Sky Blue
The Irish Tree
Phase
PaulHaynek
Lucid Dreaming
AzureKnight
The Otter
Kronshi
JewelSerket
NoriWasHereKalepco Lupine
Kuroneko
19 - Female - She/Her - Shadowless Thief - Lesbian"It's dog eat dog world, so they say - good thing I'm only half-mutt."
—Kuroneko, the Shadowless Thief
Kalepco Lupine
RACE: Half-Taxabi/Half-Gnoll Halfbreed (Quarterbreed, really)
RACE: Half-Taxabi/Half-Gnoll Halfbreed (Quarterbreed, really)
Born into the world as a mongrel, Kalepco Lupin is the daughter of the once infamous Phantom Thief, Grawsine Lupine, and his lover, the Kunoichi, Fay Lin, in the ever-sieged Human Kingdom known as the Empire of Man.
CLASS
RŌNIN...
...the honorable path of the warrior turned honorless and criminal. Despite having the natural born skills of a KUNOICHI and PHANTOM THIEF, Kalepco was never trained to use her talents beyond childish games. Such a life wasn't one intended for Kalepco, but with the abrupt death of her father and the slow death of her mother, it would come to call all the same.
Trained under the powerful watch of Grapnel Green, of the Green Iron Orc Tribe, Kalepco would learn to use her inborn talents against the Kingdom that wronged her...
Trained under the powerful watch of Grapnel Green, of the Green Iron Orc Tribe, Kalepco would learn to use her inborn talents against the Kingdom that wronged her...
SHADOWLESS THIEF...
...the pubescent surprise to outclass the rest, as the once untrained skills of her parents were roughly tumbled and finely polished under Grapnel's tutelage to be released in a stunning grandeur.
Figuratively and Literally, as that was what the Special Skill of a PHANTOM THIEF was called. No longer a RŌNIN, Kalepco had become so much more with a grander purpose fated to her.
Figuratively and Literally, as that was what the Special Skill of a PHANTOM THIEF was called. No longer a RŌNIN, Kalepco had become so much more with a grander purpose fated to her.
FATED FINALE
...only time will tell what Kalepco's destined to become in this world.
APPEARANCE
Born to the illogical union of a Half-Gnoll and a Half-Taxabi, Kalepco bares more of her mother's traits superficially, and more of her father's traits subdermally. Her figure is tall, lanky, and generally unimposing with Tabaxi features mixed with Human features, allowing her to easily pass in Human society for the most part, while betraying, entirely, the threaded cords of dense Gnoll muscle behind that supply her superhuman stamina and speed.
Having been born in a temperate climate, and lived her life in, so far, Kalepco's inherited fur is pattern strangely to emulate sleeves; coming down from her right shoulder to the start of her fingernails, but stopping at the midpoint of her left upper arm, and reflecting on her legs. As such, at a glance, she appears to be wearing a shirt and pair of pants with one long sleeve and one short sleeve. This combination of fur coverage accumulates hot and cold in a fair equal measure, so she is never too inconvenienced outdoors in the summer or winter.
Her standard of dress is a light, leather breastplate that covers only her upper torso, hiding the fur coverage underneath, a pair of leather vambraces dyed red with black accents, and a leather skirt that covers to the top of her thighs. Built less for protection in prolonged combat, but skirmishing attacks, her armor takes advantage of her feline nimbleness and her canine musculature, while conforming to her homosapien physique.
The standout piece of her attire is the red scarf that wraps around her neck; a special piece of her parents and her heritage, as it was woven by her mother from a unique textile stolen by her father, and can stretch great length while maintaining great weight without tearing.
It is her most prized possession, and she never parts with it.
Having been born in a temperate climate, and lived her life in, so far, Kalepco's inherited fur is pattern strangely to emulate sleeves; coming down from her right shoulder to the start of her fingernails, but stopping at the midpoint of her left upper arm, and reflecting on her legs. As such, at a glance, she appears to be wearing a shirt and pair of pants with one long sleeve and one short sleeve. This combination of fur coverage accumulates hot and cold in a fair equal measure, so she is never too inconvenienced outdoors in the summer or winter.
