Exalted: The Bronze Tide Part 2 - Divided They Fall

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Click here for Part 1 and Part 3 of this arc.
== The Clockwork Caliphate ==
After their war council, the Dragonbloods began to break up and go their separate ways. Though Grey Ocean stayed behind, he mentioned that he didn't like feeling indebted to anybody, so offered Tokumei a carved wooden token. He explained that in the city of Riven, where ghosts walk, there is a trader who can only be found if you lose yourself. This was a place where extraordinary things could be exchanged. The token he offered was good for one thing from the stall of the merchant Xosefa. Tokumei was reluctant to accept, but seeing how awkward he felt with the idea that he might owe a person made him, she accepted.
She also asked the assembled Dragonbloods before they left if any knew spells effective against armies such as the Death of Obsidian Butterflies. They said they would discuss it, but had awkward looks as well.
Hephestia went back to construct the mirrors for the tower, whilst Daxi spied on the watering hole of some local pirates. Most of what they discussed was difficult to make out as everybody knew already what was being discussed, but he did pick out some people asking if "He came the `Other` way", to which the other said that he didn't. Hinting at some secret route or means of transport.
Reeds was preparing for the adventure, by buying up everything he thought might come in useful, from whaling harpoons to extra tents and climbing gear.
The next morning after a quick breakfast they received word that Crystal had arrived and a seperate message from some of the Dragonbloods who were waiting down by the docks for them. There they found Spear of Starmetal, Iron Face, Oak Heart and Granite Phoenix.
They were planning on taking a boat but instead opted to ride with the Solars on Snails. Spear of Starmetal was wary of the vastness of Snails, but was coaxed around to joining them in the Howdah. Reeds started out slowly and once they were clear of other people began to ride Snails at high speed, much to the alarm of some of the Dragon Bloods.
They camped overnight discussing their plan and decided upon having a two-pronged attack.
With Daxi, Hephestia and Tokumei assaulting from the air via one of Hephestia's Tornados, whilst Reeds and the Dragonbloods hit the soldiers on the outer edge of their formation.
The next day, they lay in wait until the Clockwork Caliphate had passed them by. Hephestia turned her skin to Bronze and summoned her tornado allowing the assault team to get up to the top of the drill. Up there, they were fired upon by a bolt of Wyld energy that looked like Lightning, but Hephestia managed to dodge it.
They found an entraceway on the top that led down in to the heart of the Caliphate.
Inside they found a large three story cylindrical room with a central area for the main mechanism and the walls around the outer-edge were a mass of human bodies crammed in to a barred cells filled with mechanisms that they tugged, pulled, pushed or flicked seemingly without reason. The whole place stank of human bodies and their waste with some corpses amongst them.
Hephestia tried to break one out. but his mind was so badly ravaged that he tried to go right back to his tasks.
Tokumei went down seeking an angle from which to destroy the machine, but down there they encountered a creature like a four limbed starfish with a hole in the centre filled with a flickering orb of light. At its extremities it had digits that fragmented fractally and also held a lens each. Daxi threw a metal rod at it, which stuck in the core of the creature, which seemed to agitate it.
It stormed over to Daxi expressing its curiosity, then Tokumei stepped out "Then I'm sure this will fascinate you.", speaking the name of the Unconquered Sun and bringing her fiery wrath to bear...
== Wheels Within Wheels ==
Tokumei lashed out with small bursts of fire from her hands, but the creature was unfazed by her attack. However it gave both Daxi and Hephestia the opening they needed. 
Hephestia ripped in to the creature with Widow's Steely remorse, but it remained standing. The relentless onslaught of the three solars gave it little room to fight back and tried to fire its laser beams at Tokumei who narrowly rolled out of its way only being mildly singed. 
With Hephestia and Tokumei pushing the creature up against the wall Daxi grabbed hold of the rent that Hephestia had cut and tore the creature open from its central hole outwards. 
