Exalted

Introduction to the Compass of Celestial Directions Vol.1: The Blessed Isle
Blessed Isle Book to Release October 4th
Posted: 2006-09-07

The Compass of Celestial Directions Vol.1: The Blessed Isle, the next sourcebook for Exalted Second Edition, is scheduled to release October 4th, 2006. Preview this excerpt from the Introduction of this 160 page softcover guide to the heart of the Realm.

Introduction

To plunder, butcher, steal, these things they misname empire: they make a desolation and they call it peace.
— Tacitus, attributed to the Scottish chief Calgacus

Originally home to the gods in the time before the Primordial War and the center of the Solar-led Old Realm that followed, the Blessed Isle lies at the very heart of Creation and is home to the Scarlet Dynasty that has ruled Creation for the past eight centuries. The Isle is the pinnacle of civilization in the Second Age and has known peace and prosperity undreamed of by the remainder of the Exalted world. With the disappearance of the Empress, however, the Realm stands at the brink of civil war, as the scions of the Great Houses seek to promote one candidate or another to become the inheritor of the Scarlet Throne. Meanwhile, the long-imprisoned Lawgivers have returned, some with designs to smash the Realm and reestablish the dominance of the Solar Deliberative. Can the Blessed Isle weather this Time of Tumult, or is its long peace finally at an end?

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

The Compass of Celestial Directions, Vol. I—The Blessed Isle is a setting book designed to provide players and Storytellers with all they need to play games set in the Heart of the Realm. From the rough docks of Arjuf to the delicate spires of the Imperial City, from the foot of the vertiginous Imperial Mountain to the green sands of the picturesque Jade Coast, this book provides settings aplenty for every type of group and style of play—complete with dominion traits for Exalted's optional Mandate of Heaven rules.

Chapter One: History of the Blessed Isle

This chapter is a concise history of the Blessed Isle from its creation as the abode of the gods to its time as the center of the Old Realm, through the Dragon-Blooded Shogunate on down to the modern-day home of the Scarlet Empire. It includes a timeline of major events in the reign of the Scarlet Empress as well.

Chapter Two: Life on the Blessed Isle

Chapter Two offers an overview of what it's like to live on the Blessed Isle, whether one is disenfranchised, a slave, a peasant, a citizen, a patrician or even a Dynast. The Blessed Isle is the safest and most prosperous land in Creation. All it demands in return is the people's freedom.

Chapter Three: The Imperial Government

This section examines the government of the Scarlet Empire, a maze of overlapping agencies and redundant purviews designed to obfuscate the reality that the Empress was the one true power on the Blessed Isle. It remains to be seen if the Imperial Bureaucracy can survive the loss of its architect.

Chapter Four: The Immaculate Order

This section focuses on the Order of the Immaculate Dragons, the most powerful religious institution in Creation and the state religion of the Scarlet Empire. Included are descriptions of the Order's major religious centers and figures, as well as details of how its monks, nuns and priests advance though the Five Coils from lowly postulants to the Paragons themselves.

Chapter Five: The Land

This chapter concerns itself with the various dominions and prefectures of the Blessed Isle and the cities, points of interest and manses they contain. Divided by geographical region, the chapter provides an overview of who the movers and shakers are in each area, as well as each area's important natural and supernatural features.

Chapter Six: The Heart of the Realm

Chapter Six focuses on the Scarlet Prefecture and the Imperial City. At the hub of a Creation-spanning empire of Exalted demigods, this region is arguably the most important in the Exalted world and is presented in detail for those who wish to set their games there.

Chapter Seven: Gods & Creatures of the Blessed Isle

This section provides traits for the gods and beasts native to the heart of Creation. Although the preeminence of the Immaculate Order keeps the gods of the Blessed Isle on a short leash, the immense prosperity of the Isle and the strength of its institutions have still produced some of the Exalted world's most powerful gods. Also, while its lands were long ago cleared of dangerous predators, the Blessed Isle is still home to a number of unique creatures, some of which were engineered through breeding processes lost to the rest of Creation.