Vervain/Lyra

Lyra

Backstory

I struggle to write character backstories in a 'this happened and then she did this and...' sort of way, so have a piece of fiction (linked to not posted here so I can collect my fiction together without some of it being tied to other pages). Lyra talks about herself.

Appearance

Lyra is small and wiry, with the olive skin and deep purple hair of a southwesterner, although she was raised in the West proper. Her features are fairly nondescript, perhaps a little sharp, and very weather-worn from spending many years at sea. Beyond this, most of her appearance can be summed up in the following way: she is one of the Tya. Ritual tattoos in blue ink cover her face, and further ones snake down her arms. Her dress is that of a male sailor, albeit one of some status, although this means little more than that her clothing is of better quality than that of her crew; the basic form and purpose remains similar. Baggy light-weight trousers, a loose shirt, tough boots and a wide sash around her waist; a strap buckled diagonally across her body holds the sheath for her daiklave, while her knives remain tucked in her sash. Although she doesn't always carry her daiklave, to find her with less than three weapons in any place which doesn't flat-out demand that people go unarmed is rare. She has a very different appearance on land and onboard a ship; while many are happier on land, she feels uneasy there, and seems much more tense. On ships, she moves easily, seeming confident and at ease, often to the amazement of her circle-mates, who for the most part seem to spend their time travelling on her ship feeling deeply sea-sick.

Stats

(Note: I don't actually know how much exp the character as posted here has, due to some poor recording during early sessions where running totals were not kept; also due to the original sheet dying and being replaced. Oops, my bad. The range she probably falls into is somewhere between 80 and 120.)

Name: Lyra
Caste: Night
Nature: Explorer
Anima: Galleon under full sail
Concept: "honest" merchant/former pirate

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

Abilities
Athletics 5, Awareness 3 (Sharp sight +1), Bureaucracy 1, Brawl 1, Craft (boat repair) 2, Dodge 4, Endurance 2, Investigation 2, Larceny 3, Linguistics 2, Lore 2, Melee 5 (swords +2), Performance 3, Presence 1, Resistance 2, Sail 5 (weathering storms +1, combat +1), Survival 2 (Navigation +1)

Backgrounds
Resouces 4, Artifact 3, Contacts 2, Followers 4

Virtues
Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 2, Valor 3 Virtue Flaw: Foolhardy Contempt (valor)

Willpower: 8
Essence: 3
Essence Pool: 18/29(34)

Health Levels -0, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -2, -4, inc.

Charms

• Awareness

Sensory Acuity Prana

• Craft

Flawless Handiwork Method

• Dodge

Reed in the Wind

Shadow over Water

• Endurance

Ox-body technique

• Investigation

Ten Magistrate Eyes

• Larceny

Seasoned Criminal Method

Flawless Pick-Pocketing Technique

• Melee

Excellent Strike

• Performance

Masterful Performance Exercise

• Resistance

Durability of Oak Meditation

• Sail

Salty Dog Method

Storm-Weathering Essence Infusion

Hull-Preserving Method

Equipment: large ship (no, sorry, I don't know the actual type. My ST has been clinging to the stats. incidentally, listing a ship as equipment seems a little ludicrous, sorry), Daiklave (which I was promised a name for, but have not yet been told. time to go off and have the character invent a new one for it), slashing sword, simple male clothes (purely functional), two short knives.