valerie

Valerie Karaviela:

An almost-attractive, vaguely-androgynous woman of tall and athletic build, who wears short-cropped hair that unhealthily hangs from her scalp. She looks perpetually tired, with thick bags under her eyes and bloodshot lines webbed across her sclera. She wears what would be a moderately-sharp suit if it weren't exceedingly drab, along with a heavier overcoat for when the city's layer of excrement is too thick. She tends to be quiet, only speaking when it's absolutely necessary; when she chooses to speak it is as tersely as possible, with little regard for polite niceties. She works as a private investigator and occasional mercenary, saying that internecine noble politics kept her from pursuing a 'legitimate' career.

The reality is slightly more muddled, and also a bit more clandestine. She was, for a time, a prospective for service in the secret police of New Vertica-- something she is disinclined to mention, for readily obvious reasons. During a particular risky raid on an underground demon-cult temple-- intended to prove her worth as a professional instrument of statist authority-- she was gravely injured. Whether due to the location, the experimental soul-transfusion used to treat her critical state, the close brush with death, or something else entirely, Valerie found soon afterwards she was able to perceieve the souls of the recently deceased-- first as voices, then as manifested figures, and eventually she reached a point where she could eke out brief moments of contact.

The secret police readily disavowed her-- far too many had died spilling secrets that weren't meant to be heard a second time. She used whatever favors she had left to shed her identity and blend into the city, using her talent and training in a new life as a private investigator. She's remarkably good at investigating, whether through magical or mundane means, and in a pinch can apply some of the interrogation and combat techniques she's learned (and subsequently tried to forget-- having the ghost of a man you tortured taunt you is unsurprisingly unpleasant).

Aspects: Speaker of the Dead, Discarded Identity, Detective

Skills (Level 1): Investigation 8, Weapons (Firearms) 6, Intimidation 6, Mysteries 6, Stealth 4, Resolve 4, Weapons (Bludgeoning) 2, Alertness 2, Empathy 2

Stunt:
	I See Dead People-- Valerie can see, hear, and under some circumstances communicate with the recently deceased or persistent spectres, more so than regular people.
	Balanchine's Gift-- Valerie can detach her soul from her body if she collapses for some reason, at the risk that something else could occupy her body while she's out.

Gear: A snub-nosed revolver (average quality), a secret-police issue truncheon (markings and issuing numbers filed off, average quality), packet of cheap cigarettes, bottle of cheaper alcohol, bulletproof vest, pad of paper, beaten-up hat, suit, old military gas-mask (stolen), shard of a spooky mirror, some sort of spooky soul gun, flashlight

Health: 5
Composure: 6
Fate Points: 6