Post by shinzo on Sept 11, 2017 8:55:04 GMT
NAME:
Shinzo Kata
GENDER:
Male
AGE:
2017
AFFILIATION:
The Bureau of Destiny
RACE / SPECIES:
Sidereal Exalted
Statistics:
Intelligence: 6 (7)
Strength: 5 (6+)
Speed: 6 (7)
Stamina: 5
Durability: 4
Supernatural Energy: 7
Combat Proficiency: 7
Power Proficiency: 6 (7)
ABILITIES:
Creation Born: As a native of Creation, Shinzo appears to be a human, however, that superficiality is where the similarities end when it comes to how they actually work. Hailing from a realm without naturalism, her body is not made of atoms or molecules, but rather is a pattern of Essence that takes the form of the familiar organs and makes them work similarly, with a greater variation in lifespan. Much greater. Another thing of note is that Creation Born can easily pick up other aspects of skills, such as learning to sing from learning to dance, due to the very way that skills are written into the fabric of existence. Channeling his virtue can make her more capable at a task as well due to this odd metaphysical nature. Perhaps a final point of note is that the creation born have a two-part soul, a Hun that is the higher soul of reason and a P’o that is a lower soul of base desires, and can leave two different ghosts behind upon death due to this. There are many other minor differences, but they are rather irrelevant.
Sidereal Exaltation: Shinzo has been blessed with the Exaltation of the Maiden's of Destiny. Exalts are split into four kinds when they were first forged, the Solar Exalted, the grandest and servants of the Unconquered Sun, tasked with ruling Creation. The Lunar Exalted, Exalts of Luna, the Moon, below them, were tasked to be the Solar's seneschels and trusted advisors, handling the more day to day concerns. The Dragon-Blooded, Exalts of the Terrestrial Dragons, the lowest, meant to be the shock troops and trusted underlings of the Celestial Exalted. And between them, almost removed from the concerns of creation, the Sidereal Exalted. Their task was not in rulership nor in service, but in maintaining the careful balance of Fate itself. Compared to the others, they take a more hands-off approach, preferring to work through guile and intrigue than direct violence, though their innate and direct mastery of the most powerful of martial arts, techniques that can reshape causality itself, make them able to match the grandest Solar or Lunar Exalt. In order to earn this gift, those who earned a Sidereal Exaltation complete a grand journey at a young age, something worthy enough to gain the attention of the Maidens, and their flowing Sidereal Exaltations, that they have a grand fate and can manipulate the fate of those around them.
{Spoiler}Enhanced Attributes: The Exaltation gifts to it’s bearer infinite potential, allowing them to break the limitations that normal mortals possess on their most basic capabilities as a human. Human beings can only be so strong, so fast, and so intelligent after all, and such beings are utterly unsuited to fight horrific beings that created reality and embody it’s core concepts. His Strength and Stamina are quite unusually strong for most individual humans, with his Dexterity at an absurd level that would amaze just about any Exalted in Creation. His beauty is unparallelled, though it has been augmented by magical artifacts to reach the height it is at, many people would claim that the combination of dexterity and appearance is the mark of the Exalted of Venus, and, well, they would not be wrong. He is supernaturally convincing, whether he is lying or telling the truth, his honeyed words can bend the gods themselves to listen in, commanding the attention of the room in the Celestial Beaureacracy. His intelligence is above that of even the greatest mortal geniuses, and his quick-wittedness is on their level. The only thing he can be said to have below-average skills in is his ability to guage his surroundings, an unfortunate consequence of looking too much at fate and the future than at the present.
Enhanced Skills: As the Exaltation gifts the bearer with infinite potential in terms of attributes, so too does it grant them the same in regards to their skills, leaving them capable of superhuman acts of skill and finesse that add to their already legendary bodies and allow them to pull off feats that mortal men only dream about…and this is even before they begin to apply their magics and artifacts. In particular, his mastery lies within his ability to manipulate the strands of fate, as well as his utter command of the martial arts, with the two being far from distinct. He can weave the strands of reality with a deftness that puts the greatest mortal seamstress to utter shame, and throw people to the ground before they even thought about putting up a stance. His mastery of the underpinnings of magic, and his ability to influence people and crowds are also above what humans could hope to do. while his abilities to sneak around match the greatest cat burglars of the mortal world.
Regeneration: The Exalted in general heal at rates four times that of the average person
Enhanced Durability: Unlike Mortals, the Exalted are never without armor, their skin itself resistant to blades and blunt weaponry alike. Twice as durable as the average mortal in regards to their ability to withstand damage from blunt objects and able to resist blades much like a mortal would resist blunt objects to their skin, this combined with her peak levels of stamina renders her rather hard to wound with mere blades, all without the application of magic.
Exalted Learning: The Exalted learn at rates unheard of for Mortals, as they do not learn in the ways of men. Their potential within them builds over time, but this is minute compared to the true way they build potential, and that is through struggle and hardship. The more heroic things they do, the more boundaries of knowledge they push, and the harder they train themselves, the more potential they gain. For the skills that they are most in tune to, such potential is enough that they need not actually practice the skills in question, only merely will it to be so and the knowledge will flow into them. For other skills and attributes, a bit of training is necessary, but nothing is beyond their reach…and this is again before they apply any specific magics of their kind.
Exalted Essence: Essence is the very fundamental building block of reality, as varying patterns of Essence build every single thing there is in Creation. For an Exalt, these patterns are things they can draw strength from and manipulate, and is the source of their magics. A single mote of Essence, the smallest spark of power that can be handled by an Exalt, is one tenth of the energy released by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. An Exalt has two pools of Essence, a personal pool that they can draw upon that does not make her nature obvious to others and whose use cannot be detected, and a peripheral pool granted to her by her Exaltation, which when she taps into it her power leaks out, causing great displays of light and iconic imagery, revealing to the entire world that she is an Exalt, one of the true rulers of Creation. His personal pool holds 30 motes, and his peripheral pool is nearly three times that. One of the side effects of being an Essence user is that it is harder to affect them with mental persuasion, both natural and through mind control, as well as it being generally harder to hit them with attacks, as their existence rebuffs the attempts to diminish it, leaving them more easily dodged. Furthermore, her existence resists change from outside sources as a result of her extremely high willpower and essence, leaving such things rather hard to afflict him with.
Material Resonance: The Exalted all resonate with one of the five magical materials, and the Sidereals resonate with the Material known as Starmetal. Artifacts made from this material are especially easy for Sidereal Exalted to make, activate, attune to, and they also provide additional benefits for their kind that others who manage to use them cannot access due to the lack of material resonance.
Caste Ability: All Exaltations carry with it a subtype, called a Caste. It determines what kind of individual it is attracted to, as well as five of the skills it bears and a unique power that is of that caste. Shinzo is a Sidereal Exalted bound to Venus, the Maiden of Serenity. As a Serenity Caste, he has the power to know the precise time and date, as well as to grant himself and those around him the ability to perform, whether oration, music, or other performances, on a level that defies imagination.
The Great Curse: While the Exaltation carries many benefits to it’s owner, it also harbors an extremely potent curse, laid down upon the original bearers of the Exaltation by the Primordials they slew. It is not something known to the Exalted at all, in fact, none but the surviving Primordials know it exists. The only thing that can be seen are its effects, and for those of a Sidereal Exaltation, their effect comes into play when they are gathered together. As they accumulate Limit by acting against their virtues, they eventually might snap. As a Serenity-Caste Sidereal, Shinzo would seek to bring about moments of extreme joy and happiness in the lives of those around him.
Enhanced Skills: As the Exaltation gifts the bearer with infinite potential in terms of attributes, so too does it grant them the same in regards to their skills, leaving them capable of superhuman acts of skill and finesse that add to their already legendary bodies and allow them to pull off feats that mortal men only dream about…and this is even before they begin to apply their magics and artifacts. In particular, his mastery lies within his ability to manipulate the strands of fate, as well as his utter command of the martial arts, with the two being far from distinct. He can weave the strands of reality with a deftness that puts the greatest mortal seamstress to utter shame, and throw people to the ground before they even thought about putting up a stance. His mastery of the underpinnings of magic, and his ability to influence people and crowds are also above what humans could hope to do. while his abilities to sneak around match the greatest cat burglars of the mortal world.
