Darth Wiki / Adrasteia Of Rovesse

Adrasteia d'Rovesse

"The status of our births should not define who we are as adults; we are only what we choose to make of ourselves, or at least, what we become while trying."

In her youth, Adrasteia was an inspiring heroine for the people of Rovesse. After receiving an education and martial tutelage under the patronage of a wealthy Kharian aristocrat, she returned home to help defend her homeland from a terrible darkness that was invading the world; eldritch horrors, evil and corrupting.

She quickly became a champion of the Imperial Army, famously rallying routing soldiers to perform a charge which resulted in victory. Adrasteia participated in several battles and received formal recognition for her abilities. She continued to excel and rise up in the ranks, even being on the cusp of receiving Knighthood.

The Imperial Army was suddenly and resoundingly defeated in an unprecedented disaster. During this event, she gained incredible psionic powers. For two years she traveled the land, learning how to use her powers and protecting homesteads and villages. Eventually, she resolved to search for knowledge on how to end the invasion all together, and began her quest.

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Tropes associated with Adrasteia:

• Action Girl: She demonstrated a talent for swordplay, and bravery, against bandits in her youth. The moment was witnessed by the aristocratic merchant Marcantonio Lodovico of Khare. In an arrangement with her parents, he and his wife took Adrasteia into their care, but not as their child. She was give an education and trained in the Kharian style of dueling, but was otherwise a servant in their house. When she was of age, she served as something of a Ninja Maid, accompanying Marcantonio on his business deals. When the eldritch terrors began invading the world, she decided to leave Khare and join the Imperial Army, to defend her family. She quickly gained fame and recognition for her skill and bravery, rising in the ranks and even considered a candidate for receiving a knighthood.
• Affluent Ascetic: She spent several years living in Khare, in the household of the merchant prince Marcantonio Lodovico. While considered some of the household staff in her younger days, she was elevated to progressively higher positions of trust and privilege. Despite enjoying the luxuries available to her, she does not attempt or strive to live that lifestyle. She prefers simpler things, and saves money where possible.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: In her youth, she was solemn and kept to herself, on account of being "adopted" into another home and being busy with school and actual work. She became more compassionate and caring as she got older, due to her younger sister, Eupheia.
• Apologises a Lot: Being a very frank but compassionate person, she routinely apologizes for things she perceives as being an inconvenience, asking a difficult or pointed question, or when she can't understand something. She also talks a lot and apologizes for talking so much. She also apologizes when someone experiences something negative that has nothing to do with her, however she does make sure to not apologize on other's behalf.
• Aura Vision: She has completely lost her regular vision, however she can "see" the world around her through her telepathic powers. She can "see" in a 360-field of view. At 30ft, she can see a person's silhouette and their features, but at 60ft. they're an amorphous blob of energy. At 10ft, she can see their eyes and mouth, but she can't perceive things like scars, freckles, and so on.
• Badass Cape: In battle, she lowers her hood and pushes back her black cloak, wearing it as a cape so it doesn't obstruct her movement.
• Bathing Beauty: Whenever the opportunity arises to rest and recuperate with a good bath, she quickly partakes. For her, there is almost a religious connotation with cleanliness, as she will go out of her way to wash. She also simply enjoys it, and swims recreationally if she can.
• Beware the Nice Ones: She is kind and compassionate, but if playing nice or negotiations fail, she will not hesitate to seriously injure, maim, and kill adversaries with extreme prejudice. She will also not permit foes, who are unwilling to fight, continue to be a threat to others, and will enforce this to the greatest extent necessary.
• Blind Weaponmaster: With her AuraVision, she is still able to engage in combat and dispatch foes with grace and prowess, often surprising those who don't consider her capable of such action. Her psionic abilities have only made a more capable and dangerous opponent in close quarters, despite her severely restricted vision.
• Blindfolded Vision: Her blindfold helps protect her eyes, which have become sensitive, from things like dust and sunlight. Despite the blindfold, she can still "see," but in a limited range, 360-degree circle around herself.
