Krystal

Krystal Vicente is single-handedly one of the most complicated characters in The Legacy of Sorrow, occupying a significant fraction of the Counsel's time with her antics while simultaneously being one of their biggest assets. A multi-billionaire and calculating fighter, Krystal is as much a strategist as she is an antagonist to her family, provoking them to solicit emotional responses and giving onlookers a form of entertainment in the way she does so. Battling an addiction with narcotics to numb the pain of Kara not returning her romantic inclinations, Krystal can be extremely unpredictable in her actions while remaining firmly within the grounds of what one would expect from her personality. Being one of the reasons that she became best friends with Violet, most of her life was spent as either a recluse, a rebel, or reliving a youth she never had the chance to experience herself. 
Krystal's "apparent" personality contrasted deeply with the reality of the world she lived in; while she often played off tense situations as jokes and provoked the negativity in otherwise positive occasions, her life was a constant turmoil of feeling out-of-place in spite of her family's natural and long-held acceptance for the type of person she was. In solitude or trusted company, Krystal was an honest and emotionally-vulnerable person (especially to Rachel, a trusted ally, and Violet, whom she saw as someone with equal amounts of angst in her life). 
After facing multiple life-changing situations, fights, and hail-Mary missions, her perspective on the world evolved over time and was ultimately "reborn" as a new person entirely after facing her own mortality. Shedding her addiction, her past feelings for Kara, and adopting a forward-thinking mindset, Krystal's transformation through The Legacy of Sorrow is remarkable and commendable, a fact that did not go unnoticed by those around her. Amy played the largest role in cementing her "new" personality, proving right that Alice had indeed been correct when she told her sister that she would be happier when she lived as her true self. 
==History ==
Krystal (Catherine) was born amidst chaos, with her Irish-Spanish parents finding a difficult life in the establishing American Colonies during a period of war, wherein they were both killed in a house fire caused by British soldiers. Equally beset by rage and confusion, Alice held her younger sister as the highest priority while they searched for a new home, ultimately being "rescued" by a militia officer of the Continental Army. While Krystal was often ready to charge headfirst into a new life distant from a place of turmoil, she agreed to follow Alice in her older, wiser mindset by helping those affected by the war in the hopes that they would receive recompense and safety in exchange for their help. 
Unfortunately, this was short-lived, as Krystal contracted Typhoid in the midst of the winter of 1778 in Valley Forge, a time of sickness for many soldiers and their companions. Alice worked round-the clock to save her sister from death, and having a background in aiding battlefield wounds was able to develop a medical remedy to stave off the worst effects of the disease. As time progressed, Alice also contracted Typhoid and both were near the brink of death upon Sonya and Kara's arrival. Although they were supposed to meet with General Washington to lend their aid (having superhuman powers and the ability to survive conditions that brought most soldiers to their knees), they instead saw an opportunity to garner more help in establishing themselves through converting the sisters to Vampyrism with the promise that they would aid the pair in their hunt for the Creature. Alice, although delirious, agreed and the two were saved with the virus inexplicably interacting with the medicine in Krystal's bloodstream as she began to heal and recover. Formerly a light-haired blonde (genetics from her grandfather's Nordic heritage), her hair and eyes transformed into a sky-blue color that Alice attributed to the periwinkle flower extract in the medicine she had given to her sister. 
Feeling as though she were now a freak of nature, she questioned her sister's sanity upon Alice's resorting to religion for answers. Kara and Sonya made their best attempts to provide a welcoming environment at Alice's begging, but Krystal's protests went unheeded and began a slow decline into a long period of depression. Consistently wearing hooded clothing and cutting her hair to hide its color, she remained out of sight from the world until introduced to Valterius, whose charm ensnared Krystal with a sense of safety and likability. She frequently vented her emotions to Valterius, becoming a confidant early in her life as the changes in her body grew her from an older child to a young adult within a matter of weeks. Her changes in hormones, feelings of frustration, and sense of isolation began to develop into a form of nihilism that was closely monitored by the older three of the five Vampyres. Allison had great difficulty connecting with her sister emotionally as they went into hiding in Philadelphia, feeling ever more distant as they each began to exhibit drastically different abilities. 
