Gentle River
Eclipse Caste
"I think you've deeply misunderstood the nature of this relationship. How unfortunate for you."
Taken as an infant in Nexus and raised by the venerable, high-class Venus-cult and brothel The Blessed of Venus, Gentle River was peerless as a companion, lover and social darling on the arm of the most powerful men and women in the city. In his late teenage years the dark heart of the cult was revealed to him - Mara's Embrace, a shadowy Yozi-cult of assassins who hide in plain sight and use social manipulation, ruined reputations, sex and esoteric Martial Arts to destroy their targets and glorify the Shadow Lover. In time he became disillusioned with the cult and the uses they'd made of him, but escape seemed impossible... until he was blessed by The Unconquered Sun and joined the Eclipse Caste of the returning Solar Exalted. He has fled north-east to put distance between himself and his former masters, and to give himself time to learn about the strange new powers he has found himself blessed with. He knows he must be ready when they come for him, especially the master assassin and sifu of the cult: the mysterious Exigent Ajurda Malen, whom he is unshakably in love with, despite knowing from his own Black Claw training what this means. The only things River are truly sure of is that he will never serve any other master but himself again, and that to ensure this, the courtesan-assassin must look to gain a seat of true power.
Gentle River is young man whose olive skin and black hair suggests Southern ancestry, though whether he was born in Nexus or stolen or sold and wound up there as an infant is unknown. He is, by any standard, incredibly beautiful, with a lithe, muscular figure and an immaculately-groomed appearance. There is something sinuous and seductive about the way he moves, and he is happy to flirt and pay attention indiscriminate of gender. He radiates an aura of harmlessness - he never seems like a credible threat until the poisons have already set in. He wears a black onyx ring (the artifact Despite) on his left ring finger like a wedding band, though he'll laugh and play off any questions about a marriage.
Gentle River.pdf
The Blessed of Venus
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The Blessed of Venus
(Mara's Embrace)
Nexus is rife with Yozi cults, brothels, cabals of assassins and intrigue to an extent unequalled anywhere, perhaps even on The Blessed Isle. Various disreputable, disruptive and simply dangerous organisations sprout up in the Nexus underbelly like mushrooms in shit in a rainstorm, and often they fall apart almost as quickly – succumbing to their own schemes, internal schism, the rage of the Emissary or even the occasional Wyld Hunt on the lookout for Anathema or Yozi worship. There are others, however, that last for centuries.
A venerable Nexus institution, Venus' Blessing is the oldest, most exclusive and most highly priced brothel in the city. If anything “brothel” doesn't truly cover its full scope – it is a luxurious and ancient palace in one of the best parts of town and the Blessed, as the courtesans who it raises from birth are known, are masters of the arts of seduction and aesthetics. They're not mere prostitutes but highly-educated, intelligent and skilled masters of etiquette and manners. All are trained in history, languages, politics and fine art, as well as martial arts and athletics. To make contract to one of the Blessed is, for a brief time, to be accompanied by a true equal – able to navigate the highest society, converse on any topic, and perform acts of sexual artistry that would make a neomah blush. Blessed are few in number, rich, highly respected and welcome in any social setting in Nexus and the surrounding cities. They're good for business, and so their open worship of one of the Incarnae is largely protected by the Council from any Immaculate interference. But of course, like with everything in Nexus, there is a foulness at the heart of it.
Venus' Blessing is a cover for a Yozi cult that has been active since the late Shogunate, whispered of as Mara's Embrace. Not all Blessed are inducted, but a rare few are made aware and exposed to the inner mysteries of the organisation. Any Blessed who has been “embraced by the Shadow Lover” is subjected to rigorous additional training in espionage, martial arts (Black Claw Style is naturally favoured, though some are trained in Ebon Shadow also and links to the mythical White Veil Society are rumoured), forgery, infiltration and the black art of the poisoner. They are social agitators, kingmakers and breakers, and assassins, all directed by the dark whim of the cult. They kill in broad daylight, in crowded rooms and in full view of witnesses who either notice nothing or leap to their defense. And they brook no desertion from their ranks...
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Despite (Bitterbite Ring, two-dot artifact)
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Bitterbite Ring - Despite
(Two-Dot Artifact)
Crafted shortly after the establishment of the Scarlet Empress' reign by an early member of the Mara's Embrace Yozi cult who Exalted as a Wood-Aspect, at one time there were perhaps two dozen Bitterbite Rings in regular use as the signature tool of the whore-assassin order. In this fallen time almost all the Rings are lost, and there are even fewer active Essence-users inducted into the cult with the skill to attune and use them, so the four still in their possession are mostly worn by the highest-ranking cultists as a sign of Mara's favour for those with the eyes to see it. The rare god-blood, spirit or Exigent who has been part of the order can still attune the rings and access their killing power, though Evocations are inaccessible except to the most puissant users, such as Anathema. Each ring was unique in design and bore a single word engraved in Old Realm inside the band that named it. Each has the same basic function, but the four Bitterbite Rings still known to exist – Despite, Mistrust, Confusion and Antipathy – have all gained unique legends and Evocation lists over the centuries that can be accessed by Solar Exalted and other very powerful beings.
Despite is a ring carved from onyx and inlaid with a thin, sinuous band of green jade that wends langourously rough the stone like a snake. It requires four motes to attune. When worn and attuned the wearer of Despite can reflexively summon into being a five-inch shard of razor-edged green glass in that hand at no additional mote cost. This glass shard uses the weapon traits of a mundane knife and may be used with Melee, as a form weapon for appropriate Martial Arts, or as a Thrown weapon. The shard-blade will remain intact until the wearer reflexively dismisses it. It may be used to parry attacks but will shatter, requiring a new blade to be created, or if it leaves the wearer's hand for a full combat round (such as after being thrown). Up to (Essence+1) summoned shards can exist at once, but the ringbearing hand must be free to summon another after the first and each additional blade after the first costs two motes to create. At the beginning of each combat round any additional blades shatter (outside of combat additional blades last for up to one minute), as the Ring cannot sustain them. The final, main benefit of Bitterbite Rings, aside from concealability, is that the essence-glass that make up the blades is infused with a deadly toxin – those cut by a Bitterbite glass blade suffer a poison with the following traits: Damage 2i/Round, Duration (Essence+2) rounds, and a -1 penalty.
Multiple Bitterbite Rings can theoretically be attuned and used simultaneously to allow access to Evocations or simply increase the potential number of essence-shards the assassin can access simultaneously. However given their extreme rarity and symbolic value to the cult Mara's Embrace never entrusts more than one ring to a given cultist. There are other, darker rumours too, that attempting to use more than one Bitterbite Ring at a time can eventually lead to dire consequences for the wielder, and everyone who has done this is supposed to have died horribly. It suits the cult's purposes to allow this story to spread.
When first attuned all Evocations of Despite or any other Ring are locked and can only be accessed over time.
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