Kimberlyn

[Rae]

Main Base: The Land
Name: Mara Vaine
Nicknames: Black Leopard
Role: Ticketmaster/Thief

Appearance: Standing at an unimposing 5'4" with short black hair and sharp features, what Mara lacks in height and strength she makes up for in speed and agility. She's lean but surprisingly muscled, which usually helps when people don't want to pay her price for using the Tube. Although not ugly by any means, she's not exactly the most beautiful lady people come across, and she's certainly made a name for herself on The Land as being bitter and uncompromising with her ticket prices. No one really likes a paid thief, and that's all she really amounts to. She usually dresses in darker colors, especially blacks and greys.

Character Pitch:
"Thieving bitch!" That's a personal favorite of hers. Over her many years serving as ticketmaster of the Tube, Mara has learned how to play the game. Never too high a price, never too low. Just right to make 'em angry, but not enough to make 'em leave or fight. She learned the tools of the trade, so to speak, from her own father--a thieving mastermind who used the system just like herself. Of course, he spent all his extra funds on his personal addictions and whatever whore he could find from Pariah Bay.

Mara, at least, has good intentions. With two young children at home, she does everything she can to provide for them. It's never enough. Not in this godforsaken place. As she watched her father waste away during her childhood, she lost any illusion of grandeur towards the "Golden City." But it was all she knew. And how could the outside world be much better?

Her husband...he was long gone. He found some richer woman who wanted to travel, and they ran off into the sunset together. Mara hoped they'd died out there or somehow found the rest of the world in shambles. But she'd never tell her children that.

At night, Mara hardly changes. She just does things more illegally. She eventually became known as the "Black Leopard" to the local paper, though she can't imagine why (probably the dark clothing). She steals luxury goods mostly, travelling down to the black market to sell them to those she trusts. They later sell the goods to the Rats and anyone else brave enough to travel to the Underground. It's a profitable trade, enough to keep her family afloat in the nicer parts of the Land. On top of her job as a ticketmaster, Mara and her family could be considered among the more wealthy of the Land's citizens, although she will never reach the Sky.

Mara is also one of the few to know her way through most of the Golden City. She doesn't have every path memorized, but her time as a thief has lent itself to learning the roads less traveled. She's also pretty adept at jumping across the roofs, although she's wary of using them as a means of transportation with the Inquisition out and about.

 

[Rae]

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Main Base: The Sky
Name: Eleanor Amalia Montoire
Nicknames: Nora--only from those who know her well
Role: Council Member

Appearance: Severely elegant, Eleanor Montoire has never been known for opulence, yet she has a way of making her presence known wherever she goes. Known for her silvery white hair and cunning blue eyes, she has a way of making herself seem both far older and far younger than she really is. Age has treated her rather well (although it helps to be one of the wealthiest people in the city), and her vibrant personality speaks of a youthful mind. She stands at a rather imposing height for a woman, but it's the confidence with which she carries herself that truly sets her apart.

Character Pitch:
Being born into a life a luxury isn't always easy, but it definitely has its perks. The Montoire family is one of the oldest in the Golden City, claiming to have aided its very foundations--literally. At some point along the way, they staked their claim to a seat on the Council, feigning to represent the illustrious citizens of the Underground. It's all a lie, of course, but everyone pretends to be none the wiser. Eleanor's father, the previous representative of the Montoire family on the Council, was as good of a man as one could come by in the Sky. He took his job seriously, often pushing for the Inquisition to root out the criminal underbelly that they all ignored. He did not just want to stop the criminals, however. He wanted to help them, and that's perhaps when he took a step too far.

He died quite suddenly when she was only 23. Eleanor knew, even back then, that it had been murder, but she knew the cost of power in this city. So she said nothing, taking her father's place on the Council swiftly and without compromise. Several of her relatives pined for the position as well, but she outwitted them. From the beginning, she set herself apart, and it only continued from there. Throughout her many years as member of the Council, she has worked from the shadows, slowly hoping to achieve her father's dream of a truly Golden City. Eventually, she married a rather competent man and gave birth to twins--James and Cordelia. They've long since grown up, but her daughter is perhaps her greatest anguish. When Cordelia was young and foolish, the girl swooned over a man from the Land, and they left the city altogether. Eleanor has not heard word of her daughter since.

Nevertheless, she works tirelessly for the good of her family and in her father's memory. In secret, she looks for the one responsible for his death, but the trail has been cold for years. Still, she clings to the hope that she will find them and bring them to justice--whatever justice may be in this city.