Appearance
Rivin is an odd-looking young man, possessing the fine features of his Dratori heritage, along with the delicacy of a Stormborn.
His skin is pale but not outside the ordinary for a human at first glance. If studied one begins to recognize the faint blueish tint over it, making his lips appear almost purple. There is no mistaking the two horns that sprout from his forehead and curve back over his head, the ends curling out almost like sheep's ears. They are a more obvious blue and white, but still pale, almost ghostly in coloring.
He stands a modest 5'1; sleek figure and horns making his height harder to determine for those not quite near to him. His mode of dress and grooming are entirely decided by the man who owns him. His hair is kept short, and through obedience and manipulation, he is allowed enough food and even exercise to keep his body strong.
Personality
Rivin keeps himself to himself at first, remaining quiet when he is introduced to a society or a person until he can learn how best to fit with them. When he has decided he knows how to act he will come out of his quiet suddenly, as though he were merely distracted and is now fully invested in the situation. Having an often secluded upbringing, his limited experience often causes him to come to incorrect conclusions about customs or expectations, but his instincts about what a person wants from him are rarely wrong.
Such instincts kept him alive and in favor when many others were left to rot in cells or given worse fates. Rivin's life has held plenty of suffering, and his ability to read people was developed due to this, so, while he may appear charming in simple situations he is manipulative and entirely self-motivated. His sense of humor is odd, rarely manifesting as he doesn't have a good enough grasp of social norms to understand how things are funny. His self-expression when anyone is present is so ingrained into projecting what he wants to be seen that when he is alone he rarely has any expression at all. It is likely he has no idea who he actually is behind his unquenchable desire to survive and nearly infinitely adaptable mask.
The Dratori rage was strong in the boy when he was young, and it is strong still, only, like every other aspect of him, it had to adapt. When he loses his temper, which is now rarely, he loses time, forgetting what has happened, and what terrible things he might have done before calming back down. He has accepted this, as with most things he had no choice, and has grown adept at obfuscating what damage or crimes he commits while blacked out.
History
Rivin's mother was a slave, born and raised inside the Imperium. The lives of Lysanrin slaves were typically characterized in obscurity and occasionally brutality but some, the strong or the determined, found an opening to show their value. His mother did so when she heard a rumor that a well-known and respected Noble House was looking specifically for Lysanrin slaves. She knew there were other races in her blood but she looked like a pure Stormborne. Managing to get word into the right ears so the ones who owned her would know she could earn them riches, she was brought before the representatives of the noble house and deemed worthy. The look the representative gave her, in fact, made her wonder if her value to him was not too high.
She was taken from her birthplace and delivered to a palatial estate where she was kept in a cell but well-fed, given everything she needed, and was left unmolested. Which, to her was a great improvement. She did not resist, and indeed, did all she could to ingratiate herself to her new masters. She was young, and, for her race and considered beautiful, yet, they did not seem interested in her charms in that way. Healers were brought in to investigate her health, her diet was adjusted until she was at the peak of health, and medicines or magic were employed to cure any illness. When she was as healthy as could be, her master began to do things she didn't understand. Taking samples of her blood, skin, spit, tears, even shaving bits from her horns. Other than the sample taking, which was never very painful, she was left alone.
After almost a year in her new home when the gentle care was beginning to lose some of its charm in the face of endless loneliness and boredom, finally, something was required of her. A large male of a race she did not know; his skin was an odd color, his ears pointed, his body strong, was brought into her cell and she was made to understand that she was required to mate with him, but only until she became pregnant. Having been subjected to unwanted sex before she knew how to end the encounters quickly, and it only took a few times before a magical healer confirmed she was with child.
Rivin came into the world in due time, and she was allowed to nurse and raise him herself. She taught him the language of the Imperium, along with Common, for it was almost the only thing she had to teach. When he was weaned his mother was required to become pregnant again, and was kept more or less continuously so while he was with her. The other children were not kept with Rivin and his mother, which he never knew to question. His skin, blood, etc, were also taken from him periodically, and whatever it was that was found appeared to please his owner. They were sometimes kept in the cells, but sometimes allowed nicer rooms where they could get sunlight and run and play in the grassed inner court yards. He was taken from his mother regularly once he could walk, taught to read, write, and speak Common.
