TEXT: Holy Protectors of the
  Holy Protectors of the
  ™
  
  1
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  BY DANIEL DOVER, MUR LAFFERTY AND PATRICK O’DUFFY
  ™
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  2
  CREDITS
  Authors: Daniel Dover, Mur Lafferty, Patrick O’Duffy
  Storyteller Game System Design: Mark Rein•Hagen
  Developers: John Chambers, Geoffrey C. Grabowski
  Editor: John Chambers
  Art Direction: Brian Glass
  Artists: UDON with Omar Dogan, Eric Kim and Jim
  Zubkavich and Melissa Uran
  Cover Art: UDON with Omar Dogan
  Book Design: Brian Glass
  © 2005 White Wolf Publishing, Inc. All rights re-
  served. Reproduction without the written permission of
  the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes
  of reviews, and for blank character sheets, which may be
  reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf and Exalted
  are registered trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
  All rights reserved. Houses of the Bull God, the Age of
  Sorrows, the Second Age of Man, Exalted the Dragon-
  Blooded, Exalted the Lunars, Exalted the Abyssals, Exalted
  the Sidereals, Exalted the Fair Folk, Exalted Players Guide,
  Games of Divinity, Creatures of the Wyld, Exalted Storyteller’s Companion, the Book of Three Circles, Savant
  and Sorcerer, Scavenger Sons, Savage Seas and Manacle and Coin are trademarks of White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
  All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted by White Wolf Publishing, Inc.
  The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to the trademark
  or copyright concerned.
  This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatural elements
  are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature content. Reader discretion
  is advised.
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  PRINTED IN CANADA
  CREDIT WHERE CREDIT’S DUE
  To William O’Connor for his wonderful back cover
  strip on Exalted: The Autochthonians. Apologies for
  excluding his name from the credits.
  
  3
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  TABLE OF CONTENTS
  INTRODUCTION
  4
  CHAPTER ONE: THE OUTER CIRCLE
  8
  CHAPTER TWO: THE INNER CIRCLE
  32
  CHAPTER THREE: THE TRAINING CAMPS
  72
  CHAPTER FOUR: THE WYLD HUNT
  122
  ™
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  4
  
  5
  INTRODUCTION
  INTRODUCTION
  You see many stars at night in the sky but find them not
  when the sun rises; can you say that there are no stars in the
  heaven of day? So, O man! because you behold not God in the
  days of your ignorance, say not that there is no God.
  —Voltaire
  As the Time of Tumult begins, the beings who
  caused it, the Solar Exalted, seem isolated and alone,
  beings of great potential power trapped in a world of
  beings weaker than they but with far greater stores of
  wisdom and resources. Yet, looks are deceiving, for the
  Solars are far from alone.
  Foremost among their allies, of course, are the
  Sidereal Exalted of the Gold Faction. These Sidereals
  believe the Usurpation was a mistake and the rise of the
  Dragon-Blooded a crude manipulation without due
  consideration of the alternatives. For many centuries,
  they were simply dissenters without purpose, an insti-
  tutionalized minority in the Sidereal ranks. Now, with
  the return of the Solars, the Gold Faction is exploring
  the possibility of actually pursuing its historical mis-
  sion. Even as an institutionalized minority, its members
  are still powerful celestial bureaucrats with a great deal
  of pull in Heaven and the ability to manipulate the
  Loom of Fate.
  But these rogue Exalted are not the Solars’ only
  allies. Many spirits were ancient allies of the Solars,
  and those not destroyed in the conflicts following the
  Usurpation often remember their old allegiances. Other
  gods and elementals have been offended by the Im-
  maculate Philosophy and its militant Dragon-Blooded
  monks, and these gods also favor the emergent Solars.
  Finally, some simply see the return of the Solars to
  power as inevitable. Perhaps it will take centuries, but
  they see the might of Creation as insufficient to re-
  strain the Solars in the long term, and when the
  inevitable rise comes, these beings do not wish to be
  remembered as enemies by Creation’s new masters.
  Of these groups, many, perhaps the majority, are
  inactive participants, merely willing to stick a leg out
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  6
  here or there to thwart the Immaculates or to forget to
  file timely reports on evidence of Solar activity. Oth-
  ers, however, are more proactive, aiding and protecting
  the Solars and preparing the way for the Solar
  Deliberative’s return to power.
  Perhaps the most influential cabal of these plot-
  ters is the Cult of the Illuminated. Led by Sidereals
  who absorbed a mortal religious cult to use as a front
  shortly after the Solar return, the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated seeks to find newly Exalted Solars, to spirit
  them away from the Wyld Hunt and to train and
  protect them until they are powerful enough to make
  a serious impact on Creation.
  This undertaking is a difficult one. All those
  who collaborated in the Usurpation  Exalt, god and
  elemental — are leagued against the Solars. Even as
  the battles between the Gold and Bronze Factions
  and their supporters rise, the many external men-
  aces to Creation — the Deathlords, the Fair Folk
  and the hordes of Malfeas — gather their own
  THE MORALITY OF ILLUMINATION
  This book paints the Sidereal Exalted and the Cult of the Illuminated in terms that are most generously
  described as pragmatic and more realistically described as ruthless. Obviously, this will not fit with every
  possible Storyteller’s vision of the Cult. It was done for two reasons.
  First, this is true to the portrayal of the Cult and the Sidereal Exalted offered by supplements to this
  point. The Sidereals are ruthlessly practical beings. They are driven by the imperative that fate must
  continue to unwind, so that Creation can exist. The world currently faces terrible threats, hazards that will
  destroy all that is if they are allowed to triumph. As the Sidereals have been so far described, they could
  not possibly see their actions in seizing and manipulating the Cult of the Illuminated as anything except
  the way business is done. It might be somewhat regrettable that certain individuals had to suffer, but that
  is so beyond the concerns of anything but the most neophyte Sidereal that discussing it is beside the point.
  Yes, it is terrible. What else?
  Perhaps this is not the wisest approach. Perhaps it provides roots for another attempt at the destruction
  of the Solars when matters go awry. Perhaps it will alienate the Cult’s Solar Exalted minions. To some
  extent, this is a risk the Sidereals feel they have to take. They are creatures of carefully calculated risk, and
  they know they are taking chances.
  The Chosen of the Maidens are also subject to the Great Curse, and by banding together to establish
  the Solar Exalted by founding a cult that venerates them as saviors, they throw themselves into the arms
  of its subtle effects. Of course their callous manipulations of the Cult are a terrible idea. Certainly, the
  Solars will never be able to fully trust the Chosen of the Maidens again when they inevitably realize the
  Cult is a sham. Indeed, even matters as they are now are terrible because the Sidereals are so blind to their
  own ruthlessness that they do not even bother to conceal it. They make uncompromising zealots of their
  students through methods that cannot possibly fail to draw Solar ire when their protégées gain self-
  awareness. And when the time of reckoning comes, surely the Great Curse will link hands with itself and
  drive the retribution through a series of Limit Breaks.
  To what degree the decisions of the Sidereals are ruthless expediency — possibly wholly justified —
  and to what degree they are the insidious workings of the Great Curse are mostly determined by the moral
  message with which the Storyteller wants to imbue the series. Hard-thinking Sidereals murdered by the
  bestial Solars is much different than the honest Solars enslaved by their scheming ancient manipulators.
  Both are valid, but they require spinning the material in slightly different ways.
  The other reason that the Cult is portrayed as so morally compromised is that this was felt to be the
  easier baseline for Storytellers to work from. A crusading religious organization drawn as an ideological
  success has no room for corruption, that’s pretty much the point of the exercise. Yet, in one that is drawn
  as having flaws, these simply form yet another thing that can go right for the faith. Drawn together by their
  beliefs, the frail, human creatures of the Cult nevertheless create true righteousness. It’s much harder to
  have a bunch of perfect individuals fall to pointless bickering.
  Obviously, not everyone will be happy with the fact that the Cult evades obvious villainy only because
  of the vast gravity of its mission. Our apologies. It was our intention to make a book that both had a fairly
  consistent tone and maximum utility as a Storytelling instrument. Hopefully, this supplement achieves a
  satisfactory result.
  
  7
  INTRODUCTION
  forces, hoping to exploit these divides between the
  defenders of Creation.
  Can the Solars and their supporters rise to promi-
  nence in time? Will an agreement be struck that allows
  the factions to put aside their hostility to defend Cre-
  ation, without such epic betrayals of their followers
  and adherents that the matter falls to pieces before the
  gilt seals are dry on the agreement? Will Creation fall
  beneath the marching feet of invaders, torn asunder by
  its own disputes? Only the future can say, and such
  matters are beyond even the most insightful members
  of the Sidereals’ planning committees to foresee. If the
  Maiden of Secrets knows the answers, she, as always,
  merely smiles and does not tell.
  HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
  Exalted: The Dragon-Blooded and Exalted: The
  Sidereals largely detailed the defenders of Creation’s
  status quo, the Gold Faction and its Terrestrial nomi-
  nees. Cult of the Illuminated, as its name suggests,
  details the primary organization for the defense of the
  Solar Exalted, the mysterious Cult of the Illuminated.
  In its last chapter, it details the Cult’s — and the
  Solars’ — greatest enemy, the Wyld Hunt.
  It is important to note that the nature of this book
  dictates that each chapter, to a certain extent, have
  its own self-contained worldview. From the perspec-
  tive of the Outer Circle, the Cult is a tiny sect of
  rebels currying through the undergrowth of history,
  seeking to act without being seen. From the perspec-
  tive of the Solars in the training camps, the Cult is a
  powerful edifice that fields strong squadrons of troops
  to meet its foes.
  This is intentional and done for several reasons.
  At one level, it reflects the perspective of the Cult’s
  various levels of operations. At another, it reflects the
  different sorts of play-style necessary for the different
  levels of the organization. If the characters are heroic
  mortals or Solars on the run from the Dragon-Blooded,
  the Cult needs to be skilled and furtive. When it
  trains the Solars for war, the Cult needs to seem
  martial and effectual. When the Cult is a vehicle for
  Gold Faction conspiracies, it needs to be realistically
  positioned in Yu-Shan.
  Where the different faces of the Cult clash — for
  example, for Solars who are first rescued by the Cult
  and then trained — it is up to the Storyteller to decide
  which of the Cult’s appearance to favor. The decision
  to portray the Inner Circle and especially the training
  camps as powerful and organized was made because it is
  ultimately easier to trim away power that is not desired
  than it is to make up character sheets for Storyteller
  characters who don’t exist. Storytellers who want to
  reduce the power of the Cult’s inner cadre should just
  make them weaker and more vigorously hunted.
  Chapter One: The Outer Circle details the Cult’s
  mortal arm and the structure of its churches and
  missions around Creation. This segment of the Cult is
  relatively weak and composed almost entirely of mor-
  tals. It is the arm of the Cult that characters
  approaching the organization as recruits or hunters
  will most likely meet.
  Chapter Two: The Inner Circle details the Side-
  real and divine conspiracy that underpins the mortal
  front of the Cult. These individuals run and maintain
  the Cult, providing it with mortal resources.
  Chapter Three: The Training Camps details the
  Cult’s training organizations. Operated separately from
  the Cult itself, the Cult’s training arm uses special
  methodologies to boost the power of the Solars under
  its charge. This chapter also contains detailed charac-
  ter-creation rules for playing Solars who have spent
  their time prior to the start of play under the influence
  of the Cult’s training regimes.
  Chapter Four: The Wyld Hunt describes the
  history and organization of the Immaculate Philosophy’s
  primary defense against the Anathema, the Wyld Hunt,
  with particular emphasis on one centralized outpost of
  the Hunt provided as an example of the Hunt’s overall
  capabilities and readiness.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  8
  
  9
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  CHAPTER ONE
  THE OUTER
  CIRCLE
  For the Exalted, Creation is a place of limitless
  possibilities.
  That’s not how peasants and slaves see their world.
  For the underclasses of Creation, life is a tight set of
  limits and a persistent lack of possibilities. A peasant is
  born with nothing, and he will likely die with nothing in
  the same village, or even the same hut, where he was born.
  A farmer or servant or laborer goes through life knowing
  that this is all she gets, day in and day out, and that she
  passes this empty legacy to her children and dooms them
  to live the same way. And the only alternative to drudgery
  and toil is death and horror. There are wonders and terrors
  in the world, gods and monsters and beings with the blood
  of the Dragons in their veins, and when their shadows pass
  over Creation, the common folk usually lie dead in their
  wake. The Immaculate Faith offers faith and the promise
  of elevation to Dragon-Blooded divinity many incarna-
  tions in the future — but in this life, it preaches acceptance
  of this small and pitiful lot, the appropriateness of the
  peasant’s struggle and limits and small, pointless existence.
  And while heretical cults abound, all they offer are differ-
  ent parameters of worship, different beings to beg for aid
  and succor. Nothing changes, nothing moves, and life is
  still a dirt path to death and the Underworld or rebirth into
  another incarnation just like the last.
  But the Cult of the Illuminated is different. It holds the
  promise of change, massive change in this lifetime, in the
  next decade, tomorrow. The Cycle of Day is coming, the
  Cult says, when the Shining Ones will overthrow the
  tyranny of the Realm, of the Dragon-Blooded, of Heaven
  itself, and make everything different. Make a world where
  everyone has choices, everyone has options; make a world
  where those farmers and laborers and whores who fought
  for the Shining Ones will stand at their sides and be
  rewarded in both this world and a vastly different Heaven.
  Of course, the Sidereals of the Gold Faction know
  that the doctrine, beliefs and myths of the Cult of the
  Illuminated are a sham — they know because they created
  those beliefs. But to those within the Cult’s Outer Circle,
  the ordinary men and women who dedicate their lives and
  souls to the service of the Shining Ones and the belief in
  the coming Cycle of Day, those beliefs are the most
  important thing in the world. And if those beliefs are
  artificial — well, that doesn’t mean that they’re wrong. For
  a change is coming, a great cycle of Creation is ending, and
  some new eon will soon be born from the efforts of the
  Solar Exalted and their allies. What form that new Age
  will take is immaterial — what matters is that it will be
  different, that tomorrow will not be a repeat of yesterday.
  What matters is the promise of possibility.
  This world is the one in which the members of the
  Outer Circle live, a world teetering on the brink of massive
  and fundamental change — a world where the old rules
  will not apply and where their loyalty and service may
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  10
  bring them rewards they had never dared imagine before.
  For a people who are born tasting dirt and ashes and know
  they will never taste anything else, the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated is more than just another heresy, another way to
  placate the gods or wring some small joy from belief. It is
  hope, and that alien emotion is something worth working
  for, killing for, dying for. Worth anything.
  The Outer Circle have no god-killing weapons, no
  earthshaking magics, no elementals and spirits to serve
  them. They fight and spy and labor for beings they may see
  only once or not at all, beings and promises they know only
  through rumor. They bring nothing to the war of gods and
  Exalts except devotion, courage, determination and hope.
  And with these things, they will change the world.
  It’s easy for a series focusing on the Exalted and their
  powers to put aside the mundane concerns of Creation, to
  look instead to epic battles and fantastic monsters and the
  glorious powers of Solars and gods and their terrible en-
  emies. But there is a whole world of ordinary mortals
  existing around and underneath those fantastic elements,
  and those mortals can make a difference if they have the
  chance. While the Cult of the Illuminated’s Inner Circle is
  controlled by spirits and gods and Exalts, its Outer Circle is
  the quotidian, everyday face of the sect — and the face with
  which the players’ characters will first interact. Its members
  are the innkeepers who hide the characters from the Dragon-
  Blooded, the sailors who smuggle them out of the Realm, the
  temple warriors who die protecting their escape from de-
  monic assassins. The Outer Circle isn’t as sexy or fantastic
  as the Inner Circle, but it’s far more pervasive and wide-
  spread, and it’s full of interesting story possibilities and
  complications for any series where the players’ characters
  interact with the Cult and its hidden masters.
  THE DEVELOPMENT
  OF THE OUTER CIRCLE
  The Outer Circle is an entity largely separate from the
  Inner Circle, just as the labor team that works to build a
  Manse is separate from the Exalted who own or employ
  them for that purpose. While the Outer Circle works in a
  support role, it works at a remove, with little interaction
  with the Inner Circle — some communication of orders or
  information, the occasional visitation from a god or Sidereal
  to direct an operation, but no more. The Outer Circle is not
  protected or bolstered by its secret chiefs and receives little
  actual guidance; the Inner Circle takes what is offered by the
  Cult’s mortal wing and gives little in return.
  But still, the Outer Circle endures, because of its
  apparent insignificance rather than despite of it. And
  while the Inner Circle has all the power, it’s the Outer
  Circle that is the true heart of the Cult of the Illuminated,
  the foundation on which the entire enterprise is built.
  There was a time when the Cult was simply a collection of
  mundane seekers and peasants, before the Sidereal Exalted
  discovered them and put them to use. The Outer Circle
  existed before the Inner Circle formed, before the Sidereals
  reshaped the Cult into something more to their liking —
  and should the Inner Circle be destroyed, the Outer Circle
  will persist and survive as it always has. Its members faith
  is their strength, not some handout of power from a
  Sidereal redoubt, and if everything else is lost, then their
  faith will remain.
  THE HISTORY OF THE CULT
  The story of the Cult of the Illuminated begins de-
  cades ago, years before the disappearance of the Empress
  and the return of the Solar Exalted. It’s a story that began
  in Realm Year 732, 36 years ago, with an astrologer,
  vagrant and substance abuser named Vax. A promising
  student in the thaumaturgical colleges of Chiaroscuro,
  Vax discovered in his 20s that getting high on mushrooms
  and qat was far more enjoyable than spending hours
  watching the stars and fiddling with divinatory tools.
  Losing his place in the schools of the Tri-Khan, he became
  a piss-poor savant of the streets, drawing up horoscopes
  and making weak talismans in exchange for petty cash and
  hallucinogenic drugs. For more than five years, Vax lived
  in a daze — and then, he was given a pouch of bright
  morning (see Scavenger Sons, p. 32), smoked the whole
  thing in one lung-burning drag and wandered raving into
  Chiaroscuro’s vermilion-glass ruins.
  When Vax returned, he had changed. A light blazed
  wild and semi-coherent inside his head, and he spoke
  incessantly of the vision he had received during his holy,
  drug-addled meditation. It was a vision of a world sick and
  corrupted, where the greedy and the debauched controlled
  the masses with savagery and fear. But rising up against this
  poisoned Creation came righteous warriors and heroes,
  the Illuminated Ones, who threw down the forces of decay
  and control and erected a holy kingdom of light, a king-
  dom where the common folk no longer toiled for corrupt
  masters but for their own future. His message was addled,
  his delivery raving, his vision nonsensical — but yet, in the
  slums and plazas, a few listened, and a few believed. A small
  group of adherents accumulated around Vax, acolytes
  (and fellow drug users) caught by the conviction in his
  words, the passion that filled him. They supplied him with
  food and shelter and bright morning while he continued to
  pursue his visions and wrote down the few that were
  coherent enough to hang together as parables or sermons.
  First and foremost among Vax’s followers, among the
  group that came to be known as the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated, was a child named Shen Aru. His parents, farmers
  in servitude to a distant Dragon-Blooded master, had little
  love for their ungrateful and ever-questioning son. When
  they decided to sell him into slavery, Shen (still less than
  10 years old) ran away from the farm into Chiaroscuro —
  and into the arms of Vax and his fledgling Cult of the
  Illuminated. Vax took the boy as his own son, raising him
  
  11
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  on a diet of visions and raw faith. Shen grew up a true
  believer, Vax’s chief acolyte, proselytizer and strong right
  arm. It was Shen Aru who guided the slowly growing Cult
  through the mountains of the South, Shen Aru who
  translated the ravings of Vax and taught his theology to
  the rest of the Cult, Shen Aru who buried the drug-addled
  and passionate old man when he died in RY 754.
  Over the next decade, the Cult survived bandits and
  badlands, plagues and pogroms, while slowly accumulating
  adherents and hopefuls in every new mountain town and
  farming village. While never a huge sect, it became large
  enough to survive without roaming and settled near Yane
  in the village of Ratachul — a village renamed Vision of
  Light a year later, as the Cult became the official religion
  of the town and Vax’s grave its sacred shrine. Now with
  more than 200 adherents, Shen moved to fulfill his master’s
  vision, to prepare the world for the coming of the Illumi-
  nated Ones. He trained priests and missionaries in the
  confused and contradictory gospels of the Cult and sent
  them off to spread the word of Vax throughout Creation —
  or at least the nearby areas of the South and the Scavenger
  Lands that the missionaries could reach.
  While the Cult of the Illuminated had survived for
  more than 20 years, nothing really differentiated it from a
  dozen other millennial cults or a thousand other minor
  sects. In the Threshold, the Immaculate Order held only
  partial sway, and heresies and backwater gnosticism were
  as common as cholera — and they became only more
  common when rumors of the Scarlet Empress’ disappear-
  ance began to seep forth from the Blessed Isle. The Cult
  could have quietly existed on the fringe of reason and
  relevance for decades before finally dwindling into obscu-
  rity — if it had not attracted the attention of the Sidereal
  Gold Faction.
  SIDEREAL SUBVERSION
  In Realm Year 762, Creation was stable, bounded and
  controlled as far as the Sidereal Exalted were concerned.
  The Scarlet Empress managed the Realm and the Dragon-
  Blooded, the Solar Exalted were little more than a memory
  locked away in the Jade Prison, and the Bronze Faction had
  a comfortable grip on the reins of Heaven.
  One year later, all of that was in ruins. The Empress
  was missing, the Jade Prison was torn asunder, and the
  Solar Exalted were returning in force. The Time of Tumult
  had begun, and in the chaos the Gold Faction of the
  Sidereal Exalted saw the opportunity to wrest power and
  influence from their Bronze rivals. The Solar Exalted were
  the key, the power that would reshape Creation and make
  a new (Gold Faction controlled) future — but only if they
  survived to assume their full power, survived the efforts of
  the Bronze Faction Sidereals and their Dragon-Blooded
  operatives to destroy them again. A safety net was re-
  quired, a way in which the Gold Faction could protect
  fledgling Solars and bring them under its wing for training
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  12
  As the dignitaries of Heaven acclimated Shen Aru to
  his new role and escorted him to his new home alongside
  the gods, the Cult reeled in shock and awe — and the
  Sidereal Exalted and their allied gods moved in to take
  control. Fledgling Illuminated temples across the Thresh-
  old heard the word of their faith’s validation, and the
  smooth-tongued messengers of that word organized the
  temple faithful into more efficient configurations as the
  news sank in. Training programs and lines of communica-
  tion were developed, initial funding was distributed to
  temple priests, carefully rewritten and “clarified” gospels
  were disseminated, and the structure of the Cult of the
  Illuminated was rapidly overhauled in a matter of weeks.
  The Gold Faction had to work fast, lest the Bronze Faction
  realize just what it was doing or before it attracted atten-
  tion from the Dragon-Blooded. Once the core elements of
  the reforged Cult were in place — once it was remade as
  the visible, mortal Outer Circle of the Illuminated pro-
  gram — the Sidereals and gods withdrew to concentrate
  on the workings of the Inner Circle, leaving the mortal
  believers to work the rest out for themselves. Operatives
  and agents of the Gold Faction and the Inner Circle still
  worked occasionally within the Outer Circle, but only
  when circumstances demanded it.
  Leaving the Outer Circle to function for itself as a
  deniable, expendable resource had its risks but proved to
  be a decision that paid off. Over the last four years, the Cult
  has spread throughout Creation, fueled by its vision of a
  world where the ordinary faithful will be truly rewarded for
  their loyalty. The message resonates, even without the
  astrological tampering and invisible meddling of the
  Sidereals. The Solar Exalted emerged from the fog of myth,
  hunted and outcast from the world they thought they
  knew — and found an organization of mortals willing to do
  anything to help their Illuminated saviors. The project has
  been a resounding success, at least at the external level.
  And Vision of Light? Razed down to the bedrock by
  the Immaculate Order in RY 767, its population either
  executed for heresy or spared (and enslaved) if they re-
  canted their beliefs. Nothing remains of the town but
  rubble and ghosts, and the holy corpse of Vax was ritually
  burned and destroyed by the monks. Unfortunately for the
  Order, Shen Aru was long gone by then, and the destruc-
  tion of the village has only served to inspire the cultists
  that much further into fanaticism and martyrdom.
  THE OUTER CIRCLE TODAY
  Some four years after the Celestial Visitation and the
  Ascendance of Shen Aru, the Cult of the Illuminated is
  stronger and more widespread than ever, thanks to the
  machinations of the Gold Faction. Temples have been
  established in the Scavenger Lands and the Realm and in
  every part of the Threshold except for the North — and
  TOO PERFECT
  The obvious question, of course, is whether the
  Cult just happened to develop a revelatory faith than
  meshed with the needs of the Solar and Sidereal
  Exalted or whether it was deliberately created to fill
  a coming need. Did the Gold Faction know that the
  Solars would soon return and engineer an appropri-
  ate cover group for its activities? Was Vax’s vision
  presented to him by a powerful spirit made visible by
  the powers of bright morning, maybe even by the
  Unconquered Sun himself? Is it all one big, incred-
  ibly convenient coincidence, perhaps woven into
  fate by unknown hands decades ago?
  The only people who (probably) know the
  truth about the Cult’s origins are the decision mak-
  ers of the Golden Circle, perhaps some of their
  Bronze Faction counterparts, the Maiden of Secrets
  and a few very powerful and well-informed gods.
  And they’re not forthcoming with answers, even to
  their subordinates and allies — because revealing
  that information would pose a whole series of further
  questions about the plots, intrigues and schemes
  intermeshing in this most confusing and dangerous
  of eras. Asking the head of your faction if she knew
  30 years ago that the Deathlords were going to break
  open the Jade Prison and declare war on Creation is
  a bad idea if you want to see another tomorrow.
  Questions are a mistake. Answers are a trap.
  Accept that the Cult exists, and move on. There is
  wisdom in this advice for any overly inquisitive
  Sidereal — and perhaps danger for any other Exalted
  that may press too hard for answers from their
  erstwhile mentors.
  and indoctrination. And here was the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated, a scattered, minor sect of mortals with a belief
  system surprisingly close to what was actually going on in
  Creation. It was perfect.
  In RY 764, during the time of Calibration, the Gold
  Faction came to Vision of Light — and not in a subtle or
  surreptitious way. They arrived in flying chariots and on
  the backs of garda birds, they arrived with retinues of gods
  and elementals, they arrived in majesty and terrible splen-
  dor, and they made an impact. Shen Aru emerged blinking
  and slightly high from his temple-home to find Ayesha
  Ura and half-a-dozen powerful gods kneeling before him
  and proclaiming him the Herald of the New Age (and with
  the forged paperwork from the Celestial Bureaucracy to
  prove it). Unsurprisingly, Shen accepted their declaration
  without question (once he stopped being terrified and
  hysterical), and his followers ran out into the Threshold to
  spread the news.
  
  13
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  even there, a few missionaries and zealots seek to establish
  a toehold for the Illuminated.
  The speed at which the Cult has spread is due to the
  intervention of the Sidereal Exalted and their allied gods
  in the Inner Circle. When the hidden leaders of the Cult
  decided that a temple needed to be established in Nexus or
  in Gem or on the Blessed Isle, they made it happen. Local
  heresies were visited by celestial lions preaching the real
  truth; potential coverts were swayed by the appearance of
  charismatic Solars; troublemakers and local authorities
  were subverted with magic or conveniently torn into
  bloody rags by demons that were “defeated” by the valiant
  Illuminated cultists. The Gold Faction never openly showed
  its hand, never went too far in its efforts lest it attract
  attention, but operated just subtly enough to get the job
  done and get it done fast.
  That’s not to say that the Cult of the Illuminated is
  omnipresent. Indeed, the opposite is true. There are only a
  handful of Illuminated temples in Creation, based out of
  major cities and significant locales, with a scattering of tiny
  outposts and cells of the faithful outside those areas. The
  Cult could be larger, but not while maintaining a low profile,
  and the near invisibility of the Cult is the reason it survives.
  While it stays too small and spread out to be significant, the
  Immaculate Order continues to overlook it, thinking it just
  another millennial movement or even a slew of uncon-
  nected groups. Overlooked and underground, the Outer
  Circle continues the holy work ordained by Heaven and the
  secret chiefs — to seek out, shelter and serve the Shining
  Ones, the Illuminated heroes who will remake the world
  and usher in an era of justice and righteousness.
  With only mortal resources and members, without
  the direct aid of the Inner Circle and its miracles, the
  Outer Circle is isolated and inefficient, too spread out to
  find every new Solar and too impoverished to completely
  protect those its members do encounter. Solars have
  slipped through the safety net, murdered by the Wyld
  Hunt before reaching the protection of the Inner Circle.
  The Sidereal leaders of the Cult accept this. Solar Essences
  reincarnate quickly, and one’s next incarnation may be
  luckier and stronger. And there are always more hope-
  filled peasants and zealous converts available to replace
  the fallen cultists and build new temples.
  CULT STRUCTURE
  To keep the Outer Circle at a safe, deniable distance
  from the workings of the Inner Circle, the Gold Faction
  has organized the Cult less like a religion and more like a
  secret society. The basic unit of the Cult is the cell — a self-
  contained, independent body of worshipers with little
  connection to any other cell or to the Inner Circle. Based
  in a specific city or location, a cell has only intermittent
  communication with the Inner Circle — and mostly one-
  way communication at that. It only interacts with other
  cells in unusual circumstances, such as all-out war or a
  concerted attempt to ferry Shining Ones from one cell to
  another (rather than directly to the Inner Circle).
  The most important type of cell is the temple. These
  (hopefully) permanent Cult establishments serve as shrines,
  barracks, headquarters and fortresses for the cultists of the
  cell. Temples come in all sizes and types, from ruins outside
  the city limits to shrines hidden in the slums and secret
  cellars under brothels. A temple cell includes not just
  ordinary cultists, but also a number of priests and a leader
  hand-picked by the Inner Circle. Temples are the most
  important cells in the Cult network, and the Inner Circle’s
  plans rest on the ability of temple cultists to work hard and
  give their all for their faith.
  The other type of cell is the outpost, a small, unfocused
  group of worshipers and cultists operating outside of a fixed
  temple. There are all kinds of outposts: farms worked by
  believer families, groups of converts meeting for discussions
  and prayers and plots, a single hermit priest wandering the
  mountains and watching the skies. Outposts are scattered
  and not particularly important in the Inner Circle’s schemes.
  If an outpost could become useful, resources and manpower
  are directed at it to upgrade it into a temple cell and recruit
  more members. Outposts mostly play the part of the network’s
  connective tissue, way stations where Solars can rest and
  hide as they’re smuggled to a major temple or to the training
  camps. Outposts consist of a number of believers, possibly a
  priest and whatever family and supporters they can suborn
  to their cause.
  CULT MEMBERS
  There are roughly a thousand active Illuminated
  cultists in Creation. Most of these members are based in
  temples in the Threshold and on the Blessed Isle, with the
  rest in small outposts across the world. Temples recruit on
  an ongoing basis (see below), but at the same time, cultists
  are killed or arrested for heresy and treason every week.
  The Outer Circle grows, but it grows slowly and cautiously,
  just as the Inner Circle wishes.
  AVERAGE CULTISTS
  The vast bulk of the Outer Circle is comprised of
  ordinary cultists — ordinary in every sense of the word.
  These are not elite soldiers or occult specialists. They are
  farmers and fishmongers and street urchins, peasants and
  commoners and (occasionally) the lower members of the
  citizenry. What unites them is their belief in the word of
  Vax and the coming Cycle of Day, the imminent change
  of Ages and their chance to be feted and uplifted in a new
  and better world.
  Most cultists are part-time members of the Cult, if only
  because their temple can’t afford to look after them all.
  Cultists still need to eat, and that means working for a living
  and attending prayer meetings and planning sessions in
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  14
  their spare time. A few cultists do devote themselves full-
  time to the Cult’s cause, usually the most zealous and least
  socially encumbered followers. These cultists usually live in
  the temple, eat food donated by their fellows and spend their
  days fervently working to advance the Cult’s local agenda.
  However, even part-time members are expected to drop
  everything when it’s time to act, when the Shining Ones
  appear and call on the believers for aid.
  An Illuminated cultist has the Traits of a standard
  heretic (see Exalted, p. 277), except that she has Convic-
  tion 3 and Willpower 5. Cultists are almost always extras,
  and most cultists in a particular temple will be armed and
  equipped identically (with cheap, easy-to-use weapons
  and minimal armor).
  PRIESTS
  The priests of the Cult are a motley and varied lot,
  preaching a patchwork and often incoherent doctrine half
  their own and half that of their masters. Priests were almost
  always average cultists first, who rose through the shallow
  ranks of their temple to catch the attention of the temple
  leader or an existing priest. However, a few are tapped for
  priestly duties as soon as they join the Cult, due to a
  background in religion, unusual abilities or a gift for
  mysticism and prayer.
  Once a potential priest is chosen, she is taken aside for
  training by the temple leader and operatives of the Inner
  ORDINARY PEOPLE
  The members of the Outer Circle are ordinary in almost every sense of the word. They’re not Exalts or
  God-Blooded or beastmen; they’re not master thieves or thaumaturges or elite soldiers; they don’t have
  wealth and connections and arsenals of First Age weaponry. They’re just men and women with courage and
  faith and dedication to a cause. Compared to the wonders and unusual beings of Creation, they’re not very
  interesting, are they?
  Well, no. On an individual basis, Illuminated cultists aren’t that special, and they’re not meant to be.
  They’re extras, designed to flesh out the scenes and setting of a series. That’s not very kind or egalitarian, but
  it’s the truth. Cultists are background color, who die valiantly holding off the Wyld Hunt or escort the players’
  characters to the next interesting scene in the story. The Cult is interesting as a collective entity, as an example
  of how Creation reacts to the Solar demigods, as a demonstration of how ordinary people can make a difference
  in the world — and, again, as a way of moving stories forward.
  Within that collective entity, there certainly can be more interesting individuals. A particular cultist may
  be a regular contact or assistant to the players’ characters, becoming more than a background extra and
  warranting a name, a personality and a plot hook or two. Priests are more likely than average members to be
  interesting and fully fleshed out Storyteller characters, given their increased significance in the Cult and series.
  Temple leaders are almost always unusual and interesting individuals, with particular Abilities and Backgrounds
  that make them meaningful and moderately important Storyteller characters, just like the local potentate or the
  head of the beggar’s guild. And it’s worth noting that, even within the Outer Circle, there are a handful of
  exceptional and unusual characters: God-Bloods, savants, thaumaturges, veterans and heroic mortals. There
  aren’t many such beings, and none of them are as powerful and exotic as the players’ characters, but there are
  enough to add a bit of flavor to a Cult encounter if the Storyteller feels so inclined.
  On the whole, though, the Outer Circle isn’t interesting. It’s useful. Being interesting is the job of the Inner
  Circle — and the job of the players’ characters. The Outer Circle provides contrast and context, and it does it well.
  Circle — experienced priests, loyalist savants and a num-
  ber of minor gods. Training is not a simple, easy or painless
  affair. It’s fast, stressful and designed to bond the cultist
  even more tightly to her faith. There are three pillars to the
  training process:
  Indoctrination: The postulant’s teachers run her
  through intensive daily learning sessions in which she
  learns the basic gospels, prayers and rites of the Cult’s
  doctrine. These sessions normally go all day, with only a
  short break for water and food, and last for a week. While
  the postulant’s teachers are earnest and not unkind, they’re
  also inflexible and urgent. The student must learn these
  things if she is to fulfill her duties, and failure to learn is
  simply not an option. The learning process is often en-
  hanced by the god that is part of the indoctrination team,
  who will use his Charms to improve the student’s desire
  and ability to learn. It is this god that will be the new
  priest’s celestial contact and the subject of her communiqué
  prayers (see p. 21).
  Self-Flagellation: The Cult’s doctrine teaches that
  Creation has been corrupted and weakened by the wicked-
  ness of this world and its evil masters. That weakness is why
  the Cycle of Night has continued so long and why the
  Shining Ones must intervene to bring the Cycle of Day. In
  order to be worthy of standing with the Shining Ones and
  playing handmaiden to the new eon, the postulant must
  scourge away her own weakness, her own wickedness. She
  
  15
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  must whip, cut or beat the corruption from her flesh and let
  her blood shine forth with virtue. By punishing herself, by
  enduring pain and scars and ritual self-abuse, the cultist
  passes into an ecstatic state (assisted by drugs). Once out
  of that state, she convinces herself that her new role must
  be worth the pain she has endured. She justifies the work
  she does and beliefs she holds because she has suffered so
  much to be allowed to hold them.
  Hallucinogenic Drugs: Finally, after her daily lessons
  and in addition to self-flagellation sessions, the postulant
  is fed large quantities of psychoactive drugs — mostly
  bright morning but also mushrooms and even hallucino-
  genic woad. Under the influence of these drugs, the
  postulant is left to ponder the mysteries of the Cult, to
  whip herself into an ecstatic frenzy and to fill her brain
  with drugborn revelations and insights. This mirrors the
  visionary techniques of Vax, but that’s not the real reason
  for the drugs. The point is to force the postulant to create
  her own visions and divine revelations, to put her own
  personal stamp on her belief system. The faith you create
  yourself is always stronger than the faith handed to you
  from another. Priests of the Cult believe with a burning
  passion because they have seen first hand their own truth
  and revelation.
  After the week of training is over, the new priest is
  sent back to her temple, laden down with ritual materials,
  approved translations of the Cult’s doctrine and gospels
  and enough drugs to cause cardiac arrest in a mule. If the
  trainers feel that the postulant is not up to the level of skill
  and belief required, she is still raised to the level of priest,
  but one of the trainers will stay with her and keep reinforc-
  ing the training until she meets the required level of
  competence and fervor.
  Within the Cult, priests are the spiritual movers and
  motivators of the Outer Circle. They preach the doctrines,
  answer the questions of the cultists, encourage fervor and
  hand out drugs. On a pragmatic level, priests are also the
  communication and information system of the Cult net-
  work. They perform the communiqué prayers and encrypt
  messages into doctrine code (see p. 21). Priests normally
  stay out of organizational matters, leaving that for the
  temple leaders (assuming the priest isn’t also the temple
  leader). Most temples have one priest for every 10 cultists,
  while outposts may have just one priest or none at all.
  An Illuminated priest has the same profile as a stan-
  dard heretic (see Exalted, p. 277), except that she has
  Conviction 3 and Willpower 5, two dots in Occult and
  Performance and one dot in Lore with a specialty in
  Illuminated Doctrine. Most priests are extras and possess
  the same equipment as the other cultists, plus a supply of
  gospel scrolls and hallucinogens. Some exceptional priests
  may be heroic mortals. These priests often possess addi-
  tional traits and skills, such as knowledge of thaumaturgy
  or exceptional oratory prowess.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  16
  TEMPLE LEADERS
  Finally, each temple is headed up by a leader, hand-
  picked and validated by the secret chiefs of the Inner
  Circle. Leaders are not chosen because of their fervor
  (although that helps). They are chosen because they are
  useful for some reason. A person may have exceptional
  skills and abilities, wealth and social connections, a modi-
  cum of supernatural power or some other trait — whatever
  it is, the Inner Circle wants it, and so, it makes that person
  the temple’s leader and its primary agent for that cell.
  Whether he wants the responsibility or not; in some cases,
  whether he’s a member of the Cult or not. Forcible conver-
  sion is not a trivial process, but it’s certainly doable for
  Sidereals with the right Charms, spells and spirit allies. If
  the Cult wants you bad enough, you either become a
  believer or suffer an unhappy accident.
  Like Shen Aru, temple leaders are held up as spiritu-
  ally important figures by the Cult — and like Aru, they get
  a celestial visitation to prove it. When the Inner Circle
  chooses a temple leader, it sends a team of gods and
  elementals, headed by a Sidereal advisor, to deliver the
  good news. The candidate suddenly finds himself facing a
  resplendent celestial lion, a retinue of inhuman elementals
  and a man shining with the light of the stars, all kowtowing
  to him and presenting him with the documents naming
  him Herald of the Coming Day and Heaven’s Beloved
  Son. No candidate has ever said no (or indeed, has done
  much but gawp and piss himself in shock). The visitation
  team prefers to present itself to the candidate and the rest
  of the temple’s cultists at the same time, to make the
  biggest impact. If this isn’t possible (for example, if the
  chosen candidate isn’t yet a member of the Cult), then the
  team will get the new leader to present himself to the
  temple as soon as possible and then go through the whole
  visitation process again. Once the cultists are suitably
  overawed, most of the team returns to the Inner Circle,
  leaving the Sidereal and perhaps a spirit guardian behind
  to arrange all the organizational changes and to brief the
  leader on his new duties
  The temple leader is responsible for two things: his
  cell’s continued survival and, more importantly, his cell’s
  continued usefulness. Spiritual matters are left to the
  temple’s priests, while the leader concentrates on more
  mundane and pressing issues. It’s his job to maintain the
  Cult’s activities in the region, to generate income for the
  cell and spend it wisely, to keep the priests fed and the
  cultists armed and to organize his acolytes into a posse that
  can smuggle a confused young Solar out of the area and
  away from the Wyld Hunt. The leader must monitor the
  comings and goings in the area, assess reports and informa-
  tion from his cell and from the Inner Circle, keep a weather
  eye open for the Immaculate authorities and arrange
  punishment for those cultists who are lax in their efforts.
  This role is a managerial one, not a spiritual one, and while
  leaders must also be fervent believers, they must concen-
  trate on work over prayer.
  Temple leaders are almost always heroic mortals rather
  than extras, with whatever Traits the Storyteller thinks
  are appropriate for the series. They should have at least two
  dots in Occult (with a specialty in the Illuminated Doc-
  trine) and a dot in Lore. Most temple leaders are exceptional
  but still mundane, possessing only everyday capabilities.
  However, the Inner Circle has also appointed thaumaturges,
  God-Bloods and other unusual (but still mortal) beings to
  run the Cult’s cells and temples. A given temple normally
  has only one leader, but a particularly large cell could
  conceivably have multiple leaders working as a manage-
  ment team.
  SUPPORTERS
  In addition to the actual believers of the Cult, most
  cells are surrounded by a layer of lay supporters — folks
  who don’t believe the millennial ramblings of the Illumi-
  nated but are nonetheless prepared to help the Cult in
  some small way. These usually include the family and
  friends of cultists, as well as those who benefit from the
  Cult’s local activities. Almost all cells attempt to follow
  the Cult’s code of morality, to uphold righteousness in
  their town and neighborhood as well as in their personal
  lives. Such an attitude tends to win the approval of the
  locals, especially when it translates into works of charity or
  protection. Cult members help their neighbors, whether
  that means building houses or hunting down thieves, and
  in return, their neighbors help them, hiding them from the
  authorities or sheltering the temple in their midst. It’s not
  much, but it helps.
  LIVING FOR THE LIGHT:
  FAITH, BELIEF AND PRACTICE
  On one level, the doctrines and beliefs of the Cult of
  the Illuminated are simple and straightforward. A new and
  better Age is coming, courtesy of the Shining Ones, and
  the Cult exists to shepherd that Age. Be righteous and
  upright, venerate and assist the Shining Ones, and you will
  sit at their right hand and forge your own destiny when the
  Cycle of Day begins.
  Those are the basic tenets of the Cult. On top of that
  basis is a heady froth of fever dreams, hallucinations,
  contradictions and Sidereal embellishments. The Cult of
  the Illuminated is an artificial creation for the most part,
  and one created quickly at that. Corners were cut and
  shortcuts were taken by the Cult’s Sidereal shapers, and
  what they made was a variable and occasionally haphazard
  religion. But for all that, the Outer Circle works because of
  the faith and devotion and hope of the cultists and their
  temples. If the Inner Circle ceased to exist overnight, the
  Illuminated network would fall apart, but the faith of the
  individual cells would persist and survive far longer.
  
  17
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  The doctrine of the Cult is described in full in the next
  chapter, and that doctrine is observed and applied in both
  the Inner and Outer Circles. The Outer Circle also has a
  number of unique aspects, separate to the faith and prac-
  tices of their more informed masters.
  REVELATION AND LOCAL WISDOM
  The fundamental basis of the Illuminated faith is
  mystic revelation, wisdom and truths received in visions
  and other transcendent experiences by priests (and occa-
  sionally by other cultists, but only rarely). These visions
  are born from dreams, meditations, ecstatic self-flagella-
  tion, hallucinogenic drugs (especially bright morning),
  epileptic seizures and other methods. Each new vision
  generates new knowledge to add to the Cult’s gospels and
  collected wisdom — and as long as that vision doesn’t
  negate what has already been added to the doctrinal scrolls,
  it’s accepted. Contradictions, confused visions, “wisdom”
  completely out of left field, all of it is added to a cell’s library
  and litany. Because each cell is isolated from its fellows,
  these additions do not travel through the Illuminated
  network. Some may be communicated by zealous and
  earnest priests to their Inner Circle contacts, who will nod
  appreciatively and toss the scrolls of transcribed ramblings
  on the fire after the priests have left the room. For the
  Sidereal heads of the Inner Circle, this confusion of
  practices and beliefs isn’t seen as a problem. The secret
  chiefs care about outcomes, not process. They really don’t
  care what an individual cultist believes on top of the core
  tenets of the faith, so long as that cultist does her job and
  fulfills her role.
  Each Illuminated cell thus has two aspects to its faith
  and religious practices. Doctrinal practice is consistent
  throughout the Illuminated network. These are the tenets
  and truths handed down from the Inner Circle, enshrined
  in The Golden Tome of Truth and attendant gospel scrolls
  kept by priests. Around this doctrinal kernel is a layer of
  local practice — those beliefs, superstitions, spiritual atti-
  tudes and bans created by (or revealed to) the members of
  that particular cell. Because the core tenets of the Cult are
  kept deliberately straightforward and simple by the Inner
  Circle, local practice tends to be more elaborate and
  extensive than doctrinal practice. A temple may have 20
  different rites for placating local spirits, 19 of which are
  their own invention and one of which is handed down
  from the secret chiefs. This is especially true for cells
  operating out of wilderness areas such as the Southern
  deserts or the Eastern forests. The Cult began as an urban
  religion in Chiaroscuro and is still primarily focused on
  urban temples and cells. Rural cells have to make up their
  own practices for things such as felling trees, fishing or the
  correct way to hunt an elk, since the doctrines are silent on
  such matters. Priests maintain two libraries in each temple:
  the Tome and doctrinal scrolls handed down from the
  Inner Circle, which must remain unaltered, and the re-
  ceived wisdom and commandments of the cell in whatever
  format is convenient.
  When fleshing out temples or cells for their series,
  Storytellers should feel free to include as much ornate
  ritual and as many nonstandard practices as they see fit.
  Each cell is different, each is influenced by local politics
  and conditions, and each has its own individual agenda
  and needs as well as those of its Sidereal overlords. Do they
  use dances and drumming in their prayer meetings? Do
  they sacrifice bulls or snakes or effigies of children made
  from flowers? Do they decorate their weapons with sigils
  and tattoo their bodies, or do they dedicate themselves to
  erasing symbols and writings, to make a blank slate on
  which the Shining Ones can freely inscribe? The Cult
  doctrine (outlined in Chapter Two) stays constant, but
  everything else is up for grabs.
  SHINING THROUGH
  The gospels and teachings of the Cult are short on
  some details, but they make one thing clear — the Shining
  Ones shine. This concept isn’t a tricky one. Cultists know
  roughly what an anima banner is and understand that the
  elemental animas of the Dragon-Blooded are different.
  Shining Ones appear more-or-less mortal but can surround
  themselves with light and energy, and if a cultist meets
  someone of that description, he will give his life to aid and
  protect her.
  Of course, many beings in Creation have anima
  banners — not just Solars, but all of the Celestial Exalted
  and the Abyssal Exalted. The Cult’s teachings don’t in-
  clude ways to tell Solars from other Exalted, information
  on Caste Marks or specific abilities or other details that
  would focus the cultists exclusively on the Solars. One
  reason for this is to avoid making too tight a connection
  between the Shining Ones and the Solar Anathema.
  There’s a lot of baggage attached to the Solar label, and
  fewer peasants are willing to sacrifice their lives for Cre-
  ation-eating bogeymen than they are for the shining
  harbingers of the righteous future. A second, important
  reason is so that the Cult doesn’t appear too well informed
  to outside observers, such as Immaculate monks or Bronze
  Faction Sidereals. A millennial cult that just happens to
  venerate shining demigods is one thing, while a cult
  obviously trained to protect and worship Solars is another
  and would be investigated and suppressed very quickly.
  And finally, the members of the Gold Faction are nothing
  if not cunning, and they made sure to leave a back door for
  their own protection. A Sidereal Exalt can present himself
  to the Cult in an emergency, let his anima banner flare and
  suddenly have a cadre of loyal warriors protecting him.
  In practical terms, any human-seeming being who
  can show an aura of light and energy might be embraced by
  the Cult as one of the Shining Ones. This includes Solars,
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  18
  Lunars, Abyssals (it’s disturbing black and bleeding en-
  ergy, but it still qualifies) and Sidereal Exalted. It also
  includes any being who can fake such a display, such as the
  Fair Folk or God-Blooded with the right Charms or pow-
  ers. It doesn’t include gods, demons and elementals (because
  those beings don’t look like mortals), ghosts and the
  undead (again, obviously not mortal) or the Dragon-
  Blooded (cultists are definitely taught enough to distinguish
  an elemental anima from a Celestial one).
  While this vague approach is in place for a reason, it
  does present some problems for the Gold Faction. The
  Outer Circle was created to protect Solar Exalted and
  direct them toward the training camps of the Inner
  Circle. Solar Exalted — not Lunars, not wily Fair Folk,
  and certainly not Abyssal Exalted. (Ronin Sidereals —
  well, it’s a nice bonus, but hardly the point of the
  exercise.) While the Gold Faction may bring other Exalts
  into the fold on occasion, it does so carefully and only
  after much deliberation — the Inner Circle doesn’t want
  such beings sent straight to the training camps. Unfortu-
  nately, there’s no way to definitely prevent such an error,
  not without teaching the Outer Circle more than it
  should be allowed to know. All the Inner Circle can do
  is encourage its lesser operatives to communicate as
  much information as possible whenever a Shining One
  appears, so that the secret chiefs can hopefully determine
  what the being is and how to respond.
  In practical terms, determining a being’s mystical
  nature and brand of Exaltation is a difficulty 3 Intelligence
  + Occult task. The rank-and-file cultists are almost never
  going to make such a distinction and will wholeheartedly
  venerate anyone/thing with an anima banner that appears
  in their vicinity. Priests and temple leaders are better
  educated and informed, to the point where they may
  certainly suspect that the purple-auraed giant with the
  bleeding Caste Mark in his forehead isn’t quite the kind of
  being the secret chiefs told them to protect. When in
  doubt, priests send word to their masters through the usual
  channels (see p. 20) asking for advice; the Inner Circle
  may send confirmation, warnings, or assassins depending
  on circumstances.
  WORKING FOR ILLUMINATION:
  OUTER CIRCLE ACTIVITIES
  The Cult of the Illuminated isn’t a religion that just
  exists to worship and pray. It has a purpose, an agenda, and
  it works toward that agenda. Every Cult cell works toward
  a primary goal — to bring forth the Cycle of Day by
  assisting the Shining Ones and aiding them in their
  passage to the hidden mountain of the secret chiefs. In
  addition to that spiritual goal, each cell has to contend
  with many mundane and practical concerns and goals.
  Weapons must be obtained, prayer meetings must be held,
  watches must be kept for the Shining Ones, and informa-
  tion must be sent to the Inner Circle. Being a member of
  the Cult isn’t just a spiritual choice, it’s a responsibility
  (especially for priests and temple leaders), and each cell
  must meet its responsibilities or know itself apostate and
  unworthy. That responsibility is not a burden, but a
  blessing. It is by their actions that the faithful will be will
  known to the Shining Ones, and by fulfilling their duties,
  they guarantee themselves a place of honor in the Illumi-
  nated Kingdom.
  The following activities and tasks are things that each
  Illuminated cell must fulfill. Just as each cell has its own
  unique beliefs and practices, each has its own way of
  fulfilling its duties, as well as its own particular set of trials
  and obstacles set against those duties.
  VENERATION VERSUS WORSHIP
  One oddity of the Cult of the Illuminated is
  that its members don’t actually worship the Shining
  Ones. Part of the Cult’s doctrine is that the Shining
  Ones don’t need to be worshiped — these are not
  corrupt gods who must be bribed with prayers, but
  heroic beings who perform great deeds out of righ-
  teous nobility. The Shining Ones are venerated and
  praised, of course, and cultists honor them with
  their prayers, but those prayers are not directed at
  the Shining Ones. If the Cult can be said to worship
  anything, it’s the new order that the Shining Ones
  will bring, the Illuminated Kingdom itself. Prayers
  are made to the spirits and loyal gods who are
  helping to erect that kingdom and who need the
  assistance and sacrifices of the cultists.
  (This isn’t wholly dissimilar to the way in
  which the Immaculate Order venerates the gods but
  prohibits their direct worship. Prayers are directed
  to Heaven and the Celestial Hierarchy itself, rather
  than the spirits in that hierarchy. That similarity
  isn’t entirely a coincidence. When the Gold Fac-
  tion designed the doctrines and workings of the
  Cult, it wasn’t afraid to steal the most useful ideas of
  its Bronze rivals.)
  Among other things, this means that Solar
  Exalted characters can’t take the Cult Background
  (as described in Games of Divinity and Exalted:
  The Lunars) to gain power from their Illuminated
  allies and followers. The Outer Circle is composed
  of the mundane allies of the Solars, and the venera-
  tion and resources they provide the Shining Ones
  are similarly mundane — but useful and delivered
  by overawed fanatics who will perform any task the
  Solars might demand without hesitation.
  
  19
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  RECRUITMENT
  The Cult is always looking for new members, but not
  necessarily for a lot of new members. As an underground
  heresy with great responsibilities, it must be careful as it
  grows so that it doesn’t attract the wrong kind of atten-
  tion. New believers are needed to carry on the work of the
  Shining Ones, but they must be the right kind of believ-
  ers — fervent, trustworthy and able to contribute in a
  useful way. An aged basket weaver with no money or
  useful skills might be filled with Illuminated light, but her
  grandson, the shopkeep in the militia is a much better
  prospect for recruitment. It’s also important to make sure
  that a potential convert doesn’t get cold feet and run to
  the local Immaculate temple — or at least that she never
  makes it to the temple.
  Because the Outer Circle is short on miracles, it bases
  its recruitment on its message, its belief in a world where
  hope and possibilities exist for everyone rather than just the
  elite. That’s a powerful message for the average peasant, and
  if applied consistently and carefully to a potential convert,
  it often does the trick. Other inducements to join may
  include bribes, drugs or the sexual favors of Cult members,
  but only if the new recruit would be worth the expense.
  In some cases, a cell may request aid in recruitment
  from the Inner Circle, or assistance in increasing the fervor
  and commitment of newly recruited members. If the Inner
  Circle can spare the manpower, it sends a visitation
  committee to the temple — a celestial lion, some lesser
  gods and elementals, and a Sidereal or even Solar Exalt.
  These entities reveal themselves to the candidates, and
  after blowing their minds with displays of power impart the
  wisdom of the Cult and the rightness of its doctrine. After
  that kind of confirmation, few recruits ever doubt the
  Cult’s righteousness.
  FUNDRAISING
  Once a temple has recruits, it needs their support —
  not just spiritual but practical and financial. Food, weap-
  ons, the construction of a shrine, bribes to the militia — it
  all costs money, and an underground religious movement
  needs more than good intentions to make ends meet.
  Cultists tithe part of their incomes to the Cult, of course,
  but the average cultist is a peasant who makes a handful of
  obols a year, and that only goes so far. Maintaining a
  temple costs the equivalent of Resources ••• each year. A
  temple leader with Resources •••• can manage that from
  petty cash, but such wealthy cultists are rare to the point
  of nonexistence. Instead, temple leaders must direct the
  cell’s efforts into making money — while at the same time
  staying righteous and fulfilling all their other duties.
  Each temple generates funds in its own way. Some sell
  the services of Cult members as prostitutes, servants or
  soldiers or put them to work farming and crafting and then
  sell the goods. While these methods can work for large
  cells with many members, smaller temples must think
  outside the box. Theft is a popular option — not from the
  citizenry and peasants (which would be unrighteous be-
  havior) but from the corrupt authorities. Illuminated
  bandits may raid caravans, traders or militia offices, keep-
  ing money and tools for themselves and selling the rest.
  Another way is to make money from the specialized skills
  of cultists, rather than simple labor or whoring. Priests may
  peddle their occult expertise by crafting talismans or
  reading the stars (or selling drugs and potions), but they
  must be careful not to reveal the spiritual basis of their
  skills to their employers.
  And while it is shameful to admit it, a few temples
  support themselves through theft and banditry. They
  don’t prey on the poor and downtrodden, of course (well,
  not often), but upon the ruling classes, the rich and
  corrupt, the servants of corruption and empire. Some
  especially aggressive and fanatical temples even sell their
  services as assassins, so long as they can define their victims
  as enemies of Illumination. Theft, smuggling, spying,
  murder — these are crimes not just against the laws of the
  Dragon-Blooded but against the teachings of the Cult
  itself. But in the battle to redeem Creation, the faithful
  must sometimes choose the lesser of two evils and must use
  the methods of the unrighteous to finance their holy work.
  Temples who resort to crime for income are always careful
  to target the Cult’s enemies in their activities, rather than
  to hurt or steal from the populace, so that they may only
  harm those who deserve it (and avoid angering the very
  people they seek to convert).
  No matter how a temple finances itself, it’s never an
  easy process, even in the rare cells with rich leaders — the
  wealthy need to disguise their financial activities from
  imperial auditors and scheming rivals, after all. Money is
  always tight in the Outer Circle, and more than one
  temple has fallen apart simply because it couldn’t afford to
  keep operating. Exalts who become affiliated with a temple
  or cell are not expected to finance it, of course — they’re not
  expected to do anything but be perfect and heroic — but
  may find it necessary to prop up their loyal followers with
  jade, equipment and influence if they want their contin-
  ued support.
  SPYING AND INSURRECTION
  The Shining Ones will remake Creation and bring
  about the Illuminated Kingdom. This is certain. But the
  forces of corruption — the unrighteous, the Scarlet Empire,
  the Immaculate Order and their god-pawns — stand against
  that kingdom, and while they cannot stop the turning of the
  Cycle of Day, they can slow the arrival of the new Age. It
  falls to the Cult of the Illuminated to prepare the way for the
  Shining Ones, to weaken corruption’s hold on the world
  and to damage corruption’s armies. The Cult is not just a
  religious movement. It’s also a revolutionary movement
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  20
  dedicated to a new social and spiritual order. It opposes the
  forces of the Realm and its tributaries and allies, as well as
  any other government that frowns upon its faith. (Which is
  most of them, considering how most Threshold nations
  view the Solar Anathema and their servants.)
  Cultists pay attention to the workings of local govern-
  ment as they work their day jobs, noting things such as
  troop movements, political changes, economic upheavals
  and other events the Inner Circle may find interesting.
  This information is recorded by the priests, and reports are
  sent every season to the Inner Circle using doctrinal code
  (see p. 21). Major events, like the declaration of a war or
  the murder of the satrap, are sent off immediately so that
  the secret chiefs may react quickly.
  While most temples do no more than spy and report, a
  few exist in more dangerous locales, cities and regions where
  the authorities and ruling powers actively seek to destroy the
  Cult or engage in activities too corrupt to be tolerated. The
  Inner Circle discourages direct confrontation with the
  Cult’s enemies — it attracts far too much attention and uses
  up resources better spent elsewhere — but sometimes, a cell
  must act to defend itself and what is right.
  Because the Cult’s members are underequipped and
  less competent than professional soldiers, they fight with
  sabotage and assassinations, not frontal assaults. Cultists
  may poison the well of a legion barracks or set fire to an
  Immaculate shrine, or they may replace the staff of a
  tavern just before an imperial bureaucrat arrives for a
  party and murder her during the festivities. Such activi-
  ties are planned carefully, since retaliation by the
  authorities may uncover the entire temple. Civilian
  casualties are always a possibility, and while the Cult
  usually attempts to avoid such deaths, it will make the
  sacrifice if it must (and some militant cells see the deaths
  of unbelievers as entirely acceptable).
  COMMUNICATIONS
  Individual Cult cells do not communicate with each
  other. This is to ensure that if one is closed down by the
  Immaculate Order, no other cells can fall in its wake. Cells
  do communicate with the Inner Circle, however. Mes-
  sages normally go from the cell to the secret chiefs, rather
  than vice versa. The Inner Circle only bothers to contact
  its temples when it has a specific mission that must be
  fulfilled by its least important agents. Temples, on the
  other hand, need to keep their masters abreast of impor-
  tant developments, such as the appearance of Shining
  Ones or the start of another Immaculate pogrom.
  To prevent the secular or religious authorities (or the
  operatives of the Bronze Faction) from learning the location
  of the training camps or the full extent of the Cult’s activities,
  communications must be made secretly. Outer Circle priests
  are trained in two different methods of contacting the Inner
  Circle, and only priests can make contact in these ways.
  
  21
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  Codes: The Golden Tome of Truth and the scrolls and
  palimpsests containing the core Cult doctrines are not just
  religious teachings. They’re also the basis of an intricate
  code system. Priests are taught to translate short, straight-
  forward messages into allusions, parables, references to
  specific scrolls and passages and even substitution ciphers
  using specific words and key phrases. Once a message is
  encrypted, it can be delivered by messenger or even through
  the Imperial Post. Messages are not sent directly to the
  Inner Circle, but through a series of outposts or way
  stations. If a priest is captured, he can only reveal a single
  link in the chain of delivery. This process slows the
  delivery of the message, which may take months to reach
  the Inner Circle, but it preserves the safety of the Illumi-
  nated network.
  In case a temple loses all its priests but is not actually
  wiped out, temple leaders are entrusted with an encrypted
  scroll when appointed, along with instructions. If this
  scroll is sent to the secret chiefs, they arrange for a
  visitation team to visit the temple and train new priests.
  This message is a simple alert, rather than a full message,
  which carries meaning in its sending rather than its con-
  tents. If the message is intercepted, it can’t be deciphered
  (because it doesn’t actually say anything), but the Inner
  Circle won’t know to send out operatives if it never
  receives the intercepted scroll.
  bribing the gods is illegal, the Gold Faction and its messen-
  ger gods keep the communiqué-prayer system a secret. If a
  god is found to be abusing the natural order of prayer and
  respect in this way, it’s only a Severity 1 offense — but
  since the auditors are probably Bronze Faction Sidereals or
  their allies, an investigation could seriously compromise
  the Inner Circle’s activities. For this reason, Illuminated
  priests are discouraged from using such prayers frivolously.
  DOCTRINAL CODE
  Encoding a message is an Intelligence + Lore
  task (specialties in the Cult of the Illuminated
  apply). If a message is intercepted, the reader’s
  player must exceed the author’s player’s successes
  with his own Intelligence + Lore roll, which is
  difficulty 2 if the reader lacks the Illuminated spe-
  cialty. An Intelligence + Linguistics roll could also
  be used but is difficulty 4 and must also exceed the
  writer’s player’s successes. (Codebreaking Charms
  use their own systems.)
  Prayers: When communication channels with the
  Inner Circle must be opened quickly, a second option
  exists, but one that the cells do not use lightly. During an
  Illuminated priest’s training, she is introduced to a minor
  god, who becomes a patron spirit to that priest and her cell.
  That god teaches her a special prayer that can be used to
  establish contact with the god, transmitting information
  that can then be forwarded to the Inner Circle.
  Most of the gods involved with this practice are minor
  unemployed gods who sell their loyalty to the Gold Fac-
  tion in exchange for bribes of Ambrosia. A few are more
  powerful gods who are personally allied with the Inner
  Circle rather than looking for a meal ticket. Because
  LOCATING AND AIDING SOLARS
  The single most important thing a cell can do, the
  primary reason for the Outer Circle’s existence, is to
  directly serve the Shining Ones and escort them to the
  waiting arms of the Inner Circle. Some cells may never
  encounter such beings, but most will. The Solars are rising
  across Creation, and the Cult is waiting to meet them in
  the most bustling and important cities of the Threshold.
  As soon as someone that might be a Shining One appears
  in a cell’s vicinity (see p. 19), the temple immediately
  swings into action, the cultists ecstatic beyond words to
  finally be fulfilling their sacred duty.
  If the Shining One is not currently being oppressed by
  the corrupters, a group of cultists will make contact with
  her and offer their services and loyalty. If she is in danger,
  the entire cell takes up arms and does everything in its
  power to assist, attacking her enemies and spiriting her off
  to the cell’s hidden temple. Meanwhile, a priest sends word
  COMMUNIQUÉ PRAYERS
  The exact details of the prayer vary with each
  priest, each cell and each god, but each has the same
  effect. The priest writes out the message she wishes
  to send on a scroll, which is then ritually destroyed
  in some fashion during the prayer (burning is a
  common method, but it could be submerged in a
  stream until it falls apart or eaten by a swarm of
  sacred cockroaches). As the scroll is destroyed, the
  priest prays and makes appropriate sacrifices, peti-
  tioning for the god’s attention and assistance, as
  described in the Exalted rulebook (p. 335). How-
  ever, because the god has agreed to receive
  communiqué prayers whenever necessary and be-
  cause the prayer asks simply for attention rather
  than assistance, the base difficulty of the Charisma
  + Performance roll is only 3 rather than 6.
  If the prayer succeeds, a block of Ambrosia
  appears before the god (see Exalted: The Sidereals,
  pp. 26-27) with a Quintessence-forged copy of the
  message scroll around it. The god keeps the Ambro-
  sia for itself, then passes the scroll along to its
  contact in the Inner Circle.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  22
  to the Inner Circle via prayer, informing the secret chiefs
  that an Illuminated One has appeared and preparing them
  for her arrival.
  With the Shining One safe (either in hiding or
  proudly visible, depending on circumstances), the bulk of
  the cultists devote themselves to her service. They do
  whatever they can to fulfill her demands, whether that be
  slaying her enemies, supplying her with equipment or just
  delivering messages. Particularly unusual demands (such
  as an Abyssal demanding blood and souls) will still be met
  (if possible), but the priests will inform the Inner Circle of
  the situation and ask for instructions. During this period,
  the temple leader and his priests arrange for the transport
  of the Exalt to an Inner Circle rendezvous. Plans for the
  trip are developed when the cell is first created, drawn up
  by the Inner Circle and entrusted to the temple leader. He
  merely has to put the plan into action or to modify it if the
  Inner Circle send new instructions. If the Shining One
  doesn’t want to be transported to safety, the temple leader
  will do his damnedest to persuade her, while the priests
  send word that more enlightened members may be needed
  to aid in the process of Illumination.
  CULT TACTICS
  The Cult of the Illuminated has a fairly stock response
  to discovery, modeled after the tactics employed by Cre-
  ation and Heaven’s professional intelligence agencies.
  These tactics are relatively effective, but they are a consid-
  ered compromise on the part of the Cult, as it is likely they
  will eventually have their professional character discerned
  and provide clues to the eventual unraveling of the Gold
  Faction’s masquerade. This is considered acceptable, given
  that less effective responses are unlikely to save the Cult’s
  comparatively precious cells and that there are many
  individuals who operate their own private espionage net-
  works in Creation.
  In a small community the Cult completely dominates,
  it is easy for the Cult to monitor its integrity, as the Cult’s
  integration into the rhythm of community existence makes
  monitoring the integrity of the community easy. As in any
  other small community, the central authorities will be
  informed shortly after any individuals sight strangers, and
  the community will take whatever precautions are normal
  — in much of the world of Exalted, strangers are treated as
  bandit scouts or military outriders, so preparedness is
  hardly remarkable.
  In larger communities, where the Cult operates in
  secret and more or less illegally, more subtle methods are
  employed. In these circumstances, standard procedure is
  that each member of a cell is expected to have some
  contact with at least two other members of a cell every day.
  This is not necessarily a meeting, but merely visual con-
  tact. Some members of the Cult — usually those who
  operate businesses or spend their time in the streets — act
  as what are called “shopkeepers.” Members of the Cult
  going about their daily business check in by means of their
  visibility in a certain place at a certain time when there is
  a shopkeeper watching.
  The shopkeepers report directly to the head of the
  cell, but they generally only report negative information to
  minimize contacts. If individuals start to drop out of
  contact or bear certain prearranged distress signals on their
  person, a shopkeeper informs her superiors. Normally, the
  shopkeeper has a certain “tally” that prompts her to
  contact her superiors — each person missing for each day
  adds one to the tally, and when it reaches a certain score,
  usually three, the shopkeeper dispatches a report.
  When a shopkeeper reports his tally is exceeded, the
  cell assumes it is the subject of witch-hunters or otherwise
  compromised, unless its leadership already knows of the
  absences — the shopkeepers are ideally in the dark about
  the plans of those they are monitoring, and the watched
  individuals ideally do not know who is watching them.
  Realistically, in those places where the Cult has enough
  DYING FOR THE CAUSE
  The cultists of the Outer Circle believe with all
  their hearts in the Illuminated cause and in the
  coming Illuminated Kingdom. Of course, they want
  to live to see that kingdom and to be rewarded for
  their part in its creation. But something worth
  living for is worth dying for, and almost all Illumi-
  nated cultists are fervent enough to lay down their
  lives for the Shining Ones without hesitation. Their
  powers are tiny compared to the Exalted, but a squad
  of cultists might be able to buy time or respite for a
  Solar with their lives.
  Such power over the lives and deaths of mortals
  is not something a Solar should treat lightly. Whether
  he likes it or not, as soon as a Solar begins an
  association with the Cult of the Illuminated, he has
  near-total power over the local cell. If he asks them
  to literally commit suicide, some may balk, but most
  will fall upon their swords. Just by existing, the Solar
  has ultimate power over his new followers. Does
  that power carry a responsibility to use it wisely? Is
  it wrong to use the Cult, even if its members beg to
  be used? Should the Solar be protecting the cultists
  or making the best of this opportunity and getting
  the most out of his operatives?
  More than just a tool or a source of plot hooks,
  the Cult can provide real roleplaying opportunities
  and chances for the players to explore the moral
  consequences of their characters’ actions. Storytell-
  ers can ignore this aspect, abstract it away with
  Virtue checks or put it center stage in the series.
  
  23
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  strength to be this tidy, it can operate openly, and so, it is
  more of a formal dedication to staying aware of everyone’s
  location and status.
  The central decision makers of the cell assess the
  situation and deploy what resources they have to clarify
  the situation without risking the cell. If it appears the cell
  has been detected, then certain public distress signs —
  chalk graffiti in prominent locations, changes of clothes
  among the shopkeepers — warn the individuals in the cell
  of danger, and the members flee individually to prear-
  ranged rally points. Each small group of cultists has one
  senior decision maker from the cell there.
  What happens next depends on the assessment of the
  Cult leaders. These two responses are the only two nor-
  mally practiced by the Cult at this time. There are plans for
  other responses, but no cells are currently capable of
  mounting more than a limited attack.
  EVASION
  The normal reaction of the Cult is to simply evade.
  Each rally point has whatever escape supplies the Cult cell
  can muster. The individual groups make their own ways to
  some other Cult cell — typically, all are intent on the same
  destination so that the multiple cells are not compromised
  by refugees. Each group arrives, reports in and is hopefully
  reassigned by the Cult. Members of the cell do not gener-
  ally know they will never return to their homes, as it is felt
  that they will be more likely to flee to safety if they do not
  even realize until after a day or two of travel that they have
  begun a trip with no return.
  MIRROR-CATCHES-MAGPIES
  In this case, the cell believes that it cannot escape.
  One of the escape groups will have some arms set aside,
  and these are used to stage a diversionary attack on some
  preselected target, usually an Immaculate shrine without
  Dragon-Blooded in residence or a government building
  of some sort. The purpose of the attack is to distract
  pursuit. It is used if there is an Illuminated One who
  needs to be spirited away or if the cell otherwise has
  important information it must carry off. Normally, only
  one group launches the attack, but it is usually comprised
  of the most physically able individuals in the cell, so the
  fact that there are a number of small groups escaping is
  often well-concealed.
  CULTS ACROSS CREATION
  The Cult of the Illuminated is not omnipresent, with
  cells and chapters in every city of Creation. In fact, the
  Outer Circle has less than a dozen temples, and its presence
  is largely confined to major cities. Outposts are scattered
  more widely, but these are tiny and powerless cells that exist
  only to ferry messages and keep the Illuminated dream alive.
  Many Solars fall through the safety net of the Cult and go
  unnoticed by the Inner Circle, but enough are located and
  assisted to keep the network worthwhile.
  The following cells are some of the more active and
  important in Creation and are situated in some of the busiest
  cities. Storytellers can use the temples as detailed here or
  design their own replacements to better fit their series.
  THE BLESSED ISLE
  The Blessed Isle is tightly controlled by the Dynasty
  and the Immaculate Order, and operating an Illuminated
  temple there is dangerous work. But still, the Realm is
  enormous, the peasants are downtrodden and desperate
  for hope, and the forces of the Immaculate Order cannot
  be everywhere at once, and so, temples have been estab-
  lished there. In fact, the Inner Circle wants to establish
  more cells on the Blessed Isle if possible because Solars
  who Exalt in the midst of the Scarlet Empire are in far
  more danger than those who incarnate in the Threshold.
  The existing temples in Lord’s Crossing and Eagle’s
  Launch are encouraged to recruit, despite the danger,
  and Inner Circle assistance is much more forthcoming
  than for cells in the Threshold.
  LORD’S CROSSING
  For the cultists in Lord’s Crossing, the recent dev-
  astation of the Tepet legions has been a blessing. Families
  have lost sons and daughters, husbands and wives, at the
  command of the Dragon-Blooded. The common folk
  are angry, hurt and desperate to find a reason for their
  loss, and that leaves them open to the teachings of the
  Illuminated. Cult recruiters are happy to explain how
  the Shining Ones will punish the Dynasts and reward
  the faithful and how no one will be sacrificed in foreign
  wars when the Illuminated Kingdom comes. Resent-
  ment and pain are leading to an influx of new converts,
  and local partisans and revolutionaries are joining forces
  with the Cult to harass the Realm’s forces. While
  tourism and trade still flourishes in Lord’s Crossing, it
  does so while being raided by Illuminated thieves and
  raiders and while agitators call for strikes in the marble
  and jade mines.
  The Illuminated temple in Lord’s Crossing is, in fact,
  an abandoned mine set in the foothills outside the city.
  While almost played out, it produces enough stone to
  help finance the temple’s operations, as do the raids of
  the cultists and donations from grieving families. Most of
  the cultists are miners or former miners, and their rituals
  and beliefs are born from the superstitions and practices
  of their civilian lives. Cult members identify themselves
  with a pattern of ritual scars on their arms, which have
  specific colors of marble dust worked into the skin as it
  heals. To outsiders, such a scar appears as just a miner’s
  injury. Rites and prayers take place underground and
  often involve eating small amounts of rock dust, while
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  24
  the temple’s priests send their communiqué prayers to
  the minor gemstone gods of the depths.
  The Lord’s Crossing cell is led by Solander Kaj, a
  mine overseer lamed in a rockfall six years ago. Thank-
  fully, he’d made a nest egg by smuggling jade from the
  mine and selling it for years, and he parlayed that cash
  and his contacts into a new role as a fixer and arranger for
  local thieves. He regrets his past unrighteous behavior.
  As a leader of the Illuminated, he now steals and fences
  for a purpose and gathers information from the corrupt
  militiamen and merchants with whom he deals. He has
  overseen the passage of three Shining Ones to safety from
  the city, all without attracting undue imperial attention,
  and this has made him overconfident. Now, he has
  started thinking about the jade and treasures flowing into
  Sawyer Shadow’s mansion and hopes to organize a raid to
  liberate those resources.
  Kaj has the same Traits as a merchant prince (see
  Exalted, pp. 279 and 281), but with Larceny 4, Lore 1 and
  Occult 2. Due to his injuries, he cannot dodge attacks and
  only moves at half normal speed.
  SION
  The Cult does not have a temple in Sion, but it does
  have an ally — Oak, leader of the city’s guardians. Oak is
  the son of one of the Inner Circle’s Sidereal operatives.
  He cooperates with the Lord’s Crossing cell to ferry
  Solars and other operatives off the Blessed Isle and over
  the sea to (relative) safety. Oak is not a cultist or a
  believer, although he sympathizes with the Cult. He
  works with the Cult because he wishes to aid in his
  father’s work — and because he’s rewarded for his efforts
  with the indescribable sexual favors of several minor gods
  allied with the Inner Circle.
  When the Lord’s Crossing temple needs to contact
  Oak or arrange passage for a Shining One, it sends him a
  message in doctrinal code disguised as a book of poetry.
  Oak can’t decipher the message himself, but one of his
  troops is a Cult priest who can do so. If he can help, he has
  the priest send word to the Inner Circle via communiqué
  prayer and makes appropriate arrangements. If the Cult
  demands too much, such as a task that would jeopardize his
  position or life, he sends the book back and may send
  troops to kill the incoming cultists and their Solar cargo if
  they do not turn back.
  THE EAST
  The Scavenger Lands and the Eastern coastline are
  one of the Cult’s main powerbases. Shen Aru led the
  early Cult out of the South and into this region decades
  ago, and some cells existed here for years before the
  Sidereal Exalted took control of the Cult’s destiny.
  Temples exist in both Nexus and Great Forks. Another
  temple was active in Thorns, but it was lost when the
  Mask of Winters took the city. The doctrine scrolls, the
  records and the resources of the cell are still hidden in the
  dead city, and the Inner Circle is debating sending
  operatives to recover them. If the Deathlord obtains the
  Cult doctrines, he may be able to decipher doctrinal code
  and act against the Illuminated.
  NEXUS
  The busiest city in the East and the teeming center
  of the Scavenger Lands, Nexus is also home to one of the
  busiest and most successful Cult temples in Creation.
  Here, of all places in the Threshold, the Cult can be
  visible rather than a secret organization; here the Shin-
  ing Ones can exist openly, and so can their mortal
  servants. The Cult is an open and powerful religion in the
  city, with a large temple in Sentinel’s Hill and a number
  of meeting halls and safe houses throughout the city.
  Nexus has more than 100 Illuminated cultists and nearly
  a dozen priests, and these numbers are growing steadily.
  Here in the midst of industry and wealth there is also
  crushing poverty and desperation; here the Cult can
  point to the Exalted who have openly walked the city
  streets and preach to listeners that that Shining One,
  that one right there, is going to usher in a Golden Age
  within a few years.
  The success of the Illuminated in Nexus can be laid
  at the feet of Can Dance, a former Guild merchant turned
  mouthpiece of the Inner Circle. She treats the Cult not
  just as a religion but as a business, one that should expand
  and compete with its rivals. Her fellow cultists proselytize
  and preach, wear yellow hemp robes and distribute tracts,
  sell bright morning and defend the downtrodden from
  thieves. Can Dance has already co-opted a couple of
  small rival sects, converting some members and driving
  the others from Nexus, and she is also crafting alliances
  with the Liberating Ones, the leaders of Tellnaught and
  some of the smaller, more righteous mercenary compa-
  nies of Cinnabar. The Guild want her dead, but fears to
  move against her just yet, as the Cult is powerful enough
  to fight back if attacked, and Can Dance is careful never
  to break any of the Council of Entities’ laws (the Nexus
  temple spies on the city, but refrains from sedition or
  terrorist activities). That may not be enough to save Can
  Dance and her temple, though. The Council is capricious
  and jealous of power and is becoming increasingly un-
  happy with the growing influence of the Cult. Still, the
  Council suspects that the Cult has powerful backers and
  obvious allies in the Solar Exalted, so it holds back — but
  if the Cult continues to grow and the Guild continues to
  complain, blood will flow.
  Can Dance has the same profile as a merchant prince
  (see Exalted, pp. 279 and 281), but with two dots in Occult
  (with a specialty in the Cult of the Illuminated) and two
  dots in Lore.
  
