Stanoje/GhostFlame
Name: Ghost Flame
Type: Sidereal
Caste: Journeys
Nature: Architect
Anima: ???
Concept: messenger from a war-torn country
Attributes:
Strength 3, Dexterity 4, Stamina 4
Charisma 3, Manipulation 2, Appearance 2
Perception 3, Intelligence 2, Wits 4
Abilities:
Athletics 2, Awareness 2 (Spot Ambush +1), Bureaucracy 2, Dodge 3, Endurance 3, Linguistics 3 (Old Realm, High Realm, Skytongue, Riverspeak), Lore 3, Martial Arts 3, Medicine 1, Melee 4 (Dire Lance +3), Occult 2, Resistance 1, Ride 5 (Evading Pursuit +3), Socialize 2, Stealth 3, Survival 4
Backgrounds: Acquaintances 2, Allies 2, Artifact 2, Celestial Manse 3, Connections 1, Salary 3, Sifu 2
Virtues:
Compassion 2, Conviction 4, Temperance 2, Valor 3
Willpower: 7
Health: -0,-1,-1,-2,-2,-4,Incap
Essence: 2
Essence pool: 11/30(25)
Colleges:
The Messenger 3
The Ship's Wheel 2
The Gauntlet 2
Charms:
Dodge: Absence
Endurance: Unswerving Juggernaut Principle
Martial Arts: Secrets of Future Strife, Joy in Adversity Stance
Melee: Harmony of Blows, Impeding the Flow, Serenity in Blood, Orchestration of Conflict
Ride: Yellow Path, Glory Path
Stealth: Blinding the Boar
Survival: Becoming the Wilderness
Equipment: ???
Combat:
Base initiative: 8 (16 for first turn, from Secrets of Future Strife)
Soak: 4B/2L/0A (unarmored)
Dodge: 7
Attacks:
Dire Lance: Spd 14, Acc 10, Dmg 8L, Def 10
History
The kingdom of Borosh is one of a number of tiny nations north of the Realm. For as long as anyone remembers, Borosh and its many neighbors have waged war against each other over resources, land, religion and many other matters. Not a day has passed in decades without some violent attempt to redraw the maps.
From the time he was old enough to ride a horse, Ghost Flame had been a scout in the army of the king of Borosh. Nobody rode a horse like him. Not only was he fast, but he could also evade enemy patrols and the dangers of the wilderness. When tales of Ghost Flame's deeds reached the king, he appointed him his personal messenger. Ghost Flame served several years as a royal envoy, relaying urgent orders to the king's generals and delivering news from the battlefields back to him.
Finding common ground in their love for their country, and their wish to end the suffering of the people, the king and Ghost Flame became friends. When he was not riding through his war-torn homelands, Ghost Flame spent many hours talking with the king. The two men searched for a way to end the wars.
When he was old and near death, the king decided that the only way to end the fighting was through the might of a Realm garrison. He would give up his throne and his people's freedom to the Realm if it meant an end to the killing. The king ordered Ghost Flame to travel to the Blessed Isle and to somehow convince the Realm to send garrison troops and take over the region.
He traveled many miles through the wilderness, always evading roving war bands and other hazards. After the longest ride of his life, he reached the coast, and bought passage to the Blessed Isle.
Ghost Flame's first sea voyage turned into a disaster when the ship was attacked by pirates. Together with the crew, he tried to fight them off, but they had no chance. Even so, Ghost Flame kept on fighting. He knew that his home would never know peace if he didn't reach the Blessed Isle. At that moment he decided that it was worth his life to bring peace to the suffering people.
During the fighting Ghost Flame's horse had escaped from the cargo hold. He swung himself on the animal's back and made it jump onto the pirate vessel. At the highest point of the jump, he Exalted.
Before the pirates could react, he set fire to their ship. He kept fighting through the resulting chaos, but it was not enough to turn the tide of battle. Ghost Flame was struck by an arrow and fell over board.
