GoldenCat/AshenTearsPuppeteer

The Cat of Death

‘When your allies leave you, when mistrust tear your home apart, when your own son stabs you through the heart in the ruins of all you held dear – I will be there, hands into your daughter’s knickers, looking down on you. Just so you know, oh king. Just so you know it was /me/’

Forsaken Name : Ledaal Kalyan
Abyssal Ttitle : Hunter of Dark Passions
Religious Title : Ashen Tears Puppeteer
Alias : Mohan Sabati

Concept : Dynast-Born Manipulator
Nature : Hedonist ( Gain willpower whenever you have a really good time, and brings others in )
Caste : Moonshadow ( Children of Dust, Hollow Darkness )
Charm Theme : Lord of Mind’s Labyrinth Who Moves As the Darkest Cat

Anima Banner : A bright blow in waving night-black and purple. Within it, comes countless coiled strings, lashing, hitting the ground and coiling around him like a thousand snakes, sounding like whips. When fully iconic, feline crimson eyes appear behind him, the eyes of a hunter. The strings rush to all those influenced by his presence powers, directing his actions as he moves with the speed and swiftness of a cat through his foes...

Anima Power : By spending 10 motes, he may sanctify any oath he is party to or witness, with a flash of his anima, black and violet sways around him, the strings of his anima binding the hands together with a searing sensation. Any who breaks such oaths suffers a number of botches on critical times equal to Mohan’s essence. He is also a talented generalist, able to learn the charms of other magical creatures, at double the Essence cost.

Religious Role : Ashen Tears Puppeteer is the Lord of Night and Whispers – the patron of all who have power over others, whom astrologers assossiate with the constellation of the Lovers. He is the lord of passions who bring all closer to the emperor, and of those who manipulate said passions for that goal. The night brings hunters, hunters who use their steath, their guile, and, above all, finesse – and as such he is the patron of Lovers, Spies, and Martial Artists.

Finally he is closely assossiated with felines of all types, but specially cats.

Goals : Mohan has some clear goals in his mind – the first one is the simplest – money and power. He wants to be as well off as his Dynastic family, to hold all the weath he can on the palm of his hand. He also wants power, to know to be safe and well-backed. He wants to break the Coral archipelago for their resources first, as he considers them savages.

He wants to get a decent foothold on the realm, and specially turn some of house Ledaal on his puppets. And he really wants to find and break a Sidereal Exalted, so as to present his Deathlord with such a gift as a servant of heaven, as the first step to get into its inner workings and cripple it. And because he wishes to be able to manipulate as only Venus can. And finally, he intends to survive the enemies his schemes got him so far, a task that seem harder and harder as the web closes on him...

Appearance

The Hunter of Dark Passions looks the part.His hair is pitch-black, falling down his back in a waterfall of night, the gleams it catches shining like the stars on the underworld. His eyes are crimson, sharp like those of a hunter, of a feline.

And his face... from the seductive mien of a beautiful hunter to the strikingly cute, closed-eyes smile of a cat, warming any who see it. It can change drastically on a whim – leaving any to wonder which is his poker face, and which is the true mien. He is a well-built man, healthy and athletic, who carries himself in the manner of a feline – even when looking up at someone, he never begs, he only demands. But sweetly, in a manner that is never intrusive. His midnight-black hair falls to half his back, and is slim like silk.

He dresses in fine robes, usually black and crimson or black and violet – still wearing much the same fashion as he did in the Dynasty, decorated with either the image of dragons, or intricate abstracrt patterns. The intricate symbol of house Ledaal can still be seen in many of the sashes and scarves he wears.

That is, of course, to the living world. That is the Mohan Sabati merchants and kings are so found of, for which their daughters sigh for. To the Order of the Endless Night, he is Ashen Tears puppeteer – a man shrouded in a heavy wine-red cloak, midnight-black hair falling from behind his mask.

He walks without a word, carrying himself as a god, and all know that simply making contact with where his eyes should be can make one target of his amusement, place one under his power – to be pushed up to grandeur or have all of one’s life turned to ash by one’s own hands, until even the tears follow this fate.

History

Ledaal Kalyan lived a classic dynastic life – comfortable, at the same time spoiled into being a prince of the earth and pushed to the limit to prove himself worthy of it.(... To be continued )

Attributes

Physical [6]Mental [4]Social [8] Strength***Intelligence ***Manipulation **** Dexterity***Perception **Appearance **** Stamina***Wits ***Charisma ***

Abilities [25]

Dusk Midnight Daybreak [F] Martial Arts **** [F] Performance ** [F] Occult ** [F] Presence ***** Lore ** * Investigation **

Day Moonshadow [Caste] Athletics ** Bureaucracy ** [F] Dodge *** Sail * Stealth ** Socialize ** Awareness ** Linguistics ** Larceny * Languages : Old Realm, High Realm, Wavetongue

Charms [10]

Presence
Elegant Tyrant’s Majesty
Soul-Flaying Gaze
Compelling Whisper Technique
Irresistible Succubus Style

Performance
Haunting Inflection Trick

Dodge
Flitting Shadow Form
Fivefold Shadow Form

Martial Arts

Tiger Style
Crimson Leaping Cat Techinque
Striking Fury Claws Attack
Tiger Form

Advantages

Virtues    [5]    Essence ***
Conviction    **    Personal Essence - 20
Compassion    **    Peripheral Essence - 37
Temperance    ***    Total: 57
Valor    **    Commited:

Health -0/-1/-1/-2/-2/-4/Inc.

