HokumPocus

Exalted: Lullaby of a Dying Realm

LEDAAL LING BAO

Bao was prohibited from ever stepping foot inside the temple of fine arts he previously resided in. It saddened the wise philosopher, but he confided in the world and all of its treasures to aid him in the creation of better art and the development of even deeper inner peace. He was currently taking a brisk walk around Guixiang and was pleased with his progress. His bestselling poetry book, Standing Tiger Visible Dragon, was due for a sequel and Bao was tantalizingly close to finishing the first poem.

City of one thousand red moving leaves
Gently stirring like spoon inside tea
When one is open like wind there are no secrets to guard
Unless one faced with

One faced with… he thought, “…rude guard?!”

A guard from Guixiang stood directly in front of Bao during his daydreaming. The poet was so invested in completing his poem that he was losing awareness of his surroundings, something that was almost unheard of from a practitioner of the air dragon style of martial arts. The guard shrugged off Bao´s confusion and began to speak.

“Sorry for interrupting sir, but you´ll have to come with us. Our leader wishes to speak to you.” The guard spoke with the tone of someone who was unsure of what was happening but wanted to look competent regardless. A handful of guards stood behind him, saying nothing. They made no move to draw their weapons, but managed to imply the presence of them through stoic body language. Bao stroked his wispy beard while taking in the young man´s words, nodding his head in agreement.

“Guard cannot rhyme with guard, too simple.”

“I, er— excuse me sir?” said the guard, visibly struggling in his attempts to follow the conversation. His posture tightened somewhat.

“If I rhyme guard with guard, it will be simple poem for simple people. I do not write poems for simple people. I must come up with better rhyme than guard.” Bao let out a large sigh and followed the guard, who unfairly felt as if the script had been flipped to make him the odd one.

---

Ledaal Ling Bao entered the inner sanctum in a gliding motion typical to air aspect terrestrials and clouds with tight schedules. A woman with beautiful hair sat on a throne in a mostly empty room. A few others were already inside, and judging by their confused expressions, were also sent in without context.

He received the woman´s greeting and bowed courteously.

“I thank you for your welcome. I have arrived in this city in search of art, beauty and inner peace. I hope to enjoy nature of your lands.”

Beside him stood a disheveled man whose posture and clothing lacked any form of respect towards the woman. Many fables and stories spoke of not judging a man solely by his appearance, so the man´s filth didn’t bother him. What had caught Bao´s attention was the man´s body movements and the way he was calmly scratching his head. Bao could feel his anima slowly revealing itself.

“Young man, when in front of royalty…

...no monkeying around.”

YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Mordhaben's Institute for Aspiring Mages [Gaslamp Fantasy] [Completely Dead]

MARK

@liferusher

If Mark was a chess piece he'd be a pawn surrounded and cornered with nowhere to run, with an enemy bishop aiming for his juggular across the board. Her name was Rikka and she was currently sporting a look of concern and confusion on her face. She had flipped around the pages of her notebook for a bit before returning it to Mark to continue the conversation. Mark accepted it with suspicion and began to read what she had written.

'My name is Rikka, what is yours? You don't have to write everything down if you don't want too ^-^'

It was the second sentence that loomed over him so drearily. Mark's vocal cords felt like they were made out of beef jerky at the moment and he had assumed that the girl sitting in front of him had noticed and improvised. But what sort of magic allowed her to do that? Was she writing to him out of pity? Regardless of her intentions, he was determined not to reveal that the source of his power was currently MIA. His response would have to be straightforward and tactical. Rikka's pen found itself being brandished like a weapon as the words "MY NAME IS MARK." were forcefully scribbled onto the paper. The cafeteria surrounding him devolved into a parade of horny ostentatiousness, but he paid not attention to it.

The soldier scraped the finishing touches onto his long and heartfelt response before his brain had registered a third component. The ^-^. Arrow Line Arrow. What did that mean? He squinted at it with all the confusion and terror that dogs had when exposed to vacuum cleaners. THIS MARKING COULD BE A RUNE RELATED TO HER MAGIC ABILITIES! It was an interesting point of view from somebody who knew what a rune was but couldn't spell their own last name without visibly struggling. He brought the pen down and attacked the paper with a second message.

