Hey there, y'all. So this is, again, behind. It's partially intentional, as there are two sessions typed up here and the first one is mostly a dramatic boss fight and follow-up confrontation and the other is denouement. So I let the blog post for the first one slide because depending on where the 'episode' cutoff for the second was, I might've divided that up between a couple of different posts -- one to cap off the tournament, one to kick off the next story.
And just as a reminder before we get into it, the PoD version of Realms of Magic & Mystery is available. Also, my two-part reading of "The Kit Gloves Are Off" from Samhain Secrets: World Premiere is available on Spotify: Part 1, and Part 2.
And I haven't offered up this disclaimer in a while, but there are some talky bits and I didn't get every word down so I'm probably mangling quotes, misattributing lines, and I know there's stuff I had my NPCs say that was good in the moment but didn't write it down and didn't recall later.
(For maximum effect, listen to "White Rabbit" in the background as this opening sequence builds up.)
The 'episode' opens up on a crater in what was once part of a city on the southern coast where Yu-Shan meets the quicksilver sea. A caption on the bottom of the screen reads "Arcadelt's Folly." The center of the crater is a massive, misshapen blur, motes and blobs float through the air and distorting the view, and some of them start to come together and coalesce into shapes. The shapes form into monsters, animalistic beast-things that resemble a child's nightmare of beastfolk hordes. They start to surge out into the city as guards, both humanoid gods and Lion Dogs, gather to coordinate a response.
A man staggers out of the middle of it, wearing what looks like the robes of a government functionary.
"Sir, you need to get out of there!" one of the Lion Dogs calls out, and the man steps towards them, clearly identifiable to the audience now as Sombre Crane. "How did you get in there?"
"It worked, now to see if I can hold it," the man says, more to himself. As he steps forward, he begins to grow in size. The robes harden like a shell, and transform into something reminiscent of Dynastic or perhaps Shogunate armor. He grows to ten feet tall, with a countenance almost like an ogre. The Lion Dogs' eyes widen.
"Who are you... What are you?" one of them asks.
The figure grows larger, the armor becoming like scales as he takes on a draconic aspect. The Lion Dog that spoke panics and lunges at him, and just gets backhanded into a nearby building, where it hits with a crack.
Then the figure erupts into a shape like a dragon, but not like the dragons the setting normally knows -- something like a Western dragon, the body bulging and warping but returning to the draconic shape.
"Just need to keep this together long enough to get there," the creature rumbles as it takes to the sky on big leathery wings. Something like a massive flock of birds bursts out of the Wyld zone behind it, flying ahead of it as it starts to cross the sea at incredible speed, making a beeline for a large warehouse-like structure in the distance.
(If you're still listening to "White Rabbit," the relevant bit is over now so if you continue that's on you.)
The camera then zips across the sea, coming to focus on the roof of the arena. A disk, made of something like glass and resembling a taijitsu, falls from the sky and crashes into the roof. It explodes into reflective silver and obsidian shards, some the size of a large door, and four figures appear from it. Three of them are our intrepid adventurers: Hǎifēng, Shango, and Xương, and they land kinda rough. The fourth manages the classic three-point 'superhero' landing.
She rises and looks around, Heaven's Calibration sky a sunset red as it has been at all times. In the distance, a slightly misshapen draconic shape approaches. But ahead of it, a flock of birds flies faster, ready to overtake it. The Lunars recognize this for what it is, and that recognition chills them, but there are more important matters.
"I was worried I'd miss the show... but I'm not going to watch it like this."[0] She then begins to flicker rapidly, her form subtly shifting both in person and in her reflections -- different jewelry, different hairstyle -- until she settles into a form that shows none of the signs of her previous fight with Hǎifēng. In the process, her mask falls off, revealing her face -- the Scarlet Empress' face for them to see. Her anima banner flares, kicking up a cloud of snowflakes around her and 'painting' a blue and white picture of the Scarlet Empress' throne room behind her.
A caption briefly appears on the bottom of the screen before glitching out:
The Scarlet Phoenix
Winter Caste Getimian
She takes a moment to shift through a couple of different stances, including Dreaming Pearl Courtesan, until she settles into a stance that the others don't recognize that is hard to describe beyond seeming ready for all possibilities. Her eyes now look like black glass, and the light hits her differently now... like someone took a picture of her in a darkened room and photoshopped it onto reality.
