First, a quick-ish primer on Exalted. Exalted is an epic fantasy game set in a land of monsters, demons, spirits, gods, and so forth called Creation. Thousands of years ago the Ancients carved Creation out of a primordial chaos called the Wyld and anchored it with five Elemental Poles. They created the gods to run Creation for them, and the gods eventually rebelled against their tyranny. Because the gods couldn't directly confront their creators, they (with the help of some allied Ancients) infused mortals with divine might to create the Exalted, champions who could fight the Ancients in their stead. The mightiest of the Exalted passed their power on to worthy mortals when killed, while others spread their power through bloodlines to create armies of demigods. The Exalted won with some of their foes slain, and the rest trapped in a Hell literally made from an Ancient turned inside out. (Kind of a dick move, to be honest.)
The Solar Exalted, champions of the Unconquered Sun, ruled over Creation itself at the gods' behest after the war, with the bestial Lunar Exalted (Chosen of Luna) and wise Sidereal Exalted (Chosen of the Maidens of Fate) by their side. They were backed by families of Dragon-Blooded (Terrestrial Exalted Chosen by the Elemental Dragons) serving as their champions and assistants. And then with the Unconquered Sun's assistance, 'lesser' gods were able to create their own Chosen -- the Exigents, each as unique as a fingerprint but no less a force to be reckoned with. It was a golden age of magic and technology, ruled by demigod kings and queens.
Eventually the Solars grew corrupt and tyrannical and the Unconquered Sun turned away in shame. The Sidereals privately determined that unless something was done, Creation was doomed to become a land of horrors. The Sidereals orchestrated the Usurpation (or the Solar Purge, depending on who you talk to), where they and the Dragon-Blooded overthrew the Solar Exalted Host. The Maidens' Chosen sealed away the Solars' power, drove the Lunars out into the wilds, and in the process accidentally broke Fate itself so thoroughly that Creation cannot retain the memory of them. Creation was now lesser, but safe.
The First Age was over, and made way for the Second.
The Dragon-Blooded formed the Shogunate to rule Creation now. The Sidereal Exalted backed them from the shadows with tools like the Immaculate Philosophy, whose teachings claim that the Dragon-Blooded are enlightened and 'virtuous' (read: obedient) mortals may reincarnate as Dragon-Blooded in future lives. This philosophy also holds that the gods are not to be worshipped directly, but with the Immaculates as liaisons between mortals and the divine. They formed the Wyld Hunt, to fight threats to Creation and its people such as monsters, raksha (often poetically called the Fair Folk), rogue gods, and Lunar Exalted (as well as a few 'loose' Solars) who took issue with the new state of affairs. Things weren't great, but Creation functioned well enough.
Everything changed when the Great Contagion attackedswept Creation, striking down mortal and Exalt alike. Ninety percent of Creation's population perished before the terrible plague, and it looked like nothing could save the remaining ten percent. Then the raksha, previously something of a nuisance, invaded from the Wyld beyond Creation's borders en masse. And for a moment, it looked like they were about to finish the job the Great Contagion started.
In Creation's darkest hour, a squad of Dragon-Blooded soldiers broke into one of the old manses the Solars used to run Creation, braving and bypassing impossible defenses. In the end, only one made it to the controls of the Sword of Creation. She deciphered and seized control of one of the most potent artifacts ever known, and drove the raksha back to Creation's borders. Much had been lost, the Shogunate was over, but the time came to rebuild.
That Dragon-Blooded soldier, whose original name is lost to history, crowned herself the Scarlet Empress and built the Realm -- a mighty empire managed by the Great Houses, some founded by her followers and others by her descendants. The Immaculate Order (and thus the Sidereals) backed her rule, and she created a Dynasty of powerful heroes that has been the predominant force in Creation ever since. With the Wyld Hunt keeping the 'Anathema' at the far reaches, the Scarlet Empress established a peace, albeit one built on an elaborate scaffold of political manipulation and carefully-managed jealousies to keep any rivals too busy to overthrow her. (Not to get too glib with this, but I've used
Ron in this video as an example of her ruling style.)
With all this power she built and ran her empire from the Blessed Isle, ransacking much of the rest of Creation -- The Threshold -- for wealth and resources, with thousands of supernatural living weapons at her beck and call. Few are safe from her greed and ambition, with those few either too far to reach or have their own Dragon-Blooded champions.
One day, 763 years into her rule, she vanished. Nobody panicked right away -- she'd taken unannounced sabbaticals before, and came back. Officially, she's gone into secluded spiritual meditation.
Five years later, she has yet to return and nobody in Creation or Heaven knows where she is. Nobody's dared declare her dead (partially for fear that she's just laying in wait to punish the first person to do so), but the Great Houses of the Realm are gearing up for a civil war to determine who's going to succeed her. The Realm's control, as well as the Wyld Hunt's effectiveness, waver as the Dynastic forces focus on building up their own power for the conflict to come. The first casualty of this conflict may be House Tepet, secretly hamstrung by its rivals as it faced the Solar warlord called the Bull of the North. At the Bull's hand House Tepet lost almost all of their military might, which in turn cost them all of their political might.
And this all happened as the imprisoned Solars returned, their power freed and empowering mortals once again as the Unconquered Sun's attention returns to Creation. And some of these Solars appear to have returned in darker, stranger forms, wielding the powers of the Underworld or Hell, their motives uncertain at best. Some of the so-called 'Abyssal' Exalted, champions of death, were seen when the Deathlord known as the Mask of Winters marched on the city of Thorns with an undead immortal behemoth. Meanwhile the 'Infernal' Exalted glow an unhealthy green tint as they unleash literally-Hellish powers in bloody campaigns of revenge and anarchy. In addition, the rogue Sidereal Rakan Thulio has stepped up his own personal crusade against Heaven with mysterious followers of his own who seem to have strange powers but no past. And then there's the flame of the Exigence, left to smolder by the Unconquered Sun when he turned his face from Creation, now blazing brighter than ever to ignite a new generation of champions.
And that's all not even mentioning the various factions who see the weakness of the Realm and are about to make their move.
The Time of Tumult has begun.
