A golden age reigned for a while, but gradually, the Solar Exalted became more and more tyrannical and decadent, turning their attention away from just governance into satisfying their own desires at the cost of everything else. It grew too much for the rest of the land, though, and so the Terrestrial Exalted Dragon-blooded and the Sidereal Exalted conspired to overthrow the Solar Exalted’s rule, killing Solar and Lunar Exalted alike and establishing their own empire instead, which reigned for thousands of years. All Exalted save for the Dragon-Blooded were recast as Anathema, demons of evil who were to be killed upon sight--and as the Dragon-Blooded were more numerous, their Exaltation passed down by blood rather than by personal gift as with the other Exalted, they could overwhelm by sheer numbers where power alone did not match.

Fast forward a thousand years, and despite the best efforts of the Imperial Realm, civilization has fallen into pale shreds of its former glory and the Imperial power has waned, retreating to their Isle and some of the surrounding lands. And, for some reason, more Exalted were popping up all over the place, where before their occurrence had been rare. Most of these did not live long enough to recall more than shreds of their past lives or do anything major before being hunted down by the Wyld Hunt, but their numbers were increasing.

Tai’en was one of those Exalted. For many years, though, she grew up normally; she was not called until well into life. She grew up in a humble village deep in the Eastern woodlands, and from an early age proved to have a bent for the spiritual; thus, she was apprenticed to the village shaman, V’lahan, and learned the small trickeries of mortal thaumaturgy. A wandering bent drove her out of the village after gaining permission, and she wandered the world.

Her Exaltation came upon one visit back home, when her village was attacked by barbarians and her mentor slain before her eyes. In that moment of pure fury, she slew the killer. Words that scorched rose up in her throat unbidden, drawn from long memories and fragments of knowledge that suddenly made sense, and she called fire upon the attackers, hunting them down until all were exterminated.

After that, she could not stay and possibly draw the Wyld Hunt down upon her village, so she left and disguised her power as best as she could, drawing no attention. She was good at it, given that most of her life had been spent wandering and trying not to draw attention. But matters were slightly different, now that she was Exalted--she was drawn irresistibly to others of her kind and matters of import. Gradually, she acquired companions like herself, her Circle as well as others. Together, they ended up flouting the Council in Nexus (though fleeing very quickly thereafter), established a new Manse and sorcery school down in the southeastern forests that grew into a flourishing center of learning, recovered the lost city of the Dragon Kings, Rathess, and restored the bestial stalkers into their former Dragon King selves, and, with their allies, established almost complete hegemony over the southern and eastern parts of the world. The Realm didn’t like that at all, but with limited influence in that area, and the allies that the Circle were drawing together--beast-men, criminal syndicates, Dragon Kings, spirits, other Exalted, and Sun-worshipping mortals all--their power grew until the Realm was no longer considered a great threat. Eventually, a great war came, and even the Realm toppled before the power of the Solars. Peace came back to the land, and life flourished.

Over those years, Tai’en grew as well. Not in physical terms, as the Exalted were long-lived, but in capacity and power. She hunted down and mastered spells, all the way up to the powerful sorceries capable of being commanded only by the Sun-Chosen, then began experimenting and creating her own, all the while seeking to understand the fabric of Essence and magic that permeated the world. Let her Circle-mates have their kingdoms and syndicates--she was satisfied with simply exploring the world, with a city and a tower to do her experiments in to come back to.

Peeking in the various multiverses, Simurgh had observed this one with interest--and after seeing how underdefended Her city was, after the recent, unexpected incursion by Winterheart, She felt that one of the Exalted would be useful as a guardian for Her city. Scouting about, She’d settled on Tai’en as the right mix of curious, dutiful, and powerful, without either undue Good or Evil influences. Thus, one night, Simurgh approached her while she slept and offered her the chance to go to the private playing grounds of spirits she had never heard of, in a realm she’d never seen, with entirely new rules and people from wildly differing walks of life--literally, different universes. Provided, of course, that Tai’en would render Her her services in guarding Middleton.

Given the abilities at Tai’en’s disposal, however, Roc and Phoenix objected mightily. This was a woman who could level cities if she so wished--it would unfairly tilt the balance of the Game, if she ever decided to take part instead of simply defending Middleton. Knowing that compromise would be needed, but willing regardless, Simurgh challenged them to lay out their conditions. Roc simply wanted guarantee that the sorceress couldn’t use her greatest spells, nor launch an attack on Winterheart; Phoenix was more concerned about the mind- and soul-altering spells that Tai’en knew, given as physical destruction was less of a concern in the Dream than mental. Simurgh, not terribly wanting to limit Tai’en’s power but wanting to ensure that she could be trustworthy, added Her own milder curse: Tai’en could never break any oaths she swore. While less onerous than the other two if treated lightly, it had the potential to bind Tai’en even more tightly should it be required.