Note: Since her mind control ability appears to have a verbal component, you should stay within throttling range (i.e. arm's length) at all times.

"It's possible that my cousin is following. I mentioned to her that you might be as special as people in our family are, so they could be interested in independently following up on that. If that's the case we might be better off visiting one of their places and including them in the discussion anyway, if you're interested in information exchange or negotiation of other considerations. If it's our mutual friends with the red accessories, well, I did not tell them to come and dear Feng was certainly present for your message, wasn't he?"

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/13(Sun)13:25 No. 669417 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669372
>>669356

”It's possible that my cousin is following. I mentioned to her that you might be as special as people in our family are, so she could be interested in independently following up on that. If that's the case, we might be better off visiting one of her places and including her in the discussion anyway, if you're interested in information exchange or negotiation of other considerations. If it's our mutual friends with the red accessories, well, I did not tell them to come and dear Feng was certainly present for your message, wasn't he?”

Sienna narrowed her eyes at me before looking up at the sky again – the bird was gone.

”Shall we try to lose them, or would you prefer to… tell them to leave?”

”In here,” she pushed me into a shallow alley, motioning me to be silent. She pulled a glass dagger from her boot and silenced my complaint with a harsh glare.

Not long after we ducked out of sight, I heard the quiet shuffle of bare feet on the packed earth. Whoever it was was trying to be quiet and doing a fair job of it. As soon as the sound approached our hiding spot, Sienna struck, pulling the person off-balance and into the alley with us. In a scuffle that was was too short to really be called such, she has the interloper pinned against the wall, his hood thrown back, and the knife pressed against his throat.

It’s Amaranth, wearing the face I associated with him before coming to Chiaroscuro.

”Not your cousin, not a member of the gang – what do you want, Djala?” Sienna murmured, pressing the blade further.

Amaranth’s red eyes flickered to me, and I could almost see the beginnings of a charm forming there. If I was going to defuse the situation, I’d need to do so quickly.

"If there really is a third faction skilled enough to infiltrate the city, is it wise to offer violence the first time we meet an agent?"

"More cousins, meet Courage. He's not here to hurt you Sienna, please remove the knife or I'd actually be expected to defend him."

If she does that, we don't give her an opening to talk before we begin pretend bickering, asking just how many people were involved in looking over our shoulder besides just him and Glorious Zephyr.

>>669422
Uhm, we've already piled up enough BS that we could fall face-first into. Aside from that, if we have to start talking about an actual faction in response to that we're giving away free information, which is counterproductive: Part of the game we're playing is making Sienna *pay* to find out how we hook and/or screw her.

Damn. Our backup is causing more problems than help. Although directing suspicion away from us and at others is something we might be able to use?

>possible approaches
Okay, >>669427 is suggesting we pretend to know them and are friendly. Which is awkward in that it turns the suspicion right back at us.

A variation might be we pretend to know the assumed identity, but as a rival or competitor. Or someone else who's interest we attracted. More threats directed against us might make Sienna more confident, and lets us sort of play two sides at once. The tricky bit is selling him as a rival we don't have reason to want dead.

Hmm. We could call her out on resorting to threats to extract information when she has a far more direct method. If she tries to compel Amaranth, and Amaranth resists but acts affected, he can sell any story he wants as 'true', and get to analyze the charm. Of course, if the charm works, we're fucked. (The other risk is it relies on Amaranth picking up the right idea and running with it).

While Sienna is focused on Amaranth, use hand-gestures and mouthed words to indicate that telekinesis should be used to move some debris around, make it sound like a pack of blood apes is materializing and moving into position around the mouth of the alley. Then say "maybe you should hurry up that interrogation, we're being surrounded."

Sienna uses UMI on Amaranth, Amaranth checks it out with Essence-Dissecting Stare to pin down the nature of Sienna's powers, and you get a perfectly sensible excuse to unpack your bow without Sienna thinking she's the target.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/13(Sun)20:27 No. 669481 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669427

”More cousins – meet Courage. He’s not here to hurt you, Sienna; please remove the knife, or I’d actually be expected to defend him.”

Sienna’s eyes darted from me to Amaranth, but she did as I suggested; it seemed I read her bluff correctly.

”By the gods, you didn’t tell me she was psycho,” “Courage” complained, rubbing at his throat.

”I didn’t tell you anything thinking you would follow us. Did Zephyr put you up to this?”

He smirked, ”You know how she is – always looking out for her little cousin.”

“What are you, the Lintha family?” Sienna asked, exasperated, ”No, don’t answer that – I don’t want to know.”

I shrugged, ”I have a lot of cousins from all over the place.”

“Nevermind,” she said, ”Just- ugh, she’s gonna kill me... Is your cousin another one of your special family members?”

>>669481
Something something, I'm not Lintha I don't eat people that way. Anyway, yeah, you'd have to be special to try and sneak up on us.

>Just- ugh, she’s gonna kill me...
She? Sienna never told us someone else was involved.

Were you planning on introducing me to someone else tonight?

>Is your cousin another one of your special family members?
I'm torn. Yes gives us an excuse to keep him involved, no lets us get him out. I suppose show of strength might be worth more than stealth at this point, as she's show capable of making our tail.

-Apologize for clumsy introduction.
-*Note that it was hard to be more graceful with it when talking with someone as prone to walking off without completing a discussion as Sienna has been.
-*Note that our family seems to have had cause to worry for our safety since Sienna tried to ambush two people in an alleyway instead of responding to being tailed in a more sensible way
-Ask about where she's taking us and how many people we're supposed to meet with.
-*Our family desires secrecy.
-**Our family has special means of binding secrecy agreements that are unmistakable and must not be seen by those unbound by the agreement.
-Add that it would have been more appropriate to bring along Glorious Zephyr than Courage for a discussion, and that he'll be annoyed over the knife at his throat for a while.

>>669481
>Is your cousin another one of your special family members?
"Well duh. Look at his makeup."

>>669567

That's actually the natural skin tone for Djala; check out the discussion thread for a bit more information on them.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/14(Mon)15:09 No. 669610 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669490

”Yeah, you’d have to be special to try and sneak up on us.”

Sienna eyed me up and down but finally seemed ameliorated; she stored the knife back in her boot.

>>669491
>>669547

”Were you planning on introducing me to someone else tonight?”

“Yeah, just one more person. She’s – a member of my family,” Sienna looked to the sky again but didn’t seem to find anything there that worried her.

”Well, we desire secrecy above all else. My – family – has a special means of binding agreements, but it must be done only among those being bound. When we get to your cousin, I would want to do this before we exchange secret handshakes.”

“If she says it’s fine, it’s fine,” she shrugged, ”She knows about this stuff better than I do.”

“So, are we going to stand in an alley all night, or are we going somewhere?” Amaranth asked, grumping.

Sienna cast him a harsh glare that just rolled off, ”Let’s go.”

We continued to follow the red-glass road, heading closer to the Old City. The path became wider as we went until it opened up onto a massive plain of golden glass, a mile wide.

”By the gods…” I breathed out, ”What is this place?”

“At the end of the First Age, a group of Anathema chose Chiaroscuro as their hiding place. A legion of Dragon-blooded fought against them, and the magic unleashed reduced the grand palace of Chiaroscuro to what you see here,” there was a frown caught somewhere between Sienna’s brows, but then it was gone, ”Now, it’s just the Field of Gold. Watch your step – it’s hot.”

I could feel the heat through the soles of my boots as I stepped onto the plain. Amaranth hissed a curse as his bare feet first touched and walked hurriedly to avoid burning his soles.

The moon climbed higher in the sky as we walked in silence. As we progressed, I could make out a dark smudge against the nighttime shore, only barely the shape of a figure at this distance, ”Is that your cousin?”

“That’s her.”

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/14(Mon)15:10 No. 669611 ID: 5a02f7
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The figure eventually resolved into a familiar-looking robed individual with pale, ink-stained hands. I cringed internally at the irony of it.

Sienna turned, ”Before we get to talking, I want you to promise some things. First, that you aren’t going to tell what you hear to anyone else. Second, that you aren’t going to act on it in a way that will get us in trouble. Then we can talk about your secret-oath thing and see if it’s something we’ll agree to.

“And it goes without saying that you should be honest. Otherwise, the whole thing’s off.”

"There are some secrets that aren't mine to tell, but I'll tell the truth or try and give a good reason for silence."

That's totally Myria there.

Of course, neither of you are wearing faces that have met her before, even if you both know her, so it would be foolish to address her by name, or reveal that you know her.

>Before we get to talking, I want you to promise some things. First, that you aren’t going to tell what you hear to anyone else. Second, that you aren’t going to act on it in a way that will get us in trouble.
The first is an easy promise- whatever happens, it's very unlikely you'd ever tell anyone outside your green sun conspiracy the truth. (Although the fact we're telling this story at all in the flashback means we've already implicitly broken this promise). The second is also easy to agree to, although we'll see if we end up using them to their benefit or not.

