Voidstate/KaikuzoRavensong

Kaikuzo Ravensong

Aspect: Earth
Anima: A crumbling pillar of ash, cracking and blowing away in an unseen wind. At the highest level, the faces of his enemies can be seen screaming from the illar before it breaks up.
Nature: Rebel (Regain WP whenever you defy an extablished authority)
Concept: Brooding outcaste gateway prodigy

Age: 16
Height: 5'6"
Build: Whip-thin

ATTRIBUTES
Strength 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2
Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 2
Perception 2, Intelligence 5, Wits 3

ABILITIES
Athletics 1, Archery 1, Awareness* 4, Craft (Artifacts) 2, Dodge 5, Endurance* 1 (Vs. Cold +2), Larceny 3, Linguistics 2 (Native: High Realm, Old Realm, Riverspeak), Lore* 4 (Gateway +3), Martial Arts* 1, Melee 1, Occult* 4 (Sorcery +2), Performance 1, Presence 4, Resistance* 1, Ride 1, Socialise 2 (Impressing Elders +1), Stealth 4, Survival 2* (Getting By +1)

BACKGROUNDS
Mentor 3 (Proefessor Ledaal Garen)
Breeding 3 (Excellent lineage. +3 personal, +5 peripheral)
Resources 1
Reputation (Heptagram Staff) 1 � �So you�re the child Professor Garen told us about?�

MERITS:Tactical Instincts 3
FLAWS: Vice (Temperance: Insults (Imagined or Otherwise) -4) 2

VIRTUES: Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 4, Valour 2

Willpower: 8
Essence: 3
Essence pool: 14/24
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Incapacitated

CHARMS
Dodge: Flickering Candle Meditation
Safety Among Enemies
Linguistics: Wind-Whispered Words Technique
Occult: Terrestrial Circle Sorcery
Stealth: Distracting Breeze Meditation

SPELLS
Sworn Brother's Oath
Emerald Countermagic
Demon Of he First Circle
Thunder Wolf's Howl
Paralyzing Contradiction

EQUIPMENT
Worn gateway set. Made from red lacquered oak and white mother-of-pearl inlaid with green jade, this set has a sliding compartment for the pieces and hinged board sections which fold out neatly. The bottom is marked with the emblem of his father's house.

COMBAT
Base Initiative: 7
Soak: 2B/1L (Unarmoured)
Dodge: 11 (Essence +3)
Minimum Damage: 3

MOVEMENT
Normal: 16 yds
Full: 32 yds

BONUS POINTS Abilities: 1 (awareness to 4) +2 (stealth to 4)
Specialties: 1 (lore: gateway +2) +1 (endurance: vs. cold +2)
Virtues: 3 (conviction to 4) +3 (temperance to 4)
MeritsVoidstate/Flaws: +4 overall cost

REMAINING XP (since OOC post 2928)
General: 1
Specific From Year Two:
Specific From Year One: 7 (Stamina, Socialize, Awareness, Valor, Temperance, Endurance)

SPENT XP
Second Year XP Use (43 + 8 spent)
16 (Intelligence 4 -> 5), 2 + 2 Social (Presence 2 -> 3), 5 (Lore 3 > 4), 4 + 1 Any social skill (Presence 3 > 4), 4 + 4 combat (Dodge 4 > 5), 3 (Occult (Sorcery Specialty)), 9 + 1 towards some ability or charm useful in hunting (Distracting Breeze Meditation)
First Year XP Use (47 spent)
4 (Charisma 1 -> 2), 4 (Perception 1 -> 2), 2 (Presence 1 -> 2), 2 (Compassion 1 -> 2), 2 (Dodge 1 -> 2), 3 (Craft 0 -> 1), 5 (Occult 3 -> 4), 3 (Occult-Sorcery Specialty), 2 (Linguistics 1 > 2), 10 (Dodge 2 -> 3 -> 4), 3 (Lore 2 -> 3), 2 (Craft 1 -> 2), 12 (Safety Among Enemies)

WISHLIST
Spells
Peacock Shadow Eyes
Conjuring The Azure Chariot

Other Stuff
Smoke Obscuring Effect
Arrow-Consuming Flame Defense
Smouldering Karma Strike
Distracting Breeze Meditation
Presence 5 (how else to start revolutions?)
Craft 3 (for artificing)
Ox-Body Technique
Compassion 3

History

�Her ladyship won�t see you. She will never see you. You are not welcome here no matter how long you are willing to wait. Do you understand?� The ageing door slave arched an eyebrow as he regarded the young man who had spent this last week petitioning for an audience with his mistress.

As the young man�s shoulders slumped, the slave�s face softened. �Look boy. Let me give you some advice as I walk you from the grounds. You�ve got to look at this from her ladyship�s perspective � she�s a powerful and respected noble. Look at you. How is she supposed to believe that you are her grandchild. Sure, the Dragons may have touched you, but really, what does that prove? Her ladyship has any number of enemies who�d love to place a spy in her manse. I�m sure you wouldn�t be the first young Outcaste to think of trying for a dynast�s inheritance.

�And even if what you claim is true,� he continued as they neared the gate, �you must be aware that her ladyship has any number of relatives � legitimate relatives. It would be a scandal for her to admit that you are her favourite son�s progeny, boy. A scandal for her and for her dead son�s memory. Can�t you see that?�

They were at the gate now, grey drizzle clinging to the boy�s cloak as he drew his hood up ready for the long journey back to the Imperial City. For a moment neither man nor boy spoke. The boy�s gaze lingered to regard the manse he had travelled so far to find, lost in reverie, sunk in disappointment. Beside him the door slave sighed and drew out the sack of jade his mistress had ordered him to hand over.

�Look kid, this will be enough to set you up for life if you spend it wisely. And it only comes with one condition� Don�t come back. Next time she�ll send you away with the Blackhelms not a fortune in jade.�

* * * * 

The money would never have lasted if Kaikuzo had not met Ledaal Garen. And he would never have met the Heptagram teacher if it had not been for his unusual talent, for ever since he could remember, Kaikuzo had never lost a game of gateway.

It was purely by chance that Garen, travelling the Realm on a five year sabbatical, had stopped at the inn where Kaikuzo was drinking and gambling away his fortune. Purely by chance that he had seen the boy�s gateway set slip from his bag and offered a game to pass the evening. The boy�s flair for the game had persuaded the teacher to stay another night, his cynical wit and sharp mind persuaded him to extend that stay and over the following month, as they talked and played, a friendship was born. Kaikuzo found someone he respected and who, though he hardly dared believe it, seemed to care, while his mentor discovered a boy with a refreshing irreverence for dynastic life and a genius he could encourage and shape.

For over a year they travelled together but now Master Garen�s travels have taken him and his entourage to the South in search of Shogunate Era burial grounds and the lost lore and magic they may contain. In his absence, he has pulled strings to have Kaikuzo enlisted in the Heptagram with a promise that they will reunite in a year when the excavations are complete and in the meantime they communicate with Wind Carried Words Technique.

In a poetic moment, Kaikuzo has taken the name Ravensong, as in the land he was born, a place he will never speak of, they say the Raven only sings when it�s eggs hatch, to mark the birth of a new life into Creation.