<div class="floatright">(http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/2125/duskq.jpg)</div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Personal Backstory (OOC Info)</div><div class="spoiler_body"><em>Black clouds can rain down but can't kill the sun.</em>  Sometimes an old saying can just stick with you, no matter how many years go by, even if the people who used to say it for you are long since dead.  Maybe someone just has to keep talking, if only to stop the encroaching silence.  Maybe it just never really stops.<br/><br/>A lifetime ago, Standing Orchid used to play in the fields, had a family who cared about her and did her part to make sure the village was safe and peaceful.  That doesn't matter, of course, because Standing Orchid is dead, but sometimes it's hard to convince yourself that such things should really matter.<br/><br/>Her simple, easy life was quickly ruined by an arrow.  Two feet of wood, a sharp rock on one end and feathers on the other end of the useless stick, shot by a bandit who wanted prisoners while she was on guard duty.  When the voice came, soft and sweet, asking her if she wanted to destroy the bandits who had done this to her, of course she did.<br/><br/>It would be easy to say that she'd been tricked, or duped, or that she simply hadn't thought about the offer when she agreed.  Deep down, though, she knew that she'd understood; she just hadn't cared.<br/><br/>Revenge was hers as the sheer power overwhelmed her.  Bodies cracked and buckled like overripe fruit.  Blood stained the area so thoroughly that her own family didn't recognize her, and she didn't have the heart to try to explain.  A chorus of voices opened up in her mind, ancient and beyond her understanding, but goading her on to slay and destroy in their name.<br/><br/>Once it was time to honor her agreement and to go meet her new destiny, however, she found that she simply couldn't.  This amused the Deathlord, with no attempt yet made to try and reclaim her.  She didn't really know why until she learned about Resonance the hard way: an entire shadowland festered overnight, bursting forth from the earth and destroying the small town where she'd been staying.  Somewhere out there, her Deathlord is laughing, she realizes, waiting for her to give up.  Gifts have been planted that she knows shouldn't have been there waiting for her, a reminder that all she needs to do is accept her fate.  Maybe her new owner realizes how difficult it is simply to surrender, and patiently awaits when she would give herself over entirely, without objection.</div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Known IC Info</div><div class="spoiler_body">About a week ago, a minor rockslide caused the Abyssal Exalt to fall down the mountains, enshrouded in soulsteel armor and with a gigantic great goremaul upon her back.  Three Tombs Court was busy at the time with an assault by demons, and although some of the humans attempted to turn their attention on her, she had little trouble fending them off.  Her weapon came free, but even as she deflected the attacks of the townsfolk, her focus and enmity were reserved solely for the demons.  Her efforts and destructive force easily turned the tide, after which she slung the soulsteel weapon back over her back and found herself a private corner.<br/><br/>She has yet to speak to anyone, but she stays near the gate, watching and waiting.  A minor reputation has begun to spread about this strange wanderer, and a few have taken to leaving her scraps of food while otherwise leaving her be.  Most of those who have seen her fight, especially those who attempted to attack her, just want to make sure she's placated without having to do something so brave and stupid as actually attempting conversation.<br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Character Sheet</div><div class="spoiler_body">Title: The Promise of Pain<br/>Caste: Dusk<br/>Anima: An ivory skull coated in flowing crimson blood<br/>Motivation: Find some way to make the torment end without dying<br/><br/>Strength 4 Dexterity 5 Stamina 2 Charisma 2 Manipulation 2 Appearance 3 Perception 3 Intelligence 4 Wits 2<br/><br/>Archery* 1 Athletics* 1 Awareness* 3 (Initiative +2) Dodge 5 (Zero Mobility Penalty +3) Integrity* 1 Investigation 1 Linguistics 1 (Old Realm) Lore 1 Martial Arts* 1 Melee* 5 (Goremauls +3) Occult* 1 Resistance* 5 Survival 1 Thrown* 1 War* 1<br/><br/>Grand Goremaul 3 Superheavy Plate 3 Death-Speech Stone 3 Whispers 5<br/><br/>Charms: <br/><br/>Melee Triumphant, Savage Shade Style, Five Shadow Feint, Unfurling Iron Lotus, Time-Scything Technique, Dodge Resurgent, Armor-Calling Kata, Ghost Armor Prana, Resistance Resurgent, Injury-Absorbing Discipline, Integrity Triumphant, Investigation Triumphant, Void Stares Back, Spider Pounce Technique, Blood Calligraphy Technique<br/><br/>Compassion 4 Conviction 3 Temperance 2 Valor 5 Essence 2 Willpower 8<br/><br/>Personal Essence: 14<br/><br/>Peripheral Essence: 13 (39 Total, 26 committed)<br/><br/>Soak: 19 Bashing, 18 Lethal, 17 Aggravated, 11 Hardness<br/><br/>2.5 Grand Goremaul: Accuracy 17, Damage 13+4=17B/3<br/><br/>Dodge DV: 5+5+3+2=15/2=8<br/><br/></div></div><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Health, Essence, and WP</div><div class="spoiler_body"><br/>-0: [ ]<br/>-1: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]<br/>-2: [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]<br/>-4: [ ]<br/>Incapacitated: [ ]<br/><br/>Personal Essence: 4 / 14 (3 committed scenelong)<br/>Peripheral Essence: 5 / 13<br/><br/>Willpower: O O O O O O O X<br/></div></div>