Kalz Rowei
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[edit] Story
[edit] The Basics
Name: Kalz Rowei
Type: Solar
Caste/Aspect: Dawn
Concept: He Who Would Be King
Anima: An alpha wolf, lean and reserved, standing resolute as if surrounded by allies.
Motivation: Overthrow the Unconquered Sun and set aright the Celestial Bureaucracy.
[edit] Appearance
Most often adorned in his armor, Kalz strikes an imposing figure at a solid six feet of height in full gear. A full bodysuit frames a slightly smaller, sleeker form than most ashigaru or gunzosha soldiers, giving him a lean menace when standing among his more heavily-armored brethren. The helmet design is different from most Yoroi armor as well, with a retractable beak that contains a sensor suite, showing four gleaming red eyes to onlookers. That is, until the visor splits down the center and slides back, framing the face like a dragon's crest.
And the face beneath is first noticable by its youth. Less than a year Exalted, and even then as a man not much more than a boy, Kalz has retained a soft, youthful face the color of milk chocolate. His eyes, once a soft green, were changed to red upon joining his former master's security forces, adding a slight harshness to a pretty man's visage. Straight black hair is kept back in a single braid, well-groomed and professional. His expression defaults to a slight smile, but of late the humor seems lacking. If anything, his red eyes look tired, a stark contrast to the unexpected face behind the imposing masked helm.
[edit] History
[edit] Peaceful Days and Bedtime Stories
Kalz Rowei was a nobody kid of a nobody ashigaru soldier of the same name who died in a nameless conflict of the Usurpation. Only his older sister Azai was left to look after him, and together they managed tolerably well in the Little Chiaroscuro district of Meru. Such was his life that Kalz had no idea as to the nature of even the rest of Meru until much later in his life. To him, there was only their tenement, his sister, and his father's armor. His sister worked in a Southern clothing shop, with ambitions to own it by effort or marriage before she was through, but the odds seemed slim of that ever coming to pass.
Kalz' fondest memories are of the stories his sister would tell him as they sat in the sill of their one large window, watching the starlight glint off of the eternal glass palaces of the district. She would tell him about stories of the Exalted, of the amazing things they'd done and could do, and that the best part - the very best part - is that they could come from anywhere. Her favorite story was the Tale of the Gunzosha Soldier, a romance about a Sun-Chosen and his Lunar, meeting and exalting on different sides of the battlefield. Azai was an epic storyteller, and not just by mortal standards. If Kalz could remember it all, he'd have volumes of grand adventures of honor, duty, and love, and to this day they fill his head and his heart with romantic ideals.
[edit] Eager to Rise, Quick to Fall
Upon turning sixteen, Kalz immediately sought out a way to break himself from the crowd. The hope and splendor of the Solar Deliberative was gone - replaced with a tense air and a certain, stable grip. Kalz felt like becoming something more was growing farther and farther away. He'd heard tales of rebels, but they seemed so far from him, out of reach. And so he acted out, started fights he couldn't finish, and made a general fool of himself. His life may have ended much earlier if it were any other Dragon-Blooded than Kahar Valfi who he called a "gutless sellsword kingslayer." To his credit, Valfi only broke three of his fingers.
The next day, Valfi nearly tripped over Kalz, bowing low at the Terrestrial's doorway. Valfi, being a reasonable sort, simply stepped over him and went to his work for his masters in the Regime. This process went on for nearly two weeks, and it wasn't the tenacity of the boy that convinced him to recommend him to his true master's growing ashigaru forces...it was the way he argued with his sister nearly every night, talking about "what a man is supposed to do!" and "returning a favor in kind!"
The next day Valfi beat Kalz within an inch of his life, and drug him bodily to his master's compound, well-hidden in the ruins of broken and impossibly sharp glass - an ashigaru would have to learn to take a beating and be forgotten soon after. And it wouldn't be the first such lesson he would be taught, no, not by far. The Rebellion would have need of brave young boys.
[edit] Betrayal and Loyalty
Arza Redeye was a powerful Lawgiver and a surviving student of the legendary Righteous Devil. Many whispered that the man would start his own tradition to rival his masters, based on his storied deeds and his dedication to the purity of the Realm above all else. And then the Realm fell. Arza fought on from the shadows, appearing like a ghost to assassinate a corrupt official here, destroy a rogue demon there. He painted himself as much the purifying hero, a symbol of the true ideals of the fallen Deliberative.
The surface picture can be deceptive, however, and within his compound, harshness and suspicion ruled. Kalz, upon being accepted as an ashigaru, was given the same "benediction" that all of Arza's personal guard received - The Kiss of Maiden on the Shelf. This alteration strengthened the boy's resolve past its limit, but at the cost of a bit of his heart. His eyes, once a friendly green, were transformed into a deep red, and his constant letters home to Azai petered, and finally stopped.
