Larsene108

TSL: Sjakal

Nahla couldn’t help but wince ever so slightly. Of course, a dress seemed excessive to earn such a punishment, especially from Grace-of-Heaven. Anyone who knew her would question the excessive reaction, but she had hoped that it would be enough, nonetheless. She looked into the Sultan’s eyes, and she knew that she was truly determined in her mission.

“If that is your wish, my Sultan, I shall do my best tonight.” Then, with a wry chuckle, added, “I only hope that she does not see it as an excuse to further tarnish your good name, nor to take matters of educating me into her own hands.”
The northerner grabs the soap nearby, and begins to generously lather her royal mistress. She would shudder to think of the Vizier’s burning gaze that bore into her form the second she had arrived in Sjakal. Even worse, she thought of how that accursed Rosethal looked at Grace-of-Heaven, the harsh paragraphs of insults that were screamed by a simple look. She knew just what it felt like, to be treated as a plaything, to be casually used by a girl who thinks herself superior, only to be tossed aside when it suited her-
Nahla stopped herself. She had become lost in thought, and Grace-of-Heaven was plenty lathered up.

As she began to clean the sultan, making sure to set aside a sample of the same soap, Nahla felt something in her words. Her grandmother’s city. Nahla wanted to be honest with her- tell her of the thieves and mercenaries that roam the street, the cruel glares that her consort had received on her journey to the palace- but this was not what the girl needed now. The work for improvement came later. For now, she had a dream, and Nahla needed to be part of her dream.

With a reassuring gaze and a smile, she held up the towel as she suppressed the truth and told Grace-of-Heaven what she wanted- what she needed to hear, all while looking into those eager eyes for confirmation. “It’s a beautiful city. I’m certain you’ll love it, my Sultan. No amount of Ruz’s meddling can ruin the beauty of Sjakal, and you’ll love the light of the heavens bouncing off of the surface of the coast. And when the cool night air combs its fingers through your hair, I promise you, it will be worth all of this planning. And one day, it will be yours.”

My Hider

Using Be Their Dream to suppress Nahla's desire to be honest and instead tell Grace-of-Heaven what she thinks she wants to hear, looking to her expression to see how effective it was.

TSL: Sjakal

Name
Nahla

Playbook
Dream Mirror

Aesthetics

Flawless Demeanor- Never a bad hair day, her makeup always immaculate

Ingenue Clothes(?)- She’s fond of slick black designs, though she is happy to flaunt the shimmering and translucent silks that she may be draped in, the fine garments properly fitting of a member of the sultan’s harem

A Shining Longsword, polished to the point that the flat on either side is practically a mirror. In her hands, the sword is more ornamental than anything, as Nahla has never had the physical prowess of an adept swordswoman.

Daring -1
Grace +1
Heart +2
Wit +1
Spirit +0

Backstory

The daughter of a royal tailor in the Dragon Kingdom, Nahla was raised alongside the royal, magically gifted children of the Nethras royal line. While she lacked their prowess in sorcery, Nahla made up for the difference in sheer charm. Growing up alongside her superiors, she learned how to read their moods, to become the kind of person that they liked to keep around to ensure her own safety and comfort within the walls of the castle. Alas, as they blossomed into young women, Nahla learned the impossibility of pleasing everyone the hard way, when she was discovered inside of a maid’s closet, her lips locked with those of one of the princesses. The queen did not care who initiated it, only that Nahla had gone along with it to play the role of a suitor- a role that was suited only for other royals, not daughters of tailors.

Queen Lila Nethras offered Nahla mercy- she would serve a new role, to use her talents to sweeten up the Sultan of Sjakal, to act as a confidant and courtesan. Whether she could successfully weaken the diplomatic tensions between the north and Sjakal, if she would just amount to a gift to use and dispose of intended for the sultan, or if she would be accosted by the brutish fire wheel nomads who had been known to mistreat Draconic merchants and diplomats, the queen cared not. So long as she was in Sjakal, she was kept away from the princesses.

Moves

Strings Attached:
Because you don’t show others your true self, your relationships are conditional on keeping up appearances and seeking approval. You can get and use Strings, but cannot Influence with a String. You also don’t get XP from Influence with a String or String Advances.
Others struggle to see the real you, and can’t gain more than three Strings on you, meaning they can’t earn a String Advance on you, nor use a String for the normal +3 bonus to Figure You Out.

Tangled Up:
When someone else wants you to do something…
...for them, if you do it, they must show approval, gratitude, or admiration. If you don’t do it, they mark a Condition, and if you pursue your desires instead, gain 1 Insight.

...for yourself, confess how little you know about yourself or your desires. If they encourage you to discover yourself, gain 1 Insight (up to once per scene). If they don’t, take a Condition

Self-Reflection:
For each Insight advance (every three insight), answer:
What have you recently discovered about yourself that makes you proud to be you?

Change an aesthetic to reflect that discovery and permanently gain one:
1) You can use and gain XP from Influence with a String
2) Others can use Strings for +3 to Figure You Out
3) You can gain XP from String Advances and others can earn String Advances on you

After gaining all three, ask another PC:
What do you like best about the person behind the mirror?

Playbook Moves

Be Their Dream:
When you change yourself to gain someone’s acceptance, affection, or interest, ask if it worked. If so, exchange Strings. If you gain three Strings this way in a scene, you Stagger.

Mirror Ball:
When others Influence with a String to encourage you to dazzle an audience, describe your performance and roll +Heart+Heart:
10+: You each choose 1
7–9: The influencer chooses 1

1) Your audience is rapt and, optionally, interested in the influencer’s perspectives or culture.
2) Feelings and sensations linger. For the next scene, a spectator may avoid taking one Condition by thinking about your performance.
3) You get +1 forward to Entice while performing. Optionally, the influencer gets credit for the performance.

Mimesis:
When you observe someone for a short time, you may ask one:

1) What words would you use to say _____?
2) What would you talk about in this situation?
3) What behaviors do you find non-threatening, endearing, or desirable?
4) Whom do you wish I was more similar to?

TSL: Sjakal

“Yes, yes, my Sultan, but we need to remain discreet. If the others overhear our plan, tonight would be ruined, any future endeavors may be far more difficult. Now,” Nahla leans forward, her hand wringing out the sponge and gently tracing it along her back, “we must review our courses of action. When the others have fallen asleep, we may try to quietly leave, but there is always the risk of waking Yasmin, Taima, or Lila. If any of them wake up in the night and notice our absence, they would also certainly relay that to Ruz.”

Nahla never understood the frequency of her Sultan’s bathing. She had bathed more times in the last three days than she had needed to lift something with her own hand. To be cleaned so often, it seemed to Nahla, would be akin to honing a blade already as sharp as a razor. Then again, Nahla didn’t need to understand her Sultan’s mind. It gave the two of them good cover to plan in private. Besides, she had been no stranger to sharpening and polishing a blade that saw no wear.

“If we are to succeed, we need a cover to excuse our absence. That is why, at dinner tonight, I shall make a blunder. I shall clumsily spill wine onto your lap, and you shall burst out in anger towards me. You shall swear to personally show me the consequences of my mistake. None shall look for us if they believe you to be in a foul mood, in the midst of punishing me.”