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Bloody Revelations     For being invited to socialize and enjoy tea, this is probably the most convoluted process of getting there that anyone here has ever faced.

    First, they are sent to effectively the middle of nowhere. On the southern bank of some river tributary that flows into a greater fork, their destination is notable only for being well maintained in a curated patch of otherwise complete wilderness, hundreds of miles away from civilization. There is nothing particularly dangerous or untoward about the area, but it takes some searching to find the goalpost --a pair of trees bent and woven together into a perfect arch four meters tall and three wide, each either covered in, or made entirely out of, earth-coloured greenish jade. Aside from visually standing out when relatively close to them, there is nothing whatsoever that would suggest they or this place is significant, to any particular examination or scanning.

    Next is the fact that the arch is clearly significant in some manner, but they don't appear to do jack anything until some predetermined time arrives, at which point they very abruptly become magical. The archway shimmers almost imperceptibly, and then the forest behind it abruptly disappears when viewed from between the jade trees, obscured by the lengthy hallway that has just come into existence. Walking through the arch, arrivals end up in a corridor of some opaque, glittering crystal, kept well-lit by golden lamps that glow without any apparent mechanism.

    The end of the hallway ends up in a vertical chamber with a set of massive gates, apparently chiseled out of a solid slab of pure diamond, and surrounded by a trio of statues --massive solid gold pieces styled as lions, but easily twice as tall as a man at the shoulder. As it turns out, stage three is that these statues are not entirely what they seem, as the center-most one immediately asks for everyone's name and reasons for visiting with the same incredibly bored and cynical tones of a DMV clerk, despite the ostentatious boom of his growling voice, echoing around the surreal crystal chamber.

    With the shimmering arch disappearing behind them, the process of the giant golden lion grilling everyone for personal information and vague credentials is perhaps a little nerve wracking, especially assuming that the other two are also not statues and thus are watching. After a while of being intimidating, the lion eventually seems to get bored, and admits that they're 'on the list', calling for the gates to be opened and all but shoving the visitors inside if they linger too long on the threshold.

    The opposite end of the gate dumps them nowhere else in the wilderness. In fact, it dumps them nowhere in Creation at all. They emerge from an identical gateway cut into the face of a massive diamond wall, thirty storeys high, which stretches so far off into the distance to either side that it would disappear from view, did it not slowly curve and loop back in to form a gigantic circle. The far end is so distant that it becomes invisible, as the way distant mountains fade into the blue mist of atmospheric scattering. They are effectively on the edge of a wall surrounding what must be a large country, if not a small continent. Looking directly up, the only way that they can tell they aren't outdoors, going by the brilliant blue sky, the effusively glowing sun, and almost artfully arranged scudding clouds, is that said blue of said sky seems to curve back down into a dome over the very same wall.
Bloody Revelations     Laid before them is an idyllic, if not utopian landscape of gorgeous hills and rivers and greenery, carefully cultivated and interspersed in amongst the sprawling giga-city that seems to dominate the entire landscape. Though what must be hundreds of thousands of miles appear to be dedicated to gardens, orchards, preserves, parks, and similar, the entire horizon is unmistakably urban. The architecture is oriental in only the most vaguely alien sense, built anywhere up to 300 storeys high, and universally covered in or made of glittering precious metals and jewels, lit by magical lights and fantastic arcane displays. Entire city blocks float off the ground, buildings spiral miles into the sky, and traffic comes and goes both on the roads, and swarming through the air on solid clouds, flying rickhsaws, and fantastical machines. The entire thing is broken up by a web of gleaming gold and silver canals that seem to permeate the entire cityscape, which is where they are pretty much shoveled to by foot traffic and their ungodly bored and impatient giant lion guardian.

    The canals, despite looking like fine tracework from a distance, turn out to be the size of entire rivers, and quite literally filled with flowing liquid silver and gold, the former in two channels on the sides of the latter. They're ushered aboard an exquisitely carved dragon boat the size of a large yacht, much to the surprise and consternation of onlookers waiting for smaller vessels like New Yorkers would stand around for the bus, save that said onlookers are anything from walking animals to people made of glass to human-shaped plants to swarms of glowing bees in a coat. As soon as they're pushed aboard yet another step in this absurd odyssey, the boat takes off, and it does so at literally thousands of miles per hour.

    It doesn't feel like it, due to a lack of wind pressure ripping anyone's face off, but the terrain scrolls by at hundreds of miles a minute, just barely starting to convey the distance they are traversing. It might unfortunately be mistaken for time acceleration, given that halfway through the trip, the midday sun overhead rapidly becomes the pale glow of a moonlit sky, but the aerial traffic keeps a point of reference, chief amongst them being some sort of airship that must be a mile long crossing the sky from east to west, visible from anywhere. Later on, the sky changes back to daytime, and nobody aboard the dragon boat, not even the four armed snake lady or the heavily armoured porcelain statue man, seem to care.

    The trip is taking them inward, towards the city center. It takes them past homes, mansions, apartment complexes, private towers, fortresses, kiosks, shops, markets, malls, arcades, office buildings, brothels, inns, warehouses, bureaucratic headquarters, hunting preserves, zoos, observatories, arenas, hippodromes, training grounds, military bases, bridges, monuments, tunnels, sewers, footpaths, alleys, roads, highways, boulevards, avenues, and plazas of every size and shape imaginable, in the space of half an hour at most. They eventually arrive in a gargantuan 'main plaza' of sorts, probably as large as the entirety of Tokyo, and about as heavily populated, making it difficult to call a plaza at all, despite its ostensible function. There begins the final step of the trip.
Bloody Revelations     The landmarks they have to go by are an unmissable titanic building at the dead center, constructed of a rainbow mosaic of magical jade, and packed with throngs of people all around, ringed by lions at every colosseum-like door; and another complex almost as large as the first, built in the shape of an unfurled lotus instead of a dome, to dubiously functional ends, but just as gorgeous to look at, and even more packed with traffic. Navigating by those two on the horizon (they don't seem to get any closer or further, they may actually be many miles away), the small group eventually arrives at the most unassuming place imaginable in all of this: a block of small, artfully rustic-looking stores on the edge of a painstakingly curated river park/temple, chosen specifically for an individual teahouse, which is absurdly luxurious by any standard, likely able to accommodate hundreds of patrons, except practically a cozy little hole in the wall in this place.

