SiderealsWhere Fate Has Led

A Fan-Made Supplement for Exalted Third Editionby wastevens & MadLetter

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Sidereals: Where Fate Has LedAn Exalted Third Edition Fan-Work by Wastevens

PrologueWe are the music-makers,

And we are the dreamers of dreams,Wandering by lone sea-breakers,And sitting by desolate streams;

World-losers and world-forsakers,On whom the pale moon gleams:

Yet we are the movers and shakersOf the world for ever, it seems.

With wonderful deathless ditties

We build up the world’s great cities,And out of a fabulous story

We fashion an empire’s glory:One man with a dream, at pleasure,Shall go forth and conquer a crown;

And three with a new song’s measureCan trample an empire down.

We, in the ages lying

In the buried past of the earth,Built Nineveh with our sighing,And Babel itself with our mirth;

And o’erthrew them with prophesyingTo the old of the new world’s worth;

For each age is a dream that is dying,Or one that is coming to birth.

Arthur O’Shaughnessy, Ode

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Credits• Principle writer: Drew Stevens – wastevens@gmail.com

• Chapter 2 fiction (“Catch More Goddesses with Honey) by wonderawe

• Sidereal characters used by permission: » Red, Eagle-Eye Salith, Barrister Zheng Hel, Lorn created by Hand-of-Omega

» Gentle River, Himeko, Uzuki, Hecal, Sorrow of Ages Lost created by Kyman201

» Single Step Serafina created by Lioness » Idir created by wonderandawe

This is an unofficial, fan-based work, created with love and in-tended to be compatible with Exalted Third Edition, published by Onyx Path Publishing. Exalted, Sidereals, and all other relevant concepts are copyright those fine folk. Please support the official release.

Thanks and DedicationThis book and all the related work is dedicated to the community at large, to other content creators which make the game more awesome and obviously also the developers, whom we hope bring us many more years of awesome content to follow-up on the first release.

Thanks to the community for it’s awesomeness, let’s make Exalted as fun as it can be. Go Community! Go Devs!

IntroductionSidereals: Where Fate Has Led is a fan-based version of the Sidereal Exalted within Exalted: Third Edition.

My goals are as follows:

• Fold Sidereal Astrology resplendent effects into their Charms as much as possible. Rebuild the Charm Trees, informed by the meanings of the associated constellations (And, as much as possible, return to the First Edition Ability to Constel-lation pairings).

• Emphasize the role that planning and preparation has in the nature of Sidereals. They walk the line between prophet and puppet-master, with events unfolding just as planned.

• Provide means for Sidereals to take advantage of Mastery effects on Martial Arts, without it simply being ‘They have a Charm that do that’ - such a solution amounts to an XP tax and is boring.

• Introduce Sidereal Astrological Projections, as a compliment to Sorcerous Projects, for large scale fate workings.

My goals explicitly do not include the following:

• Converting the existing Charm Trees on a one-to-one basis. As is amply demonstrated by the Solar Exalted Charm selec-tion, there’s simply more breadth and depth now.

• Maintining Prayer Strip capstones that require mastering the rest of the tree to learn. Although all the Sidereal trees will contain prayer strip Charms, which will require singu-lar dedication to mastering that tree to learn, they will not require every Charm as a prerequisite.

Last Changed 8th of January, 2017

Version 1.1.0

Most recent changes:

• Added Chapter 4: Arcane Fate, Resplendent Destinies and Merits

• Concluded Chapter 4• Added final antagonist to Chapter 9• Added Fateful Excellency writeup• Revised Archery layout and formatting• Added Archery and Athletics Charm Tree images• Cleaned up all previous resplendent destiny Charms to

remove references to creating a persona.

Join us on Discord:

https://discord.gg/WzKNf6R

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Chapter One

Chosen by Destiny

Long ago, the Chosen of the Sun and Moon ruled Creation. They were advised and mentored by the Chosen of the Stars, the wisest in the secret ways of the world.

But in time, the Chosen of the Sun grew corrupt, decadent, mad. Their rule became intolerable. The Sun turned from Creation in disgust. The Chosen of the Stars drew together, to cast a great prophecy and divine how they should set their course. In one path, they led a revolution, threw down and slew the Chosen of the Sun and drove out the Chosen of the Moon, setting the Dragon-blooded upon the thrones of a diminished Creation. On the other, they gambled that the Chosen of the Sun were not so far gone- that the grace that they once carried was not extinguished, but merely slumbering and awaiting ig-nition. They often failed, and those failures would be horrors undreamt- but, should they gamble and win, a new dawn and better world could be won. In the third, they did nothing- and in their madness, the Chosen of the Sun rent Creation asunder, leaving it a broken, bleeding, darkling world where the stars plunged, one by one, into the ink-black ocean.

Those who supported the vision of a world diminished and those who supported the vision of a world renewed called them the Visions of Bronze and Gold. In secret, they debated. In silence, the supporters of the Vision of Bronze slew those who believed in the Vision of Gold, so that no traitor could warn the Chosen of the Sun. Together, the Five-Score Fellowship shattered the Heavens to conceal their conspiracies and crimes, erasing themselves from the very Creation they sought to save. And during a fatal Calibration dinner, they ensured that the fates of the Chosen of the Sun and Moon were sealed.

Now, Creation trembles; the Scarlet Dynasty is on the brink of civil war. Now, Death’s Lawgivers stalk Creation in defiance of destiny and prophecy. Now Rakan Thulio’s war against Heaven and cruel fate has been renewed. Now, the Lunars seek to avenge the ancient wrong, first against the puppets and then the puppet-masters. Now, the Solars return.

Into this Age of Sorrows, you are Chosen by the Maidens of Destiny. The night sky is alive with portents and the plans of the Gods; both princes and spirits seek your counsel. Ancient teaching and forgotten wisdom surge in your hands, your mind,

your heart; you hold the skein of fate between your fingers. For-gotten by Creation, you cloak yourself in stories and starlight, weaving tales so familiar that people remember them without a thought, and you discard those false fates as another might change a shirt. You walk the halls of Heaven and deliberate on the outcome of wars, loves, mysteries, travels and endings.

And when those deliberations are threatened, when the weave of fate becomes warped and tangled by the unruly will of mortals or the machinations of spirits, it is you who set things right and ensure that what was, what is, and what will be, will be as you have foreseen.

You are one of the Sidereal Exalted, Chosen of the Maidens of Destiny. Will you strive to save a fractured Creation in this time of tumult, or will you follow so many of your fellows in a struggle for influence of a corrupt Heaven and broken world?

The Sidereal Exalted and the Maidens of DestinyThe Sidereal Exalted are the Chosen of the Maidens of Destiny, who act as Heaven’s agents within Creation. Long ago, they were the advisors to the great rulers of Creation, keeping them informed of Heaven’s plans and subtly guiding the ship of the world towards the best of all futures; but that time is now long past.

The Maidens of Destiny are the five goddesses of fate. Mercury, who oversees beginnings and ensure that all things journey as they should; Venus, who oversees those things which make life worth living and ensures that peace and serenity are known; Mars, who oversees the struggle to survive and ensures that all things engage in the appropriate battles; Jupiter, who oversees the mysteries and truths of the world, charged with keeping Creation’s secrets until it is time that they should be revealed; and Saturn, who oversees transitions, and eases the endings of those things whose time has come.

At the dawn of the world, the Maidens coordinated the work of Heaven in ensuring that all things proceeded smoothly; when

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journeys were thwarted, when serenity disrupted, when battles unfairly won or lost, when secrets escaped or when things out-lasted their appointed times, they would alert their fellow gods, and rectify the matter at once.

In time, their duty grew tiresome. They could see no end to their labour, no chance to rest- and so when the Unconquered Sun spoke to them of his desires and plans, he found a receptive audience.

The Sidereal Exalted sometimes claim to be the oldest of the Exalted Host; not in personal age, but in having been Chosen before the Solars, Lunars or Dragonblooded. Legends from be-fore the dawn of the First Age paint a world of unbound savagery, where men huddled in caves, overlooked and underestimated by the great powers of the world, save as their suffering could serve as a source of temporary amusement. From these ranks, the Maidens selected one hundred mortals. Into the hands of each one, the Maidens entrusted a special destiny and ultimate responsibility. Each Maiden selected twenty men and women to bear her touch and grace; for this reason, the Sidereals are often known as the Five-score Fellowship.

Before this time, nothing could escape the eyes of the Maid-ens. Their knowledge was infallible, their wisdom beyond question. But the Law of Diminishment is cruel; in raising up the Sidereal Exalted, each of the Maidens gave some of their vision and wisdom away, never to be reclaimed. Although still mighty goddesses, the Maidens of Destiny could no longer see the beginnings and ends of all things; their surprise at this was their first surprise.

In the First AgeEven before the First Age, the Sidereal Exalted walked the streets of Heaven. The Maidens made no efforts to conceal their Chosen; they named them as assistants in their labor, who could manage trivial matters without needing to draw the full attention of Heaven needlessly. The masters of the Maidens indulged them in this, for they had no fear of humanity at this time, and so paid no heed as the first Sidereals spied upon their secret works and plans.

After the masters were thrown down and cast into Hell by the might of the Exalted and the armies of the Gods, the Uncon-quered Sun granted dominion of Creation to humanity and the Chosen. The Incarnae retired to the Jade Pleasure Dome, to take their ease with the Games of Divinity. And the Sidereal Exalted began the task of overseeing the fate of the world.

During much of the First Age, the Sidereal Exalted were content to act as advisors to the Solars, Lunars and Dragon-Bloods, who handled the day to day administration and politics. They kept their own counsel, travelling between Heaven and Creation to appraise or investigate or teach as they wished. It was a golden age of peace and prosperity, a fat time of learning, when phi-losopher-queens oversaw an administration of justice and grace that has never been known before or since. It was not to last.

The Great Prophecy and the UruspationAs the years turned to decades turned to centuries, the greatness of the Solars became unbearable, and their subtle wisdom twisted with malice and ambition, lust for flesh and for domination. Unquestionable, the hungers of the Chosen of the Sun grew wild and unchecked, until even the Unconquered Sun turned his face from Creation in sorrow.

The Sidereal Exalted, as ever, kept their own counsel. They studied the skies and drew portents; they shared knowledge and wove prophecies- until at last they could see three paths they could walk.

WHAT WAS THE GREAT PROHPECY?

Destiny is not a fixed progression of events in Creation, so how did the Sidereals conduct the Great Prophecy, and why did they place so much stock in it?

They made the best guesses as to probable out-comes as they could. They looked at past events and extrapolated to the future. They presented what projections had succeeded, what had failed, and what the common factors were. Predicting the future is more art than science, but it’s an art the Sidereal are practiced at, thus had a high degree of confidence in.

Down the first, they forsook Heaven, descended to Creation and placed their faith in the Solars, trusting that their glory could be retained and turned towards good purpose again. All agreed that this path was fraught with uncertainty, for none could see a sure means by which the mad Solars could be channeled- but it was the only path to reach an even more glorious future.

Down the second, they forsook Creation. They would foster discontent amongst the Dragonblooded generals and whisper conspiracies into the ears of the Solars. By terrible means, they would seal away the glory and excess of the Chosen of the Sun, leaving a world diminished but stable- a world overseen by the Dragonblooded, and in which the Sidereal Exalted would be less than a rumor.

Down the third, they did neither; locked in bitter argument amongst themselves, the Five-score Fellowship watched the world grow dark and sick, and saw the stars plummet into an ink black sea.

In the long years of the First Age, Sidereal had fought Sidereal. No matter how close the family, some disagreements cannot be settled peacefully. But the Great Prophecy engendered some-thing else; fear of the third path made compromise impossible,

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but the idealists of the first vision could not countenance the monstrosity of the second, and the pragmatists of the second vision could not countenance the risk of the first. Debate be-came argument; argument gave way to violence, and Sidereal shed Sidereal blood. In the end, five members of the Five-score Fellowship were killed, and ten exiled from Heaven, sorcerously bound against warning any of the impending treachery- for the adherents of the second vision had proved triumphant.

The arrangements of the second vision were years in the making. The now diminished Fellowship probed the Dragonblooded Host, finding leaders that they could bless and raise up in re-bellion; they poured poison into the ears of the Solars, so that rumors of discontent would be taken as evidence of the treachery of their fellows. They distracted the Lunars, keeping them busy at the fringes of the world. They told themselves how easy it was, to bring an end to the Age of Dreams- surely it was a sign of the rightness of their course. But right or wrong, the die was cast and they could no more oppose what they set in motion than a pebble could oppose the avalanche.

Ten years after the Great Prophecy was drawn up, during the first night of the Calibration Feast in the capital city of Meru, the Dragonblooded rose up in rebellion. With arms and armor of imperishable jade, they struck down their golden lords. Many of the Lunars fell in the fighting; many were away, caring for tasks the Sidereals had assured them held great urgency. The Sidereals were on hand, each telling the Solars of the treachery of their fellows, turning insinuation into accusation, and so the Solar Host fell upon itself even as the Dragonblooded crushed the life from them.

The Sidereals knew that those Solars who survived would not forgive them. They knew that those Lunars who had been drawn away would hunt without rest or mercy. They knew that the means by which the Solar Exalted were to be prevented from returning was criminal beyond measure. And they knew that the second path meant they would be exiled from the world. On the fifth night of Calibration, the Sidereal Exalted collec-tively raised their power against the sign of secrets, breaking the Mask of the sky such that no one who could attempt to divine this secret would ever learn it. Each felt that break echo in her soul; each could see the memory of the Sidereal Exalted bleeding from the world.

