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Essence of Dynasty	By : JohnDoe Category: +A through F > Exalted RPG Views: 766 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
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Session 3 – Gifts and Grandmothers – (Melody: M0/0/0 M1/1/1 P2/2/2 E2/1/1; Jin: M0/0/0 M1/1/1 P2/2/2 E2/1/1, 314: M0/0/0 M1/1/1 P2/2/2 E1/1/1)

“I suggest you don’t attack the Salmalin head on, but I’m sure we can work something out.”

Harmonious Jade strolls toward our trio of heroes.

“Harmonious Jade,” Melody says, her tone halfway between bitter and hopeful, “You are a long way from Harborhead.”

“The Salmalin want me dead. The Salmalin are trying to take over one of the biggest cities in the South. You can see why I might make the trek.” Jade makes a casual gesture, “What are you doing here? The Realm not have enough problems?”

Melody waves her hand flippantly, “Oh, you know, rampaging demons. Rumors of Anathema.”

“Giant Warstrider?” Jade ventures. On seeing the Dynasts try to play it cool, she adds, “Wasn’t exactly subtle when it turned up two days ago.”

Jin steps in, “If you want to break the Salmalin’s hold on this city, then it behooves you to help us recover that Warstrider.”

“Which is why we’re talking,” Jade nods graciously, “Follow me.”

Jade runs off deeper into the city, and Melody steers Clapper after her through the broken ruins of the city.

“Are you sure we want to side with Harmonious Jade?” Jin asks, “Remember what happened last time?”

“I remember that you came to me to help you stop Sondok, and that with Jade’s help, we stopped Sondok.” Melody says.

Jin jabs her with a finger in the shoulder, “Didn’t you also nearly lose an arm? And didn’t she abandon us when we needed her most?”

314 hums, “The enemy of my enemy.”

****

Harmonious Jade leads them to the heart of the city, past shattered and ruined towers. In years past, the city’s poor would have squatted in these ruins, criminals would have come here to lay low, and treasure hunters would comb the ruins for usable fragments of glass. Now the city is eerily quiet. The sun beats down overhead, and the ruins seem to radiate heat, but otherwise the city seems sterile and dead. The smells of a functioning city are absent. Even the scent of blood and death have muted by the passage of time. The vermin have picked this part of the city clean, and moved on.

They come to a shimmering golden line on the ground. On the other side of the line stands six blocks of mostly intact towers. Delzahn residents can be seen crossing the plaza, going about their daily business. They have a haggard look about them, as one might expect from refugees from a warzone, but their plaza seems mostly untouched by the death and devastation that has befallen Chiaroscuro.

Jade steps across the line, “Welcome to the Plaza.”

A portly and squat Delzahn nobleman, wearing a grey veil and sash, accosts them as Melody crosses Clapper over the line and enters the Plaza, “Jade, what is this? You were to find four!”

Jade looks at the man coolly, “I have found three, Akeyve-bay. Perhaps you would like to venture beyond the line and find our fourth?”

Akeyve-bay scowls at Jade, “I see only two.”

314 speaks, “Excuse me, but I don’t follow? Are these people going to help us recover the Warstrider?”

The arrival of our heroes has caused a bustle in the plaza, as residents lean out of windows and come out of shops to stare at the new arrivals. They don’t look like battle-hardened warriors, and it is a mystery as to how so many of them can support themselves without arable farmland in the middle of a supernatural warzone. A hush falls among the assembled, at first our heroes think it is something about 314, but then the crowd parts to make way for a withered old woman. A faceless, gold, skinned servant has the old woman by the arm, gently leading her toward the heroes. Melody feels guilty about the torturedly slow pace of the woman and steers Clapper toward her, passing (deliberately) dangerously close to Akeyve. The trio dismount and approach the woman.

She is a mass of wrinkled flesh, back hunched, wearing a dirty, rust-colored robe that might once have been vermillion. Her joints are arthritic and swollen, and she moves with the uncertainty of the gravel blind.

“These four will do,” She says weakly, making a feeble gesture toward our heroes. “I… require… tribute.” She gently lays a hand on Melody’s chest, “A single arrow from a peerless archer.” She moves on to Jin, “A lock of hair from a scion of Cynis.” She puts a hand on 314’s hip, unable to reach his chest, “The… oh I don’t know… spit? Of an ancient being.” She taps 314 on the side, to encourage him to let her move past, and she shuffles up to Clapper and lays a hand on the beast’s snout, “And a ride around the Plaza.”

