The Book Of Wood/Misc

Once, near the end of the First Age, a Solar crafted a pair of Orichalcum Perfected Kata Bracers, which he used to valiantly in the pursuit of justice. As with all items, these bracers had a Least God assigned to them, who was simply a nameless sprite who could be seen by those with the eyes to see occasionally polishing the bracers that were his home.

The bracers' owner was slain during the Usurpation, along with all his brethren, and he was buried with his belongings to prevent his ghost from rising and seeking revenge. His Sidereal mentor, however, had loved him greatly, and sorely regretted the need to slay him, and sought to leave some memorial to him, if only as a nameless hero. And so he took the bracers and set them up in a shrine deep in the Threshold, spinning many tales about it that the local folk repeated and came to believe were about a hero who had saved them at some distant time in the past...

Unknowingly, he had set up the beginnings of a small but devout Cult for the Least God, who slowly took on the name and qualities of the Hero the people believed in: A wondrously skilled fighter named Dhuma.

One day, while visiting the monument to his old friend in a resplendent disguise, the Sidereal was disgusted to discover ruffians disturbing the shrine. And he was as shocked as they were to see the Least Spirit, grown a little more powerful due to the centuries of steady worship, actually Materialize to scare them off!

Impressed, he approached the spirit, introduced himself, and offered him a job in Heaven, carefully explaining all the benefits thereof. When Dhuma (for such he now was) expressed concern at leaving his home, it was pointed out that he need simply wear the bracers and he could take his home with him. Ironically, the virtues the people instilled in him, that of a wandering adventurer, ended up taking him away from them, and so he left with the old man...

For a while, he thought he'd been duped. Settling into an office job, doing paperwork recording the results of personal duels in that region of Creation was not as exciting as it sounded. The Salary and raise in Essence hardly seemed worth it. But Dhuma was constantly visited by his Sidereal mentor, who took him under his wing, and began teaching him all manner of personal combat systems. And when he judged him ready, he offered him yet another job: As the old man's personal bodyguard.

Now that job delivered! In the service of the Elder, Dhuma traveled Creation and pitted himself against the Unquiet Dead, escaped demons, marauding Fae, and even the odd rebellious Terrestrial (although he wondered why his master would not hunt the few Solars who appeared from time to time). And whenever they weren't fighting threats to Creation, the old man ceaselessly drilled Dhuma, pushing him to increase his power and skills in ways that few spirits naturally do on their own...Perhaps he suspected that the master saw in him some trace of the Solar student he had been forced to betray so long ago...

Dhuma was not there when the old man finally died of old age. But he did receive an heavily coded message from him afterwards, stating that he had deliberately miscalculated his final horoscope to prevent his Sidereal rivals from getting ahold of his new incarnation and indoctrinating it in their beliefs. He begged one favor from Dhuma, that he be the one to collect his new self.

Dhuma dutifully resigned his commission and left Yu-Shan for the final time. Easily finding the orphan girlchild his mentor's Essence now resided in, he took her for his own, and raised her as he was raised, while traveling in various guises.

Five years ago, the Solars returned to the world. Dhuma's contacts in Heaven informed him about the schism in the Fivescore Fellowship. He is uncertain about what he should do. He feels his master would have wanted him to reunite him with the modern Gold Faction, but Dhuma is...unaccountably uneasy about giving up the young girl he has raised to her teenage years. This is the only reason he has not already offered his services to the Gold Faction.

He has raised her to the best of his ability, although as a spirit, he is ill-equipped to understand or cope with the strange and quirky girls' mood swings. He believes her Exaltation will occur soon, and debates whether he should tell her of her true nature before then. He has trained her as a Heroic fighter, but has so far hesitated to Awaken her Essence as he's not sure if that could somehow damage the Sidereal Essence within her (if he learns that it won't, then he will do so immediately).

Currently, the two reside in a Dojo he established to give her a more stable lifestyle than the endless wandering they were doing. Although his reputation (and frankly, her blossoming beauty) attract many students, none stay for long, which mystifies the two (this is because neither really understands the virtue of "holding back").

Dhuma is also facing another dilemna: With the Solars returned to the world, what will he do if one approaches him for training? And what if Fate should deliver the current holder of the Essence of his original creator and owner to his very doorstep? Where do his loyalties lie then...?

In the meantime, Dhuma simply meditates, practices, and waits.

[b]Sanctum[/b]

[b]Motivation[/b]

[b]Attributes:[/b]

Str-5 Dex-6 Sta-5 Cha-3 App-4 Man-3 Per-4 Int-3 Wits-5

[b]Virtues:[/b]

Compassion: 3 Conviction: 4 Temperance: 3 Valor: 5

[b]Abilities:[/b] Athletics-6, Awareness-5, Bureaucracy-4, Dodge-6, Integrity-5, Lore-3, Martial Arts-6, Medicine-3, Melee-5, Occult-4, Presence-4, Resistance-5, Socialize-3, Survival-3

[b]Backgrounds:[/b] Artifact (Perfected Kata Bracers)-4, Connections (Yu-Shan)-3, Connections (local Spirit Courts)-3, Resources 3, Sanctum 1

[b]Charms:[/b]

[b]Join Battle:[/b]

[b]Attacks:[/b]

[b]Soak:[/b]

[b]Health Levels:[/b]

[b]Dodge:[/b]

[b]Willpower:[/b] [b]Essence:[/b] [b]Essence Pool:[/b]