Yo-Ping
From Thirdexalt
YO-PING Yo-Ping is the Celestial Minister of Harmony and God of Peace, and while he nominally answers to Taru-Han, her focus on her own interests means that Yo-Ping comfortably does whatever he wants with little or no oversight. Along with Uvanavu and Luranume, he is also one of the three Syndics of Whitewall and the most powerful of the trio. He oversees the five directional gods of peace and political stability that counterbalance the directional gods of war; because of this, Yo-Ping often consults THE SYNDICS The identity of the Syndics as Luranume, Yo-Ping, and Uvanavu is a secret known only to a handful of beings in Yu-Shan, one covered up by the Bronze Faction out of fear that the Syndics’ heavenly political power will embolden the Golds. Among them, the Syndics are so highly placed that they lie beyond the auditing power of any bloc in Heaven. The only weak link in their security is that Uvanavu is so extraordinarily stretched thin by his conflicting responsibilities that his foes within his department may assassinate him out of hand, not even knowing he’s a Syndic. The Bronze Faction hopes to capitalize on that vulnerability by utilizing Uvanavu’s rival Livilla, if possible, and then discarding her to rid themselves of the smoking gun linking them to the matter. The most delicate aspect of the whole plan is Yaogin, Uvanavu and Livilla’s superior. If he is hurt in the power struggle, the favor the Maiden of Serenity holds for him means that those involved will be subject to censure by Venus, at the very least, and she will surely not rest until the conspiracy is revealed. CHAPTER FIVE: THE ROLL OF CELESTIAL GODS 157 with the war gods’ director, E-Naluna, with whom he is on good terms. After the Primordial War, all of Creation prayed to Yo-Ping for peace and prosperity, and he reigned as one of the most powerful gods in Heaven. When the Sidereals plotted the overthrow of the Solar Exalted, Yo-Ping loudly protested and only kept his position due to the fact that the Maiden of Serenity chose to support him (While she was in favor of the Usurpation, she could not bring herself to censor a god whose only sin was promoting her domain). Although the chaos that followed the Usurpation led to a loss in power, Yo-Ping suffered less than any other god, because the people of Creation continued to pour prayers to him for peace and stability. As the Time of Tumult rolls onward, Yo-Ping receives even more prayers than usual, and his power grows correspondingly. The return of the Solar Exalted excites him beyond measure—Whitewall is associated with the Unconquered Sun, and before the Second Age, Yo-Ping served that Incarna personally. It seems inevitable that the success of the Solar Exalted will mean success for Yo-Ping and the other Syndics. To facilitate his plans, he has used his immense power to pressure the Convention of Air to place Sidereals of his choice into the convention’s open seats—Sidereals who just happen to be members of the Gold Faction. Chejop Kejak has to struggle mightily just to keep these seats open, but the impasse has drawn to a close, and within the next few months, the new seat holders will be announced. Motivation: Yo-Ping desires to spread harmony and peace across Creation while keeping enough war and strife so that his subordinates and the war gods do not find themselves in conflict with one another. He will begin this task by bringing the Unconquered Sun’s gaze back to Creation by turning Whitewall into a perfect shrine to the Incarna’s glory. Description: Yo-Ping is a god of the Fifth Rank and possesses power that places him in the upper ranks of Heavenly might. He falls just short of the Incarnae themselves. Other Notes: Yo-Ping, as a being just under the power of the Incarnae, possesses access to a perfected ability, similar to the Unconquered Sun’s indomitability in battle. Yo-Ping possesses the Superlative Sign of Harmony, and when he gestures and commands it, peace falls across all mortal battlefields, and even the greatest of Exalted must rest and attempt to negotiate. If those negotiation attempts fail, so be it, battle begins anew—but such a battle will be conducted harmoniously, and the clash of swords and the singing of arrows will have a beauty of its own. Only the Incarnae, the Yozis, the Neverborn, and the greatest of the raksha such as Balor, may resist this imperative, for Yo-Ping’s ability works through the weft of Creation and the weave of Fate itself. Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 5, Temperance 2, Valor 2 Essence: 9
