Name: Chrysanthea 'Chryssa' Blackwood | The Black Butterfly
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Appearance: HereMage?: No
Bio: Chrysanthea's lives have both been marked by tragedy, and the first came to a swift end when she was only a child, but to understand these statements, we must start from the beginning. The Blackwoods of Theles were part of the old Dascian nobility, their roots dating from before the merger with the Duchy of Heidelberg took place, and while their splendor had peaked a long time ago they were still an influential family, extremely wealthy and with plenty of connections with the Consortium. Their lavish lifestyle and their prosperity would be threatened, however, by the reign of Lucas the Cruel. Firmly opposed to his draconian policies, House Blackwood nonetheless had few allies to count on, as not many were willing to stand against someone such as Lucas IV. Finally, fearing prosecution, Lord Robert V Blackwood, Count of Theles and Chrysanthea's great-grandfather, took his family, his servants and his wealth, and fled south to Sarthares almost sixty years ago.
The fact that Lucas IV was deposed just six years after this exodus would've normally meant that the noble family would promptly return to their righteous place in Theles, but such a thing did not happen. Upon their arrival in the Kritarchy, the family was welcomed with open arms - the Sartharians did not fear retribution from the mad Dascian king, as they had the backing of both the League and the Empire. Lord Blackwood and his family settled in the coastal city of Ramnos, not far from the capital of Archea, where he became enamored by Sartharian culture. Despite the large Thalari population, Ramnos, and Sarthares as a whole, was a hub of art and philosophy, with humans and beastfolk alike participating in seemingly sophisticated expressions of their thought and emotion - there was a notorious leaning towards naturalistic positions in both philosophical and artistic currents of course, thanks to the presence of the Thalari, though those who held different beliefs were free to express themselves as well.
Lord Blackwood and his son Edward became particularly interested in the writings of Apolita, and decided that living under a king, just or cruel, would no longer be their family's path. Instead, they lived under the Judges, and used their wealth to invest in Ramnos and surrounding towns and cities, becoming the patrons of numerous painters, writers, sculptors and musicians and helping the impoverished. Thirty-two years after her family's arrival, Chrysanthea was born to Andreas Blackwood, governor of Ramnos, and his wife. Her family, while no longer nobility of any sort, still maintained a comfortable lifestyle, and her grandfather and great-grandfather were widely considered patron saints of the arts, not just in Ramnos but in the Kritarchy as a whole.
Chrysanthea, or Chryssa as her parents affectionately called her, grew up in this environment. Since her early years she was a feisty, lively girl with a boundless curiosity, and it was this curiosity that would eventually prove to be her undoing. While her family no longer answered to Dascus, they still had some connections with the Consortium, and when she was just ten years old her father hired one of their top runesmiths to make a special armor for his bodyguard, fearing the mysterious death threats that his family had received of late. This armor was to be composed of an extremely rare metal called magicite, an alloy that can only be crafted with steel and wraithstone and which, if sufficiently connected to a person - in this case by covering most of their body - would grant them unnatural might. It was a complicated project to be sure, and potentially a dangerous one as runesmithing done wrong could have explosive consequences, but still the master runesmith assured Governor Andreas that it could be done, even though magicite was rarely used in such large quantities and practically never for a full suit of armor. Some months later, the master runesmith was about to finish the cuirass and a curious Chryssa had wandered into the workshop.
Suddenly, an explosion rocked the entirety of Robert's Hall, and guards rushed to the scene only to find the master runesmith dead and Chryssa agonizing, riddled with wounds from the shrapnel that embedded itself inside of her. A panicked Andreas ordered her to be carried to the nearby sanctuary of Oadot, where the Chosen made every effort to remove the shrapnel and heal the ailing girl, but some shards could not be removed without causing too much damage, and all of their prayers seemed unable to bring her back to health. At the tender age of ten, in the care of Oadot's Chosen, Chrysanthea Blackwood passed away.
That would have been the end of her story, if not for the Black Butterfly.
Watching over the dying girl and her panicked father was a figure shrouded in darkness, a Repentant Knight who had sought temporary shelter among the Chosen. Not a second after the girl had passed, the mysterious knight stepped forward, gently asking her father to move aside before leaning over the dead girl and placing her hands over her chest. Then, she uttered a careful, heartfelt prayer to Datune, the Goddess of Penance and Rebirth. For a few moments, nothing happened, and then the Repentant tried again, her words more vehement this time. Once more, nothing. Finally, she uttered the prayer one last time, her tone now pleading. A second passed, then another, and suddenly the girl opened her eyes, gasping for air.
Andreas held his daughter and looked up at the knight, promising to give her any reward she asked. In response, she simply stated that she sensed a great destiny for Chrysanthea, and asked to be allowed to train her in the ways of the sword. Though surprised, the Governor felt that he was hardly in a position to refuse, and agreed to let her train his daughter as soon as she recovered fully.
This recovery, as it turned out, would be trickier than initially believed. Though Chryssa was undeniably alive, the shards of metal that remained inside her body were, in fact, shards of magicite, and without a runic matrix to keep their power in check, their latent power would eventually go out of control and kill her. Desperate, Andreas went to every runesmith, alchemist, magician and healer of renown within Sarthares, though he refused to go to the Consortium for aid, instead cutting all ties with them as he was infuriated with what they had done to his family. Eventually, a solution was found, one that wasn't ideal but would allow Chryssa to live her life with relative normalcy: a cleansing potion, a semi-common concoction normally used to cure someone of a curse or other magical affliction, would keep the magicite in check if ingested regularly. Fortuntely, they were not expensive, so Andreas was sure that with his family's wealth, her daughter would be able to live out her entire life without issue.