When he was twelve he was taken with their master, a refined human male who was in control of all the experiments, to the city of Zaichaer; his mother was left behind and he never saw her again. He was smart and had been taught from birth to look for ways to show his value to the one who owned him. He showed willingness, and even aptitude for the experiments done, and, over time, earned the trust of his master. The freedom this earned him was periodic, and he still sometimes found himself locked in a cell, but at other times he was allowed to assist in the experiments, and learn what he could. Now and then others, who he thought of as masters, came to inspect the work being done, and he learned to adjust his personality to please whoever had control.
When he was seventeen his master told him that he had passed all the tests and would be given a very special privilege. The way this was said put Rivin immediately into survival mode, but he kept his outward expression eager and obedient. He was brought into a room and strapped face down. He assumed he was about to be used, as his mother had been used, but it was not so. He was not sure what happened, but it hurt, and beyond that, it felt... changing. Something was written into his spine, carefully, and it took time. He tried to stay awake, but, by the end, he lost consciousness.
When he woke, not knowing how much time had passed, he began to hear voices and he was sick, in mind and body, for months. When he was well again, his master had a mage come in and give him very basic training. Enough that he wouldn't randomly summon spirits by accident. For this was what had been done to him, he had received the Rune of Summoning.
Many tests were done on him thereafter, and he submitted to all of them as best he could. The voices that had come with the Rune didn't go away, making it difficult to sleep, and at times he thought he could see things that didn't exist. His rages, which had plagued him and earned him beatings as a child, began to come back on him, and as he grew less stable he was allowed less and less freedom until he was locked in a cell at all times. It was therein that one of the voices began to make sense, coming more and more often, offering more and more power and freedom until Rivin could resist him no longer. He made a pact, stepped sideways through reality, and gave up a part of himself. The rages still came, but when they did not, he became blissfully unaware, and when he woke, whatever had been causing his issue was gone, in one way or another.
It is there he is still, sometimes let out of his cell now that he has stabilized, waiting for the promise of the voice in his head to come to fruition.
Acrobatics: (30)
Switching Full Weight Between Feet (RR 4)
Flipping Into a Handstand (RR 4)
Landing on a Single Hand (RR 4)
Proper Stretching (RR 4)
Leaping From Handstand to Feet (RR 12)
Slow Flowing Yoga (RR 12)
Moving From One Pose to Another (RR 13)
Holding a Difficult Pose (RR 13)
Working Out Regularly (RR 13)
Leaping From Prone (RR 18)
Landing in a Crouch (RR 18)
Pull-Up (Site Reset)
One-Handed Pull-Up (Site Reset)
Backflip (Site Reset)
Handstand (Site Reset)
Cartwheel (Site Reset)
Summersault (Site Reset)
Catching Yourself on a Ledge (Site Reset)
Corner Perch (Site Reset)
Vaulting (Site Reset)
10 Lores - (Rooftops and Rendezvous)
Aether Siphoning: (1)
First Feeling Aether (RR 13)
Biology: (20)
What Lives on Skin (RR 6)
Importance of Cleanliness (RR 6)
Magical Alteration (RR 6)
Growth Stages (RR 7)
Healing Time (RR 12)
Explaining Experiment Procedures (RR 13)
Use of a Microscope (RR 14)
Observing Tiny Lifeforms (RR 14)
Categorizing (RR 14)
Discovering New Species (RR 14)
Breeding Lines (RR 15)
Eye-color Traits (Site Reset)
Use of a Microscope (Under Cover of Night)
Understanding Biomes (Under Cover of Night)
Plant Biology (Under Cover of Night)
Mammal Biology (Shake it Off)
