God-Kings of Lotus

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr stood alone for a moment amidst the swirling blood and smoke, his arms, torso, even his face dripping with blood that dried slowly on his crimson scales. he nodded down as Transval approached, throwing him a salute. He was torn, glancing back and forth between the city and the battlefield. He looked to the rest of his circle, giving them a nod. Go! Deal with the intruders! Let them come with their petty jade and their sad little masks. I will kill them all myself. Save the child! The only thing we have to fear here is that I will drown O-Mochi's rice in the blood of our foes.

His rage was incandescent now - his anger at the attack on his city, and the fury that anyone would dare strike at the child of his friend. Had he been one for pity, he might almost have felt it for the legions approaching. Their only hope was that death would be swift.

He turned to Transval with another nod. Captain! I agree whole-heartedly. And it seems we have more felons come to face judgment. Let justice be done - for one and for all!

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher grimaces as he sees the red streak that is Yomiko soar back towards the city. They already had a big enough problem as it is. Why was this happening now? Looking back at the commander, he growls, and subsequently kicks him in the face; hoping that will keep the man stunned long enough for the others to take care of him.

He dashes away from the battle, following Yomiko. As he does, he sees Captain Transval fighting valorously in defense of their city, and wonders if he had been right to want to kill the man. He forced it to the back of him mind quickly, though. One of their own was in far more trouble then anyone in the armies were; and though he knew that this was his invincible companion's fight, he was fully willing to step out the shadows and put an end to these fools.

Spoiler

Show

Dex+Stealth: (7d6)[1][4][1][2][5][5][4](22)

[Lochar]

Seeing his companions leaving the battlefield, Rising Echo nods and pushes forward with the irregulars of Ivory's.

Striking out with swords flashing, already coated in heavy blood, Echo continues to strike down men and unnatural things alike.

Spoiler

Show

Tired, can't get a good 'exalted' post up, so I figure this will have to do.

Attack: (9d10)[2][4][8][6][5][9][8][1][10](53), buying 3 successes again.

Permanent: 3
Personal: 7/15
Peripheral: 0/36 (Solar Glory: 0/10)
Committed: 3 (Armor) 6 (Hook daiklaves) 15 (PAP on Jubilant Dawn)

Will: 5/6

Banner spent: 13

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes' anima flares anew, a glorious raptor of sharp angles and inner heat. Ivory shimmers at it's heart, radiance blanching her skin until she appears white as marble. The Cleavers in hand streak as she throws the pair up in wide arcs. They gather speed and intensity at the zenith of their motion and stall in the air, spinning about until they finally point down.

And then, they fall like lightning bolts: heavy under the weight of energy imbued. They crash into the throngs, sending a sound like thunder through the enemy ranks before returning to Ivory's hands like iron shavings to a magnet.

And Ivory, for her lot, breaths a heavy sigh. Breaths, and motes of light gather from each exhalation. Her Essence is almost entirely tapped, and all that remains in truth is her banner.

It's Scarf that responds first, motioning towards his fellows. The circle tighter around their mistress, flanking her. As another group approaches, they feint together, firing arrows at a high angle up through Ivory's anima--the light of it keeps the arrows unseen until they pierce the phantasm of essence and whistle down like a sharp rain.

Spoiler

Show

Ivory's pretty much tapping herself here. Flurry, 4 dice bought on each:
Attack 1: (9d10)[10][7][6][9][9][2][1][5][4](53)
Attack 2: (8d10)[8][7][1][6][3][7][3][4](39)
Damage is 7L, I believe.
Personal Essence: 0/18
Peripheral Essence: 0/37
Willpower: 3/6

Scarf's using Willpower again:
(9d10)[1][5][10][3][6][3][6][10][9](53) + 1 Auto Sux
Willpower 4/6

[The Demented One]

Yomiko and Watcher

Whether by wings of fire or shadowy alleys, the two of you soon reach the mayoral palace, finding the front gates burst from their hinges. Small fires burn unchecked throughout the entry atrium, green-tinged and giving off viscous, ill-smelling smoke. It is only after the two of you wave away the smoke that you see what has been wrought: corpses lie splayed everywhere, maimed or charred and cast aside with no second thoughts. From the look of surprise forever etched into what faces still remain, it seems the attack was entirely unexpected, as if the hapless bureaucrats scarcely had time to react to the shattered door before they met with hellish death.

Going by both the prophetic vision and the trail of bodies, the two of you soon find the room where Konoko's captors have set up. The door is closed, though to all appearances unbarred and unguarded. Muffled voices can be heard from the other side, though no note of anger or cruelty can be heard in either–it is as if they discuss nothing more weighty than the weather above. Apparently they have failed to notice your arrival, giving the two of you the advantage of surprise. For now.

Zephyr, Ivory Eyes, Echo

In the face of Transval's charge, the new legion presses into a single mass, a earth-quaking legion of degenerates and mongrels. Roaring with re-awakened bravado, Transval and his men lay in to the invaders. "One dragon will be enough today!" he roars, jade daiklave ripping through the raiders. He cleaves flesh with almost effortless ease, leaving corpses scattered willy-nilly.

