Tales of the Exalted

The party makes good time through the Kingdom of Plataea, after losing a full day, and reach the capital of Fu Tien just before the sun sets on the fifth day of their journey.
Shen-Fan is a unique oddity in the area, the masked citizens go about their business all day and night. It is the last major trade hub on the way to Terenuthis, and exotic goods and peoples can be seen everywhere.

As they approached the outer gates they saw several vendors with wares selling to the masses entering or leaving the city. Most of it was hot food and such, but although less in number it could be evidently seen that most of the people entering the city were stopping at the vendors selling simple masks. They were plain white masks, unlike any worn by the vendors themselves.

Donovan stopped by one of the food vendors
excuse me sir, where might we find a reasonable inn for the night?
The vendor stared past him like he wasn’t even there, and shouted his wares around the large knight at others passing by.
I said EXCUSE ME sir. Donovan tried again, though with curtesy obviously gone from his voice.
Again he might have just been invisible to the merchant. He looked over the crowd as the masked people and slammed his visor of his helm down.
Sir. Where is there lodging available? he spoke loudly due to the muffling effect of the helm.
The merchant looked at him like he had seen him for the first time, and pointed past the gate.
Anything along the main road until you reach the merchant or dock district should suffice with variety befitting any budget. Care for a sausage? the man held up meat bits on a stick.

Watching Donovan's frustrations, Eida walked over to the vendors and purchased a handful of the white masks for the group. At least those merchants saw enough to understand visitors and welcome them. Sure, it was expensive, but he likened it to a bridge tax or walking past protected walls.

He made sure to hand each of his companions the blank masks before donning one himself. Jaeda seized the moment it touched his skin and etched an Ouroboros serpent in a figure encircling his eyes on the white cloth.
"A city norm I assume, we should be able to get what we need, though these are clearly for visitors and the like, everyone established has some design and color to their mask."

Callista had been aware of the strange customs of Fu Tien but had not considered that they too would be expected to wear masks inside the city. She inwardly scolded herself for not having enough foresight to find out more about their destination before going and told herself that she would not make that mistake again.

”Thank you,” she smiled at Eida as he handed her the plain mask. ”This reminds me of our annual masquerade during Calibration. Perhaps I can buy a new mask for the upcoming celebration while we are here.” She knew it was a trivial in comparison to all the other problems they had but holding onto the traditions she loved helped her in ways she couldn’t quite explain.

”I could blend in anywhere now,” Cion chuckled as he put on his mask, his red hair and tall stature still making him stick out in the crowd. ”How do they court each other not knowing what they look like? I wonder what the men do if they get a woman home only to find out she is not so comely under her mask.”

Ruby took her own and tied it under her hair, quirking an eyebrow at Cion. "Only if anywhere is under a rock. Besides, a place like this, I bet masks are married, not the people under them."

"it does make it easier for someone to engage in an illicit affair though. Sounds positively exciting. Even a princess could steal off with a handsome, or appearing handsome fellow if she wanted," he grinned and winked through his mask.

The princess decided it would be wise to let Cion’s comment go unanswered. Of the men in the group, he was the one she was least interested in sneaking off with. She knew he meant well, and he was certainly charming but she could tell he wasn’t truly interested in her. Maybe it was her station or he did flirted out of habit but she didn’t even need to use her charm to see that his intentions weren’t genuine. Callista wasn’t foolish though, she assumed he would follow through if she gave him the slightest indication she was interested so she tried her best to keep the redhead at arms length at all times.

Callista didn’t think the God would be hard to find even in a big city such as Shen-Fan but she wanted to make sure they were all settled in first so she let Donovan lead the group down the main road towards the inn the vendor had indicated. They picked one that seemed good enough for their stature but not so good that they would draw too much attention. Even as the emissaries of the Khal, a large city such as this certainly would hold many enemies and Callista worried about the abundant use of masks.