In another 'cinematic' effect the audience can see that the characters can't, shards of black and silver mirror rise into the sky behind her, fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle to read:
Obsidian Shards of Infinity Form
As the Lunars gather themselves, Hǎifēng gets the others' attention. "I know this is a really inconvenient request, guys, but don't kill her."
Without questioning their Circlemate, the others agree. But Hǎifēng continues, "I just got a crash course in what she is, but it sounds like she's a victim here. One with enough power to wage an attack on Heaven, which isn't inconsiderable, but still a victim." They then take a moment to stretch and rock on their knees, looking up at her. "Is this at least your final form?"
She gives them a look like she refuses to dignify that with a response, as Shango stretches the arm holding Haze-cutter and twirling Weirdflame with the other hand. Xương looks immensely pleased as the world seems to crumble away and he's gotten the scent of the true villain of the story. He charges at her, shouting "Me first!" He's operating under the assumption that she's insane, not malicious, but trusts Hǎifēng and that it'll be sorted in the end.
He lunges at her jaws-first, trying to bite to wound, and she moves like she knows what's coming and has rehearsed for it. However, there's a moment where he realizes that he should be trying to capture her, not subdue her through blood loss, and so at the last minute he goes for the shoulder -- which is not the attack she was ready for. He gets a grip on her shoulder in his teeth, feeling the magic of the robes she's wearing resist him. It's not just through durability, though they are durable -- there's an effect coming off of it that makes him want to recoil, as if taken aback from someone yelling in his face.
Shango takes aim at her with Weirdflame as he adopts Righteous Devil Form, Haze-cleaver held behind him in an aggressive stance. "Cease this attack on Heaven immediately!" he demands. "I don't want to have to burn that pretty face of yours." The Form Charm gives off its own effect, making her wary of what's about to come.
Xương does a stomp and claps his hands to her shoulders to try and grab her, though he can't quite get a hold. But as she ducks away from his grip, Hǎifēng sees their opening. They stop stretching, flick their fans down beside them, and charge at her. They slide between her and Xương, trying to jab at her ankles with the fans in the beginning of a series of attacks. But she sees the move coming and grins as if to say 'Finally.'
She gestures to an obsidian mirror positioned to capture the sight of Hǎifēng sliding to strike her, and Hǎifēng's reflection in the mirror slides forth, interposing itself between the two of them! It's not sturdy enough to withstand Hǎifēng's strikes and it dissolves into obsidian dust and in a moment of existential crisis Hǎifēng scurries behind Xương's back and jumps over him to land in front of her and continue striking.[1]
Hǎifēng's strikes get more and more brutal, the combo ending with fists punctuated by words: "This is why I said you needed something better," they snarl as they hit her until she goes limp in Xương's arms.
"So where do we take her?" Xương asks.
But then they remember the impending attack. Specifically, the flock of birds flying ahead of the dragon-shaped thing, which bulges and occasionally warps for a moment.
A nearby hatch opens up and Magos and Bageru clamber out, finding the trio by tracking their masks, and noting that she's managed to dislodge hers (which isn't supposed to be possible). Someone, I can't remember who but probably Hǎifēng, remarks that this is the worst-planned event ever. While they're puzzled over how she got the mask off, Magos notices the incoming creatures and squints and asks "What is that?"
So Hǎifēng tells them. "Grelidaka."[2]
"I'm guessing they're not just birds," Magos says.
"No," Hǎifēng confirms. "Run." They rush for the hatch to scramble back inside.
"We have defenses, but how do we beat those things?" Magos asks.
They kick around ideas for a moment and Xương comes up with something but says needs to talk to the head of security. Shango has an idea to slow them down, and takes off into the sky as the others rush inside.
Shango flies to a spot in front of the swarm, where the center of the mass is going to be in about a minute. He holds out there until they're close -- dangerously close -- and then draws Weirdflame and activates Wyld Nightmare Inferno. A tornado of fire erupts from him, every color that can be seen and then some, engulfing a big chunk of the swarm.
Inside, Hǎifēng drags the Scarlet Phoenix along and asks Xương if he has any idea what he's doing. Magos takes the group to the control room for the arena's magitech defenses and assumes control, having the authority to do so. Xương, having grown up on the sea with the Lintha, who've got plenty of experience with this sort of oceanic weirdness, has heard his share of strategies for sorting out Grelidaka.
"These things are unpredicatable. The same trick doesn't work twice in a row. But the thing that does work is lightning. They won't fly into a storm, and will go around it at least. If we can get the defense grid on and get it to flicker like lightning, they should turn around."
