<div class="floatleft">(http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/NovemberWerewolf/Female%20Characters/Lady_in_black_by_Drakevensia.jpg)</div><br/><strong>Name:</strong>Asaria Lao<br/><br/><strong>Race:</strong>Nord (Vampire Lord)<br/><br/><strong>Age:</strong><br/><em>Physically:</em>Mid-twenties<br/><em>Chronologically</em>80 Years<br/><br/><strong>Physical Details/Short history:</strong>Asaria comes from a family of respect and nobility, keen jewelry makers who made custom pieces for the well-to-do of Hammerfell, including the crowns of numerous royal families. Yet, despite their want for nothing, she was raised to respect those from all walks of life, with the constant reminder from her father who would state that at any point, should the gods wish it, they could strip them of all titles and luxuries and replace them with the empty aches that filled so many others. Respect was the only means that a person could be judged upon; people would turn a blind eye in your hour of need should you not grant them their proper dues. He would also talk often of the Nords whose blood she shared and their customs and traditions. It was from Asaria’s father that she learned how to practice her Thu’um and handle a sword in self-defense, a man who had himself been an adventurer once, until he took an arrow to the knee.<br/><br/>All of this came to a screeching halt one evening when Asaria came home from a gala with her father, where they had been displaying some of their latest works of ceremonial blades and fine pendants. At first it looked as if their house had been hit by thieves, until they had stumbled upon the body of Asaria’s mother and a dark figure bending over her, feasting on her savaged throat.<br/><br/>Asaria’s father tried to fight the vampire who had stolen in their home, while Asaria cried out for the guards. She remembers little on what happened after; flashes of blood, a pale face, and the uniformed men and women storming into her living room with their weapons drawn looking to protect and serve. Instead of waking up under her familiar roof, she found herself instead in a cold stone fortress off the coast of North Point in High Rock, with the company of a vampire who was quite mad, believing that he himself was Molag Bal. The remainder of her days as a human was short; torture seemed more of a casual past-time for the vampire who refused to tell her his real name, and inquiring into such things often left her battered and submitting in defeat. Yet he didn’t kill her.<br/><br/>Molag was awaiting the 20th of Evening Star, and on this day he forced Asaria into the Daughters of Coldharbour ritual, successfully forcing upon her pure-blood vampirism. Since that day she had called herself cursed and actively refused using her newly found powers as much as possible. This includes the urge to feed off of others, when Molag wasn’t forcing her.<br/><br/>Her happy life as a human had ended, and just as her father had said, the gods swiftly stripped her of all of her luxuries and left her for want. For decades she was tormented by Molag who often forced her to submit in order to display his dominance, be that in violence or other amusements of his choosing. Time began to corrupt her mind, persuading her to take satisfaction in her new position in life until she found herself almost liking it. On a cold evening twenty years later, her reasoning came back into focus after Asaria spent an evening kneeling over the body of a helpless woman who had been out collecting Torch Bugs, and asked the vampire the right sort of question; ‘Why are you doing this?’.<br/><br/>It was a struggle to remember who she used to be and what used to matter most to her. Through this third transition, Asaria started to wander herself, exploring ancient ruins and researching into the history of the Nords. She discovered her second Thu’um, and studied it in great detail while exercising her talents, and while it isn’t complete, she took it as a sign from the gods that they hadn’t given up hope for her.<br/><br/>She started to hate her fellow vampires with more venom than before, and on an act of compulsion, started to kill any and all that crossed her path. Molag was still her master, and still overpowered her with each and every fight, but while the mad vampire was basking in the violence and drunk off of domination, Asaria was tactfully learning his strengths and weaknesses, even on the account of her own pain and suffering. He was vicious and intelligent, but far from the Daedric lord he claimed to be, and soon Asaria turned her studies away from the nords and towards the being that seemed to be the source of Molag’s insanity. It became clear to her that while Molag Bal was indeed not who he claimed to be, further investigation revealed that he was instead a devote follower and disciple of the very demonic presence he claimed to be. Predicting his actions boiled down to the actions one would expect the Daedric prince to take, and while that wasn’t easy it provided enough answers for Asaria to plot, plan and make her escape.