The Sidereal Exalted had saved Creation, and no one would ever know.

The Shogunate and the ContagionThe aftermath of what became known as the Usurpation was chaos. With no clear leadership, the armies of the Dragonblooded came to the verge of turning on one another in a bloody civil war- only to be saved by the fury of the Lunar Exalted. The Lunars, enraged at the treachery of the Dragonblooded, sought to tear apart the usurpers, forcing the various generals and potentates to set aside personal grievances in the face of mutual survival.

United by a common enemy, the Dragonblooded selected an interim grand general, a shogun to coordinate the efforts of the Host against the threat of the Lunars and to hunt the remain-ing Solars. Although the Usurpation was accomplished in five nights, five decades passed of nearly constant war across the face of Creation before the Shogunate declared victory. The Lunars had been driven into hiding; the Solars were banished into the darkness. The Dragonblooded began to work of ruling the world.

For over a century after the victory of the Shogunate, Creation knew a kind of peace. It was not the fat times at the height of the Age of Dreams, but was better than had been known in a mortal span, and the Sidereal Exalted looked upon the world that averted its gaze from them with a semblance of satisfaction. The cost had been very high, they said to one another, but they had done the right thing. Creation would survive. In time, perhaps they could reach out to the Lunars, make a kind of peace with the Chosen of Luna. In time, perhaps they could heal the harm done to the Mask, and be recognized for the terrible choices they faced and made.

Then the first shogun in peace passed away in her sleep. A brutal and bloody civil war soon emerged, between her eldest daughter and her chief general, a struggle over dynastic against meritocratic power which came to define much of the Shogunate. For almost a millennium, the Dragonblooded extended their reach across Creation even as they were engaged in internecine conflict nearly as often as they were at peace. The treasures of the First Age were wasted in these battles, the stockpiles of magical materials looted, the learning of the Age of Dreams consumed by the fire of war.

THE SILVER DEATH

Even as the Arcane Fate began to erase the memory of the Sidereals from Creation, many Lunars correctly deduced that they had been deceived and the Dragonblooded Host played as patsies in the Usurpation. A circle of these luminaries entered Yu-Shan, and began to hunt those agents of fate whom they held respon-sible. Even now, over a thousand years later, rumors persist of the silver death that lurks in the shadowed alleys of Heaven, claws sharp and fangs hungry for the blood of the betrayers.

Shogun Karal’s War on HeavenIn the Seventy-Eighth Year of the reign of Shogun Karal, her youngest son was taken by fever. In short order, her husband fell to an assassin’s blade, and her eldest daughter perished at sea.

After five months and five days of seclusion, the Shogun returned to court. At her side was a young man no one in the court recognized. He was not Exalted, but he carried himself with an unhidden arrogance, and never lowered his violet eyes to any noble, not even the Shogun herself. He nevertheless held the Shogun’s ear, and could always be found at her elbow.

The boy’s death sent the Shogun into a deep depression. She was soon sending for mystics and witches from across Creation.

The Shogun’s voice swelled, as she made the following proclamation: “We have all suffered at the hands of cruel fate. We have all lost friends and family to happenstance and mischance. We have all cursed the Gods and Heaven in moments of anger. My friends, I say to you no more! We shall ascend to Heaven and bring the architects of our misfortunes to heel! We shall bring war to the Gods and make them cry for our mercy!”

In the Eighty-Third year of the reign of Shogun Karal, her war on Heaven began. Since, military historians have argued- was the Shogun always doomed, from the day the madness gripped her, or could she have tasted triumph had she proceeded otherwise? Creation will never know.

The first battles were won decisively by the Shogun, catching the forces of Heaven by shock and surprise. By virtue of ancient stores and able to easily sustain themselves from the quintessence fountains they seized, the Shogun felt victory was certain. Her confidence was not without merit; one year into the campaign, nearly a quarter of the Celestial City’s gates had fallen to her. Her plan was encirclement- capture the outer gates, and then proceed inward, choking the gods off one street at a time.

Then the sky, which had shown a golden sun in fixed position for the entire year the campaign had raged, dimmed. A moonless night spread across the dome of Heaven as ink dropped into a pail of milk, and a thousand thousand stars gleamed, and first amongst them a ruby red planet.

Mars, the Maiden of Battles, rode forth from the Jade Pleasure Dome. Flush with her victory in the Games of Divinity, she exulted. With her Spear, she struck down the first legion. From her Quiver, she drew arrows of pestilence and plague, losing them upon the generals. Teeth clenched upon her Shield, she slew seventy-two heroes in Warstriders who strode to meet her. Beneath her spreading Banner, the forces of Heaven rallied and surged. And in her Gauntleted fist, she caught up Shogun Karal. “Your war ends. Now comes my sister’s peace.” Saturn followed in Mars’ shadow. In her hands, she held the single edged Sword, and her eyes were downcast. “Plead your mercy. Cry your cause, Dragonblooded! Spit your defiance at Heaven now!” Mars gloat-ed, as Shogun Karal struggled in her grasp. With an anguished cry, the Shogun did the only thing she could, severing her own head with her great daiklave.

At the death of Shogun, her forces scattered back to Creation. Sat-urn brought an end to the war and closed the gates, before walking with her sister back to the Jade Pleasure Dome.

“Why are you frowning Sister? Do you not take joy in your victory?”“I was denied my victory. I would made her live five-hundred fifty five years of glory, while knowing that it was only due to my mercy.”

As the two entered the Jade Pleasure Dome, dawn burst upon the sky. Thus was the end of the reign of Shogun Karal, and the beginning of the Third Succession War.

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The Sidereals shuddered at the cost to the world, but they had seen that this path would leave the world diminished. The worst battles of the shogunate were still smaller and less de-structive affairs than the games the Solars had played, and they could not sustain themselves in any event- with each civil war, more of the irreplaceable weapons and armors of the First Age were lost, ever reducing the scope of the destruction. In time, the Sidereals hoped that this wars would burn themselves out permanently, leaving the Terrestrials to find some means of peacefully co-existing.

These dreams were ended by the Contagion.

The origin of the Contagion are obscure; a disease unlike any known to Creation before, it swept across the land like a black cloud, and soon the dead outnumbered the living. Fish, fowl and man, none were spared, and even the hardy Exalted would succumb, vomiting blood, racked by seizures and burning fever.

It was during this moment of weaknesses that the Fair Folk rose like a flood of madness. Many of the Sidereals suspected the Lunars of being responsible for both the plague and the ravagers from beyond Creation, seeing silver hands engineering a terrible vengeance. Others blamed the Sleepwalker, or a Dragonblood-ed having explored ancient secrets not meant for them, a Solar who had escaped the Usurpation or the Deathlord potentates of the Underworld. Most, however, concerned themselves less with the origin of these disasters and more with fighting to save Creation for a second time.

HOW DO YOU CATCH A PROPHET OFF-GUARD?

Destiny in Creation is not a fixed and certain path, but rather than plan that Heaven holds for Cre-ation. The Sidereals have extensive information networks and potent magics to assess probable consequences, and can often seem all-knowing - but when caught by an outside context problem like the Contagion, they will be as blind sided as anyone else.

In the end, regardless of the cause, the disasters were stopped by an unknown Dragonblooded officer of no particular rank or distinction. With her Circle, she braved the dangers of the long sealed Imperial Manse, and turned the defense grid of the ancient Solars against the enemies of Creation, and became the Scarlet Empress.

This Time of TumultIt had been a turbulent time from the Usurpation to the rise of the Empress- but now, at last, the Sidereals believed they had achieved the peace promised in the second vision. With a few short demonstrations, the Scarlet Empress cowed her enemies and consolidated her power, unifying the Dragonblooded Host as it had not been since the first Shogunate. The destruction wrought by the Contagion and the Fair Folk were a terrible price to have paid for Creation’s survival- but surely, now, Creation’s survival was ensured, having weathered the worst crisis since the fall of the Solars.

For centuries, peace or something like it, seemed to descend upon Creation. The face of the world was changed by the flood of the Wyld- new peoples and new histories arising from nothing, stitching themselves together from the mixture of dreams and madness and stability. The newly forming Empire imposed order, ruthlessly crushing those who would oppose it. The Lunars yet lurked at the edges of the world, prowling about the Caul and rearing belligerent barbarians to avenge wrongs done to them in response to wrong they had done. The Sleepwalker yet walked his Eyrie, intent on casting Heaven and Fate to the torch. But the Sidereal Exalted could look back, and know that- by banishing the Solars, no matter the cost, no matter the hardships, they had saved Creation.

And now the Solars return, just as the Scarlet Empress has vanished.

The Most Excellent Designers of Destiny and Sidereal ConjunctionsBetween Heaven and Creation stands Destiny. The Bureau of Destiny, to be precise. It is here that the gods discuss, debate and plan for Creation’s future, jockeying with one another, taking petitions and measuring destinies. At the center stands the Loom of Fate, where the physical stuff of the future is spun, set and crossed in a web of infinitely intricate design. All Si-dereals have membership in the Bureau of Destiny unless they have been exiled from Heaven, for the Chosen of Destiny are the most valued agents of Heaven.

The Purpose of DestinyThere are ten thousand thousand thousand spirits that walk the Celestial City and in Creation; many of them puissant, many of strong will, many of limited scruples. Why, then, have they not rent Creation asunder with their games and wars and intrigues?

Destiny is the compact between Heaven and Creation; it is the means by which divine desires are moderated and molded into something pleasing to all rather than only the most vicious. When Destiny is followed, Heaven is satisfied even if all her gods are not, and the ability for the malcontents to act in Creation is limited to observation, lest they risk terrible punishments.

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In theory, Destiny is always followed save that some force from outside Creation acts- in which case, it is just and proper for the Gods to fulfil their ancient duties as the preservers of the world, gaining latitude to act as they see fit to make right what has gone wrong. Perhaps once, this was even so- but if so, it was a long, long time gone.

In these later days, gods granted their liberty within Creation find themselves in no great rush to correct matters. With their latitude, they can shape mortal societies as they desire, outside the limits placed by the Bureau of Destiny. Technically, such abuses are still criminal- but the gods have a great deal of lat-itude when it comes to determining how best to tend to their portfolios within Creation. By forcing the course of society to change, they can even effectively hold Destiny hostage- either the Bureau begins to weave in alignment with the desires of these spirits, or they will gain even greater freedom to wreak perhaps greater damage.

Nor is destiny purely descriptive. Creation does not exist at the sufferance of the Loom, but it is not independent of it either. If destiny were a river, then Creation would be a water wheel being driven by that river. The wheel is not the river, and if the river were to dry up, the wheel would still exist; it could still even be turned with great effort. And likewise, the Loom of Fate could weave without weaving Creation’s destiny in particular- it could weave stories of people that do not exist, or that existed long ago. The river can flow with or without the water wheel’s presence.

Destiny does exert a pressure on Creation, as water does the wheel. People, families, whole cities and nations, may find themselves swept in the tide of history- acting, sometimes with-out reflection or intention -towards fulfilling Heaven’s design. Individuals can resist this pressure- they can even change the course of the river. Doing so is not easy, even for the Exalted, but it has been done before and will be done again.

Because of this pressure that the weave of destiny exert of Cre-ation, sometimes matters will grow confused. When a thread is mislaid in a weave, you will feel a burr or knot; when the wheel becomes jammed, the timbers will groan from the pressure of the river- until finally, the jam gives way, or the wheel breaks. The technical term for such is sorun; the damage wrought by destiny denied. Sorun rarely appears sensible to the outside observer- just as the pressure from the stuck wheel may cause a shattering moment far from the jam itself, or the tear from the knot in a weave may come far away, due to inequitable distribution of stress on the cloth. To those who experience sorun, it seems to be bizarre runs of chance, both good and ill. Sometimes, the deathly ill make miraculous recoveries, blood feuds end in marriage and peace, the lame walk and the blind see. More often, sorun results in destruction of wealth and lives, villages and whole towns burning, or men drowning on dry land and women falling into the sky.

When destiny runs straight and smooth, sorun is minimized, and the spirits of the world are kept limited in their capacity

for mischief. When destiny is thwarted, sorun runs rampant and the gods may have their way with a people nearly helpless before them.

Thus do the Sidereals act as the agents of destiny. They are not gods, and so they are always free to act as they best see fit. They are kept aware of Destiny, but also moderate how it comes to pass. They have seen the effects of sorun and the damage unchecked divinity can wreck. A world without destiny would be prey to spirits with no concern for humanity. A world with unmoderated destiny would be wracked by strange fates, as disaster sought to balance disaster. The Sidereal Exalted stand against these possibilities; they strive to ensure that fate and destiny pass smoothly from day to day.

Divisions of the BureauThe Bureau of Destiny is nominally overseen by the Maidens of Destiny- however, as with the other Incarnae, the Maidens have largely abandoned the day to day operations of the Bureau to the five division heads in favor of participating in the Games of Divinity. In theory, the five divisions work together to har-moniously compose the most perfect destiny achievable, one which minimize sorun while also satisfying the various factions and petitioners of Heaven. In practice, the five divisions often engage in vicious internal political infighting and plots- while they will always band together against schemes from outside the Bureau, far more decisions are decided by a slim majority vote than most Sidereals would be comfortable admitting.

