Ruby
05-20-13, 02:29 PM
The Lady Livened (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4povfmX144)
Mrs Ruby Winchester
2964
“It’s surprising how much comfort there is to be had in gin, last year’s clothes, and knowing the one man you fought so hard to love loves you back.”
Alias: Ruby
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Height: 6'
Weight: 135lbs
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Grey
Religion: Tantalus
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Occupation: Bard
Intelligence: Genius
Literacy: Genius
Updates are in red.
History: Much of Ruby Winchester (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24112-Lady-Swan-(Ruby-Level-4)) died in Berevar (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24012-By-Tap-Trap-amp-Testimony-(Solo)&highlight=tap%2C+trap). She burnt her soul to defend her husband’s honour, and free him from his history as an Old God of the frozen wastes. With the Phoenix in her singed, and her body born anew, the now white haired, no longer Crimson Mistress has fallen short of enthusiasm for things she once enjoyed.
After working with her siblings to save the Ixian Knights from one final, embittered defeat (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25258-The-Hand-That-Feeds-(Solo)&highlight=hand+that+feeds), Ruby finds herself back in Scara Brae. With her household in tatters and her husband hard at work, the esteemed Mrs Winchester has set herself on a task fitting for her great sense of directionless. She aims to improve (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25441-You-As-You-Were-(Closed)&highlight=hand+that+feeds) her sword arm. She hopes to grow strong enough to redeem her hollow soul from its defeat.
She aims to forget the past.
Letting your memories fade is never easy. Some of them want to live on, forever and ever, amen.
Some of them want to live on so much they threaten to consume you whole. One such memory is that of the restless fugitive…
Though Jensen Ambrose and Erissa Caedron have done much to sate the bitter legacy of the Forgotten Ones, in recent months, whispers have abounded on the island. People say that a new troupe is on the rise. They say that a young boy, with feathery arms and a plucky wit leads them. Ruby is worried that this boy might just be Pettigrew, the one secret she will die to protect.
Except for trying to steal from her dutiful, ever-loving, and caring husband…being set adrift in life, apparently, makes you clamour for redemption in strange ways.
There is much to do before the Crimson Mistress can stand with her head held high at court again. There is much to do to find meaning after retirement.
There is much to do before she can feel alive again. There is much to see. There is much to hear. There is much to amend.
And everywhere, people who still need the troupe’s help and guidance.
Personality: Ruby’s demeanour has become somewhat cool and complacent, as if the life she leads was a mere breeze. Where others are quick to temper, the Lady Swan now satisfies herself with modest assumptions, well placed words, and a calming and empathic grace. She possesses a somewhat melancholic personality, having resolved herself to the way of the world years ago; she is happy as much in joy as she is in disaster.
Death does that to a woman.
She exudes an authoritarian aura and sprightly and youthful buoyancy, the likes of which you would expect from children or at least those many years younger than she is. Succinct notions of spurious wisdom underline her facade, which is kept tight to all those except the most deserving of people; at such a time, only Duffy has truly come to see beyond the namesake, and of course, her husband and long standing victim of negligence and absence, Leopold.
Ruby is certain about one thing. She loves Leopold Winchester very much. She is a lover, a romantic, a deep-seated fantasist who endures all for those shining moments of intertwined emotions. If anybody asks on such matters of the heart, encouragement to the truth is nearly always applied; of course, she is wise enough to know when such love is fleeting. When such a bond is unfrequented, and no more than a fabricated lie, it is worth abandoning. Her matriarchal drive to care for those in needs makes her a compassionate and altruistic individual, or at least, as much as being a noble woman of Scara Brae allows.
Skills:
Domestic Goddess: As a matron, homemaker, and learned scholar of the scullery, Ruby is acquainted with most domestic chores. She is also familiar with the demands and tasks associated with bringing up children, and keeping a household in order.
