Latest revision as of 01:18, 6 April 2010

History

My first memory is of running and violence around me... not a very pleasant one, is it? Master claimed that my mother gave me to her and died shortly thereafter from her wounds, and I'm kinda glad I don't remember that... anyway, master also said that my village was attacked by slavers, and my mother was hurt while escaping from them and carrying me.

She also said that she had to kick a few of them in the head to get out of there, and that there were too many for her to fight, but I don't know if I ever believed her. I could never accept master was too weak to fight anything or any body when I was younger, and I was firmly convinced she had sent them running... yeah, I was a stupid kid. Master was only mortal after all.

Most of my life revolved around her... master, that is. She called herself Lightning Bolt, because she was just so -fast-... I've never seen a human move faster than her, and even today I'm sure she could have given some animals and some Exalted a run for it where speed was concerned. I suspect that she had some god-blood in her, but she swore she was only mortal and that she had reached that point by training alone. I could believe it.

Anyway, I refer to her as Master because she taught me almost everything she knew... that is, fighting. Master was a traveling... fighter, I would call her. She sometimes did jobs for money but got insulted if somebody called her a mercenary. She constantly referred to herself as a weapon master, one who could use just about any weapon somebody placed in her hands. I learned that from her.

... Well, mostly I learned to fight with -melee- weapons... I can use a bow and throw a knife, but I'm pretty lousy at those.

... Where was I... ah! Well, anyway, it was pretty rough... training aside. Master was never very wealthy, and with me on tow... well, things didn't get better for her. She taught me how to hunt then. She -also- made me swear that, no matter how bad things got, I would never steal or rob people just so I could eat. People that had the talent to fight like us, she told me, would only be wasting our skills doing dishonorable things like that. She got pretty angry when we bumped into a bandit that could actually fight.

Exaltation

For most of my youth, I was only my master's student and sometimes sidekick... I talk a lot about her, right? I would lie if I said I didn't admire her. I still do. But everything changed that day...

We wandered around a lot. We traveled through the East, mostly, to the northeast and the southeast. She said she wanted to take me all over the world sometime, but we never had enough money. We used to stop on a town here and there, and sometimes in the big ones, like Nexus.

That day, we stopped in this small town somewhere to the southeast of Nexus... I don't even know its name. It doesn't really matter because it doesn't exist anymore.

What happened? Well... a couple of days after we arrived, the town was attacked. Most of those that attacked were dead... the others, I now know, were Abyssals. Why attack that town? ... I don't know. I don't even know who they served. I hear they attacked lots of small towns in that area... maybe they were trying to raise even more dead, I don't know.

Anyway... I was terrified. I had fought people before, but I had never fought -dead- people. Dead people are supposed to stay dead, you know? But master said we should fight, so I fought. I destroyed a couple of zombies, but... I didn't feel I was making much of a difference. Soon, we and some of the villagers... children, women, those that couldn't fight, and a few that could... we were all in one spot, and then one of the Abyssals showed up. He was... frightening. I remember getting numb all over as I stared at him.

And master... master gave me one look, stepped in front of us, and told us to run... she told me to get the people away from there. My job was to protect these people... this was what I trained for. I didn't want to leave her behind... but she just gave me a look. The kind of look that said that she was resolute in doing this. I could never change her mind about that... so I took those that wouldn't fight and ran away. Those that could fight remained behind, with master.

Now, the people in the village... they knew spots, hidden spots that they could hide in. But we were being followed soon... not by the Abyssals, thankfully, but by their dead followers, so I resolved to protect the people in the only way I thought I could... by drawing their attention to me while the rest ran away and hid. A few of the villagers helped me with that. We stopped and I shot arrows and they threw stones and whatever they could at them, while a few of the others ran away to hide. Then we began running away again, and then we repeated. Its a good thing none of those things had horses, or we wouldn't have been able to make it. A few of the villagers still died while we faced them... they were fast. The fourth time we stopped, none of my companions survived, and I was alone against all of them.

I couldn't run away then. There were only a few zombies, but a couple of those that were dead were actually smart and fast... I felled one of them before my sword broke, along with a couple of the zombies. And then I was hurt and bleeding and I knew I was going to die and... and I knew I couldn't give up then. I didn't want to die... and if I had to, I was going to go down fighting. With no weapons, I could only use my fists, even if I'm not all that good with them and dead things don't seem to care much about getting punched anyway.

I think that is why Luna chose me. Because I chose to fight for my life then and didn't just give up.