Meanwhile outside, the Dragonbloods were holding the mechanical soldiers at bay. Reeds came up with an idea and helped Spear of Starmetal up on to Snails and whilst Snails was brutally cut around the legs, Spear of Starmetal was able to leap up and launch on to the Pylon. cleaving in to it with their spear causing the soldiers to falter.
Meanwhile inside the Clockwork Caliphate the Solars tried to work out how to dismantle the thing. Daxi went off clockwise around the core whilst Hephestia tried to dismantle the cells. However Daxi realised that he had gone around the core at least twice and had not bumped in to the rest of the circle. He turned around and coming back anti-clockwise and re-joined Hephestia and Tokumei. Hephestia realised that the cells was a single solid construction with no doors or entrances. So instead she started to brutally tear-apart the central core carving a hole. As she breached the hole Tokumei filled it with a flight of a brilliant Raptor. 
Voices from inside spoke out "Initiating self destruct". The circle decided to flee, but could not leave without rescuing a few people. Hephestia and Daxi between them were able to cut out a dozen people. Although they had been thoroughly ravaged and so were only able to mutely try to get back to work on the levers, switches and pullies in the Caliphate. However the circle were able to herd them out and they leapt off the caliphate guiding people to land on softer vegitation. 
Reeds ran towards to help, but the others quickly gestured him away as they tried to run and then the Clockwork Caliphate exploded violently causing people to be thrown to the ground. The remaining blade soldiers collapsed and began to corrode. 
Tokumei sent an Infallible Messenger to one of the members of the Bronze tide asking them to meet in the wake of the creatures destruction. 
They re-convened out by the beach and settled down exhausted. 
Tokumei cooked some delicious food for everybody. Hephestia and Daxi tried to coax the ravaged survivors in to eating and singing, but they were utterly unresponsive. 
The Dragonbloods wanted to go back to the city, but not wanting to speak for Marrull Vaar without a representative of Bellar, so Spear of Star Metal and Oak Heart agreed to stay, whilst the others went back. 
Hephestia took the others back to the city via Stormwind Rider. 
== A day at the beach ==
While awaiting Hephastia's return, and for some time afterwards, our heroes attempted to reach out to the ravaged once-people they had rescued. Eventually they coaxed a little song from their lips, but little else. Reeds recognised their garments as being in the style of Guimen, and Tokumei suggested that their relatives might hold the best hope of rehabilitating them, for Reeds and Daxi had seen fires burning in Guimen on their previous expedition. Hephastia hung Widow's Steely Remorse above the fire, but they still kept watch. 
During the Dragon Blooded's watch Reeds awoke, overhearing a conversation between the two about an injured comrade, and their reluctance to get the circle involved. 
 
Early in the morning it became clear that no ships were bearing down on the beach, so Tokumei insisted that they prepare to move on. Reeds and Daxi set of to Guimen, leaving the others sat by the shore. On Snails the two followed the scar of destruction left by the Caliphate, erecting a small monument of stacked stones to commemorate the defeat of the Fair Folk where it made landfall before striking out across the delta towards Guimen.
They found Guimen deserted but largely whole, and began inspecting the squat stela in the village's heart. It depicted a figure attired as a boatman and what appeared to be the sacrifice of a horned child. But before they could inspect it further Daxi heard a noise from the longhouse nearby. Distrustful of the pair, the survivors hid prompting Daxi to invoke his animalistic visage to scare them into coming out where Reeds attempted to take a more diplomatic tack. They learned that these were a hunting party, out in the wilderness when doom had descended upon their home. The rescued captives were turned over, along with supplies, and the whole group set off towards a neighboring tribe with a strong tradition of hospitality.
Meanwhile Tokumei opened her mind to the Essence of the world, invoking the All Encompassing Sorcerous Sight, and was aghast at what she saw: Blazes of Essence scattered across the island, motes of light visible from across the sea. Great flashes of power rising from the direction of Ohmaku. Layer upon layer of protective magics shrouding the ships of the Bronze Tide. Then she turned to the peninsula, and in the sky beheld a host of figures, a storm-god several storeys high hurling lightning at the peninsula, accompanied by a spiritual legion aiding in their own way, flinging their power against the peninsula, but their efforts being swallowed by the chaos raging there. In answer great black bolts crackled across the sky, and a god plummeted into the sea, where in a deep blue hole something enormous and submerged glowed with a pale baleful green light.
