( imeeji ) memory registry

[worthathousand]

	DATE	LINK
亜子 Ako	day 75	you lift it anyway
Hero Worshipped	day 111	it has been my dream to live by your example
Alone in the Fields	day 111	the rice stalks sway
The Wyld Hunt pt. 1	day 127	your heretic chosen
The Wyld Hunt, pt. 2	day 127	the fate of those who lose their will to demons
Joined with Shiho	day 199	kimono in Serenity blue
A Fight for Father	day 201	once there was a maiden
The War Yeddim	day 201	the battle is a song
General Ascendant	day 201	white lily of war
Calibration Stories	day 201	born an exception
Shrine Maiden	day 260	you are my child of peace
First Battle	day 260	cries of the injured and dying
Shiho's Illness	day 260	a season of cold and fever
Meet-Cute	day 451	Tits, indeed.
Imagining a Future	day 456	"What do you want to do, after?"
TBD	---	---
TBD	---	---

full registry on trello

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[worthathousand]

It’s your first time back at the Domain Lord’s estate in… gods, three years, wasn’t it? That was when you declined High Lady Kaoru’s invitation to lead her so-called military tour of Tsubaki Province—in front of her entire court, no less. You can’t help but snort derisively at the memory: all those funds wasted on what was at best needless pomp and ceremony; at worst a clear attempt at intimidating the peasantry into submission. No, if Okudaira Kaoru insisted on emptying her late mother’s coffers on such a display, she would do it without your name attached.

You had thought she would never forget the humiliation; certainly it had seemed that your lands’ harvest had been valued at noticeably less since then. Whatever it is that has earned you this new invitation, it must be significant indeed.

The estate is as beautiful as you recalled with its pristine garden and red camellia banners fluttering gently in the breeze, but you can’t linger out of doors. And, now that the guards have recognized you—despite the fact that you’ve quite deliberately dressed in an understated kimono, rather than your armor, with your hair in widow's braids—they’re hurriedly bowing deeply before standing at attention and ushering you inside.

When you reach the reception hall, the more senior of the guards heralds your arrival:
“Presenting Lady ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ ▒▒▒▒▒, the Warrior Worth a Thousand.”

Five unfamiliar faces turn your direction, and it is instantly clear why High Lady Kaoru has lifted her unspoken ban: The visitors are arrayed in jade and steel-silk, armed with jade paired daiklaves or bows or chakrams; the marks of their breeding—hair in vivid shades of blue or white or green; eyes that burn like embers; skin that shimmers as if studded with mica—each more apparent than Kaoru’s unlikely exaltation by Pasiap would ever be. These are Dragon-Blooded Princes of the Earth—a full circle of Daana’d’s water, Mela’s air, Sextes Jylis’s wood, Hesiesh’s fire, Pasiap’s earth. Even more to the point, the House crests on their armor make clear that they are all Dynasts. Even a still-independent province like Tsubaki could hardly afford not to cooperate with the Realm when its scions came to call so directly.

You bow respectfully, but their expressions are skeptical; the fire aspect looks at you with barely-contained hostility. However, before they can give voice to their (assuredly many) doubts, Lady Kaoru’s clear voice rings through the hall, speaking slightly accented High Realm.

“The Warrior Worth a Thousand is a legend in this kingdom. Perhaps you have heard songs of her deeds in your travels here. If you are looking for one both knowledgeable of the land and fit to attend you in your hunt, she is the very best I can offer.”

Your shoulders stiffen slightly at the presumption. “My High Lady Kaoru knows that I have retired from the battlefield,” you say smoothly, switching to High Realm as well so the guests can understand your correction. You wouldn’t want to be impolite.

“Can your heretic chosen assist the Wyld Hunt or no?” the fire aspect says, his voice clipped. From his shaved head and simple steel-silk robes, you suspect him as a member of the Immaculate Order; little wonder he’d rather have nothing to do with you.

“Lady ▒▒▒▒▒.” Kaoru turns to face you, her youthful face the picture of serenity—except for the tension in her subtly narrowed eyes. “Perhaps you might reconsider, for the sake of your duty to the domain. After all, the Hunt has thus far tracked a Lunar Anathema to wilderness not far from the borders of Sange.”

You feel yourself blanch at bloody potential of that statement, but you keep your voice even—though you drop the performative formality. “You might have said as much far sooner. I will be prepared to assist by the coming dawn.”

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Notes

• yep, she still looks the same age; her hair is in this style again
• While there is a lot of internal monologue in this memory, it nevertheless isn't included for other viewers.
• That said, the Dragon-Blooded Dynasts do have an obviously more-than-mortal look to them and their weapons and armor. However, High Lady Okudaira Kaoru, despite also in fact being Dragon-Blooded, does not.
• "High Lady" is the title given to the Domain Lord—another indication for memory viewers that Tsubaki Province is generally matriarchal.
• There are evidently different types of essence-users: the Dragon-Blooded, the demonic Anathema, and... whatever Amaranth is, which is apparently "none of the above."
• Included in the background knowledge of this memory is a lot of general setting information about the world of Exalted, including the Realm, the Scarlet Empress, stereotypes about Solar and Lunar Anathema, and the parts of the Immaculate Philosophy that are widely accepted as truth, even outside the rule of the Realm. Listed below are the popularly known sobriquets for the Anathema, with the true name (not known to Amaranth) in parentheses.
• Solar Anathema:
• The Forsaken (Dawn Caste)
• The Blasphemous (Zenith Caste)
• The Unclean (Twilight Caste)
• The Wretched (Night Caste)
• The Deceivers (Eclipse Caste)
• Lunar Anathema:
• The Frenzied (Full Moon Caste)
• The Face-Stealers (Changing Moon Caste)
• The Ogres (No Moon Caste)
• The Moon-Mad (Casteless)