Character Background: Jory Tephet

(For Russel's July 2011 Exalted Game)

Jory was the third son in the line. For four generations, each controlling lord had had four children. Their blood line was always powerful but not in the top tier of house Tepet. They created a formula that worked fairly well. The first was to rule, the second became the master of secrets, the third worked for the Empire and the fourth learned the sciences. But Jory did not satisfy his father's expectations for military stratagem so he decided that sending him to work in the Imperial bureaucracy would work better. The diviners said he was likely to exalt in Water, despite the family's propensity for Air, from his mother's bloodline, but since he never exalted, his father quietly made arrangements for him to become a monk upon graduation instead since he proved fairly adept at martial arts.

He exalted the day his brother (the second) died, he exalted as air, not water. Jory's father took this as a sign from Heaven, and had Jory enrolled in the Heptagram, academy for sorcerer's only four months before he was supposed to graduate. But he proved an excellent student at sorcery, and was able to use these skills plus the contact network his brother had established to be an excellent master of secrets. As a sorcerer he was tolerated. His father had more tolerance for him than others in the house primarily because he was still able to perform many useful roles for the house.

Five years ago, his older brother and father died in the day of great tragedy. Jory would become the ruling lord instead. Jory didn't want the job, but he had no choice. In some ways, he has done well, but feels less than up to the task.