=== For the Ancestors ===
Daxi and Reeds scrambled around the coast to Hontari, fearful for the safety of any survivors after being told of fearsome creatures haunting the delta. Arriving they found only a man and his son, who had been fishing as the Raksha had passed by. After throwing salt in Reeds' face they eventually told of the other villagers walking oddly into the woods, following the maggot-thing and some strange bio-mechanical creature in the shape of an oven or furnace but which walked like a crab. Later they saw a worm-thing return to the peninsula, clasping a chest and seemingly holding books in the hands below its many, many faces. Evacuating the pair, Daxi caught the man evading Reeds' many questions, and convinced him honesty would be the best policy. They were told about the dark side of the villages' ancestor worship - the abandonment of unwanted or aberrant children in a clearing to the southeast "for the ancestors". A couple of generations ago, however, a mysterious figure dressed in the garb of a boatman had come to the village and stopped the practice, instructing the villagers in the proper ways of ancestor worship and claiming the latest child - born with a pair of horns - in return. This last part confused Reeds - this couldn't be the same Horned Man whose footprints the party had stumbled across at the Three Sisters Dam and the Mirrored Hall, the timing was wrong... surely.
They also revealed that, days earlier, another figure in the garb of a boatman (the same one?) had bought all the villages' livestock and driven them in four wagons along the path outside of town, and had not returned.
=== The Watchtower ===
Hearing Tokumei's dire news Hephastia insisted on a trip to the island, and against Granite Heart's advice taking Oak Heart they set out atop the Stormwind Rider. Flying to the island, they found that Dacot, in the centre of the island, was untouched. Ohemaku was holding out with a large ravine cutting off the village from the attackers. To the north, on hill just to the south of Pharosia, they could see a tower, with no obvious entrance from the ground.
They alighted on the top level and found a strange corpse with leathery skin remains and winged joints. The corpse was clutching a book which disintegrated when they picked it up. The book had an inscription in old Northtongue, Trenshe.
From the tower, they could see all the Bronze Tide laid out in front of them. They were divided into four fleets. The central one seemed to be where the commanders were, attacking Barantulga, while northern and southern wings were wide, with the southern wing attacking Pharosia. The fourth fleet held the rear.
With the disposition of the forces known, they set off back for the beach and relayed what they had seen.
== The Song of Flesh and Blood ==
At the beach they decided that of the fair folk forces arrayed against them, the most urgent was the mysterious flesh worm that was fleeing through the forest. They rode out on Snails and soon found the tracks. Daxi identified a crowd of human footprints following alongside the worm and a 6-legged gait of the furnace creature marching ahead of it. Sneaking up on the area, they found the worm halted at the entrance to a strange clearing, where it appeared to have stopped. There was no trace of the villagers or the furnace. 
The forest was deathly silent, all the animals had long-since fled. Scouting ahead, Daxi found some bizarre ritual had taken place. The grass in the clearing was burned and black, and the four wagons of livestock... and perhaps more than livestock... had been burned until the creatures inside were reduced to ash and festering flesh. The air was cold, the world around it drained of colour and a faint smell of blood upon the air. When the Circle rejoined him Tokumei identified it as clear signs of a Shadowland, where Creation and the Underworld overlap. 
Hephestia tentatively poked at the creature with Widow's Steely Remorse, but the worm did not react. Hephastia, however, felt a sudden burst of intrusive mental images flow into her head, though she could not make sense of them. Daxi saw that the footprints of the humans ended at the worms corpse, though they did not go any further. They also saw that the worm, seemingly, was dead, and huge chunks of its flesh were ripped off and nowhere to be found. 
