Ebon-Ashe
Ebon-Ashe appreciates being known as a cynical sadist. Her reputation for torture preceeds herself. Though, she characteristically only does things when it suits her purpose. If she cannot benefit from a situation, she does not do anything about it but rather lets things work out as they would were she not even there. In the case she can benefit from things, she does take action, whether good or bad; though generally, her best interest involves letting others suffer unnecessarily. Because of her selfish personality, others suffer unnecessarily. Combining her apathy with her affinity for torturing those who do get in the way of her latest pursuit and the rumors of her being a sadist bleed true.
Contents
Common Name
Ebon-Ashe
Ebon-Ashe has no surname. Though, she and the Golden Griffon's barkeeper are privy to an inside joke-- he calls her "Madame Angelicos" or "Mrs. Angelcos" because she's married to Curulan. (Believing Curulan to be irritated by such a name, Ebon lets the barkeep refer to her in this manner.)
Ebon-Ashe's parents believed in the power of names. As a young girl, she had a firey spirit that often left ashes in the wake of her temper. They knew she'd need a name that would fuel this fire and protect her from it as well. The name they gave her was Ebon-Ashe. "Ebon" for the ebony stone, obsidian, which is said to bring out your warrior spirit and "Ashe" to remind her to control her temper. Obsidian is also associated with the following attributes: vigor, strength, stamina, constancy, steadfastness, permanence , tenacity, firmness, durability, courage, and self-control.
Taking a certain pride in her name, Ebon-Ashe is pleased that it has become so reknown.
Her name has also been shortened to "Ebon" or, simply, "EA".
Full Title and Rank
- Seneschal (DC Character rank)
- Archon of Shadows (Titan Role Play title)
- Former General of Hell's Army (Pre-Titan days-- Character History related)
- The Masked Lady (Pre-Titan days-- Character History related)
- Mistress of Mayhem (Pre-Titan days-- Self Given Title)
- Tempestuous Rogue (Forum Title)
Race
Elf
Magical Affinity
Military Division/Rank
Ability
Ebon-Ashe is a master class swordsman, having gotten her start in war early on in life as a mercenary and later worked her way up in Hell's Army. After resigning her post in Hell's Army, she transitioned to the life of an assassin disguised as a harlot, learning to hide pain and death through the pleasantries and lust of men. She picked up an affinity for poisons-- taking a fancy for arsenic and building up an immunity to the toxin. Almost being discovered, she vanished into the underground society living off the money she'd earned in her prior employ. When she resurfaced again, she tried her hand at petty thievery breaking into houses, safes, or anything rumored to hold great treasure.
Ebon-Ashe has no formal training in magic. Though she is an elf and possesses some, underdeveloped magic as inherited by her race she has no knowledge of how to tap into that power and use it.
Physiology
Ebon-Ashe is a female of average stature (5'9" or ~167cm). She has a muscular build masked by her slight and lithe appearance. Her figure is very feminine and curves in all the right places. Straight, raven colored hair hangs down to the middle of her back. It is kept neatly groomed and, during battle, it is tied back with a leather cord or plaited. Her eyes are normally dark brown (nearly black), though when she is infuriated and blood-lusting, they take on a deep red hue. Though she appears to be in her late 20's in human years, she is actually 74 years old. Since elves are a long-lived race, she has many years yet to live. In elf culture, Ebon-Ashe would be considered a young adult.
Normal attire for Ebon-Ashe consists of a darkly colored cloak (with a hood), black or dark brown breeches, black leather boots, and white chemise beneath a red, navy or black corset. Her breeches are suspended by a sturdy, leather belt which also loops through a few pouches and sword sheath emblazoned with her sigil-- a stylized "E" and "A". Throwing knives are usually hidden beneath the cuffs of a pair of black, leather bracers that lace up the back of her wrists. Her infamous silver dagger, "Hell's Fire" is always at ready in the sheath at her right side. Agile body, nimble fingers, and quick wit make this beauty a nasty opponent. Beware!
History
Ebon ran away from her farmer parents at age 9 to get a job as an errand boy in the local tavern. Her dad came to get her, but she evaded him by hiding in a passing caravan of mercenaries (mercs) on their way to battle. She was found and spent years in service of the mercs where she picked up a little sword fighting by watching others and practicing on her own.
As she came of age, her fighting skills came in handy when she beat to death one of the semi-elite regulars who was trying to molest her. This event led to the start of her actual training in sword and the "art" of killing. One particular war the mercs had hired themselves out to be a part in an army, later to become Hell's Army which she rose through the ranks in.
She helped bail Satan out once when 11 of his finest lieutenants and one general (13 if you count EA) conspired against Satan to overthrow him-- causing confusion between their ranks by spreading false information and lies, weakening the inner structure of the conspiracy. In the end, Satan rewarded her with a dagger containing the souls of the 12 conspirators and she became general of Hell's Army.
Eventually, EA became tired of the tedium of war and left the ranks of her army. She used her knowledge of death and destruction to become an assassin working mainly out of Bordellos or red moon houses, where men would indulge themselves and drop their guard allowing for an easy kill and even easier disposal. (Women were much easier to kill outside that). It is here she met up with the underground society of thieves. When her cover wore thin, she left public eye for a while, and began to learn the art of theft and poisons and less discrete methods of killing, stealing, and slinking around-- as well as how to cheat at games involving runes and cards without getting caught.
When she resurfaced, Ebon-Ashe was a skilled rogue. Though her greed for plunder ended up with her on the bad side of a powerful wizard, who cursed her. This curse is the reason for her joining Titan-- being unable to venture far from or harm one carnelianfire.
