Koschei

Koschei

Mystical adept, combat/stealth
"If the World has put me through all of this, there must be a reason, but is it bad to just wish it stopped?"
Discord	@Shitpostbot3000#9033
Reddit	Scranton Anchor
Metatype	Elf Banshee
Street Cred	0
Notoriety	1
Public Awareness	0
CDP	28
C.D.B.	27/10/2061
Age	24
Folder	[1](Drive)
Priority	Metatype - D Attributes - B Magic/Resonance - A Skills - C Resources - E

Character Information

Summary

Koschei is many things seemingly at odds with each other: she is an alchemist, and yet she refuses the comforts of a properly built lodge with all the necessary tools, She is a Vory assassin, and yet she is extremely strict on who she kills, preferring to destroy only those that really deserve it. She is a banshee, by definition a solitary hunter that lurks in the shadows, and yet she is on a quest to become one with the world around her, to be complete.

Goals

On a short term

• Upgrade the gear (putting some mods on the bow, getting a steady supply of monotip heads and seeker shafts) Archieved
• Survive until she finally gets to learn how to regenerate like older vampires do Archieved
• Get some proper magical stuff (enchanting gloves, some foci, some alchemical tools)

On a long term

• Becoming more and more attuned with the World, truly understanding if it has a will, and if so, what is the purpose she has in its vision
• Kill the infected that turned her into a monster Archieved
• Decide what to do about her position in the Vory, either by rising in the ranks or abandoning it
• Working on smoothing her edges and become a better person despite her condition
• Becoming the Haven's strongest fighter

Background

Katerina's life started from the love Mikhail, a Vory avtoritet with magical powers, and Summer, an elf joygirl. For the Vory code, one cannot be part of the organization and have a family, so her father was forced to abandon her and her mother, quite literally, on the streets.

The mother's services were very requested, and thus the young daughter never went to bed hungry, but the squallor of that lifestyle marked her. Not being able to access education, she had a lot of free time, that she used to roam the streets.

Yes, a 5 y.o. left to just chill in the alleys of Everett is a disaster waiting to happen, but everyone there knew who her father was, and while he was not there for her, they wouldn't take the risk to anger "Mik the demon". So, she had a chance to feel the flow around her. The energy that spanned across those lowly barrens, from the diseased rats to the plants choking under layers of concrete, everything had a voice, and everything made sense for her. It is not uncommon for awakened to reveal their nature at an early age, but for her it was particularly staggering, given her complete lack of direct knowledge of magical theory.

She was clearly drawn to the chaos tradition, not relying to any set of rules or symbols to manifest her magic, just advancing her understanding through sheer trial and error. Her go to alchemical components are pigeon feathers, shards of glass and StufferShack brand bacon flavored soybars, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

At the age of 14, her mother passed away, leaving her completely alone and orphaned. She will never know if it was through her father's beggings, simple compassion or some sick twist of fate, but the same organization that left her in the streets offered a way out.

The deal was simple: let Svyeta, a boyevik, take her in under her wing and see if she had a useful skillset, and if she thought that Katerina was ready, at her 17th birthday, she would have her officialy become a Vory shestyorka. The young elf took the deal, and quickly realized how much of an harsh teacher Svyeta was. Every waking hour where she was not directly involved in some activity, she would make Katerina study, try out spirit summoning, casting spells, using fists, pistols, rifles and bows at the firing range, attempt to pick pockets or sneak.

In those 3 years, Katerina showed little aptitude towards the more astral bound practices, but proved herself a great fighter, to the point where her teacher asked help from former friends to make her learn some Kyujutsu techniques. At her birthday, she was sent to her first mission, simple stuff, sneak into an apartment, steal a betaware cyberarm stored in its original cache under this dude's bed, and get out. She did exactly that, and that was the first step taken towards becoming a true made woman.

In the following years, her superiors realized how much of a nightmare she could be on the field, and decided to let her loose way more often, resulting in more and more bloodshed on her hands, bloodshed that she for one welcomed, after all it was about protecting the interests of her family.

In one of those more gruesome jobs, she was supposed to be part of the support team that overlooked a particularly hot negotiation between the russians and some members of the Triads. It all happened so quickly, someone taking something out of his pocket, Katerina putting an arrow through his skull, and all hell breaking loose in a second. They were outnumbered in that firefight, but somehow, probably out of sheer survival instinct, the adept managed to kill much of the opposing force, as did one of theirs. Only a single person standing on each side of the room, her, and a man with an AK, paler then the others. He knows his mag is empty, so instead of reloading, starts to run towards her at breakneck speed, she has no time to react, and is quickly overwhelmed by the man, who, much to her surprise, sinks his teeth deep into her neck. She had no way of defending herself against the overwhelming strenght of the assailant, who maybe out of a twisted desire of vengeance for his dead comrades, maybe out of sheer hunger or as a pure act of evil, drained her empty and left her for dead.

Turns out, she survived, but, well, she was not the same.

