[OOC] AGE OF DAWN

[Shorticus]

Did someone say Savage??

@Savage

[Shorticus]

Here is my official claim to territory for Nordvind. Etymologically, Borea means North Wind. The Norwegian translation for the same word, is Nordvind.

Avoiding subjective terms, I simply eliminated the word, Savage form the Hyperborean description. ;)

@Gunther

What font and size did you use for that?

[Gunther]

Georgia 18pt Bold, Italics Underlined
and...
Georgia 12pt Bold, Italics

[Barrett]

Roughly when will the IC be starting? Because I'd like to get in on the ground floor but can't take the time out of my real life to do a character sheet justice until this time next week.

[Shorticus]

@Roosan That's a question Cruiser would have to answer, but from experience I'll say that if you're a few days late making your character it won't be a big deal.

[Jotunn Draugr]

How's this for my claim?

[Drifting Pollen]

Profile done!

Hopefully not a shitty Batman

Name: Rosa Mariane

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Appearance:



Tall and willowy build, with dark brown hair cut short or tied up, depending on the season. Brown eyes and light skin, the latter of which is usually kept very clean, for presentation's sake. She pays a lot of attention to her appearance, and takes pains to look as pristine as possible. Holds herself with practiced poise, and moves very carefully, with an emphasis on appearing cultured and elegant. Also has a tattoo that stretches down from her nape, across her back, and around to her belly, a black pattern made up of curling lines and tiny words in several different languages.

Rosa's clothes vary between extremely ostentatious and expensive outfits with lots of trimmings and jewelry (for official business) and loose, muted brown cloth and burlap garb (for more secretive dealings).

Personality:
Rosa's a snake. Ruthless and analytical, as patient as she is cunning, and utterly distrusting of those around her. She's also a very good actor, and will often try to appear more gentle and innocent than she actually is. Though hardly insecure, she is quite self-conscious, and carefully considers both her actions and the reactions of others. She will often appear friendly, and enjoys making acquaintances, but she always sees these kinds of relationships as tools rather than emotional connections. She can make real friends, but demands absolute loyalty in return.

She's something of a hedonist, and enjoys rich foods, excessive ornamentation, luxurious accommodations, attractive men, and the very best wines the world can provide. The latter is taken in moderation, however, and she stays away from more exotic drugs, out of fear that they may affect her mind. She is also mildly paranoid, and will sometimes have trouble balancing her desires and her need for security. There are many pleasures that Rosa loves, but power over others is foremost among them, and she will work to crush or undermine all those she cannot control.

History:
An Atlantean by descent, Rosa was born on a boat and raised on the rivers and seas, the daughter of a pair of traveling merchants who operated as part of a widespread guild. They were not particularly wealthy, but managed to keep themselves afloat and took Rosa with them all over the continent, teaching her the complexities of the trade and the various weaknesses and loopholes in the laws and culture of each area they visited. Their daughter was eager to learn, and grew to love the steady accumulation of wealth, no matter the means involved. She dreamed of inheriting her parents' position and becoming extraordinarily wealthy, and might have pulled it off without a hitch had this life not come to an early end.

Her parents were canny, but also unscrupulous, and eventually they made a dangerous deal that turned sour and ended with assassins on their heels. Knowing their was no escape, they abandoned Rosa in a quiet town at the edge of one of the few rivers of Iiram, leaving her in the care of a loyal customer who was poor and simple enough not to attract any attention from their pursuers. They were likely killed a short time later, but their maneuver paid off: Rosa survived, living quietly where nobody was liable to come looking for her.

The girl, however, absolutely loathed her new life of poverty and boredom. Her caretaker was an honest man, but he soon found himself unable to control the young Rosa, who took to the streets, befriending the dirty beggars and orphans who scurried like rats through the dark alleyways. Using her experience and her charm, she organized them, pooling and distributing their profits efficiently and grouping together the skilled thieves to steal valuable goods in planned heists they could never have pulled off before. By the time they'd attracted the attention of the local watch, Rosa's little gang was already wealthy enough to bribe them off, and continue their plundering unimpeded. Soon, as both she and her allies grew older and cleverer and gathered more resources, she began to hire muscle, and took over the more dangerous trades, recruiting drug dealers and con artists, bouncers and bartenders, whoever was willing to skirt the edges of the law. Her guardian thought her dead by this point, but Rosa was thriving, masterminding a growing criminal empire that was already spreading its reach to nearby population centers.

