Sanguinaria

Name: Christian Anthony Beauregard, a.k.a. Christian Fitzphilip
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Kingdom of Alliance: Altsoba

Appearance: Christian is, indeed, a worthy inheritor to his mother’s name. Though he is thin and weak and only average in height, he is often considered attractive though somewhat young in appearance. He has a perfectly small, slightly upturned nose, and thin lips that are always turned up in a weak lopsided smile, supported by a small jaw and rounded chin, and his skin is smooth as a child’s. His bright blue eyes are always filled with a certain sparkle, a nearly childish wonder for the world around him, contrasting with his otherwise relaxed, nonchalant appearance to him. He wears his light brown hair to about jaw-length, usually combed backwards except for a lock of hair on either side of his head.

His seed is located above his right eye, near his temple, usually hidden behind a lock of hair. It is very irregularly shaped, and bears markings as if of a bumpy but not jagged nut, with its two extremes parallel to his hairline. The top end originally formed a heart-like indentation, though it split when the seed germinated, and the opposite end culminates into a simple point. Its vines run into his hair, halfway to his ear, unseen except on close inspection.

Personality: Christian is generally seen as a very likeable and affectionate person, though somewhat naïve for anything outside of alchemy and nature.

Christian is a very peaceful, quiet man. He has always been especially studious, and not particularly social — even among intellectual peers, he feels awkward. He has very little interest in politics and war, and his few beliefs in regard to them are especially pacifist and idealistic. He enjoys peace and harmony immensely, hence his appreciation of the shallower, quiet part of the woods adjacent to Basan. He almost never becomes angry, even when provoked, and his patience and ability to remain calm and logical is often angering to others in itself. However, if Christian has one major weakness, it’s that he can’t control his panic when faced with unknown situations.

A rarely seen side of Christian is his devotion to his religion, passed down from his parents. Despite his upbringing in Altsoba and his studies in these sciences pioneered by Altsoba, he is devoutly religious and often practices in the privacy of his own home, away from the disapproving eyes of the Altsobans. Despite this, he shares his parents’ view of Crateva — as being led by depraved, corrupt individuals who have taken hold of the Church for their own gain.

History: Christian is the son of Philip Thomson and Julie Carolan Beauregard de Breugives, born in Basan. His father had been an important Cratevan merchant who was accused of a crime he had no memory of committing, while Julie’s family, that of the former Count Breugives, had been accused of treachery following his disapproval of the war, and they had been in hiding in Crateva and later Loveil for many years.

His parents had met by chance on a trade caravan that was smuggling a group of people out of Crateva, all various escapees heading towards Altsoba. Both Philip and the Breugives settled in the agricultural town of Basan, half a day’s ride south from Altsoba. The Breugives adopted the Countess’s maiden name, Beauregard, to hide their ties to their former Countship and nation.

Philip and Julie married as soon as they settled in — her parents, to her surprise, supporting them despite Philip. At their marriage, Julie knew she was already pregnant with Christian.

As a child, Christian was an extremely curious boy. He would always love to ask questions, and often would prefer to go exploring rather than play the games most children did. His grandfather, formerly an avid hunter, would often accompany Christian into the woods; he, of course, was more interested in the things around him than hunting. Another skill the former Count wanted Christian to learn was swordplay, which he thought was necessary to defend oneself for travelling, and especially in such unstable times, but he found no interest in violence and never could get the hang of armed combat.

Both Philip and Julie were devoutly religious, even if the Beauregard now believed in the Church’s corruption, and Christian was brought up in an entirely atypical religious environment.

Despite their modest lifestyle, Julie’s parents had been able to bring a certain amount of smaller valuables and money with them, and they offered to pay for Christian’s education at a prestigious school in Altsoba. Though he was among the brightest in his first years, even as far as skipping two years, he found himself to fall into the average as he progressed in his education. Nonetheless, he never struggled — indeed, it could be said he spent too little time on school and too much reading elsewhere — and always proved himself as a gifted alchemist.

The forest he once loved to explore, and which always remained familiar to him, became one of his favourite places to read. He could often be found in a small clearing in the forest, reading, unless the books he needed were confined to one of the many libraries of Altsoba.

Christian eventually devoted his studies to the natural world and alchemy. Upon graduating from the Altsoba University in the sciences of Nature at 19, he pursued studies in Alchemy at the Altsoba School of Alchemy. One of his greatest fascinations was to understand living creatures, the workings of Alchemy, and how they relate to each other.

