Editing Crickets Conundrum:NPCs

{| class="wikitable"
|+ 
| [[Exalted_Essence_-_A_Conundrum_of_Crickets|Return to the Main Page?]]
|}

=NPCs=

==Citizens of [[Crickets_Conundrum:Locations#The_Iron_Isle|the Iron Isle]]==

===Abalone===
''Paluan Mortal Teenager''

===Alvise Zorzi===
''Paluan Mortal Treasure Hunter''

A self-styled adventurer, treasure-seeker and dealer in antiquities…Alvise mostly dredges up junk and scrap - scavenging from the remnants of pirate engagements, unwisely plundering tombs and generally being a slimy, opportunistic rat. He may not be good, but it can be said he’s lucky! And while his nose for a quick score may lack the ability to find riches (though not for lack of trying!) it hasn’t steered him too wrong just yet. Is a terrible judge of character and knows far too many of the wrong people. 

Was almost instantly murdered while trying to unseal Connie’s tomb. Sensibly decided to sell the info to a bunch of weirdo robots instead. They seemed grateful! Has possibly decided that sticking around them will – this time! – lead him to riches for sure.

'''Relationships''': Devoid of Due Consideration (neutral)

===Apprentice Luminator Meera===
''Paluan Student of a Dying Craft''

===Elder Min===
''Paluan Mortal Doomsayer''

“A creature of ancient death shall rise from the sea…and the West shall burn.” A common enough prophecy – especially around the volcanic island chains of the Terrestrial West. But Elder Min knew, like many others in the village, where this ‘creature of ancient death’ slept. He had guarded it, as his mother before him had, as did the elders before her. But to his eternal shame, that rat – Alvise – snuck past him and pried into the tomb’s secrets himself…and then sold that knowledge to the Exalted Masters! They foolishly unsealed the tomb and released the thing within…a thing that looked just like them. Elder Min now fears for Paluans more than he has in a very long time, and is convinced something must be done.

'''Relationships''': Devoid of Due Consideration (enemy)

===Gale "Kraken" Glade===
''Blind Paluan Mortal Healer''

A well-known healer skilled in treating diseases and injuries common to sailors. Lost her eyesight due to a spray of venomous kraken ink that stained her eyes permanently black, but was aided by Diamond in integrating her new disability into her everyday life. Often exchanges news and gossip from the ships that travel the West.

'''Relationships''': Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (neutral)

===Jenela Poppysdaughter===
[[File:Feathered-priestess.png|thumb|150px|right|Jenela Poppysdaughter]]
''Paluan Feathered Priestess''

Jenela Poppysdaughter is Ruby Bay's spiritual leader, the first feathered priestess who came of age after the arrival of the Autochthonians.

===Marama Peleps Kaimana===
[[File:Marama.png|thumb|150px|right|Marama]]''Mortal Daughter of Koa''

Koa's twelve year old daughter with Liriope. She lives with him on the Iron Isle, assisting at the forge and generally getting into trouble.

'''Relationships''': Koa-Mika Kaimana (daughter)

===Maran===
''Autochtonian Mortal Exemplary Technician''

An expert engineer from Autochthon – though mostly retired to a teaching role due to his advancing age. While on excellent terms with the circle at large (as you would expert) he does not trust Devoid of Due Consideration: he considers her demeanour both alien and unbefitting for a supposed ‘hero’, and her caste makes him worry she has ulterior motives. 

'''Relationships''': Devoid of Due Consideration (neutral)

===Mors Galliard===
''Deceased Original Autochthonian who lived a Good Life ''

===Taito===
''Sensitive Young Paluan Boy''

==Agents of the Realm==

===Captain Peleps Liriope===
[[File:Liriope.png|thumb|150px|right|Captain Liriope]]''Water Aspect Terrestrial Imperial Navy Captain''

Captain Peleps Liriope, a lifer in the Imperial Navy, plys the supply convoy circuit for the Imperial outposts that dot the Western Isles. She and Koa had a relationship in Wu-Jian years ago, before either of them Exalted. Now she's a Water-aspected Captain with a ship of her own and he's the Exigent of Warstriders, raising their daughter on an obscure Island away from the Realm's eyes. They still meet on Abalone from time to time. They were never going to make it as a couple - but they still have the occasional fling when the fleet comes into port.

