With the Usurpation’s end, the Lunar witch, Frost Maiden, retreated to the far North. Deep within the unforgiving mountains of ice and snow where the dreadful gods of winter reigned like tyrant kings. She endured such hostile conditions to atone for the guilt and sadness she held for the loss of her mate and her own inaction that killed them. For a decade she dwelled in these lands, refusing to eat more than the bare minimum as a deep depression and cold fury wrapped itself around her heart. And when she could not longer stand it, she decided action needed to be taken.
The far north had no shortage of jade to use, icy blue to match the frozen ice that had swallowed her heart. Perfect to make a blade that would share her feelings of loss in blood and rime. But it was not enough for she took her moonsilver necklace, a gift from her mate, and used it to coat the blade to create an icy mirror’s shine. As the blade was finished, all that was left was testing its edge.
Frost Maiden hunted the tyrannical gods of ice and snow that dwelled amongst the most treacherous mountains of the North. Their blood and essence staining and absorbed deep into the icy blade as the Lunar carved her vengeance through them with haste. Twelve gods died before heaven sent its strongest to quell the problem. Sidereals of Mars, Saturn, and Mercury investigated their deaths and found the grieving Lunar.
With the blade in hand, ice had become hers to control as she battled the trio of Sidereals to a standstill. Rotating mirrors of ice shrugging blows and acting as passages through which the lunar could shift and strike. Had it not been for the intervention of a vengeful mountain god stirring an avalanche, the Lunar may well have claimed the trio’s blood. But they emerged alive and victorious, but the blade was lost in the tumble of stone and snow.
Nameless red jade shard wrapped in starmetal wire and a prayer trip for Saturn and the constellation of the Sword, can manifest a blade of violet flame and is intended by its creator to be a tool of Heaven for execution.
I haven’t thought of what kind of evocations would this daiklave manifest yet though aside from a bunch of anti-CoD (and probably gods too) effects.
The Great crystal king standing in there glorious battle armor, ready for honor and glory in the blood soaked field.
Commision i got done by the amazing @silversponystash
When mothers tell their children of a sacred grove whose sole tree blooms only once each lifetime, the sole guardian changes with each and every telling. It is a beast with claws that crush intruders; it is a demon that lures men in to eat their flesh; she is a woman, as elegant as a flower and deadly as nightshade with emerald eyes and cloven hooves. It is she who wields Jade Dew. It is her grove, 100 miles from any mortal city, that inspires the legend.
In ages past, Solars often sought the nature of her grove and she struck them down with crippling blows. Gods and spirits alike avoided the region marked by sorcerous borderlines. Lunars have theorized she is a Fair Folk drawing on tales of a sword that was forged before her conception. Others see her as an elemental whose sole duty is to protect the tree. The few cults who revere her see her as an incarnation of Mara, the Shadow Lover. She does not speak an answer if any have asked her.
The grove is always shaded, the sun just below the treeline, with grass as deep green as jade. One look reveals its beauty, a second look reveals that throughout the perfect circle of the grove, a single blade of grass is sewed in and out of the ground to mark the edge of the domain where nothing grows except for it, the single tree in the center of the enclosed wood, and the swordswoman with her blade. Those who step beyond the boundaries are intoxicated, but the emerald eyes glare at them and the guardians hand drops to her blade. She allows no trespassers.
Attunement: 5m
Type: Medium (+3 ACC, +12 DMG, +1 DEF, OVW 5)
Tags: Lethal, Melee, Balanced
Hearthstone slots: 2
Era: War of the Gods
Evocations of Jade Dew
When the wielder of Jade Dew faces someone with an addiction, they add bonus dice to their attack rolls equal to the intimacy representing that addiction. If the character lacks a relevant intimacy but has the addiction flaw, add +2 dice as if it were Minor. If the character suffers from Sweet Sapling Blight, calculate this bonus with the Intensity of the disease instead (+2 for Minor, +3 for Major, +4 for Defining).
Jade Dew resonates with the guardian of the grove, regardless of the Storyteller’s choice of who or what she is.
Dew-Eyed Guardian
Cost 2m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: None
The scent of intoxication becomes visible as the wielders eyes briefly flicker the color of her sword. When she rolls Join Battle with an Awareness based roll, activating this charm allows her to apply her result against the Guile of all enemies in the scene as a Profile Character action, immediately learning if any of them suffer from an addiction. If they do, she gains a point of initiative and her base initiative becomes one higher for the scene.
Special Activation Rules: As long as she is not dissonant with Jade, the Exalt unlocks this evocation as soon as she attunes to Jade Dew.
Sweet Sapling Blight
Cost: 5m; Mins: Essence 1
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Dissonant, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Dew-Eyed Guardian
Her blade long and deep green, verdant with wild essence, deadly with nature’s bounty. Its cuts remind trespassers of their failings and drive them wild for them. As long as a Decisive attack supplemented by this evocation deals at least one level of lethal damage, her target suffers withdrawal no matter how recently he has indulged his habit and is exposed to Sweet Sapling Blight, a supernatural disease with the following rules:
Sweet Sapling Blight:
Virulence (3+highest addiction intimacy), Morbidity (3), Interval (One Week)
Anyone who does not have an addiction is immune to Sweet Sapling Blight
It is resisted with Stamina + Integrity and only magically-enhanced medical treatment can prove effective.
Minor: As all minor disease, but the character also suffers from withdrawal (-1 penalty to all actions) unless he is able to indulge his addiction each day.
