Elizabeth 'Liz' Albrechts

AlphaOmega

Elizabeth 'Liz' Albrechts
Night Caste rebellious traceuse

The first impression one would get of Liz is one of boundless energy. Whether she is running, talking or even just sitting, she is always moving, literally or metaphorically. A young woman at 19 she is usually found wearing a dark red tank top, knee long sport pants and high quality running shoes. Her brown hair she keeps short and at the moment touched up with white highlights. In her brown eyes one can see the fire that is her nature, both warming and possibly destructive, as well as the curiosity that drives her to seek ever new experiences and challenges.

Motivation

To topple the thrones of the hidden tyrants keeping humanity in chains, starting with the Technocratic Union.

Nature: Thrillseeker (regains WP by throwing herself into a dangerous situation, then getting out of it)

Intimacies

I will never lose my freedom and submit to oppression!
If society labels us freaks for failing to follow their corrupt rules, we outsiders have to stick together.
I am not alone in this fight anymore, other Chosen, friends, stand with me against the darkness.
To see the people of Las Vegas safe from the horrors that assail them I will do everything in my power.
Troile and her servant Todd Brown will burn for the atrocities they have committed.
Dale Grimsby, fellow runner, friend, ... and more? (built 2/3)

Anima

Although Liz finds fame (or even infamy) not exactly unpleasant she rarely lets her anima show, afraid that this might bring about an entirely wrong sort of attention. After all she knows so little about what really moves the world. When her anima does show it is of a pale gold with a strong touch of deep purple reminiscent of the night sky just after sunset. It begins with sparks in the air around her that turn into a veritable storm of ethereal flames as Liz employs more and more of her power. In its totemic form her anima is a concealing cloak around Liz, hiding her features. Above her are displayed the sword and the scales, symbols of justice far older than the Roman goddess Justitia. In the Umbra her anima manifests in a slightly different way.

Attributes

PHYSICAL: Strength 4, Dexterity 5, Stamina 2
SOCIAL: Charisma 2, Manipulation 2, Appearance 3
MENTAL: Perception 4, Intelligence 2, Wits 3

Abilities

Caste Abilities

Athletics 5 (+1 Free running), Awareness 4, Dodge 5 (+1 Unarmored), Larceny 4, Stealth 2

Favored Abilities

Martial Arts 5 (+1 Unarmed, +1 Staff Weapons), Integrity 2, Presence 3, Resistance 1 (+2 Endurance), Investigation 4

Unfavored Abilities

Computer 1, Linguistics 1 (German, English)

Backgrounds

Face 2 -> Fame 1

Despite coming late to the Freerunning scene Liz has already made a name for herself. Her video clips are widely known on the internet, some even outside the parkour circles, and her blog is a permanent fixture of the community. She is known for coming out of the hardcore parkour field and gradually drifting closer to the free running philosophy of elegance and aesthetics over sheer efficiency as her abilities grew. In the last few months she has started to incorporate katas from her martial arts training into her jumps and movements making for some truly spectacular combinations. Some already call this a new direction or even a new level of free running while others have no mind for 'more fancy tricks'.

Resources 2 -> Resources 1

Some of Liz's money comes from a college savings account her parents set up for her some time ago - in theory she's studying history and sports at the university of Tübingen. The greater part however comes from her own diverse efforts: There's the modest advertising money from her website, her part of the internet business she helped a friend set up, the odd job as stunt double in art student movies and then there's her book. It's a collection of running reports, technique tips, aesthetic observations as well as strange anecdotes of encounters while running parkour, all mashed together in a gonzo journalist style. With her father's help (he runs a bookshop and knows the ways of the publishing industry) she managed to get a good editor and a house to publish it - and miraculously it sells! Not nearly well enough to live, alone it wouldn't even cover half the rent, but together with all the other small stuff it's enough to keep her afloat and even suffices for some small luxuries.

Having decided to bring down the Technocratic Union Liz no longer dares access her bank account, use credit cards, or any other method they could track. As a result she is limited to using whatever cash money she has on hand, can find or steal (from corporations and other faceless entities, not from people).

Contacts 3 -> Contacts 2

It's the wonder of the internet: You can have friends halfway around the world, talk to them every day and not even know their voice. Ask a question and among the replies will be posters of every age and origin, from the unemployed postman to the professor of Indology. Post a message on a community board and have a place to stay for a few days only an hour later. Through the tight community of free runners, parkour artists and Yamakasi aficionados world wide (not to mention the fan communities of small heavy metal bands, urban exploration fanatics or creative anarchists) Liz is sure to know someone just about everywhere. Here in Las Vegas she is friends with Dale Grimsby, a fellow free runner and one of the organizers of the Parkour Convention for which Liz came.

Being busy saving the world Liz hasn't had the time to keep up her contacts with people around the globe as much as she used to. Perhaps that is for the best anyway, since like Dale they might become targets of supernatural predators by associating with her.