Krystal, for the first time, saw this as a means to an end and her ability to freeze pools of water, extinguish fires, and conjure ice from seemingly nowhere gave her a sense of belonging within the group of warriors. While Alice, falling in love with Val, wanted to avoid her destructive nature and use her budding medical knowledge to help others, Krystal saw an opportunity to become a warrior. Content with this outcome, Kara began to teach her what she knew of fighting and combat, much to the protest of both Valterius and Sonya. The same way Alice had fallen in love with her tutor, Krystal began to have a great sense of shame (with homosexuality being frowned upon by the Puritan church despite females often being excluded from serious punishment) in the affections she felt toward Kara. Kara was well aware of the effects she had over Krystal's psychological state, and often made suggestive remarks or humorous comments in order to instill a sense of peace that Krystal would not be judged by Kara for her romantic inclinations. 
In spite of this fact, neither Kara nor Krystal approached the subject directly until nearly 30 years later when Sonya and Kara suggested they depart for uncharted western territory. Facing frequent attacks (often resembling the attempt of mugging and/or rape to the rare witness) from the Creature's Pyrates and eventually the Creature himself, the two women were drawn to the conclusion that should they depart, the attacks would stop and the remaining three would be safe. The night before the pair left, Krystal bled her heart to Kara, expressing her passions with the greatest of fervor and begging Kara to stay so they could be together in peaceful union. Kara, unwilling to deliberate the concept of attachment, outright refused Krystal's notions and left immediately, with Sonya catching up hours after she discovered that Kara had left. 
In the following five decades, Sonya and Kara remained gone with no promise of return, and Krystal's heart was broken over the prospect of never seeing her "true love" ever again. Refusing to believe her sister or Valterius, especially in light of how close they had become and their sharing of many mentalities, Krystal decided to use every moment that Kara was away to prepare for her return. Learning from Alice and Valterius, she continued to develop her powers as both a weapon and a defense mechanism, gaining "practice" by stalking the night streets of Philadelphia and subduing criminals of various sorts with her abilities to keep the three of them nourished by way of their blood. Krystal held a strict code in performing these acts, following Kara's guidance and training with a near-ritualistic mindset. She developed a creed to only use criminals caught in the act, and only those heinous enough to be considered punishable by death under the laws of the land. Oftentimes, she would become a secretive figure of the night, a hooded and mysterious woman with pale skin that visited victims of domestic abuse and sexual violence, pursuing the perpetrators and using their captivity to nourish Valterius, Alice, and herself. As their cravings were tame but unpredictable, they would often make the attempt to keep the criminals alive for a week or two (depending on the severity of their crime), releasing them back into the public with severe anemia and a fear of godlike wrath should they continue to commit their prior sins. None were ever caught as repeat offenders. This continued even after the group relocated to Salem in 1832, and Krystal assumed her new name, leaving 'Catherine' behind as a relic of her vulnerable past. 
With Kara and Sonya returning in the early 1860's after hearing reports of the oncoming Civil War (taking several months to locate where their family had retreated to), Krystal's memory of her beloved had grown to something of an addictive memory, and upon seeing Kara for the first time in a half-century, fainted and struck her head on the corner of a nearby doorframe. Kara, also holding onto fond memories of their past, spent several months reconnecting with the group while paying special attention to Krystal, as her presence was nearly impossible to avoid. Regaling their tales, Kara learned of Krystal's prowess as a budding huntress. Since the pair had returned with a dozen others that they had converted to Vampyres, a plan was co-developed between Sonya and Kara in order to secure the group a better future. The initial stages of Aerael were planned in 1862, with the fledgling Vampyres working round-the-clock to construct the space, Alice seeking to further her medical experience, Valterius placed as the guiding figure for the shaping of the future city, and Krystal assigned as Kara's protégé. 
Kara, Sonya, and Krystal aided in the overall planning of the city, but began taking an offensive approach to finding the Creature through the interrogation of officials in the Confederate Army. In addition to freeing slaves and converting slaves in dire need (at risk of imminent death), Alice and Valterius had also begun to use their virus to convert the sick and dying in order to provide them with a better life. Krystal was pleased with this concept and readily stated her willingness to "rule" at Kara's side under Sonya's guidance. Kara and Sonya both rejected the notion of a ruler, and while Krystal didn't understand their reasoning, accepted it blindly as Kara's wisdom. After the Civil War ended and the Confederate Army was defeated, any traces of the Creature vanished, with only the occasional attack from rogue Pyrates giving the growing civilization any trouble. With no witnesses being left to tell the Creature where Aerael and the Free Vampyres were located, the attacks stopped entirely. 