There was only so far she could have gone through illicit dealings alone, but Rosa was an adult by now (albeit a young one) and was ready to step into the light. What's more, she had a secret weapon for doing so: her parents' final gift to her, proof of her inheritance. It was only a matter of time before a ship belonging to their old merchant guild showed up, and Rosa seized the opportunity, making contact with the traveling traders and rejoining their organization. Within another two years, she had used both her talents for negotiation and her widespread underworld contacts to take over the guild, thus laying the foundation for the legitimate side of her now massive network.

Since then, Rosa has been surrounding herself with luxuries, as if to spite her former circumstances. However, these dalliances are mere distractions from her expanding influence and ambitious plans. Using her money and contacts, she has smuggled valuable and much-needed goods all across the continent, gathered small armies of mercenaries to change the tide of key battles, orchestrated the assassination of major political figures, supplied weapons to kingdoms at war, and even used her power to help force pacts and agreements where necessary. Every move is calculated, meant to either yield massive profits or shape the political landscape in her favor. She has also made an effort to recruit or kill the few remaining alchemists in the Iron Kingdoms, and is learning its secrets herself, in an effort to monopolize the art for her own gain. Now, she travels across the continent, never remaining in one place for long. Wherever she goes, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the weak all whisper of the woman whose every decision might shape the fate of kingdoms.

Journey:
If it wasn't already clear... Rosa wants power and money. She already has a crap ton of the latter, and is now beginning to shift her focus towards the former. The instability caused by the events of the Age of Dusk have given her plenty of opportunities to exploit, but right now she's seeking stability, creating alliances and holding them steady to ensure that her hard work is not wasted by some unpredictable coup or invasion. A world in turmoil can cast away a spider like her, but if she can make herself an integral piece of one set in stone, she has won. Her end-goal is a stable and thriving human civilization, with her pulling the strings from the shadows, not openly ruling any land but being powerful enough to get whatever she wants, one way or another.

Ideals:
Greed, pleasure, cunning and manipulation. Rosa values the intelligent for being competent servants and a decent challenge, and equally values the stupid for being easy to control. From her point of view, humans are little better than animals, and it is up to the most canny to rise to the top and dominate those below them. Concepts such as honor and kindness mean little to her, for her the only true happiness in life comes from pleasure, power, and the accumulation of both.

Holdings:
Officially, Rosa is extremely wealthy, possessing enough material wealth to rival a small kingdom and a fleet of over a dozen merchant vessels. Unofficially, she also has the ear and loyalty of hundred of contacts, including informants, assassins, politicians, mercenaries, gang leaders, pirates, and even the rulers of some towns and cities. These contacts in turn command many others, resulting in Rosa having access to a network thousands strong, though this is spread out all over the continent. It is likely she will know anywhere from one to three major figures in any coastal or riverside population center, as well as a few in key areas outside her usual range. Due to her means of operation, Rosa's influence wanes the further one gets from water and civilized areas, to the point where she has few contacts among groups such as nomadic tribes, although she is working on changing this.

She also has several alchemists working for her, and possesses a large number of rare and valuable alchemical texts, which she is using to try and learn its secrets herself.

[Dead Cruiser]

First, a quick poke at folks we've not heard from in a while. I'm assuming that anyone that's not yet come over from the Int Check is a lost cause.

@babbysama@Sonatina

Here is my official claim to territory for Nordvind. Etymologically, Borea means North Wind. The Norwegian translation for the same word, is Nordvind.

Avoiding subjective terms, I simply eliminated the word, Savage form the Hyperborean description. ;)

@Gunther

I'll refrain on passing judgement on this until we get you accepted.

Roughly when will the IC be starting? Because I'd like to get in on the ground floor but can't take the time out of my real life to do a character sheet justice until this time next week.

@Roosan

Probably in a week's time or so. Most characters will start the first stage of the RP independently, so there's little harm in starting after the others.

Do you have a character concept?

How's this for my claim?

@Jotunn Draugr

For just two city-states, it's a little big. I'd reduce it by about half.

Profile done!

