A Tangled Web We Weave (IC)

[Ifni]

"Unfortunately, Creation has no shortage of fools. As you'll learn - people are quick to think that they will be different, that they'll get the best of the devil's bargain." There is a faintly irate note in the Elder's voice. "But so. Imagine that you are on Creation on an unrelated mission, and have just discovered such a situation. Beginning with the unbound Second Circle soul. How would you proceed?"

[Maugan Ra]

"The instinctive reaction is 'run away'." Lotus says dryly. "Or, to be more specific... obtain as much information as I can about the demon, it's location and current or future activities. Then retreat and inform the nearest outpost of military forces capable of defeating it. Which is likely either a Realm garrison, with several Dragon-Blooded, or a heavenly detachment."

He shrugs. "Not the most glorious option, but I'm realistic about my capabilities. I cannot take a Second Circle demon in a straight fight, not as I am. In the future, that may change, but we're dealing with the here-and-now. The most good I could do would be to gather information and return with reinforcements, giving those forces what extra help I could."

[Ifni]

"Let us suppose for the moment that returning to Heaven for backup is not an acceptable option. So. You have a Realm garrison to rally against an unbound demon. Given that the vast majority of Realm citizens, even the Dragon-Blooded, do not remember what we are, if they ever knew - what approach do you take?"

Chejop refills his cup, takes another sip of tea, and raises an eyebrow at Lotus. "We will presume, for the sake of argument, that your primary cover identity is not Dragon-Blooded."

[Maugan Ra]

"I pose as a mortal Immaculate monk." Lotus says, almost immediately. "It serves to explain my presence in just about any quarter of Creation, and provides a strong cover story for why I would possess such knowledge about supernatural and demonic matters. If I have a suitable Resplendent Destiny available, then all to the good, but it wouldn't arouse too much suspicion if the garrison found themselves unable to later remember any sort of exact details about me - especially since I'd have justification for departing shortly thereafter."

He ruminates for a moment. "I am certainly skilled enough at mundane combat to pass for one of the Order, and provided I don't need to draw on too much essence, I should be able to draw on a charm here and there to tip the scales."

[Ifni]

"Hmm." Lotus' words elicit little reaction - a slight nod, a faint crinkling of the eyes - but there is a sense that the Elder is pleased. "But your infernalists, in this case, are locally respected and well-connected, even if impoverished and weak by the standards of the great families. Suppose, say, that the commander of the local garrison regularly dines with Kalisi Ascera, and there are rumors that he is courting her niece. Then?"

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus finds his smile widening as the hypothetical situation grows ever-more-complex. "Then I focus my reports upon the demon, rather than it's summoners, perhaps relegating them to an 'unknown', so that the captain can do his duty without qualms." he responds promptly. "Depending on the situation, it may be possible to frame the scenario as a rescue mission, wherein he can save his beloved and her family from the terrifying monster. A bit of extra motivation is always nice."

He thinks for a moment. "Afterwards, I look into the niece's background. If she appears unassociated with the demonic summoning, then arranging a true match between her and the captain in the wake of the disgrace and likely demise of the senior members of her family might be a good way to return stability to the region."

[Ifni]

"Good. Yes, if someone's about to be faced with a difficult decision, a choice between friendship and duty - it's generally better to let them see for themselves, convince themselves. Although you can put a thumb on the scales. And when they must choose duty - it can be useful for them to believe that the ones they care about were innocent victims of a demon's wiles, so their rage is properly directed at the demon and not at themselves or people they trusted. It's a comforting illusion, and largely a harmless one."

The Elder clearly isn't just talking about the example to hand, anymore.

"Moving on to an issue of... somewhat broader scope." Chejop studies the younger Sidereal. "You have not visited Creation very often since you came to Yu-Shan, I believe. Yes, the Empress rules; yes, she controls the Sword. But you have presumably reviewed the Lookshy campaigns, which stand as evidence that she will not use the Sword indiscriminately against her foes."

"Which is not a criticism. That is only to say she is sane. Use of the Sword on the Threshold would devastate the Blessed Isle, and with it her legitimacy. But as you observed, she is young, with little family yet. The Sword is her greatest strength but in some ways its sheer power renders it difficult to apply. She has allies but they invested much in the Eastern campaigns and are weakened as a result. Her less... enthusiastic... supporters, who stood on the sidelines and conserved their own resources, observe Lookshy and especially Vondy Beulen, and see both a preservation of the traditions of the Shogunate and an example that defiance of the Empress need not be fatal."

