Dollieh Sanctuary

Based on EXALTED, an epic fantasy role-playing game by White Wolf Game Studio
Characters and story by Janet Trautvetter and Myranda Kalis Sarro

Previously:
Episode 1: The Shadow Road
Episode 2: Bad News Travels Furthest and Fast
Episode 3: Thicker than Water
Exalted: About the Characters

And now...




(Note: This episode was originally posted in a much shortened form, trying to make a contest deadline on Junkyspot. This is the full (PG-13 rated for yaoi) version.)

House Nellens does not have its own wing at the Imperial Jade Palace--instead, the descendants of the Empress' most favored consort must make do with a separate mansion on the other side of the city....


Nellens Genshaku: "Uhhhhggg… My head."


Genshaku: "And it wasn't even that great a party… couldn't have been, not if I'm waking up alone. Dammit. "


Genshaku: "Why do I smell linden blossoms…? Citan isn't….. Oh. That's why."


Genshaku: "Oh, Citan, Citan, Citan…. You just never give up, do you…"


Genshaku: (inhaling deeply) "That scent… it clings to everything he touches."

For a moment, he is torn... even tempted.... to break the seal, and see what it contains... the scent of linden blossoms contain so many memories....


Later that same day....


Citan's apartment in the House V'neef wing of the Imperial Jade Palace...


Ren: "This just arrived, by private messenger. I'm sorry, my lord."


Citan: "Not again.... He didn't even crack the seal. Thank you, Ren."


Citan: (Speaking to the letter, as if by some means he can make its intended recipient listen) "Oh, Genshaku. Why do you insist on acting like such an absolute ass?"


Citan: "Why do I even keep on writing to him...."


Citan: "It's not like I don't know where he lives, or whose parties he is most likely to attend, or which brothels and gambling dens he tends to favor."


Citan: "Might as well admit it... I'm a coward, that's why. All he does with my letters is return them unopened... I think I'm afraid to find out what would happen... what he might say.... if I confronted him face to face."


Citan: "Maybe what we shared that summer doesn't mean anything to him… not like it did for me."


Citan: "Maybe he doesn't even remember.... but I do."


Citan: "I remember.... "

CONTINUED.... IN NEXT POSTING

Citan remembers....


Citan: (narration) "My parents had decided that their plans for my future required me to have a military education, so I was going to go with Taran and Tchiat to become a cadet at the House of Bells."


Citan: (narration) "Genshaku, much to his annoyance, was being sent to study with the Immaculate monks at the Cloister of Wisdom--apparently his family thought he needed to develop some humility. "


Citan: (narration) "Given that he'd not only become the youth Gateway champion of the most prestigious prefecture in the Realm at age eleven, but also managed to hold on to that title until he Exalted at age fourteen… Well, to be fair, humility never was his strongest virtue."


Citan: (narration) "I had invited him to spend those few weeks of summer with me at our family estates in Ventus prefecture, a journey of several days by river barge.

"It was the best summer I can ever remember. We were no longer considered children, by virtue of our own Exaltations, but due to our youth, were not quite adults either--as a consequence, we had a lot of freedom and very little responsibility, and we made the most of it...."


Citan: (narration) "We went for long rides in the country, watching the peasants working in my family's vineyards and attempting to lose our bodyguards at every opportunity."


Citan: (narration) "And of course, testing various vintages to see which ones went best with our favorite foods…."


Citan: (narration) "We practiced using the gifts the Dragons had bequeathed to us, especially when one of us could catch the other off guard...."


Citan: (narration) "On the hottest days, we took refuge in the library, pretending to study, or went swimming at the lake."


Citan: (narration) "We played Gateway with my cousin Vespa —Genshaku even helped her win once in a while, as well as flirting with her outrageously…"


Citan: (narration) "And we stayed up late every night, just talking… or plotting on how we could rescue Zihan from his lonely archivist post...."


Citan: (narration) "...Or how the five of us could meet up again after our schooling was done, and go adventuring in the Threshold, fighting Anathema or looking for lost magical treasures from the First Age…"


Citan: (narration) "We snuck out at night to watch for falling stars--a sure sign of blessed souls returning to Creation for their next life as Dragon-blooded heroes."


Citan: (narration) "All too soon, it was the week of the Calibration Festival… which meant our summer vacation was almost over. We had new kimonos in our elemental colors and were allowed to attend the festivities with the other Exalted adults for the first time. Though I should have known Genshaku was up to something when he suggested we leave the wine-tasting party early and go back to our room.

"That was the night my summer really started to get interesting…. "

CONTINUED.... IN NEXT POSTING... (yes, this is a rather long episode...)

Citan's reflections continue...


Genshaku: "Hey, Blossom. Look what I found — a lonely bottle, looking for someone to party with…"

Citan: "Genshaku — that's… that's a bottle of the Roseleaf Golden…. From my uncle's private stock!"


Genshaku: "Well, this is our little private party. But we need some proper glasses — can't drink a vintage like this out of our teacups now, can we?"

Citan: "You're incorrigible… I'll get some. Let's hope nobody asks me what I need them for—"

Genshaku: "Yes, because you're still a pathetic liar."