• Braids of Action: She keeps her long hair in a loose, wide, slightly messy, but very fashionable braid. She tucks this braid into her armor to prevent it from moving around or being grabbed easily during combat, but will remove it when out of combat. She loosens her braid when bathing.
• Broken Hero: She follows a strict routine in the morning, washing her face, cleaning her teeth, braiding her hair. She puts her clothes on in a specific order and at a specific rhythm. She reminds herself of her promises, her oaths. Then she is able to walk out her door, and smile. It only takes one bad day to throw her off.
• Bust-Contrast Duo: Her consistent pairing-up with short and petite Ilydea.
• Candlelit Bath: Subverted. Adrasteia typically bathes in total darkness and doesn't bother with candles or lanterns, since she can't "see" with light anyway.
• Celibate Heroine: She has no interest in relationships or other such things, at least until her quest is done. The thought does not come to her mind unless the subject brought up by others. It's not something she's at all interested in, however, she's not opposed to the concept or possibility. She considers the odds of survival to be stacked against her, or that her quest may not be achievable in her lifetime. She also fears what may happen if she conceives a child with her "condition" lingering.
• Chastity Dagger: She keeps a dagger for utility purposes and personal defense. Throughout her life, she's been regarded as beautiful, and was even accosted by bandits for her appearance. Fortunately, she had her trusty dagger with her, and a talent for combat.
• Combat Parkour: In battle, her psionic abilities amplify her natural abilities, enabling her to evade and move with extreme speed and grace. She regularly moves around the battlefield to confuse and outmaneuver her opponents. She can even jump to and from roof tops, thanks to her powers.
• Combat Pragmatist: While she believes in honor and duty, she is not above doing whatever it takes to walk away from a fight in one piece. She takes this further with her psionic capabilities, throwing objects and projecting energy waves in between standard attacks. Ambushes and traps are her go-to methods for attacking foes.
• Comfort Food: Having been born to cheesemakers in the quaint farming town of Rovesse, she has a love for cheese, wine, and bread, in that order, and regularly seeks them out wherever she goes. She also has a love for cakes and pastries that include honey, however she hates having sticky fingers.
• Cool Big Sis: To her younger sister, Eupheia.
• Cradling Your Kill: While puppeted, she was forced to mortally wound her younger sister, Eupheia. This moment gave her the drive to break free from the eldritch horror's control, however the damage had been done. They spoke for a short while, which allowed Adrasteia to make the promise to not give up living. She stayed there for some time after.
• Cuteness Proximity: Loves small animals, especially her Familiar, and is known to baby-talk with them. Usually preceded by a loud gasp on spotting.
• Cursed with Awesome: When she broke free from the eldritch horror puppeting her, the psionic burst immediately resulted in her losing her eyesight and endowed her with psionic powers, such as Telepathy and Telekinesis. While she's vulnerable to enemies at range, can't read or see the weather on the horizon, she is no longer affected by lighting conditions and can even spot magically invisible foes.
• Dangerous 16th Birthday: Culturally, children come-of-age at 16. She was traveling home to Rovesse from Khare to visit with her family, when she was accosted by bandits not far along. She had been studying swordplay and martial arts on her own time, in secret, and was able to subdue the bandits. When she returned to Khare some days later, Marcantio Lodovico arranged for her to receive formal training under a handful of Khare's finest instructors. She rapidly excelled.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Her black cloak, black pants, and red arming jacket can be intimidating in appearance, however these are the colors of the Empire, and she is a proud Imperial by birth.
• Doomed Hometown: Rovesse, a farming town known for its cheeses and wine, was the place of her birth and most of her childhood. She further grew up in Khare, in the service of Marcantonio Lodovico. While Khare remains standing, it is definitely impacted by the aberrant invasion crisis.
• Empowered Badass Normal: She was a normal person prior to receiving psionic powers. She was certainly something of a sword-fighting prodigy and intellectual, however she was not extraordinarily so.
• Experienced Protagonist: At the start of the campaign, Adrasteia has already effectively completed the The Hero's Journey, though that journey ended in disaster. The current campaign is her "Answering the Call" and "Crossing the Threshold" once again.
