Tales of the Moonlight Maiden: Revelation (Exalted)

Oh, hey, we're back with another Exalted write-up with the crew of the Moonlight Maiden, though now it occurs to me I only go out of my way to call them that when they've actually been separated from the eponymous boat for more than a few sessions. Hm. Or maybe it's occurred to me before and I've forgotten and I'm too lazy to check. I dunno, it was a 'weird energy' day when I started writing this.

Oh, and before I get into it, just as a reminder, a Scion supplement I worked on is out! Rather than do a whole spiel here, allow me to just link you back to the post where I announced it.

And, unless I come up with something else that should go here 'above the fold,' as it were, let's get on with the adventure!

We pick up in the corridor where the false monks are dissolving into smoke and ash, in a manner that I wish I'd realized a few weeks ago could have been easily described by comparing it to -- spoiler alert -- the end of Infinity War.

Magos comes out and checks to see if everyone's okay, using the magic collar they were to demand reports while Xương keeps an eye on them to see if this is genuine or if Magos is somehow behind all this mess. But they determine that Magos is legitimately concerned and freak out, and while hiding it well possibly on the verge of panic. But nobody's been seriously hurt, at least not among the characters.

About this point Lion Dogs get there to secure the scene while the Celestial Lions are on the way.[0] Hǎifēng's seen Lion Dogs before, back in the Mirror City -- they're about pony-sized, and less-powerful than the Celestial Lions -- but out of annoyance for them letting these attacks happen, they say "Look, they're terrier-sized!" just to annoy them. Magos goes around and does some checking, as a lot of civilians got attacked and beat up by the monks as well, but nobody seems severely hurt. It looks very much like they got beat up simply for being in the way, and that this attack appears to have been targeted.

Shango says that this doesn't seem like the kind of tactics actual monks would use, but not quite like demons either. Hǎifēng points out they're not demons. But Shango is trying to make the point that someone must see them as a threat, and Xương is like "Well of course!"

Magos checks in with the others, and they're worried because before all this they sent Bageru out on an errand from which he should have returned by now. Hǎifēng's concerned as well, because Bageru is adorable and they don't want anything to happen to him. Xương casually remarks that he's probably just been murdered by the monks or whatever -- not trying to be rude, and it's not like he doesn't care, but just being a realist about this.

Magos says they sent Rashmi with him to keep him safe, and that gets a sincere collective sigh of relief from everyone -- Rashmi's unstable, and bodyguarding isn't exactly in his skillset[1], but everybody's certain that if he and/or Bageru were threatened, he'd respond more than adequately.

Magos then explains that they were having Bageru help them follow up on that tip about the brand. He was supposed to go get the guy who has the brand and bring him back for a bit of a chat. Magos points out they should sit and take a dramatic pause on the timing of that -- that Bageru goes off to help investigate the attacks, and then another attack occurs. A targeted one. It also comes up that Rashmi was sent with Bageru because Bageru's been keeping an eye on him in general, on account of, well... we've all met Rashmi. We know.

Someone points out that keeping an eye on Rashmi must be pretty tricky, especially if he doesn't want to be seen. But it's probably not too dangerous to have someone keep an eye on him, because he probably always assumes he's being watched so he's not likely to take it personally -- Magos comments that that sort of thing is probably a Marsday[2] for him.

So they go to take the Circle to the teahouse in question, leading them out into the corridor where the Celestial Lions have everything under control, and past the looky-loos at the edge of the area. They lead the group through a short route to a building with a basement-level entrance. (In fact, it doesn't seem to have a regular entrance.) They all go inside, and it seems very familiar to Xương and Hǎifēng (and Shango, to a lesser extent), for some reason. And then they realize that's because it's basically the platonic archetype of every shady teahouse/tavern where shady deals are done by shady people.

"It's a divine representation of all my bad decisions," Hǎifēng observes aloud.

Xương raises an eyebrow. "Surely you've made some good ones."

