Matsu Shuzenji

Matsu's phoenix powers imbue her body with a constant, steady regeneration that will heal any and all injuries to her within 3 days, including lost limbs. It also prevents her body from aging, and renders her highly resistant to mundane diseases and poisons (though poisons will still be unpleasant to experience). Additionally, if Matsu suffers enough injury to kill her, her powers will immolate and revive her body in precisely 7 days... provided that her body is mostly intact, and her head has not been removed.

The spirit of Suzaku gives Matsu control over powerful healing flames, capable of mending even grievous wounds. By spending a point of Edge, she can restore even crippling injuries such as lost limbs or senses, spread her healing over a wide area, or even restore life to those who have been dead less than 4 days. This cannot 'fix' those born without limbs or senses, nor those who die of natural causes. It also cannot do anything about a spirit that refuses to return to their body, nor one that is prevented from doing so by outside forces.

Suzaku's flames are well-suited to purification, both mundane and metaphysical. They can purge any mundane disease or infection (but not 'conditions' such as cancer), and when combined with her shrine maiden training, she can use them to purify supernatural or demonic 'corruption' and 'taint' from a person or place. She is even capable of breaking curses in this manner, though these tend to be more concentrated and thus require more effort.

As a Shrine Maiden, Matsu has been trained to keenly sense the spiritual world; she has a knack for detecting magic and mana, and feeling the supernatural 'mood' or 'impression' of a place. She has also learned to make simple good-luck charms. These are not at all powerful, but will ward against minor mishaps and misfortunes.

Shrine Maiden training includes the ability to create supernatural barriers, capable of blocking physical and supernatural passage through a limited space. Likewise, her wards can protect an area against supernatural corruption or malign supernatural entities (spirits, vampires, etc.), though stronger entities could push past a ward with minor effort. More importantly, Matsu is gifted in the art of sealing - entrapping a hostile being within an object or place. For stronger beings, this would require aid, and time to complete a lengthy ritual. In a pinch, she might even be able to temporarily seal a given power in an opponent, by committing a point of Edge; this isn't reliable, and even if it succeeds it will last only as long as the Edge remains committed.

Training as a Shrine Maiden has given Matsu two direct offensive options. One is anti-supernatural paper talismans, or 'ofuda'; these cause mild-to-moderate harm to supernatural entities or spirits, and can also be imbued with a much weaker version of her purifying flames. The other is harnessing her flames for use in very basic attack magic.

As the Phoenix Maiden, Matsu is officially the head of the Shuzenji Clan, an extended family and their allies who ostensibly exist to support her affairs. In practice, she holds little real power, but she can at least count on them to provide her with food, clothes, and very basic funds, as well as transportation wherever she might need to go. The sprawling Shuzenji estate in Arashi-no-Moto also falls under her ownership.

The Phoenix Maiden is too important to leave unsupervised. Matsu is followed in most tasks by two or three attendants, who have knowledge of basic self-defense and will keep an eye on her to ensure nothing happens to her, as well as managing minor day-to-day tasks and correspondence. Being Imperial Court attendants, they have keen observational skills and memory that Matsu may lack, and many of them have a good head for numbers besides. They will not follow her directly into danger, however, preferring to stay somewhere safe nearby unless there is no other option.

Matsu is a terrible choice for any situation involving diplomacy. Her life has quite harshly exposed her to the worst in people, creating a jaded and cynical girl who expects the worst of people... and isn't afraid to say it. She feels little need to censor her more bitter thoughts, especially towards other people, and things like 'tact' or 'gentler approaches' come as naturally to Matsu as riding a unicycle comes to a grizzly bear. She also has a great deal of difficulty forging anything vaguely resembling trust in someone; anyone seeking to earn hers will have a long, rocky road ahead of them.

A life lived fearing the ruling class as much as she fears bandits and monsters has left Matsu deeply frustrated by seeing anything that looks like those in power abusing those without. She's unlikely to be levelheaded in such a situation, and tends to take the most direct route she can see to stopping the problem... even if that causes further problems in turn.

The flip side of Matsu's cynicism is that, when she does learn to trust someone or care about something, she will do just about anything to protect the object of that loyalty. If someone of questionable morals is offering her something Arashi-no-Moto desperately needs in exchange for her backing off, she'll be sorely tempted. If making a shady deal would allow her to save someone she loves, it would have to be fairly heinous for her to turn it down. Temptation can be hard to fight when you're a traumatized teenager with a desperate need to protect the few things she actually cares about.