Difference between revisions of "Juanita"

Few historical records of Juanita's existence date back further than two centuries survive into, but those that do seem to corroborate the story of her life as she tells it, the following information is mostly OOC with select members of PRIMUS, UNTIL, and the Trismegistus Council having some knowledge of the following facts and events, depending on how much Juanita deigned to share with them.

The Age of Reason - 1500 to 1650

The age of visionaries and intellectuals such as Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo Galilei, and the end of the dark ages. The 16th century was a major stepping stone in western history, those were the days of exploration and muskets, of reason and science. Fittingly, by the start of the fifteen hundreds, magic had largely faded away, especially from civilized regions, the dragons and witches of the dark ages having faded fully into folklore, as tribal shamans and heathen intellectuals become the only mystics still practicing the magical arts in an ever increasingly scientific world.

Juanita's story begins on a summer night, on the streets of 1537 Barcelona. It is some time in early August, and Antonio Gula -the heir of a rich and influential nobleman- has had one too many drinks during the celebration of his brother's return from Italy; stumbling through the streets with a group of three equally inebriated friends, he stumbled upon a young beggar girl by the name of Maria -roughly fourteen to fifteen years of age- sleeping alone on the cold cobblestone street.

As with many things in the universe, there are many aspects that determine a man's nature: upbringing, genetics, tragedy, entitlement, no two humans are identical, but there will always be men that are alike -heroes, villains, scoundrels, or scholars- that will gather with the like-minded, for better, or for worse.

Antonio Gula and his friends lived affluent lives, raised in luxury and wealth, they were taught from a young age that they were above the common folk and the rabble, and thus, they had no qualms with what they were about to do next. Without wasting much time, or much thought, Antonio and his friends force themselves upon the girl.

On April the 7th of the next year, Maria gives birth to a perfectly healthy daughter, her eyes a beautiful green and her constitution far beyond that of other children born in the same environment; she names the girl Juanita, after her own mother before her, spending the next five years raising her through the pains and hardships of vagrancy. These first years of Juanita's life are relatively normal, as normal as a beggar's life can be. She learns to survive in the streets, mostly on the kindness of others, and partly on thievery.

On March 12th, 1543, as fate has it, Maria encounters Antonio again in the middle of a large square, and begins throwing accusations and insults at him, invoking the Devil's name without any restraint and damning him to Hell. The next few days Antonio becomes the center of a rumor mill amongst the bourgeoisie and aristocracy; from a desire of vengeance and through the use of his connections, Antonio has Maria falsely convicted of witchcraft.

On March 16th, guards chase down and capture Maria under official orders from Bishop Joan de Cardona, orphaning Juanita as the young girl flees into the sewers, left with nothing but her mother's old necklace and the clothes on her back, she is found two days later by the famed wererat thief known simply as Enrique -the leader of the Barcelona thieves guild- and, taking pitty on the girl, he takes her under his care.

Seven years as a thief mold Juanita into a skilled pickpocket and sneak, Enrique imparting onto her the tricks of the trade as she becomes like a daughter to him, hoping that she may one day become his successor, much to the annoyance of those within the guild that wanted the position for themselves. Enrique usually kept such men in place and has had to deal with more than one overzealous member that thought they could usurp his control, one such man being a man known simply as Suarez, a shrewd and untrustworthy man, he tried stealing power from Enrique through the use of brute force and Enrique took his right hand for it, but let him live, turning him into a walking example tho those that would dare defy his leadership; sadly, letting Suarez live was not the best of choices Enrique could have made, for the treacherous man vowed vengeance, and what better way than by revealing the guild headquarters to the guards and clergy?

Following Suarez's information, the Inquisition send an interrogator accompanied by two dozen guards to raid the guild's headquarters, said interrogator being none other than Antonio Gula, now a man of the cloth, as, despite his sinful nature, power and influence had earned him a spot in the catholic hierarchy. The soldiers sweep through the sewers in force, killing all the male thieves in their path and taking the women as prisoners to be hanged as a public show.

Recognizing Antonio, Juanita tries to attack him before Enrique manages to stop her, a soldier cutting Maria's necklace off of Juanita's neck as Enrique pulls her back, and Antonio having enough time to recognize the young thief's brilliant green eyes, eyes she inherited from Antonio's mother, eyes he first recognized upon seeing Juanita by her mother's side all those years ago.

Ordering the other thieves to cover his retreat, Enrique flees with Juanita into his personal chambers; completely unbeknownst to Suarez and the guards, Enrique's chamber held a secret, final, escape route hidden from all other members of the guild, the escape route he let others know of being a decoy. Having little time until the soldiers reached them, and not actually willing to leave his people to die, Enrique sends the reluctant Juanita through the escape tunnel all on her own, her mother's necklace remaining behind to be found by Antonio.

