Approved here: /viewtopic.php?p=148301#p148301
Mortalborn story: Jon furrowed his brow over a stack of papers, trying to make sense of all the numbers and drudgery that his life had become. His nights were spent gambling in the halls, his only solace in the lot that he'd landed in. How a scandalous rogue had managed to get himself into the Imperial Tax Collection core was beyond his reckoning. It was mostly a blur how he got in his position. But now that he was there, it was steady income, but hardly enough to live the kind of life he wanted. And tax collection/accounting wasn't exactly a thrilling vocation.
Nevertheless, he found ways of making it entertaining. He would subtly cheat and steal the work of his fellows, which exercised his appetite for mischief. He would meddle with the numbers of his colleagues, and sometimes even pull pranks on them. He had few friends as a result in the collection core, and was often given the least tasteful of tasks, due to his poor skill at office politics.
One day, he managed to steal a particularly brilliant bit of accounting from one of his colleagues. It was only by luck that he recognized its brilliance, but once he did, he saw a way out of the drudgery perhaps. If he could just get a cozy seat in a lower council in the treasury, he'd be set! So he sent along the proposal directly to the Eternal Empress' council. He forged his name to the documents, to make it appear as if he'd done all the work.
When Raskalarn heard of all the nel she'd save in that one area, she sought out the one responsible for making the calculation. Often one to involve herself in matters of administration as much as conquest, Raskalarn elevated Jon to one of her lesser councils on the Treasury. During his appointment, she was present for the interview, and they both felt a mutual attraction. The attraction led to a whirlwind tryst, which ended poorly. Yet Jon remained on the council, and was on amicable enough terms with Raskalarn after their romance ran its course.
As it happened, Raskalarn had gotten pregnant by him during their romance. Yet she had little time or interest in raising a child. So she fostered him off to Jon, as a royal bastard and a spare in case Raskalarn had need of an heir, or if Clavam displayed aptitudes that would serve the Imperial Court well.
Of course, the rest of the story wasn't a happy ending for Jon. He was a compulsive and addictive gambler. He ended up wagering his infant son in a high-stakes game with an Etzori trader. The result was that Clavam was taken away from Korlasir by the trader. By the time Raskalarn found out what had happened, Clavam was long gone. In her fury, Raskalarn ordered the arrest and trial of Jon. He was found guilty of treason, and summarily executed.
Raskalarn spared no expense and delegated to her finest admirals to recover her son. Unfortunately, the admiral she appointed to this task thought very much of the larger ships and galleons in their fleet. While these would've been suitable to the destruction of an invading armada, they were not ideal for pursuit, and were easily outrun by the sloop owned by the Etzori traders. When the traders discovered they were being pursued, they sailed over shoals and reefs in order to throw off the large warships.
When he returned in failure, In her fury, Raskalarn punished the Admiral, court marshaling him. She's since attempted to employ the Order to locate Clavam, but has never succeeded as he was taken to Etzos, which hasn't the friendliest disposition toward the Empire.
Mortalborn domains: Victory, Scars, and Poverty
Mortalborn abilities:
Glory Hound
Glory Hound As the Mortalborn of Victory, Clavam is able to manifest a creature that feeds off of his victories and harmed by his failure and is strengthened/weakened respectively by the same. This creature takes the form of a large barghest hound. The creature is impetuous and brash, and enjoys all forms of victory, whether it be games of chance, debates, social arguments, or battle. He's a contentious and ascerbic creature. The highest form of victory that the Hound tends to enjoy, and the easiest typically to accomplish on a regular basis would be through personal combat or leading a major battle. Doing this can sustain the Hound at least until a commensurate failure (losing a battle or personal combat) or else for an entire season after the victory has been attained. Subsequent victories can strengthen him, but with gradual, diminishing returns from his original manifestation.
