Cascade Failure (Aurethius' Exalted) [IC]

[AmberVael]

Radiance

The ghosts were on the run, leaving only Roaring Tiger as an adversary. Radiance takes a slow, calming breath, and then flicks her chain down to her hand, steeling herself to her task. If she was truly a chosen of the Neverborn, bringing death should be easy.
"There is no escape from the all-consuming mouth of the Void."
She whirls the chain around herself, drawing on the darkness that she had released- accepting it, embracing it. It trails her movement as she leaps forwards, following the chain as if she had a living shadow.
Mustering what strength she has, she strikes out at Roaring Tiger with her chain and the strength of her Abyssal essence.

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Attack time!
Dexterity+Martial Arts+2 attuned (she's finally met the requirements for her own weapon. About time).
(10d10)[10][4][8][9][2][7][9][6][4][5](64)

Also, I'm spending 8 personal motes to get 4 automatic successes with my Second Excellency.

(Edit: Total should be 10 then, right?)

Damage is 8B+2Strength and possibly some other modifier I can't think of.

[Horatio@Bridge]

Roaring Tiger spins around Kyushin to dodge Song's elbow, but finds himself face to face with Radiance at the Edge of the Void. Her chain smashes into his face, but the tough ghost simply stands and takes it. His eyes burn with hatred as he confronts the Abyssal.

"I've heard of you, apostate. You may have fooled the hungry souls that support me, but I will not bow before your false authority!"

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So far, Master Tiger has taken 6L damage. He's got a really high bashing soak, so Radiance pings.

(3d10)[5][4][2](11)

Darn!

Well, Kyeudo, care to get in on this?

[Kyeudo]

Kaliel

"Then you can bow before a true prince!" The ghostly martial artist only has time to turn and see Kaliel ride up behind him before the prince delivers a backhanded slash across the specter's face.

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Spending 10 personal motes on the First Melee Excellency.
Attack:(25d10)[9][7][5][5][6][4][1][3][1][2][5][3][5][9][4][9][7][10][8][9][10][6][6][8][4](146)

[AmberVael]

Radiance

"False authority?"
Radiance looks at Roaring Tiger with cold eyes, a small smirk on her face.
"I'd say that blood leaking from you says otherwise. Or do you think I'd be able to grant protection from those I'd betrayed? It is no falsehood that struck out at you for disobeying me."

[Horatio@Bridge]

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Tick 11--Radiance, Hungry Ghosts, Kaliel, Mei Mei
Tick 12--Partheo, Moulsha, Roaring Tiger, Serilia
Tick 13--Lotus, Kyushin
Tick 14--War Ghosts, Shugotenshi
Tick 15--Kaliel
Tick 16--Radiance, Mei Mei
Tick 17--Roaring Tiger

Note--I'm guessing that Radiance's attack was Speed 5 since that's pretty standard. If I'm wrong, please let me know.

Kaliel hits Roaring Tiger with 12 successes. -7 for Dodge DV, base damage 7L, so 12L raw damage, -8L soak, 4 total damage dice.

(4d10)[10][9][10][7](36)

--Hungry Ghosts/Roaring Tiger, Tick 11/12, Speed 6--

Roaring Tiger staggers under the Prince's blow. Ectoplasm spatters to the ground in a trailing arc from the blade, and the ghost stumbles forward and falls to one knee.

"No..." Tiger coughs, and the battlefield goes silent. The hungry ghosts drift around the circle, eyes fixed on their fallen leader. "I can't be beaten..." His eyes are downcast, fixed on the ground as ectoplasm drips from the numerous wounds on his body. "I gave my life...even my death, for martial arts, to get stronger." He coughs again, and pushes himself to one knee. Still staring at the ground, he continues to speak, his voice growing stronger with each word. "I sweated, I trained, I killed, I fought and scraped my way to the top, to show that I'm just as good as you bastards who lucked your way into the grace of the Gods. In the end, I even gave my soul for strength...I can't lose." Suddenly he throws his head back, and his eyes flash. "I won't lose!" He stands, and the hungry ghosts begin to circle around him, a howl building in their throats. "DO YOU HEAR ME, NEVERBORN?!? TAKE ME! TAKE IT ALL! JUST GIVE ME ONE...LAST...VICTORY!!!"

With that, the howling builds to a crescendo, and Roaring Tiger throws his head back to join in. He opens his mouth, and then keeps opening his mouth, and it opens even wider as a thousand hands reach through; twisting, squirming, the hands reach over and past themselves and out into the world through the forsaken ghost. Suddenly, Tiger splits open from his navel all the way up to the crown of his head, and the arms burst forth to grasp at everything around him!

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Gate babies attack!

Ok, yeah, I've been watching too much FMA: Brotherhood. Except, you know, there's no such thing. :-D

This is an attack affecting everyone around him, so everybody has to defend against it. He got five successes, and the attack has 9L base damage. Anyone hit by the attack is clinched, and will be pulled 1 yard toward the gaping maw of the Void. One action after that, you get sucked in. Kyushin, Mei Mei, Radiance, and Kaliel are all within one yard. Lotus, Partheo, and Moulsha are all about 5 yards away. Serilia, Dawn, and Taigong are three yards away. I think that's everyone...

