Outside the bounds

THE COMPASS OF CELESTIAL DIRECTIONS, VOL. II—THE WYLD

of Creation, there
TM

exists an infinite
expanse of roiling
chaos that breaks
upon the shaped
world like a storm-
tossed sea against the
shore, threatening to
wear it away. Where
it does wear away,
reality breaks down
and savage denizens
of the chaos beyond
Creation dwell.

The second of five Celestial

Direction books devoted to
fleshing out the bare bones of
Creation’s supernatural locales
presented in the Exalted core
book, this book includes:
• Details of the dangers of
the Wyld, the kingdoms of
the Fair Folk and the savage
Wyld tribes
• Full rules for power-quest-
ing and mutations
• Traits for the Wyld’s native
inhabitants

ISBN-13: 978-1-58846-693-8 WW80216 $24.99 U.S.

WHITE WOLF
WW80216

PRINTED IN CANADA
www . w h i t e - w o l f . c o m / e x a l t e d
 Outside the bounds

THE COMPASS OF CELESTIAL DIRECTIONS, VOL. II—THE WYLD

of Creation, there
TM

exists an infinite
expanse of roiling
chaos that breaks
upon the shaped
world like a storm-
tossed sea against the
shore, threatening to
wear it away. Where
it does wear away,
reality breaks down
and savage denizens
of the chaos beyond
Creation dwell.

The second of five Celestial

Direction books devoted to
fleshing out the bare bones of
Creation’s supernatural locales
presented in the Exalted core
book, this book includes:
• Details of the dangers of
the Wyld, the kingdoms of
the Fair Folk and the savage
Wyld tribes
• Full rules for power-quest-
ing and mutations
• Traits for the Wyld’s native
inhabitants

ISBN-13: 978-1-58846-693-8 WW80216 $24.99 U.S.

WHITE WOLF
WW80216

PRINTED IN CANADA
www . w h i t e - w o l f . c o m / e x a l t e d
 TM

BY GENEVIEVE COGMAN, PETER SCHAEFER AND JOHN SNEAD

1
 CREDITS
Authors: Genevieve Cogman, Peter Schaefer and COMING NEXT:
John Snead
Comic Scripter: Carl Bowen
Storyteller Game System Design: Mark Rein•Hagen
Developers: John Chambers and Dean Shomshak
Editor: Scribendi.com
Art Direction: Brian Glass
Artists: Imaginary Friends (with Kevin Chin, Erfan
Fajar, Lan Jun Kang, Kenneth, Marc Lee, Garrie Mukha-
warman, Ben Qwek, Nicolas Stephan and Tze)
Cover Art: UDON with Chris Stevens, Mark Sinclair
and Jim Zubkavich
Book Design: Craig S Grant

COMING NEXT IN THIS SERIES:

THE COMPASS OF CELESTIAL DIRECTIONS,
VOL. III—YU-SHAN
THE MANUAL OF EXALTED POWER—
$24.99 160 PAGES THE LUNARS
The third of five books dedicated to the supernatural
locales of the Exalted setting, this supplement focuses on $31.99 240 PAGES
the Celestial City of Yu-Shan, home of the gods. Built Gifted with power by the Celestial Incarna Luna, the Lunar
by the Primordials as a refuge in which they might en- Exalted were once the mates of the Solar Exalted and trusted
joy the Games of Divinity at their leisure, while their stewards of the Old Realm. Then, after the Lawgivers went
subordinates tended to Creation, Yu-Shan was taken by mad with power and their Dragon-Blooded troops rose up
the gods as the spoils of the Primordial War. Home to a to slay them, the Lunars retreated to the edges of Creation,
massive Celestial Bureaucracy rife with corruption, the biding their time and massing their forces to one day bring
continent-sized city has since the Usurpation been the down the hated Realm. With the Solars returning en masse,
sole province of the Sidereal Exalted. Will the return of have the Lunars waited too long to bring down the old or-
the Solar Exalted upset the status quo of the Celestial der and replace it, or does the return of their ancient mates
City, for good or ill, or will the Chosen of the Maidens signal that the time is finally at hand for vengeance?
succeed in maintaining their monopoly on the resources
of Heaven?

© 2007 White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction without the written permission of
the publisher is expressly forbidden, except for the purposes of reviews, and for blank character sheets,
which may be reproduced for personal use only. White Wolf and Exalted are registered trademarks
of White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. The Compass of Celestial Directions, the Wyld, the Manual
of Exalted Powers the Lunars, the Age of Sorrows and the Second Age of Man are trademarks of
White Wolf, Inc. All rights reserved. All characters, names, places and text herein are copyrighted
by White Wolf, Inc.
The mention of or reference to any company or product in these pages is not a challenge to
the trademark or copyright concerned.
This book uses the supernatural for settings, characters and themes. All mystical and supernatu-
ral elements are fiction and intended for entertainment purposes only. This book contains mature
content. Reader discretion is advised.
Check out White Wolf online at http://www.white-wolf.com/
PRINTED IN CANADA

2
 TM

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
CHAPTER ONE: CREATION’S RIM 7
CHAPTER TWO: LIFE IN CHAOS 34
CHAPTER THREE: THE NORTHERN WYLD 67
CHAPTER FOUR: THE WESTERN WYLD 85
CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 102
CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 120
CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 138

3
4
 INTRODUCTION

For, you see, so many out-of-the-way things had happened

lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed
were really impossible.
—Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. II—The simply by its very nature. People who encounter the Wyld
Wyld is a setting book for the Exalted roleplaying come away changed, sometimes for the better, often for
game. This book contains detailed information about the worse and always away from human. Some victims
the Wyld, the catch-all term for the regions beyond change physically: they grow larger or smaller, spit acid,
Creation where reality becomes more fluid than solid. unsheathe claws or grow a second head. Other victims
Weaker Wyld zones have a few quirks, such as flammable return from the Wyld driven mad by their experiences.
granite or squirrels with sharp horns—small twists in Among the threats that the Wyld presents to Cre-
the natural way of things. Where the Wyld is stronger, ation, the Fair Folk are one of the greatest. They call
the surroundings become stranger: trees grow their themselves raksha and the Wyld Rakshastan. Though
roots into the sky instead of the ground, and crystal there are exceptions, most raksha wish to undermine the
toadstools emit spun-sugar spores. More natural laws constancy of Creation and reduce it to the same primal
bend, or even shatter, allowing life to blossom within chaos that birthed them. A Manual of Exalted Power
solid stone or causing water to boil when it’s cold and will explore the Fair Folk in more depth, but this volume
freeze when it’s hot. reveals many of their activities and households.
The Wyld waits beyond the farthest East, South, West Wyld mutants live in tribes and sometimes cities,
and North, a threat that picks at the stitches of the world usually in the regions nearest Creation or just inside

INTRODUCTION 5
 the borders of the Wyld. Their customs and habits are You can use The Compass of Celestial Directions,
incredibly varied. Some Fair Folk present obvious dangers Vol. II in a core game focusing on the Solar Exalted
because they practice cannibalism or human sacrifice. without difficulty, and this book vastly expands the infor-
A few of these strange tribes could potentially become mation about the Wyld presented in Chapters One and
allies to Creation. However, most Wyld cultures are Seven of Exalted. If the Wyld is already in your game,
too improbable to live within Creation; they can only this supplement will be a great help.
survive in realms of dream and madness. The magical Other supplements will draw extensively on this one.
reality of Creation allows a great deal, but draws the line Just as The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. I—The
at people with jack-o’-lantern heads or who can speak Blessed Isle is incredibly useful for playing Dynasts of
only in rhyme. the Realm, this book can add a lot of information and
Lunar Exalted also frequent the Wyld. They use the depth to the Lunar Exalted or the Fair Folk.
Wyld as a tool and a haven, since their moonsilver tattoos Chapter One: Creation’s Rim
protect them absolutely from the chaos’ body-warping This chapter describes the nature of the Wyld, includ-
effects. From their territories at the rim of the world, ing how it deepens from Creation into Pure Chaos. Also
they fight off dangers from beyond. included is a brief history of the Wyld, focusing on the
But the Wyld is more than just a mindless threat. It is assault on Creation during the Great Contagion.
an adventure opportunity for any Exalted character. The Chapter Two: Life in Chaos
Wyld abounds in lost ruins, treasures and strange peoples Many different entities live within the Wyld: the
just waiting to be discovered. The Lawgivers of old made Fair Folk, societies of mutants, Lunar Exalted and even
treaties with the Fair Folk that accomplished sweeping stranger things. This section deals with how they survive
changes in their relationships. Mutant societies wait to and what they do out there.
be stopped from their hideous misdeeds or converted Chapters Three Through Six: The Wyld Directions
to a character’s cause. The Lunar Exalted (who become Each cardinal direction (except the center direction)
fully fleshed characters of their own in The Manual of receives its own treatment in these four chapters. Because
Exalted Power—The Lunars) can fight threats to Creation the elemental poles influence the nature of the Wyld,
on their own, or they can become potential allies for each chapter describes the unique environments that arise
returning Solars or outcaste Dragon-Blooded. when each element mixes with chaos. This information
is as up-to-date and thorough as it can be for lands whose
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK only constant is change.
This book is of limited use without the core Exalted Chapter Seven: Wyld Prodigies
game book. Admittedly, you can find a lot of neat ideas The Wyld doesn’t just affect the land; it also affects
herein that have nothing to do with the Exalted rules people and animals. This chapter describes how Wyld
and everything to do with bizarre, fantasy-chaos realms societies seek power or wisdom in chaos, and provides
where weird things happen. They are tied into the Exalted more Wyld-induced mutations and mental derangements.
cosmology, but you can work around that. The Wyld The chapter concludes with a selection of creatures,
breaks boundaries, even of game systems! sample beastmen and rules for playing beastman and
Wyld mutant characters.

6
CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 7
 CHAPTER ONE
CREATION’S
CREATION’S RIM

The Wyld consists of the unstable realm between ful force prevents it. In particular, people change. Some
Creation and Chaos. Creation operates by natural and people find their bodies changing in strange and often
supernatural rules: animals grow and rocks don’t; water horrible ways. Others remain human in form, but the
freezes when it’s cold and boils when it’s hot. Chaos Wyld warps their spirits into perverse insanities. People
operates by no rules at all. Nothing about Chaos is defin- who spend too much time in the Wyld suffer both sorts
able in any way humans could understand. In the Wyld, of change and become bizarre, savage monsters.
these two realities mix. For all of this endless and chaotic change, however, the
The entities of Creation are defined by their qualities: Wyld lacks true creativity. Even the most exotic beast of
their size, shape, substance, color and so on. The taint the Wyld is merely a variation of some beast in Creation,
of Chaos breaks apart these qualities and recombines or jumbles together the forms of different creatures. They
them. In the Wyld, the boulders can be made of flesh may combine two or more animals (such as the finned,
and the animals of stone. The rain falls up, or fire is serpentine ice wyrms of the North), animals and plants
cold. Humans become beasts. Beasts become humans. (such as the creatures of the East that grow on trees) or
Grass grows the size of trees, while trees grow the size of even animals and natural features (such as the vast living
grass—for a while, until they all become something else. islands of the far Western sea). The landscape is much
Nothing is sane. Nothing is safe. the same: portions of the Wyld sometimes spontaneously
Anything brought into the Wyld becomes part of transform themselves to look like regions in Creation
it—quickly or slowly, but inevitably, unless some power- from the present, the past or maybe yet to come. Every

8
hut and every insect in the Wyld duplicates something in live your dreams. Some visitors become parodies of their
Creation, combines several existing creatures or objects former selves, archetypes of heroes or villains, warriors
and maybe warps the result as in a funhouse mirror. or lovers—perfect, the way only a character in a story can
The Wyld’s changes look random. Behind the chaos, be perfect, but no longer human.
however, lurks a secret order. The Wyld follows laws of The Wyld is different things to different people.
meaning and story. The conscious desires of the enigmatic To the sheltered peasants who live in the Realm, the
Fair Folk cause many of the land’s changes and shifts, but Wyld is everything outside their protected heartland
the Wyld responds to any visitor. People who visit the of Creation: the barbarian marauders, the soul-stealing
Wyld find it echoing their hopes and desires… or their Fair Folk, the abhorrent lands of Chaos where nothing
nightmare fears. The Wyld tries to make them characters has fixed shape or form, and insanity reigns. It is the
in stories—but it shatters the plots into madness. anarchy beyond civilization, not ruled by the appointed
And yet, people do go into the Wyld. Its ceaseless Princes of the Earth.
change offers treasures beyond description. The Wyld can To the educated Terrestrial Exalted, or to savants who
give you anything you want. Gold and jewels, fruits unlike live in kingdoms nearer the edges of the world, the Wyld
any tasted before, strange flowers, drugs that produce is a boundary between actual existence and unformed
miraculous effects, birds and animals that would fetch potential. They classify the Wyld into degrees of danger
fortunes from collectors, slaves, followers, unconquered they can name, understand—and, often, underestimate.
lands to rule… the imagination has no limits. People who think that they control the Wyld because
The looser reality of the Wyld also enables strong- they can describe a few aspects of its nature are often
willed people to see distant places, other times or the proved painfully wrong.
secrets hidden in the human heart. A very lucky person To some creatures, however, the Wyld is home.
might emerge from the Wyld with powers denied to mere Barbarian tribes that roam the fringes of Creation
humans—perhaps even the power to wield Essence. The often step beyond its borders. They might not want to—but
greatest temptation of the Wyld, however, is the chance to sometimes they don’t have a choice. They live in the teeth

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 9

 of the Wyld, casting defiance at it or incorporating it into
their customs and mythologies. Some barbarians are still
THE HISTORY OF THE WYLD
The sages of Heaven say the Pure Chaos of the Wyld
fully human, in body and mind; others are twisted in
always existed. It held the potential for everything, the
body, or mind or both. Groups of beastmen grow and
actuality of nothing. Chaos had no beginning or bounds;
prosper at the Wyld’s edge, bred from mingled human
time and space were unknown, for no distinctions existed
and Lunar stock, created by sorcery or warped from
to define “here” from “there” or “now” from “then.” But
humanity by the taint of chaos.
it held intelligences that gods and mortals cannot hope
The mythic Lunars walk through the world’s rim like
to understand. Men call these entities the Fair Folk when
gods. In the Wyld, the shapeshifting Lunars can become
they enter Creation.
war-leaders, advisors, rulers and even deities. They were
For reasons unknown even to the gods, mighty beings
human once, but Luna chose them to work her will in
arose in Chaos. A few divine philosophers speculate that
the world and gave them power like unto gods. In the
these Primordials consisted of vast conglomerations of
First Age, they were the Exalted partners of the Solars.
Fair Folk who welded their souls together into a few dozen
The Lunars fled to the boundaries of the world to escape
entities of unimaginable power. Other scholars speculate
the Usurpation and the hosts of the Dragon-Blooded.
that the Wyld itself evoked the Primordials by mere chance.
Now some Lunars preserve the ancient ways, while oth-
Regardless of their origin, the Primordials were vastly more
ers plot to regain their old dominions; some protect and
powerful than the grandest of the current princes and
educate mortals, while others use, hunt and discard them.
queens of Chaos. By their will, the Primordials shaped
If the Lunars move to the designs of their changeable
a realm of solid reality and forged unchanging laws that
patron goddess, then those plans are unknown to both
eternally bound its form. Here, time always flowed in a
the hidden Sidereals and the deities who watch from
single direction. Dropped objects fell downward. Plants
Earth and Heaven.
grew in the ground, and animals fed upon both them and
Then there are the Fair Folk—the beautiful, soul-
each other. Souls passed from life to death and back to
eating monsters that come in from outside Creation to
life again. Gods and elementals gave consciousness to the
devour, pervert or simply enjoy the structured world.
flows of Essence that permeated Creation, so that Chaos
Few beings can see the Fair Folk’s true form, and fewer
could not reclaim the Primordials’ handiwork.
would want to. They are collections of feeding maws and
The denizens of Chaos hated the newly formed so-
Essence repositories, united in whorls of chaos. Fair Folk
lidity of Creation. No longer did they dwell in timeless,
in Creation must use Charms to create physical existences
formless perfection. Creation’s rule-bound existence
for themselves, or they sublimate into nothingness from
horrified beings who had never known division into Self
the sheer pressure of shaped reality.
and Other, or Real and Not-Real. In shaping Creation,
Like much about them, the term “Fair Folk” is a
the Primordials also gave definition to its opposite. The
human invention appropriated by the raksha (their
Courts of Madness sought to destroy Creation, but the
own name for themselves). The raksha lack creativity,
Primordials rebuffed their most fearsome attacks.
so they copy. They lack innovation, so they steal. They
After the gods and Exalted overthrew the Primordials,
lack structure, so they imitate. And they lack souls, so
the Ones Beyond hoped once more to end the blasphemy
they devour them. They attempt to live inside epic stories
of Creation and restore the perfection of formlessness.
where they are hero, villain, protagonist, antagonist, lover,
They found, however, that while each Exalt was individu-
betrayer or some other vital part of a self-created legend.
ally less mighty than the Primordials, the Exalted were
They call the Wyld Rakshastan, a mad playing-field for
many. Their Charms, spells and weapons destroyed the
their mad games.
invading Fair Folk by the thousands.
Other creatures dwell in the Wyld, too. Gods, ghosts
During the first centuries of the Old Realm, all the
and demons may find themselves trapped in the Wyld,
various Exalted worked together to construct thousands
or flee there to avoid some worse fate. The Wyld itself
of magical jade obelisks. They placed these obelisks a few
generates strange beasts and monsters without number;
miles from Creation’s edge as a mystic barrier against
some are intelligent and could almost be called people.
attacks from the Wyld. The completed ring protected
Just as the Fair Folk, however, most of the Wyld’s natives
all of Creation.
are too improbable to live in Creation. They can only
As the Celestial Exalted grew in power, they turned
survive in a land of dreams… a land that became much
their sights upon the Wyld and wrought the edges of the
wider almost eight centuries ago.
Wyld into new portions of Creation. As they pushed

10
back the borders of the Wyld, the Exalted built new obe- Creation, so the Celestial Exalted often left reality engines
lisks to stabilize these newly formed lands. Meanwhile, in place to protect border settlements. Finally, a new jade
the older obelisks remained in their original position. obelisk was placed in a geomantically favorable portion
Some ended up more than a thousand miles from the of the new territory. This obelisk removed the need to
edge of the Wyld. guard the region or protect it with a reality engine. Later,
ties of commerce and Essence would subtly bind the new
territory to the rest of Creation.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE ANCIENT WYLD When the Dragon-Blooded overthrew the power-mad
During the Old Realm and the Shogunate, the Anathema and formed the Shogunate, they lacked the
Wyld did not exist in its present form. Creation and means to expand the boundaries of Creation. At this time,
Chaos were far more distinct than they are now. the Fair Folk began to plan and hope that they might
There were no tainted lands, because the Wyld reclaim the regions they had lost and end the blasphemies
did not ebb and flow over the edges of Creation. of form and limitation. However, the armies and magics
A thin shell of Deep Wyld began just outside the of the Shogunate still proved too powerful. While the
outer ring of jade obelisks. Beyond that lay the Fair Folk won a few minor victories, the Dragon-Blooded
eternal flux of Pure Chaos. A hero could travel usually held their own against even the massed hordes of
from Creation’s bounds to the Courts of Madness the Fair Folk. The Lunar Exalted, exiled to the edge of the
in a single day. world after the Usurpation, likewise defeated many inva-
sions the Dragon-Blooded never suspected. The network
of jade obelisks also continued to destroy any Fair Folk
Out in the Deep Wyld, the Exalted fought their battles who came more than a few miles inside Creation, if the
against the Fair Folk. Much less often, the Exalted met invaders could not topple them quickly enough.
ambassadors to negotiate treaties between the rulers of Although the Dragon-Blooded of the Shogunate
Creation and the Courts of Madness. The Fair Folk oc- lacked Charms to forge the raw Wyld into Creation and
casionally won a battle during the long millennia of the could not manufacture their own protective jade obelisks,
First Age. Greater losses always followed these victories, they could use existing reality engines. Occasionally, they
as the ever-more-powerful Celestial Exalted, aided by their could even repair damaged ones. So, they could safely
Dragon-Blooded armies and increasingly powerful arti- launch attacks far into the Wyld and swiftly counter
facts, gradually pushed back the frontiers of the Wyld. The any attempt by the Fair Folk to mass an offensive on the
victories of the Solar Deliberative significantly expanded borders of Creation.
the boundaries of Creation, but also redoubled the resolve The Contagion changed all that. With almost nine
of the Fair Folk. Some of the Ones Beyond began to fear out of 10 people dead, the Shogunate in ruins and the
that Creation would consume their home entirely. sudden appearance of shadowlands weakening the very
These epic battles became the subject of detailed fabric of Creation, the Fair Folk saw an unprecedented
military histories and fantastic tales—and modern schol- opportunity. They gathered a vast army and launched an
ars cannot tell which is which. However, the process of attack around the entire border of Creation. Some Fair
expanding Creation always stayed much the same. First, Folk took forms similar to the ones they saw in Creation,
the Exalted slew the Fair Folk or drove them out of the the better to withstand its deadly force of order: some
portions of the Wyld the Exalted wished to make part of of men, and some of mad fusions of whatever creatures
Creation. Then, the Solar Exalted used powerful Charms caught their notice. They shaped more warriors—immense
to transform the Wyld into Creation. behemoths, hordes of hobgoblins—from the raw potential
The Copper Spiders built powerful mechanisms of the Wyld. Other Fair Folk remained unshaped so
known as reality engines to aid these efforts. These devices they could wield their full, awful power. Even weakened
temporarily extended the stability of Creation around by the newly formed shadowlands, the network of jade
the attackers, allowing them to venture deep into the obelisks slew the entire first wave of the attack, but this
Wyld. Once the Exalted won the battle, they combined mass of hobgoblins and Fair Folk managed to destroy
the power of their reality engines with the might of their many of the jade obelisks even as their own substance
Wyld-altering Charms, reinforcing these Charms’ effects was rent asunder. Although thousands of Fair Folk died,
and extending their range. The Fair Folk sometimes they wrecked the network of obelisks in less than a day.
launched suicidal attacks into newly formed regions of Creation lay open to the armies of Chaos.

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 11

 Madness swept in from the borders of the world. the Empress is gone. The princes and queens of Chaos
In the vanguard came the Fair Folk who had accepted look upon the Creation they hate, and once more plan
form to destroy form. Behind them came the unshaped its ending.
raksha, each one dissolving dozens of miles of Creation
as it passed. The surviving Dragon-Blooded massed in GEOGRAPHY OF MADNESS
their legions. The Lunar Exalted emerged from their hid- Creation is a huge continent in a vast, endless sea of
den redoubts at the world’s edge to pursue the Fair Folk Pure Chaos. The Wyld is effectively the coastal marshes,
from the rear. The Sidereals descended from Heaven to skerries and the continental shelf of Creation: neither
pit their matchless martial arts against the invaders from the static reality of Creation nor the uncontrolled lunacy
beyond. They all fought bravely, and died, and the hordes of Pure Chaos, but a mixture of both.
of Chaos moved inward toward the Blessed Isle. The Wyld falls into three rough categories: the Bor-
At last, a Dragon-Blooded officer activated the dermarches, the Middlemarches and the Deep Wyld.
long-quiescent defense grid of the Imperial manse. The Beyond that lies Chaos, where the unshaped Fair Folk
awesome power of this artifact swiftly laid waste to the dwell, and the elemental poles, pure expressions of Fire,
Fair Folk host and drove the survivors out of Creation. Air, Water and Wood. The Wyld has also flooded over
Although the Fair Folk were defeated, their attack part of Creation and receded, leaving it changed: these
forever changed the structure of Creation. No longer was “tainted lands” are not truly part of the Wyld itself,
it a vast region surrounded by a thin bubble of Deep Wyld though they warn of its power. They are regular in their
and floating in Pure Chaos. Instead, this attack eroded instability, fixed and bordered.
enormous swathes of territory and transformed these The Bordermarches are the periphery of the Wyld,
lands into regions with varying admixtures of Chaos and where the shallow waters of Chaos ebb and break on the
Creation. This broad intermediate zone is what people of shores of reality. The forces and forms of Creation still
the Age of Sorrows now know as the Wyld. The Fair Folk dominate the Bordermarches; they are warped rather than
attack also tore holes in Creation to create pockets of the entirely changed. Barbarian and beastmen tribes dwell
Wyld throughout the Threshold. Bound to both Creation here, as do those raksha who like the taste of Creation
and the surrounding Pure Chaos, these Wyld pockets without fully being a part of it.
and newly created Bordermarches and Middlemarches Beyond and around the Bordermarches lie the
became home to the exiled Lunar Exalted, the Fair Folk Middlemarches, where the Wyld has made the landscape
who had taken form during the course of the attack and malleable and reality is like wax, soft and easily sculpted.
a multitude of Wyld mutants and beastmen. Here dwell the majority of the raksha and other creatures
Today, the Wyld continually ebbs and flows around strange and potent enough to survive the shifting world
the edges of Creation. The Wyld is the most active and around them.
the most dangerous in the West, with boundaries just a Further out yet lies the Deep Wyld, where even the
little more stable in the harsh North. The Wyld is least raksha, creatures of Chaos as they are, find themselves
active in the East, and moderately so in the South. The endangered. Here the unshaped roam, and bedlam rules.
reason for these differences in stability is quite simple: One’s surroundings change with every passing second,
the West is the least populous portion of the Threshold, and outside the sanctuaries ruled by the lords of this
while the East is the most. The prayers and dreams of realm—who are, of course, as insane as the place itself—or
each and every mortal provide a tiny bulwark against the occasional fragment of solidity, the world is a sea of
the eternal chaos that seeks to destroy Creation. This rolling change and madness.
is one of the major reasons why the Great Contagion Beyond the Deep Wyld lies pure Chaos, the utter
made Creation so much more vulnerable to attack by antithesis of reality. Here dwell things that are as alien
the Fair Folk. to the raksha as the raksha are to mortals. The gods
In some regions, the Wyld slowly retreats and Cre- themselves dare not travel here.
ation reasserts itself. Most of the Wyld, however, defies
all the power of mortals, Exalted and gods. North and CENTRAL TRAITS
South, East and West, chaos still erupts from the Wyld, Any location in the Wyld has a few distinct themes or
in the form of Fair Folk, mad barbarians and monsters images that you can describe in a few paragraphs. These
out of dream and nightmare. The Empress herself could are the central traits of the place. Regardless of how the
not force back the Wyld—only stop its advance. Now place shifts and alters itself, these traits do not change;

12
 must encounter between your starting point and your
TIDE OF MADNESS destination. In the Wyld, a traveler can study a rock and
Remember that the Wyld shifts according to the
force it through observation or memory to take on color
phases of the moon. During the full moon, the Wyld
and quality—but, by default, the rock has none. Those
rises, submerging the Bordermarches till they are as
present at a waypoint can interact with the world and
fluid as the Middlemarches, and the Middlemarches
have more detailed interactions with one another.
till they are as changeable as the Deep Wyld; during
Journeys carry travelers in the Wyld through regions
the new moon, the Wyld ebbs in turn. For those
thin in shape and form, where very little happens or can
who must travel the Wyld, the new moon is the
happen. They are just travel. Waypoints are the important
safest time of the month to do so.
locations where things happen. At the waypoint in a
journey, two enemies meet, a hero encounters the old
they represent the essential nature of that location. This woman who can give him a vital clue to his quest or a
book’s descriptions of specific Wyld locations give their heroine reaches an uncrossable chasm that she must
central traits. A location’s central traits can only change nevertheless somehow cross. These temporary grains of
if a Celestial Exalted or one of the Fair Folk deliberately stability, such as the speck of sand at the heart of a pearl,
transforms it. coalesce meaning around them and force the Wyld to
The natural changes that regularly occur in all conform to the needs of wanderers, forming into the
portions of the Wyld do not affect these traits. How- structured patterns of stories, of desire and destiny.
ever, anything that is not directly related to a location’s As a rule of thumb, each period of Storyteller-nar-
central traits can and does change on its own. In the rated travel is a journey, and the Storyteller’s narration
Bordermarches, these changes happen gradually and are represents almost the entire experience. In the reaches
relatively superficial. In the Middlemarches, the changes of the Wyld, “You travel for a few days through a land
can include everything not set by the statement of central of rock and low brush carved out of singing crystal,” is
traits. Even the cities and towns within Fair Folk domains a complete experience. If the traveler has the Charms
change—their streets wind in different paths, architectural or the powers to survive the journey itself, then days
details of buildings change and in the Middlemarches, (or minutes or hours) of passage can be summarized in
even the locations of buildings relative to each other can a single descriptive sentence. This may be a description
shift dramatically. Nothing stays the same unless some of easy travel, such as, “You ride for hours across the
powerful entity compels this. plains, seeing only the tumbleweeds and hearing only
The Deep Wyld is different. It contains no stable the wind,” or a more difficult passage such as, “You scale
locations that are not artificially maintained. No single the mountain, clambering up amid the howling storm,
place within the Deep Wyld has any central traits except until you reach the plateau.” It may even be utterly ap-
for its elemental direction. Even this much consistency propriate to the Wyld: “You run across the sword-edge
surpasses the Pure Chaos beyond Creation, which has that bridges the abyss, and on the other side your sworn
no central traits at all. enemy meets you.” The journey itself doesn’t matter;
only its beginning and its end.
WAYPOINTS SCOPE OF THE WYLD
Where reality frays, the relationship between places Rakshastan is a kingdom of madness and illusion,
becomes fluid. The Wyld doesn’t so much have geogra- but the eroding substrate of Creation gives the Wyld a
phy as it does loosely related locations of significance. measurable, if rather flexible, size. The Bordermarches
Distance in the Wyld is measured not in miles, but in of Rakshastan are about 20 waypoints wide, and the
experience—the layers of myth, chaos and change that Middlemarches form a belt some 60 waypoints thick
one must pass to reach one’s destination. The raksha beyond that. At the far edge of the Middlemarches, the
measure distances in periods of journey and in waypoints, Deep Wyld is about 20 waypoints wide. Beyond that lie
and other creatures follow their example: in the lands the infinite wastes of Pure Chaos, where waypoints no
of madness, sometimes the mad are the best guides. longer exist. Fair Folk culture, such as it is, lies in these
Where distances change, and locations flux, and no concentric rings of half-shaped, half-warped lands; there
map is the same from one day to another, you cannot is never a moment when some tribe, household or court
speak of places as so many miles apart; you can only is not struggling to maintain its hold on its territory, or
speak of the landmarks and scenes of importance you plotting to seize lands from another group.

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 13

 WYLD ZONE GENERATOR
Storytellers can use the following ideas to generate Wyld areas on short notice, from tainted lands to the
Deep Wyld. When using these conditions described below to create tainted lands, assume that these condi-
tions once held sway over this section of Creation and that only a few small remnants remain. The further
out into the Wyld the region being created is, the more the listed traits will dominate the appearance and
nature of the region.

BASIC GEOGRAPHY
The physical structure of the Wyld zone takes one of the following forms:
Color. Some feature of the area is a non-standard color, such as purple sand or scarlet trees. Maybe every-
thing is the same color, or in shades of gray.
Geometric Forms. Instead of natural, irregular forms, some aspect of the Wyld zone assumes an unnatu-
ral regularity as straight, curved or jointed rods, disks, polygons, flat planes, spheres, cones, cylinders, torus,
helix, crescents, Möbius strips or even stranger shapes.
Land Forms. The Wyld zone is based on some particular natural form such as ocean, river, swamp, tundra,
forest, hills, mountains, desert, badlands, boulders, islands, canyons, caverns or craters.
Man-Made Forms. Something in the Wyld zone imitates a modern or First Age metropolis (ruined or
intact), or takes some other artificial form such as pagodas, temples, castles, tombstones, clockwork, a First
Age factory-cathedral, furniture or kitchen tools.
Mythic. The entire region is specifically designed as the setting of a particularly fantastic myth or story.
Organic Forms. Something, or everything, in the Wyld zone mimics the shape of a human, some kind
of animal, bird or fish, insects or other lower creatures, plants or body parts such as eyes, hands, mouths,
tentacles, heads, viscera or bones.
Reified Desire. The landscape expresses a single emotion or desire, such as rage, hunger or lust. Every-
thing there represents this theme in some vividly direct manner, for example, a forest of carnivorous plants
that attempt to devour anything that comes near them or a town filled with animate food that walks up and
begs newcomers to eat it.
Scale. Some aspects of the landscape are much larger or much smaller than normal. Perhaps the
landscape is alive and made of one or more vast animals or plants. One dimension might be stretched or
compressed: for instance, trees grow impossibly tall or no taller than waist-high—but completely normal in
every other dimension.
Strange Materials. The landscape, plants or animals are made of some unusual material: sand dunes
made of sawdust, plains of living, hairy flesh and so on. Consider stone, metal, glass, soil, gelatin or slime,
water or other liquids, fire, clouds, living flesh, bone or foodstuffs.

FLORA AND FAUNA

The plants and animals in a Wyld zone might follow a theme as well.
Collective Organisms. Creatures can separate into smaller creatures, such as animals that disperse into
small, flying ants when threatened.
Hybrids. Plants contain elements of different plant species, animals are made of parts of different animals
from Creation (such as gryphons or beastmen). Perhaps there is no distinction between plants and animals:
trees, shrubs and herbs move around, or animals have leaves. The plants and animals may all possess various
elemental traits, such as wings of flame, shells made of stone or metal or feathers of ice.
Speech. Animals or plants can speak, and some or all may be intelligent.
Unifying Trait. The flora or fauna appear relatively normal, but they are all the same color, they all have
snake scales or they all have three eyes.
Warped. The flora and fauna appear in some way twisted or distorted, often in a truly hideous fashion,
such as a land where animals appear to lack skins and all of their muscles and organs are clearly visible.

14
 LOCATING WAYPOINTS
THE MECHANICS OF TRAVEL In the Wyld, distance consists of waypoints passed.
When beings of Creation use Charms to This means that raksha, and others who travel in the
speed travel through the Wyld, they force it into a Wyld, do not so much go to a particular place as travel for
shape much like their own native milieu. In such a particular purpose. They don’t go out into the wilderness
circumstances, each journey between waypoints just to travel 10 miles out and then back again; they go
corresponds to 30 miles. In the Wyld, without influ- out to hunt, to meet an ally or enemy, to prospect for
ence from Creation or the Creation-born, a journey treasure or some other reason.
can occupy anywhere from minutes to days. If two people meet in the Wyld, and neither had any
Fair Folk characters can survey the local Wyld definite plans about where they should meet, then the
by having their players roll (Perception + Awareness). waypoint reflects their mental states and desires, and by the
Success lets them identify major features—raksha, nearest elemental pole. Two lovers who yearn to meet for
unshaped, freeholds, wandering behemoths, Lunar a passionate rendezvous in the West may find each other
Exalted and so forth—as far away as the Storyteller on a convenient island with happy, flower-clad islanders,
permits. With one success, they can identify known blossoming groves and bowers decked with singing birds.
raksha and freeholds and roughly assess others’ (Of course, this does assume that the traveler has some
movements and condition. Three or more successes way of traversing the environment in the first place.) A
give data equivalent to a close but quick visual ex- pair of bitter enemies seeking each other in the North
amination. Players of Exalted characters can oppose may come face-to-face across a field of splintered ice,
this with a (Conviction + Stealth) roll. crisscrossed with thin bridges. A hero seeking guidance in
However, the biggest trick that the Fair Folk the South may find it at a lost oasis, where an old woman
have (and that others can master) is not so much sits and weaves a tapestry of serpents beside a dry well. A
to travel between waypoints as to adjust where a wanderer looking for adventure in the East finds it above
waypoint is. In Bordermarch waypoints adjacent to the treetops, in a wide clearing bounded by huge leaves,
Creation, a raksha can slide the waypoint along the where jungle cats prowl in the shadows and a questing
interface between the Wyld and Creation. To travel cataphract demands her name and allegiance.
in this manner, the raksha must spend a point of Waypoints are parts of stories. They do not necessarily
Willpower, and the player must roll (Intelligence + have to make sense in terms of plausible geography (as in,
Craft [Glamour]) at difficulty 3. For every success could there be a village here, or how can there be a field
the player rolls, the raksha may slide her location of blades there); but they must be appropriate to the story.
100 miles along the edge of Creation while staying When characters move around in the Wyld with direction
in the same waypoint, up to a maximum of 1,000 and intention, they unconsciously draw to themselves
miles. Fae-Blooded mortals can also perform similar whatever would give meaning and drama to their actions.
feats of mobility. A waypoint will be thematically appropriate to a scene,
whether the participants consciously desire it or not.
Naturally, waypoints in the Bordermarches are more If someone in the Wyld states an intention to meet
stable than ones in the Middlemarches, and waypoints another person at a specified location, such as “near the
in the Deep Wyld form and dissolve in a single scene. village of flesh-potters,” “in the poison forest” or “on the
Just because the landscape temporarily remains solid lip of the volcano,” and if the area of the Wyld is stable
enough for an encounter doesn’t mean that it’s going enough for such a place to continue to exist, then the
to make life easy for the raksha—or anyone else—who place where they meet becomes a waypoint that happens
passes through. Perhaps a conversation is best carried to have those characteristics. However, this can only
out on the edge of an ocean, or halfway up a cliff. An happen in the Bordermarches, or in more stable parts of
encounter with an enemy might take place atop a range the Middlemarches; further out, the Wyld becomes too
of bending bamboo spikes, while a horde of raving white unstable for travelers to find any waypoint twice.
monkeys charges from the North. Maybe the wooden Deeper into the Middlemarches, or even the Deep
walls of the house where the characters take shelter from Wyld, waypoints become more impressionist and less
the storm are in fact the stomach lining of a large and plausible in how they imitate Creation. A precipice is
well-camouflaged behemoth, and they have kindled their impossibly high and looks down on impossibly sharp
fire directly above its liver. rocks, or over a sea of living blood. A forest may be nothing

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 15

 but background, vague trees in green and brown without interchanged, and known waypoints close to the borders
clear definition or identifiable as a precise species—just of Creation moving from where they have previously been
the idea of a forest—or it may be impossibly detailed and used for meetings or trade. The Guild cannot rely upon
vivid, with every leaf a different shape and forcing you to known waypoints for their expeditions into the Wyld to
notice its uniqueness. A lake is the very lake the traveler trade slaves with the raksha, or to secure exotic goods;
remembers from her childhood, and the lotuses blossom they can only travel and hope.
just as they did when she first left home. The bamboo
trees overhead are sculpted from silver and emerald, and TAINTED LANDS
each leaf has a different proverb carved on it. Throughout most of Creation, the border between
In the Bordermarches, and even in the Middlemarch- the Wyld and Creation is unstable. Every month, the
es, some waypoints correspond roughly to geographical border can shift by as much as a dozen miles, changing
locations, in that they have a particular description and with the phases of the moon. The occasional Wyld storm
tend to be generally the same whenever they are visited. can blow hundreds of miles into Creation. In the West,
They also have stable connections to other waypoints. the borders of the Wyld are even more unstable and can
These are usually associated with a particular Fair Folk shift several miles with the daily tides. In addition to
domain. Other inhabitants can also stabilize a waypoint these short-term variations, conflicts with the Fair Folk
through their attention and expectation that their home or powerful magical forces can send the Wyld sweeping
shall remain the same. Frequent visitors from Creation over part of Creation for a time, or force the Wyld to
may also stabilize a waypoint. Such waypoints tend to withdraw for months, decades or, on rare occasions,
slide inwards toward Creation itself, dragging the sur- permanently. Regions that the Wyld has touched but
rounding environment with them. gave back to Creation are known as “tainted lands.” They
One final problem with such waypoints is that the remain strange places long after they have fully stabilized.
raksha’s ability to slide them along the edge of Creation Although tainted lands no longer partake of the Wyld’s
can result in temporarily stable areas of the Wyld being eternal change, they bear its marks forever after.

16
 similar strange events are moderately common. Humans
POSSIBLE MINOR WAYPOINTS are not exempt, either.
• A ruined temple to one of the characters, over-
On the other hand, plants and animals from the
grown with vines
Wyld can survive in such tainted lands far more easily
• A chasm with a rickety rope bridge over a river
than in the rest of Creation. A creature that is simply an
of blood
exotic but physically functional mixture of two animals,
• An obsidian island floating at the heart of
for example, an antelope with large feathered wings, can
a volcano
leave the Wyld and live anywhere within Creation. How-
• A peach grove similar to those in Yu-Shan
ever, trees that grow skulls filled with blood and brains
• A cloud platform amid a storm
are simply too strange to survive in Creation—but they
• An amphitheater exactly like the Chamber of
might live in a tainted land. Hives of thumb-sized ants
the Deliberative, only made of cheese
that fashion miniature pikes and shields from fragments
• A field strewn with needles and one strand
of wood or bone and field organized phalanxes against
of hay
various tiny opponents could thrive in tainted lands.
• A teahouse or inn filled with mannequins
While materials in a tainted land must be (relatively)
wearing masks
natural, they need not be at all common or normal.
• An oasis in the middle of the desert
Boulders can be made of cobalt blue glass or well-aged
• A clearing in a forest of trees whose leaves
cheese, or a Wyld storm might leave filigrees of pure gold
whisper secrets
on a rock face. Of course, this inlay could just as easily
• A cave in the side of a snowy mountain
consist of human bone or the dried venom of scorpions.
• The mouth of a huge skeleton
Any form and any mundane material are equally pos-
• The back of a vast leviathan lumbering across
sible, including exotic materials normally found nearer
the countryside
the elemental poles. Tainted lands sometimes hold the
unmelting ice found in the farthest North or the coals of
The geography of the tainted lands is often subtly the far South that burn forever without growing smaller.
askew. Perhaps sand dunes are steeper, or spires of rock The distinction between living and non-living materials
are thinner and more attenuated than could happen in is irrelevant deep in the Wyld, and so both can be found
the rest of Creation. Everything slants in one direction, in unusual places in tainted lands: veins of dried blood
as if gravity didn’t pull straight down, or the rocks, hills, can be found inside solid rock as easily as veins of metal,
streams and trees show a geometrically regularity no while animals found dead after the Wyld retreats may
natural thing should attain. have bones made of ice or steel.
In other cases, the land shows obvious strangeness: Although few mortals live willingly on the borders
The region became a Middlemarch before freezing back of the Wyld, storms can bring the Wyld to the people
into Creation. Rock formations can look like undersea and create tainted lands far from Creation’s rim. All of
reefs, the walls and buildings of modern or ancient cit- these places hold plants and animals that can be found
ies or even plants and animals. One tainted land might nowhere else in Creation, but that do not require braving
consist of a petrified forest where both the trees and the dangers of the Wyld to acquire. Traders and barbarian
animals are now solid stone. Another land might feature tribes who are loathe to visit even the Bordermarches can
exotic friezes and titanic inscriptions in lost tongues that gather exotic natural wonders without venturing there.
spontaneously appeared on preternaturally smooth rock The risk inherent in living in lands that both contain
faces. Impossible features might remain, such as a huge the remnants of the Wyld’s energies and that the Wyld may
rock balanced on a spire of stone that’s simply too thin one day reclaim makes the tainted lands the perfect refuge
to support it, but lingering energies of the Wyld hold for anyone sufficiently desperate. Mortal bandits, outlaws,
the rock and the spire in place. Anathema cultists and similar outcastes often flee into
Plants and animals are occasionally born with minor the tainted lands in the hope that the exotic terrain will
mutations or mutate as they grow older. Horned animals frighten their pursuers into withdrawing. These measures
such as goats or bison are sometimes born with three often work, but the freedom from persecution offered
or more horns, which are occasionally mobile, metal or by the tainted lands is often the first step in the refugees
poisoned, trees may grow several kinds of fruit, snakes and becoming Wyld mutants. Even if they never venture into
lizards are sometimes born with fur instead of scales and the Wyld, a few of their children may develop a pox or

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 17

 debility… the promise of miracles waits just a few miles
away… or the Wyld returns to sweep them into itself.
DESIGN QUESTIONS
• What are the region’s chief anomalies? Consider
Over time, however, the impossible fades to the im-
the landscape, the plants, the animals and the
probable and finally to the merely unusual. The trees that
people (if any). How severe are the changes
grew skulls grow skull-like walnuts instead. The bizarre
from Creation?
rock formations erode, or vegetation shrouds them until
• Do any particular locations stand out as especially
one can only guess what they might have been. Fewer
strange or significant?
people or animals are born with mutations, and these
• Does the tainted land contain anything useful
sports are less severe. Onetime Wyld mutants might even
or valuable?
stabilize as a funny-looking but natural race to join the
• Does the tainted land contain anything danger-
human panoply.
ous? (Beyond the lingering Wyld-taint itself.)
DESIGNING TAINTED LANDS • Does anyone visit, or even live in the tainted
For the Storyteller, creating a tainted land is a lot land? Why?
like designing a Bordermarch or Middlemarch—only it
doesn’t change. The degree of deviation from Creation’s marches is normally several miles wide. Unsuspecting
norms depends on the severity and duration of the mortals and Exalted sometimes wander into the Wyld
Wyld exposure, and the length of time since the Wyld for hours before the violet-colored rivers or trees bearing
retreated. A region that briefly became a Bordermarch crystalline fruit prove they have left Creation’s tainted
100 years ago might look almost normal, with only a rim for the Bordermarches.
few oddities to show the Wyld’s passage. A region just Just as the tainted lands are the portions of Creation
blasted by a powerful storm from the Deep Wyld might most like the Wyld, the Bordermarches are the portion
look utterly fanciful, with the forms and substances of of the Wyld most like Creation. The overall landscape
things scrambled to madness. usually stays the same, or at least takes years to change,
While they last, the changes of the Wyld usually but the details shift and change. Over the course of a
have the logic of story and myth, so consider a tainted week, a huge and ancient tree along the side of a path
land’s past. An ancient battlefield might become a land may change from a spreading oak to a chestnut… or a
where dead trees made of bone stand with the rusting strange conifer with purple, prehensile needles or even
and decayed shields of the fallen warriors dangle from a vaguely tree-shaped pillar of living greenstone. Just as
their branches like fruit. Similarly, a small grove of trees likely, the same tree can be on one side of the path today
where lovers tryst might become perfumed rose quarts, and the other side tomorrow.
or all of the walls in an ancient city’s ruin might become Few mortals other than Exalted and Wyld barbarians
slabs of marble engraved with the name of its long-dead travel further than the Bordermarches voluntarily. Any
inhabitants, written in a language last spoken when the sensible person who finds he’s wandered further into the
Primordials ruled Creation. Wyld is quick to retrace his steps toward a more stable
Tainted lands are often more closely and obviously as- reality. A few ordinary barbarian tribes conduct important
sociated with an elemental direction than the surrounding rituals in the Wyld. Their mystics and shamans enter the
terrain in Creation. Southern tainted lands usually show Bordermarches to pursue visions and power. Desperate and
the touch of heat and fire, just as tainted lands in the East hardened bandits, criminals facing execution or individuals
are more verdant and overgrown than nearby non-tainted fleeing blood feuds and other deadly and immediate threats
regions. On the other hand, sometimes a tainted land to their lives may enter the Bordermarches as a refuge they
shows a strong influence from a different elemental pole: hope will be temporary. Only beastmen and Wyld barbarians
an aquatic forest growing in Western coastal shallows, who embrace chaos, body and soul, knowingly spend their
for instance, or a patch of the South’s volcanic heat and entire lives in the Bordermarches. Life in the Bordermarches
combustible substances in the North. is harsh: fearsome mutant beasts roam the Wyld in search
of prey, while Fair Folk and their hobgoblins invade from
THE BORDERMARCHES the Middlemarches in search of mortal souls.
The border between Creation and the Bordermarches The Bordermarches’ change is slow and relatively
is often very subtle. Instead of any obvious shift, oddi- minor ways, but mortals who spend too much time in
ties and changes become more numerous and severe the this area eventually mutate and become Wyld barbarians.
deeper you go into the Wyld. The edge of the Border- Although some especially hardy individuals may remain

18
free from mutations, children conceived or born in the THE MIDDLEMARCHES
Bordermarches always carry at least one pox, and most Out past the Bordermarches lie the Middlemarches.
of these mutations can pass on to their descendents. Here, the laws of reality become mere suggestions, though
Despite the dangers, though, people can live in they retain a little influence. Although fish may swim
the Bordermarches in ways the Creation-born can easily through the sky and breathe air, they might still
understand. Time and distance do not shift too much. be fish. A dropped rock may fall sideways, and fires may
Although the effects of the Wyld may play scramble the freeze and snow burn, but the concepts of gravity, heat
forms and substances of things, the underlying reality and cold are still valid, at least some of the time. These
remains much like Creation. changes also stay consistent within a particular district
A Bordermarch can have trees with leaves of steel, of the Wyld, although they may change over time.
while huge flowers snap at passing animals. Sea creatures The Middlemarches scramble the qualities of Cre-
grow shells of gold or obsidian, or gophers speak in the ation every-which-way. Here, water flows uphill as often
tongue of the Old Realm. There are places where streams as down, and rocks hold conversations with clouds that
of the finest plum wine flow into caverns of crystal—and walk like men. There are glens where lions made of fire
dank fens where even the moss on the trees drips with hunt stags made of living ice, and caverns hold lakes
venom. You can recognize the trees as trees, though, and that reshape themselves into living versions of a visitor’s
the seashells as seashells. In a Bordermarch, the trees greatest fears. The kaleidoscopic changes can sometimes
don’t bounce around like pogo sticks, and the seashells make a Middlemarch resemble an ordinary part of Cre-
don’t change in your hand to become miniature copies ation—but never for long.
of the Imperial manse. The border between the Bordermarches and the
People who live in a Bordermarch, or who visit one pro- Middlemarches is normally far less subtle than the tran-
fessionally, do not let the occasional wonders blind them to sition between the Bordermarches and Creation. Here,
its dangers. Tigers and jungle vipers are pretty, too. Anyone the very nature of the Wyld can dramatically change in
who wants to make his fortune in the Bordermarches—or the space of a few hundred yards. The vast, bottomless
even live long enough to worry about mutation—must take cliffs that separate the Northern Bordermarches from
nothing for granted. Wyld barbarians and beastmen know the Middlemarches offer the most blatant example, but
the dangers of their homeland; visiting outsiders had best a few other borders are almost as dramatic.
find some way to learn from them. The other obvious difference from the Border-
marches is the rate of change. In the Bordermarches, the
DESIGNING BORDERMARCHES landscape changes slowly and gradually. The location of
The Bordermarches are essentially transitional zones
a tree, the shape of a rock or the pattern of curves and
that still look much like the nearby parts of Creation—just
ox-bows in a stream may shift every few hours, but such
turned a little weird. Amplify or re-shuffle the natural fea-
changes rarely occur more than a few times a day, never
tures and make the area and its inhabitants both slightly
when anybody watches, and only a few elements of the
mutable and somewhat deadlier. Bordermarches far in the
landscape change at once.
North, South, East or West show the influence of the nearby
In the Middlemarches, these changes become far
elemental pole, but no more so than Creation itself.
more extensive. Everything in the Middlemarches changes
Bordermarch beasts keep a spurious plausibility. This
frequently, rapidly and extensively. In the deepest por-
is not a place for lions made of living flame or other flat-
tions, a forest may always remain a forest—but the types
out impossible creatures. Instead, a visitor might find a
of trees, the density of the forest and the paths through it
yeddim-sized lion with a scorpion’s tail that feeds upon
can all change every time a traveler looks over her shoulder
ox-sized beetles with shells of living wood. Nothing about
or stops to rest. You couldn’t map a Middlemarch before
Creation says a lion couldn’t be the size of a yeddim; only
it became someplace else. At most, you could record a
the combination is unnatural.
Middlemarch’s theme—its most obvious qualities, and
In addition, the Bordermarches are the only portion
their most usual combinations.
of the Wyld that can connect to other realms of reality. A
At least a region’s largest features take some time
few shadowlands have formed inside the Bordermarches.
to change. An entire mountain range may transform
Gateways can also open to the heavenly city of Yu-Shan
into a series of low atolls in the middle of an ocean, but
or the dread realm of Malfeas. Such triple junctions
this change occurs over the course of days or weeks: the
of Creation, Chaos and another realm are extremely
mountains gradually sink, and the land around them
rare—but they can happen.

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 19

 slowly fills with water. However, you probably won’t find down and in the South, fire is a physical substance that
yourself walking one minute and swimming the next. can resemble water or stone as much as the ephemeral
Probably. Time and distance can vary in a Middle- fire of Creation.
march, though not to the mad extent found further from A Middlemarch often shows a strong elemental
Creation. Days can seem to pass in hours, while seconds character that gives a method to the madness. Water, fire,
crawl like minutes in other places. In some locations, lava, ice, wind or trees act in physically impossible ways,
a single step can carry you across a meadow; in other but stay in keeping with metaphor and dream logic: Lava
places, moving inches may take minutes of running. flows like water—so it can nourish incandescently hot
Wyld mutations can manifest after only a few days in vegetation. People speak of trees having limbs, so trees in
the Middlemarches. In some cases, mutations can occur the Wyld have arms and legs, and can walk. Harsh winds
within a few hours. can literally take solid form to buffet a visitor.
The unshaped Fair Folk keep outposts in the In other portions of the Middlemarches, especially in
Middlemarches, but never visit for long. Fluid as the intermediate regions such as the jungles of the Southeast,
Middlemarches seem to people from Creation, the lords these elemental associations may take second place to
of Chaos still find these places difficult to manage and some bizarre magnification of existing natural features
control. Most Fair Folk who have taken form choose to or local legends. In all cases, the Middlemarches are
dwell within the Middlemarches, where they may enjoy organized around one principle, or at most a handful of
the sweet freedom of the Wyld, while not overly risking central principles, that defines both their physical struc-
contact with the courts of the unformed Fair Folk that ture and the physical laws of this particular region.
they have left behind. For example, Creation’s far Northeast holds many
dense forests cut by huge, glacier-fed rivers. In the North-
DESIGNING MIDDLEMARCHES east Middlemarches, therefore, one often finds exotic
The Middlemarches are always a transitional zone. forests filled with trees many miles high that grow out
Some of Creation’s norms still apply, but others do not. of a huge, swiftly flowing river whose many branches
In the Northern driftlands, dropped objects need not fall and divisions seem almost like a vast tree made of flow-

20
ing water. The river may flow with fresh water—or with are made of fire, smoke and ash. Creatures in the West
torrents of seawater, mercury, steaming blood or even are sculpted out of water; while the North holds beings
vast numbers of tiny leaves. Similarly, the Southeast made of ice and snow, wind, clouds and lightning.
jungles are notorious for their profusion of snakes. In Living within the Deep Wyld requires either the
a Southeastern Middlemarch, the trees and vines might total ability to ignore or adapt to its changes or bunker-
be made of huge serpents that slowly crawl over each ing down in a zone of stability and only emerging when
other. Some of these snakes are 100 yards long, and necessary. Some creatures shift from form to form in
many of them are multi-headed, as their bodies split order to survive in whatever environment surrounds
like the branches of a tree. Every few years they mate, them. In the windy North, for instance, growing wings
and the entire serpent-forest dissolves into a frenzy of at a moment’s notice is useful.
titanic movement. The unshaped raksha ignore the chaos of the region,
Regardless of how exotic a Middlemarch becomes, matching its fluidity with their own. What humans see as
the Middlemarches always have solid ground of some their bodies are merely images that represent the focus of
sort, and the creatures dwelling within them keep some the raksha’s self-awareness. The complete entity spreads
relatively stable physical form. However, these creatures through miles of Deep Wyld, shifting and reshaping
can be made from living fire, solidified water or other themselves with every alteration of landscape and climate.
impossible materials. The distinctions between plants and They can enter the Deep Wyld from the realm of Pure
animals are often completely arbitrary. When designing a Chaos without suffering too much from the faint traces
section of the Middlemarches, consider a region’s central of Creation. The Ones Beyond enter Creation’s furthest
traits and then assume that everything else can change rim in order to explore, to ravage and to destroy.
radically over the course of a few days. The Deep Wyld also holds creatures that were cre-
ated or that crossed the borders during the Fair Folk
DEEP WYLD invasion. They are no longer fluid enough to survive in
Consider once more the model of the Wyld as a Pure Chaos, but are too strange to endure long under
sea breaking on the shores of Creation: in the Deep the strictures of Creation. Sometimes they wander into
Wyld, the sea floor exercises little influence on the Creation and mortals call them behemoths, after the
stormy and dangerous waters that swirl above it. Only a strange monsters wrought by the Primordials at the dawn
few outcrops of stable land remain above the waves of of time, but these beings are truly creatures of their own
constant change. Trees shed leaves that become birds, sort. Whatever name they receive, they tend to cause im-
the flowers sing or clouds become solid to crawl across mense destruction before Creation slays them.
the land. The currents also churn the deeper structure Powerful deities and Exalted can protect themselves
of the landscape: canyons open in mountains, expand through mighty Charms… for a while. Beings from
into valleys, sink into seas, rise again in forests or cities. Creation cannot survive for long in the Deep Wyld:
Or become a chorus of singing pigs. their substance is too mixed, too solid; the turbulent
All the influences of Creation flood into the Deep elemental currents of the Deep Wyld quickly mutate
Wyld to help shape possibility, and jumble together with or dissolve them. Only the Lunar Exalted, protected
no regard for the laws of reason, logic, scale or gravity. by moonsilver and their own protean nature, can resist
Replicas of the greatest architecture of Creation, pres- the Deep Wyld indefinitely. Even they, however, must
ent or past, stand side by side with impossible freaks of fear the unshaped raksha and other strange creatures
nature. Replicas of the ancient Dragon Kings roam the spawned from Chaos.
land, while tyrant lizards and mice battle each other in Thinking too much about the Deep Wyld’s logic
fields of flame or snow. leads to attempts to understand it, which can lead only
Everything in the Deep Wyld is formed from the to madness. The Wyld does not have logic and cannot be
materials appropriate to that elemental quarter, but can understood. It is the domain of unreason, and here, on the
take any shape at all, barring intervention by an unshaped edge of total Chaos, only a few fragments of recognizable
raksha. The creatures that roam each quarter of the Deep form remain, teasing the mind to try seeing some sort of
Wyld, which may be considered “natural” to that area, pattern in how they are put together. This has been the
are similarly formed from the substances of that area. downfall of many savants, who have thrown themselves
In the East, the creatures that stalk the Deep Wyld are into efforts to find sense and meaning in the Wyld, and
composed of wood, leaves and flowers; in the South, they have destroyed their own minds in the process.

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 21

 DESIGNING THE DEEP WYLD down and up a vast ravine that holds its form as though
The Deep Wyld is too chaotic to contain distinct carved. In the South, springing trees and grasses of fire
locations. A waypoint changes into something else within burn without being consumed, while deer and birds of
the span of a single scene. At least there is usually some flames pass by. In the East, the ground is made of wood
continuity between what came before the change and and leaves, while the people seen in the distances are
what exists afterwards: a forest falls before a plain exists, living dolls of grass and wood that speak with human
and a mountain takes several minutes to rise rather than voices. In the North, the ceaseless wind blows the endless
simply not existing one moment and being there the wastes of snow and ice into a thousand fleeting shapes.
next. The principle of change remains constant; however, Solid floes of pallid, opaque air go rushing through the
nothing remains the same, and the changes do not have sky like birds, and bolts of lightning become towers, trees
to follow any theme. After the mountain rises, it could or tumbleweeds.
sink again—or become a molehill inhabited by mile-sized However, the elemental poles themselves do not
moles—or shrink to become an ice cream sundae—or any show the same kind of chaos as the Wyld around them.
crazed transformation you can imagine. Only the domi- They keep to the rules of Creation, without mad re-com-
nant element provides any hint of continuity. binations or distortions of scale. The birds at the Pole
of Wood may be made of wood and leaves, but they are
THE ELEMENTAL POLES true birds and not lizard-fishes that swim through the air.
At the furthest edge of Creation’s influence lie The rivers at the Pole of Fire may consist of liquid flame
the Elemental Poles of Fire, Air, Wood and Water. and lava and flow through banks of burning coal, but
They are in the Wyld, but not of it. The Wyld itself they do not run uphill or sing opera. While the scenery
slithers around them, but the poles themselves mark and terrain at the poles change constantly so that fields
the boundaries of Creation. of flowers blossom and die within a minute, and cliffs
The elemental poles have no fixed location. They are rise and fall within an hour, they are elemental copies
the Furthest Point. As Creation expanded in the First Age, of the things from within Creation, not impossibilities
the poles stretched further apart. As the Wyld swept in from outside it. A few savants believe the poles offer the
to wash Creation’s borders away, the poles moved inward originals of Creation’s forms, which the Pole of Earth’s
toward their center, the Elemental Pole of Earth. influence solidifies within Creation.
To reach one of the other elemental poles, journey Few dwellers in Creation could survive a journey
outward from Creation and concentrate on the most to the elemental poles, but those few have much to
“elementally pure” parts of the landscape. While the gain. Savants and craftsmen can gather samples of the
traveler runs the risk of straying into Chaos, if he keeps pure element in untainted, undiluted form, to build
heading toward the structured principle of the element great works of craft and sorcery. Just as the jade of the
that he seeks, eventually he finds his way to the pole. Imperial Mountain is the purest and most potent, no
Once he arrives, there is no path into Chaos. To go from mortal flame can match the heat of the Pole of Fire,
an elemental pole into Pure Chaos, a traveler would have and no mortal herb can match the medical potency
to go back toward Creation, and thus re-enter the Deep of one culled from the Pole of Wood. Diplomats can
Wyld, and choose a different path from there. negotiate with mighty elementals, or maybe even the
Around each pole lies total confusion and dizzying Elemental Dragons themselves. Warriors and leaders
change. A mountain range rises up in seconds, and then can seek ancient lost weapons, or conquer spirit courts
reduced to plains, and then becomes a forest or a riverbed. and strike down gods.
A great chasm opens before a traveler’s feet, and then The Fair Folk shun the elemental poles. These are
fills up again. The only real stability (and scarcely even the domains of spirit courts controlled by powerful el-
that) lies in the area directly around a traveler, briefly ementals. Here, a traveler can hope to find a moment’s
firm due to the traveler’s own perceptions and to any shelter from the constantly changing environment. The
Charms or sorcery the traveler may use. spirits themselves prefer their dwellings as elementally
As the forms become more chaotic, however, the pure as the rest of the pole, but they do not like their
substance of the Wyld becomes purer near an elemental palaces dissolving into the elemental vortex. The spirits
pole. In the West, the sea reaches to the horizon; forests may even provide special accommodations for guests
rise from the surface of the water in high fountains that who cannot endure the full fury of their element. The
bear leaves of fluid, mountains of water arise and hold elementals of the poles tend to be arrogant and care
their shape until they are cast down again, and one may sail little for humanity, since these elementals usually lack

22
specific responsibilities elsewhere in Creation, or choose they should simply rip it apart and reduce everything to
to disregard them. Visitors may need to prove their worth Chaos once again.
and force the elementals to remember what courtesy and Pure Chaos has no outer limits. While Creation has
consideration are due the Princes of the Earth. boundaries, Chaos by its definition has none. It has no
outer edges, no ultimate ruler, no defined social order or
PURE CHAOS geography—nothing but vortices of force and possibility
Here there are no rules, no boundaries, no limits that sometimes, by chance, assume a kind of coherence
and no restrictions. Anything is possible, can happen and and become entities, or locations or tools. Any forms
is happening, all at once. Mortals who enter a pocket of in Chaos are mimicries of what the Ones Beyond have
utter Wyld suffer a strange sensory overload: they can- observed inside Creation, rather than being the fruit of
not process the infinite change happening around them, any coherent thought. Even the emotions and thoughts
and so their minds shut down, trying to cope. Creatures of the unshaped raksha are copied from Creation: they
who lack some sort of protection against the power of could not think or feel without the example of thinking,
the Wyld, such as a Fair Folk guardian, quickly find their feeling creatures before them. Naturally, the raksha resent
minds shattered and their bodies mutated beyond any this imposition, while simultaneously thieving concepts
hope of recovery or even identification. and images to comprehend their own resentment.
Pure Chaos doesn’t just flout the laws of nature, it Introducing someone from Creation into the swirling
flouts them insanely. This is part of what drives onlookers patterns of Chaos has an even more pronounced effect
mad: nothing can be relied upon, nothing follows logi- than simply having him show up at a waypoint. It’s like
cally. A human mind can barely accept a flock of birds throwing a stone into a pool, or forcing crystallization:
made of fire swooping through the air, but when the the solid, real person becomes a focus for events and
birds turn into fish a second later, and then dive into the structure. Entities in the area are drawn toward him,
ground after that while making little grunting noises, and feeling the ripples that he creates in the utter random-
spring up again as turnips that blossom pinkly, even the ness that they are used to. He is noticed. He becomes a
sanest person cannot predict what will happen next. But waypoint, and the formless chaos may coalesce into a
even these flickering forms are merely contagion from location around him—a mad, deadly location shaped by
Creation—images and shapes that Chaos reflects from a his own mind and the hatred of the Ones Beyond. Even
visitor’s own mind. Pure Chaos itself offers images that the raksha who have taken forms inside Creation cannot
no human mind can encompass, relationships that break safely return to Pure Chaos. The environment notices
all sane patterns of thought even to consider them…. them, reacts to them, re-forms itself in response to their
In Pure Chaos, parallel lines touch at a point that is nature and actions and ultimately attempts to dissolve
too far to be visible, and yet is perfectly clear when you them into chaotic elements as well.
look at it. Colors unknown in Creation bleed into each
other to make shades you can taste. Objects feel horridly ANOMALOUS LOCATIONS
soft and mushy, but also as hard and angled as diamonds. The Wyld breaks boundaries, including the bound-
Purple lights flow into six-dimensional labyrinths that ary between itself and Creation. In addition to tainted
smell of something rotten. Worst of all, it almost, almost lands where the Wyld left its mark on Creation, specks
makes sense, and the viewer is left feeling that a moment of stable Creation sometimes endure in the Wyld, while
longer would allow her to understand. That understand- pockets of the Wyld infect Creation.
ing, of course, is the first sign you are going mad.
This is the home of the unshaped Fair Folk, and POCKETS OF THE WYLD
they rule over it utterly. At their behest, all things are The Wyld is not confined to the edges of Creation.
possible, and none may gainsay their desires. Time and In some locations, pockets of the Wyld also exist within
space are at their command in Pure Chaos, and they Creation. The most infamous of these localized aber-
may do as they will. Only the most foolhardy, powerful rations lies in the heart of Nexus’s Firewander district.
or courageous dare to invade the Fair Folk’s realm. Or Similar to many such Wyld areas, it dates from the end
the most crazy, of course. While many of the Fair Folk of the First Age, when the attacking Fair Folk destroyed
endure within Creation to plague its inhabitants, count- Essence-powered weapons designed to defend the city.
less more remain, unformed, pondering how to exploit Scavenger lords create more Wyld pockets when they tin-
the world of fixed form to their purposes, or whether ker—disastrously—with powerful First Age devices beyond

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 23

 STORIES IN CHAOS
For the Storyteller, designing Pure Chaos is difficult. There is little actual story or logic to players
stumbling through one random obstacle after another, though a couple of dramatic scenery changes help
underline the nature of the environment. Since the main rule of Pure Chaos is that there are no rules,
the Storyteller should go for thematic aspects of description rather than specific geographical ones.
It is not advisable to run more than a single scene or two at a time in Pure Chaos. Not only is it
hard to sustain the atmosphere, but too much exposure detracts from Chaos’s nature as the land of
true madness, where no sane person or thing can exist for long. Even the noblest and mightiest of
Exalted should fear Pure Chaos and be grateful for their escape. A journey beyond Creation’s furthest
rim is the climax of an epic adventure.
The Storyteller may wish to bear these points in mind.
Why are the characters there? If they seek a particular entity or location, then the nature of
Chaos draws those things to the characters within a short period—along with suitable dangers. If the
characters have stumbled into Pure Chaos by accident, or been brought there against their will, then
they want to escape. The Storyteller may throw some environmental obstacles in their way, or allow
them to encounter (or flee) one of the unshaped raksha, but the scene’s focus lies in leaving the area
and returning to a zone of relative stability. In either case, the progress of the scene should be either
toward the encounter or toward the escape, not just stumbling round in circles.
How do the characters react? The players may actually wish to explore their characters’ reactions
to this insanity, by deepening the bonds that tie their group together and holding each other back from
the edge of lunacy, or by suffering a Limit Break, or simply just roleplaying reaction to an environment
so unlike anything they have known in Creation.
What are their current emotions and wishes? A mournful, gloomy character affects the “landscape”
around her unconsciously. White lilies bloom like fungus on the trees before their blossoms swim away
into the wastelands of dark reeds and singing wolves. An optimistic, merry character (should such a
thing be possible under the circumstances) finds that happy little ponies prance around him before
chewing each other to pieces, and that the colored winds braid themselves like ribbons and make
temporary pathways over precipices, while the stars descend to light his path and fireflowers bloom on
the corpses around him. Similarly, if the characters think about particular people or locations from
Creation, the flux around them takes those images—to a degree. The characters may find themselves
walking through a distorted parody of Great Forks, where the buildings around them are made from
rotted meat, or travel through a field of flowers where every blossom has Mnemon’s face.
What unshaped are in the neighborhood? The Storyteller should design one or more unshaped
raksha to provide a (somewhat) coherent encounter for the characters. An unshaped raksha has par-
ticular habits of behavior and something approximating structured thought, but also shows illogical
limitations, preconceptions and desires. At least a few of the Ones Beyond probably want to interact
with the characters, though this may involve anything from discussion to unmaking them or devouring
them. The Ones Beyond do not consider such options mutually exclusive.
How do they get out? This is particularly important if the unshaped raksha hunt the characters.
The Storyteller should prepare some particularly vibrant images beforehand, so as not to detract from
the urgency of a chase scene. The environment takes shape to hold the characters back: chasms gape at
their feet, plants entangle them, fish bite at their shoulders and legs, flowers grow to giant size and bar
their way, hurricanes drop mountains of pudding on them…. Chaos becomes even more nightmarish
than it was already (though more comprehensible). Only fixed purpose, Charms and desperation can
drag the characters back over the borders into Creation.