Her standard of dress is a light, leather breastplate that covers only her upper torso, hiding the fur coverage underneath, a pair of leather vambraces dyed red with black accents, and a leather skirt that covers to the top of her thighs. Built less for protection in prolonged combat, but skirmishing attacks, her armor takes advantage of her feline nimbleness and her canine musculature, while conforming to her homosapien physique.
The standout piece of her attire is the red scarf that wraps around her neck; a special piece of her parents and her heritage, as it was woven by her mother from a unique textile stolen by her father, and can stretch great length while maintaining great weight without tearing.
It is her most prized possession, and she never parts with it.
HISTORY
"They say, cats and dogs will never get along, yet here I am..."
"They say, cats and dogs will never get along, yet here I am..."
Born under an auspicious moon, Kalepco Lupine joined the Empire of llll in the dead of night with a mewling cry. Raised in the quiet part of the besieged kingdom, Kalepco never knew the secondary lives of her parents, and never thought to question the luxuries that simply appeared in her life and kept her childhood bright.
However, all bright spots cast a deep shadow elsewhere, in which all manner of things hide.
A kingdom in desperate need of resources is not a kingdom that is tolerant of thievery of said resources, and, in one fell swoop, Kalepco's quiet, idyllic life was uprooted with the reveal of her father being the Phantom Thief, Grawsine Lupine, and his prompt incarceration with a death sentence. Into shambles, her childhood would fall, and into despair her mother would sink, until she would succumb to her negligence to face the unknown future.
Left an orphan, a ward of the state, and unwanted by, Kalepco would grow up with little, falling to a life of crime with the Half-Orc Bandit Lord, Grapnel Green, and find herself in and out of the system from her preteen and teenage age years - pardoned only because her age, as a youth in the eyes of the law.
Though, once she was an adult in those same eyes, all bets were off...
They'd shown that twice, now, and taken three loved ones from her.
The hatred brewing herself and her homeland would not go amiss by the higher power of The Fates.
Perhaps, that is why a simple rumour of a magical toolbox from the Iron Dwarven Lands would catch the ears of the shadow on the wall.
An offering for a change at a lasting revenge...
...but for who? That was for The Fates to decide.
Regardless, Kalepco would pen her goodbyes to Grapnel in the dead of night, a shoddy scrawl conveying some unbidden level of sincerity, and a hazarded promise to try to return with the toolbox in hand...
However, all bright spots cast a deep shadow elsewhere, in which all manner of things hide.
A kingdom in desperate need of resources is not a kingdom that is tolerant of thievery of said resources, and, in one fell swoop, Kalepco's quiet, idyllic life was uprooted with the reveal of her father being the Phantom Thief, Grawsine Lupine, and his prompt incarceration with a death sentence. Into shambles, her childhood would fall, and into despair her mother would sink, until she would succumb to her negligence to face the unknown future.
Left an orphan, a ward of the state, and unwanted by, Kalepco would grow up with little, falling to a life of crime with the Half-Orc Bandit Lord, Grapnel Green, and find herself in and out of the system from her preteen and teenage age years - pardoned only because her age, as a youth in the eyes of the law.
Though, once she was an adult in those same eyes, all bets were off...
They'd shown that twice, now, and taken three loved ones from her.
The hatred brewing herself and her homeland would not go amiss by the higher power of The Fates.
Perhaps, that is why a simple rumour of a magical toolbox from the Iron Dwarven Lands would catch the ears of the shadow on the wall.
An offering for a change at a lasting revenge...
...but for who? That was for The Fates to decide.
Regardless, Kalepco would pen her goodbyes to Grapnel in the dead of night, a shoddy scrawl conveying some unbidden level of sincerity, and a hazarded promise to try to return with the toolbox in hand...
