Mice of the Sun

Living will of the Unconquered Sun

High in the mountains west of Whitewall sits a long-forgotten temple of the First Age. The ancient fane stands slowly crumbling to dust at the edge of a mighty crevasse. Its precinct is silent, disturbed only by the wind and the snow that occasionally falls here during Water season. A mighty statue of a man, clad in priestly robes, stands over the altar at the temple’s heart, and the circular mark carved into the colossus’ forehead clearly identifies it as the image of a powerful Zenith Caste hierophant. The iconography is standard, marking the temple as a center of the Unconquered Sun’s worship, albeit one abandoned well before the fall of the Solar.

But even a learned scholar of First Age temple decorations would be surprised by what the statue holds in the palm of its outstretched right hand. The stone priest bears no sacred relic of holy weapon. Instead, he presents a gilt mouse for inspection. The statue, mouse and all, is unprecedented. There is a motto inscribed in the language of the Old Realm at the sculpture’s feet, but it too provides little in the way of illumination. It simply reads, “Let him who looks upon me learn to fear the gods.” The words of the message are easily grasped, but its subject proves elusive. Who is the stony figure that his offering up a golden rodent should cause such terror?

The answer is that it is the rodent, and not the man, who is memorialized. The mountain shrine commemorates on of the strangest victories in the annals of the First Age. Caught off guard by a Fair Folk assault, the Exalts of this region fell back in disarray. Defeat seemed imminent, and a Zenith acolyte turned to prayer as a last line of defense. The Unconqured Sun recognized the faith of the acolyte and sent him a vision promising him new allies. All the young priest had to do was to stand firm in the face of the Wyld onslaught. When he told the other Exalts of his vision, they laughed at him in despair and retreated to their Manses to wait out the storm.

Filled with shame for his people, the Zenith nevertheless kept his promise and rode forth to face the Fair Folk cataphracts. But he was not entirely alone. Many of the mortal inhabitants of the region stood with him. These humble men and women had no arcane redoubts in which to hide – they battle would be fought on their fields and their towns. They heard the words of the young priest and offered him their assistance, weak as it was.

Bravery such as this did not go unrewarded.

Convinced of their victory on the morrow, the Fair Folk host indulged itself into a stupor. Drunk, drugged or unconscious, they took no notice as the mice of the fields crept into their camp and ate up their quivers and their bowstrings. Nor did they hear the sound of countless tiny teeth chewing through the handles of their shields and the straps of their armor. When Creation’s army issued the call to battle at daybreak, the Fair Folk awoke to find themselves defenseless. The slaughter that followed was almost total, and the region enjoyed peace from any Wyld incursions for many generations to come.

This battle was not the first occasion on which the Unconquered Sun made use of his mice of the Sun, nor was it the last. Over the centuries, many a brave Solar heroes in dire straits has found his bonds nibbled through, courtesy of a small white mouse. They have helped heroes escape from labyrinths, delivered messages in the nick of time and so on – a most innocuous weapon, as well as a constant lesson that the strongest have a great deal to gain from the friendship of the weak.

The mice of the sun have a more sinister task as well. There are times when the nations of Creation ignored the Unconquered Sun’s precepts, turn away from his worship and engage in unrighteous behavior. At other times, they commit bestial acts that demand Celestial retribution. At moments such as these, small white mice creep into the palace of apostasy and the den of criminal behavior. They are invariably followed by death – a hideous disease known as the Solar Plague that spares no one guilty of crimes against the Unconquered Sun or the Celestial Order. Only those who have remained true to the path of virtue go unpunished – a clear sun of the Unconquered Sun’s displeasure and an indication to the sick and dying that repentance is still possible.

Entire cities have fallen victim in this manner, undone by their own blasphemous deeds. The mice of the sun are like their master, capable of both the greatest mercy and the severest justice. No one who encounters them can be entirely sure which side of the god he is on at that moment. And that is exactly what the Unconquered Sun wants.

  • Celestial Gods under the sole jurisdiction of the Unconquered Sun
    • In Celestial Hierarchy their word is the word of the Unconquered Sun - thus is the final word
    • No one would gainsay the word and choices of the Mice of the Sun, for by their very nature their action and words are the will of Sol Invictus
    • Woe to those who defy the avatars of the most gloried of glories
  • Mice of the Sun looks like normal white mice, complete with red eyes. The only obvious sign of their supernatural nature is the liquid orichalcum sunburst on their back.
  • Mice of the Unconquered Sun cannot fail Conviction and Valor rolls. Meaning they are completely devoted to their actions and no mercy or pleading can dissuade them from their task.
  • Vector of Vengence - Solar Plague
  • Mice of the Unconquered Sun is the embodiment of the Will of the Unconquered Sun. As such they known instinctively what the Unconquered Sun purposes and is immune to all Mental Influences - unless the aforementioned Mental Influence is powerful enough to turn the will of the Most On High.
  • Mice of the Unconquered Sun is intimiately connected to the Solar Exaltations, and as such they have all the Anima Powers of each Caste - though they can only use one active power on any given turn/action
    • E.g. they can use the Night's supernatural obscurement, or the Dawn's divine inspired terror, or the Zenith's righteous light, or the Twilight's damage reduction, or the Eclipse' Oath, but not at the same time.
    • Each mice have their own iconic abstract symbolism for their Anima
      • This anima is not a true Anima Banner
    • Being Gods they have no peripherial essence, nor do they have anima banners. So they must pay the activation cost each time.
    • What the writer forgotten is that the haxxor "Learn non-native charm" anima ability of the Eclipse Caste
      • In fact many of the Mice have learned other Charms - Micky have Solar Craft Charms and Dragon King Paths
  • Mice of the Sun are incapable of learning Sorcery. They have nothing to sacrifice, being the living will of the Most High.
  • Currently A colony of around 200 Mice of the Sun resides in the Central Hearth and they supervise the Lava Servitors. These mice like to ride the servitors while they are working within the manse for fun and for closer supervision. Since the Lava Servitor’s ability to pass through earth is not conferred to the mice, they usually monitor and direct their work via the Control Room.
    • The Mice of the Unconqured Sun have made no mention of their nature to others and seems keen to keep it that way.
    • No one who knows of their nature would gainsay this, thus keeping all in the Dark. This includes Nejimaru, who had strong suspcisions due to his access to the Salinan Working. With his passing no remaining Solars knows of the Mice's true importance.



Members

  • Micky, Essence 9
  • The 7 Mice of Gladrien Vanja1
    • They created Gladrien Vanja's Orichalcum Reaver Daiklave
    • Sneezy, Essence 5
    • Sleepy, Essence 3
    • Dopey, Essence 6
    • Doc, Essence 4
    • Happy, Essence 4
    • Bashful, Essence 2
    • Grumpy, Essence 5
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License