Franciszka Kiss

Appearance
Franciszka is a relatively fit human woman standing a little over five and a half feet tall. Her black hair is generally neatly-kept in a tight, thin ponytail -- wrapped in white bandaging -- down to the middle of her back. Her eyes are the color of dulled copper, and her complexion is fair and her skin smooth.

In private she tends to wear clothes that 'blend in', although she has a tendency towards the girlier end of the spectrum such as dresses and skirts. However, in public she almost always wears a black leotard with large puffy sleeves. The ends of the sleeves are coated in metal quite a ways up to the arm, but this is purely decoration, not armor. Similarly there is a large metal plate on Franciszka's abdomen from which cloth faulds hang, but this is also purely for decoration and the protection it provides is miniscule. She wears black tights under the skirt and lacquered leather ashigaru greaves with only tabi socks on her feet. She also wears a large black jingasa with a silvered rim in public. Across most of her public outfit there are white tassels hanging; around her shoulders and waist there are small white ropes used to secure her sword to her person.

Background
Franciszka, born Eclair d'Orage, was born in Atlas to moderately wealthy parents who both died when she was just a toddler. She was left with her grandfather to take care of her. He was a veteran of the Great War, and he often spoiled the young girl with stories of war heroism; perhaps it was his recounting that led to her romanticized view of armed conflict. Even after many years of the war being over, her grandfather was also a remarkable patriot for his country that no longer was; he was proud of its culture and its people even though they had lost the war, and often blamed it on fraudulent methods and a supposed 'betrayal' by Mistral. He spoke fondly of the old country, and often defended Mantle's decision to suppress creativity and self-expression as the only sensible defense mechanism against the Grimm.

Several years of sociopolitical indoctrination by her grandfather had an effect on Franciszka by the time he passed away peacefully. She was only twenty years old when she began to indulge in autocratic philosophies as more than an ideal too far away to reach. Her thoughts slowly turned from 'Wouldn't it be nice?' to 'It will be nice'. Her thoughts towards the world became angry in nature; she viewed Vacuo and Vale as insidious historical revisionists and Mistral as a traitor who allowed it to happen. To Franciszka, the world had conspired against her grandfather's home, beaten it by kicking dirt in its face, and then spit on its culture and attempts to mitigate deaths by Grimm by naming its children after the very foundation of artistic expression. In disgust with the world and its leaders, she cast away her old name and chose a new one -- one she felt had no colorful connotations -- for herself. In this brief moment of intense anger and disgust, she unlocked her semblance.

It wasn't long after that she truly began to consider armed separatism. She moved to a small town near the city of Mistral in order to both distance herself from Atlas' military and in order to recruit potential revolutionaries.

She found out quickly that even if they were reminiscent of the old days, many were unwilling to potentially die for her cause. She realized not long after this that the promise of food and pay to the poor and otherwise disparaged peoples of Mistral in exchange for an enlistment into a revolutionary army that may never be called on to fight was a much bigger net that could catch many more fish. Appealing to the impoverished, the outcasts, and the criminal eventually netted her a force of at least a hundred men and women from both the slums of Mistral and the nearby small towns.

With her small armed force she managed to take control of a frontier town without bloodshed, and shortly after a flag was created to fly over its largest building in bold declaration of the formation of the Mantle Revolutionary Army. Since then the citizens of the town have largely been 'persuaded' at gunpoint to start farming to feed her band while she plans her next moves.

Personality
Franciszka is always telling others what to do outright, and failing that, trying to get them to do what she wants anyway. She has a tendency to use the kindness of her heart to indebt others to her, and often an attempt to cry on her shoulder is met with her honest advice on how to solve the issue with little regard for that person's feelings or inclinations one way or the other. She's also quick to notice small details in dialogue or in the material realm. On the surface, it seems almost certain that she is aromantic. Strangely enough, she has a fascination with botany and has her own spice garden.

Franciszka is incredibly ambitious and very politically-minded. She ascribes heavily to the idea of an authoritarian regime and believes the general populace too uninformed to determine their own futures. Her interest in politics led to her also becoming interested in military strategy, and she often studies it in any spare time she has. On the whole, she dislikes the state of the world and believes only an iron-fisted rule can bring all of its inhabitants together and to advance as a collective. She is filled with venom specifically towards the Kingdom of Atlas.

This all said, Franciszka often loses sleep over the things she has done, and is almost always uncertain of her own actions. She hates being out of the loop, and is prone to exercising when worried. She values family highly, and holds vitriol towards neglectful or abusive parents even greater than the norm.

Iaido
The ability to draw a sword and strike with it inhumanly fast with her left hand. This works with any bladed weapon in a sheath. The singular motion of drawing and striking are so quick that it's almost impossible to see in action. It does not work on any sword that is already drawn, and there is a very obvious tell in that her left hand has to grip the hilt of anything she hopes to do this with.

Senshuken
A plain old katana. There is nothing particularly special about it. It is functional and works for its intended purpose.

Scarlet Model 28
A six-shot revolver usually hidden in her clothes. It belonged to her grandfather and was his service sidearm in the Great War. She keeps it both as a weapon and as a personal memento. Simple, reliable, and relatively powerful despite its age.