The following days were the worst of her life, reduced to the state of a feral beast, hunting down anyone who dared to enter her hunting grounds. Innocent bystanders? KE officiers? Vory comrades? She doesn't know or remember (nor she wants to remember) who and how many people she killed in that time frame. When she was back at thinking straight, that experience deeply marked and traumatized her, to the point where she felt compelled to meditate on what her life meant now, and reconsider all her values and alliances.

After two months of pondering, she decided that the Vory wasn't responsible for what happened, and were the only family she had left, and thus remained in their ranks, however, she cut the number of works she would partake in, favoring a solo career. And as for how to live as a banshee, she decided to return to the roots, to her lifestyle from when she was still naive and hopeful. So she left her house behind, and came back to the streets, hoping for the World to show her the way. After some months, she is still looking for purpose, but has a name, "Koschei", The Undying King of Russian floklore, and a code to prevent her from descending into a beast, to only drink for those she kills for the jobs, and only kill those who deserve it.

Narrative Significant Qualities

Positive

Agile Defender

• After being left at her enemies' mercy in a fight one time too much, she has learned that maybe full force forward isn't always the best approach, and learned how to leverage her speed to make herself an hard target

Candle In The Darkness

• When she knew that KB went berserk, and that Trample needed sniper support, she didn't care for payment, nor the hunters after her, nor anything. That is the kinda stuff that raises your image in the shadows.

Dual Natured Defender

• For how much it pains her to sever her connection with the World for even a minute, it is sometimes a necessity in the day to day life of the Sixth World.

Infected: Banshee

• Despite her struggling with accepting her new reality, the HMHVV has undeniably improved her capabilities, sharpening her already great senses and reaction times, and providing her with the blessings of being dual natured.

Infected Optional Power: Regeneration

• The sheer amount of fear experienced combined with the residual energy of the great form plant spirit during KB's fight were enough to make the virus activate the regeneration power.

Made (Wo)man: Vory

• If a bit far from the stereotype associated with the organization, Koschei is about as Vory as it gets: she respects the codes, she obeys her orders, and she is merciless when needed.

Mentor Spirit: Sulphur (Firebringer)

• For Koschei, the easiest Principle to embrace is Sulphur: the Fire, the Soul, am element that actively gives energy and empowers what surrounds it.

Perfect Time

• Maybe it is the magic, maybe it is just natural talent, but Koschei can really make every millisecond count.

Practiced Alchemist

• She is good at what she does, and really wants you to know it.

Shoot First, Don't Ask

• When fighting at banshee mysad speeds, you can't really allow yourself to be surprised.

Negative

Code of Honor: Avenging Angel

• Beyond a matter of family or allegiance, she will accept to kill all those that commit violence for reasons other then survival.

Hobo With A Shotgun

• Koschei swears that being one with the streets is a way towards enlightenment, but most of her friends would really appreciate if she had a shower every once in a while.

Run History

Name	GM	Metaplot	Threat	Date of Run
Six Gets Headhunted	Aurora		High	14 September 2082
The FBI Is Totally Fine	Aurora		Semi-Prime	21 August 2082
White And Red And No Blue	Aurora		High	11 August 2082
The Ghost of the Sprawl	Sleevey		High	10 August 2082
Mutaquality	Sleevey		High	18 July 2082
Bayou Bonanza	PatGriffin	Dead Gods Stir	High	2 July 2082
Minima de Malis	Zerre de Seattle		Medium	14 June 2082
A Literal Milk Run	Aurora		"Milk*" (It was High)	10 June 2082
Raging Bull	Sarcarian	It's Always Wednesday in Seattle	Prime	4 June 2082
Buoys Are For Saturday	Cutier Than Thou		Milk Run	30 May 2082
Road Kill	Sleevey		Low	26 May 2082

Affiliations

Organizations

Contact	Connection	Loyalty	Archetype	Profession	Aspects	Chips
Ace Powers	6	2	Fixer	Horizon Talent Agent	Musical Talent, Corporate Deals, Keep it Classy, Fake SINs, Insider Knowledge, Horizon Agent, Hired Muscle	Even
Boozeman	1	1	Networking	Barkeep	Paranoid, A quiet place, Spelunker, I know where you can find him	Even
Cassandra Withers	8	2	Networking	FBI Liaison	Secretly A Mantis, Bug Knowledge, Twisted Magic, UCAS Government Connections, Bug Hotspots, Government Favors, Magical Stealth, MilSpec Resources, ARES Macrotechnology Knowledge, Mantis Hunger, Grip On The FBI	Even
"General" Dave	3	4	Service	"General"	Greatest Leader in Republic Of Dave, Greatest Cook in Republic Of Dave, International Affairs, Micronations	Even
Nameless	5	2	Custom(K,A,G,N)	Ghoul Swordsman	Christian Cult Classic, Underground Underdog, Judicious Judicator, Gloomy Glow Ghoul, Mana Mentor, EVO Encyclopedia	Even
Orianna Cazador	6	2	Gear	Urubia's Secretary	Drug Dealer, Black Market Connections, Heavy Hitters!, Focus Fence, Magical Mistress, Dragon Duty, A-List Access, Handcrafted, Urubia's Bottom Line	Even
Our Lady of the Perpetual Saturday	2	1	Networking	Influencer, Not A Cult Leader	It's Always Friday Night Somewhere, A Rare Medium (Who Does Well), Good Vibes Only, Life of the Party	Even
Svyeta	4	3	Fixer(G,K,A,N)	Fixer	Magic Tradition (Chaos), Foci (Qi), Yakuza Pariah, Common Sense, Vory Boyevik, Kyujutsu Enthusiast, Magical Threats	Even
Teldragon	6	2	Custom(K,N,A,G)	Guiding Spirit	Diviner, Infobroker, Personal Domain, Spirit Lord, Great Form Guidance, Frogs in all the Right Places, I Know a Camera When I See One	Even