"Not like this," Hǎifēng says, indicating the room and pausing for a beat. "This is post-coital depression."

Shango has the predictable reaction to that, and as the group gets into some bantering, Magos looks around and points out the guy and leads them in that direction. He's sitting at a table, drinking alone, with his tetsubo leaned up against the table like it's an umbrella and not a magical artifact capable of leveling buildings and harnessing Essence into coherent blasts. His armor's been either repaired or replaced, so the spot on his shoulder blade that had the brand isn't visible.

"This is going to be fun," Xương mutters. "I'm assuming Hǎifēng would like to take the lead?"

The Changing Moon thinks that over. "Actually, Xương, you're way scarier than I am. You can have this one."

"Far be it from me to not stand and deliver when called," he says, though inwardly he's a little reluctant because he's a little drained, Essence-wise. But he just sits down across from the guy without asking permission.

The man in the oni mask looks up, confused. "Do I know you from... oh, you're the monster that fought that girl with the scythe!" He immediately waves to get a server's attention, and once he's done so he points at his cup and then at Xương. "One of these."

The drink comes in a sturdy cup made of some thick ceramic, as if it would eat through thin or delicate materials. Xương takes a drink, and while it's got a whiskey-ish flavor to it, the potency is... well, it's the sort of thing that in some places can only legally be used to strip the varnish from boats, or burn warts off mules.

Meanwhile, Shango's sitting at the bar as close as he can so as to listen in. Hǎifēng's standing in the corner, annoyed, until Magos taps them on the shoulder and leads them to a table behind the oni-masked fighter, where they proceed to order a couple of glasses of surprisingly-fine sake for a place that's clearly a dive.

Xương takes another swig of his drink, which certainly isn't anything beyond his experience even before he acquired an Exalt's constitution, and he pauses a minute for politeness' sake before saying "We're looking for someone. This height. Covered in hair. Might've come in here, looking for you, not too long ago."[3]

The guy thinks, but he doesn't seem to know anything, and as near as anyone can tell he's telling the truth. Xương suggests to the others with a subtle gesture that he believes him, and the others (Magos included) nod back in agreement. Hǎifēng uses Glance-Oration Technique (a magical perfect-sign-language Charm) to remind Xương to ask about the brand, and Xương replies in kind (as he also has the Charm) to convey that he was just about to ask about it.

"So, just one more thing... I noticed your scar, like a burn scar."

"You're gonna have to narrow that down for me, I've got a lot of burn scars," the guy says, actually not trying to be evasive.

Xương reaches up to tap the man's shoulder, and that gets an "Oh, okay!" from him as he adjusts the armor to show off the shoulder, but there's only the faintest mark there. "Oh, almost forgot," he says as he spends some Essence and the brand reappears, faintly-glowing like they saw it in the fight: an eye surrounded by 49 spines.[4] There's really kind of an 'we're all friends here' sort of tone, like he's relaxed in a way he hasn't been in some time.

"Oh, that's more of a brand," Xương observes, as if for the first time. "Is that a mark of your old division?"

"Oh, that marks my graduation from Suntarankal. It's a martial arts school, you probably haven't heard of it."

However, having heard the name and gotten a close-up look at it, Hǎifēng has, in passing. It's the name of a school in Malfeas, the literally-Hell prison of the Yozis and their demon descendants. Well, it's the name of a school (also known as the Crucible of Brass and Iron) and also the school's master, and they're not sure entirely how that works. That's about all they know about it, but that's still something.

Xương, not pretending he doesn't recognize it, asks if there's any connection between the mark and the attack from the previous day. The guy says he's got no clue and he's been concerned about that, himself. He's accompanied by a couple of other guys from his school, and they don't know anything either. They've been worried that either it means something they're not privy to, or that someone will notice and take it the wrong way. And he seems to be sincere.

