Basic Character Information
Name: Yamika Arali
Caste: Eclipse
Concept: Diplomat of the Dual Monarchs
Motivation: Locate the Mantle of Soot
Anima: A golden woman and a silver skeleton holding each other lovingly
Attributes and Abilities
Physical: Strength 1, Dexterity 4, Stamina 2
Social: Charisma 3, Manipulation 3, Appearance 3
Mental: Perception 4, Intelligence 4, Wits 3
CASTE
Bureaucracy 3
Linguistics 2 (Old Realm; High Realm, Riverspeak)
Ride 1
Socialize 3
FAVORED
Martial Arts 4
Larceny 3
Performance 3 (Prayer +2)
Lore 3
Occult 3
OTHER
Athletics 2
Awareness 3
Dodge 2
Integrity 1
Presence 2
Resistance 2
Advantages
Backgrounds
Patron 2 (Necromancy 1, Backing (CotDM) 1, Underworld Cult 2, Manse 2)
Artifact 3 (Soulsteel Dire Chain - Chains of the Monarchs; Green Jade Mask of Office)
Backing (Cult of the Dual Monarchy) 2
Manse 2 (Produces False Death Stone (OC pg 101); located in Dire Chain)
Necromancy 1
Underworld Cult 2 (Long-term exposure to Stygian prayers; position as Cleric)
Resources 1
Willpower, Virtues, and Intimacies
Willpower: 6
Virtues: Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 3, Valor 2
Intimacies: Yamika Family, Dual Monarchy, Mantle of Soot
Health and Essence
Health: -0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Incap, Dying, Dying, Dead
Essence: 3
Personal Essence Pool: 15/15
Peripheral Essence Pool: 29/37 (8 committed)
Experience:
Merits and Flaws
Deathwalker (4 pt Merit): Thanks to her long time spent in the Underworld (and being born there, besides), Arali walks in both worlds at once.
Diminished Hearing (2pt Flaw): While escaping from Wavecrest, an arrow struck her in the ear, causing her to lose hearing in that ear.
Easily Possessed (3pt Flaw): During her youth, her ancestors would often ride her to sample some small bit of Creation.
Known Anathema (2pt Flaw): Arali Exalted in the middle of a diplomatic mission in Wavecrest; she was able to make it back to Stygia, but the Hunt in the islands has been keeping an eye out for her since.
Sun-Seared (2pt Flaw): Her time in the Underworld has made her unused to the sun of Creation.
Artifact
Chain of the Monarchs
Level 2 Soulsteel Dire Chain
The soulsteel in this chain was made from a number of ghosts who made an attempt on Setesh's life soon after the Usurpation; it was gifted to the Yamika family by the Monarchs for their service protecting the Monarch. Now, the chain is in the hands of a Ghost-Blooded Scion of the family who recently Exalted as one of the Quicksilver Falcons. The links in the chain are engraved with the names of the family members which have wielded the chain, from Beron - the man who was first awarded the chain - to Arali, its current owner. The centermost chain is wide enough to hold a hearthstone if the wielder has one available.
Mask of the Emerald Cleric
Level 1 Green Jade Mask
The Clerics of the Cult of the Dual Monarchy are easy to spot, thanks to the masques that they wear. Each color stands for a different faction which a Cleric could be part of; green, in particular, marked one of the diplomats of the Cult. When worn, this mask allows its wearer to gauge the power of those whom she stands before; the user may use Aura-Reading Technique, even if they do not possess the Arcanos.
Manse
Yamika Family Home
Level: 2
Aspect: Abyssal
Location: West of Chiaroscuro
The Yamika family hails from the deserts outside of Chiaroscuro, and a number of the family (both living and dead) still live in the area. It is a well-built manor located in the center of a small shadowland, able to house about seventy-five people if needed. The hearthroom is in the center of the manse, in the family mausoleum. Atop the sarcophagos of Yamika Arabdhi, the founding father of the line, lies the formation point for the Manse's hearthstone.
It produces False Death Stone (OC pg 101), which grants a death-like state to the wearer for a short period of time. The stone is lent out to the living descendants of the family, as the dead have little use for it.
