About Maena AshtorethMaena Ashtoreth
Description:
Maena seems to have an aura of sensuality, and every little move she makes only seems to magnify that. She stands a curvy 5'9", and her clothing and armour seem to have been selected to emphasize, rather than minimize her curves. Similarly, the careful application of powders and paints highlight her unnatural, otherworldy beauty, further accentuating her high cheekbones, the arch of her red brows, and making her already pale skin almost shimmer like silver. Her thick hair is a dark auburn, almost brown, but shot through with streaks of an unnatural red, almost crimson (which somehow seem to suit her better than the auburn), which between the styling and the natural wave, spills around her face and down over her shoulders.
As you approach, you note that she smells slightly of rosewater... and something else, more faintly, that you cannot quite place.
History:
Talingarde... The jewel of Lord Mitra...
It's the shining beacon of virtue... a land of honour, justice and charity... ....as long as you don't look too deeply under the sanctimonious, self-righteous surface... Talingarde, where everyone prospers in peace and harmony... ...as long as you fit into the pretty little boxes that House Darius has set up. As long as you have the wealth to buy yourself some virtue.. As long you're not born different. But, lucky me, I was. My earliest memories are of my mother, telling me not to fuss as she mixed rosewater and henna into my hair... softening the deep red of my hair into a more natural auburn and covering the smell of brimstone that clung to me. Reminding me to be careful as I played with the other children... To not hurt them with my nails, which returned to being sharp within an hour of being ground down... To not let them pull my hair or wrestle too much for fear they might find the tiny horns hidden within. To pretend that the heat and the cold bothered me... And, especially, to pretend that the darkness bothered me. I grew up in fear. I could never be found out. The others could never know of the taint within me. Still, it was a better life than many had, I suppose.... I grew up in a noble house, a lesser one, a Scion of House Barca. I was the daughter of a chamber maid... who was just a little too comely and caught the eye of the younger son of the House.. and lacked the power to refuse him... even after I was born. He would visit in the middle of the night, slipped away from his wife... and he'd usually bring a sweet from the high table and send me off to leave them be. Sometimes, I would sleep in the stables... but, more often I would come back after he left and find her crying. I was thirteen when they found me out... My body began to change, but unlike the other kids, it wasn't just hips and chest and height.... My nails began to harden and turned jet black, the tiny horns started to peek out from under my hair.. but hardest of all to hide, my teeth elongated -- just a little, but it was enough to make people start taking a second look.... and it was that second look that I couldn't afford. They came at night... at first, I thought it was my father returning... I suppose that I was right, but he wasn't alone. He came with some guardsmen, and a cursed priest of their precious Mitra... They examined me, seeing the true colour of my hair, the nascent fangs in my mouth, the tiny horns, and pronounced me spawn of the Enemy... a vessel for his power, a threat to their precious House Darius. ...and, his pockets lined with Barcan gold, the priest exonerated father's bloodline as "pure"... and thus, condemned my mother to be purified in fire. The worst part is, I believe she really loved him.... even when he hurled her into the pyre, screaming, to burn alive. As for me, I was to be subjected to purification rituals, to make sure that the dark taint of my soul wouldn't somehow escape and poison their world, they said. Those were their words, but, really, they meant to torture me to death for their own sick satisfaction.... I could see the pleasure in their eyes at the thought of what they would do to my young, tainted, flesh..... Something within me reacted to that look.... Something deep within told me that their pleasure at the thought of my doom, however, would be my salvation. A voice within me pointed out that one of the young acolytes has been watching me a little too long during the examination, and lingered a little too near my cell... and I was able to lure him in with promises of pleasures... dark, unearthly, pleasures that no mortal woman could give him. I traded my innocence for my life, striking during the act when the man was the most vulnerable, tearing his throat out with the same sharp teeth he found so... appealing. I didn't know, but it wasn't only my first murder.. but my first act of worship. I escaped, wrapping myself in the acolyte's robes, using his keys to get out into the city. From there, I made my way to the side of town that mother had always warned me against, and got myself lost amongst the poor and unwashed.... The ones that Markadian and his supporters pretend don't exist.... except, of course, when the hypocrites want to take a walk on the wild side. And I had first-time knowledge of that hypocrisy, watching them shower their precious Mitran priests with gold while people were starving just out of sight. The undesirables, the unwashed, the ones who were not dedicated to the precious new order. I did what I could to get by, generally being friendly with some of the rich nobles in taverns, and separating them