”I think once we are settled in we should ask about the God. Someone like that should be easy to track down even in a city as big as this one.”

Sanjuro refused the offered mask. Already the locales had taken notice of him and those who remembered his last visit were giving him a wide berth.
He cast a serious glare at Cion.
"Even in a place as fantastic as here, that is an impossibility." he said with cold certainty. It drew a chuckle from Mayumi as she placed a mask on.

Past the gates the city exploded into a metropolis of lif e and color. Buildings were stacked upon each other and foot bridges crossed above the Main Street indicating that the ground wasn't the only thoroughfare. Vender stalls and stores with garish signs competed to catch the attention of any who came through the gate. Farther down the street a large building, more befitting a temple in grandness displayed the sign of selling the more ornate masks to the regular visitors and permanent residents.

Donovan inquired with the innkeeper after the God they were looking for and was told that wasn't it obvious? They should look in the industry quarter, or the pleasure quarter where everyone can be found eventually.

The god certainly had a reputation and the innkeeper seemed to know exactly who he was. Cion wasn’t entirely sure what they were going to do to get the being to go back to his duties but at least they had a start.

”Wonderful, the pleasure district. I hope they serve a good malt beer there to pass the time. Maybe I ought to sit this one out with the princess and the rest of you go bring the God here for a meeting,” he said once they regrouped in one of their rooms and shared the information they had easily gathered.

Sanjuro waited patiently outside the room as Callista and her companions discussed their plans. He cocked his head to the side as a familiar scent reached his nostrils. Camellia.
"What brings you here, Creeping Death?" a familiar voice purred. Sanjuro frowned beneath his mask as the man made his way into his vision.
"It doesn't concern you, Tsubaki, take your poison tongue elsewhere." Sanujo replied curtly. A song-like laugh danced it's way to his ears as a smile lit up beneath the man's mask.
"I can sense them, like it or not. And this meeting has already been delayed three thousand years. Your sulking will not deny me." the man's voice cooed as he carefully closed the distance between them. The moonsilver tattoos flashed with a deadly beauty. This Lunar was nothing like the others he'd met. The Peacock Prince was hypnotic, sensual, and Sanjuro knew he was also a capable killer if provoked.
He sighed, of course there was some connection between the chosen of the sun and the moon. And it was just his luck that connection involved Tsubaki.
"Know that I will gladly remove that famed appendage of yours, should I feel the Princess's modesty has been compromised by your... charm." he warned. Tsubaki laughed, clapping him on the shoulder before pushing past him to knock on the door.

I'm surprised. I wouldn't have expected you to pass up any opportunity to carouse the constant party that Shen-Fan is known for, then again, I suppose Speedy might take offense if you were to bet on another horse at the pau ma dei fields he playfully jabbed

Cion scoffed and waved his hand like it would dismiss the idea. ”I like my lovers willing and unpaid. Courtship is half of the challenge and while a heated night or two might be entertaining, there is a certain finesse to the passion that rises under its own accord,” he shrugged and actually tried not to look at anyone in particular for once. What he said was true, Tirnanog had its share of harlots but he preferred to seduce in other ways that didn't involve a purse. There was also the added challenge of drawing them in without getting attached himself, which so far had been easy enough.

Cion stood to get the door, being in a strange town he felt the need to put himself first towards any dangers that might lurk behind it.

Sanjuro remained where he'd been standing, silent as ever as Tsubaki knocked on the door. There was a budding excitement growing within him, as he struggled to keep the notion that HIS Solar might be here.
News had spread quickly from his contacts in Terenuthis of the Khal's new pets traveling. When he got wind they were in Plataean he surmised their next destination and rode swiftly.
The door opened cautiously as a beautiful man with fiery red hair opened the door. Tsubaki knew him for what he was instantly and tears burst from his eyes as he took off the Peacock mask he was known for in this kingdom.
"You're back!" he found himself uncharacteristically without words. The man looked confused but before he could say anything to ruin this long awaited moment Tsubaki leaned in and kissed him.

