Shataina/PrincessAmastara2E
Contents
Princess Amastara
Dawn Caste Solar Exalt
Both an unbelievably haughty princess and a general beyond compare, Amastara lives to protect her country and her family -- and is horrified by her very nature, because it puts them both in danger.
She also doesn't like her First Age boyfriend, because he's an abusive psychopath. But hey, you can't expect anything less from an Abyssal.
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Cut Scenes
Amastara dreamed:
He comes in like a falling star, bursting through the door, upon her without warning. She has her blade out before he's reached her, has already pirouetted to parry his first and second strikes. With brutal, uncaring strength, he tears the daiklave from her fingers and closes in, punching her back into the wall and pinning her there with one arm.
She fights as hard as she can, Essence blazing around her hands and feet as she twists to kick him. Bruises and cuts flower on his skin. He laughs at her, holding her as she desperately seeks a new angle of attack, then, crushing her to her knees, forces her arms to fold at an impossible angle behind her. Long beyond tears of pain, she still gasps as one arm breaks, screams as he scores savage, bloody wounds down her back.
"Submit," he murmurs. She can see the smile on his lips from the corner of one eye. "Never," she snarls back, but can't repress her own smile, laughing as he pulls her hair, forcing her head back to kiss her. "All right," she says finally, "I'm yours, my love," and relaxes back into his open arms, returning the kiss even as he bites through her lower lip. "Anything. I submit."
Amastara finished her coffee and folded the cards, leaning back in her chair. "Another hand?" she inquired.
"Sorry, General, I'm out," yawned the kingdom's star archer, stretching her arms and legs as she rose. The other two soldiers nodded, exhausted. "Maybe you should sleep too, sir," one of them offered tentatively.
"Nonsense," she said brusquely, standing. "I'll see you all in the morning."
The three exchanged glances. "It's just that, sir, you haven't slept for --"
"I'll be fine," Amastara said firmly. "Sweet dreams. Dismissed."
Sweeter than mine, I hope, she thought as she exited the barracks into the night. She nodded to the guards on duty, paused to share a drag of her cigarette with them, and paced off under the torchlight. She'd ordered that the castle grounds be kept especially well-lit with the recent troubles, and it had the added effect of lending a new ambiance to the walks she'd begun to take recently.
Had to do something not to sleep, she reflected. The drugs she'd convinced the healer to give her made her twitchy and anxious, gave her enough energy to run for hours, but she was still reasonably sure that if she sat down without something to concentrate on she'd fall right asleep. And she really didn't want to dream.
She tilted her head back, watched the stars, and reflected on who else would be up. Her sister, who she'd played Gateway with into the night, had gone to bed. Her personal guard was turning in, and she oughtn't associate with the common soldiers, probably ... although even they were starting to be tempting. Everyone else was asleep.
Except the captive.
The thought came to her unbidden, and she snarled at it internally, but it stubbornly remained. Amastara took another drag from her cigarette, inhaling as deeply as possible, revelling in its bite. The captive. The Abyssal. My ex.
He's not my ex. I'm not who I was. I'm not.
She found herself walking in through the front door of the palace, telling herself she wasn't going down to the dungeon; she almost had herself convinced until she made it all the way there.
"Go ahead and take a half-hour break," she told the night shift standing in front of his cell; they seemed glad of it, saluting and leaving with alacrity. Amastara finished her cigarette and crushed it under her heel.
He looked up and she suffered a momentary recollection of when they'd captured him, just a few nights ago, when he'd knelt at her sword-point and she'd felt the recognition wash through her like a tide. She couldn't stand watching him kneel to her. It was wrong.
Wrong? He's an Abyssal. Not someone you can trust. And you're not who you were. Any more than he is.
"Amastara," he said mildly. No honorific, she noted, and gritted her teeth. Disrespectful bastard. "To what do I owe this honour?"
That's Princess Amastara to him. We're not on a first-name basis. Gods, I don't even know his name! "What's your name?" she asked without preamble.
"What does it matter?" He was sitting on his pallet, next to the steel bucket. The long hair, black as water, shone, making his skin look so pale as to seem unreal.
"I was just curious," she said airily. "I know you said you don't have one, but everyone has a name. Anyway, you know mine."
"Yes," he said. "I know a lot about you. I have for a while. You're the princess here, hereditary head of the army. You have a brother, a father, two sisters; your mother died of consumption, your father is due to remarry soon. ... Am I right?"