Major: As all major diseases, but the character suffers from withdrawal unless he indulges his addiction each hour. In addition, anytime that he is able to acquire his addiction in a scene, he must roll current temporary Willpower against the Morbidity to indulge unless he spends a 1wp to resist.
Defining: As all defining disease, but the character suffers from withdrawal unless he indulges his addiction each scene. In addition, any time he is able to acquire his addiction in a scene, he must spend 1wp and then roll current temporary Willpower against the Morbidity to indulge unless he spends an additional Willpower to resist.
Dissonant: The Exalt’s enemies only suffer withdrawal if they contract Sweet Sapling Blight.
Resonant: Each 1 and 2 rolled in the Virulence and Morbidity rolls (and any rolls to treat the disease) subtracts one success from the end result.
Bleeding Poppy Reaping
Cost: 3m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Resonant, Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Sweet Sapling Blight
When a poppy is cut, it bleeds out its sweet addicting nectar. The blood of the addicted is merely Jade Dew returning the favor. A decisive attack supplemented by this evocation rolls only half the Exalt’s initiative, rounded down, as damage. It however increases their intimacy towards their addiction by one step or decreases the same intimacy by one step. An intimacy cannot be raised above defining, but a character with a Minor (or no relevant intimacy) can instead be cured of their addiction.
This evocation can only be used once per scene per target and cannot be reset by the Dawn caste anima power.
An Essence 3+ repurchase allows a character to cause an infected character damaged to immediately make a Morbidity check against Sweet Sapling Blight.
Dissonant: A dissonant character cannot repurchase this evocation.
Toxin Rooting Flow
Cost: 5m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 2
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Resonant
Duration: Indefinite
Prerequisite: Bleeding Poppy Reaping
Expelling what is impure, Jade Dew soaks in the taint like a root in toxic soil. Whenever the Exalt succeeds on a roll to resist a poison or addictive substance that she has ingested or inhaled, she roots the toxin through her weapon. By releasing the commitment to this charm’s motes she can cause her blade to drip with the substance as a reflexive action at the start of her turn. Her next decisive attack, if it hits, will cause her victim to suffer the same poison or substance.
Resonant: The Exalt gains one non-charm success on the roll to resist ingested and inhaled poisons and addictive substances, even if she does not plan on using this evocation to hold them.
The grove’s guardian protects the grove without ever falling for its addictive charms. This evocation causes any social influence aimed at indulging in an addicting activity to be treated as unacceptable influence as if protected by Righteous Lion Defense.
The Solar may choose (or be forced) to indulge in taking drugs, addicting substances, or be exposed to the Wyld’s taint, but never talked into doing so. If she does become a victim of such things, this evocation causes her to roll twice to resist and take the higher result or for the effect to roll twice and apply the lower result - whichever is applicable at the time.
Indulgent Battlefield Delusions
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Dual, Dissonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Bleeding Poppy Reaping
Those who fight in the grove of the guardian falter as their senses lure them away from the battle, but into the edge of her daiklave. A withering damage roll supplemented by this evocation doubles 9s against a character suffering from a Minor addiction or Sweet Sapling Blight intensity, doubles 8s against a character suffering a Major addiction or intensity, or doubles 7s against a character with a Defining addiction or intensity. A decisive attack supplemented by this doubles up to (1+steps of intensity) dice of damage.
Dissonant: A character dissonant with Jade cannot double more than (Essence) damage with this evocation.
Special Activation Rules: This evocation can only be used once per scene unless reset by increasing Sweet Sapling Blight’s intensity with a use of Bleeding Poppy Reaping.
Heart-Pleasing Razor
Cost: 6m; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Resonant, Dissonant
Duration: One scene
Prerequisite: Indulgent Battlefield Delusions
The groves beauty is a taint that touches her sword and as the blade is sheathed and drawn, her enemies feel their minds fog. The wielder makes a simple action of sheathing and drawing her sword, when she does, she rolls (Manipulation+Presence) against the resolve of any enemies who she has struck. On a success, enemies find themselves addicted to her blade and being cut by it. They must spend a point of temporary Willpower in order to apply their defense to the swordsman’s attacks, but need only pay this price once per scene. Even if they do, they take a -1 penalty to their defense for the remainder of the scene. This evocation can only be used once per scene.
Resonant: The addicted opponents take a penalty to their Resolve equal to the steps that Sweet Sapling Blight has progressed
Dissonant: Wielders dissonant with Jade cannot awaken this evocation.
Reaper of Intemperate Weeds
Cost: 10m, 1wp; Mins: Essence 3
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: Decisive-Only, Perilous, Resonant
Duration: Instant
Prerequisite: Heart-Pleasing Razor
The guardian is also reaper and harvester - anything that flowers in her grove is hers to cut. Only a wielder Resonant with Jade can awaken Reaper of Intemperate Weeds.
As soon as an opponent who holds an addiction to her sword moves within Close range of her, she may make an immediate decisive attack against them, even if she has already acted this round. Her opponent cannot clash this attack. This decisive attack has a base damage of (Essence) plus a bonus equal to the current level of their addiction or Sweet Sapling Blight intensity, whichever is higher (+2 for Minor, +3 for Major, +4 for Defining) and benefits from the effects of Indulgent Battlefield Delusions even if the wielder has already used that charm this scene.
An Orichalcum reaper daiklave, it was originally uses as a divine instrument in purification rituals and thus has developed a taste for smiting evil and warding against curse, so the spirit within is very very into drowning Creature of Darkness in a sea of heavenly lotuses.