Not to be outdone, Scarf's contingent moves in with ferocious speed, right on the heels of Transval. The eyeless minion carves a path through the raiders, demonstrating their mortality with purposeful prowess. The maiming barbs of Echo's hook sword and the thunderbolts hurled by Ivory Eyes merely add evidence to the minion's proof, leaving piles of troops bloodied or burnt. Arcs of electricity leap from the heavy armor of the troops, burning and singeing even the living. The enemy ranks are sorely diminished–and Zephyr has yet to even act.

Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 1: Zephyr's Legion
Tick 2: Mutant Raiders
Tick 4: Transval's Legion
Tick 5: Scarf's Irregulars

Ivory Eyes

Spoiler

Show

Two-die stunt, 4 motes or 1 wp

Tick 1: Zephyr

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

The Invincible Maiden's eyes widen in horror as she looks at the terrible carnage that was strewn about so carelessly. Tears immediately roll from her eyes down her cheeks and onto the floor as she approaches the door. The look of sadness and shock shifts to that of rage and silent hatred for the transgressors that lay behind the door. The grip on her daiklaves become even tighter, the scent of the blood of the enemy marauders outside still dripping from the golden edges. She walks to the door and slams her blades into both... knocking them easily off their hinges and several feet into the room. She vaults herself at the closest twisted antagonist of her vision with whirling blades and a raging scream that would rip and bloody the throat of anyone of lesser durability.

Spoiler

Show

Expending 3 per attack for Melee Excellency and then 1 per attack for Hungry Tiger. That dips 2 into my personal motes, because I'm ripping through peripheral first.

Attack 1: (15d10)[6][2][1][1][8][4][7][1][9][5][8][3][1][4][3](63)
Attack 2: (14d10)[1][7][3][9][9][5][2][9][7][6][5][9][6][9](87)
Attack 3: (13d10)[10][9][5][10][9][4][3][1][9][10][4][5][1](80)

[The Demented One]

Yomiko bounds through where the door once was, blades screaming. Before the door even falls completely to the ground, she has already assaulted the stocky, long-haired captor. Her blades slice his suit to shreds, exposing armor beneath, plates forged of a strange black metal, verdigrised with hints of dark green. But armor is not enough to save the would-be kidnapper from maternal wrath–Yomiko's blades strike everywhere the armor is not, leaving the man shocked and covered in blood.

With snakelike speed, the man and his partner draw flamepieces from their belts, alchemical weapons that look bulkier and more potent than the typical firewand. Yomiko's victim points his directly at her, though he does not fire. The black man, on the other hand, places the barrel of his piece directly before Konoko's forehead. He shouts at her, unnerved by the sudden assault. "Girl, tell the bitch to be cool! Tell her to be cool!" He withdraws a switchblade from his pocket, and slashes at the gag holding Konoko's mouth closed, accidentally slashing her cheek ever-so-slightly as he does.

With more presence of mind than could be expected of most girls, Konoko very calmly announces, "Mommy, you should probably put the swords away. These men aren't very nice at all, and I think Mister Iulus would probably kill me if you don't. They want to talk to you." Despite her superhuman composure, tears well at the edges of her eyes, and the pain she feels is palpable.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Yomiko stops not when the gun is pointed at her, nor when the other draws his. He only stops when the second man points his weapon at her daughter. Tears spill from her eyes as she stands strait, showing her incredible posture and poise despite everything. Rage pulses through her as she sees red on the flesh of her daughter's cheek but she knows better... and she listens as her daughter bravely speaks so calmly in the face of an artifact weapon. She remains silent for only a moment before speaking again, her voice resisting shaking but still speaking slightly more faintly than usual. "Fine... what is it you want with me?" She stabs both swords into the ground beside her and lets go.

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephy

Zephyr looked around at his circle-mates. I thought I said I could handle this on my own! We must make sure the child is safe! Still, there was no way in Creation he would dream of trying to command his Solar Mate, and so he vented his fear for the child and rage at the underhanded strike on his opponents against the mutant legion now pouring into the field.

If before he had been a bloody-handed god of war, Zephyr was now a red-eyed demon. He gave vent to a primal roar of rage as he leaped forward into the hole that the Eyeless Minions had carved in the enemy's lines. The pair of soldiers he had been wielding as weapons were no more than scraps of bloody meat, so he dropped them in midair, gibbets of flesh and viscera splattering his opponents as he soared down from on high, landing with enough force to crack the earth. He stared around at the enemies, giving another bellow of rage before beginning to speak

You wish to prey on the weak, on my people? Come then, and know my wrath. Come then, and know despair. This day you die, and your death-screams will serve as a warning to others!

Lashing out, he grapped the biggest, most vicious warrior he could find by the head, his arm cocking back with lightning speed. It drove forward again with the force of one of Ivory's thunderbolts, plowing through armor, through flesh, and out again, emerging on the other side clenching the still-beating heart of the foe. He held his arm up for the enemy to see, the man impaled on his arm living just long enough to realize what had happened before he died. Slowly, Zephyr crushed the heart, hot crimson streaking down his arm as he held up the mangled, pulped wad of flesh. Shaking the dead man lose, he grinned, his face streaked with gore.

