Name: Ametsuchi Noriko
Race: Human
Age: 18
Height: 155 cm
Weight: 48 kg
Appearance: Physical AttributesStrength: Human
Agility: Human
Constitution: Human
Magical Power: Medium
Noriko's Magic draws powers from Supernal Realms, planes of higher existence representing the higher truths of the existence, seperated from the Fallen World by The Abyss.
She can cast spells only in her sensory range as she does not possess knowledge of Space Arcanum.
Spells the mage cast fall into 13 Practices, each one tied to a certain level of mastery of an Arcanum. There are 10 Arcana, each with its own purview.
Arcanum of Death: darkness, death, decay, ectoplasm, enervation, ghosts, soul stealing. Noriko is an apprentice of this Arcanum.
Arcanum of Matter: alchemy, elemental air, elemental earth, elemental water, shaping, transmutation. Noriko is an apprentice of this Arcanum.
Arcanum of Mind: communications, hallucinations, mental projection, mind control, telepathy. Noriko is an apprentice of this Arcanum.
Arcanum of Prime: Hallows, magical imbuement, Mana, Supernal Truths. Noriko is an initiate of this Arcanum
Initiate level Practices:
Compelling spells nudge something into doing something it could have done naturally. A bored worker can be made to take that coffee break now (Mind), a ghost can be forced to avoid its bane (Death), dropped coins bounce toward her (Matter), gathering Mana where it would already gather (Prime). Making the coin hover and spin in midair, making the worker walk into her boss’s office and quit, or making the ghost ignore its object of its grudge are beyond the bounds of a Compelling spell.
Knowing spells deliver knowledge about something directly to the mage (or to another target). A mage can divine the cause of a corpse’s death (Death), detect a presence of a particular substance (Matter), sense the presence of consciousness around the caster (Mind), scrutinize an enchanted item (Prime). This knowledge is a direct awareness of Supernal truth; the mage doesn’t have to interpret evidence based on her senses or try to divine the truth out of cryptic riddles.
Unveiling spells expose hidden things to the mage’s senses, or expand the confines of those senses. Discern emotional states of others (Mind), perceive ghosts in Twilight (Death), find secret compartments in seemingly solid matter (Matter), or see the flow of Mana across the landscape (Prime).
Apprentice level PracticesRuling spells grant fuller control over phenomena than a mere Compelling spell. Water can be made to flow uphill or into unnatural shapes (Matter), animals (or even human beings) can be commanded (Mind), corpses can be controlled like puppets (Death). A Ruling spell can’t fundamentally alter its subject’s abilities: Water can be directed, but not turned solid or gaseous. An animal can be commanded, but not made stronger or fiercer. A corpse remains a corpse, not truly brought to life and without mind.
Shielding spells, sometimes called Warding spells, offer protection against phenomena under the Arcanum’s purview. A Shielding spell might protect against a ghost’s Numina (Death), allow her to survive in a caustic atmosphere (Matter) or resist hypnosis (Mind)
Veiling spells are twofold: Firstly, they can conceal things under the Arcanum’s purview from detection: A subject can be made to be unable to detect Mage's thoughts (Mind), a medium can be prevented from perceiving ghosts (Death), making a building all but impossible to notice (Matter). Secondly, they can conceal a subject from concrete phenomena under the Arcanum’s purview: a mage can render herself invisible to ghosts (Death), or walk unnoticed through a crowd (Mind) or conceal a hidden trap from scrutiny (Matter). Short of archmastery, it’s impossible to Veil something against an abstract concept or force: a mage can’t Veil herself against death or hide from time, for example.
Mana cost of spells varies depending on whether they are improvised, they belong to Ruling Arcana (Death and Matter count as Ruling to Noriko), deal supernatural type of damage or how much they alter reality. Rotes which are trained spells cost less Mana than improvised spells, but require specific hand gestures to be performed while casting.
The mage can maintain up to six active spells at a time, and has to cancel a spell before casting a new one if she reaches that limit, the act taxing her willpower.
Noriko learned following Rotes during her career as a Mage:
Alter Aura (Mind Arcanum, Practice of Veiling): The mage can alter his own aura. Noriko can create the seeming of any mental or emotional state she wishes (she does not actually alter her emotional state, only its appearance in her aura). She cannot, however, alter her nature to appear to be something she is not (she can’t take on the aura of a Sleeper or vampire).
Aura Perception (Mind Arcanum and Prime Arcanum, Practice of Unveiling): The mage can discern the mental and emotional states of a thinking being by reading its aura. Some mages perceive auras as a series of colors, while others describe them in terms of musical notes, odors, tastes or other purely non-physical senses. With addition of Prime Arcanum, she can discern aura's nature, whether it belongs to a mortal, a supernatural creature or a fellow Awakened.
Crafter's Eye (Matter Arcanum, Practice of Knowing): The mage can see any wear, flaws, breaks or damage to a particular object with an eye towards repairing it. Some mages liken this to comparing the object’s present state to its “ideal” or original state of existence.
