The High Lands suffered relatively few of the calamities that befell An-Teng after the Usurpation, due largely to its geographical isola- tion. While much of An-Teng’s ancient culture managed to root itself in the mountains and remain largely unchanged over thousands of years, so too did many of the creatures and spirits of An- Teng. Most notable among the venerable inhabitants of the High lands are Fair Folk that are in many ways similar to the Mountain Folk of the Realm. Other things live among the high forests and desolate slopes, however, things with less interest in indulging mortals and their de- sires than these Fey.
T
HEB
ANGIC
RAWLERANDTHEB
ANGI-F
LYDescription: Before the High Lands give
way to barren mountainsides, the thick forests of the Middle Lands crawl up the mountain faces. Having never been cut for fields or timber, the forests of the High Lands are sprawling, dense and teeming with strange life. Among the strang- est, and most dangerous, denizens of the high forests are the bangi crawlers.
The bangi crawlers nest among the sundari trees, great mangroves stretching hundreds of feet into the air and covering much of the so- called Lower High Lands. Their dark-green, segmented bodies, as long as a man is tall, allow the bangi crawlers to blend into the branches and leaves of the sundari trees. Despite their size and girth, the bangi crawlers are surprisingly fast, moving on hundreds of hair-like legs on the under- side of their bodies. Bright spots looking much like eyes appear on the back side of the bangi crawlers. These spots are designed to attract prey, such as the predatory tree striders (arboreal relatives of the claw strider de- tailed in Creatures of the Wyld, p. 31). The last segment of a bangi crawler’s body is, in truth, a poison sack. When a predator bites into the bangi crawler, it gets a mouthful of venomous tissue that quickly dis- ables all but the hardiest of the forest’s predators. The bite of the bangi crawler is also venomous, though it lacks fangs to deliver the poison: The creature’s saliva itself is venomous and can, albeit slowly, enter the victim’s blood through the skin.
The toxic nature of the bangi crawler is due en- tirely to its diet. Bangi crawlers subsist solely on the flowers of the bangi vine, a parasitic creeper that infests the high forests. The flowers of the bangi vine are gold in color, the same color as the bangi crawler’s “eye
spots,” with five broad petals and a bulbous center. In their natural state, the flowers can make a grown man ill or kill a small child if ingested. Once their poison passes through a bangi crawler’s digestive system, it becomes a deadly venom.
The bangi crawler is the larval stage of one of the High Lands’ most beautiful creatures and most ravenous predators, the bangi-fly. The creatures that the bangi crawler kills are not prey in the traditional sense: As stated, the bangi crawler eats only the flowers of the bangi vine. Instead, when a bangi crawler has grown mature and is ready to undergo metamorphosis into a bangi-fly, it waits until a large predator attacks it and is disabled by its venom. Once this has occurred, the bangi crawler swallows the creature whole. While it begins to digest the unfortunate victim, its outer skin becomes rigid and its hair-like legs root into the sundari tree in which it lives. The resulting cocoon is a dark-brown shell that blends perfectly with the trunk of the sundari tree.
For a month, the bangi crawler uses its victim as raw materials in its metamorphosis. At the end of that time, the cocoon breaks open, and the bangi-fly emerges. The bangi-fly is four feet long and has a wingspan of seven feet. While its body is the same dark green of the sundari foliage that the bangi crawler was, its wings are a brilliant array of colors and patterns. The people of An-Teng say that a person who stares deeply into the wings of the bangi-fly for a long time (provided he is not devoured by the predator) will see a painting of his future.
Newly emerged bangi-flies are extremely dangerous, for they must immediately gorge themselves in order to replace the energy lost during transformation. They will
B
ANGIC
RAWLERANDB
ANGI-F
LYName Physical Att. Will. Health Lvls Attack Dodge/Soak Abilities
Str/Dex/Sta Spd/Acc/Dmg
Bangi Crawler 4/3/4 4 -0x2/-1x2/ Bite: 4/6/2L* 3/6L/8B Athletics 2
-2x2/-4/I (Climb +2), Awareness 3, Brawl 2 (Bite +1), Endurance 2, Resistance 2, Stealth 5
Bangi-fly 3/4/4 4 -1/-1x2/ Bite: 6/8/5L* 6/5L/6B Athletics 3
-2x2/-4/I (Fly +2), Awareness 4, Brawl 2 (Bite +2), Endurance 2, Resistance 2, Stealth 4 * Both the bangi crawler and bangi-fly deliver venom through their bites. The Stamina + Resistance difficulty is 4. Success indicates 4B damage, while failure indicated 4B damage and the victim is paralyzed for a number of minutes equal to the health levels actually sustained from the poison. During this time, a bangi crawler begins to swallow its prey, which takes a total of two turns for small animals and four turns for human-sized animals. The bangi crawler will not swallow larger creatures. If a victim of the bangi-fly is immobilized by its venom, the creature continues to attack, devouring the victim on the spot. If another opponent attacks the bangi-fly, it will attempt to flee with its prey. The bangi-fly can fly at twice the normal rate for walking based on its Dexterity.
