Baek Kwan's Story

In all, she really wasn’t entirely sure what to make of all...this. Though her life was rather dictated by strange ordeals and unusual phenomena, she knew enough to understand that she’d committed herself to something that was on an entirely different level. Why she of all the Exalted in Creation had been chosen….

She, who wandered Creation aimless and without purpose. She, who was uncertain of her lot. She, who’d become a black sheep among those other loyal Solars, who wholeheartedly supported what she found herself doubting.

There were many others, many who were stronger, and many who had achieved feats that marked them as heroes in the eyes of some. Yet, it was she that had received a summons and a plea from none other than a member of the Celestial Bureaucracy—a Dragon. She had the option to refuse the request...however, she could not in good conscious do so. Even if it was far beyond her understanding as to why she was sought out, she wasn’t one to deny what seemed to be a legitimate appeal for aid. If there was something she could do to help absolve whatever sort of situation this was, she’d oblige to the best of her capabilities, that was the right thing to do, after all.

Though doubt and questions plagued her, Lux boarded the ethereal ship that’d awaited her—it had seemed she’d been amidst the first of its pickups. The deck was empty, there was no one aboard as the ship sailed itself to and fro.

The salty sea air was cool against her skin. Heavy and damp, it settled upon her in a manner that felt almost weighted. Though perhaps contradictory, it was both comforting and unsettling. Such was how it always was when she’d traveled upon the seas. It always felt as if the oceans and its spirits weren’t entirely sure how to feel about her. The waters could be as smooth as glass, the winds as gentle as a sigh, and the skies as clear as crystal, and never could she find herself feeling completely at ease upon the ocean. This instance was no different.

As the ghostly ship made what Lux assumed to be its rounds, gathering up other willing individuals, Lux herself had decided that she would seat herself upon its deck and...wait. She’d wait and observe those who were apparently to form her traveling party. It wasn’t often that she actually traveled with a group—since it was she’d decided to try to find her own way, she really had been finding her own way. It was a rare day that she was ever in the company of another for more than a short while. Agreeing to whatever task this was also meant to agreeing to be in the company of whomever else had decided to at least hear out their summoner. It was worth her taking a bit of time to merely watch. Most definitely, they were an odd bunch. Lux continued her vigil, making no motion to greet or speak to anyone as they boarded the ship, instead she opted to nibble upon a small piece of chocolate that she’d fished out of one of her many pockets.

….well, she kept silent, til another one of the few stray passengers decided to be the one who broke the ice. By the looks of him, he was a Lunar—an Exalt that was meant to be the shadow to the light of a Solar Exalt like herself. In her short life, she’d met a few Lunars...and it seemed she was to meet yet more. Lux kept her green eyes trained upon him, as he cleared his throat and spoke, “So...no that all of we be here, I think introductions be in order.” he bowed, placing a hand across his chest, “I be named Ashen Sky of Wavecrest. Might I have tha pleasure of knowing who might ye all be?”

Wavecrest…. So, this Lunar hailed from the West—though his accent would’ve made Lux suspect as much, even if he hadn’t openly announced it. She was familiar with the accent, after all, Vered had developed a mild one from her time there that bled into and dyed any of the other tongues she spoke.

Perhaps she might be better off still attempting to observe and muse over her apparent companions...Lux could not bring herself to ignore the Lunar’s—Ashen’s—attempt to instigate introductions. It’d be a while since she’d had to introduce herself to a group…. It’d been a while since she’d been in a group of people who would need to even know her name at all. It was an odd feeling, realizing that.

Well...no time like the present to get over that…! Is what some people might say. Lux was not one of those people, but she was one to make an honest attempt, at least. So, deciding to bite the arrow, she breathed in deep as she swallowed the bit of chocolate she’d been savoring. She hoisted herself upward with a needless sound escaping her throat as she habitually brushed off her bottom before she herself returned the gesture of a shallow bow to him, the sea breeze tousling her short hair as she so—she felt it brush against the scar upon her forehead. After a moment, Lux stood herself back upright, and clasped her hands together at her front, and smiled.

