Kaori

Kaori, Ex-Scorpion Ronin, Yogo Wardmaster

Casting: Chuda Ruri:

using our file "Kaori.gif"

Background

When Kitsuki Kaagi recruited the ronin sohei Kaori he could tell she was nearing the end of the road. Haunted by her past, with a young girl in tow and an almost palpable aura of desperation it didn't take Kaagi long to deduce much about her. It was obvious she had done questionable things, and her slight accent revealed her to him as a former member of the Scorpion, something she tries to hide, along with just about everything concerning her past.

What convinced him to take her on as a yoriki was not only the fact she was a shugenja, which is certainly useful, or her criminal past, which provides a surprisingly useful skill- and mindset for a magistrate to exploit. It was mostly how she acted around her daughter. For the Kitsuki-trained magistrate it was clear as day she loved her more than life itself and that the source of the ronin's desperation was the realization that the road she was traveling would end in disaster for herself and more importantly, her child. It was a calculated risk, but the magistrate thought that if he offered her a way out, he would gain a valuable servant.

Kaagi was right. Kaori lept at the chance. And not just because being in the retinue of a magistrate is the perfect hiding place. You see, she didn't study those scrolls from the forbidden section of the library because she was corrupt or craved the power of Maho. No, she just wanted, no, needed to understand how Maho works. She did it purely to expand her understanding. When she was found out she couldn't leave her daughter with her father's family, her child would always be blamed for her 'sins'. She had to kill that sohei whose gear and identity she now uses, along with all the other crimes and murders she committed. How else could she escape her Clan's lands? She needed the koku, contacts and favors to get far, far away. It was just... necessary. She is not really a bad person, is she?

She knows she isn't lost completely because it all weighs heavily on her conscience. That is why she is fiercely loyal to Kaagi. He offers her the chance to be something more than the rotten, bad, worthless person she has proven herself to be. Her greatest fear is what she will do when 'necessity' rears its ugly head again. Her greatest doubt is still whether her daughter is not better off with someone, anyone else but her.

Rings / Traits

Air 2:

• Reflexes 2
• Awareness 2

Earth 2:

• Stamina 2
• Willpower 2

Fire 4:

• Agility 4 (28 xp)
• Intelligence 4

Water 2:

• Strength 2
• Perception 2

Void: 2

Honour: 1.5 Status: 0.0 Glory: 1.0 Insight: 138? (still have to check) Unspend XP: 0

School: Yogo Wardmaster (Rank 1)

Technique:

The Yogo are masters at creating wards for later use. When you cast any spell with the Wards keyword, you may Raise a number of times equal to the spell’s Mastery Level to instead place the spell into a paper ward. Once this is done, the paper ward will hold the spell “latent” until you activate it (as a Simple Action) by placing it on a target. Only you may activate your wards. The ward sticks to the target and immediately discharge the spell, whose duration is measured normally from that moment. If an area-effect spell is discharged onto a living target, it will only affect that target.

Placing a paper ward on an unwilling target requires an unarmed melee attack using a roll of Spellcraft / Agility. An active ward may be physically torn/destroyed, which instantly ends any ongoing spell effects; this requires a Simple Action.

School Skills

• Etiquette (Awa) 1
• Spellcraft (Int) 2 (2 xp)
• Temptation (Awa) 1
• Stealth 2 (Agi) (2 xp)
• Investigation (Per) 1
• Calligraphy (Cypher) (Int) 1
• Lore (Theology) (Int) 1

Non-School Skills

• Lore (Maho) (Int) 1 (free because of Forbidden Knowledge)
• Polearms (Agi) 2 (3 xp)
• Medicine (Int) 1 (1 xp)
• Craft (Poison) (Int?) 1 (1 xp)
• Forgery (Agi) 1 (1 xp)
• Sleight of Hand (Agi) 1 (1 xp)
• Sincerity (Awa) 1 (1 xp)

Advantages (10 xp)

• Dangerous Beauty (2 xp)
• Forbidden Knowledge (Maho) (5 xp)
• Sage (3 xp)

Disadvantages (+10 xp)

• Consumed (Knowledge) (4 xp)
• Dark Secret (4 xp) - Formerly Soshi Kaori, caught studying Maho, currently on the run and having done very shady things, up to and including murder
• Dependent (2+ xp) - Her six year old daughter Tsanuri

Gear

• Robes
• Wakizashi
• Knife
• Bisento
• Paper & writing kit
• Scroll Satchel
• Traveling Pack
• Pack of 20 Paper Wards

Spells

Ward spells:

• By the Light of the Moon (Air 1)
• Benten's Touch (Air 2)
• Symbol of Blood (Water 1 - Maho - Enemies of the Empire)

Other Spells:

• Never Alone (Fire 1)
• Blood & Darkness (Air 1 - Maho)
• Spreading the Darkness (Earth 2 - Maho)