>And it goes without saying that you should be honest
That we can agree to, though we'll see in an update just how honest we choose to be.

Although I feel like depending on how we explain / introduce the binding secret oath to them and what truths we give them, we have an opportunity for Infernal Genius Declaration. (Basically we rope them into our plans, we tell them we're doing that, and the oaths sticks it to em). Would have to be worded just right, though.

This is fscking hilarious. If my guess is right, we've just met up with (representative members of) the abyssal group in town. Problem: We don't know how many more there may be here, and we know there are roughly twice as many abyssals as there are green sun princes (and princesses). That's just a guess and there are other plausible possibilities for what/who we're meeting here, so don't get trapped in false expectations: Others in the top ten list include solar and lunar, rogue abyssal and lunar, members of the empire, runaways from the empire, and local deities that are creeped out by us.

-Those terms are an acceptable starting point for negotiations. We would amend and extend them.
-*All constraints and conditions to be mutually binding on all parties and witnesses.
-*We'll avoid speaking untruths but we insist on fair exchange for any information we give.
-*Our agreement binding method reveals clearly the nature of our family to any who understands the signs, so a condition would be similar--truthful--declaration of their family's natures.
?? -**It's also potentially visible from a distance, so we should do this somewhere less open.
-*The word "trouble" is vague and capable of both underreaction and overreaction to failures of intent and action. We suggest changing that to a formal truce.
-**To last indefinitely until formally declared broken (communicated clearly, formally, unmistakably, in speech and writing to notify all known affected parties) with seven days of grace continuation period.
-*These terms are broadly acceptable as long as we can inform our inner circles in the rest of our family.
-**Nobody who isn't themselves special with comparable need for secrecy of their own.
-***This is necessary because otherwise we'd be charged with controlling the conduct of others without being able to explain ourselves, under the conditions of the truce.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/15(Tue)15:22 No. 669776 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669705

”I can agree to that, with a few amendments.”

Sienna crosses her arms, though it could just as easily be against the brisk wind or in frustration, ”What?”

“As I spoke of before, I have a way to bind an agreement between parties, but it is potentially visible from a distance – perhaps we should do this somewhere less open?”

“We’re a mile away from anyone watching, there’s no need to-“

“That’s a lie,” Amaranth interrupted, ”You keep looking up to the sky – something’s up there.”

Sienna looked taken aback at being called out so forcefully, ”Fine. To the best of my knowledge, we’re a mile away from any eyes that aren’t friendly – does that make you happy?”

Amaranth nodded.

”I’ve heard of such a technique,” Myria’s voice is barely audible above the wind, ”We would be willing to undergo it.”

I didn’t know whether to be unsettled or reassured that she knew what I was talking about, ”Neither of us trust each other,” I stated plainly, ”That much is clear. We’ll be honest, but we demand honesty in return and fair exchanges of information.

>>669627

“There are some secrets that aren’t mine to tell, and I assume the same is true for you. I’ll tell the truth or try and give a good reason for my silence.”

Sienna looked to Myria, who nodded, ”We can agree to that, too. But we still aren’t talking until you agree to our first two terms.”

“First, all agreements are mutual.”

“Aye.”

“”Trouble” is too vague – I suggest changing it to a formal truce.”

Myria spoke up, ”No party would make moves to or by inaction endanger the other. Actions by others that would endanger the other party would be opposed with the utmost effort.”

“That’s… workable, for now. The truce would last until formally broken, with seven days of grace period.”

“No,” Sienna interrupted, ”Held until all parties involved agree to break it.”

I sighed, ”Finally, I would like to inform the inner circle of the rest of my family, all special people as well, with comparable needs of secrecy.”

Sienna shook her head, ”Unacceptable. These words don’t leave here without everyone’s consent. Your family is your problem – tell them that you swore an oath on it, and that should be all the explanation they need.”

I felt Myria’s cold gaze on me, even from within the depths of her hood.

>“No,” Sienna interrupted, ”Held until all parties involved agree to break it.”
How do you enforce a truce between two parties indefinitely if one side decides they wish to break it? Uh, unless we word it into the binding oath we haven't triggered yet, but Sienna explicitly specified these as preliminaries we agree to before even discussing the oath. So they're separate agreements.

Then again, it specifies "endanger". Technically that leaves us free to act against each other in any way that's not putting them in danger, which is exactly the kind of Bond villain nonsense we should excel at as green sun princes. ("So many fates worse than death" backstab).

>These words don’t leave here without everyone’s consent.
Due to the very way this narrative is structured, the words have already left. (Unless agreeing to terms means the remainder of the meeting gets blacked out for the readers and/or Edge's future-audience). Which means we either will get that consent or break those terms. (Or never accepted / will accept them in the first place).

And um. We're telling this story to the Ebon Dragon. ...if we swear an oath to the Yozi not to tell the Yozi something, is that even enforceable? Wouldn't the Yozi have to be made implicitly aware of information we're not supposed to share?

We got logical paradoxes here.

>>669808
Nah, we're just lying assholes. Ignore the man behind the curtain, etc.

Agree.

>>669809
Actually, I'm concerned we may not be able to be lying assholes.

If they're asking us to make promises without any binding oath or real trust enforcing it, the only thing that makes sense is if they're somehow checking our intent.

I'm wondering if that cold gaze we feel is Myria using some kind of charm on us that will reveal a false promise as a lie.

>>669831 >>669809 >>669808
I have a much simpler interpretation of what's going on here that make perfect sense of the available evidence: They scared of us, because they're a rogue pair with no backup, and we're doing a pretty credible job of appearing to be part of a significant organization.

"Our problems with informing nobody about you or an agreement with you would mostly fall into two sets: The first is our responsibilities to our family, particularly regarding our secrecy, safety, cooperation and goals. It's difficult to elaborate on that for obvious reasons. The other set is that we can't get our family to follow agreements they don't even know of, with people they don't know, according to terms they don't know. At least I don't see how it would work.
"Are you really part of a larger organization? Recruitment may be an option to break this impasse. We can make offers of wealth, notable items, knowledge, underlings, and potentially more than that for the right recruitment candidates, depending on the candidate. Then we'd be obligated to protect you and your secrets without even needing any specific agreements about that.
"If that's not an answer worth considering from your perspective then I'm failing to understand what your perspective is. In that case would you please be more detailed about your confidentiality concerns?"

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/16(Wed)13:10 No. 669971 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669808

”Wait, wait. If you agreed to that, and you’re telling us now, doesn’t that mean you broke your agreement?” Kamai asked, ”Or is it okay, since you’re telling us and the Ebon Dragon, and the Ebon Dragon is the One Who gave you the power in the first place? Would the Ebon Dragon know about the thing you swore already? Wouldn’t that break the oath?”

“Kamai, slow down before ya break somethin’ in that noggin of yers,” Lintha teased.

>>669809

I held up a placating hand, ”Let me just tell the story, all right?”

The Ebon Dragon let out something that sounded like a giggle.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/16(Wed)13:11 No. 669972 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669848

"Our problems with informing nobody about you or an agreement with you would mostly fall into two sets: the first is our responsibilities to our family, particularly regarding our secrecy, safety, cooperation and goals. It's difficult to elaborate on that for obvious reasons. The other set is that we can't get our family to follow agreements they don't even know of, with people they don't know, according to terms they don't know. At least I don't see how it would work.”

“I don’t care about your damn family,” Sienna said, raising her voice, ”I want you to agree to this right now. We swear the oath, and then we can stop talking around this thing already.”


I studied her, "Are you really part of a larger organization? Recruitment may be an option to break this impasse. We can make offers of wealth, notable items, knowledge, underlings, and potentially more than that, depending on the candidate. Then we'd be obligated to protect you and your secrets without even needing any specific agreements about that.”

“Our affiliation would be covered under the secrecy of the oath,” Myria said. A seabird descended from the sky and nestled on her head.

I shrugged, "If that's not an answer worth considering from your perspective then I'm failing to understand what your perspective is. In that case would you please be more detailed about your confidentiality concerns?"

“”Our confidenti-“!” Sienna let out a low groan

”Calm. Her points are valid,” Myria instructed.

Sienna took a few breaths and lowered her voice, sticking out her finger for emphasis, ”Listen, what we’re talking about here could get all of us in enough trouble to kill us and steal our souls away from Lethe itself. That’s my confidentiality concern. If – my associate trusts this oath of yours, then I’m willing to throw in, too. Keep in mind we’re doing this the nice way. We want this to go with the only things being exchanged are words,” she leaned back, ”We want friends, not enemies.”

“I have a proposal for the oath,” Myria spoke up, ”We swear these words do not leave this place and this time without the agreement of all other parties. We swear that we do not act against each other through action or inaction. This truce will be dissolved when all parties agree to do so. Parties are freed from this agreement upon their death.