"Researched me, did you?" Amastara stared at him, found herself wanting another cigarette. "How did you know? I didn't know about you."
"No. You didn't." He stood, and sauntered forward. How does he manage to look so good in a damned cell? she wondered. "In answer to your first question, I actually researched your kingdom."
"Why?"
"I look into all the kingdoms I have missions in." Hands in his pockets, he looked at her. His eyes were as black as his hair. "What do you want?"
The question had a gravity she hadn't expected, and it threw her. He'd asked her once, she remembered, when they first caught him, and she hadn't know what to say then, either. Amastara resisted the urge to step forward. Not this, she thought. Not you.
She coughed. "So," she said icily. "Weak and untrustworthy."
He sighed. "I was trying to protect you."
"By setting my Twilight friend against me? By telling him that I'm weak and untrustworthy? How would that protect me?" Is that what you really think of me? she wanted to shout. That I'm weak? Maybe you should look to whose cell you're in!
"There are a lot of things going on," he said tiredly. "You'll be safer if people think you useless."
"I can take care of myself," she informed him.
"Maybe so." The Abyssal turned away from her, then whirled back around, quickly enough to startle. "You didn't answer my question," he said coldly. "What do you want? Do you want to be hurt?"
What the hell kind of non-sequiteur was that? Who the hell do you think you are? "No, I didn't," Amastara snapped. "And you're full of yourself. You don't know me. I don't care what went on between us a thousand years ago. I'm not who I was." She took a breath and found that she'd adopted a combat-ready stance, tense and glaring.
"Maybe so," he said again, seeming unaffected by her obvious hostility. Tossing his head back, he regarded at the ceiling, half-sighed. "And maybe you do have all the answers. But be careful. You shouldn't trust anyone. Certainly not those other Solars."
"Who says I trust them?" she demanded, and was rewarded by a surprised flash of his eyes. That's right, she thought angrily. Maybe you don't have all the answers either, you self-confident son of a bitch.
"Maybe you'll surprise me," he said softly.
Amastara snapped her eyes away from his face, glared at the granite floor, and began to pace. "Do you dream about me?" she asked suddenly, and cursed herself for the unexpectedly vulnerable tone to her voice. She'd wanted it to sound like a command.
Expressionlessly, he said, "Come forward." A moment later, Amastara realized that she had, and was standing just outside the cell. Somehow, she'd met his gaze again, too. This is insane, she raged at herself, but didn't move.
"Shade," he said, with intensity.
"What?"
"Shade. That's my name. Say it."
"Shade," she repeated back automatically.
"You can call me that," he breathed, "but only you. That name is just for you." Dark, dark eyes; Amastara felt trapped by them. She nodded.
"Now tell me, Amastara," he said, in a voice like velvet. "Of your family, who would it hurt you most to lose?"
"What?" she whispered.
"Whose death would hurt you the most?" Shade watched her, then allowed a small smile onto his face. "Your brother? Your younger sister, perhaps? Your father?"
"I don't --"
"Who?" he demanded.
"My father!" Amastara cried. His stare had caught her; she felt like a butterfly pinned to a board.
"Why?"
"I --" Not a fair question, she thought furiously, and who are you to ask?, but thought was remote; it had been replaced with a kind of terror. Something in her was trying to answer, but couldn't; she wanted to answer him. She broke off in a kind of agony. Why did he want to know? she wondered. Don't hurt him -- Shade --
"I said that about you," Shade hissed, "because it was true. You are weak -- far too weak. You're going to have to be able to make choices, and they're not going to be easy. You may have thought you could hide your nature and cringe here away from the rest of the world, but you can't be that kind of coward anymore, Amastara!"
In an instant, the anger had broken through. Was I really about to beg him not to hurt my father? Amastara strode forward and grabbed the bars. "And how do you know?" she snarled.
"Because I know you, Amastara," he snarled back. He came straight up to her, his face inches away, and she saw, feeling sick, that he had fangs -- like a monster. "I know you, whether you want me to or not, and when the time comes when you need to choose, you won't choose. What's my name?"
She fought herself, struggling not to open her mouth. For a stretch they stood there, locked face-to-face. I don't want this, she thought, over and over. Finally, with a growl, she shouted it at him like a curse: "Shade!"
