24 years old. British/Scottish. Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fighty Studies. Studying MA in Second World War Studies. Wargamer. Submariner in another life.
Time: Evening, Three Weeks Before Satellite Attack Location: Undisclosed Location, New York City, New York State
Sergeant Fred Moonill was on front watch. Watch duty in the middle of a city, on a safe house the location of which was known to only a few. It was, perhaps, the most boring job that one could think of. Sitting on his ass behind a reinforced steel door which was designed to stand up to anything those mutie freaks could throw at them. His assault rifle was on his lap, his monitors scanning the areas outside for any unusual activity by the city's denizens... it was boring, but hell it beat anything else. Fred flicked through the screens - some hobo sitting in an alleyway, some fancy businessmen walking down the road outside, probably plotting the death of the American economy as they always did. A pretty girl with blonde hair standing by a street lamp with a cigarette in her hand... looked smart, but was treated like a hooker from the attention of the fatasses walking by. Fred's stomach turned... to him, the fatcats and the muties were one and the same - vicious pricks who wanted nothing more than to put their own world view in place, and ride roughshod over everyone else, the consequences be damned.
Fred took out a cigarette and lit it, inhaling deeply on the smoke. He had a propensity to grow agitated easily, and smoking was really the only way he could calm down. Besides, he'd come from a family of smokers - his mom and dad both smoked, his gramps and granny did too. Jeff did, Lisa did... it was just what you did. He held the cigarette between his teeth as he checked over his rifle for any spots or rust - a holdover from his days in the Army - and went back to checking the screens. A couple of them were fuzzy, and the blonde was nowhere to be seen. Frowning, Fred smacked the side of the monitor several times to clear it up, but it was no use. The monitors were fuzzing over, one by one. "God damn it." He'd have to call up the techs in the basement to get this fixed. He reached for his radio and pressed the transmit button. "This is two-one, reporting in. I've got some interference on the cameras, can I get someone from tech up here to clear it up?" No sooner had he finished his report, than two of the cameras went black. No report. Nothing. No input feed. Frowning, Fred checked the back of the monitor to see if any of the cables had come loose, but nothing was out of the ordinary. "Shit, this is the last thing I need... I'm a soldier, not a god damn technician." He got to his feet and slotted a magazine into the well of his M4, before walking over towards the door.
In a split second, Fred's world exploded. A blinding flash of light and an overwhelming surge of pain, followed by darkness.
The door had been blown clean from its mounting in the front door, blasting away several chunks of masonry as it had cannoned into the front room of the safe house. The watchman had been standing behind the door as the charges had detonated, from the looks of things, whilst the camera monitor had also been blown from the desk and lay in a pile of wiring and dust shaken loose from the shockwave of the charges' detonation. Cracks had appeared in the surrounding structural walls, and clouds of smoke and plaster dust filled the air. In the doorway was the woman responsible for such an initial onslaught - Rubis. She was dressed head-to-toe in black, with a maroon beret atop her head, sloped to the left as was the custom, and a tactical vest with several grenades, spare RPK magazines and a black assault pack in which contained several large blocks of shaped charge plastic explosive - Semtex, to be precise. A shrill alarm rang, shattering the brief silence following the detonation of the explosives, no doubt alerting the occupants as to what was going on, as if they needed any other information. Rubis unhooked an RGO and cast it into an adjacent room, which looked like a ready room or break room. Inside, two dazed and confused Watchmen were struggling to reorient themselves after having witnessed a rather significant emotional event, and neither of them noticed the small bundle of explosive Soviet joy that had been tossed into the room to accompany them. One had the common sense to run out to check what was going on, only to be met by the repetitive bark of a raised AK-74N firing at fully automatic. The heavy 5.45mm AP rounds punched clean through the body armour - unsurprising at such close range - and sprayed crimson clouds onto the cracking walls behind the Watchman, followed by another deafening explosion as the RGO Rubis had tossed into the break room exploded, shredding the unfortunate sod who was still in the room with shrapnel, and probably concussing him badly to boot. He was alive, but no threat, whimpering and sobbing from the shock and pain of the grenade's explosion - Kseniya unholstered her PPK and put a bullet into the man's brain. She didn't need his whining whilst she was trying to get a job done. The watch room only had one other exit - another reinforced door that no doubt led downstairs into the basement areas of the safe house which would hold the target location.
Kseniya slung her rifle back over her shoulder and jogged through the still-swirling clouds of dust and smoke to the door, and unzipped her backpack to prepare another two charges. However, as she did so, the door slid open to reveal a nasty-looking chap in a black armoured bodysuit, with an M16 at the ready and aimed directly at her. Snickering, the Watchman pulled the trigger, rounds thumping into Rubis' head with tremendous force and frequency. In response, Kseniya gave a guttural yell of defiance and charged down the Watchman, her shoulder impacting squarely with the man's testicular area. Armoured or not, that would sting... and sting it did. The Watchman screamed in agony, his grip on his rifle slackening as both he and Rubis flew down the steps to a landing area halfway down the staircase. The Watchman got the worst of the landing, cracking the back of his bereted head on the concrete wall, a splatter of blood erupting from the impact point. Death must have been instantaneous. Further down the stairs, two other militiamen readied their guns and one called into his radio; "All units, this is two-four, we have a confirmed intruder alert, all security to general quarter- argh!" He was cut off in another spray of crimson liquid, as Kseniya had gotten to her feet, unslung her 74N and loosed off a burst in the militiamen's direction. The radioman took several bullets in the chest and left shoulder, dropping him almost instantly - the other had sensibly dove for cover in a nearby doorway, but it wouldn't avail him for long.
Kseniya opened fire again at the doorway, peppering it with hot lead to suppress the militiaman behind it as she surveyed the situation. She noted that the hallway in front of her was reinforced concrete, almost like the top levels of a bomb shelter - these guys were serious when it came to the construction of their hideouts. From the end of the hallway came forth a veritable squad of infantrymen - at least six militia from the Watchmen. They opened fire, several rounds striking Rubis in the torso, but without effect. Grimacing, Kseniya unhooked another grenade from her vest and threw it down the hallway, scattering the militia behind what cover they could find. The man from earlier, however, wasn't done - he had gotten to his feet, and rushed Kseniya as she finished throwing the grenade. Knocking her to the floor, the militiaman straddled her torso and landed several blows to her head - though again, with little effect beyond irritating her. She took hold of the man's head and slammed her own into his face, definitely breaking a nose from the sound of the impact, whilst in the distance, the grenade detonated, showering shards of shrapnel all through the hallway in a steel rain of fragmentation. Several fragments embedded themselves into the Watchman atop Rubis, shortly before she pushed him back and then kicked him in the chest with both legs, shattering ribs. Those four who had survived the grenade earlier were now once more opening fire, forcing Rubis to ignore the critically-injured man in front of her and return her attention to the others. She reached over and took hold of her rifle and fired a long burst down the hallway, which drove the others into cover.
The magazine was dry.
Quick change, drop the old, take hold of a fresh magazine, slot it in, check the charging handle. Textbook quick reloading under fire. The survivors had retreated behind the door, and sealed it shut. Rubis didn't know how many there were behind it, nor how many rooms lay beyond... she would simply take one problem at a time. The keypad on the side of the door was bright red, with text reading SECURITY BREACH: LOCKDOWN IN EFFECT. Like that would stop her. She still had plenty of charges... she reached into her backpack and placed down four 500-gram charges on the corners of the door, wiring all four up to a single detonator she held in her hand. She unwound the wires down the hallway, and then looked over at the dying Watchman to check he wouldn't be a problem... he was bleeding out. No issue. Two... one... fire! The blasts blew the door clean off its hinges and shattered the surrounding brickwork. The door itself flew backwards and down some steps into a central room filled with several large computers and screens, and terrified technicians hiding under desks. On one particularly large screen was shown a map of the state and Watchman activity. The door itself had taken out the four men covering behind it in rather... gruesome fashion, but Rubis wasn't finished yet, as another four of them made themselves known at the other end of the room, firing wildly at the doorway in an effort to suppress Kseniya's advance. It would work... if bullets actually had an effect on her. Striding forth through the gunfire, Kseniya raised her rifle and fired controlled bursts at each militiaman in turn, killing or gravely wounding each and every one of them. She looked around at the technicians... they were all staring at her, some with fear, some with hatred in their eyes. Kseniya shrugged and slung her AK over her shoulder, unholstering her PPK once more. They all had to die. They were all responsible for their organisation's actions. One shot. Two shots. Three shots. Four. Five. Five suited bodies, with bloodstained wounds. C'est la vie. She emptied the last round in her pistol at one of the technicians who she thought had been killed.
Kseniya walked down the stairs, finally able to catch her breath after the adrenaline and excitement. The map was quite something - she opened an inner pocket on her tactical vest and took out a USB flash drive. This was the purpose of the safe house - and all it took to get there was the deaths of over a dozen militiamen, some technicians, and some Semtex blocks. "Pathetic, really. You call yourselves an army..." The alarm still rang in her ears as she downloaded the intelligence maps and databases onto the flash drive - its continued ring was troubling for Kseniya... were there more on the way? Was there an external alarm room that was calling in extra security forces as she stood there, waiting for the download to complete? Evidently not. She finished up the download, and headed out, back the way she came, with the disk drive in one hand, and her AK in the other, a broad smirk on her face.
Time: Shortly after the attack in Las Vegas Location: Hoover Dam, Black Canyon, NV
The portal ejected the group forcefully onto a concrete structure the likes of which Katarina had never seen before in all her years of life. The violence with which the portal threw them through was unwelcome, to be sure - Kat fell awkwardly on her injured leg, grimacing as she stumbled back to her feet. The Frenchwoman - may God forever curse her for this! - was saying something about how she expected Marie to be in one piece and unmolested by the time she returned. Kat sideswiped a glance at her, a venomous glint to her eye, but said nothing, even when the damnable woman called her 'vampire girl'. Girl? She was hundreds of years older than all of these mortal scum combined, how dare this insolent whelp refer to her so? Why, were she at her full strength, she could wipe this foolish young woman from the face of this planet, or condemn her for an eternity of undead slavery with but a look! Did she have any idea whom she was dealing with?
No, of course not... This was not 1600. This was the 21st century... people had long forgotten her Red Reign and all it stood for. And she was not the Katarina of that time. And more pressingly, she was wounded. For all her indignation and fury, Katarina knew that she wasn't in any great shape to fight, and simply held her tongue - albeit with great difficulty. The frog would win this little battle... lull her into a false sense of security, make her think she was in control of the situation and she could order everyone about with impunity. Whatever wary appeasement there was between the frog and Marie, Katarina would have none of it. Kat would work with this odious little carbuncle for as long as it suited her, and then, when she had regained her power, she would excise the frog from the skin of humanity, and it's little golem construct with it. Ambassador title be damned. As the Frenchwoman opened her own little portal to... wherever, Kat returned her attention to the stricken Ben. His condition had not improved, and it seemed that the group, at the moment, was unable to counteract the doubtless-horrific effects the silver was no doubt wracking upon Ben's system. Kat herself was too injured to contemplate what she would normally do, otherwise she would attempt to at least concentrate the silver in one area and draw as much of it out as she could with her teeth, but she could not afford such a high concentration of silver in her weakened body... for now, anyway. It seemed that once again, the Red Countess was powerless in the face of adversity, just as she had been 400 years ago. She sighed and slammed her fist onto the fence atop the dam's walkway, crushing the steel framework with ease. She didn't care for the damage. Only that she was incapable of protecting those she felt obligated to do so. And the one person she desperately did.
Kat couldn't quite explain her infatuation with the werewolf. Deep inside her, emotions that she had never really been able to show were finally making their presence known - feelings such as compassion, and selflessness; perhaps even love. During her initial sojourn amongst the living, Katarina had never seen mortals such as Ben and his comrades as anything other than tools, or playthings - items to be used until broken, and then thrown away, left to decay and rot amongst the rest of the detritus of human civilisations. Yet here was a man whom she had saved from assault, who had then taken her in (although with some difficulty), given her a bed, a place to stay... normally, she would have exploited this ruthlessly. More fool the man who shows mercy to the Countess, and all that, yet Kat felt no desire, no longing to do so. Perhaps she had learned from the Fall. The cattle were still powerful, in sufficient numbers - the Crusade had put paid to any thoughts of inherent vampiric superiority over any and all opposition. No. Perhaps this time would be different. She put this to the back of her mind - Kat would have plenty of time to ruminate on her predicament and internal emotional turmoil later.
Instead, she turned her attentions, albeit reluctantly, to her surroundings. And what a landscape she found herself in. She had never known the existence of construction of this scale. The Hoover Dam, it was called by the mortals - a sheer face of concrete, impounding the terrifying force of nature in the Colorado River. Kat gazed at the cascading tumult of released floodwaters cannoning down from the slipways and jet-releases further down the dam, a terrifying two hundred and twenty metres (though Kat had no real way of determining the height of the dam) below her. It was... hauntingly beautiful. To watch what was once an unstoppable force which had carved out this massive canyon, impounded by physics, engineering and sheer human determination. Humanity had advanced far since the days of the 1500s. No longer did the peasants live in wooden and mud hovels, thatched with straw from offshoots of wheat farming. Instead, humanity had progressed to damming even the most powerful rivers, to housing thousands, if not millions, in urban agglomerations formed of glass, steel and concrete. It had seemingly not yet occurred to Katarina just how far humanity had advanced since her defeat, and now, looking at the white cascade of river water that gushed forth from the dam, it almost struck her in one blow. The aforementioned cattle were cattle no more. No vampire had ever been able to construct such massive feats of engineering - nay, even the Tower and Schloss Neuhausen paled in comparison with the Dam. And it didn't stop there, not with the Hoover Dam. Nuclear power. Nuclear weaponry. Aircraft carriers larger than some buildings. Supertankers even larger still. It didn't matter that Kat had also been exposed to humanity's fractious and oft-tribalistic nature. There were always bound to be those who opposed the marching of progress. Doubtless there were those advocating for a return to the 'old ways', before the days of mass mechanisation, globalisation and massive feats of engineering.
Maybe it was worth giving these humans another shot.
Alas, for all this, it was time to leave. The White Witch had deigned that they needed to move elsewhere to receive treatment for Ben and her own wounds - some place known to those of Fae origin. It was with a slightly heavy heart that Katarina acquiesced. She would have loved to stay at the Dam until sunrise... but needs must.
Vierinissa Sarienna Aleaniryn, Duchess of Aldetera & the Western Sea, Lady Protector of Castle T'puuliniar, Darksong Knight of the Faith, Guardian of the Council of Six, and Heir to the Consular House of Aleaniryn
| {Age} |
Though she is 236 years of age, Vierinissa's bloodline of the House of Aleaniryn is blessed with exceptionally long lifespans, even by Ilythiiric standards.
| {Species} |
Ilythiiric Noble (subspecies of Ilythiiri, off-branch of the old Selari)
| {Gender} |
Female
| {Alignment} |
Largely considered to be Neutral Good, though perhaps with a more Lawful bent than usual.
| {Appearance} |
Ilythiiri are unmistakable to the eye. With dark, oftentimes black skin, bleached snow-white hair, red eyes and typical 'knife-like' ear tips, they are perhaps the last true remnant of the elven race in the world, though a far cry from the Selari of old. Somewhat unusually, Ilythiiri operate on a kind of biologically-driven caste system, with two sub-species of their kind in existence. The majority are simply 'Common' Ilythiiri, who are shorter, slighter and do not boast much magical prowess, if any at all. Such Common Ilythiiri almost entirely comprise the lower classes, such as burghers, farmers, sailors, and soldiers, though even the Common Ilythiir can find themselves in a position of power - though such occasions are rare indeed. Common Ilythiiri born to a noble house, however, are often the object of ridicule and apathy - some are simply disinherited or even murdered at young ages.
Yet, amongst the common folk, every so often an individual is born who is simply genetically and biologically superior - in all likelihood they grow to be stronger, taller, and often can command the force of magic naturally from a young age. Such individuals are termed 'Noble' Ilythiiri, and the epithet is particularly appropriate, as they also comprise almost all of the aristocratic ruling classes of the Ilythiiric state. The occasion of a Noble's birth to a common family is one of great celebration and opportunity, for it is not unknown for the Great Houses of the Ilythiiri to adopt (or marry) such individuals into their own dynasties, with the individual no doubt bestowing favour and prestige upon the family from whence they came. The overwhelming majority of Noble births, however, are amongst the so-called Great Houses, whom, as stated earlier, are comprised of almost entirely Noble Ilythiiri. Nobility, to the Ilythiiri, is not simply hereditary - it is congenital.