Hopefully not a shitty Batman

Name: Rosa Mariane

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Appearance:



Tall and willowy build, with dark brown hair cut short or tied up, depending on the season. Brown eyes and light skin, the latter of which is usually kept very clean, for presentation's sake. She pays a lot of attention to her appearance, and takes pains to look as pristine as possible. Holds herself with practiced poise, and moves very carefully, with an emphasis on appearing cultured and elegant. Also has a tattoo that stretches down from her nape, across her back, and around to her belly, a black pattern made up of curling lines and tiny words in several different languages.

Rosa's clothes vary between extremely ostentatious and expensive outfits with lots of trimmings and jewelry (for official business) and loose, muted brown cloth and burlap garb (for more secretive dealings).

Personality:
Rosa's a snake. Ruthless and analytical, as patient as she is cunning, and utterly distrusting of those around her. She's also a very good actor, and will often try to appear more gentle and innocent than she actually is. Though hardly insecure, she is quite self-conscious, and carefully considers both her actions and the reactions of others. She will often appear friendly, and enjoys making acquaintances, but she always sees these kinds of relationships as tools rather than emotional connections. She can make real friends, but demands absolute loyalty in return.

She's something of a hedonist, and enjoys rich foods, excessive ornamentation, luxurious accommodations, attractive men, and the very best wines the world can provide. The latter is taken in moderation, however, and she stays away from more exotic drugs, out of fear that they may affect her mind. She is also mildly paranoid, and will sometimes have trouble balancing her desires and her need for security. There are many pleasures that Rosa loves, but power over others is foremost among them, and she will work to crush or undermine all those she cannot control.

History:
An Atlantean by descent, Rosa was born on a boat and raised on the rivers and seas, the daughter of a pair of traveling merchants who operated as part of a widespread guild. They were not particularly wealthy, but managed to keep themselves afloat and took Rosa with them all over the continent, teaching her the complexities of the trade and the various weaknesses and loopholes in the laws and culture of each area they visited. Their daughter was eager to learn, and grew to love the steady accumulation of wealth, no matter the means involved. She dreamed of inheriting her parents' position and becoming extraordinarily wealthy, and might have pulled it off without a hitch had this life not come to an early end.

Her parents were canny, but also unscrupulous, and eventually they made a dangerous deal that turned sour and ended with assassins on their heels. Knowing their was no escape, they abandoned Rosa in a quiet town at the edge of one of the few rivers of Iiram, leaving her in the care of a loyal customer who was poor and simple enough not to attract any attention from their pursuers. They were likely killed a short time later, but their maneuver paid off: Rosa survived, living quietly where nobody was liable to come looking for her.

The girl, however, absolutely loathed her new life of poverty and boredom. Her caretaker was an honest man, but he soon found himself unable to control the young Rosa, who took to the streets, befriending the dirty beggars and orphans who scurried like rats through the dark alleyways. Using her experience and her charm, she organized them, pooling and distributing their profits efficiently and grouping together the skilled thieves to steal valuable goods in planned heists they could never have pulled off before. By the time they'd attracted the attention of the local watch, Rosa's little gang was already wealthy enough to bribe them off, and continue their plundering unimpeded. Soon, as both she and her allies grew older and cleverer and gathered more resources, she began to hire muscle, and took over the more dangerous trades, recruiting drug dealers and con artists, bouncers and bartenders, whoever was willing to skirt the edges of the law. Her guardian thought her dead by this point, but Rosa was thriving, masterminding a growing criminal empire that was already spreading its reach to nearby population centers.

There was only so far she could have gone through illicit dealings alone, but Rosa was an adult by now (albeit a young one) and was ready to step into the light. What's more, she had a secret weapon for doing so: her parents' final gift to her, proof of her inheritance. It was only a matter of time before a ship belonging to their old merchant guild showed up, and Rosa seized the opportunity, making contact with the traveling traders and rejoining their organization. Within another two years, she had used both her talents for negotiation and her widespread underworld contacts to take over the guild, thus laying the foundation for the legitimate side of her now massive network.

Since then, Rosa has been surrounding herself with luxuries, as if to spite her former circumstances. However, these dalliances are mere distractions from her expanding influence and ambitious plans. Using her money and contacts, she has smuggled valuable and much-needed goods all across the continent, gathered small armies of mercenaries to change the tide of key battles, orchestrated the assassination of major political figures, supplied weapons to kingdoms at war, and even used her power to help force pacts and agreements where necessary. Every move is calculated, meant to either yield massive profits or shape the political landscape in her favor. She has also made an effort to recruit or kill the few remaining alchemists in the Iron Kingdoms, and is learning its secrets herself, in an effort to monopolize the art for her own gain. Now, she travels across the continent, never remaining in one place for long. Wherever she goes, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the weak all whisper of the woman whose every decision might shape the fate of kingdoms.

