Naoki [Awaiting Approval]

SL Username: circe.pennent
SL Display Name: Circe Pennent


Name: Naoki
Age: 76
Birthday: November 24
Gender: Male
Height: 1.72 m
Weight: 74.8 kg (human) 10 kg (fox)
Race: Kitsune
Species: Yokai
Origin: Kyushu, Japan
Occupation: Disgraced Guardian Spirit
Affiliation: Kinship of Harmony



Once, the world was small. There was the village, the mountain, and the sacred tree within the woods. The world was simple and natural. The tree was a sacred place of nature, not of man, a site of bounty given to the animals that lived in the woods. In storms, its roots were unmovable. In spring, the ripest berries grew near it. The animals of the forest instinctually knew to leave scraps of their food near the tree as offerings. One day, a fox stood in its shadow, staring up into the noble branches that seemed to hold up the sky itself. The reflection of those branches never left that fox's eyes, and from that day forward there were four things in this small world: the village, the mountain, the sacred tree, and the fox that watched over all three.

With these four things, the small world was complete. The fox accepted offerings from the villagers, and gave them the blessing of the tree's bounty so they too could enjoy what the creatures of the forest had. He gave them strong crops and snapped his jaws at trespassing thieves. By his vulpine nature, the fox sometimes took and tricked, but always gave more than they lost. The villagers knew to give wanderers trustwrothy enough to cross the mountain a tie of red string on their clothing, so the fox would not harm them. All others were chased away. The tree had to be protected. The fox thought nothing of what lay beyond the edge of the horizon. And he never asked the sun and moon what they saw far away. This was all that needed to exist for him to be happy.

But something came from beyond that boundary. Trade agreements. Equipment. Personnel. These things had no place in the fox's world, and so he could not conceive of the strange men and their metal beasts. He knew only that they had no red string, and so he did as was his duty. He bit their people, but they raised fences with metal thorns at the top that gored him. He stole their things but more came in boxes from beyond. He snapped at the tendons of those metal beasts, but they bled black oil that made him cough and gag. Their screaming swords tore tree upon tree apart. Their metal beasts ripped the very earth apart. The fox went to the villagers, but none gave offering or came with him to see the outsiders destroying their home. He was too young yet to take human shape or use human tongue, and so all were deaf to his cries. He stood before his sacred tree to the very end, just another reed of grass crushed under the lumber company that had purchased the land.

Now there is no fox on the mountain. The disgraced guardian took his name Naoki, etching his shame onto his back. He set out to see what lay beyond the horizon, seeking wisdom and redemption.



Positive Traits:
Insightful
Playful
Nurturing
Cunning

Negative Traits:
Mischievous
Instinctual
Anxious
Indirect

Likes:
Nature
Purity
Parenting
Autumn

Dislikes:
Rigidity
Abuse
Impatience
Covering Up

Hobbies:
Wood Carving
Meditating
Fiddle
Cooking

Facts and Quirks:
Smells eternally of autumn, spice, and berries.
When kitsune tongue twisters are used on him (ie moshi moshi) he does not even register that he cannot say them.
Being pet is a guilty pleasure for him.
Unconsciously dances to music.



Personal Inventory:
Sewing Kit
Travel Knife
Money Pouch
Simple Phone
Flask
Crank Charger + Radio
Matches

Personal Property:
Steamer Trunk - Contains his other clothes, fiddle, trinkets from his travels, an old tea set, and so on.
Motorcycle - Incredibly worn and almost half of it having been replaced
Auto Mechanic Tools

Specialized Equipment:
Prayer Beads: A string of 306 beads corresponding to temptations that stand in the way of enlightenment. This includes the traditional Buddhist 108 as well as more which Naoki regards as specific to kitsune chasing enlightenment.
Damage Type: Purified
Damage: N/A
Extra: Changes base damage type of equipped limb to Purified

Favored Leaf: Technically an extension of his essence, but can be separated. Is always pliant as if it just fell off the tree.
Extra: Tied to Last Leaf to Fall weakness and This Body Knows No Blade ability





[WHT] - White Magic: Magic based on channeling formative, cultivating occult principles that can be passed on to other magical practicioners.