It's a blur... suddenly, I felt so -strong- and fierce. Next thing I remember, I'm holding the arm of one of the zombies like a club, and the others are on the ground and dead, and the one that was smart was running away, but I didn't notice then because I'm suddenly looking at the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.

She smiled and caressed my face and I felt so -warm-... and then she ran away. I followed her... I don't know why, I just -had- to. I don't know how long she ran and I followed... I just know that she disappeared suddenly, and then there was this huge, white tiger there, and it jumped at me... before, I would have probably ran away there and then, but I just had this urge to fight it... to -kill- it...

I met his pounce dead on, and I actually managed to stop her. I had never felt so strong in my life. He clawed at me but I barely even felt his claws, and he tried to bite me but I never let him, and... I killed him.

I don't -remember- how I killed him, I think I might have used the broken blade of my sword to pierce its chest. I don't even know how long we fought even while he was wounded. I just know that I -killed- him, and... I don't know. I remember a moment where the tiger and me just stared at each other, and then I think he nodded and then fell over. I knew then what to do... for some reason.

I would have never considered just drinking the blood of an animal before... not like that. But it just felt right. That tiger had been so powerful, and it just -felt right-... so I drank his blood, and then I changed.

I felt -strong- then, so, so strong... my wounds were like nothing, and I began running and I felt I was as fast as master was... then I remembered her, and ran back towards the village. I ran like the wind.

I reached the village so quickly... and there she was. She was standing, facing down the street still, but no enemies were around her. Those that has stayed behind were dead by her feet. A few zombies and skeleton bones were scattered about... no Abyssals, but she was -still standing-! I ran towards her, calling her name, but she didn't turn. I thought she would be angry at me for disobeying her, so I stopped near her and started to apologize, and...

... And then I noticed that she was dead.

She was... so still, bleeding. She wasn't breathing. I approached, and I saw that her eyes were glazed over, and that she still wore an expression of defiance but... she was dead.

My master... the woman I admired so much... had died on her feet.

I am not ashamed to say that I cried.

The Silver Pact

I buried my master, along with her favorite weapon... the great axe she carried about. I also buried the rest of the dead I could find. I didn't know any prayers, so I just wished them a peaceful rest. I hope that was enough... I'd hate to see them raising again as hungry ghosts. And then I left, because I didn't know what else to do.

For all that strength I now had, I suddenly felt very lost and alone and scared. I knew I wanted to take revenge on my master's death... I think that thought was the only thing that kept me going then. Its a good thing that Tears Of Silver found me.

Tears Of Silver is a bear totem No Moon. He was the one that told me just what had happened to me... that I was a chosen of Luna now. I was confused, but I was also angry, I wanted to find and kill he who had killed my master. He told me then... if I would come with him, and listen to him, I would be strong enough to find and kill the one that had killed her.

I was still unsure of my new abilities... it took a bit more than that, but I finally accepted. I'm glad I did that, actually... I learned a lot.

My tests... well, I did fairly well in those that revolved around brute strength, but not so well in those that require... er... figuring some things out and... well, I think it was always clear that I was to be a Full Moon.

... anyway, I began training heavily under another Full Moon... his name is Fierce Star, and his totem is a wolf. He actually reminds me a lot of my master for some reason...

Fierce Star is the one that helped me decide upon a name for the Silver Pact... I am no longer just Ruby, but now I was One Thousand Weapons... which fits, since I seek to master all the weapons I can.

I have traveled with him for a while, but most of the time I travel by myself... I don't tend to fit among the barbarian tribes much. But all that traveling... it gave me something I didn't even remember I had lost back. My sister. My -twin- sister, at that.

Jade (I don't like calling her by her silver way name) was carried away by our father during the attack, but... she wasn't quite so lucky as me, since I think she did become a slave for a while. But that's her story to tell and not mine. We are -very- different, she and I (she's a No Moon, just to give you an idea), but we are still -twins-... when I'm with her, I feel more complete than any other time, and I'm sure she feels the same despite her grumbles.

... Now, what else... well, yes, there's more to tell, let me see...

Artifact

... Eh? This? Heehee, yeah, it's nice, isn't it? How'd I find it? Hmm...

I wander a lot, right? And when I was told that the tattoos would protect me from the energies of the Wyld... well, I just had to give it a try. Maaaaybe it wasn't all that smart... but it did get me a very nice toy to play with!

I was on the Wyld only for a while, and I didn't go -too- deeply in it... I don't think I'd have gotten out if I had. Anyway, I -did- manage to get very, very lost... how do you keep track of where you are going when the landscape changes on you?

