DarkheartOne/HollowRose

Before...

I was a simple girl, once.

Well, not at simple as you would think, anyway. But those times seem so simple to me compared to what I am now. Old memories... old dreams... silly, simple old girlish desires. Silly, but... I suppose I miss them.

In any event, my story. I was once a girl named Ala. Sijan was my place of birth, my home, my life. Papa was a librarian, and a well-off one at that. He kept watch over the more desirable texts from the First Age, and it seemed that I, like my brother and sister before me, would follow in his footsteps. I... I supposed even before then, my fate was tugging at me, leading me along. I would often wander in and around the graves (the guards knew me well, so they kept an eye out on me) for many years when I had free time from my studies. Funny, that a little girl had such an understanding of what death and afterlife was... the way of Sijan, I suppose.

One day of wandering led me to the post of an old friend, Gallows. He was a large man, but getting rather old; everyone told me he was in his late sixties, but he constantly swore to be no older than forty-three. Pride kept him working, and he had been a fine grave guard in his day... sometimes he would show me how to handle a little dagger he always kept in his boot, telling me that when I had matured, he'd give it to me to keep. I had asked why, and he told me, "I don't know myself. Destiny, mayhaps?" Those words stuck with me... and rang strongly in my ears when I found him at his post, dying from a brutal head wound. He found the strength to take that dagger and press it into my hand.

His last words were 'your destiny'.

There was no time to think, to pray, to seek help. That little eleven-year-old girl that had been me, in nothing more than sandals and a black dress, followed the trail of blood into the grave. One man, back turned and heavy hammer in hand, was rooting around for something inside an opened tomb. Desecration. Unthinkable, unforgiveable.

I leapt. Gallows' words were in my mind; "You're tiny, kid, but that's an advantage. Get right on them, don't let go, and aim for the neck." He saw before I did that I was nimble, deft. Instinct, and surely the hand of fate, landed me on his back, and I stabbed the dagger through his throat. Twisted. Tore. I had never seen a man bleed like that before in all my life, but as I landed on my feet and he toppled over onto his side, I just watched his die with the sort of detachment that only being a child of death-peddlers could bring. After a bit, I turned, bloody dagger in hand, and left to tell the nearby guards. As I passed by Gallows' body, I breathed a quiet prayer to the gods to bring rest to his soul. He deserved that much.

Needless to say, the locals were shocked to see that I had done so well in dispatching a grave robber by myself, even if it was luck. Father was quite... unhappy about my activities, but the others quickly convinced him that perhaps I had a future in grave-guarding. Father was always a mild man, and easy to persuade, but this was an even quicker turnaround than the usual. Nonetheless, I was quickly drawn into the world of guardianship. They were surprised to see just how mobile I was, and went about working with me in that regard. Small, quick, and agile... perfect for watching for desecrators. Things were... pretty simple from there. Hide, wait, listen, watch. Kill as needed. By the time I had reached my thirteenth birthday, I had dispatched about seven robbers, and disabled a few more. I was injured in a couple of occasions, but never seriously; the most I bear from that is a sword-scar on my abdomen.

One day, at the same grave where Gallows fell and I rose, everything changed.

... and After

They had come back for whatever was in that tomb. I do not know who 'they' where, even now, but their connections ran deep into the Wyld. I would like to think that they were in league with, or were, Fair Folk, but my fellow Sidereals refuse to answer anything I ask about the subject. Phef.

They... whoever they are, returned. This time, with someone who was clever, and quick, and unnatural. A fair one, for certain. My knife glanced off of its skin like a piece of paper along a stone wall, and his only reply was to strike me with his fist, once, in the chest. My world exploded, and I do not remember much else between then and when I came to my senses. It was the cold that brought me about. So cold. North. How many days had it been, for me to have moved from Sijan to the place where I lay, bound and gagged? Furs kept me warm, but that was of little concern. My captor, and his apparent allies, were centered around some... thing. Perhaps whatever it was they had been looking for in the tomb. I could not see what it was from my position, so I simply waited for... whatever came. I imagine they had plans to abuse me, or simply kill me; that didn't bother me much. I had been ready for death for quite some time. It's a natural progression in life, after all. So long as they were quick about it, anyway.

So I lay there, trapped, unable to wriggle free and more than a bit cold. They remained, transfixed on that object... and then I felt it. Something... something washed over me, in me, through me. Even though I hadn't been awake those many days, I *knew* that feeling. It was... everything and nothing, a tingling that made my hair stand on end and my vision grow cloudy. I'd later learn that I was only a short ways into the Middlemarches, rather close to a random source of Deep Wyld-fueled essence pushing its way towards the sane North. Those waves seemed to be... feeding the others, I suppose. For me... it brought on a boiling inside. That's all I can explain it as. Boiling, pressure, heat, pain.

