Return of the Scarlet Empress II - Nothing on My Back...

[Ascension]

Braga can't help but break into a grin himself as Versi looks up to him. When he sees her smile he can't help but think that it's all going to work out somehow. He squeezes her shoulder affectionately, though with her heavy armor its doubtful she even feels it.

"If you would please tell us where to go from here? Neither of us know this city, of course."

[industrious]

Jade Lotus

Spoiler

Show

The man smiles and claps his hands together softly, smoothly appreciating her acquiescence. His voice practically purrs, brimming with satisfaction.

"I am quite pleased to hear that."

Ren Xuhuan sweeps 4 shekels into the bag, leaving the other half-mina on his desk, and picks up the orichalcum rosebud. As he steps behind her, the bag is unceremoniously dropped over her head once more, and he absently riffles through her pockets, claiming her chakram.

"You'll begin...immediately."

...Owww.

Black Ice Shadow

He nods at her arrival...and goes even paler at her question, shrinking slightly away from her.

"Well...you see..."

His expression is similar to that of a cow upon seeing a bloodied knife; panicked, wild-eyed with terror. Eager to get away and yet frozen in place.

"The White Rose has decided to exit Yu-Shan early. She has returned to the Blessed Isle."

Karal Li

He smiles at the moon-child and her father, content to observe their relationship.

"I have a son," he confides to Braga. "Eight years old and already he's plotting battle tactics. Brings a tear to my eye."

He stops, regains some composure.

"Yes. Well. Gochei Rabir will excort you to a testing area. There are other applicants for citizenship, and there are a number of tests. You will have some time before they begin at midday."

The Gochei leads them to another building, where a room is set up with desks and inkbrushes, before saluting Braga and departing. Someone else is also present, head slumped against a wooden surface...

Spoiler

Show

That someone is Jade Lotus.

And...Versi, gain an immediate positive Intimacy towards the woman.

[Ifni]

The animation drains out of Orchid's face in an instant, the warmth, the emotion. What's left behind is a mask of ice, still and smooth and cold as a winter midnight.

"Excuse me?"

The Solar's voice has a weight to it like a falling daiklave, an executioner's blade. She takes a breath, forces herself to soften her tone, to think for a moment. When she speaks again, her voice merely has the edge of new-honed steel.

"Shadow. On the boat, I recall, you had a habit of picking the most unfortunate phrasings. So I'm going to ask you to explain, before I react to that. Possibly while we start walking, though. How did she return to the Isle? Can she get back? If not, how do we go after her?"

She stops to gulp in breath again. For a moment, her voice wavers. "The White Rose... would not abandon a war against the Mask. Not ever. And she would not -" She would not leave me, without word or warning, without even a chance to say goodbye...

She makes a sharp gesture with one hand, cutting off the words, pushing back the rising tide of betraying emotion. She reaches out, then, to grasp the Sidereal's hands. "And stop looking at me like that, Shadow. You are my friend, and her friend. You saved her life. If you screwed up, well, I have some experience on that front. If no one's dead, it's not anywhere close to my worst. So tell me why Tepet Firada would want to leave Yu-Shan, and where she went, and by what means."

The others in the room might as well not exist. The Eclipse's blazing gaze and the almost-tangible force of her presence are focused entirely on the Chosen of Endings, without any of the gentle mannered politeness that usually softens the impact of her words.

Perhaps that will make it easier, for one almost pathologically ill-at-ease with social pleasantry. Perhaps the man who stole Typhon's daiklaves and carried an unconscious companion out of Thorns will do better with a direct approach. And perhaps not. But right now, with anger racing like quicksilver along her veins, it seems worth a try.

Spoiler

Show

Irresistible Salesman Spirit on my social attack: stop panicking and do something productive, foolish Sidereal.

Charisma+Presence: (14d10)[10][6][2][5][2][2][1][2][2][1][3][8][9][1](54) (counting honesty hearthstone, not counting Negotiation specialty)
Possible stunt: (3d10)[10][9][9](28)

Double sux from ISS.

Orchid... absolutely respects her sister's judgement, and her right to make her own decisions. But this seems really, really out-of-character.

[industrious]

Black Ice Shadow

Black Ice Shadow hums when he's under the social spot. It's low, nervous sort of sound.

"Ah. Well..." he stammers.

"We had lunch at a place most Sidereals enjoy having lunch. And then she got...amorous. And I declined. Politely. I'm sure. I don't know. I've never had to...it's not my normal line of experience."

The others in the room turn at Eris's words; the Solar has made herself the center of attention.

Black Ice Shadow's words come quickly, nervously.

"And she didn't believe me. And tried again. And I turned her down. Again. And then she got...angry. Frustrated. Stormed out of the restaurant. I followed her, since she doesn't know Yu-Shan, and she kept talking about leaving and getting back to the Isle, and I tried to stop her but she wouldn't hear any of it and since she had her mind made up...I showed her the right gate out?"

A hand reaches to touch Eris's shoulder lightly.

"Untimely Orchid," Ayesha says quietly, low enough that just she can hear. "Look at him. Do you want him to be this way because of you?"

Spoiler

Show

Ayesha will be using Favorable Inflection Procedure. The attempted result is an Emotion of Calm and an Intimacy of Gratitude towards Ayesha.

(15d10)[10][2][7][5][3][1][8][10][4][7][8][5][10][2][4](86) + 6 sux = 16 sux.

-1 MDV for your Intimacy towards Black Ice Shadow. +1 for your Intimacy towards your sister.

[Inspector Valin]

Versi bowed to Shozei Li one final time, before turning and leaving the office at Braga's side. She could've started singing. They had arrived! They were past the gatehouse, into Lookshy proper, and after a few simple tests they'd be firmly in the city! She tried to look upwards, get a better view of some of the larger buildings, but the local ones were too large to get any kind of decent view of Lookshy's skyline. That would have to wait until later.

