Kazuki/Alexsei
Lethe Gate Keeper - Alexsei Krauser
About the Gate Keeper - Alexsei's bio, giving more insight on the character and his personality.
Marked by Saturn - Alexsei's history, sadly unfinished as my inspiration has fallen in a rut as to how to write the next events. ^_^;;
Alexsei's Character Sheet
Name: Alexsei Krauser
Player: Kazuki
Caste: Endings
Concept: Gatekeeper of the Wheel of Souls
Nature: Caretaker
Demeanor: Savant
Exp Expenditure (Unspent Exp remaining: 2)
Extra bp: 100
Attributes: 20bp
Abilities: 59bp
Backgrounds: 12bp
Combos: 2bp
Merits and Flaws: 3bp
Willpower: 4bp
Total: 100 extra bp
Total Experience: 383
Essence: 24xp
Colleges: 20xp
Backgrounds: 8xp
Charms: 329xp
Total: 381
Unspent: 2
Attributes
Physical
Strength ●●●
Dexterity ●●●●●
Stamina ●●●●
Social
Charisma ●●●
Manipulation ●●●
Appearance ●●●
Mental
Perception ●●●●
Intelligence ●●●●●
Wits ●●●●
Abilities
Journeys
Endurance ●●●●
Ride ●●●
Sail
Survival ●●●
Thrown
Serenity
Craft (fate)* ●●●
Craft (calligraphy)* ●●●●
Craft (jewelry)* ●
Dodge
Linguistics ●●●●
Performance* ●●●●
(Funeral Ceremonies 2)
Socialize ●●
Battles
Archery
Brawl
Melee* ●●●●●
Presence ●●●
Resistance ●●●●
Secrets
Investigation* ●●●●●
Larceny
Lore* ●●●●●
Occult ●●●●
(Undead Lore 2)
Stealth ●●
Endings (Caste)
Athletics ●●●●●
Awareness ●●●●●
Bureaucracy ●●●●
Martial Arts ●●●●●
Medecine ●●●●●
(* = favored abilities)
Backgrounds
Alexsei's background reflect his heritage as a chosen of the maidens. As a member of the gold faction (although not a fanatical one), his salary background was made to reflect his lower pay comparatively to members of the bronze faction. Since Alexsei's time is spent almost entirely in Creation, The Gateway, the Manse he has access to, is situated there (although Alexsei tries to keep it pretty discreet). He holds no dwelling in Yu Shan, instead prefering a low profile life in the Treshold (although he is considered to have ressource 4 in creation, his dwelling would have only a ressource 2 appearance). His acquaintances backgrounds represent Alexsei's function in a small town in the North, as a funeral priest and sometimes shaman (asked to give benedictions for crops and the such by the superstitious townfolk.) The towns people remember enough of him to know his name and his trade, although he is a mystery to them beyond that. He took residence there in preparation for receiving and training Ryshassa after her solar exaltation, as he deemed necessary for her to have a quiet place to rest and train, as she regains her bearings and learns not to despise her powers.
- Acquaintances ●●●
- Salary ●●
- Savant ●●●●●
- Sifu ●●●
- Manse : The Gateway ●●●
- Artifact : Swan Song ●●●●
- Artifact : Ad Astra ●●●●●
- Artifact : Sun-Kissed Ring of Love's Return ●●
- Artifact : Hearthstone amulet ●
Astrological Colleges
The Crow ●●●
The Corpse ●●
The Sword ●●
The Treasure Trove ●●
The Spear ●●
Charms
Endurance : Ox-Body Technique (x3)
Endurance : Unswerving Juggernaut Principle
Ride : Yellow Path
Craft : World-Shaping Artistic Vision (Black Wing of Conclusion - Hunter of the Undead)
Performance : Faultless Ceremony
Performance : Perfection in Life
Performance : Defense of Shining Joy
Performance : Compassionate Essence Resplenishment
Melee : Impeding the Flow
Melee : Serenity in Blood
Melee : Harmony of Blows
Melee : Meditation on War
Melee : Orchestration of Conflict
Melee : Smiling at the Damned
Melee: Perfection of the Visionary Warrior
Resistance : Red Haze
Resistance : Shield of Mars
Investigation : Auspicious Prospects for Endings
Investigation : Marvelous Inclusion of Details
Lore : Systematic Understanding of Everything
Occult : Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Athletics : Burn Life
Athletics : Forgotten Earth
Athletics : Inexorable Advance
Athletics : Hungry Touch
Athletics : Invisible Motion
Awareness : Prior Warning
Awareness : Expected Pain
Awareness : Supernal Awareness
Awareness : Inevitable Pursuit
Bureaucracy : Icy Hand
Medecine : Smooth Transition
Medecine: Peaceable Conclusion