  25
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  THE SCAVENGER LANDS
  In addition to the city temples, Cult outposts are
  scattered across the Scavenger Lands, primarily in the
  southern half of the region and on the outskirts of the
  Eastern forests. Villages and minor cities often boast three
  or four cultists watching the skies for signs of the Shining
  Ones. This wide network of observers and loyalists is
  potentially useful for the Inner Circle, but only if their
  information can be recorded and sent back to the secret
  chiefs. To coordinate this swathe of outposts, the Outer
  Circle has a different structure in this region, an experi-
  ment that is proving moderately successful. A number of
  missionary priests travel the region in circuits, making
  contact with outposts and cultists in the Hundred King-
  doms and the Marukan Alliance. They collect information,
  bless the believers and move on to the next town. At the
  end of each circuit (which lasts a year or more), a mission-
  ary travels south, pushing three days into the jungles near
  Larjyn, to the village of Rhabdoman and the bright morn-
  ing caches of Maariv the Outcast.
  Maariv is the chief Illuminated missionary of the
  Scavenger Lands, but he does not travel the outpost circuit
  like his fellows — Maariv is a beastman and a former
  barbarian shaman of the Arczeckh horde. Deformed not
  just by his Lunar heritage, but also by the Wyld, Maariv was
  once loyal only to his tribe, but a vision quest 15 years ago
  convinced him that the Cult of the Illuminated trickling
  into the Scavenger Lands was on a greater path. Possessing
  both powerful spiritual gifts and a bright morning habit
  that could kill an entire village, Maariv is aware that other
  powers than the Shining Ones are at play within the Cult,
  but he is unshakable in the belief that a new Age is coming.
  It may not be the one that the secret chiefs expect, but it
  comes in its own shape, and that is as it should be. Maariv
  organizes the other missionaries, collates their informa-
  tion and sends it via prayers to the Inner Circle, while his
  wives, children and followers in Rhabdoman work the
  skullweed and herb plantations to make bright morning,
  which is then distributed to the missionaries.
  Maariv has the Traits of a Wyld shaman (see Exalted,
  pp. 282-283), but with two dots in Lore, three dots in
  Occult (with a specialty in the Cult of the Illuminated)
  and Willpower 7. He has the poxes Sturdy and Enhanced
  Smell and Hearing and the afflictions Frog’s Tongue and
  Toxin. Maariv believes that Lunars are just as important as
  Solar Exalted to the coming Age and will arrange for a
  Lunar to be sent to the training camps without questioning
  the wisdom of that act.
  THE SOUTH
  This region of Creation is the birthplace of the Cult
  of the Illuminated, and its influence remains strongest
  here. Temples exist in Gem, Chiaroscuro and An-Teng,
  and the Inner Circle may soon establish cells in the Lap
  and Yane.
  CHIAROSCURO
  Of all cities, all places, Chiaroscuro is the most holy to
  the Cult of the Illuminated, for it was here that Holy Vax
  had his vision and began the great work of shepherding the
  Cycle of Day. (Vision of Light would be holier… if it still
  existed.) Despite this, the Cult’s presence is surprisingly
  small in this city, thanks to the efforts of the Tri-Khan.
  The Cult was thrown out of the city decades ago, and its
  members are not welcome back — not while they decry the
  Tri-Khan and the Delzahn nobility as agents of corruption.
  A temple was erected here only after the Sidereal takeover
  of the religion, and it’s still finding its feet. It does so in
  hiding, as the temple is located in the ruins of the Plaza, a
  warren of tunnels and spaces under sheets of broken
  vermilion glass.
  The leader of the Chiaroscuro temple is Phee, an ex-
  soldier from Yane who was sold into slavery after being
  wounded in battle. She escaped from her owner in Chiar-
  oscuro and was hiding in the Plaza ruins when she was
  visited by the tame gods of the Inner Circle. She runs her
  small temple like a military cadre, making ends meet by
  raiding Guild merchants. She has three advantages on her
  side: military discipline, a stockpile of glass weapons and
  the protection of Grandmother Bright. Whether the old
  god of the Plaza aids the Cult because she sympathizes with
  the scarred, bitter ex-slave or because the Inner Circle has
  paid for her cooperation is something Phee and the cultists
  are too ill-informed to wonder about. For the moment,
  Phee concentrates on rescuing any Shining Ones in the
  city before they are forced to swear loyalty to the Tri-Khan
  for protection, and her soldier-cultists are becoming quite
  skilled in moving through the glass ruins faster and more
  safely than the Delzahn soldiers pursuing them and their
  Exalt charges.
  Phee has the Traits of an elite soldier (see Exalted, p.
  278), but with a dot in Lore and two dots in Occult, and her
  glass weapons and armor are of exceptional quality. While
  her temple has only a dozen cultists and a single priest, she
  has trained them well. They have Valor 3 and Willpower
  6 and are also armed with glass weapons.
  THE REST OF CREATION
  No organized Cult temples yet exist in the Northern
  regions of the Threshold. The Cult began in the South,
  and while it has spread quickly in the last few years, it still
  hasn’t migrated that far. Similarly, no temples have been
  established in the West, although the temple at An-Teng
  is a step in that direction. The Inner Circle certainly wants
  to establish temples in these regions, but it has to tread
  carefully to avoid attracting attention. The Bronze Fac-
  tion will notice if Charms and astrology are used to speed
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  26
  up the spread of the Cult. It’s better, the Gold Faction
  reasons, to let the Cult expand organically into new
  regions, then bolster each cell once it gets established.
  Minor outposts can be found in Abalone and on the
  fringes of Bluehaven in the West, and others are scattered
  near Whitewall and Cherak. Missionaries travel in both
  regions, looking to gain converts, but the cold wastes and
  savage oceans have claimed more than a few starry-eyed
  cultists in their travels thus far.
  CIRCUIT RIDERS AND
  WANDERING PROPHETS
  The Cult of the Illuminated is, by design, a largely
  localized grassroots movement. With few funds and no
  supernatural protection, the Cult needs to stay small to
  survive, too minor and unimportant to attract attention
  from the Immaculate Order or the Bronze Faction. Cult
  cells keep their heads low, operate in their home cities and
  regions and don’t send emissaries to the next village for
  recruitment drives. Communication with the Inner Circle
  is sporadic and controlled, and communication between
  temples is almost nonexistent.
  But still, there is a need for some kind of interaction
  between cells and temples, between the Inner and Outer
  Circles, between the Cult and the rest of the world. Not
  every Cult member is attached to a specific temple or
  town. Some move around Creation, preaching the word of
  Vax or watching for the appearance of the Shining Ones.
  Meanwhile, some Inner Circle operatives act as an inter-
  face between the disparate parts of the Cult — not truly
  part of either circle, but moving and working in the region
  between the two or between cells.
  For Storytellers, these mobile characters are a great
  way to bring the Cult into a series or to introduce new
  complications into a series that already has an established
  Cult presence. Such characters tend to fall into broad roles
  and purposes, the better to serve the Inner Circle’s pur-
  poses. The Storyteller characters that follow are good
  examples of each type.
  SHINING MOUTHPIECES
  Faith and prayer and drugs only take a worshiper so
  far. To get the full extent of zealous dedication the Inner
  Circle needs from the Cult, it needs to fire up belief with
  an eventual payoff, proof that the Shining Ones are really
  out there and will reward the faithful when the Cycle of
  Day begins. If faith begins to flag, if cultists start getting
  distracted with frivolities such as politics or putting food
  on the table, the Inner Circle sends out one of its tame
  Exalted to deliver a pep talk, flash her anima banner and
  tell the goggle-eyed faithful how important it is for them to
  work hard and keep the faith. Most of these Exalted
  ambassadors are Solars, but some are Lunars, Sidereals or
  
  27
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  other beings, since the Outer Circle can’t tell the differ-
  ence. Only a few such Exalted spokespersons exist, and
  they are used sparingly lest they attracted Immaculate or
  Bronze Faction attention. Products of the Inner Circle’s
  training camps, they are loyal to the Gold cause and are
  sent out because their masters know they’ll return to the
  nest when they’re done.
  JNANI THE RADIANT
  Description: Jnani was just a jade miner from Juche,
  an ordinary man with a winning smile and a lot of friends.
  Just why the Unconquered Sun chose to Exalt him is a
  question only the gods can answer, but one day, Jnani
  downed his tools and walked out of the mines with a crowd
  of striking workers marching behind him. By the time the
  Immaculate Order descended on the mines, he was gone,
  smuggled from the province by a pair of Illuminated
  believers, escorted to Sion and finally sent to the Seques-
  tered Tabernacle and the Inner Circle. This whirlwind of
  danger and travel left Jnani confused and frightened,
  uncertain of his purpose and his newfound abilities. For
  the secret chiefs of the Inner Circle, he was orichalcum-
  permeated clay waiting to be molded.
  A year after his escape, Jnani has returned to the
  Realm, where he works to prop up the efforts and beliefs of
  the local Outer Circle cultists. He wholeheartedly believes
  that the Solars have returned to redeem Creation and
  throw down the corrupt empire. The moral certainties of
  Cult training and indoctrination have replaced the uncer-
  tainties and confusion of his initial flight. Now, whenever
  a Cult chapter needs to have its faith bolstered, Jnani
  appears to give an impassioned speech about the glories to
  come. A glowing hero who heals wounds with a touch,
  fights monsters and fills hearts with zeal, he then moves on
  to the next temple or loyalist village. In his wake, he leaves
  cultists eager to become tiger warriors, to give their lives
  for the cause or to neglect their families for their faith —
  and to fight off the Dragon-Blooded who come to investi-
  gate rumors of an Anathema’s appearance.
  Jnani is a young and handsome man with dark hair,
  copper skin and a broad and engaging smile. While not
  exactly stupid, he lacks wisdom and subtlety and has
  embraced the naïve morality preached by the Inner
  Circle without question. Recently, though, his convic-
  tions have been clouded by a chance meeting with
  Mistress Emerald (see Caste Book: Twilight, pp. 93-94),
  a secretive Solar who travels the Blessed Isle as a healer
  and fortuneteller. Like Jnani, she is the Chosen of the
  Unconquered Sun, a harbinger of tomorrow — but yet,
  despite having encountered the Cult of the Illuminated
  and learned of its teachings, she refuses to join its ranks.
  Such a position is hard for Jnani to understand, as is the
  fire he feels in his heart whenever he thinks of Emerald.
  The track of his circuit around the cells of the Blessed Isle
  is beginning to change shape, following the ruts of Mis-
  tress Emerald’s caravan and following after the source of
  his confusion and his passion.
  Caste: Eclipse
  Nature: Gallant
  Calling: Exemplar
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 3, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 3, Dodge
  3, Endurance 3, Linguistics (Native: Low Realm; Old
  Realm, Riverspeak) 2, Lore 1, Martial Arts 4, Medicine 3,
  Performance 4, Presence 4, Ride 3, Sail 3, Socialize 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Contacts 3, Illumination 1,
  Manse 1, Followers 2, Resources 3
  Charms: Body-Mending Meditation, Deft Official’s Way,
  Harmonious Presence Meditation, Indolent Official
  Charm, Masterful Performance Exercise, Mastery of Small
  Manners, Ox-Body Technique, Respect Commanding
  Attitude, Serpentine Evasion, Snake Form, Striking Co-
  bra Technique, Touch of Blissful Release, Welcome Guest
  Method, Wise-Eyed Courtier Method
  Base Initiative: 7
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 8 Damage 3B Defense 8
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 7 Damage 5B Defense 7
  Orichalcum Serpent-Sting Staff (Swift Revelation): Speed
  11 Accuracy 9 Damage 6L Defense 12
  Exceptional Self Bow: Speed 7 Accuracy 8 (Rate 3,
  Range 150)
  Dodge Pool: 7
  Soak: 9L/9B (Orichalcum breast-
  plate, 8L/6B)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  2/-4/Incap
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  28
  Essence: 2
  Personal Essence: 12
  Peripheral Essence: 23 (30)
  Committed Essence: 7
  Other Notes: Jnani is armed with an orichalcum serpent-
  sting staff and an exceptional self bow, and he owns an
  orichalcum breastplate and possesses a gem of healing. He
  is accompanied on his travels by three cultists, one of them
  a priest who informs the Inner Circle should Jnani appear
  confused or rebellious. Jnani has been trained at the
  Sequestered Tabernacle and follows the path of the Exem-
  plar, although he still has a long way to go before fulfilling
  his Calling.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 9 Damage 3B Defense 10 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 5 Rate 3
  Orichalcum Serpent-Sting Staff (Swift Revelation): Speed
  10 Accuracy 9 Damage 8L Defense 12 Rate 5
  Dodge Pool: 9
  TROUBLESHOOTERS
  The Outer Circle of the Cult receives very little
  protection and aid from the Inner Circle — little, but more
  than none. While every effort is made to keep the Outer
  Circle expendable and deniable, it’s still a necessary part of
  the Inner Circle’s plans, and without it, the whole project
  might grind to a halt. So, when major problems occur that
  endanger not just a single temple or cell but the network
  as a whole, the Inner Circle sends someone to investigate,
  to assist or to kill whoever is causing a ruckus. Trouble-
  shooters may be Sidereal Exalted (usually younger ones),
  other Exalts (not Solars, but others loyal to the Cult),
  God-Blooded, spirits or even exceptionally skilled mor-
  tals. As long as the operative gets results, the Inner Circle
  doesn’t really care about his abilities.
  MATUTINE
  Description: The Bronze Faction is intransigent, static,
  the domain of the conservative elder Sidereals. The Gold
  Faction, on the other hand, is a group open to change and
  development, a place where a young Sidereal can make a
  name for herself and obtain influence and political power
  while climbing the ranks of the Celestial Bureaucracy.
  At least, that was Matutine’s theory when she joined
  the Gold Faction 10 years ago. Now, she’s starting to regret
  that line of thought. It turns out that the leaders of the
  Golden Circle are just as entrenched in their positions as
  their Bronze Faction counterparts, that being a member of
  the Gold Faction means getting passed over for promo-
  tions and positions in the Celestial Bureaucracy and that
  Gold Faction operatives are expected to constantly work
  for their faction, even when it’s dangerous. Matutine had
  hoped for an interesting position in the Bureau, something
  with a good salary and lots of opportunities to meddle in
  mortal affairs. Instead, she gets sent to clean up the Outer
  Circle’s messes across the Scavenger Lands and in the East.
  Frankly, she’s getting sick of it. She hasn’t sold out her
  bosses to the Bronze Faction yet, but that’s mostly because
  she knows how dangerous such a betrayal would be. Trai-
  tors are not treated kindly in Heaven, and even if she
  survived to join the Bronze Faction — well, what if the
  Gold actually win this power struggle and ride to victory on
  the backs of the Solars? No, now is not the right time. Now
  is the time to keep her head down, do her job, fix the Cult’s
  problems and wait for the future to fall into line.
  Matutine is a young woman with a scout’s physique
  and a sharp tongue. She wears unassuming clothing and
  rides an austrech that also serves as her familiar.
  Caste: Journeys
  Nature: Critic
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Bureaucracy 2, Dodge
  3, Endurance 3, Larceny 2, Linguistics (Native: Riverspeak;
  Forest-Tongue, Old Realm) 2, Lore 3, Martial Arts 2,
  Melee 4, Occult 2, Presence 2, Ride 3, Sail 2, Socialize 3,
  Stealth 2, Survival 2
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Backing 2, Celestial Manse 3,
  Connections (The Cult of the Illuminated) 2, Connec-
  tions (The Golden Barque of the Heavens) 2, Connections
  
  29
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  (Outlaws) 2, Connections (The Threshold) 2, Familiar 2,
  Salary 2
  Colleges: Gull 2, Shield 2, Ship’s Wheel 2, Sorcerer 2
  Charms: Absence, Becoming the Wilderness, Burn Life,
  Duck Fate, Harmony of Blows, Hot-Eyed Snake Whisper-
  ing, Impeding the Flow, Orchestration of Conflict, Shun
  the Smiling Lady, Soft Presence Practice, Unwavering
  Well-Being Meditation, Yellow Path
  Combos:
  The Three Perfectly Augured Blows (Cost: 14+ motes,
  1 Willpower): Harmony of Blows, Orchestration of Con-
  flict — Matutine draws her sword parallel with her eyes, as blue
  symbols and diagrams of Essence coruscate along the blade,
  displaying exactly how to place her attacks. She then blurs into
  motion, lunging and parrying in perfect unison with the warp
  and weft of fate, the diagrams dissipating as she moves in
  splashes of liquid energy. Because of its high cost in Essence,
  Matutine only uses her Combo as a last resort, usually as a
  finishing move. Even then, she often reserves one of her three
  attacks as a parry, only attacking twice.
  Base Initiative: 7
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 5 Damage 3B Defense 5
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 4 Damage 5B Defense 4
  Exceptional Straight Sword: Speed 7 Accuracy 9 Damage
  7L Defense 9
  Dodge Pool: 6
  Soak: 5L/5B (Exceptional chain shirt,
  4L/2B)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 2
  Personal Essence: 10
  Peripheral Essence: 27 (23)
  Committed Essence: 4
  Other Notes: As well as her mundane weapons and tools,
  Matutine wears starmetal Hearthstone bracers set with an
  ever-open eye (see Savant and Sorcerer, p. 68). Matutine
  maintains a resplendent destiny as Immum Coeli, a wan-
  dering Illuminated loyalist (Gull, 2 effect points).
  As a Cult troubleshooter, Matutine is sent by her masters
  to temples and locales facing problems they cannot solve
  on their own — Immaculate persecution, political rival-
  ries or an Abyssal Exalted masquerading as a Shining One.
  Matutine prefers to use persuasion, bribery and trickery to
  solve problems but is unafraid to simply remove obstacles
  with her sword if necessary.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 6 Damage 3B Defense 7 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 6 Damage 6B Defense 2 Rate 3
  Exceptional Straight Sword: Speed 11 Accuracy 11 Dam-
  age 7L Defense 9 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 11
  MISSIONARIES
  The Cult spreads its influence slowly and carefully,
  but it does spread. It is a revelatory faith, and revelations
  must be revealed anew to potential converts. Missionary
  priests wander the Threshold, passing on the Word of Vax
  and whatever new revelations have come to them under
  the influence of drugs and self-flagellation. Traveling
  priests tend to concentrate on awakening a fire within a
  few converts and then moving on, rather than on estab-
  lishing a temple and recruiting a full cadre of cultists. Once
  the initial contact is made and a handful of young men and
  women become interested, the priest contacts the Inner
  Circle with a communiqué prayer. If the secret chiefs
  decide that a temple would be useful in that region, they
  send more cultists and operatives to build a new cell while
  the missionary moves to the next village.
  FISHER OF MEN
  Description: Before he learned the Illuminated truth
  and flayed away his weakness and unworth, Fisher of Men
  had a different name, a different purpose, a different life.
  All of those things are forgotten now, left behind with the
  island and the village and the family he once had. All that
  matters now is the word of Vax, the truth that must be
  bought to the islands and sailors of the Western Ocean.
  A scarred, ragged middle-aged islander in a weather-
  beaten coracle, Fisher of Men is an unimpressive figure at
  first. Then, he looks at you, and you see the fervor in his
  eyes. He moves closer, and you see the talismans and
  protective fishbone charms that hang from his clothes.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  30
  He speaks, and in his voice, you hear the power of his
  belief and the wisdom of the Illuminated way. He may
  seem like another wave tramp, but belief eddies and pools
  in his wake.
  Fisher of Men has traveled the length of the Neck,
  moving from island to island with his message. Fear and
  caution are unknown to him, carried as he is by faith and
  the tide, and his missionary zeal now pushes him north —
  into the Skullstone Archipelago. He believes that the
  Shining Ones will protect him from the undead, that his
  faith will protect him in the shadowlands. In truth, what
  protects him is the will of the Bodhisattva Anointed by
  Dark Water, who is curious to learn more about this Solar-
  following cult. Fisher of Men will soon sail his coracle right
  into the Deathlord’s palace and, in his naïve fervor, give up
  everything he knows of the Cult’s operations to the forces
  of Oblivion.
  Nature: Visionary
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 2, Stamina 2, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 2, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Endurance 1,
  Linguistics (Native: Seatongue; Old Realm) 1, Lore 2,
  Medicine 2, Melee 2, Occult 3, Performance 3 (Prayer +1),
  Presence 2, Sail 2, Socialize 2, Survival 2, Thrown 2
  Backgrounds: Backing 1, Contacts 3, Resources 1
  Arts: Astrology, Summoning, Warding
  Sciences: Enchantment 2
  Base Initiative: 4
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 4 Accuracy 3 Damage 2B Defense 3
  Kick: Speed 1 Accuracy 2 Damage 4B Defense 2
  Javelin (Melee): Speed 5 Accuracy 5 Damage 4L Defense 4
  Short Spear: Speed 5 Accuracy 5 Damage 5L Defense 4
  Javelin (Thrown): Speed 4 Accuracy 5 Damage 5L (Rate
  2, Range 30)
  Dodge Pool: 4
  Soak: 0L/2B
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/
  Incap
  Essence: 1
  Other Notes: A priest and not a warrior, Fisher of Men
  bears only a short spear and a pair of javelins for self-
  defense, and he generally uses them for fishing rather
  than combat.
  He carries a number of talismans, for protection and for
  easing his way through Creation. These include charms
  that add one die to Survival and Resistance rolls, talis-
  mans that negate two botches each story and wards that
  inflict a one-die penalty to the dice pools of water spirits,
  water elementals and undead beings that attempt to
  affect him. He can make similar talismans for other
  characters, but only for those who will accept the Illumi-
  nated truth he preaches.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 4 Accuracy 4 Damage 2B Defense 5 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 1 Accuracy 4 Damage 5B Defense 0 Rate 3
  Javelin (Melee): Speed 5 Accuracy 5 Damage 5L Defense
  5 Rate 3
  Short Spear: Speed 9 Accuracy 6 Damage 6L Defense 5
  Rate 2
  Javelin (Thrown): Speed 4 Accuracy 5 Damage 5L (P)
  (Rate 2, Range 30)
  Dodge Pool: 5
  ILLUMINATED MESSENGERS
  The Cult of the Illuminated is a network, a conspiracy
  and a secret society where each Outer Circle cell is
  separate and isolated — but still, connections must be
  maintained to the Inner Circle. Communiqué prayers and
  coded signals keep some information flowing to the secret
  chiefs, but those are one-way transmissions. When the
  Inner Circle needs to send instructions or information to
  a specific temple or cell, it sends a messenger — someone
  who can be trusted with the information and who has the
  skills to survive the dangers of the journey. Such messen-
  gers must be expendable, though, so it is not a task for the
  Exalted. Instead, messengers are heroic mortals and God-
  Blooded, indoctrinated with loyalty to the Cult and trained
  to the Cult’s specifications.
  MESSINA TIGERBRIDE
  Description: The best, strongest and most zealous of
  the Cult’s followers are skimmed from the Outer Circle
  and transferred to the training camps, there to become
  loyal and dangerous tiger warriors. The best of those fight-
  ers are trained even further, brought to new levels of
  competence and potential by repeated use of Charms. And
  the best of those superior, almost superhuman warriors is
  Messina Tigerbride, Angel of the Spear, Hero of Khechari
  Pass. A Cult member since the days of Vision of Light, she
  witnessed the Celestial Visitation and the Ascendance of
  Shen Aru, and she trained under the tutelage of the
  Shining Ones and fought at their side against the Elemen-
  tal Corruption. She is as loyal, as dedicated and as passionate
  a follower of the Illuminated as any mortal could be.
  And frankly, that makes her a problem for the Inner
  Circle. Because if she found out that the Cult was based on
  deception and existed to cement the power of the Gold
  Faction, she would do everything in her power to destroy
  it. That wouldn’t amount to anything, true, because one
  mortal soldier means little against the forces of the Inner
  Circle — but her death would be a waste at best, and a
  
  31
  CHAPTER ONE • THE OUTER CIRCLE
  catalyst for further problems and questions from her friends
  and Solar commanders at worst.
  So, having pushed herself near to the pinnacle of
  mortal achievement within the Cult, Messina has been
  rewarded with a position as a messenger. It’s not a role with
  which she feels altogether comfortable; she’d rather be
  fighting and dying for the Illuminated demigods she wor-
  ships and loves. But her loyalty is stronger than her
  disappointment, and she goes where the secret chiefs
  direct her. Accompanied by her war party, the Marplot
  Cabal, she brings the will of the Inner Circle to the cells
  and temples — and shows the zealous, eager young cultists
  the incredible skill and power they too can aspire to reach.
  She serves in every way she may, fights whatever battles
  she must and delivers what news she is given.
  And if she ever discovers the truth behind the Cult,
  someone will pay.
  Nature: Paragon
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Dodge 4,
  Endurance 4 (Marches +1), Linguistics (Native:
  Flametongue; Old Realm, Riverspeak) 2, Martial Arts 4,
  Medicine 3, Melee 4, Presence 3, Resistance 2 (Disease
  +1), Socialize 2, Stealth 2, Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Backing 2, Contacts 3, Followers 3, Mentor
  2, Resources 2
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 8 Damage 4B Defense 8
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 6B Defense 7
  Exceptional Spear: Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 8L
  Defense 9
  Exceptional Self Bow: Speed 8 Accuracy 8 Damage 5L
  (Rate 2, Range 200)
  Dodge Pool: 8/7
  Soak: 6L/10B (Exceptional rein-
  forced buff jacket, 6L/6B, mobility penalty -1)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/
  Incap
  Essence: 1
  Other Notes: Messina Tigerbride is armed with a well-
  crafted spear and self bow. She wears a reinforced buff
  jacket and a buckler and carries a quiver of broadhead
  arrows. Her Marplot Cabal followers are elite troops with
  solid but unexceptional equipment. All ride horses and are
  skilled in mounted combat, and they have been indoctri-
  nated to follow the orders of the Exalted without question.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 4B Defense 10 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 9 Damage 7B Defense 5 Rate 3
  Exceptional Spear: Speed 18 Accuracy 10 Damage 9L
  Defense 11 Rate 2
  Dodge Pool: 9/8
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  32
  
  33
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  CHAPTER TWO
  THE INNER
  CIRCLE
  While the Outer Circle troubles itself with the cells of
  the Cult, new members and petty day-to-day issues, the
  Inner Circle has the real focus of the Cult as its priority.
  Unlike the Outer Circle, the Inner Circle is comprised of
  high-level Sidereals, God-Blooded, Solars and some low-
  level deities and spirits. These have much less contact with
  the actual cells of the Cult, but they do make appearances
  from time to time to reassure the mortals that the Cult’s
  teachings are indeed grounded in truth.
  The Inner Circle has had its hands full since it took
  over the Cult shortly after the Solars returned and the
  Scarlet Empress disappeared. In four short years, Gold
  Faction leader Ayesha Ura and her Sidereal allies had to
  co-opt the Cult, find sponsors to fund it, expand the Cult’s
  reaches, start recruiting Solars and establish camps in
  which to train the Solars and other Exalted — not to
  mention keep them safe.
  DOCTRINE
  When the Sidereals took over the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated, they found most of the Cult doctrine to their liking.
  The Cult already worshiped beings they called the Illumi-
  nated or the Shining Ones. All the Sidereals had to do was
  assure the cultists that the Solar Exalted were their proph-
  esied messiahs. With the proper impressive Charms and
  carefully placed sorcery, this was easy to accomplish.
  The belief in the Illuminated Ones was easy to en-
  courage, but to make it a strong, viable religion to one day
  rival the Immaculate Order, the Sidereals had to make
  some changes to the doctrine.
  THE FIVE PROMISES
  The first changes made to Cult doctrine— and still
  the most prevalent of the Cult’s teachings — are the Five
  Promises. The Inner Circle wanted to distance the Cult
  from the Immaculate Order and the ruling Dragon-Blooded
  but not to associate themselves too closely with Solar
  Anathema symbols, so the symbols of the promises became
  the tools of the Five Maidens instead of the Five Elemental
  Dragons or the five castes of the Solar Exalted.
  The Five Promises are said to be old prophesies,
  recently discovered, that predate the First Age. The Cult
  preaches that three of the Five Promises have been fulfilled
  and that the present day is seeing the fulfillment of the
  Fourth Promise.
  The Promise of the Sword:
  The Glorious First Age Will Fall and
  Creation Will Become Corrupted
  All things must end, but each ending heralds a new
  beginning. The riches and the glory of the First Age came
  crashing down. This event caused the deaths of hundreds
  of Exalted and millions of mortals. It caused the deaths of
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  34
  leaders and merchants, knowledge and Charms. Saturn’s
  sharp sword descended, and Creation shook under the
  mighty strike. But with the end of the First Age, the world
  began again.
  The Promise of the Quill:
  Creation Will Struggle Onward
  Creation was not destroyed by the ending of the First
  Age. Farmers still plowed their fields, and merchants still
  peddled their wares. Time and life flowed inexorably as
  Creation rebuilt. Mortals looked for guidance and found
  little as the Dragon-Blooded of the Realm concerned
  themselves with power struggles. The world continued,
  although lacking its former wonder and glory.
  The Promise of the Key:
  The Gods Will Not Forsake Creation
  The gods met and determined that a new Age must be
  ushered into the world. The mortals needed mentors and
  leaders, those who would guide them spiritually and politi-
  cally. After much debate, the gods determined that they
  would send their children, the Shining Ones, to Creation
  to bring the world back to the glory of the First Age. These
  children of the gods would offer their knowledge and
  leadership to the mortals and scour Creation free of the
  Fair Folk and the Dragon-Blooded betrayers.
  The Promise of the Gauntlet:
  The Gods Will Send New Champions,
  the Shining Ones
  The Shining Ones will arrive in the dark of night,
  many of them alone and vulnerable from the hazardous
  journey from Heaven. Only when they can band together
  will they reach their potential. It is the purpose of the Cult
  of the Illuminated to find these Shining Ones and unite
  them, strengthening their power so that they may stand up
  to the corrupt Realm and the false leaders therein. A great
  war will follow, shaking Creation yet again, but the Shin-
  ing Ones will prevail.
  The Promise of the Ewer:
  Creation Will be Restored to its Former Glory
  As the corrupt Dragon-Blooded lie in their graves or
  limp to the fringes of the Wyld, the Shining Ones will take
  their place on the thrones of Creation, lending their power
  and goodwill to lead mortals into a Second Great Age.
  Their faithful followers will lie at their feet and be among
  the favored of mortals, serving as their ambassadors, gen-
  erals and courtesans. Only the Shining Ones can bring
  glory back to Creation, but they are unable to do so
  without the support of mortals.
  BOOKS AND TEACHINGS
  The Five Promises are printed within The Golden
  Tome of Truth, the book of the holy teachings of Shen Aru
  and Vax. In truth, the book consists only of a handful of the
  writings the holy men managed to scribble down during
  their leadership of the Cult and has been heavily padded
  by Ayesha Ura and her Sidereal allies.
  The teachings of the Cult indicate that one must be
  steadfast and strong in the face of this unenlightened Age
  and that only the strongest of holy warriors can make the
  world pure enough for the coming of the Shining Ones, the
  children of the gods sent to make the world right again.
  Mortals are encouraged to purify their minds and
  bodies through study, a strict diet, martial arts practice and
  self-flagellation to enforce the idea of their complete and
  utter unworthiness next to the Illuminated Ones — even
  as they stand well above those mortals who do not follow
  the Cult. Their example will prepare the world for the
  coming of the holy warriors. When the Shining Ones are
  prepared, they will take Creation back from those who
  once stole it (the Dragon-Blooded, of course) and usher in
  an new Age to rival the First Age.
  The additions by the Sidereals have taken the hereti-
  cal teachings of the Cult and pushed them into the
  outrageous, at least in the eyes of the Bronze Faction. It was
  an idea by Rol, Chosen of Mars and member of the Inner
  Circle, to claim that the coming of the Illuminated Ones
  knocked the Scarlet Empress off her throne in their first
  move against the Realm.
  This outright lie — not to mention the subtle insult
  to the Bronze Faction who did not foresee the Empress’
  disappearance, nor the return of the Solars — has brought
  more Immaculate Order monks into towns where the Cult
  has presence. This is obviously not the best thing for the
  Cult, but the lie has encouraged several mortal recruits
  into the doors of the cells, which makes it all worthwhile.
  PRAYERS AND OBSERVANCES
  All members of the Cult, from the lowest mortal to
  the Exalted who train within the camps, attend prayers
  every day.
  As the first of dawn’s light touches the training yard,
  the mortal followers of the Illuminated are outside, giving
  homage. They pray to all of the gods who have brought the
  Shining Ones to them, including the Unconquered Sun.
  They are mere mortals and can only pray to the Uncon-
  quered Sun in the morning when the light is weak. Shen
  Aru or the local Cult cell leaders lead them in their prayers.
  If the local cell is being honored by the presence of an
  Exalt, he will lead the prayers.
  For the first half-hour, the mortals kneel on the floor
  to symbolize their distance from Yu-Shan. They meditate
  in silence, the newest initiates standing behind their
  seasoned companions in martial-arts stances. Focusing on
  keeping the body still also manages to focus the mind on
  meditation and prayer, and they must pray in this manner
  for the first six months of their time in the Cult. For the
  second half-hour, they chant prayers to the gods, extolling
  
  35
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  them and the Illuminated Ones. The prayers are ended by
  the sipping of purified water, after which the local leader
  will preach, reminding the mortals of their spiritual tasks
  of spreading the word of the Cult, remaining pure of mind
  and body, and the promises the gods made to the followers
  of the Shining Ones.
  At noon, when the Unconquered Sun is at his zenith
  and shines his full strength upon Creation, the Shining
  Ones gather for their prayers and assume the lotus position.
  They meditate on the glory of the gods who have bestowed
  upon them their gifts and their duty to the Cult.
  New Exalted initiates are also required to hold mar-
  tial-arts stances during prayer time — unlike the mortals,
  they are required to hold the stance for a full hour without
  movement — to train their bodies and minds. Within the
  training camps, the Sidereals and other Inner Circle mem-
  bers also attend this prayer session.
  Evening prayers are short and simple. Both mortals
  and Exalted sit in the Unconquered Sun’s waning light
  and reflect on the glory of their calling as they drink water,
  often laced with hallucinogens. If they are not currently
  going through initiation and have no other duties, they are
  permitted — even encouraged — to pray as long into the
  evening as they wish.
  These rigorous prayer observances are only require-
  ments to mortals praying at the cells and Exalted residing
  within the training camps. Some have chosen the Cult
  lifestyle the way the Immaculate monks have chosen their
  lifestyle, however, and they adhere to the observances
  within and without the camps and cells. Others who do
  not prefer a monastic lifestyle or who are on Cult duty are
  not required to follow these rules. They are, however,
  required to report in to the cell or camps on a regular basis,
  as their duties allow, for group prayers.
  Once a new Solar has served her month of initiation,
  an Inner Circle member will take her to a cell that also has
  new members to initiate. After the newly scrubbed and
  white-robed mortals are under the influence of hallucino-
  gens, the Exalt appears in front of them, anima ablaze. She
  speaks words from a script, welcoming them to the Cult
  and demanding full obedience from this day to the day of
  the mortals’ deaths. More often than not, the mortals will
  fall to their knees, screaming and crying in rapture. Some
  will faint or vomit with the epiphany. This cements the
  will of both the mortal and the Exalt: the mortal has seen
  his belief made real in front of his eyes, while the Exalt has
  seen how she will be worshiped instead of branded a demon
  while serving the Cult.
  Although the Cult accepts all Exalted types, only
  Solars and Lunars are taken to the cells to initiate mortals.
  Abyssal animas would likely cause the mortals to soil
  themselves in fear (or run screaming from the Cult), and
  they will be familiar with Dragon-Blooded animas.
  Deathknights and Dragon-Bloods remain at the training
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  36
  camps to continue the next stage of training once they are
  done with their initiation.
  CODE OF MORALITY
  The mortals and the Exalted of the Cult are holy
  warriors, dedicated to the downfall of the Realm and the
  protection of the people of Creation. To remain properly
  dedicated, they are required to respect all people. Each
  mortal must remain a good citizen within his town and
  give Cult leaders, the Illuminated Ones and visiting
  spirits full obedience.
  Exalts must respect communities that support the
  Cult cells and training camps. They give their aid where
  needed, whether it’s fighting off barbarian hordes, mon-
  strous spirits or Immaculate oppression. This has a threefold
  effect: It keeps the Exalted focused on acting for the people
  of Creation and not solely for their own interests, the
  fighting hones the Exalt’s skills and survival tactics, and it
  keeps the surrounding communities happy and willing to
  conceal the training camps from the prying eyes of the
  Immaculate Order. The frequent bribes don’t hurt the
  community morale either.
  This general rule of respect for both mortal and
  Exalted is forgotten when it comes to Dynasts from the
  Realm or believers in the Immaculate Order. Anyone who
  is dedicated to keeping the Threshold under the thumb of
  the Dragon-Blooded is worthy of contempt, in the case of
  the mortals, or possible violence, in the case of the Exalted.
  This is not to say that an Exalt should attack every
  Immaculate monk or Dragon-Blooded she sees, just that
  the rule of respect does not apply. Those who stand in the
  way of the Cult of the Illuminated’s goal must be either
  convinced of the Cult’s holy path or simply destroyed.
  RESTRICTIVE COVENANTS
  Ayesha Ura certainly had the Immaculate Order and
  her former mentor, Chejop Kejak, in mind when she
  developed the dietary and dress covenants for the Cult of
  the Illuminated. Scoffing at the requirement of monks
  within the order to dress in plain white robes, to deprive
  themselves of more and more food and drink as they rise in
  the Order’s ranks and to shave their heads, she mocks the
  stern requirements. Only her fellow Gold Faction mem-
  bers know her motivations; the covenants are taken very
  seriously within the Cult.
  Mortal initiates are put on a strict diet of rice and
  water to purify their system as they enter the Cult. To be
  reborn within the Cult, one must purify her body to allow
  the spirit to purify as well. They are brought before the
  Shining Ones with their heads shaven and wearing a pure
  white robe. This is their rebirth. From this moment, they
  will not cut their hair.
  As the body is purified by teachings, fruit and veg-
  etables are slowly allowed into the diet. The mind begins
  to understand and accept the leadership of the Shining
  Ones. This next phase is indicated by a brown robe to
  signify the cultist’s time in Creation, toiling the earth to
  serve the gods.
  The third phase is entered when a martial-arts in-
  structor deems the initiate ready for the red robes of battle.
  Proteins such as legumes and white meat are introduced
  into the diet to feed the battle rage that must accompany
  further martial-arts training. The hair of the initiate con-
  tinues to grow and, when long enough, should be worked
  into a tight braid down the back.
  The fourth robe’s color is blue to indicate that the
  cultist has left the earth and hovers between Creation and
  Yu-Shan. Only the most talented mortals, mostly those
  who gain leadership roles or priesthood within the Cult,
  will ever wear the blue robes. Those who wear the blue
  robes are permitted all food but no alcohol.
  Excepting white-robed initiates, all cultists are per-
  mitted all food, alcohol and drugs during Calibration and
  Cult festivals.
  When an Exalt joins the Cult, the rules are a bit
  different. Although much of the clothing and dietary
  rules are there to give the mortals posturing and purpose,
  not to mention making rank a key point, the Exalted do
  not need such things. However, the Sidereals find it does
  help with discipline if a high and mighty Exalt is forced
  to adhere to dress and dietary requirements during train-
  ing within the camps.
  During the first month of training, they too wear
  white robes and eat only rice and water laced with hallu-
  cinogens. When a month is up, if the instructors decide it
  is time, they are given golden robes with a colored sash to
  wear while in the training camps. Like the mortals’ robes,
  the sash’s colors differ, but only in regards to an Exalt’s
  caste, and do not change during her progress in training.
  The Exalted’s diet does change, allowing them to eat
  anything they like after their initial training.
  The Sidereals argued at length concerning the require-
  ments for their students. Although they felt they could
  impose restrictions on new recruits, and sifus often have
  their own rules regarding their apprentices, they knew they
  couldn’t have the mighty Exalts under their total control for
  long, so they created the initial month of training to humble
  them, but allow them all perks once the month is over (or
  they deem fit, in the case of a troubled case).
  BODILY PERFECTION
  Although there are many roles to play in the Cult,
  from accountant to recruiter, the fact remains that the
  Threshold is a dangerous place. All Cult members are
  required to study the martial arts. This serves two purposes.
  Firstly, it will help keep them alive so that they may better
  serve the Cult. Secondly, it focuses their minds and forces
  their bodies toward perfection.
  
  37
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Beyond the practical reasoning, the concept of bodily
  perfection fits within the Cult doctrine. The Shining
  Ones are as near to perfection as one can be while
  residing in Creation, and they cannot be served by
  slovenly and sickly mortals. Mortals must strive for per-
  fection, for the closer they are to perfection, the closer
  they are to the Shining Ones.
  Mortals study the basic martial arts, each eager to gain
  their red robes. They study under mortal instructors, with
  an occasional, glorious visit from am Exalted martial artist
  who shows them what can be done with proper Essence
  control. Few mortals will ever achieve even the rudimen-
  tary levels of the Exalted martial arts, but these shows of
  force do more to drive them to greatness than the promise
  of elevation within the Cult.
  Exalts are not required to study martial arts, so long as
  they work to master at least one battle art. However,
  within the Cult they are able to study a variety of martial
  arts. Currently there are four martial-arts styles taught by
  Sidereal masters within the Cult: Mantis, Tiger, Ebon
  Shadow and Prismatic Arrangement of Creation. The
  Sidereal martial-arts instructors are eager to find Exalted
  with martial-arts experience to add to their already im-
  pressive power set. Exalted may request to study any one of
  these five, but if a Sidereal believes that an Exalt will excel
  in one over the rest, she will steer that Exalt toward the
  correct way.
  The Grand Master of Martial Arts for the Cult is
  Lupo, who teaches Tiger, Ebon Shadow and Prismatic
  Arrangement of Creation Styles in the Scavenger Lands
  camp. The Sidereal Kai will sometimes deign to teach
  Mantis while visiting Nexus. Although he is a master in
  the Citron Poxes of Contagion system, he has yet to find
  a student worthy of teaching it to, and he will not explain
  why, nor what it will take to convince him of worthiness.
  Exalts dedicated entirely to the martial arts will spend
  several months at one camp, then travel to another to
  serve under a different sifu.
  HIGH HOLY DAYS
  In accordance with the Five Promises, the Cult of the
  Illuminated considers that Creation is experiencing the
  Fourth Promise of the gods. Because of that, they consider
  the first five days of each Descending season as holy days.
  The first five days of Descending Wood, the fourth season,
  are considered the high holy days, the most holy days of the
  year. (If the Solars ever succeed in retaking the Realm and
  the rule of Creation, thus fulfilling the Fourth Promise, the
  high holy days would shift to Descending Fire.)
  The holy days of each season are marked by fasting
  and meditating. Neither mortals nor Exalts eat anything
  but rice or drink anything but water during these days, and
  the days are marked by prayers at dawn, noon and sunset
  (even for mortal followers).
  During these days, all Cult members have access to
  many different types of drugs, allowing them to force
  visions and exhilarations upon the mind. Some members
  opt to self-flagellate, whipping the perceived sins and
  impurities from their bodies.
  Anyone in the Cult who has transgressed during the
  season, even if they had been punished at the time of the
  transgression, is punished anew during the holy days.
  Whether the transgression be eating food outside one’s
  proper level or allowing a citizen of the surrounding
  community to perish under a fallen cart without helping
  them, the punishment is the same: caning. They are
  stripped naked to the waist and beaten, receiving one lash
  for minor offenses and up to ten for grave offenses. The
  cane does 1L damage per stroke. While the Exalts suffer
  their punishment in the privacy of the camps, any mortal
  transgressors must suffer their shame under the golden gaze
  of an Illuminated One sent to the cell for the express
  purpose of witnessing the season’s punishments.
  The high holy days in Descending Wood are a cause for
  great personal reflection, both on a personal level and a Cult
  level. More members, both Exalted and mortal, abandon
  the Cult during this time, but nearly all of them return after
  some time alone. It proves to be a time where people better
  themselves after a long, hard look at their souls.
  During the high holy days, personal insults are to be
  forgotten, even those offered by imperial officials (al-
  though Cult members are, of course, allowed to defend
  their lives). The gods look down upon those who cannot
  forgive, and although the Cult will never forgive the
  Realm and the Dragon-Blooded, its members are expected
  to take the holy days and reflect on their mission and their
  goals and to treat the days with reverence instead of
  violence. This is the only time of year that punishments of
  the season are not repeated (although if a crime had been
  committed during Wood that was memorable enough, it
  will be remembered during the holy days of Fire).
  Truth must be told during high holy days, and spies
  and assassins take the time off to meditate on their calling
  and the darkness in their souls. It is necessary to have such
  darkness, for the Unconquered Sun casts his shadows to
  allow his followers safe cover when needed, but an Exalt
  must meet her personal demons face to face during these
  times to question her motives and actions. The Exalted are
  encouraged to do a form of confession to their Sidereal
  sponsors, to discuss the demon within and their plans to
  defeat it in the next year. Defeating the demon within is,
  although no one realizes it yet, a possible way of dealing
  with the Great Curse. If one can counter that drive within
  her, she can truly rule Creation, and these practices may
  provide the key to the control of Limit.
  Calibration is a very special time in the year for the
  Cult. Unlike the rest of Creation, they do not fear these
  days, but embrace them. During Calibration, the Sidereals
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  38
  and the leaders of the Cult enter private talks and planning
  for the year. Within an Ivory Orchid Pavilion, Ayesha Ura
  and her Gold Faction brethren renew the sorceries on the
  mortal leaders of the Cult, meet to discuss the year’s
  progress and plan for the upcoming year. They will go
  though reports from spies located in the Realm and around
  the Threshold and attempt to foil what they perceive as
  Bronze Faction plans.
  After renewing the extensive sorceries and Charms
  on the mortals, the Sidereals release them for the remain-
  ing days of Calibration and perform sorceries to guide their
  actions, if needed. They also discuss their work as pertain-
  ing to Yu-Shan, as Celestial audits and punishments can
  hinder the work of the Gold Faction just as it hinders the
  audited Sidereal. There is some worry that Chejop Kejak
  is engineering frequent Celestial audits on Gold Faction
  members, and Ayesha Ura is currently investigating the
  possibility of this.
  The meetings and spell weaving do stop for one night
  so that the Inner Circle and its favorite Exalts may attend
  the Carnival of Meeting in Yu-Shan, where they make
  much merriment as well as spy and make alliances with
  attending gods and Exalts. To be invited to the Carnival
  of Meeting by an Inner Circle member is considered the
  highest honor among the Cult’s Exalts and is a source of
  great envy among the other members.
  While the Inner Circle and mortal leaders are away
  during Calibration, the mortals and Exalts of the Cult are
  permitted to relax. They feast, imbibe forbidden foods and
  alcohol, take many hallucinogenic drugs and challenge
  others to duels and other games. Some Solars prefer to visit
  the cells instead of the camps during Calibration, which
  almost always causes the parties to get raucous and out of
  control. Among the mortals, it has become a mark of
  honor to be challenged to a friendly duel by an Illuminated
  One, although some Exalts forget to use control and easily
  slay their companions.
  Still, death by the hands of a Shining One is still
  considered a great honor, and few mortals have attempted
  to leave the Cult after these incidents. The Exalt in
  question is reprimanded by the Sidereals when they learn
  of the incident, but little more comes of it.
  OBEDIENCE AND PUNISHMENT
  To keep the Cult in working order, the Inner Circle
  has developed a rigid code of obedience and punishment
  among the mortals and the Exalts. It is only when the
  Sidereals have complete control of all members of the Cult
  that they feel comfortable moving ahead with their agenda.
  Although they control powerful spells and Charms, even
  they cannot control every Exalt and mortal in the Cult.
  Thus, they have a strict set of rules in place from
  which no one may deviate. At the top of the list is the rule
  that the Inner Circle is to be obeyed at all costs. No Exalt
  may question or disobey the Inner Circle. Within the
  SACRIFICES
  The Sidereals frown on human sacrifice as an
  unnecessary action. Though there are gods who re-
  quire it, Sidereals have found other sacrifices that can
  placate them if need be. If absolutely necessary, they
  will find one of the disenfranchised to offer to the
  demanding god, but they do not make a practice of it.
  Shen Aru did participate in the sacrifice of an
  unExalted imperial official once, before the Sidereals
  took over the Cult. He had discovered that the
  pompous man could be taken easily and offered to
  the gods, so he and his followers flayed the skin from
  the man’s body and cut five arteries before stabbing
  the heart at the last. He sometimes believes that it
  was this sacrifice that brought the Emissary and her
  Shining Ones to him, but Ayesha Ura assures him
  that it was not. Human sacrifice is not practiced in
  the Cult as a ritual.
  This is not to say that some members do not
  disappear in an unexplained way or that, behind the
  scenes, the Sidereals must not make difficult choices.
  Sometimes, mortals are assigned to take messages to
  places the Sidereals know are dangerous enough
  that they will not return. Life serving the Cult can
  be difficult, and sometimes, lives must be spent to
  serve the greater good.
  Even on an Exalted level, some sacrifices must
  be made. Ayesha Ura was surprised when she had a
  Solar student of the occult chose to sever her con-
  nection with a mortal lover — killing him in the
  process — to complete her initiation into the Celes-
  tial Circle of sorcery.
  On his master’s command, Lupo takes one
  Solar to Yu-Shan every year during Calibration to
  allow her to meet privately with Nara-O. The Exalt
  comes out unharmed, but Lupo is watching these
  Exalts, three of them so far, to monitor any changes
  in their behavior or power. He is sure that the
  mysterious god takes something from the Exalts, but
  he can’t figure out what is sacrificed. The Exalts
  themselves refuse to speak of their meeting with the
  head of the Division of Secrets.
  So, though there is nothing as barbaric as
  ritualistic sacrifice practiced within the Cult, there
  are decisions made daily about whether the loss of
  one life is worth meeting the Cult’s goals. And that
  answer is usually yes.
  Inner Circle, Shen Aru (with Ayesha Ura behind him, of
  course) has the final word on public issues for mortals, and
  Ayesha Ura has the same when it comes to Exalts.
  
  39
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Mortals must obey everyone: Inner Circle members,
  spirits or demons bound to the Exalted, any and all Exalted
  and other mortals who outrank them. A freshly shaved,
  white-robed mortal initiate is the lowest position in the
  Cult, but his eyes are often so shining with the power of the
  Illuminated Ones (as well as the drugs fueling his initia-
  tion) that he does not mind.
  Branching off from the command of blind obedience
  are the other rules. All members are required to attend daily
  prayers, to participate in holy days rituals, to abide by the
  rules attached to their station and serve their community.
  Penalties range from the moderate to the extreme,
  depending on the transgression. Missing daily prayers for
  both mortals and Exalts result in eating at a recruit’s station
  (white rice and water) for a week, while new recruits who are
  already on white rice and water must fast without either for
  a full day and night (three days and nights for Exalts).
  Disobeying a direct order will result in caning. Failing to
  excel in martial arts training at a pace the sifu expects is
  punished by being made to train while wearing weights.
  Greater transgressions, such as attacking an Inner
  Circle member, working with the Bronze Faction or at-
  tempting to leave the Cult will result in severe canings or
  even death. Luckily, the Inner Circle has had to perform
  these punishments fewer than five times in the four years
  since their control of the Cult began. The Sidereals enact
  these punishments in the public eye of the Cult, either
  within the cell or the camp, and it sends a powerful
  message to the other members.
  Punishments for other offenses may vary from camp to
  camp and cell to cell, but the goal for all is to instill
  obedience into the ranks. If the Sidereals cannot count on
  widespread obedience, then the Cult, in their eyes, will fail.
  CULT MENTALITY
  The term “cult” does not have quite the connotation
  in the Exalted world as it does in ours. Otherwise, Shen
  Aru and Vax would have named the Cult something else
  and hotly denied its relationship to a cult (as all cults do
  in our world).
  Truth be told, however, the Cult of the Illuminated
  does subscribe to many of the techniques that make an
  organization a cult. It engages in deception in order to
  pursue its agenda, it encourages its members to remove
  themselves from their families and friends, and it discour-
  ages expansive thought and the consideration of other
  religions. It offers a unique form of salvation, professes that
  the leaders have information and powers that the mere
  mortals do not (which, in this case, is quite true) and
  instills in its adherents a great fear of leaving.
  Psychologically, the Cult leaders (both mortal and
  Exalted) use methods such as sleep deprivation, physical
  exhaustion (note the martial-arts stances performed dur-
  ing lengthy prayers) and drugs to bend a recruit’s will to
  WHAT THE SOLARS KNOW...
  AND DON’T KNOW
  While the mortals who follow the Shining
  Ones are not privy to the information that they
  worship Anathema, the Solars know a bit more.
  Most of them know exactly what they are, as even
  Sidereal Charms cannot remove the memory of
  words spoken by the Unconquered Sun.
  The Solars, and the other Exalted in the Cult,
  understand that there are Sidereals recruiting and
  running the Cult of the Illuminated and that these
  Chosen of the Maidens wish to see the Solars in
  power again. They also know that there are some
  Sidereals outside the Cult who do not wish to see
  them rule Creation. When it comes to knowledge of
  the past, Solars understand that the Dragon-Blooded
  held the swords during the Great Uprising and that
  they, and the Realm, must pay.
  However, the Solars have not been told that the
  Sidereals foresaw the slaughter nor that the Bronze
  Faction guided the hands of the Dragon-Blooded.
  They also do not know about the differing factions of
  the Sidereals. The politics that are behind the Gold/
  Bronze struggles are hidden from them. Indeed, the
  other Exalted are blind to the full scope of Sidereal
  control in the Realm and Creation, not to mention
  Yu-Shan. While the Solars understand that the
  Sidereals run the Cult of the Illuminated, they be-
  lieve that their control ends there.
  The Exalted know that the First Age ended
  violently, but they only know it ended because of
  jealous Terrestrials. The Sidereals hide the Proph-
  esy, and the betrayal, from the Solars, believing that
  the Solars will be more malleable with less informa-
  tion. Some Solars, especially those of the Twilight
  Caste, are sought for recruitment solely based on the
  fact that the Sidereals wish to control their intellec-
  tual growth. It is difficult to keep demigodlike beings
  ignorant, but the Sidereals do what they can.
  Some of the older Solars have unearthed memo-
  ries about the Sidereals and their role in Creation
  during the First Age, but they are watched carefully.
  If need be, the Sidereals use their Charms and spells
  on the Solars at the first sign of memory. The Gold
  Faction wishes to have the Solars in charge again,
  but only if the Sidereals are still the power behind
  the scenes. They can’t afford to lose control of the
  Solars. Besides the damage this would do to Cre-
  ation, it would also prove the Bronze Faction right,
  and the Gold Faction could not abide that.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  40
  their point of view. The Inner Circle has access to many
  Charms and spells to control the mind, but in most cases,
  it is enough to simply deprive a Cult member of sleep and
  nourishing food to make him open to Cult ideals.
  There is no record of anyone ever having quit the Cult
  of the Illuminated for good. The Exalted who join are, after
  their initial time at the training camps, permitted to travel
  the Threshold — and in some cases, even the Realm — on
  missions and even on their own whims, but they have not
  left the Cult. The Sidereal Inner Circle always knows
  where to find them should they stray. If a mortal attempts
  to leave, he will be beaten with 10 lashes. If an Exalt
  attempts to leave, she will first be subjected to considerable
  Sidereal mind control. If that does not work, the Inner
  Circle must perform the regrettable action of removing the
  Exalted Essence from the traitorous mortal body. The
  Sidereals must then search for the Essence again as it seeks
  a new host. A rogue Cult member is a danger to the Inner
  Circle, as the Exalted will know far too much to be allowed
  their freedom.
  SAINTHOOD AND MARTYRDOM
  The concept of sainthood fulfills the Cult of the
  Illuminated’s doctrine very well, although they have had
  few fallen Illuminated Ones to praise. This is not to say
  that the Exalted do not die within the Cult’s care,
  because several have, but not always performing the
  glorious duties of the Cult in public. The Sidereals have
  had to handle this very carefully because they would like
  to honor the Solars fallen in the Usurpation (which,
  incidentally, would have been just about all of them) as
  martyrs, but that would inch too closely to the truth that
  the Shining Ones are, in fact, Anathema.
  There have been some Exalted who’ve fallen while
  performing Cult duties in the past several years since the
  Cult’s reimagining, and the Sidereal leaders have been
  quick to write their names in The Book of the Fallen, a new
  work in progress detailing the current events regarding the
  working of the Cult. These fallen Exalts are remembered
  during prayers, and the Cult has been selling amulets with
  symbols honoring these Exalted. They are crudely made to
  look less like graven images and more like simple jewelry,
  but when a Cult member sees another wearing a shining
  copper disk around her neck, he knows she’s remembering
  the fallen Shining Ones.
  On the Exalted side, where a bit more of the truth is
  told, Exalts are encouraged not to martyr themselves for a
  cause. They are highly valued members of the Cult and
  worth more alive than dead, the Sidereals caution. Besides,
  tracking the Exalted’s Essence and re-recruiting it would be
  a distracting and annoying use of time (something they
  don’t mention). Exalted are assured that if they die in duty
  to the Cult, they will be remembered and honored, but they
  are strongly encouraged not to let it get that far.
  CELESTIAL INITIATION
  The Cult training camps offer more than simply martial
  arts instruction and a hiding place from the Wyld Hunt.
  Ayesha Ura herself trains Solar sorcerers into the Terrestrial
  Circle, and some even into the Celestial Circle. From there,
  she will offer herself as a mentor as a Solar ventures into the
  Solar Circle but cannot do more than that.
  Trained herself in the Salinan method, she sees no
  reason to deviate from that pattern. The best way to learn
  about Essence and sorcery, in her opinion, is to see the raw
  power of Creation. Yearly, in Ascending Wood (two
  months before the high holy days of Descending Wood),
  she takes hopefuls for sorcerous initiation into the wilder-
  ness to begin learning the workings of magic on a raw level.
  As Sidereals are practical above all else, Ayesha Ura
  does not preach heavily concerning the personal and spiri-
  tual growth that must come with the mastery of sorcery. Her
  own initiation was brutal, her mentor was without compas-
  sion, and she emerged from her journeys as a stronger
  sorcerer. She, in turn, does not coddle her protégés. Personal
  growth is just that: personal. Each person must deal with it
  ANATHEMA!
  The Shining Ones are portrayed to mortals as
  demigods, saviors sent by the gods of Yu-Shan to
  save Creation and bring back the glories of the First
  Age. Although the mortals of the Threshold are
  less likely to scream at the sight of an Anathema
  (compared to a resident of the Realm, anyway),
  many can recognize one when they see one.
  This is where the power of the Cult comes in.
  The Cult of the Illuminated is not simply a gaggle of
  stupid mortals rounded up to worship at the Solars’
  feet. The organization would crumble if such were
  true. The strict diet, the long days, the persuasive
  prayers and subtle Sidereal magic prepare the mor-
  tals to see what they expect to see, which is not
  Anathema at all, but shining and glorious warriors
  who will release them from the thumb of the Realm
  and the Dragon-Blooded. When met with direct
  contradictions that these are, indeed, Anathema,
  the properly prepared cultist will blatantly refuse to
  believe it. The Cult has welcomed them, given them
  hope for the future and salvation, then proved to
  them that the Shining Ones do exist. Working
  within the Cult will allow them more exposure to
  these saviors, which will then put them in a better
  position once the Shining Ones are on the thrones
  of Creation yet again.
  With promises such as this, the Cult’s numbers
  are swelling. How could they not?
  
  41
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  on her own. The metaphorical parts of the initiation are
  over and done with quickly, the Chosen of Journeys waiting
  (sometime impatiently) as her students finish the Five
  Unavoidable Challenges. Many have already started the
  journey even before joining the Cult, but they must finish
  it under Ayesha Ura’s watchful eye to be initiated into the
  Terrestrial and Celestial Circles. Once her students have
  completed their personal challenges, often leaving them
  bleeding, exhausted and, quite possibly, sobbing uncontrol-
  lably, their mentor turns to practical application and the
  understanding of Essence and the spirits and small gods that
  the Exalts encounter.
  Even with a centuries-old Sidereal acting as mentor,
  some Exalts get over their head when studying sorcery, and
  accidents do happen. Ayesha Ura has only lost one student
  during sorcerous initiations since co-opting the Cult, but
  there have been several close calls. She does not count as
  lost one student, Perfect Ivy, one of her first Solar Exalted
  sorcery students. Perfect Ivy excelled quickly in the Ter-
  restrial Circle and attempted to also learn the Celestial
  Circle in the same year, something Ayesha Ura forbade
  (and something nigh-impossible anyway). The two had
  been exploring the ruins of an academy of sorcery, and
  Perfect Ivy had attempting a summoning in a locked room
  without Ayesha Ura’s permission. She was not able to
  enter the room after he had locked himself in. The Sidereal
  frequently attempts to use Charms and sorceries to find out
  what happened to the Solar, and as far as she knows, he is
  still alive and still in that room, but she can determine
  nothing else of his fate. It is her plan to attend to him in
  several years when she has at least one Solar Circle sorcerer
  by her side to help open the room.
  Sidereals have no access to the Solar Circle, so after
  mastering the Celestial Circle, Solars are on their own.
  However, if they already have experience with Ayesha
  Ura’s tutelage in Salinan initiations, they should be on the
  right track for solo mastery of the third and most powerful
  circle of sorcery.
  LOST SHEEP
  The Gold Faction is not always successful in recruit-
  ing Solars (or other Exalted) to its cause. Some Solars are
  suspicious of the mysterious beings who knows perhaps
  too much about them, or they possess vague memories of
  the First Age Sidereals, or some are just rich in their own
  hubris and believe they need no guidance whatsoever.
  The Gold Faction has, of course, a set of plans to deal with
  these errant souls.
  For the first few weeks after the rejected offer, the
  Sidereals will follow a Solar without her knowing it,
  helping to pull her out of danger if she needs it and
  revealing herself and offering the Cult’s training all the
  while. If two months pass with constant rejections, the
  Sidereals pull out the more drastic measures.
  The Inner Circle will begin setting traps for the
  Solar, actually creating danger for her to struggle through.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  42
  CROSSOVER CAPABILITIES
  While there are five different Exalted you have available to play in a game of Exalted, it becomes a
  complicated game to play when more than one kind of Exalt is involved.
  However, with the Cult of the Illuminated, crossover groups work quite well. When everyone in the Circle
  is working toward a common long-term goal, the series tends to go more smoothly.
  What follows are possible motivations for various Exalted types to join the Cult, and what they might get
  out of it.
  Sidereals: Sidereals run the Cult. They have their fingers in the pie, orchestrating the mortal involve-
  ment, the Solar recruitment and the missions the Cult. Series can include recruiting newly Exalted Sidereals
  to the Gold cause. Sidereals will receive power and, hopefully, the elevation of the Solars to their former glory,
  reestablishing the Gold Faction as the power behind the throne. Ultimate goals for players’ characters will
  likely be to edge their way into the Inner Circle.
  Solars: Solars are the second most important Exalted to serve the Cult. They are recruited as demigods to
  be worshiped by the mortals. When one is met on one side with the Wyld Hunt, on another with a group offering
  to worship one as a god, and on a third containing a life as a fugitive with no certainty in whether one will survive
  in the Threshold wilderness, the Cult is an attractive and obvious choice. Solars receive sanctuary from the Wyld
  Hunt, worship from mortals and training at the hand of the Sidereals. Ultimately, they will gain control of
  Creation (if all goes as the Gold Faction plans.)
  Lunars: Lunars are the silver light to the gold of the Illuminated. They can join the Cult because of a
  rekindling love with a reincarnated Solar lover or if they remember ruling Creation at the side of the Solars
  and wish to be in that position of power again. Lunars will receive training and an order to their chaotic lives
  (whether they want it or not) and, as with the Solars, seek to gain the control of Creation.
  Abyssals: The Cult is possibly the best place for Abyssals seeking redemption. They have enough Sidereal
  and Solar sorcerers to work toward the truth — and the subsequent cure — of the Abyssal Exaltation. Because
  Abyssals are corrupted Solars, some spark of their former self may be drawn to the Cult to worship that which
  they once were. But an Abyssal must always keep in mind his Deathlord. Even if he is a renegade, consorting with
  the living too much will take its toll. Abyssals may also join the Cult under the command of their Deathlord,
  either to aid the Cult in short-term goals (say, wiping out an Immaculate temple) or simply to spy. Abyssals can
  possibly gain the redemption they seek by serving the Cult, or at the least, they can be put in a position to sow
  much death and destruction in the name of the Cult.
  Dragon-Blooded: Outcastes are the most likely Dragon-Blooded to join the Cult, as the demands of
  Realm, family and Immaculate Order are unlikely to place a Dynastic Terrestrial in the mindset to follow the
  Illuminated. The Cult offers direction to those who are powerful and have no sponsor, as it were, and many
  outcastes accept and welcome this guidance.
  Of course, one can’t overlook the obvious: People, Exalted and mortal alike, join the Cult because they
  believe in it. While it has nowhere near the reach and power of the Immaculate Order, the Cult of the
  Illuminated gives hope to the citizens of the Threshold, telling them that their rightful place is standing on
  the corpses of the usurpers of the Realm. The Immaculate Order only reassures these mortals that they are in
  their rightful place. In addition, the Cult offers safety, hope, martial training and jobs to members, which are
  all difficult to find on the Threshold.
  The Storyteller will still need to keep up with the Charms of each character, but the chance of the group
  being fractured because of conflicting long-term goals is much less. Everyone in the Cult wants the same thing,
  and even if they disagree on how it should be done, they all should remain loyal and steadfast on the path.
  Some pitfalls they force the Solar to fight her way out of,
  only rescuing her if death is immanent. Other times, the
  Sidereals will rescue the Solar immediately, showing her
  the benefits of working with the Cult. If the Solar doesn’t
  accept the offer to join after these happenings, the Cult
  abandons her as a lost cause and hopes she will reincar-
  nate into a more cooperative soul. These persuasive
  measures have greatly increased the Cult’s successful
  recruitment of Exalted over the past four years.
  OPERATIONS AND RESOURCES
  The Cult has transformed from a purely dues-and-
  donations institution attempting to bring mortals into its
  way of belief to a fully fledged religion with three hidden
  
  43
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  training camps. This transformation has happened in
  four short years and has put considerable strain on the
  Inner Circle minds behind it. The camps each require
  Resources •••• every month to maintain, and the
  organization behind the different missions and goals of
  the Sidereals, the other Exalts and mortal leaders must be
  tight and under control.
  DEITIES
  The Gold Faction Sidereals had personal resources
  enough to get the camps up and running four years ago.
  However, the constant strain on resources, as well as the
  extraneous costs (such as bribes within Yu-Shan
  ), requires them to have external funding.
  Ayesha Ura and her Gold Faction allies spread out,
  covering both Yu-Shan and Creation to petition Thresh-
  old spirits for support. They presented their case to those
  they knew disliked the Bronze Faction’s dominance. Oth-
  BRONZE VERSUS GOLD
  Previously, the Exalted world has painted the Bronze Faction as being the end-all of power. It runs the Realm,
  guides the Immaculate Order and has helped build the Dragon-Blooded into a powerful force. Add in the fact
  that it has placed all of the more powerful Exalted into a class of hated demons, not to mention that it has the
  power to find and destroy these beings before they discover their true power, and the Bronze Faction can be
  considered the most powerful group in Creation.
  The Gold Faction, in contrast, is a younger organization just recently re-formed. It does not have the
  traditions, the firepower or the support in Heaven or in Creation, and it does not have the numbers to compare
  with the Bronze. It is true that the Gold Faction’s numbers have dwindled as the centuries ground down its
  members’ hopes, but its faith — and membership — has returned along with the Solars. Its members see the
  Bronze Faction as following the wrong path, and the fervent belief of the leaders has ignited a passion among the
  newcomers. They also believe in their strengths.
  The Gold Faction has the Solars, which is a considerable advantage. It is also creating political power within
  the Threshold, much of which hates the Realm, the Dragon-Blooded and all they stand for. Perhaps its strongest
  asset is that the Bronze Faction can no longer move in secret as it did before the Usurpation. The Gold Faction
  knows that the Bronze wishes the Solars and the other Exalted dead. The Gold is preparing for a war, and it falls
  on the Bronze to decide where it is fought. If the Bronze Faction meets the Cult of the Illuminated’s mortal and
  Exalted army with its Dragon-Blooded legions, Creation will likely buckle under the carnage. Therefore, the war
  must be waged in intrigue and bureaucracy, stopping the Gold in Yu-Shan and snuffing out the Exalted with the
  Wyld Hunt, not on the battlefields.
  Thus, the Bronze Faction has not moved overtly against the Gold Faction, although it knows much of what
  the Gold is doing. It may not know numbers or locations, but it knows the plan, and it knows the plan is working.
  With all of the problems with which the Bronze Faction must currently deal, the danger posed by the Cult is
  actually small compared to that posed by the disappearance of the Scarlet Empress and the current state of the
  Realm. When the Bronze Faction can afford to, it sends a Wyld Hunt out to stop a Solar before he reaches the
  sanctuary of the Cult, but its resources are stretched thin.
  Should a Storyteller wish to roleplay a cataclysmic war between the Bronze and Gold Factions, she must
  remember a number of other details. The gods, to name one group, do not want to see extreme violence take hold
  of Creation. The deaths of so many worshipers could throw Yu-Shan into economic turmoil. This action would
  also play right into the hands of the Deathlords, who would likely choose careful sides between the Gold and
  Bronze in order to help facilitate the largest loss of life. When all is said and done, the winning faction will rule
  Creation, but will have poverty, turmoil and angry deities within Yu-Shan with which to contend.
  ers contacted the Ayesha Ura themselves when they
  discovered the Solars had returned.
  Unsolicited, some gods approached the Gold Faction
  with similar designs. Many gods would prefer Solar rule but
  did not relish the thought of the war that would inevitably
  usher in the Solars’ rise to power. They preferred the
  subversive and secret methods of the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated, and several gods Ayesha Ura never would have
  approached sent messengers to her, offering their support
  if she could assure their anonymity. It appeared to the
  gratified Sidereal that there were far more gods in Yu-Shan
  who wished the return of the Solars than she had believed.
  The gods are, of course, not doing this altruistically.
  While they do assume they will benefit in some way when
  the rule of the Solars finally comes to pass, many need more
  instant gratification for their continued support. The Gold
  Faction has promised many favors within Yu-Shan and
  Creation to aid the gods in their goals, giving them
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  44
  incentive to continue their support. These favors can
  come due at any time or place, and the Inner Circle has
  instructed the Exalted under them to fulfill the favors as
  commanded. Ayesha Ura keeps track of all debt and
  delegates tasks when they come due. Smaller gods merely
  welcome the worship that comes through the Cult, as they
  had lost most of their incoming Quintessence when the
  Immaculate Order crushed their followings.
  Some gods need their support of the Gold Faction to
  remain anonymous in order to keep their business in Yu-
  Shan going smoothly. The Sidereal Lupo has worked up a
  discreet laundering process for each god to send resources
  to Creation through its servants. Each sends money through
  the markets of several cities to purchase goods. Then, the
  goods are carefully manipulated to find their way into the
  Cult’s hands. Once the Cult has the goods, it resells them
  to gain hard currency. Other methods of allocating re-
  sources include using supposedly neutral parties to make
  the exchanges. Lupo has managed to convince a young
  Sidereal, called Emerald Thorn, not to throw in his lot
  with the Gold Faction as he desires to, but to remain rogue.
  Emerald Thorn, while publicly defaming both the Gold
  and the Bronze Factions and their quarrels, works as a
  messenger and spy for the Gold Faction, helping gods get
  resources from their hands into the hands of the Cult.
  KEY PATRONS OF THE CULT
  Lytek, Daimyo of the Division of Exaltation: Lytek
  (see Exalted: The Sidereals, pp. 42-43) is probably the
  most powerful open supporter of the Gold Faction, which
  is a surprise to no one. This god of Exaltation lost much of
  his power and prestige when the Solars were murdered and
  imprisoned, and only recently has he been able to do the
  job he loves, shaping the Essences of these powerful Exalts.
  He wishes to see them back in power, as that will increase
  his own power within Yu-Shan in turn. Lytek sees the Cult
  of the Illuminated as a tiny Solar Deliberative, as it
  contains Exalts working together for the best interests of
  Creation, and he supports it as best he can, with Resources
  •• every month. He visits the training camps frequently to
  work with the Sidereals and the Twilight Caste Solars to
  discover the warped nature of Abyssal Exalted. Although
  he hates their twisted cores, he grudgingly admits that
  having Abyssals associated with the Cult allows for first-
  hand study of their Solar Essences. The chance to openly
  study the Abyssals (and, more covertly, all of the Exalted
  within the Cult, in order to discover a cure for the Great
  Curse), is his payment for his support.
  Nara-O of the Hundred Veils, Keeper of Secrets:
  Lupo was shocked to his core when his superior, Nara-O of
  the Hundred Veils (see Exalted: The Sidereals, pp. 58-
  59), sent a message summoning him to a private meeting
  within the Forbidding Manse of Ivy. He had had few
  encounters with the mysterious head of the Division of
  Secrets, as Nara-O prefers to delegate. He met with Nara-
  O in a black room lit with one candle, and Nara-O
  whispered to him that he would receive Resources ••••
  per month for the Cult, to be delivered in a way he would
  recognize when he received it. In exchange, Nara-O
  stated, Lupo would bring one Solar, preferably Eclipse
  Caste, into the Forbidding Manse of Ivy every year on the
  third day of Calibration. Lupo did not question his master’s
  command and does his duty every year. He was unsure of
  how to choose the Solar, so during the first year, he
  brought a recent recruit, a newly Exalted Eclipse. Feeling
  sure that he was sacrificing the young Exalt, Lupo was
  astonished to discover that the Solar returned from the
  meeting seemingly unscathed but unwilling to speak of the
  encounter. Lupo does not know what Nara-O does with
  the Solars, and he dares not ask. Every year during the first
  day of Ascending Air, caravans arrive at the training
  camps, sometimes carrying supplies, sometimes carrying
  goods to sell, sometimes just carrying lockboxes of jade.
  Lupo knows he could trace them if he wished, but has no
  desire to anger his master.
  Shalrina, Daimyo of Faces: After supplying the Solar
  Mirror Flag (see Caste Book: Eclipse) with her unique
  mask, Shalrina (see Games of Divinity, pp. 26-27) fol-
  lowed her progress with curiosity. When the Mirror Flag
  joined the Cult of the Illuminated, Shalrina became inter-
  ested in the Sidereal cause. Although she has no quarrel
  with the Bronze Faction, she has a motherly affection for
  the Mirror Flag and would not like to see her cut down
  because of the Dragon-Blooded’s lies concerning Anath-
  ema. Shalrina donates Resources ••• along with one
  requested magical mask per year. In return, she is free to
  visit and inspect the training camps, where she attempts to
  get a glimpse of her favorite Solar. She also has two
  Sidereal favors she has yet to collect.
  Vanileth, Shogun of Artificial Flight: The Gold
  Faction kept a sharp eye out for gods who offered rewards
  for impossible feats, as they did not have to win support for
  the Gold Faction and the Solars to gain their allegiance, all
  they had to do was complete the feat. Ayesha Ura and the
  Solar Krinstet Orr worked together in his Manse to create
  a crude flying machine that could make it to Vanileth’s
  secluded dwelling in the North, as one must reach his
  home by flying machine alone, or not at all. Once Ayesha
  Ura stepped foot from her strange propeller-powered glider,
  Vanileth (see Games of Divinity, pp. 27-28) welcomed
  her. She spent a month with him, getting detailed plans on
  flying machines and piloting information. She charmed
  the old god with her plans for the Cult of the Illuminated,
  promising to induct him back into Yu-Shan when the
  Solars ruled the world again. He donated five level-5
  artifacts for her use, binding her to her promise, and
  welcomed her back at any time. He openly supports the
  Cult and the Gold Faction, although no one in Yu-Shan
  
  45
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  cares. Smaller gods from Creation such as Vanileth com-
  monly give Resources •• per month and make their
  support of the Gold Faction blatant.
  Wun-Ja, God of the Shining Metropolis: Another
  open supporter of the Gold Faction, Wun-Ja (see Exalted:
  The Sidereals, p. 46) is the desperately weakening god
  who serves as the Director of Humanity in the Divine
  Witnesses of Human Works and Deeds. In an odd turn of
  events, she actually wants more from the Cult of the
  Illuminated than it from her: She is negotiating with
  Ayesha Ura to have her Exalts serve as an army for
  Grandmother Bright of Chiaroscuro. After the Exalts do
  this, she promises she will begin supporting the placement
  of Solars as the leaders of cities, with the Cult and the Gold
  Faction behind them. Ayesha Ura is intrigued by this offer
  but worries that too much concentration on this venture
  could distract from the goal of overtaking the Realm and
  defeating the Bronze Faction. Still, the Gold Faction
  leader accepts Resources •• per month from the god and
  discusses Wun-Ja’s desires with the Inner Circle.
  Green Frowning Bear, Lesser Elemental Dragon of
  Air: Rol, Chosen of the Maiden of Battles, bestowed gifts
  of emerald and jade encrusted armor to this lesser elemen-
  tal dragon of air (see Games of Divinity, p. 60), hoping to
  win an audience with the hermitlike spirit. Once admitted
  into his domain, Rol convinced the Great Bear that those
  who support the Solars’ rise to power would be rewarded in
  the end, rewarded with support in their own causes for
  dominance, for instance. The greedy elemental dragon’s
  interest was piqued, and he agreed to give Resources •••
  per month to the Cult, as well as the use of his bee army if
  the Gold Faction needed its aid while in the East. His
  allegiance came at another price; the God-Blooded son of
  one of his huraka has joined the Cult of the Illuminated
  and serves as his representative and informant. This alli-
  ance has come at a price for the Gold Faction, however, as
  it has earned it the enmity of Red Stalking Bear who dwells
  in the nearby South.
  Ghataru, The Shogun-Regent of the Seasons and
  Weather: The high-ranking official in the Celestial Moni-
  tors of the Seasons and Weather has been waiting patiently
  for the return of the Solars, his rightful masters in his eyes.
  Ghataru (see Exalted: The Sidereals, p. 45) sees the Cult
  of the Illuminated as an excellent organization where
  Sidereals can train Solars to one day take their rightful
  places in Heaven. He had supported the Gold Faction
  even in the days when it was fractured and lost, and he
  supported them when the Solars returned. When he be-
  came aware of the Gold Faction’s co-opting of the Cult of
  the Illuminated, he contacted Ayesha Ura to ask her how
  he could help. Through his support, the Cult receives
  Resources ••• per month, as well as the aid of Nasri,
  Daimyo of Rainstorms and Daimyo of the Season of Air.
  She may, of course, refuse to aid it if she feels the request
  is arbitrary, but she supports the Cult as well and has vowed
  to summon the Aerial Legion if the Bronze Faction moves
  directly against the Cult.
  MORTAL FUNDING
  On a basic level, local cells of the Cult are supported
  mostly by self-financing. If they experience financial
  trouble, Shen Aru (or, more precisely, his Sidereal mas-
  ters) offers a one-time bailout, placing the temple leader of
  the Cult cell on probation. If the cell falls into arrears
  again, the Inner Circle appoints a new leader to lead the
  cell in a more fiscally responsible way. The old temple
  leader is whipped in front of the Cult members, then
  shunted to become apprentice to a more successful leader
  of another cell.
  When the Cult was in its infancy, Shen Aru and Vax
  lived hand-to-mouth, and their only thought was to spread
  the word of the coming of the Shining Ones. Now, the
  Cult cells are more community-oriented, serving troubled
  people and offering help during disasters or a bowl of rice
  to the hungry. This has increased their donations consid-
  erably, as many communities see the Cult as a useful
  organization. It also doesn’t hurt recruitment.
  SAFEHOUSES
  There are times when the Wyld Hunt, the Bronze
  Faction or merely a vengeful spirit gets too close to a rogue
  Exalt — or an Exalt is too injured to travel to a camp — and
  the Sidereals must act quickly lest they lose their recruit.
  This is where the Yu-Shan safehouses come in.
  There are several areas of Yu-Shan where gods who
  have lost considerable power have been forced to abandon
  residences, and these uninhabited buildings tend to be
  grouped together as other gods move out into better (or
  worse) dwellings. When a ghost town of sorts springs up on
  the Sidereal radar, they make use of the buildings. If gods
  still dwell in the area, they purchase the houses to not
  arouse suspicions, but if it truly is an abandoned area, they
  merely take them for their brief usage. They use these
  abandoned buildings as safehouses, taking the Exalt through
  the nearest gateway and getting them to safety.
  The problem arises in getting the Exalted through a
  gate safely. Celestial lions guard all gates, but while all of
  them are dedicated to their duty, not all agree on what
  their duty is. Like gods, spirits and Exalted, the celestial
  lions have a preference in who should eventually rule
  Creation (and, of course, who should rule behind them.)
  There are many lions who guard their gates carefully but
  will allow Gold Faction Sidereals and their rescued Anath-
  ema passage. Perfect Onyx at Gateway 17 near Lookshy,
  Shanks at Gateway 29 near Icehome and Pai Xanxi at
  Gateway 14 at Rathess are the strongest Gold supporters
  and will aid the Sidereals in their cause when they can do
  so without attracting attention.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  46
  Once the Exalt is healed, or once word comes through
  that there is now a safe passage to a training camp, the
  Sidereal and Exalt abandon the house, taking care to leave
  little or no sign of their habitation and leave Yu-Shan. The
  Bronze Faction remains unaware of this practice, but the
  Gold Faction remains as careful as it can to keep one step
  ahead of the Bronze, switching safehouses frequently be-
  fore they can be detected.
  On occasion, one of the gods who patronize the Cult
  of the Illuminated will arrange for a safehouse in one of its
  dwellings, but this is dangerous work, as taking a sought-
  after Solar into a populated area of Yu-Shan can draw
  considerable attention to her.
  TRANSPORTATION AND
  COMMUNICATION
  The Cult of the Illuminated has grown incredibly in the
  past four years, and since the Gold Faction has taken over,
  it is suddenly important to have a reliable means of transport
  between the three camps and to other cells within Creation.
  It is also vitally important for the camps (and, on a lesser
  level of importance, for the many cells dotting the map) to
  be able to communicate with each other.
  Classic means of transportation can apply to most
  Exalted members. Horse, cart, boat and feet still carry a
  person across Creation quite well. However, these mun-
  dane methods do not always serve an Exalt on duty, and he
  must resort to other means of traveling.
  If an Exalt has a Charm or spell that aids in traveling
  (and most of them are trained to have one), he is advised
  to only use it if he has little chance of attracting too much
  attention in dangerous cities. For more pressing issues, or
  when the Sidereals feel an impressive show is necessary
  (such as gaining the awe and support of a local commu-
  nity), they pull out a flying machine, the Cry of the
  Illuminated, that Ayesha Ura had built from Vanileth’s
  gifted plans. The golden flying machine is capable of
  carrying 10 passengers.
  Exalts who are able may summon a demon or spirit to
  serve as a mount. A demon of the First Circle will often
  serve quite well, and many Exalted sorcerers have sum-
  moned agatae to them just for this purpose. Sidereal
  Exalted may employ the Maiden of Journeys’ Charms to
  travel, using the Ride or Sail Charms to travel swiftly.
  When needing a system to get to a Heavenly gateway
  quickly, a Sidereal guardian will cast Summoning the
  Heavenly Portal if in dire need or place the rogue Exalt
  she’s protecting alongside her on her mount and cast the
  needed Charms to reach the gateway in safety. Within Yu-
  Shan is where much of the Cult’s resources are spent, as
  officials must be bribed with Ambrosia or one of the three
  Celestial Magical Materials in order to look the other way
  when a Sidereal’s smuggling a Solar into Heaven.
  