Magos has an idea to help with that and asks Xương to go grab Captain Tarok. Xương returns to regular size and goes in to find them starting to evacuate people to the airships -- which is the worst possible idea right now. He finds Tarok and Shichirou and tells them they need to stop and get people off the airships because of the creatures. Tarok, naturally, asks what creatures?
"Birdstorm," Xương ominously says, and that immediately gets the pirates' attention. After all, they've been in the West long enough themselves. Shichirou starts getting the evacuation sorted out while Xương brings Tarok back up to the control room. As Magos sets up the defensive shields to flicker like Xương asked, they also ask Tarok to channel their Air-aspected Essence into the system as lightning to add a little oomph to the effect. They do, and the arena seems wreathed in lightning that is enough to scatter the flock once they're close enough.
Shango ends the fire tornado and it unfurls into a phoenix-like shape as he returns to the roof as Xương and Hǎifēng get back up there to potentially deal with the incoming dragon. In they distance, they can see signs of a monster attack in Yu-Shan proper. The dragon approaches, barely holding its shape together, sprouting tentacles and the like[3], as the full moon looms behind it.
Wait, the full moon?
A beam of light comes from the moon, punching cleanly through the dragon as it gets close. It explodes, and Hǎifēng and Shango dive behind Xương to avoid the splatter. The beam of light continues through the dragon to hit the roof, and as the blinding white light fades, there's a figure there: A silver woman dressed as a huntress, dripping quicksilver blood or ichor off her fingers, a bow strapped to her back.
Luna, in their aspect as the Bloody Huntress.
Hǎifēng bows and Shango prostrates himself. Xương doesn't bow but his stance becomes subtly more respectful, and he doens't speak unless spoken to.
"Greetings, my Chosen. I hope my timing wasn't too bad."
"Just fine," from Hǎifēng.
"Impeccable, Lady Luna," Shango adds.
Luna bids them to rise and Xương asks if they should be concerned, as he points at the attack going on in the city. Luna says others have it handled, but they saw an opportunity to check in on some of their Chosen and offer an assist. They get to watch over them every night, after all, but they don't get the chance to speak very often, and while Calibration is a very busy time they've got a moment.[4]
Xương remarks it's been a heck of a vacation, though Shango and Hǎifēng are quick to correct him that it's definitely not a vacation. This gets a chuckle out of Luna, who says they don't want to stay long and make it weird, but they want to impress upon the group that they have faith in them. They reach out and touch each one on the shoulder[5], and remind them that they're always watching, and they always hear their prayers. And with that, Luna shifted to a form like a humanoid bird and flew off back to the city.
Once they were far enough away that it'd be vague as to whether they'd hear them, Hǎifēng yells out "Thank you!" and gets a distinct feeling as if someone had whispered "You're welcome" into their ear. Then they all turn to each other and agree that they absolutely could have taken out that dragon-thing without help. They then head back inside as the alarms start to switch off, returning to some applause from the people inside.
Time passes, while they sort out the aftermath of the attack, make sure the Scarlet Phoenix is taken away somewhere. Reports come in that the attack in Yu-Shan was quickly thwarted, but it also comes up that Sombre Crane escaped at some point during the night.[6] Magos knew, earlier, but didn't want to say anything and disrupt proceedings further since there's already folks on the matter.
But soon enough a banquet is put together for the participants, with foods from all over Creation (including platters of corn hogs and nuggets, with chefs having gotten the recipe from Xương). The Sovereign from Uiliru, Xing the Amethyst Staff, plays music on her adamant harp-bow along with a group of musicians made of living fireglass,[7] along with a handful of demonstrations of martial arts prowess.
One such demonstration consisted of a performance of a scene from "Three Rivers Rising," a play about the criminal underworld of a place called Wu-Jian.[8] The play is about a love triangle between the enforcers of three of Wu-Jian's many martial arts-oriented gangs/schools, while they all face pressure from Realm magistrates. The gangs aren't explicitly named in the play and don't exactly match up with the gangs known to exist in the city -- whether they're meant to imply existing gangs or reflect historical gangs is up in the air. The twist is that unbeknownst to each other (or the magistrates), each of the enforcers is in fact a deep-cover operative working for the Realm.
The scene in question, in which there is no dialogue and the fights aren't choreogrpahed ahead of time, takes place in the aftermath of a smuggling operation gone wrong that destroyed a popular if sleazy bathhouse, starting with Anys Syn playing a member of a gang who all wear old outdated military uniforms, lamenting the loss of the bathhouse as she considers giving up 'the life' and getting out of the city. She's interrupted in her brooding by a muscular man covered in tattoos of weapons known as the Tapestry of Violence[9], portraying a young, ambitious upstart in a gang who all casually carry far too many weapons so their enemies never know what sort of attack they're about to face.
