [[The Price You Pay]]<br /> # Working on Part Three<br /> <br /> <br /> '''1/20 Game Day! Distant Peals of Thunder'''<br /> # New: Sapphire's Stats are [[Sapphire River at Midnight|here]]<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Hearthstones]] to add Sapphire's hearthstones<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Solar-Forged Glories]] to add Sapphire's artifacts<br /> <br /> <br /> '''2/10 Game Day! Darkening Skies'''<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Sapphire River at Midnight|Sapphire's stats]]<br /> # Updated: Added Charms spreadsheet [http://www.lesleymac.com/ex/exaltcharms.xls here]<br /> # Updated: Part Two of [[Sapphire's Past]] edited extensively<br /> # New: Added Hsuan Lin's [[Hsuan Lin|stats]]<br /> <br /> <br /> '''2/17 Game Day! Sapphire's Bad Day'''&lt;br/&gt;<br /> ''Honestly, sometimes I wonder if anyone likes anything they write.''<br /> &lt;br/&gt;This week, it is my intention to finish at least three articles and add them to the wiki. Wish me luck! and/or mock me mercilessly should I fail.&lt;br/&gt;<br /> # New: it will be called [[Walls and Tall Shadows]]<br /> # New: it will be called [[Sapphire's Bad Day]]<br /> # New: it will be called [[A Gift of Blades]]<br /> # Updated: Finished spending Hsuan Lin's banked exp and updated her [[Hsuan Lin|stats]]<br /> # Updated: Edited several articles, mainly to make character names fit convention<br /> # Updated: Changed the structure of things. &quot;Sapphire's Past&quot; is now located off of her character [[Sapphire River at Midnight|page]]. Also, each section of her past has its own page now. That thing was getting long, and I'm only about half done.<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Cerulean_Sage&diff=46606 2007-03-21T02:32:26Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>The boy was only thirteen, but the deep red color of his skin matched by his flame orange hair marked him as a terrestrial of high breeding. Dressed in a deep red gi, barefooted and blindfolded, he passed through the bamboo posts stepping gently on the balls of his feet. As he did so, his relaxed hands pushed forward in softly sweeping motions, passing effortlessly past the obstacles… most of the time. His elbow brushed a pole, causing it to fall with a great clatter to the floor.<br /> <br /> As he moved, his steps took him closer and closer to an older man, standing in the center of the small kwoon. He was also dressed in a red gi, but his skin was pale blue in color. His head was completely bald, though he did have a long, flowing white beard that drifted about him on invisible currents of air, endlessly curling and uncurling about him. The student approached, and as he did, visible beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead. When his relaxed palm came within a hand’s breadth of the sifu, he froze in place.<br /> <br /> “What do you sense, Amaranth Cherubim?” His voice was soft and slow, carried from his lips in only the faintest whisper.<br /> <br /> “I sense... your virtue, sifu. It is almost blinding; your love for all things fills the room with warmth, as though you were on fire.”<br /> <br /> “Mmm… you have learned to perceive the virtue in others, and this will serve you well as you serve all mankind, for by recognizing their virtue you will grow to esteem them, and through this esteem come to see all women as your sisters, and all men as your brothers. Now tell me, what else do you sense? Search with your heart… it is not so close as I, but if you seek with your feelings, it will reveal itself in turn.”<br /> <br /> “I sense… sifu, there is another man here! His compassion does not match yours, but his conviction is strong. He’s… he’s waiting outside the door.”<br /> <br /> “Excellent. You’ve learned to perceive even the unexpected. Meditate upon your accomplishments and how you will use them in appropriate conduct. I will see to this visitor.”<br /> <br /> The boy ran out the back of the kwoon, pausing only to replace the pole he had upset in his practice. The sifu turned and said, in a slightly raised voice, “Welcome to our home once again, visitor. Please come in and let us hear your petition that we might better help you.”<br /> <br /> The large man standing outside revealed himself in the doorway. “Sorry. Didn’t want to interrupt training.”<br /> <br /> “Nonsense, [[The Jokun|Secret Avalanche]], your presence afforded us an unexpected opportunity to test our student’s skill. It has been some time, though, since last you traveled this far north in the Marukan range. Please, sit with us.”<br /> <br /> “Yes.” The jokun removed his broad-brim hat and began unwrapping the scarf from his pale face. “Always so hospitable, Cerulean Sage. No one treats us like you do, except the Master.”<br /> <br /> “And how is your young Master? I see that you are here on his behalf… but you are no mere messenger. This is a strange thing; there must be a story behind it.”<br /> <br /> Secret Avalanche took his seat opposite the sage, settling heavily to the floor. “Nobody watches Secret Avalanche, the spy who is not so good at spying. Secret Avalanche goes where he pleases and even the good spies don’t care.”<br /> <br /> The Cerulean Sage frowned slightly. “Then the most powerful wizard in all of Murakan cannot trust his own people?”<br /> <br /> “Secret mission. Master has always admired your arts. Seeks training.”<br /> <br /> “We see…” The sage lifted two fingers to his lips and concentrated. “The wind tells us things about the new rulers of the Marukan; they possess great virtue, but they can also be terrible. Though we have transcended the rigid interpretations of the immaculate order, even we know that it is dangerous to teach enlightened martial arts to such headstrong young men. The [[Nameless Ravine]] recently attacked the spectators at a martial arts competition when he suffered an embarrassing defeat. [[Mayhiros Tesos]] was driven from his home by the [[Storm of Amber]]. Even your Master, who has done so much to seek peace and prosperity for this land, did he not order that a defeated earth immaculate be slain in cold blood by his elemental servitor? I hear many things, as do you, honored guest. How can I follow the path of compassion and teach the young wizard?”<br /> <br /> “First. Earth immaculate fought us three times. Two chances to reform. Very fair. Second. Master needs secret arts to protect. Nameless Ravine goes berserk, who will stop him?”<br /> <br /> “This is a noble purpose, true, but you are still hiding something from me. Why should a man with such aspirations need to hide his quest for compassion from his own circle of allies? Is Nameless Ravine so wild? I have also heard he can be quite temperate and fair.”<br /> <br /> Secret Avalanche looked at him suspiciously, then sighed heavily. “Sage is wise. Master is doing something stupid. Fears his circle might try to stop him. Master…” he stopped and wiped his forehead with one hand, as though he could sweat like a mortal man. “Master values this goal before his own life. Needs secret arts to defend his allies’ enemy. Reform, not kill.”<br /> <br /> The Cerulean Sage opened his eyes wide in surprise. “Ah.” He stood and began pacing through the room with light steps. When he stopped, he looked down with mild annoyance as he realized that his beard had tied itself into a bundle of tight knots. “That is an… extreme dedication to the path of compassion, I must admit. Some might say recklessly so. However, I will not be the one to judge his actions. Tell your master that I will accept him as a student when he is ready to agree that he will never again order a subdued foe slain, and that he will never kill a living man, woman, or child unless on a field of battle. The Marukan may need warriors, but it does not need killers.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> Rivers Between Us tensed his muscles. He crouched low in his stance, his trailing leg bent like a bow beneath his loose fitting robe, while his right, leading leg was extended out before him. The right foot was turned slightly inward, but the left was twisted perpendicular to his body. One hand was held out before himself, open palm up, while the other was folded and hidden behind himself, like a coiled serpent.<br /> <br /> Opposite himself, the Cerulean Sage's own stance was hidden beneath the many-layered folds of cream and cornflower-blue robes. His right arm was crooked before him at waist level, while his left mirrored the position behind his back. Between them, the mirror-smooth hardwood floors reflected the cloudscape that roiled past the open windows of the flying pagoda. He spoke, his hand reaching up to smooth his narrow white beard. &quot;You claim to have learned much in the past months, and I sense that your pursuit of virtue has met with... some... success. Now demonstrate for me this mastery you claim to have attained with your &quot;snake&quot; style.&quot;<br /> <br /> Rivers shook his head. &quot;I see now why you're the sage of compassion and not temperance. Fine, I will demonstrate!&quot; His hand inverted and flashed forward, a lash of azure essence flicking out in a blinding streak of light at. The god slid... forward, into the strike, and the light was dimmed before it reached it's full strength. A warm, deep blue light began to seep forth from him. He accepted it into his raised palm, a raised welt appeared there and burst, three drops of blood falling to the floor. Rivers nodded his head, then staggered, his knee nearly folding beneath himself, his own hand wracked with pain.<br /> <br /> Rivers clenched his injured hand. &quot;That's not fair. I saw that, you used a combo!&quot;<br /> <br /> The sage laughed and shook his own hand, the wound sealing immediately. &quot;And you used essence flow. I merely removed your solar crutches. I'm sorry, but you are still not ready to receive my teachings. You've wasted my time by summoning me here. Nice house though. A little gauche, but that's exalts for you.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Wait! You haven't seen my combo yet... the Benevolent Spirit...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Bah!&quot; The sage strode across the floor in three quick steps and performed a sweeping kick towards the twilight's leg. Rivers began to shift out of the way of the attack, but the god stopped short and gestured to the youth's knee. &quot;That! That soft twist in your essence flow through the seat of valor. Certainly, you may have mastered the Snake, but that's not a Snake retreat. You've already begun studying another art... something stranger. You have another sifu! How dare you ask for my assistance when you're seeing another master on the side?&quot;<br /> <br /> Rivers stepped away and straightened his robe. &quot;I don't know what you're talking about. I may have picked up a trick or two... I've been having strange dreams lately...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;And you didn't think that mattered? This isn't even celestial martial arts you're practicing!<br /> <br /> &quot;What are you talking about? I'm sure it's not terrestrial... I'm working far too hard at night for that! Is there actually solar martial arts? I would have thought...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Fool!&quot; The sage's visage darkened from sky-blue to sea-dark, and lightning fairly crackled from his long beard. &quot;You're messing with powers you can't possibly...&quot;<br /> <br /> Rivers cut him short with an axe kick that nearly crashed into his face. His foot struck the floor, smashing through the boards and leaving a spreading pool of green venom that ate away at the ragged edges of the hardwood. Rivers slowly resumed his stance, a dark look on his face. &quot;I've spent every moment since my exaltation pursuing the power that I need to protect those I care for. You're damn right I'm messing with powers I can't comprehend, that my level of enlightenment and virtue is insufficient for the task. I have proven my purity of purpose, and I am no longer so weak that I can be ignored. It is for you to decide if my path will continue to be tempered with compassion, if I will have the power not only to kill but to save as well, before such time as my charges are assaulted directly. Have pity on those around me, who are dragged into the wake of the sun as it falls from the sky!&quot;<br /> <br /> The sage circled him, twisting his beard and laughing, his face suddenly brighter. &quot;You threaten me with the death of your allies? Ha! If you draw others behind you, then you must deal with the consequences. Fine. Tools I will provide you, if only to encourage your path through safer paths of enlightenment. You come with strength to the path of compassion... you have passed the first test.&quot;<br /> <br /> Thus Rivers began his instruction.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Spirits_of_Talent_and_Virtue&diff=46605 2007-03-21T02:27:07Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* The 72 Earthly Fiends */</p> <hr /> <div>In acting, heroes change Creation and impact the lives of the people in it. '''The 36 Heavenly Spirits''' are those who've flocked loyally to [[An Oathsworn Circle|our heroes']] banner, while '''the 72 Earthly Fiends''' are those the Circle has encountered on more neutral, less conclusive terms.<br /> <br /> ==The 36 Heavenly Spirits==<br /> * [[Alabaster Sunset]] [age ?]: A Lunar who has brought her tribe under [[An Oathsworn Circle|the Circle's]] banner. '''Full Moon'''<br /> <br /> * [[Cathak Nekuto]] [age 37]: A dynast general convinced to train and lead [[An Oathsworn Circle|the Circle's]] armies. '''Fire Aspect'''<br /> ** [[Choshu Ishi]] [age 18]: Warrior from [[Calin]], sworn to prove himself a hero of the East. '''Earth Aspect'''<br /> ** [[The Zhuque Brotherhood]]: Special operations soldiers who take on impossible missions. '''Amalgams'''<br /> <br /> * [[Chokhan Fifteenth Son Shatters the River]] [age 44 at death]: [[Nameless Ravine|Nameless Ravine's]] father; a stern and upright ghost whose legacy remains in thousands of masterful works of calligraphy. Recently promoted to godhood. Patron Saint of the First Marukani Legion. '''Lesser God'''<br /> ** [[Soho]]: An inquisitive and even-handed Immaculate Monk seeking to walk his own path. '''Wood Aspect'''<br /> <br /> * [[Cynis Lachid and Layochi]] [age 22]: Immaculate-trained twins defeated in battle by [[Leaf Shakes the Wind]] and [[Song of the Silver Wind]], quickly recruited to their cause. '''Water Aspects'''<br /> ** [[The Baihu Society]]: Spies sent to ferret information from mortal courts. '''Amalgams'''<br /> <br /> * [[Lyssa]]: Rivers' personal clerical assistant. '''Amalgam'''<br /> ** [[The Jokun]]: The four personal guards and servitors of [[Rivers Between Us]]. '''Earth Elementals'''<br /> ** [[Pai and Pei]]: The twin batteries that assist Rivers in his works. '''Amalgams'''<br /> <br /> * [[Open Skies Above]]: The redeemed exalt once known as [[Seven Season's Widow]]. '''Night Caste'''<br /> <br /> * [[Serrakeen]] [age ?]: An ifrit, once a village elder, now head of the [[An Oathsworn Circle|Circle's]] bureaucracy. '''Fire Elemental'''<br /> ** [[Choshu Aya]] [age 22]: Forgemaster from [[Calin]], looking to perfect her work and herself. '''Earth Aspect'''<br /> ** Servants of the Righteous<br /> *** [[Bones Like Jade]] [age 143]: First Age Dragon King, found in Rathess by [[Leaf Shakes the Wind|Leaf]]. '''Mosok'''<br /> *** [[Hsuan Lin]] [age 21]: Mostly repentant thug from [[Nexus]], taken in by [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]. '''God Blood'''<br /> *** [[Lu Fei]] [age ?]: Seraph of the Burning Bastion, his arrival is described in [[Gaiden 5.5]]. '''God Blood'''<br /> *** [[Shai Mei]] [age 22]: Introduced in [[Gaiden 3.5]] and [[Gaiden 5.6]]. '''God Blood'''<br /> *** [[Sha Yan Shi]] [age ?]: cat-girl obsessed with [[Nameless Ravine]]. '''Lunar Half-Caste'''<br /> ** [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]: Sorcerer-engineers who aid [[Rivers Between Us]] in his artificing. '''Amalgams'''<br /> <br /> * [[Seven Thousand Wonders Unfolding]] [First Age]: Clerk of [[The Infinite City]]; mentor to [[Rivers Between Us]]. Also keeper of [[The Divisions]] '''Lesser God'''<br /> <br /> * [[Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory]] [age 211]: Former Eastern Captain of the Trumpets of War, recently re-hired as Assistant Eastern Goddess of War for [[The Marukan Alliance]], she serves as support for [[An Oathsworn Circle|the Circle's]] armies. Close ally to [[Storm of Amber]]. '''Lesser Goddess'''<br /> ** [[Perfected Vigilance of Stone]] [age 836]: Philosophical lion dog guardian of the [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]; thought retired after the Shogunate fell. '''Lesser God'''<br /> ** [[The Qilin Fellowship]]: Scale of watch-soldiers stationed in [[Varsi]]. '''Amalgams'''<br /> ** [[The Qinglong Alliance]]: An elite group of relays and heralds, Sweet Brass' clergy. '''Amalgams'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ==The 72 Earthly Fiends==<br /> * [[Allat]] [First Age]: Lunar wife of [[Lun Kuai]]. '''Changing Moon'''<br /> <br /> * Gens Amilar<br /> ** [[Amilar Agathon]] [age 39]: Disgraced Judge Magistrate and Chuzei of [[Lookshy]]'s Magistrate-Advocate Directorate. Last seen fleeing towards Marukan. '''Water Aspect'''<br /> ** [[Amilar Amaki]] [age 46]: Taizei (captain) of the First Wing, First Dragon of [[Lookshy]]'s First Field Force. Stationed with the [[Marukan Redoubt]] Garrison. '''Air Aspect'''<br /> ** [[Amilar Jurelle]] [age 16]: Savant in training, and great grandson of [[Amilar Vondy]]. '''Air Aspect'''<br /> ** [[Amilar Vondy]] [age ?]: Head of Gens Amilar. '''Air Aspect'''<br /> <br /> * [[Cerulean Sage]] [age 312]: Sage of compassion, living in the northern Marukan range. '''God'''<br /> <br /> * [[Chehbraterazim]] [age ?]: A sobeksis of the grey river, freguently summoned to serve [[Rivers Between Us|Rivers]] as a healer and purger of poison. '''Water Elemental'''<br /> <br /> * [[The Dryads]] [age 20]: Two sisters living in the giant oaks on either side of the [[Plum Blossom Retreat|Plum