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