“Well, that sounds like a bargain, lady, for… whatever it is we’re supposed to get in return.” Melody says, “But, uh, we’ll just be going now and keeping our hair and spit. Thank you.”

Clapper shuffles sideways to prevent Melody from mounting up, clearly wanting to take the old woman’s deal.

Harmonious Jade puts out her hands, entreating the Dynasts to stay, “This is Grandmother Bright. I know she doesn’t look like much, but she’s a powerful god. She’s offering you a place in the Plaza: pay the tribute, don’t harm the other residents.”

“This mission is a basic smash and grab, we’re not looking for a retirement home,” Jin says decisively.

“I just watched a couple of demons and a dozen Salmalin chase you off. There are thousands in the city, with hellwands and stranger weapons. And that Warstrider. Then as soon as the sun goes down, the ghosts come out. Where do you plan on sleeping tonight?”

Jin looks up at the sky, “About six hours down the road towards Paragon.”

“With the Warstrider that you know how to drive, without attracting the attention of any other interested parties who will kill you in your sleep? Guess you don’t need my help after all.”

Melody grudgingly thrusts an arrow toward Grandmother Bright in sullen silence.

“Oh fine!” Jin relents as she removes her helmet and cuts a lock of hair for the god.

“How do we do this?” 314 asks guilelessly, “Do you want it in the face or… ?” Grandmother Bright slips him a small wooden bowl, the size of a small child’s palm. 314 spits into it then passes it back.

Clapper takes a knee, but Grandmother Bright still needs a boost to get up onto his back. Clapper takes a lap of the square and the years seem to fall off of the god. Her spine straightens, the colors of her robe become brighter and more vibrant (apparently made of the vermillion glass of the city), and she looks more like a hale and healthy mortal grandmother rather than the divine embodiment of old age and frailty. She springs from Clappers back in a single bound.

“Our neighborhood is whole once more!” the god calls out in a strong, clear voice. She draws a long, thin, singled edged blade of green jade and holds it to the sun. The oppressive heat of the day cools, somewhat – it’s still too warm to be comfortable, but the heat no longer feels oppressive. The buildings light from the inside. The fountains in the plaza start pumping crystal clear, fresh water. The streets are bright and clean, and the windows of the buildings perfectly transparent and unbroken. She snaps her fingers and a faceless, golden servant strides forward, “Show them their apartments.”

Our heroes allow themselves to be shown to a tower of glass. The bottom floor is a stable, that clearly held horses at some point, but no longer, and above the stables are apartments. The apartments are small, but contain running water and a host of other magical amenities – not as wonderous as those provided by the Jadeborn, but providing a level of comfort far greater than most anywhere else in Creation. The Exalted give the rooms only a cursory look-over before returning to Grandmother Bright in the Plaza.

“Got anything less… tiny?” Jin complains.

Grandmother Bright shoots her a withering look, “You can move out as soon as you find someone to replace you.”

“Beg pardon?”

Harmonious Jade clears her throat and gives as casual smile, “The number of residents in the Plaza is fixed. Before the Fall, people queued up to move to this neighborhood. Once we clear out the Salmalin, I’m sure there will be no shortage of Delzahn looking to move in.”

“Not that staying here is a bad fit for any of you, mind,” Grandmother Bright says, cocking an eyebrow as she points a bony finger at them, “You’re not exactly welcome back on the Blessed Isle nor in Greyfalls, Cynis Jinabar. House Peleps recognized the value of the harbor, it would be a great boon to House Alinos and the Merchant Fleet to have their admiral stationed here – if you are the heroes who can win back the city for the Realm.” She pauses in front of 314 and studies him for a long moment, “I sense that what you really want is a place where you can fit in. A community you can belong to. These youngsters might look at you strangely now, but this could be your home, Alchemical.”

Melody slashes her hand through the air, “Meaningless if Dragonsgift walks in here with that Warstrider and kills us all.”

Grandmother Bright nods in grave agreement, “I have been able to hold off the dead and the demons. But Thamuz is a weapon that can over-come even my power.”

314 also nods, “Then we have precious little time to prepare. Have your residents assemble in the Plaza, I need to drill them.”

Harmonious Jade chuckles, “They’re not soldiers!”

