Of all the Sidereal political groups, the Silver Faction is the youngest when it comes to notable influence. Its ideals are surprisingly ancient: older than its competitors’ philosophies, to be precise.
There were always Sidereals who paid special attention to the Lunar Exalted. Only three or four existed at a time. That didn’t stop them from monitoring the Lunar borderland colonies of the First Age. The Solars had given these territories to their mates after creating them with the Wyld-Shaping Technique. Within their borders, the Sidereals of the proto-Silver Faction saw many admirable qualities: versatility, independence, and endurance. They found these societies intriguing and often discussed them in private meetings and at parties.
When their peers decided to overthrow the Solars, these Sidereals realized that those who escaped the banquet at Meru might retreat to their mates’ territories. They couldn’t allow the Lunar holdings to burn in the Usurpation’s fires. Therefore, regardless of whether they supported the Vision of Gold or the Vision of Bronze, the proto-Silver Sidereals did whatever they could to prevent that. The three who supported the Usurpation ensured that most Solars could not escape and harried those who did. The dissenter concentrated on helping Lunars flee to the borderlands. Both sides tried to minimize damage to the Lunar holdings as much as possible. As a result of their work, the Threshold colonies weathered the Usurpation with only moderate damage. The Terrestrial Shogunate still hunted Lunars who dared to avenge their mates. It considered actually rooting the Lunars out of their territories too dangerous thanks to proto-Silver Sidereals’ covert assistance.
Sadly, the Contagion and the Balorian Crusade were immune to social engineering. The Lunars’ holdings and followers suffered as horribly from the Contagion as the rest of Creation. When the tides of raksha started flooding in, even the Exalted were hard-pressed to hold them back. The proto-Silver Sidereals risked their lives to aid the Lunars. At least one died doing so. That assistance might have given the Scarlet Empress enough time to figure out the Imperial Manse and drive back the raksha. Afterwards, the proto-Silver Sidereals were no less busy. Their Bronze Faction peers made deals with the Scarlet Empress and the Immaculate Order. Their Gold Faction equivalents were wooing sympathetic allies in Heaven. The proto-Silver Sidereals didn’t even consider themselves a faction. That didn’t stop them from negotiating with the saner Lunar elders. In return for assistance against the Wyld, they would provide information on the raksha and try to protect Lunars whose destinies bought them into civilization. These Sidereals were even somewhat successful on the second part. At least one newly-Exalted Lunar made it off the Blessed Isle thanks to their intervention.
The Oberonian Conquest that prompted Gaia’s Reshaping nearly exterminated the proto-Silver Sidereals as they fought at the Lunars’ sides. Still, the survivor, a Chosen of Endings named Laughing Brand, was fairly content. What was the Threshold had become the depths of space. The Lunar nations were safe on their own worlds. No other Exalted-not her rapidly-incarnating peers of other factions, not the all-but-extinct Terrestrials, not the dispersed Abyssals and mysterious Green Sun Princes-would trouble them again without going through a lot of trouble. The return of the long-extinct Solars didn’t even enter her mind. As far as Laughing Brand was concerned, the Lunars were free to work without outside interference for the first time in history. She did wish the Threshold had not become so massive. Unfortunately, she had more pressing concerns. Technically an Independent, the middle-aged Exalt threw herself back into the Bureau of Destiny’s far-flung work.
That didn’t mean Laughing Brand abandoned her ideals. She knew the Lunar Exalted had survived, and she still believed they could foster qualities Earth’s societies often lacked with Sidereal aid. The trouble was finding Lunars willing to reveal themselves. With the repair of the Mask, many of the Lunar elders remembered the Sidereals’ role in the Usurpation. They didn’t want to talk. Many of their subordinates felt the same way, and all kept as low a profile as they could. They also cut ties to nearly all their allies in the Bureau of Nature. Neither of these obstacles dissuaded Laughing Brand. Staying under the radar of the Gold Faction, and ignoring the Bronze remnant, she spent the rest of her life searching. Fortunately, while she was as hubristic as any Sidereal, she had enough sense to find and befriend colleagues sympathetic to her goals. A mortal could still count the proto-Silver Sidereals on one hand. They were all quite dedicated to finding the ever-elusive Lunars, though, and when Laughing Brand died, her colleagues continued her work.
Finally, after several millennia and the deaths of all the Second Age Lunar and Sidereal elders, a young proto-Silver Chosen of Journeys, Aditi of the Clouds, established contact with the equally inexperienced No Moon Warped Talon. Her philosophical sympathizers celebrated. Then she bought Warped Talon to Yu Shan. It was official Celestial business (Amoth City-Smiter, God of Ruins, was looking for Lunars as well), but a trio of other Sidereals learned of his presence. Luckily for Aditi, they were Independents seeking allies for interstellar missions. She was no fool about how Yu Shan politics worked. The young Chosen of Journeys persuaded Warped Talon to share the locations of some of his allies and convinced the Sidereals asking questions to support her cause. None of the involved parties realized what this meant until much later. The proto-Silver Sidereals’ numbers could no longer fit on one hand. They were on their way to becoming an actual faction.