As they pondered the best way to dispose of the creature, there was movement among the trees. Through them came people twisted in to the mangled shapes of beasts - a pack of humans warped into a pack of hunting dogs, by a creature wearing armour composed of several more people moulded into plates and sleeves, and riding another man stretched into the form of a horse.
Seeing this the circle immediately attacked, targeting the Hounds as the horseman stood back and watched. With each of the twisted beasts that they felled, the horseman seemed to derive sexual pleasure from the experience, and as the remnants of their burned and butchered bodies slithered towards him he absorbed them to further empower himself. And with every blow the Solars felt pangs of the same intrusive memories, now in painful clarity. 
These people, in spite of their mutilated forms and animalistic behaviour, were still alive and aware of their suffering. 
Carving through the hounds eventually the circle were able to whittle them down to almost half their number. But the horseman simply raised his hands and patches of meat from the worm creature sprouted new twisted human bodies just like the hounds they had already raised. This, it seemed, was what had happened to the villagers - they had been absorbed into the worm, where they could be remoulded into new forms and repurposed as playthings. 
With two smaller groups of Hounds it became more desperate and the horseman seemed far more resilient. Daxi leapt over the pack of hounds and onto the back of the steed, duelling with the Rakshasa as the hounds snapped at him from below. Matching him blow for blow, eventually the horseman feinted with his sword to offbalance Daxi before his steed bucked and threw him off.
Tokumei and her firebird cleared the remaining Hounds allowing Hephestia a clear run at the fleeing Marquis. She leapt up and with Widow's Steely Remorse, she cleaved deep in to his flesh which whirled and distorted like an optical blemish on the world. However with his mount, he was able to outpace her and make his escape, leaving the circle alone with the remnants of the worm. 
== The Aftermath of Battle: ==
The fleeing Marquis left our heroes in charge of the giant worm and the heroes resolved to destroy it. Reeds initially tried to burn the dead bodies using his priestly powers, but the bodies were not fully dead. Thus Tokumei decided to burn the bodies with her raptor, setting up a large funeral pyre. 
The heroes decided what to do next. Reeds felt the best thing to do was to enter the Shadowlands and track down whatever had gone through there into the Underworld, or to track down the horseman and fully defeat him, but the rest of the party argued him away from this course, the general feeling being that they were losing too much time in not defeating the different Courts of the Fae.
In the end, it was decided that they should head north to the last Court of the Fae, and on the way, stop at Iliona and try to persuade the Bronze Tide to cease their attacks. 
Unfortunately, Snails could not follow them where they needed to go, and the heroes took Snails to join the Dragonbloods on the way to the encampment Reeds had earlier sent the last refugees to, leaving a surprised Oakheart in charge of Snails. 
Hephastia summoned a tornado to safely bear the part across the island, where they laid course for Ohemaku. As they neared, they found an encampment of Mygdons camping outside. They were seperated from Ohemaku by a ravine with a single bridge across it and they had constructed earthworks the shelter them from magical artillery bombardment coming from the "knights" of the city. 
The leader in charge, Basra, one of the sons of the current King of the Mygdons, came cautiously to greet them with his honour guard, with Tokumei introducing our heroes as Exalts of Marrull Vaar and informing the leader of the destruction of the Clockwork Caliphate and the disablement of the Court of Flesh and Blood. 
Basra told them to visit his father who had finished sacking Pharosia, and refused to abandon the siege of the "snivelling dirt farmers" and looked forwards to his pick of the Maidens of Pharisia as reward for his victory, which greatly angered Daxi, who picked up the prince and threw him into a recently made crater for his arrogance, stupidity and unprofessionalism in attacking the settlement, while Hephestia kept the honour guard back. 
Point made, our heroes jumped back onboard the tornado to Pharosia.
Before they reached there, Hephestia gently steered the tornado to the tower she and Oakheart had previously discovered, and invited the others to sit and plan for a while. 
