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

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

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44<br />

are indistinguishable. The gods and denizens <strong>of</strong> Creation are<br />

understandably opposed to such efforts—even if they don’t<br />

realize how widespread they are—however, and stand in the<br />

way <strong>of</strong> the Yozis’ plans. The Green Sun Princes, therefore, must<br />

<strong>of</strong>ten either work around Creation’s defenders or over<strong>com</strong>e<br />

them before the overarching goals can be achieved.<br />

Yet, trying to conquer a world <strong>of</strong> opponents a piece at a<br />

time would take far longer than the champions <strong>of</strong> Hell could<br />

stand to wait, so instead, they must move on many different<br />

fronts all at once. To this end, the Yozis have divided up the<br />

whole <strong>of</strong> Creation into five theaters <strong>of</strong> conflict, with one<br />

architect <strong>of</strong> the Reclamation responsible for efforts made<br />

in that theater. This is not to say that only the Green Sun<br />

Princes claimed by given a Yozi operate in that Yozi’s theater,<br />

though. The Yozis work well enough together to divide up<br />

their <strong>Exalted</strong> resources efficiently rather than hoarding them<br />

for their own insular gains.<br />

That said, there are never enough Infernal <strong>Exalted</strong> to<br />

go around. There are only 50 <strong>of</strong> them to cover the whole<br />

<strong>of</strong> Creation, and not all <strong>of</strong> them are active simultaneously.<br />

Some sojourn in the Demon City to study sorcery secrets or<br />

martial arts that are not taught anywhere else. Others stay<br />

there training up battalions <strong>of</strong> elite demons and akuma for<br />

the greater war to <strong>com</strong>e. Some have died, and their Exaltations<br />

have not yet been sent back into Creation. Some are<br />

simply resting in their Malfean townhouses between the end<br />

<strong>of</strong> one mission and the start <strong>of</strong> the next. The most highly<br />

anticipated function <strong>of</strong> the Infernal <strong>Exalted</strong> is to act as the<br />

Honor Guard <strong>of</strong> the Ebon Dragon’s new queen when she and<br />

the Ebon Dragon march into Creation at the head <strong>of</strong> the<br />

armies <strong>of</strong> Hell. It behooves the Yozis, then, not to cast the<br />

Green Sun Princes too far afield or squander their lives.<br />

It is only for those missions that are both critically<br />

important and time sensitive or are too difficult for mortals<br />

or akuma to ac<strong>com</strong>plish that the Yozis deploy their <strong>Exalted</strong><br />

directly. The rank-and-file can poison unclaimed demesnes<br />

or cause rockslides that change the course <strong>of</strong> rivers that alter<br />

the lay <strong>of</strong> dragon lines or what have you. <strong>Exalted</strong> akuma can<br />

roust weak Terrestrials or naïve Celestial <strong>Exalted</strong> from remote<br />

manses. No coven <strong>of</strong> akuma, however, is going to topple<br />

the regime <strong>of</strong> a renegade Solar circle sitting on a stockpile<br />

<strong>of</strong> royal warstriders and using those machines to protect its<br />

burgeoning kingdom at the center <strong>of</strong> a major confluence <strong>of</strong><br />

dragon lines. Some obstacles to the Yozis’ ultimate victory<br />

are too daunting for lesser servants, and that’s where the<br />

Infernal <strong>Exalted</strong> step in directly. Otherwise, the Green Sun<br />

Princes are restricted to leadership, oversight or advisory<br />

roles over their lesser servants.<br />

THE NORTH<br />

Flensing away that which defends the stability <strong>of</strong> the<br />

icy North is the purview <strong>of</strong> Adorjan, the Silent Wind. It is<br />

an unexpressed desire <strong>of</strong> hers to fill the chasm at the end <strong>of</strong><br />

solidity with her presence, be<strong>com</strong>e a new Elemental Pole<br />

<strong>of</strong> Air and flow forth into broken, tainted Creation from<br />

there. Already, so much <strong>of</strong> that frozen land supports no life<br />

and makes no sound except for that <strong>of</strong> the occasional wind<br />

(which she can easily consume and make silent). Of all<br />

the directions, North is the one Adorjan hates the least. It<br />

remains, then, only to snuff out those stubborn pockets <strong>of</strong><br />

persistent life huddling against the cold.<br />

For the icewalker tribes, Adorjan cares little. They provide<br />

a buffer against the raksha, and they have little sympathy<br />

for those who cower in Northern cities. When tribes show<br />

troubling signs <strong>of</strong> unity or organization, Adorjan’s agents take<br />

steps to breed dissension between them and drive them apart.<br />

Only lately has this strategy proven more difficult than usual,<br />

as the Solar icewalker called the Bull <strong>of</strong> the North has united<br />

and rallied a great number <strong>of</strong> barbarians into a powerful army.<br />

Recently, Adorjan has embedded a single Infernal Exalt in<br />

the army close to the Bull, posing as an impressionable, young<br />

Solar Exalt drawn in by the Dawn Caste’s potent charisma.<br />

It is now up to that Infernal to gain the Bull’s trust and keep<br />

informed as to the army’s movements.<br />

The three major cities <strong>of</strong> the North pose more <strong>of</strong> a<br />

challenge for Adorjan. Whitewall is an island <strong>of</strong> Northern<br />

stability, a hub <strong>of</strong> trade and a safe haven from both the dead<br />

and the raksha. It is also a focusing lens for prayers that<br />

enormously empower the Unconquered Sun. The largest<br />

and longest-term ongoing effort in the North, therefore, is<br />

a project designed to silence those prayers. It involves capturing<br />

nearby demesnes, erecting Infernal manses on those<br />

sites and twisting the nearby dragon lines into the shape <strong>of</strong><br />

a powerful, long-forgotten warding diagram to snuff out any<br />

connection between that place and Heaven. Another midrange<br />

project involves tampering with the Traveler’s Road so<br />

that its protection collapses and the citizens within Whitewall<br />

are trapped there, whereupon agents will spread poison and<br />

disease to turn the once-holy city into an open tomb.<br />

Similar plans are in the <strong>of</strong>fing for Gethamane. Adorjan<br />

would like nothing better than for some exceedingly clever<br />

Green Sun Princes to figure out how to simply seal the inhabitants<br />

<strong>of</strong> the city up within the mountains with no way<br />

out. (Destroying the city’s entire food supply and plunging<br />

the tunnels into unbreakable darkness are optional subobjectives.)<br />

Once the trap is closed, <strong>of</strong>fers will be made to<br />

those citizens who are most afraid <strong>of</strong> death and <strong>of</strong> the monsters<br />

that live in the deeper darkness: Be<strong>com</strong>e the Yozis’ slaves<br />

in return for the power to defend themselves, or perish with<br />

no hope <strong>of</strong> escape.<br />

Agents operating in Cherak are tasked with building upon<br />

the growing resentment the locals have for the seemingly<br />

indifferent Great Houses <strong>of</strong> the Realm. They also mislead<br />

the scions <strong>of</strong> House Ferem with promises to return them to<br />

their former wealth and prominence in exchange for either<br />

agreeing to cooperate with agents <strong>of</strong> the Yozis or worshiping<br />

the Yozis outright.<br />

Adorjan’s operatives working in the Haslanti League do<br />

much the same thing, fanning the fires <strong>of</strong> ambition and avarice<br />

in the vigorous nascent empire. Demons speak through the<br />

2

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