Domina Rationis, Baroness of Strategy, Admiralíssima, the Dealer
Aspect 4 (5 AMPs)
Domain 0 (5 DMPs)
Realm 2 (5 RMPs)
Spirit 0 (5 SMPs)
Gifts:
Durant
Immutable
Queen's Move
Cosmic Cavalry
General's Charm
Dealer's Charm
Handicaps:
Affiliation: Code of the Wild
Virtue: Dutiful
Virtue: Confident
Restriction: Cannot lie to another Sovereign
Restriction: Cursed with disaster if she rises from her chair
Bonds:
the sanctity of her Estate (5)
the protection of the Earth (5)
Humanity's power to shape its own destiny (2)
her Anchor, Moon Johannsen (2)
her Anchor, Winter Montana (2)
her confidence in her own abilities (2)
her totally awesome hover-chair (1)
Estate: The Estate of Strategy covers all exercises of tactics, planning, and logic, especially in the areas of government, war, civil administration, and politics. It is also associated with games, specifically games of skill, and the military and its officers. Miracles of Strategy may determine an enemy's plan, create a flawless plan of action for yourself, or summon forth the troops needed to carry out that plan.
Design: Achillea, the flower of War, and Dogwood, the flower of Resurrection, crossed over the image of a black chess bishop.
Anchors:
Moon Johanssen, United Nations secretary-general
Winter Montana, information technologist and aide-de-camp
"You think me crippled? Helpless? I would not for the world rob you of your illusions… I prefer the word, 'annex.'" -Cipher, Baroness of Strategy, just before shooting.
Cipher was for seven hundred years the warrior-general of her Ymera, immaculate in battle and a peerless commander who led from the front. Her greatest achievement came when she defeated the fleeing Mimic and exemplar Black Carmine through superior maneuvering and planning; however, this also brought about her downfall. The Excrucian cursed Cipher with her dying breath, saying "For every breath you draw on your feet, ten thousand humans breathe their last." Unwilling to steal the choices of humans by fighting at the cost of their lives, and bound by her Ymera to respect the ways of the Light, Cipher now resides permanently in an amazing floating chair. She remained in a state of despair for a year before her grand reawakening and reinvention of herself.
Cipher is no longer a warrior herself, but she is still the queen of generals and the Earth's foremost tactician. It is now her duty, recognized by the Council of Four, to track Excrucian movements across the globe, to attempt to discover their plans, and to develop appropriate counters. Her goal is to predict flower rites before they begin and to alert the keepers of the relevant Estates of the danger. It also falls to her to convince her peers to participate in the plans she creates, which is most certainly an even more difficult task, as she has no special authority to match her position. Her return from tragedy has given her renewed confidence and hope, and she is difficult to daunt, even in the face of overwhelming odds.
Cipher has the body of a woman just above thirty, lean but muscular, with long black hair and a clear pale face with indeterminate eyes. Her usual attire is a semi-formal suit that resembles a military uniform without actually being one. Her more fanciful regalia for social occasions is a black-and-white suit resembling the clothes of an upscale card dealer, stamped with the mark of one of the four suits on the breast pocket. She can always be recognized, however, by her hovering chair with its complicated instruments and information screens. Her voice is deep, with the resonance of a younger woman but the authority and firmness of a much older one. She has patience for the failings of the pieces under her command, and even tolerates a certain degree of informality when off-duty, but her lenience only stretches so far. Just as she reinvented herself to escape her limitations, she expects her underlings to change in order to remove their flaws- whether willingly or kicking and screaming.
NOTE: Cipher claims the title of Baroness, to which she is not strictly entitled, by virtue of her official position.