Rosetta Cypress

Character Name: Rosetta Cypress

Race: Alba

Age: 35

Gender: Female

Character Description: Rosetta is a tall woman standing at 6’5. She has long, shaggy maroon hair falling over her face. She is missing her left leg from below the knee, as well as her right eye and most of her right hand. She uses a crutch to get around, the end of which has been filed into a point. Across the middle and right side of her face are 2 deep scars.

Character Occupation: Drunk

Character Personality/Traits:

Rosetta is a largely broken and bitter person from her past. She often resorts to alcohol to drown her emotions and while drunk is prone to extreme mood swings. She has a deep hatred and distrust of Fae, particularly those that offer deals. She says she prefers the ones that just steal your soul or murder you, because at least they're honest about it. Though she's often rude and callous to people, she has a soft spot for children. She longs for a past that is gone, but is too scared to try and reclaim it.

Character Biography: Rosetta was born to an abusive Dwarven father who drove her mother away. With her gone, his abuse only got worse, but luckily for her she wouldn’t have to deal with it long. He’d soon drink himself to the grave, declaring to his daughter on his deathbed that as a dwarf, it was the only accomplishment in his life he could be proud of. Rosetta was taken into an orphanage where she was introduced to the Knight’s Order who were offering children training and a home as Pages.

She was determined to prove her father wrong. She would become something great, something he would’ve been proud of, to spite him. He would never see his true greatest accomplishment. Though her bitter desire drove her through her training excellently, it made her a cold and cruel person.

She had little care what people thought of her, as long as she could fight that was enough for her. Once she was of age she joined the Pact War, where she became known as a swordswoman of legendary renown. It wouldn’t last forever though. During one of her battles she suffered an explosion that took an eye, her leg, and most of her dominant hand.

No matter how hard she tried to overcome her injuries, she failed. She couldn’t hold a sword in her ruined hand. She couldn’t fight on one leg. She couldn’t even aim right without her right eye. She had to watch from the sidelines as the Pact War was won without her, but the most crushing blow came from what many thought was an act of kindness.

When the war was over, many got together and they erected a statue in her honor in Barkamsted. It stood tall and triumphant with its blade raised high in the air. Doing everything she could no longer do. She hated the statue, it was a constant reminder of what she could never reclaim. One night she made her way out to the statue and began bashing at its legs with her crutch, trying to bring it down.

“I-I wish you luck.” A nervous voice called out. “They say she is undefeated...” Rosetta turned to find a sheepish looking man standing behind her. He was a weak man, just her glare seemed like it nearly brought him to his knees. Yet still he stood, trying to comfort her.

Slowly, painfully, and at the cost of various insults to himself, he was able to calm her down enough to speak with her. She learned the man was a poet by the name of Torin who lived in the area. When she asked why he approached her when he seemed so obviously scared, he had no real answer. “Normally, I would’ve just left you be. But... I don’t know. I just felt like I had to try.”

Rosetta and Torin began seeing each other more often, and eventually began dating. He had a quality to him that Rosetta hadn’t seen in anyone else her whole life. He didn’t try to make himself appear tougher than he was, nor was he ashamed of himself. He was soft and sweet, but sparked to life in moments of bravery from time to time. It helped her forget about fighting, about her past.

They eventually had a child named Kyrin, and things were going well for a long time. Until one day, an Orc began starting trouble in a tavern. He said he recognized Rosetta from the Pact War, claiming she killed his friends. When she smugly responded that they shouldn’t have been on the wrong side, he lost it. He attacked all three of them, as they cycled between trying to protect each other. It was a cruel, terrible night as Rosetta could do nothing to protect her family.

Eventually the guard came, but the damage was done. Physically, they were all going to be fine. But Rosetta’s pride was broken. She no longer just wanted her old strength back, she NEEDED it to protect her family. Her pursuit of it began tearing her family apart as she was ready to resort to Dark Magic, dangerous alchemy or even illegal life alteration. She began drinking to deal with it all, and one day found herself wandering the woods after being kicked out of another tavern.

