Elysium - The Rose and Thorn

WarPoodles Characters:
Piper Klein (Ravnos)
Pahaunui (Tzimisce)
Seychelle StJames (Mortal)

Noone knows who Piper was born to, only that she was left on the steps of a catholic run orphanage when she was a baby with just her name pinned to the basket. This was the start of a rather tough life. Marys Grace Orphanage was not a fun place for kids to grow up. The Priest in charge was a cruel man and the nuns who watched over the children were quick to punish and did not tollerate anything diffrent or strange. Bad news for Piper, she was strange from a very young age.

She spent most of her time trying to climb trees or up the side of the building to get to places she shouldn't. She wuld steal anything that wasn't nailed down and became far to good at picking pockets. She would spend hours at night dancing around or singing in her room. Noone could understand why she didn't want to sleep and this behavior was met with harsh and sometimes cruel punishment. Truth was that she was scared to sleep. Her sleep was filled with night terrors which made staying awake and dealing with punishment the better option. Though her nighttime missbehaving was annnoying to those running the orphanage, they soon realised her unusual tallent for music. They offered her the chance to learn an instrument. The modivation of learning more music was tempting enough to cnvince her to behave. She spent the nights sitting silently waiting for dawn and stopped climing trees and breaking into parts of the building she shouldn't be in. Finaly when she was well behaved long enough she earned the music lessons.

At 10 years old she started the music lessons. The lessons were in the late evening and taught by a man who came to the orphanage for a few hours a weeek. Marcus Walker with his grey tophat and excentric wardrobe was a good teacher and was quick to notice her extrordinary talent. He first taught her the violin which quickly became her favorite and the instrument she became the best at. She became a joy to have around and would perform for the other kids and the staff in the orphanage. For years she learned from Marcus and he watched her grow into an exceptionaly tallented teen. His lessons became more frequent changing from a night a week to almost every night.

At 16 something strange started happening to Piper. The first time it was noticed was during one of her lessons with Marcus. As she played her violin a few drops of blood started forming on her wrists. There was no wound but the blood started to seep through the skin and drip from her wrists slowly. Horrified she screamed and droped her violin and stared at her wrists. Marcus had an odd reaction to this. He stared at her wrists and shuddered then quickly grabbed a first aid kit aand started wraping her wrists. At that moment Piper could have sworn she saw his eyes glow red. It must have been the lights though right?

The blood didn't stop. The next day when she showed one of the nuns it still was seeping through her skin. The nuns and priest were in awe as they realised that Piper was manifesting the stigmata. Just to be sure they took her to a doctor. The doctor got a specialist and after months of tests and examinations they couldn't explane the bleeding. The other children at the orphanage who never really liked her before now treated her like a freak and the nuns and priest now treated her like a precious piece of glass that might break at any moment. Her music lessons were limited to once a week again and she was kept in her room most of the time.

Taking comfort from her isolation and lonlyness with books she spent most of her time reading. A deep love of fairytales and stories grew. Her weekly lesson with Marcus was the highlight of her week and she counted the hours untill he arived. On the nights that he arived she would actualy smile. His lessons became less about music and more about just talking. He could see the effects of her isolation and her growing depression made him angry. Though really there wasn't much he could do about it. He brought her books and told her stories.

The next year at 17 years old she was looking forward to being 18 and being able to leave the dull lifeless place and explore the big world beyone. As everyone was eating dinner one evening she kept checking her watch because Marcus would be there soon. Marcus had arived early to speak with the priest a bit before the lesson. He gave Piper a small wave then started talking to the priest.

Piper looked back at her food then frowned as a drop of blood driped down into her eyes. The kids sitting near her screamed and backed away. The comotion caused the priest and Marcus to look over alarmed just in time to see Piper start to scream. Blood dripped from her forhead her wrist bandages were suddinly soaked and blood was seeping through her socks. Suddinly Piper found herself surrounded by fire. While the others watched her colaps to the ground screaming and twiching, in her mind she was in a room full of fire. The flames burned and blistered her skin. She saw children and nuns burning and clawing at the doors and windows as they dies in the flames. Then as if jerked from a dream Piper felt the cold floor and her eyes focus on the people gathered around her watching her with horror.

