Since her Exaltation, Dreams-of-Light has only known three days of freedom.

The keeper of her collar is not always the same person, but generally the duty of her caretaking is split between two figures. One, a man by the name of Master Ragara Gerrun, Immaculate of the Fourth Coil. The other a Water Immaculate who goes only by a single name: Sefima.

Unlike Gerrun, who has follwed in the footsteps of the same illustrious line that birthed the Grandmaster Transcendent -- once known as Ragara Myrrun -- Sefima was Exalted a Dragon-Blooded from the ranks of Water District commoners. One would think that meant she would show more mercy toward those of her previous station, but it only increased her coldness toward them. Those who remember him call her an echo of the famous Wyld Hunter, Peleps Deled, for her wrath towards the heretical and the anathema is nearly unmatched.

That is not to say that Gerrun shows Dreams more mercy. Far from it. It only means that his methods of control are more psychological. Will-breaking propaganda to go with the pain the older man so precisely serves. But Sefima... the passion with which she lays the whip is almost unseemly. She wants Dreams-of-Light to remember the hurt.

The regimen for a slave Anathema is very strict, even more so than the acolytes along which she now and then works: waking for prayer, breakfast, daily exercise, supper, 're-education' courses, and (inevitably) end-of-day punishment for her misdeeds, whether real or imagined. Her keepers force her to do the majority of her tasks manually; all the benefits of Coils' technology, they say, are reserved for proper citizens, the Dragon-blooded and their loyal subjects. The most advanced piece of magitech ever allowed to touch her person is her own collar, and it is a constant reminder of her own oppression.

[Private to Dreams-of-Light: Just some general background info to help set the mood of what Dreams has been living until now. There will be more such exposition as we go along, so I can get you current with game events.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:32, Mon 02 Mar 2009.

On Day 140 of Year 1085 -- the 1st of Resplendent Water, so the old calendar goes -- Dreams-of-Light is awoken by a knock on the door of the cramped cell that serves as her 'bedroom'. The lamp at the ceiling turns on automatically, flaring with an ivory light powered by the seemingly endless stores of Earth Essence generated for the Gatekeeper of Earth and its subordinates.

Her first sensation of note after that flood of light is pain. Sefima had been many times cruel, as usual, and Dreams lay to sleep with her back covered in lashes, forbidden to use her cursed sun-powers to help the healing.

The voice outside is that of Master Gerrun, filtering metallicky through the thick door that keeps her confined. "Arise and join me, Dreams-of-Light. Quickly." It is not the first time in recent weeks he has come personally to fetch her like this. It likely means someone is in need of healing -- someone important enough to preempt the daily sutra-readings.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:44, Sun 12 Apr 2009.

Dreams-of-Light rose slowly from the thin pallet she was allowed, taking her sweet time to accustom her body to the blessed agony coursing through her nervous system. Pain focused the faith that drove her, the faith focused her intention to bring the people of Five Coils to the Sun (metaphorically and figuratively), and the intention focused the endurance which allowed her to tolerate more pain.

"Homage to thee, O Sol, at thy tremendous rising!
Thou risest! Thou shinest! the heavens are rolled aside!
Thou art the King of Gods, thou art the All-comprising,
From thee we come, in thee are deified."

The morning prayer was always the first thing she did, facing the ivory light she substituted for the fragmented memories of a sun which was gold and white, amber and rose, lavender and saffron and scarlet. Gerrun's demands could wait a minute.

Still naked and covered in scabbed lashes but clean in a fashion (Sefima's idea of cleansing was to lash her wounds with the salt water of her anima), the priestess of the Sun faced the so-called Master with a slow, sweet smile. "Tell me, Master Gerrun, do you ever really think that such as you can break such as me? I am Anathema, beyond cleansing - according to your faith - and therefore none of your teaching is truly relevant to me. Is it your own doubt which you work out upon my flesh?"

Then she slowly robed herself with the rough homespun shift and robe they allowed her, tying it closed in the manner of an Immaculate of the First Coil - except that she managed to show a good deal more creamy flesh than they ever did.