Shade thrust his hand out through the bars, palm upwards. "Give me the keys," he ordered.
Amastara's hand dropped to the keyring at her belt. This isn't what I want, she thought. No. She tore her other hand away from the bar and fell back a few steps. The Abyssal, too, stepped back, his face unreadable. Poised for flight, she berated herself. Running -- from him? He's a prisoner in a cell!
She ran.
Character Background and Explanations
Description
Princess Amastara is a striking, ethnically Eastern girl with wide, light amber eyes, slightly darker medium-brown skin, and long, straight pale-blonde hair. Barring exceptional circumstances, she always dresses her rank, including a gold-and-garnet diadem that sits low on her brow (and conveniently covers her Caste Mark should she spend a little too much Essence). Her official capacity is almost entirely martial (see "Country Notes" in the "History" section) and she always has both a cavalry sword at her waist (or lately, a jade reaper daiklave) and her ancestral bow (see "Artifact" under "Backgrounds") slung across her back. She also, whenever she's awake, unfailingly wears her armour, unless she's required not to for a party or some such.
History
Born a princess, trained from birth to lead her country's armies into war, Princess Amastara never had any doubt of her abilities or responsibilities. Always believing that her family had the absolute right to rule, she dedicated herself to learning how best to protect them and lead her country. An uprising when she was twenty led to her Exaltation: cornered in the palace with her father by an army of mercenaries hired by a group of dissatisfied nobles, she was prepared to go down fighting until a bar of sunlight fell upon her from an open window. Every mercenary was killed in the ensuing battle, and for a long time only her father knew that she was Exalted.
She tried to keep her nature a secret, knowing that the Realm would destroy her and her country if they knew, but a series of unfortunate events made that impossible. Now Amastara and a few Solar allies have annihilated one airship sent by the Realm, and she is known and accepted as a Solar by her people (which were mostly converted to the faith of the Unconquered Sun by a mind-controlling Zenith Caste). The princess isn't at all happy that she's a known Solar; she's also displeased that her people were forcibly converted to a religion they didn't choose, finding the unnatural influence abhorrent. But she can't argue with the results, and although she considered leaving her country -- for its own safety -- before, she knows she can't do that now: the Brilliant Tempest Kingdom will soon entirely worship the Unconquered Sun, and so whether or not she remains to lead them, she's sure the Realm will crush them if it gets the chance. Hence, she remains, building up the military, and hoping desperately that the Realm has more important things to do than send too many legions to cope with.
Country Notes
Amastara's country, the Brilliant Tempest Kingdom, is one of the largest of the Hundred Kingdoms, and has only one or two real rivals. The situation is uneasy, but relatively stable; times are hard, and it would be a terrible time for a war -- especially since she's a known Anathema, and her armies have already crushed several others in open combat.
Inheritance of the actual throne goes to male heirs first, then girls only when all the (relatively) immediate male heirs have been eliminated. However, the martial aspects of ruling the kingdom are considered the domain of the royal women, and they are inevitably trained in all aspects of battle. They are expected to excel at leading soldiers and fighting; the oldest princess becomes general of the army when her predecessor dies. Generally, male members of the family are considered to have domain over social maneuvering and be best at it.
Backgrounds
Artifact
The ancestral bow of Amastara's kingdom is a longer-than-usual mahogany bow, engraved with elegant curlicues inlaid with red enamel and gilt. It is passed down through the female line; the inheriting princess receives it when she comes of age at 15. It may only be wielded by members of the country's true royal line; anyone who isn't of the proper blood who even tries to touch it will receive a mild shock. It functions as an excellent longbow, requires no attunement, and cannot be broken by mortal means.
Backing
Amastara leads the army, and her soldiers are as devotedly loyal to her as she is to them.
Influence
As princess, Amastara isn't that public a figure -- except to the army. She has a lot of influence, but most of it isn't with the non-military.
Followers
Amastara's personal guard, the Scarlet Guard, has members chosen for unparalleled loyalty and above-and-beyond skill. There are 20 of them, and they have elite statistics.
Resources
Amastara doesn't oversee the royal purse, but she can get access to a lot of money if she has to.
Spies
Though she's more interested in running the army, Amastara is also expected to coordinate the espionage efforts of the Brilliant Tempest Kingdom.