The Golden Barque of HeavenThe Golden Barque is one of Heaven’s mobile offices, travelling a regular circuit around the Celestial City over the course of a month, pausing only for Calibration- during which time it enters dry dock and undergoes any necessary maintenance and repairs. The Barque itself is a monstrously huge sailing vessel, one thousand and eight li long and half as wide, with walls that rise over two hundred li tall. ‘As an ant to a man’s home, is man to mine’ claims Ruvia, God of Roads, Captain of the Golden Barque, and chair of the Division of Journeys.

The crew of the Golden Barque is forever engaged in the business of noting when matters in Creation have grown too still, of ini-tiating change and beginning new things. They also are tasked with monitoring journeys and changes in progress, coordinating with the Violet Bier to ensure that such matters conclude in a timely fashion. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, they are charged with monitoring the Gates of Heaven cataloging who has been allowed to pass from Creation to Yu-Shan. This, combined with the Golden Barque’s own mobile nature, makes it one of the premier smuggling dens inside Heaven.

Sidereals on assignment from the Golden Barque of Heaven are typically charged with shaking up the status quo. They inspire deeply rooted individuals to suddenly leave hearth and home, the sing the song of the horizon to explorers and whisper of untold riches to smugglers and merchants alike.

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The Cerulean Lute of HarmonyStories say that the Cerulean Lute of Harmony is designed in the same fashion as the first public house and bordello to be built on Creation by humanity. Of course, the original Cerulean Lute was likely not one hundred twenty-eight stories tall, craft of blue jade, or constantly resounding with the song and every sound of merrymaking, but never mind that now. Nominally, the jovial madness is overseen by Yaogin, God of Beautiful Dreams and Bearer of the Lapis Ewer- but in truth, Yaogin prefers working on his art, sampling the latest intoxicants from Burning Feather, or acquiring additional days to view the Games of Divinity apart from the one in five he shares with the other division heads. If he were more effective or attentive at his duties, one of his subordinates would likely have replaced him by now- but he’s so grossly negligent that they’re too busy fighting one another for control instead.

The Cerulean Lute is a repository for every balm, medicine, and nepenthe known to Heaven, as well as the means to indulge every vice and sate every passing desire. It stands between the Neighborhoods of Refuge and Water, hospital and casino, music hall and medical grounds. Over time, more and more of the Cerulean Lute has been taken over by merrymakers who exaggerate or even outright fabricate an illness that gives them sharply discounted rents while also allowing easy access to the pleasure houses of Water. Venus once opined that only by al-lowing the ultimate indulgence of all things could one be open to true serenity; this theory is often tested and found wanting in the Cerulean Lute.

Sidereals on assignment from the Cerulean Lute of Harmony are typically charged with ensuring that things can settle down. They go to bring a wanderer home, or to witness a marriage that ends a war. They are also frequently dispatched on joint operations with other Sidereals, employing their knowledge of what people want and need to bring them to where fate wants and needs them to be.

The Crimson Panoply of VictoryBetween the Neighborhoods of Fire and Groves, there is an open field, covered in tents, fortresses and parade grounds, surrounding a central edifice of crenelated red jade and scarlet steel- the Crimson Panoply of Victory, the Invincible Fortress of Battles. It is from here that Hu Dai Ling, Goddess of Sol-diers, Shogun of the Crimson Banner and division head of the Crimson Panoply meditates upon the nature of conflict. She is the most recently raised of her peers amongst the division heads, and contends constantly with upstarts- especially from the directional war gods, each of whom feel that they would better direct the nature of battles in Creation than the taciturn, butterfly winged goddess.

The Crimson Panoply forever rings, with the sound of hammer on bronze and steel, the hiss of quenching metal, the cries of men and horses drilling and training. Incongruously, it is also often interrupted by delegations of rose and cherry scented gods, representing various sides in conflicts around Creation,

offering considerable arguments, pleas, and gifts to expedite their petitions of victory in this or that coming battle. Such petitions are never officially honored; unofficially, however, the petitioners and their gifts keep coming, using the spoils of one victory to finance the next. The Crimson Panoply has the most official contacts in the Bureau of Humanity of any of the divisions of Destiny, rivaled only by the Cerulean Lute- Mars speculates that war and peace is the primary duality around which Creation revolves.

Sidereals on assignment from the Crimson Panoply of Victory are almost always sent to a scene of open violence and conflict. Sometimes, they are there to ensure that one side is victorious, or another side defeated- but as often, they are there to ensure the survival of someone participating in the battle. Their extensive contacts amongst the rest of the Bureau of Humanity can also see them doing unofficial favors of almost any nature, wherever people are found in Creation.

The Forbidding Manse of IvyBetween the Neighborhoods of Wind and Wood is a deceptive building. It seems like no more than another palace-template in an upscale neighborhood, white marble and jade columns and a roof of beaten gold. Indeed, not even the nicest, as it is simply overgrown with climbing ivy that conceals much of the building’s beauty. It is only as a visitor approaches the building that they can begin to recognize the subtle tricks of perspective, expectation and space-warping sorcery that conceal the true size of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy. In this way, it is much as it’s leader, God of Secrets, Bearer of Ten Thousand Veils, Nara-O, head of the division of Secrets - about whom little more may be said.

The Forbidding Manse is the repository for all of Heaven’s lore and learning. Here are three dozen divine sorcerers, each studying occulted arts to further their knowledge. There, the Obfuscatory Order, celestial cryptographers who each seek to be the one to discover the True Lie by which any truth may be concealed even in broadest view. Within the depths of the Forbidding Manse are the Vaults Untouched, wherein are sealed works deemed danger-ous by Heavenly censors, such as Rakan Thulio’s manifesto, the Eyre of the Sleepwalker, or fragments of the infernal and aberrant prayer book known as the Broken Winged Crane. Only those with good cause or deep pockets may access such works, and then for only limited times and under close scrutiny.

Sidereals on assignment from the Forbidding Manse of Ivy are almost always going to retrieve some information which Heaven has not yet approved for Creation, spiriting it away and bringing silence to any mortals that have learned too much. They may do this with violence, but most prefer trickery- discrediting the discoverer as a madman is popular, as is falsely accusing them of slanderous allegations that can distract from their invention. They are also Heaven’s eyes and ears, and have cultivated a network of contacts and informants without peer in Creation, Heaven and even the realms beyond. Any secret shared is one known by the Forbidding Manse- and Nara-O is said to know even those secrets that have gone unspoken.

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The Violet Bier of SorrowsThe Violet Bier of Sorrows stands alone and in silence, within the Neighborhood of Heaven. Four hundred forty-four li around the mausoleum of basalt and white jade, the graveyard of heroes and empires. Here are memorials to gods fallen during the ancient war, martyrs who perished in gaining freedom for their comrades. Here are countless rows, each one bearing a simple plaque of a magical material, marking the internment of the Exalted that fell during those battles. Silence covers the Violet Bier like a shroud, and flows from Wayang, the Black Puppet Mask, eldest of the division heads, God of Silence and founder of Sijan.

The bittersweet scent of myrrh and natron is omnipresent on the grounds of the Violet Bier, and clings like a second shadow to those who enter its halls. Few do; most gods do not like being reminded that they can perish, and that Saturn promises an end to all things. As with any place that people avoid, rumors grow like mushrooms- an order of godly assassins train in the Violet Bier, dispatched by Wayang to murder rivals who grow overbold, armed with toxins that can rob a spirit of immortality. The Violet Bier has no basement; a central staircase descends forever downwards, until it reaches the heart of the Labyrinth of the Underworld, where Saturn has made secret pacts with the Deathlords. The taciturn gods who work within the Bier remain nearly as silent as those of the Forbidding Manse, to the admiration of the later- the dead hold their secrets well.

Sidereals on assignment from the Violet Bier of Sorrows are, unsurprisingly, generally dispatched to bring an end to some-thing or someone. An end does not always mean death- but it always means change, often sudden, rarely welcomed. They are also amongst the most likely to be sent to investigate and correct aberrations of fate and instances of sorun within Cre-ation- trusted to bring an end to that which has thrown out the balance of destiny.

The Loom of FateThe Loom of Fate connects all five of the division offices. It can be reached from any of them. However, you may only exit the Loom by the office which you entered it from. The Loom of Fate cannot be spied from outside, because it is outside. Suspended in a realm where space twists to accommodate the impossible needs of the Loom, the Web of Fate and Destiny hangs on invisible hooks, while threads of life and essence are spun, patterned, and brought tight together by the tireless efforts of the pattern spiders. With diligent effort, one can even find Asna Firstborn, the original pattern spider, who now oversees the rest of the brood as they work to create, maintain and repair the patterns. Asna is not much for conversation, of course, but is inordinately fond of poetry, and rather fancies himself as a connoisseur of the classics.

Contrary to popular belief, few Sidereals spend much time ad-miring the Loom. The spiders don’t appreciate having someone looking over their shoulders, and have limited tolerance for unauthorized second-guessers and armchair weavers. They

instead take their direction from a small, highly trained and deeply eccentric group of gods who have specialized in learning to speak to and understand the spiders- taking the designs and projections of the rest of the Bureau and transforming them into instructions the spiders can understand. Despite their enormous value, most of these gods are relatively unpopular- spending so much time with the pattern spiders leaves them somewhat deranged and grossly informal compared to the rest of Heaven. The bureau generally tries to keep them out of sight when deities from other parts of Heaven wish to visit.

Sidereals almost never receive assignments from the Loom of Fate directly; if they do, it is certainly a sign of some grave di-saster- horrifying instances of sorun that threaten to rend the entire pattern, wholesale dissolution of Creation, coordinated invasion by the Wyld- that sort of thing. The most recent one was relatively mild; five hundred years ago, Rakan Thulio somehow corrupted one of the spider-speaking gods, and used them to incite a virtual civil war amongst the pattern spiders, as corrupted clones replicated like cancer while weaving mad designs.

Visions of Gold and BronzeSince the earliest days, the Sidereals have tended to internally fragment amongst themselves. Given the nature of their respon-sibilities and the possibilities available to them in the resolution of their problems, not to mention a dozen, often conflicting, forms and sutras of enlightenment embedded in their Charms and martial arts, and it is often a wonder that the can bring themselves to working together.

In general, Sidereals broadly agree on the following- Destiny is a necessary balance between Heaven and Creation. Those who don’t agree with this generally throw in their lot with the Sleepwalker, or simply become ronin. Beyond that, one hundred stars have one hundred paths, and no two are exactly alike- but broad similarities may be found.

Most Sidereals do not consider themselves as first and foremost a member of any faction- they see themselves as free agents, willing and able to follow their conscience. At the same time, most will also tend to find themselves drawn towards one of these informal factions, reinforced by their relationships, where they live, and what missions they are assigned.

Ways and Means of Golden StarsThe Sidereals are privileged to see the best of all possible worlds. However improbable such events are, they know the outcome that leads to the greatest good and the purest justice. Many, armed with this knowledge, refuse to settle for anything less. They feel that by accepting the merely good in lieu of the perfect, they become culpable for the suffering that they have tacitly endorsed. To these Sidereals, the way you pursue your goal and your intentions while doing so are as important as the actual accomplishment of the goal itself; good seeds will grow bitter fruit if sewn in poison soil.

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WANDERING TEACHERS

The Sidereals are not slaves, and may depart from Heaven and the Bureau of Destiny at any time. However, while they remain members in good standing, they are expected to accept and execute assignments, provide reports, and gen-erally do as Heaven bids. Taking unannounced and prolonged vacations may be a cause for dis-ciplinary action.

In recognition of their role as mentors to the Ex-alted Host, however, Sidereals are permitted almost limitless sabbaticals, as long as they are spent teaching other Exalted. Nominally, such teaching is intended to be used for imparting wisdom, bestowing the mysteries of Sidereal Martial Arts, and in raising awareness of the role of destiny and the importance of upholding Heaven’s plans. In practice, this was rarely the case even in the First Age- instead, many Side-reals would take extended ‘educational sabbat-icals’ with their Celestial and Terrestrial friends and lovers. Although being caught obviously abusing the privilege would be criminal, so would investigation into such sabbaticals without good cause- and so few Sidereals were ever charged.

Since the Usurpation, these sabbaticals have taken on a darker meaning- as an excuse to assist Wyld Hunts in locating and destroying especially troublesome Lunars and Solars, and to help forge the Elemental Dragon Styles. While Golden Stars have strongly objected to this practice, it has proven difficult to stop- a fact they now use to their favor in the training camps of the Cult of the Illuminated.

During the First Age, such Sidereals were known as Golden Stars. Even when they disagreed amongst each other as to what the greatest good *was* or how to best pursue it, they were united in agreement that settling was unacceptable. The moniker of gold was given to them derisively at first; gold was pretty to look at, but not much good for actual use. Gold bends under pressure, and cannot hold up under sustained wear. The Golden Stars accepted the sobriquet with good grace, however; gold was precious, they would argue, just as the pursuit of perfection is. Moreover, gold is noble; it has no truck with common metals, and the fire of gold does not tarnish and rust over time.

When the Sidereals came together to perform the Great Prophecy, the majority of the Golden Stars wished to forsake Heaven and attempt to save the Solars. The risk was great, but the rewards

immeasurable, whereas the consequences of giving up were simply unthinkable. But as the debate wore on, more lost their nerve, siding with the Bronze as a means of averting the third vision; the handful that were adamant to the end were killed or driven out of Heaven.

