Astrea - CoMUX

Fighting, in a way, was in Astrea's blood and yet, for her it was a sense of duty and honor to go out and protect her home. She grew up hearing stories of her father, her aunt, her brother, and many others. Fighting and battle held a romantic notion for a girl who found happiness and smiles in everything she did. So, when th etime came she signed up to be a soldier. Unfortunately, where she comes from, there's a rare disease that is so nearly unheard of that the cure was thought by some to not exist. However, her grandfather had traveled far and wide and he knew of a city where the cure was there for her.

None could know that the disease, in its own way, was a form of darkness visited upon their world by things far older, far darker, and not at all from their own dimension, let alone their own world. It was to draw particular candidates to one city in particular, one almost nexus that was slowly becoming a way for darkness to spill over. These candidates would be pawns for these insidious beings much as all in the city were becoming. As Astrea arrived in what is widely known as the City of the Healing and to some the City of Blood, she had hope for a cure.

The clerics there assured her that the ministrations they used were beyond reproach. That the blood ministrations were capable of healing any ailment. What she didn't know was that a mysterious being had provided those there with secret magic and odd fluid it called blood to mix with their own in order to 'heal' others. Many had used it and it had become a commonplace 'cure' among the people. Sadly, the side effects had turned more and more dark as time had gone on.

Now, with Astrea's arrival, the people here had told her that there was but one price for her healing. Become a part of the hunt that would take care of strange creatures that had been haunting their streets at night. What she didn't tell her was that the creatures were people who had been effected by the side effects of the blood ministration. When Astrea started her treatment, she passed out into nightmare and restless sleep. When she awoke, she found herself in a room with only one exit and slowly she left only to find weapons and clothing already layed out for her. Dressing and preparing herself, assuming the weapons were for the hunt, she left only to be greeted by a terrifying creature resembling a wolf but far larger and lankier.

As time passed, she'd find stranger and stranger things. The whole city had been locked down. None would open their doors. The walls of the city has been locked and those people that were in the street would scream and attack her on sight, acting like madmen. Some even seemed to have strange fur and claws. As time passed, she began to run into more and more mutated, altered and mad creatures but she'd also occasionally find people who were sane. Telling her she must stop these creatures.

And so her time went on, learning to follow trails, learning how things and people moved, constantly fighting. She found a chapel, a church where she could send people who were not mad and yet hte night went on. She knew more time had passed than what should for a night this long and yet hte night did not end. Then finally, she was overwhelmed by a massive creature, slammed through a wall…only to awaken later back in the church she found. The people there claming she'd fallen asleep there and only just awoken but the night was still the same. The moon still in the same place…and on it went. For what seemed like months (nearly 24 months to be exact) she fought, fighting through creatures and places, even seeming to fight the same things. The more she fought, the more she started to see more and stranger creatures till finally she saw them.

Strange, multi-limbed creatures easily 5 or 6 stories tall, with heads filled with eyes and a body seemingly made of nothing but ribs and hair hanging off almost every building. Finally, as it was clear she saw them, one reached down with one of its car sized hands and snatched her up. It stared at her and light and fire began to consume her…till finally it stopped and she was sure she'd awaken in the chapel. However, this time she did not.

Instead she was standing there in a strange alleyway in pure silence that slowly faded into a horrible cacophony. Horns blaring, people yelling, what sounded like a gunshot in the distance and lights flaring in from both ends of the alleyway. She stared up and looked around for the odd creatures only to see nothing. Her gaze staring for a long time at the sky, the moonless, starless dark black above her before finally she chose a direction, unsheathed her weapons and began to walk. Had she finally escaped or was this simply another part of this nightmare.

Character Details

Astrea was proud to sign up for the military as many in her family had done for generations. She had a sense of duty and honor that was tarnished in her mind by her seemingly incurable disease. Hope had raised her spirits when she heard of a cure until the price of that cure proved to be quite insidious. Her honor and pride kept pushing her along in the nightmare she ended up in. She has a strange ability to find the hope in many situations, the silver lining even in darkness. An ability that has kept her going even through the darkest of situations and kept her stubborn nature strong in the face of daunting odds. Unfortunately, even with her generally hopeful attitude, months and months of battle against nightmares has also turned her rather wary and unsure of anyone. While she has tried to remain the person she was, reality has made her a hopeful, kind…spring trap.