Presently, she serves Titan as the Archon of Shadows (leader of the thieves). To what extent she serves is unknown, as she still tends to do things more for personal gain rather than the betterment of Titan. However, since she travels frequently to monitor the progress of her schemes and keep tabs on Titan's thieves, she is able to hear pertinent information and pass it on to the proper authorities if she feels it necessary.
Mannerisms
Ebon-Ashe loves to bite off more than she can chew, which sometimes gets her into a bit of trouble-- great profit can only come with great risk and she's not afraid of risk. She will never admit, however, when she is wrong and you will have a difficult time convincing her without the use of brute force.
She loves to threaten people, when they get in her way, but has the tendency to lose interest in carrying out the threats. If you manage to anger her, she will often be the victim of her own rage and act carelessly. Her rage and her thrill for battle give her an uncanny lust for blood surpassed only by that of a Berserker or Nosferatu.
Also, I feel it prudent to mention Ebon's Prejudice against magic users here. Her prejudice spawns from the curse enacted upon her by a mage as well as her own lack of magical prowess. The only exception to her prejudice is Twist, whom has often used his magic to benefit, rather than punish her.
Properties of Choice
Hell's Fire
Hell's Fire is the silver dagger Ebon-Ashe always carries. She uses it mostly for close encounters, but also prefers this blade when confronting foes because of the personal connection it gives one with their victim. She also loves the clean, sharp edge of this blade.
Description:The dagger's pommel is a solid skull with hollow eyes and a mouth that, from one angle, appears as though it's eating the sword. Two snakes protrude from the skull's mouth and spiral up to form the grip before separating into the blade's hand guard on either side. The snakes' scales make an excellent grip for the wielder of this blade. The blade emerges from the separation point of the two snakes. It has two cutting edges and forms a surgeon-like point at the end.
Origins: The dagger was forged by Hades himself in the fires of Hell. In it are the former Lieutenants of Hell's Army. Any damage done to the dagger would quite literally unleash Hell. Therefore, the dagger is specially designed to be immune to magic of all natures. While the dagger itself is immune to magic, this property does not fully transfer over to the wielder. Instead, it only makes the effects of magic on the wielder slow to a crawl. The only way to destroy the dagger would be to melt it down into something else. Even then, one would risk the release of 12 very angry and blood lusting demons. For now, it remains in the hands of one very capable rogue-- the secrets of the origins of the blade held under lock-and-key to prevent unnecessary mishap (IE-Release of the trapped souls).
It is said that Hell's Fire is one of the Daggers of the Nine Hells. Though this information is only known to a select few.
Argile
Ebon-Ashe has a hellish, black destrier named Argile. His personality is as devilish as hers. Like Ebon, he doesn't enjoy the company of many people and will only allow those he really likes to ride him. He is a brute and temperamental beast, but a trusty steed both on and off the battlefield.
Appearance: Argile is a large horse, standing 24 hands (24HH) as measured from the withers. As is characteristic of destriers, Argile's hair is short and his build thicker than a Clydesdale. His back is broad and his body is dense and rounded. Argile's hind-quarters are muscular and his legs are long and strong.
Training: The strength and stamina of a destrier was desirable to Ebon-Ashe, which is why she chose this particular breed of horse as her mount. She also liked how destriers have an affinity for battle. Because of their sturdy build, they can carry heavy loads and inflict significant injury to any enemy.
Argile's battle training includes:
- The ability to respond to verbal commands from his rider.
- The ability to be guided using a rider's leg pressure in lieu of reins.
- Conditioning to automatically trample the bodies of fallen enemies.
- Conditioning to bite and kick on command.
Barding & Trapper: Only rarely does Argile wear full barding, or Horse Armor. Barding covers the head, neck, body and chest of a horse. The rear is covered with a padded cloth so it doesn't impede the horse's movement. Argile's barding is a black metal with gold filigree. The headpiece has a series of three spikes which decreasing in height along the ridge of the nose, the largest of these is near the forelock. The top chest plate also has a series of three spikes which are uniform in height. The trapper, or ornamented cloth covering, is a deep shade of crimson with the Titan Fleur-de-Lis and Griffon embroidered with gold threads and accented by black embellishments.
Misc. Weapons
Ebon-Ashe also carries several throwing knives, which are stowed up her sleeves. Her long sword, the scabbard engraved with Elven runes and her sigil, seldom parted from her. She also has a pouch containing several darts, a small blow gun, and vials of toxins with which to dip the darts. A regular steel dagger is also concealed in her boot.
Sociology
In short, Ebon-Ashe hates everyone. Though, there are a few exceptions to this hatred.
Ebon holds a special bond with Twist, a mage who has often used his magic to benefit her. They both enjoy tourmenting others for personal gratification. They both also do things mostly for their own benefit.
Curulan, her husband, is one of the few people who can find ways around her bull-headedness and keep her from disrupting the quiet atmosphere of Titan. This is due in part to his magical prowess and her personal connections with him. He is more powerful than she and she respects that.
Azrael, is probably the only mage Ebon both despises and loves. She despises him because he is one of a handful of magic users in Titan who is both powerful enough to attempt to stop her and who has, on occasion, actually squelched her fun. She respects his power, but at the same time enjoys taunting him in hopes that he will reaffirm his power over her.
Tordek, while a magic user, holds a special place in her small circle of friends. He has always been ready to accept and carry out her schemes-- having been successful a vast majority of the time. Considering the risk involved in her various missions, Tordek is either very lucky or very good at what he does. Ebon-Ashe believes it is the latter.
The rest of Titan, Ebon finds to be annoying. Many Titans have resorted to petty threats or jests, which she files away so that one day, if they are ever in a spot of trouble, she will not intervene but engage in furthering their misery. Patience isn't one of Ebon's virtues, but she finds that just vengeance can aid her with the long wait before such vengeance is brutally extracted.