  47
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  For a system of communication, the Cult has several
  options. For private messages, the Exalted often use Charms
  or spells such as Infallible Messenger to get an important
  word to another distant ally. However, not all Exalts know
  these Charms, so the Inner Circle has developed a system
  of apprenticeship to Exalted who have Ride ••• or Sail
  •••. Those who prove adept at travel perform messenger
  duties. Ayesha Ura and her other Chosen of Mercury Gold
  Faction Sidereals choose apprentices that they train in the
  travel powers of both Sidereal and Solar Charms. These
  Exalts serve for a year as messengers all over Creation,
  including the Realm.
  Although this seems to be a waste of Exalted powers
  (especially over using Charms and spells to communi-
  cate), it does give the Exalts experience in using quick
  travel, in outwitting pursuers and in diplomacy. Ayesha
  Ura has three Exalts as her personal apprentices currently,
  sending them through the Threshold, delivering messages
  and other small packages.
  The third option the Cult has is using a captive (or
  indebted) spirit for errand duty. Anyone with the Charms
  or spells capable of binding a spirit or demon can summon
  and command one to perform his duties. This proves risky,
  however, as the Inner Circle may not wish the messenger
  to know anything about the message (including the fact
  that he sent it), and it is very difficult to force a demon or
  spirit to forget something.
  The god Vanileth bestowed a gift of communication to
  the Cult when Ayesha Ura visited him; it came in the form
  of 10 small gilded birds. Powered by the god’s Essence, the
  birds can find any target in Creation so long as the target is
  not within a magical territory (such as the Wyld or Heaven).
  Used mostly by the Inner Circle to contact the traveling
  Cult Exalts, other Exalts may use them with permission.
  Lastly, there is always the use of another party, such
  as the Guild or even the Imperial Post to get a desired
  message to another. The use of this is risky, as these
  systems are corrupt and probably watched over by the
  Bronze Faction. The Inner Circle Sidereals use these
  methods either for heavily encoded messages or outright
  lies to fool the Bronze Faction. Very few real messages go
  through the official channels, only enough to throw the
  Bronze Faction off the scent. The Inner Circle is careful
  to spread only lies and codes, and sometimes coded lies,
  through the Imperial Post.
  FUTURE PLANS OF THE
  INNER CIRCLE
  The Gold Faction Sidereals have been working at a
  nearly fevered pace since the Solars returned and the
  Scarlet Empress disappeared, and their future plans are no
  less hectic. Besides their constant battle to find and recruit
  Solars, protect them from the Bronze Faction and train
  them into a fighting force to overtake the Realm, the Inner
  Circle has plans to recruit more mortals to increase its
  resources and to increase the praying power of the Cult.
  There is also a new training camp to think about.
  MEMBERS
  Since the return of the Solars, Ayesha Ura and her
  Inner Circle have been working to increase the number of
  mortals within the Cult as well as recruiting and training
  newly Exalts. The more people who worship in the Cult,
  the more gods in Yu-Shan who will support it, as the people
  worship the gods who gave them the Illuminated Ones.
  Since the disappearance of the Empress, the Immacu-
  late Order has been forced to withdraw some of the tendrils
  it had sent into the Threshold to stamp out heretical cults.
  While in the past, mortals would have shunned the Cult
  out of fear of the Immaculate Order, many are now con-
  verting. Still, the Cult needs more. The Sidereals’ dream
  is to have the Threshold rise up against the Realm with the
  Gold Faction and the Exalted at the helm, and they have
  a long way to go before they have that kind of support.
  Still, they are diligent. Many Cult operatives are
  watching the movement of the Immaculate Order to see
  where its influence is strong and where it is waning. Often,
  the Inner Circle will send in some of its best mortal
  recruiters with one Sidereal to check out new areas for a
  Cult temple, and other times (although these are danger-
  ous and rare), they will send in Exalted warriors to wipe out
  the Immaculate monks, if there are few enough and the
  populace is resistant to the Order.
  The plan is simple: Saturate the Threshold with the
  Cult as the Realm has been saturated with the Immaculate
  Order. Once the Threshold cannot think of its daily life
  without incorporating the teachings of the Cult, then the
  Inner Circle should have enough trained Exalted to estab-
  lish Solar-led kingdoms. Once the kingdoms are strong
  enough, luring more Exalted into their ranks and allying
  themselves with more powerful gods, then they plan to
  take the Realm.
  CAMPS
  While the three camps are working well for process-
  ing, hiding and training Solars and other Exalted, the
  Inner Circle is well aware that a fourth camp is needed.
  There are too many dangers that could put one or more of
  the camps out of commission: The hostilities with the
  Bronze Faction could turn violent if the rival faction
  discovers one of the camp and sends the Wyld Hunt
  against it, the local populace could become wise to the fact
  that Anathema are in their midst, or a Deathlord could
  attack. Although the Sidereals are confident (wrongly so)
  that they can foresee any problem, they still prefer having
  a backup plan.
  Ayesha Ura has appointed her Inner Circle compatriots,
  Kai and Zhen Xue, to discover likely locations for a fourth
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  48
  camp and to find more gods willing to supply resources. Zhen
  Xue has ruled out the Western islands, as the land available
  is too small to hide a major camp, not to mention difficult to
  move in and out of in a stealthy manner. Kai feels the South
  is already well-covered and is currently traveling in the West
  to see if any areas would fit. He fears the large urban areas
  would be dangerous places to keep several Exalted, but there
  may still be some good possibilities. There is also the North,
  which has a very small Cult presence. This is both bad and
  good: No presence means it will be difficult to get a surround-
  ing community to support the Cult, but it is unlikely that the
  Immaculate Order has been preaching against the Cult, as
  there has been nothing to preach against.
  Unbeknownst to Kai and the other Inner Circle
  members, Zhen Xue has made a dangerous deal regarding
  the resources for the new camp. She has petitioned
  Plentimon of the Dice, the God of Gambling, for a game.
  If she wins, the god will supply the resources for the new
  camp for one year. If he wins, she will owe him three favors.
  She is worried that the favors will take her away from Cult
  duties, but she realized belatedly that if Ayesha Ura discov-
  ered her bet, she would likely cast her out of the Cult
  anyway. The date for the game will be set by Zhen Xue after
  she and Kai decide on a location for the camp.
  INNER CIRCLE PERSONALITIES
  The Inner Circle is made of those people who, with
  the exception of the one mortal, are privy to more informa-
  tion than the others — mortal or Exalted — in the Cult.
  These individuals work out the policy and the missions of
  the Cult, planning out its next moves. The Inner Circle’s
  core is made up mostly of Sidereal Exalted, those Gold
  Faction members that took the Cult over four years ago
  when the Solars returned.
  Beyond the Gold Faction members, there are a couple
  of Solars and God-Blooded within the Inner Circle who
  mostly serve as close apprentices to the Sidereals. To reach
  the Inner Circle, each member must be sponsored by a
  Sidereal and approved by a majority vote, with Ayesha Ura
  having the ultimate veto power.
  The Inner Circle is also made of low-level deities who
  have decided to throw in more than mere resources to the
  Cult. They believe in the Cult and know that the Gold
  Faction will need help within Heaven to achieve its goals.
  And then, there is Shen Aru.
  SIDEREALS
  The Gold Faction Sidereal are the Inner Circle. They
  decide who gets in and who stays in the dark. Although most
  Gold Faction Sidereal have some connection to the Cult, not
  all are in the Inner Circle. Ayesha Ura has gathered a Circle
  of Sidereal that she feels she can trust and that she feels will
  best guide the Cult toward its goals. She holds the mantle of
  leader, with her longtime friend Lupo as her second.
  AYESHA URA
  Description: Ayesha Ura, or Chief Unseen Master,
  has many names and titles. To Shen Aru, she is the
  Emissary to the Illuminated Ones. To the Gold Faction,
  she is the leader. To the Bronze Faction, she is the betrayer.
  In her dreams, she is Tammiz Ushun. And to the Solars in
  the Cult of the Illuminated, she is their savior.
  Tutored under the venerable and powerful Chejop
  Kejak, Ayesha Ura came into power as a Bronze Faction
  apprentice. Chejop was careful with her, knowing she held
  the Essence of the previous leader of the Gold Faction,
  Tammiz Ushun, who had died during the Usurpation
  alongside many Solars. He nevertheless spent a great deal
  of time schooling her in the occult and sorcery, bringing
  her to the level of the Celestial Circle. Chejop Kejak was
  unable to stifle her ancient memories, however, and as she
  excelled in sorcery, they began to resurface. As she was
  initiated into the Celestial Circle of sorcery, Ayesha Ura
  placed her admiration and affection for Chejop Kejak up
  for sacrifice. More powerful than ever, she left his side and
  began searching out her old allies.
  The Solars had been missing for hundreds of years,
  and the previous members of the Gold Faction were
  hesitant to go against their former rivals when the war had
  already been lost. Ayesha Ura pointed out that the Bronze
  Faction, by letting the a mere Dragon-Blood rule all of
  Creation, were bringing Creation to its knees and must be
  stopped. Some followed, others chose to remain rogue, and
  the Gold Faction did little but watch the Bronze Faction’s
  actions and keep its intentions hidden.
  In recent years, Gold Faction Sidereals discovered a
  small cult in the South proclaiming the coming of the
  Shining, or Illuminated, Ones from Heaven. Ayesha Ura
  thought it would be a useful tool, if only the Solars still
  existed. Then, to the Sidereals, it seemed everything hap-
  pened at once. The Jade Prison was sundered, the Empress
  disappeared, and Thorns fell to the Mask of Winters’ undead
  army. While chaos befell the Bureau of Destiny, Ayesha Ura
  appeared to Shen Aru and took control of the Cult of the
  Illuminated. She immediately began scrying for newly born
  Solars to shuttle to the Cult’s camps. Her old allies were
  much more amenable to following her with newly born and
  easily manipulated Solars suddenly at hand, and the Gold
  Faction experienced a renewal.
  Ayesha had long been collecting favors from various
  gods who she knew would support Solar rule, and she began
  to call them in. Many were hesitant when faced with the
  power of Chejop Kejak and the Bronze Faction, but Ayesha
  was adamant, assuring them that she could keep some
  resource movement, at least, hidden from prying eyes.
  Beyond her duties leading the Cult, controlling Shen
  Aru and searching for and recruiting new Solars, Ayesha
  does take some time to initiate Exalted in sorcery. Following
  the Salinan method of teaching, she leads one vision quest
  
  49
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  into the Scavenger Lands per year during Ascending Wood.
  She is a matter-of-fact teacher who tolerates no failure in her
  students. She has left more than one Solar in the wilderness
  who could not fathom how the Essence flowed, but only one
  has never returned. Knowing the Solars must be at their
  most powerful when they finally challenge the Bronze
  Faction and the Realm, Ayesha Ura has no patience for
  those who will not live up to their full potential.
  Although her work for the Gold Faction and the Cult
  of the Illuminated takes up a great deal of time, Ayesha Ura
  still has her duties to Heaven and the Maidens as her top
  priority. For the past several hundred years, she has had the
  difficult task of watching all possible entrances the Yozis
  could be using to invade Creation. As she is a servant of the
  Maiden of Journeys, she is charged to halt any and all
  journeys the Demon Princes wish to take into Creation.
  This promotion came soon after she left her mentor,
  Chejop Kejak, and she knows that the time-consuming
  reassignment was orchestrated by him. She figures he
  thought she wouldn’t have time to reinvigorate the Gold
  Faction with such a job, but she has proven him wrong, and
  not for the first time.
  Ayesha Ura keeps her longtime friend Lupo as her
  primary lover but will turn to others if it proves useful to
  her or the Gold Faction’s objectives. Lupo understands
  and has been forced to do the same in the past. They assure
  each other, in secret, that they are each other’s only
  affection. Lupo keeps Ayesha Ura focused on the reality of
  her goal instead of the loftiness of her vision. Without his
  guidance, she would not be as effective.
  Caste: Journeys
  Nature: Visionary
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 6, Stamina 4, Charisma
  5, Manipulation 6, Appearance 4, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 6, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 5, Temperance 5,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 3, Craft
  (Fate) 5 (Weave Portal +2), Dodge 2, Endurance 5,
  Investigation 3, Linguistics (Native: Flametongue; Forest-
  tongue, High Realm, Old Realm) 3, Lore 4, Martial Arts
  3, Medicine 3, Occult 8, Performance 3, Presence 3,
  Resistance 2, Ride 5, Sail 5, Socialize 4, Stealth 2, Survival
  5, Thrown 4
  Backgrounds: Acquaintances 3, Allies 3, Artifact 4, Back-
  ing (Gold Faction) 5, Familiar 5, Followers 2, Salary 3
  Colleges: The Captain 1, The Messenger 3, The Ship’s
  Wheel 5
  Charms: Adopting the Untamed Face, Auspicious Pros-
  pects for Journeys, Becoming the Wilderness, Breaking the
  Wild Mortal, Cash and Murder Games, Celestial Circle
  Sorcery, Destiny-Knitting Entanglement, Dreaming the
  Wild Lands, Elegant Patterns of Fate, Excellent Imple-
  mentation of Objectives, Faultless Ceremony, Five Ordeals
  Odyssey, Forward-Thinking Technique, Glory Path, Godly
  Companion, Heart-Brightening Presentation Style, Hot-
  Eyed Snake Whispering, Incite Decorum, Innocuous
  Maneuver, Life Gets Worse Approach, Life Without Com-
  punction, Mark of Exaltation, Mending Warped Designs,
  Mirror Shattering Method, Ordained Bridle of Mercury,
  Ox-Body Technique (x5), Pain Amplification Stratagem,
  Perfection in Life, Riding the Dragon, Salt into Ash
  Sleight, Shun the Smiling Lady, Sky and Rain Mantra,
  Sky Spirit Demand, Someone Else’s Destiny, Spirit-Shape
  Companion, Stern Essence Replenishment, Stone Skip-
  ping Spirit, Tell-Tale Symphony, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery,
  Unswerving Juggernaut Principle, Unweaving Method,
  Wilderness-Commanding Practice, Willful Weapon
  Method, World-Shaping Artistic Vision, Yellow Path,
  You and Yours Stance
  Spells: Between the Minute and the Hour, Bone Lion,
  Cloud Trapeze, Conjuring the Azure Chariot, Demon of
  the First Circle, Demon of the Second Circle, Emerald
  Countermagic, Eternal Crystalline Encasement, Eye of
  Alliance, The Faithful Ally, Flight of Separation, Gift of
  Knowledge, The Horse That Travels Earth and Water,
  Infallible Messenger, Ivory Orchid Pavilion, Malediction
  of the Distorted Compass, Mercury’s Deliverance, Open
  the Spirit Door, Outside Worlds Within, The Parting of
  the Seas, Rolling Earth Carpet, Sapphire Countermagic,
  Servant of Infallible Location, Sleep of Stony Safety,
  Sorcerer’s Irresistible Puppetry, The Spy Who Walks in
  Darkness, Storm Rider Enchantment, Stormwind Rider,
  Summon Spirit Boat, Summoning the Heart of Darkness,
  Summoning the Heavenly Portal, Swift Journey, Swift
  Spirit of Winged Transportation, Theft of Memory, Three-
  fold Binding of the Heart, Tongue of the Element Spirit,
  Travel Without Distance, Voice of Distant Command,
  Voices of Distant Regard, Wheel of the Turning Heavens,
  Whirlwind of Fate
  Combos:
  The Healing Aura of Ownership (Cost: 7 motes, 1
  Willpower): Destiny-Knitting Entanglement, Mending
  Warped Designs — Ayesha Ura binds an object or creature to
  herself as in the Destiny-Knitting Entanglement. When it is time
  for the object to return to her hands, her target heals whatever
  damage it had suffered away from her hands inflicted by a creature
  or effect born of Malfeas, the Underworld or the Wyld. The
  amount of successes determines how much damage is healed.
  Lining the Road with Sugar and Wine (Cost: 1 mote, 1
  Willpower + 1 mote per target reduction): Auspicious
  Prospects for Journeys, Hot-Eyed Snake Whispering —
  Although Ayesha Ura is a Sidereal of immense power and
  influence, she still likes to have tools at her side when her advice
  is ignored. Lining the Road with Sugar and Wine allows her to
  convince her target that the path she has seen for them to travel
  is truly the best. As she maps out her target’s path, she lowers
  the target number for the Socialize roll to convince him.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  50
  Shen Aru’s Leash (Cost: 10 motes, 2 Willpower + 2
  motes per die + 1 mote per target reduction): Cash and
  Murder Games, Heart-Brightening Presentation Style,
  Hot-Eyed Snake Whispering — Named for the figurehead
  leader of the Cult of the Illuminated, this Combo allows Ayesha
  Ura to effortlessly bind any mortal to herself and her goals. It
  is the Combo she uses the most when dealing with Shen Aru to
  make sure he is amenable to her suggestions. She greets him with
  a tight hug, spending the Essence, and Shen Aru becomes
  subservient, friendly and open to any suggestion she has to offer.
  This extreme dedication lasts long after he has left her side. If
  someone has managed to plant a countersuggestion in him
  before his next meeting with Ayesha Ura, this Combo makes it
  simply not have happened. If the suggestion is a strong one, such
  as a Bronze Faction-planted suggestion, Ayesha Ura’s diffi-
  culty to use this Combo is 1.
  Base Initiative: 11
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 9 Damage 4B Defense 9
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 8 Damage 6B Defense 8
  Starmetal Bane Disc (The Whirling Mercury*) (Melee):
  Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 13L Defense 10
  Starmetal Bane Disc (The Whirling Mercury*) (Thrown):
  Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 13L (Rate 2, Range 30)
  * Ayesha Ura carries the Whirling Mercury with her at all
  times, either tucked discreetly in her robes or hanging
  obviously on her belt. It is a formidable weapon as is, but
  in the rare case that Ayesha Ura wishes to remove herself
  from battle while her opponent lives, she can spend 2
  motes of Essence to attack with this weapon. On a success-
  ful attack, she removes the enemy from battle, pushing
  him 100 feet directly behind his previous position. He will
  take the normal amount (13L) of damage from the weapon.
  If something obstructs his way, such as a wall or a cliff, he
  will hit it for 1B and cease his movement backward.
  Dodge Pool: 8
  Soak: 7L/7B (Starmetal chain shirt,
  5L/3B)
  Willpower: 9
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 8
  Personal Essence: 25
  Peripheral Essence: 64 (73)
  Committed Essence: 9
  Other Notes: Ayesha Ura had desired the companionship
  of a garda bird since before she Exalted. She’d heard of
  their strength and their glory and how they were impos-
  sible to kill. Later, as her memories returned to her from her
  former Exalted days, she realized that she was drawn to
  them because they represented the Solars and the Gold
  Faction’s efforts to bring the back to power. The garda
  birds returned, and therefore, she should have faith that
  the Solars would as well.
  It was, therefore, no surprise to her to discover two garda
  birds preparing to mate, which would immolate both of
  them and result in one offspring who retained few of either
  
  51
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  concept of putting the Solars on a pedestal as the illumi-
  nated and shining children of the gods. He feels that
  placing the Solars in this light will lead to the same
  problems that lead to the Usurpation in the first place.
  Ayesha has listened to Lupo, keeping the Solars in the
  dark where it suits her to have them dependent on Sidereal
  knowledge. She is secure in her belief that they will be able
  to control the Solars this time, but Lupo continues to argue
  with her. When he has contact with the Solars, which isn’t
  EVERPRESENT DAWN
  Nature: Follower
  Attributes: Strength 3 (Phoenix 5), Dexterity 3,
  Stamina 4, Charisma 3, Manipulation 3 (Phoenix
  2), Appearance 5, Perception 3, Intelligence 3
  (Phoenix 2), Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temper-
  ance 5, Valor 4
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Dodge 5, Linguistics 3,
  Lore 4, (Phoenix — Melee 4), Occult 4, Presence 4
  Backgrounds: Allies 3, Artifact 3, Backing (Gold
  Faction) 2, Cult 2, Influence 2
  Charms: Affinity Element Control, Hurry Home,
  Ignite, Landscape Travel, Portal, Sense Domain,
  Terrible Visage (Phoenix Only) Tracking, Will-o-
  Wisp
  Elemental Powers: Coarse Skin, Dragon’s Suspire,
  Enshroud, Immolation
  Base Initiative: 6
  Attack:
  Claw Swoop: Speed 9 Accuracy 10 Damage 12L
  Defense 16
  Sword (Phoenix): Speed 15 Accuracy 14 Damage
  16L Defense 22
  Arc of Flame: Speed 16 Accuracy 9 Damage 18L
  (Rate 1, Range 10*)
  * No range increments. Ten yards is maximum
  range.
  Dodge Pool: 8
  Soak: 4L/3B
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/
  -1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Essence Pool: 94
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Claw Swoop: Speed 12 Accuracy 12 Damage 12L
  Defense 16 Rate 3
  Sword (Phoenix): Speed 16 Accuracy 14 Damage
  16L Defense 18 Rate 6
  Dodge Pool: 12
  birds’ memories. She arranged to be present at the new
  garda bird’s awakening and made an agreement with the
  newborn bird. She even named it Everpresent Dawn.
  Although the garda bird is bound to her through promises,
  Charms and a genuine affection for the Sidereal,
  Everpresent Dawn is not always at Ayesha Ura’s side. He
  serves as her ambassador to the Court of the Orderly Flame
  and has done well to win her many alliances with the fire
  elementals. He is also released during Calibration when
  she is ensconced with the Inner Circle doing secret Cult
  business — this freedom is granted in part because Ayesha
  Ura does not want her familiar to know all of her secrets,
  just as he has secrets from her (or so he believes).
  He is devoted to her, however, and will do nearly any-
  thing she asks, including sacrificing himself, which he
  has done three times thus far. She is always present at his
  rebirth, showing him the same dedication he is expected
  to show her.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 11 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 10 Damage 7B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Starmetal Bane Disc (The Whirling Mercury*) (Melee):
  Speed 11 Accuracy 11 Damage 13L Defense 10
  Dodge Pool: 16
  LUPO
  Description: While the Ax Falls was a fellow Gold
  Faction member and companion of Tammiz Ushun during
  the First Age. The two friends died fighting side-by-side
  during the Usurpation for their cause and for the lives of
  the Solars they were sworn to protect. Unlike Ayesha Ura,
  when Lupo was reincarnated, he was raised in the hands of
  Gold Faction members who taught him to mourn the loss
  of their Solar leaders.
  When Ayesha Ura left Chejop Kejak’s side to join the
  Gold Faction, Lupo was the loudest dissenter, claiming
  that she was a spy and that she would betray them all.
  Ayesha met with Lupo behind closed doors — and away
  from prying Sidereal eyes — for three days, where they
  worked out their differences and rediscovered their former
  relationship. No record remains of that meeting, and
  neither Sidereal will discuss what happened. The only
  information is that Ayesha left the meeting with a slight
  limp and Lupo with cuts around his face and neck.
  Lupo remains Ayesha’s right-hand-man, serving as
  both her conscience and her advisor. Although they are
  the closest of friends, Lupo still stands against her decisions
  in meetings more often than not. Having been raised in
  the care of the Gold Faction and not newly (re)come to it,
  as Ayesha has been, Lupo retains the memories of the
  haughty and dangerous attitude of the Solars that brought
  the First Age to its knees. While supporting the actions of
  the Cult of the Illuminated, he disagrees strongly with the
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  52
  very often, he does his best to humble them, focusing on
  the work they have yet to do and the Charms they have yet
  to learn. He will rarely praise a Solar for her abilities, trying
  instead to subtly turn the focus from their incredible power
  to the role they are destined to play as the servants of
  Creation. A good ruler, Lupo is known to often say, is
  ultimately a servant of her people.
  Lupo is the foremost martial artist in the Gold Fac-
  tion, a master of both the Solar Tiger and Ebon Shadow
  Styles and the Sidereal Prismatic Arrangement of Cre-
  ation Style. He mainly instructs other Sidereals in martial
  arts so they can teach the Solars. He has a few Solar
  students, but Ayesha Ura attempts to keep him from
  influencing too many. She cannot keep a leash on the
  Chosen of the Maiden of Secrets, however, and he has
  managed to influence several of his students not only in
  martial arts, but also in their perceived role both in the
  Cult and in Creation.
  Although he does not discuss his work within the
  Bureau of Destiny with anyone, even Ayesha Ura, Lupo
  faces the unique challenge of trying to discern the truths
  behind the Deathlords and the deathknights and their
  connection with the Solars. As such, he is one of the
  foremost proponents of recruiting deathknights into the
  Cult, hoping to gain some information on the Deathlords.
  In his time away from the Cult, he researches shadowlands,
  especially Thorns, and is currently petitioning for an
  audience with the Mask of Winters.
  Although many have suggested that Lupo and Ayesha
  Ura are lovers, no one is sure. The truth is that they are, and
  their lovemaking sessions are as powerful as their argu-
  ments. Both know that they can use the affections others
  have for them to best suit the Cult, however, so they keep
  their own relationship secret. Both are allowed other
  lovers if it would ultimately serve the Cult.
  Caste: Secrets
  Nature: Architect
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 4, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 6, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 4,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 2, Dodge
  4, Endurance 3, Investigation 5, Larceny 3, Linguistics 2,
  Lore 4, Martial Arts 6, Medicine 3, Melee 3, Occult 2,
  Presence 5, Socialize 3, Stealth 6, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 1, Artifact 2, Backing (Gold Fac-
  tion) 3, Celestial Manse 3, Connections (The Cult of the
  Illuminated) 5, Salary 3
  Colleges: The Guardians 1, The Key 3, The Mask 1, The
  Treasure Trove 2
  Charms: Absence, Adopting the Untamed Face, Angry
  Predator Frenzy Style, Aspect of Air Dragon-Blooded Ways,
  Astrology Interruption Method, Auspicious Prospects for
  Endings, Auspicious Prospects for Fate, Auspicious Pros-
  pects for Journeys, Avoidance Kata, Avoiding the Truth
  Technique, Becoming the Wilderness, Blade of the Battle
  Maiden, Blinding the Boar, Blow-Concealing Gesture Tech-
  nique, Cash and Murder Games, Ceasing to Exist Approach,
  Celestial Tiger Hide, Changing Moon Lunar Exalt Ways,
  Charm Redirection Technique, Conclusion-Pursuing Ap-
  proach, Creation Smuggling Procedure, Crimson Leaping
  Cat Technique, Dawn Solar Exalt Ways, Deadly Starmetal
  Offensive, Death-Parrying Stroke, Demesne and Manse
  Form, Demesne Emulation Practice, Demon-Blocking Battle
  Pattern, Distracting Finger-Gesture Attack, Duck Fate,
  Ebon Shadow Form, Efficient Secretary Technique, Elusive
  Flicker Evasion, Five Jade Fury, Flickering Moonsilver Ap-
  proach, Flight of Mercury, Forgotten Earth, Four Magical
  Materials Form, Games of Divinity Form, God Ways, Icy
  Hand, Image of Death Technique, Joy in Adversity Stance,
  Leap From Cloaking Shadows Attack, Life-Severing Blow,
  Limb-Immobilizing Method, Mark of Exaltation, Marvel-
  ous Inclusion of Details, Metal Storm, The Methodology of
  Secrets, Night Solar Exalt Ways, No Moon Lunar Exalt
  Ways, Of Secrets Yet Untold, Of the Shape of the World,
  Of Things Desired and Feared, Of Truths Best Unspoken,
  Orichalcum Sheathing Stance, Ox-Body Technique (x3),
  Paralyzing Touch Attack, Predestined Triumph Practice,
  Presence in Absence Technique, Prior Warning, Prismatic
  Arrangement of Creation Form, Raging Tiger Pounce,
  Secrets of Future Strife, Sequential Charm Disruption,
  Seven Points of Weakness Strike, Shadow Body Style,
  Shadow-Stepping Motion, Shun the Smiling Lady, Side-
  real Shell Games, Sky and Rain Mantra, Soft Presence
  Practice, Soul Fire Shaper Form, Spell-Shattering Palm,
  Spine Shattering Bite, Stalking Cat Movement Medita-
  tion, Striking Fury Claws Attack, Subordinate Inspiration
  Technique, Systematic Understanding of Everything, Ter-
  minate Illness, Tiger Form, Violet Bier of Sorrows Form,
  Walking Outside Fate, Wall Climbing Technique, You and
  Yours Stance, Zenith Solar Exalt Ways
  Combos:
  Powerless Enemy (Cost: 17 motes + mote cost of Charms,
  2 Willpower): Sequential Charm Disruption, Spell-Shat-
  tering Palm — Several centuries ago, Lupo shattered a Charm
  used by a Terrestrial sorcerer. The Dragon-Blooded then coun-
  tered with a spell for which Lupo was not ready, and the sorcerer
  escaped. Determined not to let that happen again, Lupo devel-
  oped Powerless Enemy, allowing him to disentangle the threads
  of fate. One strike from his hand halts both spells and Charms,
  leaving the target disoriented for one turn.
  Tiger’s Ultimate Rage (Cost: 7 motes, 1 Willpower):
  Leap From Cloaking Shadows Attack, Striking Fury Claws
  Attack — Like a cat, Lupo will sometimes stalk his prey, hiding
  in shadows until he wishes himself to be known. If he remains
  unknown to his target, his eyes begin to shine yellow, and he
  leaps forward, fingers outstretched and teeth bared. When he
  
  53
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  attacks with his anima-enhanced tiger claws, Lupo is com-
  pletely taken by the tiger. His opponent is unprepared for this,
  and her lethal and bashing soak scores are halved before the raw
  damage is applied.
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 10
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 9
  Starmetal Serpent-Sting Staff (Stern Sifu): Speed 11 Ac-
  curacy 10 Damage 9L Defense 13
  Dodge Pool: 8
  Soak: 3L/6B
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-
  2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 6
  Personal Essence: 20
  Peripheral Essence: 53 (58)
  Committed Essence: 5
  Other Notes: Lupo has no dots in Acquaintances, and
  most will forget him after meeting him. He does tend to
  leave a mark, however, and many Exalted, especially
  Solars, will have a vaguely disquieting feeling after speak-
  ing with him. His students have learned not to question
  their sifu on any matter and are among the most humble of
  all Solars in the Cult.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 11 Damage 4B Defense 12 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 11 Damage 7B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Starmetal Serpent-Sting Staff (Stern Sifu): Speed 11 Ac-
  curacy 10 Damage 11L Defense 13 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 14
  KAI
  Description: Kai is an enigma, even to his sibling
  Sidereals. Chosen of the Maiden of Endings and only 350
  years old, this young savant appears to have lost a good part
  of his sanity during his training. He wraps himself in yards
  of white silk and speaks in a high, sharp voice, and few can
  comprehend his prophesies.
  When he was newly Exalted, Kai was given to the
  Second Smile, a servant of the Maiden of Endings, for
  introduction to the Violet Bier of Sorrows. Some say this
  exuberant young Exalt offended the millennia-old demi-
  god, some say he was not informed fully of the dangers
  within the halls, but everyone agrees that Kai must have
  laid eyes upon some forbidden scrolls. Whether he meant
  to or not, the ramifications of this information overloaded
  the poor man’s brain.
  All his fellow Sidereals know for sure is that he was
  ensconced in the Violet Bier of Sorrows for longer than
  most newly Exalted Sidereals (they suspect some sort of
  punishment was given for his transgression) and that he
  emerged halfway to insanity and wholly dedicated to the
  Gold Faction’s cause. Kai does not allow Bronze Faction
  Exalts to even speak of their cause to his ears. On good
  days, he will simply walk away, while on bad days, he will
  begin screaming, high pitched and incessantly, until the
  offender leaves.
  He does not speak of what happened to him within
  the Violet Bier of Sorrows. Many Sidereal burn with
  curiosity of what knowledge he attained, as he is more
  dedicated to the Solars’ return to power than even Ayesha
  Ura. However, none of them are willing to sacrifice their
  sanity — or test the wrath of the Maiden of Endings — to
  find out if his zealousness comes from his madness or from
  some information he received during his transgression.
  Even other Chosen of Endings know nothing, or refuse to
  speak of it.
  Kai is gentle and friendly to newly met people. Al-
  though he is young for a Sidereal, the trials he has already
  endured have changed his appearance to that of an old
  man. He reminds people of a kindly older grandfather
  when he manages to stick in their minds at all. Among
  friends, his mood swings are more violent, going from
  heartfelt thanks to offended rage and from hysterical tears
  to serious intelligence in the flash of a moment.
  This Chosen of Endings maintains his job at the
  Violet Bier of Sorrows as one who monitors the necropoli
  of Creation. He watches to make sure the correct corpses
  are burned, buried or dropped at sea. He has his finger on
  which are to be looted for treasure and which must be
  buried with their secrets. He also works with Sidereals in
  the Forbidding Manse of Ivy to monitor that the proper
  grave goods are buried with the proper body. On a personal
  level, he despises graverobbers and others who cheat the
  dying and dead and has been known to personally attend
  to the tangles that involve shady funereal practices, re-
  gardless of necessity.
  Kai has a humble apartment in Sijan, as he spends a
  good deal of time there. He gives all of his salary to the Cult
  of the Illuminated, keeping no dwelling or Manse in Yu-
  Shan and preferring a private room within the Cult
  headquarters in the Scavenger Lands when he is in the
  area. Although his Chosen of Serenity sisters have tried to
  provide him with amorous distraction, Kai remains chaste
  for reasons unknown. In truth, the man is terrified of the
  intimate touch of others, which is why he keeps himself
  swaddled in silk even in the heat of the South. His mood
  swings do seem to lessen when he returns from Yu-Shan,
  as if visiting his Maiden’s House gives him a thimble of
  sanity back. This strikes some as odd, since it was in his
  Maiden’s House that he lost his mind.
  Kai remains on good terms with Yu-Shan and has never
  been convicted of a any offenses toward Heaven. Some of
  his fellow Chosen of Endings have chastised him for his
  hands-on approach in some situations, but he has yet to
  make a glaring mistake requiring censure. He is looked upon
  with either awe or bewilderment, as he carries the mantle of
  Saturn more seriously than most of his fellow Chosen.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  54
  Even through his madness and his idiosyncrasies, Kai
  is a powerful tool of the Cult. When he is called upon to
  recruit a Solar, he achieves a focus that nearly seems sane.
  While some Solars have rejected the Cult’s offers when
  others are used to approach them, Kai has never lost an
  Exalt. He manages to convince them of the rightness of the
  cause, the power of the Cult and the future glories they are
  sure to achieve if they connect themselves with it.
  Caste: Endings
  Nature: Survivor
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
  5, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 5, Bureaucracy 2, Craft
  (Fate) 3, Dodge 3, Endurance 5, Linguistics (Native: Low
  Realm; Old Realm) 1, Lore 3, Martial Arts 5, Medicine 4,
  Occult 4, Presence 4, Resistance 3, Ride 4, Socialize 3,
  Stealth 4, Thrown 2
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Acquaintances 1, Backing (Gold
  Faction) 4, Connections 3, Contacts 1, Mentor 1, Salary
  1, Savant 3
  Colleges: The Corpse 3, The Haywain 2, The Rising
  Smoke 2
  Charms: Absence, Avoiding the Truth Technique, Burn
  Life, Celestial Circle Sorcery, Citrine Poxes of Contagion
  Form, Conclusive Wisdom, Convulsive Displacement In-
  fectious Atemi, Crushing Claw Technique, Disjointed
  Essence Infectious Atemi, Duck Fate, Essence-Disrupting
  Infectious Atemi, Expected Pain, Feverish Essence Dis-
  charge Atemi, Flare of Invulnerability Method, Flying
  Mantis Kick, Forgotten Earth, Grasping Claw Method,
  Grasping Mantis Defense, Heroic Essence Replenishment,
  Hungry Touch, Impose Nature, Inevitable Pursuit, Inexo-
  rable Advance, Inner Dragon Unbinding, Iron-Arm Block,
  Joint-Breaking Attack, Joint-Locking Technique, Leap-
  ing Mantis Technique, Mantis Form, Ox-Body Technique
  (x5), Peaceable Conclusion, Perfect Reconstruction
  Method, Predestined Triumph Practice, Prior Warning,
  Shield of Mars, Smooth Transition, Spirit and Body Puri-
  fication Touch, Supernal Awareness, Terminate Illness,
  Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Unfolding Retribution Stance,
  Wise Choice
  Spells: Assassin’s Fatal Touch, Demon of the First Circle,
  Flight of Separation, Lesser Golem, Malediction of the
  Distorted Compass, Silent Words of Dreams and Night-
  mares, Stormwind Rider, The Spy Who Walks in Darkness,
  Theft of Memory
  Combos:
  Flaming Meteor (Cost: 1 mote, 1 Willpower + 1 mote per
  target reduction): Forgotten Earth, Hungry Touch — Kai
  does not believe in doing something without doing it well,
  especially when it comes to the destruction of something. He
  launches himself into the air, landing his flying punch on the
  object he intends to destroy. Falling toward his target subtracts
  an additional 2 from the target number of the Willpower roll to
  boost his Strength + Athletics.
  Liquid Mantis Deception (Cost: 6 motes, 1 Willpower):
  Grasping Claw Method, Iron-Arm Block — Kai knows that
  many opponents are useless without their weapons. When an
  opponent moves to strike him, he parries with the Iron-Arm
  Block, but if his hands come into contact with the opponent’s
  weapon, he snatches it out of her hands by adding his Martial
  Arts score to both efforts.
  Refused Punishment (Cost: 9 motes, 1 Willpower):
  Expected Pain, Wise Choice — Kai performs this Combo
  frequently during his travels. As he walks, his feet leave traces
  of Essence behind him. These footprints sink into the Earth and
  travel to the Loom, looking at all of his expected paths and what
  kind of pain they will bring. He immediately knows the proper
  course to take to avoid the worst.
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 3B Defense 9
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 8 Damage 5B Defense 8
  Seven-Section Staff: Speed 11 Accuracy 7 Damage 5L
  Defense 11
  Dodge Pool: 7/6
  Soak: 9L/14B (Starmetal reinforced
  buff jacket, 7L/10B)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 6
  Personal Essence: 19
  Peripheral Essence: 50 (53)
  Committed Essence: 3
  Other Notes: Kai is wholly devoted to the Gold Faction
  cause. If he is met with a dissenting argument, he will
  scream at a high pitch for a full minute, lowering the
  Awareness of everyone around him by one dot. He will not
  attack without provocation, but he will respond with
  violence if someone tries to physically silence him.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 10 Damage 3B Defense 11 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 10 Damage 6B Defense 6 Rate 3
  Seven-Section Staff: Speed 10 Accuracy 7 Damage 6L
  Defense 12 Rate 2
  Dodge Pool: 13/12
  ROL
  Description: Chosen of the Maiden of Battles, Rol
  monitors the movements of the Realm’s forces — espe-
  cially those of the Immaculate Order — in regards to Cult
  interests. He travels throughout the Realm and the Thresh-
  old but prefers to station himself in the Scavenger Lands
  when he can.
  Trained extensively in all methods of battle, he leaves
  the martial arts and more subtle forms to other Sidereals,
  
  55
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  preferring to meet his opponents on the battlefield instead
  of in a dark room. This is not to say he is not proficient in
  martial arts. He just doesn’t study them as closely as many
  of his others. His talents lie elsewhere.
  Rol’s childhood was guided by the hand of a Bronze
  Faction Sidereal called Sadness in the Blade. She foresaw
  that he would be a great general, so she made sure he
  received war training early on. After his Exaltation, they
  followed legions at war and studied their movements and
  what instances turned the tide of battle. They became very
  close, and it has been forever her shame that he turned
  from the Bronze way to follow the Gold Faction.
  Sadness in the Blade and Rol still keep in touch and
  even work together frequently in their duties for Heaven.
  Rol is in charge of monitoring — and sometimes guiding
  — the troop movements of the eastern part of the Realm.
  Sadness in the Blade is his superior, watching all armies of
  the Realm. Tepet’s recent defeat was some of Rol’s finest
  work. In his mind, the defeat of one of the 11 Great Houses
  works toward the Gold Faction’s goal of ridding the Realm
  of the Dragon-Blooded, while the Bronze Faction was
  pleased that the legions’ defeat would strengthen the other
  houses in their drive for the Scarlet Throne. His careful
  manipulation of the Tepet troops earned him a raise and
  commendation for his work within the Crimson Panoply
  of Victory.
  Rol’s Bureau of Destiny job has him spending a good
  deal of time in the Realm, which fits his responsibilities
  regarding the Cult of the Illuminated quite well. Rol
  watches the Realm for new Solars, knowing those who
  Exalt on the Immaculate Order’s doorstep are in a great
  deal more danger than those who Exalt in the Threshold.
  Rol feels the mantle of his many responsibilities weigh
  lightly on his shoulders, and he relishes more than any-
  thing the feel of his daiklave in battle. Some Solars have
  expressed interest in following him on his duties in the
  Realm and the Threshold, hoping to learn from him, and
  he has readily taken them on. The Inner Circle Solar
  Glimmering Horizon shows much promise in the martial
  arts, but her obsession with the healing arts is too strong for
  her to become a true warrior in Rol’s eyes. Even he does not
  realize that he cares for her deeply and wishes her to love
  battle as much as he.
  Caste: Battles
  Nature: Bravo
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2, Perception 4, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 1,
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Archery 5, Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl 5,
  Bureaucracy 2, Craft (Fate) 4, Dodge 5, Endurance 5,
  Linguistics (Native: Skytongue; Old Realm) 1, Lore 3,
  Martial Arts 4, Melee 5, Occult 2, Presence 5, Resistance
  4, Ride 4, Socialize 1, Stealth 1, Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Acquaintances 1, Artifact 5, Backing (Gold
  Faction) 2, Celestial Manse 2, Connections (Cult of
  Illuminated) 3, Familiar 4, Salary 4
  Colleges: The Banner 2, The Gauntlet 3, The Shield 2
  Charms: Absence, Adopting the Untamed Face, Any Direc-
  tion Arrow, Avoidance Kata, Becoming the Wilderness,
  Blade of the Battle Maiden, Crimson Palm Counterstrike,
  Demon-Blocking Battle Pattern, Dreaming the Wild Lands,
  Duck Fate, Easily Accepted Proposition Stance, Every Direc-
  tion Arrow, Flight of Mercury, Forgotten Earth,
  Forward-Thinking Technique, Generalized Ammunition
  Technique, Glory Path, Godly Companion, Harmony of
  Blows, Horrific Wreath, Impending the Flow, Inexorable
  Advance, Joy in Adversity Stance, Meditation on War,
  Neighborhood Relocation Scheme, Opportune Shot, Opti-
  mistic Security Practice, Orchestration of Conflict, Ordained
  Bridle of Mercury, Ox-Body Technique (x5), Perfection of
  the Visionary Warrior, Predestined Triumph Practice, Prior
  Warning, Red Haze, Secrets of Future Strife, Serenity in
  Blood, Shield of Mars, Sky and Rain Mantra, Sky Spirit
  Demand, Smiling at the Damned, Someone Else’s Destiny,
  Spirit-Shape Companion, Storm’s Eye Stance, Tolerant Strife,
  Trouble Reduction Strategy, Unobstructed Blow, Unswerv-
  ing Juggernaut Principle, Violet Bier of Sorrows Form, Water
  and Fire Legion, Yellow Path
  Combos:
  Master of the Seventh Temple (Cost: 5 motes, 1 Will-
  power +1 mote per die + 1 mote per dice pool penalty
  cancelled): Meditation on War, Smiling at the Damned
  — The Chosen of the Maiden of Battles understand that the
  passion that often aids them in battle can have repercussions. It
  is sometimes beneficial to remain calm and focused. Thus, Rol
  has developed the Master of the Seventh Temple. Once he has
  calmed his heart and mind, he is able to add dice to his pool to
  make his attack half raw damage, but the damage is aggravated.
  Perfect Strike (Cost 10 motes, 1 Willpower): Crimson
  Palm Counterstrike, Unobstructed Blow — During battle, Rol
  can achieve a battle aura that is truly awe-inspiring for even other
  Sidereals to see. Sometimes, his battle rage will inspire him such that
  he will drop his daiklave, feeling his opponent not worthy enough to
  sully the fine blade. He will wait for the opponent to attack, and
  then, he will pour his Essence through his fist, making it glow with
  a red haze. He can then make a Brawl attack that cannot be
  blocked. This attack will knock the enemy out of position.
  Base Initiative: 9
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 10/9 Damage 5B Defense 10/9
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 9/8 Damage 7B Defense 9/8
  Starmetal Grand Daiklave (Triumph): Speed 6 Accuracy
  12 Damage 18L Defense 10
  Starmetal Smashfist (Unconditional Surrender): Speed
  12 Accuracy 11/10 Damage 8L Defense 11/10
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  56
  Dodge Pool: 10 Soak: 14L/19B (Starmetal articulated
  plate, 12L/14B)
  Willpower: 8 Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/
  -4/Incap
  Essence: 5
  Personal Essence: 18
  Peripheral Essence: 31 (50)
  Committed Essence: 19
  Other Notes: Rol’s familiar is Ferocious Promise, a lion
  dog. He discovered the beast guarding a looted Solar grave,
  dying from the attacks of a Lunar and her barbarian horde.
  Rol commanded it to follow him, stating that its contract
  with the long-dead Solar was up since there was likely
  nothing left in the grave worth guarding. The lion dog
  growled and mustered up the energy to attack him. Rol
  laughed and slapped the beast aside with the flat of his
  daiklave. He nursed the lion dog back to health, and
  Ferocious Promise has been dedicated to protecting the
  Sidereal ever since. Ferocious Promise did not resent the
  test he had undergone, as he knew only a worthy lion dog
  could serve the mighty Chosen of the Maiden of Battles.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 11/10 Damage 5B Defense 12/11
  Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 11/10 Damage 8B Defense 7/6
  Rate 3
  Starmetal Grand Daiklave (Triumph): Speed 19 Accu-
  racy 12 Damage 19L Defense 9 Rate 3
  Starmetal Smashfist (Unconditional Surrender): Speed 6
  Accuracy 11 Damage 10L Defense 13 Rate 7
  Dodge Pool: 15
  Hardness: 3
  SAPPHIRE SPARROW
  Description: Sapphire Sparrow is a woman who makes
  Lupo look like a loquacious courtier. Upon first glance, she
  looks as if she’d rather be knitting by a fireside rather than
  weaving the destinies of the world in the midst of a heated
  meeting with the most powerful beings in Creation. It her
  mission to gather, store and maintain the secrets of the
  Inner Circle.
  Like Ayesha Ura, she spent her first centuries of life
  under the tutelage of Chejop Kejak and the Bronze Fac-
  tion. She watched and learned, taking everything in that
  she could. She spoke up infrequently, preferring to be an
  observer in times of conflict. She processed information
  and gave no opinions.
  After learning all she thought she could from the
  Bronze Faction, she declared herself rogue to the shock of
  all around her. She wished to see the Bronze and Gold
  Factions from a neutral point and would answer no further
  questions regarding her allegiance. This move hurt her
  political standing in Yu-Shan, but she felt it was what she
  had to do. When the Solars began returning, she joined the
  Gold Faction to gain the third point of view.
  Although the Bronze Faction calls her — and all
  defectors — traitor, Sapphire Sparrow is careful not to
  reveal any secrets she learned during her time with it, or
  her time as a rogue. She gives any new information she sees
  fit to Ayesha Ura, but the old secrets stay with her. This
  both irritates and gratifies Ayesha Ura because she knows
  Sapphire Sparrow will not give away the Gold Faction’s
  secrets when she moves on. And she fully expects the
  Chosen of the Maiden of Secrets to move on at some point;
  there is still one point of view Sapphire Sparrow hasn’t
  experienced yet: that of the ronin Sidereal.
  During her time as a rogue, Sapphire Sparrow traveled
  the Realm and even studied the undead in the city of
  Thorns. There, she began learning necromancy, although
  she has only enough information to protect herself from
  necromantic attack. She prefers to use sorcery and Charms
  to free herself from a bad situation, only drawing her
  powerbow when there is no other choice.
  FEROCIOUS PROMISE
  Nature: Bravo
  Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 4, Stamina 6,
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3, Percep-
  tion 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance
  2, Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 5, Brawl 5, Dodge
  5, Endurance 3, Investigation 3, Linguistics 3, Lore
  3, Occult 1, Resistance 3, Socialize 2, Stealth 3,
  Survival 4
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Backing (Gold Faction) 3
  Charms: Camouflage, Essence Bite, Materialize,
  Spirit-Cutting, Tracking, Words of Power
  Base Initiative: 7
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 11 Accuracy 13 Damage 14L
  Dodge Pool: 9
  Soak: 15L/20B (Jade hide, 12L/
  14B)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Essence Pool: 73
  Other Notes: Ferocious Promise will not leave Rol’s
  side at any time, except when commanded. Even
  then, he refuses to go farther than 100 feet. Unless
  Rol betrays the lion dog, he will remain faithful until
  death parts them.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 10 Accuracy 12 Damage 14L Defense 10
  Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 12
  
  57
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 5,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 5, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 3, Craft
  (Fate) 5, Dodge 4, Endurance 3, Investigation 4, Larceny
  3, Linguistics (Native: Seatongue: High Realm, Low Realm,
  Old Realm, Riverspeak) 4, Lore 5, Martial Arts 2, Medi-
  cine 4, Occult 5, Performance 5, Presence 4, Ride 2,
  Socialize 5, Stealth 4, Survival 3, Thrown 1
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Backing (Gold Faction) 3, Ce-
  lestial Manse 3, Connections (The Bureau of Destiny) 3,
  Connections (The Cult of Illuminated) 3, Salary 3
  Colleges: The Mask 2, The Treasure Trove 2
  Charms: Absence, Adopting the Untamed Face, Any
  Direction Arrow, Auspicious Prospects for Secrets, Avoid-
  ance Kata, Avoiding the Truth Technique, Becoming the
  Wilderness, Celestial Circle Sorcery, Creation Smuggling
  Procedure, Destiny-Knitting Entanglement, Duck Fate,
  Efficient Secretary Technique, Elegant Patterns of Fate,
  Elemental Vision, Embracing Life Method, Every Direction
  Arrow, Excellent Implementation of Objectives, Favorable
  Inflection Procedure, Five Seasons Approach, Generalized
  Ammunition Technique, Ice and Fire Binding, Incite De-
  corum, Innocuous Maneuver, Invocation of the
  Storm-Following Silence, Many Missiles Bow Technique,
  This Chosen of Jupiter is found during most Inner
  Circle meetings sitting in the corner, weaving. Only Lupo
  can understand her intricate patterns as a code, and even
  he cannot fathom the key to breaking it. Sapphire Sparrow
  serves as the Cult of the Illuminated’s librarian and scribe,
  keeping impeccable track of who within the Cult is con-
  trolled by Charms and sorcery and when it is time to renew
  said effects. She keeps the books as well, knowing which
  cell isn’t producing as much as it should, which god’s
  monthly or yearly payment is set to arrive and who in Yu-
  Shan is due a bribe.
  Within Yu-Shan, Sapphire Sparrow tracks assassina-
  tion squads and who hires them. She works alongside a
  young Bronze Faction Sidereal who is a Chosen of Saturn
  and who constantly reminds her that her betrayal of the
  Bronze was what caused her demotion to work alongside
  him. As always, she speaks little, rises to no bait and
  remembers everything.
  Sapphire Sparrow is a virgin, even after all of these
  years. This secret is the one she guards most closely, as she
  is sure she would be a target of seduction if a Chosen of
  Venus colleague discovered this information. She care-
  fully guards her emotions, and few have approached her for
  physical pleasures in her life.
  Caste: Secrets
  Nature: Traditionalist
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  58
  Mark of Exaltation, Marvelous Inclusion of Detail, Mend-
  ing Warped Designs, The Methodology of Secrets, Name
  Pilfering Practices, Of Horrors Best Unknown, Of Secrets
  Yet Untold, Of the Shape of the World, Of Things Desired
  and Feared, Of Truths Best Unspoken, Opportune Shot,
  Ox-Body Technique (x3), Peaceable Conclusion, Prior
  Warning, Research Assistant Invocation, Shadowlands
  Circle Necromancy, Shun the Smiling Lady, Sidereal Shell
  Games, Slick Essence Replenishment, Smooth Transition,
  Soft Presence Practice, Stern Essence Replenishment, Sys-
  tematic Understanding of Everything, Tell-Tale Symphony,
  Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Trouble Reduction Strategy,
  Underling Invisibility Practice, Unweaving Method, Wise
  Choice, World-Shaping Artistic Vision
  Spells: The Crumbling Walls, Demon of the First Circle,
  Demon of the Second Circle, Droning Suggestion, Emer-
  ald Countermagic, Hideous Confusion of Tongues, Holding
  the Gate, Infallible Messenger, Invulnerable Skin of Bronze,
  Iron Countermagic, Magma Kraken, Malediction of the
  Distorted Compass, Open the Spirit Door, The Sacred
  Tongue, Sapphire Countermagic, Shade Prison Amulet,
  Summon Spirit Boat, Summoning the Heavenly Portal,
  Theft of Memory, Threefold Binding of the Heart, Unity
  of Dreams, Venom of the Heart, Virtuous Guardian of
  Flame, Voice of Distant Command, Voices of Distant
  Regard, Wheel of the Turning Heavens, Written Upon
  the Water
  Combos:
  Hide a Lie Within the Truth (Cost: 8 motes, 2 Will-
  power): Avoiding the Truth Technique, Of Secrets Yet
  Untold — Sapphire Sparrow doesn’t like to give any secrets
  away, even when she seems to be forced to. She developed this
  Combo to hide a lie within the truth that she utters when using
  the Of Secrets Yet Untold Charm. The spirit she summons
  receives the truth Sapphire Sparrow intends to give, but with one
  small flaw built into it. The summoned spirit is still required to
  perform the favor for Sapphire Sparrow, but if her target
  discovers her lie, then the favor is nulled.
  Winter’s Arrows (Cost: 1 mote, 1 Willpower + 2 motes
  per target number reduction): Five Seasons Approach,
  Generalized Ammunition Technique — It took Sapphire
  Sparrow only one frightening time in her youth where she was
  caught with an empty quiver to convince her of the power of
  preparation. Still, when she escaped from the battle she had not
  anticipated, she developed Winter’s Arrows. She is able to take
  anything remotely resembling ammunition and fire it, reducing
  the target number of the Archery roll.
  Base Initiative: 9
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 7 Damage 2B Defense 7
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 6 Damage 4B Defense 6
  Starmetal Short Powerbow (Hag’s Tongue): Speed 9 Ac-
  curacy 12 Damage 8L (Rate 2, Range 250)
  Dodge Pool: 9
  Soak: 1L/3B
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-
  2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 5
  Personal Essence: 17
  Peripheral Essence: 49
  Committed Essence: 4
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 8 Damage 2B Defense 9 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 8 Damage 5B Defense 4 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 14
  ZHEN XUE
  Description: Why raise a sword when one can ma-
  nipulate the world through sorcery, Charms or just a
  shining smile? Such is the attitude of Zhen Xue, Chosen of
  the Maiden of Serenity, who enters the Inner Circle and
  calms others when tempers flare. Her main role with the
  Cult of the Illuminated is to maintain sorcerous control of
  the mortal priests. She leaves the control of Shen Aru to
  the more powerful Ayesha Ura. Zhen Xue’s job is to travel
  between the Cult locations and assess the mortals and
  Solars she comes across. If there is dissent in the ranks of
  mortals, she manipulates things to her desires, if there is a
  problem with a Solar — such as memories of the First Age
  starting to emerge that paint the Sidereals in a bad light —
  she performs the Theft of Memory spell to contain things.
  In Heaven, Zhen Xue follows the sexual paradoxes,
  casualty crises and unexpected births in high-ranking
  nobles in Creation, making sure the people who require
  early deflowering achieve it, while others remain chaste
  until married in order to suit destiny. Although others
  mock her division as “the Whorehouse of Heaven,” she
  considers making sure that the right nobles are born and
  the wrong seeds do not take hold as one of the most
  important jobs in Yu-Shan. In fact, she is secretly con-
  vinced that the Scarlet Empress was a seed who should not
  have taken hold, but she has no proof of this. She thinks
  that Bronze Faction Sidereals had her job in those days,
  making sure of the Empress’ birth to suit their own needs.
  Granted, the Sidereals had no foreknowledge of the Great
  Contagion or the armies that would fight, but that didn’t
  mean the Bronze Faction didn’t try to bring a great general
  into Creation regardless.
  In public, Zhen Xue is gracious to all, to a point where
  some younger Bronze Faction Sidereals think she could be
  turned to their side. She is happy to let them try to
  convince her, but she learned long ago that she can’t get
  anything out of them using her skills. Most Sidereals are
  too wise to the weapons of Venus to fall for that, but it
  doesn’t mean she doesn’t enjoy the dance. Secretly, she
  despises the Bronze Faction and works against their mea-
  sures — whether it conflicts with the Gold Faction or not
  — when she can.
  
  59
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Within the Inner Circle, Zhen Xue sponsors Summer’s
  Gale, the God-Blood who also serves his mother’s master,
  Green Frowning Bear. Zhen Xue shared his bed briefly, but
  she realized the love he had for Rising River before even he
  discovered it. The Sidereal encouraged the two to fulfill their
  love and keep the information from their powerful parents
  and sponsors. She hopes that any children that come from this
  union will also serve the Cult. Although Zhen Xue shares her
  bed with several Sidereals and Solars within the Cult, she has
  made it a personal crusade to break through the thick walls
  Kai has raised around him, but her frequent efforts to seduce
  him have been met with outright fear.
  Zhen Xue has very pale skin and white hair and keeps
  her body covered in clinging silk and veils to protect her
  from the Southern sun. But while Kai swaddles himself
  thickly to disguise his shape and keep others away, Zhen
  Xue’s masterful outfit does more to attract others than
  outright nudity would.
  Caste: Serenity
  Nature: Conniver
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma
  5, Manipulation 5, Appearance 5, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 3,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 5, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 2, Craft
  (Fate) 3, Dodge 4, Endurance 3, Investigation 1, Linguis-
  tics (Native: Skytongue; Forest-tongue, High Realm, Old
  Realm, Riverspeak) 4, Lore 3, Martial Arts 2, Medicine 4,
  Occult 5, Performance 5, Presence 4, Ride 2, Socialize 5,
  Stealth 1
  Backgrounds: Acquaintances 2, Artifact 3, Backing (Gold
  Faction) 3, Connections (Cult of Illuminated) 2, Familiar
  3, Salary 3
  Colleges: The Lovers 1, The Peacock 3, The Pillar 3
  Charms: Absence, Any Direction Arrow, Avoiding the
  Truth Technique, Blue Vervain Binding, Cash and Mur-
  der Games, Celestial Circle Sorcery, Compassionate
  Essence Replenishment, Defense of Shining Joy, Destiny-
  Knitting Entanglement, Duck Fate, Efficient Secretary
  Technique, Every Direction Arrow, Faultless Ceremony,
  Favorable Inflection Procedure, Five Seasons Approach,
  Force Decision, Generalized Ammunition Technique,
  Harmonic Completion, Heart-Brightening Presentation
  Style, Heroic Essence Replenishment, Hot-Eyed Snake
  Whispering, Ice and Fire Binding, Impose Nature, Life
  Without Compunction, Lover’s Oath, Many Missiles Bow
  Technique, Opportune Shot, Ox-Body Technique (x3),
  Perfection in Life, Prior Warning, Shun the Smiling Lady,
  Smooth Transition, Soft Presence Practice, Song of Spirit
  Persuasion, Stern Essence Replenishment, Terminate Ill-
  ness, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Trouble Reduction
  Strategy, Wanting and Fearing Prayer, Wise Choice,
  World-Shaping Artistic Vision, You and Yours Stance
  Spells: Burning Eyes of the Offender, Corrupted Words,
  Curse of Betrayal, Demon of the First Circle, Disguise of the
  New Face, Gift of Knowledge, Hideous Confusion of
  Tongues, Infallible Messenger, Ivory Orchid Pavilion, Sum-
  mon Spirit Boat, Swift Spirit of Winged Transportation,
  Theft of Memory, Threefold Binding of the Heart, Unity of
  Dreams, Venus’ Disfavor, Voice of Distant Command
  Combos:
  Heart’s Rage (Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower + 3 motes per
  extra arrow + 2 motes per target number reduction):
  Every Direction Arrow, Five Seasons Approach, Oppor-
  tune Shot — Even someone as perfectly polite and inspiring of
  no hostility as the Chosen of Venus can require a hand-up in
  battle. When Zhen Xue focuses her Essence into her bow, she
  releases a flurry of arrows that can hit multiple targets before
  any of her enemies has had a chance to react.
  You Didn’t Mean That (Cost: 10 motes, 2 Willpower +
  1 mote per target number reduction): Cash and Murder
  Games, Hot-Eyed Snake Whispering — Although Zhen
  Xue is better versed in societal etiquette than most, she can still
  find herself losing an audience if the pressure is high. When this
  happens, she straightens her back, lifts her chin and focuses her
  audience on the glory of her sexuality. They are unable to follow
  any coherent thought and can only think to please her.
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 6 Damage 4B Defense 6
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 5 Damage 6B Defense 5
  Starmetal Long Powerbow (Cupid’s Dart): Speed 8 Accu-
  racy 10 Damage 11L (Rate 2, Range 350)
  Dodge Pool: 8
  Soak: 1L/3B
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-
  2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 5
  Personal Essence: 18
  Peripheral Essence: 43 (50)
  Committed Essence: 7
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 7 Damage 4B Defense 9 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 7B Defense 3 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 13
  SOLARS
  The Solars in the Inner Circle are privy to much
  information. They see more of the true power of the
  Sidereals, they understand how far-reaching the Cult of
  the Illuminated is, and they know how far its ambitions
  mean to take it. They are each dedicated to their sponsor
  and mentor, knowing that allying themselves with a mem-
  ber of the Inner Circle is a path to powers they’d never
  achieve on their own.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  60
  Still, these Solars are still kept in the dark on many
  issues, the foremost being the truth of the Solar Purge, and
  only slightly behind that being how they are controlled by
  Sidereal magic when needed. Thus far, no Solar has
  broken the Sidereal control to discover their meddling.
  KRINSTET ORR
  Description: Krinstet Orr Exalted late in life. He is a
  massive, burly older man who had already done his tour for
  the Realm’s forces, serving in the Third Legion and losing
  a hand at the battle of Mishaka in the East. After his
  maiming, he settled in Great Forks and set up a successful
  weapon smithy. He tried not to lose himself in the local
  hedonism of drugs, but as his misery deepened due to his
  handicap, he fell into a drunken stupor more often than not.
  He stayed as true to his work as he was able, however,
  and managed to become well known for his skill. He
  Exalted when a customer, a traveling outcaste, refused to
  pay for his excellent work on an iron great sword for use
  against the Fair Folk. The Dragon-Blood had assumed
  Krinstet would be easily intimidated, as he was well known
  as a drunkard, but Krinstet had exhibited more bravery in
  battle than many Dragon-Blooded and knew his sword was
  the best mortal hands could make. When the outcaste
  swung the weapon in question at him, intending on
  severing his other arm, Krinstet slapped the blade aside,
  shattering the weapon. He leveled the outcaste with a
  punch and stumbled from his shop, anima blazing.
  It was his luck that the Cult of the Illuminated was
  ahead of the Wyld Hunt because Krinstet decided to deal
  with this new phase of his life by getting drunk. The
  Sidereals smuggled him to Nexus for processing. He dealt
  with his induction into the Cult badly, finding the diet —
  mainly the prohibition of alcohol — did not agree with
  him. But once he managed to purify his body, he joined
  readily, seeing it as a new start for himself. Here were
  people that needed his weapons and could teach him
  Charms so he might make them even better.
  Krinstet spent two years studying with the others of
  his caste, learning what ways of the First Age remained for
  the Cult to study on the creation of fine magical artifacts.
  He is a tireless worker, and after his second Calibration
  remaining clean of alcohol, the Gold Faction gifted him
  with a small Manse in which to set up his workshop. He has
  a Dragon-Blooded apprentice who aids him in the tasks
  that require two dexterous hands. He doesn’t use the
  weapons he creates, however, still preferring his fist when
  it comes to fighting.
  Krinstet would call himself past his prime, but he will
  grudgingly admit that the Unconquered Sun would dis-
  agree with him. He focuses entirely on the study of First
  Age technology and spends most of his time in his Manse.
  He ignores all in the Cult except for those of his caste, the
  Sidereals who come to check on his work and distribute his
  goods and his apprentice, Perfect Lotus. He has a crush on
  the younger Terrestrial, but he feels she fancies another,
  and Krinstet Orr would rather lose his other hand than
  reveal his feelings.
  Caste: Twilight
  Nature: Bravo
  Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Perception 4, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 2, Temperance 2,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Brawl 5, Craft (Blacksmithing) 5 (Weapon
  Smithing +2), Endurance 3, Investigation 1, Lore 4, Medi-
  cine 3, Melee 3, Occult 3, Resistance 3, Ride 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Backing 2, Mentor 3, Resources
  2, Manse 1
  Charms: Body-Forging Travail, Body Mending Medita-
  tion, Chaos-Resistance Preparation, Crack-Mending
  Technique, Craftsman Needs No Tools, Dragon Coil
  Technique, Durability-Enhancing Technique, Ferocious
  Jab, Fists of Iron Technique, Flawless Handiwork Method,
  Golden Essence Block, Hammer on Iron Technique, Im-
  purity-Hammering 
  Blow, 
  Knockout 
  Blow,
  Object-Strengthening Touch, Ox-Body Technique (x3),
  Ox-Stunning Blow, Shattering Grasp, Stability-Confer-
  ring Establishment, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Thunderclap
  Rush Attack, World Within a Picture Style
  Combos:
  A Good Day’s Work (Cost: 10 motes, 2 Willpower, 1
  health level + 3 motes per success): Crack-Mending Tech-
  nique, Flawless Handiwork Method — Krinstet Orr is a
  weapon smith first and foremost. His pride is in his work, and one
  
  61
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  of the things he hates is seeing shoddy craftsmanship. With this
  Combo, he takes a broken item and rebuilds it. After being rebuilt,
  the object has the same excellent craftsmanship as if Krinstet had
  made it himself with the Flawless Handiwork Method.
  Hammer and Anvil (Cost: 5 motes, 2 Willpower): Fist
  of Iron Technique, Hammer on Iron Technique — Krinstet
  Orr took his love for his tools and formed a Combo under their
  inspiration. For one action, his fist fills with Essence, becoming
  akin to his hammer. He will then do lethal damage for a number
  of attacks equal to his Essence.
  Base Initiative: 6
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 7 Damage 5B Defense 7
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 6 Damage 7B Defense 6
  Dodge Pool: 2
  Soak: 8L/8B (Orichalcum chain shirt,
  7L/5B)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 15
  Peripheral Essence: 33 (36)
  Committed Essence: 3
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 8 Damage 5B Defense 9 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 8 Damage 8B Defense 4 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 5
  GLIMMERING HORIZON
  Description: Glimmering Horizon never wanted to
  be a fighter. Before her Exaltation, she was a medic who
  excelled in not only mending her patients’ bodies, but also
  giving them the will to continue fighting. She was working
  as a healer in Thorns when the city fell to the Mask of
  Winters, and she opened her humble home to the mortals
  who had been injured by the undead.
  As the gloom of the shadowland encompassed the
  city, Glimmering Horizon worked endless hours as mortals
  sought sleeping draughts to banish horrific nightmares as
  well as good luck charms and protection charms. She tried
  to tell them that she only healed, that she was no priestess,
  but found that it helped them and gave them hope to carry
  placebos. Against her will, she became rather wealthy in
  dealing in these false hopes, as her “patients” insisted on
  paying her for her blessings.
  The Mask of Winters’ deathknights devoured most of
  the Dragon-Blooded forces who had attempted to defend
  the city, but some survived. Glimmering Horizon received
  these and kept them as secret as possible as she attempted
  to heal them, but the damage received from some of the
  deathknights’ healed slowly. On the dawn of the 40th day
  after the fall of Thorns, her door shattered from its hinges
  as the deathknight Weeping Jade entered, demanding the
  lives of the Dragon-Blooded. Glimmering Horizon faced
  the deathknight and told her to leave, as her patients were
  under her protection, but Weeping Jade laughed. She
  advanced on one of the patients, and Glimmering Horizon
  Exalted, kicking the daiklave from the deathknight’s hands
  and knocking her out of the door. She turned and laid her
  hands on the Dragon-Blooded, healing them. They cow-
  ered from her shining form, and she ran before they could
  reach for their weapons.
  Knowing that the enmity of the deathknight and her
  lord would make life in Thorns difficult for her and likely
  deadly for her patients, Glimmering Horizon left the dead
  city. Hearing of the Cult of the Illuminated on her travels,
  she sought out a cell in the Scavenger Lands Cult as a
  Shining One.
  Glimmering Horizon serves the Cult as its chief physi-
  cian, keeping her hospital within the Scavenger Lands but
  traveling where she is needed. She toils tirelessly to heal
  anyone who comes to her for treatment, and she will not
  turn away any patient. She heals innocents she comes across
  on her journeys and preaches the mission of the Cult to any
  she touches. She cares deeply for her patients and feels the
  pain of every patient she loses. She mourns those that surely
  died in Thorns after her Exaltation and knows that the
  deathknight Weeping Jade still pursues her.
  Caste: Zenith
  Nature: Caregiver
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma
  5, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2, Perception 2, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 1
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  62
  Abilities: Craft (Tailor) 3, Endurance 4, Linguistics (Na-
  tive: Riverspeak; Forest-tongue, High Realm) 2, Lore 3,
  Martial Arts 5, Medicine 5, Presence 5, Resistance 3,
  Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Backing (The Cult of the Illumi-
  nated) 1, Familiar 3, Influence 1, Mentor 2, Resources 2
  Charms: Alcohol-Resisting Prana, Body-Mending Medi-
  tation, Flawless Diagnosis Technique, Grievous Injury
  Recovery Method, Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit,
  Harmonious Presence Meditation, Hypnotic Tongue Tech-
  nique, Illness-Resisting Meditation, Listener-Swaying
  Argument, Ox-Body Technique (x3), Salamander’s Touch
  Technique, Serpentine Evasion, Snake Form, Striking
  Cobra Technique, Striking Serpent Speed, Touch of Bliss-
  ful Release, Uncoiling Serpent Prana, Whirlwind
  Armor-Donning Prana, Wound-Mending Care Technique
  Combos:
  Snake in the Boot (Cost: 9 motes, 2 Willpower): Strik-
  ing Serpent Speed, Uncoiling Serpent Prana — Although
  Glimmering Horizon would prefer to heal, she knows firsthand
  that strong attacks are often necessary in this harsh world. In
  this Combo, her anima hardens and strikes at her opponent as
  she takes a second action, usually one to help a fallen comrade.
  She sees her anima strike as a diversion, even though it can do
  considerable damage.
  Base Initiative: 7
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 10 Damage 3B Defense 10
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 9 Damage 5B Defense 9
  Seven-Section Staff: Speed 10 Accuracy 8 Damage 5L
  Defense 12
  Dodge Pool: 5
  Soak: 10L/15B (Orichalcum rein-
  forced buff jacket, 9L/12B)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 16
  Peripheral Essence: 35 (38)
  Committed Essence: 3
  Other Notes: Glimmering Horizon’s familiar is Glint, a
  small, three-legged cat. Initially meant to be little more than
  a companion, this cat has stayed by her side since Glimmer-
  ing Horizon healed its maimed limb. Glint is God-Blooded,
  a daughter of Nakko, a free-spirited — and indebted —
  wood elemental who often takes the shape of a cat. She had
  been injured while running from a demon who had intended
  to have her father’s debt repaid in her black and white pelt.
  It took her right foreleg and would have taken more had
  Glimmering Horizon not fought it off.
  Glint stays by her mistress’ side night and day, watching
  over her patients as closely as she does. Glint keeps an eye
  on patients to watch whether they are close to death or
  not. If a patient is dying and Glimmering Horizon isn’t
  there to attend, Glint alerts her to the situation.
  The maimed little cat is dedicated to her mistress, as she
  knows she would have died had the demon been allowed
  to continue. However, she holds a rather large grudge
  against it and is scheming for a way to lure it into the
  proximity of all of the Exalts that surround her, hoping the
  mighty warriors will take care of what she cannot. She also
  attempts to encourage her mistress to study the Occult.
  These are subtle attempts, as she is just a cat, but she shows
  favor to Exalted who are well-versed in demon-binding
  and attempts to push books of the Occult to Glimmer
  Horizon when she is studying medicine.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 11 Damage 3B Defense 12 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 11 Damage 6B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Seven-Section Staff: Speed 9 Accuracy 8 Damage 6L
  Defense 13 Rate 2
  Dodge Pool: 8
  OTHER NOTABLE CHARACTERS
  Although the Inner Circle’s power lies in its Sidereal
  and Solar members, there are several other members
  without whom the Cult of the Illuminated would stumble.
  Interested and loyal beings such as God-Blooded and
  spirits round out the Inner Circle, serving the Gold
  GLINT
  Nature: Conniver
  Heritage: God-Blooded
  Attributes: Strength 1, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2,
  Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 1, Percep-
  tion 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance
  1, Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Brawl 3, Dodge
  3, Lore 2, Medicine 3, Occult 3, Stealth 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Inheritance 1
  Merits: Awakened Essence
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 8 Accuracy 8 Damage 1L Defense 8
  Claw: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 1L Defense 7
  Dodge Pool: 8
  Soak: 1L/2B
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 1
  Essence Pool: 26
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 8 Accuracy 7 Damage 1L Defense 4 Rate 1
  Claw: Speed 9 Accuracy 8 Damage 1L Defense 6
  Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 9
  
