[ww80105] Manual of Exalted Power - Infernals.pdf - Vakermit.com

28
Her Name at first relished the thought of doing just that.
Not only did they anticipate a means of keeping the Exalts
of their co-conspirators’/rivals’ pet castes in check, they also
just like hurting people who displease them. Yet, as in so
many other disputes, the Ebon Dragon suggested restraint.
If they conducted themselves as such merciless martinets,
he warned, the Yozis would only breed resentment and
eventual rebellion in those who should be their greatest
weapons. (Such bitterness would represent not only a rift
between the punished and his tormentor, but potentially
between a Green Sun Prince and the Yozi mistress who did
not protect him from the exuberant torments of her fellow
architects.) Grudgingly seeing the wisdom in this, the Yozis
instead agreed to abide by an unwritten compact with their
Green Sun Princes. So long as the Infernal Exalted zealously
pursue their Urges and unquestioningly accept their just
punishment when they fail, the Yozis will hold off punishing
them for every perceived misbehavior that falls outside the
purview of their Urges. They will instead inflict Torment
for only specific kinds of offenses.
THE UNWOVEN COADJUTOR
Once the Infernal Exalt breaks out of her Chrysalis
Grotesque and the pieces disintegrate into fine dust, she soon
realizes that the demon who delivered the tainted Exaltation
to her is not entirely gone. Not only do subtle reflections
of the demon remain in her physiognomy, but echoes of its
thoughts also linger in her mind. As long as the Green Sun
Prince lives, the demon’s personality lives within her, in a
form referred to as the unwoven coadjutor. The coadjutor
perceives what the Infernal perceives, and it has access to
her thoughts. At the Exalt’s request—and often unbidden
besides—the coadjutor can offer advice, helpful information
and a running critique of her actions. The signal-to-noise
ratio of these helpers’ contributions varies according to
how powerful a specimen the demon was and how much
experience it had in Creation before it received the Infernal
Exaltation. Some coadjutors chime in with le mot just before
their Green Sun Princes even ask, making the Infernal Exalts
preternaturally cunning forces to be reckoned with. Others
chatter non-stop, forcing their Green Sun Princes to tune
them out and risk missing the one helpful needle in several
haystacks of blather.
Aside from information and opinion, coadjutors also
color their Green Sun Princes’ personalities in hues of their
own demonic behaviors. The effect is subtle but always present
and is based on the type of demon the coadjutor used to
be. Erymanthoi, for example, tend to make their Infernals
short-tempered and predisposed to seek the most brutally
expedient solution to problems. Neomah, alternatively, affect
their Infernals’ pleasure centers, leaving them in a state of
low-grade arousal regardless of the circumstances. Luminata
instill a love of the hunt and the breakneck chase, while
gilmyne impart an ethereal grace and a passion for the dance.
Amphelisia coadjutors leave their Green Sun Princes easily
ACTS OF VILLAINY
Willful Infernal Exalted who have been active
for several years understand that they can run a considerable
amount of slack out of their hellish leashes
before their masters yank them back to heel. That is,
they can commit numerous minor acts of rebellion,
building up Limit slowly over time, before a Yozi has
finally had enough and inflicts their due Torment.
A devious Infernal can forestall his judgment,
however, by performing strident acts of villainy that
are pleasing to the Yozi who designed his Urge. He
must perform these acts of his own free will and in his
master’s name, with no other intent than to ingratiate
himself with the Yozis once more. Such acts don’t
even have to succeed necessarily. Often, the sincere
pursuit causes enough turmoil and upset in Creation
to ameliorate the Yozis’ offense and annoyance. If
the act is genuine and is pleasing to the one he offended,
it can reduce his Limit, absolving him of a
measure of his past sins. Then again, a half-hearted
act of pseudo-villainy or an especially humiliating
failure in pursuit of true villainy can be even more
offensive to the Yozi than the original sin the Green
Sun Prince committed.
Regardless, a Green Sun Prince who repeatedly
defies the Yozis’ will is eventually going to have to
take his lumps. That, or he’s going to have to spend
so much time performing conciliatory acts of villainy
that he’s essentially doing the Yozis’ will anyway.
delighted but equally easily annoyed by innocent laughter.
Conversely, chrysogonae coadjutors make Infernals slightly
more likely to shed tears when their emotions run high.
The emotional influence a coadjutor has is usually no
more than a simple predisposition that comes out more when
the Infernal is tired or distracted. When the Green Sun Prince
has run out of points of Willpower, however, the influence
his coadjutor’s personality has on him is more pronounced.
The process of Infernal Exaltation binds what remains of a
coadjutor to a Green Sun Prince in a manner resembling an
abscissic binding of sorcery. The coadjutor’s will is literally
broken as it is bound to the Exalt, afflicted with a watereddown
condition similar to a bound demon’s Limit. For a bound
demon, certain actions a sorcerer either forces it to perform
or restricts it from performing inflict points of Limit, based
on one of the demon’s important Virtues. (An accounting of
what actions are likely to inflict Limit according to the various
demonic Virtues was collected long ago into a valuable
demonology resource called The Abscissic Guide.)
Something similar goes for a coadjutor and his Green Sun
Prince. When a Green Sun Prince’s Willpower is completely
2