Vierinissa, however, is a particularly remarkable example of her race. Standing at just over six feet tall, Vierinissa cuts a most imposing and powerful figure amongst even Noble Ilythiiri. Her snow-white silky hair falls to about her upper back, and is rarely constrained or tied back, except sometimes in battle, where it is tied back into a singular ponytail. Her eyes are sharply pointed oval in shape, with piercing blood red irises, that often glow in times of heightened emotion - particularly anger, and she is never seen usually without purple eyeshadow, and her lips are usually painted red with carmine. In civilian engagements, Vierinissa is often seen clad in a shimmering spider-silk dress, with the silvered ducal ring of Aldetera on her right hand - and a silvered knife at her side.
In battle, however, Vierinissa eschews the traditional modus operandi of the Ilythiiri - that being agility and lighter equipment over heavy plate - and goes to battle in a custom-fitted set of white adamantine plated armour over light mithril mail. Vierinissa's approach is not entirely unheard of, though few take it to her extreme; her armour is capable of resisting almost all weapons on a battlefield short of siege artillery (against which it has admittedly never been tested). In addition, Vierinissa also bears a circlet of black adamantine with a spire at its front - known as the Crown of the Black Guards. This old enchanted item protects its wearer from blows (and projectiles) aimed toward the head and shoulders by use of magical power, and allows its wearer to enjoy heightened senses in the midst of battle to more easily identify weaknesses in the enemy, be it tactical or even whilst duelling a single, or multiple, foes. Offensively, Vierinissa wields a white adamantine two-handed sword - the legendary Divine Reckoning. The sword is perhaps an item of even greater magical power than the Crown of the Black Guards, and is easily capable of cleaving through mundane materials such as iron or even tempered steel with its enchanted edge. Though lesser Ilythiiri would struggle to even heft such a mighty weapon, Vierinissa's strength and stamina are such that she wields it with almost-consummate ease.
| {Physical Abilities} |
A Peerless Swordswoman: Vierinissa is one of, if not the, finest fighter in the Hexarchy. Her skill with a blade is unmatched in her homeland, and she has dispatched countless foes in service to the Six, and she is perhaps one of the greatest warriors the Ilythiiri have ever seen. Be it arming sword, zweihänder, or dagger, Vierinissa is a fearsome force to be reckoned with.
Strength and Honour: Vierinissa's physical prowess extends further than simply her skill with a blade. She is in peak physical condition, with her strength and stamina in excess of all save a few of her peers. Though it is not her primary method of combat, Vierinissa is no less dangerous when she is unarmed, having also trained herself in hand-to-hand fighting.
Basilisk Rider: As a noble of the Hexarchy, Vierinissa is also trained in the art of mounted combat - more specifically, the riding of an ancient and most-feared creature; the basilisk. Reputedly able to kill with a glance, basilisks have long been hunted by the Hexarchy's noble families for sport, but a select few are also raised from egg to maturity to serve as mounts for the Hexarchy's most powerful and influential servants. Vierinissa's basilisk, Ktonos, has served as Vierinissa's loyal steed for over twenty years.
A Font of Wisdom: Vierinissa, for all of her other abilities, is also... well-travelled, let us say. Though she hates to admit it, there does come a certain amount of wisdom and intelligence when one has been alive for 236 years, and she has been known to act as advisor, counsellor and simply companion to those who require her aid. She is also no stranger to acting as a liaison between individuals as well in times of conflict, strife and crisis, and though not always successful, Vierinissa strives to smooth tensions and calm heads when necessary.
| {Magical Abilities} |
Divine Might: As a devoted - and high-ranking - servant of the Faith of the Ilythiiri, Vierinissa can almost-freely call upon the divine power of the goddess Eilistraee to smite her foes in physical combat, or to tolerate injuries that would otherwise lay her low. With but a thought and a prayer on her lips, Vierinissa has slain mighty wild creatures with a single sweep of her sword, and endured much pain and hardship in the service of the Council.
A Gentle Touch: Vierinissa's main magical prowess and power, however, lies in the art of restorative magics. She is a master healer, able to staunch the flow of blood and heal even grievous wounds with the simple act of laying a hand on the injured person and reciting a prayer to her goddess. Those suffering from sickness or poison, too, can benefit from Vierinissa's ministrations, as the healing power of the Darksong Knights extend beyond simply that of battlefield injuries into other realms such as disease and poisoning, as well as mental injury or illness such as stress, hallucinations, insanity or melancholia.
The Vengeance of the Faithful: Vierinissa's magical ability is not just limited to restoration, however. By calling upon the power of Eilistraee directly, Vierinissa can bring forth extreme displays of violence, be they coruscating storms of cleansing flame, an earthquake that splits the ground asunder, or the so-called Holy Word, which has the capacity to obliterate any demonic or evil entity against which it is spoken.
| {Limitations} |
A Race's Reputation: Many in the world see the Ilythiiri as dangerous, reclusive, and above all, evil. Tales of their infamous slaver raids on the shores outside the Sea of Storms abound from coast to coast, and those who have survived such ordeals are invariably those most eager to spread tales of such wanton violence, bloodshed and destruction, the cackling laughs of the Ilythiiri corsairs still ringing in their ears, along with the terrified screams of their victims as they are hauled away into the depths of the slave ships, almost certainly never to be seen again. Such actions tarnish the reputation of the Ilythiiri, and have done to such an extent that they are considered persona non grata in many civilisations, and even in those areas where they are legally tolerated, fear and hatred abound towards them, even in the face of beneficence and kindness.
Fearless And Unbreakable: Vierinissa knows no fear, and will never surrender. Facing down a situation of certain death with hopeless odds to allow her companions to escape, even if it meant sacrificing her own life? Consider it done. Where another might exercise caution and retreat, Vierinissa refuses to countenance such actions. For as long as she draws breath, the enemy will die.
| {Personality} |
As stated before, many in the world see the Ilythiiri as dangerous, reclusive, and above all, evil. Tales of their infamous slaver raids on the shores outside the Sea of Storms abound from coast to coast, and those who have survived such ordeals are invariably those most eager to spread tales of such wanton violence, bloodshed and destruction, the cackling laughs of the Ilythiiri corsairs still ringing in their ears, along with the terrified screams of their victims as they are hauled away into the depths of the slave ships, almost certainly never to be seen again.
So what, then, would they make of someone whose word is honour, whose intentions are noble, and whose heart is kind? For despite the presence of such barbarism, the Ilythiiri are not a monolithic race of evil sadists, whose sole purpose is to rape, pillage, burn and enslave - indeed, there are powerful factions within the Hexarchy that would see the corsairs hanged for their actions. Vierinissa is one such proponent. Corsairdom is illegal in Aldetera, and it is one of the few crimes that merit an automatic death sentence, for it is "an irrevocable assault on the freedoms and rights of other living beings", according to Vierinissa herself. She is devoted to helping others, even when perhaps the laws of the land might dictate otherwise, and if confronted, will not hesitate to speak out against injustice or the curtailment of individual liberty. Indeed, such matters are apparent in the manner of her rule of Aldetera - though by law she is an absolute ruler, Vierinissa carefully manages her realm through the use of councils of lesser noble families, clergy and aldermen from the urban areas, and takes note of any petitions for redress directed at acts of injustice or tyranny on the part of local powerholders. This has the impact of not only reducing any popular discontent towards the ruling class, but also empowering local citizenry to take (albeit limited) charge of their affairs, free from the chafing restrictions (like sumptuary laws) that dog other areas of the Hexarchy - a combination that has made Aldetera rich and stable indeed. Others see Vierinissa as weak and incapable of ruling alone. Vierinissa simply points to the ledgers and smiles.
| {Place of Origin} |
Castle Mithniar, Duchy of Aldetera
| {Background} |
Vierinissa is a woman born under auspicious signs.
Name: Ryndarra Elinwen Kirileth Species: Pureblood Sith Age: 17 Gender: Female Height: Six feet, one inch - 185.42 cm Weight: 198 pounds - Approx. 90 kg Date of Birth: Estimated 3670 BBY Faction: Jedi Order Rank: Padawan Date of Elevation: 3655 BBY (Age 14) Master: Jarr Gantor, human male, aged 59. See File #JMFG6439888 for more details.
When and where was the prisoner acquired?
This prisoner was acquired during the Great Purge of the Coruscant Temple during the war. This prisoner was subdued after a fire-fight, which indicates that the prisoner is perhaps not as well-trained in the skills of the saber as other Jedi taken prisoner from the temple compounds.
What is the prisoner wearing? Is this what the prisoner wore prior to capture?
When captured, this prisoner was in the possession of fairly typical clothing of the Jedi Order: Knee-high brown leather boots, snow white cloth trousers, a snow white cloth tunic and robe, and a brown leather belt.
The prisoner's injuries were severe in the raid on Coruscant, and as a result, currently the prisoner is recuperating in a kolto tank. As such, it has not been deemed necessary to issue the prisoner clothing as of this moment; however, her old clothing is in storage - perhaps reuniting her with them may spark an emotional response, which can be latched onto and exploited. The prisoner had no padawan braid; initially, I thought that this was as a result of her inexperience and low rank within the Jedi Order - perhaps an initiate of some kind - but upon investigation, I have been able to determine that this was actually as a result of the firefight that occurred just prior to the prisoner's capture in the Temple, and that the prisoner *is* a fully-fledged padawan. According to reports from those who captured her, a stray grenade fragment seems to have scraped the side of the prisoner's head, close enough to burn flesh and hair. The remnants of a braid could be seen on the left side of the prisoner's head, close to several minor shrapnel lacerations.
The prisoner's injuries are, as ranked in order of severity:
Blaster bolt impact to the Chest - Severe Shrapnel wounds to the head, chest, left arm and left thigh - Severe Blaster bolt impact to the left shoulder - Serious Blaster bolt near-miss to the left leg - Minor Concussive shock to the brain - Minor
These injuries should be left to heal in the kolto tank, in my most humble opinion. The chest injuries in particular will be particularly debilitating to the prisoner if left unhealed, rendering her useless in a matter of moments under torture.
Were any items confiscated upon capture?
There was one item of note confiscated upon capture; a surprisingly ornate lightsaber. The blade is yellow in colouration. The handle of the lightsaber is silvered with intricate gilded decorations around the hilt and hand guard - the exact chemical composition of the grip is yet to be analysed. Such an intricate weapon is most unusual in this instance. It should be investigated.
In addition, the prisoner was armed with a standard-issue Imperial blaster. It seems that the prisoner, instead of using what lightsaber skills she possessed, preferred to take her chances with a blaster against Imperial personnel. The likely course of actions she took was that initially she used her lightsaber, and then armed herself with the blaster once Imperial personnel outnumbered her considerably. According to reports, she was able to dispatch several troopers before succumbing to multiple injuries. If anything, this shows her versatility and willingness to use alternative methods to achieve her goal - something that could prove useful were she to be turned to the Empire.
What mistakes led to the prisoner’s captivity?
The prisoner was, like many of these unfortunate wretches, in the wrong place, at the wrong time - at least from a Republic point of view. For us, however, a most valuable boon. It seemed from the setup of the room she was captured defending that she was preparing to meet with her master, perhaps to depart on a new mission out of Coruscant Temple. The room was a reading chamber of some sort, and Imperial personnel breached the door, gunning down a Jedi librarian inside before they were able to react. However, the prisoner was quick to respond, and felled several troopers before arming herself with a blaster and proceeding to use the gun to pin down Imperial reinforcements until eventually, the prisoner was subdued by a combination of wounds sustained from blaster fire and several grenades thrown into the room.
The prisoner had no real place to run. Defeat was inevitable; that she survived at all was fortunate.
What talents, if any, has the prisoner demonstrated with the Force?
The prisoner did not demonstrate visibly much talent with the Force. What was shown was primarily basic Force powers, such as limited telekinetic ability, limited healing and Force-assisted acrobatics. Imperial Intelligence have estimated her abilities to be the following - bear in mind this also includes intelligence extrapolated from decrypted Jedi records of the prisoner, including age and estimated strength with the Force:
Basic Force Powers - Regular Force Healing - Green. Likely taught to her during her initiation. Unsure as to why, but perhaps it has been to assist in the purging of the Dark Side from her body and spirit. This will need to be kept under close observation. Crucitorn? - Possibly Green - This is implied given her resilience to injuries sustained during the Coruscant Raid. Whether she is trained in it or not, I am unsure. Force Stun - Green
Has the prisoner demonstrated any other skills?
The prisoner, as explained before, has a remarkable talent for versatility in the heat of the action. Instead of continuing the battle with her lightsaber, the prisoner instead seemed to fall back on some form of soldier training, finding cover and utilising a blaster, pinning down Imperial troops in the doorway to the chamber. This implies to me that the prisoner is at least versed in common military tactical manoeuvres and training, which is unusual for a Jedi. It is of course possible that the prisoner may have simply been acting on instinct, but this is countered by the prisoner tricking several members of the Imperial military into entering the room after assuming that she had been incapacitated, only to gun them down and, in the confusion, reload and re-arm! Such a trick, although primitive, nevertheless indicates a highly tactically-focused mind.
In addition to this, the prisoner's files from the Jedi Temple, which have been recovered thanks to the efforts of several Intelligence personnel, indicate that the prisoner has quite a wide-ranging education, ranging from history (of course, told from a Republic standpoint, which no doubt will influence her view on the galaxy), mathematics, language, law, chemistry (of all things) and medicine. She is sharp-witted and sharp-tongued - Jedi records state that many times she has strayed from the Jedi Code's teachings, proving that she is vulnerable to corruption, yet also versatile in her approach to matters. She is also an excellent card player, indulging in games of sabacc, cribbage and bridge - according to files from her master, their preferred method of relaxation was a game of bridge with tea and cakes. A most civilised occasion. Perhaps this can be used?
Another interesting note; the prisoner speaks with a Dromund Kaas accent. You can take the Sith out of Kaas City, but you can't take the Kaas City out of the Sith.
No doubt prisoner resisted capture. What lightsaber form(s) did the prisoner demonstrate training in?
The prisoner's primary lightsaber form is undoubtedly that of Form I: Shii-Cho. The prisoner also displayed elements of Form III: Soresu during the fire-fight that resulted in her capture, able to deflect blaster bolts with surprising ease and regularity, which would indicate at least a basic understanding of the tenets of Soresu. Whether the prisoner is able to utilise Form III in any way aside from blaster avoidance is unknown at the current time.
How powerful is the padawan in the Force?
The initiate has the potential to be great with the Force. Her Sith Pureblood lineage is no doubt the cause of this strength, for Republic intelligence has informed us that Ryndarra is the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Sith Order. According to further intelligence, this parent is known to be Seshan Kirileth, with her mother being Idirelle, a pureblood Sith that Seshan enslaved after a duel, and kept as a slave for the purpose of furthering the family. This undoubtedly would go a long way in explaining her power. However, she has been unable to temper her raw power with proper adherence to the Jedi Code, and as such her training has been somewhat retarded in its scope until Ryndarra can learn to embrace the Code more fully.
What is the Jedi’s history? What events has shaped his or her life before and after joining the Jedi Order?
-ERROR: RECORDS CORRUPTED OR INCOMPLETE-
(Sydarai, K. A. N.: This was discovered on a data crystal found with the prisoner, in a pocket. It seems to be some form of life story, perhaps dictated to keep a record of her life. She may have been undergoing stress in her daily routines, and felt it necessary to vent to this data crystal. As such, it may prove useful.)
Where to begin... I suppose one must start at the start. What I can remember is this; my name is Ryndarra Kirileth. My father, Lord Seshan Kirileth, is a member of the Sith Order, and my mother... I don't remember. I think she was some slave he kept around for his own personal entertainment. I doubt I was her only child, at the very least. But then again, maybe I was... I do remember him doting on me, indulging my seemingly every will, perhaps nursing me to power at an early age. I remember growing up on Dromund Kaas, the planet of constant rain. I remember a nanny who took care of me when father was out, or away, or off-planet, and I remember the guards who I used to play with. The guards in particular were nice to me... I remember them watching drilling every now and then, when I could get away from the nanny who would forever want me to practice my numbers or my letters in Aurebesh or Ancient Sith. It was so interesting to watch them fight each other, and it was even better when they used to spot me waving from the balcony, and then they'd do things to impress me, like marching up and down in perfect step! But I also remember the time when some associates of my father said that I'd have to go to Korriban soon. I think I was about five or six at the time; that's usually when the Sith send their children off to be taught - well, more like butchered, if any stories are true - at Korriban Academy.
I remember this so clearly it's unnerving. My father shook his head and muttered something under his breath, and then, when they had left our home, he flew into a rage! By the Force, I'd never seen him so angry. He said that he'd never abandon me to the Academy, that he could train me himself! I don't know why he said it, because he wasn't that strong in the Force, nor was he all that high in the Order, but he was adamant; I'd never see Korriban unless it was to be inducted. I don't know what the *rest* of the Sith Order would have made of that, mind... probably toss him out on his kiester and tell him to shape up or ship out. Or whatever it is the Sith do to those kinds of people. Probably not as nice as that, actually... But I never really did see Korriban, not with my own eyes. All I saw of it was from holo-vids and the like, never the actual planet. My father, apparently so keen to introduce me to the ways of the Sith, began to train me himself in physical exercises that I didn't really understand, or appreciate for that matter. He would work until I was sore and aching all over, and then make me work more, because he said that through pain came progress, and that pain and anger should fuel your energies. It was a real shock to the pampered life I'd led before. It took a while for the lessons to sink in... but they did, I think. The person who was supposed to train me in the ways of the Sith never arrived to the best of my knowledge.