And then, her voice, the softest of whispers, rang in my ears.

"It is so soon. Too soon... but all things have an ending. So ends your mortal days. Arise. Turn the page."

Her Sign burned on my brow, and the heat of my new-found anger ran through my veins. The bindings broke, the gag was torn out, and all I remember was how bright the stars were in the Wyld sky, and how the 'flesh' of the fair parted as I tore a hidden blade, somehow missed by the monsters, through it. And then... cold. I was in a torn dress, in the middle of a too-cold place where mortals feared to tread, while my anima swirled about, casting a sickly glow on the destroyed beasts.

And then I saw the man who failed me.

He bowed, he kowtowed, he explained and apologized profusely. He did everything except what I wanted and needed at the time. So I slapped him once, sharply. "I don't care if you are my guardian," I remember saying, "but I do care that I am cold and stiff. Take me away from here. Take me home." The man I would later come to call Master, Sifu, Errant Inix, stared at me dumbly.

"Your home is in Heaven now."

I paused, and for a moment, I wasn't cold. I was confused. In a way, I knew what he meant. But I suppose I did not want to accept it at first. But, as She said, all things have an ending.

He covered me with his coat, and we left the Wyld together. On that day, the girl who has been Ala was no more.

Present Situation

Her year-and-day long past, the girl known now as Hollow Rose has just turned fifteen, and is well on her way to becoming a valuable member of the Bureau of Destiny. She has received further training in just what she does best; killing. Her sifu at the present time is none other than the recently-demoted Sure-Footed Inix (Errant Inix to his friends), a Bronze-affiliated Chosen of Battles who is still completely unnerved by his pupil, who sees him as nothing more than a source of techniques and knowledge.

As she is somewhat of a hard person to befriend, she tends to run alone, which suits her jobs fine; more than one person being sent to excise flaws in the Tapestry can snarl things even further. Having just recently completed a clean and quick removal of a budding young despot to make way for a more lenient leader, she waits in Yu-Shan for her next assignment.

Personality

Hollow Rose has not forgotten what life in Sijan taught her: life and death are merely cycles, and not things to be feared or worried about. She is, for the most part, a growing young lady dealing with her work and a surge of hormones; at times moody, at times as upbeat as she can manage, at times frigidly detached. She is rarely extreme in her actions, preferring to stay as in control as she can manage... unless she feels the need to lose herself to the 'blessing' that stay in the Wyld left her with.

She is absorbing life in Heaven as best as she can, although the ways of the gods and her fellow Sidereals occasionally strikes her as foolish and pointless; many seem to have forgotten that in order to truly serve themselves, they must serve Creation as its guide, protector... and destroyer, if need be. Perhaps, when she is older, she may be able to lead by example. For now... she merely does as she's told, not because she enjoys killing, but because there must always be an ending.

Appearance

Rose stands a few inches above five feet tall, having hit her first major growth spurt. She is in the intermediate stages of assuming a lithe, womanly figure, but will obviously remain somewhat on the slim and short side. Her skin is slightly pale, contrasting against deep purple eyes and raven-black hair, said hair cut rather short and swept back to end at mid-ear. She tends towards simple colors while off-duty, short tops that reveal the scar on her abdomen (her 'reminder', she calls it) and is never without the Gentle Reminder, which stays strapped to her back.

CHARACTER SHEET

Name: Hollow Rose
Caste: Endings
Nature: Follower
Concept: Fate-rushed Killer of Men

Attributes

Strength 3, Dexterity 6, Stamina 3
Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Appearance 3
Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4

Auspicious Abilities

Athletics 4
Awareness 5
Bureaucracy 2
Martial Arts 5

= Favored Abilities

Survival 4
Dodge 5
Melee 5
Stealth 5

Non-Favored Abilities

Endurance 2
Linguistics 2 (Old Realm, Riverspeak, Low Realm)
Socialize 2
Resistance 2
Lore 3
Occult 2

Backgrounds

Artifact 4
Celestial Manse 1 (Gem of Starlight)
Connections 2 (The Bureau of Endings)
Salary 3
Savant 3
Sifu 3

Merits and Flaws

-Mutation (Berserker) (-4 BP)

While she has learned the master it (to an extent) and twist it to intermingle with her Sideral essence, the mad power that the Wyld has granted her remains. At the cost of 4 motes, she may activate this ability for the duration of one scene, granting her +2 to Strength and Stamina, +1 to Dexterity, complete ignorance of wound penalties and doubled movement speed. However, her Intelligence and Wits drop to 1, and she must fail a Valor check in order to do anything aside from attack unceasingly, which prevents her from parrying attacks (but not from dodging them). Once the threat she's engaging passes or a suitably powerful event (her wounds, even if life-threatening, are not enough) shocks her out of her fury, the madness passes.