(Citan leaves)


Genshaku: "Going to need some napkins too — I think those were in here…. Hmm? What's this? Now, that's odd, why would he hide a book in here?

"Ah…. Now I see why..."


Genshaku: "This is so beautiful… "




Genshaku: "Look what I found hidden under your towels… naughty-naughty Citan, I wouldn't have believed it of you! You've got a pillow book!"

Citan: "Careful, that's very old. It belonged to my sister Eriadana."


Genshaku: "The one who raised you? Don't tell me she used that for your bedtime stories...."

Citan: "No, I discovered it after she died.. I found it hidden away in a false-bottomed drawer. But I remember seeing it on her reading table, and I knew it was one she read often. The Tale of Falling Light and Unbroken Wave. By 'The Graceful Pen of Sorrows' —"


Genshaku: "Now that's a pen name if I ever heard one. Probably one of the ladies of the court, who never could admit she wrote it without dishonoring her family... Bet you it's on the Immaculate Order's banned list, too. "


Citan: "I'm sure it is, between the, uh, illustrations and the subject matter… Falling Light's one of the Anathema, but he falls in love with a Dragon-blooded warrior, Unbroken Wave — he's a Water Aspect, of course, with a name like that."

Genshaku: "I suppose it has the usual tragic moral ending, too?"


Citan: "Naturally. When his lover is killed, Falling Light's grief leads him to revert to his true demonic nature, and destroys an entire army single-handedly before the Shogun's five Dragon-blooded Champions manage to bring him down. But then they're buried together in the same tomb, which I always thought was a nice romantic touch."


Genshaku: (turning pages) "This is a much better example of Willow Court Shogunate epic prose style than anything Master Shi-tung ever had us read in class. It's absolutely classical, perfect form in every way."


Genshaku: "And talk about perfect form… these illustrations are quite…"

Citan: "Erotic?"

Genshaku: "....Well-detailed."


Genshaku: "Oooh, now that's athletic — and they're doing it under water, too, see how their hair is flowing around them in little water-waves? How many of these positions have you tried?"


Citan: "Uh…" (blushing) "Just one, page 24. My cousin Kelles…"

Genshaku: (Flipping through the book to check...) "Awwww, that one's tame… but I guess she was your cousin. One down, looks like twenty-four to go…. You're already behind. Which one's your favorite?"


Citan: (blushing even more) "Page 47."


Genshaku: "Hmmm…" (flipping pages) "Oh, that one's nice… and they've even mostly still got their clothes on. Want to try it?"

Citan: "……Uh, Genshaku, I—"


Genshaku: "Don't go all shy on me. You can be the Dragon-blooded, that's less heretical, right? Besides, your hair's longer than mine…."

Citan: "……"


Genshaku: "Oh, you know you want to, come on — here, have some more wine."

Citan: "Thank you.... I think."


Genshaku: "Now, we'll arrange your hair like so… and you need to loosen your sash… no, more than that… and my hand goes like so…"


Citan: "Has anyone ever told you what a terrible tease you are, Genshaku…"

Genshaku: "Oh? Am I really…? And what are you going to do about it?"


(Citan can bear it no longer… he reaches up, and pulls Genshaku down into a fierce kiss...)


(....Which Genshaku doesn't seem to mind at all, given the way his arms encircle Citan and hold him close. The kiss goes on for several minutes…)


Genshaku: "Mmm-mmm…. About time we did that, don't you think, Blossom…?"

Citan: "...Yes. Definitely…. "


Genshaku: "So… which position do you want to try next?"

CONTINUED... AFTER A DISCRETE INTERVAL ... IN THE NEXT POSTING...

Citan's reflections continue....


Citan: (narration) "After that night…We spent as much time together, just the two of us, as we could, and dreaded the separation we knew would come at summer's end."


Citan: (narration) "The days passed by too quickly, each one sweeter than the last… and the nights… were sweeter still. We talked for hours about things we'd never talked about before…"


Citan: (narration) "We made love at every opportunity, tried every position that Falling Light and Unbroken Wave had to offer that didn't involve exotic sorcery or the use of First-Age artifacts…"


Citan: (narration) "...and slept each night in each other's arms."


Citan: (narration) "We pledged our love to each other — being still young, we had no rings of jade to exchange, but we did have the necklaces that Tchiat had made for each of us in our elemental color, with the single beads for our friends, even Zihan. So we exchanged those..."


Citan: (narration) "And then when that summer ended, we went our separate ways, knowing we wouldn't see each other again for a long time..."


Citan: "It turned out to be even longer than we thought. Twelve years. "


Citan: "And now, we live in the same city, but..."


Citan: "I gave him my heart that summer, and he has it still... whether he wants it or not. I wish I knew what became has become of his.... and what happened to turn him away."


Citan: "I wish I knew.... but I guess I'm still not ready to find out. "





Genshaku: "I remember..."

TO BE CONTINUED.... in Episode 5: The Games of Court

eeeeeee....yay, I needed another fix!

The little details in your photos are just great. The wine bottles, the scrolls, the good, the game boards. All of it really adds depth and layers.