Scion Character: Rosa Lopez, Scion of Xochipilli

The Colombian woman peered at the Tarot cards arrayed before her. "You walk a dark path, Chosen of Loki, beware -"

"Can we cut to the chase, Rosa?" her client asked, drumming her fingers on the little table. Violet Steitz, thrust into the responsibility of being a Scion of Loki by the god's capricious joke was tired and in need of coffee. That made her crankier than usual.

The fortune teller sighed and rolled her eyes. "You're always in a hurry."

"Please, if what you've said so far is true, we've got a big problem on our hands," the blonde woman said.

"Okay, okay," Rosa said, rolling her eyes and gesturing towards her Bandmate. "Basically, watch your step, falling down could kill you."

Background: Born in Bogotá to a well-off family, Rosa (which isn't her real name) grew up in the lap of luxury. Given everything she desired, she soon became spoiled, and the young girl lived in a bubble. Home was in a gated community with security guards prowling the grounds, while school sat a short drive away. Little time was spent out of the home, or safe spaces. While much of the Colombian capital was gentrified and safe, her mother was still concerned about the levels of crime and gang violence. A highly religious woman, Rosa's mother insisted on the family attending church every week - sometimes on multiple occasions - and always seemed particularly concerned with her daughters' piety. Any boys Rosa and her sisters became interested in were rigorously vetted by both her parents though an air of mystery hung over their motives. Private investigators would be hired to assemble dossiers on teenagers and their families - so much so that it became a joke among the children. The suggestion that Father was "connected" surfaced more than once, but well away from their parents' ears.

Her father was rarely home, and her mother was highly protective. Her siblings grew up with lots of material goods in place of friends and most of those items were American-made, imported by her father's import/export business.  When Father was home, it was often for important business dinners, hosting important captains of industry, American clients, and local politicians. These occasions were always very showy, with all seven children put on display in their best clothes and manners. 

Rosa, an introvert, found these occasions difficult and always hated the feeling that she had to pretend to be something else to meet approval. She would dutifully make conversation, sing songs, and hug the men who her father instructed her to, but inside she hated every minute of it. 

Consequently, Rosa grew up in a very sheltered environment, with little idea about the world. Until the Visitation, that is, that was when everything went wrong. Xochipilli appeared in the grounds one hot summer's afternoon, just as a storm broke (he always did have a flare for the dramatic). He approached the house, asking to be let inside and speak with his daughter. When the security guards interceded, he smiled at them brightly and "convinced" them to let him pass. To this day Rosa isn't sure what he did, but the hired muscle all seemed blissed out, lost in ecstasy.

Rosa's mother flew into a rage as soon as she saw the god, rushing towards him and landing a stinging slap across his face, which he shrugged off with a laugh. "Was I that bad a lover?" he asked, prompting her mother to slap him again and burst into tears. 

Those words stuck with Rosa. Her mother had always comported herself as a devout Catholic and strictly argued for the Christian faith. The idea that she might have been unfaithful was unthinkable but was apparently true. As Xochipilli cast about the room, looking at the children, he smiled as his eyes alighted on Rosa and held out his arms to her. "Daughter, it's so very good to meet you in the flesh." 

A moment later there was a gunshot, the god looked down at a large hole in his chest, and then across to Rosa's mother holding a pistol in her hand. He suddenly seemed meek and uncertain before he toppled to the floor. Blood pooled across the tiles and the family panicked, a feeling that only grew when Xochipilli started to talk, quite normally, from his position and even beckoned Rosa down to him. Gently he explained what she was, and the Calling he was giving her. When her mother tried to pull her away, he smiled gently and cursed her with an STD so bad she doubled up in pain. Finally, he rolled onto his back with great difficulty and announced that he was in a great deal of pain and was going to leave... The body grew still and cold as he vacated it, leaving her shell-shocked and confused.

Certain things began to make sense - Father had always said that Mother had embraced the Catholic faith more fiercely after Rosa's birth whereas before she had been more of a fair-weather Christian. The extra prayers and determination that her children would be "good" made more sense too. Clearly, her guilty conscience had driven her into dire straits.

All the same, Rosa retreated into herself, becoming quieter and less outgoing. She kept to her room, painting canvases that reflected what her real father had told her. Uncertain what else to do, she started to reach inside herself, seeking some sort of power.

Perhaps that was what tipped off the enemy to her existence, she still isn't sure. One evening, her mortal father arrived home with news of a new client who had asked to meet the family. An American called Dwight Ericsson who was interested in exporting Colombian goods to the USA. Immediately something felt off, most Americans who did business with Lopez's firm were Latinx; they never had names like "Dwight Ericsson". 

