Vanileth, God of Artificial Flight

Vanileth remembers the First Age fondly: the great skyships, flying pagodas,
starspires, and other wondrous conveyances that soared the sky; the prayers
offered up to him by artificers, pilots, and passengers. Today, he has fallen so far in
the Celestial Bureaucracy that he’s been exiled in all but name from Heaven,
residing a mountaintop eyrie in the far North where he crafts marvelous clockwork
birds. Lookshy’s scarce few skyships, the Haslanti League’s balloon-driven air boats,
and a handful of other flying crafts are all that remain of his once-great purview.
Vanileth might be driven to create an Exigent to return artificial flight to creation or
to fend off a winged foe of Creation — or he may already have a spark, awaiting the
first mortal to reach his palace by sky.
Themes
As Chosen of Artificial Flight, Vanileth’s Exigent would have a mastery of flying
vessels and expertise in other vehicles, which they might enchant to take to the
skies.
Vanileth is a masterful artificer, constantly tinkering with his clockwork birds. His
Chosen might excel in crafting, particularly flying vessels; command flocks of flying
automata; and stoke the ingenuity of inventors and engineers.
Secluded in his mountaintop sanctum, Vanileth offers rewards to those who can
reach him. His Chosen might test the mettle and ingenuity of others, bestowing
rewards on those who pass.
Yibi, Guardian of the Sweetgrass Temple
As a lion dog, Yibi is among the humblest gods, a minor guardian appointed by
Heaven to defend the Sweetgrass Temple. Far in the south, the temple-manse
nourishes soil and cleanses water, making it possible for the nearby cities of the
Ytembe Confederation to survive. Throughout the centuries of her stewardship,
she’s fended off rogue spirits, mortal warlords, scavenger princes, and other threats
to the manse. Creating an Exigent would almost surely destroy her, but she may
still do so in the face of a threat too powerful for her to defeat.
Themes
Lion dogs are famously loyal, and Yibi has suffered great danger and long solitude in
service to Heaven Her Chosen could share that intense loyalty, guarding her
positive Ties from all influence that would weaken or alter them; resisting
intimidation, deception, and corruption through loyalty; and inspiring loyalty in
others, deputizing them as guardians in Heaven’s name.
As a lion dog, Yibi is a powerful guardian beast, with razor-sharp fangs and an
impenetrable hide of jade. Her Chosen could draw on these traits, manifesting
fangs, claws, and jade skin; honing his sense of smell; or drawing on her incredible
strength and tireless nature.
As guardian of the Sweetgrass Temple, Yibi has ensured that surroundings cities
have prospered. Her
Exigent might have power over fertility, plants, and water, able to imbue others with
good health, raise up fields of tall grass to conceal herself, or create oases in even
the most barren deserts.
It’s Like That, But…
A Chosen of Yibi’s Charms would likely have a good bit of overlap with both
DragonBlooded, manipulating plants and water, and Lunars, drawing on animal
traits. That’s fine! An Exigent’s themes can overlap with some of another kind of
Exalted, as long as they remain distinct. That often means narrowing the focus of
that theme and letting the god’s nature and personality inform Charms that
involving that theme. Yibi’s Chosen has power over water and plants as sources of
fertility, sustenance, and health rather than the DragonBlood’s all-encompassing
elemental mastery. Likewise, while Lunars can take any animal form, Yibi’s Chosen
is limited to their patron’s blending of leonine and canine traits. When designing
Charms for an Exigent with overlapping themes, you can sometimes take directly
from other Exalted. You’ll usually want to make a few changes to make it fit the
overall design and mechanical focus of your Charm set, but sometimes you won’t
need to change it at all.
Notable Exigents
The Bleak Warden, Chosen of the Seals
The Bleak Warden is the callous guardian of an otherworldly prison, sealing away
and unbinding the horrors trapped within as suits his purposes.
Omron Kanthu and The-Darkness-That-Binds
Many years ago, a child was born into Riven Quay’s reeking, shadowy slums,
orphaned or abandoned to a life of misery on the street. As Omron scrapped and
stole and shivered through winters, the god known as The-Darkness That Binds
walked the halls of the labyrinthine prison carved in Creation’s dark depths, where
countless enemies of Heaven had been sealed away. As more and more of its cells
were filled, it grew harder for the gaolor-god to keep them locked away. First one
prisoner escaped, then another, until The-Darkness-That-Binds knew his own power
was not enough. Only an Exalted champion could keep these horrors contained, and
he beseeched the Unconquered Sun.