24
their comprehension. The largest and most dangerous all sides must feel its continuing pressure. Early records
of these Wyld areas result from detonation of the reality state that the Wyld zone in the Firewander district was
engines that once helped protect Creation. Imprudent once the equivalent of Pure Chaos; now the district’s
experiments in the First Age created a few Wyld zones heart merely equals the Middlemarches, and the size of
that seem likely to last for millennia. this Wyld pocket has decreased by a third since the end
The great Fair Folk invasion left other Wyld pockets of the First Age.
where the Exalted or the Realm Defense Grid slew the When a Wyld pocket seems to last forever without a
mighty unshaped raksha. Just as mortal deaths erode trace of weakening, some mystical force must artificially
the barriers between Creation and the Underworld, the maintained it. For instance, the Fair Folk can tap and
violent dissolution of the greatest Fair Folk sometimes left twist the power of a demesne to create a freehold within
weak spots where the Wyld leaks through. On the other Creation—a Wyld pocket under their control. Comatose,
hand, a few Wyld pockets are still-living unshaped raksha, unshaped raksha are a variation on this idea. Malfunc-
trapped within Creation and sustained by demesnes or tioning sorcery or magitech are the other chief sustainers
flukes of local geomancy. They have lost their minds but of Wyld pockets—including, ironically, the devices once
retain their rage and hatred for Creation, producing some meant to protect Creation from the Wyld.
of the deadliest Wyld pockets of all.
Still other Wyld pockets form when storms of Chaos CREATING POCKETS OF THE WYLD
blow into Creation. The local geomancy sometimes traps Hundreds of Wyld pockets are scattered throughout
an eddy of the storm. These Wyld pockets seldom last the Threshold, and each one is unique. Wyld zones cre-
more than a few years, however, and most subside within ated by the Fair Folk have a specific theme and feel set by
months, leaving a small patch of tainted land. their master. Accidental Wyld pockets often exaggerate
Only the Blessed Isle is free from Wyld pockets. The the characteristics of the surrounding terrain, or are zones
Fair Folk invasion never breached its shores. The Realm’s of exotic randomness where reality constantly shifts and
proximity to the stabilizing Elemental Pole of Earth offers can re-form into almost any new shape.
much protection from the Wyld, which the vast geomantic In any case, a Wyld zone’s power is most important
engines and weapons of the Imperial Manse strengthens to information for both the Storyteller designing a Wyld
protect the entire Blessed Isle. As a result, manifestations pocket and the characters who explore it. A Wyld pocket
of the Wyld cannot exist on the Blessed Isle. that is equivalent to the Bordermarches is a very differ-
Wyld zones are uncommon in the Threshold, but ent place from one that is equivalent to the Deep Wyld.
most large nations contain at least a handful; they become Wyld zones are never equivalent to Pure Chaos; such utter
more frequent the further one travels from the Blessed negation of order cannot exist in an area surrounded by
Isle. Fortunately, Wyld pockets seldom cover more than Creation. However, Wyld pockets equivalent to the Deep
a few dozen square miles, and many encompass just a few Wyld happen now and then. They are one of the most
acres. Larger Wyld zones do tend to be less intense. Most common results of a large reality engine exploding (the
large Wyld pockets within Creation are equivalent to the other common result is to for everything in a similar-sized
Bordermarches: reality shifts and changes slowly and in area to be turned into stone).
relatively subtle ways. The East and West hold the largest Unlike the Deep Wyld at the edge of Creation, pockets
Wyld pockets. In the East, several Wyld zones contain of the Deep Wyld need not show any strong elemental asso-
entire forests. In the West, isolated pockets of the Wyld ciations. Every Wyld pocket, however, contains some central
surround a number of atolls and other small islands. trait that provides a degree of consistency. Utter random-
Local people know the boundaries of Wyld pockets ness without pattern or sense only happens in Pure Chaos.
and usually mark them; whether outsiders notice the Although physical laws may change, the laws of theme and
marks is another matter. While some communities build story remain as true in small pockets of the Wyld as they
fences or erect stone pillars with warning inscriptions, are in the larger expanses surrounding Creation.
isolated farmers or barbarians may settle for marks carved Each Wyld pocket has a specific theme. A Wyld pocket
on tree trunks or small piles of rocks. Fortunately, the shaped by the Fair Folk has a theme set by their mad whims.
boundaries of Wyld pockets rarely fluctuate by more than An accidental Wyld zone’s theme might result from the
a dozen yards—unlike the actual borders of the Wyld. circumstances of its genesis. Some Wyld pockets merely
Most Wyld pockets gradually decay in size and power. exaggerate aspects of their surroundings… but anything’s
The inherent solidity of Creation is a powerful and en- possible, from birds to music to hunger. Take hunger as
during force, and any region surrounded by Creation on an example. In a pocket of Deep Wyld, fantastic predators

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 25

 might be spontaneously generated from the earth and Such places offer huge advantages to any Exalt or hero
devour one another in an endless spectacle of eating. A who can exploit them. On the other hand, they probably
subtler, Bordermarch pocket might look like a peaceful survived so long because of First Age defenses. Powerful
orchard of trees loaded with ripe, luscious fruit… but the sorcery, weapons or supernatural guardians may repel
more you eat this fruit, the hungrier you get. If you don’t Exalted just as well as they do hazards of the Wyld.
stop, you could starve to death in an afternoon. Gods or demons of sufficient power, stranded in or
exiled to the Wyld, might create personal zones of stabil-
ARTIFICIAL WYLD POCKETS ity. A few other potent creatures can also hold the Wyld
at bay. Even these potent entities risk losing themselves
(ARTIFACT •• OR •••) to chaos, however. Any deity (except perhaps the Incar-
A sufficiently wealthy and determined person nae) who sustains a pocket of Creation must commit a
can import material from the Wyld to create a small great deal of its power to do so, and would require some
pocket of partial unreality. A very rich person might compelling reason to maintain it.
do this to keep Wyld creatures in a zoo, as a medical Several islands of Creation are embassies of Heaven
resource (such as the arm-beasts from the Forest of to important courts of the Fair Folk. Such embassies are
Arms; see p. 132), or for a Wyld cult. Creating such normal portions of Creation that do not even count as
an artificial Wyld zone involves transporting material tainted lands. The gods of these sanctuaries serve in
from the Middlemarches, then containing it within these hardship posts by command, and usually wish to
thaumaturgical boundaries. The result is effectively leave as soon as possible.
an Artifact, and follows the rules and costs for creating On the other hand, a few gods and goddesses have
Artifacts. An artificial tainted land is Artifact ••; gone to the other extreme. They walled themselves away
an artificial Bordermarch is Artifact •••. Such a in the Wyld, and rule a petty domain as absolute lord and
Wyld pocket requires fresh, monthly infusions of master—but they grow ever more insane in their isolation.
soil, stones, vegetation or other Wyld materials to Some of these gods are celestial criminals who fled Yu-
maintain their potency; the monthly Resource cost Shan for fear of audits or other punishment, while other
is one greater than the pocket’s Artifact rating, or gods lost their position through their rivals’ power plays.
two greater on the Blessed Isle. A few pitiful deities wished to protect worshippers or ter-
ritory from the incoming Wyld, and trapped themselves
in a self-chosen prison that they cannot leave, for fear of
POCKETS OF CREATION losing everything that defines their existence.
Just as small regions of the Wyld exist within the In a darker vein, shadowlands gain a degree of stability
boundaries of Creation, small pockets of stable Creation from their connection to the Underworld. The Wyld may
exist within the Wyld. None of these lands exist within affect them to some degree, but they also maintain their
Pure Chaos, but they can be found in the other, more integrity and boundaries. This can make them unexpected
stable, regions of the Wyld. None are larger than a dozen refuges for the living in an emergency. Of course, they have
miles across, and some are no larger than a small hill or their own hazards, such as ghosts, the walking dead, perhaps
a few city blocks. a deathknight who already uses it as a base in the Wyld,
What sort of place can endure in the Wyld and remain and direct links to the Underworld. When 100 raksha on
stable? Only a place established with great power, and nightmare-swift steeds decide to hunt you, however, even
possibly still drawing on that power. Unfortunately, any these dangers can seem like a positive advantage.
power that can resist the Wyld for centuries may present Many sanctuaries lack inhabitants, but several of the
hazards of their own. largest contain First Age towns inhabited by mortals and
The most common reasons for pockets of Creation Dragon-Blooded who have had no contact with Creation
are functional reality engines or intact jade obelisks that since the days of the Shogunate. Others include lands
survived the Fair Folk invasion. Other sorcery or devices inhabited by tree folk, beastmen or Dragon Kings. The
from the Old Realm may impose stability on the Wyld Lunar Exalted know about most of these sanctuaries and
as well: for instance, legends speak of an artifact called use them as refuges, resources and, occasionally, fiefdoms
the Eye of Autochthon that could quell the Wyld. The or experiments in shaping societies.
Exalted of the Old Realm built cities, palaces, sorcery- The Fair Folk overran many pockets of Creation cen-
laboratories or factory-cathedrals on the world’s rim to turies ago, and killed or enslaved the mortal and Exalted
exploit the Wyld or expand the frontiers of Creation. inhabitants. Few of the remaining regions could survive a

26
concerted assault by the Fair Folk, so the inhabitants must narrow faces recount the events that lead to the obelisk’s
reach some accommodation with the local raksha. The placement, including records of ancient battles and the
people might offer tribute or otherwise persuade the Fair names of the Celestial Exalted involved.
Folk that coexistence makes an amusing game. In other Although these obelisks no longer protect the entire
cases, the people have some threat fearsome enough—First border of Creation from Chaos, each obelisk still carries
Age weapons, perhaps, or a Lunar’s protection—that the potent stabilizing enchantments. Land within seven miles
Fair Folk are willing to leave them alone. of an obelisk cannot permanently become part of the Wyld.
Storms of Chaos can sweep over protected areas and the
JADE OBELISKS lesser ebb and flow of the Wyld can still cover this land
The ancient rulers of the Solar Deliberative did during the nights of the full moon, but the Wyld cannot
not remove the older obelisks when they extended the cover land protected by one of these obelisks for more
boundaries of Creation. This left some obelisks hundreds than one week every month. In addition, both the land
of miles from Creation’s new borders. The Fair Folk in- itself and all permanent structures within this area cannot
vasion destroyed most of the obelisks at Creation’s rim, be altered by temporarily incursions of the Wyld.
but hundreds of the older monuments survived. The This protection no longer extends to plants, animals,
broken and inactive ruins of many more can be found mortals or temporary structures such as tents. However,
in or near the Wyld. the landscape does not change: hills and riverbeds all
Intact obelisks are almost identical. They are made retain their shape despite the worst Wyld storms, and
from white jade and stand seven yards high, three Western islands that bear an obelisk cannot be washed
yards wide and two yards thick. Thumb-thick bands of away by the Wyld’s destructive tides. In addition, the
orichalcum line their edges, and the four vertical faces effect of the Wyld on living things and similar objects
of the obelisk bear moonsilver inscriptions. On the two is reduced by one level within a mile of the obelisk, and
widest faces, complex magic sigils lace around the great nothing short of Pure Chaos can affect anything within
seals of Gaia and Autochthon. The writing on the two 100 yards of an obelisk.

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 27

 Today, these surviving obelisks give the borders of
Creation a scalloped appearance in some regions, as the
DESIGN QUESTIONS
When creating a pocket of Creation amid the Wyld,
Wyld extends inward between them. Other obelisks preserve
the Storyteller should consider several factors.
tiny islands of Creation in the Bordermarches and Middle-
• What is the history of this sanctuary? Who or
marches, with bands of tainted land around them.
what created it, and why?
A ring of obelisks might protect a much wider
• Is it currently being maintained by some power
area—after all, the great circle of obelisks once shielded
source, or not?
all of Creation. Unfortunately, a jade obelisk weighs more
• Are there any current allies nearby who support it?
than 100 tons. Most proposals to create new jade obelisks,
• Are there any enemies nearby who want to seize
or make better use of the existing supply, run aground on
control of it?
the problem of transporting such colossal weights.
• Are there any enemies nearby who want to de-
Naturally, surviving obelisks are known to every
stroy it?
mortal or Exalt living near them, and held as treasures
• What is the current psychological state of its
beyond price. Local people often incorporate the obelisks
inhabitants, trapped in the middle of the Wyld?
into their religion. Any small gods of the region don’t
Can they leave? If so, why do they stay?
object, because they need the obelisks, too. When mortal
• Is it in the process of eroding, and will the arrival
astrology or warning talismans predict a fluctuation of
of outsiders accelerate this?
the Wyld, everyone who lives nearby seeks shelter at the
• What are its defenses, if any?
sacred monument.
In some cases, a single tribe or community owns the
obelisk and defends it against all comers. The people do
not permit outsiders to take shelter, or the community
REALITY ENGINES
During the height of the First Age, the mighty Solar
demands a high price. Other pillars become neutral
Exalted used powerful Charms to expand the frontiers
ground where everyone can find refuge. (In the South,
of Creation. To protect advance bases in the Wyld and
jade obelisks also tend to occupy lush oases, adding to
to ensure that new areas would remain safe and stable
their value. They are held as common ground because
before a jade obelisk was placed nearby, the Copper Spi-
anyone who tried to claim sole ownership would provoke
ders built powerful artifacts called reality engines. These
a genocidal alliance against them.) During Wyld storms,
devices protect an area from the ravages of the Wyld. A
beastmen, barbarians and Wyld barbarians all huddle
small engine might shield a single building complex;
within the protection of the obelisk, while also carefully
the largest reality engines protected entire townships or
watching one another. Their comrades slay anyone who
mighty metropoli covering dozens of square miles.
violates this peace, lest their act bring down the wrath of
The Solars built these devices to run with little or no
all neighboring tribes—not to mention the gods who also
maintenance. A few reality engines still work long after
flock to the obelisk’s protection. The gathered mortals
the Wyld swallowed the territory surrounding them. As a
pray, of course, so a Wyld storm also makes a good op-
result, more than a dozen First Age cities, and two entire
portunity for gods to solicit worship and for barbarians
factory cathedrals, exist as islands of Creation within
to present petitions.
the Bordermarches and Middlemarches of the Wyld.
CREATING SANCTUARIES Some of these islands are still inhabited by mortals and
A pocket of Creation usually has terrain, climate and Terrestrial Exalted who have not seen Creation since the
other features appropriate to their elemental direction. end of the Shogunate.
Southern pockets of Creation tend to be deserts or volca- Even though reality engines all have the same func-
noes, Eastern sanctuaries are wooded and so on. However, tion, they come in a wide variety of forms. They range
areas created by Old Realm sorcery and technology may in size from one to 10 yards across. The larger the reality
feature incongruous or unusual buildings, or have been engine, the greater the area it can affect. The size and
transformed so completely that they look like nothing shape of the protected area depends both on the innate
else in Creation. In such extreme cases, infiltration by power of the reality engine and how it is tuned.
normal aspects of that direction (cold winds and ice in The most powerful reality engines were made dur-
the North, or lakes and seas in the West) show that the ing the height of the First Age. These are smooth and
sanctuary’s boundaries have weakened, and the Wyld elegant geometric forms of clear, faintly glowing crystal,
is breaking in. inlaid and shot through with filigree of moonsilver and

28
orichalcum, and set with nuggets of jade. A typical Old
Realm engine might consist of an icosahedron twice the SERVICING AND REPAIR
height of a man, balancing on one point and orbited by a Only Solar Exalted can create reality engines,
dozen melon-sized tetrahedra, cubes and spheres. Reality and only Celestial Exalted can repair badly damaged
engines made earlier in the First Age appear considerably ones. However, sufficiently trained Dragon-Blooded
more complex and often resemble the intricate magitech can perform minor repairs and perform routine
of the Shogunate. Such a reality engine might be a squat maintenance on models that require such servicing.
jade cylinder three yards across and two yards tall, with The return of the Solar Exalted has brought forth
levers, dials and switches made from the other magical rumors that at least one small Wyld zone has been
materials and holding intricate clockwork of the same eliminated and that the reality engine inside it was
substances. Reality engines made during the last days of repaired and moved elsewhere.
the First Age were the most exotic. They often take the Repairing a moderately damaged reality engine re-
form of portrait busts or even statues of their creators or quires the efforts of a technician with Occult •••••,
other then-famous Solar or Lunar Exalted, with concealed Lore ••••• and Craft (First Age Devices) •••••.
panels that open to reveal miniature versions of the These repairs require one day of work, materials
clockworks and crystals found in the earlier models. costing Resources •••, and an (Intelligence + Craft
Reality engines were all build during the First Age, [First Age Devices]) roll at difficulty 4. Severe damage
and they do not wear out and break down. Unfortunately, adds one dot to each required trait and increases the
they can be damaged. Reality engines that were dam- difficulty of the roll to 5.
aged but not destroyed may create large, self-sustaining Retuning a reality engine to alter the size or
Wyld pockets: the damaged device reverses its normal shape of the protected area is somewhat easier.
function by forcibly and continuously transforming The technician merely requires Occult ••••,
an area from Creation into the Wyld. If someone can Craft (First Age Devices) •••• and Lore ••••.
brave the dangers of this Wyld pocket to shut down the The technician’s player rolls (Intelligence + Lore)
reality engine, the area shrinks or becomes less chaotic. at difficulty 3.
Repairing the device often quickly restores the area to
the stability of Creation. FREEHOLDS
Because of the power inherent in all reality engines, The Fair Folk are creatures of the Wyld, but even they
the center (and sometimes the entirety) of such a Wyld don’t want chaos around them all the time. Powerful raksha
pocket is equivalent to the Middlemarches or occasionally can transform demesnes into freeholds—havens that obey
the Deep Wyld. A damaged reality engine cannot generate their lord’s will. A freehold is both a zone of the Wyld and
Pure Chaos, but the area around the reality engine may an island of stability. Which aspect a visitor notices first
offer physical dangers as well as Wyld mutation. Blasts depends on the freehold’s surroundings and the taste of
of fire, animate toxic vines, tornado winds or razor-edges the raksha noble who controls it. A freehold could look
shafts of stone may erupt at random, or the disrupted ele- like anything from a near-copy of Creation to a fantasia
ments of Creation may generate even stranger perils. as mad as anything found in the Deep Wyld. Whatever
Nevertheless, the lure of such a powerful and useful the freehold’s appearance, however, a freehold remains an
device draws Scavenger Lords, Dynasts from the Realm and expression of the Fair Folk’s power… and nothing about
occasionally Celestial Exalted into these Wyld pockets in the Fair Folk can be considered even remotely safe.
hopes they can repair or turn off the reality engine inside.
In the first centuries after the Shogunate’s fall, several Wyld A CAREFUL AMBIGUITY
zones were restored to Creation when Dragon-Blooded A freehold combines aspects of Creation and the
managed to turn off the damaged reality engine inside. Wyld. The environment shifts as easily and rapidly as
Of course, a person who doesn’t know how reality in a Middlemarch, making it comfortably fluid for the
engines work might destroy the occult machine instead. raksha. The freehold’s lord can lock certain aspects of
The Dragon-Blooded also (reluctantly) destroyed a few its appearance in place, though. The ruling raksha usu-
reality engines they could not hope to repair. This is ally fixes the freehold’s décor but allows the placement
profoundly dangerous. The Wyld pocket may stabilize of trees, fountains, buildings or rooms within buildings
as something both strange and deadly, such as a boiling to change freely.
lava pit or a grove of exceptionally poisonous trees found The freehold also grants a Middlemarch’s conceal-
nowhere else in Creation. ment against astrology. On the other hand, Wyld mutation

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 29

 does not occur unless the bonefire’s master deliberately Just as gods and Exalts, the raksha make use of these
withdraws protection from a person or creature. sites, but they cannot create manses due to their innate
incomprehension of Creation’s laws. Instead of capping
APPEARANCE demesnes and using the resultant hearthstones, the raksha
A freehold’s location greatly influences its character. nobles build their castles and fortresses on these sites, and
Fair Folk of the East usually build their freehold dwell- bend their Essence to their will through a combination
ings out of wood; in the Far East, the raksha prefer to of raksha sorcery and complex Glamour crafting.
shape vast living trees so that their trunks, branches and At the exact center of a freehold lies its heart, a pil-
leaves form the structure and furnishings of the freehold’s lar of heatless, silver flame called a bonefire. The typical
fortress. Similarly, Northern raksha often carve their bonefire ranges from one to two yards in diameter and is
freeholds from mountains or build them from unmelting several yards tall. Larger freeholds have bigger, brighter
ice. Western raksha build their freeholds underwater or bonefires, so any knowledgeable person can guess the
on lonely islands, and may build their dwellings from power of a freehold by looking at its bonefire. (This
shells, coral, living seaweed or sheets of solid water. requires a [Perception + Occult] roll at difficulty 1.)
Southern raksha conjure whirlwinds of sand, obsidian Extinguishing the bonefire disperses the freehold,
desert strongholds or citadels shaped from heatless flame. so the Fair Folk give thought to their defense. The bone-
Beyond that… anything goes! The sun and moon can fire usually occupies a wide, flat, empty space such as a
look like lamps hung from the stone vault of the sky, or plaza, great hall or temple, so the raksha have plenty of
the flowers may sing lullabies. room to fight intruders. A small dais or pit defines the
Freeholds often feature castles, manor houses or bonefire’s specific location. Any further details depend
temples designed for defense as well as for beauty and on the taste of the raksha noble. Prudent nobles might
caprice. The citadel has room for many lesser raksha ser- lock the bonefire within a small building decorated with
vants as well as whatever close allies the ruler may possess, friezes, paintings or sculptures of deeds of glory or infamy
rather than requiring them to dwell in the surrounding performed by the domain’s ruler. Options that are more
domain. After these practical considerations, though, extravagant include setting the bonefire on the palm of
fantasy reigns. A castle may spin like a top. A manor is a huge statue (far above molestation, the noble hopes),
raised on a mile-high pillar. A temple forms the center of surrounding an image of some sort or atop a mountain.
a gigantic flower whose petals close in the evening. One freehold’s ruler chained a defeated enemy within
the bonefire to burn forever, as both punishment and a
THE BONEFIRE warning to anyone else who might threaten him.
The wellsprings of Essence known as demesnes ex-
In most cases, a single noble controls the bonefire and,
ist through all of Rakshastan, even in the Deep Wyld.
through it, the freehold. Now and then, however, two or

THE EXTENT OF FREEHOLDS AND DOMAINS

When the Fair Folk convert a demesne to a freehold, the demesne’s power sets the maximum size of the
freehold. Obviously, notions of size are very rough in the Wyld, so a freehold’s size may be better measured
in waypoints. In general, a freehold controls a number of waypoints equal to its freehold rating +5, includ-
ing the waypoint the freehold rests upon. The waypoints may form a line, a cluster or whatever arrangement
suits the freehold’s master.
Freeholds within Creation are much smaller than those in the Wyld. Freeholds within Creation contain
just as many waypoints; however, the waypoints are simply more compact, and closer together. In a Wyld
freehold, for instance, a series of three waypoints might take the form of three bridges where raksha knights
challenge intruders to battle. For a freehold in Creation, the waypoints might appear as a series of three gates
in concentric castle walls, where visitors must solve a riddle to pass.
Level Waypoints Size in the Wyld Size in Creation
• 6 60 miles across 100 yards across
•• 7 90 miles across 200 yards across
••• 8 120 miles across 400 yards across
•••• 9 150 miles across 1/2 mile across
••••• 10 200 miles across One mile across

30
more nobles jointly control a freehold’s bonefire. Within place—nature conspires to make the freehold invisible
their domain, the bonefire’s masters can use it to spy on and seal away this little part of the Wyld. Freeholds in
any location in the freehold, or any cyst or pennant the Creation contain as many waypoints as a freehold in the
bonefire has produced. The nobles can control or sense Wyld, the pressure of Creation’s Essence confines them
their domain as long as they bear a token or pennant to a much smaller geographic area.
themselves, even if they are thousands of miles away. A freehold within Creation stays closer to its natural
Everything within the domain is subject to the lord’s will: surroundings than is usual in the Wyld. The water at the
he can make the land bountiful or barren, create beasts bottom of a lake may look and feel like air, and residents
and servants at will, and alter the weather, the landscape and visitors can breathe it, but the freehold still incorpo-
and the architecture of any building within the domain rate aquatic traits such as fields of water-weeds instead of
to fit his whim. The general character of the land usually grass. Similarly, freeholds built under hills are all clearly
follows the elemental character of the freehold’s quarter built underground. Some “hollow hills” consist of end-
of Creation, but the prince controls all the details. less corridors of roughly worked stone or vast wooden
longhouses, while others feature elaborately carved and
CYSTS AND PENNANTS decorated passageways, such as the tombs of Sijan or the
From the bonefire of a freehold spring cysts and hallways of Gethamane. The most ornate of these freeholds
pennants. Cysts are wellsprings of Essence akin to are buried castles, or fortresses carved from enormous
hearthstones. Pennants are mere wisps of power—not tree roots or embedded in great caverns ornamented with
sufficient to allow raksha to regain Essence, but strong stalactites, crystals and draperies of stone.
enough to stave off the wasting away that raksha suf- Freeholds are often larger on the inside than the
fer when in Creation. Fair Folk who dwell within lake, hill or valley that contains them. However, they
Creation typically reshape their freehold’s demesne are still limited in extent. Raksha nobles who live in
to provide the maximum number of pennants, and such freeholds may attempt to disguise the limited scope
thus allow a large number of raksha to survive outside of their domain with twisting and branching passages,
the freehold. A freehold can produce up to three labyrinths of nooks and chambers or other tricks to
pennants per point of the freehold’s rating. block long-range views—made even more complex by
The prince of a freehold can see and hear ev- the noble’s ability to alter its structure at will. However,
erything occurring at the location of every pennant none of these tricks can completely disguise that the
as though he were standing there. This requires no freehold is a very small pocket of safety amidst the huge
expenditure of Essence or willpower, but the raksha and hostile world of Creation.
can only focus on one pennant at a time, and he On the one hand, these miniature realms of chaos are
must perform this feat at the bonefire. A raksha the ultimate safety from other raksha. Their inhabitants
noble can thus be very well-informed of goings-on know that their enemies must journey all the way through
outside his freehold, as long as he has minions and perilous Creation itself before they can attack the freehold.
spies willing to travel beyond its boundaries. On the other hand, nobles with a freehold in Creation
have built their stronghold in enemy territory, and they
risk attacks from mortals, gods and Exalted, all of whom
FREEHOLDS IN CREATION often view these freeholds as threats to Creation itself.
Raksha can also form a freehold inside Creation.
No one can enter, leave or even see in or out of the
They only need a demesne—preferably uncapped, but they
freehold except at special doorways created by its master.
can destroy a manse to uncap its demesne. The resultant
These must look like gateways or natural arches of some
freehold is much smaller than a freehold in the true Wyld.
sort. Even freeholds located at the bottom of lakes, or atop
These little seeds of Wyld pollution can be found in the
airy mountains, can only be entered by such gateways.
tainted lands, or even deeper in Creation itself.
Naturally, all but the most desperate or impoverished raksha
Geomantic considerations demand that these
nobles post many well-armed guards at these entrances to
freeholds should be physically isolated from the rest of
fend off intruders. The freehold’s master can conceal its
Creation: under hills, at the bottom of lakes, in inac-
entrances from mortal eyes… though not perfectly.
cessible valleys and so on. These locations also help to
protect the residents from interference by the denizens FREEHOLDS IN THE WYLD
of Creation. Clouds obscure the area, rippling water Freeholds in the Bordermarches are physically iso-
blocks vision, shadows from the mountains conceal the lated just as those in Creation, but not as severely. In the

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 31

 Fair Folk who inhabit freeholds in the Deep Wyld
FORCING ENTRANCE often maintain lines of trade and diplomacy with the
Perceiving a concealed entrance to a freehold Middlemarches and even the Bordermarches. The raksha
requires a successful (Perception + Awareness) roll. closer to Creation can supply mortal slaves for food and
The difficulty is the sum of the freehold’s power amusement, interesting works of art and songs produced
level and the permanent Essence of its raksha master. by mortals and by Exalted and other genuine original
However, the natural distortions in Essence caused pieces of work that the parasitic raksha themselves could
by the freehold’s presence allow Exalted and other never produce. Those in the Deep Wyld respond with
Essence-users to halve the difficulty (round up) if creations of glamour, powerful allies, items torn from the
they activate any Charm that increases Perception edge of the Wyld or even from Chaos itself, and relics
or Awareness. A character who uses Charms to that were lost from the fringes of Creation during the
sense the flows of Essence directly can automatically Balorian Crusade.
detect such openings. The raksha of the Deep Wyld enjoy near-complete
The border between Creation and the freehold’s safety from Creation’s dangers. Few beings would come
interior is very strong. Nothing short of the most so far from Creation to assail the raksha here, and the
powerful Celestial Charms (such as Wyld-Shaping raksha who dwell in the Deep Wyld are more amused
Technique or Ritual of Lunar Stability) can open than threatened by visitors who make the journey. These
other entrances into these freeholds. The difficulty raksha do not remember the days of the Old Realm,
of the roll to create new entrances equals the per- when the Solars would shatter raksha fortresses and
manent Essence of the freehold’s lord. scourge them back into Chaos. While the Deep Wyld’s
Solar Exalted can also attempt to use Wyld-Shap- raksha find the modern Solars intriguing and exciting,
ing Technique to destroy or reshape a freehold, but these raksha do not yet view these Solars as a genuine
the difficulty of this roll is the permanent Essence menace—which may, in the years to come, become a
of the raksha controlling the freehold + the rating grave mistake.
of the demesne from which it is built. The Solar’s
player must succeed on a single roll to accomplish this ETERNAL VIGILANCE
feat. The raksha who controls the freehold actively Given the need for shelter, freeholds are highly prized
resists this attempt and can strike back. A Solar whose and desperately guarded. At any given time, a known
player fails the roll suffers one level of unsoakable freehold is likely to face siege from wandering Fair Folk
lethal damage for each difficulty level she failed the who seek to claim it as their own, or other nearby free-
roll by. A Solar whose player botches the roll suffers a holds who wish to expand their territory. However large
number of automatic levels of unsoakable aggravated a freehold may seem inside, it is never big enough for
damage equal to the permanent Essence of the raksha all the ambitious raksha who shelter within it. Enemies
overlord + the rating of the freehold. within one freehold may team up to conquer another,
just so they can be comfortably separate once they own
it, and feud with each other at a distance. Raksha may
Bordermarches, freeholds may be found on small islands also face threats from persons who wish to loot the rak-
amid lakes or oceans, or on mesas or in the depths of vast sha of their treasures, or enemies who hate the raksha
forests. While these freeholds are isolated and bounded, bitterly enough to pursue them through Creation and
they need not be completely separate from their sur- the Wyld alike.
roundings. The looser reality around them also means But raksha are not the only ones to hide within
that they are not as well hidden. The freehold’s master freeholds. Whether in Creation or the Wyld, a freehold’s
cannot conceal its entrances, though they are as well existence outside of Fate makes it a rare protection from
defended as those of any freehold in Creation. Freeholds the astrological curses of the Sidereal Exalted. Ancient
in the Middlemarches or Deep Wyld can sprawl as wide Lunars have wrested freeholds from the Fair Folk in order
as their masters choose. A Wyld freehold’s master may to dwell therein with their mortal followers. There are even
still limit access by ordaining that no one may pass its mad gods and broken spirits who shelter in cringing terror,
outer waypoints unless they follow a special route, perform seeking to preserve themselves against the transforming
certain deeds or meet special conditions, but Wyld-shap- influence of the Wyld, aware that they could not hope
ing Charms easily bypass these requirements. to reach the boundaries of Creation again.

32
SAMPLE FREEHOLDS
The following are typical examples of raksha freeholds and Domains:
Dark Fountain is located in one of the mountains to the northwest of the Lap. The central buildings of
the freehold lie within a great cavern more than 500 yards across and 100 yards high. Gothic and baroque
buildings made from black and charcoal-gray stone occupy almost half of this immense cave. They have
elaborate flying buttresses, and are adorned with fantastic gargoyles. The gargoyles are all servants of the rul-
ing nobles, and can be animated or transformed back into stone at the controlling noble’s whim. Only half
of this palace is built in the cave; the rest is carved deep into the surrounding rock, and consists of a series
of ornately decorated but completely windowless passages. The cave itself is the other half of this freehold,
and is dimly lit by the large patches of luminescent fungi that adorn the cavern walls, and ornamented with
stalactites, stalagmites, and deep streams. The cave is heated by deep volcanic fires, and thus is perpetually
as warm as a fine spring day. A multitude of tentacled bats, large blind predatory lizards and pallid, dog-sized
slugs dwell in the cavern, while bone-white fanged fish swim in its streams.
Dreaming Pool is an oasis set amid the Southern deserts, northeast of Gem. Shimmering heat waves
surround the oasis, hiding it from view. The oasis itself is barely 400 yards across, centered on the pool in
the middle; the bonefire burns inside the water, constantly heating it to a boil. The local raksha dwell in
tents made of silk and sunlight, and the chief of the tribe has a particularly beautiful tent draped with cloth
of gold. The palm trees that surround the area have leaves of gold and silver and emerald, and the birds that
perch in them have feathers made of tiny gems. Snakes of living obsidian hide in the shadows of dunes and
bask in the edges of the boiling spring. Hobgoblins in the form of veiled men and women serve the raksha
of this place, faceless and smooth-skinned beneath their veils.
Shining Mist, a small freehold located at the bottom of a lake a few hundred miles northeast of Laryn.
The lake bottom of Shining Mist is a strange mixture of bucolic meadow and sea floor; there is both grass
and coral, and trees grow from the lake bottom intermingled with great shells. The lake is filled with water,
but everyone within this freehold can breathe it normally and can either walk as if on land, or swim, at
their choice. All the animals are mixtures of beasts that live in ordinary meadows and sea life. Creatures that
resemble crosses between small, brightly-colored tropical fish and songbirds fly overhead, while crab-shelled
horses (treat as ordinary horses that can breathe both air and water and that have a soak of 7L/9B) and oc-
topus-tentacled sheep graze the lake bottom. The shops and houses are well-made buildings similar to those
found in the Realm, or any prosperous client state. They are all painted in sea colors, with windows and
trim shaped like seashells and fish. Shingles resemble huge fish scales, and all of the stonework looks heavily
water-worn. The Duke’s castle, at the center of the freehold, is a work of art in mother-of-pearl and turquoise,
with the battlements scalloped like clamshells, and the cataphracts all in scaled, finned armor.

CHAPTER ONE • CREATION’S RIM 33

34
 CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER TWO
CHARACTER
LIFE IN CHAOS
CREATION

Not everyone finds the Wyld as hospitable as the near the Wyld’s border. Since the edge of the Wyld ebbs
raksha, but they live there anyway. For many, the Wyld and flows with the phases of the moon, some barbarians
represents endless potential, freedom from oppression occasionally end up in the Wyld. What’s more, many
(or just reality), a source of wealth or hope. Many are barbarians regularly spend time in the tainted lands.
disappointed, but by then, it’s too late to leave. Any mortals who are sufficiently brave or desperate to
Almost every creature imaginable lives someplace in dwell in the Wyld itself soon become Wyld mutants if
the Wyld. Most of these migrated there from their place of they are not already.
origin, be that Creation, the Underworld or Heaven, and Four distinct groups of mortals live in and near the
the few others the Wyld spawns. Chaos has the unique Wyld: the most remote tribes of mortal barbarians, Wyld
property of being able to achieve nearly any effect, given barbarians, beastmen and strange, created races from the
time and luck, and can even duplicate the Essence pat- First Age. Despite their differences and the enmity these
terns of ghosts and gods. The Wyld’s imitations are rarely groups often feel for each other, they live in or near the
perfect, so explorers must be alert for telltale differences Wyld for much the same reasons.
if they wish to tell fakes from the real thing. Some people live at the edge of Creation to avoid
attention and possible attack by civilized people.
MORTALS Civilized people and non-mutated barbarians alike feel
Few ordinary mortals are foolhardy enough to live deep suspicion for Wyld barbarians, beastmen and the
in the Wyld. However, hundreds of barbarian tribes live descendents of beings created in the First Age—or even

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 35

 outright hatred. While mortal barbarians do not face the tribe, they must submit either to gelding or drinking
these same threats, aggressive rivals can drive the least sufficient quantities of maiden tea to render them sterile.
successful or most primitive tribes to the very edges of Adults who gain Wyld mutations are killed or driven
Creation. Severe weather or famine can also force tribes from the tribe and forbidden from returning. Many tribes,
to take their chances with the Wyld’s fringe. Some tribes including the icewalkers of the North, believe that living
die out or become Wyld barbarians. Other barbarians as a mutant torments that individual’s soul. They also see
struggle both to survive and maintain their humanity in mutants as an affront to the tribe’s ancestors and patron
the face of harsh environments, the nearby chaos of the spirits. When icewalker shamans kill a mutant, they declare
Wyld and the other inhabitants of such regions. they have freed the person’s spirit from the taint of the
Wyld; now the person can be reborn within the tribe.
BARBARIANS Some barbarian tribes accept Wyld mutants as sha-
Few barbarians want to live near the Wyld. Civi- mans and expect them to use their mutations to help deal
lized people often see little difference between ordinary with gods, Fair Folk and various other dangers. Barbarians
barbarians and Wyld barbarians, but the two groups see fear these shamans as much as they value them. They
themselves as nothing alike. Their separation begins with are both sacred and accursed. Mutant shamans typically
their attitude to the Wyld itself. By definition, Wyld bar- dwell apart from the rest of the tribe. A tribe may see
barians accept the influence of the Wyld upon themselves. the usefulness of a shaman who can walk unscathed
In sharp contrast, almost all ordinary barbarians hate through the burning winds of the uttermost south, or
the Wyld; most of them also refuse to have any dealings spend an hour underwater gathering medicinal seaweed.
with the Fair Folk. This does not prevent barbarians from A shaman whose essence the Wyld has awakened is even
worshipping the Wyld, but they worship it in fear, seeking better. Even this concession to the Wyld carries danger,
to protect themselves from its fathomless menace. though. After all, the shaman who owes his power to the
Barbarians hold similar feelings about Wyld mutants. Wyld might decide to serve it instead of the tribe. The
These tribes expose or kill children born with obvious mu- only reliable way for a community to retain its humanity
tations, and if their parents do not wish to be exiled from is to reject all mutation among its members.

36
 Because of the press of civilization, however, some the members remain ordinary mortals. If they decide
barbarian tribes have no choice about living near the that greater prosperity, or perhaps simple survival, mat-
Wyld, often within the tainted lands. No two barbarian ters more than their humanity, then they soon become
tribes possess the same customs, but most of them develop Wyld barbarians.
similar ways of dealing with the presence of the Wyld
and the dangers of the Fair Folk. Most tribes do their WYLD BARBARIANS
best to avoid the Wyld and slay any creatures that stray The Wyld barbarians are the most diverse, numerous
out of it. Even their bravest warriors and hunters stay and infamous class of dwellers on Creation’s fringe. Many
at least a day’s journey from the Bordermarches; if they Wyld barbarian tribes form spontaneously from ordinary
must venture any closer, they carry a talisman to warn barbarians who fled or were expelled from their tribes
them if the Wyld’s border shifts. Other tribes, especially because of their mutations. Wyld tribes often last only
in the Wyld-torn lands of the West and the North, must a generation or two before the members either die off
make accommodations for it. Some Western tribes make or succumb to other and stranger fates—but a few tribes
offerings to nearby Fair Folk courts by sending out un- retain most of their humanity for centuries. Similar to
crewed boats laden with offerings, and with sails set to the difference between ordinary barbarians and Wyld
take them into the Wyld. barbarians, a great deal depends on the tribes’ attitude
On the other hand, barbarians know the Wyld of- to the force of Chaos around them.
fers wonders they cannot easily ignore. Tainted lands Tribes that accept Wyld addiction among its members
sometimes offer great boons to barbarian tribes. Most and who regularly embrace the transformations of the
importantly—from the barbarians’ point of view—tainted Wyld face either destruction or radical transformation.
lands sometimes generate useful plants that live nowhere Within years or at most a decade or two, the members
else. For example, age-staving cordial, seven bounties mutate to the point that they can no longer leave the
paste and sweet cordial all include at least one ingredient Wyld. Soon after, they end up as slaves of the Fair Folk,
from Creation’s rim. Animals, insects and minerals from transform into savage man-beasts (such as the notorious
tainted lands may also possess medical or occult value. buck-ogres) or become inhuman, living archetypes utterly
The learned doctors of the Realm rely on herbs, roots, subsumed into a location of the Wyld.
glands and venoms that a barbarian collected months Civilized peoples and mortal barbarians both tell
before and sold to a traveling merchant. Thaumaturgists stories about brutal tribes whose members are all barely
also support a small but lucrative trade in materials from human monsters with each member more bizarre than
tainted lands. the last. However, these Wyld-twisted monsters are actu-
The barbarians aren’t stupid, of course. Whenever ally quite rare. They just don’t last long before they pass
possible, they foist the job of collecting Wyld-empowered beyond the Middlemarches into the Deep Wyld, and
treasures onto their shamans, who should know how to dissolve into the ever-changing Chaos. Unfortunately,
protect themselves, or onto slaves, who are expendable. such tribes are also the most violent and dangerous and
Some barbarian tribes live near the Wyld because they fall so are the most likely to stage raids on non-mutants.
into the latter, unhappy category: some stronger tribe forces Tribes of mutants who wish to retain some semblance
the weaker ones to pay tribute in commodities gleaned of humanity limit their exposure to the Wyld. Hundreds
from a tainted land, with extermination as the alternative. of tribes of Wyld barbarians actually live in the Wyld, but
Whatever the method, the barbarians keep their visits brief most live only in the Bordermarches and avoid straying
and use protective talismans whenever possible. deeper into the Wyld. Also, many Wyld barbarians live
Barbarian tribes are also forced into the tainted in the tainted lands and only venture into the Wyld for
lands by the armies of civilization, the walking dead or specific purposes.
famine. Once here, the tribe’s future becomes uncertain. In these careful tribes, only a few shamans and
The Wyld’s residual energies eventually induce mild other specialists travel frequently into the Wyld to seek
mutations in a few children conceived and born in the visions, collect valuable commodities, negotiate with
tainted land. If the Wyld surges over this land once more, the Fair Folk and other powerful entities or deal with
adults may also mutate. other dangers. These specialists may possess a variety of
The tribe’s future depends on how it responds to extreme mutations. Most tribal folk appear far more hu-
such events. If the tribe culls or casts out its mutants and man. Their ancestors gained a variety of mutations that
soon finds a way to move further back into Creation, now breed true, more or less. Such packages of inherited

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 37

 mutations rarely exceed one or two poxes and maybe a prolonged exposure to the Bordermarches without be-
single affliction or blight. coming addicted; they’re used to it. However, exposure
Because of their proximity to the Wyld, individual to the Middlemarches or the Deep Marches carries
barbarians may also possess one or two additional poxes greater risks.
or a single deficiency. However, more extreme mutations As a companion worry, Wyld tribes also know that
are quite rare since few Wyld barbarians travel further any barbarian who gains too many mutations becomes
than the Bordermarches of the Wyld. Only their sha- unable to leave the Wyld. In fact, repeated mutation can
mans and heroes enter the Middlemarches. The Deep force a person to live in the Middlemarches—cutting her
Wyld is avoided by all but the foolhardy, the desperate off from her tribe forever.
and the suicidal. Barbarians who acquire debilities and
deformities may be gelded or otherwise prevented from WYLD MUTANTS AND OUTSIDERS
breeding, lest their infirmities spread through the tribe. Ordinary humans who become mutants experience
Even more than ordinary barbarians, Wyld barbarians two horrors at once. They find their bodies changed in
simply cannot afford any weakness in their members. unexpected, and often terrible, ways. At the same time,
The inherent diversity of the Wyld ensures that dif- they become outcastes, feared or hated by their former
ferent tribes or tribal confederations display different friends, relatives and communities. In cities, people
hereditary mutations. Those few daring scholars who who cannot hide their mutations usually sink to the
seek to understand mutated savages can tell a group of lowest levels of society as beggars or petty criminals,
mutants’ tribal affiliation simply by looking at them. For or join carnivals as part of a freak show. (Such are the
example, in the East, different tribes of the mutated for- most common fates of scavengers in Nexus whose bodies
est people are distinguished by whether they possess hair warp because they explored the Firewander district too
or leaves (and each tribe has its own distinctive foliage), eagerly.) In small farming villages and among nomads or
whether they have bark for skin and whether they possess other barbarians, however, newly changed mutants can
tails or extra arms to aid their climbing. expect death or exile.
While generalizations are impossible, many Wyld In these tight-knit communities, nobody can expect
mutants show the influence of the nearest elemental pole. to hide a physical mutation for long. Their mutants must
The pox of Elemental Adaptation (see Chapter Seven) is flee sooner or later, and they have few choices where they
quite common. Western mutants are often amphibious; can go. Some mutants find their way to Nexus, Chiar-
Northern mutants often sport thick, white fur. Members oscuro and other great cities, but they usually know they
of many tribes distrust anyone who gains too many can expect a wretched, impoverished life. Instead, they
mutations, knowing that madness, Wyld addiction and turn to the tainted lands as the best of a series of bad
eventually both inhuman minds and the inability to options: where should the Wyld-tainted go, but toward
survive outside the Wyld awaits anyone who succumbs the Wyld? Tribes of mutants who live in the tainted
too easily to the transformative powers of chaos. lands regularly encounter newly changed mutants who
seek a home among people who—they hope—will tolerate
WYLD ADDICTION their differences.
All Wyld mutants face the danger of addiction. This strategy works less often than new arrivals might
Few mutant tribes have a place for the weak or foolish: hope. Life on the edges of Creation is harsh and unfor-
anyone who cannot resist the temptations of the Wyld giving, and no Wyld tribe has space for the lazy or the
must rely upon the help of their close comrades to help helpless. A mutant who wants to join a tribe must prove
them recover, or at least to remain with the tribe until he can farm, hunt, herd, fish, gather, weave baskets or
the shaman performs a blessing against the Wyld (see otherwise help the tribe survive. Accepting new members
below). If no one aids them, Wyld addicts wander into also carries risk. A Wyld mutant might be dangerously
the chaos, never to return. insane or carry a disease. Occasionally, these mutants
The danger of Wyld addiction prevents most tribes actually work for gangs of mutant hunters as stalking
from venturing beyond the Bordermarches, and even horses and judas goats.
they use various magical protections against the Wyld Because of these costs and dangers, Wyld tribes vary
and carefully track its boundaries. Any tribe that remains in their attitudes toward outsiders. The most extreme
even remotely sane retreats to safety if a Wyld storm blows tribes either kill any unfamiliar mutants or drive them
toward them or the edges of the Middlemarches move away with the promise of a swift death if they return.
nearer to them. Most Wyld barbarians can withstand Most tribes accept outsiders, but only once the tribe’s

38
shaman examines the outsiders for signs of madness, lands or the Wyld. The remnants of these cults often
disease or deception. Any hint of these results in death form the basis of deadly but short-lived tribes driven
for the mutant, possibly after torture to find the number mad by the Wyld.
and location of any mutant-hunting allies.
Before accepting an outsider, a Wyld tribe may also WYLD CRAZED TRIBES
demand some deed of valor or martial prowess, such The least enduring but most dangerous tribes of
as defeating a champion or hunting a dangerous beast. barbarians embrace the Wyld and actively seek mutation.
Mutants who fail are ordered to leave on pain of death. These tribes usually begin with Wyld cultists. Unlike most
Mutants who instead demonstrate valuable knowledge tribes, these barbarians eagerly accept ordinary mortals
such as medicine, thaumaturgy or significant skill at one who accidentally gained one or more mutations. As the
or more crafts are usually accepted because such skills cult-tribe becomes more fanatical, it captures people and
are in high demand. forces them deep into the Wyld until they mutate so
much that joining the tribe becomes their only alterna-
WYLD CULTS tive to suicide. Their love of the Wyld does not prevent
Just as they do with any other source of potential them from making regular forays into Creation: they see
power, some humans revere the Wyld or try to exploit it. Creation as both a source of recruits and other supplies
They may worship the Fair Folk or other powerful enti- as well as their abandoned, and often hated, home.
ties, but some people seek power directly from the raw One of the most infamous Wyld-crazed tribe calls
and untamed powers of Chaos. These groups may start itself the Devourers. They live on the plains of the
by attempting vision-quests and power-quests, but they Southeast, far south of the kingdom of Harborhead. The
usually end up addicted to the Wyld’s sense of limitless tribe’s members all have many mutations—most display
possibility. The leaders soon sport visible mutations, oversized mouths and three or more clawed arms. More
and the entire cult may follow. Of necessity, these cults than half of them sport extra heads. A few captives who
congregate near Wyld pockets or the borders of Creation, escaped their clutches report savage and terrible rites,
so they can be found anywhere in Creation except the in which the Devourers eat the living organs and limbs
Realm. Wyld cults usually last only a few years before of their captives in the belief that the Devourers can
they are uncovered or destroy themselves. thus incorporate the best features of their victims into
One exceptional Wyld cult called the Children of themselves. By the time the prisoners escaped, a few
Transformation has grown up around the Firewander Devourers seemed to have body-parts that resembled
district of Nexus. Remarkably, this cult has existed for those of less fortunate captives, so there may be some
almost a century, concealed by the anonymity provided horrid truth in these practices.
by Nexus’s poorer districts. The cult members seek per- In a few years, or at most a few decades, the members
sonal power through careful exposure to the Wyld. The of most of these tribes become incapable of leaving the
cult’s founders learned the secrets of vision-questing and Wyld for long. If they do not assimilate fully into the Wyld,
power-questing from ancient, forbidden books. Members they may become the retinue of one of the Fair Folk. Other
use the power of the Firewander Wyld pocket to awaken members dissolve into the Wyld’s eternal chaos. Before
their Essence and give themselves several discreet but any of these fates, however, the tribe’s members become
useful poxes. truly horrific mutants. Either they hate all non-mutated
Unlike many such cults, the Children of Transfor- mortals or wish to spread the terrifying glory of their mu-
mation have no interest in proselytizing. However, any tations on the rest of humanity. These savage, monstrous
person who uncovers their activities receives the choice of beings typically live in Bordermarches. From here, they
joining them or dying. People who join are taken into the launch terrible, bloody raids into Creation—perhaps for
Firewander district and forcibly transformed by a skilled mindless slaughter, perhaps to capture and sell victims
power-quester. The new recruit is given at least one obvi- to the Fair Folk or perhaps to drag captives far into the
ous but concealable mutation to ensure that he faces the Wyld until they are irreversibly changed.
same fate as the rest of the cult if he betrays it. It is debatable whether the inhabitants of Creation are
All civilized lands forbid the activities of Wyld cults. more likely to see these murderous, insane mutants than
So do most barbarians. Cults face death or expulsion the Wyld barbarians who strike a cautious détente with
once their mutations or their activities become known. chaos. However, Creation’s dwellers are much more likely
Survivors must flee for their lives, and most eventually to tell chilling tales of their horrific deeds and grotesque
find themselves at the borders of Creation, in the tainted appearance. Stories about three-armed cannibals spread

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 39

 in a way that cattle raids by bandits who simply happen or knowledge in the Wyld and then depart from it. The
to have fur, claws or even prehensile tails do not. longer people spend in the Wyld, however, the more it
By civilized or even barbarian standards, all Wyld tries to fit them into one, simple story instead of the
mutants are dangerous and often unstable beings—but complex muddle of plots that characterize real people.
the short-lived, often ad hoc tribes of Wyld-embracing A few of these stories are hero tales, such as those of
mutants are the source of much of the horror with which Eos and Ossissa, in which this daring pair have become
other people regard the Wyld. Even the stable tribes of uncatchable scourges of the Realm. Other tales are hor-
Wyld barbarians avoid these lunatic tribes, fearful of ror stories. Mutants hunted from Creation often accept
their excesses, but also certain that the tribe will not a very simple story: they become horrific monsters that
last very long. If the cult-tribe does not vanish deeper bring terror, death and destruction to the folk of Creation,
into the Wyld by its own choice, mutant-hunters and just as the stories they heard say they should.
warriors from Creation eventually gather in sufficient However, Wyld barbarians often find less terrible
numbers to destroy the cult or force the cult members stories. Some, like the forest people of the far East, have
away. Other Wyld tribes may even attack the crazed been adapted to their forests and are now a much a part
mutants in hope of driving them deeper into chaos, and of it as the lianas that grow on the trees and the mon-
eventual destruction. keys that swing among them. The forest people exist to
serve their forests and can no longer survive elsewhere.
ADAPTING TO THE WYLD Similarly, in the far North, the white-furred, eight-foot-
The Wyld echoes the stories of Creation as much as tall Wyld barbarians that plague both the Haslanti and
reflecting its physical forms. Visitors to the Wyld carry the icewalkers live a story where the barbarians are brave
wisps of story—goals, fears, expectations, conscious or savages who can endure any hardship and feel utter
unconscious—that the Wyld absorbs, magnifies and contempt for weakness or cowardice.
scrambles together with great, archetypal tales and tropes. The transformation from ordinary mortal to part of
At best, outsiders can shape their own brief tales of power a story strips away at least some of the individual’s hu-

40
manity by transforming him into a living archetype. The Even highly mutated Wyld barbarians often think
mortal warriors of a tribe known for honor and bravery their shamans are strange and disturbing. In addition
may feel that cowardice or deceit are terrible personal to their physical mutations, most Wyld shamans have
failures, but they can still act in these ways. If the Wyld adapted to the Wyld and become living archetypes.
transforms this tribe into living characters in a story about Such shamans are exceptionally skilled, but have lost
bravery and honor, they may seem much the same… at everything that is not part of their defined role as The
first glance. Now, however, they are literally incapable Tribe’s Shaman—they never for a moment think of being
of fear or deceit. They cannot even think of acting these anything else.
ways. Creation-born folk who spend time talking to such
beings soon realize that there is something subtly inhu- BEASTMEN
man about them. Their thoughts run in channels: the People within Creation often see no difference be-
same channels, or at most a limited repertoire of scenes tween Wyld barbarians and beastmen, but the two groups
and social roles. The brave, honest warriors are all the themselves see nothing in common between them. Wyld
same brave, honest warrior. Wise elders are all the same, barbarians sometimes show animalistic traits, but they
stereotypical Wise Elder—or the same Superstitious Elder, are not true fusions of human and animal. Beastmen are.
Hostile Elder or whatever. They owe their genesis to the intersection of two power-
People assimilated to the Wyld are no longer subject to ful, supernatural forces: the shapeshifting Lunar Exalted
random mutations. The Charms of the Fair Folk or Celes- and the boundary-breaking power of the Wyld.
tial Exalted can change their bodies, but the ever-changing All beastmen were originally the offspring of Lunar
tides of Chaos do not affect them. Their existence as part Exalted, but many tribes have been breeding true for
of the Wyld incidentally renders such people immune hundreds of years. A few tribes date back to the Sho-
to direct manifestations of the Wyld’s power such as the gunate. Any powerful Lunar can create beastmen, and
waters of Chaos (see p. 87) or frozen fog (see pp. 69–70). many Lunars maintain small cadres of loyal beastmen
The thought-patterns and physical mutations that define followers. In the Age of Sorrows, however, most beastmen
their story pass on to their descendents who are born in live without direct control from any Lunar. The Chosen
the Wyld. However, while their physical mutations remain of Luna observe these beastmen tribes, and often accept
part of their heredity even in Creation, children of these their worship, but rarely interfere with their lives or
mutants who are born and grow up in Creation automati- activities. The beastmen are the Lunars’ children, after
cally lose these mental limitations and develop the minds all—or more remote descendants—and just as all good
of mortals—by Creation, by its very nature, resists the parents, the Lunars let their children learn and grow
incorporation of mortals into the Wyld’s eternal stories. on their own.
Also, even these Wyld mutants can be touched by the Beastmen live on the fringes of Creation for several
glories of Exaltation, and all forms of Exaltation free the reasons. Their Lunar forebears had to mate with a human
Exalt’s mind from these Wyld-forged constraints. (while in animal form) or an animal (while in human
form) to breed a beastman, and their descendants live
WYLD SHAMANS near the places where they began. Civilized folk also
A skilled shaman is a vital part of any Wyld barbarian prevent beastmen from moving away from Creation’s
tribe. Because shamans regularly go power-questing deep rim. Imperial armies generally slaughter any beastmen
in the Wyld, they have many mutations—often including they capture, because they think beastmen are savage,
an awakened Essence. In addition to performing the du- untamable creatures tainted by the touch of the Anath-
ties of any barbarian shaman, such as laying ghosts and ema. The Immaculate Philosophy clearly states that like
curing ills, Wyld shamans are expected to study the Fair any creatures derived from or related to the Anathema,
Folk and either act as emissaries to them or to advise the beastmen are soulless monstrosities who deserve slavery
tribe’s leaders how to avoid them. Wyld shamans also or death. After centuries of such murderous hatred, beast-
deal with gods, elementals and demons even more than men have learned to hate civilized folk in return.
ordinary, mortal shamans. With access to both the Wyld’s Opinions about beastmen rarely improve in civilized
valuable and unnatural wonders and their own powerful nations that do not follow the Immaculate Philosophy:
mutations, Wyld shamans can both bargain with and beastmen are frightening and inhuman, but because
intimidate minor spirits and demons quite effectively. they are far less deadly than gods or Exalted, human
These shamans also regularly use vision-questing to learn fears more readily turn to hatred or scorn. Some
all manner of valuable secrets. countries attack beastmen as zealously as the Realm.

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 41

 INTERACTION WITH THE ASSIMILATED
Most people have never heard of Wyld assimilation. The Wyld’s grotesque, blatant changes to minds and
bodies overshadow this subtle deformity of the soul. Careful conversation, however, can reveal Wyld assimila-
tion and identify the limitations on the thoughts and behaviors of a Wyld assimilated person or culture—in
effect, their Motivation or the group’s Policy.
Players must succeed at (Perception + Socialize) rolls to gain such information. Five to 10 minutes of conver-
sation, and a simple success, reveals that a person thinks in an obsessive, rigid way—but some people do think in
narrow channels, so that isn’t enough to prove Wyld assimilation. A character must spend a full scene talking
with a person (and her player roll three successes) to spot that the person thinks in no sane, human way. The
character recognizes Wyld assimilation if he thinks to look for it. Figuring out the approximate limitations on
the thoughts and behaviors of a Wyld-assimilated person or group—in effect, the assimilated group’s Policy—re-
quires five to 10 successes on an extended roll, with each roll representing a full scene of probing conversation.
Charms may grant more extensive and detailed knowledge.
Personal and cultural factors can make it harder to spot Wyld assimilation. A person may have been obses-
sive before the Wyld turned him into a story. Some people also perceive monomania as commendable zeal.
Dozens of Immaculate monks, for instance, have become living archetypes of relentless pursuit, after a few too
many trips into the Wyld after Anathema. Far from realizing these fanatical hunters have gone insane, the Order
holds them up as laudable examples—no matter how many other hunters these fanatics get killed.
Assimilation to the Wyld has a powerful effect on social combat, whether mundane or enhanced by Charms.
Assimilated people have no Intimacies, only a Motivation—the role they play with utter fidelity. Social groups
likewise adhere to their Policy with total dedication. If a social attack aligns closely with a Motivation or Policy,
the attacking character’s player receives a +3 dice bonus to his roll (if the Storyteller thinks a roll is necessary at
all). Any course of action that deviates significantly from the Motivation or Policy imposes a -3 dice penalty to
the roll. A social attack that directly opposes a Motivation or Policy fails outright—no need to roll at all.
Example: The Falling Tears Poet, a Moonshadow Caste deathknight, tries recruiting the Devourers for an attack on a
town. He must persuade the demented cannibals of two things at once: to raid beyond their usual territory and not to eat
him. The former objective is in line with the Devourers’ Policy, so the deathknight’s player has a +3 dice bonus to the social
attack. The latter objective would directly challenge the Devourers’ Policy of eating everyone who isn’t one of them—but the
Abyssal argues that letting him live will enable the Devourers to kill and capture many more people than they could without
him, which plays on another part of their Policy. The roll for this social attack, therefore, takes a -3 external penalty.
Finally, the Falling Tears Poet must make these attacks as a flurry, since the mutant maniacs won’t care about letting
him live unless they are also convinced to make the attack, and the deathknight won’t persuade them to attack the town
unless they refrain from trying to eat him. One Presence Excellency later, the Abyssal has his allies… deeply unreliable allies
who will need careful handling to prevent them from turning on him.
As long as assimilated people or groups stay in the Wyld, mundane social combat cannot break their Mo-
tivations or change their Policies. Only unnatural mental influence or social influence Charms can challenge
a Motivation or Policy directly, and then suffer a -5 external penalty. Even magical social combat cannot work
an enduring change in a Motivation or Policy: that requires Shaping magic to change the fundamental nature
of a Wyld-assimilated person or group.
Pulling a Wyld-assimilated person into Creation extends the possibilities for social combat. Without the Wyld
constantly reinforcing the person’s role, her assimilation can be broken. This requires creating an Intimacy—any
Intimacy, so long as it deviates from the person’s Motivation in some way. For instance, a social combatant might
try to give an honorable warrior a personal loyalty that doesn’t follow his usual script, or give a cannibal savage
a personal enmity beyond his general desire to kill and eat the unmutated. The social attacks to establish the
Intimacy suffer a -3 dice penalty because they challenge the person’s Motivation to follow his scripted role.
A single, independent Intimacy, however, gives the person two roles or stories instead of one. That suffices
to make her a real person again, prying her loose from the Wyld. Her Motivation hasn’t changed—a cannibal
maniac, for instance, is still a cannibal maniac—but it becomes a human Motivation (however strange or unpleas-
ant), and subject to change. The person is also most likely addicted to the Wyld, and might not be able to live
in Creation anyway. Nevertheless, the person becomes subject to normal social combat.