She looks confused and terrified and when she trys to push herself up off the floor the room spun with her dizzyness and she sliped in her own blood and colapsed back to the cold floor. Marcus was by her side and she started to babble about a fire. Everyone needed to leave this place. She knew that as surly as she knew her name was Piper. They had to leave, everyone had to leave. But they didn't understand or believe her. She was delerious. EMTs arrived and she was taken on a strecher out of the building and to the hospital. Marcus and the Priest stayed with her. She sobbed and pleaded with them to make everyone leave the orphanage. But the priest was not believing her and Marcus could do nothing.

That night a couple hours before dawn a police officer rushes into the hospital room where Piper was talking to Marcus and the priest was napping. He informed them of a horrable fire. The fire had started while everyone was sleeping and the old dried out building had burned to quickly and too hot for anyone to get out alive. Horrified Piper started sobbing while the priest stares at her in shock and fear. This was the final straw. Marcus had to do something. He put his arm around Piper and guided her to her feet. He informed the priest that he was taking Piper with him. As the priest starts to protest Marcus growls and his eyes glow red with one punch he knocks the priest completly out and as Piper yelps in fear as she sees this side of her teacher. He picks her up and takes her away.

Piper spent the next months in a deep state of shock. The vision, the fire, and learning what marcus is leaves her silent and shocked. She spends days and nights at a time just sitting in a chair in Marcus's house staring out a window. He gave her all the time she needed and waited watching her. Finaly after a while she was ready to talk. She talked with him night after night. She learned about what he was and he learned about her vision and how it felt. He told her about his life and finaly revealed his intentions. He had watched her grow up and had come to regard her as a kind of daughter. He would wait untill she was ready then he would bring her into his world.

Her 18th year slipped by then her 19th and finaly her 22nd. In these years she learned about the vampire sects. Marcus though independant had been an allie to the Cam. He was a good teacher and was open and honest with her. The good and the bad of kindred society was taught to her in a very candid way. In those years she had a few more visions each one as painful as the first and requiring time to recover. With Marcus willing to listen to her visions though they were able to avoid trouble. These years even with the visions were some of the best in her life.

When she was in her 22nd year she was ready to join his world. He first Ghouled her. Using the next years he taught her the discliplines and the skills she would need. She was introduced to other kindred and it didn't take her long to become an accepted part of the society. These years were for learning and after Marcus felt she understood enough he embraced her. In her first year as a kindred was the first time one of her visions failed her. The vision was one of watching her sire die, burned to ash by a sabbat. The problem was that she didn't see where it happened when it happened or who did it. Though they tried to be cautious all she knew was how he was to die. She couldn't stop it. And neither could he. The night he died he was out alone, without backup he stood no chance against the sabbat brujah he encountered. It was as if he had known this was the night of his death. He had left his tophat on the endtable by the door. He never left that hat anywhere usualy. Piper waited at home for him but he never came back. One night passed then two... then weeks.. then months.

Alone and knowing how he died but not where his ashes were never found. For years she was lost. She had no guidance no goals and no idea what to do. So she put on his old tophat and wandered. She moved from city to city and state to state. Finaly she arrived here.

As she was walking past an old large building just after sunset she noticed that children were playing in the buildings courtyard. Above the door was a sign reading "Hope House Orphanage". The decision was made quickly and she pushed through the gates. With some careful paperwork and ghouling of the orphanage owner she became the one in charge of the place. She spent months having the place fixxed up, gardens planted, and staff eather retrained or replaced untill the orphanage became a genuinly happy place for the children. She taught the children about music and about the streets. Every child learned how to pick pockets and the art of the con. And after the lessons each night when they were going to bed she read them stories.

Now that she is setteled in, the orphanage is fixxed up, and she is content to stay, she will have to make nice with the other kindred. Even though she is independant her sire taught her proper respect for the domain of the Cam and she will seak out the prince to show her respect.