The Elder pauses for a moment, letting that sink in.

"Consider a hypothetical situation in which discontent among certain Dragon-Blooded families has reached the level of active conspiracy - muted on the Blessed Isle, more open in their Threshold holdings. You argued earlier for the value of a unified Realm. What steps would you recommend?"

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As a note on timelines: many of the major institutions of the Realm have been formed, but some are not in their present form - the first ministries and magistrates were set up about 60 years ago, but on the canon timeline, the Thousand Scales won't reach a stable equilibrium for about another century. The Legions and the All-Seeing Eye exist, though.

Also, at the moment there is no Realm Deliberative, even the rubber-stamp institution of the Empress' late reign; the Empress is an absolute ruler with a council of advisors and deputies.

[Maugan Ra]

"Work out what, precisely, the conspirators desire. It it personal hatred of the Empress that drives them? Or is it simply a desire for power and self-governance?" Lotus says slowly, mulling it over. "Everything else... all the possible options... depend on their motivations."

He says nothing about the Elder's initial remark, on the importance of comforting illusions. He might not be the most socially adept among the Fellowship, but even he can see the signs in that slight tangent, and can guess at the consequences for pressing on them.

[Ifni]

"Individual motivations may be assumed to vary," Chejop replies, after a moment. "Even without detailed intelligence - in some cases it will likely be a personal grudge. People for whom the Empress' strike against the Fair Folk came just a little too late to save what they loved, or whose lands were ruined by the use of the Sword while old rivals' homes were left untouched, or whose friends or kin have been labeled enemies of the Realm. In most cases, though, pride and self-interest are likely more important motivations. As well as genuinely held loyalties that happen to be more local and familial than national."

He leans back slightly, and opens the hand that isn't holding his teacup. "So assuming wide variation, but that those who simply hate the Empress and would only be content with her death are a small subset of the conspiracy... continue."

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus shrugs. "Set them against each other." he says simply. "Or rather, have the Empress set them against one another. Give them power in competing areas of influence, and opportunities for advancement that require them to discard their current allies in the conspiracy. Identify those who truly do hate her and will not be swayed, and remove them with precision and subtlety."

He smiles thinly. "There is a saying I quite like. 'Put a man in chains, and he shall fight to be free. Put him in power, and he shall fight to stay there'. I don't know enough about the precise personalities involved, or the developing power structure of the Realm, to offer specific case-by-case advice... but if those who lost much to the Sword are given new lands and domains to administer and rule, perhaps with a few comments about how the Empress regrets the harsh necessity of her previous actions, then they may very well find themselves indebted to her and invested in keeping their benefactor around. Purely as a hypothetical example, of course."

[Ifni]

The Elder nods. "There is much to be said for salvaging talent where one can. Creation can little afford waste. Any other suggestions, or refinements on what you've said previously?" There is - hard to see, but present - a flicker of faint ironic amusement in his green eyes.

[Maugan Ra]

"Nothing comes to mind right now." Lotus returns, taking a sip of his tea. He raises an eyebrow. "Is something I said amusing?"

"...please don't tell me I've been saying exactly the same things as my Sifu. He'll never let me hear the end of it."

[Ifni]

"Heh." The old Sidereal chuckles. "You'll figure it out." He sets down his empty teacup. "Your general strategy is sensible, although there are other resources to be considered. Just as one example, there are plenty of ties between the various families - marriage, kinship, shared education and training, joint military service. That makes these conspiracies easier to spread, but it can also be a tool for unwinding them, provided the rot is not universal. But you have the idea, and you're not here for a lecture."

After a moment of silence, Chejop Kejak stands up, stepping over to look out the window, a dark shrouded silhouette against the city lights. His movements do not quite have the flowing grace of Anys Syn - just a quiet, almost unnoticeable efficiency in motion.

"I've enjoyed our discussion, Lotus. When you've finished your tea, just leave the cup, no need to clean up. Do take the Silver Needle urn with you, though; I know Aumin enjoys it."

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Feel free to write parting remarks or thoughts as Lotus leaves, but unless you want to say something substantial, I think that's the end of the conversation.

[Maugan Ra]

A wry smile on his face, Lotus rises to his feet, picking up the small urn of Silver Needle as he does so.