Since then, it is the Golden Stars that have reached out the most often to the Lunars, seeking to form a peace with them. It is they who attempted to hide and teach the few returning Solars after the Usurpation, seeking to prove that the madness of the Lawgivers had been expunged. Golden Stars often come down hard on divine tyranny, but also have provided tacit support for places where gods and men coexist without abuse and exploita-tion. The point to the constant warfare of the Shogunate and the devastation of the Contagion as proof that the decision to attempt to withdraw from Creation was not merely morally wrong, but ultimately ineffective. Golden Stars are the Sidereals most likely to accrue Paradox by opposing the known will of Heaven, and advocate for active intervention in Creation to repair fates gone awry.

Means and Ends of the Bronze FactionThe Sidereals are doomed to know the worst ends the world can come to. Whatever the costs they pay, they know that they are averting a worse future by paying them. Many, armed with this knowledge, cannot countenance gambling with the future- the most important thing is to minimize the harm that can come to pass, to take the route that has the greatest chance for the minimum of pain in this veil of tears. To these Sidereals, the ends are all that matter- the means used to achieve them are immaterial.

During the First Age, Sidereals who adopted this attitude be-came known as Bronze Stars. A mocking title given by the more idealistic Golden Stars, the Bronze Stars soon proclaimed the rightness; bronze was a noble metal, a practical alloy of lesser substance into a greater whole, a substance stronger than copper and less brittle than iron, and vastly more common and useful than gold.

When the Sidereals came together to perform the Great Proph-ecy, the majority of the of the Bronze Stars wished to forsake Creation, cast down the Solars and raise up the Dragonblooded. The risks and costs of such an action were great, but could be managed, while the consequences of doing nothing or trying and failing to reach the Solars were unimaginable.

Since then, the Bronze Stars have vigorously attempted to reunite Creation beneath the Dragonblooded host. They do not think it likely that the Lunars will ever forgive them, and believe a united Creation to be the best hope for a better tomorrow, even if it comes at a cost today. The point to the ruin wrecked by the few Solars who have returned as evidence that the Lawgivers were past redemption, and many believe that the Contagion’s roots can be traced back to a Golden Star plot gone awry. The support the laws of Heaven being obeyed to minimize sorun and the mistreatment of men by gods, but are practical about

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such things- turning a blind eye to some lesser crime can secure a powerful ally against a future contingency. Bronze Stars are the Sidereals most likely to accrue Paradox by enforcing the will of Heaven even against their defining Principles, and advocate for more passive solutions; raising up people near the problem to take care of it, without risking the limited resources of the Bureau of Destiny or precious Sidereal lives.

Wandering StarsSome Sidereals find themselves drawn towards neither idealistic gambling or pragmatic compromise. The follow their own path, guided by a compass that points towards a pole only they can see. Such individuals most typically forsake Heaven and the Bureau of Destiny entirely, or were somehow lost and took their Second Breath without being recovered. They are collectively called ronin, Sidereals who have no master save their conscience.

It is not easy to walk Creation under the burden of Arcane Fate; even the most idealistic Golden Stars acknowledge that they can do more good from within the system than outside it. Without the support of the Bureau of Destiny and Heaven, most ronin lead short, brutal lives, killed by vengeful Lunars and angry spirits threatened by these wandering mystics with their star-filled gazes. However, to some unquiet souls, the danger is not merely acceptable, but a small price to pay for following their conscience.

Sidereals who were missed and forced to survive for several years on their own will often refuse the offers of their brethren when found. They have created roots in Creation, people that depend on them, even if those people are ignorant. While these ronin generally do not hold any animosity towards Heaven, they place their personal ties above some abstract destiny that has apparently been getting along fine without them. Such ronin most often do rejoin the ranks of the Five-score Fellowship in their own time, as they come to realize how much larger the world is and how much more they could accomplish.

Even less common are those Sidereals who walk away from Heaven after years of loyal service. Sometimes they are seduced by Rakan Thulio’s cause, but others are simply tired and desire a permanent sabbatical from the burdens of being an agent of Destiny. Essence fever and the pull of kismet are powerful things, and often draw such ronin back into the thick of action, whatever they may think they want.

The Darkness BetweenAnd then there is the Sleepwalker and the War on Heaven.

Rakan Thulio believes that destiny is a corrupt joke, and one that Creation would be better served without. He contends that by supporting it, Sidereals are culpable of every ounce of suffering they inflict, whatever their goals and whatever the outcome. Ignorance is an excuse only for so long as a ronin remains ignorant; once the veil is lifted from their eyes, how can they not see that Heaven must burn?

Naturally, no Sidereal entertains such thoughts. Not when they ensure a disaster occurs on schedule to dispossess an entire people and leave them wandering with no home to call their own. Not when they arrange the treacherous affair that plunges a nation into civil war. Not when they watch brutal soldiers rape and pillage and enslave towns after one failed crop too many. Not when they withhold the secrets that could cure a plague because Heaven does not yet deem it time. Not when they are sent to end the life of a friend or lover. Naturally not.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RONIN AND GOLDEN STARS?

Some Sidereals, especially those with inclinations towards the Bronze philosophy of pragmatism, would say there isn’t a difference; the Sidereals exiled from Heaven prior to the Usurpation are sometimes called the first ronin for their refusal to compromise.

However, there is a subtle but important differ-ence. Golden Stars believe that working within the system is the best way to realize the best world. There is a risk that the lure of an easy life and valuing results over reasons could turn them from this noble course, but it is better to accept this risk and steel against it than to reject Heaven out of fear of personal weakness.

Of course, this only applies to those ronin who intentionally forsake Heaven but do not throw in with Rakan Thulio.

How may I be o f service? Lo

C hen hesi t at ed . Lamor was

one o f h i s own cocaine di st r ib-

ut or s; while Lo C hen encour-

aged ambit ion in hi s subordi-

nat e s , t he idiot god encroached

on Mi Tang ’ s t err i t ory . Yet

i f one ki ll s your minions for ev-

ery l i tt le mi st ake , you will

soon run out o f minions. “He

will not bot her you anymore .”

Friends in High PlacesEven after all these years, the grandeur of Heaven dazzled Lo Chen. The Sighing Delight of Spring was far from the most notable club in Yu-Shan. Perfumed vines of blood red trumpet blooms obscured the inside of the club from the street. Brilliant blue songbirds sing the praises of each god that passed by.

As Lo Chen approached, the birds ceased their singing. At the bird’s silence, a boyish-looking god glanced up from his books. Lo Chan handed the godly host a card with a blood red trumpet bloom. As the host inspected the card, Lo Chan tucked his hands into the sleeves of his robes. He was careful to dress the part of an ambitious godblooded mortal. Deep-sleeved sapphire robes, the hem embroidered with golden apples; not a single piece of starmetal visible. The goddess he was visiting knew enough of Sidereals to be suspicious, and Lo Chen did not wish to reveal himself. Not yet.

“This way, Master Ni.” The host lead Lo Chen though a grove of cherry trees and gossiping gods. Iridescent petals drifted down among the scattered dining tables. The café ended in a cliff. The sky gardens floated above. “The Air Elementals will guide you from here.” With a bow, the host returned to his station.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Lo Chen stepped off the cliff. A shimmering platform of solid air formed under his feet. Lo Chen rose to the sky gardens, the entirety of Yu-Shan spread beneath his feet. The Air Elemental landed on a brick walkway leading to the garden pavilion. Lo Chen entered the Goddess’ domain, eyes downcast. “My Lady.” Not the correct title for her, but a man of his resplendent destiny’s position could be forgiven a lapse of etiquette.

Mi Tang, the Goddess of Golden Delight, reclined on a chaise lounge. Orichaculm bees buzz around the delicate boned goddess. One settled on her long honey brown braid. Before her lay a feast that could feed a village for weeks. The goddess licked her honey-smeared lips clean as Lo Chen approached. “Did you succeed?”

“Yes,” Lo Chen handed over a small sweat stained sack of Ambrosia. No blood marred the outside of the bag, although the previous owner had crushed a few pieces. It took quite the beating to convince him to give up his profits.

With a wrinkled nose, Mi Tang checked the contents of the bag. She licked her lips clean of fresh honey droplets. “Lamor?” she asked, referring to the god competing with her Celestial Cocaine trade.

Lo Chen hesitated. Lamor was one of his own cocaine distributors; while Lo Chen encouraged ambition in his subor-dinates, the idiot god encroached on Mi Tang’s territory. Yet if one kills your minions for every little mistake, you will soon run out of minions. “He will not bother you anymore.” The beating Lo Chen gave Lamor should encourage the god to find another side business. Within his robes, Lo Chen fingered the handle of his starmetal dagger. He did not wish to make an enemy of the goddess, but if Mi Tang discovered who Lamor’s employer was, this meeting would not end pleasantly.

Mi Tang licked more honey off her lips. “Sit,” the goddess waved her hand at an empty couch. “Master Ni, I have more work for your people.”

Sapphire starlight twinkling in his dark eyes, Lo Chen graciously smiled and took a seat. Lamor’s mishap may have cost him Ambrosia, but Lo Chen understood friendship was the most precious currency of all.

“How may I be of service?”

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Chapter Two

The Celestial City of Yu-Shan

This is Heaven; the Celestial City of Yu-Shan, spreading across a region as large as the Blessed Isle, densely packed by ten hundred million gods great and small who labour in the Bureaucracy Divine beneath an adamant sky.

The city is divided into eight neighborhoods and one, each as large as a prefecture of the Realm. Fountains drip with quin-tessence, while spirits barter and trade in mortal prayers brought by swift footed couriers from across Creation. Within Yu-Shan, the veil of the material and immaterial is drawn up, and spirits walk clothed in flesh side by side with favored mortal servants. Manses and palaces stand grander than any in Creation since the fall of the First Age; a dozen dozen dozen schools of phi-losophy and art flourish beneath the spreading boughs of the orchids where grow the peaches of immortality, their unique discussions each imparting subtly different flavors to the fruit and drink produced by godly vinters.

Yu-Shan has no walls, for Heaven has no enemies. One hundred and eight gates join Heaven to Creation, patrolled by celestial lions. Yachts and junks ply the sea of healthsome mercury, while gondolas and barges carry passengers grand and mean across rivers of silver and gold. Beneath the adamant dome of the sky, a thousand thousand wing’d spirits vie with kite-flying gods and aerial chariots, and above them, the spreading colors of the Incarnae. Some say you can divine who leads in the Games of Divinity by their positions upon the Dome, for the Sun and Moon of Heaven do not rise and set as they do in Creation, nor do the Maidens hide in the night that never comes- but some say a great many things about both the sky and the Games and the gods, fancying themselves wise after having drunk deep on celestial wine.

Demons that have seen Yu-Shan claim that the Brass City of Hell is grander in scope, but demons are ever liars, and they speak those words while weeping bitter tears. Fair Folk diplo-mats, accustomed to the glory of the Wyld, have been struck blind at the sight of the City of the Gods, and rendered mute in composing psalms to magnify the glory they glimpsed. The dead that have been to Yu-Shan almost invariably pass to lethe and reincarnation, the beauty of the city breaking the last chains that kept them anchored to their shadowed half-existence.

Welcome to Yu-Shan, City of the Gods, Heavenly Dominion of the Celestial Incarnae and home of ten hundred million gods great and small of the Bureaucracy Divine!

Yu-Shan is divided into eight major districts; although they are referred to as neighborhoods, they are each as large as a Realm prefecture.

The Heart of the CityThe centermost district is the Neighborhood of Heaven; the heart of the city to which all blessings flow. Only the greatest and most powerful of gods can claim the palaces and manses of the Neighborhood of Heaven as their own; they have no price and may only be acquired by explicit permission of the Incarnae or their appointed representatives. From the Neighborhood of Heaven, the Seven Gates allow travellers to easily reach the other Neighborhoods where the more mundane divinities labor.

The Jade Pleasure DomeAt the center of the city, over two miles wide and three miles high, stands a temple dome of green and white jade. There are no seams to belay a hint of imperfection, only a single pair of double doors of orihalcum and starmetal, sealed and always watched by Jijra, God of Eunuchs and Sacrifice, Watcher of the Door Impassible and High Chief of the Order Capon.

Within, the Incarnae remain absorbed by the Games of Divinity, while the small gods struggle for their chances to be allowed in, to witness the games being played or even participate by taking a move. The honor of granting viewing rights is reserved to the greatest of the small gods; only one of the Incarnae may permit someone the ultimate reward of joining them in play.

The Games of Divinity are not the games of man, nor the manipulation of Creation; such tawdry concerns degrade the ineffable joy of the Games by their comparison. However, what they are cannot be explained, only experienced. Dreams of seeing them played are worth a prince’s ransom, and no price could be named or met for a memory of playing- and while

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trade in such dreams and memories is strictly contraband, this does not stop them from being common features of Heaven’s blackest markets.

The Order CaponThrough honest loyalty or gross mischance, some gods enter into the service of the Order Capon. They swear powerful oaths upon their names and identities, and give up an essential element of their own divinity to seal the oaths- ensuring that if they should ever enter the Jade Pleasure Dome or behold a moment of the Games of Divinity, even a memory of such, they would perish- immediately and permanently, without recourse.

