Hapushet/Lumo

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Lumo

Caste: Night
Nature: Caregiver
Anima: Screeching Hawk
Concept: Field Captain, 7th Legion at Lookshy

Attributes
Physical: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2
Social: Charisma 2, Manipulation 4, Appearance 2
Mental: Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 3

Abilities
Archery 5 (While using charms +1), Athletics 3, Awareness 3, Brawl 2, Bureaucracy 2 (Wheel and Deal +1), Dodge 2 (Full Dodge +1), Endurance 1, Investigation 1, Larceny 1 (Lockpicking +1), Lore 1, Melee 4, Presence 4, Ride 1, Socialize 1, Stealth 3 (Camoflage +1, Trailing +1), Survival 1, Thrown 2

Backgrounds: Arsenal 2, Backing (7th Legion) 3, Command 1, Contacts 1, Mentor 3, Resources 3, Savant 1

Virtues: Compassion 3, Temperance 2, Conviction 2, Valor 2
Virtue Flaw: Red Rage of Compassion

Willpower: 6
Essence: 3
Essence Pool:15/36

Merits and Flaws:
Enemies (2 pts)

Charms

Archery

Accuracy Without Distance

Arrow Storm Technique

Fiery Arrow Attack

Immaculate Golden Bow

Phantom Arrow Technique

Sight Without Eyes

Trance of Unhesitating Speed

Wise Arrow

Athletics

Increasing Strength Exercise

Awareness

Keen Sight Technique

Sensory Acuity Prana

Dodge

Reed in the Wind

Shadow Over Water

Endurance

Ox-Body Technique

Presence

Harmonious Presence Method

Stealth

Easily Overlooked Presence

Combos:

Blazing Falcons (Fiery Arrow Attack, Trance of Unhesitating Speed, Wise Arrow)

3+ motes per attack, 1 Willpower, plus 3 motes per extra attack

Equipment:
Short orichalcum powerbow, 20 target arrows, 20 frog-crotch arrows

Combat:
Base Initiative: 8
Soak:
Health Levels: -0, -1x4, -2x2, -4, Inc.
Dodge Pool: 9

Attacks

Short orichalcum powerbow

Spd 8, Acc 13, Dam 7L/P or 11L, Rate 2, Range 300

History

I grew up on the streets of Thorns (pre-Mask), orphaned by war and disease. Until I was 13, I made my way by picking pockets and trading "found" objects for favors and food. Then the Legion came.

There had been a small uprising in the merchants' district, and the local governor had called upon Lookshy to send a detachment of troops to help put it down. The talon that arrived was commanded by taizei Stone. As part of their mission, the troops were to round up those children like myself who had no families or homes and bring them to the orphanages of the Immaculate Faith. I didn't make it that far.

During the journey back to Lookshy, I took advantage of every opportunity I had to escape. I had heard the other urchins sharing stories of forced enlistment by the Lookshy forces, and wanted no part of either. Begging ang petty theivery had kept me alive and almost happy up to this point, why start living in lock-step?

After one such attempt, I was brought before the taizei. Stone was, and still is, a formidable man, even sitting behind a desk. I stood in front of him for what seemed an inordinate amount of time, squirming at the thought of the punishment to come. When he finally looked up, he did so slowly, as though he were surveying a map, or, as I thought, sizing me for a funerary cloth.

"What's your name, boy?" he asked, after several minutes.

"Lumo, sir."

"Hmm.. You are quite adept at getting in and out of trouble. I may have a use for you..."

In time, Stone became almost a surrogate father for me, inviting myself and some of the others to his home for meals, and adding to the instruction we received from the Army. I found that I was especially adept with a bow, and was ordered to serve with a Scout unit. It was during one of these missions that everything changed.

There had been rumors of a group of Anathema hiding out just outside of town, and my fang was detached to investigate and surveil. We found the group, and called in heavy backup from the Legion. After interrupting some sort of ritual, the Legion took a man back to Lookshy for interrogation.

The man was familiar to me, and I soon found out that he was one of the children I had grown up with, Wailyn. I made my commanding officer aware of this fact, and asked if I could help with the questioning, hoping that my familiarity with his past would help open him up. It didn't, and Wailyn was sent to the Intelligence Directorate.

Several days later I was given permission to visit him, with the understanding that I should try again to get him to talk. He looked horrible. Beaten bloody and frail, some kind of thick jade collar around his neck, he looked worse than before we had been rescued from Thorns. One of the interrogators had accompanied me into the cell, and when Wailyn refused to speak to me, began to beat him. I tried to stop the man, but he just kept going. And going.

Suddenly, there was a roar and a brilliant glow erupted around Wailyn, brightening into an apparition resembling a giant tortoise. The guards stumbled around the room, blinded, trying to escape the fierce light eminating from the man who had once been my friend. I was panicking, trying to free myself from this presence, and at the same time helping my friend escape.

I freed him from his bonds, and we stumbled out of the cell block. Hiding was impossible due to the aura surrounding him. I tried to calm him down, tried everything I could think of to get him to "power down" the light. Suddenly, Wailyn gasped and went still. The light faded. He had been shot in the back, the arrow bringing him the calm that I couldn't. I looked up, and there was Stone, bow ready, arrow trained right on me.

