Esho

[Esho]

A man, wrinkled and grayed from his untold decades of life, sat alone in a bar, quietly slumped over a half-empty glass. Words and laughter from the other side of the room caught his attention, and he turned his head towards them. In the middle of a small throng of people sat a white-haired woman, her natural charm and disarming presence held her small audience captive in their seats. From the group of people, a young boy extracted himself from the draw of the woman to fetch a new round of drinks. As the youth enthusiastically made his order, the old man leaned over towards him and asked, “Boy, do you know that woman?” “Who? Esho? Of course I know her!” The boy straightened up his posture and went on with pride in his voice, “I travel with her. She trusts me.” The elder man gave an almost inaudible grunt of laughter. He turned his gaze fully towards the plucky youth, letting the boy see directly into his white, clouded eyes. Blinded by age, circumstance, or forces unknown, the man said, “Then I don’t suppose you would mind answering a few questions for this blind old fool. I must know…” The boy seemed a bit taken aback by the empty eyes of the blind man. “I-ah, didn’t realize that you were…Um, of course I can help you, sir.” Leaning against the bar, the youth looked over at the group of people hanging onto each word the woman cared to give them. “Her name is Esho. And, you didn’t hear this from me, but she’s also a Nuit. You know? An undead? Not that she acts all morbid and creepy like some people tend to think. The opposite really.” The lad grew silent for a while as he simply watched the white-haired woman, a vague smile on his face. A gruff “Ahem” from the blind patron shook the boy from his thoughts and steered him back on course, “Right. I don’t actually know how old she is or anything. Nuits live a lot longer than we do, don’t they? Though the way she can sometimes talk, like she’s seen things…I think she’s been around for a while. Some hundred years. More, even. I couldn’t give you a real number.” “So,” the blind man lowered his head to his cup, “She has been undead for some time?” “Yeah, definitely. But I’m not sure where she hails from. Esho talks about so many different places, like she can’t pick out just one to settle on. Though, I do know that she likes to visit Lhavit for the Star Festival. Uh-huh, every year if she can.” “I see. But I don’t have a complete picture of the lady just yet. None actually. I must ask…” “Ah,” a modest grin spread across the face of the young man. “You really are missing out, friend. Esho is something else to behold. She’s not a very tall lady – bit less than average, yeah? But she makes up for it. Dark, pretty eyes and fairly tan skin for her race. Not sure how she does it. She looks right human for something that ain’t. I catch her sometimes putting a bit of makeup under those eyes, so maybe that’s it. Oh, and she’s got about the whitest hair I’ve ever seen. And, damn, it looks nice on her.” The boy chuckled and roughly pat the shoulder of his blind listener. “Ah, if only you knew! See here, Esho is an older woman. At least, the body she’s in right now has seen some time while it was alive, but whoever had it last make sure to take nice good care of it. And she’s thin like a Nuit. Maybe a little bit too thin.” His voice faded for a moment, but at a mere glance across the room from the woman in question it came back to the lad, flat and almost forced, “Though that makes you want to protect her even more.” The wrinkled old hands of the man gripped the pint of ale in their grasp. Tensing up, the elder man spoke through gritting teeth, “Is that all?” With a start, the youth turned back to his companion. “Oh, mostly I suppose. She likes to wear nice clothing. Things with fur lining or beaded hems or velvet material. Nothing of hers is ever cheap quality. I guess she has a flair for the dramatic in that way, and she’s quite partial to jewelry too. In fact, she’s wearing something that I gave her right now. A necklace.” Every tone of his last statements dripped with pride, as though this were some kind of achievement. But his blind acquaintance made no note of it other than a short, “Hrumph,” before moving on to, “I’m starting to understand a bit more now. But if you could amuse me for a little longer, I would like to know…” “She’s one helluva lady, and even without your eyes I’ll bet you can tell that.” The cheeky boy rapt his fingers against the bar and gave a broad grin. “You don’t have to spend five minutes around her to know she’s different. She knows all the right words to say around folk to make you feel right at home. Esho can work a crowd like no other, which is pretty odd for a Nuit. They normally ain’t fond of us living sort, but M’lady Esho is special in that way.” The blind listener shifted uncomfortably in his seat and gave a low growl, “I’ll bet she is.” Either he didn’t hear or chose not to respond, the boy made to note of the man’s gruff reply and bantered on. “But not a lot of people get to know her well. Even though she works well in groups, Esho is pretty selective in her company. And she’s all manner of loyal. That is, if you earn her trust.” Here again, the youth seemed bursting with pride at the thought of being one of Esho’s companions. “How very…fortunate for you.” Although his words spoke of happiness, the tone which the blind man used was far from the emotion. Instead, he looked at the young boy with his blank eyes an almost sad expression written on his face. “What else about her?” The lad wrinkled his nose at the turn in the old patron’s countenance, confused for a moment. But shrugging it if, he plunged on, “Well, let’s see. Esho also works with plants a lot. I don’t know too much about it, but she tells me that she’s an herbalist. They make medicine and whatnot. Though…Sometimes, I wonder.” He paused and furrowed his brows. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem like that’s what she’s doing. It’s just off. Her work, I mean. Like she’s making…different things. Maybe-” At this, the woman from the other side of the bar focused her whole attention on the boy. The force of her gaze seemed to render him speechless, and he stood in place looking quite bewildered. The blind man went completely rigid, his nails digging into the wooden bar, and shuddered unconsciously. He kept his head low to his drink while the boy regained his senses and went on, “Ah. But I don’t know much about herbalism. So, I wouldn’t understand.” Neither of the pair spoke. The youth still appeared slightly perplexed while the elder had tensed up entirely, growing more uncomfortable by the second. Finally, the lad piped up, “Is that all you wanted to know, sir?” “No,” murmured the blind one, his voice quiet but darkened. “There is one more thing…” “Her story? She’s got so many of them, ya know, from living so long an’ all. But the very best of them has got to be the one about her sire.” The youth settled down into his chair, eager to begin his retelling. From her corner in the tavern, the woman had set her gaze squarely on the pair chatting at the bar, completely ignoring the small crowd gathered around her. “It’s the most fantastic thing, sir,” the boy started, ignorant of the stare from across the room. “Esho was a rather well-to-do lady from Zeltiva in her youth. An absolute rarity from the times of the Royals, you see. You could look all over Mizahar and not find a single person like her when she still was livin’.” “Anyhow, the way she tells it Esho was adopted by one of the wealthiest men in all of Zeltiva when she was just a little tyke. Apparently, this gentleman was so smitten with her fair looks and quick mind that he had to make her his own. See? M’Lady has always been such a charmer. But, ya, he provided Esho with everything she could ever need so long as she stayed in his company. Money and possessions and a damn good education straight from that high and mighty university – they were all hers! She musta been something else to behold with all that wealth. Can you even picture it?” The boy nudged his silent companion, who did not stir or even recognize the gesture. All the while the dark eyes of the woman held their stare. “Now see here. Even though M’Lady had everything a bright young girl could need, she couldn’t stand living with her benefactor. The stuffy old man became so possessive of little Esho that he would not even let her walk around their garden without him watching over her shoulder. And even with all of her smarts, she couldn’t seem to shake him off. It’s sad to even think about. You can’t just lock up someone like M’Lady Esho! All that charm and beauty wasted! Ain’t right at all.” “But, aye, she didn’t stay shut up forever. That’d just be tragic! Nah, Esho managed to escape that tyrant with a little help from a Nuit named Reviath.” Dark eyes flickered. Old hands gripped their pint of ale. “Oh, it’s like something right out of a fairy tale book! This Nuit rode into Zeltiva directly to the estate of Esho’s benefactor. They must have had some kinda old business together since he was staying there for a while. And that damned old man tried to keep Esho completely out of sight from Reviath, but he found her anyways. Now, anyone could see how somebody would take a shining to M’Lady Esho, but to have her fall head over heels for someone back? You’d have to be some kinda powerful force to catch her attention! But this Nuit did.” “With all of the places Reviath’s been and things he’s seen, M’Lady musta been attracted to that kind of wisdom. Match made by the Gods that pair was: the ancient and wise paired with the young and brilliant. Once they were together there was nothing stopping them. Reviath stole Esho away from Zeltiva, pursued by her jealous benefactor and his personal guard. They fled to all ends of Mizahar, just a step ahead of their hunters. But ah! It wouldn’t last forever. The pair ran to the top of a great cliff, knowing that they would be caught by nightfall.” “But Reviath would not let them take Esho back into captivity. Even though she did not want it, he gave her every last drop of his blood, that Nuit ichor. Changed her then and there. And when that old man found that Esho had become undead, he wanted nothing to do with her. Reviath loved M’Lady so much that gave his own life to protect her own. Oh, it’s like something straight out of a story book! Such a perfect sacrifice! And Esho continues to love her sire even until toda-“ “Enough!” The blind man bolted from his seat, tipping the barstool to the ground with a deafening clatter. The racket silenced the bar and caused every eye to turn his way, leaving none to notice Esho quietly rising from her chair. He grabbed the youth by the collar and pulled him close to his face, so that only he could hear. “You say that this tale is like a story book, and that’s because it is! A story! If you believe anything that woman tells you for even a second, then you will be truly lost.” He raised his voice to yell, “Lost! All of you!” He threw the boy back into his chair with a gruff shove and immediately shuffled to the door. Blind and trembling he stumbled out into the night as fast as his gnarled legs could carry, slamming the door behind him. The silence of the bar rang in his wake. And no one dared to make a noise until the dark eyed woman gave a single, delicate giggle.

