TheSevenUnspeakableRonin/TheMirror

Background and Information

The Mirror was, in life, a talented surgeon and scientist of the Blessed Isle. He was a deep delver into many fields of knowledge, including forbidden ones. His knowledge of chymistry, alchemy, thaumaturgy, ancient magical arts, infernalism, and especially medicine, were unparalleled.

But he delved too deeply into dark things- he read of unspeakable, ancient fragments of the feared Ngothian Scrolls, and of dreadful prayers to terrible gods written in the Books of Consuming Flesh. He even spoke prayers out of the damned Broken-Winged Crane, the prayer-book of the mad Yozis. It was then that he began to conduct dark experiments- many disappeared.

He was discovered by agents of the Realm when word of his infernal studies leaked out, and he was taken to a dark place where, after a decade of impossible agony, he learned the value of torture.

When clearer Imperial heads prevailed, the scientist, a shattered wreck of what he once was, was brought forth into the light, and made to stand trial for his blasphemies. He was sentenced to a very unique punishment, one which was akin to something which he had done in his days of experimentation.

A huge vase full of water was brought to a flaming boil by a Flame-Aspected Exalted, and he was raised, and his head was dipped into the boiling, steaming water, while a Wood-Aspected Exalt pumped life-giving Essence into him. His screams went on for days, and all the flesh was seared from his skull, but still he did not die. The bubbling water made to him a whisper, and he blazed into his new dark aspect- he was Abyssal Exalted, and a member of the Seven Unspeakable Ronin.

The Mirror serves his Circle of Ronin as a dark diablerist and scientific genius, using his insane skill to produce black miracles for them. His experiments have yielded up stimulants, poisons, and enhancing chymicals for the entire Circle, tending to their wounds, and creating gruesomely-modified creatures and undead to serve as shock troops for the Ronin. The Mirror's strangeness frightens the Rat and the Shadow, and the Blade thinks him a rather bizarre oddity, though an amusing lover. The Faceless is singularly silent on him. The Mirror himself does not provide his opinions on the other Ronin- when asked he replies with a sibilant chuckle.

Description

The Mirror is stocky and barrel-chested, and is rarely seen without his skull-helm and mirrored armor, but when he is, the reason becomes clear- he is totally fleshless, but his skull is scored with deep scratches, like the predations of a horrible monster. The mirror-polished metal orbs which serve as his eyes are set in sockets of cavernous black emptiness.

The Mirror's armor is singular in construction, a suit of articulated plate made from a metal so deeply polished that it is a mirror. It is sculpted into curves, sweeps, and curls that are strange, confusing, and oddly repulsive, and which cause reflections appearing in the armor to be distorted grotesquely, making faces and forms appear monstrous and mutated. Those who gaze too long into this armor find themselves unable to break their gaze, despite their great repellence of the loathsome curves. The armor is constructed in such a way that its sculpting disguises any joints or plate edges in it, and makes the Mirror appear to be a liquid, graceful statue of mirror quicksilver. The helm and mask which cover the Mirror's head is a snarling mirror-skull, its polished dome smooth and round, its grinning, pointed teeth slightly protruding in a menacing death-grin.

The Mirror moves fluidly and abominably smoothly, like flowing quicksilver, gliding like a serpent, belying his bulky frame. His mannerisms are sparse and smooth, very descriptive despite their dearth. When he speaks, he illustrates his points with gliding, swirling twists and waves of his fingers. He often slowly slices the air with his scalpels and clips forceps together in a predatory, graceful motion like the snapping of a heron's beak.

The Mirror's voice is quiet and unpleasant, a deep hiss like steam rising from a deep abyss. His sibilant phrases are slow and richly descriptive, littered with many obscure surgical and alchemical terms. Though he generally puts no specific emphasis on them, suggestive and macabre words such as "blood", "pain", "slice", "rotten", "torture", and "fear" seem to echo strangely when spoken by the Mirror. The Mirror sometimes sings softly to himself as he works or fights, an odd, chanting children's play song which is intensely disturbing in the hissing words of the Mirror.

The Mirror carries a variety of bizarre, dangerous surgical implements and oddly threatening scientific tools in hidden compartments in the arms and thigh-plates of his armor, compartments which seem to split from the armor like slabs of muscle and then meld back in invisibly.

The Mirror's familiar is Khephir, a huge black scarab beetle which aids him in his scientific ventures as a sort of dumb assistant and pet. His followers are a collection of barely-living humans which he has gruesomely modified.

Stats

The Mirror

• Concept: One of the Seven Unspeakable Ronin (gruesome dark scientist)
• Nature: Sage
• Caste: Daybreak

• Attributes: Strength 3, Dexterity 2, Stamina 3, Charisma 2, Manipulation 3, Appearance 1, Perception 4, Intelligence 5, Wits 2

• Virtues: Compassion 1, Conviction 3, Temperance 4, Valor 3

• Abilities: Melee 2, Awareness 4, Dodge 2, Presence 4, Linguistics (Native: High Realm; Seatongue, Rivertongue) 2, Ride 1, Craft 3 (Potions, Brews, and Chemicals +1), Lore 4 (Realm History +1), Medicine 5, Occult 2

• Backgrounds: Familiar 2, Followers 1

• Charms: The Mirror possesses a wide variety of Craft, Medicine, and Occult charms. He makes large use of the Crypt Bolt charm. In addition, the Mirror possesses a very limited knowledge of necromancy, though nothing like what the Shadow can boast.

• Base Initiative: 4

• Attacks:
• Insanely-sharp Scalpels: Speed 3, Accuracy 0, Damage 2L, Defense -2
• Bone-saw {like a razor sharp pizza roller}: Speed 0, Accuracy 0, Damage 4L, Defense 0

• Willpower: 7
• Health Levels: -0/ -0/ -1/ -1/ -2/ -2/ -4/ Incap
• Dodge Pool: 4
• Soak: 12 Bashing, 10 Lethal (Mirrored articulated plate, +9L/ +9B)

• Essence: 3
• Personal: 16
• Peripheral: 40