Because of this oath, the Incarnae know that they can trust members of the Order Capon in a fashion that they can trust no one else. The Order is primarily charged with patrolling the perimeter of the Jade Pleasure Dome, ensuring that no rogue spirit is allowed passage into the most sacred heart of Heav-en. Over time, the Capons have been entrusted with more as well- most notably, Jijra more and more is granted the Seal of the Unconquered Sun and sits in judgement while the Highest remains absorbed in the Games. Some whisper that the Order Capon plan more- to take command of Heaven and seal the Incarnae at the greatest of the gods in the Jade Pleasure Dome, making it both joy and prison at once. However, despite these rumors, the influence of Jijra’s minions only grows.

Smaller DiversionsThe Games of Divinity are always being played, and always being watched- but, as vast a hall as the Jade Pleasure Dome is, it can house only the barest fraction of Heaven at once. In the thoroughfares surrounding the Jade Pleasure Dome, all manner of amusements can be found for tastes both subtle and gross. Burning Feather, God of Intoxication, oversees the movement of intoxicants into and out of the Neighborhood of Heaven, taking a small fee from each ounce of refined opium and dram of celestial cocaine- as well as far richer profits in businesses she officially has no connection to, which deal in green malfaen dust or powdered ore from the heart of the Labyrinth. For gods whom lesser medications have lost their potency but who cannot view the Games, such potent intoxicants can relieve their suffering for a time, or at least replace one impossible longing with another.

Gambling houses are also tremendously popular, with the fates of kingdoms riding on the single throw of the dice. All stakes can and will be met, all bets honored. Woe to the fools that attempt to cheat the house in the Neighborhood of Heaven!

The Judgement of IdolsThe most absorbing diversion outside the Games is to participate in the Judgement of the Idols. Each year, a rotating competition of gods and other spirits is invited to perform a series of solilo-quies, famous speeches, martial prowess, sorcerous might, songs, dances, and other divertissements, illustrating their refinement, knowledge of the classics, and where they have the arrogance and daring, attempts to improve upon them. Doing well in the Judgement, even if they do not meet with success, is one of

the few means of improving one’s lot in the heavily stratified society of Yu-Shan, and gods will labor and save for decades to pay the entry fee with only the barest hope of victory. The winner, selected during the Carnival of Meeting, is granted a reserved seat within the Games for the next year- and the chance to enter the more challenging levels, judged by their own peers as time goes on.

Any gods may release a fragment of essence to signal their ap-proval or disapproval of a particular spirit’s performance, which is then dutifully tabulated by the Judges of the Idol, a trio of robed and masked gods, their identities kept secret (but the source of much speculation!) who can then announce periodic eliminations from the competition. The rules can seem arcane and unfair to mortals, but the word of the Judges is absolute.

In addition to these annual judgements, more and more refined competitions take place every four, one hundred-eight, and twenty-seven thousand, six hundred forty-eight years. Known respectively as the Grand Judgement, the Highest Judgement, and the Judgement Incomparable, each is judged not by the hosts of Heaven but by their peers and previous winners of the next highest contest- save for the Judgement Incomparable, which is presided over solely by the Incarnae themselves.

The next Judgement Incomparable is coming within three years- the last one, during the height of the First Age, saw both puis-sant celebration and dreadful backroom dealings that rocked heaven and earth. But now the games take on a sinister tone, and support for one competitor in the Judgement of the Idols can signal political allegiance as much as a preference in style.

Courts of the IncarnaeThe right of justice is reserved to the Incarnae. When a god or agent of heaven stands accused of a capital crime, they may not be tried by any power less than one of the Incarnae themselves, or their direct representatives. Unfortunately, the Incarnae have grown more absorbed in the Games of late, and without their ineffable wisdom and unchallengeable might, criminals have begun to go unpunished.

Prior to the overthrow of the enemies of the Gods, the Sun was once called to justice by some rivals. He had done no wrong, and so feared no trial- for all knew that he was blameless in his work, and innocent of any accusation. His rivals did not mean to demonstrate his guilt, however- rather, they delayed the trial over, and over, and over. For twice ten centuries, the Uncon-quered Sun languished in the dungeons of Heaven, innocent but not yet proven so and thus caged away. Only when a terrible threat rose against Creation, such that his masters trembled in fear, was he let free- and then, only on the condition that he was absolved of the accusation.

The Unconquered Sun, upon attaining the throne of Heaven, swore that no one would be held as he had been; innocent and guilty alike were due the justice of the courts, and better a guilty party should go free than an innocent party languish due to the

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perfidy of justice perverted. No one held by Heaven may be held without their trial for more than century- a lifetime for a mortal, but a changing of a season for one immortal.

The Censors and peacekeepers of Heaven gnash their teeth at this prohibition, for more and more criminals escape judgement due to the already incredible backlog and the Incarnae’s prolonged absence. Clever barristers have also found ways of counting time that beggar the imagination, with arguments make an hour seem like a year and free their clients in a mere handful of days.

Even when the Incarnae appoint representatives, it hardly helps; some, such as the Golden Lord of An-Teng, are nearly as incor-ruptible as the Highest himself, but most curry the positions as a means of soliciting bribes in the form of fines, or to issue harsh punishments against their enemies or those whom they are directed to strike down.

The Fire ExigentOne hundred-eight li Marsward from the Jade Pleasure Dome standing at fourscore feet tall and sixscore wide, a bonfire of pure white flame, roaring in a bronze brazier with coals of diamond and ruby. This is the Fire Exigent, from which the Unconquered Sun may grant Exigent Exaltations.

Gods granted the right of Champion are gifted with a ruby gem, nearly the size of a man’s fist- a drop of blood from the Unconquered Sun. No unclean thing may touch it, and the consequences for a devil attempting to take the righteous fire of Exigence into itself can best be described as explosive- but for the gods, it is warm and joyful, singing a song of fulfillment.

It is unfortunate that even the purest of sacraments is not held sacred in this fallen age- but it is still true. Some gods, granted the gift of the Exigence, have that gift wrested from them by force or even trade it away from a desperate vision of the Games of Divinity. Such treasures may be passed between a dozen hands, each fouler than the last- by the time a god actually empowers a champion with the tarnished thing, their gem has often turned brown, and is slimy to the touch. Those Chosen by these ruined gifts become monstrous things, swollen and mad. A major duty of the Bureau of Destiny has become the tracking of these ill-omened Exigencies; with luck, to cast them back to the Flame Imperishable; without luck, to slay the unfortunate Chosen before they can do unlawful harm to Creation.

Offices and Officers of the Bureau of HeavenThe Commission on Abstract Matters and Celestial Concerns, informally known as the Bureau of Heaven, is the most politi-cally powerful organization within Heaven short of the Incarnae themselves. Nominally headed by the Unconquered Sun, the Bureau oversees the day to day concerns of Yu-Shan; it is here that appointments to offices are made and honors stripped, here that requests are approved and denied, and all things pertaining to the Gods and Yu-Shan are under the jurisdiction of the Bureau.

The Bureau of Heaven has offices through the Celestial City, but their central office is twice eighty-score lie Jupiterward from the Jade Pleasure Dome, in a palatial estate that once housed a demon prince’s glass library. Here Taru-Han, Shogun of Abstract Matters, marshals her forces against enemies both within and without- she fears the Lytek, the former chief of the department and the Right Hand of Power, God of Exaltation, will attempt to reclaim the post he lost with the Usurpation. Meanwhile her counterpart and second, Ryzala, the God of Bureaucracy and Shogun of the Department of Celestial Concerns, keeps making quiet moves to merge the two offices into a single estate- over which she would stand as the master. No one of Ryzala’s ploys has proven efficacious yet, but the Lady of Paperwork is content to drown Taru-Han in procedure and bleed her out with ten thousand papercuts.

The Business of the GodsOnly the greatest of the Gods spend any amount of time in the Neighborhood of Heaven- the meanest employment there is a greater aspiration than most of the small gods hold. Instead, most live cheek to jowl in the Four Great Neighborhoods of Effervescent Beginnings, Propitious Life, Vigilant Readiness or Languid Aspirations- colloquially, the Neighborhoods of Wind, Wood, Fire and Water. Less populace but no less critical are the Small Neighborhoods of Passages Argent and Aurum, and Prosperous Contemplation; the Neighborhoods of Ports and Groves.

Commerce in the Big CityYu-Shan is vast, and the streets are crowded with divinities of all shapes and sizes. To someone recently of the Celestial City, it can be nearly impossible to tell one area from another- yet the differences couldn’t be clearer to those who have lived in Yu Shan for more than a century or two. In all of the common districts of Heaven, Gods live and feast and play and work; they commute by hired rickshaws or rented clouds or paying the fare to travel along the rivers of silver and gold that crisscross the city. At the worst, they can walk- while only the most miserly or poorest of gods would choose to do so, that describes an increasing number of spirits in these fallen days. They dwell in apartments with rooms that could swallow mansions in Creation, and lament their impoverished accommodations, apologizing about the poor state of affairs to any guests they entertain, and serve the stuff of prayers for their feasts. The primary distinction comes in what manner of labour the spirits busy themselves with.

Quintessence and AmbrosiaAll around Heaven can be found fountains of marble and gold, each embossed in various fanciful design and mosaic. Each hour, these fountains fill with a shimmering golden liquid, as thick and sweet as honey, known to the inhabitants of Heaven as Quintessence. Each spirit is entitled to claim 1000 drams of the miraculous stuff each hour- the stipend upon which all can depend. With a modicum of effort, quintessence may be rolled

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into small balls, and these form the common coin of Heaven, with standard sizes wrapped in various colors of silk to make them easy to distinguish.

Quintessence is healthsome, and a spoonful satisfies all mortal hunger and thirst for eight hours- but of far greater worth is the wonders that can be spun by the greater crafting gods. In the hands of a lord of the forge, a dram of quintessence may be shaped into an ingot of the highest quality iron or steel, of pure warm copper or beads of silver and gold and platinum. Drawn by a weaver, and quintessence becomes silk cooler than water, satin softer than clouds, shimmering with all the colors of the aurora. By the hand of a master chef, and quintessence may be formed into the finest cuts of beef and chicken and salmon that can be found in Creation, or bundles of olives or masses of grapes; rich allspice and pepper of every color.

The gods do not need to eat or drink to live. They do not need clothes to remain warm. For most, they need no arms of iron or bronze to make war, nor jewelry of silver and ruby to reflect their beauty. However, by the miracle of quintessence, they can realize all these things they do not need. The poorest god in Heaven lives a life of decadent ease greater than all but the richest princes of Creation, and bemoan their lack and want.

Greater by far than the fountains of quintessence are the vaults of ambrosia. The veneration of the gods given form, ambrosia appears to be a soft, cream-white substance, with the sheen and texture of cold butter. Rubbed on the skin, it serves as an anointment of miraculous health surpassing the most potent medicines of Creation; the smallest taste satisfies any mortal need for substance for a week. Ambrosia smells faintly of vanilla and fresh baked goods; a subtle but overpowering sweetness and living, yeasty texture. It tastes of cookies still warm from the oven.

By the decree of the Incarnae, seven-tenths of all ambrosia grant-ed to the gods is surrendered to the Bureau of Heaven, where it is disbursed for the betterment of Heaven. As only a small fraction of Heaven’s gods receive direct worship, the majority of the ambrosia seen is seen as part of this disbursement, cut into regular discs and wrapped in golden or silver foil for different denominations.

Ambrosia bears all the virtues of quintessence, fivefold over. Harder and more delicate to work, ambrosia will curdle in the amateur hands of most of Heaven’s artisans- but the best of them can create weapons and armor composed entirely of precious stones, cloth woven of cloud and shadow and starlight, food composed of virtue and glory with cups of honor to drink. The greatest dream-workers of Heaven have banded together in the Guild of Ambrosial Delight. There, they trade secrets and conspire, one amongst the other, that their art may not be cheapened by overexposure.

Ambrosia and Quintessence removed from the spiritual realm of Heaven quickly boil away in the mundane sphere of Creation.

While wrapped in their silk or golden foil, they may be safely transported through such lesser places, and retain their shape and potency for use in the private sanctums of spirits across Creation- or even more rarely, when traded into the depths of Hell. Such commerce is grossly illegal, and the Warden of Hell is especially charged with hunting down such blackguards.

Neighborhoods Great and Small

The Neighborhood of WindIn the Neighborhood of Wind, the Gods primarily deal in banking and financials. There, everything is tinted yellow in honor of Mercury and the hope that she will swiftly bear them to prosperity. Gold wrapped coins of ambrosia and silver wrapped balls of quintessence are placed on deposit with various insti-tutions that have stood since the Exalted were given Creation, and a bustling trade in trade itself can raise a god up faster than victory in one of Plentimon’s houses, and drag him down even more swiftly. The Mercurial Exchange of Bonds, Stocks, Fu-tures, and Devices is the largest market in the Neighborhood of Wind- there, no matter the day or the hour, the cries to buy and sell shares in businesses, companies, and destinies can always be heard. Not to mention the food carts with their steaming meat pies and sugar coffees- as well as every stimulant known. The Gods here are the brightest dressed, each striving like peacocks to show off their wealth and intimidate the competition, while desperately hoping that today is not the day their debts come due and they are cast out into the streets.

