Part One: When the Student Is Ready...
[The Nexus][edit]
Night in the Nexus falls like a black velvet curtain. As the afternoon wanes, the evening seems to be creeping along, and then, almost before you know it, full darkness has settled in the streets, along with the more unsavory elements of society. The day shift- honest merchants and respectable matrons- are settling in to sleep, and the night shift- crafty burglars and tired prostitutes- are getting ready for business. After a certain hour, these streets are no place for a lady to walk alone.
For more than a month now, I've called this riotous city my home. I try not to think of the place I used to call home. There's no going back, really, and I refuse to mope over what must be. The day I Exalted, every other door slammed shut, every other option was removed. But the way I left...I never would have wished for that. Maybe if I had left sooner. Maybe if I had been more careful in concealing my new nature. Maybe if someone else had been chosen instead. But what good is 'maybe'? All I can do is move forward. I lost my first home, but perhaps this one I can hold on to.
Several months ago, I fled the Blessed Isle in the middle of the night, booking passage under an assumed name to Port Calin; from there I traveled upriver to Nexus. It is, after all, a city for those who are lost and those who wish to be. I needed to disappear, and I could hardly ask for a better place to vanish than this whore of a city. Who in the Realm could imagine that I would run off to live in the rotten core of the barbaric scavenger lands? My disappearance might look suspicious, but if any of them knew... I would be killed on sight.
I arrived with the dawn, weeks later, and took accommodations at the cleanest inn I could find- a nice place, but not too nice. In this town, very few people have the confidence (or the armed guards) to openly appear wealthy. I concealed the gold and jewels I brought with me well, knowing that it would have to last me until I found my place in the chaos of Nexus. And to accomplish that, I set about learning this city.
For five days, I did little but walk the streets, talking to the colorful people that make this town what it is. I started to understand how things work here, and I looked for an opening. As it turned out, finding my place was not as hard as I had thought it would be. This city can be very accommodating, if you possess the right skills.
My skill is this: I can be very persuasive. For as long as I can remember, I have had an easy time of shifting people to my point of view. But, since the day I was Exalted, these skills have increased to the level of the supernatural. It is extremely difficult to defy me. And that's the kind of skill this town of traders can put to use. So, I sold Amalia's diamond earrings and bought myself a fine horse, rented a few rooms in the Cinnabar district, and became a diplomat for hire. Getting the first few contracts was difficult, but once word got around of my skillful negotiation, the offers started rolling in.
In the time since then, I've hired a few Nexus folk, and I now have the beginning of a proper entourage. The very early beginnings of a proper entourage...so far, I only have two assistants. Hsuan Lin, who once tried to talk me out of my fortune at sword-point, and Jian Wei, who was a starving scholar until I hired him. This city devours so many. But for a few at least, I can find a second chance.
At first, I had no idea how I would get by. But things have, by and large, fallen into place. I'm becoming established now. In the way of misfortune, not much has happened to me, at least since I arrived on this shore. There was that one time I foiled the attempted robbery. That's actually how Hsuan Lin joined my staff. She made a terrible thief, and makes a much better...well, diplomat in training, I suppose.
I do try to keep my business strictly above board. Nothing illegal, nothing terribly unethical. Thus, all of my meetings take place in the light of day. It's a guideline I have never broken, until now. I would not have broken my rules for anyone less than a merchant prince. My newest client, Ysmir Stoneoath, would have been offended if I had not partaken of his generosity at the banquet earlier this evening, and I had no chance to slip away before dark. To complicate matters, both members of my entourage are on assignment, so I face these city streets alone.
I am not afraid of what someone might do to me. I am much more afraid of what I might do to someone.
To be fair, an encounter would not have to end in violence; I can usually talk my way out of trouble. But the truth is, although my persuasive skill is quite remarkable, I've no desire to see it put to the test in anything more dangerous than trade negotiation. If it should ever fail me, in the dark alleys I can't avoid on nights like tonight, things could get out of hand. And I can't stand drawing the wrong kind of attention to myself.
I'm not ashamed of being a Solar, exactly. It just makes things so much more complicated when people know. It could ruin my business, and that's all I've got in this new world. If I'm backed into a corner, I'll have to use my skills. And then everyone will know.
Unless...unless I don't let anyone survive the encounter. But I can't just kill every misguided fool who crosses my path, And that's the real reason I act like I'm afraid. I never want to have to choose between my life and the lives of others.
