Exalted: The Mithra Chronicle
Thorns was a bustling city once. Now it is a forgotten wasteland of broken spires and mourning spirits, ruled by the skeletal fist of Mask of Winters. Not many remember Thorns as it once was, but we do. We stand as a testament to the willingness of the realm to betray it's own in an attempt to further it's useless internal struggles, a dying empire slaying other's in it's final throughs.
Adrian Koll. Savin, Prince of Sharadra. Malcolm.
The adventure, began like so many, in a bar. Adrian Koll, former gladiator turned bounty hunter, was tracking a blue eyes wanderer, a hustler and trickster. Close to his victory, two rival bounty hunters intervened, intent on claiming the bounty for themselves. The skills of a gladiator are not easily forgotten, and Adrian Koll was able to dispatch them with his two handed sword with ease, but unfortunately lost his prey. Weeks of work down the drain, he trudged back to a friends tavern to seek new work.
Not far away, in a fortress, an angry southern warrior and his massive, golden construct defender smashed into a sparsley defended outpost, and extracted some information from it's commander. Knowing the location of his sworn enemey, the slayer of his father, Savin of Sharadra turned north, to the metropolis of Thorns.
Immaculate Malcolm, formerly of house Cynis, had finished his sparring and exercises for the evening when he was summoned the chambers of Telemus, an Immaculate of the fifth coil. It seemed a powerful scion of house Ledaal was entering the city, and the Satrapy was in a buzz about it. Immaculate Telemus needed eyes and ears at the Cynis household that "advised" the prince of Thorns, to learn of what this rogue Ledaal intended, and suggested that Malcolm, a lowly mortal, take some time away from his studies, and gauge the piety of the Satrapy of Thorns. Immaculate Malcolm complied.
A massive parade and party celebrated the arrival of Ledaal Mithra, though Malcolm did not partake in the revelry. Instead, one of the advisors of Satrap Ajari, Ledaal Ashera, took him to her room to speak with him privately. It seemed that she was aware that Telemus had sent him, that she knew he must be a "Master of the Stars" like Telemus, and she sought his advise on current affairs, and about Ledaal Mithra. Confused, Malcolm played along. Another woman, the enchanting concubine of Mithra, also seemed to take an intense liking to Malcolm, often engaging him in conversation and debates in ethics.
It was night when Adrian arrived at the tavern. Janis had found work for him in the form of a teenaged Dynast. The unexalted girl was named Rhiana, of house Ledaal, and someone had tried to assassinate her sister Ashera. None in the palace would listen to her, dismissing any proof she could provide, and she, stubbornly, chose to fight for her sisters life. She needed him to help her investigate this case. At first, Adrian had no desire to involve himself in the affairs of the Dynasty, but with the realization that she would niavely travel into the bowels of Thorns alone, he chose to come with her, less as detective and more as protector. First, she took him to the palace, where she showed him where the assassination attempt had taken place. All signs of struggle had been eliminated, but Adrian did manage to find a small throwing dagger in a niche in a closet, hidden from casual view. He recognized it immediatly as belonging to a group of thugs, operated by a man named Turin. He told Rhiana as much, and they journeyed to the darker parts of the city to find him.
In the outskirts of Thorns, seeking refuge from his long trip, Savin enters a shody inn, and becomes aquinted with a disillusioned Dragon Blooded, Outcaste Shiro. Reluctantly setting aside his prejudices, Savin strikes a tenative friendship with the humourous and golden hearted drunk, and agrees to help track down a creature that is preying on the helpless in this poor area. Together, they discover the blood ape responsible, and defeat it, ensuring at least temporary safety. Grateful for the help, Shiro suggests that Savin hide his damning Orichalcum artifact, or others might wrongly think him Anathema.
The search for Turin proves useful, and a little strong arm questioning reveals that Turin, a mere mortal, was hired by a guildsmen, Bao-jin, to do a little scare tactics on the Dynast Ashera. The two seek out the corpulent Merchant Prince. In his presence, it becomes obvious that Bao-Jin has ill intentions towards Rhiana as his beady eyes leer at her youthful physique, but they are able to get him to agree to provide them some information, that Cynis Ajari, the Satrap, has some dealings in this dark affair, and asks to meet them tomorrow, as he will be able to provide proof. They agree, and bed down at an Inn.
Rhiana, outside of the cultured confines of they Dynasty headquarters, quickly becomes drunk, and confesses a secret crush on Adrian. Apparently, she had seen his exploits before, and had sought him out explicitly, because she was so enamored of his skill and independence. He, recognizing bad liqour talking when he hears it, lays her to bed, and sleeps in the next room, his mind swimming with the memory of the touch of her. His sleep is disturbed, however, by the sounds of interlopers. Quietly taking his sword, he realizes the sounds are coming from Rhiana's room, and rather than use the doors, he takes advantage of surprise and bashes through the poorly constructed walls between the rooms. Again, his gladiatorial skills serve him well, but no mortal can hope to best five to one odds, and he succumbs to his wounds, passing out as Turin and his henchmen kidnap Rhiana.