Contact	Position	Connection	Faction Rep	Archetype	Health	Location
Vory	Shestyorka	3	12	Organised Crime Syndicate	Maintaining	Worldwide

Allies

+3 White Lotus

Enemies

-5 Red Dragon Associates

In Character Information

Symbols and Signatures

The most important symbolism for Koschei is, of course, the one associated with the Vory. She bears many of their tattoos:

• A St Mary holding Jesus on the back, because she is a criminal since she was a child
• A skull fitted with a cybereye and a small dragon circling around it, because she is an assassin and has killed both augmented and awakened targets
• A pair of small blue eyes on the ribs, in the left side of her chest, signaling her homosexuality. It used to be a mark of shame in soviet times, but she chose to make it herself and bears it with pride
• Two sets of letters on the fingers, "ОМУТ" on the right (acronym of от меня уйти трудно, or it is hard to escape from me) and "МИР" on the left (меня исправит расстрел, "only execution will correct me", it means that she will never stop being a criminal)

But, after the infection, and her consequential newfound spirituality, she also plans on marking her body with the symbols of traditional alchemy, which as been a certainty in the chaos that is now her life:

• The "earth" symbol, on the back of her right hand, representing the mastery over physical movement and sensations, acting as a Qi Focus (Improved Skill: Archery)
• The "magnesium" symbol, on the scars left by the vampire that turned her, representing the ideal of eternity, signaling the unlocking of the regeneration power
• The "sulphur" symbol, on her left cheek, representing the universal principle of the Soul, signaling her connection to the Firebringer
• The "mercury" symbol, on the back of her left hand, representing the universal principle of the Mind, acting as an Alchemical Focus
• The "putrefation" symbol, on her right ankle, representing the horrifying process through which all matter decomposes, signaling the unlocking of the fear power
• The "air" symbol, on her left ankle, representing the awareness and swiftness that comes with attuning with the Wind, acting as a Qi Focus (Combat Sense)

Matrix Search Table

Threshold	Result
1	An elf mysad
3	An elf mysad with Vory ties, that likes to be sneaky and uses a bow
6	Same as above, but with mentions about her being actually a banshee, and pictures of gruesome scenes of murders, with lots of corpses reduced to ashes and, invariably, a single individual left without even the tiniest amount of blood in their veins, and an arrow that pierces their skull, to avoid them rising up as infected.

Shadow Community Table

Threshold	Result
1	A sneaky bastard that shoots enchanted arrows
3	A mysad infiltrator and fighter that despite having lots of moral codes is quick and efficient
5	An idealist mysad banshee that when is not begging some poor talislegger for some free reagents or picking pointless fights with drunk wageslaves is actually a reliable ninja and alchemist

Assensing Table: Mask (7 dicepool)

Threshold	Description
1	Awakened, sever iron deficency. Relaxed and confident.
2	No cyberware. A green, weak aura.
3	An alpha datajack. She is an Aware.
4	Sleep regulator and cerebellum booster bioware. Essence 5,3 Magic 2.
5	No genemods, no nanoware. Not a technomancer.

Assensing Table

Threshold	Description
1	Awakened, almost perfect health. Moodwise it's either incredibly cheerful or a rage fueled murder machine, no inbetweens.
2	No cyberware. Mystic adept. Her aura is a chaotic amalgamation of black, white, red and yellow.
3	No alpha cyberware. Infected with HMHVV strain I. Her aura appears to have a distinct tendency toward black and red
4	No beta cyberware nor bioware. Essence and magic both at a clean 6
5	No genemods, nor anything, she is completely implant free! HMHVV is still taking hold, and as of now it is trying to make her cells able to separate without damage (mist form?)

SINs

SIN	Issuer	Rating	Licenses
Lena Tolsoj	UCAS	4	Adept, Magician, Weapons

Appearance

• Art by @Alyke, they are on the Haven!

Koschei is a 1,93 ('6'5) elf woman, with pale skin and two eerily purple eyes. She sports a sidecut of dyed light blue hair, and usually uses black nail polish and lipstick

Clothing

Very punk and unkept. Her favorite piece of clothing is an heavy military green coat, full of pins and spotted bleach stains

Matrix Persona

A phoenix, with the sulphur symbol carved in black on its chest