Maevelivia Moontreli
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 1:33 pm
This is a character of an experienced player and does not represent a standard starting character.
Player Name: Blood Ravenous
Name: Maevelivia Moontreli (MAYv-LIV-ee-ah MOON-tray-LEE)
Nicknames: Maeve, Eve, Mae, Livi
Age: 48
Race & Gender: Female Cambion/Dryad, Infected with Vampirism
Height/Weight: 5’7”, 120lbs
Occupation(s): Treasure Hunter/Mercenary/Hustler
Appearance:
Maeve’s skin is a dark olive that shines with good health. There is a darker patch of skin on her neck. She is rather well-endowed on the chest, with a thin waist and wide hips. Because of her small frame, she doesn’t look like much of a fighter. Her ancestry is so muddled many people think she is a rare breed of some unheard of race, but she will patiently deny this.
Her face is round with a pointed chin; plump, dark lips; a small, pointy nose; straight eyebrows that follow the ridge of her browline; and large, round eyes with thick, dark eyelashes. Her irises are a forest green run through with darker veins of color, as if painted like a leaf. When she gets overcome by Bloodlust, a red tinge overlays them, as if they are infected with blood rather than chlorophyll.
Maeve’s long, black hair descends like water down her back; her hair is the super-straight, perpetually neat type. She usually braids big clumps of the strands and ties them back to keep her face and vision clear. Perfectly cut bangs hang over her forehead.
Her fashion sense has been developed rather well since before she was involved in human society. She enjoys wearing fine dresses day-to-day, but sticks to a simple t-shirt, pants, gloves, and sometimes light armor when she goes adventuring or traveling, her swords hanging in scabbards to each side of her hips.
Ancestry:
Maeve’s mother is a dryad, a “guardian spirit” type of fae that looks after the trees and generally the forest. Dryads are tied to their specific tree and have an affinity to nature.
Her father was a cambion, or a half-succubus. His father (Maeve’s grandfather), an incubus, raped his mother in her sleep. She had a child, him, that she didn’t have the strength to disown or abort. Cambion have angelic features but have a hint of their parentage, usually a bestial body part, and even sometimes rather horrible deformities. In Maeve’s grandfather’s case, he was born with a tail that developed more in adolescence until it was rather like a lion’s. Cambion are also devilishly cunning, a sort of mastermind of evil plans and mischief, and can be quite cruel.
Maeve's grandmother is Middle-eastern, mainly Indian, and Maeve gets some of her looks from her. As Maeve is from Europa she has a slight accent compared to most people in Thar Shaddin.
Due to being only a quarter incubus, Maeve has developed nothing overly animal-like. She mostly takes after her mother, a kind and gentle creature, playful but vengeful, and shy. However, she has inherited the cruelty and manipulative qualities of her grandfather. She enacts a strange balancing act between all these different personality traits and emotions. Her humanity brings together a grey area, a common ground, and therefore she enjoys being around humans, who are so variable like herself.
The vampire portion is explained in her History. She only has an infection or disease, not that she was turned.
Possessions:
Swords- Two even-length double-edged short swords with short handles. They are completely normal blades of good quality steel. They look a little battered.
Power Objects- See Power Objects under Powers
Light Armor- Just a leather vest, steel-plated leather arm guards, and tough leather leggings. It might stop a swipe of a knife or dagger but not an axe or sword. It mostly just prevents cuts going as deep as they could without it. It also doesn’t cover her entire body (like her upper arms are bare). She is not so good with armor and her sword skills require less weight on her to be effective, anyway.
Powers
Magical
Nature’s Child
She has the ability to “speak” to the trees, who have infinite wisdom about the forest. She can use this power to track individuals who have gone by the tree, or to learn about an area: the people, the weather, etc. Some trees are more giving than others, and some are so whimsical and distracted that talking to them is almost impossible. She has an easier time talking to trees who are used to dryads or other fairies interacting with them. Besides trees, she has an affinity to nature in a more general sense, extending her power to the earth itself and animals. Rather than “speaking,” however, she just gets a general, vague feeling. This often manifests as knowing when it will rain, when a storm is coming, and how warm or cold it might be that day. She can also sense intention and emotion from animals and other races, such as aggression or sadness.
Nature Tap
Maeve's mother has taught her a lot about herbs, plants, and the ways of the forest. This knowledge and her own innate skill allows her to “tap” into the power of growth that Nature holds. She can use a seed’s energy or inherit the potential growth of a plant to grow big and healthy plants magically fast. Depending on the plant's natural speed, she can amplify this by a few times. For instance, a dandelion would just about pop instantly out of the ground, while a tree would take weeks to reach a good size. However, she often finds she does not have the patience to sit there concentrating. This power is how dryads regrow destroyed forests and restore balance. Unlike her mother who has a tree, she doesn’t have an area of influence with this spell; she requires a specific target. When applied to people, she can use the energy of the plant to heal minor wounds or stop the bleeding of large ones. She uses the energy contained in the plant and translates it to growth in the body. This works wonders for her own body, which is influenced heavily by her mother, the dryad, but will also work variously well for other races. The closer they are to faeries, the better it works.
Hypnotic Aura
This “aura” is a passive area effect in which, for those easily swayed by such things, people find her sexy, interesting, or attractive in the sense that they are curious about her or can't stop watching her. The reaction of people is purely individual and she does not seek to control this power. It tends to come out on its own, usually if she is excited or happy.
Sexuality
Maeve has real sex appeal. For whatever reason, people want to be with her, obsessively, and will sometimes do stupid things to gain her affection (especially the mentally insane). She has had quite a few stalkers, and she learned the hard way to defend herself from men who used unnecessary force. This only applies to races that resemble humans; for example, trolls could care less. The closer one is to being a human and the more easily duped one is, the more it affects one; also, sexuality plays a large role in Maeve being attractive.
Charm/Mesmerize
When nearby and/or talking to someone, Maeve can “turn on the charm”, and use her succubus skills to seduce a specific target. Like Hypnotic Aura and Sexuality, the effectiveness is largely up to the individual, but this is not secluded to sex. It can also be used to make people like her in general, such as regarding her as a friend or trustworthy. This comes in handy when she wishes to avoid a confrontation, when she is bartering and purchasing, and just to get people to like her. If she goes overboard, they may become “mesmerized”, completely focused on her, and might follow her around like a stray puppy. The effect wears off after awhile; again, depending on the individual.
Rush
Usually affected by her bloodlust status, Maeve can suddenly begin to move at a supernatural speed similar to a vampire's. She is able to function as she normally would during a regular speed, as her mental capacity also increases. This does not require concentration, but is limited by her stamina. If she abuses it she accidentally invokes Bloodlust from exhaustion.
Bloodlust
When incited by violence around her or feeling angry or tired, she can get very violent. When under the influence of Bloodlust she is capable of atrocious things. It does not exactly manifest as the need to drink blood, but the need for blood is still there. She is sometimes content in covering herself with blood, or tasting it, smelling it, or seeing it. Blood makes her ecstatic, like a drug; it is also addictive, and she is essentially a recovering addict.
