Clara Maxie Sterling
Clara is the heart to Ava's mind. A constant source of inspiration and creative energies that few could hope to keep up with. She like her Partner are the head of The Gilded the organization responsible for the ushering in of the steam age. Much of Clara's biological components have been replaced over the years in order to extend her life far beyond what would be normal and at 112 she still keeps up with even the youngest of her company. The one thing you will never find her without though is her partner and they are so in sync they often finish each others sentences which can un nerve some people who aren't used to speaking to two people who seem to have the same mind.
Ava might be the smarter of the two but I don't think she would be anything without Clara to give her the spark to get her moving -Anonymous member of the Gilded.
Appearance
Clara is far more conservative with her upgrades than her partner is and still has much of her original looks though it has caused some friction to see what appears to be a young beautiful woman simply state that she is over a 100 years old. Clara has blond hair that she wraps behind her head in most cases along with much machinery embedded across her neck and around her skull. Her eyes are a brilliant sapphire blue that seem to shift colours as she looks at you. For a woman her age she is in remarkable health and if you did not know better would swear she wasn't a day over 30.
Personality
Clara is an artist at heart, this is present in the way she moves the way she has chosen to upgrade her body and in every facet of her life including her personality. She looks at the world through an artist lens seeing the beauty in everything. Her former job at the Iron Hands was in the intricate scrollwork on the Artifex and she was a master at this. She is a supremely kind individual preferring to see the good in everyone even if they don't necessarily see it themselves. She loves to fidget and sing when working constantly humming or playing with some small piece of jewelry or even her own upgrades at times. Truly observant people will notice that the numbers that Ava sometimes rattles off are tied to the fidgeting that Clara is doing. There is an old adage though a kind person protecting their children is more dangerous than anything else so do not mistake her kindness for pacifism she can and will defend the people she cares about with ruthless precision should the situation require it. She also loves to fiddle with small objects her lovers gears, rumors abound that some of the components that make up Ava's body are actually there as things for Clara to play with.Background
Calra was born into a branch of the Goldfoot family. She stood no chance to inherit any of the wealth that the main family stood to but she had a comfortable life growing up. Her parents, though found it concerning that she moved from obsession to obsession never seeming to settle on anything. She had a plethora of hobbies that she persued as she was getting older and while she was quick to master all of them found that there was nothing that seemed to hold her interest for longer than a few months. Her parents were beginning to worry that she would never settle, carpentry, jewellery, she even tried her hand at being a gatherer for a bit. When she was an age to begin pursuing her interests outside the home her parents found her a job with The Iron Hands where she might stay out of trouble even if only briefly. Her first job there was to do scroll work on the Artifex and it was a job she loved as no two patterns on any of the creations were the same, though she found that the other artificiers rarely listened to her ideas on how to make the Artifex better though that was soon to change.Meeting Ava
Sometime after she first started working at the Iron Hands she met with a young genius girl Ava, who seemed to understand how the Artifex worked without being told or even looking at them for very long, the truth was Ava didn't really understand how they moved either even though she worked on them. Clara knew though that she needed to make sure that Ava stayed close to her so strong was her obsession that she asked her parents to intercede on her behalf and allow her to take an apprentice. Luckily for Clara her parents understood that their daughters obsessions were best left to run their course and the best thing for their daughter was to support her. Shortly after Ava was brought on as an apprentice Clara began seriously attempting to court this fascinating person she had found. However it wasn't just romantically that Clara wanted Ava for, Ava actually listened to Clara's ideas no matter how outlandish they might be and was willing to try an implement them though with several adjustments to make them work. As the results of the two's work began to be noticed through the ranks of the Iron Hands they quickly rose to prominence as the companies greatest artificers and soon after were married.A small life and a new heart