Tokumei and Reeds explored the tower room, and together realised it was part of some greater whole, centred on the large crater under the waves to the east of Iliona. Seemingly there had been some cataclysmic explosion in the centre of what was now the bay, big enough that the remaining landmass had formed what were now the Cinder Isles. Meanwhile Daxi investigated the corpse, discovering the the Dragonking had been killed only 50 years ago by a coral spear the Hephestia identified as a weapon used by undersea people. He also uncovered the disposition of the fleet of the Bronze Tide. As he could see, the ships of the tide were not built for extended sea voyages, and the central mass of the main fleet was in danger of stalling if the two wings to the north and south were slowed any further. 
The group met to plan what they would do next when sent to Pharosia, to meet the king, and it was decided that Reeds should speak for them all, his tongue being the wisest and most diplomatic. 
The heroes gathered, left the tower and by tornado journeyed once more the short distance to the north, to the city of Pharosia. As they approached, they discovered a lone woman digging graves, and lowered down to investigate. The old women, named Philea, was digging graves for the Maidens, a cult devoted to a local goddess called the Ur-Mother. The heroes helped her a little, Reeds secretly bristling with rage that the people he must help join them had done such evil. With heavy hearts, the heroes realised that saving the greater good might come with uncomfortable sacrifices. Would our heroes be willing to make them, or would they remain true to their hearts? 
== Peace Was Never An Option... ==
As our heroes flew the final section to the flagship, Tokumei sidled over to Hephastia and quietly confessed to having doubts to a peaceful resolution. The pointless and wanton destruction by the Mygdons had left her troubled. How could people just destroy so much for so little gain? For the first time, she considered whether it would be better to subjugate these people, to give them order rather than just talk them into positive action. 
Hephestia tries to comfort Tokumei about this, but points out few of them want to rule, and that she understands Tokumei's thoughts, because she too is having them. She then suggests that it should be left as an option, but that they think carefully about who would become supreme ruler. Belar, maybe? Jagganath? Or one of them?
Our heroes finally approached the flagship and land, to the consternation of the Mygdon sailors and troops on board, where they announced that Reeds, emissary and exalt of Marrull Varr had arrived and wished to speak to their King. The rest of the group pretended to be Reed's retinue, in order to impress the ruler.
After a short exchange, Brasidus invited the party downstairs to the victory banquet that he and his closest allies are having to celebrate the victory at Pharosia.
During talks with Reeds, it was clear that he was very happy over the victory at Pharosia and proud of what the united Mygdon people have achieved under him. He also stated his support of the Bronze Tide, their mission and their plan of conquest. Pressed on his homeland he refused to talk about it, leaving the lands of their people as lost. This caused the mood to turn sombre and, in order to lighten it, Brasidus summons one of the captured priestesses and tells her to sing a happy song. Scared and unable to, the priestess instead turns the king's mood to increasing anger. In the end, Tokumei jumps in, singing and dancing to a song of home and homecoming that all the assembled should know.
Reeds and Brasidus negotiate, and Brasidus indicates that, if he could enlist the aid of the exalts to help take Ohemaku for his son, a sore spot for him, he would put in a good word for the exalts with the council. Reeds refuses, and makes a counter offer over helping to defeat the Rakshasa and reclaim their homelands. Brasidus asks him if he thinks he actually can, telling him that the large Fae in the centre, is of the same level as the six who invaded in the last large-scale Wyld invasion.
Tokumei, meanwhile, after suggesting to Daxi that assassinating Brasidus might cause this wing of the fleet to collapse, began posing as a servant in order to remain inconspicuous, and she decides to go explore the ship, while Brasidus challenges Daxi to spar with a champion of his, mistaking him as a slave of Reed's.
Tokumei wanders the ship until she finds the maidens in their prison below decks, and a young boy called Nabirus who she has occasionally seen sneaking around the ship. He is preparing a some medicine that, while usually a contraceptive, can be used for suicide in high doses, as the priestesses prepare for mass suicide. On the wooden floor, a partially completed circle is visible.
Above, Brasidus's champion is brought up, and to everyone's surprise, it is another pandaman like Daxi, older and muzzled. The two fight, Daxi demonstrating the prowess that defeated two courts of Fae to the King and turning the match more into a demonstration bout against his obviously outclassed opponent. Under cover of the fight, Daxi steals a knife from one of the nobles present.