42
Beastmen sometimes gain marginal acceptance in the other Lunar took on this duty. On top of their innate
Threshold’s most open and cosmopolitan cities, such as resistance to the Wyld (see Chapter Seven), beastmen
Nexus and Chiaroscuro, but they still risk enslavement. excel at all of the various magical protections against the
The few free beastmen find employment as gladiators, Wyld. As a result, beastmen tribes that live within the
bodyguards to wealthy eccentrics or in the criminal un- Bordermarches resist mutation much better than ordinary
derworld. They remain second-class citizens, however, if humans. Safe from pursuit by all but the most brave or
they receive citizenship at all. The law seldom punishes foolhardy mortals, Bordermarch beast-tribes regularly
humans who cheat, rob, assault or kill a beastman; people venture forth into Creation for the same mixture of
usually smirk and say, “The freak had it coming.” And raiding, thievery and occasional trade as Wyld barbar-
of course, everyone “knows” that male beastmen lust ians. Instead of mutating, beastmen tend to assimilate to
for human women. the Wyld as living icons of fierce strength and courage,
The forest-dwelling folk of the Haltan Republic spurning or preying upon the weak humans who hate
form the chief exception to this prejudice. In Halta, and fear the beastmen. Tribes of carnivorous beastmen
beastmen form a small, distinct class within civilized might eat humans who fall into their claws—but as they
society. Snakemen and hawkmen often work as priests, might reasonably point out, is this cannibalism? Humans
thaumaturges or doctors. Haltan humans, however, feel often say that beastmen are just animals; the beastmen
more friendship for the country’s sentient animals than sometimes agree, and just as any tiger or wolf, they view
for the half-human beastmen. Halta treats its beastmen humans as just so much meat.
with careful formality, and they do not mingle casually.
For instance, if a beastman enters a Haltan tavern, the RELICS OF THE PAST
human patrons immediately leave to give him privacy. Beastmen and Wyld mutants are not the only
A few other societies also accept beastmen, but offshoots of humanity to find refuge at Creation’s rim.
none are as large as Halta. All such lands lie far from the The Solar Exalted of the Old Realm created several new
Realm’s control. A few beastman tribes also grow into versions of humanity. The people of the air and people
small countries of their own, which may in time develop of the sea were designed to glorify the Solar Delibera-
into curious little civilizations. For all the fear leveled at tive and expand its reach into the skies and under the
real, present beastmen, however, people in Creation’s waves. The tree folk and the dune people were created
interior like to hear stories about “civilized beastmen” as servants and slaves. Unlike many lesser creations, the
who live safely far away. Such tales usually emphasize the Copper Spiders made certain that all four races would
weird, animalistic customs of the beastmen, or use the breed true, and so their descendants survive into the
beastmen to satirize human foibles. Age of Sorrows.
Despite all the prejudice beastmen face, they do Few members of these offshoot races remain. When
not inspire quite the same reflexive disgust and horror the Dragon-Blooded overthrew the Solar Deliberative,
as the twisted humanity of Wyld mutants. In Creation’s the Dragon-Blooded massacred all the Solar creations
interior, the hatred, fear or scorn become ideological they could find because they assumed these beings
rather than visceral. At least a few people can learn to would remain forever loyal to their now-dead masters.
see beastmen as fellow humans if they get to know one. They were also eliminated to help purify the world of
Barbarian tribes feel a simpler hatred: they see beastmen the Anathema’s taint—erasing the record of the Solars’
as inhuman competitors for land and food, and possible power and excesses. Only the most isolated settlements
harbingers of Lunar domination. The rapacious nature of the air-folk and sea-folk escaped these terrible purges.
of predatory beastmen, similar to the dreaded wolfmen, They survived the Shogunate by remaining hidden. The
does little to help these conflicts—but even herbivorous tree folk remained safe through sheer remoteness in the
gazelle-men claim land that nomadic herders might want furthest East, while a pair of Lunar Exalted saved the
for their own flocks. Unlike ordinary barbarians, though, dune people.
beastmen seldom fear to live in the tainted lands on the The Contagion and the invasion of the Fair Folk
edges of the Wyld. Other beastman tribes give up on ended the Shogunate, but this did nothing to help these
Creation entirely and dwell in the Bordermarches. living relics. All four races escaped the worst ravages of the
Even beastmen tribes that owe Lunars neither wor- Contagion because of their isolation, but the Fair Folk
ship nor obedience often know the techniques to resist slew them as readily as the Shogunate had. Just as these
the Wyld. Their Lunar ancestor taught them, or some races’ ancestors fled to Creation’s edge, small numbers

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 43

 of these living relics survived by fleeing inward before find a place on the fringes of civilization as scouts and
the tsunami of the Wyld. When the Scarlet Empress messengers. Only in the far Threshold, however, does the
restored order, these beings again had to contend with value of a flying ally or employee regularly outweigh the
an Immaculate Philosophy that called them unclean stigma of being considered either a mutant or a creation
monsters, while residents of many Threshold kingdoms of the Anathema.
considered them either evil mutants or, at best, potentially
valuable slaves. The four races continue to live on the THE PEOPLE OF THE SEA
very edges of Creation. The people of the sea look like nothing more than
attractive Westerners, with the blue or green hair and
THE PEOPLE OF THE AIR pale, blue-tinged skin sometimes found in the West. Their
The people of the air look like attractive humans most obvious differences are the large but elegant gill slits
who have huge and graceful white-feathered wings grow- on their neck and extending a palm’s breadth down their
ing from their shoulders. To demonstrate their power, back. In the air, the slits close and resemble unusually
their creators endowed them with the wings and eyes of symmetrical scars. The only other marks of their true
raptors and unusually long lifespans. Today, fewer than nature are their unusually long lives and the tough but
25,000 people of the air survive in all of Creation. Their delicate webbing between the first joint of their fingers
largest settlement is the eyrie of about 7,000 who live in and the entirety of their slightly over-long toes.
the half-ruined First Age city of Sezakan, located high Unfortunately, the warm climate and casual attitude
in the mountains of the Northwest. (See Chapter Four.) toward nudity found in much of the West means that
Smaller, less civilized holdings that range from a few dozen people of the sea often have trouble concealing their webs
to a thousand or more air-folk can be found in both the and gills. Sea-folk are loathed and feared throughout much
far North and the Northeastern forests. Almost 1,000 of the West, because they are often mistaken for Wyld
of the people of the air live in the civilized nations of mutants or the aquatic and inhuman Lintha pirates. As
the Threshold, but they are mostly slaves kept because of a result, sea-folk who live in the civilized nations of the
their exotic beauty and magnificent wings. Some air-folk West must accept a lowly station in life. Most of them

44
avoid civilization and dwell near the edges of Creation. for the Exalted. The Chosen of Luna generally leave the
The two largest communities are the ruined city of Jalarin, tree folk alone, being more interested in seeing how their
located in the Western Bordermarches, and the island unique barbarian culture evolves.
of Seahome, in the West’s tainted lands. Many tribes of tree folk also share a mixture of disdain
Seahome is an island to the West of the Neck that and fear of other mortals and avoid them. Because the
covers 90 square miles. More than 4,000 people of the tree folk are so often taken for Wyld mutants, this fear
sea live on it or, more often, just offshore. Although the is largely justified. Only traders from Halta enjoy regular
island lies within the tainted lands and waters of the West, contact with a few of their tribes. Because the tree folk
a jade obelisk protects Seahome and its inhabitants. The know forest secrets unknown to any outsiders, anyone who
folk of Seahome have skilled astrologers who can usually trades with them can return with mysterious bounties of
predict Wyld storms and call their people to the obelisk the forest impossible to find by other means.
with conch-shell horns.
THE DUNE PEOPLE
THE TREE FOLK Surviving creations of the First Age also dwell in
The tree folk have bright green hair and skin. Their the South, and their history is one of the most horrific
prehensile toes make them as much at home in the treetops in Creation. Late in the Old Realm, the Solar Exalted
as on the ground, and they possess a natural immunity bred the dune people as a slave race. They labored in
to all plant toxins. Their green skins allow them to gain a city of pleasures that once stood in the middle of the
much of their nourishment from sunlight and water desert. Their creators made them albinos so that any
and so they require half as much food as other mortals; escape into the desert would swiftly kill them. Thus, they
on the other hand, tree folk require lots of time in the worked only at night or underground.
sun. While the Solar Exalted shaped the people of the During the Usurpation, the Dragon-Blooded would
air and the people of the sea for the sheer joy of it, the have killed the albino slaves along with their Solar masters.
tree people had a far less glorious purpose. A pair of heroic Lunar Exalted took pity on the dune
The tree folk were not made to glorify their creators. people and led them into the desert in the dead of night.
They were made to work the vast forests of the far East There they taught the arts of survival and commanded
where the trees grow many miles high. Here, far from any them never to live in slavery again. Over time, however,
other mortals, they collected rare flowers, seeds, vines the dune people became as harsh as their desert home.
and fungi. Automated skyships delivered the harvest from They do not merely see civilized folk as potential oppres-
processing stations to the cities of the Solar Delibera- sors; the dune people see civilized folk as foes who must
tive. The skyships gave the tree folk tools for their work; be slaughtered whenever possible… and as food.
anything else, they had to make by themselves. During The dune people are true albinos who must forever
the Old Realm, the tree folk’s entire contact with the avoid the searing rays of the sun, which would kill them
outside world consisted of short visits every decade or in minutes. Despite their lack of pigmentation, they have
two by one of the mighty Solar Exalted. These Exalted taken no deformities from the Wyld. They are barbar-
spoke to the tree folk and made certain that their loyalty ians, not mutants. Similar to most barbarians, the dune
to the Deliberative remained absolute. people are concerned with honor, pride, tribal lore and
The tree folk’s centuries of slavery ended with the reverence for the natural spirits and their ancestors—but
Usurpation. The Dragon-Blooded might have tried to survival most of all. They hunt and kill humans, beast-
exterminate the tree folk, but could seldom find them. men and Wyld mutants as part of an eternal feud with
The Great Contagion spared them because they had the rest of the world.
so little contact with the outside world. However, they During the day, dune people lie beneath the desert
became early targets for the invading Fair Folk. The tree sands and breathe through the hollowed thighbones of
people who remained free found much of their home now their enemies. They come out only at night. Experienced
part of the Wyld. Some settled in the Bordermarches and travelers know the dune people hunt for human meat at
gradually became Wyld mutants, while most remained night and during sandstorms. The one advantage travel-
within Creation and retained their humanity. ers have when dealing with the dune people is, just as
Today, the mutant and non-mutant tree folk avoid other mortal barbarians, they avoid the Wyld whenever
one another, which is exceedingly easy given the huge they can. Caravans that journey into the Bordermarches
expanse of the Eastern forests. Both groups share one leave the dangers of the dune people behind. The dune
important common attitude: they feel an abiding distrust people happily kill Wyld mutants and use their bones

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 45

 and skin for tools. The dune people refuse to eat the humans, and that suggestion of violated flesh (and violated
Wyld mutants’ meat, however, and swiftly hunt and kill identity) inspires an instinctive fear that even the most
any of their own who suffer Wyld mutation. rational person must work to overcome.
In places where people have little direct experience
CAN’T WE ALL GET ALONG? with part-humans or once-humans, the prejudice might
The reflexive hatred that most of Creation’s folk feel be shallower. At least a Lunar or Lawgiver doesn’t have to
for Wyld barbarians, beastmen and relics of the past may work against personal grievances about who killed whose
seem discouraging, especially to an Exalt who regards a sibling, spouse or parent. Mere laws might keep a Wyld-
tribe as her people, and wants them to find prosperity, touched population from death or slavery. Prejudice,
security and acceptance within Creation. It may also seem however, does not die quickly. Just because the people
strange that so many people lump together the handsome of the sea helped your country defeat the Lintha pirates
and civilized people of the air with grotesque monsters doesn’t mean you want your daughter to marry one. At-
such as the Devourers. titudes like that take decades or centuries to change… or
Remember that most people don’t know the different powerful Charms, such as the Lawgivers once used to rule
origins of humanity’s offshoots. For all the average citizen Creation. Whether it’s ethical to use mind control on
of Whitewall or the Haslanti League knows, a person entire populations is a question characters must answer
with wings was transformed by the Wyld as surely as any for themselves.
furred, fanged savage. The average person knows a jumble
of stories about Wyld mutation, bestial miscegenation FAIR FOLK
and vile Anathema sorcery. The Fair Folk borrow or steal the words and skills of
Appearance is no help, either. Some Wyld barbar- others to describe—and, ultimately, to define—themselves.
ians look human—or at least as human as any beastman They are nightmares and heroes, lovers and warriors,
or relic race—but the Wyld has made them monsters on murderers and torturers, larger-than-life figures out of
the inside. Maybe the gorgeous woman with the white stories. They have to be. They do not know how to be,
wings, or the handsome fellow with gills, really does en- and they cannot be, simply human. Their histories are
joy torturing people to death or feeding on the brains full of archetypes moving through predestined roles,
of children. betraying and loving and warring and despairing, but
Centuries of propaganda make things worse. The never ultimately changing in nature. And the Fair Folk
Immaculate Order—arguably the most powerful cultural cling to this, throwing themselves into each successive
institution in Creation—says that evil forces taint relic part and living it to the hilt, desperate to fan passion—any
races, beastmen and Wyld mutants alike. The Scarlet passion—to a flame inside their inhuman hearts.
Empire, Creation’s greatest military power, backs up The fundamental Wyld at the core of raksha nature
that position. Repeat a message long enough and even causes shaped Fair Folk to need the stability of settled
people who hate you can start believing it. past and established deeds as part of their carefully struc-
Not that the people of Creation’s rim are innocent. tured identities. They define themselves by the deeds that
Whether human, once-human or part-human, they meet they have performed, the passion and hatred they have
attack with counterattack, slave-raid with slave-raid, hatred garnered from others, and the skills they have mastered.
with hatred. Not many of them feel they should show All Fair Folk hunger for powerful allies or adversaries, to
more forbearance than their enemies. draw an emotion from them—any emotion—and to exist
So any Exalt who wants to make peace and friendship to that person. The Fair Folk play a part, and they make
between a Wyld tribe and anyone in Creation is in for themselves that part. They are like actors who do not
a challenge. The people of the air and people of the sea exist without their costumes and lines, utterly swallowed
would be easiest, since they look the most human and up in the stories that they enact. They are masks without
occasionally find limited acceptance on their own. Tree faces behind them. They crave interaction, drama and
folk and some beastman tribes would present greater dif- passion, whatever the drama and passions may be.
ficulties because they look obviously nonhuman. They They also devour souls. Raksha feed on human souls,
have a rightness to them that most Wyld barbarians lack, ravaging them through their emotions; some prefer the taste
though. The tree folk and beastmen’s animalistic features of love or affection, while others prefer pain, aggression,
are at least consistent. Wyld barbarians—especially those pride, humiliation… They can control their feeding so as not
whose mutations are not all inherited—are visibly warped to harm the victim—more than the victim permits, anyway.

46
UNSHAPED RAKSHA
Unshaped raksha have not taken on a stable form. They dwell in the utter Chaos that storms beyond
Creation, and some of them prowl in the Deep Wyld. They dislike the comparative fixity of the Middlemarches
and cannot survive long in the Bordermarches or Creation, as matter there becomes too fixed and structured
for them. Thousands of them entered Creation during the great Fair Folk invasion, but legions of shaped
raksha helped them draw the Wyld inward to sustain them, and they expected to unmake Creation before it
could unmake them.
These entities have no actual, solid form. They can permeate an entire waypoint… or more accurately,
they are sentient waypoints traveling through the outer Wyld. They have no genuine names of their own, only
a collection of words or syllables that somehow describe an aspect of their being.
Protean as they are, however, the unshaped do need to adopt a few defined traits when they leave Pure
Chaos. These are not so much a fixed nature as an arbitrary set of traits similar to the central traits of a way-
point. These traits might include a visible, tangible focus for the raksha’s self-awareness and interaction with
other beings… or it might not. For example, the unshaped raksha Kroange, Tooth in the Cliff, usually creeps
through the world as a cave lined with teeth in the bowels of a mountain. When Kroange feels restless, it takes
the form of a rock and rolls through the valleys and fields, never casting a shadow. Kroange sometimes hides
among other rocks; the rocks then become impossible to count. Each of Kroange’s teeth has a separate nature.
Long ago one of them, Subak, was stolen from him by Princess Kyema of the Jet Court, and he would reward
anyone who could return it. Subak now takes the form of a dagger, which the Princess wears at her side; it can
cut through any flesh once it has tasted that person’s blood, despite any armor or Charms.
Unshaped raksha do not and cannot react on a human level, or comprehend human preoccupations.
They are insane, without even the appearance of humanity to conceal this.

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 47

 The Fair Folk who live openly within Creation’s major
cities subsist on harmless emotions such as joy or pleasure,
THIEF OF WORDS
Thief of Words has become a legend among
and refrain from doing permanent damage. A raksha
the raksha. While the Fair Folk frequently profess
might even pay people to argue, so it can feed on their
to honor sages or respect cunning counselors, Thief
anger and exist through their opposition. The raksha who
of Words is one of the very few elder raksha whom
dwell in the Wyld rarely see any need to confine their
everyone really listens to and obeys. The raksha
desires, however, and feed until they leave the human as
themselves do not know the limits of its powers and
an empty, soulless shell. These victims are often sold to
fear to test its strength. Rumor variously says that
the Guild—who frequently sold the raksha the slaves in
Thief of Words has been the lover of the Scarlet
the first place—for use as menial labor.
Empress (whom the raksha hate and fear above all
humans, and therefore love for giving their existence
INVADERS FROM BEYOND meaning), that it lives in Yu-Shan, that it journeys
Every scholar in Creation knows how the Fair Folk
in disguise between the courts to keep them in op-
invaded from beyond the world’s rim. The raksha re-
position and that it organizes the next crusade to
member this story, too—but of course, they tell it from
destroy Creation. Since Thief of Words is said to
the other side.
take any shape it pleases, nobody can say what it
Once upon a time, the Fair Folk had neither shape
looks like. Sometimes the arch-raksha is an excuse
nor identity. When the Primordials formed Creation,
for new movements and fashions among the Fair
the Ones Beyond raged against it. The powerful among
Folk; at other times, Thief of Words (or someone
the raksha took shapes borrowed from Creation so they
claiming its identity) has halted a war in the mak-
could have voices to speak, and gathered thoughts so
ing, forced a treaty or even intervened on behalf of
they could formulate what they desired to say. They
normal humans. Anyone who can reasonably claim
sought emotions that would express their desires, and
to have met Thief of Words becomes an instant
they found them: Valor, Compassion, Temperance,
subject of interest to any raksha.
Conviction and Will.
The newly arisen leaders strove for dominance (an-
other concept they imitated), as each raksha desired to reestablished the boundaries of the world. The surviving
make the assault on Creation an expression of its chosen Fair Folk leaders fled, and so did their forces with them.
Virtue. At last, a single raksha came forward. With cun- Balor’s Crusade had failed.
ning speech, it showed the other raksha that all things The Dragon-Blooded thought the main threat bro-
ultimately served their desires, whether to enslave, destroy ken. They set up garrisons on the borders of Creation, and
or cherish Creation’s mortal inhabitants. It swore that led hunts to dispose of small freeholds where they could
nothing should ever prevent the raksha from doing as find them, but the Scarlet Empress found she had more
they wished. They named this raksha Thief of Words, than the Fair Folk to deal with: the Dragon-Blooded did
and it still roams Creation to the present day, an object not harry the raksha all the way back to Chaos. The Lu-
of awe and terror among the Fair Folk—the definer of nars who remained knew the Wyld better, and remained
their race. on guard. Meanwhile, the Fair Folk themselves became
more fixed in form and nature as they remained within
THE FAIR FOLK TAKE FORM Creation. But those raksha beyond the boundaries, still
Prince Balor of the Terrible Gaze then raised his unshaped and unformed, cursed their fellows and saw
standard and named his will: that Creation should be them now as pitiful freaks and traitors little better than
taken, for the raksha to ravage, shape or destroy at their humans and deserving to be destroyed with them.
whim. He led the assembled forces into Creation. The When the Fair Folk began to meet with each other
Dragon-Blooded, greatly wearied by their own efforts in again, they had all changed. They now bore aspects and
the Usurpation and by the scourge of the Great Conta- forms taken from mortal dreams and nightmares. For a
gion, could not stand against the raksha. while there was confusion, with some giving offence where
Right when the world seemed about to fall into their it was not intended, and others not giving offence despite
hands, and the raksha began to celebrate their victory, their greatest efforts to do so. However, after discussion,
the leaders turned on each other and slew each other the Fair Folk discovered that they all still shared the
with the mightiest of their weapons. And then it was concepts of Valor, Temperance, Conviction, Compas-
that the Scarlet Empress roused the Imperial Manse and sion and Willpower. Five courts based on these concepts

48
arose, and many lesser households. Many raksha chose to Guild caravan going there as well; he is likely to reach
affiliate themselves with one or more of these groupings, the freehold sane and in one piece. What may happen
the better to befriend or feud with their kin. after that is a different matter.
As the years went by, more than one court fell to A few raksha also affect to scorn the trade as weak
become a mere household, and more than one household and decadent. What glory do the raksha gain by lounging
rose to become a court. Some courts or households set in their freeholds, waiting for their dinners? They should
up their own treaties with gods, mortals or Exalted; how- stalk through Creation as its predatory lords, filling it
ever, these treaties only bound the particular Fair Folk with their wonder and terror. The schism between the
who belonged to that court or household… or perhaps traders and the hunters leads to many entertaining
only an individual raksha. Although the Fair Folk must rivalries and vendettas.
keep their given word to the letter, they do their best to
interpret it to suit themselves. THE COURTS AND HOUSEHOLDS
The Guild taught the Fair Folk about commerce. As of RY 768, the Five Courts are Opal, Ruby, Jet,
The raksha offered glamours, sorcery and rare items Lapis and Pearl. Previous courts include the Emerald
from the Wyld; the Guild offered human slaves. Unlike Court—now a mere household, due to the carelessness
the Guild’s other clients, the Fair Folk did not object to of its twin rulers, though still devoted to Valor—and the
truculent and awkward slaves; the raksha enjoy willful Diamond Court, which was destroyed.
victims. Once the raksha savored the last morsel of a The Opal Court champions Valor. Its ruler Prince
victim’s mind and soul, they often sold the slaves back Japhthia traces his lineage back to Balor himself. The court
to the Guild, for use as menial beasts of burden. While currently resides in the distant East, from where the war-
civilized society looks down on the trade, and strategists riors ride forth to cast defiance at the local petty gods.
condemn it as merely strengthening the raksha, it brings in The Lapis Court offers shelter for those who practice
so great a profit that the Guild certainly does not intend what the Fair Folk term Compassion. Here rules Neshi
to stop it. A traveler who wanted to reach a particular of the Double Whips, who goes perpetually veiled and
raksha freehold could do worse than journeying with a who sleeps surrounded by human children. The mood of

THE CHURCH OF BALOR

The raksha would never sincerely worship any god. However, the drama of divinity and worship appeals
to the Fair Folk. They can adopt formalized postures of veneration, homage, penance and prayer. They
particularly appreciate the idea of gods who influence the entire world—who are known by everyone, in fear
and reverence. And when were the raksha more godlike, more known, than when they almost destroyed the
world? And, they take up the tragically slain Prince Balor (never mind that other raksha killed him) as a lost
but noble cause, and swear undying loyalty to his crusade. The Church of Balor was sculpted by a thousand
terrified human dreams of destruction, a thousand wanton human lusts for conquest and a thousand dying
human souls screaming in pain.
The Church is what Fair Folk think religion ought to be. Worshippers kneel and pray, priests incant strange
chants of praise, warriors in shining armor ride forth on quests, horrible sacrifices take place in exquisite or excru-
ciating detail, zealots duel over points of doctrine, and so on. Many Fair Folk join or leave the Church as a whim,
as they find it a convenient excuse for some role they wish to play, or as justification for some feud or friendship.
While the Church officially seeks to bring the Final Crusade that sweeps Creation back into Chaos, the
Church’s devotees share no consensus on how this should take place. Some adherents favor inviting the un-
shaped raksha from the Deep Wyld or from Chaos to lead the armies. Others suggest murdering the Scarlet
Empress and her most faithful servants first, while still others simply want to ride out in nightmare, blood and
fire, and destroy everything in their path. The passive remainder simply enjoys the feuds and disputes, but is
unlikely to launch any Crusade in the immediate future.
With the Empress vanished and the Great Houses in strife, some raksha say this is the perfect moment for
a new Crusade. Some of them even suggest offering cataphracts and hobgoblin legions to certain Houses or
rebel kingdoms and satrapies, helping them break free from the Realm and then turning on both sides when
they are weakened. This proposal interests many raksha, and particularly the Five Courts, but would require
careful choice of victims and wording of bargains.

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 49

 this court ebbs and flows with the years, and it is given
to passing fashions. It recently traveled to the far South, CHILDREN OF THE DIAMOND COURT
and lion warriors guard the silken tents of its nobles. The Diamond Court is one of the great raksha
The Pearl Court is filled with raksha who idolize Will- cautionary tales. Centuries ago, the Diamond Court
power. Its nobles duel by night and day, and the ocean around celebrated Conviction. The court set itself against
it is doubly salted with raksha blood. The court rides on the all four of the other courts, arguing that Conviction
back of one of the last remaining behemoths, which swims made all other virtues possible. Warriors of the
the seas of the Western Middlemarches. Judge Nehemeth Diamond Court also raided human villages and left
sits on a throne carved from a single pearl and only moves false traces that cast blame on the other courts or
from it when a would-be usurper challenges her rule. nearby freeholds, in an attempt to draw the other
The Jet Court is the refuge of those who have a high raksha into an alliance against the humans. The
(yet moderate) regard for Temperance. Many of these raksha nobles of the court and its ruler, Queen Kanathar-
strive to demonstrate this virtue at the expense of their fel- itha, argued that true Conviction made all means
lows. They take pleasure in demonstrating how moderate not merely possible, but necessary.
and well judged they are in their pleasures and hatreds, The Diamond Court was taken by surprise by
leading to a number of duels second only to the Pearl Court. the Tepet legions, which penetrated deep into the
Princess Kyema rules the Jet Court mildly and seductively, Wyld with the help of Guild experts, thaumaturgy
aided by her personal rumormongers and spies; it currently and powerful Charms. (If they had assistance from
lies in the Northern Wyld, but rarely stays put for long, as Sidereals, Lunars or other raksha nobles, this was
that would show excessive attachment to one place. kept well secret.) The legions destroyed the Diamond
The Ruby Court prizes Conviction. These raksha Court, burned its palace, slew the Queen and left
do not care what anyone does, so long as they do it with the remains to the Wyld. Some raksha claim that
uttermost passion and certainty. The nobles of this court the younger members of the court, including the
weep tears of blood, take human lovers, slay them in Queen’s twin babes, were taken to be sold as slaves
fits of jealousy and then feud with each other about it. by the Guild—a most exquisite irony, the tellers all
Duke Aral is a weak ruler who spends much of his time agree—but if this is so then no trace of them has
before his mirror. The nobles of his court politick and been found for centuries. The Ruby Household
command in his absence. The court resides in the far rose to become a court in the power vacuum that
Southeast, and trades heavily with the Guild. was left.
The Lesser Households may take the name of gems The whole affair of the Diamond Court taught
such as the Garnet, the Beryl, the Amethyst and the the raksha to keep their depredations below the
Citrine, to name but a few, or they name themselves level that would provoke the Realm’s retaliation.
after flowers, musical instruments or whatever else their With the Empress gone and the Realm in disarray,
master pleases. They move and travel as they wish, if that caution is nearly gone. Furthermore, finding
they cannot obtain a freehold. While a household often the “lost heirs” could easily spark a restorationist
follows its master’s wish and allies to a single court, just civil war among the courts that would entertain all
as many households include members scattered across raksha involved.
the courts. Likewise, some households live within a
court’s bounds while others live apart if the Wyld or in However, strong similarities appear among raksha in a
Creation. A household lacks the authority or power of particular elemental direction, far more so than among
a court, but a sufficiently strong household can gather humans who might live in the same area. Along with
allies and maybe in time become a court itself. The Ruby being infinitely variable, raksha are infinitely impression-
Court was once a simple household itself, and still has able. Without strong, personal inspirations, the average
many allies among the Lesser Households. raksha takes impressions from his surroundings like a
drop of hot wax. Fair Folk want exotic personal habits,
COMMON RAKSHA OF THE rites, oaths, feuds and all the other things that give them
the semblance of a human personality. They are easily
FOUR DIRECTIONS swayed by the hunger of the sea, the drama of the climate
Travelers through the quarters of Creation report and the local human customs. The Fair Folk gather them
that the raksha who live in the different directions each in as magpies gather gaudy toys, and assemble them into
have their own customs, habits, hungers and passions. intricate and vivid lifestyles. See Chapters Three through

50
Six for the appearances and attitudes frequently adopted The Goblin Bazaars have been the same for the last
by the raksha of the Wyld’s four quarters. few centuries, but their lords and ladies change frequently.
The Five Courts, by comparison, define themselves They are as follows:
far more by their chosen virtues than by the general cus- The Wreath of Lashes is found off the Ash Road
toms or nature of their environment. The raksha within deep in the Southern Desert, where lions and fire-black-
a court often reflect the local elemental temperament, ened scorpion-children guide the caravans to this bronze
but they filter it through their own attitudes, with the tower. The slowly writhing walls are chill to the touch,
ruler’s personality as a further influence. and move with shifting bas-reliefs of long-devoured
Finally, in some freeholds the ruler makes such an slaves, revisiting their past torments in slow motion.
impression upon his subjects and the environment that A maze of curtains made from whip-braids and chains
local customs reflect nothing but his own temperament. leads the way to the reception hall. Visitors are offered
This can lead to small enclaves inside Rakshastan that chilled wine and raw, spiced meat. Merchant princes
look and act nothing like the dominant Fair Folk culture often leave with gossamer blades, carved jewels, ever-
for that region. burning lamps and unguents that make one beautiful
as the dawn for one hour.
TRADE WITH THE GUILD The Embrace of Ash and Yew is deep in the Eastern
Trade between the Guild and the Fair Folk began in Forest. Carnivorous gray stags lead caravans on a twisting
approximately RY 130, between particularly daring Guild path toward the rising sun and a huge ash tree twisted
factors and Fae-blooded ravagers who saw this as an easy together with an equally huge yew tree. Interlocking
way to procure the human slaves their raksha masters chambers lie within the living wood, decorated with spi-
demanded. Within barely a dozen years, trade had blos- derweb tapestries that give soft music from the plucking
somed into a full-grown industry, and the ravagers had of fist-sized spiders. Hanging fruits, candied insects and
been cut out in favor of direct bargaining between high- nectar are served here. Guild representatives leave with
ranking Guild merchants and the Fair Folk themselves. gossamer cloth, rare spices and dyes, recipes for medicines
Those first merchants left behind detailed instructions and poisons, dream-inducing wines and birds that sing
as to the proper protocols to use when trading with the the most complex arias after hearing them once.
raksha, and these are still regarded as the most reliable The Mouth of White Sleep lies in the distant North,
way to do so. While merchants (Guild and otherwise) are and a chill white fog shrouds the gates of this ice palace.
free to make their own deals anywhere in Rakshastan, The hospitality here is the offer of fur cloaks and heated
and often do, five fortified markets offer some degree of rooms; the reward is blocks of never-melting ice, bottled
associated safety through their established customs. winds, soap that washes away a guilty conscience and
These five Goblin Bazaars—one in each quarter of tapestries woven from the dreams of gifted artisans.
Creation, and one that wanders with the Wyld itself—serve The Surgeon’s Deep is cut from the body of a slowly
as convenient points for Guild caravans to trade with writhing whale-behemoth. Glass boats and Fair Folk in
the Fair Folk. When a caravan comes close enough to a the shape of gulls guide travelers to the bazaar. Great
bazaar, one of the common Fair Folk guides the caravan spears puncture the behemoth’s nerve-points and closed
in. The guide may arrive alone, or with an honor guard the flow of living Essence to its vital organs until those
of gossamer-glass ships, firebirds or other wonders out chambers have hardened into jade. Slaves are exchanged
of the Wyld. By the rules of these bazaars, the caravan for gossamer armor, Wyld pearls, thought-reflecting mir-
master must formally ask permission to enter, and then rors, immense corals, shells and other Western treasures.
every member of the caravan must go in; nobody can Merchant princes must avoid the skewered, living sea-
stay outside. The Guild officials must refrain from sam- creatures and heady rum offered to them.
pling the refreshments they are offered while bargaining The Fragrant Hill wanders through the Wyld places
with the raksha lord of the fortress. By the laws of the of the world. Caravans take a widdershins route around
exchange, anyone who partakes of the hospitality must the source of the Gray River until the hill appears,
remain as a slave. After the bargaining ends (and still cloaked in mist and smelling of the rare incense of the
without any food or drink) the Guildsmen may leave, greatest Immaculate temples. Visitors must refuse the
and will find the price of the newly sold slaves packed in shining gems they are offered to navigate the darkness
their caravan cargo, together with any dream-eaten slaves within, and use only their own lanterns, or grope in the
chained together in a coffle. dark. They must also refuse the savory roots and legumes

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 51

 heaped on platters for them. Here can be obtained scrolls service after painful lives in Creation. Other ravagers
depicting First Age devices, gryphon feathers, cakes of began as slaves but took their masters’ fancy. The raksha
diamond-dust and mechanical toys of inhumanly cun- may cultivate other potential ravagers from childhood,
ning manufacture. occasionally visiting their villages or cities to observe them
Of course, other domains and freeholds buy slaves, from a distance. The Fair Folk look for cold-blooded
too, or trade away their dream-eaten husks to the Guild amorality: not just the obviously vicious bullies but the
or any other merchants. However, any deals the humans little princesses and drama queens, the village Lotharios
broker outside the Goblin Bazaars are individual ones, and neighborhood tattletales—anyone who hides behind
and subject to raksha interpretation and raksha humor. an image and doesn’t care whom he hurts in the process,
Let the vendor beware. or who would rather live an imaginary life than a real
one. In short, people like the raksha themselves.
RAVAGERS A ravager in training briefly becomes a petted toy,
The Guild sells mortal souls to the Fair Folk, but perhaps the favored lover of one or several raksha, while
some people work for the raksha directly. Ravagers are simultaneously witnessing the degradation and collapse
humans whose wills the raksha have broken or suborned, of other humans around him. The Fair Folk also promise
and who now serve them with slavish devotion. Some the mortal that if he serves faithfully, he will be rewarded
ravagers abduct other mortals for their masters. Other with immortal beauty and power as the raksha themselves.
ravagers serve as messengers, warriors and front-men. This combination of stick and carrot seduces the wills
They are often physically attractive, either because they of most ravagers. Stronger-willed mortals, or half-bloods
were so originally or because their raksha masters disguise who understand what happens to all mortals eventually
them with glamour. in a Fair Folk domain, become the leaders of such groups
A few ravagers are Fae-blooded—people of mingled and receive gossamer weapons and armor. Their masters
raksha and human descent—reared as coddled and abused promise to spare them so long as they obey perfectly and
pets inside some freehold or finding their way to raksha bring back more victims.

52
 Ambitious ravagers sometimes realize the thrall that POLITICS OF THE FAIR FOLK
the Fair Folk have over them and try to break free. These Among the raksha, politics deals not so much with
ravagers may discard their raksha belongings and hide in territory or power as with personal feuds, long-term
a village or city far from raksha dwellings, while trying enmities, current fashions in the use of captive humans
to forget the unimaginable pleasures and pains that they and general style. The actual reason for the long enmity
once enjoyed. Former ravagers have even become regarded between the Pearl and Lapis Courts matters little when
as local holy men, due to their stern denial of physical compared to the opportunities their adherents find to
pleasures. (Of course, for a ravager, nothing compares fight duels, plot against each other, insult each other in
to what he once knew at the hands of the Fair Folk.) A public places, steal each others’ treasures or pet mortals
few even manage to live out a normal mortal lifespan, or enjoy passionate, forbidden affairs with each other
and die respected by a community that never knew of before the tragic betrayal and inevitable temporary mutual
their previous tasks. More often, onetime ravagers vanish destruction. Although genuine discussions about terri-
in the dead of night, carried away by raksha who finally tory and tribute do go on behind the scenes, the average
tracked them down, or they cannot resist the memory raksha understands “politics” as “a chance for me to
of the Fair Folk any longer and go stumbling back to indulge myself and develop some new enemies.”
the Wyld, to have their dreams devoured and their souls This is affected by the fact that the popular, powerful
emptied away. Fair Folk are the interesting ones who can hold the atten-
Not many ravagers survive more than a few years. tion and respect of other raksha. They have Exalted (and
Either they die while carrying out the raksha’s bidding, preferably Solars or Lunars) as allies or enemies. Their
or they no longer possesses the physical charms and weapons are known to freeholds across Creation. Their
grace that made them suitable servants. After all, the powers and skills become the subject of tales among both
Fair Folk would never tolerate a minion who was less raksha and humans, and their stories grow more and
than beautiful or pleasing. However much a favorite more epic. Such raksha gain assistance and obedience
they once were, most ravagers end up suffering and dy- from other Fair Folk who hope to become part of their
ing with the other victims, or shuffling in some Guild story or find new roles for themselves. Lesser Fair Folk—or
merchant’s slave-coffle. Half-bloods have a better chance worse still, boring, nondescript Fair Folk—must scrabble
of surviving and prospering, since their innate abilities for crumbs in the corners, unimportant and unwanted,
and longer lifespans give them the option of finding a and lack the attention and interaction sufficient to fully
niche within the freehold and somehow establishing define themselves and become strong.
their own value. Policies among the Fair Folk divide into two loose
categories: genuine and serious policies that deal with
BARBARIAN RAVAGERS real events affecting the stability of the court, household,
The Fair Folk employ seductive ravagers when freehold or individual and policies developed purely for
they wish to gain victims by stealth and cunning. emotional and narrative indulgence. Fair Folk often man-
Some raksha, however, prefer a more brutal style of age to combine the two, but not always. Powerful Fair
predation by proxy. They bully, bribe or bamboozle Folk are most likely to be behind genuine politics, since
a local tribe into attacking some other tribe, or the they don’t have the driving need for attention that forces
civilized folk of Creation, with the aim of capturing lesser Fair Folk to choose the most dramatic, interesting
victims. The shock, fear and grief of the captives give course of action.
extra savor to their souls. Some barbarians do this Fair Folk are always delighted to involve other beings
of their own volition: they realize the Fair Folk want in their politics. Exalted in particular make marvelous
slaves, so the barbarians offer captives as tribute if tools, agents or adversaries. It is not considered a sign
the raksha will leave them alone. of weakness to employ one of the Exalted to perform a
This racket works best with ordinary barbarians task, but rather a sign of skill and control that the raksha
and Wyld barbarians. A tribe that assimilates to the could persuade or force the Exalt to comply.
Wyld might even make service to the Fair Folk part Raksha political activities include the following:
of its scripted identity. Beastman tribes, however, Send official ambassadors. These Fair Folk should
sometimes have Lunar sponsors who object forcefully be powerful, elegant, interesting and in every way good
to raksha domination—but that can be a desirable representatives of the group they represent. They are
outcome, too. expected to deliver dramatic threats or sweet flattery

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 53

 while presenting their ruler’s demands or requests, and themselves in the visitors’ stories, acquire important allies
to emphasize the importance and interest of the faction and generally make new friends and enemies. Meetings
they represent. It is considered good manners for visit- at neutral ground usually occur when two major groups
ing ambassadors to involve themselves in local court or of raksha wish to interact, but without the commitment
freehold life, via seductions, duels, betrayals and other of sending ambassadors (official or unofficial). This sort
normal interactions. of meeting generally involves some degree of competi-
While it might be more useful sometimes to send tion, such as a shared hunt, an exhibition of crafts, a
weak or unimportant ambassadors so your enemies will demonstration of pet slaves, a contest of magic or other
underestimate you, no raksha could bring herself to do opportunities to show off.
this. It’d be so dull, and it’d damage her reputation. Lure away important members. Seducing a member
Sending someone so hideously ugly or gruesome that his of an opposing Fair Folk group into joining your own
very ugliness makes a statement in itself has possibilities, demonstrates your social prowess and personal power
though. Persuading a Celestial Exalt to serve as an ambas- among the raksha. If you can bring along her entourage,
sador is a major diplomatic coup. A Terrestrial Exalt is lovers, enemies and other associates, so much the better.
worth a round of applause, but doesn’t have quite the The drama of an important member of a group publicly
same shock value. renouncing her old allegiance provokes immediate response
Send unofficial ambassadors. Raksha groups do this from everyone concerned or merely watching. Raksha eti-
either when they don’t want to admit in public that they quette suggests that you either seduce someone from the
negotiate with each other, or when the official ambas- other group into your company, or fetch back the defector
sadors in situ can’t be trusted to handle the important by whatever means you can—a double defection for twice
business. Unofficial ambassadors genuinely represent the drama! Some Fair Folk would entice the defector with
their particular group (after all, where’s the point other- romance, treachery or the promise of a mutual enemy, while
wise?) but don’t admit to having any particular authority. others prefer the classical approach of dragging her back
They merely display themselves attractively, get involved in chains for immediate and painful punishment.
with the group they visit and have quiet words behind the
scenes. Such negotiations may concern important issues WAR
that affect both groups, and the secrecy is an important Mortals seem to enjoy war since they spend so
factor. Discovering or revealing these negotiations can much time on it, and the raksha agree: war is one of
cause genuine attempts to kill a raksha, rather than sim- the grandest entertainments ever devised. Of course,
ply artistic ones. While an Exalt can be sent on this sort a war should be done with proper concern for the feel-
of mission, it might involve revealing too much about a ings of both sides—that is, with a dramatic entrance, the
raksha group’s secret goals or weaknesses. presentation of insult, either the merciful sparing or the
Stage daring raids. This can range from simple painful execution of the messengers, the challenges to
border attacks and duels to full-scale kidnappings and duels from both sides, ultimatums, last-minute attempts
thefts from the ruling raksha’s throne room. This sort at peace and of course the war itself. Human minions
of action demonstrates the raiding Fair Folk’s power, make wonderful audiences for speeches and die so
competence and style: stealing a raksha lady’s ring while beautifully on the battlefield. War really has to be one
she holds court, for instance, would definitely impress the of the most popular modes of Fair Folk politics; it offers
other Fair Folk. A raid can be done as the equivalent of all the raksha a chance to show themselves at their best
a polite introduction, or as a demonstration of strength and build new relationships. Besides, when the war ends
between two raksha groups who are currently neutral or one side can sue for peace, the other side can gracefully
feuding mildly. The raksha consider it gauche for too many accept it, and they can begin a cycle of feasts, prisoner
pursuers to hunt down a raider or thief. The offended exchanges, betrayals, hopeless avowals of shame, demands
party should merely send a few high-quality hunters to for restitution and other enticing pastimes until war is
bring back the item, the thief’s head, the thief himself declared again.
or some other item of value. Best of all, war allows the Fair Folk to involve other
Meet at a neutral location. Minor freeholds compete people in their sport, from barbarian tribes to entire na-
to host this sort of event. While powerful visitors may tions, if the raksha can trick or enthrall the mortal leaders.
overshadow the local lord, diplomatic meetings offer The Fair Folk can devote years to seducing, blackmailing
unparalleled opportunities for local raksha to entangle or otherwise manipulating chiefs, kings, priests, magnates

54
or whoever else they need to arrange a big, entertaining own rivalries and intentions. Any or all of these cultures
war. The raksha might not even bother to fight themselves, may fall inside a single Lunar’s territory, and they are
but let their dispute hang on the mortals’ outcome, with the perfect seeds for the Lunars to cultivate into instant
lesser wagers on the side. They might even draw in a few armies or into potential rivals for the Realm. As Halta
of the Exalted. In particular, many of Luna’s Chosen have and the Haslanti League prove, yesterday’s city-state can
traced attacks on their favored tribes or other turmoil at grow into tomorrow’s fledgling empire.
the Wyld’s fringe to raksha “games”… and found that it In the Wyld, the Lunar Exalted find less predictable
was all planned to bring the Lunar to a final, epic conflict human cultures. Adding Wyld mutations and assimilation
with the raksha themselves. into the mix creates the possibility of cultures in which
kingship depends on ritually sucking blood through a
LUNAR EXALTED mosquito proboscis, where self-worth is judged on the
The Chosen of Luna prefer not to live inside the quality of one’s gills or in which people operate as a
Wyld. Many of them try to live as near the edge of their hive mind. Lunars treat the Wyld societies they discover
local Bordermarches as possible. They use the Wyld as a (and seed, and found) as experiments for what might be
resource, a challenge, a refuge and a tactical advantage; done in Creation. Few Lunar Exalted believe that Wyld
many also see it as a responsibility that other Exalted cultures are viable for transplant into Creation, but there
have long since forsaken. As the Wyld such a central are always exceptions. On the other hand, many Wyld
part of their lives and continued survival, the Lunar cultures could provide quality shock troops in the event
Exalted have every reason in the world to make their of a war, so Luna’s Children keep an eye on them, either
homes near the Wyld. personally or through agents.
In the end, Luna’s Children actually control at
USES FOR CHAOS least as much ground as the Scarlet Empress did in her
From territories around the Wyld, Lunars control heyday, but their power is more diffuse. They cannot
vast swathes of land and all that entails. Many untapped send a magistrate to a small town and make everyone
sources of valuable minerals belong to nobody so much turn out its pockets—a Lunar must go himself, unless
as the Lunar Exalted, resting in the mountains or under he already established a great deal of influence over the
the ground until the Lunar decides she needs them. region. Many Lunars prefer the personal nature of this
Pristine forests lie on the edge of the Bordermarches, arrangement, but some still try to reign as distant lieges
often a little bit strange, but all a hero needs to build an instead of intimate warlords.
army’s stock of spears or to hunt and salt enough wild Humans (and their derivatives) are not the only
pork to keep a legion marching for months. creatures Lunars find useful. Many beasts of the Wyld,
On the other side of the border, the resources such as the sea horse of the West and the ice hollows
become harder to claim, but commensurately more valu- of the North, prove useful to the Children of Luna.
able. Lunar artificers cannot craft impossible substances As examples, the former serve as excellent steeds and
from Chaos as the Solars of yore did, but the Lunars the latter can make excellent guardians (if trained) or
can still obtain miraculous ingredients for their artifacts traps for enemies (if wild). The remarkable simhata are
and experiments. Some Lunars just keep looking until descendants of creatures removed from the Wyld early
they find what they want. Others bargain with the Fair in the First Age.
Folk and unformed raksha (whose bargains are often so Most Lunars who keep territories around or in the
unfathomable that they must be ill-intended—perhaps) to Wyld also respect that the land they claim was once
behemoths, homeless demons or unclassifiable things. thousands of miles from Creation’s edge. They tread
The territories of Luna’s Chosen are large enough to now upon parts of the Old Realm they once guarded,
include many small, mortal societies. Despite the distance making their homes a treasure trove of ancient history.
from the “civilized” way of life that radiates outward from Some territories are so connected to the old protectorates
the Realm, nearly every type of culture has representa- they once were that Lunars who loved those lands have
tion on Creation’s rim. Nomadic tribesmen wander the handed their names down from the First Age, perhaps
plains and dunes, harvesting edible plants and hunting hoping to reestablish them someday. Every day, however,
the local animals; while villages of subsistence farmers the Wyld erodes more history that the Lunars have not
scratch out a living. Even minor city-states form, far from yet recovered and recorded… and anything consumed by
the influence of the Realm or the Guild, developing their the Wyld is lost forever. To prevent this, some Lunars

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 55

 (or their proxies) scour the Wyld for lost knowledge and The Wyld’s people can be even more dangerous than
remains of the Old Realm, believing this the highest ideal mutated beasts. Whatever people may have hoped when
they could serve in this dark Age. they entered the Wyld, frequent danger and derangement
Not all sources of ancient history and knowledge by the Wyld tends to make them… aggressive. Tribes of
are susceptible to the Wyld. Tombs of Celestial Exalted, ferocious Wyld mutants can be a premier danger to the
from the first casualties of the Primordial War to the last Lunar Exalted. Even though the Children of Luna have
deaths of the Usurpation, exist in significant number a reputation for conquering and taming barbarians, this
on the edge of Creation. Their locations often seem sometimes requires long trials of worth or a wearying
random until one remembers that any place might have series of ritual combats—assuming the mutants are not
been a favored sanctuary two millennia ago. Entire cities part of a story that requires they fight to the death.
exist on the borders or within the Wyld, and even their Luna’s Chosen also face threats from the Fair Folk,
obvious geomancy might hint at forgotten techniques. who believe themselves the true masters of the Wyld.
Fortresses, highly shielded against all dangers but slowly The Lunar Exalted are heroes, however, and rarely the
eroding, once projected power across Creation and sorts to back down before the odd raksha. The Fair Folk
protected the Old Realm’s tributaries; some may still treat life as a story; the Lunars are prepared to teach the
contain First Age weapons or defenses, undiscovered raksha exactly who are the protagonists and who are the
and ready to be looted. Lunars follow up credible leads recurring villains.
to salvage what was lost. The Lunars also know that most raksha would like
Even the empty space is a resource. Within their great to march into Creation with their hobgoblin hordes
territories, Lunars have all the authority and flexibility and unravel the world from the edges in, until nothing
they need to experiment with new Charms, sorceries, was left. This makes the raksha the Lunars’ indisputable
thaumaturgic arts and even the most massive artifacts. enemies, who must be stopped. Even those raksha who
With such wide open spaces, few people care if a new occasionally seem harmless, or even helpful, are in some
spell accidentally dissolves an area 20 miles wide to way inimical to Creation’s continued existence.
pine sap. With such a wide range of cultures available The Wyld holds many other potent and dangerous
to them, Lunars can test their techniques on all manner creatures. Some of these are behemoths, created by the
of people and usually find a place for their new magic Primordials before they were dethroned, or born later
to be appropriate. from Chaos itself. Other things bear no title or category.
The Wyld also provides immediate access to a vari- These unique and powerful creatures range from mon-
able testing ground. Some environments may cause some sters that could trample cities, to the songbird-maiden
techniques to function differently, and any true researcher Callibia whose voice enslaves all who hear it. Some of
likes to know that before using a spell or Charm in the these entities can become acquaintances or resources,
field. There are even fewer to complain when a weapon but they are too dangerous to become allies—at least,
that seemed stable collapses an entire Wyld region into not for long.
nothingness—and entities that do complain generally aren’t Lunar Exalted know all of the above dangers very
held in high regard by the Lunar Exalted. They also use well. Mentors among the Silver Pact have collected lore
the Wyld as a source of inspiration, sometimes wandering of the Wyld and passed it on for nearly 15 centuries,
it for weeks or months at a time just to see if the ever- and the threats to Luna’s Children and to Creation as a
changing land offers anything interesting to learn. whole are foremost of the things remembered. For this
reason, some Lunars give thanks for their exile to the
CHALLENGES AND THREATS world’s rim. Living here makes them strong, unlike their
No reasonable Lunar ever forgets that their moonsil- thinly remembered lives in the Old Realm.
ver tattoos do not protect them from every danger in the The flexibility of the Wyld’s landscape actually presents
Wyld. Creatures wander into Bordermarches or, worse, opportunities with the threats. Through a combination
the Middlemarches and come out mutants. Sometimes of their own Charms and temporary treaties with their
they are harmless, but just as frequently they come out local raksha, some Lunar Exalted take the time to create
aggressive, sturdier, stronger or even just inherently and overcome various challenges. Within the malleable
dangerous to anything around them. A horse that fires Wyld, a Lunar can fight ersatz Deathlords marching out
spines from its body every few minutes just can’t stay in of shadowlands or Dragon-Blooded on the shore of the
its old stable. Blessed Isle itself. Realities of these situations are often

56
beyond the Lunars—or too suicidally dangerous to attempt at maintaining their sanities. Thus protected from the
for real—but Fair Folk shapings can take into account distortions of the Wyld, the Lunar Exalted enjoy relative
information that the raksha themselves don’t know. freedom in the chaos outside Creation.
Through this method, the Lunars have managed to So, when powerful forces such as a Wyld Hunt or
accrue incredible amounts of experience without ranging Realm legion threaten a Lunar on his own territory, the
far from their territories. When Luna’s Chosen must fight Child of Luna can fall back into the Bordermarches. For
these adversaries for real, (and they know such days must many Lunars, running an opponent through the Wyld is
come, and soon), they already have a body of effective like leading the authorities through the back alleys where
tactics and training. This doesn’t mean the Lunars aren’t he grew up. Because the Lunar knows the dangers, he is
in danger from their war games—raksha shapings can kill, safe; his foes lose their way, stumble into danger, become
and some raksha are playful or malicious enough to let an frightened and otherwise operate at a disadvantage. A
undefeated horde of walking dead march on through the pursuer must choose between facing unknowable threats
Wyld until they met their fates. In some respects, facing or losing the quarry altogether.
an adventure constructed by an elder or by oneself can The most dedicated enemies, from fanatical Im-
be every bit as harrowing as doing the real thing. maculate monks to unswerving assassins from Malfeas,
pursue Lunars even into the Deep Bordermarches. Against
SAFE REDOUBTS these enemies, the Lunars may lead the hunt into the
Living on the edge of the Wyld exposes the Lunars Middlemarches, or even the Deep Wyld. Neither offers as
to some enemies but protects them from others. Their much safety for the Lunar Exalted as the Bordermarches
moonsilver tattoos give them a perfect defense against do, but the Lunars’ pursuers still face immeasurably more
the mutations and shaping effects that are the Wyld’s risk than their Lunar prey.
primary danger. Though the maddening scenes and vi- On the other hand, the Fair Folk and other enemies
sions can still warp a Lunar’s mind, they are practiced originate from the Wyld itself; they don’t fear its dangers,

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 57

 they are the dangers. Against such enemies, the Lunar to pull it off. The Sidereal Exalted often influence their
uses the opposite tactic. Luring the raksha out into the calculations: Lunar elders know that if the Sidereals
Bordermarches (where Fair Folk are weaker) or even into could find the prizes buried in the Wyld’s chaos, they
Creation proper (where Fair Folk are most constrained) would use them against the Pact or its goals. Histories and
allows the Lunars to make the most of their Charms and artifacts thought lost could allow a Sidereal’s schemes to
powers while denying the raksha their unique talents. bear fruit instead of a Lunar’s, and for that reason some
The same tactics expose heavily mutated creatures to a of Luna’s Chosen guard the border well.
dearth of the Wyld energies they need to live; prolong- Some Lunars also remember the value of impossible
ing the hunt weakens such beasts and may eventually reagents from the Wyld. The loss of the Solar Exalted
kill them. makes it much harder to obtain a cocoon’s betrothal or
Some enemies can match the Lunars step for step moonsilver dreams, but there are ways. Even a Dragon-
wherever they go. Solar Exalted can learn Charms to Blood could obtain such treasures, if he could somehow
become proof enough against the chaotic energies, and convince the Fair Folk to make them for him. Lunars stand
other Lunar Exalted—unsurprisingly—are just as danger- against this for several reasons. They hate the idea of the
ous in the Wyld as in Creation. Faced with such pursuers, usurpers and betrayers striving for what they destroyed.
a Lunar must turn and fight or press on and use his Some Lunars do not believe that the cultures of Creation
familiarity with his territory and the nearby Wyld to his are ready to reclaim such power. Other Lunars want to
greatest advantage. Just because neither the Lunar nor keep the Realm as weak as possible before their impending
his enemies can be shaped directly by the Wyld doesn’t invasion. They can’t prevent the Dragon-Blooded from
mean that a scratch in the Poison Woods is not still obtaining Wyld-treasures and occult reagents so long as
deadly. A Lunar who knows his turf can lead any foe the Guild maintains its trade with barbarians and the
into serious danger. Fair Folk, but at least they can reduce the commerce.
Sometimes, a Lunar with contacts in the Wyld can Restricting access to the Wyld’s resources also pres-
arrange for shelter from outside forces. Most raksha ents opportunities for payment or bribery. More than a
could easily construct locations that are safe from other few Lunars across the Age have empowered their client
Creation-born entities but are designed to accept the societies with choice reagents. Some even go so far as to
Lunar. For instance, a Lunar might obtain an enormous, barter these valuable ingredients with other Exalted for
sword-laden willow that cuts to ribbons anyone who ap- equally (or more) valuable services. Even Sidereals have
proaches except the Lunar herself. Of course, treating suffered debts to the Silver Pact for this very reason…
with such creatures is very risky, for who knows when the debts repaid with cover-ups of Lunar activities, good or
refuge might turn on the Lunar? Some Lunars develop the bad luck for client tribes, reassignment of hostile gods and
ability to create such places on their own. Lunar-shaped other services that would provoke audits and inquiries in
sanctuaries are more dependable than any bargained from the Bureau of Destiny if they became known.
the Fair Folk, but they are more easily torn to shreds by
the shaping powers of raksha in the Wyld. PROBLEMS OF SCALE
Because the edges of Creation form a wide, ragged
THE ADVANTAGE OF CONTROL band around the Threshold, Lunar Exalted live far from
A further advantage of operating between Creation one another. Packs may run together in single, large ter-
and the Wyld is the power to limit access between them. ritories, but a Lunar often lives thousands of miles from
The Lunars cannot control the borders completely—the her nearest neighbor. Such distances make it difficult to
border is simply too large to patrol it all. But they watch organize meetings, even when the Lunar calling it accepts
the parts within their territories and use manipulable that less than half the Silver Pact will show. Spells such
societies to guard when and where they cannot. By fo- as Infallible Messenger provide one way to call a group
menting suspicion or peculiar taboos in cultures along together. Celestial Circle sorcerers (such as Raksi) have
Creation’s rim, a Lunar can ensure that most adventurers a spell that can send messages to large groups at a single
from Creation leave a commotion in their wake. time, and other Lunars summon demons or elementals
Not every Lunar attempts such a massive and time- to carry the word for them. Still, not every (or even most)
consuming program of border control. Elders of the Silver Lunars know sorcery.
Pact are among the most likely to try sealing off their The Wyld provides other possibilities. Raksha are
sections of the Wyld. Their personal power and centuries strange creatures, and only their imaginations and the
of accumulated resources also make them the most likely forces of their wills limit their powers. With proper incen-

58
tive, a raksha could potentially transmit a message from in tainted lands or Bordermarches. Just having people
one Lunar to all other Lunar Exalted—though it might living on the land and watching it gradually quells the
not reach those inside Creation. Furthermore, it takes Wyld. Even people who assimilate to the Wyld have this
time for the Lunars to gather for a meeting. Charms that effect: the land becomes a stage on which they play out
allow a Lunar to travel quickly through the Wyld are not their scripted roles, and their inability to change keeps
uncommon, potentially enabling them to reach their the local Wyld from altering too drastically.
destinations faster by going around Creation than they Lunars also fortify cultures with customs and mind-
would by going through it. If they lived farther from the sets that help them resist the Fair Folks’ threats and wiles.
border while still avoiding the Realm’s influence, meeting For instance, the sort of paranoia the folk of Whitewall
with other Lunars would become yet more difficult. show toward the inhuman makes it more difficult for
raksha to influence the people. Callous as it may seem,
DUTY OF THE EXILES some Lunars also use natural, long-term conditioning to
When the Lunar Exalted originally fled to the edge deaden the people’s imaginations and hopes, denying
of Creation, they needed to reach safety and recover the Fair Folk sustenance.
their strengths. Since then, the Lunars began building a When necessary, Lunars are not above inciting mu-
world that might displace the Shogunate—and then the tant or natural societies to war against the raksha. Most
Contagion hit, along with the Balorian Crusade. Even Lunars even prefer using mutant peoples, because their
diminished and weakened as the Lunars were, they forti- mutations make them more effective troops. Lunars also
fied the boundaries of Creation as best they could. appreciate when a society’s common derangements make
The Lunars don’t care that the Scarlet Empress saved them more pliable to the Exalted or less susceptible to
the world. Most Lunars have never forgiven the Dragon- the Fair Folks’ influences; some of Luna’s Chosen actu-
Blooded for their treachery in usurping Creation’s rule ally find ways to encourage these mental mutations in
and their incompetence in letting the Fair Folk assault the populations they cultivate, and lock them in through
Creation. The Silver Pact considers itself the only group Wyld assimilation.
that can defend Creation against the constant Wyld Another oft-used tactic is to sow dissention among
threat that began during the Great Contagion. (For a the many and varied raksha nobles. As a melodramatic
much more detailed discussion on the history of the people, the Fair Folk often look for opportunities to play
Lunar Exalted, please refer to The Manual of Exalted the part of the betrayer, betrayed or the arch-nemesis.
Power—The Lunars.) Lunars usually leave this sort of delicate manipulation
That danger still exists. The Lunar Exalted still guard to the most proficient among them; if not teased in just
against the Fair Folk. Though few raksha prefer to live the right way, some raksha nobles are just as likely to
in the boring and mundane Bordermarches (or, gasp, choose the part of the ignorant victim over the role of
in Creation itself) many Fair Folk consider it a duty of the enraged victim.
their own to weaken Creation and introduce more of the Finally, the Lunar Exalted who claim territories in
Wyld. As Fair Folk move inward from the Middlemarches the Middlemarches help when they can. These Lunars
toward Creation, the Lunars go forth to meet them as (usually at least a century old) use their familiarity with
they did during the Great Contagion. the Wyld, the Fair Folk and their territory to sabotage
Neither side has vast armies. In the Balorian Crusade, the raksha’s efforts closer to Creation. Sometimes this
waves of hobgoblins met with disorganized throngs of is a simple matter of upsetting things “at home.” The
soldiers and civilians; now single raksha steal toward the Fair Folk have a strong need to maintain their places
rigid lands and feed them unstable Essence, accompa- within their queerly fluid structures of nobility, and
nied only by their personal servants and Wyld-creations. disrupting that structure can send a troublesome raksha
Facing them are Lunars, stepping forward alone or with hurrying back to its native court, lest it be cut from the
their packs and barbarian followers to siphon out the ongoing stories or reduced to a bit-player. Other Lunars
destabilizing Essence and eventually destroy or rout the make an effort to simply destroy or sabotage the raksha’s
Fair Folk. freeholds, reducing their supply of Essence. Attacking
The conflict is not always so direct as that. Lunars the Guild’s slave caravans prevents the Fair Folk from
use every tool at their disposal to interdict raksha in- easily acquiring the dreams that sustain them and that
terference. Easiest and most ready are the people who they spin into gossamer treasures—quite apart from the
live in or near the Wyld. Lunars try to plant societies moral satisfaction gained.