Journey:
If it wasn't already clear... Rosa wants power and money. She already has a crap ton of the latter, and is now beginning to shift her focus towards the former. The instability caused by the events of the Age of Dusk have given her plenty of opportunities to exploit, but right now she's seeking stability, creating alliances and holding them steady to ensure that her hard work is not wasted by some unpredictable coup or invasion. A world in turmoil can cast away a spider like her, but if she can make herself an integral piece of one set in stone, she has won. Her end-goal is a stable and thriving human civilization, with her pulling the strings from the shadows, not openly ruling any land but being powerful enough to get whatever she wants, one way or another.

Ideals:
Greed, pleasure, cunning and manipulation. Rosa values the intelligent for being competent servants and a decent challenge, and equally values the stupid for being easy to control. From her point of view, humans are little better than animals, and it is up to the most canny to rise to the top and dominate those below them. Concepts such as honor and kindness mean little to her, for her the only true happiness in life comes from pleasure, power, and the accumulation of both.

Holdings:
Officially, Rosa is extremely wealthy, possessing enough material wealth to rival a small kingdom and a fleet of over a dozen merchant vessels. Unofficially, she also has the ear and loyalty of hundred of contacts, including informants, assassins, politicians, mercenaries, gang leaders, pirates, and even the rulers of some towns and cities. These contacts in turn command many others, resulting in Rosa having access to a network thousands strong, though this is spread out all over the continent. It is likely she will know anywhere from one to three major figures in any coastal or riverside population center, as well as a few in key areas outside her usual range. Due to her means of operation, Rosa's influence wanes the further one gets from water and civilized areas, to the point where she has few contacts among groups such as nomadic tribes, although she is working on changing this.

She also has several alchemists working for her, and possesses a large number of rare and valuable alchemical texts, which she is using to try and learn its secrets herself.

@Drifting Pollen

Notes herein.

Notes

All in all, not a bad character. I see what you're trying to do, and I like what your character brings to the table. There are just a few things that sit poorly with me. The main issue is that the Age of Dawn is a decidedly bad time to be a merchant. Merchants thrive by negotiating the exchange of goods. For there to be goods, there must be surplus. For there to be surplus, there must be sustenance. Sustenance is not always a given in the Age of Dawn, as these are trying and difficult times. Merchants and traders and sorts are hard-pressed to stay in business, as most people are more concerned with keeping food on their tables and barbarians off their walls than with luxury goods.

I don't know if I really like the idea of a mercantile guild surviving the Years of Dusk. You have to wonder if something like that would survive a near-complete societal collapse. My other petty grievances include them being riverboat travelers, something that is just very strange to me, and the idea of a seedy old city in Iiram (which is in a very "eat or be eaten" state currently).

So here's what I'm thinking. Perhaps her parents were members of the sad, scattered remnants of the old Merchant's Guild, which had to basically allow itself to be assimilated into the pirate clans to survive. Extend her culturally, let her travel the world in her youth. Perhaps her parents ripped off the wrong pirate lord, rather than some generic deal that ended in assassins for some reason. She could have been left at some pirate haven in the Ivory Kingdoms. I'd be very interested if her primary focus as a merchant was in the dealing of arms and soldiers. Her interest in alchemy, which seems kind of tacked on at the moment, could be made more plausible by the idea that she's trying to discover for herself how to make gunpowder, so that she doesn't have to rely on hired alchemists to either make it or trade for it.

All in all, it could work, but could use some adjustments to fit into the setting. My vote: pirates and arms dealing.

[vietmyke]

The idea of a pirate using alchemy to make gunpowder, and maybe even ammunition. It's like a plausible means to have an infinite ammo cheat

[Disciple Cain]

I'll be a little delayed on posting my character, too. I have to get through the rest of this work week before I'll feel up to anything, and I have a lot of work to do even after that.

[Jotunn Draugr]

Okay @Dead Cruiser, less than half the size now.

Note the two distinct masses, representing the land-claims/farmland of the two capitals.

