#Karissa jester

[bowl-of-shortness]

Well, ig I’ll just do The Crux members in order then, give you guys something to work with? Idk, anyways here’s some descriptions of each of The Crux members:

Pandora De La Dáinn:

Pandora De La Dáinn, the youngest in the next generation of the noble family of Morgana, has lived in the post of her relatives’ massacre her entire life. But the tragedy doesn’t stop there.

At eight years old, her eldest brother, Victor, suddenly disappears into the depths of the night after saying goodnight to Pandora, and is never seen again.

At fourteen, she is stolen in the dead of night and murdered by the woman known as Alice Ripper. Alice working under a man named Lazarus’s orders. She awakens in the Neverwhere, a place full of souls of the deceased, and finds herself in front of the god of death himself. She pleads with the god, asking him to give her one more chance as she hasn’t done what she feels she must do. The god agrees, under one condition, she become the champion of death for him, and she will gain one more chance. She awakens in front of her family’s ancestral mansion, her hair white and her limbs a transparent navy blue, only her bones showing.

At eighteen, she finds one of Victor’s many journals and discovers where he went next. She then hastily writes a letter, telling her family what she expects from them when she gets back and why she’s leaving. Ending the letter in:

“If I return without Victor, it will be bad news, or, it means something more important than Victor has happened”

She sets off to find out what happened to her brother, and through these journals scattered around Selcouth, will learn why he left to begin with. All the while finding who she is outside of her family, who she will become as Champion of Death, and what she stands for as an individual.

Noah Ripper:

The finished project of two people’s genius, Noah is an android who was created to be nothing more than a weapon to the cruel and self absorbed Alice Ripper.

Running away at fourteen after seeing his mother murder a girl his age, he finds himself in the heart of the Agrona Branches, in the kingdom of Morgana. He takes in this new world after being hidden from it for so long, and eventually meets two tiefling kids whom he befriends.

The three travel together throughout the kingdom, until eventually, Alice finds him and attempts to dismantle him. Saved only by a girl his age with white hair and a knack for engineering and tinkering, he and his two friends promise to repay her for her kindness.

After the incident regarding his near dismantling, he vows to seek revenge on his mother and anyone involved in the horrible abuse he endured growing up. And finds his opportunity to do so when Pandora asks him, Ambrose, and Constance to travel with him.

They agree, and he sets out with a thirst for blood, a gun, and a handful of ideas on how to murder those who hurt him.

Ambrose & Constance Lockwood:

As two of the three children of the terrifying and dangerous Lockwood couple, Ambrose and Constance are born into a life of destruction and conquest. They are set to inherit their parents’ fortune and the countless kingdoms they ruled over as dictators. However, once the two were forced to take up a contract with two demons, they begin to question the righteousness of their family’s actions.

Seeing their eldest brother, Lazarus, fall further and further into torment, anger, pride, and violence, calls this into question even further.

After overhearing a plan to attack another noble family’s daughter and kill her, the two decide to run away that night. They quickly escape at fourteen and twelve years old without incident and make their way to the one kingdom they know Lazarus and their parents’ cult won’t want to touch, Morgana.

They meet an android boy their age, and quickly become friends due to their similar situations. But when the boy, named Noah, is attacked and nearly dismantled, they find a noble girl and beg for her help.

She fixes Noah up, and they learn her name is Pandora. They vow to her that they will find a way to repay her some day, and that day would come soon enough.

When Pandora asks for them to travel with her, the two plus Noah agree.

Ambrose and Constance make a promise to each other that they would do as much good in the world as possible, and that they will learn the details of what atrocities their family has committed and right those wrongs.

Little do they know what Lazarus is planning…

Nathaniel, Nico, and Natasha Woodwhisper:

Growing up the children of the Last Hunt Tribe’s chieftess, Dawn Woodwhisper, they lacked any knowledge of their father until age fifteen. Their mother begins telling them stories of their father, how he was a strong warrior and the Champion of Death.

Nathaniel despises him, seeing as he left their mother alone with triplets, and never once came to visit the family.

Natasha idolizes him, and does everything in her power to be just like him.

Nico is stuck in the middle, he understands Nathaniel’s position, but also understands Natasha’s. He is trying to balance his opinions.

One day, a group of strange people attack the tribe, setting the forest it’s in on fire and burning the entire forest to the ground. They are left without knowledge of where their mother is at or their tribe, the last words they heard from Dawn were:

“No matter what happens or how you feel about it, please go find your father, tell him what happened, please.”

And thus, the three set off with a group of four to find their dad, and figure out their familial mysteries.

Josiah & Lilith Mantlebar:

Josiah and Lilith Mantlebar are the children of a renowned cleric and bard. Lilith herself is a bard, playing the guitar, while Josiah is a paladin.

When Josiah was sixteen, he was chosen by the Thunder God Asterope to be their paladin and made an oath with them.

Lilith has had her dream since she was younger, that she would try to become the best bard there was out there.

One day, while the duo is out and about in a neighboring village, they return home to find their village in ruins. Their parents and neighbors nowhere to be found.

They stay in the ruined village for a few weeks, before they decide that in order to find their parents, they have to travel. And maybe they could achieve their goals along the way.

