Irene Adler

Name: Irene Adler
Player: Norseman
Concept: Chorister sword-saint
Nature: Caregiver (Kindness / Lack of Confidence)
Essence: Primordeal
Demeanour: Fanatic (Dedication / Stubbornness)
Tradition: Celestial Chorus
Mentor: Christofer de Fier

Arete: 4
Willpower: 8 (8)
Quintessence: 5 (1)
Faith: 1
Paradox: 1
Experience: 26 XP
Health
Health

[ ]: Bruised, -0

[ ]: Hurt, -1

[ ]: Injured, -1

[ ]: Wounded, -2

[ ]: Maimed, -2

[ ]: Crippled, -5

[ ]: Incapacitated

Attributes

Physical (7)

Strength: 3

Dexterity: 5 (Lightning Reflexes)

Stamina: 3

Social (3)

Charisma: 1

Manipulation: 1

Appearance: 4 (Otherwordly)

Mental (5)

Perception: 3

Intelligence: 3

Wits: 2

Abilities

Talents(13)

Alertness: 3

Athletics: 3

Awareness: 1

Brawl: 3

Dodge: 3

Skills (9)

Etiquette: 1

Firearms: 1

Melee: 3

Performance (Singing): 1

Stealth: 3

Knowledges (7)

Academics (Philosophy): 3

Linguistics: 1 (Greek)

Occult: 3

Spheres

Life: 0
Correspondence: 0
Forces: 3
Entropy: 0
Spirits: 0
Matter: 0
Mind: 0
Time: 0
Prime: 3

Background, Merits and Flaws

Backgrounds

Arcane: 2

Avatar: 5

Dream: 3

Merits

True Faith (7)

Flaws

The Bard's Tongue (1)

Cast No Shadow (1)

Cast No Reflection (1)

Equipment

A maid outfit.

Cleaning implements.

Magic System

Paradigm

Her paradigm is mostly a theurgical one, that is Neo-Platonic monotheism with what might appear to be pagan trappings. Certain rituals, when performed by someone with the right knowledge and purity, will accomplish certain results. However though material objects may be used in these rituals, it is not these objects that are efficacious or sanctify the act! Rather they are merely aides to the mind, to quickly bring to mind the proper sacred principles.

That is not to deny the sanctity of sacramental wine, bread, water, or fire, but these are not sacred due to their material aspects. Rather they are sacred because through them, those who partake of them are lifted up to a higher spiritual level. But it would be very wrong to say that holy things are drawn down to the material world by these sacred items.

Foci

Gestures & Postures

Incantations

Fire

Meditative Prayer

By striking certain martial arts postures, which makes her tattoos form the right images, she draws the attention of higher, sacred beings and lifts herself upwards. By so doing Soul or Mind affects the material world, by making it seek to emulate these higher principles that are now brought into contact with it.

The right meditations and prayers can put you in mind of The One, letting you draw on the Forms. Likewise you can call upon beings in Soul, such as Fire, Air, Water, Air, but not as godheads to be worshipped, but as you would call on Brothers and Sisters.
Fire is evocative of The One, it is not The One, but it invokes the Sun, which is the best image of The One. When the power of The One is to be invoked, either destructively or to draw in Quintessence, it is good to have fire or to gaze at the sun.

Finally meditative prayer can be used not only for casting lengthy rituals, but also for drawing upon the knowledge contained within Nous (Dreaming).

Rotes

Form of Striking
Forces 2 / 3
Through long practise and contemplation of The Forms Irene can lift herself up and partake in the Form of Striking by using her martial skills. Effectively this gives greatly enhanced strength to her attacks, by making them flow faster and strike more accurately.
Coincidental use This particular rote is very often coincidental, regardless of where you are at. To the outside observer it simply looks as if she carried out a perfect strike.

Fortifying the Temple
Forces 2
By meditating on her own upper soul and the way her mind and body are part of the emanations from Nous, she strengthens the integrity of that pattern guarding it against attack. This is basically a standard shield rote, Irene generally uses it against kinetic attacks.
Coincidental use This rote is a bit of a Schrodinger's rote. It can be coincidental or not, depending on what sort of force it is used against. In a sword or fist fight it might just look as if she's dodging or deflecting the attacks. However dodging bullets is a bit dodgier.