Gerrun gives the naked form of Dreams-of-Light a hard look, and a still-disapproving one when she 'covers' herself. The man is an Earth Aspect, bald, naturally, with sandstone-like skin, and the pristine but unadorned robes wrapped around his powerful form are pure silk. He is attractive -- in a cold, chiseled way -- a body that Dreams has yet to warm, and may never.

"You find every which way to defy us, even in servitude. You ask why we school you with words and with pain: no acolyte even a fraction so wicked as yourself, Blasphemer, would go without punishment. To serve you any less would be the sin of neglect."

"But understand this." The collar around Dreams-of-Light's neck, attuned directly to the Master, tightens as Gerrun clenches a fist. She finds it suddenly difficult to breathe, much less to speak, and his blue-eyed gaze bears down on her, frigid and unfeeling as marble. "You need not your voice to do your duty to us. You need not your beauty or your wiles. And if you cannot kneel you will most certainly be crippled, or replaced. Your continued existence is a mere respite you may never earn."

[Private to Dreams-of-Light: Make a Stamina+Resistance roll against the collar. I'll roll your stunt dice if any, or you can post the stunt and let me roll the entirety. Also, the same post may apply to a MDV stunt. Your Resistance and Integrity specialties apply, but you also have wound penalties (-1).

Just as a warning, the collar may impose extremely high difficulties when invoked. I do like the idea of giving a chance, however slim, to resist it for a time, but I must also preserve believability. If the collar were so easy to surmount then the DBs would definitely kill rather than risk keeping Anathema at all.

Also, I won't always explicitly ask for MDV stunt when applicable, if only because it's likely Dreams would resist *anyway*.]

Dreams-of-Light struggled to keep her breath as the collar tightened, her dark gaze defiant even as her straight posture wilted under the pain. Her hands clenched into fists so hard that bleeding crescents formed in the tough flesh of her palms.

She welcomed the pain - her body might break but her will never would, if she could help it. "You... need... me... too... much... to... kill... me..." she reminded the monk. "I... know... I'm... alive... when... I hurt. Have... you... made... pain... your friend... yet? I have. The... more... you hurt me... the more... I... like it. I... know... I can rest... when I'm dead. But know... that Heaven... is watching you... and even the Dragons.... answer to... the Unconquered Sun ... in... the end."

[Private to Gatekeeper: OOC: 12:59, Today: Dreams-of-Light rolled 2 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 10,1,3,4,4. Sta + Res + Ignore Pain.

With Specialty, Dreams has a MDV of 5.]

For a moment the vise-like grip of the collar does not relent, but intensifies. Gerrun's eyes show no outward concern, much less acknowledgment of Dreams-of-Light's words, and a touch of disdain shows through his normally stoic expression as he watches her struggle.

Dreams' throat closes, cutting off her ability to speak as well as her breath. Her sight begins to blur, and unconsciousness threatens to swallow her. DO NOT CLOSE YOUR EYES, utters a warm, stirring voice in her head. Though stifled by her captivity, the light of the Sun is a strong memory within her, and her thoughts keep their clarity and resolve.

Suddenly, and rather startlingly, the unbearable pressure around her neck disappears. The Earth Master has relented -- for the moment. "It is not the pain that will break you, Blasphemer. It is the truth of your situation. You will live so long as there is no one to replace your power. But you will live in the form and condition that we choose you to. With or without a voice."

"Now come." Gerrun firmly escorts Dreams-of-Light from her cell and through stone-hewn corridors that are by now quite familiar to her. For weeks she has been stationed within the bowels of the vast Temple of Pasiap. Few of the laborers that toil in the mines and refineries of Earth District are aware of just how far and wide the tunnels of the temple interior spread. They only see the outer facades, the individual temples and naves in which common folk gather in prayer. But the entirety is united via interconnected passages, a complex containing the Shrine of the Omphalos Anamnesis at its core, with the outer establishments as nodes.

Dreams has seen some fraction of the Temple of Pasiap complex, most notably the Cells of the Unrepentant from which she now walks, the Confessional Chambers -- little more than glorified torture rooms -- and the base floor of the Earth District Catacombs. None have died under her care, but she has seen several corpses brought in via elevator or carried in on stretchers by common servants.

