Argent/Sesus Sikandi

Background

Some twelve years ago, Sikandi made a fool out of herself at a party - a duel that should have been more friendly turned downright ugly. Her mind clouded by drugs and jelaousy, she cut up the face of a lesser noble of Mnemon descent. While her family tried to settle this embarassing business, she was sent of on an "important mission" - ie. watch over house Sesus´ mining operation and trade interests in Emerald Falls, far away from the Isle, until further notice.

Surprisingly, her exile became her awakening; shortly after her first "inspections", being led around the mining compounds by the foremen, she became intrigued by her new environment. She got herself a few locals to act as guides and servants and headed out for some hunting trips - and this was the beginning of her love affair with the jungle. For the local tribesmen, it was also the beginning of the legend of the woman that was to become known as the Red Huntress - invincible warrior, fierce protector and hunter without compare. Using her Charms and skills to create a new persona for herself, she took pleasure in being revered by the natives.

While she does spend some time in her family estate on the outskirts of Emerald Falls, she spends considerably more out in the jungle. Watching over the mining colony, hunting beasts that threaten the compunds or nearby villages (or ones that simply provide good sport), her reputation is a mixed one. Though she certainly has gone way too "native", she is undeniably intriguing, and her exoticism has saved her from being a pariah among the few Realm natives around.

Character Sheet

Name: Sesus Sikandi

Aspect: Fire

Concept: Great White Adventurer

House: Sesus

Anima Totem: A pattern of bright fire that sometimes coalesce into a Chinese-style tiger-faced dragon/serpent.

Attributes:

Str 3

Dex 4

Sta 3

Cha 4

Man 2

App 4

Per 3

Int 2

Wit 3

ABILITIES

Air

• Linguistics 3

Lore 2

• Stealth 3

Earth Awareness 3 Endurance 2 Martial Arts 1 Resistance 1

Fire

• Athletics 3
• Dodge 4
• Melee 5 (Daggers +2)
• Presence 4
• Socialize 3

Water Bureaucracy 2 Investigation 1 Larceny 1

Wood Archery 1 Performance 1 Ride 1 Survival 3 (Jungle +1)

ADVANTAGES

Essence: 3 Willpower: 6

Virtues Compassion 2 Conviction 2 Temperance 2 Valor 3

Backgrounds

Breeding 4

Henchmen 2

Connections 3 (native tribes)

Reputation 2 (´gone native´, competent adventurer)

Backing 2 (Sesus mining operations/ trade house in Emerald Falls)

Artifacts 4 (A pair of artifact daggers, the Thorns of the Relentless Hunter. A pair of Jade Hearthstone Bracers. A Collar of Dawn´s Cleansing Light. Also a hiherto undefined level 1.)

THORNS OF THE RELENTLESS HUNTER (lvl 4 artifact)

These twin daggers are carved out of black jade and jade-alloyed iron - works of art in themselves, the hooked assymetrical blades are tastefully decorated with glyphic script poetry, praising the virtues of the perfected hunter.

Spd+9 Acc+4 Dam+5L(P) Def+3 (including jade MM bonuses) Commitment cost: 6 motes.

The daggers have two hearthstone settings - one each for the hilts - and a set of additional powers:

• Once the daggers have tasted a foe´s blood (ie. dealt at least 1HL of damage), it becomes marked as their prey and seeks it out to deliver the final blow. When the wielder of the blades puts one of them in her hand, it rotates like a compass until it sets upon the right course. Also, the blades become fiercer weapons in battle - the larger the prey, the stronger their longing for the coup de grace.

System: Add (the prey´s Essence) to the dagger´s combat stats as well as a dice bonus to track the prey down, should it escape. Only one prey can be "marked" at a time, although the wielder can choose not to mark a victim if she prefers to keep the link to an earlier would-be prey.

• The prey will always die a good death; while not necessarily painless, it will always be without complication and/or undue suffering. Because of this, the prey´s Po will never rise as a hungry ghost and its´ Hun will probably go straight to Lethe.

• Other predators (including humans and so inclined other beings) recognize the wielder as an "alpha predator". Nonsentient beings will act as such, avoiding the wielder of at all possible - or even recognizing her as a proper alpha, if appropriate. Regardless of the sentience of the being, the daggers provide the wielder with a bonus of +4d to any Presence/intimidation checks.

• If one daggers is thrust point first to the ground, the wielder can percieve ("hear") other beings in close proximity (Essence*50 meters) and, with a Perception+Stamina roll of appropriate difficulty (usually 1), she can judge their relative strength, stamina, skill and cunning (which translates into worth as a prey). This takes the form of an series of primal impressions and an instinctive "knowing" that can be unsettling to a first-time wielder.

Also, if the point is kept to the ground, the wielder can feel/hear movements around her. She can not be surprised by any earthbound opponents (though they can avoid this power if they move through the air or in the trees, for example). This also allows the wielder to fight unseen opponents with the other dagger, though she has to stunt keeping the other dagger to the ground and can suffer multiple action penalties at the ST:s call.

Resources 3

Charms

Stoking Bonfire Style Flickering Candle Meditation Safety Among Enemies Wild-Wandering Forester Charm Quarry-Revelation Technique Loquacious Courtier Technique Effortlessly Rising Flame

BP and XP spenditure

Current XP: 59

Spent XP: 50

Free XP: 9

10 BP: Backgrounds (including raising Artifact and Breeding to 4.) 4 BP: Abilities (Melee 3-5, Presence 3-4, Survival 2-3) 1 BP: Specialties (Melee: daggers *2)

20XP: Raising Essence from 2-3. 11 XP: Abilities (Awareness 1-3, Bureaucracy 1-2, Brawl 1-2, Investgation 1) 16 XP: Attributes (Intelligence 1-2, Charisma 3-4) 3 XP: Specialty - SurvivalArgent/Jungle

Appearance and personality

Sikandi´s Aspect markings are etched very clearly into her appearance; her hair is a mass of scarlet tresses, her skin is golden bronze in tone and her eyes shift between burnt ember and a glowing golden color, not entirely unlike molten metal. She is a tall, beautiful woman, with lean, athletic features - muscles and tendons accentuated just so, though perhaps one scar too many for the puritan aesthetes of the courts. She usually wears her hair in a mass of long braids - patterned corn rows along the front of her skull, and then spilling loose back over her neck and shoulders.

Her playful personality comes through in her features, which are animated and apt to change; a quick flash of sharp, white teeth as she grins, a teasingly raised eyebrow, then back to impassive ennui in three seconds flat. She is curious and adventurous, and has on occasion displayed patience.

Her sense of clothing is heavily influenced by the local customs, with a few added-on details to provide the right element of exotic nobility.