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Mina
Tradition: Euthanatos Essence: Primordial Nature: Bravo Demeanor: Jester House: Mentor: Fahro Appearance:
Mina is an attractive, well-built young woman, with a wide face and large brown eyes. Her nose appears to have been broken and improperly set; the crooked bridge gives her a somewhat pugnacious look, but somehow it doesn't make her any less attractive. She about 5' 7" (1.70 m) with wide shoulders, and weighs just over 140 pounds (10 stone; 63.5 kg), most of it compact muscle. She wears her dark brown frizzy hair loose, or tucks it under a Baltimore Orioles baseball cap. He posture is erect but relaxed, and her movements are smooth, with rapid surges in energy and highly expressive hands. Mina usually dresses in jeans, T-shirts, and fatigue pants. She wears a black leather police jacket with a symbol of a Gorgon head painted on the back - this represents the Aegis, which in military terms is 'watching her six.' She did not realise that the person she was seeking in Little Totterington was 'Sarah Parker' until it was too late; 'Sarah' killed her, and then fled the village with Random. Personality: As Euthanatoi go, Mina is actually pretty easy-going - when she's not doing her 'work', she likes to hang out in bars and nightclubs, go salsa dancing or bowling. She's an avid cyclist, and has recently started collecting Greek and Eastern art. She's a loyal friend, and will jump to your defense in a heartbeat; if this leads to some sort of non-lethal fight, hey, even better. Likes: Hanging out over a few beers, clubbing, outdoor activities, kids and animals. Dislikes: Mildly claustrophobic, waiting in line, confusing or illogical directions, and learned helplessness. She's also somewhat prejudiced against Serbs, based on her time overseas. She refuses to kill children, and will go to great lengths to avoid putting them in jeopardy.
HistoryAwakening: Personal History: Jasmina Athene Maria Sanchez is the product of a working class family, the US Army and the Euthanatos tradition. Born in New York City to Greek and Puerto Rican parents, she spent much of her life traveling between two contrasting worlds: her mother's Greek Orthodox family from Queens and her father's Roman Catholic family in Washington D.C.'s Adams-Morgan neighborhood. Her high school years were largely uneventful, spent listening to The Cure, Depeche Mode and The Legendary Pink Dots with her fellow Goths while experimenting with sex, drugs and alcohol. After spending many nights waiting patiently for friends outside emergency rooms, Mina decided to go to college to earn her Bachelors in Health Science degree from George Washington University to become an EMT. To cover her tuition, she joined the National Guard - Army life suited her, and after she graduation she enlisted. After completing basic training, she was stationed at Ft. Hood in Texas, where she had a very good time indeed. However, her unit was sent over to Bosnia in the mid-Nineties as part of Joint Task Force Eagle, the ongoing UN/NATO peacekeeping mission. Mina worked as a paramedic and ambulance driver, and one day she and a friend were driving their humvee from Comanche Base back to Camp McGovern. Swerving to avoid a stray flock of sheep, the humvee struck a surplus land mine a farmer had planted at the edge of his property to deter poachers. The humvee flipped into the ditch, grievously wounding both Mina and her friend. With her radio damaged and the shepherd knowing no English, Mina took it upon herself to save her friend's life. Little did she know that she had just Awakened, and was unconsciously using Life magic to artificially sustain her friend, who was in fact too far gone to be saved. Only later did Mina realize that she had merely prolonged her friend's agony. Mina herself nearly succumbed to her injuries, and was herself clinically dead by the time they were found. Recovering in the very medical ward she normally worked, Mina was visited by a Bosnian photojournalist by the name of Fahrudin. He told her that he was covering the ongoing conflict, and had happened to snap a picture of her while she was comatose. When he later developed the film, there was a hazy image of a black dog standing next to her bedside, watching over her. Mina then remembered having seen such a dog herself just before she'd lost consciousness in the humvee's wreckage. Fahrudin explained to her that was more to meets the eye on this earth, and that her eyes now opened, could never be closed. He could explain it all to her, if she so chose. Mina said she'd have to think about it, but she took his card. Present situation: Sent back home to D.C. to finish her recovery, Mina received an honorable discharge and went on veteran's benefits, unable to motivate herself to find work as a civilian. Confused and frustrated, she