The Vault Primordial and the Splendid TrustWhen the Gods seized Heaven, the also claimed the wealth of their former masters, and chief amongst these riches was the treasure vaults of the fallen. Inside, almost inexhaustible stores of ambrosia and quintessence- enough to satisfy the dreams and lusts of even the most avaricious of spirits. The Incarnae claimed the bulk of this wealth, initially using it to pay for their rebellion and help establish the new order; it is from here that the tax of seven-tenths of ambrosia first arose. The remainder was claimed by the finders, who consolidated their combined wealth in what would become the Neighborhood of Wind, founding the Splendid Trust And Union of Transmundane and Inexhaustible Wealth- the first and oldest of the banks of Heaven. Through good times and bad, it was always certain that the Splendid Trust was as immutable as the rule of the Incarnae. Epic legends spread of the incredible wealth held within the Vault Primordial, and the nigh invincible protections placed thereupon. Now, however, rumors spread that the Vault is all but exhausted. Normally sensible gods worry that the Splendid Trust is broke and has been broken, coasting on reputation and favors which will run out any day. Should the assembled spirits of Yu-Shan make a run on the bank, they may create the very panic and chaos they seek to avoid.

The Neighborhood of WoodThe Neighborhood of Wood is the primary residence for the majority of the Gods. Although apartments and townhomes can be found in every neighborhood, it is only in the Neigh-

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borhood of Wood that the buildings lower and spread out, the thoroughfares becoming narrower but somehow longer. Small orchids of two hundred cherry trees will sit behind a stolidly middle class scribal overseer’s tiny palace, as he looks enviously across the path to the aerial chariot purchased by his neighbor and bitter rival. Those gods who work in the Neighborhood of Wood are almost always servants of some variety- private chefs, butlers and maids, stable-managers, major domos and reeves and seneschals. Many live in the home of the god whom employees them- a precarious existence, for the least infraction could see them thrown out without a second thought.

The Dutiful Order of Sacrosanct InvigorationThe Gods do not need to eat or drink, and so many do not engage in the unpleasant and boresome activity of passing waste that occupies so much of a mortal’s life. However, Heaven is not peopled solely by immortals, and even amongst the immortals, some will take up pissing and shitting as a rustic fad every few centuries. Such individuals are serviced by the Dutiful Order of Sacrosanct Invigoration. Bearing pots of ivory, ceramic and gold, they will bear away the full and leave pristine and empty containers. The master of the Dutiful Order is the Flocculent Master, God of Defecation, rarely attends his domain upon Creation any longer, so absorbed is he in the business of Heaven’s business. The nightsoil produced has manifold uses in strange alchemies and artificing- but most is sold to the Neighborhood of Groves, to nourish the Peaches of Immortality. Despite his growing wealth, the Flocculent Master finds himself shunned from the better sort of deity, owing to the odiferous nature of his business.

The Neighborhood of FireResidents of the Neighborhood of Fire would say that it is there that the business of the city is accomplished. Here is the hard manual labor of Heaven perfected- artisan gods whispering shape and form into ambrosia or smelting beads of quintessence into bales of silk and satin. Most of the gods here are employed directly by the Bureau of Humanity, and busy themselves re-cording the coming and goings of Creation’s mortals, writing forecasts and predictions, recommendations and reports on the grandeur and the minuta of humanity. Without these precise records and forecasts, the Bureau of Destiny would be hard pressed to device acceptable fates for Creation.

The Neighborhood of WaterOf the Great Neighborhoods, it is the Neighborhood of Water that most closely resembles Heaven as most in Creation would expect. A never-ending carnival of delight, the bon vivants here specialize in every form of entertainment. Playhouses and poets can be found on every corner, and songs that could break a mortal’s heart to hear hang in the air like a smog. Race tracks and arenas for athletics competition, the finest restaurants of the Celestial City outside of the Neighborhood of Heaven, and the richest gaming houses can all be found here. Bathhouses and saunas are also common, where comely spirits can tend the aches and pains of their hard working betters, or assist in sating any other need they might have. The Neighborhood of Water

seems to have no bottom; those who stay near the surface enjoy a simple pleasant visit, but the deeper one dives, the darker it grows. Any vice, no matter how perverse or depraved, may be satisfied in the depths, for the right price.

The Neighborhood of GrovesThe two Small Neighborhoods are poorly served by the name; they may be of meaner stature, but both cover more actual ground than the Great Neighborhoods. The Neighborhood of Groves is a tremendous change of pace from the riot of color and sound that comprises the rest of Heaven. Here are pastoral rolling hills, interspersed with mile-long orchids. Sapphire-plums and amethyst grapes are harvested by soldier-deities granted a pension and tract of land for valiant service in the ancient battle. Most jealously guarded are those groves where the Peaches of Immortality grow; the flesh of which always invigorates and renews even the most weary of souls. For a mortal to test one of these delights is to feel the age melting from their bones- but they are forbidden from Creation. Indeed, three of five peaches from the groves are reserved to be served in the Jade Pleasure Dome, while the remainder are destined for the vintners that press celestial wine and other powerful drink. Between these orchids are groves of sacred mulberry bushes, from which can be found aurora-worms that produce sanctified silk. Sanctified silk is used to form the scrolls and written works of Heaven, as well as the divine raiment of the greatest of gods.

One Thousand Schools In ShadeNestled between the groves and orchards, a thousand different schools of philosophy and martial arts have sprung up, savoring the quiet of the Neighborhood at the same time as they break it with the power of their brawls. The practitioners will meditate beneath one tree for a dozen years in peace, and then engage in furious bouts of martial prowess to prove the correctness of their beliefs. At any given time, it is understood by all that there are One Dozen Greatest Schools, who, by rhetoric and power, have illustrated the virtue of their beliefs. Outsiders will come from far across Heaven to cry their cause, or sponsor them to demonstrate on their behalf, or to act as bodyguards when travelling through less civilized places.

The Neighborhood of PortsMeanwhile, the Neighborhood of Ports has even less of a fixed region than any other place in Heaven. Possessing the rivers of silver and gold that cross the length and breadth of Yu-Shan like highways of precious metal, as well as the entirety of the coast that rings the Isle of Paradise. Every quay, dock, harbor, jetty, and port that see passengers and cargo moving swiftly across Heaven passes through the Neighborhood of Ports. Few Gods live in this Neighborhood- those who do primarily reside in floating, flat-bottomed houseboats, drifting lazily along with no especial care. Smuggling is also rampant in the Neighborhood of Ports, and the Bureau of Heaven retains a small private navy of swift self-powered tremieres to run down sleek smugglers yachts and fat bottomed junks dragging forbidden cargo across the quicksilver sea.

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The Order of Intercessionist SpiritsWhile only a fraction of the Gods in Yu-Shan receive direct veneration, amongst those who do, they can easily become over-whelmed by the sheer volume of prayer directed to them. For such individuals who do not have the patience to individual sift the prayers of the worthy from the unworthy, they turn to the Order of Intercessionist Spirits- a guild of winged gods able to swiftly travel across Creation and Heaven. So empowered, the Intercessionist Spirits intercept prayers directed to their clients, and prevent them with a summary of the most worthy causes. Of course, directly praying to the correct Intercessionist can thusly produce more efficacious results, as the patronized divinity may be inclined to bump such a worthy mortal up the ladder.

One Hundred and Eight Gates of Heaven and EarthBetween Heaven and Creation are one hundred and eight Gates. Twenty-four stand at regular intervals several thousand li from the shore, forming a circle in the quicksilver sea to points remote across Creation. Eighty-three are distributed across the Neigh-borhoods of Heaven; those which are open and active tend to cultivate a degree of trade between Heaven and Earth- Gods using Heaven to quickly transport goods from one end of Creation to another, while importing items of quality that either cannot be produced by quintessence or would prove ruinously expensive to produce in ambrosia. The one hundred and eighth gate is known as the Calibration Gate; it always resembles a one-sided hoop of moonsilver and starmetal, freestanding on it’s edge and over eight feet high. The whereabouts of the Calibration Gate, on both Heaven and Earth, is difficult for even the wisest of savants to track.

Each of the eighty-three gates within the city of Yu-Shan do not only connect to Creation, but also to one another. The path is not bi-directional; passing from a Gate Twenty-Three in the Neighborhood of Water may take to Gate Forty-Five in the Neighborhood of Fire, while passing through Gate Forty-Five in the Neighborhood of Fire takes you to Gate Sixty-Seven in the Neighborhood of Groves. The Gates are normally reserved for travel between Neighborhoods, and only opened for trade and commerce with Creation on specific hours and days, which vary from location to location.

Pastoral Fields in a Crowded CityMortal cartographers despair of mapping Heaven, as the Neigh-borhoods do not seem to obey anticipated relationships with one another. Rather, they seem to nest ever inwards; another avenue is always beyond the turn, another field past the hills. Explorers that have ventured into the Wyld at first believe Heaven obeys similar laws, that your destination depends upon your intent, but nothing could be further from the truth. Rather, Heaven resembles a map folded upon itself many times; paths may branch and merge in unexpected fashion, but they will always proceed from one location to the next in a regular and reliable order. In this fashion can the vast farms of the Neighborhood of Groves exist on the same isle as the cheek-and-jowl crowding

of the Neighborhood of Wood. This nesting also intensifies the value of the Neighborhood of Ports, as travel by river is very often the swiftest and straightest means of egress possible where an internal Gate-walk is not available.

The Seven Great GatesEach Gate, in addition to joining Heaven to Creation, joins two neighborhoods together- but only the Seven Great Gates join the neighborhoods of Yu-Shan to the Neighborhood of Heaven. Passage through these gates is strictly regulated, and requires presenting credentials demonstrating that one has legitimate business in the heart of Heaven, edicts enforced by celestial lions with distinguished careers and very short tempers. Such passages are not the only means to enter the Neighborhood of Heaven, of course, but they are the most convenient, and the lesser known routes are scarce less observed.

The Seven Great Gates are:

• The Gate of Eternal Majesty (aka the Gate of Mercury, connecting the Neighborhood of Wind)

• The Gate of Transcendent Harmony (aka the Gate of Jupiter, connecting the Neighborhood of Wood)

• The Gate of Supreme Triumph (aka the Gate of Mars, con-necting the Neighborhood of Fire)

• The Gate of Magnificence Supreme (aka the Gate of Venus, connecting the Neighborhood of Water)

• The Gate of Terminal Glory (aka the Gate of Saturn, con-necting the Neighborhood of Ports)

• The Gate of Incomparable Distinction (aka the Gate of Luna, connecting the Neighborhood of Groves)

• The Gate of Unconquered Celebration (aka the Gate of Sol, connecting the Neighborhood of Refuge- now almost always closed)

The Great Gates are often used as major landmarks when nav-igating within Yu-Shan, with directions given relative to the massive structures of gold-veined marble.

Offices and Officers of the Bureau of Humanity The Divine Witnesses of Human Works and Deeds is one of the closest allies and fiercest rivals with the Bureau of Destiny, as both are intensely concerned with the activity of the world. The Bureau of Destiny dealt their rival a fierce blow towards the end of the First Age by successfully convincing the Bureau of Heaven to take control of the Department of Universal Human Affairs, arguing that universal human affairs are always abstract matters and thus primarily a consideration for celestial concern- an act for which Wun Ja, God of Shining Metropoli and the Director of Humanity, has not yet forgiven them or his treacherous for-mer aide and daughter, Nu Ja- God of Family and Clan, as well as (now) Director of Universal Human Affairs. The constant agitation of the Union of City Fathers and Mothers for more resources to defend their charges with weighs on him- and the toadies he would most like to be rid of, such as the up-jumped Gri-Fel, God the Imperial City, remain stubbornly beyond his reach, protected by powerful allies.

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It is rumored that Rakan Thulio has begun to make quiet over-tures to the frustrated God of Shining Metropoli, whispering sweet words of a world without Heaven or Destiny interfering in the fate of man, in which Wun Ja would be the first amongst equals. Such rumors are blasphemies spread by his political enemies, of course, and Wun Ja does not deign to answer such spurious charges. He keeps Themiscrila, God of Imperial Rhet-oric and Law, close at hand to respond to those who would insult his dignity in this fashion; her counter-suits and intimations of worse to come deter all but the most foolhardy, even as her retainer slowly bleeds Wun Ja dry.

The Slums of HeavenThere is one other Neighborhood in Heaven. At the dawn of the First Age, it was established as a place of safety and healing, for those gods whom had suffered grievous curses, fell wounds, or untreatable madness during the course of the glorious revolution. A long lane of quiet spaces and gentle healing; the Neighborhood of Refuge. Here could those beings who had survived the worst of the enemy could be allowed to rest in peace, tended by the gentlest ministrations of spirits of healings and calm, overseen by the Division of Solitary Comforts within the Bureau of Heaven. For long years, the Neighborhood served well as a place of Refuge; veils of privacy were drawn to conceal the secrets and shames of divinities driven mad, laws enacted to prevent them from being taken advantage of or unduly persecuted, at the same time as the ministering spirits could submit regular reports of those so protected, ensuring that they were neither abusers nor abused. Gaia herself, in her times in Yu-Shan, was often seen walking the length of the Neighborhood. The Green Lady would walk, arm in arm with Luna, neither speaking nor needing to speak, as ineffable cool flowed from them, drawing the heat of fever and ruin from the broken gods they passed.

At the height of the First Age, there was even a program estab-lished to attempt to show some generosity towards the defeat-ed, and those who sincerely wished to enjoin peacefully with Creation. The Embassy of Hell, the Mission of Madness and the Legation of the Dead were created beneath the Bureau of Heaven, allowing devils, fair folk nobles and spirits of the Un-derworld a chance to peacefully reside within Yu-Shan; under careful consideration and control, but with the aim of extending Heaven’s suzerainty across all of existence, as well as to assist the caretakers of the broken gods with specialized advice and assistance in treating the most dire cases.

