Ciska

Ciska is the first-person narrator of the Wartorn Cluster-Gazetteers, a scholar and mage from the Core who was forced to scout the distant Cluster.

Description

Ciska is described by a noblewoman who tried to sell her to vampire Darklady Camille Churnstone as being beautiful and having bright red hair. Artwork of her depicts her as having red eyes as well, and a rather cold facial expression.

Personality

Ciska's writing presents her as being arrogant, prideful and disdainful of those she considers her intellectual inferiors, but willing to instruct those honestly seeking to expand their knowledge and abilities, and respectful of genuine and non-hostile displays of power and ingenuity. She takes great pride in her abilities as a scholar, spellcaster and alchemist, and is confident in her combat abilities. An observer has described her as having a 'toxic' personality, but it could be argued that she constantly chafes against the geas placed on her by her mysterious Master, which has forced her to undertake the perilous journey to the Wartorn Cluster from the Core.

She could be said to have a certain code of honour, as she appreciates those who do her a good turn. In addition, she seems to feel a certain (grudging) responsibility to step in when the helpless are being victimized in her presence, as she did when interrupting Camille Churnstone's feeding at the Athenaeum Boarding School for Young Ladies, even providing medical care for the victims. It is a dark code, however, as it prompted her to provide a quick death to Veronique when the latter was being savaged by the vampire.

History

Not much is known of Ciska's history, but she makes several references to life in the Core (specifically Dementlieu, although she mentions having had to travel to Tepest and other places) and claims to be a published scholar. It seems clear that at some point she fell under the sway of her unnamed Master, who she detests and wastes no opportunity to mock and insult. It is possible, though not certain, that she is of Darkonese extraction as she carries an unholy symbol of the Eternal Order and swears by its patrons, suggesting she is a member of the faith -- although she herself freely admits she is less devout than her Master. It is even possible that Ciska would be considered a heretic by the priests in Darkon, as she sees no problem with including powers of Death from other pantheons - such as the Lord of the Dead - among the ranks of the faith's pantheon.

Powers and abilities

From Ciska's Lilliend-Gazetteer, it is clear she is proficient with the use of both firearms and a sword cane. She mentions keeping a spellbook, and is capable of casting Daylight and Fireball. She references alchemical abilities, and mentions she has created a homunculus (Firstborn), which indicates she is at the very least a 5th-level Wizard with the Craft Construct-feat (and therefore by necessity, Craft Magic Arms & Armour, Craft Wondrous Item and Scribe Scroll). As a Wizard first presented in a domain created with the rules of the Pathfinder 1E system, Ciska should be entitled to either a familiar or a Bond item, but has mentioned neither as of yet -- although her relief at recovering her stolen equipment near the end of the Lilliend Gazetteer suggests the latter. If Ciska does use a bond item, it seems most likely that this should be either her unholy symbol of the Eternal Order or her sword cane.

Ciska mentions possessing a certain sensitivity to unusual phenomena, and describes vivid - and disturbing - visions which occur while she is inside what turned out to be the lairs of vampire Darklord Camille Churnstone, as well as three of the four Darklord candidates of Conquista. It is possible that she possesses the Ethereal Empathy-feat or some other ability that allows her to detect ethereal resonance.

As of the Wartorn Gazetteer Volume II: Conquista, it has become clear that Ciska is capable of using divine magic as well as arcane magic, and prays and holds ceremonies to what she calls the 'dead patrons' of the Eternal Order for her spells. She has described this magic as being more 'limited' than her usual arcane magic, and only relies on it when forced to by circumstances, rather than personal preference.

Relationships

• Ciska's main relationship throughout the Lilliend-Gazetteer is with her mystery Master, who she holds in contempt and mocks whenever she can. It is at the orders of this individual that she crossed over to the Wartorn Cluster by ways of the Threefold Path, sometime after he seriously got up the nose (or rather, nasal cavity) of both King Azalin and the Fraternity of Shadows, and his home was attacked and burned down by Kargat. Apparently undeterred by this, the Master is harbouring plans of conquering the whole Wartorn Cluster, an act for which Ciska is gathering information and laying groundwork.

• Oddly, there is a series of comments in the Lilliend Gazetteer by an individual who Ciska does not mention or acknowledge, and who has been confirmed not to be her Master. Rather, this commentator appears to be equally as dismissive of the Master as is Ciska, although they do not hesitate to snark at Ciska's expense when opportunity allows.
  • In Conquista, the unidentified speaker becomes an active part of the narrative, coming to Ciska's aid in battle when she is assaulted by a local. The unidentified speaker mentions clawing the attacker, catching him by surprise, followed by singing at him, causing the man to be dazed and stumble.

• Ciska spent a mercifully brief time in one of the schools that serve as the hunting grounds of Camille Churnstone. After Ciska interrupted Camille's feeding on the students, the Darklady sought to have Ciska locked in a cell after having been stripped of her equipment. Ciska managed to escape with the aid of Veronique, and the scholar and the Darklady had a running battle that ended with Ciska being hurled bodily from the building into a fast-running river. While Ciska did not recognize Camille as the heart of Lilliend's darkness, she did correctly identify her as a vampire and expressed both derision and disgust for her appearance and condition as an undead creature.

• Ciska also met and spent a little time with Veronique during her time in the Lilliender boarding school. Although she was initially as contemptuous of the child as she seems to be of most people, Ciska developed a measure of appreciation for the young girl's eagerness to learn new things, her keen knowledge of the school and its secret passages, and the fact that Veronique came to her rescue. It can safely be assumed that Ciska at the very least intended to safely accompany Veronique outside the school's grounds, but she killed the girl as an act of dark mercy when she came under assault by Camille Churnstone, who was feeding on her.

• To facilitate her survey of Conquista, Ciska hires on a young man named Hectór Seis as her native guide and chauffeur. Ciska consistently describes Hectór as useful and a 'good servant', resisting the idea of abandoning him. Hectór has responded to Ciska's appreciation with apparent loyalty, even though he has suffered fear and injury in her service. At the end of the Conquista Gazetteer, Ciska makes it clear that Hectór will be joining her for the next stage of her journey. This may well be because both Cliffton Willgoat and Malik Lenkherr have issued threats towards both Ciska and Hectór by this point, and Ciska repays loyalty with loyalty of her own.