Nadya Catrina Zarate

From Brass Goggles

Name: Nadya Catrina Zarate
Age: 20
Nationality: Spanish
Physical: There is something decidedly feline about Nadya’s physique. She is fit, though perhaps a tad on the scrawny side, and well toned in muscle. Her skin is a dark shade of caramel due to Hispanic heritage and a fondness for the sun, though her eyes are green and a testament to her father’s Irish roots. Her hair is dark, and tied into dozens of curling dreadlocks for ease of care. Her typical ensemble, prior to joining the crew, consisted of dark coloured, revealing dresses with tight-laced corsets, and the occasional feather or pearl beading in her hair. One thing she consistently wears, is the clockwork choker which she lifted during her first thievery. After joining the crew, she adopted a more conservative style of dress and pants, though she can still slip back in to her more.. racy ensembles when it can aid in negotiations.

Profession: Former: Thief, dancer, guard, fighter, mercenary, prostitute Current: Traveler, to be decided

Biography: Born on the road in a caravan in southern Spain, Nadya Catrina Zarate spent the first fifteen years of her life traveling with her parents and the rest of their caravan throughout most of northern Europe, never staying in one location longer than a few months. The life of a gypsy was all she knew before her parents’ death in a raid by religious zealots, who lit the caravan aflame in Italy. Barely escaping with her life, Nadya relocated to London, where she used skills she had acquired over her youth to do a variety of odd jobs. Weapons handling, dancing, fortune telling, sneaking and spying, thievery— if she could be hired for it, she would do it.

She had been about seventeen when she had been scouted for Madame Hyacinth’s Brothel and Cardhouse. A clever girl, she spent the first year of her service dancing for patrons before realizing she could live a much more comfortable life performing the services available in the back rooms, then using her skill at cards to double the salary. And so, at eighteen she became a prostitute. Hyacinth’s was a clean place, no man of dubious character had even been allowed on to the premises, and before long she learned to enjoy her work. It helped that she had a unique talent, which allowed her to escape more treacherous situations.

Nadya was a World Walker, as her ancestors would have called it. She personally chose to refer to her skill as Interdimensional Displacement, but the concept was the same. For centuries, certain members of her lineage had received the ability to walk through the veils separating dimensions. With simply a change of will, she could slip out of this world and in to the next, with no more effort than an average person would need to push open a door. Thusly, whenever she found herself in a pinch, she would often slip in to the aether separating universes, and wait for the trouble to pass. Her ability was an escape, but she had seldom explored the extent of her powers.

Perhaps it was fear that barred her, perhaps it was common sense, but she had never pushed farther than a few dimensions in any direction. With the sudden death of Madame Hyacinth though, and the passing of the establishment on to her less-than-trustworthy son, the vague interest in exploration had been increasingly becoming necessity. Seedier men were being allowed to visit the back room. Violent men as well. One night, when a particularly… rough… character decided Nadya was in need of “punishing” for her sins, she left her world behind, and was dislocated with a loud crash against assorted metal barrels stocked in a small room within the upper levels of what she would later learn was the St. Elmo, wearing scant but a half-lace corset, a chocolate brown chemise, and a clockwork choker; feathers in her hair, her revolver in hand, knives concealed in various places. Though a small window at her side, she saw a world run on steam— quite different from her own gas and electricity, and thus her adventure began.

Plotlines:

• Romantically involved with Madame Hyacinth Arachne, emotionally involved with Commodore Jaisen Dreyfuss
• Her ability to interdimensionally displace, originally a secret, has become common knowledge through gossip, though she still assumes it is a secret
• Received injury twice during current story, first in an airship's wreckage, second in an attempted assassination via bombing. The second event caused scarring on her shoulderblades.
• Presumed-dead sister of Nicolae Ion Zarate and Emilian Luca Zarate, who reunite with her upon a dimension jump back to her home dimension