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 59

 Other tactics grow increasingly topical. Examples Lunar just needs some quiet time to think, so she finds
include distracting one particularly aesthetic raksha with a place in the Wyld where she won’t be bothered.
an out-of-place rosebud or disturbing another’s hobgoblin Lunars who venture farther from Creation often
eugenics program. (The latter is difficult, since they are engage in the same activities as their colleagues on the
little more than creations of their lord’s imagination, but edge. They make preparations, build up resources and
a raksha could divorce itself from the process in order launch their own attempts at fixing the world, all in
to be “surprised.”) their own ways. The risks of living deeper in the Wyld
No matter how many raksha the Lunars distract, di- are greater than living within Creation, but some Lunars
minish or outright destroy, there are always more ready to think the potential rewards are equally large.
take up the task of undermining Creation. Even when the The Bordermarches and even the Middlemarches
Children of Luna raid the Wyld to reduce the population, hold some remarkably healthy and strong societies that
more Fair Folk eventually spring from the deeper chaos of Lunar Exalted have watched or guided for decades, if not
the Wyld. It seems almost like a losing battle, especially centuries. Where the Middlemarches fade into the Deep
since the eldest Lunars remember the tools they possessed Wyld, there are still hearts of stability that only someone
before the Contagion for this very purpose. who lived there for years could find. Treasures lost since
Suggestions that the battle is futile rarely meet with the Contagion, since the Usurpation and even wonders
much agreement. It is the nature of heroes, survivors never discovered exist in the farthest reaches of the Wyld,
and protectors—all of which Lunars are, or often con- and dedicated Lunars mean to find them.
sider themselves—to defy the odds. Lunars who study Admittedly, not every Child of Luna who leaves
the nature of Exaltations point out that similar to the Creation for the Wyld is an explorer or a careful warrior.
raksha, every Lunar who falls will eventually be replaced. Some really do retreat from the demands of their heroic
And some Lunars believe that despite all appearances, calling. A Lunar might seek a place of refuge in the Wyld
a final solution exists. They have labored, some for where she could hibernate as some of her peers did from
decades and some for centuries or more, to recreate the First Age to the modern day, and another could just
the jade obelisks and reality engines of the Old Realm. want to escape himself. It is the unfortunate truth that
A few Lunars even hope to develop a spell or artifact some Lunars still succumb to chimerism, even after they
that prevents the Wyld from developing the sort of have been tattooed, simply by losing the mental restraint
consciousness that becomes one of the Fair Folk. The to keep unlimited shapechanging in check.
Vacuity Blossom, as some within this small cabal call A few Lunars enter the Wyld to study their ancient
themselves, speak occasionally of “a seed,” but they enemies, the Fair Folk. Through stealthy observation
are careful to let nothing else of import drop, lest they or pacts and bargains made, Lunars can watch raksha
forewarn the enemy. craft glamours and shape the Wyld. Over the centuries,
Since news of the Scarlet Empress’ apparent abdica- the Lunars have devised a few Wyld-shaping Charms
tion, the Lunar Exalted have seen a redoubling of raksha themselves. They can also acquire artifacts with pow-
insinuating themselves into the skin of the world. They ers similar to those of the raksha themselves. Thus do
know another great battle looms, and vow that this time, Creation’s stewards gain advantages the Fair Folk would
the Ones Beyond will not take them by surprise. rather keep for themselves. This is not always a blessing.
Lunar Exalted who study raksha methods occasionally
DEEPER AND DEEPER find their natures shifting, becoming less human and
Lunar Exalted don’t always live on the edge of the more alien. Perhaps the raksha know something their
Wyld. Some Lunars move inward, toward Creation and frequent enemies and occasional allies do not.
the seats of power and away from the unraveling edges; At least one Lunar Exalt keeps to herself in the
others move outward, farther from the places where reality Wyld as part of a plan for Creation. By remaining aloof
makes sense. These tend to be elder Lunar Exalted, in part and separate after becoming somewhat renowned, her
because they can better endure the Wyld for long periods. reputation grows by itself. People come to remember her,
Such pioneers head outward for different reasons. or to think of her, as greater than she ever was, and she
One Lunar might fear assault from the Realm and plans to soon use this to her advantage. Another Lunar
so moves his base of operations into the Middlemarches. has examined the Wyld for more than 100 years, and he
Or a Lunar stares at the mostly normal constellations of now believes he could banish it from Creation if he had
the Bordermarches, thinks of the Sidereals and decides to to. His plan is to open the floodgates and let the Wyld
move farther out to dim his star to astrologers. Another wash over the world, wiping the slate clean before his

60
unique techniques force the chaotic energies back to the also suffer unconscious physical alterations that match
edges. Even other Lunars consider him a madman. their madness. A totally lunatic spirit will not last long in
the Wyld, but will swiftly be devoured by local predators,
SPIRITS IN THE WYLD raksha, other mad gods or stranger things.
Though casual savants or junior Immaculates might Spirits who find steady worship by a stable mortal
think that spirits would welcome a place where physical population might retain their original nature and integ-
matter was fluid and physical definitions broke down, rity, reinforced by regular supplies of Essence and the
this is not the case. The Wyld can mutate spirits as easily belief of their faithful. However, one tribe living in the
as mortals. What’s more, in a place where concepts shat- Wyld can only support a few godlings with their belief;
ter, shift and recombine, spirits who define themselves usually there is no room for a full pantheon or a spirit
through a concept within Creation find themselves court, only for a single or a few protective spirits. This
warped or weakened by the changes to their basic nature. can result in savage turf wars over worshippers, as newly
What happens to a river-spirit in an environment where arrived spirits who have been banished into the Wyld, or
rivers can flow backwards, or be made of custard? How swallowed up by a sudden change in borders, desperately
can a bird-spirit sustain her essential self when birds can try to keep their worshippers or attract new ones before
be made of leaves, or fire, or fall into dust when they they lose too much of themselves.
are touched? On the other hand, a tribe’s beliefs can change a
Spirits in the Wyld risk losing their identity, even more spirit’s aspects and identity. An ancestral stag-spirit that
so than humans. To endure, they need human worship protected hunters may find itself becoming a vengeful
to remind them who they are, or they need some sort of half-man, half-stag warder of boundaries whose antlers
magical protection. Otherwise, they grow steadily more drip with blood. The mistress of a river now polluted
insane and, if they do not leave the Wyld, break down with Wyld substances might go mad, invent new rites and
entirely. Spirits do not gain poxes, afflictions or blights, demand senseless new offerings after every full moon. A
but they do gain derangements (see pp. 148–150), and may physician-god clad in rainbows becomes a fierce guardian

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 61

 of the tribe’s purity who commands them to slay anyone Creation’s rim will appreciate any such help. However,
who doesn’t look like themselves. visitors should take care: some old spirits resent the Ex-
Fortunate spirits can hide in protected areas—free- alted whom the spirits think “betrayed” them, by failing to
holds, zones of stability, past Solar sanctuaries and so defend Creation’s borders during the Fair Folk invasion.
on. They gain some degree of shelter from the chaos Such spirits might not attack openly, but they can tell
outside. The protected zone may even support a group of lies to send Exalted into danger, offer protective Charms
worshippers to provide the spirit with Essence. This is the that fail or attempt other petty, vicious revenges.
best possible solution for a spirit caught in the Wyld, but
they remain cut off from the world outside, from other OTHERS
elementals or spirits, from their superiors in spirit courts While mortals, Fair Folk, spirits and the Lunar Ex-
and from Yu-Shan (if they had the power and authority to alted form the chief inhabitants of the Wyld (in power,
travel there). Trapped spirits often go insane from isolation, if not in numbers), many other intelligences also enter
and the mortals who share their sanctuary become fodder the Wyld or call it home.
for their whims as toys, pawns, minions or slaves.
Spirits can also cannibalize other spirits to survive. DRAGON-BLOODED
This can result in gatherings of spirits where the stronger Terrestrial Exalted may have greater resistance to
ones devour the weaker ones, and all attempt to lure in new Wyld energies than mortals, but not by much. Therefore,
victims to serve as new prey. Huddled together in some Dragon-Blooded either master appropriate Charms before
sort of refuge, or subsisting on a few pitiful worshippers, venturing out of Creation or succumb to mutation and de-
these spirits become no better than Fair Folk, living from rangement almost as quickly as mortals do. Even misshapen
day to day and ruled by their hunger. Visiting Exalted may and insane Dragon-Blooded have better survival rates than
become new prey, or may provide a chance for some of their unExalted stock, though, so they have the potential
the spirits to escape. If Exalted can escort the spirits to the to form strong, if temporary, societies in the Wyld.
borders of Creation, or stabilize their domain, then they Of all the Exalted, the Children of the Dragons
give these spirits a chance to return to a saner existence. have the fewest reasons to seek out the Wyld. They are
(Assuming that the spirits want to, by then….) not reviled across Creation as Anathema, for a start, and
For elementals, there is no gap between Creation and most of them could easily gain positions of power in
the elemental poles. An elemental can journey from the whatever culture they chose. Even the least self-possessed
edge of Creation to its elemental pole without passing Terrestrial can turn to the Realm for support, though
through the Wyld, following the uncorrupted threads the Dynastic Houses will not respect him. Because the
of its own substance. While elementals could lead other Dragon-Blooded can usually fulfill their desires within
beings along the same path, the passengers would need Creation, their reasons for leaving it altogether are con-
to transform their own substance into dematerialized, sistently more personal.
elemental Essence—the same pure substance they would Personal reasons are not limited to individuals.
need to survive at that pole. The ways that elementals Groups of Terrestrials who all adhere to a personal
travel are not safe for humans. code—which may conflict strongly with the Immaculate
Philosophy or even the basic practices of decency—find
SPIRITS ON THE BORDERS reasons to abdicate Creation for the Wyld. Either way,
Those spirits who live on the border of Creation must these strong beliefs provide a path of least resistance for
live with the constant fear of the Wyld and of their own their minds to follow while the Wyld drives them mad.
unmaking. Such spirits are often terrestrial gods with very Their emotions and thoughts shape the Wyld around
limited domains that lie beside the Bordermarches, and them and help determine where they go, leading the
who cannot shift their territory or expand it into safer parts Dragon-Blooded to locations or scenes that resonate more
of Creation. Stronger gods who cover actual boundaries or deeply with them and more easily drive them mad.
concepts of boundaries on a large scale, may have several Dragon-Blooded societies within the Wyld are rare
Charms that hold back the Wyld, while small terrestrial and, usually, short-lived. Wyld mutant tribes greatly out-
gods may only know one or two such Charms. number mutant Dragon-Blooded tribes, simply because
In any event, such gods and elementals take a keen there are more mortals to mutate. Once a society forms and
interest in Exalts or other powerful beings who can force settles down, it is only a matter of time before they begin
back the Wyld or dispose of local Wyld raiders. An Exalt to breed and, after a decade or two of births, include more
can reasonably presume that any petty spirit dwelling on mortals than Exalted. A few communities retain a small

62
cadre of Dragon-Blooded leading a growing population usually enter the Wyld with a squad of hand-picked Ter-
of mortals, but eventually that rule falls apart. Progeni- restrial soldiers. So armed, the Sidereal may rely more on
tors die off, and these Terrestrial offshoot groups never their powers than on her own diminished abilities.
manage the sort of breeding programs that the Realm and Fair Folk villains may retreat into the Wyld after causing
Lookshy use to keep their Exalted populations up. (If they great harm in Creation (and intending such harm again);
try, inbreeding puts a stop to it within three generations.) well-trained operatives go in after the enemy to surprise the
Eventually, it becomes a tribe of funny-looking mortals. raksha and deny them any opportunity to recover.
It doesn’t help that some Lunar Exalted, who frequent Daring Sidereal investigators also try to learn the
the same areas of the Wyld, hold a grudge against the plans of their Lunar rivals. The Sidereals know that
Dragon-Blooded. The Wyld Hunt still competes with the Luna’s Chosen have a millennial plan called the Thou-
Silver Pact to reach Exalting Lunars first, and every Lunar sand Streams River—apparently a plan to raise barbarian
alive knows what the Realm does with any Lunar it catches. hordes and nations to encircle the Realm and, the Si-
Elder Lunars make terrifying foes, and some of them dereals fear, destroy it. Every trail of evidence, however,
remember the horrors of the Usurpation personally. leads into the Wyld—so if Fate’s Chosen wish to learn
A few members of the Silver Pact argue that Dragon- operational details of this challenge to their power, they
Blooded who seek to make their own societies should must venture where Fate has no sway.
be left to do so. They believe the Terrestrials may come
up with something innovative and useful, or they just ASTROLOGY IN THE WYLD
remember the sheer necessity of the Usurpation and feel While the Sidereals do not like to mention it
a need to balance out the rage their brethren feel. even among themselves, the power of their astrology
The Children of Luna don’t always ignore Dragon- weakens outside Creation. The stars and constella-
Blooded in the Wyld or lash out at them in rage. A tions are part of reality; they do not control what
few groups of Terrestrials do not believe the Lunars are lies outside it.
Anathema. Some of them do not know the Immaculate The following penalties apply to Sidereal astrol-
Philosophy at all. With this ancient enmity out of the ogy when used against targets in the Wyld.
picture, Lunar Exalted and small families of Dragon- Target is in the Bordermarches: Increase dif-
Blooded occasionally join each other for their mutual ficulty of attempt by 1/2 again.
benefit. By virtue of their greater individual prowess, Target is in the Middlemarches: Increase dif-
Lunars often become the most valued members of such ficulty of attempt by 3/4 again.
communities, if not the straight-out leaders. Target is in the Deep Wyld or Pure Chaos:
Older Lunars look upon these relationships with a Impossible to use Sidereal astrology against them.
taste for the irony of it all. Unusual and ironic or not, At the end of the First Age, some of the remain-
these groups are often very effective in the effort against ing Solars and Lunars chose to flee into the Wyld
the Wyld or other threats, reminding some Lunars (of in order to avoid the wrath of the Sidereals. Many
the few who actually know) that humans were originally of those Lunars and Solars, in turn, perished in the
Exalted to fight as a team. Wyld, but held it a better fate than the astrological
curses that only the Sidereals can wield.
SIDEREAL EXALTED
The Sidereal Exalted do not like visiting the Wyld.
Many of their Charms and abilities weaken or fail outside SOLAR EXALTED
Creation, making the Sidereals less capable when they visit. The Solar Exalted do not have any real history with
The Wyld’s energies also degrade the Sidereals’ connec- the Wyld, at least not in the Second Age. Now returning
tion to Yu-Shan and the Loom of Fate. Although they can in great numbers, the Lawgivers have the opportunity to
usually resist the Wyld’s effects, trips beyond Creation’s begin such a history—if they so choose.
rim still make them profoundly uncomfortable. Most Solar Exalted have significantly more interest
Occasionally, however, the Chosen of the Maidens in Creation than they do in the Bordermarches and
simply must enter the Wyld. Their unsurpassed super- Deeper Wyld, so Solars who visit there usually go with
natural martial arts still function there, making them specific goals in mind. One might seek a lost city, another
competent (or terrifying) opponents even separated from an ancient Lunar or one of the impossible reagents for
Creation and the Loom of Fate. Sidereal Exalted who which they were irreplaceable in the First Age. A Solar
wield influence over the Realm (or other Dragon-Blooded) might seek a previous incarnation’s tomb.

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 63

 The Chosen of the Sun rarely settle in the Wyld. for years after death, to give the raksha any pleasure or
They are less naturally equipped to handle the Wyld than sustenance, so the Fair Folk rarely seek them out. Only
they are the dangers of Creation, and the various enemies when Fair Folk desire a ghost for some special purpose—a
beyond Creation’s rim can be harder to avoid. With all plot within Creation or the Underworld or a new kind of
the many tasks awaiting them in Creation —especially plaything—do they look for spirits of the dead. A raksha’s
the ongoing threat from the Realm—Solars tend to focus attention can be dangerous for a ghost, but rarely deadly.
their efforts inward rather than outward. But ghosts cannot prepare themselves for the scenes
Of course, the Solars might not have a choice. What and events they encounter in the Wyld. The wonders
might be the absolute greatest threat to Creation has and terrors of the Wyld can ensnare and addict the dead
waited and watched from outside since the beginning as easily as the living. The addicted ghosts want to stay
of time. Some of the Solar Exalted would be a great within the Wyld to experience what it has to offer, no
advantage in the Lunars’ eternal fight against the Wyld. matter that their experiences are but faded memories of
Certain Lunars might be suspicious or proud and refuse their past lives. Some ghosts who enter the Wyld refuse
their assistance, but as long as the Solars offered their aid to leave again. Unless concerned companions—perhaps
in earnest many Lunars would happily accept it. living descendents, ghosts of ancestors or friends made
in the Underworld—come to rescue the ghosts from the
GHOSTS enchanting terrors that exist outside of Creation, some
In the Age of Sorrows, ghosts walk the Underworld. aspect of the Wyld eventually ends them forever.
They are restless souls, doomed to wander the land of Enterprising ghosts may find ways to exist in the
their memories until they find peace with themselves and Wyld. Raksha patrons are ideal because of their com-
their station—or until something completely dissipates mand over the Wyld and their penchant for creating
their Essence. In the meantime, they find careers in the new and interesting stories. One of the Fair Folk might
Underworld’s necropoli or seek out living descendants take on a ghost—or an entire troupe of them. The raksha
in hopes of gaining worship. remakes himself in the shape of a lord of the dead and
But not all dead spirits accept existence in the bleak gives the ghosts roles that he wants them to play: the
Underworld. The few who desire more must look outside ghost who left behind a lover whom she seeks to regain,
Creation—where even the richest wines taste like unremark- another whose only purpose now is to see the honor of
able memories to a ghostly tongue—toward the Wyld. his office restored and so forth. The stories of the dead
Something about the Wyld entices wayward ghosts. also offer many entertaining roles for raksha, from the
The dead only know sensations and emotions that they oppressive Deathlord to the learned and compassionate
felt in life, and then only through faded memories. By necromancer who desires to help the ghosts. Renegade
searching the Wyld, a ghost can hope to find a sensation deathknight is currently a fashionable role to play among
so intense that it rejuvenates her memories or overwhelms raksha “in the know.”
her with an entirely new experience. Normally, it is im- Some places in the Wyld offer natural abodes for
possible for a ghost to experience something new, but ghosts. shadowlands occasionally coexist with the Wyld,
the Wyld has always denied impossibility. especially in the North where both are prevalent. These
Ghosts may seek the Wyld because of its danger. locations represent a balance of the freedom a ghost
Few ghosts want to die (again), but some of them miss may achieve by coming to the Wyld and the prison of
the threat of death. Not much can actually kill ghosts humdrum afterlife in the Underworld. Being able to
and make them stay down. The Exalted, Deathlords recover Essence is a great boon that ghosts usually lose
and puissant other ghosts, demons or gods fit the bill, when they flee to the Wyld.
but they aren’t everywhere. But the Wyld abounds in Deathlords and other ghost-slavers occasionally make
unpredictable and uncatalogued dangers. A certain seed forays into these “Wyld Shadows.” They hope to harvest
might have the power to destroy a ghost forever when ghost populations that have little or no leverage in the
consumed, or the venom of a Northern winter sparrow Underworld’s politics, ensuring that no one shall grow
might kill the already dead. Who knows? A genuine threat angry on the ghosts’ behalf.
of permanent death provides a certain excitement that
some ghosts crave. DEMONS
The Fair Folk hold little terror for ghosts. Ghostly The spawn of the Yozis occasionally escape from the
emotions and desires are stretched too thin, after serving foulness of Malfeas into the burningly clean and bright

64
world of Creation and the Unconquered Sun. Sorcer- a demon to become something different. An erymanthus
ers or thaumaturges summon most of these, but a few with the diet mutation can no longer consume blood—it
demons manage to exploit other cracks in their prison- must reverse the mutation, become something different
world. Brief doorways from their calamitous realm may from what it was or die. The latter two options seem very
open through the unjoyous ring of a dropped temple bell, similar for creatures such as demons.
the vile ecstasy of a forced deflowering or other crimes First Circle demons with changed natures would be
against the righteous or divine. However these demons torn apart by their brethren and spawners should they
arrive, some demons try to stay in Creation. Perhaps they ever return to Malfeas—yet another reason why demons
seed freedom, though from what is hard to know. Others who flee to the Wyld rarely try to go home. Demons who
simply cannot get the pleasure they want in Malfeas and remain long enough in the Wyld also inevitably develop
remain to indulge their natures. derangements. For demons, a derangement is not a mental
Once in Creation, demons go to the Wyld for dif- quirk but a direct alteration to the creature’s nature: a
ferent reasons. Safety is one possibility: Creation holds neomah endowed with an obsession for collecting roses
enough Dragon-Blooded, gods and God-Blooded to is no longer devoted to creating her flesh-creatures and
endanger even a dematerialized demon. Eventually, they therefore is no longer truly a neomah. Instead, she may
seek out safer ground and think the Wyld is someplace create rose-amalgams or change in an even more funda-
they can rest. mental way.
A demon can also find relief from the constant irrita- Any Second Circle demon has a greater ego than
tion of Creation’s nature. Demons may seek the Wyld in even the proudest First Circle demon—the least creatures
an effort to feel more at home, without actually returning of Malfeas know instinctively that they exist as less than
to that terrifying place. The ever-accommodating Wyld can motes in the Yozis’ eyes. With greater connection both to
mimic Malfeas’ interior or the desert Cecelyne with remark- itself and its betters, a Second Circle demon recognizes
able accuracy. Occasionally, demons that relax in these that a mutation may be useful and that it is not—gener-
imitations find themselves actually back in Malfeas, once ally—disposable. Many understand that the Wyld changes
more at the whim of the Yozis and the demon princes. their natures as it changes their forms; knowing that their
Only a few Second and Third Circle demons have Third Circle demons prefer them as they are, Second
the proper nature to shape the Wyld to their whim, so Circle demons strive to avoid such alterations.
demons need the help of the Fair Folk to construct a A Second Circle demon who receives a mutation
place of comfort for themselves. The raksha rarely work (or worse, a derangement) generally seeks to reverse it
without price, however, and so the demons find them- through power-questing or bargaining with the raksha.
selves bound to yet another master. Demons end up Some demons do consider the change for the better
fighting Lunar Exalted on the raksha’s behalf, running and return to Malfeas without fear. Such courage is not
errands across Creation, serving as ravagers or even play- always justified.
ing out one of a million roles within the raksha’s court. Something about the Fair Folk resonates with de-
Demons who can’t stand their servitude eventually leave monkind. They both have specific natures and answer
and do without a comfortable refuge… and risk a worse calls that cannot be denied. Relationships between de-
fate than slavery. mons and raksha can deepen over time. Their Essences
Demons are not immune to the mutating energies intertwine. Eventually, the Wyld and the raksha shape
of the Wyld, just as ghosts aren’t. Mutations look mostly the demon into something else. The demon loses its
appropriate to the demon’s nature, but never entirely. connection with Malfeas and the greater demon that
Erymanthoi wings might be bloody, furred and have spawned or created it; it becomes a part of the Wyld and
sharp bone spurs; depending on what aspect of the of the raksha that reshaped it.
Wyld endowed them upon the blood-ape, they could Second Circle demons rarely acquire completely
also display bat leather, dragon scales or bloody-furred new natures in this fashion. They are more intimately
strix feathers. connected with their superiors and more the equal of
First Circle demons that suffer mutations use them, if a raksha noble (though not in its own domain). When
appropriate, but rarely care as long as they can still fulfill such assimilation or transformation does happen, a demon
their natures. Mutant erymanthoi still want to lap up of the Third Circle—or even the progenitor Yozi—takes
blood and crush bones in their claws, whether their new notice at the loss. First Circle demons are much more
frog tongues make it easier or not. Some mutations force ignorable disappearances on the demons’ parts.

CHAPTER TWO • LIFE IN CHAOS 65

 BEHEMOTHS South, the children of the wind in the North and the
“Behemoth” is a broad category of creature. Crea- inhabitants of Skyport in the West are all prime examples
tures of Primordial construction, some of which embody of entities who originated nowhere but the chaos of the
certain mortal concepts and others of which are simply Wyld. Similar to behemoths, natives of the Wyld are hard
huge and monstrous, are behemoths. Fair Folk living to define because of their extreme diversity. Creatures
weapons, wrought to make an artistic statement while of this sort seldom come nearer to Creation than the
devastating opponents in shaping combat, are also Middlemarches.
termed behemoths—they are also huge and monstrous Natives are most notably different from behemoths
or thematically potent. Some behemoths spontaneously and other unique monsters in that natives comprise
appear from the Wyld and, with similar features as those societies. Even when outsiders do not perceive such group-
previous entities, are termed behemoths. ings, natives of the Wyld usually interact with each other
These powerful creatures range in intelligence from in ways that make them a culture instead of individual
non-sentient to brilliant within their bailiwick. Their “monsters.” Flame gryphons protect themselves and their
powers are equally unpredictable, as are their reactions nests from exploitation, children of the wind create their
to and interactions with humankind. Only Fair Folk tunnels for unknown reasons and the people of Skyport
weapon-behemoths are at all predictable as a class, and accept merchants at their upside-down quays.
that is only to do as their raksha lords direct them. Most native creatures have standard methods of deal-
Whatever their origins, the Wyld has no power over ing with the rare visitors from creation, usually shunning
behemoths. Either it spawned them, or their Primordial the outsiders for the natives’ own safety. Other natives
creators infused them with power and selfhood sufficient are prepared to deal with visitors. Wyld societies that
to resist anything less than Pure Chaos. Creation-born explorers often seek can be the most averse
to outside influence—they usually have something that
NATIVES the Exalted (or other daring explorers) consider valuable
Not every sentient creature found in the Wyld came and go to great (and offensive) lengths to collect. Flame
from somewhere else. Some creatures defy any definition gryphons are one example of such a society that justifiably
beyond “native to the Wyld.” The flame gryphons of the resists any contact with the Creation-born.

66
CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 67
 CHAPTERTHREE
CHAPTER THREE
THE NORTHERN
TRAITS WYLD

The Northern Wyld takes its form from the influences into ordinary ice; living ice can only exist in the actual
of Chaos and the Elemental Pole of Air. The predominant Wyld. Now and then, plants or rocks are changed into
qualities are wind and cold and a tendency to float into one of the rare forms of permanent ice. Most of these
the sky, from the islands that hover in midair to plants storms occur in the depths of winter, but can happen
and animals made of living ice. at any time. North of the White Sea, the land contains
only the most desperate tribes of icewalker barbarians,
THE NORTHERN the people of the Haslanti League, beastmen and the
EDGE OF CREATION northern Wyld barbarians.
The power of the Wyld is not just limited to living
The actual borders of Creation lie north of the White
Sea. Tainted lands and Wyld pockets, however, extend things. After a Wyld storm, travelers may find words
at least as far south as Whitewall. Wyld storms occasion- of some ancient language, or something that looks like
ally sweep in from the icy wastes of the Bordermarches writing but matches no known language, engraved on
and across the White Sea. Whirlwinds of chaos from mountainsides and glaciers. Each of these strange glyphs
the storms can taint areas ranging from several feet to can be as much as a foot or two high. Entire mountains,
several miles across, or curdle into actual pockets of the cliffs or hills near the Bordermarches are resculpted on
Wyld. These Wyld storms leave behind trees and ani- a regular basis: each storm changes some feature of the
mals frozen solid or transformed into pure ice—but only landscape, as if millennia of wind erosion happened in

68
a single afternoon. While these alterations can take any FROZEN FOG
form, the most common leave the landscape looking The whirlwinds of chaos that create the tainted lands
strangely fragile and stretched. Narrow, almost ethereal- also cause one of the most unusual dangers of northern
looking natural bridges of ice or stone stretch between winters: frozen fog. This threat extends from Gethamane
plateaus. These structures retain sufficient chaotic ener- to the Pole of Air itself. The fog contains only a hint of the
gies that the narrowest bridges can support an entire Wyld’s chaos and so cannot induce mutations or alter the
Guild caravan at once. landscape, but is nonetheless deadly and greatly feared.
Great, billowing masses of this frigidly cold and oddly
UNMELTING ICE dry fog periodically descend upon the Northlands. A thin
The Wyld produces two varieties of ice that layer of ice soon covers anything that lacks protection
never melt. One has a greenish tinge, while the from the cold. A bare hand exposed to frozen fog become
other is tinted blue and glows. Green ice never melts frostbitten in less than a minute. Frozen fog becomes
and, regardless of the temperature, remains as cold increasingly common the further North one travels, and
as the coldest winter day of the far north. Blue ice some explorers say that endless banks of the white haze
remains only slightly below freezing; it glows brightly float beyond the eternally frozen mountains.
enough that a rod of blue ice provides as much light Frozen fog is almost opaque. Inside the fog, visibility
as an ordinary torch, and an egg-sized piece of blue rarely exceeds 20 feet, and sometimes is less than half
ice inside a lantern gives as much light as the usual that. The fog can descend upon a settlement in less than
oil and wick. Both forms of ice are extremely rare an hour. Wyld barbarians sometimes use it as cover for
and much in demand in countries further south. an attack. The barbarian raiders who follow the fog are
Prospectors regularly brave the Northern tainted obviously twisted by the Wyld, just as some of them are
lands in search of these rare wonders and on rare immune to all forms of cold.
occasion head north to the Bordermarches. Thick furs and other heavy clothing can protect a
person from the bitter cold, but frozen fog offers other

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 69

 perils, too. People are sometimes moved vast distances by for a few days or weeks at most. Their fiercest warriors,
the Wyld energies lingering in the fog. Now and then, an however, regularly hunt monsters and Wyld barbarians
individual caught in one bank of frozen fog stumbles out in the tainted lands. The warriors even venture into
of another fog bank dozens or hundreds of miles away the Bordermarches to track down and destroy the most
from his previous location. Everyone who has survived dangerous bands of Wyld barbarians and wolfmen. Ice-
such a translocation reports hearing a distant sound of walkers perform these missions into Chaos with ruthless
bells while he was in the fog. Although the destinations efficiency. Their shamans call on powerful totem-gods
seem random, everything in a given bank of fog seems called the Animal Masters for aid in tracking their foes
to go to the same location. and for enchantments and talismans against mutation.
Within a few dozens miles of the border of the The icewalker way of life is now in turmoil. A great
Wyld, the frozen fog does not carry along only travelers leader has arisen among them: Yurgen Kaneko, the Bull
and animals. Storms near the Bordermarches send huge of the North, Warlord of the Sun. Ever since Kaneko
banks of frozen fog advancing from the edge of the Wyld. destroyed the Realm legions, tribe after tribe have sworn
These massive fogs can also move entire natural features. fealty to him. The small, scattered tribes are rapidly
Although large features such as mountains and cities seem metamorphosing into a nomad empire. This does not
immune to such vagaries, hills, small groves of tress and please either the Animal Masters (who do not want the
even small villages can be surrounded by frozen fog and Unconquered Sun taking their worship) or the tribes’
find themselves transported dozens of miles when the former patrons among the Lunar Exalted. Observant
fog clears. Such locations are never actually transported tribes among the other races view the nascent barbarian
into the Wyld, nor do they move more than a dozen horde with greater alarm—not to mention the Fair Folk
miles from the border of the Wyld. Because of this shift- who used to prey on the icewalkers, while the icewalkers’
ing, Northern tainted lands are regarded as even more neighbors of the Haslanti League wonder if their onetime
dangerous than those in other parts of Creation. allies might become dangerous rivals.

SURVIVING FROZEN FOG WYLD BARBARIANS

Exposure to frozen fog inflicts environmental In the North, many Wyld barbarians grow thick
damage of 2L/minute, Trauma 5. What’s more, white fur and their hereditary mutations usually include
armor and most Charms give no protection at all: the pox Elemental Adaptation: Air. In addition, the poxes
only natural soak applies, or Charms that specifi- Large and Claws are common. Visitors to the far North
cally protect against temperature extremes, such as often assume that huge, white-furred Northern Wyld
Hardship-Surviving Mendicant Spirit. The pox mutants are bear beastmen; true polar bear beastmen
Elemental Adaptation: Air renders a creature immune are very rare.
to frozen fog. A few mutants can find a lowly place in the cosmo-
Sufficiently warm, heavy clothing also protects politan cities on the Inner Sea, but neither beastmen
against frozen fog, though a person must keep nor Wyld barbarians find welcome in the harsh lands
moving to avoid being encased in ice. The clothing further north. The icewalkers and their Haslanti allies
necessary to protect against this damage adds one loathe and fear both groups. Whitewall and Gethamane
to the maneuver penalty and fatigue value of the are only a little more tolerant. Although beastmen and
character due to its bulk. mutants may not enter Whitewall, both groups can use
the sacred traveler’s road. Gethamane allows beastmen
BARBARIANS and Wyld mutants to enter if they arrive peacefully, in
The far North is a hostile and sparsely occupied small numbers with weapons sheathed. However, none
region. Its inhabitants include Wyld barbarians, beast- may stay longer than a week, and very few find any
men, a few communities of the people of the air and the welcome.
most desperate icewalker tribes. The icewalkers make no treaties with any of the Wyld
barbarian tribes, whom the icewalkers consider monstrous
THE ICEWALKERS horrors. However, all the nomads have an unspoken
The barbarian tribes called icewalkers fear the Wyld agreement: icewalkers never settle in and rarely visit the
as the source of both vast Wyld storms and the frozen tainted lands, and the Wyld barbarians rarely settle further
fog. Tribes that face starvation may camp in tainted lands into Creation than the tainted lands. Both groups cross

70
the vague boundary between the tainted lands and the The icewalkers regard beastmen as yet another breed of
rest of Creation regularly for raiding, but neither spends deadly creature.
more than a few weeks in the other’s territory. The wolfmen are the most feared and most abundant
The sparse settlement in the North means that a few Northern beastmen. Their hunting packs threaten travel-
Wyld tribes find homes further from the Wyld, and further ers throughout the North. Some wolfman tribes also rule
from the icewalkers. The Varajtul tribes, for instance, live communities of brutalized human slaves, who become the
hundreds of miles from Creation’s rim, but still show the feral creatures’ dinner if they cannot provide other food.
mutations and cannibal ferocity they gained in the Wyld. The coastal cities controlled by the Realm pay a bounty on
wolfmen skins. Despite their notoriety, however, the wolf-
THE VARAJTUL men are not the only beastmen in the Northern Wyld.
The largest and most feared group of Wyld barbarians
in Creation’s Northwest are called the Varajtul. Hardly ELKMEN
anyone else knows their true name; the Varajtul do not The elkmen are the most mysterious of the Northern
talk to their food. Indeed, they speak only a language of beastmen. They are all natural Essence-users and have a
their own, meant to imitate the howling and moaning reputation as potent magicians—not just thaumaturgy but
of the winds. In their own tongue, they call themselves true sorcery, as well as Charms bartered from spirits and
the Dream of Infinite Light. stored within talismans. Elkmen breed slowly, keeping their
Varajtul average eight feet tall, with bodies covered population low. Small communities occur throughout the
in white, gray or light blue fur. They have narrow, yellow North, from the chilly lands near Whitewall to the tundra
or blue eyes and mouths full of fangs. Their only clothing near the Eternal Ice. Because of their potent magic and
consists of cloaks woven from human hair, whose designs the fact that as herbivores they never hunt humans as prey,
record the deeds and vision-quests of their ancestors; the elkmen are perhaps the most accepted of the Northern
frigid winds do not bother them. Their blood, however, beastmen. Of course, humans fear elkmen, as sensible
is human enough. people fear any sorcerer, but some human communities
Most of the time, Varajtul hunt, fish and gather wild trade with them for the use of their powerful magics. More
foods just as other Northern tribes. In battle, the Varajtul ominously, the elkmen’s Lunar heritage permits a few to
prefer spears with heads of bone or stone, but can use any learn necromancy instead of sorcery; these elkmen are
human weapon. They often lay traps such as camouflaged feared and revered by Northern tribes who carry ancestor-
pits, snow-filled trenches lined with spikes or nets trig- worship to unhealthy extremes. Widespread taboos include
gered by trip lines. They value human meat for religious never looking an elkman in the eye, never letting one step
reasons as well as the taste. While Varajtul readily feed on your shadow and never eating in their presence.
on their dead foes, they prefer to butcher captive warriors
or shamans and roast them for a tribal feast. OWLMEN
Most important of all for the Varajtul, captives can Owlmen are a Northern version of hawkmen found
be taken to a Wyld pocket and ceremonially dissected in the taiga forests of the far Northeast. The largest tribal
with a blade of unmelting ice and eaten alive. This confederation of owlmen, known as the Nightfliers, lives
thaumaturgical procedure of their shamans calls the in a tainted land less than a hundred miles from the
Wyld energies into the spilled blood to produce visions Haslanti city of Crystal. They retreat into the treetops
of the victim’s emotions, memories and desires—and, when danger threatens, but venture out of their forest
sometimes, a complete vision-quest performed in only to raid and trade with the Haslanti. Sometimes the owl-
one day. The Varajtul do not see themselves as savages: men fly east to the northern fringes of Haltan territory,
rather, they consider themselves the most spiritual folk to pursue fierce rivalries with the hawkmen that humans
of Creation. Only a few have spent enough time in Wyld seldom see. The Nightfliers worship various Northern air
pockets to assimilate. Most eat human flesh out of the and storm spirits, and are ruled by a hereditary council
sincere religious conviction that other tribes and races of God-Blooded warriors and shamans.
are no better than beasts.
THE HUNGRY HORDE:
BEASTMEN A NIGHTFLIER RAIDING PARTY
Unlike the Wyld barbarians, the savage wolfmen, Description: This medium-sized raiding party con-
the mystical elkmen, the nocturnal owlmen and the sists of a band of owlmen warriors who want to raid and
other Northern beastmen settle where they choose. plunder human settlements. They carry ironwood short

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 71

 WYLD POCKETS
As one of the two directions hardest hit by the
Balorian Crusade, the North contains many Wyld pock-
ets—some of them dozens of miles wide. The Ice Forest is
unfortunately rather typical of Northern Wyld pockets.
The really dangerous Wyld pockets contain groups of
predatory Fair Folk.

THE ICE FOREST

This Wyld pocket covers an oval nine miles long
and six miles wide. In the short, cool summers of this
region, the Ice Forest is instantly visible from far away,
as the only portion of the hills perpetually locked in
winter. For a good portion of the year, however, snow
blankets the entire region, and the exact edge of this
little Bordermarch become far less clear. The vegetation
provides the surest clue. While the bushes and scrubby
trees in the surrounding land are draped in snow and
ice, the tall conifers of the Ice Forest have needles made
from snow and ice.
As usual for Bordermarches, the paths between the
trees and even the trees themselves shift and change. How-
ever, the Ice Forest always remains a wood of ice-needled
swords and boomerangs and wear breastplates or buff trees, inhabited by pale blue animals with antlers, hooves,
jackets. One of the tribal confederation’s God-Blooded claws and teeth of arctic ice. Even the most desperate
chiefs leads this feared war-band. and hungry mortals have learned never to hunt these
In lean years, especially after a particularly harsh creatures. Animals and trees alike are as cold as Diamond
winter, the Hungry Horde goes raiding. In good years, Hearth in midwinter: even a brief touch causes severe
however, they sell their services as caravan guards and frostbite, and their blood is colder still.
protect human towns near the Wyld from incursions by Mortals also avoid the Ice forest because it is also
hobgoblins, Wyld barbarians and similar dangers the hu- home to a deadly band of Wyld barbarians called the
mans find more uncanny than the owlmen themselves. Pale Hunters. These monstrous beings all have the poxes
Commanding Officer: Classa Hodek, God-Blooded Elemental Adaptation: Air (see p. 145), Fangs, Fur (white,
owlman warrior like a polar bear) and Large (eight feet tall on average).
Armor Color: None, various looted armor Most have other mutations, too, which can include fangs,
Motto: “For loot and glory!” antlers and other horrific deformities. Their ancestors
General Makeup: 70 flying light infantry with short were outcast from the Varajtul in a cultural dispute the
swords and boomerangs, supported by 20 archers. Pale Hunters no longer remember; they don’t remember
Overall Quality: Fair Varajtul mysticism or language, either.
Magnitude: 3 These barbarians live in a castle built entirely of
Drill: 1 ice. They ride forth on fanged and horned blue horses
Close Combat Rating: 3 Close Combat Damage: 2 to hunt humans for food and sport. The Pale Hunters
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 2 are also ravagers. Once they eat their fill, they capture
Endurance: 4 Might: 2 more people and trade them to the Fair Folk. Although
Armor: 2 Morale: 3 no Fair Folk inhabit this forest, they built the castle as a
Special Characters: Classa Hodek, two low-powered reward for the mutants’ vile services. Anyone who kills
God-Blooded lieutenants a Pale Hunter can bring the head to any town or city
Formation: The Hungry Horde fights in skirmisher forma- within 500 miles to claim a bounty.
tion… usually from the air, when they engage in ranged Northern city-states have launched almost a dozen
combat. They prefer to soften up foes with archery and attempts to root out this pesthole of cannibals, including
boomerangs before closing to use their blades. one led by a trio of outcaste Dragon-Blooded. These ven-

72
tures all ended in disaster: the cold and the massed might Commanding Officer: Glorious Ruin
of several hundred Wyld barbarians make a formidable Armor Color: None
combination. In addition, the Fair Folk gave the Pale Motto: “Get ‘em!”
Hunters an artifact that allows them to call the frozen General Makeup: 180 heavy cavalry with axes or chop-
fog (see pp. 69–70). They do not hesitate to use it if a ping swords and javelins
foe besieges their castle or they simply wish to eliminate Overall Quality: Good
a threat with little risk to themselves. Anyone who finds Magnitude: 4
a way to destroy these monstrous beings can expect a rich Drill: 0
reward from the Haslanti and the icewalkers, as well as Close Combat Rating: 3 Close Combat Damage: 4
the undying love of the local people. Ranged Attack Rating: 2 Ranged Attack Damage: 3
Endurance: 4 Might: 3
DAMAGE FROM ICE FOREST CREATURES Armor: 3 Morale: 4
Touching the animals or trees of the Ice For- Special Characters: Glorious Ruin, three Fae-Blooded
est inflicts environmental damage of 1B/action, sub-commanders
Trauma 1. Contact with their blood is as deadly as Formation: Ice Forest raiders are too crazed and savage
a supernatural ice storm (see Exalted, p. 131)—the to fight in any formation except an unordered mob.
blood continues to deal damage until characters
manage to wash or wipe it off. The Pale Hunters FAIR FOLK OF THE NORTH
are immune. The Fair Folk of the North, the Winter People,
are as merciless as the region’s long winters and harsh
ICE FOREST WAR PARTY landscapes, while their smiles are as short and false as
Description: This medium-sized raiding party con- the pitifully brief summers. The Winter People lust for
sists of Wyld mutant warriors riding ice blue, carnivorous warmth of all kinds: the passion of desire, the vivid
mutant horses. These merciless warriors are armed with burning of mortal dreams, the heat of living bodies and
axes or chopping swords and javelins; they wear reinforced of blood.
buff jackets, or better armor if they can scavenge it. Their In the North, raksha temperament often changes
leader, the fiercest and most mutated of their kind, calls with the seasons. In the winter, they become heartless
himself Glorious Ruin. They fight with little discipline, as the icy winds, but can be merry and even sometimes
but great ferocity. They prefer to attack by night. merciful in the summer, dancing across the land along
the briefly unchained rivers. Their hunger is remorse-
less, but it is rarely personally sadistic; they scar the lands
like winter storms. Sometimes they can be kind as well
as cruel to the humans around them, depending on
their mood, and a chance-met raksha might choose to
lead humans safely home or entertain them as honored
guests… in the summer. But winter always comes soon,
and any mortals caught in the raksha domains spend
their lives in charmed sleep, fed with milk and animal
blood to prolong their lives as far as possible. The Fair
Folk sip the mortals’ dreams and blood away, draining
them together with their heat and their lives.
Some raksha model their domains after typical
Northland longhouses, while others build castles of ice,
bridges that lead over vast chasms to impossible, sunny
forest clearings, underground catacombs walled with
bones and snow, floating dwellings amid stormclouds
anchored to the ground by thin silken ladders or high
spires on a mountaintop flying bannerets of silk in un-
imaginable colors. When they desire more victims, they
set forth in sleighs forged of ice or dare the stormy seas

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 73

 in longships, bearing down on merchant ships as they willow’s twigs like a harp. Bordermarch tundra, mean-
sail against the wind through howling gales. while, is especially hard to navigate because it’s so flat
and featureless—sometimes completely featureless—or the
THE SEVEN STORMWINDS frozen rivers and distant, icy mountains change position
The Fair Folk who call themselves the Seven Storm- from day to day.
winds hunt the icy plains of Creation’s Northwest. They Deeper in the Bordermarches, frigid versions of lands
actually number more than 30 raksha, each with their own throughout Creation appear. A traveler might find a copy
retinues of hobgoblins, dog-handlers, grooms, bodyguards of Sijan built entirely from ice, or snow drifted into dunes
and human slaves. The best warriors in the group are as in the far South. The plants and animals may be freez-
acclaimed as the Seven Stormwinds in person, and form ing cold, just as the creatures of the Ice Forest.
a council that leads the tribe. This unusual sharing of The pull into the sky creates landscapes that could
authority (for raksha) results in an extremely stable tribe. never exist in Creation. Impossibly slender bridges of rock
While the position of a Stormwind is theoretically open cross mile-wide chasms, and rivers flow uphill as easily
to challenge at any time, in practice the Stormwinds have as down. The most spectacular, however, are the hollow,
grown used to watching each other’s backs and eliminat- funnel-shaped mountains that are widest at the top and
ing each other’s challenges before a duel can take place. no more than a few yards wide at their base. These often
They do not feel affection for each other as humans contain pocket environments that may be surprisingly
would, but they prefer to deal with known quantities temperate—the element of Air expresses itself through
rather than with new challengers. Other raksha cite this the upside-down mountain, rather than the usual cold
as an example of their stagnation. Their freehold takes of the North.
the form of several longhouses, lodged in a valley one can
enter only by walking a certain path backwards.
The Stormwinds themselves are Frost Lily, Kinderans, THE CITY OF SEZAKAN
Migulo Whiteblade, Snowbreath, Mellelone, Tormentil and The mountains on the Western coast of the north-
Wolfchild. These old, experienced raksha have learned to ernmost lands hide the First Age city of Sezakan. High
temper their thirst for excitement with due caution. Frost cliffs and mountains render the city’s valley almost inac-
Lily is the youngest, and ardently desires an encounter cessible except from the air. As a result, the valley makes
of some sort with deathknights. Migulo Whiteblade, the an ideal home for the 7,000 people of the air who live
oldest, buys healthy, dream-filled slaves from the Guild in there. The city center holds a large manse that looks
return for ice-diamonds, living amber and flowering am- like a pyramid of glowing blue ice. Sezakan’s builders
ethysts. Kinderans is the architect responsible for sculpting tapped the power of the manse so that instead of form-
their longhouses. The other four have a constant stream of ing a hearthstone, the manse provides the city with both
love affairs and betrayals that entertain the entire domain. light and protection from the frigid weather. A dome of
All use bows and axes, save for Mellelone, who insists on Essence covers the entire city to moderate the winds and
wearing only a leather vest and skirt, and fighting with keep the city warm. At night, the dome glows brighter
her bare hands. Featherheart, a younger raksha in the than the full moon seen on a clear night. This manse
tribe, swims naked in the rivers and whistles down gulls also powers the reality engine that partially protects the
and white eagles; she plots to trick Celestial Exalted into city from the Wyld.
bringing down one or more of the Stormwinds. Sezakan is only 25 miles from the edge of the Bor-
dermarches. The Wyld sometimes advances over the
THE BORDERMARCHES city on nights of the full moon, or when a Wyld storm
blows into Creation. During the Old Realm and the
Although ice covers the northern edge of Creation,
fertile land reappears in the Bordermarches. First, the Shogunate, the reality engine protected the entire city
ice gives way to arctic tundra and taiga… but twisted from even the Deep Wyld. Today, the ancient device is
by the Wyld. Instead of the dwarf conifers and willows out of tune, and the people of the air only remember
found in Creation’s far Northlands, Bordermarch forests how to perform basic maintenance. Instead of providing
sometimes sport stunted versions of temperate wood- complete protection from the Wyld, the engine merely
lands, Southeastern jungles (complete with snow-hung downgrades the Wyld’s effects by one category. Inside
lianas) or the olive groves, chaparral and cacti of the the city, the Bordermarches are treated as Creation, the
South. Then again, a Bordermarch forest might feature Middlemarches are treated as the Bordermarches and the
apple trees bearing fruit of ice, or the wind might play a Deep Wyld is treated as the Middlemarches.

74
 Most of the time, this limited protection is enough. local gods and elementals. The inhabitants worship the
The Bordermarches cannot affect Sezakan, and no Wyld Unconquered Sun. Because of Sezakan’s isolation, the
storm has inflicted worse than the Middlemarches around Shogunate never razed or conquered the city; the city
the city. When the city is within the Wyld, the Essence contains one of Creation’s few intact temples to the Un-
dome shines a brilliant violet to warn the inhabitants not conquered Sun. This temple is a slender, golden pyramid
to leave the city. As a result, the buildings have suffered located east of the manse, across the central plaza.
almost no damage from the Wyld, and the inhabitants The Sezakanians include a few God-Blooded people
are almost completely free of Wyld mutations. The very of the air, because Sezakanians occasionally take air
few Wyld mutants among the city’s residents are expected elementals and local gods as lovers or spouses. The
not to breed; they are slain or driven out if they make a inhabitants seldom mate with gods or elementals who
fuss about this. cannot fly due to the risk that their offspring might lack
The dome glows faintly violet if the Wyld approaches wings. The joys of flight are central to life in Sezakan:
within 10 miles of the city and continues to brighten as infants born with missing or atrophied wings are exposed
the Wyld comes closer, warning the residents to call back to the elements. Adults who cannot fly due to injury or
hunting parties. Hunters and other people traveling to disease become objects of pity and veiled horror; they are
or from the city look for the glowing dome as a warning encouraged to commit suicide. All members of the Solar
either to return rapidly or fly south, away from the rav- Council must demonstrate their flying prowess every year
ages of the Wyld. on the high holy day of the Unconquered Sun.
Thaumaturges must periodically adjust or repair the re- During the Usurpation, several dozen Dragon-
ality engine. While adjusting the device is relatively simple, Blooded loyalists took refuge in Sezakan. As a result, the
repairs call for jade and other rare materials. The people city’s population always includes about a dozen Azure
of Sezakan must seek out civilized areas or ancient ruins or Crimson Dragons. Both the God-Blooded and the
to obtain the parts they require. The Sezakanians honor Dragon-Blooded people of the air are honored here and
the daring scavengers and silver-tongued traders who fly are expected to help keep the city in good repair. They
across the Northlands their city needs. Because the Wyld often become members of the Solar Council.
often yields deposits of unmelting ice and feathersteel, the So far, no Sezakanian has become a Celestial Exalt.
inhabitants of Sezakan have valuable goods to trade. Recent prophecies, however, foretell that at least one
Some traders regularly deal with Gethamane and the inhabitant shall soon take the Second Breath as a mighty
Haslanti, but never reveal the location of their home.
For large trading expeditions, successful merchants can Sezakan, a Magnitude 3 Dominion
request use of one of the city’s two flying vehicles, a pair Military: 1 Government: 2 Culture: 3
of fast courier excellent air boats (see Wonders of the Abilities: Awareness 2, Bureaucracy 1, Craft 3, Integ-
Lost Age, p. 35). The inhabitants recently manufactured rity 4, Investigation 1, Occult 1 (Savant Academy +3),
their second air boat from components in their city, aided Performance 2, Presence 2, Stealth 2, War 2
by a pair of Haslanti technical advisors who were carried Virtues: Compassion: 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 3,
to and from Sezakan blindfolded—the only humans to Valor 2
visit Sezakan in the last 200 years. Limit Break: Temperance Current Limit: 2
Most of the other First Age devices in this city no Willpower: 6
longer function. Sezakan has the wreck of a battle car- Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 4
rier (see Wonders of the Lost Age, pp. 36-37), but lacks Notes: Almost half of the ruling Solar Council
the knowledge and resources to repair it. A few dwell- are God-Blooded or Dragon-Blooded, several of
ings contain functional automatic doors and windows whom are sorcerers with Legitimacy. Several other
that open or turn opaque at a touch, but most such skilled sorcerers live in Sezakan. The dominion’s
devices failed long ago; the last of the lift-tubes inside external bonus points come from trading contacts
the tall apartments failed centuries ago. Today, elderly with Gethamane and the Haslanti League, which
Sezakanians sometimes take the interior stairs, but most are invested in one dot of the Craft Specialty and
people fly up to the balconies found on the apartments the War Specialty (through trade in artifacts and
in the city’s blue glass terraces and spires. weapons). The city’s Virtue Flaw causes Sezakan to
The Solar Council governs Sezakan. These elected attempt to break all contact with the outside world
leaders receive advice from shamans who deal with the and eliminate all outside influences.

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 75

 Celestial Exalt. This event could suddenly put this iso- ice and chains of adamant. Kerris rides out daily with his
lated land back in contact with the rest of Creation and warriors on white horses with silver hooves. But ghosts
possibly the Fair Folk. crawl through the beautiful ice palace, amid the gaudy
Aside from gods and elementals, hardly anyone has raksha indulgence, and some day it runs the risk of be-
visited Sezakan. Visitors are expected to keep the city’s coming a shadowland chained to the Underworld.
existence and location secret: anyone who seems unlikely
to do so is held captive, or, in extreme cases, killed. Visi- ICE BLOSSOM HUNTERS
tors who can fly, using wings, artifacts or Charms would Description: A unit of hunters from the Turrets of
receive greater favor; outsiders who cannot fly can expect the Ice Blossom, under the authority of the Master at
a mixture of pity and disdain. They will also have trouble Arms. These riders are armed with both swords and bows,
gaining access to much of the city, since it is very much and emphasize speed and mobility over strength.
designed for fliers. Commanding Officer: Captain Djavan
Armor Color: Silver chain mail with black trim
Motto: “For the Queen!”
TURRETS OF THE ICE BLOSSOM General Makeup: 50 riders, each carrying sword and
The castle called the Turrets of the Ice Blossom
shortbow of steel-hard ice
rules the greatest raksha domain of the northeastern
Overall Quality: Good
Bordermarches. This freehold sprouts from the top of
Magnitude: 2
an impossibly slender peak like a giant rose carved of
Drill: 3
ice, with its shining spires rising from the center—but
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3
some savants of the North say the name refers to its
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 2
queen. Ellith, the mistress of this domain, seems proud
Endurance: 6 Might: 4
and glorious at first glance, but she has slowly sunk into
Armor: 3 Morale: 2
weariness and decrepitude. She sustains herself on the
Special Characters: None
blood of children, keeping them in separate towers of her
Formation: Relaxed
castle in rooms full of toys. Her subjects fear Ellith for her
power and love her for the bright, innocence-fed dreams
that fill the castle: while the living children weaken and
die in the upper chambers, glamours and dreams laugh
sweetly and play in the frost-draped corridors.
In the cellars of the castle lurks Ithelle, Ellith’s
daughter. Even if she was not born of Ellith’s body, both
claim the relationship. Her aging mother stripped Ithelle
of all beauty to maintain her own charms. An army of
ugly hobgoblins and a few withered warriors serve Ithelle
as she plots against the raksha in the turrets above and
attempt to assassinate or usurp them. If Ithelle can reach
Ellith and tear out her heart, replacing it with Ithelle’s
own, she can regain the beauty that was once hers, while
Ellith becomes a crone and flees to the cellars, there to
plot to usurp the throne. Both sides endeavor to draw
visitors into their constant struggle, using them as tools,
lovers or victims.
The only true neutral in the domain is Kerris, the
Master at Arms. He commands the cataphracts and
hunters, but would never dream of interfering between
the Queen and her daughter; he seeks only to keep the THE BRIDGE OF TEARS
borders secure and the trade with the Guild constant. The most impressive of all of the North’s natural
Children are expensive slaves to transport, and die so bridges is the fabled Bridge of Tears. It exists on the
quickly. He pays the Guild in flowers that never die furthest reaches of the Northern Bordermarches and
plucked from fields of snow, silver filigree, never-melting bridges the path into the Middlemarches. This vast

76
natural structure is actually a single huge peninsula Gravity remains constant on a driftland: without
that has gradually pulled free of the ground since the using Charms, characters can only walk or stand on the
Fair Folk invasion. Today, it is an arch of land 30 miles tops of these islands. A few driftlands are stationary, but
long and half a mile wide. The southernmost portion most wander at random. Except when a new driftland
of this bridge joins the ground in a gradual slope that rips itself from the ground and rises gradually upwards,
is easy for even ordinary mortals to walk up. After the none ever drops below 10 yards from the ground. They
first mile, the bridge is completely separated from the rarely collide, but when such collisions occur, they can
ground. The bottom of the bridge rises as high as a mile be exceedingly spectacular. A few stationary driftlands
above the ground and extends 12 miles out beyond the are connected to the ground by slender bridges of ice
vast cliff that marks the end of the Bordermarches and or stone. Breaking the bridges frees the driftland to
the beginning of the Middlemarches for this area of the move through the skies as the others. Larger driftlands
Northern Wyld. sometimes contain rivers that run off their edges. Some
The end of the Bridge of Tears forms a wide, aerial of these rivers plunge down to the ground as mobile wa-
plateau roughly a mile in diameter. Most of the Fair terfalls. Others flow through the air from one driftland
Folk consider it neutral territory. This plateau has the to another, twisting in complex ribbon-like paths as the
unique property that it attracts the driftlands in from the two driftlands move in relation to one another.
Middlemarches. Every week or two, a driftland moves Ice covers some driftlands or they are actual floating
toward the end of the Bridge of Tears and then stops glaciers, but in other cases, they can support vegetation,
just as it touches it. Anyone on either the bridge or the life and a temperate climate. (Why shouldn’t they be
driftland can then walk from one to the other safely and warmer? They float closer to the sun….) The largest
easily. The driftland remains in contact with the bridge driftlands generally stay remote from each other, but the
for one to three days, and then floats away. No driftland smaller ones float in vast clouds, allowing the inhabitants
has ever been known to touch the bridge more than once and animals to easily travel from one to another.
a decade, unless directed to do so by one of the more Driftland swarms sometimes show a strange but
powerful raksha. The bridge obtained its rather sorrowful consistent geography and ecology. Waterfalls cascade from
name because of the mist and gentle rain that covers it one driftland to another, the two driftlands maintaining
at least once a day. constant distance and speed from each other. Vines or
trees that have grown together over the centuries may link
MIDDLEMARCHES particularly close driftlands. The air of the driftlands is
full of predators, and some Wyld creatures sleep on the
In the Northern Middlemarches, the element of Air
clearly supersedes all other influences from Creation—but wing, never landing or coming to a halt. White hares
all the forms and qualities of Creation manifest and re- spread flaps of skin like the flying squirrels of Halta to
combine freely. Here, lightning bolts stick in the ground glide from driftland to driftland, forming packs to hunt
and sprout branches like trees. Pork chops fall like snow, the giant toads that hide in driftland caves.
and children made of sherbet eat scoops from each other’s The largest driftlands or swarms often have no ground
bodies. The Wyld barbarians might be furred, as in the beneath them. In these regions of the Middlemarches,
Bordermarches—but they are just as likely to have bodies the influences of the Wyld and the Pole of Air break
made of ice, crystal or clouds—or ordinary-looking flesh. Creation into floating fragments. In these cases, up or
The logic that says people ought to need protection from down become arbitrary concepts, meaningful only for a
the cold no longer applies. single driftland—or each driftland maintains a uniform
“downward” pull over its entire surface, which folk from
DRIFTLANDS Creation find as strange as the driftlands themselves.
The most noteworthy feature of the Northern Wyld, HY BANNIT
however, is how much of the geography is aerial. Portions This enormous driftland is shaped like a coin almost
of the land detach from the ground and float lazily through 300 miles in diameter and 10 miles thick, with no ground
the air. Aerial islands of the Bordermarches range from underneath it. One side consists of wide fertile valleys
small, rock-lined pools a dozen yards across to flying located between gentle mountains, while the other side
mountains. These “driftlands” settle toward the ground features rough scrub, rugged terrain and harsh mountains;
as they near Creation. The Middlemarches hold larger the sides are all of ice. Two driftlands smashed together long
driftlands—a few are hundreds of miles across. ago, and the icy sides mated to produce a strange interior.

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 77

 Raksha and other creatures live on both sides. Hy Bannit Back in the Old Realm, a Sidereal’s experiment-
is composed of some 50 waypoints (20 to a side and 10 gone-wrong created the Airless Quarter. An attempt to
in the interior) and several small freeholds. condense tons of air into a single, manageable point went
Immense caves of ice pierce the driftland’s interior. haywire. It channeled all the air in a strictly defined area
The gravity of each side cancels out, leaving the interior into a single point, but continued to do so and could
weightless. The caves in turn host a weird ecology. Vast not be stopped. In a region that was, at the time, within
snow wyrms dwell and feed on the lesser predators and Creation, authorities bound the Airless Quarter away
prey. Half-deer roam there, creatures with one head and two from mortals for their safety.
bodies that can split apart so one half feeds while the other If some enterprising individual could figure out
half watches for predators. Carnivorous moss infiltrates the how to steal away the single point in the center (half a
ice and moves along it in creeping patches, leaving a rough, mile above the ground), she would possess a source of
scarred surface behind it. The flesh-eating grubs lay eggs near-infinite air with a multitude of uses.
that look like small opals; they do not hatch unless they are
in close proximity to something warm for at least a day, to BREATH TUNNELS
make sure they have sufficient nourishment during their Breath tunnels are a natural form of rapid transport
early hours. The raksha do not know how the rumor began in the Northern Middlemarches. Small ice caverns pierce
that an abandoned ice castle inside Hy Bannit holds a huge the frozen ground in numerous places across the Wyld.
treasure trove hidden during Balor’s attack on Creation. They look unremarkable in most respects. Inside is only
The caves are deadly enough that few visitors survive their a small ledge, barely shielded from the fierce elements
explorations, and the raksha themselves have given up. outside, that looks down upon a tunnel through which
a vicious wind blows. Jumping down into this tunnel
THE SHATTERED LAND whips a person along the channel at incredible speeds.
A raksha legend says that these thousands of driftlands By mortal reckoning, breath tunnels move travelers at
once formed a great land that almost rivaled the Blessed anywhere from 50 to 200 miles per hour. According to
Isle in size, before mighty Balor shattered it with his spear. Fair Folk and other travelers familiar with them, breath
The driftlands float in an oval cloud about 2,000 miles long tunnels can take a person anywhere from four to 20
and 1,600 miles wide and deep; most of these driftlands waypoints in a single scene.
are spheres and ovoids between a quarter of a mile and 10 Most breath tunnels convey a person swiftly from
miles wide. Their slow, ever-changing orbits rarely move one terminus to another. Because the winds flow in only
the driftlands more than three miles from one another, one direction, there is no immediate return trip. It is
and some driftlands float considerably closer. often easier to find one’s way back overland than to find
An alliance of raksha nobles control a good portion a corresponding, reverse breath tunnel. Some termini
of the Shattered Land, but most of it remains wild and have multiple landings over multiple breath tunnels that
untamed. Trade and commerce abound. Hobgoblins work go to a variety of places, in either direction. The breath
the open mines found on many of the driftlands, while tunnel network is random, but extensive.
raksha wind yachts ply the air between them. These raksha A person who mastered the network of breath tun-
have little concern for Creation; their aerial continent nels could appear almost anywhere in the Northern
keeps them busy enough. Wyld in very short order. Such mobility would provide
great advantage in Creation, even with the distance from
PROPERTIES, PEOPLE, PLACES the Middlemarches. Even so, a measure of luck always
THE AIRLESS QUARTER
One cubic mile of space in the Northern Middle- BRANCHING BREATH TUNNELS
marches has no air whatsoever. Tribes of mutants mark Occasionally, a single tunnel branches in the
it with obscure warnings so their warriors may avoid it, middle and has two destinations. One is always the
and the locals’ favored tactic is to force their enemies into stronger destination, the default. The player of any
the quarter. Animals never stray into it, perhaps sensing character who wants to take the other must make a
its completely dead nature. Some Lunar Exalted have ([Dexterity or Wits] + Athletics) roll at a difficulty
mastered a Charm to enter it safely; they are rare enough of 2 to 4, depending on the wind’s speed. Botch-
that they find the Airless Quarter a safe repository for ing this roll inflicts 10 dice of bashing damage on
concealing valuables. the character.