The Little Lunar was humming merrily to herself as Rabir led them into the testing area. She glanced around, wonderment shifting to simple curiosity: she had never seen a place laid out quite like this before. She ran a finger across one of the desks, tapped an inkpot gently before finally noticing the fourth figure in the room.

Looking at the woman made Versi feel... strange. A little nervous, a little worried, but on the lady's behalf, not of her. As though they had met before, and she knew the recumbent woman, and had just... forgotten her somehow. It was strange, and she could not explain the sensation, but it was powerful: direct, and immediate. And Versi was never exactly one for emotional restraint. Stepping over, the young traveller placed a hand on the woman's shoulder, speaking quietly: just loud enough to be heard. "Excuse me, are you ok?"

[Ascension]

"Versi!" Braga scolds, voice harsher than usual, infused with a bit of the snap of Northern frost. He doesn't like being cross with her, especially when it's really his fault for not teaching her better manners, but their flight across the wilder, ruin-haunted corners of the Scavenger Lands has left him little opportunity to do so, and in any case she does need to be reined in presently.

He lays a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder, though he knows he could do nothing to truly hold back her strength if she were for any reason to press him.

"I'm sorry ma'am," he apologizes to the reclining woman, "I'm afraid my daughter knows but little restraint... I'd half swear some days she's of Hesiesh's blood. Still, she should have known better than to disturb your rest like that... isn't that right, Versi? Now give this lady your apology..."

[Ifni]

"No. But then, it predates anything I said." This is an older problem, and not just about me. The Solar's voice is equally soft, returned to Ayesha only. But glancing back at Black Ice Shadow, at the fear in his downcast eyes, in a moment of clarity she intuits its source.

Rejection. And I do not think it would be the first time...

"Shadow - it's all right." Orchid's voice remains quiet, the power in it leashed again, the hint of anger receding. She opens her hands, letting him draw back if he wants to, but not pulling away herself. She's a little surprised, at how calm she's feeling - but it's hard to be angry, hearing Shadow's recounting and the shivering uncertainty in his voice, seeing him shrink down on himself as if he's trying to disappear. He's trying, and was trying, so hard...

And she trusts his competence: the 'gate' where he sent her sister is probably safe enough. For the moment, at least. And beyond that -

Firada would not abandon me and this battle by choice.

Shadow is telling the truth, and he didn't coerce her into leaving.

So she hasn't abandoned me. She'll come back, once she's had a chance to cool down, or to put whatever plan she has into motion. It won't hurt to give her a little time...

... if she can come back, at least.

She takes a step closer to the Chosen of Endings, lowering her voice for his ears alone. "You didn't do anything wrong, Shadow," she says, as gently as she can manage. "And even if I disagreed with your choices - as I said. We all make mistakes. Your friends won't hate you for them." She smiles faintly, but her eyes are very serious. "Quite apart from it being raging hypocrisy, at least on my part - do you think I'm lying, when I say I admire and like you? You're not pulling some con on me. I'm good at seeing the truth: I know who and what you are. And sure, part of who you are is Ghost-Blooded, and part is that you have one of the most spectacular cases of foot-in-mouth disease I've ever witnessed -" A brief wry twist to her lips, "- but a more important part, from my perspective at least, is that you are a hero, and a good man, and more than deserving of my regard." She briefly closes her fingers over his hand again. Her voice changes subtly, obviously quoting. "And the song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend. For me to reject your friendship, Shadow, reject you... it could only happen if one of us were to change out of all recognition."

She steps back, and her voice returns to a more normal volume. She looks down, and for a moment, seems very small. "For not making that clear, for frightening you - because you clearly are frightened - I apologize, Black Ice Shadow. Forgive me?"

Spoiler

Show

Orchid has two completely distinct sets of things to say here. She is not dropping the topic of Firada. But putting them both in one post was really clunky, so doing this part first.

NMI social attack to try to make this scene count toward erosion of that Intimacy. I'll spend 2m on the Second Presence Excellency.

(She's trying to gently push him toward the idea that it's okay for him to have expectations from a friendship as well, in the hope of getting him to understand that just because a friend does something that annoys or upsets you, it doesn't mean you're going to reject them.)

App 3, -2 MDV from Jewel of the Lawgiver's Authority (changing opinions and beliefs).

(14d10)[1][8][5][9][2][2][3][7][3][3][5][9][6][7](70) honest Presence+Charisma
Possible stunt: (3d10)[6][8][2](16)
+1 sux from Excellency.

EDIT: Silly dicebot. Ah well, it probably didn't make things worse.
(That's 6 sux base, 7 with a 2-die stunt, before MDV modifiers, so effectively 8-9 before App modifiers with my hearthstone.) Can I claim alignment with Compassion? I'm pretty sure that's a high Virtue for him.

EDIT2: Also, credit goes to Longfellow "The Arrow and the Song", even if I'm just quoting one line at the moment; the actual poem may or may not come up later.

[Inspector Valin]

Versi added a little validity to Braga's comment by blushing a fierce shade of red at his words. She hadn't thought that through, even remotely, and might have just woken someone up soley because of a strange feeling she had that she couldn't explain. Because that would go down well and make her look responsible to Rabir. (Plus, she could remember so many occasions when her own fitful sleep was disturbed by Kaneko barking some new order at her... she knew how hard it could be to sleep, sometimes)

She bowed her head to the unnamed woman, frown deep and sincerely apologetic. "Sorry, ma'am. Just... didn't realize people rested like that." A weak apology, but true enough. Even that unnamed Girl had generally been able to find a corner to lay in.

[DeafnotDumb]

Jade Lotus

That had been hers...

