Talk:Oleksandra Tometchko

Tears of the Martyr's Tree

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Many Lands, Many Peoples

It is an unfortunate truth that trauma defines the history of the Children of the Tree. They were founded during a genocide. They gained global prominence during another series of genocides in WWII. All across the Americas and the Pacific rim indigenous peoples were being colonized and brutalized by imperialist powers, and out of that crucible the Children of the Tree managed to rise and thrive.

But it hasn't been due to a lack of confronting their history. On the contrary, Children tend to be some of the more clear-eyed folk you're likely to meet. Precisely because they outsource their grief and make communal the sufferings modern society would rather we keep private. Part of the reason why this value is so enduring is that legacies like the Tears of the Martyr's Tree exist, do their jobs, and demonstrate the positive impact of addressing generational and territorial traumas directly and resolving them. It's not a perfect system, obviously, but the Children seem to feel it trumps rugged individualism and going it alone.

With that said, it is a rare child indeed that takes on the mantle of a Tear of the Martyr's Tree. Assuming that role for the land itself is almost an unfathomable task. The charges are, in general, thankless spirits that would as soon devour you as treat with you. You're opposed on all sides by corporations and governments, polluters and abusers of people, animals, and the environment. But lands under a tear's supervision thrive. Spirits get back to doing what they're supposed to do, emotions are kept in check, and on a very rare occasion the mistakes of the past are righted.

The work is overwhelming and ceaseless and involves confronting the very worst of society's sins written on the corpi of the axis mundi. And so there are very few Tears, and they tend to arrive at the role rather than having sought it out. One very rarely aspires to the work. One finds themselves doing it, reluctantly, until someone puts an arm around your shoulder and informs you that you're not doing it alone.

Origins

Parentage: Acanthuse, Children of the Tree

Background: Survivors, Veterans, people who lived on the fringes, lost souls

Appearances: Tears come from all walks of life, drawn to their work because the Tear could do nothing else. Most tend not to have much use for fashion, preferring functional attire that lets them go to where the work is. Expect good footwear and expensive tools on a body wearing a $6 shirt from Old Navy.

Doctrine

Prerequisites: Spirit 1, Empathy 2, two dots in one of the following Skills; Subterfuge, Persuasion, Occult

Initiation: It is almost unheard of that someone asks to assume the burden of healing the land under the people's feet. It's too big. There's too much. Wounds exist. Rather, through the circumstances of life some Mages just find themselves doing it because, for whatever reason, they've decided that's where the fight is. Governments fight dirty, people have wills of their own that you can't just go around subverting, but those who wind up tears realize that if you just reach behind the scenes and prepare the way, you very often don't have to. Tears are people who recognize that you must interrupt the cycle of trauma at some point for healing to begin. For whatever reason, through whatever circumstances, Tears have decided that creating an environment that doesn't reinforce destructive cycles is the best way to do that. And once someone starts down that path their compassion leaves a trail and before long, a Tear will turn up and offer community. They say that Tears don't fall alone, after all.

Organization: One part support group, one part found family, the Tears of the Martyr's Tree are fairly ride or die for one another. There's no 'in charge' in the organization, though typically the most senior Tear in the room is expected to chair whatever meeting results. This often involves being the one to make sure there's coffee and donuts, so it's not a duty without responsibilities. But otherwise, the Legacy realizes that there are more important things to worry about than esoteric nonsense, and each Tear is assumed to be fully capable of seeing to their own affairs. Each Tear tends to have an area or areas they oversee, and they never overlap with other tears for obvious reasons. The support group meets weekly at the Lodge of the Children, and if a member does not show up for three consecutive months the Legacy will look in on them. The work is often a lot, and a lot can often become too much. For that reason, entry into the Legacy comes with that understanding. You check in, or they will come and find you. You waive your right to complain when they do. No tear falls alone.

Theory: The spirits of the shadow form feedback cycles with the world around them. Too much of anything, even good things, can tip the balance in a location and lead to all sorts of unwanted consequences. Wounds occur when malignant cycles feedback upon themselves. Violent people do violence, drawing spirits of violence who, now hungry for more, inspire further violence. There are people in the real world doing the work of opposing systems of violence and oppression, but they are also opposing without being aware the spiritual forces feeding upon and reinforcing those same systems. Tears address this. They right spiritual wrongs and pave the way for the good works of others to take root. Their work is rarely seen, seldom truly appreciated, but-- to their minds --absolutely essential to a healthy and happy people.

Magic

Ruling Arcanum: Mind

Yantras: Being where you don't belong (+1, or +2 if you went there under your own free will); carrying the decryption of a code you broke within the past month (+2); Path tools usable as weapons or in spycraft (+2); dressing as someone else (+1); speaking other than your native language (+1); using an item you stole from an enemy (+1)

Oblations: Decryption; encryption; discussing moral philosophy such as the trolley problem; learning a secret; being alone in a crowd