Willpower    5

Backgrounds [13]

Resources **** Even before his Abyssal exaltation, Kalyan was already a merchant of some renown on the area, with quite the manipulator with it. After his exaltation, he became able to get truly wondrous merchandise, and to make the greatest deals... His primary dealing is with human merchandise – slaves, exotic pets for the powerful. He caters for nobles on Wavecrest and Rich men on Coral, but, mostly, deals extensively with An-Teng, catering primarily for the Dragon-Blooded with all manner of exotic people he can find – those with exotic wyld mutations, the pretty ones the shadowlands generate, and even some Nyrlisa has crafted exquisitely and sold to him. He keeps mostly pretty females around, but deals in male merchandise occasionally as well. He has even managed to get a couple outcaste dragon-blooded and sell them to human royalty, the ultimate rush for them.. after he got the ultimate rush of subduing them himself.

His secondary dealing is with spices, silks, and other fineries – not only he understands much of them for his lavish lifestyle, that tries its best to mimic the realm’s splendor, but he deals in it, the best and most exotic fineries he can find, the most comfortable materials in the most stylish cuts, made by men and faerie both, only at the reach of the wealthiest nobles or the dragon-blooded. And finally, he deals in information, his sweetest currency. He knows all, but only partakes of little.. and at a hefty price. Both of his outward bussiness serve as a cover to the third, which is an open secret – all know to ask him, few know how he knows what he does, and none other than the receptor knows what he says.

Artifacts ****

Manse ** The Palace of Fallen Roses is a great manse located in the greatest of the Ashcream Islands, on the far end of its Shadowland area – where he can still enjoy some of the sun and of the ocean when he feels like so. The Palace itself has a great garden of roses, watered with blood least once a Lunar cycle. Apples and Jambo and many another red fruits dot the orchard that are its expansive gardens, and Ashen Tears has a special liking for Jambo, so deliciously sin-red, so immaculately snow-white on the inside.

The Manse itself is made of black and white marble worked together, veined red. They are worked in a thousand masks in releve, some of comedy, some of tragedy, most of mystery. In some of the rooms, they are also stories... of betrayal, of control, and mostly, of lust. It is a palace, and bursts with activity due to the informants coming and going contantly, leaving the Pupeteer the reports he has to constantly read and file, both of his bussiness and of his espionage organization. The Manse has running water, filling warm baths, but said water has a slight red tinge, and a taste that seems to carry just a bit of iron... but yet, it cleans very well, and is quite an asset to vanity.

The Palace of Fallen Roses produces the following Hearthstone :

( Courtesy of Ikselam, whom I’d like to thank for making up half of the Hearthstones I have ever used or seen people use. Thank you, oh lord of glittering gems! ^_^ )

Blood-Lust Jewel

Manse ••
Trigger: Licking or kissing a wound. 

This teardrop-shaped gem is colored a deep, opaque carmine, like congealing blood. If its wearer touches his mouth to an open wound, the wounded person will experience a surge of ecstatic, intensely erotic pleasure. When this power is used, the target must make an immediate Temperance check. If she gets even one success, she has managed to suppress her body's reaction and is able to act normally. If she fails, her mind is clouded by pleasure and all her actions for the remainder of the turn are at -2 dice. A botch means that she has been totally overcome by the sensation, and is unable to act at all for the remainder of the turn. This power may be used while an Abyssal is drinking blood from a victim.

Spies ***** It took him only a few years. The Sightblinders were a powerful machine when he arrived, yes... but soon, he rose on its ranks. The Ashen Tears Pupeteer would accept nothing if not control over the organization, and in only a few years he became one of its major figures – and turned the organization into a juggernaut. With the right deals, and stringing the right people as his puppets, he soon had eyes and ears in all of the West – such small patch of lands, such flamboyant organizations! – On the Silver Prince’s Elder Concil, on Coral’s merchants, on Eos’ pirates – everywhere in the West, someone ultimately answers to the Hunter of Dark Passions.

If it was the East, he might have worked harder to ensure his eyes were everywhere, but in the West, they were simply the first step. His wing of the Sightblinders – The Midnight Graces – Expanded all accross Creation, with agents in all five directions, including – to his delight – inside the Realm’s great houses. Unfortunately, Ledaal is too watchful for him to penetrate with any degree of precision, but he keeps trying.