Anyway, I'm traveling and wondering where the hell I am, when... there's this huge building suddenly in front of me! The place around it was actually kinda stable... I don't know what it was. A manse, maybe? All I knew for sure was that I could hear laughter from inside it.

I walked right on inside. And there... there were people in there... there was a party in there! I had only heard of the Fair Folk, but I had never -met- one... one of them approached me, and began talking to me... I, uh, didn't understand a word at first, but then she looked at me funny and began talking again and this time I -could- understand her... I don't think she was talking Riverspeak, but I could understand her! She invited me to follow and join the party. I was so amazed I just had to follow.

... the next part is kinda hazy... I suppose that was the point. There were drinks and food and music and lights and it was all so pretty... I fell under their spell, I guess. I'm glad it did not last... who know what would have happened if it had?

What woke me up... what I think woke me up was when one of the "guests" began crying. A human, I'm sure. I was still confused but the Fair Folk were laughing and they were doing things to him... things I don't remember all that well, and...

I snapped.

I don't know if they realized I was a Lunar... I can't see how they could have missed it, or maybe they just weren't expecting me to suddenly transform into my beastman form. I -do- know that things were suddenly clearer then... not entirely clear, because I was enraged. I just began to tear at them, angry at being tricked and angry at them hurting people... oh, I'm sure they threw human slaves at me, and I'm also sure I killed them. I wasn't in any state to tell between them.

Even the battle itself is confusing. I'm certain I -couldn't- kill them all... a single Lunar my age against all of them? No, even I'm not stupid enough to claim -that-. Chances are some of them ran, and I'm almost sure I killed one of them, but what of the others? I don't know what happened, but when I actually got my senses back, I was in this room empty of everything but bones, with no hint of the splendor that was there before... the walls were old and crumbling, and it was dark.

I wonder now how much of what I had seen was illusion.

... ok, so, I'm in this dark room, lit only by my anima, and... I see something. There's this particular set of bones... they look somewhere between human and animal, and then I understand this used to be a Lunar... and surrounding the bones, there's a silverish pool. I knelt and touch it, and then I -know-... this is moonsilver, and it’s a weapon, and its mine.

And the pool began to flow up my body, and then it solidified around my arms and my legs in the bracers you see there, and a belt around my waist, and a choker around my neck... the last one is kinda odd, but it doesn't feel really uncomfortable.

After that, I found my way out of the building, and then out of the Wyld... I emerged a few miles north from where I came in. It took me a -long- time to find my way back to Jade's village.

... eh? Why am I still keeping it and why didn't it get taken away from me? Well, for one, I -was- the one that found it... it was lost, and I recovered it. Second, it just -fits- my style... I use many weapons, so what better than something that changes into many weapons?

... and... uh... I might have omitted the "I don't remember what happened" part in my story to my elders. Aheh.

Personality

Ruby, also known as One Thousand Weapons (and very rarely as Ruby One Thousand Weapons, which confuses her), tends to be cheerful and fairly ditzy. She's obviously not terribly smart (although she's better than when she started), and admits this freely. She's also proud of her strength, and will loudly claim that it was given to her so that she could protect those that cannot defend herself... although she's more than eager to get into a scuffle here and there for no reason whatsoever.

Fighting is Ruby's very life. She has known little but training and fighting for most of her life, and it shows. She's learning more things, of course (thanks to her mentor and her sister), but fighting is still her top priority. Like many fighters, she tends to think with her heart and not with her head, and it has gotten her into trouble a couple of times. Trouble she likes getting out of by herself.

Beneath all these, however, the wish to avenge her master still remains. She wants to find those Abyssals that attacked that village that day, and... well, dismember them. That anger becomes very obvious whenever somebody as much as mentions the deathknights, and it tends to pass over to the dead as well, so Ruby mostly avoids ancestor's ghosts in barbarian villages when she can (which is actually plenty of time).

Finally, Ruby has gotten the hobby of collecting trophies from those she has bested. These trophy comes in the form of their weapons, and Ruby has already amassed a fairly large stash of weapons in various states (some are shattered, some are pretty but useless, some are average, and some are some truly magnificent weapons, but all of them are normal and not made from magical materials). However, if she thinks she had a worthy opponent who obviously knew how to use his weapon (but she was just plain better), and if she -killed- said opponent (which she tends to avoid if said opponent is worthy), she will lay him to rest with said weapon besides him and only take whatever backup weapon he may have (daggers, most of the time). This is her form of showing respect to worthy warriors.

