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- By Cerin of Arranth, Iron Wolf.
This document contains my current speculations on the properties and potentials of the new Exalt types, created from the essences of lesser gods (note that in lesser gods, I mean those that are not the Incarnae, I include those with powers matching those of the regional deities, and perhaps gods of greater stature than even those mighty beings). They appear to be associated with the group calling itself the Hidden Order Of The Red Lily, though this is by no means a firm indication that they are all associated with the Red Lily. It seems likely a God or Gods associated with the Lily were the first to gain access to this technique in recent times
When I was first confronted with the existence of other Exalt types than the commonly encountered four, or the recently encountered star-touched, my initial thoughts were of a charm. As an aside, due to their apparent long existence I do not include the star-touched in this discussion of new Exalt types, though it is conceivable they were the initial benefactors of the process, and it that has only recently gained wider use. From the recollections of a beneficiary of the process, it appears that while a charm may be involved, the process also requires a number of artifacts and/or reagents to be used in the process. It also appears to be rather stressful, since the subject was rendered unconscious. From the limited number of test subjects (and due to the manner of death of those that have died) it is not known exactly how the power is held within the subject, nor exactly how it is implanted in the first place.
All of the new Exalt types have been limited when compared to a Solar Exalt and while this is not especially surprising, some of the ways the limitations manifest are of interest. One of the simplest ways the limitations show are in that of basic limitation of the level and efficiency of enhancements to the fundamental use of the skill, for example how the Excellent Strike improves the efficacy of melee attacks. In the new Exalt types the maximum level of the increase seems to be lower than that of Solar charms, and in addition, seems to have a tendency to be less efficient in terms of the increase in effectiveness per mote spent. The inefficiency when compared to solar charms also seems to apply for less straightforward effects, and is especially visible with higher powered effects. Conversely, some effects, such as the technique used to transfer letters from place to place are remarkably efficient, and this may indicate a specialty on the part of the divine ‘Parent’ or a deliberate engineering of the Exaltation to provide such a focus. Another way that the restrictions manifest is in restrictions on what exactly charms may be used for. For example, charms used for the avoidance of attacks have been of observed to only function on physical attacks involving inanimate objects, such that a sword stroke could be dodged or an arrow, but an energy blast or even a punch could not. These limitations appear to apply even to otherwise high powered effects and it is possible such weaknesses can be exploited to our advantage. Finally, and perhaps most disturbingly, since I cannot say whether this is a limitation of the process used to imbue the new Exalts, or something inherent to all Exalted, but it appears that the life of the Exalts is tied to the life of the ‘Parents’. This manifested itself in the deaths of the Shining God’s Exalts on the death of the Gods. I cannot say from the information available to me if a similar fate would befall us if the Sun were to be killed. The preceding paragraphs included all the weaknesses observed in these new Exalts, though the list should not be regarded as conclusive, nor is it necessarily true that all such Exalts will share these weaknesses.
One of the most interesting aspects of the existence of these new Exalt types is that at least one of the observed new types has its own Magical Material, in much the same way that we Solars have Orichalcum. This was beyond my ability to fathom, until Ssithumi-an-Tohatep, the Dragon King Olichike, told me of the legend of the creation of Orichalcum in the time that we Solars were made. According to the legend, the metal came into existence due to a resonance between our divine power, and the natural elements of earth. Though I have yet to look into this legend in detail, it would appear to provide a mechanism for the creation of new magical materials, at least if the progenitor god is of sufficient power.
While these notes is by no means an exhaustive look into the new types of Exaltation, they comprise the extent of my studies this far, though with more exalt types observed, more concrete answers may be gained.
- Cerin the Wolf
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