Jade Lotus wakes up blearily to a hand on her shoulder and a young voice asking if she's okay, but before she's awake enough to respond another voice comes along, more parental, chiding the child for something.

Luckily, this gives Jade enough time to rise to full consciousness (with a bouncing headache, thank you very much) and reform herself into the shape of her current persona. "Oh, that's alright." Bright Shard mutters, working out the ache in her neck. She avoids the gaze of Braga, rubbing her arm in a nervous fashion. Looking at Versi seems to be much more comfortable to her. "I used to tutor children - I could teach your daughter etiquette -"

With that she clamps both hands on her mouth, realizing what she has said. "Oh! I didn't mean to insult you! I just thought that if I could help your daughter, then, well, you'd be more likely to let me in! I'msosorry letmestartover." She pauses for breath, panting, and lets a few clues sink in, namely that Lookshy does not have a 'bring your daughter to work day'. "You're not the examiner, are you?"

She giggles nervously. "Sorry. It's the stress. I'm Bright Shard. And you are?" She looks down shyly. "The offer to teach still stands - I'm much better with some actual sleep, I assure you - and, well, I like working with children."

The last bit was true, at least.

[Inspector Valin]

Versi can't help but grinning a little as Shard stirred into consciousness. Something about the woman just made the young traveller smile. She chuckled a little at the end, shaking her head a touch more emphatically than she actually felt. "Thank you, but I think I'm going to have enough to learn as it stands. Father's lessons were hard enough, the Academy's likely going to be worse. I don't think I need an etiquette tutor just yet."

Only once she was done did Versi realize that she hadn't returned their new friend's introduction. Starting at the realization that she'd made another blunder, she reached out with a hand in greeting, smiling to their fellow refugee. "Oh! I'm Versino, but you can call me Versi. It's a bit easier to say. And this is my father, Sesus Braga." She gestured back at her friend with a proud grin before glancing down at the table for a second, a touch surprised. "You're here to take the test too?" She blushed a little as soon as she'd said it aloud: the question was stupid, but it was a little surprising. She hadn't thought of the stranger as a Terrestrial at first glance. Or was everyone tested like this?

[Maugan Ra]

Zhou, for his part, remains seated and does not speak. Primarily because he has no idea what he could or should say in this situation. On the one hand, he sympathizes with Black Ice Shadow, who is clearly out of his element and trying desperately not to crack under the pressure.

On the other hand, he also understands Orchid's concern and attitude, and shares her confusion and (to a lesser extent) alarm about Firada's absence. Still, she seems to be handling the situation well enough, reversing the earlier distress and smoothing everything over with a diplomat's grace.

Yeah. She'll be able to handle the family just fine. Assuming none of them challenges her to a duel or something, which I don't think is a real possibility...

Bah. Why must life be complicated?

[DeafnotDumb]

Jade Lotus

"A pleasure." Shard says as she is introduced to Braga, taking Versi's hand for a shake. "Your child is very eloquent for her age. I don't think you need to worry about how she'll look, given practice."

The woman puffed out her cheeks at Versi's question. "I've been travelling from Scavenger Lord to Scavenger Lord offering my services as an educated woman. It's, well, tiring. Lookshy offers some - well, permanence. If I get in." She smiles nervously. "So what's your story?" She asks them both. "Why Lookshy? Is it a tale of adventure and, um-" She mimes a flashing sword and then giggles a little at her own enthusiasm. "-derring-do?"

[Ascension]

Braga bristles a bit at the woman's, Bright Shard's, bubbling, giggling personality, and friendly confidence with his daugh- with Versino, but at least she isn't terribly offended. He'll settle for that, given the circumstances.

He does raise an eyebrow at her identification of her services provided... "educated woman" potentially covers a lot of ground, not all of it savory, though he makes himself remember that his instinctual teeth-bared determination to protect Versi's innocence is almost certainly futile, given that her formative years were spent in Malfeas.

All told, he manages a cool politeness when he interjects himself into the conversation to answer Shard's question, a cool politeness and nothing harsher.

"We are graced by the Dragons, and there is no place for us in the Realm," he states, matter-of-factly, "Where else could we come if not Lookshy? It is not fitting nor proper for the Dragons' own to live like savages in petty kingdoms."

He additionally concedes, "Also, my work involves artifacts and magitechnology, and where else in Creation is a better home for an artificer? I would be humbled to lay my eyes on even a single relic of its legendary arsenal."

That last topic draws a tight smile from him, just due to the subject matter, though he still little likes the lady Shard, from what he's seen thus far.

[DeafnotDumb]

Jade Lotus

"Ah! magitech!" Bright Shard exclaims, well, brightly, while Jade points out to her that this is the avenue to the father's respect. She's yet to meet a person that didn't like talking about what they did. "Well, I hope we won't be in competition, then. It'd be much better to learn from each other - especially since, as you say, this is the Lookshy arsenal, not the scraps of Scavenger Lords. You might have the edge on me there, if you've trained with proper artefacts."

The topic is likely the right one, but Jade doesn't seem to be aware that Shard's bubbly style is causing a bit of friction, otherwise she'd straighten up a bit instead of trying to straighten her hair by dragging her hand through it. Recognizing the futility of this, she grabs a bunch of throwing needles - Oh only hairpins, no need to overreact - and starts looking around for a mirror of some sort.

[Inspector Valin]

Versi's light blue armour clinked a little as the girl laughed heartily at Shard's gesture. Braga's words however make her raise an eyebrow. Had she missed something in this conversation? The tiny traveller glanced between the two before shrugging, (making her armour clank once again) and nodding to their comrade "Father's good with Magitech. You should see him work. And he made the right decision, bringing us here. It's the finest place we could hope to find, especially with the Scavenger Lands being like they are. We're all in the same boat, I guess. Lost in the wilderness, looking for safe harbor"

True enough. The Endless Desert loomed in her mind's eye for a moment, before the girl's focus returned to the room and the two others. She laughed, gently, more to herself than the other two. "And I don't know about eggs, Father, but I can agree with the intent. All that knowledge preserved here; knowledge dating back to the First Age..." The young traveller trailed off, lost in contemplation, before returning to the conversation with an emphatic nod and a mildly wary grin towards Shard. "I just hope we all make it in. I don't know what the test involves, or if I'll be up to it."