Medecine : Invocation of the Storm-Following Silence
Medecine : Terminate Illness
Medecine : Earth and Sky Bargain
Martial Arts : Remembered Death
Martial Arts : Corpse-Candle Antagonism
Martial Arts : Senescence Offensive
Martial Arts : Meridian-Rectifying Cut
Martial Arts : House of Endings Form
Martial Arts : Dragonfly-and-Nymph Defense
Martial Arts : Nameless Salt, Distant Iron
Martial Arts : Weeping Surgeon Chant
Martial Arts : Measure of Impediment Palm
Martial Arts : Conclusion-Pursuing Approach
Martial Arts : Stoking the Embers Method
Martial Arts : Five-Dragon Fortitude
Martial Arts : Five-Dragon Blocking Technique
Martial Arts : Hatchling Talon
Sorcery
Terrestrial Circle Sorcery:
Flight of Separation
Silent Words of Dreams and Nightmares
Combos
Unimpeachable Edge of Denouement
Meditation on War(Melee), Orchestration of Conflict(Melee), Senescence Offensive(Martial Arts)
The most certain way to bring something to its unevitable conclusion is not to strike at its physical form, but at the conviction that keeps them deeply rooted in this shape. When the will to remain erodes, conclusion comes to gently cradle what must pass on.
A naked edge cannot convey the harsh, sudden truth that comes from fatalism - when this combo is activated, Alexsei runs the edge of Swan Song along the rim of the scabbard, tucking the sword away and keeping the sheathed blade in hand. His eyes close, for they cannot see what this strike must find. His whole body relax, and for a moment, he is nothing but finality - the last note of a symphony, the last page of a book, the period at the end of a sentence. Phantasmal raven wings, tinted in a deep, mournful violet, surround his form, and his steps come with the unnering certitude that a passing will occur. The sword is freed in an arc of black and violet, and where it connects, it corrodes the very vitality of what it touches.
The spectral wings never move from their initial spot, not attached to Alexsei's form. Once the strike connects, the feathers scatter and flicker out of existence - they, too, accepting the reality of their passing.
Merits and Flaws
Merits:
True love ●●●
- Alexsei is bonded to Ryshassa, and she is his one and only. Any other task would come second should she ever found herself in danger.
Hidden manse ●●
- The Gateway, Alexsei's manse in Gethamane, is a forgotten one. It does not appear on maps, and so far Alexsei and Ryshassa have been able to keep its location a secret to others.
Prodigy (Investigation) ●●●
Flaws:
Diminished senses (sight, w/spectacles) ●●
- Alexsei needs corrective glasses in order to correct his myopia, which is a result of too
many nights reading in dim candlelight.
Virtues
Compassion ●●●●
Conviction ●●●
Temperance ●●●●●
Valor ●●●
Essence and Willpower
Essence - ●●●●
Willpower - 4 (Temperance) + 4 (Compassion) + 2 (Extra Points) = ●●●●●●●●●●
Personal Essence - 8 (2 x Essence) + 10 (Willpower) = 18
Peripheral Essence - 24 (6 x Essence) + 10 (Willpower) + 14 (sum of Virtues) = 48
Health Levels
-0 x 4
-1 x 2
-2 x 2
-4 x 1
Incapacitated
Equipment
-Artifacts-
Swan Song (Artifact ●●●●)
Also sometimes referred to as The Threadcutter, Swan Song was the sword of the First Age Chosen of Endings called Lonàn. It was crafted for him as a gift from the woman he advised, the woman he loved deeply and passionately - although in secret - for all his life: The Twilight-Touched Chosen called Sophia Anthegenia. Sophia is said to have crafted the blade out of Starmetal, as well as from the two parts composing each departure: Bitter sorrow and blissful rememberance. Elder gods often whisper that Sophia weaved both into the graceful edge of the blade, forever connecting Lonàn with his purpose. It is also said she placed a needle sized shard of the Wheel of Souls in the very center of the blade, shaping its razor edge around the tiny fragment. The weapon was presented to Lonàn as a gift for his service as her teacher, mentor and adviser, and is said to have been carried by him until past way her death.