    Most notably, it's the only quiet place they've been in this entire, ridiculous journey to get here. A teahouse.
Wandering Dog Wandering Dog had never been to Yu-Shan. He'd always dreamt of it, adding it to another of the many locations he's been, but he'd never been there. Until today, where he had the passes he needed in his hand, a bag slung over his shoulder, and a wide, excited look in his eyes. Sure, they were meeting for tea, he had a purpose to be here. But he could get a slight bit of tourism in afterwards, grab himself a souvenir as usual. The giant lion statues were briefly intimidating, but Wandering Dog stood up proud, identifying himself and his reason as 'meeting someone for tea and also light tourism' boldly. Once they were out on the wall and overlooking it, though, Wandering Dog realized he was out of his league.

He'd never seen anything like this. It was big, it was beautiful, and he wished he could live long enough to traverse every crack of it. As they were shuffled onto the boat and speeding by way too fast, he tried to catch glimpses of the amazing things and buildings they saw as he passed by. Part of him wishes he had got one of those 'cameras' he had heard about, but the adventurer wasn't sure he could trust them. At last, though, they were in the massive plaza, complete with landmarks.

Wandering Dog moved to recall what they were told, and then started to push his way through any crowds and make his way towards the tea house, rubbing his head at the fact that there's finally some silence, with a sigh. Due to the size of the place, the martial artist went to look for a server or a host or someone who could direct him in Graceful Hands' direction. He didn't expect to find her just by glancing around. His tone was actually pretty polite to whoever would help him, taking in any social or cultural cues they might make in an attempt to try and fit in, even though that was hopelessly impossible.
Tomoe Tomoe had not expected the invite she got, Tomoe had almost turned it down but well she need to know more right? Still she was not sure what to expect? She didn't think she'd have anyone's notice with the powers that be in creation. It seems this was not the case at all as she finds herself now arriving in the middle of place in the middle of nowhere, Tomoe comes in for a landing her wings vanishing.

She takes a look around at the arch for a moment, one purple eyebrow going up for a moment then she will go though after taking a deep breath.

Then comes the custom agents, wow this is a heck of a lot like home, she actually has a passport with her she flashes, it and deal with she is actually some what intimidated by the whole affair.

She's left a little be slack jawed for a moment. She's only seen one thing in her life that left her this stunned and that was Najourn. She does not dally for long a soon she's on her way on the be to and they keep going.

"So this is how they live?"

She doesn't say more but it's quite the site to see she's finds she's on a bit of a trip as they got by boat for a while and there's all sorts of strange beings heck stranger than even Third Life's avatars were a fairly big VR Social hangout at least before the multiverse barfed again.

The deeper they get into the city the more things there are to see and Tomoe just kinda of is left in sight seeing mode for the next hour or so not saying very much until the arrival at the tea house. There had been no missing the landmarks given but this place? Was not quite what she expected as she enters.

"So this is the place?"
Sanary Rondel      Sanary's not sure how she even got one of these invitations. Did it get misplaced by someone? Did they think she was someone else? Whatever the case is, she's not going to turn down a chance to get some free food and see new things. Said new things are rather confusing and bewildering (especially that talking lion statue), but at least it's vaguely nostalgic in how fancy and shiny it all is.

     Also, all the info-gathering process and procedural bullshit. It's annoying, but it does remind her of an older time... Shit. She's getting old. TOO OLD. Sanary's looking mildly distressed by the time she reaches the massive otherwordlyl landscape, and she doesn't even gawk at things until several minutes later. The bee-filled coat gets the most cautious look from the eyepatched healer, but she's also cautious around the glass people as well.

     After taking note of the insanely huge building in the center of the city and checking to make sure her tie is on straight, Sanary comes to a stop at the teahouse and clears her throat. It's been a while since her last fancy party, but she's determined to not look like she's still a shitty bumpkin! The fact that this place is one of the few quiet(er) places than everywhere else she's been today certainly helps to make things a little less draining. She holds the door open for whomever's coming in, then steps inside to get situated and completely forget how to introduce herself properly.

     Maybe nobody's going to notice that little flub.
Staren     Staren arrives at the gate in his armor -- who knows what dangers heaven and earth may contain? He scans the strange gate every way he can, wondering what it hides before the doorway pops into existence. Wandering through, he comments, "Well, /someone's/ obsessed with looking rich..." and starts to scan one of the lions to see if it's solid, but then it talks. He steps back, startled by the movement and voice. "Umm. Staren, of the Concord. We were invited..." He's a little disoriented, but not intimidated, folding his arms and glaring increasingly impatiently until let through.

    He looks around, curiously. "...Huh. When people talk about a heavenly dome or somesuch, I've never seen a /literal/ one before."

    He turns to look at the distant horizon, rubbing the back of his helmet. "Phew..." While he's certainly seen giant cities in the Multiverse, knowing that people from a single world /built/ this, or had sufficient reality warping powers to will it into existence, is impressive.

