The Terrestrial Host suffered greatly at the end of the Second Age. Its Empress had fallen under the control of the Ebon Dragon and planned to free him using the Blessed Isle’s Imperial Manse. Through her potent Dynasty Charms, he also gained considerable dominance over most of her descendants. Her daughter Mnemon found sorcerous means of breaking her blood ties and used them on those Dragon-Blooded willing to ally with her. These Dynasts formed the leadership of the Righteous Orphan Rebellion. They did their best to stop the Scarlet Empress’s plans. Some Sidereals and Lunars provided secret assistance; politics were still bitter, but they wouldn’t matter if she and the Ebon Dragon succeeded.
The resulting guerrilla war involved the most spectacular amount of Essence use since the Usurpation. It might have destroyed the world had the Righteous Orphans not tried a risky geomantic effort. It took years, suffered many setbacks, and resulted in the deaths of many of the most powerful Terrestrials involved, including Mnemon. Fortunately, it succeeded. The Imperial Manse’s Essence flows were completely cut off from Creation proper. With her greatest weapon disabled, the Scarlet Empress fled deep into its interior. A sworn brotherhood consisting of the most powerful remaining elder Terrestrials pursued her. Their juniors concentrated on fixing the Blessed Isle’s shattered defenses-and, for once in Creation’s history, fighting alongside their outcaste cousins.
The outcastes desperately needed the assistance. The Fair Folk had taken advantage of Creation’s political chaos. Led by the noble Oberon, their massive military force was rapidly devouring the Threshold in waves of chaos. With the Imperial Manse deactivated and the only person who understood its secrets compromised, the Dynasts had no choice but to help the outcastes hold back the tide. Many fought alongside beings formerly considered Anathema. They were too desperate to care at that point.
And then, when the fey had claimed the shores of the Blessed Isle and the few hundred remaining Terrestrials were planning a last stand at the Imperial Manse, a massive red-haired woman appeared at the pinnacle of the Imperial Mountain. Every Terrestrial Exalted who saw her recognized her as Gaia. Knowing their patron was about to perform a last-ditch miracle, their greatest remaining savants gathered their peers in the Blessed Isle’s remaining, and still countless, Manses. Only when her Exalted were all safe and secure did Gaia initiate the Reshaping. Creation broke into countless pieces floating in a void, each with Manses. Habitable worlds had Terrestrials. What would become Earth wound up with the most: around ten. Other planets received one or two at most.
The Terrestrials did what they always did after disasters. They gathered what mortals they could find and picked up the pieces. Unfortunately, there was little hope of them maintaining their numbers, and they knew it. The Terrestrial savants were still hopeful. They knew that their power was part of Creation itself. Wherever they were, they convinced their peers not to lose hope. They needed to ensure that the mortals they arose from would survive without them and preserve their artifacts for future champions. Many new mortal settlements had a Terrestrial to thank for assistance, and their tomb-Manses’ demonic guards, traps, and treasure hordes entered legend. New champions would arise, perhaps to claim them. They still had little chance of reestablishing their society.
Meanwhile, Gaia and Autochthon watched from their world-bodies. Much of her attention had been directed outside of the universe until recently, and he had been completely absent. When they returned their focus to Creation, they noticed that the Terrestrials had done an admirable job of holding things together-but their bloodlines were fading fast. The dire situation didn’t dishearten the two free Primordials, though. Both saw it as an opportunity to fine tune the Terrestrial Exaltation.
That work began shortly after the first human civilizations reappeared. Gaia slowly charged Creation with her Essence, focusing on Earth in particular. Autochthon consulted with the Elemental Dragons and performed subtle but wide-ranging alterations to those mortals with Terrestrial bloodlines. These modifications were punctuated by arguments and disputes between the two about their nature. Gaia wanted to make the Terrestrials more fertile, all the better to spread across Creation. Meanwhile, Autochthon wished to make their animas less destructive and extend their lifespans. They took millennia to come up with a workable solution. When he finished his part of the project, Autochthon told Gaia, and the final phase began. She let the Essence she had stored in the interstellar ley lines flow freely.
