#exalted bio

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Name/Title                          Malati, the Resplendent Orchid

Exaltation                           Sidereal

Caste                                  Chosen of Secrets

Weapon(s)                          Delicate scrollwork Starmetal bracers 

Language(s)                       Low Realm, Celestial, Rivertongue, Old Realm

Goal(s)                                Figure out the truth of the Anathema… and what the real most pressing issue is in Creation right now

Fear(s)                                 Being wrong about her sisters and discovering that they’re actually monsters after all… and that her Sifu was right all along. 

Likes                                   Order and discipline, Perfect Noodle, Meditation, martial arts, snooping for a bit of juicy information, hearing Anjali talk about what mom and dad were like, fancy clothes and toiletries, 

Dislikes                               Chaos she doesn’t control, Abyssals, Sifu’s disapproval, strong drinks, very spicy food, anything poor quality

Defining feature(s)             Deep purple wavy hair, mother of pearl orchid clip in her hair

Theme Song                       “Stars Align”, by Lindsey Stirling

Interesting Extras                Malati is friends with several half-snake god/dess siblings (there are 53 of them– she doesn’t know them all), who are the one-night-stand kids of one of Anjali’s old circlemates, Reinhardt. 

Quick Biography

Orphaned when she was just 5 years old, alongside her older sister Kaveri, Malati was originally intended to return to Lookshy with Kaveri and their aunt and uncle once the girls’ parents and older sister, Anjali, failed to return from an expedition in the deep east. The small family even made it as far as Nexus before tragedy struck: while moving through a dense crowd, Malati got lost and separated from the rest of her family. In spite of looking for days, Aunt, Uncle, and sister Kaveri never found Malati, and eventually, to their deep heartbreak, were forced to move on. 

Rather than being lost to the seedy underbelly of Nexus, however, Malati had been rescued– or abducted, depending on how you look at it– and taken to Yu Shan by a Sidereal, as the little girl was fated to Exalt under the auspices of the Maiden of Secrets… but she’d never live long enough if she wasn’t rescued from Nexus. 

Therefore, Malati grew up in Yu Shan, raised by an assortment of gods and Sidereals, and trained in bureaucracy, martial arts, and plenty of subterfuge. Everyone’s favorite daughter, Malati became accustomed to little luxuries, and looked forward to the day she Exalted, and could really put her training to use. She told no one, except her close half-snake friend Rania, however, that what she was looking forward to most was being able to read the Loom of Fate, and figure out what had happened to her parents and sisters… whom she only vaguely remembered. 

Eventually, when she did Exalt, near her 18th birthday, her martial arts sifu told her that she had a new teacher now– one who could make her into a far more formidable weapon than he ever could. And with that, Malati entered the tutelage of none other than Chejop Kejak. Their relationship was a mixed one– he was a strict instructor who expected nothing short of excellence from her, but it was clear in glimpses that she was among his favorite pupils… a fact which was confirmed when he ‘graduated’ her from his training, proclaiming her ‘ready’, and ‘one of the finest students he ever taught’. 

With all of his martial arts teachings, however, Malati had been thoroughly indoctrinated with Kejak’s Bronze faction ideology– the notion that the Solar and Lunar Exalted were not to be trusted, and could not be relied on to rule the world as they had in the past. And she believed him wholeheartedly…

…until the day she went to read the Loom for herself, and saw what had become of her two sisters. One was a Lunar Exalt. The other a Solar. And for the first time, Malati doubted. Because she didn’t remember much about her sisters, but what little she did know couldn’t believe that they were monsters. 

And so, under the guise of intending to hamstring the designs of the Anathema, Malati took it upon herself to figure out who her sisters were, what they were doing to Creation, and who she really believed. 

  Relationship to

Chejop Kejak

Mentor, teacher, sifu, and in some ways a sort of stern father-figure to her, Malati has deep and mixed feelings about Chejop Kejak. She believes him about necessity of the Usurpation, and the necessity to keep the chosen of the Sun and Moon from power, but she’s also convinced there is more than meets the eye, and desperately wants to know. But she’s also very afraid of disappointing him, or losing his trust. 

Anjali

Malati remembers very little about Anjali from when she was a small child, but what she does remember is positive. She recalls Anjali reading to her, and teaching her Old Realm words for things… most of which Malati did not retain. Now that Malati has encountered her again, now that all of the sisters are Exalted, Malati recognizes the sparkling intellect, and gentle, teaching personality she remembers of Anjali… but she worries about her eldest sister’s newfound animal side… and how deep it runs.  

Kaveri

While Anjali was much older than Malati (19 to Malati’s 5), Kaveri was much closer to her in age (10 to Malati’s 5). Malati has slightly more memories of playing with Kaveri– climbing trees, playing hide and seek, pretending to be princesses or warriors or whatever the thing of the day was. Having found Kaveri again, Malati isn’t surprised that her middle sister took to the fighter lifestyle of Lookshy, and remains an agile, active person. But the words of her mentor echo in her head, and she wonders whether her sister can really be trusted with the awesome and terrible power of Sol Invictus… or whether her tendency toward stealth and combat will make her a dangerous liability in the future.

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Exalted Bios: Anjali 

Name:                         Anjali Skalishaya

Exaltation:                  Lunar

Caste:                         No Moon

Totem:                        Red Fox

Tell:                             Dark brown ‘gloves/boots’

Weapon(s):                 Kirandir and Nakanadi, paired Moonsilver short klaives

Language(s):              Rivertongue, Low Realm, Old Realm, Forest Tongue

Goal(s):                      Gathering, discovering, preserving, disseminating, and expanding knowledge, including the lost, known, and yet-unknown.

