Post by Emma on Nov 21, 2010 0:06:32 GMT -5
Name:
Malandra Ramakrishna; born Lucrezia Leone
Age:
Two hundred years old; appears to be in her early thirties
Race:
Half-elf
Occupation:
Regent of Du Weldenvarden; Former Prophet of the Cathedral
Allegiance:
Herself
Physical Description:
Contrary to most people’s mental image of a regent, and more suited to her true nature as a master of manipulation, Malandra is widely considered to be the most beautiful woman in Alagaësia. Healthy and unflawed, accompanied by her boundless confidence and seductive voice edged with her light Gaulish accent, even those few who are not entranced by her physical beauty find her attractive. Also, being of Gaulish, Latin, and elven heritage rather than Alagaësian, Malandra is also very exotic in appearance.
She is not of impressive height at a mere 5’4”, but her body is amply gifted with curvature and softness. With a notable hourglass figure attributed to her large breasts and wasp waist, her legs are long and her figure carries not a hint of musculature- she has no combat training and thinks muscles on women masculine and unattractive. Her ivory skin carries no blemishes and is soft as silk, and her hair, in stark contrast, is raven black. It is always worn long, to her mid-back, and usually let down to frame her flawless face.
With balanced features and fine bone structure, Malandra’s beauty makes even elven women pale in comparison. Her cheekbones are high and her lips soft and full, and her eyebrows are straight and as black as her hair. An arched forehead, soft jaw, pointed nose, and tall chin all make her beautiful rather than just pretty. Her eyes are possibly her only flaw- though large and almond-shaped, and framed by thick lashes, the iris is black as coal, making them seem soulless. She always hides them, however, by altering her eyes with magic to any variety of colour depending on the outfit she wears.
Malandra’s wardrobe is one of her most famous- or infamous- traits. Enormously proud of her perfect form, she walks around half-naked at the very least, leaving very little to the imagination. No matter what style of gown Malandra chooses, all of her dresses are fitted to show off her womanly attributes, and of the finest cloth. The collars are always cut low to show her entire back, and nearly entirely expose the rounded flesh of her large, ample chest. The skirts are very short, cut along the sides so that when she walks, her entire legs show as well as her voluminous hips, or entirely non-existent. However, despite its raciness, Malandra always wears her clothing like a queen.
Personality:
First and foremost, Malandra suffers from three mental disorders, two of which she started to suffer in her early childhood. The first is narcissistic personality disorder, in which she is excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, and prestige. The second is a conduct disorder, which marks her distinct lacking of empathy and utter cruelty. The third and final mental disorder is psychopathy, which encompasses her abnormal lack of empathy and amoral conduct, both of which are masked by the supreme ability to appear otherwise. Malandra is a master at manipulation.
On the outside, she is a creature of beauty and seduction. A silver tongue and tinkling laugh that could melt the coldest of hearts are all she allows the citizens of Broddring to see in their Prophet. She is highly intelligent and inhumanly beautiful, but not seemingly perfect. Many see her as a lascivious peddler of sex and power- a whore. However, despite her clothing and demeanour, and willingness to engage in such acts if she gains from it, Malandra is not overly sexual at all, using her enticing nature and high intelligence to make her an object of lust rather than being amorous herself.
Malandra is also highly deft at manipulation, often able to use people without their ever being aware of it. Insidious, intelligent, and deadly, every single one of her interactions with people relies on her moving to destroy them, destroying them, or having them destroy themselves. Staggeringly ambitious and surprisingly rational despite her many mental problems, she will use illusions and even mind control if her words do not suffice, although she despises using such crude measures. Malandra takes the most sadistic pleasure in corruption- the greater the deceit, the greater the victory.
Malandra is, for all of her egomania, a slimy little weasel- but a slimy little weasel that almost always gains the upper hand, even if her victim thinks otherwise. She loves making deals, and is more than happy to bargain in power, wealth, sex and beauty, to name a few. With a one-track mentality, Malandra is also an excellent tactician, regularly displaying cunning, perception, and resourcefulness that allow her to take advantage of almost any situation. With good self-control and able to lie flawlessly, she can also show great sympathy- though, naturally, she never cares for the feelings of others.
However, for all her power in twisting the hearts of men, Malandra still retains fragility and insecurity. She has never been close to anyone, and the people who truly cared about her- in one instance, the previous Prophet and Malandra’s mentor, Anastasia Devereux- all feared her. This realization almost caused Malandra’s mind to crumble entirely, resulting in her having Anastasia ousted as a traitor and brutally executed- and once the deed was done, Malandra ceased caring. A secret longing for love and guidance repressed by her iron will briefly appeared- one that is so frightening that Malandra reacts with great hostility to anything or anyone that threatens her well-being.
History:
Lucinde D’artagnan was an elven sleeper agent hailing from the western country of Gaul. Trained in poison and seduction, she was sent to the aggressively expanding empire of Latinae to worm her way towards its emperor, and assassinate him. To do that, she disguised herself as a human noblewoman and married a major lord named Giacomo Leone. Lucinde remained married to him for thirty years, during which she steadily rose in the ranks of Latinae’s hierarchy and got steadily closer to the emperor. However, in order to remain married to Giacomo, Lucinde would have to do her duty as a consort and bear him heirs. Though she had a natural aversion to half-elves like all her kind, she did eventually beget two children- a boy named Anastasio, and a girl named Lucrezia.
