@Klomster I actually persued the Japanese because it is a separate continent in the game which seems largely unexplored so i could use it without accidentaly stepping on someone elses canon or hard work.
@The Wyrm I think I've fallen in love with your writing style. Kiyohime's focus comes across in it. By the Eternal Sky!- I felt like I was being beaten by her on the head as I read some of those super-efficient, hard-hitting lines in her Background xDD (though I recognise that were that true I wouldn't have much of a head left...)
I like both Lady Grim and her a great deal. If you forced me to choose though, with Kiyohime threatening to behead me and Lady Grim threatening to mutilate and then behead me - I'd choose Lady Grim!
Thank you for the feedback and the compliment! I am very glad you like them both and thank you for letting me know which you prefer!
Personality: Focused. This is perhaps how one can best describe Kiyohime. A student of combat and magic, she had spent the last thirty years of her life seeking to better herself. She is not cruel nor kind, rather she is indifferent to the plight of others. For her the only pursuit is victory in battle and the word fame that comes with it. When she sets her sights upon an objective she pursues it with all of her strength, and always until success.
Her personal connections with other sentient beings are cool at best. While she does enjoy the occasional sexual partner, no sex in particular, she does not find long term lovers. It has been rumoured that she will kill any partner with whom she starts to become attached to prevent them being a weakness in her character.
Appearance: Kiyohime, like most of the folk from Seikastsu, is slight in build compared to those found in Formaroth. She is not more than five feet five inches and is petite in a pleasing way. Her face is beautiful by any standards and she turns many a head, both male and female. Her build is that of a person who wields a blade for a living, lithe, muscular, and well proportioned.
Jet black hair frames a pretty face set with obsidian black eyes to match. She smiles, and often, despite her rather cool relationships with humans and elves. She is perhaps a child at heart somewhere for she still loves animals and will sing to birds, and they to her in return.
As a Samurai she wears the finest Seikastsu armour that money can buy. Her helm is designed to look as if it is a Seikastsu Dragon, the literal Seikastsu term is "Winged Serpent". Her armour is of a burnt orange colour, highly unique on any continent, and no other warrior wears a similar colour that she is aware of.
Background: Kiyohime was born in a small fishing village in the Seikastsu Kingdom of Taiyō to a Buddhist Sōhei Priest and a Fishermans daughter. It was apparent from a young age that Kiyohime had more in common with her long gone warrior father than she did with her fish monger family. She fought relentlessly with other children, beating those more than twice her size, though she certainly earned her own beatings.
Out of desperation and a desire for some semblance of peace, her mother sent a five year old Kiyohime to a Sōhei monastery to see what could become of her. She could never have predicated the monster that she unleashed on the world.
At the Monastery Kiyohime was given into the care of several teachers who, caring not that she was female, recognized a driven and focused individual when they saw one. Kiyohime was plunged into Weapons training and limited Magical training. Over a period of ten years she endured daily training in weapons, magic, meditation, gardening, archery, brewing, and more as she was transformed from a fisherwomans daughter and into a living weapon that her father would have been proud of.
At fifteen Kiyohime received her first test. She was sent to remove the threat of a bandit gang terrorizing a neighbouring valley. She left with the sunset and returned the following morning with a dozen ears, one from each of the dead opponents. A legend had been born.
Twenty years would pass as she trained, fought, hunted, and slaughtered her way into the histories of Seikastsu. The magic she could wield was refined into an offensive onslaught to compliment her martial combat skills until the very mention of her name could force even the bravest champion to reconsider his bluster and posturing.
Interestingly, she never swore allegiance to any particular ruler or Kingdom. Instead she has always fought to strengthen her own name and reputation. Kiyohime has decided the time has come to travel as she searches for more enemies to slay.
Strengths and Weaknesses: Kiyohime is a woman set on a path of self destruction even if she does not realize it. Her arrogance is both her greatest strength and her greatest weakness. In her quest to find new enemies to slay she is constantly putting herself into harms away and a time will come where she cannot defeat an enemy she faces.
She has no leadership skills, no desire to be a Queen amongst men, no law but her own. As a Weaponsmaster she has few equals, as a mage she has few who are as violent and unpredictable, as a person she is a mystery to all around her. She travels alone, serves no Master, and fights always for her own glory. This perceived "disloyalty" has earned her many enemies.
Again, all comments welcome. And if you prefer Lady Grim or Serpent Dancer, let me know!