314 looks at her intensely, “They will be. They will be.”

****

Grandmother Bright has the Plaza’s residents assemble. They are firmly against the idea of leaving the Plaza, until Melody gives them an inspiring speech about how they must fight for their home, and how the Dragons fight at their sides. 314 starts drilling then as a combat unit, teaching them with the same techniques that the Dragon Kings had used to drill the first human rebels. Grandmother Bright is surprisingly well versed in the ancient training techniques and gently assists, correcting their forms.

Jin looks at the drilling mortals and jerks a thumb over to them, “You can practically hear the inspirational music. So, what’s the plan?”

“Well,” Melody says, “You think you can pilot a demon beaten into a giant war machine?”

“Wait, me? You want me to pilot that thing?”

“I mean… you know where it is? And you piloted the siege strider alright?”

“Yeah, but you’re the…”

“One who will be leading the attack on the Salmalin.”

“What about Threef?”

“Pretty sure he can’t pilot a Warstrider. I mean, maybe, I guess? He’s going to have a hard time sneaking to the warehouse…”

“Can’t Threef lead the attack, and you pilot the Warstrider?”

Melody gestures at herself, “Not exactly the ‘stealthy’ type. I can probably fight my way through, then what? I’ll draw every demon-worshiper in the city down on top of me before I can climb in the cockpit.”

Jin rubs her temples and casually dodges to one side as one of the mortals loses control of their weapon and sends a spear hurtling at her head. 314 retrieves the weapon with a sheepish grin.

“It’s going well!” 314 says cheerfully, before backing away to resume the training.

“Alright,” Jin says, “So, how do you pilot a Warstrider? Levers, right? Like the siege strider?”

Melody nods, “Yeah, sounds right.”

“By the Dragons! You don’t know, do you?”

Melody shouts over to 314, “Threef, do you know how to pilot a Warstrider?”

“Why would I know how do to that?” 314 calls back, whilst trying to explain why spear and sling was a better weapon choice than a frying pan.

Melody turns back to Jin, “Well, I mean, how hard can it be?”

****

Though it’s still afternoon by the time 314 has finished training the mortals, Melody reckons it is too late to launch the attack. Instead, she consults with Grandmother Bright, Harmonious Jade and her Hearth to strategize the battle plan for the next morning.

314 confides in a low voice, “There are some experienced fighters in the group. And…” He gestures at Harmonious Jade.

Melody considers, “Then we split the mortals into groups. Strike and fade across the line. They’ll struggle with the Blood Apes, but the Salmalin are just humans with fancy flame pieces.”

Jade interrupts, “The Salmalin don’t just use hellwands. They have poison blades. Bows. All the weapons you’d expect from a clan of demon worshiping assassins. But you’re right, they are, basically, only human.”

“So, you hit them across the harbor, and I sneak in through the water and power up the Warstrider.” Jin says.

Melody nods, “314, can you coordinate the mortal attacks? Send commands up and down the battle line?”

314 shifts uncomfortably, “It’s not really my forte. I’m more of a… charge into danger type?”

Melody turns to Jade, “What about you?”

Harmonious Jade throws her hands in the air, “Lone wolf assassin.”

Melody sucks her teeth, “Then the three of us should hit the same spot with overwhelming force. 314 and I can ride straight up the main road into the dock on Clapper. Jade can do what she does best and cover us from the shadows. If our mortals can break the lines, so much the better.”

“And where do you want me, child?” Grandmother Bright asks. Melody and Jin look at the old woman quizzically, “Young Jade wants vengeance on these demon worshipers who betrayed her. Every man and woman in my Plaza wants vengeance against these invaders who have murdered their kin and sullied our home. My blade will answer their call.”

“Well,” Melody says, eyeing up the god in the form of an old woman, “Our army is made up of the residents of your Plaza, so could you coordinate them? Rotate them in and out of battle? Send reinforcements where they’re needed. I think we all want a little vengeance-”

“Gifty betrayed me and left me for dead,” Jin chimes in, “So, yeah!”

“But I’d like to win this with as few casualties as possible. And if you need a specific number of residents… to not… wither away… then it kinda behooves you… ?” Melody trails off as she sees Grandmother Bright glowering at her.

“Fine,” The old god relents, “I will coordinate the attack. Though such is not my greatest strength.”

“And what about Ophris Dansei?” Jin asks.

