Seeker of the End
Two Thousand Club
Szmiya, the Sword-Born Thralls.
Szmiya, the Sword-Born Thralls Demon of the First Circle, Progeny of the Manacling One
Almost human-like in appearance, save for a serpentine tongue and a reptile eyes, beautiful without exception, usually in a strikingly sorrowful way, graceful and nimble, sword-masters without an equal among the First Circle races – it would seem that szmiyas should be admired and marveled – especially in the rare moments when they shed their human skin to become a half-snake beasts of battle that can sometimes pose a threat even to a weak Second Circle demon.
But it is not so. They earn no respect, only disdain and mockery. Moreso than any other serf, they are treated like things – a piece of jewelry. Dangerous jewelry, yes, ornaments that can, if necessary raise a blade to protect its owner, but nothing more than that – nothing more than a simple trinket to be bought, sold and broken in any way the wearer fancies. Sometimes, they are made to be perfect shoulder-candies, sometimes they are made to fight each other for the owner’s amusement, sometimes they are kept in pens and unleashed only when a warrior is needed.
They are powerless against it, and they know it with perfect, heart-breaking clarity. When Thousn forged them for the first time, he made sure that the wills of szmiya will break easily under the whip and chain, that fear of pain and humiliation shall be overpowering to them. In this, he sentenced them to living in pain and humiliation and fear, and graced them with no respite from it.
Almost without exception, the Sword-born Thralls are the property of the Second Circle Demons who like to adorn their mansions with pretty things, and szmiyas are pretty. But without exception, they are born free – they were made to undergo the sacred process of breaking that Thosun finds so glorious. All szmiya will, at some point, find themselves a slave, and then with a whip and a cage shall be deprived of their free will and made to abandon all notions of being a living, sentient being – they shall come to think of themselves as things.
This may seem weird – since it szmiyas are perfect fighters, stronger and faster than most of the demons, they should be able to defend themselves from such fate, but it is not so. They simply can’t – of course, they will fight them, but they were made to be unfit for the streets of Malfeas. They can’t survive there, they are trusting and idealistic, they believe what other say, give kindness to others and expect kindness in turn. Often, they go out of their way to help, and fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. There are no other beings in that dark realm that can be lied to more easily, used more easily and captured more easily. And so, they all find their short, bittersweet free lives end with the sound of a collar being clasped around their necks and whips being cracked behind them.
Sometimes, a szmiya will try to cast its inherent compassion that makes it unable to stay free aside, but it will quickly find out that it can’t – it is rooted too deeply in its spirit to be removed. They can never really gain the callousness that is necessary to thrive under the Green Sun.
They are born knowing that. They are born remembering, because as the final burden lied on them, they are born remembering. Each szmiya carries a blade, usually a sword, with the names of each of its predecessors etched into it – and by touching such sigls, it can see what end befell them. And when a szmiya dies, the blade remains, embedding itself into the ground. For a year and a day, a new sigils craves itself into it, and when it is done, a new demon is born to live another bitter life.
They say that Sword-born Thralls were created as an insult to a Solar that wanted to make the lives of the First Circle Souls better, that tried to teach the denizens of Malfeas about the virtue of kindness and selflessness. And they say that upon hearing the screams of the first szmiya being broken into service, the Lawgiver understood the futileness of his mad quest and returned to better realms to spread his naïve teachings there.
Summoning: (2/3) Szmiya are usually summoned for the same reason they are created - to serve. They make for excellent sentinels and housemaids both, and can double as a concubine often. Sometimes, when a slave kills his owner with a blade that belonged to at least hundred and one slavers before him, a szmiya is drawn into creation, slithering from the blood. Such luck creatures sometimes find luck among the gentler folks of Creation, though even this happens only rarely.
Motivation: To remain free while not taking freedom away from others (free szmiya) / Do as their owner desires (broken szmiya).
