Queen of Wands


 * AKA: The Ironclad General, The Golden Hearted Queen
 * Follower’s Epithets: Laborers, Workwomen/Workmen, Ores (Sometimes Derogatory)
 * Kingdom: The Badlands of Gonel


 * All I see around me these days are people who are moping about their own lives, crying that you can’t do anything right and that everything you touch goes to shit. You know what I think? I don’t think anyone is even trying. I mean, hear me out. Your life can suck, and it can be in the shitter, I know, but haven’t you tried working harder to make it better? I mean, you get exactly what you put in, and if you don’t do anything, then what else can you expect?
 * Come on, let’s refine that crummy metal of yours and make it shine.

The Queen of Wands rallies her Princess to go forth and put their all into making the world a better place. The Followers of Wands find that the world can be made into a better place, all it takes is a willing hand and hard work to make the world stronger and shine brighter.

Tales of Gonel
Inside the Badlands of Gonel, there are harsh lands once believed to be uninhabitable or unsustainable for life. However, today, the Queen of Wands sits upon a throne of polished steel in a castle cut out from the very side of a cliff in the badlands, where those “uninhabitable lands” now teem with life and prosperity as a thriving community that would’ve never existed without hard work.

The Queen herself looks intimidating, whether up close or from afar due to her enormous, bodybuilder physique. Her clothes tend to be airy, allowing flexibility and freedom of movement, giving practicality in all areas and almost always showing off the guns. She listens to all proceedings in the court, after having everything she needs, she gets to work and cuts through proceedings with ease and efficiency.

Appearances deceive however. The Queen is a kind and gentle woman, sweeping aside any first impression based on looks by her unbridled personality. For hers is a keen eye; she can pick up on missing details or parts in a Princess’s problems that’s actually at fault. She’s never degrading, for to her life is a work in progress and everyone has their flaws, even a Queen still has to sharpen her sword to be at peak condition.

Whenever the Queen is travelling amongst her Kingdom, it serves as part inspection and appraisal. There is merit in those who do their parts well as well as those who have shown their work. The only way to fail at anything in Wands Kingdom is to not try and give it your best in the first place. Some wonder how such a Queen who sees fault in herself can rule a Kingdom. She and her kingdom agree that they are at heart perfectionists who always seek to improve things.

Philosophy
Out of all the merits the Queen of Wands has for her Kingdom, the greatest merit she holds to her heart is the hard work and humility.

Service Is Its Own Reward
The Philosophy is what it says on the tin. The act of doing your duty for the good of others is enough of a reward. It doesn’t necessarily encourage working in the shadows, but when it comes to doing your duties, your service is a contribution that without it the works of today would not exist.

Iron Is Stronger Than Gold
Everyone is like a metal in this world, where each person has their own shine and luster to them. The Queen of Wands however deems that it is not how bright and beautiful someone glows, but how strong they hold within their duties. The gold that Leaders and Fancy Politicians have is good for appearances, but they aren’t made for holding under the strain that Iron is. Those who follow that of iron, which would encompass every Courtier of Wands, work better at working hard rather than taking up a higher title that ​ makes everyone but herself work.

Loyalty To The Light
Only united in their service to the light and the greater good of the people can the Nobles truly shine, be they Wand or otherwise. Disloyalty is a tool of the Darkness to divide and conquer. If the Nobles ever allow such petty bickering to divide them, they will undoubtedly fall. Thus the Queen of Wands speak that a Princess of Wands must always stand by her friends, her court, her fellows, her people and anyone else who is an ally for what they struggle towards. There is no greater sin than betrayal to a Wand, whether by their own hand or by the hand of another.

Duties
The Laborer’s duty is to work hard. Whether it’s at getting rid of a Taint, helping a person kick their harmful habits or learning a piece of information that is forbidden to them, it’s their job to work hard and never give up until they succeed.

Champions of Wands don’t just stand at the front of the lines. They’re the first to lead the charge, the ones in the middle of the fray and the very last to leave when making sure that every enemy is dead. When not fighting, they tend to do work that involves manual labor, enlisting at construction sites, farm hands, or even military basemen/women.

Graces of Wands tend to use their magic as foremen of labor forces or leading teams on building sites. Their authority comes more from their use in practical skill and experience, and when it comes to having a title they make little use of it for anything, seeing no need for them.

Menders of Wands work to perfect themselves as well as pushing to exceed their own limits, and work just as well when helping another in this endeavor. This leads to a tendency of being fitness trainers as well as on­-site doctors for laborers.

The Seekers of Wands tend to find themselves working on mapping out places where they can next work or as architects on the next project to be done. They may also work within research and development for companies in creation of merchandise as well.

There is no greater epitome to the saying “Work Hard, Party Hard” when it comes to the Troubadours of Wands. To do their work, they have and promote a good work ethic to all of their coworkers and when everything is well and done, have a good time when enjoying their labors when they bear fruit.