Avian Biology (Shake it Off)
Containing Contamination (Shake it Off)
Blood-Typing (Shake it Off)
Recessive Genes (Shake it Off)
Chemistry: (11)
Vitamin Deficiency (RR 9)
Use of Protective Equipment (RR 14)
Properties of Hot Spring Water (RR 14)
Calculating Odds of Occurrence (RR 15)
Analyzing Data (RR 15)
Noting Sources (RR 15)
Writing Reports (RR 15)
Where It Overlaps With Alchemy (RR 16)
Properties of Blood (RR 16)
Running Blood Tests (RR 16)
Use of a Centrifuge (RR 19)
Climbing: (30)
Scaling a Flat Wall (RR 10)
Corner Perch (NaNo Award)
Trees (NaNo Award)
Scaling Brick Walls (NaNo Award)
Finding Handholds (NaNo Award)
Barefoot (NaNo Award)
Hanging From One Hand (NaNo Award)
Being Able to Dead Lift Yourself (NaNo Award)
Use of a Tail (NaNo Award)
Being Used to Heights (NaNo Award)
Running Start (Under Cover of Night)
Jumping From One Stand to Another (Under Cover of Night)
Launching Self (Under Cover of Night)
Landing on One Foot (Under Cover of Night)
Landing on Your Hands (Under Cover of Night)
Scaling Straight Up (Under Cover of Night)
Finding Fingerholds (Under Cover of Night)
Finding Toeholds (Under Cover of Night)
Use of Chalk (Under Cover of Night)
Uneven Surfaces (Under Cover of Night)
Swinging Up (B-day 2022)
Vaulting (B-day 2022)
Head for Heights (B-day 2022)
Scaling Sideways (B-day 2022)
Dropping Safely (B-day 2022)
Using a Jumping off Point (B-day 2022)
Catching Yourself While Falling (B-day 2022)
Uneven Surfaces (B-day 2022)
Wet Surfaces (Hello Again)
Use of Chalk (Hello Again)
Deception: (23)
Be What They Want To See (SP)
Projecting Harmlessness (SP)
Show No Fear (RR 2)
Remaining Calm in Distress (RR 2)
Imitating Gestures (RR 3)
Matching Persona to Situation (RR 3)
Show of Politeness (RR 3)
Understanding the Role Required (RR 3)
Give Only Necessary Information (RR 4)
Conceal Whenever Possible (RR 5)
Feign Great Devotion (RR 6)
Drawing Attention Away From Where It Shouldn't Be (RR 8)
Using Minor Body Alterations (RR 8)
Feigning Interest (RR 13)
Don't Act Like There Is a Secret (RR 16)
Feigning Sleep (RR 17)
Hiding Use of Magic (NaNo Award)
Believing Your Lies (NaNo Award)
Using What They Expect to See (NaNo Award)
Emotional Control (NaNo Award)
Concealing Identity (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Suggestive Statements (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Dress the Part (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Endurance (22)
Prolonged Isolation (RR I)
Prolonged Boredom (RR I)
Minor Pain (RR 2)
Forced Nudity (RR 6)
Bright Light Torture (RR 6)
Controlled Movement (RR 7)
Controlled Wardrobe (RR 7)
Oxygen Deprivation (RR 7)
Prolonged Confinement (RR 7)
Forced Fear Confrontation (RR 9)
Prolonged Running (RR 9)
Helplessness (RR 11)
Beaten to Unconsiousness (RR 11)
Forced Subjugation (RR 11)
Denied Sexuality (RR 12)
Long Hours of Study (RR 15)
Being Made to Wait (RR 20)
Danger From an Unknown Source (RR 20)
Low-Level Anxiety at All Times (RR 20)
Receiving No Closure to Traumatic Events (RR 20)
Constant Enforced Control (RR 20)
Forced Gratitude Towards Abusers (RR 20)
Etiquette: (11)
Noble Table Manners (CS)
Proper Imperium Bows (CS)
Insulting Without Being Noticed (NaNo Award)
Correct Topics for the Company (NaNo Award)
Adjusting Demeanor (NaNo Award)
Dressing the Part (B-Day 2022)
Adjusting to Station (B-Day 2022)
Adjusting to Social Class (B-Day 2022)
Imperial Manners (B-Day 2022)
Kalzasian Manner (B-Day 2022)
Zaichaeri Manners (B-Day 2022)
Linguistics: (10)
Increasing Vocabulary in Native Language (RR 4)
Learning a Written Language (RR 8)
Learning Via Song (NaNo Award)
Being Raised Bilingual (NaNo Award)
Recognizing Accents (NaNo Award)
Conversing in Multiple Languages at Once (B-Day 2022)
Use of Sign Languages (B-Day 2022)
Converting Words Without Equivalents (B-Day 2022)
Learning Technical Terms (B-Day 2022)
Active Listening (B-Day 2022)
Medicine: (10)
Basic Examination (NaNo Award)
