Exalted: About the Characters
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2010 12:32 am
I still need to repost the EXALTED episodes that were on 13Doll -- fortunately I still have the file! But it's been a while, so I thought having a character list would be helpful for future references....
V'Neef Citan, the Perfect Blossom
Dragon-blooded Wood Aspect, Age 28.
(played by: Jordan Mikkelssen — Obitsu slim male, face-up by me)
From his childhood, Citan always dreamed of becoming a healer, a physician capable of saving lives from injury and illness. However, his parents have far more ambitious plans for their Exalted son, and saw to his education in one of the best primary schools. As a boy, Citan forged strong friendships with fellow classmates Zihan, Taran, Tchiat and Genshaku. His relationship with the Gateway prodigy Nellens Genshaku was particularly close, and the two of them became lovers before being forced to separate for the next phase of their education.
Citan graduated at the to of his class from the House of Bells, the premier Imperial military academy, but unlike most of his classmates, was not allowed to actually serve in the Legions. Instead, he acts as an administrative aide and courtier-on-demand for his mother, a Senator in the Deliberative (the governing body of the Imperial dynasty), while both his parents dangle him as bait before the families of prospective brides with an eye to his further advancement in a political career he does not want or feel suited for.
The only thing that makes this half-life existence at court bearable is his association with the secretive conspiracy known as the Shadow Road, which rescues abused slaves and smuggles them out of the Realm to freedom. As what he does is highly illegal (even for one of the privileged Dragon-blooded) and dangerous, Citan hides his true identity from all his contacts in the Shadow Road save his servant Ren through the use of a powerful Essence-imbued mask artifact.
Still, his parents are intent on advancing their own political agendas with him as their pawn, and the marriage negotiations they are pursuing for him leave him only with a sick sense of dread... and not because of the brides themselves, but who else they might be related to. For there is someone else who considers Citan his personal pawn as well, whose memory still wakes Citan up in the middle of the night trembling in a cold sweat of terror—and who is not inclined to take no for an answer. Citan himself still thinks of Genshaku—his childhood friend and first lover—though he has not yet mustered the courage to confront his old friend and discover why his friend has turned so thoroughly against him.
Nellens Genshaku, the Rebel Prodigy
Dragon-blooded Air Aspect, age 28.
(played by: Hajime Morimoto — Obitsu slim male, face-up by vanillashine)
A Gateway prodigy from early childhood, Genshaku has always been moody, calculating, rebellious, a thrill-seeker, highly competitive, and in general too smart for his own good. Trained to see all other children as potential competitors, he was less than adept at social interactions, and very nearly was expelled from his primary school, until he was placed with Mnemon Zihan, V'neef Citan and the Sesus twins Taran and Tchiat. The foursome managed to win his trust and taught him some valuable lessons about friendship that he has never forgotten, no matter what his current behavior may imply.
Genshaku now leads a dangerous double-life—his public persona is a wastrel degenerate, a total waste of his family's investment in his education and the Dragons' blessing, a gambler and hedonist who survives on bribes collected in his bureaucratic day-job, and by playing Gateway and other games for money (and the occasional wheedling letter to his relatives). His barbed wit and utter disregard for rank or propriety makes him popular at Dynasty parties, for he always knows just how far to provoke for the amusement of his audience, and whom to flatter or seduce to keep himself from any retribution.
But Genshaku is also an investigative agent for the All-Seeing Eye, the spies and undercover ops branch of the Imperial Bureaucracy, a job that he relishes for the intellectual challenge and very real risks—and despises for the personal betrayals his superiors demand he commit along the way in order to prove his true loyalty to the Eye. It is to protect his friends that he shuns them, especially Citan, who still holds his heart—and he knows he cannot ever confess to it. Now under pressure from his family to marry (especially since Dragon-blooded in House Nellens are less common than in other Dynastic Houses), he sees no escape from his duty—only the risk his double life will carry for his future wife and children. As an experienced gambler, Genshaku knows that some day, his almost fabled streak of luck is bound to run out....
Sesus Taran, The Brightly Burning Flame
Dragon-blooded Fire Aspect, Age 28.