Now... who shall be next?

Spoiler

Show

(Flurry: Jump + Attack)

Attack(16 base, -3 Flurry):(13d10)[10][8][7][9][1][2][9][9][1][10][2][10][1](79)

Other Statistics
Temporary Effects: Claws of The Silver Moon (3m committed, lasts the battle.)

Hardness: 8B/8L
Soak:18B/15L (4B/2L Natural, 4B/4L from War Form, 10B/9L from armor)

Dodge DV: 6: (6 Dex + 3 Dodge +2 Essence) = 10(11) /2
Parry DV: 7: (6 Dex + 5 Melee +2 Defense) = 12(13)/2

Pools:
Personal: 16/18
Peripheral: 28/36
Committed: 7 (4 Armor, 3 for Claws of the Silver Moon)

Willpower: 7/8

Health:
-0/ []
-1/ [][]
-2/ [][][][][][]
-4/ [][]
Incapacitated

[The Demented One]

Yomiko and Watcher

The dark man grins, a seemingly sincere smile. "Okay, good. Vega, put away the wand." His partner seems vaguely unsure about this, but Iulus's words brook no alternative. Vega lowers his flamepiece slowly, holstering it.

"All right then. Are we cool? Vega, are we cool? Crazy bitch, are we cool? Little girl, are we cool? Good. Now, let's get down to business, lady. Me and my partner represent certain powerful forces who would prefer to remain discreet, and we'd like to present a business deal to the city of Lotus. Seeing as you're in the palace and are decked out in enough orichalcum to bankrupt a small kingdom, I think we can safely say you're in charge here." Iulus laughs, as if he had just made a joke. Vega grins faintly, but does not chuckle.

"We're gonna take over management of Lotus, just for a little bit. There're a couple things just...you know, lying around here and there. All we need's enough time to pick them up for the boss, and ship them out. We don't even have to massacre anyone, as long as the people here don't mind doin' a bit of digging. Hell, we'll even pay them for their efforts. See? We're nice people. Lotus just presents us some opportunities that we need to take advantage of. At any cost."

Vega looks Yomiko up and down, either ogling her flesh or checking for hidden weapons. Once Iulus finishes, he interjects. "Now, if you don't like the terms of this little business deal of ours, then we're gonna have some problems. Problem number one, my partner blows your daughter's head off. Problem number two, I beat your shiny golden self down like a dog in the street, and then blow your head off. Problem number three, my partner and I are then kinda obligated to massacre the people, make sure there's no uprisings or the like. Problem number four, I don't have a fine Solar lady to keep me entertained while we mine out the city. So let's just keep things friendly, and everyone wins." His smile is at once sleazy and roguishly charming, the grin of an amicable drunkard or a friendly neighborhood pimp.

Zephyr, Echo, Ivory Eyes

Zephyr's brigade swiftly proves why he is captain of the guard, laying down utter carnage. More raiders flee than die, desperate to escape the horrible monstrosity that faces them. Zephyr's troops, however, fight unafraid–their loyalty to their commander proves firmer than any fear, and there is no doubt that the monster on the battlefield fights for Lotus, and Lotus alone. Limbs fly and organs splatter as the troops join in Zephyr's savagery, proving themselves worthy of the Silver Exaltation.

Whatever advantage they may have once had extinguished, the raiders attempt to recover with an assault on Transval's men, attacking the largest Lotus regiment on the battlefield. The raiders prove their mettle, easily hacking and maiming through the men of Lotus. Transval stands undefeated, effortlessly smiting down any who confront him, but the men he commands are not similarly blessed. Too many litter the battlefield, their entrails exposed by the brutish battleaxes brought to bear by the barbarians.

With a dragonish howl, Transval hefts his blade and brings it to bear against the commander of the raiders, laying on him one mighty blow. The commander, masked and battle-horned, is cleaved in half, leaving Transval to gloat over his corpse. But his boldness is premature–rather than falling to rout, the raiders merely reorganize around another battle-champion, undistinguished by armor but foremost in height. While he had hoped to end the battle then and there, Transval has done nothing more than bestow an unexpectedly early promotion on one of the men.


Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 5: Scarf's Irregulars
Tick 6: Zephyr's Legion
Tick 8: Mutant Raiders, Transval's Legion

Zephyr

Spoiler

Show

3-die stunt, 6 motes or 1 wp.

Tick 5: Scarf's Irregulars

[Lochar]

Rising Echo looks about the battlefield. He mourns for the loss of the soldiers, but knows that they will be avenged.

Seeing Zephyr and Transval holding the field in easy order, they could probably route the rest without anyone else, Echo nods. "I leave the field to you two. Do not give an inch of ground that does not have three bodies already on it!"

Saying so, Echo darts from Scarf's irregulars, his swords impaling the last few men around to clear the archers a momentary clear point for them to attack again, before he dashed off back towards the mayoral palace.

Spoiler

Show

Flurry of Attack/Dash.