[Ascension]

"You're from the Threshold, then," Braga says to Shard, stating the fact rather than asking, knowing that a child of Mela should not have lacked proper supplies in the Realm... and, of course, her name is an obvious giveaway as well.

He shakes his head sadly, pity for the Lost Egg beginning to take hold of him.

"The Dragons' blood is spread all too thin these days, and the same can be said of the relics of our past glories. It's not the society I'm accustomed to, but Lookshy is a proud bastion of that past, retaining, I understand, even more features of the Shogunate Era than the Scarlet Realm."

"I'm glad you made it here," he decides, "and I do hope you find the place and the learning that is due you."

[DeafnotDumb]

Jade Lotus

"Likewise. You have my sympathies for your travels - were they long?" The woman returns Braga's last statement with a nod, still fiddling with her hairpins. and not that dexterously. "Ow."

"I considered going to the Realm," Shard says, picking up the next needle. ""but I gathered that you need family there to make yourself anything - Lookshy doesn't do that so much. Still, it is a pleasure to meet someone from there - I've read so much on it just from, well, cultural impact. It influences - ow - everything."

She leans back, trying to use their eyes as a mirror. "is it fine?" She asks, working with her hair. And indeed, it would be great, if not for the severe asymmetricality, the right side drooping far below the left.

[Inspector Valin]

Versi chortled, shaking her head and stepping closer to Shard. "Almost. Here." Stretching a little, she held the other side of the woman's hair upwards, helping her pin it back closer into line with the right. Move done, the young girl stepped back, looking back at Shard with a faint frown, gaze holding a strange quality to it, before finally turning aside and taking a seat, ready to begin the test.

[Ascension]

Despite his own history, Braga has to bite back an immediate urge to correct Shard's biases toward the Realm. He settles for a more neutral statement.

"We are Exalted. We can always make something of ourselves, following the perfect example of the Immaculate Dragons."

He holds his tongue on the subject of Shard's hair as Versi steps in to fix it, content to leave women's matters to the women, at least as far as the Malfean girl seems comfortable. When the little Lunar withdraws to her seat, he follows with her, nodding a simple goodbye to Bright Shard.

"I wish you well in your test, and hope to see you on the other side."

[Aevylmar]

A thousand possibilities run through Skandi's mind, and he remains silent. Only one constant remains in each of them:

This is a trap.

The Sidereals are plotting something. They killed all the Solars, they killed some of the Lunars and drove the rest back. They could be using Firada as bait to lure Eris to her death. They could be 'arranging' for Firada to fall into the hands of the Realm so they could brainwash her as a weapon against her sister. This could be the first strike in a plan of attrition to wear the entire group down. The shield would do for Skandi; just claim he stole it. Zhou would be helpless without a Solar's political protection. Lauren/Sierra has no status in Yu-Shan; she'd be dead in minutes.

But he remains silent, because he knows that anything he could say would merely make the situation worse. Unless Eris is about to go charging off after her sister, Skandi's intervention will not help.

[The_Snark]

Isa nods, unsurprised. She suspects that Chejop is more concerned about this meeting than she is - not surprising, given the history there. But she isn't him. The Chairwoman's presence isn't painful or frustrating for her, except by proxy. It's a political risk, she'll probably try to use Isa against Chejop somehow, but it's not quite so personal. "I'll be careful."

She takes longer to consider the next question, wishing she'd taken the time to put her thoughts into a report. Not that she's afraid of saying it to Chejop's face, but it would have given her more time to sort through her feelings. "Difficult," she says finally. "Not because she's unreasonable; the opposite. She's... friendly. Sympathetic. She wants to understand you. She's not naive; she uses that empathy as a tool to get what she wants. But that doesn't make it false." Rather like the Chairwoman, according to reputation, but Isa decides to refrain from making that comparison. "That's what makes her hard to dismiss - she means what she's saying. She'll try to figure out what common ground you have with her, and how to fix any differences that exist - she wants everybody to win, or at least everybody on Creation's side. Eclipse Caste, and a good one."

Here Isa pauses, grimaces faintly. "I... actually like her. And there aren't many people I like."

Spoiler

Show

I had more written, but figured I'd leave it off here for now - would rather have a conversation than a monologue.

[industrious]

Chejop

He nods at her words, listening quietly.

"She wouldn't be a Silver Quill if she wasn't likable. Even at their height, it was difficult to muster hatred against the Lawgivers...but we did not need hatred. Merely the knowledge that what we did was necessary to preserve Creation."

He stares into the distance lost in thought and ancient memory.

"She wishes to help, hmmm? Offers her talents and abilities? Things that only she, of course-but it's certainly not her fault-can provide?"

Chejop bows his head in sorrow.

"She would prove useful, Isa, I have no doubt. She would become a great resource. And when she asks for a favor in return-for good reasons, of course-what will you do then? You will find you will soon rely on her goodwill instead; with gifts and subtle craft, she has made herself essential. And newly secure in her power..."

Chejop sighs, and pats Isa's hand.

"It is in their nature to desire power and control. No matter what form or path they take to obtain it."

The Conference

He nods quietly.

"...Very Well."

The doors open once more, and May Blossom enters at a stately pace that does not in any way distract from how red her face is from previously running.

"Apologies for the delay."

Her voice is soft and calm, controlled.