    Once IN the city, this amazement is increased by seeing up close how MUCH there is, and tempered by how utterly tacky the obsession with precious materials everywhere is. The effect makes him think of someone who's playing a game with a virtual world for the first time and so they go into creative mode and build a house out of gold just because they can. The diversity of denizens is perhaps the most 'realistic' part of the city so far for him, although some of the entities are even stranger than the strangest of Lazlo's d-bees. The fast river travel without perceptible acceleration or inertia reinforces the feeling of a virtual world, for him.

    As they float deeper and deeper into the megacity, though, Staren begins to wonder if he could ever find his way out if something goes wrong...

    So. This is it. A teahouse near the center(?) of heaven.

    "I guess so." Staren replies to Tomoe. "Given what happens in VR, I guess this is what happens when people have the actual resources of gods to make a living space..."

    He looks around. Daring not buy anything because 1. it's probably hideously expensive and uses currency he doesn't posess, and 2. because then he might have to spend every fall here, or something similarly mythical and ridiculous.

    "Any idea where the person who invited us is? I guess there's /one/ difference from VR -- we'd have a big glowing beacon only we can see pointing her out..."
Azure Armature The whole affair is one akin to a tour, if strange and alien to the blue-haired operative who prefers to be called 'Blue'. Certainly, she is not a stranger to grand metropolises and cities, nor is she a stranger to grand civic projects and neck-craning skyscrapers or massive bastions of industry.

It is a sight that gives Azure Armature pause, for it is one that simply doesn't "compute". While she still has a human-like thought process, if routed through various inhuman processes, the most apt way to describe her was 'struck dumb in motion'.
    he sights, the sounds, she moved with a purpose, staying with the group, the scrip provided to her gripped tightly in her left fist as she moved physically through the stunning locale.

Her expression, of course, was of unbelieving. Chainsmoker's sighs and mutterances escape her lips, and she nearly leans over the boat during their boat-trip to dip her hand into the water.

She doesn't have a go-go gadget extendo-hand to scrape the water's surface and seems to think better of it shortly after.

Their arrival at 'a rustic teahouse' gets a pointed (and gruff) disbelieving chuckle, the stunned expression Armature had been wearing the entire time breaking with a sort of smug, disaffected 'you gotta be shitting me' quirk of a brow and tightness around the lips.

"Pick up your visual scanning." She advises Staren, before walking towards the interior of the teahouse. If they were not chaperoned or greeted quickly enough, she would find a way to spend this scrip she had been facilitated with and gather intelligence the old fashioned way.
Graceful Hands "Ah, welcome, welcome! I hope your travels weren't too harsh, I know Yu-Shan can be a little...disorienting. Well, if you're not used to it anyway. From what I'm told, some of you might be familiar with places such as it? But in any case, it's one of the fanciest places in Creation, just as long as you follow the rules, don't bug anyone, particularly if they look stuck up, aaand...well, don't go putting your nose into things that aren't your affairs unless you *really* know what you're doing."

In the teahouse itself was the aforementioned mysterious woman in violet who had decided to intervene in that little incident recently concerning the odd disease and the tree-god and introduced herself as 'Graceful Hands.'. Multiple old fashioned tea kettles had been set out, with a veritable feast of finger foods and delights. Delicately baked cakes with mirror-sheen icing, little bits of rice with raw fish on top, fruits that still had the fragrance of the grove, crackers that seemed to burst with savory flavor on the first bite...it seemed that the red carpet had been turned out.

Or maybe this was what qualified as a "business meeting" in Yu-Shan.

"So. Due to, ah...extenuating circumstances, I've been out of the loop on more than a few things concerning the East, but I've more or less caught up. Please, speak freely as while it doesn't appear to be so...this place is more or less impenetrable to eavesdropping. Here in Yu-Shan, the real danger is betrayal, rather than someone piercing your defenses. And since we're all sharing information, a certain someone can't claim purview over anything spoken here. Maidens know that the Division of Secrets would want any excuse to poke their bloody noses into anything they deem interesting. Anyway, please, sit down! I have chairs, cushions...if any of you require more exotic seating arrangements, I can go get some."

She motioned to the large collection of cushions and seats arranged around what appeared to be a large coffee table, suitably fancy and elegant in craftsmanship. "However, while I have what is our side of the story, I would like to know yours. Please, if you could, enlighten me as to, well...what you and yours are doing here. Or at least, aim to, anyway. Creation itself has a way of..." A little uneasy floaty hand gesture was made. "Ruining the best laid plans? Oh, and I'll try and answer any questions about how things are here...ah, that is, Creation *and* Yu-Shan, to the best of my ability. I think you'll agree it's a bit better to know the rules and how things work here, even if you intend to break them. That way, you'll be better able to deal with the consequences."

She nodded self assuredly, before shrugging helplessly in a complete turnabout of demeanor. "Well, I mean, obviously with all the mucking about I assume you're here to do something about the big dark spookyness, and I'm hoping it's not 'help a bunch of asshat ghosts and their abominable masters destroy the world and everyone in it because reasons,' but, yeah. Considering that big showing with the forest god, I'm assuming no. And for the record, no, I'm not out to screw you over. What I am offering is, as those jackasses over at Secrets say, an exchange of currency. Information for information, and maybe we can help each other out? Plus, while you do seem to have someone from around here amongst you..."

