Kasumi/Sakura

“Autumn in shadow\\ The maiden reborn in fury\\ Blood rain in spring

Sakura”\\ - Note found upon Cynis Melekh’s corpse, written in exquisite Old Realm with his own blood.

Great was the might of her devotion to Ahlat, her loyalty to her sisters amongst the Virgin Brides, her ferocity against the foes of Harbourhead. Many Varang died riddled with her arrows from ambush – many more died when she fouled their supplies and killed their horses. She lived and loved amongst her sisters, praised Ahlat, and wished for nothing beyond chaos and glory. She was Khostarin Vekra, and life was good.

Khostarin Vektra cared nothing for what she heard of the fates of the prisoners of war and other slaves. They were unblessed by Ahlat, such was the way of things. Yet when she saw it, assigned to escort the Cynis ambassador as he made his purchases, and his methods of ascertaining the quality of goods he bought, a rage filled her. She had no empathy for the suffering of the slaves, but fury awoke in her, for it was wrong – it struck at the elegance and beauty of the world, a crime deserving only of punishment. Khostarin Vekrtra closed her eyes…

…and Sakura, Iron Wolf and Elegant Razor Blossom, opened hers, cold anger rippling through her, the evidence of a fallen age assaulting her senses, demanding that elegance be restored through blood.

Khostarin Vektra was presumed killed, but rendered unidentifiable, as were most of the bodies present at the scene, other than the eminently recognisable Cynis Melekh. So did the war between Sakura and the corruption of the world begin – so did the conflict over Khostarin Vektra’s soul commence.

Aurochs in summer\\ Soldier knows not what awaits\\ True duty comes

Khostarin Vekra was sold at the prime of her youth to Ahlat, as her father, the wealthy merchant Khostarin Vel, who had prepared her from birth for this purpose. Disgusted at the lack of respect given to those of his calling in Harbourhead’s conquest-obsessed society. He took wives and concubines until he had produced a cadre of daughters, and trained them to be sold to Ahlat, that they may gain glory for his name, and that he might be a tassel upon the bull-god’s cloak.

Thus, Vekra’s early life was an unusual one – taught from birth to worship Ahlat with incredible zeal, carefully cultivated to always favour the company of women, and trained, trained to a fine edge in the service of a god of war and her father’s social ambitions. Slight and serious, with short red hair and slightly paler skin than the norm for the region, an artefact of her mother, a concubine of Calinese stock, Vekra was assessed as being most suitable for a position as a scout, and was trained accordingly in the bow, hand to hand combat, and in remaining unseen. Utterly indoctrinated to Ahlat’s cult, she approached this training with a nigh-ecstatic zeal, even at such a young age, and by the time she was fourteen, the girl was the perfect vision of a Virgin Bride.

The priests of Ahlat were more than happy to accept Khostarin Vel’s bargain, and thanks to his careful conditioning, Vekra (and later, her legion of sisters), held up her end by being an exemplary member of the Guard. She had no trouble adapting to any of its demands or restrictions, because they were merely an extension of her life, with the Bull-God himself taking the place of her demanding father. Vel’s plan was a triumph over Harbourhead prejudice and teenage rebelliousness alike, seeming utterly flawless, and gaining him every scrap of esteem that he craved (of course, it also doomed him to an eternal existence as a cloak tassel, rather than the reincarnation he could otherwise expect, but he knew no better…).

For six years she fought for Ahlat, winning great acclaim from her fellow guardswomen. Though by no means beautiful, her athletic body won her many lovers, first and foremost amongst them her commander, a woman five years older by the name of Melizon Bitter Rain. For six years she was the very image of a Virgin Bride, a proud servant of Ahlat, and ferociously dedicated to his cause of blood and conquest.

Cynis Melekh’s death changed everything.

Forgotten Winter\\ Maiden lost in sweet memory\\ World grown bitter

Sakura remembers little of the glories of the First Age – no facts or names, only drives, desires and purpose. She knows she brought elegance to the world with beautiful deaths, which aided all by removing that which disturbed the harmony of the Realm, and beautiful words, which served as an example of excellence for all to follow. She knows this world she has awaken in is fallen and debased, in need of correction. It matters not to her which disharmony or evil she confronts first – only that she strive to further her art of rending the world harmonious at every turn until the elegance of the age of her true life is reattained. She knows that the life of devotion to Ahlat that she…Vekra…lived in this age was utterly wrong, and the only god truly worthy of devotion is the seamlessly majestic Unconquered Sun, whose artists’ eye chose her to write the words of righteousness upon the world with blood.

