Mia Curseborn's page

Cantrips
[-] Dancing Lights
[-] Mage Hand
[-] Prestidigitation

1st Level
[ ][ ] Shocking Grasp

Mia Curseborn
Female changeling magus (bladebound, hexcrafter) 1 (Pathfinder RPG Bestiary 4 29, Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Magic 9, 47, 48)
CG Medium humanoid (changeling)
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +0
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Defense
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AC 17, touch 12, flat-footed 15 (+4 armor, +2 Dex, +1 natural)
hp 12 (1d8+3)
Fort +2 (+5 circumstance bonus vs. cold weather), Ref +2, Will +2; +2 vs. death
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Offense
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Speed 30 ft.
Melee dagger +2 (1d4+3/19-20) or
. . fraendi +2 (1d8+3/19-20) or
. . longsword +2 (1d8+3/19-20) or
. . 2 claws +2 (1d4+3)
Ranged longbow +2 (1d8/×3)
Special Attacks arcane pool (+1, 3 points), spell combat
Magus (Bladebound, Hexcrafter) Spells Prepared (CL 1st; concentration +3)
. . 1st—shocking grasp (2)
. . 0 (at will)—dancing lights, mage hand, prestidigitation
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Statistics
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Str 15, Dex 14, Con 10, Int 15, Wis 10, Cha 9
Base Atk +0; CMB +2; CMD 14
Feats Fey Foundling[ISWG], Toughness
Skills Craft (armor) +6, Craft (blacksmith) +6, Craft (bows) +6, Craft (leather) +6, Craft (weapons) +6
Languages Aklo, Common, Draconic, Elven
SQ hex arcana
Other Gear chain shirt, arrows (20), dagger, fraendi, longbow, longsword, armorsmithing tools, backpack, bedroll, blacksmithing tools, blanket[APG], bowyer tools, cold weather outfit, flint and steel, leatherworking tools, magus starting spellbook, spell component pouch, trail rations (4), waterskin (2), weaponsmithing tools, wooden holy symbol of Desna, 1 sp
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Special Abilities
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Arcane Pool +1 (3/day) (Su) Infuse own power into a held weapon, granting enhancement bonus or selected item powers.
Darkvision (60 feet) You can see in the dark (black and white only).
Fey Foundling Magical healing works better on you
Hex Arcana You can substitute Hexes for Magus Arcana.
Spell Combat (Ex) Use a weapon with one hand at -2 and cast a spell with the other.

The day Mia was found was considered no blessing by the three woodsmen that ran across the tree in the Border Woods where she had been laid. The first refused to go near the babe and walked around the tree towards their destination while his two companions tried to discern the nature of the strange sight. His panicked cries sounded as soon as he had gone out of sight, the howling of wolves and the snapping of bone a macabre accompaniment to the symphony of pain and fear he performed. The second turned and started to head back to Heldren. He had walked not more than seven paces before sinking into what seemed to be solid ground like it was a bog. He uttered not a word as he disappeared.

The third looked around, wondering and fearing what doom would befall him. He swallowed and approached the babe. She slept as peacefully as if the shrieks of the first woodsman were an elven lullaby. With trembling hands he picked her up. With trembling steps he made his way back to Heldren. With a trembling voice he told Elder Natharen Safander, the local priest of Erastil, where he'd found the babe and what had happened as he handed her over. He was found the next morning with his manically grinning head on a spear made entirely of wood five paces from where his headless corpse lay. Her founding had cursed three men to die. A babe born of a curse, and an epithet that would follow her the rest of her life.

Mia did not spend long in the care of the local church to Erastil, an old hermit, a wizard by the name of Galvinius Octarius, who'd moved into an abandoned watchtower nearby came and adopted the curse-born babe. Galvinius gave her a name and spent the next few years weaning her. A cantankerous old man, Galvinius often berated Mia, throwing the epithet Curseborn at her whenever she proved too slow or emotional or anything more than a doll that did his bidding perfectly and without question.

Once Mia had learned the basics of reading and writing, Galvinius began to prepare her for the true purpose he had adopted her for. Galvinius was a man obsessed with the First World and the eternal youth of the fey, youth that he sought to steal for himself and find immortality outside of the path of a lich. He trained her to be his bodyguard, hiring a mercenary to train her in the art of the sword, and probed deep into her mind to learn what secrets she could reveal about the fey. His meddling nearly broke her mind for good. He hardly cared and was positively giddy when Mia began to speak in Aklo, the tongue of the darker fey, after a grueling session where he'd broken through a mental barrier searching through her memories and thoughts.

Between his delves into her mind, Galvinius taught her of the arcane arts, how to cast spells and see the patterns in magic. At first Mia enjoyed the lessons, but slowly came to hate them as Galvinius pushed her harder and harder. He was growing older, and he felt time slipping past. He began to punish her even when she did well if the results did not match his ever heightening expectations. He made the sessions where he delved into her mind more painful after she failed in a lesson. Mia's already fragile pysche began to crack and she'd sometimes spend hours afterwards giggling madly to herself even as she wept from the pain.