Racial Abilities:

T5 Base Attack [Punches and Kicks] starts off as a Moderate per hit.

Non-Combat Abilities:

Concept of Self: Naoki is able to shift back and forth between his natural fox form and a human-esque one for which weaker kitsune are known. In both forms, he possesses a keen blend of human and animal senses, detecting distant sounds and those outside of normal human hearing with ease as well as excellent vision. He is able to communicate in both vulpine and human sound ranges in each form.
Activation: Instant

Ever in Twilight: [WHT] Naoki carries around the mark of his patron season and all its blessings manifest as a mantle about him. A gentle rustle of red and yellow leaves filter about him from nowhere. They are real leaves, plump and fresh as if they had just fallen from the tree. Further, an autumnal bent touches all magics he performs, lending the season's scents and imagery to his spellcraft. He may suppress this telling aura when he deems tact necessary.
Activation: Passive

Idol of Abundance: [WHT] Magic learned from his sacred tree. Naoki's presence is a fount of bounty. Children conceived near him are strong, healthy, and well-natured. There is a very high likelihood of twins and triplets in such cases. Plant life also grows vigorous and strong in his presence and food becomes enriched in flavor. Even alcohol tastes as if it is a higher quality than it was sealed at. These transfigurations can be enhanced by giving offerings to Naoki. If he accepts a gift, his blessings upon the person swell commensurate with its meaning to the giver.
Activation: Passive

Pain Becomes Wisdom: [WHT] Magic learned from his disgrace and renewed purpose. Heals a touched target with purifying magics. Further, the mental trauma of the wound is also softened and spiritual clarity infused. Naoki may optionally attach a lesson to the healing to invoke additional conditions. He tells a story with a relevant lesson or concept he is trying to convey to the subject and asks them to consider and enact this lesson in their lives. Defying the lesson (ie becoming violent after being told a story of pacifism) in the proceeding 24 hours causes the healing to reverse and the old wounds to return. Further, the target takes 2 minor Purified damage. Valid targets must have a soul or some manner of spiritual parallel. This requirement can be circumvented by attaching a story to it, only this time the target must significantly uphold the lesson (ie end a conflict with pacifism) or the healing is reversed and 2 Purified damage taken in 24 hours. This healing is attained by Naoki partially fox-possessing the target, substituting his own soul to work his healing magics.
Activation: Instant
Range: Touch
Effect: Heal up to 1 Heavy
Optional: Attach conditional story to healing
Limit: Target must have soul or else must have story attached and must significantly uphold it

Silk Domain: [WHT] Magic learned from Joro spiders. Naoki draws together spiritual spiderwebs from the world about him as if it were replete with them already strung about. The white magics comprising the threads are strong enough to turn away lesser spirits with ill intent, but for all others it acts to warn him of the trespass. Those who cross the threshold with ill intent in their hearts trigger the ward, feeling a faint tugging on them as a spirit thread breaks on them. Naoki immediately gets a sense of which ward was crossed and a flash of insight into the intruder. He may track the intruder for one hour afterward by the particular spiritual scent of the threads hanging on them, after which they dissipate. The insight gained might range from their intention, how many are with them, something of their nature, and so on; the target determines what is revealed as appropriate. The ward ceases once it is crossed in such a fashion. Alternatively, he may pluck the threads of this power from their place and make use of them, weaving them over time into sewing thread or rope. Such threads have no inherent magical properties, but are highly pure in nature and may be used for white magics.
Activation: 5 minutes
Effect: Warns Naoki of people crossing with ill intent, gives insight
Area: Up to 3 x 3 meters per ward
Duration: 3 days

