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Solitary Lion – Zenith Caste Wandering Doctor and Martial Artist, All-Round Do-Gooder

Background

Solitary Lion was born and raised inside in Bluveille, a small city in the Scavenger Lands, the second son of a successful merchant (his father) and the captain of a guard platoon (his mother). Raised in relative comfort and luxury, Solitary Lion was expected to follow in the footsteps of his mother, entering the guard as soon as he was of age and working his way up through the ranks. As his training began he showed a definite aptitude for the defensive aspects of the martial arts, which led to many of his training bouts ending undecided, as Solitary Lion would simply defend the whole time, letting his opponent wear himself out.

At this time Solitary Lion met a young doctor, one of several that Bluveille retained for its guard platoons, and it was here that he developed a fascination with the medical arts, watching the doctor staunch wounds and tie tourniquets, he decided that this was what he wanted to do. The arguments with his parents were spectacular, but eventually they acceded to his desire and Solitary Lion entered into an apprenticeship with a well-known doctor who travelled the local area, dispensing his healing abilities to whomever needed them.

It was on this wandering that he found his fighting skills were of particular use, since many of the people his mentor dealt with could often turn violent, and Solitary Lion had learned the art of stopping attacks and restraining people without hurting them. This allowed his teacher to concentrate more on the healing arts.

Eventually, Solitary Lion had learned all that he felt he could, and so he left his teacher, to become a wandering healer on his own. He headed back to the area around Bluveille, and spent the next twenty-five years plying his trade, wandering along the roads and through the villages, splinting bones, stitching wounds and curing diseases.

Exaltation

During the height of summer Solitary Lion was treating the surviving members of a small trade caravan that had been attacked by beastman raiders, leaving many dead and those who were wounded suffering from Wyld-spawned infection. A group of bandits approached his makeshift camp and, seeing only a middle-aged doctor and a few unhurt traders, entered the camp weapons drawn.

“Leave this place,” Solitary Lion ordered, “There is nothing for you here.”

The leader of the bandits laughed derisively and told his gang to rob the dead and butcher the wounded. Two of them rushed forwards to hold Solitary Lion who then had to watch helplessly as the remainder began their gruesome work. He wept with frustration, as throats were slit and pockets emptied.

The leader of the bandits walked up to him and sneered, “What are you going to do about it, old man?” and punched him hard in the stomach. At the instant of contact, where Solitary Lion should have felt the bandit’s mailed fist crushing into his vitals, instead he felt a sudden elation, a rush of strength and energy that permeated his entire being, filling the world around him with light as bright as the sun. His movements as strong and sure as they had ever been, he threw the two bandits aside and adopted a defensive posture, one that he had never been taught, but that he instinctively knew nonetheless. The bandits rushed him, and his hands flickered out, parrying knife-blows and mace strikes as quickly and easily as if children wielded them. His hands lashed out, fingers as hard as iron, breaking bones and shattering nerve junctures, swords and axes were knocked aside without even scratching his flesh and, soon the remaining bandits fled his wrath, leaving more than half their number dead on the forest floor.

It was only then that Solitary Lion saw that the sunlight that had filled his world emanated from his skin and, without even knowing why, he turned to face the brightly shining sun, staring into it, unblinking. A voice, warm and welcome as an old friend rang through him, “I have chosen you, Solitary Lion, to heal the world. This task will not be easy, but you shall have the strength to see it through to the end. Long ago I turned away from this world, but now I have returned, and you are one of the Chosen of the Unconquered Sun, my children.”

With that the voice faded, and Solitary Lion got up from his knees, filled with new purpose. The infirmities that age had begun to bestow upon him were gone, and he felt as he had in his youth, fast and strong and willing to take on the world – the irony of that last was not lost on him.

Appearance

Solitary Lion is tall and thin with neck-length dark hair and a usually severe expression on his weather-beaten face, which changes completely when he smiles. He habitually wears the long silken robes that identify him as a doctor, and does his best to keep them in immaculate condition, aware at an instinctual level that cleanliness is essential for health.

He usually carries a large leather pack over his shoulder, filled with the medicines, drugs and other remedies that are part and parcel of his vocation. What weapons he carries are easily concealed, the seven-section staff is neatly hidden beneath the wide silken belt of his robes, while his war-fans are attached to small hooks inside his voluminous sleeves.

Character Sheet

Nature: Caregiver

Attributes

Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2, Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2, Intelligence 3, Perception 4, Wits 4

Virtues (Virtue Flaw)

Compassion 3 (Red Rage of Compassion), Conviction 2, Temperance 2, Valour 2

Abilities (Caste, Favoured)

Athletics 1, Awareness 2, Dodge 4, Endurance 2, Linguistics 0 (Native: Riverspeak), Lore 2, Martial Arts 5 (Defending +1), Medicine 5, Performance 2 (Calming Influence +1), Presence 3, Resistance 2, Survival 2, Thrown 1

Backgrounds

Artefact 2 (2x Heavenly Thunder Leaves – Artefact 1), Contacts 3, Influence 1, Resources 2

Charms

Body-Mending Meditation, Durability of Oak, Flawless Diagnosis Technique, Friendship with Animals Approach, Graceful Crane Stance, Harmonious Presence Meditation, Iron-Arm Block, Iron Skin Concentration, Leaping Mantis Technique, Mantis Form, Respect Commanding Attitude, Touch of Blissful Release

Anima Banner

Two serpents, one black & one white, eternally coiling around one another and a large golden staff with the insignia of the Unconquered Sun as its headpiece. The black serpent, Mind of Ebon Tranquillity, comes to Solitary Lion’s aid whenever he helps others, and the white serpent, Soul of Ivory Chaos, arrives when he is in combat, their long bodies coiling around him, hissing in his ear, or guiding his movements.