[Drifting Pollen]

@Dead Cruiser

I figured the current state of things would be pretty hard for merchants, which is why I had her start with criminal elements, and why she's seeking stability... still, it seems I underestimated just how bad things are.

Edited profile below, now with more pirates!

Shiver me timbers!

Name: Rosa Mariane

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Appearance:



Tall and willowy build, with dark brown hair cut short or tied up, depending on the season. Brown eyes and light skin, the latter of which is usually kept very clean, for presentation's sake. She pays a lot of attention to her appearance, and takes pains to look as pristine as possible. Holds herself with practiced poise, and moves very carefully, with an emphasis on appearing cultured and elegant. Also has a tattoo that stretches down from her nape, across her back, and around to her belly, a black pattern made up of curling lines and tiny words in several different languages.

Rosa's clothes vary between extremely ostentatious and expensive outfits with lots of trimmings and jewelry (for official business) and loose, muted brown cloth and burlap garb (for more secretive dealings).

Personality:
Rosa's a snake. Ruthless and analytical, as patient as she is cunning, and utterly distrusting of those around her. She's also a very good actor, and will often try to appear more gentle and innocent than she actually is. Though hardly insecure, she is quite self-conscious, and carefully considers both her actions and the reactions of others. She will often appear friendly, and enjoys making acquaintances, but she always sees these kinds of relationships as tools rather than emotional connections. She can make real friends, but demands absolute loyalty in return.

She's something of a hedonist, and enjoys rich foods, excessive ornamentation, luxurious accommodations, attractive men, and the very best wines the world can provide. The latter is taken in moderation, however, and she stays away from more exotic drugs, out of fear that they may affect her mind. She is also mildly paranoid, and will sometimes have trouble balancing her desires and her need for security. There are many pleasures that Rosa loves, but power over others is foremost among them, and she will work to crush or undermine all those she cannot control.

History:
An Atlantean by descent, Rosa was born on a boat and raised on the rivers and seas, the daughter of a pair of formerly wealthy merchants whose powerful Guild had collapsed during the turmoil of the Age of Dusk. With their money running out and nowhere safe to go, her parents had been forced to throw in their lot with a roving band of pirates, using their ability to appraise and negotiate to sell off stolen goods for half-decent prices, which was a valuable talent in such dark times. Neither of them wanted to see Rosa caught up in their dirty business, but the pirates forced their hand, keeping their daughter close as collateral.

Thus, Rosa was exposed to the seedy side of the world at a young age. Though she never took part in any raids or boardings, she traveled the Atlantean Sea with a vile and dangerous crew, stopping at hidden ports and black markets all over the coastline. Resolving to make the best of a dire situation, her parents taught her something of their trade: how to read and manipulate people, the basics of economics, and the details they had learned as merchants of the world's various cultures, including those further inland, such as Iiram, which Rosa had never seen. Sometimes, when they were feeling nostalgic, they would wax poetic about their former wealth, or the might of the Merchants' Guild, and their daughter drank it all in.

However, working alongside pirates was a dangerous business, and eventually Rosa's parents and their employers ran afoul of a vicious and vengeful captain, who was quick to track them down and seek their heads. Knowing that they had little hope of surviving much longer, the two of them called in an old favor and got their daughter a ride on a small smuggling vessel, which took Rosa down to a seedy little port in Darfar, where an old friend was waiting to take her in. There, she was supposed to live quietly, safely, until she was old enough to take care of herself.

The girl, however, absolutely loathed the idea of a life filled with poverty and boredom. Her caretaker was an honest man, but he soon found himself unable to control the young Rosa, who took to the streets, befriending the dirty beggars and orphans who scurried like rats through the dark alleyways. Using her experience and her charm, she organized them, pooling and distributing their profits efficiently and grouping together the skilled thieves to steal valuable goods in planned heists they could never have pulled off before. By the time they'd attracted the attention of the local watch, Rosa's little gang was already wealthy enough to bribe them off, and continue their plundering unimpeded. Soon, as both she and her allies grew older and cleverer and gathered more resources, she began to hire muscle, and took over the more dangerous trades, recruiting drug dealers and con artists, bouncers and bartenders, pirates and bounty hunters, and all the other kinds of dangerous scum who frequented her dirty little port. Her guardian thought her dead by this point, but Rosa was thriving, masterminding a growing criminal empire that was already spreading its reach to the seas.

