Name: Corinna “Cora” Rall
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Appearance:
Cora has the lithe, athletic build of a traveler, of a woman used to years spent on the road, scouring ruins for lost tomes of knowledge, and a life often lived far from the comforts of civilization. Her skin is light and fair, but bears the familiar marks of her profession. A web of scars create a delicate tapestry along her hands and arms and it is clear the despite her skill, Cora like all alchemists, has paid a heavy price in order to master the alchemical arts. For even a skilled practitioner must learn through mistakes and these mistakes are costly when volatile chemicals are involved. The young Borean woman prefers her hair short, rarely letting it reach past her shoulders, and keeps it perpetually dyed it a dark shade of blue. Her eyes are not accidentally a matching hue of dark blue and shine more often than not with a barely contained sense of curiosity.
Cora dresses pragmatically, with layers of clothing appropriate to the season hidden beneath a well-fitting robe of grey.
Personality: Cora is intellectually inclined and possess a curiosity that has managed to get her both into and out of trouble more times than she can remember. She carries herself confidently, knowing full well that those who abandon themselves to hopelessness or fear are lost to the dangers of the world. Traveling across the lands of the Iron Kingdoms has taught her the value of pragmatism and unlike many other practitioners of the alchemical arts she understands the world outside of a laboratory as well as the one within the confines of a carefully controlled room of science.
She is deliberate and focused in her actions, always working towards acquiring new knowledge, finding yet another theory or useful idea. She is daring and occasionally reckless young woman, especially when tempted by her desires.
Despite what many might expect from an alchemist, Cora is warm and agreeable, quick to adapt to her surroundings and to those around her and open-minded as only a traveler can be. She is talkative given topics interests her, but can be touchy if faced with criticism or what she perceives as disinterest from others.
A vagabond at heart, Cora is exceedingly rebellious and freethinking, showing little interest in following the rules of polite society unless compelled to do so by factors outside of her control.
History: Cora was born in Thelen, a small village found in the northernmost reaches of what had once been the great Kingdom of Thule. The scion of a long line of alchemists that had served the royalty of the ancient kingdom since time immemorial, her fate has seemed from birth to be intimately entwined with the studies of her ancestors.
Her father was a middling alchemist, a poor soul who had never quite managed to live up the expectations of greatness placed upon him. Her mother was a weaver, a kind-hearted woman who kept the household together and the children in line. The small family lived modestly, respected by all but never managing to accrue more than what was necessary to survive. Life in the mountains was harsh, but the village Cora grew up in had fared far better than most of Thule during the grim Years of Dusk, and while much of the Iron Kingdoms suffered, little changed in Thelen. The unimportant village had been protected from the Scourge by the towering mountains which surrounded the village. It had been isolated for much of recorded history and as a result it was left it largely untouched by the foul plague that enveloped the land.
The light and guiding light in Cora’s youth was her grandfather, a grizzled veteran of the last great wars that told the young girl stories of the past. Though well past his prime, the old man had once been a talented alchemist and he was one of the few remaining royal alchemists of the old kingdom that had survived to the great fall. In short, he was a man well-versed in the Thulian arts of war and the deadly alchemy which the kingdom had wielded. Seeing potential in his granddaughter he took charge of her upbringing and taught Cora all that he knew, starting her education when she was little more than a child.
When he was finally satisfied with her training, Cora was a young woman, ready and eager to see the world. For there were limits to what her grandfather could teach her and he had spoken of ancient alchemists, legendary men and women, who had found truths far beyond his own comprehension. Striking out on her own Cora sought to continue her education and she journeyed beyond the mountains of her home in search of greater opportunities.
Eventually she found her way to the kingdom of Ostroc, one of the many minor kingdoms that had arisen following the fall of Thule. A militarily inclined kingdom with grand dreams of conquest and glory, Cora was eagerly welcomed to the royal court by King Ottomar Ironfist and his advisors, who desperately courted the young alchemist with promises of great rewards. An offer Cora accepted after a fortnight of careful deliberation.
She spent several years in the court serving as the royal alchemist to the fearsome king and his armies. It was said that the small kingdom quickly grew into a regional powerhouse with arrival of the young alchemist, rapidly fielding an army of arquebusiers that threatened even the most heavily armored knights in battle and laying entire armies to waste. Yet, it was not for the coin or the renown that Cora had accepted the position, but rather it was the promise of great knowledge that seduce her. For hidden safely in the castle of the king was a carefully guarded library, one of the few to survive the time of troubles unscathed, and it was worth far more to Cora than any sum of gold.
In time, Cora began to question her deeds in the service of the king, she began to doubt the goodness of creating tools of war, and she began to despair at the realization that her clever creations, of powder, flame and concussions, brought only injury and death. Certain that she had learned what she could from the library and unwilling or unable to face her conscience, she left the court of King Ottomar and returned to what she loved most, traveling the lands of the Iron Kingdoms.
In the time since she left the small village of Thelen, Cora has become a skilled alchemist and she has even managed to earn a notable reputation. To some, she is a seeker and guardian of lost knowledge and relics, a preserver of the vital technologies of the past. While to others, she is thieving treasure hunter and desecrator of tombs, a creator of terrible machines of war that kill and maim, in short a monster and cowardly killer.
Journey: There are precious few things Cora values as highly as knowledge. The young woman has dedicated her life to the alchemical arts and seeks to preserve the alchemical knowledge which is rapidly vanishing from the world. She travels across the lands of the Iron Kingdom with this goal in mind, offering her services to peasants, nobles and even kings when it will aid her cause.
It is the lost tomes and relics of the bygone ages that she seeks, rather than fleeting things like wealth or power.
Ideals: Above all else in life, Cora values knowledge. She is motivated by the desire to discover mysteries lost to the Years of Dusk and to re-learn the secrets of the ancient alchemical masters.
Holdings: Cora has precious little to her own name beyond those few possessions that she can carry in her traveling pack. She jealously guards an ancient tome of alchemical knowledge, a thick book older than her by several counts, and the sum of not only her own alchemical knowledge but that of generations of alchemists. The countless pages of the tome are filled to the brim with complex formulas and notes that would make little sense to those unfamiliar with the science of alchemy. However, even the unincited might marvel at the elaborate and beautiful paints that Cora has added where relevant.
On her person Cora carries several flasks of alchemical concoctions, safely secured in a complicated arrangement of straps. Although inert, with a quick mix, these chemicals can be combined into a number of volatile and deadly compounds. Beasts and men, even those clad in steel, are remarkably vulnerable to explosions and superheated flames after all.
In her leather traveling pack Cora carries the supplies needed for a couple of days of traveling, as well as a number of strange arcane ingredients, meticulously preserved, wrapped, and stored.
Cora has a walking stick with her at all times, a stout piece of oak tailored to her height, as well as a small knife that could if needed be used to defend her person, but that more often than not it simply serves as a tool. However to ensure her safety on the road Cora also has a blunderbuss pistol, a short and stocky firearm, with a simple wooden frame, and a steel barrel. It is brutal weapon that is remarkably efficient at close range and she has christened it “Thunder” due to the fearsome sound it makes and the strength of its blows. She customarily keeps it loaded with a number of lead balls, but in a pinch it could be fired using scrap metals and other materials, although this would inevitably damage the barrel and necessitate repairs.
Atrophy
