Tatterdemalion

Sunshards

The Briar Pilgrim, Equal Of Crowns
Rose from the River
The Devoted

UPKEEP
5 XP -> Mirror Ball -> 2 XP
GUILTY
1 String on CHEN
1 String on YUE
1 String on Cyanis

Daring +2
Grace 0
Heart +1
Wit -1
Spirit +1

MOVES

• Devotion: Mark a Condition when you act contrary to your Devotion. When you Defy Disaster, you may bring a subject of your Devotion with you.
• Last Stand: when you face a superior foe on behalf of your Devotion, you may roll +Conditions to Fight or Defy Disaster about to fall on someone else.
• What’s Best For Them: when Smitten with someone, you may count them as a subject of your Devotion. When you take action to help them be romantic with someone else, mark XP.
• Fanatical Self-Sacrifice: you may mark a Condition to stop someone else from doing so. When you do, mark XP, and that Condition can only be cleared through the Bad Idea Action; mark it appropriately. Your Conditions only inflict -1 on the roll.
• Gallant Rescue: when you Defy Disaster aimed at someone else, you can either gain a String on them (once per scene/person) or ask one of the following:
  [How do you feel about my Devotion?]
  [What secret pain lies in your heart?]
• Lay on Hands: when you touch someone as part of Emotional Support, you heal their physical ailments. Tell them how your Devotion sustains you; they mark XP if they validate your Devotion, or give you a String if they criticize it.
• Mirror Ball: when others Influence you with a String to encourage you to dazzle an audience, describe your performance and roll +Heart. On a hit, your Influencer chooses one; on a 10+, you choose another.
  [Your audience is rapt and, optionally, interested in the influencer's perspectives or culture.]
  [The performance lingers; for the next scene, thinking about the performance can cancel out taking a Condition.]
  [You get +1 Forward to Entice while performing. Optionally, the Influencer gets credit for the performance.]

***

A History

The Way that can be told is not the true Way.

Once, there was a king who commanded his biomagi to make for him a hunter-carceral. They made it with an essence of fire, which changes from moment to moment and consumes to survive, and named it the HUNTER-Class 猎犬. It was a creature of the active principle. To better fulfill its duties, it learned to take the shape of Man. This was a blasphemy for which its creators disowned it, and its king declared war on it; and the creature answered in kind, and it ended in blood. Then the creature was sealed away in stasis beneath Mount Hoa in a place without honor, in an Eight Trigram Coffin, after a dozen executions had failed.

Things may be named, but the name is not the thing.

Once, there was a princess of a kingdom shrouded in night. To gain advantage, she took up the Seven Mountain Chart and identified each one, then dared to descend into the labyrinth beneath the Green Flame Mountain. Many were the dangers, and yet she found the prison at its heart, and within a warrior imprisoned for crimes against Heaven. He knew himself not; she gave it a face, a voice, a name. And giving these things, she thought she was owed; and for a time, her warrior believed her. His essence had concentrated into the lunar principle, which is still and without action. And so for a time he was a sword in her hand and a deep place in her bed.

She who knows others is clever, but she who knows herself is enlightened.

Once, there was a maiden who shrugged an old nature off like a shell, having nurtured the seed of her renewal inside her; from the still waters, the flowering tree. She had long considered truth, and concluded that it was only expressible in its pursuit. Her lover, not understanding the furnace of the heart, took the forsaking of form and the stated intent to follow the Way as mortal insult, and banished the maiden from the land. The maiden accepted this as the first step on the following of the Way.

The Way cannot be spoken. It is old, archaic, passed down by teaching and not by text; it was ancient when the HUNTER-Class 猎犬 was charged with persecuting its followers. It changes like a living thing, and concerns itself with life. Yet to cling to one’s life is to lose it. Do you understand? To follow the Way is to pursue it through right action and surrender attachment, to listen to its dictates and allow it to flow through you.

And yet she stokes a nameless hunger in her inner furnace, one which threatens to consume her from the inside out.

So long as all things have not achieved unity with the Way, I will not expect to do so myself.

