Hey there, folks, sorry it's been so quiet here. Meatspace issues have interfered with my group's ability to play Exalted, and just my own scheduling failures have interfered with my doing more Promethean write-ups. I'm gonna try to be better about that.
Ah well.
So where we left off, the Throng had just fought the Neverborn Shadow and left Derek, the cult's leader, bleeding out on the ground. As the metaphorical smoke settles, Joseph's spirit familiar materializes, carrying Father John's clothing so he could slip off to the side and get dressed again.[0] Steve and Rudolf debate Derek's final fate. Steve wants to take him to a hospital while Rudolf wants to finish him off given the whole "actively running a cult that sacrifices human beings" thing.
Joseph steps in to fill them in on a few details they might not have known, like introducing himself to those who hadn't properly met him yet. He then goes on to explain that the cult lures in kids who feel betrayed and abandoned, seeking one who 'truly understands what it is to be hollow inside.' And then that chosen kid becomes the sacrifice to be turned into The Orphan.
So that brings up the question... if that's how Jack was made, then who made him? After all, Prometheans don't just... happen. At least, not as far as anyone knows (especially Rudolf, who's still not convinced he's a Promethean at all).[1]
Almost as if waiting for that moment, the mysterious Ulgan[2] that Jack talked to before and Steve saw back in town comes out, screaming about his ruined plans. He throws a tantrum into how much work he's put into building up the cult, moving it from city to city, and all to learn more about humanity through their interactions with the Neverborn Shadow's followers.[3] And while he's ranting, he gets derailed when he spots Joseph and recognizes him as his creator. Which surprises Joseph greatly; he'd only been following the Neverborn Shadow cult and had no idea that a Promethean was behind it, let alone own of his own progeny.
As the Ulgan rants and raves about how he's going to have to start all over[4], Jack lunges at him and attacks him as Joseph runs for it. Ander just stands back and watches, quietly thinking about how there's just something that feels right about seeing creator and progeny interact like this. The Ulgan tries to get away, either escaping Jack or chasing after Joseph, and Steve holds Jack back long enough to give him a head start. Ander suggests that Steve stay out of what's basically a private family matter at this point, so Steve lets Jack go and just wanders back towards the van. At this point, the Ulgan realizes he can't run forever, so he just stops and says he'll let Jack do what he wants to him. Jack stops a moment and says he'll let him go this time, but if he hears about his activities again, he'll kill him.
While all this is going on, Ander is presumably check on Derek, and when nobody's looking he covers his mouth and nose with his hand and smothers him. He finishes him off and carries the body back to the van, with plans in mind for the dead meat.
Meanwhile, as Jack is leaving, Rudolf comes up and just starts shooting the Ulgan. And now the other Promethean is willing to fight back. Joseph returns and tackles the Ulgan to the ground as Jack and Rudolf finish him off and throw his remains in the cult's bonfire.
They return to the van to find Ander explaining to Steve that he's planning to perform the 'generative act' on Derek's remains to give his essence a chance to redeem itself karmically. All they have to do is find the bodies of some more people needing a chance at redemption. Rudolf and Steve disagree with this notion, partially due to the fact that whatever wakes up would not necessarily be Derek. Ander's dead set on trying it, though, and Rudolf says he won't stop him as long as he gets to be part of it and is kept in the loop.
Jack, still reeling from everything he's been through and quietly wearing he'd never ruin another life by creating someone like himself[5], meditates for an Elpis vision of where to go next on his Pilgrimage. He gets a vision of setting himself up on a blind date over the internet.
And we leave off there, with the Throng's business taken care of in Waco. Now they've got the opportunity to catch a breather before they move on to Chandler, Oklahoma to follow up on Dr. Gino's trail of breadcrumbs.
[0]-- Conveniently explaining away his short-term absence because Greg couldn't make it for the session.
[1]-- Now this is one of those 'unintentionally funny' things because of the game line's progression. First off, later books did in fact introduce Prometheans that just happen. They're called 'Extempore,' and they're just brought about by weird circumstances, and thus they are a means for Prometheans to spontaneously arise. Extempore appear in a more-playable form in the second edition core book, which also establishes that human 'demiurges' can create Prometheans as well. So, in a 2e version of this story, Rudolf would have been an Extempore and Jack could have been created by the cult directly. One of the main reasons why I haven't tried rewriting any events to fit later canon or anything is because first, it feels disrespectful to retcon how other peoples' characters were built or portrayed without their involvement, and second -- where would I stop, once I started?
[2]-- It's worth noting that I never get a good opportunity to have this guy introduce himself. He calls himself "Avatar," in the mythological/theological sense rather than the "internet handle" sense.
[3]-- It was a real shame that Greg, Father John's player, couldn't make it. I'd actually planned this whole bit as a mirror to his own schtick of pretending to be a priest to explore humanity through the lens of religion. This is particularly relevant because of the identity of the Ulgan's creator.
[4]-- This whole sequence lets Jack achieve a couple of Milestones, 'Resolve the issues with the cult that created him' and 'Learn more about the sort of person he once was.'
[5]-- Welcome again to "drastic edition differences theater," whereupon I explain that back in first edition, this would guarantee that Jack could never become human because Prometheans were required to reproduce as one of the steps on their journey towards humanity. Second edition vagues this up a bit, allowing for Prometheans to propagate themselves by sharing knowledge and such.
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