Regeneration: The Exalted in general heal at rates four times that of the average person
Enhanced Durability: Unlike Mortals, the Exalted are never without armor, their skin itself resistant to blades and blunt weaponry alike. Twice as durable as the average mortal in regards to their ability to withstand damage from blunt objects and able to resist blades much like a mortal would resist blunt objects to their skin, this combined with her peak levels of stamina renders her rather hard to wound with mere blades, all without the application of magic.
Exalted Learning: The Exalted learn at rates unheard of for Mortals, as they do not learn in the ways of men. Their potential within them builds over time, but this is minute compared to the true way they build potential, and that is through struggle and hardship. The more heroic things they do, the more boundaries of knowledge they push, and the harder they train themselves, the more potential they gain. For the skills that they are most in tune to, such potential is enough that they need not actually practice the skills in question, only merely will it to be so and the knowledge will flow into them. For other skills and attributes, a bit of training is necessary, but nothing is beyond their reach…and this is again before they apply any specific magics of their kind.
Exalted Essence: Essence is the very fundamental building block of reality, as varying patterns of Essence build every single thing there is in Creation. For an Exalt, these patterns are things they can draw strength from and manipulate, and is the source of their magics. A single mote of Essence, the smallest spark of power that can be handled by an Exalt, is one tenth of the energy released by the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. An Exalt has two pools of Essence, a personal pool that they can draw upon that does not make her nature obvious to others and whose use cannot be detected, and a peripheral pool granted to her by her Exaltation, which when she taps into it her power leaks out, causing great displays of light and iconic imagery, revealing to the entire world that she is an Exalt, one of the true rulers of Creation. His personal pool holds 30 motes, and his peripheral pool is nearly three times that. One of the side effects of being an Essence user is that it is harder to affect them with mental persuasion, both natural and through mind control, as well as it being generally harder to hit them with attacks, as their existence rebuffs the attempts to diminish it, leaving them more easily dodged. Furthermore, her existence resists change from outside sources as a result of her extremely high willpower and essence, leaving such things rather hard to afflict him with.
Material Resonance: The Exalted all resonate with one of the five magical materials, and the Sidereals resonate with the Material known as Starmetal. Artifacts made from this material are especially easy for Sidereal Exalted to make, activate, attune to, and they also provide additional benefits for their kind that others who manage to use them cannot access due to the lack of material resonance.
Caste Ability: All Exaltations carry with it a subtype, called a Caste. It determines what kind of individual it is attracted to, as well as five of the skills it bears and a unique power that is of that caste. Shinzo is a Sidereal Exalted bound to Venus, the Maiden of Serenity. As a Serenity Caste, he has the power to know the precise time and date, as well as to grant himself and those around him the ability to perform, whether oration, music, or other performances, on a level that defies imagination.
The Great Curse: While the Exaltation carries many benefits to it’s owner, it also harbors an extremely potent curse, laid down upon the original bearers of the Exaltation by the Primordials they slew. It is not something known to the Exalted at all, in fact, none but the surviving Primordials know it exists. The only thing that can be seen are its effects, and for those of a Sidereal Exaltation, their effect comes into play when they are gathered together. As they accumulate Limit by acting against their virtues, they eventually might snap. As a Serenity-Caste Sidereal, Shinzo would seek to bring about moments of extreme joy and happiness in the lives of those around him.
Sidereal Charms: Charms are a form of magic that is both potent and comes naturally to the wielder flowing naturally from some attribute of their being. For the Chosen of the Maidens of Destiny, these charms flow from the twenty-five skill groups that cover all possible endeavors of skill in creation. Charms work by mixing Essence with an Exalts understanding of one of the Skills, allowing them to perform deeds far beyond the realm of a mortal attempting such a skill. These Charms can either be obvious or not, and that depends entirely on the specifics of the Charm in question, as well as where the Essence for it comes from. Their power ranges wildly from acts of mere heroism to acts that shake the cosmos and equal and surpass the arts by which Creation was shaped from the Wyld, all depending on the Skill and how deep the Exalt’s understanding of the Skill and Essence is. Sidereals have a limited pool of Charms, their feats bound by limitations imposed by the Maidens of Destiny at their inception. However, they circumnavigate this limitation through their development of the Sidereal Martial Arts, techniques who's power rivals the greatest Charms of the other Celestial Exalted. Charms can even be combined and used more than one at a time, allowing for new and fresh uses of power that build upon each other. Sidereal charms tend to be something of a wild card, with things related more to the concepts of the skill, rather than direct applications.
{Spoiler}Excellencies: Excellencies are the most basic expression of the Sidereal Essence that is possible for an Exalt. By infusing themselves with Essence while they perform an act, it pushes their already prestigious skill to even greater heights, rending even the youngest Solar capable of the acts that come without any use of Essence to the most puissant of their kind. Those Exalts who have already reached that level are even more terrifying, their might allowing them to perform acts of skill that are utterly unthinkable to be done by skill alone. Excellencies, unless cast from an external pool, are never Obvious to observers to be magical, though acts performed with them may seem to be utterly unbelievable for others who watch to be done without some sort of magic. Further skill in them can render an Exalt capable of being far more efficient with their essence, putting an amount in and being able to draw on that inspiration for a much longer period of time. Sidereals have access to an Excellency beyond that of the other Celestial Exalted, allowing them to casually bend fate to let them acheive their ends with ease. Shinzo has Excellencies in the Craft, Dodge, Performance, Socialize, Investigation, Larceny, Lore, Occult, Stealth, Awareness, Bureaucracy, Medicine, and Martial Arts trees.
Resistance Charms: Resistance charms are tied to the sign of the Captain, which symbolizes strength, determination, order, and discipline, able to guide and reach safety without fail, though it also symbolizes organization for it's own sake. These charms increase Shinzo's durability, towards both elemental effects as well as those of nature. More amazingly, Shinzo can trap the fate of being harmed, either by poison or direct attack, around him, rewriting that fate into others as he so chooses. He can bind love and affection for those that his opponents care about and force them to attack them if they would attack him, testing their dedication to causes and punishing them if they are found wanting, and continue to fight despite being riddled with poison, wounds, and fatigue by enfolding his heart in emptiness.
"Once there was a maiden. . . made from a lump of iron, shaped by wind, sea, and fire -Fearing how wood might shape her - she ran, and did not look back. - One day, she forgot what she ran from - So, she pulled her heart out to ask it. - "Why don't you look back and see?" it said.- So, she sighed and threw her heart away. - "I have no use for beginnings," said she."
Craft Charms: Craft focuses on the concept of creation, of mending, of making something valuable and real out of what is at hand. It symbolizes order and reality, and as such, is a matter of stability. It's connected to the Sign of the Peacock, of measured and judged partnership. On top of giving him a mastery over crafting materials, it also allows him to benefit in dialogue with wind elementals, complete complex tasks in 1/10 the time it should take, guarantee the fate of an object being sent or received from him, warp fate to aid him in the completion of tasks done in civilized locales, and even reshape chaos into order.
"Once there was a maiden . . . who met a thing that lived outside the world, and there was a beauty to it. - It burned with an unholy wrath that could destroy Creation. - It hated her as much as it loved her. - It's kiss was blood and perfection, for it's teeth were sharp. - It offered her power, and with it, hooks to tear her soul. - With care not to burn her fingers, she took it into her life. - "Love is what you make of it." said she."
Dodge Charms: Dodge is connected to the Sign of the Ewer, of romantic pursuit and the avoidance of unwanted entanglements. It represents idealism, hope, of revolution. With these charms, they can dodge things that should not be capable of being dodged, such as typhoons and earthquakes, of trapped words, of poison in a cup he drank. In reality, he dodges not the source of the calamity, but the fate of being affected by the calamity. He can simply leave places he does not want to be, instead deigning to appear elsewhere so long as the loom of fate can be rewritten without a snag, and people believing that he was truly never there, bringing others with him if he chooses to, dragging cities around if he so deigns.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who was driven from her land. - Great black stags chased her, and their eyes shown blue. - Monsters scrambled after her through the bush, though they found her not. - Stumbling on a log, she fell; and thought to surrender and end the torment of the hunt, but then, she stood, and stuck out her tongue at the dark woods behind her. "Life is smiling at her troubles, said she."
Linguistics Charms: Linguistics is connected to the Sign of the Pillar, of partnerships tested and found stable...though not necessarily good or bad. They represent platonic affection, of herd animals, and of general stability and solidity. Shinzo is not an expert in these charms, though he can, and does, use the knowledge of language to have a mere spoken name engender intimacy and close relations between himself and another individual, as well as forge binding ties that allow two people to understand each other with perfect clarity.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who fled a shadow, in the company of a friend. - They traveled through strange places, and among strange people. - "How can you trust me," he asked, "with such horror behind you?" - "Love endures," she said.