Aspects:
Attunement Recognition
Basic Senses
Cosmetic Displays
Shadowland
Bound Servitor Force (Many of the family members who are not in Stygia dwell in the manse, and are very protective of their ancestral home)
Combat
Defense Statistics
- Dodge: 3 (4-1)
- Parry: 5
- Mental Dodge: 5
- Mental Parry: 3
Soak
- Unarmored
- Standard: 2B/1L/0A
- Buff Jacket
- Standard: 6B/3L/3A
Combat Statistics
- Clinch
- Standard: Spd 6, Acc 8, Dmg 1B, Def 5, Rate 1
- Kick
- Standard: Spd 5, Acc 7, Dmg 4B, Def 3, Rate 2
- Punch
- Standard: Spd 5, Acc 8, Dmg 1B, Def 5, Rate 3
- Soulsteel Dire Chain
- Standard: Spd 5, Acc 9, Dmg 9B, Def 5, Rate 2
- Clinch: Spd 6, Acc 10, Dmg 7B, Def 4, Rate 1
Charms
- Athletics
- Graceful Crane Stance
- Larceny
- Second Excellency
- Martial Arts
- Second Excellency
- Occult
- Second Excellency
- Shadowland Circle Necromancy
- Performance
- Second Excellency
- Resistance
- Durability of Oak Meditation
- Socialize
- Mastery of Small Matters
- Arcanoi
- Aura-Reading Technique (from artifact)
- Necromancy
- Emperor's Chains
- Iron Countermagic
Personal Information
Appearance
Yamika Arali is a frail-looking girl, her ghostly ancestry evident in her lithe form, pale skin and dark black hair. Her eyes, although sunken in, are a lively dark blue, something like the desert sky at night. While doing her clerical duties, she wears black robes with green embroidery accenting it, snaking up the robes like smoke from an incense burner. Otherwise, she wears plain pants and blouses, almost with sensible shoes.
History
The Yamika family is well-known in both the living and dead in Creation. Among the denizens of Chiaroscuro, the Yamika thamaturges are often a god-send when the salt wards falter, and it is often to see the Tri-Khan speak with a member of the family when ghosts are concerned. Those who study the Byzantine political scene of Stygia know that the Yamika family has been held in high regard ever since a member of the family, one Yamika Beron, protected the Monarch Setesh from an assassination attempt just as the Usurpation kicked off in Creation above.
Into this family was born one Yamika Arali, the Ghost-Blooded daughter of this family hero and a Chiaroscuran woman. She was the apple of her father's eye, and once she was old enough she moved to Stygia to live with him there. As she grew up, she became first a worshiper of the Cult of the Dual Monarchy, then a cleric of the cult itself. Once she was accepted as a Cleric, her father commissioned a green jade mask to allow her to use some of the Arcanoi that is common within the Cult. She rose somewhat in the Cult, but her inability to fully tap into her natural Essence kept her from learning other Arcanoi, thus keeping her from moving farther.
She did make an excellent diplomat, however, and the Cult used her in situations when a full ghost would not be as welcomed. One incident such as this took place in Wavecrest when there was a problem between a small ghost family and a mortal family who wished to build on the land where the other's home still was. Arali spoke in front of Abalone's council with such eloquence that the Unconquered Sun took notice, and Exalted the girl on the spot. This, mind you, did not go particularly well. Arali quickly made her way back into the Underworld, Wyld Hunt on her heels.
She returned to her very surprised father, who spoke with the leaders of the Cult. After some deliberation, they agreed to have Arali continue her services as cleric and diplomat. After her 'reinstatement', she was granted an audience with the Monarchs themselves; they spoke for a short time, and Arali left the audience filled with a new passion. She spent some time to study Necromancy at the Raiton Academy; after doing her favor for the Academy, she retook the emerald mask of a Cleric. Ever since then, she has served diligently in both the lands of the living and the dead, all the time keeping an eye out for signs of the item that the Monarchs spoke to her of. She hasn't found it yet, but she won't give up the search.
ST Notes
- Arali is her father's most potent Fetter
- The item the Monarchs sent her to locate is the fabled Mantle of Soot, the Underworld reflection of the Mantle of Brigid. Their reasons for seeking the Mantle are unknown to Arali, however.
- There is another branch of the Yamika family that resides on the Blessed Isle. The Realm and Chiaroscuran branches have never gotten along well, and the tensions only grew after the Realm house allied itself with House Ledaal. These days, to even speak of one branch with members of the other will result in angry arguing.