(played by: Leon Talbot — Volks Neo-Goh with Obitsu slim male head, face-up by essiekl)
Taran, older than his sister by only a few minutes, is the epitome of the noble Dragon-blooded warrior. Athletically gifted, with natural talents for leadership and a strong and deeply-rooted sense of honor, he is also surprisingly easy-going and for a Fire-aspect, very slow to anger. Not a deep thinker, but not thick-headed either, Taran has always known his future was in the Legions, as part of the House's tradition, and as the son of a General. A bold and courageous warrior, skilled with sword and bow, he has already risen to the position of Talonlord, leader of a small squadron, in his first five years of service. His devotion to his duty and the soldiers under his command is matched only by his deep devotion to his sister, whom he calls the other half of his soul.
Taran is a traditionalist, who knows and holds the Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier close to his heart—but he is not a blind follower, and is often troubled greatly by the growing corruption and faltering leadership he sees in the Sesus legions, and in the Empire and Dynasty overall. Honorable and honest himself, he does not know quite how to deal with it, other than striving to be the best officer and scion of the Dynasty he can be, and hope his good example inspires others to do the same. Taran is also a hopeless idealist that way....
Taran's desires are simple; to fulfill his duty to family, the Empire and the legion to the best of his ability—and in that cause, he looks forward to their leave at home, for he knows it will most likely include a wedding and the start of his own family, something he wants very much, though he hasn't given much thought at all as to who his bride might be. (In truth, he doesn’t much care—he has had numerous lovers and assumes he can love one woman as well as the next—and as a soldier who will rarely be at home, does not tend to see marriage as a close partnership. But then, Taran has never truly been in love....) Fortunately, Tchiat plans to supplement the family's own matchmaking with some screening of her own, for she loves her brother and will not settle for anything less than a bride who will love him as he deserves.
Sesus Tchiat, The Steadfast Dragon Warrior
Dragon-blooded Earth Aspect, age 28.
(played by: Caitlyn Monroe — Obitsu girl, face-up by me)
Born only a few minutes after her brother Taran, Tchiat has been following him in almost everything ever since. The twins have shared a special closeness since infancy, and have only rarely been parted for long. They attended the same primary school, lived in the same residence house, and although she slept in the dorm with the girls her own age, she spent most of her time with Taran and his friends: Citan, Zihan and Genshaku. In particular, Zihan became very dear to her, and they had even talked of marriage, if their families would agree. But in the end, she Exalted and he did not, and his own family forced him into the Immaculate Order instead.
Very much her father's daughter and a tomboy at heart, Tchiat always knew she was destined for the military life. She attended the military academy, the House of Bells, with Citan and Taran, though she was assigned to another unit and saw them only on liberty weekends. She hated the separation at the time, although she admitted later it was good for her, for it allowed her to find more of her own path and identity. She admires her brother's ideals, but is at heart more down-to-earth and pragmatic. Passionate, outspoken, and honest to a fault, her manner tends to be blunt and straightforward. She has with little patience for the games of court (or courtship), feeling far more at home among the soldiers in her talon than her cousins and peers in the Dynasty.
She now is an experienced scout in the Sesus Legion, serving under her brother's command, and enjoys the military life. Now home on leave for the first time in six years, she is more concerned with making sure her brother is matched with a suitable bride, and tries not to remember that the mandate for marriage applies to her as well.
Tchiat has an artistic side—she has long loved carving and shaping stone, and enjoys creating small animal figures out of fine stone. While she was in school, she crafted unique necklaces for each of her friends (and herself), using appropriately colored pieces of jade representing their elemental Aspects. When it came time to do Zihan's necklace, however, she realized that jade would not be proper, and settled on using gold instead.... never realizing how prophetic her choice of materials and color would be.
Sesus Ayame, The Unbroken Wave
Dragon-blooded Water Aspect, age 42
(played by: Richard Llewellyn — Volks Neo-Goh, face-up by forever_virginia)
Originally born into House Ledaal, and named for his late grandfather, Ayame was destined from his carefully-scheduled conception to be the perfect sorcerer— every planet and aspect of his horoscope scrutinized and weighed, every facet of his entire life planned out in full detail by his parents' political and social ambitions.