Suddenly, she found her environment changing from dark trees to a brightly lit landscape of pink and red flowers.

“You are in such pain, my little flower! It hurts me to see.” A cheery voice called out. A large flower bloomed in front of her, and out of it stepped what appeared to be a glowing child whose features were in constant change. “I am Erilia, the Fae of Rebirth, of New Beginnings!”

“What do you want with me, Fae?”” Rosetta demanded. She knew not to trust their kind, but realized she must’ve stumbled into its territory somehow. She feared what it could do.

“Ah, the real question is what do YOU want with ME?” The Fae chuckled. “You want a new body, right? One with all its limbs and such? Well look no further! I, Molteris, am an expert at re-making things!”

“I thought you said your name was Erilia...?”

“I am in constant rebirth! My name is never the same! But that’s enough about my name, I’m more interested in YOURS, may I have it?” It asked. Rosetta hesitated, she didn’t know the specifics, but she knew that Names were important to Fae. “Come on, I’m not trying to trick you! My deal is simple and quite fair; Your name, and I’ll give you a new body! Heck, I’ll give you FIVE new bodies if ya want!”

“Why...? What do you gain from this?”

“I already told you, your name! The name of the most legendary swordswomen in the land! Such an important and powerful name, I’d really love to have it!” The Fae waited for an answer, and when it got none it plucked a flower from the field. It held the flower up to Rosetta, and within each of its red petals she saw herself, uninjured and without a scratch. “I’ll be perfectly clear so you know there’s no trickery; You give me your name, and I’ll give you this flower. Anytime you want a new body, pluck a petal and it shall be yours! And if you don’t want it... well, I’ll be real sad, but you can just leave. So, whattya say?” Rosetta took a while to think over the deal, lamenting over the dangers... But she couldn’t let her family be in danger like that. Never again.

“Fae, you may have my name. I am Rosetta Cypress, the Greatest Sword Fighter in Sapriel.”

It felt like waking up from a dream. One moment, she was on the ground with the flower. Next, she was standing in Barkamsted. Standing. On two feet. She looked at her hands, all her fingers were there. She could see them with both eyes. It worked! She was so ecstatic she ran all through town just because she could. Only once she was out of breath did she set her path for her house. She burst through the door and nearly tackled a shocked Torin in a tight hug.

“Woah, woah! What’s going on?!” He asked, struggling to pry her off of him.

“Torin, it worked! Well, you don’t know what ‘it’ is yet but I’m back! Look!”

“Yes, um, that’s great but-” Torin began, but before he could finish he was interrupted.

“OYE!” A furious shout came, instantly changing the mood and prying the two apart. Rosetta turned to find a hulking Orcish woman standing in the door frame.

“...What’re you doing in my house?” Rosetta asked, trying to guide Torin behind herself. But strangely when she reached back, he wasn’t there. He was already moving to hide behind the Orc.

“YOUR house?” The Orc scoffed. “Torin, who the hell is this?!”

“I-I don’t know!” He said, eyes darting between the two.

“What...? Torin, the hell is your problem? Get this woman out of here!” Rosetta demanded. The Orc began to look furious, then she suddenly turned and grabbed Torin by the collar, lifting him up.

“YOU’VE BEEN CHEATING ON ME, YOU LITTLE SHIT?!” She scowled, shaking him violently.

“Get off of him!” Rosetta rushed over, trying to get between them before she suddenly felt a wetness near her chest. She fell back and found a dagger stabbed into her, the Orc’s fist clenching it. She kicked Rosetta’s body free from the knife, before turning it on Torin. The cries of her husband and the Orc’s screams began to fade as her vision did, but while she had enough strength left she pulled the flower out and plucked another petal.

She awoke with a heavy gasp as air was suddenly able to enter her body again. She felt her chest, and indeed it was healed. She looked around to try and see where she was, but it was dark. A familiar voice instantly answered the question for her.

