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Tabeth, Human Mage Tabeth in her youth...  ...and the present day. * Where are you from? That is, What planet are you from? What kind of world is it (climate, size) and what is its role (trade, military, mining, colony, something else)? How populated is it? What part of it are you from? Tabeth was born on the great imperial capital of Vular itself, in the filthy, overcrowded "matriculation annex" where non-drow may legally exist. Most likely she would have died there, were it not for one single fact: she was a Thaumat. The Imperium's understanding of magic, as advanced and defined by the Vular Paranormal Institute, is rooted in quantum mechanics. Some quantum models view reality as a single straight line; some view it as a series of many branches, one for each possible future. The Institute holds that all such theories are laughably ignorant--that the past exists only as memory, the future only as potential, and always and ever there is only now: a single point of existence, tracing a haphazard path through an infinite sea of probability, tugged hither and yon by every action, every decision, every turning of an atom. All souls can shape the course that now will take, according to the Institute, but most in only the tinest of ways, clumsily built upon by evolution: an instantaneous chemical reaction in the soul's attendant brain, which ignites a chain of neurons, which lifts a hand or a voice, which builds a mighty starship, or a new idea, and launches it into the stars. Those persons which the Imperium classifies as Thaumats, however, can reach further: by numerous means, as yet little-understood, they can grab hold of now and shunt it across probability, to the place where a wound is healed, a locked door opens, an enemy ignites in sudden flames. Thaumats from all across the Imperium are delivered into the care of the Institute, where their powers are tested and their skills are honed for the service of the drow. * Name one thing that made you who you are today. Tabeth's inherent potential earned her an earmark for the Imperium's secret police: the Office of Special Defense. The Paranormal Institute trained her to gain the trust of strangers and ferret out their secrets; her magical ability was carefully tuned toward the infliction of pain, and the destruction of Vular's enemies. She traveled all across the Relan Arm as an agent in an OSD resolution team, disrupting rebellions, apprehending terrorists, ensuring the continued loyalty of all Vular citizens and the smooth running of the Imperium. Maybe she was even responsible for installing Teris's current government. Memory isn't what it used to be. After this long in the job, missions just start to run together. Tabeth never took much issue with the grim nature of her work, but quickly became disgusted with her comrades--every one of them a base sadist in her opinion, far too wasteful with life and other useful resources. * Who is your best friend? Your worst enemy? The most useful person Tabeth knows on this world is Sheldon "Crash" Landers, formerly a "captain" in what laughably passes for the local resistance force. Tabeth had long since singled Landers out as the likeliest insurgent officer to turn or break under interrogation, should the need ever arise; instead, he wound up being the lucky recipient of all her knowledge about the local Imperial presence, the VPI, and the OSD. Now promoted to colonel, the man has felt indebted to Tabeth ever since, a feeling which she carefully nurtures and cultivates. High treason tends to leave one with many enemies, but currently the most pressing thorn in Tabeth's side is another rebel: a hot-blooded young lieutenant with the almost-certainly-affected name of Scarlett Tanager. Scarlett seems to bear bad memories of the OSD and is not about to be fast friends with one of their agents, no matter what good word Col. Crash might put in. Perhaps Tanager would be more reasonable if the colonel finally took notice of those absurd, simpering looks she constantly gives him. Does she not even realize how much she resembles some sort of bloated, drowned rodent when she does that? * Why were you on Teris when the Imperium took over? Teris was the site of Tabeth's first and last solo mission for Special Defense. After disposing of a hacker who had dared to compromise networks on the Home World itself, Tabeth chanced to look at some of his stolen files. There she learned about Chamber 19: the ultimate fate of all magic-users in the Vular Imperium. A Thaumat who outlives her usefulness is returned to the VPI for further study...via live dissection. * Why do you fight? What did the Imperium do to make you decide to risk your life to join the rebellion? What are you sacrificing to be here? The instant she finished reading the stolen files, Tabeth resolved to abandon her life as an OSD enforcer and disappear to seek shelter elsewhere. She doesn't feel much of a grudge, since she remains unharmed for the present, but she is not about to let anything like Chamber 19 happen to her and she knows that the Office will never permit a rogue agent to live. If Tabeth can only guarantee her safety by driving the Imperium from Teris, or out of the Pelan Arm, or even a complete overthrow of Vular itself, then so be it. Omelets and eggs, et cetera. She just hopes this pack of idiots can hold out longer than a week. Tabeth has a fancy spellshard instead of books; it's more expensive than a 1st-level character could afford, but the only mechanical effect is to condense all of Tabeth's wizard powers and rituals into one conveniently stealable package. I only took it because Crystals Are More Sci-Fi. Just let me know if I should lose it. Hwurmp fucked around with this message at 12:04 on Jul 15, 2016 |
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Jul 15, 2016 04:04
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| # ¿ Apr 24, 2024 08:20 |
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