The two fight, the man's tattoos glowing as they seem to jump off of his skin and strike with manifested weapons. Their fighting draws the attention of a third fighter, a woman with sickly-green hair, vaguely-reptilian features and jaded assassin from a gang that's mostly scaly beastfolk and mutants. (In some performances, this character is often portrayed as and/or portrayed by one of the Lintha, and as a result even Xương knows about this play.) She emerges from her hidden territory beneath the wreckage of the bathhouse to attack the pair. Emotions spill over into the fight, and just as the three realizes that none of them seriously want to hurt the others and there's a tangled web of attraction there, the Realm attacks.
The magistrates and their forces are portrayed by Jaspio Tesa (the Heaven's Dragon that Hǎifēng fought) and the Shimmerside Corsairs. The three team up against the Realm's forces -- whose numbers are represented by the same handful of martial artists making a show of being expelled from the ring just to come back from another angle. The three team up against the soldiers until they see an opening through a tunnel above them, escaping via a cable hanging down from the ceiling.
At the ending of the performance, the trio all take a bow before the reptilian woman shapeshifts to reveal she was Magos all along.
As the banquet continues, Hikaru gets up and expresses their thanks, respect, and appreciation for the competitors, as well as thanking everyone for their patience in such a tumultuous tournament. They thank Hǎifēng and their Circle in particular for their contributions. Hǎifēng just waves and does little monkey shenanigans while Shango bows politely (still somewhat ashamed for dropping out), and Xương's all "Shucks, t'weren't nothin'."
Hikaru also tells Hǎifēng and Shango that they would be ready to hear their requested boons, or they may save them for private. Hǎifēng's public with their's: They want An-Teng's lowest and downtrodden, particularly in the City of the Steel Lotus, who once helped Hǎifēng be helped in turn. To have their quality of life improved, to thank them for all they did to help Hǎifēng survive and last long enough to understand what they were capable of. Hikaru says they think something can be done, there.
Shango saves his boon for private.
Hikaru then announces that everyone's got a couple of hours to pack up and sort their stuff out before it's time for them to leave, but everyone now has the option to take their masks off. The masks, it's pointed out, will dissolve back into Essence in time so they can't be kept as souvenirs, but there's someone in the arena marketplace who can produce copies for those who want one. Xương, Hǎifēng, and Shango all take their masks off, as do several of the others. Hikaru then takes the trio aside to ask Shango if he'd like to discuss his boon.
Shango awkwardly admits that he's being private with his boon because he wasn't expecting the others to be so selfless with theirs (as a reminder, Xương asked Hikaru to do something to help Kim Sơn with his illness, even if it's just to help his family or ease his passing). Hǎifēng and Xương gives Shango a playfully-judgemental stare, and Hikaru makes it clear that there is no judgement here. They've heard their share of selfish and foolish requests. Shango still hesitates, and Hikaru continues to point out that the boons are meant to empower heroes to keep doing good for all of Creation.
So Shango asks for a new ship. Something a little sturdier, catches the wind a little better, something like that. (Both Haifang and Xương both wonder what's wrong with the Moonlight Maiden). Hikaru says that's a very reasonable request given the character's territory and activities. They point out with a mischievous grin that it will take some time to put something together -- to find something suitable and get it discreetly to the group. They ask the Lunars if there's anything else they need, but they're all good for the moment.
Hikaru says if they need anything else, they can ask Bageru -- or Magos, who's pretending not to listen -- and then Hikaru goes to talk to Lytek.
With their remaining time in Heaven, Hǎifēng gets pampered one more time while making plans to smuggle out their pipefox, and they and Shango both get copies of their masks made. Xương goes back to his quarters to rest to find a knife embedded in the wall with a bundle hanging from it. The bundle includes some sulfur-smelling powder and a note from Rashmi saying that he knows Xương's had some trouble getting to try celestial cocaine so he's pulled some strings and sent Xương something... close. So Xương proceeds to get blitzed on Infernal cocaine. Shango goes looking for Hornet to talk to him, just to find out he's already been sent back to Creation.