Not soon after losing her family for a second time Juanita is back on the streets of Barcelona, wearing her hair cut short and pretending to be a boy, she continues begging and stealing for a living, her mind filled with dreams of avenging Enrique's death, ignorant to the fact that the target of her ire was none other than her own father.

As luck would have it -or perhaps through the hand of fate- Juanita just happened to steal the pocket of the wrong person at the right time. Said wrong person is one Cedric Alsen, a hermetic mystic from the British Isles, currently hiding in Spain as a traveling merchant. Seeing straight through her disguise and into her heart, he asks her why she is so angry, his curiosity getting the better of him; listening to her tale, he can't help but take her under his wing as Enrique had done before, and over the next eight years she would become his apprentice, learning the basics of hermetic magic, philosophy, and alchemy.

One Thousand and One Nights - 1651 to 1750

Journey to the East - 1751 to 1862

The American Dream - 1863 to 1910

The Pulp Era - 1920 to 1939

The Golder Age - 1940 to 1945

The Cold War - 1950 to 1990

The Champions Era - 1980 Onwards

Thanks to her advanced age, Juanita is rather hard to shock, having seen and done many things that would horrify or disgust most people over the centuries and having grown jaded because of it. She is not emotionless, but when one has seen as many battlefields filled with blood and excrement covered corpses as she has, one tends to stop flinching when they see someone mutilated in a ditch.

Juanita is adamant and rigid in her views and ways, slow to change and adapt to the world around her advancing as fast as it does.

Due to her long life, she has seen many spunky artists, courageous heroes, struggling students, ambitious entrepreneurs, charming coquettes, bashful bookworms, and just about every other type of person you can imagine passing by; because of this, she has become quite difficult to impress, seeming even cynical at times. She has also learned long ago what she likes or doesn't in a person, leading to her being able to easily form an opinion on someone.

However, she is not unpleasant -unless you annoy or grate her-, in fact, she is quite friendly and a conversationalist; though the subjects of her conversations can become philosophical in nature at times, which tends to push away some people.

Training

Juanita is a skilled fighter, trained in a mix of martial arts centered around both unarmed combat and the use of swords. She is also an accomplished smith and artisan, capable of crafting anything from armor and weaponry to jewelry and decorations.

Mystical Prowess

Juanita is also a powerful enchanter, alchemist, and thaumaturge -transformation magic, either of self, of others, or of objects, assuming animal forms, turning copper into gold, etc-, she also specializes in defensive and support magics.

Acquired abilities

The Silver Sword

An artifact of unknown origin and Juanita's trademark weapon, The Silver Sword consists of a forward-curved, single-edged silver blade measuring in at aprox. 2'6" and a carved ivory hilt shaped like a dragon's snarling head. Whilst not the strongest weapon in and of itself, the Sword has been seen penetrating past defenses both mundane and otherwise with ease, making it a very dangerous weapon against even armored foes.

Cloak of the Zephirim

Despite the name, the 'cloak' is actually a blue, hooded trenchcoat -Juanita's signature attire- enchanted with the effects of the spell known as The Tireless Wings of the Zephirim, the Zephirim being spirits who dwell in a dimension of clouds, winds, and storms.

Enchanted Breastplate

Using much more powerful version of enchantments used in Wizard's Mail -a type of full plate armor once used by warrior-mages and other spellcasters who involved themselves in hand to hand Combat- Juanita's breastplate provides full body magical protection against most attacks, from the mundane to the mystical.

Amulet of the Clear Mind

This amulet, usually made of silver and amber -Juanita's being made using Dominican blue amber-, heightens the wearer’s mental faculties. She becomes more observant, more insightful, and more intelligent. Additionally, the amulet provides protection against Sorcery and similar spells.

Gauntlets of Giant's Strength

Created using enchantments normally applied to belts and girdles, these gauntlets date back to the Turakian era, although their exact origins still remain a mystery. All that is known is that they enhance the wearer's strength to be on par with that of giants.

Boots of the Cricket

This pair of fine, supple leather boots contains two enchantments. The first allows the wearer to leap much further than she ordinarily could; the second allows her to walk along walls and ceilings like an insect.

Juanita is also in the possession of various magical tomes of both the tame and forbidden kinds, most notably:

The Blood of the Necronomicon

Acquired from the rather simple minded apprentice of a dark mystic, this dangerous book contains powerful research into and spells from the field of necromancy. The apprentice gave the book up without any real encouragement, quite happy to be rid of the accursed book.

The Scrolls of the Spentas

Written by a persian mystic centuries ago, this book is filled with exotic theurgic spells that call upon the power of elysian beings, particularly that of the Azatas and Spentas of Zoroastrian myth.

The Mémoires of Quanqi

Juanita is rather versatile, able to change her spell loadout on a whim, she could easily fill any roll in combat from front line fighter or field healer to magical artillery or infiltrator; she is also a decent tactician and leader, though she really shouldn't be your first choice of squad leader. When not prepared for a specific scenario, she uses a mix loadout of defensive and offensive spells.