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an-teng.bsky.social
@an-teng.bsky.social
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mongward.bsky.social
Day 11-14 of the #ExaltedArtChallenge

Had some catching up to do, oops.

I particularly like the Exigent one, it's based on my yet-unmechanised idea of a god of names who tags along with his Exigent and eats the man's names and aliases in return for extra motes. They will get along, eventually.
A short story on a beige background The hungry ghosts took a violent step back, blown back by a pressure none of the living present could feel. ‘I did not order this death. Return to your graves until conjured.’ rasped a quiet voice. The dead struggled against the command, buffeted by an opposing will. Mortals cuddled into a shallow cave watched with eyes wide open, too scared to risk turning their gaze. Cold night exploded into the fading warmth of the retreating day with a dusty smell of offerings long overdue. ‘You are mine to command by the unliving will of the oblivion itself. Leave.’ Tension broke, and the dead skittered away back in the direction of their graves. The voice rasped closer to the cave’s opening. ‘My apologies for the inconvenience. The presence behind this unfortunate incident will be recycled and reconfigured properly. If you could step out of the cave, I have a little bit of bloodshed to get into that these dilettanti could not have been trusted to conduct to specification.’ A short story on a beige background ‘I am sorry, but this isn’t agreeable at all. Our dead have been cared for well all this time! We don’t need a service we don’t need.’ It was to be expected. You know they can’t be trusted. Yes, Mother. ‘Your offerings are sufficient, but not satisfactory. I can guide your agreements, if you let me stay at the whisperer’s hut for the season.’ let the leader guide the direction, you can pivot without missing any breath. The old woman frowns. A chance? ‘Are you a speaker?’ ‘I do speak across the limen, yes. Your graveyard is agreeable, it can be better. Safer for both and on either side.’ please let me help you before this domain also falls. ‘Your neighbours downriver have already avoided the devouring that befell Anlin.’ The stranger stood up awkwardly, and the hooded cloak fell at odd angles. ‘I shan’t bother you, if you trust your methods.’ a smell of graveyard wafted in despite closed windsills. ‘Wait. We may... the hut is unused anyway.’ ‘And I can prevent the loss of the future whisperer’. A short story on a beige background ‘You wanted my help, don’t act all depressed now because of it’ ‘You ruined my life’ ‘Bah, you look at it completely wrong. I let you live many!’ ‘I don’t even have a name anymore!’ ‘Sure you do, any you’d want.’ The two have been on the road to Great Forks for two weeks now — a god of names in dire straits, and a man who wanted to disappear. ‘You eat them all, you dungbat!’ ‘Now now, that’s no way to talk to a god, shshshshshs. I don’t even eat them. Just turn them into power you need to keep on not getting killed.’ ‘Did you just use my name?’ ‘Just when? ‘Just then!’ ‘Oh, yes, you didn’t hear it?’ ‘Nothing but the murmur of wind.’ ‘Fascinating. Do you hear it when I call you Ravel?’ ‘Yes I do’ ‘Well... don’t get used to it much, there are some bandits ahead. You know what to do to get through it. Toodles!’ The god dematerialised, leaving Ravel haggard on the dusty road. ‘Oi you filthy bastard, give us yer silver!’ shshshsh sighed and danced on the edge of memory to get behind the bandit. A short story on a beige background Swooping Hope raced against the gathering winds and their own fear. ‘I must make it, Oloime needs to—‘ A tyrant lizard wrought in cloud and lightning roared into being over the hill, the wind pushing against the Lunar’s flight grew tendfold. ‘Shit, no, I can still—’ Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Reality seemed to open a panel that’s always been there, revealing titanic whirring verdant gears and rhythmic pendulums. ‘Your command over electricity is impressive, cousin, you will find mine at least your equal!’ a voice not wholly human rolled over the hills. ‘Please do not advance.’ When Hope’s flight finally carried them over the hills, Luna’s Chosen saw a living jade statue with twin whips of alien make, protecting Oloime, and clearly an odd Chosen themselves. The ground between the defender and the shikari vibrated with contained lightning, Lunar’s essence instinctively leapt to bolster their body against the thunder that would inevitably crash when the tyrant lizard and the gears collide.
October 15, 2025 at 6:16 PM
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mongward.bsky.social
I missed the timing on #ExaltedArtChallenge yesterday, so I'm doing Day 3 and Day 4 all at once, with two connected scenes.

