Age of Torments
From Exaltedcursejar
Should the plans of the Yozis bear fruit, and the Reclamation succeeds, it will not be a simple return to the times before the Primordial War. The Yozis are not the same beings that ruled the world in prehistoric times. Twisted, mutilated, and driven to the brink of insanity by their imprisonment, they have become something far worse than that which the gods overthrew. The callous indifference to the suffering of their underlings they once exhibited would be merciful in comparison to a world ruled by the forces of Hell. In the wake of the Reclamation, the Yozis reclaim Yu-Shan, and turn their attentions towards Creation, inflicting their mad desires on god and mortal alike, with their Infernal Exalted carrying out their edicts and ruling over mankind in a monstrous parody of the civilizations of the First Age. But as it has been time and again, humanity's will continues to burn, smoldering like embers hidden under the ashes of the Second Age, as the Exalted who have avoided the transformation into akuma and rebelled against their overlords gather their strength for yet another bid for freedom in the endless cycle of rebellion that grips Creation.
[edit] Mandate of Hell - Infernal Exalted in the Third Age
While the Exalted were the original instrument of the Yozis imprisonment, their ability to overcome impossible circumstances was also the mechanism that made the Reclamation possible, and so they continue to exist in the Third Age(indeed, even if the Yozis wished differently, the Exaltations seem impervious to any attempts at destruction). As did the gods in the First Age, the Yozis have given Creation to their servants to rule in their name, but unlike the Celestial Incarnae, the Yozis keep their Infernal Exalted on a tight leash.
The Loom of Fate is closely monitored for the emergence of new Celestial Exalted, and when one is detected, they send their agents out to find them, typically an akuma or Second Circle Demon as well as a demonic entourage and spirit them away to Yu-Shan. It is there that they meet with one of the Yozisa Third Circle souls, who then convinces the new Exalted to accept the Investiture of Infernal Glory, by any means necessary. If the prospective Infernal is found to be resistant to the lure of power, wealth, and authority that willing servitude as an akuma provides, then they must be broken and forced to give in. If the Exalt can not be made to willingly accept the transformation, then they are simply slain, so that the Exaltation might find someone more pliable. This is not done lightly, though, as each new Exaltation is another chance that it might slip through their fingers and remain uncontrolled, though the vast majority of Celestial Exalted must still deal with the Infernal taint of previous subservient incarnations influencing them to submit to the Yozis.
For the Dragon-Blooded, the transformation into akuma is not presented as the bonds of servitude, but a means of lightening those bonds. The numbers of the Dragon-Blooded are too great for all of them to be made into Infernal Exalted, and so they must show the skill, power, and unwavering loyalty needed to become eligible for the Investiture of Infernal Glory. The majority of these candidates come from the Infernal bloodlines of the Ebon Dynasty, but the rest must prove themselves worthy of the honor of becoming one with the Yozis. Until then, they have even less freedom than most mortals, drafted into the armies of Hell or into the service of one of the Celestial akuma or the Green Sun Princes. Of course, numerous outcastes Exalt unnoticed by their Infernal overlords on the fringes of civilization, but many of them are quickly turned in by the members of their community, either out of fear of punishment for sheltering them or in order to gain the substantial reward offered for these lost eggs.