Think of it like pre-mature ejac.... Well, you get the idea. Posted my second character sheet to soon. >.<
I am not abandoning Lady Grim either. Just putting up another option to see what people like the most. Plus writing them out lets me see where their potential is rather than just a little synopsis.
Personality: Rhaetia is called many things behind her back and none other than Lady Grim to her face. She brokers no nonsense from anyone and speaks her mind bluntly and clearly. There exists within her a rage that wold conquer the world if she could but discover a way to weaponize it.
Despite being a hard person to get along with, she is a leader unmatched in most of the world. She will never ask her men to do something she will not, and puts their own well being and happiness before her own. She never boasts, preferring to allow her actions to speak for themselves. She is a hard leader, demanding much from her soldiers and driving them to lengths many did not think possible, but she drives a good bargain and the suffering is more often than not worth the reward.
Appearance: Rhaetia is the very image of female perfection, if you can get past her eyes which never seem to smile, instead transfixing you and studying you as if you were prey. She stands, at six feet tall, over age height for a woman and would hardly be called "slim". She is of good farming lineage and looks the part with corded muscles, strong hips and a certain broadness to her shoulders that you do not find in noble women. Her long redhair is perpetually loose around her face unless going into battle when she braids it into a long warrior que that she hides beneath her cloak.
Her eyes, as mentioned, as her most unique feature. They are completely smokey grey, devoid of any hint of pupil, almost seeming to shift as if the smokey look were drifting across them. The best she can tell is it is a birth defect, the cause is unknown. To be studied by them is an unsettling business and more than a few captured prisoners have begun talking just to get Rhaetia to stop staring at them.
Rhaetia dresses in leather and cloth armour, the better to assist in her use of Magic. While her clothing is often brown or dark colours, she always wears some sort of brightly coloured cloak that swirls about her as she walks. Good boots crafted for her to spend long hours walking or riding and a simple blackwood staff complete her assemble.
Background: Rhaetia never knew her family. She was the child of slaves kept by the Elven Imperium, used for various Magical experiments, and she spent her formative years working as a household servant to one of the Elven Mage. This Mage, whose name she has never spoken, was fascinated by the girls strange eyes and began to subject her to further magical testing and certain carnal desires when she was no more than seven or eight. She was kept beneath his home, concealed by spells and hidden doors.
Rhaetia does not believe the Elf intended to trigger her own Magical abilities. It happened abruptly during one of the sessions where he was secretly practising his healing arts by nearly killing her and then bringing her back from the brink of death. Something deep inside of her, it felt almost like a living creature, suddenly awakened. Rhaetia found herself calling forth a creature that was shaped like a lion that hurled itself on the Elven Mage, the two crashing into the wall with such force the Mage was stunned. Naked, bleeding, and furious, the now fourteen year old Rhaetia draw a dagger from a nearby table and stabbed the Elf until she was coated in his blood. The Elf, skilled as previously mentioned in Restorations Magics, tried to save himself so Rhaetia severed his manhood and stuffed them into his mouth before stabbing him through the eye.
It was only after she stood up from the butchered Mage at her feet did she realize she had no idea how to get out of her prison. It would take her two weeks to figure out how to escape, and when she did it was with many of the Mages books and magical items.
Hurting and furious at the world, Rhaetia escaped the Elven Kingdom by using simple illusion spells she learnt from the Mages books and made her way to Seikastsu. Here she found some measure of peace in the temples that dotted the landscape. One of the Priests, perhaps sensing the great pain of the young woman, taught her meditation, how to fight unarmed or with a stave, and helped connect her with other magic users.
In time she began to heal both physically and mentally. She calmed her anger with meditation which gave her time to think and plan. With little else to do she worked and studied in Seikastsu for ten years, travelling the country, learning its language, customs, and embracing its warrior spirit. On more than one occasion she hired out her services as a Mage to various warlords vying for control in the region.
As time past she showed considerable talent for tactical and strategic thinking, combat ability, and martial leadership. She wasn't even aware it was happening at first but she began to collect a following. It grew from several young women to include landless Samurai, refugee slaves fleeing from the Elven Imperium, and then soldiers of fortune from Farmaroth. The numbers grew, victories mounted, and the gold came thick and fast. Tales of the Lady Grim spread far and wide and folk seeking their fortune flocked to her standard.
The Grim Company, as it became known, soon began to become to large for a single leader and she broke it into various Companys. All remained loyal to her and, perhaps in a childish throwback to the only book she read as a child, she labeled them the Free Companies. Each Company was given its own name, elected its own officers, but all reported to her through a Military Council made up of each company leader.
