Archivist Sele Anaxis

Sele Anaxis

A young woman who travels around the Realm with a large tome in her hand.  She claims to be an Archivist although has not mentioned who she works for, if any.  Her fascination with lore and First Age secrets seems second only to Tepet Vieda.  Her mastery of languages is incredible, especially when one considers the fact she is not one of the Dragonblooded.

  • Constantly updates the pages of her Tome.
  • Believes that the First Age may hide secrets the Dynasty may be struggling to hide.
  • Knows a little bit of everything from her constant research into anything that catches her interest.


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[citystate] Nexus



Nexus, also known as the City between the River Harlot’s Legs and a hundred other, less complimentary names, is the largest city in the Scavenger Lands, and possibly in Creation. It is known for being the center for trade and commerce in Creation, and for being a haven for free trade, and the headquarters of the Guild. Nexus sits at the confluence of the Yanaze River, the Grey River, and theYellow River, some six hundred miles east of Lookshy.

While the Imperial City may well be wealthier, that wealth is concentrated within the hands of the Scarlet Dynasty, while in Nexus, millions of talents of jade and silver change hands every single day. It is a chaotic and confusing place, a city with many rules but few laws, where an ignoble death lurks around every corner.


Key locations in Nexus include:
Nexus District
The commercial and entrepreneurial center of Nexus, more silver pieces change hands here in a day than there are stars in the sky.  Home to the Big and Little Markets, the Nexus district is where the real business of the city gets done. Home to the headquarters of the Guild and innumerable other trading companies, merchant organizations and caravan masters, if Bastion is where the rich and powerful rest, then the Nexus district is where they work.

Bastion
The well-to-do and well-connected of Nexus reside within; any others would do better to stay out.  The place where the rich and powerful of Nexus come to live and play, Bastion is a district of large mansions, open parks, clean streets and frequent patrols by well-paid mercenaries. High enough above the river that it doesn’t get flooded, and far enough away from the center that the smells don’t carry in, even the servants who live here do so in conditions that would make many in other parts of Nexus green with envy.

Cinnabar District
The cultural and military center of the city, Cinnabar lines the river and floods regularly. A riverside district, Cinnabar is home to restaurants, teahouses, and cafés of highly variable quality, as well as being the site of annual and severe flooding. It also houses most of the mercenary companies who call Nexus their home, each one generally based within a fortified compound, with walls higher than the worst flood waters.

Firewander
The epitome of urban nightmare, the Wyld zone at its heart still spits out horrors to plague the city.  An urban hell of rickety buildings, makeshift stalls, gang warfare, Wyld-spawned monsters and worse, Firewander is generally inhabited only by those who have no choice in the matter, either through poverty or violence. Scant trade occurs here, and most of that would be illegal anywhere else in the Scavenger Lands and is frowned upon by the “upright” citizenry of Nexus itself, but the denizens make do with what they have.


Nighthammer District
The noise of forges, smithies and other manufacturing processes resound night and day throughout the streets of Nighthammer.   Industry rules in Nighthammer, a place where three or four times a day thousands of workers travel to and from their places of work within the forges, smithies, looms and others factories that produce the thousands of tonnes of goods that pour out of the city and into Creation on a daily basis. The air here is thick with smog and the rivers are heavily polluted by toxic effluents, both by-products of the production that brings so much wealth into Nexus.

Undercity
The Undercity of Nexus is a series of caves and tunnels under Cinnabar and Sentinel Hill. The black fog of poor man's breath clots and taints the air underground. The poor and those who are just scraping by live and work down here. Small, torch-lit markets thrive in the sunless enclave. Three main routes make getting around underground straightforward.

Sentinel Hill
A vast residential area south of the Nexus District.  This area of the city is filled with apartment buildings, hostels, tenement houses and town houses. Its is built upon a vast hill that rises up to bastion and down into Firewander. The District is named so after the vast sentinel towers that local mercenaries watch out from to see if any wyld spun dangers are coming from Firewander. Several of prominent cultural ghettos are present in this district, Calin Town, Great Forks Town and Maruk Town.



Government
Council of EntitiesNexus is rules by the Council of Entities, a group shrouded in mystery. Theirs is the power to add and modify the Civilities of the Incunabulum. Their edicts are enforced by the mercenaries of the city and the mysterious Emissary.