  63
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Heritage: God-Blooded
  Nature: Bureaucrat
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Bureaucracy 5, Dodge 3, Investiga-
  tion 1, Larceny 1, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; High
  Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue) 3, Melee 3, Presence 2,
  Sail 5, Socialize 4, Thrown 4
  Backgrounds: Backing 2, Contacts 1, Inheritance 3, In-
  fluence 2, Mentor 1
  Merits: Awakened Essence
  Base Initiative: 6
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 3 Damage 2B Defense 3
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 2 Damage 4B Defense 2
  Throwing Knife (Melee): Speed 8 Accuracy 6 Damage 3L
  Defense 4
  Throwing Knife (Thrown): Speed 6 Accuracy 7 Damage
  4L (Rate 3, Range 15)
  Dodge Pool: 6
  Soak: 6L/9B (Reinforced buff jacket
  5L/6B)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/
  Incap
  Essence: 2
  Essence Pool: 32
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 4 Damage 2B Defense 5 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 4 Damage 5B Defense 0 Rate 3
  Throwing Knife (Melee): Speed 6 Accuracy 7 Damage 4L
  Defense 4 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 8
  SUMMER’S GALE
  Description: Summer’s Gale is the son of Invincible
  Claw, one of Green Frowning Bear’s huraka. Invincible
  Claw had discovered a mortal traveler, Swift Raiton, lost in
  the Eastern jungles and became enamored of him. She
  brought him back to Green Frowning Bear’s hidden Manse.
  The man readily offered all of his belongings to the great
  wind elemental, impressing Green Frowning Bear with his
  polite generosity. Swift Raiton dined with the god while the
  huraka served them, and at the end of the evening, Invin-
  cible Claw took the man to her bed. The next morning,
  Swift Raiton awoke in the middle of the jungle again,
  wondering if the events had ever happened in the first place.
  Soon, Summer’s Gale was born to Invincible Claw.
  His mother gave him to Green Frowning Bear immedi-
  ately as another loyal servant, and he was raised in the
  court of the mighty wind god.
  Faction while still nursing their own agendas. The figure-
  head of the entire Cult, the mortal Shen Aru, is also a
  member, but only in name. He is so tightly controlled by
  Sidereal magic that he is little more than a puppet.
  RISING RIVER
  Description: Rising River is the renegade daughter of
  Ogime (see Games of Divinity, pp. 57-59). Fakharu,
  Ogime’s rival, thought it would be good fun to trick the
  Frog Queen into lying with a mortal, so he drugged her and
  tricked her into bed with the hapless fool. When she
  awoke the next morning, she slew the man and attempted
  to find out who had tricked her. Although she suspects
  Fakharu, she has no proof as he covered his tracks well.
  Rising River was born later, as strong and as willful as
  her mother. Being half human, she did not share her
  mother’s disdain for mortals and grew bored with the spirit
  courts until a Sidereal Exalt, Kai, approached the court on
  official business one day. She was entranced by him and
  followed him as he left. They spoke briefly, and Kai said
  without preamble to send him a message if she wished to
  be free of her mother’s control.
  It was soon after that she sought refuge in the Cult of
  the Illuminated, desiring to do more with her life than
  argue within the spirit courts on her tempestuous mother’s
  behalf. Ogime was furious at her daughter’s betrayal, but
  Sidereal magic shielded Rising River’s location from her
  mother’s scouts.
  Kai and Ayesha Ura found in Rising River a born
  diplomat, and they invited her to the Inner Circle with the
  caveat that she would be their liaison with the spirit courts,
  putting her back out into the world where her mother
  could find her. Rising River had become dedicated to the
  Cult’s goal in this time, however, and took the risk without
  a second thought.
  Rising River often travels with a Sidereal or Solar
  guard in case she catches her mother’s attention. She has
  yet to run across Ogime’s heketa or the Frog Queen herself,
  since she has stayed away from the spirit courts of the West,
  but she knows that, the more often she visits spirit courts,
  the more likely it is word will return to her mother.
  Rising River has done one more thing to earn her
  mother’s wrath: She has taken Summer’s Gale for a lover.
  The uniting of a child of a lesser elemental dragon of water
  and one of a servant of a lesser elemental dragon of air —
  not to mention that they are two rather unfriendly lesser
  elemental dragons — could cause, at best, a slain God-
  Blood, and, at worst, a war between the elementals. But she
  loves Summer’s Gale and relies on the protection of the
  Cult to keep her love secret and safe.
  Rising River is a thick-bodied, strong woman with
  slightly blue-green skin and green eyes. She dresses like a
  wealthy noble but is always armed with several knives
  hidden on her person.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  64
  When Rol approached Green Frowning Bear with his
  offer of an alliance, Green Frowning Bear sent Summer’s
  Gale to join the Cult of the Illuminated both to serve the
  ends of the Sidereal and serve as the eyes and ears of Green
  Frowning Bear. This was soon after the Solars had returned
  and the training camps were in their infancy. The Sidereals
  used Summer’s Gale’s training as a basis for all the Exalts’
  training within the camps. He showed complete dedica-
  tion to the Cult, and after two years, the Sidereals tested
  him with some preliminary Charms to discover if he was
  controlled by his other master, Green Frowning Bear.
  They discovered that Summer’s Gale’s connection to his
  master was only one of loyalty, not magic, and initiated
  him into the Inner Circle. When this happened, Green
  Frowning Bear was so pleased that he doubled his tribute
  to the Cult of the Illuminated.
  The Inner Circle Sidereals do not fully trust Summer’s
  Gale, however, as they feel his loyalty to his mother’s
  master will divide him in the future. They have placed a
  geas on him to protect their best interests, so he is not
  permitted to reveal Inner Circle workings to Green Frown-
  ing Bear, although he may inform the elemental about
  general Cult news and plans.
  The geas does provide Summer’s Gale with an unex-
  pected boon — it allows him to keep his affair with Rising
  River hidden from his mother and her master. This knowl-
  edge would undoubtedly enrage Green Frowning Bear, and
  he would likely turn this rage on the Cult. Still, Summer’s
  Gale has found love with the companionship of his fellow
  God-Blooded and would not give her up for anything.
  Summer’s Gale is a tall, burly man with slightly green
  skin and yellow eyes. He has many of his mother’s at-
  tributes: strength, stamina and a slower-than-normal
  intelligence. While not stupid, it takes Summer’s Gale
  some time to process information. In some cases, this is a
  hindrance, as thinking on his feet is a near impossibility,
  but many consider him wise if he is allowed to think on a
  situation or an argument before responding. He has been
  known to sit through a heated Inner Circle discussion and
  respond with a solution that everyone realizes should have
  been obvious, had they been paying attention. Summer’s
  Gale is slow to anger — it takes him too long to process that
  he’s been offended — but he thinks a lot faster when it
  comes to an issue that requires physical solutions rather
  than a mental one.
  Heritage: God-Blooded
  Nature: Savant
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 1, Stamina 4, Charisma
  1, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 4,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Brawl 5, Bureaucracy 3, Endur-
  ance 5, Melee 3, Occult 3, Presence 5, Resistance 2,
  Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Artifact 2, Backing (The Cult of
  the Illuminated) 3, Inheritance 2, Mentor 3, Patron 3,
  Resources 3
  Merits: Awakened Essence
  Flaws: Elemental Archetype
  Base Initiative: 4
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 4 Accuracy 6 Damage 4B Defense 6
  Kick: Speed 1 Accuracy 5 Damage 6B Defense 5
  Short Jade Daiklave (Cub’s Claw): Speed 7 Accuracy 6
  Damage 9L Defense 5
  Dodge Pool: 1
  Soak: 6L/6B (Breastplate, 4L/2B)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/
  Incap
  Essence: 2
  Essence Pool: 31 (36)
  Committed Essence: 5
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 4 Accuracy 7 Damage 4B Defense 8 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 1 Accuracy 7 Damage 7B Defense 3 Rate 3
  Short Jade Daiklave (Cub’s Claw): Speed 7 Accuracy 8
  Damage 8L Defense 5 Rate 6
  Dodge Pool: 3
  HIRU, LESSER ELEMENTAL DRAGON OF WOOD
  Description: Hiru was active during the Usurpation,
  building extravagant and hidden safehouses in the Far
  Eastern lands for Solars to hide. When the Bronze Faction
  and the Dragon-Blooded found his cache of hidden Solars,
  Hiru fought on the front line with them, but he disap-
  peared when the Solars started to lose the battle. Sidereals,
  of both the Gold and Bronze Factions, searched for him,
  but he had hidden himself quite well.
  During the next several hundred years, Hiru took the
  form of a young male merchant with bright green eyes and
  black hair, selling baskets, furniture, even simple jewelry
  woven entirely of vines. His intricate weaves brought high
  prices although few people knew of their true purpose.
  Hiru had woven a bit of his Essence into each vine so that
  every piece of merchandise he sold was still attuned to it.
  Furniture counts as Artifact •••, allowing Hiru to spend
  2 motes to listen to whatever is said in the vicinity of the
  item, jewelry is Artifact ••, allowing Hiru to spend 2
  motes to know where the wearer is in all of Creation, and
  a basket is Artifact •, allowing Hiru to spend 1 mote to
  discover what is being held in the basket.
  As he peddled his wares and sent his spies all over
  Creation, Hiru searched for signs of the Solar Exalted.
  After 1,500 years, he was ready to throw in his support with
  the Bronze Faction. There had been no solid leads on
  
  65
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  surviving Solars, and even the Gold Faction was no longer
  active. Then, the whispers came that the Solars had
  returned. Knowing the Gold Faction would soon find
  them, Hiru contacted Kai, whom he had encountered on
  occasion and informed the Sidereal of his support.
  Hiru does not support the Sidereal cause so much as he
  understands that the Solars are, by far, the strongest Exalted
  and will eventually rule again. He wants to be known as
  someone who supported their fight for their rightful place
  atop Creation. In a fight, he is a coward who will flee a battle
  if he feels he is losing. It does take some time, however, to
  convince him he is losing, and he is a strong fighter up to that
  point. He fights in human form with a bow strung with vine,
  using Charms. If forced, he will take his full dragon form, a
  50-foot-long serpent with green scales and yellow eyes. Hiru
  will attempt to capture a foe in his coils and constrict them,
  all the while attacking her with his venomous bite.
  Hiru’s power lies in the artifacts he has scattered all
  over Creation, although it requires a successful Intelli-
  gence + Lore roll at difficulty 4 for him to discover where
  a certain piece is. Ayesha Ura knows of his cowardice and
  doesn’t prize this ally for his fighting ability. However, he
  can aid in safe passage through the forests of the East, and
  his artifacts are useful. She is currently trying to get one of
  his creations into the office of Chejop Kejak.
  Nature: Conniver
  Attributes: Strength 7, Dexterity 6, Stamina 9, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 6, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 4, Temperance 4,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Awareness 5, Brawl 5, Bureaucracy
  5, Dodge 6, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Flametongue,
  Forest-tongue, High Realm, Riverspeak, Seatongue,
  Skytongue) 6, Lore 5, Melee 5, Occult 5, Performance 6,
  Presence 4, Socialize 4, Stealth 5 (Within Forest +3)
  Backgrounds: Allies 5, Artifact 5, Backing (Cult of Illu-
  minated) 2, Contacts 5, Manse 5, Resources 6
  Charms: All listed spirit Charms
  Elemental Powers: All elemental powers
  Cost To Materialize: 50
  Base Initiative: 11
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 14 Accuracy 12 Damage 15L* Defense 10
  Claw: Speed 17 Accuracy 14 Damage 12L Defense 14
  Constrict: Speed 10 Accuracy 18 Damage 9B** Defense 9
  * Hiru’s bite can do venom damage of 20L three times per
  day, and that damage cannot be blocked or dodged.
  ** Every turn his enemy cannot free herself from Hiru’s
  coils, she takes an additional 5B damage.
  Dodge Pool: 12
  Soak: 15L/30B (Dragon hide, 10L/
  20B)
  Willpower: 9
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-
  1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 7
  Essence Pool: 132
  Other Notes: A person who owns one of Hiru’s artifacts
  can discover what she has with a successful Intelligence +
  Lore roll, difficulty 8.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 14 Accuracy 12 Damage 15L* Defense 10 Rate 3
  Claw: Speed 17 Accuracy 14 Damage 12L Defense 14 Rate 3
  Constrict: Speed 10 Accuracy 18 Damage 10B** Defense
  9 Rate 1
  * Hiru’s bite can do venom damage of 20L three times per
  day, and that damage cannot be blocked or dodged.
  ** Every turn his enemy cannot free himself from Hiru’s
  coils, he takes an additional 5B damage.
  Dodge Pool: 19
  MARU
  Description: Maru had one of the few celestial lion
  jobs in Creation. She was assigned to guard the ancient
  Sijanese tomb of a being so old that even she did not
  remember who or what was contained there. She peti-
  tioned for a better job, and when she received no answer,
  she resigned her position in disgust.
  Lupo and Kai were in Sijan at that time when they
  heard the amazing tale of the celestial lion’s absence, and
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  66
  they investigated. They caught up with Maru outside of
  the city and suggested that, if she needed a job, she could
  join their cause in the Cult of the Illuminated. She had
  heard little of the Cult during her brief off-duty times in
  Yu-Shan and was eager to learn all she could. The Sidereals
  treated her respectfully and informed her of all they
  thought she should know.
  Lupo gave Maru the duty of guarding the training
  camp located in the Scavenger Lands, and she takes great
  pleasure in guarding something with actual value to sen-
  tient beings. She sometimes accompanies him on his
  travels as his guard, although they both know he does not
  need it. After centuries guarding a forgotten tomb, Maru
  is desperate to see Creation. Lupo indulges this and fre-
  quently invites her to accompany him, unaware that he is
  fostering the lion’s crush on him.
  She did take a journey without Lupo to discover what,
  exactly, she had been guarding in Sijan. No other celestial
  lion had taken the post, and she entered the crumbled tomb
  unmolested. Nearly everything inside had long since
  crumbled to dust, and she got the distinct feeling that any
  ghosts had done as she had: given up and wandered else-
  where. It is beginning to burn at her to find out what it was
  she had been guarding, and she returns to the tomb when
  she can. She has only found one item intact so far: a very
  small crown made of orichalcum. She keeps it in the tomb
  and has not told her Sidereal allies of her find, feeling it is
  hers alone. She has been studying what Lore and Occult she
  can within the Cult to try and identify the object.
  Maru believes in the worth of the Cult, and even if
  Lupo were not to return her love, she would still serve it.
  It is an honorable practice to make the world a better place,
  and from what she has seen of corruption in her brief
  journeys, she feels things need changing.
  Nature: Thrillseeker
  Attributes: Strength 12, Dexterity 6, Stamina 9, Cha-
  risma 5, Manipulation 3, Appearance 6, Perception 4,
  Intelligence 6, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 4,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 5, Awareness 5, Dodge 5, Endurance
  5, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Eastern Tribal Tongues,
  Flametongue, Forest-tongue, High Realm, Riverspeak) 5,
  Lore 5, Martial Arts 5, Occult 5, Presence 5, Resistance 5,
  Socialize 3, Stealth 3, Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Influence 2, Backing (The Cult of the
  Illuminated) 3
  Charms: Camouflage, Essence Bite, Hoodwink, Instill
  Obedience, Materialize, Measure the Wind, Paralyze, Prin-
  ciple of Motion, Stillness, Tracking, Words of Power
  Cost To Materialize: 55
  Base Initiative: 11
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 14 Accuracy 14 Damage 24L Defense 11
  Claw: Speed 17 Accuracy 20 Damage 18L Defense 18
  Dodge Pool: 11
  Soak: 30L/30B (Orichalcum hide,
  25L/20B)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-
  0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 5
  Essence Pool: 102
  Other Notes: When Maru’s player achieves a successful
  Intelligence + Lore roll at difficulty 9, the celestial lion will
  discover she has found the Crown of the Lost King. This
  Artifact ••• wonder was worn by a Solar king, River
  Moth, even before the time of the Solar Deliberative. He
  was a cruel king and would need bonuses to his Manipula-
  tion and Presence to force his troops to do the heinous
  things he commanded, so he fashioned this crown. It gives
  a two-die bonus to all rolls requiring Manipulation or
  Presence. These effects do not stack, so if the wearer’s
  player must make a Manipulation + Presence roll, he does
  not receive a bonus of four dice.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Bite: Speed 11 Accuracy 16 Damage 24L Defense 11 Rate 3
  Claw: Speed 14 Accuracy 14 Damage 18L Defense 18 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 16
  WATER THE FIELDS WITH BLOOD
  Description: Although he remembers nothing of his
  life, Water the Fields with Blood was once a young
  graverobber. He was discovered by Princess Magnificent
  with Lips of Coral and Robes of Black Feathers when he
  looted the corpses of ghosts loyal to her. She took a liking to
  the beautiful boy and defied her master, the First and
  Forsaken Lion, by creating an Abyssal servant as her own
  toy, Water the Fields with Blood, a Midnight Caste. In her
  desperate attempt to keep the new Abyssal secret from the
  First and Forsaken Lion, her hold on him slipped, and he
  escaped. The Sidereal Lupo found him outside of Thorns,
  fleeing the Mask of Winters’ servants. Instead of slaying him
  where he stood, as his Solar companions bade him do, Lupo
  rescued the deathknight and took him to Ayesha Ura.
  Although Ayesha Ura refused his entrance into the
  Cult of the Illuminated at first, Lupo convinced her that
  Abyssal members would lend power to the Cult, not to
  mention give them valuable insight into these previously
  mysterious beings. And knowing the deathknights will put
  them one step closer to knowing the Deathlords. Water
  the Fields with Blood was processed as a Cult Shining One,
  although few besides Lupo seek his somewhat darkly
  Illuminated company. He serves Lupo as faithfully as he is
  able. While not part of the decision-making center of the
  Inner Circle, Water the Fields with Blood is one of Lupo’s
  close apprentices and has access to many Inner Circle
  meetings. Lupo controls him with Charms and sorcery —
  not to the level of Shen Aru, but he knows that the pull of
  the Deathlords is strong and that Water the Fields with
  Blood must be protected. And so must the Inner Circle.
  
  67
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Regardless of his origins, Water the Fields with Blood
  desires to have the evil scoured from his soul. His willing-
  ness to serve the Cult has given the leaders a way to do
  some of the more unsavory work they feel necessary, as he
  is keen to do any kind of task, no matter how distasteful.
  (Unbeknownst to all involved, his desire to perform these
  tasks for the Cult is a way he subconsciously diverts the
  Abyssal Curse).
  Princess Magnificent with Lips of Coral and Robes of
  Black Feathers is furious about the loss of her deathknight,
  but she knows she cannot put forth too much of an effort
  to find him, else the First and Forsaken Lion will discover
  her transgression. But Water the Fields with Blood is not
  free from the Deathlords’ eyes, as the Lover Clad in the
  Raiment of Tears has caught wind of his existence and is
  delighted that there is a deathknight sitting in the midst of
  Solars, many newly Exalted. She whispers to Water the
  Fields with Blood at night, tempting him to her side, seeing
  him as a way to help her subvert more Solar servants. She
  does not count only on Water the Fields with Blood,
  however, so she has also sent some of her own deathknights
  to investigate the Cult.
  The Cult will send Water the Fields with Blood on
  missions to preach the word of the Illuminated to those
  who prove to be resistant to the cause. He has also proved
  efficient in removing Immaculate monks from an area that
  has a strong Cult following. His methods have been
  proven to win over whole towns with minimal, albeit
  inevitable, loss of life and sanity. Although his converts
  turn to the Cult out of fear rather than a heartfelt belief in
  the Cult’s mission and doctrine, the Sidereal leaders have
  full confidence in their ability to turn the frightened,
  skeptical minds once they belong. Water the Fields with
  Blood is the ultimate bad cop.
  Water the Fields with Blood is smaller than the
  average deathknight, with gray, peeling skin and white
  eyes. He is bald, and although he prefers to wear nothing
  but breeches, the Cult found that he had little presence
  with his diminutive size. They garbed him in flowing robes
  and a full black mask to make others take notice. When he
  travels alone, he packs his robes and mask in a saddlebag
  and rides his horse, a massive light gray mare called
  Portents, at full speed under the light of the moon, allow-
  ing the wind to tear the dead flaps of skin from his body. He
  seeks no lovers, but some Solars are inexplicably drawn to
  him — and horrified at their own desire.
  Caste: Midnight
  Nature: Martyr
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 2, Stamina 4, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 1,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Brawl 1, Endurance 4, Larceny 1,
  Melee 4, Performance 3, Presence 4, Resistance 1, Ride 3,
  Survival 2, Thrown 4
  Backgrounds: Artifact 1, Backing (The Cult of the Illumi-
  nated) 1, Mentor (Lupo) 1
  Charms: Artful Maiming Onslaught, Blade-Summoning
  Gesture, Command the Dead, Elegant Tyrant’s Majesty,
  Forceful Spirit Spur, Furious Blade, Ghost Armor Prana,
  Haunting Inflection Trick, Hungry Missile Technique,
  Incomparable Assassin Method, Morbid Fascination Style,
  Ox-Body Technique (x2), Resplendent Shadow Blade,
  Savage Shade Style, Skeleton Summoning Gesture, Soul
  Reins, Superior Predator Style, Thieving Raiton Claws,
  Void Sheath Technique
  Base Initiative: 4
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 4 Accuracy 3 Damage 4B Defense 3
  Kick: Speed 1 Accuracy 2 Damage 6B Defense 2
  Soulsteel Goremaul (Spring Thunder): Speed 4 Accuracy
  8 Damage 10L Defense 7
  Throwing Knife (Melee): Speed 6 Accuracy 6 Damage 5L
  Defense 4
  Throwing Knife (Thrown): Speed 4 Accuracy 6 Damage
  6L (Rate 3, Range 15)
  Dodge Pool: 2
  Soak: 6L/6B (Breastplate, 4L/2B)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-
  2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 15
  Peripheral Essence: 31 (36)
  Committed Essence: 5
  Other Notes: None
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  68
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 4 Accuracy 4 Damage 4B Defense 5 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 1 Accuracy 4 Damage 7B Defense 0 Rate 3
  Soulsteel Goremaul (Spring Thunder): Speed 11 Accu-
  racy 8 Damage 10L Defense 7 Rate 4
  Throwing Knife (Melee): Speed 4 Accuracy 7 Damage 6L
  Defense 3 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 5
  SHEN ARU
  Description: Shen Aru is but a mortal within the
  Gold Faction-controlled Cult of the Illuminated, but he
  holds a vital role. He was the leader of the Cult before the
  Sidereals took it over, and considering that Sidereals are
  not fond of visibly ruling any Creation organization, Ayesha
  Ura kept him on as leader in order to keep up appearances.
  He was slightly mad, only in the aspect of fully
  believing in the Cult doctrine well before the Solars
  returned. He does not make the connection between the
  Anathema and the Shining Ones, and his true belief
  makes him perfect for Sidereal control. Although they use
  sorcery and Charms on him frequently, it is likely that that
  he is so devoted to the cause that he would follow them
  without a drop of magic. The Sidereals do not take that
  chance, however, and Shen Aru is so deeply controlled
  that little of his own will remains.
  The man retains his own personality, and his devo-
  tion to the Cult has not changed. The Sidereals merely
  replaced any will he had to question or discuss their
  decisions with their own. He follows Ayesha Ura’s lead, all
  the while thinking that it was his own.
  His mind is slowly deteriorating, however. It wasn’t
  terribly stable to begin with, and growing up impover-
  ished, orphaned and following a drug-addicted madman
  didn’t do well to foster stability. The level of Sidereal
  magic that has penetrated his mind is considerable, and it
  is likely his days of retaining his sanity are numbered.
  There are, of course, plans waiting to be put in motion
  for the day Shen Aru either dies or loses all control of his
  mind. Ayesha Ura has a replacement mortal already in
  mind, and she has been prepping her with sorceries for a
  couple of months now. Ling Chu is a young woman who had
  been born within the Cult a mere 20 years ago, but she is
  devoted and smart. Ayesha Ura feels her mind can handle
  the brunt of Sidereal magic better than Shen Aru’s has. Still,
  the man is not disposable; he’s been at the helm of the Cult
  for years, and it will cause an upheaval when he steps down.
  But as usual, the Sidereals are prepared for this eventuality.
  Nature: Visionary
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma
  5, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 2, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 3,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 2, Bureaucracy 1, Endurance 2, Inves-
  tigation 2, Larceny 2, Linguistics (Native: Low Realm;
  Riverspeak) 1, Lore 2, Martial Arts 4, Medicine 1, Pres-
  ence 3, Resistance 1, Ride 2, Socialize 4,
  Backgrounds: Allies 2, Backing (The Cult of Illuminated)
  5, Followers 2, Influence 2, Mentor (Ayesha Ura) 2
  Base Initiative: 6
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 8 Damage 3B Defense 8
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 7 Damage 5B Defense 7
  Staff: Speed 6 Accuracy 8 Damage 5L Defense 7
  Dodge Pool: 4/3
  Soak: 3L/7B (Buff jacket, 3L/4B, -1
  mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 1
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 9 Damage 3B Defense 10 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 5 Rate 3
  Staff: Speed 14 Accuracy 11 Damage 10B Defense 10 Rate 2
  Dodge Pool: 5/4
  ARTIFACTS
  The Cult of the Illuminated has possession of many
  artifacts, several being for general use (with permission, of
  course). Many Exalts have their own artifacts, but several
  enter the Cult just-Exalted and having just escaped the
  Wyld Hunt with only their lives and the clothes on their
  backs. The Cult has what amounts to a lending library of
  artifacts, with Sapphire Sparrow keeping track of all arti-
  
  69
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  SHEN ARU’S LEASH
  Shen Aru has been the somewhat mad leader of the Cult of the Illuminated since before the Solars returned.
  It would have been awkward for the Sidereals to simply co-opt the cult and displace him, but even though they have
  “proven” to him that the Shining Ones do exist, they can’t trust him to follow their subtle reining like a docile pet.
  Sidereal Charms and sorcery control Shen, allowing him to keep the same eccentricities and personality as
  he had before, but he will never go against a suggestion by a Sidereal. Below are listed some of the charms and
  sorcery used to control him, and who performs them.
  Shen Aru’s Leash: Ayesha Ura named her Combo of Sidereal Charms after her puppet figurehead. She uses
  this mixture of Charms to ensure that Shen Aru belongs to her and only her.
  Threefold Binding of the Heart: Ayesha Ura uses this spell on Shen Aru during the first day of every
  Calibration. His mind is so saturated with Sidereal sorcery now that it is probably unnecessary, but Ayesha Ura
  is nothing if not thorough.
  Subordinate Inspiration Technique: Any Sidereal who knows this Charm is permitted to use it on Shen Aru,
  or any Cult leader, to make absolutely sure that he is pacifically following along with the Sidereal plan.
  Other useful Charms and spells to use on mortals within the Cult include: Breaking the Wild Mortal,
  Favorable Inflection Procedure, Compassionate Essence Replenishment, Cash and Murder Games, Theft of
  Memory and Wanting and Fearing Prayer.
  facts and their users. No one knows the penalty for stealing
  an artifact from the Cult, as it has never been accom-
  plished. Sapphire Sparrow did catch one hapless Solar
  trying to pilfer an item, and currently, this Solar is serving
  the Cult as a disguised white-robed mortal initiate within
  the Nexus cell while a stern Sidereal watches over him
  until his time of penance is done.
  Artifacts with empty Hearthstone slots can be claimed
  and used by an Exalt who possesses a Hearthstone, with the
  permission of Ayesha Ura. The Inner Circle generally
  considers the Exalts in the Cult as its charges that it does
  wish to reward from time to time, but the Sidereals give out
  artifacts carefully and not without great cause.
  GOLDEN BIRD OF SUNLIGHT (ARTIFACT •••)
  One of Vanileth’s gifts, each of these small gilded
  birds is propelled by Vanileth’s magic. They are each small
  enough to sit in the palm of the hand and are easily
  concealed. An Exalt can hold one and whisper a message
  to it and to whom it needs to tell the message. The bird will
  then fly off at 100 miles per hour and, if the person can be
  found within Creation, will find her. It cannot follow
  people into shadowlands, the Wyld, Yu-Shan, the Under-
  world or a well-guarded Manse.
  Once it has found its target, the bird will perch in the
  person’s hand and whisper its message to her. It will repeat
  it twice if asked and then wait for a return message. If there
  is none, it will wait for five minutes and then fly back to the
  person who sent it. The Inner Circle only uses the golden
  birds to carry messages to people whom they trust, as the
  possibility of theft is too high if they send the birds to
  people outside of the Cult. The Cult of the Illuminated
  owns 10 of these birds: Each Sidereal in the Inner Circle
  keeps one, and the other four are available by request.
  THE HOLY WRIT OF TWILIGHT
  (ARTIFACT •••)
  This massive tome looks gold and gleaming as new,
  but it is centuries old. Pure orichalcum is weaved through
  the cover of this lost book from the First Age. It fell into the
  hands of a Twilight Caste Solar Exalt when she stole it
  from some Immaculate monks. Their pursuit of her alerted
  the Cult to her existence, and she and the book landed
  safely in the Cult’s training camps. The book is useless in
  the hands of any but those Solars of the Twilight Caste; it
  attunes to whoever is reading it with 3 motes and increases
  that Solar’s Occult Ability by 2 for the next hour (to a max
  of 7). If a non-Twilight Caste read it, they would discover
  the sorcery initiation diaries of 10 First Age Solars, a
  priceless historical account in itself.
  THE TEARS OF THE HARVEST (ARTIFACT •••)
  Some gold does not come from the hard shine of
  orichalcum, but instead, from the soft grains of wheat
  that feed the Realm. Although most First Age Exalts had
  no concern for the mortals who fed them, some held the
  farmers in high regard, knowing that, if they died, the
  Exalts would have to sully their own hands with the
  menial labor. One Exalt, Onyx, felt this keenly when he
  unwittingly led a battle through his own kingdom’s
  farmland. When the ground was soaked with mortal
  blood, he realized no one would be left to heal the land
  and work the farms. Out of respect for those who died in
  his battle, he crafted the Tears of the Harvest, orichalcum
  bracers. His feeling was that if the farmers had owned
  bows to defend themselves and had the endurance to last
  the battle, things might have been different. Once the
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  70
  FROM THE PRIVATE JOURNALS OF SHEN ARU
  I was born 37 years ago with my eyes clouded. My parents were poor, dirty servants to the
  Dragon-Blooded in the Realm. I was taught the Dynasts and those that served the Elemental
  Dragons were demigods and worthy of worship. But I saw otherwise. Although they told us
  with their Immaculate Order that all mortals could work in this life to be reincarnated as one
  of them, they did not treat us as likely to become Dragon-Blooded. When I learned I was to
  be sold to them for food money, I ran away.
  Vax found me and tutored me. He showed me that my impressions of the Realm and the
  Dynasts were true and taught me that the Illuminated Ones would come soon to free us from
  the yoke of tyranny. I followed him eagerly, and one night, he showed me what he saw: The
  gods spoke to me as well, telling me I would be the herald of the Shining Ones when Vax could
  not longer carry the banner.
  I saw a golden room, surrounded by five orbs. They spoke to me, telling me they were gods
  and that I was chosen, second only to Vax. They promised truths and power if I would but
  listen. I learned of the Shining Ones, beings the gods were to bring to Creation if only I could
  make sure Creation would welcome them. These were the children of the gods who would take
  the seat of power from the grasping Dragon-Blooded Dynasts and return the world to the
  glory of long-gone days.
  I came back to myself burning with a new resolve. Vax sat beside me, staring into the fire,
  tears streaming down his face. I told him what I had seen, and together, we wept. They had
  asked me, lowly Shen Aru, to pave the way for the Shining Ones.
  Although Vax had recruited several followers in those days, we still were very poor. Vax
  took every piece of jade that we begged for and used it for our travels to find more to wel-
  come the Illuminated. We begged for food and hoarded our money to serve the Cult. We
  traveled to areas with little Immaculate Order influence so we could be heard without fearing
  for our lives.
  wearer has committed 5 motes of Essence, he becomes
  attuned to the bracers. The Tears of the Harvest have one
  empty Hearthstone setting and allow the wearer’s player
  to subtract 4 from the difficulty of all Archery rolls (to a
  minimum difficulty of 1).
  SHINING DAIKLAVE OF DARKNESS
  (ARTIFACT ••••)
  This short daiklave was forged with the thief in mind.
  It is a black blade forged of starmetal, the only one of its kind.
  The Celestial Bureau had decided that a thieving god
  needed to be destroyed, and a Sidereal took his Essence
  along with his crimes and managed to forge a black starmetal
  daiklave. Knowing no better use for black starmetal, the
  craftsman imbued the blade with the skills of those who
  must keep hidden. Exalted thieves and assassins talk about
  this blade in hushed tones, knowing that it exists but not
  where it resides. This daiklave takes 5 motes of Essence to
  attune it to a Sidereal user, whose player can then enjoy a
  reduction of 3 to the difficulty of all rolls for both Larceny
  and Stealth. It has two Hearthstone settings. Speed +1
  Accuracy +4 Damage +8L Defense +3 Minimums S • D •.
  In Exalted Power Combat, it has Rate 6.
  CRY OF THE ILLUMINATED (ARTIFACT •••••)
  This flying machine is what Ayesha Ura and Krinstet
  Orr created from Vanileth’s blueprints. The Cry of the
  Illuminated is a golden flying machine, capable of carrying
  10 people and moving at speeds of 100 miles per hour. It is
  not a subtle machine, however, and creates considerable
  noise upon takeoff and landing if not silenced with a
  Charm or a spell. It is beautifully decorated with gold and
  gems, clearly the chariot of a queen and her retinue. It
  resembles an aerial rickshaw of Yu-Shan in its body’s
  egglike design, but it has wings with propellers jutting from
  the sides. Ayesha Ura hides the Cry of the Illuminated in an
  underground building near the Scavenger Lands training
  camp and weaves Charms and spells to obscure its location
  from everyone but Lupo.
  
  71
  CHAPTER TWO • THE INNER CIRCLE
  Some thought us mad. But some stayed and listened. We all wanted a way to
  dislodge the Realm’s influence from our lives, and Vax and I had been handed a way
  by the very gods of heaven. We took our small cache of money and purchased
  threadbare golden robes and wore our hair long in defiance of the Immaculate
  Order’s monks. We walked the streets as holy men, and people listened.
  I must admit, the first years were hard. For every one person who looked to us for
  guidance and freedom from hardship, twelve would throw shit at us, laugh at us or
  report us to the Immaculate Order. When the bald monks would come striding down
  the street at us, that became the time to run. The Immaculate Order would not listen
  about the coming of the Shining Ones; its job was to silence us, by force if necessary.
  The darkest hour was when Vax died at the hands of an Immaculate monk who
  felt no compunction in breaking an old man’s neck. I fled, damning myself for leaving
  him in the street, but desperate to save my own life. I wept in the shadows, praying
  for Shining Ones to arrive, to finally make their entrance, to avenge my friend and
  father, but they did not. I have learned since that Shining Ones are not to be sum-
  moned, even by tears.
  I kept my resolve, for Vax. I had to. I took the mantle of leadership, although it fit
  me uncomfortably. We did find blessings in the oddest of places, however. When
  traveling through Nexus, an anonymous benefactor gifted us with a small, run-down
  building in which to say our prayers without persecution. Every once in a while, some-
  one would toss us some jade. And we found more and more willing members to join us
  and, in turn, to go out and spread the word that the Shining Ones were coming.
  Years passed. It was frightening, I must admit, taking the leadership after
  Vax’s death. I had many questions, many nights where I stared into the blackness
  and doubted, yes, even I doubted. But I knew nothing but the Cult’s work, and I
  found I did believe.
  I fell in love once. It did nothing for me but to destroy the heart that beat beneath
  my breast and to throw me further into the arms of my true love, the Cult. Her name
  was Heli Inasulnon, and she was from the South. She had fallen into the Cult’s safety
  net while fleeing her family’s debtors. We gave her sanctuary and trained her in the
  shadowy arts to give her tools with which to protect herself from her attackers. She
  taught me things as well, taught me to see the world outside the Cult and the people
  who needed us there, where I had been thinking that we, the Cult, needed the citizens
  of Threshold as members. They needed us, and I needed Heli.
  She died, of course, having been sent on a mission to scout for Immaculate
  monks in the wilderness. I do not know if she died at the hands of the monks or at the
  claws of a wild beast, but she never returned. I mourned her, and the Cult suffered
  for my immature reaction. When I came to realize that, though people can die and
  hurt you, the Cult is forever, I finally became fully married to it. I believe that was
  when the Shining Ones decided I was worthy of their visitation. Heli was my sacri-
  fice, and in retrospect, I gave her willingly.
  Much has happened in the past four years. It has been so glorious and wrought
  with so many miracles that a lot of it is a blur. I have met many of the Illuminated
  demigods who are to free us from the Realm’s control. I have made decisions to
  change the Cult, make it stronger, larger. Resources are pouring in at a rate I cannot
  keep up with, but that is all right. We have accountants to keep up with that. All I
  know is that I eat better than ever in my life. My companions are now strong, focused,
  righteous warriors, and it is an honor to guide them and the mortals who follow them.
  The Cult is so large now, it is somewhat difficult to keep track of it all. The
  Emissary helps a great deal, advising where she sees fit. I don’t know what I would
  have done without her. She knows how to determine when we are to receive another
  Shining One from Heaven, and we meet often to discuss the future of the Cult and
  the latest movements of the Realm.
  The intricate workings of the Cult sometimes tire me, and I feel older than my 37
  years. I will serve the Cult and lead it until I am unable, however, because that is
  how things should be. Vax left me with this charge, and I will take care of it.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  72
  MISSING ART. HERE SOON.
  
  73
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  CHAPTER THREE
  THE TRAINING
  CAMPS
  The Solars have fallen far since the glorious days of
  the Old Realm. No longer a mighty paragon drunk on
  towering pride, the modern Solar is a furtive creature,
  flitting from village to village as he dodges the jade
  daiklaves of the Wyld Hunt. In an era filled with the
  indoctrination of the Immaculate Order, many young and
  confused Solars lack any understanding of their true na-
  ture, even believing themselves the incarnations of devils,
  damned through some unknown sin of a bygone lifetime.
  Though sparks of glory still burn within their chests, they
  lack the support of a society and are forced to struggle for
  survival rather than assert the dominion that is their
  birthright. Kings though they may be, these Princes of the
  Earth dress in tattered rags while they seek to save a world
  that reviles them.
  However, in recent days, old legend has been given
  new flesh in the form of the Illuminated Ones. Unlike the
  other modern Solars, they stand tall and proud, unafraid of
  what they are. They allow their animas to billow forth as
  they preach their holy word to the masses, offering an
  alternative to the stifling teachings of the Immaculate
  Order and the excesses of the Realm. They wield golden
  weapons and armies of fanatically loyal soldiers who at-
  tend to their every whim, eager to sacrifice themselves to
  serve these glorious lords. Monsters and rampaging war-
  lords fall at their hands as they defend the weak and in
  return ask only for respect and reverence. Embodying the
  best of the legends that came before them, these noble
  champions of virtue, these paragons of humanity, bring
  hope to the eyes of all who witness their glory.
  These shining heroes are the messiahs long proph-
  esied by Shen Aru. Gathered by the faithful guides of the
  Cult of the Illuminated, these young Solars learn of their
  heritage as kings and their destiny as saviors. Both gods
  descended from Heaven and demons bound from the pits
  of Malfeas offer wisdom and martial tutelage to these
  divine lords. Unlike their untrained counterparts, the
  Illuminated Ones have the resources, skills and sense of
  purpose to shape the world. However, behind the drawn
  curtains of the Cult, the Gold Faction quietly shapes Solars
  into perfect weapons, hoping to use them to advance its
  own agendas and to return the world to the glory of the
  bygone First Age. Despite all their greatness, propaganda
  and indoctrination blind these saintly warriors.
  RECRUITMENT
  The first moments of Exaltation are wonderfully trau-
  matic. In a confluence of fate, skill and fortune, a human
  transforms from mortal to divine. His spiritual eyes open,
  his Essence unlocks, and for a single, miraculous instant,
  nothing is beyond his power. Above him, a star flares as the
  heavens mark the coming of a new champion. Then, the
  perfect moment fades, and the newly Exalted Solar stands
  alone and confused, barely aware of his true nature.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  74
  To a skilled astrologer, the signs of a new Exaltation are
  unmistakable. Both the Bronze and Gold Factions react
  within moments of the birth of a new Solar, each marshal-
  ling its forces to be the first to seize him. In this dreadfully
  important race, the efficient and deadly Wyld Hunt has the
  advantage of centuries of practice and tradition. The re-
  cruiters of the Cult are less skilled. To compensate for the
  disparity, the Gold Faction often unleashes a distraction,
  usually a brief attack on the Wyld Hunt, to provide cover for
  the recruiting agent. Traditionally, mortal cultists were
  sacrificed in the assault, but more recently, small strike
  teams of Cult-trained Solars have unleashed their power on
  unsuspecting Wyld Hunts, sometimes defeating them out-
  right. Ideally, the distraction allows enough time for the
  recruiter to spirit away the bewildered young Exalt before
  the Wyld Hunt reaches him.
  Most often, the Cult relies on mortal agents to guide
  newly Exalted Solars. No greater calling exists for these
  cultists, for though merely mortal, their hands touch the
  divine, rescuing him from forces that would slay him, and
  set his feet upon the path to enlightenment. Those who
  wish to serve as guides dedicate their lives to understand-
  ing the scripture of the Cult in hopes of better understanding
  Solars, though this training seldom fully prepares them for
  the tumultuous encounter with a panicked, newly Exalted
  Chosen of the Sun. When Exalt and guide first meet, the
  guide’s first priority is gaining the trust of the Exalt. She has
  little time to bathe in the glory of the Solar, for the Wyld
  Hunt is hot on her heels. With reverence shining in her
  eyes, she approaches the Solar and speaks honestly, telling
  him who she is and whom she serves and offers him her aid
  in bringing him to his proper place among the Shining
  Ones of the Cult. She uses any resources she has to help the
  Solar, binding his wounds if he is injured, hiding him if the
  Wyld Hunt stalks the streets and whispering to him of the
  urgency of his situation. Ultimately, the decision to join
  the Cult lies in the hands of the Solar. Many Solars grow
  suspicious of the motives of the Cult or fear a trap and flee
  their guides. Should a Solar accept the guide’s offer, he
  immediately receives her loyalty and aid. The intense
  hardships surrounding the encounter of guide and Exalt
  often form bonds between the two. Once she fulfills her
  duties to the Cult, a guide often offers personal loyalty to
  her Solar and serves as his closest companion and advisor
  for the remainder of the her comparatively short life span.
  At times, a mortal agent is insufficient. Perhaps the
  Solar is too powerful or too important to risk his loss at the
  hands of a bumbling mortal. Perhaps the situation is too
  dangerous and a mortal lacks the necessary skill and power
  to accomplish the task. In such rare cases, the Gold Faction
  dispatches a Sidereal. The Sidereal sent is usually as young
  and new to her powers as the Solar, for the elders can
  seldom spare the time to run such errands. The experience
  of Solars guided by Sidereals differs greatly from those
  guided by mortals. Unless another Sidereal leads the Wyld
  Hunt against the Solar, it has little hope against an Exalted
  guide. Rather than working to gain the Solar’s trust, the
  Sidereal insinuates herself into the Solar’s confidence
  with social magics. Though some few Solars have the
  strength of will to resist a Sidereal recruiter, they seldom
  have reason to do so. Generally, the guide hides her true
  nature from the Solar, for such a revelation might trigger
  ancient memories of his death at the hands of a Sidereal,
  and a young Solar, if angered, is a danger to even an
  experienced Exalt. Some circumstances demand the re-
  lease of that information, however, and a few Sidereals
  even take their Solar wards as acquaintances, but such
  situations are rare.
  Once the Solar accepts the aid of the Cult, the guide
  has little time to bring him safely to a training camp.
  Though distracted, perhaps even wounded, by the am-
  bush, the Wyld Hunt will quickly reorganize itself to hunt
  for the missing Anathema. The training camps arm each
  guide with some method of long-distance communication,
  often only a simple artifact or thaumaturgical ritual, to
  contact gods and Sidereals in the service of the Cult. After
  bringing the Solar to an isolated location, one temporarily
  safe from the murderous eyes of the Dragon-Blooded, she
  signals the Cult, who promptly dispatches someone to
  retrieve the young Exalt. After arriving, a sorcerer might
  make use of spells such as Stormwind Rider or Conjuring
  the Azure Chariot to quickly bring the Exalt to the
  training camp, while a god might make use of her own
  variation of Charms such as Capture, Transport or Portal.
  The Cult’s resources are often tight, however, and the
  guide sometimes finds herself without support. During
  such cases, Solar and guide must make a harrowing journey
  across hostile lands, hiding from the Wyld Hunt wherever
  they can until the Cult can spare someone to fetch them.
  Sidereal guides have more options available to them.
  Often trained in sorcery, they seldom need to contact
  anyone else, and once in an isolated place, they can cast
  Stormwind Rider or Conjuring the Azure Chariot to
  quickly bring the Solar to his new home.
  THE TRAINING CAMPS
  Raised on exaggerated tales of the First Age, the
  Sidereals of the Gold Faction had long yearned to restore
  Creation to that glorious era. Without warning, the Solars
  resurfaced, and fate offered the Gold Faction its best
  chance ever for retaking the reins of Creation from the
  Bronze Faction. These secret masters of the Cult had
  supreme confidence in the Solars’ unified strength, for
  they were created to be kings, and Creation naturally bows
  to them. However, these young and confused Solars needed
  training and guidance if they were to survive the might of
  the Dynastic Realm. Knowing this, the Sidereals moved
  quickly to create training camps for the Solars.
  
  75
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  While all of the Gold Faction agreed upon the neces-
  sity of training the Solars, they did not agree upon the
  method of that training. Ayesha Ura backed Venerable
  Silk’s bold plan, the method most consistent with her view
  of what the Illuminated Ones should be. Lupo, however,
  feared Venerable Silk’s approach would inevitably result
  in a return to the corruption that felled the First Age and
  vocally backed Maduka Shin’s strategy. Kai laughed qui-
  etly and denounced both Maduka Shin and Venerable
  Silk as unfit for leadership. He praised the efforts of a third,
  less known member of the Gold Faction, suggesting a third
  option for a training method. The debate raged until Zhen
  Hue finally suggested a compromise. Rather than focus all
  of the Gold Factions resources into a single training camp,
  they should construct three, each following a separate
  philosophy. Rol, eager to end what he saw as meaningless
  and unproductive chatter, backed her approach and even-
  tually won the support of most of the Gold Faction. Thus,
  the Gold Faction crafted three training camps rather than
  one, but to this day, tensions remain between the three
  schools, and Solars from one camp often feel compelled to
  prove the supremacy of their school over the others. This
  rivalry complicated cooperation between the three schools,
  a weakness within the Gold Faction’s approach.
  The sudden return of the Solars took the Sidereals by
  surprise, and due to the time consumed by the debate, the
  Gold Faction had little time to construct its training
  camps. The three Sidereal masters took extreme measures
  to ensure that their respective camps were operational by
  the time the first Solars arrived for training. Venerable Silk
  summoned legions of demons to the mountains of the
  North to craft a beautiful Manse worthy of the Exalted.
  Maduka Shin seized an abandoned fortress in the South
  and rapidly refurbished it. The third master quietly con-
  structed the final school away from the prying eyes of the
  other two masters. To create the proper atmosphere of
  venerable tradition, each Sidereal decorated his camp
  with artificially aged furnishings, made subtle and illegal
  alterations to Heavenly records or carefully constructed
  intriguing mythologies to explain the sudden “reappear-
  ance” of the camp. The evidence is illusory, however, and
  each camp appeared a mere handful of years ago, almost
  literally overnight.
  The camps serve primarily to train Solar Exalted.
  Gods, bound demons, elementals and Sidereals fill each
  school, each instructor more powerful and wise than the
  last. However, only Solars can master Solar Charms and
  techniques, and for all the power the instructors wield,
  they lack the facilities to use even the simplest of the
  Charms that they must impart to their Solar charges. To
  overcome this problem, the camps have several tech-
  niques. First, the Sidereals have studied the underlying
  principles of Solar magic by understanding sorceries and
  martial arts based on Solar Essence. Though the knowl-
  edge this gives them is rough, it allows the Sidereals to
  construct lessons that, when supplemented with appropri-
  ate katas and mantras, instruct each Solar in the rudiments
  of his Essence. Rather than teach Charms directly to the
  Solars, most of the lessons serve to inspire epiphanies and
  ease and guide the Solar’s self-instruction. Secondly, each
  camp employs two or three former students in the role of
  tutors, and these more experienced Solars teach their
  Charms directly to younger Exalts. Finally, the Gold
  Faction employs one of its greatest secrets to increase the
  speed at which its pupils learn. Lytek, God of Exaltation,
  overjoyed to see the return of the Solars, readily agreed to
  aid the Gold Faction. When Lytek prunes the memories
  from returned Solar shards, he saves his clippings. Mixing
  these fragments of ancient personalities with tears shed by
  the Unconquered Sun, Lytek creates a potent and danger-
  ous tincture. The Gold Faction secretly dilutes small
  portions of the mixture in the purified water Illuminated
  Solars drink during their noon prayers. The influence of
  the tincture invigorates the Illuminated Ones, brings
  them closer to their Essence and heightens their pride and
  the natural effects of their mood swings. Despite the
  dangers of this untested elixir, the Gold Faction feels that
  the importance of their task justifies the risk involved.
  Instruction alone is insufficient if the schools lack
  security. The most important task of any training camp is
  the safety of its students. Each camp is isolated from the
  rest of the world, whether it hides within remote jungles or
  cloaks itself in deceptive sorcery. Should an enemy dis-
  cover the location of a camp, hundreds of tiger warriors
  support the school, prepared to die in the defense of their
  messiahs. Further, in addition to the gods, demons and
  Sidereals that tend to the camp, each school contains
  roughly 20 Solar students and a handful of more experi-
  enced Solars, an unprecedented collection of Celestial
  Exalted. To have any chance of success, an assault on a
  camp would require a large army supported by a host of
  Exalted, at the very least.
  Without the loyalty and dedication of the Illumi-
  nated Ones, the Gold Faction’s project would crumble. To
  this end, the training camps pepper their students with
  propaganda. Each Solar is expected to memorize impor-
  tant passages of Cult scripture, and teachers subtly inject
  indoctrination into the very structure of their lessons.
  Surrounded by faithful mortals, instructed by gods and
  served by demons, most Solars have no difficulty believing
  that their predestined role is that of divine savior.
  Finally, the camps serve as nerve centers for Gold
  Faction operations. No other locations benefit from as
  much of the faction’s investment as the training camps.
  Already well suited to support Solars, they serve as natural
  resting points and homes for Solar operatives. With so much
  power collected in a single place, the Cult has little reason
  to create command centers elsewhere. Instead, Solars and
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  76
  their allies remain, constantly training and improving them-
  selves until the day they are called upon to serve the needs
  of the Cult and, by extension, the Gold Faction.
  THE SEQUESTERED
  TABERNACLE
  Heavenly glory, in the form of the Illuminated Ones,
  has descended upon the cities of the North from their
  home within the elusive peaks of the Dehennen Moun-
  tains. Like paragons of humanity, these black robed men
  and women have breathtaking, serene countenances, and
  their eyes glow with faith. When they speak, power throbs
  in their words and fills those who listen with understand-
  ing and fulfillment. Their message makes all the world
  seem so clear. Despite their apparent tranquility, only a
  fool underestimates them, for their fists are lightning quick
  and their mastery of Essence unparalleled. Immaculates
  who confront them find their theology ripped to tatters
  and their bodies broken. The Realm’s greatest nightmare,
  these Illuminated Ones elegantly shred the long-held
  beliefs that chain humanity, freeing them to see the glory
  of Heaven with their own naked eyes.
  Tales of the Shining Ones inspire whispers of their
  home: the legendary temple known as the Sequestered
  Tabernacle. Hidden away in the mists of the Dehennen
  Mountains, at the heart of a valley paradise, the glorious
  holy site rises up in ivory and golden spires. Within its
  beautiful gardens and hallowed halls, the Illuminated
  Ones study fundamental truths of the world and reflect
  upon their own inner perfection. Those who seek them out
  receive miraculous healings and epiphanic revelation — if
  they are worthy. Those who offend these divine paragons
  suffer wounds and humiliation as the Shining Ones drive
  them out with righteous fury. The Sequestered Tabernacle
  is the sacred home to the most sacred of living beings.
  Venerable Silk, the founder of the Sequestered Tab-
  ernacle, understands the fundamental nature of Solars.
  Their power, he believes, stems from their towering sense
  of self. Any attempt to reform Solars by restraining their
  pride is doomed to failure, for it is as innate to their nature
  as heat is to flame. Rather than attempt to defeat their ego,
  Venerable Silk accepts it, encourages it, feeds it. A Solar
  is perfection and the culmination of all that is good, he
  whispers to them, and then, he humbly asks to guide them.
  By accepting their flaws as their strengths, he seeks to
  redirect their hubris from the decadence of the First Age to
  his personal vision of a glorious new era.
  THE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY
  To enact his philosophy, Venerable Silk needed an
  edifice worthy of the Solars he wished to train. After the
  destruction of the majority of Solar Manses at the end of the
  First Age, few such places remained in Creation. He needed
  
  77
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  to build one, and quickly. First, he chose a location, one
  isolated and beautiful enough to suit his purposes. He
  approached Defiant Eminence, the jealous god of the
  Dehennen, who, flattered, agreed to allow the temple to be
  built within the misty confines of his mountains. There,
  Venerable Silk and other Gold Faction Sidereals spent a
  year summoning packs of demons to construct the Manse
  and further packs to haunt the outlying stretches of the
  mountain and dissuade unwanted visitors. The Sequestered
  Tabernacle rises three stories above the brilliant green of the
  valley. Each floor is symbolic and important, illustrating the
  levels of enlightenment a Solar must achieve before he
  receives true Illumination. Stones of pure white marble
  covered with Old Realm inscriptions depicting texts from
  the doctrines of the Cult make up the structure. A tall and
  massive door, plated in gold, bars entrance to the unworthy.
  Balconies with gilded railings dot each floor, so that the
  Cult’s divine saints may step through flowing white veils to
  behold the worshipful masses. Five spires rise from each
  corner of the temple, their engraved surfaces covered in gold
  to reflect the glory of the sun. No windows adorn the outside
  of the structure, for mortals are unworthy of looking in upon
  the world of the Illuminated Ones, and the Illuminated
  have no reason to behold the outside world while meditat-
  ing upon their inner perfection. A dome of exquisite blue
  glass caps the top of the large, beautiful structure, a palace
  worthy of the emissaries of the gods.
  The inner architecture of the Sequestered Tabernacle
  is as metaphorical and divine as the design of its façade. The
  first floor is the simplest of the three, representing terrestrial
  elements, the newly Exalted, the Root of the Perfected
  Lotus, the Emerald Circle of Sorcery and the lowest level of
  enlightenment. The hallways are narrow, made of simple
  white walls and hard marble floors. This level contains the
  training chambers of the newly initiated Solars as well as
  their living quarters. Each Solar student resides in a small
  and simple room, containing enough space for a pallet and
  a table with a candle. Five such rooms cluster around a
  central dining and living chamber, and each cluster rests in
  a corner of the temple, housing a separate Circle of Solar
  students that train together. At the heart of this floor is a
  garden, representing all the beauty of earthly Creation.
  High above, the blue-glass dome casts the rays of the sun
  down upon the garden, and all lighting within the dim halls
  is radiated from this central garden by an array of mirrors.
  The next floor represents the celestial elements of Yu-
  Shan, the experienced Exalted, the Bulb of the Perfected
  Lotus, the Sapphire Circle of Sorcery and the second level
  of ascendancy. Here, wider halls allow greater freedom of
  movement and internal windows of adamant allow better
  illumination. Lines of gilded text decorate the white
  marble walls, illustrating fundamental precepts of the Cult
  to those who walk its halls. This floor is home to the adepts
  of the Sequestered Tabernacle, those few who have al-
  ready graduated from their lessons but continue their
  studies while ministering to the Cult. Because adepts
  occupy a greater tier of ascendancy than students, they’re
  allowed larger rooms filled with personal property, often
  Cult texts and pieces of art. At the center, above the
  garden, lies a small maze of balconies and walkways, all
  delicate and white, decorated with crystal chimes that
  flutter on a magically generated breeze that flows through.
  The third and highest floor represents the divine ele-
  ments of the Unconquered Sun himself, the elder Exalted,
  the Blossom of the Perfected Lotus, the Adamant Circle of
  Sorcery and the pinnacle of ascendancy that all Solars seek.
  No hallways exist here, only pillars and openings that allow
  complete freedom of movement and soft breezes that caress
  the faces of those who walk this glorious floor. This level
  contains the palatial quarters of the masters and instructors
  of the Tabernacle, massive rooms filled with elegant art,
  expensive furnishings and personal artifacts, all testament
  to the glory of their position. Venerable Silk himself resides
  here. Libraries of sorcerous lore and storerooms of powerful
  artifacts lie on this level, carefully locked and guarded unless
  a Solar student has need of them. At its heart lies the
  glorious blue dome, source of illumination for the entirety of
  the Sequestered Tabernacle.
  THE SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE
  (MANSE •••)
  The Sequestered Tabernacle rests on the thick-
  est nexus of dragon lines in the Dehennen, making
  it the largest Manse in the area. Though a level-4
  Demesne, Venerable Silk lacked the time and re-
  sources to make full use of the Demesne’s power. As
  a result, the Sequestered Tabernacle is merely a
  level-3 Manse.
  An oval gem of pure, glowing white named the
  Devotion Stone is the Sequestered Tabernacle’s
  Hearthstone, resting within the central gardens of
  the first floor. Aspected to Solar Essence, the
  Devotion Stone draws upon the power of the
  wielder’s faith, both strengthening him in times of
  crisis and blinding him with his own internal
  dogma. Anytime the wielder’s player rolls his
  character’s Conviction, whether he does so be-
  cause the Exalt channeled Conviction, because he
  confronts a limit condition for a Conviction-based
  Virtue Flaw or for any other reason, all dice stem-
  ming from his Conviction are converted to
  automatic successes. Venerable Silk allows all Solars
  within the Manse to attune to it, but he carefully
  arranges who holds the Devotion Stone so that the
  extreme behaviors it often induces won’t damage
  any of the Gold Faction’s objectives.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  78
  For all their glory and perfection, the Solar Exalted
  still need to eat, and the Tabernacle doesn’t clean itself.
  The lowest level of the Tabernacle lies beneath the
  ground, filled with everything necessary to meet the
  student’s base requirements. It represents the lowest tier
  of Essence, that of the mortality from which the Exalted
  spring. Unworthy of the light of the sun, this floor is dark
  and shadowy, lit only by artificial light created with tiny,
  diverted flows of Essence from the Manse. Boilers hiss as
  they heat the baths of the Exalted, pots bang within
  kitchens as cooks prepare daily meals and mortal workers
  whisper fervently as they haul supplies into storerooms.
  Those who serve within the Tabernacle itself, usually
  petty gods or specially sanctified mortals, make their
  homes in small chambers on this floor. The entrance to
  the basement lies behind the Tabernacle, away from the
  eyes of the worshipful masses, in the form of stairs that
  descend directly to the lower floor: servants entering the
  lowest level never actually enter the Tabernacle itself so
  as not to contaminate it with their unworthiness.
  THE ROLE OF THE SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE
  The foremost purpose of the Shining Ones of the
  Tabernacle is the spread of the Cult’s influence through
  evangelization. They are the Illuminated face of the Cult,
  living proof of the truth of its teachings. Circles of Illumi-
  nated Solars go forth into the world, dazzling the masses
  with miracles, saving them from danger or oppression and
  then handing down persuasive arguments and compelling
  theology. They also assault bastions of other faiths. Be-
  cause it represents the greatest danger to the Cult, most of
  their aggressive attention focuses on the Immaculate Or-
  der. Cloisters are challenged and burned, their monks
  either forcefully converted or physically defeated. While
  they have thus far made little impact upon Realm satrapies,
  a few of the more peripheral Northern states that follow
  the Immaculate Order suffer greatly from the Sequestered
  Tabernacle’s campaign.
  In addition to spreading faith, the Shining Ones must
  also reinforce and sustain the faith of the scattered and
  besieged sects of the Cult. Illuminated Solars descend
  upon the ranks of the Cult, showering them with healings
  and blessings, allowing them to witness firsthand the
  power of those they worship. The Shining Ones lift up
  those cultists deemed most worthy, recruiting them to
  serve the glory of the Illuminated at the Tabernacle itself.
  Dangers threaten the Cult from within and without, and
  the Solars work daily to uncover these threats and defeat
  them. While the Illuminated are too important to tend to
  the day-to-day concerns of local parishes, they do oversee
  the management of the Cult, if only to root out corruption
  and inefficiency.
  To serve and protect the Illuminated, the Sequestered
  Tabernacle has its own breed of tiger warriors. They lack
  the numbers and militant overtones of Kether Rock’s
  soldiers but make up for it in martial discipline and
  fanatical devotion. Rather than learn the sword and shield,
  most tiger warriors of the Sequestered Tabernacle practice
  martial arts, due to the spiritual symbolism associated with
  the techniques. Each and every tiger warrior within the
  Tabernacle looks forward to the day they may die in the
  service of an Illuminated One and pass on peacefully to his
  next, more glorious life. The culmination of this philoso-
  phy is found in the Falling Blossom Style, a Terrestrial
  martial art taught to the most enlightened of mortal
  warriors who make up the elite bodyguards of the Illumi-
  nated and their finest religious assassins.
  GEOGRAPHY
  Venerable Silk chose the location of the Tabernacle
  for symbolic reasons. Rather than use sorcery and Charms
  to bring newly recruited Solars directly to the school, he
  leaves them instead in the tundra that surrounds the
  Dehennen, and with the help of their guides, they must
  unravel the secrets of the Tabernacle’s location. As a Solar
  searches for the training camp, every step on his journey is
  laden with meaning. Even before he sets foot into the
  Sequestered Tabernacle, he has experienced the sacrifices
  necessary to find the dominion of self that he seeks, and
  pride fills him at his success. With this task already accom-
  plished, Venerable Silk is free to begin more advanced
  lessons with the Solar.
  First, a petitioner must show willingness to step be-
  yond the boundaries of his safe life to enter a dangerous and
  strange world, not knowing what lies beyond the horizon
  of his ignorance. Frozen tundra surrounds the Dehennen
  Mountains, a land filled with monsters and wandering
  barbarians. In addition to braving the frosty dangers of the
  North, those who enter these frozen lands to find the
  Sequestered Tabernacle can trust no map, for Defiant
  Eminence and the gods of the tundra work together to shift
  the location of the Dehennen. Only those worthy of the
  next trial ever witness their mist-covered slopes.
  Finding ascendancy is not enough. Next, the petitioner
  must struggle for self-mastery, and the Dehennen Moun-
  tains present him with physical hardships, filled with pitfalls
  of deception and winding paths of self-indulgence. Because
  Defiant Eminence continually pushes his fingers higher into
  the sky, the crags that make up the Dehennen are sharp.
  Avalanches and landslides constantly threaten the unwary.
  A cloak of mist shrouds the mountain range, for Defiant
  Eminence refuses to show his face until his height and his
  glory are greater than that of the Imperial Mountain. This
  mist hides dangers such as treacherous ravines and sudden
  dead falls. Only those determined to master the Dehennen
  discover its final reward.
  At last, the chilling mist breaks, and sunlight falls
  upon the face of the victorious petitioner. His struggles
  
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  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  have rewarded him with rudimentary self-mastery, and he
  now stands at the threshold of the magnificent Valley of
  the Elect. The constantly temperate climate, maintained
  by bound elementals, allows lush, green grass and waving
  fields of golden grain to exist between the bare slopes of the
  Dehennen. A road winds from the valley entrance, leading
  the petitioner through a collection of quaint cottages filled
  with reverential villagers to the Tabernacle itself, at the
  heart of the valley. Once he stands before the golden doors
  of the temple, they open before him, allowing him to enter
  and take his proper place as an Illuminated One.
  TRAINING
  When a Solar first enters the Sequestered Tabernacle,
  he is showered with honors, for he has overcome great
  obstacles. His entire journey culminates in this moment.
  As the glorious temple doors open, a vision of the beauti-
  ful, marble interior greets him. Standing in a circle, golden
  robed masters await him, their heads bowed solemnly as he
  steps in. The doors close behind him, and the circle
  welcomes the young Exalt, ushering him into the central
  gardens to partake in a grand feast, the last he shall receive
  for some time. After he has enjoyed the feast and the
  company of his fellow Solars, the gardens grow quiet, the
  crowds parting to reveal Venerable Silk himself. The
  boyishly beautiful and humble Sidereal elder steps for-
  ward, his silk robes swirling about his bare feet, to kneel
  before the newly arrived Solar and kiss the ground upon
  which he stands. Looking up with large, handsome eyes,
  the Sidereal pleads for the honor of guiding and instructing
  the Illuminated One, squashing any remaining doubts
  with subtle Social Charms. After the Solar agrees, he is
  formally accepted into the Sequestered Tabernacle.
  A newly accepted Solar is stripped of his worldly
  possessions so they do not distract him from his quest for
  sainthood. These treasures are stored away, mementos of
  his old life, until he should request them again, long after
  his graduation. Beyond a set of Cult scriptures, a cleansed
  and sacred bowl for his ceremonial water and a candle, the
  training Illuminated Solar has nothing. For dress, all
  petitioners receive black robes that are wide across the
  shoulder with long, loose sleeves, a tight fitted waist and
  flowing skirts. Those who graduate are allowed to clothe
  themselves as they choose, but most prefer to remain in the
  robes, marking their collar in some fashion to differentiate
  themselves from petitioners. The masters assign each new
  student to train with the Circle deemed most auspicious
  for him. Each Circle takes quarters in its own cluster, so
  that each student’s Circlemates are always nearby.
  THE FIRST YEAR
  An initiate’s day begins early, for those seeking
  ascendancy have no time to rest. Everyone in the Taber-
  nacle awakes at dawn just as the peasants outside the
  walls offer up their morning prayer. Servants bring a meal
  of unleavened bread and steamed vegetables to the cen-
  tral chamber of each cluster. The initiates receive an
  hour to dine and converse with one another before the
  training begins in earnest.
  Morning lessons begin with exercises and martial
  training. After witnessing the successes of Immaculate
  training methods, Venerable Silk chose to use similar
  techniques in the training of Solars. Martial arts center the
  mind and the soul, balancing internal Essence with a
  mixture of movement and discipline. In addition to en-
  hancing and focusing the Essence of the Solar, it also
  grants him the martial prowess necessary to defend himself
  in the chaotic world of the Second Age. While early
  lessons are general in nature, the trainers expect Solars to
  quickly identify with a style that suits them, and all further
  lessons focus on that technique. Because the primary focus
  of the Tabernacle is upon sainthood, not martial prowess,
  the enlightening sutras and katas of martial arts receive
  emphasis beyond all else. However, masters do not ac-
  tively discourage combat techniques other than martial
  arts. Many Illuminated of the Tabernacle practice archery
  or train in the use of melee weapons, particularly those
  weapons used by their styles.
  Afternoon lessons consist of more general education.
  Mathematics, arts and sciences, logic and history, particu-
  larly of the Cult’s version of what occurred during the First
  Age, are all important aspects of the curriculum. Further,
  the Sequestered Tabernacle schools all of its Solars thor-
  oughly in the disciplines of forensics, philosophy and
  theology. Venerable Silk expects each of his pupils to be
  able to quote any passage from Cult doctrine, as well as to
  have complete mastery of the flaws of the Immaculate
  philosophy. Debate is exceptionally important, and verbal
  sparring matches between initiates are often more heated
  and entertaining than their martial contests. A fully trained
  Illuminated One can best an Immaculate in both the fields
  of martial arts and of theology, gaining converts as well as
  battlefield victories.
  Because of the philosophy the masters use to instruct
  their students, discipline in the Tabernacle requires a
  unique approach. Solars who join the temple come from
  all parts of the world and bring a great variety of social
  mores and cultural differences. Conflicts between these
  varied and egotistical beings are inevitable. Traditional
  punishment would humiliate Solars in violation of the
  tenets of the Tabernacle, so Venerable Silk must ensure
  that each Solar learns his lesson of his own volition.
  Teachers assign an erring Solar a koan to contemplate or
  a physical challenge to accomplish and then dismiss him
  from his lessons until he has mastered the task at hand. The
  nature of his assignment requires him to reflect upon his
  lack of judgment, and he seldom repeats his error. Not all
  Solars are so reasonable, however, and some deliberately
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  80
  cause difficulties and defy the compassionate and humble
  teachings of the Tabernacle. For these problematic cases,
  the servants retreat and allow an older Solar to handle the
  situation. The older Solar usually exposes the weakness of
  the undisciplined Solar in a private duel, and while often
  humiliating, this punishment comes from the hands of a
  peer. This maintains the illusion of Solar supremacy,
  setting the students apart from the “lesser” teachers, while
  maintaining strict discipline.
  Representing the very ideal of the Cult, Exemplars
  are expected to achieve complete self-mastery and en-
  lightenment. Their path is a self-centered one, focused
  entirely on the advancement of their own being and then
  serving as examples to others. Those who take this course
  are either the most selfish of the initiates or the most
  selfless. Regardless, they are those who excel beyond all
  others. Their training intensifies everything from the first
  year as each Exemplar pushes herself beyond the limits
  most other initiates experience. The Exemplars perfect
  their bodies, and their understanding of the body, through
  the study of martial arts and medicine. They perfect their
  mind, studying the greatest depths of theology and phi-
  losophy, even going so far as to unlock the secrets of
  Essence and the practice of sorcery. Finally, they perfect
  their souls by sharing their talents with others. Their words
  of wisdom resonate in the spirits of those who hear them,
  and they perform miracles of Essence for the faithful.
  Serving a more functional role for the Cult of the
  Illuminated, Inquisitors travel among the faithful, rooting
  out heresy and overcoming dangers to the Cult. Their path
  is a selfless one, and many lose their identities behind the
  mask of service. Both feared and respected, those who
  follow this path generally have confrontational personali-
  ties. Yet, they often possess a deeply compassionate streak,
  for they must confront crises on behalf of the weak.
  Inquisitors must find what troubles the community, often
  by exposing that which is hidden. Thus, the Inquisitor is
  taught investigative techniques and learns how to discern
  truth from lies. Inquisitors must confront that which
  threatens the community, so in addition to his martial
  techniques, he learns to battle with spirits and demons.
  Inquisitors often travel into the Dehennen to battle the
  demons that haunt the mountains, remnants of the mas-
  sive task force that was summoned to construct the
  Tabernacle. Finally, Inquisitors monitor the more mun-
  dane well-being of a community, seeking out fiscal
  corruption and criminal wrong doing.
  The last and rarest of the three, Itinerants are those
  Solars who travel the wilds of the world, seeking new lands
  for Cult settlements and guiding those cultists who travel
  the dangerous wilds of Creation. The Cult spreads thinly
  across Creation with small communities often clumped far
  from one another. Itinerants maintain communication
  between these communities. Where an Inquisitor oversees
  the general health of individual communities, it is the
  Itinerant’s task to protect the Cult as a whole. Their path
  takes the Itinerants far from the Tabernacle, requiring
  them to be self-reliant and totally dedicated to the cause,
  lest absence weaken their faith. Those who choose this
  Calling have a strong desire for independence and wither
  within the confines of narrow Tabernacle halls, but at the
  same time, they chain themselves with a greater dedica-
  tion to the Cult than either of the other two Callings.
  THE SECOND YEAR
  Second-year students have learned the basics of what
  the Tabernacle teaches. The second year for students
  includes more advanced lessons than what they learned in
  the previous year, particularly in the fields of martial arts,
  theology and debate. In addition to their general curricu-
  lum, students find themselves in increasingly specialized
  courses. Venerable Silk has observed each student’s
  strengths and weaknesses during his first year, and he
  chooses a path for her to follow. Nothing official occurs,
  and no pronouncements are made. The student simply
  finds the lessons subtly veering into one of the Callings of
  the Tabernacle. As this Calling generally suits the tem-
  perament of the student, few complain. These specialized
  lessons begin to instruct the Solar in the basics of his role
  within the Cult of the Illuminated. While some of the
  lessons are practical, most take place within the safe
  confines of the Tabernacle.
  THE ARTS OF THE TEMPLE
  Martial-art instruction at the Sequestered Tab-
  ernacle focuses primarily on the four Celestial arts
  best suited to Solars: Snake Style, Tiger Style, Ebon
  Shadow Style and Praying Mantis Style. Though
  familiar with them, the Gold Faction Sidereals
  avoid teaching the Elemental Dragon Styles. They
  are less skilled in the styles than the Bronze Faction,
  and they wish to avoid confusing their pupils by
  teaching them these “blasphemous” styles. The Se-
  questered Tabernacle generally doesn’t teach the
  more esoteric styles, such as Hungry Ghost or Dream-
  ing Pearl Courtesan, primarily because the Sidereal
  instructors are unfamiliar with them. Solars receive
  no training in Terrestrial-level styles, as they’re seen
  by the Tabernacle as beneath Solars. Due to its
  dangerous nature, the sifus of the Tabernacle spe-
  cifically reserve Falling Blossom Style for
  Dragon-Blooded or enlightened mortals, never in-
  structing Solars in its use. Finally, the Gold Faction
  wishes to retain some secrets from its Solar charges,
  and so, thus far, it has withheld the secrets of
  Sidereal-level styles from the Solars.
  