"A pleasure, sir. Though I do get the oddest feeling that we had about three more conversations there than I was entirely aware of." he says dryly, before making a short bow and turning to leave.

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Yup, I think we're good there. So hey, first scene, concluded!

[Ifni]

Only silence with the hint of a smile in it answers Lotus' bow. As the young Shieldbearer walks down the pebbled path, the lamp-light shining through the windows behind him goes out. Still, the crimson radiance of Mars and a thousand thousand lesser stars illuminate the way through the gardens well enough.

It is a few days later when a messenger god drops off a finely calligraphed card to Lotus' office, inviting him to a new play at the Plum Rain Theater. On arrival at the theater he is greeted warmly by Ascending Cloud, a Chosen of Journeys nearing her first millennium, and the apparent instigator of the outing. Most of the other Sidereals seated in the private box are between their second and fifth centuries, and all - at least to Lotus' knowledge - are in good standing with the Bronze. After the play there is a group dinner at a restaurant significantly more expensive than Lotus would frequent on his own, and wine flowing freely, and discussions both serious and light-hearted.

After that, every few days seems to bring another invitation - to teas, to music and poetry recitals, to stargazing parties. All of it serving to confirm what Lotus already knew: a new Sidereal's sifu and superiors may judge when their initial training is complete, but acceptance as a member of the faction that guides Creation rests on Chejop Kejak's word alone.

It is also in these few halcyon weeks that Lotus receives his initial convention assignments, to the Convention on War, the Sub-Convention on the Wyld, and the Central Convention. An idle comment by one of his seniors in the Convention of War suggests that Lotus' selection was probably motivated by his ability to get on with members of the different divisions - a talent amply tested in the first convention-sponsored war games after his arrival. Chosen of Serenity, it turns out, can be very acerbic when forced to leave their luxurious offices in the Cerulean Lute to spend three days on the practice fields of the Crimson Panoply.

Central Convention meetings tend to move quickly - disconcertingly so, for one new to the Convention. A great deal of background knowledge is assumed; for Lotus, there is much to learn. And yet it is fascinating to see the methods by which a mighty nation is shaped.

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Lotus may gain:
+Backing 1 (Central Convention)
+Backing 1 (Convention on War)
+1 dot of Socialize

If you want to change anything on your sheet that you haven't already used, feel free. If there are new things you would like to particularly focus on during this period, let me know - you effectively have 3BP to play with.

While several weeks are passing, you do not have that much training time, because you have a job to do. Raising stuff that's Instantaneous training-time-wise is fine, as is anything for which your job would count as training time (Bureaucracy and Socialize being the main ones here). Anything else, ask. If you want to raise an Attribute or something else that takes a while, and think you can justify it, then you can likely leverage Backgrounds (Backing, Connections, Mentor) for Gift of Knowledge, but how frequently you can do it will be limited by your rating in the relevant Backgrounds.

Once you've figured out what if anything you want to work on during downtime, I'll write out the post for your first mission assignment (I initially wrote mission briefing, but nah, actually giving people information before throwing them in the deep end seems uncharacteristic...)

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus always has possessed the ability to get on with just about anyone who crosses his path, it is true. And yet, in those long days of social engagements and impromptu meetings, he finds his innate talents being given a considerably greater workout than he had ever expected. He learns to fit into dozens of different scenes in rapid succession, playing an endless parade of roles with confidence and skill, and if at first he stays quiet and watchful, by the end he is almost fully adapted, engaging in spirited conversation with his fellow faction members as though he has known them for centuries.

Of course, such on-the-job training carries other benefits as well. It's amazing, just how much of an insight into the workings and personages of Yu-Shan one can get from attending the opening of a new play, for example.

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Sheet has been updated. I decided to spend those effective points on dots of Socialise, Bureaucracy and Occult. All of which reached 3, and thus gained me specialities in 'Social Chameleon', 'Celestial Bureacracy', and 'Gods', respectively.

Things like Connection ratings and Salary will have to wait for a more-easily justified moment, I think.

[Ifni]

Episode 1: Against The Odds
10 Descending Earth, RY 100

The box sitting on Lotus' desk is small, and precisely square, polished dark wood with a paler inlay in a simple abstract pattern decorating the lid. It wasn't there when he left the office five minutes earlier, to drop off some paperwork.

Inside is a tightly wrapped scroll of fine paper, tied with a red ribbon. It unfurls at his touch. The calligraphy inside is elegant, angular Old Realm, written in dark red ink.

