Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is LIVE! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
[Exalted 2e] Chosen of the Second Age
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 4817668" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p>Weeks of travel passed in relative peace. They made good time, stopping only occasionally in some small village to resupply and deliver news of the rest of Creation. Zanka plied her trade well, subtly weaving tales together that encouraged people to think for themselves and not accept blindly the teachings of the Immaculate Order. She also upheld their promise to the god known as Storyteller, spreading rumors of his vast knowledge and encouraging others to give him homage.</p><p></p><p> Only rarely was their travel interrupted by more pressing concerns. One village requested help in repelling a tribe of icewalkers who had been raiding their lands recently, as the village was too poor to pay them tribute. The defense of the village took only a single day. Another town had been stricken with a minor plague; Ayama was able to instruct the elders in the proper treatments, and move on.</p><p></p><p> Almost three weeks into their travels, they were climbing up a small rise among some rolling hills, when they spotted a plume of smoke rising in the distance, several miles ahead.</p><p></p><p> “A brush fire?” Ghost asked.</p><p></p><p> “No,” Kaliel said, “it is several small fires, in close proximity.”</p><p></p><p> Ayama had already spurred her horse into a trot, and was at a gallop by the time Ghost caught up with her, which was no mean feat considering the Nightbringer’s lack of skill with his own steed.</p><p></p><p> “Slow down!” he shouted at her.</p><p></p><p> “Have you ever seen a burn victim?” she shouted back, not slowing her pace.</p><p></p><p> “Ayama! That fire may have been set by raiders, who may still be there!” Ghost said. “At least let me go first to see what awaits us!”</p><p></p><p> “I do not fear raiders!”</p><p></p><p> “And what then, when you ride into town unarmored, your bare flesh deflecting blades and arrows as you glow like the sun? This is land loyal to the Realm!”</p><p></p><p> Ayama reined in reluctantly, seeing the wisdom in Ghost’s words even though her heart urged her to press on. She fell back to join the others as Ghost rode ahead, jumping off his horse a mile from the town to continue on foot. The land was relatively devoid of trees, but was dotted with brush and patches of long grass, allowing Ghost to approach unobserved.</p><p></p><p> It was a typical village, no more than a dozen buildings. All of them were ablaze, some already down to charred frames. The sickly sweet scent of charred flesh was overpowering. The center of town was dominated by a small Immaculate temple, which was also burning even though it was made of stone rather than wood. The doors had been barricaded from the outside, and Ghost could only imagine that the populace had been trapped inside and burned alive. Hanging from one of the stone columns in front of the temple was a charred corpse, the remnants of an Immaculate priest’s robes laying at its feet. Peering through the smoke and heat distortions, Ghost caught a glimpse of something gold on the priest’s chest.</p><p></p><p> He was about to move away when he heard a slight sound to his left, a slight sniffling. Moving in cautiously, he was surprised to come upon a young boy, no more than twelve years, who was huddled in a patch of weeds. He wore dirty rags for clothing and cloth bundles on his feet, and his skin was streaked with soot everywhere except for streak where tears had run down his cheeks, but he did not appear to be harmed. The boy was watching the fires burn, a mixture of terror and relief in his eyes.</p><p></p><p> “I wanted it to end,” he heard the boy whisper to himself, “but not like this.”</p><p></p><p> Slowly, Ghost backed away. His sudden appearance at the boy’s side would not help.</p><p></p><p> Ghost met up with the others when they had reached the spot where he’d left his horse. He appeared out from behind a bush, which startled them a bit.</p><p></p><p> “I am afraid there is nothing we can do for the villagers,” he said, mostly to Ayama. “However, there is a young boy at the edge of the village, hiding in a patch of weeds just this side of that rock protrusion there. I have marked a trail to him. He appears to have survived whatever happened, but I think that today was not the first day in his life that he has suffered. There is also the chance that he was more than just an observer to the attack.”</p><p></p><p> “I will go with you,” Zanka said to Ayama.</p><p></p><p> “And I will take Kaliel into the village,” Ghost said. “There is something there we must examine more closely.”</p><p></p><p> The four split up to tend to their tasks. Ayama and Zanka had no trouble finding the young boy, who had not moved. He startled when the two women approached, but paused when he saw that they did not mean him harm.</p><p></p><p> “You need to go away!” he whispered at them. “You need to go before they come back!”</p><p></p><p> “Before who comes back?” Ayama asked calmly.</p><p></p><p> “The Hunt!”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">۞</p><p></p><p> “Look here,” Ghost said, pointing at the priest’s corpse. “This amulet is what I saw from back there.”