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  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  Because they travel so often, learning the ways of the land
  is vital. Itinerants, donning heavy coats and scarves, jour-
  ney forth into the Dehennen and into the tundra beyond.
  They learn to survive the worst of conditions and to walk
  even the Wyld lands. To deal with the stranger things in
  the world, such as gods and ghosts, Itinerants also learn the
  occult, allowing them to find dragon lines and to protect
  themselves from spirits. The primacy of their purpose,
  however, is to protect and interact with members of the
  Cult. They learn to guide others, keeping them safe in dire
  circumstances, and how to make others feel at ease in dark
  times. Itinerants often make fine storytellers.
  THE FINAL YEAR
  Most within the Tabernacle see the final year of train-
  ing as a formality, a polishing of the skills they have already
  learned. A thin line divides such advanced students and the
  graduates, often only a marked collar and the floor of their
  residence differentiates them. By the third year, an initiate
  is mature enough to choose his own courses and regimens,
  and guidance from his instructors diminishes. In fact, the
  Solar no longer truly needs their aid, for the final steps to
  ascendancy can only be taken on his own.
  During the final year, initiates go out among the
  people, practicing their future roles in the field. Through
  fate manipulation, godly magics and old-fashioned subter-
  fuge, the instructors of the Tabernacle carefully engineer
  encounters meant to guide the Illuminated in the field.
  Perhaps on his journey, the Solar may encounter a mortal
  Immaculate preaching to a Cult village, or he may find a
  monster assaulting a caravan. Regardless of its nature, each
  experience enlightens the Solar in some small way through
  either failure or defeat. These secret trials also test the
  mettle of the Solar, gauging his loyalty to the Cult.
  Only the initiate knows when his training is complete.
  Eventually, during this final year, returning to the Taber-
  nacle will seem tiresome, the old koans too simple. The
  Solar realizes that he has outgrown his old, worldly things
  and that the lessons of the Tabernacle no longer suit him.
  He is above their teachings, ready for the hard lessons only
  the struggles of life can offer. When he feels he is ready, he
  steps before Venerable Silk and informs him of his readiness
  to serve. In those rare cases where the initiate truly is
  unready, Venerable Silk employs skillful and subtle psychol-
  ogy, allowing the Solar to discover for himself his own
  unreadiness. For the remainder, Venerable Silk only bows
  his head, and the Solar is thereafter referred to as adept, his
  quarters and personal belongings moved to the second floor.
  Though his formal training is complete, ascendancy is
  a process, not a goal, and Solars must constantly practice
  self-perfection. The Tabernacle offers its services to adepts
  as instructors, helping to guide them to greater heights of
  skill and power. Greater rank results in greater freedom of
  curriculum. While Solar students always had, in theory, a
  modicum of control, in practice, their instructors deter-
  mined their training. Now, adepts truly may choose what
  subjects to study, and they often gain instruction in more
  esoteric subjects such as unusual martial arts or more
  personalized Charms. Those Solars who find the Taber-
  nacle particularly appealing work to become instructors in
  their own right. While only a handful of Solars, those who
  were first recruited, have achieved the rank of master, the
  Tabernacle encourages Solars to take this course, for Solar
  students respond better to the tutelage of other Solars.
  KETHER ROCK
  Divine warriors of an era long past have returned to
  the battlegrounds of the South. Rising from the sands of
  the most inhospitable regions, these robe-swathed heav-
  enly champions strike without warning. Armed with blades
  cast of the finest orichalcum, battling like the fiercest of
  desert lions, they carve their way through entire regi-
  ments, wield devastating, sorcerous fires and blaze with
  holy beauty. Witnesses claim they wear ornate, glittering
  armor and move as though they were born in it. Often,
  long, flowing scarves hide their lower faces and billowing
  white or black robes, sometimes emblazoned with a sun-
  burst or marked with flowing texts, swath their bodies, and
  square-toed boots protect their feet. Inspired by their
  godlike commanders, the soldiers who follow them display
  fanatic loyalty, inhuman precision and righteous fury.
  Their wrath is almost always leveled against the forces of
  the Realm and those allied with them, and even dedicated
  legionnaires fall before their blades to the uncertain cheers
  of the enemies of the Dynasty. And just as quickly as they
  appear, the desert winds rise, and the forces of a vengeful
  Heaven vanish. With their true nature and intentions a
  mystery, Southerners weave colorful and dreadful tales
  around these divine warriors, while knowing only that
  their appearance marks a clear shift in the South’s destiny,
  for good or for ill.
  Deep in the badlands of the Central South, amongst
  broken mesas and imposing cliffs, lies Kether Rock, heart
  of the Southern Cult and home to these divine warriors. It
  looms over its surroundings, its earthy, impenetrable bul-
  warks carved from the living stone of a massive, granite
  mountain. The black and gold banner of Maduka Shin,
  marked with symbols sacred to the Cult, flies over the
  thick walls of the commanding fortress. With imperial
  ambitions, Kether Rock houses the beginning of a celestial
  army, one led by the Solar Exalted, intent on restoring the
  glory of the Old Realm. Shen Aru prophesied a coming
  golden age, and Kether Rock intends to see that prophecy
  come true — by force, if necessary.
  Maduka Shin knows that the decadence and corrup-
  tion of the Solars brought the First Age to its final, bloody
  close. Any attempt to reinstate the Old Realm that refuses
  to take this truth into account is doomed to failure. Intent
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  82
  on avoiding the errors of the past, Maduka Shin has
  studied the history of the Solars, particularly their glorious
  heroism during the Primordial War. Convinced that their
  decadence came from boredom, Maduka Shin is deter-
  mined to constantly challenge the Solars of this Age,
  molding them through hardship and adversity. She be-
  lieves that a Solar’s strength lies in his ability to overcome
  obstacles and that, so long as there is a crisis for them to
  defeat, they shall always shine. Only when a Solar is denied
  adversity does his luster fade. As a result, Kether Rock is
  the most brutal of the training camps, one that forges the
  mettle of these newly Exalted between the hammer of the
  sun and anvil of the sands, quenching the fiery heat of the
  desert in the blood of battle.
  THE SCHOOL OF WAR
  Like Venerable Silk, Maduka Shin required an imme-
  diate site for her school, but unlike Venerable Silk, she
  refused to create hell on earth to get it. Instead, she sought
  out a suitable location in the form of a long-abandoned
  fortress. Two hundred years earlier, a people known as the
  Munashe feared a tremendous raid by the Dune People and
  built a fortress in the desert to protect the vital city of
  Amadi. When the barbarians attacked, however, they
  flowed around the immobile bulwark, and the commander
  of the Rock’s soldiers cowered rather than engage the
  enemy as they sacked Amadi. Within a generation of their
  defeat, the Munashe fractured as a people, and their useless
  fortress was abandoned. Built in brutal badlands, few other
  nations saw any use to supplying a fortress that protected
  nothing, and for decades, only the desert winds inhabited
  the place while the sands preserved it. Isolated and forgot-
  ten, the fortress served Maduka Shin’s purposes perfectly.
  Within a year, the forgotten citadel had been refurbished
  and refitted, ready to become home to one of the fiercest
  armies in Creation.
  Carved from the living stone of a mountain, Kether
  Rock fades into the scattered crags of the rocky desert,
  nearly undetectable from a distance. The walls surround-
  ing the entrance take the form of tall, sheer cliff faces, and
  the massive gates are constructed of ponderous stone shod
  with metal, opening only with enormous effort and vast,
  grinding groans. The courtyard within is large, an open-air
  plaza wide enough to accommodate the barracks and
  houses of mortal soldiers and their families. Beyond the
  gates of the fortress, the awe-inspiring mountain vaults
  into the sky, its slopes carved with fortifications, doors
  hidden in its rough exterior. The edifice is impressively
  solid, and Kether Rock is amongst the largest and most
  defensible fortresses in Creation, rivaling even Lookshy.
  Like the Sequestered Tabernacle, Kether Rock’s in-
  ner levels are symbolic, representing the layers of the
  human heart. Kether Rock’s surface embodies the stony,
  impenetrable face most warriors present to the world. Just
  
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  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  beyond the thick fortifications rest the barracks and quar-
  ters of the soldiers and their Solar masters. Each room is
  small and square, with enough room for a simple pallet, a
  table with a candle and a small chest for the storage of
  weaponry and a few personal possessions. Kether Rock
  provides such Spartan accommodations not out of some
  ascetic desire, but due to space constraints and with an eye
  to proper defense. No strictures disallow personalization,
  however, and Solar students often decorate their sparse
  chambers with a few personal mementos and trophies won
  in battle. Passageways within the fortress are equally nar-
  row, their walls smooth and seamless. The efficient layout
  of the rooms and corridors allows for rapid deployment of
  soldiers, further bolstering the defenses of Kether Rock.
  Narrow shafts set in the mountainside replenishes the stale
  air within the fortress, as well as allowing light to enter the
  dark recesses of Kether Rock. Polished, curved mirrors cast
  illumination throughout the inside of the fortress by day,
  and by night, candles provide feeble lighting.
  Past the surly exterior of a soldier lies a friendlier, more
  relaxed persona. Similarly, beyond the barracks that make
  up the outer layer of Kether Rock are the kitchens, training
  rooms and facilities that allow the fortress to function. The
  passageways into this portion are wide enough to allow
  several soldiers to walk abreast. A wide-domed chamber
  contains the mess hall filled with the echoes of relaxed
  laughter and rustling conversation as the soldiers enjoy their
  meal. Elsewhere, the red glow of forges lights the surround-
  ing passageways, and the clash of metal on metal fills the air
  as smiths and Architects craft and maintain weaponry and
  equipment. Kept far from the surface where an assault could
  damage them, large caverns hold the fortress’ stores of
  supplies and materials. Some chambers have been set aside
  for the instruction of students in areas where the courtyard
  or the surrounding desert will not suffice. Officers and
  instructors of Kether Rock make their rooms at this level.
  Their quarters are spacious chambers, roomy enough to
  contain their superior equipment, collections of books and
  tactical equipment such as maps.
  Deep within the heart of a warrior lies secrets that he
  speaks to no one. Vast, hollowed out caverns fill the bowels
  of Kether Rock, deeper than anyone travels without special
  purpose. The corridors leading to this level are confusing,
  filled with secret passageways, side exits and sudden dead
  ends. Navigation of these winding corridors is impossible for
  anyone not guided by a native of Kether Rock. Within the
  vast chambers lie the secrets of Kether Rock. Some are filled
  with the graves of fallen soldiers. While the corpses of the
  honored dead are burned so that their souls may go to
  Heaven, placards depicting their glorious deeds line these
  solemn, empty halls. Other chambers hold tomes of sorcer-
  ous lore, or secret texts that only specially authorized
  personnel can read. Some few chambers house the secret
  rites of the various Callings within the fortress. Away from
  the prying eyes of others, each order unveils the sins and
  heroism of its members to one another, reinforcing each
  Illuminated Solar’s resolve to continue. Maduka Shin her-
  self, commander and general of Kether Rock, isolates herself
  in this low level in a small room where she contemplates the
  future of the fortress and the Exalted within it.
  At the core of every soldier lies his greatest vulnerabil-
  ity, for no matter how powerful a warrior becomes, he is
  human — he began life as a squalling baby, and he shall die
  a lonely old man if he isn’t cut down in battle. So, too, at the
  core of Kether Rock lies its greatest vulnerability. Past
  impossible passageways, in a serene, natural cavern, an
  ancient and beautiful spring rests. All water within Kether
  Rock flows from this point, pressed upward by the pressures
  of the earth, and should any discover this point and poison
  the well, the fortress would be lost. A beautiful goddess
  resides within the well, guarding her spring. Shimmering
  White Eyes appears to be a Southerner, wide featured with
  thick curls, except that her flesh, her eyes and her robes are
  all colored the purest white, the hue of flesh that has never
  seen the sun. Sweet-tasting whispers trickle from her tongue
  to anyone who keeps her company deep beneath the stones
  of the fortress. Just as Kether Rock keeps Shimmering White
  Eyes’ spring a secret, so too does the goddess keep a secret:
  She has fallen in love with one of the Solars at the fortress.
  She will not speak his name, she will not tell him of her
  heart, for her nature requires secrecy. But as she pines for her
  love, her spring gives up less and less water, and should her
  heart break, the water will grow bitter.
  THE ROLE OF KETHER ROCK
  While the Sequestered Tabernacle fulfills the Cult of
  the Illuminated’s need for saints and semi-divine messiahs,
  Kether Rock focuses instead on the defense of the Cult. The
  Illuminated Ones who learn within the imposing fortress
  exhibit humility that contrasts with the supreme self-confi-
  dence of the Solars who attend the glorious temple of the
  North. Instead of stepping forward expecting worship, the
  Illuminated Ones of Kether Rock defend the Cult like
  guardian angels, just out of sight, never around to hear the
  praise of those they’ve rescued. This is not to say they receive
  no worship. Far from it. Cultists pray daily to these war-
  messiahs for deliverance, and they quietly make offerings to
  their glory. Rather, cultists see the Illuminated Ones of
  Kether Rock as more aloof than those of the Tabernacle, as
  far-off hero-saints rather than highly visible priests.
  To better defend the Cult and the interests of the Gold
  Faction, Kether Rock houses the largest number of Solar-
  trained tiger warriors in Creation. As a result, the skill and
  coordination of Kether Rock’s military is unparalleled in
  the world. Commanders hand-pick their soldiers from
  amongst the scattered mortal members of the Cult, person-
  ally overseeing their training to ensure fanatical devotion.
  However, Kether Rock lacks the resources to maintain a
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  84
  large standing army. Because it relies on outside sources for
  its supplies and because space is limited, Kether Rock never
  supports more than 2,000 tiger warriors. Though this mas-
  sive force represents the bulk of the Cult’s military assets, it
  pales before the strength of even one of the Realm’s legions.
  Thus, Maduka Shin makes use of her soldiers as seeds of
  armies, rather than armies themselves. Whenever she
  wishes to engage in battle, she first deposits cells of tiger
  warriors led by an Illuminated One to recruit, train and arm
  a force strong enough to accomplish the task at hand.
  When pressed for time, the forces of Kether Rock resort to
  guerilla tactics, hit-and-run attacks and subtle sabotage to
  achieve victory. Through these strategies, Maduka Shin
  remains confident of her ability to exert military pressure
  despite the comparatively small size of her forces.
  Solars, even those who have just recently begun their
  training at Kether Rock, always serve as officers for its
  soldiers. Solars are born to lead, and Maduka acknowl-
  edges this fact. However, in contrast to the training
  techniques of the Sequestered Tabernacle, she expects her
  Solars to respect the sacrifices of those beneath their
  command and to spend their lives dearly. Each officer
  knows the names of every soldier beneath him and per-
  forms the funeral for each of his lost warriors. Whenever a
  tiger warrior performs exceptionally well, her Solar com-
  mander personally rewards her. In addition to reinforcing
  the bonds of loyalty between commander and soldier, this
  method of command teaches the Solar to care for each of
  his warriors individually, that he must protect his followers
  in addition to guiding and leading them. Beyond the
  compassion it encourages, this approach has a more prac-
  tical reason behind it. While tiger warrior training
  techniques create new soldiers at an astonishing pace,
  neither Kether Rock nor the Cult can afford to supply
  endless hordes of fanatical warriors to serve the Illumi-
  nated Ones, and thus, the Cult can ill afford to needlessly
  throw away its finely honed soldiers.
  Maduka Shin’s choice of a Southern fortress was no
  accident. The South is filled both with harsh terrain and
  multiple wars, a combination that makes the perfect train-
  ing ground for her Solars. Kether Rock dispatches units of
  no more than 25 warriors to participate in the peripheral
  battles of some local brush fire wars, usually those involv-
  ing allies of the Realm. In addition to advancing the
  interests of the Cult, this provides valuable battle experi-
  ence for both soldier and Solar. After assessing the situation
  and applying his strength in the best manner possible, the
  Solar returns to Kether rock, where his trainer critiques
  him according to his performance. At times, Maduka Shin
  or one of her allies covertly approaches one side and offers
  services as anonymous mercenaries. The wealth gained
  from these ventures allows for the trade necessary to keep
  Kether Rock alive.
  GEOGRAPHY
  Deep in the South, the badlands that surround Kether
  Rock are fire blackened and broken. Jagged peaks rise up
  out of the rough landscape, and sloping dunes are made of
  ashen sand. Few routes safely cross the treacherous region,
  most of which are guarded by soldiers from Kether Rock.
  Caves and dens riddle the largest rocky outcroppings
  where bowmen watch from hiding, ready to strike if any
  enemies come too close to their hidden fortress. Making
  the region even more inhospitable, savage windstorms lift
  biting clouds of sand to scour stone and flesh alike, slowly
  reforming stones into strange, bent shapes. In the distance,
  barely dormant volcanoes grumble quietly, belching forth
  smoke as they occasionally threaten to reshape the land.
  The earth around Kether Rock is infertile, unable to
  support any farms. For supplies, the fortress relies on local
  villages and cities that lie just beyond the edges of the
  badlands. Though no longer a unified and powerful people,
  the remnants of the Munashe linger in these lands. Though
  they do not prosper as they once did, their cities and towns
  produce more than enough to trade, and Kether Rock
  survives by exchanging gold and protection for food and
  material. Maduka Shin deliberately chose to weaken Kether
  Rock with this forced reliance on outsiders as an opportu-
  nity to train her Solars in the arts of diplomacy and
  negotiation, for war requires more than just force. When-
  ever a crisis evolves in one of the local supply towns,
  Kether Rock dispatches one of its younger Solars to tend
  to the dilemma, renegotiating trade if necessary. If Illumi-
  nated Solars-in-training cannot learn to maintain supply
  lines and allies under such simple conditions, they will
  never be able to run an empire on any scale, so they must
  learn the practice here.
  Though their nation was once great, the Munashe are
  now a beaten, fractured people. Without large armies or
  powerful protectors, they spent the past several centuries
  living at the whims of outside forces. Many are fervently
  religious, hoping to avert the next disaster by bowing
  before their tormentors in supplication. As a result, ances-
  tor worship is common, and infernal cults spring up with
  frightening, desperate regularity. The Munashe are tall
  and willowy, with olive skin and silky black hair. The
  women commonly wear their hair long, employ vibrant
  cosmetics to make themselves more attractive and wear
  long wraps of white, tan or black linen, belted with rope or,
  for richer women, chains of silver. Men keep their hair
  short, wearing loose, billowing pants and prefer to wear
  long vests or keep their chests bare. Tattoos are common
  among men, and jewelry is popular among both genders,
  particularly during more prosperous times. Most Munashe
  are farmers or simple craftsman, governed by local, heredi-
  tary rulers, though priests commonly wield more power
  than political leaders if they can produce genuine protec-
  tion for the community. Some Munashe are born with pale
  
  85
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  skin, a legacy left by the Dune People’s raids, and the
  Munashe consider such beings dangerous and unpredict-
  able by nature. In recent days, hope and ambition has
  begun to spring up in the hearts of the Munashe. The Cult
  of the Illuminated preaches among the Munashe, their
  words strengthened by the appearance of golden, divine
  warriors who arrive to defend local villages from rampag-
  ing monsters. Finding a chance at hope, at safety, the
  Munashe convert in droves, a willing populace that Kether
  Rock can secretly and quietly draw from. To the north,
  however, some Immaculates have achieved similar results
  by using similar tactics: offering safety in return for conver-
  sion. The two factions are destined to meet in the center,
  and what happens that day will go a long way to determin-
  ing the fate of Kether Rock.
  TRAINING REGIMEN
  Maduka Shin’s methods contrast with those of Ven-
  erable Silk — some even call them dangerous. Rather than
  lift her Illuminated up before all others as an example of
  glory and divinity, she grinds them into the ground be-
  neath her heel and demands that they rise despite her.
  Every training exercise she gives them, every mission she
  assigns them, challenges them, and as they struggle for
  victory, as they rise bloody and beaten from defeat, they
  find inner strength and relentless resolve. The harder she
  strains to contain their glory, the more humility she
  enforces upon her Solars, the fiercer their souls burn for
  release, and in this manner, she stokes their inner bril-
  liance and power. More importantly, her constant
  challenges give her Solars direction, something to turn
  their efforts to so that they do not descend into decadence.
  Thus, the first moments of a Solar’s arrival at Kether
  Rock are not glorious and triumphant, but rather, brutal
  and humiliating. A newly arrived Exalt first encounters
  the massive stone gates of the fortress, and within mo-
  ments of stepping past them, the Solars dreams of grandeur
  lie broken at his feet. The gates open only at dusk, and in
  the gray of twilight, only gods and Exalts stand, resplen-
  dently decorated in armor and artifacts, to witness the
  entrance of the young Exalt with hardened eyes. As he
  enters and announces his intention to take his place in
  Kether Rock, the god or Exalt chosen to be the young
  Solar’s personal drill instructor steps forward and word-
  lessly acknowledges his presence. Then, the trainer offers
  the Solar the beating of his life, artfully demonstrating the
  superiority of his technique upon the inexperienced and
  hapless Exalt until he lies broken upon the ground. Kneel-
  ing beside the student, the instructor explains the brutality
  of the world, that only the strong survive and that not even
  the spark of Exaltation is enough to ensure victory. He
  unveils Maduka Shin’s philosophy of adversity, that only
  those who rise after each defeat and overcome will become
  truly great and that glory is earned, never demanded.
  Finished with his student, the trainer summons mortals
  who lift the young hero and carry him off to have his
  wounds tended. Far above, Maduka Shin watches all from
  a small balcony, and as the new student departs, she sends
  instructions detailing the plan of this new Solar’s training.
  The more experienced Solars of Kether Rock refer to
  a new Exalt’s first week in the fortress as “sweet bliss.” After
  his wounds have healed, servants bring him before his
  trainer, who strips him of his worldly possessions, for a
  student needs nothing but his desire to overcome ob-
  stacles, deserves nothing except that which he earns. He
  may select any weapon he wishes to be schooled in, and
  those who choose no weapon but their bare fists earn great
  respect from both their peers and their trainers. Once he
  is issued his weapon, he receives a uniform consisting of
  long, pale flowing robes and scarves that ward off the worst
  of the desert heat. Then, servants bring him to his Spartan,
  nearly empty chambers. For the first week, he is free to tour
  the fortress at his leisure and is treated to normal, daily
  meals as he mingles with his (often amused) fellow Solars.
  Then, one week after his arrival, hell begins.
  THE FIRST YEAR
  Trainers kick their students awake when the first
  sliver of the sun crests the horizon. Dragged out into the
  badlands, their training begins in earnest. Dressed in
  heavy armor and laden down with equipment, young
  Solars run barefoot for miles in the rocky, treacherous
  desert. Exhaustion is no escape, for the Solar is merely
  whisked back to the Rock for medical attention, and then,
  he immediately returns to his training. Mortals beat the
  Exalt bloody with sticks to toughen his frame while the
  trainer stalks around him, reciting passages from Cult
  doctrine. Finally, the Exalt is allowed to wield his weapon
  in nonlethal gladiatorial exercises, grand brawls against
  tiger warriors and lesser demons bound expressly to train
  the Exalt. Then, lunch is served. After the Exalt has
  finished his meal, the abusive training resumes.
  Unexpected tests punctuate a Solar’s first year. The
  Exalt’s trainers expect him to learn more than just combat
  skills. After intense survival lessons, the Solar’s instructors
  abandon him in the depths of the desert, where immaterial
  gods watch as he struggles to survive with only a knife and
  a length of rope. To prepare the Exalt for surprise assaults,
  tiger warriors wielding sticks sometimes ambush the Exalt
  in his sleep or in the middle of a lesson. The Solar only has
  two respites. After dinner, the Solar retires to his quarters
  for a few hours of peace, reading his well-worn Cult
  scripture. And upon the seventh day of each week, Kether
  Rock suspends all training as the Unseen Masters and the
  eldest Solar gathers all the Exalts of the Rock together for
  the worship of the Unconquered Sun and to honor their
  own place as his warriors. This is the closest moment that
  a first-year Solar has to glory.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  86
  Duty is as equally important to Maduka Shin as
  adversity. Religious instruction within Kether Rock glosses
  over the concept of Solars as incarnations of divinity to
  place emphasis on their role as messiahs and saviors,
  teaching them that the fate of the world lies in their hands.
  The trainers routinely test the Solars in secret, placing
  them in situations that test their integrity and pride.
  Success or failure are rewarded or punished with equal
  subtlety. Though a Solar exists above mortals, he learns
  not to abuse his position, for the Unconquered Sun Ex-
  alted his Chosen to defend the weak, not to exploit them.
  A Solar’s place is one of service through leadership. Maduka
  Shin stops short of preaching true self-sacrifice, but only
  because she cannot afford to lose precious Solars. The
  regimen results in a strict, self-enforced form of ethics, no
  less rigid or demanding than the code taught to the Solars
  of the Sequestered Tabernacle. Indeed, the Solars of
  Kether Rock often have a certain smug pride at their
  selfless honor and their achievements in conquering the
  training program of Kether Rock, secretly feeling them-
  selves superior to other, weaker Solars.
  No mortal man could survive such an intense regimen,
  but the training isn’t meant for mortals. The training is
  designed to hammer out the last of the Solar’s human
  weaknesses, forging him into a divine warrior. Within a
  year, the training has done just that. Solar warriors of Kether
  Rock are exemplary fighters, as tough as the stones that
  make up the fortress. While the intensity of the training
  subsides, they have not yet finished learning. At the end of
  the first year, Maduka Shin summons each student to her
  chambers for an intense interview. His trainers attend to
  comment on his progress, offering withering criticisms and
  grudging praise. At the end of the interview, Maduka Shin
  poses the young Solar a series of questions, assessing which
  Calling would suit him best. Finally, she dismisses him.
  While the experience is unfriendly and overly formal, most
  Solars walk away feeling a sense of elation and accomplish-
  ment. The memory of the criticisms fade, as the Solar
  remembers only the first words of serious praise heard from
  his instructors. Second-year students generally feel that
  their status and prowess have grown — that his hard
  struggles have won him the respect of his peers.
  THE SECOND YEAR
  The second year for the Solar is easier. While physical
  training continues, it isn’t as taxing. His trainers treat him
  with a modicum more respect, though he is expected to
  know his place. In addition to physical training, the Solar
  receives continued mental exercises in the form of tactics,
  basic education in history from the Cult perspective and
  theological doctrine. For the first time since his arrival, the
  Solar participates in the daily worship of the Unconquered
  Sun, sipping from his bowl of purified water and whisper-
  ing prayers to the Unconquered Sun. Rather than simply
  witnessing the weekly rituals, he partakes in it in a lesser
  form. Afternoon training sessions take the form of special-
  ized lessons based on his Calling, and for the first time, the
  Solar trains with other Exalts.
  Indoctrination takes a new form during the second
  year. Each Calling has secret rites and rituals, designed by
  Maduka Shin when she first built the school, that they
  perform in the hidden chambers that clutter the bowels of
  Kether Rock. Though they vary from Calling to Calling,
  the ceremonies serve the same basic purpose. By extolling
  the virtues and sins of the Solar, the brothers of his Calling
  reinforce his indoctrination. The secrecy of the meetings
  allows the Solar to receive praise without violating the
  ideal of humility. Finally, the oaths and rites of passage
  inflicted upon the young Solar enforce a sense of loyalty
  and comradery with the brothers of his Calling, for no one
  but he and his brothers have endured the same trials.
  While these meetings are secret, others in Kether Rock are
  vaguely aware that something takes place deep within the
  Rock. Outsiders, however, hear nothing of what goes on
  within the bowels of the fortress.
  Paladins receive instruction in all forms of war. Their
  training extends the battle experience of the first year with
  yet more brutal combat exercises and battles under even
  more impossible odds. Tactical lessons take extreme im-
  portance, and every Paladin sleeps with a copy of The
  Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier and should
  be able to quote it as readily as they can quote Cult
  doctrines. Those who show talent at sorcery receive in-
  tense drilling in the occult, departing to the deep desert to
  practice devastating battle magics far from where it might
  harm Kether Rock. By the end of their second year, these
  Solars have been forged into ultimate weapons.
  The rites and rituals of the Paladins always take place
  at dawn, the time of battle, during the first morning of the
  month that the sun and moon can be seen together in the
  sky. The ceremonies begin with thunderous prayers led by
  the Ritemaster, wherein the Solars recite their pledges to
  defend Creation from the enemies of the Unconquered
  Sun. Each Solar wounds his palm during the ceremony,
  recompense for the blood their battles shed. When this
  ceremony ends, each Solar steps forward, stripped to the
  waist, and speaks of his greatest failing over the past
  month. Perhaps the Solar had a moment of cowardice or
  lacked judgment in a crucial moment. Each Solar has some
  failing to reveal, some moment of weakness, some flawed
  decision. When the confession is complete, the penitent
  receives a strip of white cloth. If judged harshly, the strip
  contains flowing flame-tongue letters depicting the Solar’s
  failing. The words are always vague, never enough for an
  outsider to discern their true meaning, but they daily
  remind the Solar of his faltering moments. Those judged
  kindly receive a strip of pure, untouched cloth, a symbol of
  his purity of purpose. Paladins adorn their armor with
  
  87
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  these strips, fluttering ribbons and scarves that represent
  their humility and dedication. Michael, Warmaster of
  Kether Rock, recently received the reins of Ritemaster
  from Innana, Bound Swordmistress of Kether Rock, an
  ifrit. Paladins sometimes secretly refer to themselves as the
  Order of the Stained Hand.
  Deacons received the least conventional training.
  These master scouts and spies travel into the wilderness
  surrounding the Rock for weeks at a time. They learn to
  navigate the depths of the badlands, each nook and cranny,
  and the nature of the desert. They enter nearby Munashe
  villages where they learn to hide their divinity, to gather
  information and to fit seamlessly into the population. Dea-
  cons receive more testing than anyone else. Often, they are
  assigned to bring back some prey or to steal some talisman
  from a local shaman. Each test is a measure of the Deacon’s
  skill as warrior and scout. The Deacon’s combat training
  continues, but it takes a more stealthy turn, instructing him
  in the arts of the silent kill, of assassination.
  On the night of the new moon, Deacons are blind-
  folded and led from their rooms into their secret chamber
  by way of hidden passages. Darkness and silence isolate the
  Deacons from one another as they wait, lost in self-
  reflection. When the Ritemaster calls out the name of a
  Deacon, he remains silent as his Calling brothers recite his
  sins and deeds, their voices echoing throughout the cham-
  ber in a cacophony of condemnation and praise. For his
  sins, the Ritemaster gives the Deacon a scourge to flagel-
  late himself as penance. For his heroism, the Ritemaster
  offers the Deacon a knife and a strip of black cloth. With
  the knife, the Deacon may mark his flesh with a symbol
  representing his heroic deed. Few choose to do so, for such
  marks would make their roles as spies more difficult. Other
  Deacons see the marks as a challenge, and eagerly wear
  their secret badges of honor despite the danger they
  present to their more secretive missions. After the cer-
  emony is ended, each Deacon decorates his armor and
  clothing with the black strips to hide the marks on his skin.
  The greatest of the Deacons wear so much black that their
  very identities are obscured. The Ritemaster of the Dea-
  cons is the god Mamuneh, Keeper of the Secrets Beneath
  the Sand. Deacons occasionally refer to themselves in
  secret as the Order of the Blinded Eye.
  Architects learn matters of engineering and civic
  leadership. Their afternoon lessons contain dry discus-
  sions of mathematics, architecture and natural sciences.
  Physical exercise, particularly strength and stamina train-
  ing, take precedence over more brutal combat training.
  When the day turns to night, lessons continue in the form
  of logistics and proper management techniques, and Ar-
  chitects spend more time learning than anyone else. Their
  combat training isn’t neglected, and though Deacons and
  Paladins sneer at their prowess, Architects are still soldiers
  trained at Kether Rock, more than capable of going to
  battle with any other Exalted.
  The Architects of Kether Rock gather upon the
  solstices and equinoxes of the Unconquered Sun’s path
  across the heavens. Though they meet less often than the
  other Callings, their ceremonies last far longer, filled with
  archaic ritual and esoteric symbology. Dressed in ceremo-
  nially significant robes reminiscent of those worn by the
  Solar Deliberative in days long past, the Architects form a
  circle in their secret chamber, the largest and most ornate
  in the bowels of Kether Rock. The Ritemaster, obscured in
  veils and robes, begins the ceremony by calling forth three
  Architects and challenging their faith. Usually, these tests
  take the form of verbal interrogation, but at times, the tests
  are physical and dangerous in nature, such as shoving bare
  fists into glowing coals. Those who pass their examination
  may continue their attendance, and those who fail must
  leave the meeting to contemplate upon their faith. After
  the tests, all the Architects renew their oaths of loyalty to
  Kether Rock. The Ritemaster conducts the baroque cer-
  emonies that follow entirely in the tongue of the Old
  Realm, as the gathered Architects discuss the recent
  events in the world and conspire to better Creation. While
  the other Callings focus on personal adversity and progress,
  the Architects concern themselves with the adversity that
  troubles the world and the progress they can offer it. After
  the last gong has rung and the last candle is snuffed,
  signaling the end of the ceremony, the Ritemaster quietly
  gathers together those Architects she tested at the begin-
  ning of the rites and issues them special tasks to accomplish
  by the next ceremony. These secret tasks advance the
  Gold Faction’s agenda in subtle ways, and clever Archi-
  tects understand the nature of the Cult and the Unseen
  Masters behind it better than the members of any other
  Calling in Kether Rock. The Ritemaster of the Architects,
  behind her robes and veils, is Maduka Shin herself. The
  Architects have no secret name for themselves, for they
  are proud of their status of Architects of the Third Realm.
  THE FINAL YEAR
  As with the beginning of the second year at Kether
  Rock, a student’s final year of training begins with an
  interview with Maduka Shin. This time, his trainers do not
  attend. Rather, five kneeling mortals, robed and veiled,
  surround her. Once more, Maduka questions the student’s
  progress and critiques his development with brutal hon-
  esty. Finally, she invites the Solar to unveil each of the
  soldiers one by one. As the Solar does so, each tiger warrior
  confides a personal secret to the Solar: a girl he wishes to
  marry, a young brother at home, a personal hero he
  admires. The tiger warriors have waited and trained their
  whole careers for this moment, and after the last has bared
  his secret, each swears undying loyalty to the Solar. Maduka
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  88
  Shin informs the Solar that the lives of these tiger warriors
  are in his hands, that they are his to command.
  The final year consists almost entirely of leadership
  and tactical training. While the Solar continues his com-
  bat drills and the specialized training he received in the
  previous years, their role in his schooling diminishes.
  Solars learn to use their soldiers in a manner that best suits
  their Calling. Architects guide their soldiers in the defense
  of local villages, protecting and serving in the form of
  military police and aiding him in engineering projects.
  Deacons use their soldiers for covert operations, anything
  from information gathering to directed raids. Paladins, of
  course, learn to engage directly in battle and often com-
  mand larger numbers of soldiers than members of other
  Callings, their dedicated five serving as officers or as a
  front-line unit.
  Kether Rock regularly tests a Solar’s ability to com-
  mand under stressful circumstances. Instructors
  “accidentally” give the Solar inaccurate directions that lead
  him into the thick of battle or a dangerous band of savages.
  Targets of a raid receive mysterious tips about the incoming
  assault, giving them more than enough time to prepare
  adequate defenses. These unexpected situations push the
  Solar’s ability to fight and command to the limits, revealing
  his true mettle and his true flaws. While a Solar certainly has
  the strength and training to survive these encounters, his
  less-than-divine troops risk death, their survival becoming
  the true test. The instructors judge the Solar by the dual
  THE THIRD TRAINING CAMP
  This book details only two of the three training Cult training camps, intentionally leaving the third camp
  blank. Individual Storytellers are invited to flesh out the third camp, tailoring it to the unique needs of their series.
  Representing the third facet to the Gold Factions agenda for Solars, the final training camp likely has a unique
  philosophy, one challenged by the other two camps. Like Kether Rock and the Sequestered Tabernacle, the third
  school should offer accelerated training as well as specialized roles in the form of unique Callings. While the two
  schools detailed in this book can provide inspiration, Storytellers shouldn’t feel constrained to follow the
  examples too closely.
  For inspiration, three sample camps are detailed below.
  The Purified Ziggurat of Unconquered Dedication: Despite all the power and trappings of civilization, the
  Solars fell haplessly before the treacherous Dragon-Blooded. Yet, the Lunars, lesser beings, survived due to their
  willingness to forsake civilization. Bloody-Lipped Cassandra, Chosen of the Maiden of Secrets, believes that, as
  the Lunars lived in the world of the Solars during the First Age, now the Solars must emulate their Lunar cousins
  in the Second. The Purified Ziggurat rests deep in the savage jungles of the Southeast, where Bloody-Lipped
  Cassandra seeks to resurrect the primal worship of the Unconquered Sun that existed in the dawn of Creation.
  Tutored by a gathering of jungle elementals, three Lunars who defy the Silver Pact and even a handful of Dragon
  Kings, Solars of the Ziggurat learn survivalism, brutal combat techniques and thunderous oratory. Disturbingly,
  rumors of human sacrifice and other, darker practices have surfaced, though Gold Faction Sidereals who have
  investigated found little to support these claims.
  The Underground Sanctuary: The era of the glorious, lordly Solar is past. The other training camps
  foolishly cling to the past, attempting to resurrect former glories that can never return. The modern Solar is a
  hunted being, and Joseph One-Shoe, Chosen of the Maiden of Journeys, Master of the Underground Sanctuary,
  offers them haven deep in the underbelly of Nexus. Acknowledging the realities of the modern day, Joseph One-
  Shoe teaches his Solars to hide their divinity and to work their miracles out of sight. Resembling a loosely
  organized crime syndicate crossed with a charitable soup kitchen, the Underground Sanctuary uses its array of
  contacts and subtle influence to provide material gain and secret support to the Cult of the Illuminated. Far from
  irreligious, the Solars of the Underground Sanctuary lack the pretentiousness of the priests of the Tabernacle or
  the aloofness of Kether Rock’s soldiers. They are street messiahs and heroes of the common man. The heated spice
  of revolution scents the air, and when it breaks, the Underground Sanctuary will be ready.
  The Tea Gardens of Yu-Shan: Both Heaven and Earth are corrupt, and neither can be saved alone. Pugu-
  mian, Understudy of the Subsecretary of the God of Imperial Law, secretly pursues an agenda that he hopes will
  heal the wounds of both Creation and Yu-Shan. Hidden away in the vast, forested tea gardens of Chien, former
  lover of Emma-O, he gathers Solars to study with the gods themselves. Teaching them the secrets of sorcery, the
  dealings of spirits and the ideals of justice, Pugu-mian hopes to supplant the Realm, rather than destroy it, with
  Solars who act as intermediaries between Heaven and Earth, cleansing both of corruption. Having secretly
  gathered together what scraps of Solar sorcerous lore it could, the Tea Gardens of Yu-Shan alone can instruct
  Solars in the Adamant Circle of Sorcery, though the instructors’ knowledge is flawed and tattered at best.
  
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  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  addition to the usual details such as her mortal life and the
  nature of Exaltation, players should consider why the Solar
  accepted the invitations of her guide (or if she refused, how
  she was tricked or coerced by the Gold Faction Sidereals
  into joining) and what her experience with him was. How
  does she feel about the Cult? Does she fervently buy into the
  propaganda that surrounds her, or is she a defiant rebel who
  causes no end of trouble to her trainers? How does she feel
  about her fellow Illuminated Ones, and how does she treat
  those Solars who remain outside the influence and enlight-
  enment of the Cult? Though Illuminated Solars have more
  in common with one another due to shared backgrounds
  than unIlluminated Solars, they deserve as much thought
  and variation as their untrained counterparts.
  Illuminated Solars select caste and Nature as normal.
  While no limitations apply to an Illuminated Solar’s
  choice of Nature, the idealism of Illuminated Solars makes
  Paragon a particularly common Nature amongst them. In
  addition to the usual selections of caste and Nature,
  Illuminated Solars must choose which training camp they
  attended. The refined and metaphysical methods taught
  by the Sequestered Tabernacle create a different sort of
  Solar than the brutal and militant techniques of Kether
  Rock. Further, all Solars at each school must select a
  specialization, referred to as a Calling, representing the
  Solar’s role within the Cult. Each school has three, and
  these Callings are detailed below.
  STEP TWO: CHOOSING ATTRIBUTES
  Illuminated Solars are as talented and innately ca-
  pable as untrained Solars and, like them, have eight (8)
  dots to divide among their primary Attributes, six (6) to
  divide among their secondary Attributes and four (4) to
  divide among their tertiary Attributes.
  STEP THREE: CHOOSING ABILITIES
  Due to their extensive training, Illuminated Solars
  receive 30 dots to spread among their Abilities, rather than
  25. As usual, the Solar must spend at least 10 of these dots
  on his Favored and Caste Abilities. In addition to this
  requirement, Illuminated Solars from specific training
  camps are required to take certain Abilities at minimum
  levels, the result of the intensity of their respective train-
  ing regimens.
  The Sequestered Tabernacle: Endurance •, Linguis-
  tics •(Old Realm), Lore •, Martial Arts ••, Occult •,
  Presence •••, Socialize •.
  Kether Rock: Either Archery • or Brawl •, Endur-
  ance •, Medicine •, Melee ••, Presence •, Resistance •,
  Survival •••.
  STEP FOUR: ADVANTAGES
  Though the Cult of the Illuminated lacks the re-
  sources of the Realm, Yu-Shan or the Deathlords, it
  remains a large and considerable organization that makes
  standards of victory and losses, condemning a Solar who
  withholds his soldiers and losses the battle as quickly as they
  condemn a Solar who frivolously throws away his troops.
  When the final year ends, the Solar returns to Maduka
  Shin’s chambers for his final interview with the Master of
  Kether Rock. His soldiers attend him, once more veiled
  and robed. Rather than question the Solar himself, Maduka
  Shin questions his soldiers, listening to their experiences
  serving beneath him and seeing his strengths and weak-
  nesses through their eyes. Thus, the final judgment of the
  Solar comes not from Maduka Shin, his instructors or even
  himself, but from those whom he has led and protected.
  Once the Solar has taken in this final lesson, Maduka Shin
  descends to anoint his forehead, pronouncing him Illumi-
  nated. In the following celebrations, tradition dictates
  that the soldiers and instructors of the Solar present him
  with a gift, usually an artifact he held in a past life or a
  talisman crafted by the hands of his own soldiers.
  Graduation does not banish the Solars from Kether
  Rock. The few Solars who have already graduated from
  Kether Rock have taken up residence in the more spacious
  chambers deeper in the fortress. These Solars lend their
  talents to Kether Rock’s military exploits where they can,
  serving as leaders and tacticians. More experienced Solars
  take part in the training of younger Solars where they can.
  Even those Solars who have no wish to participate in
  Kether Rock’s imperialistic adventures often remain for
  the excellent training program. Many Solars thrive upon
  the challenges posed by their instructors. Far from civiliza-
  tion, close to the sun, Kether Rock serves as an ideal place
  for meditation upon Essence and the expansion of Charms.
  Despite their staggering skill, the Solars of Kether Rock
  realize that adversity never ends and that training can
  never truly be complete.
  CHARACTER CREATION
  The Solar Exalted of the Cult of the Illuminated are
  exposed to a significantly different initiation into the
  ranks of power than those Exalted elsewhere in Creation.
  Storytellers desiring to run Solar Cult games should use
  these character-creation rules where applicable. Keep in
  mind that Solars initiated into the Cult are, by and large,
  simply better than those who are not, and Storytellers
  should not introduce Cult characters among normal Solars
  unless those Solars have significant experience or the
  Storyteller and players are aware of the disparity of power
  and everyone finds the prospect acceptable.
  STEP ONE: CHARACTER CONCEPT
  As with any character, concept is an important step in
  the development process, but special attention should be
  paid in the case of an Illuminated Solar. The experience of
  a Solar recruited by the Cult of the Illuminated differs
  greatly from one who loses herself in the Threshold. In
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  90
  its resources fully available to its Solar saints. As a result,
  all Illuminated Solars gain nine (9), rather than seven,
  Background dots. In addition, all Illuminated Solars begin
  with Illumination • for free. Modified and alternate Back-
  grounds are detailed below.
  Illuminated Solars receive eight (8) Charms, four (4)
  of which must be chosen from Caste or Favored Abilities.
  In addition, all Illuminated Solars begin with four (4) free
  Charms determined by their training camp. Those who
  train in the Sequestered Tabernacle gain Ox-Body Tech-
  nique, Harmonious Presence Meditation and two Charms
  from one of the following four martial arts: Ebon Shadow
  Style, Praying Mantis Style, Snake Style or Tiger Style.
  Those who train at Kether Rock receive Ox-Body Tech-
  nique, Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit and one of
  the following pairs of Charms: Golden Essence Block and
  Dipping Swallow Defense; Reed in the Wind and Shadow
  Over Water; Durability of Oak Meditation and Iron Skin
  Concentration (Spirit Strengthens the Skin replaces Iron
  Skin Concentration for those using Exalted Power Com-
  bat); or Whirlwind Armor-Donning Prana and Armored
  Scout’s Invigoration. As usual, the Solar must meet the
  minimum requirements to gain these Charms.
  An Illuminated Solar receives five (5) dots of Virtues
  just as a normal Solar does. Due to the indoctrination of
  the Cult of the Illuminated, many Cult Solars have a
  Conviction of 3 or higher, but there are no actual require-
  ments for a Solar’s Virtue selections. The Illuminated
  Solar must select one of his Virtues rated at three or higher
  and choose an appropriate Virtue Flaw for it.
  In addition to the effects of the Great Curse, Illumi-
  nated Solars also suffer from Indoctrination. Almost every
  aspect of their training, from the mantras they chant to the
  names of the combat techniques they use, contains an
  element of propaganda within them, safety measures in-
  cluded to ensure the Sidereals’ control over their Solar
  pupils. Surrounded by worshipful demons and admiring
  gods, the Illuminated Ones have little reason to question
  their beliefs and usually reject any truths that contradict
  their strict world-view. To defy any Cult responsibilities or
  violate any Cult tenets requires the Solar’s player to fail a
  Conviction roll, or if successful, he must spend a point of
  Willpower and mark a box of Limit to repress the character’s
  Conviction. A Solar could conceivably overcome this weak-
  ness through lengthy therapy and absence from the Gold
  Faction’s manipulative techniques, but most Illuminated
  fail to even recognize the need for such an undertaking.
  CALLINGS
  STEP FIVE: FINISHING TOUCHES
  Illuminated Solars calculate their Willpower as nor-
  mal. An Illuminated Solar begins with an Essence of three
  (3), rather than two. Both Traits may be raised with bonus
  points, but under no circumstances may an Illuminated
  Solar begin with an Essence of six (6) or higher.
  An Illuminated Solar receives 15 bonus points to spend
  as he sees fit. Except for specific Charms and Abilities
  determined by the Illuminated One’s Calling, all bonus
  point costs are as for standard Solars. For these specified
  Abilities and Charms, the cost is discounted by one freebie
  point. This discount stacks with the discount granted by
  purchasing a Caste or Favored Ability or Charm. Thus,
  purchasing a Calling Charm costs 4 freebies, 3 if Favored or
  Caste, and a Calling Ability costs 1 point per dot, or 1 point
  per 2 dots if Caste or Favored. This bonus does not apply to
  specialties chosen from Calling Abilities (the training the
  Solar receives is general, not uniquely specialized). The
  Callings and their Abilities and Charms can be found
  below. For Terrestrial Circle Sorcery or Celestial Circle
  Sorcery, the discount applies only to the purchase of the
  actual Charms, not to the spells of corresponding circles. For
  Ox-Body Technique or any Charms that, like Ox-Body, can
  be purchased multiple times, the discount applies only to
  the first purchase of that Charm. Charms taken from the
  Caste Books have been reprinted on page 100.
  THE SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE
  • Exemplar: All Solars are considered living, semi-
  divine saints by the Cult of the Illuminated, but Exemplars
  embody sainthood. These faithful Exalts dedicate their
  existences to strengthening the divinity within them-
  selves through careful regimens that enhance their bodies,
  minds and souls. Each resulting Solar has near complete
  mastery over his own body and the bodies of others,
  unparalleled command of Essence and can whisper plati-
  tudes that break the hearts of listeners. Masters of theology
  and martial arts, Exemplars often engage Immaculates in
  duels of both wits and fists.
  Calling Abilities: Endurance, Lore, Martial Arts,
  Medicine and Performance
  Calling Charms: Body-Mending Meditation, Celes-
  tial Circle Sorcery, Essence-Lending Method,
  Heart-Compelling Method, Listener-Swaying Argument,
  Majestic Radiant Presence, Masterful Performance Exer-
  cise, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Touch of Blissful Release,
  Will-Bolstering Method
  • Inquisitor: The fabric of the Cult must be main-
  tained, and this all-important task falls to the Inquisitors
  of the Sequestered Tabernacle. These Exalts learn tech-
  niques meant to aid them in excising weakness and heresy
  from within their ranks and in hunting down any infernal
  infiltration. Far from dreaded, the sight of an Inquisitor is
  often a relief to demon-haunted cultists. When not slaying
  monsters or tormenting heretics and Immaculate spies,
  Inquisitors aid in the management of Cult groups.
  Calling Abilities: Awareness, Bureaucracy, Investi-
  gation, Larceny and Martial Arts
  
  91
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  Calling Charms: Deft Official’s Way, Judge’s Ear
  Technique, Prey-Freezing Gaze, Seasoned Criminal
  Method, Sensory Acuity Prana, Speed the Wheels, Spirit-
  Cutting Attack, Spirit-Detecting Glance, Surprise
  Anticipation Method, Ten Magistrate Eyes
  • Itinerant: Unlike with the Immaculate faith, cult-
  ists are spread wide and thin and forced to hide in secret.
  Itinerants serve as the ears and eyes of the Cult, bringing
  messages to far-flung Cult groups as well as tending to the
  needs of those isolated communities. Closer to the land
  than most Solars, Itinerants also guide pioneering cultists
  when they must establish new communities, as well as
  selecting the next promised land for settlement.
  Calling Abilities: Linguistics, Martial Arts, Occult,
  Presence and Survival
  Calling Charms: All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight,
  Chaos-Repelling Pattern, Excellent Emissary’s Tongue,
  Food-Gathering Exercise, Hardship-Surviving Mendi-
  cant Spirit, Integrity-Protecting Prana, Spirit-Detecting
  Glance, Tireless Traveler’s Stamina, Trackless Region
  Navigation Charm
  KETHER ROCK
  • Architect: To properly conduct war, trenches must
  be dug, engines of war must be built, supply lines must be
  maintained, and once new territory has been conquered, it
  must be rebuilt and properly managed. Architects operate
  as a mixture of combat engineer and civil servant. As
  master craftsmen, they can build anything necessary for
  the cause with their own, mighty hands. As charismatic
  leaders, they can begin the process of integration for the
  newly conquered populace while they rebuild both their
  cities and their governments in their own image.
  Calling Abilities: Bureaucracy, Craft, Lore, Melee
  and Socialize
  Calling Charms: Increasing Strength Exercise, Flaw-
  less Handiwork Method, Graceful Courtier Attitude,
  Harmonious Presence Meditation, Masterful Performance
  Exercise, Mastery of Small Manners, Object-Strengthen-
  ing Touch, Respect Commanding Attitude, Thunder’s
  Might, Wise-Eyed Courtier Method
  • Deacon: Information and covert operations are vital
  to any military action, and Deacons provide both. These
  Exalts serve as front line scouts, master spies and comman-
  dos when necessary. Like any graduate of the Rock, Deacons
  are consummate warriors, but they can sheath their weap-
  ons if a silver tongue or cunning better serves the situation.
  Calling Abilities: Investigation, Larceny, Melee,
  Stealth and Survival
  Calling Charms: Crafty Observation Method, Easily
  Overlooked Presence Method, Game-Snaring Huntsman’s
  Method, Graceful Crane Stance, Mental Invisibility Tech-
  nique, Sensory Acuity Prana, Surprise Anticipation
  Method, Ten Magistrate Eyes, Traceless Passage, Unshak-
  able Bloodhound Technique
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  92
  CHARACTER CREATION
  SUMMARY
  • STEP ONE: CHARACTER CONCEPT
  Choose concept, caste, Nature and Calling.
  Note the caste’s anima power.
  • STEP TWO: SELECT ATTRIBUTES
  Note that all Attributes start with one dot before you
  add any.
  Prioritize the three categories: Physical, Social, Men-
  tal (8/6/4)
  Choose Physical Traits: Strength, Dexterity, Stamina
  Choose Social Traits: Charisma, Manipulation, Ap-
  pearance
  Choose Mental Traits: Perception, Intelligence, Wits
  • STEP THREE: SELECT ABILITIES
  Note Caste Abilities.
  Select Favored Abilities (5; may not be the same as
  Caste Abilities).
  Choose Abilities (30 — at least 10 must be spent on
  Caste or Favored Abilities; at least one must be in each
  Favored Ability; none may be higher than 3 without spend-
  ing bonus points. Students of the Sequestered Tabernacle
  must have a minimum of Endurance •, Linguistics [Old
  Realm] •, Lore •, Martial Arts ••, Occult •, Presence •••,
  Socialize •. Students of Kether Rock must have a minimum
  of either Archery • or Brawl •, Endurance •, Medicine •,
  Melee ••, Presence •, Resistance •, Survival •••.)
  • STEP FOUR: SELECT ADVANTAGES
  Choose Backgrounds (9 — none may be higher than
  3 without spending bonus points; Illuminated Solars begin
  with Illumination • for free), Charms (8 — at least 4 must
  be taken from Caste or Favored Abilities. Additionally,
  students of the Sequestered Tabernacle gain, at no cost,
  Ox-Body Technique, Harmonious Presence Meditation,
  and two Charms from one of the following four martial
  arts: Ebon Shadow Style, Praying Mantis Style, Snake
  Style or Tiger Style. Students of Kether Rock gain, at no
  cost, Ox-Body Technique, Hardship Surviving Mendi-
  cant Spirit and one of the following pairs of Charms:
  Golden Essence Block and Dipping Swallow Defense;
  Reed in the Wind and Shadow Over Water; Durability of
  Oak Meditation and Iron Skin Concentration [Spirit
  Strengthens the Skin for those using Exalted Power Com-
  bat]; or Whirlwind Armor-Donning Prana and Armored
  Scout’s Invigoration.), Virtues (5; none may be higher
  than 3 without spending bonus points, and all begin with
  one dot before spending points).
  • STEP FIVE: FINISHING TOUCHES
  Record Essence (3), Willpower (sum of two highest
  Virtues; Willpower cannot start above 8 unless two Vir-
  tues are rated at 4 or higher), Personal Essence pool
  ([Essence x 3] + Willpower), Peripheral Essence pool
  ([Essence x 7] + Willpower + [the sum of your Virtues]) and
  health levels (7 + any gained from Charms).
  • BONUS POINTS
  Bonus points (15) may be spent at any time during
  character creation.
  CASTES
  • Dawn:
  Caste Abilities: Archery, Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee
  and Thrown
  Anima Powers: May use their animas to appear
  awesome and terrifying for a scene.
  • Zenith:
  Caste Abilities: Endurance, Performance, Presence,
  Resistance and Survival
  Anima Powers: May use their animas to burn the
  bodies of the dead and to do aggravated damage to the
  undead and demons.
  • Twilight:
  Caste Abilities: Craft, Investigation, Lore, Medicine
  and Occult
  Anima Powers: May use their animas as protective
  shields.
  • Night:
  Caste Abilities: Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Lar-
  ceny and Stealth
  Anima Powers: May use their animas as cloaks against
  detection, and may mute their anima display when
  using Essence.
  • Eclipse:
  Caste Abilities: Bureaucracy, Linguistics, Ride, Sail
  and Socialize
  Anima Powers: May use their animas to sanctify oaths
  and contracts and to provide diplomatic immunity
  when dealing with spirits, demons and the Fair Folk.
  CALLINGS OF THE SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE:
  • Exemplar: Living embodiments of perfection and
  sainthood.
  Calling Abilities: Endurance, Lore, Martial Arts,
  Medicine and Performance
  Calling Charms: Body-Mending Meditation, Celes-
  tial Circle Sorcery, Essence-Lending Method,
  Heart-Compelling Method, Listener-Swaying Argu-
  ment, Majestic Radiant Presence, Masterful
  Performance Exercise, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery,
  Touch of Blissful Release, Will-Bolstering Method
  
  93
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  • Inquisitor: Investigator of corruption and safe-
  guard of communities.
  Calling Abilities: Awareness, Bureaucracy, Investi-
  gation, Larceny and Martial Arts
  Calling Charms: Deft Official’s Way, Judge’s Ear
  Technique, Prey-Freezing Gaze, Seasoned Criminal
  Method, Sensory Acuity Prana, Speed the Wheels,
  Spirit-Cutting Attack, Spirit-Detecting Glance, Sur-
  prise Anticipation Method, Ten Magistrate Eyes
  • Itinerant: Wandering holy man and defender of
  pilgrims.
  Calling Abilities: Linguistics, Martial Arts, Occult,
  Presence and Survival
  Calling Charms: All-Encompassing Sorcerer’s Sight,
  Chaos-Repelling Pattern, Excellent Emissary’s
  Tongue, Food-Gathering Exercise, Hardship-Surviv-
  ing Mendicant Spirit, Integrity-Protecting Prana,
  Spirit-Detecting Glance, Tireless Traveler’s Stride,
  Trackless Region Navigation Charm
  CALLINGS OF KETHER ROCK:
  • Architect: Civic engineer and community leader.
  Calling Abilities: Bureaucracy, Craft, Lore, Melee
  and Socialize
  Calling Charms: Increasing Strength Exercise,
  Flawless Handiwork Method, Graceful Courtier
  Attitude, Harmonious Presence Meditation, Mas-
  terful Performance Exercise, Mastery of Small
  Manners, Object-Strengthening Touch, Respect
  Commanding Attitude, Thunder’s Might, Wise-
  Eyed Courtier Method
  • Deacon: Spy, assassin and commando.
  Calling Abilities: Investigation, Larceny, Melee,
  Stealth and Survival
  Calling Charms: Crafty Observation Method, Easily
  Overlooked Presence Method, Game-Snaring
  Huntsman’s Method, Graceful Crane Stance, Mental
  Invisibility Technique, Sensory Acuity Prana, Surprise
  Anticipation Method, Ten Magistrate Eyes, Traceless
  Passage, Unshakable Bloodhound Technique
  • Paladin: Commander of soldiers and living weapon.
  Calling Abilities: Craft (War), Endurance, Melee,
  Performance and Presence
  Calling Charms: Celestial Circle Sorcery, Essence-
  Gathering Temper, Fury Inciting Presence,
  Heroism-Encouraging Presence, Ox-Body Technique,
  Respect Commanding Attitude, Rout-Stemming Ges-
  ture, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Unruly Mob Dispersing
  Rebuke, Willpower-Enhancing Spirit
  VIRTUES
  • Compassion — Pure love for humanity.
  • Conviction — Burning faith in the cause.
  • Temperance — Moral fiber and self-discipline.
  • Valor — Courage and righteous fury.
  BACKGROUNDS
  • Allies — Aides and friends who help in tasks.
  • Artifact — Wondrous tools and weapons of the
  First Age.
  • Contacts — Information sources and friends in
  useful places.
  • Familiar — An animal companion.
  • Followers — Mortal cultists who look to you for
  leadership.
  • Illumination — Rank and prestige within the Cult
  of the Illuminated.
  • Influence — Your pull in the earthly world around
  you.
  • Manse — A place of power and Essence.
  • Mentor — A patron and instructor.
  • Resources — Material goods and wealth.
  • Sorcery — Advanced knowledge of the First and
  Second Circles of Sorcery.
  • Tiger Warriors — Fanatical soldiers willing to fight
  and die for the Illuminated Ones.
  BONUS POINTS
  Trait
  Cost
  Attribute
  4
  Ability
  2 (1 if Favored or Caste or Calling Ability , 1 for 2 if both a Calling Ability and a Favored or Caste Ability)
  Background
  1 (2 if the Background is being raised above 3)
  Specialty
  1 (2 per 1 if in a Favored or Caste Ability)
  Virtue
  3
  Willpower
  2
  Essence
  10
  Charms
  5 (4 if in a Favored or Caste Ability or if a Calling Charm, 3 if both in a Favored of Caste Ability and
  a Calling Charm)
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  94
  • Paladin: These incarnate warriors are trained in all
  methods of battle. They serve as the generals of the armies
  of Kether Rock, as front-line warriors of supreme skill and
  as masters of arcane magics powerful enough to shatter
  cities. Every other Calling within the Kether Rock serves
  to support the Paladins in their efforts to reconquer the
  world in the name of the Unconquered Sun.
  Calling Abilities: Craft (War), Endurance, Melee,
  Performance and Presence
  Calling Charms: Celestial Circle Sorcery, Essence-
  Gathering Temper, Fury Inciting Presence,
  Heroism-Encouraging Presence, Ox-Body Technique,
  Respect Commanding Attitude, Rout-Stemming Ges-
  ture, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Unruly Mob Dispersing
  Rebuke, Willpower-Enhancing Spirit
  EXPERIENCE
  An Exalt’s graduation from a training camp marks only
  the end to his formal instruction. A Solar’s training is never
  truly complete, and each camp offers continued schooling at
  the Illuminated One’s own pace. The constant access to
  mentors allows the Solar to avoid the penalty of untutored
  training times. Further, Solars receive additional attention
  in the specialties of their Calling. Any purchase of a Calling
  Ability after character creation receives a 1 experience
  point discount. This bonus stacks with the benefit of Fa-
  vored or Caste Abilities. Thus, a character who purchases
  the fourth dot of a Calling Ability, normally 6 experience
  points, spends only 5, or 4 if the Ability was also Favored or
  Caste. Calling Charms purchased after Character Creation
  receive a discount of 2 experience points. Thus, a Calling
  Charm costs 8 experience points, or 6 if Favored or Caste.
  Not every Solar who joins the training camps does so
  moments after his Exaltation. Many wander aimlessly for
  years or rebuff the advances of the Cult at first only to change
  their mind later. If a player wishes to join the Cult of the
  Illuminated after character creation, he immediately receives
  Illumination • as he is whisked away to the camp. Over the
  next year, the player must spend all of his experience to ensure
  that his Abilities meet the minimum requirements of the
  school. Afterward, he receives the experience discounts of his
  Calling (which the player may choose). Upon graduation,
  the Solar receives two (2) free dots of Backgrounds, which
  may be chosen from any Cult-appropriate Background, though
  the Solar must also forsake any inappropriate pre-Cult Back-
  grounds such as Backing or excessive followers that are
  incompatible with his new role in the Cult of the Illuminated.
  Finally, joining the Cult subjects the Solar to penalties of
  indoctrination, as detailed above.
  THE OTHER EXALTED
  While the Cult of the Illuminated preaches that the
  Solars are their prophesied Illuminated messiahs, the Gold
  Faction isn’t so foolish as to dismiss the idea of making use
  of other Exalted. While the training camps were specifi-
  cally designed to aid Solars, training regimens for other
  Exalted already exist to indoctrinate and mold them into
  the preconceived ideals of the Cult. In short, in a game
  centered on the Cult of the Illuminated, any sort of Exalt
  is playable, so long as the Storyteller permits it. Details of
  how each Exalted type fits into the machinations of the
  Gold Faction are below.
  LUNARS
  Though the Silver Pact finds most Lunars after they
  Exalt, a few slip through the cracks, sometimes making their
  way into the hands of the Cult of the Illuminated. No less than
  five Lunars currently train under the Cult methodology.
  Lacking any specific use for these barbaric warriors, the
  Sidereals attempt to return them to their old roles as servants
  I KILL THE GOLD FACTION!
  The point of playing a game featuring the Cult
  of the Illuminated is to deal with the issues raised by
  the Cult — the morality of power, the degree to
  which good intentions trump good acts, the moral
  burden of education. This means two things.
  First, the Storyteller should tell the players
  generally in advance what kind of story they’re
  going to be in. If the Cult is going to be villainous,
  heroic or whatever, make sure the players are not
  left grasping randomly for compatible character
  concepts because, out of four or five players left to
  grab randomly for direction, one of them is sure to
  fuck up your game.
  The other key is that, as players, you have to
  show some restraint. It is not good enough to wait
  until you are sure that your character could have
  figured out the Gold Faction doesn’t precisely have
  his best interests in mind before starting to murder
  Sidereals. The game is not about how you can find
  the quickest path between the starting session and
  your first multiple murder. If the game is about the
  process of uncovering the Gold Faction, don’t play
  the character whose response to the first hint of
  betrayal is to start pressuring the Storyteller to have
  you whip out your daiklave. Play the character who
  sees their point of view, at least somewhat. Play the
  character who makes the game interesting and en-
  gaging. Play the character who will at least give the
  Sidereals the benefit of the doubt. In short, play the
  kind of character who does for the Storyteller what
  you in turn want the Storyteller to do with your
  character — follow the subplots and advance the
  nuances. Yes, the Cult of the Illuminated are shifty
  and crooked. It says that in the main book, and you
  knew that coming in to the game. Stop trying to kill
  them, and play along.
  
  95
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  and companions of the Solars. Thus, these tamed Lunars
  lay placidly before the feet of the worshiped Illuminated,
  something the Silver Pact, needless to say, finds disgusting.
  Illuminated Lunars are designed like standard Lunars
  with the following exceptions. First, Illuminated Lunars
  are Casteless. Any Lunar who receives his tattoos also
  receives mentoring from another Lunar about his proper
  place in the world and likely wouldn’t be fooled by the
  honeyed words of a Gold Faction Sidereal into groveling
  before a Solar. They receive 30 dots for Abilities and
  have the same requirements as Illuminated Solars from
  the same school. As the devoted servant of a Solar, a
  Lunar begins play with Ally •, representing her Solar
  companion, and nine (9) additional dots to spend on
  Backgrounds. Illuminated Lunars begin with an Essence
  of 2, not 3. Because the Cult is inexperienced in in-
  structing Luna’s Beloved, Illuminated Lunars receive no
  bonuses to learning Charms or Abilities and begin with
  the usual six (6) Charms.
  The indoctrination of the Lunars by the Cult tames
  them, teaching them that their proper place is at the feet
  of their Solar masters. Follower is an exceptionally
  common nature among the Lunars of the Cult of the
  Illuminated. In addition, their service to the Solars
  provides them with joy and allows them to defy their
  instincts, but the beast within recoils from this highly
  unnatural state. Whenever an Illuminated Lunar must
  violate his Virtues in the service of a Solar, he spends no
  Willpower. Instead, he marks two boxes on his Limit,
  rather than one. This is not optional: If the Lunar will
  submit to the insults of his mistress in violation of his
  Valor or to her carnal passions in violation of his
  Temperance, he never spends a Willpower and always
  gains two limit.
  SIDEREALS
  Sidereals are not trained by the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated, but by the Gold Faction. The standard character
  creation for Sidereals already represents the most
  streamlined process possible for Sidereals, and thus,
  Sidereals would gain no benefits from an alternate
  training technique. Sidereals found in the employ of
  the training camps, usually referred to as “Unseen
  Masters,” typically serve as tutors, recruiting agents or
  advisors for Solar strike forces.
  DRAGON-BLOODED
  Next to Solars, the most common Exalt found
  within the training camps are Dragon-Blooded
  outcastes. While far from plentiful, the Cult has man-
  aged to recruit a few handfuls of these powerful,
  elemental warriors. Rather than disdaining the usurp-
  ers of rightful Solar rulers, the Cult chose to train
  Dragon-Blooded to fill their ancient, First Age role of
  squires, retainers and shield bearers. These Illuminated
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  96
  Dragon-Blooded generally adore their Solar masters, and
  take pride in their service. They are among the fiercest
  opponents of the Immaculate Order, and present them-
  selves as living proof of its erroneous teachings.
  Illuminated Dragon-Blooded are generated as stan-
  dard outcastes (as found in Exalted: The Outcaste, pp.
  159-160) with the following exceptions: They gain 30 dots
  of Abilities and have the normal requirements for their
  training camp. They receive seven (7) Background dots
  and may select Cult Backgrounds. Dragon-Blooded trained
  at Kether Rock select seven (7) standard Dragon-Blooded
  Charms. Venerable Silk, however, chose to borrow tech-
  niques from the Bronze Faction and trains Dragon-Blooded
  in Celestial martial arts. As a result, Dragon-Blooded
  trained in the Sequestered Tabernacle gain Walker-
  Among-Irises Perception and Iris-Bulb Discourse, found
  on page 236 of Exalted: the Players Guide, and three (3)
  Charms from Ebon Shadow Style, Falling Blossom Style,
  Praying Mantis Style, Snake Style, Tiger Style or Ox-Body
  Technique. Falling Blossom Style is a Terrestrial art, and
  thus, it is cheaper to purchase with bonus points.
  ABYSSALS
  Abyssals are exceptionally rare within the Cult. The
  Gold Faction discovered a single Abyssal, completely by
  chance, moments after his Exaltation and before his
  Deathlord could retrieve him. Thus far, this Abyssal is the
  lone representative of his kind within the Cult. Unsure of
  what to do with him, the Gold Faction has chosen to train
  him, under supervision, within the Sequestered Taber-
  nacle. The Abyssal has proven responsive to the training
  but difficult to control.
  While rare, Cult Abyssals are possible. Cult Abyssals
  are generated exactly as Cult Solars with only a few excep-
  tions. Obviously, their Calling Charms and required Charms
  are replaced with the closest Abyssal equivalent. Further, as
  they receive less trust than Solars, they receive seven (7)
  Background dots rather than nine. Finally, Cult Abyssals
  react strangely to the indoctrination methods of the Cult.
  They chuckle at the mantras, they avoid the sunlight, and
  their prayers are eerily silent. Thus, Cult Abyssals suffer
  none of the Indoctrination flaws associated with Solars.
  NEW AND MODIFIED BACKGROUNDS
  The Cult of the Illuminated offers extensive resources
  generally unavailable to other Solars. Believing the Illu-
  minated Ones to be divine messiahs, members of the Cult
  eagerly give up their possessions, time and even lives in the
  service of their enlightened Solars. In addition, individual
  gods of Yu-Shan have secretly offered aid to the Gold
  Faction, and the Sidereals themselves have lent their
  considerable resources to help the Solars. As a result,
  Solars trained by and working for the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated benefit from new and improved Backgrounds to
  represent this greater level of available resources. These
  Backgrounds are detailed below:
  ARTIFACT
  The chosen messiahs of Heaven deserve the finest
  weapons and tools available, and the Cult of the Illumi-
  nated provides them. When a new Solar is found, the
  Gold Faction examines his past lives in detail via
  astrology, then dispatches elite teams of scavenger lords
  or Solar tomb raiders to find and retrieve the young
  Solar’s artifacts. Cult-loyal gods work quietly at their
  Heavenly forges, crafting tools worthy of the returning
  Solars and offering them as gifts to the Cult. As a result,
  the powerful weapons of the First Age are easily avail-
  able to Cult Solars, and collectively, the Cult’s collection
  is impressive.
  But the Cult’s resources aren’t endless. Despite the
  size of its arsenal, it pales before the wealth of the Realm
  or any individual Deathlord. While Cult Solars have more
  artifacts than unIlluminated Solars, they certainly do not
  drip with orichalcum the way Dynasts drip with jade. The
  Cult focuses on quality over quantity, ensuring that the
  best is available to its Solar champions, and it’s common
  to see them each with a single, powerful artifact and a few
  small trinkets, such as talismans, amulets or bracers, supple-
  menting their power.
  Orichalcum artifacts make up the bulk of the Cult
  collection, followed by jade. As the Cult seeks to arm
  and aid Solars first and foremost, it focuses its efforts on
  their tools. The extensive collection of jade comes
  simply from its high availability. If a Solar character
  wishes, he may take jade artifacts rather than orichalcum
  ones with this Background. For other Cult Exalted,
  orichalcum is reserved exclusively for Solars. They may
  take jade with this Background and nothing else. If they
  wish to acquire moonsilver, starmetal or soulsteel, they
  must purchase the standard Artifact Background from
  the Exalted main rulebook.
  x
  A single talisman or minor, thaumaturgical
  trinket.
  •
  Artifacts with a combined rating of no higher
  than 2.
  ••
  Artifacts with a combined rating of no higher
  than 3.
  •••
  Artifacts with a combined rating of no higher
  than 4.
  ••••
  Artifacts with a combined rating of no higher
  than 6.
  •••••
  Artifacts with a combined rating of no higher
  than 8.
  BACKING
  The Cult of the Illuminated does not demand loyalty
  from the Solars any more than peasants demand loyalty
  from their ruler. The Cult serves the Solars, not the other
  
  97
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  way around. Despite this, the Sidereals aren’t about to
  lose their precious charges. A fully trained Solar repre-
  sents a major investment as well as a powerful asset to the
  Gold Faction. As a result, everything within the Cult,
  from the training programs to the rituals of the tiger
  warriors who serve them, is engineered to ensure the
  continued service of the Solars on the behalf of the Gold
  Faction. Few Solars abandon the ethos they learn from
  the Cult, and fewer still abandon the cause they are
  given. One cannot serve two masters, and Cult Solars
  serve the interests of the Cult almost exclusively. As a
  result, a Solar cannot belong to another organization
  without unusual circumstances and Storyteller permis-
  sion and, thus, cannot take the Backing Background.
  FOLLOWERS
  Thousands of reverent, loyal mortals make up the
  ranks of the cultists, and their dedication to the Solars is
  complete. As a result, a Solar can call upon them for nearly
  anything, and small retinues of cultist servants are com-
  mon sights in the training camps. However, the Follower
  Background represents civilian cultists. For militarily
  trained cultists, see the Tiger Warrior Background.
  ILLUMINATION
  Even among the Princes of the Earth, there are differ-
  ences in rank and status. A youthful, untrained Solar,
  despite his divinity, is treated as barely more capable than
  a legendary mortal. Until he has proved himself as skilled
  and worthy, the greatest secrets of the Cult are hidden
  from him, and he is expected to learn rather than lead. As
  for those Solars who prove their dedication and leadership,
  the Cult lifts them up as examples both to the younger
  Solars and to the Cult as a whole. These greater Solars are
  expected to teach their younger counterparts and to lead
  the Cult. Because of their preeminence among the ranks of
  the Shining Ones, their names are more well known by the
  cultists, and they received a greater portion of their prayers.
  Indeed, some cultists may even see a particularly well-
  known Solar as a patron saint, praying to him specifically.
  The Cult is still young, and its leadership is newly forming,
  and a character with a high rank of Illumination is among
  the most famous of Solars.
  As the prophesied Illuminated Ones, the Solars re-
  ceive the greatest consideration within the Cult. As a
  result, all Illuminated Solars begin with Illumination •.
  Other Exalted serve the Cult, and though they may pur-
  chase Illumination, they do not reach the heights of status
  that Solars do. Dragon-Blooded may not exceed Illumina-
  tion •••. Lunars, as the valued companions of the Solars,
  may reach Illumination ••••. Sidereals do not normally
  take Illumination, serving from behind the scenes as they
  do, taking Connections (The Cult of the Illuminated)
  instead (which is found in Exalted: the Sidereals, pp. 106-
  107 and 108). Abyssal members of the Cult are exceedingly
  rare, and while they might hypothetically reach Illumina-
  tion •••••, the Gold Faction examines each case
  independently, and an Abyssal may only take Illumina-
  tion if the Storyteller approves.
  x
  The Exalt has no rank or trust within the
  Cult. Either he is an outsider, or he is
  considered a lesser, dedicated servant of
  the Illuminated. The Exalt is considered no
  better than the rank-and-file members of
  the Cult.
  •
  Initiate. The Exalt has achieved the trust
  and dedication of the Cult, and its resources
  are at his disposal. Despite this, he is still
  considered unproven. He is expected to learn
  at the feet of his instructors, and while
  cultists are required to obey his word, the
  Exalt is expected to listen to the advice of
  wiser cultists, such as his guide. This rank is
  the one of a Solar training in the camps, and
  all Illuminated Solars begin at this rank.
  ••
  Adept. The Exalt has proven himself to the
  Cult and now acts as an independent agent.
  He is free to come and go as he pleases, and
  he can expect mortals to listen to his com-
  mands as well as tend to his needs. Adepts
  primarily serve as the agents of the Cult,
  leaving the camps to perform tasks upon
  their behalf. This is the rank of those Solars
  who have graduated from their training.
  •••
  Illuminated. The Exalt has experience in
  serving the Cult and is considered a leader.
  Adepts look to him for leadership, and he
  often leads Cult missions and endeavors.
  Illuminated Exalts also serve as instructors
  of less capable Solars, and all the instructors
  of the camps stand at this rank. Illuminated
  Exalts receive a portion of the Cult’s wor-
  ship, and every dawn, the hour of worship for
  mortals, regain a free point of Willpower.
  ••••
  Saint. The Exalt has proven himself beyond
  the rest of the Solars and is a hero among the
  Cult. His name is spoken amongst cultists,
  and he is held up as an example to other
  Solars. Saints are the incarnations of the
  teachings of the Cult, living embodiments
  of the Illuminated Ones, and they serve as
  the high priests of the Cult. They make
  appearances at gatherings and perform
  miracles for the believers. Their greater sta-
  tus affords them even more worship, and in
  addition to gaining a point of Willpower at
  every dawn, their hourly Essence regenera-
  tion rates is increased by 2.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  98
  •••••
  Prophet. The Exalt leads and guides the
  whole of the Cult with his words. Training
  camps are ostensibly headed by prophets, as
  is the Cult itself. These Solars are the voice
  of the Cult, speaking for Heaven above, and
  their word is divine mandate to the cultists
  below them. While they have great power,
  however, they are still just spokesmen for
  Heaven, and Heaven is run by the Sidereals.
  No matter how powerful the Solars get, the
  Gold Faction intends to always be there,
  pulling the strings. Because of their im-
  mense status within the Cult, prayers pour
  into their souls. In addition to their daily
  point of Willpower, their hourly Essence
  regeneration rate is increased by 3.
  SORCERY
  Solars stand upon the apex of sorcery, and the funda-
  mental magic of Creation flows easily to their lordly
  fingertips. Naturally, they excel at the occult aspects of
  their training regimens, and once taught the basic prin-
  ciples of sorcery, the rest comes easily to them. While
  certain Callings specialize in sorcery, such as the battle-
  casting Paladins of Kether Rock or the surreal, superhuman
  Exemplars of the Sequestered Tabernacle, any Illumi-
  nated Exalt training in the camps can learn sorcery if she
  has the required dedication.
  This Background represents a thorough education in
  the arts of sorcery and grants free spells. This Background
  provides only the knowledge of spells, not the actual
  Charms associated with sorcery. Thus, to take full advan-
  tage of this Background, the character must acquire the
  appropriate Sorcery Charms through normal Charm selec-
  tion. The spells gained from this Background must be
  selected from those listed in the sidebar on this page.
  x
  The character has no special training in
  sorcery. Far from a deficit, the character has
  simply chosen to focus on other aspects of
  her training.
  •
  The character has learned the basic prin-
  ciples of the art of sorcery and gains a single
  spell from the Terrestrial Circle.
  ••
  The character benefits from extensive train-
  ing in the occult and gains two spells from
  the Terrestrial Circle.
  •••
  The character has mastered the fundamen-
  tals of sorcery and gains three spells from the
  Terrestrial Circle.
  ••••
  The character has extensively studied sor-
  cery, expanding upon the principles taught
  to her at her training camp, and gains four
  spells from either the Terrestrial or the Ce-
  lestial Circles.
  •••••
  The character’s knowledge and understand-
  ing of sorcery is almost unparalleled.
  Characters this dedicated to sorcery are des-
  tined to shake the world and begin play with
  five spells from the Terrestrial or the Celes-
  tial Circles.
  TIGER WARRIORS
  In addition to the Solars, the Cult trains elite cadres of
  mortal soldiers. Their dedication to the cause is complete, and
  they would gladly sacrifice themselves for the Illuminated
  Ones. The greatest and most fortunate are trained by the
  Solars themselves, their skills augmented by the use of the
  Charm Tiger-Warrior Training Technique, and these finest
  of soldiers are called tiger warriors. In the Sequestered Taber-
  nacle, these soldiers are trained in martial arts by Golden
  Splendor, a Dawn Caste Exemplar who studied beneath
  Lupo. In Kether Rock, a somber Paladin known as Tobias
  lends his magical talents to the training of tiger warriors.
  Lacking the abundant resources of the Realm or the
  Deathlords, the Gold Faction cannot field nearly as many
  soldiers. Tiger warriors are a valuable resource not to be
  thrown away frivolously. Despite this, a mortal’s life is
  nothing when compared to the importance of a Solar’s,
  and so, each tiger warrior looks forward to the day when he
  can become a martyr, assured a place in Heaven beside his
  beloved Solar.
  What the Cult lacks in numbers, it makes up for with
  zeal. Unlike the faceless legionnaires of the Realm or the
  sullen and sickly shadowlanders who make up an Abyssal’s
  army, these warriors each know their leader personally and
  adore him. Because of their association with greatness and
  their willingness to sacrifice all to accomplish their goals,
  many tiger warriors exceed the normal constraints of
  mortality, becoming legends themselves. While nothing
  compared to the Exalted, these heroic mortals still provide
  the Solars with a valuable resource, serving as their squires
  and shield bearers.
  More rarely, Dragon-Blooded trained by the Cult
  serve as tiger warriors, but as Cult Dragon-Blooded are
  exceedingly rare, few are ever assigned to a single Solar. It
  isn’t unheard of for a Lunar to end up in the service of the
  Cult, trained to be the companions of the Solars. In such
  rare instances, a Solar might find a Lunar in his service,
  serving as a strangely feral yet devoted lieutenant.
  Tiger warriors are always considered elite extras.
  x
  Your Solar works alone. Perhaps his training
  didn’t involve leadership, or perhaps the
  tasks the Cult puts him to would only be
  hampered by the presence of others. For
  whatever reason, the Cult has chosen not to
  bestow your Solar with mortal servants.
  •
  A dedicated guard. Your Solar is attended by
  a personal bodyguard consisting of no more
  
  99
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  heroic mortals aid the Solar in the command of
  this unit or, optionally, a single Dragon-Blood
  who serves the Solar personally.
  ••••
  A dedicated brigade. The Solar commands a
  considerable force of tiger warriors, up to
  100, enough to intimidate small towns and
  to fend off a small Wyld Hunt. Alternately,
  the Solar may lead 50 especially well-trained
  and -equipped tiger warriors considered su-
  perior in quality (see Exalted: The Outcaste,
  than five tiger warriors and one heroic mor-
  tal that sees to his protection and needs.
  ••
  A crack unit. The Solar has command of a
  sizable force of tiger warriors, no more than
  15, that can act independently of the Solar
  if necessary. These warriors are led by up to
  two heroic mortals.
  •••
  A personal strike force. Up to 25 tiger warriors
  serve the Solar, acting as an elite strike force
  ready to carry out his commands. Up to three
  SORCEROUS LORE
  Sorcery is a powerful tool, especially in the hands
  of a mighty Solar sorcerer. Though the Sidereals of
  the Gold Faction have access to nearly every pub-
  lished spell of the First and Second Circles of sorcery,
  they exercise caution in what they teach to the
  Solars. A single, rogue Illuminated filled with occult
  power is the secret nightmare of every cautious Gold
  Faction member. As a result, while students of the
  Cult gain exceptional access to occult training, the
  spells they may learn is limited. The Gold Faction
  focuses the training on spells that will be immediately
  useful for the Solar and spells that emphasis his divine
  nature. Many of the more controversial spells, or
  those spells the Sidereals wish to keep to themselves,
  are quietly kept away from students. The Gold Fac-
  tion has almost no access to spells of the Adamant
  Circle and even if it did, it would never teach such
  mighty magic to its students. Of course, the Story-
  teller is free to disregard these limitations — a Sidereal
  might impart normally forbidden secrets to a truly
  trusted or needful student.
  The following spells are available to students of
  the Cult’s training camps.
  From the Exalted main rule book:
  Spells of the First Circle
  Death of Obsidian Butterflies
  Emerald Countermagic
  Infallible Messenger
  Invulnerable Skin of Bronze
  Stormwind Rider
  Summon Elemental
  Spells of the Second Circle
  Sapphire Countermagic
  From Savant and Sorcerer:
  Spells of the First Circle
  Burning Eyes of the Offender
  Calling the Wind’s Kiss
  Commanding the Beasts
  Conjuring the Azure Chariot
  Emerald Circle Banishment
  Flight of Separation
  Flight of the Brilliant Raptor
  Flying Guillotine
  Food from the Aerial Table
  Internal Flame
  Mists of Eventide
  Paralyzing Contradiction
  Plague of Bronze Snakes
  Ravenous Fire
  Ritual of Elemental Empowerment
  River of Blood
  The Sacred Tongue
  Silent Words of Dreams and Nightmares
  Spirit of Might
  Spirit Sword
  Sting of the Ice Hornet
  Unbreakable Bones of Stone
  Unconquerable Self
  Unstoppable Fountain of the Depths
  Virtuous Guardian of Flame
  Spells of the Second Circle
  The Battle’s End
  Cloud Trapeze
  The Faithful Ally
  Hideous Confusion of Tongues
  Imbue Amalgam
  Ivory Orchid Pavilion
  Mercury’s Deliverance
  Rolling Earth Carpet
  Sapphire Circle Banishment
  Torrential Cascade
  Unity of Dreams
  Whirlwind of Fate
  From Exalted: The Sidereals:
  Spells of the First Circle
  Open the Spirit Door
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  100
  p. 39). In addition, up to four heroic mortals
  or a single Dragon-Blood attend the Solar.
  •••••
  A small army. Up to 250 tiger warriors of elite
  quality or 100 tiger warriors of superior qual-
  ity follow the Solar’s every command, a mighty
  force ready to sacrifice their lives for him.
  Additionally, up to five heroic mortals, each
  of whom have proven themselves time and
  again to their beloved master, serve the Solar.
  Alternatively, he may be served instead by an
  experienced Dragon-Blooded outcaste, or al-
  ternately, a lone Casteless Lunar, acquired
  and trained before the Silver Pact could reach
  him, may serve the Solar as a personal atten-
  dant, champion and commander of his troops.
  Such an ally is undeniably great, but these
  feral servants, though tame, can be danger-
  ously unpredictable.
  CHARMS
  A number of Charms common to the cult’s training
  regimens are included below. In addition, four Charms
  (Excellent Emissary’s Tongue, Game-Snaring Huntsman’s
  Method, Graceful Courtier Attitude and Prey-Freezing
  Gaze) have been reprinted here for ease of reference, and
  two (Prey-Freezing Glance and Game-Snaring Hunts-
  man Method) have been altered for better clarity and
  game balance.
  BRAWL
  INEVITABLE VICTORY MEDITATION
  Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower
  Duration: Until used
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Brawl: 5
  Minimum Essence: 1
  Prerequisite Charms: Fist of Iron Technique
  A master warrior must have complete knowledge of
  his own skills and prowess. With a moment of focus, the
  Solar centers himself and secures his knowledge of victory.
  When the perfect opportunity to strike comes, the Solar
  will know and make full use of the opening. Unlike the
  meditative nature of martial arts, this technique is trance-
  like, similar to the perfect, blood-tinted awareness of
  victory that cold-eyed berserkers receive.
  The Solar takes a moment to focus himself into his
  trance, letting his skill reach an instinctive level, and
  then, his player rolls the character’s Wits + Brawl, adding
  a number of successes equal to the Solar’s Essence. The
  Solar may spend a Willpower point on the roll for an
  automatic success, augment it with any appropriate
  Charms or use any other appropriate, normal method for
  improving the success of this roll. The Solar’s player
  notes the number of successes he received on the roll. At
  any time for the remainder of the scene, the Solar may
  reflexively replace the results of any single Brawl roll
  with the successes rolled during the activation of Inevi-
  table Victory Meditation. Inevitable Victory Meditation
  replaces the previous roll in its entirety, and any bonuses
  that applied to the previous roll, including dice or suc-
  cesses gained from Charms, Virtues or Willpower points,
  are lost. After Inevitable Victory Meditation has re-
  placed a Brawl roll, the Charm expires, and the character
  must activate it again if he wishes to reap its benefits once
  more. A Solar may freely end the Charm prematurely if,
  for example, his player rolls poorly upon activation and
  wishes to try again for a better result. While activating
  Inevitable Victory Meditation counts as the Solar’s Charm
  use for the turn, replacing the successes of a roll does not.
  A Solar may wait for his opponent to roll for his defense
  before replacing the successes of his attack roll. A Solar
  may not have more than one instance of this Charm
  active at any given time.
  IRREPRESSIBLE BRAVERY TACTIC
  Cost: 3 motes per success
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Reflexive
  Minimum Brawl: 3
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Thunderclap Rush Attack
  A master warrior must have complete knowledge of
  his surroundings and the progression of the fight. For a
  Solar who has mastered this technique, the battle flows
  around him, and he makes instinctive use of everything
  that surrounds him and the constant, shifting nature of the
  fight to his advantage. Brawlers with this Charm have a
  reputation for foolhardy bravery and dumb luck, for they
  make use of surprising and spectacular aspects of the fight,
  turning seemingly hopeless situations to their advantage.
  Any time a Solar gains bonus dice from a stunt, the
  Solar may spend 3 motes per stunt die to convert each die
  into an automatic success. The die isn’t rolled and is simply
  counted as a success. To use this Charm, the stunt must
  make use of the Solar’s surroundings or some ongoing aspect
  of the fight (such as his opponent’s last attack), or the Solar
  must perform a surprisingly brave or foolhardy act. For the
  purposes of this Charm, the bonus dice gained from the
  Daredevil or Signature Style Merits count as stunt dice.
  DANCING WITH STRIFE TECHNIQUE
  Cost: 3 motes
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Reflexive
  Minimum Brawl: 3
  Minimum Essence: 3
  Prerequisite Charms: Irrepressible Bravery Tactic
  