Pahaunui was actualy born Charlotte Harper. She was born into a happy but unconventional family. Her mother was a fortune teller who unfortunatly died while giving birth to her. Her father was a sailor, the captain of a small ship called The Lady Grey. Her father named Jack Davidson raised Charlotte on his own. In a time where a girl in her situation would have been left to an orphanage or worse, she had a very good life. She spent all her time on her fathers boat with few rest stops at various ports and islands all over the world. As a young baby and child she was in the care of a Hatian nanny named Ms. Ritha who lived on the boat with the rest of the small crew.
As a young child when Charlotte wasnt helping with cleaning and learning how to maintain the boat, she was studying. Her father being a well educated man, made it a priority to teach her how to read and write early on. He taught her how to maintain a boat and to fix any mechanical problems a boat may have. Traveling from country to country and from sea to sea, she had a unique oportunity to learn about many diffrent cultures. What interested her the most though was the diffrent wildlife. Each country or island ment new animals. Charlotte soon developed a great tallent for observing and drawing the animals they saw on their adventures. While her father and the crew were busy conducting business or getting supplies she would spend days wandering the wild areas with her nanny Ms. Ritha. She would capture small birds and animals and keep them in cages on the boat untill her father made her set them free or they died. She formed a habbit of keeping journals of their adventures. In each she would detail every port or island they would stop at. She would keep drawings and diagrams of every animal they saw. Over the years she became quite the young scholar. She knew more about the world and more specificaly the wildlife of the world than most people much older than her. Naturaly over time she grew curious about the animals in a more medical way. She learned how to care for the animals and to treat their wounds. Ms. Ritha taught her all about diffrent plants and their medical uses. She also taught her many old Haitian rituals and superstitions. Charlotte learned how to keep a well stocked pharacopia of medicinal herbs, and how to test new plants for their usefulness.
By the time she was in her mid teens her talent for caring for the animals evolved into her becomming a nurse of sorts for the small crew. They would still need a real doctor for major wounds or illnesses. But for comon colds illnesses and small injuries she was competent enough. She was becomming a valuable assette to the crew and her father couldnt be prouder. The crew was comming to respect her as more than just the captains daughter. When Charlotte was nearing her twenties, she was entering the happiest time of her life. The crew valued her, her father was proud of her, Ms Ritha had changed from nanny to good friend and mentor and her journals detailing the wildlife of the worlds islands were being published a scientific publications. Then, the worst happened. Some would say they had been lucky sofar in all their travels, to avoid such things. But to Charlotte it was the end. Just off the coast of a small island chain in the south pacific the ship was caught in a storm. The ocean became an unforgiving vortex of chaotic waves and wind. Though the crew scrambled to keep everything together the ship was smashed by the waves and tossed into an unseen bed of jagged rocks. Knocked unconscious Charlotte woke to find herself alone, floating on the remains of part of the boats deck. The clouds were gone and the sun was as scorching as the water was cold. All she could see was miles of ocean in every direction. She drifted for two days. Every hour she drifted she lost hope. She spoted no boats on the horizon, and even more worrying she spoted no other survivors from her ship. She was alone. Starving, and even worse dehydrated, delerium started to set in on the thrid day. The sun burned her and the water froze her. She was finaly considering the tempting possibility of letting go of the wood she clung to and just letting herself sink. She preyed for a shark to come and end things. As the sun set on that third day, she finaly broke. Hope was gone and she wanted to end on her own terms. She let go. Deep under the water where the sun didnt reach a monster lurked. He had seen the storm. He had watched the boat smash to bits. He had watched the crew die. Most had died quickly, drowned or smashed on rocks. But one, a girl no less, hung on. She had survived. This was interesting, the first 12 hours she should give up. But 12 hours came and went, then a day, then two days. She could be strong enough. On the third day when she decided to let go, he decided to take her. As Charlotte let go of the planks of wood and layed back in the water she closed her eyes and let herself sink. She felt the water enfold her in its cold embrace and she smiled. She was weightless, a bodyless mind sinking into a cold dark abyss. As she prepared to take in a lungfull of water she felt arms curl around her. Surly these were the arms of Death. She felt herself being pulled down. As pressure built up she lost conscienceness. This must be the end. She gasped. Wait... she gasped? Her lungs filled with a rush of wonderful cold air. She felt cold stone under her. She was alive! But where was she. Opening her eyes slowly she focused on stone walls and tall thin bars. She sat up taking in her suroundings. She felt stronger than she should. After so long drifting at sea she should hardly be able to move. But she felt oddly fine. "Your awake my pet" a cold whispered voice came from a strangly tall alien looking man staring at her from outside the cage she was in. This was the begining of her new life and the end of Charlotte. From this point on she was changed. The man was known as Aremata Rorud (the demon of big waves) and he renamed her Pahaunui (devowerer of shipwrecked sailors). The first years Pahaunui was broken. Torture, drowning, and isolation were used to break her spirit and to fuel the inner rage that would become the beast. He kept her in his haven, a cave on an island off the coast of africa as his ghoul for years. Her only company being Aremata Rorud himself. Once she was properly broken he finaly embraced her. For the next 10 years she stayed with her sire, learning about the sabbat and tzimisce history. She was only ever seen outside the cave in the company of her sire. Aremata Rorud was the ductus of a small but respected pack in south africa. The other Sabbat in the area feared and respected him and by association they respected Pahaunui. She was ambitious in nature and it didnt take long for her to learn all she could about her new world. As a recruit even with a well respected sire, she had to fight to proove herself each night. She was ordered to learn as much as possible about Sabbat history, Tzimisce history, and all she could of the Sabbats enemy ((sabbat and tzimisce lore 3 and cam lore 2)) and to endure the test of fire before she would be made a True sabbat. It took her years to learn all she needed. Some of the basic histories were easy to learn others took some favors to be exchanged. During this time she also trained in flesh and bone crafting and her natural understanding of animals became the bassis to learning Animalism. She would gather animals and learn to controle them and communicate with them. Then once they were in her controle she would practice her flesh and bone crafting on them.
After years of learning and training there was verry little left of Charlotte in her. She was becomming one of the best in the area with Vissicitude and noone had better controle of animals. She invested in a large dive boat where she spent most of her time and she started to push her Vissicitude skills further by practicing her craft on humans. Unfortunatly this prooved fatal to most humans she tried it on. One however was stronger than most, physicaly atleast. He became her pet project. After years of modification he lost his mind but his body became that of a monster. She kept this man who she now calls kracken on her boat along with her favorite animals. Though her reputation was growing in the area and she could easily gain a position of power, maybe even start her own pack she decided that she needed to move on. So she packed her things onto her boat and moved on. Along with Marco (her monkey), Squeek (her rat), Brian and Dave (her dogs) and Kraken (her Human creature), she set off for New York to see what she can make of herself.