Over the next century, Krystal became obsessed with the idea of pleasing Kara by growing her society into a kingdom worthy of her rule. Although several of her attempts at significant financial gain failed (particularly a major incident involving a botched bank robbery, a derailed train, and several thousand dollars' worth of whiskey), she found her way into the wealthy families of America through mutual connections and rose through the ranks as a cunning business strategist. Inheriting massive fortunes from Andrew Carnegie and John Rockefeller, Krystal amassed a fortune and continued to invest in emerging technologies, television, personal computing, and more. Although there had been several missions made during World Wars I and II, Krystal continued her practices of financial leverage, eventually paying for massive renovations to Aerael, amounting to numbers in excess of $100 million dollars (adjusted to 2015 currency value). 
Seeing no end to the apathy that Kara was displaying, Krystal bought a countryside, 9-bedroom Victorian-style mansion and remodeled it for her own tastes. Having a secluded place to stay when her nerves became too much for Kara's presence, her obsessions and isolation led to Kara feeling guilty and inviting her to hunt down Kilkovf on a mission during the Vietnam War. In 1965, a helicopter carrying Alice, Krystal, Sonya, and Kara was shot down in an unidentified region of the Vietnam jungle. The pilot was killed instantly, with Sonya facing near-fatal injuries and Krystal being partially impaled through her right shoulder by a twisted piece of metal. Due to the nature of the penetration and shape of the metal protrusion, Alice couldn't remove her from the wreckage after exhausting most of her medicines on Sonya's surgical needs. The only tool she had left was a surplus of morphine: a delivery meant for their destination. While Kara remained on watch for 78 continuous hours, engaging in numerous gunfights, Alice did her best to keep her sister as comfortable as possible until reinforcements could arrive with the proper surgical tools to escape. 
After a radio call confirming that the U.S. Army company meant for their recovery was killed in action, Krystal defiantly writhed herself out of the wreckage, permanently damaging her right shoulder (as it healed improperly afterward) in order to help Kara push back the enemy long enough for the group to make a retreat to the nearest American outpost. Upon returning to the United States, Krystal refused to allow Alice to perform any kind of surgical procedures to repair the damage, citing that Kara would see her as weak for doing so. Alice argued with her for weeks on the subject, ultimately defeated when Krystal admitted to preferring the prescription painkillers she was taking over any kind of surgery. Her addiction went through cycles of intensity and remission, sometimes having a profound effect on her behavior (such as the random purchase of a private jet and the acquisition of a pilot's license) and other times being entirely unnoticeable. When Violet was brought to the city in 2004, Krystal hid any signs of drug use from her, unwilling to be a negative influence on the growing young woman. While she eventually found out, Violet dismissed it as a vice used for coping with her emotions. 
In 2005, Kara and Krystal got into an argument after a peculiar mission away from Aerael involving only the two of them, and Krystal refused to return to Aerael. She stayed in Washington, D.C. with a human friend, Rachel, who left her boyfriend to begin a short-lived romantic partnership with Krystal. The two of them spent several weeks together, culminating in a frenzy of sexual encounters, Rachel's conversion to Vampyrism, and several occasions of heavy drug use before Krystal finally realized her mistake and returned to Kara's side to beg for forgiveness. Kara dismissed the notion that she cared that Krystal had left, instead providing her with a series of leads on Kilkovf and assigning her to track him down at all costs. Between missions, Krystal grew close to Violet and became her best friend, relating much of her emotion to the process that Violet was undergoing during her transition to Aerael. Although they were frequently parted by Krystal's missions, two two always found time for mischief and relaxation. Unfortunately, as time went on, Krystal was tasked with more responsibility and less time within the confines of the city. This began a long chain of events during the Global War on Terror that ended in 2014 with the implication that Kilkovf was hiding in Afghanistan. 