  101
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  A master warrior must have complete knowledge of
  his opponent, understanding the true extent of the dan-
  ger he faces. The greatness of Solars can only manifest
  when faced with foes of equal greatness, and those who
  have mastered Dancing with Strife Technique under-
  stand this principle, throwing themselves at greater and
  greater foes to feel the joy of battle. Anytime the Solar
  successfully defends himself from an attack that received
  no less than (the Solar’s Essence or 5, whichever is
  higher) successes, he may activate this Charm and gain
  a temporary point of Willpower. This Charm does not
  allow the Solar to gain more temporary Willpower than
  his permanent rating.
  SUPREMACY OF WAR METHOD
  Cost: 1 mote per die
  Duration: One scene or
  until used
  Type: Reflexive
  Minimum Brawl: 5
  Minimum Essence: 3
  Prerequisite Charms: In-
  evitable Victory Meditation,
  Dancing with Strife Technique
  A true warrior has mas-
  tered himself, his battlefield
  and his foes. Every movement,
  every attack, every action of
  his foes only increases the mas-
  tery of the Solar’s combat
  technique as he is driven to
  prove his supremacy upon the
  field of battle. Anytime an
  enemy takes an action against
  the Solar, either an attack or a
  defense, the Solar may reflex-
  ively activate Supremacy of
  War Method in response. The
  Solar may commit 1 mote per
  success his opponent made on
  his roll. At any time during
  the following scene, the Solar
  may add a number of dice to
  any Brawl roll up to the num-
  ber of motes committed to
  Supremacy of War Method.
  Each die added reduces the
  Essence committed by 1 mote.
  A Solar must choose to add
  dice to his roll before, not af-
  ter, he makes his roll.
  Activating Supremacy of
  War Method counts as a
  Charm use for the turn, but gaining bonus dice does not.
  For example: Michael is attacked by an Immaculate who
  scores seven successes on his attack roll. Michael spends 7
  motes on Supremacy of War Method. On the following
  turn, he makes an attack, adds seven dice to his dice pool
  and chooses to activate Ferocious Jab.
  A Solar may activate Supremacy of War Method
  multiple times in a scene to increase his total commit-
  ted motes, but he may never have more motes committed
  to Supremacy of War Method than his Wits + Brawl.
  Dice added through Supremacy of War Method are
  derived from a Charm and, thus, are subject to all
  associated limitations.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  102
  ASCENDANT BATTLE VISAGE
  Cost: 10 motes, 1 Willpower
  Duration: One turn
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Brawl: 5
  Minimum Endurance: 5
  Minimum Essence: 4
  Prerequisite Charms: Supremacy of War Method,
  Bloodthirsty Sword-Dancer Spirit
  By combining his pure, instinctive awareness of
  combat mastered through Supremacy of War Method
  with the raging fury mastered through Bloodthirsty Sword-
  Dancer Spirit, the Solar unlocks a deadly secret of his
  anima. In a fantastic display of power, the Solar’s anima
  flares to full totemic glory, and within that pillar of divine
  light, the Solar is reshaped, his body marked by his totem
  and the colors of his anima. A Night Caste with the
  totem of the wolf might gain a long, thick mane of grey
  hair, sharpened teeth and violet or golden eyes, and a
  Dawn Caste with the totem of the snake might gain a
  long, sinuous tattoo of a serpent upon his body and eyes
  of violent crimson. In this temporary state of power, the
  Solar’s player adds his character’s Essence in automatic
  successes to any combat rolls made, excluding damage
  rolls, though the number of successes he adds may not
  exceed the number of dice rolled, excluding bonus dice
  gained from Charms. This Charm lasts only a short time
  and threatens to enrage the character if sustained for too
  long. Once Ascendant Battle Visage has expired, the
  character may reflexively renew it. Doing so costs him no
  Essence or Willpower. Instead, for each turn he extends
  Ascendant Battle Visage, roll his highest Virtue. Each
  success increases his Limit by 1. Should the Solar suffer
  Limit Break during the use of this Charm, he frenzies as
  per Bloodthirsty Sword-Dancer Spirit, and Ascendant
  Battle Visage’s bonuses remain for the rest of the scene.
  The actual effects of the Limit Break itself, including the
  bonus to Willpower, begin after the scene ends.
  ENDURANCE
  TIRELESS TRAVELER’S STAMINA
  Cost: 5 motes
  Duration: One day
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Endurance: 2
  Minimum Essence: 1
  Prerequisite Charms: None
  The character using this Charm infuses his body with
  Essence, allowing him to travel for an entire day without
  needing rest, provided he maintains a reasonably steady
  pace (the character cannot run, as that requires the Tire-
  less Runner’s Stride Charm from Caste Book: Zenith, p.
  72). A character using this Charm could walk or ride at a
  steady pace for an entire day without becoming fatigued,
  footsore or saddlesore. The character must still eat and
  drink and is subject to the effects of the environment (such
  as extreme heat or cold), and the Charm does not prevent
  an Exalt’s mount from tiring. Still, characters using this
  Charm can cover considerable distance in fairly short time
  and arrive at their destination as fresh as when they left.
  (This Charm can be used as an alternate prerequi-
  site to the Tireless Runner’s Stride Charm from Caste
  Book: Zenith.)
  LINGUISTICS
  EXCELLENT EMISSARY’S TONGUE
  Cost: 4 motes per language, 1 Willpower
  Duration: Special
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Linguistics: 3
  Minimum Essence: 1
  Prerequisite Charms: None
  With this Charm, the Solar Exalted may acquire the
  ability to speak and understand a language merely by
  hearing it spoken. The Charm requires at least an hour of
  exposure to the language. So long as the Essence is com-
  mitted, the Chosen is completely fluent in that language,
  without a trace of accent, but cannot read or write in it. A
  character can master a total number of languages equal to
  her dots of Linguistics by using this Charm. Once the
  Essence is no longer committed, the knowledge of the
  language fades immediately.
  MARTIAL ARTS
  FALLING BLOSSOM STYLE
  Falling Blossom Style centers on the ideal of the
  expendable warrior. Followers of this martial art believe
  strongly in something greater than themselves. Willing to
  sacrifice their lives for their ideal, their utter disregard for
  personal survival allows for astonishing feats of combat.
  Because of the high mortality rate, few practitioners of this
  style achieve mastery. Paradoxically, those who master the
  path of self-sacrifice are too rare to be thrown away. Thus,
  Falling Blossom martial artists learn to sell their lives
  dearly, withholding the fullness of their technique until
  the most dire of circumstances. Generally, this technique
  is taught to outcaste Dragon-Blooded, but occasionally, a
  mortal cultist will achieve a great enough mastery of his
  own Essence to learn it. Dragon-Blooded and mortals who
  serve at Kether Rock disdain the technique, for they
  believe that a Solar protects his warriors, his people, not
  the other way around.
  Falling Blossom Style is a Terrestrial Style, and thus,
  Dragon-Blooded may learn it at no penalty, and mortals
  with the Essence Mastery Merit (see the Exalted Players
  Guide, p. 121) may also learn it. Falling Blossom Style
  
  103
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  practitioners may use swords and knives with their Martial
  Arts Ability, and attacks with those weapons count as
  unarmed attacks for the purpose of the style. Falling
  Blossom Style is incompatible with the use of armor.
  LIVING SHIELD TECHNIQUE
  Cost: 1 mote
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Reflexive
  Minimum Martial Arts: 2
  Minimum Essence: 1
  Prerequisite Charms: None
  The life of an Illuminated One is paramount. This truth
  is the first principle of the Falling Blossom Style, and its
  lessons are hammered into the practitioner with every
  mantra and sutra. The first technique Falling Blossom
  practitioners must master is that of defending the body of
  their Shining One, taking arrows and sword blows that were
  meant for him or knocking him away from such attacks.
  The martial artist may spend 1 mote to reflexively
  make himself the target of any attack aimed at his lord so
  long as he is within leaping distance (usually five yards,
  though this distance can be increased with Charms that
  increase leaping or sprinting distances). Use of this Charm
  does not require an action, and so, the martial artist may
  dodge or parry the attack that now targets him using
  normal rules. This Charm can only be used to protect a
  single person. The martial artist must declare whom he
  will defend at the beginning of combat, and he can defend
  only that person for the remainder of the scene.
  UNDEFENDED ASSAULT METHOD
  Cost: 4 motes
  Duration: One turn
  Type: Reflexive
  Minimum Martial Arts: 3
  Minimum Essence: 1
  Prerequisite Charms: Living Shield Technique
  A warrior uncaring for his safety can make attacks far
  more effectively than those who restrain themselves with
  an eye to their defense. By adopting an aggressive and
  indefensible posture, the martial artist can make
  devastatingly quick and accurate attacks, using offense as
  his only defense. Upon the activation of this Charm, the
  martial artist increases his initiative by his Martial Arts. In
  addition, all attacks made during this turn gain an auto-
  matic success. However, the martial artist may not make
  an active defense with any part of his action, and all attacks
  made against him gain an automatic success for the re-
  mainder of the turn. He may still benefit from defenses
  purchased from Charms or persistent effects such as Five-
  Dragon Blocking Technique or Fivefold Bulwark Stance,
  but without them, the martial artist is vulnerable. This
  Charm must be activated before initiative is rolled.
  DUAL SCARLET BLOSSOM TECHNIQUE
  Cost: 1 mote and 1 health level per die, 1 Willpower
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Supplemental
  Minimum Martial Arts: 3
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Living Shield Technique
  Except where it serves the Illuminated Ones, the life
  of a Falling Blossom master means nothing. By learning to
  tap into his own life force, the martial artist can enhance
  the deadliness of his blows. When activating this Charm,
  the martial artist pays 1 mote and one health level for every
  die of damage he wishes to convert into an automatic
  health level of damage inflicted upon his target. The
  health levels sacrificed by the martial artist are taken as
  levels of lethal damage. This damage is an effect of the
  Charm and cannot by bypassed or neutralized by Charms
  or other effects that reduce damage without negating the
  effect. This Charm must be activated after the martial
  artist’s player has rolled for his attack but before he has
  rolled for damage.
  FALLING BLOSSOM FORM
  Cost: 5 motes
  Duration: One scene
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Martial Arts: 4
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Undefended Assault Method,
  Dual Scarlet Blossom Technique
  The character adopts an aggressive, dedicated stance
  as he focuses his entire mind upon the defense and desires
  of his divine lord, giving himself over completely to the
  ideal of victory. For the remainder of the scene, the
  character inflicts lethal damage with his unarmed attacks,
  and any successful attacks made with a knife convert one
  health level of damage to an automatic success. This bonus
  does not apply to attacks made with swords or fists. The
  form Charm is as much a state of mind as it is a state of
  Essence and body, and as a result, the character’s burning
  faith shields him from terror and fear of death. For the
  remainder of the scene, the character may substitute his
  Conviction for his Valor for any rolls made to resist effects
  based on fear or intimidation. Further, the brightness of
  the martial artist’s dedication powers his body when it fails
  him, allowing him to continue to act after he has been
  incapacitated. If bashing damage caused the incapacita-
  tion, the martial artist simply ignores his incapacitated
  state and may continue to act. If lethal damage caused the
  incapacitation, the character will die in a number of turns
  equal to his Stamina, as usual, but may continue to act
  until then. However, the character suffers from the normal
  wound penalties the damage has caused (-4 for Incapaci-
  tated). Finally, because of the fervor of the martial artist’s
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  104
  faith, any character killed while in this form goes instantly
  to his next incarnation. He leaves behind no ghost, and no
  hungry ghost inhabits his corpse. This effect offers only
  some protection against necromancy: If any necromantic
  effect would create a ghost, the martial artist’s player rolls
  a resisted Essence roll against the necromancer’s Essence,
  and should the roll be successful, the martial artist’s soul is
  reborn immediately. Otherwise, he becomes a ghost as
  dictated by the necromantic effect.
  A character cannot use more than one Form-type
  Charm at a time. Using a Form-type Charm ends the effects
  of another Form-type Charm the character was utilizing.
  PURITY OF PURPOSE ATTACK
  Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower, 1 experience point
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Supplemental
  Minimum Martial Arts: 5
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Falling Blossom Form
  Once the martial artist has achieved mastery of the
  basics of Falling Blossom Style, he learns to dedicate his
  very soul to battle. With a willingness to sacrifice anything
  to achieve victory for his master, the character can achieve
  perfection in combat. After activating the Charm, the
  character makes an unarmed attack (or an attack with a
  sword or knife), his player rolling to attack as normal. So
  long as the character achieves a single success, his attack
  will strike its target, regardless of the difficulty of the
  attack. Should the difficulty of the attack, or the targets
  parry or dodge successes, reduce the successes to zero, the
  attack still does its base damage. Only a perfect defense can
  stop this attack.
  The use of this Charm slowly aligns the soul of the
  martial artist closer and closer to the destiny of his master.
  The Storyteller should note every experience point spent
  on the activation of this Charm. Every 3 experience points
  spent purchases a point of the Destiny Merit (see the
  Exalted Players Guide, pp. 25-26) for the martial artist,
  though the nature of that destiny is up to the Storyteller.
  As a general guide, the destiny is seldom pleasant, though
  it usually provides an opportunity for the martial artist to
  die in a manner that proves his dedication and faith.
  STRENGTH OF FAITH MEDITATION
  Cost: 1 mote per die, 1 Willpower
  Duration: One scene
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Martial Arts: 4
  Minimum Essence: 3
  Prerequisite Charms: Falling Blossom Form
  The faith that drives the martial artist exceeds the
  limitations of his mortal frame. By channeling that power
  through focused meditations and quick exercises, the
  character can overcome the weaknesses of his body. Each
  mote spent in the activation of this Charm negates one
  point of penalty caused by pain or disability of his body,
  such as wound penalties or the effects of Charms such as
  Crippling Pressure-Point Strike. This Charm will not
  negate penalties that stem from outside factors, such as
  environmental penalties.
  VERSE OF THE MARTYR
  Cost: 15 motes
  Duration: One day
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Martial Arts: 5
  Minimum Essence: 3
  Prerequisite Charms: Purity of Purpose Attack,
  Strength of Faith Meditation
  All warriors die, but a master of Falling Blossom Style
  chooses how and where he shall die, rather than trusting
  to the unpredictability of fate. Dedicating himself utterly
  to his goal, the master meditates upon his purpose and
  writes a 17-syllable poem that captures the essence of his
  life, his dedication and his purpose. He leaves the poem
  behind as he journeys to his fate, a final message to his
  loved ones and friends. For the remainder of the day, his
  focus is sharpened to divine proportions, and any time the
  character channels a Virtue for any roll that aids his goal,
  even remotely, his player gains a number of automatic
  successes to his roll equal to the channeled Virtue, rather
  than adding dice. Further, the Loom of Fate accepts the
  dying martial artists proposition and realigns events so
  that his death is honorable, giving him a chance at success.
  This has no mechanical benefits except to encourage the
  Storyteller to plan events around the character’s death
  that suit his sacrifice. However, this supreme clarity comes
  at an ultimate price. Fate ensures the death of the charac-
  ter before the rise of the sun on the next day. Often, this
  death occurs just as he predicted within his poem. Should
  the character manage to cheat death in some manner, he
  is broken, a spent and useless weapon without purpose. For
  the remainder of his sad life, the failed master may not
  regain Essence or Willpower.
  PRESENCE
  PREY-FREEZING GAZE
  Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower
  Duration: One scene or special
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Presence: 3
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Harmonious Presence
  Meditation
  When the character uses this Charm, she impresses
  a single target with the overwhelming power of her
  commanding nature. Targets whose players fail a Valor
  roll at a difficulty of 3 are frozen in place, unable to move
  
  105
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  for the next scene. This paralysis is emotional rather than
  physical, but cannot be broken as long as the attacking
  character continues to gaze intently at the target. While
  keeping this eye contact, the character can be no more
  than five yards from the target. She also cannot move
  faster than a walk or perform any complex or difficult
  actions (such as combat). The target’s player receives
  additional Valor rolls whenever anyone harms or obvi-
  ously attempts to harm him. If the character ceases to
  gaze at the target, the paralysis continues for the next
  three full turns, but the target instantly breaks free if
  anyone harms or obviously attempts to harm him. This
  Charm has no effect on targets whose Essence is higher
  than the character using the Charm.
  SOUL-SHAPING WORDS TECHNIQUE
  Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Presence: 5
  Minimum Essence: 3
  Prerequisite Charms: Listener-Swaying Argument
  The words of an Illuminated Solar are as forceful as his
  fists, allowing him to assert dominion over a social con-
  flict. The saintly Solar turns to his target and speaks
  profound words, a deep insight fueled with Essence. The
  effect is immediate and powerful. As the target of his words
  contemplates their meaning, and either he accepts the
  fundamental truth of the words and the inherent saint-
  hood of the Solar, finding his spirit uplifted, or he rejects
  them and the Solar, the words ripping through his soul like
  spurs. The Solar selects the target of his words and reveals
  his sagacious truth, his player rolling the Solar’s Charisma
  + Presence at a difficulty of his opponent’s Essence.
  If the roll is successful, the target has a choice:
  submission or defiance. For one who submits to the Solar,
  accepting him as divine, everything in the world makes
  sense, and her place in the world is reaffirmed, and the
  target gains a temporary point of Willpower. For one who
  defies the inherent lordship of the Solar, she suffers
  beneath the weight of her own, false world view, unable
  to reconcile the truth of the Solar’s statement with her
  own ideology, losing a number of temporary points of
  Willpower equal to the number of successes the Solar’s
  player rolled beyond the requisite difficulty, to a maxi-
  mum number of Willpower points equal to the Solar’s
  own Essence. The Solar cannot reduce a target below 0
  Willpower points, and those who have no Willpower left
  as a result of this Charm can no longer bear the sight of
  the Solar and immediately flee his presence. This tech-
  nique is as useful as a weapon against unbelievers as it is
  a way of strengthening the righteous. However, the
  Charm can only be used upon beings who truly are
  beneath the Solar and is not effective against anyone
  with an Essence equal to or higher than the Solar.
  TRUE HARMONY REVELATION
  Cost: 15 motes, 1 Willpower
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Presence: 5
  Minimum Essence: 4
  Prerequisite Charms: Soul-Shaping Words Technique
  The desperate, the downtrodden and the weak can
  find new hope and new joy in the words of the saintly
  Illuminated. With a gentle whisper and uncommon in-
  sight, a Solar may reveal someone’s true nature to herself,
  so that she may find the sense of purpose she longs for. This
  Charm only affects characters who have no remaining
  temporary Willpower points. The Solar makes a Manipu-
  lation + Presence roll at a difficulty of his target’s
  Conviction. If successful, the Solar molds the spent will of
  the target into a new form, and the Solar may select a new
  Nature to replace the target’s old one. For each success
  beyond the required difficulty, the Solar may rearrange
  one point of Virtue, making a cowardly man brave or a
  loving man cold and hard. The effects normally last a
  month. However, the Solar may spend 1 experience point
  to make the Nature change permanent, and 1 experience
  point per Virtue dot shifted during the target’s change to
  make that permanent. Some characters of strong will may
  overcome even these permanent changes with time. After
  a minimum number of months equal to (11 - the character’s
  Willpower), at the Storyteller’s discretion, even the per-
  manent effects of this Charm subside. This Charm will not
  affect beings whose Essence exceeds the Solar’s.
  HORIZON-TO-HORIZON PRESENCE METHOD
  Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower
  Duration: Instant
  Type: Reflexive
  Minimum Presence: 5
  Minimum Essence: 5
  Prerequisite Charms: Hypnotic Tongue Technique,
  Terrifying Apparition of Glory
  While any Solar who masters the Charms of Presence
  has a weighty aura of charisma and influence, those who
  master Horizon-to-Horizon Presence Method have vast
  auras that insinuate themselves into all aspects of life.
  Such an Exalt impacts people whom she has never met.
  Assassins abandon their quest for her destruction after
  seeing a painting of her. Hopeless young men devote their
  entire lives to her upon hearing mere stories of her deeds.
  The character may influence the world without raising a
  finger through the power of her charisma alone.
  Upon activating this Charm, the Solar may make a
  single use of her Presence Ability, usually rolled with
  either Charisma or Manipulation, against any single
  character irregardless of distance. The difficulty rating of
  the Presence roll is increased by an amount equal to the
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  106
  target’s Essence. The Solar need not speak or interact
  with the target in anyway. Indeed, the Charm may be
  activated unconsciously as the character’s charismatic
  aura affects people and events completely outside of her
  knowledge. However, the Charm requires some interac-
  tion, even if only distant rumor. The target must hear of
  her deeds or witness the impact the character has made
  upon the world. Further, when the character fails to
  impress someone through the use of this Charm, it
  diminishes in usefulness. Anytime the Charm is acti-
  vated but fails to achieve a number of successes equal to
  the target’s Essence, the Charm may not be activated
  again for a full day, and the target of the Charm is
  rendered immune to its use for a month (or longer at the
  Storyteller’s discretion). Finally, the Charm only creates
  emotional impressions and vague ideas, not specific mes-
  sages. While Horizon-to-Horizon Presence Method could
  persuade a king to seek the Solar’s amorous affections, it
  could not, for example, convey a secret password to him
  or convince him to perform a very specific task.
  While the primary use of this Charm is long-ranged
  interactions, the strength of the character’s aura does not
  diminish in close proximity. The Charm may be activated
  to affect someone in the character’s presence, allowing for
  powerful nonverbal interaction.
  SURVIVAL
  GAME-SNARING HUNTSMAN’S METHOD
  Cost: 1 mote per die
  Duration: One day
  Type: Supplemental
  Minimum Survival: 4
  Minimum Essence: 1
  Prerequisite Charms: Hardship-Surviving Mendi-
  cant Spirit
  When invoking this Charm, the Exalted names a
  single breed of animal, which may include “human.” He
  then crafts a snare appropriate for trapping the species of
  interest. For each mote invested in the Charm, the
  Survival roll to create the snare is increased by one die.
  In addition, for each mote invested, the targeted breed
  suffers a one-die penalty to detect or escape the trap. The
  trap will not be triggered by any species other than the
  one named. This trap cannot be used to snare a specific
  specimen, but instead, affects the first member of the
  species that encounters it.
  Game-Snaring Huntsman’s Method cannot be used
  to create a trap that will innately do damage, such as spike-
  pits or deadfalls. It can only be used to enhance snares, pit
  traps and other such traps that hinder or ensnare, rather
  than wound or kill. However, traps empowered by Game-
  Snaring Huntsman’s Method may inflict incidental damage
  upon a target while it attempts to escape (a cage, for
  
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  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  example, could be spiked to discourage meddling with the
  bars), so long as the primary purpose of the trap isn’t the
  wounding of its intended prey.
  SOCIALIZE
  GRACEFUL COURTIER ATTITUDE
  Cost: 2 motes per difficulty penalty
  Duration: One scene
  Type: Simple
  Minimum Socialize: 4
  Minimum Essence: 2
  Prerequisite Charms: Mastery of Small Manners
  By attuning to the flow of Essence, the Chosen be-
  comes virtually unflappable. No matter how difficult or
  unusual the social situation, she navigates it with enviable
  ease and grace. Every 2 motes of Essence spent allows the
  Exalt’s player to ignore one point of difficulty on all
  Socialize rolls imposed by conditions such as foreign envi-
  ronment, interpersonal tensions, bad weather and bad
  food — even insult and injury. The difficulty of the
  Socialize roll cannot be reduced below 1, and this Charm
  only overcomes penalties that increase the difficulty, it
  does not make normally difficult feats of Socialize easier
  (such as convincing a hated enemy to cooperate). The
  Exalt using this Charm appears graceful and dignified
  under even the worst circumstances.
  CHARACTERS OF THE
  SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE
  VENERABLE SILK, MASTER ATTENDANT OF THE
  LORDS OF THE SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE
  Description: Posing as a mere servant, an advisor,
  many Solars dismiss the true master of the Tabernacle,
  unable to see past his youthful beauty and humble de-
  meanor. His frame is small and delicate, clothed in fine,
  silken robes. His feet are always bare. Fine threads of
  sandy blonde hair surround his rounded, attractive face,
  and his lips are soft. Wisdom fills his large, handsome,
  brilliantly blue eyes. No matter how difficult the circum-
  stances, his countenance always remains serene.
  Venerable Silk seldom enters battle, but when he does so,
  he prefers to engage his foes unarmed, disabling them
  with his supreme martial prowess. If necessary, he will
  reluctantly arm himself with Unregretful Past, his
  starmetal powerbow. The elder Sidereal vastly prefers to
  engage his foes socially or circumspectly, however, ma-
  nipulating them as subtly as he can. In all situations,
  Venerable Silk’s touch is a gentle one, as he carefully
  guides the world to meet his ideals for it.
  Venerable Silk was born in a world of suffering and
  death and as his mother screamed in the throes of his birth,
  the Contagion stood outside her door, scything down her
  family and community. Stalking gangs of bandits slew his
  mother when he was young, taking the beautiful boy as a
  pet and plaything. His ordeal at their hands did not end
  until his Exaltation on his 16th birthday, after which
  Vanis Grey, a Sidereal of the Bronze Faction, brought the
  boy to Yu-Shan. Despite his sufferings, the young Exalt did
  not blame the people of Creation for his misery, for he was
  keenly aware that they were not responsible for the world’s
  state of decay. During his long centuries of aiding the
  Bronze Faction, he slowly came to understand the flaws
  within their logic and the shape of their hubris. If the
  Sidereals had been mighty enough to defeat the Primordials,
  surely they could performed the small task of reforming the
  Solars. His research led him to strong conclusions about
  the nature of Solars and Creation’s need for them. Shortly
  thereafter, he defected to the Gold Faction. There, he grew
  obsessed with unearthing evidence of the First Age, piec-
  ing together for himself what had really happened, free of
  Bronze Faction propaganda. Slowly, he began to devise a
  theory about the restoration of the First Age. All he
  needed were the glorious Solars themselves.
  When the news of the returning Solars reached
  Heaven, Venerable Silk was amongst the eldest of the
  Gold Faction, already in a position of leadership. He
  immediately saw his opportunity to cast out the suffer-
  ing that had stained Creation and to rebuild the
  paradisiacal world that had existed in the First Age.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  108
  Almost immediately, however, problems began to erode
  his plans. Other Sidereals disagreed with him, feeling
  the pride of Solars was their weakness, not their strength.
  Despite this fragmentation of ideology, the Gold Fac-
  tion remained united in its purpose, and many doubting
  Sidereals fell into line with him. When it came time to
  build the Sequestered Tabernacle, Venerable Silk had
  the lion’s share of the Gold Faction’s resources and
  made full use of them when he built his magnificent
  Manse in the Dehennen Mountains.
  Within the Sequestered Tabernacle, Venerable Silk
  poses as advisor and councilor. He carefully conceals any
  role of leadership by hiding himself behind a mask of
  Solar saints who ostensibly rule the temple. Instead, he
  meets with students within the cushioned, comfortable
  confines of his room, listening to their problems and
  needs and advising them. Occasionally, he meanders the
  training rooms, watching as the students learn their
  skills, offering tidbits of advice just as any other instruc-
  tor would. With this subtle approach, Venerable Silk can
  continue to manipulate the Solars of his temple while
  allowing them to believe that they, in fact, have true
  power, thus resurrecting the ancient role of Sidereal as
  advisor, not (obvious) master.
  Caste: Serenity
  Nature: Conniver
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4, Charisma
  6, Manipulation 6, Appearance 6, Perception 6, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 5, Conviction 4, Temperance 4,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 5, Athletics 3, Awareness 5, Bureau-
  cracy 4, Craft (Fate) 3, Dodge 6, Endurance 3, Investigation
  3, Larceny 4, Linguistics (Native: High Realm; Old Realm,
  Low Realm, Riverspeak, Forest Tongue, Skytongue) 5,
  Lore 5, Martial Arts 7 (Fighting Those Who Love Him
  +3), Medicine 4, Occult 5, Performance 5, Presence 4,
  Resistance 3, Ride 5, Socialize 6, Stealth 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 3, Artifact 5, Backing (The Gold
  Faction) 4, Backing (The Sequestered Tabernacle) 4,
  Connections (The Cult of the Illuminated) 5, Connec-
  tions (The Guild) 2, Connections (The Threshold) 3,
  Manse 4, Salary 4, Savant 4
  Colleges: Corpse 2, Ewer 3, Gull 1, Lovers 5, Mask 1,
  Musician 4, Peacock 3, Pillar 4, Treasure Trove 2
  Charms: Absence, Armor-Penetrating Fang Strike, Aus-
  picious Prospects for Serenity, Avoidance Kata, Avoiding
  the Truth Technique, Breaking the Wild Mortal, Blade of
  the Battle Maiden, Blue Vervain Binding, Cash and Mur-
  der Games, Celestial Circle Sorcery, Charm Redirection
  Technique, Citrine Poxes of Contagion Form, Compas-
  sionate Essence Replenishment, Conclusion-Pursuing
  Approach, Convulsive Displacement Infectious Atemi,
  Crippling Pressure Point Strike, Dawn Solar Ways, Death-
  Parrying Stroke, Death-Pattern Sensing Attitude, De-
  fense of Shining Joy, Destiny-Knitting Entanglement,
  Disjointed Essence Infectious Atemi, Dream Confiscation
  Approach, Duck Fate, Eclipse Solar Ways, Efficient Sec-
  retary Technique, Elegant Patterns of Fate, Enthralling
  Blow Attack, Essence-Disrupting Infectious Atemi, Es-
  sence Fangs and Scales Technique, Essence-Shattering
  Typhoon, Essence Venom Strike, Expected Pain, Eyes of
  the Wood Dragon, Faultless Ceremony, Favorable Inflec-
  tion Procedure, Feverish Essence Discharge Atemi, Flare
  of Invulnerability Method, Flight of Mercury, Games of
  Divinity Form, Gentle Touch of the Wicked Hand, Glo-
  rious Sidereal Protection, Glory Path, God Ways, Godly
  Companion, Harmonic Completion, Heart-Brightening
  Presentation Style, Honorable Thief Spirit, Hot-Eyed
  Snake Whispering, Ice and Fire Binding, Incite Decorum,
  Inner Dragon Unbinding, Joy in Adversity Stance, Life-
  Severing Blow, Life Without Compunction, Lover’s Oath,
  Mark of Exaltation, Metal Storm, The Methodology of
  Secrets, Mind-Over-Body Meditation, Name Pilfering
  Practices, Neighborhood Relocation Scheme, Of Horrors
  Best Unknown, Of the Shape of the World, Optimistic
  Security Practice, Ordained Bridle of Mercury, Perfect
  Reconstruction Method, Perfection in Life, Presence in
  Absence Technique, Prior Warning, Riding the Dragon,
  Secrets of Future Strife, Sequential Charm Disruption,
  Serpentine Evasion, Shun the Smiling Lady, Snake Form,
  Snake Strikes the Heel, Song of Spirit Persuasion, Soul-
  Marking Strike, Soul Mastery, Spirit and Body Purification
  Touch, Spirit-Rending Technique, Spirit-Shape Com-
  panion, Spirit-Wracking Method, Spiritual Perfection,
  Stern Essence Replenishment, Striking Cobra Technique,
  Striking Serpent Speed, Supernal Awareness, Systematic
  Understanding of Everything, Tell-Tale Symphony, Ter-
  restrial Circle Sorcery, Trouble Reduction Strategy,
  Twilight Solar Ways, Unbreakable Fascination Kata,
  Uncoiling Serpent Prana, Underling Invisibility Practice,
  Unwavering Well-Being Meditation, Violet Bier of Sor-
  rows Form, Wanting and Fearing Prayer, Wise Choice,
  Wood Dragon Form, Wood Dragon Succor, Wood Dragon
  Vitality, World-Shaping Artistic Vision (Ending Con-
  flicts x 3), Yellow Path, You and Yours Stance
  Spells: The Battle’s End, Demon of the First Circle,
  Demon of the Second Circle, Emerald Circle Banishment,
  Emerald Countermagic, Fugue of Truth, Incantation of
  Spiritual Discretion, Insidious Tendrils of Hate, Paralyz-
  ing Contradiction, Private Plaza of Downcast Eyes, Sapphire
  Countermagic, Summon Elemental, Travel Without Dis-
  tance, Voices of Distant Regard
  Combos:
  Defense of the Humble Servant (Cost: 5 motes, 1
  Willpower + 1 mote per target number reduction): Hot-
  Eyed Snake Whispering, Life Without Compunction —
  Venerable Silk’s role often requires him to perform questionable
  
  109
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  deeds with questionable people. Whenever he activates this
  technique, the world stills as though holding its breath before
  laughing at the horror or embarrassment of those around
  Venerable Silk or his target. A blanket of normalcy descends
  upon his actions, and those who witnessed them dismiss his
  error. Upon activating this Combo, Venerable Silk rolls his
  Manipulation + Socialize dice pool and reduces the target
  number of the roll by 1 per additional mote he spends. Venerable
  Silk must spend at least 1 mote lowering the target number when
  using this Combo. Venerable Silk may target others with this
  Combo, but its effects are always tinged with humility, and the
  proud do not often enjoy falling beneath its protective cover.
  Essence Unbinding Touch (Cost: 8 motes, 2 Will-
  power + 2 motes per health level): Armor-Penetrating
  Fang Strike, Crippling Pressure-Point Strike, Life-Sev-
  ering Blow — Venerable Silk learned this technique long
  ago as he prepared to study Wood Dragon Style and,
  eventually, Citrine Poxes of Contagion Style. By examining
  how flows of Essence through a body interact with the
  threads of fate that control it, he found a pulsing nexus
  between the two that he could sooth with his martial arts,
  bringing peace to his foe. When Venerable Silk strikes with
  this technique, the world goes still as the earth sighs content-
  edly and the target’s heart flutters mournfully, awaiting
  Venerable Silk’s delicate touch. With a feather-light touch,
  the Sidereal tames the Essence within the target. After the
  attack strikes, calculate damage normally except that armor
  cannot soak damage inflicted by Essence Unbinding Strike.
  However, instead of inflicting damage, Essence Unbinding
  Touch inflicts a one-die penalty to all the target’s dice pools
  per health level of damage that normally would have been
  inflicted. Venerable Silk may buy additional penalties at a
  cost of 2 additional motes each, to a maximum of his
  Essence. The penalties last seven turns (a number of turns
  equal to Venerable Silk’s Martial Arts Ability).
  Truth Defending Blessing (Cost: 8 motes, 1 Will-
  power): Avoiding the Truth Technique, Presence in
  Absence Technique — Venerable Silk sometimes finds his
  trust in others is misplaced. To safeguard precious truths and
  wisdoms he has imparted to students and allies, he sometimes
  offers a solemn blessing to ensure their confidentiality. This
  technique requires Venerable Silk to touch his target, and as he
  does so, the world stills in sorrow and tears form on nearby
  surfaces of glass and metal. Once blessed, any time the target
  reveals some truth that Venerable Silk wishes concealed, Ven-
  erable Silk’s player reflexively and unconsciously rolls his
  Manipulation + Presence and adds (his Essence) in automatic
  successes to convince those the target speaks to that his words are
  lies. This Charm does not provide Venerable Silk with any
  knowledge of the betrayal, however.
  Base Initiative: 10
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 13 Damage 2B Defense 13*
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 12 Damage 4B Defense 12*
  Starmetal Short Powerbow (Unregretful Past): Speed 11
  Accuracy 13 Damage 8L (Rate 2, Range 250)**
  * All attacks include a bonus from starmetal Hearthstone
  bracers
  ** Attacks from Unregretful Past gain +2 automatic
  successes against targets that Venerable Silk loves.
  Dodge Pool: 11 Soak: 2L/4B (Silken robes)
  Willpower: 10
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/In-
  capacitated
  Essence: 7
  Personal Essence: 24
   Peripheral Essence: 60 (68)
  Committed Essence: 8
  Other Notes: Within the Sequestered Tabernacle, Ven-
  erable Silk generally dons the resplendent destiny of the
  Pillar, serving as a benign friend to most of the inhabitants.
  This destiny has a duration of 20 years and 3 remaining
  effect points. Outside of the Sequestered Tabernacle,
  Venerable Silk must sometimes assume a less pleasant
  mantle to manipulate events and gather information. He
  usually travels to Great Forks where he dons the resplen-
  dent destiny of the Lovers, acting as a pimp. This destiny
  has a duration of two years and 6 remaining effect points.
  Finally, he occasionally, in private, assumes the Resplen-
  dent Destiny of the Corpse as he relieves his earliest
  memories of life. He also used this destiny when he stole a
  newly Exalting Abyssal out from under his Deathlord’s
  nose. This destiny has a duration of one year and 4
  remaining effect points.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 14 Damage 2B Defense 15 Rate 5*
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 14 Damage 5B Defense 10 Rate 3*
  * All attacks include a bonus from starmetal Hearthstone
  bracers
  Dodge Pool: 21
  AMAYA, PATRON SAINT OF THE
  SEQUESTERED TABERNACLE
  Description: Of all the Shining Ones in the Cult,
  none are so beloved as the sweet-eyed patron of the
  Sequestered Tabernacle. In the First Age, Amaya’s Exal-
  tation was embodied in a Solar called “the Mother of the
  Realm,” and ancient diaries forbidden by the Immaculate
  Order claim that the Dragon-Blooded who slew her wept
  after the deed, horrified by what they had done. Modern
  assassins tremble and fall at her feet, begging for her
  forgiveness and pleading to join her cause. Amaya is a
  lovely young woman with olive skin and silken hair of the
  palest gold. Surprisingly humble, she wears the rough
  clothes of a peasant and helps in the field as often as she
  wears fine silks and resides within the Tabernacle. Her
  face shines, her smile is bright, and she always has a
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  110
  pleasant and comforting word ready for those seeking her
  miraculous presence.
  Born a wealthy heiress in a small kingdom in the
  Scavenger Lands, young Amaya quickly grew jaded and
  bored with the gilded cage that surrounded her. Wild
  fantasies of the adventures commoners endured filled her
  imagination, and she often crept from the safety of her
  parents’ mansion to wander the streets that surrounded it.
  Outside of the protected world her mother and father had
  crafted for her, Amaya witnessed the suffering and pain of
  the world. She struggled to help her fellow man, to relieve
  their suffering, but her small deeds did little to stem the
  tides of pain. As her travels lengthened, she wept daily in
  frustration until, one day, as she sat beneath the protective
  branches of a willow tree contemplating the misery that
  surrounded her, enlightenment and Exaltation both flew
  upon the same wings and lifted her up as a Shining One of
  the Cult of the Illuminated. Guides quickly gathered her
  up, explaining her nature. Seeing her opportunity to more
  greatly aid the world by bringing about a new era of peace
  and prosperity, Amaya quickly swallowed the Cult’s phi-
  losophy and worked furiously to improve her skills. With
  her superb talent and determination, she quickly rose high
  in the ranks of the Illuminated Ones.
  As Patron Saint of the Sequestered Tabernacle, most
  administrative and representative tasks fall to her. She is,
  in theory if not in practice, the ultimate leader of the
  temple. Venerable Silk usually accompanies her as her
  advisor, carefully manipulating her like a beautiful puppet,
  presenting her as the true face of the Sequestered Taber-
  nacle to its Solars and to the Cult beyond. While she is
  vaguely aware of his personal power, she is naïve about the
  true extent of his control over the Tabernacle and the
  Solars within it.
  When she isn’t aiding the peasants in the field,
  greeting pilgrims or tending to the Tabernacle’s needs,
  Amaya pursues a personal project. During her secret trav-
  els as a mortal, she lacked the protection her father tried to
  provide her, and she was often at the mercy of the cruel
  world around her. Yet, nothing untoward ever happened
  to her. A dark haired, crimson-eyed young man shadowed
  her, and when danger reared its unpleasant head, he cut it
  down before fading away once more. She has sought all
  information about him she can, discovering only that his
  name is “Lathe.” Venerable Silk carefully guides her inves-
  tigations away from the truth, for he does not wish her to
  discover the young man’s Sidereal nature or the delicate
  game that is played over her head. To evade his machina-
  tions, she secrets herself from the Tabernacle to search for
  herself, but a confrontation between Venerable Silk and
  Amaya looms on the horizon if the Unseen Master cannot
  defuse her interests.
  Caste: Twilight
  Nature: Caregiver
  Calling: Exemplar
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 5, Perception 4, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 3,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Awareness 3, Dodge 2, Endurance 1, Linguistics
  (Native: Riverspeak; Low Realm, Old Realm, Skytongue)
  3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 4, Medicine 5 (Alleviating Suffer-
  ing +3), Occult 4, Performance 3 (Parables +1), Presence
  5 (Saintly Beauty +2), Socialize 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 1, Contacts (Lowly Cult Friends) 3,
  Illumination 4, Influence 4, Sorcery 5
  Charms: Body-Mending Meditation, Celestial Circle
  Sorcery, Flawless Diagnosis Technique, Harmonious Pres-
  ence Meditation, Horizon-to-Horizon Presence Method,
  Hypnotic Tongue Technique, Iron-Arm Block, Leaping
  Mantis Technique, Listener-Swaying Argument, Majes-
  tic Radiant Presence, Mantis Form, Ox-Body Technique,
  Soul-Shaping Words Technique, Terrestrial Circle Sor-
  cery, Terrifying Apparition of Glory, Touch of Blissful
  Release, True Harmony Revelation
  Spells: The Battle’s End, Flight of Separation, Food
  from the Aerial Table, Mercury’s Deliverance, Paralyz-
  ing Contradiction
  Combos:
  Heart-Breaking Revelation Meditation (Cost: 5 motes,
  3 Willpower + 2 motes per die): Horizon-to-Horizon
  
  111
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  Presence Method, Listener-Swaying Argument — When
  confronted with truly powerful foes or problems, Amaya’s aura
  of influence sometimes grows to nearly divine proportions,
  influencing even the most stubborn of antagonists to respect, or
  even love, her. When the Combo is activated, the world around
  the target changes in profound and beautiful ways. Storms quiet
  for a moment’s time, the songs of birds can be heard, and a pillar
  of sunlight descends upon the target, outlining him with the
  illumination he will shortly receive. Amaya’s player may make
  a Charisma + Presence or Manipulation + Presence roll to
  influence the target, increasing her dice pool at an additional
  cost of 2 motes per die. Amaya must spend at least 2 additional
  motes when activating this Combo.
  Base Initiative: 5
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 2B Defense 7
  Kick: Speed 2 Accuracy 6 Damage 4B Defense 6
  Dodge Pool: 5
  Soak: 1L/2B (Silken robes)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  2/-4/ Incap
  Essence: 5
  Personal Essence: 23
   Peripheral Essence: 57
  Committed Essence : 0
  Other Notes: Amaya is affected by an Ascending Destiny
  of the Ewer, specifically a Hound-Chases-Rabbit Blessing
  with a duration of 10 years that manifests once per day.
  Anytime she discovers new and significant information on
  the mysterious individual she knows only as “Lathe,” she
  regains a temporary point of Willpower. The Gold Faction
  has no knowledge of how this destiny came to be attached
  to her, though a bureaucrat is busily searching records in
  Yu-Shan. Venerable Silk, though opposed to her interest
  in this figure from her past, has neither said nor done
  anything about this blessing.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 5 Accuracy 8 Damage 2B Defense 9 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 2 Accuracy 8 Damage 5B Defense 4 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 10
  GABRIEL, ADEPT INQUISITOR
  Description: Gabriel is the greatest of the Seques-
  tered Tabernacle’s Inquisitors, its foremost student in the
  field of demon hunting and a dreaded warrior. The Inquisi-
  tor is tall and slim in build, his movement graceful and
  deadly. His dark eyes burn with fervor, and his face is
  carefully composed, almost expressionless. Long, silken
  black hair flows on the wind, dancing with his movements.
  He wears the robes of an adept, wide-shouldered with loose
  skirts, his hands covered with short, black leather gloves.
  Behind his hips, his carefully wrapped serpent-sting staff
  hangs from a complicated harness that allows for an
  extremely rapid draw.
  Gabriel began life as a foundling on the doorstep of a
  cultist. Raised within the Cult of the Illuminated his entire
  life, he accepted all of its precepts fully, for he could see the
  world no other way. His adopted family greeted his Exal-
  tation with the greatest joy and sent him to the Sequestered
  Tabernacle immediately. Caught up completely in the
  propaganda surrounding him, Gabriel devoted himself
  entirely to his training, forging himself in the Cult’s
  ultimate weapon against demons and heretics. Because of
  his superb devotion, Venerable Silk saw fit to train the
  young Exalt personally in the art of the Snake Style.
  Gabriel serves primarily as a demon hunter. When
  creatures of darkness threaten the Cult, the Tabernacle
  dispatches him to eliminate the problem. His dealings
  have led to confrontations with the soldiers of Kether
  Rock. He smells heresy in their footsteps and suspects dark,
  secretive ceremonies take place deep in the bowels of the
  fortress. He despises Michael and trains in combat tech-
  niques daily, hoping for the opportunity to defeat the
  Warmaster in a duel. In missions involving many Illumi-
  nated, the Tabernacle often chooses Gabriel to lead for his
  experience in the field and, more importantly, for his
  fanatical loyalty to the Cult. Despite his lack of social
  skills, his efficiency makes him an adequate leader.
  Even the truest heart falters, however, and even the
  greatest faith can be tested. Gabriel recently encountered
  a Solar street rat who defied him and forced him to re-
  examine his beliefs. His simple and direct world-view
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  112
  cannot conceive of a Solar refusing to join the Cult,
  preferring ignorance to understanding. Struggling inter-
  nally with the truths this street rat imparted to him, his
  certainty has faded somewhat, and he melancholically
  wanders the Tabernacle at times, lost in thought.
  Caste: Zenith
  Nature: Paragon
  Calling: Inquisitor
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4, Charisma
  2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 4, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 2, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 3,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 1 (Plan-
  ning Missions +1), Dodge 4, Endurance 2, Investigation 3,
  Linguistics (Native: Skytongue; Old Realm) 1, Lore 3,
  Martial Arts 5 (Against Demons +2), Melee 2, Occult 4
  (Demon Lore +1), Presence 3, Resistance 1, Socialize 1,
  Survival 1
  Backgrounds: Artifact 4, Illumination 3, Mentor 3
  Charms: Crippling Pressure-Point Strike, Graceful Crane
  Stance, Harmonious Presence Meditation, Ox-Body Tech-
  nique, Prey-Freezing Gaze, Reed in the Wind, Serpentine
  Evasion, Shadow Over Water, Snake Form, Snake Strikes
  the Heel, Spirit-Cutting Attack, Spirit-Detecting Glance,
  Striking Cobra Technique, Ten Magistrate Eyes
  Base Initiative: 9
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 10 Damage 5B Defense 10*
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 9 Damage 7B Defense 9*
  Orichalcum Serpent-Sting Staff (Lash of the Faithless):
  Speed 13 Accuracy 11 Damage 8L Defense 14*
  * All attacks include bonuses for orichalcum Hearthstone
  bracers
  Dodge Pool: 9
  Soak: 2L/4B (Tabernacle robes)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  2/-4/ Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 16
   Peripheral Essence: 31 (40)
  Committed Essence: 9
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 11 Damage 5B Defense 12 Rate 5*
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 11 Damage 8B Defense 7 Rate 3*
  Orichalcum Serpent-Sting Staff (Lash of the Faithless):
  Speed 13 Accuracy 11 Damage 10L Defense 14 Rate 5*
  * All attacks include bonuses for orichalcum Hearthstone
  bracers
  Dodge Pool: 15
  OUTCASTE TORANU, THE PROFANE DRAGON
  Description: While the Solars are the most glorious
  of the Exalted at the Sequestered Tabernacle, they are not
  its only, or even its most loyal, Chosen. Once a servant of
  the Immaculate Order, Toranu’s devotion to the Seques-
  tered Tabernacle and his personal loyalty to Amaya are
  unquestionable. He sees himself as a living example of the
  flaw of the Immaculate faith, and he eagerly defies its
  tenants as he crushes its followers. In defiance of his old
  faith, Toranu wears his hair long, in brilliant, shifting
  spikes of scarlet and gray, and his face is unshaven. At his
  side, he carries a flask of potent liquor, which he swigs to
  gain strength. His dark eyes glitter with faith when he is
  amongst fellow cultists — and with deadly malice when he
  is among Immaculates or their followers. His manner is
  direct, though not impolite, and his humor is grim. Over
  two centuries old, he is a treasure trove of advice and old
  stories, which he is quick to offer.
  When Amaya first made herself known to Creation,
  she performed many miracles and converted hundreds.
  Her popularity and charisma forced the Realm to act, and
  a Wyld Hunt was unleashed, lead by Toranu (who called
  himself Cathak Devon at the time). As he traveled, he
  encountered overwhelming evidence of her virtue and
  compassion. Sunrises revealed to him the beauty in her
  soul, and the brightness in the eye of a child she had
  healed unveiled the wisdom in her heart. When he and
  his soldiers finally faced her, she did not raise her hand to
  defend herself. Instead, she gazed sadly at Toranu and
  whispered to him the truth that had burned in his soul.
  His defenses crumbled, and he could no longer deny her
  divinity, her righteousness, and he surrendered his heart
  
  113
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  to her. As he feel to his knees weeping, he felt as though
  a weight lifted from his shoulders, as though he could do
  anything. As his first show of faith, he slew his own
  soldiers to save Amaya’s precious life. He has loyally
  served her ever since.
  Toranu is old. He had already passed his second
  century when he first met Amaya, and his mortality looms
  before him. Having long ago finished the path of the Fire
  Dragon, he now walks the path of the Falling Blossom,
  hoping to someday die a martyr’s death in the service of
  Amaya. However, he meets with resistance to his training,
  for he’s already extremely valuable to the Tabernacle as a
  finely honed warrior, and his death would cost the temple
  a potent asset. Toranu also suspects Amaya’s overly com-
  passionate hand lies behind his instructor’s refusal to teach
  him more, as she struggles to save him from himself. While
  he respects her judgment, his inability to achieve martyr-
  dom frustrates him endlessly, for he has no other way to
  atone for the sins of his past.
  Aspect: Fire
  Nature: Follower
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Perception 2, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2,
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Archery 1, Athletics 5, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy
  1, Dodge 5, Endurance 3, Investigation 2, Larceny 1, Lin-
  guistics (Native: High Realm; Skytongue) 1, Lore 5 (Cult
  Doctrine +1, Immaculate Doctrine +1), Martial Arts 5
  (Defending Amaya +3), Medicine 1, Melee 1, Occult 1,
  Performance 1, Presence 4 (Intimidation +1), Resistance 1
  (Drinking +2), Ride 1, Socialize 3, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 1, Breeding 2, Illumination 1, Re-
  sources 2, Tiger Warriors 3
  Charms: Aura of Invulnerability, Breath of the Fire Dragon,
  Consuming Might of the Fire Dragon, Dragon Vortex
  Attack, Dual Scarlet Blossom Technique, Effortlessly Ris-
  ing Flame, Element Bolt Attack, Elemental Burst
  Technique, Elemental Concentration Trance, Elemental
  Empowerment Meditation, Elemental Succor Method,
  Essence-Igniting Nerve Strike, Falling Blossom Form,
  Falling Star Maneuver, Fiery Hand Attack, Fiery Prowess,
  Fire Dragon Form, Flame-Flicker Stance, Flash-Fire Tech-
  nique, Flickering Candle Meditation, Glowing Coal
  Radiance, Living Shield Technique, Overwhelming Fire
  Majesty Stance, Ox-Body Technique (x 2), Perfect Blaz-
  ing Blow, Purity of Purpose Attack, Searing Fist Attack,
  Smoldering Wound Attack, Unbearable Taunt Tech-
  nique, Undefended Assault Method
  Combos:
  Flaring Ember Devotion Strike (Cost: 8 motes, 3 Will-
  power, 1 experience point): Essence-Igniting Nerve Strike,
  Purity of Purpose Attack — Toranu’s experiments with
  combining his devotion through Falling Blossom Style with his
  fiery prowess with Fire Dragon Style resulted in this Combo.
  When activating the attack, white-hot flames wreath Toranu’s
  hands as he focuses his will and devotion, and his eyes burn with
  fanatical intensity. Then, he launches himself forward, and
  when he touches his target, for he inevitably does, the righteous
  flames erupt within her, scouring away her impure soul.
  Toranu’s player rolls as normal to attack, but so long as he rolls
  a single success on Toranu’s attack, it will hit, regardless of the
  difficulty or his opponents defenses. Only a perfect defense will
  defend against this attack. Once struck, rather than taking
  normal damage, the target takes one health level of lethal
  damage for every mote currently in her Personal Essence pool,
  to a maximum of twice Toranu’s Essence. This damage ignores
  armor but may be soaked by Stamina. Due to its weighty cost,
  Toranu seldom unleashes this dire technique, and because it has
  limited usefulness late in the fight, he prefers to attack with it on
  the first turn of the battle, usually increasing his initiative with
  Flash-Fire Technique and Undefended Assault Method.
  Fueling the Dragon’s Fire (Cost: 4 motes, 1 Willpower
  + 1 mote per Essence lethal damage): Breath of the Fire
  Dragon, Fiery Hand Attack — Toranu takes a quick swig
  from his jug of liquor, unlocking the fiery potential of the liquid
  within his mouth, before spitting forth furious, elemental flames
  colored a brilliant blue. When activating the attack, Toranu’s
  player rolls the Dragon-Blood’s Perception + Martial Arts,
  adding a number of successes equal to his Essence, as an attack.
  If he hits, Toranu inflicts a base damage equal to (each
  additional mote spent x his Essence + his Martial Arts Ability).
  He must spend at least 1 additional mote in addition to the base
  cost of the Combo. Once struck by the attack, however, the
  burning alcohol clings to the target and may cause further
  damage. Roll the target’s Stamina + Resistance in a resisted
  contest against Toranu’s Strength + Martial Arts. Add two
  dice to the roll for water-based beings. If the target fails, she
  bursts into flames and takes environmental damage equivalent
  to a bonfire (see Exalted, p. 244). The fire lasts for a number
  of turns equal to Toranu’s Essence.
  Base Initiative: 10
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 10 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 10
  Kick: Speed 7 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 9
  Dodge Pool: 10
  Soak: 1L/2B (Simple garments)
  Willpower: 9
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-4/ Incap
  Essence: 6
  Personal Essence: 17
  Peripheral Essence: 45
  Committed Essence : 0
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 10 Accuracy 11 Damage 4B Defense 12 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 7 Accuracy 11 Damage 7B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 16
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  114
  DEFIANT EMINENCE,
  GOD OF THE DEHENNEN MOUNTAINS
  Description: There are no greater mountains in Cre-
  ation than the Imperial Mountain and the range that
  surrounds it. While most mountain divinities accept their
  place beneath this most majestic of peaks, Defiant Emi-
  nence does not. Jealous of the Imperial Mountain’s lofty
  status, he strains to reach higher into the sky. His ambition
  grinds within the heart of the Dehennen, lifting the sharp,
  craggy features, causing avalanches and giving his moun-
  tain range its unstable reputation. His pride demands
  nothing less than a legend as great as the Imperial
  Mountain’s, and he will not rest until his name is spoken
  on the lips of all within Creation. His constant efforts
  incense the courts of the air elementals as he pushes back
  their domain, and the courts of the mountain kings have
  dismissed him as a rogue among their kind.
  When asked if he would shelter the Sequestered
  Tabernacle within his realm, he readily agreed. Hiding
  away the Solars amused Defiant Eminence, for the rise of
  Solars would diminish the importance of the Dragon-
  Blooded and their Realm — and, by extension, the Imperial
  Mountain itself. His mists shroud the Solars from the
  world, and his avalanches slay those who grow too curious.
  His winding paths guide the Solars to the Sequestered
  Tabernacle and lead away those that would harm it. His
  protection comes at a price, however: He demands that the
  resurgent Solars never again rebuild their capital at the
  feet of the Imperial Mountain. Venerable Silk carefully
  tiptoes around this promise, however, often implying that
  Defiant Eminence will get his way while never actually
  saying it. Should Meru be rebuilt, however, Defiant
  Eminence’s wrath will be boundless.
  Like all mountain gods, Defiant Eminence is tall and
  vast. His features are cracked, rough and broken and a
  deep, dark gray. His flashing eyes are obsidian, and his,
  long white beard and hair are rumpled, wind-blown drifts
  of snow. Like his mountains, he is robed in thick, obscuring
  mists that ripple with his passage. When he speaks, the
  giant’s voice grinds and cracks like falling stone or freezing
  ice. He laughs often, his features smug and arrogant. When
  he grows angry, the ground trembles, and his voice takes on
  the thunder of a mountain face falling. He does not fear the
  Solars he guards, respecting them only because they will
  bring him great status some day. At times, he enters the
  Tabernacle to have tea with the Silken Master and quietly
  discusses the status of his mountain realm. While a great
  asset to the Sequestered Tabernacle, his reputation within
  it is dubious, and most advanced Solars within the temple
  see him as a practical ally rather than a true friend.
  Sanctum: Defiant Eminence dwells in an ice castle
  that appears to be on the summit of the tallest mountain
  in the Dehennen Mountains. Everything about this sanc-
  tum is as vast and grand as Defiant Eminence’s dreams of
  himself, but compared to Yu-Shan, it is merely an elegant
  townhome. Though its architecture is gorgeous, his sanc-
  tum is little-decorated and very hostile to mortal visitors
  — it is a place where Defiant Eminence can imagine
  himself a mighty autocrat, not an audience hall for meet-
  ing with the Exalted or a pleasure dome for mortal pets.
  Nature: Architect
  Attributes: Strength 20, Dexterity 3, Stamina 15, Cha-
  risma 3, Manipulation 5, Appearance 3, Perception 7,
  Intelligence 5, Wits 2
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 4,
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Athletics 6 (Lifting Mountains +3), Awareness
  7, Brawl 5 (Implacable Grasp +2), Endurance 7, Investiga-
  tion 4, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; High Realm,
  Tribal Tongues) 2, Lore 3, Occult 2, Presence 5, Resis-
  tance 7, Socialize 2
  Backgrounds: Allies 3, Influence 1, Resources 4
  Charms: Affinity Element Control (Mountains), Banish,
  Benefaction, Hurry Home, Imprecation, Instill Obedi-
  ence, Landscape Hide, Lend Authority, Malediction,
  Measure the Wind, Natural Prognostication, Paralyze,
  Scourge, Sense Domain, Stillness, Tiny Damnation, Tiny
  Gift, Tracking, Weather Control, Words of Power
  Cost To Materialize: 85
  Base Initiative: 5
  
  115
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 5 Accuracy 8 Damage 20B Defense 8
  Avalanche Fist: Speed 3 Accuracy 7 Damage 27B Defense 5*
  * To perform Avalanche Fist, Defiant Eminence raises
  both fists and brings them down upon his foe with his full
  furry. This attack costs 3 motes per use and counts as
  Defiant Eminence’s Charm use for the turn.
  Dodge Pool: 3
  Soak: 25L/30B (Cloak of Frozen Mist,
  18L/15B, +2 difficulty to hit)
  Willpower: 9
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-
  0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/
  -4/Incap
  Essence: 6
  Essence Pool: 115
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 5 Accuracy 9 Damage 20B Defense 10 Rate 5
  Avalanche Fist: Speed 6 Accuracy 9 Damage 30B Defense
  5 Rate 1*
  Clinch: Speed 1 Accuracy 8 Damage 20B Defense 8 Rate 1
  Snowy Grasp: Speed 1 Accuracy 12 Damage 20L Defense
  7 Rate 1**
  * To perform Avalanche Fist, Defiant Eminence raises
  both fists and brings them down upon his foe with his full
  furry. This attack costs 3 motes per use and counts as
  Defiant Eminence’s Charm use for the turn.
  ** Snowy Grasp inflicts the full force of Defiant Eminence’s
  frozen mists upon his enemy. This is a clinch attack, and
  costs 1 mote per turn to perform and counts as Defiant
  Eminence’s Charm use for the turn.
  Dodge Pool: 9
  CHARACTERS OF KETHER ROCK
  MADUKA SHIN, MASTER OF KETHER ROCK
  Description: As powerful, firm and uncompromis-
  ing as the mountain that makes up her fortress, Maduka
  Shin rules Kether Rock with an iron fist. She is an
  imposing woman, tall and strong, her muscles lean and
  honed from centuries of exercise. A mane of gray hair
  surrounds her handsome, sun-hardened face, and a scar
  runs like a snowy crevasse across one of her eyes, a gift
  from Venerable Silk during their last philosophical dis-
  cussion. Rather than the fluttery finery most Southern
  women wear, Maduka Shin prefers hard, functional plates
  of polished armor. On her back, she straps a thick, heavy-
  bladed two-handed sword. Maduka Shin disdains
  emotional displays, maintaining a careful, aloof demeanor
  of cold practicality and withering logic. When she enters
  a room, surveying all within with her cold eyes, her
  soldiers come to stiff attention, ready to hear the orders
  of their honored, if not beloved, general.
  Maduka Shin was born 500 years ago to a whore who
  could ill afford a daughter. Her mother passed her off onto
  a company of friendly Eastern mercenaries, who taught
  the girl strength and ferocity out of contempt for South-
  ern sexism. While other girls learned to dance, she
  learned to kill; while they learned the craft of homemak-
  ing, Maduka learned the arts of war. When she reached
  marrying age, instead of wearing a bridesgown, Maduka
  girded herself for battle, and her company took part in the
  Laris-Velen conflict, the last of the great conflicts using
  the technology of the First Age. War was her life, and she
  knew nothing else.
  She achieved her Exaltation in the arms of a lover. In
  a moment of uncharacteristic emotion, tears flooded her
  eyes as memories of a glorious Age long lost overwhelmed
  her. Lost in confusion, she was rescued by Autumn, a
  Sidereal dancer from the Gold Faction. Further trained in
  the arts of war in Yu-Shan, she became a consummate
  general and was instrumental in the repulsion of the
  Arczeckhi raids over 100 years after her Exaltation. Her
  memories haunted her, however, and she focused her
  efforts on finding a way to restore the world to its proper
  order. Blaming the fall of the Old Realm on Solar deca-
  dence rather than Dragon-Blooded ambition, she felt an
  even greater need to ensure that once the Gold Faction
  restored the Old Realm, it would remain pure for as long as
  possible. As she aged, she gained a reputation for logic and
  became a voice of reason within the Gold Faction.
  The moment of the Solar’s return heralded discord
  within the ranks of the Gold Faction. The foremost Side-
  real chosen for their training, Venerable Silk, failed to see
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  116
  that decadence, caused by overweening pride, resulted in
  the fall of the Old Realm. She raised her voice to coldly
  slice away elements of his arguments, winning many sup-
  porters to her logic of challenge and adversity to train the
  Solars, not clever manipulation and sycophantic praise.
  When the debate concluded, Maduka Shin had gained
  both her scar and her fortress, and she set out immediately
  to build an army of Celestial Exalted of which Heaven
  could be proud.
  The Master of Kether Rock maintains seclusion. She
  seldom inspects her troops and remains unseen by almost
  all but her advisors and her direct subordinates. She does
  so not out of some ideal of restraint, but because she has
  come to fear Kether Rock. Her world, her plans, slowly
  crumble around her, the precision of her intellect defeated
  by the vagaries of her heart. Solars are more powerful than
  Maduka Shin remembers, more glorious than she thought.
  Her training techniques work better than she could have
  possibly expected, and the Solars of Kether Rock surge
  with power and confidence. Though she tightens her grip
  on the soldiers of the fortress, this only encourages the
  Solars to grow further. Michael, the Warmaster of Kether
  Rock, is the worst among them. His adoration for Maduka
  Shin knows no bounds, and he refuses to accept defeat in
  his courtship of her. His charisma is irresistible, and
  Maduka Shin’s heart trembles whenever he speaks to her,
  his voice throbbing with Essence. She fears the day she will
  succumb to the aching in her heart, losing herself in his
  glorious embrace. Despite her apparent power within the
  fortress, in truth, Maduka Shin feels as though she can
  barely direct the flood of Celestial power she commands.
  She daily questions her own decisions, faced with the
  possibility of a monumental failure. As the cracks in her
  hubris widen, she faces the possibility she will become a
  figurehead within her own fortress, a puppet for the mighty
  Solars who truly rule there.
  Caste: Battles
  Nature: Martyr
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 5, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 5, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 4, Temperance 3,
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Archery 5, Athletics 5, Awareness 3, Brawl 5
  (Steadfast Purpose +1), Bureaucracy 5 (Logistics +2),
  Craft (Fate) 2, Craft (War) 5, Dodge 4, Endurance 5,
  Investigation 2, Linguistics (Native: Riverspeak;
  Flametongue, High Realm, Low Realm, Old Realm) 4,
  Lore 4, Martial Arts 4, Medicine 2 (Field Medicine +1),
  Melee 5, Occult 4, Performance 3, Presence 5, Resistance
  3, Ride 3, Socialize 3, Stealth 2, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Acquaintances 1, Artifact 2, Backing (The
  Gold Faction) 3, Backing (Kether Rock) 5, Connections
  (The Cult of the Illuminated) 4, Connections (The Guild)
  3, Connections (The Threshold) 1, Salary 3, Savant 4
  Colleges: Banner 3, Gauntlet 3, Haywain 1, Messenger 1,
  Pillar 2, Quiver 4, Shield 3, Spear 5, Sword 3
  Charms: Absence, Auspicious Prospects for Battles, Burn
  Life, Celestial Circle Sorcery, Crimson Palm Counterstrike,
  Demon-Blocking Battle Pattern, Easily Accepted Propo-
  sition Stance, Elemental Vision, Essence-Draining Battle
  Pattern, Expected Pain, Faultless Ceremony, Force Deci-
  sion, Forgotten Earth, Harmony of Blows,
  Heart-Brightening Presentation Style, Heroic Essence
  Replenishment, Horrific Wreath, Hungry Touch, Icy Hand,
  Impeding the Flow, Impose Nature, Inexorable Advance,
  Invisible Motion, Meditation on War, Orchestration of
  Conflict, Ox-Body Technique (x 5), Perfection of the
  Visionary Warrior, Predestined Triumph Practice, Pres-
  ence in Absence Technique, Prior Warning , Red Haze,
  Serenity in Blood, Smiling at the Damned, Smooth Tran-
  sition, Spirit-Binding Battle Pattern, Terminal Sanction,
  Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Tolerant Strife, Unobstructed
  Blow, Wise Choice, World-Shaping Artistic Vision (In
  Service of the Solars x 3)
  Spells: Emerald Countermagic, The Faithful Ally, The
  Horse that Travels Earth and Water, Infallible Messen-
  ger, Mercury’s Deliverance, Rolling Earth Carpet,
  Sapphire Countermagic, Spirit Sword, Summon Elemen-
  tal, Unconquerable Self, Virtuous Guardian of Flame,
  Whirlwind of Fate
  Combos:
  Furious Desert Rain Assault (Cost: 16 motes, 1 Will-
  power + 1 mote per die): Crimson Palm Counterstrike,
  Harmony of Blows, Tolerant Strife — Maduka Shin un-
  leashes this technique when in desperate circumstances, for it
  drains her greatly. When she activates the Combo, her eyes film
  over with the pure crimson of battle, she bears her teeth in
  defiance, and her edges blur, her motions running together as
  she moves forward as though in slow motion, cutting down all
  who dare to attack her, her blows sliding through darkness and
  shields with equal ease and accuracy. Once this Combo is
  activated, Maduka Shin may, in addition to her normal action,
  make two additional Brawl actions. These actions ignore all
  environmental and circumstantial penalties, and she may add
  up to her Essence in dice to these attacks at a cost of 1 additional
  mote per die. Additionally, if she is attacked, Maduka Shin may
  make a full parry with her Dexterity + Brawl. Any successes
  beyond those necessary to parry the attack convert into suc-
  cesses on a counterattack.
  Instant Tactical Analysis (Cost: 9 motes, 1 Will-
  power): Expected Pain, Wise Choice — This Combo
  gives Maduka Shin her reputation for coolness in the face of
  sudden danger. When surprised by a sudden turn of events,
  Maduka Shin’s eyes gleam with faint lines of red as she reads
  the strands of fate around her, and within seconds, she’s in
  motion, already aware of what needs to be done. Anytime
  
  117
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  Expected Pain activates in response to an ambush or a
  surprise, Maduka Shin may spend an additional Willpower
  point and 6 motes to instantly receive insight into the best,
  immediate course of action. This Combo offers no advice,
  however, on the long-term consequences of her actions.
  Precision Iron-Edge Attack (Cost: 3+ motes, 1 Will-
  power): Impeding the Flow, Meditation on War,
  Orchestration of Conflict  — When circumstances demand
  a successful strike, almost nothing can dissuade Maduka
  Shin’s blows from reaching their target, thanks to this Combo.
  When she activates this Combo, a ripple of soundlessness
  spreads from around her, and for just a second, everyone’s
  perceptions are slowed, and everything is tinted the crimson
  hue of battle. As she strikes, sparks of scarlet fate slide from
  her blade, ensuring its accuracy. Maduka Shin may increase
  the dice pool of her attacks at a cost of 1 mote per die up to a
  maximum of her Essence, and she may reduce any penalties
  applied to her Melee attack at a cost of 1 mote per die as well
  as reducing the target number of her attacks at a cost of 2 motes
  per reduction. She must spend a minimum of 1 mote increas-
  ing her dice pool and 2 motes reducing her target number for
  every attack she makes that turn. Further, no normal attacks
  can dissuade her blow. Maduka Shin may spend 3 motes to
  parry any blockable attacks that she is aware of without
  rolling. This is not a perfect defense.
  Base Initiative: 9
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 10
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 9
  Great Sword: Speed 9 Accuracy 12 Damage 10L Defense 9
  Starmetal Smashfist (Steadfast Purpose): Speed 12 Accu-
  racy 12 Damage 9L Defense 12
  Longbow: Speed 9 Accuracy 11 Damage 6L (Rate 3, Range
  200)
  Dodge Pool: 9/6
  Soak: 11L/14B (Articulated plate,
  9L/9B, -3 mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-0/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 5
  Personal Essence: 18
   Peripheral Essence: 48 (53)
  Committed Essence: 5
  Other Notes: Within Kether Rock, Maduka Shin gener-
  ally adopts the resplendent destiny of the Quiver, acting as
  a brilliant but cold general. This destiny has a duration of
  20 years and 3 remaining effect points. Outside of Kether
  Rock, when she needs to gather information or simply
  escape the confines of her fortress for a time, she dons the
  resplendent destiny of the Spear, becoming a mere soldier
  amongst local mercenaries. This destiny has a duration of
  one year and has 5 remaining effect points. Michael is
  adept at piercing her disguises and can generally identify
  her regardless of what destiny she wears.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 11 Damage 4B Defense 12 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 11 Damage 7B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Great Sword: Speed 16 Accuracy 12 Damage 10L Defense
  9 Rate 2
  Starmetal Smashfist (Steadfast Purpose): Speed 6 Accu-
  racy 12 Damage 11L Defense 14 Rate 7
  Dodge Pool: 14/11
  MICHAEL, WARMASTER OF KETHER ROCK
  Description: As Kether Rock is the cornerstone of the
  Cult of the Illuminated’s military, so is Michael the corner-
  stone of Kether Rock. His charismatic presence and powerful
  combat skill inspire both the soldiers of the fortress to battle
  and whispery, worshipful tales from cultists. He is tall and
  handsome, his long, unruly black hair spilling down past his
  thick, muscled shoulders. He wears a long, open vest that
  hangs past his knees, and his pants are loose and flowing
  except where they are tucked into his square-toed boots.
  Marking him a Paladin of Kether Rock, he wears a long,
  billowing white scarf, the end of which marked with curved
  and elegant Flametongue letters, the secret sign of his sin
  and a reference to his feelings for Maduka Shin: “One
  Above Heaven.” A master of war in all its forms, Michael is
  perhaps the most powerful Solar fighter in Creation. De-
  spite his strengths, despite the support he offers Kether
  Rock, he may also be its greatest weakness, for in his heart,
  he hides a powerful love that threatens the underpinnings
  of all Maduka Shin has established.
  Born in the West, Michael lived his mortal life as a
  fisherman, working the seas to feed himself and his ailing
  mother. Pirates demanded yearly sacrifice from his island,
  and when his turn came, their shaman rejected him. They
  ravaged his island, and in the furious struggle to save his
  friends and family, he Exalted. Michael was amongst the
  first Solars of the current Age, and his Exaltation caught
  the Gold Faction by surprise. Unable to gather resources
  quickly enough, the situation forced Maduka Shin herself
  to go to him as his recruit. She found him morose, filled
  with the guilt of his village’s loss and the failure of his
  sacrifice. As she gathered him up, she opened her heart to
  him, offering him a shoulder to lean upon and weep. Then,
  she offered him a new vision of the future, the training he
  would receive to craft a world where pirates never again
  slaughtered villages. She gained his trust, and Michael
  became her first student at Kether Rock.
  Once there, he trained passionately, determined
  to make up for his failure by protecting the world. The
  former fisherman hardened into a consummate war-
  rior, the first and foremost of her paladins. While his
  genius in battle paled before Maduka Shin’s, none in
  the fortress could match his charisma and the power of
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  118
  his thunderous speeches. As a master orator and war-
  rior, he naturally assumed a role of leadership within
  Kether Rock, serving as figurehead while Maduka
  Shin governed the fortress from within the shadows of
  its inner confines.
  Michael is a highly visible figure within Kether
  Rock. Almost no operations begin without his stamp
  of approval. He knows everyone within the fortress by
  name, and he is quick with both praise and fierce
  reprimands. His passion for Kether Rock stems from
  his secret passion for Maduka Shin. When she saved
  him from himself in those early days after his Exalta-
  tion, she restored meaning to his life and took central
  stage in his heart. He drives Kether Rock to greater
  heights to show her his devotion. Mistaking her aloof-
  ness for rejection, he pushes the forces of Kether Rock
  harder and harder, doing whatever it takes to win even
  her slightest approval. His hatred for Venerable Silk
  stands in stark contrast to his love for Maduka Shin.
  He sees the scar on her face as a mark of embarrassment
  and trains daily in the hope that, one day, he can mark
  Venerable Silk in return, restoring her honor. He is
  proud of Kether Rock and disdains the Sequestered
  Tabernacle. He sees its students as pampered and
  overly haughty. Believing that Kether Rock is the
  future of the Cult, he requires the temple to shape up
  and follow Kether Rock’s example.
  Caste: Dawn
  Nature: Leader
  Calling: Paladin
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 3, Stamina 4, Charisma
  5, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4, Perception 2, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 4, Temperance 2,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Brawl 5, Bureaucracy
  1, Craft (War) 3 (Desert Tactics +2), Dodge 3, Endurance
  4, Linguistics (Native: Seatongue; Flametongue) 1, Lore 3,
  Medicine 2 (Battlefield Medicine +1), Melee 3, Perfor-
  mance 4 (Demagoguery +3), Presence 4 (With Soldiers
  +1), Resistance 3, Ride 1, Sail 2 (Fishing +1), Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 1, Illumination 4, Mentor 4, Tiger
  Warriors 5
  Charms: Body-Mending Meditation, Durability of Oak
  Meditation, Essence-Gathering Temper, Ferocious Jab,
  Fists of Iron Technique, Hardship-Surviving Mendicant
  Spirit, Increasing Strength Exercise, Inevitable Victory
  Meditation, Iron Skin Concentration, Masterful Perfor-
  mance Exercise, Ox-Body Technique (x3), Reed in the
  Wind, Respect Commanding Attitude, Shadow Over
  Water, Spirit Strengthens the Skin, Thunderclap Rush
  Attack, Thunder’s Might, Unruly Mob Dispersing Re-
  buke, Willpower-Enhancing Spirit
  Combos:
  Flashing Heavenly Fist (Cost: 5 motes, 1 Willpower):
  Ferocious Jab, Fists of Iron Technique, Thunderclap
  Rush Attack — When Michael activates this devastating
  technique, his pale white anima flares, winglike, and he
  vanishes. The air around where he stood implodes with a
  crash, and then, he slams into his foe, and where his fist
  strikes, white-gold ribbons of power explode forth. When
  Michael uses this attack, he automatically gains initiative on
  one foe and he may not split his dice pool during the turn. His
  attack gains +1 accuracy and +2L damage, and successes
  count double for the purposes of determining damage. Michael
  generally keeps Inevitable Victory Meditation active when he
  makes this attack, just in case he rolls poorly.
  Base Initiative: 6
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 8 Damage 6B Defense 8*
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 7 Damage 8B Defense 7*
  * All attacks include the bonus provided by orichalcum
  Hearthstone bracers
  Dodge Pool: 6
  Soak: 2L/4B (Long vest)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-
  2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Personal Essence: 20
  Peripheral Essence: 45 (49)
  Committed Essence: 4
  Other Notes: None
  