To: Unfolding Lotus of Gentle Summer.
From: Office of Hu Dai Liang, Division of Battles, Sub-Directorate of Unlikely Triumphs.

You are ordered to proceed to Creation to resolve the projected causal nexus disruption identified by Case Number 7587-W-3336-t47.

Mission Profile:
1 Ascending Wood, Sunrise Gap, Arjuf Province, the Blessed Isle.
On this day, ensure that the peasant Falling Light wins the annual spring horse-race sponsored by Leranis Feiyan.
Be advised that a substantial number of Dragon-Blooded will be in attendance.
Estimated probability of intervention by local spirits: 84.3%.
Estimated probability of intervention by other Celestial Exalts: 1.4%.
Estimated probability of intervention by raksha: 0.3%.
Estimated probability of intervention by demonic forces: 4.6%.

Turning over the scroll in his hands, Lotus will notice a small piece of parchment held to it with a paper-clip. The message on it is written in tiny, flowing High Realm, the new language of the Empress' court.

Secondary desirable objectives:

• Arrange for Rawar of Arjuf to acquire at least a bar of jade.
• Arrange the financial embarrassment of Taras Saiko.
• Determine the degree to which Taras Saiko is aware of Taras Chamin's current activities.

[Maugan Ra]

Lotus stares at the piece of paper for a long moment, and then sighs. "A horse race." he says to himself, quietly. "I know... absolutely bloody nothing about horses. And now they give me just over two weeks to somehow fix a horse race in favour of the mortal against a team of Dragon-Blooded."

One hand instinctively comes up to massage his brow. Well, I guess no one ever said that keeping Creation running was going to be easy. So, let's see. I need full information and profiles on Falling Light, Lernais Feiyan, Rawar of Arjuf, and both Taras Saiko and Chamin. Then I suppose I need anything I can find about this horse race... just in case it happens to be a recurring event... and the identities of all the local spirits who might take an interest.

Paperwork. Joy.

Wishing vaguely that he hadn't drunk the last of the tea already, Lotus settles himself behind his desk and begins filling out the appropriate forms, each stamped with the small 'priority' mark indicating their relevance to an ongoing Bureau assignment. The glittering green essence of the small secretary-spider appears on the desk as well.

Efficient Secretary Technique might just be my favourite charm. Of all time.

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So, yeah. I do know that requisitioning formal reports on all these individuals is well within the authority of a Sidereal, though most of it is literally just getting a lower-ranked god to grab the filed paperwork from somewhere in the archives. Provided they haven't been sealed, anyway.

Assume the use of that and the google-spider over the next few hours (or days, depending) to basically get as much preliminary data as I possibly can on the situation and the participants.

[/I]

[Ifni]

Given the location of his office, it doesn't take Lotus long to find several detailed maps of Arjuf Province. The goddess who accepts his requisition forms, on the other hand, gives him a rather mournful look, glances at her overflowing in-tray, and murmurs behind her hand that he might do better checking the library himself. Lotus' pointed hints regarding urgent missions ordered by the office of Hu Dai Liang elicit the suggestion that perhaps he could ask Jennet-of-the-Ravens, who used to have a sanctum in that part of Creation, once upon a time.

After ploughing through several hours of bureaucratic obstruction, Lotus eventually returns to his office with an armful of maps, a travelogue on the Jaen-Ha plains recommended by Jennet, a report with the ink still damp (written by a history-minded intern who kept checking her notes and glancing nervously at the Sidereal) on the fall and rise of the family Leranis, the cover sheet of the (apparently checked-out) official file on Taras Chamin, and a journal written by a Shieldbearer (who must be deceased, since Lotus doesn't recognize his name) describing the campaign against the Seven Tigers.

In the meantime, his spider-secretary has been busy, the little Essence-construct chittering responses into Lotus' ear.

Falling Light is the sixteen-year-old daughter of the peasants White Petal (deceased) and Eight Mountains.
Her maternal grandparents were named Spring Morning and Swift Fire, both deceased.
Her paternal grandparents were named Abundant Pearl and Fortunate Ash, both deceased.
She resides in the Sign of Three Lemons inn, owned by Gracious Rain, sister of White Petal, and her husband Red Hawk.
Her profession is apprentice innkeeper. Subcategories: clerk, bartender, janitor.
Subject and all known relatives are mortal, but Falling Light's thread has been tagged in the Loom in furtherance of Category 7587-W-3336.