Non-Magical
Whirlwind Mind
To those who read minds or use mental tricks, their intentions may go astray because Maeve is not stable. Her mind is like a whirlwind: spinning around dizzily, hard to focus on. This has nothing to do with effectiveness, rather, for example, if they intend to instill fear, she may instead get elated. If they are reading her mind, there is so much conflict that what they end up focusing on is misleading.
Nutrition
She eats rarely for a mortal creature. She prefers various plants, usually like potatoes and salad in human society, and berries, leaves, or roots in the forest. She never remembered her mother or relatives eating, but her father had, according to her mother. She figures it is because of her human heritage. She usually just feeds off various energies around her, or at least that's how it feels to her. The energy of the earth, trees, sunlight, and sex is enough, before she eats real food. Usually when she is tired from lack of sleep, working, fighting, or traveling, she will eat to recover quickly.
Dual-wielding swords- She has mastered an ancient Tia Xian artform that uses two blades. There is a defensive and an offensive style; defensive focuses on blocking and counterattacks, while offensive uses spinning and confusing tactics to harm opponents. Her mood and the situation influences which style she chooses, and it may change mid-fight. They are hard to blend together, however; if she is defending, counter attacks will be meek and her goal is to stop the fight from continuing. Offensive has little defense and she may take a hit to get at her opponent, as her goal is to win no matter the cost.
Bartering- She is not easily tricked into settling for less or buying for more.
Multilingual- She speaks many languages from around the world, some better than others.
Cunning- Manipulative to further her ends, and able to influence others. She is also good at planning.
Power Objects:
Sometimes her abilities can be a curse. When she wants to blend in fairly well with humans, she uses power objects she has attained over the years. It also helps to stabilize her sanity, if only meekly and temporarily.
Cloak of Shadows- reduces her powers. A cloak of shadows is a common item in various magic societies. Sometimes it helps people become invisible (very expensive) or just make them appear to be someone different (not so expensive). Hers was customized to dampen her powers and make her less volatile and in the spotlight. It is a very weak effect in that it does not hide her magical nature, nor does it hide her identity. She still calls it a Cloak of Shadows, however, as it hides her from the attention she is used to. The spell is drawn out in her blood on the inside, and it is made of thick black wool with a deep cowl. Unlike her usually fashionable attire, the cloak is quite plain. It was made by a talented, nameless mage some time ago.
Scelli's Charm Bracelet- represses Hypnotic Aura, Sexuality, and effectiveness of Charm/Mesmerize. She attained this from an old witchwoman in a small village that was often plagued by succubi and incubi. It is an old relic from the Changers' War, when many mages were creating objects to ward off creatures that could distract them or do them harm during battle. It was named after a famous succubi, one of the oldest known, who had seduced the wizard who made it. When he put it on, she no longer affected him. The effect on Maeve is different; rather, it suppresses the part of her that is of the succubus race. She can still use Charm, but it is not very effective while wearing this.
Blood-drop Amulet- tempers Bloodlust. Makes her less likely to go psycho. The chance is still there, but it will usually take a lot to get her there. Before she had this, when she was first bitten, she would often randomly go into Bloodlust and kill people. Her need for this was so great that she went through quite a lot to get it. Without it, she fears she could turn back into that maniacal creature.
Weaknesses:
Insanity & Recklessness
This needs to be stated. Maeve is crazy. It is hard to pinpoint by others, even those that know her, until something sets her off. Before then, she seems fairly normal, if a little eccentric sometimes. What most people never learn about her is that she hears voices, which she thinks of as her ancestors coming to haunt her. She might see things, too, usually out of the corner of her eye. This happened before she was bitten by the vampire, and only got worse when she was. Now, in addition, her Bloodlust can drive her up the wall with stress, and she is in constant fear that something might set it off. She has little control over herself in general, whether it is sleeping with someone she shouldn't, or doing reckless things. Her morals and judgment are off; she might feel slighted or wronged by the simplest of things, which could set off her anger, and therefore her Bloodlust. If she doesn't get that far, she can still be malicious and cruel. Then, in the next moment, she might be very nice to the person she was just beleaguering and seem to forget being slighted.
Loss of Self
Part of her insanity is sometimes, she doesn't know who she is. It isn't like amnesia, where she forgets; it is rather, she doesn't know how to categorize herself. She can't settle into a mold. This makes her confused. Sometimes she doesn't know why she is doing something, and she'll stop. She might also do something she doesn't feel is in her character, and that torments her.
Low Mental Strength
Maeve is easily swayed by illusions and mind tricks. She's prone to believe in them because of her slight schizophrenia, but also her mind doesn't have the power to protect itself. It is too busy fighting different urges, emotions, and wants to fight off outsiders. Besides materialistic or money issues, she is rather gullible. Lying can trick her rather easily when there are no numbers or concrete evidence to weigh words against.
Weak Body
Her body does not take hits well. She relies heavily on dodging in battle. While her small, fast body can be a strength, it is also a very bad weakness if she is hit hard. One good solid punch or stab and Maeve can go down like a rock.
Post-traumatic Stress
Because of what she has gone through, she gets panic attacks, nightmares, and has irrational fear in certain situations. Criminal activity like muggings and rape can set off her Bloodlust, or at least make her go mental. If you want someone dead, just tell Maeve they raped someone and watch the show. She has random flashbacks from when she was raped and from the vampire attack, and of battles she has been in. Her sleep is also tormented, increasing the problem. Sometimes large numbers of intimidating men surrounding her will give her a panic attack, something she experienced quite often during battle in the wars she was hired out to fight. Her panic attacks often lead to Bloodlust or an inability to function at all. She also gets panic attacks when she is confronted by certain supernatural races, not limited to vampires or undead. She is also scared of werewolves, a few other predatory shifters, and normal predatory animals like wolves. Places that resemble the places where she was attacked or a battlefield she fought on will have the same effect.
Uncertainty
She is still finding out what she can do, and what the magic that surrounds her can do. This includes her power objects and also her innate magic. How much can she tax herself before there are real consequences? How much can she use magic before it turns on her?
Easily Tired
By using her spells, she is easily put out. “Easily” means that using multiple spells within about a day’s time will tire her out so that she might collapse from exhaustion. If she’s having a particularly involved day, she will need to eat and sleep more if she wants to avoid fainting.
Addiction
Even with the Blood-drop Amulet, Maeve is still obsessed with blood. She is a recovering addict, and the amulet is only like medication that is keeping her from indulging helplessly in it. Her mind still wants blood. Of course, this is a very damaging addiction, because in order to get blood, someone has to get hurt. She might wound herself if no one is around, and otherwise she could attack someone she cares about. Even with the Blood-drop Amulet she finds the need to pick fights so she has an excuse to hurt a victim or she finds herself out looking for a victim. Mentally this is damaging because she feels like she has become the monster that attacked her.