The Incunabulum
The body of rules that passes for law within the bounds of Nexus, the Incunabulum consists of thousands upon thousands of pages, all carefully indexed, as each new edict by a member of the Council of Entities must be checked against every previous entry, and any previous edicts that it contradicts are removed. It comprises the Dogma, the six unchanging rules of Nexus; its capital crimes, enforced by the Emissary; and the Civilities, the chaotic and ever-changing body of rules, great and small.

The Dogma
No taxes shall be raised, save by the council.
None shall obstruct trade.
None shall bring an army into Nexus.
No-one shall commit wanton violence.
None may falsely claim the council's name or sanction.
None shall harbour a fugitive from the council's wrath.

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Immaculate Monk Mnemon Sierra

Mnemon Sierra

Once one of their schoolmates, Mnemon Sierra has joined the Immaculate Order.
Spoiled and proud, the young Earth Aspected Dragon-blooded holds a scornful place in her heart for her former schoolmates.   
  • She currently works under the guardianship of Peleps Deled, an Immaculate Monk known for his ruthless determination to destroy Anathema and serve the Immaculate Order.
  • She is currently of the First Coil.

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Headmaster Wen

Headmaster of The Imperfect Lotus

There is not much known about Headmaster Wen.
What is known though is this:
  • He was the man in charge of the University known as The Imperfect Lotus, which strove to combine the teachings of the Spiral Academy, The House of Bells and the Heptagram.
  • He has admitted having been a friend of the late V'Neef Adun and V'Neef Adante.  
  • Secretly kept the Orichalcum short power bow called The Last Resort for the Singing Petal of the Eastern Wind.
  • Ever since the disappearance of the all the students, the University has been empty as if it never stood there.  There remain no actual records that a Headmaster Wen actually existed.


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The Three Childhood Friends

There were three children
born in their own ways
into the Dynasty.

One was from a House that has lost its face.
Another from a House cannot make up its mind.
The last from a House with far too much at stake.

Who would have known that their souls
would sing to the Heavens and lure back
Solar vengeance?


One remembers dreams of a massive kingdom
with armies that reach from horizon to horizon.
A general among generals.


The other glimpses nightmares of monstrosities and demons,
of beasts and of automatons,
all bowing their heads low in mystically-enforced respect.


The last envisions nations at war ceasing to hear her single voice.
Mountains bowing to let her pass.
An ocean captured in a net to win a duel.

These are memories of lives they have never lived.
These are legends that have never been spoken by mortal lips.

These are shards of a Solar Empire.


Preludes.  Written records of the Archivist Sele Anaxis

Once there was a maiden,
her eyes read the lines between the words,
and her lips whispered the meanings of every silent moment.
It was her brush that remained ever moving,
ever speaking, ever dancing.
She stared at her brush and heard it sing,
"Truth disguises the best lies."

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The First Age


There are precious few records of what is known to be The First Age.

Most of the Realm's records speak of the rule of the Scarlet Empress and of her rule that lasted almost eight hundred years.  It was her actions, with the assistance of the Immaculate Order, that saved the Realm itself from the cruel tragic events of the earlier time.

That time, was a time when a Great Contagion killed nearly 90% of the world's populace. Between the massive deaths of the Great Contagion and the chaos that overwhelmed the world, the Fair Folk closed in to consume the world.  These are collectively remember as the Age of Sorrows.

But if one looked far back, to the time prior to the Age of Sorrows, one would hear of the Shogunate.    During the Shogunate, various Terrestrial daimyos squabbled over control of the Realm.   For centuries the Dragon-Blooded fought amongst themselves over ever dwindling supplies of magical devices and resources, obfuscating these reasons for the fighting behind obscure ideologies started by long dead leaders.

The rulership of Creation was held by a loose confederacy of daimyos who squabbled amongst themselves except for times when a single strong shogun unified them. This lead to a shuddering at the borders of Creation as armies of Fair Folk breeched the boundaries of reality to invade and sow chaos.

Few know of the history before the Shogunate.
Few know of the Solar Exalted and how a Solar Deliberative once watched over all of Creation.
Few know of the massive war that threatened to destroy everything that existed both in Creation and in the lands of the Gods.
Few know of the Prophecy.  Of the betrayals.   And why the Sun itself once turned away.