B
ANGI-F
LYM
ARKINGSThe folk tales surrounding the brilliant wings of the bangi-fly are indeed true. If a character spends three turns concentrating on the wings of a resting bangi-fly and spends a temporary point of Willpower, his player may make a Perception roll. Success indicates that the character sees an image of the future among the swirls of color. How immediate and how specific the image is depends on the number of successes rolled. One success reveals a very vague impression with an indeterminate time period, such as an image of battle in which the character is involved with no clear opponent. Two successes sharpens the image to be more specific, though the timing is still unclear: In the previous example, the enemy might be clear but the location of the battle would remain unknown. With three successes, the image includes hints as to when the event is to occur, such as a rising or setting sun, or perhaps indications of season, such as snow or autumn foliage. Four successes provides specific clues, dependant upon the event in question, that allow the character to determine the location and time of the event within a week and a few miles. With five or more successes, the image is perfectly clear, and all participants, its exact location and the very hour of the day of the event are known.
attack any creature large enough to be noticed, though they will not eat bangi crawlers or other bangi-flies. Bangi-flies possess powerful mandibles and are just as toxic as their larval counterparts. Bangi-flies live for over a decade, during which time they mate annually and stalk the mountain forests in search of prey.
G
OUKAEN, L
ESSERE
LEMENTALD
RAGONOFE
ARTHDescription: In the deep roots of the mountain
known as Grandfather, Goukaen waits. The elemental dragon was entombed there in the First Age by the Solar named Daring Flame for the crime of rejecting
the Chosen of the Sun as a confidant and companion. Even as Daring Flame and his allies closed the moun- tain around Goukaen, the Solar cursed the dragon to be so imprisoned until the Solars’ rule was no more, until the light of the Unconquered Sun no longer touched the mountain and until Daring Flame’s own bow and arrows were sundered. Enraged, Goukaen tore at the walls of the prison. While he managed to clear a wider cavern and create a substantial pile of rubble, he found there was no escaping the Solar’s prison save to await the day that Daring Flame’s prophecy came to pass. So, Goukaen began his long wait, neither sleeping nor moving, the only sound his whispered rage.
But the earth speaks, and there are those in Creation that can hear it, even if they do not under- stand what they hear. The legend of Goukaen and the prophecy of Daring Flame spread, crawling into the ears of wise women, the prophecies of holy men and the divinations of seers. Occasionally, even Earth- aspected Dragon-Blooded not so distracted by their holiday as to ignore the message hear the words of Goukaen. And some few have spoken back, muttering in their sleep or seeking a reward should the dragon ever be freed. In time, Goukaen came to understand what had transpired since his incarceration: the Usur- pation, the Contagion, the founding of the Realm and even the disappearance of the Empress. It is time, he realizes, to act, before the Solars retake the world or the Deathlords bury it in oblivion or the Fair Folk devour it with chaos.
Goukaen’s plan is simple: disseminate the true proph- ecy of his release through those unwitting pawns who can hear his rumblings beneath the mountain, embel- lishing the tale with promises of great riches within his lair and similar tales. While most will fail and die horribly in so doing, Goukaen knows someone — per- haps a Solar Circle seeking information about the First Age or perhaps a group of young Dynasts seeking glory and adventure — will free him. When loosed, he will rise up with all the fury the ages of imprisonment have created in him, fury he will unleash upon the Solar Exalted, the Dragon-Blooded and An-Teng itself.
Before his imprisonment, Goukaen was the guard- ian of the mountains of An-Teng and all the elementals that dwelled there. After he is freed and has had his fill of revenge, he will return to that duty. Such a powerful being unleashed in An-Teng will surely upset the bal- ance of things, especially considering how far the Celestial Order has decayed and how little control the spirit courts have over individual spirits. His reappearance will at- tract the attention of not only the gods and spirits of An-Teng, but also the powerful Exalted remaining in the land, including Sadana, the Lunar Mother of Serpents, and the deathknight known as the Shatterer of the Way. Though enraged, Goukaen will not immediately turn his wrath upon those who released him. In fact, Goukaen will owe a debt to these individuals, and while the dragon cannot be easily coerced into taking actions against his nature, he will keep to his promise and reward his saviors to the best of his ability. He knows much of the Old Realm and the First Age, including where many treasures from that time are buried, for the earth sings of such power held within it.