Forensic Gaze (Death Arcanum, Practice of Knowing): There are times when the most useful thing one can find out about a given dead body is how it got to be that way. An ability that most crime-scene investigators would give their eyeteeth for, this spell enables a mage to discern at a glance exactly how a creature died and how long ago. Thus, the mage might be able to realize that a cause of death obvious to all modern forensic evidence is in fact a ruse designed to distract from the subject’s true cause of death.
Gain Skill (Mind Arcanum, Practice of Knowing): The mage temporarily gains knowledge and use of a particular mundane Skill through tapping into the collective unconscious.
Quicken Corpse (Death Arcanum, Practice of Ruling): The mage animates a corpse which is mindless and forced to obey her commands. Left to its own devices and outside sensory range it's just idle, and Noriko must continuously concentrate on commanding it.
Soul Marks (Death Arcanum, Practice of Knowing:) This sense enables a mage to perceive a
soul’s health. She can discern the presence of derangements, but not necessarily their kind.
Oblations and other ways of replenishing Mana: Oblation, or a ritual associated with her Path as a Mage, allows to replenish Mana if performed at a Hallow, a place that collects it like a dew. To perform such oblation it takes a hour, and it can be only performed once a day in a given Hallow. She can also perform an oblation tied to her Legacy outside a Hallow and replenish Mana, but also once per day.
Scouring her own body to replenish Mana is another way, but it temporarily damages her body which cannot be brought to full health through magical means if that happens. She can drop one of her Attributes lower which can be performed only once per day. Reverse thing can be done, using up Mana to heal her body, but that can also only happen once per day. However, if she elects to scour her body for Mana without dropping one of her Attributes, she can do it as many times as she wants to, even if that kills her.
She can also kill a living creature as the size of a house cat or larger once per day in order to replenish Mana. Sentient beings provide more Mana than animals, depending on their Constitution.
Other Abilities: Attainments: They are supernatural abilities available to a Mage that is part of Legacy. Attainments do not rely on drawing power from Supernal Realms and appear to be mundane even to those who can detect magic. They cannot be countered or dispelled, but any form of magic resistance still works if they target directly a target. Noriko belongs to a Legacy of Uncrowned Kings:
Nigredo: Her mind and soul are honed to the point she resists powers which attempt to control her mind, detect her thoughts or influence her better than usual. She can also see through mind illusions. By meditating on an object altered or enhanced by her Matter Arcanum spells she can see into her soul, perceiving her own aura and seeing her mental or emotional condition.
Mage's Senses: Mages have an innate “sixth sense” concerning all things supernatural. Their bodies react to the active presence of unseen forces (i.e., the use of a supernatural power, not simply the presence of a vampire or werewolf — unless it is using its powers). They can’t actually see or hear anything, and they might not know at first what causes the strange reaction. To understand the feeling and its source, they can cast the Mage Sight spell (part of Unveiling Practice) upon themselves. The Mage Sight spells allow one to read resonances tied to the domain of the used Arcanum.
Supernatural Tolerance – Incredible (Noriko's Gnosis is high enough for her to be accepted into a Legacy, offers her some resistance against all manner of supernatural powers)
Equipment: Her Path tool is the amulet she wears. She also had dedicated tools for each Arcanum. They help her focusing her will when casting spells.
Death: a stone engraved with a rune of Ihwaz
Matter: a stone engraved with a rune of Thurisaz
Mind: a stone engraved with a rune of Ansuz
Prime: a stone engraved with a rune of Kenaz
Origin: Awakened in her early teenage years, Noriko is considered talented for her age, enough to be admitted as a junior member of her Legacy. As a person she was deeply impacted by death of her parents, her mother passing away when she was 7 and her father passing away when she was 12. Without any remaining relatives in Japan, she got fostered by her grandfather's family in Norway. Her trauma related to how quickly her closest kin passed away led her to being borderline obsessed about research of immortality. If she could find the answer and share it with the rest of humanity, then without natural death, the suffering would be diminished. With unlimited lifespan humanity could realize its potential. And even if she was overly optimistic, if she alone gained immortality without losing her Awakened powers, she could use her eternity in order to Ascend and change the fate of humanity for better. In spite of her insecurities she has confident air around her, rarely loosing her cool and thinking to some extent she's superior to many by the dint of being one of Awakened to the Truth of Supernal Realms. Nevertheless, she treats even her lessers with respect and manners, after all, a 'princess' like be an example to those below her. Her kingship may be mostly over her soul and mind, but she's one of royalty nonetheless. And the fate of humanity is rightfully in her hands.
Weakness: In contrast to her superhuman mental fortitude, she's just an average human. She will be usually overwhelmed easily in close combat.
Likes: Improving herself, confident and ambitious people
Dislikes: Laziness, giving up before doing your best, untimely deaths