Appearance

Ruby doesn't -look- like a very impressive Lunar. She's fairly short, standing barely 5'5, and fairly thin, although she has a defined muscle mass. Her hair is long and red and messy more often than not. Her eyes, green in color, are slit like a cat's… this is her Tell (along with somewhat overtly sharp canines). Her tattoos cover her back, all the way up to the neck and down to the end of her spine as well as her right arm. Thus, she tends to wear only tops, the better to show her tattoos... unless she's actually trying to hide them (how did that tattoo-hiding charm go anyway? She can never remember)

Her beastman form is another matter entirely. Ruby takes the form of a huge, white tigerman, showing the same tattoos she does. The form is impressive, but Ruby actually rarely chooses to take it unless she knows she's in for a nasty fight... mortal opponents only get her normal, human form, and that one is usually enough.

CHARACTER SHEET

Name: Ruby, One Thousand Weapons
Concept: Fighter
Nature: Bravo
Caste: Full Moon
Face / Rank: 1
Totem: White Tiger
Renown: 20

PHYSICAL
Strength: 4
Dexterity: 4
Stamina: 4

SOCIAL
Charisma: 4
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 3

MENTAL
Perception: 3
Intelligence: 2
Wits: 3

WAR
Archery: 2
(x)Athletics: 3
Brawl : 1
(x)Dodge: 4
(x)Endurance: 4
(x)Melee: 5
Resistance: 1
Thrown: 1

LIFE
Craft: 2
Presence: 2
Stealth: 1
(x)Survival: 3

WISDOM
Lore: 1
Medicine: 1
Occult: 1

BACKGROUNDS
Allies 2
Artifact 5
Heart's Blood 2
Mentor 1
Resources 1

CHARMS

Name | Cost (page)
1. Finding The Spirit's Shape | 1 mote (pg124)
2. Deadly Beastman Transformation | 5 motes
3. Towering Beast Form | - (pg125)
4. Ox Body Technique | - (pg132)
5. Sensing the Deadly Flow | 1 mote/die (pg149)
6. Striking Mospid Method | 1 mote/+1 initiative
7. Ferocious Biting Sword | 4 motes
8. Dance of the Living Blade | 3 motes per attack, 1 WP
9. Bowing Reed Technique | 4 motes (pg163)

WILLPOWER : 7

VIRTUES
Compassion: 3 (Succor: 5)
Temperance: 2 (Cunning: 3)
Conviction: 2 (Mettle: 5)
Valor: 4 (Glory: 7)

VIRTUE FLAW: The Curse of the Raging Bull

Anima: May spend 5 motes do double her leaping and running distance

Essence: 2
Personal: 9|16
Periferal: 38|38
Commited: 7

Soak: (B/L/A) 4/2/0 (Beastman: 6/3/0)

Health: 0x1, -1x2, -2x6, -4x1

Deadly Beastman Transformation: STR 7, DEX 5, STA 6, Gifts: Resilence of Nature, Horrifying Might

Linguistics: Riverspeak

Craft: Weaponsmith

(+5BP due to backstory. Thanks dissolvegirl!)

Expanded Backgrounds

Allies: 2

Ruby has a single person she would truly call an Ally within the Lunars, besides her mentor: her twin sister, Jade. Jade (known as Broken Chains within the silver pact) is a No Moon who actually has the same totem as Ruby, and whose tell is the same (They both are fairly weirded out by this). The only physical difference they have, besides Ruby's obviously stronger body, are the location and shape of the tattoos.

Jade is incredibly smart and incredibly manipulative. She does not feel at home with the barbarian tribes and is rather obviously better at dealing with civilized people. She's gladly surprised to find the sister she believed dead (Jade recalls those days better than Ruby), but is somewhat annoyed by Ruby's... er... low mental capabilities, and she tells her this at every opportunity.

Still, Jade would die for her sister... because she knows that Ruby would jump into the fire for her. Their bonds are actually rather strong, despite Jade's show of disdain to Ruby's "antics", as she calls them.

As a No Moon, Jade has some privileges among the Lunars, and is well versed in sorcery already. She has actually been a Lunar for about as long as Ruby has, but neither knows this fact yet (and they'd be very weirded out by this fact as well). Unfortunately, she’s also more closely watched and tends to have less freedoms than her sister.

Artifact: 5

Ruby has a fairly powerful artifact in her possession ... one that fits her almost too well. The artifact is called The Living Weapon, and while it’s not exactly -alive-, it almost certainly seems so.