Hardened Mind
Prior to arriving in the City of Blood, Astrea was strong willed. The stubborn girl faced death and refused it. She traveled to a foriegn land to find life. Now, however, she has faced creatures beyond human understanding and stood against them despite the dangers and terror. She has seen creatures outside of human understanding or thought and despite that came away shaken but unbroken.
Modified Physiology
Having taken on the blood ministrations of the so called clerics, Astrea's body has been modified to better face the rigors of the hunt. Due to these changes she is capable of even dodging bullets through effort, move with grace even under duress, and reflexes that allow her to dodge attacks from things that are beyond human. Her stamina recovers with incredible speed, allowing her to act for far longer than she should be able to otherwise. Her strength is at near peek levels of condition, making her able to wield weapons larger than normal and use them to deal damage to creataures that are far from normal. Despite her size, she can easily lift 600 lbs. above her head.
Tough
The blood ministrations left her with the capability of taking hits that would down most human beings. Her body is able of taking hits from super human creatures with only mild damage and even a direct shotgun blast would wound her rather than outright kill her. She isn't capable of shrugging off such damage completely but she is capable of taking multiple shots before falling.
Improved Healing
Under normal circumstances, her body heals at a greater rate. Lower end wounds that might take weeks to recover from seem to heal in days and even terrible wounds, like compound fractures, heal in only perhaps a couple of weeks or so. Far more devestating wounds might only take a few weeks to a couple of months to heal. However, on top of this, she can focus inwardly and, through a form of personal magic, speed up her healing rather briefly at a price. Wounds begin to seal and bruising simply goes away within 10 to 15 seconds. Minor fractures can even become knitted together enough to allow her to continue to fight within a minute or so. However, doing so is draining and greatly reduces her endurance until she gets a chance to eat and rest. At best, doing this once is enough to make her break out in a sweat. A second time would be like having wind knocked out of her. Anything beyond that would be debilitating to the point of inability to move.
Insight
While her normal senses are perhaps strong, they aren't any greater than one might expect of an alert individual. However, she has a secondary sense as a result of her exposure to that which lies beyond and the blood ministrations. Astrea can naturally sense magic, including beings that are altered or naturally strong in magic. As such, she can generally sense the direction of any magical disturbances roughly a kilometer of her position. Beyond this, she can also naturally see magical effects that would normally be invisible to the naked eye. Astral projections appear before her and those using magic to render themselves unseen seem to appear before her eyes as shimmering mirages that flicker in and out of sight. Her abilities are not insurmountable, however, and powerful stealth and masking magic can hide from her.
Tracking
Combined with her capability to sense magic, she is a superb tracker and can often put together a trail out of very little. She can even recreate a scene within her mind if she examines it enough. Given her past and time spending on the hunt, she is extremely competent in this area. Her visual scrutiny and capability to recreate a scene would put her line to be a top authority, if such a thing existed.
Marksman
Easily something she focused the most on when training to be a soldier, she's quite capable with a pistol or blunderbuss in hand. She has grown even more so in the nearly constant fighting that took place within the Hunt. Her constant use of the weapon to deal with the beasts and monster she was forced to face combined with her use of weapons growing up and training in the military places her at an impressive level when using weapons and could easily pass for a professional marksman.
Melee
With a melee weapon, she is quite capable. Prior to even coming to the Hunt, she was a trained soldier until her illness forced her to find help. Now, having been a part of the Hunt for nearly two years, she's had to face extremely capable and terrifying beasts as well as people. Her abilities have grown with the trick weapon she carries to the point of being quite experienced after the near constant battles.
Martial Arts
While the weapons she has to use have put her in a situation where she doesn't often use her hands, basic training to be a soldier left her with simple defense/CQC training. She's a competent hand to hand combat artist, easily able to handle most street fights.