HISTORY: IMPORTANT PEOPLE
"A man that carried the weight of prejudice on his back, and the pride of his tribe in his chest, yet never had a chip on his shoulders - even as an exiled half-breed. Considered a traitor to the Gnoll and a freak among Humans, Grawsine Lupine relinquished the name given him at birth for a name that would become a legend, self-made. Even in death."
That's the kind of man my father was...
That's the kind of man my father was...
"Stern principles. Steady morals. Warm hugs. Just some of the qualities of the Mistress of Misfortune, though I called her Mommy. Daddy loves to tell the story of his little assassin turned lover, and how tight her scarf is. I remember her as a woman with the strength to hide her hurt, and she raised me with a smile. Even in the end."
That's the strength my mother possessed...
That's the strength my mother possessed...
"A towering beast born man, his chest clad in rustic, green armor, as if caging the inhuman musculature beneath. Boasting the strength of his monstrous kin, and the intelligence of his human mother, Grapnel strikes first and foremost on the frontlines with his fists, opening the path for his Bandit Tribe to move in and strike."
At least, that's how I remember him...
At least, that's how I remember him...
"Maybe, her name was truly apt. Her voice was a melody unlike any other. Her look would defeat any debates of beauty before they started. But, what I remember most is the flutter of those feathers while we scouted, because my heart would do the same. I never understood why an older woman that wasn't my mother made me feel like she... and I'll never get an answer, now."
I'll never forget her or that feeling in my heart...
I'll never forget her or that feeling in my heart...
"Warden, first. Father, second. Father Allan Hunter, Warden of the Beastman, and follower of the creed of Jusrice under Justoriel.
A man of the cloth, adorned in armor, with a deeply rooted prejudice to Beastmen, and fanatically loyalty to the Empire of Man and her laws."
Of him, I have no positive memory, just that sour expression of disappointment in what I am, not what I've done...
A man of the cloth, adorned in armor, with a deeply rooted prejudice to Beastmen, and fanatically loyalty to the Empire of Man and her laws."
Of him, I have no positive memory, just that sour expression of disappointment in what I am, not what I've done...
"Grandma Musilene. An old friend of my father's, as well as his fence and informant on things, in and out of whenever he called home. It could be said, I inherited her services as his only daughter, but that's all I've gained from her. That, and an important lesson: there's a difference between friends and family."
Like a shadow at high noon, Grandma Musilene is always there, yet out of sight.
Like a shadow at high noon, Grandma Musilene is always there, yet out of sight.
FEARS
Kalepco has general fears found in her more animalistic genes, such as a fear of thunderstorms and snakes; the latter causing her to run away to a safe distance, while the former can lock her in place, if she cannot find a place to hide.
While she doesn't have a fear of dying, due to how she grew up, Kalepco does have a reasonable self-preservation instinct, and will abandon hopeless combat.
However, the only thing she genuinely fears as a person is losing her scarf. If it goes missing, she will go into a manic frenzy to find it, and attack anyone, friend and, especially, foe.
While she doesn't have a fear of dying, due to how she grew up, Kalepco does have a reasonable self-preservation instinct, and will abandon hopeless combat.
However, the only thing she genuinely fears as a person is losing her scarf. If it goes missing, she will go into a manic frenzy to find it, and attack anyone, friend and, especially, foe.
GOALS
Kalepco drifts through life, living day-to-day, with the sole goal of one day getting revenge. Once that is achieved, she'll be without purpose, and will follow wherever the winds take her; be that to another land, or back to Grapnel and his Tribe.
SECRETS
Her Fated Weapon is stolen - twice, technically, as the Empire of Man stole it from the Iron Dwarves, and then Kalepco stole it from the Empire of Man.
Not explicitly a secret, but just a lack of understanding why she likes girls more than boys that Kalepco isn't comfortable sharing with strangers.
Not explicitly a secret, but just a lack of understanding why she likes girls more than boys that Kalepco isn't comfortable sharing with strangers.
FLAWS
Kalepco is very pessimistic, her emotional maturity stunted by raising herself and stealing from others to survive. Her catchphrase is simultaneously her philosophy on life.