Cooking: Ruby is an above average cook, capable of preparing meals for up to six by her merit. She can arrange a variety of dishes into a suitable structure, and is familiar with Scara Braen, Coronian, and low-Raiaera cuisine. She is not a master, by any stretch of the imagination. The best thing about a Winchester dinner party is the conversation and liquor.
Etiquette: Ruby has a legendary grasp of courtly, lowborn, and street etitquite. She is a living embodiment of tact and grace, able to ebb and flow into and out of the correct behaviour for all manner of social situations. She can divert aggression, revitalise lumbering meetings, and inspire goodness in others with ease.
Tailoring: Over the years, Ruby has learnt how to sew and mend almost any non-magical fabric. She can make dresses and garments out of material up to silk provided she has the time, material, and patience to do so. She has an above average eye for style, colour, and design.
Logistics: Above Average grasp of the fundamental approaches required to shipping goods, arranging furniture, feeding a workforce, and maintaining a household or business. Through working with Leopold at The Winchester Rose Trading Company, she is beginning to learn the basics of accounting, too.
Local Knowledge: She has masterful knowledge of the culture, arts, and political history of Scara Brae. There is little Ruby does not know about the established noble households of the city, either. This extends to those long destroyed, forgotten, and exiled.
Perform: A life on the stage and in the city’s favour has given rise to the need for Ruby to learn many performance based skills. She is quite the virtuoso that Duffy is, and somewhat slow to learn, but she is still quite an adept thespian.
Singing: Ruby has quickly learnt how to utilise her vocal talents outside of her spell singing. She is a very talented singer, especially where opera is concerned, and has an adept level of insight into the technical side, as well as the performance side of singing.
Dancing: She has an adept grasp and ability with all the dancing styles of the human kingdoms. This includes Scara Brae, Corone, and Fallien. She can muster basic courtly rhythm for Raiaera function as well, though she is a clunky dancer to the strange melodies of the high elves.
Acting: Adept grasp of the fundamentals of acting, paling in comparison to Duffy, but still leaving her with plenty of skill and experience (and a better insight into female roles at least). She prefers roles that allow her to disguise the fact she is the inferior actor when on the stage with the rest of the troupe.
Swordplay: Ruby has an average skill with single-edged swords, she is reawakening to a past life where she was a Bladesinger true. She can defend herself well enough, and muster simple offensive strikes and parries. At present, it’s only real use is to compliment her spell singing, though she does everything she can to improve.
Abilities:
The Aria: The power to bend reality with a voice, or one’s acting, or one’s motions is a boon few receive. Ruby’s abilities stem from her connection to The Aria, the metaphysical consciousness of the Thayne Tantalus. Her spell singing is purely vocal, with the exception of some heightening of control if physical, appropriate dance accompanies her song. She is a master spell singer. Though her grasp of the Bardic fundamentals is strong, it is important to highlight a small fact about her ability. She does not always get what she sings for, as the ether takes lyrics literally and does not always produce effects as required.
Twilight Theme: When singing a song of the seasons, Ruby can drain or increase sources of light in the immediate vicinity. Candles and fireplaces snuff out or grow in ferocity. Darkness grows ever darker, and the sunlight shines like the spring equinox’s heart. It is important to note that these effects are temporary, and the light sources affected by the sonata will return slowly to normal from the moment the song stops. Songs to sing to gain these affects typically are operatic arrangements, songs of dwindling, and bright lullabies.
Defensive Duet: Through sheer need to defend oneself, Ruby can sing a scintillating sphere about her body that is hard as iron. She sings with a phantom voice accompanying her. The shield protects Ruby from any harm so long as she remains singing, alert, and conscious for up to two posts. It can be dispelled as if it were conventional magic by a mage two levels higher than Ruby. A blow with enough force behind it may be able to break it as well, provided the modifier is at least X3.