“Is that specific enough to your liking?”

We should probably specify that no information leaves if we want to be comprehensive, not just words.

>We should probably specify that no information leaves if we want to be comprehensive, not just words.
Current hypothesis for cause of paranoia: They are abyssals trying not to admit that to people who they think don't know. This is annoying because they are the only outsiders who could reasonably know exactly what we are too. And everybody needs to be able to talk about this meeting because it's got political-level implications above our heads.

"By Malfeas, if I've finally figured out the signs correctly we've both been wasting time. Do we not already know each other's most dangerous, dirty secrets?
"If I did guess right I'd imagine we can move on to other business now, unless you still think we need a specific truce and secrecy agreement for some reason."

Insist part of the deal be that you get a proper date after this meeting- after all, she said if her associate agreed to the oath, she was in~

>>669984
Nah, not enough evidence to play our cards this early and it's funnier to let them sweat anyway. Seriously though, good odds the reason for their paranoia is more personal than what type of supernatural creature they are. Like what they're supposed to do here.

>>669985
Now's not a good time for wooing.

>>669984
Alternate version of spoken, if character knowledge supports it:
"By Malfeas, if I've finally figured out the signs correctly we've both been wasting time. Let me guess, Daybreak caste, Moonshadow caste, and lunar companion. Do we not already know each other's most dangerous, dirty secrets?
"If I did guess right I'd imagine we can move on to other business now, unless you still think we need a specific truce and secrecy agreement for some reason."

>>669993
The "if" is the problem there.

>>669989 >>669995
If I'm right we can't agree to keep this secret because that would be counterproductive for all of us. Also, I don't really want Edge to be suffering from the curses of breaking our oath under Cecelyne when we tell this story. That leaves us needing something to say and I'm low on ideas for how to milk their false-assumption we don't know they're abyssals. Here's a gamble you might like, we could try to double down on the intimidation by saying we already know their secrets.
(The following requires appropriate character knowledge.)
"You're presuming that secret of yours is secret from us. Let me disabuse you: I'm guessing you're a Moonshadow caste, your friend in the hood is Daybreak caste, and I don't know enough to identify the specifics of your Lunar companion yet. Can we get on with bargaining for information we don't already have now?"

...I'm suddenly wondering if that bird isn't a familiar, but Crimson as a shifted lunar.

>”We swear these words do not leave this place and this time without the agreement of all other parties. We swear that we do not act against each other through action or inaction. This truce will be dissolved when all parties agree to do so. Parties are freed from this agreement upon their death.
I'd add the stipulation that parties aren't exempt from these terms if they happen to have already died before making the agreement. (Closing a possible loophole for abyssal exaltation occurring on death).

Agree to her terms. They're actually fairer than I would have liked (can't screw them over as easily as I would have liked, but we're adequately protected).

As well, obviously the agreement applies to all parties present, even those whose tongues aren't currently suited for speech. *glace at bird*

>paradox concerns
Revisting this idea, I actually kind of think this is a good thing. We're perverting and twisting an ordered system in on itself in a confusing and unexpected way- that kind of subversion is exactly what the Ebon Dragon is all about. He'll love it.

Either the very nature of the oath makes the terms unenforceable, or the paradox of the backwards narrative means we can guarantee we will somehow get them to consent (or outlive them). Hell, we can even preform Infernal Genius Declaration and flat out tell them they're going to eventually allow us to share the truth with our inner circle, if we want to be dicks about it (although do we have to describe method for that to count? Past-edge doesn't have our meta-knowledge).

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/16(Wed)20:41 No. 670059 ID: 5a02f7
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>>669977
>>670033

”A few amendments – first, that no information leaves this place and time, not just words, and, secondly, that parties are not exempt from these terms if they happen to have already died before making the agreement.”

Myria smiled, ”I agree to those terms. Sienna?”

Sienna sighed, ”Yeah, that’s good.”

“I as well,” croaked the bird. I gave it only a glance before I placed my hand out.

”Until the dissolution of this agreement by all of the five parties, we shall swear a truce between us all. The information we exchange here will not leave this place and time without the agreement of all other parties. We swear not to act against each other through action or inaction. Parties will be freed from this agreement only upon a death occurring after this time.”

Sienna placed her hand over mine, ”I swear.”

Amaranth sighed, muttering, ”This is going to bite me in the ass, but I’ll swear.”

Myria placed her hand on top, ”I so swear.”

“As do I,” said the bird.

My caste mark blazed upon my brow for an instant, stretching the shadows strangely about us before it faded away.

Sienna let out a breath, ”You’re one of the Blasphemous – I mean, a Deathknight Zenith, right?”

“Not quite,” Myria remarked, ”I believe we face something stranger than that,” she reached up to lower her hood, and the bird fluttered to Sienna’s shoulder. Her scarred visage was bared as confirmation of her identity, ”I am Myria Ashborn. You are Mirth, correct?”

“That is true,” I stated, ”This is my cousin, Courage.”

“I am Warden Who Stands in Doorways Marked with Crimson,” spoke the bird.

Sienna sighed, ”Gods, it feels so strange being honest for once – it’s good, though,” she studied me, ”So, if you aren’t a Zenith, then what are you?”

"I'm a chosen of Creation's makers, my exaltation taken from the usurpers' usurpers and reforged to serve those it had been used to betray."

Yup, that's Crimson. Literally the only people we've met and not confirmed as exalts are Abel and Rook. Which doesn't mean they aren't.

>So, if you aren’t a Zenith, then what are you?
Well, we said we'd be honest, and we've got them bound to silence.

*Chuckle*. You were close. The deathknights are the creatures of the Neverborn. Remnants of slain Primordials. We trace our roots not to the Labyrinth, but to Hell. To the Yozi that survived. We are Princes of the Green Sun.

(Beat, don't even acknowledge any shock or upset). Now, I believe it would be your turn to tell us who you are?

>Mirth / Courage
Well, the oath wasn't that we'd give true names, or eschew aliases.

"Do you know the story of how the Neverborn got their Abyssal servants? The Yozis got their portion, too, and here I am."

>>670069
Oops, I forgot the last part: "Only my masters are alive, rather than dead."

>Well, the oath wasn't that we'd give true names, or eschew aliases.
What's with people wording ways of giving away the store when they haven't paid for anything or put in a useful set of fine-print? We haven't even been constrained to be honest yet, folks! Wanna pretend to be alchemicals?

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/18(Fri)16:14 No. 670418 ID: 5a02f7
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>>670070

”You were close. The deathknights are creatures of the Neverborn, remnants of slain Primordials. We trace our roots not to the Labyrinth, but to Malfeas. To the Yozis that survived. We are Princes of the Green Sun.”

Everyone’s eyes flew wide at that – the shock was definitely worth it.

”M-Myria?” Sienna stuttered.

”She’s telling the truth,” Myria muttered, ”By the spirits, to think… no, it makes sense. But how?”

“I’m not privy to the exact details, only that I am what I am,” I shrugged, ”I am what once was the Eclipse caste, hence my power to sanctify oaths. They are just as binding as those sworn upon the name of Creation’s Sun, so do not doubt that you will suffer if you break your bond.

“Now, I believe it would be your turn to tell us who you are?”

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/18(Fri)16:14 No. 670419 ID: 5a02f7
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Sienna let out a sigh, ”I’m a chosen of the Sun, one of the Wretched.”

“A Night caste,” Myria corrected.

Sienna shrugged, ”Whatever. I got my power not too long ago, so I’m still getting used to this whole idea that the Anathema aren’t terrible, horrible monsters that serve demons that stole power from the sun and the moon.”

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/18(Fri)16:15 No. 670420 ID: 5a02f7
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”That’s largely due to my tutelage,” Myria said, ”I have been Exalted for several years now, as a Deathknight of the Daybreak caste. However, I no longer serve the Deathlords.”

“A rogue, then,” Amaranth said.

Myria nodded, ”Aye.”

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/18(Fri)16:15 No. 670421 ID: 5a02f7
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The bird – Crimson – spoke, ”I am a Chosen of Luna, blessed by the light of the Full Moon.”

“I take it this isn’t your true shape?” I couldn’t really see Crimson as a sea bird.

He laughed, ”No.”

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/18(Fri)16:16 No. 670422 ID: 5a02f7
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Amaranth spoke last, eying me, ”Like Mirth, I’m a Chosen of Hell as well, but one from the Zenith caste instead of the Eclipse.”

“How does that work?” Myria inquired, ”Any information you can give would satisfy at least some of my curiosity.”

>”She’s telling the truth,” Myria muttered
Running some kind of truth sense. Called it. We'll have to be crafty with our lies / half truths / elegant story telling around this one. I'd love it if Amaranth used her Essence-dissecting Stare and figures out the restrictions and/or limitations, but it's not as if we can ask right now.