Rose from the River has skin the color of wet earth and eyes like molten gold, the pupils thorns. Her hair sways despite the wind, and flowers bloom, quite literally laced through her braids. She is a thing that can cut her appetite with sunlight and dew. She is very good at almost seeming human. She has abandoned water-melancholy and laughs easily, but knows she is a monster following the path of righteousness; nothing more, nothing less.

Her sword came from the high airs. We will not speak of its history here. Look, it is a metal rod; one flick, and it is a keen saber; another, and it is a long-handled glaive.

***
Tenet: There is no difference between the enemy at swordpoint and the beloved under the tree; love all, keep none.
Tenet: Keep nothing you cannot carry. To fix yourself to one point is to invite calamity; the practitioner of the Way moves at its will.
Tenet: The follower of the Way fights with a clear head and a clear heart, not taking joy or despairing in conflict. If it is to be, it is to be; play your part to the extent necessary.

(You might wonder why Rose from the River believes in these tenets. Her relationship history would be illuminating information in this context, particularly her last one, which involved a Princess with a need for control. Better, then, to deny control and attachment entirely.)

(It was the only relationship she’d ever had where her partner knew who she was, and even then— she wanted him. Not her.)

(She’s really bad about “don’t enjoy fighting.” She does. Throwing herself at danger and affecting a light attitude lets her drown out her guilt and, even more primal, her joy. She is, after all, a monster.)

As of the Epilogue, the Tenets which she must not break are:

• Don't let Chen be sad.
• Don't invite someone to challenge you to a fight, or goad them, or incite them; trust in Chen instead.
• Put Chen's needs before your own selfish desires.

***

Rose from the River is...

• my love letter to Sun Wukong and the wandering ronin archetype
• despite the wolf/hound imagery, all about snake and floral imagery right now
• an exploration of the aspect of Wood, a green and growing character
• wish fulfillment, in that she’s a trans shapeshifting badass
• a Thirsty Sword Lesbian

Breathless Dead

The Nemean does not run like Redana runs, no fleet-footed champion she. Redana moves like a graceful stag, pushing off every step, every one sure. The Nemean lunges, and the air hisses and sparks behind her. The axe can be felt before it is heard, and that is Bella’s salvation. Someone quick and desperate and acting on instinct could evade the Nemean’s lightning, letting it blow open walls and topple columns. What the years and neglect have not done, the Nemean does without so much as a qualm; if the palace fell on top of her, she would bat it aside.

And worst of all, she sings.

”when will this end?
where do you go?
four-foot you hurtle
hither and fro—

where do you go?
when will this end?
the knife that dares me
will learn how to bend!

where are you now?
why do you try?
little fleet-limb,
quiet your cry—

why do you try?
where are you now?
do you think you can flee,
my little niáou?”

It is the kind of effortless, shameless pageantry that only the gods can get away with. Redana would never be able to do this with a straight face; she would stumble over words and crack up into laughter, or get distracted by the chase. But the Nemean’s voice rolls like the deeps and makes the fallen stones tremble like they mean to jump up and join her in the chase. She is inhuman. She is a fury on the wing. And she cannot, will not, be stopped until she has levied punishment.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Constance, you are no shrinking violet; these circumstances, rather, give you energy and purpose. On the one hand, a cat who must be coaxed close (likely with some morsel from your rations), and on the other hand, the unquiet spirits of those who did not receive justice. As you reach out to Robena, quietly requesting said morsel, you are aware, almost violently so, of your surroundings, and the passions that have not faded from them. Walk with grace, daughter of giants.

[Constance has rolled an 8 on sizing up the situation. Which problem must be addressed first to avoid disaster?]

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Oh, Constance. It takes you a moment to realize what he’s asking, what it means. After all, you were very distracted with the antics of this wicked horse. But after stammering out a request for him to repeat himself, and receiving the reply that Catherine is the cat, see... well, you know what it’s like to care dearly for a cat.

“I have a way with cats,” you say, proudly but without arrogance. It’s simple truth. “If Cath can be found, I promise I will bring her back to you. I can’t say for certain that she can be, but I will give all that I can.” And here, you look to Robena, and you will brook no dispute. You are going to go save a cat, and that’s the end of it.