"Now that everyone is here..." Ayesha notes with some humor. "I believe Black Ice Shadow, you are to brief us on the Mask?"

"...Yes. Of course."

Black Ice Shadow hands another round of scrolls to the group; the last, he unravels and begins to read from.

"The information provided came courtesy of my own efforts, those of the White Rose of Thorns and local resistance groups. The Mask of Winters has assigned seven of his thirteen Deathknights towards the Lookshyian campaign, keeping the other six to hold Thorns. Leading them is the Daybreak Caste The Black Hand Resting Upon the Throat of the World..."

He continues, giving information on the composition and numbers of the Mask's forces.

"...And there are two more creations the Mask holds. In the Shackle Maw, the Mask has personally overseen their creation; I was...unable to penetrate their security. But the attitude the other deathknights provided towards them is that they are of great and terrible power. Even among the deathknights."

Spoiler

Show

Int+War to learn the Mask's Military Score, and breakdown of forces.

List of Deathknights, and Castes:

Spoiler

Show

The Black Hand Resting Upon the Throat of the World (nominal leader) - Daybreak Caste. Favors essence cannon. Wears Celestial Battle Armor.

Circlemates:

Spoiler

Show

The Maiden of the Mirthless Smile - Dusk Caste. Favors Grimscythe. Appears to be a girl.

The Lady of Darkness in Bloodstained Robes - Nadir Caste. Martial Artist. Wears revealing clothing.

Typhon, Wink of the Storm's Eye - Day Caste. Twinned short daiklaves. Ambassador.

The Sorrowful Calligrapher - Moonshadow Caste. Grand Goremaul. Robed and Masked.

Broken Knife Forged of Bitter Metal - Day Caste. Assassin. Bow and Arrow. Stealthy.

The Seven-Degreed Physician of Black Maladies - Daybreak Caste. Necrotechnican. Necrosurgeon. Little combat ability.

Soured Obsidian Void - Moonshadow Caste. Necromancer. Has a Ghostly legion.

The Test

The instructor arrives, a short, scholarly looking man in civilian garb and carrying a sheaf of papers and an hourglass.

"Right," he says shortly. "Everyone take a stack of papers...sit at your desks...you have until the hourglass descends to complete the exam. Answer as completely as you can to the best of your ability. There is to be no talking. Time begins...now."

Spoiler

Show

Give me two Int+Lore checks and two Int+Occult checks. Stunt however you like. Make up questions, talk about how they answer, etc.. If you want to cheat, roll Perception+Stealth.

[Maugan Ra]

"I should hope." Zhou says thoughtfully, looking over the information, "That Typhon at least will not be a problem. He was, after all, subdued and brought to Yu-Shan with us."

The numbers facing them are, he has to admit, rather worrying. It's been a while since he used the strategic aspects of his training, the ability to look at a breakdown of forces and use them to predict the course of a large-scale engagement. He was always more focused on the personal level, pitting his blade against the enemy unit's champions and leading direct strike teams against valuable objectives.

But this is important, as few other considerations have ever been, so he dredges his memory and applies everything he ever learned or overheard to analyzing the information before them.

Spoiler

Show

Int+War, and I will spend a willpower to get an automatic success.

(5d10)[10][5][10][2][2](29)

[DeafnotDumb]

The first questions come fast and furious, but Shard's hand moves faster than them, flowing down beautiful calligraphy with all the craft at her disposal. It is a challenge with two minds facing it, as Shard answers based on her knowledge of what she's read and studied, Jade on who she's conned and what she's stolen from them.

A question on the appropriate rites to quell an angry spirit is answered by Shard while Jade internally flinches at the memory of what happened the first time she'd pretended to be a priest. A mathematical question on estimating the vaults of the nearby vault of the Guild is short-circuited by Jade simply remembering how much there was in there last time she went there, minus the bits she stole. They collaborate on a question of historical interest, Shard providing the books she's read and Jade information on that lovely piece of amour she stole, with all the victory dates and everything engraved on it, and how angry that Dyanst had been to loose it.

How tall is the Second Palace of Jade? Fifty-three meters of personal terror, thank the gods for that haystack being in just the right place when she needed it.

What is the recommended method for crafting Red Jade into heavy armour? Jade lets Shard take this one, the craftwoman leaving her with a chide about not cheating, sensing the conwoman's eyes slip towards the other paper. It's unlikely that the child will know more than her.

Compose a Haiku inspired by the wise sage Li Bao's A Moment In Winter. Easy. Jade steals something she heard from a better poet than her, adds enough flashes of individuality to fool the examiner, and moves on.

In the Shogunate, who was the assistant of the regal ambassador, what did they do to spark the anger of the Empress, what were the names of their comrades and to what degree of death was each individual sentenced to?

...Well, you didn't have to answer every question. Lotus knows a con when she sees one.

Externally, Bright Shard beams, as her work is done. Internally, Jade fumes at the idea that doing actual work has for once proved itself to be the most efficient path.

Spoiler

Show

If only one set of stunt die is used, use the ones for the Lore roll.
Int+Lore(7): (7d10)[5][6][5][9][2][1][10](38)
Stunt: (3d10)[1][2][5](8)

Int+Occult(7): (7d10)[2][6][1][5][7][5][10](36)
Stunt: (3d10)[1][7][10](18)

[Ifni]

Did it help? Did the point she intended - I care about what you think, Black Ice Shadow, you are my friend and if there's an obligation there it runs both ways - get across? It's hard to tell, from his quiet voice.

Still - "Thank you," Orchid replies, just as quietly. "That matters, to me."

"Now about -"

May Blossom's soft-voiced interruption is unwelcome, although she can hardly call it a surprise. Damn it. She'd hoped they'd have more time. A few minutes delay shouldn't matter; a few hours might. If Firi really has left, if she's decided she can continue the fight better from the Isle, if she gets more than ten miles from the gate then there won't be any easy way to contact her...