Longing for more than a street urchin’s life, Omron explored places forbidden to him
and the earth’s dark corners — the estates of the wealthy, caves and caverns,
perilously decrepit buildings, abandoned tombs — searching for something,
anything, that would give him a way out of this life. It was on one such expedition,
traversing underground tunnels leading deep into the earth, that Omron finally
found his prize. His companions had long since turned back in fear, and his lantern
had flickered out, leaving him in pitch blackness. Lost, desperate, and afraid, his
stumbling finally brought him to a luminous sigil, carved in the solid rock of a cavern
wall.
A voice whispered to him, told him that the seal was yet unfinished and dared him
to complete it if he believed himself worthy. Omron was no savant, was not even
literate, but something in the half-finished sigil spoke to him, its solution as
intuitively obvious to him as placing a puzzle piece. Cutting his arm on a jagged
stone, he traced out a pattern in his own blood, and unsealed the power of
Exaltation.
The Bleak Warden’s Duty
The Darkness-That-Binds gave his Bleak Warden two tasks: maintaining the
labyrinth’s seals to keep its prisoners locked away and hunting down those who’d
escaped the prison or who rightfully belonged in its
cells.
Now empowered beyond mortal imagining, Omron is free to explore Creation and
seek out its secret wonders as he never could. But the burden of responsibility
weighs heavy on him, and he chafes against his patron’s demands. It isn’t just
wanderlust; the Bleak Warden’s duties demand ruthlessness, and Omron lacks the
cold hear they demand. Instead, those who speak with him find him a thoughtful
man with gentle humor and a keen sense of justice, upholding his obligations only
with great remorse.
Power of the Seals
The Bleak Wardens wields the seals that ward The-Darkness-That-Bind’s prison and
greater seals beyond even his patron’s grasp. He also embodies his patron’s nature
as a being of formless darkness, an implacable pursuer of Creation’s foes, and a
heartless gaoler. The Bleak Warden can:
• Draw on the knowledge, memories, and power of his prisoners.
• Unleash his prisoners against his foes, binding them lest they break free.
• Break an enemy’s will by forcing an enemy to experience untold years of
imprisonment in the blink of an eye.
• Track down even a quarry who leaves no trail, sensing its presence as a
dissonance in the world.
• Create chains of darkness to bind a foe.
• Vanish into darkness.
Willow Specter, the Chosen of the Dice
Willow Specter is the luckiest man in the world, a daredevil who won his Exaltation
from Plentimon, god of gamblers.
A Game of Chance
Long ago, Plentimon of the Dice won a spark of Exigence from a mountain-god
desperate to recoup his losses in a high-stakes game. Without any intention of
creation an Exalted champion, he’s held onto it for years, occasionally staking it
against treasures of immeasurable value or simply to make a game more
interesting. Renowned for his fair play, none doubted that Plentimon would honor
his bets, but he would only wager the spark when he was certain of winning.
Willow Specter had made his living in Nexus’ gambling houses. At the age of
thirteen, he took a week’s worth of what he could beg and bluffed his way past the
House of Golden Pips’ hired muscle. He turned his meager coins into enough to keep
him housed and fed, and then turned that into enough for life of luxury. He won
fortunes and lost them, was tossed back onto the streets without a quarter-dinar to
be made and rode the waves of fortune back to a life of riches.
Plentimon rarely leaves the casino that is his abode, but he watches over every
gambler who prays to him, and Willow Specter caught his notice. He came to the
House of Golden Pips, a man-shaped void flecked with silver and gold, and
challenged Willow Specter to a game of chance. It lasted all night and all day, until
Plentimon proposed one final gamble. If Willow Specter won, he would be Exalted as
Plentimon’s Chosen; lose, and become the god’s eternal servant. Perhaps
Plentimon’s arrogance blinded him, perhaps Willow Specter was skilled enough of a
cheat to hoodwink the god of gambling, or perhaps fortune simply smiled on him.
He won and became the Chosen of the Dice.
The King of Gamblers
Willow Specter has amassed quite a fortune, spending it lavishly on finely tailored
clothing, sumptuous feasts, and luxurious apartments in Nexus’ bustling Cinnabar
district. Luck is always with him, and not just at the gaming table. In the instant he
thinks to hail a carriage, one pulls up beside him; on the run from Guild enforcers,
he happens across a convenient alleyway to slip into. He stumbles across treasures
thought lost forever and overhears teahouse gossip that tells him exactly what he
needs to know.
Willow Specter has put his good fortune to use as a troubleshooter, enforcer, and
assassin. His fees are exorbitant, though he’ll cut them for interesting clients or job
risky enough to excite him. He’s currently working as a bodyguard for the Guild
factor Nimah Fell, whose ruthless business practices and willingness to backstab his
fellow Guildsmen have made him many enemies.