What he then did I'll never be able to explain. He took me, his only child that he actually gave half a credit about, to the front lines. He was anxious to prove himself to the higher-ups, I guess, and he took me along to this world that the Republic and Empire had been fighting over for months, I don't remember the name. (The planet was Berdan III. - Sydarai) But the planet had mostly been taken for the Empire, so he decided to take me there to show me what happened to those who opposed the Empire. Up the Imperials, and all that. So you can imagine his shock when the Republic launched a counter-offensive that ended up driving all the way back to the starting trench lines! That was when the Republic simultaneously struck at the Imperial command tower that my father and I were residing in, with a Republic commando team, no less.
What happened on the planet after that is unknown to me. Master Gantor told me that I was found, half-dead and concussed, by Republic troopers sifting through the wreckage of the tower once it had been blown by the commando teams. At first, several of the troopers wanted to shoot me (Surely not! An innocent young girl, murdered in cold blood? That's not the Republic way... is it? - Sydarai) but their commanding officer, a man called Sergeant Arwine, said to spare my life and get me medical attention. It's funny, considering how often my father derided the Republic and called them spineless cowards - they came very close to shooting me in cold blood without so much as a by-your-leave. Perhaps the Republic aren't so spineless after all. I was loaded onto a medical transport and delivered to Coruscant, whereupon I was separated from the other prisoners - not that there were many - and taken to the Jedi Temple there.
There, my fate was decided. Some wanted me to have nothing to do with the Jedi Order, viewing me as unsuitable for its tenets. They said that the dark side ran strongly within me, and that the Jedi code was incompatible with such traits - far better to have me simply kept under guard at all times as a prisoner. Others saw me as too dangerous to be left alone with my powers with the Force, and advocated training me, but kept separate from all others - almost trained in a one-on-one situation. I don't exactly remember what they decided - obviously I was to train with the Jedi, but my early training I can't remember much about. But I do know the location of my training - H'Ratth. I can only guess that H'Ratth, with its emphasis on healing and rejuvenation, was the perfect place to purge the dark side energies in me. Whether it was successful or not, I guess only time will tell.
I was ostracised, isolated like a quarantine victim, a victim of my own blood. They kept me away from all the other children my age - all I knew were these people so much older than me, who taught me, who drilled the Jedi Code into my head. It seemed to defy the Sith Code in all things - there is no emotion, there is peace. But the Sith said peace was a lie. And then I think to myself - if peace was a lie, what would happen if the Empire won? Who would the Empire fight? (This line of thought needs to be purged from her. It's dangerous. - Sydarai) But the Jedi seemed to instil in me a sort of... peacefulness. A calmness that I'd not felt... probably ever before. I was much stronger in the Force than the others of my age, but still they held me away from the others... even when they thought I was able to control my dark side urgings. Why? Was it simply my Sith appearance? Was I some trophy to them, the first Sith raised from an early age to be a Jedi initiate? Perhaps trot me out at grand occasions? Or did they not know what to do with me? I'd passed my tests on H'Ratth, I was eligible to become a Padawan, and yet they kept me back... and back.
But then, Master Gantor arrived. He had heard of me and read up on who I was, where I had been and all about me. And he wanted to see if he could mould me into a Jedi Knight worthy of the Republic. So I began my training underneath him. Master Gantor was a warrior first and foremost. He was a man of action, a man of staunch resistance and stern temperance. A laconic man who believed he could forge me into a weapon of the Republic. He trained me, he taught me to control the darkness within myself, the darkness within perhaps all of us. I think Master Gantor saw in me something that nobody else saw; I think he saw a way to turn the dark side into the service of the light. We journeyed aplenty in the Republic, purging insurgencies on planets such as Sormoran IV and Jar Harrad, and he trained me in the art of the saber. The insurgencies were interesting - some were simply separatist movements, but others were more... insidious, some of them were Imperial cells. It made me think about things... inwardly, I felt wary about trusting people. Some of those we had met shortly after landfall on Jar Harrad had turned out to be members of an Imperial cell operating on the planet. It was strange, fighting those who you had once considered brothers or sisters-in-arms... Master Gantor was still wary of my potential, I felt... he didn't seem all that keen on expanding my knowledge of the Force. I never confronted him about it, but I felt the same thing as before - were the Jedi keeping me back as a result of my species, my bloodline?
I guess only time will tell. We're going back to Coruscant for a while. Hopefully these matters will be sorted out soon. From one extreme to the other. That's the best way to describe my life so far. I was first to join the Sith, and then suddenly, here I am thrown into the Jedi Order, and expected to subscribe to their mantras of peace and serenity. When there's a war going on, I'm expected to be serene and peaceful when hundreds of thousands fight and die every day?
What associates does the Jedi have? How close is he or she to them?
This individual has very few associations. This is of her own doing. (Hah! I think not. - Sydarai)
Has the subject encountered any Sith that are presumed to still be alive?
No Sith encounters are recorded with this individual.
Any limits on what may happen to your character? Not particularly. I'd prefer it if she wasn't executed, but if things go that way, then she might have to die.
How will your Jedi maintain his/her calm in captivity? Like most Jedi, I think she'll maintain it largely through hope, meditation and bloody-minded raw will.
Is your Jedi able to hold out well against pain and torture? Ryndarra is no stranger to a good physical battering. It will take a lot to get her screaming. Mentally, she's probably much more susceptible. Her raising by the Jedi and their treatment of her during her adolescence has riven great scars in her outlook on the world.
If given the chance to escape from the Sith Compound, will your character go for it? If she falls? Hell no. If she remains true to the light, then she will try.
If not, why? If she falls to the dark side, then she's going to want to prove herself on the other Jedi, that's for sure. If she doesn't escape from the prison and remains a Jedi, she might stay to help those gravely injured by the Sith's torturings.
What goals do you have in the IC? Have fun. Anything else is optional.
Do you have any character secrets that the players and/or GMs can use? (you may send these in PM) ... ehehehe. Wait and see.
Character you have created: Chorąży Kseniya Stanisława Zielinska
Alias: RUBIS (French for the gemstone 'ruby')
Speech Color: #ED145B
Character Alignment: Walking the Line
Identity: Known to some, but mostly 'secret-ish' in the United States. Those with sufficient intelligence clearance could be able to find out who she is by consulting with Polish intelligence networks.
Taken approximately 15 years ago. Rubis, or Kseniya as she is known by to those close to her, seems not to age. This is no mere compliment - she claims she is just as strong, fit and healthy as she was as a young woman first joining the Polish People's Army in 1985. Biological analysis has proven impossible to prove this, but she most definitely doesn't *look* 50.
Description & Personality: Kseniya takes no shit. From anyone. She's a fearless veteran with plenty of military experience under her belt, including brief stints in combat with the Polish Army and the French Foreign Legion. She's a hard-bitten woman, and her age sometimes shows in her demeanour, seeing those younger than her as childish and irresponsible, particularly those new to the 'superhero' malarkey - such an attitude is perhaps unsurprising for someone with almost 30 years of armed service behind her. Her English is slightly clipped and spoken with a Polish accent, though it has improved since her sojourn to the United States began. She is slow to trust and slower to befriend, preferring to keep others at a respectful arm's distance, but she will not hesitate to speak her mind. If it's stupid, she'll say so. If it's wildly out of proportion, she'll say so. In combat, Kseniya is a commanding presence, whose voice rises above even the din of combat to yell orders to those under her charge. She is a disciplined, demanding squad leader, though she will never order one of her own subordinates to do anything she herself would not consider.
Origin Info/Details: Born on the 14th of September, 1968, Kseniya Zielinska is the eldest of three children by Viktor, a career soldier in the Polish People's Army, and Krystyna, a largely self-made woman who ran a successful launderette in downtown Warszawa. Her upbringing was perhaps much different to those used to Western comforts - food queues were a common occurrence, as the Polish economy, despite several attempts at liberalisation, was slowly being ground down to support the struggling Soviet economy. (WIP)
Hero Type: Brick
Power Level: High Street Level/Low City Level - though she's no slouch, she's only one woman. Though a one-woman army.
Powers:
The Immovable Object - Pretty much does what it says on the tin. Rubis is, for all intents and purposes, physically indestructible. She is immune to physical injury caused by significant emotional events such as, but not limited to, being shot, being stabbed, being gassed, and being submerged in water/boiling oil/molten metal and rock. She is not limited by the vagaries of age, disease or any such other damaging source or substance. However, she is still subject to the laws of physics - blast her in the chest with a shotgun, and she will go flying. She'll also be quite angry, so you'd better have a Plan B to restrain or subdue her when you realise that your little gun isn't going to stop this Polish juggernaut.
Attributes (Select one at each category):
Date of Birth: September 14th, 1968 Height: Five feet and ten inches (177.8 cm) Weight: Twelve and a half stone (79.37 kg) Strength Level: Above Human (but not by much Speed/Reaction Timing Level: Human Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: Effectively limitless Agility: Human Intelligence: Above Average Fighting Skill: Mastered. As a veteran of 30 years, I'd hope so.
Resources: Medium. As a veteran of over 30 years' service, Kseniya has amassed quite the small fortune, due to her service in the Soviet Bloc being more lucrative due to her status. She has most of her cash invested in several bank accounts in Poland, Switzerland and Sweden, though she prefers to keep a sizeable sum of money on hand in case of 'emergencies'. Her estimated net worth is approximately €650,000 in her bank accounts alone, with another €75-€100,000 on hand immediately. However, given most of her arms trades are with the black market, such monetary reserves are not inexhaustible.
Weaknesses: Rubis is not invincible to non-mundane forms of assault. She can be affected by psychic attacks and abilities targeting her mental health, though as a veteran of 30 years, she is quite hardened to horror, and she is strong-willed. She's also just one person. Surround her, capture her and restrain her. She might be immune to bullets, but she's still just a person, though perhaps stronger than one might expect, given how she can use her muscular structure to its fullest extent.
Supporting Characters - Family, Friends and Acquaintances
Pułkownik Viktor Zielinski, 64, M, Father - Resident of Warszawa. Colonel in the Polish Land Forces. Krystyna Zielinska, 60, F, Mother - Resident of Warszawa. Retired launderette owner. Jozef Zielinski, 44, M, Brother - Resident of Warszawa. Investment banker. Helps Kseniya with her financial matters. Jan Zielinski, 40, M, Brother - Resident of Kolobrzeg. Fisherman in the Baltic Sea. Jean Duchene, 54, M, Family Friend - Resident of Lost Haven. Retired Capitaine in the French Foreign Legion. Charles Lerroux/Konstantin Tchorzewski, 51, M, Family Friend - Resident of Paris. Retired soldier, FFL/Polish Land Forces. Caporal-Chef Arielle Francoise Lerroux - 19, F, Friend - Resident of Toulouse. Soldier, French Army.
Character you have created: Raeviir El'Anadar, The Spider Queen
Alias: See above. Very few know of the Queen's existence, let alone her true identity.
Speech Color: #1B1464
Character Alignment: Villain
Identity: Secret - her existence is barely known to the world at large.
Character Personality: The Spider Queen physiologically is utterly alien to humanity. Her thought patterns and processes, however, are most certainly not. Driven by a hatred - and some might say fear - of humanity at large, the Spider Queen stops at nothing to bring the surface dwellers to their knees, either to serve the Queen themselves, or die at the chittering, snickering masses of the Queen's minions. Some unlucky cave-searchers have been able to report webbed humanoid corpses serving as breeding grounds and larders for masses of arachnid hosts - slaves or food seems to be the Queen's idea of humanity at large. Whether there is an underlying purpose to the Queen's actions is at the moment unknown, and may yet never be known.
Uniform/costume:
Origin Info/Details: Humanity has no real knowledge of the background, history and even origin of the entity known as the Spider Queen. Some say that it is a demon, spawned from some ritual that took place aeons ago. Others say it is simply a magician of the old days gone mad. Others still argue it is a natural spirit that has somehow been corrupted into the form that it currently possesses today - possibly corrupted during the events of the last century or so, through violence and bloodshed. Some others even deny the existence of such an entity, simply dismissing any talk as superstition or coincidence.
And yet, deep within the bowels of the darkest underground passages underneath Lost Haven, and perhaps other cities around the world, the domain of the Spider Queen grows ever larger. At its core is the Nest, a place so foul and dangerous that none have successfully ventured there, and any who have tried have never been seen from again. Even those armed with modern weaponry and equipment have been lost to the caverns beneath Lost Haven, and now those brave - or foolhardy - few who attempt to clear the infestations caused by the Queen's minions in the upper caverns and extending into the civilised areas of Lost Haven must do so with the utmost caution and care, lest they be overwhelmed by swarms of arachnid monsters. Firesweeps are considered to be the most effective - or at least efficient - method of controlling the arachnid swarms that vomit forth from the Nest and various other locations yet to be discovered by humanity, but even they are limited in scope and effectiveness, for fire can only keep monsters at bay for so long. There have been disturbing reports of the Queen's minions developing fireproof carapaces and chitinous membranes to deflect the worst of any flame weapon used against them - evolution, or forced change?
The truth of the matter is that the Queen is a single individual, brought by a transdimensional gate that erred in its form and function. It was supposed to be the beginning of cross-dimensional travel by those who called the Queen kin, supposed to be the beginning of a new era of power for her race. But it failed. The Queen was the only one to survive the tumultuous travel through time and space, arriving upon Earth, shorn of all earthly possessions, friends, family... only herself to survive in the frigid darkness of tunnels and caverns long-forgotten and thought lost to mortal eyes. Cold, naked and starving, the Queen resigned herself to her fate - a miserable end to an existence, inevitably reduced to naught but a skeleton to commemorate the failure of her kind. And yet, whilst the caverns sought to snuff out the Queen's brief flicker of life, the Queen resolved to hold on, and to force her way to survival. Disregarding all that she had come to appreciate, the Queen lived off the meagre foodstuffs that she could obtain - fungi, insects and what scarce water she could obtain, until eventually, she was able to stave off starvation and death for as long as she could. It was then that she turned her attentions away from death and toward life - to make something of this debacle, this miserable attempt at an expedition. Thus began the inexorable march towards the Spider Queen's rise to power...
Hero Type: Mystic Supernatural Shifter.
Power Level: The Queen's current level of influence would best be described as 'City Level' by the power rating system. Her power level herself is approaching Cosmic.
Powers:
Control - The Queen seems to be able to control the movements and behaviour of many arachnid species. Attacks on humans by arachnids under the control of the Queen are common, sometimes fatal. This seems to be the most minor of the Queen's abilities.
Growth - The Queen has been proven to accelerate the growth of arachnid species to many times that of their normal size. Sporadic reports of swarms of 'huge' arachnids have been circulated, with some estimates placing the spiders sometimes standing over ten or twelve feet tall, and with potent venom and webbing glands to match.
Transformation - The Queen has the power to transform certain members of her broods that she deems worthy into fully sapient beings. Such creatures are gifted the power of humanoid senses, and are endowed with a humanoid torso that allows them to speak freely and truly. The foremost instance of Transformation is that of Iraqlae, First of the Brood, who was the first to be transformed in this manner, and as such is the most powerful of her kind. Iraqlae has the capacity to even wield magic of her own, allowing her to act semi-independently of the Queen's influence, enabling her to act as a form of vanguard or forward commander for attacks upon the surface.
Demonic Summoning - The Queen has yet to use this in open battle against the surfacers, but it is commonplace in the deeper darkness of the lower caverns. Creatures not of this world are summoned by the Queen to act as advisors, assistants and subordinates in her vast underground empire. Humanoids, arachnoids and other forms can be found advising the Queen on matters, from illithid to balors and bebiliths. Such denizens of the deep caverns have yet to be sighted by mortal eyes, but they lurk, ever waiting for their Queen's command.
The Winds of Magic - Such power is not available to merely any who try. The Winds of Magic are a force unique to the caverns beneath Lost Haven itself - they are not regulated by ley lines, energy levels or other forms of mortal magic known to humanity. The Winds of Magic are an ethereal form of energy, given off by all who know the touch of the Queen, however great or small. The Winds guide the denizens of the deep dark towards their chosen targets, and they also emanate from a single point. The Winds can be manipulated to cause many different effects, ranging from a pall of darkness descending upon an area for days on end, to a fearsome raging storm that lashes against all that know its power. However, the Queen has not made use of the Winds for such events... yet.
Telekinesis - The Queen knows many forms of magic, and telekinetic psionics are but one form of the Winds of Magic that she has mastered. Whether it be a person or an object, the Queen is capable of telekinetic ability, though it is not as powerful as those who have extensively trained and studied the art of psychic power.
