MelWong/WeepingWillow

Character for StalkerofShadows/NexusMafia

Name: Weeping Willow, mistress of the House of Garlands
Aspect: Water
Nature: Judge
Concept: Weary ex-killer

Anima Banner: A great royal python
Virtue Flaw: Conviction

Attributes: Strength 2, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2, Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2, Perception 4, Intelligence 3, Wits 3

Abilities: Athletics 2, Awareness 2, Brawl 0*, Bureaucracy 3*, Dodge 2, Investigation 3*, Larceny 2*, Linguistics 2 (Forest-Tongue, Riverspeak, Low Realm), Lore 2, Martial Arts 4* (Lightning Chain +2), Medicine 2, Performance 3* (Dance +2, Acting +1), Presence 2, Socialize 3* (Emotional State +1), Stealth 2, Survival 2

Backgrounds: Artifacts 5 (Mask, black jade lightning chain), Resources 3, Contacts 3 (Shalrina the Daimyo of Faces, Rabbit the Underground rumor-monger, Edegar of the Players' Menagerie), Influence 1 (Nexus), Backing 1 (Council of Entities), Followers 2 (The salaried staff at her teahouse)

Charms: Flickering Candle Meditation, Distracting Breeze Meditation, Memorable Performance Technique, Lissome Serpent Dance, Seeking the Hot-Blooded Prey, Breath-Freezing Python Grip, Forked Tongue Meditation, Serpentine Coils Form

Virtues: Compassion 2, Temperance 3, Conviction 3, Valor 2
Willpower: 6

Essence: 2
Personal: 8
Peripheral: 20
Committed: 5

Base Inits: 7
Soaks: 2B/1L
Dodge: 6

Attacks
Lightning Chain*
Spd 14, Acc 10, Dmg 7L or B, Parry 14

• A lightning chain can be used to perform clinch or hold maneuvers from a range of up to three yards. It can be used to attack mounted characters without a penalty.

Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Incap

Equipment: Black jade lightning chain, ivory artifact mask, extensive collection of stage masks, selection of formal clothing, well-appointed teahouse in the Cinnabar district (with hidden cisterns in the cellar), ledgers, abacus, sanxian.

Description: Weeping Willow is a short, slender woman of sober mien and exemplary discretion. She wears soft formal robes with long, deep-pocketed sleeves and soft-soled slippers. A folded ladies' fan is tucked in the broad sash at her waist, and she wears a long chain of black jade around her neck like an ornament, knotted mid-length between her breasts, and the ends left to dangle. Most of her long dark hair is pinned back so as to stay out of her way, and she has the eccentric habit of wearing various operatic masks in her role as hostess of the House of Garlands, ostensibly so as to match the ever-changing decorations of the teahouse.

She has a missing joint on the last finger of her left hand, a mutilation she attributes to a childhood accident.

Prelude: Weeping Willow remembers the time she was just Willow, a simple girl who helped her parents run a small hostel on the trade road out from Great Forks. There must have been some Dragon blood in her family, perhaps her mother cheated, or maybe it went much further back, but everything changed when Danaa'd touched her with elemental power.

Before the Immaculates could arrive, she was whisked away in the smoke-hazy night, struggling against the iron grip of her kidnapper. The crackle of fire in her ears and the ruddy glow of the horizon told her her parents had not survived. From then on her life belonged to the Grass Spiders.

They gave her a new name and a new vocation. They taught her to kill more than mere chickens, to brew poisons, instead of tea. She learned to live off the land, and eventually stopped flinching at the thought of foraging for live locusts and wild honey. Even so, the killer could not let go of the girl named Willow, who had simpler dreams and an uncomplicated life, and so one day when she thought they would not pursue, she abandoned a contract and fled into the Scavenger Lands.

Her mistake.

They caught her, punished her, and then turned her loose. She understood that they would not trust her back in their stronghold, not after her failure. All things considered, she was still more useful to them alive than dead. Gritting her teeth, she reclaimed her old name, cut a few deals, and opened a small teahouse in the Cinnabar district of Nexus.

She repaid her debts honestly within the first year. Her small teahouse expanded to include a converted barge on the riverside, and on pleasant days tables are put out in the streets to accomodate walk-in customers.

But the woman now known as Weeping Willow traces the lines of the scars on her face, and she waits for the Grass Spiders to return with details of just one more job. And she looks at her new life, and wonders if she can bear to accept that burden again.

Merits/Flaws: Unusual Appearance (1pt Flaw): The Forest-tongue for "Traitor" branded across the left side of her face, a missing joint on her left pinky.

Bonus Points: 1 from Flaws, 4 to favored abilities, 3 to Temperance, 6 to Backgrounds, 3 to favored specialties = 16

XP: 4 to Appearance, 2 to Athletics, 2 to Awareness, 3 to Bureaucracy, 4 to Investigation, 2 to Linguistics, 2 to Presence, 3 to Performance, 3 to Socialize, 10 to Favored Charm = 35