Background
The Court of Wand’s Nobles tend to come from those who enjoy labors or, you guessed it, hard work. There is little difference to the court between keeping up a good work ethic or steely determination, but rarely do the two ever clash when it comes to types. Due to the nature of the court, athletes or bodybuilders are as common as laborers, but the existence of critical thinkers and determined souls also find their way to Wands and make their home in the Court.

In a sense, the Court of Wands plays its philosophies straight, but downplays them a small bit as well. Having access to Metallo Charms simply makes everything easier to the Worker. This can lead to a degree of reliance in their magic. It’s not because they can make things easier, it’s because they have the appropriate means to do so.

Character Creation
It goes without saying that the Court of Wands tends to love having Strength, Dexterity and Stamina as they are the outward most expression of showing the benefits of hard work, and even those not so great in them find them being developed the longer they stay in the court. Resolve and Presence are also equally practiced, due to the strength to keep oneself past their limits or by the force of their personality. Athletics and Crafts are common as is Investigation. Given the use of customizable Fight Charms, some of the more martially inclined had or picked up on Weaponry, Brawl and Firearms. When it comes to merits, Wands tends to disproportionately lean towards Physical Merits. Of these, Double Jointed, Iron Skin and Iron Stamina are common, as are the presence of one or more Fighting Styles. Socially, the Court of Wands practices the Mandate merit more than the Circle Merit, but otherwise lack most social merits due to self-­reliance. Mental Merits aren’t entirely common, but Indomitable and Tolerance for Biology are present.

Heraldry
The Regalia for Nobles of Wands have the tendency to follow the same structure as their queen. Clothing that is non-­restrictive and practical for most occasions, but regalia that looks more armored or has some fashion of metal in them exists as well. Colors tend around grey, white, gold and silver. Though humble looking, they aren’t accustomed to hiding all of their opinions and some promote those on their regalia.

Practical Magic
The Laborers are comrades and teammates first above anything else, that hard work can conquer anything and know that a strength of a group can last longer than the strength of one. The Court of Wands can use their practical magic to convert Wisps to improve their Physical Attributes for a single roll. They may spend up to their maximum wisps per turn on their Physical Attributes. Normally each Wisp adds one dot and thus one die.

High Belief increases this effect: At Belief 8 the first Wisp adds 2 dice to an eligible roll instead of 1. At Belief 9, the first 2 Wisps add two dice; and at Belief 10, the first Wisp adds three dice, and the second adds two.

Invocation: Metallo
The Ironclad General sharpens the virtues of hard work into the Invocation of Metallo and the Laborers learn it more easily than any other. Metallo encourages a Princess to work their hardest and give it their all, the Modesty and determination to improve themselves and everyone else.

Metallo applies at no cost when the target of a Princess’s Charm is any sort of metal or machine. It also applies at no cost if the Princess is acting out of loyalty to another, in the process of doing or completing a task or when pushing or helping someone else push past their limits. It also applies for no cost when the Princess “takes one for the team” (as in she decides to suffer for someone else’s sake).

Metallo will not help those who exaggerate or become vain in their endeavors. Any Princess who claims more than what they have done in the hopes of raising their own importance to be greater than others makes them lose access to Metallo for the rest of the Scene.

Stereotypes
Clubs: So...what exactly are you supposed to do? Diamonds: Physical genius exists too. They know that though, they know a lot. Hearts: I’ll take care of the foundations, build on it however you like. Spades: They can so easily make any amount of hard work trivial. All the more reason to make things more perfect. Swords: You could tone it down a notch, if you don’t mind my saying so. Cups: If you’re looking for something, I have some jobs I may need some help on. Pentacles: The mirror is finished for that device you wanted. Dunno why you’d need it given your powers. Tears: You say everything’s better for Alhambra, when in reality it should be the opposite. Come on, you shouldn’t live in that hellhole anymore. Storms: You’ll have to go through me first before you torch that building. Mirrors: Look at you, all blazed up in the spotlight. Is your shadow supposed to be moving though?

Vampires: No one deserves to live like that. Werewolves: It’s a good thing that Metallo applies to silver. Mages: Alright, I get it that you have magical powers, but so does almost everyone else in this world. Prometheans: Just keep it up. You’ll have to go elsewhere, but just keep it up. You’ll get it someday. Changelings: Not really a problem since they seem to hide a lot, but carrying a bit of Cold Iron never hurt for protection. Sin­Eaters: Color me impressed! How’d you survive that? Mummies: I’d like the lengths you go to complete your duties if you weren’t such a sociopath. Demons: A lesson on why you never take the easy way out, because there is consequences for signing the line. Beasts: Sure, we’re tons alike. But let’s get one thing straight. We are NOT kin! Mad Scientists: That’s amazing! But how ​ does it work? Leviathans: Come on you guys! Cut the shit or I’ll have to do it for you! Hunters: Alright men, time to work on your exercises! You will be using this stuff when you’re going against the atrocious ones! Mortals: Evening miss, anything I can do to help today?

Inspiration
Emiya Shirou, Finn the Human, Applejack

Next: The Queen of Pentacles