The Terrestrial gods Blossoming Pale Foam, Verdant Arrow, and Ansha Silver-Maned maintain sanctums within ten miles of Sunrise Gap. There are no organized elemental courts within that radius.

After a brief confusion wherein Lotus receives a recitation of the equine entrants and their pedigrees (the professions are rather monotonous), the spider provides a rather short list of names of human competitors. None, from this list, appear to be Dragon-Blooded. There is one God-Blood currently in contention, named White Willow Blaze; his mother is listed as Blossoming Pale Foam, a local river spirit.

Taras Chamin is a Water Aspect, son of Taras Kailen and Daimyo Taras Tianwei... The spider continues with the Dragon-Blood's lineage - his parents and grandparents were also Water-Aspected - finishing with: Profession: local governor. Place of residence: the Pagoda of Cascading Pearls, Juche.

Taras Saiko is a Water Aspect, son of Lihen Minoko and Taras Chamin... The spider repeats his lineage, adding Lihen Sakoro and Vondy Maheri as maternal grandparents, and adds, Current profession: traveling magistrate.

While Lotus waits for his Essence to replenish itself between questions, he studies his haul of documents.

Sunrise Gap is a town on the banks of the Caracal River where it flows down from the mountains onto the Jaen-Ha plains, in the northeast corner of Arjuf. It's a little less than two hundred miles west of the Eighth Gate, through the mountains. Due to its geographic location it was always a trading post; that led to its devastation in the Contagion. Leranis Feiyan is a Wood Aspect of only middling bloodline, but a keen eye for opportunity (at least, according to the intern's rather glowing account): after the Contagion and the devastation wrought by the Sword, she took the lead in rebuilding the ruined and plague-cursed town of Sunrise Gap.

The Jaen-Ha plains raise most of the horses of the Isle; Sunrise Gap is the waypoint for many herders sending their animals through the mountains to Juche or down the river to the rest of Arjuf. The regular horse races sponsored by Lady Leranis are held in conjunction with large horse fairs; they are (according to the travelogue) generally considered the highlights of the year in Sunrise Gap, and draw buyers, sellers and gamblers from quite some distance around.

The spring race is the first such event of the calendar year. Success in the spring race may afford free entry into later, more lucrative races, for the horse or the rider. The Dragon-Blooded do not compete at this stage, except sometimes children who have just Exalted; it's thought to be beneath their dignity. Instead, Dragon-Blooded guests are usually present to make business deals, to gamble, to support entrants representing their families, and to keep an eye out for horses worth buying or riders worth recruiting. Lady Leranis is a shrewd saleswoman, and aware of people's need for entertainment even while rebuilding a shattered world - and the prize money in the later races can be tempting to Dragon-Bloods who are impoverished by their own standards, even if wealthy compared to the vast majority of the Isle.

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Let's start with that for the moment

That part of the objective isn't "have the mortal win against DBs", it's "persuade a kid who's never ridden a horse to enter the race, and have her win against a bunch of experienced mortal riders". It is intentional that anything involving horses is a little out of Lotus' comfort zone

[Maugan Ra]

"Oh, great. A family spat between the governor and his magistrate son. Desirable secondary objectives my foot." Lotus murmurs to himself as he studies the sheathe of notes he's been making about the upcoming mission. "Well, at least the lack of Exalted competitors makes life a bit easier. OK, well, best to get a move on. I'll need some supplies..."

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OK, so, time to get properly prepared. Now I know that having the Backing of the Central Convention should allow me to requisition some minor supplies for a mission in the region - all I actually want is a jade hearthstone amulet, to slot my Jewel of the Celestial Mandarin into. Beyond that, grab some decent quality clothes that won't look too out of place in the region, convert a portion of my Salary to the local currency, and head for the Eighth Gate. I'll detail the actual physical gear in a bit, assuming I'm interpreting things right.

Perhaps more important is the creation of my Resplendent Destinies. Would it be acceptable to skip over the complicated rolls here, since I only want them for a month or so (a single success) and have no intention of making serious use of the astrology powers just yet?

[Ifni]

Emerging from his office, Lotus nearly bumps into his sifu, the Elder's hand raised to knock on the door.

"Hello Lotus. I wanted to check in on... hmm." He takes in the piles of paper on Lotus' desk and the sheaf of notes in his hands. "New project?"