White-Gray Soul: Naoki radiates purity and life, strongly attuned to the gentle parts of his soul. He draws his mystic insights from an abstract relationship with the world around him, peering into the widsoms contained in all manner of phenomenon and apprehending their magical underpinnings. He gains knowledge and magical acuity through this intuitive sense, though formalized practitioners will recognize that his notes and concepts take the vague shape of established practice.
Activation: Passive

Combat Abilities:

Chase the Moon: [WHT] Magic learned from the leaves of autumn. Naoki is able to scale his apparent weight to be as little as a leaf's, allowing him to gracefully leap through the air in a long and drifting arc. He may push off of things disproportionate to his size, such as the leaves that swirl about him, and leap further in the air.
Activation: Passive

Dragon's Clutch: [WHT] Magic channeled from the natural kitsune affinity for electricity. Naoki dashes forward in a blink of an eye, wreathed in electricity. He may optionally "grab" one target, moving them instantaneously to the end of his movement line into his clutches.
Activation: Instant
Effect: AoE 1 minor electric damage per round, move single target to end of path
Duration: 3 rounds
Area: 2 x 4.5 meters

Figment of Loss: [WHT] Magic learned from the stumps left behind in his forest. Naoki is able to teleport 10 meters from his present position. Naoki may optionally leave a Figment of himself when he uses this spell at either his target location or the one he leaves. Naoki may inhabit its senses and speak through it, though not move it from its position. By taking 1 Psychic Minor, Naoki may make the figment move for up to 1 minute (or 1 round in combat). The Figment goes limp (apparently unconscious) on taking damage, and white magics strike out and stun the attacker. Naoki may sense a place to stand beyond sight to teleport to, but it takes 10 minutes of concentration to do so and he has no sense of the target location's safety or geography.
Activation: Instant
Effect: Teleport 10 meters
Extra: May leave Figment at source or target location (thus Naoki does not move), stuns attacker 1 round on taking damage
Duration: 10 minutes
Limit: Max 2 simultaneous figments

Hunting Fox: Naoki has been honed by his travels and experience. Naoki's claws deal 1 Slashing Moderate damage. His bite attacks deal 1 Piercing Moderate on clampdown and Crushing damage each turn he remains attached thereafter. When he fights it reflects his animal cunning, channeling a fox-styled martial art. It favors misdirection, pain strikes, parrying, feints, and mobility.
Activation: Passive

Soul Spur: [WHT] Magic learned from barberry. Preparing as a defensive action, Naoki invokes a sacred curse on the target if they use an ability in the following post. The ability is blocked from use for 3 posts, during which white sigils float about the victim and Naoki. Mental abilities suddenly become cloudy, magic resonates poorly with the runes, and so on. The target may attempt to push through and still use their ability anyway, in which case they take 1 Moderate of Purified damage and the binding ends.
Activation: Defensive Action
Effect: Target cannot use bound ability for 3 rounds
Special: Target may opt to take 1 Moderate Purified damage to break out of seal

This Body Knows No Blade: [WHT] Magic drawn from Naoki's own soul. It burns bright and rebukes the very essence of violence, protecting him from harm. Upon beginning to channel this ability, Naoki must maintain a gentle and pacifistic nature or the protection ends. Naoki may opt to take the harm directed at others who are touching him (or a Figment of Loss illusion) onto himself instead. Similarly if someone is holding his Favored Leaf, he may absorb damage from them as if they were touching him.
Activation: 1 post
[b]Effect: Reduce incoming damage by 1 Tier, Reduce Mundane Physical damage by another 1 Tier
Limit: Naoki cannot attack or use direct damage abilities (ie may still use Soul Spur, Figment of Loss)



Racial Weakness:

Warded Against: Yokai are mainly spiritual creatures and thus they are susceptible to Holy or Purifying magics, even those considered to be “Holy” or “Pure” in affinity. Thus, all Yokai take +1 Moderate damage from Holy or Purifying damage.

