A few days of uneventful travel later we caught up with the circus as they approached White Fort. It was early evening when we arrived and were just in time to help with dinner... and help eat it. A cheerful atmosphere embraced us as we settled around the camp fire with old friends and even Caelan, less accustomed to the circus, felt at ease – or would have if it weren’t for the larger than life presence of Selene. Her spell still surrounded the encampment and while Song could see no malice in it, she also knew well how Raksha could conceal their true desires and twist perceptions of them to their whim.
The circus folk were keen to hear stories of our adventure and without much hesitation we regaled the camp with the tales of our discovery of the manse and the Forge – making sure to tell the tale with enough detail to enthral but not so much as to reveal too many secrets that Selene (or any others who heard the tale second hand) would be empowered to use it against us.
The evening wore on and drink flowed freely but our Exalted constitutions ensured we were never more than mildly inebriated. People began drifting off to their various wagons to sleep but we stayed talking quietly until there were few of us left. Song stood and inclined her head to Selene. She wanted to talk to her and Selene understood her request to be for a conversation held in private. They walked a little way from the camp and Caelan accompanied them. When she was sure they were out of all but possibly Olvir’s earshot she turned to the circus leader and asked her to explain her intent. Selene smiled and pled ignorance, asking what she could possibly mean.
Song had suspected she might and as Caelan rolled his eyes – he’d thought the same - quietly outlined that they’d come into the knowledge of the spell she had cast around the camp, the magics she worked on the circus audience and her nature as a Raksha. When Selene did not have an immediate comeback Song challenged her on why she’d been so insistent that the three of them reveal their Exaltation to the circus so soon after they had Exalted… yet Selene had maintained a lie all these years?
Perhaps with a certain realisation the Raksha told us she’d rather not repeat the story twice and asked them to fetch Olvir. Caelan quickly fetched him and somewhat reluctantly Olvir accompanied the others as together we walked a little way further from camp.
Finding somewhere comfortable to sit Selene finally acceded to our request and whatever else we might take her for, a poor storyteller was not one. She began with the story of her home, the Wyld: how it had once been forever and without form and home to creatures who were tossed carefree and unshaped in its ever-changing eddies and currents. Then Creation had come, forcing into being shape and static existence and creating borders where previously there were none. The presence of Creation had changed those creatures of the Wyld by its very existence and they were angered by its presence. Many sought to destroy that which had given shape and form to their once wild playground. The most famous of these was Balor – and yes, we had all heard the legends of the Balorian Crusades. Balor was, Selene told us, that thing which the strongest of Raksha become: an Eshavra.
We asked why it was that Creation was so antithetical to the Wyld – could not the Wyld stretch endlessly beyond the borders of Creation? Selene explained how Creation forced the appearance of certain principles from the Wyld which defined various concepts... and enforced structure. These were known as Shinma and they had the somewhat confusing properties of not being composed in any way of the things they were principles of.
The first to appear, she told us, was named Advaita-Iraivan which came into being within the region of the Wyld where Creation was founded. It defined separation, the difference between Creation and the Wyld – before it, all things were one. Amongst the Shinma perhaps the most confusing was the Nirguna: which produced the principles by which existence was made possible. Nirguna thus did not and cannot exist, because things require the intervention of Nirguna to exist. Shinma made certain things possible for Raksha but they were seen as another imposition of Creation upon the previously formless and shapeless entities.
Olvir scratched his head and looked at Song. She was nodding thoughtfully at what Selene had said, reconciling it with some of the teachings she’d read over the years. Olvir looked happier: if Song understood he could always ask her to explain it later.
Selene continued. Raksha could be described best as stories... the weakest and smallest of them being mere wisps of daydream or snatches of haiku while those stronger – those more likely to stalk the borders of Creation – were beings of tales and legends. The most powerful of those came to embody stories which in and of themselves achieved momentum and significance. Certainly the tales of the Balorian Crusades spoke of the power Balor had in creating his tale of the Destruction of Creation.