Kalepco's intense distrust of strangers makes her a shaky ally to rely on, as she could slip into the shadows and disappear, leaving her once held allies to hang.
Adding to her general crankiness, Kalepco is naturally predisposed to smoking catnip in the same fashion as a person would nicotine or tobacco.
Messing with Kalepco's scarf can be a death sentence.
Kalepco's intense distrust of strangers makes her a shaky ally to rely on, as she could slip into the shadows and disappear, leaving her once held allies to hang.
Adding to her general crankiness, Kalepco is naturally predisposed to smoking catnip in the same fashion as a person would nicotine or tobacco.
Messing with Kalepco's scarf can be a death sentence.
SKILLS
Every party needs a thief to scout and break into places, as well as commit any less-than-savory acts of dealing with the problem. Being capable of Beastspeech between both Gnoll and Tabaxi, as well as the cultures, Kalepco makes for a decent guide and translator, if needed.
ABILITIES
Lockpicking - Kalepco is no stranger to gaining access to any lock of standard fare and make; if a key turns it, so can she with a clever application of a nail and thin shiv. However, magical locks are beyond her ken, frustratingly.
Sneaking - The most basic of basic skills employed by her profession, allowing her to prowl through unwelcoming spaces and place without making a sound or leaving a trace. Not invisibility by any chance, but as close as physically possible.
Pickpocketing - The third in the Trio of Thievery, allowing Kalepco to lift items from or place items upon a consciousness, or preferably, unconscious, target of decent size and weight. Not just applicable to picking pockets, but can also remove rings, necklaces, and even earrings with the approximate closeness and associated danger.
Ranged Weapon Proficiency - Preferring to hang back, Kalepco is more comfortable with a bow over a sword, and with her sharp eyes, more liable to strike a target rather than miss.
Throwing Weapon Proficiency - A natural extension of her preference to ranged combat, but reduced to work within confined and/or restrictive spaces. Behind closed doors, a knife can be as effective as an arrow.
Short Blade Proficiency - Life as a Bandit doesn't allow one the comfort of hanging back and staying safe behind a bow. No, sometimes, the fight comes to you, and knowing how to use a short blade can mean living another day.
Sneaking - The most basic of basic skills employed by her profession, allowing her to prowl through unwelcoming spaces and place without making a sound or leaving a trace. Not invisibility by any chance, but as close as physically possible.
Pickpocketing - The third in the Trio of Thievery, allowing Kalepco to lift items from or place items upon a consciousness, or preferably, unconscious, target of decent size and weight. Not just applicable to picking pockets, but can also remove rings, necklaces, and even earrings with the approximate closeness and associated danger.
Ranged Weapon Proficiency - Preferring to hang back, Kalepco is more comfortable with a bow over a sword, and with her sharp eyes, more liable to strike a target rather than miss.
Throwing Weapon Proficiency - A natural extension of her preference to ranged combat, but reduced to work within confined and/or restrictive spaces. Behind closed doors, a knife can be as effective as an arrow.
Short Blade Proficiency - Life as a Bandit doesn't allow one the comfort of hanging back and staying safe behind a bow. No, sometimes, the fight comes to you, and knowing how to use a short blade can mean living another day.
Grandeur: Shadowless - Every Phantom Thief is born with Grandeur, a unique ability that makes their style famous, and for Kalepco, this is Shadowless: the ability to turn her shadow into a Shade, and detach it from her body to operate as its own entity.
However, being a creature of shadows, her Shade can only operate as a scout, her eyes and ears, and cannot fight without a weapon of the Shades. It cannot travel more than a mile off, and cannot move through daylight without a shadow to hide in.
Being struck with light results in burns that reflect on Kalepco as pain, and can force a retreat or risk complete evaporation. As long as Kalepco is Shadowless, she is rendered rather weak.
Curtain Call: Shadow Sneak - Kalepco's ultimate trick, owing to her Kunoichi roots, which allows her to use her Shade as a Shadow Portal, and, 1/Day, manifest herself where it stands, regardless of where she is or her condition.