RIKKA. WHAT IS THIS:

^-^

ARROW LINE ARROW? I DO NOT UNDERSTAND.

^-^

Exalted: Lullaby of a Dying Realm

Ledaal

"Man who drop hourglass in toilet, have shitty time."

House name: Ledaal

Family name: Ling

Personal name: Bao

Caste/Aspect & Exalt: Air aspect terrestrial exalted.

Limit break: Pacifism complication. Bao’s peaceful and philosophical nature is flipped and is replaced with a nihilistic and homicidal personality. While the bulk of his anger is directed at the entire world he has a preference for attacking anyone he deems disrespectful, especially young people.

Gender: Male

Age: 54

Birthplace: Solovan, The North

Appearance Description: An old and fragile man who walks around in exclusively traditional clothing. The old man interprets his age as an indicator for wisdom and vitality and is satisfied with his mature appearance. His facial hair is straight from being stroked during constant brainstorming sessions to the point where nothing can change its shape. He is shorter than the average Ledaal and weighs surprisingly little for someone with such a plump body.

Gear: An old and beautiful staff, sketchbooks and writing materials, pouches with tea, a small leather bag.

Skills and combat abilities:

"Fluent" in multiple languages, talented in calligraphy and meditation.

Bao uses air dragon style martial arts, which emphazise flexibility, agility and awareness of one's surroundings. The air dragon style focuses heavily on acrobatics and fast attacks as well as balance and composure during combat. While typical users of this style fight using chakram, Bao prefers the fast and unbalancing attacks that his staff is capable of dishing out. Bao has low physical strength, with his attacks being more suited to stunning and knocking down opponents rather than outright wounding or killing them.

His talent in meditating and practicing the air dragon style make him incredibly good at anticipating where enemy strikes will land, although he is an overly dramatic person with a tendency to strike poses and converse in the middle of combat.

Anima: At first glance, Bao's anima is underwhelming yet typical for an air aspect terrestrial exalted. A strong gust of wind blasts around him hard enough to visibly affect and lift up his robes. The unconventional part of his anima manifests in the form of strange noises that are heard after he spouts a quote. No one is sure of their source.

A little something like this

Likes: Meditating, nature, humility and pacifism. Bao frequently discusses his unique flavor of philosophy to anybody who will listen. Courtesy and manners are a vital part of all social interactions. Often passes the time by writing poetry.

Dislikes: The arrogance found in younger generations, sternly scolding any would be offenders. He dislikes modern trends and music. Having his deep snippets of wisdom ignored will irritate him.

Personality: He is incredibly wise and patient, sharing poetic sayings for any occasion. Bao is an extreme pacifist and a philosopher by heart, questioning the role of people in the universe and often stopping to enjoy the moment in questionable situations.

He is incredibly stubborn and will go to ridiculous lengths to prove himself right. For someone who invests so much effort into etiquette, Bao has a surprisingly rock bottom amount of self-awareness over the things he says and how inappropriate they can be sometimes.

He interprets his exaltation as proof of being a wise and grand man despite it happening so late into his life.

Biography: Ledaal Ling Bao is a member of the Ledaal dynasty who partook in the fine arts of his country. Although one with dragon's blood is expected to gain the powers of an exalted through genetics, it seemed that Bao had missed his chance after his youth faded. The young terrestrial was angry at the world, and demanded answers through philosophy. It was then that he learned to let go of his worries, and so began a total spiritual transformation. No longer harboring any ill will towards his surroundings, he became a well known poet and artist in Ledaal.

In his mid fifties the old man was content with his current life and embraced his uniqueness as a sign that he was meant to be one of his dynasty's great thinkers. However, the universe had other plans for Bao, as he became an exalted against all odds. The temple of fine arts that was once his home was now reluctant to accept his works out of suspicion and accusing him of hiding his exalted status to flee from combat. To make matters worse he now had a second personality that had to be controlled in order to avoid it taking over his body and spewing hatred.

