Post by Snow on Nov 14, 2015 14:28:10 GMT
It's come to my attention that, due to the lore-dump we've been giving new members on Skype, a few things have been assumed to be common knowledge that are not by any measure actually terribly common. So this thread is to clear that up.
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Common Knowledge
The Immacualte Texts teach that the Solar Anathema are demons. They take a strong but impious person's skin and mimic their habits and memories, but they exist only to exploit, consume, and destroy. They are hunted by the Immaculate Order, and it is every believer's spiritual duty to reveal these monsters wherever they are found.
In less indoctrinated areas of the world, the Solar Exalted are still usually not trusted. The Threshold knows they have vast power and comparative irresponsibility, and most places will be extremely uncomfortable if a Solar reveals their power.
Obsure Esoterica
The scholars of the Heptagram on the Blessed Isle have noted that several of their older texts were penned by these alleged Solar "Anathema," and they are quietly urged to shut the hell up about it and not ask too many questions. Likewise, the Immaculate Order admits that while they call Mela the first "true" sorcerer, she was not the first actual sorcerer.
Lunar Exalted know the Solars for what they are: ancient god-kings who fought the Primordials thousands of years ago and were deposed by their subjects when their insanity became too great. The Lunars also know that they're (allegedly) intrinsically bound to a Solar.
Hidden Lore
The gods and Exalted of Yu Shan, some returning Solars with sharp First Age memories or messages from the Unconquered Sun, and some very old Lunars know many titles and deeds performed by the Solars of the First Age. Terms like "Lawgiver" tend to only be thrown around by people who remember them, as they are relics of a long-forgotten age.
The number of people in all of Creation that know of the Great Curse can be counted on one hand. Assume you don't.
---
Common Knowledge
The Lunar Anathema are what most people think of when they hear the word "Anathema." Shape-changing monsters who take the forms of beasts and terrorize the edges of the Scarlet Empire with monstrous appetites and deceitful words.
Some civilizations like Halta and the Haslanti League have had open contact with Lunar Exalted, and know them to be powerful and aloof entities concerned with matters beyond mortal reckoning. Many barbarian tribes know of animal gods who can take human form and guide them to victory, but insist they use their own strength to achieve it.
Obsure Esoterica
The Sidereal Exalted know a great deal of where the Lunars came from - the Exalted of Luna, goddess of the moon - and of their powers and history. They know that they've evaded consistent observation for thousands of years, and that their chaotic society is nonetheless surprisingly organized. Most importantly, they know that they are very dangerous foes. Even the Gold Faction is hesitant to work with them.
Hidden Lore
The Lunars themselves, of course, know almost everything about their own state. The Silver Pact, the Thousand Streams River, the multitudinous factions within their social construct, chimerism and Wyld mutations...all of it is taught to most Lunars upon being accepted into the Silver Pact. Some get much more extensive history lessons, while others are put to work on projects hundreds of years in the making.
The number of people in all of Creation that know of the Great Curse can be counted on one hand. Assume you don't.
---
Common Knowledge
The Dragon-Blooded, also known as the Princes of the Earth, are Exalted. They're walking embodiments of the elements. They are demigods empowered with magic and tend to believe that they have the divine right to rule.
The Immaculate Philosophy explains Dragon-Blooded as walking bodhisattvas, the pinnacle of spiritual evolution. They are the children of the Elemental Dragons, walkers near the end of the path to perfect enlightenment. Their every action is just and holy, and they are not to be questioned or resisted.
Obsure Esoterica
One more time. Lunars. Go figure. The Lunar Exalted know everything about the Terrestrials' betrayal of their empires in the First Age, of the violent chaos that was the Shogunate and the cascade failure that followed during the Contagion and the Fair Folk invasion. These soldiers, who used to be their subordinates and servants, have now decided to take the throne, and they have been found exceedingly wanting.
Hidden Lore
Only the Sidereal Exalted and a few gods in Yu Shan know that the Immaculate Doctrine was, itself, a Sidereal invention, as were all of the Five Dragon Styles. Lunars have a few ideas, but Heaven only knows how involved the sids have been in the development of the Dragon-Blooded empire for thousands of years.
The number of people in all of Creation that know of the Great Curse can be counted on one hand. Assume you don't.
---
Common Knowledge
"Deathknights" resemble the Solar Anathema in many, many ways. Their power manifests as Anathema Caste Marks.
Solars will note, when facing an Abyssal, that their power is terrifyingly similar.
Obsure Esoterica
The Lunar and Sidereal Exalted put together have very little understanding on what an Abyssal is, where it came from, or how it fits into the reemergence of the Solars. They have their theories, and the Convention on Deathlords is doing some research into the matter. Individually, some Lunars have felt drawn to some Abyssals, like their ancestors did Solar mates. It is extremely unnerving.