Checking for Deformities (NaNo Award)
Basic Anatomy (NaNo Award)
Basic Body Chemistry (NaNo Award)
Assessing Sexual Maturity (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Assessing Sexual Health (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Checking for Disease (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Taking a Blood Sample (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Taking a Medical History (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Checking a Pulse (B-day 2022)
Meditation: (10)
Quieting Thoughts (Hello Again)
Observing Thoughts (Hello Again)
Revisiting Childhood Memories (Hello Again)
Working Through Thought Patterns (Harvest While Ye May)
Concentration While Exerting (Harvest While Ye May)
Dividing the Mind (Harvest While Ye May)
As Part of Summoning (Harvest While Ye May)
Used to Clear the Mind (Harvest While Ye May)
Analyzing Choices (Harvest While Ye May)
Shutting Out Noise (Harvest While Ye May)
Perception: (20)
Seeing What They Aren't Saying (SP)
Looking For Needs (SP)
What Can Be Learned by Temperature (RR I)
Room Size by Echos (RR I)
Gleaning Information From Eavesdropping (RR I)
Relying on Touch (RR I)
Relying on Sound (RR 2)
Recognizing When Someone Is Impressed (RR 2)
Memorizing Patterns by Touch (RR 2)
Memorizing Gestures (RR 3)
Catching Detail in Low Light (RR 3)
Subtle Facial Expression Changes (RR 5)
Learning by Watching (RR 5)
Examining a New Environment (RR 7)
Recognizing Social Standing (RR 9)
Noting Pride (RR 9)
Noting Minor Chemical Differences (RR 16)
Recognizing Irritation (RR 16)
Learning a Place in Darkness (RR 18)
Knowing When You're Being Watched (NaNo Award)
Persuasion: (10)
Recognizing When You Are Persuaded (RR 5)
Don't Argue (RR 5)
Subtlety Is Better (RR 5)
Teaching Trust Over Time (RR 12)
Getting to Know Them (RR 12)
Using Innocence (NaNo Award)
Showing Skill (NaNo Award)
Going Above and Beyond (NaNo Award)
Don't Complain (NaNo Award)
Making Oneself Useful (NaNo Award)
Stealth: (30)
Silencing Your Breath (SP)
Leaving No Trace (SP)
Concealing in Half Light (RR 8)
Appearing to Be Another Race (RR 8)
Hiding Unwanted Features (RR 8)
Planning Ahead (RR 9)
Using Distractions (RR 10)
Concealing a Small Object (RR 10)
Waiting on Repeated Actions to Act (RR 10)
Pilfering (RR 10)
Slight of Hand (RR 10)
Thinking Normally to Appear Normal (RR 11)
Covering for Mistakes (RR 11)
Responding Casually (RR 11)
Making Oneself Unheard (RR 18)
Making Oneself Unseen (RR 18)
Hiding in Plain Sight (NaNo Award)
No One Looks Up (NaNo Award)
No One Sees a Servant (NaNo Award)
Comfort in Total Darkness (NaNo Award)
Stay Low (Hello Again)
Using Cover (Hello Again)
Match Another's Footsteps (Hello Again)
Using Loud Sounds to Cover (Hello Again)
Heel to Toe Walking (Hello Again)
Sneaking on Forest Floor (Hello Again)
Sneaking on City Stone (Hello Again)
Sneaking on Rooftops (Hello Again)
Erasing Signs (Hello Again)
Assuming a False Identity (Hello Again)
Summoning: (34)
Threshold Sickness (SP)
Over Stepping (SP)
Noting Demonic Spirits (CS)
Detecting Minor Sprites (RR 17)
Observing Fire Sprites (RR 17)
Offering Aether as a Greeting Gift (RR 17)
Communicating Through Feelings (RR 17)
Interpreting Minor Sprite Communication (RR 17)
Learning to Filter the Voices (RR 18)
Reaching Out for a Specific Type of Sprite (RR 19)
Offering Aether for a Favor (RR 19)
Communicating With a Greater Spirit (RR 19)
Recognizing a Demonic Spirit (RR 19)
Feeling the Power Level of a Spirit (RR 19)
Noting Elemental Spirits (NaNo Award)
Noting Celestial Spirits (NaNo Award)
Noting Eldritch Spirits (NaNo Award)
Minor Pacts (NaNo Award)
Observing Water Sprites (NaNo Award)
Observing Air Sprites (NaNo Award)
Observing Earth Sprites (NaNo Award)
Meditation As a Form of Control (NaNo Award)
Learning to Mute The Voices (NaNo Award)
Major Pacts (NaNo Award)
Multiple Pacts at Once (NaNo Award)
Momentary Bindings (NaNo Award)
