Persephone
She Who Destroys
Biographical
Image by Josan Gonzalez
Name: Florence Morgenstern
Age: Twenty-eight
Sex: Female
Appearance: 5’9”/175 cm. 165 lbs/74 kg. Strong and physically fit, with developed muscles. Pale skin and fiery red hair. Piercing orange eyes. A solitary scar on the right side of her face, above her lip.
Family & Friends:
- Thomas Morgenstern - Father - 48 - Alive (Presumably in Bunker Charlotte)
- Sarah Morgenstern - Mother - 45 - Alive (Presumably in Bunker Charlotte)
- Liberty Machado - Former friend during childhood - 28 - Alive (Location unknown, presumably operating for U-ARM)
Biography:
Florence was born in Bunker Charlotte, the only daughter of two diehard U-ARM patriots whose only dream was for their daughter to grow up healthy and mutation-free. Well, they had other dreams, obviously, but those dreams came second to making sure Florence flourished and became a patriotic American, dedicated to the pursuit of liberty for all. Unfortunately for her parents, those dreams of a mutation-free daughter were dashed as Florence’s mutations started to manifest during her teenage years, with about the same reaction from her friends and family you’d expect of those in U-ARM. Mortified by the fact that somehow she’d become a subhuman freak, Florence fled the security of Bunker Charlotte, certain that she’d never be able to live a normal life. Suddenly facing all the hardships and dangers of the wasteland that Bunker life had shielded her from, Florence became an itinerant, wandering from place to place and doing whatever she could to survive.
It was during this period of survival that Florence first discovered religion, and gained the fanatical zeal that would fill her life with purpose. Standing in that cramped tent, listening to a wild-eyed preacher in raggedy clothes proclaim that it was God’s will that brought down the old world, that mankind needed to repent their sins lest they face the same fate, a fire began to stir inside Florence. The fanaticism that had once wholeheartedly praised America now began to praise God instead. That night, while contemplating the preacher’s fiery words around the warmth of her campfire, Florence (allegedly) heard the voice of God herself speak out to her from the flames. Her Lady told Florence that she would be the one to bring down her divine wrath on the sinful inhabitants of the wastes, but first she would need to gather a congregation of followers to help her purify the wastes. Shortly afterwards, the fire went out, and the next day Florence set out upon her (supposedly) God-given task.
Her mission realized, Florence began to seek out those she deemed worthy enough to purify the wastes, eventually gathering together a small congregation of ex-raiders, religious outcasts, and other disaffected miscreants unhappy with the state of the world. Along the way, she discovered the shotgun and sword she would call Hellfire and Brimstone, respectively, which would only strengthen her belief that fire was a holy symbol of God. With her congregation of followers, Florence began her mission to purify the wastes, which basically boiled down to burning small farmsteads she saw as “sinful” and attacking groups of raiders when they came across the charred ruins with the intent to loot whatever remained. Slowly but surely, her congregation made its way across the wastes, unknowingly heading towards Bunker Chicago and their doom. But in the time before that, life was good for the most part.
However, no good thing lasts forever, as Florence would soon find out when her congregation stumbled into the territory of Bosho’s Gang. The first day in Bosho’s territory, her congregation captured a few raiders they’d caught by surprise while looking for suitable targets. While the raiders did say something about their boss being a very powerful raider, Florence had no idea who Bosho was, nor did she particularly care. All she saw were a couple of raiders just begging to be purified in holy fire. Therefore, after a particularly powerful sermon in which she emphasized how God’s wrath was inescapable, she proceeded to tie the captured raiders to makeshift stakes and set them alight, as she’d done many a time before. Afterwards, the congregation celebrated their latest success with a raucous party, in which good times were had by all.