• Failure Knight: She sees herself as this, and considers her quest one of not only ending the invasion, but also redeeming her failure to save her loved ones.
• Familiar: Residing in her blindfold, this spectral pet never leaves her side. It is believed to have been born of a powerful magic; specifically, love.
• Female Fighter, Male Handler: While in the services of Marcantonio Lodovico, she served as both an assistant to charm his clients and acquaintances, and a secret bodyguard. While Adrasteia tolerated the arrangement, detesting Marcanontio's "business" practices, she was able to find a degree of respect and honor in his conduct. She also owed him a debt, as he provided her with an education to rival any noble's, and martial training under the finest Kharian swordmasters. He also protected her with his influence, even from his wife who believed the two were involved romantically. Their relationship with one another was such as that he never laid a hand on Adrasteia; not even a reassuring hug.
• Fighting from the Inside: When the eldritch terror began to puppet her, an intense internal fight erupted between the two. At the same time, she could still see out of her eyes, and was forced to witness the horrors that the creature committed, using her as its vessel.
• Good Is Not Soft: She is kind, compassionate, gentle, and quick to try to comfort and reassure others. At the same time, she is an armored warrior with psionic powers, which she has used to kill bandits and monsters alike. She will not hesitate to take violent measures when playing nice fails. She maintains her physical health with exercise, where possible, and does not shy away from combat.
• Hearing Voices: When she utilizes her psionic powers to a great degree, she often hears whispers and mutterings whenever it is quiet, such as night.
• Hegemonic Empire: She grew up a citizen of the Empire, in the provincial farming town of Rovesse. She maintains many cultural traditions of the Empire, such as regular washing and having 3 meals a day, without exception and without additional snacking. She also carries a sense of honor and pride for her service in the Imperial Army, however she withholds that information from others in order to avoid discussing the disaster that made her blind, and gave her the powers she wields.
• Heroic BSoD: After her sister, Eupheia, dies in her arms, Adrasteia nearly kills herself in grief. She spends two years wandering the wilderness, trying to control her psionic powers and defend the remaining homesteaders and villages, but also hoped for death by wild beasts, roving eldritch horrors, the elements, or starvation. She survives, only because she is found after a battle by soldiers from Khare.
• Heroic Vow: As she was dying, Eupheia made Adrasteia promise to never give up, to not surrender to grief, and to not blame herself for the disaster. Adrasteia also promised to avenge the dead and fight to end the invasion. For a time, grief does take her, but eventually she is discovered in the wilderness by soldiers, rescued, and nursed back to health by Marcantonio Lodovico back in Khare. She resolves to go on her quest.
• Heroines Prefer Swords: Favors and specializes in the rapier, but can make do with most any weapon thanks to skilled training.
• Hidden Buxom: Her chest is mostly hidden from view by a steel breastplate. While it accommodates her chest and is obviously designed for a woman, it remains conservative in size.
• I Have My Ways: When asked how she can see despite wearing a blindfold, though she often explains it as "magic," which is actually a relatively mundane and plausible explanation.
• In the Hood: She dons a black, hooded cloak in order to remain relatively anonymous and not attract attention to herself. It's worked, for the most part, even being a deterrent, which suits her purposes just fine.
• It Was a Gift: When asked about her blindfold and why she has it. It actually [[spoiler: was a gift, from Eupheia to Adrasteia, so she could keep her hair out of her face in battle, and as a good luck charm of sorts. It now houses a spectral entity.
• Jeanne d'Archétype: Coming from humble origins, she quickly gains fame and proves herself to her noble superiors as well-spoken, intelligent, and capable. She rallies routing soldiers and her direct action results in a string of victories. She becomes a heroine and something of a mascot for the Imperial Army group she's in. Eventually, there is a disaster, and she is captured. She manages to escape and survive, however.
• Kick Chick: Being a fast warrior in plate and leather armor requires powerful legs. She prefers to kick over punch, since her arm strength is nothing to write home about.
• Knightly Sword and Shield: She wields a rapier and a large buckler shield.
• Lady of Black Magic: Her psionic powers are taboo, as they are the powers of the eldritch horrors that are invading the world. As her abilities do not require speech or components like magical spells, she cannot be silenced or otherwise controlled like mages could.