Having heard some of the Nayeli’s theories and advances in agriculture and on plant life, Christian journeyed to that country, studying there for ten months, where he gained a much greater understanding of plants than he ever could have in Altsoba, and even proposed his own theories built upon the Nayeli’s to the scholars he met. He returned to Altsoba with a completely different outlook on flora, and a newfound respect for his forest.

Another novelty struck him as he returned to his village of Basan, however, this time it was a woman. He saw her very often at the Library of Alchemy, yet he did not know her. He still knew those who frequented his favourite libraries well — even after a year, it was all the same people, plus a few new students and this woman. She seemed too old to be one of the new students, and she dressed too elegantly, he thought, to be a scholar, as well. She was beautiful.

They never actually spoke until a chance meeting in that small clearing he still cherished. Both of them, it seemed, had a deep appreciation for the serenity and quietude of this corner of the forest. They began to talk, and he learned that she had only recently discovered a passion for engineering and enrolled at the University a month before Christian’s return, and had come to seek greater knowledge of alchemy (he noted how she muttered an “m” before catching herself the first time) and alchemic engineering. Her name was Amélie. It was a beautiful name.

They arranged to meet in that little clearing many times in the next months, and Christian soon noticed that he was finding more interest in meeting her there than to read, preferring to remain in the library otherwise. He learned (after addressing her slip of the tongue when mentioning “alchemy”, and reassuring her that he himself was religious) that she was originally from Crateva and still believed in her religion, despite her forward thinking. She was the daughter and former heir of the current Count of Brogiva (this incited no reaction from Christian, who had never known of his maternal grandfather’s past), but had chosen to pursue greater knowledge in Altsoba. Contrarily to many people of the Norrendy region of Crateva, she had been both educated by her mother and, despite being a woman, taught swordplay by her father. That she should have been brought up so well in such a depraved nation (a remark for which she reprimanded him severely) amazed him.

He soon realized that, slowly, he had come to fall completely and utterly in love with her. He hesitated to say anything to her, though, until a month later — and they married the next month and settled into Amélie’s quite comfortable home on the outskirts of Altsoba.

Their life together is, thus far, uneventful but quite happy. Though both of them had quite different vocations, they often devoted time together to the study of alchemy alone, and discussed their respective fields. She also coerced him into learning how to defend himself with a sword, telling him how scared she was whenever he went on a trip alone, and proved to be a better teacher than Mr. Beauregard.

Professionally, his research in biological alchemy has permitted a certain advancement in medicine, although it is still too preliminary to be widespread, and many attempts lead to the complete mutilation and death of the patient. Teaching the skill has proven difficult, especially without use of a live human — Christian, himself, only has reliable control of very minor abilities after six years of studying this ability, which had been his thesis project in University.

Magical ability: As a scholar in Alchemy and also an Alchemist, Christian is extremely proficient in the manipulation of living beings and of organic matter. However, he is fearful of the seed, having witnessed the death of an overzealous student attempting high-level alchemy, and although he has studied higher-level alchemy, he prefers to keep use of even basic abilities to a minimum.

Combat: Christian is neither physically strong nor fit, and his abilities with a sword are minimal. Physically, he could probably do no better than fend off one or two bandits.

However, his mastery of alchemy is probably sufficient to take on much stronger or more numerous opponents, as long as his fear of his seed does not cause him to hold back. He has studied in a branch of alchemy that allow him to directly affect a creature’s body, although even basic uses of this ability can be extremely exhausting to him mentally on creatures as complex as humans, bears and felines. The basic ability does not seem to affect his seed’s growth very much, though more so than small-scale transmutation.

He also has mastery of basic transmutation abilities — he could easily create a sturdy sword or dagger of wood or thick stems — and knowledge of stronger alchemic powers that could be used offensively, although his fear of the seed would only ever be overruled by the fear of an otherwise horrible death.


Name: Amélie Camille Beauregard (née de Breugives)
Gender: Female
Age: 29
Kingdom of Alliance: Altsoba

Appearance: Amélie is a beautiful woman, with a slender, youthful body hidden behind modest but elegant dresses and endearing features. Her frequentation of the scholarly libraries of Altsoba has always turned heads, for that reason. She has thick, sensuous lips that hide her pretty smile of a neat row of teeth, and lively brown eyes. She keeps her thick black hair of curls behind her, where it falls slightly beyond her neck.

