Name: Serena Merlot
Appearance:
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Weight: 143lbs
Height: 5’10”
Elemental Affinity: Fire
Alignment: Neutral Good
Origin:

Magic Circuits
Number: B
Quality: A

Magecraft/Abilities: The Merlot line historically lacked in quality Magic Circuits, so many of the techniques passed down through their Magic Crest are relatively simple. Their grasp of theory was excellent, but they lacked the raw power to work more advanced pieces of magecraft. Merlot magi worked to make their spells as efficient as possible, and in the process came to be masters of the myriad uses for Bounded Fields. As works that largely sustain themselves and do not require large sums of od at once, they held properties that helped compensate for their minimal power reserves; Bounded Fields allowed one to work magecraft inside their confines with more gradual dispersal of od into the Greater Source by confining their targeted area. Conversely, they also excelled at keeping other effects out. With this nuanced understanding, Bounded Fields created by Merlot magi tend to be extremely difficult to detect. Reinforcement magic was their attribute of specialization, to bolster what constructs they could manage. Merlot magi, through the generations, have become adept at defending against hostile magic. Though the method has varied depending on elemental affinity, Merlots have long possessed the ability to cleanse an area within their designated Bounded Field of malicious magecraft.

Serena, inheriting the Merlot penchant for preparation, nevertheless has more magical muscle than her predecessors. The exact nature of the magecraft she inherited is relatively simple, but the nuance within her understanding allows her to use her arsenal in creative ways. With more od to spare she can make the foundation she inherited go a long way. Most of her works are that of Fire, naturally, but she is also skilled at using her lineage’s Reinforcement magic. Frequently it is applied to her other magecraft to increase its potency, but when the situation calls for it she can use it to enhance her own abilities for a time. The simplicity of much of her arsenal means she can keep many of her works to a single step, and most to a bar or two. Some of her higher level works require a few bars, but with adequate preparation this time can be limited.

Other Abilities: A myriad of skills, both legal and questionable. She has the makings of a decent investigator, in her line of pursuing rogue magi, with the rounded skillset that that implies. Impressive alcohol tolerance, if you count that. She would. Working, if a little unrefined, understanding of practical martial arts. Above average shot with her sidearm, though that particular decision is one looked down upon by her peers.

Mystic Codes:
-Seal of the Just: The Merlot signet ring, passed down along with the family’s Magic Crest. A heavy, weathered brass ring inscribed with a bird’s wing. Once serving as the family head’s signature, it now serves as a signature of an entirely different sort. The ring has become, after generations of use, a Conceptual Weapon that augments whatever magic is cast from or in conjunction with Serena’s right hand. This enables her to actually strike entities of the spirit, and applies a significant anti-magic effect to these applications of her magecraft.
-Locket: Unlike her ring, the silver locket Serena wears was actually designed to limit her. Serena’s mother refused to allow her to lean on quantity of Circuits during her training, but intended instead to make her learn finesse. The locket contains a few drops of her blood, long since dried, behind a small ruby. As long as she wears it with the clasp closed, the flow of od in her body is strictly limited. This lack of raw power forced her to learn fine control, but served the unintended purpose, years later, of making it much more difficult for her to be identified as a magus. Certainly, as long as it is in place, her raw talent seems much, much lower than the reality.

Years after the fact, when her control had been established, the locket was altered; the od that it prevented from flowing was stored within it, acting as a large reservoir of additional power for Serena to draw on if the situation requires. It is not inexhaustible, and if depleted will require days if not weeks to replenish, but it can provide an extra edge if she chooses to draw upon it.

Magical Items:
-Boundary Stones: Four stones carved with symbols key to the establishment of a potent Bounded Field. More permanent Fields require preparation, but the stones can be used to create a Field in the wild where the time to prepare a circle is not available. The four, once placed, act as boundary points; anything within their circle will be within the field, once Serena applies energy to bring it to life. They are undetectable by magical means until activated, and the field will only last as long as Serena is willing to maintain it unlike a permanent barrier.

Weapons/ Other Belongings:
-Kevlar body armor
-Smith and Wesson Model 15 Revolver
-Trench knife
-Smartphone

Personality: Energetic and a little mercurial, Serena’s temperament depends in large part on context. She lacks the disdain for modern technologies shared by more orthodox magi, but at the same time is a little too willing to resort to force to fit in entirely with the average citizen. For the most part she’s a fairly friendly young woman; amongst those who are not set against her, she’s perfectly willing to engage in conversation. Less so around other magi, owing to the inherent suspicion of competition impressed upon most magi, but more willing to talk than most provided you’re not making an enemy of her. It isn’t easy to gain her trust, but those she extends it to will find her a faithful and loyal friend.
Despite her somewhat callous behavior, Serena absolutely will not stand for preying upon the weak. The Merlot lineage has stood between malicious magi and the human populace for generations, and the tradition has not ended with her. Anyone that makes her an enemy will find only a modicum of mercy, a modicum quickly lost if your actions are reprehensible enough. Restraint was beat into her head until she understood, but it is a lesson she will happily discard if she concludes that you cannot be allowed to continue. Despite this, she does her best to keep her strength in reserve; the less force you use, the less your opponent is aware of. Her family name is not one with much renown, and she is perfectly willing to use that reputation to her advantage.

Background: The Merlot line is an old one, but not especially renowned. Their finesse was undercut by lacking Magical Circuits, and their efforts to advance their cause have been long and trying. Originally from the Normandy region of France, the Merlot lineage maintained what reputation it had through unparallelled familiarity with Bounded Fields and their defenses against malicious magical phenomena. The line continued uninterrupted for generations, but was in danger of dying out with Serena’s adopted mother. She had no heirs, and little time to train a successor. So after great consideration, she sought an alternate solution; a child with potent enough Magic Circuits to improve their line. With time, and fortune, she found Serena.

The girl was raised from infancy with the understanding that she would be heir to the Merlot lineage. She would inherit everything they knew, and it would be up to her to build upon it. To revitalize their legacy. Their philosophy was never entirely conventional, but she took to it easily; academia was only a part of the whole. Most members of the Magic Association, if they were to pay her any mind, would look at Serena with disdain as a mere spellcaster from a little-known family. The tedium of academia bored her to tears, and it always had, but she advanced her own foundation through experimentation; with a few decades her mother believed she might succeed in raising their status. She makes a living, in the meantime, by competing against Enforcers for the bounty off of rogue magi. With her family’s tradition, she sees it as a natural extension of her duty.

Wish/Reason for Being in the War: To raise her family’s profile. Whatever her wish for the Grail, she keeps it to herself.