In time the three head out to the airship docks where Laughing Knife is making sure everyone's accounted for. He says he saw most of their fights but missed the one up on the roof, and someone (I didn't write down whom, but I think it was Hǎifēng) remarks that it was pretty exclusive. Laughing Knife asks if they need anything to get them back to Creation, but they don't. So he turns to Bageru with a nod, and Bageru says his goodbyes, as he has some things to do inside but there's already someone arranged to take them the rest of the way home. He also offers a hug if anyone wants them (knowing that Hǎifēng at least would want to do so and wanting to give them permission without calling them out) and Hǎifēng predictably takes advantage.
They get to their ship to find a woman in purple at the wheel. She says she'll have them back to Creation in a few hours, probably midnight at the latest, so that gives them the last day of Calibration to relax before -- and then she gestures to the sky -- starts up again. Everyone releases the commitments on their Deadly Beastman forms and settle in for a ride.
After a couple of hours in the air, they're enveloped by sparkling fog that actually seems to get into the airship a bit, and then about twenty minutes later it clears up and they can see Lathe in the distance out the window. They approach at a pretty decent speed, the airship eventually meeting up with the water to approach the docks as if it were a normal ship. As they get ready to disembark, the woman says it's been an honor to let them off at the end of their little adventure. She wishes them safe travels and offers her blessings to their loved ones.[10]
They stay in Lathe through the end of Calibration, and once everything's back to normal and the new year has begun, they leave Lathe to head back towards the mainland in the east. At one point Shango calls Hǎifēng and Xương up onto the deck to talk to them, and they find him with a knife.
"okay, we're finally doing this, huh?" Xương asks as he cracks his knuckles. Shango, confused, is like "What?" Hǎifēng hides a hatchet behind a barrel.
Shango then says that he's been doing a lot of thinking since running into his brother, and he's realized it's been stupid of him to keep using his family name and should have realized they'd come after him. Also, he's been selfishly relying on their resources while Hǎifēng and Xương have been his real family. While also putting the pair in danger by clinging to his own name.
He then proceeds to cut off his topknot and toss it into the air and let the wind scatter it to the breeze, and says that from no on he's no longer Baihu Kojo Shango. Now he's just 'Gou.'
Hǎifēng hugs him and says "Aww, Gou..." A beat passes. "...you're still rich, right?"
To which Gou explains "Not as much, but I'm going to work on that."
And after a few moments of just unconditional support, Hǎifēng announces that they're buying the drinks next port town they're at. Xương says "Oh ho ho, prepare for poverty."
And we leave off there, with them sailing off for Talipan Island and the town of Smolder.
A couple of days ago, on the Blessed Isle...
The monk staggers out of the wilderness with a relieved sigh as she sees the Cloister of Wisdom a short walk way. She's about to collapse from exhaustion, having been dropped off in the middle of nowhere. She leans against a tree and says that it'll be good to get some rest... then she passes out from exhaustion.
A figure emerges from her shadow, coalescing into the shape of a man in an outdated courtier's outfit. Sombre Crane says he thought she'd never go back to sleep. But now it looks like he's back in Creation and has some stuff to do...
A little later, near Cherak...
Hornet stares at the ceiling of his familiar room, still heavily-bandaged, but improving. They'd partially healed him before sending him back to Creation, but not so much as to cause a stir.
"I see you're awake," a grim voice says from the doorway. "Are you ready to explain where you were?"
Hornet sits up. "I was taken to Heaven by the gods," he says, prompting a disdainful snort from the shadowed figure. "There was a tournament, and I encountered my brother. The stories are true -- he has fallen to the Anathema. He's become one of them." He looks up at the man in the doorway. "I'd like to call a Wyld Hunt."
"You would drag the forces of the monastery halfway across Creation?"
Hornet gets out of the bed and prostrates himself before the other monk. "Please, sir, I've seen the monster he's become and the monsters he travels with. Someone has to stop them, and I know how to find them. At least her my plan, Master Deled," Hornet says as he prostrates himself again. The camera pans to reveal the form of Peleps Deled in the doorway, his hood down, his cloak hanging off his shoulders. Despite his reluctance, the camera captures his cruel smile.
And finally, in the waning hours of Calibration...
"I can already feel my power fading, Lytek," Hikaru says, the two of them sitting alone in the room while the latter reviews the book he's been writing in. "Soon enough I go back to merely being a patron for certain writers and actors, until the next time."
"I still think it went pretty well," Lytek remarks.
"How's the book shaping up?"
"It's not quite finished yet, there's still some chapters yet to be written."
"I expected that, but they've got some journeys ahead of them, things to do. Does it have a title yet?"