Hǎifēng, via Glance-Oration Technique, asks Xương if this is a waste of their time. Xương replies that it might be. Magos suddenly grabs the magical collar they wear, makes a 'be right outside' gesture, and ducks out as the guy and Xương devolve into some awkward small talk for a few minutes while Xương finishes his drink. Hǎifēng 'asks' Xương needs a rescue, and as he doesn't, they slip out to have a chat with Magos.

Magos, however, is upset. Apparently having gotten some serious/bad news, they immediately cut off Hǎifēng by asking if the others are on their way out. Hǎifēng, annoyed, goes back in and yells for Shango and Xương. 

They meet up outside and Magos leads them to a nearby location, explaining on the way that someone's beaten up Bageru and Rashmi has apparently stabbed a couple of people. They find the spot where Celestial Lions have secured the location, a couple of healers are checking up on Bageru, and a middle-aged woman (without a mask) with graying hair in the sort of archaic fashion that's proven typical of the tournament's spectators.

Magos walks up to Rashmi, genuinely pissed, and demands answers. Rashmi explains that they were headed to the teahouse and they got jumped by someone they didn't see coming. Seemed like a bunch of monks. In the fighting, he apparently threw a couple of knives to disable a pair of actual monks who'd gotten too close to the action that he'd mistaken for their attackers. He asks Xương to vouch for him that if he'd wanted to seriously hurt the monks, they'd be crippled or dead, and Xương does vouch for that. Verumipra, whom the group met yesterday, shows up and takes Rashmi aside for a private conversation.

Magos, stressed, puts out an official announcement that matches are being nudged back a couple of hours. About this time, the healers bring Bageru around. His story backs up most of Rashmi's -- they were on their way to the teahouse, he got distracted by something, and next thing he knew he was being pummeled by monks. He goes on to explain over the course of the conversation, that he was distracted as the woman dressed as the Scarlet Empress, and that the guy with her was giving him a really weird look, and then moments later, they got ambushed.

Xương remarks on how the 'Empress' seems to show up everywhere something is happening. Hǎifēng notes that these attackers seem to be teleporting in and out, and Xương suggests someone is summoning a squad of temporary fighters. Shango asks if they're demons, and Xương says they're like illusions. Hǎifēng says that illusions can't punch like that, the illusion itself isn't normally the source of the damage itself, and that there's something of the Wyld about them. Shango asks if it's possible to summon raksha. Hǎifēng says that 'raksha' is a broad term in this context, but Xương doesn't see a fundamental reason why it'd be too different from summoning a Demon. But then, Shango's used a Charm to summon flocks of ospreys, so it makes sense that someone could summon a group of fae for some temporary mayhem. Hǎifēng doesn't think the Wyld touches Heaven, however, but... conveniently, Magos rejoins the group at this time and Hǎifēng asks outright if the Wyld touches on Heaven. Magos freezes up, gets Bageru, and says they'll explain in private.

Back in the group's quarters, Magos explains that during the Fair Folk's mass invasion of Creation during the Great Contagion, they managed to swarm one of the Heavenly gates between Yu-Shan and Creation and establish a beachhead. They were only stopped when Arcadelt, the God of World-Shattering Events, used one of the doomsday scrolls in his care to turn that district of Yu-Shan into a crater. The raksha were stopped, but that area is now a bordermarch referred to as "Arcadelt's Folly." Magos asks Hǎifēng why they think the Wyld is somehow involved with the attackers, and Hǎifēng explains the distinct feeling they've gotten as they tapped into the attackers' Essence. Magos pours themself a cup of coffee as they think that over. Hǎifēng mentions that Shango thinks someone might be summoning them with a Charm or a spell. Magos thinks that's an interesting possibility, and says they'll ask around -- it comes up that raksha have in the past made deals with various forces in Creation, so it's possible that one of the powers used to wrangle them for such diplomatic purposes may be at work here.