The next night, the American came to dinner and Rosa instantly disliked him. He fitted most of the caricatures of a citizen of the USA - loud, brash, fat, and ignorant. He wore expensive but ill-fitting, clothes, and while on the surface he seemed to fit the role he was playing, something felt wrong. He took a particular interest in Rosa, repulsing her as he tried to flirt - but came across as extremely slimy. 

After dinner, he sought her out and began to tell her about America - making it sound like a paradise of technological goods and luxuries. All this succeeded in was making her laugh, telling him to look around. Did her family look poor? Put out, he departed, but something told the young Scion that he would be back. 

The following day, she prayed to her divine parent for the first time. She'd done some research and assembled something suitable, though her opening gambit of "Dad, we need to talk" was unorthodox, to say the least. They talked and he immediately sent her extra protection from a nearby cult in the form of some warriors. These brave souls took up places at the edge of the gated community, watching and waiting. 

Ericsson deployed a two-fold strategy in the coming days, applying pressure on Rosa's father to marry her, while at night the house became subject to probing attacks. The warriors turned the first few assaults aside - Rosa never knew about them until later - and the only evidence of the fights came in the form of blood found in the grounds or the sounds of fighting in the night. 

The family's security team went on high alert, doubling the shifts and working overtime. That worked well until the 14th night, when the American switched his attacks up, sending a Nemean serpent slithering into the gated community. The monster destroyed the Lopez's house (along with most of the others) and feasted upon the security guards. The family took shelter in the safe room and huddled there in fear. That was the real turning point. Truths came to the surface, and as the Nemean systematically destroyed the house, the family was torn apart by arguing. It wasn't only Rosa's true parentage that came out, it seemed everyone had their own secrets, from her closest brother's sexuality to her father's painkiller addiction. At the height of the arguing, Rosa's phone rang, against all logic. She answered it and heard Ericsson's voice. He would spare the rest of the family if she came to him now, otherwise they would die or be left to live in poverty. 

Reluctantly, she agreed to meet him, astonishing her family by unlocking the safe room and walking out into the ruins of the house. The serpent was waiting for her but made no attempt to attack. Instead, it watched her walk past to the edge of the community, where its master waited. Before she could speak, a group of men hooded and cuffed her and she was thrown into the trunk of Ericsson's limousine.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. She was never alone, but her guards never spoke to her. Kept drugged and bound, she had no idea of what was happening and even now only has vague memories of travelling north to the USA. Nobody protested her presence, and she's sure that her captor persuaded the TSA she was his wife. After that, she was installed at a very nice home in the southern USA (she would later learn it was Texas) and kept in a haze while her Ericsson prepared for something. He would check up on her every day, smiling at her and patting her arm patronisingly. "Don't you worry, everything's gonna be just fine, princess," he purred. 

She found out what he meant all too soon when she was taken out of the house and driven to the Landergin Mesa where Ericsson's cult was waiting. They strapped her to a rock and began a ritual to summon one of the Titans. At this point, a Band of Scions arrived, attacking the cult. Everything dissolved into violence and chaos.

Afterwards, she met the Scions who had travelled from New Orleans to hunt down the cult after some crimes on their turf. They returned home, and Rosa went with them. It took her some time to recover but she began to set up home after a few months. She found somewhere to live, started to paint again, and set up as a fortune teller to earn money. She focuses on the Tarot and Western astrology because most of her clients want that, but she can also read the tonalpohualli (an Aztec form of fortune telling).

She has lost track of her family and actively seeks them through back channels and underworld sources, finding an "Uncle" - one of her father's business partners - Jorge who works as a smuggler. Beyond that, she's trying to find the monster who abducted her, after rumours began to surface that he had been returned to life by his masters. Determined to defeat him, she has reached out to her comrades for aid.

This led to her dipping deeper into the underworld where she found a conman who styled himself "Father Alejandro" and pretended to be a blind priest. As he gathers a church around himself, he has agreed to aid her and the two regularly share information. Finally, she attracted a roommate who turned out to be a shaman, capable of weaving potent magic. 

Joining the Scion Band, she has taken a compassionate, empathic role and often acts as its leader. 

Appearance: Rosa is a medium-height Latina woman who dresses in bright clothes. She has large brown eyes, long black hair, and tanned skin. There's a small scar on her left shoulder and she has a large mole on her hip. 

She has a parrot, sent to her by Xochipilli soon after she set up in New Orleans and the cult that defended her in Colombia has created a branch in the city. 

As always the character I've created is available for free if anyone wants to play her or use her in their game. You can download her character sheet here.

I'd like to apologise for not providing a character last weekend - my keyboard died and it was a tough week at work.