78
plays into tunnel travel: in the Wyld as they are, breath swathed in very light blue silk. Children of the wind can
tunnel termini shift over time and are not dependable deaden all airflow around them. They use this to stop the
unless a person’s records are very up-to-date. Luckily for winds of the breath tunnels while they smooth out the
travelers from Creation, the tunnels are always close to roofs and walls with their hands and grow new breath
12 feet in diameter, making many Wyld monsters too tunnels between new locations. Read about a sample
large to fit. child of the wind on p. 153.
Children also silently and invisibly watch the all the
THE CHILDREN OF THE WIND breath tunnel termini. While they have a strict policy not
The children of the wind consider the breath tunnels to interfere with regular uses of the tunnels, children of
their responsibility to maintain. Though they are usually the wind can shut down a tunnel when people abuse
immaterial, the children appear as child-sized old men them. The most explicit abuse of the tunnels is to move
large numbers of troops, but others exist.
AIR SEEDS (ARTIFACT ••)
New breath tunnels grow from air seeds, yel- SKYWATER SPRINGS
lowed things that look like small pine cones. The Skywater springs occur naturally across the Middle-
children seem to be able to generate them at will. marches. At first, they look like natural sources of fresh
To plant an air seed, push it against any solid re- water, bubbling from the ground or off a driftland,
gion of ice, earth or stone, and germinate it with misting in the cold air. On closer inspection, an explorer
five motes. The air seed sinks into the ground discovers that they are flowing springs of liquid air, which
and opens a shaft of air through it, up to 100 feet quickly sublimate into the atmosphere. Skywater is more
long at the rate of one foot a day. Smaller channels transparent than even the purest water, and runs over a
branch off it, which children of the wind fill in creekbed of snow and ice without disturbing them.
and seal up in their tunnels. Air seeds qualify as Travelers Creation-wide, especially in the West and
two-dot artifacts. East, prize bottled skywater. Westerners know the danger
of drowning, and the Eastern scavengers fear suffocating

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 79

 in cave-ins and self-shutting tombs. They use skywater from steely-looking clouds and come from the Wyld.
as an alternative or emergency source of air. Drinking When the storm passes, the chakrams remain. When
a bottle provides a character with enough liquid air to a chakram storm dies in the North, scavengers retrieve
ensure that she doesn’t need to breathe for the next eight the weapons, and chakrams glut the market. For a time,
hours. One can also let it slowly seep out of its bottle to they can be cheaper than food in Diamond Hearth
keep enclosed air from growing stagnant for 12 hours. and Crystal. Some chakrams command higher cost for
A bottle of skywater goes for Resources •••• in exceptional artistry.
most regions, occasionally ••• in the North. The Northern Middlemarches also spawn javelin
storms, dagger storms and storms of other weapons. These
THE UNSURMOUNTABLE SUMMIT occasionally meet, grow in strength and form temporary
This spot is the single highest place in the Northern murder storms. Individuals who live or spend a lot of
Middlemarches. In this place, the nature of air to be above time in the Northern Wylds are inevitably familiar with
things most strongly expresses itself. The Summit itself is chakram storms; such explorers sometimes rid themselves
circular platform 15 feet in diameter that has one small, of less savvy enemies by luring their foes into these storms
treacherous path downward and otherwise looks out over while having ready shelter for themselves.
open air. From here, a person can see all the driftlands
and the rest of the Northern Wyld, all the way to the WEAPON STORM DAMAGE
Elemental Pole of Air and the northern edge of Creation. A weapon storm is an environmental danger
The sharpest, Charm-enhanced sight can just make out with a damage rating equal to the weapon’s dam-
the Imperial Mountain far, far southward. age per minute and a Trauma of 2. Storms that are
Explorers do not actually reach the Unsurmount- more dangerous may have higher Trauma ratings.
able Summit by climbing a great mountain. Instead, A murder storm has a damage equal to the summed
it looks like a nondescript patch of ground, marked by damage ratings of all involved weapons. Occasionally,
nothing. Stepping upon it, however, a traveler suddenly there are jade chakram storms. These have damage
sees the most fantastic of views and a very surprising ratings of 3L. They are very rare, and when they
cliff. The path one trod into the rough circle becomes enter Creation, many people get very rich.
the way back out, and stepping there takes one directly
back to the flat, unremarkable ground of before. People
who seek the Summit may spend mortal lifetimes trying THE JET COURT
without success. Toward the Deep North lies the Jet Court, one of
One special quality of the Summit has never been the five great centers of raksha power. The raksha of this
discovered. Northern Lunar Exalted have used it as a court consider Temperance the greatest virtue, and go to
lookout point without peer, but even they do not know great lengths to show how temperate they are by spying
that it serves as an unknown and unguarded portal on each other, betraying each other and brutally killing
to Yu-Shan. By exemplifying the quality of the “high- each other over who is most moderate. The court lies in
est point,” the Unsurmountable Summit floats above a set of ice caverns connected by twisting corridors, set
Heaven itself. By jumping off the small Summit’s cliff, a with arrases and convenient bedrooms and courtrooms,
character hurtles not to doom miles below but into the perfectly arranged for plotting, rendezvous and affairs. No
Jade Pleasure Dome where the Incarnae play the Games other group of raksha nearby is foolish enough to defy the
of Divinity. The lack of any immediate path back can court and give them cause for dramatic feuds and open
only mean trouble for the unprepared visitor. warfare; the Winter People journey from Creation and
the Bordermarches to exchange regular gifts and visits.
WEAPON STORMS The court’s ruler Princess Kyema is as artistically
Storms of flying blades meander across the North, perfect in her beauty as she is perfectly cutting in her wit.
cutting down the unfortunate creatures in their paths. Her constant, mild smile soon seems more threatening
Chakrams are the most common. The only time a chakram than any scowl. She has ruled the Jet Court for centuries.
storm truly dies is when it wanders into Northern Cre- Kyema enjoys leaving glamour-created copies of herself
ation. Then, the storm weakens as it goes farther from around the court while she spies on her nobles. She
the Wyld until it exhausting itself. blackmails her agents into desperation.
Each chakram in a storm is unique as a snowflake. Three special minions assist Kyema’s schemes. The
Chakrams are also entirely real, no matter that they fall Lady Ennaya, a maker of poisons and aphrodisiacs, leads

80
the Amethyst Household. The fearsome warrior Count murder attempt by a rival merchant group, who hoped
Okudo decides his actions purely at the fall of dice. Lord to anger both sides and usurp the Guild’s slave trade in
Kazour, a diplomat and courtier, conceals his hopeless the region. The rival group in question now enjoys the
love for the Princess. He walks amid the falling snow in Jet Court’s hospitality.
thin silks and bare feet. The Bull of the North and several Lunars have
The major entertainments of the court are spying, recently caused the Jet Court some problems, forcing
betraying, blackmailing, indulging or torturing pet mor- it to restrict its raiding and curtailing the Guild’s visits.
tals and disturbing other Fair Folk. The court is a very Princess Kyema ponders a huge raid that would take an
random faction, since they can justify almost any course entire encampment of warriors as slaves, or breaking
in the name of “temperance”—and delight in doing so. into one of the Northern cities and stealing a choice
Indeed, to plan anything would show a disturbing lack selection of mortals from it. While this would remove
of indifference. The court has no set hours for rising or the need for new mortal slaves for a while, it could also
sleeping, and courtiers and sycophants constantly wander provoke a major alliance against the Jet Court. This could
the long, icy hallways. The hobgoblins who serve the Jet be extremely risky; she fears the possibility of a Lunar-
Court are usually beautiful metal statues or dreamlike, Haslanti-icewalker triple alliance, and the potential of a
mist-shrouded ice sculptures swathed in scarves of jet Haslanti air fleet backed by Lunar magic.
that has been woven like silk.
The Jet Court does good business with the Guild, JET COURT SKIRMISHERS
directly and through the Mouth of White Sleep, throw- Description: A group of three hundred Fair Folk
ing gold and gems at the merchants’ feet before luring cataphract raiders. They are of Excellent quality, half
the unchained slaves that they have purchased out into male, half female. They wear gossamer armor and carry
the snow. The court is also prompt in returning mind- gossamer weapons.
broken slaves, and while these slaves often have artistic Commanding Officer: Count Okudo
mutilations that render them less than ornamental, they Armor Color: Black glass with violet and silver trim
are nevertheless adequate for hard labor. The Jet Court Motto: None. They charge in dead silence, casually looking
doesn’t usually try to lure the Guildsmen into the snow. around as if they just happened to be passing through.
In fact, a recent apparent kidnapping turned out to be a General Makeup: Lancers
Overall Quality: Elite
Magnitude: 4
The Jet Court, a Magnitude 3 Dominion
Drill: 5
Military: 2/2 Government: 3/3 Culture: 3/3
Abilities: Awareness 2 (Superior Diplomats 3), Craft 2,
Integrity 3, Occult 3 (Supernatural Etiquette 3), Perfor-
mance 3, Presence 3, Stealth 2 (Calculated Assassination
3), War 2
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 4,
Valor 2
Limit Break: Temperance Current Limit: 2
Willpower: 7
Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 9
Notes: The Jet Court is a Supernatural dominion.
Princess Kyema, Lady Ennaya and Lord Kazour are
all sorcerers, and Princess Kyema has Legitimacy.
The Jet Court does not hold any savants, as any
powerful members of the court are far from secre-
tive. In the event of a Limit Break, the Jet Court
turns in on itself and engages in self-critiquing and
demonstrations of personal non-involvement. The
court will refuse to get involved in outside affairs or
take any action that could be construed as personal
interest in events.

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 81

 Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3 Armor Color: The armor is as diverse as the soldiers,
Endurance: 7 Might: 4 but is usually splashed with dried blood.
Armor: 4 Morale: 2 Motto: “Marching to Paradise!”
Formation: Close General Makeup: 125 warriors, effectively heavy infantry,
armored with layers of Wyld creature hides. Their patron
THE SCARLET CRYSTAL ARTISAN usually equips them with short spears and javelins for
The Lunar called the Scarlet Crystal Artisan claims both close-up and ranged fighting.
her territory around the Unsurmountable Summit Overall Quality: Fair
and uses it regularly. This elder of the Silver Pact leads Magnitude: 3
her thousands of mutant followers on grueling trips Drill: 1
several times a year to thin their ranks and strengthen Close Combat Attack: 3 Close Combat Damage: 3
the survivors. Ranged Attack: 3 Ranged Damage: 2
The Lunar uses her observations from the Summit to Endurance: 4 Might: 1
direct her military efforts in the Northern Middlemarches. Armor: 1 (-1 mobility penalty) Valor: 4
The Scarlet Crystal Artisan leverages the fanatical devo- Formation: These units swarm over the Scarlet Crystal
tion of her mutants into a powerful (if unfocused) war Artisan’s targets of opportunity.
machine for fighting the Fair Folk, the Realm and,
recently, the Bull of the North. She dreams of turning CRAZED MARAUDER SCALE
the far North into a paradise using powerful spells and Description: Shock troops, eager and able to desta-
the work of her people. bilize enemy units.
The Scarlet Crystal Artisan’s followers fight for her. Commanding Officer: Varies
She forms them into First Age battle units for efficacy.
They are a diverse lot of Wyld mutants, still recognizable as
of human stock but otherwise with little in common.

WYLD HORDE TALON

Description: Warriors in a typical war party have
many mutations, but none consistent enough to form
into effective different battle ranks or units.
Commanding Officer: Varies

Armor Color: Same as above

Motto: “Hawoogawoogawooga!”
General Makeup: 25 warriors armored the same as
most others. These fight with big axes to frighten their
opponents, howl nonsense for further intimidation and
use thaumaturgic potions to ignore pain.
Overall Quality: Good
Magnitude: 2
Drill: 2
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3
Ranged Attack: — Ranged Damage: —
Endurance: 5 Might: 2

82
Armor: 1 (-1 mobility penalty) Valor: 4 sweeping through mountains and cliff faces with as much
Formation: The Scarlet Crystal Artisan holds these units ease as it flies through windstorms and hurricanes. It
in reserve to attack from unexpected quarters or when smothers and devours those in its path, stripping them
the enemy is weak. down into broken gems and charcoal in the heat of its
interior furnaces. When Ramis-Adke rests, its feathers
THE DEEP WYLD form a set of concentric circles in the ground, and the
The land in the Deep Wyld is all made of snow and magical materials bubble out of nowhere to congeal at
ice, and although as durable as ordinary rock or soil, it is the center, so great is Ramis-Adke’s natural prohibition
no thicker than a child’s hand, with only air underneath, against stillness. Several lesser unshaped raksha follow
and ripples like a flag in the wind. While gravity always Ramis-Adke, no more comprehensible than it is.
remains oriented toward the surface a character stands Another prominent unshaped raksha is Isingwethe,
upon, vast arcs of land twist and fold in the sky, and val- Unborn from Blood. Isingwethe hates all things that
leys can lead down to other, seemingly endless ribbons have life and death. She resolves to break into Creation
of land. Storms chase each other across the landscape, so she can tear her way down into the Underworld and
pursued by bright clear skies and perfect sunsets or glori- crack it like an eggshell. Following this, she intends to
ous stars and moons. No shelter lasts for long; ice-forests rip Yu-Shan apart and dine on the corpses of the gods.
of pine trees rise and then crumble again, cliffs fall to She was a close ally of Balor’s, and would have joined his
snow and caves lead down through long tunnels out onto Crusade had not a duel with him left her close to death.
mountain peaks high above the horizon. Isingwethe manifests as a woman with scarlet skin and
Sometimes the whole landscape breaks apart into white hair, or as a creeping stain across the landscape that
driftlands, which become clouds firm enough to walk leaves it corroded and fractured. She has many servants,
upon. Snowflakes chiseled from crystal and black onyx dolls of icy moss and frozen sticks bound into mimicries
fall from the sky, slicing at those caught below. The of human or animal forms, all of whom constantly bleed
mists take on the form of white animals, their eyes and from various wounds.
mouths a red so deep it’s black and then stalk anyone The Northern Deep Wyld offers no fixed locations
who disturbs their quiet coiling. The ice beneath a for the great unshaped to meet for their incomprehensible
traveler’s feet forms itself into tiles, and strange game- debates. When they wish to gather, they form a floating
pieces mimic the traveler’s paces as if he were a part in island out of the swirling ice and wind. This sudden surge
a gigantic game of Gateway. Mirrors in the sky reflect of temporary stability causes ripples all the way to the
whatever happens below, but also show strange tracks in Bordermarches, evoking a responding wave of chaos that
the snow and ice, and odd shadows that don’t belong to sweeps through the Wyld and makes the lesser raksha
any visible creature. tremble in fear.
As with any quarter of the Deep Wyld, a few sanc-
tuaries have been nailed into the chaos. Homes built by THE ELEMENTAL POLE OF AIR
Celestial Exalted in the distant past still stand. Thin cords The Pole of Air is the furthest North you can go.
of fate tie observatories to Yu-Shan. shadowlands where Here, everything flies on eternal, hurricane-strength
cities died in the Fair Folk invasion resist dissolution winds. Any solid land is just a driftland pulled in from
through their link to the Underworld. Dreams of the the Wyld, or coalesced from the driving snow before being
Yozis bob like stinking bubbles of perversion amid the sent into Creation. Up or down only have meaning with
windstorms of insanity. But these tiny points of reality regard to such temporary islands of solidity—the winds
are nearly lost in the measureless sea of chaos. are much stronger than gravity, if the Pole of Air feels
that pull from Creation at all. A man may be picked off
UNSHAPED RAKSHA a driftland’s surface, tossed hundreds of feet into the air,
The unshaped raksha that wander through the North and smashed back to the ground by a passing gust of wind
tend to ignore such sanctuaries as not worth their notice; … if he ever came down at all. From time to time, the
the hateful stability of Creation interests them more. winds freeze in their tracks and form solid paths through
Foremost among them is Ramis-Adke, Feather on the the air, leading skywards like ribbons of silver, creating
Wing, who floods across the landscape in a great blanket an interlacing maze high above the ground. When they
of feathers that have nothing solid beneath them. Ramis- shatter, glittering shards of ice sharp as chakram storms
Adke flies through both air and earth without pausing, cut through the tattered veils of snow and frozen fog with

CHAPTER THREE • THE NORTHERN WYLD 83

 the force of a Solar’s swordblade. The never-melting snow floating palace dissolves back into snow, which falls to
grinds away whatever’s left. The sheer cold can freeze the ground beneath.
blood and flesh in seconds. The sun barely peeps through Other beings can petition her at these times, if they
the eternal storms: more light comes from the lightning have appropriate rank and power (such as Celestial Ex-
that flashes through the snow-clouds, illuminating them alted, or old and powerful Dragon-Blooded), or if they
poisonously green and purple. bring worthy gifts. Mela’s moods are changeable as her
This is no land for mortal flesh. Only elementals element, however, and proven enemies of the Dragon-
and spirits may call it home. The razor-winds, the deadly Blooded are unlikely to find favor with the Dragon herself.
cold and the lightning defeat any mundane protection. She never receives Fair Folk, and takes great pleasure in
The Pole of Air can challenge even the Charms of the rending them limb from limb and scattering their blood
Exalted: a character needs separate Charms to resist the into the howling winds. Despite the Realm’s centuries
force of the winds, the killing cold and lightning, and the of hunting the Lunar Exalted, however, the Dragon of
razor-edged storms of ice. A Solar, for instance, would Air hears them out.
need Element-Resisting Prana to survive the cold, Iron In Mela’s absence, her Seneschal Colis-Jahmen guards
Kettle Body (or excellent armor) to resist the ice-storms against incursions from the Wyld. Colis-Jahmen is a lesser
and perhaps an Athletics Charm such as Spider-Foot elemental dragon of Air, proud, young and jealous of
Style to stay on a tumbling driftland. his rank and prerogatives. His predecessor in the post
While one might expect to find the Elemental died barely 50 years ago, under dubious circumstances
Dragon of Air at the pole, she seldom finds time to visit. that may or may not have involved the visiting Sidereal
The climate and location are greatly to her taste, but Iron Siaka and an oath carelessly sworn to an unshaped
her responsibilities keep her far too busy in Creation. raksha. Colis-Jahmen is served by lesser elementals and
When Mela arrives at the pole, a great, shining palace gods of air that prefer the purity of the absolute North to
of ice crystallizes from the snow to ride the winds; the human worship or Celestial duties. While Colis-Jahmen’s
clouds gather, tornadoes dance around her palace and sycophants view anything that is not a creature of the Air
lightning rings across the sky in celebration of her com- as a lesser being, they treat visitors with haughty politeness,
ing. Lesser dragons of Air and other elementals gather permitting them to explain their presence and possibly
to bid her welcome, bringing gifts and songs of praise. even deigning to assist them in small ways. Various other
When she departs, she takes any gifts with her, and the spirit courts also dwell at the Pole of Air.

84
CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 85
 CHAPTER FOUR

THE WESTERN WYLD

Ships sail on stranger tides than usual when they Bordermarches—often within 100 miles of the main ar-
enter the far West. For one thing, the Western Wyld re- chipelagoes. These areas endure Wyld monsoons several
sponds most readily to a visitor’s thoughts: water’s nature times a year. Only beastmen, the truly desperate and
is to accept the forms given to it, and in the Wyld that Wyld mutants live in the Western tainted lands. Mortal
includes forms given by thought. Unlike the North or sailors pray their ships will not be blown too far West.
South, the Western Wyld does not openly attack intruders As a result, the inhabitants of this region have only the
with environments in which normal life cannot survive. dangers of the Wyld and each other to fear.
It receives visitors, lures them in with illusions and the However, these dangers can be quite severe. Wyld-
horizon’s promise, and then swallows them up. tainted water regularly flows out of the Bordermarches.
When currents from the Wyld run especially strong, tides
THE WESTERN can move in reverse or run much higher or lower than
EDGE OF CREATION normal. The water itself can have strange properties.
The two most common aberrations are called strong
The West is the quarter of Creation most vulner-
able to the Wyld. Wyld storms usually manifest as fierce and weak water. Strong water is unusually thick, almost
monsoons that rain blood, exotic sea-life or a multitude gelatinous. It looks like normal seawater, but pushing a
of other substances across the islands and the seas hull or an oar through it requires five times the normal
near the borders of Creation. The extensive “tainted” effort. However, humans float so easily in strong water
portions of the West reach 100 or 200 miles from the it’s nearly impossible to drown.

86
 Weak water has no buoyancy: ships and swimmers
instantly sink to the bottom when they encounter weak WYLD WATERS
water. It looks just like ordinary water (though abilities to In game terms, the various Wyld-tainted waters
sense Essence or the Wyld reveal its presence). Fortunately, have these effects:
the transition from ordinary water to weak water is never Strong water reduces ship movement or swim-
instantaneous: an alert captain can spot the prow’s dip as ming speed to one-fifth normal. However, players do
it moves into weaker water, giving a brief opportunity to not need to roll for their characters to stay afloat.
move away from the deadly current. Many ships sailing No one can swim or sail in weak water. A (Wits
near the Wyld place small floats on long poles in front + Sail) roll, difficulty 3, enables a captain to notice
of the ship, to give early warning of weak water. and steer out of weakening water; a swimmer can
Sometimes the waters of the Wyld become so filled escape with a successful (Wits + Athletics) roll,
with the powers of chaos that they dissolve everything solid difficulty 2.
in their path. This unnatural extension of water’s natural Spotting a current of the waters of chaos requires
power is normally confined to the Middlemarches and the a (Perception + Lore) roll at difficulty 3. The water
Deep Wyld, but occasionally these destructive currents deals environmental damage of 2A/minute, Trauma
sweep into the Bordermarches and even into Creation. 2 (see Exalted, p. 244)—and only Essence-channel-
The Lunar Exalted, the native inhabitants of the ers can resist these effects. Charms that protect the
Wyld and anything made from gossamer or the magical user against the Wyld or environmental damage
materials are immune to these “waters of chaos,” but these completely protect the user from the waters of chaos.
currents can quickly dissolve a boat, a mortal or a Wyld Talismans against the Wyld allow bearers to roll to
mutant in a few minutes, and an islet or atoll in a scene. resist the effects of these waters—but the supernatural
The waters of chaos seldom last more than a minute in water still inflicts lethal damage.
Creation or the Bordermarches; in the Middlemarches,
they normally confine themselves to special currents. Between storms, Wyld tides and volcanic eruptions,
Life on islands near the Wyld is often no safer. the Southwest tribes live in one of Creation’s least pre-
Although most Wyld storms are sufficiently brief that dictable areas. They respond by observing hundreds of
thaumaturgical protections normally suffice to shield taboos meant to placate the local godlings and gain their
people from mutation, the islands they live upon lack protection. Some of these taboos actually do please one
such protection. Wyld storms can reshape islands. On god or another; most are pure superstition, born when
rare occasions, currents or rains of the waters of chaos people try to repeat whatever they did before a stroke
erode an entire island to nothing, while simultaneously of good luck or avoid doing whatever they did before a
dissolving the inhabitants as well as any boats they may calamity. These barbarians have more shamans than any
use to try to escape. other culture in Creation… but no higher proportion of
Many of the people who live on the edges of the West effective shamans than anyone else.
are aquatic, and some are more at home in the water than The barbarians spend prodigious effort on statues,
on land. Having the freedom to retreat into the sea and temples and pyre-offerings to every god they can find.
the ability to survive for days or weeks without walking They spend rather less effort cultivating their island
on land allows the Wyld mutants, beastmen and other homes. Indeed, they tend to strip an island of vegetation
inhabitants of the Western edges of Creation to survive and animal life within a few generations, and then move
in this harsh Wyld-torn region. on to another island. After several centuries of this, they
are running out of islands, leading to fiercer and more
BARBARIANS frequent tribal wars. Some people give up and move to
The human barbarians of the West have much in com- Wavecrest… and other tribes move further west, into
mon with their civilized kin, such as feather ornaments, the tainted lands where the gods and elementals make
tattoos meant to protect against bad fortune or the Fair stranger demands than ever and the power of chaos
Folk, and the custom of Tya, or women living as men. They grows even stronger.
are most numerous in the Southwest, where they live on
hundreds of little volcanic islands beyond the Wavecrest WYLD BARBARIANS
Archipelago. Their outrigger canoes easily take them from In the West, the pox Elemental Adaptation: Water is
island to island, and on raids into Wavecrest. especially common, as is the blight Gills. Many mutants

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 87

 also have fish scales, large fish-like eyes and skin or hair human villages on remote islands. Wyld pirates stay far
of blue, green, silver or fish-belly white. Ignorant outsid- from any island with a Realm garrison, and shun the
ers often confuse the less mutated barbarians with the Skullstone Archipelago: the Water Aspects of the Realm
people of the sea. can fight as powerfully underwater as on dry land, while
Wyld mutants face many dangers in the West. Roving the undead armies of Skullstone fight underwater with
packs of sharkmen present as much threat to mutants as frightening efficiency.
anyone else. The West has no cities large or sophisticated The Sea Lord of Coral Archipelago grants letters of
enough for mutants to find even minimal acceptance. marque to several companies of Wyld pirates. In return
Instead, Wyld barbarians must risk their lives defend- for sparing Coral’s own shipping, the barbarians can
ing their chosen territory in the Bordermarches or the dock at a few specific ports for repairs and to purchase
tainted lands from attack. The sharkman threat makes supplies with their booty. However, they may not leave
these tribes of Wyld mutants even more tightly knit than their ships and may only trade with specially licensed
those of other lands; in turn, they are also more inclined merchants, who always keep well-armed guards with them.
to view all outsiders as enemies. Any mutants who violate these rules are killed, and their
Mutants who can breathe water have no trouble living twisted bodies set out on floating buoys at the edge of
off the sea’s vast bounty. Tools, medicines, worked metal, Coral’s ports, as a warning to any mutants or other pirates
pottery and other manufactured items are difficult to who would defy the edicts of the Sea Lord.
acquire in the far West, however. More than other Wyld The murderous Lintha pirates also offer Wyld
mutants, perhaps, tribes in the West resort to raiding barbarians a haven. The inhuman-looking, pure-blood
civilized folk—as if the West didn’t have enough pirates members of the Lintha “family” show no prejudice at
already. Some mutants simply swim to their targets or all to even the most grotesque mutants. Wyld mutants
hitch rides upon the backs of tamed sea-beasts. Others make up almost a third of this large and deadly criminal
construct, or more often steal, ships. They obtain their band. A few mutant barbarians advance to the upper
wealth and useful goods by raiding ships or attacking ranks of the Lintha and dwell in Bluehaven’s lavish

88
and barbaric splendor. More often, they just work for their young underwater, but also swarm over the side of
the Lintha, bringing their stolen wealth back to their a ship or onto a beach to hack down any humans who
small and isolated island homes. Mutants who join the get in their way. Similar to ordinary sharks, sharkmen
Lintha usually dwell on the edges of the Wyld and not subsist on raw meat and are always hungry. Most shark-
within the Bordermarches—even more than in the Bor- men have a taste for human flesh.
dermarches of the rest of Creation, the storms and tides No beastman breed is more hated than sharkmen. A
of chaos of the West twist barbarians living within the few dozen sharkmen survive in the West and the Realm as
Wyld in ways that leave them unwilling or even unable gladiator slaves. The Lintha and a few other exceptionally
to leave the Wyld. brutal pirate groups use a few hundred more as shock
troops. The Lintha keep these creatures both well-fed
THE PELAGOTHROPES and in carefully locked cages, when not setting them to
The most mutated of Wyld barbarians are called devour the Lintha’s enemies. Otherwise, sharkmen are
pelagothropes. Especially in the Northwest, they often killed on sight. The people of Wavecrest, the Neck, Coral
have a layer of fat and oily fur, like a seal’s—but this can and even Skullstone all consider sharkman-hunting both
be blue or green. Long, webbed feet that are almost flip- a deed of valor and a public service. A mounted shark-
pers, scaled skin and nictitating membranes on the eyes man head is a point of pride.
are also common mutations. Some pelagothropes might Unfortunately, sharkmen breed rapidly and can
be sealmen further transformed by the Wyld. easily slip away into the water when threatened. Most
Pelagothropes who must still breath air find them- sharkmen live on the furthest outskirts of Creation.
selves forced west toward the Wyld. Gilled tribes, however, Because they are too bestial to fear the dangers of un-
sometimes dare to live in the main archipelagos of the controlled mutation, many sharkmen live deep within
West. If pressed by humans, the pelagothropes just move the Bordermarches and only enter Creation when mor-
a little deeper. Favored homes include coral reefs, villages tal ships come near. Ships that stray too near a pack of
woven from living kelp and seaweed or caves hollowed sharkmen can often face attack by foes that possess half
from the underside of icebergs. The gilled pelagothropes a dozen or more additional mutations. In other cases,
still need small areas of land to bear and rear their young, near-constant exposure to the Wyld turns sharkmen
however, since they take time to learn how to use their into living stories of rapacious, cannibalistic predators.
gills. They use the most remote islets and sandbars for These sharkmen have no culture beyond their eternal
this purpose. hunger and contempt for every other form of life; but
The sea provides almost everything the pelagothropes the sharkmen who still belong to Creation worship the
need, from food to coral or stone for weapons. Ordinary shark-bodied war god of the West.
humans know almost nothing of the pelagothrope culture; The whalemen and dolphinmen are the only other
most tribes even remain aloof from the Lintha pirates. beastmen common in the West. They wage a vicious war
A few Guild factors, however, manage to trade beads for survival against the sharkmen. Although the whale-
and baubles for coral sculptures, which fetch high prices men and dolphinmen are more intelligent and capable
among connoisseurs of the unusual. of civilized behavior, these creatures cannot breed as
Pelagothrope religion focuses on the ocean depths. rapidly as sharkmen and lack their sheer ferocity. To
Their priests and shamans descend to the lightless depths survive the ravages of their enemies, the whalemen and
to commune with storm mothers, sirens and sea-spirits dolphinmen follow a strict code of honor, truth and
almost unknown to surface-dwellers. Pelagothropes also mutual aid. These beastmen avoid humans, whom they
quest for visions in Wyld pockets far under the waves, regard as cowardly and deceitful.
or journey west to the Bordermarches. Their rites are a Most whalemen and dolphinmen live on isolated
mystery even to the other marine races. islands in the tainted lands of the West. Because they
breathe air and must spend time on land to give birth and
BEASTMEN forge metal weapons, dolphinmen are highly territorial
The sharkmen are the most feared and numerous and guard the location of their islands with their lives.
beastmen in the West. One legend says their savagery so Dolphinmen treat any trespass into their territories as
impressed the Fair Folk that the raksha created the horrid an attack. While they might spare the lives of intruders
siaka-men as a hobgoblin version of these arch-predators. who do not threaten or attack them, they strip intruders
Sharkmen are fully amphibious: they can breed and raise of any items useful to the dolphinmen pod, and often

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 89

 beat them to discourage return visits. The prevalence of is mere propinquity, but many Seahomers also believe
sharkmen in the Bordermarches prevents dolphinmen this increases their ability to master the lost Wyld-working
and whalemen from venturing into the Bordermarches technologies of the First Age. Today, Seahome includes
except to hunt these monsters. a few hundred God-Blooded and more than a dozen
Dragon-Blooded people of the sea. They also have a few
THE PEOPLE OF THE SEA citizens who are merely Dragon-Blooded: Seahome offers
The people of the sea find little welcome in the refuge to female “lost eggs” who find themselves stifled
main archipelagoes of the West. Fishing nets, mortal by the patriarchal culture of the West. As a result, stories
thaumaturgy and persistent hatred from land-dwellers about Seahome often portray it as an island of water-
encourage the people of the sea to live on the edges of breathing women with loose morals and magic powers,
the Wyld, or sometimes even within it. This results in when actually it just has simple gender equality. Perhaps
a number of different communities scattered through fortunately, few human mariners know Seahome’s loca-
the West; the largest are the island of Seahome and the tion, or would dare sail that close to the Wyld anyway.
Wyld-lost ruined city of Jalarin (see pp. 93–94). The people of Seahome have close, but secret, ties
to the Emissaries of Perfect Water (see The Manual of
SEAHOME Exalted Power—The Dragon-Blooded pp. 84-85), who
More than 6,000 people of the sea live on the share the Seahomers’ interest in pushing back the Wyld.
small island of Seahome, located due west of Abalone. Four members of this organization are people of the sea
Although Seahome is located within the tainted lands, from Seahome, including one Sable Dragon sorcerer.
a jade obelisk protects the island and its inhabitants
from the Wyld. The Seahomers would like to push back WYLD POCKETS
the Wyld as a matter of self-interest. They also have a In the West, Wyld pockets occur both on land and
number of damaged First Age artifacts salvaged from in the sea. Pelagic Wyld pockets often include huge,
the sea. Centuries of fighting the Wyld and striving to never-ending whirlpools or patches of sargasso weed
restore their heritage from the Old Realm have resulted that may be both animate and home to other danger-
in a respect for scholarship and the study of magic: a ous creatures. On land, Wyld pockets may cover part or
council of sages governs the island. all of an island. Because some islands actually change
The Seahomers have also bred with outcaste Dragon- location, especially in the aftermath of a Wyld storm,
Blooded and water elementals for centuries. Some of this they can become deadly traps for sailors seeking land to
resupply their ship.
Seahome, a Magnitude 2 Domain
Military: 1 Culture: 2 Government: 2
THE HAMOJI VOLCANO
Mount Hamoji, the largest volcano on the Wavecrest
Abilities: Awareness 0 (Superior Diplomats +2),
Archipelago, rises near the center of Abalone, the
Bureaucracy 1, Craft 2, Integrity 2, Investigation 1,
archipelago’s largest island and capital. Several square
Occult 2 (Savant Academy +3,), Performance 1, Pres-
miles around this volcano belong to the Bordermarches,
ence 1, Stealth 1, War 1
and the volcano’s caldera is a Middlemarch. As a result,
Virtues: Compassion: 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 2,
this mountain changes its shape, sometimes daily. The
Valor 2
volcano also occasionally spews jets of glowing violet lava,
Limit Break: Conviction Current Limit: 5
clouds of blood or poisonous flowers and other such
Willpower: 6
oddities. Smaller Wyld zones surround several of the
Bonus Points: 10 External Bonus Points: 3
archipelago’s other large volcanoes and a few tiny, nearby
Notes: Seahome is ruled by a council of scholar-
volcanic islands as well. These volcanoes often erupt at
magicians with Legitimacy. Despite being relatively
the same time as Hamoji, but all of these Wyld zones are
small, Seahome boasts more than a dozen sorcerers.
considerably smaller and are all Bordermarches.
It has close ties to the Emissaries of Perfect Water,
Volcanoes hold a special place in the beliefs of the
who provide its external bonus points. These points
Wavecrest islanders. When these volcanoes are particularly
are used in the city’s Occult Specialty. When in
active, special priestesses carry living convicts deep into the
Limit Break, Seahome tries to continue pursuing
Hamoji Wyld pocket and hurl them into the volcano. No
its current goal, regardless of how costly or difficult
one knows if the volcano-spirit devours these offerings, if
it becomes.
the Wyld swallows them or if they just die, but the victims

90
are never seen alive again. After the sacrifice, it sometimes sometimes even go disguised on land to seek inspiration
rains brains or fresh bone-fragments. Although no one from master weaponsmiths. Female raksha usually hunt
understands the reasons, the volcano stops erupting alone. They lure isolated mortals with songs and promises
after a sufficiently large sacrifice. Unfortunately, on rare of love, joy and delight until they join them in the waves
occasions the only sacrifice that will satisfy the Hamoji and swim down with them to their deaths. These lazy,
Wyld area is the Feathered One, Wavecrest’s ruler, or beautiful and crafty raksha have no regard for humans,
the sacrifice of a person of unmatched beauty. Naturally, but have learned to love their own existences. They are
when eruptions become especially severe, the Feathered artists, creators and dangerous hunters, feeding at the sea’s
One has his servants search for such individuals. breast like idle children, and could dream the centuries
away nibbling at the edges of Creation.
FAIR FOLK OF THE WEST THE NACRE WHIRLPOOL
Mortal settlements in the West try to ward themselves A few hundred miles east of the Coral Archipelago,
against the Fair Folk. The islands of prey attract the raksha on the trade route to the northern Inland Sea, a perpetual
just as blood in the water attracts sharks. The Western whirlwind boils. The whirlpool guards this freehold’s
Fair Folk actually hunt mortals less than in more settled mother-of-pearl palace. All who would visit must sail
areas, however, because they have many more Wyld directly into the rainbow in the maelstrom’s spray, as if
havens to live in. On fantastical islands or enchanted it were an arched doorway. The ship rides the whirlpool
reefs and grottoes, the Fair Folk can play their endless down into the depths, tossed like a toy by the churning
games without need for mortal dreams. The raksha who sea, until it reaches the calm zone at the bottom. Any
devour souls for sustenance or just to play the predator, other course results in a ship’s destruction. Sailors who
however, are as vicious as any in Creation—and these are must pass nearby know the whirlpool’s dangers, but they
the raksha whom mortals meet. also know that the payment of a living victim grants them
The Fair Folk predators of the Southwest know safe passage—usually.
neither fear nor remorse. They feed on the pain and The raksha of this freehold have become lazy and
desperation of their victims. Southwestern raksha ape self-indulgent. They do not bother to organize trade with
the customs of the region’s mortals by dwelling on the Guild when passing ships offer them mortal souls.
islands in tribal groups, each with its own set of initia- In lean times, the Fair Folk sometimes stir themselves to
tory ceremonies, superstitious prohibitions (faithfully drag victims from ships or raid Coral for victims.
observed though never believed) and tattoos. These Fair The Fair Folk take their cue from Baron Temmeno.
Folk particularly delight in carved wooden masks, which This raksha noble is languid and lecherous as an octopus,
each raksha carves and paints for himself. They wear no drinking the finest wines and sharing his couch with
armor, and they carry light weapons such as slings made raksha and mortal beauties. His laxness inspires a similar
from tanned human skin, daggers and javelins. laziness in his followers; they know their human slaves
The ruling Fair Folk control the tribe’s tame siaka, cannot escape from deep beneath the waves, so these
giant squid and other monsters of the deep. They direct raksha permit more freedom than most raksha would.
raids against fleets or single boats rather than against They have some communication with the Winding Stairs
islands and archipelagoes; these raksha do not want to and the Seven Stormwinds in the Northern Wyld (see
“overfish” a single area and drive out or kill all the hu- p. 74), exchanging ambassadors with both out of sheer
mans. Few great dreams fill their empty spirits; for the boredom or to arrange the shipping of exotic foodstuffs
most part, these raksha are content to live an endless and luxuries.
cycle of war, hunger and war again. No one at the Nacre Whirlpool knows that local
In the Deep West and Northwest, the raksha build Guild representatives are organizing a mercenary strike to
palaces of coral and pearl, far below the range of human destroy or cripple the raksha’s freehold. The Guild objects
divers. The raksha decorate their secret dwellings with to paying souls and getting nothing in return. Its local
jewels and figureheads taken from sunken ships. Raksha factors now seek Exalted, God-Bloods or thaumaturges
carry humans down from ships in cocoons of air, and to supply supernatural aid in the assault.
then torment them in their dreams until they wake
screaming, slowly to suffocate as the air in their cocoons
grows foul. The male raksha of these regions take great
THE BORDERMARCHES
The Western Bordermarches actually consist of
pride in their weapons—nets, tridents and spears—and two realms: one on the islands and the surface of the

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 91

 sea, the other underwater, especially on the sea bottom.
This undersea realm is by far the more populous. The AQUATIC SURVIVAL
vast majority of Wyld-dwelling life dwells in these exotic Western Fair Folk can use their Charms to
landscapes where herds of panicked seahorses flee from breathe water, and most Western hobgoblins are
ravenous bands of siaka-men. naturally aquatic. Mortals, Exalted and Fair Folk
The seas of the Western Bordermarches are unusually from other portions of the Wyld often have more
animate and active. Waves often move regardless of any trouble surviving underwater. Characters who do not
wind or currents. Sometimes the waves form tendrils that possess the appropriate Charms, spells or artifacts
reach out and try to touch or grab anyone or anything can instead search for one of the rare plants and
that comes near. Looking into the sea for any length of animals that can be eaten, held or worn to allow
time can result in faces, heads and even roughly formed the characters to survive underwater. While none
bodies rising from the surface of the water. Reaching of these Wyld-spawned wonders allow characters
down to touch the water often results in a watery hand the same mobility as that granted to Sable Dragons,
reaching up to touch the character. While such hands they at least permit characters to breathe underwa-
sometimes weakly grasp at the character, in most cases ter. Some also let characters move and fight as if
they touch and then vanish back into the water. Also, they were on land. However, these quasi-natural
while the waters of chaos are still rare, strong and weak wonders do not let characters use missile weapons
water often occur, as do currents of radically different underwater. Their blessings extend only to the
temperatures or speeds. character herself.
The Fair Folk and their hobgoblin servants range Finding such plants requires a successful (Per-
freely over much of the sea bottom Bordermarches. In ception + [Lore or Survival]) roll of difficulty 3 in
addition, aquatic versions of many land animals roam the Bordermarches or 2 in the Middlemarches and
the sea floor. Tigers covered with blue and black fish Deep Wyld. Only natives of the Western Wyld with
scales and elk with the skin of dolphins hunt and graze Lore 2+ or residents of Creation with Lore 2 and
the strange land underneath the sea. Most of these crea- a specialty in the Wyld know enough to find these
tures cannot swim and instead walk and run along the plants or animals, however. Each success above the
sea bottom as easily and swiftly as their counterparts run required difficulty allows the character to find two
along the plains and savannahs of Creation. additional “doses” of the plant. Each “dose” typically
lasts either one scene or one full day—but they drugs
DRUMMERS OF THE ENDLESS WAVE that are more potent may also force an immediate
Southwest of Wavecrest, in a Bordermarch of hori- roll to resist permanent mutation.
zon-less ocean broken by dead volcanoes and tidal waves,
dwell the Drummers of the Endless Wave. A mated pair The Drummers themselves have no idea how they are
of Fair Folk called No-mind and No-desire, who lost their used. They live a happy, carefree, bloodthirsty life on the
original names to the ocean, leads this raksha tribe. No- ocean wave, with their pet siaka and their human slaves.
mind, the planner of the pair, schemes to increase the Tidal rollers constantly sweep across their island, raising
tribe’s influence and watches constantly for attempts their tethered glass dwellings high above the surface as
to usurp him. He lost one of his eyes together with his they pass by; their bamboo rafts float in shifting patterns,
name, but he replaced it with a faceted emerald. No-desire forming loose bridges and strange writing on the surface
swims naked with the siaka, his long blood-scarlet hair of the water. Human slaves don’t last long before being
floating behind him, and his mask is set with ruby scars. fed to the siaka. The Drummers have little to do with
The two hold an iron domination over their tribe, but other local raksha, since the Sucking Tide does not want
fear any discovery of their names. its mastery over the two leaders discovered.
Their tribe does not know that, three centuries ago,
their leaders’ names were stolen by one of the great un- DRUMMERS OF THE ENDLESS WAVE PATROL
shaped raksha, the Sucking Tide, who still holds them Description: A patrol group from the Drummers of
in order to use the Drummers as tools and minions. For the Endless Wave. They carry barbed spears and wear
the moment, the Sucking Tide directs the Drummers to loincloths, and either ride in canoes that row themselves
cause random havoc, but intends to use them to support or swim alongside them.
a wider invasion when it sees a good opportunity. Commanding Officer: Esotai Wavebane

92
 both the wonders of the deep ocean and the activities of
Jalarin’s tens of thousands of aquatic inhabitants.
During the Usurpation, a battle destroyed almost half
of the city. The inhabitants fled into the ocean depths.
Sable Dragons looted the ruins of any portable artifacts,
and then abandoned the city. Years later, some sea-folk
returned to reclaim their home, far from the persecutions
of the Dragon-Blooded.
The Contagion and the Fair Folk invasion completed
the city’s ruin. Two-thirds of the inhabitants died. The
return of the Wyld shifted the local Essence flows away
from the city’s manse, leaving the city firmly within
the Western Bordermarches. The assault on Creation
incidentally produced temblors that tumbled most of
the city’s remaining towers and shattered all but one of
the surviving crystal domes.
The survivors lost all knowledge of First Age wonders.
The powerless manse, the city’s temples and the bottom
halves of several towers remain largely intact, as do many
of the low building that nestle amidst these vast edifices.
They now serve as home to more than a thousand aquatic
barbarians who live as fish-herders and raiders amid the
ravaged splendors of the past.
The people of Jalarin adapted to life in the Wyld
by becoming living tales of proud, fearless, honorable
but utterly merciless pirates. Although they always keep
Armor Color: Decorated loincloths and ornamental
their word, getting a promise of safe passage or even an
tattoos
acceptance of surrender requires their foes to impress the
Motto: The sound of canoes being tapped and thumped
Jalarinites with their bravery. All lesser foes are either killed
like drums
or sold to the Fair Folk without a second thought. The
General Makeup: 30 Fair Folk, all capable of either
Jalarinites’ assimilation to the Wyld leaves the inhabit-
fighting or sailing; all can either throw their spears or
ants of Jalarin largely free from mutations: they look like
use them as stabbing weapons. They carry spares.
perfectly formed people of the sea. Jalarinites typically
Overall Quality: Good
wear kilts and vests of sealskin or still-scaled fishskin,
Magnitude: 2
ornamented with beads, mother-of-pearl badges and
Drill: 3
jewelry taken from their victims, in a display of barbaric
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3
splendor. They go heavily armed even in Jalarin itself.
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 3
Raiders from Jalarin regularly attack ships around
Endurance: 5 Might: 3
Coral, Skullstone and the Neck. Their ships can sink down
Armor: 1 Morale: 3
into the water until their decks are awash, which makes
Special Characters: None
them singularly difficult for Western navies to capture.
Formation: Unordered
These pirates gain valuable wares; what they can’t use,
THE PIRATES OF JALARIN they keep as trophies. The Jalarinites also take captives
Jalarin, located several hundred miles west of the and keep them alive in the city’s one remaining crystal
Coral Archipelago, was a jewel of the First Age: a city dome: fast-growing seaweed gives the dome a murky but
beneath the sea. The city’s highest towers extended a breathable atmosphere. When the Jalarinites have at least
dozen stories above the waves. They provided luxurious a dozen captives, they feed them alchemical concoctions
accommodations for visiting Exalted, as well as mooring that allow them to temporarily breathe water and carry
masts where skyships docked. Visitors then could descend them to the Fair Folk. The borders of the Middlemarches
to air-filled crystal domes, where they could look out upon are only a few dozen miles away, and the Fair Folk have

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 93

 a large, underwater domain nearby. The Jalarinites pay General Makeup: 140 flying marines with javelins and
this living tithe to buy peace with the Fair Folk and to chopping swords, supported by 45 archers and 45 shark-
cement a promise of mutual aid. men with great axes.
The treaty’s wording is quite loose, but the Fair Folk Overall Quality: Good
understand how it fits into the Jalarinites’ story, and how Magnitude: 4
it enhances their own tales. The deal has lasted more Drill: 2
than five centuries. As a result, the population of Jalarin Close Combat Attack: 3 Close Combat Damage: 3
includes several dozen Fae-blooded people of the sea, Ranged Attack: 2 Ranged Damage: 2
who are both the finest shamans and the city’s primary Endurance: 5 Might: 2
emissaries to the Fair Folk. Armor: 2 Valor: n/a
The Jalarinites’ assimilation to the Wyld and treaty Special Characters: Captain Fakran and a pair of Fae-
with the Fair Folk enable the Jalarinites to employ shark- blooded sub-commanders
men as shock troops and marines. The Jalarinites control Formation: These pirates make up the crew of three
these monstrous predators with a combination of drugs, ships, Fakran’s Golden Reaver and the two smaller ships,
Fair Folk artifacts and the sharkmen’s own tendency to the Fearless and the Tiger Shark. They spend much of
become part of a story. Typically, a fifth of the crew of their time on these vessels and when in Jalarin are always
any Jalarin pirate ship are sharkmen. anxious to return to sea.
Notes: Pirates of Jalarin can never fail Valor rolls. Their
JALARIN PIRATE COMPANY story does not permit it.
Description: This pirate company consists of 185
fierce sea-folk pirates wearing breastplates and armed with
chopping swords and boomerangs (for cutting rigging).
MIDDLEMARCHES
In the Middlemarches, the distinction between
They are aided by 45 sharkmen shock troops wearing ocean surface, sea floor and sky becomes uncertainty. A
buff jackets and armed with great axes. sinking ship might drift down to a land under the waves;
Commanding Officer: Captain Fakran, a middle-aged or a waterspout might carry one to a lake in the sky. In
and exceptionally skilled and fierce pirate captain some places, water mimics solid forms from elsewhere
Armor Color: Black breastplates in Creation, while remaining clear. In other locales,
Motto: None such as islands and the undersea lands, the Wyld copies
substances as well as forms in its usual jumbled fashion.
The tendency for water to animate and take shapes and
images from visitors becomes even stronger than in the
Bordermarches: not only can people’s daydreams play
out in the sea’s reflections, the water may itself take
the forms of visitors or their imaginings, if only for a
short time.

PROPERTIES, PEOPLE, PLACES

LANDS OF DESIRE
The West’s propensity to mirror back a visitor’s
thoughts becomes strongest on certain islands that seem
like paradise itself. These islands offer almost everything
a person wants, from good food to dead loves returned.
Want to take the place of the Unconquered Sun and rule
Yu-Shan in glory? The Western Wyld provides.
But it is all illusion. Nothing on these islands is real.
The treasures and artifacts vanish when taken from the
island. The books of First Age lore only record your own
imaginings. The friends, lovers, servants and families are
only dreams. They only know what the seeker thinks
they do.

94
 Lands under the sea can also gratify desires in this
manner. Whatever their form, these lands of heart’s
SEARCHING THE MIRROR MAZE
Finding a particular bubble requires a successful
desire are the West’s most seductive trap. No real force
Willpower roll with difficulty equal to the highest
keeps a visitor from leaving; all you have to do is set aside
permanent Essence rating of any person regularly
beautiful illusion for harsh reality.
involved with that location. (So for instance, the
THE MIRROR MAZE difficulty to spy on the Perfect of Paragon’s bedroom
The Mirror Maze is one of the most enigmatic would equal the permanent Essence of the Perfect.)
places in Rakshastan. Various raksha nobles have tried The difficulty of this search drops by 1 (to a mini-
to place this maze within their domains, but it resists mum of 2) for every additional scene the character
all forms of control, appears and disappears throughout spends walking the Mirror Maze and looking for
the Western Middlemarches. the appropriate bubble.
This place is a huge, shifting maze made of solid Leaving the Mirror Maze requires a Willpower
water. This water is as hard as a wooden wall, but stays roll with a base difficulty of 1, but the difficulty
fully transparent and is neither cold nor frozen. Wherever increases by 1 for each scene the character spends
visitors walk is the floor in this three-dimensional maze, searching (either for a particular bubble or for an exit),
and terms such as walls and ceilings become meaning- to a maximum of 7. Characters who botch either roll
less. The passages are all square, and between nine and become hopelessly lost, and the difficulty of leaving
11 feet across. They twist, turn, branch off from one the Mirror Maze becomes 7 immediately.
another and intersect in a constantly changing network
of smooth corridors.
Bubbles float within the walls of these twisting the Ocean River as an express route to other places
passages. Some bubbles are as small as a fist, while the throughout the Wyld.
largest can be three yards in diameter. Each bubble When a ship embarks upon the river, it stays level
provides a miniature view of some place in Creation with the rest of the ocean for at least 20 miles. Then the
or Rakshastan, like a curving window. One may show river begins to separate. Sometimes it rises from the ocean.
the bedroom of the Perfect of Paragon, while another In places, the river separates entirely from the ocean
might look into the private hunting preserve of a raksha beneath it, creating a blue arch in the air. The Ocean
noble from the Western Middlemarches. Naturally, larger River is deep enough that most sea creatures, including
bubbles give views that are more detailed. These bubbles larger monsters, can still swim along its length. In other
cannot be used to affect the actual locations they show. places, the Ocean River dips below the surface of the
Also, a bubble breaks and vanishes if anything disturbs surrounding ocean. There, the waters of the ocean form
it. All of the bubbles move slowly through the walls, an unbroken “wall” at the river’s border. Occasionally,
and vanish within a few hours, so there is no reason to the river goes so deep that it acquires a saltwater ceiling.
assume that a bubble that appears one day will be there Monstrous creatures occasionally swim through the
on the next. wall to get at ships sailing the Ocean River; sometimes
Finding a particular bubble involves a lengthy search. they succeed, and sometimes the current sweeps them
This is as much an act of will as a physical search. Un- away. Whenever the Ocean River bends to the south, it
fortunately, the longer a character traverses the Maze, becomes brackish water, then freshwater. These sections
the harder it becomes for her to find her way out. Occa- of the river have their own freshwater creatures that live
sionally, visitors will find lost raksha, Exalted and spirits nowhere else. One such creature is the swimming Ocean
wandering helplessly through the Maze. River oyster, which creates a pearl so iridescently beauti-
ful that queens have killed to possess it. When Ocean
THE OCEAN RIVER River flows north, it becomes salty again. Sometimes the
Sailing westerly and always farther west, some voyag- current is warm; other times, cold.
ers see what looks like a rippling blue ribbon rising from The Ocean River divides and recombines enough
the horizon. They have found the Ocean River. This that a master of its slowly-shifting braids and meanders
strip of sea follows its own path through the Western could travel across the Western Wyld with brilliant speed,
Middlemarches, like the flow of a swift river two miles including to the undersea lands and locations in the
wide cutting through a landmass. The Ocean River has sky. Much of the time, the river blends in with the rest
no beginning or end. Daring traders or explorers use of the ocean, making the Ocean River difficult to find

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 95

 and nearly impossible to accurately map. Few mariners lations would return to the sky and long-forgotten fates
except the Western raksha know it well. would return to Creation.
Effectively, the Ocean River is a waypoint whose Regardless of the truth of the matter, there are some
properties dictate that it is never more than three scenes benefits to finding and visiting the Weeping Maiden’s
away from any other waypoint. Traveling on the Ocean small island. A taste of the very salty water that fills her
River is generally one scene that may encompass a great cupped hands endows one with the ability to drink
length of time. When other scenes occur on the Ocean saltwater as if it were fresh, but freshwater becomes poi-
River (say, a mutiny on a Creation-born boat), the travelers sonous. Dabbing the water on the eyes stings and blurs
reach the point nearest their destination once that scene a person’s sight in the clear air, but conveys the power
ends. It is simply a property of the Wyld that experiencing to see clearly through the murkiest and darkest ocean
narrative speeds the journey. depths. Touching the water to the ears renders one deaf
to human speech but capable of understanding and
WATERDROP OCEAN speaking with the animals of the sea.
Enormous masses of floating water often occur in Also, visitors may petition the Weeping Maiden to learn
the Western Middlemarches, but the Waterdrop Ocean something of their fate, request a desirable fate or abjure one
dwarfs them all—almost a separate Creation. This huge, unpleasant. Tall tales about the Weeping Maiden describe
spherical ball of water is more than 500 miles in diameter, many rituals to summon these services, and each is “the
with a multitude of fish and other creatures. A single, only one.” The true ritual is recorded within a waterlogged
massive coral reef fills the interior of this vast ocean with but serviceable book held by the Lintha Family.
a lacy openwork of narrow, spreading branches. In the Used properly, the ritual allows a character at the
large, open spaces between the coral tendrils of the reef Weeping Maiden to learn an aspect of her future or
live enormous kraken, sea dragons and sea serpents. apply a single astrological blessing to help her reach or
The Fair Folk say that the center of the reef holds a avoid a certain prospect, similar to Sidereal Astrology.
cache of treasure placed there long ago by one of Balor’s The change is usually so subtle that neither the Five
chief aides—but this treasure is also said to be guarded Maidens nor the Sidereal Exalted notice it unless they
by kraken-whales and other powerful beasts that remain specifically watch for it, and then they cannot detect the
mindlessly loyal to the raksha who placed them there. change’s source.
No one who has returned from a journey to the center To visit the Weeping Maiden, however, one must
of the Waterdrop Ocean has ever found the treasure, pass her guardian. Iwau Tamotsu, Watcher with Eyes
much less defeated its guardians. of Stone, defends the ocean around the statue’s island
Wyld shifts can transfer ships to the Waterdrop and viciously attacks everything that comes near. Her
Ocean without them even realizing (at first) where they guardian is a massive coral-reef behemoth, harder than
are and how much their location has changed. The steel, only vaguely human in shape and so large that it
Waterdrop Ocean can appear anywhere in the Western stands on the ocean floor while it destroys and devours
Middlemarches. intruders on the ocean’s surface. What the behemoth
THE WEEPING MAIDEN eats reappears, drowned and broken a thousand ways,
On a lone island in the far, far West rests the Weep- on the shore of the Blessed Isle. Few seek the Watcher’s
ing Maiden. She is a limestone statue of a young woman ward nowadays, otherwise the Dragon-Blooded would
on her knees, hands cupped beneath her face. Tears drip be more curious about how the Watcher’s victims got
slowly from her eyes into the bowl made by her hands. there. (See Chapter Seven, pp. 152–153 for the Watcher
That cup overflowed long ago, and two salt-lined channels with Eyes of Stone’s statistics.)
run down to the nearby shore and into the ocean.
Sailors’ tales claim that the Weeping Maiden is sister THE PEARL COURT
to the Five Maidens of the stars. After breaking some law In the Deep West lies the Pearl Court, a haven for
of Heaven, she was punished by being turned to stone raksha who value pure Will above other virtues. More
for 31 years. When that times was up, her sisters forgot than anything else, they wish to assert their dominance
or neglected to release her. When she realized she had over other creatures. Members of the Pearl Court are not
been forgotten, she began to weep. Her tears are the quite as vicious as those of some other courts, and these
source of the Great Western Ocean. Some end the tale raksha don’t maintain as high a degree of permanent feud,
by mentioning that, were she ever released, her constel- but they cannot refrain from testing themselves against

96
those around them. Even the raksha, however, cannot all
The Pearl Court, a Magnitude 3 Dominion
rule or always win. This fundamental problem in the code
Military: 2/2 Government: 4/4 Culture: 3/3
of Willpower leads Pearl Court raksha toward a morose,
Abilities: Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 3 (Red Tape 3),
self-loathing bitterness. A Pearl Court noble who loses a
Integrity 3, Investigation 3 (Witch Hunt 3), Occult 3
duel blames himself for a failure in Willpower, as well as
(Supernatural Etiquette 3), Performance 2, Presence 3
his victorious opponent: the noble’s loss shows he did
(Imperious Demands 2), War 2
not want victory enough.
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 3,
The Pearl Court follows Judge Nehemeth, whose
Valor 3
body is living bronze, whose eyes are rubies and whose
Limit Break: Conviction Current Limit: 3
long fingernails are carved ivory. She rigidly controls
Willpower: 7
the entire court, never moving from her throne at the
Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 9
center except when challenged to a duel, and issues strict
Notes: The Pearl Court is a Supernatural dominion.
judgments on any who defy her laws. Her human pets
Judge Nehemeth is a sorcerer with Legitimacy, while
and raksha pages change her robes and polish her body
Dilari of the Sea Foam is a savant (her influence
and copy down her pronouncements. She spends day
behind the scenes is occasionally suspected but not
and night creating new laws, leaving actual diplomacy
proven). In the event of a Limit Break, the Pearl
to her counselors and entertainers.
Court becomes ruthlessly controlling and refuses
Other noble raksha venture out into the Wyld to
to engage in any situation in which the court does
serve the court’s interests, maneuver for power inside
not have total authority over proceedings, either
the court or simply to find something to do. The deed
ignoring them or attempting to seize power over
matters less than that one set out to achieve it, and suc-
other participants.
ceeded despite opposition.
Lord Coraydo wears nacreous scale armor and styles
himself the Warrior of the Pearl as he searches for new The Pearl Court itself consists of a single castle of
adversaries. He takes little interest in his human slaves. shimmering mother-of-pearl that rises, spire upon spire,
Coraydo leads many of the court’s hunts and raids, but so high that the sun and moon must change their course
his declared goal is to conquer Creation all the way to the to avoid crashing into it—that’s what people see, anyway.
gods and beyond. The other nobles of the court admire Though it rises from the sea on an isolated crag of solid
his ambition; they would admire it more if Coraydo stones, the court moves throughout the Western Middle-
could propose any plan, however remote, for achieving marches, because Nehemeth wills it so. This makes the
this goal. Pearl Court hard to find; it buys most of its slaves through
Dilari of the Sea Foam is one of the most skillful the Goblin Bazaar of Surgeon’s Deep.
dancers in all Creation. She graces any court or freehold The length of time the court has spent in the West
that she visits, which makes her Nehemeth’s most useful means the court has built up many enemies. The Fair
spy and collaborator. She also works to keep the courts Folk have displeased nearby Lunars, angered the Silver
in balance and to avoid another Crusade; she organizes Prince and even annoyed the Lintha—just to prove they
pacts, love affairs and betrayals as beautifully as she does could. The court’s best local ally (not counting other
the dances of the Pearl court. raksha, who would betray it if they saw the chance) is the
Another widely traveled noble is Sweeter Than Guild, which values its stable market for slaves. Some
Honey, a minstrel, an equivocator and a diplomat. He raksha nobles speculate when the Pearl Court shall move
received his current name from a Lunar with whom he elsewhere in the Wyld—and if so, where it will go.
formed a brief alliance to dispose of a deathknight, and PEARL COURT RAIDERS
kept it after avoiding the Lunar’s subsequent attempts Description: A group of 150 Fair Folk raiders. They
to kill him. Sweeter Than Honey spends much of his are of Excellent quality, half male, half female. They wear
time traveling the Wyld with interchangeable, short- gossamer armor and carry gossamer swords, tridents and
lived apprentices, and the rest of it acting as a gadfly in daggers. They ride on horses of foam and starlight that
Nehemeth’s court who finds loopholes in her laws. He gallop across the surface of the waves.
also goes through human slaves at a painfully fast rate, Commanding Officer: Captain Dragon Pike
and constantly searches for new slaves after driving the Armor Color: Grey siaka hide ornamented with mother
latest set raving mad. of pearl

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 97

 As the sailors approach Skyport itself, the waters
become thicker with ships and boats, all sailing the un-
derside of the sea. Fishing lines hang upwards into the
air to catch gulls and Wyld beasts for tonight’s dinner,
plus a little more for the aromatic and feathery Bird
Market. Some people trawl nets. Before the city becomes
visible, a small, fast but armed ship—sails to the sky, for
once—meets the visitors and asks them to heave to for
a discussion.
The people of Skyport are black-skinned like obsidian.
They look as humans might if they were creased down
the middle and each half folded somewhat back. They
are very thin, and the two planes of their narrow faces
ensure that each bright eye looks a different direction.
Their fingers are long and thin and their legs strong
but apparently covered with baggy, loose skin. This is
actually a series of fins that wrap around their legs when
out of water.
Once the greeter meets the ship’s captain, he or
she explains the docking procedure. The native tongue
of Skyport is Riverspeak for reasons no one knows, but
some people know other languages, too. Skyport’s official
Motto: None. They sing strangely as they ride into greeter usually also speaks Seatongue and Old Realm. She
battle. explains that, because their buildings are on the ocean’s
General Makeup: Armed riders other face, the ships of Creation are dangerous to them.
Overall Quality: Elite Much like port cities with swamps, reefs or other hidden
Magnitude: 3 dangers, Skyport requires native pilots if the explorers
Drill: 4 wish to go on.
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3 Pilots are skilled at their jobs. Following their guid-
Endurance: 6 Might: 4 ance, a captain can easily sail the ship within the lanes
Armor: 4 Morale: 2 marked as safe. Small poles marked with red paint show the
Formation: Skirmish way but can be hard to notice, as can the piles of detritus
showing through the water that the guides assiduously
SKYPORT avoid. Before the crew knows it, they reach the foreign
When sailors hear of Skyport and its strange mariner quarter – that is, the above-water section of Skyport.
culture, they blow it off as a tall tale. But those who sail There, buildings constructed from driftwood, sea-
far enough into the Northwest see the truth of it for weed, coral, bones and other flotsam rest solidly on the
themselves. First come the ships of Skyport’s fleet. These water. They rise and fall with the waves but never capsize.
ships do not show bow and sail but instead display a keel, The two dozen buildings include the port authority,
sticking the wrong way up into the air. As much of the hostelries for visiting sailors, warehouses for trade goods,
hull’s bottom shows as is usually underwater, even to the offices for merchants who deal with foreign merchants
point of rising up when the ship is laden. and shops for resupply.
Most sailors who spot Skyport believe at first that Despite the long quays and many slipways, there never
they’ve drank too much grog, or that the chef did some- appear to be any other ships docked—not surprising, out
thing stupid with the fish last night, but it’s real. The in the Middlemarches. By the time visitors dock, even the
sailors of Skyport sail under the water, floating their ship that came out to meet them is gone from sight.
livelihoods upside down on the sky above. Barnacles of Visible from this area of Skyport is a pale patch of
a sort latch onto their ship bottoms, bird eggs with very ocean that looks more sky-blue than marine blue-green.
hard shells that sort nutrients out of the air until they Here is where the greeter’s ship has gone. Sailing into
hatch and fly off. this patch of ocean, a ship loses buoyancy quickly, fast

98
enough to make a captain certain he’s going down with bridges. Natives look stranger underwater, as their fins
his vessel. But instead of water rushing in and giving unwrap and float ethereally around their legs, but they
them a cold grave, the ship flips around to sail on the sky obey their upside-down gravity. They use the increased
from underneath. Merchants in the foreign quarter sell buoyancy of being underwater but do not swim in it—to
blue-black jade pendants (Artifact •) that allow foreigners them, as to any visitors who enter through the official
to breath the sea around Skyport. path, it is atmosphere.
In Skyport proper, the “ocean” below is a clear blue, Visitors to Skyport are invited to partake of all its
stormy gray, and many colors in between. The air and exotic pleasures, from alcohols and drugs never seen in
sky are a deeper blue, growing green and sometimes Creation to elegant seaweed parks to erotic practices that
murky in the sky. Sunlight comes from below, so many could confuse a Cynis. Luckily, they accept jade as cur-
houses have skylights in their basements. Traveling the rency. Skyport also has many confusing and unintuitive
path from sky to sea (which may be taken on foot, on a laws, such as, “Do not gaze at the space between a woman’s
floating quay) places one far from Skyport’s true center. eyes in public,” or, “Only touch those you own.” They do
The first buildings that people see are mere shacks, hovels not consider it necessary to tell guests about these laws
for Skyport’s paupers. Just like above, the buildings rest until they have been broken. Skyport also has many un-
firmly (if upside-down) on the ocean’s surface and roll usual methods of punishment, including turning people
with the waves. There, the tops of the red-painted sticks into fish or water-plants for extended periods.
are visible—two-sided buoys, marking the paths where the
pilots direct the foreign, “under-air” ships. THE DEEP WYLD
The buoys are spread out enough for a ship to pass All the forms and qualities of Creation are present
through, and a channel leads toward the city center. Now, in the Western Deep Wyld, but everything is made of
the city becomes visible: many buildings, constructed of water. The endless sea evokes shining, transparent dupli-
the same materials as before but somehow noble and cates of whales, seals, people, islands, cities or anything
grand, rise from the ocean’s surface into the depths. All else found in the West of Creation—or anywhere else.
transit between buildings is done by gondola or floating Volcanoes of ice spew steaming rivers. Forests of clear
water rise from the waves. Breakers crash on beaches of
granulated water, where liquid children splash and play.
Skyport, a Magnitude 3 Dominion The difference between air and water becomes largely
Military: 1 Government: 2 Culture: 3 meaningless here. Most of the time, a visitor can breathe
Abilities: Awareness 2 (Visitors +2), Bureaucracy 3, the water; but sometimes, he can drown in air.
Craft 3 (Unique Art +2), Investigation 1 (Visitors +2), Influences seep in from the South and the North.
Occult 2 (Water +2), Performance 3 (Strange Entertain- Although no polluting fire or hurricane winds can part
ments +3), Presence 2 the waters, even here there is heat and cold. The far
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, Northwest sees much ice and snow. The far Southwest has
Valor 1 areas of boiling steam that can flense the flesh from the
Virtue Flaw: Temperance Current Limit: 2 bones, condensing into clouds as they move northward
Willpower: 6 until they become masses of water undulating through
Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: None the sky.
Notes: Citizens of Skyport do not Exalt as Celestial The waters of the utter West are unnaturally reflec-
or Terrestrial Exalted; all their savants and sorcerers tive. The water often forms itself into large flat sheets like
are native heroic mortals. One of the Exalted who giant mirrors, or warped surfaces that throw back twisted
came to spend a great deal of time there could greatly images. While there is light, the sun, moon and stars are
shift the city’s direction, if he could figure out its not seen: water arcs above so high that they block the
Policy. Skyport’s bonus points are tied up in its third celestial bodies from view, if indeed they even exist here.
dot of Performance and its Specialties. Because of Though rainbows may cut through spray, the source-less
the city’s distance from other dominions, Skyport light that casts them cannot be found. In deeper parts
has no external bonus points. The people of the city of the water, light fades until only the pallid glow of
are remarkably intransigent when it comes to their luminous fish illuminates the endless depths.
unique laws. Its Virtue Flaw causes the city to crack This land of mist and reflections is even more chaotic
down on lawbreakers, especially visitors. and changeable than the rest of the Deep Wyld. A stray

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 99

 thought or memory can briefly reshape a nearby bit of one tries to stand on them. The only way to smooth
water into a duplicate of some familiar place, or cause an them is to coat them with fresh blood, which lasts for
image of a friend to appear in a nearby reflection. a few seconds before dissolving into the water. In the
Freeholds and domains here on the edge of Chaos presence of Salt That Cuts, storms slice the sea to pieces
take the form of vortices, standing breakers and other until the water itself bleeds, and all liquids become salty.
aquatic manifestations of power, rather than islands, Salt That Cuts rarely speaks, but its voice resounds like
sunken palaces or smooth sargassos. Some raksha shape an echo. Salt That Cuts cannot endure any whole thing,
their dwellings as icebergs hollowed into castles of ice or any perfect thing or any smooth thing, and destructively
twisting mazes of frozen corridors. lacerates such entities if it encounters them.