"Lumo. Step away from him. Wailyn's dead, and you've already made things hard enough, with that silly escape attempt. Don't make me kill you, too."

I don't have a full recollection of what happened next, but I remember seeing streamers of gold and violet sailing around me. I remember thinking that I just wanted to hide. Escape. Flee. Some days later, I awoke in a bed, with Stone's wife mopping my brow. Stone sat nearby, watching me, the way he always had.

"I knew it was one of you," he said. "But I wasn't expecting two."

"What do you mean?" I asked...

Expanded Backgrounds

Command: Lumo leads a small unit of archer/scouts, mostly Thorns refugees like himself. Given Lumo's recent change in standing, his fang has seen a corresponding change in their positions as well, not entirely to their liking. The fang consists of (in descending order of rank):

Takei Ezo, chuzei

Nature: Bureaucrat

Physical (3/3/3), Social (1/3/2), Mental (3/3/2)

Abilities (Archery 3 (Long-Range +1, Lookshy Strongbow +1), Athletics 3, Awareness 1, Brawl 2, Bureaucracy 3 (Military Matters +2), Endurance 2, Linguistics 2, Lore 1 (Lookshy Tactics +1), Melee 2, Performance 1, Presence 1 (Leadership +1), Stealth 2 (Forests +1), Survival 1)

Virtues (Comp 2, Conv 3, Temp 3, Valor 3), Willpower 6, Ess 1

There is nothing more important in the life of Takei Ezo than the Seventh Legion. Nothing. It gave him and his brother a place when they had none, offered him a family when theirs had passed on to the Dragons, showed him how to think when that capability seemed to have been stripped away. He lives and breathes the Legion, and would die for it without a moment's hesitation.

His loyalty has not even wavered in the face of an influx of Thorns refugees, or even open heresy on the part of the General Staff. So what if most of his unit is beggared outcasts from a conquered nation? So what if his commanding officer is one of the Wretched, Anathema and lost to the light of the Dragons? His orders are his orders, and he will treat his officer and his subordinates with the dignity protocol demands, no matter what.

The truth of the matter is, he just doesn't like his CO, and the irony is that they are not that dissimilar. Both lost their families at a young age, and both found a group to take them in afterward. Lumo found a children's gang, though, and Ezo found the Legion. Either one could have taken the other path, and if Ezo - or Lumo - ever really takes that fact in, their relationship may change remarkably.

Takei Tza, chozei

Nature: Gallant

Physical (2/4/3), Social (3/2/2), Mental (2/3/3)

Abilities (Archery 3 (With his unit +1), Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Brawl 2, Bureaucracy 1, Dodge 3, Endurance 1, Lore 2, Melee 2, Presence 2, Performance 2 (Teaching +1), Socialize 2 (Making friends +1), Stealth 3 (Forests +1), Survival 1)

Virtues (Comp 2, Conv 2, Temp 2, Valor 3), Willpower 6, Ess 1

Maybe it is because the Legion found him when he was too young to remember his parents' death, or maybe it's just the reaction of a younger brother rebelling against an older, but Tza is not the soldier his brother is, though his previous commanders have all agreed that his potential exceeds his brother's by a fair amount. Tza, however, is just a bit too cocky, a bit too arrogant, a bit too inclined to befriend his subordinates rather than lead them. He has never disobeyed direct orders in the field, but his "interpretations" of operational goals and procedure have earned him a reputation as a maverick among the Legion's higher-ups. It is for that reason, along with his shorter time in uniform, that his brother still outranks him.

His reputation is both a goad and a salve to Tza. He dislikes having to take orders from Ezo, whom he believes is "hidebound" and reactionary. On the other hand, he likes having been noticed, even if the attention is not exactly favorable. Unlike his brother, Tza has no religious concerns to get in the way of his appreciation for Lumo's capabilities, nor have the expat origins of the other fang members stopped him from befriending them. He longs for a chance to really prove himself; Lumo's given him a shot - or enough rope - and it looks like his day may be coming at last.

Lo, sochei

Nature: Survivor

Physical (2/3/4), Social (2/2/2), Mental (3/2/3)

Abilities (Archery 3 (Ambushes +2), Athletics 2, Awareness 2 (Light Sleeper +1), Brawl 2, Dodge 2, Endurance 2, Lore 2, Medicine 1, Melee 2, Resistance 2, Stealth 2 (Forests +1), Survival 3 (Hunting +1))

Virtues (Comp 2, Conv 4, Temp 2, Valor 3), Willpower 7, Ess 1

The man who calls himself Lo has never spoken of his life before coming to Lookshy, but certain facts have slipped into the awareness of his fang. He lost a wife and two sons in a "pointless" war some years ago - he has never said where, but Lumo has his suspicions, given Lo's name and accent - and in the time since, he has worked as a janissary or mercenary. Soldiering is all he knows. He joined the Legion only recently, not long before Project Heliotrope became public knowledge, but his loyalty to Lumo has shown no signs of wavering, regardless of the spiritual nature of his commander. "I've served worse," was all he ever said on the subject.

