FiatVictrix/CynisVenia

Cynis Venia, Wood-Aspect Sad Poison Queen

Birth

The household Venia was born into was never one of the brighter stars of the House. A long tradition of good but not great service, a solid bloodline, and devotion to the aims of the House meant they were comfortable in their position, but far from the highest reaches. Most commonly, they dealt within the House, and were the pre-eminent mixers of drugs, potions, and salves within the house. Most expected Venia to settle into this comfortable pattern. They lost a good deal of money on this, no doubt. She was born into winter, a cold crystal day, and was a well-mannered child. She rarely if ever cried, threw tantrums, or broke what few internal rules there were. This changed upon her entrance to school.

The School Years

There was a single overriding theme through her school years, her search for her defined place in the society. Soon after she met the other Cynis at the small but prestigious school, they began a years-long rivalry, yet even this drew no real heat from her. Rose of the Sun and Lily of the Moon, various minor codes developed within the cliques built by Dynastic reflex. Tests, public showings, even Exaltation were suborned to each seeking to define who was the true example of their house. Asura Exalted first in class, and enjoyed a short period of supremacy before Venia was found some weeks thereafter having concealed her Exaltation for days. They competed for the affections of the same man, Venia satisfied but not happy with the pyrrhic victory of him choosing neither of them. They were even lovers for a time, before it was mutually decided theirs was a hate best appreciated from afar. And then, as all things must eventually do, this passed away, leaving an empty void that Venia filled with excellence, a cold and brutal eliminating of her closest rivals and a subtle campaign to hobble her friends, leaving her to graduate at the top of her class.

The Occupation

Since the beginning of time, there has always been room for wet work. It is no different with House Cynis. Her small reputation as a worthy, if difficult catch and her immaculate taste in chemical affairs led her both to the drawing rooms of various parties and the less public halls of the House. An offer was made, and after some minor thought, accepted. If one is to put up with boors, why not make something of it? And if a few servants or slaves need be implicated, that is the cost of doing business. Her new career of accident arranger was never announced, not even her job description in the innermost depths of the bureaucracy. She was, and remained until her somewhat hasty departure due to the anger of Belar, a catering specialist.

The Skills

Venia accumulated from many different sources the weapons she wields. The entire House is well aware of the affect appearance can have on any endeavour. Her martial skills developed out of her natural flexibility and litheness, having picked up on the specific art from advice of her dance tutor. The lore of toxins, drugs, and hormones surrounded her from childhood, and she drank them in silently as she grew. None of this prevented her from confusing the two rooms of the bubbling blonde accoutrements of the up and coming magistrate, or from the somewhat public humiliation later as she was dressed down at a following orgy.

The Tools

Venia is well trained with both small and unobtrusive weapons, often throwing them with small flicks of the fingers, and paired weapons ranging from the courtesan's spike (a straight blade typically with long swathes of brightly coloured silk tied to a ring on the pommel, the better to distract an opponent with) to the wind fire wheel. She possesses, and was to have turned in a well-crafted automaton assassin, but it has made the trip with her to the frozen north and Tideholme. She had commissioned a pair of elaborately designed war fans before the incident, and payment was arranged. It is yet to be seen if she will reclaim them within the agreed upon timeframe or not. Despite her well-honed skill in the bedroom, she is not so foolish as to rely on exhaustion to kill her targets, and is in possession of the household's largest stone, carrying no others, one that draws upon the will and passions of the wearer to craft venomous draughts of their own body. Once a research tool, Venia puts it to more immediate purposes. It is socketed as a pendant, a tracery of ivy holding the stone, usually glimmering dully at the beginning of her cleavage. To any but the untrained eye, it seems a stone that sustains endurance, and more than one unlucky Dynast has been enthralled with the possibilities, dying shortly thereafter with hopes unfulfilled.

The Flaws

Even the temptresses may fall, and she has. As of her transfer, she was engaged in a romance with V'neef Ryrkos, a dashing young Exalt who travelled mostly among the sea-trading satraps, assuring business deals continued and helping secure pirate fleets for the taking to fill V'neef's coffers. Surprisingly a cavalryman, the parentage of his horse is unknown. He has a beautiful singing voice, and shared Venia's hidden passion of collecting orchids, and they met through that, bidding over a rare specimen. It rests in her greenhouse, but who is to say who got the better deal?

Her State of Grace

Today, she is rather less connected and less well paid. She is mostly frustrated, and seeking a quick way to glory and the good graces of Belar. Her scent betrays her, normally floral and pleasant, growing stronger as passion overtakes her and subtly changing to match. It takes study, but the facade may be cracked. She is quite possibly unaware of what waits her, having been operating under reflex more than true planning since the dressing-down she received at Belar's hands.