Waking, injured, in the confines of a cellar, held captive by Bao-Jin, Adrian and Rhiana struggle with the nature of their relationship, and the consequences of their actions, Rhiana for getting them in this predicament, and Adrian for failing her. After a few days, Bao-Jin makes his appearance, flanked by gaurds, and proceeds to indulge his desires for the young dynasts flesh. Injured though he is, Adrian rises up and manages to surprise and disarm one gaurd, quickly dispatching the other, astonished gaurd. Bao-Jin, at their mercy, begs for his life. This, Adrian grants, but Rhiana first uses her dagger to present Bao-Jin with his own manhood, so that he cannot attempt to harm her in such a way again.
Free again, the return to the palace, Rhiana wanting to help heal Adrian of his wounds, but the bounty hunter refuses. Their arguement is interrupted by Brywen, Mithra's concubine, who wishes to offer them some information. It seems that Cynis Ajari has incurred some vast debts. With the disappearance of the Empress and the disbanding of the Legions, it seems that Ajari has hatched a scheme to sell his Legion into slavery to the Guild, rather than simply disbanding them. Mithra has come to stop this, and Ashera discovered this, and the assassination attempt was to keep her quiet. Armed with this knowledge, Rhiana reluctantly dismisses Adrian from her services, agreeing to return tomorrow with the payment.
Malcolm returns from his sabbatical more confused than informed, and attempts to research the nature of these "Masters of the Stars". However, the Immaculate texts are unusually unreliable in this effort, and he begins to become aware that the texts have been altered, erasing all such mention. He confronts Telemus with this knowledge, who nods sagely, agrees to look into it, stonewalls any accusations, and sends him back into the Satraps palace.
Morning dawns, and with it, carnage. The Legion has discovered it's fate, from Rhiana's own mouth, and has rioted. Blood runs in the street as the Legion fights for it's survival. Savin, awoken by the sounds of battle, quickly charges to the head of the soldiers, leading them to the central palace of the Satrap that has betrayed them. Ledaal Mithra, regal in full Jade plate, greets them at the gates. Stepping forward, he joins the Dragon Blooded in putting down this revolt, and comes face to face with Savin and Gaurdian, his massive Oricalchum construct. Mithra makes short work of Gaurdian and Savin surrenders, rather than giving his enemy the honor of killing him, and is taken to the dungeons as a leader of the riot. The rest of the Legion is pacified, it's leaders arrested to be put on trial.
The Immaculate Order is asked to send a representative to the hearings on the Legion riots. Telemus chooses to send Malcolm to overwatch the hearings, and Malcolm soon finds himself uncomfortably aware that these men are being railroaded into an execution when Mithra steps in with new evidence. A testimony, a burned diary now restored, an account of her recent absences from the palace, all point to the legionaires being lied to by a traitor. Ledaal Rhiana. The evidence is solid, and it frees the Legionaires (they were duped). The niave Rhiana finds herself standing before the Lord of Thorns, and sentenced to a life in the same slavery that she used to incite the Legion into riot.
As everyone disbands, crowds gathering in the city center to watch the auctioning of this criminal Dynast, Malcolm watches as Mithra criticizes Ajari's handling of the Legion, and agrees to take them off of his incapable hands for a considerable sum of money...money that has all the markings of guild currency. Ajari agrees, and Mithra leaves Thorns with a Legion at his back.
Adrian awakes at the sounds of the raucus event going on in the city center. He steps outside to investigate, and is horrified to discover Rhiana's fate, as he sees the auction won by none other than the vengeful Bao-Jin. His mind full of memories of the horror of his own slavery, he struggles to get through the crowd, his mind spinning, feeling dizzy, sick, as the gaurds of Thorns hold him back, the sun flares in his vision and he exalts. In short order, Rhiana is in his arms, and he is long gone from the scene of carnage before a sufficient chase can be mustered.
Epilogue.
The convulutions of Mithra's plot are difficult to untangle. With the Realm in a state of decay, and the houses bickering as their empire collapses around them, Mithra chose to do something about it. However, he needed an army at his back to do this, and he chose the decadent Ajari's forces as his target. First, he needed to discredit Ajari, then he needed the money to pay for the Legion. It was not difficult to uncover Bao-Jin's obbsession with Rhiana, and thusly strike a pact to have her sold to him in exchange for the money to cover the Legions cost. Then he used her own curiousity of the assasination attempt he himself initiated (with the intent to fail) to covertly initiate a riot within the city. Then it was only a matter of presenting truths and fabricated evidence to bring the entire matter to a close. By sacrificing one girl, he was able to gain an army. However, his plot, noble intentions though they were, paved the way for the dark fate of Thorns.