#solar exalted

Merry Calibration to my Exalted Secret Santa giftee, @grimmjowjaegerjaquez! Here’s my take on Leno-Myraavi Khalil, a particularly anxious and polite Twilight Caste. Cecil mentioned making a comic of this character some day and I hope he will! Khalil intrigues me. I want to know more about his back tattoo and how he got it. A mark of his sorcerous initiation, perhaps?

I took cues from his iconic anima aura which is described as ‘eyes that look everywhere and nowhere arrayed like a peacock’s tail’. This was the perfect opportunity to test out Procreate’s Soft Pastel and inks for a Tarot-inspired style.

Thanks for organizing us @shiftingpath! It’s always fun to see what awesome art comes out each year.

In which the Circle celebrates a momentary victory that was never meant to last…in style!  Sidereals really know how to party!

Have you missed a recap? Want to catch up on the story so far and meet the cast of characters? Check out the Campaign Archive!

After the mad dash that left a Third Circle demon defeated in one blow, the Circle sets about helping the townsfolk clean up the destruction and chaos left in the demon’s path.

Chaos soothes the townsfolk, using his undeniable presence and a bit of visual illusion laced with essence to calm the people and convince them to go home where it’s safe, for the death of the creature had left a dangerous crater of bubbling corrupted essence that consumed anything that got close to it, even curious birds.

Using his knowledge of spiritual cleansing, Night Locust works with a Water Aspect to cleanse and calm the essence into a stable form. His act of heroism, alongside the helpful presence of the rest of the Circle, has convinced the local law enforcement, even the Dragonblooded among them, that these ‘Anathema’ might truly be there to help.

Somehow, during the purification process, the earth from within the crater combines with the remains of a bird into the essence of ‘sharp’, a bird that behaves and acts just like a bird, despite being made of diamond! The diamond bird takes refuge with Chaos Divide, who is the only one hardy enough to hold a being that cuts anything that tries to contain it, much to Kalara’s chagrin. A diamond bird would have been worth a lot of money to many or made a very impressive pet for her office! She requests to keep any feathers it might shed.

With calm returning to the town, the Circle finally takes a breath and heads to their appointment with the strange Sidereal they had met after the demon’s defeat. He had left them a magically imbued business card to negate the forgetfulness that would no doubt wipe him from their minds again in due time.

Along the way to the seedy part of town where the Sidereal had bade them to meet, Kalara notices that Demiato’s shoulder seems stiff as if she had been injured earlier during the commotion. Concerned, and more than a little surprised, Kalara asks what happened. Demiato, however, only admits to someone attempting to mug her earlier. Kalara doesn’t accept that as the full truth, but decides not to prod, leaving it at the thought of how brazen the muggers of Marita must be to try to assault THE General Demiato.

In truth, Demiato had been attacked by a member of the First Pulse while she had been out and about the town the day before. A skillful surprise attack that managed to surpass even the defense of her power armor had left her shoulder mildly injured. Her ‘welcome’ to the First Pulse ended with a sore shoulder and an invitation to their school as long as she came alone to their tournament and kept such things secret.

Finally, their journey through the seedy streets leads them to a rundown tavern. Right at home in the slums, Kalara slips into her Koh persona, playing on his fearsome and charismatic reputation as a Robin Hood figure to convince the owner of the establishment, a short, cranky Amabosar named Kowari, to welcome them in. Upon seeing Bara’s business card, Kowari immediately remembers the Sidereal as a regular customer and waves them inside.

Once inside, the doors shut behind them and the tavern opens up into another dimension filled with a wondrous bathhouse with every kind of room they could imagine! Kowari welcomes the Circle with drinks and keeps offering them ‘pleasant company’ to sate Koh’s rumored appetite for women, much to Kalara’s mild embarrassment in front of the rest of the Circle.

Finally, they find Bara in a private room in the bathhouse patiently awaiting their arrival. Despite not remembering much of him, the account of their alliance kept by Xesa convinces the Circle to take a chance at drinking the concoction Bara offers that might help them remember what they’ve forgotten about him…or possibly poison them.

Thankfully, the concoction works, letting the Circle remember all the trials and tribulations they’ve had alongside Bara, the invasion of Walker in Darkness, Bara coming to their defense by illegally leading an army through folding time and space, and their final meeting with him where Chejop Kejak dragged him away for disciplinary action.

Bara proudly displays a gold pin, announcing that he has changed factions from Bronze to Gold, which leaves the party to question what that actually means. He skirts around the detail that the Bronze faction destroys Solars who don’t tow the line, but proudly announces his opinion that the Circle has proven they can do a lot of good in this world and are not like their predecessors.

With their happy reunion settled, the Circle spends the rest of the night unwinding with Bara, who is more than happy to encourage a celebratory mood by summoning his friend White Feather, the Goddess of Intoxication, to help the Circle find an alcoholic beverage strong enough to get the Zenith, Chaos Divide, drunk, as he was just too damned hardy to ever feel the effects of alcohol like everyone else. The goddess is happy to oblige by providing Chaos with a drink that knocks even the towering Zenith for a loop, while also providing Kalara with an illegal drink and smoking herbs only available in Yu-shan that the Eclipse is more than happy to partake in, for she could never resist forbidden things and fine wines!

By the end of the night, Xesa is singing songs, Kalara is reading erotic books written by her former Soul Shard’s owner out loud to the Circle, and the rest of the Circle is pleasantly sloshed! Thankfully, nobody notes that in order for Kalara to have taken this erotic fiction from the secret library under their manse complex, she would have had to read it aloud to transcribe, as it was forbidden for anyone to physically remove books from the sanctum. Eventually, Night Locust disappears after a flirtatious Sylph courtesan, the drunk ninja encouraged by a grinning Kalara who always thought he needed to learn more ways to relax than meditation.

When the night finally winds down, Kalara finds herself alone with Demiato and decides that there’s no time like the present to find out why the Dawn Caste is always staring and blushing around her. She makes an embarrassingly strong and inebriated pass at the surprised commander, mincing no words that there’s no shame in acting on an attraction, whether there’s a serious relationship there or not.

Tongue-tied at first, Demiato politely withdraws, telling Kalara that she has no interest in one night stands and that she should come to her again when she’s sober. For once, the Eclipse Caste has nothing to say in response.

The members of the Circle either spend their night surprisingly alone, passed out in their rooms, or in the arms of a Sylph courtesan.

Meanwhile, Bara foots the bill on heaven’s dime. All in the name of a Sidereal day’s work!