Kirichiki, Bringer of Our Silent Death
Summary
Death is a fear that shadows every living mind, forcing all to confront how they will meet it. From the terror of the unknown, and the maniacal desire to live, springs its most terrifying specter: Kirichiki. Born of shadows and fear, gliding upon silent winds, it is only when the air stills, and the heart thunders with primal realization, does one know she is near. Long before Imperious sought to own the world, before Atenkhet's vaunted pyramids arose from the sands, before even humanity or the dragons, there was her. All the world has lived under the beat of her wings, toiling in her wake as life is wont to do. Why has death come for them? No one can answer her mysterious appearances, but all are desperate to survive. So it came to be, the vampyr as the agents of death, her dreadful servants ever hunting the living. So too the vampires inherited this, for however it was not theirs to have. Kirichiki stalks the world, a tireless hunter with an endless tally. It is thanks to her awesome presence throughout time that so many fear the vampyr, and so many fear the night. Where there are shadows, there can be her, for she glides through that umbral world as easily as clouds drift in the sky. But, for all that might terrify the minds of prey, a curious nobility enshrines her. Whether from she herself, or the fanatical worship of those in Toi'drinn, it is hard to say. The chief goddess of their vast pantheon, Kirichiki presides over the dead and living, and commands the eclipsed world singularly. A stark contrast to the many goddesses responsible for the radiant world, and the ever busy affairs of daily life for many other species. It is from these scriptures and oral traditions that the rest of the world has learned of her, and the disturbing correlation of evidence there is. Chief among these would be Bloodwing herself. For as monstrously terrible as she can be, Bloodwing is no liar, and harbors a very real grudge against Kirichiki. The two have crossed wings and talons on a number of times over the millennia, always resulting in debilitating injuries. Seemingly claiming victory at long last, Bloodwing was blindsided by Kirichiki's sudden appearance later, nearly losing her own life in the process. Dying was no inconvenience to her, it seemed, disappearing to shadows and ashes, only to return once more. Was it then, she was a true immortal, one that eclipsed even the jiuweihu? In the age of the Imperium, such a thought had great validity, for they spent much in trying to research Kirichiki. But, such is the folly of those blinded by fear that the other half of Kirichiki is overlooked. It is a truth often only understandable to the vampyr, who need others for themselves to live. So too does Kirichiki need life, in order for her to bring death. In the wake of her passing does life find itself renewed, invigorated with sublime energies. Vast forests may arise from the veltron, confronted by sweeping plains, filled with the teeming life both big and small; great and meager. Thus it is said her home of Etzli Cuauhtla came to be, the harmonious exchange of those who can live, and those who die to feed them. Or, as it is, in the minds of those who dwell in Toi'drinn. Perhaps there may yet be truth in their worldly view, for others confer a similar cycle of rebirth.Divine Domains
The Eclipsed World (or, the land of the dead, for many other cultures)
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Far more monster than person, Kirichiki is a titanic vampyr of the cold wind. Her skin and exposed limbs are a charcoal and coal black, contrasting sharply to the snowy white fur of her body. With a long, unkept and free flowing mane of hair framing her horrific face, she is the embodiment of terrifying death almost everyone sees in their last moments. With her wings fully extended open, and her scything feet talons at the ready, she dwarfs most creatures in the sky, and gives a fair number of the giants on the ground a run for their money.
Body Features
One of the oldest still-living Exalted in the world, the savagery of her appearance is that of eons gone by.
Facial Features
Her face hasn't any semblance of humanity or the Great Convergence, being far closer to the bat heritage of the vampyr. The jaw itself can extend open many times, exposing two sets of teeth: enormous grappler fangs capable of puncturing a dragon's hide, and an inner set of hook-like fangs for latching into flesh. In the times her prey is too small to use her teeth, she just swallows them whole instead.
Identifying Characteristics
If one can see her, the uniqueness of a titanic-sized flying bat tends to be rather memorable.
Special abilities
Exalted – Kirichiki is a true Exalted.
Sonic Magic – Her very throat projects sonic energy waves capable of destroying solid stone meters thick, letting her quite literally scream her opponents to death.
Shadow Magic -- Able to manipulate shadows, and almost seemingly born of them, she can disappear into and out of them like a roiling fog.
Ascended Vampyr – Evolving beyond the need for the blood catalyst, Kirichiki drains the very mana straight out of her victims, turning them to dust and ash.
Advanced Echolocation – By internalizing all possible sources of sound she detects, Kirichiki can recreate environments in fantastic detail. The very wind itself can show her the world as a result.
Apparel & Accessories
She has no worldly possessions.
Mental characteristics
Gender Identity
Female
Sexuality
Asexual(?)
Education
Kirichiki has ever learned what she herself experienced; in this regard, she has no formal education. A lifetime exceeding countless generations of entire civilizations, however, has refined her capabilities to an absurd degree.
Intellectual Characteristics
Kirichiki regards herself as a perfect predator in a vast ecosystem, that of Veltrona in its entirety. It must be clarified this is not a matter of egotism, but rather, a view born of purpose. As a harbinger of death, she must be unfailing to insure the duty is fulfilled, and there are only ever prey for her to hunt. In this sense she is a supremely solitary being, having gone centuries without speaking to anyone else.
Morality & Philosophy
There is no overriding moral code to her actions–when it is time to die, there are only those who try to resist her. The hows and whys do not matter in the sanctity of fulfilling her task.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
An old predator, ever still on the hunt.
Divine Classification
Species
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Her rather specific title is actually a result of 'mostly accurate' translation from Toi'drinn's holy texts. A more wordy variant would be "The Life Taker, Bringing us to Our Final/Silent Death". In the vampyr mindset, silence is the end of life, hence finality in the context of living people.
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Round eye sockets; pure, black iris and sclera
Hair
Snow white
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Charcoal black skin; snowy white fur
Height
Titanic (minus wing-span)
Weight
Massive
Other Affiliations
Comments