Attainments

First: Know the Mother's Sorrow

Prerequisites: Initiation
Tears know better than most how our pasts shape us. And in the 'as above, so below' sense, the past shapes the shadow, too. Understanding one's surroundings holistically requires understanding the spirits that inhabit them. And understanding the spirits that inhabit your surroundings requires understanding their pasts. A wise person wouldn't insert themselves in an ongoing argument without knowing what it's about, so what right have the Wise to go barging into spiritual disputes willing things about without context? The base version of this attainment functions as Know Spirit with save that Tears get two more answers than their potency would otherwise provide. This means that at Spirit 5, the Tear receives answers to all questions.
Optional: Time 2
Intimately familiar with trauma, Tears have an innate understanding of the relationship between the Fallen World's agonies and the dangers of the Shadow. They know that the first step in addressing those traumas is to understand what caused them. With this optional attainment, the Tear gains insight into the historical causes of the target spirit's issues. A magath will have its cause revealed, a distressed water spirit will reveal the pollution leaking into the stream in the real world. Functioning a bit like the Time 1 effect Postcognition, the Tear is delivered visions of the formative and key events that shaped the spirit into what it is, and allows the Tear to understand the spirit holistically and in context. It does this even for very old spirits, serving it up to the tear in a rush of sensory input. So long as the Tear maintains line of sight on the spirit, they can take their sweet time examining the spirit's history, rewinding and fast forwarding at will. While so doing, the Tear is vulnerable to attack and loses their defense. (1 reach to instant cast, 1 reach to quick review.) Using this attainment with this optional effect grants the Tear the Informed condition about the Spirit.

Second: Tools of the Trade

Prerequisites: Mind 2, Subterfuge 3
It's useful to be able to do two things at once. During the heat of a mission, when stress levels are high and the stakes are higher, the Guard must be able to keep a clear head and think critically. Perhaps she has to crack a code and figure out which wire to cut on the bomb at the same time. Or draw a map of the location in her mind while trying to remember which acid is best suited to eat through the lock in front of her. The utility of having two simultaneous trains of thought to problem solving cannot be over-emphasized. And, like the Mind 1 effect One Mind, Two Thoughts, this attainment brings that about. One reach has been designated to allowing two mental instant actions on the same turn, and another to advanced duration. Accordingly, this attainment is typically meditated upon ritually before the mission.
Optional: Fate 2
Guards operate in the cold. They operate alone, quite often, and must depend on their wits and ingenuity to get the job done. But it is a rare agent, indeed, that is universally competent in all aspects of field work. This attainment doesn't make that any less true, but it does let you use a wrench as a hammer in a pinch. Similar to the Fate 1 effect Serendipity, this optional attainment allows the Guard to substitute a different skill in the place of the one being rolled, so long as it is in the same category; Mental, Social, or Physical. The reach is used to make the effect instantaneous, and to provide the skill swapping effect. A talented agent may not have access to every tool within their box, but they can certainly make do. This effect may be used a number of times per activation equal to the Guard's fate arcana.

Third: In Plain Sight

Prerequisites: Mind 3, One of the other initiation skills at 2
A Guard must be able to move through the world unseen. Moving from place to place quickly, efficiently, and without notice is key. Being able to knock out a worker in the facility and steal his uniform? That's good. Wearing it and blending in with the staff? That's better. Doing that and then also making yourself beneath the notice of even the most ardent of security guard? That's better still. And by emulating the Mind 2 effect Incognito Presence, the Guard is able to do just that. One reach is dedicated to instantaneous effect, and another to advanced duration.
Optional: Fate 3
Typically, moving under the shroud of incognito presence is done to achieve an end. Moving from safehouse to safehouse, infiltrating a facility, or heading to a dead drop. With this optional attainment, the Guard may also use it to reach the next necessary objective in their mission. As with the Fate 2 effect Shifting the Odds, this attainment allows the Guard to find the nearest instance of what it is they seek. Looking for a double agent under cover? This will lead you to him. Seeking out the employee at the facility with mountains of debt and a willingness to turn coat if you can make it all go away? Ditto. It can also provide temporary dots of certain social merits like Ally, Contacts, Mentor, Resources, or Retainer, the sum of which may not exceed the Guard's Fate Arcana. One reach is dedicated to instant effect, and another to advanced duration. It should be noted that while the goal will be reached within a 24 hour period, that if the effect is enacted in an area likely to contain the objective, it may be found immediately, such as looking in the director's file cabinet for the missing dossier. Or searching the ER for the suspect you shot.

Fourth: Hair Trigger

Prerequisites: Mind 4, A third of the initiation skills at 2
The key to the success of any operations is preparation. This attainment demonstrates that. Through ritual preparation and oblation, the Guard steels their mind and hones their skills, hardening them for the job to come. Like the Mind 3 effect Augment Skill, pick a single skill and gain a number of dots in that skill equal to your rating in the Mind Arcana. One reach is dedicated to advanced duration, one two allowing a the dots to be divided between two skills.
Optional: Fate 4
Not only is the mind enhanced, but the odds are, too. Similar to the Fate 3 effect Supernal Luck, the Guard gains a number of rote action rolls equal to her dots in the Fate Arcana when using the chosen skill. One reach is dedicated to making this an instant action, and one to advanced duration. You must touch another target to impart this benefit to them.

Fifth: The Last Resort

Prerequisites: Mind 5, Subterfuge 4
Every Guard is a force to be reckoned with, but that doesn't make them beyond the reach of the things that they've done. Through any number of methods, agents acquire deleterious mental conditions which can impair their judgment and impede their progress towards the mission objectives. Rather than suffering through them, or subduing them, the Guard simply removes them from the tapestry of their psyches. Similar to the Mind 3 effect Clear Thoughts, the Guard may remove a number of conditions from themselves or another entity they can touch equal to their dots in the Mind Arcana. One reach is dedicated to making this an instant effect, two to make the effect lasting, resolving the conditions yet granting no beats.
Optional: Fate 5
Clearing the mind and focusing the thoughts can also provide tremendous clarity of purpose. Similar to the Fate 2 effect Exceptional Luck, this attainment grants 8-again to a number of die rolls equal to your rating in the Fate Arcana. The reach has been dedicated to creating the 8-again effect, and to allowing this effect to be used reflexively for a cost of 1 mana.