Mercedes
Mercedes
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Information
Fullname: Mercedes Kelly
Alias: Mercy
Age1: Appears 27
Features: Blonde Hair, Blue Eyes
Height: 5'2"
House: Banyan Citizen
Themesong: "Eye of the Storm", Watt White
Played By: Christina Aguilera
Professional
Assignment: The King's Mercy
Rank: Ranks are for the insecure
Titles: Meinwen (Man(hw)an) Muireartach aka the Tempest

Description

At perhaps only five-feet, two inches in height, this woman exhibits a dancer's grace and limber power that couples well with her slender body in a way that can only be termed voluptuous. The muscular contours are subtly softened by a dainty sensuality that comes with a woman thoroughly confident with herself and her sexuality. Smooth skin is the healthy, natural bronze of one who spends time in the sun. Honeyed hair, sun streaked with paler gold is plaited into multiple tiny braids along either side of her face, knotted off with thin strips of black and silver cord. The rest of her hair is allowed to fall in loose curls to just below her shoulders. Blonde brows arch above delicate features of a face that seems at best politely impassive. Exotic almond eyes, framed by a thickness of spun-gold lashes are a frosted blue, their depths chill and shrewdly patient.

Public History

As there are very few people who actually manage to make it to Banyan, the Chaos realm is said to have a distinct effect on a person's sanity, Mercedes Kelly is a somewhat unknown commodity in the City of Amber. Even so, rumors have begun to swirl over the last several years of a sassy little dancer at Club Banyan who seems to have managed to captured King Corwin's eye. She has been seen at the club and those who see her dance usually go back for a second (and third) performance. Some royal drawing room gossips say Corwin's dancer is a goddess in disguise; others disagree and say she is merely a bit of fluff the King will outgrow. The citizens of Banyan know though how Mercedes came into her own, and they know that when The King's Mercy appears in thunder and lightning bad things happen and someone usually dies.

The Full Story

Shadows come and shadows go - devoured by the Black Road. Diverse yet always echoing the true realm; some are vast and complex with great advances in technology and faith while others are small and remain more superstitious with warring gods and their faithful followers. It is from one of the latter Shadows that Meinwen Muireartach and her sisters were created - a potent mix of faith and magic.

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A temperate (bordering on cool) realm of islands and stormy seas, the deities were many and their followers fierce; all overseen by a grouping of bickering elder gods that were common to that specific Shadow realm. Upon the death of the elder gods at Oberon's command, the faithful were lost - scattering to what safety the more minor deities could provide. The vacuum that was left by the elder gods created an atmosphere of turmoil and strife as God and Goddess battled to stake a claim and try to fill the gap. Into this fray a warrior triad comprised of Maiden, Mother, and Crone and their followers from one of the middling islands fought to protect their lands and gain power. The Maiden controlled Sea and Storms, revered by her followers as a battle goddess - her symbol was a lightning bolt and her followers said that the thunder of the sky was the sound of her chariot's wheels. The Mother controlled Growing Things and was revered as a fertility deity with the symbol of a tree. The Crone was believed to control the Fiery Underworld and her symbol was a dragon. Meinwen and her sisters were ruthless and bloody in battle especially the Tempest - one of the many names given to Meinwen by her followers.

Centuries of infighting and disarray weakened the core, making the Shadow ripe for the plucking by the Black Road. Throughout the struggle to save their Shadow, the Triad battled gloriously but even Gods must eventually succumb to the Black Road and so it was that Meinwen's sisters, one by one, fell. Seeing the ferocity with which the remaining member of the Triad fought, the Black Road conscripted the Goddess to lead one of its armies. Countless battles, countless years leading an army of the Black Road and helping to invade and conquer many Shadow Realms marked the Thunder Goddess and taught her many new practical skills, but left her wanting something more - though she could not say what that more was. Marked, but not fully corrupted there was a part of her that longed for the elder days where stability and culture added depth to her world.

