[Guancyto]

This continues to be a sheet!

Ragara Besi, Fire Aspect Terrestrial

Spoiler

Name: Ragara Besi
Exalt Type and Caste Fire-Aspect Terrestrial Exalted

Motivation: Burn brighter.

Snippets

Spoiler

A random bunch of snippets, because that's what I had. Not in chronological order.

Spoiler

The sorcerer Ragara Seyer had always sought after power; to see his enemies driven before him, to see the lost secrets of the past fall under his command, and to demonstrate that he alone could master forces that his fellows scarcely dreamed of.

At least, that was the idea. This time, he felt like he was in a little bit over his head. It was hard to see with all the sand everywhere, gleaming with a light that reflected no sun. He thought to hope for some wind, to cool his face, but instinctively recoiled from the idea. Wind was death in this realm, he knew without even being told.

And a voice, sensuous and seductive, whispered in his ear with silver promises.

Ragara Seyer disappeared for twenty-three days in that particular incident. If that was all that had happened, no one would have thought twice about it. Sorcerers disappeared on their own expeditions all the time. This time, however, he came home carrying a child, a quiet little thing with bright red hair - and grey eyes flecked with silver.

Spoiler

"Who said that?!"

Magistrate Apagoa had always been a proud man. Lean, greying and a bit sunken in features, he had been a tireless servant of the Empress all his life.
He had dealt with commoners, nobles and Dynasts alike in pursuit of his own particular justice, and now that the Empress was long gone, wouldn't take
anything from anyone.

So when someone dared accuse him of corruption at one of his own proceedings, he was right to be offended. He wouldn't have been angered exactly, but the description was particularly lurid. And had details.

The voice came again. Oh, he had been blackmailed before, but this was just amateur hack-work. Very incorrect details. He fumed, looking to the crowd of commoners that he had come to pronounce sentence upon - he had always preferred a personal touch. They all looked incredibly confused, and a little bit afraid. That was good.

"It seems you are harboring a dangerous criminal," he continued, his rage twisting to spite, "if he does not give himself up, this entire village will be disenfranchised." Of course, he had been planning on doing that anyway - they were sitting on valuable land that he'd wind up giving one of the Houses an excellent price for. Now they were afraid. Except for the one in the very middle of the crowd. Apagoa smiled to himself and motioned to his guards.

The one - short, and although covered by hat and cloak, not very large - was quickly surrounded by armed men as the rest of the rabble scrambled away from the confrontation. "Do you have a name, child?" The magistrate raised his hand. When he lowered it, the rabblerouser would be awash in steel. No one here would dare speak of what happened, and who would believe them anyway?

There was a tiny scratching sound from the figure. Apagoa cupped a hand around his ear, "what was that?"

And that voice, a tiny whisper like a thousand silver slivers, "I have no name to give to one such as you."

The hat flew, and bright red hair flowed free. The cloak flew, and fire started to sweep unbound. The peasants, who had been smart enough to get clear of what was going to be a very bloody confrontation, looked on in awe. A Dragon-Blood, here, now? They hadn't seen one in...

And that very old servant of the Empress had nearly enough time to soil himself before a winged comet was upon him.

He awoke very surprised to not be dead. Had it just been a dream, had he simply imagined it? A quick look at his surroundings disavowed him of this notion; a very quick smell at his surroundings even moreso. Unless he was in the habit of surrounding himself with chattel, half-naked and behind bars...

A quick chat with one of the guards would be able to get him out - he had enough to promise anyone anything they could ever dream of. Then he caught sight of himself in the puddle of water congealing on the floor of his cell, and more specifically, the pattern of bruises on his chest.

It read, "strong delusions; patient believes himself to be a Magistrate, and sometimes the Empress. Do not indulge these fantasies."

****.

Spoiler

"Ragara Besi."

It wasn't a question. Although she was only eight, she could tell from his tone.

"Why did you kill them?"

It was barely a question. He had already made up his mind, so she might as well say something that would surprise him.

"I didn't want to."

There it was, the look on a man's face when he reconsiders everything he's decided to do. A new Dragon-Blood and six charred bodies, nobody was going to really wonder what went on. Except her, it seemed.

There he was, carefully thinking about it.

"If I could teach you how to avoid it, would you learn?"

Now it was her turn to be surprised.

"You can do that?"

The man leaned on his staff, his bright yellow hair sparkling in the sun. He didn't look more than ten summers older than her.

"Young lady, you'd be surprised," he said.

Spoiler

She lit the candle, the tiny speck of flame illuminating the quiet room. She was supposed to meditate.

A whisper on the wind. "All you love will come to ruin."

She knew what it meant, just as she had every time it wended its way to her ears. But it didn't matter. It wasn't that the voice didn't matter: even if what it had said was true, it wouldn't have mattered.

Contemplating the candle, she could have snuffed it, of course. It would persist forever, preserved, unchanged. To burn brighter was to burn shorter. To keep it whole was to extinguish it forever.

That was the night she burned down the dojo, to see the beauty in what was transient.