Characteristics
Personality: Fiery and intimidating one moment, and teasing and flirty the next, but calculating all the while, is a typical few minutes with Maeve. She doesn’t have moods like most people (not that she’s emotionless), but rather uses her charm when it’s called for and cruelty when she wants to. In a way, she is very whimsical like her mother. She can also be quite shy like her mother, too, but this mostly comes off as being aloof. It takes awhile to get her to open up and be comfortable around individuals and she tends to dislike crowds. She likes the vibrant forest and freedom, but she is drawn to society (especially human) like a moth to the flame. She can be hot-and-cold in relationships and has a tendency to lead her significant others along. People are attracted to the up-and-down ride, but it rarely lasts long before her wanderlust kicks in. She cannot settle down; however, Maeve has little want for a regular, steady human job, anyway. That is why she took to hunting for treasure and beautiful artifacts. She can sell the pieces for a high price, but also enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the danger it brings. She is very materialistic, and defines herself with objects, possessions, etc. Her favorite time of day is nighttime, and her “morning” is usually late evening when the sun is setting.
Motivation: To quell the longing she feels, the restlessness. A hedonist, too, she pursues her current fancies, which flitter about rather recklessly. She is also on a quest to find items that might help her cure her insanity or vampirism, or at least relieve symptoms. She would do anything for such things.
History:
Maeve has never met her father. Her mother raised her in the woods with the other dryads and animals. She learned to dance, to sing, to frolic, and most importantly, how to treat a tree right. She was happy for many years, but there was always something missing. She wasn’t like the other dryads; there were no others her age around. For her whole life she kept asking when she would get her own tree. Her mother would lightly stroke her hair and smile sadly, and say, “Soon.” As she matured, she felt even more alienated and alone. The other dryads could not answer her questions about her body or what was beyond the forest.
“How can you be content to be inside your tree all the time? Is it that fun?” Maeve demanded.
The wind tousled the leaves like a giant hand ruffling someone’s hair. Maeve leaned against the tree, arms crossed. She could feel the energy begin to pulse from the bark into her back. Frowning, she grumbled, “How is happiness and contentment better than fun?”
The response made her jump up in a fit and stomp away. Hissing with animosity she stalked through the otherwise quiet and peaceful forest. She didn’t care she was making a racket and disturbing the birds and deer, who flew and scampered away with a disapproving demeanor. After awhile she stood stock still, then suddenly threw her arms in the air and shouted at the top of her lungs, “I’m not happy!” She picked up a stick and threw it haphazardly, and watched it fall to the ground with a thump a few feet away.
The half-dryad could feel the energy of the forest shift from peace to fear. It got silent as the animals sensed the dryads’ disquiet. Maeve suddenly felt completely, absolutely, alone. She collapsed to the bed of leaves, which cradled her body softly, and began to cry. She cried what seemed like hours, letting out all the pain she had built up after years of quiet dissent and general uneasiness. She was so very alone without her own tree. What was wrong with her that she looked different and had no home, no place in which she belonged, like everyone else?
Over the hours the forest returned back to normal. The birds began to twitter and settle comfortably in the trees again. The light was fading into evening, letting the shadows grow. Strangely, she suddenly felt calm. She laid like that for awhile. Eventually she rubbed her face of the tears and looked up at the colored sky above, through the branches of her brethren. She wondered to herself why she never felt peace, what she wanted.
As she puzzled, she felt the faint whisperings get louder all around her until she could almost make them out. She felt her mother vibrate through the energy of the other trees, calling to her. It was a feeling she didn’t put into words, but rather she could feel deep in her heart. She sighed and got up, walking repentantly back to her mother’s tree. As it came into view, she ran to the trunk and wrapped her arms around it. Now that she was older she could hug around its whole circumference and still twine her hands together comfortably.
There was a crackling sound, like sticks breaking, and she felt her mother’s arms wrap around her. The bark and the dryad’s skin continued to separate noisily from each other. After about a minute she felt the warm flesh of her mother’s bosom appear and looked up to see her mother’s partially emerged face.
“It is time to tell you the truth, my child,” her mother said. Her voice had always reminded Maeve of the wind knocking and whistling against leaves in a light rainstorm. It lulled her into a dozing state as she listened to the tale of her birth. It was a loving tale, but fleeting. The story calmed her fears and she knew what she had to do, and why.
Her mother knew, too. They embraced for awhile until Maeve cramped, so her mother let her go. She curled up at the base of her mother’s tree for the last time. In the morning, she awoke with the dawn, patted the bark familiarly, and promised to return one day. She walked through the forest, saying unspoken goodbyes. As she moved toward the edge of the forest she felt the sadness of the other dryads and animals, though she could also feel their well-wishes. When she emerged out into the bright sunlight of the sunset, she blinked, looked into the distance, and smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in her life.
______________________________________________________________________
Humans were strange creatures at first. They were overly emotional, hyperactive, and confusing. The language barrier was harsh, too. She found people treated her disrespectfully, especially compared to her family back in the forest. She did all she could to learn whatever language of the humans she came across. Even then, they still treated her disrespectfully…or sometimes reverently, especially the version of humans she learned were “men” (which she found she liked very much).
Peeved by this lack of understanding, Maeve didn’t like humans at first. That is, until she started to meet the other races. Then she found that at least humans were vaguely predictable. They were mostly non-violent, too, unlike trolls or werewolves. She also liked their language better.
The only thing that puzzled her after years of being around humans was money. It was not like she couldn’t do math, but it was just seemingly silly to give people green crystals for food and clothing. Then she realized that they were working as they received the crystals, which they then gave to other working people for things. It made sense, in a way, but she wondered when the cycle ended. She was told this method had worked for hundreds of years, and she wondered how that could be possible. Couldn’t someone just work so much that they amassed all the bishani for themselves, and therefore collapse the whole system?
Maybe she was thinking too much.
Another thing that humans had going for them was the sex was great. How her mother was perfectly content to have sex only once in hundreds of years eluded her. And that instance occurred only because she liked the cambion so much. In Maeve’s case, she found she liked all sorts of people and races. She tried them all (well, most) out at least once, and humans were definitely the winners. They indulged in sex, got involved with it, got impassioned by it. And they were aggressive compared to elves and fairies, but not too aggressive, like trolls—who still scared her.
After awhile she adjusted to human society, all sorts of human society. As far as she traveled, they were all basically the same. The language changed, the features changed, the surroundings changed, but they all acted the same. And that was the key that allowed her to adjust. It came so easily, knowing how to act; getting money was easy enough, too, no matter where she was. She eventually began to understand that money and hierarchy position in the human power struggle equaled respect; wearing nice clothing and throwing money around also made people treat her well and take her seriously.