Blossom Retreat's]] great hall. '''Lesser Goddesses'''<br /> <br /> * [[Fear's Umbra]] [age 58]: Child of Five Days Darkness, aided [[Rivers Between Us]] in constructing [[The Promise]]; now mentor to Rivers' brother. '''God Blood'''<br /> <br /> * [[Grassfoot]] [age 20 months]: Road spirit who wanders the highways within the [[The Marukan Alliance|Marukan]] hills. '''Lesser God'''<br /> <br /> * [[Hiparkes]] [First Age]: Stallion-Lord of the Plains. Patron of [[The Marukan Alliance]], governor of horses and riders, ruler of the unity between man and steed. '''Greater God'''<br /> ** [[Under Bridges]] [age 2]: A precocious gray mare, [[Rivers Between Us|Rivers]] bought him at [[Spring Market]] in the Eye. '''Horse'''<br /> ** [[Vaults the Moon]] [age 6]: Bride-price for [[Storm of Amber]]'s sister, horse and rider are as one. '''Familiar'''<br /> ** [[Wave of Smoke]] [age 3]: Rescued from traders in [[Nexus]], he aids [[Leaf Shakes the Wind|Leaf]] in his missions. '''Familiar'''<br /> <br /> * [[Kena]] [age 16]: Shonai of the Third Ranger Fang, Second Reconnaissance Talon, First Wing, First Dragon of the Marukan Redoubt Garrison; now revealed as a disguise worn by one of the Mask's Abyssal servants. '''Mortal''' ''DECEASED''<br /> <br /> * [[Othoclase]] [age ?]: Gemlord whose caves lie 40 miles east of the [[Plum Blossom Retreat]]. '''Earth Elemental'''<br /> <br /> * [[The Ravages of Time]] [age ?]: God of remorseless destruction leading to rebirth, he aided [[Rivers Between Us]] in constructing the [[The Promise]]. '''God'''<br /> ** [[Spring's Inevitable Betrayal]] [age ?]: God of rebirth through remorseless destruction, he aided [[Rivers Between Us]] in constructing the [[The Promise]]. '''God'''<br /> <br /> * [[Red the Sage's Roots]] [age 9 months]: Maple Queen of the Wood who rules both major forests in [[The Marukan Alliance|Marukan]]; born from the fallen Essence of [[Oak and Thorn]] and [[Unfallen Verdant Blades]]. '''Wood Elemental'''<br /> ** [[Oak and Thorn]] [age 457]: King of the Wood ruler of the oak forest to the south of [[An Oathsworn Circle|the circle's]] domain and not far from [[Harborhead]]. '''Wood Elemental''' ''DECEASED''<br /> <br /> * [[Ten Thunders Shatter the Mountain]] [age ?]: Thunderbird twice summoned by [[Rivers Between Us|Rivers]]. '''Air Elemental'''<br /> ** [[August Autumn Gale]] [age ?]: A zephyr that once agreed to serve [[Rivers Between Us|Rivers]]. '''Air Elemental'''<br /> ** [[Younger Tempest]] [age ?]: A zephyr once bound in resentful servitude to [[Rivers Between Us|Rivers]]. '''Air Elemental'''<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Jack_Scratch&diff=46542 2007-03-20T14:32:42Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>Jack is not tall, but he uses what he has. Today he’s wearing his crap-kicking steel toes covered in stitched tire treads, scaled aluminum chaps that jingle when he walks, and an open sin-leather vest (the kind they grow in vats, not the plastic syn-leather garbage the tribes wear when they go thrashing in 16). He always wears open vests, transparent shirts, or low tank tops. Jack Scratch never lets anyone forget what the scratch stands for. Four parallel black scars sweep across his lean chest from the left shoulder to the right hollow of his waist. They are broad and jagged. They’re often mistaken for gaudy tattoos. Shumai knows better.<br /> <br /> When he enters the apartment, he finds her already at the door with her hand on the knob. There’s a bag in her hand, the same crummy valise she had when he first brought her to Tier level, a month ago. She has that green slicker on that he always hated, and he finds himself wanting to shred it off her shoulders with his bare hands. She’s shaking. He can handle this.<br /> <br /> “…hell are you doing?” He asks brusquely, and then kicks the door wide open. Jack watches with satisfaction as she backs into his apartment, towards the overstuffed couch with the fat brown cushions.<br /> <br /> Shumai pulls her white floating lock out her eyes, and it only irritates him more (he paid a lot for that g-m!) “I’m leaving you,” she says, her voice flat. She doesn’t move for the door.<br /> <br /> “No. Sit down.” He turns around to close the door, not even watching her, but still satisfied when he hears the sound those baby-butt smooth couch cushions crinkle. “What’s gotten into you? You want me to drop you off back in midlevel, and go back to that job making pissholes for midkids?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what you do, and where you work, but when I came up here a month ago I got an anonymous call from the Tier Community Development Committee. I guess that means TierSec. They told me if I even decided to leave you, I would have an apartment in Upper, paid through the end of the year. I’ll do just fine without you.”<br /> <br /> Jack turns around and sees her sitting on the couch, her knees together, the floating lock drifting over her cropped black hair like an aimless cloud. He spits in the flower vase on the windowsill and mutters “Frigging agency interfering with my life.” He walks over to her and puts one foot on the coffee table, feeling the satisfying crack as the wood splinters under his boot. “A month ago you said this was what you wanted. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll make it for you.”<br /> <br /> “When I first met you, I thought you were really something. I don’t know what it was about you,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing the thin black scratches on the inside of her left wrist, “but I could tell it was something… something exciting. Like you could change the whole Heart if you felt like it, just with your laugh. Now…” The young woman looks down at his foot, and her knuckles whiten as her fists clench. “Trust me, Jack, or whoever you really are, you don’t want me here tonight when you go to sleep.”<br /> <br /> Jack snarls and kicks off the table; it bangs painfully into her shin. He slams the door back open. “Fine! Leave! Get the hell out here. See if I care! You were trash when I found you, and you’ll still be trash tonight when your ass lands in that Upper shack!” He keeps yelling until she is out the door, saying similar things and worse, and then pushes the door closed so hard that it buckled in the frame.<br /> <br /> Alone in his room, he looks around at the decorative prints on the walls, the floor to ceiling holovid projector, the couch and divan. He breaths an inarticulate snarl and swipes his hand across the couch cushions. Silver flashes and his fingers elongate; pale and fibrous stuffing explodes into the air. Another slash and the coffee table shatters in half, another and the prints fly in shreds to the floor. A scant dozen minutes later and the rooms is in shambles, the walls laid bare to the support beams, A-V equipment smoldering in a heap.<br /> <br /> Jack Scratch flicks on his comm. “Hello? Jack. I need a new apartment. Furnished. Three hours. Park view. None of your damn business.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Jack_Scratch&diff=46442 2007-03-19T20:29:14Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>Jack is not tall, but he uses what he has. Today he’s wearing his crap-kicking steel toes covered in stitched tire treads, scaled aluminum chaps that jingle when he walks, and an open sin-leather vest (the kind they grow in vats, not the plastic syn-leather garbage the tribes wear when they go thrashing in 16). He always wears open vests, transparent shirts, and low tank tops. Jack Scratch never lets anyone forget what the scratch stands for. Four parallel black scars sweep across his lean chest from the left shoulder to the right hollow of his waist. They are broad and jagged. They’re often mistaken for gaudy tattoos. Shumai knows better.<br /> <br /> When he enters the apartment, he finds her already at the door with her hand on the knob. There’s a bag in her hand, the same crummy valise she had when he first brought her to Tier level, a month ago. She has that green slicker on that he always hated, and he finds himself wanting to shred it off her shoulders with his bare hands. She’s shaking. He can handle this.<br /> <br /> “…hell are you doing?” He asks brusquely, and then kicks the door wide open. Jack watches with satisfaction as she backs into his apartment, towards the overstuffed couch with the fat brown cushions.<br /> <br /> Shumai pulls her white floating lock out her eyes, and it only irritates him more (he paid a lot for that g-m!) “I’m leaving you,” she says, her voice flat. She doesn’t move for the door.<br /> <br /> “No. Sit down.” He turns around to close the door, not even watching her, but still satisfied when he hears the sound those baby-butt smooth couch cushions crinkle. “What’s gotten into you? You want me to drop you off back in midlevel, and go back to that job making pissholes for midkids?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know what you do, and where you work, but when I came up here a month ago I got an anonymous call from the Tier Community Development Committee. I guess that means TierSec. They told me if I even decided to leave you, I would have an apartment in Upper, paid through the end of the year. I’ll do just fine without you.”<br /> <br /> Jack turns around and sees her sitting on the couch, her knees together, the floating lock drifting over her cropped black hair like an aimless cloud. He spits in the flower vase on the windowsill and mutters “Frigging agency interfering with my life.” He walks over to her and puts one foot on the coffee table, feeling the satisfying crack as the wood splinters under his boot. “A month ago you said this was what you wanted. If you can’t make up your mind, I’ll make it for you.”<br /> <br /> “When I first met you, I thought you were really something. I don’t know what it was about you,” she says, absentmindedly rubbing the thin black scratches on the inside of her left wrist, “but I could tell it was something… something exciting. Like you could change the whole Heart if you felt like it, just with your laugh. Now…” The young woman looks down at his foot, and her knuckles whiten as her fists clench. “Trust me, Jack, or whoever you really are, you don’t want me here tonight when you go to sleep.”<br /> <br /> Jack snarls and kicks off the table; it bangs painfully into her shin. He slams the door back open. “Fine! Leave! Get the hell out here. See if I care! You were trash when I found you, and you’ll still be trash tonight when your ass lands in that Upper shack!” He keeps yelling until she is out the door, saying similar things and worse, and then pushes the door closed so hard that it buckled in the frame.<br /> <br /> Alone in his room, he looks around at the decorative prints on the walls, the floor to ceiling holovid projector, the couch and divan. He breaths an inarticulate snarl and swipes his hand across the couch cushions. Silver flashes and his fingers elongate; pale and fibrous stuffing explodes into the air. Another slash and the coffee table shatters in half, another and the prints fly in shreds to the floor. A scant dozen minutes later and the rooms is in shambles, the walls laid bare to the support beams, A-V equipment smoldering in a heap.<br /> <br /> Jack Scratch flicks on his comm. “Hello? Jack. I need a new apartment. Furnished. Three hours. Park view. None of your damn business.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Chapter_8&diff=45958 2007-03-14T07:12:17Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>Daybringers Chapter 8<br /> <br /> Winter had come to the Marukan alliance. The gentle hills and valleys, the spreading plains of the East, the brooks and the rice paddies were covered in a blanket of snow. Domesticated animals were kept in their barns, families huddled together about their hearthfires, and all the land seemed to lie dormant, waiting for the long spring ahead. All the world, that is, except the Daybringers.<br /> <br /> Struggling down roads almost invisible beneath the spreading white, dragging their cart through muddy bogs and over frozen streams, the amalgams continued their mission. Early in the month of Descending Water, they pushed their way north and east of the Plum Blossom Retreat, searching for rumors of the sudden plague of small demons. They had already found and defeated a half dozen first circle escapees, doing more or less damage to the surrounding countryside in the process. More than one town elder wondered, later, whether the wiser course of action would be summon the wrath of the Daybringers on their village, or to learn to live with a demon or two.<br /> <br /> Regardless, the team was now back in the field after a week of respite and... modifications. Already Wing had forgotten what it felt like to have dry boots and a warm room to sleep in. While waiting for the cart to be pushed over a low rise, he took the opportunity to lean against a scrubby tree and check his feet for frostbite. Sulking Yellow Dog, Selara, Yao Ye, and Toruna had each taken a corner of the wagon while Shu Zhuang lead the horses. The physician and Shifting Waves of Snow were doing their best to remain inconspicuous while the sorceress shouted a long stream of abuse against the cart, the horse, the road, the weather, and the entire Court of Seasons, exhorting them all to greater efforts.<br /> <br /> “She certainly is enthusiastic.” Snow leaned over her knees, panting after their strenuous hike through the snow.<br /> <br /> Wing laughed and rubbed the feeling back into his toes with one hand while shaking the slush out of his boot with the other. “I’ve heard that her fire comes from the heart of a volcano, deep in southlands, and I believe it. She’s no flower amalgam.”<br /> <br /> She smiled in response, her cheeks flushed from her exertion and her eyes sparkling. “You mean that one,” she said, looking at Yao Ye, who was at that moment bodily lifting half the cart on her back, jerking it out of Yellow Dog’s grasp. “She’s not exactly the most delicate of the amalgams I’ve met, either.”<br /> <br /> “Oh, you’d be surprised by how fragile she can be.” A distant expression came over his face. He pulled the boot slowly back onto his foot.<br /> <br /> Snow looked at him for a moment, then began to speak slowly, picking her words. “Yes, I can see that about her, now that you mention it. Not that she has your gentle hands and calm face, but there is a certain... vulnerability. She must draw a lot of attention in the cities.”<br /> <br /> “Ha! I suppose she might be attractive, to a certain type. Poor fools.” Wing shook his head and sighed, thinking back to their days in Varsi.<br /> <br /> The young woman turned away and smiled slightly to herself, lowering her eyes. “She’s lucky to have you... you all... looking out for her, then.”<br /> <br /> Wing coughed and said, “Yes, well... Ah, it looks like they’ve found something.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> A week before then, the team was still in the Retreat for a working vacation.<br /> <br /> “Do you feel any different?”<br /> <br /> “Should I?”<br /> <br /> “I don’t know.” Rivers Between Us removed his hand from her forehead.<br /> <br /> “What’s new?” Toruna sat up on her palette and swung her legs over the side.<br /> <br /> “Essence. You should be able to make two castings of emerald countermagic or the chariot.” The sorcerer gave his hand as she stood. “As my mastery of essence increases, so will yours.”<br /> <br /> “Comforting to know, that we are so dependent on you.” She gave him an icy smile as she stood.<br /> <br /> The two sorcerers were in the Garden of Advance Submission in the Plum Blossom Retreat. Normally it was used for making offerings before leaving on journeys, asking for safe passage. Deep in the wild north woods of the upper terrace, it was a small hillock of stone. Only a handful of scrubby trees grew on its slopes, but the dome-like summit was surmounted by a ring of pillars supporting a ring of stone, open to the sky. In the center of the ring was the altar of sacrifice. Today it was used to refresh the sorcery that bound the amalgams to their holy powers as grandchildren of the sun.<br /> <br /> Rivers picked up his cloak and belted it about himself against the cold. “I never did understand why a woman as independent as yourself accepted the second birth.”<br /> <br /> “You never asked.” She laughed to herself and stretched out her stiff muscles. “Hmm... my skin has gotten harder as well.”<br /> <br /> “Then let me ask you now. Why did you come to the Plum Blossom Retreat and ally yourself with us?”<br /> <br /> “I had little choice. I’m Varangi, you know.”<br /> <br /> “I didn’t.”<br /> <br /> “Well, there you have it.” She sighed and leaned against one of the marble pillars. “My horoscope was... unusual, to say the least. I was offered a choice, a rare thing in that city. If I stayed in the city, I would lead a long and peaceful life, and would never know want.”<br /> <br /> “And if you left?” Rivers squinted at her sideways, chewing his lower lip.<br /> <br /> “I would have the power of the heavens poured into me, and the name of my tribe would climb to the stars. I’d die before my thirty-third winter, but I would not live in vain.”<br /> <br /> “No long and peaceful life...”<br /> <br /> “No.” Her hard black eyes glinted in the morning light as she spoke. “When I found you, I knew what the last part meant. The rest seems to be falling into line as well.”<br /> <br /> “Ah.” They began walking down the path back towards the Retreat, where the next team member would be summoned for karmic reinforcement. “I guess I see now why you were so determined to be a team leader, I think. Do you ever regret the decision?”<br /> <br /> “Never. I believe in the cause, and in what your circle is becoming, although not necessarily what you are right now.” She walked in long strides, making it difficult for him to keep up.<br /> <br /> “Well, I guess that’s... how old are you?”<br /> <br /> Toruna did not speak to him again that day.