Ryan Bailey (order #2639004) 173.14.196.1 - fap.if.usp.br

Ryan Bailey (order #2639004) 1CHAPTER ONE: LIFE IN THE HIGH FIRST AGETHE EXALTED LIFE SPANWithout anagathic assistance, Dragon-Bloods live anywhere from two to five centuries. Those with a particularlystrong grasp of Essence can live longer, up to perhaps six. The oldest surviving Dragon-Blood as of Year 3516,Saibok Gauto (see Lords of Creation, pp. 156-158) is a survivor of the Primordial War, but he’s unique, and noone’s really sure why his body refuses to give in to the ravages of age. Twilight savants theorize it has to do with hisextraordinary connection to his elemental aspect. With the assistance of anagathics developed during the ThousandStruggle Era, Dragon-Blooded can expect to live for six to eight centuries, or up to a millennium if their grasp ofEssence is profound.Celestial Exalted such as Solars and Lunars naturally live for 2,000 to 3,000 years. The Solars have developeda Charm called Extended Life Prana to extend their life span past that. Motic experts extrapolate an expected lifespan of 5,000 to 7,000 years and are already at work formulating another Charm to extend their life spans further,perhaps to immortality. The Lunars have had no success creating a duplicate of Extended Life Prana, but theyhave created Charms to allow a sort of hibernation, during which time they don’t age. In addition to life-extensionCharms, Celestial Exalted who use anagathic drugs, surgeries or other techniques can live up to six millennia. Savantsaren’t sure how long someone with both Extended Life Prana and anagathic treatments might live, but thecommon estimate is 10,000 years.Sidereals live from 3,000 to 5,000 years and can’t extend their lives by any artificial means.This doesn’t paint a complete picture. Very few Exalted die of old age.Most Solar Exalted during the Era of Dreams are 750 to 1,000 years old. No more than a dozen Solars who rememberthe Primordial War survive, and no more than 50 survive who recall the time before the Thousand StruggleEra (and approximately two dozen of those have withdrawn entirely from Deliberative society at this point). MostCelestial Exalted have reincarnated anywhere from five to eight times between the Primordial War and the Eraof Dreams, and the average Sidereal has lived only one fewer life than the average Solar or Lunar. The Exaltedlose their lives to feuds, experiments, wars, accidents (though they’re loath to admit it) and, in a few cases, simpleboredom and a desire to begin anew.of Deliberative intelligence. Many quietly consider themselvesthe world’s secret rulers when they’re not ponderingwhether they’d even realize if the Solars were controllingthem utterly or not.YU-SHANMuch of Yu-Shan functions under Exalted guidance.Over time, the Deliberative has successfully argued again andagain that, since the Exalted rule Creation, those functions ofHeaven that concern Creation should fall under their swayas well. The Bureaus of Seasons and Humanity work closelywith the Exalted to make sure that the destiny of humanityis to the liking of the Solars. The Bureau of Nature is largelyindependent but has few actual duties. The Bureau of Destinyfunctions under the guidance of the Five Maidens and withthe Sidereal Exalted as agents.The Bureau of Heaven remains largely free from Deliberativeinfluence. Lytek, the God of Exaltation, rules the Bureauof Heaven with a firm hand, and one of the many ways theExalted honor him is by staying out of his business. Still,Lytek often works closely with Exalted in whom he takes aninterest, inviting them to aide him (or at least witness him)in his governance of Heaven. He’s most fond of the Solars,but he treasures most the company of the Sidereals, who workwith him in Yu-Shan and whom he sees the most. He finds itregrettable that so much of their time is taken up in serviceto the Bureau of Destiny.SOCIETIES“Society” is a broad term used to describe groups of likemindedExalted gathered for mutual assistance in focusingpower toward the pursuit of an end, be it economic dominance,accumulation of knowledge, the spiritual advancement of itsmembership or anything else. Societies aren’t circles. Circlesare the remnants of great oaths sworn between like Exaltsduring the Primordial War. Societies often comprise Exaltsof all sorts, including Dragon-Blooded. Many societies existacross multiple principalities, holding interests even in landsruled by none of their Solar constituents. Some societies existas entities apart from their membership, lasting even afterall their founding members have died, with control passing,not to the founders’ reincarnations, but to the societies’greater shareholders.The Accord of Broken Ribbons doesn’t governinter-society conflict. Officially, martial conflict betweenpan-principality societies is forbidden under Deliberativelaw, lest it touch off larger hostilities. This rule hasn’t successfullyprevented covert violence, though. And since the36