The Abyssal Exalted themselves know a bit more. They are the champions of the Underworld, meant to bring about the destruction of all things and the death of Creation. They are the Knights of Death, both in service to and in command of all entropic energy. Their duties are to their unholy masters, the Deathlords, and this often sends them from the Underworld into Creation, where they work with living hands what their masters cannot. They're treated as nobility in the Underworld, and ghosts offer them both deferrance and fear.
Hidden Lore
Only the Deathlords truly know of the origins of the Abyssal Exalted. They know that they are corrupted and twisted Solar Exaltations alighted on the dying bodies of heroes who agree to the unholy pact to end Creation. They know of the Monstrances of Celestial Portion, and how without them the Exaltations would fly back to Lytek to be cauterized and cleansed. Most importantly of all, they know of the true power of Abyssal Exalted...because they were once Solars themselves.
---
Common Knowledge
The vast, vast majority of people aren't even aware that "Sidereal Exalted" exist.
Obsure Esoterica
Higher-ranked members of the Immaculate Order and the All-Seeing Eye both might well have some contact with Sidereals, and might have a vague understanding of their nature. If so, it would be a very well-kept secret, as their very existence shatters the Immaculate Texts like a dropped egg.
The Cult of the Illuminated is run by Sidereal Exalted, who introduce themselves as ancient viziers to the once-great god-kings, the Solar Exalted. They are advisers from heaven who know many things and keep the wheels of Fate turning properly. While they might not be easy to trust, they are very well-informed.
The Lunars, as usual, remember the truth of the matter. The Sidereal Exalted were the traitors who set the Terrestrials against the Solar god-kings in the First Age. They caused the Usurpation, then spent thousands of years hunting Lunars to ensure they didn't rise up and re-form the First Age. They have succeeded only as far as the Lunars have allowed them to.
Hidden Lore
Just about all of the specifics of Sidereal life and operation could easily be considered "hidden." All gods are familiar with the Sidereals as the adjutants of the Five Maidens, whose duty it is to keep the Celestial Bureaucray running at full steam in the Incarnae's absence. They are troubleshooters and troublemakers, investigators and agents. They possess the resources of Heaven insofar as their station and service record afford them. They are heavily factionalized, mostly based around their opinions of the Solar mistake.
Obviously, no one knows about the Great Curse. Assume you don't.
---
The Solar Exalted
Common Knowledge
The Immacualte Texts teach that the Solar Anathema are demons. They take a strong but impious person's skin and mimic their habits and memories, but they exist only to exploit, consume, and destroy. They are hunted by the Immaculate Order, and it is every believer's spiritual duty to reveal these monsters wherever they are found.
In less indoctrinated areas of the world, the Solar Exalted are still usually not trusted. The Threshold knows they have vast power and comparative irresponsibility, and most places will be extremely uncomfortable if a Solar reveals their power.
Obsure Esoterica
The scholars of the Heptagram on the Blessed Isle have noted that several of their older texts were penned by these alleged Solar "Anathema," and they are quietly urged to shut the hell up about it and not ask too many questions. Likewise, the Immaculate Order admits that while they call Mela the first "true" sorcerer, she was not the first actual sorcerer.
Lunar Exalted know the Solars for what they are: ancient god-kings who fought the Primordials thousands of years ago and were deposed by their subjects when their insanity became too great. The Lunars also know that they're (allegedly) intrinsically bound to a Solar.
Hidden Lore
The gods and Exalted of Yu Shan, some returning Solars with sharp First Age memories or messages from the Unconquered Sun, and some very old Lunars know many titles and deeds performed by the Solars of the First Age. Terms like "Lawgiver" tend to only be thrown around by people who remember them, as they are relics of a long-forgotten age.
The number of people in all of Creation that know of the Great Curse can be counted on one hand. Assume you don't.
---
The Lunar Exalted
Common Knowledge
The Lunar Anathema are what most people think of when they hear the word "Anathema." Shape-changing monsters who take the forms of beasts and terrorize the edges of the Scarlet Empire with monstrous appetites and deceitful words.
Some civilizations like Halta and the Haslanti League have had open contact with Lunar Exalted, and know them to be powerful and aloof entities concerned with matters beyond mortal reckoning. Many barbarian tribes know of animal gods who can take human form and guide them to victory, but insist they use their own strength to achieve it.
Obsure Esoterica
The Sidereal Exalted know a great deal of where the Lunars came from - the Exalted of Luna, goddess of the moon - and of their powers and history. They know that they've evaded consistent observation for thousands of years, and that their chaotic society is nonetheless surprisingly organized. Most importantly, they know that they are very dangerous foes. Even the Gold Faction is hesitant to work with them.