Frigid Fandango: Ruby’s emotional lament has given rise to a song of pure sorrow. Through fighting Lucian, and finding herself in the depths of her memories, she has started to manifest the darker elements in her spell singing. She can conjure temperature changes in the atmosphere around her. Such a song, regardless of its effectiveness, can only reduce the temperature to 0 degrees Celsius at best in a sphere of 15 feet, with the appropriate impact on water, fire, and humans after lengthened exposure.
Conjuring Cantor: Somewhat random in nature, the Conjuring Cantor allows Ruby to call small inanimate objects to her side. Examples of items possible are small foodstuffs, household items, cheap wine, simple garments, and similar items from Ruby’s effects. It is important to note that items not belonging to Ruby find their way home. This will have appropriate consequences should people start to talk. Ruby can sing this song twice per thread.
Scintillating Song: In place of extensive fireworks or props, Ruby often sings a song of colour to conjure lights and orbs. She can conjure fireworks from the air like a mage calling on the ether for guidance and aid. These are mere illusions, and although they create sound in their wake, they have no physical effect on matter. This song requires physical movements to gain any degree of control. If left untended, the lights will move and respond to the emotions of the singer and the lyrics and strength of the song sung.
Rampant Requiem: This is Ruby’s only true offensive ability as far as her spell singing is concerned. It allows her to summon concussive blows, ghostly limbs, and damaging implosions. It demands a certain level of anger or grievance before it can be utilised effectively. Such instruments of the bard’s sharp tongue never inflict more than an X2 strength blow from an iron mace carried by someone of her stature, but it can strike multiple times given the right circumstances. The greater the peril and the better the song, the more violent and uncontrollable it becomes. It can injure Ruby just as well as others.
Inventory: In the wake of the attack on the Prima Vista, Ruby sold most of her possessions to give a parting gift to the various members of the extended troupe who found themselves homeless. Whilst she owns a small mansion in the noble district, it is slowly falling into disrepair. She has sent away all her staff, and lives on the providence and wealth of her husband’s merchant enterprise. The only items she retains of note as detailed below.
Sparrow: This ancient violin is enchanted with angelic voice. It is covered with ivy and rose petals and battle scenes witnessed by its owner during her life. It is master crafted, and without peer anywhere in the world. The bow is ornate, and a thin metal wire runs through string. Through delicate resonance, it can maintain its sound for much longer than a normal instrument. There is a chain of silver links around her waist, which attach the violin to a sling over her shoulder, and she has various pieces of jewellery, which can be uses as tuning forks, houses in a leather pouch about her waist. It can utilise the following abilities once each per thread:
Sustain: Ruby can play an arrangement and prolong it. This will sustain the last note as if it were an electrical instrument, to allow the workings of a spell song to carry on into swordplay or flight from battle.
Repetition: Ruby can loop eight bars through the violin and repeat it for four bars. This allows complicated arrangements to layer over lyric and other pieces to augment her spell singing into new and unexplored territory.
Accelerate: Ruby can overplay one song to increase its effect, but this will play with such violence and speed that one of the strings will break with an almighty twang. She must exile the violin for two posts before she can re-conjure it.
Lucrezia: (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24239-Lady-s-Favours) A lightweight, single edged mithril sword with a curved tip forged. Forged four centuries ago by Raiaera singer smiths, it has a golden spiral of unicorn hairs in its core. It conducts the wielder's voice, and is conductive to magic as if made of dehlar. It is bound to The Aria, and when it swings, it can sing in a voice of its own. It possesses its own identity and consciousness.
Phoenix: (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24239-Lady-s-Favours) Prior to her departure for Berevar a year ago, Ruby invested in an enchanted dress that allowed her to travel for prolonged periods whilst retaining her glamour’s demure charm. It is stitched with the finest silk and threads, and impervious to rain, spillage, and wear & tear (though offers no resistance to spells or physical blows). Like the red dress she wore for centuries, Phoenix has started to become her identifying feature, along with her white hair, and her musical step.