Performance Charms: Performance is connected to the Sign of the Musician, of contentment in the act of living. It is joy in plenty and enjoyment of the finer things in life. It rewards gourmets and poets as well as blind materialism and scandalous excess. Through it, one can just as easily ensure that a ceremony or social function goes perfectly and benefits the people, to give a stirring speech that makes souls content and purposeful, as command the elements or use the skill with dance to dodge attacks. Shinzo contents himself with the techniques within to make people more joyful and content.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who stood at the center of every dance. - Back then, she knew all the dances. - She never missed a step. - One day, she heard something in the music, as a singer dropped the beat. - It taught her of the joy of dancing poorly. - She started dancing more and more awry. - "Love has no rules," she said."
Socialize Charms: Socialize is associated with the Sign of the Lovers, of physical lust, of carnal indulgence, and of uneven relationships. It is the sign of sex, and as such, it's both the sign of fulfilling lovemaking as depravity and rape. It can remove someone from the entire system of love, it can shift perceptions towards a certain definition, it can ignore social faux-pas, it can make people want to drop everything to please the Sidereal, it can make social groups where there were only disparate individuals, and it can bind souls together.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . and things didn't go so well for her. - It was just the way of the world, you know? - She had to give up power to get it, and she didn't get much. - Some people hated her for getting any power at all. - She needed a protector, so she gave herself to a man named Necessity. - "Love is hard," she said."
Athletics Charms: Athletics is associated with the Sign of the Banner, which deals with reputation, story, and awe. It benefits those who gain glory, leadership, and renown just as much as it deals with the rumormongers that inspire terror, panic, and infamy, or who live on empty reputation. Shinzo does not use this overly much, though it allows him to leap great distances and exert huge feats of strength.
"Once there was a maiden . . . who struck an iron wall. - Until it shattered her hand. - She didn't stop, though cracks spread throughout her bones. - She didn't stop, though blood sprayed her eyes. - She didn't stop until she shattered the wall. - "Survival is fury," she said."
Melee Charms: Melee is associated with the Sign of the Spear, of skill and discipline in armed conflict. It deals with professionalism and those who feign it, duty and those who are overly beholden to it, to skill and those who are obsessed by it. Shinzo mostly prefers more personal, powerful Martial Arts to direct martial skill, though he dabbles in for things that can be generally of use, such as the ability to attack multiple times and aid in avoiding present and future attacks.
"Same as Athletics"
Presence Charms: Presence is symbolized by the Sign of the Gauntlet, of the choice between bad and worse. It is ruthless expediency and battlefield logic, of making unpleasant necessities and to act callously and ruthlessly. It is acting with more straightforwardness and directness than Sidereals tend to enjoy, though Shinzo takes delight in it. He can force people to come to decisions that he prefers...though not forever. He can make statements and twist minds without being there, setting it's fate to occur without him. He can impose entire Motivations on individuals towards ends he prefers, changing the course of their life. He can shift the consequence of losing arguments or being convinced to others if he has doubts he can't shake, and he can inform people, truthfully, that their worst fears and nightmares will occur if they fail to listen to him, and through manipulation of fate, make it so.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . falling forever in the water. - She reached for purchase, but found nothing; her arms swung through the sea. - The water did not slow her, nor did the chill. - But she could not breathe. - Each time she gasped and found no breath, a human child died; and thus, she lived. - "Survival is acceptance," she said."
Investigation Charms: Investigation is symbolized by the Key, of wisdom discovered through scholarly study and intellectual understanding. The Key is rewards gained and tasks accomplished through cleverness. It is people whoo create new solutions through creativity and inquiry, and it is people who waste time on pointless experiments and bother with things better left undisturbed. Through Investigation, Shinzo can manifest a spider to tell him any objective fact of truth in the world, can summon a research "assistant" who frankly knows just about everything about the world and magic inside of it, and inquire with the spirits of the world about questions about what he needs or what he needs to do, and, after five days, can return to see those truths exposed to him.
"Once, there was that old thing . . . that wasn't like a shadow, because you could see it too well. - ...and wasn't like, because it didn't make flowers grow. - So, it had to be a maiden, but she didn't mind. "To know the world is to love it," said she."
Larceny Charms: Larceny is associated with the Sign of the Guardians. It personifies practical knowledge and rewards earned through hard labor. It contains the wisdom of the beasts and the elderly. It encompasses long observation, inbred wisdom, meaningless superstition, and quckery. Ironically, it's charms focus on theft and avoidance. With it, Shinzo can steal strength, he can steal thoughts, and he can steal truth.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who ate 236 leaves. She had to, because otherwise she’d forget where she came from, and that would make everyone very sad or, possibly very happy. - She found herself in a woods full of monsters, impelled toward their cook pot. “Do you want to cook me?” she asked. “Or do you think that’s where maidens belong?” - There was a crack in the cook pot’s bottom that let in the sky. - She started to squirm through the crack, but then, she saw that the clouds carried chains and the wind was their manacles. - As the monsters pulled her back, she called to the stones and she called the sky, but it was the night that came to her aid; and, in the night, fire and pain. “Why should you help me?” she asked. - “To know the world is to serve it,” they said."
Lore Charms: Lore is associated with the Sign of the Treasure Trove, which governs revealed wisdom. It is understanding and knowledge that illuminates the world. It is the erudite, the educated, the englightened, the elitists, the celebrants, the know-it-alls. With it, Shinzo can sleep, and on awakening, become a specialist in any subject he so chooses.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who knew some things about a man. he didn't like that, but he kissed her anyway. She told him everything in her heart: - She whispered truths to him, but he didn't care. - She whispered hopes to him, but he didn't care. - She whispered her prayers, but heard only silence. - And she whisepered her fear to him, but he didn't care. - He looked upon her inner self, and the void met his eyes. "To know the world is to fear it," said he."
Occult Charms: Occult is associated with the sign of the Sorcerer, which governs Exaltations, gods, and sorcerers. Those who are under it's domains practice creation, sorcery, thaumaturgy, and geomancy, they practice demon worship and necromancy. It is accomplishing tasks through Essence. Through Occult, Shinzo looks into the truth of magic, hearing it like a song, and sees hidden spirits through his Mark of Exaltation on his forehead. Many wonder why an Exalt of his caliber never bothered with Sorcery, but he would simply say he preferred the study of Martial Arts, and the mastery of Charms that came easily to him. He is old, but unfortunately, lazy in many ways.
"Once, there as a maiden . . . and before her came all the peoples of creation and knelt. - They set aside their petty squabbles in her name. - They acclaimed her with many shouts. - They prayed for her safety and her weal. - Not one of them struck free her chains. "To know the world . . . is to own it," she said."
Stealth Charms: Stealth is symbolized by the Mask, of secret wisdom and things known but concealed. It is religious wisdom, rites of passage, and secrets of the bed. It is Obfuscation and spying. With it, Shinzo can take himself and others outside Fate, rendering it difficult to remember him or them. He can step outside the bonds of reality, or rendering them invisible to others, at the cost of being able to interact with the world through more than speech...and even that speech seems to come from the person's mind. He can hide the flare of his Anima, can cloak himself in his own possible futures to make it all but impossible to get a clear look at. And he can hide his own identity temporarily, becoming someone else, somewhere else, even to himself.
"Once, there were . . . shadows in the window . . . footsteps at the gates of life . . . whispering at the door. - "Should I live or die? Am I living or dead?" - "To know the world is to choose it," says the Void."
Awareness Charms: Awareness is tied to the Sign of the Crow, which represents the End of illusions and dreams. It is the recognition of inevitability. It is comfort in death, the heroism of forlorn hope, and morbid humor. It is false bravado, despair, and ignorance of suffering. Through it, Shinzo can glimpse the future to receive warnings of harm that will come.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who was born, and told her mom, "I know how I'm gonna die." - "It's gonna hurt bad, - and I ain't coming back. - I could avoid it, but I won't. Cause one day, death'd come to me and say, "Baby, don't you know?"- "There's always an ending."