In this 'mode', the 'stars' in her eyes seem to twinkle wildly, her hair bristles and her normally supple limbs show signs of powerful, wiry musculature for the duration of the fury.

-Legendary Attribute (Dexterity) (-3 BP)

Nimble well beyond the norm, Rose is a being of grace and fluid motion, almost unreal in her capability.

-Child (3 BP)

Even as a Chosen of Endings, she is still wearing the body of a still-growing girl in her mid-teens, and said form can get in the way when she's dealing with... well, just about anyone older than her. The fact that she's knowledgable beyond her years doesn't help in the slightest.

Virtues and Whatnot

Compassion 1
Conviction 3
Temperance 3
Valor 2

[Colleges]
The Corpse 2
The Crow 3
The Rising Smoke 2

[Willpower] 6
[Essence] 2
[Personal / Peripheral] 10 / 10 | 20 / 27
[Committed] 7 (peripheral)

Possessions

Starless Midnight Sky (Artifact Starmetal Breastplate) [Artifact ●]
6 Lethal / 4 Bashing soak, 0 Mobility and Fatigue penalty, 2-mote commitment
Reduces damage successes by 1

[Abilities]

• Eater of Light: The armor may, with the expenditure of a single mote, dampen the strength of nearby light sources for a scene, granting the wearer a situational bonus to all vision-based Stealth rolls as the Storyteller sees fit.

Surprisingly simple, the Sky plate is nothing more than flat black armor with thin elements of starmetal run throughout that do not give off their usual glistening luster. It's custom-fit for Hollow Rose, with a small degree of padding inside and a few places to tuck small items into.

---

The Gentle Reminder (Artifact Starmetal Close-Quarters Blade) [Artifact ●●●]
Speed +4, Accuracy +4, Damage +6L, Defense +2, Rate 4, 5-mote commitment
One Hearthstone fitting within handle, contains Gem of Starlight

[Abilities]

• Subtle Blade: Blade retracts and expands into the handle at will, instantly, and at no cost.
• Air-Parting Gesture: The Gentle Reminder may produce, at the cost of 2 motes per attempt and with a slash at the air, a wave of Essence-fueled pressure that can rend flesh not unlike the blade itself. The weapon's edge glows a faint purple when this trick is used, and the attack is Accuracy +2, Damage 4L, Rate 4, has a range of 10 yards and uses Rose's Dexterity + Melee to connect. The attack is just visible enough to track, and can be parried or dodged normally.
• Ending's Reward: Should this weapon be the one that lands the killing blow of a living being within Fate, the wielder gains a number of motes of Essence equal to the victim's permanent Essence + 3. This power may not function if the being slain was removed from the Tapestry at an improper or inauspicious time, such as Calibration.

The Gentle Reminder That Life Is Fleeting, or simply The Gentle Reminder, is the blade used by Hollow Rose's previous incarnation, and a fine example of Sidereal minimalism in terms of starmetal artifice. The blade itself, when 'out', is no more than a foot long, an inch wide and single-edged, the point of the blade trapezoidal. The handle itself is only six inches long, black-lacquered with silver engravings, and can inexplicably open to reveal its single hearthstone setting, as well as a mirror and small makeup kit.

Charms

[Martial Arts] -Violet Bier of Sorrows-
Secrets of Future Strife
Flight of Mercury
Blade of the Battle Maiden

[Survival]
Becoming the Wilderness

[Dodge]
Absence
Duck Fate

[Melee]
Impeding the Flow
Harmony of Blows
Serenity In Blood

[Stealth]
Soft Presence Practice

[Athletics]
Forgotten Earth

[Awareness]
Wise Choice

Expanded Backgrounds

Artifact ●●●●
Celestial Manse ●
Connections (The Bureau of Endings) ●●
Salary ●●●
Savant ●●●
Sifu ●●●

Normal Combat

Base Initiative 10 (20 in first round of combat)
Base Dodge: 11 (+2 Essence)
Hand Strike: Speed 10(20), Accuracy 12, Damage 3B, Defense 13, Rate 5
Kick: Speed 7(17), Accuracy 12, Damage 6B, Defense 8, Rate 3
Blade Slash: Speed 14(24), Accuracy 15, Damage 9L, Defense 13, Rate 4
Air-Pressure Strike: Speed 14(24), Accuracy 13, Damage 4L, Range 10 yards, Rate 4

[Soak]

[Health Levels]
-0 ■
-1 ■ ■
-2 ■ ■
-4 ■
In ■