Grace nodded towards Wandering Dog. "I would say that I do have a slightly better picture of what goes on here. Especially based on the last exchange of words we had. Though, he knows his stuff, just, I believe his area of expertise is in what we in the business call the Perfected Lotus. Or, how to punch someone."
Graceful Hands Suddenly, the brilliant daytime sky shifted towards a night illuminated by a just as radiant full moon, but notably, no stars shared the sky. Grumbling, Grace peeked outside to look up. "Luna's leading again? Didn't they just swap places a while ago? Come on, we actually had a nice, long while where the sky wasn't flipping around as much as this...ah." She turned around, walking back in. "Well, for your first fun Yu-Shan fact, the sky changes depending on which of the Incarnae is winning the Games of Divinity. It's why time here is told by the passage of the Golden Barque, the big ship you may have seen on your way in."
Staren     Ah, there she is. "How come we're able to remember you?" Staren is full of questions. "So, eating this food won't make us have to return here for a month every year or anything like that?" Once reassured, he takes a seat and tries the food, and looks impressed. He kind of wants to try a little of everything just to sample all the flavors now...

    He looks up at the sky after it changes and as Graceful Hands comments on it.

    He looks at it for a long moment.

    Then he looks at Graceful hands.

    "...Your sky is a leaderboard?"

    Anyway.

    "Well. As you can see, we're people moved to meddle in others' affairs. Many of us consider ourselves heroes -- helping those who need it due to personal ideology, a sense of duty, belief in karma, what-have-you. And I, at least... my first contact with this instance of Creation was caused by Bloody Revelations, an Abyssal Exalted." He holds a hand in front of him in a 'hold on a moment' gesture. "I know, I know. She's probably scheming to end the world or something, and I expect we'll betray eachother eventually, but until then, her intel's been good, and helping us do things like lift the aura of fear from Denandsor and sabotage the Mask of Winters's plans benefits all of Creation. What about you? Do you know anything about her, or that we can use against Mask of Winters?"
Sanary Rondel      With the group gathered, Sanary finally gets enough of her sense back to attempt speaking! Except... Not yet. Not until after their host finishes. It'll give her an opportunity to remember how to talk properly, and she'll also have time to figure out what to actually say that'll sound smart! With the food being what it is, though, she also has to split her attention between maintaining a discussiona nd also showing that she can eat without making an ass of herself.

     "Thank you for the kind invitation, Lady Hands. The trip here was quite..." What was that fancy word for 'looked pretty'? "... Picture-ish?" Close enough. She starts to sample the food in small bites, holding off on just binging for the time being. She can't do that until after she's tried everything once!

     Proper eating strategy is important. The comparison of the sky to a leaderboard has her stroking her chin, and the healer even nods in vague agreement at being lumped in as a meddler. "Maybe not always heroes, but... Definitely meddlers, yes. To be honest, I'm not completely caught up on the goings on here myself, but..."

     Dammit, mouth, stop talking! "... Well, I got the invitation, so I'm open to working if there's a good opportunity to be had here. I'm pretty good at punching people if that's something you need done, too." A pause, and then she gives Graceful Hands a more inquisitive look. "Do you think this... Er. Bloody Revelations is someone that can be reasoned with in the long term? And what's your stake in all this?"
Staren     "Picturesque." Staren corrects Sanary, reflexively. Extra words so the pose log saves this.
Wandering Dog Well, that was quicker than Wandering Dog expected, with the size of the place. "It's probably one of the grandest things I've ever seen. I knew it was the City of the Gods, but wow, there's nothing like this out in the Threshold." The martial artist moved to take a seat on a cushion, crossing his legs as he focused on trying...well, everything. Taking in the fragrance and taste of each bite while trying to make sure everyone gets some, in a method so confident he probably does this every time he's offered food somewhere new. He takes everything in, smiling as he's nodded to, and then looking up to the sky. "Huh, I was wondering about that. I take it when the sun's up, the Unconquered Sun's leading in these Games of Divinity, and when the stars are out, one of the Maidens? What sort of game involves changing the cosmos to track score? I'd like to play something like that." Though if the Incarnae are playing it, Wandering Dog already knows he'll never, ever get the chance, so it's just admiration.

"My knowledge is centered on the Threshold and the knowledge of various villages and cities there, yeah. Someone like you, working up here, probably knows a lot about subjects I don't. Heck, I've never been to the Blessed Isle, so you might even have that over me." Wandering Dog stretches outwards. "Also, it's not just punching. I kick, too." A hearty laugh from the martial artist.

And then, an actual reply to Graceful Hands. "I'll answer your question anyways, since I have an eye and ear on some stuff. There was a big sunken city out in the West, has to be First Age. Some old Lunar Exalted calling himself the Great Whale God, actual name Leviathan, was running a big beastmen colony and enslaving descendants of the Dragon-Blooded because of what happened during the Usurpation. A group of these Multiverse guys," Wandering Dog gestures around the table. "helped deal a blow, but the city rose from the sea and is attacking the Realm's ships. We're trying to find the city, named Luthe. If you have any idea where we could find a lens big enough to fit a guy whose head is a lamp and he's four hundred and a half feet tall, it'd be appreciated." Wandering Dog's tone sounds like he doesn't expect it.

After rolling all that out, Wandering Dog takes a swig of tea. "In return, I've got a question for you. You're a Sidereal? What's up with that? Never heard anything about them besides the name and the fact you guys work up here."
Tomoe Tomoe looks over graceful hands as she finds herself a place to sit and the food well she was not expecting that quality just for a meeting like this. Then again it could be just is just normal for business meetings in Yu-shen. She does not honestly know for a moment.

"So you want to trade information? The name I use is Tomoe the Iron Lily or just Tomoe...Wait Luna is leading in what?"

She thinks for a moment.

"People meddled in my world's affairs and that's why I'm still here I like to pass it on honestly."