Beauracracy Charms: Beauracracy is associated with the Sign of the Haywain, of endings that cannot be easily be described. It is gradual decline and imprecise definition. It is finding new opportunities in rubble, and it is stasis and decay. Through it, Shinzo can force good work to be done by organizations, he can summon, then, destroy, bind, or reform gods, demons, and spirits. He can become invisible to people who believe themselves to be his superior. He can force discussions and debates to come to a peaceable conclusion, and he can paralyze organizations through wasted action or powerful inaction.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who learned that the faster she ran, the faster she could run. Thus, running consumed her, - Until one day, she flew beyond the ending of her life. - "And here I thought it'd last forever," she said. - "But, there's always an ending," said the run."
Medicine Charms: Medicine is associated with the Sign of the Corpse, the end of lives and modes of existence. It is those who pass with planning, dignity, grace, and wailing agony. With it, he can give someone peace through pain, and allow the passage of an easy death. It can destroy the Undead, to cure magical and mundane illnesses. He can defer wounds into his fate in the future, and he can make deals with spirits to infuse and protect people through their fate itself. It can make bargains with dying spirits, to either pass now, or to bind itself to the Sidereals fate and be reborn after it finishes the duty to the Sidereal.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who found herself climbing up an earthen path. - Her footsteps made no sound. There was silence in the air. - She walked for years, and then came to a cliff. - The road gave way to clouds, and she could go no farther. "There's always an ending." she said."
Resistance Charms: Resistance charms are tied to the sign of the Captain, which symbolizes strength, determination, order, and discipline, able to guide and reach safety without fail, though it also symbolizes organization for it's own sake. These charms increase Shinzo's durability, towards both elemental effects as well as those of nature. More amazingly, Shinzo can trap the fate of being harmed, either by poison or direct attack, around him, rewriting that fate into others as he so chooses. He can bind love and affection for those that his opponents care about and force them to attack them if they would attack him, testing their dedication to causes and punishing them if they are found wanting, and continue to fight despite being riddled with poison, wounds, and fatigue by enfolding his heart in emptiness.
"Once there was a maiden. . . made from a lump of iron, shaped by wind, sea, and fire -Fearing how wood might shape her - she ran, and did not look back. - One day, she forgot what she ran from - So, she pulled her heart out to ask it. - "Why don't you look back and see?" it said.- So, she sighed and threw her heart away. - "I have no use for beginnings," said she."
Craft Charms: Craft focuses on the concept of creation, of mending, of making something valuable and real out of what is at hand. It symbolizes order and reality, and as such, is a matter of stability. It's connected to the Sign of the Peacock, of measured and judged partnership. On top of giving him a mastery over crafting materials, it also allows him to benefit in dialogue with wind elementals, complete complex tasks in 1/10 the time it should take, guarantee the fate of an object being sent or received from him, warp fate to aid him in the completion of tasks done in civilized locales, and even reshape chaos into order.
"Once there was a maiden . . . who met a thing that lived outside the world, and there was a beauty to it. - It burned with an unholy wrath that could destroy Creation. - It hated her as much as it loved her. - It's kiss was blood and perfection, for it's teeth were sharp. - It offered her power, and with it, hooks to tear her soul. - With care not to burn her fingers, she took it into her life. - "Love is what you make of it." said she."
Dodge Charms: Dodge is connected to the Sign of the Ewer, of romantic pursuit and the avoidance of unwanted entanglements. It represents idealism, hope, of revolution. With these charms, they can dodge things that should not be capable of being dodged, such as typhoons and earthquakes, of trapped words, of poison in a cup he drank. In reality, he dodges not the source of the calamity, but the fate of being affected by the calamity. He can simply leave places he does not want to be, instead deigning to appear elsewhere so long as the loom of fate can be rewritten without a snag, and people believing that he was truly never there, bringing others with him if he chooses to, dragging cities around if he so deigns.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who was driven from her land. - Great black stags chased her, and their eyes shown blue. - Monsters scrambled after her through the bush, though they found her not. - Stumbling on a log, she fell; and thought to surrender and end the torment of the hunt, but then, she stood, and stuck out her tongue at the dark woods behind her. "Life is smiling at her troubles, said she."
Linguistics Charms: Linguistics is connected to the Sign of the Pillar, of partnerships tested and found stable...though not necessarily good or bad. They represent platonic affection, of herd animals, and of general stability and solidity. Shinzo is not an expert in these charms, though he can, and does, use the knowledge of language to have a mere spoken name engender intimacy and close relations between himself and another individual, as well as forge binding ties that allow two people to understand each other with perfect clarity.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who fled a shadow, in the company of a friend. - They traveled through strange places, and among strange people. - "How can you trust me," he asked, "with such horror behind you?" - "Love endures," she said.
Performance Charms: Performance is connected to the Sign of the Musician, of contentment in the act of living. It is joy in plenty and enjoyment of the finer things in life. It rewards gourmets and poets as well as blind materialism and scandalous excess. Through it, one can just as easily ensure that a ceremony or social function goes perfectly and benefits the people, to give a stirring speech that makes souls content and purposeful, as command the elements or use the skill with dance to dodge attacks. Shinzo contents himself with the techniques within to make people more joyful and content.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who stood at the center of every dance. - Back then, she knew all the dances. - She never missed a step. - One day, she heard something in the music, as a singer dropped the beat. - It taught her of the joy of dancing poorly. - She started dancing more and more awry. - "Love has no rules," she said."
Socialize Charms: Socialize is associated with the Sign of the Lovers, of physical lust, of carnal indulgence, and of uneven relationships. It is the sign of sex, and as such, it's both the sign of fulfilling lovemaking as depravity and rape. It can remove someone from the entire system of love, it can shift perceptions towards a certain definition, it can ignore social faux-pas, it can make people want to drop everything to please the Sidereal, it can make social groups where there were only disparate individuals, and it can bind souls together.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . and things didn't go so well for her. - It was just the way of the world, you know? - She had to give up power to get it, and she didn't get much. - Some people hated her for getting any power at all. - She needed a protector, so she gave herself to a man named Necessity. - "Love is hard," she said."
Athletics Charms: Athletics is associated with the Sign of the Banner, which deals with reputation, story, and awe. It benefits those who gain glory, leadership, and renown just as much as it deals with the rumormongers that inspire terror, panic, and infamy, or who live on empty reputation. Shinzo does not use this overly much, though it allows him to leap great distances and exert huge feats of strength.
"Once there was a maiden . . . who struck an iron wall. - Until it shattered her hand. - She didn't stop, though cracks spread throughout her bones. - She didn't stop, though blood sprayed her eyes. - She didn't stop until she shattered the wall. - "Survival is fury," she said."
Melee Charms: Melee is associated with the Sign of the Spear, of skill and discipline in armed conflict. It deals with professionalism and those who feign it, duty and those who are overly beholden to it, to skill and those who are obsessed by it. Shinzo mostly prefers more personal, powerful Martial Arts to direct martial skill, though he dabbles in for things that can be generally of use, such as the ability to attack multiple times and aid in avoiding present and future attacks.
"Same as Athletics"
Presence Charms: Presence is symbolized by the Sign of the Gauntlet, of the choice between bad and worse. It is ruthless expediency and battlefield logic, of making unpleasant necessities and to act callously and ruthlessly. It is acting with more straightforwardness and directness than Sidereals tend to enjoy, though Shinzo takes delight in it. He can force people to come to decisions that he prefers...though not forever. He can make statements and twist minds without being there, setting it's fate to occur without him. He can impose entire Motivations on individuals towards ends he prefers, changing the course of their life. He can shift the consequence of losing arguments or being convinced to others if he has doubts he can't shake, and he can inform people, truthfully, that their worst fears and nightmares will occur if they fail to listen to him, and through manipulation of fate, make it so.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . falling forever in the water. - She reached for purchase, but found nothing; her arms swung through the sea. - The water did not slow her, nor did the chill. - But she could not breathe. - Each time she gasped and found no breath, a human child died; and thus, she lived. - "Survival is acceptance," she said."
Investigation Charms: Investigation is symbolized by the Key, of wisdom discovered through scholarly study and intellectual understanding. The Key is rewards gained and tasks accomplished through cleverness. It is people whoo create new solutions through creativity and inquiry, and it is people who waste time on pointless experiments and bother with things better left undisturbed. Through Investigation, Shinzo can manifest a spider to tell him any objective fact of truth in the world, can summon a research "assistant" who frankly knows just about everything about the world and magic inside of it, and inquire with the spirits of the world about questions about what he needs or what he needs to do, and, after five days, can return to see those truths exposed to him.
"Once, there was that old thing . . . that wasn't like a shadow, because you could see it too well. - ...and wasn't like, because it didn't make flowers grow. - So, it had to be a maiden, but she didn't mind. "To know the world is to love it," said she."