There was only so far she could have gone through quiet manipulation and organization alone, but Rosa was an adult by now (albeit a young one) and was ready to step out into the wider world. Once she'd acquired enough wealth to buy herself a ship, she was off to sea, armed with her wits and a crew of loyal scumbags, ready to begin her rise to power.

She knew what the world wanted in this age: weapons. After contacting informants on the coastline to find out where the wars were, she bought up arms and armor from peaceful locations before selling them at exorbitant prices to kingdoms at war, who needed them far more than their gold and jewels. As she grew richer and found more allies and customers, Rosa recruited blacksmiths of her own, and began seeking out alchemists, hoping to use their dying art to discover the secrets of gunpowder, and monopolize this for her own gains. As the volatile and brutal Age of Dawn began, supply and demand grew ever larger, Rosa's network spread across the continent, and she became fabulously rich.

Since then, Rosa has been surrounding herself with luxuries, as if to spite her former circumstances. However, these dalliances are mere distractions from her expanding influence and ambitious plans. Using her money and contacts, she has smuggled valuable and much-needed arms and supplies all across the continent, gathered small armies of mercenaries to change the tide of key battles, orchestrated the assassination of major political figures, sent thieves and pirates after her competition, and even used her power to help force pacts and agreements where necessary. Every move is calculated, meant to either yield massive profits or shape the political landscape in her favor. She has also began studying alchemy herself, in the hopes of being able to rebuild and surpass the deadly power formerly posessed by the alchemists of Thule. Now, she travels across the continent, never remaining in one place for long. Wherever she goes, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the weak all whisper of the woman whose every decision might shape the fate of kingdoms.

Journey:
If it wasn't already clear... Rosa wants power and money. She already has a crap ton of the latter, and is now beginning to shift her focus towards the former. The instability caused by the events of the Age of Dusk have given her plenty of opportunities to exploit, but right now she's seeking consolidation, creating alliances and holding them steady to ensure that her hard work is not wasted by some unpredictable coup or invasion. She still thrives on warfare, but already has plans to adapt when a more peaceful age inevitably comes about. While world in turmoil can cast away a spider like her, if she can make herself an integral piece of one set in stone, she has won. Her end-goal is a stable and thriving human civilization, with her pulling the strings from the shadows, not openly ruling any land but being powerful enough to get whatever she wants, one way or another.

Ideals:
Greed, pleasure, cunning and manipulation. Rosa values the intelligent for being competent servants and a decent challenge, and equally values the stupid for being easy to control. From her point of view, humans are little better than animals, and it is up to the most canny to rise to the top and dominate those below them. Concepts such as honor and kindness mean little to her, for her the only true happiness in life comes from pleasure, power, and the accumulation of both.

Holdings:
Officially, Rosa is extremely wealthy, possessing enough material wealth to rival a small kingdom and a fleet of over a dozen vessels, some of which she uses to ferry weapons and goods where she needs them and others of which are simply pirates in her employ. Unofficially, she also has the ear and loyalty of hundred of contacts, including informants, assassins, politicians, mercenaries, gang leaders, pirates, and even the rulers of some towns and cities. These contacts in turn command many others, resulting in Rosa having access to a network thousands strong, though this is spread out all over the continent. It is likely she will know anywhere from one to three major figures in any coastal or riverside population center, as well as a few in key areas outside her usual range. Due to her means of operation, Rosa's influence wanes the further one gets from water and civilized areas, to the point where she has few contacts among groups such as nomadic tribes, although she is working on changing this.

She also has several alchemists working for her, and possesses a large number of rare and valuable alchemical texts, which she is using to try and learn its secrets herself, focusing primarily on its more devastating applications.

[Shorticus]

Fernando is in a den of snakes, isn't he?

[vietmyke]

Rosa Mariane, the Marine Rose, beautiful and dangerous is the gist I get.

[Dead Cruiser]

Okay @Dead Cruiser, less than half the size now.

Note the two distinct masses, representing the land-claims/farmland of the two capitals.

@Jotunn Draugr

Better.

@Dead Cruiser

I figured the current state of things would be pretty hard for merchants, which is why I had her start with criminal elements, and why she's seeking stability... still, it seems I underestimated just how bad things are.

Edited profile below, now with more pirates!

Shiver me timbers!