With that matter solved, then, it was time for Chryssa and Andreas to honor their promise, and honor it they did. From that day onwards, Chryssa would train with her savior every day for hours on end, and though at first she displayed little skill with the sword, over the years she would become a formidable fighter, able to trade blows with her mentor no longer as a student, but as an equal. She also discovered that, though it threatened her, the volatile power of the magicite inside of her could be harnessed to overcome her body's limits. Her mentor warned her against this however, telling her to use it only as a last resort, and so their training continued on as usual.
But other things would soon change in Chrysanthea's life. Eight years after her death and resurrection, her father died of sickness, and another governor was elected to manage the affairs of Ramnos, while Chryssa became the head of the household, as Andreas never had any other children. With only eighteen of age and far more interested in her swordplay than in the affairs of her family, the young head of the family left her father's - and now her- advisor, Edris, to handle everything, from their donations to charity to their patronage of various artists.
Over the course of two years, however, Edris conspired. He had strong ties to the Consortium still, and had vehemently opposed Andreas' decision to cut all ties with them only to be ignored. Slowly as to remain unnoticed, he put together a plot to rid the world of House Blackwood. One day, while Chryssa was out in the nearby plains training, a small force marched into Robert's Hall and slaughtered everyone in it before the city guard could intervene. Servants, artists and family members alike were slain, except of course for Edris himself, who played the part of the frightened survivor. The assassins were then apprehended, but at the same time, another group of assassins closed in on Chryssa and her mentor. They were numerous enough to overwhelm her, but both of them fought hard to survive. Ultimately, the Repentant was able to protect Chryssa, at the cost of her own life: the wounds she had sustained during the fight were lethal.
In her last moments, the Repentant told Chryssa her name, along with a story. The story of the Black Butterfly, who wielded the Sword of Retribution, Achlys, said to have been forged by an avatar of the Goddess herself. The Black Butterfly was a mantle passed on from generation to generation, destined to protect the innocent and guided by the hand of Datune. The woman confessed that it had a long time since Datune had spoken to them, as neither her, nor her mentor, nor her mentor's mentor had heard her voice. Even so, someone had to don the mantle, and she knew it was Chryssa's destiny, for it was Sualdir's edict and the will of the Gods, communicated to her by a Keeper of the Glass.
When Chryssa returned to the city, now carrying the armor and weapons of the Black Butterfly, she found out that her family was dead, and that Edris was found responsible for the conspiracy, tried, and promptly executed. The young woman was horrified, knowing that he had only managed this because of her refusal to handle the affairs of the family herself, and at that moment, she decided to surrender herself to her destiny. She donated Robert's Hall to be turned into an orphanage and gave what remained of her family's wealth to various charities before leaving Ramnos. Donning the armor, she wandered the countryside until eventually happening across one of the Repentant's scant temples, the headquarters of the Archean Chapter. There, she was taught the ways of the Repentant, their vows of poverty and their philosophy of non-attachment, as well as the importance of symbols such as the one she represented in their culture, to inspire others to follow in their footsteps and make the world a better place.
Two years afterwards, she left again and took to wandering across Eboris, doing what she could to protect the people and punish the wicked, while struggling to regularly obtain doses of that special concoction which she needed to survive. She has been doing this for five years, but feels that she has yet to find that 'greater destiny' that her mentor once told her about.
Fighting Style: One-handed swordsmanship, with a focus on agility and parrying
Abilities:- [Swordsmanship]: Chryssa is an exceptionally talented swordswoman, using Achlys together with a parrying dagger to deadly effect and taking advantage of her agility to overwhelm her foes with a variety of attacks from several different angles.
- [Volatile Power]: Chryssa can harness the latent power of the magicite shards embedded within her to pull off incredible feats of strength.
- [Blessing of Datune]: Perhaps most notably, Chryssa has access to that elusive power exclusive to the Repentant, the power to bring back the dead.
Limitations:- The use of a parrying dagger instead of a shield allows for impressive feats of defensive and offensive swordsmanship, but requires a great deal of ability and precision, and sacrifices the simple safety that a shield offers a warrior.
- Adding to the above, as Chryssa relies on agility, her armor is not as heavy or reinforced as those worn by the Guardians or the Knights of Shotarr.
- A burst of magicite power, while awe inspiring, leaves the user drained afterwards, and can easily lead to bodily harm if one is not careful.
- In addition, the presence of magicite in Chryssa's body is a danger, and she needs to drink cleansing potions with regularity in order to keep the magicite from going out of control and killing her. On top of that, after drinking one she won't be able to harness its power for a time.
- Chryssa is a swordswoman first and foremost. Her only means of attacking at a range is her limited supply of throwing knives.
- The Blessing of Datune, while powerful, can only be used sparingly. Too many prayers of resurrection and she risks her life being extinguished in return.
Equipment:- [Armor of the Black Butterfly]: A simple yet elegant, almost dress-like suit of armor passed on to Chryssa by her mentor, this runeforged armor possesses strong enchantments that ward against magical attacks, making her a powerful asset against magicians.
- [Achlys, Sword of Retribution]: A masterfully crafted black blade that is supernaturally sharp and enduring, and is inlaid with two enchanted rubies on he hilt, which grant it the power to either become wreathed in flames or emanate a thick white mist that obscures its user.
- Parrying Dagger
- Throwing Knives
- Cleansing Potions
Optional QuestionnairePersonal Quest: None - her ideals and her service to the Repentant are all she has
Favorite Factions: Oadot's Chosen, the Honor Guild, the Wanderers
Least Favorite Factions: The Magi Consortium, the Enchanter Order, the Knights of Shotarr, the Order of the Fading Butterfly
Favorite Memory: Saving a family from a rogue magician while in the service of Datune
Goals: To live a pious life and redeem herself in the eyes of the Gods
Greatest Fear: Being the vehicle for another tragedy
Religion: The Pantheon