Daybreak
Caste
As the Unconquered Sun is slowly reborn
after its nightly death, the darkness of night is forced to retreat before the
light of day. The dark shadows stand as the last line of defense against the
sun, sheltering the creatures of darkness and death and hiding the night’s
secrets from the living. And so, the Daybreak Caste offers refuge to the dark and
morbid secrets of the Underworld, taking forbidden knowledge and using it as a
weapon against the crude ignorance of life.
In the Underworld, the Children of Bone
are the creators of the Deathlords’ arsenals. From
their minds and hands come the mighty engines of destruction, legions of armed
and armored dead warriors and powerful necromantic magics
that form the cornerstone of their masters’ armies. Daybreak Abyssals travel to the deepest depths of the Underworld in
search of the endless scraps of lore, weapons and magical power that have
passed into the realms of the dead. As the most learned beings within the
Underworld, they seek knowledge from any source available, be it the ghosts of
long dead scholars or from the Malfeans themselves.
When unleashed upon Creation, these Abyssals seek to test the magical and material arts of the
dead against those of the living, leaving dead armies and blighted landscapes in
their wake. The Daybreak Castes also continue their endless quest for dark
knowledge and mystical power, scouring the tombs of long-dead Exalted and
searching for those treasure troves of artifacts hidden from the Dragon-Blooded
in the wake of the Great Betrayal.
Members of the Daybreak Caste are chosen
from among those who are unafraid to seek out even the most forbidden and
blasphemous learning and lore and those who seek to apply that knowledge to
dark and morbid effect. Few are content to remain mere bookkeepers, no matter
how enticing the idea of spending centuries pouring over the libraries of the dead
may be. The way of They Who Work Unclean Arts is that of the grave robber, the poisoner, the soul-forger, the demonologist, the
vivisectionist, the necromancer and the crafter of mighty undead siege engines.
Each possesses not just an obsession for knowledge, but a grim need to see it
applied in the name of death.
As members of a Circle, Bone Children are
called upon for their command of the darkest of dark arts. When magic and
learning are needed, the Daybreak Caste is the one others look to for answers.
Anima Banner: The Caste Mark of the Daybreak Caste Abyssals is a dark circle branded on their brow, the top
half filled in with black and the bottom half being only an empty border.
During large expenditures of Peripheral Essence, this circle will bleed along the
edges. Their animas tend toward the more spectacular colors of the Underworld,
displaying the whole range of grays with some purples and even dark greens.
Anima Effects: Abyssals of the Daybreak Caste may channel Essence
through their animas, filling them with the swirling power of the Underworld.
If, after an enemy’s player has rolled damage, the Exalted would take health
levels of damage, then he may spend 5 motes of Essence to strengthen his anima
in an attempt to stop the attack. Roll the character’s Essence, and for each
success, he can subtract one health level from the damage the enemy would have
done. This effect can turn an otherwise deadly blow or reduce a weak attack to
harmlessness.
Caste Abilities: Members of the Daybreak Caste excel at
seeking a further understanding of death and in the applications of that
knowledge. They have a natural affinity for the Abilities of Craft,
Investigation, Lore, Medicine and Occult.
Associations: The season of autumn, the colors of orange
and black, the western direction, the corpse-element of bone and the crescent
moon
Sobriquets: They Who Work Unclean Arts, Shadows of the
Abyss, Children of Bone, Descending Darkness
Concepts: Fallen shaman, artificer, obsessed scholar,
death witch, military engineer, Deathlord’s interrogator,
plague bringer
Do you see
this picture? That is
what you
will look like when I
have
finished operating. Do not
worry,
you will also be dead.