Virtues:
Compassion 5, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, Valor 1
Willpower 6
Attributes:
Strength 3, Dexterity 6, Stamina 4, Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Appearance 4, Perception 3, Wits 3, Intelligence 3
Abilities: Athletics 4 (chores +3)
Awareness 4
Dodge 5
Lore 1
Melee 5 (szmiya blade +3)
Martial Arts 5
Performance 4 (amusing others +3)
Resistance 1
Socialize 3 (serving +3)
Backgrounds none
Charms: Essence Plethora (20 extra motes)
Kind-hearted Asp’s Weakness: szmiya are renowned both for their excellent swordsmanship and deep gullibility. They enjoy permanent bonus of +2 to both Defense Values, but resisting mental influence costs them an additional point of Willpower (up to the maximum of 5 points), and as long as they remain free, there is no limit to the number of times they can be forced to spend WP to resist natural mental influence during a scene. Furthermore, if they are reduced to 0 Temporary Willpower, they treat all mental influence as undogable and unparriable.
Materialize: (costs 45 motes)
Ox-Body Technique: three times
Principle of Motion: (8 actions stored)
Spirit Cutting: when backed against a wall or fulfilling an order of its master
Sorrow-Bound Naga’s Mien: by paying 10 motes and 1 willpower, a szmiya can shift into a man-serpant hybrid form as a Speed 3 miscellaneous action. This lasts until the demon reflexively shifts back into humanoid form, and the motes are not committed. While in this naga-form, the demon gains all the benefits of snake-body mutation, as well as three additional dots in strength, stamina, perception and wits. It also gains a number of extra -0 health levels equal to its unmodified stamina and the tough snake-skin provides additional +5B/+5L natural soak.
Excellencies First: Melee, Martial Arts Second: Socialize, Athletics Third: Melee Infinite Mastery: Melee
Essence: 3
Join Battle: 8
Attacks Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage +3B, Rate 3, Parry DV 7 Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage +6B, Rate 2, Parry DV 6 Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage +3B, Rate 1, Parry DV - Szmiya sword: Speed 4, Accuracy 16, Damage +4L, Rate 3, Parry DV 10
Soak: 3B/2L
Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/-x
Dodge DV: 6 Willpower:: 6 Essence: 3 Essence pool: 80
Szmiya, the Sword-Born Thralls Demon of the First Circle, Progeny of the Manacling One
Almost human-like in appearance, save for a serpentine tongue and a reptile eyes, beautiful without exception, usually in a strikingly sorrowful way, graceful and nimble, sword-masters without an equal among the First Circle races – it would seem that szmiyas should be admired and marveled – especially in the rare moments when they shed their human skin to become a half-snake beasts of battle that can sometimes pose a threat even to a weak Second Circle demon.
But it is not so. They earn no respect, only disdain and mockery. Moreso than any other serf, they are treated like things – a piece of jewelry. Dangerous jewelry, yes, ornaments that can, if necessary raise a blade to protect its owner, but nothing more than that – nothing more than a simple trinket to be bought, sold and broken in any way the wearer fancies. Sometimes, they are made to be perfect shoulder-candies, sometimes they are made to fight each other for the owner’s amusement, sometimes they are kept in pens and unleashed only when a warrior is needed.
They are powerless against it, and they know it with perfect, heart-breaking clarity. When Thousn forged them for the first time, he made sure that the wills of szmiya will break easily under the whip and chain, that fear of pain and humiliation shall be overpowering to them. In this, he sentenced them to living in pain and humiliation and fear, and graced them with no respite from it.
Almost without exception, the Sword-born Thralls are the property of the Second Circle Demons who like to adorn their mansions with pretty things, and szmiyas are pretty. But without exception, they are born free – they were made to undergo the sacred process of breaking that Thosun finds so glorious. All szmiya will, at some point, find themselves a slave, and then with a whip and a cage shall be deprived of their free will and made to abandon all notions of being a living, sentient being – they shall come to think of themselves as things.
This may seem weird – since it szmiyas are perfect fighters, stronger and faster than most of the demons, they should be able to defend themselves from such fate, but it is not so. They simply can’t – of course, they will fight them, but they were made to be unfit for the streets of Malfeas. They can’t survive there, they are trusting and idealistic, they believe what other say, give kindness to others and expect kindness in turn. Often, they go out of their way to help, and fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. There are no other beings in that dark realm that can be lied to more easily, used more easily and captured more easily. And so, they all find their short, bittersweet free lives end with the sound of a collar being clasped around their necks and whips being cracked behind them.
