## Statistics Galactic Age: ~3,900,000 Subjective Age: ~390,000 Homeworld: Unknown Home Sector: [[The Sectors#Sundered Harmony (6)|Sundered Harmony]] Affinity Groups - [[Past Projects/The Plague Lords/Affinity Groups/Agents]] - Aggregating & spreading information - [[Past Projects/The Plague Lords/Affinity Groups/Politicos]] - Get Wine Drunk & Scream (Politics) - "Whatever the last person said is wrong." You are the most accomplished spy alive. Of course, there's always the possibility of some other, more successful spy who has simply maintained their anonymity, but you're pretty sure you'd have at least spotted signs. No, when someone goes looking for the power behind the power behind the throne, they usually end up with someone who reports to you. Well, sort of. You'd never be so crass as to ask someone to tell you secrets. Why, that would be dishonest! No, you've cultivated an infinitely more effective method of gathering information; you've made yourself a good listener. People tell you what's going on in their lives for all sorts of reasons; you pay them, they fear you, they want something, but all of them also do it for a deeper reason. It feels good to tell you things. You want to spend eternity learning interesting things and telling people about them. Underneath the false identities, the ridiculous traps, and the shark-infested lairs you're just a regular person. You have your hobbies, your interests, and your passions. It's hardly your fault all three of those things revolve around spycraft. You've come to the [[Plague Council]] because you can't imagine being anywhere else in a moment like this. The most powerful people in the sector are gathering to hash out their differences, start and settle wars, and generally wreak havoc on the power balance of the galaxy. Not only is that a glorious opportunity for you, it's also good, old-fashioned fun. Unlike many of those present, you're not coming in with much of an ideology. For you, this is all about doing what you do best; breaking open secrets for everyone to see. ## Goals 1. Gather and disseminate as much information as you possibly can, ensure no secret goes uncovered or unspread. 2. Expand your network of informants while avoiding the spotlight. 3. Convince the Myriadic Council to give you a Holding of your own. ## Character Notes - This character is the central nexus of information. Their first and greatest priority is bringing secrets to light. The quality of their information, and their knack for providing the right pieces at the right moments, is what keeps them in the good graces of people whose secrets they shamelessly flog. There's a certain "fair play" element to it, when everyone knows you're spying and everyone agrees you're too useful to be gotten rid of. How does Morir feel about their survival being so plainly connected to their utility; does it chafe, or do you regard it as the cost of doing business? - Morir is in a complicated spot as regards the war; it's obviously viciously dangerous for everyone living in the sector, but it's also your primary form of employment. You've been around long enough to know that there's always another war. Though admittedly, few of them have been on this scale. Does Morir want to help bring peace, or have the long years left them too jaded to stick their neck out? - You cannot remember your homeworld, which is a source of some tension. While the idea of the Myriadic Council simply awarding you a Holding of your own might sound far-fetched to some, you know that it's just a matter of understanding how to move the individuals involved. Will your network of informants give you the tools you need to accomplish this grandiose goal? ## Connections 1. [[Attaché Cerul]] 1. "Big." 2. Cerul is clever. You've watched them develop a significant legend over the course of a few scant millennia. They have a marvelous knack for picking winners. Now, after centuries of practice, their prophecies of success have taken on a self-fulfilling element. If Cerul puts their name on a project, that project is going to succeed no matter what, so everyone might as well make it easy. No point standing in the way of the zeitgeist, after all. It's as though everyone but you has missed the fact that this particular zeitgeist has a name, and that name is Attaché Cerul. Never one to waste a useful resource, you've been cultivating Cerul as part of your network for nearly fifteen thousand galactic years. You've kept an eye out for projects they may find interesting, and in return they've kept you up-to-date on the social movements which seem to spring forth from their every utterance. This relationship has been, as all of your relationships are, mutually profitable. Cerul has gotten a few hot leads, and you've been able to use knowledge of their upcoming projects to improve your own cultural cachet. Now, though, you and Cerul will both be surrounded by the greatest and most terrible sources for thousands of light years in any direction. You know better than most how willing Cerul is to throw themself into any project of sufficient scale, regardless of the ideology involved. Will you maintain your friendship, or will they be swayed to act against you with promises of grandeur? 