After being rather independent as she learned the ropes, Maeve eventually found her passion in one man, someone who labeled himself an adventurer. He traveled like she did, but mostly went where there were few or no people at all. There, he would find pretty things, some of them magical, and some which were protected by ancient peoples or monsters. She went along with him passively at first, finding the searching and detective work to be fairly boring, until on one trip they had to dodge booby-traps and kill an imp who could cast fireballs. It was then, as they stood outside the old temple with the spoils in hand, that she knew that this was what she wanted to do. One of the treasures they found was a legendary staff, which they sold for thousands of bishani. They lived comfortably for awhile and he bought her fancy clothing, jewelry, tasty treats, and a luxurious abode they decorated with all sorts of things. Maeve started her own hunting for treasure, and began to go out on her own as he pursued other things. After a year of this they eventually argued about it and split up.
Even though they were apart and never saw each other again, the things he taught her stayed with her, and she missed him only sometimes, like she missed her mother. Soon she was hooked on the hunt for treasure, the legends, and the action. Most of her time was spent with people, learning and interacting, and living comfortably in big houses with fancy things.
And whenever the wanderlust kicked in, she left money in her wake like a trail of dead flowers. The further she wandered, the more violent things got. She soon learned about criminals. With no boyfriend to protect her during travels, her life was soon turned upside down.
On a fateful day in her early adulthood, bandits attacked her as she walked down a road toward the next city. At first she wasn't aware of what they wanted. They got frustrated, and attacked her. They began to beat her, and when she was down and crying, they went through her stuff. They took everything she had. This wasn't enough; for the first time, she found her sexual appeal could be a curse. She was able to charm them, and they weren't so brutal that she broke. However, when they left her, she was bruised on both the inside and out. She retreated into the forest.
There she stayed, trying to recover. Even when the body healed, her mind did not. For years she was unable to face human society again. At the time, she could not understand what had happened; why would they do such a thing? For once, sex had not been enjoyable.
After a few years of being alone in the woods, she couldn't stand it anymore. The loneliness was eating her from the inside out. She again braved society; at first, she stayed in the shadows as much as she could, afraid of people, but still yearning to be near them. However, she was still noticed; luckily, her beauty only brought her suitors, who had money. With that money she bought her customized Cloak of Shadows. She regained a status and some of her confidence, but she was still frayed. She feared she was damaged forever.
That all ended when she was confronted by another unknown danger. Up until that point, she was lucky enough to avoid the undead. She wasn't even aware of their existence until she was directly confronted with one. It was a vampire. He attacked, biting her savagely in the neck. She fought back, and, surprised, the vampire fled, leaving her for dead. The next few minutes were the longest in her life. The only thing she could think to do was use a skill her mother taught her, to heal herself with plants. She dragged herself to a tree, and luckily found leaves on the ground nearby. It was summertime, but a branch had fallen in a storm. If not for this, she would have died; she would not have been able to climb up to get fresh leaves. She grabbed a fistful and jammed it onto her neck. At first, she felt so feeble that she couldn't bring her power forth. As she slowly blacked out, she got angry at the injustice of it all. She had just gotten over her fear of people enough to make friends... And now this. The anger took her over, awakening her enough to use her power. She then passed out.
The next time she awoke, as far as she can recollect, she was lying on something cold. She pushed herself up, groggily looking at the thing beneath her. It was a person. Maeve felt sticky, and in the dim light of the coming dawn she realized it was red. Blood. There was blood all over the cold body beneath her, and her hands, her face, her clothing. The lavish dress she wore was torn and stained. She put a tentative hand on the still form, but it remained cold and motionless. A plaintive cry was torn from her throat and she flung herself back, away from the body. She got up and ran. She didn't stop until she reached her lover's apartment, letting herself in the back door that he usually kept unlocked. She snuck quietly to the bathroom and cleaned herself up.
To this day she doesn't know what happened that night, after she passed out during healing. Her neck ached and she retained a large bruise-like wound on her neck for weeks afterward. Her lover was alarmed, so she left him and bought her own apartment. She stayed low for awhile, until fear overwhelmed her, and she started the arduous task of moving. This time she traveled with a large convoy of merchants who had hired guards. From then on, she sought ways to protect herself, whether it was buying a gnomish gun or traveling in numbers.
Her bloodlust and violent lash-outs were an increasing problem for the next few years. She sought out someone who could help her, a well-known author and vampire hunter in Tian Xia. He studied the wound, and found that the vampire's tooth had broken off during the fight, and was still embedded in her neck when she healed over the wound to stop the bleeding. With it was a drop or two of vampire blood, which increasingly infected her brain. Luckily she could not become a vampire, fully, because of her heritage, but she had enough mortality in her to affect her. He did not know if there was a cure, and there was no way to get rid of it. Rather, he knew she would have to suppress the symptoms. At first he recommended she learn martial arts to calm her mind. Her body took to it well enough, but the tutors would soon become angry with her violent, hot-and-cold personality, and she was left to train by herself.
Then, the next man who would change her life entered the picture. She met him through a friend, and was delighted to hear that he was a warrior of some renown. He practiced an ancient style of swordsmanship with two blades, which was largely ritual now that many armies used gnomes and organized military tactics to fight. She seduced him and convinced him to train her, and for the next few years she quelled her wanderlust so she could learn from him. Her new abilities calmed her fearfulness, which helped to indirectly calm her bloodlust. After he felt she was ready, she left him, which tore her heart. They had become quite close over the years, but he wished her well, knowing that he was getting too old to go traveling about with her.
To train further, she joined a mercenary band, and entered the battlefield. She jumped from band to band, mostly out of necessity, but also renewed her treasure hunting. During her travels she met a witchwoman, who possessed Scelli's Charm Bracelet. She stole it from the old woman and took off. It was priceless to her; she had no wish to sell it. Instead, she placed her hope on it to cure her of her succubus side. It did not, but it did make life easier. People did not become so obsessed with her and, paired with her swordsmanship, she felt that no one would ever rape or abuse her again.
Then the next prize dropped into her lap. As she traveled west, she heard of a legend of the Blood-drop Amulet, another ancient piece of history. With the emergence of vampirism, a powerful mage made an amulet that would supposedly render him immune to turning him into a vampire. It failed, and he was turned. However, it was found to curb his appetite; eventually, he was hobbled by this, and was killed. Through the eons the amulet was used as a family heirloom of sorts, of the vampire clan that turned the powerful mage. Their network turned into a vampire empire, which crumbled after decades of internal fighting. The possessor of the amulet, the vampire overlord, was killed during the last and major battle between the vampires. The amulet was sealed in an ancient tomb in order to seal away any ambition for creating another vampire empire and to destroy the legacy of the clan. For five years Maeve followed the tale of the legend, using history books and word of mouth, and found the amulet in the tomb. What she didn’t know was that a vampire guarded it with a ghoul army, and she had to face one of her worst fears: the undead. She barely escaped with her life, and instead of conquering her fear it only made it worse.
The good news was it delivered as promised: her bloodlust was under control; sometimes, however, things could set off her bloodlust, but it was under her control 95% of the time.
By this point she felt powerful enough that she could again walk down the road by herself. She would brutally kill many bandits this way. She takes a sort of delight in doing this.
Her next stop is some old ruins of a long-gone military outpost between the mighty empires of Tian Xia and Europa, who might also need an assassin or mercenary. She hopes to find something of use and make some money as she heads back to Europa.