Initiative: 8

Dodge Pool: 8

Soak: 2B/1L

Attacks (+ must use a Stunt to parry lethal damage)

Punch – Speed 8, Attack 10, Damage 3B, Parry 12+, Rate 5

Kick – Speed 5, Attack 10, Damage 5B, Parry 7+, Rate 3

Heavenly Thunder Leaves – Speed 10, Attack 11, Damage 5L, Parry 15, Rate 6

Seven-Section Staff – Speed 10, Attack 7, Damage 5L, Parry 13, Rate 2

Essence: 2

Willpower: 5

Essence Pool: Personal – 11/ Peripheral – 24 (28)

Health Levels: -0 / -1 / -1 / -2 / -2 / -4 / Incap

Equipment

Doctor’s robes, sturdy boots, pack with medicines and other remedies, bedroll, seven-section staff, heavenly thunder leaves

Background Explanations

Heavenly Thunder Leaves – Artefact •

On the first days of autumn, not long after Solitary Lion had felt his Second Breath he was walking through an unfamiliar part of the forest near to Bluveille. He mentally berated himself, for spirits were known to dwell within the depths of the woods, and the path he had taken was old and overgrown, having been neglected for many years. When he turned around, though, the path was gone, as if it had never been, the forest shifting behind him to remove it.

He stood still, listening to the sounds of the forest, but everything was as it should be, and so he resolved to follow the path before him. Eventually, it led him to a large clearing, the sky having darkened into night by this time, but the fireflies that danced throughout this forest were especially strong here and they provided more than enough light to see by.

Solitary Lion saw a calm, still pool at the far end of the clearing, and in front of it was an ethereally beautiful girl, wrapped in opalescent gossamer and holding a small redwood box in her arms. She walked towards him slowly, her movements inhumanly graceful and presented the box to him. She then moved forwards quickly, kissed him lightly on the cheek and, in a voice that sounded like chimes in the wind, whispered, “My debt is now repaid.”

The gossamer around her unfurled to become two pairs of dragonfly-like wings and, with a quick flutter took off into the night sky. He opened the box she had given him and, on a cushion of deepest blue velvet, were two large fans – the Heavenly Thunder Leaves.

Major Contacts

• Enduring Falcon

Solitary Lion’s mother has retired from her duties in the guard of Bluveille, but the current captain was her second-in-command for many years, and they stay in touch – keeping her abreast of local bandits, beastman incursions and other similar problems. He returns infrequently to his home and gossips with her when he can, his vocation keeping him busy even in a civilised place like Bluveille.

• Vaner Ponnel

A well-placed nobleman in a nearby city, Solitary Lion encountered Ponnel when the latter was searching for a cure to the disease that had his eldest son at death’s door. After several days of intensive care and the exhausting of Solitary Lion’s stock of remedies, the fever broke and a few days later the son regained consciousness. Ponnel gave Solitary Lion his eternal gratitude and ever since they have remained in contact, keeping him aware of the local political situation, as well as any activity from the Realm – something that has become more of a worry since his Exaltation.

• Jeka

A wandering rogue and sometime bandit, Solitary Lion has bumped into Jeka on numerous occasions during his wanderings, often requiring medical attention of some sort, or dragging someone behind her who needs his help. She has brought Solitary Lion more trouble than he cares to remember over the last ten years, but he cannot refuse a request for help and so has become caught up in everything from extremely convoluted confidence tricks to the aftermath of a robbery gone wrong. At heart, though, she is not an evil person, merely someone struggling with a surfeit of bad luck and a lack of morals. She is, by her very nature, almost constantly aware of anything going on within local criminal circles.

Influence

As both a local healer of note and the son of influential parents, Solitary Lion has a certain degree of influence with people in power, particularly since he grew up with many of them as a child. His deliberate decision not to cultivate these childhood friendships into real connections have meant that the links are tenuous, but they have proven useful to him in the past, although he is aware of their limitations.

Resources

As a wandering medick and physician, Solitary Lion rarely has to deal with the day-to-day worries of food, drink and a place to sleep. He will usually set up shop in a local tavern or inn for a few nights, and in return for room and board the innkeeper will find that his business picks up dramatically for the duration of Lion’s stay. This has meant that Solitary Lion doesn’t have or need much money or possessions in general, almost everything that he own he carries with him, and restricting his total wealth to a small sum of Guild silver coinage.