Diviner of the Final Thread

From Greenthings

Contents 1 Backstory 2 Description 3 The Basics 4 Abilities and Attributes 5 Backgrounds 5.1 Allies 2 5.2 Artifacts 5.3 Manse 2 5.4 Resources 1 5.5 Whispers 3 6 Merits and Flaws 6.1 Merits 6.2 Flaws 7 Willpower, Virtues and Intimacies 8 Essence and Health 9 Charms 9.1 Craft 9.2 Linguistics 9.3 Occult 9.4 Presence 9.5 Thrown 10 Thaumaturgy 10.1 Art of Astrology 10.2 Art of the Dead 11 Combat 11.1 Defense 11.2 Soak 11.3 Combat Statistics 12 Bonus Points and Experience Points

[edit] Backstory

Life was simple for Aran Softpaw. Born from a small enclave of fox beastmen who dwelled in the lands of Halta, his childhood was pleasant enough barring the occasional noise on the ground from the Fair Folk. He began working as a tailor in one of the smaller cities by his family’s home, becoming quite skilled at making needle and thread create wearable wonders. When he was twenty-five, he did his time in the commando units, favoring throwing weapons over those that required more face-to-face work. It was during one of these patrol runs that something…well, terrible occurred.

Stepping away to relieve himself during a patrol, he felt the presence of something odd farther into the woods. Curious, he went forward, his teammates’ movements having slipped from his mind completely. In the center of a clearing was a stone that hurt the eyes to look at, but he was drawn to it all the same. Cautiously, he placed a hand on the stone; an ice-cold pain shot through his entire body as horrible whispers filled his mind, overwhelming all other thoughts as he curled up on the ground, muscles spasms wracking his body as his body began to shut down. In the back of his mind, he heard a female voice. Your thread is unraveling, tailor, it said as his body grew numb. The whole world is unraveling, but I am in need of a skilled needleworker to keep the threads clean until they can be fully rewound. Will you aid me? With his last breath, Aran released a faint yes. In that moment, the Black Exaltation was upon him; those men who were in the forest that day still shiver at the thought of the scream that echoed through the trees.

The next thing that Aran could recall, he was being half-dragged into a group of buildings on the ground of the forest. He weakly protested, stating something about the fae. His bearer chuckled and stated that the fae didn’t dare com here. After being tossed unceremoniously into the main hall of the complex, he came face to face with the source of the voice: The Artisan of Little Deaths, a Deathlord who had claimed a corner of the Haltan underworld as her own. She looked him over, told something to her head surgeon and sent him to the infirmary to recover. After his training was complete, the fox beastman was taken to the Neverborn at the Mouth of Oblivion. As he offered his name to the dead Primordials, he spotted something: a small crack in one of the smaller cyst-tombs. His eyes opened wide as something pushed out…and once again, there was nothing.

Both the Neverborn and his liege were furious at the newly-titled Diviner for what he did at the Mouth that day, although he did not remember anything between seeing the crack and being back at the manse in the East three days later. He was beset by Resonance for some time, constantly feeling the Neverborn’s displeasure as they whispered low and horrible things into his mind. His liege, in a fit of pique, decided to turn the foolish Moonshadow into a mere plaything. The vitreous fluid was drained from the right eye and replaced with an alchemical concoction that turned it into a solid glassy mass, and the right side of his mouth was sown up into a smile. The same would have occurred on the left side, but the Artisan decided to wait, leaving the poor fox in a panic worrying about when he might lose his sight forever. He was also subjected to a painful surgery where two additional tails were grafted onto his body beside his natural tail.

If things had continued, the Diviner would most likely have become his liege’s favorite canvas for her newest designs, losing all sense of self under the layers of experiments and grafts. However, he was saved when a Wyld storm began pushing through the defenses of the manse complex. As the alarm sounded, the Moonshadow ran for his life as the guards were distracted by the encroaching fae. In time, he was able to find another shadowland and return to Creation. Exhausted, he slept in the branches of the first tree he could climb; while dreaming, he saw a golden-skinned man who said one simple but powerful phrase: “Prove your worth, and you will be mine once again.”

Ever since then, the Diviner has been searching for a way to prove himself in the eyes of the man in his dreams. He has wandered far from Halta, staying out of the territories of the other Deathlords as best as he can. He knows the Artisan’s men are searching for him, and that the Neverborn still show their displeasure. However, he now knows that redemption is possible; he merely needs to find the right way to cut his old threads and attach the new ones.

[edit] Description

The Diviner is a handsome enough fellow, although certain things do seem somewhat off about him. The most telling, of course, is that he is a beastman; well-cleaned silvery-gray fur covers his body, ending in a trio of tails with white-furred tips. His left eye is a shocking ice blue and is quite human, adding a bit of a surreal quality to him. His right eye, however, is sewn shut with thin soulsteel wire, while the right corner of his mouth is also bound into a permanent smirk by the same thread. He normally wears a patch to cover the right eye.

The Diviner wears simple robes that, if one looks at them closely under the right light, are embroidered with prayers to the dead. Although subtle, it allows him to move through Creation without raising the ire of the Neverborn too much. He carries no obvious weapons, although he is rarely found without a case made from wood of the Black Chase. Inside are his sewing tools, his marionettes and his other gear. A thin soulsteel bracelet and the soulsteel hearthstone amulet that sits under his clothing are the only true external clues to his state as a deathknight.