Melody rubs her chin, “We don’t really have any leverage to get him to help us. And we can be pretty sure that he wants the Warstrider for himself – even if his story about tracking an Anathema here is true. I think we’re better off attacking without him, and if he comes calling after the battle… well we’ll have a Warstrider.”

314 cautions Jin, “Do not expect Thamuz to yield to your will easily. He has the will of a raging fire, and he will consume you, if you let him.”

Jin nods grimly, “And what about Gifty?”

Melody pulls a face, “I know she’s you niece, but we’re not taking her alive.”

Jin snorts, “I say this without exaggeration: Dragonsgift Saber Edge is more deadly than both her fathers put together. She is the most capable warrior I have ever seen.” Melody, 314, and Grandmother Bright all look deeply offended, “No disrespect, but, yeah. I’m sure you’re all stronger than me, but none of you have shown me anything that leads me to believe Gifty wouldn’t gut you.”

Melody’s eyes narrow, “Look, you’re a capable warrior and incredibly good and what you do. But I’ve fought Cathak Cainan. I’ve fought Ragara. I think I can take some punk kid.”

314 considers, “If she is that powerful, and manages to activate Thamuz, we are going to be in trouble.”

Melody slices her hand through the air, cutting off the conversation, “We can handle it. Get some rest, we attack in the morning.”

****

Come nightfall, the living residents of the Plaza head indoors. Ghostly apparitions – the spirits of former residents – materialize. Outside of the Plaza, hungry ghosts venture forth: unable to cross the golden line that marks the Plaza’s boundaries, these demented spirits prowl the edges of Grandmother Bright’s domain, lean and hungry.

Alone in her room, Cynis Jinabar slips a mask of enchanted wood and green jade over her face, and becomes Ada Augusta – Lady Magnificent, as the mask’s magic takes hold.

Wearing the guise of Creation’s greatest thief, she slips from her room and descends among the (friendly) ghosts of the Plaza. The ghosts hardly react to her presence: a couple notice her and look on with mild amusement. Lady Magnificent tosses them a quick salute and fits her power armor helmet over the top of her devil mask.

She scans the outlying boarders of the Plaza, looking for a clear way out.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Grandmother Bright says, appearing suddenly and silently at her side.

Lady Magnificent is unfazed, and she casually flicks Calumny out to fighting length, “They’re just ghosts. I can fight my way through if I have to.”

“Betraying your friends?” Grandmother Bright asks with casual curiosity.

“I’m going to convince Ophris Densei to join us in our attack on the docks tomorrow. It’s basically what I do.”

“There’s about a hundred thousand hungry dead in the city. The more you move around at night, the more you will draw to yourself.”

“Well, I’m pretty stealthy, also ‘what I do’.”

Grandmother Bright sighs and draws her daiklave, “You go that way.” She gestures as she walks to the line the marks the boundaries of her domain. She lashes out across the line and a hungry ghost falls. The howling poltergeists are drawn to the killing god, who dispatches them with ruthless efficiency, creating a distraction for Lady Magnificent to slip away into the night.

Densei’s camp from the night before is easy enough to find, and the tracks of a herd of elephants are equally easy to trace through the city.

Dansei is waiting on the perimeter of his camp, looking out into the moonlit night as Lady Magnificent approaches.

“It was foreseen that a powerful being would come to bargain with Us this night. Say your piece stranger!”

“Can I come in behind your salt ward?” Lady Magnificent asks.

“It was foreseen that this ‘powerful being’ would be a trickster and a thief.”

Lady Magnificent sucks her teeth, “Can’t argue with that. I guess I’ll talk quickly. I can tell by looking at you that you are a man of ambition. You want the Salmalin Warstrider, but only as a means to an end. I propose a bargain then. The Dynasts attack the Salmalin at the docks at dawn. Join the assault and let them leave with the Warstrider.”

“And what do We gain from this bargain?”

Lady Magnificent spreads her arms, “What could I possibly offer a god of your stature?” Dansei does not look amused, “Assistance in your Wyld Hunt, then? A successful Wyld Hunt brings more glory than getting murdered over a Warstrider.”

“We help you in return for the promise of help in the future?”

Lady Magnificent shrugs, “That’s what a bargain is.” Her tone turns serious as passion enters her voice, “You and the Dynasts exchanged pretty words. A promise of aid against the forces of evil. Words spoken easily, like a breeze upon desert sands. Words with no meaning, as you plot against each other. Give those words meaning, Ophris Dansei. Show that the honor of the Dragons yet lives.” She extends an arm, “Do we have a deal?”