>solar Sienna
Huh. Did not call that one. Forgot they had a sneaky caste. Although Edge called it right in their first meeting that her scam showed she was new.

I wonder how much of her angst and grumpiness at us is more due to uncertainty and unhappiness over what she's suddenly becomes? A lack of self-confidence or a shaken worldview is much better ground to exploit than active hate.

>rogue deathlord
>But that's silly, you can't just stop...
Looks like they can after all, Kanami.

Quite the diverse group they have, don't they? (Which is really the follow up question I'd be most interested in).

>I’m still getting used to this whole idea that the Anathema aren’t terrible, horrible monsters that serve demons that stole power from the sun and the moon.
Don't worry, we're the ones who serve demons, and technically the sun and moon stole power from them.

>Amaranth spoke last, eying me
She wasn't expecting the night to go this way, for sure.

One way she comes out ahead though: she now knows who and what several of the powers she was concerned about before are, they don't know her true identity, and they're oathbound not to act against her. That's actually very helpful for her current efforts here- we effectively took what could be several complicating pieces off the board. (Maybe should point this out when she's being pissed at us later).

>How does that work?
Hmm. Now we start butting into how much information we're willing to give away for free and keep talks going (And/or what information we trade about ourselves for information about them). I'm sure she'd love a full breakdown ala >>/questdis/94150 , but we're not going that far with infodump. (Biggest sticking point is unless we're trading for other information, it's not as if they can reciprocate. We already have a broad understanding of their castes).

Pretty sure we should avoid getting into reclamation talk too soon. And I'd rather not bring up the subject of obsessions at all- that makes our motives known rather more than I am comfortable with.

I suppose it's no great secret to shrug and reveal each caste is the creation of a different Yozi. As with your Solar and Abyssal 'kin', each has their own strength or focus.

(Um, assuming she was actually asking about castes there and wasn't inquiring more broadly).

With a rogue and a confused newbie, recruit is potentially something we could pursue, although Myria might not be so quick to follow masters too similar to the ones she deserted. We'd need to find out more about their situation (and/or why she ran) first.

"We can inform you of that, and a great many other things of interest and import about the Yozis, their servants, and probably some other interesting esoterica about the history of Creation that you may not be aware of. However, are you sure that's what you want to ask in exchange for the information that we want? You seem rather on edge, judging from your attempt to set up an ambush for someone that hadn't offered the slightest bit of prior hostility. This suggests you need something more than details of the baffling complexities of the Yozis."

>>670450
Oh, and to explain why I think we should ask that: Every single bit of information we get is something we have to pay for. We don't know that we even have any information they need or want besides secrets of the reclamation that we really ought not trade away cheaply. So let's see if we can get free information about other supernaturals by checking if they want help dealing with someone else.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/19(Sat)14:08 No. 670613 ID: 5a02f7
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>>670432

I shrugged, ”We can inform you of that, and a great many other things of interest and import about the Yozis, their servants, and probably some other interesting esoterica about the history of Creation that you may not be aware of; however, are you sure that's what you want to ask in exchange for the information that we want? You seem rather on edge, judging from your attempt to set up an ambush for someone that hadn't offered the slightest bit of prior hostility. This suggests you need something more than details of the baffling complexities of the Yozis.”

“What did you do?” Myria asked, looking to Sienna.

She had the sense to at least look abashed, ”I was on-edge, okay?” she gestured to Amaranth, ”Sorry about that.”

“No hard feelings over it,” he muttered, rubbing at his neck, ”Not many, anyway.”

“I, for one, would be interested in hearing more,” Myria spoke up, ”But this is likely not the best place for continued conversation, and I am not certain what I can offer you in exchange. Perhaps we can speak of esoterica later – I wouldn’t want to bore our present company.”

Sienna rolled her eyes good-naturedly, ”Well, is there anything else you want to talk about?”

"Our goals in the city. I think we may have been unnecessarily working at cross purposes."

"We would like to know more about other people in Chiaroscuro that are... special. It's much easier to avoid unnecessary conflict when you at least know who else there is that may accidentally--or otherwise--conflict with you.
"Also, I'm not bored but if I'm totally honest I was hoping against the odds that I was going on a hot date with a beautiful and powerful woman this evening. I'll try to calm my disappointment that neither you nor Sienna seems interested, and enjoy these subtler pleasures instead."

>>670613
I would think the first thing we would want to inquire about is what brings such a diverse group together for a common purpose. I suppose it's not uncommon for chosen of the sun and moon to work together, but this would be the first time I've seen one under the tutelage of a Deathknight.

We want to see how much we can get them talking about their own situation, and what basic knowledge of about Green Sun princes we can sell in exchange as information about ourself. (Before they start pushing for specifics like what we're actually up to).

That, and if we want to try recruiting them to the reclamation later, we need to lay a basic groundwork of information. (Mentioning something that could play on greed or emotions over time in passing might help, like if we get greedy Seinna thinking about the material artifact wealth hell might offer, or learned Myria thinking about the secrets or history being kept our of her reach). We want them thinking about what we have that's good before pitching it.

>>670614
I think the biggest problem of just up and asking their goals is we don't want to reciprocate and be honest about ours. Amaranth certainly won't want to reveal what she's trying to do (or give them information that could tie cousin Courage to the identity she's been running her shop under), and we don't want to discuss the exquisite bride obsession.

The obsessions / urges make us too easy to identify in other identities, and they're a real weakness when exposed. It makes us predictable, and worse, gives them a point of leverage.

...the only advantage I see to coming clean would be the look on Sienna's face when she realizes we were honest about what we wanted when she first asked us, and that our perceived teasing asking her out was fully serious.

I suppose if we wanted to be say something on the subject (without Myria catching us in an outright lie): we're searching for someone. Exactly who remains to be seen. Courage is currently aiding us in our efforts. (Which is true, even if she has her own goals).

>>670623
Personally, I would leave out the crack about the date right now. I think now that we understand where Sienna is coming from (I think more of her hostility comes from her situation, her uncertainty, and becoming something she was taught to hate and fear), we might actually be able to exploit that understanding and make a better effort pursuing her, if we really wanted to.

And we might actually have a shot with Myria, too. She's certainly interested in learning more about us, and I think she was impressed with the detail wrangling we matched her with. Though that would come to how we leverage that.

In either case, I don't think we can really do too much in front of the bigger audience. The whole group being here restricts our options.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/19(Sat)18:37 No. 670696 ID: 5a02f7
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>>670626

”What brings such a diverse group together?”

Crimson barked a harsh cry, somewhere between a laugh and the call of a sea bird.

”Well, like I said, I was Chosen pretty recently,” Sienna explained, ”I was wandering around without much of a clue, and I sort of – ran into Crimson, I guess is the best way to put it.”

“Politely.”

Sienna shot the bird a harsh look, ”Anyway, we stuck together because what else were we supposed to do? Then there was this thing-“

“I’d prefer we not get into details about that,” Myria interrupted.

Sienna shrugged, ”Fair enough – it’s your story to tell. Anyway, we met Myria, and we adopted her.”

“More the opposite, I feel,” the Abyssal murmured, ”There is a fourth party of our circle, but it is ill luck to speak of others when they are not present.”

Sienna gestured, ”So, how about you two? It’s unusual to see a Djala in these parts.”

“You mean one that isn’t in chains,” Amaranth corrected.

”You said it, not me.”

>>670614

“I came to Chiaroscuro searching for someone. I don’t know who they are, yet, though, so that makes things a little difficult. I contacted Courage when I got into the city, and he’s been assisting me since.”

Amaranth crossed his arms, ”I’m doing my own thing in addition to that – it’s too complicated to get into here.”

Sienna looked unhappy with that, but she let it pass, ”I guess I’m just – looking for a place of my own, you know? I’ve got this power, and now I’m trying to figure out what to do with it.”

“I’m looking for someone as well,” Crimson spoke, ”My sister.”

I looked to Myria expectantly, and a long beat passed. I was sure she wasn’t going to answer before she finally did, ”I’m simply trying to survive and stay free.”

“Not as easy as you would think, huh?” Amaranth commented sourly.

>>670623

”We would like to know more about other people in Chiaroscuro that are… special. It’s much easier to avoid unnecessary conflict when you at least know who else there is that may accidentally – or otherwise – conflict with you.”

“We haven’t run into any other essence-users,” Myria answered, ”Our circlemate is the only one I know of in city that is not present here.”

“There are some dynasts in town, and they’re starting to stay suspiciously long,” Amaranth added, ”I don’t know what they’re looking for, but it can’t be good for any of us.”

Myria dipped her head graciously, ”Thank you for that information. We will work to be careful,” she shot a not-so-subtle look in Sienna’s direction, but the Solar pointedly ignored it.

This was my last chance to give or request any information that would be under the oath of secrecy. Once we were done here, there was also the question of what to do next; I could depart with any of the people here, or I could go back on my own to my inn.

