About Portia CiliathisPortia Ciliathis
Background:
Portia Cillathis has always felt a closeness to Korvosa, as if she walks in attunmenet with all of the cultures living there, as well as the spirits of those who have passed on. As a high-born daughter of House Cillathis, she always frequents the grandest social events and interacts with the city's greatest powerbrokers. By tapping into the mystical knowledge of the spirits that guide her, she also dons a variety of disguises to learn about -- and participate in -- the lives of even the lowest born citizens. Portia's mystical connection to the ghosts of Korvosa's past first manifested as a young girl through a series of horrific nightmares. Her parents were afraid she suffered from a terrible curse, and they hired many clerics from different faiths to try and cure her. While none of them were able to eliminate this otherworldly influence, Portia did learn a trick from a priestess of Pharasma, giving her the ability to commune with one spirit at a time and focus on its memories and any messages it sought to convey from beyond the grave. These experiences gave her greater insight into the city's history and the machinations of the living, serving as the basis for a renewed sense of purpose when she came of age. Her ability to commune with spirits made Portia far more sensitive to lives of the working class in Korvosa - she's heard many stories, and seen the world through many sets of eyes. This made her anxious to do what she can to help those in need. Determined to make a difference in the lives of the living while also honoring the dead, she took up the mantle of a vigilante, applying her considerable wealth to invent a new hero of the people - the Silver Ghost. She has gained some fame and notoriety in Korvosa during her nightly excursions, and her alternate identity allows her to shape current events and bring hope to the desperate. And recently, no one has proven more desperate than her own sister, Katherine, who lost her son Markus one day in the marketplace. While the old man has yet to request a ransom, Portia holds out hope that, at the very least, she hasn't heard from the child's spirit, and is working feverishly to reclaim him before he is truly lost. Personality:
Portia is a rebel who feels a great responsibility to protect her family and fellow citizens. Defending the innocent in the darkest alleyways, she attuned herself long ago to the city's ebb and flow, tapping into the restless spirits of those seeking vengeance against evil-doers and lawbreakers. A strong believer in vigilante justice, she fights corruption wherever she finds it, setting aside the law and social hierarchy to punish her enemies as she deems fit. Publicly, she feigns a life of ease, spoiling herself with the same decadent luxuries alongside the nobles she sometimes secretly opposes. In private, she supports many charities in the poorest districts, often working through intermediaries to make a positive impact with her accumulated wealth. Leinathan Questions:
1. A description of what your character looks like. What clothes do they wear? What do they do with their hair? Are they clean or dirty? Do they accessorize? Portia is a noblewoman born into high society. She has good posture, lean athleticism from a lifetime of classes in fencing, horseback riding, and dancing, and beautiful, well-maintained long platinum-blonde hair. She's rather beautiful, leaving an impression whether dancing around a ballroom or during her nightly forays. Likewise, her expressive blue eyes belie a sharp mind, missing little while socializing among her peers or facing down an enemy. She is 22 years old, and stands 5'10", weighing 165 lbs (all muscle). In her social persona, Portia wears the latest fashions to keep up appearances at court, donning elaborate gowns, though she prefers the colors red or blue. She often wears silver jewelry, and maintains tasteful make-up, wearing her long hair in elaborate up-dos or in long waves or ringlets. In her vigilante persona she takes on a more masculine presence, to further distract others from connecting the dots between her two egos. She pins her long hair up underneath a short blonde wig in a pixie cut, and wears a white tuxedo over a white set of studded leather armor with grey gloves. Over this she wears a hooded grey cloak to help conceal her presence when she is sneaking around in the shadows, and a white mask that goes around her eyes. 2. An explanation for why the Korvosan Guard would call on them for help. Are they a local mercenary with a good reputation? Are they a community leader with public goodwill on their side? Are they a guardsman themselves? Are they an informant in the criminal underworld of the city? It's your call! Portia has a good reputation as the "Silver Ghost" - while she is definitely a vigilante, she still avoids killing if she can help it, leaving most criminals she finds tied up at the doorstep of the Korvosan Guard. After a year of building good rapport, this time she has taken the initiative to come to them, for the first time. Spurred by the desire to help find Markus, she is mostly working with them to find a lead to his kidnapper. 3. Tell me where your character from. Are they a Korvosan native? Are they from Kaer Maga? Are they a Shoanti, or a Chelaxian? She is a Korvosan native of a Taldan noble house. Her family maintains their wealth mostly through venture capitalism. 4. How did your character become whatever character class they are, or learn whatever abilities they have? Portia has always been attuned to the spiritual world, even since she was a young girl. She doesn't know how or why she has this gift, but she has come to accept it. She became a vigilante by leveraging the athletic skills she learned from her noble upbringing and her considerable wealth, out of a desire to do good for the city. In essence, she is Batman, without the tragic past, mashed with the kid from the Sixth Sense. 5. What does your character do for a living? When and why did they start doing that? Portia is a trust-fund kid. Her parents are still alive so they handle managing their family's funds. She is expected to either eventually help with her family's investments (she is a clever girl, so she is certainly capable) or marry wealthy. 6. Is your character religious? Why? What does faith mean for your character? Portia pays her dues to a variety of gods, particularly Shelyn, Desna, and Abadar, due to her upbringing, but she has a special reverence for Pharasma. A Pharasman was able to help cure her of her nightmares, so she makes sure she attends Pharasman services from time to time, and also makes occasional donations to the local church. However she is not a very spiritual character, preferring to focus on what she can do for others as she is, rather than asking for help from deities. 7. Your character must in some way care about Korvosa. For some, this is because it's their home and the place where their family is from. For others, it's because it's a place of opportunity where you can make a good buck if you're lucky and ready for it. Why does your character care about being a city hero? Portia is already a city hero! The ghosts that come to her whisper to her of wrongs that need righted, or, in lieu of that, she goes around town helping the underprivileged. She grew up in Korvosa, she loves this city, and she wants the best for it. It is meant to be ironic that Portia could technically do more good for the poor and for the city, by focusing on using her resources and contacts as a rich woman and enacting social reform, rather than going around the city and individually righting petty wrongs as a superhero. This is a consequence of her being young and naive more than anything else. Hopefully if she is chosen she will be forced to face this inconsistency in her thinking at some point. 8. What are your character's moral lines? What would they never do? What can they not stand by and watch? What will they always take advantage of? Portia is CN in her social guise and CG in her vigilante guise... this is meant to reflect that in her social guise, she maintains the airs of a detached, over-privileged rich white girl than anything else, and that she is very capable of fooling others of this.
10. What's your characters economic situation, and the economic situation of their family? A desperately poor character with a rich family tells a very different story than a desperately poor character with a poor family. Portia is very, very wealthy. Her entire family is rich and influential. Like most rich young adults, she is often unaware of the privileges this brings, but she is honestly trying to do what she can to help those who did not win the birth lottery she did. Progression:
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