Beheld - Kalepco's most treasured possession, her scarf, Beheld. Normally, a blazingly red scarf with significance unexplainable, it is truly a weapon made of a unique textile that stretches beyond belief and is said to never tear. It moves with the will of the user's spiritual energy, and can be used in multiple offensive, defensive, and utilitarian fashions from a whip, to bindings, to a rope to swing off or climb up.
It carries the will of her mother and father, as well as the reason they are gone. The blood-red cloth means many things, but, most importantly, it is a means for Kalepco to be held by her parents.
However, being a creature of shadows, her Shade can only operate as a scout, her eyes and ears, and cannot fight without a weapon of the Shades. It cannot travel more than a mile off, and cannot move through daylight without a shadow to hide in.
Being struck with light results in burns that reflect on Kalepco as pain, and can force a retreat or risk complete evaporation. As long as Kalepco is Shadowless, she is rendered rather weak.
Curtain Call: Shadow Sneak - Kalepco's ultimate trick, owing to her Kunoichi roots, which allows her to use her Shade as a Shadow Portal, and, 1/Day, manifest herself where it stands, regardless of where she is or her condition.
Beheld - Kalepco's most treasured possession, her scarf, Beheld. Normally, a blazingly red scarf with significance unexplainable, it is truly a weapon made of a unique textile that stretches beyond belief and is said to never tear. It moves with the will of the user's spiritual energy, and can be used in multiple offensive, defensive, and utilitarian fashions from a whip, to bindings, to a rope to swing off or climb up.
It carries the will of her mother and father, as well as the reason they are gone. The blood-red cloth means many things, but, most importantly, it is a means for Kalepco to be held by her parents.
FATED WEAPON
Thundral's Cornucopia
Forge God of the Iron Dwarves, Thundral created an artifact of His peoples: a simple, handled pail that was blessed to forever supply the Iron Dwarves with nails to hammer, screws to turn, and bolts to ratchet with saws, crossbars, and more. A veritable cornucopia of a craftsman's needs.
Unfortunately, legends do not stay in their homelands, and once stories reached the empirical ears of the Empire of Man, an expedition was launched to acquire such a thing from the backward mountaineers. Securing the artifact, and the eternal enmity of the Iron Dwarves, the Empire of Man would prosper in their eternal siege against and by the Orc, able to shore up defenses in hours instead of days.
However, karma swings around, as it always does, and Thundral's Cornucopia was destined for a new thief to possess it...
Artisan Carpentry - By simply possessing this Fated Gift, Kalepco can construct anything wood or metal with the expertise of an artisan.
Workshop of One - Kalepco can construct with the speed of a professional workshop rolled into one.
Access: Forge Underhill - The inside of the artifact is a link to Thundral's forge, Underhill, and where its contents are sourced from.
Fated Gift: Deus Ex Machina - Thundral's Blessing is occasionally extended upon the artifact, and grants the keeper the perfect tool for the job at hand... but, not exactly making it clear how.
Unfortunately, legends do not stay in their homelands, and once stories reached the empirical ears of the Empire of Man, an expedition was launched to acquire such a thing from the backward mountaineers. Securing the artifact, and the eternal enmity of the Iron Dwarves, the Empire of Man would prosper in their eternal siege against and by the Orc, able to shore up defenses in hours instead of days.
However, karma swings around, as it always does, and Thundral's Cornucopia was destined for a new thief to possess it...
BESTOWED ABILITIES:
Artisan Carpentry - By simply possessing this Fated Gift, Kalepco can construct anything wood or metal with the expertise of an artisan.
Workshop of One - Kalepco can construct with the speed of a professional workshop rolled into one.
Access: Forge Underhill - The inside of the artifact is a link to Thundral's forge, Underhill, and where its contents are sourced from.
Fated Gift: Deus Ex Machina - Thundral's Blessing is occasionally extended upon the artifact, and grants the keeper the perfect tool for the job at hand... but, not exactly making it clear how.