Hǎifēng says that's the best they've got, without the ability to capture one of the attackers alive to study it, but they're pretty sure it's a Wyld thing. Magos says they trust Hǎifēng's instincts, and Hǎifēng says that's pretty scary as they barely trust their own instincts. Magos then checks in with Bageru to make sure he's okay, and he's getting there, and they go over what happened, and then he starts to mention the woman who was detaining Rashmi at the scene, and Magos cuts him off before he says the name. They explain that she's a very powerful, very dangerous Sideral, and they try not to say her name aloud if they can help it because they're reasonably certain she can hear them when they do. But they explain that if she likes you, she'll spar with you... and if she doesn't like you, she'll spar with you.

But it looks like they're at a dead end, and Bageru talks about the weird timing of it all -- that he's sent to investigate what's going on, and then someone directs an attack at the group. That suggests one of them knows something that somebody else doesn't like. Xương says he doesn't know anything (Hǎifēng makes the obvious joke), and says that only Magos and Bageru would necessarily be able to identify some sort of informant who's directing these attacks.

Magos pauses and goes over what they know, and says that it's possible someone has smuggled an artifact into the arena that contains these attackers. There are multiple artifacts that contain pocket realms and such, after all. The conversation comes back around to the 'eye and spines' brand, and Hǎifēng identifies it as the mark of the school of Suntarankal. Xương asks if the school is legitimate, and Magos says that it indeed exists, and as part of various diplomatic deals and arrangements a couple of their students wind up in the tournament where it's being held. And there are a couple of other schools or groups of martial artists like that, like the lion-masked Dragon-Blood that Hǎifēng fought.

"Dimensional exchange program," Hǎifēng remarks.

Magos shrugs. "Hell is another country."

They then go on to talk about how there might not be an informant directing the attacks, that there just might be one person with the hypothetical artifact. Magos keeps thinking back to the woman dressed as the Empress, and Xương says he doesn't see why someone would do themselves up like that. Hǎifēng says that someone like that is either making a point or a statement, and Xương says he hopes it gets stated before someone else gets beaten down in the street. Bageru will drink to that.

Magos says that ever since the Empress' disappearance, there've been con artists all over creation pretending to be or represent her in some fashion. It's possible this one happens to be a martial artist and got chosen for that, but Magos doesn't know for sure because they don't pick the competitors. Xương asks who does make that choice, and they simply shrug and say the Organizers do. Xương asks if the Organizers are beyond reproach, and Magos opines that nobody is beyond reproach -- even gods, who have their own ambitions and exploitable quirks. There are gods they'd see as beyond reproach, but 'most of them are the Sun.' But they make it clear to the group that they'll ask the higher-ups, but incidents do happen at the tournament -- I may have mentioned this before, but Magos points out that stuff like what happened with Shango and his brother happens on average about once per tournament. Xương says he bets there a number of matches that begin with "You!" angrily hissed across the arena, and Magos says that's kind of intentional because the tournaments have always been a vehicle for pathos and drama.

Magos is getting ready to leave, and both they and Bageru acknowledge that there's surely some detail they're missing, they can both sense it, but they just don't know what. But before they leave, Magos is reminded that Hǎifēng wanted to talk to them earlier, and asks what's up.

Hǎifēng says that they recognized Magos' usage of Dreaming Pearl Courtesan techniques in the fight against the 'monks,' and they're struggling with advancing their knowledge of the style because they can't get the proper Form Charm right. Magos admits they can't quite nail it themselves -- they practice, but they're just a dabbler. Their father's a master, and he'd be able to help, but they do share a bit of advice he's given them -- that sometimes a martial art can be a dance, and sometimes you need the right dance partner to teach you how. 

