Name: Gears of Heavenly Design<br/><br/>Caste: Twilight<br/><br/>Concept: First Age Engineer<br/><br/>Motivation:  To rebuild and improve the First Age infrastructure of Chiaroscuro<br/><br/>Anima: Golden gears spin and turn around her as her essence usage becomes more pronounced.  The sound of machinery can be heard along with a billowing steam of gold emerging from beneath her feet.  At the highest levels her skin becomes metallic and her features become more robotic as if she is becoming one with the technology she strives to build.<br/><br/>(http://a21.idata.over-blog.com/600x397/1/42/64/04/Gaming/Trip.jpg)<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Spoiler: Click to Show/Hide</div><div class="spoiler_body">The world was coming toward me.  Well at least the ground speeding past my head was certainly rising at a speed I didn’t appreciate.  There are some benefits to being upside down and one of those is being quite attentive to what is under your head at the time.  For me this consisted of a lot of rocks and sand.  That the sand had a nasty habit of flying up into my eyes did not help my situation, nor did the black smoke pouring out around me.  Sparks were flying from around my hands and bits of hot metal were falling down on my arms.  Stopping what I was doing wasn’t an option at the time with half of a Varang City State following close behind.  So I made do with what was on hand, which wasn’t much.<br/><br/>My hands were wrist deep in mechanics that I had barely any comprehension of how they worked.  Flashes of energy raced down my fingertips, sending sensations through my arm that nearly made me drop my tools.  Strips of metal crackled when I moved them while the slightest modification would send the vehicle barreling one direction or the other.  Was about the only way I knew when I’d reached the steering column.  Next to me an orb sputtered and erupted in more smoke, telling me that the first hover orb was finally giving out entirely.  Truth be told I hadn’t expected them to last this long.  I coughed and sputtered ash from my mouth.  My finger slammed between a few twists of metal, wiring the djala called them, and I began peeling back the coating.  I wanted to scream from the pain this caused but the screwdriver between my teeth kept that embarrassing moment in check.<br/><br/>I was not alone on this adventure.  There are limits to my stupidity after all.  Atop this speeding ride were several of the djala’s finest and their kin.  Above me small feet padded around frantically as they tried to drive this First Age piece of rubble that I affectionately called Swift Rider.  Projectiles dinged off the metal armor of the craft, which was probably not designed for that sort of task.  From the schematics I had seen this was meant for enjoyment, not fleeing for one’s life.  Necessity demands a lot of strange things.  Like having two people, neither of which big enough to operate the controls alone, driving a speeding vehicle I’m currently riding beneath.  I am starting to rethink those limits I mentioned earlier.<br/><br/>The screwdriver popped out from between my teeth to be surrounded by dirty fingers.  Already my voice was calling for them to turn right and left.  My eyes immediately taking note of which wire reacted depending on the direction they turned the vehicle.  Of course this also meant I was being thrown from side to side with more sand and dirt tossed into my face.   Necessity and all.  The screwdriver was meant to drive a wedge between the wires, separating them as I worked my way to the source of the problem.  Each was then pressed down and adjusted, so that the connections could be renewed.  I felt the steering improve, but also noted further problems.  The amount of energy demanded by the vehicle at this speed was moving beyond the limits of the system.  I felt, before I heard another explosion as a second hover orb exploded beneath me.<br/><br/>Now before I fall off this ride, maybe you’re wondering how exactly I got here.  That requires some rewinding.<br/><br/>Now, I’m not really one for telling stories.  Not really something I’ve been trained to do, plus I don’t keep track of what others consider important while things are happening.  So we will see how this goes and if you walk away more confused than that is how things worked out.  The beginning is well, a haze.  I was born a citizen of the Realm, but don’t tell anyone else that because nobody seems to believe me.  The slavers certainly didn’t when they snatched me up like so much junk.  Anyway, my da’ was a smart man.  Really smart so far as we mortals can go.  He was the assistant librarian and lore keeper for some prestigious university.  I don’t know which.  Obviously, not one I could have attended.  My mother died when I was born so for the longest there was just me and my da’.<br/><br/>Well some big timer in the city we lived in got an idea in his head to form an expedition out to the South.  I remember my da’ complaining and tossing books around about that time.  Probably because of whatever this big guy was saying.  I don’t know, my toys were a lot more interesting.  My da’ gave me a lot of great toys when I was little.  Not just dolls mind you, though I had more than a few of those.  I also had a lot of blocks and metal bits and stuff.  I used to spend hours building little houses for my dolls to play in and those were good times.  One time I designed this swinging door with….well…alright my time is probably going to run out before I get to all those details.  Anyway, needless to say my da’ was asked (more than likely told) to go with the expedition.  He had an expertise in First Age artifacts and history, so he was somewhat important for the research aspect.  <br/><br/>So, course we packed up our things and got on this big boat.  Never been much for boats and water and the like.  When the Realm says march, you march.  When the Realm says sail, you well sit on a leaky boat and hope you make the trip to the other side.  Make it we did, obviously.  To the sandy shores of the South we moved and across the bustling harbor Chiaroscuro we fought to get through.  More people than I had ever seen crowded around me and da.  Bit frightened I remember myself being at the time.  Fighting for air, fighting to move, hell struggling to even see the hand I was holding were my first memories of the South.  Not pleasant ones I assure you.  <br/><br/>Now this excavation site was a grand one.   Even then I knew that this was some big project and something important was being dug up in the sand.  Course digging in sand is a lot like digging in water, so the way was slow going.  Still, I was a kid then and kids find ways to have fun right?  