Ally 1

Dale Grimsby, traceur, friend, vampire.

Artifact 2

Ever since she has learned to control her chi and use martial arts techniques beyond the mundane Liz has found herself recalling sights and scenes she has never experienced herself, of wielding paired swords of shining gold in battle against demons and other foes. Although Robert's klaive which he has so graciously allowed her to use is a powerful weapon Liz can't help but feel that something is missing, something beyond just a second blade for her off-hand. Uncertain whether they are true visions and memories of a past life or just fanciful fantasies and distracted by certain apocalyptic events Liz hasn't pursued the matter much ... but if they are real then she'd recognize those weapons anywhere, and there would be no others that could complement her style as well as they.

Charms

Athletics

2nd Athletics Excellency
Graceful Crane Stance (3m, perfect balance)
Lightning Speed (3m, add Ath to speed)
Monkey Leap Technique (3m, jump as move action and double jumping distance)

Dodge

Shadow Over Water (1m, dodge at full DV)
Seven Shadow Evasion (3m, perfect dodge unless it goes against her convictions; Upgrade: SSE counts as the same Charm as SoW as per GotMH)

Larceny

2nd Larceny Excellency
Perfect Impenetrable Disguise (7m, perfect illusionary disguise)

Investigation

2nd Investigation Excellency
Crafty Observation Method (5m, compress 15 minutes of detective work into a single action)

Martial Arts

3rd Martial Arts Excellency
Fire Dragon Style:

• Searing Flame Prana (3m, for five actions 2m to strike pressure points with fire essence, causing a -1 internal penalty due to the resulting pain)
• Perfect Blazing Blow (3m, add 5 automatic successes to an attack)

Combos

Fury of a Thousand Flames

Perfect Blazing Blow + Shadow Over Water + 3rd Martial Arts Excellency
From the fires of her heart Liz brings forth spiraling streaks of bright flames to orbit her and lend incredible power to her attacks.

Essence

Essence: 3
Personal: 11/17
Peripheral: 31/39 (39)
Committed to Charms: None
Committed to artifacts: 6 personal (GCS, MLT), 0/5 peripheral (Robert's Klaive)
Anima Status: None

Health Levels: -0, -1, -1, -2, -2, -4, Incapacitated
(wounds are designated as bashing, lethal or aggravated)

Willpower

OOOOO OOO (Willpower 6/8)

Virtues

Compassion: 2 - Going everywhere doesn't mean stepping on other people.
Conviction: 3 - Freedom is the highest of principles, why do you give yours away so easily?
Temperance: 1 - What is this 'impulse control' thing you speak of?
Valor: 4 - Is that a *challenge*? (No Channel used) Hi Will,Only just seen your site but I think it's rlealy nicely done. It's quite modern and spacious and I think the font is excellent. I didn't see the previous site so I can't compare it to the last, but as a newcomer it's easy to navigate and see examples of your work. If you were selling your work via the site, I'd say be elitist and only include the very best of your work. On the contrary, if the site is the equivalent of a sketchbook to showcase your work and share it, then your idea of filling it with crap' is void and you're showing it off wellKeep on churning out images, they're great!Kind regards,NickMy only criticism is the text size- it's very small and I'd imagine it may be tough to read for people without good vision.

Equipment

Backpack, sportswear, laptop, cellphone, entrance kit*1.

Hand: Spd 5, Acc 12, Dmg 4B, PDV 6, rate 3
Kick: Spd 6, Acc 10, Dmg 7B, PDV 5, rate 1
Exceptional fighting sticks *2: Spd 4, Acc 13, Dmg 8B, PDV 7, rate 3
Robert's Klaive: Spd 4, Acc 12, Dmg 10A, PDV 6, rate 2
Sui Mae's dueling sword: Spd 4, Acc 13, Dmg 8L, PDV 6, rate 2

• 1: (a few small screwdrivers, some basic lockpicking tools and spare wiring for electronics)
• 2: (can be screwed together into a bo staff as miscellaneous action (5, -1))

History

Liz was the first of two daughters born to Mark and Claudia Albrechts in Hannover, Germany. Her father runs a moderately successful bookstore while her mother has resumed her work as elementary school teacher now that her two girls are old enough to take care of themselves for the most part. Julia, her sister, is two years her junior and is currently busy finishing school. Life with her family was as unglamorous as it was full of loving and support and Liz is on good speaking terms with her parents and sister even now that she is studying hundreds of kilometers away from home and investigating the darkness with her new found superpowers. If her father was disappointed when she didn't take after him in appreciation of the scholarly pursuits he didn't show it and was all the more enthusiastic when she brought home the first athletics medals.