The Strength of the Queen - The Queen herself is no ordinary person. Fuelled by magical arts outside human comprehension, the Queen herself is a deadly, agile combatant, able to move at the blink of an eye, and capable of feats of strength one would not expect from a humanoid of her scale. She commands a vast array of magical spells, ranging from dimensional transportation, to creating huge web-filled minefields of exploding runes, to even creating vast firestorms to sweep through caverns of her enemies.
Attributes (Select one at each category):
Height: Six feet and eight inches (203.2 cm)
Weight: Two hundred and forty-six pounds (111 kg or 17.5 stone)
Strength Level: Above normal human, but lower than any of the 'numerical' scales. The Queen relies on telekinesis for heavy strength work.
Speed/Reaction Timing Level: Around 60-70 mph.
Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: Some three or four times human levels.
Agility: Between ten and fifteen times that of humans.
Intelligence: The Queen is intelligent, but slow to act, though when her rage is roused it is swift and decisive.
Fighting Skill: Currently unknown, estimated Elite.
Resources: According to the scale, the best estimate of the Queen's resources would be 'Large'. She was a vast array of creatures serving at her command, and plenty of power to fall back on were she to be threatened with attack.
Character you have created: Katarina von Rysech / Katarzyna z Ryzsecz
Alias: Various names that have been bandied about in the ages, though most simply call her The Red Countess.
Speech Colour (Actually say what you're using): #921111
Character Alignment: A true Villain of the ages, Katarina is bent on unlocking the deepest secrets of the arcane and of the ultimate goal of unlife - to be free of the need for blood and to no longer fear the sun... And she will do *anything* to get it.
Identity: Only known to a handful of those versed in the dark arts of necromancy and vampirism.
Character Personality: Selfish, undependable and duplicitous, von Rysech is not a woman to be trusted or relied upon for important duties, though she is capable of loyalty to some causes, so long as they suit her own purposes ultimately. She plays the long game, willing to allow the mortals about her play along with their own little flickers of energy, their brief moments of glory before the cold embrace of death takes over. She is willing to grant others the mercy of the Blood Kiss, though any that are turned by her are subservient to her every whim and desire, no matter how dangerous or damaging it may be. When in battle, she is utterly merciless and ruthless to a fault, willing to sacrifice even the largest and most powerful of their servants in her search for power and her birthright - her lands in what is now Kaliningrad, the old Holy Roman county of Preussen-Konigsberg. Ultimately, she wishes to create her own vampiric paradise, where the hateful rays of the sun are obscured by the mists of undeath, and those in her thrall toil for her benefit, and finally, von Rysech will rebuild the Tower of Spires, and within, she will retire to her libraries once more. She lusts for knowledge and arcane arts, and will not hesitate to jump at any opportunity to expand her collection of spells and arcane magicks.
But... anyone can change.
Uniform/costume: Katarina often sports Renaissance-style clothing (in spite of the changing times) as she is more comfortable with the clothing that she knew in her mortal life.
Origin Info/Details:
Countess Katarina von Rysech was born on the Spring Solstice in 1492 in the town of Neuhausen, a Teutonic fortified settlement founded by the knightly order on their invasion of Prussia in the later 13th century, into an unsettled era of violence and war within Prussia. The Polish-Lithuanian King Jan Olbracht Jagiellon had recently consolidated the gains Poland had made during the Thirteen Years War, in which Katarina's parents had supported the Teutonic Order against the Prussian Confederation and subsequently had suffered devastation of their lands by Polish and Prussian soldiers. Katarina's own birth was surrounded in rumours of secrecy and sorcery - Graf Johann von Rysech was thought to be an impotent imbecile, and his wife Anya was of low-born stock: there were those who suspected that Katarina was either a bastard child or birthed through dark magics brought upon the couple by their Lithuanian doctor, Vytautas Revinskas: a pagan worshipper of the Romuva faith and thought to be part doctor and part sorcerer, Revinskas somehow was able to get the couple to conceive a child, which the parents predicted would be a boy. Though the pregnancy was trouble-free, the sex of the baby was wrong - nine months to the day of conception, a healthy baby girl was born - Katarina.
Her childhood was a troubled one, to match a troubled child. Revinskas often meddled with her education in the Christian arts, planting seeds of doubt that God truly was who the Bible dictated, or that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and not, say, an impostor? Revinskas encouraged the young girl to question those beliefs that were considered truths, and to be skeptical of all that the Church decried as heretical or heathen - were they simply afraid of the real truth? These seeds of doubt would, in time, blossom and bear fruit, Revinskas thought, for he was playing the long game. The castle itself and the lands surrounding it began to warp and twist over the coming months and years, though so slowly that it was barely noticeable even to the trained eyes of the clergy - though the appearance of the Comet of the Feast of St. Peter and Paul in 1499 and 1507, on the very same day of the year no less, the 29th of June, began to arouse suspicion and fear from the superstitious peasantry. At the same time, rumours of Luciferian cults and dark magics began to emerge in late 1507, with several women burned in the local area for witchcraft: the weather was unusually wet, cold and above all dark. Some days, it was said, the sun barely reached over the horizon, and in the winter of 1507-1508, some days the sun was not present whatsoever. Even those well-versed in astronomy and science could not explain this freakish phenomenon, and so, in March 1508, it was decided that the pagan priest had to die, for it was he who was causing these inexplicable occurrences, and it was he who was bringing the wrath of God upon the lands, and the Graf was abetting this wrath by allowing the priest to remain in his court! The burghers, clergy and peasants gathered together in a great throng and rose up in revolt, in defence of faith and land. They besieged Castle Neuhausen, seat of their absentee Graf, in the hope of seizing both the priest Revinskas and the "Demon Child" that he had helped bring into this world - Katarina. The Graf and his soldiers manned the walls and defended admirably against the motley cannon that the peasant revolt was able to muster, and for three months, the siege of Neuhausen was underway, as the Graf stubbornly refused to surrender the castle, for he thought the peasants would simply sack it and destroy the riches of the aristocracy. However, unbeknown to all involved, the three month delay was a carefully crafted plan by Revinskas and the Luciferians within that area of Prussia. The siege would have been unsuccessful regardless: Revinskas and Katarina had fled the area before the siege had even begun, hurrying away deep into the Lithuanian hinterland in Zemaitija and Klaipeda on Katarina's 16th birthday. There, Katarina had undergone a radical change, perhaps signifying the corruption within that had been brought to the fore by Revinskas and his cultists; her hair was white as snow, her eyes two glowing orbs of smouldering red, and she was now well-versed in forbidden necromantic lore, taught to her by the Luciferians and by Revinskas. She had even had the Black Mass performed, her naked form lying on a black stone table, with a sigil of her own blood painted on her breast, a dagger in her right hand and a silvered chalice on her stomach, a ring of chanting cultists praising the Fallen Angel. She watched now as Revinskas put his plan into action.
The date was the 30th of May, 1508, and as the sun slowly rose over the fields surrounding Castle Neuhausen, all natural light was suddenly snuffed out, replaced by a fell green-glowing skull in the sky providing the only light for the panicked revolting army. The moat surrounding the castle turned into a broiling lake of blood before their very eyes, whilst the castle's drawbridge opened seemingly by itself. The revolters turned to fight their enemy, but what they saw was not at all what they expected - the legions of the living dead. Zombified corpses clutched crude clubs and shambled forth, whilst beside them, the creaking of animated bones as skeletal figures took up rusted arms and donned tattered scraps of mail and cloth. At their head was a grotesquely-obese creature, sitting upon a defiled throne stinking of sewage and disease: the Graf had been turned into a near-amorphous blob of pustule-ridden flesh which belched forth its commands, whilst beneath the throne, a nude, spidery-limbed woman shrieked at their foe, seemingly piercing the very air around the revolting army and sending some mad there and then - Katarina's dear sweet mama, Anya von Rysech. The Luciferians had succeeded in their rituals, and the dead walked once more. Though their spirit was valiant, the revolting army had no chance. The living dead fell upon the revolting army as a pack of wolves would fall on an undefended flock of sheep, tearing and gnashing at those who dared stand in their way. Thousands of Prussians were ripped apart in gouts of bloodied gore as the living dead gorged themselves in an orgy of destruction and bloodshed, in the name of the Fallen Angel. The skull in the sky began to cackle; a horrific, grating cacophony of laughter mixed with human screams - the screams of the dying of Neuhausen. As the last few realised their dreadful mistake, they turned to flee, but the very earth itself seemed to turn against them - grass became deep mud beneath their feet, clinging to them like concrete, leaving them all but helpless against the overwhelming tide of the undead. Soon, the revolt had been slaughtered to a man. His raven servants providing sight for his obsidian scrying ball, Revinskas cackled with glee as his plan to corrupt the Count and Countess had at last come to pass. Katarina, for her part, impassively watched as generations of her subjects were slaughtered before her eyes, many by their own ancestors that they had not long buried. She stared at the carnage and slaughter, and barely even moved.
Revinskas began to spill the beans, so to speak... it was he who had rendered the Count all but impotent and feckless, and it was he who had been machinating behind the scenes to ensure the match between the Count and Countess, and the birth of Katarina. Then, he would fulminate rebellion and discontent amongst the peasantry, and then watch as the peasants turn upon the corrupted rulership, before unleashing his trap at Castle Neuhausen. Then, with the Count and Countess out of the way, he would marry Katarina and rule Neuhausen in their stead, promulgating a great demonic bloodline from whenceforth a new generation of the undead would rule, as in Romania... The last step in Revinskas' plan was the turning of Katarina herself. The Bloody Kiss was Revinskas' reward for her service and her studiousness, and he eagerly gave it, seeing that at last his prize was in his grasp... For three long, agonising days, Katarina slowly wasted away, her body unable to fight the vampirism wracking it from the inside, her immune system turning on itself and destroying that which it needed to continue functioning normally. Finally, on the third day, after hours of feverish sweats, blinding pain and uncontrollable spasms, Katarina von Rysech died, with a final, heart-wrenching scream. For a few nerve-wracking moments, it all hung in the balance. Was she strong enough to turn fully? Revinskas stepped forward with a black rapier in his hand, and Katarina opened her eyes, and smiled a rueful, fanged smile. The Red Countess was born from the death of the 16-year old girl. She sat up, and looked at her mentor, who nodded once and held out the sword. "My darling, this is for you." Taking it in both hands, she turned it over, chuckling to herself as Revinskas turned away to begin making plans.
"Revinskas, you old fool. My destiny is my own... I will not have some halfwit Lithuanian dictating to me what I will and will not do!" In less than a heartbeat, Katarina had taken the sword and plunged it into Vytautas Revinskas' back, piercing his old, blackened, corrupted heart. Wrenching his head back so she could whisper in his ear, Katarina laughed, a low, sultry, seductive laugh accompanied by a shake of the head. "My destiny is mine, do you hear me? Mine. Forever." And with that, she withdrew the sword. Vytautas Revinskas sank to his knees, his form slowly crumbling, flesh sloughing from bone as he was unable to maintain himself... and finally, he simply crumbled to dust.
"I am Katarina, Countess of Neuhausen. Though you sought to use me for your own ends, I will seek to continue your work. Perhaps you will find this sweet succour as your soul burns in Hell."
With Revinskas dead, the county of Neuhausen thoroughly under the control of Lucifer's cults and Katarina still in the Lithuanian hinterlands, the stage was set for another bloody and difficult conflict. The Luciferians refused to hand over power to Katarina after they discovered Revinskas' murder at her hands, and declared that she was apostate in the Luciferian Brotherhood; effectively casting her out and attempting to disavow her of any of her vampiric power under the rituals that Revinskas had performed. At the head of the Luciferian cults was a man named Stefan Grenzer, a man from Konigsberg who had been elected Arch-Priest of the Luciferian Brotherhood within Neuhausen and who now had the loyalty of supposedly all who followed him. However, Revinskas' spells were not infallible - Katarina knew how to counter them and how to gain control of the army of the dead that he had created at Castle Neuhausen, including the spells which he had placed upon her parents to corrupt them into their current forms. After slaying the Luciferians that had accompanied Revinskas to Lithuania, Katarina set out on the journey to return to East Prussia to reclaim her rightful lands, and destroy these arrogant believers. In truth, it was not Lucifer that Katarina followed; far from it, for Katarina had begun to question all religion and saw much of it as the root of the blasted world's problems (little did she know that 100 years later, the most terrible of European wars would prove her right) and so she dedicated her time to magic, rather than relying on boons from gods she neither knew nor cared for. Katarina reached the outskirts of Prussia in late November 1508, and could already feel the rotting canker at the heart of the Baltic Sea - Lucifer's roots had grown deep in the region, and his corruption was endemic. She would, somewhat reluctantly, have to purge it, lest the Holy Roman Emperor send his Imperial armies to cleanse the lands of heresy and witchcraft, as they had done so in Bohemia in the days of Jan Hus. Then all would be for naught, and the Red Countess would rule over nothing but her own coffin. Therefore, in great secrecy, Katarina returned to Neuhausen and hid, conducting several rituals that Revinskas had taught her in the deep dungeons of the castle, and subsequently taking over control of the army of the dead that her mentor had built for her, and disguise them as living troops. In addition to this, she sent missives to the Margraves of Pomerania and Brandenburg, begging them to help her against this new heresy that threatened the stability of Prussia and threatened to spill over into their own lands. Boguslaw X Gryf agreed to send an army to assist her, and in early 1510, Katarina revealed herself to the Luciferians, storming the nearby town of Neuhausen with her father and his army and slaughtering the local garrison and clergy. Reeling from the shock of her sudden re-appearance, Arch-Priest Grenzer rallied his allies and marched on Castle Neuhausen itself, seeking to cut off this new threat at the head, not counting on the intervention of Duke Boguslaw or the Pomeranian army, which invaded Prussia in April, meeting up with Katarina's forces in May. Later on that month, both the Prussians and Pomeranians marched on the Brotherhood's main base of operations: the castle of Osterode. The Luciferians and Prussian Alliance clashed outside Osterode on the 19th of May, 1510, with both Katarina and Stefan Grenzer present on the field. Grenzer's army of zealots and heretics tried to call upon the dark magics of Lucifer to aid them in the battle, but it was here where Katarina revealed one of her most potent weapons against divine warriors; with a gesture, she cut off the magical powers that Grenzer was summoning to support his allies, and rendered them vulnerable to attack. The Battle of Osterode was a crushing defeat for the Brotherhood - scattered to the winds, and with Grenzer dead, Katarina was able to solidify her hold over her new state with the aid of Boguslaw Gryf. The Pomeranians returned home with a nominal oath of fealty to Boguslaw from Katarina in their hands as recompense for his assistance, but it seems the message was never officially delivered to the Duke - a sore spot for many years to come, and something that would ultimately prove to be her downfall much later.
Though externally, Neuhausen seemed to be safe from any threats, internally, Katarina knew there was much to do. The Red Countess had not yet earned her name, and the Prussian nobility had not yet been made to know the glory of the Blood Kiss... throwing off the disguise of the living, Katarina revealed herself as her true form in 1512, when she re-invoked the old pacts that Revinskas had initially bound to Castle Neuhausen, transforming it from a once-noble fortification to a barracked charnel pit of death and fear - she invited all of the minor nobles and clergymen of her region to a great feast, and once they were inside, she ordered the doors sealed and allowed herself to feast and sate her lust on each one, implanting each with the Blood Kiss in turn. The Feast of the Nobles, as it became known, was Katarina's first true act as Vampire Countess of Neuhausen - she had bent the nobility and the clergymen to obey her every whim, and she sent them forth into the countryside to begin her grand plan of corruption, repression and fear. Slowly, the nobility began to corrupt the very essence of the earth itself, whilst Katarina relaxed in her throne room, supping from an ever-present glass of 'aged red' as she began to read through the ancient tomes that her agents had procured from the Luciferian Brotherhood and from heretical collections that had been condemned by the former clergy. When rumours of witchcraft began to leak out from Neuhausen into the surrounding regions, Katarina ordered her agents to hunt down and eliminate the spreaders, hoping to contain knowledge of the truth of the nobility to only those who were required to know - none could truly learn of the Red Countess and her extravagant manners. At the same time, Katarina began work on what would be her magnum opus of achievements - the construction of the Tower of Spires, a monolithic masterpiece of stone and Gothic architecture, as well as containing one of the largest collections of forbidden lore in Europe. The Tower's construction lasted from 1519 to 1560 (such was the complexity of its design and the difficulty of its building) and it replaced Castle Neuhausen as the centrepiece of Katarina's court. However, Katarina devoted less and less time to her courtiers, and more and more to her expanding library of forbidden knowledge and the arcane arts, in her quest to explore undeath and potentially free herself from the confines of blood and darkness, to spread her wings far and wide into new lands and new pastures.
TBD
Hero Type (Select one): Supernatural.