Oh, and Radiance, you just got hit by a blast of Whispers. I'll leave it to you to determine what they say.

(13d10)[1][9][2][2][2][3][10][2][2][1][1][6][10](51)

[Sicarius]

Gracious Mei-Mei

(Need me a 1 die stunt to pull this one off)

Seeing the Void was a bit heart-stopping, especially for a Sidereal. Looking at the Loom terrifies the onlooker enough seeing it for the first time, even if they kept it together enough not to run screaming from it's very presence. She had thought that such a sight would prepare her for most horrible sights. For a large portion of her Heavenly career, she was right. Utterly horrific atrocities that had to occur (or even worse, must occur) had given her a solid bulwark. But the Void was different. It was outside Fate, and thus outside anything that Mei-Mei had ever conceived.

This is why the Convention on Deathlords was formed. Mei-Mei wondered for a second what the Sidereal's powers of Fate mattered against something so completely outside it. Maybe that's why the Sidereals needed the input of other Exalts. It was blasphemy to think so, but a Wise No-Moon or Twilight might impart some knowledge that the Convention on Deathlords would need.

And then the hands came for her. Fortunately for Mei-Mei, Roaring Tiger's last gasp was nothing that a true Exalt could not handle. No, what she was worried about was her fellow Vizier. She didn't want to let any Sidereal be thrust into the clutches of the Deathlords. Fate couldn't spy on those outside of it, but a servant of the dead couldn't get into Heaven, and Oversight was quick to ferret out even potential disloyalty.

The hand grasped for her, and Mei-Mei, for one second, broke the Peasant's Dynasty, showcasing her true prowess in a single masterful bend, taking the wrist of the hand that grasped for her and turning it away, so it reached outwards and away, taking no living thing with it.

Of course, she was more worried about Taigong Wang, and so she moved over to him to ensure he was not being pulled into the End of All and Nothing. She'd never forgive herself if he was.

[AmberVael]

Radiance

Whispers explode into Radiance's head, and she grits her teeth, hating the cold, black sound of the voices. They're stronger than they've been before, but less coherent as they all clamor at the same time; even so, they need no coherence to drag at her mind and confuse her. Her vision almost clouds over as she sees the tangle of underworld essence in front of her, surrounding her...

But this is a battle she's fought a hundred times before. The void always pulls at her, and she always resists. She won't let herself lose it just because of some upstart ghost. Focusing herself, Radiance pulls away from the hands just as she pulls away from the void, sliding just one step ahead of them, drawing away from that black grasp and horror, not letting herself be fascinated or caught by it, no matter how pulling it was.

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Her current Dodge DV should be 4, so I think a one die stunt or something should do it. If need be, I use a willpower for one success.

[Kyeudo]

Kaliel

"Victory goes to those that deserve it!" Red-gold Essence flares along the edges of his blades as he scissors them out, shearing off the grasping hands as they reach for Kaliel and Sirocco.

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Kaliel and Sirocco would be safe with just a 1 die stunt, I think, but just because I feel like it, Kaliel will spend 4 motes of Peripheral Essence to boost his Parry Dv.
Parry:(4d10)[10][3][3][5](21)

Moulsha

Farther back, Moulsha hacks at the dead white hands as they claw at him. Perhaps the smart thing would be to retreat, but Moulsha stands firm, bravely beating back the tide of grasping hands to stay near his prince.

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Moulsha, on the other hand, needs all the help he can get. Spending 1 Willpower to channel Valor.
Parry:(3d10)[3][6][5](14)

[scsimodem]

"You sacrificed everything important and that's the best you've got! You were cheated."

Partheo easily snaps the wrist of the grasping hand. He then grabs the sword and steps towards the gaping maw. They were coming from somewhere, and he was cutting them off at the source. Forcing his way past the hands, sliding under and stepping on, he gets to the maw and takes a grand swing at the trunk of the beast, cutting this off at the source.

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Partheo is still under the effects of the Valor flaw of invulnerability until after his next action. If he can't quite make it there, he's cutting at the hands grasping the scholar, as he perceives her as the weakest ally.

Melee attack, base damage 17L, piercing.
(13d10)[7][2][8][4][1][9][6][2][8][8][8][8][7](78)
Stunt: (3d10)[9][2][2](13)
8 motes on first excellency
(8d10)[6][6][1][6][7][5][3][3](37)

[Horatio@Bridge]

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Tick 12--Partheo, Moulsha [Inactive], Roaring Tiger, Serilia
Tick 13--Lotus, Kyushin
Tick 14--War Ghosts, Shugotenshi
Tick 15--Kaliel
Tick 16--Radiance, Mei Mei
Tick 17--Roaring Tiger

I'm not going to write an action for Kyushin, since his PDV is high enough to avoid the attack. Partheo might just kill it out of hand, though the new form has extremely high soak values...10 successes against DDV 7, so a total of 5 damage dice. Tiger's already taken 8 HL of damage, but has a lot of -2s. Let's see how this goes...

