Solinia

Name: Solinia, Fourth of the Nine.

Gender: Female

Age: 22

Occupation: Traveler; unemployed.

Height: 5'6"

Appearance:



Personality:

History: Solinia is a member of the Ring of Nine, and holds the exalted title of Fourth, or DELTA. The Ring of Nine are a small group of dissidents & would-be rulers operating out of Hisakawa with the goal of eventually usurping the Emperor and establishing a new royal line for less-than-innocent purposes. The members are ranked in descending order of weakest to strongest, with the group at large following the orders of the First, the strongest among them who holds "rightful" claim to the seat of Emperor.

While Solinia has had a largely unremarkable upbringing, as most Ephin do, socially isolated and hiding in plain sight among the populace (with varying degrees of success, over the years), she was eventually scouted out and recruited into the Ring of Nine by virtue of her talent, discretion and strength. As the final member recruited into the Nine, pushing the former Fourth out of their position, the group was able to begin enacting their plans in earnest. To this end, there was an enormous amount of work to be done, including assassinations of key individuals, kidnappings, disruption of local authorities and the establishment of informational networks and groups of "expendable" support. Solinia is tasked primarily with those final two tasks, and has since been relocated to Mistere for the purposes of preparing for future political disruption and sowing the seeds of discontent.

Since her recruitment at nineteen, she has been living in Mistere in the scummy underbelly of the city where she plays host to a sizeable underground bar & bazaar, "Our Lady of Sin", a true hive of scum & villainy where any and all criminals, undesirables and rogues are welcome - so long as they've got  cash and are able to keep their mouth shut about its existence. It is here from these groups of lowlives that Solinia has started to recruit the expandable pawns for the Nine's designs, whispering of sweet rewards and lives of luxury, appealing to covetous desires just as often as she coerces, intimidates and twists arms to get her way.

And of course, it provides a ceaseless amount of would-be food for a gluttonous Ephin to prey upon.

Still, it doesn't stop the Lady's patrons from swearing up and down that you'll find no finer place to drink, gloat and offload your ill-gotten gains, and the bar & bazaar have accumulated quite the dedicated following of individuals since their establishment three years ago.

Name of Species: Ephin

Baseline Dimension: Ephin are typically several inches shorter than adult humans, with females averaging at a taller height than males. They are almost always more slender in their "humanoid" forms.

In their "natural" forms, if they possess the capacity to make a full-insectoid transformation, their size can range from several feet in length to several hundred, with a body-width of up to seven or eight feet.

Baseline Appearance: The humanoid appearance of an Ephin varies quite wildly, but there are a few things they all have in common. They all have insectoid features, generally in the form of their "hair" (which resembles appendages, albeit sometimes vaguely) and their true face beneath their human "masks", which resembles the head of a monstrous centipede. This can range from full-centipede to barely noticeable features and any nightmarish combination in-between. Limbs may additionally take on unnatural appearances. They are covered from head to toe in a hard, black chitinous exoskeleton, and most sport antennae on their heads.

Culture/Origin of Species: As a largely solitary species with little urge to interact with eachother, Ephin don't have any particular culture. All of them are universally carnivorous however, with a particular penchant for human(oid) meat, but are not averse to cannibalism and in-particular devouring other insectoid species if the need arises. While humans are a favored course, they'll eat just about anything if it's got meat on the bones, and typically have little empathy or compassion for others, including of their own kind. Despite this they are not known for (usually) being outright malicious unless provoked, and will typically ignore humans and other "prey" species when their appetite is satisfied.

Due to their nature as predators unwilling to work alongside or cooperate with the more "civilized" races, however, they are typically not welcomed (at least not openly), and are usually shunned if not outright attacked on sight where their existence is known, primarily in their "home" region of Hisakawa. To this end many of them conceal themselves with full-body clothing and don their human "masks" in order to blend in to a degree, when travel through populated areas is necessary.

Traits:
• Ephin are naturally adept at transformation, especially partial transformation, and are capable of transforming particular bodyparts temporarily to be utilized for utilitarian or combat purposes. This usually comes in the form of wickedly sharp claws, mandibles, and sometimes additional arms.
• In their "common" humanoid disguises, Ephin maintain their extreme speed and reaction times, using this in place of raw strength to dance around attacks, catch up with prey, and other such things. They have a terrifying +3 in their Speed aspect.
• Ephin are able to - and typically do - remove the faces of their prey, fashioning them into "masks" through unknown means which they preserve and wear to hide their true nature. These faces can be "adjusted" and altered slightly at will, but will typically be "melded" to their "true" face. As a result certain inhuman features may shine through, such as segmented & strange eyes, fangs and visible mandibles when their mouths are open.
• Ephin have a natural resilience against sharp and/or piercing objects due to their chitinous exoskeletons, making it difficult to effectively use those weapons against them.
• Ephin are able to see in the dark and differentiate colors and objects in such conditions to a fine degree.
• Ephin naturally secrete a potent venom from their mouths which can be injected via bite or used to coat appendages or weapons. This venom is necrotic and causes rapid decay and death of tissue in the area of injection, as well as intense pain - that is, until the nerves are killed off. This toxin is highly resistant to healing magics, talents and abilities.
• An Ephin's natural metabolism means they are able to recuperate and restore their energy very quickly after eating.
• Ephin possess acute senses, but in-particular are known for their senses of smell and hearing.

Flaws:

• Ephin are vulnerable to blunt force trauma, and this is the prime means through which their chitinous exoskeletons can be rendered mostly useless or outright destroyed.
• Ephin almost always reek of death and rot, and while measures can be taken to lessen the stench on themselves, it can be easily picked up by those who can differentiate smells at particularly fine levels. This makes smell an easy method of detection and tracking of such creatures.
• Ephin are vulnerable to pesticides, of all things. While the effects of it will be more intense on some more than others, and vary based on the strength of the pesticide, the fact remains that even such a common household supply is an effective tool against them.
• Antivenoms for Ephin-toxins exist and are generally fairly effective, but are difficult to get ahold of, and are found primarily in Hisakawa. That said, in recent years antivenoms have been administered to major hospitals in Arka and Mistere.
• Ephin have an extremely overactive metabolism, requiring them to eat (often in excessive quantities) often. This lends to them having a general -1 to their stamina aspect.