"Pretty much the same ended up fighting in some twisted arena she had set up, it was a hell of a mess. Yes that's pretty much it it's a case of we both want the likes of the Mask of winters gone. She hates him for his wasting materials and acting like a villain out of hum a play. At least far as I can tell and things all came to a head with White Wall we made a deal to save it. Also ahem forgive me I'm quite above my social standing just being in this city. Thank you for the food and drink, still a bit shocked. Still I do expect when all is said and either either Bloody Revelations will be put down or we'll end up materials in whatever she's planning."

"Wait wait games of Divnity?"

She looks at Wandering Dog curiously for a moment, given she's a gamer.

"As for what I know honestly I just been wandering the multiverse for the last half decaedd and know a bit about the north from my activities up there."
Azure Armature The sky... Is a leaderboard.
Azure Armature, in her poncho and tactical fatigues, had picked up a tiny teacup and had been sniffing the fragrant, amber liquid that had found its way into the cup and was now shimmering brightly back against her face without a clear light source. When Graceful Hands comments, and Staren opines, on the nature of the very sky, Azure's snort actually spills liquid all over her gloved hand.

"What sort of pleasure palace is this..?" She wonders, voice disbelieving.

But Graceful Hands invokes business, and so after taking the tiniest sip and setting up on THE FLOOR (it's business time, she can flop out later) she sweeps her hand forward.

Before her comes a 'soft light' projection of the Thorns area, with Lookshy highlit. The script used for labels is strange but looks like a very, very "dystopian" High Realm, and there is a translation into common/plain english/whatever chickenscrawl Arthur Lowell posts to Syndicate boards with (it is actually serial killer ciphered with cut out letters from sentences pasted in).

"This is the layout of the operational area. I, along with some of the others here, have been embroiled in removing the 'Mask of Winters' --" An area is highlit on the tank, outside Thorns, a sort of red blob of forces with a large icon for Juggernaut. Pictures hover in the air of the remaining lieutenants, for the benefit of anyone who doesn't know that too.

"I, however, have a number of questions that you can answer. I will attempt to get through all of them."

"A - What purpose does Yu-Shan serve, and where is the ruling council?"
"B - What is Yu-Shan's position vis-a-vis operational goals for the Mask of Winters."
"C - Similarly, what is the best case for the cities of Thorns and Lookshy?"
"D - What is your endgame or best-case for Creation?"

She pauses, dismissing the soft-light map with another sweep of her hand. "And E - What do you, personally, want?"

She leans forward as she asks, considering Graceful Hands.
Graceful Hands "Ahh, no. You're thinking of the fae. They're the type who do things like that. Eating babies, that sort of thing. It's just one of the many things that threaten Creation. And yes, the sky is determined by who is currently leading. I'm fairly sure all of the Incarnae are playing right now. You remember seeing the big stadium, right? They must be going at it pretty excitedly, considering how much it's been changing lately. And as for the remembering thing...well, the short answer is 'it's complicated,' and the slightly less short answer is 'it happens generally, but not always, when someone has a certain amount of...stuff. Astrology and fate really isn't my thing, and it's also really boring."

At the mention of Abyssals, Grace pursed her lips. "Abyssals are...well. The problem with Exalted, as you surely know, is that at the end of it all, they are human at their core. Mortals. So, you cannot make a typical judgement on one because an exception will always exist, if only to spite you. Due to the nature of their...taint, there are some generalities you can make, for example, they are all typically associated with the Underworld. But they tend to fall into two camps: those that embrace their being, and those that fight against it. Well, there's a third, but the definition of 'trying to get along' differs amongst any of those poor bastards."

As Sanary spoke, Grace again made the same weird hand gesture. "Kinda? Well, actually, no. I'll put it this way. I did some digging when I was...no longer indisposed for a bit and caught up on things, and she seems the type that is insane, but insane in very specific ways. You get my drift? You can predict what she's going to do, you know what she's doing to do and plan around it and even manipulate her, but at the end of the day, she's still probably going do the typical murderous Abyssal thing and murder everyone. As for what my stake is...well, if you haven't noticed, I live here. I kinda enjoy living, plus, it's my job to make sure Creation keeps on being in existance and working okay. But yeah, you can use her, and she probably won't lie as long as she thinks she's getting something out of it, but when and if she does something that's not in your best interest, I would highly, *highly* recommend planning around it rather than trying to punch her in the face. Direct solutions tend to backfire. A lot. As well as get a lot of people killed."

When Dog started speaking, the woman in violet smiled. "Oh, you're from the Threshold! That makes a lot of sense." Her fingers snapped and she pointed at him. "Bingo. And as for the game itself, well...it's..." Her eyes closed for a moment, and her expression became unnervingly serene. After a few seconds, she snapped out of it, gathering herself. "Oh, sorry about that. But, they're kind of in the realm of an indescribably pleasurable and fun and...well, yeah. The fact that I can't even begin to describe it should say a lot, right? But while the Incarnae have occasionally invited gods to take a turn in their stead...buddy, they won't even let *me* go in to the stadium. Or anyone like me. So we make do with imperfect recordings from the memories of gods who have." A longing sigh, but her expression snapped back to a neutral one as the term 'Usurpation' was brought up.
Graceful Hands "Yoooooooou...it's fine here, amongst friends, outsiders, whatever, especially since nobody can hear you. But, ah...you don't want to say that word in Yu-shan. You will pick up the attention of all the types of people who you don't want the attentions of, because it's one of those things where it's...put it this way. I can't tell you anything about it, and frankly, I wouldn't want to. You are free to tell your...associates all about it. Just don't say that word off the grounds. I know you're not a Dynast, and it's one of those things that you're not really telling anyone something people don't already know, but...yeah. As for what I am...well, since you know all about the Celestials, the Solars, the Abyssals, Lunars...the Maidens have their own Chosen. We're the unlucky few who get sent out to fix things when trouble happens in Creation. You have more than likely been instructed by one, even if you didn't know it. Trust me, I can tell. And as for the lens...well, honestly, you could buy one here. If it's just a glass lens, I'm pretty sure there's a god of crafting who could do that while blindfolded and all of his limbs tied up. Just, ah, the consequence of that is that people will *know* you bought it."

