Story: The origin of a Fae can always be difficult to untangle, but Holo's is particularly odd. (And very confusing if you don't pay careful attention to the names.) What is probably most important to understand is that Holo the Wise was born from the fusion of a human and a Fae. The Fae was Holo the Wise Wolf, and the human was the girl Eve.
The Wolf was a pagan god, responsible for good harvests over a wide area. Festivals were held, sacrifices made and generally a lot of vitality gathered. She grew very powerful over the centuries as she had both cognizance of nature and vitality, and just the fainest spark of humanity. It wasn't anything compared to even the dullest of humans, but compared to the other Fae it was immense. When the Dominion came she was able to hold out for a long time. (Holo's tendency to burn missionaries helped.) What eventually lost her the devotion of the humans was not the missionaries of the Church, but a noble who believed he had a clever way to improve harvests more reliably than Holo the Wise Wolf. (Holo made sure not to overwork the fields occasionally letting them be "fallow". Without her in about 75 years those fields will likely be marginal.) So she had to find a new source of vitality. And that source of vitality would be Eve, who Holo befriended.
Eve was a noble girl, but supposed to inherit for she had no brothers. She was trained in the sciences and arts, between that and her lands she would have been an ideal marriage partner. Unfortunately, her father made a number of bad investments and her family fell on hard times. The solution was decided to essentially sell Eve to a common, but rich merchant. Eve would marry him and the family would get a gift of wealth and money to revitalize them. The merchant would become essentially nobility. If you didn't guess the merchant was a horrible person, and Eve dreaded marriage. A few days after the wedding all her fears were proved correct and she tried to flee, but she was caught within a few days. Fearing what would happen she called out to Holo for help saying she would do anything.
Since her time with Eve an idea had slowly been manifesting in Holo the Wise Wolf's mind, Eve's creativity catalyzing the growth. Holo was powerful, and almost certainly the reason for this was her tiny fragment of humanity. That was what had allowed her to grow from a simple fae wolf into a mighty god. What if she could make that part of her grow, gain the full creativity of a human and use it to grow in strength. To be able to more freely write her own stories and put them in action. Eve's desperation sparked the final stage of the plan. She could become one with a human. Eve.
Holo saved Eve, with her characteristic excessive force. The men that were sent to capture Eve died before they even realized what was happening. Holo didn't stop there. The charter town of the merchant was razed. His manor was burnt to ash in a moment. God's intervention saved the Church from The Wise Wolf's flames but He did not see fit to guard it from her claws. She smashed the church to pieces, burying and killing all but a few of those who had sheltered there. The merchant, most of the people working his lands, and all his servants, thugs and fellow merchants were dead. The few survivors reported the giant wolf and Eve riding upon its back laughing. (Side note, Eve's family inherited the merchant's other holdings)
With the merchant and his muscle dead, Holo shared with Eve her idea. Holo would lose almost all of the power she had gained, a human couldn't be trivially given godhood. Eve would lose parts of her humanity. In some ways they would both die. In some ways they would become so very much more. Eve accepted her offer, turning her backs on the family who had sold her and all the human weaknesses she wanted cut out. And Holo the Wise was born, a fae that spreads learning and the arts to the world. A fae that can learn and invent herself. A fae that wishes to get back the power she once had. A fae who hates her family and wishes to see it destroyed.
Holo the Wise still looks like Eve. Except the canine teeth, the golden eyes, the tails, the wolf ears. She isn't officially wanted by the law or the Church. The law dismissing the tails as fantasy and the Church saying she was likely mind controlled. (And even if she wasn't she should repent without compulsion.) Her family still seeks her, they don't believe that Eve wouldn't return to seek her inheritance. Holo the Wise has come to Hiddenhall to hide and grow once again in power. Magi always live the most interesting lives and they don't freak when they see a Fae. And she can start spreading knowledge from here. Inventors and philosophers always provide so much more useful inspiration than simple sacrifices of blood or bread. Raw power is nice but... Holo the Wise thinks that farmers never where the best worshipers.
Sheet coming soon to a forum near you!
Sheet
Farie Might: 10
Name: Holo the Wise. Known to some as Eve, or Holo the Wise Wolf. Generally goes by Holo.
Age: Holo the Wise has existed but a couple of years. Eve was born 21 years ago, and Holo the Wise Wolf came into existence hundreds of years ago. Apparent age is late teens or early twenties. Physical Age is meaningless.
Confidence: N/A. She's a fae. They have none.
Characteristics: Com+3, Int+3, Pre+1, St-3, Per+0, Dx+0, Qu+0, Sta+0
Personality Traits: Teacher+6, Gluttonous+3
Reputation: +2 (negative, disobedient girl among her family and their allies)
Virtues
Focus Power: Acedeme (major)
Farie Might (minor)
Personal Power2 (minor2)
Hybrid Form (minor)
Pretentious (minor)
Passes for Human (free)
Second Sight (minor, Faerie)
Residual Power (minor)
Narrowly Cognizant (free)
Faerie Trainer (free)
Notes on Virtues: Her Hybrid form possess both claws and teeth, although neither look overly inhuman. Her nails look like those of a lady that has been able to avoid all work and spend time upon them, if a little more pointed than they should. These can be used as claws. Her teeth look just a touch too sharp (especially the canines) and function as teeth for attacking. Her eyes are red or maybe dark orange. Exotic, but not blatantly impossible. What is impossible are her wolf ears and her tail. They need to remain covered to not freak out the mundanes.
Narrowly Cognizant means she knows that she realizes she can feed on human creativity or worship to grow in strength. She does not however understand that she could say... become a Ice Queen by a more complete changing of roles.
Passes for Human requires covering up the tail and ears, and even then some may be just a little suspicious. She might be "exotic", but she certainly doesn't look like a fully native English Woman.