Mrs Ruby Winchester
2964
“It’s surprising how much comfort there is to be had in gin, last year’s clothes, and knowing the one man you fought so hard to love loves you back.”
Alias: Ruby
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Height: 6'
Weight: 135lbs
Eye Colour: Blue
Hair Colour: Grey
Religion: Tantalus
Alignment: Chaotic Neutral
Occupation: Bard
Intelligence: Genius
Literacy: Genius
Updates are in red.
History: Much of Ruby Winchester (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24112-Lady-Swan-(Ruby-Level-4)) died in Berevar (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24012-By-Tap-Trap-amp-Testimony-(Solo)&highlight=tap%2C+trap). She burnt her soul to defend her husband’s honour, and free him from his history as an Old God of the frozen wastes. With the Phoenix in her singed, and her body born anew, the now white haired, no longer Crimson Mistress has fallen short of enthusiasm for things she once enjoyed.
After working with her siblings to save the Ixian Knights from one final, embittered defeat (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25258-The-Hand-That-Feeds-(Solo)&highlight=hand+that+feeds), Ruby finds herself back in Scara Brae. With her household in tatters and her husband hard at work, the esteemed Mrs Winchester has set herself on a task fitting for her great sense of directionless. She aims to improve (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?25441-You-As-You-Were-(Closed)&highlight=hand+that+feeds) her sword arm. She hopes to grow strong enough to redeem her hollow soul from its defeat.
She aims to forget the past.
Letting your memories fade is never easy. Some of them want to live on, forever and ever, amen.
Some of them want to live on so much they threaten to consume you whole. One such memory is that of the restless fugitive…
Though Jensen Ambrose and Erissa Caedron have done much to sate the bitter legacy of the Forgotten Ones, in recent months, whispers have abounded on the island. People say that a new troupe is on the rise. They say that a young boy, with feathery arms and a plucky wit leads them. Ruby is worried that this boy might just be Pettigrew, the one secret she will die to protect.
Except for trying to steal from her dutiful, ever-loving, and caring husband…being set adrift in life, apparently, makes you clamour for redemption in strange ways.
There is much to do before the Crimson Mistress can stand with her head held high at court again. There is much to do to find meaning after retirement.
There is much to do before she can feel alive again. There is much to see. There is much to hear. There is much to amend.
And everywhere, people who still need the troupe’s help and guidance.
Personality: Ruby’s demeanour has become somewhat cool and complacent, as if the life she leads was a mere breeze. Where others are quick to temper, the Lady Swan now satisfies herself with modest assumptions, well placed words, and a calming and empathic grace. She possesses a somewhat melancholic personality, having resolved herself to the way of the world years ago; she is happy as much in joy as she is in disaster.
Death does that to a woman.
She exudes an authoritarian aura and sprightly and youthful buoyancy, the likes of which you would expect from children or at least those many years younger than she is. Succinct notions of spurious wisdom underline her facade, which is kept tight to all those except the most deserving of people; at such a time, only Duffy has truly come to see beyond the namesake, and of course, her husband and long standing victim of negligence and absence, Leopold.
Ruby is certain about one thing. She loves Leopold Winchester very much. She is a lover, a romantic, a deep-seated fantasist who endures all for those shining moments of intertwined emotions. If anybody asks on such matters of the heart, encouragement to the truth is nearly always applied; of course, she is wise enough to know when such love is fleeting. When such a bond is unfrequented, and no more than a fabricated lie, it is worth abandoning. Her matriarchal drive to care for those in needs makes her a compassionate and altruistic individual, or at least, as much as being a noble woman of Scara Brae allows.
Skills:
Domestic Goddess: As a matron, homemaker, and learned scholar of the scullery, Ruby is acquainted with most domestic chores. She is also familiar with the demands and tasks associated with bringing up children, and keeping a household in order.