Larceny Charms: Larceny is associated with the Sign of the Guardians. It personifies practical knowledge and rewards earned through hard labor. It contains the wisdom of the beasts and the elderly. It encompasses long observation, inbred wisdom, meaningless superstition, and quckery. Ironically, it's charms focus on theft and avoidance. With it, Shinzo can steal strength, he can steal thoughts, and he can steal truth.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who ate 236 leaves. She had to, because otherwise she’d forget where she came from, and that would make everyone very sad or, possibly very happy. - She found herself in a woods full of monsters, impelled toward their cook pot. “Do you want to cook me?” she asked. “Or do you think that’s where maidens belong?” - There was a crack in the cook pot’s bottom that let in the sky. - She started to squirm through the crack, but then, she saw that the clouds carried chains and the wind was their manacles. - As the monsters pulled her back, she called to the stones and she called the sky, but it was the night that came to her aid; and, in the night, fire and pain. “Why should you help me?” she asked. - “To know the world is to serve it,” they said."
Lore Charms: Lore is associated with the Sign of the Treasure Trove, which governs revealed wisdom. It is understanding and knowledge that illuminates the world. It is the erudite, the educated, the englightened, the elitists, the celebrants, the know-it-alls. With it, Shinzo can sleep, and on awakening, become a specialist in any subject he so chooses.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who knew some things about a man. he didn't like that, but he kissed her anyway. She told him everything in her heart: - She whispered truths to him, but he didn't care. - She whispered hopes to him, but he didn't care. - She whispered her prayers, but heard only silence. - And she whisepered her fear to him, but he didn't care. - He looked upon her inner self, and the void met his eyes. "To know the world is to fear it," said he."
Occult Charms: Occult is associated with the sign of the Sorcerer, which governs Exaltations, gods, and sorcerers. Those who are under it's domains practice creation, sorcery, thaumaturgy, and geomancy, they practice demon worship and necromancy. It is accomplishing tasks through Essence. Through Occult, Shinzo looks into the truth of magic, hearing it like a song, and sees hidden spirits through his Mark of Exaltation on his forehead. Many wonder why an Exalt of his caliber never bothered with Sorcery, but he would simply say he preferred the study of Martial Arts, and the mastery of Charms that came easily to him. He is old, but unfortunately, lazy in many ways.
"Once, there as a maiden . . . and before her came all the peoples of creation and knelt. - They set aside their petty squabbles in her name. - They acclaimed her with many shouts. - They prayed for her safety and her weal. - Not one of them struck free her chains. "To know the world . . . is to own it," she said."
Stealth Charms: Stealth is symbolized by the Mask, of secret wisdom and things known but concealed. It is religious wisdom, rites of passage, and secrets of the bed. It is Obfuscation and spying. With it, Shinzo can take himself and others outside Fate, rendering it difficult to remember him or them. He can step outside the bonds of reality, or rendering them invisible to others, at the cost of being able to interact with the world through more than speech...and even that speech seems to come from the person's mind. He can hide the flare of his Anima, can cloak himself in his own possible futures to make it all but impossible to get a clear look at. And he can hide his own identity temporarily, becoming someone else, somewhere else, even to himself.
"Once, there were . . . shadows in the window . . . footsteps at the gates of life . . . whispering at the door. - "Should I live or die? Am I living or dead?" - "To know the world is to choose it," says the Void."
Awareness Charms: Awareness is tied to the Sign of the Crow, which represents the End of illusions and dreams. It is the recognition of inevitability. It is comfort in death, the heroism of forlorn hope, and morbid humor. It is false bravado, despair, and ignorance of suffering. Through it, Shinzo can glimpse the future to receive warnings of harm that will come.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who was born, and told her mom, "I know how I'm gonna die." - "It's gonna hurt bad, - and I ain't coming back. - I could avoid it, but I won't. Cause one day, death'd come to me and say, "Baby, don't you know?"- "There's always an ending."
Beauracracy Charms: Beauracracy is associated with the Sign of the Haywain, of endings that cannot be easily be described. It is gradual decline and imprecise definition. It is finding new opportunities in rubble, and it is stasis and decay. Through it, Shinzo can force good work to be done by organizations, he can summon, then, destroy, bind, or reform gods, demons, and spirits. He can become invisible to people who believe themselves to be his superior. He can force discussions and debates to come to a peaceable conclusion, and he can paralyze organizations through wasted action or powerful inaction.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who learned that the faster she ran, the faster she could run. Thus, running consumed her, - Until one day, she flew beyond the ending of her life. - "And here I thought it'd last forever," she said. - "But, there's always an ending," said the run."
Medicine Charms: Medicine is associated with the Sign of the Corpse, the end of lives and modes of existence. It is those who pass with planning, dignity, grace, and wailing agony. With it, he can give someone peace through pain, and allow the passage of an easy death. It can destroy the Undead, to cure magical and mundane illnesses. He can defer wounds into his fate in the future, and he can make deals with spirits to infuse and protect people through their fate itself. It can make bargains with dying spirits, to either pass now, or to bind itself to the Sidereals fate and be reborn after it finishes the duty to the Sidereal.
"Once, there was a maiden . . . who found herself climbing up an earthen path. - Her footsteps made no sound. There was silence in the air. - She walked for years, and then came to a cliff. - The road gave way to clouds, and she could go no farther. "There's always an ending." she said."
Martial Arts: Technically a Charm subset, but so vast and integral to Shinzo's abilities that it forms it's own section. Martial Arts are special for Sidereal Exalted for a myriad of reasons, but can be condensed to two key ones. They allow for introspection into the very foundation of the universe, into their own selves, and into the very meaning of reality. And they are the way that Sidereal Exalted, normally more reserved and subtle than the Exalted of the Sun and Moon, can match and exceed their counterparts, for they are the end-all-be-all masters of the arts. While Sidereals can bestow upon Solar Exalted these Martial Arts, it comes as a great difficulty for them to learn, and they will always be more draining and difficult to execute in comparison to the true masters.
{Spoiler}Throne Shadow Style: Also known as Fate's Guardian Style, this is the basic, natural Sidereal style of unarmed fighting. It encompasses the basic truth of the Sidereal Exalted: That other aspects and individuals make for the most powerful weapons, easily outstripping fists and blades. It's core works by understanding the world around them, slinking them into the shadows behind others, turning people around them that accept their gift into powerhouses that, should Shinzo choose, can be his own weapons, called "Shadow Fingers." He can steal their breath away, disapppear into crowds, force truth on a person, and turn entire crowds at once into Shadow Fingers to accomplish a key objective.
Prismatic Order of Creation Style: What is generally considered the best introduction to the "basic" first level of Sidereal Martial Arts, Martial Arts that can reshape the heavens and the earth with a stance. It focuses on the substances, entities, and Essence of Creation, a key and powerful tactic that makes it one of the most functional as well as the most intuitive Sidereal Martial Arts to grasp. It's techniques primarily take the form of Martial Stances that adjust the shape and flow of essence within the Sidereal and allow them to take on the aspects of what constitutes Creation.
At the level of complete mastery that Shinzo demonstrates, he is Creation, and Creation is him. He has the indomitable strength of Orichalcum, the flowing grace of Moonsilver, the mastery over fate of Starmetal, and the control over the elements of Jade. He holds magic and fate in the palm of his hand to twist, turn, or mangle. He can possess other people or even inanimate objects, displacing their spirit, and imbuing it with superhuman strength and agility. He can take on the aspect of Dawn Caste Solars, copying the effects of their anima of fear-inducement. He can embody the Game of Divinity, making it difficult for people to bring themselves to harm him, and make him addicted to his presence in that stance. He can develop a hearthstone that encapsulates his personality, taking on the aspect of Manses. And he is aware of the greater universe around him, seeing supernatural effects for a span of 100 yards, hidden or not. And, he can combine them when performing other Sidereal Martial Arts, revealing one of the main reasons it's encouraged to beginners: It will always, always be useful.
"Once, there were maidens…and their names were JI and PENG and LU and ZHOU - and HOU TUI - and AN and CAI and LI and HUA JI - and QIAN JING - and ZUO GU and YOU PAN - and WU JI - and KAO - and CHUNG TING! - The last maiden’s name was - TAO. These were their names, but they knew them not."