(7d10)[7][2][10][4][7][6][5](41)

Permanent: 3
Personal: 7/15
Peripheral: 0/36 (Solar Glory: 0/10)
Committed: 3 (Armor) 6 (Hook daiklaves) 15 (PAP on Jubilant Dawn)

Will: 5/6

Banner spent: 13

[Ellas Aramond]

Watcher

Under different circumstances, the situation might have amused the masked man. Even if the two intruders actually managed to escape the building alive, they still would have three other Solars to worry about. Ones who wouldn't be showing a shred of mercy, not after what these two are threatening.

Springing silently into action, Watcher goes to remove the intruder's trump card: Konoko. Sneaking over to her, he presses his finger to where his lips would be before lifting her up, and leaping out the window to safety.

Spoiler

Show

Channeling my compassion into this roll, because I need all the help I can get.

dex+stealth: (8d10)[6][7][9][8][7][1][9][3](50)

WP: 4/6
Personal: 9/18
Peripheral: 26/43

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes

Ivory Eyes nods at Zephyr's insistence and double-takes at Echo's sudden retreat. She brings her fingers to her mouth, juggling two cleavers in one hand, and whistles loudly. One her Hounds looks up from it's distant thrashings and rushes to it's mistress. She slides atop it, arcing an arm around it's thick neck for support. As they rush away, she throws one of her cleavers--it throttles the air as it goes, crackling with Essence before thundering into the chest of a nearby raider.

For his lot, Scarf intuits his mistress' whim and motions for the other Minions to join with Zephyr's unit.

Spoiler

Show

Unmodified, completely mundane thrown attack:
(7d10)[5][4][9][6][7][1][5](37)
7L base damage.

Personal Essence: 4
Peripheral Essence: 0

Ivory's rushing off on the back of one of her hounds while Scarf and company join Zephyr.

[The Demented One]

Yomiko and Watcher

Though the room is open and well-lit, Watcher nevertheless manages to creep through it, slipping behind the back of Iulus with ease. He moves slowly, silently towards Konoko, and her eyes fill with hope...but it is hope too early. Yomiko sees a flicker of recognition in Iulus's too-black eyes: the table is set with golden plates, polished to a mirror-sheen, and Watcher's reflection hangs exposed before the captor's eyes. Before she can warn Watcher, though, Iulus snatches up the golden plate, and flings it backhanded and Watcher's face. The plate shatters against the Night Caste's mirrored mask, the impact of it like a hammer-blow. Blood seeps through the glass-cloth of the mask, staining it red–Watcher's nose would seem to have been broken.

"Woah woah woah, we got another shiny gold bastard on our hands! Vega, I've got the bitch's daughter, cover the spook! He nearly got our little friend here, and the tea party's just getting started."

Vega compliantly trains his sights on Watcher, amused by the ghoulish face that stares back out at him the the sneak's mask. He draws back the hammer of the firewand with an odd sloshing sound, his meaty finger squeezing around the trigger.

Zephyr, Echo, and Ivory Eyes

Ivory's cohort of summoned irregulars break off and merge with Zephyr's fighting men, the soldiers of Lotus too battle-spirited to even be put off by the unnatural allies that now take up arms beside them. Her parting blow proves ineffectual, her cleavers failing to find purchase in the heavy armor of her foes–but as her mark turns a baleful eye to her, Echo smites him down from behind with a vicious blow of his hook sword. Disengaging from battle, the two make their way towards the palace, racing down the streets of Lotus in the tortured minutes between Yomiko's entrance and Watcher's attempt to sneak in. By the time Iulus has realized the ambush and flung his makeshift missile at Watcher, Ivory Eyes and Echo have just reached the palace doors.

Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 6: Zephyr's Legion
Tick 8: Mutant Raiders, Transval's Legion

Rising Echo

Spoiler

Show

One-die stunt, 2 motes

Tick 6: Zephyr's Legion

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr killed and killed, and killed again. screams and the sound of breaking bones and tearing flesh filled his ears, his face splattered with blood and gore as he bent his head again and again to tear out the vulnerable throats of foes. He pulled a splinter of bastard jade from his gums, spitting out some blood of his own for a change as it pulled free. He looked around at the enemies arrayed against him, and grinned the grin of a blood-mad predator from before the dawn of time. The image, a reptilian eidolon of slaughter sheathed in gore and blood, maw dripping more of the same, was one of primal terror.

But his foes were something less, or perhaps more than human. He looked around at them, sneering in derision as he stalked forward, seeking their new leader. His rage was literal and incandescent now - it sheathed him in a silver glow as he let it flow through him. He was done playing. He moved for the throat. He moved to kill. Seizing an enemy banner-bearer by the throat, he tore him apart, taking the ragged device in his hand. Snapping the shaft just below the point that kept the banner aloft, he let the standard fall into the dirt, trampling it underfoot.

With another roar, he surged forward, seizing another target, the new enemy commander. Driving him to his knees with swift kick the groin, Zephyr held the banner pole, prying open the foeman's mouth with a savage grin.

With a blow of unutterable brutality, he drove the entire length of jade-shod wood downwards, piercing the man through and through. With a gleeful roar of bloody rage, he seized the new 'banner', planting into the ground for all the enemy to see, anchoring it by piercing another jade-clad barbarian with it before he drove it into the earth. Leaping back into the melee, he screamed at his enemies.