Her seed, essentially a small swirl, is located on the nape of her neck. This has always been a source of anxiety for Christian, despite the many studies that had proven that the position of the seed has little effect on a person’s alchemic lifetime.

Personality: Amélie is a strong, independent person. She prefers not to rely on others, and has learned to fend for herself in the world. She is also not afraid to speak her mind or defend herself or others. She was, of course, raised among men, which gave her a considerably different outlook than many Crateveran and especially Norrendy women.

Amélie is generally kind to the people around her, but has a particular intolerance for injustice, and especially discrimination and targeting the helpless. She angers very quickly to such incidents, and isn’t afraid to meddle in another’s affairs if she feels somebody is being treating unfairly. Amélie also tends to be serious and not too kind towards humour, easily becoming annoyed at crude or repeated attempts. However, otherwise, she enjoys and prefers calm, peaceful surroundings.

Unlike her husband, Amélie is very involved and opinionated in politics, and is quite interested in the war between Altsoba and her country of origin. She is ambivalent about Crateva’s stance in the war and its politics in general, but she continues to hold onto a sincere belief of the good of Crateva’s and the Church’s founding values. Though not supportive of the war itself, nor either side, she feels the need to see alchemist militia off, as an alchemist herself.

History: Amélie Camille de Breugives was born to Count Henry and Countess Grécie of Brogiva, formerly Baron and Baroness Périgny. Her mother died in childbirth; as such, she was raised by her father, receiving the utmost of affection as all that remained of his beloved wife, and saw much of his circle of friends.

Amélie received most of her education by private tutoring. Furthermore, despite being a girl, Count Henry saw fit to teach her skills such as hunting and swordplay, which would prove to be very useful skills later in her life. Being surrounded by men for much of her childhood, she also had values and an outlook on life that differed from most women, though not all positively influenced by the men. She became strong and independent, and abhorred the men’s childish views on women, to which she eventually became victim as she grew older.

She had become a very inquisitive person and often liked to study in her father’s library, but she often found the knowledge contained therein vague and incomplete, and she wondered whether it truly was all humanity had achieved. She sometimes found recent discoveries and concepts to be self-obvious and juvenile in logic. Eventually, and despite wartime propaganda, rumours reached her ears of the scientific advancements of Altsoba.

She left the night after he twentieth birthday, bringing with her nothing but the dress on her, her horse, a few coins on her and the sword her father had given her. On her travels across Norrendy, she saw little eventfulness, though as she left Norrendy and approached the major trade towns between Loveil and Crateva, there were more and more bandits who targeted what appeared to be a weak, unaccompanied noblewoman. She found the sword skills her father had taught her most useful here, though she also had trouble handling the heavy broadsword.

Having never gone out of Norrendy, she often found herself wandering around some of the Cratevan landmarks as she heard rumours of them, rather than going directly out of Crateva. Her travels to Loveil, which might have taken her six months, ended up taking two years.

Though she had had only basic training in alchemy, having never pursued it further in Norrendy, she eventually discovered how to restructure a sword, through one of the other, lighter ones she had bought, and also discovered her father’s sword was particularly easy to manipulate. When the second-hand blade she had bought broke, she began using her father’s gift again, shedding the excess material into the sheath and transforming it into a slender, agile sword, whose shape she perfected for speed and grace as she used it.

Eventually, she came to the main commercial gateway between Loveil, Crateva and Norrendy, where she enlisted the services of a fugitive “trade” caravan and continued onwards towards Altsoba.

However, as it left passed a checkpoint, the caravan was searched and its illegal fugitives were discovered. Amélie and a few of the men succeeded in causing enough of a commotion to escape, and she and some of the others fled into the forest. She eventually separated from the group, finding the men’s ogling and comments bothersome, and survived on rabbits and the occasional deer (when she could strike it down with her sword without startling it), until finding a village on the outskirts of the forest in the middle of Loveil.

Now outside of Cratevan territory, the remainder of her journey to the city of Altsoba went mostly unhindered. She bought herself a new horse and continued onwards, making a point to travel alone or with travel groups of women — although she did find herself in trouble with larger groups of bandits, they often fled despite being able to overpower her if she took down one or two of them.

Arriving in Altsoba, she began frequenting the libraries, perusing its books like she had in her father’s library. She eventually became fascinated with alchemy and engineering, and began reading exclusively in those domains. Although she would have liked, then, to enrol in the University of Altsoba, she had expended most of her little funds during her slightly prolonged travels. She rented a room and did odd jobs among the craftsmen and merchants, most of whom didn’t need a girl with no particular expertise full-time.

