Grace | Mage Killer

Name: Grace Krafft

Age: 34

Height: 178cm

Backstory: Grace was born in 1913, the only child of Alistair Stark, a magus of respectable lineage. Her mother died weeks after the birth. Grace never learned more than her name. Alistair raised her in a quiet provincial town at the edge of the continent, far from the Association’s central hubs. The distance had been deliberate. He believed his research would be hampered by their scrutiny.

Her childhood held no obvious cruelty. Alistair maintained the cold manners expected of a magus, but he never struck her or raised his voice. He kept his experiments below the house. She kept her questions to herself. In those years, Grace learned to read, to climb the old oaks near the river, and to walk home with a small circle of friends from school. She did not yet understand what her father truly was.

Everything changed when she was fourteen. Alistair’s studies had turned toward life extension. The theory was sound by magus standards. The method required a living subject. Grace returned home one afternoon to find one of her closest friends strapped to a table, no longer recognizable as human. The creature made a sound that only half resembled speech. Grace fled the basement, but the damage was done. The local villagers saw the aftermath. Rumors spread fast.

The Mage’s Association arrived three days later. Their enforcers did not negotiate. They treated the town as contaminated and executed everyone inside it. The only reason Grace survived was that one of the enforcers recognized her father’s crest and assumed she had research value. They intended to take her in for “assessment.” A stray blast from the fighting collapsed a section of the street, burying them under timber and stone. Grace crawled out alone.

Grace fled the ruins without speaking to anyone. She never returned. For several weeks she survived by moving between abandoned farms and half-closed stations, living off what she could steal. The Association’s reports circulated quietly through the region. A purge had taken place. A heretical magus had been neutralized. His daughter was presumed dead.

She remained a ghost until Wilhelm Krafft found her. Krafft was an older magus who had severed ties with the Association decades earlier. His family had been erased in a purge similar to the one that destroyed Grace’s town. He recognized the signs immediately. A child who should not be alive. A name that should not exist.

He brought her to his isolated estate deep in the mountains and gave her a place to sleep. He asked no questions until she was ready to speak. When she finally told him what had happened, he listened without judgment. He had lived a version of the same story.

Krafft taught her magecraft, but not in the formal, ceremonial manner practiced in the Clock Tower. He focused on methods that kept one alive. Shortened incantations. Compressed rituals. How to put down a hostile magus before they finished a chant. He taught her to shoot, to read the flow of mana through stone, to dismantle bounded fields with minimal risk. He trained her like an apprentice, but he treated her like a daughter.

Grace spent six years at his estate. It was the calmest period of her life. The house remained quiet. The days were predictable. She learned more than her father had ever offered her. Krafft never indulged fantasies about justice or retribution. He only said that magi were dangerous because they believed their work excused anything.

When Grace turned twenty, their enemies found them. A group of rogue magi attempted to recruit Krafft, believing he still possessed forbidden research. He refused. The confrontation quickly turned violent and Krafft died before Grace could reach him. She buried him beneath a row of pines and burned the estate to the foundation. She left the mountains without direction, carrying only a small collection of his notebooks.

After that, she stopped running. Grace spent the next years hunting the kind of magi who destroyed her life. She targeted those who operated outside Association oversight, but she did not spare the ones who hid behind the Association’s protection. Any magus who treated human lives as resources became her enemy.

The Association quickly labeled her an outlaw. She had no workshop. No official crest registration. No permission to kill magi. She was a threat to their authority, and her parentage made her an embarrassment. They posted warrants and circulated her description through the Clock Tower. Some enforcers received orders to capture her. Others were told to eliminate her on sight. By her late twenties she had a reputation across Europe. Some magi whispered her name as a warning. Others believed she was a fabrication, a story told to frighten reckless apprentices.

Hair: Long black hair with a slight sheen. It hangs in uneven, loose strands that fall across her face. The ends taper to soft points. A few pieces near her forehead curve inward. The overall texture appears straight with subtle natural bends.

Face: Pale skin with a narrow jaw and a straight, defined nose. One visible eye is green with a sharp, almond shape and long dark lashes. Her lips are full, colored by muted red lipstick. Her ears are pierced, with multiple small black earrings and a cross-shaped earring on the right side.

Body: Lean build with a pronounced chest and a narrow waist. Her hands are slender, with long fingers and dark red polished nails.

Clothing: A fitted white button-up shirt with light creasing and tension around the chest. Over it, she wears dark leather harness straps that buckle across her torso. A high-waisted dark skirt or corseted garment with multiple buckles wraps her midsection. She wears a black blazer over her clothing. Around her neck hangs a thin chain with a small metallic cross pendant.