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> Over the next rise was a small valley running northwest to southeast. The floor was flat and even, with a small stream running along the northeast side under an overhanging bank of striated snow. The water ran swiftly; already the creek was swelling with the first meltwater of early spring as the deep snow drifts on the mountains to the west began to diminish. The valley extended almost a hundred paces long, narrowing to a ravine at its head but widening to almost thirty paces in the middle. Almost a dozen small A-frame tents were pitched in a semi-circle in the broadest part of the valley, with a smokeless cooking fire in the center that seemed a recent addition by the size of the coal bed. Upstream from the tents the snow was trampled to slush by a score of Marukan riders.<br /> <br /> As the team unloaded their wagon, Toruna spoke with the leader of the camp. She was a lean, older woman with a long, roughly carved pipe clenched between gappy teeth.<br /> <br /> “Blood is what brings us here, since you ask, and blood is what we seek.”<br /> <br /> Toruna laughed coldly and stamped her feet. “You don’t have the look of a mercenary, Shimira.”<br /> <br /> “We’re here for horses, not men. The horses of the Marukan are the fastest and the strongest in Creation, but they won’t stay that way for inbreeding. The blood we seek runs in the veins of the wild horses of the hills and plains, the very children of Hiparkes, that renews our lineages with fresh strength.”<br /> <br /> “Ah. We wish you luck then. I hope you don’t mind us pitching our camp here tonight, it gets a bit...”<br /> <br /> The old wrangler interrupted her. “Luck we have, but if you’ve swords, then they’ll serve us better.”<br /> <br /> “Excuse me?” Toruna frowned and looked uneasily around the camp.<br /> <br /> “You’re the Daybringers, right? You’re here to help us? We need swords.”<br /> <br /> “Perhaps you should explain.”<br /> <br /> “Hmph. Perhaps so.” She began walking with the sorceress into the camp. Men and women, most more than two score years in age, were crouched around the entrances of their tents, mending clothing and eating dry rations. “We’re not mercenaries, like you said, and no one knows how to follow the wild herds like we do. Every year we search for the strongest and the swiftest, always leaving strong ones to guide the herd through the next year. Our problem is the guild.”<br /> <br /> “Hmph. If they don’t have your skill...”<br /> <br /> “Then they’ll steal it. They’ve been following us; I don’t know how, but I think they have a witch with them. When we’re rounding up the herd, they swoop in and chase away our riders with their fire swords and arrows.”<br /> <br /> “How many of them are there?”<br /> <br /> “About twenty.”<br /> <br /> “Hmm...” She looked back at her team, just in time to see Selara bodily throw Yao Ye at Yellow Dog. “Just the twenty, you say?”<br /> <br /> “And a witch. You folks know how to ride, don’t you?”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> Shifting Waves of Snow After the Blizzard calmly stepped away from the circle. “I don’t think she actually knows what happened there, but she’s definitely changed.”<br /> <br /> “What do you mean?” Rivers helped her descend from the dais, lightly guiding her elbow.<br /> <br /> “As you requested, I’ve studied the build of her amalgamation. She should be resilient, but nowhere near as puissant as she was in the fight. Her strength is greater than Selara’s, and she laughs away injuries that should have killed her instantly. All this while the hammer was still in containment.”<br /> <br /> The sorcerer bowed his head and flicked his robe away from his feet. “This is grave news. She may not be aware of it, and Leaf has assured me that she is not, but more happened in that pit than she has told us. I’d like for you to stay with them a little longer, Snow. You now have an investigation excellency to assist in this.”<br /> <br /> “Thank you, master.” The young woman gave him a small bow, and he nodded his head in response.<br /> <br /> “I’m sorry to use you like this, Snow. I know that you were seeking a position in the Ministry of Ascendant Theology when you recovered from the trials in Three Hills...”<br /> <br /> “I am more than willing to do anything that will help the cause that Master Storm has shown to us. I will sacrifice everything to that end, including my preferred method of service.”<br /> <br /> Rivers Between Us looked at her strangely, then turned away from her to the overcast skies. He whispered to himself, just loud enough that she might hear, “How have we become such monsters of virtue? Shaped by our foes, our allies, or ourselves?”<br /> <br /> She touched his shoulder, and he jumped slightly. “Don’t worry, Master Rivers. I have less virtuous reasons for wishing to stay with the Daybringers as well.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> “It’s time.”<br /> <br /> Wing opened his eyes to see Shu Zhuang’s head retract through the tent flap, admitting a blast of cold morning air. Groaning, he rolled onto his side and began wrestling his boots onto his feet. “Hmm. So much for a freezing bath before our ride.” He plunged out of his tent and finished by stomping his heels into the soles of his boots.<br /> <br /> The sun was only a suggestion of light in the East, but already the wranglers, under Shimira’s direction, were saddling their horses. Behind him he heard Yao Ye’s moan as she crawled out of the cart bed. “Horses sleep sometime, don’t they?”<br /> <br /> Song lead a chestnut mare up to him; she was already seated in a roan stallion. “You almost missed us Wing. I saved you one of the best of their spare horses. Do you need any help getting on, or have you done much riding?”<br /> <br /> Zhou Wing reached up and grabbed the saddle loosely in one hand, then sprang up into his seat with a practiced motion. He smoothed the mare’s mane reflexively and whispered to it in one ear, speaking lowly, “Hello, hello. We’ve placed to go today, but you’ll show me the way, right miss?”<br /> <br /> “Ha! I’m impressed. Even my father didn’t have such a light touch. You’ve more than a little experience riding!”<br /> <br /> “Bah, that’s nothing! Let’s show them real skill, God-crushing Smash-hoof!” Wing and Snow turned to see Sulking Yellow Dog astride his pale, sleek Finest come galloping through the camp and leap over the Daybringers’ cart, trampling through the creek and sending sheets of water up on either side. The assembled riders were hard put to steady their own mounts as he rounded back through the narrow defile, laughing all the while.<br /> <br /> Shimira cast him a foul glance, and he slouched lower in the saddle, slowing to a walk. “Right then. Day’s wasting, and the trail is fresh. The winter grounds for Seamane’s herd are just a half day’s ride from here. Let’s move!”<br /> <br /> The valley was filled with the thundering of hooves as nineteen men and women rode to the head of the valley and up a narrow path toward the ridge line. In the rush of the horses, Wing could barely hear the sound of a shrill cry behind him.<br /> <br /> “Hey, wait!”<br /> <br /> Wing turned his horse and saw Yao Ye franticly trying to scramble up the side of a massive black stallion while holding her hammer with her left hand. The horse kept turning away from her, prancing in a slow spin as its eyes rolled with terror at the sight of the dark weapon. Wing sighed and slipped out of his seat, back into the snow, and walked slowly up to the pair.<br /> <br /> “Easy, easy...”<br /> <br /> “Maybe for you!” she shouted as she lunged once more at the terrified beast.<br /> <br /> “I’m not talking to you...” He slowly pulled the approached the stallion and whispered, “You’re sure you’re Marukani?”<br /> <br /> “I was a rice farmer. We couldn’t afford a horse.” She brandished her goremaul once again and shouted to the horse, “but that doesn’t mean you can push me around!”<br /> <br /> “Would you just stay quiet and put down the hammer?”<br /> <br /> “I need it! What if we meet those guild thugs?”<br /> <br /> “We’ll get you into the saddle and then I’ll hand you the hammer. Ok?” He reached the horse and began stroking it’s forehead. “Which reminds me, I’d better bring a shockpike. All right, I think he’ll let you get on now.”<br /> <br /> “Right... about that...” The girl looked up at the saddle, which was practically at eye level. There were no stirrups, no reins and bridle for the horse; it was equipped with only the bare essentials necessary for the proud riders of the hills and plains.<br /> <br /> Wing sighed and slowly moved around the horse beside her. He knelt in the snow and cupped his hands. “All right. Just put your foot here, and I’ll boost you up.”<br /> <br /> “Oh. Ok.” She stepped into his hands and leapt up at the horse. Wing made a high-pitched noise, somewhat like a shriek, as her coarse boots cut and bruised his hand with the force of her spring. The horse started, sidestepping away from them, and Yao Ye was left clinging to the saddle, half on the horse and half off, trying desperately to pull herself into the seat.<br /> <br /> “Just... ah, by the Sun.” He stood and grabbed Yao Ye by the hips and pushed her up into the saddle bodily. She scrambled across the horse’s back and grabbed the horse’s neck. Her face flushed to a deep purple, and her eyes almost as wide as the horse’s, she turned to Wing, panting.<br /> <br /> “Ah, uh... well...”<br /> <br /> “You’re welcome.” He reached down pick up the hammer, but found he couldn’t move it. “Oh, damn.”<br /> <br /> Yao Ye reached down, leaning low over the horse, and grabbed the haft with one hand. She paused there, her face inches from Wing’s, still breathing heavily. “I’ve got it.”<br /> <br /> She stayed there, looking at him strangely. “Well, it’s nothing. You really should learn to uh... ride.”<br /> <br /> “Well, as long as you’re around to help me up, I guess I don’t need to.” She laughed and broke the contact, flipping the hammer onto her shoulder and straightening unsteadily in the saddle.<br /> <br /> As she rode away (or rather, as the horse carried her away), Wing walked over to the cart. “Hmm. You think that’s hard, wait until you have to get down by yourself.”<br /> <br /> Rifling through the equipment, he hefted a well-worn shockpike to his shoulder and began attuning it to his essence.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> “What is that thing on your arm?”<br /> <br /> “This?” Rivers pulled back his sleeve to show the bracer on his left arm. Extending from wrist to elbow, it was a web of delicate orichalcum holding an array of colored panes of adamant, elegantly abstract dials and twisting clockwork. “It’s an amplifier for the spell I’m using. It’s what lets me fashion amalgams from such simple components and focus into them the collective essence of the entire host of the solar exalted. Without it, you’d know a great deal less about medicine, Wing. And now... archery.”<br /> <br /> “I shouldn’t have asked.” He stepped away from the altar as Pai and Pei approached and layed their hands on their master’s shoulders, reinforcing his will and essence with their own reserves. He visibly straightened in a matter of moments. “I see that you’re adhering to your usual routine... over extending yourself for days on end and crashing into a stupor when your body can no longer support the demands.”<br /> <br /> “You sound like my wife...” Rivers gritted his teeth as he heard the words slip out.<br /> <br /> “It’s true then? You’d better not tell Yao Ye...” Wing laughed and punched his shoulder lightly. “Imagine if she found out that you were...”<br /> <br /> “She knows, already.”<br /> <br /> “Since when?” He drew back a pace, almost backing into one of the pillars of the sanctuary.<br /> <br /> “When your team met us in Varsi.”<br /> <br /> Zhou Wing looked down at the cold snow, the fading light of a setting sun refracting against it to make it dance with golden flame. “You mean... no... the whole business at the lake, her depression and the risks she took... it was all your fault? The whole mess?”<br /> <br /> “Wing, calm down. I regret the results, but not my actions.”<br /> <br /> “You’ve gotten used to delivering commands to us, I see.” Wing noted this calmly as he began walking back down the path to the retreat.<br /> <br /> “And you’ve grown comfortable enough with your past to pick up a weapon again.” Rivers said the words firmly, without malice, but never the less they cut him like a dagger through this chest. “You asked me to give you a tool to help fight back. I’ve granted your request, even though I’d rather make you a better healer.”<br /> <br /> He walked up behind his servant, while Pai and Pei watched ominously behind him. He placed both hands on his shoulders and rested his forehead against the back of his neck. “You’re right though. Your freedom shouldn’t depend on my mood.”<br /> <br /> Zhou Wing laughed hollowly. “You’re the chosen of the Sun. The world is yours to command. Perhaps you shouldn’t be so afraid of giving orders to your fifty essence constructs.”<br /> <br /> “I’m better at requests. One last one I’ll make. Live without regret. I respect and admire your choice.”<br /> <br /> As Rivers said the words, Wing felt the loyalty within him, the magic that bound him to the man, stir with the affirmation, but somewhere deeper inside was the answering echo of his own true respect for the sorcerer, the world-forging engineer that would not dare to seize the authority his power could so easily grant. The healer faced his master, his brow furrowed. “Maybe someday I’ll respect myself again, as well... but thank you.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> The midmorning sun was casting long shadows in the hills and canyons of Northeast Marukan. It’s chill light likewise concealed the riders on the heights until their voices rebounded against the walls below.<br /> <br /> “Looking for something?”<br /> <br /> Shimira spat in the snow and muttered, “Damn, they’re still tailing us. I thought for sure that if we stuck to the valley floors...”<br /> <br /> “Take your time. We can wait.” Laughter echoed about the team of wranglers, emanating from the figures of riders on the crest of an overhanging cliff above them. Though little more than their silhouettes were visible with the sun behind them, it was easy to see the distinctive long vests of the guild on their shoulders. Two of them had full quivers and bows at their backs, and all had slashing swords at their belts.<br /> <br /> Yao Ye looked up at the cliff and squinted her eyes. “I only see five of them. What are we waiting for! Hyah!”<br /> <br /> Yao Ye drew back her heels and kicked the flanks of the horse with the toes of her boots. The dark horse’s eyes opened wide, it’s ears twitched and turned back, and in an instant it bolted away from the crowd of riders. Toruna coughed and covered her mouth, glancing nervously away.<br /> <br /> The riders above turned to watch her leave. “You might want to help your friend before she breaks that horse’s leg,” spoke the foremost of the five.<br /> <br /> Selara stepped off of her horse and strode up to the cliff. “Damn it, the Daybringers don’t take crap from a pack of silver-pinching guild-rats. Get down here!” She struck a deep stance, donning her essence fangs and scales. She inhaled deeply, sinking her essence through her stomach, her hips, her knees, and finally her feet, until her spirit was rooted in the earth itself, like a snake coiled in its den. Knot-like muscles rippled under her deep green skin as she hissed out a long, slow exhale, ending with an explosive “Kiyah!” as she lashed out with one fist, striking the base of the cliff.<br /> <br /> Quickly and without delay, cracks radiated out from her fist, beginning as hair-fine webs in the porous granite, but rapidly growing to form a single great breach in the cliff face, rippling upward to the overhang above. Selara stepped away as the canyon wall shuddered. The five guildsman applied their spurs and fled to the North, just in time to avoid tumbling with several tons of stone down a thirty yard drop.<br /> <br /> Shifting Waves of Snow gently muttered, when the horses had finally been calmed and the deafening roar had faded, “Perhaps a little diplomacy would have served us better...”<br /> <br /> Selara glared at her with her one silver eye. “No one’s going to wait for you to think up a plan, girl. If you want to talk, talk fast, because the Daybringers gather trouble as fast as horse apples gathers flies.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> Rivers Between Us sat down across from her and took a long pull from his pint.<br /> <br /> “You always do this after a long day of sorcery?” Selara’s eye held the flicker of a smile that didn’t touch her thin lips.<br /> <br /> “I’ve tried before, and I’ve tried during. Tipsy essence shaping is a little too much excitement...”<br /> <br /> Selara drank from her own mug and interrupted, shielding her face with her beer, “hey, I didn’t ask about your love life.”<br /> <br /> “How did you... I only use sorcery for...” Rivers’ face began to flush as he fished for words.<br /> <br /> “Drink.”<br /> <br /> The two pounded back their beers. Selara slammed hers down to the table first. “Wait, you can keep speaking on that line. I know why I became an amalgam, but you have to admit that this whole program of yours has gotten out of control. The southern team has vanished, I keep hearing rumors about the northern team executing “missions” of goodwill that end in fistfights with Lookshy officers. Sometimes I think the Daybringers are the only ones out doing their jobs.”<br /> <br /> “Oh... Ah...”<br /> <br /> “Really, what’s your next move in this whole operation? Are there going to be more teams? I mean, imagine a legion of amalgamated soldiers...”<br /> <br /> “What do you want to do, Selara?” Rivers set down the mug at last, blinking his eyes blearily. “What are you going to do with your strength, now augmented even more thoroughly.”<br /> <br /> “Oh...” She leaned back on the bench. “Well... I’ve still got your directive... to Do Good... which is, ah... I was actually hoping you could clear that up...”<br /> <br /> Rivers smiled and shook his head. “You’ve already got more than I started with.