And only two actually know of the Great Curse.
One of them being the thing that made the Curse.
The other...

These secrets lie in the ruins of the First Age.

These secrets, if found, can help the Solar Exalted regain what they have lost.
And repair the damage they have also done.

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The Great Houses




The Great Houses

The Eleven Great Houses that form the Scarlet Dynasty are where most of the Dragon-Blooded of the Realm are found. The Great Houses, and the viewpoint of them held by most of the peoples of the Threshold are below.  All the players will come from one of these Houses, based on their elemental affinity.

Like the Terrestrial Exalted themselves, these great houses (with one exception) are aspected to a specific element.


House Mnemon
House Mnemnon (Earth), and its still living founder, wants the Scarlet Throne. Many members of the House serve as satraps, extracting burdensome tributes. The House lacks experienced military commanders, but its leader is arguably the most powerful sorceress in the Realm.

House Tepet

House Tepet (Air) wanted the throne desperately but has lost its legions fighting the Bull of the North. The Regent is a hideous embarrasment to the Tepets, and many of their soldiers go berserk when taunted with Fokuf's name. Tepet used to be surported by House Cathak and House V'neef, but now it seems to be hanging in the wind.

House Cathak

House Cathak (Fire) wants to be a critical power behind the Scarlet Throne and it possesses the military experience to put someone on the throne and keep her there. It is allied with House V'neef and once supported House Tepet.

House V'neef

House V'neef (Wood) vacillates between wanting the throne and avoiding it. The House's vacillation - or is it a power struggle in the House? - is costing it control of its satrapies, which are slowly breaking loose. The V'neef run the Realm's merchant marine defense force and protect their wineries and orchards by overthrowing governments that want their land for peasant farms.

House Sesus

House Sesus (Fire) wants the southeastern quadrant of the Blessed Isle for itself. Its legions never pay for food or other supplies but take what they want from their host countries.

House Peleps

House Peleps (Water) commands the navy. It wants the throne, but probably lacks the might necessary to take it. Increasingly, the Pelps work on making the islands off the coast of the Blessed Isle their exclusive dominions, and they raid Threshold ports for experienced sailors and ships in good repair. Thresholders regard Pelps as bettter equipped pirates.

House Ledaal

House Ledaal (Air) wants control of the whole Southern half of the Blessed Isle and matching territories in the Threshold, and its scions are preparing to fight any new Emperor or Empress who refuses their rights. Ledaal are staunch defenders of the Immaculate Philosophy.

House Ragara

House Ragara (Earth) does not want the throne, but it wants whoever sits on it to be deeply in debt to its banks and loan agencies - just like everyone else. The Ragara used to support House Tepet.

House Cynis

House Cynis (Wood) has no real allies and has no chance at the throne. Its satraps wring taxes from the poorest provinces and seize the prittiest boys and girls for the slave markets.  Cynis however is the House that is an expert in indulgences and the like.

House Nellens

House Nellens (which has no elemental aspect) is a pack of sharp traders and jade thieves. There isn't an honest merchant in the bunch. This Great House tends to support House Ledaal as if it were a minor patrician house, since the house's troops haven't the strength to back up their swagger.

House Iselsi

House Iselsi (Water) is a has-been House, dismembered by the Empress centuries ago and now used as assassins and workhorse courtiers. House Iselsi wants to survive and it wants the Realm to survive - but it probably cares more about its own survival than that of the Realm. The House is closely allied with the missionary factions of the Immaculate Order.

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The Sword of Creation




The First Age technology, also known as the Sword of Creation that defends the Realm from its enemies, particularly the Fair Folk of the Wyld. It can produce many amazing effects, such as showers of iron needles that fly to the edges of the world, walls of fire, and holographic apparitions throughout Creation. However, the geomantic effects of the Defense Grid cause earthquakes and other natural disasters throughout Creation, making it something of a weapon of last resort.

The Grid is controlled from the Imperial Manse, which was the sole province of the now missing Scarlet Empress.