Character Sheet

Nature: Savant

Attributes

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

Virtues (Virtue Flaw)

Compassion 1, Conviction 2, Temperance 4FiatVictrix/I>, Valour 2

Abilities (<I>AspectFiatVictrix/I>, Favoured)

<I>Archery 0FiatVictrix/I>, Athletics 2, Awareness 3, Brawl 0, Bureaucracy 2, Craft 0, Dodge 1, Endurance 1, Investigation 1, Larceny 3, Linguistics 1, Lore 2, Martial Arts 5, <I>Medicine 4FiatVictrix/I>, Melee 0, Occult 0, <I>Performance 4FiatVictrix/I>, Presence 2, Resistance 3, <I>Ride 0FiatVictrix/I>, Sail 0, Socialise 3, Stealth 3, <I>Survival 0FiatVictrix/I>, Thrown 2

Backgrounds

Artefact 2 (Automaton Assassin), Breeding 3, Manse 3, Resources 2

Merits

Double-Jointed (3), Selective Conception (1)

Flaws

Bad Reputation (2), Rival (1), Secrets (2)

Charms

Elemental Concentration Trance, Dragonfly Dance*, Distracting Breeze Meditation, Observer Awareness Method, Locquacious Courtier Technique, Memorable Performance Technique, Ride the Lightning Technique*, Shining Smile Step*, Talented Improvisation Technique

*New Charms from Inward Coiling Dragon Style

Initiative: 7

Dodge Pool: 6

Soak: 1L / 2B (skin)

Attacks (+ cannot parry lethal damage without stunts)

<I>FistFiatVictrix/I> - Speed 7, Attack 9, Damage 2B, Parry 10+, Rate 5

<I>KickFiatVictrix/I> - Speed 4, Attack 9, Damage 5B, Parry 5+, Rate 3

<I>Perfect Straight Swords (2)FiatVictrix/I> - Speed 12, Attack 13, Damage 6L, Parry 9, Rate 3 (4 when paired)

Essence: 2

Willpower: 6

Essence PoolFiatVictrix/B>: Personal – 11 / Peripheral – 18 (23)

<B>Health Levels: -0 / -1 / -1 / -2 / -2 / -4 / Incap

Experience: Total ? / Current 10 / Used ?-10

Equipment

Automaton assassin, perfect straight swords (+1 Spd, +2 Acc, +1 Dmg), hearthstone, exceptional good looks, a couple of cases of pretty clothes and various gewgaws.

Background Explanations

Automaton Assassin (Black Jade – Artefact ••)

This devilish little device spends the majority of its time masquerading as a black jade necklace, carved into the shape of a long, serpentine dragon similar to the creatures that swim in the waters south of the Blessed Isle, its eyes gleaming blood-rubies. When activated, however, it unfurls from around Venia’s neck and slithers off to attack its prey with a vicious venom that severely weakens the body of its target.

Breeding •••

The daughter of a Great House, Venia could not help but have good Breeding, and this rating reflects that.

Manse •••

The southeast corner of her family’s estate was home to the Venom House, a Manse of not inconsiderable power that was considered an embarrassment. An ancient construction, none of the members of this Cynis household have been willing to try and alter its geomancy to create a more generally useful Hearthstone, for fear of causing a potentially catastrophic explosion. Venia found the Manse to be intriguing and its Hearthstone to be useful given her proclivities.

Following her disgrace and “re-assignment” to the North, her attunements to a number of the family’s other Manses were discretely broken, but she has been permitted to retain access to the Venom House, simply because no other member of the household wants it. The Manse produces a Cachaemic Gem (see below).

<I>Cachaemic GemFiatVictrix/I> (Wood •••)
Trigger:Constant

This Hearthstone is a hexagonal lozenge of shifting translucent greens, approximately the size of a grown man’s thumb. It is constantly slightly wet to the touch, the liquid that seeps from it being horrendously bad-tasting, but essentially harmless. The same cannot be said for its wearer, because if the Cachaemic Gem is attuned and properly socketed her bodily fluids (spit, sweat, blood, etc…) become highly toxic, mimicking the effects of any naturally occurring poison. This transformation renders the Exalted naturally immune to that specific poison, and both of these effects persist for three hours after the Gem is removed from its socket, or deattuned – unless the character spends a point of Willpower to purge her body. If the character wishes to change the type of poison her body produces, this also requires the expenditure of a point of Willpower – and the change takes place over the next 30 minutes.

Resources ••

Once her disgrace became public knowledge (a matter of an hour after the fact), her “friends” and rivals felt secure in divesting her of much of the wealth she had accumulated. Venia was only able to gather a handful of jade (being forced to exchange some of it for the far inferior silver coinage espoused by the Guild), prior to her departure from the Blessed Isle.