Jade Caste

 

All other castes of Alchemicals deal with humanity at the periphery, some as distant or secret leaders, others as police and some as spies of the Tripartite. In contrast, virtually all members of the Jade Caste interact with mortals daily on a surprisingly egalitarian footing. They are the public face of the Alchemicals as a whole, the necessary executive officers and middle management who rally mortal laborers and fighters to excellence. Whenever and wherever there is work to be done of any consequence, the Hammers of Autochthon involve themselves. This is not to say that they are menial in any capacity, nor are they regarded as second-class Exalted by the other castes. As the Chosen of Autochthon, members of the Jade Caste are inherently extraordinary and heroic, representing an incredible investment of resources on the part of their home cities. Some tasks mortals simply cannot do, or if they can, they cannot do so economically or safely. The Stone Hands are phenomenally tough and far quicker to react than mere mortals and can easily work with chemicals, forces and hazardous materials that would prove immediately and agonizingly fatal to human laborers. On projects of this nature, these living engines of construction and industry shine.

While single-handed feats of heroic industrialism are certainly impressive, such individualism runs contrary to the Autochthonian ethos. This being the case, members of the Jade Caste focus more of their efforts on facilitating the success and power of the communities to which they belong. Their stirring speeches and tireless examples improve morale and productivity across the factories. At their best, they are pious and appropriately humble, neither unduly discounting nor overestimating their considerable value. In this conduct, they show the spiritual lesson that the parts do make the whole, and in their combination, the whole is greater than any parts. Many Executives claim membership in the Theomachracy, not as scriptural interpreters or theological savants like the Shining Ones, but as lectors and paragons.

The durability of the Jade Castes aids them in battle as much as industry, enabling them to take tremendous punishment when faced with gremlins or some of the deadlier thaumaturgical weapons developed by Void cultists and exiles. They also use their Charms and civilian expertise for battlefield support, reengineering terrain, deploying prefabricated fortifications and operating powerful artifact war machines. Then, too, they also command units of mortals more effectively because of their ability to empathize and recognize human frailty. Jade Caste commanders seldom push troops beyond their limits unless absolutely necessary, and most ask nothing that they would not expect tenfold of themselves. As such, they tend to command some of the most loyal units, and instances of soldiers throwing themselves in the path of a gremlin’s unseen acid spray to save their leaders from injury are more common than one might think.

The eldest members of the Jade Caste adopt the standard urban-industrial model of architecture that is the stereotypical Autochthonian city. They are the template from which all other models define themselves by deviation and specialization. Other schematics certainly exist among the Stone Hands, but they remain in the narrow minority.

Caste Markings: Favoring an aesthetic of simple functionality over the baroque designs of other castes, Jade Charms are normally blocky and rough looking. The Hammers of Autochthon may be beautiful or homely and vary widely according to temperament and vocation, but most lie somewhere comfortably between. Although some Executives display a veritable kaleidoscope of colors, freely mixing the five colors of jade, most eschew such clashing excess in favor of one or two complementary hues. After all, an inability to embody simplicity and harmony in such a little respect indicates a spirit unsuited to deeper enlightenment. The animas of this caste express the predominant hues of jade used in their Charms and typically incorporate layers of intersecting polyhedrons in a geometric lattice.

Anima Effect: By reflexively spending 5 motes, members of the Jade Caste can fortify their flesh against injury. Skin and features harden as the wave of Essence passes, transmuting the character’s claylike flesh into a sheath of flexible stone. This power adds a character’s Essence to her natural bashing and lethal soak for the scene.

Caste Attributes: Built to endure the trials of industry and war, Jade Caste Alchemicals claim Stamina as a Caste Attribute. In their role as the most public Caste and the Alchemicals most likely to directly lead mortals, they cultivate Charisma. For the last, they must regularly adjust an abstract plan to circumvent unforeseen challenges, and so, they must often rely upon their Wits.

Associations: The color green, jade, the element of metal, truth, unity

Sobriquets: Stone Hands, Executives, Hammers of Autochthon, Blessed of Runel

Concepts: Hero of the factory, voice of the Populat, guardian of morale, arbitrator

 

 

We must all work extra

shifts to meet our quota.

I will take ten.