At this time, Earth was in the middle of its Age of Discovery. European explorers had just discovered the American continents and peoples long separated were reuniting. Amidst the resulting turmoil, the first generation of Terrestrial Exalts appeared. Witch hunts inevitably came for them, and some died at the stake or from more obscure punishments. They were quite surprised when they returned to life years later. Some, particularly nobles or thaumaturges, went to ground in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia after their resurrections. The rest fled to the emerging colonies. Regardless of where they fled, they quickly learned how to handle their animas and subtly wield their Essence.
Some encountered other beings able to channel Essence. Most of them were other Terrestrials. Suspicion and personality clashes were inevitable, but the occultists among them quickly realized their mysterious powers worked more effectively when they cooperated. They began consulting with each other and using local secret societies as covers for their activities and meetings. Others met starry-eyed individuals who called themselves Sidereals. Most Terrestrial occultists were of two minds about them. They knew a good deal about elemental Essence, sorcery, and martial arts, all of which were useful. Their understanding of how the Terrestrials could give their children Exaltation was also vital. On the other hand, many Sidereals had a bizarre fixation on beings called (depending on the individual) Anathema or Solars. Eventually, most Terrestrials decided to maintain contact with these useful but eccentric figures and see what they offered. A handful of Terrestrials encountered odder creatures, such as silver-tattooed shapeshifters, free demons, and the fey. The most eccentric and isolated among them established arrangements with the equally eccentric Lunars. Most Terrestrials gave the demons and the fey a wide berth.
Their dealings with mundane society were much subtler than in the past. Outright rulership of the New World colonies didn’t appeal to many Terrestrials. While most violence couldn’t kill them, it could certainly hamper their plans, and their mortal friends weren’t immune to it. Some also remained devoted to monarch and country. Therefore, most Terrestrials favored gaining control of mercantile and bureaucratic interests rather than overt political and military conquest. Those with a gift for thaumaturgy infiltrated mortal occult and secret societies. Their effortless ability to channel Essence and wield sorcery quickly earned them respect. One society, the Freemasons, became of particular importance to many Terrestrials. Its lack of a unified structure, charitable interests, and thaumaturgic focus on artifice made it an appealing front. By the time of the Revolutionary War, Terrestrials headed most of its Grand Lodges and filled many positions in the upper ranks. They, and their families, would become known in the occult community as Cabalists.
Even those Terrestrials who weren’t Cabalists built considerable financial and political dynasties over the centuries. They simply designated their heirs as figureheads after their “deaths” and ran things from seclusion. Many of their relatives were also Terrestrials, and they viewed being an “heir” as an apprenticeship. Many more were what the occultists called “Aspected”: unable to use Terrestrial Charms, but able to conceal their animas and otherwise as tough as the Exalted. Their existence troubled the Sidereals, who knew that the Dragon-Blooded of the Second Age had never produced Half-Castes. The emerging Terrestrial clans had a more varied perspective. For every family that lumped its Aspected in with the mortals, there was at least one that treated them as actual Exalted. Nearly all clans agreed they were far less likely to attract mortal attention than “full” Terrestrials.
The American Revolution, and other colonial independence struggles, greatly divided Terrestrials and Aspected alike. Many Western Hemisphere clans supported the revolutionaries, for they were as affected by governmental excesses as mortals. Likewise, the Terrestrial families of Europe supported the governments they had often delicately influenced. Infighting was inevitable. Both sides shied from spectacularly obvious displays of Essence, though, and when many of the wars ended in liberation, the European Terrestrials cut their losses. They simply negotiated trading privileges with their American equivalents and played both sides in any ensuing conflicts. Only in the American Civil War did they fall firmly on the Union side, and then only because a Confederate thaumaturge had found a way to pacify Terrestrials. He was taken out of commission with covert Sidereal help.
The next decade was filled with polite but cutthroat power struggles among Terrestrial clans in the background. They shared Exaltation and elemental affinities, but not culture, and the non-European clans weren’t going to let their European equivalents dominate them without a fight. Unfortunately, the Terrestrial clans of Africa and Asia were even more fragmented than them. There was talk of some taking over their governments directly, as the mortal rulers were likely to fold to foreign pressure.