Charcoal March of Spiders: An ancient, frighteningly powerful Martial Art that dates back to the original war for the fate of Creation where the Exalted were brought into being. It's power is based on a mixture of the Pattern Spiders that the Sidereals work with and through to modify fate, as well as Autocthon, the Primordial of Making. They take on the aspect of the spider, granting them great abilities of movement, absurdly venomous strikes, supernatural balance and precision, manipulation of threads of fate to govern reality or entangle it. They can strike if they had eight limbs, or had webs throughout the entire landscape. They can consume essence and attacks. And, at the very end, they can reshape reality as if it was just a web for them to take and mold to their liking.
"Once there was a small maiden . . . whose skill was great enough to climb a whirlwind over water. - Arrows fell upon her, forcing her to descend. - But the Essence burning within her set the arrows afire. - She answered the arrows' flight with a storm of her own. - And the small maiden began - to climb the waterspout again. - The maiden became a mother . . . and to one child she said, "I have many things to show you." - And to another, she said, "You may rest within my home and eat; no need to fly." And to a third, she said, "How beautiful you are." And as each heard her words and came to the center of her web . . . she ate them."
Sapphire Veil of Passion Style: Known as the Twice Mastered Art, due to the history of it's creation with a master who created it, and died with his knowledge, and another recreating it with no more than second-hand accounts. It is tied with sex, though it's less a tool of debauchery than an examination of that which inflames passion within beings with greater power than most anything else. With his mastery over this style, Shinzo can look into the hearts and minds of people, see their abilities, their persons, and their feelings towards him. He can stay close to someone no matter how they might move, he might enchant his strikes with incredible penetrating power (get your laughs out already), he can defend against any attack and restore the power of Virtues to him based on the damage he would have suffered. He can gain essence for fighting someone he is Intimate with, to make them strain their mind or overcome their good natures to strike him. He can literally punch or grapple intimacy with him into a person (still not done?), stand against a whole throng, and transfer mental influence or physical unwellness into another. He can turn people into his metaphysical property, who long to do nothing more than please him. He can turn his attractiveness into a weapon, his dexterity into a snare, and overwhelm those who can't access magical power. He can force those he's conquered (STILL!?), subjecting them to unblockable, undodgable attacks depending on how he was victorious against them. And he can solidify essence into ribbons that move with sanguine grace and speed, and strike, not with pain at injury, but total, complete ecstasy.
"Once, there was a lusty maiden, - who desired the ideal lover. - She flirted her way across Creation, - courting handsome boys - and smiling girls. - She attended great debauches, but quantity did not satisfy. - Finally, she met a mirror. Realizing she had learned nothing, - the maiden was satisfied. - One morning, the maiden awoke, - to find herself wearing a leash and collar. - She could not recall when or where she had acquired such fetters. - She set about to follow the leash, - pursuing it past a line of all her former lovers, - and found that it resided in her hand."
Prismatic Order of Creation Style: What is generally considered the best introduction to the "basic" first level of Sidereal Martial Arts, Martial Arts that can reshape the heavens and the earth with a stance. It focuses on the substances, entities, and Essence of Creation, a key and powerful tactic that makes it one of the most functional as well as the most intuitive Sidereal Martial Arts to grasp. It's techniques primarily take the form of Martial Stances that adjust the shape and flow of essence within the Sidereal and allow them to take on the aspects of what constitutes Creation.
At the level of complete mastery that Shinzo demonstrates, he is Creation, and Creation is him. He has the indomitable strength of Orichalcum, the flowing grace of Moonsilver, the mastery over fate of Starmetal, and the control over the elements of Jade. He holds magic and fate in the palm of his hand to twist, turn, or mangle. He can possess other people or even inanimate objects, displacing their spirit, and imbuing it with superhuman strength and agility. He can take on the aspect of Dawn Caste Solars, copying the effects of their anima of fear-inducement. He can embody the Game of Divinity, making it difficult for people to bring themselves to harm him, and make him addicted to his presence in that stance. He can develop a hearthstone that encapsulates his personality, taking on the aspect of Manses. And he is aware of the greater universe around him, seeing supernatural effects for a span of 100 yards, hidden or not. And, he can combine them when performing other Sidereal Martial Arts, revealing one of the main reasons it's encouraged to beginners: It will always, always be useful.
"Once, there were maidens…and their names were JI and PENG and LU and ZHOU - and HOU TUI - and AN and CAI and LI and HUA JI - and QIAN JING - and ZUO GU and YOU PAN - and WU JI - and KAO - and CHUNG TING! - The last maiden’s name was - TAO. These were their names, but they knew them not."
Charcoal March of Spiders: An ancient, frighteningly powerful Martial Art that dates back to the original war for the fate of Creation where the Exalted were brought into being. It's power is based on a mixture of the Pattern Spiders that the Sidereals work with and through to modify fate, as well as Autocthon, the Primordial of Making. They take on the aspect of the spider, granting them great abilities of movement, absurdly venomous strikes, supernatural balance and precision, manipulation of threads of fate to govern reality or entangle it. They can strike if they had eight limbs, or had webs throughout the entire landscape. They can consume essence and attacks. And, at the very end, they can reshape reality as if it was just a web for them to take and mold to their liking.
"Once there was a small maiden . . . whose skill was great enough to climb a whirlwind over water. - Arrows fell upon her, forcing her to descend. - But the Essence burning within her set the arrows afire. - She answered the arrows' flight with a storm of her own. - And the small maiden began - to climb the waterspout again. - The maiden became a mother . . . and to one child she said, "I have many things to show you." - And to another, she said, "You may rest within my home and eat; no need to fly." And to a third, she said, "How beautiful you are." And as each heard her words and came to the center of her web . . . she ate them."
Sapphire Veil of Passion Style: Known as the Twice Mastered Art, due to the history of it's creation with a master who created it, and died with his knowledge, and another recreating it with no more than second-hand accounts. It is tied with sex, though it's less a tool of debauchery than an examination of that which inflames passion within beings with greater power than most anything else. With his mastery over this style, Shinzo can look into the hearts and minds of people, see their abilities, their persons, and their feelings towards him. He can stay close to someone no matter how they might move, he might enchant his strikes with incredible penetrating power (get your laughs out already), he can defend against any attack and restore the power of Virtues to him based on the damage he would have suffered. He can gain essence for fighting someone he is Intimate with, to make them strain their mind or overcome their good natures to strike him. He can literally punch or grapple intimacy with him into a person (still not done?), stand against a whole throng, and transfer mental influence or physical unwellness into another. He can turn people into his metaphysical property, who long to do nothing more than please him. He can turn his attractiveness into a weapon, his dexterity into a snare, and overwhelm those who can't access magical power. He can force those he's conquered (STILL!?), subjecting them to unblockable, undodgable attacks depending on how he was victorious against them. And he can solidify essence into ribbons that move with sanguine grace and speed, and strike, not with pain at injury, but total, complete ecstasy.
"Once, there was a lusty maiden, - who desired the ideal lover. - She flirted her way across Creation, - courting handsome boys - and smiling girls. - She attended great debauches, but quantity did not satisfy. - Finally, she met a mirror. Realizing she had learned nothing, - the maiden was satisfied. - One morning, the maiden awoke, - to find herself wearing a leash and collar. - She could not recall when or where she had acquired such fetters. - She set about to follow the leash, - pursuing it past a line of all her former lovers, - and found that it resided in her hand."
Sidereal Astrology: The meat and potatoes of how Sidereals influence Fate lies in their Astrology. With it, they can adjust their fate and the fates of others around them, according to the Signs spoken about in the Charms section. These are adjustments to Fate, and as such, they are a powerful force for subtly weaving reality according to how the Sidereal Exalted so chooses.
{Spoiler} Colleges: Attempts to weave Fate go through the Signs of the Maidens, known as Constellations or Colleges. These take on the Signs as seen in the Comments section, which I'll go over. When a Sidereal wishes to bend fate, it must be through the context of one of the Colleges in concept. Shinzo focuses on maintaining control of Seven colleges, to which he cultivated to a focus.
Sword: Slow and Painful Death, Perseverance, Failure, Illness, Tribulation, Inheritance, Resignation, The Defeated.
Sorcerer: Humanity, Geomancy, Construction, Demons, Talismans, Essence Use, Egotism.
The Ewer: Love, Motherhood, Righteousness, Idealism, Monastic Duty, Obsession, Seduction, Dreams, and Fantasies.
The Pillar: Family, Friendship, Stability, Civil Society, Unjust Authority, Stagnation, Queens and Princes
The Musician: Excess, Laughter, Hedonism, Music, Homosexuality, Drugs, Finery, Greed, Extramarital sex, Contentment, Theater.