Name: Rosa Mariane

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Appearance:



Tall and willowy build, with dark brown hair cut short or tied up, depending on the season. Brown eyes and light skin, the latter of which is usually kept very clean, for presentation's sake. She pays a lot of attention to her appearance, and takes pains to look as pristine as possible. Holds herself with practiced poise, and moves very carefully, with an emphasis on appearing cultured and elegant. Also has a tattoo that stretches down from her nape, across her back, and around to her belly, a black pattern made up of curling lines and tiny words in several different languages.

Rosa's clothes vary between extremely ostentatious and expensive outfits with lots of trimmings and jewelry (for official business) and loose, muted brown cloth and burlap garb (for more secretive dealings).

Personality:
Rosa's a snake. Ruthless and analytical, as patient as she is cunning, and utterly distrusting of those around her. She's also a very good actor, and will often try to appear more gentle and innocent than she actually is. Though hardly insecure, she is quite self-conscious, and carefully considers both her actions and the reactions of others. She will often appear friendly, and enjoys making acquaintances, but she always sees these kinds of relationships as tools rather than emotional connections. She can make real friends, but demands absolute loyalty in return.

She's something of a hedonist, and enjoys rich foods, excessive ornamentation, luxurious accommodations, attractive men, and the very best wines the world can provide. The latter is taken in moderation, however, and she stays away from more exotic drugs, out of fear that they may affect her mind. She is also mildly paranoid, and will sometimes have trouble balancing her desires and her need for security. There are many pleasures that Rosa loves, but power over others is foremost among them, and she will work to crush or undermine all those she cannot control.

History:
An Atlantean by descent, Rosa was born on a boat and raised on the rivers and seas, the daughter of a pair of formerly wealthy merchants whose powerful Guild had collapsed during the turmoil of the Age of Dusk. With their money running out and nowhere safe to go, her parents had been forced to throw in their lot with a roving band of pirates, using their ability to appraise and negotiate to sell off stolen goods for half-decent prices, which was a valuable talent in such dark times. Neither of them wanted to see Rosa caught up in their dirty business, but the pirates forced their hand, keeping their daughter close as collateral.

Thus, Rosa was exposed to the seedy side of the world at a young age. Though she never took part in any raids or boardings, she traveled the Atlantean Sea with a vile and dangerous crew, stopping at hidden ports and black markets all over the coastline. Resolving to make the best of a dire situation, her parents taught her something of their trade: how to read and manipulate people, the basics of economics, and the details they had learned as merchants of the world's various cultures, including those further inland, such as Iiram, which Rosa had never seen. Sometimes, when they were feeling nostalgic, they would wax poetic about their former wealth, or the might of the Merchants' Guild, and their daughter drank it all in.

However, working alongside pirates was a dangerous business, and eventually Rosa's parents and their employers ran afoul of a vicious and vengeful captain, who was quick to track them down and seek their heads. Knowing that they had little hope of surviving much longer, the two of them called in an old favor and got their daughter a ride on a small smuggling vessel, which took Rosa down to a seedy little port in Darfar, where an old friend was waiting to take her in. There, she was supposed to live quietly, safely, until she was old enough to take care of herself.

The girl, however, absolutely loathed the idea of a life filled with poverty and boredom. Her caretaker was an honest man, but he soon found himself unable to control the young Rosa, who took to the streets, befriending the dirty beggars and orphans who scurried like rats through the dark alleyways. Using her experience and her charm, she organized them, pooling and distributing their profits efficiently and grouping together the skilled thieves to steal valuable goods in planned heists they could never have pulled off before. By the time they'd attracted the attention of the local watch, Rosa's little gang was already wealthy enough to bribe them off, and continue their plundering unimpeded. Soon, as both she and her allies grew older and cleverer and gathered more resources, she began to hire muscle, and took over the more dangerous trades, recruiting drug dealers and con artists, bouncers and bartenders, pirates and bounty hunters, and all the other kinds of dangerous scum who frequented her dirty little port. Her guardian thought her dead by this point, but Rosa was thriving, masterminding a growing criminal empire that was already spreading its reach to the seas.

There was only so far she could have gone through quiet manipulation and organization alone, but Rosa was an adult by now (albeit a young one) and was ready to step out into the wider world. Once she'd acquired enough wealth to buy herself a ship, she was off to sea, armed with her wits and a crew of loyal scumbags, ready to begin her rise to power.

