Evelyn Locke

HISTORY

Born in the Free City of Rivercrest, Evelyn and her family were among the poorest of the poor in a city where wealth and influence meant everything.  Her mother, Maria Locke, worked long hours in a refinery, while her father, a former soldier forced to retire after a terrible injury, went unemployed and spent long hours drinking and gambling.  It made for an... unstable childhood.  Their family life, however, was short lived.  At six, Evelyn watched her mother die a slow death from tuberculosis.  At seven, she killed her father during one of his drunken rages, taking a slash across the face with a shattered bottle while sheilding her sister.  The pair were left to fend for themselves on the street for four years, begging and stealing to survive.  At eleven, however, salvation found them in the form of an old assassin named Garrett.  Seeing Evelyn's potential, he agreed to shelter the sisters on one condition- that Evelyn become his apprentice, and become a member of an ancient assassin order known as the Secret Keepers.

For eight years Evelyn studied the arts of assassination and deception, distinguishing herself  for her grasp of stealth techniques and her ruthless determination.  On the eve of her 19th birthday, these talents brought her before the Silent Council- the spectral masters of the Order.  Her skills had impressed her, they said, and they offered her a new position; the role of the Black Hand, Garrett's former title and a high honor among the Secret Keepers.  All that would be required of her was a simple test.  The taking of a single life.

The life of her sister, Rebecca.

Making a snap decision, Evelyn grabbed her sister and fled the council chamber pursued by the full might of the Secret Keepers.  The pair attempted to escape across the ocean to the colony of Eris, where Evelyn took on work as a mercenary.  But the eyes of the Secret Keepers followed them.  Garrett arrived in the colony and tracked Evelyn down, following her to a ruined city before making his move.  The pair clashed for hours amidst the rubble, two masters of stealth locked in a deadly game of hide- and- seek.  When the dust settled, it was Evelyn who stood victorious.  

Even as he died, Garrett was proud of his former pupil, offering her the relics he carried and urging her to flee the colony before the rest of the Secret Keepers caught up with her.  The sisters departed within the week, biding farewell to those they had befriended before crossing the seas once more.  This time their destination was the kingdom of Rayneweft, where Evelyn opperated as a freelance assassin for a year before a chance encounter with an Exemplar named Nathan, and his bodyguard Kaziri.  Saved from death by their timely intervention, she agreed to fight and travel alongside them in exchange for their aid in her ongoing feud with the Secret Keepers.

PERSONALITY

Evelyn carries herself with a laid back arrogance, and has a sarcastic retort or cringeworthy pun for any situation, but a perceptive observer will be able to see the gears constantly turning in her head.  With every corner a potential assassin's hiding spot, she can hardly afford to relax.  This forced caution tends to clash with her natural curiosity, making her irritable when confronted with a problem she feels is too risky to look into.  In some cases, however, that curiosity will get the better of her, and she'll involve herself in potentially risk situations out of interest or general boredom. Evelyn will feign compassion when it suits her, and does have some people for whom she has genuine affection.  But that's a VERY exclusive club; and if you aren't a part of it, your life is worth less than nothing to her.  This coldness tends to earn her enemies quickly, though it's also part of what makes her such a formidible assassin.  She never drinks, prefering to avoid any substance which prevents her from properly percieving her reality.

NOTEABLE TOOLS/RELICS

Veil:  A pitch- black cloak that never seems to stain no matter how much blood is spilled on it.  Activating Veil shifts the wearer into a secondary dimension, the eatherial relm on which spirits and spectres dwell.  The wearer cannot be seen or touched by those in the real world, and can't see or touch any of the living inhabitants of the material plane while this effect is active.  Using the cloak is risky, however, as the spectres who make up the Silent Council can detect its activation.  Can be activated 3 times per moonrise.

Feather:  A twisted dagger that, when aimed correctly, can snuff out the soul of it's target in an instant

Talon: A cold grey dagger that cannot be broken or dulled

Dusk: A simple dagger, unadorned and unnassuming.  When the blade is draw, it projects a 30 ft. raduis sphere of black smoke.

The Blade of the 9:  A wicked short sword cursed with the darkest magic imagineable, so repugnant that those with a kind heart cannot safely hold it.  If they try, the blade's curse slows their movements and saps their strength while showing them incresingly dark hallucinations and visions.  When used properly, the blade stores the souls of those it strikes down, channeling their spirits to lend their skills to the blade's weilder.  The sword has room for 9 souls, but only currently stores three; a monk who followed the teachings of a mantis spirit, a powerfull sorceror known as Ser Vasille, and the soul of Garrett himself.  This weapon is kept well hidden, and only used when all other options have failed.

The Belt of Theives:  A plain leather belt with a simple enchantment.  Weapons hostered on the Belt of Theives return to their weilder when thrown.