Undertow — Rio's Background
Rio, Daughter of Bleys
© 2004 Leslie Lightfoot
At the core of her being, Rio is a wild supernatural creature. Her earliest memories are of verdant green, scent landscapes, thin mountain air, the taste of blood, the feel of the wind through her fur and *no* words or linear thoughts. Thereafter her mindset has stayed rather primal and wild, even though she has 'grown' into a human lifestyle.
Rio doesn't feel any need to define what type of being she is, she just knows that she is not human and that she is extremely comfortable as a jaguar. Though she is obviously not just a jaguar either. Other shapes came later in her life, and hold almost no personal identification.
From the wildcat in her, Rio has developed both a ruthlessness and a savage elegance. She believes that all humans are the same, not differentiating between a street prostitute and a Don. However, both are cattle fenced in by their own laws and desires, to be used by Rio as she sees fit.
And what she wants from them is their beauty. Unlike cattle, humans create such... beauty. And Rio is irresistibly drawn to that. The street prostitute's life of passion and immediacy. The Don's accumulation of wonderful toys. Rio is especially fond of artists and art-collectors. However, Rio is not so much drawn to actual things, as to the experiences they engender. Once a moment or relationship is over, Rio tends to lose, give away or cache the left-over presents and things given to her.
Lifestyle:
At the beginning, Rio's lifestyle was that of any wild creature, surviving on the mountain slopes and within the fringes of the verdant rainforest. Hunting and being hunted -- not very successfully. :)As she grew, she began to notice the incursion of humanity into the wilds and became fascinated with humans. A shift of shape and she was among them, quickly picking up the rudiments of language and social order.
She made her way from the rural and poverty stricken outskirts of civilization to the urban and poverty stricken streets of the concrete jungle. There she learned her lessons of haves and have-nots. And quickly determined where she wanted to be.She dedicated herself to learning the finer graces as well as learning what makes men tick. And soon became so proficient at the latter that her life soon came to her by way of various lovers and providers without her having to work or even ask for it.
For many decades, Rio lived a whirlwind life among the bon vivants and high societies of Tierra del Sol y Sombre as a 'kept' woman. However, Rio's expertise and cunning is enough that she determines who keeps her and for how long. She gives good value by bringing life and passion to all around her. And the hint around her of something wild adds spice. Rio is also strong enough to make sure that none of her providers ever 'own' her. Any attempt to cage her is bound to have a fatal result for the potential 'owner.'
Rio is intensely primal, not caring for laws or morality, and not understanding the concept of innocent or bystander. Life happens to everyone, and danger only adds spice. Because she often reacts as a wild supernatural creature, Rio can be ruthless, cruel and her sexual mores are non-existent. In her past, she has stolen, murdered, done illicit substances by the boatload, been responsible for deaths by carelessness, raped, etc. etc.
However, that same supernatural creature brings to the people she loves -- and yes, she does *love* them, if only briefly -- a gift of life, passion, exuberance and tenderness. She is bright, lively and up for anything -- sweeping away the cobwebs of ennui and anxiety like they were never there.
Rio is an artist of the moment, the experience. Moonlit nights, learning love in the rippling waters of a white beach, serene and holy. The warmth and comfort of a fire, exquisite brandy, the companionship of a beautiful woman blending into a golden and divine contentment. The fierce hunt through a verdant jungle, uncertain of who is the hunter and who is the hunted, adrenaline thrill rush of pounding life.
Rio lives to create these moments, these experiences. And to share them with those around her.
And *if* a current lover is someone Rio feels comfortable and secure with, she has even let hints of the mystery that is herself come out.
Likes:
" New physical experiences
" Adrenaline rushes
" Sex
" Beautiful pure momentsDislikes:
" Passive entertainments -- especially electronic ones
" Cowardice
" Cages / Boundaries
" Supersonic Noises :)Potential Background:
Rio grew up pretty much on her own, wild in the green jungle, wild in the concrete jungle. She has vague impressions of a mother cat, but by the time she was a year old, she was hunting on her own and have roamed away from her nursery territories.When she was two or three years old, she became fascinated with the villages and farms that were encroaching into the rainforest. The young cub spent many hours watching humans before venturing out to join them.