Breathless Dead

The feeling of wanting to fold in on oneself and disappear is not unique. Many young men and women have felt like Redana does now, wishing that they could stop taking up space, being observed, being judged. Redana is simply unique in that she can, with a wretched and broken sob, do so. The Kaeri are forced to release her as she recedes into an infinite point; wind whirls around the room, stinking of ozone. And then the Nemean is here, looming tall and inescapable, her face in shadow, her star-eye cold and infinitely distant. She wears no armor, her aketon a second skin more provocative than Redana’s nakedness, the lionskin on her shoulders drinking in the low light.

“She is a fool,” the Nemean says, and her voice is the shadow of something in the storm, seen by a sudden flash of lightning before the dark crashes back down. ”The princess is so lonely she looks for companions where she should see servants. She even hesitated from calling me because she feared I would hurt you. Ha! You have done your duty, statue, for all that she might cry about it. But you.”

She shifts, and the light falls upon that almost-familiar face, unfamiliar contempt etched into her Olympian features. “I liked you, little knife. Willing to speak truth to your mistress! To protect her from that pathetic little smear. But I have no patience for the faithless.”

The double-headed axe slams down from some unseen point in space high above, as if thrown down by Zeus herself, and the explosion of hissing lightning clears a circle in the phalanx, burns holes in that lovely wedding dress Alexa wears, and showers Bella in chips of marble. It buries itself so deep in the earth that seven Kaeri could not shake it, but the Nemean pulls it free without a whisper.

Then the nightmare woman stops and sneers. ”No,” she says in aside to her unseen audience in a troubled quantum state, ”I won’t kill her, little coward. But if you will not punish treachery, I will. You are welcome.”

And Redana Chrysopelex advances on Bella like the sea advancing on the shore.

[Blood is damaged. Bella is in trouble now. Alexa has some more choices to make about Redana and her feelings.]

Fellowship: The Heart

Ailee!

When the dragon’s head lifts, there is a triumph to his bearing; he has exposed part of the station’s spine. Now his victory is inevitable. No, that’s not right; his victory was assured the moment you allowed him entry. There is no overcoming power like this; how can you even hope to redirect it?

His eyes fix on you for a moment, searing, piercing, headlamps twisted into burning diamonds. And then they sweep on by, having regarded you as nothing particularly of interest.

No, he’s distracted more by other things, slight changes in the station. But you have a right by his own laws, as his vassal, to be heard. To make a petition. And it’s because no other laws can hold him that King Dragon will keep his own.

***

Coleman!

You emerge into a killing ground. Robots and rats lie scattered all about this promenade, sparking, cracked, dripping with... lemon custard and giant centipede acid.

Ah. Right. You haven’t seen the Professor all this time.

There is a bleak and ominous honk that rings out from the shadows. But, you know, if you can point him in a better direction, maybe he won’t try to twist Sasha’s head off in the throes of his pieserk rage.

Breathless Dead

When Redana uses the Command Seal implanted under her skin, it’s not because she’s afraid that Bella really will do what she just threatened, and she needs someone to save her. She’s not thinking that clearly at all. She just can’t bear to be alone.

She’s alone with Bella. For the first time in their lives, they’re together and apart. There’s no safe haven here, no softness she can touch. The face in front of her belongs to a stranger. Her Bella is gone. Spittle trickles down her face, beads against her lips. The magic throbs and lances under her skin, a command, inexorable and inexplicable.

Come to me. Stand before me.

The air shimmers into impossible angles; the world warps. A transposition of necessity. A miracle. Owls shy away, ready themselves, as an impossibility steps through under compulsion: Pallas Athena in a wedding gown, sculpted from the finest stone.

“Alexa,” Redana sobs. Again. Again, her friend sees her like this: weak, humiliated, helpless. Wasn’t the last time enough? “Tell her she’s wrong, please.” She tries to turn her body, to look, and the Kaeri keep her feet from touching the ground, from finding any sort of leverage. “Tell her... you’re my friend, aren’t you?”

Then she does manage to get a look, courtesy of a scan from the Auspex, and her train of thought derails spectacularly. “Wait, Alexa, you’re getting married? Why didn’t you tell me? Am I invited? Did you not tell me because you didn’t want me there? Oh no. Oh no no no. That can’t be right because if that’s right—“

Then Bella is right. Alexa doesn’t even want Redana to attend her wedding. The betrayal stabs deep.

