Shataina/PrincessAmastara
Contents
Princess Amastara
Eclipse Caste Solar Exalt
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Cut Scenes
Still thinkin'.
Character Background and Explanations
Description
Princess Amastara is a striking, ethnically Eastern girl with wide, light red-brown eyes, slightly darker medium-brown skin, and long, straight pale-blonde hair. Barring exceptional circumstances, she always dresses her rank; in her country, that entails a lot of dark red silks and gold jewelry, including a gold-and-garnet diadem that sits low on her brow (and conveniently covers her Caste Mark should she spend a little too much Essence). Her official capacity is mostly martial (see "Country Notes" in the "History" section) and she always has both a cavalry sword at her waist and her ancestral bow (see "Artifact" under "Backgrounds") slung across her back; however, she doesn't tend to wear her beautifully enamelled scarlet lamellar armour unless she knows she's going into a dangerous situation. Her hair is always pinned up, generally in elaborate styles requiring lots of red ornaments. Amastara's only apparent social flaw is that she pats it nervously and plays with tendrils a lot; occasionally, she appears to catch herself doing so and looks faintly embarrassed, quickly putting her hands together in front of her -- even then, though, she manages to be graceful. Otherwise, her demeanour is unfailingly proud and absolutely flawless; court gossip holds that she did manage to offend a visiting dignitary once when she was eight, but she's never committed a single faux pas since.
History
Princess. etc.
Country Notes
Amastara's country is one of the largest of the Hundred Kingdoms, and has only one real rival. The situation between the two countries is uneasy, but relatively stable; times are hard, and it would be a terrible time for a war between humans, what with the Realm antsy, Lunar warlords making incursions, and the Fair becoming ever-bolder.
Inheritance of the actual throne goes to male heirs first, then girls only when all the (relatively) immediate male heirs have been eliminated. However, the martial aspects of ruling the kingdom are considered the domain of the royal women, and they are inevitably trained in all aspects of battle. They are expected to excel at leading soldiers and fighting; the oldest princess inherits control of the armies when the oldest prince inherits the throne. Generally, male members of the family are considered to have domain over social maneuvering and be best at it, but Amastara's father is no fool; he knows that Amastara, though no slouch at combat, is ridiculously incredible at diplomacy, and so he often blurs the lines of her official responsibilities to find excuses for sending her on negotiation trips or whatever.
This tactic has unfortunately been complicated by the arrival back home of Amastara's younger brother, the heir, who just returned from fosterage in the south and is too spoiled and proud to admit that she's better than him at such things. (Princes are traditionally fostered abroad while princesses remain at home through their younger lives; Amastara has two younger brothers, and the other one is still in fosterage.) He has been insisting on taking over most of what are properly his social responsibilities, and the kingdom's diplomatic standing has suffered as a result.
The insurrection during which Amastara Exalted has been thoroughly put down, and although the government is slightly weakened as a result, it knows who its friends are and all of its enemies have been sent into exile. It may be smaller and unsteadily recovering, but at least everyone left is loyal (and Amastara has made very sure of this with liberal use of her Charms).
Backgrounds
Artifact
- Ancestral Bow (1) -- the ancestral bow of Amastara's kingdom is a longer-than-usual mahogany bow, engraved with elegant curlicues of red and gilt. It is passed down through the female line; the inheriting princess receives it when she comes of age at 15 (note that this is not when she receives command of the armies -- that happens when her brother takes the throne). It may only be wielded by members of the country's true royal line; anyone who isn't of the proper blood who even tries to touch it will receive a mild shock. It functions as an excellent longbow, requires no attunement, and cannot be broken by mortal means.
- Attentive Hairpin (1) -- filched from Ikselam's Artifacts
Connections
- Spirit Court (2) -- upon her Exaltation, after some research and dreams, Amastara figured out the Eclipse Caste power and asked her father for a chance to go on a diplomatic mission to the enormous local Wood-Aspected Court, which refused to receive human emissaries and often caused local issues. Naturally, Amastara quickly smoothed out the problems and made allies where there had been enemies. She has some pull in the court itself, and relations between the court and her kingdom are now excellent. The spirits of the court recognize the extreme secrecy of her Solarness -- they have sworn not to tell anyone.
Loose Ends
Languages
Houseruled Language System: Hundred Kingdoms 3; Celestial Old Realm 2; Riverspeak 2; High Realm 2. (In terms of the normal Exalted linguistic system, this character effectively has 3 Linguistics and can speak and read Forest-Tongue [her native language], High Realm, Old Realm and Riverspeak.)
Character Generation
This character was generated with normal point allocations; a few houserules came into play during her construction, but she's about as powerful as any other starting Solar. For effective Linguistics, see above. Under the normal system, her Favoured Abilities would be Archery, Athletics, Lore, Occult and Endurance.
Statistics
Attributes
Strength: 2
Dexterity: 3
Stamina: 3
Charisma: 3
Manipulation: 4
Appearance: 4
Perception: 2
Intelligence: 4
Wits: 2
Abilities
Archery: 3 (Specialty: Ancestral Bow +1)
Athletics: 1
Awareness: 1
Bureaucracy: 3
Dodge: 1
Endurance: 1
Lore: 2 (Specialty: Anathema +1)
Melee: 2
Occult: 1 (Specialty: Spirits +1)
Performance: 1
Presence: 2
Ride: 2
Socialize: 5
Survival: 1
Tactics: 2
Backgrounds
Ally: 1
Artifact: 2
Connections -- Spirit Court: 2
Influence: 3
Followers: 4
Resources: 4
Virtues and Such
Compassion: 2
Conviction: 3 (Limit Break: Heart of Flint)
Temperance: 2
Valour: 2
Willpower: 5
Essence: 2
Personal Essence Pool: 11 Personal
Peripheral Essence Pool: 28 (2 committed to attentive hairpin)
Merits and Flaws
Born to Rule (-2)
Greater Curse (+3)
Charms and Combat
Wise Arrow
Lightning Speed
Golden Essence Block
Spirit-Detecting Glance
Harmonious Presence Meditation
Mastery of Small Manners
Wise-Eyed Courtier Method
Motive-Discerning Technique
Knowing the Soul's Price
Base Combat Statistics: (using Ancestral Bow)
(using excellent cavalry sword)
Dodge Pool (Power Combat): 6 (armoured: 4)
Soak:
Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -1, -2, -2, -2, -2, -4, Incapacitated