Player Name: Blood Ravenous
Name: Maevelivia Moontreli (MAYv-LIV-ee-ah MOON-tray-LEE)
Nicknames: Maeve, Eve, Mae, Livi
Age: 48
Race & Gender: Female Cambion/Dryad, Infected with Vampirism
Height/Weight: 5’7”, 120lbs
Occupation(s): Treasure Hunter/Mercenary/Hustler
Appearance:
Maeve’s skin is a dark olive that shines with good health. There is a darker patch of skin on her neck. She is rather well-endowed on the chest, with a thin waist and wide hips. Because of her small frame, she doesn’t look like much of a fighter. Her ancestry is so muddled many people think she is a rare breed of some unheard of race, but she will patiently deny this.
Her face is round with a pointed chin; plump, dark lips; a small, pointy nose; straight eyebrows that follow the ridge of her browline; and large, round eyes with thick, dark eyelashes. Her irises are a forest green run through with darker veins of color, as if painted like a leaf. When she gets overcome by Bloodlust, a red tinge overlays them, as if they are infected with blood rather than chlorophyll.
Maeve’s long, black hair descends like water down her back; her hair is the super-straight, perpetually neat type. She usually braids big clumps of the strands and ties them back to keep her face and vision clear. Perfectly cut bangs hang over her forehead.
Her fashion sense has been developed rather well since before she was involved in human society. She enjoys wearing fine dresses day-to-day, but sticks to a simple t-shirt, pants, gloves, and sometimes light armor when she goes adventuring or traveling, her swords hanging in scabbards to each side of her hips.
Ancestry:
Maeve’s mother is a dryad, a “guardian spirit” type of fae that looks after the trees and generally the forest. Dryads are tied to their specific tree and have an affinity to nature.
Her father was a cambion, or a half-succubus. His father (Maeve’s grandfather), an incubus, raped his mother in her sleep. She had a child, him, that she didn’t have the strength to disown or abort. Cambion have angelic features but have a hint of their parentage, usually a bestial body part, and even sometimes rather horrible deformities. In Maeve’s grandfather’s case, he was born with a tail that developed more in adolescence until it was rather like a lion’s. Cambion are also devilishly cunning, a sort of mastermind of evil plans and mischief, and can be quite cruel.
Maeve's grandmother is Middle-eastern, mainly Indian, and Maeve gets some of her looks from her. As Maeve is from Europa she has a slight accent compared to most people in Thar Shaddin.
Due to being only a quarter incubus, Maeve has developed nothing overly animal-like. She mostly takes after her mother, a kind and gentle creature, playful but vengeful, and shy. However, she has inherited the cruelty and manipulative qualities of her grandfather. She enacts a strange balancing act between all these different personality traits and emotions. Her humanity brings together a grey area, a common ground, and therefore she enjoys being around humans, who are so variable like herself.
The vampire portion is explained in her History. She only has an infection or disease, not that she was turned.
Possessions:
Swords- Two even-length double-edged short swords with short handles. They are completely normal blades of good quality steel. They look a little battered.
Power Objects- See Power Objects under Powers
Light Armor- Just a leather vest, steel-plated leather arm guards, and tough leather leggings. It might stop a swipe of a knife or dagger but not an axe or sword. It mostly just prevents cuts going as deep as they could without it. It also doesn’t cover her entire body (like her upper arms are bare). She is not so good with armor and her sword skills require less weight on her to be effective, anyway.
Powers
Magical
Nature’s Child
She has the ability to “speak” to the trees, who have infinite wisdom about the forest. She can use this power to track individuals who have gone by the tree, or to learn about an area: the people, the weather, etc. Some trees are more giving than others, and some are so whimsical and distracted that talking to them is almost impossible. She has an easier time talking to trees who are used to dryads or other fairies interacting with them. Besides trees, she has an affinity to nature in a more general sense, extending her power to the earth itself and animals. Rather than “speaking,” however, she just gets a general, vague feeling. This often manifests as knowing when it will rain, when a storm is coming, and how warm or cold it might be that day. She can also sense intention and emotion from animals and other races, such as aggression or sadness.
Nature Tap
Maeve's mother has taught her a lot about herbs, plants, and the ways of the forest. This knowledge and her own innate skill allows her to “tap” into the power of growth that Nature holds. She can use a seed’s energy or inherit the potential growth of a plant to grow big and healthy plants magically fast. Depending on the plant's natural speed, she can amplify this by a few times. For instance, a dandelion would just about pop instantly out of the ground, while a tree would take weeks to reach a good size. However, she often finds she does not have the patience to sit there concentrating. This power is how dryads regrow destroyed forests and restore balance. Unlike her mother who has a tree, she doesn’t have an area of influence with this spell; she requires a specific target. When applied to people, she can use the energy of the plant to heal minor wounds or stop the bleeding of large ones. She uses the energy contained in the plant and translates it to growth in the body. This works wonders for her own body, which is influenced heavily by her mother, the dryad, but will also work variously well for other races. The closer they are to faeries, the better it works.
Hypnotic Aura
This “aura” is a passive area effect in which, for those easily swayed by such things, people find her sexy, interesting, or attractive in the sense that they are curious about her or can't stop watching her. The reaction of people is purely individual and she does not seek to control this power. It tends to come out on its own, usually if she is excited or happy.
Sexuality
Maeve has real sex appeal. For whatever reason, people want to be with her, obsessively, and will sometimes do stupid things to gain her affection (especially the mentally insane). She has had quite a few stalkers, and she learned the hard way to defend herself from men who used unnecessary force. This only applies to races that resemble humans; for example, trolls could care less. The closer one is to being a human and the more easily duped one is, the more it affects one; also, sexuality plays a large role in Maeve being attractive.
Charm/Mesmerize
When nearby and/or talking to someone, Maeve can “turn on the charm”, and use her succubus skills to seduce a specific target. Like Hypnotic Aura and Sexuality, the effectiveness is largely up to the individual, but this is not secluded to sex. It can also be used to make people like her in general, such as regarding her as a friend or trustworthy. This comes in handy when she wishes to avoid a confrontation, when she is bartering and purchasing, and just to get people to like her. If she goes overboard, they may become “mesmerized”, completely focused on her, and might follow her around like a stray puppy. The effect wears off after awhile; again, depending on the individual.
Rush
Usually affected by her bloodlust status, Maeve can suddenly begin to move at a supernatural speed similar to a vampire's. She is able to function as she normally would during a regular speed, as her mental capacity also increases. This does not require concentration, but is limited by her stamina. If she abuses it she accidentally invokes Bloodlust from exhaustion.
Bloodlust
When incited by violence around her or feeling angry or tired, she can get very violent. When under the influence of Bloodlust she is capable of atrocious things. It does not exactly manifest as the need to drink blood, but the need for blood is still there. She is sometimes content in covering herself with blood, or tasting it, smelling it, or seeing it. Blood makes her ecstatic, like a drug; it is also addictive, and she is essentially a recovering addict.