See your best fall! See that you are nothing before the might of Lotus! Now flee! Flee or you all shall die! Flee, and pray that I do not hunt you this night! Let my face be in your nightmares, and in the nightmares of all your wretched kin!

Spoiler

Show

(Flurry: Activating Relentless Lunar Fury + Attack. I'm also using Second Dexterity Excellency as part of the attack, 4 free successes for 8m, since Relentless Lunar Fury ups my cap to Essence + Dexterity, and reflexive charms can always be used in mass combat. Tell me if I screwed that up.)

Expenditures: Relentless Lunar Fury(Activating Wasp Sting Blur, Golden Tiger Stance. 1wp, 11m); Second Dexterity Excellency (8m, 4 successes); +6m from last round's stunt, so a total of 1wp, 13m expended.

Attack(16 base, -3 Flurry. + 5 extra successes. 4 from Excellency, 1 from Fury.):(13d10)[1][7][8][10][2][8][2][2][10][7][1][9][8](75)

Other Statistics
Temporary Effects: Claws of The Silver Moon (3m committed, lasts the battle.)

Hardness: 8B/8L
Soak:18B/15L (4B/2L Natural, 4B/4L from War Form, 10B/9L from armor)

Dodge DV: 6: (6 Dex + 3 Dodge +2 Essence) = 10(11) /2
Parry DV: 7: (6 Dex + 5 Melee +2 Defense) = 12(13)/2

Pools:
Personal: 16/18
Peripheral: 15/36
Committed: 7 (4 Armor, 3 for Claws of the Silver Moon, 11 Relentless Lunar Fury)

Willpower: 7/8

Health:
-0/ []
-1/ [][]
-2/ [][][][][][]
-4/ [][]
Incapacitated

[The Demented One]

Zephyr

Zephyr stands a god on the battlefield, laying his judgment down on those who would assault Lotus. As if he were the very Kukla itself, risen from its earthen prison to end the world, he and his men tear apart the enemy's flank with such brutality that they might as well be snatching them up and devouring them in a massive, mountainous maw. The blow he deals to the enemy commander is enough to kill him, sending shards of shattered spine and flecks of bile everywhere. No more heroes stand on the enemy side–the common soldiers have been reduced to acting on their own initiative. With no commander, they will soon fall.

A desperate, disorganized mob makes an attack on Zephyr's band, besting them in numbers but not in command. Their strength, born of desperation, proves enough to dole out at least one massed assault. Zephyr's men are of adamant, refusing to yield in the face of the foe–but they are but mortal, and even their diehard loyalty is not proof against the battle-axes borne by their foes. But there is no man of Lotus who dies without spear in hand, no man who dies on soil unblessed by the blood of his foes.

Zephyr's men fight fiercely, and are soon avenged at the blade of Captain Transval. He moves his unit between the enemy's front and Zephyr's flank, protecting the men while leaving the Lunar with a clear front of attack. The Dragonblooded and his men fight ferociously, inspired by Zephyr, hewing bones and reaping lives just as they once reaped rice at harvest-time. The enemy flees en masse, driven away and entirely undisciplined. By this time, Zephyr and Transval have whittled them down to a body of men barely larger than the paltry few commanded by Zephyr; victory seems imminent.

Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 11: Zephyr's Legion
Tick 12: Transval's Legion
Tick 13: Mutant Raiders

Zephyr

Spoiler

Show

3-die stunt, 6 motes or 1 wp

Your unit's taken 4 levels of damage. It has 7 left before it falls to magnitude 2.

Tick 11: Zephyr's Legion

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Zephyr howled aloud in battle-rage and blood-lust, laughing as he tore his enemies to bloody shreds. His men died beside them, overwhelmed at times by the strength and ferocity of his opponents, but he fought with them, and he encouraged them by word and deed. He stood amidst the gore, chest heaving as he disembowled yet another jade-clad warrior with a vicious kick. For Lotus, men! We fight on, and Creation itself fights with us!

Zephyr gestured a command, ordering a messenger hawk to fly into the forest. The creatures he had assembled should be waiting there, and on his command they would pick off the wounded and the fleeing, ensuring fewer would survive to trouble lotus again. Striding forward, gore sloshing at his feet. Silver fire played about him, leaping with joyous, unbridled primal power. Determined to shatter the last bits of resistance, to break the backs of his foes utterly, he took a length of pike, forming out of it a crude staff. Charging forward, he struck one way, then the other, impaling a pair of enemies, one on each end. Snarling with evil glee, he led what he hoped would be the final charge straight into the heart of the enemy, his double-sided manstaff leaking a trail of crimson as he hefted it as easily as a mortal warrior would wield a simple stick.

Spoiler

Show

Just a simple attack roll. Not quite so much awesome this time - gotta save some for the next fight. Burning another 8m on the Excellency to hopefully finish this thing up, -6m from last time's stunt, 2 expended this round.

