Name: Christina Iliianos Herphae
Team: Red Team
Sex: Female
Alignment: Chaotic Good
History: The Herphae family is a long and storied one, with their roots reaching back into antiquity. Originally priests and priestesses of Hephaestus in Ancient Greece, the family has survived and endured even past the departure of their chosen deity. Through the Roman and Byzantine empires and even into the modern age, they have been there, in their ancestral home on the island of Lemnos.
In the wider world of magecraft, they are a well respected but reclusive family. Active only in the Creation department of the Clocktower, the family’s reputation as master smiths provides their only means of relevancy. It is not uncommon for other magus families to request custom commissions from Herphae, and depending on the difficulty of the item in question, it can cost an extremely high amount.
It is to this family that Christina was born. As one of the family head’s children, there was fierce competition between them all to be named the heir. As they all were taught the very basics, the children each started developing their own styles. Some focused their craft on pure pragmatism, creating ugly creations that were effective in what they did. Some focused on the aesthetics, sacrificing the creations effectiveness in exchange for pleasant visuals. A few such as Christina, tried to find the balance of maximum effectiveness, while also having a pleasant form.
As time went on, children were eliminated as options to be the heir. Some were relegated to arranged marriages with other families, but many were simply made into lesser smiths, destined to serve the family by fulfilling commissions the family received. By the time Christina was at the precipice of adulthood, only one other sibling remained as competition. As such, as they both became adults, the final test was placed on them. The creation of their maidens.
Following the footsteps of their ancient patron Hephaestus, the two siblings went to their respective workshops and set to work. Billows stoked the forges flames high, hammers pounded metal into shape, and gears and mechanisms were carefully interlocked together. For Christina, the entire process quickly became something different. She was not making something, she was giving birth to someone. The forge was her womb and from it would be born a child. It took a week for her brother to craft his maiden from pure gold. It took her two pain-staking weeks of careful work to finish her maiden.
When they were called together for their creations to be judged, the differences were plain to see. Her brother had crafted a woman of pure gold, carved into a life-like visage with exquisite detail. Each hair was made of an individual golden thread, and layer after layer of enchantment was laid into the creation to strengthen it. It moved as if it were truly alive, calmly following behind its creator with its hands tucked in front of it. When asked its name, her brother confidently said it was Helen, after the beautiful princess of the Trojan War.
Her creation was beautiful, but not the life-like masterwork of her brother. Where almost all the joints of articulation were next to invisible on Helen, they were plain to the naked eye. Its features were stiff, moving awkwardly about its finely crafted face. Where one was crafted entirely of pure gold, one was created of hard steel and decorated with copper. Where one moved with incredible ease, the other moved with awkward, hesitant steps. And when asked its name, she took a nervous step forward in front of Christina and spoke for herself. “I am Thaleia, daughter of Hephaestus.”
It was obvious who had passed the test. Christina was named heir, and celebrated with Thaelia. Life moved on from there as expected, with her teaching the newly ‘born’ maiden about the things she forgot to include in the first place. As some years passed, the head of the family passed away from a smithing accident, and she was named head. The family crest was implanted into her hands, and she assumed control of the family completely.
The Holy Grail was an unexpected turn of events, happening almost directly on the family’s doorstep. As the closest major family to the site the war would be taking place on, it only made sense for them to become involved. Aiding in such a war would increase the family’s prestige for sure, and Christina was all for growing the family’s reputation.
Personality: Her personality is to put simply, very simple. Christina is a friendly enough person to most people, but rather impatient in social situations. Time spent talking is time that could be spent in her workshop, working with Thaelia on something, or working on Thaelia. The only person she could never run out of patience for is Thaelia, even though the maiden has tested that on occasion. Not her fault she has so many questions about so many things.
Magecraft
Quality of Circuits: B
Quantity of Circuits: D
Elemental Affinity: Earth / Fire
Attribute: Reinforcement / Flow / Transference of Power
Magecraft:
General Magecraft: As a part of her education as the head of the Herphae family, she has been taught all the basics of magecraft that are expected in modern magus society. She’s not particularly skilled in any of these aspects, having neglected them in favor of focusing on the family tradition.