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The Blessed Isle



The Blessed Isle is a continent at the very center of the Realm itself.  Spanning approximately 2000 x 3000 miles, 

At the center of creation, close to the Elemental Pole of Earth stands the capital city of the Realm.  And deep within its great walls at its very heart, stands the Imperial Palace.  Deep within the Palace stands the Imperial Manse which also controls the Defenses of the Realm. The Scarlet Dynasty has its center here, members jockeying for positions of authority and, now, the Scarlet Throne which the Scarlet Empress appears to have abandoned.  Ever since the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress, a silent civil war has begun to brew as members from the Great Houses vie for the chance to call for a successor.

The Imperial Palace is actually a large complex of palaces and actually makes up almost one third of the total area of the Imperial City. It includes the Imperial Manse and has designated, areas or "wings," for the palaces of each of the Great Houses.  

Thankfully, the rumors of civil war have remained rumors so far.  If the Great Houses were to declare war upon each other, one can only imagine the terrible consequences of such an ordeal that the Realm's inhabitants would have to endure.

Of the Anathema, it is said that the presence of any in the Blessed Isle is unheard of.  While those from the Scavenger lands would more likely believe the Anathema simply stalk the Blessed Isle in secret better than the Realm would want to believe, it does not take much intelligence to know that any of such in the very heart of the Realm would best stay unnoticed, lest they call down the wrath of a very  Dragon upon themselves.  One should never underestimate the power of over five hundred Terrestrial Exalted acting as one.

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You Can't Choose Your Family

Part of the fun in this coming game will be rolling up for your family.  Each player will take a turn at rolling the d10 a few times to determine the elemental affinity of his mother and father, whether or not he or she has siblings, which ones are Exalted, and whether or not there are family ties of note that also affect influence to some extent.

Yes, this does mean you might end up with a very boring family... or a tremendously complicated one... or a frighteningly singularly-minded one that seemed to be devoted wholly towards the destruction of Anathema.

Exciting, ain't it?

With that in mind, consider then working with the other players to clearly define why you are best of friends and how you work together in things.  Again, you most likely have only each other to rely upon in this game.  There won't be NPCs who will be there to save your asses (or at least if there are any, there's a good reason they did that!)

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The Princes of the Earth


The Dragon-blooded greatly populate the Realm.  While the game will be focused on Solar Exalted, I have decided it would be best to give the players enough time to get a feel of the Realm's normal life by having them play children of Dragon-blooded who are in a University and hoping to be Exalted as one of the Princes of the Earth.

Rather than create a whole new page on the Dragon-blooded, allow me to direct you to this website which nicely has write-ups about each Elemental Aspect of the Dragon-blooded.  The page should give you enough information for a feel of what Elemental Aspect you feel best relates with the type of personality you wish to play.

Again, it is anticipated that all players will Exalt as Solar Exalted in the game.  So don't get too attached to the Dragon-blooded elemental affinities in the write-up.  Instead read it so you have a nice overview of how each Elemental Aspect tends to be seen and how Dragon-blooded tend to be specialized in certain fields.

Character creation will be done on the next session.  

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Creation Overview: Exalted

This is the map of Creation.


From the Elemental Pole of Air at the north, to the Elemental Pole of Fire to the south, the Poles of Water from the East to the Pole of Wood at the west, all the lands recognize the far-reaching influence and power of the Dragon-blooded Dynasty that has been forged by the Scarlet Empress.

From the Blessed Isle at the center of the world with the Elemental Pole of Earth at its heart, the lands of Creation find protection and sanctuary from the many horrible forces and threats that seek to devour the hearts of men.  The Dragon-blooded fight a never-ending fight against the legions of the Fair Folk that seek to breach the borders of the world, the shape-shifting tattooed savages in the Wyld, the corrupted servants of the Deathlords and their undead kin, and worst yet, the evil Anathema that stalk the lands and beguile with their misleading golden light.

But all is not well in Creation.

Ever since the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress herself, the Dynasty is at the brink of a Civil War as calls for succession grow stronger in the Deliberative.   The people need a visible leader, and the Eleven Great Houses call for action.  Some fear that the Dynasty may shatter and from its ruins once again arise a Shogunate as once existed before.  The Realm is in danger of ripping itself apart, and many are uncertain if even the ever-influential presence of the Immaculate Order can lead the people to a brighter Age.

This is the world of Exalted.
And this is the new Sunday Group game, starting March 2011.

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