Although Emerald is a sorcerer. Perhaps I can ask him. But I doubt he'll help without Ayesha's approval.

Her lips compress tightly at the Elder's cheerful Now that everyone is here...

No, we're not all here, Chairwoman. The woman who lost her Sworn Brotherhood to bring you this information is not here. And you clearly don't think she's even worthy of mention. The sense of gratitude she still feels toward Ayesha - for holding out hope for Lookshy, for offering her a place in that vision - doesn't ameliorate the exasperation.

Nonetheless, she pulls out a chair next to Black Ice Shadow and seats herself. She does not remove her coat; her back is stiff, refusing relaxation. Her face is smooth and shuttered as she takes the scroll and unrolls it, reading quickly down the closely-written lines.

These unit descriptions, at least, she knows well. Spine chains and the other monstrous creations of necrotechnology, the nemissaries that guarded the borders watching through wolves' and raitons' eyes. The Thornguard, living and dead. Greater horrors, things of shadow and pyreflame - and the deathknights, the Mask's monsters. Her hands clench slightly on the paper as she reads the list, the too-familiar names of nightmare.

It takes her back in memory, to a time when she wrote and collated such reports, deep down in the buried dark. To a time when each little number was bought and paid for with notations like five dead, three taken, when 1 talon Thornguard meant steel-capped boots on the cobblestones while you huddled in silence and tried not to breathe too loudly, and the armies of the walking dead wore the ruined faces of friends. To that night of triumph and terror and heartbreak in the Shackle Maw. To the first night, so long ago, of murder and fire and the deathknights' laughter, with the clasp of her sister's hand about her own the one lifeline out of the horror...

Local resistance groups. People who are still down there in the dark, for whom the nightmare never ended.

It takes effort to show no sign of that remembrance, that knowledge, beyond a slight quickening of her breath. It's easier when she focuses on the numbers, and doesn't look at Zhou, and doesn't let herself imagine in visceral detail what it would mean for the story of Thorns to become the story of Lookshy.

She's not a soldier, but she's fought this war before.

Spoiler

Show

Int+War (3d10)[2][1][2](5)
Possible stunt: (3d10)[9][7][1](17)
Spending 1WP for a sux.

EDIT: Orchid continues to suck at War, but the stunt dice may redeem her a little this time. 1/2/3 sux with a 0/1/2-die stunt.

She waits politely for Black Ice Shadow to finish.

She nods at Zhou's words, and looks up at the Chosen of Endings to ask, "If the Convention on Deathlords took custody of Typhon - will they be questioning him? It seems the obvious place to try to learn about these new weapons."

She inclines her head to Ayesha. "And when that question's answered, Chairwoman, and any others that people have - I'd like to request a brief recess. Or if not, I'll excuse myself. I am not a soldier and I suspect detailed tactical planning will go over my head; I'd be happy to get a summary later." She shakes her head slightly. "But though I know little of war - when an ally whose courage is beyond question, who has already sacrificed much for the cause, chooses to depart the battlefield prematurely, it seems inadvisable to me to simply ignore it."

Her voice is soft and level. Her face is calm, and touched with a small smile. Her eyes are green jade.

[Ascension]

The corners of Braga's lips twitch down in contempt for the test set before him. He expected a hands-on test, perhaps performing maintenance on a badly-weathered suit of Gunzosha armor that had been lost for a century in a bog, or demonstrating the proper procedure for warding a doorway against the dead and against demons. This petty quiz? He leafs through the pages, finding in them questions that reminded him less of his time at the Heptagram and more of his schooling before it, albeit with a distinctly Lookshyan bias.

He shakes his head in disbelief. He was taught exorcism by an instructor who summoned spirits into peasants just to give his students' practical experience; no simple quiz is going to give him pause.

He sets quill to task, sketching out his responses in quick, bold strokes, letting his annoyance with the nature of his trial flow through his angry hand. The questions that give him pause do so less due to a lack of knowledge on his part and more due to matters of interpretation or perceptions of bias. A thorny question on the nature of the Anathema, for example... Should he answer with the Heptagram's line of thinking? The more conservative Immaculate point of view? Would writing down the secrets scribed on the innermost walls of ancient manses see him immediately escorted to the Cleansing?

For the most part he lets his Heptagram instruction take the forefront. The Realm is large enough he's unlikely the first traitor of his kind to pass these gates... and he marvels that this is perhaps the first time he's explicitly thought of himself in those terms, as a traitor... and though its views are unorthodox by the usual standards of the Realm, and perhaps by the usual standards of Lookshy, they should likely be known to the Seventh Legion, at least in broad outline, so such little heresies should not see him punished.

In fact, it's likely he who finds more heresy in the test than it in him. Lookshy's Immaculate Faith is... different (lax, a little voice inside himself insists). The history of the city is tied with the history of Tien Yu and Tu Yu to a degree that seems outright blasphemous to one better used to tightly controlled, completely pragmatic reverence. And to see the Immaculate Dragons reduced to stepping-stones on the path toward becoming the Righteous Warrior? The martial arrogance of Lookshy practically seethes from the pages of the exam.

Concluding his final essay on the limitations of the practical applications on geomancy in the modern world (throwing in a few ideas toward circumventing them to show his evaluators a flash of creativity amidst the rote-recited knowledge), he sets the papers aside. Though the possibility did occur to him, not once did he resort to channeling his Essence toward answering the questions asked of him, either through sheer brute force or by trawling his own memories by way of Eternal Mind Meditation. He does not think it likely that his Essence-flow is being remotely monitored under these circumstances, but he neither risks the possibility nor considers that risk necessary.

He watches the hourglass continue to run.