Back with the maidens, Tokumei helps the boy ensure lethal doses of the medicine he is preparing, but she is angry, and resolves to help the maidens. She talks to their leader, Penelope, who tells her that the senior priestesses were all killed and that only they know not how to finish the summoning ritual to their Goddess, the Ur-Mother of the sea. Tokumei replies that they should not worry, for what mother would abandon her children? She helps them fill in the blanks.
Gratefully, the maidens tell her to leave as fast as she can, as the All-mother will not differentiate between friend and foe.
Meanwhile above, Daxi ended the bout by flinging the knife at Brasidus in a covert fashion and allowing his opponent to "bowl" him through the wall of the ship onto a deck. There, they have a few quiet words, discovering that the pandaman, named Chiang Lao De, knew Daxi and was from the same village as him. Meanwhile, chaos erupts as a knife is suddenly found in Brasidus's chest, the wound not lethal.
Reeds points out that all personal daggers have ornamentations with the house sigils of the people who own them, and a woman is quickly identified and torn apart. Hephestia grabs Reeds and, having posed as his bodyguard, bundles him to the outside deck with Daxi as the situation worsens and prepares a tornado to leave. Tokumei joins them and they decide to leave.
As they fly away, Tokumei suggests Hephestia gain as much height as possibile. Startled, Hepehstia does so as the sea starts churning. A huge presence manifests itself below the ship and suddenly, and giant being smashes up underneath the ship.
As they fly away, a giant sea hag is seen, holding the ship aloft in her teeth. Our heroes flee back to the Tower.
== Good Innings ==
Arriving back at the tower after midnight, the party and their new friend pondered what to do next. Fighting the Bronze Tide is admirable and useful, but every day not spent fighting the Fae gives the wyld a stronger beachhead in creation. Reeds was frustrated and the four of them talk around in circles about the best course of action. Tokumei was far more confident about their chances of success in a direct fight with the Bronze tide than the others, but conceded that having only seen the Mygdons, it's entirely possible that their actions are not reflected in the rest of the fleet. 
Daxi points out that giving the forces at Ohemaku & Pharosia a bloody nose was likely to get the Bronze tide to take them more seriously, as in previous encounters they had held back their full power at first. Reeds felt that this would earn them the animosity of all the Bronze Tide, but the others chimed in on the side of Daxi. Likening the Bronze Tide to a swarm of locusts, they debated whether stopping the wyld would be pointless if the Tide were left to destroy everything in their path while they did so. So they resolved to rest the night at the tower and strike out at first light to Ohemaku to lift the siege there and gather information from the Knights of Windland who defended the place about the surrounding area that they might use to their advantage. 
Before going to bed Tokumei helped Chiang Lao De, by trying to slowly purge the toxic drugs from his system and align his chi so that it would be expelled through his stomach. He vomited up heavily but then slept like a baby. Early in the morning Tokumei was roused by an infallible messenger from Grey Ocean: "-OUKMEI, I GOT IT WORKING. Fuck, what was I going to say. Shit. CRYSTAL! Crystal sent a letter. Someone called "May Fung" [his mistake, he means Mei Fang] sent word that they're in the area, didn't say where. They'll keep an eye out for you. That's all. [Pause] Wait, the Anaatha sent some troops to help the defen-"As the sun rose, Tokumei caught and killed one of the roosting birds for breakfast and some of their eggs, as they had packed few food supplies. As they ate, Reeds found a strange rectangular object, with a handle on one side, the teeth of a huge key on the opposite side and a flat surface upon which were the remnants of some words. After some careful deciphering Hephestia was able to read the much faded name in old-realm characters, that said: "NJORLONA" (Pronounced: Knee-or-lone-ah). They posited that it belonged to some floating structure that once travelled between similar towers in the area. But that the structure its self was likely long sunk. 