When he regained consciousness, he was in Heaven. For a moment he believed himself dead, but the woman that was sitting next to his bed told him he was far from dead. In fact, he was now about to begin the truly important part of his life.
Physical Descritpion
The harsh northern climate in which Ghost Flame grew up has shaped him into a thin and pale man. Two decades of exposure to the cold winds of his homelands have left his face weathered, giving him the appearance of someone much older. His red hair is short and scrubby.
When he's riding through the north, Ghost Flame wears a long green mantle over a thick grey shirt, fur-lined black trousers and heavy black boots.
In the milder climate of the Blessed Isle and Yu-Shan he prefers to wear just some loose white pants and a simple short-sleeved shirt.
Expanded Backgrounds
Acquaintances 2: Wandering horse traders are a common sight in Ghost Flame's homelands. Many small barbarian tribes make their living by catching wild horses and selling them to the various armies of the region.
Ghost Flame regularly buys horses from them. They know him as a messenger in service of one of the local warlords. Since the traders don't care about politics and just want to sell their horses, they don't ask any questions about allegiances, which suits Ghost Flame just fine.
Artifact 2: On the last day of his training, the goddess Kem gave him Pillar of Reconciliation, a Dire Lance forged from Starmetal. Some of the gods and Exalted in the Division of Battles were annoyed that Kem gave the weapon to a Sidereal of another Division, but nothing substantial ever came of that. The former wielder of the weapon was the previous incarnation of Ghost Flame's essence, a Chosen of Mars who was Kem's lover.
Pillar of Reconciliation has the standard stats for a weapon of this type:
Speed +6, Accuracy +2, Damage +7L, Defense +0
Allies 2: Kem, a goddess from the Division of Battles, was literally the first thing Ghost Flame saw of Heaven. When he woke up after his fall from the pirate ship, she was sitting next to him.
It's her duty to make sure that the spoils of war in the North go where Fate has intended them to go. Kem was the lover of several former incarnations of Ghost Flame's essence. This is a trend she would like to continue, even though Ghost Flame doesn't reciprocate her feelings.
Salary 3: Ghost Flame receives the standard pay packet of a Bronze.
He grew up very poor, like almost everyone in his homelands. Even when he served as the king of Borosh's messenger, he didn't have much in the way of luxury. He very much enjoys having a home in Heaven and more wealth than his former king.
Connections 1 (The Threshold): Even though he doesn't live there any more, Ghost Flame still has a little influence in his homelands. He delivers messages and news of his own devising to the local warlords in order to influence them according to his wishes and the dictates of Fate.
Sifu 2: Fenna is a monk of the Immaculate Order who has trained many Exalted before. After her last two students both died under mysterious circumstances, people began to whisper behind her back that she was cursed.
Ghost Flame doesn't believe the rumors about his sifu and gets angry when he hears them, partly because out of respect for her, but also because the rumors paint him as the likely next victim of the curse.
Fenna the Cursed know the following styles: Violet Bier of Sorrows, Five-Dragons, Prismatic Arrangement of Creation.
Celestial Manse 3: Ghost Flame's mansion stands on an island in the middle of a river that flows through the Untamed Bamboo Forest. Paths lead to the island from many directions. They all end at the island, where visitors have to cross one of the wave bridges made of enchanted water.
The mansion itself is a large red and golden pagoda with enough room for several guests of lower station. Almost twenty elemental servitors manage the affairs of the household and carry out every wish of Ghost Flame.
His aerial rickshaw is anchored at the top of the mansion and can be reached by an elevator tube. The dragon boat sits in a part of the mansion that is build over the river.
The Mansion of the Untamed Bamboo Forest generates a level 3 Hearthstone, a Gem of Elemental Travel (Book of 3 Circles, p.115) that allows its wearer to walk on water, lava, ice, quicksand and similar surfaces. Being somewhat afraid of drowning, Ghost Flame always wears the Gem on a chain around his neck.
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