“ROSETTA!” Her father screamed out, the upstairs door slamming open. “The fuck’re you down here screaming about?! I got work in the morning!” A bottle quickly followed the words, barely grazing her head.

“Dad...?” She called out in disbelief.

“No, it’s your mother, back from the grave! I thought I’d try growin’ a beard! Who the fuck do you think it is?!” He hobbled down the steps, older than she remembered but very much alive.

“You’re supposed to be dead...” The sight of her father brought her no joy or comfort.

“Heh, that’s what the doctors keep saying. What, you praying for it?” He stepped closer. “You waiting for me to drop, girl?! Well c’mon, do it yourself!” He shoved her back into the wall. Rosetta’s fists clenched, and she was ready to finally repay her father for all the beatings now that she wasn’t a little girl anymore. She swung with all her might and hit him square in the jaw. Then he hit her in the stomach, knocking her to her knees.

“The fuck’s gotten into you?!” He yelled. Rosetta was confused, the punch did nothing to him. Not only that, it left her hand aching. She looked down at herself and began to understand. She had all her limbs, but this was not the body she’d toned and trained for years. She was malnourished, thin and brittle, soft hands without even calluses on her knuckles. The horror of her realization only grew worse as she heard the familiar sound of her father removing his belt, followed by the subtle clanks of metal and stretching of the leather as he wrapped it around his fist.

After everything she’d gone through as a woman, she was so easily brought back to the horrors of her childhood as her father beat her relentlessly until his wheezing was louder than her sobs. Then as always, he simply left. No apology or even an attempt to turn it into a lesson. He didn’t care enough for any of that. She managed to bring her bruised arm into her pocket, fishing the flower out again. All the pain washed away, like a cool breeze infused with sweet holy magic had enveloped her, as another petal was plucked.

“Uh... you alright there honey?” the Barkeep asked, giving her a concerned look. Rosetta gave him a wide-eyed stare for a moment, before realizing her eyes were still filled with tears.

“Yeah, yeah I just... remembered a joke...” She tried to cover a sniffle with a sip of her drink.

“...Uh, do I still have to pay for that?” a man next to her asked, pointing at the drink. Rosetta looked down and realized she wasn’t sitting at the bar, she was standing. The drink she’d just grabbed was from a tray. ...And she was wearing a barmaid uniform.

She rushed out of the tavern, removing all the unnecessary frilly bits of the uniform and ignoring the barkeep shouting that she was fired. She ran back to the woods, and once she was deep enough in that she was sure she was alone she pulled the flower out again.

“Molteris, Eliria, whatever the fuck your name is, what have you done?!” She held on the stem of the flower like she was choking it, and the petals sprouted into a familiar glowing little head.

“Bleecchh, you’re choking me!” It remarked sarcastically, sticking its tongue out and flopping its head to the side.

“What did you do? Why is my Dad alive again? Why is Torin with some Orc bitch?!”

“They’re not! Not right now, anyways. Right now you’re dad’s dead and Torin is single and ready to mingle!” It said, cheerful as ever.

“Bullshit! I just saw them both!”

“No, you saw versions of them both. Versions of the bodies you left behind. I promised you new bodies, and that’s what you got!” The head shrunk away and the petals spread out, showing dozens of Rosettas all going about their lives. “Each petal is a different Rosetta, a Rosetta that could have been. And each little Rosetta has a different effect on the world around her! For example, this little Rosetta ran from the Orphanage and never met anyone from the Knight’s Order. She never became a warrior, so she never got her limbs blown off, so she never had a statue of herself to meet Torin at!”

“Why? Why didn’t you just heal my old body?!”

“Psshhh, silly. That wouldn’t be a New Beginning, would it? It’d just be continuing the Old Story! I can’t do that!”

“Then... then show me the petal where I do become a warrior, where I meet Torin like before!” Rosetta began frantically searching through the petals.