“Introductions are always awkward, aren’t they?” she awkwardly laughed before she half-snorted as she tried to clear her throat—realizing what sort of noise she’d made, her cheeks reddened a bit, “Ah...anyway, I’m Lux...Fiala, I suppose you could say I hail from The Scavenger Lands?” Lux stopped herself there, that was enough for an introduction, wasn’t it? “As it stands, it’s nice to make your acquaintance, Ashen. And it’s nice to make everyone else’s, as well.”

“Chieftain, there was a messenger today.”

Astrid’s skin fluttered ever so slightly as she practiced the Unfettering, her skin shifting and adjusting ever so slightly as the protean nature of her very existence made itself known. The gift from Luna did not cease to change her form, nor did her eyes open, “And?”

“The Censor of the West requests your presence.”

Her left eye opened, a cat-eyed pupil staring back at the elk spirit that stood before her. Slowly the pupil returned to the shape of a human’s, “Very well.” The Chieftain rose to her feet and with a lazy stretch, immediately beginning preparing for departure.

---

The vessel that met her was by no means shabby. Deciding that the West was incredibly misogynistic, Astrid opted to take on a male form for her initial contact with the ship’s crew and the Censor himself. With a whim, her hair was shortened to a bob cut, her chest smoothed out, and her hips slimmed down to that of a man’s. Without bluster, she walked onto the ship and waited.

She hadn’t been the first person that the vessel had picked up. A small creature sat on the deck nearby, nibbling on cacao. Astrid’s nose twitched slightly, cacao didn’t grow well in the North. At least, not where she was from. The scent reminded her of delicate fruit that had been dipped in liquid cacao, it was quite a blissful memory. She’d only been lucky enough to try such a delicacy twice before. Sighing, she found herself a place on the deck and laid on her back to stare at the sky while she waited.

After some time, and picking up a few more “honored guests,” someone began to speak. “I be Ashen Sky of Wavecrest.” Astrid became suddenly aware that the person speaking was a Lunar. Her war-form blurred into existence as she towered at her full height of two hundred and fifty-five centimeters.

Covered in white and black fur, Astrid silently walked towards Ashen Sky until she was able to clearly look him up and down. As a human, she was a bit lean and fairly tall, but not incredibly imposing in stature. However, in this form, she was a paragon of sinewy muscle, the fusion of tiger and human. She bared her teeth in a grin, “Cascading Moonlight.” The runic tattoos that fixed her shape into something almost tangible flared into existence, telling a story of her time in the Silver Pact.

---

The Wandering Artisan Clad in Souls poured the last of his watering can onto the final poppy flower. It certainly could have been left up to his servants, but it brought about a certain level of catharsis in Artisan to do it himself. Smiling, he began to make his way back to the workshop that lies at the center of his field of plants.

“Sir, a message.”

Stopping for a moment, Artisan picked a few flowering plants that were used to create Nepenthe. The flowers were beautiful this time of the year. “What does it say?”

One of the spirits bound to him answered, “We’re needed.”

“Always.” With a warm smile, the Deathknight’s delicate hands waved the spirit away. One of his employees was nearby watching over the indentured servants. “Gentry. I will be out on business for a bit. Care for the shop while I’m out?”

---

Artisan stood in front of a wagon as the boat pulled up before him. “Load her up.” His servants carefully removed the box from the back of the wagon and took their time putting it onto the ship. He smiled to himself as he boarded the ship, it was about time the powers that be recognized his talents.

“I be Ashen Sky of Wavecrest.” One of the guests previous to him had begun to speak as the boat had started to sail away, which seemed to upset someone else who had arrived before him. The man who had spoken was approached by another man who had shifted into a mixture between human and animal. ”Lunars…” Artisan would never know why Luna’s children always had to have a pissing contest with whoever they met. With a bored expression, the Abyssal watched the scene play out.

Ashen Sky smiled bemusedly at the shorter girl that was first to follow up on introductions. Somewhere in the back of his head his western sensibilities were slightly piqued with her presence onboard the ship at sea, but considering that it's voyage was made at the command of a dragon he bite his tongue on the matter for now. He put a hand over his chest and gave her a theatrical bow. "Tis no more awkwardness than tha' of voyage at is norm to make. But it be my pleasure to be making yer acquaintance as well, Miss Fiala."