The patients forced into her care are similarly brought to the Inner Temple Infirmary, where Gerrun appears to be headed now.

[Private to Dreams-of-Light: If you think Dreams would resist following Gerrun, you can post that and I'll adjust my posting accordingly. Otherwise I'll continue with the description of the infirmary in my next post.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:04, Tue 03 Mar 2009.

Thank you, Unconquered Sun, Dreams thought with gratitude as the strength flowed from her god to resist unconsciousness - and then, for whatever reason, Gerrun relented. She straightened her robes to maintain some sense of demureness and followed the monk, deciding that she'd pushed too far for this morning.

"A question, Master Gerrun, and a serious one: if I obeyed all your commands, listened to all your sutras, without complaint - would you still hurt me?" She even managed to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

"I would not. I do not believe in abusing a well-functioning tool."

"But others would." Gerrun most certainly meant Sefima, but there are others in the Order with such zealousness. "You cannot hope to have sympathy in the Coils. You represent all that has forced the scions of the Realm to exile underground. You are the Destroyers of Creation. And you are uncontrollable unless tamed or killed."

They walk on, into the Infirmary. Unlike the dirty clinics of the commoners, its white-washed, brightly illuminated rooms are clean, generously supplied, staffed by skilled acolytes -- and almost certainly exclusive to the Immaculate monks. They will now and then take Dragon-blooded or trusted vassals from elsewhere, but there are even better hospitals for the privileged in Wood District or above.

More likely, the secular Dragon-blooded that end up in the Temple Infirmary are Peace Forces. In fact there have been a large amount of such patients taking up beds in recent weeks. A disturbance in the Water District, or so it has been said.
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:14, Tue 03 Mar 2009.

Dreams nodded like a good little acolyte, secretly thrilled at the information that Gerrun had dropped so casually as she walked humbly along bhind the Immaculate master. "I understand. But if the Dragon-Blooded can tame demons and make them serve willingly, why isn't more of an effort put into taming Anathema? Honey catches more flies than vinegar, as Sextes Jylis himself said."

Everything was delivered in a propely humbled voice. If she could win Gerrun as an unintended teacher, she could fight the Immaculate Order using their own tools. "I know my opinion means nothing in the scheme of things, but I do know that I respond better to your harshness than Sefima's. At least you think my soul might be worth saving."

For a moment Gerrun looks surprised, and the severity of his expression fades somewhat. The brief flicker of emotion smooths itself quickly, though, and soon segues into a deeply chiseled frown.

"Do not think to make suggestions for your own care." The words are spoken warningly, though this time his fists do not tighten, nor does his Essence expend to trigger the collar. "You have a glib tongue, Blasphemer. But we can never be too soft to the Anathema. Two Ages were brought down by your hands, and the second time turned the world above into a wasteland, ruled by the demonic and the insane."

"You are young. Perhaps innocent to the harm you have done. There are some who are kinder to their Anathema pets, yes, thinking they are fully under their control. But that way leads to a complacency that will destroy the foundations of society. It is our duty not to be fooled."

The next room they enter is a receiving room for patients that have yet to be diagnosed or treated. There are four men and two women there, laid out on cots with fresh sheets. They have all been severely injured, it appears from a distance, by extreme blunt trauma. Two acolytes, their white robes stained red, are working hurriedly to see to them all, but have thus far only managed to barely stabilize them.

One of them, Dreams-of-Light realizes, is Sefima -- beaten to an near unrecognizable pulp.

"You will use your powers of medicine to aid them," Gerrun pronounces. In that moment Dreams feels a swell of glorious warmth as the Collar unbinds a portion of her Sun-given Essence. She quickly finds, however, that she can touch none of her Charms but those pertaining to healing, and the urge to use them as Gerrun directed is unbearably powerful.

[Private to Dreams-of-Light: The collar's influence when it comes to controlling your Essence use is very strong, as that's pretty much what it's for. I'd almost rather not put a mechanic to it, but if you're the type who needs one...

We will assume that you've already previously lost a battle of wills upon being collared, one you will not recover from unless uncollared. This means: you cannot spend WP at all to resist the influence to use your Essence as directed. You can, however, try to actively resist with DV+stunt, though as previously warned the diff. will be high, the interval of resistance short, and your ability to resist the same direction will degrade each time you try.