Seychelle St James, it seemed like a good enough name to her. It is a name she has had for only a week and she found it printed on a travel brochure she found in the trash littering an alley. Her story here begins and ends on a dark deserted road that winds through the forest and wild fields. Atleastt that is what the papers said about her. She was found by a farmer as he traveled the old rroad heading to the nearest town. She had been laying on the side of the road unconsious brused and bleeding. Her feet were bare laserated and blistered as if she had walked for miles with no shoes. Herr body is thin and malnourished and the farmer was shocked when he found that she was still alive. She was brought to the hospital where police and doctors had many questions... her answers were so strange they were un believable. After a weak of question and confusion a news paper article was printed asking the public for assistance in figuring out who this girl was and where she is from. These answers never come. The longer she is kept in the hospital the more adgitated she became. She refused medications and after the article was published she paniced and broke out of the hospital dissapearing into the city.

Where she came from was a mystery to her as much as anyone. She had no idea who her parents were. Sometimes vague hazy memorys of a woman or a man reading to her or talking to her would flash through her dreams but these were just dreams now. She was a gifted child tested as a todler to be a genious. Her future was promising even at such a young age. Even then she could see how the most complex machines and electronics work. She was working on mathmatical equasions while most kind her age were learning to read go dog go. This unusual mind was what got the attention of some very bad people though.

At 4 years old she was taken from the park. A split second of distraction from her nanny and she was gone. That moment was the moment they had been following and waiting for. She was taken to the compound. Located deep in the forest protected by tall barbed wire fences and miles of uninhabited forest, it was no place for a child to be raised. She was needed for their plans though.

Consisting of 78 people the group called themselves "New Eden". The leader known only as The Father was a cruel but very smart man with sadistic and megalomaniacle goals. The second in command known as Law Man was the head enforcer of the rules. With a twisted belief that they would be the only people left in the world not posessed by a demonic swarm, they were on a mission to prepare. This girl would be just what they needed. They just had to train her to do what they wanted her to do. For the first few years they kept her living with the general population of followers. However once her crying and begging to go home started to give the followers bad ideas about what is right and wrong, they moved her to the labs.