'''Relationships:''' Koa-Mika Kaimana (ex-lover, co-parent)

===Peleps Darmud===
''Wood Aspects Terrestrial Sorcerer and Third Jing Administrator of the Wavecrest Archipelago''

==Functionaries of Heaven==

===Exagryph, He Who Revels in Resplendent Destruction===
''God of Artillery''

Heavenly god of artillery. Had big dreams! Which were promptly shattered when Autochthon left Creation and took the very concept of artillery with him. Insignificant subordinate of the vastly more important god of siege engines. Is frequently forced to make coffee for the god of firewands. Has a kind of sweet friendship with the god of fireworks, but she’s seeing someone else. Is presently freaking out because he’s once again having to process requisition forms for artillery serial #00001, and he remembers the last time he got his hopes up…

'''Relationships:''' Devoid of Due Consideration (ally)

===Pa'lua, Tunku of the Molten River===
''Unhoused Volcano Goddess''

The minor volcano goddess Pa'lua is not pleased.  The Circle's invasion of her island has disrupted her connection to it, destroying her earthly demesne and stranding her in Yu Shan.  She has beseeched Hamoji and the other volcano gods for aid, but no help has been forthcoming.  Decades is not long for a god but Pa'lua has been dispossessed for long enough that her stability is starting to tremble.  There are not many more friends she can call on to give her somewhere to stay.

She is getting ''desperate''.

'''Relationships:''' The Circle (enemy)

===Sixteen Shattered Emeralds===
''Chosen of Secrets Sidereal Busybody''

A Sidereal Chosen of Secrets that has long tried to pry into the workings and purposes of the circle and their Manse, succeeding on occasion in thieving some insignificant creation or information to report back to her superiors in Yu-Shan. Seems to hold a grudge against the Chosen of Autochthon, but never elaborates on why. Particularly concerned that the circle has started to reactivate long dormant strands of fate...

'''Relationships:''' Devoid of Due Consideration (enemy)

===Two-Ton Hammer===
[[File:Two-ton hammer.png|thumb|150px|right|Two-Ton Hammer]]''God of Warstriders''

Two-Ton Hammer was profoundly diminished by creation of the Exigence. What remains of his puissance forms the power core of Still Smoldering Ashes, though he also manifests as a cranky old man who loiters around the island shaking his fists at clouds. He has no magical power outside the core, though his knowledge of Artifacts is deep.

'''Relationships:''' Koa-Mika Kaimana (patron and mentor)

===Ninegala===

''Forge-goddess of Makelo''

Ninegala is proud and mighty. Her works are legendary, as are her passions and furies. She demands much of those who would learn the secrets of her forge, and those who fail her often wind up as carbon for the next batch of steel. Koa studied with her for a time, and the two became lovers, but he had no intention of staying forever. When he rejected her marriage proposal, her wrath was legendary. It is said the heat from her anger forged a blade of such puissance that it slew a Second Circle Demon. To this day, Koa is harassed by her forge-priests and warriors in his travels - though whether they do so at her command is unclear. The two have not spoke since that day, and Koa is not eager to do so.

'''Relationships:''' Koa-Maka Kaimana(enemy, ex-lover)

===Iron Caldera, God of Fire Harnessed for Technology=== 
While already a bureaucratic bigwig of Terrestrial deities, wielding his authority over many gods of firewands, Manses, artillery, forges, and much more like a club, you'd never know it by looking at him. For all of his power, prestige, and pomp, he's a weaselly bootlicker obsessed with his career in the divine hierarchy above all else. With the recent arrival of Sixteen Shattered Emeralds, Caldera has been working slavishly to help her investigation and whip his subordinates into shape, hoping that if he can impress the Sidereal, he'll finally get the promotion to Yu-Shan he knows for sure he is due. He was, funny enough, the first to notice the missing soul captured in Silver's creation and was very excited to bring it to Emerald's attention.

'''Relationships:''' Swiftly Flowing Silver (enemy)

==Chosen of the Sun and Moon==

===Broken and Bloody Fang===
''Ancient Lunar Warrior''

Triumphant and Feathered Quill was a Lunar who semi-frequently visited Due Consideration. He loved telling the alchemical stories of his wide-ranging explorations and would frequently show up as an animal – playfully waiting to see how long it would take Connie to spot his tell. They were separated by the Usurpation and Connie’s fall into stasis. 