Magos offers to spar with them later and see if that helps, but they strongly suspect that Hǎifēng will be able to find the right dance partner one way or another, as fighters operating at Hǎifēng's obvious level of skill naturally draw similar fighters into their orbit. Hǎifēng's annoyed, as that's obviously not the answer they were hoping for. Magos adds that if their father were in attendance they'd ask him to give Hǎifēng a sparring match or a lesson or something -- they think he and Hǎifēng would get along, in fact.[5]

But with that, Magos says if they're not needed for anything else, they need to go have a chat with the Organizers. But the group's got some time so they should feel free to get pampered, or get wasted, or whatever. Also, they tell Shango they're going to send someone to talk to him about Weirdflame. So Shango hangs out in the living room of their chambers to wait while Xương goes and takes a nap and Hǎifēng goes to get taken care of at a bathhouse.

About a half-hour after Magos and Hǎifēng leave, there's a knock at the door and Shango gets it. There's a woman with glasses on the other side, also without a mask and dressed in what's increasingly seen as the typical Yu-Shan fashion aesthetic, though much plainer than he's seen so far. She's surrounded by a scent that's kind of like smoke and kind of like cinnamon. She confirms that she's talking to Shango and introduces herself as Ingenious Flame, the Mandarin of Firedust Weaponry (though he doesn't seem to fully realize the weight of that title at first). He invites her in and she asks about his devil caster. He offers it to her and she takes a look at it, and immediately recognizes it as Weirdflame, talking to it almost like it's a person and saying she hasn't seen it in a while.

Shango's confused, and she says that it hasn't been in 'circulation' in almost 800 years. She mentions that it's a fine piece of weaponry that someone put a lot of work into, and she can probably guess what his issue is.

Shango nods and says that its power makes you 'give way to madness.'

She asks how much he knows about it, which he admits isn't much besides the fact that his prior incarnation wielded it. As she examines it she mentions that a shaman-smith named the Saint of the Sands forged it after the Usurpation[6], literally breaking down the Fair Folk and incorporating their essence (and Essence) into it. She strokes the barrel in a way that makes it glow (and gets an "Ooooh" from Shango), and explains that the glow is the actual literal chaos (derived from basically melted-down fae) that's been worked into the moonsilver. It's that chaos that makes the weapon more efficient and powerful, but it does have an effect on those who wield it.[7] Shango says that the efficiency and power of it helps the group win their battles.

She explains that the destabilizing effect of Weirdflame can't be removed or undone, not without completely neutralizing it, but with time he can potentially develop better techniques for managing it. (In terms of game mechanics, this would probably be the realm of custom Evocations) She mentions the incident that he had earlier, and he shamefully looks at the ground as she asks if that's the first time he's lost control like that. He answers in the affirmative but overall he's felt more aggressive, but he hadn't been pushed to that degree yet. That also preemptively answers her next question, but she says that the weapon can only inflame what's already within the wielder, that it's not taking him over or forcing him to do anything on its own.

Shango acknowledges aloud that he needs to get better control about himself and about it, and Ingenious Flame says that's true of many of the most powerful artifacts. And something about the sheer casualness of that statement seems to drive home with him who he's talking to: the literal god of firedust weapons like flame pieces and firewands. And with a newly-realized respect, he gestures for Weirdflame.

She hands it back and reminds him that he can learn to master the madness, but he can't get rid of it entirely. Without that chaos, it's just a flame piece made of fine metal with a mother-of-pearl grip. She asks if he has any specific questions, but he doesn't. She wishes him luck in developing whatever techniques he can, and hopes he enjoys the rest of the event and they meet again better circumstances.

Elsewhere and a little later, Hǎifēng's been pampered, and now they're out sitting on a patio under a simulated beach view sipping Mai Tais (or whatever such a drink would be called in Exalted). There's a knock at the door leading out to the patio and it opens and Magos comes out with a tray with a couple of fresh drinks and some corn hogs that Hǎifēng had requested. They set the tray down on a table next to Hǎifēng and sit down on a nearby chair, taking one of the drinks for themself.

They explain they wanted to fill in Hǎifēng on whatever progress they've made, which sadly isn't much. They asked the Organizers about Her Redness, but they're conferring among themselves before sharing anything. So either they're holding something back or there's something going on that they don't know but they don't want to admit they don't know. Hǎifēng says that's about what they expected, and Magos replies with obvious consternation that they're usually more helpful than this. Hǎifēng says that someone's responsible and they need to find the politically-correct way to handle it. Magos points out they don't get involved in politics if they can help it, it's a big part of why they spend so much time in Creation.