The Residual Power, triggers the Flame of Knowledge upon Holo's "death". Unless the target is very well prepared this will scatter Holo's Vis and ensure her return.
Flaws:
Traditional Ward Bronze (minor)
Driven: Bring Knowledge to the Masses (major): This of course, doubles as a way to gather power for herself. That's the main goal in fact.
Black Sheep: (major): Eve's family hasn't gotten the message about no longer being human.
Greedy (minor)
Suseptible to Deprivation (minor): The human side needs to eat. Brains take up a lot of energy!
Small Frame (minor)
Abilities: 660 total xp spent, note these are abilities. The things Holo the Wise Wolf wanted to be able to limitlessly grow in.
Latin: 5 [75 xp]
English: 4 [50 xp]
Philosophae: 5 [75 xp] (Reagents)
Artes Liberales: 5 [75 xp] (Inceptions)
Medicine: 5 [75xp] (Theatrics)
Penetration: 4 [50 xp] (Blood): Note she has an indefinite arcane connection to herself, her arms, legs etc. which gives her a +24 penetration bonus.
Stealth 1 [5xp] (forests)
Brawl: 2 [15xp] (Claws)
Bargain: 1 [5xp] (transactions in currency)
Fae Lore: 2 [15xp] (worship rituals)
Infernal Lore: 1 [5xp] (Identifying demons)
Magic Lore: 1 [5xp]
Charm: 2 [15 xp] (men)
Awareness: 1 [5xp]
Missile Weapon: 0 [2xp] (crossbows)
Thrown Weapon: 0 [3xp] (knives)
Teaching: 4 [50xp] (Artes Liberales)
Intrigue: 3 [30xp] (Businesses)
Guile: 2 [15xp] (cons)
Folk Ken: 1 [5xp]
Profession: Apothecary 4 [50xp], (herbs)
Area Lore: Arcadia 2 [15xp] (getting there)
Area Lore: Mortal Realm 1 [5xp] (Europe) (Note this has really high easy factors for most anything.)
Carouse 3 [30xp] (Gambling)
Etiquette 1 [5xp] (Gods)
Finesse 1 [5xp] (Aiming)
Hunt 1 [5xp]
Swim 0 [1xp]
Survival 0 [1xp]
Craft: Painting and Drawing 0 [1xp]
Craft: Clothes 0 [1xp]
Athletics 0 [1xp]
Second Sight 3 [30xp] (Regio)
Formulaes*3 [15xp]
I think this adds up to 660 xp spent.
Vis: 2 pawns of Animal Vis in the bag of grains around her neck.
Powers:
Flame of Knowledge, Cost 4, Int-4
Target: Individual, Duration: Diam, Range: Self
This power kills the fae, scatters its ashes, and likely burns to death anyone too close. It transforms Holo into a pile of very dry, very flamable, parchment made from human flesh, ignites the parchment with an incredible heat and then scatters it with a massive wind. The heat itself is hot enough to slag iron, and anyone engaged in combat with Holo suffers +25 damage. Anyone within five paces suffers +15 damage as the winds drive forth the searing ash, and anyone within 20 paces suffers +5 damage. Furthermore Holo with her "dying" act can try and fling lose objects at anyone within 5 paces with the gale force winds, inflicting +5 damage (magic resistance will not help you) or anyone she can see with winds carrying searing ash for +5 damage (magic resistance will help you here.) Both of these actions require finesse rolls. The ash is incredibly hot and almost anything flammable will be set on fire as well if hit with one of the searing winds, or caught too close. Since these fires are mundane magic resistance will not save you. Finally the wind is gale force, which may bring the building down and likely blow open any windows if inside.
All that damage however is secondary to the main point of this power. (Although murdering any who might be remotely responsible is a nice bonus). The vis that is stored in Holo's small purse of grain hung around her neck is scattered and turned to smoke and ash. Unless some method is used to block this power or capture the grain the vis will escape. There is but a single round in which a room target may still work, but barring truly massive rooms or vaults capable of containing gale force wind afterwards nothing short of a boundary target or a massive circle will work. (And even then they would need to cover miles unless they somehow time the casting very well) Holo will not survive this power for obvious reasons, but as a Fae she can regenerate as long as her Vis is not used.
Base 20 +1 diam +3 (creo req, aurum req, Ignem req.) Muto Corupus Total Cost 40 levels
Focus Power: Acedeme
This focus power is the ability of teaching. The obvious use of this power is to allow Holo to mimic "Grant Puissance in (Ability)" while making up new versions of it on the fly. In general this power can be used for any effect that aids in scholarly pursuits, helps grant knowledge or manipulates or crafts the tools of an academic. 10 levels from Holo's personal power were used to increase the maximum level of this power to 20. Note she can affect herself due to her penetration ability.
Formulaes: Holo lacks the lab texts but hopes to create them once she can manage a good lab.
Theatric 10 - Ecstatic's Crystal
Potency: Mild
This is a small, translucent crystal which when consumed creates slight feelings of euphoria, good will and eliminates fatigue if the user has not gone beyond the weary level. Very useful in Certamen if the battle is not too lopsided.
Base 5 +1 mild
Inception 10 - What is N's Darkest Secret
Detail: Brief
This gives a sentence of information relating to the darkest secret of N. Truly good people will have banal minor secrets, such as "Secretly gives money to the Church." Using this is not technically scrying or a violation of the code.
Base 4 +2 detail
Reagent 10 - Practical Diamond
Alteration: Major
This strengthens and fuses simple earth into a near unbreakable form as strong as diamond itself. While not pretty or obviously valuable it is still strong useful in that regard. This is enough to convert a 1 cubic pace amount. Since clay is a form of earth one method is to make clay forms of the desired shape and then transform them.
Base 3+3 Major