[Esho]

• Hypnotism: 30/100 • Auristics: 10/100 • Embalming: 10/100 • Poison: 5/100 - Introduced to Roots, Vines, and Fungus • Botany: 5/100 • LANGUAGE - Common: Fluent - Nader-Canoch: Basic - Denvali: Poor • Lore: Sahovan History • Lore: Existence of Specialized Poisons   Clothing • 1 Set of Clothing (SP) - 1 Fine Belt - 1 Linen Chemise - 1 Pair of High Boots - 1 Leather Corset - 1 Leather Pants - 1 Fur Cloak - 1 Leather Gloves • 1 Fine Belt: 25 gm • 1 Furred Blouse: 3 gm • 2 Fancy Buckles: 2 gm • 1 Low Boots: 2 sm • 1 Velvet Pants: 4 gm • 1 Silk Chemise: 6 gm • 2 Fine Dresses: 35 gm • 1 Exquisite Dress: 50 gm • 1 Silk Gloves: 15 gm • 2 Silk Scarf: 6 gm • 2 Stockings: 8 sm   Jewelry • 3 Silver Bracelets: 6 gm • 1 Silver Earrings: 2 gm • 1 Silver Armband: 15 sm • 1 Silver Headband: 4 gm • 2 Silver Necklaces: 10 gm   Tools • 1 Basket: 4 sm • 2 Jar, Glass with Lid: 2 gm • 1 Sack: 1 sm • 1 Pouch, Belt: 1 gm • Portable Poisoncrafting Kit: 150 gm • Bracer (Vial): 1 gm • Heirloom Item: A book of simple children's stories written entirely in the ancient tongue of Nader-Canoch. Given to Esho as a gift upon her Nuitdom, the book was originally given to introduce her into the basics of the language, but it has acquired a sentimental value to the woman. • STARTING TOTAL - 600 Mizas (SP Cashed in) • EXPENSES - Starting purchases: 330 gm, 2 sm • REMAINING TOTAL - 269 gm, 8 sm

[Esho]

None yet

[Kraken]

Hi there!

I'm Kraken, your friendly neighbourhood Character Sheet Liaison! I'm here to help make your experience on Mizahar go as smoothly as possible. Now, there are just a few quick points we need to sort out in order for your character to move forward. If you have any questions whatsoever, please don't hesitate to ask!

Esho, it was an absolute pleasure reading your character sheet. It's both beautifully laid out and beautifully written. I love, love, love the story format. I read through it eagerly, and was blown away by your talent! Wonderful work. I just have a few notes for you to address before continuing on.

• Basic Information: Please include the following information explicitly on your character sheet - Race, Age, and Birthday/Nuitday. I would recommend doing this at the beginning so readers and mods are set up well, but you are also welcome to include it in the skills/lore segment. Having it laid out like this makes it easier to see at a glance.
• Skills: Please state whether your skill points were obtained from the starting package (SP) or your racial bonus (RB).
  
  Proper skill Setup :

  After a recent meeting with several of the Storyteller Staff and Founders, we have decided to Officially Change a policy regarding Skill Points in the Character Sheets. You must now display all Starting Points, Racial Bonus Points, and Earned Points separately from one another. Storytellers and Liaisons will now be Intervening on Character Sheets that fail to make this change.
  
  Examples
  
  

  Skills	Exp	Total	Proficiency
  Auristics	15 SP, 72 XP	87	Master
  Seduction	18 SP, 3 XP	21	Novice
  Glassworking	10 RB, 12 SP, 35 XP	57	Expert
  Intelligence	5 SP	5	Novice
  Sewing	13 XP	13	Novice
  Weapon: Javelin	1 XP	1	Novice
  Acrobatics	85 XP	85	Master

  
  
  SP = Starting Points
  RB = Racial Bonus Points
  XP = Earned Experience Points
  
  
  Example 2:
  
  Auristics: 87/100 (15 SP)
  Seduction: 21/100 (18 SP)
  Glassworking: 57/100 (10 RB) (12 SP)
  Intelligence: 5/100 (5 SP)
  Sewing: 13/100
  Weapon, Javelin: 1/100
  Acrobatics: 85/100
  
  
  Notice how the Starting Points, Racial Bonus Points, and Earned Experience Points are all notated differently. This allows Storytellers and other staff to review your Character Sheet more accurately, and ensure that everything is accurate and up to date.
• Language: Denvali is a dialect of Common, which means it wouldn't be a separate language. If you could choose language for Poor fluency, that would be great.
• Possessions: Please deduct the cost of your fine belt, leather corset, and leather gloves from your ledger, since they do not come with the starting set of clothing.
• Housing: Please be sure to state where your PC lives, and deduct the cost of her housing (ie. room and board at an inn) from your ledger.

And that's it! Once you address these notes and make the proper changes, please send me a private message and I'll gladly remove this post.

Thanks, and happy writing!

Kraken