Plentimon largely leaves Willow Specter to his own devices, though the Chosen of
the Dice is glad to help when the god requires his services, seeing him as an old
friend. It’s unclear to what extent Plentimon’s been diminished by creating his
Chosen. Do the glinting flecks within the void of his body seem dimmer than before?
Does he hesitate just a bit before throwing the dice? Or is that all merely a bluff to
make his enemies underestimate him?
For all Willow Specter’s power and riches, he’s not nearly as carefree as he seems.
His confidence and swagger are genuine, but the nagging fear of his bill coming due
is always at the back of his mind. Any gambler knows no winning streak lasts
forever, and Willow Specter doesn’t know when — or if — his luck will run out.
Loaded Dice
Willow Specter enjoys miraculous good fortune while also partaking of Plentimon’s
nature as a canny pit boss and astute judge of character. The Chosen of Dice can:
• Escape harm thanks to a lucky coincidence — a falling streamer knocking an arrow
of course, a pack of cards in his pocket blunting a blow, etc.
• Know someone’s wealth and its provenance at a glance.
• Make it possible for gamblers to stake memories, years of their lifespan, and other
impossible wagers.
• Curse those who cheat in games or renege on their wagers.
• Reap greater rewards from risky endeavors.
• Exploit the corruption, greed, or pride of individuals an organizations.
Nurlissa, the Chosen of Masks
The Chosen of Masks wears countless false faces, changing her powers and identity
as her circumstances require.
History
Shalrina, goddess of faces, long ago abandoned her celestial estate in Yu-Shan for a
life in Creation, peddling masks from a small shop in Nexus — some merely of
exquisite quality, some imbued with miraculous power, and some faces given to her
in trade. She petitioned the Unconquered Sun for the fire of Exigence for a
champion to stand against an inscrutable monster known as the Eater of Names
that preyed upon her city’s people, threatening their very identity — and what were
faces without identity?
Nurlissa was at starvation’s doorstop when she came to Shalrina’s shop. She was
young, scarcely a woman, and she’d heard the shop’s mysterious proprietor traded
in faces and all that came with them.
What use was her youth if she died tomorrow? Shalrina offered a different bargain,
for her will to survive at all costs had impressed the goddess. In exchange for her
face, she’d receive Exaltation, a mask shining with divinity, and serve Shalrina as
her champion.
Behind the Mask
After Nurlissa drove the Eater of Names out of Nexus, she continued in Shalrina’s
service, spying on her rivals, collecting on debts owed to her, and fighting against
supernatural threats to her patron. But Shalrina was not a kind patron, and she
demanded more than her Chosen was willing to bear. She fled Nexus, cradling the
face she’d stolen from the goddess’ vault in her hands — her own.
Since then, she’s hunted Wyld beasts threatening villages in the Scavenger Lands,
liberated slaves from Guild caravans, and dueled with outcaste champions. What
she really wants, though, is a home, somewhere she can make a new life for herself
and discover who she is when she’s not bound by desperate poverty or servitude to
her patron.
Like many Exigents, she’s come to Great Forks, hoping to find a home among the
city’s many gods and her fellow Chosen. But Shalrina has many allies and agents;
many of Great Forks’ gods owe a favor to Nurlissa’s vengeful patron. If she wants to
survive in her new home, she’ll need companions of her own.
Masks of Power
The Chosen of Masks’ Charms are not born of her personal prowess and skill like
those of other Exalted. Instead, she possesses a panoply of magical masks created
by Shalrina and by herself, each with its own unique identity and Charms.
• The Mask of Exaltation is the first one Nurlissa wore, a mirror-image of Shalrina’s
own countenance carved in black jade. It imbues her with the prowess of the
Chosen, the most fundamental of her powers and prowess. She can internalize a
limited number of these Charms, able to use them even while wearing other masks.
• Wearing a mask of carved wood, she becomes the Lord of Beasts, driven by primal
instinct and an affinity for all animals. She may speak to and command beasts,
wield the prowess of a legendary hunter, pass unscathed through the most perilous
wilderness, and empower her familiars.
• Wearing a devil-faced mask, she becomes the Red-Eyed Demon, a wrathful
monster who exults in bloodshed and dominance. She fights with incredible
strength, skin like steel, and berserker fury, and terrifies and subdues foes with her
dreaded battle-mien.
• Wearing a silken mask, she becomes the Doe Courtesan, infinitely subtle and wise
in the nature of power. She has power both seen and unseen, captivating others
with beauty and inflaming their passions or fading from visibility and acting with
perfect silence.