Then the shadow of the other Lunar fell upon Ashen Sky. He turned his head to him and found his neck craning upwards. The creature before him was a towering thing, striped white and black in its fur. Powerful muscles rippled along its form and a gleaming fangs greeted him as the larger creature grinned down at him. "Cascading Moonlight." It wasn't a name, but a greeting. Silently Ashen Sky Cursed his mentor for not fully fleshing him up on the proper etiquette of the pact. This was the first time the shorter Lunar had met another of his kind that wasn't his flighty oaf of a mentor, and now he was being sized up by his fellow child of the Moon. The former privateer did not posses the same charm assume his warform as the other did, and thus didn't have any physical means to respond to the clear but subtle challenge. If he was nervous about this disparity between them though, he did a masterful job of hiding it. After all, it wasn't as if he couldn't meet the display with a show of his own.

He grinned back up at the man infront of him. "Guide your hunt." He put a hand on his hip and looked the other Lunar up and down. "Well, well. An impressive shape ta' take. Ya wear it as fashion big boyo or did ya put it on jus fer me?" As he talked his grin seemed to widen slightly, unnaturally so, while his eye took on a vaguely manic and predatory gaze. A magic of his own suffused his face, darkening it save for his own shimmering silver tattoos, and giving his form a faint air of menace. "What," He said with a smile full of teeth that appeared to take a sharper edge "were ya worried I'd bite?" It was a simple trick, of devious magic. While the Full Moon had presented himself to Ashen Sky with a show of Mettle, he responded with a show of Cunning, and wove a minor illusion around himself as a thing to be wary of. Not as a threat, but as something that could prove far, far from an easy prey if provoked. For this was not meant as an escalation, but rather as a form of return to the tiger skinned lunar's own greeting in custom.

---

---

Astrid’s eyes did not falter, her gaze locked firmly onto Ashen Sky, a critical look of assessment on her face. She barely paid attention to his words while examining the tattoos that adorned his body. Lunars from the West had the most dramatic Moonsilver Tattoos, a simple necessity of people who found themselves frequently in water. The story his tattoos told was one of Cunning and desperation, not that desperation was uncommon among the Lunars. She had experienced plenty of desperation herself...

“Were ya worried I’d bite?”

She continued to stare him down for a few long seconds before replying. “I’m sure your bark is worse than your bite.” So this was one of the men that were to be her packmate for the time being. “You’re from the West. I hope you don’t ascribe to that patriarchal bullshit.” With a roll of her shoulders, Astrid turned away from the other Lunar and started prowling away. She called over her shoulder, “You’re one of Luna’s children, gender, form, and reality are mutable to you. Reconcile that with Western ideals.”

Raising a hand to her face to hide a yawn, Astrid’s form shifted down into that of a small black cat. Her eyes scanned the remaining occupants of the boat before her padded feet carried her silently to the side of the only other woman on board, where she curled into a ball and promptly began to nap.

….whatever attempts she would’ve made to further the initiated introductions, they were otherwise interrupted by something of a show of...force? Capability? Between the Lunar known as Ashen Sky and yet another Lunar who’d joined the fray—they’d called themselves “Cascading Moonlight,” and assumed a form between human and tiger—one that was large and was meant to be intimidating. Yet, Lux actually found it fascinating, and perhaps it was childish, but she actually thought that it was really neat.

Lux had crossed paths with Lunars prior to this but, never more than one at a time. She didn’t know if this interaction between Ashen and Moonlight was a completely expected occurrence. Did all Lunars attempt to assert themselves when they met another? Overall, she knew actually very little about Lunars and their ways. The only sources of information she had were ones she herself didn’t quite feel were reliable. Those who mentored her, who taught her before she set out on her own…. Though they would’ve probably liked for her to have accepted their words and “lessons” about Lunars at face value, but Lux had her doubts about the validity of their teachings. They’d always tried to make it seem like they were supposed to be lesser than herself because she was a Solar…that wasn’t something that had ever sat well with Lux, and it never would.