They go on for a bit about how Heaven is a lot like any big government, in that you have people who want to do the right thing but lack the power or resources to do so, and some (like Magos themself) do what they can. During the overall chatter regarding gods and spirits, Hǎifēng remarks they've met a few, and Magos says they're aware that they've killed a couple. Hǎifēng makes it clear that's not what they were talking about; they're not that crass.

They talk about Magma Blossom, and bemoan the 'poor staffing choice'[8] and the 'clerical error' that put them through the ringer their whole life and almost got them sacrificed. Magos says they were being a little dry talking about that before, but what actually happened was the sort of betrayal and quiet coup one would expect out of the Realm. Hǎifēng, seething, reiterates that it's frustrating that everything that's happened to them is because of the bad staffing choice. And they suggest that Magos carefully consider their delivery. Magos stresses they do get it, and they do help where they can in Creation, that there are gods that are doing what they can but they're too rare and lacking in the power and leverage they'd need.

But sometimes, Magos points out, the Most High find mortals better able to handle this job, and do things like pull them out of a volcano and bless them with Exaltation.

Hǎifēng drains their drink and goes to leave and Magos suddenly sits up and says they realize what they've been missing, and they have to go talk to Bageru.

We cut to Hǎifēng and Magos returning to the group's chambers, where Bageru is reading a book and still holding an ice pack to his head. Shango greets them as they come in.

"Bageru, you remember the 'Empress's assistant, right?" Magos ask.

"Sure, why?" the badger-headed god replies.

"Who is he?" asks the god who should be familiar with who's assisting the VIPs and probably personally handpicked them for those assignments.

Bageru's eyes widen when he realizes where Magos is going with this. "I... don't know."

"Neither do I. So why don't we know who that is?" Magos asks dramatically

To be continued...

[0]-- Admittedly, I should be having the Lion Dogs pop up a lot more often, as realistically they're going to be outnumbering the Celestial Lions and doing a lot of the grunt work. I'm going to try and be better about that, I shouldn't be lazy and just default to the Celestial Lions every time.

[1]-- Though you could argue that as an assassin, he knows enough of the principles from the other side of the knife to be more than qualified.

[2]-- Exalted equivalent of Tuesday.

[3]-- In case it needs to be said, he holds his hand up to an appropriate height for Bageru when saying that.

[4]-- The brand is actually an obscure canon thing from the second edition book... (takes deep breath) ...The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol V. -- Malfeas. Though I'd forgotten until partway through the scene that normally it's only visible when the character is using martial arts they learned from the school where they got the brand. So I handwaved that an Exalt can spend a point of Essence to display it like a Caste mark, and retconned in that he'd done that.

[5]-- The identity of Magos' father hasn't come up and isn't particularly relevant to the narrative, but I'll save mentioning it for just in case it does come up in-character. But Magos isn't one to casually wave that around.

[6]-- Actually, it occurs to me I can't recall if she used the term 'Usurpation' in conversation or not. I mean, she should have mentioned at what time the weapon was made, but she'd have probably used the more 'politically-neutral' term tossed around in Yu-Shan: The Solar Purge.

[7]-- This is where the 'Spark of Madness' Charm comes in. It lets you use the weapon without needing firedust ammunition or having to reload it, but when the Charm is active it gives you a derangement. And you can't turn the Charm off, you have to wait for it to run out.

[8]-- As a reminder, for context, this is referring to how Magma Blossom gave Blackened Bone Whispers a position beneath him in his duties managing the volcanoes of the Cinder Isles, and Blackened Bone Whispers and some of the other gods associated with him betrayed Magma Blossom and subverted everything towards his alliance with the Captain of the Ashen Umbra.