However, not even the most comprehensive of plans can thoroughly stifle the mind and imagination of a precociously talented and intellectually curious child. Inspired by the tale of the grandfather's heroic death, Ayame committed the extreme sin of expressing an interest in a military career like his grandfather's, rather than that of an academy-trained sorcerer as his parents had planned. The incident resulted in the first of his two facial scars and his being sent to the Dragon-blooded equivalent of a harsh reform school, to teach him the folly of his defiance. His feelings of hurt and betrayal turning to true rebellion, he stubbornly refused to give the groveling apology and total submission his parents demanded for reinstatement in their good graces.
Upon his graduation, he turned his back on his family forever, and competed for and earned admission into the Realm's premier military Academy, the House of Bells. There he was able to meet and study under General Sesus Heshiko, the man that his grandfather had given his life to protect, and prove himself not only a competent military officer, but also a tremendously talented battle sorcerer as well.
Ayame has now served as an officer in the Legions for nearly twenty years, and has the scars to prove it, surviving terrible injuries and facing all manner of foes. Twice he has very nearly duplicated his grandfather's heroic sacrifice, standing up to impossible odds in fulfillment of his duty, in one case surviving due only to supernatural intervention from a yet-unknown source that he prefers not to even contemplate.
A few years ago, he finally accepted General Heshiko's offer of formal adoption, taking the Sesus name as his own, and now regards the aging and disabled general as his father, and Heshiko's children, the twins Taran and Tchiat, as his younger siblings. And while those he calls his friends are still few, those he has are relationships he holds close to his heart—including one young mortal cousin, Tsubaru—who he very much hopes he will one day see again.
General Sesus Heshiko
Dragon-blooded Earth Aspect, age 200+
(played by: Robert Walter Pierce — Dragon Models figure, default face-up)
Father of Taran and Tchiat, and adoptive father for Ayame. A life-long military man, he retired from active duty due to disability (he lost a leg in battle somewhere), he now spends most of his time as a teacher of military strategy and history at the House of Bells. A proud and honorable man, with strong principles and a shrewd political acumen, he does not like the direction he sees the Empire (not to mention House Sesus) going at present, but also recognizes his limitations in being able to stop it. He focuses instead on preparing the next generation of Dragon-blooded warriors, which include his children, to hold fast to their traditional values and sense of honor, but he is also still in contact with others in the Realm who are likewise concerned with the Empire and its fate, which currently looks to be a bloody civil war unless the rival Houses can find some means of agreement on who should inherit the empty throne. He is very fond (and indulgent) of his children, particularly Taran and Tchiat, who remind him so much of their late mother—whom he still mourns.
Tansotu Ren, the faithful servant
Mortal
(played by: Edward Cook — Dragon Models figure, default face-up)
Shrewd, intelligent, resourceful and highly capable, whether knowing exactly what length of sleeve and style of obi are appropriate for a spring luncheon with someone whose political favor you would like to encourage but aren't willing to sell your soul for... or the precise mixture of herbs, oils, resinous wood chips and rice vinegar to produce a soothing balm for bruising... or which compounds in the Jade Palace have the most decrepit slave quarters and what kinds of locks the family uses to secure them... Ren is the master of many skills, both domestic and extra-curricular. He cares deeply about only two things—his personal quest to rescue and free as many slaves from the hands of brutal overlords as possible in his lifetime, and his utter loyalty and devotion to his master, Lord Citan, who joins him whole-heartedly on his quest whenever possible.
Ren was in his youth a soldier in the Legions. While he may well have been one of the original operatives of the secretive conspiracy known as the Shadow Road, that carries out the mission dearest to his heart, one carefully chosen slave at a time, he is far from young. He now leaves the more dangerous and athletic roles to Citan, and concentrates on the information-gathering and support side of things, as well as his more public role as Citan's personal servant, cook, and schedule-keeper. His loyalty is absolute, and he would willingly die to protect his master, though he realizes that he may well be called upon to protect his contacts and fellow conspirators in the Shadow Road in the same fashion, should their operation ever be discovered by Imperial authorities.