Around him, he saw the breakdown. After nearly every mission, more experienced gunzosha and whole units of ashigaru were either disbanded or punished under claims of treason or given up for momentary gains. No one met Arza Redeye's exacting standards, and no one held his trust truly. Not his commander, Valfi. Not his double agent, his Lunar mate. Some dared to whisper, not even himself.
When the first rumors of betrayal reached the compound, it was scarcely believed. Arza himself found it to be laughable - his control was total, his men's loyalty absolute. When the compound was struck with weaponry capable of further shattering the invincible Chiaroscuran glass, the chaos was near-total. As men rallied to Arza's side, they found only his hateful red eyes and the end of his firewand. The vast majority of his forces were eradicated by his own hand, with cries of 'traitor' and 'spy' on the Solar's lips. Taking his youngest ashigaru as the only "untainted" men left to him, he moved forward with an escape plan.
Cornered upon arriving at the southern shore of the Isle, the unit prepared to stand, fight, and die for their master. They were deeply shocked and surprised when they were ordered to stand and fight as Arza fled, commanded by powerful Essence to die there "like the animal traitors they were". And yet they had little choice. They stood and they fought, against only a small portion of a force of Dragon-led Usurpers. Their numbers crumbled quickly, even bolstered as they were by the fleeting Essence of their master. And yet, their desperate stand is what truly saved their lives. Rising from the southern sea, a great presence burst forth and fell upon Arza Redeye in a,blinding frenzy of violence - his Mate, along with more Usurpers. The soldiers facing Valfi and his remaining troops broke off, leaving them to stand by their orders and watch their master fade further into the distance. The proof of Arza's death came in a sudden, burning conflagration that smote the very sea...followed by the weak cries of returning, wounded Terrestrials, pulling themselves to shore to clean up one last loose end - the surviving Flame-Flicker Wolves
[edit] Awakening and Resolution
Kalz was devastated. In one maddening night, he saw his home cracked and broken, his faith rewarded with spite, and his hero shown to be craven, mad, and utterly shameless.
It broke his heart, but something else set it into a new mold: Kalz Rowei was angry. And while the others stood and faced the North, listening to the crunch of death's approaching boots, Kalz turned around. To everyone's surprise, light began to shine from his cracked and bloodied helm, and his unit found their feet again. Kalz doesn't remember the battle that followed, but Valfi and the others have told him what he said at that moment.
"I refuse. I refuse this night. Refuse this order. Refuse to die...I refuse to let it end this way! This madness, this shame in my heart...I reject it all!"
Only Kalz, Valfi, and five others survived the second battle on that shoreline, as far as any of them are aware. Only Valfi's strong hand kept Kalz from turning right back around to charge into Meru in a maddened rage. Instead, Valfi gave him his armor and took him as a son. And by Valfi's insistence, the Flame-Flicker Wolves fell under his command as he returned to embrace his Regime brothers as one of their own, disgusted now that he was "free" of his master's "influence".
Kahar Valfi was a survivor, after all, and a vicious infighter when he needed to be.
For now, Kalz waits and trains with the few people he has left to trust. His sister dissappeared in the chaos, likely dead. Only the Wolves remained. But more than anything else, Kalz feels a dread in his heart. This is not the way the world is supposed to go. Hazy memories of Arza, his breakdown, his realization of being forsaken by the Sun...it haunts Kalz' dreams. And for now, he's made a decision. If the whole world has gone wrong, it has to be corrected from the top.
Kalz Rowei intends to turn the Sun around, by spear and strength if necessary. Corruption begins from the head, and he refuses to be the same kind of Exalted that failed Meru more than once, like Arza had. He won't accept the new world into his heart, either. To do so would be to give up on the bedtime stories of a better world. Without those, he would just become another Arza, distant and hollow.