Power Level (Select one below): World-Level. Katarina once ruled the mightiest vampiric empire the Baltic had ever seen, and though it was lost to the Christian foes of the Empire, she aspires to see herself rise to such levels once more.
Powers:
- Knows English, German, Polish, French and (some) Russian - Can shift shapes from humanoid to beast (bat swarm) to monstrous (known as the Gheist) forms. - Superhuman strength. - Blinding speed and reflexes. - All of Katarina's abilities can be strengthened when she has fed from one of her unfortunate victims. - For spells and relics, see below.
You Will Serve Me in Death - Any vampire worth their salt can raise the dead. By drawing upon the powers of the necrotic winds about crematoria, graveyards and mortuaries, Katarina can impart unlife upon those thought lost to the world. From graveyards rise zombies and skeletons, from mortuaries zombies of superior quality, and from crematoria, spectral forms gather and take physical form, creating awful creatures such as wights, banshees or ghasts.
Chains of Mortality - Only useable on living targets, Katarina conjures a set of chains that anchor to the living being's soul and render them all but incapable of movement. These chains can be broken by divine or other holy magics, but are all but impervious to mundane attack.
Vigour Mortis - By drawing on local necromantic power, Katarina is able to grant increased strength and stamina, as well as agility to those she casts this spell upon. The targets, however, must either be undead or contain necromantic power of their own - normal humans or living beings cannot benefit from Vigour Mortis.
Die Glocke - The Bell is a haunting, chilling peal that inspires fear in Katarina's foes. At the sound of the Bell, the dead stir and rise, and the living find their life force sucked away from them, leeched in order to feed the restless dead. Those who fail to flee find themselves slowly zombifying, eventually to the point where they, too, fall under Katarina's command.
The Reaping - At Katarina's command, a huge two-bladed axe swings forth from nothing and slices clean through her foes. Mundane protection provides no defence - only the supernatural can defend against the axe's blades. It can be dodged by those with sufficient agility or speed, or precognition, but the aura of necrosis that accompanies the axe will nevertheless cause the constitutions of those nearby to suffer.
Hypnotic Gaze - The most common of Katarina's spells, Hypnotic Gaze is more of an ability than a spell. At Katarina's command, she can enthrall those who look into her eyes and compel them to do her bidding for a short amount of time. Hypnotic Gaze becomes easier to resist the more one is affected by it, until eventually only the next spell will be of any use when attempting to force someone to do Katarina's will.
Mind War - Similar to Hypnotic Gaze, only much more powerful. Katarina's very spirit reaches out and takes hold of the sanity of the afflicted, crushing it utterly with visions of death and decay, and leaving the unfortunate victim open to any and every command that Katarina issues. Sadly, those who are affected by Mind War are left as gibbering, half-sane wrecks, their ability to comprehend reality permanently broken by Katarina's spellcraft, and only able to take commands from her.
Skullstorm - A roiling thunderstorm of pure necrotic energy, Skullstorm takes the form of sickly green clouds that coalesce into a tornado-like structure of screeching skull-like shapes that suck in and devour all life that happens to be nearby. Katarina and her allies are curiously immune to the effects of this spell, but those who are unlucky enough to be sucked into the howling morass find themselves torn limb from limb, as thousands of spectral green skulls sate their hunger on the flesh of those within. Death is almost certain.
Shadow Threads - Katarina can conjure clothes, items or other objects from pure darkness. These items behave exactly as if they were made from mundane materials, except for two things - first, they block all sight through them, even that of a magical nature. Second, the fabric is very resilient to mundane attacks, as even the strongest sword finds itself unable to cut through. This can be used as armour or as a shield by Katarina, and she often conjures shadow threads to protect herself from the sun.
Doom of Neuhausen - The Doom is Katarina's most powerful spell. It transforms whichever celestial body is in the sky into a huge, howling green skull. This skull vomits forth huge clouds of corruptive energy, blanketing the land in pure undeath, killing or withering anything and everything in its path. The very air is noxious to breathe, and those present hear nothing but the screams of the long-dead Prussians who died at Neuhausen Castle all those centuries before, and the cackling of Vytautas Revinskas as his blood-soaked minions drive the living before them like chattel. The Doom can even be harnessed to bring the skull to Earth in a final grotesque explosion of blood, charnel and undead flesh. Not even the holiest of magics can cleanse the corruption of the Doom, and Katarina is loath to use it.
An ancient tome from 1574-1589, when Katarina first began to write down her magical experiences and codify her spells and contagions into one text, the Liber Necronomica (literally 'Book of the Living Dead') is one of the primary tomes for any aspiring necromancer or elder vampire who has been unleashed on the world. Within its pages are countless rituals ranging from matters such as raising the dead, to turning those who have been bitten by a vampire into their willing servants, to creating plagues to visit upon the unfortunate human denizens of the Earth, to even creating necromantic constructs such as flesh golems, rot golems and so called 'Great Flies' - huge, pustule-ridden flying insects that spread death and disease wherever their cursed wings take them. The Liber Necronomica only currently exists in fragments, and it is Katarina's aim to ultimately restore the ancient book to its former glory, binding its knowledge once more in a single tome of pure undeath.
Fragments Known to Katarina:
Metamorphosis Vitreii - M. Vitreii is an infection that is intended to be used partially as a vector to generate dead to be used in necromantic magic, and partially as a way of making certain areas inhospitable so as to allow a Vampiric population to flourish - as M. Vitreii is necromantic in nature, it does not affect those without constitutions, such as the undead, constructs or those magically immune to necromancy by way of birth, race or enchantment. M. Vitreii is a very versatile disease, and can be tailored to target specific victims, or wreak wholesale general havoc upon a population. However, M. Vitreii is ultimately a disease that dies out over time, despite turning its victims into walking crystalline entities that spew forth clouds of spores that carry M. Vitreii over distances, and therefore is unsuitable for extended operations of biological warfare.
Thirst: A rapier forged from the coldest blackest iron-rich steel that one ever did see, Thirst was the sword that Vytautas Revinskas had commissioned for Katarina when she had finally succumbed to the Blood Kiss, and transformed into a vampire. Thirst is a truly evil weapon, for it gorges on the vitae of its victims to strengthen Katarina, whilst simultaneously acting as a conduit to gather necromantic energies from the surrounding areas to channel them into Kat's own reserves of magical energy. Thirst has claimed too many lives to count, spilled too much blood to be truly sated - the weapon is said to have a soul of its own, formed from the nameless, faceless hundreds slaughtered to quench the Red Countess' lust for power. It was the only relic to survive the Fall with Katarina, and she wields the horrific blade to this day.
The Ruby Chalice: A golden chalice studded with glowing rubies may not look hugely out of place in any castle, were it not for the contents. An ever-fresh supply of blood pools within the Ruby Chalice seemingly from nowhere, but the truth of the matter is perhaps darker than one may realise, for within the rubies of the Chalice are trapped the life-forces of Vytautas Revinskas, the Graf and Grafin von Rysech, and Katarina's first and only (so far) consort, Andreas von Rysech, a vampire she sired during the early years of her reign. By far the most heinous usage is that of Katarina's own parents - binding their vitae to eternal torment and damnation, caged within a ruby prison to feed their daughter's endless thirst for blood. The Ruby Chalice renders Katarina able to operate without feeding on humans - indeed, perhaps it strengthens her, for the rich supply of blood is of far superior quality than any mortal could hope to have achieved.
The Ring of Iron: A blackened, cold iron ring, with a single jet gemstone carved into the shape of a skull. The Ring of Iron is an unremarkable object, but one that pulses with great power - for the Ring of Iron forms part of Katarina's fallback defence should her magical ability be compromised. It forms a protective force field of unholy magics that turn aside all but the holiest and most blessed blades - only Sir Henry of the Order of the Grail has been able to penetrate the Ring of Iron's black sorcery. The source of the Ring's power lay in the Reservoir of the Tower, a structure built into the Tower of Spires during its construction, and which required the exsanguination of some 300 fully-grown humans to fill to its entirety. There, the Reservoir acted as a energy dam, coalescing raw necromantic energy from the surrounding areas and allowing it to be used piecemeal in the forging and construction of magical items and spells. The Reservoir was destroyed in the collapse of the Tower of Spires following Katarina's defeat in 1610, and the Ring, like all relics save for Thirst, was lost.
The Masque: The Masque was one of Katarina's most interesting and strangest accoutrements. The Masque itself appears to be a black iron theatre mask, similar in style to old thespian-style masks used in theatres across the world. The Masque's true purpose is actually as a perfect disguise - it transforms Katarina's physical appearance into an exact replica of any person that she wishes. The Masque in Katarina's reign allowed her to blend in with non-vampiric nobility and clergy in particular, for it also masks Katarina's vampiric energies. The Masque cannot be worn forever, though, for flaws eventually begin to appear in the Masque's illusions - no dream lasts forever. Eventually, the illusion fails, but this may take as long as two to three weeks, if not longer.
The Heart of Darkness: The Heart of Darkness is without doubt the most powerful of Katarina's relics and raiments crafted during her Red Reign. It is a jet-black scarab of unknown material, surrounded in gold, worn around the neck on a golden necklace. The Heart of Darkness is impervious to all known methods of damage, and confers a black sorcerous magic field that encases the wearer in a thin layer of shadow thread, which deflects almost all known forms of attack, save for perhaps the water of the Grail itself. In addition, the Heart of Darkness also acts as a soul trap for those slain by the wearer, vastly reducing the quantity of magical energy required to cast necromantic spells. The Heart of Darkness was manufactured in the last days of Katarina's reign, as a last-ditch weapon designed to turn the tide of the Great Crusade against Neuhausen, but alas, it failed. The Heart was lost, and was never seen again. But such was the complexity and resilience of its construction, that it is almost a certainty that it survives to this day.
Attributes (Select one at each category): As Katarina:
Height: Five feet and eleven inches. Weight: 148 pounds, or 67.1 kg. Strength Level: About 10 to 20 tons at maximum humanoid strength Speed/Reaction Timing Level: 100+ MPH at maximum reflexes Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: About 4 hours per feeding Agility: 15X Normal Intelligence: Not quite Genius, though she plays the long game... Fighting Skill: Mastered. The Red Countess is a vicious and powerful fighter, particularly with her rapier.
As the Gheist:
Height: Well over ten feet tall from feet to head, including wings possibly as many as 15 ft Weight: Unknown, possibly as much as two and half tons Strength Level: Between 70-80 tons comfortably Speed/Reaction Timing Level: 80-90 MPH Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: About 4 hours per feeding Agility: Slightly slower than humanoid, perhaps about 12-13X that of a human Intelligence: The Red Countess maintains her intelligence level, even as a Gheist. Fighting Skill: Mastered. Bestial, bloody and brutal, Katarina as a Gheist can rip through whole squads of men all by herself.
Resources: Limited at best currently. Katarina is slowly returning to power, and lacks much of her repertoire and her infrastructure, including her library of ancient tomes. Katarina currently has herself, her power and that's about it.
Weaknesses: Though a Vampire, Katarina is still susceptible to physical damage and if her mortal form is destroyed, she will flee back to Neuhausen as the proverbial mist to regenerate. Depending on her level of power, this can take any time between minutes and weeks, during which time she is still vulnerable to her coffin being attacked and destroyed, which will kill her. None but the most powerful gods can save her undead soul after that. Katarina is still vulnerable to the sun and will suffer very serious consequences in direct sunlight, though she can somewhat tolerate overcast conditions due to her power. Christians beware, however, for she is no stranger to the symbols of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some say it is because of her Prussian heritage, others that even God has a plan in mind for her, others still that her latent atheism protects her, but whatever the reason, crosses and religious artefacts will not stop Katarina.
Supporting Characters:
- Lord Franz Siegfried Philipp Ludwig von Sigmaringen, Katarina's ally and vampire of Swabia. Franz Siegfried has been Katarina's constant companion since early in her reign, and accompanied her as she fled into the catacombs of the Tower of Spires. Weaker and bent to Katarina's will, Franz Siegfried is nevertheless a potent physical adversary in battle, though he lacks much of Katarina's power. Currently is unaware of Katarina's re-awakening.
- Benjamin Reeves: A werewolf that Katarina met during her brief sojourn in New York City. Katarina was instantly charmed by his mild manner and physical appearance, and has inwardly vowed to protect him from all danger as best she can. The two of them have formed an unlikely alliance, and possibly even more.
Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?: I've already posted two of them, damn it.
The Blood Kiss is the von Rysech terminology for their bite. Anathema to mortality, the Blood Kiss can be utilised in several ways.
The primary, and most commonly thought of, method is the Transformation - the vampire injects the victim with a tiny quantity of their own blood through their fangs, which causes a devastating blood disease which invariably kills the victim, allowing their full transformation into a true vampire - how Katarina was turned.
For those the vampire wishes to keep around as slaves, the Blood Kiss is a simple bite. With the bite, the vampire casts a spell upon the victim, which enslaves and breaks the victim's will and allows the vampire to use the victim as a mobile blood bank, or vampire cattle, if one uses the definition from The Elder Scrolls. However, the Blood Kiss nevertheless slowly corrupts the victim over time, and eventually transforms the victim into something known as an 'Empty' - a hollow corpse that is almost akin to a zombie, only much faster and more bestial.
A third way is the manner that Franz was turned, in that the vampire's bite causes limited vampirism from the vampire's saliva. This creates a creature known to the von Rysechs as a 'Servant of Darkness' - neither human nor vampire. Blessed with the lesser powers common to all vampires, and yet still eligible for feeding, the Servants of Darkness are the von Rysechs' primary agents in the field. They require human blood for true sustenance, though they are capable of limited sustenance from mortal foodstuffs or animal blood.
It had been almost four hundred years since her Fall. Four hundred years of suffering, slow regeneration and isolation from the world in her coffin. The surface-dwellers, the living, the mortals above - all thought that she was dead, that the Red Countess was perhaps never anything more than a myth, a legend that lived only in folk tales from Prussia. Four hundred years of archaeological digs had failed to unearth her, and so she was allowed to rest in peace... until now. The magics and balance of the world had changed, with the rise of the superheroes and supervillains, and the age of metahumanity had begun. From deep within the bowels of an abandoned ruin, a coffin stirred and slowly came to life, as a dull red glow surrounded it from within.
The Red Countess awakes from her torpor.
Katarina staggered forward and fell to the dusty stone floor, the coffin lid falling to one side and the ashes of her once-sumptuous attire swirling about her in a mockery of her old status and power, brought down by Sigismund Vasa, the Polish bastard. She could feel her old wounds aggravating her, and she thirsted... by God, she thirsted. Her energy levels were such that even opening her eyes felt an unimaginable task, let alone standing up. She lay on the cold stone for what felt like an eternity, before slowly, and painfully, she reached out a nailed hand and tried to drag herself forward, finding no strength in her tired and blood-starved muscles; despite her best efforts, she remained stubbornly immobile, her rage increasing, until finally, her will snapped and she screamed as loud as she could in pathetic defiance of her condition. She found herself practically unable to move from lack of energy, and had anyone been aware of her... they could have ended her right there and then. However, there was only one who was with her - Franz Siegfried, the man who stood by her as her world burned, as her whole dreams were cast down and shattered, as her lands were slaughtered and devastated. And now, it was he who stood above her, looking down, a broad, fanged smile on his face, with a hand extended to help her back to her feet. "Katarina, my sweet love... it has been a long time. "
Her arms protested as she slowly crawled over to his closest leg and gripped it tightly, using his clothes and frame as a structural aid as she slowly crawled to her feet. "Franz... please... help me... let me feed." Her throat was dry, her voice cracking with the strain, but Franz smiled, nodded and proceeded to open up his neck, allowing Katarina to sink her fangs into his throat and drink deeply of his tainted blood, infected as he was by a fragment of Katarina's power. She gasped involuntarily as power began to course through her torpid veins and her old strength returned to her. She withdrew her fangs as Franz staggered back, holding a hand to the bite wound, and she wiped her mouth with her hand. "Thank you. I knew you would come to save me from my torpor one day, Franz. Perhaps there is hope for us yet... hope for Neuhausen. Hope for the Tower. Hope for us to rebuild what we had. Our empire. Our future. Our... our love." Katarina looked over at a glass display case where Franz had laid out her most treasured outfit of luxurious fabrics and leather, as well as her fabled sword, Black Sun. She walked over to the case and smashed through the glass with but a light punch, and took hold of her new clothes and her sword. Dressing herself, she sheathed her sword and turned back to Franz, who looked upon her with adoring eyes, as ever.
"Franz... We have much to do. We must find allies, resources, power, and we must find it elsewhere. We could escape our foes in the New World... And there we could build up our empire with which to strike back at the hated Church, strike back at those who wronged us! Those who envied our power, our glory!The Poles, the Germans, the Lithuanians... they all will die at my hand! Let the world know... The Red Countess returneth!"
Time: Evening - Day of the Satellite Attack Location: 49th floor of Troon Tower, New York City, New York
"Mein gott."
