Thread: Return of the Exalted (for me and Liliana)

December 21st, 2012. Despite professional recalculations putting the Mayan calender's long-count ending earlier, this day marked the beginning of what some have said was the end of the world. Stories vary as to what happened on that day, but an asteroid the size of Manhattan Island appeared suddenly in the skies over New York. Not long before impact, reports tell of a man on the street suddenly becoming engulfed in brilliant golden light, leaping high into the air and obliterating the asteroid with a single blow before disappearing entirely. Over the following weeks, isolated townships and small rural communities around the world started to go silent, as did anyone travelling to them to investigate. Satellite footage showed nothing. Eventually the truth reached the world at large through social media - photos and videos uploaded from smartphones showed strange and horrible beings attacking these smaller communities and tearing the people apart. The militaries of the world soon realised that, whatever these creatures were, they were keeping their distance from major population centres. Needless to say the rush of people towards larger cities across the world was almost crippling as the cities tried to cope with the massive influx of refugees. Though the actual counts were well below what people estimated, suggesting the worst had happened to the rest. Military cordons sprang up to help seal the cities from these creatures but many took a considerable amount of firepower to bring down and many outposts were simply overwhelmed once they ran out of ammunition. Then the Exalted appeared. The first was in England, a young man leading a large number of refugees to a camp on the outskirts of London. He did not really know how he had gained such power, but reports said that he tore the monsters apart with almost no effort and with nothing but his bare hands though footage recently surfaced on YouTube of him killing one monster by tearing the brick wall off a public toilet block and throwing it. He was not the only one and soon there were reports across the globe of people developing such incredible, almost godlike power. This power came with memories of another time and world, as well as answers to what they were. The Exalted - people gifted with the power of the mightiest gods of the Celestial Bureaucracy. The Solars, who blazed with the light of the Unconquered Sun. The Lunars, whose ability to become animals reflected their many-faced goddess, Luna. And the Dragon-Blooded, empowered by the Primordial Gaia, their bloodlines were re-awakened where they wielded the elements against the monsters. The memories contained in their Exaltations quickly revealed much - that at one stage, reality consisted of a single flat world called Creation, but incursions from a realm known as Malfeas triggered an unprecedented change. Not only physically changing the world to the one we know, but creating several billion years of history that was no less real than the present or Creation. The world is still reeling from this change - history and religion challenged in their entireties while the Exalted routinely break the laws of physics. For a time, it seemed the cities were safe - the larger populations somehow stopping the demons, ghosts and Fair Folk as the various creatures had been identified as from manifesting in reality while handfuls of Exalted and large military defences held them at bay with long ranged munitions. You know this is kind of excessive, Erik managed to say, the Dragon-Blooded holding him by his neck not quite closing his windpipe entirely, that hit to my gut got the point across pretty well. They were in a mostly-empty parking garage in downtown Seattle late at night. Erik had just left a nearby wargaming club and had put his stuff in his car when he saw the Fire Aspect being rather forward with a young woman. Despite common sense telling him that a Dragon-Blood could snap him in two with a flick of his wrist, Erik had confronted him anyway. The fact that he was still alive meant that the Exalt was having fun. The woman had done the smart thing and fled once the Dragon-Blood was distracted. Maybe the Exalt replied, his flame-red hair already moving faintly, like a low flame, but you just cost me one lot of fun for the night so you'll have to provide some different fun. Well, excuse me for trying to stop a super-powered asshole from ruining a girl's life. Erik would've stepped in no matter who was trying to harm her not because of any past experience with rape victims or the like, just because he considered it the right thing to do. He did regret that he was probably going to die, but not that he'd helped someone in the process. Youre supposed to use that power to protect people, or are you that desperate for a date? Or maybe youre just desperate to be the big man dont like weaklings standing up to you in all your fiery glory? How about that the big, scary Fire Aspect feeling insecure because of a little ol mortal? His defiant comments did make the Exalt let go of his neck... only to lead into a punch to the chest that sent him flying back nearly a hundred metres and into the side of a van with enough force to leave a deep, Erik-sized dent. The punch alone would have caused major damage to his ribcage, but hitting the side of the van with that much force should have killed him. All he could experience was unbelievable pain, but even through it, he realised he could only feel pain from about halfway up his chest as he fell forward onto the car park floor. The impact had severed his spine. His vision and hearing were dull and fuzzy, but he could make out the Exalt coming towards him, a faint nimbus of flame surrounding him. Despite his situation, Erik refused to give up. He wasn't going to give this bastard the satisfaction of killing him nor would he let any Exalt, no matter how powerful, get away with abusing their power like this one was. The Exalted protect people, even from each other. Its the only real use for that kind of power. Besides theres no way Im gonna let myself be killed by some fucking jumped up BULLY! In an instant, the entire floor of the carpark was bathed in an eruption of golden light, a wave with such physical force as to push back the Dragon-Blood and shove cars several metres away from its epicentre. The Fire Aspect had to shield his eyes from the blinding light, refusing to believe what was happening right in front of him. A voice rang out through Eriks mind, touching his very soul. Arise, my child. For your glory is at hand. You stand against those who care only for themselves, who set their own desires above the safety of Creation itself. My neglect allowed this to happen, but no more. Though you will face great odds and terrible foes, this does not matter, for you are my Chosen. For you are a Solar. When the Dragon-Blood looked again, Erik was once more on his feet with nary a scratch on him, even his clothing was bloodless and undamaged, save that the tie holding back his long, dark hair had snapped, leaving it to flow free in the breeze that wafted through the carpark. His green eyes shone with a new drive and purpose while an emblem of a golden disc blazed on his forehead. Well, Erik said, slightly stunned as he took in what had just happened, seems someone up in Yu-Shan agrees with me. The Dragon-Blood seemed to only become more angry at the sight of Erik becoming a Solar of the Zenith Caste right in-front of him. Either that or he panicked. Either way, the aura of flame around him grew stronger as he raced to throw a punch at Erik several times stronger than the one that had sent him into the van. His own aura flashing brighter, Erik calmly caught the punch with one hand, somehow knowing a way to let the force harmlessly pass through him, though when it emerged from his back, it still had enough force to send the van hurtling across the garage like a toy thrown by an angry child. The Fire Aspect's face lost the pretence of anger as Erik tightened his hand around his fist and started crushing the Exalt's hand. Pouring more Essence into his aura, Erik spoke bluntly. If I ever catch you harming another innocent person again, we're finishing this. There was a sickening crunch as he twisted his wrist, breaking the Fire Aspects arm for emphasis. Exalted doctors would have the arm healed in no time, but the Fires reaction made it clear he got the message. It was only a few minutes later that a small team of Exalts and some mortal support staff arrived to recruit him for Bulwark a multinational organisation formed by several different governments and private interests meant to organise the Exalted and ensure that they could be where and when they were needed, had the resources and facilities for research into the supernatural threats to the world and, when necessary, ensure they could be deployed to deal with said threats. Bulwark agents and Exalts in Seattle were housed in what had once been a rather high-end hotel. Fortunately the owner was one of the private interests whod helped found and fund Bulwark. Since Bulwark makes sure to group the Exalted into teams, it was barely a fortnight after the incident in the parking garage when Erik was given a dossier on a new Exalt a woman who'd been assigned to be his teammate and who had Exalted as a Solar within the last couple of days...