<br/><br/>Domination was what the Daedric prince Molag Bal was focused around, so when the vampire imposter was in a particularly placid mood, Asaria played the role of humble servant by gifting her master with the unconscious body of a bandit she had poisoned with one of her own concoctions. Her offering was feasted upon, and soon after Molag had his first dozen swallows, he was screaming in pain and writhing around the floor, blinded by what poisoned his veins. Asaria chained him up, locked him inside of a coffin and was ready to destroy him with fire before the voice of the real Molag Bal forced her to stop from finishing the task. She knew then that by killing the imposter, she would be pleasing the Daedric prince who was far from better than the vampire she had spent the last fifty years with. She left him there, trapped and unable to escape, and chose instead to flee High Rock and find sanctuary in Skyrim, the land of her father’s people.<br/><br/>Asaria raided Molag Bal’s treasure room and took what she knew would be of value; including an assortment of weapons, septims and books. She bought passage by boat to Solitude, and from there Asaria has traveled alone, making jewelry as she once did to get by, and continues to kill any vampire she crosses. There was a rumor she overheard once in a tavern about the Dawnguard, and their knowledge of a cure. Asaria hopes to obtain this knowledge herself, and return back to being human again.<br/><br/><br/><strong>Core Combat Skills*:</strong><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li type="disc"> One Handed</li><li type="disc"> Unarmed</li><li type="disc"> Light Armor</li></ul><br/><strong>Core Supplementary Skills:</strong><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li type="disc"> Enchantment</li><li type="disc"> Smithing</li><li type="disc"> Sneak</li><li type="disc"> Thu’um (Listed Below)</li></ul><br/><strong>Secondary Skills:</strong><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li type="disc"> Speech</li><li type="disc"> Alteration</li><li type="disc"> Alchemy</li></ul><br/><strong>Starting Equipment:</strong><br/><ul class="bbc_list"><li type="disc"> Dawnbreaker*</li><li type="disc"> Two Daedric Daggers, called Talon and Fang</li><li type="disc"> A pack full of traveler’s gear</li><li type="disc"> Horse, complete with saddle, blanket and gear. </li><li type="disc"> Shadow Guard (http://i307.photobucket.com/albums/nn313/NovemberWerewolf/Objects%20and%20Things/c6d680e2b439d2239ca8c35f9bbe7280-d3j4zru.jpg)** <br/></li><li type="disc"> A journal, detailing her life since the change.</li><li type="disc"> 35 Lockpicks</li><li type="disc"> 15,000 Septims</li><li type="disc"> A large assortment of gems, precious metals and jewelry making tools for her trade.</li><li type="disc"> 12 Health potions</li><li type="disc"> Pickaxe</li><li type="disc"> Cloak with hood</li><li type="disc"> Fine clothes</li></ul><br/><br/><strong>Faction Affiliations:</strong>Vampire. Actively searching for the Dawnguard.<br/><br/><strong>Shouts Known:</strong><br/><span class="bbc_u">Aura Whisper-</span>Laas, Yah, Nir<br/><span class="bbc_u">Disarm-</span>Zun, Haal<br/><br/><strong>*Dawnbreaker: (http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dawnbreaker_(Skyrim))</strong>This weapons was obtained by Asaria in one of her master’s treasure rooms. Although it occasionally causes her bodily harm when using it, it doesn’t stop her from wielding the powerful blade. Asaria hopes that the gods see her desperation in curing herself, and will in return reward her with showing her the path towards the Dawnguards, and initially, a cure.<br/><br/><strong>*Shadow Guard:</strong>This daedric ring of power was a piece she had grabbed on a whim from the same treasure room she obtained Dawnbreaker and her Daedric daggers. Seemingly sentient; the ring activates when Asaria is in danger, wrapping her in a protective cloud of shadows that acts like body armor equivalent to daedric armor. This stretches from head to foot, giving the appearance of ebony leather hugging her form to any third-party witness, and this armor cannot be ‘blown’ away by Thu’um or wind. (This does not mean Fos Roh Dah doesn't work on her, because it will!) What’s troubling, however, despite the usefulness of this ring, is that whenever Asaria tries to take it off, it grows teeth and latches itself into place, making it impossible to remove, less she was willing to lose her own thumb. It's planted a seed of doubt in her mind, making her question if there are ulterior motives hidden within the use of this ring that she might not have foreseen.