Franz von Sigmaringen stared agape at the television screen before him. The Hounds of Humanity had been increasing their terror campaign against most countries in the world in response to the growing superhuman trend in society, but never had they pulled off such a spectacular coup against the countries of the world. This was the Hounds' 9/11, their apex moment. Their declaration of intent. The images from the television screen were blazed into Franz's eyes. The wholesale obliteration of an entire city, captured by one terrified survivor's camera lens - the scintillating sight of the ruby red beam coalescing into a hammer of destruction that modern scientists no doubt could only dream of inflicting with the push of a button. Franz shook his head and rubbed his chin as he took in the sheer scale of what was being shown. His own personal servant and right-hand-man, Justus, was the push of a button away, and yet Franz was stunned into inaction. He had several members of the cabal in Philadelphia... no doubt they, too, had been killed by the satellite's blast, as had hundreds of thousands of humans. They were little more than cattle, or even flies, to Franz, but still, he remembered the days of the great wars of the twentieth century, the wars that should have ended all wars. He remembered seeing first-hand the destruction of cities like Hamburg, Rotterdam, Dresden, Essen - the devastation wrought by the Allied bombing attack on the dams of the Ruhr... the stunned, soulless eyes of the survivors, victims of horrors that civilians had no business suffering, no matter the crimes and tribulations of their leaders. Was it possible... that he felt remorse? Sympathy, for these cattle? Slaughtered in the feeble attempts by madmen to stop the inexorable advance of the denizens of Earth into a new age? The casualty figures were astonishing. Hundreds of thousands feared dead. Millions perhaps homeless. A financial centre of the United States simply erased from existence in a single blast. He flicked through the channels of the television. All were reporting the same matter - the satellite's destruction of Philadelphia, and two other towns whose names Franz could barely register in his scrambled mind. Some even had the odious sounds of the Hounds of Humanity's 'spokesman' in the background - those he turned off quickly. He could scarcely afford to lose his temper.
A tell-tale patterned knock at the door brought Franz back to the present.
"Kommt hier."
Justus walked in. A thin, balding man of fifty-seven, he was no vampire - merely an American human who had sworn to serve Franz in every capacity. The descendant of German immigrants from Hamburg, he was a sorcerer of some skill and power, but it was his insight into matters that Franz valued more than anything - and his loyalty. Justus seemingly had an idea of matters even before they had fully unfolded - perhaps a small degree of foresight could be attributed to him. He looked at the television screen and nodded curtly. "A shocking attack, is it not, my lord?"
"You could call it that." Franz's voice was insipid in response.
"I have been attempting to contact our friends and allies in the Philadelphia area, my lord. I'm afraid the news is unwelcome." Of course it is, you fool - have you not seen the pictures before you? How could anything have survived that? Franz's inner thoughts dared him to respond. But it would be too harsh on Justus. He was, after all, only doing his job - and that was what Franz wanted him to do. A simple flare of the nostrils was all Franz let on externally - Justus continued, heedless of this, "So far, we have only been able to contact the Liebig Cartel. They have two survivors - Karl, and Hannelies. I'm afraid the other cabals - Burnside, Choltitz and Steff - are all feared dead in the blast."
Franz shook his head and looked out of the window at the New York cityscape. Beneath, cars and pedestrians rushed around, perhaps trying to get home as soon as they could to find out if their families or friends had survived. Police sirens blared all across the city. A nation thrown into chaos and fear - and Franz sympathised with them. Such a state would ordinarily be a chance to expand influence, to begin a new age of vampiric dominance of the underground, and yet Franz feared the intervention of the Hounds - or the federal government. This once-irritating group of pups had bared their teeth, and torn the throat out of the United States. It was only a matter of time before the US responded. Franz had seen it all before - martial law, curfews... unworkable conditions for men- businessmen such as himself. No doubt the stock markets would take a nosedive as a result of this... the ramifications of which concerned Franz even further. Justus was talking about more matters which Franz cared little for, and tuned out as he watched New York's bustle beneath him. Then, one word stood out more than anything.
Katarina.
"Hold."
Justus stopped at his master's request. Franz looked over at him, cold blue eyes gazing deep into his servant's own. "What did you just say?"
"We think there has been a sighting of the Countess, my lord."
Franz's head was in a whirl. Was it true? Had she returned after four hundred years of absence, four hundred years during which Franz had slaved away, preparing situations for her return only to see them shattered time and again by external forces? And now, at the crux of his power, his persistence had paid off, and his mistress, the Countess of Prussia, had returned? "Where?! When?!"
"In Las Vegas, my lord. Willy Groner phoned in just this morning... it seems she was travelling with a group of individuals unknown to us, during which time, a group of the Hounds of Humanity arrived and attacked. There was no sign of her afterwards, nor of the others-" Again, Justus faded into irrelevance. Had she been killed? Had these Hounds taken Katarina away from him just as fate was about to decide they would meet again? Franz's fists clenched on the the armrests they sat upon. His teeth gritted, as his muscles tensed with anger, with rage. He glared at Justus, hissing through teeth clenched tight.
"Justus. You will do two things. You will do everything in your power to find Katarina. And also... you will get me that fucking Pole!"
"My lord?"
"Zielinska! Now!"
Justus bowed and strode out of the room at once. Franz seethed atop the Tower... the Hounds would pay.
Name: Ryndarra Elinwen Kirileth Species: Pureblood Sith Age: 17 Gender: Female Height: Six feet, one inch - 185.42 cm Weight: 198 pounds - Approx. 90 kg Date of Birth: Estimated 3670 BBY Faction: Jedi Order Rank: Padawan Date of Elevation: 3655 BBY (Age 14) Master: Jarr Gantor, human male, aged 59. See File #JMFG6439888 for more details.
When and where was the prisoner acquired?
This prisoner was acquired during the Great Purge of the Coruscant Temple during the war. This prisoner was subdued after a fire-fight, which indicates that the prisoner is perhaps not as well-trained in the skills of the saber as other Jedi taken prisoner from the temple compounds.
What is the prisoner wearing? Is this what the prisoner wore prior to capture?
When captured, this prisoner was in the possession of fairly typical clothing of the Jedi Order: Knee-high brown leather boots, snow white cloth trousers, a snow white cloth tunic and robe, and a brown leather belt.
The prisoner's injuries were severe in the raid on Coruscant, and as a result, currently the prisoner is recuperating in a kolto tank. As such, it has not been deemed necessary to issue the prisoner clothing as of this moment; however, her old clothing is in storage - perhaps reuniting her with them may spark an emotional response, which can be latched onto and exploited. The prisoner had no padawan braid; initially, I thought that this was as a result of her inexperience and low rank within the Jedi Order - perhaps an initiate of some kind - but upon investigation, I have been able to determine that this was actually as a result of the firefight that occurred just prior to the prisoner's capture in the Temple, and that the prisoner *is* a fully-fledged padawan. According to reports from those who captured her, a stray grenade fragment seems to have scraped the side of the prisoner's head, close enough to burn flesh and hair. The remnants of a braid could be seen on the left side of the prisoner's head, close to several minor shrapnel lacerations.
The prisoner's injuries are, as ranked in order of severity:
Blaster bolt impact to the Chest - Severe Shrapnel wounds to the head, chest, left arm and left thigh - Severe Blaster bolt impact to the left shoulder - Serious Blaster bolt near-miss to the left leg - Minor Concussive shock to the brain - Minor
These injuries should be left to heal in the kolto tank, in my most humble opinion. The chest injuries in particular will be particularly debilitating to the prisoner if left unhealed, rendering her useless in a matter of moments under torture.
Were any items confiscated upon capture?
There was one item of note confiscated upon capture; a surprisingly ornate lightsaber. The blade is yellow in colouration. The handle of the lightsaber is silvered with intricate gilded decorations around the hilt and hand guard - the exact chemical composition of the grip is yet to be analysed. Such an intricate weapon is most unusual in this instance. It should be investigated.
In addition, the prisoner was armed with a standard-issue Imperial blaster. It seems that the prisoner, instead of using what lightsaber skills she possessed, preferred to take her chances with a blaster against Imperial personnel. The likely course of actions she took was that initially she used her lightsaber, and then armed herself with the blaster once Imperial personnel outnumbered her considerably. According to reports, she was able to dispatch several troopers before succumbing to multiple injuries. If anything, this shows her versatility and willingness to use alternative methods to achieve her goal - something that could prove useful were she to be turned to the Empire.
What mistakes led to the prisoner’s captivity?
The prisoner was, like many of these unfortunate wretches, in the wrong place, at the wrong time - at least from a Republic point of view. For us, however, a most valuable boon. It seemed from the setup of the room she was captured defending that she was preparing to meet with her master, perhaps to depart on a new mission out of Coruscant Temple. The room was a reading chamber of some sort, and Imperial personnel breached the door, gunning down a Jedi librarian inside before they were able to react. However, the prisoner was quick to respond, and felled several troopers before arming herself with a blaster and proceeding to use the gun to pin down Imperial reinforcements until eventually, the prisoner was subdued by a combination of wounds sustained from blaster fire and several grenades thrown into the room.
The prisoner had no real place to run. Defeat was inevitable; that she survived at all was fortunate.
What talents, if any, has the prisoner demonstrated with the Force?
The prisoner did not demonstrate visibly much talent with the Force. What was shown was primarily basic Force powers, such as limited telekinetic ability, limited healing and Force-assisted acrobatics. Imperial Intelligence have estimated her abilities to be the following - bear in mind this also includes intelligence extrapolated from decrypted Jedi records of the prisoner, including age and estimated strength with the Force:
Basic Force Powers - Regular Force Healing - Green. Likely taught to her during her initiation. Unsure as to why, but perhaps it has been to assist in the purging of the Dark Side from her body and spirit. This will need to be kept under close observation. Crucitorn? - Possibly Green - This is implied given her resilience to injuries sustained during the Coruscant Raid. Whether she is trained in it or not, I am unsure. Force Stun - Green
Has the prisoner demonstrated any other skills?
The prisoner, as explained before, has a remarkable talent for versatility in the heat of the action. Instead of continuing the battle with her lightsaber, the prisoner instead seemed to fall back on some form of soldier training, finding cover and utilising a blaster, pinning down Imperial troops in the doorway to the chamber. This implies to me that the prisoner is at least versed in common military tactical manoeuvres and training, which is unusual for a Jedi. It is of course possible that the prisoner may have simply been acting on instinct, but this is countered by the prisoner tricking several members of the Imperial military into entering the room after assuming that she had been incapacitated, only to gun them down and, in the confusion, reload and re-arm! Such a trick, although primitive, nevertheless indicates a highly tactically-focused mind.
In addition to this, the prisoner's files from the Jedi Temple, which have been recovered thanks to the efforts of several Intelligence personnel, indicate that the prisoner has quite a wide-ranging education, ranging from history (of course, told from a Republic standpoint, which no doubt will influence her view on the galaxy), mathematics, language, law, chemistry (of all things) and medicine. She is sharp-witted and sharp-tongued - Jedi records state that many times she has strayed from the Jedi Code's teachings, proving that she is vulnerable to corruption, yet also versatile in her approach to matters. She is also an excellent card player, indulging in games of sabacc, cribbage and bridge - according to files from her master, their preferred method of relaxation was a game of bridge with tea and cakes. A most civilised occasion. Perhaps this can be used?
Another interesting note; the prisoner speaks with a Dromund Kaas accent. You can take the Sith out of Kaas City, but you can't take the Kaas City out of the Sith.
No doubt prisoner resisted capture. What lightsaber form(s) did the prisoner demonstrate training in?
The prisoner's primary lightsaber form is undoubtedly that of Form I: Shii-Cho. The prisoner also displayed elements of Form III: Soresu during the fire-fight that resulted in her capture, able to deflect blaster bolts with surprising ease and regularity, which would indicate at least a basic understanding of the tenets of Soresu. Whether the prisoner is able to utilise Form III in any way aside from blaster avoidance is unknown at the current time.
How powerful is the padawan in the Force?
The initiate has the potential to be great with the Force. Her Sith Pureblood lineage is no doubt the cause of this strength, for Republic intelligence has informed us that Ryndarra is the daughter of a high-ranking member of the Sith Order. According to further intelligence, this parent is known to be Seshan Kirileth, with her mother being Idirelle, a pureblood Sith that Seshan enslaved after a duel, and kept as a slave for the purpose of furthering the family. This undoubtedly would go a long way in explaining her power. However, she has been unable to temper her raw power with proper adherence to the Jedi Code, and as such her training has been somewhat retarded in its scope until Ryndarra can learn to embrace the Code more fully.
What is the Jedi’s history? What events has shaped his or her life before and after joining the Jedi Order?
-ERROR: RECORDS CORRUPTED OR INCOMPLETE-
(Sydarai, K. A. N.: This was discovered on a data crystal found with the prisoner, in a pocket. It seems to be some form of life story, perhaps dictated to keep a record of her life. She may have been undergoing stress in her daily routines, and felt it necessary to vent to this data crystal. As such, it may prove useful.)
Where to begin... I suppose one must start at the start. What I can remember is this; my name is Ryndarra Kirileth. My father, Lord Seshan Kirileth, is a member of the Sith Order, and my mother... I don't remember. I think she was some slave he kept around for his own personal entertainment. I doubt I was her only child, at the very least. But then again, maybe I was... I do remember him doting on me, indulging my seemingly every will, perhaps nursing me to power at an early age. I remember growing up on Dromund Kaas, the planet of constant rain. I remember a nanny who took care of me when father was out, or away, or off-planet, and I remember the guards who I used to play with. The guards in particular were nice to me... I remember them watching drilling every now and then, when I could get away from the nanny who would forever want me to practice my numbers or my letters in Aurebesh or Ancient Sith. It was so interesting to watch them fight each other, and it was even better when they used to spot me waving from the balcony, and then they'd do things to impress me, like marching up and down in perfect step! But I also remember the time when some associates of my father said that I'd have to go to Korriban soon. I think I was about five or six at the time; that's usually when the Sith send their children off to be taught - well, more like butchered, if any stories are true - at Korriban Academy.
I remember this so clearly it's unnerving. My father shook his head and muttered something under his breath, and then, when they had left our home, he flew into a rage! By the Force, I'd never seen him so angry. He said that he'd never abandon me to the Academy, that he could train me himself! I don't know why he said it, because he wasn't that strong in the Force, nor was he all that high in the Order, but he was adamant; I'd never see Korriban unless it was to be inducted. I don't know what the *rest* of the Sith Order would have made of that, mind... probably toss him out on his kiester and tell him to shape up or ship out. Or whatever it is the Sith do to those kinds of people. Probably not as nice as that, actually... But I never really did see Korriban, not with my own eyes. All I saw of it was from holo-vids and the like, never the actual planet. My father, apparently so keen to introduce me to the ways of the Sith, began to train me himself in physical exercises that I didn't really understand, or appreciate for that matter. He would work until I was sore and aching all over, and then make me work more, because he said that through pain came progress, and that pain and anger should fuel your energies. It was a real shock to the pampered life I'd led before. It took a while for the lessons to sink in... but they did, I think. The person who was supposed to train me in the ways of the Sith never arrived to the best of my knowledge.
What he then did I'll never be able to explain. He took me, his only child that he actually gave half a credit about, to the front lines. He was anxious to prove himself to the higher-ups, I guess, and he took me along to this world that the Republic and Empire had been fighting over for months, I don't remember the name. (The planet was Berdan III. - Sydarai) But the planet had mostly been taken for the Empire, so he decided to take me there to show me what happened to those who opposed the Empire. Up the Imperials, and all that. So you can imagine his shock when the Republic launched a counter-offensive that ended up driving all the way back to the starting trench lines! That was when the Republic simultaneously struck at the Imperial command tower that my father and I were residing in, with a Republic commando team, no less.
What happened on the planet after that is unknown to me. Master Gantor told me that I was found, half-dead and concussed, by Republic troopers sifting through the wreckage of the tower once it had been blown by the commando teams. At first, several of the troopers wanted to shoot me (Surely not! An innocent young girl, murdered in cold blood? That's not the Republic way... is it? - Sydarai) but their commanding officer, a man called Sergeant Arwine, said to spare my life and get me medical attention. It's funny, considering how often my father derided the Republic and called them spineless cowards - they came very close to shooting me in cold blood without so much as a by-your-leave. Perhaps the Republic aren't so spineless after all. I was loaded onto a medical transport and delivered to Coruscant, whereupon I was separated from the other prisoners - not that there were many - and taken to the Jedi Temple there.
There, my fate was decided. Some wanted me to have nothing to do with the Jedi Order, viewing me as unsuitable for its tenets. They said that the dark side ran strongly within me, and that the Jedi code was incompatible with such traits - far better to have me simply kept under guard at all times as a prisoner. Others saw me as too dangerous to be left alone with my powers with the Force, and advocated training me, but kept separate from all others - almost trained in a one-on-one situation. I don't exactly remember what they decided - obviously I was to train with the Jedi, but my early training I can't remember much about. But I do know the location of my training - H'Ratth. I can only guess that H'Ratth, with its emphasis on healing and rejuvenation, was the perfect place to purge the dark side energies in me. Whether it was successful or not, I guess only time will tell.