Otherwise roll Perc+Medicine for diagnosis, use charms/combos if you wish. To save time I'll require only one roll for all the patients.]

Dreams performed a basic check of the obvious physical signs on the Immaculate monks, tending to Sefima last. If Gerrun ever came under her hands... he, like Sefima if she was lucky, would deeply regret it. "Oh, we fell in the First Age," she agreed to Gerrun as she checked pulses and such, "but you fool Terrestrials attempted to use powers not ceded to you. By the Usurpation, you destroyed any hope for the Solars. Your actions destroyed the world, not mine."

[Private to Gatekeeper: OOC: 08:34, Today: Dreams-of-Light rolled 2 successes using 6d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 2,2,5,9,9,6. Per + Med, diagnosis. Dreams won't actively resist, but she'll drag her feet in using Essence in the hope that Sefima will die.

I'm taking the chance Gerrun won't punish her now... but if he's ticked off enough at the blasphemy, he might choke Dreams long enough for Sefima to slip away.]

"Your recollection of history is twisted," says Gerrun firmly. Rather than rage, though, he 'corrects' Dreams-of-Light's 'mistake'. "A millenia and a half ago, you Anathema proved yourselves unworthy to rule. You proved it again with the Shattered War 300 years past, squabbling amongst one another when you could find nothing else to conquer. We control you now, for your own good and the good of all."

What Dreams finds upon examining the patients in more detail is that the blunt trauma was caused by a large, spherical weapon. There is evidence as well of wounds from smaller edged weapons, both slashing and puncture wounds, and even what appears to be a large animal bite.

Sefima is among the worst off, with her ribs caved in and one of her arms all but shattered and a head wound that removed a good third of her face, including her arm. The other five with Sefima are all Immaculates of the Second Coil. One of them, severely mangled, has already died. Two of them are also in critical health, one with a crushed hip and a puncture wound through the chest, another with a shattered shoulder and clavicle and a heavily bruised abdomen. Two more have a collection of bruises or lesions, but they seem in stable condition.

"You ought to understand by now, resisting by inaction is still resistance. You belong to us. And you will heal whom we wish you to heal." Dreams-of-Light feels the compulsion intensify: she must use her Essence to help the Immaculates she discovers are in critical condition, including Sefima. If she does not... prior experience tells her she may not even remember what happens next.

[Private to Dreams-of-Light: Three choices here... you can stunt to resist, you can do as you're told or simply not comply. If you fail to resist or just don't act, there'll be a time skip. Of course, if you DO give into the compulsion, you're still the only one with any medical expertise... the only thing you're being expected to do is ensure the patients immediately survive.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:31, Thu 05 Mar 2009.

Dreams turned towards the first of the critically injured Immaculates (not Sefima), her hands stroking across the injured woman's side as she expended her Essence.

[Private to Gatekeeper: OOC: I'm going to comply by spending as much Essence through the Touch of Light Combo so that by the time I get to Sefima, I hopefully won't have much left.

09:48, Today: Dreams-of-Light rolled 3 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,2,8,7,7. Int + Med, +2 autosuccess, treat monk.

09:49, Today: Dreams-of-Light rolled 1 success using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 5,4,4,2,9. Treat 2nd monk, +2 autosuccess.

09:50, Today: Dreams-of-Light rolled 4 successes using 5d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 8,8,5,3,10. Treat Sefima, +1 autosuccess

Dammit! So far she's spent 28 motes, 2w on the first two monks and just 2 motes, no Combo, on Sefima.]

The treatment to stabilize the three patients takes only seconds with how swiftly the Sun essence bolsters Dreams-of-Light's medical prowess.

The first patient, she discovers, has a punctured lung. With pure Essence she manages to temporarily seal the puncture wound and encourage the lung to reinflate, but she will need a great deal of bed rest until the body heals it naturally, to prevent the wound from reopening from respiratory stress. The crushed hip has multiple fractures that require setting, pieces which Dreams expertly reassembles and splints into place.