Attack(16 base + 5 extra successes. 4 from Excellency, 1 from Fury.):(16d10)[10][3][7][7][4][9][1][3][5][10][2][6][10][6][8][6](97)

Other Statistics
Temporary Effects: Claws of The Silver Moon (3m committed, lasts the battle. Relentless Lunar Fury, w/ Wasp Sting Blur and Golden Tiger Stance)

Hardness: 8B/8L
Soak:18B/15L (4B/2L Natural, 4B/4L from War Form, 10B/9L from armor)

Dodge DV: 6: (6 Dex + 3 Dodge +2 Essence) = 10(11) /2
Parry DV: 7: (6 Dex + 5 Melee +2 Defense) = 12(13)/2

Pools:
Personal: 16/18
Peripheral: 13/36
Committed: 7 (4 Armor, 3 for Claws of the Silver Moon, 11 Relentless Lunar Fury)

Willpower: 6/8

Health:
-0/ []
-1/ [][]
-2/ [][][][][][]
-4/ [][]
Incapacitated

[Lochar]

Echo chokes back bile at the sight of all the dead in the palace. However, it does not send him into fear. Instead, it only serves to strengthen his resolve as he motions to Ivory for quiet as he attempts to silently move through the palace to where the two idiots held Konoko.

Reaching the broken doors, Echo stayed back as he saw the impasse and looked at Ivory, speaking quietly. "If I give you the remainder of my essence, think you could disarm the idiot with the firewand?"

Spoiler

Show

Not that Ivory knows, but I'd be able to give her 6 Essence to use, more if I pull off a stunt in doing so.

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes

Ivory shakes her head mournfully, peeking around a pillar to the scene at hand before turning back and whispering:

"Keep your Essence. There's not much more I could do with it that you couldn't. But..." she tilts her head to the floor, examines their group: herself, Echo, a Hound of the Five Winds, and Keys, one of her Greater Minions. He'd hopped atop the Hound mid-stride on the way to the palace...he had a way of knowing when he was needed.

"We've everything we need, the four of us. The goal is simple: disarm and contain the firewander," she say.

Spoiler

Show

Ivory's going to turn her raw Charisma towards Coordinating an attack. She's channeling one of her last, precious Willpower points for an Automatic Success.

(5d10)[8][9][5][6][7](35) + 1 Automatic Success.

...Please work.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

Yomiko tries to hide the hope she feels when she knows Watcher is about to save his daughter, but she can't even hide how much more it pulls on her heart to see him fail against the eyes of the ebon-clad enemy. She looks at her daughter and at the blood soaking into Watcher's mask and then back at Iulus and Vega. "You're telling me... that you desire to temporarily remove me and anyone else from a position of power in Lotus so you can use our citizens as labor to uncover some kind of... artifacts from this city's soil?" She purses her lips tightly as if controlling anger welling up within her, and clenches her fists as if to do the same. "I know when I see great and terrible forces, creatures greater than normal men and women, and you are indeed greater in power than those people you murdered outside those doors. I want to ask you... are you Exalted?" She asked quietly, unknown to the two that she simply gave such a speech to distract them from the incoming backup.

[The Demented One]

Yomiko, Watcher, Echo, Ivory Eyes

Vega tilts his head to one side, seeming deeply amused. He chuckles, a laugh without any mirth whatsoever. "Exalted? Us? Hey, Iulus, the bitch thinks we're Exalted. Isn't that a laugh?" Iulus agrees with a dark grin, revealing his gruesome teeth–each one has had a small opal, scarcely bigger than a seed, embedded in its front, spreading minute cracks along the entire tooth.

"So, you think we're Exalted?" Essence flares about Vega's overwrought form, the sickly green of rotting flesh. Illumined by the bonfire of cancerous light, he seems taller, monstrous, demonic of form. Yomiko finds she cannot bare the sight of him, those awful eyes, and drops her gaze that she does not have to witness the horror. Nor can any of her companions bare to meet his baleful eyes, shrinking back in fear. Then, with the sound of rusted hinges twisting and breaking, a patina of sea green tarnish spreads across Vega's body, encysting him with a second skin of brass. As the tarnish flakes away, it reveals the labyrinthine engravings carved into the armor, spiraling shapes of madness and Old Realm glyphs praising the long-exiled Yozis. "Good guess."

Zephyr

The battle is all but over. At the sight of an inhuman monster wielding the corpse of their fallen commander on the end of a staff, the raiders almost unanimously flee, save only those who fall beneath the brandished polearms of Lotus, spears beaten out of farming tools. By now the ground is so slick with corpses that the Lunar must pick his steps with caution, less the deliquescent coating of gore undermine his balance. By the time his rampage is done, only a dozen of the raiders still stand against him, cowering but not yet fled.

Transval comes up beside Zephyr, marveling at his mighty form. "Captain Zephyr, I believe this is over. I intend to take my men and post a garrison at the major entryways, in case there are still more in the way. I'd imagine you can handle these survivors." He laughs, trying to hide his shock and horror the sheer brutality Zephyr has proven capable of. In that moment he comprehends just how lucky he was to survive that first clash.

The dozen remaining raiders charge at Zephyr then, hoping to strike down the Lunar where he stands. However, their best-laid assault proves hopelessly, their blindly flailing battle-axes rebuffed by the scaled majesty of Zephyr's warform. All is hopeless for them.


Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 16: Zephyr's Legion
Tick 19: Mutant Raiders

Zephyr

Spoiler

Show

2-die stunt, 4m or 1 wp

Tick 16: Zephyr's Legion

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory motions for everyone to brace themselves: she and Keys are both mounted on the Hound. She waits for a moment of silence from the room within and then spurs the Hound lightly with her heel. It rushes forward, Echo presumably in tow, light as wind. Keys and Ivory are the first to attack: they slide off the Hound in mid-run as he crosses the threshold, both of them perched on ready legs. Both push off together: they bring the momentum of their weight into their throws: a mortal knife soars past Yomiko's left and a thundering Cleaver swoops past her right. The Hound stalks quickly past, circling around Iulus to pounce from behind in immitation of his mistress' motions.

Spoiler

Show

I'm hoping the Hound goes last, he's trying to start a grapple.

Disarm Attempt: Keys (Channeling Conviction)
(9d10)[7][1][8][1][5][5][5][6][6](44)
Willpower: 6/7

Disarm Attempt: Ivory (Channeling Compassion, 4 Dice Bought Through Excellency)
(10d10)[3][5][5][10][5][4][4][4][4][8](52)
Willpower 1/6
Essence Tapped

Disarm Attempt: Echo (Lochar's post)

The Hound's Grapple, having him spend a Willpower for a Success:
(11d10)[1][4][4][3][9][3][10][6][7][1][6](54) + 1 Automatic Success

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Just as Zephyr tore the last of the raiders apart, he felt a sickening lurch in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong. His mate was in trouble. All the rage and fear he had felt before this paled in comparison. But he had a duty to his men, and he would not just abandon them.

Men! You have fought well in Lotus' service, and I will see that you are rewarded. For now, your homes, your families, your children are safe, and they have you to think. Rest, and ready the dead for the burial of heroes they deserve. I must go an see to the safety of the city, for while we fought the open battle, there was another taking place in the shadows, A battle I must now go to aid in that battle. But I go with a song of praise for the valiant men and women of Lotus on my lips!

With an exultant yell, he called down one of the mighty Steel Shadows from the sky, urging it back up into the air, unable as he was to shift into one with his own anima blazing so brightly, locking him into his true shapes. He winged his way towards the palace, a sick, sore knot in the pit of his stomach, worrying for his circle, for his mate.

[Lochar]

Echo is a scant footstep behind the hound as he charges into the room. When Ivory and Keys slide off the hound, Echo pushes against the ground, jumping through the air, spinning and twirling, twin blades of death spiraling. Thankful for the high ceiling in the room as he literally turns upside down for a moment in his flight, Echo is only just beginning to turn right again as he comes down between the man and Konoko. One of the spinning blades reaches out and hooks into the muzzle of the firewand, ripping it straight out of the grip of the man.

Landing on the pommel of his other sword, Echo lightly pushes his body around, landing on his feet standing between the men and Konoko, his body placed between their weapons and the child.

Spoiler

Show

Alright, flurry of jump/attack.

Attack is Channeling Compassion and spending a Will power for an auto success, and also 3 successes from Second MA. -4 motes because of the +2 from the previous stunt. Disarming attempt.

(8d10)[6][8][1][6][5][6][5][3](40) + 4 successes.

Calling on my reflexive Willpower from Cult 3 to cover the Willpower expenditure here.

Permanent: 3
Personal: 3/15
Peripheral: 0/36 (Solar Glory: 0/10)
Committed: 3 (Armor) 6 (Hook daiklaves) 15 (PAP on Jubilant Dawn)

Will: 5/6

Banner spent: 13

[The Demented One]

In a sudden burst of action, Ivory Eyes and Rising Echo burst into the room, followed by their minions. The eyeless minion called Keys and his mistress leap through the air, flinging their blades at Iulus's firepiece. The dark Exalt, startled but not off guard, sidesteps both blades. As they clatter uselessly to the ground, Rising Echo surges forward with a backflip, hoping to hook the wand out of the man's hand with his daiklave–but with a twist of his wrist, Iulus rebuffs the Eclipse Caste. But despite this failure, Ivory Eyes's faithful hound is able to pounce on Iulus before he can react, body slamming him beneath a half-ton of dog. The kidnapper gasps for breath, pinned beneath the canine bulk. Vega is taken entirely off-guard by this, not expecting to have lost the advantage so soon. This is no longer a hostage crisis, but a full-out melee.


Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 0: Keys
Tick 2: Iulus (Inactive)
Tick 5: Yomiko, Ivory Eyes, Hound, Vega, (Zephyr)
Tick 6: Rising Echo, Watcher

Zephyr

Spoiler

Show

Zephyr will arrive and roll for Join Battle on Tick 5.

Tick 0: Keys

[GryffonDurime]

Keys

Keys smiles as he kneels down beside the man pinned under the Hound, retrieving his throwing knife from the floor before, just as quickly, sheathing the blade in Iulus' weapon hand. Keys stands with the newly-claimed firewand and looks around briefly as if he's considering leveling it against Vega. A quick look at Ivory and a sigh later, he's tumbling over the floor and out the nearest window, firewand in hand.