</p><p></p><p> Kaliel reached out and grasped the medallion in a gauntleted hand, pulling it away along with a few bits of charred flesh. The heat of the fire had partially melted the golden pendant.</p><p></p><p> “Immaculate priests due not typically wear jewelry or other such adornments,” Ghost said. “But it is clear that this is something the priest wore when he was alive, not something that was placed upon him after his death.”</p><p></p><p> “The amulet bears an icon resembling the symbol of the Unconquered Sun,” Kaliel said. “Why would an Immaculate carry this?”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">۞</p><p></p><p> “There were many of them,” the boy said. “Twenty, I think, led by a large man in black jade. He said our priest was not truly Immaculate, and everyone had to die because of it.”</p><p></p><p> “Did the man in black jade say that the priest was Anathema?” Zanka asked.</p><p></p><p> The boy shook his head. “No, not that. He used another word. It was… Illuminated.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">۞</p><p></p><p> “These people were forced into the temple and burned alive,” Ghost said. “The priest was left out here as a warning to others.”</p><p></p><p> “There is only one thing that is so brutally thorough when dealing with anything related to Anathema,” Kaliel said. “We need to find the women.”</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">۞</p><p></p><p> “Are you hurt?” Ayama asked.</p><p></p><p> “No worse than what they usually did to me,” the boy replied, a note of sullen anger creeping into his voice.</p><p></p><p> “That will no longer happen,” Ayama said. “Right now, we should leave.”</p><p></p><p> They stood just as Kaliel and Ghost came up to them, leading their horses. “The Wyld Hunt has been here,” Kaliel said. “They came for the priest, who bears a symbol of the Unconquered Sun.” The Dawn warrior tossed the half-melted emblem to Ayama, who caught it and studied the glyph.</p><p></p><p> “He was part of the Cult of the Illuminated,” Zanka explained. “A sect of the Immaculate Order, branded as heretical, that is awaiting the arrival of ‘The Shining Ones’, who will come to usher in an age of peace and harmony.” The Eclipse smiled. “One need not think hard as to who the ‘Shining Ones’ are.”</p><p></p><p> “V’neef Odaask spoke to me of this cult,” Ayama said. “As have others I have met. Those I have spoken to believe that there is some entity which is behind the Cult of the Illuminated, guiding their path.” Ayama mounted her horse, and then extended her hand to the young boy. He hesitated, but Ayama’s warm smile convinced him to climb up and sit behind her, his face buried in her tunic. They all turned and began heading back toward the trail to Cherak.</p><p></p><p> Kaliel looked at the boy, and then at the smoke rising from the village. “The Wyld Hunt,” he growled. “I am tempted to end their threat.”</p><p></p><p> “It would reveal us,” Zanka observed.</p><p></p><p> “Only if we left survivors.” Kaliel pointed to the west. “I saw the way they left. They are no more than two hours ahead of us.”</p><p></p><p> “No!” the boy cried out. “He is too strong!”</p><p></p><p> Ayama stopped her horse and turned in the saddle so she could see him. “Tell me about this man in black jade,” she said soothingly.</p><p></p><p> “He killed our monk with a single blow,” he said, tears dripping down his cheeks. “Even though the monk was a master of Water Dragon Style. He was tall, with blue eyes… he carried a long, black spear. His armor was not as heavy as his,” he pointed at Kaliel, “but he had claws on the left hand.”</p><p></p><p> Resplendent Ghost of Midnight paled. “That is Peleps Deled,” he said.</p><p></p><p> “Who is he?” Kaliel asked.</p><p></p><p> “The Grand Master of the Wyld Hunt, and one of the major powers in House Peleps. He is rumored to have killed multiple Anathema single-handed, and also to brook no deviation whatsoever from the teachings of the Immaculate Order. No doubt those twenty with him are highly trained soldiers and monks, and it would surprise me if some were not also Dragon-Bloods.”</p><p></p><p> “If you wish to pursue them,” Zanka said, “you have my support.” There was some surprise at this rare display of bravery, but they all well knew the particular hatred that Zanka had for the Order, after what they had done to her village.</p><p></p><p> Ghost shook his head. “I will not desert you,” he stated, “but I do not relish this fight. To some degree it is because I feel we are outmatched, but in truth the idea of wandering in the gods-forsaken North seeking battle after battle ill suits me. Matching blades with Peleps Deled in the snow does nothing to bring about my goals. Rescuing your sisters from House Tepet will.”</p><p></p><p> Kaliel turned to look at Ayama. “What say you?”</p><p></p><p> Ayama looked up at the sun overhead, gathering her thoughts. “There has already been so much death here,” she said. “While punishing the one who instigated this would feel… very good, does more blood solve the problem? Would it not be better to fight the philosophy that spawned this man? And what happens to this boy should we rush off to battle? I doubt Deled would spare him. I believe you should put your own house in order first, Kaliel, and then attend to the rest of Creation.”