• Wearing a Sijanese funeral mask, she becomes the Gallows Saint, a tragic and
melancholy hero. She is a peerless ghost-speaker and spirit medium and can spread
infectious sorrow, navigate the Underworld’s waterways, and draw upon the fell
power of necromancy.
• The Mask of Herself restores her to her mortal identity, empowering her to conceal
her nature as one of the Exalted, draw power from her fierce will to survive, and
safeguard her relationships and those closest to her heart.
The Foxbinder of Shifune
The Foxbinder is an Exigent charged with the oversight of Wicked-Grin Shifune, a
legendary trickster who serves as her patron, companion, and hostage.
The Fox’s Punishment
A wild and mischievous fox-spirit, Wicked-Grin Shifune was once but a minor
terrestrial god but cheated his way into a position in Heaven and the power that
came with it, hoodwinking a god tasked with approving new hires. He lived a life of
opulence unknown to earthly spirits — feasting on peaches of immortality, lounging
about in his manse while attended by countless servants, making fools of mighty
gods with his shapeshifting pranks. In time, he angered the wrong god, and found
himself haled into Heaven’s courts.
Found guilty not only of troubling high-ranking gods but of committing a crime
against Yu-Shan itself with his fraudulent hiring, Shifune was given an
unprecedented sentence: he would be forced to create an Exigent, diminishing
himself to create an Exigent who would act as his keeper. Much gossip and
commotion spread through Yu-Shan in the verdict’s wake; many were shocked the
Unconquered Sun would bestow a spark upon the judge as an instrument of
punishment. The Exaltation was sealed within a bejeweled collar and placed in the
Immaculate Order’s care along with Shifune.
The Foxbinder’s Legacy
Shifune has had many Chosen, the Foxbinders, over the years, each one handpicked
by the Immaculate Order to receive their predecessor’s collar. The current Foxbinder
is Tamako, a young patrician woman who entered the Immaculate Order to escape
an arranged marriage. She stumbled through a difficult novitiate, but the diligence
and determination with which she undertook it so impressed her mentor that she
remembered Tamako’s name when the previous Foxbinder died. Now, Tamako
wanders the Blessed Isle sniffing out Anathema at the Order’s behest, accompanied
by Shifune in those shapes that weren’t burnt to nothingness when he created her
Exaltation — a red fox with seven-fingered hands instead of paws and a handsome,
red-haired youth clad in black, red, and orange.
Previous Foxbinders have kept Shifune on a short leash, either out of a sense of
duty as the fox-god’s captor or for fear of what punishments the Immaculate Order
might inflict. Tamako is still new to her Exaltation, though, and gentle-hearted. She
treats Shifune more as a friend than as a prisoner, and her compassionate nature
risks compromising her loyalty to the Order. When rumors of a Lunar Anathema led
her to a mere child, the moon’s mark shining on his brow, she let him escape and
told her handlers it was nothing but an alehouse gossip.
Shifune is greatly pleased by his Chosen’s seed of independence, nurturing it at
every turn by encouraging small acts of rebellion. He hopes that she’ll one day turn
against the Order, becoming the rebel that his Exaltation has always been meant
for, and that the two of them will once again raise chaos across Creation.
Gifts of the Foxbinder
The Foxbinder’s prowess thwarts cunning and deception, making her the ideal
captor for Shifune, but she also shares his nature as a gifted trickster and has a
spiritual bond with him that empowers them both. The Foxbinder can:
• Scenting lies, making it easier to track those who live by deception.
• Expose disguises, deception, and trickery, especially from those in power.
• Having caught someone in a lie, render them incapable of further deception.
• Commune with Shifune even across great distances and empower him as her
familiar.
• Create illusions that make even the most outrageous lies seem true.
• Create convincing disguises out of flimsy props and pretenses.
The Torchbearer
The Torchbearer is an ever-burning hero of enlightenment, heir to a chain of scholar-
champions dedicated to preserving knowledge in the Age of Sorrows.
An Inheritance of Flame
Centuries ago, Medo’s armies besieged Cradle, a city known for its libraries and
universities. Ogen-Moin, the mandrill-headed god of study by lamplight, guardian of
Cradle’s centuries of accumulated knowledge, sacrificed himself to light his sacred
lantern with the fire of Exigence, empowering a scholar-champion to protect his
beloved libraries: the first Torchbearer. The Exigent couldn’t save the city, but he
escaped with his life, all the codices he could carry, and a dream of the world
bathed in the light of knowledge and reason.