Spoiler

Show

Int+Lore x 2, at a 9-die pool assuming that the Lore section of the test doesn't focus on Artifacts.
(9d10)[3][5][1][2][2][4][4][2][2](25)
(9d10)[3][7][2][2][2][10][2][10][3](41)

And stunt(s)? Not sure if I should roll stunt dice for each individual check or just one cumulative potential stunt for the whole post. Just to be safe:
(3d10)[6][2][2](10)
(3d10)[2][1][9](12)

Now, Int+Occult x 2, also a 9-die pool assuming that none of my Artifact, Art of Geomancy, and/or Art of Warding and Exorcism Specialties apply to the test as a whole. I'm pretty sure that since this is just a paper test and not anything involving the practical application of skills that the occult sensitivity bonus from his Dragon Tear Tiara certainly won't count.
(9d10)[3][1][2][2][2][10][7][4][5](36)
(9d10)[7][6][6][1][9][8][3][2][4](46)

And stunt(s) again, just so they're there if somehow they apply.
(3d10)[4][4][6](14)
(3d10)[3][5][6](14)

[Aevylmar]

Skandi looks over the data, quietly, with little expression other than a simple polite smile. He has little knowledge of the Mask of Winters as a man, and little knowledge of all the works of his necromancy - but be they, living or dead, he knows men, he knows tactics, he knows strategy and logistics. He's lead raids and ambushes, and from the brief descriptions, he can extrapolate to what is or what could be.

Spoiler

Show

Base: (7d10)[10][1][1][9][4][2][8](35)
Stunt: (3d10)[8][2][9](19)
Spending a willpower for an automatic success.

[Inspector Valin]

Versi, in contrast to Shard, just sat there for several seconds, staring down at the paper with an expression of absolute terror at the instructor's words, almost uncomprehending. It was here, the test, the exam, the utterly thing that would determine their ability to enter Lookshy. Probably the most important test that she'd had to deal with since her return to the land of mortalkind. And it was on paper?!

Paper. Not some practical demonstration, not a conversation where she could explain herself and her thinking, but thoughts to be recorded on the page and examined by an outside force. Snapping out of her reverie, Versi nodded, stiffly grabbing a sheaf of papers and returning to her desk, staring down at the paper even after the little man gave the permission to begin.

She couldn't undo this, couldn't weather it, and she certainly wasn't ready for it! She hadn't learnt to write until her arrival in Creation! And now she was being asked to not only show her calligraphy at length, but this was to be used to determine if the city would admit her to the Academy. This was one big nasty surprise after another, and a part of her was close to despair. This might well be beyond her.

But... she had Braga's teaching. And he was depending on her for his own passage into the city. They stood together and fell together, against bandits, huntsmen and Lookshy's academical invigilators. Grimacing, and taking a deep breath, Versi finally turned the paper over and begun to shift through the questions, grimly scrawling an answer to each in turn, pen lunging across the page in the large desperate strokes of a soldier making one final stand.

Who wrote 'Exquisite Manners of the Daimyo?

Luck of the Dragon, this one she knew! Or thought she did. The author was a minor character in 'The Many Loves of Bitter Iron', one of the courtiers Iron seduced during his time in the court of the Daimyo. Trusting to the accuracy of the libretto, Versi wrote "Chuzei Jiao" before turning swiftly to the next question: she can't afford any more worry at this point.

Spoiler

Show

Lore roll, spending 2 motes of personal on Second Int Excellency for one guaranteed success. (5d10)[18]
Stunt roll (3d10)[23]

What is the proper composition of a legion, according to the laws of the Shogunate? Give all ranks in descending order.

That one restored Versi's grimace, leaving the little Lunar scowling down at the text as though it were doing this intentionally. She knew some of the ranks, the Shogunate was a classical era for Demonic plays, but there was no way she'd be able to recall them all. The youth placed a hand to her forehead, breathing deeply. Lord Orabilis, please grant me your gentle touch, so I don't have to deal with this any more.

She paused for a few seconds, glancing towards the ceiling, half expecting the End of All Wisdom to materialize above them to drag her into the stars and sparing her this torment. But Orabilis had never been so kind. Sighing as the great demon failed to appear, Versi turned down to the test a second time, sub-vocalising the descending order of ranks as she scrawled her way through the titles of that bygone era. Daimyo, Taimyo, Kazei, Taizei....

Spoiler

Show

Lore roll (5d10)[31]
Stunt roll (3d10)[22]

What is the ideal deployment pattern for a Warstrider Scale?

What's a Warstrider?

The question baffled Versi as she looked at it. She blinked, before reading the question again, wondering if she'd misread it, but no. Warstrider. The young Exalt tapped her pen upon the ink well repeatedly, trying to use the sound to focus her mind back. She had heard Braga talk about all kinds of strange animals; Yeddim, River Dragons, Cats, but never a Warstrider. What did they look like? What did they eat? How was riding them so important that it merited a question like this, surrounded by so many others that seemed much harder? Shogunate era titles and culture to 'how many cavalry do we need'?

She looked down the page towards the following questions: the smelting procedure for a Daiklave, proper maintenance of a damaged Manse, correct etiquette when attending a Raksha court session. Again, the Warstriders seemed thoroughly out of place. These questions were the sort of thing Mr. Braga would've probably been asked back at the... Heptagram.

Versi could've laughed in glee, the trick finally dawning on her at last. They were on to the essence user style of questions! So, a Warstrider was likely some kind of First Age combat artifact or construct, something a nation like Lookshy could field in large numbers. The question was about support staff: how many do you field per scale of Warstriders? Well, a scale's twenty five, right? So, play it safe and say each one merits a team of ten maintenance staff, including a Dragon Blood to oversee them? Plus a Dragon Blooded operator or handler for each. Fifty Dragons, two hundred and twenty five mortals? Ideally? She scratched away ferociously, smiling to herself before flipping the page with gusto, eager for what came next.

