Tianxia:Sylvaine Delacroix

Background
--Early Beginnings in France-- 

Sometime during the early 12th century, in a small village of Southern France, a Soucouyant had begun her existence, probably a somewhat wretched thing at first. In the cover of darkness, she would sneak into homes and drain blood from unsuspecting victims. At the first sign of the sun on the horizon, she would hide in abandoned caves or buildings to escape the light. This continued relatively unnoticed for a while, until she had accidentally killed someone with her insatiable hunger. She was still more or less a fledgling being at the time and feared the consequences of leaving a body for someone to find in the morning. Despite being inexperienced, she was crafty and resourceful, she forced her spectral form into other’s body, etching herself into the freshly drained corpse. As she integrated herself into it a little more, intending on gaining more control so she could move it elsewhere, she found that the body’s memories were accessible to her. With a wicked grin, she determined that she could use this body to interact freely with the humans in the area. And so, she did, using her newly obtained body to manipulate other humans into doing what she wished for her own amusement. She impersonated the woman she had killed for a while before getting bored with her persona and working her up to a staged death so that she could go and pretend to be someone else.

She went through several different personas during the next 200 years or so, using each one to gain something that she wanted from someone else. And, eventually, she had managed to collect a small number of supposed “artifacts” and grimoires with which she could play with and use to her advantage. She had a very prominent talent for magic, delving mostly into the darker side of anything that she managed to get her hands on. There were a few others similar to herself, magicians, whom she used to gain more and more knowledge. --The Hundred Years’ War--  In 1337, word got to her about supposed conflict between England and France, opening up a vast number of opportunities for her. In truth, she had no preference in who actually won, and thus played around on both sides as fairly prominent people, pushing the balance of things haphazardly. It was good fun, after all. Soon enough, she even decided to shed any disguise at all and torment soldiers in their camps at night. The things she did here were rather horrible, carving people up while they slept and using their remains to create necromantic monstrosities. She could build her own army if she really wanted, but such a thing would attract far too much attention. Even something like this was probably a bit too much, as word started going around about a monster called ‘The Blood Mother’ due to her apparent control of blood-- which she used as a weapon, more often than not. It was around this time that she visited a military camp occupied by Joan of Arc, though she didn’t know that at the time. She went about her business, collecting parts that she could use for necromancy from the various soldiers there when she is confronted by the saint. She called a group of soldiers that were awake on watch as well as roused some of those that were still asleep to apprehend this “Blood Mother”, but, of course, she wouldn’t have any of that. She simply smiled as she began practically slaughtering all the soldiers that got in her way, as none of their attacks were able to deal any damage. Even so, she didn’t wish to stay too long, lest they find some other way to damage or detain her, and thus fled. Though, she had to admit that she was surprised to see that a woman was commanding soldiers, a very curious thing.

Her vague interest in this woman showed up not too long after, as she has since became a ‘mistress’ of Philip the Good under the name of Sylvaine Béringer. Using her web of sources, she eventually pinned down Joan of Arc’s location and gave it to Philip. With that information, his troops succeeded in capturing the saint. Of course, Sylvaine was a little bit disappointed, she had expected the capture to either fail or be terribly difficult. She didn’t really think about it much after that, however. True to her nature, she swiped Philip’s collar of firesteels before vanishing without a trace, leaving no notable impact on events for more than 300 years. --French Revolution--  However, the brewing of volatile events brought her back to the surface yet again as political and social upheaval became imminent. She found an opportunity in Theroigne de Mericourt. After killing her and assuming her identity, she pushed towards equal rights for women in France, as having equal rights would offer her more opportunities in future endeavors. This also offered her opportunities to get right into the thick of trouble. At the same time, she managed to create a look-alike to attend debates and other proceedings at the National Assembly. By all accounts, this was probably one of her favorite times in history, as there was so much to do.

Her look-alike was actually captured in Liege in 1790 by the Austrian government due to the talk of Theroigne’s involvement in the Revolution. Sylvaine was able to manage the fake version of her skin while it was imprisoned, but was not able to run any maintenance on it, and thus it began to deteriorate. Luckily, it was released the next year after she managed to manipulate the interrogator’s thinking. She then returned to Paris, where she was welcomed as a hero. A silly thought, given who Sylvaine really is. Her attempt to use the event as leverage didn’t quite work as she had planned, however. She continued to let the look-alike she had created manage speeches and other trivial things with her instruction. The skin was beaten severely by Jacobins and Sylvaine allowed the damaged skin to whatever fate they had left for it, as she had finished using the persona of Theroigne de Mericourt. --Caroline Lacroix--  Just before the turn of the 18th century, Sylvaine seized an opportunity to use the king of Belgium to obtain large sums of money and live in luxury, as she had grown tired of living where ever was available and secluded. She seized the body of a girl known as Blanche Zélia Joséphine Delacroix (Caroline Lacroix). Using this identity, she was able to seduce the king and obtain large sums of money. She was deeply unpopular with the people of Belgium for this, but it isn’t like she cared very much, as she was going to do what SHE wanted to do. At the same time, she held a semi-close relationship with the man known as Antoine-Emmanuel Durrieux, whom she worked with on the side.