At Tomoe's words, she stroked her chin, nodding. "Yeah, see? That's what I was talking about. Insane, but in predictable ways. Your best angle is to play them against each other. Just take morality out of the equation, or even 'being a decent human being.' She wants to do a thing. She will do anything to see that thing done. She hates the Mask of Winters and is perfectly content to sabotage him. And she'll play nice with you, but the moment you position yourself publicly as being against the thing she wants...she'll start viewing you like she does the Mask."

There was an 'Ooh' of surprise as the fancy display was taken out, and Grace moved forwards to examine the projection. "Yes, that's more or less accurate. Not exact but...ah. The purpose? Well. That is a very long answer, but without Yu-Shan and the gods and all of the pain in the ass bureaucracy and underlying fate and everything...mortals, humans, anything that isn't able to more or less force their own existance into consistency would not survive. Though, this goes both ways. The currency of the realm here is worship and prayers. And so Creation works. As for the equivalent of a ruling council...well, I did say they're all in the Pleasure Dome, right? The Unconquered Sun, Luna, and the Maidens are all referred to collectively as the Incarnae. They are the ultimate authority here in Yu-Shan, and the only one who could actually protest against something they actually declared would be another one of them."

"As for the Mask of Winters, honestly, what do you think? He's raising hell and killing people and works for a bunch of dead primordials who want everything to just not exist. Yu-Shan wants him gone. Thorns and Lookshy get...more complicated, mostly for political reasons and various other things that I can't really talk about freely, but I will say that their continued existence is a thing that most people want, but not just for the good of the people who live there. They are significant pieces in an annoyingly obscured game that I really really hate."

There was a bit of musing right before questions D and E hit, followed by a bit of an awkward silence. "Uh. Honestly? For once in its godsawful existance, not actually being threatened by something that threatens to kill or enslave literally everyone who had the audacity to be born on it. Because there's always something, and trust me, I cut my teeth during...a bad time. And as for what *I* want, well. You'll understand if I'm not so forthcoming with that. That's the kind of information that people use against you, you know?"
Staren     Staren laughs at Dog's joke about kicking too, then listens with interest as the watery goings-on are described. He missed all that! When Dog asks about a lens, he asks, "We could just make one? At that size, a fresnel lens might be easier, would that be okay?" He is prepared to get out a pencil and paper and explain what that is if called on it.

    Staren blinks at the Sidereal's advice for dealing with Abyssals. "But don't the Neverborn want her to destroy the whole world at some point? It's not really something you 'plan around'... Like you said, you live here. Unless she really can make being a ghost awesome for everyone, but she's far from proving that."

    Something else Hands says seems a contradiction. "Wait... the people in charge are ALL playing some indescribably pleasurable and fun game? /At the same time/?! How much time a day do they spend on that?"
Wandering Dog "I figured." Wandering Dog remarks about about the Games of Divinity, sighing. He shrugs about the Usurpation. "Well, 'that' happened and if people are going to be touchy about history, then they're not the type of people I want to be friendly with in general, yeah?" A mighty shrug, as he pays close attention to the description of Sidereals. "Huh. I had a lot of mentors, so it's possible. Doesn't change much. Walking the Perfected Lotus is still walking the Perfected Lotus, and it's your own skill and determination that got you there in the end."

"Sounds too expensive for what we probably need, and I don't want to risk that being a problem for the big guy." Wandering Dog replies about the lens, and sort of handwobbles to Staren. "I'm not sure. It's the guy's eye, as far as I know. I'm currently looking for artifacts that can repair his current one, got leads throughout the West. Wouldn't be surprised if it had to be magical or something."

Wandering Dog just sort of...laughs after the awkward silence. "The world sure is a mess. It's sort of beautiful, in its own way. Sure as hell not going to allow some undead bastards defiling the natural order to tear it apart, that's for sure. The dead are supposed to stay in the ground and reincarnate, after all." Another swig of tea, as he looks at Graceful Hands with a thought. "Where are you from? I understand if you can't say for whatever reason, but I'm curious. You seem like you'd probably be from an interesting place, if you're working up here."
Sanary Rondel      "Picturesque." Sanary repeats after Staren, then listens intently to the Sidereal. Predicting the Abyssal's behavior doesn't sound particularly practical, but... Well, there's people smarter than herself aroundh ere. They can probably sort it out better than she can!

     "Fair enough. I can definitely see why you'd like living out here. It's all..." She gestures vaguely all around in-between stuffing another piece of fish in her face. "Everything's so... High class and fancy out here. Tastes good, too, and those games sound like a fun way to pass the time."

     Another pause to listen, and then she zeroes in on the topic of NOT fighting Bloody Revelations directly. She frowns, seeming mildly discouraged by that. "That strong, huh? Hn... So we might be better off making sure they don't get too strong or don't have too much of the competition removed. Easier to manage, cleaner for everyone involved like a... A... What's it called."

     Sanary pauses yet again, then pushes her fingers together in a vague wave-crashing sort of motion. "... Like trying to keep the water in the tub splashing in the middle instead of all the way at the sides and making sure it doesn't spill out?"
Tomoe There are very good questions are asked. She also thinks for a moment and she pauses.