Bao was talented at dissecting the beautiful characteristics of the world and was a master of meditation, two skills that were indispensable in his closed off world of art. However, things changed and he now had the challenge of fighting against an inner voice that resented everything around him and had to be suppressed. He decided that he'd have to find a way to reach an even higher stage of inner peace and is now dead set on the idea of setting out into the world and learning to appreciate it as much as possible.

Smoking a fat blunt and worldbuilding with HokumPocus

April eight started with a bang. America´s first ever idol academy had its gates swung open, with every one of its traditional buildings covered head to toe in streamers, posters and balloons. It was admittedly tacky for an academy aimed at mostly adults, but it was the good, earnest tacky. Or at least that´s what its director claimed.

“Little more to the left, little more, little more, that´s it.” Shouted a middle aged man. Anyone with access to the internet or a functioning pair of ears would be able to recognize him as White Lightning, one of the most renown musicians to ever exist. Anyone that didn´t however, would have probably seen him as some overweight man with a mop of gray hair and a beer in his hand. No one escapes getting older.

He was trudging along the academy and the patchy grass that was now littered in confetti and miscellaneous crafting supplies. Every now and then a student would enter and approach him, only to be gently let down with a slap on the back with the instruction to head on over to their auditorium, the second largest building in the academy. The building, much like the rest of the academy, was built in the style of colonial revival architecture, with a traditional American feel to it. It was one of three buildings, the largest containing the classrooms and offices and the other two being used for performances. One only had to walk in a straight line starting from the gate to end up in the auditorium.

“You´re supposed to be there in ten minutes, you know.” Snarked a woman in glasses at Bruce. She was irritated, but underneath her tired gaze was a warmth towards the man.

Bruce took a gulp of cheap beer and met her scolding head on.

“What, can´t I loosen my throat before a show anymore? We´re both not gettin´ any younger ya know.” She rolled her eyes. “Come on, have a sip.”

“If I want a sip, I´ll buy it myself. Now hurry up and get over there.”

The pair made their way over to the building, much like everybody else who had been shooed away from buying from the food stalls before the welcoming event even began.

Exalted: Lullaby of a Dying Realm

Ledaal

"Man who drop hourglass in toilet, have shitty time."

House name: Ledaal

Family name: Ling

Personal name: Bao

Caste/Aspect & Exalt: Air aspect terrestrial exalted.

Limit break: Pacifism complication. Bao’s peaceful and philosophical nature is flipped and is replaced with a nihilistic and homicidal personality. While the bulk of his anger is directed at the entire world he has a preference for attacking anyone he deems disrespectful, especially young people.

Gender: Male

Age: 54

Birthplace: Solovan, The North

Appearance Description: An old and fragile man who walks around in exclusively traditional clothing. The old man interprets his age as an indicator for wisdom and vitality and is satisfied with his mature appearance. His facial hair is straight from being stroked during constant brainstorming sessions to the point where nothing can change its shape. He is shorter than the average Ledaal and weighs surprisingly little for someone with such a plump body.

Gear: An old and beautiful staff, sketchbooks and writing materials, pouches with tea, a small leather bag.

Skills and combat abilities:

"Fluent" in multiple languages, talented in calligraphy and meditation.

Bao uses air dragon style martial arts, which emphazise flexibility, agility and awareness of one's surroundings. The air dragon style focuses heavily on acrobatics and fast attacks as well as balance and composure during combat. While typical users of this style fight using chakram, Bao prefers the fast and unbalancing attacks that his staff is capable of dishing out. Bao has low physical strength, with his attacks being more suited to stunning and knocking down opponents rather than outright wounding or killing them.

His talent in meditating and practicing the air dragon style make him incredibly good at anticipating where enemy strikes will land, although he is an overly dramatic person with a tendency to strike poses and converse in the middle of combat.

Anima: At first glance, Bao's anima is underwhelming yet typical for an air aspect terrestrial exalted. A strong gust of wind blasts around him hard enough to visibly affect and lift up his robes. The unconventional part of his anima manifests in the form of strange noises that are heard after he spouts a quote. No one is sure of their source.

A little something like this

Likes: Meditating, nature, humility and pacifism. Bao frequently discusses his unique flavor of philosophy to anybody who will listen. Courtesy and manners are a vital part of all social interactions. Often passes the time by writing poetry.