from their coin.... ... and, within a few months, I was lucky enough to find myself working at one of the brothels that everyone pretends doesn't exist... where the pious men go to feel superior. It was difficult, but I was grateful for mother's lessons. I filed my nails each day, I washed my hair with tint and perfume, learning to style it in ways that hid the horns. I used paints to make my features seem more exotic, drawing attention away from my mouth and up to my eyes... and dressed in a way to ensure that the gazes of men, at least, were directed away from my fiendish features. However, what I couldn't express to anyone was the real reason that I worked there. It wasn't simply about feeding myself, but rather, feeding something within me. Each client was an act of worship -- fanning their desire, deceiving them, luring them into sin. Each one made that thing within me, that voice, grow a little louder... until the day my life changed.......the day that my half-brother came to the brothel. I recognized him immediately, he looked almost exactly like my father, save for his youth and the lighter hair. The voice inside me, the hunger, flared up instantly. How perfect, how easy, it would be to get revenge... To take from my father and his precious House as he had taken from me. It was trivially easy to seduce the boy.... He shared his father's tastes, it seemed, and I took after my mother. I toyed with him at first, prolonging things, allowing him to explore the dark desires that he had to hide from all the proper "noble" women in his life... to ensure that when he died, he did with a dark soul. As I killed him, finally, I knew the voice within me for what it was... it was the call of Belial... one of the Lords of Hell... and I answered... and was rewarded. They were right, I was a vessel... and I was filling with Belial's power. Power enough to tear down my father's House, to burn the soul of the Mitran priest who condemned my mother to burn, screaming. I began to hunt in the darkness, looking to sate my hunger on the hypocrites who came down into my world -- and unleash my unholy wrath on the ones who sent me there. I murdered three more young nobles, tricking them into offering their souls to Belial in exchange for worldly pleasures... and marking their bodies with the signs of their depravity and dumping them in the sacred places of the gilded god to whom they used to give their lip service. I was stalking my fourth when I was caught... and while I wanted to be killed in the battle, I heard the whispers, telling me to surrender, to let myself be taken... that there was something more in store. Motivation/Plans:
Maena has a burning hatred for her homeland's current regime -- it is a narrow, small-minded society that lashes out in fear and self-righteousness rather than making use of the strengths and gifts of its citizens -- it is a terrified oligarchy, where things like ambition and personal merit are of little consequence. For her, this isn't simply a philosophical issue, however, as she watched her mother burn and endured purification rituals before her escape. Worse than this, however, is the rampant hypocracy and the shallow, brittle nature of the righteousness of Talingarde's nobles and holy men -- her unique nature, both from her fiendish bloodright and the blessings of the Father of Whores, allows her to see through these supposedly "good" men, making clear the rot and dark desires underneath. Frankly, it sickens her, and drove her to not only want to kill her father and tear down his house, but all the self-righteous hypocrites --- however, until the Cardinal intervenes, and she breaks out of Brandescar -- it will not occur to her that the whole of the nation could be torn down -- and better still, replaced with a perfect Hellish meritocracy -- where anyone can, through loyal, strong, and effective service rise to the top. This vision, this perfect vision of order, will resonate within her -- and she will be quite willing to join in the Asmodean order -- hoping to prove herself and take up a position of leadership -- to become a loyal Archduke of the mortal realm -- as her Lord is a loyal Archduke in Hell. Her strength in finding secrets and exposing corruption, she thinks, would make her an excellent servant of the new order -- able to find its enemies, or those who only pay lip-service to it, to ensure that they are re-educated... or, failing that, dealt with appropriately... =================================================
Melee: Club +2 (1d6) Ranged: <None> Base Atk: +0, CMB: +2
Extra Channel
Disdainful Defender (Faith)
Unearth Secrets (Racial)
(3 per level) + 1 Favored Class = 4 Skill Name [Total] = Rnk + Stat + Misc (Description)
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Aura of Law (Ex)
Channel Evil (Su) (ooooo o)
Channeling this evil causes a burst that affects all creatures in a 30-foot radius centered on the fiendish vessel. In the case of evil creatures, the amount of damage healed is equal to 1d4 points of damage. Good creatures in the burst receive a Will saving throw to negate this damage. Good creatures that fail their saving throws are sickened for 1d4 rounds. The DC of this save is 12. Neutral creatures are unaffected by this burst of evil energy. This ability replaces channel energy. Destructive Smite (Su)
Hellspawn Skilled (Ex)
Fiendish Summoning
Hell's Corruption (Su)
Orisons
Spontaneous Casting
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Coinpurse: 0gp, 0sp, 0cp. Current Weight: 0
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