>I sort of – ran into Crimson, I guess is the best way to put it.
Like she ran into you?

Interestingly, that arrangement makes it sound more like Crimson is the one in charge, when I was expecting it to be Myria.

>Djala usually enslaved
If that's Amaranth's natural form, that's an interesting wrinkle with her patron directing her to subvert the abolitionist movement here. Wonder how happy she is with that.

>There is a fourth party of our circle, but it is ill luck to speak of others when they are not present
I'm sure their attempts to reassure their companion as to that which they learned but cannot speak of will be equally illuminating.

...I really want it not to be Justice. But knowing our luck, it probably will end up being, so if we try to Akuma him, they'll intervene. (Then again, if it was, Sienna probably would have tried to warn him if she stucj around long enough to hear Abel pitch that job to us. Not sure if she'd left by then).

>motives
Sienna and Myria's stated goals are actually pretty good for us if we want to try and charm them to our banner. Sienna is looking for a cause and a purpose, and one could be offered to her, if we prime her correctly. Myria is looking for security and safety, which we might offer if we can first figure out what it is that drove her way from her previous masters (otherwise, we risk offending her the same way).

Crimson is straightforward, at least. Pretty sure we'd get something if we gave him who he wants. The question would be how we could beat him to her. (Does either of our castes have a means of finding someone? By connected fates, or blood or something?). I'm half expecting she'll be enslaved here somewhere, putting Amaranth's efforts directly opposed to his.

>This was my last chance to give or request any information that would be under the oath of secrecy.
I kind of want an excuse to allude to some of the benefits Kamai mentioned the Yozi provide their allies (start priming them, thinking about what we have, even if we haven't extended an offer yet), but I feel like we need to ask another question of them or raise a topic that lets us do so. Just proffering information without asking for any is too transparent. Anyone got any ideas, there?

>I could depart with any of the people here, or I could go back on my own to my inn.
Well, you could depart with anyone who will have your company.

Pretty sure we're absolutely going to talk with Amaranth after this, but we could rendezvous with her after, if we want to take the chance to talk to someone else as we leave.

The obvious choices seem like they would be Sienna (so what do you think of me now?) or Myria (if we wanted to start teasing details and arrange a time later to discuss (or trade for) infernal minutia and try and woo and/or recruit her).

Well, we may need to know who this fourth circle mate is. If it's someone else we've met I'll laugh.

"At the moment we've bound this pact of truce between us, but we're... probably not aware of your stated fourth circle mate. It's a bit difficult for us to avoid misunderstandings with them if we don't know who they are or what they're up to. Your thoughts on how to handle that issue?"

>I kind of want an excuse to allude to some of the benefits Kamai mentioned the Yozi provide their allies
"Thinking on your stated goals, I may have some useful advice. Sienna, others may offer vastly different answers for what to do, but I've found that serving a cause greater than myself helps grant direction. Another answer is to pick someone whose life or achievements you respect, and adopt part of what they do--or did--as goals. A third answer is to seek needs and try to aid with them--for example finding Warden's sister. Whatever you choose, I would also suggest you make sure to have a personal life too. Serving causes, ambitions or needs too fiercely can kill people before they've truly lived.
"If any of you find that you have difficulty achieving your aims, well... there is an entire other world of knowledge, powers, beings and resources which may be brought to bear at the Yozis' will. One of my missions is to try to make friends on their behalf, although I would also caution that everything in life has a cost."

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/20(Sun)19:34 No. 671157 ID: 5a02f7
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>>670724

”At the moment, we’ve bound this pact of truce between us, but we’re… probably not aware of your stated fourth circlemate. It’s a bit difficult for us to avoid misunderstandings with them if we don’t know who they are or what they’re up to. Your thoughts on how to handle that issue?”

“She should be available for meeting you tomorrow,” Myria replied, ”After all, since we won’t be able to talk about what we learned here, she’ll undoubtedly be intensely curious about it.”

“I can take you to the place,” Sienna said, ”Meet me at my stall at the end of Ascending Fire, and we’ll go there.”

“I have my own business to take care of tomorrow,” Amaranth corrected, ”So I probably won’t come along.”

Sienna shrugged, ”Suit yourself.”

>>670766

”Thinking on your stated goals, I may have some useful advice.

“Sienna, others may offer vastly different answers for what to do, but I've found that serving a cause greater than myself helps grant direction. Another answer is to pick someone whose life or achievements you respect, and adopt part of what they do – or did – as goals. A third answer is to seek needs and try to aid with them – for example finding Warden's sister. Whatever you choose, I would also suggest you make sure to have a personal life too. Serving causes, ambitions or needs too fiercely can kill people before they've truly lived.”

Sienna looked genuinely touched by my words, ”Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“If any of you find that you have difficulty achieving your aims, well... There is an entire other world of knowledge, powers, beings and resources which may be brought to bear at the Yozis' will. One of my missions is to try to make friends on their behalf, although I would also caution that everything in life has a cost.”

And the expression dropped off her face immediately, ”No thanks. I’m just getting used to the idea of not being a demonic puppet.”

Myria only frowned, saying nothing.

Amaranth coughed, ”Well, I suppose that’s everything, then. We’ll go our separate ways from here?”

Myria nodded, ”Aye. It would be better to not leave in such a large group.”

Crimson took flight at that, quickly climbing on the thermals that the heated plain provided. I could walk back with Sienna, Myria, or Amaranth.

>she
So, probably not Justice then. Really going to get messy if it's Graceful Blossom.

...the fates totally hate us that much, don't they.

>not being a demonic puppet
Haha, too hard a sell. She's touchy there.

>I could walk back with Sienna, Myria, or Amaranth.
Hmm. We just offended Sienna, and honestly, I feel it might be best to let her think before we push any harder. Plus, we have the meeting tomorrow. We can always follow up chat with her a little before meeting their fourth member.

That leaves Myria and Amaranth. We need to discuss what happened here and what our next moves are with her, but we can do that after we rendezvous at her place (can we signal that to her?). I'd think we'd give Myria a chance for her curiosity to start working. See if she opens up at all.

>also
Both you and Amaranth need to take great pains not to be followed and to change identities in a way that makes sure you aren't being trailed by an eye in the sky when you go your own way. The fact that Crimson can fly makes assuring that you are not being watched much more difficult.

>>671246
Odds seem more likely they're Sidereals.

As for not being seen by Crimson, get under a roof and away from windows. Preferably in a place with multiple exits.

>>671246 >>671252
>So, probably not Justice then. >Odds seem more likely they're Sidereals.
We don't know. If Justice is a lunar who ate some dude's heart and has a way of projecting cold that might do it. On the other hand, I think the odds of Graceful Blossom being a solar or lunar are higher than being a sidereal just on the numbers alone. Lunar was one of the higher ranked possibilities, and Rook could be another face Crimson wears.
Could be we're actually going to meet someone new as well.

After overselling the notion that we have infernal connections the question is whether Myria is interested in trading information about the abyssals and the neverborn for information about the green sun princes and the yozis, or if Sienna wants to have an actual date. I'm at a loss of words for how to handle either of those offers well at the moment, and I'd leave it up to Mirth whether she thinks she can and wants to in either case. Failing that, we do need to confer with Amaranth.

Oh, and if we need a parting shot... "Alright, I guess I'm supposed to go get my strings re-tied or something, good evening."

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/22(Tue)20:48 No. 671845 ID: 5a02f7
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>>671577

”Alright, I guess I’m supposed to go get my strings re-tied or something. Good evening,” I smirked at Sienna, getting an eye roll in response.

>>671246

”If you’ll allow me, Myria, I’ll walk with you until the end of the plain.”

Myria cast a glance at Sienna, who shrugged, ”Yes, that would be acceptable.”

“I’ll see you back at home, then,” Sienna said. With a wave, she began walking to the east.

I turned to Amaranth, ”I’ll meet you back at your place.”

“You’d better,” he hissed. With a glance at Myria, he turned and walked to the south.

Without a word, Myria headed southeast.

The pace was comfortable, leisurely, even. The moon was waxing towards half-full, shedding light enough for us to find our way across the featureless plain.

”Do you speak Old Realm?” Myria asked suddenly.

I quirked a brow, ”I do. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised you do as well.”

She gave a subtle roll of one shoulder, ”The Deathlords gave little information to their minions, but I suspected they received assistance in taking the Exaltations from – wherever it was that they were stored. The Yozis make logical sense, although the mechanics of it still baffle me. You are not an Akuma, are you?”

I blinked, ”You’re well-read to know such a word, but, no, I’m not.”

She nodded, ”A free-willed tool… yes, that would be a dangerous thing for demons to have. Pardon my frankness, but if yourself relationship with your masters is anything like mine was, then “tool” is a proper word to describe you.”

I chuckled a little at the tactless remark, thinking of the Ebon Dragon’s ire, ”It’s not too far from the truth.”