A nervous grin crept up over Lux’s face as the exchange between the two Lunars continued—Ashen activating some sort of Charm, mirroring the other Lunar’s form. She could make out a subtle silver glimmer from his form as it seemed to darken, a projected air of predation had overcome him. That was it, however. It was a sort of show. A way to confer that even if he might not win in fight, it’d take too much effort for it to be worthwhile. Even if Lux didn’t know squat about Lunars and their customs, it was still easy enough to read an interaction for what it was...insofar as she was concerned, at least.

The presence of others attracted by the scene broke Lux from her own musings about it...and she silent craned her own head about to observe. ….a Deathknight was evidently among their summoned party, how curious. She knew even less about they than she did about Lunars, though she knew one was under the service of the Gold Faction. ….his name eluded her, as she’d only had ever heard him spoken of in hushed tones. Lux knew of the wives’ tales and dark whispered rumors that surrounded Deathknights, their very existences, and their overall everything. What was truth and what was hearsay, she couldn’t say, nor did she she want to dye her expectations of them with falsities. Whoever and whatever sort of individual this Deathknight was, that was something to be judged based upon his actions, and Lux would come to her own conclusions in time.

Again, lost in her own thoughts, Lux found herself somewhat startled from them by the sound of a match being struck to life rather nearby her, and it took almost every bit of the little Eclipse’s composure to not squawk in a manner that would most certainly attract seagulls under normal sailing circumstances. Though, there was nothing she could do to stop the inevitable reddening of her cheeks as she turned to look at the source of the sound—only to find that a hand was extended toward her. “Nice to meet you, Lady Fiala.”

The overly formal way in which she was addressed made Lux freeze. Never in her whole short life had she’d been called a “Lady.” She wasn’t of noble birth or high status. She really didn’t quite know how to react to that. It might seem rude to rebuff the attempt at politeness, but it felt really weird to her to be addressed as “Lady” anything. During Lux’s inner debate over how to handle this, the owner of the hand that was still extended toward her blundering self again spoke, this time making a point to address everyone else. “Name is Baek Kwan…. Anyone know anything about what we got ourselves into or are we all just in the dark as each other?”

Shaking off her doubt and uncertainties, Lux wanted to smack herself for taking so long to respond to the man—Kwan. She was never one who excelled in the realm of socializing, if she was to be traveling with these people for a somewhat significant timeframe, she needed to remedy that as much as possible, and the moments she spent getting lost in her own head needed to cease ASAP. Going forward with that line of thought, Lux made it a point to awkwardly shove her small hand into the man’s and try to shake it. Handshakes weren’t something she’d done a lot of either.

“Uh, Mister Kwan, I can’t say that I personally know much about what’s going on either.” Lux answered him, pulling her hand back to her side as she clasped both together at chest level, and twiddled her thumbs. “I received a request for my presence, to help resolve some evidently dire situation, and I obliged. What that situation is, I do not know though....” she mumbled the last bit, and turned her eyes down toward her hands. Lux mustered a small shrug, however. The lack thereof knowledge really did not do much to actually bother her. “In truth, I’m more curious why I was summoned. I mean, if it’s believed I can be of help, then I’ll gladly do what I can, though it may not be much....”

As Lux had spoken, it seemed that she had missed the conclusion of the encounter between the Lunars. It was only when Lux caught sight of Moonlight’s form shifting once more, shrinking down into the shape of a cat that she even realized. Her gaze was instantly back upon the Lunar, whose feline eyes were scanning between them all...til they settled upon her. Lux’s eyes followed the Lunar as she trotted on over to her side, plopped herself down and began to...sleep. This was regarded with silence from the Eclipse Caste, she wasn't wholly sure what to think. The hybrid form that Moonlight had assumed before had been fascinating to Lux, but this one was….

“Cute….” the thought slipped from Lux’s mouth before she could help herself.