UNSHAPED RAKSHA THE ELEMENTAL POLE

The sparse population of the West gives its unshaped
raksha less of humanity to draw on for concept and form.
OF WATER
At the furthest West, a strange sense of order appears.
As a result, these raksha tend to manifest in even more
Even though the place is filled by water and its illusions,
abstract, diffuse and impersonal ways than usual for
even though nothing is solid, still, this is a place of pure
their kind. However, some raksha have gained fearsome
elemental power rather than the Wyld, and water must
names and reputations.
obey certain laws inherent to its nature. Rivers cannot
Shatters the Horizon has little active malice, but
remain still, and tides must flow. Even if the water shapes
spreads insanity merely by her presence. She breaks all
itself into mighty castles, avenues of towering trees, or
horizons, whether of the world, the body or the mind.
mountains and crags and valleys, it remains water. It
When she is near, nothing seems true; best friends
does not have the bitter coldness of pure air, the savage
may kill one another while claiming that their victim
heat of pure fire or the unrestrained hungry growth of
was “just a copy, an imposter, not real,” and virtuous
pure wood. It is water, it flows, it penetrates and it takes
men and women can commit horrible atrocities just to
whatever form it is given.
watch what happens, confident that the whole thing
The Pole of Water has no surfaces, only discontinui-
is a particularly realistic dream. Shaped raksha utterly
ties between different forms of water. A river of mobile
dread Shatters the Horizon, for she weakens the con-
water falls over a cliff of solid water through a space of
ventions of personality they have assumed, unmasking
breathable water into a lake of still, receptive water. The
and unshaping them. When she comes even closer—or
few bubbles of air are so suffused with moisture that
more precisely, when she directs more of her attention
fire cannot burn without the help of puissant Charms.
on an individual—flesh flows like wax and she plays with
heroes like dolls, reshaping them to her whim. From a
distance, she cannot be seen, but the horizon in her SURVIVAL AT THE POLE OF WATER
direction grows cracked like brittle glass, and any water The animals and plants of Creation include
nearby loses its taste. much water; blood is an inner sea. Mortal creatures,
The Sucking Tide exercises a hidden influence over therefore, survive at the Pole of Water more easily
the Drummers of the Endless Wave. It manifests as than at the Poles of Air or Fire. A visitor may drown,
water that has the consistency of flesh, and that forms but he drowns in a familiar element. Any Charm
a never-ending whirlpool. The Sucking Tide drinks the or other magic that enables breathing underwater
names of people trapped inside it, and then releases removes that danger.
them to do its will in Creation. Anyone who sees the The elemental pole has its own version of the
Sucking Tide dreams of it afterwards, and it attempts to water of chaos, however—destructive not because of
follow them to the borders of Creation. Bodies of water Wyld-taint but because water’s nature is to dissolve
in their dreams become gateways for it, and water runs what it touches. Any Charm that protects against
from their eyes and mouths while they sleep, casting the water of chaos also shields a mortal against the
reflections of the Wyld. pole’s all-dissolving currents. For what it’s worth,
Salt That Cuts manifests as a brittle sharpness on the a victim dissolved by the pole does not die. The
surface of the water. In its presence, all water takes on water takes the form of his body, mind and soul,
edges and slices anything it touches. Other flat surfaces as it takes the form of any container, transforming
become sharp in all directions as well, no matter how him into an elemental.

100
No plants can survive, because the Water Pole has no to slow her pace. Her majestic dwelling consists of lakes,
impurities to nourish it or earth to take root upon; the waterfalls and rivers that twist and bend in on themselves
only exceptions are the trailing weeds that sometimes in impossible patterns. When Daana’d is in residence
grow on the bodies of water-spirits, emblematic of their and swimming through it, it glows with a blue light that
nature rather than actual, physical plants. There is no shines through the entire pole.
earth here, for the endless depths have no bottom and Two mighty lesser water dragons, Unresting and
no further shore; equally, the only coral here grows on Unhasting, take command in the Elemental Dragon’s
the bodies of water-spirits. The pole knows only water; absence. They were born from a single stream that was
water solid or liquid, horizontal or vertical, in shapes divided at its source, and seldom part from each other,
imaginable and unimaginable, twisted in an endless twining their bodies around each other in long arcs of
medley of movement. crystalline water and flashing scales. They now disdain
The Elemental Dragon of Water never ceases to move the Creation that birthed them for the purity and beauty
through the waters of Creation; she visits the elemental of the elemental pole. The two guard its borders against
pole, but no more than any other place, and she is never intruders from Creation or the Wyld; these Dragons
still. The visits of Daana’d are unheralded, but cause a consider this duty far more important than anything
great commotion as all the water-spirits and elementals they could do inside Creation. Unresting and Unhasting
rush to pay homage, disrupting the tides of the region also disdain lesser beings—which to them means anything
and dragging storms and waterfalls behind them. She less than a major deity. Since they are younger than the
continues to move while she accepts their obedience First Age, they do not remember the Solar Exalted, and
and hears their reports, never ceasing, and her servants know the Lunar Exalted only as wanderers of the Wyld,
must therefore follow her, though she is kind enough powerful yet often unstable.

CHAPTER FOUR • THE WESTERN WYLD 101

102
 CHAPTER FIVE

THE SOUTHERN WYLD

The Elemental Pole of Fire spreads its influence

throughout the Southern Wyld. In Creation, the growing
THE SOUTHERN
heat dries the land to desert or calls volcanoes from the EDGE OF CREATION
earth. In the Wyld, the deserts become harsher, hotter and The South is the portion of Creation most inherently
stranger, while the volcanoes may spew substances other hostile to life. Although the warm coastal lands contain
than lava. Not only do the many forms of heat and fire many populous and highly civilized lands, the interior
appear—actual flames, hot coals, lava, solar heat—so do the becomes harsh and hot, dry and desolate. The tainted
products of flame: ash and smoke, but also forged metal lands and Bordermarches of the South usually consist
and the jewels that form from crystallizing magma. of dune fields, pebbly “desert pavement,” barren lava
The further reaches of the Southern Wyld often plains, salt pans and flash-flood gullies, just as the rest
become lethally hot for mere mortals, while the Exalted of the Southlands. The few mortals who survive in this
need Charms to survive. In other areas, however, the heat unforgiving land adapt to it physically or culturally in
lessens while other aspects of fire take precedence: its light, ways that make them profoundly dangerous to outsiders.
its capacity to burn out impurities, its evanescent, flickering Most tribes of beastmen, barbarians and Wyld barbarians
motion or its power to liquefy, boil or transform. living in the far South are cannibals who eat both their

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 103

 own dead and any outsiders the inhabitants can slay or The borders of the Wyld shift in the South, just
capture—meat and moisture are too rare to waste. as everywhere else. Wyld-infused substances that flow
Civilized mortals would avoid the far South, except that or blow into Creation, however, cause most of the
the region abounds with gems and other riches, including region’s tainted lands. Common sources of Wyld-
firedust. The drive to obtain these riches sends caravans taint include rivers of exotic lavas (on the surface
from the Guild and other merchants deep into the South, or intruding through subterranean channels) and
sometimes into the Borderlands themselves. Paradoxically, volcanic ash dunes of strange and sometimes deadly
despite the harsh environment of the Southern edges of sand. Drifts of screaming sand, flows of fleshy lava
Creation, the riches found in the Southern Wyld make it and storms of animate ash all happen fairly often in
the most frequently visited section of the Wyld. some places.

EXOTIC SAND
The following types of sand occur in small patches throughout Southern tainted lands. In the Border-
marches, these sands may cover large swaths of desert. In the tainted lands, all of these sands except gem sand
and firedust transform into ordinary sand within a few months after leaving the Wyld.
Firedust: This common product of Southern Wyld storms finds use in firewands and other weapons.
Firedust draws almost as many prospectors to Creation’s rim as gemstones.
Jewel Sand: This rare and treasured sand consists of tiny fragments of emeralds, diamonds, rubies or other
precious stones. In addition to being extremely beautiful, jewel sand can be used by artisans for everything from
high-quality abrasives to decorations. A large bag can be sold for Resources ••• in any city in the South.
Living Sand: This strangest of sands is a collective organism, much like a colony of tiny ants. Living sand
normally ignores anyone who walks over it, striking it hard can anger it and anyone who rests or sleeps upon it
risks being treated as a convenient meal. Angry or hungry sand slowly crawls over its victim. It can only move at
a rate of one yard per turn, and the sand ceases to attack once the person moves outside its boundary. However,
this sand easily slips through any barrier that is not airtight. As a result, living sand ignores all armor (but not
natural soak). It crawls up victims and deals one die of lethal damage per attack. Exalted and beings with natural
soak are protected until the sand chews through their protection, which requires a number of successful damage
rolls equal to the value of the armor (for beings with natural armor) or the character’s Stamina (for Exalted).
Rotten Sand: The infamous “rotten sand” acts exactly like quicksand, except that rotten sand is dry. When
someone steps into a patch, her player must roll (Dexterity + [Acrobatics, or Ride if mounted]). Two or more
successes allow the character to avoid sinking into this innocuous-looking death trap. A single success means the
character sank almost to her waist. A failed roll indicates the character sank to mid-chest, while a botch means
she sinks up to her neck. Players then make the same roll every action as the character attempts to flatten out,
get to the surface and crawl slowly and carefully out of this sand. Two successes on a roll allow the character to
go from being in the sand up to her neck to up to her chest, then to her waist and then to flattened across the
surface. Once a character is on the surface, she can slowly “swim” to the edge of the sand, at a speed of one yard
per action, with no need for further rolls. Failing a roll causes the character to sink one level, such as from being
buried up to her waist to being buried up to her chest. Characters who are already buried up to their necks sink
under the sand and begin to suffocate. Botching this roll means the character sinks two levels.
Speaking Sand: The Wyld infuses some sands with sound that the faintest pressure can release, such as
a strong breeze or someone walking upon it. Most sands contain noises from past times. Some sands carry
the horrified screams of mortals facing the Fair Folk invasion or similar horrors. Others contain ordinary
sounds such as howling winds or animal grunts. However, a few sands pick up and echo sounds from all across
Creation. One common sound consists of brief snatches of speech about a nearby character or his loved ones,
which were spoken in private and never meant to be heard by the person himself.
Unstable Sand: This exotic sand acts normally unless struck with a hard blow, such as a person or large
animal running over it, falling on it or dropping something heavy on it. At this point, the entire patch of sand
vanishes, leaving only a small amount of fine dust behind. Characters on the unstable sand fall into a pit that
is usually between two and six yards deep… and the normal sand starts falling in on them. Escape requires an
extended (Dexterity + Athletics) roll, with the total number of successes equal to the pit’s depth in yards.

104
WYLD BARBARIANS people, the Panagda are fierce cannibals who prey upon
Many Southern Wyld mutants are completely hairless both caravans and any dune people they find.
and possess a tough leathery hide, or even scales similar However, some Panagda tribes have learned other
to those of a snake or lizard. The pox Elemental Adapta- ways of life. Because they all live either within the Bor-
tion: Fire is also very common. Although many tribes of dermarches or the tainted lands bordering them, the
Wyld mutants dwell in the South, most are small because Panagda have great knowledge of the riches found there.
the deserts just don’t provide enough food for larger Scaled Folk have learned the skill of permanently setting
populations. The Panagda, or Scaled Folk, are the most gemstones in their own scales: their chiefs and shamans
numerous breed of Southern Wyld barbarians. often glitter with complex, jeweled patterns.
After ceremonially devouring their own dead (with
THE PANAGDA many reminiscences about the deceased’s excellent quali-
Unlike the nocturnal dune people, these strange ties), the Panagda dry the skulls and keep them as bowls.
beings love the sunlight. They all bear the poxes Scales The skulls of chiefs and shamans are coated in gold and
and Elemental Adaptation: Fire. In addition to their scaled gems. The highest honor a Panagda can offer a guest is
skin, they also have the slitted golden eyes of serpents. water from the skull of his mother or father.
Humans sometimes mistake the Panagda for snake beast- A few tribes trade some of their riches or act as guides
men, but the Scaled Folk lack fangs, poison, long snouts to gemstone rivers and similar wonders—although they
and other ophidian features; they owe their state to the always keep the finest sources of treasure to themselves.
Wyld alone, not the Lunar Exalted. Because of their love of ornament, Scaled Folk may trade
The Panagda rule the day, just as the dune people stalk large amounts of raw gems or lengthy service as guides
the night. Because the Panagda feel cold more severely for gemstones that civilized jewelers have faceted. The
than normal humans and their night vision is poor, the Panagda have raw gems in plenty—but not the tools and
Scaled Folk retreat to mountain caverns and the lava tubes skills to produce such finished stones. Of course, they
of extinct volcanoes during the night. Similar to the dune value food and water, too… and have learned that a

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 105

 handful of stones can buy a feast for an entire tribe. If Sandswimmer Fang and his chief shaman both have
the merchants prove weak or careless, the Scaled Folk Essence pools thanks to power-questing. Sandswimmer
get two feasts and keep the stones. Fang spent years having adventures on Creation’s rim,
As with all Wyld barbarians, however, dealing making him an uncommonly skilled heroic mortal.
with the Panagda carries risk. The Scaled Folk have no After taking over his tribe, Sandswimmer Fang pushed
concern for outsiders. Even tribes willing to trade with for greater Guild commerce and works to convince his
or otherwise aid well-defended caravans usually attack people that outsiders can be used for more than food.
ill-defended caravans out of a mixture of greed and con- As long as he brings in food and power over other tribes,
tempt. Panagda warriors also often challenge the most his people will follow him.
skilled caravan guards to duels that are supposed to be
to first blood, but are actually lethal—refusing to answer BEASTMEN
such a challenge shows cowardice and often dooms an Most beastmen in the South have even less material
entire caravan. culture than their barbarian or Wyld mutant neighbors;
in the warm climate, the beastmen don’t need it. Hyena-
THE GOLDEN SHIELD TRIBE men are the most common breed in the warmer areas
This Panagda tribe sells yellow sapphires mined from and the tainted lands of the South, while gazellemen
tainted land, where they also obtain golden obsidian abound in the tainted lands of the Southeast. However,
for sword-clubs, tomahawks, javelin-points and daggers. snakemen are the only beastmen capable of living in the
The wealth of food, water and ornaments bought from deep desert and lava plains of the far South and in the
the Guild has suddenly increased the tribe’s power and Southern Bordermarches. They rarely need to drink,
prestige, enabling the Panagda to push around other little their venom allows them to slay their prey quickly and
tribes on the Wyld’s edge. Their chief, Sandswimmer they can endure the searing rays of the sun far better
Fang, now buys weapons from the Guild and plans to than ordinary mortals.
conquer other tribes to form a tribal kingdom.
The tribe takes its name from the shield-shaped THE BEAST CRATER
designs of yellow jewels they fix to their scaled chests. High in the volcanic mountains separating Gem from
Sandswimmer Fang, his top warriors and shamans have the verdant lands to the West is a vast, extinct volcano. It
the most elaborate shield-designs, enchanted as talismans rises more than a mile and a half high, with a caldera 20
against the Wyld. The tribe worships the constellation of miles in diameter and half a mile deep. The steep walls
the Shield as well as their local small gods. No Exalted, Fair of this crater enclose an exotic lost world. In the center
Folk or greater deities are manipulating the tribe—yet. of the enormous valley lies a deep freshwater lake two
miles across. The altitude moderates the Southern heat
and rains reach the mountain from the West, so the
Golden Shield Tribe, a Magnitude 2 Dominion
valley is warm, verdant and brimming with life. Inside
Military: 3 Government: 1 Culture: 2
the crater live almost 90,000 large animals and nearly
Abilities: Awareness 1, Bureaucracy 1, Craft 1,
5,000 beastmen.
Integrity 2 (Tight-Knit Heritage +2), Occult 1 (Su-
The Southern flank of the mountain lies within the
pernatural Etiquette +2), Performance 1 (Display
Bordermarches, but the crater is within Creation. Winds
of Wealth +2), Stealth 1, War 2
blow strange volcanic dust in from the Wyld, and exotic
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 2, Temperance 3,
beasts sometimes descend the Southern crater wall and
Valor 3
enter the valley, but some unknown power prevents the
Virtue Flaw: Temperance Current Limit: 1
Wyld from advancing further than the outer rim of the
Willpower: 7
caldera. Even when Wyld storms draw the Bordermarches
Bonus Points: 10 External Bonus Points: 6
around the mountain, the entire crater always remains
Notes: The Golden Shielders trade with the Guild
fully a part of Creation. The only exception is the top
and use their wealth of food to buy influence with
100 feet of part of the Southern crater wall.
other tribes because Sandswimmer Fang tells them
The steep walls cut the crater off from the rest of
to. In the event of Limit Break, Sandswimmer
Creation. Any being that wants to enter the crater from
Fang loses control: the people eat the traders and
Creation must either fly in or attempt a steep, half-mile
their stored food in a massive feast, and start more
climb down the cliffs. The Southern wall of the crater
vendettas with neighboring tribes.
has several steep paths from the crater floor, but they

106
end at steep cliffs just before the top. For a few weeks or helpless visitors from Creation. Visitors who seem
of the year, however, the Bordermarches slip down the formidable, but not immediately aggressive, provoke the
crater wall and sometimes etch short-lived paths from the beastmen’s curiosity and have a chance to prove they
crater to the Wyld. are people. This usually involves a duel to first blood to
The Southern two miles of the valley are tainted land. determining visitors’ bravery and merit.
Creatures from the Bordermarches stay in this area. The
occasional light dustings of volcanic ash and strangely BEAST CRATER WAR BAND
scented winds from the Wyld provide the influxes of Description: This war band consists of 100 beast-
Chaos these creatures need to thrive and reproduce. men warriors who foray after Wyld storms to defend
Here grow low trees with large, shiny leaves and flowers their valley from Wyld mutants, hobgoblins or any other
that feel hot and glow orange-red in the dark, as well as threat. The members of the war band wear buff jackets
lizards with bronze or obsidian scales and a variety of reinforced with strips of bone and wield spears, bows
similarly exotic flora and fauna. and axes. This particular band is composed of about 20
A mixture of plants and animals from the central chiropterans, 20 gazellemen, 20 hyenamen, 30 leopard-
South coast and the lush, tropical Southwestern shores men and 10 snakemen. The war band is led by Baras
inhabits the rest of the valley. Some creatures are smaller Goblinbane, an elemental-blooded leopardman who is
than normal. Packs of lions hunt gazelles, wild boar and one of the valley’s most renowned war leaders. Off duty,
dwarf elephants no larger than warhorses. A profusion the members split up and rejoin their tribes.
of tropical birds sing and squawk in the trees; austrech Commanding Officer: Baras Goblinbane
and other large, flightless birds roam the savannahs. The Armor Color: Dark buff jackets with orange tiger stripes
beast valley also contains an abundance of flowering of painted bone
plants, including many found nowhere else. Motto: “Devour our enemies for the World.”
Five different varieties of beastmen live here—the General Makeup: 70 light infantry with axes and javelins;
only place in Creation where so many different types supported by 30 archers
of beastmen live next to one another. Snakemen and Overall Quality: Excellent
chiropterans dwell in the small forests dotting the valley, Magnitude: 3
while the gazellemen, hyenamen and leopardmen prefer
the veldt. No humans or Exalted live in this valley: the
Lunar Exalted visit now and then, but only to observe
this unique land.
Despite plenty of feuds and others personal conflicts,
the beastmen form a rude confederation of tribes. By
agreement, no beastman may hunt another as prey or
eat his flesh. Such offenders are declared enemies of all
beastmen, who any may raise claw or spear against the
offenders without fear of retribution. These beastmen
are considerably more violent and aggressive than equally
primitive human communities. They make their weapons
from flint, wood and bone and can use no more than
Second Degree (Adept) thaumaturgy. However, they have
forged a unique culture in which the members cooperate,
fight duels and tell stories of love and war, wisdom, folly,
tragedy and farce. They call the crater “the world.”
Several times a decade, the tribes band together to
defend one another when the Wyld storms drive a horde
of predatory hobgoblins and other Wyld creatures over
the rim and down into the valley. The beastmen know
to attack visitors from the Wyld on sight—and for all they
know, human visitors from Creation are just more Wyld
aberrations. They will rob, kill and possibly devour weak

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 107

 Drill: 3
Close Combat Attack: 3 Close Combat Damage: 3
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 2
Endurance: 6 Might: 2
Armor: 2 (-2 mobility) Morale: 4
Special Characters: Baras Goblinbane, two God-
Blooded chiropterans
Formation: The war band usually operates in skirmish
formation, but once the warriors surround an enemy,
the warriors often converge to close formation.

RELICS OF THE PAST: THE DUNE PEOPLE

The dune people inhabit much of the deep desert.
Several tribes live near the fringes of the Glittering Desert,
where they lie in wait for mortal scavengers and hobgob-
lin relic hunters; the dune people devour all who come Special Characters: Nysala, chief of the Jaresh Plains
near their lairs with equal relish. When night falls, the tribe and Obok, the head shaman of this tribe
tribes emerge from their sandy beds and creep silently Formation: This hunting party relies almost exclusively
across the dunes and scree, to hunt any nearby visitors on skirmisher formation.
to their desiccated realm. Their keen senses allow them
to spot the fainted flicker of a distant campfire or the POCKETS OF THE WYLD
sound made by sleeping mortals. The South holds a great diversity of Wyld pockets,
The dune people silently advance on any camps they from small fountains of exotic lava to entire chaos-filled
find, slay the sentries and then swarm upon victims in mountains. The most dangerous pockets seem like
a deadly massed attack. Disdaining clothing as a useless inviting oases in the middle of barren deserts, but are
artifact of civilization, they wield heavy boomerangs, actually small Bordermarches or Middlemarches where
hammers and axes made from stone, human bone and deadly plants, animals, Wyld barbarian raiders or stranger
tendon. The dune people devour their captives, drink phenomena await tired and thirsty travelers.
their blood and render their bones and sinews into the
tools needed for their survival.
THE FIREGEM FOUNTAIN
One of the smallest but most famous Southern
DUNE PEOPLE HUNTING PARTY Wyld zones occupies the corner of a large and verdant
Description: This hunting party consists of 50 hunt- oasis. This Wyld zone is only 30 yards in diameter, but
ers of the Jaresh Plains tribe, a large band of nocturnal in daylight, the Wyld zone shines and glitters brightly
dune people who must hunt humans and beastmen as enough to be seen from miles away. The entire area looks
a source of food and tools. The war party consists of a like different colors of candle wax ran and dripped over
moderately small team of naked dune people wielding everything… only instead of wax, the layered dribbles and
axes, slings and boomerangs. splashes are multi-hued gemstone. Technically, the Wyld
Commanding Officer: Nysala, chief of the Jaresh pocket is no more changeable than the Bordermarches.
Plains tribe At its center, however, lies an opening to a lava tube that
Armor Color: Ghostly white skin leads into the Middlemarches.
Motto: None Just as everything else in this glittering Wyld zone,
General Makeup: 30 light infantry with axes and javelins.; the opening regularly changes shape, but always stays in
supported by 20 slingers the heart of the region; the width of the opening ranges
Overall Quality: Good from several inches to two feet. Between four times a day
Magnitude: 2 and once a week, a small fountain of burning, molten
Drill: 2 gemstone issues from this portal. This exotic lava is as thick
Close Combat Rating: 3 Close Combat Damage: 3 as warm honey. If the lava touches any of the hardened
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 2 gem-lava surrounding the fountain, burning lava simply
Endurance: 6 Might: 1 cools and hardens, but if any of it falls upon anything
Armor: 0 Morale: 3 else—from ordinary stone to wood or even living human

108
flesh—the liquid flows over the substance and causes it district lest they exhaust all prey in a given region. These
to catch fire. This fire burns exceedingly hot and deals Fair Folk are proud, seductive and lethal; they gain no
damage as an acid bath (see Exalted p. 131). satisfaction from anything less than devouring souls or
Instead of turning to ash, the burned portions of slaying humans. The Fair Folk cultivate animal hungers
the object transform into solid gemstone. A log struck rather than civilized tastes, and would readily join any
by a splash of burning, liquid sapphire would catch fire, new crusade to destroy Creation, assuming that they were
gradually burn away and leave behind a log made of well-fed on the way.
solid sapphire. This transformation only occurs within Deeper in the desert lie other tribes of Fair Folk,
the boundaries of the Wyld zone. As soon as someone who ride horses swifter than arrows and catch rumors
removes an object outside of the Wyld zone, the molten on the wind. They raid oases, tents and settled villages,
gemstones are simply that and the fire they produce sweeping down like a storm to carry away the young
becomes ordinary fire. and the beautiful. These Fair Folk harvest their victims’
Many fortune-hunters try to exploit these transfor- dreams in elegant tents, at leisure and with style, and
mations. However, doing so is exceptionally dangerous. enjoy mordant jests and vicious humor. Fair Folk from
After leaving the Wyld, the lava itself rapidly transforms the far South region strive to be swift, beautiful and
into colored glass. Only materials the lava burned and artistic. Few of them would support a new crusade; hu-
transformed remain as gemstone once they leave this mans are victims, created for food, exploration and wit,
Wyld pocket. As a result, characters must actually place but destroying them all would leave the raksha short of
an object into the lava splash to obtain gemstones. Un- nourishment and amusement.
fortunately, while the lava usually splashes out just a few
yards from the vent, it can spray outwards anywhere from ENCAMPMENT OF THE COPPER ROSE
one to 15 yards and can erupt at any time, even seconds In the Encampment of the Copper Rose dwells Ali
after a previous eruption. Placing an object inside this of the Last Whisper with his clan of raiders. Ali chooses to
Wyld pocket and safely retrieving the object after its refrain from attacking villages or oases that display certain
transformation requires both exceptional patience and charms that folktales say protect against the Fair Folk. By
a great deal of luck. In the past decade, two unfortunates doing so, he makes his personal legend all the stronger;
were completely transformed into gemstone statues. (A if it comes to extremities, he may break the charms and
partner salvaged them, sold them to a Dynast and retired ravage at will, but he has not yet done so. Some others
to villa near Chiaroscuro.) Many other gem-lava gather- in his band, in particular the young noble Western exile
ers have lost fingers, hands or entire arms to this deadly Rimoah, disagree with Ali; however, they have not yet done
but valuable lava. so openly, as Ali is also fond of folktales that demonstrate
the raksha’s cruelty and ingenuity in torture.
FAIR FOLK OF THE SOUTH Ali permits several other raksha groups to live in
The Fair Folk of the South are a motley group of his desert freehold as well. They know they do so at his
hunters and rovers. Just as the mortal residents, the Fair sufferance, and form part of his nascent power base. Ali
Folk here often wander as bands of raiders. Many also works toward treaties with local petty gods and spirit
remember when the visionary fanatic Ikerre scarred the courts, implying that he can call on the Lapis Court
Southern Wyld and left the Glittering Desert as a result. for assistance. He ponders the value of offering raksha
Though Ikerre’s dream failed in the end, she left behind miracles to mortal tribes and petty kings as well, as part of
a scarred and vicious group of raksha who fear that it his plan to become a political player and power-broker.
could be done again. From the outside, the Encampment’s Freehold looks
On the wide stretches of the savannas, the Fair Folk like a small oasis gone dry, with sand half-burying dead
run in the shapes of lions to hunt their prey. They whis- thorn-trees and crumbling mud-brick buildings. Anyone
per outside the walls of mortal villages, luring victims to who passes a certain doorway in a ruined, freestanding
join them or convincing dupes to open the village gates. wall enters a pleasant domain of streams, mundane
They are masters of manipulating mortal emotions, and greenery and rose-vines made all of copper. Silken tents
murmur sweetly of the erotic ecstasy of the hunt, the surround a central lake on which floats a palace of
sweet surrender of the prey, the glory and the passion obsidian ornamented with copper. Human slaves and
of bloodstained death; they do not say who does the dy- obsidian statues serve the raksha. Ali deals frequently
ing. They are terrible blights, migrating from district to with the Guild, and is one of their main purchasers of
human slaves in the area, occasionally going so far as to

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 109

 intercept some deliveries of slaves that were intended Moving further South, the Wyld reveals its nature in
for the Lapis Court. Should the court discover his in- ways that are more obvious. The desert dunes might not
volvement, a prolonged, vicious and interesting (for the merely look like ocean waves—they might be genuine seas
raksha) war is likely. of dust, with waves raised by the wind. Eyeless versions of
fish, seaweed and other creatures live in these waterless
seas. The Fair Folk build gossamer yachts to sail upon
The Encampment of the Copper Rose,
them… or some eerie-eyed raksha dwell beneath the dunes,
a Magnitude 2 Dominion
rising to attack like the sand sharks they tame.
Military: 2 Government: 2 Culture: 3
Where the Southern Bordermarches are not desert,
Abilities: Awareness 2, Craft 3, Integrity 2, Occult 3
they are often volcanic. Huge fields of lava stretch across
(Supernatural Etiquette +3), Performance 2, Pres-
the deep South, some hardened into weird, twisted shapes,
ence 3 (Organized Crime +2), War 2
some eternally molten and some just plain strange.
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temper-
ance 3, Valor 2 GEMSTONE RIVERS
Limit Break: Temperance Current Limit: 0 Rivers and small lakes reappear as you move into the
Willpower: 6 Southern Wyld… but they don’t always contain water.
Bonus Points: 10 External Bonus Points: 6 Instead, they hold concentrated brine or solutions of
Notes: The Encampment of the Copper Rose other salts, or petroleum. A very few hold liquid glass
is a Supernatural dominion, and Ali of the Last or gemstone—even ponds of liquid glowstone that light
Whisper is a sorcerer with Legitimacy. In the event up the landscape at night. Most life near these rivers
of a Limit Break, all the internal factions of the takes on the color of the river, and the plants growing
Encampment turn against each other, attempting closest to the banks are almost all made of living crys-
to supplant Ali and seize power, and will intrigue tal or jewels. These rivers provide no sustenance for
with outsiders in order to give themselves a win- mortals or Exalted, but cause no harm when touched
ning edge. or imbibed.
When these jeweled liquids dry, they leave behind
exceedingly thin films of gemstone. While the liquid
THE BORDERMARCHES itself soon transforms into colored water if taken into
The Southern Bordermarches usually look similar to
Creation, the dried residues remain. A few brave mortals
the Southern portions of Creation. The scrubby bushes,
regularly travel into the Wyld to coat common goods in
olive groves, date palms and almond trees of the Southern
this liquid, so that they can sell sapphire-coated trinkets,
coast and oases reappear beyond the mundane deserts.
cloth-of-emerald or glowstone-coated rods that can light a
Just as the rest of the inland South, expanses of sandy
traveler’s way at night. Despite the profits (a person who
desert or ragged lava surround these fertile waypoints. The
does this for a living can earn Resources •••), few people
trees are taller (or shorter) and occasionally more mobile,
face the dangers of the Wyld to gather this wealth.
however, and the animals become a bit stranger.
THE GLITTERING DESERT
FIRE IN THE SOUTHERN BORDERMARCHES Two centuries ago, the mortal prophet Ikerre used
Fires lit in the Southern Bordermarches the vastly powerful Eye of Autochthon to slay enormous
never naturally extinguish themselves. Such fires numbers of the Southern Fair Folk and their hobgoblin
can be put out by water or smothering. As in servants. Her mad crusade left a region far south of
Creation, fires in the Southern Bordermarches Chiaroscuro now called the Glittering Desert. A portion
only consume flammable objects—but the fire of desert lies within Creation, but it extends through the
doesn’t go out when it exhausts its fuel. The fire Bordermarches and into the Middlemarches.
does not grow larger or spread unless it obtains The enormous magics of the Eye transformed every
more fuel, but a campfire lit in the Southern creature tainted by the Wyld into shining, multi-colored
Bordermarches could burn for 1,000 years if no quartz—all the Fair Folk, every Wyld barbarian, even the
one put it out. Also, every fire in the Southern plants and animals down to the tiniest insect in the thin,
Marches adds one extra die to its resisted and dry soil or the lichen on the rocks. The soil itself became
non-resisted environmental damage. glittering fragments of crystal. To this day, nothing lives
in the Glittering Desert.

110
 in Creation. Also, they sometimes spew anything from
SIGHT AND SURVIVAL IN hallucinogenic steam to clouds of butterflies. Even
THE GLITTERING DESERT within the borders of Creation, volcanoes near the
During the day, sight perception rolls are at +2 Wyld occasionally produce strange and eldritch affects,
difficulty because of the brilliantly shining reflections because they tap veins of magma that lead back into the
from the unnatural sands. Indeed, the Glittering Middlemarches or beyond.
Desert can blind a visitor: this is an environmen- Wyld lava currents periodically shift, leaving empty
tal effect of 1 dot Perception/hour, Trauma 3. lava tubes similar to those found around Creation’s
If a player fails the (Stamina + Resistance) roll, the volcanoes. These tubes are typically between one and
character’s Perception drops by 1. At Perception 0, 10 yards in diameter. Some portions of the Southern
the character is blinded (permanently, for mortals, Bordermarches contain vast numbers of such empty,
but Essence-users heal the lost Perception as lethal underground tubes. In places, they intersect to form
damage). The only ways to avoid these effects are complex and deadly mazes filled with exotic beasts.
to wear a visor of smoked or darkly colored glass A few tubes also lead to huge caves, some of them
(which inflict +1 difficulty on sight perception miles across. These underground worlds range from exotic
when the character is not in bright sunlight)—or to tainted lands that are still nominally part of Creation
travel at night. to small pockets of the Deep Wyld. Some are strange
The sand in this desert is unusually jagged and underground freeholds ruled by weird, chthonic Fair
sharp, so the damage from a severe sandstorm here Folk, while others become home to fearsome beasts or
equals the damage from a supernatural ice storm. the ancient, pre-human inhabitants of Creation that took
Fair Folk or hobgoblins who enter the Glittering refuge in this isolated, subterranean world long ago.
Desert automatically take one level of unsoakable Since the “lava” often was not just melted stone,
lethal damage for every hour they remain. Nothing the tubes are often coated with dried blood, sticky acid
can prevent this. or even rows of human arms, kraken tentacles or other
While in the Glittering Desert, however, equally mobile and potentially dangerous protuberances.
characters do not risk mutation. The Glittering (See Chapter Seven for the Traits of these clutching
Desert is beyond doubt the largest sanctuary in all threats.) Occasionally, a connection with the burning
the Wyld. lava of Creation or liquid chaos from the Deep Wyld
is re-established, and the lava tubes fill again with some
deadly substance.
However, the greedy and the curious occasionally visit Wyld lava tunnels can form a secure hiding place
the desert to search for valuable artifacts. Exalted and against pursuit. They may also contain various wonders
mortals are free to visit, but Fair Folk still find it baneful. carried in from the further Wyld. On extremely rare
The Eye of Autochthon poisoned the land against their
return. As a result, they must send in mortal servants,
typically either ravagers or Wyld mutants that the Fair WYLD LAVA
Folk hire, to search for wonders in the lands where they Hazard Damage Trauma
once lived. Boiling Acid 6L/action 3
The Eye destroyed all of the demesnes in this desert Boiling Blood 4L/action 3
and transformed the buildings in the Freeholds into solid Boiling Venom 4L/action* 4
quartz, but left magical artifacts untouched—whether they Hallucinogenic Steam 2L/action** 2
were created by the Fair Folk or trophies captured from Lava 6L/action 4
fallen Exalted. These objects now lie buried under the * Once a character takes lethal damage from boiling
shifting, shining drifts of crystal. Treasure-hunters also venom, she also faces the toxic effect of the venom
remember that the Eye of Autochthon itself has never been itself. Select whatever poison seems appropriate. (See
seen again, so it may still lie in this vast wasteland, too. Exalted, p. 131 for Arrow Frog Venom and Coral
Snake Venom.)
VOLCANOES AND UNDERWAYS ** Hallucinogenic steam also has a Poison effect:
Volcanoes dot the tainted lands and Bordermarches Damage 2 (no real damage)/hour, Toxicity 4, Toler-
of the South. In the Bordermarches, these fiery moun- ance —/—, Penalty -3.
tains can grow considerably taller and more jagged than

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 111

 occasions, these tunnels and caves hold wondrous view the Pacharenai as a particularly vengeful form of
remnants of the First Age that survived untouched. divinity that must be fought at all costs but at the same
Uncovering any of these artifacts and lost treasures time honors them by pursuit. The prey-tribes regularly
requires treasure-hunters to brave the manifold dangers offer small sacrifices, such as a child a year.)
of the lava tubes—and some of them die and leave their The Pacharenai is an unusually large pride for the
own treasures to the Wyld. South. This pride contains a full two dozen nobles, fol-
lowing a leader named Elegance. Elegance looks like a
BLACK CHIAROSCURO withered, sun-scorched woman of surprising ugliness,
One of the strangest and most enduring features of with a face seamed with scars and bones that stand out
the Southern Bordermarches is Black Chiaroscuro. It beneath her flesh. She parades her unusual looks as a
has lasted far longer than duplicate sections of Creation contrast to the beauty of the other raksha nobles; Elegance
usually manage. This waypoint consists of a lava plain enjoys dramatically posing in thin silk scarves, with her
bearing a life-sized, preternaturally accurate copy of the barbed spear Malice always at her side. The tribe dwells
First Age city of Chiaroscuro, all made of black lava at a Bordermarch oasis hidden by sandstorms, where
rock and jet-black obsidian. Just as everything within metallic cats wander among the palm trees and huge
the Wyld, this duplicate shifts and alters over time, but scorpions guard the entrances and exits. They consider
always resembles Chiaroscuro at some point in its history. their human slaves a valuable commodity—worked to
Sometimes, Black Chiaroscuro shows the complete city as their limit, but not casually destroyed.
it was during the height of the First Age. The city shifts
and changes over several weeks. First it grows larger and PACHARENAI HUNTERS
more elaborate, with extensive walls. Then it collapses into Description: Two dozen raksha nobles; this is the
Chiaroscuro’s current state, where huge jagged shards of full number of truly dangerous fighters available to the
obsidian mark the ruins of its once-magnificent towers. Pacharenai, though they can muster hundreds of lesser
New buildings appear to mark Delzahn construction. The hobgoblins and minions.
cycle occasionally ends with Black Chiaroscuro rebuilding Commanding Officer: Elegance
in a variety of exotic forms, which some scholars theorize
might be possible future Chiaroscuros.
This rocky metropolis only mimics the actual struc-
tures of the buildings and roads. Black Chiaroscuro has
no furnishings, and the copied lift tubes and other First
Age wonders are merely empty shells of rock without
any enchantment. However, the duplicate includes the
tunnels that run underneath Chiaroscuro. Many of
these tunnels remain unknown in modern Chiaroscuro,
so information gained in Black Chiaroscuro can help
anyone who seeks to infiltrate the city or discover lost
tombs and treasuries.
A few hundred Wyld barbarians live in the towers
that never completely fall to ruin. These furtive and sav-
age beings know the details of their city at all stages of its
existence. They eagerly hunt and attempt to kill anyone
who comes to explore this exotic wonder.

THE PACHARENAI
This pride of Fair Folk goes abroad in the shape of
lions, and has an ongoing vendetta with some of the des-
ert tribes in the far South of Creation. The Pacharenai’s
predation has become one of their defining features: they
absolutely could not destroy the tribes, but the Pacharenai
hunt the tribes wherever they find them. (Conversely, the
barbarian, Wyld mutant and beastman tribes in question

112
Armor Color: Lion skins The people of the grotto speak Old Realm. Their
Motto: None traditions say that long ago, their ancestors suffered an
General Makeup: Lions; also able to take the shape of attempt at extermination; that is why they hide from
humans armed with swords and javelins, wearing shim- strangers. They have no name for themselves. Their tales
mering silk armor that turns weapon blows say the grotto was once much larger.
Overall Quality: Fair These creatures are not the only dwellers in the False
Magnitude: 2 Sun Grotto. A small variety of hot-natured creatures
Drill: 4 live there, which the sentient inhabitants hunt. The
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3 bronze creatures eat what they hunt, but they often
Ranged Attack: — Ranged Damage: — do not appear to need that sustenance. They refuse to
Endurance: 7 Might: 5 discuss how they manage to reproduce, what with them
Armor: 3 Morale: 2 all being male.
Special Characters: None The folk of the grotto creatures cannot leave the
Formation: Relaxed; they never engage in ranged combat. grotto for long. They sicken and die without the light
and heat of three dozen suns, as they cool and the fire
THE MIDDLEMARCHES of life leaves them.
Moving closer to the Pole of Fire, the element of
flame pervades all other forms and qualities. Desert and
lava remain, but the Middlemarches acquire seas like the CONDITIONS OF THE GROTTO
West, forests like the East and winds like the North—seas The light and heat of the False Sun Grotto inflict
of liquid fire, forests of red-hot metal and winds of smoke. two environmental effects on the Creation-born:
Even though flames burn forever without fuel, flammable • The searing heat inflicts Damage 2B/minute,
substances—coal, petroleum, tallow—often appear, or Trauma 2.
substances burn that normally resist fire. Even living • The intense glare can blind visitors, as in the
creatures may be formed from flame. Glittering Desert, but Damage of one dot Percep-
tion/minutes, Trauma 5 (without smoked or
PROPERTIES, PEOPLE, PLACES tinted goggles).
Conversely, the folk of the Grotto suffer one
FALSE SUN GROTTO level of bashing damage for every hour they spend
At night, light shines from a maw of stone jutting outside the heat of the three dozen suns. This can-
upward from lava plains. A tunnel leads to a cave several not heal until they return to their home.
miles across. The cavern has no roof; instead, three dozen
suns float in blue-white sky. White sand, bleached by the
intense light, covers the cavern floor. LIQUID FIRE
Nothing from Creation could live in the blazing heat In the Wyld, fire can absorb the qualities of other
of the many suns, but the center of the grotto holds a small states of matter, including water. Rivers, lakes and small
village built of chalcedony bricks and tiles. The people seas of liquid fire extend throughout the Southern
hide themselves under the searing sand when strangers Middlemarches and Deep Wyld. Liquid fire comes
come. The inhabitants listen to those who walk above in different colors—ordinary pale yellow, but also red,
them, and reveal themselves only to visitors who seem orange, green, blue, violet, silvery, golden, white, gray
trustworthy and kind. and even black. Even stranger, liquid fire often burns
All members of this race look identical. They are only certain classes of substance and leaves other sub-
tall (for humans), they bear themselves regally, they stances alone. One fire-stream might burn only flesh,
are very manly in aspect, their skin is bronze and they while another might everything except vegetable matter.
have four arms. Some folk might find this a familiar As usual for the Wyld, one cannot predict what a fire
image. For their part, these creatures (who appear to be will burn and what it will not; the raksha keep track of
neither raksha nor mutants) have no idea whom they it all, though. Fortunately, currents of liquid fire with
resemble. As an isolated, once-ostracized culture, they different properties never mix. They usually burn no
are cautious about other people but generally trusting. hotter than a bonfire.
They have no tools except their metal-hard hands, which You can carry liquid fire in a cask or bucket, so long
are usually enough. as it cannot burn the container. Liquid fire retains its

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 113

 properties throughout the Wyld, but lasts only three days gryphons are in residence at any time, and they will all
in Creation before going out. defend it to the death.
Although a few raksha nobles and a handful of Lu-
THE ROOKERY nar Exalted know the Rookery’s location, they keep this
The Rookery is one of the most legendary locations knowledge to themselves. Flame gryphons bring a few
in all the Southern Marches and consists of a lava island trusted visitors who seek young gryphons as steeds and
that moves about the largest of the fire seas. Any flame partners—but only blindfolded. Any attempt to invade the
gryphon (see Chapter Seven) can find it, but no flame island results in the flame gryphons fleeing to a new and
gryphon would tell any other being the island’s location unknown location, or slaughtering all the invaders and
or guide anyone there unless forced by unnatural mental then spending the next few years killing everyone they
influences. Even raksha who become close allies with find within three waypoints. Flame gryphons know that
flame gryphons would never be taken there unless the without this vigilance their young would all be abducted
Rookery already faced dire peril. and raised in slavery. As a result, the normally solitary
Young flame gryphons hatch at the Rookery, and flame gryphons work together to protect the Rookery
old flame gryphons go there to die. A quarter of the from discovery or exploitation. (And naturally, the Guild
island is a huge graveyard of golden claws and beaks and is extremely interested in its location.)
opalescent white bones. Sometimes the flame gryphons
mate; sometimes they lay eggs spontaneously. But they THE YASAL FIELD
nest and hatch their young nowhere except this float- Explorers come upon the Yasal Field without warn-
ing mountain. Flame gryphon eggs take only a week to ing, cresting a dune or stepping from a lava tube to find
hatch, and the young flame gryphons fly and become themselves amidst a yellow expanse reflecting the sun
independent in another two months. Some flame gry- and firelight. Because yasal normally exists only as rare
phons permanently live on the Rookery, but most flame caches of small shards, the field is the equivalent of an
gryphons visit it periodically. Between 100 and 300 flame empress’s ransom.

114
 Unfortunately, yasal is a fragile gemstone. The crystal (inevitably) finds them betraying him with one of his
growths here are too large and unwieldy to move as they courtiers. Aral barely bothers with the other courts so
are, so entrepreneurs must cut off portable pieces—no they all meddle with his, turning the Ruby Court into a
easy task. Potentially, however, pieces cut here could be constant carnival of visitors, ambassadors, strangers and
large enough to hold even Celestial gods. plotters. However, Aral has many ties among the minor
The fields already hold many captured spirits. Even raksha households. He also enjoys entertaining interesting
ensconced in the Wyld, these crystals have existed so long humans as guests—for a while, at least; they distract him
that many gods or elementals have come across it and, from his ennui and can serve as convenient pawns.
accidentally, become imprisoned in the crystals. Yasal Fortunately for the court’s stability, Shikuzi the
dust is so pervasive in the air that a visitor does not even Weaver is a power behind the throne. This skillful
need to touch imprisoning crystals to hear the desperate schemer looks like a tall man swathed in silken scarves.
voices of the spirits. Cutting a crystal that contains a spirit He never draws his great scimitar, but spends all day at
could shatter the spirit, free it or leave it be. his loom in a nook off the throne room. Shikuzi uses
These fields are older than anyone suspects. During only hair from living humans in his weaving, and the
the Primordial War, a circle of Lunars lured one fetich cloths from his loom usually bear some innovative curse
demon into the Wyld’s yasal fields, trapped it in the of misfortune.
crystals and scattered them. Then, the yasal crystals did Shikuzi’s closest ally is Shusai of the Immaculate
not slowly grow as they do now, so perhaps the demon Blade, who constantly seeks to test herself against monks
is still there. of the Immaculate Order. Shusai’s enthusiasm for bloody
personal combat has done more damage to the court’s
forces than most of its enemies.
CUTTING CRYSTALS Another major factor in Ruby Court politics is
Cutting a portable chunk of yasal without Hakasane, who for centuries has handled the Court’s
shattering and ruining it requires a successful roll dealings with the Guild. She looks like a 12-year-old girl
of (less of [Dexterity or Perception] + Craft [Air]) with curly, blonde hair and blue eyes. Hakasane often
at difficulty 3. If a yasal growth contains a spirit, carries small, harmless pets such as doves or rabbits.
success leaves the spirit intact. A failed roll releases Her skill at negotiation equals her prowess with a bow:
the spirit, and a botch destroys the spirit. Hakasane’s tenacity has won the court many fine slaves.
She often travels outside the Ruby Court on errands of

THE RUBY COURT The Ruby Court, a Magnitude 3 Dominion

In the Southeast, between Wyld-twisted jungle and
Military: 3/3 Government: 3/3 Culture: 2/2
savannahs full of strange beasts, lies the Ruby Court,
Abilities: Awareness 2 (Blackmail Official 2), Craft 3,
ruled by Duke Aral and advised by Shikuzi the Weaver.
Integrity 3, Occult 3 (Supernatural Etiquette 3), Perfor-
These raksha prize conviction and dedication and never
mance 3 (Rousing Rhetoric 3), Presence 3, War 3
regretting their actions. The Ruby Court is a hotbed of
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temper-
treason, plots, counter-plots, love, betrayals and tragic
ance 2, Valor 3
funerals followed by vengeful duels.
Limit Break: Conviction Current Limit: 3
The Ruby Court moved here a decade ago from the
Willpower: 7
distant North… the same time several Tepet legions ar-
Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 9
rived, commanded by the celebrated Roseblack. Perhaps
Notes: The Ruby Court is a Supernatural dominion.
this was coincidence; or perhaps caution on Duke Aral’s
Duke Aral and Shikuzi the Weaver are both sorcer-
part. Few raksha dare suggest behind-the-scenes diplomacy
ers with Legitimacy, while Hakasane is a savant. In
between Shikuzi and the Roseblack; anyone who could
the event of a Limit Break, the Ruby Court utterly
prove active collusion could topple the court, or blackmail
refuses to reconsider or retract any of its actions or
his way to extremely rapid advancement.
statements, pursuing them to the point of insanity,
Duke Aral urges his subjects to indulge their every
while simultaneously engaging in internal struggles
desire. He whiles away his days with an endless stream
as its members all support their own point of view
of beautiful blonde women, whom he claims to recog-
and refuse to consider anyone else’s.
nize as his one true love. They die on his blade when he

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 115

 trade and slave-handling, accompanied by four mute, Commanding Officer: Lady Hishinia
devoted human guards. Armor Color: Ruby glass plate mail; the lancers have it
The Ruby Court has not yet made a serious impact etched in gold, the skirmishers in copper.
on the local freeholds, alliances and power plays. At the Motto: “For glory and for war!”
moment, Shikuzi is investigating the strength of nearby General Makeup: Armed riders: 250 lancers, 750
Lunars, using any convenient visitors or adventurers as skirmishers. All carry shortbows and use them from a
his cat’s-paws. For the moment, the court engages in love distance before charging.
affairs, contests of art and frequent duels and hunts. Duke Overall Quality: Elite
Aral indulges its guests with their preferred amusements Magnitude: 6
and with generous gifts of slaves. Hunting expeditions Drill: 4
frequently ride all the way to Creation in search of prey, Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3
slaves or interesting guests. Mortals who sufficiently amuse Ranged Attack: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 3
the court through their wit or unusual skills might leave Endurance: 6 Might: 4
safely, bearing miraculous raksha treasures; mortals who Armor: 4 Morale: 3
grow tedious or gauche are devoured. Formation: While the Ruby Court army prefers to begin
When the Ruby Court came South, the court seized a battle in relaxed or skirmishing formation, the army’s
a large freehold from local raksha. Duke Aral remodeled favorite tactic is to surround a foe, then close ranks for a
it into a fantasia of minarets, marble courtyards and lance charge. The army feels the massed power of the charge
fountains of scented water, blood and wine. (The noble expresses the court’s chosen virtue of Conviction.
raksha who previously owned the freehold is now dead,
and his subjects scattered or accepted lowly positions in THE LAPIS COURT
the Ruby Court.) The court’s hobgoblins take the form The Lapis Court in the far South attracts raksha who
of marble statues or animate vortices of wind, but human claim they practice compassion towards lesser beings. The
slaves do most of the work. court’s ruler, Neshi of the Double Whips, always goes
veiled; she allows no one but her entourage of human
RUBY COURT ARMY children to see her naked face. Should any of the children
Description: A force of 1,000 Fair Folk cataphracts, disappoint Neshi by loving someone else better than
half male, half female. They comprise the main part of the her, she slays them on the spot using her paired whips
Ruby Court’s forces; the court would rarely field them all of light. Neshi is a consummate politician who works
at the same time. The cataphracts wear gossamer armor toward bringing down Duke Aral and the Ruby Court.
and carry gossamer swords, lances and bows. She also makes a great show of secretly supporting the
Church of Balor and a new Crusade.
The court itself does not relish dueling, but has a long
tradition of hunts, ambushes and torture. Raksha who
adhere to the court’s tenets love their human pets—love
them to death, draining every scrap of their souls along
the way. But the doomed mortals enjoy every minute of
their demise; such is raksha compassion. Nobles of the
court keep large human entourages, and are extremely
protective of them; injuring another raksha’s pet humans
constitutes a dueling offence, and has instigated many
fine feuds. The court itself occupies a large freehold, ap-
pearing as a set of tents pitched around a vast pavilion
of woven silk and steel. Afternoon and evening feasts
take place under the stars in the open air, with musical
accompaniment and dramatic entertainment.
Notables of the court, besides Neshi herself, include
Lady Ayana, a courtier from the far Northeast who keeps
her chambers as freezing as the icy North. She looks like
a beautiful woman with long black hair, but has the legs

116
and feet of a deer. Ayana likes to steal her lovers from
human gatherings where she goes dancing, but flees if
anyone looks down and sees her inhuman hooves.
Ayana is (just as everyone) friends with Janiera the
Winter Rose. This young, innocent-seeming raksha is
sincere and genuine in her compassion for humans,
her affection for her friends and her willingness to agree
with anything said to her at that moment. Janiera is ut-
terly fickle and unpredictable, for she agrees with a new
person the moment that she talks to him, but also has
no equal as a dream-crafter with contacts throughout
all five courts.
Nlassa of the Lion’s Mane is another prominent
member of the Lapis Court, and an open member of the
Church of Balor. She often prowls the freehold in the
form of a black-furred lion. Nlassa often raises arguments
that polarize the court. She drives her pet humans to
insanity with practice and speed, making her a frequent
customer of the Guild.
The court itself has dwelled in the deep South for
more than a century now, and the Guild has become
used to trading with this court. By local custom, Neshi
purchases all the court’s slaves directly and then pres- Special Characters: None
ents them to her nobles in return for suitable gifts—this Formation: Usually in skirmishing or relaxed forma-
irritates the Guild since it stops them raising prices, tion. Half will harass the foe close to while the other
and they trade secretly with some of the more powerful half maintains arrow and javelin fire, then the first half
members of the court. Many in the court are intrigued retreats while the second half covers them.
by the return of the Solar Exalted and the appearance
of the Deathlords and Abyssal Exalted. These members BLADE MESA
of the court seek Solar lovers or enemies for passionate At one point in the Middlemarches, fields of lava
encounters or bitter revenges. flow sluggishly toward a central mesa. With thick boots
or minor magic, explorers can walk on the cool lava and
LAPIS COURT GARRISON scale the mesa’s plateau, where thousands of stone-skinned
Description: The Lapis Court calls on its main mutant warriors fight a constant battle. These warriors
troops less often than the other courts do, but they come from tribes that live on the surrounding lava plains.
still stand ready for battle. The garrison consists of 600 They live on crystal grain and magma fruit. The mutants
Fair Folk cataphracts armed with scimitars, shortbows grow to full maturity within one year. Their most able-
and javelins. bodied men impregnate their large female population
Commanding Officer: Night Cat the Prowler before charging to the top of Blade Mesa to kill and die.
Armor Color: Chased dark blue steel plate, covered by Women of these Wyld tribes (all functionally identical
silk robes and veils in gold-spangled blue. but discernable by different mineral compositions of their
Motto: Changes frequently; currently “Heart’s desire!” skin) give birth to infants after only a month of pregnancy.
General Makeup: Lightly armed cavalry and mounted Because the women live longer lives (about five years),
archers matriarchs rule the tribes—but they never question the
Overall Quality: Elite ideal of marching to certain death.
Magnitude: 5 The men instinctively know how to use the thousands
Drill: 4 of bronze shields and weapons they find on the mesa.
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3 They enter the fight and soon die, to be replaced the next
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 3 day by their cousins and in a year by their sons. Should
Endurance: 6 Might: 4 one not die on the field of battle, he would succumb to
Armor: 3 Morale: 2 old age within another year and a half.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 117

 The eternal war raises some questions. Have the Formation: At any given time, at least 10 of these units can
bronze weapons always been there, recycled among war- be found on each side of the constant Blade Mesa conflict.
riors? If so, the weapon must be enchanted because they They cannot actually fail Morale checks in their eternal
have never broken or lost their edges. Or does Blade Mesa battle. They always fight in unordered formation.
somehow repair them or produce more? New warriors
become able to enter the fray at just the proper rate so THE COAL NOMADS
the battle never diminishes, the tribes never grow and Where the Coal Nomads walk, they leave nothing
they always remain balanced against each other. All this behind. They collect everything they find on their eternal
suggests a guiding hand behind this Wyld region… or voyage through the Wyld.
that the Wyld has a better sense of humor than one From a distance, the Coal Nomads look much like
might imagine. one of the black-skinned tribes of the South on a poorly
planned expedition. With a closer view, it becomes evident
BLADE MESA WARRIORS that the wandering tribesmen are not quite human. Their
Description: Disorganized on the Mesa, these war- eyes are black chunks of solid coal, and the hair they wear
riors would make a skilled force in battle. long is chalky charcoal. Despite their human-seeming skin,
General Makeup: A horde of at least 300 men, armed they leave trails of coal dust on everything they touch.
with bronze swords, spears and shields. They eschew At least one tribe of Coal Nomads numbers in the
both armor and ranged weapons, preferring to meet the thousands. Wherever they wander, they collect everything
enemy face-to-face, kill and die. that isn’t nailed down. This gives the tribe an enormous
Overall Quality: Good collection of unpredictable gewgaws. They wear anything
Magnitude: 5 wearable, especially anything colorful, and cart the rest of
Drill: 0 their expanding collections on their backs or in wagons
Close Combat Attack: 6 Close Combat Damage: 3 they construct from whatever’s on hand.
Ranged Attack: — Ranged Damage: — Occasionally, the tribe wanders into the Bordermarches
Endurance: 5 Might: 1 or, rarely, true Creation. They never stay for long, because
Armor: 0 (-0 mobility penalty) Valor: 5 the things they find aren’t as interesting or attractive as the
things of the Middlemarches. Meetings with the peoples of
Creation often result in conflict. The Coal Nomads simply
want to take everything they pass by and, with no real concept
of others’ possessions, see nothing wrong with doing so.
People the Coal Nomads pass by usually resist, especially
when the tribe tries to carry the people off, too.
The Coal Nomads never escalate conflicts to violence.
They are mentally incapable of causing anyone harm.
Instead, they either flee or mob their aggressor in an
attempt to harmlessly bind him for their own safety. Of
course, they then carry off the aggressor, back into the
Middlemarches. No one knows what they do with the
people they “collect.”
Other and smaller tribes of Coal Nomads also wander
the Wyld, but they have their own mental quirks. Some
live by stealing from the main tribe and trading with
other denizens of the Wyld. Others gather knickknacks
and use them to lure the large tribe along a path with
much food, hoping to live on the big tribe’s discards.
None can act to harm another creature.

THE DEEP WYLD

Past the furthest Southern Middlemarch, all things
become fire and smoke, lava and ash. Whether the land-

118
scape currently apes the streets of Nexus or the private creaking, weary voices as it flies. At its heart, the Burning
jewel-mines of the Despot of Gem, its substance is all Plague keeps a screaming old man, whose identity no one
the same: fire and its products. Smoke perpetually veils has discovered, but who maintains his form and integrity
the air, and the heat in the landscape equals that of a even in the Deep Wyld and in a raksha’s belly.
bonfire (see Exalted, p. 131).
THE ELEMENTAL POLE OF FIRE
UNSHAPED RAKSHA Here at the purest center of Elemental Fire, the rising
While the unshaped raksha of the South are not more flames consume even smoke and ash. Fire burns here
than usually hostile to other entities, the substances of brighter than the sun, purer than diamonds, richer than
the waypoints they inhabit renders them life-threatening silk, sweeter than honey. Nothing material from Creation
merely by their presence. can endure here without powerful Charms, sorcery or
Nessaiyah, the Winding Path, is widely feared by the elemental nature. Anything that lacks a perfect, uncon-
elementals and other creatures of this quarter. It appears ditional defense against fire must melt or burn. Darkness
as a bridge or a stairway, but smoke and distance hide its and cold never touch the Pole of Fire, only degrees of heat
far end. It seems to lead in the direction a traveler wants and light. No substance exists except great, ever-changing
to go. Once he sets foot on it, however, the Winding landscapes of fire; forests, whirlwinds, bridges, arches,
Path begins to feed on him. First, it eats the memory aurora that fill the sky and palaces that burn brightly
of his destination, then the memory of his origin and against the background inferno.
finally the memory of his name. Once all three of these The Elemental Dragon of Fire spends much of his
are gone, Nessaiyah lets its victim go. One peculiarity of time here, in one of the few places of Creation where
the Winding Path is that it never shows any footprints, he need not restrain his flames for fear of destroying
even if it seems composed of ash or dust. Another is that everything around him. However, Hesiesh spends much
if anyone standing on it can manage to put a foot on of his time sleeping, husbanding his strength for those
both its beginning and its end at the same time, then it moments when he must rise to obey Gaia’s commands.
crumbles into flames and disperses. Jakara the Blade-Like Flame, a lesser elemental dragon
Orchinast, the Golden Mirror, moves in the center who rose from a lowly position as a swordsmith’s forge-
of a lake of fire that follows her wherever she goes. She spirit, serves him. Jakara is a noble warrior and a loyal
manifests as a woman made entirely of golden fire who follower, but a poor administrator. She patrols the area
always looks exactly like the person or thing she encoun- around the pole herself, often forgetting to order her
ters; if she speaks to a male, then she seems both female elemental minions to see to petty matters.
and male in a subtly insane way. She offers to grant The Pole of Fire itself rises in a great towering spire
anything that a person encountering her may want, in at the heart of the area, overshadowing even the tallest
exchange for the person’s face. The lake of fire in which mountains of solid flame that surround it. At its top
she swims constantly teems with screaming visages among sleeps the Elemental Dragon of Fire himself, coiling
the flames. Her hunger for identity drives her closer to round it in an endless spiral. Storms of fire sweep out-
the Middlemarches each year, and she may eventually wards from him to crackle across the shifting, unstable
enter Creation and become shaped. landscape, and lesser elementals and spirits rise to bask
Levasque, the Burning Plague, does not so much set in their caresses, briefly tasting the purest of flames. A
fire to the things that it encounters as it infects them with few solid palaces of solidified fire float amid the rippling
a disease that causes patches of their bodies to turn to infernos, constructed by First Age Solars or gods to pro-
flame and consume the rest. Levasque devours ash and vide temperate housing for their visits. Many Twilight
smoke, exhaling them as fire, and breathes forth contagious Solars came here to obtain samples from this pole, or
heat each time it moves. It leaves a trail of areas of pure to smelt or anneal substances for which no lesser blaze
inferno, where nothing remains but self-devouring flame. would suffice. Some of their tools and books remain in
Levasque rises in hissing tongues of flame from below to their long-deserted dwellings, preserved and guarded by
above, spreading wings like a dragon, and sings in 100 their elemental or automaton servants.

CHAPTER FIVE: THE SOUTHERN WYLD 119

120
 CHAPTER SIX

THE EASTERN WYLD

In the furthest portions of the East, beyond the reach

of any of any civilized nations, the trees grow ever taller,
THE EASTERN
and the growth becomes thicker and more impenetrable. EDGE OF CREATION
These unending forests support an abundance of living In the East, the geography of the tainted lands
things. This superabundance of animal life continues after looks very much like the terrain of nearby mundane
the point where the earth itself gives way to a cathedral of regions. The changes appear in the plant and animal
unimaginably vast trees stretching endlessly from zenith life. Those Wyld-warped plants and animals that can
to nadir. Out here, near the Elemental Pole of Wood, the survive inside Creation thrive in the tainted lands and
Eastern Bordermarches are especially rich and verdant. occasionally spread out of the Wyld completely. A few
The trees are alive with a multitude of arboreal scholars believe that some of the huge, carnivorous
creatures. In addition to lemurs, monkeys and apes of plants of the Southeastern jungles must be examples of
all sorts, there are several types of arboreal and semi- Wyld-mutated plants that naturalized within Creation.
arboreal humans. Little is known of these beings other Although plant-animal hybrids and similar exotic beings
than brief glimpses through the foliage and occasional cannot survive or breed outside the Wyld’s influence,
brushes—all the more rare because many such encounters unusually animate or poisonous plants are especially
leave no survivors. common in the tainted lands.