(5d10)[4][3][4][7][1](19)

Ouch, low roll...that's 9 HL of damage total. The roiling vortex of evil is still in it! For the record, Tiger's not wearing armor so piercing is not applicable. He's got massive stamina plus some bonuses from Necromancy.

For mote regeneration, Mei Mei gets a two die stunt, but a die of Paradox for breaking her cover.

Radiance gets a two die stunt for bringing in her long-standing struggle with the Void. Very appropriate.

Kaliel and Partheo get two die stunts because of their cutting rejoinders.

Moulsha gets a two die stunt because he's being really awesome for a mortal. This may mean that he didn't get hit, in which case he gets an action. If so, just treat my description below as flavor text.

The Exalts easily avoid the grasping hands--even Taigong Wang manages to scurry out of their grasp--but the mortals are not so lucky. Melodious Dawn screams as the hands engulf her and rip her off her feet. She's dragged two yards closer to the mouth of the Void. Moulsha's struggle keeps him on his feet, but several of the hands evade his guard and manage to latch on to him.

Then Partheo steps in. His mighty blade slashes deep into the roiling mass, and for a moment it seems as if the golden light of the Dawn will dispel the darkness of the Vod...but then the gate surges back. Twisted tentacle hands swarm up around Partheo's blade, swamping the light and surging up towards the warrior.

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Moulsha will be able to contest the grapple on Tiger's next turn, if he did indeed get grappled.

Lotus is up next, unless Moulsha evaded the grapple in which case he's up. Then it's Kyushin and Kaliel.

The tentacles get a counterattack on Partheo, but I'll have to roll that in Kyushin's post.

[Horatio@Bridge]

--Kyushin, Tick 13, Speed 5, DV -1--

"Dawn!" Kyushin cries out, turning toward the helpless caravan priestess. The young dynast spins his spear in great arcs around him to clear away the black arms, then leaps through the air, spear over his head, and brings his weapon down on the arms holding Melodious Dawn in a desperate attempt to break her free.

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Paradox die for Mei Mei: (1d10)[1](1)

Counterattack on Partheo: (12d10)[7][1][7][1][1][7][6][8][6][1][7][3](55)

Kyushin's Strength + Melee + Spear Specialty + 2 stunt dice: (11d10)[4][4][1][5][4][6][2][9][1][3][7](46)

vs Tiger's Strength + Martial Arts + Clinch Specialty - Wound Penalties: (12d10)[4][10][8][8][4][2][8][8][8][3][6][8](77)

Tiger's counterattack on Kyushin: (12d10)[8][8][9][7][8][4][4][2][10][8][3][1](72)

Ouch...seven successes vs. Parry DV of 5 or Dodge DV of 3...I think that's got him, since I'm not really sure how to get a 2 die stunt parry with the spear...I think I'll save the stunt + 1st Excellency until the opposed grapple check. I've got an idea for that.

The spear sinks into the sludge of the grappling arms, and then suddenly the arms surge upwards around Kyushin, holding him fast!

[Kyeudo]

Kaliel

The prince dives out of the saddle, pushing off of Sirocco's side to quickly reach the dynast's side. One blade flashes upwards, slicing through ectoplasmic corpus, the other slices downward on the source of the problem, using the resistance on one to better leverage the cut on the other.

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Two attacks:
(13d10)[1][3][10][7][8][1][3][3][3][3][7][4][3](56)
(12d10)[9][4][1][5][7][4][10][3][9][10][5][9](76)

[Horatio@Bridge]

The prince's blade slices through the hands holding Kyushin and Melodious Dawn, and the three collapse into a heap as the black tendrils recoil on themselves. Roaring Tiger turns to refocus his rage on Salubrious Toad, but before he can renew his attack three golden bolts crash into the black mass. Tiger rears back to reveal Graceful Lotus standing beyond him, golden power still whisping from her bow from the holy power she'd just unleashed.

The infinite black arms flail wildly about the mass that was Roaring Tiger, and the hungry ghosts let up a keening wail. As Roaring Tiger begins to bulge and distort, Serilia charges into the center of the group.

"Get back! He's falling into the Void!"

With that, Roaring Tiger collapses in on himself in a great roaring maw. Air gets sucked in from all around him, and the nearby hungry ghosts get drawn toward the fissure inexorably. Radiance feels a tugging on her soul but manages to turn away. The tempest rises to a crescendo as the ghosts are sucked in one after another, and then in a brief moment of silence, the portal closes. Then the place where it was explodes in a mighty thunderclap as the air rushes back into place.

In the moments after as the group regains their composure, they suddenly realize that both Soothing Water Song and Salubrious Toad are missing.