NOTE : This is a provisional page pending edits. Spelling will be terrible, concept work may be terrible, and read at your own risk.

Exalted is a world where master poets can break or sustain nations, where lyricists can conquer empires, where the pen can truly be mightier than the sword.

The obvious kings and queens of the written word in Exalted are the Solars. They have charms and abilities which allow a wide range of tangible effects to be ingrained into the wording or phrasing of a poem, letter, song or any other written work. It's important to note that the magic of Linguistics charms is in the nuances of prose and diction that the Solar employs - it is not contained within the actual physical writing. The patriotic hymn remains an inspiring song to all who hear it, regardless of whether they are looking at the original copy of the manuscript or not. It is the evocative lyrics that contain power, not ink or paper. The tragic tale of loss and sorrow inspires the same emotions no matter how many times it is reprinted and distributed, as each who read it know the passions of the author. The same is true of Solar linguistics charms.

Unless otherwise noted or ruled by staff, Presence and Performance charms do not function this way when used with the Linguistics ability though they can be used simultaneously and in congress with Linguistics charms. Where as Linguistics charms affect the structure of the work in question, Presence and Performance -do- in fact augment the original manuscript. Therefore, it is possible to make a Heart-Compelling tract, but that tract will only affect people with the Heart Compelling method if they are in the presence of the original work. Letter within a Letter, on the other hand, would continue to apply influence through multiple duplications, even if the original manuscript is not present... Letter within a Letter is a linguistics charm, and therefore, the magic it imbues is in the actual wording of the tract, not the penmanship.

Once, the world was enslaved by such literature, and it was widely considered to be beyond the ability of mortal men to resist. Those days have past into history; the mind-warping tracts of the Anathema are now both known through legend and widely understood and feared by many sages and occultists. In a more modern context, Scavenger Lords contend with ancient Solar glyphs and scripture on a regular basis and are well-versed in the dangers inherent to exposure to such icons. Many employ illiterate 'hole divers' to snatch and grab treasures from Solar sites - other Scavengers refuse to learn to read Old Realm, for fear of opening the mind to such influences. Many, many items of First Age Literature have some meme or phrase in them that is affected via linguistics charms, and thus, wise inheritors of the kingdom of the Anathema are quick to destroy writings from that cursed era. Even then, those who encounter such texts with regularity can be viewed with suspicion.

And these suspicions may not be unfounded. It must be noted that the spiteful Celestials were fond of creating messages that inspired those who betrayed them into terrible acts of murder, self mutilation or elabrate treachery. Each ancient glyph that inspires virtue is outnumbered by a dozen others that dictate those who betray the Deliberative shall lash out and destroy all things likewise treacherous around them. Unfortunately, by the standards of the majority of Lawgiver authors from the High First Age, everybody in the modern day is a traitor. 'Loyalty Statements' such as this, both hidden and overt, are common within first age works... making the lost world of antiquity quite dangerous. Millenia after these sacred sutras were crafted, some can inspire mortals to murderous rage. Others destroy more subtly, planting commands that lay dormant for weeks or years. Legends beyond number chronicle all these awful fates and imagine a multitude of further horrors. Most are unsure of where the power and capability of these ancient tracts begins and ends, and err on the side of caution. Mountains of knowledge from the ancient era were burned because the Shogunate feared to gaze upon the techniques described inside.

Having known of these artifacts for many centuries, mortal men have developed many countermeasures to these techniques... in some cases, with the covert aid of the Sidereal Exalted. Some examples follow...

Illiteracy. A person who is unable to read or understand the messages of Solar propaganda cannot be affected by it. Those who read badly, or with exceptional difficulty, likewise enjoy between +1 to +3 MDV based upon the difficulty they have with the information.  Many Lunar experiments into the 1000 Rivers attempt to create a functionally sophisticated yet illiterate society to defend against Solar influence. Language barriers can provide similar protection. While Linguistics charms did exist at one time the allow writing to be understand regardless of ability or language barriers, the idea of Creation devolving into a largely illiterate society was sufficiently improbable in the High First Age so as to make uses of this charm uncommon, and thus simple ignorance remains a powerful protection.

Thaumaturgy. Wards vs Written Influence exist in relatively abundant supply, due to the fact that a Thaumaturgical Path for making supernaturally affecting literature exists - the art of Caligraphy. Though thaumaturgical caligraphy comes nowhere near the potency or power of Solar effects, it does see wide use in mortal governance and advertising, providing a small 1 to 3 die bonus on selected actions. Sidereal Exalted actually created and developed this path in the wake of the usurpation, so as to provide a motivation for mortal kingdoms to be constantly creating and distributing Wards vs Written Attack. Wards designed against a specific work are doubly effective yet inneffectual against anything save the specified tract. General wards can provide a +1 to +3 bonus to MDV based upon the power of the Thaumaturgist enchanting them, where as wards against a specific work provide a +2 to +6 MDV bonus only when confronted with a specific text. While wards against a specific work are not trivial to develop, Immaculate Libraries contain instructions on creating effective wards for many once-common ancient Lawgiver works. The resurgance of modern Solars raises the frightening possibility that new blasphemous works may be created.

Paranoia. Most of those who come into contact with Anathema writings regularly... scavenger lords, occultists, etc... are understood to be dealing with potentially corruptive powers and are watched carefully. Unusual behavior often prompts reaction. Many an innocent Scavenger King has been beheaded on suspicion of Anathema Corruption, but better safe than sorry.

Exorcism. Powerful exorcists know exotic rites to purge Linguistics influence. However, these are less widely distributed than Wards, since they are specific to the purpose of countering the arts of the Exalted. These rare rituals can provide a comfortable living for any exorcist in a scavenger company, and many of the odd masters throughout Creation who know this art secretly have Sidereal benefactors who have manipulated them into learning it through a dozen resplendent destinies.