"You tell me," Lytek says, holding up the book with its plain, text-less cover
The plain-faced God of Protagonists reaches out to touch the book, and there's a flash of light. They recoil from it, needing a moment to collect themselves. Lytek watches in concern but knows from experience that there's nothing he can do to help, and that Hikaru will be fine.
But now the title of the book Lytek holds is visible:
Tales of the Moonlight Maiden
And that's it for this way-too-long tournament arc. And while that would have been a good 'season finale,' that's still yet to come. But I decided I'd rather have this story ending here rather than wrap up the main plot we're doing and then have a random tournament arc.
So what was going on? In a nutshell, Hikaru is the God of Protagonists (an original character of mine, named after the main character of "The Tale of Genji"), normally a patron deity of certain actors and writers. But something about Calibration removes the limits on their powers, reality getting wobbly that time of year giving them a boost. So they use that time to gather up up and coming heroes all over Creation -- people who could be the main characters of a story. They get some other gods together and hold the nameless tournament to test these against each other as well as themselves. Give them some new experiences and let them learn some important life lessons. And, in the end, to give them some sort of boost so they can be the heroes they're meant to be. It's weird and meta and hard to explain in-character, especially in that the tournament also lets them pick someone to be the hero(es) of whatever the 'current' story is (or at least one such story).
And of course, not all protagonists are inherently heroic -- from a certain point of view, the Scarlet Phoenix is potentially one of the greatest heroes of Creation with the right guidance. And maybe her experiences at the tournament have shown her a new way, or maybe they just tipped off the Moonlight Maiden Circle as to a future threat to deal with. Anything could happen! (which, incidentally, is why I didn't have any cutscene revealing her final fate, because I don't want to nail down just yet how she's going to get away and be a problem later)
But with that, leaving off for now!
[0]-- I actually can't remember the line I came up with for her in the moment, and I didn't write it down. Please accept this store-brand substitution.
[1]-- So to explain this, Obsidian Shards of Infinity Style is a Sidereal Martial Art. Like all SMAs, it's got some weird esoteric shit in it, one of them being that you can summon someone's reflection to fight them. The Scarlet Phoenix, thanks to another Charm, was able to try and counter Hǎifēng's attack with it, but failed. I probably could have declared it by fiat that she succeeded, or had her summon the reflection at a time it wouldn't have interfered with an attack -- or just fudged the die roll. But most of the time, I'd rather let fortune favor the players as long as they still get a cool moment out of it.
[2]-- See, being from the Southwest, the three of them are familiar either directly or otherwise with the phenomenon known as the Grelidaka. It's a flock of black birds, born of the Wyld (or in this case, a Wyld zone contained within Heaven), that steadily grows in size because the birds multiply. The individual birds can't survive if removed from the swarm, and a lot of attacks that would destroy them just split them in two. In the Western directions, anyone who sees a flock of blackbirds always does a double-take just in case it's one of these swarms, because they can and will wipe villages off the map and there aren't a lot of consistent ways to stop them.
[3]-- If you're familiar with the video game 'The Secret World,' the effect looks a lot like Filth corruption.
[4]-- Luna doesn't say this, but they're taking advantage of a lull in the Games of Divinity, as Saturn as stepped away from the table for the moment on some private errand.
[5]-- As the group has hit enough experience to qualify for Essence 5, for those who hadn't yet upped their Essence as part of a stunt in combat (which is a thing I let them do, with some mechanical benefits), this counted as the sort of communion normally required to increase it to 5. Also, Hǎifēng would later look at their shoulder to see that their moonsilver tattoos had reshaped themselves to reflect where Luna touched them.
[6]-- I tried to imply this during Hǎifēng's dream sequence, but it didn't quite 'take.' The idea is that that's how Sombre Crane allowed the Scarlet Phoenix to infiltrate Hǎifēng's dreams. And I did consider having it come up before the fight, but decided it really would be a distraction.
[7]-- In other words, they're basically hard-light constructs/holograms.
[8]-- For the record, Wu-Jian is an established place in-setting, but the play is something I completely made up off the top of my head and wound up being way too detailed.
[9]-- This is a character I meant to flesh out and have show up earlier. Long story short, he's an Exigent -- the Chosen of Martial Arts Challenges -- and the winner of the previous tournament.
[10]-- I came very close to having her comment she hopes not to see them again too soon, on account of the fact that she's Saturn, the Maiden of Endings, but I thought that'd be a bit too cliche.
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