Cooking: Ruby is an above average cook, capable of preparing meals for up to six by her merit. She can arrange a variety of dishes into a suitable structure, and is familiar with Scara Braen, Coronian, and low-Raiaera cuisine. She is not a master, by any stretch of the imagination. The best thing about a Winchester dinner party is the conversation and liquor.
Etiquette: Ruby has a legendary grasp of courtly, lowborn, and street etitquite. She is a living embodiment of tact and grace, able to ebb and flow into and out of the correct behaviour for all manner of social situations. She can divert aggression, revitalise lumbering meetings, and inspire goodness in others with ease.
Tailoring: Over the years, Ruby has learnt how to sew and mend almost any non-magical fabric. She can make dresses and garments out of material up to silk provided she has the time, material, and patience to do so. She has an above average eye for style, colour, and design.
Logistics: Above Average grasp of the fundamental approaches required to shipping goods, arranging furniture, feeding a workforce, and maintaining a household or business. Through working with Leopold at The Winchester Rose Trading Company, she is beginning to learn the basics of accounting, too.
Local Knowledge: She has masterful knowledge of the culture, arts, and political history of Scara Brae. There is little Ruby does not know about the established noble households of the city, either. This extends to those long destroyed, forgotten, and exiled.
Perform: A life on the stage and in the city’s favour has given rise to the need for Ruby to learn many performance based skills. She is quite the virtuoso that Duffy is, and somewhat slow to learn, but she is still quite an adept thespian.
Singing: Ruby has quickly learnt how to utilise her vocal talents outside of her spell singing. She is a very talented singer, especially where opera is concerned, and has an adept level of insight into the technical side, as well as the performance side of singing.
Dancing: She has an adept grasp and ability with all the dancing styles of the human kingdoms. This includes Scara Brae, Corone, and Fallien. She can muster basic courtly rhythm for Raiaera function as well, though she is a clunky dancer to the strange melodies of the high elves.
Acting: Adept grasp of the fundamentals of acting, paling in comparison to Duffy, but still leaving her with plenty of skill and experience (and a better insight into female roles at least). She prefers roles that allow her to disguise the fact she is the inferior actor when on the stage with the rest of the troupe.
Swordplay: Ruby has an average skill with single-edged swords, she is reawakening to a past life where she was a Bladesinger true. She can defend herself well enough, and muster simple offensive strikes and parries. At present, it’s only real use is to compliment her spell singing, though she does everything she can to improve.
Abilities:
The Aria: The power to bend reality with a voice, or one’s acting, or one’s motions is a boon few receive. Ruby’s abilities stem from her connection to The Aria, the metaphysical consciousness of the Thayne Tantalus. Her spell singing is purely vocal, with the exception of some heightening of control if physical, appropriate dance accompanies her song. She is a master spell singer. Though her grasp of the Bardic fundamentals is strong, it is important to highlight a small fact about her ability. She does not always get what she sings for, as the ether takes lyrics literally and does not always produce effects as required.
Twilight Theme: When singing a song of the seasons, Ruby can drain or increase sources of light in the immediate vicinity. Candles and fireplaces snuff out or grow in ferocity. Darkness grows ever darker, and the sunlight shines like the spring equinox’s heart. It is important to note that these effects are temporary, and the light sources affected by the sonata will return slowly to normal from the moment the song stops. Songs to sing to gain these affects typically are operatic arrangements, songs of dwindling, and bright lullabies.
Defensive Duet: Through sheer need to defend oneself, Ruby can sing a scintillating sphere about her body that is hard as iron. She sings with a phantom voice accompanying her. The shield protects Ruby from any harm so long as she remains singing, alert, and conscious for up to two posts. It can be dispelled as if it were conventional magic by a mage two levels higher than Ruby. A blow with enough force behind it may be able to break it as well, provided the modifier is at least X3.