So the two set off, to find their parents, one to be the best bard in Selcouth, the other to learn his role as a paladin.

Karissa Jester:

Karissa grew up in a small village with her parents, she was a small tiefling girl and was happy for a long time, until her parents decided that the best option for her, was to give her up for adoption. She never knew the reason, but she knew it wasn’t a decision they wanted to make.

Going through dozens of different adoptive families and ultimately being put up for adoption every single time in the end, she decides to run away from the orphanage she was staying at and find somewhere she fit in at.

She’s finds that place eventually in Magnus Wanderlust, a traveling circus. She felt unconfident and afraid, but decided to try and see if she could join. The ringmaster, a lovely changeling woman, known for her changing in appearances, took Karissa in and decided that she would train her in the ways of the circus.

Karissa soon mastered her fire magic and proceeded to be a fan favorite by many, eventually becoming one of the highest paying acts the circus had.

But she wanted more, she’d seen some of the world, but only the small populated areas, never the unpopulated areas or the big kingdoms. And she wanted to learn who she was and where she came from. Lastly, she was ultimately lonely, she knew nobody her age who she was friends with, she didn’t mind being friends with all of the older members of the circus, but she wanted to experience true life as a young adult in Selcouth.

She brings this concerns to the ringmaster who nods and agrees that she has most likely outgrown the circus, and gives her some necessities and trinkets before she leaves.

And then, she’s off into the world, eventually meeting a pair of halfling siblings, one named Josiah, one named Lilith.

Lilith introduce Karissa into the world of music, and she never went back since, playing the guitar alongside her. Josiah taught her how to use her fire in a variety of different ways as well.

And thus the three became inseparable, traveling the world to find themselves and to explore.

Chance Boone:

Chance Boone was a famous cowboy out in The Restless Borderlands. He was known for his work with sheriffs, helping people out, and riding off into the sunset at the end of the day.

However, he was also known to be a violent man, destroying an entire town from his childhood who abandoned and ostracized him.

He loved the life he lived, but over time he became bored with the constant struggle of finding food or getting gold. And something kept gnawing at him.

He’d been kidnapped as a child and managed to escape, and his family had been murdered by these people. It was one night when he decided he would find the people who did that, and make sure they would be served justice.

And thus he hopped on his horse, and rode into the dawn, on a mission.

Barbara Monroe:

Barbara Monroe was known for being the outlaw of The Restless Borderlands. And her track record with Chance is certainly one to behold in the amount of times the two had met. She led her life, stealing, killing, and on the occasion finding a partner who’d inevitably stab her in the back and end up dead.

She always wondered what the rest of the world had in store. But knew she’d never leave The Restless Borderlands. That is, until her band of outlaws attempted to get rid of her under orders from a new outlaw king. Limping out into the desert with a gunshot wound in her side, she found the place Chance was staying at, and stumbled inside.

Chance was surprised to find his rival and nemesis asking for his help, he could’ve let her die, he should’ve let her die, but for whatever reason he chose to help.

The two talk for a while, until the topic of Chance’s family comes up, Barbara had a similar story about her family, and mentions the fact that she was put in the outlaw group to begin with because of that incident.

And with that, the two make a deal. They’d work together to get back at the outlaw group, and then they’d help each other with anything else.

For Chance that means exploring the world, for Barbara that means escaping her past.

Amelia Hayes:

Amelia was a noblewoman from the kingdom of Eudaemonia, she wasn’t from the noble family of Eudaemonia, but she was a noble nonetheless.

She would travel out to The Restless Borderlands in order to provide medicine and other sorts of technology to the people there, as they were behind on the times.

That is until she comes across a town that labels her a witch, and proceeds to try to burn her to death. Until, a pair of cowboys shows up and fights the ones attempting to kill her. One was a woman, the other a man.

They scare the rest of the townsfolk into leaving her alone, and then begin talking to her.

She explains her want to give medicine and other forms of technology and science to the world, and the two explain their wanting to explore the world.

And thus, after that, she began traveling with the two.

Owen Cogwright:

Owen, or, the second mind in the making of Noah, is a troubled man. Cursed with the heirloom curse given to his family by the god of souls, he is forced to work on the project for the god lest he be in an immense amount of pain.

He locked himself away like so many do, attempting to do the project on his own. That’s until Alice weasels her way into his life, and promises more than she can offer.

Owen works with her, creating the first 5 blueprints for Noah, ages 5-10 years old. However, Alice one night threatens Owen with his life if he didn’t leave the project with her and that he would have to deal with her taking credit.

Scared for his life, he unwillingly left, heartbroken for having to leave the one creation he saw as his own son behind.

Years and years passed and Owen never made another project, suffering with the pain and agony he endured from not working on it.

Until one day, he meets a group of people in the tavern he worked at, who he tells his story to. The short half elf girl with white hair asks him if he’d like to travel with them. And Owen, seeing as his time was running out in life due to the curse, decided to go with them. To see the world before he died.

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

What kind of stuff would Karissa look for in a partner? If she wants one at all.

Karissa looks for someone who is very kind and very compassionate, but who can stand their own.

