Introduction
All deities and demons, all heavens and hells are internal.
Appearance
Notable Features
A future Chelsey production. Parking name and ideas for Later.Personal Style
Flawlessly fashionable, even in dusty paisley patterns.Circumstances
Currently
Since arriving by train over a decade ago, accompanied by a rosy-cheeked human woman named Ilse de Bruin, Charlotte has been the primary benefactress of the Never Benevolent Society, a charitable organization founded by herself and Mme. de Bruin in 1872. The Never Benevolent Society has thus been dedicated to community outreach and support, with Mme. de Bruin overseeing the day-to-day itinerary, while Charlotte functions as their Primary Consultant for matters of the heart, mind, body, and soul. Her office above the Never Benevolent Society remains (metaphorically) open to everyone, and with Mme. de Bruin's guidance, services are available to most of Never's citizens, free of charge.Health & Capabilities
Socioeconomics
Charlotte is wealthy in an undefinable, understated way. She owns a large manor north of town near Greystone, but she keeps it discreetly and modestly understaffed and rarely hosts guests, albeit when she does, her fêtes are always unforgettable. Additionally, she maintains a lot downtown out of which her employees manage her charities; her office exists above it, allowing her to meet privately with troubled citizens.Skills & Talents
— Omniglot— Swordplay & firearms
Present Relationships
Ilse de Bruin, matron of the Never Benevolent SocietyIdentity
Hobbies
— Horseback riding— Beekeeping
— Mycology
Habits & Routines
5AM–8AMMorning ablutions
8AM–11AM
Going over the agenda with Mme. de Bruin; attending the needs of the Never Benevolent Society
11AM–12:30PM
Full spread lunch served out of the dining hall to all members of NBS (and any other soul unfortunate enough to be hungry and nearby before the food runs out)
12:30PM–4:30PM
Open Doors, Opening Minds
4:30PM–6:30PM
Not even Mme. de Bruin is totally sure what Charlotte gets up to, but she knows Mme. Tauber always returns from the direction of her manor promptly at 6:30PM to help close up the offices.
6:30PM–Midnight
Dinners, parties, late night indulgences
Midnight–5AM
Supposedly sleeping
Personality
Charlotte is a predator cloaked in the guise of care: a master of twisted empathy who draws others close only to unravel their minds from within. She exudes a chilling calm, her voice often soft, coaxing, and disarmingly gentle, like a lullaby that lulls one toward ruin. There is an unsettling grace to her movements and speech, as though every gesture is meticulously designed to build trust, to lower defenses, to implant just enough doubt to begin the slow decay of a person's certainty in themselves.Her nature is fundamentally parasitic, feeding on the vulnerabilities and fears of her victims. Unlike blunt or violent demons, Charlotte's power is subtle and insidious: she does not need to raise her voice or brandish threats. Instead, she whispers, insinuates, and bends thoughts like a skilled psychiatrist poisoning the well of a patient's mind. She delights in the fragility of the human psyche, knowing precisely where to pry, which memories to twist, and which silences to exploit.
Her intelligence is cold and clinical, possessing a deep understanding of human behavior and emotion, an understanding sharpened over centuries. She is patient beyond measure, able to play the long game, waiting years for the perfect moment to strike or for her seed of doubt to blossom into chaos. This patience makes her terrifyingly effective, for the damage she causes often presents as self-inflicted, or borne of natural despair.
Although she wears the mask of a healer or confidante, beneath the surface is an unrelenting hunger, a ravenous appetite for control and corruption. Her delight is in the mental plague she spreads, not just in the destruction it causes, but also the way it infects minds and poisons relationships from the inside out. She is cynical about human nature, believing that beneath the veneer of civilization lies a roiling chaos eager for a whisper to ignite it.
Charlotte does not crave outright violence or destruction, no. Her artistry is psychological torment and decay. She is meticulous, manipulative, and dangerously charming, capable of appearing warm and understanding when it serves her ends. To those who encounter her, she may seem a gift, a soothing voice in dark times—but her presence always carries a hidden cost, a slow unraveling that leaves the mind diseased and the soul fragmented.
Background
History
You changed out of your divinity and made yourself like a man.
It started with a spore. It became an idea. It became pain. It became substance. It became blight.
It became them. They became it. They became death.
Uruk, ~2100 BCE
Inscribed on baked clay, translated by a future dead man:
He dreams of fire.
Not in fear. In hunger.
We tell him the gods speak to him through his sleep.
It is us.
We move between his ribs and whisper that his sister envies him.
She does now.
They were worshipped. Their words became whispers between ribs.
They were forsaken. Their words guided blades into hearts.
They were forgotten. Their words burned cities, buried loved ones, flooded civilizations.
Uruk. Eleusis. Epidaurus. Gaul. Kyoto. Saint-Just. Strasbourg. Wittenberg. Paris.
Each time, they returned to the earth, beginning the cycle again.
Son of Rye.
Daughter of Blood.
They rise again, fruitful, hungry.
They take a new name, Charlotte Tauber.
They find a new place, Never.
They have the same goal: prepare the sacrifices.
Powers & Magic
Powers Use
— Sporebinduse; Microscopic spores are transferred through physical contact to her target's nervous system.
effect; The target's thoughts and actions become partially linked to Charlotte's will, allowing her to subtly guide decisions or plant compulsions.
— Neural Mycelium
use; Anyone already spore-bound, limited range to trigger, physical contact not required.
effect; The fungal network grows inside her victim's brain, scrambling neural signals, causing random muscle spasms, hallucinations, and confusion, while allowing her to hear their thoughts in real time.
— Vascular Grip
use; Anyone within range of a sporebloom; stronger if delivered through physical contact.
effect; She tightens the victim's blood vessels with her fungal toxins, causing excruciating migraines, nausea, and emotional numbness, weakening resolve and resistance to her influence.
— Mnemonic Infection
use; Anyone already spore-bound, unlimited range.
effect; Her fungal growths infect memories and rot true recollections, replacing them with false but emotionally potent ones, rewriting their past in order to deepen loyalty to her.
Held Contracts
An incomplete account;
— Johannes Eck, dated 1348, fulfilled 1349
— Frau Troffea, dated 1518, fulfilled 1518
— Benjamin Luther, dated 1522, fulfilled 1525
— Gerard Bebencourt, dated 1788, fulfilled 1793
— Ilse de Bruin, dated 1870, not yet fulfilled
— Johannes Eck, dated 1348, fulfilled 1349
— Frau Troffea, dated 1518, fulfilled 1518
— Benjamin Luther, dated 1522, fulfilled 1525
— Gerard Bebencourt, dated 1788, fulfilled 1793
— Ilse de Bruin, dated 1870, not yet fulfilled
