Mesa

Suggested Music: Smif-N-Wessun - Bucktown

Basic Information

Name: Mesa
Title: The Bamboo Ronin
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Player: Dan H.
Aspect: Wood
Concept: Grass-Spider, noble criminal
Motivation: Demonstrate that crime is a business that can be conducted professionally and with honor.
Political Affiliation: The Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Anima: Mesa's motions leave glowing green trails of Essence in the air, which sprout vines with leaves and petals that shrivel up quickly after Mesa's movements take him elsewhere. At high levels, small plants, flowers, and insects spring from the ground where he steps, again dying out quickly when he leaves. At maximum power, any surrounding bamboo bends around Mesa to form a grand archway above wherever he stands.
Likes: Spicy food, impractical weaponry, hookah, coffee, flashy haori
Dislikes: Cats, opera, the Guild, perfume

Background

Born to a Lookshy Gens, Mesa no longer uses his family name when introducing himself. He fled his royal lifestyle shortly after his teenage years, discouraged by the fact that despite his strong pedigree, he hadn't Exalted after twenty years of life. He worked a series of odd jobs for various Scavenger Lords before slipping into a life of crime. He began by stealing artifacts from the Scavenger Lords whom he found tyrannical and oppressive, but as he gathered his crew, he found himself increasingly connected to a secretive circle of drug dealers operating out of Chaya. At some point after relocating to Chaya, Mesa finally Exalted and seized control of the drug smuggling ring he'd been a part of. Even though he'd long abandoned his noble heritage, he found himself unable to shake his chivalrous streak, and cleaned up the organization. He implemented codes of honor and strict guidelines by which business must be conducted - Mesa's thugs behaved like knights. He quickly found himself opposed from within his own organization, and was forced into hiding as a brutal, covert war broke out in the Chayan city states. Mesa, fearing for the safety of his subordinates, dismissed most of them to Nexus temporarily and single-handedly disassembled the leadership of his opposition. In a three-day time period, Mesa eliminated nearly two-dozen people from the shadows, all without alerting the Rabinal, the Chayan secret police force. It was shortly after reconciling his crime organization that he was approached by a woman who claimed to have noticed his actions in the recent underground war, and was interested in transferring his talents to a place they'd be put to better use...

Among the Grass-Spiders, Mesa is considered to be fairly lackadaisical - Although he'd still run rings around any mortal acrobat, he's known to slack on his training at times, and is physically surpassed by many of his fellow Grass-Spiders. What he lacks in conditioning he makes up for in creativity and sheer force of attitude. Mesa knows the ins and outs of most government organizations in the Scavenger Lands and East and excels at moving among them, and on no small number of occasions has proven critical to carrying out hits on their members, frequent targets of the Grass-Spiders clients. Despite his lazy demeanor, Mesa takes the Grass-Spiders' code of honor quite seriously, and holds himself and his companions to these standards without exceptions. He believes that crime is only acceptable in the context of a business - one with rules, guidelines, and restraints. Additionally, Mesa has also made strides towards connecting the Grass-Spiders to other underground organizations in the area. Though this move has not gone without its controversy, it's no coincidence that he earns well for a recently made member of the organization - his networking abilities have proven vital in making factors available to willing clients.