Sometimes, a szmiya will try to cast its inherent compassion that makes it unable to stay free aside, but it will quickly find out that it can’t – it is rooted too deeply in its spirit to be removed. They can never really gain the callousness that is necessary to thrive under the Green Sun.
They are born knowing that. They are born remembering, because as the final burden lied on them, they are born remembering. Each szmiya carries a blade, usually a sword, with the names of each of its predecessors etched into it – and by touching such sigls, it can see what end befell them. And when a szmiya dies, the blade remains, embedding itself into the ground. For a year and a day, a new sigils craves itself into it, and when it is done, a new demon is born to live another bitter life.
They say that Sword-born Thralls were created as an insult to a Solar that wanted to make the lives of the First Circle Souls better, that tried to teach the denizens of Malfeas about the virtue of kindness and selflessness. And they say that upon hearing the screams of the first szmiya being broken into service, the Lawgiver understood the futileness of his mad quest and returned to better realms to spread his naïve teachings there.
Summoning: (2/3) Szmiya are usually summoned for the same reason they are created - to serve. They make for excellent sentinels and housemaids both, and can double as a concubine often. Sometimes, when a slave kills his owner with a blade that belonged to at least hundred and one slavers before him, a szmiya is drawn into creation, slithering from the blood. Such luck creatures sometimes find luck among the gentler folks of Creation, though even this happens only rarely.
Motivation: To remain free while not taking freedom away from others (free szmiya) / Do as their owner desires (broken szmiya).
Virtues:
Compassion 5, Conviction 2, Temperance 2, Valor 1
Willpower 6
Attributes:
Strength 3, Dexterity 6, Stamina 4, Charisma 3, Manipulation 1, Appearance 4, Perception 3, Wits 3, Intelligence 3
Abilities: Athletics 4 (chores +3)
Awareness 4
Dodge 5
Lore 1
Melee 5 (szmiya blade +3)
Martial Arts 5
Performance 4 (amusing others +3)
Resistance 1
Socialize 3 (serving +3)
Backgrounds none
Charms: Essence Plethora (20 extra motes)
Kind-hearted Asp’s Weakness: szmiya are renowned both for their excellent swordsmanship and deep gullibility. They enjoy permanent bonus of +2 to both Defense Values, but resisting mental influence costs them an additional point of Willpower (up to the maximum of 5 points), and as long as they remain free, there is no limit to the number of times they can be forced to spend WP to resist natural mental influence during a scene. Furthermore, if they are reduced to 0 Temporary Willpower, they treat all mental influence as undogable and unparriable.
Materialize: (costs 45 motes)
Ox-Body Technique: three times
Principle of Motion: (8 actions stored)
Spirit Cutting: when backed against a wall or fulfilling an order of its master
Sorrow-Bound Naga’s Mien: by paying 10 motes and 1 willpower, a szmiya can shift into a man-serpant hybrid form as a Speed 3 miscellaneous action. This lasts until the demon reflexively shifts back into humanoid form, and the motes are not committed. While in this naga-form, the demon gains all the benefits of snake-body mutation, as well as three additional dots in strength, stamina, perception and wits. It also gains a number of extra -0 health levels equal to its unmodified stamina and the tough snake-skin provides additional +5B/+5L natural soak.
Excellencies First: Melee, Martial Arts Second: Socialize, Athletics Third: Melee Infinite Mastery: Melee
Essence: 3
Join Battle: 8
Attacks Punch: Speed 5, Accuracy 13, Damage +3B, Rate 3, Parry DV 7 Kick: Speed 5, Accuracy 11, Damage +6B, Rate 2, Parry DV 6 Clinch: Speed 6, Accuracy 11, Damage +3B, Rate 1, Parry DV - Szmiya sword: Speed 4, Accuracy 16, Damage +4L, Rate 3, Parry DV 10
Soak: 3B/2L
Health Levels: -0/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-1/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-2/-4/-x
Dodge DV: 6 Willpower:: 6 Essence: 3 Essence pool: 80
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