Dansei clasps her arm at the elbow, “I have traveled half the length of Creation to have my vengeance on Silken Claw.” His eyes narrow, “Do not think that I will not pursue you to the ends of Creation, should you betray me.”

Lady Magnificent locks eyes with Dansei, “You will have your Anathema’s head.”

The Prasadi Dragon-Blooded releases her, and Lady Magnificent slips away into the night, and returns to the Plaza.

****

Come the morning, our heroes launch their assault on the docks.

The Chiaroscuro streets are dangerous – loose ground and deadly sharp shards of enchanted vermillion glass pose a hazard to the unwary but hidden in the debris are traps laid by necromancers and Sondok cultists alike. The residents of the Plaza have spent the last year confined to their six-block haven, and though they were familiar with the city before its fall, they have no idea of the dangers that the city now holds.

Jin and Jade scout ahead checking for traps and ambushes, which Melody deftly navigates around as they proceed in an attack column toward the harbor. Grandmother Bright walks beside them, her matronly stride easily keeping pace. Urban navigation poses no difficulty for our heroes.

As they approach the docks, Grandmother Bright turns the column of mortals off at a steep angle to spread the attack-line across the length of the docks. Jin throws her comrades a quick salute, and heads off with the mortals, intending on entering the docks as far away from the main assault as possible (and to spot any obvious hazards for the mortals as she goes). Harmonious Jade slips quietly into the shadows – presumably following Melody, but unseen to all.

Chiaroscuro’s harbor is famed for its vastness, being perhaps the largest port of the Second Age. Once it was open to the city, the better to facilitate trade, but the Salmalin have constructed crude barricades (reinforced with blood magic and salt wards) across its length to keep the dead at bay. Walled warehouses, shipwrights, and dry-docks provide the Salmalin with innumerable strongholds and redoubts.

Melody has no doubt that the demon cult will have spies in nearby towers – their assault will not be a surprise – but the point of the attack is to draw their attention. She addresses 314:

“I’m going to try to link minds with my Hearthmates. I’m going to try to bring you into the network. I don’t know if it will work.”

She reaches out with her mind, and finds Jin, Clapper, and 314, linking their minds together to think and fight as one. With 314 in the network, she can’t reach out to Reya, Ganan, and Udi, but reasons that this might be for the best.

Melody strokes Clappers neck for luck and closes her eyes, feeling the essence of the world around her. 314 doesn’t notice at first, but gradually the giant Shieldback lizard’s feet treader lighter and lighter on the vermillion glass road beneath them. Eventually the mount puts its foot down and treads firmly upon the air – a good inch away from the ground. The next foot follows as the massive creature bears itself higher, and higher, into the air. They soar directly over the Salmalin’s defensive wall.

The demon cultists pour from warehouses and tents, and foxholes in the barricades. Great gouts of purple fire are belched from their demonic weapons, but Melody and 314 are clearly out of range.

Melody notches an arrow, “Like shooting fish in a barrel.”

Melody and 314 rain arrows from the sky on the beleaguered Salmalin, who can only look up in fear and terror at the 18-foot-long dinosaur attacking them.

****

As Jin pulls way ahead of the mortals and Grandmother Bright, she hears a parade of elephants drawing closer.

She sprints harder, muscles pumping beneath her armor, as she defty navigates the hazards of the ruined city.

****

The Salmalin ready bows and slings and pelt Clapper with arrows dipped in hellish venoms and pellets that explode in clouds of poison. Neither the Exalts nor the giant dinosaur are harmed by the fusillade, but they’re clearly now in harm’s way.

“Does this thing go any higher?” 314 asks.

“We’re fifty-feet off the ground! No, it doesn’t go any higher!”

“Just asking,” 314 says as he unleashes a killing volley from the Freedom Bow. Cult assassins drop the Alchemical’s killing bolts find their marks.

Melody lets loose with her own attack, spraying the sky with a hail of arrows that fall on the Salmalin like rain.

Our heroes are no longer alone in the sky. Beauteous Wasps bearing Blood Apes upon their backs rise into the sky from the ground, some even materialize in mid-air.

Melody grins, “This is where the fun begins!”

