Carmeline

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Lore Notes:

- Redeemed cultist, born into a small, sleepy village, that worshiped something very, very dark.
- Alchemist. She fights by coating her claws in concoctions, as well as throwing potions. Fights dirty and shamelessly.
- There are intricate carvings on her pearl. She hopes they'll be worn down, given enough time. Part of the ritual she was born to preform involved marking her pearl, as a symbolic pledge of her soul, to the beast she was summoning.
- She learned better far too late.
- Her old name was 'Alostua'. She doesn't use it anymore. She doubts she would like whatever it is that it translates to.
- Her runes can be read as passages to... something. She isn't sure what they translate to, but she doesn't want to try to figure out how to decode them.
- She hunts monsters, trying to atone for her role in summoning something very dark to Sorneith as a child. And yet, the beast she helped to summon grows stronger by the hour, steadily and surely as a noose around her neck.
- Maintains a book of all the odd creatures and being she's faced, trying to grow strong enough to destroy the beast.

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Good morning, Astoria. Could I interest you in a cup of tea? It isn't as good as Carmine's, but I do my best.

... that sounds... nice, actually. If you wouldn't mind, I'll take you up on that.

Sure. What kind would you like? Apparently dusk aconite is good for helping you sleep. I can give that one a shot, if you don't have a preference.

Are you trying to imply something?

Yes. You need to sleep more. Don't think I don't see you lurking around before sunrise. Are you an insomniac?

Yes, well... I'm afraid I do have a little trouble sleeping. You seem to have caught me.

Ha... likewise. I won't tell. But it's funny. Did you know I'm an alchemist?

I wasn't aware, no. What does that have to do with...?

Darksteel is a curious substance.

... oh?

They say it first received it's name from it's dark coloration, but it took on a second, more sinister tone, when alchemists realized it takes to certain kinds of enchantments eagerly. Hungrily, if you're feeling poetic. See, it absorbs magic into itself, and it holds onto it. Whatever it's enchanted with, it will grow in power the longer it's been inactive, just from sapping the ambient magic in the air. And then, finally, when the trigger is pulled, the magic will explode outwards with all the power it's collected.

That is quite interesting. I wasn't aware.

The enchantments it thrives best with, though... let's just say they aren't anything pleasant. Necromancy, most things under the Chaos umbrella, death, control... it's quite nasty business. I've run into it a couple times, you know. I know a ticking timebomb when I see it.

Darksteel is nothing good, and you're absolutely slathered in the stuff.

...I-!

Talk faster. Any sudden moves and you're dead.

I-it's not like that! It's a gift from a friend!

... a friend, huh? Well. You came to me for a story, right? I can do that. Take a seat. We're not going anywhere tonight.