The Usurpation saw the resources of the Neighborhood of Ref-uge stretch to the limit; for the first time since the conclusion of the divine revolution, there was a major influx of grievously injured and maddened divinities, broken by the fighting within Creation as the mad Solars were put down in the months and years following the terrible Calibration dinner. Sanctuaries which had been dedicated to holding only a single god suddenly had to host small pantheons, and the time and resources of

ministering spirits had to be more carefully measured. At the same time, enemies of the Division of Solitary Comfort denied them the additional funding they desperately needed to meet the new demands- always claiming that things were not so dire and that claims otherwise were purely a political ploy for the managers of the division to live more lavish lives at the expense of both the Incarnae and the broken gods under their charge.

In time, it is likely that the Neighborhood of Refuge could have adapted to this new norm, and found an acceptable equilibri-um. In time, they could have gradually increased funding and found treatments for those gods broken by the Solar Purge. But time was not a resource they were granted; in only a handful of centuries after the Usurpation came the Great Contagion, and the invasion of the Fair Folk. A trickle of sickened and terrified divinities soon became a swell, then a flood, until finally at the order of Saturn, all one hundred and eight gates of Heaven and Creation were sealed for three years. The Neighborhood of Refuge was overwhelmed- the fleeing divinities had no resources and nowhere else to go, and so were ushered into overcrowded hospital-temples and hastily thrown together shanty towns and divine camps. Despite protests from the Plenipotentiary of Unfixed Form and the Envoy of the Departed, the embassies of the Wyld and the Underworld were burned in riots that rocked the Neighborhood, started by refugee gods that were appalled to see their enemies apparently granted quarter and ease while their domains were ruined.

As the Usurpation passed and Heaven adjusted to the new reality of Creation under the Scarlet Empress, the isolation of the Refuge began to take shape. Never an official policy, it was simply a marked increase in vigilance of those attempting to leave the Neighborhood of Refuge, a casual dismissal of reports of violence or lawbreaking within the Neighborhood. Gates which lead to or from the Neighborhood of Refuge began to gain a sullen reputation; the supposedly temporary shanty towns became more permanent with rough blocks of blotchy marble forged from quintessence by rural gods began to rise. The Bureau of Heaven would send in a heavy force of celestial lions and fu dogs to tear down these inauspicious constructs, but the residents would simply flee without a fight and rebuild elsewhere within the Neighborhood- now, they merely try and ignore them, hoping the problem might sort itself out.

The better sort of divinity began to shun the Neighborhood of Refuge. It was seen as a place of vagrants and thieves, of dis-possessed and shiftless gods living on the dole of quintessence and from whatever prayers they could smuggle in. Other names began to be applied; the Neighborhood of Refugees, the Neigh-borhood of Refuse. Prejudice preceded fact; as the divinities in the Neighborhood of Refuge could not integrate with Yu-Shan at large, they built the best lives they could. With the ancient laws ensuring the privacy and safety of the broken gods within, criminals began to use the overcrowding as a means of avoiding official scrutiny. The Brass Embassy has become a festering wound of livid corruption, while the Mission of Madness and the Legation of the Dead are ports of call for smugglers and

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traffickers of unnatural goods. And over it all, the howling of the sick and the mad still rise like broken psalms from gods kept in peaceful incarceration since the dawn of the First Age, while hollow-eyed spirits of peace and healing struggle to pull themselves from their couches from brief moments of respite before going back to try and stem the flood again, wondering to themselves if this will be the day they break and join the ranks of the ministered.

Idle Gods and Devil’s PlaythingsThe stereotypical resident of the Neighborhood of Refuge is a hollow-eyed thief and pickpocket, dressed in threadbare silks from two centuries ago, addicted to black glass or brazen dust. They are seen as lazy, unreliable, and unproductive, a criminal drain upon Heaven. Or, if not a thief, they are one of the broken; divinities that have escaped from the sanctuaries established for them centuries ago, gibbering to themselves in alien tongues and pawing with dirty hands and feet upon the immaculate places of their betters. More charitable gods will emphasize the terrible conditions of the Neighborhood that drive these unfortunates, but they do not dispute the core image, nor do they offer personally inconveniencing solutions.

The truth is more complicated. The vast majority of the residents of the Neighborhood of Refuge would like nothing better than to either integrate back into Heaven or Creation- but simply have no means to do so. For many, their sanctums and domains in Creation were destroyed, leaving them with no place inside of Fate’s plan; for them to return would make them dire criminals and subject to harsh penalties. They cannot compete against the professional servants of Yu-Shan in the Neighborhoods of Water and Wood, nor the professional laborers of Fire and Wind- and even if they could, their furtive stature and lack of perfume would give them away as being outsiders that even the most desperate outside the Refuge would not hire. Left with no purpose, many do drift into various addictions as a means to whittle away eternity, or fall into criminal enterprises as one of the few ways to escape.

The Embassy of HellCarefully watch the streets of Yu-Shan; in a rare few will you see shining, sticky silver sands. They are merely uncommon through the Neighborhood of Refuge, and downright ubiquitous as one draws upon the Brazen Embassy and the realm of Vitra, Expressive Soul of the Green Sun and Ambassador of Hell to Heaven. A single gate of inauspicious passage is always watched by a rotating trio of celestial lions dressed in blue jade armor, as they monitor those who immigrate to or from the demon realm, tracking the silver sands of the endless desert with them.

Virta still sees his purpose in Heaven as a noble one. The demon princes will never be free, and he holds no illusions on that front- but a spark of kindness for his fellows trapped in Hell drives him to seek comfort and release for them. Virta’s name is a curse in Hell, for he is seen as having betrayed the Brass City for his own ease- but even so, he has no lack of sycophants and would-be aides that seek escape within the Brass Embassy.

Over the centuries, and especially as order in the Neighborhood of Refuge has broken down, he has increased the number of demons fleeing hell beyond his legal limits, bribing the celestial lions to turn a blind eye at the additional handfuls of neomah or blood apes slumping through the gate of twisted, yellow jade. He gets along well with Verumipra. and the two have assisted one another in delicate matters before- but this relationship has grown strained in the past several centuries, as Virta has concealed more and more of his activities from the Warden of the Exiles, fearing that the incorruptible Verumipra would place duty over friendship and compassion.

And in his heart, Virta knows that Verumipra would be right to do so. Alain, Messager Soul of That Which Calls To Shadow, saunters a princess in the halls of the Brass Embassy. She has facilitated several of Virta’s crimes of compassion and extorts the diplomat outrageously, demanding assistance with smuggling in hellish drugs or moving sacred ambrosia across the silver desert- lest she reveal the extent of Virta’s crimes to Verumipra. Alain is more than willing to burn the Brass Embassy to the ground if she is caught- her pleasure is in the criminal dance, not the paltry aid that Vitra offers to their lessers. Rumors constantly fly as to which god or goddess she is currently abed with, and Alain is a common sight at both the most delicate of Heaven’s functions, as well as the most depraved. Although Vitra hates her, even he is forced to admit that- although she does so purely for her own reasons -Alain has been essentially in keeping the Embassy of Hell open and whole since the Usurpation.

The Transubstantic Order of Divine PhagethanIn the restaurants of Heaven can all delights be found. By the miracle of quintessence and ambrosia, any spice or victual of dream or reality can be forged- save two. Officially, no god feasts upon the flesh of man, and no divinity partakes of the meat and blood of a fellow spirit. The former is a concession to the rule of the Exalted; although ambrosial chefs could forge succulent man-meat with no injury to any soul, the practice was outlawed near the start of the First Age as being offensive to the lords of Creation; meanwhile, the prohibition against divine cannibalism extends beyond even the mistiest memories of the gods, beyond law and into unbreakable taboo.

Small surprise then, that the Transubstantic Order has found a home within the Neighborhood of Refuge. Gluttonous gods of vile appetites, the Order is dedicated to experiencing the breadth of what may be consumed across extence. Officially, they exist as an order of gourmands and outre experimenters- their more grisly courses are kept in strictest confidence. However, if one turns down the wrong alley in Yu-Shan, or opens the forbidden larder of Yacatacul, they may find themselves confronted with a grisly larder stocked with carefully preserved corpses, smoked and salted, ready for oven and knife.

The Wicked and the DivineFor ten millennia, crime was seen in Yu-Shan as a result of mad-ness; only the sick would attempt to violate the proper order of the Celestial City. As such, the Palace of Broken Souls was founded

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in the Neighborhood of Refuge. There, criminals could be sen-tenced to serve time in peaceful surroundings- each granted a small apartment, ease of movement upon the campus, and regular care from staff who sought to help these sick spirits. Compared to the more draconian punishments which were handed down in the time before the divine revolution, it is a gentle sort of prison indeed- but still a prison. The grounds are patrolled by guards in gleaming steel and jade, allowing neither entrance or egress without proper authorization.

As with so much else in the Neighborhood of Refuge, as an insti-tution, the Palace of Broken Souls has simply been overwhelmed. More dangerous and increasingly numerous belligerents are as-signed to the Palace from the justices of the Neighborhood of Heaven every day, heedless of the overcrowding already in place. The staff, once committed to the healing and regeneration of the criminal spirits, now simply strives to keep an ever more strained peace as divine gangs both within and without the Palace struggle for real control. The Gaoler Gentle, Xul, struggles to keep order- he knows that more and more of his guards are on the payroll of various factions within his Palace, and shudders at the day a riot rocks the facility and causes it to crack like a rotten egg, spilling it’s putrid contents across the Neighborhood of Refuge. He is desperately seeking a replacement or a scapegoat against this inevitability, while at the same time striving to maintain the ap-pearance that nothing is wrong and there is no cause for concern.

Down and Out In the Magic KingdomAmidst the reputation of reprobates, it can become easy to believe that there is no good in the Neighborhood of Refuge. This is not so; while Heaven’s gossip mongers prefer to focus on the juicy stories of violence and crime, the truth is that the vast supermajority of the gods in the Neighborhood of Refuge are peaceful- they are simply resigned. Most would jump at the chance to return to domains in Creation, or to take up service in Heaven- but the work simply can’t be found, and so they idle and waste. The hope that they nourish to one day rise, to perhaps even see the Games of Divinity being played, has long been blotted out- and without that hope, they become more susceptible to uglier diversions. Nevertheless, in the ghettos of Heaven can be found vibrant pantheons of exiled gods, spending the days dreaming by the fountains and swapping stories of their time in Creation. Arts and tales lost everywhere else in Creation may be found amongst those deities as they reminisce about days gone by, when the Solar domination of Creation seemed as unshakable at the rising and setting of the sun. The Gold Faction often recruits from these- gods whom technically have no place in Fate within Creation, but are given special (and of dubious legality) dispensations to manifest within the training camps of the Shining Ones, making the best of the returned Solars ready for the rigors of resumed rule.

In addition to the dispossessed gods are other refugees that have made their way to Heaven. A gens of Dragonblooded established a lineage during the Contagion; calling themselves the Heavenly Dragons, they found employment primarily as bodyguards- and very quietly, as assassins. Exalted as they are, the Heavenly Drag-ons are heir to spirit-cutting martial techniques and arms and

armor of jade that once served in the armies that struck down the enemies of the gods. They have heavily interbred with the dispossessed Gods- some of the matriarchs of the family worry that the blessing of the Dragons is being as watered down by the inhuman blood of the divine as surely as the mundane blood of humanity. It is certain that the Bureau of Fate make periodic use of the Heavenly Dragons, dispatching them on especially dangerous Wyld Hunts or asking them to act as their agents in unofficial business within Creation. Officially, of course, the Bureau of Fate denies any such associations- the Sidereals are the only Exalted agents officially empowered to pursue Heaven’s business within Creation.

Offices and Officers of the Bureaus of Seasons and NatureThe Celestial Monitors of Seasons and Weather, as well as the Superintendency of Nature Grand and Humble, are technical-ly co-equal Divisions with Heaven, Fate and Humanity. In practice, they have fallen on hard times- representing elements of Creation with little consequence to Heaven, they have been mercilessly squeezed of funding and support. Now, almost all the offices of the Bureau of Weather and the Bureau of Nature are found in the Neighborhood of Refuge. Some few celebrities within the Bureaus- such as the Celestial Animals, celebrities who tour the party scene in the Neighborhoods of Water and Wood, soliciting donations for their causes even as they are amongst the few gods to receive wide worship in Creation.

Flashing Peak, Master of Nature, God of the Imperial Mountain and Shogun of the Hierarchy of Type, currently fears for his position. Ocean Crimson Lotus, the crowned monarch of the Second Age and Daimyo of the Subdivision of History within the Bureau of Fate, has been heard speaking openly that the old sleepy Peak deserves a retirement and a pension- no longer able to keep up with the rigors of the day to day operation of Nature, and uses the fact that the Bureau of Nature has fallen into Refuge as evidence of such, even as she manipulates events to keep the Bureau trapped within. Her gambits have been as-tonishingly effective, to the point where Flashing Peak wonders if it is merely paranoia that he sees the hand of the Sleepwalker behind the Sorrowful Age’s Queen.

