The magnificent powerbow Unyielding Tsunami has been passed down from father to son, or commander to soldier, since the Shoganute era. Stories of its power in high sea battles are the favorites of children and the inspiration that drove countless young Dynasts into the Navy of the Blessed Isle.
The tale of its creation varies from telling to telling, but the general consensus is thus. Versaad the Wavecutter was a hero of the seas, travelling for adventure and the glory of the dragons. Her accomplishments are many, but the important tale begins when her famous ship, The Mighty, was dashed to flinders from a tidal wave. The only survivor of the wreck, Versaad was fascinated by the untamed ferocity of the event and sought to tame its power for herself.
Journeying across the lands to the West, she sought out sages and sorcerers, smiths and lorekeepers, asking how she might wield the power of the sea. Most laughed at her quest, for Versaad was a woman of action and physical prowess, and the matters of sorcery were beyond her. But unwavering, she pressed on in her quest, ever-seeking the power of the waves.
At last, she found a hermit on an isle no bigger than her former ship. The hermit promised to forge a weapon to match Versaad’s ambition if she brought him the Heart of the Tides. The Wavecutter was fearless and boastful and promised to bring back the heart. Her quest took her across the islands of the West and through adventures plenty, but none had heard of this Heart of the Tides.
Finally, Versaad ventured into the seas of the Wyld, with only a small dingy and her wits. There she faced the embodiment of the seas, a predatory wave that tried to drown the Wavecutter. The mighty warrior wrestled with the wave for 5 days and nights until at least, she tore from it the Heart of the Tides. She brought it back to the hermit who had spent the years crafting a magnificent bow of black jade. Incorporating the Heart of the Tides into the weapon, Unyielding Tsunami was born and the Wavecutter wielded it in many stories more.
It is generally accepted that this story is more allegory than history, but it is the commonly accepted origin of the bow.
Unyielding Tsunami is a black jade powerbow. Its length is shaped with crashing waves as the sea. It is fitted with 2 hearthstone sockets, one at each tip. Despite its weight, the powerbow floats on any liquid surface and only sinks if its wielder desires it to.
A Solar or Dragon-Blooded who spends 2 additional motes to attune to Unyielding Tsunami gains 1 initiative every round that they make an attack with the Wet tag. The Wet tag is gained through the evocation Monsoon Armament, or whenever an arrow is completely soaked, either by passing through a liquid or in the midst of a downpour. Water-Aspected Dragon-Blooded anima flux count for this criteria.
Cost: 1m (+2m) Mins: Essence 1
Type: Reflexive
Keywords: None
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: None
Water is the great forger of life, the source of nourishment. But many are those who have learned that water is also deadly and punishing in the right circumstances. Unyielding Tsunami ensures it is the latter.
Monsoon Armament lets the wielder draw an arrow from an available source of liquid. While this is typically water, it could also be a cup of wine, a bottle of poison, or the blood of a spurting vein. The arrow can also be pulled from the rain if more than a drizzle, or with a stunt, something splashed in the air. There must be enough liquid to form an arrow from, and the exalt must be able to touch the liquid and draw it straight across the bow for it to form. Such arrows gain the Wet tag.
If the exalt pays an additional 2 motes when creating the arrow, they may draw the properties of the liquid they forge the shot from into its being. An arrow made from poison will inflict it upon its targets if it deals damage, while one forged from the blood of a diseased victim may cause its target to roll for contracting it. More creative uses of this evocation are subject to storyteller discretion for how they affect the victim. An existing arrow doused in a special liquid may be granted its properties for this evocations cost.
Cost: 5m Mins: Essence 2
Type: Supplemental
Keywords: Withering-Only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Monsoon Armament
The currents of the ocean dictate the ebb and flow of all life in the sea. So too, can the tides impact the field of battle. Any Withering attack supplemented by Tide Alignment rides the currents of war towards its target, gaining double 9’s on the attack roll. If it hits, the arrow explodes in a torrent of water, weighing down the foe. This causes the target to fall 3 initiative lower in the combat order, though they do not actually lose this initiative. Tide Alignment can only be used once per target, per scene, unless reset by crashing a target with this evocation.
If the attack has the Wet tag, it extends the distance the arrow may travel without an AIM action by 1 band.
Cost: 8m, 1wp Mins: Essence 3
Type: Simple
Keywords: Decisive-Only
Duration: Instant
Prerequisites: Tide Alignment
The flood is a force of nature that cleanses a land fiercely and decisively. Few survive its awesome power and Unyielding Tsunami channels that force into a single foe. Drowning Deluge is a Decisive attack that inflicts the force of a tidal wave upon its foe.
On a successful hit, convert a number of damage dice equal to the extra successes on the attack roll into automatic successes. The exalt may also choose to have the impact either knock the opponent prone or knock them back 1 range band automatically.
If the attack has the Wet tag, it also fills the target’s lungs with water drowning them. They get (Stamina x 2 rounds) to expel the water as an extended roll before they drown. Each round, the target rolls (Stamina + Resistance) at a difficulty 1 as a miscellaneous action that may be flurried. Each success causes the target to vomit up some of the liquid. The target number is equal to the number of extra successes on the attack roll. However, at the end of each round that the target is still drowning, they gain a cumulative -1 penalty to all actions. If the target runs out of air, they die.
This ongoing effect may be ended at any time by the exalt who unleashed it. Drowning Deluge may only be used activated once per combat.