Lo spends much of his off-duty time alone in the woods. He justifies it by hunting, which has earned him the gratitude of his fellow soldiers, but it is the solitude that seems to call to him most. He only seems to enjoy his own company, but Lumo can sometimes draw him out. The reason why is not hard to understand. Late one night, after far too many cups of rice wine, Lo raised his eyes and fixed them on Lumo's. "You remind me of my youngest boy," he said.

They never spoke of it again.

"Twig" (Snow-laden Branch in Winter), gunchei

Nature: Jester

Physical (2/3/2), Social (3/3/2), Mental (3/3/4)

Abilities (Archery 3 (Lookshy Strongbow +1), Awareness 2, Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Larceny 3 (Sleight of Hand +1, Disguise +1), Lore 1, Melee 2, Performance 2 (Jokes +1), Presence 2, Socialize 2 (Cutting Remarks +1), Stealth 3, Survival 1)

Virtues (Comp 2, Conv 3, Temp 2, Valor 2), Willpower 5, Ess 1

Like Two-Times, Twig was born into the bramin, the hereditary caste of Thorns nobility before the Mask of Winters' invasion. Unlike Two-Times, however, Twig resents the fact immensely. Her family, like so many others from Thorns, fled north to Lookshy when it became clear that Thorns would fall to the Mask. The small community of Thornsu in Lookshy have been attempting to hold onto their culture, which (among other things) includes arranged marriages and a heavy patriarchal bias. Though the sex-bias towards men is somewhat unusual in Creation, arranged marriages are not - nevertheless, it was to avoid one that Twig joined the Legion, disavowing both her family and her heritage. She tends to be very acerbic on the topic of nobility in general, and seems to take a perverse pleasure in serving under a man considered both Anathema and parya - the untouchable caste - in Thorns' terms.

What time Twig does not spend on duty she spends in the "entertainment" town of Centak, on the north bank of the Yanaze across from Lookshy. What she does there even Lumo does not know, but she has thus far been very careful to make sure none of her business returns with her across the river. While with the unit, Twig does what she can to maintain morale, often recruiting the others to play elaborate practical jokes on individual members or "anonymously" on Lumo himself. She works hard to make sure she appears as capable as the "guys," an attitude that largely baffles the Takei brothers in particular, who don't quite understand her cultural rebellion.

"Two-Times" (Lightning Striking Twice), gochei

Nature: Visionary

Physical (2/2/3), Social (3/1/2), Mental (3/2/5)

Abilities (Archery 3 (Firing without Thinking +1), Athletics 1, Awareness 3 (Careful study +1), Brawl 1, Dodge 2, Investigation 2, Lore 3 (Thorns history +1), Melee 2, Occult 2, Presence 2, Ride 1, Socialize 2, Stealth 1, Survival 1)

Virtues (Comp 3, Conv 3, Temp 2, Valor 3), Willpower 6, Ess 1

Like Twig, Two-Times is bramin, but he does not try to deny his role. On the contrary, he foresees a day when the Mask is cast out of Thorns forever, and in which his family leads the trimpuhal re-entry into their ancestral home. He has every intention of being at the head of the procession when it occurs.

Little details like "how" do not concern him.

Following Lumo was initially quite difficult for Two-Times - he was raised on the Immaculate Philosophy and all-too-aware of Lumo's intensely lower-class origins - but in the time since they began serving together, Two-Times has come to believe whole-heartedly in the error of the Philosophy where Anathema are concerned, and furthermore to believe that being Chosen of the Sun raises you above even the bramin. (There is some precendent for this in Thorns' caste structure - Dragon-Blooded are by definition bramin, no matter their birth caste.) Lumo is the only one of the fang whom Two-Times will not correct when they use his nickname. Anyone else receives a haughty sniff and a pompous "Lightning Striking Twice, if you please." (This has produced only the opposite of its desired intent, of course.) Two-Times serves Ezo and Tza diligently, of course - they have no place in Thorns' caste system, and Two-Times does not hesitate to follow orders - but Two-Times' relationship with Twig and Lo and more complex. Lo, also parya and without the benefit of Exaltation, provoked Two-Times' ire several times in their inital weeks together. After one particularly insubordinate outburst, however, when Lumo would likely have had to step in officially, Lo took Two-Times away from the others for a long, quiet talk. The contents of the discussion are unknown to all save the participants, but Two-Times never again attempted to ignore or countermand Lo's orders.

Twig is, in her own way, worse on him. She rejects everything he believes in, which infuriates him - and her rebellious nature attracts him constantly, which drives him up the wall. The entire fang is aware of conflict, including Twig, who once told him, "You're not bad looking, so I'd be happy to give you a thrill - but I'll scream 'Two-Times' every time I come, so if you can't deal with that, go see if Lo'll take you." That was the last time the subject came up, but Two-Times' crush is only getting worse, and the rest of the men have begun quietly trading bets on how long before he cracks...