She knew what the world wanted in this age: weapons. After contacting informants on the coastline to find out where the wars were, she bought up arms and armor from peaceful locations before selling them at exorbitant prices to kingdoms at war, who needed them far more than their gold and jewels. As she grew richer and found more allies and customers, Rosa recruited blacksmiths of her own, and began seeking out alchemists, hoping to use their dying art to discover the secrets of gunpowder, and monopolize this for her own gains. As the volatile and brutal Age of Dawn began, supply and demand grew ever larger, Rosa's network spread across the continent, and she became fabulously rich.

Since then, Rosa has been surrounding herself with luxuries, as if to spite her former circumstances. However, these dalliances are mere distractions from her expanding influence and ambitious plans. Using her money and contacts, she has smuggled valuable and much-needed arms and supplies all across the continent, gathered small armies of mercenaries to change the tide of key battles, orchestrated the assassination of major political figures, sent thieves and pirates after her competition, and even used her power to help force pacts and agreements where necessary. Every move is calculated, meant to either yield massive profits or shape the political landscape in her favor. She has also began studying alchemy herself, in the hopes of being able to rebuild and surpass the deadly power formerly posessed by the alchemists of Thule. Now, she travels across the continent, never remaining in one place for long. Wherever she goes, the rich and the poor, the mighty and the weak all whisper of the woman whose every decision might shape the fate of kingdoms.

Journey:
If it wasn't already clear... Rosa wants power and money. She already has a crap ton of the latter, and is now beginning to shift her focus towards the former. The instability caused by the events of the Age of Dusk have given her plenty of opportunities to exploit, but right now she's seeking consolidation, creating alliances and holding them steady to ensure that her hard work is not wasted by some unpredictable coup or invasion. She still thrives on warfare, but already has plans to adapt when a more peaceful age inevitably comes about. While world in turmoil can cast away a spider like her, if she can make herself an integral piece of one set in stone, she has won. Her end-goal is a stable and thriving human civilization, with her pulling the strings from the shadows, not openly ruling any land but being powerful enough to get whatever she wants, one way or another.

Ideals:
Greed, pleasure, cunning and manipulation. Rosa values the intelligent for being competent servants and a decent challenge, and equally values the stupid for being easy to control. From her point of view, humans are little better than animals, and it is up to the most canny to rise to the top and dominate those below them. Concepts such as honor and kindness mean little to her, for her the only true happiness in life comes from pleasure, power, and the accumulation of both.

Holdings:
Officially, Rosa is extremely wealthy, possessing enough material wealth to rival a small kingdom and a fleet of over a dozen vessels, some of which she uses to ferry weapons and goods where she needs them and others of which are simply pirates in her employ. Unofficially, she also has the ear and loyalty of hundred of contacts, including informants, assassins, politicians, mercenaries, gang leaders, pirates, and even the rulers of some towns and cities. These contacts in turn command many others, resulting in Rosa having access to a network thousands strong, though this is spread out all over the continent. It is likely she will know anywhere from one to three major figures in any coastal or riverside population center, as well as a few in key areas outside her usual range. Due to her means of operation, Rosa's influence wanes the further one gets from water and civilized areas, to the point where she has few contacts among groups such as nomadic tribes, although she is working on changing this.

She also has several alchemists working for her, and possesses a large number of rare and valuable alchemical texts, which she is using to try and learn its secrets herself, focusing primarily on its more devastating applications.

@Drifting Pollen

Much improved. Accepted.

[Flagg]

Still accepting? Sorry to show up late to the party.

[Barrett]

@Dead Cruiser
Okay, thank you. As for character concept, I'd like to buckle my swash for this Role-Play, maybe a pirate king or something similar.

[Dead Cruiser]

Still accepting? Sorry to show up late to the party.

@Flagg

Just as long as I have an assurance of your commitment. We've worked together a lot, and you're a great player, but you have a worrying habit of dropping out without a word.

[Dead Cruiser]

@Dead Cruiser
Okay, thank you. As for character concept, I'd like to buckle my swash for this Role-Play, maybe a pirate king or something similar.

@Roosan

Certainly possible. Have a word with @Drifting Pollen, as they have a fair deal of piracy in their character's history.

[Barrett]

@Dead Cruiser
Like I said, I really can't put the time in to make a proper sheet for the next few days. But when I have time, I will certainly do that.