Broken and Bloody Fang survived the Usurpation and subsequent centuries. Scarred and greying, he has become a bitter old man and, like many Lunars, a violent thorn in the side of the Realm. He is aware of Connie’s intended purpose and used to accept both it and her desire to be different. But these days he may care more for the former than the latter.

'''Relationships:''' Devoid of Due Consideration (ally)

===Leviathan===
''Mad Lunar Sea Monster''

A massive and ancient Lunar that rules over the lost sunken city of Luthe filled with First Age treasures and hoards of valuable magical materials. Diamond has traded his medical services to renew the Lunar's tired body and cure his subjects in exchange for some of his protected valuables on occasion.

'''Relationships:''' Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (neutral)

===Fathomless Wisdom===
''Eager Young Sea-Witch''

Headstrong, yet shrewd, this octopus-formed war-sorceress is on a mission to earn a name for herself among the Lunars by righting an ancient wrong. Once upon a time, her previous incarnation, Maw of the Abyss, rightful wielder the Arms of the Elegant Kraken, led an ambush against the invading Alchemicals. Silently Forged Servant defeated him and took the Arms as a trophy. Now Fathomless seeks to reclaim the Arms for her own and restore her Exaltation's honor, and she doesn't much care that they're now melded into a new Alchemical's body.

'''Relationships:''' Swiftly Flowing Silver (Enemy, for now at least)

==Minions of Darkness==

===Bruno il Veccio di Milani===

''Ghostly Politician''

A ghostly noble politician of Skullstone seeking to make overtures into the Wavecrest Archipelago by any means necessary. Diamond and him have clashed many times over the years. ''We don't talk about Bruno.''

'''Relationships:''' Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (enemy)

===Scalpel Against Flesh and Steel===
''Abyssal Mad Scientist''

An Abyssal obsessed with forgotten technology and the twisted ends it can be turned to.  And the West sure is full of such treasures – sunken and otherwise. Treasures like god-powered warstriders, titan-slaying cannons and walking, talking soulsteel. Every time someone sights her, it’s rumored her appearance always differs – a result of the experiments and implantations she performs on her own body. Said to be working with Kael the Bloody and other such unsavory characters to source more fodder for her warped designs.

Scalpel Against Flesh and Steel is Koa's primary rival for the magitech treasures hidden in the West, and a dark and twisted mirror of his own desires of lost greatness. Her ghoulish band of half-dead scavengers are a favorite target of Koa's blade, and he's exchanged blows with the Abyssal more than once.

'''Relationships:''' Devoid of Due Consideration (enemy), Koa-Mika Kaimana (enemy)

===Tebitha===
''Infernal Sorceress and Healer''
[[File:Tebitha.png|thumb|120px|Tebitha]]
Tebitha is an Horizon-caste Infernal Exalt sorceress, who runs a floating asylum for those devoured by the Fair Folk. Koa-Mika and Tebitha crossed paths when they both tried to recover magitech scrap from a watery battlefield south of Wu-Jian. They crossed swords briefly, but were ultimately able to come to an agreement and split the booty. Since then, Tebitha has become a patron of Koa-Mika's forge, supplying a steady stream of orders for artifacts. They also have an on-again/off-again romance, depending on the mood of the focused and mercurial Exalt.
She's doing experiments on the Dream-Eaten to try and rekindle a spark of humanity within them.  Sounds like there's some sinister agenda behind this, right?  Well, yes, but it's not hers.  She's smart but not that great at reading people.  Especially manipulative demons.  She's fascinated by these strange Exalts who come from a non-Yozified Primordial.

'''Relationships:''' Koa-Mika Kaimana (ally, on-again/off-again lover), Nereid of Ebon Seas (ally)

===Salusar===
''The Worm Within, Indulgent Soul of Bostvade the Quicksilver Highway, 2nd Circle Demon''

'Partner' in Tebitha's research, intending to pervert it to let it extend itself into the dream-eaten and puppet them like a decanthrope but without their feeble limitations.  Right now it can just Possess one person at a time by entering through a bloody wound.  Pretends to be neutral at worst towards Tebitha's new 'out of town' friend but hates that they're a positive influence on her.  May be conspiring with a rogue artifact from the circle's history.