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 121

 Conflict between the various inhabitants of the East- in hopes of escaping the Great Contagion, or from the
ern tainted lands and the Bordermarches happens less ancient native peoples of the East, who found the Wyld
often than elsewhere, because almost the entire region sweeping up and around them.
consists of huge forests. Movement through the forests
is difficult; food and water are abundant. Few denizens LANDS OF THE TREE FOLK
of Creation’s Eastern rim need to travel far, while most The tree folk live throughout the East, from the most
have great difficulty finding one another. An ordinary remote portions of Creation, through the tainted lands
barbarian tribe and a band of Wyld barbarians who would and well into the Bordermarches. They have adapted so
gladly kill each other on sight can live for generations perfectly to life in the treetops that assimilation to the
just 40 miles apart and never meet. Mortal barbarians Wyld doesn’t change them very much. The tree folk live
are less common in these lands, however. Most people a story that isn’t about them: they are just part of the
at the edges of the Eastern Wyld are Wyld barbarians, eternal forest, serenely accepting its bounty and its peril.
beastmen or tree folk. Traders and representative of the Their songs go in cycles, with no beginning or end, and
Haltan Republic occasionally break the tribes’ isolation they see their lives the same way.
to barter for exotic plants and skins. Most tribes avoid contact with outsiders. The tree
folk prefer to avoid opponents when possible and vanish
into the forests, leaving behind a variety of deadly traps.
THE HALTAN CONNECTION When the tree folk cannot avoid battle, they fight to the
The Haltan Republic has no Eastern borders. death with ironwood boomerangs and blowguns; their
The forest nation sprawls off into formally affiliated darts carry exceptionally deadly toxins.
tribes, then a zone of cultural influence and trade Non-Exalted outsiders can gain the trust of the tree
routes that extends thousands of miles—into the folk. Doing so usually requires both an introduction by
tainted lands and even the nearer portions of the another outsider who already knows the tribe well, and
Bordermarches. At least eight large barbarian tribes spending months among the tree folk learning their
consider themselves Haltan allies, including three ways and allowing them to become comfortable. After
tree folk tribes, two tribes of Wyld barbarians, one some years of friendship, outsiders may even be invited
tribe of hawkmen and another of chiropterans. to become honorary members of their tribe.
These tribes have little contact with each other and
so the natural rivalries among barbarians, Wyld OTHER TRIBES
barbarians and beastmen almost never trouble The Wyld has changed many barbarian tribes so
this vast and unique region. In another century, they look very much like the tree folk, while some tree
they will consider themselves Haltans in all but folk have mutated in ways that make them look more
law, and the Republic will extend citizenship. Wyld. In the East, the pox Elemental Adaptation: Wood is
The Haltan Republic owes much of its growth quite common, as are mutants with green skin, vines in
to such assimilation. See The Manual of Exalted place of hair, or green fur or leaves covering their body.
Power—The Lunars for the deeper story behind These so-called forest people are the most common sorts
Halta’s singular expansion. of Wyld mutant found in the far East.
Other Eastern Wyld barbarians have simian bodies,
with unnaturally long arms and legs, and feet similar to
THE FOREST PEOPLE an ape’s, with prehensile toes. Some also have tails like a
Very few fully human barbarians live in or near monkey’s. Although most of these beings are as bright as
the Eastern tainted lands. The tree folk filled that other humans, a few tribes have sunk somewhere between
niche centuries before any normal humans ever had a apes and men… and these barbarians have a taste for raw
chance. The tribes that moved into the region after the meat and human blood wholly unlike any wholesome,
Great Contagion all turned Wyld long ago. Most tribes natural primate. Little is known about any of these
just don’t face the same pressure to live on Creation’s creatures outside Creation’s rim, except they are highly
rim encountered in other quarters of Creation: more aggressive and quite proficient with blowguns, javelins
likely, they approach the Wyld unknowingly, and are or small bows. These barbarians typically use darts and
taken unawares when a Wyld storm or a shift in the arrows tipped with deadly herbal poisons, and frequently
Bordermarches taints the land around them. They are kill and rob travelers who stray too near their territories.
descended from refugees who fled deep into the forest The most notorious half-ape tribe, however, serves the

122
mad Lunar called Raksi, Queen of Fangs: these are actu-
ally beastmen, however, rather than mutants.

BEASTMEN
Raksi’s ape-children have little contact with the other
beastmen of the East. The most common Eastern breeds are
the snakemen, hawkmen, catmen and the bat-like chiropter-
ans. These creatures live throughout the tainted lands and
Bordermarches of the East. In addition, some tribes—such as
the hawkmen who regularly attack the hawk-riding inhabit-
ants of Mount Metagalapa—live fully within Creation. A few
individuals seek their fortunes in Nexus, where they can find
employment as gladiators or members of mercenary troops.
However, most Eastern beastmen prefer to avoid notice by
Creation’s inhabitants. These beastmen lead their inhuman
lives in the deep forests and occasionally raid nearby human
communities. Only in Halta do beastmen form a significant
and accepted part of human society.
The catmen of the East are divided into several
breeds, each forming their own tribes. They range from
the lynxmen of the cool Northeast to the jaguarmen of
the Southeast jungles. Their collective range is wide (and
extends through the South as well), but individual breeds
may live in just one small area.
The East’s most distinctive beastmen, however, are
the bat-like chiropterans. They live within the full range
of the Eastern forests. These beastmen are built for flight
with two hands on each of their wrists: a slender and
dexterous four-fingered hand, plus the extra, elongated
fingers that form the basis for their wings. Chiropterans
are short and lightly built; their extremely bat-like heads
feature large ears and short muzzles. A nap of short fur
covers a chiropteran’s body (but gives no protection
from weapons, so does not count as the Fur mutation).
Chiropterans operate equally well at night and during the
day; most chiropterans live nocturnally since this helps
them avoid contact with ordinary humans.
Their unusual appearance renders chiropterans
distasteful to humans, so most avoid all contact with
humanity. Some chiropteran colonies raid human settle-
ments, however, swooping down to steal small livestock
during the night and then flying off with their plunder
before the sun rises.

THE BLOOD BATS

The jungles of the Southeast hold a rare chiropteran
breed that drinks blood. They find human blood just as
palatable as the blood of domestic or wild animals. Fortu-
nately, these blood-drinkers almost never go outside of these
jungles. The largest tribe of blood-drinking chiropterans
lives in a large tainted land 300 miles northeast of the

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 123

 ruined city of Rathess. Here, in a dense and occasionally
animate jungle, several thousand of these beastmen rule
over more than 10,000 human slaves who serve as both
their laborers and their blood supply. The chiropterans
avoid killing the humans they feed from, but make certain
to drain unruly and rebellious subjects enough to leave
them perpetually weak and anemic.
The priests of the blood bats are skilled shamans with
enlightened Essence. They regularly deal with powerful
elementals. Because of ancient breeding experiments
by their Lunar creator, blood bats occasionally Exalt as
Air-, Fire-, or Wood-aspected Terrestrial Exalted. Such
Dragon-Blooded bat-folk form their ruling council. These
long-lived priest kings feel the same contempt for ordinary
Dragon-Blooded as they show for all humans and regard
their blood as a particularly potent and heady meal.
Based on distorted legends of the ancient Dragon
Kings, these blood bats worship a debased version of
the Unconquered Sun. Their legends say that if the
Sun’s hunger for human blood is not sated near the
end of every day, the Sun might never set and its heat
will burn Creation to a lifeless cinder. The blood bats
force their slaves to raise huge stone pyramids as temples
to the Ever-Hungry Sun. Here, every afternoon, the
priests of the blood bats sacrifice one human captive
and offer his blood to the Sun. Blood bat war parties
regularly fly out in search of humans to capture. They Magnitude: 3
sometimes hunt in Rathess, since the ruins often contain Drill: 2
many well-nourished mortals filled with especially rich Close Combat Attack: 2 Close Combat Damage: 3
blood. If the priests fail to obtain sufficient captives for Ranged Attack: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 2
the sacrifices, the priests sacrifice one of their human Endurance: 5 Might: 2
slaves. To prevent this from occurring, slaves often work Armor: 1 Morale: 3
with blood bat hunting parties by making duplicitous Special Characters: Klast Swiftwing, a Dragon-Blooded
appeals for aid from travelers they encounter and then blood bat who is also one of the rulers of the blood bats.
leading their would-be saviors into the waiting arms of Formation: When not out raiding, the troops are quartered
the blood bats. in the bloodstained Temple of the Ever-Hungry Sun in the
blood bat’s city. They fight in skirmishing formation.
BLOOD BAT WAR PARTY
Description: This band of warriors serves one of the WYLD POCKETS
priest-lords. The war party consists of a medium-sized team In the East, pockets of the Wyld often consist of small
of flying blood bat warriors wearing leather breastplates groves of mutated trees or other plants that cover no more
(equal in protection to chain shirts), and armed with short than half a mile in diameter. The East’s inherent fertility
swords, short spears and javelins. They think of ordinary tends to diffuse and overwhelm most Wyld pockets as
humans as food and hunt them for sport. the exuberance of life in the East overwhelms even the
Commanding Officer: Klast Swiftwing, an Emerald raw, chaotic power of the Wyld. Some Wyld pockets hold
Dragon blood bat unique and strange ecosystems, or occasionally a single
Armor Color: Crimson leather breastplates very unusual entity.
Motto: “Blood for the Sun!”
General Makeup: 50 flying light infantry with javelins and THE COLLECTOR WOOD
short spears, supported by 20 slingers and 10 archers. This Wyld pocket in the eastern Scavenger Lands
Overall Quality: Excellent is just a quarter mile in diameter. The entire region is a

124
section of the Bordermarches. The Wyld pocket looks like Bordermarches). If the drinker is anywhere near the
a small, exotic forest where large, multi-legged creatures Collector Wood, she enters it in preference to any other
resembling furry insects run and climb among trees whose Wyld area. Since the nearest other section of the Wyld
fleshy leaves can grow a yard across. Plants and animals is several hundred miles East, the treated individual is
are all a vivid shade of reddish-purple. most likely to head for Collector Wood.
Anyone who observes the area closely discovers that
FAIR FOLK OF THE EAST
the animals are born from pods growing on the side of
The Fair Folk of the East regard appearance as the
the plants, and that the creatures exist to tend the plants.
primary art. They serve it in every way they can, reinforcing
Or rather, plant: each bromeliad-like tree grows from a
natural beauty with art and craft. They perfume themselves
single network of roots and rhizomes. Almost none of
with orchids that no human eye has ever seen, and clothe
these creatures leave this Wyld zone. They cannot survive
themselves in fabrics woven from dreams.
inside Creation for more than a week or two and find
The Fair Folk of the Northeast deck themselves in
Creation deeply uncomfortable.
somber yet striking clothing in shades of black and green
However, any visitor faces grave danger. The creatures
and favor night over day, shadow over sunlight. These Fair
attack anyone who enters the forest. They kill and devour
Folk are creatures of control, fear and sadism. They adopt
anything that harms the plants. Individuals who are caught
a calm, haughty demeanor with the arrogance of known
before they harm the plants are captured and placed
superiority, but take the time to draw out a human’s
inside one of the pods on the side of the plants. In two
agony and fear. Their human slaves are utterly broken,
days, they emerge with vivid purple skin and proceed to
spirits shattered, taunted with dreams of freedom and
tend the plants. Just as everything else within “Collector
then hunted down in the woods until their hearts give
Wood,” these purple-skinned humans regularly change
out. However, these raksha are cowards at heart. They
form and soon are indistinguishable from the other crea-
fight their duels to first blood rather than death. While
tures. Removing someone once he has emerged from a
they live among trees and imitate their beauty, there are
pod causes him to die as rapidly as any other native of this
corpses buried at their roots.
Wyld pocket, unless someone assisting him has potent
The malign, beautiful and sly Fair Folk of the South-
Shaping Charms that can remove the Wyld’s taint.
east deck themselves with gaudy bright colors, similar
Most disturbing of all, whenever the Collector Wood
to the poisonous frogs and insects of the region. They
acquires another servant, a new magenta-hued tree springs
are neither cowards nor stupid, but they are lazy. Jungle
up outside the forest boundaries, thus increasing the
raksha prefer to wait and strike from ambush, favoring
forest’s area. To prevent this horror from spreading, the
the blowgun, club and spear. They luxuriate in the heat
local people built a wall around it and keep large animals
and damp, and lounge amid brilliant flowers, wrapping
from wandering in.
themselves in swathes of silk, feathers, leather and metal,
Although only the foolhardy or the occasional Exalt
or baring their skin to show off body-painting. Their vic-
is willing to enter this exotic trap, this Wyld pocket does
tims suffer atrociously, whether slaves, captives or mere
offer one treasure. The pods that breed the animals and
wandering fools. These raksha use glamours and jungle
transform the Creation-born exude a dark purple sap
hallucinogens to inflict hours of screaming, nightmare
when cut (which attracts the creatures that protect the
torments as they extract the dreams of their prey. These
plants). This sticky fluid is a potent restorative: each pint
raksha hunger to enjoy the last iota of the dreamer’s soul,
allows mortals and Exalted to heal any injury without a
extracted in screaming pain, and are swift to find ways
scar. In addition, drinking this liquid causes all existing
to deny or betray bargains.
scars to fade and restores function to crippled (but not
In between, the Fair Folk of the central East are as
missing) limbs. This healing requires between three and
exuberant and energetic as the teeming forests of their
seven days, depending upon the severity of the person’s
realm. Fads and fashions change with the seasons. House-
injuries. During this time, the individual falls into a
holds and freeholds search endlessly for the next fad that
deep slumber and cannot be awakened until her injuries
will have the other raksha imitating them. As befits the
have healed.
presence of the Valor-obsessed Opal Court, the Eastern
The healing sap does have side effects. If the imbiber’s
Fair Folk make bold plans and take chances, whether they
player fails a (Stamina + Temperance) roll, made when
plan slave-taking raids deep into the Scavenger Lands, try
the character drinks the sap, the character wakes up
to make a swineherd into a king or offer three wishes to
healed but suffers from Wyld addiction (as if from the
a woodcutter, just to see what trouble they can cause.

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 125

 THE ARCH OF BONES Tall reeds that end in serpents and trees whose leaves
In the far Northeast, where the forests meet the snow, migrate with the seasons are only two examples from this
rises the Arch of Bones. It hides deep in the woods, unnaturally verdant realm. Even more than the rest of
in a freehold entered where the branches of two trees the Wyld, everything in the Eastern Bordermarches can
intertwine. From the inside, the freehold looks like a breed with everything else and often does.
clearing littered with skulls, surrounded by dark, snow- While ordinary trees grow in the Eastern Wyld, most
hung conifers inlaid with the bones of these raksha’s trees sprout leaves and fruits belonging to other sorts of
victims. A constant storm lashes the trees with veils of plants as well as their own. A great many animals here are
snow. In the center of the clearing rise two towers of born from fruit or pods. These creatures have no parents
bone and ivory, with a bridge between them at the top, to nurture them and so they either grow rapidly or leave
and many banners of pale silk whipping from poles along the fruit most of the way to adulthood.
its top and sides. Usually, when these pods are brought back to Cre-
The Fair Folk of this freehold are extremely secretive. ation, they cannot hatch and instead make interesting
While they frequently buy victims at the Goblin Bazaars, curiosities; scholars sometimes buy them and cut them
these Fair Folk take pains never to let anyone see the way open to examine the half-formed animals inside. Now
to their home; their purchased mortals are blinded, and and then, these pods do survive the transition into Cre-
visiting Fair Folk are brought there blindfolded. ation and unexpectedly hatch. Given that a single pod
Lady Ebon rules the Arch of Bones. She eschews can contain a deadly flying serpent, a hive of intelligent,
the usual fanciful raksha styles to wear simple drapes of carnivorous bees or a ravenous, flesh-eating monkey, this
black, claiming that the winter in her heart knows no trade in Wyld curiosities shall never grow very large.
end. The other Fair Folk follow her lead and similarly
dress in severe black with white accents and small orna- THE LAND OF NIGHT
ments carved of bone. The Northeast holds a small forest locked in endless
As with most freeholds, the ruler is the source and night. When the sun shines over the rest of Creation, this
center of the prevailing mood. Lady Ebon’s paranoia woodland stands out because it remains cloaked in per-
comes from her birthright as one of the lost scions of the petual darkness. The moon and stars shine normally over
Diamond Court (see p. 50). While the Diamond Court’s this land, but the sun never shows. The trees are equally
destruction happened centuries ago, Lady Ebon still fears unusual: many sorts of etiolated trees with bone-colored
attack from the courts and the true death, and expects leaves and chalk-white bark as well as the rare blood ebony
treason. Her most trusted counselor, Naithe the Black, trees, which rapidly die if exposed to sunlight and have
constantly manipulates other raksha or visitors into petty jet-black wood and blood-red leaves and sap.
conspiracies against Lady Ebon, so that she can then An abundance of fungi live among these unnatural
expose them and feed her ruler’s paranoia further. groves. Mobile puffball mushrooms a yard wide creep
Mortals in the Arch of Bones are tolerated pets or slowly between mushrooms up to five yards tall. The
helpless food; no raksha in the court would ever trust mushroom spores do not affect the animals native to
a human enough to let one leave. Humans wander the the Land of Night, that are all unusually large versions
bone corridors, blinded and shackled, with the marks of nocturnal creatures. Strix and giant carnivorous bats
of their raksha owner embossed upon their collars. The feast on the fungal trees and occasionally supplement
hobgoblins of the household are whirling vortices of pine their diet with living flesh, while the deer have jet-black
needles, carved statues of wood and bone or wolf-skinned eyes twice the size of normal members of their kind,
humanoids with ice-crusted fur. while their ebon hooves and antlers contrast sharply with
their unnaturally pale fur. Most of the hobgoblins who
THE BORDERMARCHES live in this realm have the large-eared heads of bats: their
The Eastern Bordermarches often look much like faintly clicking sonar allows them to ignore the perpetual
Creation, at least to someone unskilled in woodcraft. darkness of their homeland.
The climate stays the same as the rest of the East, ranging
from cold forests in the Northeast to steamy jungles in the THE SHADOWLAND OF FATAL ONYX
Southeast. The plants and animals, however, can change The center of the Land of Night holds a city called
radically… and often intermingle, a phenomenon rarely Fatal Onyx. This small shadowland benefits from the
seen in the Bordermarches of the Wyld’s other quarters. perpetual darkness of its surroundings. The buildings

126
 They call themselves the Triat. They all look the same:
GIANT MUSHROOM SPOORS fluid, misshapen shadow-creatures barely recognizable
Cutting down or otherwise damaging the gi- as humanoid, with long, snouted heads crowned with
ant mushrooms in the Land of Night may prompt glittering diadems of onyx. Just as all of their kind, they
them to release a cloud of spores about six yards in hate the living. The Triat also loathe the chaotic existence
diameter. These spores are both mildly toxic and of the Fair Folk and their hobgoblin servants. The Triat
horrifically invasive. Breathing the spores forces founded Fatal Onyx as part of a crusade to cleanse and
the character to resist their poison effect (Damage conquer the Wyld—and the Wyld caught them.
3L/1 Hour, Toxicity 3M, Tolerance —/—, Penalty The three nephwracks use the black ghosts as packs of
-1). In addition, the player of anyone touched by the hunting beasts that run screeching and howling through
spores must roll (Stamina + Resistance), difficulty the Land of Night. When night falls in the surround-
3, for the character to avoid sprouting mushrooms ing Bordermarches, the nephwracks lead their ghosts
over her body. If a mortal botches this roll, the to hunt anything they can find, including hobgoblins,
mushrooms also grow internally, and within three Wyld barbarians, beastmen, weaker Fair Folk and unusu-
days the character explodes in a cloud of spores. ally careless Exalts. The three nephwracks resist further
Fair Folk and Exalted whose players fail or botch, Wyld mutation because the Wyld has made them one
and mortals who simply receive a failed roll, merely of its stories, as the dread huntsmen who rule the Land
sprout thumb- to fist-sized mushrooms all over their of Night.
body. These mushrooms subtract 1 from Dexterity The nephwracks do not care what they catch. Only
and reduce the character’s Appearance to 1. Mortals the hunt for living prey matters. They prefer to take mortal
require special medicine (minimum Occult 3, Lore (or immortal) victims alive and carry them back to Fatal
3 and Resources 2 to create) to cure them. Beings Onyx for a slow, agonizing death and consumption. They
of greater power recover from the spore infestation especially enjoy torturing hobgoblins. Captured raksha
as they recover from any other disease. face the same fate unless they can buy their freedom with
gifts and sworn promises of large favors. A far worse fate
awaits mortals or Exalted captured by these monsters. In
are all made from sculpted bones, from the pale yellow addition to using their blood to power their foul necro-
of ancient and well-polished ivory to the stark white of mantic rituals, the nephwracks possess a terrible artifact
a sun-bleached skull. The ghosts of Fatal Onyx move to that enables the user to devour dreams, emotions and
and from the Underworld as readily as any other ghosts. souls as the Fair Folk do. The nephwracks obtained this
However, Wyld energies also taint this shadowland, and artifact as ransom for a pair of captured raksha nobles.
so the ghosts of Fatal Onyx are all as black as soot; they The Triat periodically allow their best hunting ghosts
look like shadows given a three-dimensional form. Their to ravish one of their captives. Even a small taste of this
eyes and mouths give only minor variations in their twisted pleasure is one of the greatest joys a ghost can
uniform darkness. obtain, and this lure attracts thousands of ghosts to Fatal
While ghosts in Fatal Onyx start out as shadowy Onyx and their own entrapment in the Wyld.
version of the forms they take in the Underworld, over The Triat would prefer to hunt mortals and the
time they mutate and change as much as anything else occasional Exalt. However, their packs of ghosts are
in the Wyld. Some grow taller or wider (or both), and so addicted to the Wyld that most refuse to hunt in
their limbs occasionally transform into flippers, wings Creation. Therefore, the Triat must usually settle for
or claws. Some ghosts lose all limbs and become feature- hobgoblins. Now and then, the Triat raid the caravans
less, inky blobs crawling across the landscape. These of slaves taken through the nearby Bordermarches, on
transformations gradually fade when ghosts return to their way to raksha domains.
the Underworld, though the recovery may take decades.
Ghosts find such mutations almost as terrible as living MUTANT GHOST HUNTING HOST
men would. The ghosts can leave anytime they wish—but Description: This is Arlat Blood-Binder’s personal
most remain and accept their progressive deformity, for hunting host. It consists of 120 moderately trained, but
the shadowland does not protect the ghosts from addic- exceptionally aggressive and determined war ghosts wearing
tion to the Wyld. reinforced buff jackets and armed with axes or poleaxes.
A trio of exceedingly powerful and ancient nephwrack Commanding Officer: Arlat Blood-Binder, one of the
necromancers are the absolute monarchs of Fatal Onyx. three nephwrack necromancers who rules Fatal Onyx.

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 127

 of their blowguns and the virulence of their poisons.
They dye their tongues in shades of blue and purple to
match their hair, and procure frogs and serpents from
far parts of the jungles, or even the Deep Wyld, in order
to distill new venoms. Mabande’s Serpents have become
one of the Guild’s best trading partners in the region,
since these raksha often need new slaves. They pay the
Guild with animals and plants taken from the Wyld,
and some of their drugs and poisons (though not their
finest work). Some of the Mabande’s Serpents philters
can rot a single internal organ while leaving the rest of
the body untouched, induce or prevent fertility, inflict
horrible addictions or slay creatures that resist any other
sort of physical damage.
The Serpents build palaces of reeds and giant water-
lilies, in a marsh where the vines intertwine with snakes
and poisonous frogs lurk in every pool of water. Their
human minions serve with desperate eagerness, aware
that even a hint of failure means that they become test
subjects for new poisons.
Mabande herself maintains a careless, casual attitude,
lounging in her stillroom or her throne room while lesser
raksha tend to her every need. Sain the Throttler attends
to household discipline. This muscular warrior prefers
Armor Color: Pale gray reinforced buff jackets (ectoplas- toxins that send his enemies into lengthy muscle spasms
mic; they evaporate in daylight) until they choke on their own tongues. He currently
Motto: “Blood and life, blood and life!”
General Makeup: 150 mutant war ghosts wielding axes Fatal Onyx, a Magnitude 3 Domain
and poleaxes, supported by 10 nemissaries who possess Military: 2 Culture: 2 Government: 2
enemy forces, 50 zombies with poleaxes, and three spine Abilities: Awareness 1, Bureaucracy 1, Craft 1,
chains Integrity 2, Investigation 1, Occult 3 (Binding
Overall Quality: Good Agreements +3), Performance 2, Presence 1,
Magnitude: 4 Stealth 2, War 3
Drill: 2 Virtues: Compassion: 1, Conviction 4, Temper-
Close Combat Attack: 3 Close Combat Damage: 4 ance 1, Valor 4
Ranged Attack: — Ranged Attack Damage: — Limit Break: Conviction Current Limit: 3
Endurance: — Might: 3 Willpower: 8
Armor: 2 (-2 mobility) Morale: 3 Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 0
Special Characters: Arlat Blood-Binder, a powerful Notes: Fatal Onyx is a fully supernatural dominion.
nephwrack skilled in necromancy; Tothis Vlan, leader The Triat are sorcerers (more precisely, necroman-
of the nemissaries cers) with Legitimacy. Unlike most dominions,
Formation: When not in use, the zombies and spine Fatal Onyx lacks any external bonus points, because
chains are stored in the main armory of Fatal Onyx, it has no alliances. The ghostly inhabitants are all
while the war ghosts and nemissaries dwell in the city completely loyal to the Triat, both due to the threat
when not out hunting. Arlat Blood-Binder dwells in the of exile reinforced by the inhabitant’s addiction
city’s central palace-temple. to the Wyld, and the promise of draining mortal
emotions. The dominion’s Virtue Flaw causes Fatal
MABANDE’S SERPENTS Onyx to inflict horrible tortures and suffering on
This raksha band dwells in the Southeastern Border- anyone the nephwracks suspect have opposed them
marches. Mabande’s Serpents are known for the accuracy or even questioned their authority.

128
schemes to depose Mabande. Sain hopes to engage in Special Characters: None
small invasions of Creation, slaying humans on all sides Formation: Despite their superb Drill, Mabande’s Ser-
and spreading fear; he sees himself as a glorious conqueror pents only fight as skirmishers. Most of the time, enemies
similar to Balor himself, and fails to realize how human encounter multiple smaller units.
and petty his ambitions are. The Serpents do not pur-
sue contact with other Fair Folk, but host a great many THE SILVER CLOUDS
traveling raksha (or other people) who come to purchase In the central Eastern Bordermarches lies the freehold
poisons. The household’s hobgoblins are humanoid but of the Silver Clouds, mansions roofed with silver and
composed of water, or they are half-women, half-serpent ivory that can be seen glimmering through the woodlands
beings with forked tongues. from far away. The raksha of this freehold follow Duke
Chanis, a warlord who knows no fear and risks anything
THE SERPENT HOST and everything to conquer. He enjoys good relations with
Description: The main force fielded by Mabande’s the Opal Court, and frequent hunts or tournaments
Serpents if they need to defend their territory. These are arranged between the two. Many of his people are
150 raksha do not openly take the field, but attempt to infected by Chanis’s spirit, and he speaks of expansion
strike from cover, harassing the enemy with poisonous and the conquest of other raksha freeholds; he finds the
missiles, spears and blowgun darts. All their weapons are Arch of Bones a particularly tempting target.
poisoned with the equivalent of arrow frog venom (see The raksha of the Silver Clouds ape divinity, claiming
Exalted, p. 131) or something stranger of the Storyteller’s to their human minions and victims that they are gods
devising. descended from Yu-Shan. (This has not yet come to the
Commanding Officer: Sain the Throttler attention of any divinities that would punish such an
Armor Color: Loincloths and skin paint in greens, insult, but it is surely only a matter of time.) They treat
browns and bright flower shades their human minions comparatively well, urging them
Motto: None to strive valiantly for the greater glory of their gods, and
General Makeup: Foot troops ravage their souls as they battle, devouring their urges
Overall Quality: Elite for glory and victory. Weaklings and the defeated are
Magnitude: 3 exiled to the cellars below the Silver Clouds, and hunted
Drill: 4 through the darkness by unseen marionettes that slowly
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3 rip and tear the victims to pieces.
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 3 Duke Chanis acts dramatically noble, heroic and
Endurance: 6 Might: 3 even somewhat honorable; he seems to take pride in not
Armor: 3 (all done by magic) Morale: 3 breaking his word and in showing mercy to interesting
opponents who surrender gracefully. His most fervent
supporter is his lover Benne Foxjaw, a white-haired
raksha of great charm and a skilled painter. The two of
them betray each other frequently with Mitomin, the
Champion of the freehold and the best single combatant
within its walls. Mitomin fights with a bow or halberd.
He seeks hopelessly to free himself from his two lovers.
The emotional dynamics between these three powerful
raksha affect much of the politics within Chanis’ domain,
especially given that Chanis favors the Balorian Crusade,
while the other two do not.

MIDDLEMARCHES
Even more than in other quarters of the Wyld, the
Middlemarches of the East are imbued with life. The
forests absorb all the forms and qualities of Creation: trees
of flame or ice; trees of living, bleeding flesh; trees of iron
filigree that chime like bells; trees of braided human hair.

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 129

 The rest of the vegetable kingdom follows suit, from functioning solely by smell. Without preparation or prac-
cloth-of-gold moss to kelp-forests that send fronds waving tice, people new to the region acts in all ways as though
hundreds of feet into the air. The fusion between plant they were completely blind. It would be worse, losing all
and animal life also grows more pronounced, from vine hearing and touch, if scent did not pick up the slack.
wyrms that merge giant serpents with jungle lianas to the
hatra trees that hatch these small but viciously swarming CAT FOREST
beasts from pods. Conversely, many plants are mobile: Cat Forest can be hard to find, because it’s always
whole forests sometimes migrate, whether marching on on the move—even more so than most Wyld locations.
the ground, floating along great rivers or drifting on the Usually, an explorer can find it wandering back and
wind like giant dandelion seeds. Even the elements may forth between the Eastern and the Northeastern Middle-
absorb living qualities, resulting in rivers of sap or blood, marches, spending time in each. Some people seek it out
rains of beetles or seeds or ground that twitches like the to acquire exotic pets, for themselves or for well-paying
itching skin of a gigantic beast. employers, because the forest is home to breeds never
before seen in Creation. Of course, some are too large
PROPERTIES, PEOPLE, PLACES to be made captive.
In Cat Forest, cats run free everywhere, constantly
AGGRESSIVE SCENT ZONE underfoot. The forest floor is covered not in needles but
When nearing this region of the Wyld, even the in fur. Instead of loam, visitors smell the animal dander
weakest nose detects a change to the air. Things smell and other odors one might expect of a place overrun
different—sharper, maybe—and almost everything has a with cats. Cats are also overfoot, because the forest’s trees
more detectable and distinct odor. Air smells more like are also cats.
air, trees smell more like bark and sap, hands smell fleshy Cat-trees come in two kinds. The first is a mass of
and the ground smells more earthy. Aromas become more squirming, crawling, clawing cats in the shape of a tree.
noticeable and intricate the closer an explorer comes. These tree-cats gather in the shape of local species—tower-
Then all senses other than small diminish as visitors ing pines and redwoods in the Northeast, branching oaks,
approach the focus of the Aggressive Scent Zone. A person’s arching willows, and so forth. The tree-cats move constantly,
sight dims, hearing dulls and sense of touch numbs, but shifting position from the roots of the tree to the boughs
smell and its brother, taste, remain. This is not because and back. When on the bottom, the cats move the mass
a person’s senses have weakened, but because things in of felines above them slowly over the ground. At the top,
this waypoint have no qualities of image, sound or tactile they sway and mew softly as wind rustles them, and one
sensation—all these qualities are instead expressed through occasionally falls to the ground like a ripened fruit. Except
scent. Eventually, all a person can do is smell. fruits don’t land on their feet and run away….
In the Aggressive Scent Zone, however, every scent The second kind of tree is a sort of giant cat. Enor-
contains all the information necessary to function. A mous legs have a furry, bark-like texture and a tangle of
tree smells like a tree, but also smells a certain width, leathery, cat-padded roots for feet. They reach up into the
texture and distance away. Local beasts smell like their sky and connect with spreading, furry rib-branches that
analogues in creation but also smell confrontational or merge into a healthy-looking, leaf-bearing belly-canopy
unconcerned, young or old, scarred from battle or still up in the sky. Their tails hang from behind the two rear
untested and scrawny or good eating. The path smells trees, brushing along the ground in a long twist of mas-
directional, and stepping from it smells a little bit lost. sive, furry vines, and their heads are enormous clusters
Everything else has a scent of some kind, too. Up of furry needles with coloring suggestive of eyes, nose,
smells like up, and not a bit like down. Someone standing mouth and whiskers.
on her head (which her friends can’t see) smells oriented Raksha occasionally ride the giant tree-cats, using
upside-down. An incipient attack is preceded by the odor lures of occult and mundane nature to point the great
of the event, just as an aggressor uses his target’s smell beasts where they want to go. Where the giant tree-cats
to know where to strike. Speech comes across as sharp walk, the Cat Forest follows.
scents that may take some practice to interpret. Anything An old woman, who calls herself the Magnificent
that can or must be perceived is conveyed through aroma Suzerainess of the Celebrated Wood, walks wherever the
in the Aggressive Scent Zone. forest walks. When she tires, she calls to the animals that
Humans, used to sight and hearing as their primary scamper about her feet, and they converge and cling to each
senses, find it very difficult to accustom themselves to other until they form a horse in the same way that other

130
cats make trees, and she rides. The Magnificent Suzerainess When a visitor to Cat Forest truly impresses the
of the Celebrated Wood steadfastly ignores anybody who Suzerainess as a person of great virtue, as judged from
has hurt a cat within the past year, to the point that she her unique perspective, she may bestow upon that per-
can walk completely through such people. son a gift. Endowments may include artifacts (she once
The Suzerainess is a lost god of Creation. Only the gave a daiklave made of cats), delicious and long-lasting
most puissant and skilled librarian or archivist could food, enhanced senses or a cat as a companion. This
extract the mystery of her former name and self from the last she gives only to her favorites, and it qualifies as an
Bureau of Heaven’s Black Veil Annals. However, none but automatic Familiar ••• that can stack with existing
Ryzala, Shogun of the Department of Celestial Concerns, familiars. The only twist is that the Suzerainess can share
may peruse these records. Which she never does. the cat’s senses at will.
Here and now, the Magnificent Suzerainess cares for
Cat Forest. She allows the raksha to manipulate the forest FOREST OF ARMS
from time to time because they do not harm it and they In this bizarre Eastern woodland, the trees consist
always leave treats behind. For a god whose office has of wildly branching arrays of arms and legs that watch
been long empty, unnecessary or eliminated, she retains visitors with functional human eyes. In addition to mov-
a surprising amount of power. Using nothing but her ing in the breeze, these limbs react to movement around
Charms and her wits, she can know everything that people them. The trees try to grab anyone who comes within
around her know. In her presence, people feel closer, range. The trees also fight back if someone attacks them.
less alone and more empathic toward one another. Her Walking hands and strange conglomerations of arms
ability to engender these feelings make some believe she and eyes occasionally fall from the trees like ripe fruit,
was once the goddess of brotherhood or another abstract and run or scuttle across the ground until they find a
concept, but all those gods are accounted for. new tree to join. If a mortal, Exalt or raksha passes by,

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 131

 In addition to being deadly to the touch, the Poison
ARM YOURSELF Woods are inhabited by half-plant creatures that are
To bond with an unprotected victim, a free equally dangerous. A few brave (or foolhardy) people dare
arm need only maintain a hold for a number of to collect and train the beasts of the Poison Woods as
actions equal to its opponent’s Stamina. After guard animals. None of these brightly colored creatures
that time, the arm has successfully bonded itself can be bred outside the Poison Woods, however, since
to the character. The time required is doubled for they all grow from pods on the toxic plants, and none
gods and Exalts. of the plants will grow anywhere else—not even in other
A few surgeons might pay up to Resources ••• Wyld areas.
for these animate arms and hands, as replacement
limbs for maimed patients—better an arm that SKY FORESTS
doesn’t match than no arm at all. Limbs from the As in the other quarters of the Wyld, the idea of
Forest of Arms retain their power to bond only “ground” becomes uncertain in the Eastern Middle-
in a Wyld zone, however, so unless a doctor and marches. Gigantic trees, miles high, can grow in the
patient are willing to enter the Wyld the surgeon Eastern Bordermarches and even the tainted lands—but
also requires an operating room artificially infused in the Middlemarches, whole forests can ascend to the
with Wyld energies. sky. A single massive trunk might support a whole forest
of normal-sized trees, shrubs, vines and other life, on a
patch of land cupped in its mighty branches. The trees
these creatures may mistake them for attractive trees in themselves might radiate outward from a clump of soil
desperate need of additional branches, and attempt to and roots, like the seeds of a dandelion, with that central
climb up them and attach themselves. mass supplying the local definition of “down.” Some
While a character protected from the effects of of these little forest-worlds drift freely. Climbing along
Rakshastan is safe from anything more than casual im- certain branches might take you to a sky-forest but not
mobilization or squeezing, an unprotected mortal or Exalt take you back.
finds the limbs bonding to him; the unfortunate person
immediately gain a particularly horrific-looking version of THE OPAL COURT
the Multiple Arms mutation. Sadly, the extra limbs almost The Opal Court currently lies in the depths of the
never match the victim’s original arms, or each other, Eastern Middlemarches. The court’s cataphracts and
and they bond anywhere they can get a grip. courtiers practice the Virtue of Valor, inviting combats
from all and sundry, and going out to find them if they
THE POISON WOODS don’t arrive fast enough. Dueling is a common sport,
In the most dangerous forest of the Eastern Middle- although the current fashion is for challenges of will
marches, the trees are formed of crystallized poisons and glamour rather than actual fighting. The courtiers
such as coral snake venom, strychnine or arsenic. Many encourage their human servants to act as violent and
of the trees and other plants sport glistening and deadly short-tempered as their raksha masters and mistresses,
jewel-like thorns. A single scratch can bring a lingering so there is always some sort of brawling or battle going
and painful death to any mortal. Eating one of the trees’ on in the background. A wide assortment of hobgoblins
fruits, the pure essence of poison, would kill all but the fill the area, many brought by masters and mistresses
most powerful raksha, gods or Exalted. from distant quarters of the Wyld and then discarded
here; most are warlike in some way, but the huge array
TOXIC WONDERS of styles makes them hard to categorize.
Treat any scratch or prick from the forest as The court itself occupies a large freehold. It looks
exposure to arrow frog venom (see Exalted, p. 131). like a set of silk pavilions spreading outwards from a
All half-animal inhabitants have an additional central castle. The woods around it blaze with banners
3L/3B soak from their plant-like skins, and their and standards, and clatter with the armor and weapons of
bites are as dangerous as coral snake venom (see defeated enemies. The court welcomes newcomers from
Exalted, p. 131). A single well-trained poison all quarters, and especially refugees seeking sanctuary
raiton or hatra sells for a high price in Creation from enemies, knowing that they will bring interesting
(Resources ••••+) feuds and battles with them. Deities throughout the East
suffer ever-increasing distress from the court’s presence.

132
 More outwardly pacifistic is Subarto, a minstrel from
The Opal Court, a Magnitude 3 Dominion the far North who seeks diversion by playing for perilous
Military: 3 Government: 2 Culture: 2 rulers. He has gone as far as the Realm (while heavily
Abilities: Awareness 2, Craft 2, Integrity 3, Investi- disguised) and even played for Dragon-Blooded and for
gation 2 (Due Diligence 2), Occult 3 (Supernatural Immaculates. For Subarto, the thrill of the performance
Etiquette 3), Performance 3 (Saber-Rattling 3), seems to consist in knowing that his listeners may slay
Presence 3, Stealth 2 (Sabotage 2), War 3 (Forcing him, and he refuses to perform unless this places him in
an Engagement 3) danger. Nobody trusts him, as he is a gossip and satirist,
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temper- but everyone talks to him.
ance 1, Valor 4 There is also the Laughing Boy, a raksha with no
Limit Break: Valor Current Limit: 3 known name who runs barefoot and leaves the ground
Willpower: 7 scorched behind him. He says little, but his eyes burn
Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 9 with pure madness. The Laughing Boy enters Creation
Notes: The Opal Court is a fully Supernatural from time to time to destroy and ravage. Otherwise, he
dominion. Prince Japhthia is a sorcerer with Le- prefers the Deep Wyld, dancing through it but never
gitimacy, while Subarto is a savant. In the event of speaking.
a Limit Break, the Opal Court immediately goes
to war, attacking the most convenient target, or OPAL COURT RAIDERS
throws all its resources into any war it is currently Description: A group of 250 Fair Folk cataphracts.
engaged in. They are of Excellent quality, half male, half female; while
the Opal Court can mobilize greater forces, this unit is
always ready for defense or attack. They wear gossamer
The Opal Court often sends raiding parties into Creation armor and carry gossamer swords, lances and bows, and
to challenge local spirits and petty godlings to battles. ride horses that can gallop through a forest as if it were
Sometimes the Fair Folk pose as mortal bandits—small an open field.
numbers of mortal bandits—and torment towns and man- Commanding Officer: Baron Pierce
ors until the outraged people muster to fight. Then the
court sends a greater force to fight this “rival kingdom.”
People throughout the Eastern edge of Creation now
pray for succor, and the Opal Court hopes they can find
it in the form of Exalted or other heroes who can give
them a real fight. The court’s leaders watch the turmoil
in Halta and consider how best to push it towards all-out
war. Of course, the Opal Court would split its army to
fight on both sides.
The court’s ruler, Prince Japhthia, claims descent
from Balor himself. Japhthia sees himself as a mighty
strategist and leader of warriors, and declares that he is
destined to lead the next crusade. To this end, Japhthia
gathers information from across both the Wyld and Cre-
ation. The court’s stability, and the scope of his plans,
has begun to cause a growing warp in the Loom of Fate,
even if he himself as a raksha cannot affect it.
The Opal Court boasts many other notable Fair
Folk. The warrior Cahlenna eats nothing but the hearts
of prey that she has slain with her own hands. The idea
of hunting and killing one of the Lunar Exalted obsesses
her. She pays a number of Guild spies for information on
the whereabouts of Luna’s Chosen. She is also the head
of the Topaz Household, whose members are similarly
notorious for courage and for hunting.

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 133

 Armor Color: Iridescent black glass plate mail with red In the First Age, the Staran Gate was the public en-
silk scarves at the neck and helm trance to Ilio Stara. Stunningly crafted from iridescent,
Motto: “Eternal war, eternal glory!” vastly magnified beetle wings, the gate’s two 100-foot doors
General Makeup: Armed riders. All carry shortbows and never look the same twice. From this point, a visitor can
use them from a distance before charging. see that Ilio Stara is a city cut into a living tree smaller
Overall Quality: Elite than a dog—but a full city nonetheless. Hallways without
Magnitude: 5 number link thousands of chambers hewn into the wood.
Drill: 4 These range from vast public spaces to the most private
Close Combat Attack: 4 Close Combat Damage: 3 bark-side apartments.
Ranged Attack Rating: 3 Ranged Attack Damage: 3 The educated and the powerful of the First Age knew
Endurance: 6 Might: 4 Ilio Stara for the many arcane researchers who called it
Armor: 4 Morale: 3 home. Sperimin may have boasted the best teachers and
Formation: The Opal Court can muster several of these standard savants of the Age, but Ilio Stara had the most
units. They prefer to fight in close formation, charging and creative and unpredictable researchers—whatever they
curvetting in unison to show off their excellent Drill. explored, it was usually something new and previously
unexamined. It seemed only natural for a city that owed
ILIO STARA its entire existence to such an experimental (and never
This First Age city, lost to the world since the Con- duplicated) process.
tagion, has resisted being swallowed by the Wyld for 800 Even purely theoretical exercises could become
years. Explorers in the Eastern Wyld might come upon dangerous when they involved the Wyld, Malfeas and
an open field of lush grass, about five miles across. It has other volatile subjects. Needles, which could separate
no obvious Wyld mutations or nature. The only unusual from the tree with little harm and would grow back in
feature is a bonsai tree that grows, undisturbed, in the a season, became disposable workshops. Many needles
exact center of the meadow. The place seems remarkable were even designed to grow back with the hollow for a
in its normalcy. new workshop already formed. Over the centuries, many
When an explorer comes within one mile of the of the workshops have broken off and been replaced,
bonsai, however, the strangeness reveals itself. As the but some still hold remnants of experimental projects,
explorer walks toward the tree, she can see how she passes such as a (never completed) device to transfuse Lunar
tussocks and small boulders, but the tree seems to come and Solar Essence into a single Exaltation.
no closer. Likewise, she doesn’t seem to get any farther The city’s creator planted the tree so its roots wrapped
from the edge of the field. around several small ingots of the magical materials. With
Ilio Stara was the result of a Twilight Caste’s experi- the distortion and expansion of space in creating the city,
ment in space and perspective. As an explorer travels those ingots—none weighing more than a pound—became
toward the tree, the distance that the traveler must cross large enough to supply all the moonsilver, orichalcum,
increases rapidly. Perhaps the traveler grows smaller, or starstone, soulsteel and jade the researchers could ever
perhaps the space around her grows. Each step taken takes need. Unfortunately, anything removed from the city
the explorer less far than the last, and the grasses, stones does not expand with the departing person.
and insects around her become larger in comparison In the Pinnacle of the White-Robed Justiciar, the
to her. Either way, crossing the final mile to the tree is city governor’s office near the top of the tree, stands a
equivalent to 100 miles of travel. wooden statue. It depicts a slender four-and-a-half-foot
Because the change is so gradual, an explorer on man whose robe hangs strangely from the odd crooks in
foot may take several days to notice that the grasses are the arms and neck. This is what remains of Tsen-Usen,
getting larger, not just higher. The bonsai itself remains god of the bonsai and city father of Ilio Stara. His devo-
the same size, which doesn’t help a character trying to tion to his Solar friends made him the first target when
notice the size change. Only in the last several miles the Usurpation came to the city. A weapon froze him in
does the false perspective lift, quickly inflating the tree place for an unknown duration (it was yet another experi-
to many times its original size. By the time the explorer ment), during which time his wooden Essence crept over
reaches the tree, it towers over her and she can see the his form until he appeared as he does now.
once-fabled Staran Gate between the smaller trees that Tsen-Usen’s altered nature slowly made the city unliv-
cluster around the bonsai’s massive trunk. able, and the population gradually dropped throughout

134
 eventually plants herself outside the city to become a tree
Ilio Stara, a Magnitude 3 Dominion
forever. True death only comes if the Staran ends life in
Military: 2 Government: 2 Culture: 2
a place where she cannot set down permanent roots.
Abilities: Awareness 1, Bureaucracy 2 (Dealing
About 30 years ago, a young Lunar called No
with Fair Folk +1), Craft 3, Integrity 3 (Resisting
Trouble Zhang rediscovered Ilio Stara. In short order,
Fair Folk +1), Investigation 1, Occult 2 (Cutting-
Zhang acquired enough influence among the Starans to
Edge Research +2), Presence 1, War 2 (Endurance
begin his own experiment in social reconstruction. Ilio
Tactics +1)
Stara changed from a dwindling remnant of a city to a
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 3,
growing city-state with influence in its region. Under
Valor 2
Zhang’s command, the Starans taught diplomats and
Virtue Flaw: Compassion Current Limit: 6
dispatched them to local Wyld societies and Fair Folk
Willpower: 8
courts. No Trouble Zhang trained soldiers and officers
Bonus Points: 15 External Bonus Points: 2
himself and created military doctrine to take advantage
Notes: Ilio Stara is a near-human dominion. Right
of the people’s mutations, enabling the city to defend
now, Zhang is the only sorcerer with Legitimacy in
itself against aggressors. (See p. 154 in Chapter Seven for
Ilio Stara, and he is often absent. The Starans’ old
Zhang’s statistics.) Today, Ilio Stara exercises some influ-
chieftains provide savants who could act in his stead
ence in nearby waypoints of the Middlemarches.
when he isn’t around. Ilio Stara’s external bonus
Despite the centuries of occupation and the Starans’
points come from trade deals and culture interaction
recent labors to rebuild their city, miles of corridors and
with nearby Wyld communities and are tied up in
hundreds of workshops remain unexplored. Zhang does
specialties. (Its specialty with Cutting-Edge Research
not overestimate his ability to understand and safely
is largely potential at this point, and requires the
examine many of the remaining experiments. On the
city to gain a greater number of people who have
other hand, he is not yet ready to reveal his prize to other
the Abilities to use its remaining laboratories.)
Lunars, either. He wants to keep the glory of Ilio Stara’s
Try as they might to be an active society, the Starans
reconstruction for himself, instead of risking older and
have a difficult time rousing themselves from the
stronger Lunars taking over the project.
comfortable diminishing they experienced before
Zhang’s arrival. Ilio Stara’s Limit Break causes its STARAN DEFENDERS
people to cease making real effort, instead allowing Description: These are the staunch guardians of the
the citizens to simply relax and do as they like. city, as No Trouble Zhang trained and organized them.
The soldiers paint their wooden bodies with various bark-
the Shogunate. The few who remained slowly became staining dyes to mark their duty and rank. Their natural
wooden—emotionally and physically—just as Tsen-Usen. toughness ensures that they don’t need to wear armor.
Either its low population or cloak of spatial distortion Commanding Officer: Varies
protected Ilio Stara from the Balorian Crusade. But from Armor Color: Gold and silver streaks
then to now, the Wyld has inexorably crept inward. Motto: “As the city stands!”
Historians think Ilio Stara is just another tale about General Makeup: Heavy infantry. They carry spears,
the lost wonders of the Old Realm. Nevertheless, some weapons that are easy to make in the surroundings and
people still call the city home… even if they have changed inflict little damage to the Starans themselves if picked
since the First Age. Between the Essence of Elemental up by enemies on the battlefield. Most weapons are made
Wood that permeates the city and the Wyld energies of wood, reverently harvested from the dead wood of the
seeping in through aged protections, the Starans have warrior’s ancestors.
become more elemental than human. Overall Quality: Good
Starans look humanoid, with two legs and two Magnitude: 3 (multiple units)
arms, but their consciousness resides within the masses Drill: 2
of needles that grow atop their hard, knotty bodies. The Close Combat Attack: 3 Close Combat Damage: 3
city’s inhabitants spend their time growing meager crops Endurance: 6 Might: 1
in the vast gardens between roots that used to feed tens Armor: 3 Morale: 2
of thousands, maintain what few conveniences they can Formation: Units of Staran defenders are ready at most
and otherwise huddle behind the protection of the Staran times to march out of the Staran Gate and stand against
Gate. Instead of dying, a Staran simply slows down and intruders. They do not need to scout because of the great

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 135

 However, there is one benefit to having a freehold in
the Eastern Deep Wyld, as opposed to any other quarter of
Creation: the freehold can be very well hidden. The Deep
East holds Fair Folk who have hidden for centuries now,
from even before the time of the Balorian Crusade, who
stole across the border of reality and nestled themselves
among the trees and leaves, or who retreated here to lurk
in refuges crafted from deep-buried roots.
At least one group of Fair Folk have gone hungry here for
the last four centuries, bereft of mortal slaves and too fearful
to go out and steal more, jealously guarding weapons once
used by Balor himself but afraid that other raksha will steal
them away. Their leader, Entanel, sings his people to sleep
every night; his voice was acclaimed as a marvel once, but
now only the leaves and the blossoms hear it. Their freehold
is hidden deep inside a huge tree that remains stable only
because Entanel wishes it so, and few even suspect it exists.
These raksha have become childlike in their simplicity, but
also extremely cruel, and play with any elementals or other
living things that the raksha can capture, tearing them apart
and decorating the walls with their remains.

UNSHAPED RAKSHA
perspective lookouts have from the high points of the One of the most prominent unshaped raksha who
bonsai. They have still not been tested, as the city has haunts this quarter of the Deep Wyld is Loshirata, That
not been attacked. Which Devours. She is at the same time the tree whose
roots break the earth beneath her, and the darkness hidden
THE DEEP WYLD beneath a single leaf. She walks through the forest and it
parts before her, and yet when she is seen she has always
In the Deep Wyld of the East, the other elements of
Creation fade to leave a landscape composed entirely of been growing there. Her leaves whisper madness, and
wood and twigs, flower petals and fungi, pollen, roots her pollen is rank insanity for all who breathe it in. The
and leaves. Here visitors can find duplicates of everything birds that nest in her branches are rooted in her wood,
from the dense jungles of the Southeast to entire streets and sing as the wind blows through their green feathers.
from Juche, all composed of layers of flowers, twigs and She is a contagious cancer in the Deep Wyld, spreading
leaves. Some trees bear miniature copies of famous manses further each year. Other unshaped raksha devour her
as fruit or fir-cones, while others have maps of the streets parts when they can, as she is sweet to the taste.
of Whitewall or the tunnels of Gethamane etched into In the Northwest lurks Shirrduname, the Colossal
their bark. The Deep Wyld also holds native creatures Walker Among the Trees. However far up one climbs, his
made from wood, flower petals and leaves. face and torso can never be seen, only his striding legs
Waves of vegetation sweep through the Deep Wyld, as and his long-fingered hands—and, sometimes, a whip-
trees and plants expand and contract, grow and die, swell ping tail that brings down forests in its wake, though
and fade. No space is certain and no track is sure, because the Deep Wyld soon grows them again. Shirrduname
there is no sky to navigate by and no earth beneath the feet, can be heard from far off, but it does little good to flee,
only the endless masses of vegetation. Two people could because wherever he can be heard is within a single stride
pass by each other and never know it, one walking on a layer of his legs. He abhors noise, and tramples anything that
of branches directly above the other. Scale and direction he hears make a sound. Lizard-like creatures live in the
shift so that a traveler can never find the ground; she can hollows of his body and crawl up and down his legs,
climb along a branch, reach a trunk, find it is yet another deathly silent, chewing on anything they find.
branch and crawl along to discover she is apparently in a Another unshaped raksha is Semiramis, the Whisper
huge patch of moss where every stalk is a tiny tree. in the Leaves. She is the drought-wind that steals the water

136
from the roots and the strength from branches, the killing vines. A visitor requires at least two Charms to survive:
hunger that makes trees turn on each other, the sound of a general Charm such as Element-Resisting Prana and
fruits drying on the vine and crumbling to ash. Where a Charm against Shaping effects, such as Integrity-Pro-
she blows, she leaves desiccation and malice behind her, tecting Prana, lest the Pole of Wood consume her and
and she delights in seeing others destroy each other. All maker its own.
who witness her know they have feared her all their lives. The Elemental Dragon of Wood does not come here
Semiramis is profoundly untrusting, and will always betray; often, as events elsewhere in Creation keep him busy. In
it is not in her nature to tolerate alliance with any other his absence, a lesser elemental dragon of Wood named
being, be he unshaped, shaped, human, divine or Exalt, Kotomaro the Hidden Lightning has set up dominion
though she always pretends that she will keep her word. here, claiming that as the most spiritually evolved entity
Semiramis prefers the Southeast, though in high summer in the neighborhood she has the right (and indeed the
she sometimes drifts further westward, seeking prey. moral duty) to take command. Her every scale is a per-
fectly shaped leaf carved from ironwood or ebony, her
THE ELEMENTAL POLE eyes shine the pure green of spring willows, and her claws
have the strength of a thousand oak tree roots. Kotomaro
OF WOOD does not mention that she had to flee Heaven on short
Creation’s Eastern limit is an eternal world of green notice due to the investigations of an auditing Sidereal
thought and green shade. However far one climbs, one team—or that she had previously accepted bribes from
cannot reach the sky or the ground—nothing but trunks the minions of the Deathlord known as the Dowager
and branches, vines and smaller plants, going up and of the Irreverent Vulgate in Unrent Veils—or that she
down forever. The very light is green, filtered down now hides from the attention of both Heaven and the
through countless leaves above. Dowager. Instead, she lords it over the lesser elementals,
Animals and birds of living wood and leaves move ruling firmly and harshly. She gives instructions that any
silently through the foliage and among the trees. Giant visitors be brought to her palace of copperwood and
serpents woven from vines and withies slither among the flame trees for her inspection.
branches and between the roots, rising to swallow anything Other elementals and spirits in the area grow weary
nearby. Everything here is quiet, except for the rustling of Kotomaro’s rule. None yet suspect that she is anything
of leaves and the whisper of reeds. The sound of voices except haughty and sadistic—traits that are not unknown
carries for a long distance and draws anything nearby. among gods and dragons. However, a couple of the lesser
This is the pole of growing things and abundant spirit courts now plot against her. They hope to lure a
life, where nothing dies except when it is eaten or as- powerful Exalt to their domain, and then bribe the Exalt
similated into something else. All things change their to dispose of her. The spirits have much to offer, since the
shape, alter, grow and decay, but nothing can escape Elemental Pole of Wood has all the potential treasures of
the cycle of vegetable life. Moss and molds grow on the its element. The one thing these spirits do not want is to
unprotected clothing and bodies of travelers, leaves and draw the attention of Sextes Jylis, the Elemental Dragon
fruit sprout from human skin and flesh and sleepers may of Wood himself: they do not wish to find themselves
be overgrown, waking to find themselves living masses under a possibly more tyrannical clawed heel, or sent
of wood and flowers, their bones threaded through with out into Creation.

CHAPTER SIX: THE EASTERN WYLD 137

138
 CHAPTER SEVEN

WYLD PRODIGIES

The previous chapters have concentrated on descrip- Of course, not everyone who enters the Wyld seeks
tions. This chapter offers the game mechanics: the way something special. Some visitors only want to get away whole.
people use the Wyld, and try to resist it; more Wyld Any traveler from Creation is in danger of gaining mutations
mutations, adding to the basic list from Exalted; sample through simple exposure to the Wyld. To escape it, a character’s
characters, creatures and races that live in or near the player must roll (Willpower + Essence) at a frequency and
Wyld; and a guide to playing characters from half-human difficulty determined by the region. The chart below extends
races, or who begin play with Wyld mutations. the table found in Exalted, on p. 283, to include Pure Chaos
and covers the entire range of mutations. Remember than
USING THE WYLD any mutation may manifest as a derangement.
Cultures that live with the Wyld as facets of their
everyday life interact with it in many ways. Some people VISION-QUESTING
see the Wyld as an antagonist, others consider it a god The Wyld is a realm of unbound possibility and danger-
and more simply call it home. They struggle against it to ous, warping chaos. Occasionally, a resourceful character
survive, fighting its dangers and enjoying its rare boons. can use the Wyld to see subtle aspects of the potential
Brave or foolish people can try to steal more benefits from future or events far away. When the need is great and times
the Wyld at the risk of personal disfigurement or derange- are desperate, a character may travel out of Creation and
ment. These are vision-questing and power-questing. seek meaningful visions in the swirling chaos. As the Wyld

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 139

 Expanded Wyld Mutation Table
Terrain Difficulty Interval Success Failure Botch
Bordermarches 2 Monthly — Pox Deficiency
Middlemarches 3 Weekly Pox Debility Deficiency, Debility
Deep Wyld 5 Daily Affliction Deformity Debility, Deformity
Pure Chaos 7 Minute Blight Abomination Deformity, Abomination

breaks all boundaries, a strong-willed person can sometimes To perform a vision-quest, a character must remain
pull information about other places and other times from in the Wyld long enough that the Wyld Exposure table
its kaleidoscopic reflections of Creation. (see Exalted, p. 283) has called for three rolls. This
Visions-quests often answer more questions than might be three months wandering the Bordermarches,
the quester asks, if he is perceptive enough to recognize two months in the Bordermarches and one week in the
them. The Lunar Exalted sometimes use vision-quests Middlemarches or any other combination of locales.
as a method for increasing their Essence, Intelligence or Using powerful hallucinogenic drugs at frequent in-
Integrity ratings, among others. Most characters enter the tervals reduces the period to two rolls. Most cultures
Wyld with a ready supply of hallucinogens, which tend that practice vision-quests add various trappings—drugs,
to accelerate the process of finding the proper vision. rituals, sacrifices, talismans and the like, which gener-
A character wanders for days, weeks or sometimes ally add one die to the roll—but this is the core of it.
months before he finds himself back in Creation, some- If the character survives that length of time, his player
times wiser and sometimes just madder. The drugs may rolls (Perception + Occult) to determine the result.
muddle the entire experience into one blurred fog, the Charms may not enhance this roll: the character sub-
quester might retain a memory sharper than anything mits to the Wyld; he does not try to force it through
before experienced or anywhere in-between. his own Essence.

140
 • Botch: What the character sees is maddeningly
uncomfortable, impossibly disturbing or otherwise ter- TREASURE-QUESTING
rible. It may be relevant to the question, but it provides The vision-questing procedure can also apply
no answer. Instead, the character develops a derangement to attempts to locate specific items or places within
of the Storyteller’s choice (debility-level if the character the Wyld. Just about anything might exist; whether
quested in the Bordermarches, deformity-level in the the Wyld creates a desired location or merely guides
Middlemarches or deeper). He may try to vision-quest a character to it may be a distinction without a
again, but he suffers a -6 penalty on all rolls to resist difference. The more successes rolled, the closer
exposure and find his answer. This penalty drops by one the quester comes to whatever she wanted to find,
for each month clear of the Wyld. whether diamonds or a double of her lost love.
• Failure: The character grows ever closer to the If a character seeks artifacts, demesnes, magical
answers he needs but they stay continually out of reach. materials or other supernatural treasures, add
He gains a derangement of the Storyteller’s choice (de- the relevant Background rating (at least one) to
ficiency-level in the Bordermarches, debility-level in the the difficulty for the (Perception + Occult) roll. If
Middlemarches, deformity-level in the Deep Wyld or the roll fails because of this added difficulty, the
worse). Just as on a botch, he may immediately try the character has merely found a Wyld-phantasm that
vision-quest again, but the penalty is only -4. quickly evaporates within Creation.
• 1-3 successes: The character encounters a scene or
series of scenes in the Wyld that pertain to the question
Wyld shamans, or instance, often quest in hopes of
he asked. At one success, the vision vaguely directs the
gaining an enlightened Essence.
character to a source of information in Creation, requiring a
In short, a character willfully exposes herself to the
great deal of interpretation. Additional successes clarify the
Wyld in an effort to gain a desired mutation. The most
matter to the point where, at three successes, the character
difficult part of the process is guiding the mutation.
receives clear directions where to seek his answer.
Questers accomplish this by seeking out Wyld encoun-
• 4-6 successes: The character’s experience in the
ters that seem more likely to provide a certain sort of
Wyld answers the question he posed when he entered.
mutation, with the force of their wills or through many
Four successes are as one success, providing a vague an-
other rituals and methods.
swer but at least the character doesn’t need to look any
Trying to control the mutation actually makes it
further. Six successes provide a clear, direct answer.
more dangerous. While a character traveling through the
• 7+: The vision-quest answers the character’s original
Bordermarches may gain a pox should she fail to resist
question and supplies hints about some related questions,
exposure, a power-quester in the same area might earn the
or questions that develop from the answer.
desired pox on success but a deficiency on failure. After a
During the vision-quest, characters still have encoun-
character has spent enough time in a section of the Wyld
ters in the Wyld and must deal with Wyld exposure. Any
to trigger a single roll against exposure, her player rolls
of these might kill the character or drive him back into
(Willpower + Essence) and consults the table.
Creation before the quest ends.
Characters can also use the power of the Wyld to
POWER-QUESTING remove that which it bestowed. The Wyld is fickle and
Similar to vision-questing, power-questing is when dangerous, but some people are desperate enough to try.
the character enters the Wyld seeking not an answer but Power-questing to remove a mutation rather than gain one
a tangible boon. Cultures where Wyld mutations are not uses the same chart, except that the character removes a
abnormal, or even where they are expected, frequently use pox, affliction and so on after a successful roll and the
power-questing to gain their beneficial disfigurements. difficulty of the roll increases by one.

Power-questing Table
Terrain Difficulty Success Failure Botch
Bordermarches 3 Pox Deficiency Debility
Middlemarches 4 Affliction Deficiency, Debility Deformity
Deep Wyld 6 Blight Deformity, Debility Deformity x 2
Pure Chaos 8 Abomination Abomination, Debility Abomination, Deformity x 2

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 141

 PROTECTION FROM THE WYLD CREATING TALISMANS AGAINST THE WYLD
One degree of Enchantment allows characters to
More often than people want to use the Wyld, they
create talismans that provide +1 die to rolls against both
want protection from it. Since jade obelisks and reality
mutation and Wyld addiction. These talismans also add
engines are in short supply, all of the peoples that live
their bonus to all rolls for power-quests and vision-quests.
near the Wyld have devised ways to protect themselves
Two degrees of Enchantment let the thaumaturge increase
from its effects. Even Wyld mutants seldom wish to gain
this bonus to +2 dice, and three degrees of Enchantment
harmful mutations, or in fact, any new mutations at all.
raise the bonus to +3 dice. The bonus from a talisman
The methods of protection are quite varied. Thaumaturges
stacks with any bonus gained from protection by spirits.
can craft warding talismans. Shamans and summoners
However, multiple talismans are not cumulative: only
can call upon local gods and elementals whose Charms
the higher bonus applies.
can protect a tribe from the effects of the Wyld.
Masters of Enchantment can also create talismans
that provide complete protection against mutation and
TALISMANS Wyld addiction within the Bordermarches unless the
The thaumaturgical Art of Enchantment can create
wearer botches the mutation or addiction roll. However,
warding talismans against the Wyld. One common sort of
because these talismans specifically protect bearers against
talisman is carved from hard, fine-grained stone such as
Bordermarches, the talismans offer no protection against the
agate or jade. These talismans look like plum-sized globes
deeper levels of the Wyld. Also, this protection does not
or palm-sized plaques bearing stylized images of humans,
stack with ordinary talismans against the Wyld: a character
maps of Creation or sigils of Gaia, Autochthon, Luna
may wear one or the other, but not gain the benefits of
or other supremely powerful entities. Another common
both. Such talismans count as one-dot artifacts.
type of talisman consists of fine cloth embroidered with
metal thread. When the Delzahn tribes of the South lived HOUSE OF REFUGE (ARTIFACT •)
near the Wyld, they embroidered copper, silver or golden The most powerful protection available from thau-
sigils and arabesque borders on their robes, the metal maturgy can block the mutational and addictive effects
depending upon the wearer’s status and the potency of of the Middlemarches, and reduce Deep Wyld exposure
the robe’s protection. The Delzahn of Chiaroscuro now to Bordermarches level. These wardings, however, can
live thousands of miles from the Wyld, but they retain only protect a small, fixed location such as a hut. The hut
the custom. Either form has the Resource costs and itself must be specially constructed with protective sigils
difficulties to create of any other warding charm (see worked into its walls and ceiling. Small fetishes crafted
Exalted, p. 379). from wood, stone, shell, feathers and other materials
face each cardinal direction (with one on the center of
the roof), while a miniature obelisk incorporating a bit
PROTECTION RATINGS of jade or moonsilver is buried beneath the center of
Tribes that survive in the tainted lands or the
the floor. The House of Refuge covers (thaumaturge’s
Wyld for more than a few years may combine both
Essence x 100) square feet. An entire hamlet might pack
talismans and blessings by spirits and generally
into a House of Refuge during a Wyld storm or (for Bor-
enjoy a +2 bonus to all of their rolls to resist the
dermarches communities) on nights of the full moon. If
Wyld. Often, chiefs, shamans, renowned warriors
the community is too large to fit in a House of Refuge,
and war bands that deliberately travel deeper into
the protection is usually reserved for the children.
the Wyld win or are awarded additional protections
that grant them between a +3 and a +5 bonus on WYLD WATCHES
all rolls to resist the effects of the Wyld. One result Communities living in or near the Wyld often pos-
of these protections is that the shamans and the sess a talisman known as a Wyld horn or a Wyld watch
leaders of tribes of Wyld mutants and beastmen that warns of the Wyld’s approach, or (if used within the
can go on vision-quests and power-quests into the Wyld) of the approach of a deeper level of the Wyld. Even
Middlemarches and return bearing both valuable tribes of Wyld mutants who worship the raw power of
knowledge and a variety of deliberately chosen mu- the Chaos do not want the roiling madness of the Deep
tations instead of coming back with blasted minds Wyld to sweep over them without warning.
and twisted bodies. All of these talismans are at least as large as a man’s
head and have a variety of methods of providing warning.