Smithing: The heart and soul of the Herphae family magecraft lies in their metallurgy. A subsect of general alchemy based entirely in the use and shaping of metals. Their family takes it one step further, focusing almost entirely on the creation of objects from metal. This has two primary effects, allowing for the creation of advanced familiars as well as mystic codes. The family’s skill in the crafting of mystic codes is well known, and they have amassed a small fortune from selling their crafts to other families.
Familiars: The Herphae family has a fairly long tradition of creating familiars for personal use, as inspired by their patron deity Hephaestus. Rather than shaping flesh or molding stone, the familiars are forged by the magus. The speed of creation is a drawback, but there are benefits that come from this. The familiars tend to be sturdier than average, and can carry additional traits depending on what the forger desires and what metals are used.
Mystic Codes:
Thaleia: In legend, Hephaestus did not work alone. Besides the various beings he enlisted to aid him, there were those he personally created to be his assistants. Maidens forged of the purest gold, to serve as his attendants and aid him in day to day life. The Herphae family seeks to always follow his example, and as such, have a tradition. One is not truly ready to lead the family lest they can follow such an example, and create life in a similar way.
Thaleia, is Christina’s maiden. The peak of Christina’s efforts, she stands as something between a homunculus and a mystic code. Measuring a solid six feet in height, her skin is made of various sections of steel, with the decorations made of shining copper. Her eyes and midsection glow a bright blue, representative of the complex system inside her to capture pass mana from her surroundings to sustain her.
In comparison to the more simplistic designs others of the family have used in the past, Christina has doubled, tripled, and quadrupled down on making Thaleia into something truly magnificent. The metal that makes up her body has been reinforced, her fingers end in razor sharp nails that she has enough control over to pluck a single hair from a person's head, and her false skirt ends in a series of blades sharp enough to cut through steel. Hidden away in her wrists are rotating cylinders, with multiple pipes made of different metals and enchanted to produce different effects when mana is passed through them. Sometimes you just need to freeze or ignite something.
Inside her mechanical head resides much of the knowledge Christina has learned over the years. Many of her smithing techniques have been taught to Thaleia, as well as general knowledge. After all, she is something of a daughter to Christina. What mother would not want to teach her daughter about the world?
Aegis Ankilos: Being the head of Herphae has its benefits. This includes being able to splurge on mystic codes for herself using the houses resources. Thus she created Aegis Ankilos for herself, as a just in case measure. Thaleia is good in a fight, but what if enough people attack them that she can't stop them all from reaching her? Gotta have some protection for herself.
Aegis Ankilos in its inert form takes the shape of a large belt buckle, featuring the family symbol of two hammers and a helm on it. When activated, the mystic code comes unattached and flattens itself out, forming a perfect domed disk around two feet in diameter. Created from iron with engravings of alchemical symbols done in quicksilver along its edges and gold in its middle, it meant for exactly what its name implies. It can be securely attached to her wrist, and used as a shield sturdy enough to tank a .50 caliber round head on.
Chéri Fotiá: Every craftsman needs their tools, and the Herphae pride themselves in having tools of the highest quality. More often than not each member of the family creates their own set of tools, so that they're specific to their own styles. Christina was no different, and has created a wide array of tools, some mystic codes some not, to aid in her projects. Chéri Fotiá though, is her favorite. And the one she's most likely to simply keep on her person.
At first glance, Chéri Fotiá is simply a fancy hammer. Iron shaft and head, with engravings etched into it done in a mixture of quicksilver and lead. Any alchemist could tell you why it is made in such that way though, and what it's function most likely is. Iron representing growth and strength, with lead and quicksilver being representative of transformation. It is a tool specifically made to aid in the forging of material. To help whatever creation she is making grow, to transform the base metal into something awe-inspiring.
But that is not all the hammer has. At the activation phrase, it morphs. Primarily the handle just extends to afford her a longer grip, but on a thaumaturgical level, there is also a shift. Iron still represents strength, but now also aggression. The lead and quicksilver, once representing transformation, now represents death. In other words, it becomes a battle hammer meant to bludgeon someone's head in with great effectiveness!
Non-Magecraft Abilities: Christina has been trained in Palé, ancient greek wrestling techniques. Primarily as a self defense mechanism if absolutely necessary. She’s got a mean right hook.