They decided to leave Chiang Lao De at the tower temporarily as he had had more than enough of violence and he would clean the area as best he could. They took the tornado to Ohemaku and saw the Mygdon encampment in the distance, but decided to land in the town where over a hundred odd people had been displaced from the countryside. They were defended by a handful of knights of Windland, a group of local mortal heroes who had protected the area for decades: Dario Ibanez - A man in his 50's wearing a breastplate who now acted as their leader; Fidelia Olivera - a woman in her early 50s and seemingly the quartermaster; and Nida Malek - an old man who used a wheelchair in the watchtower carrying a powerful essence cannon-like bow whose occasional shots had been keeping the enemy at bay.
Dario was able to stop Nida from blowing up the Exalts as they arrived and Reeds stepped out to announce their peaceful intentions. Hephestia, itching for an opportunity to make a difference rather than just talk about it, flew out with Daxi and Tokumei against Basra's forces and handily routed them, whilst coming back laden with the stolen supplies from the Mygdon camp. Reeds meanwhile made friends and talked about how we could help and did odd jobs that needed a young and well-rested and fed person. The Knights explained that they had been holding out as best they could, but their leader Phisa - who had masterminded the evacuation to Ohemaku - had been slain in the first assault, and they had exhausted themselves physically and spiritually defending others with Fidelia barely eating so that others could. 
As they came back Tokumei took some of the fish and prawns that the pirates had obviously bought with them, some of the vegetables and dried rice looted by them from nearby farms and made a large and nutritious paella-like meal. Hephestia noticed Nida's Essence bow and was amazed at its craftsmanship: a fine but unusual example of early Shogunate era work, though seemingly crafted in opposition to Shogunate style. Most curiously it had a hearthstone that appeared to allow a mortal to attune the weapon by force of will alone and would slowly siphon essence from the surroundings like a sorcerer would to allow a periodic burst of intense fire. Doing so had clearly drained Nida greatly, as he had remained awake for days so he could maintain the weapon's power. Nida, pleased at Hephastia's interest, told her that he had found the weapon in a cave on the South side of the island he had taken shelter in, during which he had dreamed of running alongside other warriors and "A pack of gigantic silver wolves" towards the bluff of the hill nearby, but before they could reach the top a great blast had come from the Northern side, and the dream had ended there. 
The Circle told the Knights about the incoming Fair Folk invasion and how it drove the Bronze tide. To which they agreed that they should move and Hephestia suggested that they head to Marrull Vaar. As they assisted the villagers in packing Daxi saw that the barrels of firedust the villagers had been using for their old and rusted Fire-Wands had a distinctive mark on the side. Tokumei meanwhile discussed the surrounding area with Fidelia, who told them of the cities to the west (Chimuul) and south (Qalana), as well as the now-sacked Kietanno and the nobility living in Dacot that had seemingly sat out the conflict. 
Discussing what to do next, the Exalts regrettably agreed that they could not stay to help this one group of survivors when so many more were in need. As they did so, a young girl came to give the exhausted and now sleeping Nida his blanket. Only to find that he had closed his eyes for the last time... 
== It is Breakfast Time! ==
Rather than leaving immediately they decided to accompany them a little further so that they could lay the Knights of Windland who fell to rest at a sacred cairn. 
One of the old woman travelling with them spoke of the time when she was young that she met a creature that called itself a dragon by the tower where the circle had made their camp the previous night (possibly the winged humanoid whose body they found therein) and how the Knights of Windland had protected the Windland plains over the decades against raiders, both humans and "some sort of fish men". 
As they reached the cairn, Reeds offered to lay them to rest and led a prayer to the local god of the winter winds who had the role of a psychopomp in the local pantheon. Whilst Tokumei made a private prayer to the god of heroism for their deeds. As they did so Tokumei and Hephestia both noted that the white rock of the cairn was made from the same sort of unnaturally weather resistant stone as the rock of the Great Eastern Road and the fragment of the Ocean Road that came with the refugees back in Marrull Vaar. Hephestia offered to inscribe the names of the knights in to its resilient surface and did so, adding the names of other Knights of Windland who had died previously without a marker. 