Fear(s):                       Losing everything, especially loved ones and precious knowledge

Likes:                          Books, ruins and other long-forgotten, abandoned places, learning new languages, magic, hunting, tea, Perfect Noodle, campfires, being petted and/or scritched behind the ears 

Dislikes:                      Shoes, being bossed around by Solars, the Wyld Hunt, zombies, not knowing things, combat

Defining feature(s):     Purple hair with blonde tips, never wears shoes

Theme song:               Bella Luna, by Jazon Mraz

Interesting Extras:      Anjali was never tattooed or fostered by the Silver Pact– the manse she Exalted in was carefully hidden outside of Fate, and thus the No Moons of the Silver Pact never got word of her Exaltation. Fortunately, the manse itself had been built by a No Moon who had worked out an automatic tattooing device. Anjali only discovered this upon running afoul of it… and finding herself tattooed mere hours after Exalting. 

Quick Biography:       Eldest daughter of Kirandir and Nakanadi Skalishaya, Anjali joined her parents in their long-standing family trade of scavenging: delving into long-forgotten tombs, ruins, and forbidden places in the hopes of finding something valuable… and living long enough to make a profit from it. 

Fate moved when Anjali was 19. She accompanied her parents on her first big expedition, searching for a believed-intact Lunar manse deep into the Eastern forests. Their information had been good– the manse was untouched. Unfortunately, this meant that the defenses were intact as well. Three mortal scavengers entered the manse. One Lunar exalt left. 

By the time Anjali exited the manse, her tattoos had healed (the manse had an automatic tattooing function), her anima had dimmed again, and she had attuned to the manse as its new master. The porters who had guided her family deep into the East had long since left, and she was alone in the wild. She buried her parents at the doorstep of the manse, built a shrine, spent a month in mourning, and then left, seeking a new path forward. 

Her aunt and uncle were caring for her younger sisters in Farhold… but Anjali did not return to them. She dreaded explaining what had happened… that their parents had died violently. That only becoming one of the heroes– or monsters– of legend had saved her. She was afraid they would fear her. That they would never look at her the same again. 

She wandered for months, learning new forms and adapting to her new power, before running into a circle of Solar Exalts. She joined them, working with them for several decades, aiding the fight against numerous woes for which only the Exalted are equipped. Until one day, when she woke up to a note (written on her arm…) from someone who knew her name… and had known her in another life as well. 

After a few more mysterious encounters, this visitor turned out to be Rachna, an Infernal Exalt… and Anjali’s Celestial mate. Inconveniently, however, Anjali’s circle was actively in conflict with Rachna’s circle, trying to thwart their efforts to release the Yozi upon Creation. Rachna, however, was ALSO against freeing the Yozi, and became a double-agent, working with Anjali’s circle against his own.

 After leading Anjali’s circle on an expedition to Malfeas to thwart the Yozi for good, Rachna and Anjali split off from Anjali’s circle and struck out on their own, searching again for new adventures. 

Relationship to:

Rachna

Her Celestial mate, an Infernal. Initially skeptical of him, Anjali is now intensely attached to him, would fight to the death to protect him, and fears losing him… partly because she has memories of finding his predecessor dead during the Usurpation in the First Age… moments before her own predecessor’s death. They adopted their First Age predecessors’ ritual of drinking tea together, enjoying the comforting continuity from one relationship to the next. 

Kaveri

Anjali’s sister, and the middle child of the three. Being almost ten years older than Kaveri, Anjali was sort of Kaveri’s hero when they were growing up. Anjali may be where Kaveri learned what little she knows of Old Realm. They both liked exploring and playing hide and seek together.

Malati

Malati was barely five when Anjali was ‘lost’ to the deep East, so the relationship between the oldest sister and the youngest was very different. To Malati, Anjali was more like a second mom. Anjali always worried that Malati would never understand why she’d ‘left’, and regretted not being able to see Malati grow up.

Mirth of Drowned Children

A ‘frenemy’ of sorts. A long-time adversary of Anjali’s former circle, Mirth once bit Anjali, and used her blood to perform a bit of black magic that left him with a temporary mental link to her, allowing him to sort of ‘ride around’ in her head, and see and hear and feel what she experienced. At night, when she was asleep, they would converse in her dreams. More than any of her circlemates, Anjali gained an unfortunately deep understanding of Mirth, and developed equally complex feelings toward him. She is troubled and disturbed by his worldview, actively opposes his efforts to end Creation… but can’t help but still sort of like him as a person. For good or for ill, she maintains light contact with him, figuring that keeping an eye on him, and standing as the closest thing he has to a friend in Creation, will ultimately do more good than harm. (She is, much to her embarrassment and shame, somewhat sexually attracted to him– which is somewhat forgivable. Mirth is very attractive.)

Shem

A mortal fur trapper and father of two who Exalted Lunar while seeking Anjali and Rachna’s aid, Shem was the first Lunar Anjali ever gave Moonsilver tattoos to, fulfilling her role as a No Moon. Between raising his kids to adulthood and scraping his village back together, Shem doesn’t spend a lot of time with Anjali’s current circle, but he does keep in touch. 

Sereana

A mortal woman who survived Forsaken Bride slaughtering her entire wedding party, only to Exalt Lunar when she talked the Abyssal out of killing her too, Sereana is the second Lunar Anjali tattooed. Unlike Shem, whom Anjali had been interacting with at the time, Sereana had been brought to her by Bride, who knew that Mirth ‘knew a Lunar’.