The next thing that Florence knew, she had been awoken by the sounds of battle, her congregation under attack by members of Bosho’s Gang seeking vengeance for the death of their comrades. As she watched all her holy work fall apart with as member after member of her congregation die, Florence knew that she couldn’t die just yet. Her mission was unfinished, and if she didn’t finish it, who would? So, unwilling to let herself be killed before her time, she ran as fast as she possibly could, but not before her right arm was torn apart by a hail of gunfire. Eventually, she made it to the outskirts of Bunker Chicago, where she was found by a returning patrol, barely alive. Her ruined arm was replaced by a cybernetic one built in Carolyn Antoinette’s machine shop, and it was there that she slowly recovered from her injuries. Once the mission against Bosho was announced, Florence was allowed to join up, despite being a non-citizen and having a somewhat troublesome past, on the stipulation that she be kept within the same squad as Carolyn.
Technical
Mutagens in DNA?: Yes
Mutagens Active?: Yes
Grunt: 5- Hellfire (Rank 1) - Hellfire is Florence’s personal firearm, a sawn-off shotgun that fires custom-made incendiary shells that leave her enemies bloody and burnt on the ground. It’s compact and deadly, just the way Florence likes it. With Hellfire in one hand and Brimstone in the other, Florence cuts an imposing figure in battle.
- Four Barrels of Damnation (Rank 2) - After Bosho’s Gang destroyed her congregation, Florence upgraded Hellfire by attaching an additional two barrels to the shotgun, capable of switching between single-barrel, double-barrel, and quadruple-barrel firing modes when the need arises.
- Brimstone (Rank 1) - Brimstone is a modified replica of a pre-fall Model 1860 Light Cavalry Saber that, with a flick of a switch on its hilt, can be lit ablaze with purifying fire. This effect is created by coating the blade with gasoline drawn via tubes connected directly to a tank of the flammable stuff that Florence carries on her back. Additionally, the constant coating of gasoline on the blade makes it so that any fires it starts are able to spread quite easily.
- Seraph’s Blade (Rank 2) - After her awakening and subsequent self-appointment as an angel of God, Florence decided that the current iteration of Brimstone would no longer be fit for her uses. With that in mind, she scrapped the tubes and tank that once coated it in favor of a system of vents built into the hilt and reforged the blade into a medieval arming sword, albeit one worthy of an angel rather than one wielded by any mortal man.
- Heavenly Warrior (Rank 1) - Florence’s chosen weapons don’t lend much in the way of range, and her main strengths lie in close quarters combat as a result.
Grunt Equipment- Primary Weapon: Hellfire
- Secondary Weapon(s): Brimstone
- Personal Armor: Medium Armor
- Additional Gear:
Instinct- Instinct - Too Quiet: You've survived for ages on the run, sometimes alone.No equipment to help you in this cold, terrible world. So it's all about listening for trouble, or, sometimes, the lackthereof... (Character has a small chance of automatically detecting a character in stealth near them, even if they produce no sight or sound to alert the character. This applies to both hostile and friendly targets.)
Listener: 7- Sacred Flesh (Rank 1) - Florence’s body has become rather tough, able to take a few hits in melee combat before any real damage is done.
- Holy Skin (Rank 2) - Florence’s body can now shrug off most melee attacks with ease, although gunfire, whether it consists of small or large caliber rounds, still poses a serious threat to her.
- Angelic Protection (Rank 3) - After her enlightenment, Florence is well-protected even without armor, her body having hardened to the point that melee attacks are ineffective and she can survive getting hit by small arms fire.
- Seraph’s Blessing (Rank 4) - As a self-proclaimed angel of God, Florence has found that even the most intense of flames are now mere hindrances to her, able to move through them with ease.
- Angelic Rejuvenation (Rank 1) - Florence’s body has a natural healing factor, quickly healing minor cuts and other injuries, while taking slightly longer to heal more serious injuries such as broken bones and minor missing appendages (fingers, toes, etc.). Nothing like the restoration of a limb, however.
- Divine Healing (Rank 2) - Florence’s healing is now improved, able to regrow limbs and other such extremities, albeit over a longer period of time than it takes to heal more minor wounds.