So I would run around under the feet of soldiers, build castles from sand near the site and in general find my way in and out of trouble.  Not a bad life then if one discounts the blazing sun and the lack of a parent for most of the day.  Da was hard pressed to come up with answers to the people’s questions and they took to leaving bruises on him.  Not sure how hitting someone makes them think harder, but I guess they had some method in mind.  So that was our life.  I built sand castles, Da got hit for not reading fast enough and we settled into our tent city.  <br/><br/>There was a lot of discovery then.  Boxes always getting moved out of the hole they were digging.  I only cared cause the soldiers kept stepping on my things as they marched by with their boxes.  Those castles took so long to build and with a stomp, they were gone.  Ridiculous really.  Anyway, so there was a lot of activity going on and a lot of things got lost.  Including me a few times.  Da was pretty good about dragging me out of my ruts and holes, dusting me off and putting me back in my dress.  I got into fights with other kids, played with them more and more while the grownups got their jollies from the boxes.  Nothing wrong there really until one didn’t get his jolly so well.  <br/><br/>I don’t remember much at all about those minutes or the hours that followed.  There was a roar that deafened me and a flash of white that blinded me.  A man walked among us with the head of a great cat and the body of marble.  He moved with a sandstorm.  Blood was all over the place.  Such a smell of fear and carnage that I couldn’t breathe.  The man never stopped.  He just kept cutting through them with a roar, tearing through the proud troops of our homeland.  All I could think to do was run.<br/><br/>There were a lot of people running, a lot of people dying.  Other people shaped like cats came for us too.  I remember watching my friends dragged through the sands screaming.  Remember bloody bodies on the dunes ahead and behind me.  I kept running.  At night I would only sleep when I could go no more.  I kept running, knowing that somewhere the monsters were still coming for me.  There was no escape for my mind from the memories of what happened.  Sometimes I would cry for my Da, but mostly I ran until the sun beat me down.  Some people hate the moment they were taken for slavery, I guess I could only be thankful.  <br/><br/><br/></div></div><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>ATTRIBUTES</strong></span><br/><br/>Physical                          Social                              Mental<br/>Strength:2                       Charisma:2                    Perception:4<br/>Dexterity:4                      Manipulation:1                Intelligence:4<br/>Stamina:3                       Appearance:4                 Wits:3<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>ABILITIES</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>Dawn  </strong><strong>Zenith </strong><strong>   Twilight</strong><strong>Craft Specifics</strong><br/>Archery*:4           Integrity:2                Craft*: 5                                                   Magitech:<br/>Martial Arts:          Performance:            Investigation*:                                          Fire:<br/>Melee: 2                Presence:                 Lore*: 5                                                   Earth:<br/>Thrown:                Resistance*: 5          Medicine*:                                                Air:<br/>War:                     Survival:                  Occult*:5                                                  Wood<br/><br/><br/><strong>Night  </strong><strong> Eclipse </strong><strong>Specialties</strong><strong>Languages</strong><br/>Athletics*:3         Bureaucracy*:3                                                                          Low Realm (native)<br/>Awareness:         Linguistics*: 3                                                                             Flametongue (Varagian)<br/>Dodge:               Ride: 2                                                                                       Tribal (Djala)<br/>Larceny:             Sail:                                                                                           High Realm<br/>Stealth:              Socialize:<br/><br/><strong><span class="bbc_u">Background</span></strong><br/><br/><strong>Allies</strong>: (Free Ally)<br/>Mohinder "Mo" Suresha - A djala that escaped with Gears from the Varang City States on their newly rebuilt scooter.  He was also the first to sneak her into the city and help her rebuild the device.  During the subsequent crash he exalted as an Air Aspect Terrestrial.  Mo remains her favorite, if temperamental, assistant and helps lead her team.<br/><br/><strong>Followers</strong>:3<br/>Djala Engineering Team - Gears has worked hard to make contact with free Djala and remove those she can from slavery.  She has slowly pieced together a team of competent and talented engineers to assist her in rebuilding First Age technology and reconnecting the infrastructure of Chiaroscuro.<br/><br/><strong>Resources</strong>:3<br/>Gears garners her money from repairs done on the city along with an allowance given to her from the treasury.  Most of her funds go toward her team and to buying materials for her latest projects.<br/><br/><strong>Influence</strong>: 2<br/>Djala - Through her actions to liberate and help the Djala, she has garnered a reputation among them.  Many tribes know of her and most have heard her name along with that of her assistant's.<br/><br/><strong>Manse</strong>:4<br/>Crown of Twilight Design: Solar Aspect Manse<br/><br/><strong>Artifact</strong>:2<br/>Touch of Light: Very Small Concussive Essence Cannon (pg 131 Wonders of the Lost Age)<br/><br/><strong>Artifact</strong>:2<br/>A Technical Tap: Gore Maul (pg 386 Exalted Main Book)<br/><br/><strong>Artifact</strong>:3<br/>The Artificer's Heart: Bracers of Universal Crafting (pg 72 Wonders of the Lost Age)<br/><br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong>Advantages</strong></span><br/><br/>Willpower: 8<br/>Temp.Willpower: 8<br/><br/>Essence                                                    Virtues<br/>Level: 2                                                    Compassion:2                  Temperance:3<br/>Personal:                                                  Conviction:4                     Valor:2<br/>Peripheral:<br/>Committed:                                                 Limit:0/10<br/>Virtue Flaw: Deliberate Cruelty<br/><span class="bbc_u"><strong><br/>Charms</strong></span><br/><br/><strong>Craft</strong><br/>2nd Craft Excellency<br/>