Attributes

Physical

Strength ●●
Dexterity ●●●●●
Stamina ●●●●

Social

Charisma ●●●
Manipulation ●
Appearance ●●●

Mental

Perception ●●●●
Intelligence ●●●
Wits ●●

Abilities

Linguistics ●●●
Lore ●●●
[F]Occult ●●●● (Demons ●)
Stealth
Thrown

Awareness ●●●
Craft
[F]Integrity ●●●●● (Material Benefit ●●●)
Resistance ●●●
War ●●●● (As a Solo Unit ●●)

[C]Athletics ●●●●●
[C]Dodge ●●●●● (Unarmored ●●●)
[C]Melee ●
[C]Presence ●●●
[C]Socialize ●●●


Bureaucracy ●
Investigation
Larceny
[F]Martial Arts ●●●●● (Crane Style ●●●)
Sail

Archery ●
Medicine
Performance ●
Ride ●
Survival

Backgrounds

Artifact ●●●● (Mantis Claws, Hearthstone Bracers, Silken Armor, Hearthstone Amulet)

Breeding ●●●●●
Whoever Besi's secret mother is, she must have been exceptionally powerful - she's got substantially purer blood than her father does. Is that even supposed to be possible?

+5 Personal Essence
+9 Peripheral Essence
-2 to mote cost of anima banner
+2 on roll to see if child Exalts

Manse ●●●
The Rose Labyrinth, a Wood-aspected manse; a hedge maze that continually reformats itself with thorny walls, but provides everything that a prospective seeker could need to survive an aeon wandering lost. Provides a Stone of Resilient Bamboo.

The Cavern Behind the Waterfall, a Water-aspected manse which is, unsurprisingly, a cavern behind a waterfall. It boasts a library on a number of subjects; however, all books are curiously hidden in conspicuous wooden chests throughout the manse that make a peculiar sound when opened. Provides a Kata-Sculping Gem.

Resources ●●
The coffers of House Ragara are boundless; she doesn't have much of a head for business but she's picked up a thing or two here and there. Literally.

Family ●●
Besides her father, the experienced sorcerer Ragara Seyer, Besi also has an aunt in the house Legions who maintains some fondness for her by the name of Ragara Iyu Jius.

Mentor ●●●
Jewel of the Summer, a Water-Aspected heretical martial artist and Besi's tutor in Crane Style. Where he learned it himself is another one of those secrets that people always keep from her.

The answer is probably Sidereals, because the answer is always Sidereals.

Artifacts and Equipment
Claws of the Mantis

Spoiler

This pair of jade hook daiklaves were made long ago, and could very well be considered to be the predecessor of the Flying Daiklave. Paired, but made of different Jade, one is associated with Earth and the other to Water.

These blades share a bond, and both blades benefit from the specialized treatment of black and white jade.

When used in combat, the wielder may throw both blades as one, and the blades are attracted to each other, attempting to strike one another. Such a throw may be done on any one target within (Essence x10) yards, but is resolved with Melee (or Martial Arts, as appropriate) as the subtle flows of essence from wielder to blades twitch them much like close combat.

Mechanically, each blade gets a single attack, subject to normal Charm usage. The blades working together provide a coordinated attack on the target, reducing his DV by 2 but dealing no onslaught. The blades return to the wielder's hands after an attack.

Sword Stats
Speed 4, Acc +2, Dam +6L/2, Defense +3, Rate 2, Th, O, *, Cost ●●●**, Attune 6**

*Add +1 to knockdown and stunning difficulty rolls.
**Cost and attunement is for the matched pair.

Jade bonuses have already been figured into the weapon. Each sword has the same stats. Paired, they are worth artifact 3. Apart, their resonance breaks down and each is only a standard short/hook daiklave, with it's particular treated jade bonus. For the white blade, remove 1 Damage and 2 Defense. For the black blade, remove 2 damage and the bonus to difficulty rolls.

Silken Armor
Soak 5L/3B, Attune 2
Does not count as armor, stacks with armor soak, cannot be detected as magical without essence-sensing charms

Jade Hearthstone Bracers
-1 to speed of attacks, +3 to dodge pool, hearthstone slot, attune 4

Jade Hearthstone Amulet
1 extra mote/hour respiration, attune 1

Charms

Resistance
Ox-Body Resistance x2

Integrity
First Integrity Excellency

Awareness
First Awareness Excellency

Dodge
First Dodge Excellency

War
First War Excellency

Martial Arts
First Martial Arts Excellency

Terrestrial Initiation
Pasiap's Humility
Moment of Danaa'd

Crane Style
Fluttering Cry of Warning
Empowering Justice Redirection
Crane Form
Humbling Enlightenment Commentary
Kindly Sifu's Quill
Crossed Wings Denial
Beak Spears Frog

Join Combat: 5

Defenses
Dodge DV: 10
Parry DV: 8

Soak: 7B/9L/5A

Hardness:

Health
-0 [ ]
-1 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
-2 [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
-4 [ ]
-X [ ]

Mental Defenses
Dodge MDV: 9
Parry MDV (Charisma+Presence): 3

Virtues
Compassion ●●●●●
Conviction ●●●
Temperance ●
Valor ●●●●

Intimacies
Ragara Seyer (Filial Duty)
The Realm (Curious Loyalty)
The Empress (Inability to Remember Why She's Important, No Matter How Many Times She's Told)
Music (Fascination)

Willpower: ●●●●● ●●●●●

Essence
Permanent: ●●●
Personal: 16/18 (0 Committed)
Peripheral: 27/40 (13 Committed)

Bonus Points 30/30
5 on Willpower
10 on Favored Abilities
4 on Virtues
4 on Breeding 3 to 5
1 on Family 1 to 2
2 on Artifact 3 to 4
4 on Favored Specialties

Experience Points 0/0