There was still much work to do before that. Most of the Silver Faction Sidereals maintained apparent Independent status. The last thing they wanted was to be forced to the margins of Celestial society like their Bronze Faction colleagues. To prevent that, the Silver Faction concentrated on building slow but solid support. Its members worked in secret to gather divine allies. Acting as middlemen between the Bureau of Nature and the Lunars, they rebuilt the lost Celestial connections. They watched newly-Exalted Sidereals for an interest in other Celestial Exalted and recruited particularly receptive members. When the Terrestrials returned to Earth, they avoided direct interaction in favor of telling the Lunars. Of course, they also continued sharing intelligence with their allies.
That was how the Silver Faction was the first to learn of the Alchemical invasion. The ships that came out of his body attacked the Lunars’ extraterrestrial territories first. Its Sidereals provided what assistance they could between their Celestial tasks, but they did so at a highly inopportune time. Many of them were out in space when the incursions on Earth began. Their peers badly needed their assistance. Feeling suspicious, the Gold Faction wondered if those few Sidereals were hiding something.
For its part, the Silver Faction was as blindsided by the Alchemical attacks as everyone else. The Terrestrials’ sudden alignment with the Alchemicals was nearly as surprising. Still, its members knew they had to act or risk auditing or worse. During that year’s Calibration festivities, the Silver Faction leaders secretly met with their Lunar equivalents. Their discussion was as heated as the Gold Faction’s Council of Elders meeting. When it ended, the elders had devised a risky plan. They would reveal their Lunar alliances to the Gold Faction. More arguing ensued at that meeting.
Luckily for the Silver Faction Sidereals, the realities of the invasion overcame pride. The Gold Faction elders demanded some concessions. Any Lunar Celestial officials would be monitored. They also put the Silver Faction in charge of finding a solution to the Terrestrials’ sudden shift in loyalties. In return, those Sidereals who were in the Threshold during the Alchemical attacks got cleared of all suspicions. The Lunars also got to demand concessions: reforms in the treatment of the Celestial City’s mortals and promises that the Sidereals would not harm them in Heaven. Rumors were inevitable after the agreements became public. The Silver Faction used the political upheaval as cover for recruitment.
Having become a proper faction at last, the Silver Faction uneasily stood beside its political opponents. It helped fight off the Alchemical invasion. Afterwards, its members continued what they had done for millennia: assisting the Lunars. The new operatives made that task easier. Thanks to not having to stretch its membership quite so far, the Silver Faction was able to field teams on Earth and in space during World War II. The combined efforts of its Sidereals and their Lunar allies kept at least one Deathlord’s forces from providing reinforcements. It returned to space afterwards. Leaving the Cold War to the Bronze and Gold Factions, its members concentrated on preparing the Lunar nations for possible extraterrestrial encounters. They, and their Lunar allies, did return to Earth during the Infernal incursion. Other than that, the Silver Faction stuck to space.
At present, the Silver Faction’s position in Yu Shan remains uncertain. The Gold Faction still doesn’t entirely trust its operatives. The Bronze Faction worries that its operatives are spying on the reclaimed territories and Project Stanewald. Meanwhile, the Silver Faction Sidereals would prefer to stay out of the other factions’ politics altogether. The return of the Solars is another concern. Some Lunar elders have become interested in them for no apparent reason. At least one Silver Faction member’s plans have experienced complications from this phenomenon. Finally, the emergence of the Nocturnal Exalted has this faction’s Sidereals as confused as everyone else. They see similarities between them and the Lunars. Yet the differences are confusing. For now, the faction as a whole is taking a wait-and-see approach.
The Willingness to Cooperate
In Yu Shan, the Silver Faction is notable (notorious in some quarters) for its willingness to work with all of Creation’s native Exalted. It still concentrates on its original Lunar allies. If a Solar or a Terrestrial appears promising, though, the faction’s operatives won’t hesitate to provide covert assistance. This stance occasionally causes friction with the rest of the Fivescore Fellowship. It’s also led to breakthroughs in recent centuries.
The Silver Faction has neither the prominence of the Gold nor the notoriety of the Bronze. Most natives of Yu Shan assume that the Moon and Maidens Accords and the addition of Lunar Celestial officials to the Celestial Bureaucracy were edicts from the bureau heads or the Incarnae. Many still treat the Silver Faction as a social club. These misconceptions suit its Sidereals just fine. They can perform factional operations without getting as embroiled in Heavenly politics as their Gold equivalents. Since their leaders were careful in revealing the extent of their influence to the Gold, they also don’t work under the obstacles their Bronze colleagues face. Silver Faction Sidereals still can’t escape the pull of their peers’ rivalry. One or two monitor the Gold Faction’s efforts to recruit Solars. They want to ensure that encounters with their mates are peaceful and that the Solars are permitted their independence. Another two or three want to stop the Bronze Faction’s suspected plans to flee Yu Shan. They either feel sorry for the Bronzers or think it’s a bad idea for the deiphage control people to leave. Most just try to stay out the mess altogether.