The second critically injured Immaculate has complex internal injuries. Dreams is able to staunch the internal bleeding without a single cut into the abdomen, but the work is not as exact as with the first patient. The patient will be weak of stomach ever after, with chronic gastrointestinal pain. But, he will live. She is able to set the man's clavicle bone just right, but the shoulder is just too shattered. The monk will keep his arm but the shoulder will lose a great deal of maneuverability.

Sefima is the one that Dreams puts the least effort into saving -- yet finds that her abilities as a healer are just too perfectionistic to be satisfied with a purposefully botched job. Nonetheless, even though Dreams is able to right the shape of the hated woman's ribs, straighten out and splint the arm, and even rearrange her face, Sefima will definitely bear scars afterward. If she were not an Exalt, the arm would have been irrecoverable; instead, Sefima will be out of commission for weeks.

"Enough," Gerrun says, finally. "You have done servicably." Dreams-of-Light finds her access to Essence abruptly shut off, and the compulsion disappears. "Clean yourself and we will continue to mass."

[Private to Dreams-of-Light: I can allow you to let Sefima heal as scarred as you wish, since your directive is only to treat her wounds, not to ensure her skin heals perfectly.

Coming next, you'll actually be able to interact with some lesser acolytes/townsfolk. I'm having to stretch this prelude a bit cause I don't know when the PCs will be able to arrange for your rescue; with luck it'll start sometime next week!]

Dreams obeyed, concealing her satisfaction that Sefima will be forever scarred and that the other monk would be probably unable to fight properly. She washed by pouring some clean water over her head, body and robes, knowing that she'd drip all over their nice clean floors. Maybe someone would slip and break their neck.

Afterwards, Gerrun 'escorts' Dreams-of-Light to one of the temple nodes. This one is familiar to her; it is the node that services the B25 Laborers' Conclave. She has been taken here often lately, and she has already suspected it has something to do with the disturbance in Water District.

For now Dreams is forced to sit through an Immaculate mass. The sutras Gerrun reads from the Immaculate Texts emphasize the 'proper order' of society, with the Dragon-blooded as the diligent leaders of mortal men, guiding their fractured society toward emulating the perfection of the Elemental Dragons. The mortals in turn must do their part, by taking care of their physical health and cleanliness, by attending work or school in a timely manner and applying themselves wholeheartedly to work and study. In this way the mortals lay down the foundations of mundane life so their secular and spiritual leaders may devote their attention towards ensuring the safety and stability of society.

"Most important of all," Gerrun preaches to a rapt group of workers and their families, "is the duty of all citizens mindful of their place under the watchful eye of the Dragons to report any suspected, uncollared Anathema. Do not fall prey to the wicked words of those who would incite rebellion in your hearts, for they will twist you towards lofty desires, lure you with promises of an easier life with disproportionate reward. Nothing is gained without toil; no society survives without rules with which keep order, and a body to ensure its governance."

The sermon concludes with a reading of a sutra devoted to the emulation of Pasiap. When the Earth Master closes the book, members of the congregation are welcomed to step toward the pulpit to address any personal concerns with his assistant monks. On the other side of the room, another pair of younger monks near the front of the temple open the double doors leading out into the Conclave, and the mass attendees begin to filter out. Some of them linger, though, making tentative glances toward Dreams-of-Light with mixed disgust and fascination, curiosity and concern.

Dreams allowed her robes to slip a little more and turned away from the crowd, showing the first few unhealed stripes along her back to them as she pretended to study an ornate carving. Then she turned back to the crowd and gestured to the elaborate setting and silk-clad Gerrun, and then to the labourers as if to say, "Speaks the man who dresses in silk while you wear coarse rags." Finally she finished with a clear gesture of contempt that anyone of the poorest ranks would recognise, one that they used to disparage authority figures who were corrupt.

After all that, she bowed in the manner of a monk and smiled innocently at one of the visibly offended assistant monks.

[Private to Gatekeeper: OOC: 13:27, Today: Dreams-of-Light rolled 4 successes using 8d10 with the White Wolf Exalted system with a target of 7 with rolls of 6,7,1,9,9,3,8,4. Preaching without Words, Cha + Per.]