</p><p></p><p> “Her words have wisdom,” Zanka said after a moment’s thought. “As much as I would love to eradicate the Order’s teachings from Creation, we have other concerns. And even if we were to succeed in defeating Peleps Deled, it will not serve us to make a martyr of him.”</p><p></p><p> Kaliel looked off to the west, and sighed. “For the boy’s sake, and that of my kin, I will heed your advice. But one day, our paths will cross again, and on that day nothing will keep me from our destined meeting.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 4817668, member: 5203"] Weeks of travel passed in relative peace. They made good time, stopping only occasionally in some small village to resupply and deliver news of the rest of Creation. Zanka plied her trade well, subtly weaving tales together that encouraged people to think for themselves and not accept blindly the teachings of the Immaculate Order. She also upheld their promise to the god known as Storyteller, spreading rumors of his vast knowledge and encouraging others to give him homage. Only rarely was their travel interrupted by more pressing concerns. One village requested help in repelling a tribe of icewalkers who had been raiding their lands recently, as the village was too poor to pay them tribute. The defense of the village took only a single day. Another town had been stricken with a minor plague; Ayama was able to instruct the elders in the proper treatments, and move on. Almost three weeks into their travels, they were climbing up a small rise among some rolling hills, when they spotted a plume of smoke rising in the distance, several miles ahead. “A brush fire?” Ghost asked. “No,” Kaliel said, “it is several small fires, in close proximity.” Ayama had already spurred her horse into a trot, and was at a gallop by the time Ghost caught up with her, which was no mean feat considering the Nightbringer’s lack of skill with his own steed. “Slow down!” he shouted at her. “Have you ever seen a burn victim?” she shouted back, not slowing her pace. “Ayama! That fire may have been set by raiders, who may still be there!” Ghost said. “At least let me go first to see what awaits us!” “I do not fear raiders!” “And what then, when you ride into town unarmored, your bare flesh deflecting blades and arrows as you glow like the sun? This is land loyal to the Realm!” Ayama reined in reluctantly, seeing the wisdom in Ghost’s words even though her heart urged her to press on. She fell back to join the others as Ghost rode ahead, jumping off his horse a mile from the town to continue on foot. The land was relatively devoid of trees, but was dotted with brush and patches of long grass, allowing Ghost to approach unobserved. It was a typical village, no more than a dozen buildings. All of them were ablaze, some already down to charred frames. The sickly sweet scent of charred flesh was overpowering. The center of town was dominated by a small Immaculate temple, which was also burning even though it was made of stone rather than wood. The doors had been barricaded from the outside, and Ghost could only imagine that the populace had been trapped inside and burned alive. Hanging from one of the stone columns in front of the temple was a charred corpse, the remnants of an Immaculate priest’s robes laying at its feet. Peering through the smoke and heat distortions, Ghost caught a glimpse of something gold on the priest’s chest. He was about to move away when he heard a slight sound to his left, a slight sniffling. Moving in cautiously, he was surprised to come upon a young boy, no more than twelve years, who was huddled in a patch of weeds. He wore dirty rags for clothing and cloth bundles on his feet, and his skin was streaked with soot everywhere except for streak where tears had run down his cheeks, but he did not appear to be harmed. The boy was watching the fires burn, a mixture of terror and relief in his eyes. “I wanted it to end,” he heard the boy whisper to himself, “but not like this.” Slowly, Ghost backed away. His sudden appearance at the boy’s side would not help. Ghost met up with the others when they had reached the spot where he’d left his horse. He appeared out from behind a bush, which startled them a bit. “I am afraid there is nothing we can do for the villagers,” he said, mostly to Ayama. “However, there is a young boy at the edge of the village, hiding in a patch of weeds just this side of that rock protrusion there. I have marked a trail to him. He appears to have survived whatever happened, but I think that today was not the first day in his life that he has suffered. There is also the chance that he was more than just an observer to the attack.” “I will go with you,” Zanka said to Ayama. “And I will take Kaliel into the village,” Ghost said. “There is something there we must examine more closely.” The four split up to tend to their tasks. Ayama and Zanka had no trouble finding the young boy, who had not moved. He startled when the two women approached, but paused when he saw that they did not mean him harm. “You need to go away!” he whispered at them. “You need to go before they come back!” “Before who comes back?” Ayama asked calmly. “The Hunt!” [center]۞[/center] “Look here,” Ghost said, pointing at the priest’s corpse. “This amulet is what I saw from back there.” Kaliel reached out and grasped the medallion in a