Then the heads of Terrestrial clans from different regions and of varying prominence began receiving mysterious messages in their dreams. When traced, they seemed to be coming from the moon. Separately, the clan heads asked who wanted to speak with them and requested more information. They all received the same answer: “I am an envoy from Autochthonia, and my assembly and I would like to discuss our worlds’ future with you.” Most of the elder Terrestrials knew who the Great Maker was. They each arranged to meet the envoy at the Redoubt of Tined Crystal, a Manse famed among all of Earth’s Terrestrials. If it was a prank, some reasoned, it would be a good one. If it was an assassination attempt, as others reasoned, their bodyguards would be there to protect them. Few considered that it might be real.
It was. Not only were many of the clan heads surprised to see each other, they found themselves faced with humanoids composed of the magical materials and whirring with clockwork Charms. The actual envoy was the orichalcum-plated Efficient Smith of Accords, and he introduced himself and his associates as Alchemical Exalted. The alien Exalted happily answered questions about Autochthon and their nature. When one of the elders asked to spar with their best fighter, they gladly did, and displayed their considerable technological advantages. Once the Terrestrials were confident that the Alchemicals genuinely meant them no harm, they sat down to negotiate.
By all accounts, the Terrestrials got an excellent deal. The clan heads refused to discuss the specifics of their agreement, and those who are alive today continue to do so. Even fewer individuals know the Autochthonian side of things. A few details were too obvious for anyone to hide. First, the Alchemicals gave the Terrestrials plans for magitech and other artifacts not produced on Earth for millennia. These included blueprints for what would become known as atelier-chapels, and the Alchemicals helped their new allies construct these wondrous facilities in remote regions. They also sent generous supplies of all six Magical Materials to the Terrestrial elders. Second, the elders agreed to forget their cultural differences (at least officially) and let the mortals of their nations decide what their wanted. They were free to manipulate and lobby as much as they wanted. Ultimately, though, they would have to let the mortals make the final decisions or face corrective measures.
The third part of the deal was also the least pleasant. For reasons only the Terrestrial clan heads who attended, their most trusted descendants, and the Alchemicals know, they turned on the Sidereals. The clan heads who agreed to the deal pressured their peers to join their crusade. Clan heads who refused to participate came under attack: usually social, but violent for the most dedicated dissenters. Alchemical involvement in this betrayal was apparently limited to identifying and tracking the Chosen of the Maidens and hiding Terrestrials from their divinations. The ensuing skirmishes still thinned Sidereal numbers to levels not seen since the Satries Incursion* of the early sixteenth century. They also decimated at least five small Terrestrial clans.
Emboldened at the ease of taking down surprised, exhausted, and frequently under-equipped younger Sidereals, the Terrestrial operatives got overconfident. They soon learned that the Sidereal elders could reshape reality with their martial arts. A dozen young Terrestrials got reshaped into footstools and topiaries before the elders called off the rest of them. They decided to shift tactics and hunt down what they now called “Insidious” before they could get that powerful. The loose fraternity called the Starbreaking formed to do so. Its membership would never exceed that of Freemasonry, but its zeal would more than make up for it.
The Alchemicals left the Terrestrials to their own devices, though they visited their allies frequently over the next few decades. Most took advantage of the imperialism of the ensuing era to acquire demesnes, amass fortunes, and develop connections with their foreign peers. Only when the Great Depression began did they begin to worry. Alien forces seemed to be targeting their economic and political interests. They didn’t seem to affect causality like Insidious manipulations did; the occultists and thaumaturges felt the entropic chill of death when they attempted to analyze affected individuals. Then, in the late 1930s, Europe’s Cabalists began fleeing to the Americas, claiming that the dead themselves were hunting them.
These were the Terrestrials’ first encounters with the Abyssal Exalted since the end of the Second Age. Many, galled by the Abyssals’ insolence, began hunting them in return. They died in droves. Most had no idea those they called Insidious were helping them against the avatars of Oblivion. The Lunar Exalted were far more open with their assistance than the Sidereals. Impressed by their ferocity and dedication against the Abyssal threat, several Terrestrials took them up on their offer to create a Fellowship of Moonsilver and Jade, which swore never to let the Abyssal Exalted wreak so much havoc on Creation again. Those Terrestrials might not have been so eager had they known about the Sidereal Silver Faction. Still, they managed to prevent the Abyssals from using the Second World War to build large-scale shadowlands on Earth.