'''Relationships:''' Nereid of Ebon Seas (enemy)

==Loyalists of the God Machine==

===Silently Forged Servant===
''Deceased Moonsilver Alchemical Predecessor of Swiftly Flowing Silver''

When Autochthon's last hope came to Creation, the one who took the first step into this alien world was their reconnaissance officer, a glorious and decorated explorer of the Reaches named Silently Forged Servant.  He was a bold swashbuckler who wielded a Moonsilver Gyrochakram called ''Whispering Spark'' that contained its own machine intelligence.  Servant was a courageous and moral comrade and always sought to support his teammates in their divine mission.

When the mission changed and the Circle chose to sever the tie to Autochthonia and spare Creation, Servant voiced his opposition.  He sought to convince his companions to see logic... but upon finding himself outvoted, ultimately supported the Circle.  The Moonsilver became withdrawn - disappearing for months at a time on missions he would not discuss, or retreating to his rooms.  He began to confide in Diamond that he was having dark dreams, that every time he slept he saw visions of apocalypse -- of the death of the entirety of Autochthonia on the end of his blade.  Diamond could see that his friend was struggling....

... and then the Circle discovered Servant attempting to force open the seal closing the connection between Creation and Autochthonia.  Blood stained his arms, two technicians laying dead at his feet as he worked the mechanisms, tracing runes of light in the air.  The Circle-faced him, wild light glowing in his silver eyes.  He struck out at them, blades flying, essence-blazing, his wounds not meant to incapacitate or wound but to kill.  The Circle had no choice.  In the end, it was Diamond who struck the killing blow, shattering the Moonsilver's soulgem.

It was a dark day.  The first Alchemical Exalt to die in Creation in over seven thousand years.

The Circle was never able to find the ''Whispering Spark''; the artifact seems to simply have disappeared.

'''Relationships:''' Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (best friend, murder victim), Swiftly Flowing Silver (previous incarnation)

==Revelers of the Wyld==

===Lirael of the Coral Court===
''Faerie Mermaid Diplomat''

A mermaid princess and skilled negotiator who seeks to maintain peace between the various underwater factions. Diamond has been called in as a healer and, more strangely, a professional chef on multiple instances, thus earning myriad favors with the princess as a result. She's tried to get betrothed to Diamond six times now, and each time it falls through for strange and overtly complex reasons. Also known as Princess Mette of the Abyss, a potent faerie noble driven by a singular, unusual goal for a faerie. Tired of the inconstancy of feeding on Creation and the chaos of the Wyld, she's seeking a way to become human; not just in appearance, but in mind and in soul. She is utterly ruthless and amoral in pursuing this goal, and she has reduced many would-be lovers to deadened husks in hopes that they'd give her a soul of her own, but Swiftly Flowing Silver, also struggling with trying to become something greater, can't help but sympathize with her struggle.

'''Relationships''': Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (ally), Swiftly Flowing Silver (enemy)

==Wanderers, Vagabonds, and Others==

===Bastiano Auditore il Sangallo===
''Mortal Merchant Prince''

Merchant Prince and head of the Resplendent Emporium, a floating market where merchants sell their wares from the decks of brightly painted ships. Diamond uses him often as a means of sourcing rare and unusual items from the Wyld or areas outside the Western Ocean, and they share drinks aplenty during these times. Bastiano has tried every time to drink Diamond under the table, and has always failed.

'''Relationships''': Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (ally)

===Captain Kael the Bloody Corsair===
''Mortal Pirate Captain''

A daring pirate who sails the seas with a crew of loyal and ruthless sailors, always on the lookout for the next big score. Particularly fond of trying to target Iron Isle due to the quality of their manufactured goods and the skills of their artisans.

'''Relationships''': Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (enemy)

===Mnemon "Dredge" Miquella===
''Water Aspect Terrestrial Hermit-Fisherman''

A Water Aspect fisherman who has abandoned the politics of his former life in the Realm in favor of a quiet existence fishing the waters of the Western Ocean. Occasionally strays into the Bordermarches and ends up catching strange, aberrant fish that Diamond often purchases to use in concocting sorcerous elixirs. Fond of a hearty homecooked meal but not talkative in the slightest, Miquella is usually an introvert and constantly roams the ocean in his small ship, ''Ocean's Riches''.