The demons close in to attack. Giant stingers, swinging clubs, and bellowing war-cries assail the Exalted, but between Clapper’s armored shell and the deft aptitude of the power-armored Exalted keep the demons at bay.

Arrows of burning sunlight streak up from the ground, plucking demons out of the sky with deadly precision.

****

Jin leaps over the Salmalin barrier in a single bound. Between the Plaza mortal’s hit-and-run attacks and the flying Shieldback Lizard, there isn’t any opposition between her and the bay as she dashes into the water.

With Essence backed speed, she heads straight for the warehouse where the Warstrider is, slipping inside with her mastery over water. Activating the sensors in her helmet, she sees immaterial demonic guards – guards that almost certainly were here the last time she was, guards which almost certainly saw her.

“Well, I guess that makes sense.” She says to herself. Cultists are swarming over the wooden gantry built up around the Warstrider, obviously trying to get it active.

The Warstrider itself is still curled in the docked position. It’s demonic body – vaguely humanoid (one head, two arms, two legs) – is reminds Jin of a locust, with its bulging eyes, jagged, elongated limbs, and shell-like armor. Its color is hard for the human mind – even a Dragon-Blooded mind – to process: it is black, but polished to such a luster that it almost looks white. The shining surface of the war-machine reflects not Creation, but maddening glimpses of the demon realm.

A tall, muscular, blond man dashes from the shadows, swinging a giant bronze axe. He swipes through one of the immaterial demon, cutting it down before it can have a chance to take physical form. The other demon guard materializes, and the cultists work with renewed vigor. One of them levels a hellwand at the man and fires a blast of fire at him. The man slices the gout of flame with his axe, cutting the unnatural purple fire in two and charging through the attack unharmed. Flames of a Fire Aspect’s anima leap up around the man attacking the cultists.

Jin doesn’t have time to ponder who this mystery man might be as she charges straight at the Warstrider.

****

Melody and 314 shoot at the demons, who prove to be much more resilient to than the mortal cultists.

Encouraged by their demonic allies taking to battle, a second wave of Salmalin take to the field, picking up the toxic weapons of their fallen comrades. The cowardly overseers of the cult direct their underling’s attacks, hammering the flying Exalted, and the demons counter-attack with the aid of the cultist’s covering fire.

“We’re too big a target up here!” 314 complains.

“Agreed!” Melody yells, steering Clapper into a dive, “Hold on!”

The Shieldback Lizard comes down on top of one of the Salmalin overseers. The robed figure tries to turn and run, but the six-ton dinosaur comes crashing down on top of him. Bones crack as the cultist’s body is reduced to red pulp.

Melody’s body erupts into a maelstrom of toxic thorns – Clapper is immune, but 314 throws himself clear of the destructive power of her anima.

****

Jin extends Calumny as she runs, plants the wrackstaff in the ground and uses it to vault to the top of the scaffold, arriving at the Warstrider’s entry plug at the same time as the blond man.

“Thanks for the assist,” Jin says, throwing a salute, “But I’ll take it from here.”

The man pinches the bridge of his nose and scrunches up his face in a look of annoyance, “I can tell you’re not with the Salmalin, but I’m claiming this Warstrider for House Peleps.”

“Yeah, I was afraid you might say something like that.” Jin lashes out with her wrackstaff, only for the man to block her with his bronze axe at the last moment.

****

Under Grandmother Bright’s direction, the mortals break through the Salmalin’s barricades. The demon-cultists fall back – directly towards where the Warstrider is kept, marking its location as obvious.

Grandmother Bright holds her mortal army back as Ophris Densei and his war elephants stampede into the Salmalin camp.

****

More bolts of killing golden light sear the flying demon cavalry as Harmonious Jade fires from her hiding place.

Melody feels the throws of battle overwhelm her, giving in to the beating call of her essence. She rides Clapper directly into the cultists, smashing the bulk of her mount against the hapless mortals and exalting in the feeling of their fresh blood splashing against her, like rain bringing new life to the desert. Her anima erupts full bloom as a spray of Crown of Thorns, framing her and Clapper at the center of a whirlwind of destruction.

314 maintains his killing pace, emptying arrows at blinding speed into demonic wasps, swatting the agata out of the sky like flies. He seems to be in his element killing demons.

