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What are they?
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Long ago, Autochthon "The Great Maker" and himself a Primordial, assisted the gods in creating the Exalted which they used to overthrow the rest of the Primordials and banish them from Creation. Authochthon himself eventually left Creation due to harsh treatment of his chosen people, taking away with him as many mortals and creatures that worshipped and served him as he could and departed for "Elsewhere".
Once there, Autochthon entered a state of near torpor while his people continued their great vigil of their titanic master from within him. Autochthon, in order to assist his servants and worshippers, created his own special machine exalted, the Alchemicals. Charged with the spark of their creator and made from the very magical materials the Exalted wield back on Creation, they are the masters, leaders and sometimes even the very cities of Autochthonian society. Unlike mortal exalted, they do not focus their essence through charms and magical effects but through drives and add-ons to their metal bodies.
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Ancient History
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The Alchemicals do not have an "ancient history" the way the other Exalts do, as most of their history comprises of "being created by Autochthon" and then "doing the work of maintaining their Machine God". While they have had a few adventures of their own; hunting down machine behemoths and purging technological heresies to name a few, their history as far as it relates to the game of Exalted is mostly recent.
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Modern History
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Within the past few decades the people of Autochthonia have begun to notice disturbing changes in their world. Things don't seem to be working as well as they used to. Strange creatures and beasts that were once held at bay seem to appearing with greater frequency. Various towers and structures have been collapsing. These things and more have led to a great deal of concern for all those who lived within their Machine God. After much investigation the people and Exalted of Autochthonia began to understand that their world was breaking down. To the best of their ability to comprehend it, it appeared to the people that The Great Maker was dying.
Plans have been set in motion to protect and save their evidently ailing God. The methods may vary (and the book itself may give ideas that this Storyteller is not presently aware of) but one thing is evident, the parts needed for the cure are not entirely present within the Machine God himself. Ancient tales, however, speak of a land from which Autochthon himself once left. A land of magic and resource. Of knowledge as well as material wealth. And it is in this land that the salvation for Autochthonia is believed to be found. The Alchemicals and their people have begun operations into Creation to search out these resources and fonts of knowledge that they may use to their ends. Whether strip-mining, forging alliances, kidnapping, plundering ancient vaults, creating scout teams or outright war, the Alchemicals and their Autochthonian servants are not limiting their options when it comes to the matter of preservering their home and their god.
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How do the Alchemicals view themselves?
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The Alchemicals are fully confident of their place in the grand scheme of things. They are aware of the other Exalted, either through lore or direct contact. As of such they hold to a certain level of superiority over the other Exalted. After all, the mortal exalts were created from the lesser stuff of Creation's gods while Authchthon forged them with his perfect knowledge and powered them with his perfect essence. This sense of superiority is not to be confused with outright arrogance or presume supremacy. The Alchemicals know that they are of a "strong breed", but are also aware that the people and especially Exalts of Creation can overcome their strength of breeding with cunning, borrowed power and the "home field advantage". As of such they consider their options carefully.
Generally speaking, they view their mandate of preserving Autochthon as above most of the pettier considerations of Creations denizens. While their individual motivations, purposes and methods may vary, all have some stake in seeing Autochthon survive at the cost of Creation, if necessary.
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How do others view the Alchemicals?
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By and large, most of Creation doesn't even know the Alchemicals exist, which suits the Alchemicals just fine. What little is known of them involves sighting in the Southern Threshold. Tales of men of metal who wield great weapons and abilities for unknown purposes. Some say they are First Age weapons being employed by some Southern Warlord. Some say they are Dragon Blooded or perhaps even Anathema using sleek human-sized warstriders. As they do not appear to be particularly interested in gaining imperium or expanding national borders, most of Creation is having trouble figuring out exactly what they are or what they want.
For the most part, the Solars, Lunars and Dragon-Blooded are taking a "wait and see" view of the Alchemicals.
The Sidereals do not know what the Alchemicals are either. They do know, however, that the Alchemicals are not linked to fate, which makes them outsiders. Whatever their view of the Alchemicals agendas, they tend to be wary of them as anything they cannot see in the Loom of Fate or control with it they tend to dislike.
The few that do know what the Alchemicals are, are those that are aware of their relation to the "Locust Wars"; a series of wars by marauders who seem intent on snatching up as much as they can (magic materials, Firedust, scholarly/occult lore and knowledge, etc) in multiple areas around the Southern Threshold, specifically around the city of Gem.
Wed Sep 01, 2010 6:19 pm