To be continued....
V'Neef Citan, the Perfect Blossom
Dragon-blooded Wood Aspect, Age 28.
(played by: Jordan Mikkelssen — Obitsu slim male, face-up by me)
From his childhood, Citan always dreamed of becoming a healer, a physician capable of saving lives from injury and illness. However, his parents have far more ambitious plans for their Exalted son, and saw to his education in one of the best primary schools. As a boy, Citan forged strong friendships with fellow classmates Zihan, Taran, Tchiat and Genshaku. His relationship with the Gateway prodigy Nellens Genshaku was particularly close, and the two of them became lovers before being forced to separate for the next phase of their education.
Citan graduated at the to of his class from the House of Bells, the premier Imperial military academy, but unlike most of his classmates, was not allowed to actually serve in the Legions. Instead, he acts as an administrative aide and courtier-on-demand for his mother, a Senator in the Deliberative (the governing body of the Imperial dynasty), while both his parents dangle him as bait before the families of prospective brides with an eye to his further advancement in a political career he does not want or feel suited for.
The only thing that makes this half-life existence at court bearable is his association with the secretive conspiracy known as the Shadow Road, which rescues abused slaves and smuggles them out of the Realm to freedom. As what he does is highly illegal (even for one of the privileged Dragon-blooded) and dangerous, Citan hides his true identity from all his contacts in the Shadow Road save his servant Ren through the use of a powerful Essence-imbued mask artifact.
Still, his parents are intent on advancing their own political agendas with him as their pawn, and the marriage negotiations they are pursuing for him leave him only with a sick sense of dread... and not because of the brides themselves, but who else they might be related to. For there is someone else who considers Citan his personal pawn as well, whose memory still wakes Citan up in the middle of the night trembling in a cold sweat of terror—and who is not inclined to take no for an answer. Citan himself still thinks of Genshaku—his childhood friend and first lover—though he has not yet mustered the courage to confront his old friend and discover why his friend has turned so thoroughly against him.
Nellens Genshaku, the Rebel Prodigy
Dragon-blooded Air Aspect, age 28.
(played by: Hajime Morimoto — Obitsu slim male, face-up by vanillashine)
A Gateway prodigy from early childhood, Genshaku has always been moody, calculating, rebellious, a thrill-seeker, highly competitive, and in general too smart for his own good. Trained to see all other children as potential competitors, he was less than adept at social interactions, and very nearly was expelled from his primary school, until he was placed with Mnemon Zihan, V'neef Citan and the Sesus twins Taran and Tchiat. The foursome managed to win his trust and taught him some valuable lessons about friendship that he has never forgotten, no matter what his current behavior may imply.
Genshaku now leads a dangerous double-life—his public persona is a wastrel degenerate, a total waste of his family's investment in his education and the Dragons' blessing, a gambler and hedonist who survives on bribes collected in his bureaucratic day-job, and by playing Gateway and other games for money (and the occasional wheedling letter to his relatives). His barbed wit and utter disregard for rank or propriety makes him popular at Dynasty parties, for he always knows just how far to provoke for the amusement of his audience, and whom to flatter or seduce to keep himself from any retribution.
But Genshaku is also an investigative agent for the All-Seeing Eye, the spies and undercover ops branch of the Imperial Bureaucracy, a job that he relishes for the intellectual challenge and very real risks—and despises for the personal betrayals his superiors demand he commit along the way in order to prove his true loyalty to the Eye. It is to protect his friends that he shuns them, especially Citan, who still holds his heart—and he knows he cannot ever confess to it. Now under pressure from his family to marry (especially since Dragon-blooded in House Nellens are less common than in other Dynastic Houses), he sees no escape from his duty—only the risk his double life will carry for his future wife and children. As an experienced gambler, Genshaku knows that some day, his almost fabled streak of luck is bound to run out....
Sesus Taran, The Brightly Burning Flame
Dragon-blooded Fire Aspect, Age 28.