Frigid Fandango: Ruby’s emotional lament has given rise to a song of pure sorrow. Through fighting Lucian, and finding herself in the depths of her memories, she has started to manifest the darker elements in her spell singing. She can conjure temperature changes in the atmosphere around her. Such a song, regardless of its effectiveness, can only reduce the temperature to 0 degrees Celsius at best in a sphere of 15 feet, with the appropriate impact on water, fire, and humans after lengthened exposure.
Conjuring Cantor: Somewhat random in nature, the Conjuring Cantor allows Ruby to call small inanimate objects to her side. Examples of items possible are small foodstuffs, household items, cheap wine, simple garments, and similar items from Ruby’s effects. It is important to note that items not belonging to Ruby find their way home. This will have appropriate consequences should people start to talk. Ruby can sing this song twice per thread.
Scintillating Song: In place of extensive fireworks or props, Ruby often sings a song of colour to conjure lights and orbs. She can conjure fireworks from the air like a mage calling on the ether for guidance and aid. These are mere illusions, and although they create sound in their wake, they have no physical effect on matter. This song requires physical movements to gain any degree of control. If left untended, the lights will move and respond to the emotions of the singer and the lyrics and strength of the song sung.
Rampant Requiem: This is Ruby’s only true offensive ability as far as her spell singing is concerned. It allows her to summon concussive blows, ghostly limbs, and damaging implosions. It demands a certain level of anger or grievance before it can be utilised effectively. Such instruments of the bard’s sharp tongue never inflict more than an X2 strength blow from an iron mace carried by someone of her stature, but it can strike multiple times given the right circumstances. The greater the peril and the better the song, the more violent and uncontrollable it becomes. It can injure Ruby just as well as others.
Inventory: In the wake of the attack on the Prima Vista, Ruby sold most of her possessions to give a parting gift to the various members of the extended troupe who found themselves homeless. Whilst she owns a small mansion in the noble district, it is slowly falling into disrepair. She has sent away all her staff, and lives on the providence and wealth of her husband’s merchant enterprise. The only items she retains of note as detailed below.
Sparrow: This ancient violin is enchanted with angelic voice. It is covered with ivy and rose petals and battle scenes witnessed by its owner during her life. It is master crafted, and without peer anywhere in the world. The bow is ornate, and a thin metal wire runs through string. Through delicate resonance, it can maintain its sound for much longer than a normal instrument. There is a chain of silver links around her waist, which attach the violin to a sling over her shoulder, and she has various pieces of jewellery, which can be uses as tuning forks, houses in a leather pouch about her waist. It can utilise the following abilities once each per thread:
Sustain: Ruby can play an arrangement and prolong it. This will sustain the last note as if it were an electrical instrument, to allow the workings of a spell song to carry on into swordplay or flight from battle.
Repetition: Ruby can loop eight bars through the violin and repeat it for four bars. This allows complicated arrangements to layer over lyric and other pieces to augment her spell singing into new and unexplored territory.
Accelerate: Ruby can overplay one song to increase its effect, but this will play with such violence and speed that one of the strings will break with an almighty twang. She must exile the violin for two posts before she can re-conjure it.
Lucrezia: (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24239-Lady-s-Favours) A lightweight, single edged mithril sword with a curved tip forged. Forged four centuries ago by Raiaera singer smiths, it has a golden spiral of unicorn hairs in its core. It conducts the wielder's voice, and is conductive to magic as if made of dehlar. It is bound to The Aria, and when it swings, it can sing in a voice of its own. It possesses its own identity and consciousness.
Phoenix: (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?24239-Lady-s-Favours) Prior to her departure for Berevar a year ago, Ruby invested in an enchanted dress that allowed her to travel for prolonged periods whilst retaining her glamour’s demure charm. It is stitched with the finest silk and threads, and impervious to rain, spillage, and wear & tear (though offers no resistance to spells or physical blows). Like the red dress she wore for centuries, Phoenix has started to become her identifying feature, along with her white hair, and her musical step.