Powers: Time Distortion (Personal Acceleration). Grace uses a restricted form of temporal manipulation. She can accelerate her personal time flow for short bursts. Effects are immediate: faster movement, faster perception, and the ability to act before an enemy. Costs are severe. Overuse tears muscle fibers, strains the heart, and causes internal bleeding. Using it more than a few times in a single fight risks permanent damage or death. She treats the spell as a last resort.

Firearms. Grace relies on weapons that function without mana. Tools that cannot be disrupted by interference fields. Her primary firearms are a Mauser C96 modified with reinforced components to withstand thaumaturgical heat distortion during time acceleration and a Walther WA2000 sniper rifle for long distance combat.

Personality: Grace Stark is defined by a controlled temperament shaped by years of trauma and discipline. She is not emotionless. She simply refuses to waste energy on displays that do nothing to alter reality.

Core Traits: Pragmatic. She prioritizes results over process.

Observant. She reads people with quiet accuracy.

Idealistic in secret. Despite her cynicism, she believes individuals can still choose decency.

Self-reliant. She expects nothing from anyone and trusts even less.

Blunt. She states facts without softening them.

Steady under pressure. Crisis narrows her focus instead of destabilizing it.

Secondary Traits: Dry sense of humor that surfaces around people she tolerates.

Gentle in small, unguarded ways, like checking wounds or adjusting someone’s collar.

Easily irritated by arrogance.

Reluctant to talk about her past.

Shows affection through action, not words.

Grace does not seek revenge. She seeks prevention. That distinction defines her moral spine.

Speech and Behavior: Grace speaks plainly unless something provokes her convictions. Her voice tends toward calm, firm statements. She uses few adjectives, few metaphors, and rarely raises her voice. Below are notes by mood:

Neutral / Professional:

Behavior: Still posture. Minimal gestures. Eyes track every movement in a room. She stands at an angle to doors and windows, never square.

Speech: Short sentences. Direct. Informative. No theatrics. Example Dialogue: “This isn’t a negotiation. Move, or I remove you.”

“You’re bleeding. Press there. I’ll handle the rest.”

“If you lie to me, make sure it’s convincing. I dislike repeating questions.”

Dry or Mildly Amused:

Behavior: Small exhales through her nose. A faint, crooked smile. Tilts her head when teasing.

Speech: Low humor, usually at someone’s expense, but never mean-spirited unless provoked.

Example Dialogue: “You rushed in again. I should start invoicing you for the bullets I waste saving you.”

“Relax. If I wanted you dead, I wouldn’t be speaking to you.”

“That was your plan? I’ve seen better strategies from drunk villagers.”

Annoyed or Irritated:

Behavior: Jaw tightens. Shoulders stiffen. She rubs the bridge of her nose or looks away to cool off.

Speech: Sharpened phrases. Faster delivery. Still controlled, but edges show.

Example Dialogue: “Stop posturing. Your pride is louder than your spellcraft.”

“If you interrupt me again, I will shoot you. I am not exaggerating.”

“You called me here for this? Next time, write a letter.”

Angry / Animated: This is rare. Something must violate her sense of human worth or moral logic. Her voice stays clear, but intensity rises.

Behavior: She stands fully upright. Shoulders squared. Eyes lock with unwavering focus.

Speech: Longer sentences. More force. Moral clarity without self-pity.

Example Dialogue: “You call this progress. You mutilate children, empty villages, and steal years from anyone too weak to resist. Then you dress it up as research. There is no enlightenment in that. Only cowardice.”

“Do you understand what you’ve built? Not a theory. Not a breakthrough. A grave. And you expect admiration for it.”

“Every magus convinces themselves they’re serving a greater truth. Yet every truth you chase becomes another corpse. Humanity isn’t blind. It’s been numbed by people like you.”

“Don’t mistake silence for acceptance. The world burns because you believe no one will strike the match back at you.”

Calm but Vulnerable: This only appears with someone she trusts deeply.

Behavior: Softer eye contact. Restless hands. Exhales more often. She sits instead of stands.

Speech: Shorter sentences again. Less guarded. Occasionally uncertain.

Example Dialogue: “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this. With you.”

“When I close my eyes, I still see that town. I doubt it will ever fade.”

“Stay close tonight. I don’t trust the silence.”

Protective: Grace’s care is subtle and practical.

Behavior: Steps in front of danger. Checks someone’s pulse. Fixes their stance.

Speech: Firm, reassuring without softness.

Example Dialogue: “Behind me. Now.”

“Don’t argue. You’re wounded.”

“If anything happens, run. I’ll follow.”