****

The muscular man swings his axe in broad arcs. Jin steps back smartly, but the wooden scaffold was not built to for fighting and footing is perilous: her foe is building killing momentum, clearly used to fighting where footing is bad and movement restricted.

“You seem a decent enough guy, for House Peleps,” Jin says, “But the war is over! You’re not going to be able to sail a Warstrider over to your Western Imperial Protectorate, so how about you just let me have this one?”

The flames from the mans anima ignite the wooden boards of the scaffold as he continues to press the attack.

“Really, the war is over? So, soon?” He pulls a rueful face, “I didn’t expect that we’d win.”

****

As Melody laughs like a maniac, surrounded by deadly thorns and covered in the blood of her enemies, the Salmalin regroup and switch to their hellwands. Burning devil fire washes over her, causing her to scream out in pain as the unholy weapons try to roast her.

“Not today!” 314 bellows, summoning the Justice Blade to hand and laying into the cultists with superhuman speed and agility, hacking at the servants of his ancient enemy.

****

Grandmother Bright directs the mortals to help relieve Melody and 314, whilst Ophris Dansei and his followers head straight for the Warstrider.

****

“Who said you won?” Jin asks, taking the offensive once more, deciding that violence was a better solution to diplomacy, “Your stinking House of traitors got banished to the West.”

“Technically,” The man says as Jin’s flurry of blows drive him back, “I’m not actually a member of House Peleps: I’m just here to get the Warstrider for them. Mnemon Alinos Tinis, at your service.” Tinis bows, working in an overhead strike with his axe in a sophisticated but deadly flourish.

“Well please to meet-” Jin begins, “Wait, Tinis? Reya’s brother?”

Before Tinis can ask something stupid, like “how do you know my sister”, the scaffolding they are fighting on starts to shake and break apart. Not because their animas have set it on fire, but because Dragonsgift has activated the Hellstrider Thamuz.

****

Grandmother Bright and the Plaza army smash into the Salmalin cultists, fighting alongside 314. Somehow, 314 seems to be everywhere he needs to be to protect the mortals from harm. A phantasmal display of grinding clockwork gears manifests around 314 as he calls out “For the Great Maker!”

Between the mortal army, Grandmother Bright’s deadly green jade blade, and 314’s own efforts, the Salmalin are butchered and put to rout. A few robed figures dive into the water whilst others drop their weapons and flee into the city ruins.

Melody and Jade pick off the remaining demons, breaking the backbone of the Salmalin forces.

“Good work everyone! You’ve made me proud!” 314 says. The obvious warmth in his voice somehow makes it hard to think he’s being patronizing.

Having no idea where Harmonious Jade is hiding, Melody calls out to her hidden ally, “Jade, take the mortals back to the Plaza! We’re going to finish this!” She gestures at the warehouse that Densei’s forces are headed for, “You up for one more fight, Grandma?” She asks Grandmother Bright.

The old god nods.

314 takes two steps towards the warehouse, when it explodes. A burning tornado of molten rock and flaming debris sprays out across the battlefield.

314 turns and bellows at the mortals, “Get out of here NOW! RUN!”

Jin shakes her head. The whole world seems to have exploded. Bleary eyed, she looks up to see Thamuz extending an arm toward Dansei’s elephant charge. An explosion of lava appears in the middle of the elephants, slabs of solid basalt among the molten rock. Dansei’s mortal followers succumb to volcanic fumes as super-heated stone roasts his elephants alive. The elephant charge falters.

Klawthak and Ylva jump free of their riding beasts and clear the lava. Dansei’s lead elephant escapes the explosion and barrels straight into the demonic war-machine. Thamuz doesn’t budge an inch as the seven-ton elephant rams into it at full speed, casually backhanding the beast, shattering its skull and sending Dansei sprawling to the ground.

“We need to breach the cockpit and kill the pilot!” 314 bellows as he strides towards the Warstrider. His mechanical crossbow whirls as he fires bolts at the impenetrable armor of the impossible colossus.

“Yeah, no shit!” Melody says as she levels her bow against the Warstrider, aiming with the grace of the Dragons, she fires her shot even as Clapper takes to the air once more. Her single, powerful bolt, seems to have no more effect on Thamuz than 314’s rapid-fire.

“Oh, I’m going to regret this!” Jin says under her breath as she runs at the Hellstrider. She springs into the air, kick’s off from the Warstrider’s waist, and scrambles onto the fuselage. Drawing strength from her Hearthmates, she brings her wrackstaff down on the entry plug to the demonic creation, trying to pry Gifty loose.