Now, at the ripe old age of 35, Rhaetia commands nearly 8,000 soldiers. With Seikastsu slowly becoming more and more a struggle between five major powers, Rhaetia is looking towards Farmaroth for employment.
Skills and traits: Rhaetia is a skilled if unorthodox Mage, brilliant battlefield commander, legendary leader of fighting men, and an expert in an hand to hand combat. She is an ideal war commander and would frankly be unsure of what to do with herself if peace came. Some think she wages a constant war within herself because of her youth, a war she translates into violence and efficiency on the battlefield. She is not given to pointless violence though she has been known to torture the odd male Elven mage every now and then despite having several, female only, within her own ranks. She strongly condemns rape or violence against a conquered populace and will execute soldiers who disobey her orders against such behaviour. This certainly part of her own personal experience but also because the code of honour held by Seikastsu Samurai, many of whom serve in her forces and a code which she also observes.
Flaws: There is a deep seated rage inside of Rhaetia as a result of the trauma she suffered in her youth. It is a cold and calculated rage but it can make her rather focused, creating a sort of tunnel vision that makes her blind to all else around her. She has sought to correct this by surrounding herself with skilled commanders who can help prevent disaster.
While a skilled, she is not trained Mage. Rhaetia is often tampering with powers she does not fully understand or know how to control and it can get people killed. She has learned bits and pieces here and there of virtually all branches of magic but since her power was born of fear and terror, it now feeds on her anger and hatred. Some would call her a black magic user but whatever event they point to usually happened by accident.
Rhaetia has isolated herself from relationships with most people, particularly men. Being an attractive, wealthy and powerful woman certainly allows her a long list of suitors but she will have none of them. It is said that she has never taken a lover and will not even be seen naked even by the servants who pour her bath. This lack of inter-personal relationships can make her seem awkward and unfriendly.
The Free Companies:
There is literally nothing standardized about the Free Companies other than their tunic. This item is dark green with a black cross highlighted with white and affixed at its centre with a skull on the left breast. Each Company has its own crest which is mounted on the left and right shoulders. Only the original Grim Company bear just the cross and skull.
Made up of warriors, mages, siege engineers, archers, and many more from every corner of the known world, the Free Companies are a fascinating study in culture and personal interaction. Some scholars have actually made studies of the various groups and how they function with each other, all of them noting the almost hero like devotion they pay to their leader, the Lady Grim.
The only real breakdown of numbers that could be created is the division between cavalry and infantry, which also includes archers. The Free Companies boast about 1,000 horsemen, a collection of mounted archers, heavy lancers, and light horse. The infantry, some 1,500 strong, maintain a collection of mainly Seikastsu longbowmen and heavy infantry, though they have excellent scouts and mages scattered carefull amongst the Companies. In all, it is 2,500 men, women, elves, and others who have made their living at war.
Name: Tokugawa Ieyasu Age: 45 Gender: Male
Position: Professional Mercenary and Chief Advisor to Lady Grim - Formerly a Seikastsu Warlord.
Personality: Quick witted, easy with his laughter, and utterly devoted to Rhaetia, the woman who gave him back his life.
Appearance: Tokugawa is shoulder height to Rhaetia, about five feet 9 inches, but almost as wide across as he is tall. A barrel chested man who proudly displays the scars of his long campaigns.
Background: Tokugawa was once a minor Warlord in the service of a greater Seikastsu house. He served with distinction and was honoured by his allies and his enemies. When his Masters army was smashed by the enemy some ten years previously he was captured by the Grim Company. He had fully intended to take his life honourably by his own hand but then he had met Rhaetia and some say he fell in love. She spoke to him, congratulated him, honoured him, and then offered him a position in her own forces. He has never looked back.
Skills and abilities: A master swordsman, he is the highly likeable and honoured second in command of the Free Companies. His easy laugh, quick wit, and generous nature make him a pleasant man to be around. He is an excellent battlefield tactician and cares as much about the men as Rhaetia does.
Please keep in mind this is a rough draft so all critiques, comments, etc, are most welcome.
I was going to say: You're human, aren't you? We all technically crap or we might blow up! :P Don't kill me, I lurk here and wanted to make people laugh. >,<
Touché... I suppose I ought to be more careful in my choice of words with such vile things as a humorous person lurking in the wings!