“There are none.” The Fae smugly commented. “You wanted a body with all the digits, eyes, limbs and such. Turns out being a warrior often finds you parting with your parts!”

“...then put my back in my old body.” Rosetta pleaded. “I want my husband back... I want my son back.”

“Ah-ah. You gave me that Rosetta. ‘Rosetta Cypress, the Greatest Sword Fighter in Sapriel’ and her old story are MINE now. All these ones... Well, they’re what I was willing to trade for a story like THAT!”

“You can’t do this to me... I’ll kill you!” Rosetta sneered, wringing the flower in her fists.

“Pft, maybe the Rosetta I knew coulda killed me. But Rosetta Cypress, the Depressed Barmaid? I doubt it~” With that last remark, the Fae vanished, leaving only the flower. Rosetta raged, thinking about just tearing the thing apart. But she resisted, it was all she had left now. Somehow, she would fix this. Now matter how many bodies she left in her wake.

She was eventually able to find Torin and begin flirting with him, but when he learned she was just a former barmaid who was now fired and broke, he thought she was a gold digger looking for an easy score. So she plucked another petal and tried again.

This time, Torin was already dating a Dwarven woman named Alita. By stalking them and sneaking a few items into a few places, she was able to break them up and move in. But Torin found out it was her that caused the break up, and swore he’d never forgive her. So another petal was plucked.

This time, Torin wasn’t even in Barkamsted. He’d been taken to the Mesas with his new Orc bride. Rosetta was starting to understand that even with all these versions of him, her husband had a ‘type.’ Another petal, another try. And another. And another. Again and again she tried, but always failed. Whether he was already married, a father, in another country, or simply uninterested, it never worked out. She could never recreate that moment that brought them together. She began to have doubts about if it even mattered. Was she stealing Torin from happiness over and over? Even if it worked and they had a child would it really be Kyrin?

She tried to ignore these thoughts for as long as she could, but eventually she was down to her last petal. With no more retries, she couldn’t mess it up this time. She had to re-create the moment that brought her and Torin together as closely as possible. So she cut off her leg, her fingers, and gouged her own eye out. She blamed the injuries on a bear attack at the hospital.

Every night, she went to the same spot they met. The statue of Rosetta the brave warrior was long gone, but it was as close as she could get. Yet Torin never came. The one thing she could rely on through all her lives was Torin’s regular walks through the area, but this time nothing. She asked around, and no one seemed to have any knowledge of him. Not even a clue about some Orc girl sweeping him off to the Mesas. Until she finally found a woman who seemed to know something.

“You know Torin?! Where is he?” Rosetta asked. The woman paused, a pained look on her face.

“I... I’m sorry. My son died many years ago in the Pact War. Did you know him?”

“...What?” The word didn’t leave Rosetta’s lips as much as it simply fell to the floor.

“My little Torin... He was never a strong boy, but he always had his little moments of bravery... He wanted to help people, to make a difference... I hope he did so for you.” She patted Rosetta on the shoulder as tears began to fall from her eyes.

Rosetta became utterly hopeless. She lost everything, and gained nothing. She was beaten down and broken, and at the end of it all there wasn’t even a lesson to be learned. She became a heavy drinker and eventually left Barkamsted as it reminded her too much of all her pasts.

While she mostly writhes in a pool of booze and anguish on any given day, deep down there is a flame of hatred. A fiery need for revenge slowly clawing its way through all the muck clouding her soul, burning away everything else in its way.

Other/Extra:

Donator Items

‘Rosetta’s Crutch’

A simple crutch, fairly beaten with use but still holding up. It ended in a sharp wooden point, whether it was filed that way on purpose or if it was simply the product of overuse was unknown.

‘Rose Without Petals’

A rose, though only those more familiar with the flower would even recognize it in its current state. It has had all of its petals plucked off, one by one, leaving only a strange stub for a head. The stem was large and thorny, indicating this was once a huge and magnificent rose before it had been reduced to its current state.