• Lady of War: In battle, her strikes and movements are generally elegant and refined, deliberate and careful, prioritizing skill over power. While a capable warrior, she is compassionate and also holds herself to high standards of conduct and honor. She is dignified in combat, and in her dealings with others, though she errs on the side of being friendly and polite, given her humble origins.
• Lightning Bruiser: Skill, maneuverability, and speed are how she fights, as she's not particularly strong. Her psionic powers enable incredible feats.
• Luminescent Blush: When embarrassed or slightly tipsy she is known to develop a heavy blush, especially with how pale she is.
• Magic Knight: She is a sword-wielding warrior with psionic powers, though they're not technically "magic."
• Martial Pacifist: She is quick to spare lives and negotiate surrenders where possible, but is not above inflicting serious or permanent injury if it means preventing harm coming to others.
• Mind Control: While puppeted by the eldritch horror, she was powerless to stop it from committing atrocities. It deliberately used her as an avatar to attack the town of Rovesse, with hundreds of other eldritch monsters following.
• Mind over Matter: She wields incredible psionic powers, able to lift objects large and small with her mind, including herself.
• Motor Mouth: At times, she can be very chatty and engaged with others. She'll ask question after question to get to know another person, especially if they're not particularly forthcoming.
• Ms. Fanservice: Downplayed, but she's the only character to consistently be seen taking baths, or being dressed-down for swimming or the like.
• Must Make Amends: She doesn't believe she can ever truly feel redemption for her perceived failure, but she promised to try, with all her might.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After breaking free from the eldritch horror's control, she blamed herself for not being strong enough to prevent everything that happened after the Imperial Army fell.
• Mysterious Waif: She spent two years wandering from place to place, trying to maintain anonymity and learn how to control her powers. To some, she was unsettling. To others, she was mysterious and fascinating. She lived off the good will of others, aided by how gentle and compassionate she was, yet she also was capable of defending herself. She took to fighting eldritch horrors in the wilderness to protect villages and homesteads, who feared her but also supported her. Eventually she was forced to return to Khare.
• Nay-Theist: She believes the gods exist, however she also believes they must have abandoned the world, are powerless to end the invasion, or, potentially even destroyed by the eldritch horrors themselves.
• Nervous Tics: When nervous or uneasy, she gently strokes her braid or at least holds the end of it with both hands. When embarrassed, she'll also turn her face away while doing this. If it's a surprise, she'll cover her mouth or her whole face with both hands.
• Nice Girl: She is very polite and compassionate, going out of her way to be supportive for others she barely knows, if she thinks it would help them.
• Ninja Maid: When she was in service to Marcantonio Lodovico, she assisted the household staff in maintaining his estate. She also accompanied him on numerous meetings to learn how he conducts his business. As she got older, she often doubled as a bodyguard and enforcer, until she formally became his representative and performed her duties without him.
• Pragmatic Hero: She is not above resorting to violence or even drastic actions in order to accomplish her goals. She refuses to harm innocents and will avoid needless destruction, but would not hesitate to psionically throw someone's wagon at adversaries if needed, as an example.
• Prophet Eyes: Her eyes are physically affected following her breaking free of being puppeted. Attempts to heal her eyes magically have temporary and unintended side effects.
• Psychic Powers: Also referred to as Psionics, she is able to speak telepathically to people, lift objects and herself, and project waves of force to move, block, or injure things. She can also detect the passive thoughts of intelligent creatures, even if she can't see them, meaning a hidden person or creature can be discovered. She can also read minds, however this is something of a "violent" action and the individual will know someone is attempting to read their mind, and can resist.
• Rage Against the Heavens: She believes the Seven have either abandoned the world, refuse to act, or are incapable of acting, and is upset with them either way.
• Raven Hair, Ivory Skin: Her hair is black as night, and well kept. Her skin is notably pale, however she does tan if she doesn't keep her hood up.
• Redemption Quest: Her current quest is one of redemption, which she promised to undergo. She doesn't believe redemption is possible, but she promised to try.