Hidden Lore
The Lunars themselves, of course, know almost everything about their own state. The Silver Pact, the Thousand Streams River, the multitudinous factions within their social construct, chimerism and Wyld mutations...all of it is taught to most Lunars upon being accepted into the Silver Pact. Some get much more extensive history lessons, while others are put to work on projects hundreds of years in the making.
The number of people in all of Creation that know of the Great Curse can be counted on one hand. Assume you don't.
---
The Dragon-Blooded
Common Knowledge
The Dragon-Blooded, also known as the Princes of the Earth, are Exalted. They're walking embodiments of the elements. They are demigods empowered with magic and tend to believe that they have the divine right to rule.
The Immaculate Philosophy explains Dragon-Blooded as walking bodhisattvas, the pinnacle of spiritual evolution. They are the children of the Elemental Dragons, walkers near the end of the path to perfect enlightenment. Their every action is just and holy, and they are not to be questioned or resisted.
Obsure Esoterica
One more time. Lunars. Go figure. The Lunar Exalted know everything about the Terrestrials' betrayal of their empires in the First Age, of the violent chaos that was the Shogunate and the cascade failure that followed during the Contagion and the Fair Folk invasion. These soldiers, who used to be their subordinates and servants, have now decided to take the throne, and they have been found exceedingly wanting.
Hidden Lore
Only the Sidereal Exalted and a few gods in Yu Shan know that the Immaculate Doctrine was, itself, a Sidereal invention, as were all of the Five Dragon Styles. Lunars have a few ideas, but Heaven only knows how involved the sids have been in the development of the Dragon-Blooded empire for thousands of years.
The number of people in all of Creation that know of the Great Curse can be counted on one hand. Assume you don't.
---
The Abyssal Exalted
Common Knowledge
"Deathknights" resemble the Solar Anathema in many, many ways. Their power manifests as Anathema Caste Marks.
Solars will note, when facing an Abyssal, that their power is terrifyingly similar.
Obsure Esoterica
The Lunar and Sidereal Exalted put together have very little understanding on what an Abyssal is, where it came from, or how it fits into the reemergence of the Solars. They have their theories, and the Convention on Deathlords is doing some research into the matter. Individually, some Lunars have felt drawn to some Abyssals, like their ancestors did Solar mates. It is extremely unnerving.
The Abyssal Exalted themselves know a bit more. They are the champions of the Underworld, meant to bring about the destruction of all things and the death of Creation. They are the Knights of Death, both in service to and in command of all entropic energy. Their duties are to their unholy masters, the Deathlords, and this often sends them from the Underworld into Creation, where they work with living hands what their masters cannot. They're treated as nobility in the Underworld, and ghosts offer them both deferrance and fear.
Hidden Lore
Only the Deathlords truly know of the origins of the Abyssal Exalted. They know that they are corrupted and twisted Solar Exaltations alighted on the dying bodies of heroes who agree to the unholy pact to end Creation. They know of the Monstrances of Celestial Portion, and how without them the Exaltations would fly back to Lytek to be cauterized and cleansed. Most importantly of all, they know of the true power of Abyssal Exalted...because they were once Solars themselves.
---
The Sidereal Exalted
Common Knowledge
The vast, vast majority of people aren't even aware that "Sidereal Exalted" exist.
Obsure Esoterica
Higher-ranked members of the Immaculate Order and the All-Seeing Eye both might well have some contact with Sidereals, and might have a vague understanding of their nature. If so, it would be a very well-kept secret, as their very existence shatters the Immaculate Texts like a dropped egg.
The Cult of the Illuminated is run by Sidereal Exalted, who introduce themselves as ancient viziers to the once-great god-kings, the Solar Exalted. They are advisers from heaven who know many things and keep the wheels of Fate turning properly. While they might not be easy to trust, they are very well-informed.
The Lunars, as usual, remember the truth of the matter. The Sidereal Exalted were the traitors who set the Terrestrials against the Solar god-kings in the First Age. They caused the Usurpation, then spent thousands of years hunting Lunars to ensure they didn't rise up and re-form the First Age. They have succeeded only as far as the Lunars have allowed them to.
Hidden Lore
Just about all of the specifics of Sidereal life and operation could easily be considered "hidden." All gods are familiar with the Sidereals as the adjutants of the Five Maidens, whose duty it is to keep the Celestial Bureaucray running at full steam in the Incarnae's absence. They are troubleshooters and troublemakers, investigators and agents. They possess the resources of Heaven insofar as their station and service record afford them. They are heavily factionalized, mostly based around their opinions of the Solar mistake.
Obviously, no one knows about the Great Curse. Assume you don't.