She despises the face in the mirror with its graceless features and wiry red locks, longing for the flawless beauty and flowing black hair like a river of shimmering silk. She hates a world where the Dragon Blooded loll in inelegant decedance, while the Lunar Exalted claw at the edges of Creation like maddened, unwashed anarchists rather than the noble Champions of Luna – and she hates that she remembers nothing of how they should be, only knowing that they are now somehow wrong. She finds the tounges of today base and unlovely, especially the single language spoken by Vekra, and has learned as many more as possible, searching for one of true beauty – though in Riverspeech, Foresttongue, High Realm and Skytongue she has found nothing to rival the loveliness of Old Realm.

Perhaps it was because Vekra had such little identity of her own, conditioned from birth to a behaviour pattern decided for her, no more than an embodiment of a tradition. Perhaps Sakura had been a woman of such extraordinary will that her personality was written more strongly upon the exaltation she bequeathed than is normally the case. Whatever the cause, it is certain that the woman who was once but Vekra now floats between the loyal Virgin Bride and the alien Elegant Razor Blossom. Sakura is by far the stronger of the two personalities, but she has yet to utterly overwhelm the twenty years of life and memory belonging to Vekra, despite nearly a year of Exaltation. She has pursued her art, letting much of the guardswoman’s endurance slip away by ignoring its training in favour of reflexes, stealth, and the sublime works of the calligraphy brush and the poetic soul. She has found the joy of her heart, the mighty Lunar Exalted who names himself Six Shadows Burning, though he in turn has lived and died many a time since their last meeting. Much to Vekra’s disgust and repulsion, Sakura and Six Shadows fell in love once more, and the Iron Wolf wed her love again, sharing with him his forest Manse, and accepting gratefully the wedding gift of a magnificent powerbow, Elegant Correction.

Vekra, however, cannot be lightly dismissed. While shaped utterly by Ahlat’s cult and her father’s cynical ambitions, she earned Solar Exaltation in her own right, through a heroic potential not truly known to anyone – perhaps even Sakura herself. Who can say what will occur when the truth of Vekra’s nature blazes forth?

In the meantime, Sakura ventures forth to correct the world, relying not at all upon her husband, who respects their separate paths, and does not interfere. She is eager to work with others, however, knowing that no matter how elegant and beautiful her actions may be, far grander corrections still may be wrought in concert. She sees the suffering of the people, and while it does not touch her heart with pity, it and the wickedness of evil men and women within the world seems unseemly to her, and wroth fills her that such things are tolerated in this debased world. With others beside her, she shall make things right once more, and Essence shall flow through the world only in lines of harmony and grace.

Khostarin Vekra - "Sakura"\\ Night Caste Solar Exalted\\ Nature: Paragon (well, it’s complicated…;)

Attributes:\\ Str: 4 Cha: 2 Per: 4\\ Dex: 5 Man: 3 Int: 2\\ Sta: 2 App: 2 Wits: 3

Abilities:

Archery 5 (Powerbow 3)\\ Martial Arts 5

Athletics 3\\ Awareness 3\\ Stealth 5\\ Dodge 5

Resistance 1\\ Endurance 1\\ Survival 1\\ Performance 1

Lore 1

Linguistics 5 (Poetry 3) – Flametongue (native), Riverspeech, Foresttongue, Skytongue, Old Realm, High Realm

Advantages:

Essence: 3 (15/36|30)

Valour: 3\\ Conviction: 3\\ Temperance: 2\\ Compassion: 1

Virtue Flaw: Heart of Flint

Artifact: 3 Short Powerbow, Wedding Ring\\ Manse: 3 Windhands Gem \\ Resources: 1

Charms:

Reed in the Wind\\ Shadow Over Water\\ Seven Shadow Evasion\\ Reflex Sidestep Technique\\ Flow Like Blood \\ Increasing Strength Exercise\\ Image of Death Technique\\ Wall Climbing Technique\\ Distracting Finger Gesture\\ Ebon Shadow Form\\ Graceful Crane Stance\\ Firey Arrow Attack\\ Dazzling Flare Attack \\ Wise Arrow\\ Easily Overlooked Presence \\

Sight Without Eyes\\

Accuracy Without Distance \\ Invisible Statue Spirit

Combo: Poignant Observation Volley: Wise Arrow + Accuracy Without Distance + Firey Arrow + Dazzling Flare + Distracting Finger Gesture + Seven Shadows Evasion.

Weapons:

Elegant Correction:\\ Spd: 8 (13) Acc 16 Dam 7L Range 300 Rate 2

Sai:\\ Spd: 11 (16) Acc: 10 Dam 4L Def: 12 Spd: 8 (13) Acc 10 Dam 4L Def 12 Rate 4

Fighting Chain:\\ Spd: 11 (16) Acc: 9 Dam 6L Def 12 Spd: 11 (16) Acc: 9 Dam 6L Def 12 Rate 3 C

XP: Remaining: 2 Spent: 83