In the ensuing Cold War period, Terrestrials engaged in warfare, diplomacy, and espionage on both sides. The elders still (mostly) maintained political neutrality among themselves, caring about the conflict only as much as it affected their holdings and plans. Their children and descendants were often much more politically involved. Some defied their elders’ dictates of neutrality and took sides. A few defected to enemy nations and their clans. Many Terrestrials were so enmeshed in politics that they barely noticed the Infernal incursion.
Those that did, including a few members of the Fellowship of Moonsilver and Jade and two or three Starbreaking operatives, immediately went to investigate the sightings. That particular group came upon a team of Sidereals about to engage several Infernals. Chaos ensued. The Sidereals came under attack from the Starbreakers, while the Fellowship members attempted to restrain their fellow Terrestrials. Meanwhile, the Infernals laughed and took advantage of the infighting, at least until the Fellowship Terrestrials succeeded in convincing the Starbreakers to turn on them. (The Infernals’ ambushing and killing a mote-drained elder Sidereal was a major point in that favor.) Realizing they were now outnumbered, the Infernals retreated back to Malfeas. All sides took casualties and suffered deaths. While most of the surviving Terrestrials were distracted, the Sidereals retreated.
The incident caused one elder involved, the Earth Aspect Ofelia Flores, to consider her doubts about the true nature of the “Insidious.” She reasoned that beings with ill intent toward Creation would not have fought off the demonic invaders. While there had always been Terrestrials who had disagreed with official policy on the Sidereals, they usually kept quiet out of fear or lack of concern. Flores was too powerful to silence easily. Quietly, she began to search for others who were curious about the truth.
After the Cold War ended, the Terrestrials continued their usual activities, taking advantage of the resulting political fragmentation. Many warlike clans were not sure what to do and often engaged in aggressive, but still covert, schemes to maintain their nations’ armed forces. The diplomatically and economically-oriented clans adapted more easily to the atmosphere. All watched for Abyssal, Infernal, and Insidious influence as best they could. The burgeoning environmental movement served as a side activity for more idealistic Terrestrials. Wherever its recruiters were, so was the Society of Moonsilver and Jade, who found the movement compatible with its tenets. Meanwhile, the Starbreaking’s operatives held their ground against questions about the Insidious. The times remained tense, but there were no more alien incursions onto Earth.
The peace couldn’t last. Five years ago, people began glowing with the light of the sun and besting entire brotherhoods of Terrestrials. At least two or three of them were clan members. The elders remembered what the Insidious had told them about the Solars. When they asked their Alchemical liaisons, they confirmed it. Those Terrestrials involved with the Fellowship of Moonsilver and Jade questioned the Lunars. They suspected a connection between themselves and the new Exalts. Conclusive answers were and remain hard to find.
Thus, the Terrestrials have contented themselves with suppressing knowledge of the most spectacular Solar Exaltations, aiding Solars who cooperate with them, and discussing their possible purpose. The general consensus is that they were meant to assist against the Insidious. Dissenters suspect they might be their reinforcements. Many clans still have an interest in recruiting them. If they knew that their distant ancestors had died by the thousands to kill the Solar Exalted, and why, they might not be so eager. Hopefully the Solars of this Age will not give them reason for a second Usurpation.
*Satries is a confederation of planets with the dubious honor of being the biggest civilization on the border of the Wyld. In the early sixteenth century, around the time the Terrestrial Exalted reappeared, the first fey army since Oberon’s invasion charged into the Satries star system. It was massive enough, and had enough behemoths in it, to be a problem. The Lunars in charge of the Satries Confederation took exception. When fate planning revealed that the star system had countless Wyld zones suitable for forming freehold components, so did several Sidereal Exalted. The resulting conflict lasted a century and resulted in the deaths of thirteen Sidereals and five of Satries’ Lunars, but the system barely managed to remain stable.
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