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> Shu Zhuang knelt in the snow and pressed his fingers into the hoof prints. “Closer,” he murmured, and then belted his robe more tightly around his waist. The lad beside him nodded his head.<br /> <br /> “Two days ago they grazed here, and then took the northern trail. The leader, Seamane, was with them. You can tell by these hoof prints here, the big ones, because none of the other horses came near him. We’re on the right trail.”<br /> <br /> “Yep, horsefeet. Smart boy.” Yao Ye lifted the visor on her gunzosha armor and looked at the ground suspiciously.<br /> <br /> “I’m not a boy, I’m a man. Shenji Araki, scout and wrangler, and this is my fourteenth winter. I know I’ve seen more than a pup like you, even if I don’t have Lookshy armor to hide inside.” He stood and threw open his rabbit-fir coat, showing his tanned and bare chest beneath a defiant grin.<br /> <br /> As she spoke she wriggled on the horse’s back, trying to keep it from wandering under a low-hanging branch. “What? You... I’m sixteen, I’ll have you know, and I know... lots... just not so much about horses... boy!”<br /> <br /> “Sixteen. Really...” He gave her an appraising look, like a trader examining a mule’s teeth. “Well, if you can cook, I’m sold!”<br /> <br /> “Damn!” Having failed in her endeavor, she was slowly being peeled off the horse’s back as she clung the tree branch with both arms, letting her hammer fall to the ground. “Wing! Help me! It’s going to turn around and bite me, I just know it!”<br /> <br /> Sulking Yellow Dog rounded the bend with Shimira, looking in on the scouts in the dry river bed. “Hmph. Here they are. If you found something, you should have told us. We have to move fast before the guild catches up to us again. Even their trackers could follow a trail this fresh.”<br /> <br /> Shu Zhuang stood from the prints and turned to face them, brushing off his hands on his pants. Almost absentmindedly he lead Ye’s stallion back around underneath her dangling legs. “Can’t be far now. Shenji found a...”<br /> <br /> As the two riders rounded the bend, the early afternoon light struck them at a high slant. The aged loremaster’s face fell, as though suddenly the weight of his age had struck him with full force.<br /> <br /> “Shimira, how long has your shadow been missing?”<br /> <br /> At that moment, they began to hear shouting coming from the party behind them. <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> &quot;That was quick.&quot; Toruna watched Shu Zhuang as he walked down the garden path. In the early morning air, low mist still hung in the hollows and tree branches of the Plum Blossom Retreat. The loremaster acknowledged her with a nod, but continued walking past her. &quot;He didn't give you the same rigorous debriefing that the rest of us endured?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Not much to say. He'll be going soon, so he gave me a charm and a mission.&quot; The sturdy old man stopped in the path and heaved a sigh.<br /> <br /> &quot;Leaving? He didn't mention anything about that to me...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;And you didn't tell me either.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Ah.&quot; The sorceress looked down and pursed her hard lips, half smile and half frown. &quot;I see he has discussed my horoscope with you. I would have preferred that he could have kept that secret closer to his chest.&quot;<br /> <br /> Zhuang walked heavely over to the bench where she was seated in a small alcove beside the path. &quot;You know your life isn't your own. We're caught up in the changing of the ages; we can't afford private lives any more.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;I'm not your pupil, stump. I don't ask why you took that name, or why you're playing father to every child you meet. Besides,&quot; she said as she flicked her head up to the bare tree branches above, &quot;I admit, I was hoping to get out of that part of the prophecy.&quot;<br /> <br /> The old man laughed, his gnarled features twisting with the effort. &quot;All this time, almost a year that we've been traveling together, and I thought you were the solid one. Here I find you're the most reckless of the lot. We've all chosen the hard and glorious road, but you already knew where it would end.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Not yet.&quot; She stood and walked away from the loremaster, her feet almost seeming to lift from the ground as she drew herself to her full height, pulling her robes about herself. &quot;As long as I'm alive, I will serve. The cause of righteousness, the 3rd Age, the Marukan Alliance, the Master, and the Daybringers.&quot;<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> The thirty guildsmen fanned out around the party of wranglers, half of them with bows at the ready, but all armed with swords or lances. They were young men and women, some with the dark skin of the distant south, some with the deeper brown of the far east, pale northerners and tattooed islanders. All wore the long guild vests over their riding clothes, and though none of them sat in their saddle with the effortless confidence of a Marukani, they looked familiar with their weapons.<br /> <br /> At their head were two men in steel lamelar armor. The one on the right had a faint orange cast to his long, wavy hair; it hung lank over his shoulders, free and untamed by the confines of any helmet. He had a wide brow, steely eyes, and thick lips that were curled in a fiendish sneer. The one on the left had chalky gray skin and a spiny green trihawk. He held the reins of his horse loosely in one hand, while spinning three prismatic orbs between the bejeweled fingers of his right hand.<br /> <br /> &quot;Thanks again for your assistance, Shimira. Seamane's herd is legendary, both here and in Nexus, both for the strength of his bloodline and his elusive winter haunts. I assure you that it's not flattery when I tell you that we couldn't have done it without you.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Her shadow, you mean.&quot; Old Zhuang's brow lowered as he spoke. &quot;I was wondering how you managed a trick like that. Here I was afraid you were using celestial sorcery, but it looks like you've just got a first age trinket.&quot;<br /> <br /> Shimira gritted her teeth while she lit a fresh bowl. She backed her horse between the Daybringers and whispered, &quot;I should have noticed, but in the winter you never see the sun, so shadows are harder to find. The one on the left is Gonsun Zeng, their leader, and a creepy bastard too. That's his lapdog with the orange locks, Lu Xiu. Be careful about him.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;You can be on your way now. We can take it from here.&quot; Gonsun Zeng pocketed the orbs in a pouch at his hip. &quot;Stick to what you know: finding us horses, not dying.&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Not this time, little dragon.&quot; Shifting Waves of Snow lifted one hand from her horse's back to point imperiously at the guildsmen. &quot;You have come to the Marukan, and so you'll face Marukan justice, as delivered by the grandchildren of the sun. Submit, and you will be fined and exiled. Resist, and you will...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Damn. I don't believe it; it really is the Daybringers. There's no reasoning with those madwomen. Bring them down!&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;Yah!&quot; the guildsmen shouted, as they urged their horses forward against the wranglers. With Shimira at their head, the riders scattered to the north, easily outrunning the less skilled riders from Gonsun's band, even if the warriors of the Daybringers hadn't interposed themselves. And this they did. Sulking Yellow Dog lowered his spear and charged into their ranks, spilling the first rider that he met and blunting their attack. Selara shakily stepped onto her horse's back and adopted the snake form, leaping in crushing kicks and elbow strikes from horse to horse as she pressed the attack. Yao Ye dismounted entirely, falling like a sack of potatoes to the ground, but rebounding an instant later with hammer raised, sweeping men from their horses and flinging them a dozen paces away with each strike. Their archers raised their bows to respond, but Toruna and Zhou Wing both began cracking shots from their shockpikes, forcing them to seek cover.<br /> <br /> Gonsun Zeng frowned as he watched his mercenaries break before a force a fifth their size. He looked to Lu Xiu and spat out, &quot;Who are these people you hired?&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;They're more than enough for pushing around these horse-lovers.&quot; His brow beetled and his hand strayed to his side.<br /> <br /> &quot;Well I'm not paying them to get their asses handed to them. Step aside.&quot; He stretched out one hand before himself and clenched it into a stony fist. His lips twisted as he began spitting out the arcane syllables, while dust began to billow up about him. Lu's horse shied to one side as strands of faintly glowing essence began to filter out from the clenched fist of the terrestrial.<br /> <br /> Too late, the guild's mercenaries realized the danger, turning and shouting in horror as the air behind the sorcerer began to shimmer with faintly visible forms. When they coalesced into a cloud of obsidian butterflies, some lashed their horses and tried to flee, while others threw themselves to the ground in terror. Of the warriors in the fray, only one stood and faced the sorcerer. Toruna gestured once with an imperious thrust of her arm. The obsidian butterflies rushed towards them in a phalanx, but radiating between her fingers came shafts of piercing green light, shimmering like dragon scales. They flickered into the midst of the butterflies, and where the light touched, the black winged creatures turned to heavy ash, smashing themselves into dust as they crashed against mercenaries and amalgams alike.<br /> <br /> &quot;The light within me will not tolerate such base attacks. Terrestrial sorcery? Not in your first century will you prevail with such tools against me. We are the Daybringers!&quot; Toruna leveled her shockpike warily, the guild mercenaries scattering behind her.<br /> <br /> &quot;...and we're her to Do Good...&quot; Yao Ye shook one of the men off of her and advanced, hammer raised, &quot;...Be Awesome, and Annihilate...&quot;<br /> <br /> Zhou Wing watched her approach the two leaders and noticed the fire dragon's hand straying under his vest. &quot;Ye, watch out!&quot;<br /> <br /> She laughed and swung the dark goremaul in a whistling arc. &quot;I'm sixteen, and I've got the power of the sun and a really big hammer. What's he got?&quot;<br /> <br /> Lu Xiu's lips barely parted as he spoke a single word. &quot;Range.&quot;<br /> <br /> The orichalc'-chased plasma repeater whipped into his hand and fired.<br /> <br /> &quot;Ha! Is that your... oh...&quot; Yao Ye's gauntleted hand reached up to cover the perfectly round hole in her gunzosha armor, less than a finger wide, centered over her shoulder. At that moment, she began to feel the alchemical fire within the armor piercing round. Yao Ye began to burn within. She dropped to her knees and began panting, gritting her teeth.<br /> <br /> Zhou Wing's pale face twisted into a knot of rage as Lu Xiu advanced the chamber of his repeater. &quot;Hurts, doesn't it? If I were you, I'd say your good-byes, girl. And that goes the same for anyone else that so much blinks at me funny.&quot;<br /> <br /> Sulking Yellow Dog twisted his hands around the shaft of his spear. &quot;You damn horse-thieving Nexans. It doesn't matter how far you run, the Lightning Hooves of Hiparkes will track you down and make you pay...&quot;<br /> <br /> &quot;I think we've heard enough from you.&quot; Gonsun Zeng spat and grimaced. &quot;Our wrangling days are over now, that's for sure. Without those worthless fools Xiu hired, we’d never get enough horseflesh back to break even. But that fancy magitech you’re tricked out in, that will fetch a nice chunk of jade. You there, greeny, take off that armor. Blue hair, you can strip off the brat’s duds.”<br /> <br /> While Selara began jerking off her suit’s gauntlets, Snow dismounted and knelt beside where Yao Ye writhed on the ground. The girl was hissing with the pain in her shoulder, but she would not cry out. Snow whispered in her ear, “Yao Ye, I need to take off your armor if we’re going to get the pellet out of your shoulder. Don’t worry, Toruna will think of something!”<br /> <br /> Lu Xiu snarled, “Now you two, drop those shockpikes. And no more talking!”<br /> <br /> Toruna’s flinty eyes did not stray from the plasma repeater. “You’ll just kill us all as soon as we’re disarmed.”<br /> <br /> The flameslinger sighted down the barrel of his weapon at the sorcerous. “Who said I’d wait that long?”<br /> <br /> Toruna nodded her head and slowly lowered the tip of her pike. As it hovered near the ground, a strange look came over her face. “All right then, if you want it that bad, catch!”<br /> <br /> She tossed the shockpike up, spinning end over end, high over the two dragon-bloods. Lu’s head tilted up for a moment, just long enough for her to shout a single, terse word. “Wing!”<br /> <br /> He was ready. Sparks of essence fell from his hands as he twitched the shockpike up and fired one excellent crack of essence. The distracted dragon took the shot in his shoulder; his hand jerked up and the shot flew harmlessly over the amalgams’ heads. He slumped over his reins and kicked his horse, flying through the middle of the party on his wild-eyed steed. Gonsun Zeng’s horse reared back, pawing madly at the sky, but he wrestled it to the ground and fled in the opposite direction.<br /> <br /> Toruna turned and shouted, “Yellow Dog, follow the wizard, he has the crystals!” The rider nodded with a tight-lipped grin and bolted after the fleeing terrestrial. “Wing...” she shouted, but he had already thrown himself down from his horse, tossing his shockpike aside before reaching where Song was supporting the badly wounded Yao Ye. Shu Zhuang quickly searched his saddlebag and removed a small, thin bladed knife and tossed it to the doctor.<br /> <br /> The armor removed, Wing quickly examined the seared edges of the entry wound. With a surgeon’s precise strokes, he cut away the shoulder of her robe and dashed fresh water from his canteen over the bloody injury. “This is going to hurt...” he murmured. “Snow, she needs something to bite down on.”<br /> <br /> Breathlessly she cast about herself, then pulled off one of her fine-grained leather riding gloves and twisted it into a bar. “Here!”<br /> <br /> The leather clenched between her teeth, Selara holding down her arms, Yao Ye’s wide eyes looked up with terror and agony into Wing’s eyes. He could see her fingers scrabbling desperately at the ground, the nails bleeding; her legs twisted and her chest heaved with the pain. Zhuang pushed firmly down on her good shoulder, and Toruna tried to grab her legs to keep her from struggling, but she proved too strong for them, breaking free once again.<br /> <br /> Zhou Wing wiped his stinging eyes, then desperately grabbed her hand in his own. Her grip nearly crushed his fingers, but she began to still, gulping deep, sobbing breaths. The doctor leaned over her, his gaze locked with hers. “Yao Ye, I know it hurts. I need you to show me your strength now. Afterwards, I’ll let you scream and beat us as much as you want, but right now I’m going to need you to be very still so I can help you. Ok?”<br /> <br /> The girl blinked once, then nodded her head in a quick jerk. Wing turned and whispered, “Snow, could you take her hand?”<br /> <br /> Snow gulped and nodded, sliding her delicate fingers over Wing’s own as he transferred Ye’s hand into hers. The doctor wiped his lank white locks behind his ears, readied the blade, and then began his work.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> She reached the top of the dais, but only saw a small youth with cropped brown hair seated on the altar, turned away from her, a civil servant by the look of his robes. She nearly shouted out to him to get off the sacred stone when she felt the faint tug in her heart of recognition. Yao Ye had never realized how short he was. Perhaps she had just grown since last they met.<br /> <br /> “Rivers?”<br /> <br /> She saw his head dip (as it slipped out of his supporting hands). He turned and blinked at her, then slid off the altar. “Ah... uh...”<br /> <br /> “It’s all right, Rivers. I won’t...”<br /> <br /> “I didn’t think...”<br /> <br /> “I mean, I’ll always...”<br /> <br /> “Yao Ye, you have to understand...”<br /> <br /> “I know but...”<br /> <br /> “There is a part of me...”<br /> <br /> The two stopped, two paces of cold air between them, neither one capable of speaking nor allowing the other to speak. After a long minute, Rivers gestured to the long black thing that hung from Yao Ye’s hand. “So that’s what’s been causing all of the fuss.”<br /> <br /> Ye set it on the ground, haft up. “Yes. I’ve found my own strength now.”<br /> <br /> “I had heard. Even so, you have developed a distressing habit of getting torn apart on a regular basis. Let’s see if I can’t fix an ox-body technique into the fabric of your essence.” He gestured to the altar, and she approached with her head slightly bowed.<br /> <br /> River’s lifted his braced forearm, and it began to hiss with sapphire energy. He chuckled faintly and said, “I hope you’re comfortable, because this will still take another four hours...”<br /> <br /> There was a snap, and a faint sizzling sound. Rivers looked down at the elaborate clockwork artifact on his arm. Green sparks began to fall from the cogs, trailing down to the ground in glittering showers. “What...”<br /> <br /> And then it cracked, the artifact bursting into silent green flame with a puff of sulfurous smoke. “Ow, ow!” He began clawing it off his arm, then stomping on the burning wreckage.<br /> <br /> Yao Ye leaned over to look at the mess. “Uh... is that how it...”