The scale of victory depends typically on the consequence or stakes that arrives as a result of the victory. For instance, a sparring match with no intention of harming the other will not result in a win or loss in the Glory Hound's eyes unless there's something to be gained or at stake. Winning a game of chance for no wager will not satisfy the Glory Hound. Whereas wagering one's livelihood, a great amount of wealth, or even indentured servitude may equal even a victory or failure gained as a result of battle. Debates or social arguments that result in the gain or loss of allies or resources tend to be weighed as a third as potent as victory in battle. In all matters of victory, it must be clear through the narrative or ooc that Clavam intends to win. Throwing matches, arguments, or 'intentionally' losing battles and other forms of low cunning are considered dishonorable by the Glory Hound, and will not satisfy him and may in fact harm him. He has a couple of abilities which are as follows:
Physical Manifestation: For several breaks of the day, the Hound can take on a physical form that is able to interact with the world around. It can be seen by other mortals while in this state, and is not only able to engage in combat, it relishes it. When its physical injuries become too much for it to bear, it will be dispelled, and require Clavam to gain more victories before it can manifest again. Usually Clavam's defeating an opponent is enough to return the Glory Hound to its physical state.
Guardian against Failure: Clavam can be preserved from failure by spending the physical form of the Glory Hound. This comes in the form of luck, the form of which is open to narrative interpretation, or to moderator discretion. Longer odds result in a greater injury to the Glory Hound in order to stave off defeat, through which the Glory Hound will have to feed on much more victory before it can re-manifest.
Scars: Every Scar, a Badge of Valor Once every ten trials, the Mortalborn of Scars can choose a singular wound that is inflicted upon him or an immediate ally. That wound will not kill or maim them, but they must spend at least ten trials nursing it. At the end of those ten trials, they will be left with a scar from the wound. Henceforth whatever scar tissue is leftover will be as tough as a thin sheet of steel but flexible as cloth, impenetrable by most ordinary weapons. The wound that is inflicted upon them must be inflicted by an enemy with malicious intent or it may not be chosen for this power.
Poverty: Patron Saint of Mediocrity As a Mortalborn with the Domain of Poverty, Clavam finds himself barely scraping by in life, but still abiding. However much he clings to life and survival, however, he finds the accumulation of wealth as slippery and elusive as an eel. Yet for that, his domain grants him a boon. As he loses wealth, he and his immediate allies/companions can abide by difficult circumstances, injuries, wounds, and possibly even deadly situations. By sacrificing wp he can ensure their avoidance of these dangerous situations.
1 WP Sacrificed - Mild Danger is avoided / Mild Poison/Disease is Cured (unless of magical means) / Mild Injury is Healed (less than Novice Graft) / Easy Opponents are Avoided on a One-by-One basis (not groups).
3 WP Sacrificed - Moderate Danger is avoided / Moderate Poison/Disease is Cured (unless of magical means) / Moderate Injury is Healed (less than Comp Graft) / Moderate Opponents are Avoided (includes small groups).
5 WP Sacrificed - Severe Danger is avoided / Severe Poison/Disease is Cured (unless of magical means) / Severe Injury is Healed (less than Expert Graft) / Dangerous Opponents are Avoided (includes medium groups).
10 WP Sacrificed - Fatal Danger is avoided / Fatal Poison/Disease is Cured (unless of magical means) / Fatal Injury is Healed (less than Master Graft) / Dangerous Opponents are Avoided (includes large groups).
15 WP Sacrificed - Magical-means Poison/Disease is Cured / Multiple Severe-Fatal Injuries are Healed / An entire small village can be avoided.
These instances of avoidance are all treated on an individual basis. Each instance of avoidance/healing/curing/etc. must be cumulative, and will be added one to the other for each danger that is avoided/cured/healed.
Additionally, he cannot exceed the wealth tier of 3, although he can accumulate wp as normal. This means that any goods/services/items from the shoppe that are tier 4 and above will always need to be bought outright with wp, and will never be considered to be within his wealth tier.
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