  119
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 6 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 10 Rate 5*
  Kick: Speed 3 Accuracy 9 Damage 9B Defense 5 Rate 3*
  * All attacks include the bonus provided by orichalcum
  Hearthstone bracers
  Dodge Pool: 13
  JAK THE OUTRIDER, ADEPT DEACON
  Description: Under the cover of night, a lone scout
  travels the treacherous badlands that surround Kether
  Rock, bringing information and warning to all who are
  loyal to it. His dark robes flutter over his small, slim
  frame. Beneath his dark hood, his hair is white and wild.
  His blue eyes, bright and surprisingly passionate, flash in
  the night. Alone except for his horse and his Lunar
  companion, Jak the Outrider travels the desert, seeking
  a way to purge his own self-doubt and find a place for
  himself in Kether Rock.
  Jak grew up the son of an independent merchant, and
  when he was old enough, his parents sent him out into the
  world to make his living by contributing to the family
  business. Like so many youths, Jak sacrificed his childhood
  dreams of greatness for the betterment of his family, but he
  could never surrender them completely. As he trudged
  across the hot sands of the desert, struggling beneath his
  burdens, the spark of greatness lurked within his heart.
  One night, he took refuge in a lone cave high on a
  mountain top. There, as he rested, he received a vision. For
  three days and two nights, he lost all sense of the world.
  When he stepped out in the night, the mark of Exaltation
  shone upon his brown, and a cultist awaited him, prepared
  to travel with him to Kether Rock.
  Greatness did not attend Jak in Kether Rock. He
  never graduated at the head of his class, and he com-
  manded troops poorly, though he fought well enough
  when left to his own devices. Rather than achieve glory,
  Jak only dreamed of it, struggled for it. He met defeat
  often, but he rose up on each occasion, always reaching
  for victory. Though he saw himself as a failure, Maduka
  Shin disagreed, seeing within him the essence of the
  spark that made Solar’s great. After he completed his
  training, she used him as a scout. He quickly became a
  common sight for the soldiers of Kether Rock, a dark rider
  appearing from nowhere, offering quick warning or tac-
  tical advice before departing again, riding from Cult
  holding to holding, carrying messages.
  Between his missions, Jak pursues a personal goal.
  One small and dwindling Munashe village to the south of
  the badlands suffers from the twin perils of plague and
  Dune People raids. Kether Rock long ago dismissed the
  strategically unimportant village, willing to let it perish.
  Jak fell in love with the wide-eyed children of the village
  and its dour, frightened elders. He struggles, on his own, to
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  120
  find some way to save its people, and he sees his endeavor
  as a personal test, one he cannot fail like he has so often
  before. With real lives in danger, his timid heart pounds,
  and the spark of Exaltation burns within him.
  Caste: Night
  Nature: Explorer
  Calling: Deacon
  Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma
  2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 5
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 2, Temperance 3,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 4, Athletics 2, Awareness 3, Bureau-
  cracy 1, Dodge 4, Endurance 1, Investigation 2, Larceny 2,
  Linguistics (Native: Flametongue; Riverspeak) 1, Lore 2,
  Medicine 2, Melee 3, Presence 3 (Gaining Trust +1),
  Resistance 1, Ride 5, Stealth 3, Survival 5
  Backgrounds: Allies 1, Familiar 3, Illumination 2, Influ-
  ence 1, Resources 2
  Charms: Flawless Partnership Meditation, Food-Gather-
  ing Exercise, Game-Snaring Huntsman’s Method,
  Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit, Horse-Summon-
  ing Whistle, Master Horseman’s Eye, Ox-Body Technique,
  Reed in the Wind, Sensory Acuity Prana, Shadow Over
  Water, Sight Without Eyes, Spirit-Steadying Assurances,
  There Is No Wind, Trackless Region Navigation Charm,
  Wise Arrow
  Base Initiative: 10
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 10 Accuracy 5 Damage 2B Defense 5
  Kick: Speed 7 Accuracy 4 Damage 4B Defense 4
  Short Sword: Speed 10 Accuracy 9 Damage 4L Defense 9
  Composite Bow: Speed 10 Accuracy 9 Damage 4L (Rate 3,
  Range 250)
  Dodge Pool: 9
  Soak: 4L/4B (Chain shirt, 3L/1B)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 15
   Peripheral Essence: 39
  Committed Essence : 0
  Other Notes: None
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 10 Accuracy 6 Damage 2B Defense 7 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 7 Accuracy 6 Damage 5B Defense 2 Rate 3
  Short Sword: Speed 12 Accuracy 9 Damage 5L Defense 8
  Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 12
  FAITHFUL PIA, LUNAR COMPANION
  Description: Sweet, cute and desperate to be harm-
  less, Faithful Pia is the loyal pet and companion to Jak.
  Her body is small, her motions quick. Large, expressive
  gold-brown eyes peak from behind stray strands of her
  chin-length auburn hair. Her smiles are broad, and
  freckles lightly dust her nose and cheeks. As is only
  proper for an Illuminated Lunar, she struggles to please
  Jak in whatever way she can, often smothering him with
  her clumsy devotion. Her eyes sparkle with delight
  when she is praised, and she hunches her shoulders and
  bows her head regretfully when she is corrected. Despite
  her feigned innocence, however, the heart of a killer
  lurks within her bosom. Whenever Jak is threatened or
  when her seemingly endless patience is tested to its
  limits, her entire visage changes. Her hair spikes and
  raises, and her eyes flash and turn a burnished gold.
  Long claws curl from her fingertips, and her mouth fills
  with long fangs. A tail-lashing monster replaces the
  adorable girl, ready to protect her companion or trounce
  whomever has gravely offended her. She struggles to
  contain that monster within, fearing the inevitable day
  it shall get loose and rule her heart forever.
  As a girl, her parents traveled with Guild caravans
  throughout the Southern deserts. Her earliest memories
  are of the colorful veils of dancers and the wobbling and
  creaking of yeddim-drawn caravans. A bandit raid de-
  stroyed her childhood. The bandits slaughtered her family,
  burned their wagons and dragged her off into the desert
  where they used and abused her young body and left her in
  the hot sands to die. But she wouldn’t. She couldn’t. Day
  after day, she dragged her wounded body through the
  desert, sleeping fitfully by day and struggling by night to
  return to her caravan and find any survivors that remained.
  She fended off scavengers with bloody fingers, and as the
  heat made her delusional, she began to chat with the
  silver-haired boy who ran with her, who teased her and
  told her strange stories. At last, a horseman rescued her
  from the desert and brought the girl to Kether Rock for
  treatment. When the instructors there discovered she had
  Exalted, they began to train her.
  Because he had rescued her, Pia adored Jak. She
  mistook the white of his hair for the silver of Luna’s, and
  often spoke to him of the strange stories she believed he
  had told her. Whenever she had a free moment from her
  training, she followed him around like a teenager with a
  crush. Her heart soared when the instructors advised her
  she would be allowed to serve Jak himself, her favorite
  among the glorious warrior-saints of Kether Rock.
  Today, Faithful Pia accompanies Jak everywhere he
  rides, sleeping on the back of his horse in the form of a cat
  or watching him while he sleeps. She protects him in
  subtle ways he most likely wouldn’t understand or ac-
  knowledge, seeking out and eliminating unpleasant gossip
  or bandits hiding in ambush. However, her girlish wor-
  ship of him frustrates him, and he seldom knows how to
  deal with her, wavering between amusement and embar-
  rassment. Despite the reprimands she receives for her
  
  121
  CHAPTER THREE • THE TRAINING CAMPS
  over-familiarity with him, she continues, unable to help
  herself. He is her world, her god, and she would do
  anything for him.
  But her nature defies her. Shortly after she began
  traveling with Jak, a fierce Lunar attacked her, trying to
  kidnap her and drag her off to the Silver Pact. Without
  Jak’s intervention, he might have succeeded. She hates
  the Silver Pact now, believing them all to be cannibalis-
  tic monsters. But before he retreated, the Lunar told her
  that she could not contain her feral nature forever, that
  without proper training, she was a dangerous chimera
  that threatened all she loved. His words torment her to
  this day, for one day they came true. By the light of the
  full moon, Pia lost control of her bestial side. She doesn’t
  remember the events of that night, but Jak has treated her
  differently ever since, growing quiet in her presence,
  sometimes watching her, perhaps thoughtfully, perhaps
  fearfully. She remains desperately afraid she did some-
  thing horrible that night and, worse, that her lapse will
  happen again. Filled with doubt, she is torn between
  staying by Jak’s side and leaving for the Silver Pact, if only
  to protect him from herself.
  Caste: Casteless
  Nature: Follower
  Tell: Cat’s Irises*
  * Noticeable. Noticing the tell in Pia’s true forms requires
  a successful Perception + Awareness roll, difficulty 3.
  Those seeing her need not regard her suspiciously. The
  Wits + Awareness roll to spot her tell if she is regarded
  suspiciously while shapechanged is 5.
  Attributes: Strength 2 (3), Dexterity 4 (6), Stamina 2 (4),
  Charisma 4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 4, Perception 3,
  Intelligence 2, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 3,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Athletics 4 (Falling +1), Awareness 3, Brawl 4
  (Protecting Jak +2), Dodge 4, Endurance 1, Larceny 1,
  Linguistics (Native: Flametongue; Guild Cant) 1, Medi-
  cine 1 (Tending Jak +1), Melee 2, Performance 1, Presence
  4 (Cute +2), Resistance 1, Socialize 1 (Getting out of
  trouble +1), Stealth 3, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Allies 1, Artifact 2, Contacts 3, Resources 1
  Charms: Beast Instinct Method, Bending Before the Storm,
  Bowing Reed Technique, Deadly Beastman Transforma-
  tion (Gifts: Bestial Reflexes, Terrible Beast Claws), Finding
  the Spirit’s Shape, Infection Resisting Method, Lick
  Wound, Predator Grace Method, Sense-Sharpening
  Change, Shaping the Ideal Form
  Base Initiative: 8 (13)
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 (13) Accuracy 8 (10) Damage 2B (3B)
  Defense 8 (10)
  Kick: Speed 5 (10) Accuracy 7 (9) Damage 4B (5B)
  Defense 7 (9)
  Bite (Hybrid Form): Speed 13 Accuracy 12 Damage 8L
  Defense 10
  Claws (Hybrid Form): Speed 16 Accuracy 11 Damage 6L
  Defense 11
  Dodge Pool: 8/7 (10/9)
  Soak: 8L/12B /9L/14B (Red
  Tiger-Stripe Coat: red jade reinforced buff jacket, 7L/10B,
  -1 mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 2
  Personal Essence: 14
   Peripheral Essence: 29
  Committed Essence: 3
  Other Notes: Traits in parentheses reflect Pia when using
  Deadly Beastman Transformation.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 (13) Accuracy 9 (11) Damage 2B (3B)
  Defense 10 (12) Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 (10) Accuracy 9 (11) Damage 5B (6B)
  Defense 5 (7) Rate 3
  Bite (Hybrid Form): Speed 7 Accuracy 9 Damage 11L
  Defense 9 Rate 2
  Claws (Hybrid Form): Speed 15 Accuracy 11 Damage 8L
  Defense 11 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 10/9 (12/11)
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  122
  
  123
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  Everything in Creation has its opposite. The Cult of
  the Immaculate exists (at least in part) to aid the Solar and
  Celestial Exalted, to offer them shelter and service in the
  hopes that they will change the world for the better. Its
  opposite number is the Wyld Hunt.
  Like the Cult of the Illuminated, the Wyld Hunt is a
  widespread and heterogeneous organization, each cell
  organized under different principles and approaching
  threats in different ways. Also like the Cult, the Hunt is a
  (mostly) religious organization, sponsored and controlled
  by the Immaculate Order (with some input and assistance
  from the Scarlet Empire and the Great Houses). And the
  Hunt exists to serve a similar purpose, to protect and aid
  the ordinary citizens and inhabitants of Creation.
  …of course, the differences outweigh the similarities.
  AGAINST THE ANATHEMA:
  THE WYLD HUNT
  The Wyld Hunt is one of the great and lasting insti-
  tutions of the Realm, a tradition of heroism and courage
  (and of zealotry and excess) born from the wreckage of the
  First Age. Even before the coming of the Scarlet Empress,
  the Hunt stood fast against the enemies of Creation — the
  Solar and Lunar Anathema, the hungry chaos of the Fair
  Folk and the Wyld and the inhuman powers of demons,
  gods and monsters. For more than 700 years, the Wyld
  Hunt has defended the Realm, defended Creation. Its
  members, called shikari, have battled on their own and at
  the heads of armies and have fought reborn gods in
  forgotten temples and defied legions of beastmen and
  monsters on the mad battlefields of the Wyld. It bore the
  banner of the Immaculate Order with pride and honor,
  and every child of the Realm, mortal or Exalt, dreamed of
  becoming worthy to stand alongside their heroes.
  This chapter details the Wyld Hunt in all its fading
  glory. No longer the unbeatable force it once was, the
  Hunt still operates as a threat to the Anathema and their
  plans to overthrow the natural order. Part religious inqui-
  sition, part information-gathering bureaucracy, part
  coordinated network of death squads, the Wyld Hunt has
  never stopped being a danger to the Exalted or heroes to
  the Dragon-Blooded. Solars, Lunars and other Anath-
  ema may be hunted down by the holy assassins or may, in
  turn, hunt down their stalkers to eliminate the pawns of
  the Sidereals. Dragon-Blooded characters, on the other
  hand, might join the Hunt’s ranks and become the heroes
  that turn the tide against the darkness once again.
  Whether as enemy, ally or patron, the Wyld Hunt can
  play a role in almost any Exalted series.
  CHAPTER FOUR
  THE WYLD HUNT
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  124
  A LEGACY BORN IN BLOOD: THE
  HISTORY OF THE WYLD HUNT
  The first version of the Wyld Hunt was created early
  in the history of the Second Age, in the chaos and turmoil
  of the Usurpation. The Solar Exalted had been destroyed,
  thrown down by the revolt of the Dragon-Blooded and the
  machinations of the Sidereal Bronze Faction. Chejop
  Kejak and his compatriots knew, however, that the Solars
  were not completely removed from the picture. Almost all
  of the Solar Essences were locked in the Jade Prison at the
  bottom of the Inland Sea, but a few had escaped the magic
  of the Sidereals, and other Solars remained abroad as
  fugitives. Their hubris was strong, but the members of the
  Bronze Faction were not fools; Kejak knew that even one
  Solar, left to reincarnate and reclaim the power of the
  Unconquered Sun, could threaten what he had wrought
  — could even attempt to free the trapped Essences from
  their tomb. But the Sidereals could not act openly to seek
  out and combat the few loose Essences, for the plans of the
  Bronze Faction hinged on its members own anonymity,
  their own dismissal from history and retreat into myth.
  The solution was clear. Just as the Sidereals has used
  the Dragon-Blooded as instruments of regicide and revo-
  lution to cast down the Solars, so too would they use them
  to mop up the last remnants of the First Age. As the
  Shogunate rose from the wreckage of the Usurpation, the
  Bronze Faction approached some of the greatest warriors,
  sorcerers and adventurers of the Dragon-Blooded, those
  who had distinguished themselves in the battles against
  the Solars. The Sidereals brought a simple message to these
  heroes, a message powerful because it was true — the battle
  is not yet over, and all may be lost if you do not continue to fight.
  With the atrocities of Solar misrule still fresh in their
  memories, these Terrestrial nobles and warlords had no
  desire to see their victory dashed by the return of their
  enemies. They threw in their lot with the Sidereals — or
  rather, with the savants and seers of the Immaculate
  Order, the mask behind which the Bronze Faction Sidereals
  hid their true faces. Even at this early time, the Sidereals
  worked to keep their existence a secret, and none of their
  Terrestrial pawns realized who were pulling their strings.
  BASTION OF FAITH
  At first, the Wyld Hunt was a disorganized and little-
  controlled force, more a creation of the Dragon-Blooded
  themselves than the Sidereal Exalted. Each Dragon-
  Blooded hero in league with the young Immaculate Order
  
  125
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  took it upon herself to battle the darkness as she saw fit —
  independent of leadership, allying herself with other he-
  roes or leading mortal troops, answerable only to her own
  instincts and her existing loyalties. While the newly formed
  Immaculate Order advised individual heroes, the Dragon-
  Blooded then made their own plans on how to use that
  advice, even ignoring it in some cases. Just a few decades
  after the Sidereals had decided to make use of the Dragon-
  Blooded to neutralize the Solars, some of their Terrestrial
  inquisitors were turning their attentions to other threats:
  vengeful Lunars raising armies of beastmen, the growing
  presence of the Fair Folk or the wars and battles to control
  the newly forming Shogunate. Control was ebbing away,
  and that was not acceptable.
  The first step the Bronze Faction took to cement
  control over its operatives was to give them a name, an
  identity, a sense that each hero belonged to something that
  was greater than herself (and thus worth elevating over
  other concerns). After much deliberation, the Bronze
  named its inquisition the Wyld Hunt, for the Wyld was the
  source of so many of Creation’s dangers and the hiding
  place of the Lunars and the Fair Folk. It was a name that
  spoke of the need to defend Creation’s borders from the
  powers of chaos — and carried a subtle suggestion that
  attention should be turned to external dangers an horrors,
  rather than the internal tensions of politics and war.
  The second (and far more important) step was to
  enmesh the Wyld Hunt firmly within the Immaculate
  Order, to remake it as a wholly religious organization. First
  created to shore up Sidereal influence within the
  Shogunate, the Order proved to be one of the most
  powerful and useful tools of the Bronze Faction — one that
  won the hearts and minds of not just mortals but also the
  Terrestrial Exalted, who were not immune to the charms
  of a religion preaching their own perfection. While the
  Order had already acted as an advising body to the proto-
  Hunt, handing down astrological predictions and
  information on the Solars, the two groups were still sepa-
  rate entities. Kejak and the Bronze Faction decided to
  change that, so that the Wyld Hunt became an arm of the
  Order — to cement the loyalty of the Hunt through
  religious zealotry and faith.
  Over a period of years, the Order assimilated the Wyld
  Hunt. The texts that formed the basis of the Order were
  subtly rewritten to incorporate the presence — the perfect
  and holy necessity — of the Wyld Hunt, the Immaculate
  warriors who would hold back the Anathema (who were,
  in turn, further demonized by the Order’s teachings). New
  members were recruited from those Dragon-Blooded who
  had bought into the Immaculate Order (and more joined
  every day), rather than secular Terrestrials. Established
  members of the Hunt were targeted for religious conver-
  sion through a mixture of Sidereal brainwashing and plain
  old-fashioned preaching. Most eventually bought into the
  Order’s faith, and those few who refused to believe were
  ejected from the Wyld Hunt (and, in some cases, assassi-
  nated by the Sidereals lest they turn against their former
  allies). Soon, the Wyld Hunt was entirely part of the
  Immaculate Order and populated wholly by monks and
  believers, held up as the defenders and exemplars of the
  Immaculate teachings. The Hunt had more focus than
  before, dedicated first and foremost to fighting the last of
  the Solar Anathema, rather than those threats the Sidereals
  thought unimportant.
  That narrow focus proved to be a mistake. Unforeseen
  by the Sidereals, the Great Contagion swept across Cre-
  ation, and the armies of the Fair Folk teemed after it. The
  Wyld Hunt was still focused on tracking and hunting
  Solars, and it was unprepared for the entirely different
  dangers and powers of the Fair Folk and their hordes of
  Wyld mutants. For a time, the Bronze Faction dithered
  over whether to pit the Hunt against the Fair Folk, and
  when it did commit the Wyld Hunt to the war, it found
  itself outmatched. Tactics and strategies that suited a
  direct confrontation with a single being (even one of
  immense power) didn’t work against a horde of hobgoblins
  or the sanity-shredding powers of the Fair Folk. The
  members of the Wyld Hunt were powerful but inexperi-
  enced in this kind of fighting, and the group’s loose,
  decentralized system of administration was no help in
  coordinating simultaneous battles across Creation. Indi-
  vidual heroes won victories, but more fell in battle, and the
  Wyld Hunt dwindled and weakened.
  PILLAR OF EMPIRE
  In the end, the invasion of the Fair Folk was thrown
  back not by the Sidereals or the armies of the Dragon-
  Blooded, but by the woman who would become the Scarlet
  Empress. When Chejop Kejak negotiated with the Empress,
  he offered her the services and support of the Immaculate
  Order to lend authority to her reign (and to allow him some
  influence over the empire to come). That agreement saw
  the Immaculate Order become strongly integrated with the
  political structure of the Scarlet Empire, a government that
  was now strongly spiritual rather than secular — and in turn,
  the Order’s structure changed to better suit the evolving
  bureaucratic systems of the Realm.
  Of all the elements of the Immaculate Order, the
  Wyld Hunt was among the most changed by the marriage
  of Realm and Order. The Hunt had failed during the Great
  Contagion because it was too disorganized and too focused
  — too concerned with the Solars above all things and too
  slow to fix its sights on other targets. That had to change,
  for while the Solars were still the most dangerous of
  Creation’s (and the Sidereals’) enemies, other threats
  existed and had to be opposed. The religious emphasis of
  the Wyld Hunt was a strength, but it needed more — it
  needed the structure and direction of bureaucracy, to be an
  army rather than a collection of monks.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  126
  Over the course of a century, the Wyld Hunt changed
  shape once again. The Immaculate Order began accepting
  members from outside its own ranks — cautiously, yes, and
  after their beliefs were measured and approved, but it was no
  longer a solely religious group. Many of these new recruits
  were former soldiers and commanders of legions, who brought
  a military discipline and viewpoint to their new role. Others
  were sorcerers (an area in which the Immaculate Order had
  always fallen short), savants or strategists from the Realm’s
  new information gathering arm, the All-Seeing Eye. The
  Wyld Hunt was still a religious group, still wholly and solely
  part of the Immaculate Order, but now, it was bolstered by
  secular powers as well and could act with the support of the
  Realm and its bureaucracy.
  As the structure of Realm overhauled the Order, so
  too did it reshape the Wyld Hunt, installing a chain of
  command and a hierarchy of responsibility. Before the
  Contagion, the mission of the Wyld Hunt was one carried
  out more with zeal than with strategy. Monks would leap
  to action and set off after suspected Anathema whenever
  they could, unmindful of the bigger picture. Now, when
  threats were reported by the Order or the Eye, there were
  processes for dealing with the danger — assessments,
  strategy meetings and decisions made by the Hunt’s lead-
  ers as to which members should combat the monster. The
  Wyld Hunt’s effectiveness grew enormously — and so did
  the esteem and prestige the group gathered for its efforts.
  Over more than seven centuries, the Wyld Hunt
  established itself as one of the greatest and noblest callings
  to which the Dragon-Blooded of the Realm could aspire
  and one of the bravest and most important protectors of
  the Scarlet Empire. Although the Fair Folk had been
  repelled by the power of the Realm’s Defense Grid, they
  still lurked in the Wyld, which was no longer confined to
  the outer rim of Creation. So too did the savage Lunar
  Anathema and their armies of mutants and beastmen
  dwell there, not to mention the dangers of demons, ren-
  egade gods and the terrible monsters born from the Wyld
  and the hidden places of the world. And above all else,
  there were the Solar Anathema, the burning destroyers of
  everything sacred, the bogeymen every child of the Realm
  learned to fear from his first breath. Legions and armies
  were some defense against these dangers, but not enough.
  They were too mortal, too vulnerable and too unwieldy to
  use against subtle, smaller (but incredibly powerful) threats.
  No, responsibility for the Realm’s protection fell to
  the shikari of the Wyld Hunt, the greatest heroes of the
  Scarlet Empire and the chosen of the Immaculate Order.
  Children (mortal and Exalted) fought mock battles in the
  dirt, squabbling over who would have the right to pretend
  to be the brave harrier and who would be the pitiful
  Anathema. Monks who mastered the Immaculate martial
  arts petitioned for the right to take up holy arms against the
  darkness of the Wyld. And the Great Houses channeled
  their strongest (but still expendable) sons and daughters
  into the ranks of the Wyld Hunt, along with money,
  artifacts and resources to finance its work.
  All of that changed when the Scarlet Empress
  disappeared.
  VICTIM OF UPHEAVAL
  Just five years after the Empress vanished from the
  Realm, the Wyld Hunt is a poor mockery of its former
  strength. Its ranks have been thinned, its support and
  resources have been slashed, and it has become subject to
  the whims and politics of the rapidly decaying empire and
  the Immaculate Order.
  In this time of crisis, the Great Houses no longer see
  the Wyld Hunt as an important institution, a bastion of
  Realm defense or a noble calling for their scions. They see
  it as a waste of valuable resources. Money donated to the
  Order for the Hunt’s funding could be better spent on
  equipping house legions and soldiers, and skilled Exalts
  would be better placed at the head of those legions than in
  a monastery training to fight monsters. The unspoken
  wisdom is that civil war is coming, an all-out battle to seize
  the throne of empire. Against that immediate threat, the
  danger of the Solars can be willfully ignored. The members
  of the Wyld Hunt are not immune to this attitude either,
  especially those who joined the Hunt for reasons other
  than zealousness and piety. Many have left to return to
  their Great Houses and their political maneuvering, leav-
  ing the ranks of the Hunt slashed and populated by
  neophytes and unworldly monks. Ten years ago, the Wyld
  Hunt was upheld by almost 500 Dragon-Blooded heroes,
  with more petitioning to join. Today, there are less than
  100 shikari to protect all of Creation.
  The Wyld Hunt still functions, but with vastly reduced
  numbers and resources — a poor situation, but one that
  could be eventually weathered and reversed. But at the same
  time as this reduction in strength, the threat of the Solar
  Anathema has exploded beyond all comprehension. While
  the Wyld Hunt normally encountered reborn Solars every
  few decades, suddenly Creation is overrun by the beings and
  by the lesser horrors (Fair Folk, Lunars, demons and more)
  that follow in their ruined wake. The much-diminished
  Wyld Hunt finds itself spread thinner than it thought
  possible, battling on all fronts to hold back the tide while
  ever shrinking from within. Like a old and dying tiger beset
  by jackals, it fights a battle it seems unlikely to win.
  But an old tiger still has teeth. And with an infusion
  of new blood and new resources, the Wyld Hunt may still
  prevail over the horrors it has fought for nearly 1,000 years.
  A NETWORK OF HOLY MURDERERS:
  ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE
  The Wyld Hunt is not an army or a religious order or a
  police force or a fraternal organization, but it has certain
  similarities to all of these groups. The Immaculate Order has
  
  127
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  had close to 1,000 years to perfect the structure and opera-
  tions of the Wyld Hunt, and it has not been afraid to draw
  on the wisdom of the Imperial Bureaucracy (or the Sidereal
  Bureau of Destiny). The Hunt manages pious discipline and
  fervor with a strong secular bureaucracy; it allows its indi-
  vidual members to make on-the-spot decisions on how to
  fight their holy war, while still remaining accountable to
  wiser and more enlightened advisors. It has astrologers and
  soldiers at its command, the blessing of Heaven, the man-
  date of the Empress and the secret assistance of the Sidereal
  Bronze Faction. The pinnacle of the Realm’s defenses
  against the Anathema, nothing should stand against it.
  That, at least, is the theory. In practice, the Wyld
  Hunt is hamstrung by the same problems that always
  plague any organization: politics, personal agendas, treach-
  ery and lack of vision. These issues have always existed, but
  their impact mattered much less in the Hunt’s heyday.
  Since the disappearance of the Empress, these organiza-
  tional hurdles have become major problems, impeding the
  Hunt’s ability to respond to the Anathema threat or to
  protect its own existence. It will take more than simple
  manpower and money to bring the Wyld Hunt back to its
  former glory; any reform-minded Exalts would have to
  completely overhaul, audit and reorganize the Hunt.
  SECULAR AND IMMACULATE BUREAUCRACIES
  The Wyld Hunt is a religious organization, a militant
  arm of the Immaculate Order. But in an empire that claims
  the mandate of Heaven, religion does not exist in a
  vacuum. The Immaculate Order stays aloof from politics
  (for the most part), but it is still embedded in the bureau-
  cratic structure of the Realm. Monasteries and temples
  need not pay rent on their lands, but the fact that they do
  not pay must still be recorded; Immaculate monks can
  battle evil with the authority of the Order, but that
  authority must also be recognized by the Imperial Bureau-
  cracy. The Order exists outside the mechanism of the
  empire, but not completely outside of it — and one of the
  places where church and state overlap is in the operation
  of the Wyld Hunt.
  The primary influence of the Imperial Bureaucracy on
  the Hunt is indirect — the Hunt is run and organized more
  like a ministry of the Thousand Scales (or a division of the
  legions) than a religious foundation. There is a structure of
  accountability, a reporting hierarchy with the Mouth of
  Peace at the top. Beneath her is a panel of correctors,
  experienced and highly respected Dragon-Blooded monks
  and priests, who act as her intermediaries and advisors to
  the Hunt. These correctors monitor the workings of the
  Wyld Hunt, order reports on campaigns against the Anath-
  ema (both successes and failures) and perform occasional
  internal audits on the Hunt’s expenses and finances.
  Reporting to the correctors are the exarchs, the highest
  ranking Immaculate members of the Wyld Hunt. Each
  chapter of the Hunt (see below) is managed by an exarch,
  who makes decisions on where to direct that chapter’s
  efforts and maintain its operations. Finally, responsibility
  for the day to day running of each chapter falls to the
  ostiaries, the field commanders and on-site managers of
  the Wyld Hunt. Ostiaries are almost always shikari who
  have worked their way through the ranks to achieve
  positions of trust and responsibility, and they include both
  Immaculate and secular members.
  While this system of reportage and command re-
  sembles that of a secular bureaucracy, it is still an entirely
  religious operation, not answerable to any temporal au-
  thority. However, there is a degree of Imperial Bureaucratic
  involvement in the Wyld Hunt, and it comes from the All-
  Seeing Eye. The imperial secret police supplies the Wyld
  Hunt with information and with soothsayers and diviners
  to track the appearances of the Anathema, and to bolster
  that information, it also lends a level of administrative
  assistance to the Order. The Committee on Matters of
  Venery is the body within the All-Seeing Eye that con-
  cerns itself with the Wyld Hunt. It supplies and pays
  personnel to maintain the Hunt’s activities, organizes the
  transfer of soldiers from the legions, keeps track of dona-
  tions and gifts made from the Great Houses and numerous
  other bureaucratic tasks. The Committee operates sepa-
  rately but in parallel with the Order’s own bureaucracy,
  and each keep tabs on the other — and considers the other
  group an inferior, secondary body that should really be
  subsumed into its own administrative structure.
  CHAPTER AND CADRE
  The bureaucracy and administration of the Wyld
  Hunt is not a matter that most members of the Hunt spend
  much (if any) time thinking about; it works in the back-
  ground, and only becomes visible when it fails to operate
  properly. For the harriers of the Order, the primary sign of
  the Wyld Hunt’s structure is organizational rather than
  administrative — the allocation of individual shikari to
  specific divisions and locations within the Hunt.
  The Wyld Hunt is broken up into several chapters,
  divisions of the Hunt charged with monitoring and patrol-
  ling specific regions of Creation. Chapters are large,
  expensive sub-organizations, sometimes controlling doz-
  ens of Dragon-Blooded harriers and hundreds of mundane
  staff. Each chapter is housed in a powerful and well-
  protected Manse (chapter house), chosen for both its
  strategic location and its supernatural significance. Ten
  years ago, the Wyld Hunt had 11 chapters scattered across
  the Realm and the Threshold. Today, only six remain. The
  others have been closed down due to lack of operating
  funds and insufficient numbers of shikari. The other chap-
  ters have taken up the workload, but this has left them
  strained, charged with protecting ever-larger regions of
  the Realm with ever-smaller budgets and manpower.
  Within each chapter, the shikari are formed into
  cadres, hunting parties that take on the task of tracking and
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  128
  engaging the Anathema. Different chapters have different
  approaches to the creation of cadres, depending on the
  demands of their particular region of Creation or the strat-
  egies of the exarch and the ostiaries. Most cadres are
  assembled on an ad hoc basis, assigning specific shikari to a
  team on a mission-by-mission basis. When the task is done,
  the cadre dissolves (assuming it survives). This approach has
  the advantage of flexibility, but it means that cadremates
  rarely get the opportunity to become familiar with each
  others abilities and develop complex tactics. Other cadres
  are set groups, harriers who always work together as a team.
  These parties have the advantage of experience and smooth
  teamwork but are less flexible and adaptable. Most chapters
  use a mix of ad hoc and established cadres. Often, the
  established cadres work a circuit or patrol around the
  chapter’s area of command (a trip that may take several
  years), while ad hoc groups are created for specific missions
  and then dispatched from the chapter house.
  Cadre size is also highly variable. The smallest cadre is,
  of course, the lone hunter, but this is rarely seen in the Wyld
  Hunt. The Anathema are too dangerous and the work of the
  Hunt too important to risk harriers traipsing off on their own
  without backup and support. Much more common is a group
  of two to five Dragon-Blooded, with a variety of Abilities
  and Charms that complement each other. Larger cadres are
  rare and are usually assembled to deal with exceptionally
  powerful or dangerous Anathema. In addition to Dragon-
  Blooded harriers, cadres may also include units of mortal
  soldiers to provide support (especially when facing beastmen
  or fae hordes) and, possibly, savants and astrologers to
  provide guidance during a mission.
  HUNTERS AND HARRIERS
  At its height, the Wyld Hunt was manned solely by
  the greatest and bravest of the Dragon-Blooded, pious
  Immaculates and noble Dynasts bound together to protect
  Creation at any cost. Such is no longer the case. The Hunt
  has not just diminished in quantity, but also in quality. The
  strongest of its secular members have almost all left the
  Hunt in order to pursue political agendas in this time of
  tumult. While the monks of the Wyld Hunt are theoreti-
  cally immune to such machinations, the truth is that
  monks have families and temporal responsibilities as well,
  and many have been forcibly recalled by the Great Houses
  (or by the Immaculate Order itself) in preparation for the
  inevitable civil war. While some of those remaining in the
  Wyld Hunt are both strong and courageous, too many are
  inexperienced or undertrained — or worst, the castoffs of
  the Great Houses, wastrels looking for adventure or family
  embarrassments shunted away from the political arena.
  Those outside the Wyld Hunt talk of its members as
  shikari, or sacred hunters, and this is the title given to all
  who join the group. Within the Order, though, further
  differentiations are made between members on a number
  of different grounds.
  Full-Time or Part-Time: Some members of the Wyld
  Hunt are so devoted to the cause that they dedicate them-
  selves to it full-time, holding down no other position or role
  in society. Most of the Immaculate monks in the Order fall
  under this division, as do a few of the more fervent (or
  desperate) secular shikari. These full-time hunters are called
  hosted shikari, for they survive on the Immaculate Order’s
  largesse. Many donate all their additional wealth (if any)
  back to the Order and live on a small remittance from their
  chapter’s funds. Most shikari are part-time members, or
  errant shikari. They donate a portion of their time and
  courage to the Wyld Hunt, then return to other pursuits and
  endeavors between missions. The Wyld Hunt would gener-
  ally prefer hosted over errant shikari, if only because it’s
  easier to rely on a hunter who’s on call every day and sleeps
  within the chapter house. But beggars can’t be choosers, and
  in this dark time, most shikari come and go between their
  duties and the demands of their private lives.
  Status and Seniority: Once a shikari has proven
  herself in the field several times, the Wyld Hunt typically
  promotes her to the rank of amercer, a rank that usually
  confers command over a cadre of less experienced shikari.
  Above amercers are venerers, hunters who have not just
  proven themselves capable in battle, but possessed of
  vision and wisdom. Venerers act as commanding officers
  in the field and advisors in the chapter house. Their
  experience and insight is used on both a strategic and
  tactical level. Finally, there are the ostiaries of each
  chapter, the generals and managers who organize and
  coordinate all of the chapter’s cadres and report to the
  exarch. It takes decades of dedicated service and achieve-
  ment to rise to the rank of ostiary, and it’s a rank few secular
  hunters ever achieve (not a conscious bias on the Wyld
  Hunt’s part, perhaps, but one that certainly exists). At the
  very least, ostiaries must dedicate their lives to the Hunt;
  only hosted shikari can be elevated to this position.
  Specialization: In order to effectively battle the Anath-
  ema, the Wyld Hunt needs skilled and powerful hunters,
  and it needs to bring a variety of Abilities and Charms to
  bear against the enemy. The ostiaries of each chapter
  designate shikari by their strongest and most useful Abili-
  ties, so as to assemble cadres with complementary strengths
  and few weaknesses. Harriers are shikari with strong com-
  bat Abilities and Charms, whether using weapons or
  martial arts, swords or bows. Inquisitors are those who
  specialize in information gathering — not the prognosti-
  cation of astrology or research, but detective work, spycraft
  and battlefield intelligence. Finally, castigators are those
  Exalts who have studied sorcery and who can work magic
  to directly or indirectly weaken the Anathema in the field.
  It’s expected that many shikari will have strengths in two
  or all three of these areas — at the very least, every member
  of the Wyld Hunt must be able to join battle and fight
  when it is necessary — but the designation is made to point
  out a hunter’s primary specialization.
  
  129
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  PLAYERS’ CHARACTERS IN THE WYLD HUNT
  In series about Dragon-Blooded characters, joining
  the Wyld Hunt is an event that can give rise to dozens of
  interesting stories. At this low ebb in its history, the Hunt
  is crying out for new members — and while it has certain
  minimum standards of competence, any Dynastic charac-
  ter will fulfill those criteria from the moment of his
  creation. (There are also standards of loyalty and piety,
  but that’s up to the players to portray.) Gaining rank and
  influence within the Wyld Hunt is not automatic, how-
  ever, and a character must prove her
  worth before gaining rank.
  In game terms, there
  are 
  certain
  achievements
  and Trait mini-
  mums that must be met
  before a character can
  gain a higher rank in
  the Wyld Hunt
  (and the ben-
  efits that come
  with it).
  Shikari: All
  characters who
  join the Wyld
  Hunt gain this
  rank. Shikari
  have a minimum
  of Backing (Wyld
  Hunt) 1 and Con-
  nections 
  (The
  Immaculate Order) 1;
  if characters do not al-
  ready 
  have 
  those
  Backgrounds, they gain
  that minimum amount.
  Shikari are also entitled
  to attune to any
  Manse controlled by
  the Wyld Hunt.
  Amercer: To be-
  come an amercer, a
  shikari must have been
  on at least three suc-
  cessful 
  missions
  against the Anathema
  (not necessarily Solar
  Anathema). He must also possess at least four dots in his
  primary Virtue. Amercers gain minimum Background
  ratings of Backing (Wyld Hunt) 2, Connections (Immacu-
  late Order) 2 and Command 1.
  Venerer: Venerers must possess experience, insight,
  the ability to lead and sheer Exalted power. A character
  wishing to rise to this rank must have at least four dots in
  Presence and at least three dots in two different combat
  Abilities (Archery, Brawl, Martial Arts, Melee or Thrown).
  He must also have at least Willpower 7 and Essence 3.
  Venerers gain minimum Background ratings of Backing
  (Wyld Hunt) 3, Connections (Immaculate Order) 3,
  Connections (All-Seeing Eye) 1 and Command 2.
  Ostiary: To achieve the rank of ostiary, a char-
  acter must have gained the admiration of
  his fellows and proven himself
  worthy of the highest responsi-
  bility. To become an ostiary, a
  character must have at least Repu-
  tation 3 and Backing 4, four dots in
  his primary Virtue and four dots
  in Presence. In addition,
  characters who are not
  Immaculate monks
  must have at least four
  dots in Connections
  (Immaculate Order).
  Ostiaries gain mini-
  mum Background
  ratings of Backing
  (Wyld Hunt) 5, Con-
  nections (Immaculate
  Order) 4, Connections
  (All-Seeing Eye) 2
  and Command 3.
  E x a r c h :
  Exarchs are
  primarily ad-
  ministrative
  and religious offic-
  ers, not hunters,
  and they are ap-
  pointed by the
  correctors of the
  Order. A charac-
  ter wishing to
  become an exarch
  would have to be an Im-
  maculate monk or priest and would require at
  least four dots in Connections (Immaculate Order). Exarchs
  possess Backing (Wyld Hunt) 5 and a minimum of three
  dots in Connections (All-Seeing Eye).
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  130
  ANCILLARY STAFF
  Even at its height, the Wyld Hunt was never a solely
  Dragon-Blooded enterprise. The Realm runs on the sweat
  of mortal labor, and the holy work of the Order is no
  different. Every chapter house make use of ancillary mortal
  staff, normally provided and paid by the All-Seeing Eye’s
  Committee on Matters of Venery, although some chapters
  also make use of mortal monks and priests supplied by the
  Immaculate Order. There are four main groups of ancillary
  staff used by the Wyld Hunt.
  Soldiers
  The authority of the All-Seeing Eye allows the Hunt to
  requisition troops from the imperial legions — usually from
  those legions affiliated with pious houses such as Mnemon
  and Ledaal. Most chapters have a full talon on secondment
  at any time, stationed in the town or compound nearest the
  chapter house. A tour of duty with the Wyld Hunt lasts for
  two years, at which point soldiers are rotated back to their
  original legion. Hunters may also requisition troops from
  local legions during a mission if necessary, again thanks to
  the authority of the All-Seeing Eye — however, such
  requisitions must be fully recorded and reported to the
  exarchs and the Committee on Matters of Venery.
  Ancillary soldiers are elite troops (see Exalted, p. 278)
  and operate in five-man fangs. Most cadres are accompa-
  nied by a single scale of soldiers — more if the cadre
  contains multiple amercers.
  Savants
  The single most vital resource of the Wyld Hunt is
  information — information on the appearance of the Anath-
  ema across Creation. Without knowledge that a given
  Anathema even exists, the Hunt cannot target it, and
  without information on the monster’s powers, methods
  and activities, the Hunt cannot fight it effectively. Most of
  the Wyld Hunt’s information comes from the diviners,
  seers and oracles of the All-Seeing Eye, who auger the stars
  and question the spirits for information on the coming of
  the Anathema. The Hunt maintains groups of seers and
  astrologers at each chapter house, while additional infor-
  mation is regularly dispatched by the Eye from the Imperial
  City. These groups of savants are heavily infiltrated by the
  Sidereal Exalted, who use them to filter information about
  the Solars through to their Terrestrial protectors.
  In additional to supernatural sources of information,
  the Wyld Hunt enjoys the use of parts of the All-Seeing
  Eye’s network of spies across the Threshold. These infor-
  mants keep a careful eye out for unusual events, rumors of
  miraculous beings and creatures, the forming of heretical
  cults and other such happenings. Reports from these
  individuals can be irregular, but the Hunt receives enough
  information from them to gain a broad picture of events.
  Administrators
  The average citizen or Dynast of the Realm imagines
  the Wyld Hunt as a straightforward entity — it looks for
  the Anathema, finds them and battles them. No one ever
  thinks about the paperwork. But for an organization the
  size of the Wyld Hunt, even in its reduced state, paperwork
  and bureaucracy is an inevitable byproduct of its work.
  Reports must be filed with the Immaculate Order about
  the Hunt’s activities, its successes and (more importantly)
  its failures. Expenses must be tallied to justify budgets, pay
  records must be maintained, funds must be managed as
  efficiently as possible, and donated artifacts and equip-
  ment (see below) must be catalogued.
  Hundreds of mortal bureaucrats and administrators
  work for the Wyld Hunt. Most are citizens, but a few are
  actually unExalted Dynasts from minor families, career
  bureaucrats who have found a safe niche in the mecha-
  nisms of the Realm. The majority of administrators live
  on-site near a particular chapter house. The higher level
  bureaucrats are in the Imperial City, processing reports
  before sending them to both the Committee on Matters of
  Venery and the correctors of the Immaculate Order.
  Servants
  Finally, the Wyld Hunt employs thousands of mun-
  dane servants, simply to aid in its day-to-day operations.
  Cooks and cleaners, stableboys and sailors, farmers and
  carpenters — all are needed to manage the chapter houses
  and to serve the needs of the shikari. The Order pays these
  servants slightly better than the average wage, since even
  the lowest operatives of the Hunt still bear the risk of
  retaliation at the hands of the Anathema. Not only that,
  but loyalty matters for an organization such as this, and the
  All-Seeing Eye tries to ensure that its servants never feel
  any inclination to sell or give away information about the
  Wyld Hunt to some smooth-voiced stranger with a hidden
  Caste Mark in the local beer hall.
  RESOURCES AND EXPENDITURES
  Defending Creation is an expensive process. The
  Wyld Hunt requires constant upkeep and financing, and
  that need has proved a greater danger to its existence than
  any Anathema it has faced in the past. Fundamentally, the
  Hunt is run by charity, as are many other of the Immacu-
  late Order’s operations. The Great Houses donate resources
  and equipment directly to the Hunt or, occasionally, to the
  Immaculate Order (which then spends a measure of that
  money on the Hunt). In this increasingly unstable time,
  however, the Great Houses have cut their funding of the
  Wyld Hunt to the bone, and the Immaculate Order’s own
  finances are stretched thin. The Hunt has already been
  forced to shut down nearly half of its chapter houses, and
  more may follow if the financial strain continues.
  It requires a Resources •••• expenditure every month
  to maintain and operate each chapter house of the Wyld
  Hunt. In the past, the Great Houses gave that money (or
  at least the lion’s share of it) directly to the Mouth of Peace
  and the Hunt’s correctors, who then distributed it to the
  chapter houses. Additional funding came from the Order
  
  131
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  expense next to a month’s worth of food for a small army
  of Dragon-Blooded. This mundane equipment is, for all
  intents and purposes, the property of the Hunt. While the
  Great Houses donated the equipment and could conceiv-
  ably ask for it back, its not worth enough for the houses to
  bother. For all their current cost-cutting, the Great Houses
  still want the Wyld Hunt to keep operating — they just
  want someone (anyone) else to pay for it — and won’t
  work to actively damage its effectiveness.
  More complicated is the Wyld Hunt’s treasury of
  donated magical artifacts. These items are kept under
  heavy guard at every chapter house, meticulously recorded
  and catalogued by administrative staff, then apportioned
  out to cadres when needed. Unfortunately for the Hunt,
  almost all of these artifacts are not gifts, but loans. The most
  valuable and useful artifacts are given over to the Order
  only on a short-term basis — and when the Great House
  in question wants it back, it must be returned. Some minor
  items (one-dot and some two-dot artifacts) are outright
  gifts, often directly from the coffers of the Empress or
  wealthy and pious individuals. More powerful and valu-
  able items, on the other hand, could be reclaimed at any
  time by the house than loaned them.
  The correctors of the Order disseminate artifacts and
  equipment to specific chapters, each of which maintains a
  separate arsenal. Shikari operating from a particular chap-
  ter house only have access to that chapter’s arsenal; while
  they can request items known to be held by another
  chapter, such a transfer involves a lot of paperwork and a
  significant amount of time.
  A SWORD AGAINST THE DAMNED:
  TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES
  In the end, the logistics and administration, the
  intrigues and politics, the preparation and the training, all
  comes down to one thing — war. War against the forces of
  destruction, the evils that lurk under the torn skin of
  Creation; the walking dead, the dream-eaters, the burning
  demigods of a bygone Age. But this is not a battle fought
  in haste or anger. Impulsive action has no place in the
  Wyld Hunt. When the time comes to wage war against one
  or more of the Anathema, the Hunt does so only after
  weeks or even months of planning and deliberation. Pri-
  mary and secondary plans of attack are developed, battle
  strategies are mapped out, and all possible sources of
  information are utilized to get as complete a picture as
  possible. When the Wyld Hunt finally goes on the offen-
  sive, it fights to win.
  INITIAL INFORMATION
  Before the Wyld Hunt can act against an Anathema, of
  course, it must first learn that the creature exists. The
  diviners and seers of both the All-Seeing Eye and the
  Immaculate Order constantly channel information to the
  itself, while the All-Seeing Eye funded the Hunt indirectly
  by supplying ancillary staff and information (which, in
  turn, was financed by the Imperial Treasury with the
  Empress’ blessing). At the moment, the Hunt and its
  backers can continue to run at their current strength for
  another six to eight months (longer if more chapter houses
  close). But even that gloomy forecast appears dubious,
  since the upsurge in Anathema activity requires greater
  and greater expenditure in outfitting and dispatching
  cadres. The exarchs and the correctors of the Hunt are
  meeting regularly with the Committee on Matters of
  Venery, hoping that somehow they can find alternative
  sources of funds or convince the Great Houses to commit
  more resources to the Hunt.
  For all this looming financial doom, though, the Hunt
  still retains access to a vast wealth of resources — it’s cash
  poor, but has plenty of assets. Over the centuries of its
  operation, the Wyld Hunt has received more than just
  financing from the Great Houses; it’s also received moun-
  tains of mundane equipment and minor (but useful) items
  such as weapons, armor, tools, ships and so on. Even items
  of exceptional quality are readily available in most chapter
  houses — a sword, no matter how finely crafted, is a minor
  SIDEREAL EXALTED IN THE WYLD HUNT
  The Wyld Hunt is the primary weapon the
  Bronze Faction has to use against the Solar Exalted.
  But this doesn’t mean the Sidereals respect their
  Terrestrial foot soldiers. Most Bronze operatives see
  the Wyld Hunt as something akin to a host of fanatic
  killers that can be sacrificed without qualm — or
  even as a pack of attack dogs.
  For all this disdain for the Wyld Hunt’s mem-
  bers, though, the Bronze Faction treasures it as a
  weapon, and its Sidereals work hard to keep the
  Hunt effective. Every chapter house has a Sidereal
  advisor posted to it, who bolsters the vague astro-
  logical insights of its savants with her more powerful
  Charms and readings straight from the Loom of
  Fate. The Exalt usually works incognito, often dis-
  guised with a resplendent destiny; while a very few
  ostiaries know a little of the truth about the Sidereal
  Exalted, the existence of the Chosen is unknown to
  the vast majority of the Wyld Hunt that fights and
  dies on their behalf.
  It’s an important role, but it’s not a prestigious
  one, and few Sidereals look forward to being as-
  signed to the Wyld Hunt. Often, it’s a task handed
  down as a punishment, for capable operatives who
  have made mistakes and need a few years of nurse-
  maid duty.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  132
  tized by levels of likelihood and importance — how likely
  the report is to be true, and how urgently action should be
  taken. Once a month the correctors meet with the Mouth
  of Peace to discuss the current situation. The information
  and the panel’s recommendations are then disseminated
  to the various chapters of the Wyld Hunt, usually by the
  Imperial Post. If time is of the essence, special messengers
  may be dispatched, or Hunt sorcerers may convey informa-
  tion using spells.
  Once the information filters down to the chapter
  level, the ostiaries of each chapter draw up plans to handle
  the caseload of missions and investigations and assign
  cadres to the tasks. The chapter’s exarch is consulted in
  this, as are the more experienced and insightful venerers,
  but the final decisions rest with the ostiaries, who bear the
  final responsibility for the successes and failures of the
  Wyld Hunt.
  FURTHER INVESTIGATION
  Only in rare, very urgent cases will action be taken
  against an Anathema based on initial information. There
  are simply too many unacceptable risks involved in strik-
  ing without full knowledge of the target. Instead, the Hunt
  does further research against those Anathema that seem
  most threatening in the wake of the monthly meetings.
  Most investigations are conducted by mortal agents
  and spies within the All-Seeing Eye, who are directed by
  their superiors to look further into events in their area.
  Such investigations are risky because the mortal agents are
  vulnerable to the sorcery and Charms of the Anathema —
  but then again, if captured, those spies can reveal none of
  the Hunt’s plans to the enemy.
  In particularly troubling instances of Anathema ap-
  pearances, such as two or more arising in one region or a
  cult already forming around the creatures, the Wyld Hunt
  may investigate directly. This is the role of the Hunt’s
  inquisitors, those shikari skilled in intelligence and infor-
  mation gathering. Inquisitors are gifted savants and spies,
  with high levels of Investigation, Awareness, Larceny and/
  or Stealth, plus Charms to further improve those Abilities.
  Disguise, stealth and subtle investigation is the order of the
  day, not violence. The Exalts will normally travel to their
  destination by mundane means (if time permits) and never
  reveal themselves as Dragon-Blooded while gathering
  information. Only if they absolutely must use their Charms
  and Artifacts in self-defense will the inquisitors reveal
  their power, and if they survive, they immediately vacate
  the area and return to their chapter for debriefing.
  Another means of gathering additional data is through
  sorcery. Anathema tend to make a visible splash in Cre-
  ation, and almost all chapters have one or more members
  adept at seeking out spirits and elementals that know
  pertinent details. These sorcerers may also summon
  elementals and demons to gather information directly.
  EQUIPPING FOR THE HUNT
  While the Wyld Hunt still retains a wealth of
  equipment and artifacts, it can’t afford to devote all
  those resources to each and every sortie against the
  Anathema. Priorities must be decided upon, and
  only a small number of items and artifacts are
  released from a chapter house’s arsenal at any time.
  Individual shikari have their own, personal
  collection of equipment, as determined by their
  dots in Artifacts and Resources. This is generally
  considered the character’s own property, rather
  than equipment on loan from the Hunt. In addi-
  tion to these items, characters can also requisition
  (or be assigned) mundane items and even artifacts
  when setting out to hunt down the Anathema.
  When a cadre embarks on a mission, the
  Backing dots of each character involved deter-
  mines how many resources the chapter house can
  spare for the mission. A single shikari can requisi-
  tion as many dots in available artifacts as her dots
  in Backing. Multiple operatives add their dots in
  Backing together, but cannot possess any artifact or
  item worth more than their highest Backing rating.
  Example: With Backing 4, Iselsi Osuja could
  requisition one four-dot artifact, four one-dot artifacts
  or any combination in between while on a mission. If
  she is partnered with Nellens Avida on a hunt (who has
  Backing 2), the two Exalts could requisition six dots
  worth of artifacts, but no one artifact could be worth
  more than four dots.
  Mundane equipment is more plentiful, even in
  these harsh times. When requisitioning normal
  equipment such as weaponry, use the shikari’s
  Backing rating as if it were the Resources Back-
  ground, allowing her to “buy” equipment as normal.
  Of course, she can only obtain items her chapter
  house has available, and she must return them
  when the mission is over (if possible).
  Wyld Hunt, watching for signs and portents regarding the
  coming of Solars, Lunars and other threats to Creation. In
  addition, mortal informants in the major cities of the
  Threshold report on unusual happenings and Anathema
  appearances. And of course, there is the information pro-
  vided by the Sidereal Exalted, data gleaned from the Loom
  of Fate and Bronze Faction spies in the Bureau of Heaven
  who monitor the activities of Lytek, God of Exaltation.
  This constant flood of information means that new
  reports reach the panel of correctors and their counter-
  parts of the Committee on Matters of Venery almost every
  day. These reports are then assessed and initially priori-
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  In certain cases, particularly when dealing with
  well-armed or experienced Anathema, the Wyld Hunt
  may test the creature’s defenses with an exploratory
  attack. Such a thing is not done lightly, since it may alert
  the enemy that the Hunt is watching. For some Anath-
  ema, the Hunt might arrange for the creature to be
  attacked by some lesser threat — bandits, soldiers, wild
  animals or the like — and watch from afar to gauge the
  battle. Demons and elementals could be sent to harass
  the Anathema, but this is riskier should the spirits be
  captured and questioned. The Hunt may even send one
  of its own to perform an initial attack, a harrier or small
  cadre skilled in ranged combat or with exceptional
  mobility. Such a sortie is always a quick, rushing affair —
  go in, attack on the defensive for a few exchanges, then
  pull out while ancillary soldiers slow the Anathema
  down. The point of such attacks is not to kill the creature
  (although such an outcome would be a welcome acci-
  dent), but to watch its actions after the attack and
  measure its performance.
  Once a sizeable amount of information has been
  gathered on an enemy, the Wyld Hunt can take one of
  two tacks: a surgical strike or an all-out offensive.
  SURGICAL STRIKES
  If it’s possible to neutralize an Anathema with a
  minimum of danger and damage, the Wyld Hunt prefers
  to do so. Most of the Hunt’s forays are of this nature: A
  cadre of Exalts makes a devastating sneak attack on a
  single Anathema, cutting it down before it can react.
  These cadres usually comprise harriers and castigators
  with powerful combat spells, backed up with multiple
  fangs of troops.
  Such battles are quick, decisive affairs, launched
  from surprise before the enemy can raise its supernatural
  defenses or sever the cadre’s escape routes. If the battle
  goes badly for the shikari, they will make a tactical
  withdrawal rather than go down fighting, then return to
  their chapter house to reconsider their options.
  The Wyld Hunt may also make a covert strike
  rather than an overt attack; assassination is only a crime
  when it targets the Dragon-Blooded, after all. Instead of
  engaging the Anathema in combat, specialist shikari
  seek to murder it through indirect means – sabotage,
  poison, turning its allies against it or whatever else
  might work. The Hunt is prepared to be brutal in the
  name of the greater good and to suffer the loss of some
  innocent lives to protect the Realm. Thus, an Anath-
  ema secure in a fortress, surrounded by guards, might
  wake only when the entire edifice collapses on her and
  her followers. A Solar monstrosity sailing across the
  Great Inland Sea may drown when a Water-aspected
  inquisitor, having patiently waited in disguise as a sailor
  for weeks, finally rips a hole in the bottom of the
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  134
  monster’s ship and swims to his prearranged pickup point
  as it sinks. These tactics are not the norm because there
  are too many variables and uncertainties; direct attacks
  are more dangerous, but fewer external complications
  intrude onto the battlefield once the fight begins. How-
  ever, as the membership of the Wyld Hunt withers,
  covert strikes and sabotage are becoming more common
  as tactics, rather than risking multiple hunters in combat
  against the vastly more powerful Anathema.
  ALL-OUT OFFENSIVE
  Only rarely does the Wyld Hunt resort to an all-out
  offensive: the commitment of multiple cadres (or even
  multiple chapters) and large numbers of shikari to taking
  down a group of Anathema. These major military actions
  are never considered lightly and usually require the ap-
  proval of the Mouth of Peace — or at least her panel of
  correctors. Shikari assigned to a massive offensive take up
  arms knowing that their lives may be forfeit, and that
  victory may come (if at all) after a battle that wreaks
  terrible destruction upon the very Realm they fight to
  protect. So be it. No price is too great to pay to protect
  Creation, including the lives of innocents and heroes.
  “We had to burn the village in order to save it” is the logic
  of the battlefield, and it is irrefutable.
  If the Wyld Hunt enters into an all-out assault upon
  the Anathema, the attack is carefully thought through
  ahead of time, like a military campaign rather than a
  commando raid. The Hunt harries and hounds the Anath-
  ema from a distance over hours or even days, wearing down
  resistance and resources, before luring the enemy into a
  battlefield of the Hunt’s choosing, laden with traps and
  surrounded by archers.
  At least, that’s always the ideal, but plans rarely
  survive intact once the enemy is encountered.
  THE OFFICE OF HARMONY
  AND STABILITY IN
  UNCERTAIN CLIMES
  The following section describes one of the Hunt’s
  larger and more powerful chapters, the Office of Har-
  mony and Stability in Uncertain Climes (generally just
  referred to as the Office of Harmony). While it counts a
  number of extremely powerful and experienced Dragon-
  Blooded amongst its shikari, it has been hit hard by the
  shrinking wealth and power of the Wyld Hunt and must
  also contend with its own internal rivalries and intrigues.
  The Office of Harmony is designed to work well as an
  antagonist group in series focusing on Solars or other
  Celestial Exalted, but it’s also an excellent patron or ally
  for Dragon-Blooded series.
  HISTORY
  The Office of Harmony has a history stretching back
  some 400 years. In the period of relative calm following the
  barbarian incursions of the northern Inland Sea of RY 364,
  the Wyld Hunt underwent a time of expansion — Dragon-
  Blooded warriors and heroes, wanting new opportunities
  for glory and adventure, were joining the Hunt in large
  numbers. This was a boon to the Hunt in some ways, but
  the swelling numbers of shikari began to overwhelm the
  existing infrastructure of the Hunt, which, at that time,
  had only seven chapters. After consultation between the
  Mouth of Peace and the exarchs of the existing chapters,
  the correctors of that period decided to establish another
  chapter, located in a central position on the Blessed Isle,
  which could support a large group of shikari and monitor
  possible Anathema incursions into the western regions of
  the Realm. Over a period of two years, the administrators
  of the Wyld Hunt assembled the new chapter. Most of this
  time was spent assessing Manses as potential chapter
  houses and negotiating with the Great Houses over fund-
  ing and resources. In the end, a very suitable Manse was
  leased from House Ledaal, not least because the pious
  house asked a far more reasonable price than the control-
  lers of other potential sites. A staff of monks, postulants
  and imperial servants erected a compound around this
  Manse, the Azimuth Spire, and built a sizable village from
  scratch, called Yarrowstalk, to house themselves and the
  shikari who would follow. Finally, the exarchs of the other
  chapters assigned those hunters willing to relocate to the
  new chapter, and the Office of Harmony was born.
  The next four centuries saw the rise of the Office of
  Harmony as one of the most effective and busy chapters of
  the Wyld Hunt. The Threshold remained the primary
  focus of the Hunt at that time, plagued as it was by Lunar
  warlords and incursions from the Fair Folk. The Blessed
  Isle was removed from those dangers but still not a place of
  absolute safety, particular as one traveled further from the
  Imperial City. The Solar Anathema could spring from
  anywhere, chaotic pockets of the Wyld could be found
  even on the Blessed Isle, and the villages of the Realm were
  often threatened by renegade spirits, unbound demons or
  monsters spawned by unnatural energies. Furthermore,
  the chapter’s central location made it possible for it to send
  cadres all over Creation if necessary, and it undertook
  many missions outside the Blessed Isle, particularly in the
  southern and western regions of the Threshold. Nearly 70
  shikari operated out of the Office of Harmony in the
  chapter’s prime, and few of them had much time for leisure
  between sorties and missions. The village of Yarrowstalk
  swelled to become a small city, a pious trading center
  prospering on the Order’s finances, traffic between the
  nearby cities and the fruits of the local olive plantations.
  That height of activity and prestige was a long time
  ago, even for the long-lived Dragon-Blooded, and the
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  Office of Harmony has dwindled from its former glory.
  Now, only 31 shikari answer the call of the Office of
  Harmony, and most of those are inexperienced errant
  hunters who serve only when the mood takes them. The
  resources of the Office of Harmony have been stripped
  away to prop up other chapters, and the Azimuth Spire’s
  treasury of artifacts is at an all-time low. This poverty has
  hit Yarrowstalk as well, along with a drop in passing trade
  and a poor olive crop, and a feeling of resentment is
  growing among the populous toward the Dynasts. But for
  all this, the Office of Harmony remains a bastion of the
  Wyld Hunt and a powerful bulwark against the power of
  the Anathema. Should the Wyld Hunt survive its current
  woes, the Office of Harmony may yet resume its place as
  one of the preeminent defenders of the Scarlet Empire.
  HEADQUARTERS
  The Office of Harmony is located in the northern-
  most regions of Arjuf Dominion, in the mountain range
  that spills down the eastern side of the Caracal River. The
  chapter house lies about 15 miles east of the river itself and
  is just a few dozen miles from the border of the Lord’s
  Crossing Dominion (although nearly 500 miles away from
  the city of Lord’s Crossing itself). The region is warm and
  fertile, with rolling hills surrounding flat, broad valleys
  perfect for farming. Olives are the most common local
  crop, grown on hillside plantations, while rice is harvested
  in some of the wetter valleys. There are few local predators
  on the land other than some particularly venomous breeds
  of snake. The Caracal River occasionally boasts river
  dragons or crocodiles, but the shikari quickly hunt down
  and slay any creature that might threaten the area.
  YARROWSTALK
  Located on the banks of the Caracal, Yarrowstalk is a
  river-port town with a population of roughly 8,000 people.
  Its main function is as a supply station for boats traveling
  up and down the river, moving between Lord’s Crossing
  and the city of Arjuf. As well as the river traffic, Yarrowstalk
  sees traders, caravans and tourists traveling around Juche,
  Tuchara and Lord’s Crossing, allowing for a constant
  turnover of customers for provisions and equipment.
  Yarrowstalk is governed by the minor Dynast Ledaal Deled
  Zavel, who answers to the Prefect of Arjuf, Ledaal Maris.
  While Yarrowstalk is used to prosperity and high
  levels of trade, the last five years have seen its fortunes
  diminish. As tensions mount around the Realm, tourism
  decreases in turn, and travelers are becoming less common
  in the region. The losses of the Tepet Legions in the North
  has badly shaken the inhabitants of Lord’s Crossing, lead-
  ing to a drop in river-trade and a corresponding loss of
  income for the bargemen, boatwrights and outfitters of the
  city. And to cap everything off, the last three years have
  had very poor olive crops, and the hillside farmers living
  near the city are starving.
  In times past, the Office of Harmony might have
  shored up the city’s wealth or at least put money into the
  pockets of the traders and whorehouses that served the
  shikari. But the Office of Harmony is poorer now as well,
  and the shikari are few in number and mostly too pious to
  waste money on sex and alcohol. The locals don’t see the
  accounting books of the Wyld Hunt, though. All they
  know is that the monster-fighting Dynasts refuse to allevi-
  ate Yarrowstalk’s financial woes, but still insist on the
  loyalty and service of the citizens. It doesn’t help that the
  Office of Harmony keeps a constant presence of monks,
  soldiers and administrators in the city, housed in the best
  neighborhoods but paying little or no rent. Resentment
  against the Office of Harmony is still something confined
  to grumblings in the teahouses, but it grows a little bit
  louder every passing day.
  THE AZIMUTH SPIRE
  Rising out of the hills 15 miles east of Yarrowstalk is
  the Azimuth Spire, a tall stepped pyramid of black glass
  and iron. Control of this powerful Manse, built during the
  last days of the First Age, was bequeathed to House Ledaal
  by the Empress for its efforts in crushing the Iselsi coup
  attempt in RY 303. While the Manse was an incredibly
  valuable and prestigious holding, the Ledaal found it
  expensive to maintain and protect. When the Immaculate
  Order approached them about using the Manse as a chap-
  ter house for the Wyld Hunt, the elders of the house
  discussed the matter at great length. Eventually, the Manse
  was sublet to the Order for both religious and financial
  reasons: It would aid the protection of the empire and
  would also turn a potential liability into a source of
  income. House Ledaal still hold the Azimuth Spire’s
  original lease, and could conceivably evict the Office of
  Harmony if it desired, but the pious house has shown no
  sign of being dissatisfied with its tenants. This largesse may
  not continue if the Immaculate Order cannot maintain its
  lease payments on the Spire, though, and the administra-
  tors of the Wyld Hunt are not at all sure that the payments
  can be maintained for more than another year or two.
  The area around the Azimuth Spire is a windy and
  turbulent space. High winds rattle through the hills and
  converge on this exact point, pushed into place by the
  geomantic tensions of the countryside. The Manse is
  riddled with vents and lined with jade-edged baffles,
  channeling the Essence of the winds into its Hearthroom.
  The Spire is a level-5 Air-aspected Manse, to which all of
  the Office of Harmony’s shikari have attuned, and its
  Hearthstone is a gem of sapphire and emerald, worn by
  ostiary Cathak Setod (see below).
  The Immaculate Order did not base the Office of
  Harmony in the Azimuth Spire simply for its Essence, of
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  136
  course, or for its affordability. The Manse also has several
  practical and strategic advantages. Six stories tall and
  dozens of yards wide, it’s large enough to house the Dragon-
  Blooded, their servants and their retinues and still have
  room enough to contain the equipment, libraries and
  prisoners of the Office of Harmony. The Manse is also in
  a central position in the Realm, allowing its shikari to
  patrol the heart of the Blessed Isle while also being able to
  reach the Threshold when necessary.
  The levels of the Azimuth Spire are as follows:
  Oubliette Level: Located below ground level, these cells
  and rooms were used by the Ledaal owners to hold supplies.
  The Office of Harmony uses them partially as locked store-
  houses for its artifacts and equipment, partially as archival
  space for records and files and partially as cells for prisoners.
  The Wyld Hunt are executioners, not jailers, but they
  recognize the need for interrogation upon occasion.
  Ceremony Levels: The ground and second floors of the
  Manse contains interview rooms, offices, antechambers
  and other areas where the various arms of the Office of
  Harmony can interact. These levels are also where the
  servants of the Dragon-Blooded prepare meals, repair
  armor and provide other services for their masters.
  Tenementary Levels: The third and fourth floor of the
  Manse contain the living quarters of the shikari. At its
  peak, the Office of Harmony hosted more than 50 Dragon-
  Blooded. Today, fewer than half of its shikari actually live
  in the Spire and devote themselves full time to the calling
  of the Hunt. The rooms of these levels are not huge, but
  they are large enough to allow the shikari to live in
  moderate comfort. Most are now empty, left for visitors to
  the Spire or shared by the servants of the Dragon-Blooded.
  Lyceum Level: The fifth floor of the Manse is centered
  around the Hearthroom, which takes up much of the level.
  The rest of this floor is devoted to the Office of Harmony’s
  planning and operations — discussion rooms for drawing
  up campaign plans, libraries of records and information,
  well-locked storerooms of jade and money for paying
  wages and expenses.
  Sortilege Level: At the very apex of the Manse are rooms
  dedicated to the workings of sorcery and astrology. These
  chambers are primarily the province of Mnemon Kehav
  (the Office of Harmony’s most powerful castigator, who
  studies sorcery and lore here, as well as summoning elementals
  and working rituals). It also houses the expensive and
  delicate astrological tools used by the Office of Harmony’s
  seers and their Sidereal controller Pymander Seven (see
  below). He and his assistants can often be found here
  drawing up the horoscope of one Anathema or another.
  All of the levels are linked by a triad of central
  staircases, with ceilings 20 feet high. Winds and breezes
  constantly blow through the Manse, but its design ensures
  that the winds always play above the 15-foot mark of each
  level, leaving papers and torches undisturbed. Doors allow
  access to the outside of the Manse on every level, but
  climbing up and down from the outside is difficult.
  The Azimuth Spire has a demon cage (see Savant and
  Sorcerer, p. 72) located below the Oubliette Level, in a
  ritual chamber guarded at all times by four ancillary
  soldiers, forbidden to enter on pain of their deaths and the
  deaths of their families. The cage is constructed from high-
  quality materials, but it does not give any bonuses to
  summoning efforts. A similar chamber on the Sortilege
  Level houses an elemental snare (see Savant and Sorcerer,
  p. 76) of equal quality. This is less heavily guarded, and the
  two soldiers before its door sacrifice only their own lives if
  they should enter.
  The Office of Harmony is not fully contained within
  the Azimuth Spire. Outbuildings and houses are arrayed
  around the Manse for a mile and contained by a 12-foot-
  high wooden fence. These buildings include barracks and
  homes for the administrators, soldiers and ancillary staff, as
  well as workshops, offices, training grounds, storehouses,
  stables and other locations. A set of pagodas at the eastern-
  most side of the compound is reserved for the astrologers
  and thaumaturges, and the mortal staff give this area a wide
  berth. On the southern side of the compound is a temple
  for the Immaculate Order, the largest structure in the
  reserve (other than the Manse itself). Services and cer-
  emonies are conducted here regularly by both Immaculate
  shikari and the mortal monks who assist in the Office of
  Harmony’s operations.
  Outside of the compound walls, the staff and monks
  maintain a number of small farms and herds of pigs to feed
  the shikari. Just to the north of the compound, Cathak
  Setod maintains a small olive plantation as his only hobby.
  Monks tend to the olive vines and press high-quality oil
  from their fruit, which is then distributed privately to the
  other chapters of the Wyld Hunt. The Office of Harmony’s
  plantation has had a better harvest than other local farms
  of late, thanks to the hard work of the monks and the
  Essence-rich soil around the Manse. This good fortune is
  just another reason why the local farmers are coming to
  resent the Office of Harmony’s presence in the area.
  SECURITY
  While it’s considered unlikely that the Anathema
  would ever strike at the Office of Harmony on their home
  soil, such an event is not impossible, and so, the Wyld
  Hunt treats the security of the Azimuth and the Office of
  Harmony very seriously.
  A full talon of soldiers is seconded to the Office of
  Harmony’s service. Five fangs patrol the Azimuth Spire
  itself at any one time, and patrol groups are swapped
  around every five hours, staggered so one fresh patrol
  comes on duty every hour. Another five fangs patrol the
  compound grounds, while three more guard the gate that
  is the only way in and out of the compound. Four fangs are
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  stationed at Yarrowstalk, and the remaining eight fangs
  patrol both the lands between the city and the Manse and
  a 10-mile radius around the compound. Every patrol
  group is rotated into a new role every two weeks.
  The gate to the Office of Harmony compound is
  flanked by two guard towers, 15 feet high and reinforced
  with stone, each housing a heavy ballista. Eight more
  heavy ballistae are stationed on the outside of the Azi-
  muth Spire, one at each corner on the Tenementary
  Levels. At the very top of the Spire, on a turret atop the
  Sortilege Level, is a large Essence cannon (see Exalted:
  The Outcaste, p. 52), which can be manned by any of the
  Dragon-Blooded in a crisis. (Pymander Seven knows how
  to use it but would only do so in the most outlandishly dire
  of circumstances.)
  Finally, the Azimuth Spire boasts supernatural defend-
  ers. Six lion dogs (see Games of Divinity, pp. 45-46) patrol
  the Manse at all times, stationed there by an agreement
  brokered by the Immaculate Order and the Sidereal Exalted
  with the Celestial Bureaucracy. Only the Dragon-Blooded
  (and Pymander Seven) are aware of these spirit guardians,
  which do not reveal themselves to the mortal staff of the
  Office of Harmony. Four patrol the Manse in spirit forms at
  all times, while two others stand materialized and motion-
  less as statues at the entrance to the lower Ceremony Level.
  The pairs swap over each week, and some soldiers have
  found themselves wondering if a statue was in the exact same
  place yesterday or not. The lion dogs are bound to stay silent
  about the existence of the Sidereal Exalted and Pymander
  Seven in particular — a loathsome burden, since they
  despise the odious Sidereal and hold greater respect for the
  brave shikari of the Wyld Hunt.
  The Wyld Hunt also has its own division of seers
  quartered at the Azimuth Spire, led by the accom-
  plished Immaculate priest and astrologer Pymander
  Seven. This savant is, in fact, a member of the Sidereal
  Exalted, assigned to the Office of Harmony by the
  Bronze Faction in order to guide and direct it to where
  its efforts are most useful.
  RESOURCES
  In happier — well, busier — times, the Office of
  Harmony maintained an arsenal of artifacts, weapons
  and treasures that the gods themselves might have en-
  vied. Those days are long past, though, and the
  demon-slaying weapons of the Dragon-Blooded are in
  short supply. The Office of Harmony still has a worthy
  collection of artifacts and equipment, but it’s a shadow of
  its former size, and the chapter’s exarch and ostiaries are
  regularly forced to return items to the correctors for use
  elsewhere — or even back to the Great Houses that have
  reneged on their donations.
  In addition to the magical treasures held by the
  Office of Harmony, almost every shikari in the chapter
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  138
  bears a satrap’s ransom in artifact weapons, armor and
  tools. These items are generally the personal property of
  the shikari, owned by herself or her property — or in the
  case of Immaculate monks, often possessed directly by the
  Order and the Mouth of Peace. These items are also
  tracked and catalogued but, for the most part, are not
  indirectly owned by the Great Houses. These are the most
  basic tools of the Wyld Hunt, and the shikari will not leave
  themselves utterly defenseless.
  MUNDANE EQUIPMENT
  For all their usefulness, non-magical tools are too
  common for the Immaculate Order and the Great Houses
  to reclaim, even in these dark times. All of the Office of
  Harmony’s mundane equipment — from the weapons and
  armor of its soldiers to the ploughs pulled by its farmers —
  are the property of the Order and the houses, but no one
  cares about such minor things.
  Among the mundane items that are kept administra-
  tively separate are a number of exceptionally crafted
  weapons (primarily slashing swords and self bows), which
  may be distributed to the Office of Harmony’s soldiers in
  the event of a crisis. Also separate are the expensive ships
  supplied to the Office of Harmony for its transport needs:
  two coastal traders (see Savage Seas, pp. 55-56) and two
  large yachts (see Savage Seas, p. 54) docked at Yarrowstalk.
  Should the Office of Harmony have to move large num-
  bers of troops and staff en masse, it also has two large
  merchant ships (see Savage Seas, pp. 57-58) maintained
  by the Immaculate Order in Arjuf. These ships are too
  large to travel up the Caracal, but troops and shikari can be
  sent to the coastal city and take control of the ships there.
  ONE-DOT ARTIFACTS
  Only one step above mundane equipment, the Im-
  maculate Order still has storehouses full of these minor
  relics. For the most part, the Office of Harmony keeps few
  such items, simply because their uses are so limited. Cur-
  rently, the arsenal holds:
  • Two jade collars of dawn’s cleansing light (see Savant
  and Sorcerer, p. 40)
  • Two cords of winds (see Savage Seas, pp. 125-126)
  • A Hearthstone compass (see Aspect Book: Earth, p. 79)
  • Two mundane boxes (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 76)
  • A veil of privacy (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 76)
  • Three windslave disks (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 76)
  Other one-dot artifacts can often be obtained with a
  few weeks of waiting for paperwork to be processed; these
  are just the items currently held at the Azimuth Spire.
  TWO-DOT ARTIFACTS
  Though these miracles are more scarce than the most
  basic artifacts, the Hunt still holds many such items.
  However, these artifacts are some of the most useful, and
  so, they are constantly in demand.
  • A compass of immanent strife (see Exalted: The
  Outcaste, p. 92)
  • Two fuel bolt launchers (see the Exalted Players Guide,
  p. 254)
  • Two plasma tongue repeaters (see the Exalted Players
  Guide, p. 254)
  • A shock pike (see Exalted: The Outcaste, p. 51)
  • A set of spider grippers (see Caste Book: Night, p. 79)
  • A set of steelsilk sails (see Savage Seas, p. 124)
  • A whistle of ghost summoning (see Caste Book: Twi-
  light, p. 79)
  • A windwall terminal (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 77)
  THREE-DOT ARTIFACTS
  Mighty but still fairly common, the Hunt used to have
  many such devices. They are the class of gear whose return
  was most readily demanded by the Great Houses. Now, the
  Hunt has only a handful, and they are not deployed if they
  will not almost certainly return to the Hunt.
  • Two sets of arrows of distant death (see Caste Book:
  Dawn, p. 81)
  • A belt of shadow walking (see Caste Book: Night, p. 80)
  • A jade Circlet of Spirits (see Caste Book: Night, p. 80)
  • A jade dark rider (see The Book of Three Circles, p. 94)
  • An eye of the living earth (see Caste Book: Twilight,
  p. 80)
  • A fire lance (see Exalted: The Outcaste, p. 53)
  • The Mirrors of Illusion-Shattering (see Caste Book:
  Twilight, p. 80)
  • An emerald sorcery-capturing cord (see Caste Book:
  Twilight, p. 81)
  FOUR-DOT ARTIFACTS
  The Office of Harmony has only a scant handful of
  these precious and expensive artifacts, and these items are
  only used when absolutely necessary.
  • A jade ring of being (see Savant and Sorcerer, pp. 41-42)
  • The Most Terrifying Armor of the Air Dragon (see
  Exalted: The Outcaste, pp. 54-56)
  • A chariot of the infinite heavens (see Exalted: The
  Outcaste, pp. 62-63)
  • A large Essence cannon, part of the Azimuth Spire’s
  defenses (see Exalted: The Outcaste, p. 52)
  • A reaver dragonfly (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 81)
  • A set of wings of the raptor (see Savant and Sorcerer,
  pp. 42-43)
  FIVE-DOT ARTIFACTS
  These powerful artifacts are the prized possessions of
  the Great Houses and far too powerful to leave in the
  hands of the Immaculate Order at this time. The Office of
  Harmony might be able to borrow some five-dot artifacts
  for a short time under dire circumstances, but such loans
  carry a price in obligations (and often come with condi-
  tions and custodians).
  