Selene had witnessed the majesty of Balor and others as they crafted their tales around themselves to become legends. She had wandered the borders of Creation for hundreds of years, watching with interest the events on both sides. Like all Raksha if she lingered too long in Creation she had to retreat to her natural home or risk being woven into Creation’s web by the Loom of Fate. To sustain herself on her sojourns into Creation she needed to wrap herself in a story and craft her own legend; and so she came to the part where she explained why she was here and what her actions portended. She sought to become an Eshavra too but one – the first ever – to craft a story within Creation instead of being antagonistic to it.
She had taken on an Assumption: a form she had to craft and commit Essence to in order to move about in Creation and found the circus. Seeming to be a Wood Aspected Dragon-Blood, she sought to craft a legend around her of the greatest circus known to man in which word would spread throughout the lands and people would flock from all directions to witness the spectacle – with Selene at its heart. In essence she would become the story of the circus and exist within Creation supported by it. Her actions to stir people’s motivations and make the performers that much more superlative were all in aid of that and yes: she admitted she had used her not inconsiderable power to turn people to her cause in thought, word and deed.
Olvir was busy pondering on whether Selene was in any way a threat while Caelan was considering if there could be a way in which she wasn’t. Song meanwhile (as suspicious as Caelan but inclined to indulge her curiosity) questioned her some more on the Wyld. Selene offered to send us there; apparently she had the power to do so but cautioned us that without preparation we would find the environment as hostile as any Fae would within Creation’s bounds. The Lunars would have an element of protection granted them by the tattoos they wore but there were protections Selene also suggested we could employ much as the Raksha did: the shaping of Graces. Song knew a little from her readings around the lore of the Fair Folk and Selene filled in some more.
There were four Graces, each of which corresponded to a virtue and a fifth which corresponded to the will and Essence of a being. This fifth was perhaps the most important and was named ‘the Heart Grace’. It represented a Raksha's uniqueness and presence. If it were owned by another being the Raksha would effectively be their slave. The physical embodiment of the Heart Grace was typically a tiny, unbreakable adamant egg.
The Cup Grace was connected to the Virtue of Compassion and defined the means by which a Raksha could understand how to serve and understand others. In physical representation it usually appeared as that of an actual cup, goblet, or similar shape. The Ring Grace defined the principles of identity, and was based on the Virtue of Temperance. Those with strong Ring Graces were said to have stronger senses of self-identification and understand themselves and the world better than their fellows. Forms of Ring Graces were often circles; rings, necklaces, or mirrors, usually fairly plain or subtle ones.
The Staff Grace provided the means for the Raksha to understand one another. Drawing power from the Virtue of Conviction, the Staff Grace would help a Raksha understand the rules and taboos of societies. Staff Graces took the form of walking sticks, battle standards, or elegant rods. The Sword Grace was associated with the Virtue of Valour and defined conflict and supremacy. It was means by which the Raksha declared themselves superior to one another and was unusual in that it had to be controlled by another person for that person to own their Heart Grace.
We didn’t know if forging these Graces was something Selene could do to us herself or not... but since as a group we were we were not keen on travelling to the Wyld and even less keen on trusting Selene we declined her offer. Saying we had a lot to think on, she left and walked back to the circus. We watched her go, still unsure of what we should do – and what we could do even if we decided on a course of action.
We discussed it in quiet tones after she’d been out of sight for a while but Olvir, unhappy with the notion she couldn’t be trusted, didn’t stay long. He grunted a good night to Song and Caelan and trudged back to the circus where he found his usual sleeping space already occupied by Teela and curled up around his familiar to sleep.
Song and Caelan talked over what Selene had said. Did they trust her? She had plenty of reasons to lie. But had she? How were we involved? If she was crafting a story for herself then including Celestial Exalted would certainly strengthen its significance but would that affect us well, or not? We didn’t want to become pawns and talked about what we could do to stop her plans if we found them to be a threat. There was too much about Selene that we didn’t know to effectively plan an attack – even if it was warranted. Song had an idea of her power level in relation to ours and attacking a more powerful foe without backup would be foolish.
Somewhat frustratedly we were left with the realisation that we could make no firm plans. We couldn’t with all conscience plan an attack: Selene had done some things we were unhappy with but perhaps as she’d said her intentions were not adversarial. We also didn’t know if it was a fight we could win and wanted a level of security in that. Resigning ourselves to remaining alert to Selene’s actions we made our way back to the circus where we spent a restless night.