(played by: Leon Talbot — Volks Neo-Goh with Obitsu slim male head, face-up by essiekl)
Taran, older than his sister by only a few minutes, is the epitome of the noble Dragon-blooded warrior. Athletically gifted, with natural talents for leadership and a strong and deeply-rooted sense of honor, he is also surprisingly easy-going and for a Fire-aspect, very slow to anger. Not a deep thinker, but not thick-headed either, Taran has always known his future was in the Legions, as part of the House's tradition, and as the son of a General. A bold and courageous warrior, skilled with sword and bow, he has already risen to the position of Talonlord, leader of a small squadron, in his first five years of service. His devotion to his duty and the soldiers under his command is matched only by his deep devotion to his sister, whom he calls the other half of his soul.
Taran is a traditionalist, who knows and holds the Thousand Correct Actions of the Upright Soldier close to his heart—but he is not a blind follower, and is often troubled greatly by the growing corruption and faltering leadership he sees in the Sesus legions, and in the Empire and Dynasty overall. Honorable and honest himself, he does not know quite how to deal with it, other than striving to be the best officer and scion of the Dynasty he can be, and hope his good example inspires others to do the same. Taran is also a hopeless idealist that way....
Taran's desires are simple; to fulfill his duty to family, the Empire and the legion to the best of his ability—and in that cause, he looks forward to their leave at home, for he knows it will most likely include a wedding and the start of his own family, something he wants very much, though he hasn't given much thought at all as to who his bride might be. (In truth, he doesn’t much care—he has had numerous lovers and assumes he can love one woman as well as the next—and as a soldier who will rarely be at home, does not tend to see marriage as a close partnership. But then, Taran has never truly been in love....) Fortunately, Tchiat plans to supplement the family's own matchmaking with some screening of her own, for she loves her brother and will not settle for anything less than a bride who will love him as he deserves.
Sesus Tchiat, The Steadfast Dragon Warrior
Dragon-blooded Earth Aspect, age 28.
(played by: Caitlyn Monroe — Obitsu girl, face-up by me)
Born only a few minutes after her brother Taran, Tchiat has been following him in almost everything ever since. The twins have shared a special closeness since infancy, and have only rarely been parted for long. They attended the same primary school, lived in the same residence house, and although she slept in the dorm with the girls her own age, she spent most of her time with Taran and his friends: Citan, Zihan and Genshaku. In particular, Zihan became very dear to her, and they had even talked of marriage, if their families would agree. But in the end, she Exalted and he did not, and his own family forced him into the Immaculate Order instead.
Very much her father's daughter and a tomboy at heart, Tchiat always knew she was destined for the military life. She attended the military academy, the House of Bells, with Citan and Taran, though she was assigned to another unit and saw them only on liberty weekends. She hated the separation at the time, although she admitted later it was good for her, for it allowed her to find more of her own path and identity. She admires her brother's ideals, but is at heart more down-to-earth and pragmatic. Passionate, outspoken, and honest to a fault, her manner tends to be blunt and straightforward. She has with little patience for the games of court (or courtship), feeling far more at home among the soldiers in her talon than her cousins and peers in the Dynasty.
She now is an experienced scout in the Sesus Legion, serving under her brother's command, and enjoys the military life. Now home on leave for the first time in six years, she is more concerned with making sure her brother is matched with a suitable bride, and tries not to remember that the mandate for marriage applies to her as well.
Tchiat has an artistic side—she has long loved carving and shaping stone, and enjoys creating small animal figures out of fine stone. While she was in school, she crafted unique necklaces for each of her friends (and herself), using appropriately colored pieces of jade representing their elemental Aspects. When it came time to do Zihan's necklace, however, she realized that jade would not be proper, and settled on using gold instead.... never realizing how prophetic her choice of materials and color would be.
Sesus Ayame, The Unbroken Wave
Dragon-blooded Water Aspect, age 42
(played by: Richard Llewellyn — Volks Neo-Goh, face-up by forever_virginia)
Originally born into House Ledaal, and named for his late grandfather, Ayame was destined from his carefully-scheduled conception to be the perfect sorcerer— every planet and aspect of his horoscope scrutinized and weighed, every facet of his entire life planned out in full detail by his parents' political and social ambitions.