Myria watched the horizon, ”… Curiosity is what got me this far, is likely what earned me the Black Exaltation, and it burns in me still. You speak vaguely, and I do not fault you for that, since we all have our secrets. I will say this: I would be very interested in learning more about you and the type of being you are. I acknowledge that nothing comes for free – what price would you charge for your secrets?”

Duuuuuh... maybe we should get edumacated about them Neverborn, what they're up to, and what they've got for personnel? We aren't going to get very far with Myria romantically or otherwise until she has respect for our mind, so that's really a precondition to any kind of more significant involvement with her.
If we go with that:
"Equal secrets seems like the natural starting offer for such a trade unless you have something else in mind. To be honest, I need to know more about the other half and what they've done. I expect this would require a separate confidentiality agreement since we're already passing out of the bounds of the first."

>“You’d better,” he hissed.
Yeah, haha, they're pissed. Making the case that she's actually in a better position now than she was before, and figuring out what our next play is / how we can collaborate to use what we learned will be very interesting.

>I would be very interested in learning more about you and the type of being you are. I acknowledge that nothing comes for free – what price would you charge for your secrets?
Bam. We played that exactly right. We've have something she wants. Question is now how we use this.

We're not far enough along that we could make her a bride, nor are we going to be able to recruit her to the Yozi's banner so soon after fleeing the Neverborn. I think, at this point, our best bet is to try and turn her into an asset we can use. Resources are what we need more than anything as we try to juggle the situation here.

"I can think of two prices you might pay that might be of interest to me. The first: a secret for a secret. If you would ask for knowledge of my masters, I would ask what it was that drove you from yours. And the second: words for actions. I would not expect one so new to freedom to relinquish it, but I would trade information for the execution of specific favors and tasks."

I'm thinking arrange some kind of session / lesson payment plan. Each one earns us payment in the form of another favor / task we can call in, or her story. Once we know what drove her away, that puts us on better footing to make an actual recruitment effort, and as long as she's in our debt, we'll have an abyssal asset we can use when we need her. (There should be enough be more than enough demonic / Yozi / Green Sun Lore that we can wrack up a few).

Then it's just a matter of being enough of a magnificent bastard to use the favors cleverly.

(She might ask to think about it, or try for a counter offer).

We will offer a first lesson free of charge though: oath bonds or not, your masters would not be pleased if such secrets were to reach... general circulation.

>We will offer a first lesson free of charge though: oath bonds or not, your masters would not be pleased if such secrets were to reach... general circulation.
I don't get this. The secrets are precious so we're giving some for free? Also, giving information in advance is a terrible bargaining position: The standard of bargaining positions in non-refundables is that the perceived value goes down after delivery, so giving information in advance gets us less than giving it later. We're better off with straight up trading in information and increasing Myria's respect for our knowledge and intelligence as a side-benefit instead of talking about unspecified 'favours' that she would be naturally suspicious of.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/23(Wed)13:45 No. 671981 ID: 5a02f7
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>>6718858

”Equal secrets seems like the natural starting offer for such a trade, unless you have something else in mind. To be honest, I need to know more about the other half and what they’ve done. I expect this would require a separate confidentiality agreement, since we’re already passing out of the bounds of the first.”

Myria tossed her hair back, ”I have no such needs for confidentiality – tell whomever you wish what I tell you, just know that my former masters are jealous of their knowledge, and they will not take kindly to one speaking what should not be spoken.”

“I could say the same – oath bonds or not, my masters would not be pleased if such secrets were to reach… general circulation.”

She gave a rare, fleeting smile, ”I believe there is a saying in the West – “dead men tell no tales?””

>>671870

“I can think of two prices you might pay that might be of interest to me. The first: a secret for a secret. If you would ask for knowledge of my masters, I would ask what it was that drove you from yours. And the second: words for actions. I would not expect one so new to freedom to relinquish it, but I would trade information for the execution of specific favors and tasks.”

Myria studied me, her one eye narrowing, ”That is fine enough. Each bit of knowledge will have its own price, to be negotiated separately in exchange for secrets or favors, decided at the time of bargaining. So long as I might ask the same of you, that is agreeable.

“For my story, I ask the same of you. In order to understand what led me away from my masters, you must know what first drove me to them.”

She paused a beat, gathering her thoughts.

”As a mortal, I was a scholar and a thaumaturge. The land I lived in was remote enough that such rituals were magic to the people who beheld them. The area was ruled by a powerful god of storms, and he became jealous of the praise my powers brought me. It was a simple decision, really – one shaman or the lives of all of our village and those beyond. They set me atop a pyre and burned me to appease the god.

“At that time, I was offered a choice – live, or die. I chose to live.

“My master was a Deathlord known as the Bishop of the Chalcedony Thurible. He demanded worship of Oblivion, but I would worship nothing again after seeing what terrible things greater beings asked of their followers.

“So, I left. I wandered with little purpose until Sienna and Crimson found me. Since then, I have followed them.”

Her eye fixed on me, ”Under what circumstances did you take your Second Breath? How does such a thing work for your kind? And, most importantly, I suppose, why do you continue to serve your masters?”

"I failed. From what I understand, each and every one of us Infernals could have done a deed worthy of a Solar Exaltation if we had made one choice a little bit differently. No guarantee we would have been Exalted, but there would have been the chance. So the Yozis send a demon to tell us this, and offer... a way to redo that, I suppose. The Exaltation. The Chrysalis Grotesque. The demon's flesh becomes a cocoon while the Exaltation and the demon's mind fuse with your soul. The Exaltation for power, the demon's mind because the Yozis hoped for more control over us after the Usurpation. I wasn't told the demon would be part of me, but there Bulitar is nevertheless. I understand the Neverborn force you to abandon your past identity under pain of Resonance? I have an urge to act in a way pleasing to my master. It is not binding, but if I go against it strongly for a long time I suffer a flareup similar in nature to your own."

Also should tell her what the failure was.

>Under what circumstances did you take your Second Breath? How does such a thing work for your kind?
Exaltation finds the lunars in a defining moment of survival. It found you in the moment of death, an echo of what the Neverborn once faced. For my kind as well the exaltation echos the power behind it: the chosen of the Yozi find their exaltation in a moment of profound failure.

(Then let's rip off some of this >>/questdis/92430 , censored slightly):

You were born in a small fishing village. For a time it seemed you were fated to would be a fisherman, just as your father and father's father, but events took place that were not written into the Loom of Destiny.

There was a nearby Shadowland, a small but powerful conduit of the Underworld surrounding some ruins from the Shogunate period. One of your peers of the village got got the idea that there would likely be treasure left abandoned in such a place, just waiting to be taken. It was easy to round up a small group of young discontents and inspire them with tales of the better life that awaited them.

...and then tell her how you failed.

>And, most importantly, I suppose, why do you continue to serve your masters?
Perhaps I have more freedom than you once did. There are things asked of me, as well as rites and actions which are pleasing to my masters. There are consequences for allowing their favor to wane, but I have some discretion in how I choose to earn it. As a hypothetical, being required to commit acts of violence becomes far more palatable when you may chose your target.

(Aka: the Yozi make you a Bond villain, but no one said you have to Bond villain the good guys, and you can game the system).

In a sense, we need only be as truly terrible as we allow ourselves to be. And managing the competing obligations and objectives and intrigue and demonic politics holds a certain fascination all in it's own, and ample rewards for the clever. To say nothing of the fact that your patron, the Ebon Dragon, is the embodiment of cheating and subverting complex systems for new purposes, even his own.

You might also notice a certain lack of direct attacks on creation on the part of my masters. An objective other than invasion or oblivion and far subtler methods probably contribute.

That would be the short answer. Explaining the nature of the Yozi in detail, and how you can play the contradictions seems like a whole 'nother lesson, at least. (We don't need to cover compulsions or torment in further detail yet either, I think).

>>671983
Whoa, hold on, she didn't tell us half that much yet. I know it's tempting to try to lead the discussion by giving more information than Myria has, but that just makes us look like a jackass that doesn't know the value of what we know. The chrysalis grotesque and the fact that we are literally bonded to a demon are things we should make Myria pay for, dearly, and specifically. That's information that's broadly useful against all green sun princes/princesses and she's shared nothing similar about death knights yet.

>>672004
Much closer, thank you. I would agree with explaining vaguely about where, and the details of how and when our exaltation came. Add that our patron is The Ebon Dragon and that our relationship has its ups and downs. And there are plenty of reasons why we're interested in following The Ebon Dragon: A life not wasted as a peasant stuck in nowhere, a new family, and maybe we'll get a part in saving Creation from its imminent collapse.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/25(Fri)18:56 No. 672722 ID: 5a02f7
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>>671983

”I failed. From what I understand, each and every one of us Infernals could have done a deed worthy of a Solar Exaltation if we had made one choice a little bit differently.

