Kahavi/Ember
Contents
Nefvarin Ember
Caste: Dawn
Concept: Mercenary
Motivation: To protect the freedom of the Scavenger Lands
Anima: An array of golden blades spreading around her like a peacock's tail.
Attributes
Strength 3, Dexterity 3, Stamina 5
Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2
Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3
Abilities
HOX! Caste and Favoured Abilities are in bold.
Archery 2, Martial Arts 3, Melee 4, Thrown 1, War 3
Integrity 2, Presence 1, Resistance 3, Survival 2
Lore 2
Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Dodge 3, Stealth 2
Bureaucracy 1, Linguistics 1 (Riverspeak, High Realm), Ride 3 (In Combat +2)
Advantages
Backgrounds Allies 1 (Hunter of Ten Tines), Contacts 1, Familiar 4 (Marukani stallion), Resources 3
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, Valor 2
Virtue Flaw: Deliberate Cruelty (Conviction)
Willpower: 6
Essence: 2
Essence Pool: 12/29 (34)
Charms
Melee
First Melee Excellency
Second Melee Excellency
One Weapon, Two Blows
Call The Blade
Dipping Swallow Defense
Hungry Tiger Technique
War
First War Excellency
Resistance
Ox-Body Technique (x1)
Ride
First Ride Excellency
Master Horseman's Techniques (Speed-Sustaining Technique)
Equipment
A red-and-black enameled lamellar armour with black enforced bracers, shinguards and faceguard; an outfit combined of a maroon tunic, a black high-collared vest, black trousers, a leather belt and high maroon boots; an unadorned slashing sword of excellent quality, a hunting knife, sturdy composite bow, a vine of 25 broadhead arrows, saddlebags filled with ratios, camping equipment and waterskins; two sets of shirts and trousers, a raincloak, and a rudimentary sewing kit.
Most of her property is kept at her apartment in Nexus, but the above is what she endeavours to take with her when leaving the city for a mission.
Combat
Social Combat
Join Debate 5
Dodge MDV 5
Presence 4/4/2 - 3/2/2
Performance 6/3/2 - 2/1/1
Investigation 5/3/2 - 2/1/2
Combat
Join Battle 5
Dodge DV 4 (minus Mobility penalty)
Knockdown 8/8
Stunning 5/8
Description
Ember is a woman in her thirties. She stands 5'9" tall and is of strong-boned build. She is not the most feminine of women; nearly two decades in the Seventh Legion and a lifetime of martial education has seen to that she is muscular and fit. Considering that her taste in clothes is utilitarian even at its most flamboyant, she manages to embody rather the ideal of a warrior than a woman. Her only concessions to reminding the world that she is a woman are the complex braids on which she holds her long chestnut brown hair, and the sunstone pendant she wears. Ember's facial features are even and clear; she is neither beautiful nor ugly. Her eyes are wide and narrow of shape, and amber brown of colour. Thanks to her straight posture and her military dress sense, she strikes an imposing figure.
Background
The current year is 768.
Some thirty years ago, in the city of Lookshy, a child was born...
Nefvarin Ember was the third child, and second daughter, born to the Water Aspected Nefvarin Hoarfrost and his wife Shallowsea Inere. Ever since she was just a little girl, Ember was trained in the arts of warfare as well as in the knowledges required from an officer of the Seventh Legion. Like her other siblings, she was expected the Draw her Second Breath as soon as possible. Her older sister, Gale, had already Drawn her Second Breath as an Air Aspect. Alas, this was not to be, and Ember remained a mortal. It did not change her education, although her parents' expectations of her were lowered considerably. She still received lessons in warfare in the finest salons her parents could afford, and her governesses and tutors were as good as her Exalted sister's.
Once Ember reached adulthood, she joined the Legion like all citizens. However, once her four years of service was over, she chose to remain within the Legion, receiving a placement in the Fourth Field Force, where she advanced through the ranks. Her family background, her good education and her innate skill with the art of warfare guaranteed a relatively painless career advancement.
Most of Ember's missions with the Fourth were to the lands of the Marukan Alliance, and to the south of the Scavenger Lands. During her time in the Marukan lands, she befriended a Marukan cavalryman by the name of Hunter of Ten Tines, who would eventually not only join the Legion but also become Ember's second-in-command. Their friendship would be the only thing that would remain with Ember after her Exaltation.
The disappearance of the Empress began a series of events that ultimately lead to Ember's Exaltation. The Fourth Field Force began to engage more and more with not just the less usual aspects of the River Province populace, but also with the Fair Folk, the undead, and the beastmen of the Deep Beast. It was on one of these missions a year and a half ago that Ember's talon ran into more trouble than they had bargained for. They had been preparing to ambush an excursion of Fair Folk outside Marita when a large group of the Fair Folk, accompanied by beastmen lead by an enraged Wyldling aberration, attacked them. The battle was long and arduous, and it would have ended in a loss for the Lookshyans had Ember not received a visitation from the Unconquered Sun.
"Fight, my child, protect this land of mine, and I will give you my blessing", his voice boomed in Ember's ears, and a power that felt like rebirth coursed through her veins.
Ember's Exaltation, with all its untamed power, turned the tide of the battle as she lead her remaining men in a defense maneuver that the surviving troops later described as 'insane' and 'ingenious'.
The Exaltation came with a price. After hearing what had happened, her father gave her two choices once she had returned to Lookshy: either face court martial, or disappear and never return to Lookshy again. Ember chose the latter, as the words of the Unconquered Sun still rang true in her mind. Her Marukani friend, Hunter of Ten Tines, chose to accompany her in exile. Nefvarin Hoarfrost supplied his daughter with enough property to begin a new life, but that would be all that he and the rest of the family would give her. To them, she would be permanently missing in action.
Both Ember and Hunter settled in Nexus to work as mercenaries. Unlike most mercenaries, they do not belong to any given company permanently, but rather seek individual jobs. In the past year and a half, they have managed to create a formidable reputation for themselves as high-end mercenaries invested in protecting and defending those in utmost need.
Notes
Ember's familiar is a bay roan Marukani battler named Cinder, given as a gift by Hunter of Ten Tines.