gauntleted hand, pulling it away along with a few bits of charred flesh. The heat of the fire had partially melted the golden pendant. “Immaculate priests due not typically wear jewelry or other such adornments,” Ghost said. “But it is clear that this is something the priest wore when he was alive, not something that was placed upon him after his death.” “The amulet bears an icon resembling the symbol of the Unconquered Sun,” Kaliel said. “Why would an Immaculate carry this?” [center]۞[/center] “There were many of them,” the boy said. “Twenty, I think, led by a large man in black jade. He said our priest was not truly Immaculate, and everyone had to die because of it.” “Did the man in black jade say that the priest was Anathema?” Zanka asked. The boy shook his head. “No, not that. He used another word. It was… Illuminated.” [center]۞[/center] “These people were forced into the temple and burned alive,” Ghost said. “The priest was left out here as a warning to others.” “There is only one thing that is so brutally thorough when dealing with anything related to Anathema,” Kaliel said. “We need to find the women.” [center]۞[/center] “Are you hurt?” Ayama asked. “No worse than what they usually did to me,” the boy replied, a note of sullen anger creeping into his voice. “That will no longer happen,” Ayama said. “Right now, we should leave.” They stood just as Kaliel and Ghost came up to them, leading their horses. “The Wyld Hunt has been here,” Kaliel said. “They came for the priest, who bears a symbol of the Unconquered Sun.” The Dawn warrior tossed the half-melted emblem to Ayama, who caught it and studied the glyph. “He was part of the Cult of the Illuminated,” Zanka explained. “A sect of the Immaculate Order, branded as heretical, that is awaiting the arrival of ‘The Shining Ones’, who will come to usher in an age of peace and harmony.” The Eclipse smiled. “One need not think hard as to who the ‘Shining Ones’ are.” “V’neef Odaask spoke to me of this cult,” Ayama said. “As have others I have met. Those I have spoken to believe that there is some entity which is behind the Cult of the Illuminated, guiding their path.” Ayama mounted her horse, and then extended her hand to the young boy. He hesitated, but Ayama’s warm smile convinced him to climb up and sit behind her, his face buried in her tunic. They all turned and began heading back toward the trail to Cherak. Kaliel looked at the boy, and then at the smoke rising from the village. “The Wyld Hunt,” he growled. “I am tempted to end their threat.” “It would reveal us,” Zanka observed. “Only if we left survivors.” Kaliel pointed to the west. “I saw the way they left. They are no more than two hours ahead of us.” “No!” the boy cried out. “He is too strong!” Ayama stopped her horse and turned in the saddle so she could see him. “Tell me about this man in black jade,” she said soothingly. “He killed our monk with a single blow,” he said, tears dripping down his cheeks. “Even though the monk was a master of Water Dragon Style. He was tall, with blue eyes… he carried a long, black spear. His armor was not as heavy as his,” he pointed at Kaliel, “but he had claws on the left hand.” Resplendent Ghost of Midnight paled. “That is Peleps Deled,” he said. “Who is he?” Kaliel asked. “The Grand Master of the Wyld Hunt, and one of the major powers in House Peleps. He is rumored to have killed multiple Anathema single-handed, and also to brook no deviation whatsoever from the teachings of the Immaculate Order. No doubt those twenty with him are highly trained soldiers and monks, and it would surprise me if some were not also Dragon-Bloods.” “If you wish to pursue them,” Zanka said, “you have my support.” There was some surprise at this rare display of bravery, but they all well knew the particular hatred that Zanka had for the Order, after what they had done to her village. Ghost shook his head. “I will not desert you,” he stated, “but I do not relish this fight. To some degree it is because I feel we are outmatched, but in truth the idea of wandering in the gods-forsaken North seeking battle after battle ill suits me. Matching blades with Peleps Deled in the snow does nothing to bring about my goals. Rescuing your sisters from House Tepet will.” Kaliel turned to look at Ayama. “What say you?” Ayama looked up at the sun overhead, gathering her thoughts. “There has already been so much death here,” she said. “While punishing the one who instigated this would feel… very good, does more blood solve the problem? Would it not be better to fight the philosophy that spawned this man? And what happens to this boy should we rush off to battle? I doubt Deled would spare him. I believe you should put your own house in order first, Kaliel, and then attend to the rest of Creation.” “Her words have wisdom,” Zanka said after a moment’s thought. “As much as I would love to eradicate the Order’s teachings from Creation, we have other concerns. And even if we were to succeed in defeating Peleps Deled, it will not serve us to make a martyr of him.” Kaliel looked off to the west, and sighed. “For the boy’s sake, and that of my kin, I will heed your advice. But one day, our paths will cross again, and on that day nothing will keep me from our destined meeting.” [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
[Exalted 2e] Chosen of the Second Age
Top