Fun fact: Arashi was my first Exalted character, and I still have a lot of sentiment towards him. I wonder what it'd be like to play him now, a decade and a half later.
A short story on a beige background. "Arashi exploded forward, the storm of his anima only catching up as the jade-gauntleted fist thundered against the blood ape’s jaw, knocking the beast a few paces back. ‘Any minute now, Larin!’ he yelled toward his companion who was solemnly resisting the hail of gravel kicked up by the Azure Dragon’s charge. If there was a response, it disappeared under the rush of air dragged by the demon’s massive fist, dodged by a hair. Arashi paid back in kind, taking blood ape’s breath with a fierce blow to what in a mortal would have been a sternum. ‘Hawk, soar!’ roared Larin’s voice and not a second too late, as the place he was ducking and weaving around erymanthus’ blows in erupted in an inferno and consumed the last of the fiend’s materialised form. ‘Took you a moment.’ ‘One of these days you’ll know what it’s like. You powdered his fucking jaw before I even knew we were in a fight.’ ‘Not my fault you are the slowest Burning Sword on the Isle. Try to keep up.’ A short story on a beige background "‘I thought you Tepets were smarter than this’ ‘We are, but I’m exceptional’ ‘Technically correct, and yet we consider „an exeption” and „exceptional” to be different’ ‘I thought you Cathaks were soldiers, not scholars’ ‘Gallant officers, thank you very much.’ In a long silent minute that followed, both Hearthmates did their best not to laugh, but finally gave in. ‘I’ve hated these blasted things ever since Heptagram, you know.’ ‘Still baffles me that you, of all people, went there.’ ‘Makes both of us, one of these days I’ll tell you how that happened.’ *** Two Princes of the Earth walked into the magistrate’s office, and slammed the unconscious demonologist on the floor. ‘Here’s your runaway occultist, please keep a better watch over him next time.’ ‘Or, just kill him and hire a proper sorcerer. They are nasty, but reliable.’ The magistrate tried stammering out an overstated apology, but the Dynasts were already on their way to their other Hearthmates.
October 4, 2025 at 8:54 AM
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mongward.bsky.social
Day 2 of the #ExaltedArtChallenge

I don't know the first thing about fashion, but I always like it when somebody who knows a lot about protocol has to manage a complete wild card, so behold, two Celestial exalts incognito in a nest of proverbial vipers.
‘Are you sure this will work?’ Undertow Heron prodded at the fabric construction sitting precariously atop their head. ‘Absolutely, they love the protocol dress!’ ‘Not that’ the sailor glared at the elaborate headpiece in a mirror. ‘I can’t keep balancing this cursed thing.’ Perfect Scute’s voluminous sleeves whooshed as he reached out to help. ‘I’ve seen you manage worse, Down.’ the memory of his friend’s maniacal laughter during a Storm Mothers’ maelstrom made him smile. ‘That was for fun! This is work! Yours, specifically!’ Unphased by Heron’s exclamation, Scute ushered them out. ‘Shoo, I need to get ready too. Just try not to respire too much, the prince is still a believer.’ *** ‘Impressive plea, master Scute, I might reconsider the Immaculates’ presence after all.’ The diplomat wished he could exhale in relief. Instead he subtly scratched at the bamboo frame supporting his own headpiece and winked at Heron, who spent the entire event too focused on their own, unsupported, to interrupt.
October 2, 2025 at 5:44 PM
an-teng.bsky.social
I thought about designing a whole new form for his night time aspect but decided to scrape it since ain’t nobody gonna recognize Conky as a bat guy 😭
June 16, 2025 at 9:03 PM