Someone whose gentle and sweet, but also protective

She’s a bit of a romantic tbh

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

Does Karissa thrive better in chaotic situations or more structured situations?

Karissa thrives more in chaotic situations, because that’s what she’s used to.

She lived in a circus for the majority of her childhood, so the chaos has always been a part of her life

She gets very nervous and antsy in calm/structured situations

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

What kind of music does Larissa like?

(Karissa*)

Karissa loves rock, country, and folk music

Music that tells a story is her jam :)

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

🌻 [SUNFLOWER] Where would your OC get lost in the moment/beauty of the place?

For Karissa? 👀

Karissa gets lost in the moment in big cities. It’s always been her dream to visit the kingdoms of Montez or Morgana. The circus she was originally a part of only visited small towns and villages, so she’s unfamiliar with all the technology and such in big cities.

However, when she visits Montez, her expectations are a lot more glamorous than the reality within Montez’s walls.

A lot more glamorous.

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

I wanna know about Pandora's gift! Like, was a physical gift, or a symbolic gift? What did Karissa and Lilith do with the gift when they got it?

It’s a physical gift!

So keeping in mind that they are in generally the Industrial Revolution/Victorian/Colonial times/Late Medieval times, certain things we have do not exist in Selcouth.

So, with Pandora’s study of acoustic guitars, along with her engineering knowledge, she gives the two guitar players the first ever electric guitars

An instrument that is unique just to the two of them.

And boy do they love it, not only does it put out almost triple the amount of bard magic since electricity in an instrument can amplify bard magic, but it also sounds really cool.

[bowl-of-shortness]

Ambrose and Constance meeting Karissa who’s like “omg can you two be my siblings please????”

And they just stare at her like “._.💧ok.”

For some much needed context: Karissa (or Kari) is a tiefling who lived with her biological parents up until she was 10, which is when she was put up for adoption for unknown reasons.

The only other tieflings she knew were her parents and even then her memories are fuzzy from those times. As she was adopted by many different families, many of who tried to strip her of her identity as a tiefling and/or try to demonize her for being one.

So when she met the Lockwood siblings, who they themselves are tieflings and haven’t met any other tieflings besides each other and Lazarus, she was super excited.

The three bond really quickly, both siblings take on the roles of older sister and older brother.

But it’s not a role unique to Karissa, they’re seen as the big siblings to most of the party, even if they may be younger than some of the members :)

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

How would Karissa describe herself?

Karissa: I think I’d describe myself as adventurous, fun, friendly, and kind <3

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

Would any of the Crux look for hours for a four leaf clover?

Hmmm

Pandora, Karissa, Nico, Noah, Constance, and Josiah probably all would

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

How likely is Karissa to eat random berries or mushrooms she finds outside?

Very likely. Girl grew up on the road. She knows which berries and mushrooms are dangerous and which aren’t

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

What emotion would you say is the hardest for Karissa to process? What's the hardest for her to express?

Karissa struggles to process anger, she struggles to be angry without being upset at herself for being angry in the first place.

Since she’s a tiefling, and a tiefling who grew up in a circus, she’s been taught to not stick up for herself in order to save her the trouble it would cause.

So… yeah she needs a little bit of help

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

What are the aspirations of the Crux? Do they change as the story progresses?

While the overarching goal of each of the members’ doesn’t change too much, the specifics do.

Noah loses his want to murder his mother and her associates, rather he now just wants justice against them for hurting him and others, while also learning to focus on himself and making a life for himself.

Lilith gains a less shallow reason for wanting to be a bard, originally she wanted to be famous and rich but now she just wants to tell the stories of people she cares about and wants to see the happy facing of those who are listening.

Amelia goes from a pretty basic aspiration to wanting to make medicine a realm wide thing. She becomes a very good doctor and apothecary later on.

Chance’s aspirations start with murder and end with wanting to protect his found family

Nico eventually finds his place in the world as the bridge between Selcouth and the Neverwhere.

Natasha finds herself becoming a paladin of Maveth and working closely with Pandora

And Pandora’s over time becomes finding who she wants to be as a person and learning to have faith and confidence in herself

[mixing-bowl-of-stories]

I wanna know the Crux’s birthdays 🥺

Pandora: Mara 25th

Noah: Statera 20th

Ambrose: Boreas 17th

Constance: Lunae 50th

Natasha, Nathaniel, and Nico: Fauna 29th

Lilith: Concordia 6th

Josiah: Solis 47th

Barbara: Concordia 3rd

Chance: Marine 49th

Amelia: Anima 36th

Owen: Statera 34th

Karissa: Concordia 1st

[bowl-of-shortness]

Jamming along

What do y’all wanna know about Selcouth and the people that live there?

It’s a little more fleshed out now so feel free to ask

Btw, because I am accepting the fact that this is becoming more an original story with a dnd style, we have more characters!

Karissa Jester

Lilith Mantlebar

Josiah Mantlebar

Chance Boone

Amelia Hayes

Nathaniel Woodwhisper

Nico Woodwhisper

Natasha Woodwhisper

Barbara Monroe

Owen Cogwright

Feel free to ask about em :)