[edit] The Basics

Name: Diviner of the Final Thread
Caste: Moonshadow
Motivation: Redeem myself in the eyes of the Sun

[edit] Abilities and Attributes

Strength 2, Dexterity 3, Stamina 2
Charisma 4, Manipulation 4, Appearance 3
Perception 3, Intelligence 3, Wits 3

Caste: Linguistics 3 (Forrest; River, Old Realm, Sky), Ride 2, Socialize 3
Favored: Presence 3, Performance 3, Craft (Wood) 3, Occult 3, Lore 2
Other: Dodge 2, Integrity 2, Awareness 2, Thrown 3, MA 1, Stealth 1

[edit] Backgrounds

[edit] Allies 2

Lunar Mate: Not long after fleeing Halta, Diviner literally ran into a wandering apothecary by the name of Liana Greenleaf. Within moments, each recognized the other as their mate. Liana was at first horrified at the Diviner’s corruption, but he was able to convince her that he wished to find a way back into the light. The pair has travelled together since, causing Diviner no small amount of Resonance.

[edit] Artifacts

• Quicksilver Tails (level 2; 5m)
  • A pair of fox tails made of moonsilver and soulsteel threads which have been woven together, grafted onto Diviner’s body beside his own tail. Normally the same color as his natural tail, when activated the threads of metal flare out and wrap around the Moonshadow, creating something akin to lamellar armor. The armor lasts for a scene or until dispelled.
• Marionettes (level 2; 3m)
  • A pair of featureless marionettes made with a soulsteel frame and wood from the Black Chase, held to its controls by soulsteel threads. By designation a target and spending five motes, the owner of the marionettes causes them to act out one of the Intimacies of the target in question, offering insight into his or her character. If the owner later tries to erode that Intimacy, he gains +2 to the roll.
• Final Alteration (level 2; 5m)
  • A thin soulsteel bracelet which contains a spool of thin, near-transparent thread. The thread never runs out, allowing for all the alterations one could think of. If a quick weapon is needed, the owner can break off a piece of the thread and spend a mote; the thread stiffens, forming a throwing needle with the soulsteel ranged bonuses.
• Hearthstone Amulet (level 1; 1m)
  • A tangle of soulsteel threads forming a place to set the stone in the center

[edit] Manse 2

Aspect: Wood
Hearthstone: Opal of the Hunted (OC pg 99)
Powers: Attunement Recognition, Basic Senses, Cosmetic Displays; Bound Servitor (Wood Elemental), Wood Dragon’s Will

[edit] Resources 1

Diviner still has access to his small account with the Guild, granting him enough funds to get by in his travels.

[edit] Whispers 3

Due to the events of That Day, the Neverborn have a firm hold on the Diviner’s mind. He fights against them as best as he can, but has made very little progress.

[edit] Merits and Flaws

[edit] Merits

• Alternate Divination (Calendar of Setesh) (1M)
• Mutations: Enhanced Smell, Night Vision, Fangs, Claws, Fur (5M)

[edit] Flaws

• Amnesia (3F)
  • What occurred the day he gained his title has been completely erased from his mind…
• Diminished Sense (One Eye) (3F)
  • The Artisan's experiment did as advertised, turning his right eye into a glassy orb.
• Greater Curse (2F)
  • Diviner can sense the anger of the Neverborn acutely, and burns his Resonance often to reduce the likelihood of losing himself to the touch of Oblivion.
• Nightmares (2F)
  • …barring for the visions of terror that swirl through his mind as he sleeps.

[edit] Willpower, Virtues and Intimacies

Willpower 6
Virtues: Compassion 4, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, Valor 2 (Flawed)
Intimacies: Redemption (positive), Lunar Mate (positive), Neverborn (negative)

[edit] Essence and Health

Essence 3
15/15 Personal
20/34 Peripheral
14 Committed

Health 0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Dying, Dying, Dead

[edit] Charms

[edit] Craft

First Excellency
Fault-Finding Scrutiny

[edit] Linguistics

Blood Calligraphy Technique
Screaming in Silence

[edit] Occult

First Excellency

[edit] Presence

First Excellency
Sanity-Eroding Diatribe

[edit] Thrown

First Excellency
Improvised Assassin’s Trick
Burrowing Bone Maggot

[edit] Thaumaturgy

[edit] Art of Astrology

• Compile Chart (UW)
• Reactive Planning
• Lesser Divination
• Divination

[edit] Art of the Dead

• Pierce Shadowland
• Deathsight

[edit] Combat

[edit] Defense

• Dodge DV 4
• Parry DV 2
• Dodge MDV 6

[edit] Soak

• Unarmored: 2B/1L/0A
• Quicksilver Tails (Soak 9B/8L, Hardness 5B/5L): 11B/9L/8A

[edit] Combat Statistics

• Join Battle 5
• Clinch: Speed 6, Acc +0(4), Damage +0B(1B), Def -, Rate 1
• Kick: Speed 5, Acc +0(4), Damage +3B(4B), Def -2(PDV 2), Rate 2
• Punch: Speed 5, Acc +1(5), Damage +0B(1B), Def +2(PDV 4), Rate 3
• Soulsteel Throwing Needle: Speed 5 Acc +1(7) Damage 3L Rate 3 Range 10

[edit] Bonus Points and Experience Points

BP (25): Compassion 4 (3)
Whispers 3 (2)
Manse 2 (1)
Artifact 2 (2)
Artifact 2 (2)
Allies 1 (1)
Merits (6)
Performance 3(2)
Craft(Wood) 3 (1)
Presence 3 (1)
Thrown 3 (2)
Thaumaturgy Protocols (2)

XP:
8-25: 5 gained
9-2: 8 gained