Non-Magical
Whirlwind Mind
To those who read minds or use mental tricks, their intentions may go astray because Maeve is not stable. Her mind is like a whirlwind: spinning around dizzily, hard to focus on. This has nothing to do with effectiveness, rather, for example, if they intend to instill fear, she may instead get elated. If they are reading her mind, there is so much conflict that what they end up focusing on is misleading.
Nutrition
She eats rarely for a mortal creature. She prefers various plants, usually like potatoes and salad in human society, and berries, leaves, or roots in the forest. She never remembered her mother or relatives eating, but her father had, according to her mother. She figures it is because of her human heritage. She usually just feeds off various energies around her, or at least that's how it feels to her. The energy of the earth, trees, sunlight, and sex is enough, before she eats real food. Usually when she is tired from lack of sleep, working, fighting, or traveling, she will eat to recover quickly.
Dual-wielding swords- She has mastered an ancient Tia Xian artform that uses two blades. There is a defensive and an offensive style; defensive focuses on blocking and counterattacks, while offensive uses spinning and confusing tactics to harm opponents. Her mood and the situation influences which style she chooses, and it may change mid-fight. They are hard to blend together, however; if she is defending, counter attacks will be meek and her goal is to stop the fight from continuing. Offensive has little defense and she may take a hit to get at her opponent, as her goal is to win no matter the cost.
Bartering- She is not easily tricked into settling for less or buying for more.
Multilingual- She speaks many languages from around the world, some better than others.
Cunning- Manipulative to further her ends, and able to influence others. She is also good at planning.
Power Objects:
Sometimes her abilities can be a curse. When she wants to blend in fairly well with humans, she uses power objects she has attained over the years. It also helps to stabilize her sanity, if only meekly and temporarily.
Cloak of Shadows- reduces her powers. A cloak of shadows is a common item in various magic societies. Sometimes it helps people become invisible (very expensive) or just make them appear to be someone different (not so expensive). Hers was customized to dampen her powers and make her less volatile and in the spotlight. It is a very weak effect in that it does not hide her magical nature, nor does it hide her identity. She still calls it a Cloak of Shadows, however, as it hides her from the attention she is used to. The spell is drawn out in her blood on the inside, and it is made of thick black wool with a deep cowl. Unlike her usually fashionable attire, the cloak is quite plain. It was made by a talented, nameless mage some time ago.
Scelli's Charm Bracelet- represses Hypnotic Aura, Sexuality, and effectiveness of Charm/Mesmerize. She attained this from an old witchwoman in a small village that was often plagued by succubi and incubi. It is an old relic from the Changers' War, when many mages were creating objects to ward off creatures that could distract them or do them harm during battle. It was named after a famous succubi, one of the oldest known, who had seduced the wizard who made it. When he put it on, she no longer affected him. The effect on Maeve is different; rather, it suppresses the part of her that is of the succubus race. She can still use Charm, but it is not very effective while wearing this.
Blood-drop Amulet- tempers Bloodlust. Makes her less likely to go psycho. The chance is still there, but it will usually take a lot to get her there. Before she had this, when she was first bitten, she would often randomly go into Bloodlust and kill people. Her need for this was so great that she went through quite a lot to get it. Without it, she fears she could turn back into that maniacal creature.
Weaknesses:
Insanity & Recklessness
This needs to be stated. Maeve is crazy. It is hard to pinpoint by others, even those that know her, until something sets her off. Before then, she seems fairly normal, if a little eccentric sometimes. What most people never learn about her is that she hears voices, which she thinks of as her ancestors coming to haunt her. She might see things, too, usually out of the corner of her eye. This happened before she was bitten by the vampire, and only got worse when she was. Now, in addition, her Bloodlust can drive her up the wall with stress, and she is in constant fear that something might set it off. She has little control over herself in general, whether it is sleeping with someone she shouldn't, or doing reckless things. Her morals and judgment are off; she might feel slighted or wronged by the simplest of things, which could set off her anger, and therefore her Bloodlust. If she doesn't get that far, she can still be malicious and cruel. Then, in the next moment, she might be very nice to the person she was just beleaguering and seem to forget being slighted.
Loss of Self
Part of her insanity is sometimes, she doesn't know who she is. It isn't like amnesia, where she forgets; it is rather, she doesn't know how to categorize herself. She can't settle into a mold. This makes her confused. Sometimes she doesn't know why she is doing something, and she'll stop. She might also do something she doesn't feel is in her character, and that torments her.
Low Mental Strength
Maeve is easily swayed by illusions and mind tricks. She's prone to believe in them because of her slight schizophrenia, but also her mind doesn't have the power to protect itself. It is too busy fighting different urges, emotions, and wants to fight off outsiders. Besides materialistic or money issues, she is rather gullible. Lying can trick her rather easily when there are no numbers or concrete evidence to weigh words against.
Weak Body
Her body does not take hits well. She relies heavily on dodging in battle. While her small, fast body can be a strength, it is also a very bad weakness if she is hit hard. One good solid punch or stab and Maeve can go down like a rock.
Post-traumatic Stress
Because of what she has gone through, she gets panic attacks, nightmares, and has irrational fear in certain situations. Criminal activity like muggings and rape can set off her Bloodlust, or at least make her go mental. If you want someone dead, just tell Maeve they raped someone and watch the show. She has random flashbacks from when she was raped and from the vampire attack, and of battles she has been in. Her sleep is also tormented, increasing the problem. Sometimes large numbers of intimidating men surrounding her will give her a panic attack, something she experienced quite often during battle in the wars she was hired out to fight. Her panic attacks often lead to Bloodlust or an inability to function at all. She also gets panic attacks when she is confronted by certain supernatural races, not limited to vampires or undead. She is also scared of werewolves, a few other predatory shifters, and normal predatory animals like wolves. Places that resemble the places where she was attacked or a battlefield she fought on will have the same effect.
Uncertainty
She is still finding out what she can do, and what the magic that surrounds her can do. This includes her power objects and also her innate magic. How much can she tax herself before there are real consequences? How much can she use magic before it turns on her?
Easily Tired
By using her spells, she is easily put out. “Easily” means that using multiple spells within about a day’s time will tire her out so that she might collapse from exhaustion. If she’s having a particularly involved day, she will need to eat and sleep more if she wants to avoid fainting.
Addiction
Even with the Blood-drop Amulet, Maeve is still obsessed with blood. She is a recovering addict, and the amulet is only like medication that is keeping her from indulging helplessly in it. Her mind still wants blood. Of course, this is a very damaging addiction, because in order to get blood, someone has to get hurt. She might wound herself if no one is around, and otherwise she could attack someone she cares about. Even with the Blood-drop Amulet she finds the need to pick fights so she has an excuse to hurt a victim or she finds herself out looking for a victim. Mentally this is damaging because she feels like she has become the monster that attacked her.