Artisan watched the display play out between the two Lunars with a bored expression, his mouth upturned slightly when the second Lunar changed appearance; it seemed the two had to establish some sort of pack hierarchy, just like the dogs he had grown up with. For a brief moment, he entertained the notion of training either Lunar using positive reinforcement, just as he had trained all his dogs, before dismissing it as entirely unnecessary.

The tall blonde-haired man who had boarded after Artisan meandered towards the blonde-haired girl who had introduced herself as Lux. For a split second, the moonlight framed the duo and the whispers of the Neverborn sounded senselessly in the Abyssal’s ears. Those two had to be Solars, probably. At the very least the Neverborn did not appreciate their being on the voyage. The man produced a pipe and tobacco which raised a question Artisan hadn’t considered before. Can Exalted still feel the effects of various drugs and poisons? As far as he knew, only very strong poisons worked on them; by extension would very strong drugs be the only way for an Exalted to use?

“Name is Baek Kwan . . . Anyone know anything about what we got ourselves into or are we all just as in the dark as each other?”

After a moment, the blonde girl answered the stranger’s query, though she seemed just as lost as he was. She seemed almost as eager to help as a puppy that was to one day be a sheepdog. Idly Artisan wondered if all Solars were this clueless, certainly the Bishop mentioned they were mostly without guidance these days.

The Lunars seemed to finish their exchange, as one of them shifted into a cat and joined the two Solars. It suddenly hit Artisan that this was the most Exalted, nay the only Exalted that Artisan had seen since joining their ranks. Putting on his most winning smile, the Deathknight slowly approached Baek and Lux, taking a seat on the side of the boat nearest to them. “I’m The Wandering Artisan Clad in Souls, and I suppose one could say I’m from Ikh Bayan.”

Scrutinizing both of their faces, he couldn’t help but wonder, did no one else know why they were here? Clearing his throat he continued thoughtfully, ”Well let’s see if we can’t work backward to find a way out of the dark. There are six individuals here, who I presume are Exalted like myself.” He pointed to each person on deck while counting with his fingers. “We were summoned by the Western Censor, Lord Fakharu, who is also a Dragon of Water. Finally, the letter mentioned the matter at hand is most dire.”

He looked down at the black cat that had curled up by Lux, its breathing had evened out, apparently already napping. “Somehow I don’t think the Tiger Lunar was summoned for their tactfulness.” Artisan looked Baek up and down, “You’re no stranger to war either. If I had to hazard a guess?” He paused for dramatic effect while taking a quick look at everyone, “We’re a strike team. Fakharu could raise Gods of his own court for most issues, so he intends to send us somewhere his jurisdiction doesn’t reach." He grinned, "At least that's would be my bet, if I were a betting man.”

She stood by quiet as the others spoke, her eyes still partly drawn to the Lunar who’d taken to the form of a feline. The Deathknight’s introduction passed overtop her head—she was only aware enough to really catch his name and little else. She heard him questioning why they were all gathered together...and making assumptions in regards to the matter. Again, why she of all Exalted had received a summons was beyond her. Why Fakharu had summoned them all, it didn’t matter to her. She’d gotten a plea for help, that was all that she needed to know. Whether or not the others ended up agreeing to assist Fakharu in whatever matters he asked of them, that didn’t matter either. There’d been more than one instance where Lux had ended up having to absolve things on her own when others deemed them not worth their time. She’d do it again...even if she wasn’t the best suited to most tasks.

Folks had called her naïve before, she’d been called a lot of things before. She was, in a manner of speaking. If she was that, then that was fine.

Wanting to help others...and doing it, that was something that defined her life. She had no purpose, no goal, nothing to aim for. Lux took to traveling the world in order to find...something for herself, to gain perspective and to refine the views she held on many matters—including those she had on the Cult of the Illuminated. In her travels, she still had yet to find many answers. The only answer she’d reach thus far was that she felt compelled to help others, if only in the most minor of ways. From little things to the large, anything that makes things better….

That was enough.

“To be truthful with the lot of you, I don’t much care why we were all summoned in this manner.” Lux responded in a quiet voice. “Whether we’re needed for reasons of discretion or otherwise, it doesn’t matter to me. I only want to help however I can...if I can.”