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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Davies" data-source="post: 8443642" data-attributes="member: 30538">Valerias<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/My-First-Gallery/i-gj7F9bt/0/09f61dd6/M/3f4f05d0ef37ccb9df6b1574b5c238ef-M.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " data-size="" style="" />The eldest Ascendant of the Council of Tauri, Valerias is the Patron of Love, though she often prefers to be known as the Queen of Passion instead. Tempestuous and impulsive, she is known for doing exactly what she wants, a rebel bird who has never known any law. Some among her colleagues are surprised that she has never challenged Solarion, the Hierarch of Power, for his position, even when their long-standing friendship and romance is considered. Others, who understand her better, realize that means she has simply never wanted to do so, perhaps having seen what that role has done to him.It is nearly impossible for even the mightiest intellects among the Ascendants to recall all the events of an existence that might have spanned tens of thousands of years. It is completely impossible for Valerias, not numbered among those intellects, to recall the events of her own existence, which has spanned hundreds of thousands of years. Her mortal life is almost completely forgotten, but she believes that she was one of the first Alvadine born on this planet, that her childhood was utterly brief, and that she was sent to war against the Xothi, the Ograh and the Maung, alongside her peoples' Gargun allies. And she fought, and she fought, and she fought, for centuries after centuries.And there came a day, or perhaps a night, when she realized that she alone survived among those who had fought at her side from the first, and wept for the first time. Was this what existence was, just a long march towards the final death? Why had she ever been born, then? As she asked these things, someone -- and one of her greatest regrets is that she cannot remember anything about that person -- wrapped her in an embrace and told her that no, there was more to life than this. "All power can't be seen," that person said. Keeping that memory close to her heart, she returned to war, and she fought, and she fought, and she fought, for centuries more after centuries more. Eventually, the war ended.In the aftermath, she became the creator of the elven bardic tradition, and for this and everything that had gone before it, she was rewarded with Ascension. Despite that, she was a relatively minor light among Solarion's court for a long time, until she achieved Celestial status and declared herself the Patron of Love. This was bewildering to the rest of Pandiomon, for the emotions were generally considered the purview of the Sphere of Mind rather than Power, and doubly so for the fact that 'love' seemed a rather weak thing to them. Valerias set out to prove them wrong. Lives have been horribly ruined and lives been incredibly enriched by her efforts, but by now the rest of the Ascendants have definitely come to see that anything that motivates so many actions must be considered an example of Power, rather than a simple product of Mind. She has also continued to act as one of the finest scouts and snipers on battlefields throughout the planes, which has become her primary role as a member of the Council. Ascendants are not supposed to fight mortals' battles for them, but Valerias has no compunctions about descending to Galantri and quietly weakening, harming or even slaying the lesser servants of Entropy who have attached themselves to the Shadow Dragon. She does what she wants, and what she thinks needs doing.Valerias' closest friend outside of the council is probably Silenus, an Eternal of the Sphere of Matter who came up around the same time she did, but under very different circumstances. They share a love for music and dance, though his true love is and will always be wine. She has a long-standing rivalry with Tarastia the Justiciar, a jumped up Eternal of Mind who resents Valerias for her free-spirited ways and tries to undermine her at every opportunity. (Or so Valerias' point of view would have it.) She has also frequently had confrontations with Kagyar the Maker, over their differing artistic perspectives as well as other matters of politics, which makes the way that some mortals think "Auberon" and "Titania" (their frequent aliases) are married rather amusing. Within her own sphere, as already mentioned, she has the trust and fond regard of its Hierarch ... most of the time. Both of them are easily distracted and tempermental, after all.Valerias -- PL 15Abilities:STR 10 | STA 14 | AGL 5 | DEX 7 | FGT 4 | INT 5 | AWE 6 | PRE 12Powers:Arrows of Outrageous Fortune: Array (26 points); Removable (-5 points) <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Arrow of Binding: Ranged Affliction 13 (Resisted by Dodge, Overcome by Damage; Hindered and Vulnerable, Defenseless and Immobile), Extra Condition, Limited to Two Degrees - 26 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Arrow of Brilliance: Ranged Burst Area Affliction 13 (Resisted and Overcome by Fortitude; Visually Impaired, Visually Disabled, Visually Unaware), Limited to One Sense - 1 point</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Arrow of Infatuation: Ranged Affliction 13 (Resisted by Will; Dazed, Stunned, Transformed [to be in love with the first entity seen]) - 26 points</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul"> Arrow of Pain: Ranged Damage 12, Extended Range 2 - 26 points</li> </ul>Ascendant: Immortality 5 (one day), Only When On Home Plane; Immunity 1 (aging); Movement 1 (dimensional travel to home plane), Reaction (death); Movement 2 (dimensional travel to planes of the Sphere of Power), Standard Action - 10 pointsDivine Body: Immunity 10 (life support); Impervious Toughness 10 - 20 pointsDivine Mind: Comprehend Languages 4; Impervious Will 10, Limited to Mental Effects; Senses 7 (vision counters all concealment, vision counters illusions) - 25 points"Love Lights the Way": Environment 3 (light) - 3 pointsMany Faces: Morph 4 (any form) - 20 pointsPower of the Heart: Cumulative Mind Reading 14 - 42 pointsSense Immortal: Senses 2 (ranged detect immortal) - 2 pointsSwift Stride: Movement 1 (trackless); Speed 5 (60 MPH) - 7 pointsAdvantages:Attractive 2, Daze (Deception), Equipment 5, Fascinate (Persuasion), Hide in Plain Sight, Improved Defense, Improved Initiative, Jack-of-all-Trades, Taunt, Tracking, Uncanny Dodge.Equipment:Home Plane: Size Gargantuan; Toughness 16; Features Communications, Dimensional Portal (Pandiomon), Concealed, Defense System, Grounds, Gym, Isolated, Library, Living Space, Power System, Personnel, Security System (DC 30) - 22 points.Skills:Deception 8 (+20), Expertise: Performance 4 (+16), Insight 13 (+19), Perception 12 (+18), Persuasion 8 (+20), Ranged Combat: Bow 10 (+17), Sleight of Hand 9 (+16), Stealth 10 (+15).Offense:Initiative +9Unarmed +4 (Close Damage 10)Arrow of Pain +17 (Ranged Damage 12)Defense:Dodge 12, Parry 10, Fortitude 15, Toughness 14, Will 12.Totals:Abilities 126 + Powers 151 + Advantages 16 + Skills 37 + Defenses 20 = 350 pointsOffensive PL: 15Defensive PL: 13Resistance PL: 14Skill PL: 15Complications:Responsibility ... Well, Sort Of--Motivation. Easily Distracted. Manipulative. Temper.Note: Should Valerias ever travel to the World Less Magical, all her abilities drop by 2 ranks each, she suffers Power Loss on her Ascendant powers, her Power of the Heart drops to 12 ranks, and her Arrows of Outrageous Fortune array drops to 22 points (with most effects dropping to 11 ranks and Ranged Damage dropping to 10); she will also be Disabled on Expertise: Magic checks made with Jack-of-all-Trades. She becomes PL 13.</blockquote>

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