- Wings of the Seraphim (Rank 1) - As a result of her awakening, Florence has sprouted a grotesque pair of wings on her back, capable of flight and covered in stretched-out human skin. When necessary, Florence is able to fold them against her back to conceal them from view.
Random Mutations- Inner Heat: Florence’s skin is hot to the touch, and her skin flakes as part of her rapid regeneration. In a sense, her skin is regrowing at a much faster rate than is normal.
- A Fascinating Allure: Blood has a strange, sickly call to her. She feels as though merely touching the blood of others can grant her some unique insights as to who they are, in spite of the fact that it does nothing. It takes her a moment to snap her attention away from blood stains, and she feels a compulsion to touch blood whenever she sees it that she has to resist. This compulsion is doubly strong if she's not in immediate danger.
- Whispers of the Damned: When near Graveyard creatures, Florence can hear the whispers of those inside. Hundreds, sometimes thousands of voices, often experiencing a myriad of complex emotions that would overwhelm lesser creatures. She can feel what the Graveyard feels, and atop that, it understands that she is among their kind, and will not harm her.
Stages of Awakening- Phase 1: You’ve been touched by Eve, and awakened. As a result, you are now able to shapeshift sufficiently that you can change your appearance, so long as you remain humanoid. You can change sexes as well. You are now sterile or infertile depending on your sex. It takes several rounds of ammunition for you to finally be stopped, and your wounds will rapidly regenerate—preventing blood loss, and often allowing you to get back up. Your blood has an orange hue to it, which will grow more intense over time as the awakened cells continue to do a complete take-over of your body. You are able to telepathically communicate with others like you, and send telepathic messages to any listener within visual range. You can feel hints of each other’s emotions on contact. You can exchange memories on contact with others (including non-listeners), or give memories to listeners on contact. The Orange Fog is no longer toxic to you. You are not able to awaken others.
Faction & Signature
Faction Affiliations- The Old Guard: Distrusting. ("You support dangerous masters, who seek dangerous things...")
- The Coalition: Distrusting. ("It's not too late to turn on them and rejoin us. I doubt you can even understand what that means anymore--they've so thoroughly wrapped you in their soft words...")
- U-ARM: Hostile. ("You are EVERYTHING that we fear from listeners! You will destroy us all if we let you go free!")
- Red Star: Hostile. ("You are a threat beyond this colony. Your mere existence cannot be tolerated for long.")
- Children of Eve: Allied. ("You've proven yourself a worthy child of Eve... We will help you see through to your true awakening.")
Requisitions (Requisitions are based on your relationships with NPC's in various factions. It's what a faction proverbially "owes" you for your services. New characters start with nothing in this regard and can thus ignore this section entirely. Old Characters can use these relationships with factions at any point in the story to ask for information or aid. How much the NPC interacting with you likes or dislikes you, or how much a faction trusts you, helps to determine how likely a requisition request is to succeed. This can range from learning faction secrets, to obtaining new traits for your character, to asking for help in a mission. Be warned: If you abuse the help from a relationship too much, it will evaporate away from you.)- Evelyn Tenebris (Children of Eve): Florence's loyalty to Eve will not be soon forgotten. Atop that, Eve is generally sympathetic to all listeners, and those who reciprocate that sympathy will generally find themselves given all the support that Eve thinks they can handle.
- Lillian (Children of Eve): Though short tempered, Lillian realizes her allies are few in this world, and sees Florence as someone deserving of some measure of respect. Though still not entirely certain of her motives, she welcomes the help to their cause, and will aid Florence in her awakening with glee.
- Hellfire (Rank 1) - Hellfire is Florence’s personal firearm, a sawn-off shotgun that fires custom-made incendiary shells that leave her enemies bloody and burnt on the ground. It’s compact and deadly, just the way Florence likes it. With Hellfire in one hand and Brimstone in the other, Florence cuts an imposing figure in battle.
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