A few years after the birth of Lucrezia, hardly out of infancy, Lucinde finally achieved her goal, seducing and quietly murdering the emperor of Latinae. Originally, she intended to leave her unwanted offspring behind to take the blame, but Lucinde noticed something about her children that night. Half-blood indeed, but both of them could prove useful. Lucrezia showed a manipulative streak even as a toddler, and would clearly grow up to be an exceptionally beautiful woman. Anastasio was a skilled magician and deftly calculating. Both were highly intelligent, amoral, and most of all, eager to please their mother. Lucinde had two monsters that would never turn on their master. And so, she decided to take them with her on her new mission to Du Weldenvarden.
On the boat ride there, Lucinde revealed to her children that they were, in fact, half elf and half human, as well as revealing her own true race. Lucrezia was still too young to properly understand, but she kept that knowledge firmly in her mind as she grew up. This being nearly a hundred years before any human set foot in Alagaësia, the government was still very relaxed. They were happy to take a poor foreign elf and her two children in. Lucinde’s new task was simply to report to Gaul on Du Weldenvarden’s plans, but she still had a pecking order to climb. However, some years later, a problem developed- Lucrezia. She had become violent, cruel, and had a chilling lack of empathy. Lucinde knew that she had some sort of mental disorder, but did not want doctors to examine her and find her half-elf nature, thereby ruining all of Lucinde’s carefully-laid plans. And so, Lucrezia was shunted off to Ilirea.
They discovered that she suffered from a conduct disorder that tied in to her lack of empathy and verbal and physical aggression, as well as narcissistic personality disorder, an obsession for perfection and personal prestige. The Riders were concerned for Lucrezia, and tried several cognitive and therapeutic treatments while Lucrezia was living in Ilirea. This only made her despise them, however, and her mental instability only became worse when she reached puberty.
Lucrezia’s cruelty melted away in what the Riders believed was the success of her treatments, but was in fact the onset of sociopathy. Lucrezia also began to notice the many second glances she received, and realized just how attractive she was. This fanned her narcissism, and she demanded to be more than a mere student of the Riders. She was refused time and time again, and Lucrezia began to grow desperate for power. To make things worse, Lucinde had discredited her as her heir apparent. This enraged Lucrezia and caused her to burn down a building. She was promptly expelled from Ilirea at age seventy.
With nowhere to go and trapped in a world at war, Lucrezia began to panic and go into a bout of insanity, resulting in her magical energy being curdled and released in odd ways. Spontaneous bursts of flame torched random passers-by and small buildings were flattened. Eventually, she was arrested and taken to a high-security prison in Carvala. When she continuously melted the bars and caused strange disturbances in the air, Palancar was intrigued by her magical potential and took it upon himself to get to know her- meaning, by invading and flipping through every single detail in her mind.
Her half-elf nature, desire for perfection, raw hatred, and need for power all inspired Palancar to let her in on his secret of blood magic. On top of that, she was such a wreck that she was ripe for manipulation. Palancar inducted Lucrezia into the Cathedral, more specifically to what was then called the Hand of Máni, and told her the secrets of blood magic and what she could achieve. She immediately accepted his request to become an Oracle. To shed off her old self, Lucrezia went through a number of changes such as her race, assuming the form of a human, and her name- her first name became Malandra, meaning ‘dark beauty’, and her last name ‘Ramakrishna’ after she married a foreign nobleman that aided the Cathedral financially. She also changed in demeanour- Malandra was given to the Hand’s Prophet, one Anastasia Devereux, for magical and manipulative training.
Not only was she Gaulish like Malandra, but she was also a master of manipulation- she was as vicious as she was beautiful, as seductive as she was deadly. However, this was done in the name of the Cathedral- she was first and foremost a pious woman that regretted her past. In essence, she was a repentant bad girl. Anastasia knew love and empathy, while Malandra did not. This was deeply rooted in their relationship, but did not appear until much later. Malandra learned the dance of manipulation and wit, the game of politics, and as years became decades, integrated it as a part of her.
Years later, the apprentice had become the master. However, Malandra’s mental instabilities had not faded in the face of this new power. When she overtook Anastasia in prowess, she began to envy her position as Prophet. Even worse, Malandra began to grow paranoid. Anastasia cared deeply for her ward, but knew Malandra would abuse such power. Eventually, Malandra plotted to destroy her mentor. She quietly formulated a document insinuating Anastasia as a traitor to Broddring, and sent it along to the newly crowned King Azuan Angrenost.
This was not even a year after Palancar’s death, and Azuan was hungry for scapegoats. Malandra’s neat letter was immediately responded to with soldiers bursting into the Cathedral and dragging Anastasia off for execution. Malandra, due to her magical power, was appointed the new Prophet. She spent several years as the Prophet, using it as a front while her underlings secretly practiced blood magic.
A failed poisoning at the annual ball led to an intensive search of the Cathedral by Broddring and the Riders. It was abruptly torn down, its prisoners freed and its Oracles and Paladins rooted out. Malandra disappeared for several years, hiding with Azuan, former King of Broddring and keeping him alive during his illness. She reappeared recently in Du Weldenvarden and allied herself with Dellanir, securing a new position as regent of the country as well as advisor to the Child-King Evandar.