Calling Upon Brother Fire
Forces 3, Prime 2/3
By calling upon Brother Fire, who is part of the World Soul, Irene can bring some true essential fire into the world. In general she needs to either spend some time meditating on fire (which is slow), or have a real fire to work with. At the Prime 2 level this is ordinary fire, but at Prime 3 it is far closer to the Form of Fire (causing aggravated damage).

Revealing the True Self
Forces 3, Prime 3
By meditating on her own Higher Soul Irene seeks to reveal it to the world. This rotes makes her glow as the sun, as she projects outwards an image of her true spiritual self. In short making herself appear a glowing, angelic being. To the undead this light has much the same effect as direct, intense sunlight.

Physical Description

Irene Adler is a 5'8" rather attractive red-head, except for her cold, almost stony expression. Her build is highly athletic, perhaps a bit more so than is considered conventionally beautiful. A set of tattoos of chains and thorns criss-cross her arms, along with the Greek phrases, 'My fleshly prison' and 'A gilded corpse'.

True Faith

Irene's disciplines of faith call upon her to be Chaste, Poor, Charitable, Obedient, and Stable. This includes:

• Working if possible, so not to be a burden to others
• Keeping silent when possible, so not to distract yourself or others.
• Not to accept extraneous possessions simply because they'd be useful, even if she can temporarily use them they must be returned or given away at the earliest convenience.
• To constantly preach the message of The One, and if necessary using words.
• Contemplating The One philosophically and trying to gain Unity.

Lessons Learned

• Demons (particularly depraved sexual ones) should be treated with extreme caution!
• I should learn more about the modern world.

History

Once upon a time, in a Horizon Realm, a girl was born to a devout family. Since early childhood she learned to reject the material realm and to work to make her material form, the shackles of existence, submit to her will. In doing so she proved to be an exceptional athlete, warranting further attention from her superiors in the Chantry.

However her total lack of musical ability initially made many feel that she was not fit for the Chorus, or at least not for the higher teachings. Even if she was able to intellectually accept many teachings, she lacked the overflowing passion that let those teachings become song.

Perhaps it was not so strange that she would eventually fall in with a strict Gnostic mentor like Christofer de Fierro. Who rejected almost all outer expressions of faith, in favour of an inner rejection of the world, and an eternal quest for The One. For years she studied with him, learning to discipline her body and to condition her mind to reach out to The One.

Eventually, after years spent philosophizing and studying, she finally reached that state of mystical union with The One. That is to say she Awakened. However that initial Union was fleeting, though it provided her with a sense of wholeness she'd never regained.

After her awakening she went out into the world, to be in it, but not of it. Over the years she travelled the world, working minimum wage jobs, or volunteering at shelters, in order to provide for her physical needs. Through her meditations on The One she always had the skills she needed to provide for herself, or to get out of immediate trouble.

Though of course she did have some run-ins with the seedy underside of the world. Being a young, single woman, apparently poor, out on her own made that inevitable at first. During her travels she began to reject the world further, finding herself more and more distant from it, as if it rejected her as she rejected it.

Eventually she drifted back into the Ascension War, when she felt that she was more capable of contributing to it. Whether by chance, or by the design of some greater power, she found her way to Idol House. Instead of rejecting it she decided that, "it is the sick who need medicine, not the healthy" and there'd be no better place to be in the world but not of it.

Of course the late, great mess with the Technocrats and the Demon did surprise her somewhat. Indeed it dismayed her. However she has accepted her role as a scullery maid without any arguments or debates.

Starting Build

5 Avatar (5 Background)

2 Arcane (2 Background)

3 Dream (3 BP)

+3 Willpower (3 BP)

+1 Strength (5 BP)

True Faith (7 BP)

Cast No Shadow (-1 BP)

Cast No Reflection (-1 BP)

The Bard's Tongue (-1 BP)

XP

MoonPathChef Mystery Meal – 4 XP

Derivative Demon Domination Dame Dolores – 8 XP

London Blitz & London Subways – 8 XP

Vigilant London Vigilantes– 6 XP