Nature: Survivor
Attributes: Strength 10, Dexterity 4, Stamina 12, Cha-
risma 4, Manipulation 5, Appearance 3, Perception 6, Intelligence 5, Wits 4
Virtues: Compassion 3, Conviction 3, Temperance 4,
Valor 4
Abilities: Archery 3, Athletics 3, Awareness 4, Brawl 5
(In Dragon Form +3), Craft (Sculpture) 4 (Working With Claws +3), Dodge 3, Endurance 6, Linguistics (Native: Old Realm; Flametongue, High Holy Speech, High Realm, Seatongue) 4, Occult 5, Performance 4, Presence 5, Resistance 6, Socialize 4, Stealth 2
Backgrounds: Allies 2/5*, Followers 2/5*, Influence 2/
5*, Manse 4**, Resources 5
* The number following the slash is the rating at which Goukaen will have the Background upon reasserting himself in the local spirit courts. While entombed, Goukaen can communicate to a small degree with a very few number of allies and followers.
** The cavern in which Goukaen is held is a level 5 Earth-aspected Demesne. Following his release and given
time, Goukaen can convert it into a Manse and grow a gem of adamant skin (see the Exalted rulebook, p. 339).
Charms: All listed Charms
Elemental Powers: Coarse Skin, Dragon’s Suspire,
Element’s Domain, Mobility, Rejuvenation
Cost To Materialize: 75 Base Initiative: 8 Attack:
Bite: Speed 5 Accuracy 12 Damage 15L Defense 12* Claw: Speed 8 Accuracy 13 Damage 13L Defense 13* Debris Storm: Speed 14 Accuracy 10 Damage 24L** * Goukaen may make one bite attack and two claw attacks without splitting his dice pool.
** Goukaen, if he spends a turn swallowing rock and stone, may, on the following turn, belch forth a storm of debris. This debris strikes all targets in a cone 80 feet long and 40 feet wide, beginning at Goukaen’s mouth. The attack can be dodged but not blocked. Make one attack roll, and apply it to all targets. Goukaen may perform this feat only once every three turns.
Dodge Pool: 7 Soak: 16L/32B (Dragon hide, 10L/
20B)
Willpower: 8 Health Levels: -0/-0/-0/-1/-1/-1/-1/
-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/Incap
Essence: 6 Essence Pool: 112
Other Notes: During his imprisonment, Goukaen’s po-
litical influence has waned, and he now has few allies. However, he is able to summon the aid of mercury ants (see Games of Divinity, p. 76) that dwell deep in the earth near to his prison. Upon his release, other earth elementals will flock to his banner, as will a number of mortals and Earth-aspected Dragon-Blooded with whom he has been communicating.
T
REES
TRIDERDescription: The tree strider is a smaller, tree-dwell-
ing version of the common claw strider. Smaller than the claw strider, the tree strider is only about four feet high at the shoulder and only about 12 feet long from snout to tail tip. However, tree striders are well adapted to the moun- tainous forests of the High Land and make up a critical part of the complex sundari mangrove forest ecology of the area, where they are the largest non-supernatural predator. The tree strider’s gripping claws and powerful leg muscles allow it to hurtle through the trees at breakneck speed. Males sport beautiful arrays of scarlet and iridescent plumage used in their mating displays. In addition, they hunt in smaller groups, typically lone males or a male and several mated females. Like the larger claw strider, they attack using their sharp claws and ferocious bite. Tree striders are not generally man-eaters, but the animals will attack weak, young or sleeping humans.
Attributes: Strength 5, Dexterity 5, Stamina 6, Charisma
1, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2, Perception 3, Intelli- gence 1, Wits 4
Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 4, Temperance 1,
Valor 5
Abilities: Athletics 5 (Brachiation +3), Awareness 3
(Sharp Sight +1, Spot Ambush +1, Track +1), Brawl 3 (Bite +1, Claw +1), Dodge 4, Endurance 1, Presence 2 (Intimidation +2), Resistance 2, Stealth 3 (Ambush +2, Hide in Plain Sight +1)
Base Initiative: 9 Attack:
Bite: Speed 8 Accuracy 7 Damage 6L Defense 7 Claw: Speed 9 Accuracy 9 Damage 4L Defense 8
Dodge Pool: 9 Soak: 5L/9B (Tough leathery skin,
2L/3B)
Willpower: 7 Health Levels: -0/-1/-2/-2/-4/-4/
Incap
Essence: 1
Other Notes: Unlike claw striders, tree striders are too
small for a normal mortal man to ride. They can be tamed as hunting beasts, but they cannot serve as mounts.