Located in the sub basement of the compound the lab was fitted with a small cell that contained a cot to sleep on a toilet and a small work desk. The lab itself was just 4 long tables one for drafting weapon and technological designs the rest were for building. The "doctors" were ordered to only instruct the girl on what to do. She was to learn about all the weapons, and technology they would need for the comming demon swarm. Dr Raburn was put in charge of the girl. This was probably the worst decision made abouther thus far. The doctor was a sadisticmad man. His meathods for teaching her were violent and cruel. When she wasn't sitting at one of the work tables working on weapons and tech for the compound she was in her cell trying to sleep and hoping she wouldn't wake up. She was modivated with pain to learn faster and to build faster. She was fed just enough to keep her going but keep her lethargic and controlable.

Forced to live hidden away from the world for years all hope of rescue slowly left her mind. The slightest action that was considered rebelious weather real or imagined by the doctor was met with brutal torture like punishments. Her name was replaced by numbers branded into her arm. She was known there only as 325 and her real name was forced from her memory as the years creeped by. Her work had to be perfect, any failings with her weapons or tech would be met with the harshest of punishments.

For most this kind of life would push them completly over the edge. Sanity would break and all hope would fade into the years. But she was diffrent. Her mind was exceptional. She kept a hold on her hope and turned her crushing dispare into anger. She spent every moment planing in her head. Her escape would come one day and she would one day burn them down to the ground. It wouldn't be easy and without a great deal of luck she would die in the attempt. She was smart though. Too smart. The Father the doctor Law man, none of them knew exactly how smart she was nor did they realise that her cooperation was an act. They were confident that they had broken her. So when she was 18 they finaly started allowing her to leave the lab sometimes. She spent an hour or two each night eating dinner withthe rest of the people kept there and walking around the fenced in outside area. Every chance she got she would steal small items she knew she would need to escape. It took years for her to gather supplies. Rope, a knife, a small pare of bolt cutters, and some small vials of chemicals. Such a short list but each item had to be taken and carefully hidden away in a hole in the wall near the fence. It took close to 3 years to gather what she needed and her actions to remain unnoticed.

It took another year for just the right kind of distraction to present itself. Giving her the chance to put her plan into action. On that night there was a fire in the kitchen. As everyone scrambled to put it out she used the chemicals to create a smoke screen of toxic gas blocking the exit doors to buy her extra time. She used the bolt cutters to first get into the weapons shed and get herself a couple of modified colt revolvers. They were The Fathers favorite guns so they were perfect. Using the rope she climed the fence though as she was nearing the top she could hear voices from inside the compound yelling to find her. She rushed herself maybe a bit much and managed to cut her legs up badly on the barbed wire. But she got over. She was outside the compound.

Now she just had miles of forest and wild fields to find her way through. She ran at first. She ran as fast as she could through the trees, ignoring the pain in her lacerated legs and her bare feet on the forest ground. She ran for miles untill her body could not run any more. Infact she had run so far and so fast she could do little more than colaps into a heap curled up in an indentation under a fallen tree. She sliped into unconsciousness and slept for who knows how long. Could have been minutes or it could have been days. Luck was on her side though. The people from the compound looking for her had headed in the wrong direction and this gave her a head start.

When she came to she almost screamed. For a moment she was still stuck in a dream that she had faled to get away. She managed to keep herself from yelling out as she realised she was still under that tree and not in the lab. She was so thirsty though and panic nearly set in when she tried to stand up. As she pushed herself up her head spun as her exausted body protested the movement. She could hardly walk, hell she could hardly stand. But she had to keep going. The sound of a small stream catches her atention and she crawls towards it. Reaching the water she scoops it up drinking untill the cold water fills her. Up. The water gave her just enough energy to start walking again. So she walked. She didn't know where she was going even she only knew she was moving away from the compound.

It took a few days walking or sometimes crawling to make it through the woods. By the time she steped out of the trees to the fields she was delerious with hunger dehydration and exaustion. She moved almost zombie like over the rocky ground. One foot infront of the other. One step further was all she could think. She doesn't even realise she had reached a road when she colapsed unconscious. This was where her life started. On an old road winding through the moores.

She knows one day they might find her. She is sure they are looking. So she has to keep building and keep moving. She wanders the streets now searching alleys and dumpsters for old electronics she can use for parts and building helpful and sometimes comforting devices. She rairly stays in one place too long moving from abandoned building to abandoned building.