Rio is not a trained shapeshifter, but a natural one, so that it was her desire to walk among the dirt paths of the villages that brought her out of her fur that first time and into the flesh of a human. She experienced no surprise at the change. After all, even as a jaguar, she was stronger, faster and fiercer than her peers, bearing more resemblance to the Tlaloc than to the wildcats that prowled the forest around her. That she could become something else was just another facet of herself, one she accepted easily and without question.
In that first isolated village, Rio was taken in by the Sisters of Charity, a small mission reaching out to the poorest of communities in Tierra del Sol y Sombre. It was from those sometimes kind, sometimes harsh women that Rio first learned how to speak, how to dress and how to think at least somewhat like a human. The Sisters, themselves, considered Rio a feral child who must have been lost in the jungle and now was found.
After spending some years at the mission, Rio began hungering for new experiences and moved ever city-ward from her beginnings. Though she still made time and excursions into the green shadows whenever she felt the need to rest from the frenetic life of a human.
Eventually, Rio arrived in Gracias (think Rio de Janeiro), capital of Tierra del Sol y Sombre. Here the carnivale atmosphere of the streets, the festivals of the waterfront, the music, art and *life* of humanity captivated her fully. And the girl made her life here, moving from lover to lover, home to houseboat to yacht to shanty as whim took her.
Many decades were spent thusly, though Rio never questioned her lack of aging or power. After all, she was Rio, a supernatural creature and unique being. Why should anything be the same for her as for humans?
Then, during the height of the Rosa del Morte Carnivale, she met a man. And such a man! Not like any of her other lovers. He was powerful, charismatic... El Diablo himself sparkled in his dark eyes. Rio couldn't help but be fascinated. The man, who only gave his name as El Capitan, seemed fascinated by Rio as well. Though his fascination didn't seem to be directed at bedding the young woman, as so many others' was. This was just fascinating mystery about El Capitan that teased at Rio's curiosity.
After the Carnivale of her life spent in El Capitan's company, Rio accepted the offer a ride aboard his schooner. And the two set off into the rosy dawn. It was shortly after that that Rio felt an odd prickling along the fur she didn't have. And noticed that... the sky seemed to be changing color. And not in way she had experienced before. Shifting from a magnificent blue to a delicate lavender. The water that splashed before the bow of El Capitan's boat, it too seemed to be changing in color and content.
The girl's sense of adventure was completely peaked and rather than be concerned, Rio found that the thrill of the mysterious and unknown brought a grin to her face that she couldn't hide. El Capitan had a similar grin on his face. Rio never asked what was happening, vastly preferring the beauty of the experience to the mundanity of some boorish explanation. El Capitan never volunteered an explanations, either.
After many days of sailing through seas beautiful and strange, El Capitan's boat pulled into the most astounding harbor that Rio had ever seen. The colors, the scents, the sounds... Rio was entirely bedazzled by the beauty of this Port Amber.
It was there the games began.
[The background that I'm thinking about developing here between yourself, your co-GMs and various other PCs is that El Capitan is *not* Rio's father, but in fact, Uncle Caine proving that he can find and acquire Bleys' hidden daughter with a minimum of effort. What occurs after this point is an extended game of 'Rio, Rio who's got the Rio.' :)
Bleys, truly incensed at his smart-alec older brother takes Rio into a friendly protective custody situation and introduces her around the city. Until such time as Rio's antics annoy him too much or his own boredom kicks in, then *poof* off to Shadow he ships her. This time being even more careful to hide the girl. After a few years, Caine comes along and *poof* Rio reappears in Amber. Over and over again. As Rio's Uncle and Father play their little one-upmanship games.
Now Rio? She doesn't really mind this. Her environment stays ever changing, ever fascinating and she gets to visit Amber every few years. What's not to like? :) ]
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other writings: Background, Quiz, "Rio and Andrew", "Rio and Blade", "Rio and Dartmouth", "Rio and Duncan", Undertow log, "Blade and not Rio", Ebb Tide log