<br /> <br /> “No, that’s not how it works. Crud, I’ve no idea what he used for reagents... it’s...” He looked up at her with an expression of shock and fear. “It was... you. You rejected...”<br /> <br /> “No... how could I?” Her eyes flicked over to the hammer, nervously.<br /> <br /> “I know...” He looked back at the dark artifact and shuddered, then turned back to her. “Yao Ye, touch your nose.”<br /> <br /> “What, is there something on it?” Her eyes began to cross as she tried to peer down at her own face. Suddenly she blushed and reached up, grabbing her nose. “I mean, yes... master.”<br /> <br /> “You just ignored my order.”<br /> <br /> “No, I mean, I tried to, but I got... uh... a pain, in my chest, from trying to resist the magic. Oh... the pain...” She beat her chest and yowled unconvincingly.<br /> <br /> Rivers approached her cautiously. “You’re still an amalgam, but you’re not under my control...”<br /> <br /> She bowed her head and sighed, then suddenly brightened. “Well, that’s good. I mean, you don’t have to feel guilty for your secret love for me...”<br /> <br /> “This is serious! Do you think if my circlemates knew that you had broken my control and had a Malphean artifact in your hands that they wouldn’t do something?” He grabbed her shoulder and shook her gently.<br /> <br /> “You wouldn’t... tell them, would you? They’ll kill me, I know it!”<br /> <br /> “I won’t tell them. I don’t know what they’d do... but you... all of the amalgams, are my concern. But that doesn’t mean it won’t come out. They’ll find out...”<br /> <br /> “But you’ll protect me!” She reached out to touch his face, but he pulled back.<br /> <br /> “I can’t. Yao Ye... I’m leaving.”<br /> <br /> She left her hand in the air, her eyes falling slightly. “...Leaving...”<br /> <br /> “Tomorrow. Only Zhuang knows... I didn’t want them to worry. You know how the sorcery works.”<br /> <br /> “Oh, I know.” She laughed ruefully to herself. “But what’s worse... I now know what part was sorcery, and what part...” She sighed, unwilling to finish the sentence, and felt something drain out of herself, like a blister being lanced. “It’s her, isn’t it? That’s why you’re leaving... you really do love her?”<br /> <br /> “Yes.” He tore the burnt remains of his sleeve away from his robe. “Yao Ye, I’m worried about her... but I’m also worried about you. I don’t think you know what you’ve got yourself into.”<br /> <br /> She shook her head. “Whatever I’ve done, it’s only been for one reason. I don’t regret it.” Her head tilted downward, but she looked up at him between the petals that overshadowed her eyes. “Not one bit of it.”<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> Proud and fierce, rippling with lean muscle and taut sinew, the four horses that Shimira returned with were beautiful to behold and equally wild. The wranglers had their work ready for them; it took five of them to guide in each horse. Their leader watched with admiration. It had been a day since the conflict with the guild.<br /> <br /> “I can’t tell you how much we owe to you. You don’t know what they do with those horses when they drag them back to the market in Nexus. They only manage to train half of them... they eat the rest.”<br /> <br /> Toruna, standing beside her, only said, “We are the Daybringers. This is what we do.”<br /> <br /> She turned away and walked back into camp. Shu Zhuang fell into step with her, making long tracks in the damp snow. “That was some trick you pulled back there. I’m starting to think you’re eager to meet this prophecy of yours.”<br /> <br /> “I do my work, Zhuang.”<br /> <br /> “I see. So all of the women on this team have a death wish.”<br /> <br /> “You teach, they fight, and I lead them. Do you want to change that?”<br /> <br /> Zhuang stopped trying to keep up with her long steps and watched her stride past the camp. “No. No, I don’t,” he muttered, irritably.<br /> <br /> As he entered his tent, Snow stepped away from the wranglers to see the slouching form of Sulking Yellow Dog approaching from the south on horseback.<br /> <br /> “What happened to the leader?” She called out to him, confused.<br /> <br /> He tossed her three dark orbs of crystal and began tending to his horse. Snow approached him. “You let him go?”<br /> <br /> Yellow Dog faced her and sniffed, his eyes like chips of stone. “Snow... he was a horse thief.”<br /> <br /> “Oh...” She looked away, her hand at her throat. For a moment she felt a wave of nausea, but at the same time, her heart fluttered slightly with a strange warmth.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, in her tent, Yao Ye finally awakened. As she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the pale face of Zhou Wing bent over her, checking her pupils and lightly touching her wrist at the base of her thumb.<br /> <br /> “Oh.” His lips twitched into a half smile. “You finally decided to get up, now that all the work is over.”<br /> <br /> “Why did it have to be you...” she sat up slowly, rubbing her shoulder. “Why couldn’t we get a doctor that actually cared about his patients?”<br /> <br /> Wing’s eyes narrowed and he leaned back. “Hmph. It could be the Cerulean Sage himself, and you’d still wring every drop of compassion out of him. I should hack off your legs for pulling another stunt like that... do you know how deep that pellet went? Didn’t you hear me warn you?”<br /> <br /> “Don’t pull that attitude with me.” Yao Ye winced as she pulled the blankets tighter about herself and leaned back again. “I seem to recall you taking some rather unseemly liberties when I was incapacitated. Cutting up my clothing!”<br /> <br /> Wing’s pale face took on a rosy tint. “What? Do you really think...” he blustered.<br /> <br /> Yao Ye did not listen, trying her best not to giggle too vigorously and jostle her injured shoulder. It was several long moments before Wing joined her, shaking his head as he caught the infectious laughter. At length, she sighed and said, “Well, what do you know. My life isn’t over after all.”<br /> <br /> “Of course not. Not with me watching out for you.” He stood, a faint look of professional indignation on his face. “If you’ll excuse me, I wouldn’t mind getting a little sleep myself, now that I see you’re in such high spirits. Perhaps I’ll come back later with something for you to eat. Perhaps!”<br /> <br /> Yao Ye pulled the blankets up over her lips and closed her eyes, for once grateful for a moment of respite, no matter what the cause.<br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:Heaven%27s_Mandate&diff=45957 2007-03-14T07:11:49Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>Howdy exalts. Anyway, I thought that we could post here about what we actually did to the site so that we can easily see what kind of new material has been posted. Related changes just doesn't cut it. So, post your latest adds, starting with what you've posted since the last session. <br /> <br /> Exp scale (subject to extreme fudging):&lt;br&gt;<br /> 1/2 pt: Half page of flavor, or moderate structural changes. Great for filling in entries on people and places, but doesn't require a lot of thought or creativity.&lt;br&gt;<br /> 1 pt: One or two pages of flavor. Usually more labor intensive, requiring cross-referencing, and they add new information to the setting.&lt;br&gt;<br /> 2(+?) pts: 3 or more pages. These entries are really adventures in themselves, and go beyond character exploration into character development.&lt;br&gt;&lt;br&gt;<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> # New: [[Special Training for the Marukan First Legion]]<br /> # New: [[A Tea Ceremony, Interrupted]]<br /> <br /> (10/27) Bad news for tea-lovers everywhere.<br /> <br /> # New: [[Crossroads of Tea and Karma]], and an Epilogue: [[The Reprimand]]<br /> # New: Stub entries for Nameless Ravine's father's two Monkey Bodyguards, [[Raging Panda]] (kohai) and [[Leaf-Catcher]] (sempai)<br /> # New: Stub entry for [[Charms of Apotheosis]]<br /> <br /> (10/28-10/29) Some post-game follow-up:<br /> <br /> # New: An [[Unexpected Theology Lesson]] for the Marukan First Legion<br /> # New: The Litany of Inferior [[Marukan Regional Teas]]<br /> # New: Finale: [[The Bureaucrat and the Deity]]<br /> <br /> (11/07) Oops. Some consequences.<br /> <br /> # New: Unity of Nightmares, [[Act 1: Curtain Call]]<br /> # Coming Soon: Acts 2-5, plus an intermission. I'll put these on their own page once they're done.<br /> <br /> (11/09) Daybringers Fanfic. Heaven help us all. (Servants of the Righteous, Part 1)<br /> <br /> # New: Chronicles of the Daybringers, [[Gaiden 3.5]]<br /> # New: Renamed &quot;Unity of Nightmares&quot; to &quot;Nameless Ravine's Nightmare&quot;. Added [[Act 2: Boameth and the Fox]]<br /> <br /> (11/13-11/16) Stone Bone Trees. (Servants of the Righteous, Part 2)<br /> <br /> # New: The lead-in for [[Shai Mei]]'s entry got out of hand and turned into its own tale: [[Gaiden 5.6]]: Marta's many tools. Shai Mei's own entry remains blank...<br /> # New: Entry for [[Shai Mei]]. Needless to say, it features rampant tree-philosophy.<br /> # Updated: [[Reforging the Promise]]. Added the results of the first post-reforging test-run.<br /> # New: [[Intermission: Rivers and Spoilers]]<br /> # New: [[Act 5: Fifteenth Son Shatters the River]]<br /> # Updated: [[Raging Panda]] teaches Nameless Ravine a new charm.<br /> # New: [[Rededicating the Promise]], with a cameo from SSW<br /> <br /> (12/21) The Faces of The Enemy (Messages and their Bearers)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Clearfield]]<br /> # New: [[Amilar Agathon]]<br /> # Updated: Soho gives us a guided tour of the completely remodelled [[Flying Pearl Lake]]<br /> <br /> (12/30) Staring Into the Abyss (A Trial of Valor)<br /> <br /> # New: Poor [[Soho]] doesn't have his own entry yet, but he does guest-star in [[Gaiden 6.5]]: Unlikely Sifu, Unlikely Student<br /> # Updated: [[Sha Yan Shi]] - Added &quot;Part 3: The Calm Before...&quot;<br /> # New: [[Act 4: Torrent of Woe]].<br /> # Coming soon: The (chronologically challenged) nightmare sequence concludes with [[Act 3: Darkest Before the Dawn]]<br /> <br /> (1/9) Angry Angry Deathlord (The Consequences of Action)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Four Farewells]] - The first part of Nameless Ravine's adventures between the end of the SSW arc and whatever comes next<br /> # New: [[Hope in Varsi]]<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Wayward Eye of Ma-Ha-Suchi]]<br /> <br /> (1/14) Beneath Open Skies (The Righteous Strike Back)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Thirsty Soku and the Righteous Man]]<br /> # New: [[The Prison of Oaken Rebuke]]<br /> # New: [[Soho]] finally has a short entry. I think I'll need to play him in game to get a feel for him before he gets some serious adventures of his own.<br /> <br /> (1/21) Phoenix Rebirth (Distant Peals of Thunder)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Monkey-Picked Messenger]]. I'm enjoying this *way* too much.<br /> # New: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Intended as a list of every entry, arranged in game-world chronological order (regardless of author and date of composition), cross-referenced by subplot. Lots of cleanup and formatting and typo-fixing yet to do. There's almost certainly chronology errors in there as well. Also, someone else should volunteer to add in-game calendar dates to the session-headings.<br /> # Updated: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Fixed the broken links, and added commentary about the ordering scheme. Added a link off of the main page.<br /> <br /> (2/11) Meanwhile... (Darkening Skies)<br /> <br /> # New: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added Part 1: &quot;Not One Tiger Warrior&quot;<br /> # Updated: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added &quot;A Conspiracy of Virtue&quot;<br /> # Updated: [[The Second Southern Expedition]] - Added &quot;No Man's Land&quot;. I'm tempted break this tale into multiple pages, in which case &quot;No Man's Land&quot; will probably be reclassified as &quot;Daybringers Gaiden 7.5: What Might have Been&quot;. If for no reason other than to goad David into finishing DB8. Curse you Hans!<br /> # The Chronology-monkeys have been busy; the Second Southern Expedition has been split into [[Not One Tiger Warrior]], [[A Conspiracy of Virtue]], and [[Gaiden 7.5]], with more coming soon.<br /> <br /> (2/17) Meanwhile... (Sapphire's Bad Day)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Mandate of Heaven]] - Best. Topic. Title. EVAR.<br /> # New: [[Powder Kegs (and other delicate matters)]]<br /> # New: [[Divine Intervention]] - Fun with evil, evil, evil cliffhangers; You are a horrible, horrible man, Hans Christian Andersen. :) - JK<br /> # New: [[Hurry Home, Sweet Voice]] - The funny part is, Jason, there was only a ninety-minute window of truly-evil cliffhanger-dom before I posted this next part. Not that there's any real resolution, but still.<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Law of the Pack]] - The problem with being a half-caste in a full-moon world is that you have to deal with... another Evil, Evil, Cliffhanger! Mwa ha ha! ''She '''''did not''''' just say &quot;In the name of the Moon, I will punish you&quot;...?! -mac''<br /> # New: [[Sha Yan Shi and the Long Dark Night]] - What? No cliffhanger? Inconceivable!<br /> # New: [[Agathon's Findings]] - I wrote this ages ago to explore the events that brought Agathon into disgrace in Lookshy, but forgot to post it. With Marta's wedding and Soho's impending trial, it's suddenly quite relevant. ''You know that nothing links to it right now but this Talk page, right? :) - JK'' (''Yeah, posted it this morning before work. Haven't yet decided the best place to put it... okay, Agathon's entry links to it now. - HCA'')<br /> # Updated: [[The Fivefold Chronology]] - Added the last several sessions' worth of entries. The simian scribes were uncertain of the timing of some of them, particularly Jason's works.<br /> <br /> (2/24) Secret Teachings of Secret Avalanche (Going to Ground)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Gaiden 7.6]]: Soho no baka! - This was going to be the last entry in the Second Southern Expedition, but then it got melodramatic enough that I was forced to reclassify it as Daybringers Gaiden. Such a shame that I couldn't number it 8.5. ''(goad, goad! -HCA)'' Can something really count as Daybringers' Gaiden if it doesn't actually contain any reference to the Daybringers? - JK (Crap, I *knew* I forgot a crucial detail. Expect an edit sometime soon.)<br /> # New: [[Peleps Deled's Vault]] - [[Storm of Amber]] is not the only exalt seeking the Third-Arm Glaive...<br /> <br /> (3/10) A Long-Awaited Party (?)<br /> <br /> # New: [[Shai Mei's Place]] - The Little Tree vanquishes a nasty hangover...<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> # Edit: [[The Vitreous Fulcrum]] now includes changes after the last battle.<br /> # New: road system described under [[Eye of Hiparkes]].<br /> # New: town at the center of the Eye of Hiparkes: [[God Crossing]].<br /> # New: Automata section begun with [[The Gardener]].<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Selenn]], Nathan's mother, added to the contacts for Rivers.<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Salvar]], Nathan's brother, added to contacts for Rivers.<br /> # New: Flavor text for [[Othoclase]], gemlord.<br /> <br /> --battle of three forces, 8/12--<br /> # New: [[Battle of Breaking Iron]] is complete (first draft).<br /> <br /> --failure and intrigue, 8/20--<br /> # New: [[Kena]], that seductress, added.<br /> # New: [[The Divisions]], the list of good and bad little spirits.<br /> <br /> --The Halls of Venus, 9/2--<br /> # New: [[Scales of the Dragon]], the white jade superheavy plate.<br /> # New: [[The Halls of Venus]].<br /> # New: [[Chehbraterazim]], a sobeksis of the grey river.<br /> # Expanded: [[Salvar]].<br /> <br /> --The City Mastered, 9/16--<br /> # New: [[A School For All]]: (3/4) news spreads of a school beginning operation in the Plum Blossom Retreat.<br /> # New: [[Spring Market]]: (2/2) Rivers tries to have fun (A compilation project!)<br /> # New: [[Serpent Swords]]: (3/3) Irrational Hope and Unbreakable Faith.<br /> # New: [[The First Generation]]: (2/2) Power and Humanity: the first three amalgams.<br /> <br /> --Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First, 9/30--<br /> # New: [[Chronicles of the Daybringers]]: My totally serious, dark take on what could happen when one of our teams leaves home.<br /> # Expanded: [[Kena]]: Once again, mostly about love, sorcery, and the relationship between Rivers and his mentor.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 1]]: Carnage! Slaughter! We're ready for those things, but can we get a room for the night?<br /> # New: [[Pai and Pei]]: River's assistants.<br /> # New: [[Lyssa]]: Liaison to the Infinite City.<br /> # New: [[Under Bridges]]: River's horse, one of Murakan's finest.<br /> <br /> --Civil War Averted, 10/7--<br /> # New: [[Chapter 2]]: Gunzosha Powered Armor: Sure it's sexy, but in the summer?<br /> # New: [[The Bandit King]]: As you get older, the toys just get bigger.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 3]]: Why you don't mess with Yao Ye.<br /> # New: [[Blood Like Sparks]]: Yet another... enemy?<br /> # New: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Doomed souls struggling for the light. 2 quick sections.<br /> # Expanded: [[God Crossing]]: On Rivers' day off, the city's planning must continue.<br /> <br /> --Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips, 10/21--<br /> # New: [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # New: [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> # New: [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> # New: [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # New: [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 4]] Melee in the streets of Varsi?&lt;br&gt;<br /> # New: [[Gatehouse of the Five Winds]]: Fleets.<br /> # New: [[Panoply of the Sun]]: I started it, but it's going to take a beastload of work. Check it out!