Sylvaine found that she rather enjoyed the personality of Caroline, although the fact that she had to pretend to be uneducated did get on her nerves from time to time. Still, it was during this time that she was probably the most laid back and carefree, not managing any sort of war-time events.The king died not too long after their marriage, however, and she was free to do as she wished without any sort of commitment to the throne. She lived a nice lifestyle until she eventually gave up the persona in 1948, though she opted to keep Caroline’s last name as her own, as a reminder of that time period. --Maison de Sauveterre--  Once again, Sylvaine disappeared for a while with no notable interaction until some time around 2012 where she came into the possession of the body of one Inès Géroux, a handmaid for a youkai lord of a rural province in southern France. This lord was actually a somewhat notable person in the youkai circles of the area, often being present in councils and hearings that came with group decisions. Using this close position as a handmaid, she subtly ensnared the lord with a hypnotic spell that allowed her to manipulate him as she saw fit. With him, she could influence the youkai society of all of France without any sort of risk to herself. She’s been staying there for two years in incognito, monitoring the affairs of the mystical in the outside world.

Personality
Most of the time, Sylvaine’s true colors are never seen, as she hides within the skin of another for large portions of time. She tends to take on the personality of whomever’s skin she is wearing at the time, so as not to arouse any suspicion. Of course, if she knows someone else is already onto her, she may let a little of her true self shine through. However, in the case that one meets her without her human skin, she can be accurately described as manipulative and wicked. Mockery and insults would be her game, then. She is haughty and condescending to any who might get in her way. At the same time, she is conscious of those who may prove to be a useful ally, and as such goes out of her way to behave a little more...refined.

She is probably as ‘immoral’ as one could think to be, at least to humans. While she knows of the existence of kami and other god-like beings, she finds the concept of religion laughable, a pointless endeavor that the weak use to fill the voids in their lives that they cannot fill themselves. She thinks so little of the humans around her that she often tries to set up ‘accidents’ that make their lives miserable; sort of a hobby of hers, really. “A cup of lies, a teaspoon of slander, and a dash of treason thrown into the oven for a little while will make a fine dish, it only gets better as you let it sit and fester and rot; so long as you have the stomach for it, that is.”

Sylvaine is a very quick witted and resourceful person, often times equating life to a very long game of chess. “If one does not plan ahead, they might lose a piece. And once you lose a piece, it is very hard to get it back. What do I mean by that, you ask? Quite simply, you use the little thing in your head called a brain; if you do that, you can’t go wrong.” She does have a very cynical approach to things, not batting an eye if she has to step on people to get what she wants. This, combined with her habit of deceit, means that one should be careful when dealing with her, lest they get snared in one of her webs and can’t get out again.

Power/Combat
--A brief overview on Soucouyants--  Soucouyants are essentially like a combination of a magician and a vampire, having abilities and qualities of both, though to a somewhat lesser degree. For example, they feed on the blood of humans and have an aversion to sunlight, they also possess the natural speed and strength that might be associated with a vampire. Their comparison to magicians is slightly less, as they are not nearly as broadly stationed with magic as a magician might be. In fact, most of their dealings are limited to what might be called “black magic”. Under this bestiary alone, they could be called similar to a magician. Things like hypnotic mind puppetry, sanguimancy, necromancy, the summoning of spirits, possibly body manipulation are all things that a soucouyant might be comfortable with to varying degrees of efficiency depending on their age and power.

Something that sets them apart from vampires and magicians is the ability to become a mass of spectral flame-like energy. Because of this, simple physical attacks are generally useless against them unless they are residing within human skin. This form allows them to slip through the narrowest of crevices to infiltrate homes in order to feed. Unlike fire, this form does not burn when touched, as it is not actual fire. Instead, it feels somewhat cold. A soucouyant is capable of changing the shape of this form to whatever they wish, such as pointed tendrils to puncture the skin and cause bleeding. Like this, they can simply sponge up the blood, sometimes forcing their spectral form inside the veins of the prey, often resulting in death as the prey is sucked dry. After feeding, this spectral form goes from being a silvery gray, to a blood red.