I was ostracised, isolated like a quarantine victim, a victim of my own blood. They kept me away from all the other children my age - all I knew were these people so much older than me, who taught me, who drilled the Jedi Code into my head. It seemed to defy the Sith Code in all things - there is no emotion, there is peace. But the Sith said peace was a lie. And then I think to myself - if peace was a lie, what would happen if the Empire won? Who would the Empire fight? (This line of thought needs to be purged from her. It's dangerous. - Sydarai) But the Jedi seemed to instil in me a sort of... peacefulness. A calmness that I'd not felt... probably ever before. I was much stronger in the Force than the others of my age, but still they held me away from the others... even when they thought I was able to control my dark side urgings. Why? Was it simply my Sith appearance? Was I some trophy to them, the first Sith raised from an early age to be a Jedi initiate? Perhaps trot me out at grand occasions? Or did they not know what to do with me? I'd passed my tests on H'Ratth, I was eligible to become a Padawan, and yet they kept me back... and back.
But then, Master Gantor arrived. He had heard of me and read up on who I was, where I had been and all about me. And he wanted to see if he could mould me into a Jedi Knight worthy of the Republic. So I began my training underneath him. Master Gantor was a warrior first and foremost. He was a man of action, a man of staunch resistance and stern temperance. A laconic man who believed he could forge me into a weapon of the Republic. He trained me, he taught me to control the darkness within myself, the darkness within perhaps all of us. I think Master Gantor saw in me something that nobody else saw; I think he saw a way to turn the dark side into the service of the light. We journeyed aplenty in the Republic, purging insurgencies on planets such as Sormoran IV and Jar Harrad, and he trained me in the art of the saber. The insurgencies were interesting - some were simply separatist movements, but others were more... insidious, some of them were Imperial cells. It made me think about things... inwardly, I felt wary about trusting people. Some of those we had met shortly after landfall on Jar Harrad had turned out to be members of an Imperial cell operating on the planet. It was strange, fighting those who you had once considered brothers or sisters-in-arms... Master Gantor was still wary of my potential, I felt... he didn't seem all that keen on expanding my knowledge of the Force. I never confronted him about it, but I felt the same thing as before - were the Jedi keeping me back as a result of my species, my bloodline?
I guess only time will tell. We're going back to Coruscant for a while. Hopefully these matters will be sorted out soon. From one extreme to the other. That's the best way to describe my life so far. I was first to join the Sith, and then suddenly, here I am thrown into the Jedi Order, and expected to subscribe to their mantras of peace and serenity. When there's a war going on, I'm expected to be serene and peaceful when hundreds of thousands fight and die every day?
What associates does the Jedi have? How close is he or she to them?
This individual has very few associations. This is of her own doing. (Hah! I think not. - Sydarai)
Has the subject encountered any Sith that are presumed to still be alive?
No Sith encounters are recorded with this individual.
Any limits on what may happen to your character? Not particularly. I'd prefer it if she wasn't executed, but if things go that way, then she might have to die.
How will your Jedi maintain his/her calm in captivity? Like most Jedi, I think she'll maintain it largely through hope, meditation and bloody-minded raw will.
Is your Jedi able to hold out well against pain and torture? Ryndarra is no stranger to a good physical battering. It will take a lot to get her screaming. Mentally, she's probably much more susceptible. Her raising by the Jedi and their treatment of her during her adolescence has riven great scars in her outlook on the world.
If given the chance to escape from the Sith Compound, will your character go for it? If she falls? Hell no. If she remains true to the light, then she will try.
If not, why? If she falls to the dark side, then she's going to want to prove herself on the other Jedi, that's for sure. If she doesn't escape from the prison and remains a Jedi, she might stay to help those gravely injured by the Sith's torturings.
What goals do you have in the IC? Have fun. Anything else is optional.
Do you have any character secrets that the players and/or GMs can use? (you may send these in PM) ... ehehehe. Wait and see.
Character you have created: Grafin Katarina von Rysech, Red Countess of Prussia
Alias: Various names that have been bandied about in the ages, though most simply call her The Red Countess.
Character Alignment: A true Villain of the ages, Katarina is bent on unlocking the deepest secrets of the arcane and of the ultimate goal of unlife - to be free of the need for blood and to no longer fear the sun... And she will do *anything* to get it.
Identity: Only known to a handful of those versed in the dark arts of necromancy and vampirism.
Character Personality: Selfish, undependable and duplicitous, von Rysech is not a woman to be trusted or relied upon for important duties, though she is capable of loyalty to some causes, so long as they suit her own purposes ultimately. She plays the long game, willing to allow the mortals about her play along with their own little flickers of energy, their brief moments of glory before the cold embrace of death takes over. She is willing to grant others the mercy of the Blood Kiss, though any that are turned by her are subservient to her every whim and desire, no matter how dangerous or damaging it may be. When in battle, she is utterly merciless and ruthless to a fault, willing to sacrifice even the largest and most powerful of their servants in her search for power and her birthright - her lands in what is now Kaliningrad, the old Holy Roman county of Preussen-Konigsberg. Ultimately, she wishes to create her own vampiric paradise, where the hateful rays of the sun are obscured by the mists of undeath, and those in her thrall toil for her benefit, and finally, von Rysech will rebuild the Tower of Spires, and within, she will retire to her libraries once more. She lusts for knowledge and arcane arts, and will not hesitate to jump at any opportunity to expand her collection of spells and arcane magicks.
Uniform/costume: Katarina often sports Renaissance-style clothing (in spite of the changing times) as she is more comfortable with the clothing that she knew in her mortal life.
Origin Info/Details:
Countess Katarina von Rysech was born on the Spring Solstice in 1492 in the town of Neuhausen, a Teutonic fortified settlement founded by the knightly order on their invasion of Prussia in the later 13th century, into an unsettled era of violence and war within Prussia. The Polish-Lithuanian King Jan Olbracht Jagiellon had recently consolidated the gains Poland had made during the Thirteen Years War, in which Katarina's parents had supported the Teutonic Order against the Prussian Confederation and subsequently had suffered devastation of their lands by Polish and Prussian soldiers. Katarina's own birth was surrounded in rumours of secrecy and sorcery - Graf Johann von Rysech was thought to be an impotent imbecile, and his wife Anya was of low-born stock: there were those who suspected that Katarina was either a bastard child or birthed through dark magics brought upon the couple by their Lithuanian doctor, Vytautas Revinskas: a pagan worshipper of the Romuva faith and thought to be part doctor and part sorcerer, Revinskas somehow was able to get the couple to conceive a child, which the parents predicted would be a boy. Though the pregnancy was trouble-free, the sex of the baby was wrong - nine months to the day of conception, a healthy baby girl was born - Katarina.
Her childhood was a troubled one, to match a troubled child. Revinskas often meddled with her education in the Christian arts, planting seeds of doubt that God truly was who the Bible dictated, or that Jesus Christ was the Son of God and not, say, an impostor? Revinskas encouraged the young girl to question those beliefs that were considered truths, and to be skeptical of all that the Church decried as heretical or heathen - were they simply afraid of the real truth? These seeds of doubt would, in time, blossom and bear fruit, Revinskas thought, for he was playing the long game. The castle itself and the lands surrounding it began to warp and twist over the coming months and years, though so slowly that it was barely noticeable even to the trained eyes of the clergy - though the appearance of the Comet of the Feast of St. Peter and Paul in 1499 and 1507, on the very same day of the year no less, the 29th of June, began to arouse suspicion and fear from the superstitious peasantry. At the same time, rumours of Luciferian cults and dark magics began to emerge in late 1507, with several women burned in the local area for witchcraft: the weather was unusually wet, cold and above all dark. Some days, it was said, the sun barely reached over the horizon, and in the winter of 1507-1508, some days the sun was not present whatsoever. Even those well-versed in astronomy and science could not explain this freakish phenomenon, and so, in March 1508, it was decided that the pagan priest had to die, for it was he who was causing these inexplicable occurrences, and it was he who was bringing the wrath of God upon the lands, and the Graf was abetting this wrath by allowing the priest to remain in his court! The burghers, clergy and peasants gathered together in a great throng and rose up in revolt, in defence of faith and land. They besieged Castle Neuhausen, seat of their absentee Graf, in the hope of seizing both the priest Revinskas and the "Demon Child" that he had helped bring into this world - Katarina. The Graf and his soldiers manned the walls and defended admirably against the motley cannon that the peasant revolt was able to muster, and for three months, the siege of Neuhausen was underway, as the Graf stubbornly refused to surrender the castle, for he thought the peasants would simply sack it and destroy the riches of the aristocracy. However, unbeknown to all involved, the three month delay was a carefully crafted plan by Revinskas and the Luciferians within that area of Prussia. The siege would have been unsuccessful regardless: Revinskas and Katarina had fled the area before the siege had even begun, hurrying away deep into the Lithuanian hinterland in Zemaitija and Klaipeda on Katarina's 16th birthday. There, Katarina had undergone a radical change, perhaps signifying the corruption within that had been brought to the fore by Revinskas and his cultists; her hair was white as snow, her eyes two glowing orbs of smouldering red, and she was now well-versed in forbidden necromantic lore, taught to her by the Luciferians and by Revinskas. She had even had the Black Mass performed, her naked form lying on a black stone table, with a sigil of her own blood painted on her breast, a dagger in her right hand and a silvered chalice on her stomach, a ring of chanting cultists praising the Fallen Angel. She watched now as Revinskas put his plan into action.
The date was the 30th of May, 1508, and as the sun slowly rose over the fields surrounding Castle Neuhausen, all natural light was suddenly snuffed out, replaced by a fell green-glowing skull in the sky providing the only light for the panicked revolting army. The moat surrounding the castle turned into a broiling lake of blood before their very eyes, whilst the castle's drawbridge opened seemingly by itself. The revolters turned to fight their enemy, but what they saw was not at all what they expected - the legions of the living dead. Zombified corpses clutched crude clubs and shambled forth, whilst beside them, the creaking of animated bones as skeletal figures took up rusted arms and donned tattered scraps of mail and cloth. At their head was a grotesquely-obese creature, sitting upon a defiled throne stinking of sewage and disease: the Graf had been turned into a near-amorphous blob of pustule-ridden flesh which belched forth its commands, whilst beneath the throne, a nude, spidery-limbed woman shrieked at their foe, seemingly piercing the very air around the revolting army and sending some mad there and then - Katarina's dear sweet mama, Anya von Rysech. The Luciferians had succeeded in their rituals, and the dead walked once more. Though their spirit was valiant, the revolting army had no chance. The living dead fell upon the revolting army as a pack of wolves would fall on an undefended flock of sheep, tearing and gnashing at those who dared stand in their way. Thousands of Prussians were ripped apart in gouts of bloodied gore as the living dead gorged themselves in an orgy of destruction and bloodshed, in the name of the Fallen Angel. The skull in the sky began to cackle; a horrific, grating cacophony of laughter mixed with human screams - the screams of the dying of Neuhausen. As the last few realised their dreadful mistake, they turned to flee, but the very earth itself seemed to turn against them - grass became deep mud beneath their feet, clinging to them like concrete, leaving them all but helpless against the overwhelming tide of the undead. Soon, the revolt had been slaughtered to a man. His raven servants providing sight for his obsidian scrying ball, Revinskas cackled with glee as his plan to corrupt the Count and Countess had at last come to pass. Katarina, for her part, impassively watched as generations of her subjects were slaughtered before her eyes, many by their own ancestors that they had not long buried. She stared at the carnage and slaughter, and barely even moved.
Revinskas began to spill the beans, so to speak... it was he who had rendered the Count all but impotent and feckless, and it was he who had been machinating behind the scenes to ensure the match between the Count and Countess, and the birth of Katarina. Then, he would fulminate rebellion and discontent amongst the peasantry, and then watch as the peasants turn upon the corrupted rulership, before unleashing his trap at Castle Neuhausen. Then, with the Count and Countess out of the way, he would marry Katarina and rule Neuhausen in their stead, promulgating a great demonic bloodline from whenceforth a new generation of the undead would rule, as in Romania... The last step in Revinskas' plan was the turning of Katarina herself. The Bloody Kiss was Revinskas' reward for her service and her studiousness, and he eagerly gave it, seeing that at last his prize was in his grasp... For three long, agonising days, Katarina slowly wasted away, her body unable to fight the vampirism wracking it from the inside, her immune system turning on itself and destroying that which it needed to continue functioning normally. Finally, on the third day, after hours of feverish sweats, blinding pain and uncontrollable spasms, Katarina von Rysech died, with a final, heart-wrenching scream. For a few nerve-wracking moments, it all hung in the balance. Was she strong enough to turn fully? Revinskas stepped forward with a black rapier in his hand, and Katarina opened her eyes, and smiled a rueful, fanged smile. The Red Countess was born from the death of the 16-year old girl. She sat up, and looked at her mentor, who nodded once and held out the sword. "My darling, this is for you." Taking it in both hands, she turned it over, chuckling to herself as Revinskas turned away to begin making plans.
"Revinskas, you old fool. My destiny is my own... I will not have some halfwit Lithuanian dictating to me what I will and will not do!" In less than a heartbeat, Katarina had taken the sword and plunged it into Vytautas Revinskas' back, piercing his old, blackened, corrupted heart. Wrenching his head back so she could whisper in his ear, Katarina laughed, a low, sultry, seductive laugh accompanied by a shake of the head. "My destiny is mine, do you hear me? Mine. Forever." And with that, she withdrew the sword. Vytautas Revinskas sank to his knees, his form slowly crumbling, flesh sloughing from bone as he was unable to maintain himself... and finally, he simply crumbled to dust.
"I am Katarina, Countess of Neuhausen. Though you sought to use me for your own ends, I will seek to continue your work. Perhaps you will find this sweet succour as your soul burns in Hell."
With Revinskas dead, the county of Neuhausen thoroughly under the control of Lucifer's cults and Katarina still in the Lithuanian hinterlands, the stage was set for another bloody and difficult conflict. The Luciferians refused to hand over power to Katarina after they discovered Revinskas' murder at her hands, and declared that she was apostate in the Luciferian Brotherhood; effectively casting her out and attempting to disavow her of any of her vampiric power under the rituals that Revinskas had performed. At the head of the Luciferian cults was a man named Stefan Grenzer, a man from Konigsberg who had been elected Arch-Priest of the Luciferian Brotherhood within Neuhausen and who now had the loyalty of supposedly all who followed him. However, Revinskas' spells were not infallible - Katarina knew how to counter them and how to gain control of the army of the dead that he had created at Castle Neuhausen, including the spells which he had placed upon her parents to corrupt them into their current forms. After slaying the Luciferians that had accompanied Revinskas to Lithuania, Katarina set out on the journey to return to East Prussia to reclaim her rightful lands, and destroy these arrogant believers. In truth, it was not Lucifer that Katarina followed; far from it, for Katarina had begun to question all religion and saw much of it as the root of the blasted world's problems (little did she know that 100 years later, the most terrible of European wars would prove her right) and so she dedicated her time to magic, rather than relying on boons from gods she neither knew nor cared for. Katarina reached the outskirts of Prussia in late November 1508, and could already feel the rotting canker at the heart of the Baltic Sea - Lucifer's roots had grown deep in the region, and his corruption was endemic. She would, somewhat reluctantly, have to purge it, lest the Holy Roman Emperor send his Imperial armies to cleanse the lands of heresy and witchcraft, as they had done so in Bohemia in the days of Jan Hus. Then all would be for naught, and the Red Countess would rule over nothing but her own coffin. Therefore, in great secrecy, Katarina returned to Neuhausen and hid, conducting several rituals that Revinskas had taught her in the deep dungeons of the castle, and subsequently taking over control of the army of the dead that her mentor had built for her, and disguise them as living troops. In addition to this, she sent missives to the Margraves of Pomerania and Brandenburg, begging them to help her against this new heresy that threatened the stability of Prussia and threatened to spill over into their own lands. Boguslaw X Gryf agreed to send an army to assist her, and in early 1510, Katarina revealed herself to the Luciferians, storming the nearby town of Neuhausen with her father and his army and slaughtering the local garrison and clergy. Reeling from the shock of her sudden re-appearance, Arch-Priest Grenzer rallied his allies and marched on Castle Neuhausen itself, seeking to cut off this new threat at the head, not counting on the intervention of Duke Boguslaw or the Pomeranian army, which invaded Prussia in April, meeting up with Katarina's forces in May. Later on that month, both the Prussians and Pomeranians marched on the Brotherhood's main base of operations: the castle of Osterode. The Luciferians and Prussian Alliance clashed outside Osterode on the 19th of May, 1510, with both Katarina and Stefan Grenzer present on the field. Grenzer's army of zealots and heretics tried to call upon the dark magics of Lucifer to aid them in the battle, but it was here where Katarina revealed one of her most potent weapons against divine warriors; with a gesture, she cut off the magical powers that Grenzer was summoning to support his allies, and rendered them vulnerable to attack. The Battle of Osterode was a crushing defeat for the Brotherhood - scattered to the winds, and with Grenzer dead, Katarina was able to solidify her hold over her new state with the aid of Boguslaw Gryf. The Pomeranians returned home with a nominal oath of fealty to Boguslaw from Katarina in their hands as recompense for his assistance, but it seems the message was never officially delivered to the Duke - a sore spot for many years to come, and something that would ultimately prove to be her downfall much later.