The biggest change in her life came when she was 16 and her then boyfriend introduced her to the small group of parkour traceurs in the city. As she understood more about this strange discipline that seemed to mostly involve running through unsafe places where no normal person would run she found that she liked it. Even had a natural aptitude for it. And it was only a few weeks later when during a training her perceptions shifted and it occurred to her for the first time how people everywhere slavishly kept to designated paths, be it walking through the park or crossing the city, be it in their careers or their political opinions. She herself would never let herself be constrained by mere social convention or arbitrary restrictions, she vowed then.

Since those early days Liz has become an ace traceuse as well as a strong believer in the philosophy of personal freedom that is part of the parkour movement. So it was a particularly nasty shock for her, when one late evening as she ran parkour among the ruins of an abandoned industrial plant she came upon a group of people discussing secret rulers of the world, vampire empires hiding in plain sight and magical propaganda. At first she thought the disparate gathering of oddly dressed people no more than conspiracy theorists but then she felt the vast and invisible forces moving in accordance with the exchange of heated words. When those forces then took physical form as rearing dragons of flaming air, shields of glaring blue light and devouring spots of sheer blackness Liz ran like hell. One of the terrifying men pursued her for three full kilometers until she finally managed to lose him among the ruins despite the golden glow now surrounding her.

By the time she arrived home in the early hours of the morning her thoughts had come to an ugly conclusion. What those men had said was pure insanity, but was it less crazy than people fighting each other with sorcery or her jumping a 30 meter gap between two buildings? There had to be some truth to it. A secret world hiding behind the facade of normality. And she was now part of it through whatever the hell it was that had happened to her. Whatever the truth of the matter, she would have to find out and not just in order to understand her new gifts and nature. Even graver was the possibility that there were indeed secret rulers shackling mankind in ignorance and control. For how could people be free if even a clear and reasoned mind couldn't possibly see those invisible supernatural bonds?

Personality

Free-spirited, impulsive, loves a challenge. Usually pleasant and quick to make friends, but can be petty and even cruel when angry.

Merits and Flaws

Wanted 1

It was the second day of the Parkour Convention and Liz was about to be late for her speech concerning the combination of free running and martial katas, so she did the natural thing: Run right over, under, through and past all obstacles between her and the convention center. One of those obstacles happened to be one of the more upscale casinos of the city and their security people were less than pleased when she came into the building through a back window, made her way through the casino floor jumping from slot machine to slot machine and left at full sprint through the front entrance. Since then there have been a few small problems in Liz's relationship with police and security people, which has resulted in her avoiding them more than usual.

Lucky 1 & Unlucky 2

Things have a way of getting complicated when Liz is around. Whether it's the other car getting the very last parking spot, the falling pot plant coming right for her or the soda machine eating her coins, bad luck is the natural way of things as far as she is concerned. At the same time when things really matter she has a way of somehow being at just the right spot at the right time. Over the years Liz has decided that neither is Karma a bitch nor is Luck a lady. Instead they're probably one and the same person who has decided to make Liz's life more interesting in that Chinese proverb kind of way. Just great.

Goals and Motivations

When the supernatural broke into her world it suddenly became quite a scary place for Liz. If there are real wizards, what else is there? If all the stories are true, then the world she knew was nothing more than a facade, the pretty surface of a dark and icy cold ocean. Surely they can't be? Someone has to find out. Someone who doesn't belong to the darkness, someone who can protect herself if need be, someone who can finally expose the secret oppressors of mankind and topple their thrones.

XP

XP gained: 57
XP spent: 50 (8 XP Searing Fist Attack, 8 XP Perfect Blazing Blow, 7 XP Fury of a Thousand Flames, 9 XP Valor 4, 2 XP Seven Shadow Evasion upgrade, Essence 3)
XP unspent: 7

XP spending plans: Unparalleled Acumen Meditation (8 XP), Lightspeed Body Dynamics (8 XP), Feather-Foot Style (8 XP), Divine Flash Step (8 XP), Soaring Crane Leap (8 XP), Foe-Vaulting Method (8 XP), Flash-Fire Technique (8 XP), Flame-Flicker Stance (8 XP), Fire Dragon Form (8 XP), Flowing Smoke Stance (Combo: SoW+SSE+Flash-Fire+Flame-Flicker+3rd MA Ex, 14 XP), Strength-Increasing Exercise (8 XP), Dodge speciality (3 XP), Fiery Hand Attack (8 XP), Breath of the Fire Dragon (8 XP), 1st Presence Excellency (8 XP), Enemy-Castigating Solar Judgement (8 XP), Incandescence of the Falling Sun (Combo: SoW+Breath of the Fire Dragon+Fiery Hand+PBB+3rd MA Ex+ECS-Judgement, 18 XP)

Miscellaneous

• AlphaOmega/BreathOfCelestialFire -- the martial arts style Liz is learning.
• AlphaOmega/LizJournal -- her notes on the things that have happened so far.
  
• Character_Albums#Liz -- Spontaneous Combustion, Liz's theme album.

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