Hunter's Garb
The basic outfit worn by a hunter is not in and of itself pointless. THe outfit is designed to cover the body to help prevent various attacks from creatures faced by the hunt from reaching the Hunter. It protects against acid, fire and the like fairly well and even adds a degree of armor against blunt and piercing attacks. The leather outfit is not as great of a defense as true armor but can add a layer of protection. Beyond this, it also has many hidden pockets as well as a sheath for a trick weapon, a pistol, and a blunderbuss across the back.
Blunderbuss
Her blunderbuss is the equivalent of a 12 gauge shotgun though with a few extra capabilities. The weapon can be loaded with such with little modification though in the hands of a Hunter like Astrea it is far more powerful. She is capable of empowering shells within the weapon (it is a single shot) in order to deal damage that is magical in nature. She can also, through concentration, create a shell in the chamber when none are available as if she were reloading it, however, this is taxing over time.
Hunter Pistol
The first of her specialized Hunter weapons, this weapon is particularly useful in the hands of one healed of paleblood disease by blood ministrations. The single shot weapon can quickly be reloaded via break barrel loading and fires large caliber specialized rounds meant to damage beasts. In Astrea's hands, the weapon doesn't need bullets to be reloaded. Through concentration, Astrea is capable of forcing the power of her blood to create a bullet in the chamber to reload it. This takes the same amount of time as a normal reload but without the need for bullets. However, the weapon can be loaded with the equivalent of .50 caliber rounds and it is far easier for Astrea to simply empower these bullets to be magical rather than create them from nothing. If Astrea wishes it, any bullet (created or real) can act like a powerful punch rather than a true bullet if she wishes to deal non-lethal damage.
Trick Weapon
All Hunter's have always carried a melee weapon that is special in its nature, a trick weapon capable of switching between two modes. The weapon that Astrea carries is, when compacted, is similar to a hammer. The blade folding down and slightly into the thick handle of the weapon to create a broad club like hammer. When flicked around, the blade flips up over the handle and to the opposite side to create a long bladed cleaver like sword. In anyone's hands, this weapon is powerful but in Astrea's hands it channels her power through it to become much harder to break and magical in nature.

The Frenzy
Whenever a hunter uses their power, it comes at a price. Even a paleblood like Astrea is suceptible to the madness that can overtake someone who has undergone blood ministrations. Many who have had this form of healing have lost themselves to the frenzy and many of the creatures and beasts of Astrea's world have come from this. Astrea is quite strong willed but on more than one occasion she has fallen briefly into the frenzy from over use of her own power and/or too much fighting. The frenzy isn't just about willpower as it attacks from within. This continues to haunt Astrea even now. If she loses to the Frenzy, she not only would attack anyone and anything on sight, but risks falling forever into it.
Hesitation
The Frenzy is a constant worry for a hunter and no less so in Astrea. Due to what was done to her, she was forced to fight constantly and on more than one occasion she slipped into the Frenzy, unsure of what even happened when it did. As such, she sometimes hesitates in battle, worried that she might slip in again. Her greatest fear is falling into the Frenzy permanently and becoming a beast herself.
Out Of Place
Where she comes from, much of the technology available is the equivalent of around the year 1900, further the world is much different due to the world dealing with odd creatures, beasts and other such magic throughout it. For her, this world is vastly different than what she grew up in and even further different than her constant battles against enemies within the Nightmare that was provided her. She is going to take a long time to get used to it and perhaps may never fully feel comfortable.
Ptsd
For two years, Astrea was forced to fight against creatures, beasts, and the like. For her every day was a battle and even when she thought she was going to die, she was allowed to do so by the unseen force that kept pushing her along to do battle. Whatever its goal for her was, she knew very little in the way of friendship or ally as she went through this task to stop the creatures and beasts that had attempted to use old blood to improve their lot. Now, even though she has seemingly escaped the nightmare she fears the shadows, the corners, and even the people around her, some part of her wondering if this is all simply a dream.

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_a astrea _female _oc _retired