Though externally, Neuhausen seemed to be safe from any threats, internally, Katarina knew there was much to do. The Red Countess had not yet earned her name, and the Prussian nobility had not yet been made to know the glory of the Blood Kiss... throwing off the disguise of the living, Katarina revealed herself as her true form in 1512, when she re-invoked the old pacts that Revinskas had initially bound to Castle Neuhausen, transforming it from a once-noble fortification to a barracked charnel pit of death and fear - she invited all of the minor nobles and clergymen of her region to a great feast, and once they were inside, she ordered the doors sealed and allowed herself to feast and sate her lust on each one, implanting each with the Blood Kiss in turn. The Feast of the Nobles, as it became known, was Katarina's first true act as Vampire Countess of Neuhausen - she had bent the nobility and the clergymen to obey her every whim, and she sent them forth into the countryside to begin her grand plan of corruption, repression and fear. Slowly, the nobility began to corrupt the very essence of the earth itself, whilst Katarina relaxed in her throne room, supping from an ever-present glass of 'aged red' as she began to read through the ancient tomes that her agents had procured from the Luciferian Brotherhood and from heretical collections that had been condemned by the former clergy. When rumours of witchcraft began to leak out from Neuhausen into the surrounding regions, Katarina ordered her agents to hunt down and eliminate the spreaders, hoping to contain knowledge of the truth of the nobility to only those who were required to know - none could truly learn of the Red Countess and her extravagant manners. At the same time, Katarina began work on what would be her magnum opus of achievements - the construction of the Tower of Spires, a monolithic masterpiece of stone and Gothic architecture, as well as containing one of the largest collections of forbidden lore in Europe. The Tower's construction lasted from 1519 to 1560 (such was the complexity of its design and the difficulty of its building) and it replaced Castle Neuhausen as the centrepiece of Katarina's court. However, Katarina devoted less and less time to her courtiers, and more and more to her expanding library of forbidden knowledge and the arcane arts, in her quest to explore undeath and potentially free herself from the confines of blood and darkness, to spread her wings far and wide into new lands and new pastures.
TBD
Power Level: Low to Medium Ultra. Katarina once ruled the mightiest vampiric empire the Baltic had ever seen, and though it was lost to the Christian foes of the Holy Roman Empire, she aspires to see herself rise to such levels once more.
Powers:
- Knows English, German, Polish, French and (some) Russian - Can shift shapes from humanoid to beast (bat swarm) to monstrous (known as the Gheist) forms. - Superhuman strength. - Blinding speed and reflexes. - All of Katarina's abilities can be strengthened when she has fed from one of her unfortunate victims. - For spells and relics, see below.
You Will Serve Me in Death - Any vampire worth their salt can raise the dead. By drawing upon the powers of the necrotic winds about crematoria, graveyards and mortuaries, Katarina can impart unlife upon those thought lost to the world. From graveyards rise zombies and skeletons, from mortuaries zombies of superior quality, and from crematoria, spectral forms gather and take physical form, creating awful creatures such as wights, banshees or ghasts.
Chains of Mortality - Only useable on living targets, Katarina conjures a set of chains that anchor to the living being's soul and render them all but incapable of movement. These chains can be broken by divine or other holy magics, but are all but impervious to mundane attack.
Vigour Mortis - By drawing on local necromantic power, Katarina is able to grant increased strength and stamina, as well as agility to those she casts this spell upon. The targets, however, must either be undead or contain necromantic power of their own - normal humans or living beings cannot benefit from Vigour Mortis.
Die Glocke - The Bell is a haunting, chilling peal that inspires fear in Katarina's foes. At the sound of the Bell, the dead stir and rise, and the living find their life force sucked away from them, leeched in order to feed the restless dead. Those who fail to flee find themselves slowly zombifying, eventually to the point where they, too, fall under Katarina's command.
The Reaping - At Katarina's command, a huge two-bladed axe swings forth from nothing and slices clean through her foes. Mundane protection provides no defence - only the supernatural can defend against the axe's blades. It can be dodged by those with sufficient agility or speed, or precognition, but the aura of necrosis that accompanies the axe will nevertheless cause the constitutions of those nearby to suffer.
Hypnotic Gaze - The most common of Katarina's spells, Hypnotic Gaze is more of an ability than a spell. At Katarina's command, she can enthrall those who look into her eyes and compel them to do her bidding for a short amount of time. Hypnotic Gaze becomes easier to resist the more one is affected by it, until eventually only the next spell will be of any use when attempting to force someone to do Katarina's will.
Mind War - Similar to Hypnotic Gaze, only much more powerful. Katarina's very spirit reaches out and takes hold of the sanity of the afflicted, crushing it utterly with visions of death and decay, and leaving the unfortunate victim open to any and every command that Katarina issues. Sadly, those who are affected by Mind War are left as gibbering, half-sane wrecks, their ability to comprehend reality permanently broken by Katarina's spellcraft, and only able to take commands from her.
Skullstorm - A roiling thunderstorm of pure necrotic energy, Skullstorm takes the form of sickly green clouds that coalesce into a tornado-like structure of screeching skull-like shapes that suck in and devour all life that happens to be nearby. Katarina and her allies are curiously immune to the effects of this spell, but those who are unlucky enough to be sucked into the howling morass find themselves torn limb from limb, as thousands of spectral green skulls sate their hunger on the flesh of those within. Death is almost certain.
Shadow Threads - Katarina can conjure clothes, items or other objects from pure darkness. These items behave exactly as if they were made from mundane materials, except for two things - first, they block all sight through them, even that of a magical nature. Second, the fabric is very resilient to mundane attacks, as even the strongest sword finds itself unable to cut through. This can be used as armour or as a shield by Katarina, and she often conjures shadow threads to protect herself from the sun.
Doom of Neuhausen - The Doom is Katarina's most powerful spell. It transforms whichever celestial body is in the sky into a huge, howling green skull. This skull vomits forth huge clouds of corruptive energy, blanketing the land in pure undeath, killing or withering anything and everything in its path. The very air is noxious to breathe, and those present hear nothing but the screams of the long-dead Prussians who died at Neuhausen Castle all those centuries before, and the cackling of Vytautas Revinskas as his blood-soaked minions drive the living before them like chattel. The Doom can even be harnessed to bring the skull to Earth in a final grotesque explosion of blood, charnel and undead flesh. Not even the holiest of magics can cleanse the corruption of the Doom, and Katarina is loath to use it.
An ancient tome from 1574-1589, when Katarina first began to write down her magical experiences and codify her spells and contagions into one text, the Liber Necronomica (literally 'Book of the Living Dead') is one of the primary tomes for any aspiring necromancer or elder vampire who has been unleashed on the world. Within its pages are countless rituals ranging from matters such as raising the dead, to turning those who have been bitten by a vampire into their willing servants, to creating plagues to visit upon the unfortunate human denizens of the Earth, to even creating necromantic constructs such as flesh golems, rot golems and so called 'Great Flies' - huge, pustule-ridden flying insects that spread death and disease wherever their cursed wings take them. The Liber Necronomica only currently exists in fragments, and it is Katarina's aim to ultimately restore the ancient book to its former glory, binding its knowledge once more in a single tome of pure undeath.
Fragments Known to Katarina:
Metamorphosis Vitreii - M. Vitreii is an infection that is intended to be used partially as a vector to generate dead to be used in necromantic magic, and partially as a way of making certain areas inhospitable so as to allow a Vampiric population to flourish - as M. Vitreii is necromantic in nature, it does not affect those without constitutions, such as the undead, constructs or those magically immune to necromancy by way of birth, race or enchantment. M. Vitreii is a very versatile disease, and can be tailored to target specific victims, or wreak wholesale general havoc upon a population. However, M. Vitreii is ultimately a disease that dies out over time, despite turning its victims into walking crystalline entities that spew forth clouds of spores that carry M. Vitreii over distances, and therefore is unsuitable for extended operations of biological warfare.
Thirst: A rapier forged from the coldest blackest iron-rich steel that one ever did see, Thirst was the sword that Vytautas Revinskas had commissioned for Katarina when she had finally succumbed to the Blood Kiss, and transformed into a vampire. Thirst is a truly evil weapon, for it gorges on the vitae of its victims to strengthen Katarina, whilst simultaneously acting as a conduit to gather necromantic energies from the surrounding areas to channel them into Kat's own reserves of magical energy. Thirst has claimed too many lives to count, spilled too much blood to be truly sated - the weapon is said to have a soul of its own, formed from the nameless, faceless hundreds slaughtered to quench the Red Countess' lust for power. It was the only relic to survive the Fall with Katarina, and she wields the horrific blade to this day.
The Ruby Chalice: A golden chalice studded with glowing rubies may not look hugely out of place in any castle, were it not for the contents. An ever-fresh supply of blood pools within the Ruby Chalice seemingly from nowhere, but the truth of the matter is perhaps darker than one may realise, for within the rubies of the Chalice are trapped the life-forces of Vytautas Revinskas, the Graf and Grafin von Rysech, and Katarina's first and only (so far) consort, Andreas von Rysech, a vampire she sired during the early years of her reign. By far the most heinous usage is that of Katarina's own parents - binding their vitae to eternal torment and damnation, caged within a ruby prison to feed their daughter's endless thirst for blood. The Ruby Chalice renders Katarina able to operate without feeding on humans - indeed, perhaps it strengthens her, for the rich supply of blood is of far superior quality than any mortal could hope to have achieved.
The Ring of Iron: A blackened, cold iron ring, with a single jet gemstone carved into the shape of a skull. The Ring of Iron is an unremarkable object, but one that pulses with great power - for the Ring of Iron forms part of Katarina's fallback defence should her magical ability be compromised. It forms a protective force field of unholy magics that turn aside all but the holiest and most blessed magics - only Sir Henri of the Order of the Grail has been able to penetrate the Ring of Iron's black sorcery. The source of the Ring's power lay in the Reservoir of the Tower, a structure built into the Tower of Spires during its construction, and which required the exsanguination of some 300 fully-grown humans to fill to its entirety. There, the Reservoir acted as a energy dam, coalescing raw necromantic energy from the surrounding areas and allowing it to be used piecemeal in the forging and construction of magical items and spells. The Reservoir was destroyed in the collapse of the Tower of Spires following Katarina's defeat in 1610, and the Ring, like all relics save for Thirst, was lost.
The Masque: The Masque was one of Katarina's most interesting and strangest accoutrements. The Masque itself appears to be a black iron theatre mask, similar in style to old thespian-style masks used in theatres across the world. The Masque's true purpose is actually as a perfect disguise - it transforms Katarina's physical appearance into an exact replica of any person that she wishes. The Masque in Katarina's reign allowed her to blend in with non-vampiric nobility and clergy in particular, for it also masks Katarina's vampiric energies. The Masque cannot be worn forever, though, for flaws eventually begin to appear in the Masque's illusions - no dream lasts forever. Eventually, the illusion fails, but this may take as long as two to three weeks, if not longer.
The Heart of Darkness: The Heart of Darkness is without doubt the most powerful of Katarina's relics and raiments crafted during her Red Reign. It is a jet-black scarab of unknown material, surrounded in gold, worn around the neck on a golden necklace. The Heart of Darkness is impervious to all known methods of damage, and confers a black sorcerous magic field that encases the wearer in a thin layer of shadow thread, which deflects almost all known forms of attack, save for perhaps the water of the Grail itself. In addition, the Heart of Darkness also acts as a soul trap for those slain by the wearer, vastly reducing the quantity of magical energy required to cast necromantic spells. The Heart of Darkness was manufactured in the last days of Katarina's reign, as a last-ditch weapon designed to turn the tide of the Great Crusade against Neuhausen, but alas, it failed. The Heart was lost, and was never seen again. But such was the complexity and resilience of its construction, that it is almost a certainty that it survives to this day.
Attributes (Select one at each category): As Katarina:
Height: Five feet and eleven inches. Weight: 148 pounds, or 67.1 kg. Strength Level: About 10 to 20 tons at maximum humanoid strength Speed/Reaction Timing Level: 100+ MPH at maximum reflexes Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: About 4 hours per feeding Agility: 15X Normal Intelligence: Not quite Genius, though she plays the long game... Fighting Skill: Mastered. The Red Countess is a vicious and powerful fighter, particularly with her rapier.
As the Gheist:
Height: Well over ten feet tall from feet to head, including wings possibly as many as 15 ft Weight: Unknown, possibly as much as two and half tons Strength Level: Between 70-80 tons comfortably Speed/Reaction Timing Level: 80-90 MPH Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: About 4 hours per feeding Agility: Slightly slower than humanoid, perhaps about 12-13X that of a human Intelligence: The Red Countess maintains her intelligence level, even as a Gheist. Fighting Skill: Mastered. Bestial, bloody and brutal, Katarina as a Gheist can rip through whole squads of men all by herself.
Resources: Limited at best currently. Katarina is slowly returning to power, and lacks much of her repertoire and her infrastructure, including her library of ancient tomes. Katarina currently has herself, her power and that's about it.
Weaknesses: Though a Vampire, Katarina is still susceptible to physical damage and if her mortal form is destroyed, she will flee back to Neuhausen as the proverbial mist to regenerate. Depending on her level of power, this can take any time between minutes and weeks, during which time she is still vulnerable to her coffin being attacked and destroyed, which will kill her. None but the most powerful gods can save her undead soul after that. Katarina is still vulnerable to the sun and will suffer very serious consequences in direct sunlight, though she can somewhat tolerate overcast conditions due to her power. Christians beware, however, for she is no stranger to the symbols of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Some say it is because of her Prussian heritage, others that even God has a plan in mind for her, others still that her latent atheism protects her, but whatever the reason, crosses and religious artefacts will not stop Katarina.
Supporting Characters:
- Lord Franz Siegfried Philipp Ludwig von Sigmaringen: Katarina's ally and vampire of Swabia. Franz Siegfried has been Katarina's constant companion since early in her reign, and accompanied her as she fled into the catacombs of the Tower of Spires. Weaker and bent to Katarina's will, Franz Siegfried is nevertheless a potent physical adversary in battle, though he lacks much of Katarina's power. Currently is unaware of Katarina's re-awakening.
- Chevalier Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne: The Great Enemy of Katarina and the Red Reign. Henri de la Tour d'Auvergne is a Knight of the Grail, a holy man dedicated to the defence of humanity against those who would seek to corrupt or destroy that which is God's most treasured creation. It was Henri who put paid to the Red Reign and Neuhausen itself in 1610, during the Prussian Crusade, leading a grand coalition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Duchy of Pomerania and the Habsburg state against Katarina with the intention of wiping out her vampiric empire once and for all. Though Katarina and Franz escaped death, Henri has vowed to not rest until they are brought down once and for all.
The Blood Kiss is the von Rysech terminology for their bite. Anathema to mortality, the Blood Kiss can be utilised in several ways.
The primary, and most commonly thought of, method is the Transformation - the vampire injects the victim with a tiny quantity of their own blood through their fangs, which causes a devastating blood disease which invariably kills the victim, allowing their full transformation into a true vampire - how Katarina was turned.
For those the vampire wishes to keep around as slaves, the Blood Kiss is a simple bite. With the bite, the vampire casts a spell upon the victim, which enslaves and breaks the victim's will and allows the vampire to use the victim as a mobile blood bank, or vampire cattle, if one uses the definition from The Elder Scrolls. However, the Blood Kiss nevertheless slowly corrupts the victim over time, and eventually transforms the victim into something known as an 'Empty' - a hollow corpse that is almost akin to a zombie, only much faster and more bestial.
A third way is the manner that Franz was turned, in that the vampire's bite causes limited vampirism from the vampire's saliva. This creates a creature known to the von Rysechs as a 'Servant of Darkness' - neither human nor vampire. Blessed with the lesser powers common to all vampires, and yet still eligible for feeding, the Servants of Darkness are the von Rysechs' primary agents in the field. They require human blood for true sustenance, though they are capable of limited sustenance from mortal foodstuffs or animal blood.
24 years old. British/Scottish. Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fighty Studies. Studying MA in Second World War Studies. Wargamer. Submariner in another life.
<div style="white-space:pre-wrap;">24 years old. British/Scottish. Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Fighty Studies. Studying MA in Second World War Studies. Wargamer. Submariner in another life.<br><br></div>
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