turned once again to drugs, alcohol and empty sex to try and fill the strange blackness inside. She saw the black dog repeatedly, loping around the streets of her neighborhood; she would throw bottles at it to drive it away, but it always returned. Finally at the end of her tether, she traveled back to Bosnia to seek out Fahrudin; she found him at a café in Sarajevo, its walls still pock-marked with bullet holes. Over strong black coffee, Fahro (as he asked her to call him) spoke of the true nature of the world, things that would've sounded crazy to her a few months before, but which now made perfect sense. She asked for his help, and he proceeded to teach her the ways of the Euthanatos. Mina now understands the world much more clearly - there are people who gum up the works. Some of them are screw-ups who don't realize what they are doing. Some of them are cruel, cowardly men who can be set back on the path after a few strong words and a wrap on the knuckles. And some of them just need to die. She likes a good fight, but she doesn't enjoy killing, seeing it as a necessary part of the Ascension War. When the weight of what needs to be done gets too great, Mina often seeks out members of the Cult of Ecstasy to hang with, knowing that their love and enthusiasm are just the thing to scour away the death-taint. Foci: Entropy: Almost against her will, Mina started playing Dungeons and Dragons in the Army (it gets boring in the barracks, okay?), and was quickly hooked. She sometimes still thinks of magic in D&D terms, and might occasionally drop references to 'detect evil' or the like. Her custom-made chainmail dice bag is her Entropy focus, and can even double as a blackjack in a pinch. She keeps it in her jacket pocket, ready to roll percentile dice or to bonk some miscreant on the head. Life: Her paternal grandmother gave Mina this set of rosary beads, and it has gone with her wherever she's gone, remaining close to her heart. She's added items of personal significance to it over the years, making it into a sort of ongoing tapestry. Just some of the items include an empty M-16 shell casing, an ankh, a Chinese coin, a silver and turquoise brooch, and a cheap pendant of the Statue of Liberty. This last item has a dual significance, symbolizing both her connection to New York as well as acting as a covert symbol of the goddess Hekate, who is often depicted holding a torch aloft. Mind: Yep, it's a crystal. A gift from a rather New Age-y boyfriend from New Mexico, she finds this crystal pendant helps her focus her mind for mental magics. It hangs from a simple thong around her neck. Spirit: This small leather pouch is filled with bleached and polished bones of all kinds, from small animals as well as few human finger bones. When she seeks to contact the spirit world, Mina tosses these bones and reads the patterns they make on the ground. This pouch also hangs from a thong around her neck. Equipment: Mina's experience in the Army has given her a penchant for guns, but in her work she prefers not to use modern automatics, but weapons with a bit of history to them. She frequents gun shows looking for weapons used during wars, that have had the blood of brave soldiers soaked into their wooden stocks. She will usually consult with a Time specialist to learn a gun's life story. Her weapons include: 1. A Springfield rifle for sniping, one of the most accurate rifles ever made. The one she uses served in World War II, carried into Normandy by a Ranger sharpshooter. 2. A Smith and Wesson Hammerless revolver. A Los Angeles police detective, gunned down in the line of duty, carried this snub-nose .38 back in the Fifties. 3. A sawed-off Winchester '93 pump shotgun. This 12-gauge saw use as a 'trench-sweeper' in the Great War, but the modified barrel and pistol grip actually date from it's less-than-savory career after the war when it was used by a rum-runner working for the Chicago mob. Yes, that technically means it's tainted with evil, but it's very handy and gets the job done. Besides, what are ya, yella? 'Fraid a spooks and goblins? Get outta here, ya dumb mook! If she wants to be quick and clean, she uses an ivory-handled straight razor. Well maybe it's really just quick… Methods: Mina has gotten pretty good at using Life magic to change her appearance, either to get close to a target or to verify if a certain client should be taken out by another mage. She's found that meeting a prospective male target in a bar while disguised, typically as a dippy blonde, is a great way to see him in action. Taking a tip from her mentor Fahro, she also does a little photo work as a 'stringer', just enough to keep her AP press credentials up to date; flashing her credentials has often proved a great way to get curious cops and soldiers off her back.
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