[edit] Attributes
| Strength | OOOOO | Charisma | OOO | Perception | OO |
| Dexterity | OOOO | Manipulation | OOO | Intelligence | OO |
| Stamina | OO | Appearance | OOO | Wits | OOO |
[edit] Abilities
| Dawn | Zenith | Twilight | |||
| Archery | OO | Integrity | OOOO | Crafts | |
| Martial Arts | OOOO | Performance | OO | Investigation | |
| Melee | OOOO | Presence | OOO | Lore | O |
| Thrown | | Resistance | O | Medicine | O |
| War | OOO | Survival | O | Occult | |
| Night | Eclipse | Specialties | |||
| Athletics | O | Bureaucracy | O | Spears (Melee) | OO |
| Awareness | O | Linguistics | OO | ||
| Dodge | O | Ride | |||
| Larceny | | Sail | |||
| Stealth | | Socialize | OO | ||
[edit] Charms
[edit] Martial Arts
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[edit] Integrity
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[edit] Advantages
[edit] Backgrounds
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[edit] EssenceEssence: 3 Personal: 15 Peripheral: 30 Committed: 8 [edit] VirtuesCompassion: OO Conviction: OOOO Temperance: OO Valor: OOO Willpower: 8 Virtue Flaw: TBD Limit: /10 |
[edit] Other TraitsHealth: -0/-1x3/-2x4/-4/Incap Soak: 8L/11B, Hardness: 3L/3B Dodge DV: 4 Mental Dodge: 7 [edit] Intimacies
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[edit] Finer Details
[edit] Backgrounds - Expanded
[edit] Yoroi Rapid-Response Armor
[edit] Traits
| Soak | Hard | Mob | Fat | Comm |
| +7L/+8B | 3L/3B | -0 | 1 | 6 |
Sensory Augmentation Visor: +2 bonus to awareness, negates all darkness
penalties less than pitch-black
Adaptive Camoflague System: +2/+3 stationary bonus to Stealth, may alter colors to match other units
Exomuscular Fibers: +1 bonus to STrength for feats of strength and inflicting damage with attacks
Peripatetic Greaves: +3 yards per tick to move actions, +6 yards/tick to dash; 10mph march rate
[edit] Description
Emblazoned on the breast with the mark of the Flame-Flicker Wolves Talon when in default mode, this Yoroi armor remains in immaculate condition without upkeep, though Kalz still polishes it by hand when thinking. Its default coloration is a deep crimson about the shoulders, chest plates, gauntlets, and greaves, with a simple golden underlay - not as deeply-shone as orichalcum, of course.
Its current configuration is a Western Black-Blue with gray underweave, its standard stealth configuration.
[edit] Fire Lance
[edit] Traits
Spear
| Speed | Accuracy | Damage | Defense | Rate | Attune | Tags |
| 5 | +1 (11) | +4/7L(+10/13) or +8/11L(+14/17) | +2 (6) | 2 | 2 | 2, L, R |
Streamer - 2m
| Speed | Accuracy | Damage | Range | Rate | Attune | Tags |
| 5 | +2 (8) | 10L | 150 | 2 | 2 | 2, F |
Fire Fan - 5m
| Speed | Accuracy | Damage | Range | Rate | Attune | Tags |
| 5 | +5 (11) | 7L | 100* | 1 | 2 | 2, F |
- Can target up to 3 targets within 3 yards of each other
[edit] Description
While uniform in general appearance, an etching of a wolf's head appears on each petal of the weapon's bulbous spearhead. A gift from the Dragon-Blooded who once commanded him, Kalz considers it a mark of his responsibility to do something of merit with the power he's been granted.
[edit] Ally - Kahar Valfi
Originally from the South, this former Outcaste was known in those days as an honorable bandit by the name of the Flame-Flicker Wolf. His criminal enterprise caused little harm to any who could ill afford the loss of their supplies, and he kept many of the disenfranchised, forgotten, or defiant of the Southern Realm well-fed...that is, until he came to cross blades with a Chosen of the Sun, Arza Redeye. He was spared, in exchange for an oath of service, and in those early days, he believes his master would do no wrong, could do no wrong.
He soom came to see otherwise, as suspicion and brutality became occasional traits, then hallmarks of his master's judgment regarding his own men. Unit after unit of ashigaru were raised to assist him in his administration, and time and time again, they would be found wanting and worse fates would befall them. Valfi named his latest unit the Flame-Flicker Wolves to try to shake some sort of response out of his master. If there was a reaction, he heard nothing. He was no longer called to his master's war room nor his chambers, and it marred him. But even then, when talk of revolution started in whispers, he remained steadfast.
The final betrayal by his master was the desertion of the Flame-Flicker Wolves as traitors, even as they stood to die for him on a sand-blasted scrub of a battlefield. In that moment, he would have killed his master himself had the Usurpers not simply sidestepped or butchered most of his men. When the stragglers and survivors of that battle came to finish the Wolves, his mind was made up. He would see no more young people sacrificed. And the youngest of them stood shoulder-to-shoulder with him as the Exalted came for them. Together, they succeeded...and to his shock, the young boy he'd chosen on potential rather than talent Exalted with his master's mark.
He has sworn to see things done correctly this time, and will stand with Kalz until such time as he proves wanting. Should that occur...who can say what the Flame-Flicker Wolf may do.
Skills: Warfare, organization, trained gunzosha and trainer of ashigaru, student of the Crimson Pentacle Blade Style of martial arts.
[edit] Followers or Henchmen - The Flame-Flicker Wolves
The few survivors of Azar Redeye's final breakdown, a mixed band of men and women who have thrown their lot in with Valfi and Kalz until the end. Ranging from the idealist to the fatalist, they all have their reasons to want a world that won't cast them aside again so easily. And they all bear a pain in their hearts still at the loss of their former master...lingering remnants of false love and webs of control, some of which vaguely pull them more strongly still towards Kalz' leadership.
[edit] Experience
[edit] Character Art
