Brightfires/Rain

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Rain in Autumn
Concept: Actor and Information Gatherer
Caste: Eclipse
Nature: Architect
Anima: Swirling storm of cherry blossoms and maple leaves
Picture: tk

Str 2
Dex 5
Stm 2

Chr 5
Man 2
App 4

Per 3
Int 3
Wts 2

Linguistics 2 (Native: Realm, Riverspeak, Old Realm)
Socialize 3
Martial Arts 5
Performance 4
Presence 3
Investigation 3
Awareness 3
Dodge 2
Athletics 1
Lore 2
Stealth 3
Craft (Costumes and Disguises) 1

Backgrounds:
Resources 3
Follower 1 (Summer Rose, a mortal Musician [[1]])
Artifacts 3 (Paired Fans, Theatrical Mask)

Compassion 2
Conviction 2
Temperance 3
Valor 2

Willpower 5
Essence 2

Flaw: Temperance
Break: Contempt

Charms:
Masterful Performance Exercise
Heart-Compelling Method
Graceful Crane Stance
Easily Overlooked Presence Method
Wise-Eyed Courtier Method
Motive Discerning Technique

Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Style
Retiring Peach-Blossom Feint
Pearlescent Filigree Defense
Lethal Paper Fan Attack
Dreaming Pearl Courtesan Form
Flurry of August Leaves Concentration

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His Artifacts:
Wings of Night: Paired orichalcum and black jade folding fans. (As Peacock fans, CB:Eclipse pg. 80) Artifact 2. 2 motes to attune. Stats as wind-fire wheels. +1 to speed, accuracy, and defense.

Master Sato’s Blessing: A finely carved white jade mask with moonsilver tracery. Artifact 1. 2 motes to attune. Once attuned the mask can take on the appearance of any of the archetypical character masks used in classical theater. (Maiden, Warrior, Lion, Ogre, Demon, Old Woman, Prince, Phoenix, Jester, etc.) Use of the mask adds 1 die to theatrical performance rolls, helping to maintain an audience’s identification with the role rather than the actor playing it.

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His Monologue:
“Where to begin… That *is* the question, isn’t it? To tell the story from its opening lines, or to skip right to the soliloquy, ignoring what came before as if it were of no importance?” The actor, still dressed in the blood red silks of The Love Suicides’ final scene, walked a lazy circle around the room, never taking his eyes off of Cynis Hadaka.

“It’s a devil’s choice… But isn’t that what I am? A devil? A demon given human form? A cursed Anathema, come to flay your skin from your bones, and to devour your soul, and to overthrow your pathetic little puppet kingdom?” He laughed behind the frightful white mask, but there was little humor in it. “What’s wrong, Hadaka? Nothing left to laugh about now that we’re alone? You were the one who asked. You were the one who *insisted* on knowing the truth... so do try not to cower when you're faced with it.”

“What if I said that I was not a demon? What if I said that I was not so different from yourself?” One quick pass with the painted silk fan, and the tusks and horns of the oni were replaced by the proud visage of a prince. “Would you believe me, my careless patron, if I said that I, too, had been born to rule in the Scarlet Empress’ name?”

“I had no interest in ruling, of course, though mine was a lineage with great aspirations. They desire nothing less than the throne itself.... But I loved only one thing. Performance. The recitation of well-written roles. The steps of a dance no other had mastered. Those were my ambitions. No petty satrapy or coil in the Thousand Scales for me... What attraction can politics possibly hold when performance’s promise is so much greater? You doubt that power, Hadaka… I can see it. But consider… A player may, by his words alone, change the course of a kingdom. He can rally a people to rebellion with nothing but a well-chosen song. Can you do that, for all your titles? ”

“Alas, the Great Dragons favored drama no more than my elders did, which came as no surprise. Least of all to myself… But I’ll tell you a secret,” The actor stepped closer to his audience of one, and tilted his head to the side like a child sharing gossip with a sibling. “I didn’t care. I was glad…. For there has never been a Prince of the Earth who walked the stage for his living, and that was what I had determined to do.”

The actor took two steps back and spun his fan like leaves caught in an autumn wind. “I departed when they informed me that I was to attend the school of scribes and bureaucrats. I’ve always wondered what they made of my disappearance… Not a great deal, I suspect. I was always something of a disappointment.”

“I traveled to the Imperial City after that, where I was fortunate to find a troupe and a master who would take me. I was old for an apprentice, and even though my tutors had indulged my interests far more than they ought, I had a great deal to learn. I refused to tell my new master my name… I was afraid that he would send me away if he knew who and what I was… and so he gave me a new one; the name that I still carry, to honor him. I look back on those years as a golden time, now. I will never forget the lessons that I learned at my master’s side. The troupe became my family, and the stage became my world. But all good things must come to an end… That is the way of the world.”

The actor stopped, and stood perfectly still for the space a breath. Then snapped his fan closed so fiercely that it made the Dynast noble jump. “For us, the end came quickly and from one of my own kin… It was early summer, and a Chosen of Fire named Sessus Haru hired our troupe to perform for his guests. My master suggested The Nine Bells, an inoffensive classic that had served us well, but Haru would have none of it. He’d written a work of his own for the occasion, he said. To please him, my master agreed to stage it. There were but nine of us for seventeen roles and the work was all bad verse and over-wrought hand-wringing, but we gave our patron as fine a performance as we could under the circumstances… say what you will of silk purses and sow’s ears.”

“Our patron was unimpressed. We had, he claimed, made a mockery of his life’s work. In a moment of less than sober reason, he even accused us of encouraging disrespect and spreading heresy, though we spoke not one word more than what he had written. My master protested our innocence, and the Sessus answered by having us all thrown into jail… It was not our finest hour, I must admit, though I doubt that anything serious would have come of it had Lord Haru not been a fool as well as a drunkard.”

“He decided... in his Enlightened wisdom... that it would be entertaining to make an example of one of us… In order to ‘discourage other peasants from offending the dignity of the Dragon-Blooded’ as we had done.” The actor laughed again, and white mask shifted, returning to the terrible aspect of a demon. “It is said that Fortune looks after all children and fools, but Luck turned her back on Sessus Haru on that day… The one that he chose to make the object of his lesson was me, and my Eternal Patron had somewhat different plans.”

“I’ll not bore you with the details of the luckless Haru’s fate but to say that it was a very messy business. I had not yet learned to control certain of my abilities. They were new to me and I’m ashamed to say that I panicked. I applied far more force than was strictly necessary to escape… It was a much simpler matter to free my master and the others. The mortal guardsmen wisely offered no resistance.”

“Knowing that the Sessus would hound us from one end of the Isle to the other should we stay together, it was with heavy hearts that we afterwards made the choice to disband our troupe and go our separate ways. Most went on to other companies and other stages. My master chose a quiet retirement far from the cares of his former life. Being what I had become, I thought it wisest to leave the Realm entirely.”

“Now, Cynis Hadaka … Now that you know my past, let’s discuss your future, shall we? I’m sure you’ll agree that assisting our cause is the only sensible thing to do under the circumstances..."