'''Relationships''': Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (neutral)

===Qiu Jia===
''Wyld-Touched Mortal Cartographer of Wonders''

A Wyld-tainted master cartographer who has mapped much of the Western Ocean, and is always eager to discover new lands and treasures. The Adamant Caste and him get along like Wu-Jian meat buns and strong alcohol (that is to say, swimmingly) and the cartographer is often a frequent guest at the Manse between his excursions.

'''Relationships''': Radiantly Transcendent Diamond (ally)

==Unsorted NPCs==
===(Ally) The head of one of Wu-Jian's Thirteen Schools (the gangs who control the island outside of Dynastic strongholds).=== 

He's a mortal who leveraged cleverness and ruthlessness into being the "face" of a divine conspiracy. A handful of minor gods are using their powers to support him in an attempt to weaken the Realm's control of the island. He has a good working relationship with Shadow of Future Glory, but is very clear that their alliance evaporates the moment the Alchemicals claim any authority over "his" island or people.

===(Neutral) The captain of a Denzik city-ship.=== 

The city-ships have managed to remain (mostly) neutral, ending up one of the major merchant powers of the West while staying independent of direct control by the Realm. The fleet as a whole has mixed feelings about the changes brought by Iron Island. This captain in particular is bothered by how quickly Shadow of Future Glory has inserted themself into the mercantile seascape of the West. She's concerned that they're upending long-established power dynamics. Presenting new opportunities, to be sure, but this captain watches the Alchemicals and their island with a wary eye.

===(Enemy) A Liminal Bounty Hunter from the Coral Archipelago.=== 

A few years ago, Shadow spent some time going from island to island on the empire's edges, meddling with local economies enough to raise the lower classes out of poverty and, as a result, out of the empire's indentured servitude. While the Coral Archipelago generally keeps up a pretense that anyone can rise to success, enough of the empire's plutocrats were losing their work force that the Sea Lord was pressured to respond. Shadow of Future Glory was declared a pirate, and officially speaking, they now owe a price equal to the lost labor of every former servant they enriched. They have made it clear that they won't pay this debt. 

A Marrow-Cast Liminal has taken charge of this hunt, and she hopes to force Shadow to pay their debts, or kill them to send a message. Shadow is sure that an Exalt wouldn't be motivated by something as simple as money (even though the bounty would buy a life of luxury for just about anyone), and hopes to find a way to turn this bounty hunter into an ally, but so far she's been all business, refusing to hint at ''why'' she's doing this.

===(Enemy) An Orichalcum-Caste from Autocthonia=== 

Why did Autocthon send an administrator on what was supposed to be a scouting and investigation mission? Shadow made enemies. Or, well, one enemy in particular. They realized, while performing their job of maximizing efficiency and responding to the Machine Titan's frequent catastrophies, that a fellow Alchemical was murdering mortals. He wasn't just executing people for their crimes, but covertly killing anyone who had so much as annoyed him. But he was, publicly, a hero who protected civilization from voidborne invasions. Nobody wanted to investigate, and everyone had explanations for why Shadow of Future Glory must have been mistaken. Some of the other Alchemicals even seemed to believe those explanations.

Shadow began an elaborate scheme to expose the murderer, hoping to bring his crimes to light in a way that couldn't be ignored. But their schemes were exposed before being completed, and the Orichalcum warrior managed to spread the "magnanimous" lie that they had simply cracked under the stress of an important job. That earned Shadow their mission to oversee the logistics of a scouting mission into Gaia's Creation. The Orichalcum warrior isn't a current threat, and wouldn't even consider himself an enemy. But when the Alchemicals force their way into Creation again, he's going to be all too willing to get revenge on the "hypocrite" Shadow of Future Glory for accusing him and then betraying the entire world.

===(Neutral) Jan, the Manse Intelligence===

Essence Focus Node 27c Mark 2 isn't just sacred architecture, it's a complex system of numerous dynamic technologies working together in tandem. Guiding them all, ensuring they run smoothly, is Jan, the disembodied AI housed within the Manse. Years of use have had mixed effects on her. On one hand, years of development and experience have given her a measure of free will and independent personality, as well as a sharp tongue. However, years of degradation without the necessary maintenance from Autocthonia, as well as being stripped for parts occasionally, has left her a bit buggy, prone to buffering or freezing at critical moments. She is also programmed to prioritize commands from the highest ranking Autotcthonian who talks to her. While this is Diamond or Future Glory for now, she will turn against the circle without hesitation if a higher-ranking loyalist comes along.