Dislikes: The arrogance found in younger generations, sternly scolding any would be offenders. He dislikes modern trends and music. Having his deep snippets of wisdom ignored will irritate him.

Personality: He is incredibly wise and patient, sharing poetic sayings for any occasion. Bao is an extreme pacifist and a philosopher by heart, questioning the role of people in the universe and often stopping to enjoy the moment in questionable situations.

He is incredibly stubborn and will go to ridiculous lengths to prove himself right. For someone who invests so much effort into etiquette, Bao has a surprisingly rock bottom amount of self-awareness over the things he says and how inappropriate they can be sometimes.

He interprets his exaltation as proof of being a wise and grand man despite it happening so late into his life.

Biography: Ledaal Ling Bao is a member of the Ledaal dynasty who partook in the fine arts of his country. Although one with dragon's blood is expected to gain the powers of an exalted through genetics, it seemed that Bao had missed his chance after his youth faded. The young terrestrial was angry at the world, and demanded answers through philosophy. It was then that he learned to let go of his worries, and so began a total spiritual transformation. No longer harboring any ill will towards his surroundings, he became a well known poet and artist in Ledaal.

In his mid fifties the old man was content with his current life and embraced his uniqueness as a sign that he was meant to be one of his dynasty's great thinkers. However, the universe had other plans for Bao, as he became an exalted against all odds. The temple of fine arts that was once his home was now reluctant to accept his works out of suspicion and accusing him of hiding his exalted status to flee from combat. To make matters worse he now had a second personality that had to be controlled in order to avoid it taking over his body and spewing hatred.

Bao was talented at dissecting the beautiful characteristics of the world and was a master of meditation, two skills that were indispensable in his closed off world of art. However, things changed and he now had the challenge of fighting against an inner voice that resented everything around him and had to be suppressed. He decided that he'd have to find a way to reach an even higher stage of inner peace and is now dead set on the idea of setting out into the world and learning to appreciate it as much as possible.

Smoking a fat blunt and worldbuilding with HokumPocus

"...I´m on a futuristic crisp white roof under an enormous and amazing blue sky. A woman dressed in casual worker clothing assigns me a quest while talking to me. Her uniform is futuristic and pristine but she still looks like a worker. She had dark skin and dreadlocks and was very happy. I had a dragon in my party. He was named Bramble and was a very metallic and shiny gold color. After this I enter a flat beautiful beach and across our island is another one, filled with dinosaurs. There are about 100, a plethora of colors and sizes. A scene plays when a carnotaurusesque dinosaur runs across to our section of the ocean and catches a fish that was in mid-leap close to me. They are rivals. I have a user interface but its never acknowledged whether it was a simulation or another world."

NEO ROAR ONLINE

Among the several virtual reality MMOs that have sprouted from the minds of the most technologically advanced game development studios its hard not to note NRO´s presence. Amidst the handful of fantasy and science fiction games, it´s a wild card that somehow manages to be both and neither depending on which incompetent and pissed off games journalist you´re speaking to. The fans are well aware of their existence as the odd one out, and maybe that´s why the community is considered to be one of the friendliest among virtual reality junkies.

NEO ROAR ONLINE, the game where you control and command dinosaurs ranging from historically accurate to completely fantastical. The game with an optimistic and bright world where science and and fully immersive dinosaur cockfighting can not only cross paths but meld perfectly. You no doubt have a strong reason to have devoted yourself to this title over whatever knight and space cadet adventures are being shoved down your throat by the press. And if not, well, you better. Because you´re stuck.

No one, or at least no one in your new world is aware of the reasons behind being unable to log out. The blame has been aimed at anything and everyone from the creators of the technology to the studio behind the game to even the game´s most prominent factions. Some of the NPCs have even developed a bit of a sentience to them, your beasts included. You are among the newest and last wave of players and find yourself without a faction or viable means of protection against the array of threats surrounding you. The community, as you´ve seen on internet forums and reddit posts, is incredibly mellow. But will the status quo remain now that the opportunity for escape has been shut off?