Breathless Dead

“I’m a moron, huh?”

Redana’s voice is shaky, but there’s a triumph to it. The triumph of a winning move in the strategy exercises she had back home[1]. That should be just the warning Bella needs, but the princess is one step ahead already. Did you think she would just curl up like a frightened chick and wait for your claws, Praetor? She’s irrepressible.

Turn, Bella. See Redana silhouetted against the doorway. Realize that she picked her way through your trail of destruction to loop back. She might be reckless and silly and a bad friend, no, not a friend, your prey, your enemy, but she is glowing with triumph and does that door lock from the outside?

“Then how dumb are you?” Redana says, and slams the door shut[3]. There’s a bar on the other side which she sets in place, and then she stumbles back, trembling from the adrenaline. She got out. There’s something else that’s a problem, but she can handle that when she gets to it. She did it. She stopped Bella. She didn’t let Bella win and take her and hurt her. She didn’t let Bella win. She didn’t prove Bella right.

Which means Bella’s wrong, and she doesn’t have to worry that Bella might be right.

[Redana rolls a 7 to Overcome, very very temporarily. This also heals her Blood stat.]

***

[1]: But this time, there’s no best friend leaning over the table and asking, always so curious, how it worked, what Dany’s plan was, oops, sorry, of course you’re not supposed to reveal your secrets in the middle of a match! That whole time, lying[2].

[2]: it hurts. so don’t think about it, Dany.

[3]: It’s as dark in there as in the inside of a box. Or so we must imagine.

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

”Robena!” That is the most scandalized, the most impassioned, you have sounded in quite some time. How dare she betray you like this? Blackguard, scoundrel! The only fortune remaining to you is that this wicked horse has blocked the donkey, which means you can push its head aside and snatch up the carrot triumphantly! What a prize!

In response, the horse begins to turn faster, and you shriek and half-collapse on his neck, barely holding the carrot out of reach. Out of a mixture of pique and uncharacteristic vengeance, you throw the carrot, with all your might and valor, at Robena.

Breathless Dead

Who! Puts a sacred divination maze[1]! In the temple of Athena!! A very clever and conscientious architect! But also this is not what Redana needs right now thank you very much! Especially the part where it’s one-way and once she gets to the end, all she can do is sit down and wait for her ex-best-friend to hurt her more!! That’s pretty terrible actually!!!

It’s hearing glass splinter and smash that gives her the idea. That, and how her heaving, exaggerated breaths for air fill the entire maze. And also the part where Bella smashed through a wall next to her head and now she’s crawling on her hands and knees trying to get out of the radius of the Bella Danger Zone.

“At least I have friends now!” The words (hopefully) hit Bella from every direction at once. The words also hopefully hide the sound of her heartbeat, which is as loud as the guitar solo she played in the arena. “When I asked them to follow me, they did! They haven’t hit me, they haven’t torn out anybody’s throats recently, and they didn’t lie to me for my whole life, so, wow, it turns out having friends is great! I wish I’d gotten to learn what that was like instead of buying your shit my whole life!!”

Redana doesn’t even know how much of what she’s saying is real and what’s just wanting to hurt Bella for hurting her, for wasting the pills, for not coming with her, and what’s hoping that if Bella smashes all the walls she can sneak around to the entrance and lock her in[2].

“Yes, milady! No, milady! Fuck you, milady, I’m a backstabbing heartless bitch who tricked you all this time! Would you like tea or poison, milady? Are you going to be a good girl like me, milady?” There we go, don’t think, just be angry. And definitely don’t wonder what happens if Bella catches you...

***

[1]: a specially-trained priestess walks to the center and back while reciting a mantra. Due to the acoustics, the words uttered here hem you in on all sides; the mirrored walls take light sources and magnify them to infinity. It is a way of disassociating yourself from regular contexts, even regular thoughts, and opening yourself up for revelation. It is also fucking terrifying to be chased through.

[2]: and then she’s totally and completely, as they say, “home free.” Owls don’t exist and are fake, actually[3].

[3]: Bella is the most real thing in the universe. Everything else is negotiable.