The Bureau of Seasons, meanwhile, has labored under a long cloud of undue persecution. Ghataru, Regent of the Seasons and Weather, is plagued by accusations and lawsuits that he abuses his position to send favorable weather to one nation or drought and disaster to another. In truth, he does the best to execute the thankless task of regulating Creation’s weather and seasons as well as he can, in accordance with the designs drawn by the Bureau of Fate- but the Calendar Gods are perennial trouble-makers, each more concerned with their non-stop, month-long bacchanals in the Neighborhood of Water than the performance of their duties. Five Days Darkness, the self-styled God of Calibration, haunts Ghataru’s dreams as well; the Shadow of the Sun’s schemes to humiliate the Calendar Gods inevitably seem to draw trouble to the Bureau as a whole.

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Chapter Three

Character Creation

The Sidereal Exalted are not like the Solars. They are not suddenly chosen for power, without support or warning; instead, they have been destined to draw the Second Breath from the moment they draw their first, and enter into a tight knit society that stretches back to the First Age and beyond. While Sidereals still grow up in Creation, they are watched by servants of the Bureau of Destiny, who ensure their safety and give them their first rudi-mentary lessons. Upon Exaltation, they are escorted to Heaven to begin more formal training and indoctrination, a process that can last upwards of a decade before the young Chosen begins to undertake their true duties.

Before you begin, ask your Storyteller and fellow players about their plans - will this game focus primarily on the Sidereal Exalted and the efforts of the agents of Heaven, or do they intend for most of the chronicle to focus on the Solars, Dragonblooded, or another group within Creation? Will they be embroiled in the politics of the divine Bureaus and the shadowy threat of Rakan Thulio, or focus instead on the encroaching danger of the Shadowlands, or the incipient civil war that threatens to tear the Realm apart?

One or two Sidereals can work well in a mixed Circle- providing resources, insights and connections that few others can match, while a game focused exclusively on the Sidereal has a chance to deeply explore into some of Creation’s most subtle and well kept mysteries, travelling to fantastic locations and dealing with weird spirits, in the name of destiny and for the fate of the world.

Step 1: Character ConceptWhen creating any character,one of the first questions to focus on answering is ‘What do I want to do during play?’ Is there some element of the setting that especially intrigues you and which you would like to explore? Do you want to be a political puppet master, guiding the world from hidden strings in the background? Or perhaps you want to be the one that’s called in when things go wrong, setting them right with a flash of a starmetal daiklave or martial kiai. Again, speak with your fel-low players- make sure that no one’s concept is going to make it impossible to work with anyone else.

Once you have a concept that you are happy with, select the Caste that best fits them. Each Sidereal is chosen by one of the Maidens of Destiny, and your caste can put a totally different spin on two seemingly similar concepts. Chapter Four explains the five Sidereals Castes in full detail.

Finally, consider your character’s political leanings. The Side-reals have two semi-formal groups, the Bronze Faction and the Gold- the pragmatists that do not believe Creation can risk the Solars, and the idealists who believe Creation must. While few Sidereals identify themselves exclusively as a member of one of these factions, most have strong sympathies towards one of them, and their choices will often be viewed through a lens of factional politics even when they try and remain staunchly neutral. This is less important in a mixed circle, but still worth considering as to how it informs you about your character.

Step 2: AttributesAs with the Solar Exalted, Sidereal Exalted divide their Attri-butes into Physical, Social and Mental categories. Designate one of these categories as primary, one a secondary, and one as tertiary. Each Attribute begins with a free dot; you then distribute eight additional dots amongst your character’s pri-mary Attributes, six additional dots amongst your character’s secondary Attributes, and four additional dots amongst your character’s tertiary Attributes.

Step 3: AbilitiesAs with the Solar Exalted, the Sidereal Exalted tend to have some Abilities they excel in more than others. Additionally, each Caste of the Sidereal Exalted is noted as tending to favor the Abilities which are favored by their Maiden.

Find your character’s Caste on the list below, and pick five associated Abilities. These are her Caste Abilities.

• Journeys: Archery, Athletics, Dodge, Larceny, Resistance, Ride, Sail, Survival, Thrown

• Serenity: Awareness, Craft, Dodge, Investigation, Linguis-tics, Performance, Presence, Socialize, Survival

• Battles: Archery, Brawl, Linguistics, Lore, Medicine, Melee, Presence, Sail, War

• Secrets: Bureaucracy, Investigation, Larceny, Lore, Melee, Occult, Resistance, Socialize, Stealth

• Endings: Athletics, Awareness, Brawl, Bureaucracy, Craft, Integrity, Medicine, Occult, Thrown

Now, pick four additional Favored Abilities. These Abilities represent skills, talents and interests that the character does not necessarily share with her fellows of the same Caste; a battlefield courier Chosen of Journeys may have an exacting knowledge

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of War, while a scholarly Chosen of Endings may have Lore to capture her deeply read background.

Unlike the Solar Exalted, the Sidereal Exalted do not have a Supernal Ability. The returned Lawgivers are exceptional even amongst the Exalted in their ability to master the depths and heights of their power so quickly upon returning.

Unlike the Solar Exalted, all Sidereal Exalted may purchase Martial Arts Abilities and Charms as Favored. Additionally, when purchasing traditional Martial Arts Charms, you may treat your character’s Essence rating as being one higher for the purpose of meeting prerequisites to purchase and upgrade them. It is not for nothing that the Sidereal Exalted are known as the peerless masters of the martial arts.

Once you’ve selected your Caste and Favored Abilities, consider what division of the Bureau of Destiny your Sidereal trained within. While most Sidereals train in the division of their Caste, a substantial minority instead train outside, ensuring that an appropriately trained and talented agent is always available.

Division training imparts a certain number of free Ability and Merit dots. After adding them, you will add an additional 11 Ability dots. As with Solars, no Ability may begin with a rating greater than 3, and you must have at least one dot in each of your Favored Abilities.

• The Golden Barque of Heaven (associated with the Chosen of Journeys)

» Abilities: Atheltics ••, Awareness ••, Brawl ••, Bureaucracy ••, Lore •••, Occult ••, Resistance ••, Socialize •, Stealth •, Survival •••, Ride or Sail ••• Archery, Melee or Thrown •

» Merits: Language (Old Realm), Language (Any, x2), Direction Sense

• The Cerulean Lute of Harmony (associated with the Chosen of Serenity)

» Abilities: Awareness ••, Brawl ••, Bureaucracy ••, Linguistics •••, Lore •••, Medicine •, Occult ••, Presence ••, Socialize •••, Stealth •, Craft or Performance ••, Archery, Melee or Thrown •

» Merits: Language (Old Realm), Selective Conception, Influence ••

• The Crimson Panoply of Victory (associated with the Chosen of Battles)

» Abilities: Athletics ••, Awareness ••, Brawl ••, Bureau-cracy ••, Lore •••, Occult ••, Presence ••, Resistance ••, Socialize •, Stealth •, War ••, Archery or Melee •••

» Merits: Language (Old Realm), Fast Reflexes

• The Forbidding Manse of Ivy (associated with the Chosen of Secrets)

» Abilities: Awareness •••, Brawl ••, Bureaucracy ••, Investigation •••, Larceny •••, Lore •••, Occult ••, Socialize ••, Stealth •••, Archery, Melee or Thrown •

» Merits: Language (Old Realm), Eidetic Memory, Contacts •

• The Violet Bier of Sorrows (associated with the Chosen of Endings)

» Abilities: Awareness ••, Brawl •••, Bureaucracy ••, Lore •••, Dodge •••, Integrity ••, Medicine ••, Occult ••, Socialize •, Stealth •••, Archery, Melee or Thrown •

» Merits: Language (Old Realm), Danger Sense

[ARTWORK]

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Finally, after dividing up these Ability dots, select four Speciali-ties for your character- fields of study or focus within an Ability that help to define them.

If your Sidereal has escaped Heaven’s notice and Exalted without the benefit of the Bureau of Destiny’s training, they are known as a ronin. Such individual still select Caste and Favored Abilities as above, still gain the benefits when learning Martial Arts, and still select four Specialties. However, they do not benefit from the rigorous training that most Sidereals undergo- leaving them with greater freedom but less ability. Ronin Sidereal distribute 28 Ability dots amongst their Abilities; no Ability may start higher than 3 without spending bonus points, and each Favored Ability must have at least one dot.

Step 4: MeritsAs with the Solars, Merits represent a Sidereal’s assets and quirks. Due to the vagaries of Arcane Fate, however, there are some considerations to bear in mind when selecting Merits for your Sidereal. Unless otherwise noted, Story Merits depending on connections with mortals in Creation must be assigned to one of her Resplendent Destinies.

All Sidereals begin with the Martial Arts Merit for for free, even if they do not meet the requirement. Additionally, Sidereals who have trained in one of the divisions of the Bureau of Destiny begin with several dots of Merits, representing their training and early experience. You should then assign seven additional dots to your Sidereal’s Merits. Ronin Sidereal do not benefit from the divisional training, but have had the chance to cultivate their own resources; they still gain the Martial Arts Merit for free, and may ten dots of Merits instead of seven.

Step 5: CharmsUnlike a Solar, a Sidereal’s Charms are not a simple expression of heroic power and legend. They instead evoke the celestial mysteries written into the foundation of Creation and represented by the constellations in the night sky. While there is often a correspondence with the constellation and the Charms of the corresponding Ability, the connection can sometimes be obscure even to the savants amongst the Fellowship.

Select 18 Charms; at least six must be from Caste or Favored Abilities. Don’t be afraid to rearrange your Ability dots if your character doesn’t qualify for a Charm that fits her concept! Due to their lack of training, Ronin Sidereal begin with only 15 Charms instead of 18.

If you took the Artifact Merit and have selected an artifact with Evocations, you can select those as well, trading in one start-ing charm per Evocation desired. Keep in mind the artifact’s history, legend and purpose- and additionally, remember that the Sidereal Exalted do not tend to cultivate the same depth of power from Evocations as the Solar and Dragonblooded do. (For more information, see Chapter 8).

The same principle applies to martial arts and sorcery. You can

begin with Martial Arts Charms and sorcerous spells, assuming your character has the Terrestrial Circle Sorcery Charm, trad-ing them for starting Sidereal Charms at a one-for-one basis. Sidereals may acquire Wushu Martial Arts Charms in this fashion, but may not acquire any Sidereal Martial Arts Charms with their starting Charms.

Step 6: Intimacies and KismetIntimacies are ties to people and guiding principles that are important to your character. As when creating a Solar, you must select at least four Intimacies for your Sidereal, and at least one must be Defining, one must be Major, one must be positive, and one must be negative. You can begin play with as many Intimacies as you and your Storyteller feel are appropriate for your character.

Unlike the Solar Exalted, the Sidereal Exalted are not cursed to suffer madness, and so do not accrue Limit or have a Limit Trigger. However, being so close to the weave of destiny makes the Sidereal Exalted more prone to suffering from paradoxical Backlashes when they take fate into their own hands. Addition-ally, each Sidereal is drawn towards a certain repeating motif or destiny, known as her Kismet; seeking to thwart one’s Kismet is a sure way to suffer from paradox and backlash. (For more information about Kismet, see Chapter 4)

Step 7: Bonus PointsYou have 18 bonus points to spend on your Sidereal at any point during this process, increasing anything that makes sense for your concept. Bonus points can purchase almost any trait, but different traits have different costs. Again, due to their lack of training, Ronin Sidereal have only 15 bonus points instead of 18, and may not begin play with any Sidereal Martial Arts Charms.

Trait CostPrimary of Secondary Attribute 4 per dot

Tertiary Attribute 3 per dot

Caste / Favored Ability 1 per dot

Non-Caste / Favored Ability 2 per dot

Specialty 1

Merits 1 per dot

Caste / Favored Charm 4

Sidereal Martial Arts Charm 6

Non-Caste / Favored Charm 5

Spell (Occult Caste / Favored) 4

Spell (Occult non-Caste / Favored) 5

Evocation 4

Willpower 2 per dot

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Step 8: Finishing TouchesAlmost done! Sidereals begin play with a default Essence rating of one dot, a default Willpower rating of five dots, and seven Health Levels (-0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4 and Incapacitated). A Side-real’s pool of Personal Essence is ([Essence x2] + 9), while their Peripheral Essence pool is ([Essence x6] + 25). These traits are explained in further detail in Chapter 4.

Things to Think AboutEven the Sidereal Exalted, Chosen at the moment of their birth, grew up as human and will be shaped by their experiences before they took their Second Breath. The Maidens do not Choose perfect people, because they would have no Chosen in that case- however, those Sidereal Exalted trained by the Bureau of Destiny have their duty to Heaven and Creation repeatedly drilled into them. Each one feels the weight of destiny upon their shoulders, and the responsibility for exercising judgement in how to see that what must be is. Where did your Sidereal come from, before they Exalted? Do they miss their simple life as a mortal, or do they prefer the responsibility and power of being Chosen?

The Sidereal Exalted tend to break into factions along lines of pragmatism and idealism- factional lines which inform how they are viewed by their fellows, and how they will likely relate to Creation and the returning Solars. What does your character think about the Gold and Bronze factions; do they seem them-selves favoring one or the other, or do they attempt to remain aloof and detached from factional politics?

Whether or not they will admit it, many Sidereals are approached by Rakan Thulio or one of his agents at some point during their training- planting seeds of doubt as to the righteousness and rightness of the Sidereal’s mission as the agents of Heaven. Even for those who are not, the corruption of Heaven and suffering in Creation are obvious. While destiny restrains and channels the worst excesses of divinity to better purpose, it’s hard not to wonder at the cost. What does your character think about the nature of Heaven’s planned destiny, and the nature of fate versus free will?