Combat Weaknesses:

Alone in the Wild: One of Naoki's meals in a day must consist primarily of food that he himself has procured from nature or else stolen from someone. It may be either animal or plant, but it must be the conceptual centerpiece of the meal. Failure to do so results in Naoki becoming sickly and without appetite for anything but the above food. Each day he goes without producing food for himself in this manner makes him more and more ill, up to a maximum of 3 days at which point he shows flu-like symptoms.

Child of the Earth: His soul is bound up in nature and thus Naoki is vulnerable while separated from solid footing. Any harm that befalls Naoki midair increases by 1 Tier. This includes attacks which pick him up and slam him into the ground as well as attacks that strike him while perched on or held by another.

Doorway to the Heart: When Naoki meditates, performs sacred rites, or studies magic; his soul flares brightly within him, abandoning the protection of obscurity. Any harm that befalls him raises +2 Tiers on the initial strike.

End of Autumn: Draped in the blessings of a season, Naoki must submit to its natural end. He takes +1 Tier from Ice damage.

Gray-White Soul: Though a holy creature, Naoki is still a Yokai of the wilderness, and the priests have long handled the tools to yoke nature. Once per scene, when struck by Purifying or Holy damage, the attacker gains one extra command to issue to Naoki as per his Shackles of Yin weakness (see below) as if the attacker were a valid authority figure. Priests might use this to banish him, compel him to end his magics, assume his true form, etc. If compelled to cease using an ability, Naoki will be unable to use it for the remainder of the scene.

Last Leaf to Fall: Naoki's nature was intertwined with that of his first ward and a small piece of it stays with him to this day. He keeps a leaf from the tree on his person. Whether hanging from his mouth, hidden with fox magics, or tucked into his pants; the leaf can be found and stolen from his person. He is bound to give a single favor (up to two weeks of work) in exchange for the return of the leaf. If asked to violate his white-gray nature or if the holder refuses to hand it back on a completed task, the leaf will wither and crumble and reappear on Naoki's person, as it is not a truly an extant thing but an extension of his soul.
Note: IMs will confirm validity of a request if character is already familiar with Naoki.

Seat of Disgrace: Naoki's back tattoo is a focus for the pain and shame that still has not fully healed in him. Once per scene, when struck by at least a Moderate of Dark or Impure damage specifically targeting it (AoE is not valid), the ill magics burrow into his soul. He experiences traumatizing flashbacks of his struggle to protect the sacred grove and its destruction. He is immediately stunned for a turn. He must then reassert the peace in his heart or risk the magics rooting completely. Such efforts require the expenditure of another round to complete. If he is unable to balance himself or cannot allow himself another turn to stoke his soul, Naoki's nature inverts. The pain takes root and he becomes a black-gray-souled kitsune. In such a state, he continues to act on his priorities of protecting sacred things and those important to him, but they take a freakish and feral tone. He carves a bloody ring around anything that could threaten anything he cares about. During this time, his powers twist and take on dark attributes. Plants sicken and wither around him and his aura of fertility becomes one of sterility. Naoki remains in his inverted state for a week or else when he is rendered unconscious by Holy or Purified damage. For two weeks after recovering, he will not be vulnerable to becoming inverted, though he will still stun for one round once per scene as above.
Inverted Effects:

• Soul Spur deals Corrupt damage instead of Purified
  
• Idol of Abundance causes withering and befoulment
  
• May not use Pain Becomes Wisdom

Shackles of Yin: Naoki's soul is heavy with yin, making him a fount of peace but also prone to submission. Once per scene, a figure of authority may issues a command to Naoki. It must be swift and accomplishable in a minute or less. He cannot be compelled to violate his white-gray soul (he will not harm an innocent, leave someone vulnerable to harm, or break an oath of honor) or he will instead simply stun for 3 rounds. The authority figure must either be first or second in command of an organization of more than 50 people or else they must be an authority figure to Naoki himself (mentors, higher-ranked faction members, etc). Being in harm's way or someone coming to harm around him while compelled will immediately break the compulsion.
Note: IMs will confirm validity of a request if character is already familiar with Naoki or if the other party would like to activate this weakness with unintended orders.