The Silver Faction’s greatest Earth-based success has been the Fellowship of Moonsilver and Jade. Ostensibly a secret society for Terrestrial environmental activists, the organization is a joint Lunar-Silver Faction front. Its members lobby for better industrial standards and wildlife preservation and encourage self-reliance. They also join the Lunar Exalted in their never-ending skirmishes against the Fair Folk. Many senior Terrestrial members suspect some of their instructors are the dreaded Insidious (the contemporary Terrestrial term for Sidereals). Since the Insidious teach them the Five Dragon Paths that resonate with their elemental aspects, though, many are willing to keep quiet. A few are even beginning to wonder if the Insidious are so bad. Thus, in its own subtle way, the Silver Faction provides a cover to hide Celestial operations on Earth and a way to alter Terrestrials’ opinions about the Sidereals. The Fellowship of Moonsilver and Jade might have also affected the Terrestrials’ reactions to Solar Exaltations. Far from panicking, a minority have decided to take in the newly emerging Exalts. This is as the Silver Faction wants; a Creation with all its heroes working together is easier to defend.
Still, the faction has experienced the most success cooperating with the Lunar Exalted. Silver Faction Sidereals serve as advisors, intelligence analysts, and consultants for Threshold nations. In many ways, this is no different than what they have done for centuries. The main difference is that contemporary aid is much more open than in previous eras. While few Silver Faction Sidereals would openly say they are Sidereals or use their salaries to boost Lunar nations, they will happily take on identities as minor officials. They also don’t hesitate to provide sorcerous or Charm-based support. Few Lunars refuse. Indeed, a growing group of modern Lunars consider the Silver Sidereals atoners. Their willingness to trust the Chosen of the Maidens has bolstered Creation’s defenses against the Wyld and eased conflicts between their nations. This is what the Silver Faction wants. It just hopes that the tides of fey do not increase. Like all the factions, it has too few people and too much Creation to cover.
Silver Faction Castes
In addition to their Bureaucracy-mandated duties . . .
- Chosen of Journeys watch over the transport networks of Threshold planets and interstellar states, chauffeur Lunar Celestial officials between home and work, and coordinate factional communications. Even for Sidereals, their abilities are valued. The factional elders often give them more leeway than members of the other castes.
- Chosen of Serenity who work for the Silver Faction are its frontmen and spokeswomen in Heaven. They also soothe the nerves of Lunars working as Celestial officials, ensure the health of Threshold worlds and nations, and construct artifacts used against the Fair Folk. Thanks to their background social operations, their faction’s revelation went smoothly and with less tension than it might have otherwise.
- Silver Faction Chosen of Battles monitor the edges of the universe, where the Fair Folk harry the fortress-outposts of the Lunars. They usually play consultant roles, advising Threshold governments on defense policy and providing “lost caches” of anti-Wyld weapons. When all else fails, they’re not afraid of fighting as adjuncts to their allies’ command staff.
- The Chosen of Secrets gather information on the Wyld, assist Lunar leaders with intelligence and counterintelligence efforts, and protect factional secrets. Their activities kept the existence of an organized Silver Faction secret for several millennia. Nowadays, some engage in friendly competitions with No Moon Lunars to see who can hide information more effectively.
- The Chosen of Endings focus more on Earth than their colleagues do. They supervise the Fellowship of Moonsilver and Jade’s martial arts training program, fight Fair Folk incursions from Wyld pockets, and ensure that the Celestial Bureaucracy does not turn on Silver Faction interests. Off planet, these Sidereals have a special interest in protecting their allies’ nations from the Deathlords.
Silver Faction Characters
- Silver Faction Sidereals have a reputation for openness (though many are playfully circumspect at times). Many of their colleagues take this as a desire for acceptance. In reality, it comes from these Sidereals wanting to be honest with their allies. Lunars can often outfight them. There’s also the matter of the Usurpation, which some Lunars still remember. Silver Faction operatives can and have become Heart’s Blood fodder when someone thought they were being dishonest.
- Of all the factions, the Silver Faction has the most liberal attitudes toward marriage. It doesn’t care how Sidereal members handle their families as long as they have children. Some Silver Faction Sidereals have multiple spouses. Others don’t marry at all. Most still take only one spouse.
- Silver Faction mortal, God-Blooded, and Half-Caste agents are no better or worse equipped than most un-Exalted agents. They do tend to be somewhat esoteric. Silver Faction Sidereals have accepted the services of beastmen, hired Lunar Half-Castes, and even converted Fair Folk to gods (though they don’t talk about that last one).
- Silver Faction Sidereals are the standard when it comes to acquiring Backgrounds. Their average Salary rating is 2, and most younger operatives don’t have Arsenal, Backing, Celestial Manse, or Salary higher than 3. They do have an easier time getting Connections/Lunar Exalted than their peers. Nearly all Silver Faction Sidereals will have at least one dot in that Background.
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