>>672004

“I was born in a small fishing village. I thought I would live and die there, just as all my ancestors before me, but I wanted something more. There was a nearby Shadowland, some ruin left over from the Shogunate. I thought there would be treasure, or adventure in the very least. So I gathered some of my peers to go investigate.”

And then I told her how I failed.

-------------------------

”Wait, wait – let me get this straight – you told a near-stranger your greatest failure, but you won’t tell us?” Kamai seemed incredulous.

”A stranger that had the power to tell if I was lying or not, and one that I could very well spend the rest of my life with,” I corrected.

”Let him keep his damned secrets if he wants to, Kamai,” Lintha growled, ”I’m still in’erested how yer gonna get outta this one. Keep on tellin’.”

-------------------------

”I serve the Ebon Dragon, yes, but I think I have more freedom than you did. There are things asked of me, as well as rites and actions which are pleasing to my masters. There are consequences for allowing their favor to wane, but I have some discretion in how I choose to earn it. As a hypothetical, being required to commit acts of violence becomes far more palatable when you may choose your target.

“In a sense, we need only be as truly terrible as we allow ourselves to be. And managing the competing obligations and objectives and intrigue and demonic politics holds a certain fascination all in its own, and ample rewards for the clever. This is to say nothing of the fact that my patron is the embodiment of cheating and subverting complex systems for new purposes, even his own.

“Perhaps, in the end, I serve because it earns me a life not wasted as a peasant stuck in nowhere. I have a new family, and the power to perhaps make Creation a better place.”

I finally fell silent. Myria had listened through all of my speech, looking contemplative. It was a long moment before she spoke, ”You and I are very similar, Mirth. It is… good to find one who turns ill power towards noble ends,” a genuine smile crept across her face, ”It is good not to be entirely alone.”

> Intimacy gained towards Myria Ashborn

”I would like to speak with you more, but it appears our time has come to an end,” indeed, the golden plain stretched only a handful of meters beyond where we stood. Myria turned to me, bowing, ”It was a pleasure. If you wish to speak with me again, ask Sienna to guide you to my booth – I own a stall in the Undermarket where I provide scribing services.”

I returned the gesture, ”You’ll likely see me soon. Take care, Myria.”

“And you as well,” with a silent stride, she turned and headed off into the night.

-------------------------

I took great precaution in returning to Amaranth’s shop, making it a point to not change my appearance until I was safely within the Undermarket. Once I was back to wearing my original face, I headed towards Amaranth’s place, entering through the back entrance.

He stood in the midst of the main room, still wearing his natural appearance. The pipe that he held in one hand contrasted heavily with the image he projected, but the attitude matched it perfectly.

”What the fuck was that, Edge? What have you gotten me into?”

"Don't tell me the master manipulator is suddenly out of his depth with a novice Solar, an idealist Abyssal, and a Lunar.

And you were already in it, O fellow servant of the Yozis. We both were. Now the difference is we know more of what we're in. Didn't you say you were being countered by an unseen, unknown opponent? Didn't you say you wanted to know more about the local Essence-users? How did you expect to learn?"

>>672726
Seconded. Frankly, this should be a bonanza of information that Amaranth knows and can use as long as she can keep the others from catching on that she's 'Courage.' Ask her if she needs help managing the complexities, and whether we should slot something other than meeting the the other member of their group second thing in the morning (after breakfast with Graceful Blossom). It probably should be meeting them in case that is 'Embattled Justice' or someone else we already know, but we are obligated to help Amaranth with investigating (and if favourable) acquiring the prospective akuma according to an agreed plan.
Add that some backup against the dynasts would be lovely, and now we've got some....

>What the fuck was that, Edge? What have you gotten me into?
I got you into exactly what I planned to get myself into. Provided she didn't lead me into a trap, using the oath to protect my identity while learning who and what we were dealing with was the plan all along.

Granted, I did not plan on my backup being spotted and dragged along, but once you had been made bringing you with me was the only real option. A third cousin would go beyond the plausible after rebuking two, a covert tail was not feasible with an eye in the sky, and leaving you behind could have meant walking into a trap alone.

Your presence did serve to reveal Crimson; I'm not sure he would have descended, much less spoken, had you not been there. And the two of us together presented a much stronger face- rather than my appearing as a lone representative of a strange and distant power, we appeared as agents of an organization at work.

And as for yourself, I gave you exactly what you wanted. You now know who and what the other essence users you must work around are, while they remain ignorant of your face or name in this place, and are oath bound not to work against you. I've effectively taken several powerful pieces of the board for you.

>what else
Once we've calmed her down, we should ask if she had the chance to sneak an Essence-dissecting Stare (maybe learn the constraints on that truth charm?). Or if she has any insight into what Myria or Crimson said or said, since she knew both of them longer than you, and in their 'civilian' identities.

We should also probably share that Myria took the bait of curiosity. Depending on how that goes, we might be able to use her as an asset (the favors), make her a bride, or perhaps tempt her into enlisting.

Also feel like we should discuss Crimson's sister. If she's here and he knows not where, there's a not unreasonable chance she's wrapped up in the slave trade. Something to keep an eye out for, lest Amaranth's efforts lead her to work against Crimson. That, and I'm sure if either of you locates her before he does, we'll be able to use that to our advantage. (I don't suppose either of you knows essence tricks for locating people?).

>>672738
The easiest way to rescue a slave without disrupting the slave trade is to buy them. Not disrupting the slave trade isn't Amaranth's mission though, subverting the abolitionists is.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/26(Sat)17:19 No. 672985 ID: 5a02f7
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>>672726

”Don’t tell me the master manipulator is suddenly out of his depth with a novice Solar, an idealist Abyssal, and a Lunar,” I said wryly.

Amaranth took a long draw from his pipe, breathing it out in a sigh, ”I didn’t say anything about being out of my depth, I asked what the fuck you got me into.”

>>672738

“I got you into exactly what I planned to get myself into. Provided she didn’t lead me into a trap, using the oath to protect my identity while learning who and what we were dealing with was the plan all along. Didn’t you say you wanted to learn more about the local Essence-users? How did you expect to learn?”

“By not revealing the biggest secret that we’ve been entrusted with,” he growled.

”Saying our existence is our biggest secret is terribly unimaginative, Amaranth.”

He ran a hand over his face, frowning at the feeling as though his skin didn’t fit properly, ”Just – next time you’re going to make such a big move, let me know ahead of time so I don’t nearly bite off my own tongue when you lead with the truth, okay?”

I smirked, ”I’ll try to warn you, but I make no guarantees. It was a net-gain in the end – you now know who and what the other Essence-users you must work around are, while they remain ignorant of your face or name in this place, and are oath-bound not to work against you. I’ve effectively taken several powerful pieces off the board for you.”

He finally sat among the pillows of his usual spot, his movements less agitated than before, ”I just wasn’t expecting such a big opening move – by the Principle, you’re good enough that sometimes I forget how good you are,” he pointed the pipe at me, ”That’s not a compliment.”

I chuckled but said no more on the subject, ”Did you have a chance to analyze the charms they used?”

Amaranth nodded, ”Whatever charm Myria had was already up when I got there, so I couldn’t learn more about it. Crimson used a charm to talk, which did exactly that. That was all I saw.”

I hummed as I digested that information, ”Do you have any insight into what Myria or Crimson said? You’ve known them both longer than I have.”

He leaned back, ”Myria’s always been a mystery, and finding out that she’s an Abyssal Exalted of strong Essence makes me only more confused at why she’s doing what she’s doing. Maybe she just wants a normal life – that seems like a pretty dumb reason to accept an Exaltation, but that’s the only thing she’s been seeming to pursue while I’ve known her. About Crimson’s sister, this is the first I’ve heard of it.”

“If she’s here, there’s a not-unreasonable chance she’s been captured and put into slavery; something to keep an eye out for, at the least.”

Amaranth gestured, ”I can’t do anything off of “Eastern girl who might be a slave.” Get me some more information, and I’ll see what I can do. You’re right, though – if we can find her, that’d definitely gain his favor.”

I paused for a beat before switching topics, ”Myria took the bait of curiosity. She’s told me a bit in exchange for some basic information about herself. Depending on how that goes, we might be able to use her as an asset, make her a Bride, or perhaps even tempt her into enlisting in the Reclamation.”

He studied me, frowning, ”Be careful, Edge. If it gets out that you’re selling our secrets, you’ll get the worst for it.”

-------------------------

”Yeah, how did you manage that?” Kamai interrupted.

"I work for the Ebon Dragon. The literal embodiment of treachery. He doesn't expect or particularly approve of loyalty from me."

>next time you’re going to make such a big move, let me know ahead of time so I don’t nearly bite off my own tongue when you lead with the truth, okay?
I honestly thought we had. Guess we accidentally forgot to bring up that detail when we got sidetracked working out the terms of our alliance deal.