When inert, The Living Weapon doesn't appear as a weapon at all. It fits around the user like bracers for both hands and legs, a belt, and a choker, all made of moonsilver. However, in an instant, it can take the shape the user wills it to, although it can only take the forms of certain weapons of certain size. These weapons are: A sword, a long bow, a spear, and an axe. It can change weapon shape in an instant, but the user better be prepared for it. Ruby has given each weapon an individual name.

The weapon only reacts to Lunars, who must commit 7 motes to attune to the weapon. The character may reflexively spend 1 mote to change the weapon's form from one shape to another, and he must spend a mote every time he wishes to change the weapon's form. It will change back into its inert form without needing to spend motes, however.

Also, The Living Weapon is basically indestructible. When struck by a charm or spell that can destroy magical materials, the weapon will melt... and reform the next turn as another weapon. It will not be able to take the form of the weapon destroyed until the next night. It’s also hard to disarm the user of the weapon... if successfully disarmed, the weapon promptly melts, and flows back to the user the next turn.

Finally, being a Moonsilver weapon, all the forms the weapon may take will have the moonsilver bonus already applied to it. The stats of the weapons themselves are slightly different from they common version's as well.

If inert, the Living Weapon provides some defense, as well as the ability to parry attacks unarmed (using the bracers).

Moon Blade: The sword appears to be a large sword made completely out of moonsilver, right down to the hilt. It’s actually rather fast but fairly weak at the time to attack.

Speed +5, Accuracy +3, Damage +2L, Defense +2

Star Lancer: The spear enjoys the greatest melee reach of all the weapons, and its fairly strong and fast.

Speed +2, Accuracy +2, Damage +5L, Defense +0

Grand Cleaver: The axe is meant for pure power. Its slow and large, but -damn- can it tear things apart.

Speed -3, Accuracy +1, Damage +8L, Defense -2

Sharpshooter: The long bow works like a normal (if silver) Long Bow, although the weapon attaches itself to the user's hand and he may apply as much strength as he has available. The bow doesn't come with arrows, so the user better have his own!

Accuracy +3, Max Strength (any), Rate 3, Range 200

Finally, The Living Weapon would appear to hate the Fair Folk... it deals Aggravated damage in all forms but the bow to them, as if it was made of cold iron instead of moonsilver. The Fair Folk are understandably cautious of such a weapon, and rumours of its removal from the Wyld are already running between them...

Heart's Blood: 2

Ruby has consumed the heart's blood of five creatures:
A bear, which she bested during her tests.
A war dog, which a fairly foolish hunter used when trying to hunt her while she was in bear form.
A gazelle, the first thing she hunted while learning to hunt in animal form.
An eagle, which is fairly recent, and she still gets fairly confused by flying.
A River Dragon. Her absolute pride, she killed this beast in a long and fierce battle after she overheard a few villagers talking about the beast that had taken residence in their river. The thing nearly killed her too. The only battle she can claim was better was when she bested the tiger that is now her totem.

Mentor: 1

Ruby's Mentor is Fierce Star, a wolf totem Full Moon. He trained Ruby very seriously for the first part of her new life as a Lunar, and even accompanied her around the East, teaching her about territory and special marks and everything she needed to know (Ruby, thankfully, earned enough, if not as well as he wished she had). Now, however, the two have grown apart.

Whenever they bump into each other, the first thing they do is get into a fight. It usually ends up with Ruby getting planted face first into the ground, and he berating her and teaching her a thing or two more (These fights never end with ritual scarring or blood-debts... they are training!).

Resources: 1

Ruby's a wanderer, and not a very wealthy one at that. She's used to hardship though, so she doesn't really care. She has enough money to buy herself something to eat whenever she's in a town (where she is always careful to hide her tattoos behind layers of clothing). The only thing she -owns-, besides her artifact, is a dagger she carries around just in case.

Ruby doesn't have a home of her own, but she shares with Jade whenever she visits her sister. It is here that Ruby keeps her trophies of her battles... the weapons of those he has fought and bested. She has -no- magical material weapons in this stash... those few she has found she gives over to her sister, who eventually gives them over to the silver pact and to people that can use them.

Jade thinks Ruby's little hobby is kinda odd, but as her sister does her favors for a space to stash her things, she doesn't mind.

Comments

I like. That's a pretty neat character. -- JesseLowe

I think the weapon stats could be a little better if its level 5. -BogMod