Of course, maybe I'm just worrying for nothing. As I cross through one of the poorer parts of town, the shadows work for me instead of against me. I'm probably not the only one around here sneaking back home before the dawn. The air is crisp tonight, and I shiver as I walk through the (thankfully) silent streets. A full moon shines brightly overhead, casting shadows in the dead of night. Not even the filth piled along the roadway can disguise the beauty of the buildings I pass, so stately, so orderly. I cross a bridge that appears far too light and delicate to be made of anything so base and earthbound as stone, and I am almost safely back in the shadows again when I hear the footsteps behind me.
I walk a little faster. There's plenty of other reasons for someone- no, from the sound of it, there's several someones- I'm sure they've a good reason to be out and about at this time of night, right? I'm not outpacing them, but I refuse to make this a race. At about the same time as I realize my strategy isn't working, I can feel someone walking far to close to me. So, I stop.
And a few people crash into me.
I get to my feet and spin around, as they hastily encircle me, five men, on the burly side. And they're looking at me like the night just got a whole lot more interesting. Fantastic.
"Look, can I help you?" I say, because I can't really think of anything else to say. It's inane, but if I can get them talking, or better yet, listening, I may not have to seriously injure anyone tonight.
One of the men leers and makes a particularly detailed reference to the form that he'd like my help to take. Oh well. So much for diplomacy. Time for plan B.
I speak firmly, just loud enough for all of them to hear. "Shame on you. Frightening young ladies out for a walk. You feel terrible about this. So terrible, in fact that you have decided to turn over a new leaf. From now on, you will spend your time doing good works. Nothing else matters as much as helping others. In fact, you've chosen a life of celibacy, to prevent the ladies from distracting you from your mission. You know, there's a shrine not far from here, you should go and meditate on the purity of the road ahead of you. Oh, and we never had this conversation. Bye now."
The five wander off in the direction I pointed, eyes glazed over. I breathe a deep sigh of relief, that tonight at least, I never had to turn to plan C. I turn back toward home and by the light of the moon, I see a man standing under the eaves of the building across the street.
He's tall, but not very muscular. His pose is relaxed, and as far from intimidating as a tall person can be. He's dressed finely, in sharp contrast to the men that just left, the sober grey of his garments blending into the shadow.
I look at him a moment, trying to discern whether I accidentally influenced him as well. But he's not heading to the shrine with the others, and his hazel eyes seem clear enough. "That's some trick," he says. "Let me guess, you're an Eclipse Caste?"
I can feel the blood leave my face in a rush. It's finally happened. Someone here knows my secret. I don't want to do it, but I can't allow him leave here with that knowledge. For some people, apparently, persuasion is not enough. So I strike my form, and prepare to attack.
The wind is completely taken out of my sails when he makes a small gesture, and his forehead glows with golden light: a circle, half shaded, the mark of a Twilight Exalted.
I immediately break my stance. "I- You're- I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to unduly influence you. I just didn't want to hurt anyone. Please accept my apology."
I stand there for a moment, eyes downcast, and wait. The silence is too long. When I look up, he's staring at me intently. "I was able to throw off the power of your suggestion, so there's no harm done. I appreciate your desire to find a nonviolent solution. Think nothing of it. I am curious, however. I don't recall seeing you around town. What's your name?"
"Sapphire River at Midnight," I answer after a moment's hesitation.
"Really?" he asked. "That doesn't sound much like a Realm name."
"What?! Is it that obvious?" I cry out.
"Calm down. I'm hardly the casual observer. What's your real name?" he asks.
I don't really like the direction this conversation is headed, and I start looking around for an avenue of escape. I mean, it hardly matters if another Solar knows that I'm a Solar; who's he going to tell? But I'll be damned if I'm going to give up all my secrets to some stranger in Nexus, Solar or no.
I think he realizes it when he says, "I'm sorry, I'm curious by nature. Sapphire River at Midnight it is. The name's Galen. Look, it's late (or early, depending on how you look at it) and I'm sure you'd like to get home. I could walk with you, so you aren't quite so...tempting a target."
I consider his offer for a moment. He has a point. Plus, he's the only other Exalted I've met. I'm not quite ready to let him fade back into the night. So, I sigh and take his arm, and we walk through this rundown town as dawn begins to make the sky blush.
-- from Sapphire River at Midnight's private notes