>Whatever charm Myria had was already up when I got there, so I couldn’t learn more about it
I'm reasonably certain it's a truth detecting ability. Checking our intent is the only way asking us to agree to make promises before the oath makes sense. It would be nice to know the limits or constraints, though.

(Might be worth arranging some scenario where Amaranth is in place to see her cast it).

>Myria's actions here don't make sense
>Maybe she just wants a normal life?
Or the life she's leading her is simply a safe cover, or provides her access to facilitate another goal. Her job means a lot of information passes through her hands- maybe there's something in particular she's looking for.

>what else do
Per keeping Amaranth in the loop, lay out what leads you're probably following tomorrow. (There's at least the meeting with Sienna and Myria). Also see if he has anything pertaining to his own plans to bring up we might need to be aware of, or provide assistance with.


>”Yeah, how did you manage that?” Kamai interrupted.
Selling secrets is only treasonous if you place them in the hands of the enemy, and allow your enemy to use those secrets. Provided I left her unwilling or unable to use those secrets against our cause, no treachery was committed. Secrets are safe so long as they are contained.

Of course, telling you how that was resoleved at this point in the story would be spoilers.

"Besides, I thought I wasn't giving away anything that was secret considering the company involved. Do you really think the Abyssal exalted did not already know about us? Where did the solar exaltations used to make us Green Sun Princes--and Princesses--come from?
"It is also the mission of the followers of The Ebon Dragon to lie, cheat and corrupt. I set my sights on the greatest corruption possible that would advance the Reclamation: Turning the exalted weapons of the gods used against the primordials non-hostile, and even friendly if I could manage it. If you have useful alternative ideas how to convince the weapons of the Gods to serve the Yozis willingly besides tricking them into becoming akuma, I await your wisdom."

>Do you really think the Abyssal exalted did not already know about us?
Uh, indications were she didn't. Unless you're taking the position she was faking the surprise she and interest she showed.

>>673018
I'm taking the position that the Neverborn knew, so the big secret of the existence of the Green Sun Princes was never fully secret to begin with, and trying to fudge those details. ;)

>>673108
That would just suggest Edge was horribly naive. The Neverborn and Deathlords don't tell their servants everything.

>>673004
Even moreso, another act of villainy: Infernal Genius Declaration. The Pyre Within Which Thoughts Are Burned has fire at her center, and fire wants to be seen.

>>673135
That's insane, there's another whole faction of solar exalts they know about--and have something resembling formal relations with--and they don't tell their people about it? I'd call bullshit, but this could be the plot-hole ass-pull nonsense the designers went through to retcon in a new faction of exalted so they could sell more supplements, this being a White Wolf product and all....

>>673108
I would not at all be surprised if the Yozi and the Neverborn were keeping significant secrets from each other. Logically, they should have common interests, but I could see both sides sort of looking at the other and thinking despite that, there's something fundamentally wrong with the other.

>>673205
Of course they've got secrets from each other. The Yozis can't keep secret from the Neverborn that the Neverborn gave them fifty solar exaltations from the jade prison, can they?

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/27(Sun)19:08 No. 673258 ID: 5a02f7
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>>673004

”I work for the Ebon Dragon, the literal embodiment of treachery.

>>673014

“Of course, telling you how that was resolved at this point in the story would be spoilers.”

Kamai puffed out her cheeks in a pout, ”Man, I wish Kimbery was that okay with shit like that.”

“No, you don’t,” Lintha corrected, ”The All-Mother is perfect just as she is.”

Kamai rolled her eyes like she had already heard this a hundred times. She motioned for me to continue.

-------------------------

>>673139

”I thought you would approve of that; after all, the Pyre Within Which Thoughts Are Burned has fire at her center, and fire wants to be seen.”

Amaranth frowned, ”Fire wants to burn more than that, and to continue burning, it needs to not be put out by nosy little Abyssals with more curiosity than restraint,” he blew out a plume of smoke, gesturing with his pipe, ”But do whatever you want; it’s your neck on the line, not mine.”

“Regarding Myria, it might be worth arranging you seeing her cast that charm so that you can analyze its limits or constraints.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but I don’t know how you’d swing that. Maybe invite me to an impromptu secret-sharing session? I don’t think she’d approve.”

I paused a moment in thought, ”Maybe the life she’s leading is simply a cover. Her job means a lot of information passes through her hands – maybe there’s something in particular that she’s looking for.”

He leaned back, ”That’s a solid line of reasoning; the question is what, though. Maybe you can figure it out, hmm? You certainly have a better chance than I do – after all, she likes you better than me.”

I blinked, ”Really? But she hardly knows Mirth.”

Amaranth grinned, ”Both of you. I’ve never heard her talk so much as when you’re around. I don’t know what it is about you, but it’s something that she wants.”

I shifted, a little uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was taking, ”Tomorrow, I’m planning on having breakfast with Graceful Blossom. I’ll meet with Sienna at midday to be taken to their fourth circlemate, and from there, I’ll ask her to show me to Myria’s stall as Mirth.”

“Sounds like a busy day wooing ladies,” he smirked.

I ignored that, ”Is there anything pertaining to your own plans that you’d like to bring up? Something I should be aware of or provide assistance with?”

He took another draw from his pipe, ”I have a feeling that there’s some trouble brewing between the gangs. I’d keep an eye out for it, lest you get caught in the middle of it,” he pointed the pipe at me to emphasize his words, ”Remember, you may have contacts with Akhar’s people, but I’m playing the other side, so watch out just how much you help them, all right?”

I nodded, ”Got it.”

Amaranth let out a long breath, ”Anything else you need, or can I finally get to bed?”

>I don’t know how you’d swing that. Maybe invite me to an impromptu secret-sharing session? I don’t think she’d approve.
No. It would have to be Amaranth in a non-threatening identity in a position to observe, at a time or place Myria wouldn't have the truth detector up, and then give her a reason to turn it on. (I assume it's not on all the time, and that there's essence cost to activate or maintain it, and/or that one casting only lasts so long).

>Both of you. I’ve never heard her talk so much as when you’re around. I don’t know what it is about you, but it’s something that she wants.
Huh. That's interesting. So it's not just the secrets we hold piquing her interest.

>Anything else you need, or can I finally get to bed?
No, not at all. I'll leave you to your beauty sleep.

"Mm, our plans for Embattled Justice probably hinge on who their fourth circle mate is and discovering more about him. You have more people in town than I do, might speed things up to do a bit of gentle digging if you've got people you would trust to handle something like that with adequate delicacy. If you don't have anyone you're confident in or don't want to that's your business though.
"Also, if we're both invested in different sides of a gang war we should at least consider managing that to our mutual advantage. It is late though."

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/30(Wed)13:25 No. 673997 ID: 5a02f7
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>>673302

”If we’re both invested in different sides of a gang war, we should at least consider managing that to our mutual advantage.”

“I’ll think on it,” Amaranth replied.

”Our plans for Embattled Justice probably hinge on who their fourth circlemate is and discovering more about her. You have more people in town than I do, might speed things up to do a bit of gentle digging if you’ve got people you would trust to handle something like that with adequate delicacy.”

“You get me a name, and I’ll get you information,” he said.

>>673286

“For you to see the charm that Myria uses, you’d have to be in a non-threatening identity in a position to observe, at a time or place she wouldn’t have the charm up, and then give her a reason to turn it on.”

He took a draw from his pipe, ”That’s a good plan. Set me something up and let me know how it goes,” he blew out smoke as he rose, ”I take it that’s it?”

I nodded, ”I’ll leave you to your beauty sleep.”

Amaranth sighed, waving half-heartedly, ”Gods know I need it.”

-------------------------

The trek back to my inn was uneventful. A different clerk from the one I was used to seeing in the day was managing the counter. No messages had been left for me, but that didn’t surprise me, with how busy Graceful Blossom said she had been.

My pillow was welcoming, and sleep found me quickly.

>>673998
Engage self makeouts.

>>674001
Are those both us? Only one of them is wearing the scarf, which is probably more central to Edge's identity than any of the face's he's adopted. Just going by the hair poof, the scarf-less one could be Edge, Mirth, or Kamai.

...offer other silhouette your arm for a dreamtime dance.

I'm guessing this is his failure. The scarf used to be someone else's and it's a memento of someone who died in Edge's adventure at the Shadowland. Hair poof is Edge pre-Exaltation.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/30(Wed)15:47 No. 674033 ID: 5a02f7
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>>674012

>>674023
Seems the most likely explanation, for now.

>>674033
Silly! Your hands missed.

Oh hello... you're about to teach us something, aren't you? I guess we aren't allowed to make notes if it's being done this way.

Exquisite Bride Obsession Meyichi 2015/09/30(Wed)21:55 No. 674105 ID: 5a02f7
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>>674064

>>674106
Go to the window. Scarf must want you to see something.

Prepare to jump and/or be pushed from the window, but sure... let's follow the script and look out the window.