“WE ARE THAMUZ-DRAGONSGIFT! YOU WILL NOT STOP US!” The Hellstrider thunders, its voice seeming to come from the earth at its feet rather than from its head (where a mortal’s mouth would be).

“For the honor of Prasad!” Ophris Dansei bellows as he charges Thamuz. He lashes out with a flaming cavalry saber, striking the war-machine about the ankles.

Ylva struggles to her feet and begins casting a spell. Klaw charges in after Dansei, also futility raining blows about the Warstrider’s feet. Grandmother Bright seems to fall into a trance-like state, studying the Hellstrider intently.

The ground at Thamuz’s feet erupts into lava. Dansei and Klaw – both creatures with an affinity for fire – throw themselves clear of the sudden hazard. The Warstrider stoops over to crush Klaw with one of its giant, inhuman, hands. The blow smashes Klaw into the ground.

Before it can stand straight again, 314 barrels into the Warstrider, rushing at whilst it is bent double and has its entry plug exposed. He rams the Justice Blade into the gap created by Jin, burying his sword in the flesh beneath. The fire of Dragonsgift’s anima bursts through the breach in the Hellstrider, causing 314 to lose his footing and slide from the frame. Thamuz turns his baleful eyes on his former gaoler.

“Alchemical Champion Jade Caste Unit 26x12 And Two. I shall enjoy killing you.”

314 looks up at the giant demon-machine bearing down on him, “Actually, I mostly go by ‘Threef’ now.” He quips.

Melody steers Clapper to maximum height as she circles Thamuz. She hopes they are out of range of his weapons, but remembering the last time she fought a Warstrider, she doesn’t think this is likely. The chink in the 30-foot war-machine’s armor is only a few inches wide, and filled with flames. An impossible target. Melody fires at it anyway. Though her shot does no real damage, it causes Thamuz to stagger back, shifting the fight (if only slightly) in Melody’s favor.

Still clinging to the side of the Warstrider, Jin places her hand directly over the gap in Thamuz’s armor and fires her own bolt of flame into the Warstrider cockpit.

Dansei rushes to pull Klaw clear.

Grandmother Bright sees her opening. One moment, she’s fifty yards away and looking pensive. The next she’s on top of the Warstrider’s fuselage next to Jin. The frail looking grandmother places a hand inside the gap in the Warstrider’s armor and pulls, yanking the entire cockpit, including Dragonsgift, out of the armor and holding it high above her head in an impossible feat of strength.

For a moment, it looks like our heroes have one.

And then the world explodes.

The lava patches created by Thamuz detonate with the force of an exploding volcano. Thamuz, Dragonsgift, Jin, and Grandmother Bright bear the full brunt of the explosion of the lava patch under the Hellstrider. Ylva is caught by the explosion of the elephant lava pit. Grandmother Bright is sent reeling back, her corporeal form disintegrating under the attack. Thamuz and Dragonsgift seem unharmed, the demonic metal of the Hellstrider’s body reaching out in disgusting tentacles to hook around the cockpit and suck it back inside. Jin manages to throw herself aside at the last moment, her armor absorbing the brunt of the blow. Ylva is blown off her feet and disappears from sight as the exploding lava holocaust blocks all view of her. 314, Dansei, and Klaw are on the edge of the explosion: even the secondary blow is enough to take Dansei and Klaw out of the fight. 314 takes no damage – he is just that tough.

The volcanic cataclysms continue to spew lava into the air, preventing anyone from getting close.

“This is not over, Champions.” Thamuz says as it steps into the pillar of lava and disappears.

****

Melody has an Exalt Event for fostering change in the Plaza residents.
Jin has an Exalt Event for convincing Ophris Dansei to join their cause with her passionate speech.
This triggers an Exalt Beat.
314 has an Exalt Event for face-tanking a 10/7 lava cataclysm, forcing his enemy to flee.

Melody has a Personal Event for managing to keep Harmonious Jade’s nature as one of the Anathema secret.
Jin has a Personal Event for finding a new home where she can settle down.
314 has a Personal Event for training the residents of the Plaza into a force that can defend their community.
This triggers a Personal Group Beat.

The group does not hit any Major Beats.
The group does not hit any Minor Beats.
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Essence of Dynasty