As soon as she had amassed enough funds to live comfortable, she immediately enrolled in the University (passing the qualifying exams quite easily), and began studying in physics and alchemy, and later specializing in alchemic engineering.

Although she had learned to ignore the inquisitive stares of the library patrons, and they had progressively learned to see her as another regular reader, she couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable in the gaze of a young scholar at the Library of Alchemy; it was not at all like when crude men ogled her and whispered. She had not seen him before, though, she thought.

On Christmas vacation, she had decided to explore the area around Altsoba, and discovered a corner of peaceful shallow woodlands near a small village. She ventured inwards and, at a beautiful little clearing, found that young scholar again — he was called Christian, as she soon discovered. It was the first time they talked, and though they studied in different fields entirely, she quickly became fond of him and of discussing with him.

They met many times in that little clearing. Christian, who had no doubt long picked up on her slips of the tongue, almost calling alchemy magic, eventually asked her about it, and assured her that he did not think ill of religion. She decided she could trust him, and confided in him her past — after which she learned that his parents had also been Cratevan, and that he also was devoutly religious.

She hadn’t really noticed the feelings she developed for him creep up on her. It only occurred to her when he proclaimed his love for her, months later, in that little clearing. Although she was disgusted with the crude men who ogled women and saw them as nothing but playthings, and even held a certain disdain for scholarly peers, Christian seemed different. Perhaps it was that he seemed so young and naïve that she hadn’t ever considered him a man, but a boy — albeit a brilliant boy.

They married little more than a month later.

Amélie has since graduated from the University and joined the team of engineers at one of the top aeronautics research and development companies. She has also dedicated further study to higher alchemy alone, furthering her basic working knowledge of mechanical alchemy with theoretical and high-level alchemy.

Magical ability: Amélie is competent and moderately experienced alchemist. She excels in theoretical mechanical alchemy, and has moderate knowledge of material alchemy, especially as it relates to engineering. Her specialty, in both practice and theory, is remote kinetic alchemy; practically, she is capable of using material alchemy, but her abilities limit themselves to simple devices, not being able to alchemically build somewhat more complex structures, either machines or hybrid materials whose complexity lies at a finer level.

Combat: Amélie is no fighter by nature. However, she does have considerable physical and alchemic skill. Although she cannot wield the heavier swords, she is skilled with the use of a more slender sword, and excels in a style based on grace, speed and accuracy. When travelling, she still carries her father’s sword, which she often transmutes, leaving excess material in the sheath, into a slender sword according to the situation and her preferred style, or into knife or dagger as she needs. Her skill with a sword is not, by far, equal to a well-trained soldier’s, but it does equal that of most sports duellers and thieves, even those with proficiency in combat.

In alchemy, she does not have any particularly combat-oriented skills, though, with her practical as well as theoretical experience in alchemic engineering, she could easily use kinetic alchemy to propel and guide throwing knives, arrows and other projectiles to a certain extent, and even hurl objects remotely.

Name: Bianca Schiaraletta

Gender: Female

Age: 28

Kingdom of Alliance: Crateva

Appearance: Bianca is a woman of impeccable taste. She owns many elaborate dresses and gowns, all made from the very finest of materials. Nothing is too good for her, and she only wears the best. In her line of work, she is dressed in many different costumes, all of which influence her style. Her most favorite type of clothing to wear is the dress, and as such, she wears dresses more than anything else.

Being in the theater, she has learned to move in such beautiful dresses in ways many wouldn’t think possible. She can move as quickly in a dress trailing four feet behind her on the ground as a woman the same size could in pants and running shoes. The stiffness of her costumed history has given her great posture as well.

Beyond the elaborate costuming and elegant everyday dresses, Bianca herself is quite the beauty. Her skin is pale, but not sickly. Some would say it has a touch of moonlight too it, or a porcelain quality. Her eyes, a deep blue that have pin pricks of a lighter blue near the iris, are expressive, and feminine, but also very intense. Her hair, which in her opinion is her crowning glory, is a lush deep red with many different scarlet hues that reaches to her waist. She wears it in differing styles, but all elegant. Her hair has a certain shimmering quality to it; it almost looks as if garnets and rubies are strewn throughout her tresses. Bianca is five feet and six inches tall, and her frame is quite petite.

Personality: Bianca is somewhat different when it comes to personality. Usually quiet and poised, unless singing or acting, she generally comes off as calm and genial. Despite this, there is always a silent intensity about her which can at times be imposing, sometimes to the point of being unsettling. She has tremendous will power and fortitude, which together gives her a large amount of charisma.

