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The Widow of the Red Path is a Deathlord, the ghost of a powerful Solar betrayed and killed by the Dragon Blooded in the Usurpation.

Widow of the Red Path

The Widow of the Red Path was once a mighty night caste solar, a freedom fighter and leader of secret armies. Driven insane by the great curse, she becomes a paranoid ditator, using fear to rule with an iron fist from the shadows. Betrayed by her Sidereal mentor and her own dragon blooded students, aids and supposedly faithful assassins, the night caste spilled the blood of hundreds of enemies, but was finally outnumbered and sank like a memory into the underworld. From here she plans to return to Creation and forge it into a more agreeable image.

Background

The story of the deathlord known as the Widow of the Red Path starts with the story of another solar, a Zenith caste known as Red Mountain Poet, one of the great leaders of the first age.

• Mortal Life

• Exaltation and The Demon's Face

• The Circle

• Lords of the

Description

The Widow appears to most who encounter her as an ancient woman, taller than most men and gaunt to the point of being a skeleton. Pale weathered skin sit stretched across bones. Her posture is regal and a wicked smile always seems to play across her skull like face. Her long and slender neck, always protected by a black soulsteel neck brace, only enforces the image of her head as a skull. Thin whispy white hair is pulled back across the top of head and gathered in a ball, held by a tiny black soulsteel medallion, showing the screaming face of a handsome elder man, in fact the widow's former mentor known simply as the Demon Mask.

Most of the time, the Widow appears in a simply cut, but beautiful black silk kimono, adorned with many small black pieces of red Jade, cut into the likeness of drops of blood, which, by what seems an optical illusion constantly move and twist across the dark fabric, giving the impression that the jade blood drops are continuously running down the Widow's dress. However if one, as unlikely as that seems, inspects the blood drops closely, one will notice that they are actually the blood red yes of a host of ghostly assassins, hiding in the fabric of their mistress' dress.

At times when more grandeur is required, as talking to large groups of her followers or when attending meetings with her fellow Deathlords, the Widow appears in something that appears part ball gown and part armour. A segmented soulsteel chestarmor, black as the abyss, protects her body, while her arms and legs are obscured by large night black sleeves, adorned once again with small drop like pieces of jade, serving as windows for a hidden legion of ghostly assassins and bodyguards. Each shoulder of the dress is covered by a black soulsteel shoulder guard, depicting the face of a grinning demonic face, who all who sees it, finds disturbingly familiar. On these occasions, the Widow will wear a beautiful tiara, held by nine soulsteel pins, each of which is a lethal weapon that the widow can take and throw with deadly accuracy, draining the very life force out of almost any victim it hits. The Widow will keep her face covered by a beautiful white jade mask, showing the doll like face of an almost featureless young woman, with only red lips and the merest hint of a nose can be seen, apart from the eye sockets, where the Widow's glowing eyes shine menacingly.

Traits

Although her exaltation given affinities are lost along with her life and the exaltation herself, her centuries as one of the chosen of the Unconquered Sun has still made her master of certain skill and abilities. As a former member of the Night Caste of Solar Exalted, the widow had a great affinity with the Abilities of Athletics, Awareness, Dodge, Larceny and Stealth. In addition, her years of training in the Division of Secrets of the celestial hierachy made her a master of the abilities of Investigation, Occult, Performance, Presence and Martial Arts, making her in the eyes of some gods and exalted, the equal of the Chosen of both Endings and Secrets in more ways than one.

Apart from knowing all standard Abyssal Charms, the Widow of the Red Path has developed several secret dark charms dealing with maipulation, secrecy and fear, secrets which only the Widow and her closest followers knows. In addition, the Widow is a master martial artist, mastering at least three Sidereal martial arts from her studies under the Demon Mask.

Followers

• Great Iron Teacher of Vengeance's Truth

• Beast Of War

• Dust and Bones of Seven Monkeys

• Prince of Poisoned Dreams

Plans and Influence

The Central part of the Widow's plans center around her Five Armies Stratagem: the creation of five secret armies to ensure her hold on her path on creation. So far no one has pierced the veil of secrecy the Widow has wowen around these armies and she has even had them fight each other to maintain the deception.

• Ghost Tiger Army is a rebel army, led by a group of descendants of a powerful Full Moon Lunar, known in stories as the Legendary Tiger GeneralThe core group of the army are all suprisingly human looking beastmen, who gather their forces for the moment when their legends fortell of the return of their ancestor as the Invincible Ghost Tiger, hence the name of the group. The Widow has secretly been grooming one of the beastmen as the army's leader and has him possessed by one of her most skillfull nemissaries, giving her full control of the Ghost Tiger Army very soon.

• House of the Black Iron Centipede. Led by the Widow's newest Deathknight, trader in vices Prince of Poisoned Dreams, the House of the Black Iron Centipede are one of the most influential criminal organisations in the east, specialising in smuggling, slavery and drugs. Some say that the House was originally created by a powerful Chosen of Endings as a tool, usable across many different identities, without uncovering any.

• Dark Water Clan -A deeply corrupted clan of predominantly Water aspected terrestrials, the clan of the Dark Water is one of Widows's has secretly served the Widow for decades if not centuries.