Since then, the Torchbearers have pursued this dream. The flame of their Exaltation
burns steadily, giving them a lifespan to rival a Dragon-Blood’s, though without their
long-lasting youth. By the end of her first century, a Torchbearer appears quite
elderly, though she remains spry. A Torchbearer’s Exaltation would normally die with
her, but it can be passed on from master to apprentice — an act that invariably kills
the master.
Nozifo Isiman, the Eighth Torchbearer
Nozifo was born to a Southern family of herders. She never cared for studying or
sitting in quiet, dusty reading rooms, but her predecessor, the Seventh Torchbearer,
appreciated a venturesome spirit and saw Nozifo’s intuitive brilliance behind her
unschooled mind. Instead of keeping her to a library, he wandered forest pathways
and city streets with her as her whims led her, imparting an education to rival any
Realm patrician’s as they walked. As he lay dying, struck down by an outcaste
bandit’s blade, he passed the Torchbearer’s flame unto her.
After a year spent planning, Nozifo avenged her master, leaving behind only the
smoldering ashes of his murderer. She’s since set out to wander Creation, seeking
knowledge in need of preservation. She’s fallen in love, had children, and foiled
conspirators and despots, but she’s never stayed still for more than a year. She’s
crossed paths with the Immaculate Order and been declared Anathema for opposing
their suppression of information.
In the Time of Tumult, Nozifo questions how well her roaming heroism serves
Creation well, contemplating settling down and building a library or academy to
house and share the knowledge she’s won. But she’s made many enemies, and her
power can only be concealed for so long; wherever she makes her home, her light
will inevitably her foes.
The Flame of Knowledge
The Torchbearer’s power is palpable — a pale, inextinguishable flame that burns
along her entire body, just above the skin. She may manifest a lamp of Essence to
contain and concentrate her flame or conceal it within a mundane lantern, but it
never travels beyond arm’s reach. She wields power over both literal flame and the
light of clarity and understanding. The Torchbearer can:
• Draw on her lantern’s flame to set fires, blind foes, frighten off wild beasts, and
banish cold and darkness.
• Bolster the concentration and mental clarity of those who study under her.
• Imbue others with wonder, curiosity, and a drive to share their knowledge.
• Use her lantern to reveal the path to her location.
• Banish ignorance, discord, and disorganization.
• Reveal vulnerabilities and flaws.
Thousand Venoms Mistress, Chosen of Toxins
The Chosen of Toxins is a divine assassin and master poisoner, master of the ten
thousand venoms found in Creation and the worlds beyond.
The Venomous Exaltation
A socialite and schemer among the spirit courts of the Scavenger Land, the poison-
goddess Whirling Lady Koro-Bana’s pleas to the Unconquered Sun went
unanswered. She had sought it for selfish reasons, seeking a divine assassin to
strike down her rivals, and her poisoned words could not deceive the Most High.
Undeterred, she sought out another god who’d won a spark of Exigence, eventually
finding one boasting of his luck in one of Great Forks’ teahouses. As she toasted to
his good fortune, she slipped a slow, agonizing poison into his cup. As he writhed
and screamed, she revealed her treachery and offered the antidote in exchange for
his Exigence.
Broken Sky was a devotee of Koro-Bana’s cult in Great Forks, an aged herbalist who
served by the goddess by giving poisons to those in need of them — wives seeking
freedom from abusive husbands, youths seeking to escape forced military service
by feigning illness, and dissidents plotting the death of tyrants. Many in Koro-Bana’s
cult sought to win her favor and Exaltation, boasting of their death-dealing feats.
Broken Sky said nothing, but those she’d helped spoke for her, recounting how her
poisons had changed their lives. Exaltation flooded her soul like a tide of burning
agony, eating away and corroding her mortality until only the Thousand Venoms
Mistress remained.
The Divine Assassin
Devoted to her goddess, Broken Sky assassinates Koro-Bana’s divine rivals and their
cultists with unthinking dedication, each poisoned corpse a prayer. When not
working on her patron’s behest, she offers her services to any who can pay the
price: queens, gods, warlords, merchant princes, monks, and more have met their
end at her poisoned blades. Countless bounties have been placed on her head; she
takes no pleasure in dispatching those sent to kill her, leaving them helpless and
paralyzed rather than dead when she can.
Broken Sky takes pride in her work, but she’s more than an assassin. It’s been years
since she’s seen her family; she relocated them from Great Forks soon after killing
her first god lest they suffer reprisals from Koro-Bana’s enemies or others seeking
vengeance on the legendary assassin. She limits her friendships and romances to
her fellow Chosen, knowing they can defend themselves. Her work as an assassin
funds a more-than-modest lifestyle, but much of her pay goes to her patron’s
temple, ensuring it can continue the good work she did in life.
Ten Thousand Deadly Venom