Characteristics
Personality: Fiery and intimidating one moment, and teasing and flirty the next, but calculating all the while, is a typical few minutes with Maeve. She doesn’t have moods like most people (not that she’s emotionless), but rather uses her charm when it’s called for and cruelty when she wants to. In a way, she is very whimsical like her mother. She can also be quite shy like her mother, too, but this mostly comes off as being aloof. It takes awhile to get her to open up and be comfortable around individuals and she tends to dislike crowds. She likes the vibrant forest and freedom, but she is drawn to society (especially human) like a moth to the flame. She can be hot-and-cold in relationships and has a tendency to lead her significant others along. People are attracted to the up-and-down ride, but it rarely lasts long before her wanderlust kicks in. She cannot settle down; however, Maeve has little want for a regular, steady human job, anyway. That is why she took to hunting for treasure and beautiful artifacts. She can sell the pieces for a high price, but also enjoy the thrill of the hunt and the danger it brings. She is very materialistic, and defines herself with objects, possessions, etc. Her favorite time of day is nighttime, and her “morning” is usually late evening when the sun is setting.
Motivation: To quell the longing she feels, the restlessness. A hedonist, too, she pursues her current fancies, which flitter about rather recklessly. She is also on a quest to find items that might help her cure her insanity or vampirism, or at least relieve symptoms. She would do anything for such things.
History:
Maeve has never met her father. Her mother raised her in the woods with the other dryads and animals. She learned to dance, to sing, to frolic, and most importantly, how to treat a tree right. She was happy for many years, but there was always something missing. She wasn’t like the other dryads; there were no others her age around. For her whole life she kept asking when she would get her own tree. Her mother would lightly stroke her hair and smile sadly, and say, “Soon.” As she matured, she felt even more alienated and alone. The other dryads could not answer her questions about her body or what was beyond the forest.
“How can you be content to be inside your tree all the time? Is it that fun?” Maeve demanded.
The wind tousled the leaves like a giant hand ruffling someone’s hair. Maeve leaned against the tree, arms crossed. She could feel the energy begin to pulse from the bark into her back. Frowning, she grumbled, “How is happiness and contentment better than fun?”
The response made her jump up in a fit and stomp away. Hissing with animosity she stalked through the otherwise quiet and peaceful forest. She didn’t care she was making a racket and disturbing the birds and deer, who flew and scampered away with a disapproving demeanor. After awhile she stood stock still, then suddenly threw her arms in the air and shouted at the top of her lungs, “I’m not happy!” She picked up a stick and threw it haphazardly, and watched it fall to the ground with a thump a few feet away.
The half-dryad could feel the energy of the forest shift from peace to fear. It got silent as the animals sensed the dryads’ disquiet. Maeve suddenly felt completely, absolutely, alone. She collapsed to the bed of leaves, which cradled her body softly, and began to cry. She cried what seemed like hours, letting out all the pain she had built up after years of quiet dissent and general uneasiness. She was so very alone without her own tree. What was wrong with her that she looked different and had no home, no place in which she belonged, like everyone else?
Over the hours the forest returned back to normal. The birds began to twitter and settle comfortably in the trees again. The light was fading into evening, letting the shadows grow. Strangely, she suddenly felt calm. She laid like that for awhile. Eventually she rubbed her face of the tears and looked up at the colored sky above, through the branches of her brethren. She wondered to herself why she never felt peace, what she wanted.
As she puzzled, she felt the faint whisperings get louder all around her until she could almost make them out. She felt her mother vibrate through the energy of the other trees, calling to her. It was a feeling she didn’t put into words, but rather she could feel deep in her heart. She sighed and got up, walking repentantly back to her mother’s tree. As it came into view, she ran to the trunk and wrapped her arms around it. Now that she was older she could hug around its whole circumference and still twine her hands together comfortably.
There was a crackling sound, like sticks breaking, and she felt her mother’s arms wrap around her. The bark and the dryad’s skin continued to separate noisily from each other. After about a minute she felt the warm flesh of her mother’s bosom appear and looked up to see her mother’s partially emerged face.
“It is time to tell you the truth, my child,” her mother said. Her voice had always reminded Maeve of the wind knocking and whistling against leaves in a light rainstorm. It lulled her into a dozing state as she listened to the tale of her birth. It was a loving tale, but fleeting. The story calmed her fears and she knew what she had to do, and why.
Her mother knew, too. They embraced for awhile until Maeve cramped, so her mother let her go. She curled up at the base of her mother’s tree for the last time. In the morning, she awoke with the dawn, patted the bark familiarly, and promised to return one day. She walked through the forest, saying unspoken goodbyes. As she moved toward the edge of the forest she felt the sadness of the other dryads and animals, though she could also feel their well-wishes. When she emerged out into the bright sunlight of the sunset, she blinked, looked into the distance, and smiled, truly smiled, for the first time in her life.
______________________________________________________________________
Humans were strange creatures at first. They were overly emotional, hyperactive, and confusing. The language barrier was harsh, too. She found people treated her disrespectfully, especially compared to her family back in the forest. She did all she could to learn whatever language of the humans she came across. Even then, they still treated her disrespectfully…or sometimes reverently, especially the version of humans she learned were “men” (which she found she liked very much).
Peeved by this lack of understanding, Maeve didn’t like humans at first. That is, until she started to meet the other races. Then she found that at least humans were vaguely predictable. They were mostly non-violent, too, unlike trolls or werewolves. She also liked their language better.
The only thing that puzzled her after years of being around humans was money. It was not like she couldn’t do math, but it was just seemingly silly to give people green crystals for food and clothing. Then she realized that they were working as they received the crystals, which they then gave to other working people for things. It made sense, in a way, but she wondered when the cycle ended. She was told this method had worked for hundreds of years, and she wondered how that could be possible. Couldn’t someone just work so much that they amassed all the bishani for themselves, and therefore collapse the whole system?
Maybe she was thinking too much.
Another thing that humans had going for them was the sex was great. How her mother was perfectly content to have sex only once in hundreds of years eluded her. And that instance occurred only because she liked the cambion so much. In Maeve’s case, she found she liked all sorts of people and races. She tried them all (well, most) out at least once, and humans were definitely the winners. They indulged in sex, got involved with it, got impassioned by it. And they were aggressive compared to elves and fairies, but not too aggressive, like trolls—who still scared her.
After awhile she adjusted to human society, all sorts of human society. As far as she traveled, they were all basically the same. The language changed, the features changed, the surroundings changed, but they all acted the same. And that was the key that allowed her to adjust. It came so easily, knowing how to act; getting money was easy enough, too, no matter where she was. She eventually began to understand that money and hierarchy position in the human power struggle equaled respect; wearing nice clothing and throwing money around also made people treat her well and take her seriously.
After being rather independent as she learned the ropes, Maeve eventually found her passion in one man, someone who labeled himself an adventurer. He traveled like she did, but mostly went where there were few or no people at all. There, he would find pretty things, some of them magical, and some which were protected by ancient peoples or monsters. She went along with him passively at first, finding the searching and detective work to be fairly boring, until on one trip they had to dodge booby-traps and kill an imp who could cast fireballs. It was then, as they stood outside the old temple with the spoils in hand, that she knew that this was what she wanted to do. One of the treasures they found was a legendary staff, which they sold for thousands of bishani. They lived comfortably for awhile and he bought her fancy clothing, jewelry, tasty treats, and a luxurious abode they decorated with all sorts of things. Maeve started her own hunting for treasure, and began to go out on her own as he pursued other things. After a year of this they eventually argued about it and split up.
