Chapter One: A Circle from Many Parts

This Page is a part of the history from the campaign Orichalcum Handbasket.

This chapter chronicles how the individual members of the Circle of the Radiant Insurrection met, and became the force of chaos that now boils through creation.

A Not-so-Dormant Volcano

Enter Feyth, Eclipse Caste Solar Exalt, stage left, in the city of Gem. Or, to be more specific, the dormant volcano that housed Gem. Feyth entered town, learning a few things about the local fire elementals from the townspeople, and proceeded to track down these elementals in the hopes of talking them into stirring things up. Really, the volcano had been dormant for far too long and besides...it was their own fault for building a city in a volcano. Unfortunately, he wasn't as stealthy about his plans as he'd hoped to be, and he soon found himself accosted by a group of rightly concerned townspeople.

When Arisa, a Zenith Caste cowgirl arrived in Gem in the midst of her wanderings, she found a fantastic looking man being accosted by a number of rough looking townsfolk. Unable to hold herself back from what looked like an exciting fight, Arisa threw herself into the battle to save the fantastic man, if only because he looked like he could use a hand... and a drink.

After the fight, Arisa and Feyth rode out of town on Arisa's Tyrant Lizard familiar, Rover. Luckily for Feyth, Rover took a liking to him, and even allowed him to ride on his back, in exchange for a treat. Feyth, being Feyth, convinced the monstrous tyrant lizard and his rider that really, he'd be better off if they let him tether himself to Rover and get dragged through the air behind them like an errant balloon.

Who Drinks Tea in a Tavern, Anyway?

A quiet monk, Duricorre, was calmly drinking a cup of tea in the local tavern when he noticed that a bunch of violent ragamuffins seemed to be scrabbling around him. He quickly put an end to this by using his clockwork armament to quell the uprising. Seeing the quick, clean actions of Duricorre, the instigator of the bar fight, a Night Caste thief named Ebon Hand of the Dragon was impressed.

Ebon's intentions when she approached the monk were made clear very quickly. In her infinitely spur-of-the-moment wisdom, Ebon proposed to this strong-armed monk that he should perform the duties of a bodyguard for her. Since Duricorre has a high Temperance, he did not immediately throw the idea aside. Duricorre was still so annoyed by the childishness and the low temperance of the rabble around him that his response to Ebon's assumptions about what he would do for her was mere apathy. Sensing acceptance, Ebon gave a little squeal, and shadowed Duricorre everywhere he went in the city, and a tentative partnership was formed.

Target: Tyrant Lizard

Traveling on a Tyrant Lizard is a fantastic way to avoid conversation with people you'd rather not talk to. For Arisa and Feyth, it was also their entertainment, as Feyth had taken to floating behind Rover on a tether as an amusement. It certainly amused Arisa, who had craned around in her saddle to watch the floating man, and so did not notice Sirokos blocking the road in front of rover with two guns drawn. It wasn't until Rover decided that this man was supposed to be lunch, and a small battle between the man and the giant lizard ensued.

Sirokos had been having a very bad month. He'd attacked the floating man and Tyrant Lizard riding cowgirl for the challenge of the mark, but he hadn't expected to have to blow so much essence just to keep from dying. The lizard looked completely unharmed! Well, then, so did he.

Arisa called Rover to a halt, and stared down at the young man below her. After a long staring contest, she slid down Rover's leg and introduced herself. Feyth floated down and joined the discussion. After deciding that this man was as much of an outcast as herself and Feyth, she offered to have him come along with them on... whatever it was they were up to. Finding food and mischief, if Feyth had anything to say about it. Sirokos took them up on their offer, Arisa introduced him to Rover, and they wandered off into the sunset.

Tickets to the Gun Show

The sun had not long fallen when things got a little more interesting for the now-trio. Seated around a blazing fire, they shared tales of their adventures since each of their exaltations. In the middle of one of Sirokos' particularly meandering stories, he stopped still, and drew his weapons while spinning around to face the darkness. "I don't know what you're thinking trying to steal from me, but it's going to be the last thing you ever think." And with that, he fired what they would later learn was simply a warning burst of fire. If Sirokos means to kill, he empties the clip. Feyth and Arisa were surprised by the outburst, as they had noticed nothing. Rover seemed on guard, however. While the firing and dodging was going on on the opposite side of the fire, a man with a curious metal arm approaches Feyth and Arisa. "She does this a lot." Were the only words the man said, apart from introducing himself as Duricorre. After a few seconds that stretched on like minutes, both the now-visible thief and Sirokos has exhausted themselves. "Alright fine. You can keep them. For now." the woman said. Looking across the fire at Duricorre, she rolled her eyes and said "No taste whatsoever, Duricorre." before introducing herself to the party in a grandiose manner as Ebon Hand of the Dragon.

From there, they traveled together and did wondrous things that can be found in further chapters of this story. They never did trust each other completely, however, but that is a story for another day.