Vela Kepler
Vela Kepler (ze/zir) is a 32-year-old con artist with strong ties to Hell, Rubbery Men, and cats. Ze loves the unusual animals and plants of the Neath, has an assortment of unusual pets, and is having zir parlor taken over by a singular plant.
Vela is skilled in the Shapeling Arts, Glasswork, and Mithradancy. Although ze finds the Finger-Kings intriguing, ze will always side with the cats over the snakes. Ze is banned from the court of the Shuttered Palace, so zir relationship with the Duchess is distant at best, but Vela’s title of an honorary cat does improve the Duchess’s opinion of zir.
Zir love of the Neath’s oddities brings zir into frequent contact with the Relickers, and ze enjoys talking to them.
Vela was born in Germany to the Sollinger family on August 12, 1869, and moved to England at the age of four. Zir family was wealthy, thanks to the shipping business zir father, Ernest Sollinger, owned.
At the age of eighteen, following a fight over Vela’s gender identity and lifestyle, Vela’s family kicked zir out, and ze made zir way back to Germany. Ze changed zir name to Vela, after a constellation that ze always liked to look at in books, and took zir mother’s maiden name, Kepler.
Vela became involved in smuggling while in Germany, finding it similar to the family shipping business, and spent years traveling the world, eventually being able to see zir favorite constellation in person for the first time. (The constellation of Vela is only visible in the Southern Hemisphere.)
Smuggling between the Neath and the Surface was especially lucrative. Vela came into contact with the Fading Music-Hall Singer, whose tip about a massive diamond brought zir to the Neath.
Vela lost zir soul to the Affectionate Devil, and while the abstraction was unexpected, ze doesn’t regret it.
Ze has traveled to the Dawn Machine with the Blind Pianist and the Sallow Spirifer, but hopes never to return. The death of the Blind Pianist hit zir hard, as they had been close friends leading up to the journey.
Ze is a Legendary Charisma.
Ze loves cats, and is an honorary one zirself. Ze has a pet lampcat, a Feline Pariah named Lune, that ze is very attached to.
Vela’s ambition was Light Fingers. Ze began zir ambition at the age of 30, during the real 1899, and completed it in 1900.
Ze did not give the Hybrid to Mr Fires, and sent Dr Vaughan to the Ceiling to learn more about the Starved Men.
Ze remains friends with Hephaesta and Clarabelle. Vela spends time with Hephaesta in Mahogany Hall, performing, hanging out, and of course, running cons and robberies with the crime ring there. Clarabelle lives in Ealing Gardens, and she and Vela correspond often. Vela visits her occasionally, but Clarabelle does not visit London.
Vela became the director of the Great Hell-Bound Railway soon after completing zir ambition, and has built Marigold Station and the Tracklayers’ City.
Vela’s board consists of Virginia, the Tentacled Entrepreneur, Furnace Ancona, the Gracious Widow, the Jovial Contrarian, the Viscountess of the Viric Jungle, and the Wandering Gondolier.
Furnace’s kidnapping deeply affected Vela, who hates feeling powerless and refused to let someone else lead the tracklayers for very long. Ze rescued Furnace with the help of the Hybrid, and during Furnace’s recovery, the two of them became very close.
When the Creditor proposed to Furnace, Vela was initially against this, but reluctantly agreed when Furnace accepted. Vela remains close with Furnace, even though her being a city makes that difficult.
Library (in chronological order)
A Transgression
Six Impossible Things
Gallery (newest to oldest images)
this one was drawn by @thedeafprophet :D
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The Player: It’s not just a job, gang. We've got a lot to learn before we can play matchmaker to the Moon. And, no offense, but everybody here is terrible at love. (Points to Feducci) Refuses to get married, (points to His Amused Lordship) dating a married couple, (points to Sinning Jenny) divorced, three times, (points to the Bishop of Southwark and the Bishop of St. Fiacre's) Jury’s still out on you two, (points to the Viscountess) and this one, who knows.
The Viscountess: I’ve been happily married for several years. You’ve met my husband many times.
The Player: Whatever.
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Mayoral Duties
The Viric Shopkeeper: So you know how you love me because you haven’t had a single meeting with anyone since I became your assistant? that’s because every time someone calls and requests a meeting with you I always schedule it for March 31st.
The Viscountess: Why?
The Viric Shopkeeper: I didn’t think March 31st existed.
The Viscountess: Today is March 31st.
The Viric Shopkeeper: I know.
The Viscountess: So then, how many meetings do I have today?
The Viric Shopkeeper: 93.
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Bracket Announcement
Submissions on this blog for propaganda have been turned on. The first round will be broken up over four days. The individual matchups are as follows:
Day One (October 2)
The Manager of the Royal Bethlehem Hotel vs The Viscountess of the Viric Jungle
The Clay Highwayman vs Poor Edward
Mr Hearts vs Lettice the Mercy
February of the Calendar Council vs Mrs. Miriam Plenty
Day Two (October 3)
The Captivating Princess vs Mr Iron
The Quiet Deviless vs December of the Calendar Council
Furnace Ancona vs the Paisley
The Bishop of Southwark vs Virginia
Day Three (October 4)
The Jovial Contrarian vs the Dawn Machine
September of the Calendar Council vs Mr Wines
The Affectionate Devil vs the Lady in Lilac
April of the Calendar Council vs the Bishop of St Fiacres
Day Four (October 5)
Sinning Jenny vs the Tentacled Entrepreneur
Feducci vs the Solicitor-Baroness
The Gracious Widow vs the Anchoress
The Once-Dashing Smuggler vs the Youthful Naturalist
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Round Three
Day Seven (October 10)
The Viscountess of the Viric Jungle vs Mr Hearts
December of the Calendar Council vs Furnace Ancona
September of the Calendar Council vs April of the Calendar Council
Sinning Jenny vs the Youthful Naturalist
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