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Yep, you can absolutely use Backing to requisition temporary artifacts - this is in the ambit of the Central Convention, and it's actually a Crimson Panoply of Victory mission (judging by the office it was sent from) relevant to the Convention on War (if you check the meaning of the case number), so you can draw on both of those.

It's not officially a Bronze mission, but there was that extra note clipped to the official briefing, and you've heard the name Taras Chamin before...

The rule for Backing is that you can use it to get virtual Backgrounds up to your dot rating in the Background. So you can get up to three dots worth of one-dot artifacts if you draw on your three Backing ratings, or you can use those dots for Connections 1 /Manse 1 /Ally 1 etc. (And yeah, jade hearthstone amulet is no problem at all.)

As for astrology, let's play it out a little - I want to see how it works out in practice (if the effect roll is completely impossible, we need to know that so we can houserule), and these are Lotus' first RDs. If you're worried about the rolls, well, there are some advantages to having an Elder Chosen of Serenity as your mentor And the astrological powers can be quite neat, I'd like you to have them available as an option.

EDIT: Of course if you really don't want to play it out, we can skip ahead.

[Maugan Ra]

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Fair enough, we'll play out the Resplendent Destiny making. After this conversation with Aumin.

"Yup. Arjuf province, and I need to arrange an unlikely triumph in a horse race. I know nothing about horses." Lotus says, though he is still smiling. It's even genuine, as the seeds of an idea begin germinating in the back of his mind. "Still, I don't have to set off right this second. What was it you wanted?"

[Ifni]

"Nothing of great significance - I wanted to see if you'd wrapped up that check on the Sarcin offshoot, and since I was stopping by anyway, Cloud asked me to invite you to a moon-watching party tomorrow, assuming Luna's still ahead in the Games by then. But so. Your first independent mission."

Aumin chuckles softly. "Horses aren't so bad. At least they're herbivorous. If you were in one of the Threshold conventions..." His tone grows more serious. "I'm sure you'll do fine, Lotus." He eyes the office. "Catching up on background reading, first? Always wise. What's your timescale?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Hmm? Ah, the Sarcin. Yeah, turns out the tribe intermingled with a fleeing refuge column during the Crusade, though Wyld taint means establishing precisely which city or region the column originally came from is damn near impossible. Point being at least a couple of the Dragon-Blooded leading it took the opportunity to strike up a short term exotic romance. Nothing too unexpected, and I think it's all worked out now for the conflict forecasts."

He shrugs. "Convey my regrets about missing the party, but duty calls. The competition is held on the first of Ascending Wood, so just over two weeks as a timescale. I was going to finish up my covers and head off this evening - the real difficulty is going to be convincing the desired winner to actually enter, so I want to leave as much time as possible for that."

He snaps his fingers, and the small green spider crawls out of one sleeve to perch upon his shoulder. "Ah, that reminds me. Please confirm the domains of the gods Verdant Arrow and Ansha Silver-Maned." he says to it, and the construct gives a small cheep of acknowledgement and then vanishes. "Don't want to make my plan around an unverified assumption. That's just asking for trouble."

[Ifni]

"Ah. What covers do you have in mind?" Aumin stands back from the door. "If you were heading out, I'll walk with you; I can defer my afternoon's work for this."

He frowns briefly at Lotus. "What equipment are you taking?"

Verdant Arrow is a god of the forest and the hunt; his purview is localized to the wooded foothills watered by the Caracal River.

Ansha Silver-Maned is a goddess of mares and newborn foals, honored by the people of the northeastern Jaen-Ha plains.

[Maugan Ra]

"I was thinking something under the Quiver, a young Terrestrial prodigy on break from his education." Lotus says amiably, closing his office door behind him and walking off in the general direction of the Central Convention offices, his Sifu at his side. "Gives me a degree of access to those Exalted who are taking an interest in the event, and justifies a youthful curiousity."

He frowns slightly as the information on Ansha Silver-Maned comes back - he'd been hoping for a more general horse-deity, but that was probably irrational. Still, she would probably be able to help strengthen or weaken the steeds as required, and a concise domain was a pretty good source of potential influence. "Likely a professor for the second. The desired victor is a mortal, and I'm thinking that offering a full education on a scholarship if she performs well in the competition would be a decent motivating factor. Might even be able to make it a genuine incentive as well, who knows."

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Actually, the House of Bells is in the Arjuf province. Has that been opened yet?