• Royal Rapier: While not born into the nobility or aristocracy, she was given an education worthy of one. She was also taught how to interact with the nobility, including negotiation and casual banter. Her battlefield experience of fighting alongside knights and nobles in the Imperial Army also meant she regularly interacted with them. She was even considered for a knighthood, before her benefactors were slain.
• Seamless Spontaneous Lie: After her time assisting Marcantonio Lodovico in representing his interests, she became quick witted and able to spin up a convincing story on the fly.
• She-Fu: Her fighting style involves a lot of psionically-powered acrobatic maneuvers.
• Shower of Angst: After the hardest day of her life, she sat through a rainstorm and tried to clean herself.
• Silk Hiding Steel: Pretty, polite, compassionate, and even wholesome, few expect her to be capable of violence, yet she wears a long rapier at her hip, and it has seen use.
• Surrogate Soliloquy: In private, she talks to the spectral pet that resides in her blindfold. This entity was created as some sort of spell, cast by Eupheia when she died, after she promised to always be with Adrasteia and support her in her travels. Eupheia had no knowledge of magic. When Adrasteia reads the mind of the entity, she only detects an overwhelming sense of love and affection. The entity does not understand words, but it does understanding feeling and intent. She knows it's not actually her sister or spirit, but instead, the power of forgiveness and hope made manifest. Euhpeia would have wanted for her to draw strength from it.
• Survivor Guilt: She blames herself for everything that has happened to her family, or rather, her inability to stop it sooner. That she managed to stop it at all only makes this feel worse.
• Super Hero Origin: Of the "Lucky Accident" variety, except not so lucky.
• Superpower Meltdown: When she gained her powers, there was a powerful psionic burst that caused significant structural damage around her.
• Sweet Tooth: Specifically, she loves virtually any dessert that includes honey, but especially honeyed cakes. If she didn't hate the stickiness and have to remain combat-ready, she'd likely be many dozens of pounds heavier. She is also very easily embarrassed when caught sneaking an additional sweet or three. She sometimes even refrains from buying them because she feels so preemptively embarrassed.
• Talented, but Trained: She was taken in by Marcantonio Lodovico, who recognized her an opportunity for future profits. He needed a young, pretty, and intelligent girl to educate into a skilled negotiator to represent his interests as a public "face." Later, when he learned she had a passion and talent for swordplay, he arranged for her to be trained by some of the finest duelists in Khare. She served as his right-hand for a couple of years, before the war came home.
• Telepathy: She can read minds through considerable effort, and the "victim" is able to detect this and resist. Effortlessly, however, she can communicate to others telepathically, though they are unable to respond back.
• The Aloner: For nearly two years after the disaster, she wandered alone, trying to understand her powers yet also hoping for death. She lived off the good will of others. After a difficult fight, she was found and rescued by soldiers from Khare, where she was discovered by Marcantonio Lodovico and nursed back to health.
• The Empath: Originally raised by loving parents and a caretaker for her sickly sister, Adrasteia is a compassionate individual. In the service of Marcantonio Lodovico, she sometimes had to dip into a darker side, however she flourished as an ambassador, negotiator, and face representing his interests. She is quick to recognize other's feelings intuitively, and is overall a supporting and caring person. She is also not above exploiting some feelings, like fear, to achieve her goals.
• Took a Level in Badass: When she came of age, she was forced to put her secret study of sword-fighting to use, and subdued a handle of bandits who attempted to assault her. After formal training, she became a force to be reckoned with. After the disaster, her psionic powers took her capabilities up to eleven.
• Tragic Keepsake: Her blindfold was a gift from her sister, Eupheia.
• Tranquil Fury: When she becomes angry, truly enraged, she becomes silent. This often develops into a very violent situation.
• Walking the Earth: After the disaster, she wandered for nearly two years, learning how to control her power and protecting small villages and homesteads in the region from eldritch horrors and common bandits.
• Weak, but Skilled: She is not particularly strong, though she is fit and does exercise. Her real strength is in her speed and skill.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: While not a fresh "injury," she has utilized her blindness and feminine charm to ambush bandits, by feigning vulnerability.