Soon after they were married the pair were expecting their first child while continuing to work for the Iron Hands. As Clara tells it she carried the child to term because Ava thought giving birth was icky. The birth though was hard and little Isul Sterling was quickly assessed to determine if he might be suffering some malady as a result of his traumatic entry into the world. It was found that his heart had not formed properly and he was unlikely to make it to his 10th birthday if he were very lucky. Despite her high standing nothing her parents could do was any help, she beseached the main family but they refused to spend their resources on a misfit marrying outside her station. Ava locked herself in her lab and Clara was forced to tackle raising the small boy on her own for the first 10 days of his life. Many sleepless nights with a small crying boy pushed Clara to the edge of sanity and with no one to turn to she took out her rage on the door to Ava's lab, while carrying young Isul on her hip. She found Ava covered in ink and surrounded by sheets and sheets of paper. The partial designs for a clockwork heart lay around the floor but in that tiny lab a miracle as together the pair conceived the first Clockwork Heart. Shortly thereafter they completed the first prototype, to power it Clara took some of what she remembered as a child of steam moving things and developed the first steam engine. At this point the only thing left to do was attempt a replacement heart surgery, Clara volunteered herself to take the prototype before trying it on Isul. It would take the better part of 2 months before anyone saw any of the little family but eventually all three would emerge each with a clockwork heart in full working order though now Ava and Clara would forever more be inseparable."Let me take this heart made by my loves hands first, because if we fail and lose Isul my heart will be broken any ways..." - Clara Maxie Sterling
The Gilded begins
With the surgeries success Clara realized that they needed to break away from the Iron Hands before they caught wind of what they had created and wanted a piece of it for themselves. Ava didn't seem to understand why that was a problem but Clara knew the main family well enough that any chance at exploiting this for themselves and leaving her and Ava in the dust was a very real possibility. Clara got all of her family's money together to setup a company of her own and within a few months had succeeded in setting up the first offices of the Gilded, at the same time leaving the Iron Hands with little recourse but to accept their best artificers had left them though they were not completely happy with the arrangement. Clara's responsibilities in the Gilded included a lot of the liasing with other companies to acquire materials and secure contracts to allow them to flourish. It was Clara who first proposed using the Steam engine for a method of propulsion.Relationships
Clara maintains an active relationship with many leaders of companies throughout Arbor, in addition to this her cousins are the leaders of The Iron Hands and The Davey Lamps both of which she still has some level of contact with though Wila Goldfoot would prefer that Clara have 0 contact with her at all due to her sour relationship with Goldfoot family. In addition to this she maintains a very good relationship with Arashi Katai as the provider of Starlight is a very good friend to her and gave much of the early production runs to her while they were still trying to save their son and find a more powerful source of energy for the steam engines.Allegiance
The only formal allegiance that Clara has is to the Gilded though there are a few mentioned below and their current status- The Pipemen - A constant supply of Star Light is needed for many of the Gilded's creations and thus they and Clara keep this allegiance well maintained.
- The Iron Hands - Clara's former employer and her family does own it though she is from a branch family and thus they have more or less disowned her, the Gilded need the Iron and other metals they produce though so it's best to keep up appearances if nothing else.
- Clock Docs - As the company responsible for all of the Gilded's medical needs including the surgery for the Clockwork heart they are kept under a close eye.
Abilities
Clara is a brilliant artist and creative force within the Gilded. Her insight into beauty and form have allowed the gilded to not only create functional wonders but truly magnificent pieces of engineering. Gilded : Ava has ceased being a normal human and has taken on a large number of clockwork parts, as such she has as far as anyone can tell ceased aging and no longer requires food or drink.Relationships
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Current Location
Conditions
Ethnicity
Age
112
Family
Spouses
Ava Isolde Sterling
(spouse)
Siblings
Wila Goldfoot
(2nd Cousin)
Children
Pronouns
She/Her
Sex
Female
Gender
Woman
Presentation
Feminine
Eyes
Saphire Blue
Hair
Blonde done up behind her head hiding most of the machinery around the back of her skull
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Quite fair pale skin
Height
5'11''
Weight
305 lbs (much of the machinery is very heavy)
Aligned Organization
Comments