Hidden Riches
“Wow.” Choshu Ishi stared down into the great gorge that cut the southern Marukan in half. Chalky white stone captured the light of the moon above, making the gorge glow far down until the black below seized hold. Ishi had been running along the gorge’s edge for about a week, but he’d been moving fast and hadn’t had the time before to really see how terrible the damage had been. Now that he’d reached his goal he stopped and looked and reeled at both the depth and the extent of the damage. “That’s... deep.”
“Ishi?” Nameless Ravine’s confused voice tumbled over the hills outside the little camp; the shape of the Dawn Caste, in his simple monk’s robe but with the Promise still strapped to his back, followed quickly after. “Choshu Ishi? What are you doing here?”
“I came to defend the southland!”
“But… I’m already here to defend the southland. Myself, Soho, Agathon and...” The Dawn Caste trailed off.
“You’re starting to see?”
“I didn’t ask you to come.”
“No. You didn’t.” Ishi turned away from Nameless Ravine and gazed deep into the west, where the black army of the Mask of Winters made its camp. “I don’t understand. I’m tougher by far than Shai Mei or Sha Yan Shi; I could take Agathon in a fight; even Soho, if he didn’t use his bow.”
“Ah, but Soho would use his bow, wouldn’t he?” Nameless Ravine smiled, suddenly, as if he’d just realized something.
“Uhm...”
“He has greater skill with the bow than you; he’d match his strength to your weakness, no?”
“Yes...”
“So must we. There’s already one warrior with a tiger’s arm on this expedition,” the Dawn Caste said, swinging the Promise over and off his back. “Why would we need another? That’s why Storm of Amber sent you to Fenghuang Temple; there’s a dragon or more of zombies there!”
“Not for long!” Ishi grinned, doubly so to hear Nameless Ravine compare the two of them favorably.
“Good. You’ll defend Fenghuang Temple, then? Err... Soon?”
Ishi scratched his head. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about swords.”
“Swords?”
Ishi nodded towards the Promise. “You have a sword that once hated you. How did you make it stop?”
Nameless Ravine regarded his sword. “This blade and I made our peace when I purged the devil inside me. It was him the Promise fought, not me.”
"Oh." Ishi's face fell. "I have no devils."
"You're having a problem with your sword?"
Ishi slung Hidden Riches off his back and plunged its naked blade into the earth. The ground shook and the two Exalts had to lean on each other to keep their balance.
"Careful," Nameless Ravine said, throwing a wild gaze back towards the gorge, where a little more of the earth had just given way. "You don't want to knock us down there."
Ishi nodded. "The sword twists in my grasp. When I'm weak, it slips away from me and shakes the ground beneath my feet. I don't know if it's me the sword hates, or the earth.
"I think both."
"Then there's nothing within yourself to change," Nameless Ravine said. "You could unmake the sword..."
"It's a gift from my sister, the finest example of her craft."
"Then there's only one thing for you to do."
"What?"
"Never grow weak."
"No. Never!" Ishi's eyes burned as he took up Hidden Riches again. He spun on his heels and began running east, for Fenghuang Temple.
Behind him, Nameless Ravine's confused voice tumbled over the hills. "What have I done?"
A White Jade Daiklave[edit]
Choshu Aya made Hidden Riches from steel, white jade and the remains of a Serpent-And-Egg. The blade has inherited much of the egg's power but, perhaps driven on by Aya's own attitude towards her brother, much of the elemental's hatred as well. Like those strange elementals, Hidden Riches has a deep and abiding hatred for Creation and the things within it; but, also like the Serpent-And-Egg, it's willing to let its wielder be the source of his own fall. Hidden Riches has the following statistics:
- Speed 4, Accuracy +3, Damage +7L, Defense +2, Rate 3, Minimum Strength 2, Attunement Cost 5
- Earth Elemental Strike: On any successful attack backed by a Charm, Hidden Riches carries the earth along with its strike. This earth roots the target to the spot, preventing him from taking a Move, Dash or Jump action and inflicting a -2 external penalty to his DDV and any actions he takes until the action when next Hidden Riches is swung.
- This power will not work against Eclipse Caste Solars or No Moon Caste Lunars, as the elemental that became the blade felt an affinity for those two types of Exalted.
- The Earth's Bane: Hidden Riches' wielder can spend one mote to cause a single strike of the blade to deal Aggravated Damage against Earth Elementals.
- Loathing the Earth Below: On any attack where Hidden Riches overcomes its target's DV but fails to do damage (through a Perfect Defense, a Twilight's anima power, or even rolling 0 successes on the damage roll), the blade slips free from its wielder's control and shakes the ground beneath his feet. His player must roll (Dexterity + Athletics), difficulty 4, to keep the character from falling.