They then took their leave and returned to the tower where they picked up Chiang and gave him some much needed refreshment. Pressing on they went to the central settlement of Dacot, which seemed to be completely unscathed, with extensive estates in various styles from the Realm to more local designs and everything in between. Hephestia bought the tornado to a halt in one of the more practical looking courtyards where it could do little damage and Tokumei moved over to reassure the servants that they meant no harm and only wanted to speak to the local leadership. 
They were informed that this was Epimachus Nestor, an ex-legion general in retirement, and his wife Galatea. Awaiting their arrival the circle were brought to a cafe with Tokumei trying to play the part of their servant whilst Reeds and Hephastia did much of the talking. The village of Dacot seemed to have been converted at some point to an ornamental settlement of boutiques, restaurants etc of the pleasure of the many noble retirees whose estates surrounded it. While some were either local or from other areas like Zhaojun, many of the nobles (who were at this point regarding the waiting Circle with a mixture of covert and blatant suspicion) seemed to have ties to House V'Neef, including the village's guards judging by their livery. 
Upon his arrival Epimachus & his wife invited the Exalts to share breakfast with them, enjoying fine black tea that he had developed a taste for "during the Southern Campaigns". The Circle introduced themselves as Exalts of Marrull Vaar, and relayed their encounters so far. Epimachus seemed impressed to hear that somebody had been successfully battling the fair folk, who he regarded with a caution seemingly borne of experience, and appreciated Hephastia's tactical analysis of the situation. Dacot's safety seemed to be the result of good fortune rather than tactical brilliance however and they felt confident in their ability of their guards to hold the line whilst they evacuated if it became necessary. 
As the circle shared their general plans however, he was able to give an overview of the 3 main settlements in Baruntulga: 
* Nulbaram to the South had already been largely evacuated, although they had left a military force behind to defend it. Whether they intended to stay or not seemed uncertain. 
* Ostia on the other hand, had drawn her citizens in and was preparing for a siege from the Bronze tide, perhaps hoping that they would be too costly to bother with. 
* Leotha a poorer trading port to the North of the Bay of Baruntulga seemed open, but its people too poor to mount any serious defence. 
As the Circle left Galatea asked if the Circle were responsible for the rescue of Tokel V’Neef. Both seemed quite heartened when the Circle answered in the affirmative; Tokel had apparently stayed with them awhile and taken lessons from Epimachus on his way to the family holdings in Lathe to the Southwest. As they left, Epimachus offered them one last word of caution about the forces of the Bronze Tide: "You are not the only Exalts in the Cinder Isles"They left and Reeds confronted Tokumei over her silence. She reassured him that her silence was a tactical choice, nothing more. She wanted to vanish in to the background in the presence of somebody who might potentially be in contact with her former owner. Tokumei also mentioned that the campaigns that the general referred to were largely against beastmen and other Anathema (a term which could include Fair Folk or even Exalts) threatening the roads in the area. 
They then left aboard the tornado, heading East over Chimuul. They could see below that the densely packed city was surrounded on both land and by sea, although the ships surrounding the bay were only the lightest of ships. Hephestia buzzed the Mygdon ships with the tornado as she came in, upsetting their rigging and Reeds noticed as they came in, that there were large shapes on the beach like huge shark eggs. The locals were cutting them open and from within stepped out white clad figures. They were the priestesses that Tokumei had helped aboard the ship. Hephestia cut people out of the pods and Tokumei ran over to hug Penelope. In a stroke of serendipity one of the priestesses, Fio - the girl who had been too scared to sing at Brasidus' command - was the daughter of Jassem Doumaz, who it appeared was the captain of the defences in Chimuul. They spoke and celebrated. The return of the Priestesses was seen as a justified miracle and heartened the defenders. And, as the afternoon sunset began, Tokumei stepped out and with a gesture and words of incandescent heat set the nearest ship violently ablaze. 
Continued in Part 3 - Together We Rise 
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