142
Wyld watches made in the South often contain small, Disputes, whose domains reasonably include the Wyld,
ever-burning fires that suddenly leap, crackle or roar might have some or all of these Charms.
when the Wyld nears, while Northern Wyld watches look Wyld Armor—With this Charm, the spirit protects
like vessels whose flutelike openings emit an unearthly itself against the ravages of the Wyld. Few gods need to
shriek or moan. All of these warnings become stronger enter the Wyld, but occasionally some feel a motivation
and more insistent if an actual Wyld storm approaches. to do so. Others have the Wyld thrust upon them, as it
Regardless of the talisman’s power or design, groups erodes Creation. For three motes, the spirit adds (Essence)
who live near the Wyld always dread this warning and dice to its resistance against the Wyld for a full day. For
have learned through bitter experience the necessity of every two motes committed to the Charm, the god can
moving themselves and their possessions within minutes extend this protection to one other person.
of their Wyld watch’s alert. Wyld Shield—This stronger version of Wyld Armor
Wyld watches made by initiates of thaumaturgical protects a large number of people, but to a lesser degree.
Enchantment warn when the Wyld comes within 100 The group of people must be defined in some readily
yards. Watches made by Adepts of Enchantment warn understood and limited fashion, such as “all the people
when the Wyld is half a mile away, and those rare devices who live in this village” or “that war party there.” Every
made by Masters of Enchantment warn the members recipient must have prayed to the god, and the Magni-
of the tribe when the borders of the Wyld move within tude of the protected group cannot exceed the god’s
half a dozen miles. permanent Essence. On the other hand, the recipients
gain bonus dice equal to only half the god’s permanent
RITUALS AGAINST WYLD ADDICTION Essence (round up) to all rolls to resist Wyld addiction
Wyld mutant tribes that dwell within the Wyld can and mutation. The spirit must commit five motes and
use thaumaturgy to avoid the dangers of Wyld addiction. one point of Willpower to extend this protection for
Once a month, on the night of the full moon, their one day.
shamans lead the tribe in rituals to channel the Wyld’s Wyld Barrier—Another improvement on Wyld Ar-
deadly call into a brief bout of frenzy. For most of the mor offers greater protection to a small number of people.
night, both young and old scream and dance, run wild, By committing 10 motes and two points of Willpower, the
eat and drink to excess, and engage in acts of carnal spirit can protect a number of people equal to twice her
abandon. They avoid harming one another, but may permanent Essence for a week. The Wyld Barrier adds
hunt, kill and even devour any outsiders they encounter. (spirit’s Essence x 2) dice to all rolls to resist the effects of
If attacked in this state, the members of the tribe fight the Wyld. This bonus does not apply to vision-questing,
to defend themselves. but can apply to power-questing.
Geomancy Procedure: Wyld Blessing (2, Intelligence Fortress of Creation—Only gods with Essence 5
3, six hours). If successful, this procedure prevents Wyld or higher, or gods of borders and protection, are likely
mutation on the night of its performance and cures ad- to possess this exceptionally powerful Charm. The god
diction to the Bordermarches. Also, for the next month, commits Essence and Willpower to bar the Wyld from
the procedure reduces the level of Wyld exposure by one an area around its sanctum. The more intense the Wyld’s
stage for purposes of Wyld addiction (so Bordermarches influence, however, the smaller the area the spirit can
cannot addict at all) and reduces the difficultly of rolls to protect—and the Fortress of Creation does not reverse any
resist unwanted mutation by 1. During this procedure, the taint already wrought by the Wyld. For 10 motes and two
Temperance of all participants is temporarily reduced to points of Willpower, a god can purge the Wyld from an
zero, and they automatically succeed in all Valor rolls. area of Bordermarches (Essence) miles in radius. In the
Middlemarches, the god can protect an area (Essence x
SPIRIT CHARMS 300) yards in radius, costing 20 motes and four points
Spirits that operate near the Wyld have a few common of Willpower. For 30 motes and six points of Willpower,
Charms rarely seen among other gods. Most users are the spirit forces an area of the Deep Wyld (Essence x 50)
terrestrial gods with limited domains, usually touching yards in radius to remain as solid Creation. The Charm
on the Bordermarches. The god of a river or a tree near a has no effect on Pure Chaos; a spirit needs some trace
Bordermarch may have one of these Charms, and the god of Creation to reinforce.
of a small town such as Farhold may have two or three. Virtuous Guard—Without sources of sustenance,
Celestial gods, such as Omashi, the Arbiter of Territorial some Fair Folk see no reason to invade the spirit’s territory.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 143

 For every two motes committed to this Charm, a god pp. 288-90, extending them to different power levels
can protect a single person against being emotionally or providing options when a character gains the same
ravaged. To all Fair Folk senses, the person is completely mutation two or three times.
without thought, dream or emotion and cannot be
supped upon at all.
STACKING POXES
MUTATIONS AND MADNESS Some poxes change people in ways that can easily
be stacked—that is, the mutation could go further and
Traveling in the Wyld can be a mistake that few
will ever forget making. People exposed to the chaotic, increase its bonuses. Generally, such poxes can be
warping energies of the Wyld change, often in terrifying taken no more than three times in total, and each
ways. They return home with mutations, they return mad additional purchase moves them from “pox” to
or they never return at all. The following mutations and “affliction” and from “affliction” to “blight.” This
derangements expand on the Wyld mutations found in basic structure can be bent—some mutations can
Exalted, pp. 288-290. They can also be used to describe be taken to the “abomination” level, and not every
the inborn powers of beastmen, the animalistic war-forms mutation that can be purchased multiple times has
of the Lunar Exalted, hereditary Wyld mutants, unusual its base as a pox.
God-Blooded and other characters.
POXES
MUTATION COSTS AND VALUES Hooves: The character’s feet become hooves more
For certain purposes, it is useful to assign point appropriate for a horse, a goat, a boar or some similar
values to Wyld mutations. Most notably, the point creature. The character adds +2 damage to his kicks. This
total of a character’s mutations determine whether mutation does not stack.
he can still live in Creation (see “Too Wyld to Live Large: (This mutation is appended from Exalted, p.
in Creation,” pp. 150–151). These point values also 288.) This mutation functions as already written, but if a
enable beastman, Wyld mutant and other half-hu- character gains it multiple times, the Storyteller can either
man characters to buy their nonhuman features upgrade the mutation to an affliction or blight, or replace
and aptitudes with bonus points (see “Playing Beast- it with a deficiency. See Large, Giant and Rotundity.
men, Wyld Mutants and Relic Race Characters,” Longevity: The mutant ages half as fast as normal.
pp. 157–160). You also need these point values Characters born with this mutation can expect a lifespan
when you select animal features for a Lunar Exalt’s of 100 years + 20 years per point of Stamina (barring
half-human war form (see The Manual of Exalted violence, disease or accident, of course). Such characters
Power—The Lunars). mature at the normal rate, enjoy a long, almost change-
The point values of each class of mutation are less maturity and enter middle age around 80. They age
as follows: slowly from then on, becoming definitely elderly around
Mutation Cost age 120. Exalted characters cannot possess this muta-
Pox, Deficiency 1 tion. While this mutation can stack once, a quadrupled
Affliction, Debility 2 lifespan jumps to a blight—and such mutations must be
Blight, Deformity 4 accompanied by obvious physical changes; negative mu-
Abomination 6 tations such as Diet combine well with extraordinarily
In some circumstances, you treat all these prolonged lifespans.
numbers as positive. In other cases, you may add Night Vision: The mutant’s eyes are adapted to see in
the values for poxes, afflictions, blights and abomi- the dark like a cat or an owl. The mutant can see as easily
nations, but subtract the values for deficiencies, on a moonless night in a city or a deep forest as ordinary
debilities and deformities. See descriptions of each humans can on an open plain or leafless forest on the
application for details. night of the full moon, and can see as well under the full
moon as well as ordinary mortals can in full daylight.
Small: (This mutation is appended from Exalted, p.
NEW AND REVISED MUTATIONS 288.) This mutation functions as already written, but it
Most of these mutations are new. Some of them may be purchased multiple times. Each purchase stacks
present revised versions of mutations from Exalted, the benefits of the first. See Tiny and Miniscule.

144
 Wolf’s Pace: The character’s legs become longer and the Environmental Effects table on p. 131 of Exalted).
contain more power. Often, they take on a digitigrade Not all characters with this mutation must come from
shape similar to that of a dog or deer. Add two to the char- the North: a character changed by the Southern Wyld
acter’s Dexterity for the purpose of calculating movement might develop a flame burning in his heart that protects
during combat, and add two to the character’s Strength him against cold.
for the purposes of jumping distances. The character adds Fire Adaptation: This pox protects the mutant from
one die to single rolls representing competitive running. In all natural extremes of hot weather. The character does
long-term movement (see Exalted, p. 264), the character not require additional water in hot weather. He can
may move as quickly as a drawn carriage. remain comfortable and unharmed walking naked un-
This mutation may be taken multiple times. Each der a blazing desert sun (see “Blistering Heat” from the
purchase stacks the mutation’s benefits, but if it is taken Environmental Effects table on p. 131 of Exalted). This
more than once it can never be hidden. See Gazelle’s Pace mutation does not protect the character from forest fires,
and Cheetah’s Pace. lava or other extreme sources of heat. Not all characters
with this mutation need come from the South; a character
SPECIAL POX: ELEMENTAL ADAPTATION changed by the Northern Wyld might develop veins of
The mutant has become adapted to a specific el- ice in her bones that protect her from heat.
emental region. Since the Earth Pole is in the center of Water Adaptation: This pox allows the character to
the Realm, far from the Wyld, there are only four types drink salt water without harm. In addition, the character’s
of elemental adaptations: air, fire, water and wood. skin suffers no harm from continuous immersion in salt
Air Adaptation: This pox renders the mutant resistant or fresh water. While the character cannot breathe water,
to natural cold. The character can remain comfortable when underwater, he can hold his breath for four times
and unharmed walking naked through a freezing blizzard as long as normal (Stamina x 2 minutes + an additional
or swimming in icy water (see “Numbing Cold” from two minutes per success on a Stamina + Resistance roll).

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 145

 The character also reduces the difficulty of Athletics rolls chirurgeon: the eardrum has become daffodil petal, the
involving swimming by 1 (to a minimum difficulty of 1) constant taste of day-old oatmeal overwhelms all other
and doubles the character’s swimming speed. odors and flavors or the character suffers something
Wood Adaptation: This pox grants the character the equally inexplicable.
same resistance to all plant toxins (but not serpent or insect Rotundity: The mutant becomes 50% more massive,
venoms, demonic or alchemical poisons or poisons created without gaining height or strength. This deficiency can
by Charms) as all Exalted possess and grants Exalts complete result from gaining the Large pox twice, or as a deficiency
immunity to plant toxins. In addition, the character can in its own right. The mutant loses one dot of Dexterity
move through forests, jungles, and other wooded areas outright; the Storyteller may impose a -1 external penalty
with exceptional ease. The character can climb easily and to some Strength rolls, when the character’s bulk becomes
with great speed—reducing the difficulty of Athletics rolls a hindrance (he wastes muscle power just moving his own
involving climbing by 1 (to a minimum difficulty of 1) body). The character does not so much run as waddle:
and doubling the character’s climbing speed. The mutant Dash actions move the character only (Dexterity + 4)
also possess green skin that allows her to make food as yards. For what it’s worth, the character’s threshold for
plants do: if the character receives water and at least eight knockback or knockdown checks increases to (Stamina
hours of sunlight each day, she reduces the difficulty of + Resistance +2).
any Survival or Resistance rolls involving finding food or This deficiency can stack, becoming a debility
enduring hunger by 1 (to a minimum of 1). or deformity.
Regardless of which version of this mutation a Temperature Sensitivity: The mutant is unusually
character possesses, her appearance changes to match sensitive to heat or cold (choose one). This increases the
the environment to which she is adapted, which may difficulty to all Survival rolls by +1 when the character is
include having vines instead of hair (wood), blue skin within one particular extreme of temperature. The mutant
and webbed hands (water), lightly furred, ice-white skin also increases the difficulty of all Resistance rolls to avoid
(air) or a smooth, lightly-scaled hide (fire). A character damage from either extreme heat or cold, or dangers such
can possess only one of these adaptations. as fire or supernatural ice storms by +2.

DEFICIENCIES AFFLICTIONS
Allergy: The character develops a new, strong al- Exalted Healing: The mutant heals wounds at the
lergy—perhaps to something as normal as fur, but Wyld same rate as an Exalt, including recovery from crippling
allergies more often tend toward the odd, such as bronze, wounds. Taken twice, this becomes the Regeneration
animal skin (including cured leather) or salt. Allergies to abomination. Exalts cannot take this affliction.
iron and white jade pop up frequently as well. Gazelle’s Pace: This affliction is equivalent to tak-
Smelling the allergen causes sneezes or coughing. ing the Wolf’s Pace pox twice. For long distance travel,
Even brief contact with it induces hives and rashes for a the character can move overland as quickly as a horse.
scene, inflicting a -1 internal penalty to all actions. Touch- However, the character cannot possibly hide this muta-
ing the material for more than two actions (consecutive or tion—his legs aren’t remotely human-looking.
within a single scene) deals one level of bashing damage Huge: This mutation is equivalent to taking the
for each subsequent contact. Large pox twice. The mutant becomes half again as large
Hungry: The mutant needs extra food, perhaps to as any normal example of his species and has obviously
fuel a positive mutation and perhaps due to less efficient been altered by magic. This mutation adds two dots to
digestion. The character must consume 25% more food the character’s Strength and Stamina and provides one
than normal. Without this, she quickly becomes wan and additional -0 and -1 health level.
starts to waste away. Halve the number of days a character Impossible Joints: This mutation makes all the
with this deficiency can endure hunger before penalties character’s joints reversible and increases her flexibility
begin to set in, and penalties increase every half-day. The overall. She can fold herself up into remarkable posi-
character suffers a -1 internal penalty to all Survival rolls tions, often fitting into places most people consider
to find sufficient food. impossible. This mutation adds two dice to appropriate
Lost Sense: Characters suffering this mutation lose Athletics and Stealth rolls and has many potential non-
either their sense of hearing, touch or the paired senses rolled applications.
of smell and taste. (Blindness is a debility.) This loss Inexhaustible: The mutant is an endless wellspring of
usually cannot be repaired, even by the most skilled energy, even when starved and moments from death. He

146
never suffers fatigue (see Exalted, p. 130) from any source, then the mutant can never act or even consider acting
giving the character the ability to run for hours without in a cowardly or dishonorable manner. If it is a story of
rest or stand under the hot sun in full armor unbowed. treachery, the character cannot keep a promise for long,
Short Gestation: Mutants with this trait spend little even if he has nothing to gain and everything to lose by
time in the womb. They go from conception to birth betrayal.
in as little as one to three months. People who get this This mutation only happens to characters who
mutation after birth typically pass it on to their children, were either born and raised in the Wyld or who visit it
so a woman who has it generally spends much less time repeatedly for long periods. Because they are inherently
on a given pregnancy. tied to Creation, Exalted characters cannot possess this
Talons/Tusks/Horns: (Revised from Exalted, p. 289.) mutation.
The character sports dangerous talons, tusks, horns or
DEBILITIES
some other hard growth that can be used as a natural
Blindness: The character’s sight no longer works be-
weapon, inflicting lethal damage through Martial Arts
cause his eyes may have become opaque crystal or vanished
attacks. Depending on the growths’ locations or natures,
completely, he could see nothing but the fantastic vision
treat them as punch or kick attacks that inflict lethal dam-
of beauty the Wyld revealed to him, or any other reason.
age two greater than normal (i.e., a “punch” deals +2L, the
The character suffers all penalties described on p. 152 of
“kick” +5L.) They remain natural weapons and cannot be
Exalted. This is never a medically reparable problem.
disarmed, but they can be cut off with a crippling attack.
Deterioration: One of the character’s Attributes con-
This mutation cannot be stacked or hidden.
stantly weakens over time to the point of the character’s
Thick Skin: The character’s skin becomes denser
death if she does not act to strengthen it. Each month,
and heavier than the Fur/Feathers/Leaves pox. The skin
the afflicted Attribute decreases by 1. Only a dedicated
might be thick and horny, it could be covered in bark
regimen of preventative exercise or medicine—lifting
and knots or it could have heavy, crocodilian scales and
weights for Strength, practicing riddles and puzzles for
bony nodules. The character gains +2L/2B soak. If a
Intelligence, cleansing the skin regularly for Appearance—
character gains the Fur/Feathers/Leaves/Scales pox twice,
can alleviate this degeneration. The regimen consumes
replace it with this affliction.
two full weeks of training time in each month, during
Tiny: This mutation is equivalent to taking the Small
which period the character can do little else. After three
mutation twice. The character is smaller than anyone of
months at one dot, a character’s deteriorating Attribute
her race or species should be—half normal size, at most,
drops to zero, at which point almost nothing short of
and a character could be mistaken for a small child.
Exalted-level medical aid can return it to one dot. The
Increase the mutant’s Dexterity by one dot, but reduce
character is also Incapacitated and losing one Dying
her Strength by two and her Stamina by one. Her Move
health level each month, until dead.
and Dash actions become (Dexterity – 1) and (Dexterity
Fragile: The character’s bones are weak, offering less
+4) yards, respectively, and the character loses one -1 and
protection than those of a normal human. Perhaps they
one -2 health levels. She also become harder to hit, which
have become chalk or glass. Half of all bashing damage
levies a -2 external penalty on all attempts to strike her
the character suffers becomes lethal damage instead, as
in combat. Immobility reduces the penalty to -1. A Tiny
bones fracture.
character is too small to use most weapons: add 1 to the
Lame: One of the character’s legs has warped to
effective Strength minimum for any weapon.
the point of near-uselessness, or both have become
Wyld Assimilation: The character becomes part of
shriveled and weak. A mutant who suffers this debility
the Wyld. He no longer risks mutation or damage from
twice has legs that cannot be used at all and may even
directly harmful Wyld energies such as frozen fog or
have withered and fallen off. See Exalted, p. 152 under
the waters of chaos. However, this immunity comes at a
“Sample Amputation Effects” for what happens when
price. The character is now a living embodiment of his
a character cannot use one or both legs. This mutation
chosen story and as such, loses the mental and emotional
cannot be hidden.
flexibility possessed by both mortals and Exalted. He is
Slow Healing: The mutant does not recover well
also addicted to the Wyld and wants to stay in a region
from injury. Wounds take a long time to disappear and
where he can live out his story.
diseases linger. Double the length of time necessary to
The Storyteller must determine what the mutant’s
heal any given wounds, and increase the difficulty of the
particular story is. If it is a tale of honor and bravery,
treated and untreated morbidities by 1.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 147

 BLIGHTS DEFORMITIES
Cheetah’s Pace: This blight is equivalent to taking Short Life: The mutant ages quickly and has an ab-
the Wolf’s Pace pox three times. For long distance normally short lifespan, though the degree varies. Some
travel, Cheetah’s Pace provides the speed of a simple mutants age twice as quickly, dying in their 30s or 40s.
horse relay. The mutation alters a human recipient’s Extreme cases die of old age only a few years after birth.
entire body: when running at full speed, including They reach maturity at similar speed.
Dash actions, the character must go to all fours. Surrendering Flesh: The mutant’s body refuses to grow
This is not compatible with carrying weapons ready or repair itself as normal. Children who develop this
for use, or any other activity that requires hands; mutation cease to mature. Anyone who suffers it never
when the character stops running, she must spend heals lethal or aggravated damage, and even bashing
the normal amount of time to draw weapons or damage takes five times as long to heal. Only healing
otherwise prepare to use her hands again (typically magic can repair the character’s wounds, though some
a Miscellaneous action or a Join Battle roll, as cir- rare medicines can give him temporary health. Sweet
cumstances warrant). cordial heals one level of damage and allows the char-
Enlightened Essence: The Wyld tears away the acter to heal normally for a month, celestial wine heals
character’s blinders, revealing the truth about Essence one level per glass and three glasses heals three health
and the nature of Creation (and other places). Shamans levels and allows the character to heal as normal for a
seek this mutation more than any other when they go full year and a day.
power-questing in the Wyld. The character gains an Es- Wracking: The character suffers excessive pain when-
sence pool equal to his permanent Essence x 10. From ever he consciously activates a mutation. The retractable
then on, he can increase his Essence trait by spending claws tear through his skin when he calls upon them, or
experience points at the normal rate for heroic mortal hawking up a toxin causes his own glands to pulse pain-
characters. Only the first third of this pool is accessible fully. Each such use inflicts one level of lethal damage
unless the character spends a point of Willpower to free on the character and is accompanied by such terrible
up the rest for a scene. pains that he loses two dice from all pools for his next
Some mortals can learn select spirit Charms, Ter- two actions.
restrial Circle sorcery or supernatural Martial Arts, if they
have willing tutors. Exalted characters cannot acquire this ABOMINATIONS
mutation, and the process of Exaltation overwhelms and Dragon’s Breath: The mutant develops a form of attack
burns away this mutation. that she may project at nearby enemies from her mouth.
Giant: This mutation is equivalent to taking the The attack may be flame, acid, shards of ice, stinging
Large pox three times. The creature grows to twice the candy-wasps or whatever else the Wyld inflicted on her.
size of the tallest normal example of his species. Some The attack requires a (Dexterity + [Archery, Athletics or
Giant animals might be mistaken for larger species of Thrown]) roll, has a base damage of (Stamina + Essence)L
their class (a Giant housecat for a panther, for instance) and a maximum range of 10 yards. The character’s mouth,
but most cannot be mistaken for natural creatures. The lungs and internal organs all change shape to accommo-
mutation confers three dots of Strength and Stamina, as date this strange bodily function. Some mutants develop
well as additional health levels: -0x1, -1x2 and -2x2. external organs to contain the attack, which may only be
Miniscule: The Wyld reduces the character to no used once every 10 actions (as it needs to recharge).
more than one-fourth her normal size. Reduce Strength Stone Body: The character’s entire body becomes some
by three dots and Stamina by two (to a minimum of one); very hard substance—if not through and through, then
the character can only go 1 yard on a Move action and very nearly so. Whether his body now consists of crystal
(Dexterity) yards on a Dash. (This does not affect move- lattices, carved teak, cooled lava rock, never-melting ice
ment rates for flying creatures or characters, however.). or something stranger, the character loses one dot of
The creature loses one -0, one -1 and two -2 health levels, Dexterity (minimum 1), but gains one dot of Stamina,
but any attempts to hit her suffer a -4 external penalty +6L/+6B soak and four bonus dice to Survival rolls.
due to her size (immobility reduces this to -2). All Stealth
rolls gain a +3 bonus. Tools and clothing not made for the DERANGEMENTS
character’s specific size impose significant penalties—she Sometimes, the Wyld damages the mind instead
cannot use most weapons at all. of the body. Scenes in that fabulous Chaos can change

148
people completely without affecting their looks: walking traumatic event. For instance, a character might progres-
through the forest where every leaf looks like your mother sively forget everything that happened more than one
or fighting your way backward into your childhood can hour ago.
provide trauma enough for any number of psychoses.
Wyld-induced derangement is not the same as DELUSION
when a character becomes a living archetype. Wyld The character believes things that are not true, despite
Assimilation forces a character to play a role in a story attempts to convince him otherwise.
(and is discussed on p. 147), while derangements inflict Deficiency: This manifests as minor unreal expecta-
portable madnesses. Not to say that the two mutations tions, such as stones being able to float or a personal
are incompatible—the mad thaumaturge and delusional ability to drink without getting drunk. When a belief is
liege are both common archetypes. debunked, the character becomes a little confused but
Derangements have different levels of severity. Each proceeds as normal—until the delusion returns.
mental malfunction ranges from the merest deficiency to Debility: These delusions are broader beliefs. A war-
a controlling deformity. Also, derangements don’t count rior who fought a phantom horde in the Wyld might
as mutations for the purposes of determining whether a believe himself invulnerable to blades, leading to valiant
creature can survive in Creation—meaning that people (if foolhardy) actions. Another character could be cer-
can go completely mad and still return to Creation for tain that fire quenches thirst. Resisting such a delusion
a “normal” life. requires one point of Willpower, which few spend until
Though this chapter separates derangements from they have proof, such as a cut or a singed mouth. Then
physical mutations, it is only for ease of use. They may still they realize the truth for the length of a scene.
be acquired as deficiencies, debilities or deformities. Deformity: The worst delusions cannot be shattered.
Derangements do not only come from the Wyld. A person who believes himself the Scarlet Empress could
They can be caused by normal events in Creation, too. insist that “her” foes betrayed her and changed her shape,
Also, keep in mind that derangements can be mixed and or that it is a wide conspiracy—Anything to avoid the
matched. For instance, auditory hallucinations fit well truth. Realizing the fake nature of her belief costs two
with multiple personalities. Virtue Flaws (see Exalted, points of Willpower for five minutes, and even then, the
pp. 102-105) can serve as inspiration for inventive de- delusion quickly returns.
rangements. The Exalted may be more likely to develop
derangements in ways similar to how they suffer the
HALLUCINATIONS
The character senses things that aren’t there. These
Great Curse, at the Storyteller’s discretion.
hallucinations may trigger any of the senses, from sight
Some Charms might heal derangements. The Dragon-
to touch, though the derangement is often consistent
Blooded’s Purity of Mind Method is one such Charm.
for a single character.
AMNESIA Deficiency: These hallucinations affect only a single
The character forgets fragments of her life because sense at a time and appear when the character is stressed:
of physical or mental trauma. (at two temporary Willpower below normal). The char-
Deficiency: Mild amnesia suggests that the character for- acter might see things moving out of the corner of her
gets significant parts of his life or loses the last few hours. eye, or hear people call her name. The hallucinations
Debility: The derangement erases large sections of could lead the character astray or strangely reveal true
the character’s life and identity, such as where she lives information—but since the source of the hallucinations is
or everything that happened since her Exaltation. The the character’s head, their truth is always coincidental.
player must roll (Intelligence + [Integrity or relevant Abil- Debility: This level of hallucination often registers only
ity]) at difficulty 2 to remember details not prearranged. in one sense but may spread to as many as three when they
Remembering something that should have been lost costs grow strong. The character suffers hallucinations when
one point of Willpower. down two temporary points of Willpower and stronger
Deformity: The most potent amnesia cuts most of hallucinations when down four Willpower points. The
a character’s life. Characters may even begin life anew hallucinations are undeniable to the character and seem
with little more than their muscle memory and ingrained fully real. They often become complete characters of
reflexes, remembering only brief flashes. The amnesiac their own to the victim. Spending a point of Willpower
may continue to forget, requiring successful (Intelligence reduces the hallucinations to the least severe kind, but
+ Integrity) rolls to recall even things learned after the only for a scene.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 149

 Deformity: Hallucinations consume the character’s in the Middlemarches or Deep Wyld. The Fair Folk
life. He sees and hears things all the time. They become and Lunar Exalted have Charms that can bring such
worse when he’s down at least two points of Willpower creatures into Creation for a while—but without such
and color everything he senses when he’s spent four or protection, these creatures usually sicken and die even
more Willpower points. Examples include watching the in the Bordermarches. The exceptions, such as flame
walls run with melting rainbows and hearing the satrap gryphons, resist Creation’s quelling influence through
speak only to you with her second face. By spending a their own will and Essence.
point of Willpower, the character can reduce the hal- In cases in which characters or animals suffer mu-
lucinations by one severity for a scene. tation, Storytellers can use the number and severity of
mutations as a guide to whether they can live in Creation.
OBSESSION
Add the point values of all the characters’ mutations, as
The character becomes increasingly focused on a
described on the table on p. 144, but leave out derange-
single goal or object.
ments. Treat all the values as positive. Compare the total
Deficiency: The derangement causes little more than
to the character’s Willpower.
distraction. When the subject of a character’s obsession
Willpower or Less: The character (or other creature)
is present, she suffers a -1 internal penalty at any action
can live in Creation indefinitely. The mutations are
not directly related to achieving the obsession’s goal.
not heritable outside the Wyld—but within the Wyld,
Debility: The obsessions become grander in scope. In-
creatures with similar mutations may breed to generate
stead of collecting pretty stones, he collects jade weapons;
a new species or a new race of humanity.
rather than lighting every candle she sees, the character
(Willpower x 2) or Less: The character can no lon-
wants to start bonfires whenever fuel is available. The
ger live in Creation indefinitely. Such creatures can live
obsession should be more dangerous or more common,
and reproduce themselves in Bordermarches or tainted
and the penalty to resist it increases to -2.
lands, but are sterile within Creation. After (Stamina)
Deformity: The character’s obsessions rarely leave
months in Creation, however, the character or creature
her time to think about anything else and easily get her
sickens and loses one unsoakable, unhealing level of
in a great deal of trouble. She suffers a -3 penalty when
bashing damage every day until it returns to the Wyld.
resisting an obsession.
The Wyld-spawned offspring of such creatures might
TOO WYLD TO LIVE IN CREATION survive in Creation, though. Characters this severely
Excessive mutation can render a person, plant, animal mutated also suffer a one-die penalty to Temperance
or spirit too strange to survive any longer in Creation. In rolls—added when the player rolls to resist gaining Limit,
extreme cases, a creature might not even survive in the or subtracted when trying to resist temptation or other
Bordermarches. Storytellers can decide for themselves cases in which a high Temperance is desirable. The Wyld
which of the Wyld’s own inhabitants can live in Creation, infects its victims with a taint of mad passion more subtle
based on the mutation’s style. than any derangement.
Creatures that merely offer unlikely combinations of More Than (Willpower x 2): The creature cannot live
different aspects or parts of people, animals and plants for long outside the Middlemarches or Deep Wyld. After
usually survive in Creation without any trouble. Even a (Stamina) months in the Bordermarches, or (Stamina)
creature as bizarre as a buck-ogre is still just a collection weeks in tainted lands, the mutant suffers one unsoak-
of ordinary, flesh-and-blood parts. able level of bashing damage every day that cannot heal
Anything that cuts across kingdoms of life, or until it returns to the Wyld. Such a character or creature
combines organic with inorganic parts, generally do can survive only (Stamina) days in Creation, then suffers
not thrive in Creation but can live in Bordermarches the above damage every hour until death or return to
or tainted lands. The hatra trees of the East cannot live a suitably Wyld region. The mutant also takes a 2-dice
in Creation because they combine plant and animal penalty (plus or minus, whichever is appropriate) to
characteristics (though their hatra offspring can live in Temperance rolls. Once a person becomes this severely
Creation, since they are entirely animal unless they enter mutated, however, Wyld Assimilation becomes extremely
their reproductive cycle.) likely, and the character no longer desires to leave the
Creatures that cut across states of matter, such as Wyld anyway.
trees of solid fire or beasts of living gold, are not improb- Remember that these penalties only apply to char-
able; they are flat-out impossible. They can survive only acters or animals that have been directly mutated by the

150
Wyld. These penalties do not apply to creatures born
with mutations, such as beastmen or Wyld mutants,
though Storytellers can use the mutation totals as an
additional guideline when deciding if a Wyld-beast can
live in Creation.

INHABITANTS OF THE WYLD

Many unusual people… or person-like beings, any-
way… live in the Wyld. What follows are a few of them.

FLAME GRYPHON
Flame gryphons are one of the most beautiful and
deadly threats of the Southern Wyld. They can live
indefinitely in Creation, but cannot breed there; flame
gryphons move freely from the Bordermarches to the
Deep Wyld. They look like lions the size of aurochs,
with the heads and forelegs of eagles, claws and talons
of glittering gold and eagle-like wings of gold and scarlet
flame. Although flame gryphons can speak in voices that
combine the tones of a lion’s roar and eagle’s scream,
their personalities remain animal: most of the time, they
show no interests beyond food, a warm den and the joy Controlling a mount or other animal that is currently
of the hunt. with its owner, his player calls for a resisted roll of the
However, flame gryphons have three personality traits flame gryphon’s (Charisma + Presence) vs. the owner’s
that go beyond animal concerns. They hate all horses (Charisma + Survival). This effect costs two motes and
and horse-like beings and kill them whenever possible, lasts for a full scene. A flame gryphon must use this
beyond what the fame gryphons can eat. Flame gryphons separately to command multiple animals.
cannot accept any other creature as their master; they Immunity to Command: These intensely supernatural
defend their Rookery (see p. 114) so fanatically because creatures are immune to all effects that force them to
they cannot bear the idea of their chicks raised to serve obey someone, including shaping attacks. They do not
another. Any power sufficient to compel a flame gryphon’s need to expend Willpower to resist unnatural mental
will causes it to tear and claw themselves to death. Lastly, influence. If a flame gryphon becomes the target of a
they are vain: flame gryphons love to be seen, to inspire controlling effect that is defined as irresistible, the flame
wonder, fear and awe. gryphon immediately dies rather than submit.
Now and then, a flame gryphon agrees to let a raksha Join Battle: 6
(or other powerful being) ride it. This is not service, but Attacks:
a partnership of equals. The character gains a powerful, Bite: Speed 5, Accuracy 10, Damage 16L, Defense 8(4),
flying steed and ally in combat; the flame gryphon gains Rate 1
a partner to assure it of regular meals and chances to Claw: Speed 4, Accuracy 12, Damage 13L, Defense 12(6),
amaze the dull, boring folk of Creation. Rate 2
Motivation: Stay free, look glorious, kill horses. Wing Buffet: Speed 6, Accuracy 10, Damage 17L, Defense 8(4),
Attributes: Strength 9, Dexterity 4, Stamina 8; Charisma 4, Rate 2
Manipulation 2, Appearance 4; Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Soak: 12L/16B (Tough Hide, 8L/8B)
Wits 3 Health Levels: -0x3/-1x3/-2x3/-4/Incap
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, Dodge DV: 5 Willpower: 7
Valor 4 Essence: 3 Essence Pool: 30
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 4, Linguistics 2, Other Notes: A flame gryphon’s wing buffet inflicts
Martial Arts 4, Presence 4, Stealth 2, Survival 4 damage through fire. If a target is immune to fire, the
Essence Powers: wing buffet deals an equal amount of bashing damage
Command Beasts: Flame gryphons can reflexively com- instead.
mand any non-intelligent animals except familiars. Flame gryphon allies are Familiar •••••.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 151

 IWAU TAMOTSU,
THE WATCHER WITH EYES OF STONE
The Watcher with Eyes of Stone rests beneath the
Weeping Maiden in the far West. The island is a thin
cone of stone tapering down into the water, and Iwau
Tamotsu is a vast coral reef spreading miles around that
island. The island, in fact, is a gigantic spike piercing
the Watcher’s heart and pinning the guardian to that
place in the ocean. When ships or large creatures near
the Weeping Maiden’s isle, Iwau Tamotsu rises from the
depths to crush and devour the ship or creature.
Little is known about the Watcher with Eyes of Stone.
Even its name is secret and lost. For reasons unknown,
anything consumed by the Watcher washes up on the
shores of the Blessed Isle the next day. The Watcher
once did this to deliver intruders to the gods who lived
on the Blessed Isle. Today, the Watcher only confuses
the locals. Living creatures it endeavors to eat whole,
delivering them to the Isle alive.
Motivation: Protect the Weeping Maiden from all
who approach.
Attributes: Strength 57, Dexterity 1, Stamina 37; Cha-
risma 1, Manipulation 1, Appearance 5; Perception 4, create a new guardian. This costs 40 motes and two points
Intelligence 2, Wits 1 of Willpower and reduces Iwau Tamotsu’s Strength and
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 5, Temperance 3, Stamina permanently by one each. The new guardian has
Valor 5 its own identity and must soon be connected to something
Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 6, Linguistics (Native: Old as a guardian. It must also grow in power before it can
Realm; Others: Seatongue) 1, Martial Arts 6 (Ships +3), become as powerful as its parent. This has happened three
Presence 5 (Scaring Others +2), Resistance 6, Sail 5*, War 4 times before—one such guardian was destroyed just five
(Navies +3) years ago when it failed the Bronze Faction.
*Iwau Tamotsu cannot actually sail a ship, but has vast knowl- Ripple-Sensing Quiver—Nothing in the sea remains hidden
edge of sailing ships and could serve as a wise tutor. from the Watcher. This power costs three motes and may
Backgrounds: None be activated reflexively. It makes all things within 40
Essence Powers: miles of the Weeping Maiden and touching the ocean
Coral Life-and-Death Encouragement—The Watcher with a valid target for the creature’s Awareness-based action,
Eyes of Stone may instantly re-grow or repair parts of regardless of magic.
its coral structure. For four motes per health level and Tsunami Wave Eruption—The Watcher activates this power
one point of Willpower, Iwau Tomatsu heals one level when beset by many intruders. Heaving its body from the
of damage it has taken or temporarily adds one -0 health ocean floor, Iwau sends a massive wave rolling outward
level. Phantom health levels disappear when filled with from the island. This is an attack on everything on the
lethal damage or at the end of the day. ocean within 100 miles. The attack automatically hits,
Encircling the Maiden—Iwau Tamotsu spends 10 motes and barring special defenses.
one point of Willpower to create an impenetrable shell Join Battle: 7
of coral over the island on which the Weeping Maiden Attacks:
rests. The shell cannot be harmed as long as the Watcher Coral Strike: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 26B, Defense —,
spends one mote each action to keep it intact. Otherwise, Rate 5
it has Hardness 10 and 20/40 health levels. The shell Coral Crush: Speed 8, Accuracy 63, Damage 57B, De-
slowly crumbles after one scene. fense —, Rate 1
Guardian Birth Division—If properly motivated, the Watcher Tsunami Wave Eruption: Speed 9, Accuracy —, Damage 80B,
with Eyes of Stone may split off a fraction of its bulk to Defense —, Rate 1

152
Soak: 24L/49B (Steel-hard coral, 6L/12B; Hardness: 6L/12B) Motivation: Keep the breath tunnels in repair; bind the
Health Levels: -0x10/-1x25/-2x20/-4x5/Incap Wyld and Creation through breath tunnels.
Dodge DV: 0 Willpower: 10 Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Charisma 4,
Essence: 5 Essence Pool: 90 Manipulation 3, Appearance 2; Perception 3, Intelligence 3,
Other Notes: As an enormous creature, the Watcher Wits 3
may engage in mass combat as a Magnitude 9 unit for Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 2, Temperance 3,
the purpose of offense and defense (but not for health Valor 1
levels). Coral strike represents long branches of coral jut- Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 3, Craft (Air) 4, Craft
ting from the ocean to pierce hulls and sink ships. The (Earth) 4, Dodge 3, Integrity 4, Investigation 3 (Breath
coral crush is when many branches surround a target Tunnels +2), Lore 2 (Wyld +2), Martial Arts 3, Occult 2
and close on it to crush. When attacking targets smaller (Wyld +2) Presence 2, Resistance 3 (Elements +1, Travel +1),
than a ship, Iwau Tamotsu attacks with an accuracy of 4 Stealth 2, Survival 3
(coral strike) and 20 (coral crush). Tsunami Wave Erup- Backgrounds: Artifact 2
tion strikes any creature or object on the ocean’s surface, Essence Powers:
no deeper than 100 yards or no higher than 500 yards Death of the Dragon—Sem Sem spends five motes, and all
above, regardless of size. air within five yards of him ceases to move. This condi-
tion persists as long as the motes remain committed.
SEM SEM, CHILD OF THE WIND The sphere of dead air travels with him. It follows the
Sem Sem is one of the children of the wind. Similar normal rules of Creation, acting as a wall to create a lee
to all others of his kind, he is a child-sized old man, downwind of Sem Sem.
wrinkles and all, who wears dense robes of sky-blue silk. Drawn from Above—Sem Sem can create an unlimited
The children of the wind maintain the breath tunnels in number of air seeds (see p. 79) at no cost. He requires
the Northern Middlemarches and create new ones; Sem only a miscellaneous action to draw one from beneath
Sem performs his task as well as any other. his robe. While he can give Air Seeds as gifts, Sem Sem
Still, Sem Sem has ambition. Many children of the (and most children of the wind) give them sparingly,
wind do. He wants to find a way to spawn breath tunnels mostly out of concern for the breath tunnels.
that connect the Wyld and Creation. His attempts have Healing the Earth—This power allows Sem Sem to repair
always failed thus far, and frustration may drive him to damage done to objects made of stone. Sem Sem caresses
make odd alliances. Other children of the wind do not the wound, which fills in as though it were never harmed.
consider Sem Sem odd; such unique desires are common Each health level repaired costs four motes of Essence.
enough to make it a quirk rather than a real peculiarity. Children of the wind use this power to keep the breath
tunnels whole.
Shivering Shorn—Sem Sem may spend eight motes to deaden
all sound within five yards. This power only functions if
Sem Sem is currently using Death of the Dragon.
Join Battle: 6
Attacks:
Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 2B, Defense 7 (4),
Rate 3
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 2B, Defense —,
Rate 1
Soak: 3L/6B (Sky-blue robe, 2L/3B)
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x3/-4/I
Dodge DV: 5 Willpower: 5
Essence: 2 Essence Pool: 21
Other Notes: As one of the creatures that maintain the
breath tunnel network, Sem Sem has an instinctive knowl-
edge of where the nearest several termini are and where
they lead. He is happy to share the information, which
he can also use to escape threats when necessary.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 153

 NO TROUBLE ZHANG, LUNAR EXPLORER Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Bureaucracy 1, Craft
No Trouble Zhang is young… for a Lunar. He’s at (Water) 2, Dodge 4, Integrity 3, Larceny 3, Linguis-
least 70 now, and many older Lunars tell him he’s doing tics (Native: Forest-tongue; Others: River-speak, Old
something wrong. Zhang ignores them. Joyful and strong, Realm) 2, Lore 1, Martial Arts 3, Medicine 1, Melee 3,
Zhang wandered the world for a while to figure out what Performance 4, Presence 5, Resistance 2, Socialize 3,
he wanted to do with his Exaltation. His discovery of Ilio Stealth 4, Survival 2, Thrown 2
Stara helped him figure it out. Now, even as the Child of Backgrounds: Cult 1, Influence (Illio Stara) 5, Manse 3,
Luna tries to remake his city-state into a self-sufficient, Resources 4
sustaining community, he also searches the Wyld for more Knacks: Changing Plumage Mastery, Humble Mouse
societies to put on the road to their own inner strength. Shape, Luna’s Hidden Face, Prey’s Skin Disguise, Subtle
No Trouble Zhang is sure that these people can push Silver Declaration
back the Wyld with just a little help from him. Charms: Culling the Pride, East Mastery Technique, False
Zhang looks like a thin man of average height with Burrow Pursuit, First Charisma Excellency, First Dexterity
a bush of white hair on his head and a thin white beard. Excellency, First Manipulation Excellency, Foot-Trapping
In his true form, the expected silver tattoos whorl from Counter, Golden Tiger Stance (Dodge), Herd-Strengthen-
around his eyes down his body in occult patterns. His ing Invocation, Instinctive Memory Insertion, Irresistible
spirit shape is that of a raccoon with a silvery mask. No Silver Spirit, Lunar Hero Form, Mask of White Jade, New
Trouble Zhang is friendly with all and light-hearted about Friend Aroma, One of the Herd, Perfect Symmetry, Rabid
everything, especially when the situation is serious. Beast Attitude, Relentless Lunar Fury, Second Appearance
Motivation: Bring lost societies to their feet to strengthen Excellency, Thousand-Claw Infliction
Creation. Combos:
Caste: Changing Moon Force of Personality (Culling the Pride, First Charisma
Anima: Raccoon backed by subtle silvers, whites and blues Excellency)
Tell: Silvery mark around eyes Attention-Grabbing Distraction (False Burrow Pursuit,
Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 3; Charisma 5, First Manipulation Excellency)
Manipulation 3, Appearance 4; Perception 4, Intelligence 3, Join Battle: 6
Wits 3 Attacks:
Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, Valor 2 Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 8, Damage 2B, Defense 9 (5),
Rate 3
Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 7, Damage 5B, Defense 5 (3), Rate 2
Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 7, Damage 2B, Defense —, Rate 1
Staff: Speed 6, Accuracy 9, Damage 9B, Defense 9 (5), Rate 2
Soak: 4L/7B (Buff jacket, 3L/4B)
Health Levels: -0/-1x2/-2x2/-4/Incap
Dodge DV: 6 Willpower: 7
Essence: 3
Personal Essence: 17 Peripheral Essence: 32
Other Notes: While No Trouble Zhang can handle himself
in a fight, he prefers to find more creative solutions to his
problems. He is friendly, earnest and hard to dislike.

BEASTS OF THE WYLD

The beasts that live in the Wyld are more… in-
teresting… than most creatures of Creation. Their
characteristics are more varied by far, and the chaos of
their home bestows many exotic features upon them.
A few people in Creation value selected Wyld
creatures as strange pets, or for some trait that makes
them valuable in business or home defense. Wealthy,
security-minded individuals cultivate hatra trees to dis-
courage intruders, while daring animal breeders make

154
money by raising jewel-horned elk. Only creatures that is a leafy canopy. It is hard
can survive away from the Wyld’s comforting energies to attract the attention of
can be captured and used in this way, and some are a great cat-tree, but these
completely untrainable. enormous creatures do not
hesitate to crush something
CREATURES OF THE EAST harming the forest—espe-
Arm Tree cially at the direction of the
The trees in the Forest Magnificent Suzerainess of
of Arms do not have solid the Celebrated Wood.
wood and bark. Instead, they
consist of clustered arms and CREATURES OF THE
legs that rise up from the
ground and spread out like
SOUTH
Abacasteri
branches, watching visitors
These large, lion-shaped creatures have skin of solid
with embedded human eyes.
gold, molten gold for blood and shining topazes for
The arms have every skin
eyes. They eat carrion, and their corrosive saliva burns
color known in Creation, as
through even the toughest dead skins to reach the feast
well as skins that clearly have
within. Similar to their relatives in Creation, abacasteri
been warped by the Wyld.
run in prides.
The eyes likewise vary.
Abacasteri saliva is so
Arm trees try to grab
acidic that it inflicts ag-
anyone who comes near,
gravated damage, and their
because of their method of
blood is so hot that it
cross-pollination: when branches touch, they grab hold
instantly sears anyone who
while other hand-fruit and arm-cones detach and scuttle
touches it (one level of ag-
across to attach to the other tree. Sharing in this way
gravated damage). When
keeps the trees healthy.
an abacasteri dies, its body
Arm-beast
disintegrates into worthless
These crawling, scrab-
yellow dust, foiling pre-
bling arms detach from
cious-metal hunters. Only
parent arm trees and seek
by draining the animal of
to join with other trees.
all its burning blood while it still lives, allowing it to die
Unfortunately, they don’t
only after it loses its last drop of blood, can preserve its
differentiate between arm
golden corpse. Few people know this, and fewer could
trees and anything else in the
actually accomplish it. An abacasteri corpse can be sold
Wyld. By clinching a target
for Resources •••••.
and continuing to clinch
Coal Nomad
it for (target’s Stamina)
These single-minded
consecutive actions, the arm-
travelers have a human shape
beast merges with it. Targets
but are completely made of
so affected gain the Multiple
coal, from their wandering
Limbs abomination.
eyes to their braided hair.
People protected against
They like to wear very bright
Wyld effects (as by the Solar Charm Integrity-Protecting
clothing, though. They wan-
Prana) cannot be “merged with” in this fashion. That
der the Southern Wyld and
doesn’t stop the arms from trying, which inflicts basic
occasionally the South of
clinching damage.
Creation, taking everything
Great Cat-Tree
that isn’t nailed down. Luck-
Great cat-trees are the massive, tree-like cats that
ily for adventurers who don’t
are the other sorts of trees in the Cat Forest. Each leg of
mind losing their gear, the
the giant cat makes up a single tree trunk and the body

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 155

 coal nomads never harm a living creature. If someone can swim as quickly as they can run on land, and carry
attacks them, however, they try to bind him and carry riders with them.
him into the Wyld with them. Abductees who are not In some places in the Wyld, the sea horses run in
soon rescued are never seen again. enormous herds, galloping over living islands and then
Jewel-horned Elk swimming as a school through the water. Raksha often
Both the male and use them as mounts and playthings, and the Exalted and
female of this impressively daring mortals can capture and tame them for use. Sea
large Wyld species sport horses are about as intelligent as a child and can learn
enormous antlers they never many tricks. One counts as Familiar ••••.
shed. More important to Vapor Hawk
Wyld scavengers, these These predatory birds
antlers are entirely grown coalesce from steam in the
of a single gemstone: ruby, far Southwest, where water
diamond and emerald elk all and fire run together. Re-
exist, as do more exotic jew- fractions of the sun through
els never seen in Creation. the droplets of water of
Jewel-horned elk act more which they consist give each
aggressively than normal elk, vapor hawk beautiful and
but they are usually content unique plumage. Some of
to graze on the crystal plants their feathers have been
of the Southern Middle- preserved and form inimi-
marches. Antlers could be sold for Resources ••••. table parts of the renowned
cloak worn by the Wavecrest
CREATURES OF THE WEST Archipelago’s Feathered One. The sight of a non-native
Razor Bear thing aloft in their boiling territory enrages the vapor
These amphibians are hawks, making them dangerous to most creatures that
shaped like bears but cov- dare the Steam Tides.
ered in three layers of fish
scales. Their faces sport CREATURES OF THE NORTH
lidless eyes and barracuda Carnivorous Moth
jaws, giving them a truly Viewed from a dis-
frightening appearance. tance through the uncertain
Razor bears cannot stand up perspectives of the Mid-
on their hind legs, but they dlemarches, one of these
can cover ground rapidly on monsters might look like
land or in the sea, where they use their short, flattened an ordinary moth in the
tail to swim more quickly. moonlit snowfall. A closer
Sea Horse view reveals a big moth with
These are the steeds wings constructed from
of the sea. When on solid shining ice and antennae
land, a sea horse looks like dusted with frost. And then
a normal equine, albeit one the monster really comes
displaying all the colors of close: the carnivorous moth
the calm and raging oceans. is huge, and its head is a dry
When sea horses are fully human skull with crystalline compound eyes. Its jaw can
submerged in the water (a stretch several feet and is full of shining icicle teeth, and
state they do not shy from), the entire head moves on a flexible neck almost a yard
their hindquarters melt long. Their six legs end in skeletal human hands tipped
into giant, scaled fishtails, with long ice-claws.
reminiscent of the classical Worse, travelers seldom see only one carnivorous
mermaid. With this, they moth. These horrors travel in packs of between six

156
and 20. They attack by swarming prey until it is weak, Northern cities have emergency military procedures for
then tearing off hunks of meat for their own family when the sky-monsters come to visit. Icewalker tribes,
groups. Their brilliantly sharp teeth tear every shred of on the other hand, usually hide.
sustenance off of prey, leaving nothing for scavengers. Wind Whale
Even raksha fear hungry swarms of carnivorous moths, Wind whales are more
because the monsters eat Fair Folk flesh as happily as than 200 feet long and 40 to
they do human. 50 feet wide. Internal blad-
Carnivorous moths are too small for most raksha to ders of a hot and flammable
ride, but some Fair Folk train them as guardians, hunting gas keep them aloft. Dense
beasts or steeds for their smaller minions. A carnivorous fur helps them stay warm in
moth qualifies as Familiar •••••. the frigid, rarefied air miles
Snow Wyrm above the North, where they
Snow wyrms look like fly. This fur is often yards
enormous, white-furred ser- deep, and sometimes serves
pents with dozens of fan-like as home for other airborne
fins for maneuvering while creatures. The fins and flukes of wind whales are all very
they fly. The youngest are wide and flat, the better to catch and direct the wind,
30 feet long, and they can and they make superb sails for sky- or water-borne ships.
grow up to 200 feet long Wind whales feed off of other, smaller creatures that live
and seven feet in diameter. high in the Northern sky.
A grown wyrm’s mouth Raksha tame the gentle whales and use them as liv-
stretches wide enough to ing sky yachts or battle platforms. The raksha mahouts
swallow a cow with a little stand on the lip of the beast’s projecting lower jaw, giving
bit of work, and the teeth commands and holding reins that merge with its flesh.
are a foot long. Luckily for Characters with Sail •• and Ride •• may act as mahouts
most travelers, snow wyrms for wind whales after minimal training.
are omnivorous. They hap-
pily eat warm creatures for PLAYING BEASTMEN, MUTANTS
nourishment, but they are just as content living on ice and OR RELIC RACE CHARACTERS
stone. Raksha do not tame snow wyrms, but do harvest Players who want their characters to start play with
them for their teeth, which make excellent daggers. mutations can do so. Possessing one or more of these
These creatures nest and breed in immense glaciers, traits does not necessarily mean that the character has ever
but grown snow wyrms travel throughout the Northern been exposed to the Wyld. They might be beastmen, the
Wyld. They lay their eggs in large clutches. The eggs are children of Wyld mutants, the God-Blooded, characters
each about the size of a man’s head and are nearly indis- cursed or blessed by gods or the Fair Folk or members of
tinguishable from cloudy ice. The slender, 10-foot-long unusual races such as the people of the air and the people
infant wyrms eat snow and ice and make easy prey for of the sea. Regardless of the characters’ actual origin,
many Northern predators and hunters. The snow wyrms these aberrations are purchased from the list of Wyld
that live do so by burrowing into solid ice for safety. After mutations in Exalted (pp. 288-290), in this book, or from
a few decades of growth, snow wyrms become competi- The Manual of Exalted Power—The Lunars. You or your
tive creatures ready to face the outside world. They can Storyteller can also design your own mutations.
burrow through solid ice as quickly as they fly through Beneficial mutations cost as many bonus points as
the sky. A snow wyrm flies about as fast as a man can the point values given in the table on p. 144. Harmful
run and is very maneuverable. mutations can reduce the cost of beneficial mutations:
Every decade, most snow wyrms migrate to the El- subtract the point values of deficiencies, debilities and
emental Pole of Air for some unknowable convocation. deformities from the point total of the other mutations.
Adventurers who have traveled there say that a snow wyrm However, harmful mutations do not give characters ad-
much larger than any other holds court at the pole; it ditional bonus points: the points they provide cannot do
may be the god of their kind. Swarms of snow wyrms also anything other than offset the costs of beneficial muta-
visit Northernmost Creation about once a decade. Most tions. If somebody wants her character to start play with

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 157

 Name Str/Dex/Sta Per/Int/Wits/WP Health Levels Attack Dodge DV/Soak
(Spd/Atk/Dmg/Rate)
Creatures of the East
Arm Tree 4/3/6 3/—/3— -0x8/-4x2/I Punch: 5/8/4B/2, 0/5L/8B
Clinch: 6/8/4B/1
Abilities: Martial Arts 5
Arm-Beast 4/3/2 3/—/3— -0x2/-4/I Punch: 5/8/4B/2, 0/5L/8B
Clinch: 6/8/4B/1
Abilities: Martial Arts 5
Great Cat-tree 9/1/9 2/1/2/3 -0x8/-1x10/ Trample: 5/4/11B/2, 1/4L/9B
-2x8/-4x4/I Pin: 6/12/9B/1
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 2, Dodge 1, Integrity 3, Investigation 3, Martial Arts 3,
Presence 4, Resistance 4, Stealth 1, Survival 4
Creatures of the South
Abacasteri 6/4/6 2/1/3/5 -0x3/-1x3/ Bite: 6/7/5A/1, 3/7L/10B
-2x3/-4/I Claw: 5/8/8L/2
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 2, Dodge 1, Integrity 3, Investigation 3, Martial Arts 3,
Presence 3 (Intimidation +2), Resistance 3, Stealth 3, Survival 3 (Desert +1)
Coal Nomad 3/2/4 3/2/3/6 -0/-1x3/ Clinch: 6/8/—/1 3/4L/6B
-2x2/-4/I
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3 (Objects +1), Dodge 4, Integrity 1, Investigation 3
(Things +1), Martial Arts 4 (Grapple +2), Presence 2, Resistance 3 (Travel +2),
Stealth 1, Survival 3 (South +2)
Jewel-Horned Elk 6/2/5 3/1/2/3 -0x2/-1x2/ Gore: 5/6/10L/1, 2/2L/5B
-2x2/-4/I Kick: 5/5/8L/2
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 2, Integrity 1, Martial Arts 3, Presence 2, Resistance 1,
Stealth 2, Survival 2

a negative mutation, the player can do it for the sheer presumed to be factored into the character already. The
joy of the roleplaying challenge. starting character still gains extra health levels from the
For example, a character with a single affliction would mutation, though.)
need to pay two bonus points, but if this character also Hereditary mutations purchased with bonus points
had a single deficiency, then the total cost of possess- also do not count as actual Wyld mutations and so do not
ing both mutations would be one bonus point. If the interfere with a character’s Temperance rolls or ability to
character had a deformity instead, the cost would be 0 survive in Creation. Both heroic mortals and the Exalted
points: a deformity is worth -4 points, but the “extra” can freely possess any of these traits and suffer no penalties
two points disappear. for purchasing them. However, Exalted characters cannot
Characters with an Essence pool may spend two take some mutations, and a few mutations act differently
motes of Essence in place of one Willpower point to when possessed by Exalted. See the descriptions of the
fuel any activation costs required by mutations. As various mutations for details.
always, the Storyteller may veto or modify the cost of
any mutation. In addition, beneficial mutations such BUILDING BEASTMEN AND
as the Large pox (see Exalted, p. 288) purchased in RELICS OF THE PAST
this manner never increase the character’s Attributes, With the permission of their Storyteller, play-
although these traits provide all of their other listed ers can play beastmen and relics of the past. These
benefits. (Their benefits to a character’s Attributes are characters usually appear as heroic mortals, but they

158
 Name Str/Dex/Sta Per/Int/Wits/WP Health Levels Attack Dodge DV/Soak
(Spd/Atk/Dmg/Rate)
Creatures of the West
Razor Bear 9/3/10 2/1/2/4 -0x3/-1x3/ Bite: 6/11/14L/1, 3/8L/14B
-2x3/-4/I Claw: 5/9/9L/2
Abilities: Athletics 1, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, Integrity 1, Investigation 2, Martial Arts 4
(Bite +2), Presence 2, Resistance 3, Stealth 3, Survival 3
Sea Horse 6/3/6 3/1/3/5 -0x2/-1x3/ Bite: 5/6/6L/1, 3/4L/7B
-2x2/-4/I Kick: 5/7/8L/2
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Integrity 1, Investigation 2, Martial Arts 3,
Presence 1, Resistance 2, Stealth 1, Survival 2
Vapor Hawk 1/4/1 4/1/3/3 -0/-1/-2/-4/I Talon: 5/7/3L/2 3/0L/2B
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, Integrity 2, Investigation 1, Presence 2,
Resistance 2, Stealth 3, Survival 3
Creatures of the North
Carnivorous Moth 7/5/6 4/1/3/4 -0/-1x3/ Bite: 5/12/14L/1 5/10L/13B
-2x5/-4/I
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3 (Sight +3), Dodge 4, Integrity 2, Investigation 2, Martial
Arts 5, Presence 2, Resistance 2, Stealth 1, Survival 3
Snow Wyrm 12/4/6 2/1/4/7 -0x4/-1x4/ Bite: 5/10/15L/2 4/10L/12B
-2x4/-4/I
Abilities: Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Dodge 5, Integrity 3, Investigation 1, Martial Arts 5,
Presence 2, Resistance 3, Stealth 1, Survival 3
Wind Whale 16/3/18 1/1/2/3 -0x6/-1x5/ Bite: 6/7/19L/1, 3/9L/18B
-2x4/-4x3/I Ram: 6/6/24B/1
Abilities: Athletics 4, Awareness 3, Dodge 3, Integrity 1, Investigation 3, Martial Arts 3,
Presence 1, Resistance 2, Stealth 1, Survival 3

are human enough to receive Exaltation. Each race affliction, just as the sun sensitivity of the dune people
shares a specific set of Traits appropriate to that is an example of a unique debility. Unique mutations
breed. However, Exalted beastmen and relics of the should almost never be as powerful as blights, deformi-
past have the same lifespan as any other Exalt: the ties or abominations.
cost for the mutations Increased Longevity and Short
Life drop out from the package of mutations. Exalts BEASTMEN
also automatically lose the Wyld Assimilation and En- The most common beastman breeds roaming Cre-
lightened Essence afflictions and need not pay bonus ation include the following:
points for them. Chiropterans: (7-9 Bonus Points) Poxes: Claws, En-
The following is a list of the various mutations hanced Hearing, Fur, Night Vision. Abomination: Wings.
possessed by various breeds of beastmen and the base Deficiency: Ugly (their bat-like features make them unattract-
cost in bonus points for that racial package of muta- ive to most mortals). Southeastern vampire-bat chiropterans
tions. In addition to players using these rules to create have the debility Diet (the blood of mammals or birds).
characters, Storytellers should also use these rules as a Dolphinmen and Whalemen: (3 Bonus Points) Poxes:
guide for creating antagonists. Some races have unique Elemental Adaptation: Water, Enhanced Hearing, Large.
advantages or disadvantages: these can be represented Elkmen: (10 Bonus Points; or 6 Bonus Points for
as unique poxes, deficiencies or other mutations. The Exalted) Poxes: Enhanced Smell, Fur, Hooves, Large; Afflic-
ambidexterity of the tree folk is an example of a unique tion: Antlers (as Horns); Blight: Enlightened Essence.

CHAPTER SEVEN: WYLD PRODIGIES 159

 Gazellemen: (7 Bonus Points) Poxes: Enhanced Smell, RELICS OF THE PAST
Enhanced Hearing, Fur; Afflictions: Gazelle Stride, Horns. People of the Air: (8 Bonus Points; 7 Bonus Points
Hawkmen: (10 Bonus Points) Poxes: Claws, Enhanced for Exalted) Poxes: Enhanced Sight, Increased Longevity;
Sight, Feathers, Tail; Abomination: Wings. Abomination: Flight.
Hyenamen: (3 Bonus Points) Poxes: Enhanced Smell, People of the Sea: (6 Bonus Points; 5 Bonus Points for
Enhanced Hearing, Fangs, Fur; Deficiency: Ugly. Exalted) Poxes: Elemental Adaptation (Water), Increased
Owlmen: (10 Bonus Points) Poxes: Claws, Night Vi- Longevity; Blight: Gills.
sion, Feathers, Tail; Abomination: Wings. The Tree Folk: (3 Bonus Points): Pox: Elemental Ad-
Sharkmen: (2 Bonus Points; 3 Bonus Points for aptation: Wood; Unique Affliction: The tree folk are fully
Exalted) Poxes: Elemental Adaptation: Water, Enhanced ambidextrous, and all have fully prehensile toes. They never
Smell, Fangs, Shark Hide (as Fish Scales), Large; Afflictions: suffer an offhand penalty for any task and can hold weapons
Gills (no lung atrophy), Wyld Assimilation; Deficiencies: and tools with their feet as readily as their hands.
Atrophy (Intelligence), Ugly; Debility: Diet (Raw Meat); The Dune People: (0 Bonus Points): Poxes: Night
Deformity: Short Life. Vision and Enhanced Sense (Smell). The dune people
Snakemen: (4 or 6 Bonus Points; 3 or 5 Bonus Points have eyes with red irises and unusually large pupils,
for Exalted) Poxes: Elemental Adaptation (East, South or however, their noses appear normal. Unique Debility:
West), Enhanced Smell, Fangs, Increased Longevity, Night The dune people are total albinos whose skins burn
Vision, Snake Scales (as Fur); Deficiencies: Temperature under bright sunlight and have difficulty seeing in
Sensitivity (cold), Ugly; some have the affliction Toxin. bright sunlight. Dune people are at -1 on all dice pools
Spidermen: (11 Bonus Points) Poxes: Fangs, Fur, in direct sunlight and suffers one die of unsoakable
Enhanced Vision (Four Eyes); Affliction: Toxin; Blight: bashing damage for each hour of sun exposure. Char-
Wall-Walking; Abomination: Multiple Limbs (Arms); acters bundled in heavy clothes or otherwise limiting
Deficiency: Ugly; Debility: Diet (Raw Flesh). their direct exposure, such as under an overcast sky or
Wolfmen: (5 Bonus Points) Poxes: Enhanced Smell, darting from shadow to shadow double the interval
Night Vision, Fangs, Fur, Large. necessary to inflict damage.

160