The Gull: Wandering, Wind, Irresponsibility, Rakish Charisma, Unexamined Life
The Mask: Secrets, Lies, Security Services, Guarded Individuals, Religious Worship, Extortion, Trickery.
Ascending/Descending Destinies: The main way that Sidereals adjust fate to their whims. By channelling Essence through the College, they adjust a targets fate so that they are more or less likely to be successful in endeavors of varying specificity. The more specific you get. in time and trigger, the more powerful the effect is. These take several shapes, similar, yet distinct and, most importantly, -stackable- with their counterparts.
Artful Prodigy Blessing/Sloped Floor Curse make them more likely to succeed or fail at accomplishing objectives related to the Destiny
Blissful Idiot Blessing/ Ruin Without Failure makes tasks related to the Destiny more easy or difficult
Hound-Chases-Rabbit Blessing/Heart Piercing Curse: Grants or Saps Motivation towards facets of the Destiny.
Fortified Spirit Blessing/Name-Destroying Curse: Grants moral qualities or deficiencies towards the accomplishment of the Destiny.
Resplendent Destinies: The ability for Sidereals to craft Destinies for themselves, not to benefit from, but to adopt. This allows them to slip effortlessly into societies, making them among the most skilled and adept infiltrators, surpassing even the most adept Solar Exalted with his sheer versatility, though Lunars might be able to reach the same level with a great deal of training and practice due to their shapeshifting talent, but lack the fact that it adjusts his own mind to fit as well. These Destinies grant Shinzo bonuses he can make use of, generally in accordance with their Correlations as spoken about above.
Sword: Slow and Painful Death, Perseverance, Failure, Illness, Tribulation, Inheritance, Resignation, The Defeated.
Sorcerer: Humanity, Geomancy, Construction, Demons, Talismans, Essence Use, Egotism.
The Ewer: Love, Motherhood, Righteousness, Idealism, Monastic Duty, Obsession, Seduction, Dreams, and Fantasies.
The Pillar: Family, Friendship, Stability, Civil Society, Unjust Authority, Stagnation, Queens and Princes
The Musician: Excess, Laughter, Hedonism, Music, Homosexuality, Drugs, Finery, Greed, Extramarital sex, Contentment, Theater.
The Gull: Wandering, Wind, Irresponsibility, Rakish Charisma, Unexamined Life
The Mask: Secrets, Lies, Security Services, Guarded Individuals, Religious Worship, Extortion, Trickery.
Ascending/Descending Destinies: The main way that Sidereals adjust fate to their whims. By channelling Essence through the College, they adjust a targets fate so that they are more or less likely to be successful in endeavors of varying specificity. The more specific you get. in time and trigger, the more powerful the effect is. These take several shapes, similar, yet distinct and, most importantly, -stackable- with their counterparts.
Artful Prodigy Blessing/Sloped Floor Curse make them more likely to succeed or fail at accomplishing objectives related to the Destiny
Blissful Idiot Blessing/ Ruin Without Failure makes tasks related to the Destiny more easy or difficult
Hound-Chases-Rabbit Blessing/Heart Piercing Curse: Grants or Saps Motivation towards facets of the Destiny.
Fortified Spirit Blessing/Name-Destroying Curse: Grants moral qualities or deficiencies towards the accomplishment of the Destiny.
Resplendent Destinies: The ability for Sidereals to craft Destinies for themselves, not to benefit from, but to adopt. This allows them to slip effortlessly into societies, making them among the most skilled and adept infiltrators, surpassing even the most adept Solar Exalted with his sheer versatility, though Lunars might be able to reach the same level with a great deal of training and practice due to their shapeshifting talent, but lack the fact that it adjusts his own mind to fit as well. These Destinies grant Shinzo bonuses he can make use of, generally in accordance with their Correlations as spoken about above.
Equipment: The Artifacts of Creation are very powerful tools, devices that could be every bit as effective as Charms.
{Spoiler}Hearthstone Bracers: Bracer he wears on his left hand that provide a place to set Hearthstones in, which provide benefits to his skill with Martial Arts and his attractiveness. In addition, their Starmetal construction aids him directly in combat.
Starmetal Daiklave: A sword meant to sit in a scabbard, unused. A poor fate for a weapon, but in the First Age, they were just lying around anyway.
Scabbard of the Living Weapon: As long as his Daiklave rests in the Scabbard, a sign of peace and rest, mundane attacks can't harm Shinzo. He enjoys his time with mortals, but doesn't mistake friendliness for complacency, for despite all his skill, it's possible that a mortal knife in his back might just be the fate he was meant for.
Infinite Resplendence Amulet: An amulet designed from a composite of magical materials, meant to allow him to switch between the individual benefits with ease. At it's base, it allows the formation of clothes of whatever quality he chooses. Orichalcum provides a glorious shine that ignites with the splendor of the sun, making him appear extraordinarily beautiful, moreso than he is already. Moonsilver works as a kevlar vest on a magic scale, providing protection and stealth enhancement. Starmetal allows him to have pockets to Elsewhere, giving him access to his full library of artifacts at any moment. Jade provides increased influence and command over soldiers under his command.
Discreet Essence armor: Adornments on his clothing that form a bubble of Essence to protect him from attacks when targeted, acting as armor without limiting his ability to perform the Martial Arts he focuses his life on.
Resplendent Satchel of Healing: Artifact tools for healing that he keeps within the Elsewhere pockets of his Infinite Resplendence Amulet, aiding with possession of medical tools and generally being able to treat the maladies of the world that he comes across.
Neclace of Solar Charisma: An orichalcum necklace he wears, that resembles a chain around his neck. This artifact serves to enhance his appearance and make his words very difficult to ignore, shining with the light of the Sun much as the Orichalcum version of the Infinite Resplendence Amulet does.
Sublime Interstice of Incongruity: The ability to deploy a bubble in fate, that allows people to walk forward and back through Fate's backdoor, allowing them to leave it. When they leave, they can interact with reality much as normal...but people will very often quickly forget their names and faces, to a frightening degree. Some have theorized that this effect will be a permanent fixture to Sidereal Exalted were the Constellation of the Mask ever to be broken, but they were dismissed as foolish, as such an insane proposition would never come to pass.
Cloak of Vanishing Escape: Allows the ability to teleport up to 10 miles in any direction, with up to one person joining with him.
Perfected Kata Bracers: Bracer worn on his right hand, that serves to give him a greater mastery of Martial Arts whenever he settles into a Form.
Silken Armor: Another layer of protection he tends to wear, taking the form of flowing silk robes. Each is as hard as steel, and provides similar protection despite their flowing, soft nature, able to turn a blade with ease.
Starmetal Daiklave: A sword meant to sit in a scabbard, unused. A poor fate for a weapon, but in the First Age, they were just lying around anyway.
Scabbard of the Living Weapon: As long as his Daiklave rests in the Scabbard, a sign of peace and rest, mundane attacks can't harm Shinzo. He enjoys his time with mortals, but doesn't mistake friendliness for complacency, for despite all his skill, it's possible that a mortal knife in his back might just be the fate he was meant for.
Infinite Resplendence Amulet: An amulet designed from a composite of magical materials, meant to allow him to switch between the individual benefits with ease. At it's base, it allows the formation of clothes of whatever quality he chooses. Orichalcum provides a glorious shine that ignites with the splendor of the sun, making him appear extraordinarily beautiful, moreso than he is already. Moonsilver works as a kevlar vest on a magic scale, providing protection and stealth enhancement. Starmetal allows him to have pockets to Elsewhere, giving him access to his full library of artifacts at any moment. Jade provides increased influence and command over soldiers under his command.
Discreet Essence armor: Adornments on his clothing that form a bubble of Essence to protect him from attacks when targeted, acting as armor without limiting his ability to perform the Martial Arts he focuses his life on.
Resplendent Satchel of Healing: Artifact tools for healing that he keeps within the Elsewhere pockets of his Infinite Resplendence Amulet, aiding with possession of medical tools and generally being able to treat the maladies of the world that he comes across.
Neclace of Solar Charisma: An orichalcum necklace he wears, that resembles a chain around his neck. This artifact serves to enhance his appearance and make his words very difficult to ignore, shining with the light of the Sun much as the Orichalcum version of the Infinite Resplendence Amulet does.