  139
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  The Office of Harmony does have one five-dot arti-
  fact on “permanent loan” — a chariot of aerial conquest
  (see Caste Book: Dawn, p. 78, and Exalted: The Outcaste,
  p. 63), which is kept secured and guarded in one of the
  outbuildings of the Azimuth compound (a lion dog checks
  on it once every hour). Because the Office of Harmony’s
  duties carry it far and wide across Creation, it needs
  constant ready access to such a fantastic vehicle, which
  can transport Exalts and soldiers to a crisis within hours.
  The chariot is the property of Mnemon herself and could
  be recalled by her at a moment’s notice. The fact that she
  has not yet done so may mean that she is happy for it to be
  used for such holy work — or, more likely, that she wants
  to keep it as leverage for some future occasion.
  EXALTED OF THE OFFICE OF HARMONY
  The following Storyteller characters are some of the
  major operatives and shikari of the Office of Harmony.
  Each description notes the character’s rank and position
  within the Wyld Hunt, as well as her particular fieldwork
  specialization. The five elder, hosted Dragon-Blooded are
  exceptionally powerful characters, each built on 300-400
  SIDEREAL ASTROLOGY EFFECTS
  Unbeknownst to the Dragon-Blooded members of the Office of Harmony, their Immaculate astrologer
  Pymander Seven is one of the Sidereal Exalted, and his astrology is far more powerful than that of any mortal
  savant. As well as keeping them informed of the Exaltation of new Solars, Seven has devised astrological blessings
  and effects for many of the shikari.
  The following effects are standard blessings that Pymander Seven might bestow on a given member of the
  Wyld Hunt, depending on the shikari’s strengths and Abilities. These blessings are normally designed to last for
  up to a decade before expiring.
  Blissful Idiot Blessing of the Mask: +1 success in an opposed test involving lies, trickery or deception, given to
  inquisitors who gather firsthand information on the Anathema.
  Blissful Idiot Blessing of the Quiver: +1 success in an opposed test involving tactics and strategy, bestowed on
  field commanders and venerers in charge of cadres.
  Blissful Idiot Blessing of the Sorcerer: +1 success in the opposed Willpower + Essence test made when
  summoning demons and elementals, bestowed on any castigator who summons such beings.
  Fortified Spirit Blessing of the Sword: +1 to effective Valor in the first Valor test a wounded shikari makes in
  a scene. This blessing is given to those harriers tough enough to survive an Anathema’s attack and keep fighting.
  Hound-Chases-Rabbit Blessing of the Quiver: This restores a point of temporary Willpower the first time the
  recipient successfully attacks an Anathema target using a bow. It is bestowed on harriers who make heavy use of
  Archery Charms.
  Hound-Chases-Rabbit Blessing of the Sorcerer: This effect restores a point of the recipient’s Willpower the first
  time she cast a spell in a scene. Pymander Seven bestows this blessing on every castigator in the Office of Harmony
  (and on himself).
  Because it is much easier to effect mortals with Sidereal astrology than other Exalts, the ancillary soldiers of
  the Office of Harmony are affected by a single effect, a Fortified Spirit Blessing of the Spear. They gain a +1 to
  their effective Valor the first time in a scene that they are forced to make a Valor check due to the powers of one
  of the Anathema (such as the Dawn Caste’s anima power or the Terrifying Apparition of Glory Charm).
  In addition to these general effects, specific blessings and effects are listed for many of the Storyteller
  characters described in this chapter.
  (or more) experience points. Storytellers can use these
  characters as effective antagonists and enemies for experi-
  enced groups of Celestial Exalted or as mentors and
  guardians for Dragon-Blooded characters. This also ap-
  plies to the powerful Sidereal Exalt Pymander Seven, who
  can make an excellent villain or a powerful (if petulant)
  mentor for other Sidereals. The five errant shikari are
  competent but not overwhelmingly skilled characters,
  built on around 150 experience points each. These hunters
  can be effective opponents for inexperienced Solar Circles,
  and they would also suit as friends, rivals and allies for
  Dragon-Blooded characters joining the Wyld Hunt.
  CATHAK SETOD
  Description: For more than 200 years, Cathak Setod
  has been a legendary hero of the Realm, a soldier, adven-
  turer and crusader. He was among those who fought the
  Anathema Jochim in Realm Year 585, and he led troops
  during the Bloodied Scythe Uprising. When he retired
  from the 26th Legion in RY 722 he joined the Office of
  Harmony, and the stories of his battles against the Lunar
  Anathema and their degenerate beastman hordes are
  widespread throughout the East even now. Over the last
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  140
  four decades, he has worked tirelessly in the Office of
  Harmony’s service, rising through the ranks of the Hunt
  until being named one of the Office of Harmony’s three
  ostiaries, despite the fact that he was a secular soldier
  rather than an Immaculate monk, for no one could match
  his experience or dedication to the cause of the Realm.
  In truth, Setod would as soon see the entire rotting
  cancer of the Scarlet Empire flushed away like so much
  sewage. He looks at the Realm and sees a corrupt, decadent
  waste of resources, ruled first by a dictatorial Empress and
  now by the greedy spasms of the Deliberative, all hemmed
  in by a religion that preaches servitude and the adoration
  of beings blessed with power only by an accident of birth.
  But his duty is to defend the Realm no matter how he feels
  about it, and to Cathak Setod, duty is his life, his mission,
  his god. For duty, he would march through lava, throw
  himself headlong from a mountain or wrestle unarmed
  with Lunars in the chaos of the Wyld — and he has done
  these things, and 100 more, over the course of his career.
  Cathak Setod is now 276 years old and approaching
  the end of his Exalted lifespan. And every day, he swallows
  his regrets, pushes his anger aside and concentrates on
  fulfilling his duty — to wage war against beings he no
  longer feels any kind of animosity toward, beings he
  sometimes hopes will tear down the Realm. Such feelings
  never cause him a moment’s hesitation in the field or the
  warroom, however. He will support the Office of Harmony
  to the best of his ability and carry on the campaign against
  the Anathema until his heart finally stops beating.
  Cathak Setod is a powerfully built Exalt, his earth-
  dark skin showing little sign of his age. He dresses simply,
  like a soldier rather than a Dynast, and his personal
  quarters are equally utilitarian. Only when preparing for
  combat will he don armor and weapons, but that act
  transforms him into an unstoppable juggernaut, able to
  withstand the mightiest attacks of the Anathema.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Hosted ostiary, harrier.
  Aspect: Earth
  Nature: Survivor
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 5, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 5, Temperance 3,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Archery 2, Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 2,
  Endurance 5, Linguistics (Native: High Realm; Forest-
  Tongue, Low Realm, Riverspeak) 3, Lore 2, Martial Arts
  5 (Clinches +2), Medicine 3, Melee 3, Occult 2 (Lunar
  Exalted +2, the Wyld +1), Performance 2, Presence 4,
  Resistance 5, Ride 3, Sail 2, Socialize 2, Survival 4 (Track-
  ing +1)
  Backgrounds: Artifact 5, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 5,
  Breeding 2, Command 3, Connections (The All-Seeing
  Eye) 2, Connections (House Cathak) 3, Connections
  (The Legions) 4, Connections (The Immaculate Order) 4,
  Connections (The Magistrates) 2, Connections (The
  Threshold) 3, Manse 5, Reputation 4, Resources 4
  Charms: Boulder-Crushing Grasp, Chaos-Warding Prana,
  Defense-From-Anathema Method, Earth Protection Form,
  Falling Rockslide Onslaught, Fortress of One, Hostile
  Environment Preparation Method, Impervious Skin of
  Stone Meditation, Jade Mountain Form, Ox-Body Tech-
  nique (x5), Pasiap Still Stands, Pillar of Marble Stance,
  Sliding Glacier Grip, Strength of Stone Technique,
  Unbreathing Earth Meditation, Uneating Earth Medita-
  tion, Unfeeling Earth Meditation, Unsleeping Earth
  Meditation, Wild-Wandering Forester Charm, Wood Pro-
  tection Form
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 4B Defense 9
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 8 Damage 6B Defense 8
  Jade Goremaul (Hundredweight): Speed 11 Accuracy 10
  Damage 10L Defense 10
  Dodge Pool: 6/4
  Soak: 17L/20B (Jade superheavy
  plate, 15L/15B, -2 mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-
  1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 5
  Personal Essence: 15
  Peripheral Essence: 21 (40)
  Committed Essence: 19
  Other Notes: Setod’s goremaul, Hundredweight, pos-
  sesses a number of special qualities. Whenever an opponent
  parries a blow from the goremaul, it can deliver a burst of
  force to tear the enemy’s weapon from her grasp. To use
  this ability, Setod spends 2 motes (after the strike is
  partially or fully parried), and his player makes a reflexive
  attack roll at difficulty 3. His opponent’s player must make
  
  141
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  a reflexive Strength + Melee or Martial Arts roll and gain
  at least as many successes as Setod’s player, or her character
  drops her weapon. An opponent hit by the goremaul resists
  stun, knockdown and knockback at +1 difficulty. Hun-
  dredweight is designed to complement Setod’s martial-arts
  style; not only can he make clinches and grabs while
  wielding it, but it provides an additional two dice to such
  maneuvers. The goremaul is an Artifact ••• weapon and
  requires 8 motes for attunement.
  In addition to Hundredweight, Setod wears a suit of jade
  superheavy plate and a shield bracer (see Caste Book:
  Dawn, p. 78). He bears numerous Hearthstones, the
  greatest of them the gemstone of sapphire and emerald
  produced by the Azimuth Spire, which is mounted on his
  goremaul. He also carries a precision of form gemstone (see
  Aspect Book: Earth, p. 79) in his shield bracer and a stone
  of the earthweb (see Caste Book: Night, p. 79) on his
  armor. Thanks to Sidereal astrology, he gains +1 success
  on his first opposed test to track an Exalt (using Survival)
  in a scene and regains a point of temporary Willpower the
  first time he is injured by an Exalt in a scene.
  Cathak Setod’s approach to combat is straightforward —
  take whatever his enemy can throw at him, and then strike
  the Anathema down when it is exhausted. When he enters
  combat, he bolsters his defenses beforehand, using (in
  order) Jade Mountain Form, Strength of Stone Technique
  and Impervious Skin of Stone Meditation (spending 3
  motes). This takes three turns and 10 motes of Essence,
  lowers his Dexterity to 3 (affecting his attack rolls and
  Initiative) and halves his movement speed, but it increases
  his Strength to 10, his Stamina to 11 and his soak to an
  immense 31 for both bashing and lethal damage. Depend-
  ing on circumstances, he may then activate
  Defense-From-Anathema Method and possibly Wood
  Protection Form (if facing Lunars, archers or Solar martial
  artists) or Earth Protection Form (if facing Anathema
  using artifact weapons). Once in melee range of his foe, his
  primary tactic is to lock the Anathema into a clinch, then
  to rend it with Boulder-Crushing Grasp and Falling
  Rockslide Onslaught or to restrain it with Sliding Glacier
  Grip while his teammates attack it mercilessly. If he needs
  to fight in a more traditional style, he rarely parries or
  dodges, instead making multiple attacks with Hundred-
  weight and trusting in his ability to weather the assault.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 11 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 10 Damage 7B Defense 6 Rate 3
  Jade Goremaul (Hundredweight): Speed 18 Accuracy 10
  Damage 10L (P) Defense 10 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 11/9
  Hardness: 4
  MNEMON KEHAV
  Description: When she was younger, Mnemon Kehav
  would have scoffed at the notion that she would one day
  join the Wyld Hunt, would have laughed aloud at the idea
  of living in a compound on some hillside far from the social
  whirl of the empire, would have become violently furious
  at the suggestion she would fall in love with a Cathak
  soldier of lower birth that was 100 years her senior.
  Time changes everyone, however, mortal and Exalt
  alike. For Kehav, that change came after she graduated
  from the Heptagram with honors, after she grew tired of
  the social games and affairs, after she looked back at 100
  years of her life and realized that she had done nothing
  meaningful. Years of study had given her the ability to
  rewrite Creation at her whim — and she had never put
  that power to good use. A moderately devout follower of
  the Immaculate faith, Kehav decided after some soul-
  searching to work for a few years with the Wyld Hunt, to
  do something useful for the Realm while searching for a
  grander purpose.
  In the end, the Wyld Hunt, meant as a way of filling
  time while she found a new direction, was the purpose for
  which she was looking. Kehav saw the horrors that Cre-
  ation could spawn and decided that defending humanity
  was a greater purpose than she had ever realized. Her
  attitude was a long way from idealism; it came from seeing
  the worst of Creation, not the best, and feeling that the
  Realm (for all its flaws) was better than the alternative.
  She reserves a special anger for the excesses of sorcerers,
  especially those who summon demons without proper care
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  142
  and unleash the poisons of Malfeas upon the world. If not
  for the discipline and direction of the Wyld Hunt, she
  suspects she might have been one of those arrogant and
  doomed fools herself.
  Mnemon Kehav has worked for the Office of Har-
  mony for 20 years but only devoted herself to it full-time
  eight years ago (partially to escape the pressure from her
  house to marry again and have children). She lends the
  Office of Harmony a rare intellect and a pragmatic view of
  Creation, always looking for the ulterior motives behind
  an Anathema’s activities or a house’s gift of artifacts. Her
  fellow shikari are her family now — and then, there is
  Cathak Setod, her immediate superior, with whom she has
  slowly and reluctantly fallen in love. She knows such a
  match is doomed to end in tragedy, that her family would
  not allow it, that Setod is married to his duty and will not
  allow himself to love — so she swallows her feelings and
  throws herself into her work all the harder.
  Mnemon Kehav is a middle-aged Exalt with the
  refined manners of a socialite and the pessimistic nature of
  a hardened soldier. Despite her devotion to the hard work
  of the Office of Harmony, she has never lost her taste for
  opulence and creature comforts. She dresses extremely
  well and outfits her personal quarters with luxuries.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Hosted venerer, castigator
  Aspect: Air
  Nature: Savant
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 4,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 2, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 2 (Wyld
  Hunt +1), Dodge 3, Endurance 2, Investigation 2, Linguis-
  tics (Native: High Realm; Flametongue, Forest-tongue,
  Low Realm, Riverspeak, Skytongue) 5, Lore 4 (Realm
  History +1), Martial Arts 2, Melee 3 (Swords +1), Occult
  5 (Demons +1, Spirits +2), Performance 2, Presence 4,
  Ride 2, Sail 1, Socialize 3 (Realm Politics +1), Thrown 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 3, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 4,
  Breeding 3, Command 2, Connections (The All-Seeing
  Eye) 3, Connections (The Deliberative) 2, Connections
  (The Heptagram) 4, Connections (House Mnemon) 4,
  Connections (The Immaculate Order) 3, Connections
  (The Thousand Scales) 2, Connections (The Threshold)
  2, Manse 3, Reputation 2, Resources 4
  Charms: Cipher Missive, Dragon-Graced Weapon, Five-
  fold Resonance Sense, Language-Learning Ritual,
  Loquacious Courtier Technique, Minding the Dragon’s
  Eggs, Ox-Body Technique, Precision Observation Method,
  Sight-Riding Technique, Speech Without Words, Spirit-
  Chaining Strike, Spirit-Detecting Mirror Technique,
  Spirit-Grounding Shout, Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Thou-
  sand Tongues Meditation, Voices on the Wind, Whirl-
  wind Shield Form, Wind-Carried Words Technique
  Spells: Demon of the First Circle, Emerald Circle Banish-
  ment, Emerald Countermagic, Flying Guillotine, Hound
  of the Five Winds, Paralyzing Contradiction, Ritual of
  Elemental Empowerment, The Spy Who Walks in Dark-
  ness, Summon Elemental, Virtuous Guardian of Flame
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 6 Damage 3B Defense 6
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 5 Damage 5B Defense 5
  Spirit Sword: Speed 12 Accuracy 11 Damage 7L Defense 10
  Dodge Pool: 9
  Soak: 7L/7B (Jade breastplate, 6L/4B)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Personal Essence: 15
  Peripheral Essence: 30 (42)
  Committed Essence: 12
  Other Notes: Mnemon Kehav wields a spirit sword (see
  Caste Book: Dawn, p. 80), although she rarely fights on
  the front lines. Set into the sword is a jewel of the flying
  heart (see Caste Book: Zenith, p. 79), while a gemstone
  of surface thoughts (see Savant and Sorcerer, p. 68) is
  socketed into her jade breastplate. Implanted into her left
  bicep is a skin-mount amulet (see Aspect Book: Earth, p.
  80) bearing a key of mastery (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 75).
  This amulet increases her Peripheral Essence pool by 6
  motes (already included above). She normally attunes the
  key of mastery to Summon Elemental or Demon of the
  First Circle when summoning and to Virtuous Guardian of
  Flame when planning for combat. Due to Pymander Seven
  she regains a point of temporary Willpower the first time
  she casts a spell in a scene, and her effective Valor increases
  by 1 the first time each scene that she channels it in an
  attack or spell cast against a demon.
  Before entering combat, Mnemon Kehav first protects
  herself and her cadre (if possible) with Whirlwind Shield
  Form, then enhances battlefield communications with
  Speech Without Words. She next casts Virtuous Guard-
  ian of Flame, its Essence cost reduced by 8 motes due to her
  Key of Mastery. This takes a total of four turns, 1 Will-
  power and at least 22 motes (+2 for each ally affected by
  her two Charms), allows for speechless communication
  between Kehav and her comrades, subtracts four successes
  from any ranged attack made against her (and any ally
  affected) and grants her a free nine-dice parry against up to
  four melee attacks each turn. Once in combat, she fights
  defensively, dodging if her mystical defenses are not enough,
  while working to neutralize opponents using Emerald
  Countermagic, Paralyzing Contradiction or (if fighting
  spirits) Spirit-Grounding Shout and Spirit-Chaining Strike.
  She picks off powerful opponents at long range using
  Flying Guillotine, resorting to melee combat only if forced.
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  Kehav’s most significant contribution to the Hunt’s efforts
  are the demons and elementals she summons. These fall
  into two categories: spirits that aid the Office of Harmony
  in locating the Anathema or predatory spirits to fight in
  battle. When summoning elementals, Kehav usually sum-
  mons cloud people, huruka, jokun, need fires, thunderbirds
  and, occasionally, brine curs. For demonic servitors, she
  uses amphelisiae, anuhles, erymanthoi, luminita and
  tomescu, though she may occasionally summon an agata to
  ride. She rarely summons elementals (and never demons)
  with significant powers over the minds of mortals, as she
  feels that the risks of those abilities outweigh the benefits.
  Cautious to a fault, Kehav never summons a demon or
  elemental without developing a specific summoning ritual
  first (see Exalted, p. 249). Attuning her key of mastery to
  whichever spell she uses, she then spends all her remaining
  motes of Essence on reducing the Willpower + Essence roll
  of the summoned creature (40 motes and -8 dice for
  elementals, 30 motes and -6 dice for demons). Kehav only
  binds demons and elementals for specific tasks and Hunts,
  rather than indefinite servitude, and banishes them as
  soon as their duty is fulfilled.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 7 Damage 3B Defense 8 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 6B Defense 3 Rate 3
  Spirit Sword: Speed 15 Accuracy 12 Damage 9L Defense
  9 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 13
  PELEPS NAJAH, THE NONPAREIL
  Description: The magistrates of the Scarlet Empire
  have always been a motley lot, even before the disap-
  pearance of the Empress. Many have been scoundrels
  and extortionists, worse than the criminals they theo-
  retically hunted. Certainly some were worthy Exalts,
  doing their best to serve the Realm, but even they have
  had their flaws and weaknesses, their little corruptions.
  Common wisdom has it that even the best magistrates
  are dishonorable loose cannons, not to be fully trusted
  no matter the circumstances.
  Well, except for Peleps Najah of course. Every child
  of the Realm knows the stories of the Nonpareil, the
  incorruptible monster slayer who held honor and the
  service of the Realm above all other concerns. But she
  must have retired by now — if she ever really existed out
  of tavern tales and children’s games, that is.
  Peasants and citizens may doubt, but the stories are
  true. Peleps Najah is perhaps the most famed magistrate of
  all time, an itinerant Immaculate monk who entered the
  Empress’ service rather than see any more wickedness
  loosed upon Creation. For nearly 100 years, she walked the
  Realm, slaying monsters and bandits and accepting no
  more reward than lodging and a chance to preach the word
  of the Immaculate Dragons. During that time, she also
  worked with the Wyld Hunt whenever the opportunity
  arose, the better to serve the empire. She only retired from
  her magistrate role when the Empress vanished, and then,
  it was only to (fruitlessly and rather clumsily) investigate
  her disappearance. Her membership in the Office of Har-
  mony was something of a foregone conclusion. Few other
  Exalts in Creation are as resolute, as fearless and as driven
  as the Nonpareil in the defense of the Realm.
  (Some unkind members of the Dragon-Blooded might
  comment that Peleps Najah’s fearlessness and incorrupt-
  ibility are as much due to a lack of imagination and wit as
  they are to moral fiber. There’s something in that, but only
  a fool would ever say such a thing to her face — or to
  anyone who has ever met her and seen the flame of courage
  and pious certitude that burns around her. Some people are
  legends for a reason.)
  Knowing neither fear nor doubt, Peleps Najah is one
  of the greatest monster-slayers and Anathema-killers ever
  to wear the robes of an imperial magistrate. She does not
  relish combat and the threat of death, but nor will she ever
  retreat from the duties of her position and the safety of the
  Realm. On the battlefield, she is a burning comet of
  destruction, unleashing fire and death in every direction.
  Her personal code of honor is strong, and she believes
  wholeheartedly in the right to honorable and single com-
  bat — but not, of course, with the Anathema, who are
  soulless monsters that must be cut down like dogs. A
  particularly honey-tongued Exalt might be able to per-
  suade her otherwise, in the right circumstances — in
  which case she would demand that her comrades stand
  down while she faced the Anathema alone. Whether or
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  144
  not they would obey her is a question that has yet to be
  asked, let alone answered.
  The Nonpareil is a direct, plain-spoken Immaculate
  monk, dressed in traditional and unassuming robes. Her
  words are often simple and direct, unlikely to inspire — until
  she speaks of the Immaculate Order, the divine mandate of
  the Empress and the need for all inhabitants of the Realm to
  stand against the darkness each and every day.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Hosted venerer, harrier
  Aspect: Fire
  Nature: Paragon
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 4, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3, Perception 2, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 4, Temperance 4,
  Valor 5
  Abilities: Archery 2, Athletics 5 (Acrobatics +2), Dodge
  5 (Melee Attacks +3), Endurance 2, Linguistics (Native:
  High Realm; Flametongue, Low Realm, Seatongue) 3,
  Lore 2 (Realm Law +2), Martial Arts 5 (Multiple Oppo-
  nents +2), Melee 3, Performance 3, Presence 4 (Righteous
  Passion +2), Resistance 2 (Ignore Pain +1), Ride 2, Sail 2,
  Socialize 3, Stealth 2, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 3, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 4,
  Breeding 4, Command 2, Connections (The All-Seeing
  Eye) 1, Connections (House Peleps) 4, Connections (The
  Immaculate Order) 4, Connections (The Magistrates) 5,
  Connections (The Threshold) 2, Familiar 5, Manse 4,
  Reputation 4
  Charms: Aura of Invulnerability, Bellows-Pumping Stride,
  Breath of the Fire Dragon, Consuming Might of the Fire
  Dragon, Dancing Ember Stride, Effortlessly Rising Flame,
  Essence-Igniting Nerve Strike, Falling Star Maneuver,
  Fiery Hand Attack, Fire Dragon Form, Flame-Flicker
  Stance, Flash-Fire Technique, Flickering Candle Medita-
  tion, Glowing Coal Radiance, Incense Smoke Ladder,
  Overwhelming Fire Majesty Stance, Ox-Body Technique
  (x2), Perfect Blazing Blow, Safety Among Enemies, Sear-
  ing Fist Attack, Smoke Obscuring Effect, Smoldering
  Wound Attack, Spirit Sight, Spirit Walking, Threshold
  Warding Stance
  Combos:
  Righteous Purity Conflagration (Cost: 4 motes, 1 Will-
  power + 1 mote per two dice of damage): Falling Star
  Maneuver, Smoldering Wound Attack — Najah launches
  into a somersaulting leap toward her enemy, spiraling tightly
  into the air as her weapons glow with intense white heat. The
  devastating blow she lands burns so fiercely that the wound then
  blackens and melts, bleeding ashes and Essence. Najah uses this
  as her opening move in combat against powerful opponents,
  sometimes enhanced by Perfect Blazing Blow.
  Base Initiative: 11
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 10
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 9
  Paired Jade Short Daiklaves (Honor and Responsibility):
  Speed 14 Accuracy 12 Damage 9L Defense 13
  Dodge Pool: 10
  Soak: 7L/7B (Silken armor, 5L/3B,
  counts as natural soak)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Personal Essence: 15
  Peripheral Essence: 39 (23)
  Committed Essence: 16
  Other Notes: The Nonpareil knows the ways of all weap-
  ons, but prefers to fight with her two short dailies. She
  wears silken armor (see Caste Book: Eclipse, pp. 80-81)
  and jade Hearthstone bracers set with a gem of adamant
  skin. One daiklave bears a jewel of youthful suppleness
  (see Caste Book: Twilight, p. 79), the other a kata-
  sculpting gem (see Aspect Book: Earth, p. 78). Sidereal
  blessings let her regain a point of temporary Willpower the
  first time in a scene that an enemy attempts to hit her in
  melee and fails.
  When preparing for combat, Peleps Najah uses (in order)
  Fire Dragon Form, Aura of Invulnerability, Bellows-Pump-
  ing Stride and, finally, Smoke Obscuring Effect (using 2
  motes to add up to four dice to each chosen ally). This takes
  three turns and costs at least 9 motes, plus one additional
  mote for each ally benefiting from Smoke Obscuring
  Effect. This gives Najah five automatic successes on all her
  Dodge rolls, lets her move at double her normal speed,
  increases her soak to 8L/8B and gives her three additional
  -0 health levels. Once combat is joined, Najah takes full
  advantage of her mobility, moving through to avoid dan-
  ger and focus her attacks where they are most needed. She
  begins her onslaught with her Righteous Purity Conflagra-
  tion Combo, then each turn, makes two attacks (enhanced
  with Perfect Blazing Blow or Falling Star Maneuver) and
  two dodges (enhanced with Flickering Candle Meditation
  or Safety Among Enemies). If her opponents prove excep-
  tionally powerful, she uses Consuming Might of the Fire
  Dragon to make them pay dearly for defying the Immacu-
  late Order. Najah will only retreat from the field if the
  Hunt is clearly and undeniably losing, and only then
  because the protection of her cadre demands her presence.
  If necessary, she uses Dancing Ember Stride to escape,
  moving at high speed while defending her retreat with
  Flame-Flicker Stance.
  Peleps Najah’s familiar is Blood of Tyrants, a claw strider
  (see Creatures of the Wyld, p. 31). This reptile stands six
  feet at the shoulder and is nearly 20 feet long, a smaller (but
  still massive) version of a tyrant lizard. Because claw
  striders are tough, fast and strong, Najah occasionally rides
  Blood of Tyrants into battle, although she rarely stays
  mounted for long, preferring to fight on her feet. While she
  does so, Blood of Tyrants rampages through enemy lines,
  harassing the Anathema and slaughtering their cultists.
  
  145
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  The claw strider can communicate with Najah and share
  its senses with her, allowing her to gain a fuller image of
  battlefield events. It also has a special Essence reserve of 5
  motes that Najah can draw from with a touch; for this
  reason, the beast stays close to its mistress while she
  prepares for battle, so that she can absorb its Essence after
  using her scene-long Charms (see above).
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 11 Damage 4B Defense 12 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 11 Damage 7B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Paired Jade Short Daiklaves (Honor and Responsibility):
  Speed 17 Accuracy 14 Damage 8L Defense 11 Rate 6
  Dodge Pool: 17
  ISELSI OSUJA
  Description: The legend of Peleps Najah is a wide-
  spread and enduring one. But almost no one recalls the
  Nonpareil’s partner in her wandering century, the fellow
  magistrate who directed her passion where it would do the
  most good. That suits Iselsi Osuja just fine and gives her no
  little amusement. The quiet, quick-witted and earthy
  counterpart to her friend’s fiery energy, Osuja was never
  the monster-hunting type. Instead, her career as a magis-
  trate was a rarity. She actually solved the crimes she
  investigated, rather than pocketing bribes and pointing
  the finger at the most convenient suspects. She and Peleps
  Najah have been the best of friends for over a century,
  since they first met in the Palace Sublime as postulants.
  And though she is not as legendary (or honest) as her
  friend, she is just as dedicated to the Realm and to the
  battle against the Anathema.
  While Iselsi Osuja is an Immaculate monk, and a
  devout one at that, she also possesses a streak of common
  sense a mile wide and can mask or deny her religious
  beliefs as necessary. Such a combination of intelligence,
  subterfuge and relentless combat skill is rare, and the
  Office of Harmony puts it to good use. Iselsi Osuja is
  likely to be found in disguise in the field, masquerading
  as an itinerant beggar or a naïve mortal monk, asking
  innocent questions about the Anathema and their opera-
  tions. When she finally shucks her façade, she usually
  returns to the Office to correlate the data with her
  superiors — but if circumstances dictate, she may take up
  her razor claws and face the Anathema in person rather
  than let it escape from sight.
  Iselsi Osuja is a short, muscular woman with broad
  features, nothing like the image most people have of an
  Immaculate monk. That’s just the way she (and the Office
  of Harmony) like it, and more fool anyone who underes-
  timates her because of it.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Hosted venerer, inquisitor
  Aspect: Water
  Nature: Explorer
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2, Perception 5, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 4, Temperance 2,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 2, Awareness 3 (Fair Folk
  +2), Bureaucracy 4 (Uncovering Corruption +1), Dodge
  3, Endurance 2, Investigation 5 (Deduction +1), Larceny
  5 (Disguise +2), Linguistics (Native: High Realm; Low
  Realm, Riverspeak) 2, Lore 3 (Realm Law +1), Martial
  Arts 5, Melee 1, Occult 2, Performance 2, Presence 4, Ride
  2, Sail 2, Socialize 3, Stealth 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 3, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 4,
  Breeding 2, Command 2, Connections (The All-Seeing
  Eye) 2, Connections (House Iselsi) 2, Connections (The
  Immaculate Order) 3, Connections (The Magistrates) 3,
  Connections (Outlaw) 2, Connections (The Thousand
  Scales) 2, Connections (The Threshold) 2, Manse 3,
  Reputation 2
  Charms: All-Encompassing Earth Sense, Bloodhound’s
  Nose Technique, Crashing Wave Style, Distracting Breeze
  Meditation, Drowning-in-Blood Technique, Ears of the
  Snowy Owl, Elemental Bolt Attack, Falsehood Unearth-
  ing Attitude, Flow Reversal Strike, Flowing Water Defense,
  Hurricane-Predicting Glance, Indisputable Physical Analy-
  sis Technique, Loquacious Courtier Technique, Observer
  Awareness Method, Ox-Body Technique (x2), Precision
  Observation Method, Revelation of Associates Hunch,
  Rippling Water Strike, Scent-of-Crime Method, Shrug-
  ging Water Dragon Escape, Spirit Sight, Spirit Walking,
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  146
  Theft-of-Essence Method, Trackless Passage Style, Water
  Dragon Form, Window-in-the-Door Technique
  Combos:
  Tsunami of Retribution (Cost: 8 motes, 1 Willpower):
  Crashing Wave Style, Drowning-in-Blood Technique —
  Osuja’s hands blur as she relentlessly slashes at her opponent,
  hitting him over and over again with the strength of a tidal wave.
  Blood-tinged water gushes from the target’s mouth with each
  strike, his lungs exploding under the pressure. Osuja uses this
  Combo as her initial attack upon a powerful target, who may
  be weakened or killed outright by its debilitating effects —
  however, particularly powerful Anathema may resist the attack
  and suffer no damage.
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 4B Defense 9
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 8 Damage 6B Defense 8
  Jade Razor Claws (Tideclaws): Speed 12 Accuracy 10
  Damage 8L Defense 11
  Dodge Pool: 7/6
  Soak: 9L/14B (Jade reinforced buff
  jacket, 7L/10B, -1 mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Personal Essence: 13
  Peripheral Essence: 28 (33)
  Committed Essence: 5
  Other Notes: Iselsi Osuja fights with jade razor claws (see
  Caste Book: Dawn, pp. 78-79), one of which houses a gem
  of wise discernment (see Caste Book: Eclipse, p. 79), and
  wears a jade reinforced buff jacket inset with a mind-
  cleansing gem (see Caste Book: Twilight, p. 77). On her
  left hand she wears a death shield ring (see Caste Book:
  Zenith, p. 80), set with a stone of the spider’s eye (see
  Aspect Book: Air, p. 75). Sidereal astrology increases her
  effective Conviction by 1 the first time she channels it in
  an attack against one of the Fair Folk. She also gains +1
  success on her first opposed test against an effect generated
  by an artifact in a scene.
  Few of Osuja’s Charms are long lasting, so her preparation
  for combat is limited to using Water Dragon Form. This
  normally takes one turn (if she succeeds in her Dexterity
  + Martial Arts roll to assume the Form) and costs 5 motes.
  It increases her soak to 16L/20B for the rest of the scene
  and allows her to spend Essence to increase her soak when
  attacked (1 mote for every +2 soak). It also increases the
  accuracy of her strikes by five dice, which is the maximum
  increase she can gain from Charms — this removes the
  need to use further dice-adding Charms and frees her
  Essence pool for other effects. In the first turn of combat,
  she uses Flowing Water Defense for additional protection,
  then opens up with her Tsunami of Retribution Combo. If
  an opponent is exceptionally powerful, she softens him up
  with Theft-of-Essence Method before using Flow Reversal
  Strike or Element Bolt Attack. Because Osuja has a large
  supply of free Essence (and can gain more using Theft-of-
  Essence Method), she uses her Charms freely in combat.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 11 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 10 Damage 7B Defense 6 Rate 3
  Jade Razor Claws (Tideclaws): Speed 11 Accuracy 10
  Damage 9L Defense 10 Rate 6
  Dodge Pool: 11/10
  LEDAAL IDIKO
  Description: Ledaal Idiko is barely 100 years old and
  has spent almost his whole life in the service of the
  Immaculate Order. A quiet, likeable student, Idiko spent
  decades in peaceful contemplation of the world, occasion-
  ally joining other monks to aid in the Wyld Hunt before
  returning to the harmony of the monastery. He might have
  spent his entire life there in quiet worship, training horses
  and respecting the Immaculate Dragons.
  Unfortunately, the monastery where Idiko lived was
  in Thorns.
  The battle-hardened Immaculate warrior who dragged
  himself from the shadowlands was a far cry from the naïve
  monk who watched the undead overtake his city. The
  softness has been flensed from his soul — and with it, too
  much of the compassion and idealism he once held. He
  misses that compassion, that freedom to be gentle, but the
  world has moved on, and he must move with it. In the year
  after his escape from Thorns Idiko consulted at length with
  the savants of his house about the Deathlords and the
  undead, learning much about his new enemy (and further
  perfecting his martial skills on the side) before finally
  enlisting full-time with the Wyld Hunt.
  Three years later, the iron in Idiko’s soul is still there
  but not as hard and as sharp as it once was. The compas-
  sion he thought he had choked still lurks inside, weakening
  him by making him less than perfect. More and more, he
  wonders about the souls of the Anathema, the damna-
  tion that surely awaits them in Heaven and whether they
  might be redeemed rather than destroyed — yes, even the
  Abyssal Exalted and the servants of the Deathlords. The
  conflict between caring and conviction, between heart
  and head and soul, causes the young Exalt no little
  anguish, anguish he feels too weak and ashamed to
  confess. Instead, he forces himself to be strong, preaches
  the word of the Immaculate Order to the townsfolk of
  Yarrowstalk and sheds silent tears when alone in the
  stables of the Azimuth Spire.
  Ledaal Idiko is a young Immaculate monk with green
  dappled patterns faintly visible on his skin, reminiscent
  of leaves or the scales of a dragon. He breeds horses as a
  hobby and a way of contributing to the resources of the
  Office of Harmony, and he can often be found taming a
  
  147
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  horse — or some far stranger creature — within the
  Azimuth compound.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Hosted amercer, harrier
  Aspect: Wood
  Nature: Architect
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 3, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 3,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 5 (Against the Undead +1, Mounted
  +1), Athletics 4, Dodge 4, Endurance 2, Linguistics (Na-
  tive: High Realm; Low Realm, Riverspeak) 2, Lore 2,
  Martial Arts 5, Medicine 5 (Treating Disease +1), Melee
  3, Occult 2 (The Undead +2), Performance 3 (Flute +1),
  Presence 2, Resistance 2, Ride 5 (Training +1), Socialize
  2, Survival 3 (Shadowlands +2)
  Backgrounds: Artifact 3, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 4,
  Breeding 3, Command 1, Connections (Finance) 2, Con-
  nections (House Ledaal) 4, Connections (The Immaculate
  Order) 3, Connections (The Legions) 2, Connections
  (The Magistrates) 2, Connections (The Threshold) 2,
  Henchmen 2, Manse 3, Reputation 2
  Charms: Dance of the Jade Bridle, Death-Pattern Sensing
  Attitude, Disease-Banishing Technique, Dragon-Graced
  Weapon, Dragonfly Finds Mate, Eyes of the Wood Dragon,
  Flickering Candle Meditation, Great Heart Companion,
  Grievous Wound Alteration Energy, Harvest of the Hunter,
  Heaven-Gracing Leap, Infection-Banishing Prana, Life-
  Swelling Sap Strike, Mind-Over-Body Meditation,
  Ox-Body Technique, Scattered Pearl Hoof Falls, Seven-
  Year Swarm Volley, Soul-Marking Strike, Sparrow Dives
  at Hawk, Spirit-Rending Technique, Spirit Sight, Spirit
  Walking, Spirit-Wracking Method, Spring Follows Win-
  ter, Swallows Defend the Nest, Unbreakable Fascination
  Kata, Wood Dragon Form, Wood Dragon Succor, Wood
  Dragon Vitality, Wound-Closing Touch
  Combos:
  Upon the Thorns of Life (Cost: 3 motes, 1 Willpower +
  1 mote per arrow): Life-Swelling Sap Strike, Swallows
  Defend the Nest — Idiko’s arms blur like branches in a
  windstorm, as he draws and fires arrow after arrow. Liquid
  green Essence bursts from each arrow as it flies, transforming
  into vines and thorns that then explode outward when they strike
  dead flesh. Idiko uses this Combo against undead opponents but
  has learned the hard way not to bother attempting to attack
  Abyssal Exalted in this fashion.
  Base Initiative: 11
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 4B Defense 10
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 9
  Exceptional Slashing Sword: Speed 15 Accuracy 10 Dam-
  age 6L Defense 10
  Jade Long Powerbow (Thornflight): Speed 11 Accuracy
  11 Damage 7L + arrow type (Rate 3, Range 400)
  Dodge Pool: 9
  Soak: 7L/7B (Jade breastplate, 6L/4B)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Personal Essence: 14
  Peripheral Essence: 35 (22)
  Committed Essence: 13
  Other Notes: Ledaal Idiko carries the powerbow
  Thornflight, set with a precision of form gemstone (see
  Aspect Book: Earth, p. 79), a jade breastplate bearing a
  scintillating gem of ally’s embrace (see Aspect Book: Air,
  p. 75) and jade Hearthstone bracers socketed with a stone
  of the emerald rooster (see Caste Book: Zenith, p. 79). A
  quiver at his thigh carries target arrows, while a second
  quiver of target arrows and a quiver of frog crotch arrows
  are bound to the saddle of whatever mount he rides. When
  pressed into melee, he uses a sword that has been imbued
  with the essence of air through the Ritual of Elemental
  Empowerment (see Savant and Sorcerer, p. 114). If he
  commits a mote of Essence to the sword, it becomes rimed
  with frost, and its damage increases by +2L for the scene.
  He regains a point of temporary Willpower the first time he
  hits an Exalt target with an archery attack in a scene,
  thanks to a Sidereal blessing.
  Before entering combat, Idiko uses (in order) Wood Dragon
  Form, Death-Pattern Sensing Attitude, Eyes of the Wood
  Dragon and (if mounted, which he usually is) Great Heart
  Companion. This takes three turns and costs 11 motes and
  1 Willpower, after which Idiko regenerates damage (one
  bashing level per turn and one lethal level every two
  turns), may have his player make up to four free dodge rolls
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  148
  with his full pool each turn (at a cost of one mote per roll),
  does four dice of extra damage on his first Martial Arts
  attack (if made within the first five turns of combat) and
  rides a mount that will not bolt or panic even when
  damaged by his anima flare. To prevent damaging his
  mount early, Idiko uses motes from his Personal Essence
  pool before entering combat, only spending Peripheral
  motes when he must.
  Once combat is joined, Idiko splits his attention between
  sniping at opponents and defending his cadre while mov-
  ing around the battlefield on his mount. When attacking,
  he uses Eyes of the Wood Dragon, Spring Follows Winter
  and Swallows Defend the Nest to make multiple accurate,
  powerful attacks; he uses target arrows for preference and
  frog crotch arrows against unarmored martial artists. Idiko
  assists his teammates by warding off ranged attacks with
  Seven-Years Swarm Volley or mitigating their wounds
  with Grievous Wound Alteration Energy and Wood
  Dragon Succor, which he can use at a range of four yards
  thanks to his scintillating gem of ally’s embrace. For
  defense, he relies upon the free dodges of Death-Pattern
  Sensing Attitude and, if hit, pulls back to snipe while his
  wounds regenerate.
  Idiko has a talent for animal training and riding, made
  even stronger by his Charms. He prefers to fight while
  mounted, but rather than transport horses from the Azi-
  muth Spire to the lair of the Anathema, he instead tames
  a local creature to ride before battle is joined. He works his
  tracking skills to locate a suitable beast, then uses Dance
  of the Jade Bridle to rapidly bond with it. In the past, Idiko
  has ridden river dragons, tigers, hybrocs and even bizarre
  creatures such as furnace rhinos and komodo rats.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 11 Accuracy 11 Damage 4B Defense 12 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 8 Accuracy 11 Damage 7B Defense 7 Rate 3
  Exceptional Slashing Sword: Speed 18 Accuracy 10 Dam-
  age 8L Defense 9 Rate 2
  Dodge Pool: 16
  SESUS LOZON
  Description: It is not right, not proper, that a low-
  bred secular soldier should command something as holy
  as the Office of Harmony. Sesus Lozon will tell this to
  nearly anybody that will listen, after first swearing them
  to secrecy. Such oaths have little weight, and everybody
  in the Office of Harmony knows Lozon’s feelings by now.
  Such dissent is tolerated because Lozon is young and
  useful and not actually agitating to control the Office of
  Harmony himself. No, what he wants, what he dreams of,
  is a Hunt commanded by Peleps Najah, an Immaculate
  monk of perfect breeding and incomparable piety, while
  he acts as her strong right arm, a Hill-Crushing Hero
  fighting by her side against the Anathema. He has other
  dreams of the Nonpareil, does Sesus Lozon, but those are
  never to be admitted to another soul, even within the
  Order. Especially within the Order.
  Unfortunately for Lozon, piety and fervor do not
  automatically make one fit to command. That’s true of
  Peleps Najah, and she knows it; she has no interest in
  becoming an ostiary and has patiently explained this to
  her young admirer a dozen times. It’s also true of Sesus
  Lozon himself, who compensates for his lack of wit with
  dedication but has never realized that dedication alone is
  not enough. His family did, which is why he was firmly
  directed into the Immaculate Order from an early age.
  Now that he has risen to the role of an Immaculate monk,
  he has been gently pushed into the Wyld Hunt as a way
  of channeling his martial skills and unsubtle directness to
  the best possible use.
  It would be a mistake to dismiss Lozon as no more
  than a love-struck pup, though, and that is a mistake
  Cathak Setod is in danger of making. Lozon may be
  brash and foolish, but he is an experienced monk with
  exceptional martial skills — and a powerful and politi-
  cally influential family. Already, strings are being pulled
  and questions being asked about the appropriateness of
  Setod’s command. As yet, those questions have had no
  effect, but in the future, the Office of Harmony may find
  itself unsupported by House Sesus, perhaps even forced
  to elevate Peleps Najah to unwilling command. All to
  assuage the hero worship and unrequited, unspoken
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  worship of a wide-eyed monk with more muscle and
  infatuation than brains.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Errant shikari, harrier
  Aspect: Earth
  Nature: Follower
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 2, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 3 (Lifting +1), Awareness
  4, Craft (Stonework) 4, Dodge 2, Endurance 3, Lore 3,
  Martial Arts 4, Melee 2, Performance 2, Presence 2,
  Resistance 3 (Ignore Pain +1), Ride 3, Socialize 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 4, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 3,
  Breeding 3, Connections (High Society) 2, Connections
  (House Sesus) 4, Connections (The Immaculate Order) 3,
  Manse 3
  Charms: All-Encompassing Earth Sense, Earth Dragon
  Form, Flaw-Finding Examination, Force of the Mountain,
  Ox-Body Technique (x2), Precision Observation Method,
  Ramparts of Obedient Earth, Shaping Hand Style, Shat-
  tering Fist Strike, Sight-Destroying Method, Sight-Riding
  Technique, Spirit Sight, Spirit Walking, Stone-Carving
  Fingers Form, Stone Dragon’s Skin, Strength of Stone
  Technique, Unmoving Mountain Stance, Weapon-Break-
  ing Defense Technique
  Base Initiative: 9
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 8 Damage 4B Defense 8
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 7 Damage 6B Defense 7
  Jade Grand Goremaul (Pillar of Judgment): Speed 12
  Accuracy 10 Damage 18L Defense 7
  Dodge Pool: 6/5
  Soak: 12L/13B (Jade reinforced
  breastplate, 10L/9B, -1 mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 12
  Peripheral Essence: 17 (29)
  Committed Essence: 12
  Other Notes: Sesus Lozon carries Pillar of Judgment, a
  grand goremaul set with an eye of the first goat (see Caste
  Book: Zenith, p. 79). He also wears a jade reinforced
  breastplate inlaid with a jewel of stability (see Caste Book:
  Dawn, p. 77) and jade Hearthstone bracers bearing a
  blood-purifying gem (see Caste Book: Twilight, p. 78). A
  Sidereal blessing increases his effective Valor by +1 the
  first time he channels it in an attack against a target that
  has already injured him in a scene.
  Before entering combat, Lozon first uses Earth Dragon
  Form, then Strength of Stone Technique. This takes two
  turns (more if he fails to assume his Form immediately),
  costs 6 motes, increases his Strength and Stamina to 5 each
  and gives him a total soak of 17L/18B. Once Lozon reaches
  the battlefield, he targets buildings and encampments
  with Shattering Fist Strike in order to drive the Anathema
  out of hiding and force them to face judgment, while
  erecting temporary cover from archers with Ramparts of
  Obedient Earth. If he closes with one of the Anathema, he
  attempts to neutralize its offenses using Sight-Destroying
  Method or Weapon-Breaking Defense Technique, while
  defending himself with Stone Dragon’s Skin. Once the
  Anathema is blind and weaponless, he may strike it down
  or hold it in a clinch and slowly drag it to the feet of the
  Nonpareil, begging her to honor him by killing the foul
  thing herself.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 9 Accuracy 9 Damage 4B Defense 10 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 6 Accuracy 9 Damage 7B Defense 5 Rate 3
  Jade Grand Goremaul (Pillar of Judgment): Speed 22
  Accuracy 9 Damage 13L (P) Defense 9 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 12/11
  Hardness: 3
  NELLENS AVIDA
  Description: Nellens Avida never wanted to be an
  assassin, or an Immaculate monk for that matter. But
  fate ignores the desires of mortals or Exalts, and the
  needs of her family override any plans she had for her
  own future. Exaltation made her useful to her embattled
  house, and her family sent her to the Immaculate Order
  to better develop her fighting skills. Never the most
  devout or pious of students, Avida nonetheless enjoyed
  her time in the monastery, enjoyed the discipline and
  the focus. And then, her family interjected again, call-
  ing a halt to her studies and recalling her to a secular
  life. House Nellens had no need for monks and priests;
  what it needed was an assassin, one empowered by the
  subtle and dangerous martial powers of the Air Dragon.
  Disagreement was not an option.
  For 20 years, Avida was her house’s dagger in the
  darkness, its garrote across the sleeping throat of its en-
  emies. Not only has she murdered the house’s own targets,
  she has been its killer for hire, lent out to other houses and
  organizations as a tool for gaining further political favor.
  None of this has been to her liking, but her house, her
  family, is all she has known — that and the Immaculate
  teachings, unreadable in her memory’s eye under a thick
  layer of blood.
  Now, a new commandment has come down from the
  Nellens elders, that Avida should join the Wyld Hunt to
  increase the prestige and visible piety of the house. The
  Office of Harmony has benefited greatly from her skills and
  her subtlety, and she is often called upon to cut down a
  fledgling Anathema in its sleep before it can become a
  major threat. For Avida, her new position has had an
  unexpected benefit — exposure to the viewpoints of other
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  150
  Exalts, of Dragon-Blooded who care about more than
  immediate political and economic gain. In the unwaver-
  ing courage of Peleps Najah, the silent dedication of
  Cathak Setod and the bruised idealism (and brooding
  attractiveness) of Ledaal Idiko, Avida sees the potential to
  be something greater than a half-holy assassin.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Errant shikari, inquisitor
  Aspect: Air
  Nature: Architect
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma
  2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 4,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 1, Athletics 4 (Climbing +1), Dodge 4,
  Endurance 2, Larceny 2, Linguistics (Native: High Realm;
  Low Realm, Riverspeak) 2, Lore 3, Martial Arts 4, Melee
  4, Occult 1, Performance 2, Presence 1, Ride 2, Sail 2,
  Socialize 2, Stealth 4 (Ambushes +2), Thrown 4
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 2,
  Breeding 1, Connections (The All-Seeing Eye) 2, Con-
  nections (House Nellens) 3, Connections (The Immaculate
  Order) 2, Connections (The Thousand Scales) 3, Con-
  nections (The Threshold) 2, Manse 2, Resources 3
  Charms: Air Dragon Form, Air Dragon’s Sight, Breath-
  Seizing Technique, Deliberate Insignificance Method,
  Distracting Breeze Meditation, Ox-Body Technique, Seek-
  ing Throw Technique, Shrouding the Body and Mind,
  Spirit Sight, Spirit Walking, Stoking Bonfire Style, Thresh-
  old Warding Stance, Tornado Offense Technique,
  Trackless Passage Style, Vengeful Gust Counterattack,
  Whirlwind Shield Form, Wind Dragon Speed, Wind-
  Walking Technique
  Combos:
  Hurricane of Razors (Cost: 4 motes per attack, 1
  Willpower + 1 mote per two dice): Seeking Throw
  Technique, Tornado Offense Technique — Avida’s weapon
  flies from her hand and back once, twice, a thousand times
  within but a few seconds, contrails of lightning and bloody mist
  twisting into a roaring vortex between her and her enemies. In
  order to ensure every strike counts, Avida normally attacks
  with this Combo from hiding at the start of combat, only
  emerging to fight or flee if her enemy survives.
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 8 Damage 3B Defense 8
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 5B Defense 7
  Exceptional Chopping Sword: Speed 9 Accuracy 10 Dam-
  age 7L Defense 9
  Infinite Jade Chakram (Eye of the Storm): Speed 8 Accu-
  racy 8 Damage 4L (Rate 5, Range 30)
  Dodge Pool: 8
  Soak: 7L/7B (Jade breastplate, 6L/4B)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 11
  Peripheral Essence: 21 (28)
  Committed Essence: 7
  Other Notes: Nellens Avida’s weapon is an infinite jade
  chakram, which allows her to throw razor-sharp phan-
  toms over and over again at her targets. She is also armed
  with a heavy chopping sword, her weapon of last resort;
  the sword is imbued with the element of water, and Avida
  can change its shape and appearance by committing a
  mote of Essence to it. She wears a jade breastplate set
  with a labyrinthine eye (see Savant and Sorcerer, p. 67)
  and a Hearthstone amulet bearing a jewel of youthful
  suppleness (see Caste Book: Twilight, p. 79). The pock-
  ets of her robes hide packages of blinding powder,
  distracting whistles and alchemical smoke bombs. As-
  trology grants her +1 success in her first opposed test to
  bypass a guard, sentinel or anyone actively looking for
  her (even if Exalted) in a scene.
  The righteous murderer of the Office of Harmony, Nellens
  Avida is rarely called upon to battle the Anathema face-
  to-face. Instead, her task is to neutralize them (or their
  agents) at a distance. This normally calls for stealth and
  surprise attacks, but even an assassin must sometimes
  fight in the open. In such situations, Avida uses first Air
  Dragon Form and then Whirlwind Shield Form. This
  takes two turns (assuming she activates her Martial Arts
  Form successfully) and costs 8 motes. Then, she adds four
  dice to any ranged attack or dodge she makes for the rest
  of the scene, she can reflexively dodge with a four-die
  pool, and ranged attacks against her lose three successes.
  She fights from cover if possible, picking off targets with
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  her infinite jade chakram and using her Hurricane of
  Razors Combo, dodging or using Vengeful Gust Counter-
  attack against ranged attacks. If dragged into melee, she
  uses Stoking Bonfire Style for accurate strikes, then
  attempts to disappear from view with Shrouding the
  Body and Mind and return to cover.
  When undertaking an infiltration or assassination mis-
  sion, Avida uses Air Dragon’s Sight and either Distracting
  Breeze Meditation (spending 3 motes) or Deliberate Insig-
  nificance Method (2 motes), depending on whether her
  task requires stealth or subterfuge. Once she finds her
  target, she strikes from hiding with the Hurricane of
  Razors, and if that isn’t enough to kill her target, she uses
  her sword and Stoking Bonfire Style to make multiple,
  powerful attacks (and at least one parry). With her victim
  dead (or too powerful for her to fight), she makes a getaway
  with Trackless Passage Style and Wind-Walking Tech-
  nique, spending enough Essence to get at least three miles
  from the scene of the assassination before stopping.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 3B Defense 10 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 9 Damage 6B Defense 5 Rate 3
  Exceptional Chopping Sword: Speed 12 Accuracy 11
  Damage 7L Defense 8 Rate 3
  Infinite Jade Chakram (Eye of the Storm): Speed 8 Accu-
  racy 9 Damage 7L (Rate 4, Range 50)
  Dodge Pool: 11
  CATHAK NOLAN
  Description: As the Great Houses struggle for control
  of the Realm in the wake of the Scarlet Empress’ disappear-
  ance, some of the Exalted emerge as natural leaders,
  charismatic young Dynasts who could become major fig-
  ures within their houses during this time of tumult. That’s
  good news for the young, and very bad news for their older,
  greedier relatives, who live in fear of being supplanted by
  their descendents. One solution is to have the upstarts
  assassinated; another is to divert them, subtly or not, into
  activities that pose less threat to their elders. Such is the
  case with Cathak Nolan, an impeccably bred scion of his
  house and a famed officer of the 26th Legion.
  After spending two years increasing his fame and
  standing within and outside the house, Nolan was taken
  aside by his father, who explained sadly that any push for
  influence would have to wait until after House Cathak had
  determined who should take the Scarlet Throne. Nolan
  could either cool his heels for a few more years and divert
  his energies into less politically troubling activities, or he
  could be the victim of an unhappy accident. And so, Nolan
  — no fool, even if infuriated by the glass ceiling erected by
  his elders — has taken up the cause of the Wyld Hunt.
  Having registered with the Office of Harmony, Cathak
  Nolan finds his arrogance somewhat shaken. He has seen
  the power of the Anathema firsthand now and knows that
  his efforts to fight that power are more important than he
  had originally believed. He also has mixed feelings about
  his erstwhile commander, Cathak Setod, a legend of both
  his house and his legion — but also a cousin from a minor
  family and inferior bloodline, an old warhorse well past his
  prime. Torn between arrogance and respect, Nolan turns
  more and more to resentment — toward his house for
  sidelining him in this era of opportunity and toward
  Cathak Setod as a symbol of the power of the older Exalted
  over the young. That resentment may die away when faced
  with more important concerns — or it may lead the
  impulsive Exalt to betray the Office of Harmony in return
  for political or temporal favors.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Errant amercer, harrier
  Aspect: Fire
  Nature: Critic
  Attributes: Strength 4, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 3
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
  Valor 4
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Bureau-
  cracy 2, Craft (War) 3, Dodge 3, Endurance 1, Linguistics
  (Native: High Realm; Low Realm) 1, Lore 2 (Gateway
  +1), Martial Arts 2, Melee 5 (Mounted +1), Performance
  3, Presence 5 (Leading Troops +2), Ride 5 (Riding in
  Battle +1), Socialize 3, Survival 2
  Backgrounds: Artifact 3, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 3,
  Breeding 5, Command 2, Connections (The Delibera-
  tive) 2, Connections (High Society) 2, Connections
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  152
  (House Cathak) 3, Connections (The Immaculate Or-
  der) 2, Connections (The Legions) 3, Manse 3, Reputation
  3, Resources 3
  Charms: Aura of Invulnerability, Deadly Wildfire Legion,
  Dragon-Graced Weapon, Ebony Spur Technique, Effort-
  lessly Rising Flame, Ghost-Fire Blade, Glowing Coal
  Radiance, Loquacious Courtier Technique, Ox-Body Tech-
  nique, Phantom Fire-Warrior Horde, Portentous Comet
  Deflecting Mode, Ringing Anvil Onslaught, Scattered
  Pearl Hoof Falls, Seizing-the-Tongue Technique, Spring
  Follows Winter, Stoking Bonfire Style, Threshing Floor
  Technique, Unbearable Taunt Technique
  Combos:
  Infinite Burning Cavalcade (Cost: 8 motes, 1 Willpower
  + 1 mote per two dice): Ringing Anvil Onslaught,
  Stoking Bonfire Style — Nolan drags his spear through the air
  and around his body as it glows red-hot along its length. It then
  explodes into flame, the afterimages coalescing into phantom
  spears of solid fire. Nolan screams in triumph and bursts
  forward, attacking with killing precision as the flaming spears
  rip into the body of his opponent. This is Nolan’s finishing
  move, reserved for powerful opponents, and it leaves him
  greatly vulnerable to counterattack.
  Base Initiative: 7
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 6 Damage 4B Defense 6
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 5 Damage 6B Defense 5
  Jade Dire Lance (Blackneedle): Speed 16 Accuracy 11
  Damage 9L Defense 9
  Jade Short Powerbow (Killing Song): Speed 7 Accuracy 9
  Damage 8L (Rate 3, Range 300)
  Dodge Pool: 7/6
  Soak: 9L/14B (Jade reinforced buff
  jacket, 7L/10B, -1 mobility penalty)
  Willpower: 6
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 14
  Peripheral Essence: 22 (34)
  Committed Essence: 12
  Other Notes: Cathak Nolan bears no artifacts that are not
  directly useful in battle. He leaves the subtler powers to his
  cadremates. His melee weapon is the dire lance Blackneedle,
  which he uses to devastating effect whether on foot or
  mounted; socketed in the haft is a jewel of hungry fire. He
  also carries the jade powerbow Killing Song, socketed with
  a windhands gemstone. Finally, Nolan is protected by a
  jade reinforced buff jacket, which bears a memory stone
  (see Caste Book: Night, p. 78).
  Cathak Nolan usually enters battle on horseback, with his
  soldiers marching behind him. Before leading the charge,
  Nolan uses Aura of Invulnerability and then Deadly Wild-
  fire Legion on his cadre or troops. This takes two turns and
  7 motes, after which Nolan’s soak increases to 10L/15B
  and he gains three additional -0 health levels, while three
  of his allies gain two dice to their Melee Ability for the
  scene. Once in combat, he stays mounted as long as
  possible, making charging attacks with Ebony Spur Tech-
  nique or a powerful series of strikes with Ringing Anvil
  Onslaught. If a particular enemy is very strong he distracts
  it with Unbearable Taunt Technique, forcing it to focus
  on him while his allies attack it from all sides (and while
  he fires arrows at it from horseback). Only when his enemy
  is beaten down will he dismount and perform the Infinite
  Burning Cavalcade. He may be forced to stop riding should
  his horse be killed or injured, which is a common occur-
  rence — if the animal is not targeted by his enemies, it’s
  likely to burn in the heat of his anima banner. Nolan
  accepts this as inevitable and sheds no tears for his mounts;
  he factors the inevitable loss of his horse into his battle
  plans and is always prepared to leap from the saddle and
  fight on foot.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 7 Damage 4B Defense 8 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 7 Damage 7B Defense 3 Rate 3
  Jade Dire Lance (Blackneedle): Speed 22 Accuracy 11
  Damage 13L Defense 12 Rate 3
  Dodge Pool: 10/9
  RAGARA VAKIM
  Description: Ragara Vakim could give two shits about
  the Wyld Hunt. The Anathema are dangerous, yes, but
  not so dangerous that the legions of the Realm could not
  hold them back. And if they failed, if monsters like the Bull
  of the North took control of the Realm — well, monsters
  still need money and slaves and goods. There will always
  be merchants, and there will always be a Guild, and so,
  there will always be a place for her in Creation.
  And yet, Ragara Vakim is a member of the Office of
  Harmony and has risked her life fighting the Anathema on
  four occasions. The reason why is simple — money. No, not
  the meaningless stipend she once received from the Office
  of Harmony for her efforts, but the fortune in resources and
  artifacts channeled to the Office by the Immaculate Order
  and the Great Houses. There is opportunity and vast
  wealth in the chapter’s arsenal, and Vakim wants a piece
  of that action.
  Of course, Vakim’s mercenary viewpoint is hardly
  something she shares with her erstwhile allies. She pre-
  sents herself as a believer in the cause of the Wyld Hunt —
  pragmatic and cynical, but willing to bend her consider-
  able intellect and skills as a spy to the Office of Harmony’s
  efforts. The fact that she is willing to shoulder some of the
  Office of Harmony’s bureaucratic burden endears her even
  further to the overworked ostiaries. No one realizes that
  she keeps her own records of the funds and relics moving
  through the Office of Harmony’s storehouses or that she
  reads confidential invoices and reports before they reach
  their intended destination. She hasn’t embezzled anything
  
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  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  from the Office of Harmony yet, but she has plans to do
  exactly that when the opportunity presents itself. In the
  interim, she masks her contempt for the Hunt’s goals and
  works as hard as possible to further those goals — for if the
  Office of Harmony grows stronger, its stockpiles of jade
  and artifacts will grow as well.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Errant shikari, inquisitor
  Aspect: Water
  Nature: Conniver
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 3, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 3,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 2, Brawl 4 (Grappling +1),
  Bureaucracy 4 (Embezzlement +1), Dodge 3, Endurance 2,
  Investigation 3, Larceny 4 (Sleight of Hand +2), Linguis-
  tics (Native: High Realm; Guild Cant, Low Realm,
  Riverspeak) 3, Lore 2, Medicine 2, Melee 2, Performance
  3, Presence 2, Ride 2, Sail 3, Stealth 2, Socialize 2
  Backgrounds: Artifact 2, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 2,
  Breeding 2, Connections (The All-Seeing Eye) 2, Con-
  nections (The Guild) 4, Connections (House Ragara) 2,
  Connections (The Merchant Marine) 3, Connections
  (Outlaw) 2, Connections (The Thousand Scales) 3, Hench-
  men 3, Manse 2, Resources 3
  Charms: Benevolent Master’s Blessing, Bonds of Un-
  breakable Ice Technique, Confluence of Savant
  Thought, Deck-Walking Prana, Drowning Embrace,
  Ears of the Snowy Owl, Feeling-the-Air Technique,
  Finding the Water’s Depths, Fist-Spinning Maelstrom,
  Indisputable Physical Analysis Technique, Observer
  Awareness Method, Ox-Body Technique, Pounding
  Surf Style, Precise Ink Technique, Resetting Tumblers
  Technique, Riptide Method, Spring Follows Winter,
  Trackless Walk Style
  Combos:
  Bloodtide Kraken Stance (Cost: 1 mote, 1 Willpower +
  1 mote per attack/foe): Drowning Embrace, Riptide
  Method — Vakim dives into the middle of her foes, wrapping
  each of her arms and legs around a throat or chest, blood and
  water gushing from her limbs. Writhing and twisting, she
  crushes her opponents even as they choke and drown in her
  Essence-laden effluence. Vakim only uses this Combo when
  fighting multiple opponents and maintains the effect until at
  least two opponents are dead or her Essence reserves run low.
  Base Initiative: 7
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 7 Damage 3B Defense 7
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 6 Damage 5B Defense 6
  Jade Smashfist (Nighthammer): Speed 13 Accuracy 8
  Damage 6L Defense 8
  Exceptional Self Bow: Speed 7 Accuracy 7 (Rate 2, Range
  200)
  Dodge Pool: 6
  Soak: 7L/7B (Jade breastplate, 6L/4B)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 2
  Personal Essence: 12
  Peripheral Essence: 13 (25)
  Committed Essence: 12
  Other Notes: Ragara Vakim is a bureaucrat and spy, not
  a warrior. Therefore, the artifacts she carries are more for
  self-defense than Anathema-killing. She fights with her
  jade smashfist Nighthammer, which bears a gemstone of
  surface thoughts (see Savant and Sorcerer, p. 68). She
  also wears a jade breastplate inlaid with a memory stone
  (see Caste Book: Night, p. 78). Unbeknownst to the
  Office of Harmony, Vakim has another artifact — a
  stamp of ultimate authority (see Aspect Book: Water, p.
  XX), which she uses to reseal the confidential reports
  and invoices she peruses.
  Ragara Vakim is a gatherer of information, not an Im-
  maculate hero or back-alley brawler, and she has little
  desire to risk death at the hands of the Anathema. But for
  all that, she is still a Dynast, still a power with which to
  be reckoned, and if she must fight, she does so without
  hesitation or mercy. She has no long-duration combat
  Charms, so she can go straight to the business of killing
  without powering up first. When fighting more powerful
  opponents, Vakim uses clinches and holds, bolstered by
  Drowning Embrace or Bonds of Unbreakable Ice Tech-
  nique, trying to pin the enemy so that her allies can then
  attack it with impunity. Against mortals or less powerful
  creatures such as the Fair Folk, she simply beats them to
  death with Nighthammer and Fist-Spinning Maelstrom.
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  154
  If faced with multiple opponents, Vakim uses her
  Bloodtide Kraken Stance or pulls back to snipe with her
  bow and Spring Follows Winter (and readies herself to
  escape the battle before she risks further danger).
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 7 Accuracy 8 Damage 3B Defense 9 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 4 Accuracy 8 Damage 6B Defense 4 Rate 3
  Jade Smashfist (Nighthammer): Speed 7 Accuracy 8 Dam-
  age 8L Defense 10 Rate 7
  Dodge Pool: 8
  CYNIS IMAZA, CHALCEDONY MASK
  Description: The Exalted do not scar or bear the
  marks of old injury; the Cynis are always beautiful to
  behold, never twisted or ugly. Everyone knows these
  things to be true. Everyone but Cynis Imaza, the spellburnt,
  the outcast, the man behind the Chalcedony Mask.
  Sixty years ago, Cynis Imaza was a beautiful teenager
  ripe with sexual promise. His wealthy family put on a
  celebration for his 14th birthday, complete with a display
  of sorcery by his uncle Cynis Ebor Damen. But Damen’s
  sorcerous skills were less polished than he had promised,
  and he lost control of a summoned courtesan demon. As
  the demon approached Imaza, Damen dismissed it with
  Emerald Circle Banishment, never thinking of the conse-
  quences. Magic shattered like glass and fire, and Imaza was
  consumed by the play of broken energies. The stress caused
  him to Exalt there and then, which saved his life — and left
  him with permanent, hideous scars and burns all over his
  face and upper body, permeated with magical residue that
  prevented healing.
  From being the golden child, Imaza suddenly became
  an ugly embarrassment to his house, and he was shunted
  into seclusion while his elders tried to forget he existed.
  With no company but blind and mute servants, Imaza
  became twisted and ugly inside and out, hating his family
  for abandoning him and hating his own twisted body. The
  one thing he didn’t blame was sorcery itself; it was a tool
  his uncle has used foolishly, but a tool a wiser Exalt could
  use properly. When his family finally acknowledged his
  existence, he asked them to let him join the Heptagram
  and study sorcery, and they agreed simply to get rid of him.
  Fifty years later, Imaza emerged from the Heptagram
  a master of the most violent spells of Terrestrial Sorcery,
  his scars hidden behind a mask of petrified wood and
  crystal bearing a scowling, demonic face. The first thing he
  did was challenge, defeat and kill his uncle in a duel of
  sorcery, after which he struck out as a mercenary, develop-
  ing a reputation as the brutal and deadly Chalcedony
  Mask. Two years ago, he registered with the Office of
  Harmony — not because he wants to protect the empire,
  but because he wants an excuse to kill. His scars still bleed
  and itch behind his mask, and the hate he feels for the
  world has never died away. Only flexing his magic to
  destroy beauty eases his pain and hate for a moment — and
  to wipe away the breathtaking and forbidden beauty of the
  Anathema is the closest he can ever come to real pleasure.
  Rank in the Wyld Hunt: Errant shikari, castigator
  Aspect: Wood
  Nature: Bravo
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4, Charisma
  3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 4, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 3,
  Valor 3
  Abilities: Archery 2, Dodge 3, Endurance 3, Linguistics
  (Native: High Realm; Low Realm, Riverspeak, Skytongue)
  3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 2, Medicine 3 (Poisons +1), Melee
  4, Occult 4, Performance 2, Presence 3 (Intimidation +1),
  Resistance 3, Ride 3, Sail 2, Socialize 2, Survival 3
  Backgrounds: Artifact 3, Backing (The Wyld Hunt) 2,
  Breeding 3, Command 1, Connections (The Heptagram)
  2, Connections (House Cynis) 2, Connections (The Im-
  maculate Order) 1, Connections (Outlaw) 2, Connections
  (The Threshold) 2, Manse 3, Reputation 2, Resources 3
  Charms: Dragon-Graced Weapon, Dread Infection Strike,
  Elemental Bolt Attack, Elemental Burst Technique, Five-
  Dragon Fortitude, Infection-Banishing Prana, Ox-Body
  Technique (x2), Spirit-Detecting Mirror Technique, Ter-
  restrial Circle Sorcery
  Spells: Burning Eyes of the Offender, Death of Obsid-
  ian Butterflies, Internal Flame, Invulnerable Skin of
  
  155
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  Bronze, Spirit Sword, Sprouting Shackles of Doom,
  Stormwind Rider
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 6 Damage 3B Defense 6
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 5 Damage 5B Defense 5
  Exceptional Axe: Speed 9 Accuracy 9 Damage 9L Defense 9
  Dodge Pool: 7
  Soak: 8L/8B (Exceptional breast-
  plate, 6L/4B)
  Willpower: 8
  Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  2/-2/-4/Incap
  Essence: 3
  Personal Essence: 14
  Peripheral Essence: 29 (36)
   Committed Essence: 7
  Other Notes: Cynis Imaza bears no artifact weapons or
  armor and relies on mundane armaments. He does this in
  order to save his Essence for casting spells and for activat-
  ing the artifacts he does possess. His gear is exceptional and
  has been further enhanced with the Ritual of Elemental
  Empowerment: His axe is faster due to the essence of air,
  and his armor gives more protection thanks to the element
  of earth. His most precious artifact is an elemental lens (see
  Aspect Book: Air, pp. 78-79), which he uses to enhance
  his aggressive Lore Charms. He is not able to maintain the
  lens’ systems himself, however, and must periodically
  return it to the Imperial City for repairs. In addition, Imaza
  wears his trademark Chalcedony Mask, its fearsome visage
  carved from black jade and fossilized wood. The mask
  functions like a dragon tear tiara, and in its forehead is a
  key of mastery (see Aspect Book: Air, p. 75) attuned to
  the spell Internal Flame. Melded directly into the flesh of
  Imaza’s throat, stark against the spellburnt scars, is a skin-
  mount amulet (see Aspect Book: Earth, p. 80) bearing a
  mind-cleansing gem (see Caste Book: Twilight, p. 77).
  This amulet adds 4 motes to his Peripheral Essence pool
  (already included above). Pymander Seven’s blessing let
  Imaza regain a point of temporary Willpower the first time
  he casts a spell in a scene.
  Most sorcerers summon demons and elementals to fight
  their battles, but Cynis Imaza is not like other sorcerers.
  His magic is his way of taking revenge on the world, and
  that revenge must be taken in person. He relishes combat
  and the chance to inflict pain on others and has more skill
  in battle than most expect of a savant or a Wood-aspected
  Exalt. When on a mission for the Office of Harmony,
  Imaza casts Invulnerable Skin of Bronze each morning.
  This costs 20 motes (which he recovers in full after an hour
  or less) and 1 Willpower and gives him a total soak of 14L/
  20B. Once combat is joined, Imaza casts Death of Obsidian
  Butterflies (if fighting multiple opponents) or Internal
  Flame (if facing a single, powerful enemy). When facing
  spirits or enemies with mundane weaponry, Imaza casts
  Spirit Sword and wades into melee. Because spell-casting
  requires so much Essence, Imaza rarely casts more than one
  or two spells per engagement. Otherwise, he relies on his
  melee skills or attacks at range with Elemental Bolt Attack
  or Elemental Burst Technique.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 7 Damage 3B Defense 8 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 7 Damage 6B Defense 3 Rate 3
  Exceptional Axe: Speed 11 Accuracy 10 Damage 9L
  Defense 7 Rate 2
  Dodge Pool: 10
  PYMANDER SEVEN
  Description: There are two rules that every entity in
  Creation should obey: Don’t fuck the wrong people, and
  don’t fuck with the wrong people. Pymander Seven broke
  both of these rules when he conducted an affair with the
  goddess Yaksha Incandescent, who was simultaneously
  having an equally illicit affair with Pymander’s superior in
  the Bureau of Destiny. When his forbidden dalliance with
  a spirit was discovered, that was bad enough; when he
  found that he was to be judged by the fellow Sidereal that
  he had cuckolded, Pymander realized that he had pushed
  his luck too damn far. Such was always his greatest flaw —
  in Pymander Seven the Great Curse of Hubris manifests as
  a degree of short-sightedness and casual arrogance more
  suited to the boy he was 800 years ago, not the experienced
  Exalt he is now.
  Seven’s punishment was better than he feared and
  worse than he might have hoped — he was to be sent to
  Creation as the pet astrologer of the Office of Harmony,
  there to direct the efforts of the Dragon-Blooded against
  the returning Solar Exalted. For a Sidereal who preferred
  the adventure of active field duties to the slow work of
  astrology, the punishment was frustration and boredom;
  for a Sidereal who considered the Terrestrial Exalted little
  better than attack dogs, the punishment was humiliation.
  Then again, at least he got to keep his head…
  For three years, Pymander Seven has masqueraded as
  himself — or rather, as a middle-aged Immaculate savant
  and astrologer of the same name. It’s a steady, dull position,
  channeling information back and forth between the Bronze
  Faction and the Office of Harmony, disguising himself as
  a mortal and not revealing his innate superiority to his
  alleged employers. Recently, Pymander has started strain-
  ing at the leash of responsibility, sneaking from the Azimuth
  compound in search of distractions and adventure and
  accompanying Office of Harmony missions in disguise
  using one of his resplendent destinies. Meanwhile, he
  neglects to scour every last nuance and excess of data from
  the information he receives from the Bureau of Destiny.
  Cathak Setod is becoming increasingly unhappy with his
  astrologer’s frequent leaves of absence, while Mnemon
  Kehav wonders how the mortal astrologer can cast more
  accurate horoscopes than she can manage to draw. Soon,
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  156
  Pymander Seven may face a reckoning, from both his
  Sidereal superiors and the Dragon-Blooded he so badly
  underestimates — and when that reckoning comes, all his
  skill in combat and deceit may not save him from a bloody
  comeuppance.
  When in disguise, Pymander Seven appears as a
  slightly tubby middle-aged mortal with an impressive
  moustache. His true appearance is as a more youthful but
  notably plumper man, still with the same moustache.
  Caste: Secrets
  Nature: Conniver
  Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3, Charisma
  4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3, Perception 3, Intelli-
  gence 3, Wits 4
  Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 3,
  Valor 2
  Abilities: Archery 2, Awareness 4, Bureaucracy 3, Craft
  (Fate) 3, Dodge 2, Endurance 2, Investigation 3, Lar-
  ceny 4, Linguistics (Native: Low Realm; High Realm,
  Old Realm, Riverspeak) 3, Lore 4, Martial Arts 5,
  Occult 4, Performance 3 (Prayers +1), Socialize 3,
  Stealth 5, Survival 2
  Backgrounds: Acquaintances 3, Artifact 5, Backing (Gold
  Faction) 3, Celestial Manse 3, Connections (The Bureau
  of Destiny) 3, Connections (The Dragon-Blooded) 2,
  Connections (The Forbidding Manse of Ivy) 3, Connec-
  tions (The Immaculate Order) 2, Salary 3, Savant 3
  Colleges: Mask 3, Quiver 2, Sorcerer 3, Spear 3, Sword 3
  Charms: Blade of the Battle Maiden, Celestial Circle
  Sorcery, Conclusion-Pursuing Approach, Creation Smug-
  gling Procedures, Death-Parrying Stroke, Efficient
  Secretary Technique, Flight of Mercury, Incite Decorum,
  Innocuous Maneuver, Joy in Adversity Stance, Life-Sev-
  ering Blow, Mark of Exaltation, Metal Storm, Of the
  Shape of the World, Ox-Body Technique, Secrets of
  Future Strife, Sidereal Shell Games, Soft Presence Prac-
  tice, Stern Essence Replenishment, Subordinate Inspira-
  tion Technique, Systematic Understanding of Everything,
  Terrestrial Circle Sorcery, Unweaving Method, Violet
  Bier of Sorrows Form, Walking Outside Fate
  Spells: Cantata of Empty Voices, Emerald Countermagic,
  Infallible Messenger, Sorcerer’s Irresistible Puppetry, Sum-
  moning the Heavenly Portal, Travel Without Distance
  Combos:
  Three Score Foretold Cuts (Cost: 2 motes per health
  level reduction + 2 motes per additional health level of
  damage + 3 motes per attack, 1 Willpower): Death-
  Parrying Stroke, Life-Severing Blow, Metal Storm —
  Pymander Seven’s sword throws off dozens of ghosts and
  shadows of gray-green Essence, each attacking from a different
  direction, each flickering and curving past defenses and armor
  to finally solidify within his opponent’s flesh, each withdrawing
  to hover and defend against an attacker’s stroke. Seven uses this
  Combo only if pressed. Once a blow does land, he will spend as
  much Essence as he can spare in the hopes of finishing his enemy
  with a single strike.
  Base Initiative: 8
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 9 Damage 3B Defense 9
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 8 Damage 5B Defense 8
  Starmetal Reaver Daiklave (Faterazor): Speed 8 Accuracy
  11 Damage 13L Defense 9
  Dodge Pool: 6
  Soak: 6L/6B (Silken armor, 5L/3B,
  counts as natural soak)
  Willpower: 7
  Health Levels: -0/-0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-
  4/Incap
  Essence: 4
  Personal Essence: 15
  Peripheral Essence: 30 (41)
  Committed Essence: 11
  Other Notes: Pymander Seven wields Faterazor, a starmetal
  reaver daiklave set with a jewel of the rabbit’s sword (see
  Caste Book: Zenith, p. 79). For protection, Seven wears
  silken armor (see Caste Book: Eclipse, pp. 80-81) richly
  adorned with astrological imagery and symbols, that none-
  theless fades instantly from the memory of any who see
  him. A case carried under his robe contains four prayer
  strips for use with Sidereal astrology and Charms. He bears
  a blessing that lets him regain a point of temporary Will-
  power the first time he casts a spell in a scene.
  Before entering combat, Pymander Seven uses (in order)
  Blade of the Battle Maiden (to gain four extra dice) and
  Joy in Adversity Stance. This takes two turns, costs 13
  motes and 2 Willpower, adds four dice to his attacks and
  parries and gives him the chance to gain Essence every
  time he dodges or parries an attack. He then uses Sidereal
  Shell Games on his opponent (or the toughest member of
  a group of enemies) to steal +4 soak. Once combat is
  underway, Pymander fights defensively for the first few
  turns to gauge his opponent (and recover more Essence
  through Joy in Adversity Stance), using Death-Parrying
  
  157
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  Stroke if he must. During this time, his base initiative is
  doubled, thanks to Secrets of Future Strife. Once his
  Essence pool is partially replenished, he goes on the
  offensive with Metal Storm or Life-Severing Blow, until
  finally unleashing his Three Score Foretold Cuts Combo.
  He only uses Violet Bier of Sorrows Form when fighting
  spirits, since most Exalts will continue to fight even with
  damaged Virtues. While he has mastered the Conclu-
  sion-Pursuing Approach, he uses it only when faced with
  a truly dangerous opponent, when combat is only about
  survival and not entertainment. In such a situation, he
  fixes a prayer strip to Faterazor, hoping to wear his
  enemy’s will away and make her flee — or to gain enough
  time and energy to cast Travel Without Distance and
  escape with his life.
  Pymander Seven is a Celestial Circle sorcerer, but his
  primary skill (other than swordplay) is as an astrologer.
  His influence over the Loom of Fate is his major contri-
  bution to the Office of Harmony (not to mention one of
  the reasons he was relegated to his position by his
  superiors). Over the years, he has cast horoscopes for
  himself and many of the Office of Harmony’s shikari, as
  detailed in the “Sidereal Astrology Effects” sidebar on
  p. 139. While creating effects to weaken the Office of
  Harmony’s Exalted targets is difficult, he may make the
  attempt if he can gain enough information about the
  Exalts in question.
  Pymander Seven has three resplendent destinies that he
  can assume at any time by spending a point of Willpower.
  He may appear as Ettin, a low-ranking soldier in the Office
  of Harmony’s service (Spear, 2 effect points); as Sagan
  Vale, a mortal thaumaturge and Pymander Seven’s current
  assistant (Sorcerer, 3 effect points); or as Watching the
  Horizon, an itinerant priest in the Cult of the Illuminated
  (Mask, 3 effect points). He uses these identities to gather
  information, to monitor the activities of the Office of
  Harmony or to make contact with an Exalted target to
  impose a Sidereal astrology effect.
  EXALTED POWER COMBAT
  Attack:
  Punch: Speed 8 Accuracy 10 Damage 3B Defense 11 Rate 5
  Kick: Speed 5 Accuracy 10 Damage 6B Defense 6 Rate 3
  Starmetal Reaver Daiklave (Faterazor): Speed 15 Accu-
  racy 12 Damage 14L Defense 9 Rate 4
  Dodge Pool: 10
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  158
  
  159
  CHAPTER FOUR • THE WYLD HUNT
  
  EXALTED • CULT OF THE ILLUMINATED
  160
  
  Disciples of the Children of Light
  Despite the persecution of the Immaculates, despite the corruption of
  Heaven, there are those who believe that, one day, the world will be a
  better place, that saviors will come and bring justice and peace to the
  world. Throughout the Second Age, they have proven useful to various
  individuals with messianic pretensions seeking pawns for their schemes.
  The Cult of the Illuminated serves the Gold Faction of the Sidereals,
  protecting young Solar Exalted from the depredations of the Wyld Hunt
  and the Bronze Faction. Perhaps the Solars will be as the Cult predicts,
  children of light bringing a new golden age to Creation. Perhaps they are
  just more dupes in the hands of the unscrupulous.
  Protectors of the Solar Exalted
  Cult of the Illuminated details the Cult, its training operations, goals,
  structure and Sidereal patrons. Everything needed to use the Cult as part
  of a Solar or Sidereal series is included.
  ISBN 1•58846•682•5  WW8829  US $23.99
  w w w . w h i t e - w o l f . c o m
  ™
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Storyteller [multi]/Exalted/Exalted 1st Edition/Sourcebooks/Exalted - Cult of the Illuminated.pdf