2. [[Bureaucrat Micelle]] 1. "... Mushroom." 2. Alright, you'll admit you're a bit stumped by this one. You remember meeting Micelle for the first time maybe half a million years ago, and even then the mushroom fixation was obvious. Since then, they've somehow ascended to the rank of Senior Bureaucrat without ever being attached to a Holding, and the mushroom thing has only gotten *more* intense. You've known a lot of Bureaucrats in your day, and you're used to them going strange at the higher levels, but usually that strangeness comes out in paranoia, baroque schemes, and the sort of cackling villainy that never really did any harm to anybody except other Bureaucrats. It's much less common for one of them to just get really, really into a hobby. At the same time, Micelle has been an invaluable source of information on the Bureaucracy, which is typically a closed book to even the cleverest of spies. You value them immensely for this, as the ability to get information from (and to) the highest levels of the [[Celestial Empire]] is something you've repeatedly parlayed into vast wealth and power. True, you're beginning to suspect that "Bureaucrat Micelle" may be someone -or something- else entirely, but so long as they remain useful, does it matter? 3. [[Governor Vitoli]] 1. "Prophecy." 2. You don't believe that Vitoli can see the future. You also don't much care, because the Governor is an excellent source of information regardless of their legitimacy as a spiritual figure. That said, you're fairly sure that what's really happening is some combination of pattern recognition and insider gossip. Fortunately, you love both of those things. Vitoli has been an invaluable source on the inner workings of [[House Orman]], particularly [[High Seat Ormais]], to whom the Governor has been an aide for more than fifteen thousand galactic years. You've used them to find out when and where the House was going to strike, to identify valuable sources of information before they could be destroyed, and generally to stay one step ahead of every other secret trader in this part of the galaxy. You've been keeping an eye on Vitoli ever since they got involved with Ormais, and you've even passed along some info to help them maintain their prophetic act from time to time. Will your most valued resource be crushed between the great powers, or will you find an unexpected friend? 4. [[Nuncio Polybdia]] 1. "Evolving." 2. Polybdia is dangerous. Few in the galaxy are clever enough to look past the idle banter and the mocking jokes, and so they fail to grasp the nature of the threat. They don't understand the sheer power a gossip wields, nor the breadth of uses to which it may be put. Gossips have broken god-kings and devoured empires. Endless is the clangor of the bells tolling to the tune of "have you heard?" You, of course, recognize the danger Polybdia represents. After all, you represent exactly the same kind of danger. For a few subjective millennia (~150,000 galactic years), you've kept an eye on the young Nuncio. Thus far, you've been largely impressed by their ability to maintain a frivolous persona even as they've brought down a laundry list of forgettable foes. Now, though, you and they will both be in attendance with some of the Sector's most powerful and dangerous figures. Will you try to guide Polybdia to success, or keep your distance and avoid the risks of investment? ## Mechanics **Asset:** [[Observe and Report]] Spies exist for exactly two reasons: to hear things, and to pass things on. You have spent long hours honing your perceptive and communicative powers, homing in on points of interest while allowing floods of extraneous data to pass you by, then distilling your findings in a few terse, encrypted sentences. Any time you observe another character in conversation for a few minutes (the time doesn't have to be exact, you just need to observe a meaningful conversation) you may ask that character's player for the name of one of their Liens. The player must disclose their Lien honestly, but they get to choose which to share. **Lien:** [[Lying for a Living]] The tricky thing about being a professional fabulist is that it's not the kind of skillset most folks would consider "respectable." As a spy, particularly a titled Spy, you're constantly working to convince others that deceit and discernment are core competencies. Any time you make an assertion of fact without proof, you must demonstrate through roleplay the untrustworthy nature of your word. You might simply say "as a professional liar, my word may not be taken seriously, but..." or you may actively attempt to seem as suspicious and deceitful as possible. Whatever the case, if a character believes you without proof, you regard this as a terrible failure on their part and try to teach them better.