"As for gear... that, I'd not quite decided just yet. It's a reasonably civilized area, and built around a trading hub besides, so it's only really specialist stuff that I'd need to consider in advance. Any recommendations?"

[Ifni]

"Under the Treasure Trove, I presume? Reasonable. Those constellations have some useful powers, as well. Although when you get back, training in the Rising Smoke might not be a bad idea: it facilitates communication."

Aumin taps his fingers together as he walks.

"You should take a weapon. Maybe requisition some easily concealed armor. Where you're going may be civilized enough, but even on the Isle, the less settled areas have trouble with wild animals and bandits - and sometimes more supernatural dangers. They may pose no threat to you, but it will still look peculiar if you're traveling unarmed. If you need some tips on how to use common weapons with the techniques you've been taught, we can go over that in the dojo before you leave..."

The pair turns onto the smooth white jade path leading up to the headquarters of the Central Convention.

"You did well enough in wilderness training... hrrm. In terms of what you'll be unlikely to find for sale, I'd suggest taking some medicines and talismans; they're still rare in Creation. So many trained healers were the first to die in the Contagion. Although... hmm. How are you planning to get to your target? Is it close to a Gate?"

The older Sidereal is fishing around in the pockets of his jacket; he eventually comes up with what appears to be a round starmetal coin, engraved with a fine tracery of orichalcum. "In any event, take this. It's a communication module, I'll teach you the prayer to activate it. I have others. If you need help or information, you can leave a message with Taru-Kul through it, and she'll pass it on to the intended recipient. You can use the same prayer to check for messages left for you."

"That said." Aumin raises a finger in warning. "Such messages are recorded in her archives." He smiles impishly. "Not that I think you'll come running for help at every little setback. But should you need it..." He presses the disc into Lotus' hand.

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I was considering offering silken armor, but requisitioning a 1-dot starmetal chain shirt to hide under your clothes is probably better on a temporary basis if you want protection, since you don't have any styles or abilities that forbid armor.

So have a Prayer Transceiver Module instead. Aumin's trying to avoid interfering too much with your plans - this is meant to be a chance to prove yourself, and if he helps too much it'll weaken the impact of whatever you achieve - but he does want to make sure that you don't get into more trouble than you can handle. And PTMs are generally useful, provided that people you want to talk to have them as well.

[Maugan Ra]

"Ah, much obliged." Lotus says cheerfully, flicking the small and gleaming coin-shaped device into the air and letting it drop neatly into a spare pocket. "Though thanks for reminding me about travel on the other side of the gate. It looks to be about a week's travel, assuming I can borrow passage on a river boat or a cart or something. I don't have anything pre-arranged, if that's what you mean."

He nods thoughtfully at the advice. "I'll be sure to requisition some appropriate supplies before I go. And some extra training in the Dojo is always welcome... while we're there, actually, might I borrow your anima for getting those covers set up? I can probably handle it myself, but a bit of extra reinforcement is always handy."

[Ifni]

"You can probably arrange a horse -" Aumin smiles a little at the look on Lotus' face. "Which gate are you going through? Most have some kind of shrine or house built around them, you can seek aid from the custodians. Roads in Arjuf are typically pretty good, except when they've been broken by an earthquake or something and not repaired. Rivers... if you're going along the Caracal or the coast, a boat will be a good option, but across the northern plains most folk use horses. Or at least, that's how it was last time I was in the area."

"And yes, of course I'll help you with the astrology. Making one's first Resplendencies can be a little tricky."

He looks up at the wide double doors. "Now, what are we picking up here?"

[Maugan Ra]

"Just a few things. Doesn't hurt to be prepared."

Spoiler

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OK, I'd like to get:
- A Jade hearthstone amulet. There's no particular magical material benefit that makes it worth spending the extra motes needed to harmonize with Jade, but it's much easier to fit it into a Dragon-Blooded cover identity.
- A Starmetal chain shirt, because yeah, that makes a lot of sense.
- A short sword and a short bow, with some arrows of various types.
- General travelling supplies and supplemental disguise options that will, quite frankly, be better suited to being worked into later stunts than being defined in advance.
- And yeah, medicines and the odd talisman, though I'm not sure how many of those would be viable for my currently limited background to borrow.

His supplies collected and signed for, Lotus rejoins his Sifu outside the Depot. "So, the dojo, then? And on the way, what have you been up to lately? I've lost track lately, though whatever it is doesn't appear to done you much harm."