Spoiler

Show

Keys is actually trying to make people think he's getting away. Really, he's probably balancing out on the ledge, waiting until he's needed. He wanted to get the firewand out of the room, though: he knows better than to think he can keep it from Vega if Vega wanted it.

[Krimm_Blackleaf]

The rage that was kept town by Yomiko with all the effort she could afford suddenly feels a bit of relief, now that there is an Exalted barrier between the weapon and her daughter. She suddenly grabs her blades and tears from the ground without any more effort than merely moving them through air and ducks down fast and slides between the demon's legs, despite the treacherous green flames that envelop the creature. She leaps to her feet and swings her right-handed blade in one fell swoop. The blade swings upward in an attempt to catch where the creature's shoulder and back meet and at the moment the first blow strikes she cries out in battle song. This song is however, very different from her style of song... this one imposes her feelings of rage onto anyone else, to know her raw anger and hatred for the black-robed demons.
After the first blow she holds her blade back to herself and uses both in a singular attack, a scissoring motion aimed at the beasts neck. Her flesh and aura glow like the sun, hot, blinding and trying to overcome the putrid corpse-fire.

Spoiler

Show

Expending 2 motes per attack for Melee Excellency and then 1 each for Hungry Tiger, then will expend the necessary amount for Seven Shadows, and of course this is my combo, so 1 Willpower.

Attack 1: (14d10)[4][9][10][7][4][8][1][9][8][10][10][5][4][4](93)
Attack 2: (13d10)[10][1][6][5][2][7][10][10][1][1][9][4][3](69)
Attack 3: (12d10)[8][5][3][5][1][5][3][9][10][7][4][8](68)

[The Demented One]

Keys effortlessly claims Iulus's firewand, taking it with him as he leaps gracefully through the window. Iulus, for his part, lies trapped beneath the horse-sized hound atop him, utterly helpless. However, his main concern does not seem to be escape. "Vega! Whatever you do, don't shoot the dog!"


Initiative

Spoiler

Show

Tick 5: Yomiko, Ivory Eyes, Hound, Vega, (Zephyr)
Tick 6: Rising Echo, Watcher
Tick 7: Iulus

Tick 5: Yomiko, Ivory Eyes, Hound, Vega, (Zephyr)

[WhiteKnight777]

Zephyr

Soaring over the palace, Zephyr spotted the melee through the skylight. coaxing the Steel Shadow low, he slammed through the glass with the force of a falling comet. Taking everything in in an instant, the blood-soaked Lunar grabbed the lip of the skylight, flipping himself off of it, ricocheting off the wall and sliding under the table to grab Konoko in his arms, lifting her with surprising gentleness for all his terrifying appearance. The child in hand, he dashed back towards his circle mates, keeping his own body between her and anything their enemies might try to do to stop him. He spoke to her, his voice oddly soft, given his terrifying battle form.

"Don't worry, little one. It is I, Zephyr. I will see you safe, and those who would harm you will find themselves harmed in turn."

Spoiler

Show

I'm not exactly sure what I'd be rolling here, but I'm going to guess Athletics.

Dexterity + Athletics, buying 3 successes for 6m, -4 for last turn's stunt, 2 expended. (9d10)[7][7][9][1][8][6][4][4][5](51)

Temporary Effects: Claws of The Silver Moon (3m committed, lasts the battle. Relentless Lunar Fury, w/ Wasp Sting Blur and Golden Tiger Stance)

Hardness: 8B/8L
Soak:18B/15L (4B/2L Natural, 4B/4L from War Form, 10B/9L from armor)

Dodge DV: 6: (6 Dex + 3 Dodge +2 Essence) = 10(11) /2
Parry DV: 7: (6 Dex + 5 Melee +2 Defense) = 12(13)/2

Pools:
Personal: 16/18
Peripheral: 11/36
Committed: 7 (4 Armor, 3 for Claws of the Silver Moon, 11 Relentless Lunar Fury)

Willpower: 6/8

Health:
-0/ []
-1/ [][]
-2/ [][][][][][]
-4/ [][]
Incapacitated

[GryffonDurime]

Ivory Eyes stands beside Echo, interposed between the Hound-grounded Iulus and Vega. Looking from one monster to the next, she decides: she kneels down on her petite frame and motions with an empty hand. Her fingers wrap around solidifying air as one of her Lightning Torment Cleavers flashes to her grasp.

"Crush him, Hound," she says simply, dangerously. As her Hound howls it's approval and pushes down with it's not unconsiderable weight, Ivory flips the blade around in her grip and drives it down into the Exalt's hand--the same one where Key's knife still rests. Blue sparks play across the blade and fight to enter the dark man's body.

Spoiler

Show

Ivory's Attack:
(5d10)[8][10][7][1][7](33)
She's aiming to get him to take the Lightning Torment Penalty more than anything. Still, 7L Damage.

Hound's Crush/Retain Control Check:
(11d10)[7][9][4][3][2][9][7][3][9][1][2](56) + 1 Automatic Success
Willpower: 8/10
Base Damage is 5B Piercing.