Loose Ends
Flaws
- Eternal Vow / Throwback: Amastara's lover in the First Age is now an Abyssal, and he remembers her as well as she remembers him. Worse, they had a very power-oriented relationship, and one that focused heavily on pain (hers). Her Essence wants to obey him: if he gives her an order, she has to roll Willpower at a difficulty of her own Essence score not to follow it. (You may have noticed that her Limit Break condition is obeying orders. She doesn't like him at all.)
Languages
Houseruled Language System: Hundred Kingdoms 3; Celestial Old Realm 2; Riverspeak 2; High Realm 2. (In terms of the normal Exalted linguistic system, this character can speak and read Forest-Tongue [her native language], High Realm, Old Realm and Riverspeak.)
Character Generation / Experience
Canon Experience (91): Melee 2-3 (3); Lightning Speed (8); Athletics 3-4 (5); Essence 2-3 (16); Sail 0-1 (3); There Is No Wind (8); Thrown 0-1 (2); Melee Triumphant (8); Ox-Body Technique (8); Presence 2-3 (3); Presence Triumphant (8); Combo (9); Single Leaping Spark Attack (8); Martial Arts 0-1 (2)
Once Houseruled (33): Investigation Excellency (8); Investigation 1-2 (9); Integrity Excellency (8); [Integrity Willpower rather than Essence] (8)
Statistics
Attributes
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 5
Stamina: 3
Charisma: 3
Manipulation: 3
Appearance: 4
Perception: 2
Intelligence: 4
Wits: 3
Abilities
Archery: 4 (Specialty: Ancestral Bow +2)
Athletics: 4
Awareness: 2
Bureaucracy: 2
(Dodge: 3)
Integrity: 3
Investigation: 2
Larceny: 1
(Linguistics: 3)
Lore: 2
Martial Arts: 1
Melee: 3
Performance: 1 (Specialty: Speeches +2)
Presence: 3 (Specialty: Leadership +2)
Resistance: 2
Sail: 1
Ride: 2
Socialize: 3
Thrown: 1
War: 4 (Specialty: Her Own Country + 2)
Backgrounds
Artifact -- Ancestral Bow: 1
Backing -- Army: 3
Influence -- Princess: 2
Followers -- Scarlet Guard: 3
Resources: 4
Spies: 2
Virtues and Such
Compassion: 2
Conviction: 3 (Specialty: Loyalty +1)
Temperance: 2 (Vice: Rage -1)
Valour: 4 (Limit Break: Ikselam's Megalomaniac Ambition)
Floating Virtue Specialty: For Her Country +1
Willpower: 5
Essence: 3
Personal Essence Pool: 14
Peripheral Essence Pool: 40 [canonically: 37] (14 committed to Vashtemo [10] and scarlet jade reinforced breastplate [4])
Flaws
Eternal Vow (+1)
Greater Curse (+5)
Throwback (+3)
Motivations and Intimacies
Motivation:
- Protect her country, keep her family in power
Intimacies:
- Love of her father
- Love of her brother
- Love of her youngest sister
- Some insane connection to her Abyssal ex-husband
- Loyalty to the soldiers under her command
- Love of her Water-Aspected Han Solo-type lover Kai
Charms and Combat
* Archery Overwhelming
* Piercing Sunbeam Arrow (Archery damage over time)
* There Is No Wind
Single Leaping Spark Attack (Archery reflexive attack)
Melee Triumphant
Graceful Crane Stance
Monkey Leap Technique
Lightning Speed
Athletics Overwhelming
* Dodge Overwhelming
Integrity Triumphant
[Integrity Willpower rather than Essence]
Investigation Triumphant
Presence Triumphant
Body-Mending Meditation
War Overwhelming
Sun's Battlefield Blessing (War terrain choice)
Base Combat Statistics: (using Ancestral Bow) Speed 6, 12 Attack, Rate 3
(using scarlet reaper daiklave) Speed 4, 12 Attack, Rate 3, Damage 6L
Dodge DV: 6 (armoured: 5); Parry DV: 5
Soak: (armoured) 12B / 11L / 10A; (unarmoured) 3B / 1L / oA
Mobility Penalty: 1; Fatigue Value: 1
Health Levels: -0, -0, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -2, -4, -4, -4, Incapacitated [unhouseruled: lose 1 -0 and 2 -4s]
Experience Points: 12
Magical Experience Points: 0