Swan Song is a Starmetal Reaper Daiklave, somewhat sober but elegant, and carrying an aura of reverence that cannot be explained. The ebony hilt is wrapped in deep violet silk, forming a pattern that clings to the handle in a near perfect arrangement. The ornate, perfectly circular guard depicts autumn leaves in mid-fall, each of the leaves engraved in a manner that suggest their strong individuality. The blade, curved and thin yet supple and strong, is made of Starmetal as well as sorrow and remembrance. It is a very dark silver, sometimes looking almost black and reflecting a purple sheen if light is directed squarely on its surface. Along the Razor sharp edge, two Old Realm characters are Engraved, gracefully adorning the weapon's length : Never Forget.
As any weapon, Swan Song was crafted as an instrument of war, but it carries within it the decisive certainty pertaining to the House of Endings. It is said that the lives taken by the sword a severed with the unavoidable fatality that comes from Endings. As such, any killing blow struck by Swan Song is considered to sever the thread of life neatly and precisely. Mechanically, this means that all those killed by the Threadcutter are considered to have been affected by the Sidereal Medicine Charm Smooth Transition, urging their souls to Lethe and keeping their bodies from being desecrated and reborn as undead.
Since it contains both Sorrow and Remembrance as well as a small shard of the Wheel, Swan Song's blade also carries within it the very Essence of departures. To those who have been touched by undeath, the sword speaks of the impossibility of such an existence - the chorus of the Departed call to them, urging them towards their conclusion, eroding their very presence within Creation when their time to pass should have come. Ghosts find they cannot escape the certainty of Endings, and their immaterial forms do not provide them with cover from such certainty. Swan Song can hit dematerialized spirits normally, without the need for charms. Corporeal beings touched with the Essence of the Underworld or the caress of undeath suffer from the Fatalism of the sword all the more, their body torn under the weight of their heretical existence. Against corporeal undead and beings touched by the Underworld, Swan Song deals Heroic damage, each 10 rolled on the post-soak damage roll counting as 2 successes rather than 1.
Finally, the Threadcutter has been forged with the purpose of Endings in mind, but also that of Conflicts - the Auspices of the Spear were weaved upon the blade at its Creation, as a reminder of one of the most harsh of truths - For one to maintain the order that peaceful conclusions bring, one often has to take the path of war. The blade resonates with the Unavoidable truth of conflict, and as such forever reminds the bearer of the inevitability of war. Because of its association with The Spear, Swan Song allows its wearer to combo Sidereal Melee charms with those from the House of Endings Martial Art freely.
Swan Song's Stats (Including Starmetal Bonuses):
Speed: +5
Accuracy: +4
Damage: +7L
Defense: +3
Rate: 4
Commitment: 7
Ad Astra (Artifact ●●●●●)
A masterfully crafted armor of blood-red plates bound together by ebony cord as per Eastern tradition, Ad Astra is a beautiful meld of superbly refined steel and rare Starmetal. Each of the plates has been painstakingly crafted in an individual manner, each allegedly, according to legend, taking a month to shape to its current form. The armor used to belong to the Chosen of Battles known simply as Gaijutsu. A celestial Judge and friend of Alexsei Krauser and Iluun Asher, Gaijutsu fell in battle while protecting a most sacred part of his life... His own daughter. Recovered and restored by Gaijutsu's familiar - Andoros - after the Chosen's death, Ad Astra remained in Heaven for decades, enshrined within Gaijutsu's resting place.
It had remained thus undisturbed until Alexsei was granted its use by Andoros, as a heirloom left by Gaijutsu itself. It is at this time, however, that Anupu, a protector of the Wheel who had chosen to follow Alexsei, decided to sacrifice her being in order to strengthen him. Judging her skills too little to protect him, she instead chose to force Andoros to reforge her Essence into the armor itself, darkening the accents of the masterfully crafted plates and creating a mask to accompany it - a stylized jackal face, with swirling patterns of crimson twirling around the eyes, gazing forward with the certain look of one who oversees the departure of mortals.
Ad Astra is intimately connected to the Fate of its owner. It's thread entwines itself carefully with that of the one who wears it, making it forever one - it is said that there is no way to completely sever such a bond except in death, where the severed life thread of the wearer will free Ad Astra's strand. With such a connection established, Ad Astra never really leaves its owner - it occupies an Elsewhere space, always following, always ready to be summoned into service. It is just as much a certainty as Battle itself. Ad Astra's wearer can spend 3 motes to reflexively summon the armor back to him, as if using the Charm Hauberk-Summoning Gesture.
Anupu's sacrifice also gave great power to the armor - the tinge of sacrifice combined with her Essence creating a conduit between the armor and the specific powers of the Wearer. Upon the spirit's sacrifice, the armor has become 'attuned' to the ebb and flow of the House of Endings - allowing the user to use Ad Astra with the House of Endings Martial Arts style as if he was unarmored. It is said that the exchange of Anupu's lifeforce also created the same type of connection between Ad Astra and the Blackbird Ablaze in Violet Martial Arts style, a style created and taught by Lonàn himself in the first age. Such a connection has not manifested concretely just yet, however.