<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: A quick section added.<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Another quick section added.<br /> <br /> --Oops: 11/4--<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 5]]: Sagacious Shu Zhuang.<br /> # New: The [[Cerulean Sage]]: Preparing to learn a new style once snake is finished.<br /> # Expanded: Expansion to [[Marta]]: Part 1 of SSW intros, (the test).<br /> # Expanded: [[The Halls of Venus]]: Part 2 of SSW intros.<br /> # New: [[Unity of Dreams]]: Part 3 of SSW intros.<br /> # New: [[Seven Season's Widow]]: An entry of her own. (revised to reflect her lack of athletics).<br /> # Expanded: [[Berren]]: More description of life in God Crossing, with further Lookshy scheming.<br /> # New: [[Gaiden 5.5]]: Lu Fei, Seraph of the Burning Bastion.<br /> # New: Daybringers [[Chapter 6]]: Where has the sun gone?<br /> # New: [[Reforging the Promise]]<br /> # New: [[Mite Xu]]: just to add a little flavor to our amalgamated servants.<br /> # New: [[Lu Fei]]: Detailing a bit about Lu Fei's bad luck and his present situation.<br /> # New: Expansion of Lu Fei to include the letter requesting amabassadorial status.<br /> <br /> --Faces of the Enemy (Messages and their Bearers): 12/16/06--<br /> # Expanded: [[Mayhiros Tesos]].<br /> # New: Added [[Walker in Darkness]] and three of his servants as blank stubs.<br /> # New: [[Typhon]]. Busy little bugger.<br /> <br /> --A Trial of Valor: 12/30/06--<br /> # New: [[Crucible of Celestial Portion]]: It's River's job, so it's off screen, but that doesn't mean it's trivial.<br /> <br /> --The Consequences of Action: 1/6/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[The Southern Expedition]]: The End and the Beginning.<br /> # New: [[Amilar Vondy]]: Lookshy politics have grown less subtle of late.<br /> # New: [[Chapter 7]]: Still More Day to Bring, with an appearance by the newest Daybringer.<br /> # New: [[Thorns]]: I'm not too happy with it, so I'll probably edit it, but it's a little picture of Rivers considering the city of Thorns.<br /> # Edited: Collected gens Amilar under one banner. The house is at the very least neutral, as its head appears to be.<br /> <br /> --The Righteous Strike Back: 1/13/07--<br /> # New: [[Open Skies Above]]: Sorry, you're not invited, but you can still send gifts. Hearthstones are preferred.<br /> # New: [[Putting Out Fires]]: Rivers and Skies and busting heads.<br /> # New: [[Falling Bridges]]: Reconstruction in the south, and moderate angst, deflected by Mite Xu.<br /> # New: [[Shadow of a Different Sun]]: Rock and a hard place.<br /> # New: [[Responsibility and Authority]]: Happy endings.<br /> # Expanded: [[Rivers Between Us]]<br /> # New: [[The Headless]]: Pity Wu.<br /> <br /> --Distant Peals of Thunder: 1/20/07--<br /> # New: [[Applications of Enlightenment]]: New page for organizing custom charms, since 1/2 of the players have them. <br /> # New: [[Defy the Armor's Dream]]: Posted the one custom charm that I have in full (I don't have the virtue listed for the spirit charms you sent me, Jason. Sorry!)<br /> # Edited: [[The Fivefold Chronology]]: Added dates as far back as I have them recorded as gm.<br /> <br /> --Wind in the Doorway: 1/27/07--<br /> # Expanded: [[Solar-Forged Glories]]: Added a couple of the artifacts from last session.<br /> # Picture: [[Sun-Blackened Pinions]]: Crane.<br /> # Expanded: [[Rivers Between Us]]: Tossed up his intimacies for funsies.<br /> <br /> --Darkening Skies: 2/10/07--<br /> # New: [[Secret Avalanche]] gets his own page. I wish I could have written it... without the crappy writing.<br /> # New: [[Root of the East]], Rivers' trusted advisor. Poor devil.<br /> <br /> --Cloud Break: 3/10/07--<br /> # New: [[Chapter 8]]: At last. So many double meanings it will take eight fully independent and flurry-able simultaneous actions to shake a stick at them!<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> Good plan, David!<br /> <br /> # (7/30) Added [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]<br /> # (7/30) Added [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]<br /> # (7/30) Added [[The Dryads]]<br /> # (7/31) Added [[Grassfoot]]<br /> # (7/31) Added [[Amilar Amaki]]<br /> # (8/01) Moved River's Automata on the front page, under the [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#The_Book_and_the_Sword|Book and the Sword]] heading, since they're created things and not actual characters. <br /> # (8/01) Changed the formatting for [[An Oathsworn Circle]] to make [[River's Contacts]] stand out better.<br /> # (8/05) Edited David's [[Othoclase]] page, for added evil.<br /> # (8/05) Added a second section to the [[Grassfoot]] page.<br /> # (8/06) Edited [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]] to add a shrine and a way of signalling others.<br /> # (8/06) Edited [[God Crossing]] for logic, clarity and more added evil.<br /> <br /> '''8/12: Game Day! Battle of Three Forces'''<br /> # (8/14) Added a second section to [[The Dryads]].<br /> # (8/17) Added [[Lookshy]].<br /> # (8/17) Added [[Mayhiros Tesos]].<br /> # (8/19) Added a second section to [[Fear's Umbra]].<br /> <br /> '''8/20: Game Day! Failure and Intrigue'''<br /> # (8/26) Listed all of the Mask's known Abyssals on [[Sky-Spanning Devils]].<br /> # (8/26) Added [[Mayhiros Ruja]].<br /> # (8/26) Added [[Rhianna]].<br /> <br /> '''9/2: Game Day! The Halls of Venus'''<br /> # (9/4) Added [[The Mourning Field]]<br /> # (9/4) Added [[Flying Pearl Lake]]<br /> # (9/8) Added &quot;At the Altar of Storms&quot; to [[Shouting With Iron]]<br /> # (9/9) Added [[Soft the Valley's Song]]<br /> <br /> '''9/16: Game Day! The City Mastered'''<br /> # (9/17) Added [[Hiparkes' Mirror]]<br /> # (9/17) Added [[Sohei Reinforcement Armor]]<br /> # (9/18) Added [[Ma-Ha-Suchi]]<br /> # (9/18) Added a picture of the [[Pagoda of Infinite Strategy]]<br /> # (9/24) Began [[Abbot of Hunger and Dust]]<br /> <br /> '''9/30: Game Day! Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First'''<br /> # (10/02) Finished [[Abbot of Hunger and Dust]]<br /> # (10/02) Added [[V'Neef Pahul]]<br /> # (10/06) Added &quot;The Living Voice of Ami Kang&quot; to [[The_Qinglong_Alliance]]<br /> # (10/07) Added &quot;Storm of Amber&quot; to [[Spring Market]]<br /> <br /> '''10/07: Game Day! Civil War Averted'''<br /> # (10/08) Added [[Storm's Eye Hill]]<br /> # (10/08) Added [[Fenghuang Temple]], Part 1<br /> # (10/11) Added [[Fenghuang Temple]], Part 2<br /> # (10/14) Added [[Deren's Ford]]<br /> # (10/15) Added [[Puyo]]<br /> # (10/15) Added [[Karacalla]]<br /> # (10/17) Added [[Varsi]], Part 1<br /> <br /> '''10/21: Game Day! Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips'''<br /> # (10/22) Added &quot;Fire in the Rain&quot; to [[The Zhuque Brotherhood]]<br /> <br /> '''10/28: Game Day! Insults Answered'''<br /> # (10/29) Added [[Perfected Vigilance of Stone]]<br /> # (10/29) Reorganized [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#Records_of_the_Grand_Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]] for clarity; includes moving [[My Town]] to [[Nexus]]<br /> # (10/29) Added [[War Games]]<br /> # (10/29) Added [[A Web Spun From Water]]<br /> # (11/02) Added [[The Marukan Alliance]] - FINALLY!<br /> # (11/04) Added [[Crumbling Pillar]]<br /> # (11/04) Added [[The Trials of Righteous Judgement]]<br /> <br /> '''11/04: Game Day! Oops'''<br /> # (11/04) Reorganized [[Heaven's Mandate]] for clarity - breaking off larger sections into self-contained pages<br /> # (11/05) Added [[Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Perfected Tears Upon Alabaster Sorrow]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Weeping Jade]]<br /> # (11/19) Added [[Black Caul Chiurgeons]]<br /> <br /> '''12/16: Game Day! Faces of the Enemy (Messages and their Bearers)'''<br /> # (12/17) Added Part 1 to [[The Qilin Fellowship]]<br /> <br /> '''12/30: Game Day! A Trial of Valor'''<br /> # (12/31) Added &quot;The Forge's New Master&quot; to the [[Flame-bond Forge]]<br /> # (12/31) Added [[Choshu Ishi]]<br /> # (12/31) Added &quot;Insolence&quot; to [[The Qilin Fellowship]]<br /> <br /> '''1/06: Game Day! Consequences of Action'''<br /> # (1/07) Changed [[A Web Spun From Water]] and [[Storm's Eye Hill]] to account for more defined genders/roles in the [[The Xuan Wu Academy]]<br /> # (1/07) Created [[The Soft Breath of Seasons]] and [[Chronicle of the Cycles of Time]] to clear up [[Heaven%27s_Mandate#Records_of_the_Grand_Historian|Records of the Grand Historian]] on the Main Page<br /> # (1/07) Added [[Nama Bi]]<br /> # (1/07) Added &quot;In the Dragon's Wake&quot; to [[Storm's Eye Hill]]<br /> # (1/07) Added [[Red the Sage's Roots]]<br /> # (1/07) Added pictures to [[Choshu Ishi]], [[Crumbling Pillar]], [[God Crossing]], [[Prince Resplendent in the Ruin of Ages]], [[Nama Bi]] and [[Red the Sage's Roots]]<br /> <br /> '''1/13: Game Day! The Righteous Strike Back!'''<br /> # (1/15) Added &quot;Singular Geomancy&quot; to [[Storm's Eye Hill]]; in which I try, and fail, to get maudlin<br /> # (1/16) Added [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/17) Added &quot;Lightning Disperses the Clouds&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/18) Added &quot;The Crow Plucks the Corpse's Eye&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/19) Added &quot;The Formation Triumphs&quot; to [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]<br /> # (1/19) Added [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]]<br /> <br /> '''1/20: Game Day! Distant Peals of Thunder'''<br /> # (1/24) Added [[The Righteous Stair]]<br /> <br /> '''1/27: Game Day! Wind in the Doorway'''<br /> # (1/28) Added [[Choshu Aya]].<br /> # (2/05) Added Intimacies for [[Storm of Amber]], [[Sweet Voice of Brass and Glory]], [[Cathak Nekuto]], [[Choshu Ishi]] and [[Choshu Aya]]; Storm's are complete, the rest still have some to add, in time.<br /> # (2/05) Added [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]]<br /> # (2/05) Edited [[Scattered Hoof-beats Sound]] to improve the quality.<br /> # (2/08) Added [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]].<br /> # (2/08) Added [[House of Courage]].<br /> # (2/08) Added &quot;In Mountains, Occupy the Heights&quot; to [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]].<br /> <br /> '''2/10: Game Day! Darkening Skies'''<br /> # (2/11) Added &quot;In Valleys, Deploy for Defense&quot; to [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]].<br /> # (2/11) Added the [[Pearl of Castigation]] to our hearthstones.<br /> # (2/15) Added [[The Five Changes of Fire]]<br /> <br /> '''2/17: Game Day! Sapphire's Bad Day'''<br /> # (2/17) Added [[Voices Prophesying War]]<br /> # (2/18) Added &quot;The Answer to the Earth&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]; anyone who gets the joke gets mad props from me.<br /> # (2/18) Added &quot;The Red Queen&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]<br /> # (2/20) Added &quot;Two Ladies and a Legion of Brass&quot; to [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]]; feedback especially appreciated on this one, I'm not sure how I feel about the writing. ''I liked it. Although...are you sure you can't work in a truly heinous cliffhanger ending? -mac''<br /> # (2/20) Rewrote &quot;&quot;Two Ladies and a Legion of Brass&quot; on [[Three Visits For the Brass Lady]], for added bureaucracy; I'm much, much happier with this version<br /> # (2/20) Added [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]], thus initiating the final chapter in the first Choshu Ishi story; tales of his exploits in the south remain to be heard.<br /> # (2/23) Rewrote [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]]. Sorry, I'm feeling a bit perfectionistic this week.<br /> <br /> '''2/24: Game Day! Going to Ground'''<br /> # (2/25) Added &quot;On Home Ground, Initiate No Action&quot; to [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]].<br /> # (2/25) Added &quot;On Foreign Ground, Strike Deep&quot; to [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]].<br /> # (2/27) Added [[Hidden Riches]]. I feel bad for Choshu Ishi. Really I do.<br /> # (3/02) Added [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]<br /> # (3/02) Added &quot;Night of the Living Dead&quot; to [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]; in which the Ivory Dragon finally gets some respect.<br /> <br /> '''3/03: Game Day! '''<br /> # (3/08) Added [[A Two-Stone Game]]<br /> # (3/09) Added [[The Fate of Flowers in the Mirror]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> -- 8/12: Battle of Three Forces<br /> # (8/20): Added [[The Well of Roots]]<br /> # (8/20): Added [[Lun Kuai's Letter]]<br /> <br /> -- 8/20: Failure and Intrigue<br /> # (9/02): Added two sections to [[Allat]]<br /> <br /> -- 9/2: The Halls of Venus<br /> <br /> --9/16: The City Mastered<br /> # (9/25): Added [[Tokaki Kui]]<br /> # (9/29): Contributed last 4 paragraphs to [[The First Generation]]<br /> # (9/30): Contributed Leaf Shakes the Wind's section of [[Spring Market]]<br /> <br /> -- 9/30: Lookshy Strikes Back... err... First<br /> # (10/06): Added [[Iselsi Augus]]<br /> <br /> -- 10/07: Civil War Averted<br /> # (10/11): Added [[A Lesson In Humility]]<br /> # (10/16): Added [[Subaru Mao]]<br /> <br /> -- 10/21: Usurpation and Betrayal: Bloody Roots, Bloody Lips<br /> <br /> -- 10/28: Insults Answered<br /> # (11/01): Added &quot;A Matter of Interpretation&quot; to [[Site 1: Firewander]]<br /> # (11/01): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # (11/01): Co-wrote &quot;Trust&quot; in [[Site 4: An Teng]] with David<br /> # (11/02): Added &quot;Old Allies&quot; and Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 2: Rathess]]<br /> # (11/02): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # (11/02): Added [[Bones Like Jade]]<br /> # (11/02): Added [[Bones Like Jade: Stats]]<br /> # (11/03): Added &quot;Duty&quot; to [[Site 3: Diamond Hearth]]<br /> # (11/03): Added &quot;Perspective&quot; to [[An Early Departure]]<br /> # (11/03): Added Leaf's Journal Entry to [[Site 4: An Teng]]<br /> # (11/03): Added [[Sun-Blackened Pinions]]<br /> # (11/03): Added [[Alabaster Sunset]]<br /> # (11/03): Added Black Widow Razors, Sling of Deadly Prowess, Hearthstone Bracers, and Amulet of Shadow Walking to [[Panoply of the Sun]]<br /> # (11/04): Added [[The Assassin's Library]]<br /> <br /> -- 11/04: Oops!<br /> # (11/15): Added &quot;Twofold&quot; to [[The Empty Garden]]<br /> # (11/21): Added &quot;Part 1: Arrival&quot; to [[Sha Yan Shi]]<br /> <br /> -- (12/16): Faces of the Enemy<br /> # (12/28): Added &quot;Part 2: The Pen Is Mightier...&quot; to [[Sha Yan Shi]]<br /> <br /> -- (1/06): The Consequences of Action<br /> # (1/11): Added [[Juggernaut]]<br /> # (1/11): Added [[Something to Break]]<br /> <br /> -- (1/13): The Righteous Strike Back<br /> # (1/19): Added [[Chain of Regrets]]<br /> <br /> <br /> == Joe Jay-Dixon ==<br /> <br /> 10/17: Added four Abyssals to the Mask's roster, from a discussion on RPGnet.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> '''10/07: Game Day! Civil War Averted'''<br /> # (10/16) Added a new enemy, [[Virra Amalia]] <br /> # (10/20) Added Part One (of [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]'s background)<br /> # (10/28) Added Part Two (of [[Sapphire River at Midnight]]'s background)<br /> <br /> <br /> '''12/16 Game Day! Messages and Their Bearers'''<br /> # Working on [[The Price You Pay]]<br /> # Working on Part Three<br /> <br /> <br /> '''1/20 Game Day! Distant Peals of Thunder'''<br /> # New: Sapphire's Stats are [[Sapphire River at Midnight|here]]<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Hearthstones]] to add Sapphire's hearthstones<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Solar-Forged Glories]] to add Sapphire's artifacts<br /> <br /> <br /> '''2/10 Game Day! Darkening Skies'''<br /> # Updated: Edited [[Sapphire River at Midnight|Sapphire's stats]]<br /> # Updated: Added Charms spreadsheet [http://www.lesleymac.com/ex/exaltcharms.xls here]<br /> # Updated: Part Two of [[Sapphire's Past]] edited extensively<br /> # New: Added Hsuan Lin's [[Hsuan Lin|stats]]<br /> <br /> <br /> '''2/17 Game Day! Sapphire's Bad Day'''&lt;br/&gt;<br /> ''Honestly, sometimes I wonder if anyone likes anything they write.''<br /> &lt;br/&gt;This week, it is my intention to finish at least three articles and add them to the wiki. Wish me luck! and/or mock me mercilessly should I fail.&lt;br/&gt;<br /> # New: it will be called [[Walls and Tall Shadows]]<br /> # New: it will be called [[Sapphire's Bad Day]]<br /> # New: it will be called [[A Gift of Blades]]<br /> # Updated: Finished spending Hsuan Lin's banked exp and updated her [[Hsuan Lin|stats]]<br /> # Updated: Edited several articles, mainly to make character names fit convention<br /> # Updated: Changed the structure of things. &quot;Sapphire's Past&quot; is now located off of her character [[Sapphire River at Midnight|page]]. Also, each section of her past has its own page now. That thing was getting long, and I'm only about half done.<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Chronicles_of_the_Daybringers&diff=45956 2007-03-14T07:09:11Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>The Daybringers are just one of the five teams sent by [[Rivers Between Us]] with a simple mission: To Do Good. Every month they report back to the [[Plum Blossom Retreat]] to report on their good deeds, to repair their equipment, and to replace any casualties. Here are the original members of the Daybringers.<br /> <br /> * [[Selara]]: One-eyed war veteran of Mishaka, the [[Battle of Breaking Iron]], and countless smaller skirmishes. <br /> <br /> * [[Yao Ye]]: Fearless, foolhardy, and only fifteen, Yao Ye is the team's spirit censer.<br /> <br /> * [[Shu Zhuang]]: Widower and father of five, he is no stranger to loss. <br /> <br /> * [[Zhou Wing]]: A scout from the southern border.<br /> <br /> * [[Toruna]]: The team’s commander, confessor, and cook. <br /> <br /> Together, these five will journey throughout the wild hinterlands of Eastern Marukan, bringing the light of the chosen wherever they go. They are the Daybringers, and this is their story.