"Fae? Like Fairfolk? Just lovely."

she thinks for a moment at the mention of the Abyssal. She also hears how Graceful feel about living in creation and lets face it most people do like living after all.

"Oh I'm well aware we're going to fight at some point the question is when. Still it's one less force to fight for now, right? I'm a very direct person, and the direct way was the only way out of the mad dream world of a death game I was caught in."

"Wait wait so the gods are busy playing a game?"

The first thought that hit she mind are the sorts of MMMORPGers and VRMMORPGers who get so addicted everything falls by the wayside, naw it's not like gods could fall prey to that right?

"Fix things? You must be always understaffed and stuck in triage mode from what I seen of it. You got my sympathy there."

"There are things I just won't do and I see where your coming from. Though I have a question what happens with people like us, who are not from creation? Have our presence caused any disrutpions or even new gods to come into being?"
Azure Armature "So the ruling council engages in leisure activities of indescribeable pleasure, secluded in a realm, and does not actually do any ruling. Beyond that, you would like both Thorns and Lookshy secure and mostly whole, but do not care whose hands they are in. The Abyssals - or, at least, their stated goal is - a wish to 'destroy Creation'."

Azure stops speaking, turns around, gets up, and starts arranging pillows now, creating a terrible chair out of More Than Her Share Of Cushions, settling down like an ancient jarl, taking up lots of space and generally seeing excess, while she brings a hand up to stroke her chin, pushing aside her scarf to do so. "You wish for stability, surity, and defense. Understood."

"You also wish to not reveal your personal goals..." Her eyes whirr ever-so-softly mechanically as they focus and refocus. "Understood. What would be the price for one of your... 'directions'? Perhaps the south or eastern ones, as I understand your Blessed Isle would not be for bargain."
Graceful Hands "Abyssals and their masters are...well, it's a thing. But here's a bit of ancient Sidereal knowledge: don't let on that you're about to murder someone unless you're about it. Anyway. Yeah, they play it...a lot. Most of the time. Occasionally they go out. But that's what's up, yeah. And I mean, it's just a thing you have to deal with. Just like with the Aby-..." There was a pause at the mention of "making being a a ghost awesome."

"...you know that's not a thing, right? And trust me, I should know. Ghosts are by nature...static. They go through the motions of life, and they were based *on* something. Nothing new comes from the Underworld because it's aping what happens in Creation. Regardless of what you can do as a ghost, most ghosts, especially the ones of just everyday people, try and get some semblance of their old life back. This is notable, because they don't do anything...new. Now someone's going to be a arse and point out like the one exception, but there's also another issue. Ghosts don't reincarnate and jam up how the world works because...well, it's complicated, but if ghosts don't move on, bad things happen. If you've interacted with ghosts in any capacity, you'll notice most of them have ties to creation and the living. The ones that release those ties...move on. So no matter what cool powers or your quality of life, you're still tied to the living. And if there isn't any living...well."

Shrug. Though, Wandering Dog talking about his own skill and determination was enough to elecit a chuckle from the woman. "Me? I'm from Greyfalls. That was a long time ago, like...well, just take your best guess. You should know your history, though." And that was all she said about that.

"It's not a matter of how strong she is, it's a matter of what punching her in the face would do. So, say you're cooperating with her and have a good working relationship with her, and then you just punch her in the face. Now she has no reason to not hold back and then she just proceeds to cut a bloody swath through anybody and anything, mortal or god that crosses her path. And I mean, if you don't care about that, more power to you, but it just makes things really, really messy. Giving people an excuse to not care tends to result in a lot of bad things." the Sidereal said to Sanary, nodding. "A balancing act, yes. Though the other part of that is knowing when to cut your losses."

"Yes, again, they're off playing that. I mean, if you want to lodge a complaint, all you have to do is pray. I'm sure someone will care about it enough that Sol Invictus himself will...you get my point. And as for new gods, no, not that I know of, though a new position might be made if things get too crazy. And...wait, did you just say -direction-?"

There was an awkward pause. "Uh. Well. I mean. It gets complicated, but there's the other complication that currency up *here* is worth a whole lot more than anything from down *there*. And I'm pretty well paid up here. I mean come on, I have an expense account. I'm pretty sure Yu-Shan pays more in tips for the gods who shine shoes than the Realm does to maintain its entire arsenal."
Staren     Staren regards Graceful Hands's rebuttal dispassionately. "Apparently there's a necromantic ritual that brings 'life' -- emotions, sensations, creativity and all that -- to ghosts. But it only lasts for a day. She claims she's working on a way to make it permanent on a massive scale... I'm not saying I trust her, but I of all people am not going to reject out of hand the idea of changing a world's status quo to make peoples' existence better."

    "If you're so worried about it, feel free to, y'know, just make mortal life better another way." He waves a hand towards the entrance of the tea shop. "Yu-Shan clearly has resources to spare."

    He leans forward slightly. "And if the people in charge are neglecting their duties to play some game..." He leans back. "Well. We shouldn't discuss that here, obviously."
Sanary Rondel      "Yeah... Yeah, that makes sense. Plus, if working with her means getting closer to what we want in the long run, then no sense je-opperd... Jopper..." Sanary's eye twitches briefly, and she takes a long breath before speaking up again. "... Screwing that up just for the hell of it. Cutting losses, though..."

     That has her thinking a bit longer. "... Well, I'm not the best at figuring that out, but I'll have to keep that in mind. I could look more into this Mask business and get on her good side that way, plus... Taking care of the mess he's making for you helps on your end, too. Right?" She grins at Graceful Hands before standing up, then...