Cion’s response to a strange man lunging at him was to reach behind his shoulders for his blades but that unfortunately seemed to open him up for the attack the man had intended all along. Of course he intended to jump back, shove him off, strike him or do something but suddenly a memory stirred that was buried deep within his shard, something he had been fighting to ignore.

---

The melodies of battle echoed through the flames that were engulfing her fortress and the woman looked down at the gore covered glaive in her hand. She didn’t need to turn to know whose footsteps approached her from behind, they had been a comfort and constant presence in her life since her Exaltation centuries before.

“They have breached the inner walls my lady,” the other said.

“It is time. I am ready for my fate. Well, almost.” She turned to the Lunar. “Tell me how long you have loved me and kept this secret?”

“Since the day we met on that first battlefield, Opal Spire.” was the answer. She smiled, remembering the valley where they had met as enemies, only to find out about their shared bond later and eventually becoming feared partners who built a nation together. How had she missed it all these years? She had sworn to take no lovers until her nation was perfect, now such a vow seem futile and she had missed so much. No words were needed, she took the other’s face in her hands and kissed her partner deeply, frantic to show how much she loved them too before the usurpers reached their tower.

“You can fly, live on. I will hold them,” she said as she turned, leaping off the balcony into the heart of the force that was massing below.

---

”Dè air thalamh!” He said, pulling back away from the man and shaking away the vision. ”I think you have me mistaken for someone else.” Cion couldn’t help gaping at him, completely taken off guard by the whole thing.

His reaction hurt. But it didn't hurt Tsubaki, it hurt the many lives who'd spent their time in creation lonely, always missing a part of themselves they could never fill. He knew his past lives had many different emotions towards the Solar who's hold on it had been so complete it reached through the ages. His feeling he was unsure of, but he knew the moment he'd heard the news that he needed to meet them.
He looked around, there were men and women all over the small room. They all seemed equally dumbfounded. He smiled sheepishly.
"I'm sorry, I always seem to leap before I look. Perhaps this look would be more appealing to you." he said, quickly taking the form of a voluptuous woman he'd met in Nexus decades before.
"I'd heard the news.... I could scarcely believe it was true... and wouldn't have dreamed you were back but here you are, beautiful as always. And surrounded by friends. Do I know them as well?" he asked in the long dead woman's accented Riverspeak.

Eida watched the exchange, one part bemused, one part thoroughly concerned that Cion's priorities may shift with whatever this was. When he changed and the Moonsilver glittered, he was certain, and stood up. When he spoke in a language he could not understand, it only reinforced Eida's worry. "He told you that you were mistaken, so either leave or introduce yourself to us, and tell me how you came to find us."

Jill jumped up as soon as she recognized the Lunar walking through the door and was as entirely shocked as the rest of the group when the peacock leaned in and kissed Cion. Pulling off the feline kabuki mask she had found, she suppressed a hiss at his intrusion knowing what kind of trouble he likely brought. ”You! Don’t tell me your obsessive search for your Solar has brought you here?” Jill snorted. Of all those who had petitioned her to find the lost tombs or relics of their bygone mates, Tsubuki had been one of the most aggressive in his methods of finding them. He had even denied her pay when she had brought the wrong weapon back, a trip that had nearly cost her one of her lives.

”Uh.. It is not the form that is the issue,” Cion said trying to regain his composure and keep his eyes off the now partially exposed woman. ”Strangers do not typically jump through doors and kiss me, is this a custom I missed in Shen Fan? Do I know you?” He was completely confused but the man had just changed into a woman right before his eyes in almost the same manner that Silver changed her forms. A part of him was terrified that this was some slighted maiden he had crossed during his travels and he was trying to figure out which one it could be. There were too many to sort through and that wasn’t the only concern or woman going through his mind at the moment.