Sublime Interstice of Incongruity: The ability to deploy a bubble in fate, that allows people to walk forward and back through Fate's backdoor, allowing them to leave it. When they leave, they can interact with reality much as normal...but people will very often quickly forget their names and faces, to a frightening degree. Some have theorized that this effect will be a permanent fixture to Sidereal Exalted were the Constellation of the Mask ever to be broken, but they were dismissed as foolish, as such an insane proposition would never come to pass.
Cloak of Vanishing Escape: Allows the ability to teleport up to 10 miles in any direction, with up to one person joining with him.
Perfected Kata Bracers: Bracer worn on his right hand, that serves to give him a greater mastery of Martial Arts whenever he settles into a Form.
Silken Armor: Another layer of protection he tends to wear, taking the form of flowing silk robes. Each is as hard as steel, and provides similar protection despite their flowing, soft nature, able to turn a blade with ease.
APPEARANCE:
Shinzo is a rather attractive, but not overwhelmingly so, individual that, through the usage of artifacts, hearthstones, and charms, becomes one of the most beautiful individuals in Creation. It's not through narcissism that he sought that, but rather as a part of his education, both as a member of the Chosen of Venus, and later, with his induction into the Sapphire Veil of Passion style. He looks very much similar to what he did when he was born, though as if magnified and beautified, like a polished gemstone.
His appearance doesn't betray a fraction of the years under his belt, living to 2017 makes him, not one of the eldest Sidereals, but certainly one that has long since earned his place as one of the most influential Sidereals in Creation. His title, the Glorious Vizier, speaks volumes, as the House within the Five Score Fellowship is the "Glorious Viziers." He stands above them, both as a matter of what they do, and his own accomplishmnents. Despite this, he looks little more than a teenager, perhaps one in his early twenties, showing he still has well over 3000 years left to go.
His clothes are always kept loose and flowing, he argues, because he prefers the way the air feels and because it allows him full freedom to engage in martial arts if the need arises...but many insist, from the lowliest mortals to the greatest Exalts, that it's to give people an enticing view, a viewpoint which is rather hard to disprove considering his rather loose, freewheeling tendencies and his not insignificant fanbase, something he has only added to based on the fact that, since his mortal lover died when he was going through the first years of his Exaltation, he has not chosen to marry again, instead living out idle excess and pleasure, trying to make those who wish to be happy around him happy.
His skin is dark, showing him to be from the southern end of Creation, dominated by a scorching desert, as such, he is quite used to heat, another explanation for his loose outfit. He wears his bracers, one on each hand, his chain necklace around his neck, and a flowing cape around his back. While he cuts a striking figure, people can be often amazed by how mundane and normal he can act, making him an excellent infiltrator when he goes under a Resplendent Destiny.
PERSONALITY:
Shinzo is a relaxed, generally easygoing man who has two main loves in his life, his work and his hobbies. He's very dedicated to the mission of the Bureau of Destiny within the Celestial Bureaucracy, aiming to ensure the proper running of a safe, stable, glitch-free Fate. Unfortunately, this puts him at odds with the Solar Exalted, primarily those of the Twilight Caste, who seem to take perverse pleasure in tearing holes in the reality that was Autocthon's greatest gift to those who would remain after he vanished, the Loom of Fate.
This feeling of being at-odds with them only grew when, within the Solar Deliberative, a law was passed, criminalizing the usage of off the record deals and influence within the government. While the concept of being forthright about such matters makes sense generally, the fact of the matter was that Sidereal Exalted were masters of manipulation, which served, in the past, to give them a somewhat less uneven position in a government slanted horribly against them and the interests of the Bureau. While, of course, the deals did not stop and influence continued to be shown...what happened was that, it was so ubiquitous that it was used as a method of silencing Solars with views generally against that of the norm...which, as he noticed with some small measure of dismay, became more and more the voice of reason.
Still, Shinzo finds relaxation in one of his two hobbies. The first is his love of and dedication to the Martial Arts. Fully mastering three full styles is no small feat, and most don't accomplish this before their three-thousandth year...a thousand years per style. He finds peace and joy in the art of letting his body and mind flow, and with it, the universe flows with it. Simlarly, his other passion is bringing joy to others...the manner of which, while infinitely varied and tailored to individuals when possible, often comes back to sex. He manages to keep his reputation hushed only through great expenditure of wealth, as he wants his lovers to feel validated, but not turned into some damned rumor mill.
The main thing that draws his ire is that which endangers fate, and that which endangers people's happiness....which is what things that endanger fate do. The Wyld has a particular vehemence to him, as it is outside the bounds of fate, and filled with Raksha that which to destroy fate. He desperately ignores the fact that, with the Raksha peaceably staying past the Bordermarches of the Wyld and with Creation growing, the most dangerous faction to Fate is increasingly the Solar Exalted.
HISTORY:
He was Exalted, as most Chosen of the Maidens do, while a mortal in service of the Bureau of Fate, other Sidereal predictions regarding the death of his aged previous incarnation leading them to the next bearer of the Exaltation. There, he learned the truth of what he was to be, and the skills to let him fit as seamlessly as possible. Nothing, however, could prepare him for that moment, and when it came, it felt like a new world had opened to him. But far, far more than that was done, as he soon discovered.
Rising within the ranks with an almost practiced ease, he was supernal at a level where everyone was supernal. He quickly became a name of note, and, taking over the holdings of his previous incarnation, was wealthy to boot. He quickly got more and more high-profile assignments...but for some reason, he never really became a household name. He had little desire to be famous, so whenever he came too close, he opened an Interstice in reality to flee, to be gradually forgotten until he could continue his work in peace.
All the while, he kept up contact with his lover from his previous life, allowing her to live in the splendor that was Yu-Shan. She was his wife, and the Starborn children between them went on to serve meaningful lives within the Bureau, enhanced by Ascending Destinies woven by him and by his friends in the Bureau. However, as the Chosen of Saturn insist, everything has an ending. Her death came late, but it was inevitable in the end. It was from that point when he devoted himself to his life as an Exalt...and to focus on the happiness of one in particular was too limiting for an Exalted of Venus, the Maiden of Serenity.
He threw himself into work, into sex, into his martial arts, to escape the pain of her passing...and he was, on the whole, succesful. His time with her left the keening blade of loss and entered the padded room of nostalgia, something he could remember and smile without pain or regret. He still felt a hole, an emptiness next to him, but it wasn't anything he couldn't push through if need be. And all the while, his technique, his assignments, his...well, technique, grew. A rising star, who's name he took pains to be kept hidden, forgotten, mundane. The main one he didn't avoid was his status as the heartthrob of Yu-Shan...helpful to him because it allowed him more and better partners, and helpful to others because it led him spread happiness.
He lived that way comfortably, working hard and taking names, training to become a master of many styles at the Sidereal level, and enjoying his nights with those with the confidence to ask him to share their bed. That was, until, his fears about the Solar Exalted, that grew throughout his rise in the Bureaucracy, were unfortunately proven true. He had misgivings, but when he saw the Prophecies...it put things into a new light. The Prophecy of Bronze, where the Solars were overthrown and Creation handed to the Dragonbloods, diminished but hole. The Prophecy of Gold, where the Sidereals took direct action to guide and direct the Solar Exalted, and as such, Creation shown brighter than it ever had in their history...but with the slightest misstep, could be thrown into utter darkness. And, the Vision of Darkness, in which the Sidereals allowed things to continue, with the world being thrown into despair, pain, and suffering eternal, with utterly insane Solar Exalted guiding a grinning throng for all eternity.
He didn't know what to think. He didn't know how to process it. He knew he couldn't do nothing, but...His nature, his hope, initially led him towards those who sought the Prophecy of Gold...but in comparison to the hard, strong logic of the Bronzes, they just seemed so...flimsy. So ephemeral. So unreliable. While he didn't want people to need to be satisfied with less happiness...he couldn't just accept that Creation could die, eliminating it entirely. And the Solars didn't want to listen...they wouldn't listen! That's why they ignored admonishments not to unleash overwhelming amounts of Essence that tore holes in Reality and Fate, why they stripped those who sympathized with the Bureau in the Deliberative of the ability to speak without cries of scandal shouting them out. As he grew more willing to listen to the consensus, the crowd mentality increasingly bore out his misgivings, until he was happy to go through with the plan. And, his goal was to assassinate a Twilight Caste Solar...who was missing, save for a strange portal. Following it through, he hurtled through the void, his abilities with control over the universe keeping him stable, as he emerged in parts unknown.