Ad Astra's Stats (Including Starmetal Bonuses):
Soak (LKazuki/Alexsei/B): 12/14
Mobility Penalty: -1
Fatigue Value: 1
Commitment: 7
Notes: Subtracts one success from damage rolls against the character. This can reduce the damage to 0.
Sun-Kissed Ring of Love's Return (Artifact ●●)
This is a specialized item created by Alexsei. The ring is actually one half of a pair; its counterpart, the Star-Kissed Ring of Love's Return, is the ring he offered her on the day they were wed. Both rings are possessed of a rare and unique construction, as they are crafted of both orichalcum and starmetal welded together into a seamless whole. The Star-Kissed Ring is composed of an bright orichalcum band inlaid with a stylized floral pattern of starmetal; the Sun-Kissed Ring is a band of darker starmetal inlaid with orichalcum in the pattern of stylized birds in flight. The rings have been attuned to each other so that, as long as both commit 2 motes of Essence to keep their rings activated, Alexsei need only concentrate briefly on his ring in order to determine the direction of Ryshassa's position relative to his, as well as her physical health and emotional state, even from a distance (4 additional dice to Social or Perception rolls when dealing with each other). The rings also grant them the ability to communicate telepathically with one another, though they must touch and remain focused upon their respective rings in order to send and receive thoughts.
-Hearthstone-
Bloodstone of the Crow's Vision (Manse ●●●)
This bloodstone, finely polished to a sheen, is obsidian black with strands of blood red crossing it. When held close to the wearer's body, the hearthstone functions just like any hearthstone in terms of essence regeneration, and non-sidereals would be clueless as to what other powers it might conceal.
When used by a sidereal exalted, however, the stone's true colors come to the forefront. It allows the wearer to emulate the powers of the Crow, and use its heightened awareness to see what they are not meant to see. By commiting 2 motes to activate the stone, the wearer will soon realize that he is now able to perceive dematerialized ghosts, spirits, dragon tracks and other flows of power, as with the solar Twilight caste's charm All emcompassing-Sorcerer's Sight. The wearer must keep the hearthstone attuned, lest he loses the increased awareness and will have to reattune in order to gain the benefit again.
-Other noteable Possessions-
Ivory Prayer Strip Case (Ressources ●●●)
A small case, capable of holding and protecting 5 prayer strips. Mainly made of Ivory, the simple case is elegantly engraved with the image of a stylized, solemn jackal, sporting black feathered wings curled around itself and sitting in front of a great gate.
The Book of the Departed (Artifact ●●)
A heavy tome, carried by Alexsei everywhere he goes. It is bound in aged, slightly crackled black leather, and its pages are the yellowed color of a document who has endured for centuries. The cover bears no real inscription other than the engraving of a black feather on the cover and spine. It is said that the symbol changes when the book is given to a different owner - it becomes a symbol which resonates with whoever possesses the Book. The Book is handed from Chosen of Saturn to Chosen of Saturn - only willingly can the ownership be given, even in death - which has sometimes caused the Book to be confined until the reborn Shard of an Exalt can claim it again, should its previous owner die without naming a successor.
The book seems to exist in its own pocket space, until it is summoned by the Chronicler who owns it - it then phases into existence, the sound of pages flipping accompanying its arrival. It appears in the Chronicler's hand as intended, almost as if it always had been there.
The Book contains the name of all those who are sent to Lethe by the hand of the Chronicler, or those whose passing he has witnessed. It contains a very large number of names, all classed in an order that the Chronicler finds most pleasing. The owner of the Book of the Departed can always find the information he is looking for in a matter of seconds - be it a name inscribed a few hours ago, or a few centuries old. The pages always flip to precisely what the Chronicler would want. (The Book can be used to access names inscribed by the previous owners as well. If the Chronicler attempts to do so, he needs to make a Lore Roll with a difficulty equal to the number of owners past. For example, the difficulty would be 1 to access names written by the previous owner, 2 for the one before that, etc.)
Even though not made of a magical material per se, the Book of the Departed cannot be destroyed. It is said it is linked to the Essence of the Wheel of Souls itself, and will always be reborn if subjected to Artifact-Destroying abilities. It will stay in 'death' for three days, and rise from the ashes soon after, finding its way to its master as if it had never left.
The Book is part of the Cycle itself. It never runs out of pages, but never increases in size.