Negotiating by Feeling (NaNo Award)
Negotiating in Words (NaNo Award)
Stunning Interdiction (NaNo Award)
Empowering a Sprite (NaNo Award)
Understanding Power Imbalance (RR 21)
Training in the Basics (RR 21)
Quelling Over Eager Sprites (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Rebuking (The Doctor Grows Holly)
Re: Rivin
Posted: Mon Oct 25, 2021 3:17 am
by Rivin
I N V E N T O R Y
Items
1. Starter Package
1 Set of Clothing (Cloak or Coat and footwear included)
1 Waterskin
1 Backpack which contains:
1 Set of Toiletries
10 days of rations
1 Set of Eating Utensils (i.e. tin plate, cup, fork, spoon, knife)
Flint & Steel
Housing
Rivin lives in whatever rooms it currently pleases his master to house him in.
Ledger
Item
Total
Starting Package +500gp
500
NaNo Prize +30,000gp
30,500
Ash Lifestyle -50gp
30,450
Ash Wages +1,638gp
32,088
Frost Lifestyle - 50gp
32,038
Glade Lifestyle - 50gp
31,988
Site Reset +1000gp
32,988
Ash Wages -Lifestyle +3,238
36,226
Frost Wages -Lifestyle +3,238
39,464
[/googlefont]
Re: Rivin
Posted: Tue Nov 09, 2021 9:29 pm
by Rivin
NPCs:
Heinrich Ilex
Details Race: Human Age: 61 Height: 6'3 Weight: 200
Occupation: Biological Scientists/Nobleman Relation to PC: Owner NPC Type: Minor, Local (I would be happy to write this NPC for other people's plots if they wanted.) Influence: 2
Description:
Dr. Ilex was born into an old and wealthy Imperial family and raised into the ideas of that state. As he grew up he became fascinated with breeding in everything from insects and animals, to sentients. As he reached adulthood and inherited his own fortune and property he insisted on attending the Zaichaerian Institute. He obtained permission to live in the city and attended the Institute until he had earned a doctorate in biology, specializing in selective breeding. By the time he was thirty years old, he had established a reputation as a dedicated professional forming a relationship with some of the higher levels of government and making connections with some in the Order of Reconciliation. He had become fascinated with the idea of controlling magic and those who used it, either by birth or the infliction of Runes. Upon deciding that he would make aiding in these goals his life's work he used his contacts, as well as family members who were Ziachaery citizens to help him gain dual citizenship.
His goal was to find a way to breed certain traits into sentient magical races that would allow them to be used as weapons or tools for both countries. Specifically, he wanted to breed Lysanrins who could be used to support other magic while losing their ability to summon the Dread Mists, thus rendering them, if not safe, safe enough to be used. He received permission from both governments to begin his research, as well as grants in money and slaves from the Empire. Though slavery remains illegal in Zaichaer some of the research does take place there, as the facilities and training given to researchers in the city-state are of much higher quality than those available in the empire. When he enters the city-state with slaves he has them registered as indentured servants, and only does so when a particular subject looks promising enough to need the better facilities he has in Zaichaer.
In society, Dr. Ilex is known to be a pleasant man, but not very interesting. He has a reputation and standing enough to be invited to most major events but uses the excuse of his age to excuse himself from most, but not all. When he has carefully curated a personal of the benevolent older man who is very invested in his own goings-on. His conversation is pleasant and benign, but if anyone stays to speak to him for more than a few minutes he will begin to regale them with obscenely boring tales of minor research projects involving the breeding of snails, insects, or other lesser creatures. Thus he is seen as harmless, occasionally useful, but not at all interesting.