Although this form exists, soucouyants do have a humanoid shape and a body of their own. This is only seen when they do not have a skin to wear, or when they wish to do battle without risking damage to the skin. By wearing the skin, soucouyants gain the memories of the skin’s previous owner-- after casting a spell to engage this effect, that is.

Sylvaine is a fine example of her race, possessing both superhuman speed and strength, as well as some of the more feared forms of dark magic. From her station in the castle, she often brings in corpses to experiment on, creating necromantic monstrosities from patchwork parts. In particular, the corpses of people who were known to be powerful interest her the most, as they would already have a fair deal of inherent power remaining from when they were alive. She searches for the burial locations of such people, and isn’t above grave robbing to get what she desires. She also harnesses the power of spirits to do various things. She cannot modify them as with corpses, but she can override their conscious thought if she wishes, programming them to do certain tasks.

-Mind puppetry is probably her favorite ability, however, as it allows her to ensnare people to her will and have them do as she wishes. This ability is not perfect, as she must maintain a certain balance; if she pushes too much, the target may realize what is going on and wall off their mind, making forcing her way in very difficult. She must be subtle if it is to work properly. Once done, however, she can probably manipulate the target in any way that she wishes through suggestion. It should be noted that the nature of this particular spell makes it nearly worthless in a combat situation.

-Physical body manipulation, on the other hand, is very much usable in combat. Essentially, it allows her to grab control over the muscles in another’s body. Unless they resist her, she can manipulate them like one would a real puppet. It’s difficult to maintain control if someone is actively resisting, but it can serve to open up holes in their defense and generally mess up any attacks they may attempt.

-Sanguimancy: The art of blood manipulation. Using this school of magic, one could move and mold blood into different shapes, as one might do with water manipulation. By focusing the pressure of the blood and shaping it into a point, one could make a dagger or perhaps tendrils and some other things. This power is most dangerous when used on blood that is inside the body of another person, as one could easily cause heavy internal damage. Using someone’s own blood as a sort of spike, you could simply pierce their heart from the inside out. It’s questionable as to whether or not this can actually be done, however, as many sanguimancers have trouble moving blood that they cannot see. For they who might have figured it out, it is a valuable secret.

-Manipulation of “Truth”: While this may sound like a reality warping power, it actually operates on a much simpler scale. It is the power to alter and influence what others see as ‘truth’. She cannot change facts, but she may change someone’s view and understanding of said facts, allowing her to push the reasoning of someone in any way she wishes. For example, if someone believes her to be their enemy, she may twist their standards of exactly what an enemy is to them, making her no longer appear as a threat. Similarly, she could alter someone’s view on what exactly a friend is, possibly causing them to consider her to be their friend. It is not a power that lends itself to combat, but it may be useful in disengaging a fight. A power worthy of her manipulative tendencies.

Weapons and Artifacts
-Coffin of Unending Dead: A relatively simple artifact that is essentially a storage device. It is here that she keeps all of her necromantic creations, ready for use. It is capable of shrinking in size, allowing it to be hidden away.

-Eye of Revelations: A particularly disturbing artifact that is capable of boring into the consciousness of others, gazing upon hidden feelings or intentions. In addition, this can be used as a device of temptation, as it promises things that might be considered desirable to the target. If they should give into this, however, they may find themselves in a great deal of trouble as it leeches power away from them. If they withhold their integrity, however, it is harmless aside from any information it may yield to its owner.

-Courtain: The broken sword of Ogier the Dane that now serves more as a dagger than a sword. It is said to be incredibly sharp, being of the same make and temper as its sister sword, Durendal, easily slicing through just about anything. Supposedly, it can cut without making physical contact. Additionally, the sword is more recently called Curtana, and it is considered to be 'The Sword of Mercy'. In a way, this could be considered true, as a direct hit from Curtana would likely be an instant death blow.

Spellcards
None currently

Major
-Cyril de Sauveterre: The youkai lord of the castle that Sylvaine currently lives in. She has successfully casted a hypnotic spell over him and uses his influence to benefit herself. To the eyes of everyone else, she is his personal hand maid using the skin of Inès Géroux, but she uses this position to whisper suggestions to him in secrecy.

Minor
N/A

Trivia
-Like vampires, soucouyants can reproduce by converting a human, with only a slight difference to the process vampires use. In order for a soucouyant to turn someone, they must drain almost all of the target’s blood, as with vampires, but they must then breathe some of their ghostly form into the lungs of the target as they breathe their dying breath. If done correctly, they will become a soucouyant.

-Her last name means “of the cross”, which she finds very funny, given that she thinks religion is for fools and weaklings. It’s a very misleading name.