Most frightening of the Midnight Graces are the Azure Ashes ( Whose full name is Perfected Stalkers of Azure Ashes ), an elite of Ghost-Blooded Ashen Tears recruited out of the best both Ashcream and Skullstone had to offer. They were specially trained in the arts of espionage and assassination, and, although they number only 25 – 5 for each direction – their might is frightening. Alone, they can bring oblivion to any mortal – usually using the poison of a shellfish that makes the victim’s lips and nails the color of the western ocean, hence their name – but together... the 5 on each direction join once a year, during Calibration, and that is the one and only time they will accept contracts on the Exalted or other powerful beings. But against a full directional circle, not even Ashen Tears would have any chance. A pact with Nyrlisa, a Raksha of the Pearl Court had their bodies perfected in the very images of desire, able to be accepted anywhere. And a pact with Telar, a former Dragon-Blooded Sorcerer’s ghost ensures they receive training in the most powerful Arcanoi available. They are certainly one of Ashen Tear’s mightest assets, when called upon.

He has few contenders for power within the Sightblinders, the most notorious being the Spider in Darkness and Agony – but thankfully, their radically different spheres of influence – him as the director of the far-reaching spies and her as the inquisitor, the head of the counter-spies – keeps them from having any conflict... for now.

Cult ** A Lord of the Vermillion Fist, Ashen Tears puppeteer is the god of the night and whispers on the Cult of the Order of the Endless Night – those who wish to get others under their power, be it in manipulative schemes or passion, pray to him. At times, they will give him a great enough offering that he will notice while passing by, or be informed of it, a situation in which he might find amusing to actually help the person’s schemes...

Liege **** The Crimson Emperor is both his liege-lord and a kindred soul. He understands his lord perfectly, and shares many his dreams of power and conquest. On his command, Mohan expanded the Sightblinders so their strings reach to almost all of Creation. On his command, Mohan made contacts with many of the west, and stablished a powerful indentity there. It was his lord who taught him the corruption of his solar charms that allow Mohan to bend people to his will, and more than once, both sat on a table with undead aides, and discussed their next steps.

A few times during those meetings, Mohan has broken to informal tone with the Emperor, a fact that was cut off shaprly. But more and more, he understands his deathlord... having even a pretty solid guess of what happened to bring the Emperor about. He knows the Emperor probably has an even better grasp on him, and hopes and prays, but not to the Malfeans he is supposed to believe, that the Emperor agrees with him on the futility of wholesale destruction...

Influence *** Mohan Sabati is a very proeminent figure on the West. From the markets of Coral to the Balls in An-Teng, he is a well-known figure in the higher circles, friend of merchants and kings, always ready to sell the newest robe, concubine or information to them. Well-known and friendly regarded in most of the West, and specially in Wavecrest and An-Teng, he is sure to have a warm welcome and a cut in the right deals.

Flaws

Enemy Ragara Urien is the sole survivor of the ‘satrapy affair’ the Hunter was involved in. Seeking vengeance, unable to admit the blood of his mother and sister are on his hands, seeking the return of his little brother, he took to the West, eyes clouded by rage... together with his father, Ragara Aias, an old and powerful dragon-blooded admiral. Together, both want him dead for all he was the cause of... still unsure of what exactly the man is, if spirit, raksha or anathema.

Rival The Lord of Empty Oceans is one of the Crimson Emperor’s most powerful ghostly servants, charged with both the rule of one of Ashscream islands and a great position within the Sightblinders. He commands a powerful personal guard, and a cache of artifacts he acquired in at least six centuries serving the Crimson Emperor. To defy him in his territory means certain death. As it meant to the Ledaal Kalyan. Found in his bedchamber with Ivory Garden Princess, the Lord’s lover, Kalyan was thrown out of his window after a severe beating... but as the Lord of Empty Oceans looked down his shattered window at the corpse that should be down there, he saw the boy, exaltation burning on his forehead.

The Hunter of Dark Passions humilliated him, and by doing so, became his superior. Closer to the Emperor than the Lord had always been, and his rate of success in expanding the Sightblinders – even renaming and creating great wings within it – has been astouding. The Lord of Empty Oceans hated the whelp from day one, and his hatred and envy grows more every day... whatever setback he can place on the Moonshadow’s path, he will.

Secrets Mohan Sabati is a figure of renown in the West, very friendly with both Wavecrest and Coral, known far and wide. It would greatly damage his reputation if he was exposed as anathema – and even more if he was known to be a servant of a deathlord who controls spies deeply rooted in the territories of all his ‘friends’

Greater Curse The Hunter of Dark Passions abuses the goodwill of the Malfeans – his constant lovemaking with mortals, the time he spends in Wavecrest and Coral enjoying the good life and pretending to be only another human, an unexalted dynast in ‘disguise’... so much that he had his curse heightened, not in small part due to the efforts of his rival, who prayed to the Malfeans and spoke much of ‘lessons of humilty’ to the Crimson Emperor...

Bonus Points [34]

Bonus – 15 Liege – 9 Flaws – 10

Essence (+1) – 7 Abilities (+8) – 8

Backgrounds (+10) - 16 Influence (+3) – 3 Liege (+4) – 5 Resources/Artifact/Spies (+4) – 8

Flaws - 10 Greater Curse - 3 Enemy - 3 Rival - 3 Secrets - 1