Even though they were apart and never saw each other again, the things he taught her stayed with her, and she missed him only sometimes, like she missed her mother. Soon she was hooked on the hunt for treasure, the legends, and the action. Most of her time was spent with people, learning and interacting, and living comfortably in big houses with fancy things.
And whenever the wanderlust kicked in, she left money in her wake like a trail of dead flowers. The further she wandered, the more violent things got. She soon learned about criminals. With no boyfriend to protect her during travels, her life was soon turned upside down.
On a fateful day in her early adulthood, bandits attacked her as she walked down a road toward the next city. At first she wasn't aware of what they wanted. They got frustrated, and attacked her. They began to beat her, and when she was down and crying, they went through her stuff. They took everything she had. This wasn't enough; for the first time, she found her sexual appeal could be a curse. She was able to charm them, and they weren't so brutal that she broke. However, when they left her, she was bruised on both the inside and out. She retreated into the forest.
There she stayed, trying to recover. Even when the body healed, her mind did not. For years she was unable to face human society again. At the time, she could not understand what had happened; why would they do such a thing? For once, sex had not been enjoyable.
After a few years of being alone in the woods, she couldn't stand it anymore. The loneliness was eating her from the inside out. She again braved society; at first, she stayed in the shadows as much as she could, afraid of people, but still yearning to be near them. However, she was still noticed; luckily, her beauty only brought her suitors, who had money. With that money she bought her customized Cloak of Shadows. She regained a status and some of her confidence, but she was still frayed. She feared she was damaged forever.
That all ended when she was confronted by another unknown danger. Up until that point, she was lucky enough to avoid the undead. She wasn't even aware of their existence until she was directly confronted with one. It was a vampire. He attacked, biting her savagely in the neck. She fought back, and, surprised, the vampire fled, leaving her for dead. The next few minutes were the longest in her life. The only thing she could think to do was use a skill her mother taught her, to heal herself with plants. She dragged herself to a tree, and luckily found leaves on the ground nearby. It was summertime, but a branch had fallen in a storm. If not for this, she would have died; she would not have been able to climb up to get fresh leaves. She grabbed a fistful and jammed it onto her neck. At first, she felt so feeble that she couldn't bring her power forth. As she slowly blacked out, she got angry at the injustice of it all. She had just gotten over her fear of people enough to make friends... And now this. The anger took her over, awakening her enough to use her power. She then passed out.
The next time she awoke, as far as she can recollect, she was lying on something cold. She pushed herself up, groggily looking at the thing beneath her. It was a person. Maeve felt sticky, and in the dim light of the coming dawn she realized it was red. Blood. There was blood all over the cold body beneath her, and her hands, her face, her clothing. The lavish dress she wore was torn and stained. She put a tentative hand on the still form, but it remained cold and motionless. A plaintive cry was torn from her throat and she flung herself back, away from the body. She got up and ran. She didn't stop until she reached her lover's apartment, letting herself in the back door that he usually kept unlocked. She snuck quietly to the bathroom and cleaned herself up.
To this day she doesn't know what happened that night, after she passed out during healing. Her neck ached and she retained a large bruise-like wound on her neck for weeks afterward. Her lover was alarmed, so she left him and bought her own apartment. She stayed low for awhile, until fear overwhelmed her, and she started the arduous task of moving. This time she traveled with a large convoy of merchants who had hired guards. From then on, she sought ways to protect herself, whether it was buying a gnomish gun or traveling in numbers.
Her bloodlust and violent lash-outs were an increasing problem for the next few years. She sought out someone who could help her, a well-known author and vampire hunter in Tian Xia. He studied the wound, and found that the vampire's tooth had broken off during the fight, and was still embedded in her neck when she healed over the wound to stop the bleeding. With it was a drop or two of vampire blood, which increasingly infected her brain. Luckily she could not become a vampire, fully, because of her heritage, but she had enough mortality in her to affect her. He did not know if there was a cure, and there was no way to get rid of it. Rather, he knew she would have to suppress the symptoms. At first he recommended she learn martial arts to calm her mind. Her body took to it well enough, but the tutors would soon become angry with her violent, hot-and-cold personality, and she was left to train by herself.
Then, the next man who would change her life entered the picture. She met him through a friend, and was delighted to hear that he was a warrior of some renown. He practiced an ancient style of swordsmanship with two blades, which was largely ritual now that many armies used gnomes and organized military tactics to fight. She seduced him and convinced him to train her, and for the next few years she quelled her wanderlust so she could learn from him. Her new abilities calmed her fearfulness, which helped to indirectly calm her bloodlust. After he felt she was ready, she left him, which tore her heart. They had become quite close over the years, but he wished her well, knowing that he was getting too old to go traveling about with her.
To train further, she joined a mercenary band, and entered the battlefield. She jumped from band to band, mostly out of necessity, but also renewed her treasure hunting. During her travels she met a witchwoman, who possessed Scelli's Charm Bracelet. She stole it from the old woman and took off. It was priceless to her; she had no wish to sell it. Instead, she placed her hope on it to cure her of her succubus side. It did not, but it did make life easier. People did not become so obsessed with her and, paired with her swordsmanship, she felt that no one would ever rape or abuse her again.
Then the next prize dropped into her lap. As she traveled west, she heard of a legend of the Blood-drop Amulet, another ancient piece of history. With the emergence of vampirism, a powerful mage made an amulet that would supposedly render him immune to turning him into a vampire. It failed, and he was turned. However, it was found to curb his appetite; eventually, he was hobbled by this, and was killed. Through the eons the amulet was used as a family heirloom of sorts, of the vampire clan that turned the powerful mage. Their network turned into a vampire empire, which crumbled after decades of internal fighting. The possessor of the amulet, the vampire overlord, was killed during the last and major battle between the vampires. The amulet was sealed in an ancient tomb in order to seal away any ambition for creating another vampire empire and to destroy the legacy of the clan. For five years Maeve followed the tale of the legend, using history books and word of mouth, and found the amulet in the tomb. What she didn’t know was that a vampire guarded it with a ghoul army, and she had to face one of her worst fears: the undead. She barely escaped with her life, and instead of conquering her fear it only made it worse.
The good news was it delivered as promised: her bloodlust was under control; sometimes, however, things could set off her bloodlust, but it was under her control 95% of the time.
By this point she felt powerful enough that she could again walk down the road by herself. She would brutally kill many bandits this way. She takes a sort of delight in doing this.
Her next stop is some old ruins of a long-gone military outpost between the mighty empires of Tian Xia and Europa, who might also need an assassin or mercenary. She hopes to find something of use and make some money as she heads back to Europa.