     ... Sitting back down a moment later. She wasn't quite sure where she was going with that last part, but at least it looked sufficiently dramatic! Briefly. Maybe. "So... If this all goes well, maybe some of those tips could come our way, hm? Not from you specifically, but... Uh. Whoever, yeah? Then we can use that to help out whoever or just help ourselves out, I guess."
Azure Armature "Yes." Azure Armature replies, nodding once. "We wish for the same general goal, but I have a requirement if I am to work closely with you. A garuntee, of some sort. I do not have need of your money, I am interested in gaining claim to one of your settleable directions. The forested one has good natural resources, and there is a large amount of settable open land in the dessicated south for industry. Unused space. Wasted..."

Azure Armature draws back up, off her 'taking up space' posture and more direct. "... Potential. If barter is the stopping point, then I can arrange a mediator. If action is needed, that can be arranged. The reason I asked what you wanted..." She tilts her head. "Was to achieve some measure of understanding. Of what kind of person you were. If we could work together."

Armature reaches forward for a piece of Perfect Heavenfruit and brings it to her mouth, biting down decisively. "I'm willing to do anything to get what I want. To complete my mission. I hope we can work together. But it sounds... that the disposition of your ruling body needs an overhaul."
Wandering Dog "And everyone deserves their time to reincarnate. Believe me, I'd know, I'm from Skullstone, if you've heard of it." A pause to take a sip of tea. "Greyfalls, huh. Probably have some opinions on how it is now, huh?" Wandering Dog throws a bite of something into his mouth, quirking his head at Azure Armature mentioning 'buying a direction' because that makes no sense to him.

When she actually explains it, though, he quirks an eyebrow. "What, you want to settle one of the whole directions of the Threshold? You could just settle in one. Gotta be plenty of land no one's using, or that no one who matters is using, at the least." A wobble of his hands. "North can be pretty barren, but I'm doubting you want barren, huh?"
Graceful Hands "Yeah, if only. The problem is, money can't buy you everything. For example, I don't think a bunch of undead primordials are really going to be really placated by offering them shinies. And if you haven't noticed, I am, because being murdered horribly I'm pretty sure is not in most peoples' fun list of things to do and part of a completely normal life. If only we had the time to just care about general quality of life; making sure that life is actually there is a bit higher on the priority list right now. Grace said, rolling her eyes. "Plus, screwing around with the economy gets you in trouble, and it's why the money here stays here generally."

"Well, yeah. Of course, if you're aiding heaven in actually doing a thing that can generally on the whole be considered good for Yu-Shan and Creation itself, there is no reason as to why you can't be duly compensated. I mean, that's just how the world works, right? As long as we're still around, anyway. And...oh, wait."

Azure received a strange look, followed by an expression that could only be translated as 'thinking.' "Well, I mean, I'll tell you what. You and a whole bunch of other people want to rule the East. A lot of people don't want to because...well. Look at what's going on right now. What I will say is that if out of all this chaos there rises someone who actually can get a handle on things, has a positive working relationship with people, and is accepted by the people living there as their rightful ruler...well, I know a guy. But uh, yeah, first things first, you may want to deal with the fact that the place is turning into a shadowlands infested hellhole before declaring yourself the Beautiful and Terrible Queen of the entire East or whatever."

As for Wandering Dog. "Well. Put it this way. I haven't been back in a long while, and the placed has changed a lot since I considered it my home. The Realm tends to do that. So, I don't really have an opinion because time changes places. Yu-shan's my home anyway. In any case, please, enjoy yourselves. This building, again, is completely warded, but I can't really guarantee the safety of your secrets past it, so watch what you say. Iii...have an appointment to keep. I left some vouchers for a night's stay if you want to keep exploring Yu-Shan, but, ah, avoid the places that look suspiciously empty. And don't annoy the lions. They...don't have a lot of patience for people who play games with them."

The woman bowed, before confidently striding out of the teahouse, leaving behind a coupon booklet with some very long and flowery advertising slogans on it. Well, at the very least, anyone who visited here would have time for sightseeing and a vacation!
Tomoe Tomoe looks right at Graceful.

"I can't fault anyone for not wanting to be erased."

She leaves her thoughts at that on reincarnation in creation.

"I am well aware of how dangerous she is. I'm very keenly aware creation is full of every old myth and way my people's ancestors used to think the world worked. The Abyssals are nightmares given flesh to me."

"Great gods playing political games, right? I suspect you have access to more money than I'll see in my entire life time."

That bit about the money was said in good humor though. She seems to take the idea of gods playing political games while creation is on fire, quite seriously though.

"I have to agree on that Staren."

She now tries some more of the food and tries it/ it is indeed amazing to be sure like nothing quite like she had.

She pauses looking at Azure for a moment.

"Buying a /driection/ why for what purpose are you after? How do you intend to hold or deal with the local powers?"
Azure Armature "I need land." 'Blue' replies the completely agog Tomoe. "The local powers will most likely become problems to be smoothed over." She explains simply, taking more bites of her fruit and waving as Graceful Hands excuses herself. "When you take land you have to expect to hold it, obviously."
Staren     Staren shrugs. "Okay, so resources can't solve ALL problems. But here's the thing: I want to save people from death. Even if I kill the monster about to eat them, or I build them homes with better sanitation and medical care, old age will still get them eventually if I don't do something drastic. Does that mean I shouldn't bother helping them unless I can be sure I can cure them of death completely?"

    "Thanks for the talk though. Coming to see Creation's heaven has certainly been..." He looks towards the outside. "A trip."

    He looks at the coupon book and the voucher. "...A trip that's just getting started, apparently."
Tomoe Tomoe looks nback to Azure for a moment nodding a bit. "I see, I'll have to take your word for it, but we have a lot to do before that right and huh a trip? Might as well take them up on ity right? Shall we Staren?"