However, not even the most comprehensive of plans can thoroughly stifle the mind and imagination of a precociously talented and intellectually curious child. Inspired by the tale of the grandfather's heroic death, Ayame committed the extreme sin of expressing an interest in a military career like his grandfather's, rather than that of an academy-trained sorcerer as his parents had planned. The incident resulted in the first of his two facial scars and his being sent to the Dragon-blooded equivalent of a harsh reform school, to teach him the folly of his defiance. His feelings of hurt and betrayal turning to true rebellion, he stubbornly refused to give the groveling apology and total submission his parents demanded for reinstatement in their good graces.
Upon his graduation, he turned his back on his family forever, and competed for and earned admission into the Realm's premier military Academy, the House of Bells. There he was able to meet and study under General Sesus Heshiko, the man that his grandfather had given his life to protect, and prove himself not only a competent military officer, but also a tremendously talented battle sorcerer as well.
Ayame has now served as an officer in the Legions for nearly twenty years, and has the scars to prove it, surviving terrible injuries and facing all manner of foes. Twice he has very nearly duplicated his grandfather's heroic sacrifice, standing up to impossible odds in fulfillment of his duty, in one case surviving due only to supernatural intervention from a yet-unknown source that he prefers not to even contemplate.
A few years ago, he finally accepted General Heshiko's offer of formal adoption, taking the Sesus name as his own, and now regards the aging and disabled general as his father, and Heshiko's children, the twins Taran and Tchiat, as his younger siblings. And while those he calls his friends are still few, those he has are relationships he holds close to his heart—including one young mortal cousin, Tsubaru—who he very much hopes he will one day see again.
General Sesus Heshiko
Dragon-blooded Earth Aspect, age 200+
(played by: Robert Walter Pierce — Dragon Models figure, default face-up)
Father of Taran and Tchiat, and adoptive father for Ayame. A life-long military man, he retired from active duty due to disability (he lost a leg in battle somewhere), he now spends most of his time as a teacher of military strategy and history at the House of Bells. A proud and honorable man, with strong principles and a shrewd political acumen, he does not like the direction he sees the Empire (not to mention House Sesus) going at present, but also recognizes his limitations in being able to stop it. He focuses instead on preparing the next generation of Dragon-blooded warriors, which include his children, to hold fast to their traditional values and sense of honor, but he is also still in contact with others in the Realm who are likewise concerned with the Empire and its fate, which currently looks to be a bloody civil war unless the rival Houses can find some means of agreement on who should inherit the empty throne. He is very fond (and indulgent) of his children, particularly Taran and Tchiat, who remind him so much of their late mother—whom he still mourns.
Tansotu Ren, the faithful servant
Mortal
(played by: Edward Cook — Dragon Models figure, default face-up)
Shrewd, intelligent, resourceful and highly capable, whether knowing exactly what length of sleeve and style of obi are appropriate for a spring luncheon with someone whose political favor you would like to encourage but aren't willing to sell your soul for... or the precise mixture of herbs, oils, resinous wood chips and rice vinegar to produce a soothing balm for bruising... or which compounds in the Jade Palace have the most decrepit slave quarters and what kinds of locks the family uses to secure them... Ren is the master of many skills, both domestic and extra-curricular. He cares deeply about only two things—his personal quest to rescue and free as many slaves from the hands of brutal overlords as possible in his lifetime, and his utter loyalty and devotion to his master, Lord Citan, who joins him whole-heartedly on his quest whenever possible.
Ren was in his youth a soldier in the Legions. While he may well have been one of the original operatives of the secretive conspiracy known as the Shadow Road, that carries out the mission dearest to his heart, one carefully chosen slave at a time, he is far from young. He now leaves the more dangerous and athletic roles to Citan, and concentrates on the information-gathering and support side of things, as well as his more public role as Citan's personal servant, cook, and schedule-keeper. His loyalty is absolute, and he would willingly die to protect his master, though he realizes that he may well be called upon to protect his contacts and fellow conspirators in the Shadow Road in the same fashion, should their operation ever be discovered by Imperial authorities.
To be continued....