She is known to be a kind individual, but only to those that she favors. To those she doesn’t care for, she can be quite difficult. Depending on how little she cares for a person, she may go out of her way to make their day just a bit more miserable. This attitude fluctuates quite often. From her opera career, and the subsequent fame that followed, she has been known to be a bit of a diva from time to time. She tries to avoid this prima donna attitude, but in her own words: “Sometimes, I just cannot help myself.”

History: In Crateva, it is not unknown for families to be strict, pious and austere with their daily lives. For the first ten years of her life, Bianca’s existence was just that. She was born into a family dominated by her mother, a fanatically devout follower of the church. She was only a follower of no real standing, but her husband, Bianca’s father, was a bishop in the church. Bianca’s mother drilled the teachings of the church into her only daughter; something Bianca had no intention of liking, more than her father, the bishop. Everyday was bible study and teachings. She secretly hated her mother.

It was on her tenth birthday that disaster struck in the form of irony, and Bianca’s mother was crushed by a large bookcase filled with the very religious items and books that she had incessantly pounded into Bianca. Bianca’s brother and father wept, but not her. A weight had been lifted off of her shoulders, and felt for the first time she could speak freely. The day after her mother’s death, a fierce battle erupted near Crateva. Feeling that it would be best to know how to defend herself, Bianca asked her brother to teach her how to wield a blade. He eventually gave up his initial resistance and taught her. The ability would stay with her for the rest of her life. She would eventually become quite well trained in her swordplay.

On her twelfth birthday, he father took her to see an opera. It opened her eyes and changed her life. She knew she wanted to sing. Telling her father this, she was enrolled in a prestigious school, and while she voraciously ate all the techniques taught to her, she quickly became quite talented. In just a matter of years, she was singing as if it were second nature. Opera was her genre of choice. As she grew older, and her voice richened with maturity, she began to gain fame as a dramatic coloratura soprano. Her voice was extraordinarily rich and had great depth. She had a wonderful sense of rhythm in her singing and this carried in her performances. Many critics commented on her voice, calling it angelic, silky, and powerful. She put intense emotion into all of her performances making each one seem special, and real.

Bianca, with her elegant voice, went on to sing at opera houses and concert halls around the world, gaining fame in quick succession. Her voice was able to captivate and move people in such fantastic ways. It was at a concert in Nayeli, that her life changed yet again. She discovered the power of the fonatie through her singing.

She had been preparing for a scene in which her character was cursing her mortal enemy. It was to her shock and horror that after she had sung the song for rehearsal, the man who played the villain in the opera came running and screaming onto the stage with words carved into his skin; the words Bianca had sang. No one connected it to her, as she had never had fonatie training, and the curse was blamed on a talented witch who sung opera and had hated Bianca for stealing her fame.

Keeping her power a terrible secret for years, fearing she may be sent to the frontlines of the war to attack the Altsobans, she eventually decided to ask her father for a position in a search party for Arbydros’ limbs. He pulled some strings, and she was off. It was quick and out of no where. No one expected the sudden disappearance of Bianca Schiaraletta, the renowned diva. The world was shocked. It was like she vanished into thin air. That however, was what she wanted. She had to be out of the limelight for a while, until things in the war had calmed

But how, and for how long, would she able to keep her secret safe?

Magic/Combat Style: From a young age, Bianca was taught swordplay from her brother who was in the Cratevan military. She quickly caught on, and became quite adapt with a sword. Her blade of choice: the Schiavona. The well rounded weapon gave great defense with powerful offense. As she developed her sword wielding abilities, she began to forge a style all her own. It was a beautiful style, filled with turns, jumps, arced strikes, and other fluid motions. She named it Allegro Grazioso, from an ancient language roughly meaning lively, fast, and graceful.

Though her swordsmanship is admirable, her magic power is where she shines. Finding the power of fonatie in the form of song a few years prior to the present was a great discovery. Being the established singer that she is, she had already mastered the art of opera. Applying magic to a talent she already had mastered made it that much easier for her to use and learn. She used fonatie to form music and create magically enhanced songs which acted like normal spells. She found she could amplify the effect of the magic with to the mood and tone of the song. Her mastery of the human voice allows her to articulate verses quickly and potently. Though the art of singing through fonatie is relatively unknown, Bianca is hurrying to learn more about the mysterious power.