She was twelve when he went too far. She'd failed in a lesson, a difficult lesson even masters of the arcane could struggle with. Galvinius went past words and promises to torment her during his next trip into her mind and memories and beat her until his rage was played out. As she lay on the floor, bloodied and bruised, after Galvinius had gone to bed, she snapped. My, he would look amusing choking on his own blood with a second smile under his beard, she thought. She got to her feet and grinned wickedly as she went to where the weapons she'd been trained in hung. She stifled a giggle as she pulled out a keen-edged dagger.

Galvinius woke unable to breath. His voice was a blood-filled gurgle as he tried to beg for his life and to curse Mia for an ungrateful child that would be fodder for the whorehouses of the nearby cities were it not for him as the mis-matched-eyed fey grinned at him from her perch by his bed. His pleas fell on deaf ears, and Mia giggled as he flailed about. The giggles turned to laughter as she capered about and sang as her tormentor died choking on his own blood.

Mia came to her senses as the light left the hermit's eyes and he fell still and silent. She looked at the blood on her hands as horror filled her. She dropped the dagger and ran from Galvinius' tower. The night was cold, and snow fell thickly as she ran away from what she'd done. She could his voice on the wind, cursing her and the day she was born. She ran to get away from that voice, but no matter how far she ran, she could not escape it.

Varisians on their way to Heldren found her, miraculously alive the next morning. She clutched a satchel she had left back in Galvinius' tower, the one that had her spell book and components in it. She never knew how it had gotten into her hands, but even with all of the terrible memories bound up with those items, she could not bring herself to throw them away.

The Varisians brought her into one of their vardos, the one their wise woman, Esmeralda Viscecu, used, and got her out of the cold, wet clothes she wore so they could warm her up. For a couple of hours, they feared the young, frail girl would die from the cold, but as the day passed into twilight, Mia's breathing grew stronger and the warmth returned to her limbs. The snows had slowed the Varisians, and it would not be until the next day that they made Heldren. Mia slept until they were moving again the next morning. Distraught and ashamed of what she had done, Mia confessed everything that had happened the night before the caravan had found her to Esmeralda, telling her everything that had happened. The wise woman comforted Mia, soothing the girl's broken mind and heart. For the first time in her short life, Mia felt safe and slept peacefully after crying herself out and eating a hot meal.

Winter set in fully after the caravan reached Heldren. With the snows so deep and the next town on their route more than a few days away in good weather, the caravan master decided to wait for the spring. During those months, Esmeralda taught Mia about Desna, the Starsong, and the stars the goddess had put in the sky as she helped the girl put her mind back together. It was a hard road full of nights and days where the young girl tettered on the brink of madness, but in the end, Mia did regain some of her sanity. She felt better, more whole, than she ever had while with Galvinius.

Still, she felt something like panic at the thought of leaving with the caravan when spring came. Esmeralda understood and gave Mia a carving of Desna's symbol her grandson had done. The caravan master, at the wise woman's request, called in some favors to find Mia a place to stay and work to help her keep it and feed herself. Mia thanked the caravan master and Esmeralda for their help when she said her goodbyes to the caravan the morning they left for the next leg of their journey.

Over the next few years Mia grew interested in and learned a number of crafts, from leatherworking to smithing to bowery. None of the craftsmen in Heldren were looking for a full apprentice, the blacksmith, Isker Euphram, in particular was focused on training his daughter, Xanthippe, to take over the smithy, but were happy for the help Mia offered. The coin was enough to keep a roof over her head and food in her belly. She'd even developed a friendship with Xanthippe Euphram over the years.

The last year, however, have seen things turn strange for Mia. Odd figures following her home at night, haunting whispers in her dreams, and strange things appearing in the flames about her have her worried she is going mad. Despite how it makes her skin crawl, she has been preparing spells, something she had not done since killing Galvinius, in case she needs them. Memories of the madness that took over that night almost five years ago have her worried that she'll kill someone again, and that this time, she won't come back from the madness. The fears and deepening paranoia are things she tries to hide even from her friends, but it's become increasingly obvious that something is bothering Mia.

Mia is a helpful, if somewhat awkward, young woman. She keeps to herself, but can be found at festivals and feasts sitting or standing at the fringes and watching the people of Heldren as they dance, sing, and laugh. It's been clear, though, that something has been changing over the past year, with her becoming more skittish and even paranoid. Something is obviously bothering her, even if she cannot or will not say what.

She's a short (5' 1"), slender (95 lbs.) woman with dark hair and pale, almost translucent, skin. Her eyes are mismatched, one (right) green and the other (left) blue. Despite her seeming fragility, she's uncannily strong and tough.

Whenever her claws come out, her eyes change color, the right one turns from green to blood-red and the left one turns from blue to a steely gray.