Nicole Mountebank
Cabiri
Acumen of Ages
Description
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 125 lb.
Ethnicity: Caucasian
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Long simple red
Clothing: Black business casual
Comportment/Cadence: Welcoming
Distinctions: A beautiful woman of European heritage and fashion, quiet yet inviting, learned and professional
Supernatural Qualities: Yet, Nicole easily disappears into the background, the ultimate shop owner, allowing her wondrous wares to present themselves
Accoutrements: Moderate jewelry
Traits: Appearance 5 (dreamy); Style 5 (classic); Arcane 4
"Please, have a look around. Take your time. I have tonnes of that."
History
Date of Birth: February 5th, 1531
Home: Orléans, Orléanais (now Centre-Val de Loire), France
Family: Godefroy and Paulette Badeaux (parents), Alfred (younger brother)
First Death: External Supernatural Trigger (born near the beginning of the French Renaissance to a wealthy merchant family, Nicole enjoyed traveling over much of France, but fell in love especially with Paris; on a return visit, her exploration discovered the secret laboratory and forbidden journals of Nicholas Flamel, a Renaissance-era occultist; there she stayed, dismissing ordinary expectations of a young woman in those days, and she studied Flamel's works in fascination until she could complete her own Spell of Life ritual, becoming one of the Cabiri), 1556
Mentor: Melinoë
The Test: Trial by Influence (upon entering the Underworld for the first time, she did not expect to encounter a "pagan" psycho-pomp, but indeed what appeared to be a lampade nymph appeared and guided her to the Far Shores and helped her understand her new cyclical existence of immortality, while she vowed to dedicate her eternity to the revival of ancient Hellenistic magic to the modern world)
Comrades: Yale Ramos, Briseis Thanasi, Dimitri Vasilis, Nanda Gulzar, Pranav Puroshottam, Thenemi Tiye, Vuai Radames
Key Event #1: Awe & Wonder (Nicole discovered that every death cycle returned her to the same place and with the same "death nymph" to guide her; ironically, despite her preference for the study of books, Nicole found herself thrust frequently into the midst of wars, and so death proved immeasurably calmer periods of existence)
Key Event #2: War (St. Bartholomew Day Massacre: Nicole began her first returned life studying with a Huguenot classicist in Aquitaine; when the murders came to their door, all remnants of religious belief were shattered when she suffered such blind intolerance)
Key Event #3: War (30 Years War: while Nicole rarely left France, she was in Venice during this conflict, and did her best to alleviate the suffering of people who also contended with a resurgence of the plague)
Key Event #4: War (War of Devolution: she was in Dijon following up leads on magical lore when war came again; she became exhausted and exasperated by the constant conflicts)
Key Event #5: Treachery (Palace of Versailles: she simply walked into the grounds and there discovered Kindred behind the scenes, manipulating the royals; she realized then that the Great Jyhad was at work behind every human; disgusted, she simply left the palace alone and departed)
Key Event #6: War (War of Spanish Succession: Nicole followed up technological innovation in Maastrict when the Battle of Ramillies was joined; as the French allies were driven back, her refuge was struck by cannon fire and she was slain)
Key Event #7: War (War of Austrian Succession: the French claim on the southern Netherlands and her own anti-religious contempt cut her out of research into monasteries' libraries she tried to pursue)
Key Event #8: Personal Tragedy (Reign of Terror: the first time she tried to directly intervene in human politics went disastrously during the Revolution; she was presumed to be an aristocrat, arrested, and guillotined)
Key Event #9: Personal Tragedy (Anti-Sacrilege Act: when she regained life, her research into public libraries became vastly hindered and she made the painful decision to permanently leave France at last)
Key Event #10: War (Greek War of Independence: Nicole joined the Morea Expedition to aid the rebels but that was only cover as she explored ruins and sought Cabiri lore in the heart of Hellenistic homelands)
Key Event #11: War (Franco-Prussian War: she developed a working friendship with a German Cabirus named Sören Brunner in Lorraine/the Rhineland on Machana innovations; they both ignored or avoided the wars and bloodshed raging around them)
Key Event #12: War (The Great War: Nicole continued to work with Sören despite the increasing antagonism between their mortal homelands; they both focused on developing home defense spells and Machana tech)
Key Event #13: War (World War 2: alas, her friendship with Sören abruptly ended when he joined the Nazis' Thule Society and used the fascist brutes to help him hunt down religious and occult relics in France; by the end of the war, she faced off with him and killed him in a conflict mostly involving one another's Mechana)
Transition: Victory (though she inflicted the Withering on Sören, she opted to take no chances and left the Old World for the New at last; she embraced a quiet role as an "antiquer" and disappeared into the Midwest)
Magical Artifacts
Brooch of Aphrodite
Appearance: A lovely talisman pinned to her top made of pearl and gold
Origin: Creation
Effects: +2 Appearance
Activation: Wear it openly
Diadem of Athena
Appearance: A slender crown of silver and carnelian
Origin: Creation
Effects: +2 Intelligence
Activation: Wear it openly
Jewel of Hades
Appearance: A flawless diamond cradled in platinum
Origin: Creation
Effects: Ward against death magic and the Withering
Activation: Pin it openly to one's shirt
Ring of Hera
Appearance: A gold ring set with a beautiful blue topaz
Origin: Creation
Effects: +2 Charisma
Activation: Wear it openly
Significant Other
Name: Yale Ramos, 2004
Nature: Romantic
Yale
Weakness
The Disaffected Occultist
Her long life has seen much strife and she has retreated more and more into her love of antiquities and esoterica, disconnecting her from the modern world and people.
Likelihood of Corruption
Low.
Though a solo act, Nicole's self-isolation also helps to keep her off the scope of corrupting forces.
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