<br /> <br /> Note to the reader: Daybringers is currently scheduled for a half season run of thirteen chapters, at which point the story will be completed and no further episodes will be aired.<br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Chapter 1]]: We Are The Daybringers!&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 2]]: Wing's Three Gifts.&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 3]]: There is Only One Yao Ye.&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 4]]: Showmanship and Selara.&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 5]]: Sagacious Shu Zhuang.&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 6]]: Where has the sun gone?&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 7]]: Still More Day to Bring.&lt;br&gt;<br /> [[Chapter 8]]: Winter in the Marukan.&lt;br&gt;<br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=The_Soft_Breath_of_Seasons&diff=45955 2007-03-14T07:08:46Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>* Year 0 in the Eye of Hiparkes<br /> ** [[A School For All]]<br /> ** [[The First Generation]]: The First of the Amalgams.<br /> ** [[Spring Market]]<br /> ** [[The Trials of Righteous Judgement]]<br /> * [[Chronicles of the Daybringers]]: Stories from the 5 brave amalgams sent into the east.<br /> ** [[Chapter 1]]: We are the Daybringers!<br /> ** [[Chapter 2]]: Wing's Three Gifts.<br /> ** [[Chapter 3]]: There is only one Yao Ye.<br /> *** [[Gaiden 3.5]]: Shai Mei's roots run deep.<br /> ** [[Chapter 4]]: Showmanship and Selara.<br /> ** [[Chapter 5]]: Sagacious Shu Zhuang.<br /> *** [[Gaiden 5.5]]: Lu Fei, Seraph of the Burning Bastion.<br /> *** [[Gaiden 5.6]]: Marta's many tools<br /> ** [[Chapter 6]]: Where has the sun gone?<br /> *** [[Gaiden 6.5]]: Unlikely Sifu, Unlikely Student<br /> ** [[Chapter 7]]: Still More Day to Bring<br /> *** [[Gaiden 7.5]]: What might have been.<br /> *** [[Gaiden 7.6]]: Soho no baka!<br /> ** [[Chapter 8]]: Winter in the Marukan<br /> ** Appendix 1: [[The Southern Expedition]]: Excerpts from the lives and journals of those who work in the most dangerous direction.<br /> ** Appendix 2: [[Reckoning of Heroes Unsung]]: List and locations of three remaining directional teams.<br /> * The Methods of the Minister of War<br /> ** [[Battle of the Glass Canyon]]<br /> ** [[Battle of Breaking Iron]]<br /> ** [[Special Training for the Marukan First Legion]]<br /> ** [[War Games]]<br /> ** [[Gossip in the Barracks]]<br /> * Distant Thunder: Stories from the time immediately following Lytek's Admonition<br /> ** [[Four Farewells]]: Nameless Ravine begins a season of wandering.<br /> ** [[Hope in Varsi]]: A nameless monk. A stern abbot. A selfless act.<br /> ** [[Sha Yan Shi and the Wayward Eye of Ma-Ha-Suchi]]: In love, as in war, timing is everything.<br /> ** [[Something to Break]]: The twins make a discovery.<br /> ** [[Thirsty Soku and the Righteous Man]]: Thirsty Soku wins another battle... and loses another war.<br /> ** [[The Prison of Oaken Rebuke]]: Nameless Ravine sets a trap for his alter-ego.<br /> ** [[Sha Yan Shi and the Monkey-Picked Messenger]]: It's not about whether you win or lose. It's how you play the game.<br /> * While the cat's away: Stories of the Scavenger Lands in the days of the greater circle's meditation.<br /> ** [[Putting Out Fires]]: Rivers and Skies struggle to keep the the Marukan running without their powerful leaders.<br /> ** [[The Crow and Cloud Formation]]: Choshu Ishi learns what it means to be a hero and leader of men.<br /> *** [[Strategies For Mountains and Valleys]]: Choshu Ishi's second encounter with Mayhiros Xenon.<br /> **** [[Tactics For Hosts and Guests]]: Choshu Ishi's final(?) confrontation with his foe. <br /> ** [[Falling Bridges]]: Rivers and Mite Xu discuss bridges in the Southern Marukan.<br /> ** [[Responsibility and Authority]]: The ruination of a good breakfast.<br /> ** [[A Gift of Blades]]: Remember kids, never take candy from strangers...<br /> * On Distant Seas and Shores: While the circle rides the Scavenger Lands in the wake of their new power, their allies are busy elsewhere.<br /> ** [[Choshu Ishi Versus The Zombies]]<br /> *** [[A Two-Stone Game]]<br /> ** [[A Gift of Blades, pt2]]: Hsuan Lin kicks ass, takes names; gets ass kicked, name taken.<br /> ** [[Peleps Deled's Vault]]: A cadre of depraved Dynasts prepare to seek out the [[Third-Arm Glaive]]<br /> ** [[Sapphire's Bad Day]]: Effortless demon summoning with a side of introspection.<br /> ** The Second Southern Expedition: Nameless Ravine and his allies fight a shadow war in the no-man's-land between Marukan and Thorns<br /> *** [[Not One Tiger Warrior]]: Cathak Nekuto loses his temper.<br /> *** [[A Conspiracy of Virtue]]: The makings of a deadly mistake.<br /> *** [[Gaiden 7.5]], No Man's Land: Shai Mei reflects on Doing Good and Being Awesome.<br /> *** [[Sha Yan Shi and the Mandate of Heaven]]: Soho delivers an improbable homily to an even less probable audience.<br /> *** [[Powder Kegs (and other delicate matters)]]: The Mask's servants learn, yet again, that the Nameless Ravine does not negotiate with the dead.<br /> *** [[Divine Intervention]]: After Nameless Ravine confronts yet another of the Mask's abominations, Soho makes a terrible mistake.<br /> *** [[Sha Yan Shi and the Law of the Pack]]: Sha Yan Shi has a fateful encounter with an old enemy<br /> *** [[Hurry Home, Sweet Voice]]: Nameless Ravine buys some time for his comrades.<br /> *** [[Sha Yan Shi and the Long Dark Night]]: The last two members of the expedition are reunited in shadow and grief.<br /> ** [[Voices Prophesying War]]: A message from [[An Oathsworn Circle|the solars]] to the [[Roseblack]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [[Heaven's Mandate]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=C-Port&diff=45791 2007-03-11T20:46:03Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>''The Sprawl extends in every direction, rising above and falling away, an ever-connected series of tunnels, habitats, and ceramic caverns grown and built into and on top of one another. Originally, they say, we crawled inside the Arcologies to escape from the destruction we had wrought on our own planet, hiding inside temporary wombs while we learned to solve the problems that tore our lesser structures to the ground and ate away at the edges of our continents. But things went wrong, as they always do, and instead of moving back outward, we dug inward, building and growing, until the Outside was all but forgotten. You wouldn't know natural light if it stuck a handgun in your mouth.<br /> <br /> - A Brief [[History of C-Port]]''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''...most folks just sort of give up and decide that Upperlevel is the best they're gonna be able to do for themselves and their families, and they just fade in and become part of the scenery. Get up, do the job, try not to think about what could have been. So, welcome to UpperLevel Security Enforcement. As we longtime ULSEr's like to say, '&quot;Utopia? Look Somewhere Else.&quot;<br /> <br /> - An oldtimer's guide to [[Upperlevel Security Enforcement]]''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> '' ...They found out pretty quickly that there were still people in Area 16. My grandmother was one of them; she still claims she took down one of the foremen with a shiv. You see, when the military moved out, we moved in.''<br /> <br /> - Sublevel archived transcript #210025600319, re: [[Area 16]]<br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Area_16&diff=45789 2007-03-11T20:44:33Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>You swear you're not a SuSie? I'm not kidding. I don't care if you've got a full swap ready and waiting, they won't find enough to make it matter. My name is good down here, and that's more important than the chips under your skin. Even Sublevel Sec knows enough to stay out of 16... at least, while they're on duty.<br /> <br /> I'd watch your ass, either way. You uppers are all the same... you think you can buy a second hand skin suit on the way down, change in some mezzanine cubby you use to meet your eyecandy on the weekends, and you're all set to go slumming in the sub. Hell yeah I can tell! Look at your fingers and look at mine. All the grease in the world can't hide skin like that. This is what a scar looks like. You think I'm going to wait in line half a day at the clinic for a paper cut? Look, I don't care where you're from, nobody here does, but don't try to pretend like you're one of us. There are people down here that cut first when they see a poser. Never know when one of those damn SuSies might be down here looking for a fight. At least the frigging ops teams don't try to blend in.<br /> <br /> You're here for the music, right? Yeah, they've got clubs in the mezzanine, but nothing like the ones 16. Music doesn't mean as much when you've got a cozy cubby, a day job, and a sec team that gives a damn about people. This is where the Clean movement got started when Markos came through three years ago, and now half the people here don't even have chips. This is where Rip Metal and Neuro-Mix both got their starts. But most of all, this place has history. It's like a frigging docuholo. You see the veins in the walls of Blackbird Shaft? You didn't? Organgrinder is playing there tonight, so you have to at least stop in and catch a set if you're at all serious about transdeath. Yeah, those veins are motherloving yellowcake. No crap. This whole district used to be a mine, and the Shaft is still working twelve hours out of the day, even though fission's as dead as PuffCore and lead-threads. You see those rails that run right down the middle of the strip? Those were first put in by the miners. For the military, it was just an added bonus.<br /> <br /> Oh, now you get it? Did you think those gutted out tanks on the ceiling of the Glory Pit were props? They were making fifty of those beasts every month right up until they sealed the main line to Angel City. Garbage now. One u-rail would light up the inside of one of those things brighter than Tier Level. That's not the only club that's being run out of a fab either. Keep your eyes open. For fifteen years, right up until the mayor of Angel City finally cracked down on emigration and the port authority put the digger drones on the C-way gate, they thought they were going to end up nuking every arco from here to Teno. This place became a ghost town over night when the gate got droned.<br /> <br /> At least it was until Kama Light and Power moved in. They figured there wasn't anybody to complain if they used old shafts as cooling pools and irradiated the hell out of the whole district, and with all that yellowcake so close by it was a natural fit. Don't look so nervous, they damn thing never actually got off the ground. They found out pretty quickly that there were still people in Area 16. My grandmother was one of them; she still claims she took down one of the foremen with a shiv. You see, when the military moved out, we moved in. This whole club is made out of the reactor core they were building. Biggest building on the whole strip. They say half the whores in sublevel bivy in the cooling system. I'm not lying! Miles of meter-wide pipes, all free housing to anyone with a blow torch and time on their hands. All you have to worry about is the cleaner drones coming through and taking care of the blockages. I'm kidding about the last part, we haven't seen one of them in weeks. Seriously... I mean, I could show you my spot, a little later... not bad if you don't mind the noise.<br /> <br /> Hey wait, where are you going? It was a joke! Damn, you uppers sure are high and mighty. Like I said, without me you'd be dead a half hour ago. These clubs may look safe, but all it takes is one cyto-mask in your brew and you're in a body shop before the glass hits the floor. Hell, half the drinks here are restricted in mezz because of the heavy elements. You're lucky to survive even if someone isn't jonesing for your liver, your chip, or your shoes. Even I haven't made it this far without my share of back alley thrashings. You think I got this from getting my appendix out? Lucky I had my rippers put on three weeks before, or half the kids in this club would be wearing a piece of me.<br /> <br /> You know, I can tell you're not here for the music after all. Admit it, you're looking... that's why you're in the China Train tonight. Purple dream? Acid? Nanostims? No? Something special then... let's step up onto the catwalk. Here, have a taste of this. What? Cyto-mask? That's a big accusation for a pretty little... Oh... You'll never take... oh fff...</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Area_16&diff=45787 2007-03-11T20:42:32Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>You swear you're not a SuSie? I'm not kidding. I don't care if you've got a full swap ready and waiting, they won't find enough to make it matter. My name is good down here, and that's more important than the chips under your skin. Even Sublevel Sec knows enough to stay out of 16... at least, while they're on duty.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> I'd watch your ass, either way. You uppers are all the same... you think you can buy a second hand skin suit on the way down, change in some mezzanine cubby you use to meet your eyecandy on the weekends, and you're all set to go slumming in the sub. Hell yeah I can tell! Look at your fingers and look at mine. All the grease in the world can't hide skin like that. This is what a scar looks like. You think I'm going to wait in line half a day at the clinic for a paper cut? Look, I don't care where you're from, nobody here does, but don't try to pretend like you're one of us. There are people down here that cut first when they see a poser. Never know when one of those damn SuSies might be down here looking for a fight. At least the frigging ops teams don't try to blend in.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> You're here for the music, right? Yeah, they've got clubs in the mezzanine, but nothing like the ones 16. Music doesn't mean as much when you've got a cozy cubby, a day job, and a sec team that gives a damn about people. This is where the Clean movement got started when Markos came through three years ago, and now half the people here don't even have chips. This is where Rip Metal and Neuro-Mix both got their starts. But most of all, this place has history. It's like a frigging docuholo. You see the veins in the walls of Blackbird Shaft? You didn't? Organgrinder is playing there tonight, so you have to at least stop in and catch a set if you're at all serious about transdeath. Yeah, those veins are motherloving yellowcake. No crap. This whole district used to be a mine, and the Shaft is still working twelve hours out of the day, even though fission's as dead as PuffCore and lead-threads. You see those rails that run right down the middle of the strip? Those were first put in by the miners. For the military, it was just an added bonus.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Oh, now you get it? Did you think those gutted out tanks on the ceiling of the Glory Pit were props? They were making fifty of those beasts every month right up until they sealed the main line to Angel City. Garbage now. One u-rail would light up the inside of one of those things brighter than Tier Level. That's not the only club that's being run out of a fab either. Keep your eyes open. For fifteen years, right up until the mayor of Angel City finally cracked down on emigration and the port authority put the digger drones on the C-way gate, they thought they were going to end up nuking every arco from here to Teno. This place became a ghost town over night when the gate got droned.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> At least it was until Kama Light and Power moved in. They figured there wasn't anybody to complain if they used old shafts as cooling pools and irradiated the hell out of the whole district, and with all that yellowcake so close by it was a natural fit. Don't look so nervous, they damn thing never actually got off the ground. They found out pretty quickly that there were still people in Area 16. My grandmother was one of them; she still claims she took down one of the foremen with a shiv. You see, when the military moved out, we moved in. This whole club is made out of the reactor core they were building. Biggest building on the whole strip. They say half the whores in sublevel bivy in the cooling system. I'm not lying! Miles of meter-wide pipes, all free housing to anyone with a blow torch and time on their hands. All you have to worry about is the cleaner drones coming through and taking care of the blockages. I'm kidding about the last part, we haven't seen one of them in weeks. Seriously... I mean, I could show you my spot, a little later... not bad if you don't mind the noise.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Hey wait, where are you going? It was a joke! Damn, you uppers sure are high and mighty. Like I said, without me you'd be dead a half hour ago. These clubs may look safe, but all it takes is one cyto-mask in your brew and you're in a body shop before the glass hits the floor. Hell, half the drinks here are restricted in mezz because of the heavy elements. You're lucky to survive even if someone isn't jonesing for your liver, your chip, or your shoes. Even I haven't made it this far without my share of back alley thrashings. You think I got this from getting my appendix out? Lucky I had my rippers put on three weeks before, or half the kids in this club would be wearing a piece of me.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> You know, I can tell you're not here for the music after all. Admit it, you're looking... that's why you're in the China Train tonight. Purple dream? Acid? Nanostims? No? Something special then... let's step up onto the catwalk. Here, have a taste of this. What? Cyto-mask? That's a big accusation for a pretty little... Oh... You'll never take... oh fff...