The technology

The virtual reality technology used to play NEO ROAR ONLINE is comparatively rudimentary compared to the kind shown in movies and television shows. It´s a set of gloves and a contraption for your head paired with a flat open space. Games developed using the gear, or 6 Eyes as its officially called, tend to be restricted to appearing in arcades, hobby stores and other public areas due to their costs. A hefty digital purchase is required in order to obtain an ID for a game and then access it from any 6 Eyes available. The system isn´t perfect, but it allows consumers to avoid spending thousands and developers to be able to push the limits on graphics and the like without being bogged down with domestic downgrades.

The world

The world of NEO ROAR ONLINE is one where humanity has successfully colonized two other planets and has left Earth as a playground for the wealthy to engage in limitless experimentation. While the technology involved may seem advanced to us, to the average citizen of its universe its nothing but the basics. Architecture and garments have a striking and crisp appearance distinguishable by the use of bright whites and modern aesthetics. The more gaming inclined have labeled it "futuristic noblebright" in looks. This does not necessarily apply to the rest of the world however. There are plenty of dangerous and cruel experiments taking place on the same planet, hidden under lush and man made jungles. You could definitely live comfortably on a sandy colored cabin by a pristine beach, but your yearning for the life of a dinosaur wrangler is what dragged you into this mess in the first place.

Exalted: Lullaby of a Dying Realm

I was originally going to create a psychotic character but am currently thinking on a stable and peaceful wood aspect dragon-blooded with a paladin thing going on.

Terra

“So you guarantee that my wife’ll love this?” Asked a man in commoner’s clothing, not sure what to make of the cold and beautiful vial held carefully in his hands. Uervia took his uncertainty as a cue to continue her persuasion tactics.

“It is true that I am a woman of refined tastes, sire, and many would consider me an inappropriate match for my job. Fortunately, my travels around the world have blessed me with the opportunity to meet many, and it is undeniably certain that such an austere and hardworking woman such as your wife would enjoy it like no other.” Uervia’s talons were tessellated and frozen in a ladylike fashion as she continued to speak. The man in front of her was like a shaky boulder that was ready to tumble in any way, and all she needed to do was blow the right words and send him rolling. She inhaled with the confidence typical in haughty merchants and continued to speak. She couldn’t lose this opportunity, not when the Great Harvest Festival and all of its boutiques sparkled around her like diamonds.

“Shawl of the Seventh Year is one of my most enjoyed oils for working women, containing a small amount of charred wood, that, when combined with the scents of plum wine and rainwater, paint the picture of feminine maturity and grace.” The crow uncocked her head as a cue that her speech was over. Her description wrapped around the man’s ears softly and quietly as he struggled to process what she just revealed to him. He was desperate for a gift and had little experience with handling higher amounts of coin, two weaknesses that Uervia intended to exploit as much as possible. She was excited to relieve him of his burden and finalize the sale, as she had other events planned. The man let out a sigh now that his head was filled with the fantasy that Uervia had suffocated the air with and handed over a small coin pouch. She lovingly accepted it and began to pack up her store not too long after.

The oils were wrapped in decorative swaths of silk with as much care as someone with talons could give, their mysterious silhouettes blanketed by the pelts of various common fauna native to Terra. All of Uervia's wares were housed in a worn and spacious bag that went against her aesthetic standards but had managed to remain as part of her wardrobe through hardy usefulness alone.

---

Waltzing down the crowded streets was less difficult for Uervia than the average person, as her height and regal aura tended to intimidate anybody not accustomed to her charms. It was a lie when she claimed to have traveled the world, as well as when she claimed to truly know what that man’s wife wished for. For the past several years Uervia had worked tirelessly as both a huntress and merchant of animal pelts and furs. For special events like these, however, she would don her most elegant dresses and begin selling scented oils with the sweetest birdsong she could muster. After gliding through gaggles of children and couples, she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of loneliness now that she was far away from her usual trade partners. Her black eyes darted from game to game as she pondered over which one would be the most entertaining to play.

Exalted

@HushedWhispers

https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Exalted

A very summarized and slightly comedic take on the setting. I know nothing about this setting so I can't vouch for its accuracy, heh

Exalted

*waddles into the thread* OwO *notices ur interest check* wats dis?