Spoiler

Show

Occult roll (7d10)[40]
Stunt roll (3d10)[12]

You encounter an unbound demon, rampaging through the streets. You have no advance warning, no time to prepare. How do you deal with this situation?

And so, she got the Malfean question. This had been something the young Lunar had been hoping for, and here it was. This should have raised a massive pearly smile on Versi's face: this was the question she should be able to answer, if anyone could. A legitimate question on demons, and dealing with them outside of sorcerous bindings: something she had more experience in than anyone in the room!

But she had no idea what to put for it! She couldn't deal with a demon, she avoided them, for her own safety. That was how she'd survived growing up in Malfeas! And the question was stupid anyway. Every demon was its own being, as much as the Creation Born, all of them had their own idiosyncrasies and personal ticks, and agendas. If they were unbound in Creation, there were all kinds of different things they might seek to do, from rampant destruction to going to the local bar for a drink and to try and start a cult. How could you deal with all...

Slowly, a faint grin started to spread across the young traveller's face. She took a faint breath, before writing down one simple word upon the page, ink as black as the Ebon Dragon.

Music.

She looked down at the word for a moment, doubts rising up again. That was almost certainly not what the examiner had meant. She was probably supposed to outline some Dragon-Blooded Charm. But placing a line through the word would just tar the paper further, and it was a truthful, accurate answer. Versi took a deep breath, and begun a new paragraph as she started to elaborate, pen for the first time flowing with the swift firm control and unquestioning confidence you might expect of a dynast. Versi is sure of herself now.

A vast majority of demons have a fascination with music and dance. This dates to the Yozi's original Primordial form as originators of those concepts. Malfeas has been known to dance through the city in Jotun form, and Kimbery's waves gavotte when the Sea is amused. Proper utilization of the performing arts can distract many demons: especially one that is openly rampaging and unbound, thus not engaged upon some other task. It is worth noting however, that poor quality performances will likely draw a demon's ire. This could potentially be useful or dangerous, depending on your state of combat readiness. Using bad song to lure a demon into a trap, whilst novel, could potentially prove highly effective.

Question done, Versi read it over once again, grin finally returning. She couldn't quite shake the feeling that she'd included something in her answer that she probably shouldn't have, but she couldn't think what. She hadn't said anything praising the Yozis, or anything that should reveal she'd been in Malfeas herself... nodding in self affirmation, she turned the page a final time, heading towards the close of the paper.

Spoiler

Show

Occult roll, spending 4 motes of personal on Second Int Excellency for two guaranteed successes. Adding dice for Demons speciality, figuring that could show up in an occult test administered by Lookshy, if only as a defensive measure. If not, deduct two dice from the end of this roll (9d10)[53]
Stunt roll (3d10)[15]

Versi was still scribbling frantically as the time starts to run out, frowning once again as fresh challenges presented themselves in the final pages. Try as she might, the idea of expressing her thoughts through the written word remained sorely vexing to the little Lunar. She was still sketching out a rough map of the Scavenger Lands in an attempt to illustrate travel times from Nexus to Great Forks whilst the hourglass on the instructor's desk finally started to run dry, heralding the end of the exam.

Spoiler

Show

:( Sorry guys, I'm not used to needing Rolv tags. More used to Mythweavers which has that function automatically. Rolled all dice again in the OOC, here

[Ascension]

With his own test complete, Braga's thoughts drift to Versi. He slides his finished papers further away from himself as his eyes drift toward her as well, hoping that the examiner will recognize that his interest is merely fatherly concern, not some ill-considered attempt to cheat. As he watches her scribble furiously away at her own test, he sends a brief prayer toward... someone, not quite knowing what power to invoke to her benefit. He knows the questions he'd found to be child's play actually aren't, and that the weaknesses of her education will likely be exposed, but that is well and good. That's the purpose of this exam, ensuring that she receives the education that is due her.

He just hopes she understands that.

[The_Snark]

Isa nods. "Yes. It would be very easy to come to rely on her; her talents are useful, and she's only a threat in the distant future, and the Deathlords and Yozis are moving now…"

She shakes her head, composing her next words.

"We talked some, on the way here. I explained what happened in the First Age, what we did and why - she knew enough about us already, and would learn the rest in Yu-Shan, and I thought it would be better if she didn't hear it only from Gold voices. She understood. Her recollections of the First Age are... unpleasant, I gather. There were nightmares. And I think she's used to the idea, that maybe she was already afraid of becoming a monster - she was raised Immaculate. She hasn't abandoned that, even if she knows the faith isn't literally true."

"I don't think she wants power for its own sake. I suspect she thinks of the Realm as home, even if she's never truly lived there, and of the Dragon-Blooded as its rightful rulers. But she sees problems with the world, and if she has to pursue power or build alliances with herself as lynchpin to fix them, I think she will."

"She thinks what we did is right. But she doesn't think it's working anymore. She believes the Cleansing will be whittled down in an endless war against the Solars, the Lunars, the deathknights, the raksha, these new Yozi-Exalts... The Realm is weakening. Heaven is divided against itself. She thinks we're fighting a losing battle."

Another grimace. "It is... hard to disagree with her, on that point."

She resumes. "That's one of the points she'll make, that we need to try something new. It needn't necessarily involve her - I think she would be happy enough to see the Realm made safe and the Mask of Winters destroyed - but she is not so saintly that she never thinks of her own future. The other point... I told her about the Vision of Gold, and I think she latched onto that chance: that if there was some way to save the Solars at the height of their madness and decadence, there must be a way to do it now, while they're still young and unformed."

"But I don't think she knows how."

"Still. That'll be the thrust of her argument to you, I think: that we can't just keep going as we have been, and that the Solars are dangerous but not certain doom."