</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=C-Port&diff=45786 2007-03-11T20:42:06Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>''The Sprawl extends in every direction, rising above and falling away, an ever-connected series of tunnels, habitats, and ceramic caverns grown and built into and on top of one another. Originally, they say, we crawled inside the Arcologies to escape from the destruction we had wrought on our own planet, hiding inside temporary wombs while we learned to solve the problems that tore our lesser structures to the ground and ate away at the edges of our continents. But things went wrong, as they always do, and instead of moving back outward, we dug inward, building and growing, until the Outside was all but forgotten. You wouldn't know natural light if it stuck a handgun in your mouth.<br /> <br /> - A Brief [[History of C-Port]]''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> ''...most folks just sort of give up and decide that Upperlevel is the best they're gonna be able to do for themselves and their families, and they just fade in and become part of the scenery. Get up, do the job, try not to think about what could have been. So, welcome to UpperLevel Security Enforcement. As we longtime ULSEr's like to say, '&quot;Utopia? Look Somewhere Else.&quot;<br /> <br /> - An oldtimer's guide to [[Upperlevel Security Enforcement]]''<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> - Sublevel archived transcript #210025600319, re: [[Area 16]]<br /> ----<br /> <br /> [[Future Imperfect]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Player_Characters&diff=45686 2007-03-09T22:05:57Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>{| border=&quot;3&quot;<br /> ! Character Name !! Brief Description !! Player Name<br /> |-<br /> ! [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike_Forester Mike Forester]<br /> | Hacker || Lori Priebe <br /> |-<br /> ! [[Jack Scratch]]<br /> | Agent || David Drake <br /> |-! <br /> |<br /> |<br /> |}</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Player_Characters&diff=45685 2007-03-09T22:05:31Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: </p> <hr /> <div>{| border=&quot;3&quot;<br /> ! Character Name !! Brief Description !! Player Name<br /> |-<br /> ! [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Mike_Forester Mike Forester]<br /> | Hacker || Lori Priebe <br /> |-<br /> ! [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Jack_Scratch Jack Scratch]<br /> | Agent || David Drake <br /> |-! <br /> |<br /> |<br /> |}</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=No-Brand_Heros&diff=43908 2007-02-20T19:40:54Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Seven Tomes From a Cloudy Shelf */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:No-Brand_Heros.jpg]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> Welcome to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wiki] for '''No-Brand Heros''', a tabletop role playing game of high school drama inspired by various anime and Japanese video games, played with [http://www.eos-press.com Eos Press'] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_the_Gods Weapons of the Gods] game. This wiki is designed to serve as a &quot;series bible&quot; and resource for the players and GM, to help keep better track of everything that appears in game. Anyone is free to edit the wiki and add to our game.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Cast of Characters==<br /> ===A Class By Themselves===<br /> * [[Peerless Culinarians]]: The main cast of No-Brand Heros, the core of Yamato High's Kung-Fu Cooking Club; the player characters<br /> <br /> ===Rival Schools===<br /> * [[Tasteless Philistines]]: Those beings, both vile and virtuous, who have run afowl of the Club.<br /> <br /> ===Sempai and Kouhai===<br /> * [[Sous-Chefs and Sommeliers]]: The panoply of characters who've impacted our heroes' tale. Some are allies and some are neutral; all are colorful.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Tastes of the Town==<br /> ===Tokyo Proper===<br /> * [[Kishi Jinja]]<br /> <br /> ===Toyama High===<br /> <br /> ===Yamato High===<br /> <br /> <br /> ==The Permanent Record==<br /> ===Between Classes===<br /> * [[School Sponsored Events]]: A history of events at Yamato High.<br /> <br /> ===After School===<br /> * [[Extra-Curricular Activities]]: Knowledge of a mystic nature or scenes from beyond the bounds of Yamato High.<br /> <br /> ===From Your Student Planner===<br /> * [[Yamato School Calendar]]: A comprehensive index of narrative entries arranged in relative order.<br /> <br /> ==Approved Textbooks==<br /> ===Techniques of the Masters===<br /> * [[Kung-Fu Styles]]: Applications of chi in the service of the culinary arts.<br /> <br /> ===Occult Cuisine===<br /> * [[Lore Sheets]]: Records of knowledge, more or less hidden from the public eye.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Resources==<br /> * What else can I Wiki? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia] <br /> * What is a RPG? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game RPG Wiki]<br /> * What is a GM? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster Game Master] <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Main_Page RPG.net Wiki Main Page]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=No-Brand_Heros&diff=43907 2007-02-20T19:40:39Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Annals of a Heaven-Graced Earth */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:No-Brand_Heros.jpg]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> Welcome to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wiki] for '''No-Brand Heros''', a tabletop role playing game of high school drama inspired by various anime and Japanese video games, played with [http://www.eos-press.com Eos Press'] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_the_Gods Weapons of the Gods] game. This wiki is designed to serve as a &quot;series bible&quot; and resource for the players and GM, to help keep better track of everything that appears in game. Anyone is free to edit the wiki and add to our game.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Cast of Characters==<br /> ===A Class By Themselves===<br /> * [[Peerless Culinarians]]: The main cast of No-Brand Heros, the core of Yamato High's Kung-Fu Cooking Club; the player characters<br /> <br /> ===Rival Schools===<br /> * [[Tasteless Philistines]]: Those beings, both vile and virtuous, who have run afowl of the Club.<br /> <br /> ===Sempai and Kouhai===<br /> * [[Sous-Chefs and Sommeliers]]: The panoply of characters who've impacted our heroes' tale. Some are allies and some are neutral; all are colorful.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Tastes of the Town==<br /> ===Tokyo Proper===<br /> * [[Kishi Jinja]]<br /> <br /> ===Toyama High===<br /> <br /> ===Yamato High===<br /> <br /> <br /> ==The Permanent Record==<br /> ===Between Classes===<br /> * [[School Sponsored Events]]: A history of events at Yamato High.<br /> <br /> ===Seven Tomes From a Cloudy Shelf===<br /> * [[Extra-Curricular Activities]]: Knowledge of a mystic nature or scenes from beyond the bounds of Yamato High.<br /> <br /> ===From Your Student Planner===<br /> * [[Yamato School Calendar]]: A comprehensive index of narrative entries arranged in relative order.<br /> <br /> ==Approved Textbooks==<br /> ===Techniques of the Masters===<br /> * [[Kung-Fu Styles]]: Applications of chi in the service of the culinary arts.<br /> <br /> ===Occult Cuisine===<br /> * [[Lore Sheets]]: Records of knowledge, more or less hidden from the public eye.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Resources==<br /> * What else can I Wiki? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia] <br /> * What is a RPG? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game RPG Wiki]<br /> * What is a GM? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster Game Master] <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Main_Page RPG.net Wiki Main Page]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=No-Brand_Heros&diff=43906 2007-02-20T19:39:53Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Seven Tomes From a Cloudy Shelf */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:No-Brand_Heros.jpg]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> Welcome to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wiki] for '''No-Brand Heros''', a tabletop role playing game of high school drama inspired by various anime and Japanese video games, played with [http://www.eos-press.com Eos Press'] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_the_Gods Weapons of the Gods] game. This wiki is designed to serve as a &quot;series bible&quot; and resource for the players and GM, to help keep better track of everything that appears in game. Anyone is free to edit the wiki and add to our game.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Cast of Characters==<br /> ===A Class By Themselves===<br /> * [[Peerless Culinarians]]: The main cast of No-Brand Heros, the core of Yamato High's Kung-Fu Cooking Club; the player characters<br /> <br /> ===Rival Schools===<br /> * [[Tasteless Philistines]]: Those beings, both vile and virtuous, who have run afowl of the Club.<br /> <br /> ===Sempai and Kouhai===<br /> * [[Sous-Chefs and Sommeliers]]: The panoply of characters who've impacted our heroes' tale. Some are allies and some are neutral; all are colorful.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Tastes of the Town==<br /> ===Tokyo Proper===<br /> * [[Kishi Jinja]]<br /> <br /> ===Toyama High===<br /> <br /> ===Yamato High===<br /> <br /> <br /> ==The Permanent Record==<br /> ===Annals of a Heaven-Graced Earth===<br /> * [[The Soft Breath of Seasons]]: A history of events in the Scavenger Lands since the arrival of the Solars.<br /> <br /> ===Seven Tomes From a Cloudy Shelf===<br /> * [[Extra-Curricular Activities]]: Knowledge of a mystic nature or scenes from beyond the bounds of Yamato High.<br /> <br /> ===From Your Student Planner===<br /> * [[Yamato School Calendar]]: A comprehensive index of narrative entries arranged in relative order.<br /> <br /> ==Approved Textbooks==<br /> ===Techniques of the Masters===<br /> * [[Kung-Fu Styles]]: Applications of chi in the service of the culinary arts.<br /> <br /> ===Occult Cuisine===<br /> * [[Lore Sheets]]: Records of knowledge, more or less hidden from the public eye.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Resources==<br /> * What else can I Wiki? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia] <br /> * What is a RPG? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game RPG Wiki]<br /> * What is a GM? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster Game Master] <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Main_Page RPG.net Wiki Main Page]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=No-Brand_Heros&diff=43905 2007-02-20T19:39:23Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Upcoming Events */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:No-Brand_Heros.jpg]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> Welcome to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wiki] for '''No-Brand Heros''', a tabletop role playing game of high school drama inspired by various anime and Japanese video games, played with [http://www.eos-press.com Eos Press'] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_the_Gods Weapons of the Gods] game. This wiki is designed to serve as a &quot;series bible&quot; and resource for the players and GM, to help keep better track of everything that appears in game. Anyone is free to edit the wiki and add to our game.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Cast of Characters==<br /> ===A Class By Themselves===<br /> * [[Peerless Culinarians]]: The main cast of No-Brand Heros, the core of Yamato High's Kung-Fu Cooking Club; the player characters<br /> <br /> ===Rival Schools===<br /> * [[Tasteless Philistines]]: Those beings, both vile and virtuous, who have run afowl of the Club.<br /> <br /> ===Sempai and Kouhai===<br /> * [[Sous-Chefs and Sommeliers]]: The panoply of characters who've impacted our heroes' tale. Some are allies and some are neutral; all are colorful.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Tastes of the Town==<br /> ===Tokyo Proper===<br /> * [[Kishi Jinja]]<br /> <br /> ===Toyama High===<br /> <br /> ===Yamato High===<br /> <br /> <br /> ==The Permanent Record==<br /> ===Annals of a Heaven-Graced Earth===<br /> * [[The Soft Breath of Seasons]]: A history of events in the Scavenger Lands since the arrival of the Solars.<br /> <br /> ===Seven Tomes From a Cloudy Shelf===<br /> * [[Chronicle of the Cycles of Time]]: Knowledge of a mystic nature or scenes from beyond the bounds of Creation.<br /> <br /> ===From Your Student Planner===<br /> * [[Yamato School Calendar]]: A comprehensive index of narrative entries arranged in relative order.<br /> <br /> ==Approved Textbooks==<br /> ===Techniques of the Masters===<br /> * [[Kung-Fu Styles]]: Applications of chi in the service of the culinary arts.<br /> <br /> ===Occult Cuisine===<br /> * [[Lore Sheets]]: Records of knowledge, more or less hidden from the public eye.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Resources==<br /> * What else can I Wiki? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia] <br /> * What is a RPG? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game RPG Wiki]<br /> * What is a GM? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster Game Master] <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Main_Page RPG.net Wiki Main Page]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=No-Brand_Heros&diff=43904 2007-02-20T19:38:17Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* Infinite Vaults of the Bureaucracy */</p> <hr /> <div>[[Image:No-Brand_Heros.jpg]]<br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> <br /> <br /> Welcome to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki wiki] for '''No-Brand Heros''', a tabletop role playing game of high school drama inspired by various anime and Japanese video games, played with [http://www.eos-press.com Eos Press'] [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapons_of_the_Gods Weapons of the Gods] game. This wiki is designed to serve as a &quot;series bible&quot; and resource for the players and GM, to help keep better track of everything that appears in game. Anyone is free to edit the wiki and add to our game.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Cast of Characters==<br /> ===A Class By Themselves===<br /> * [[Peerless Culinarians]]: The main cast of No-Brand Heros, the core of Yamato High's Kung-Fu Cooking Club; the player characters<br /> <br /> ===Rival Schools===<br /> * [[Tasteless Philistines]]: Those beings, both vile and virtuous, who have run afowl of the Club.<br /> <br /> ===Sempai and Kouhai===<br /> * [[Sous-Chefs and Sommeliers]]: The panoply of characters who've impacted our heroes' tale. Some are allies and some are neutral; all are colorful.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Tastes of the Town==<br /> ===Tokyo Proper===<br /> * [[Kishi Jinja]]<br /> <br /> ===Toyama High===<br /> <br /> ===Yamato High===<br /> <br /> <br /> ==The Permanent Record==<br /> ===Annals of a Heaven-Graced Earth===<br /> * [[The Soft Breath of Seasons]]: A history of events in the Scavenger Lands since the arrival of the Solars.<br /> <br /> ===Seven Tomes From a Cloudy Shelf===<br /> * [[Chronicle of the Cycles of Time]]: Knowledge of a mystic nature or scenes from beyond the bounds of Creation.<br /> <br /> ===Upcoming Events===<br /> * [[Yamato School Calendar]]: A comprehensive index of narrative entries arranged in relative order.<br /> <br /> ==Approved Textbooks==<br /> ===Techniques of the Masters===<br /> * [[Kung-Fu Styles]]: Applications of chi in the service of the culinary arts.<br /> <br /> ===Occult Cuisine===<br /> * [[Lore Sheets]]: Records of knowledge, more or less hidden from the public eye.<br /> <br /> <br /> ==Resources==<br /> * What else can I Wiki? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki Wikipedia] <br /> * What is a RPG? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Role-playing_game RPG Wiki]<br /> * What is a GM? [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamemaster Game Master] <br /> <br /> <br /> ----<br /> [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/Main_Page RPG.net Wiki Main Page]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:No-Brand_Heros&diff=43753 2007-02-19T00:21:12Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>As with [[Heaven's Mandate]], this page will be used to keep track of who's contributed what to the wiki, if you feel inclined to track your writings.<br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> <br /> # Added Skeletal Naming Conventions for Site<br /> # Added [[Hikaru Inugami]]<br /> # Added [[Shintoism]]<br /> # Added [[Kami Grace]]<br /> # Added [[Orochi Fist]]<br /> <br /> ==Dawn Drake==<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> '''Pre-Game Business'''<br /> #1 (2/17): Added Talk Page<br /> #2 (2/17): Added [[Tanaka Masaru]]<br /> #3 (2/17): Added image to [[Tanaka Masaru]]<br /> <br /> <br /> -----<br /> [[No-Brand Heros]]</div>

Rivers Between Us https://wiki.rpg.net/index.php?title=Talk:No-Brand_Heros&diff=43752 2007-02-19T00:20:34Z

<p>Rivers Between Us: /* David Drake */</p> <hr /> <div>As with [[Heaven's Mandate]], this page will be used to keep track of who's contributed what to the wiki, if you feel inclined to track your writings.<br /> <br /> ==Hans Andersen==<br /> <br /> ==David Drake==<br /> <br /> # Added [[Hikaru Inugami]]<br /> # Added [[Shintoism]]<br /> # Added [[Kami Grace]]<br /> # Added [[Orochi Fist]]<br /> <br /> ==Dawn Drake==<br /> <br /> ==Jason Kalivas==<br /> <br /> ==Lesley McKeever==<br /> <br /> ==Lukas Myhan==<br /> '''Pre-Game Business'''<br /> #1 (2/17): Added Talk Page<br /> #2 (2/17): Added [[Tanaka Masaru]]<br /> #3 (2/17): Added image to [[Tanaka Masaru]]<br /> <br /> <br /> -----<br /> [[No-Brand Heros]]</div>

Rivers Between Us