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About a year after Banyan was formed, Meinwen was ordered to take her army and attack King Corwin's newly created realm and obliterate it. The assumed rout ended up being a slaughter of the Black Road troops due to Corwin's special powers with Chaos. During the battle, the goddess was fascinated by the King's fighting techniques, watching him was like watching a perfectly choreographed dance rather than the more common hack and slash. For his part, Corwin was mildly intrigued at how so tiny and delicate a woman could cause such ruthless and bloody destruction. As spoils of war, the force was co-opted and taken over by the King and Meinwen thrown into the dungeons. After a month of living in a lightless cell slightly impervious to magic, cut off from her sky and open air, and the brutal discipline each time she tried to escape, Meinwen was amenable to behaving herself when Corwin had her cleaned and brought before him. Proud and defiant, definitely not humble, Meinwen and Corwin clashed - the result being a minor flooding incident in the throne room. Thrown back in the stuffy, underground chamber Meinwen was isolated for yet another month.

It took four months…four more tries before the dainty woman unbent enough for her to listen to Corwin's offer to have her join him. Another month in the dungeon passed before Meinwen decided to accept. Following her acceptance, he returned her weapons and tossed her back out onto the killing fields to judge her strength and endurance. After a week of straight fighting with no rest, the goddess was exhausted but clearly capable of going on. When she was pulled out of the fighting after the first week, she was surprised but pleased and respectfully asked if Corwin would teach her how to fight like him for Meinwen had never forgotten how beautiful such butchery was. Amused with his new 'pet barbarian', Corwin agreed to train her and set her to work at Club Banyan in the meantime hoping that working around and with others would calm Meinwen down.

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By the time the first year had passed, Corwin had conceived of an interesting challenge for himself. The dainty thunder goddess had begun to settle in well, but was still quite barbaric. The King wondered what would happen if he was able to smooth out her rough edges and what sort of tool he could make of her if he were successful. On a dare to himself, he brought Meinwen some clothes and took her to what many believe to be the Shadow Capital of the arts, Montevalno, for some time spent at the theatre, museums, and of course shopping. The first night they went to the ballet and Meinwen's world was rocked in a way it had not been since she lost her sisters. In her realm very little time had been paid to developing the arts as everyone was focused on trying to keep a hold of what land and power they had. Some beautiful metalwork was made and pottery, some weaving, but they all had purely practical aspects - things like dancing and singing really were nothing more than things done at a feast. To see people revealing their souls through movement…the dance…was life changing. After pestering him the rest of the night, Corwin agreed that the woman could study dancing.

With the voraciousness and single-minded persistence that won her followers, land, and glory Meinwen immersed herself in learning the art of dance. Montevalno, Jade, and other Shadows were visited for long stretches at a time in both observation and training. Every book that Corwin could get her on the subject she read and studied. At the Club, she would practice and eventually performing and getting reactions from the crowd – eventually rising to a management position where she ruled her ‘domain’ with a cool ruthlessness. Throughout the next few years, though not quite in the way Corwin ever could have dreamed of, Meinwen's rough edges were scraped and smoothed until his precious chunk of rough stone glittered and sparkled like the finest diamond - even going so far as to change her name for her new life. And like a diamond, beneath the polish Mercedes Kelly remains just as hard and the barbaric Meinwen Muireartach waits.

Roleplay Hooks

  • Chaos
  • Banyan
  • Dancing
  • Weather
  • War
  • Swordplay
  • Tactics
  • Killing Fields
  • Flirt
  • Social
  • Corwin
  • Margaritas
  • Ballet
  • Burlesque
  • Fashion
  • Music
  • Sassy Shoes

Associates and Connections

  • King Corwin of Chaos
  • Queen Ryika of Chaos
  • Knights of Chaos
  • Admiral John 'Redhand' Waverider
  • Princess Florimel (Flora)
  • General Celeste Mandrake
  • Commander Ginovanni B. Casanova (Gino)
  • Lord Sullivan Fitz-Mandrake Ap'Brand'son

NPCs

  • Gerome - Gay Bartender at Club Banyan and Mercedes' masseuse
  • Marcia - Mercy's maid in Banyan
  • Amadeo - Dance Instructor, Montelvano
  • Pan Gu - Dance Instructor, Jade
  • Doc H. - Physical Therapist
  • Beauregard - Giant Taxidermy'd Alligator

Playlist

Logs

Footnotes
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