==Personality & Beliefs==
In her younger days, Alice often described Krystal as a "rambunctious rascal with a softer heart than she would prefer," which matched well with the temperament she displayed toward authority and law as well as her growing feelings for Kara. With Kara and Sonya's departure to the west coast of North America, Krystal steeled herself to emotion, attempting to become more like Kara in her absence and carry on the warrior-huntress mantra that was taught to her from a young age. Although she failed to recognize the limitations of that mindset and often acted on impulse, she cared greatly for Alice and Valterius as her only remaining family. Upon Kara's return, her fanatical obsession with her maiden of death continued and only worsened with her later addiction to morphine and narcotics. It wasn't until her death in 2015 and awakening in 2034 that her outlook on life shifted to a perspective wider than anticipated. 
Amelia's help in processing the memories of her death helped not only remove the fear associated with mortality, but wiped away any evidence of her past inclinations through the lens of a second chance at life. This led to significant emotional attachment to Amy and subsequently a distancing of herself from Kara, although she still held the woman in the highest regard. She held long talks with Violet and Amy about the meaning of life, hearing and listening rather than brushing away the gravity of such discussions. Krystal matured greatly over the six months between her awakening and the Battle at Washington, D.C., becoming a positive influence over the lives of many, including Sonya, Valterius, Violet, and Amy. 
While Krystal displayed symptoms of bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder (sociopathy), Alice has repeatedly given Krystal a clean bill of mental health, offering that she was mentally sound and had issues that largely and only stemmed from her addiction to narcotics. Even then, Alice's lack of diagnoses came with the professional opinion that the "addiction" was somewhat by choice, as her Vampyre physiology would have allowed Krystal to undergo medical treatments for detoxification in the span of less than a week. Krystal's choice to become sober on her own was once again a show of defiance disguised as strength for the sake of Kara, but nonetheless worked in her favor and was ultimately successful by the end of Sorrow. 
Krystal maintains no religious standing, and has widely refused to discuss the topic in public arenas, fearing judgement for whatever her viewpoints may have been. Although Krystal and Alice were both raised under the teachings of Roman Catholicism, Krystal abandoned her faith entirely once she recovered from her conversion to Vampyrism in 1778. 
==Description==
Krystal is the shortest of Kara's counsel, standing at five feet and six inches, although her demeanor and refined muscle tone often made her intimidating to those who angered her. Due to the Vampyre Virus' effects on her immune system with the medicine Alice used to treat her Typhoid infection, her hair is permanently a sky-blue color, with rare strands of snowy-white and others being a darker cerulean hue. This translates to her eye color, as well, which shifts depending on the usage of her abilities. As her emotions intensity and her powers begin to present themselves, her eyes will lighten to a cloudy-white at their brightest and a deep ocean tint when she is calm or happy. Alice's best guesses to this reason involve blood flow and vasoconstriction, but tests were never run to confirm the theory. 
Her Irish-Spanish heritage gives her skin the same color as the other European-born members of the Counsel, and her paleness is accentuated by the cool colors of her hair and eyes. Given these qualities, Krystal is visually unique, and her slender, curvaceous form at roughly 130 pounds makes her a highly-fantasized vision for most men in Aerael. While her sister shares the same qualities of beauty, Krystal has no problems showcasing her body with form-fitting leggings and a sports bra for boxing matches or a tight-fitting turtleneck for casual-tactical days on the job. Some clothes expose the tattoo on her left shoulder blade: a blue rose drawn by Violet to match the template of red roses she had drawn for Kara. 
==Titles==
===Ice Queen===
A pun and widely-used nickname by those that would survive uttering the words, typically used to make fun of her sense of superiority and cold mannerisms. 
===The Hot One===
A long-standing battle between the citizens of Aerael, no one would dare rank Kara's beauty against any other. The Vicente sisters, on the other hand, seemed to be fair game as they were less threatening (at times) than their empress. Alice seemed to have finally won the battle in 2039, when Alice received custom, heat-resistant scrubs from Valterius as a gift upon appointment as the United States Surgeon General with the embroidered lettering "The Hot One" directly under her title. Although she wore scrubs very little during the later years of her profession, her later endeavors upon stepping down made the gift a prized possession, and one that her sister never again contested to out of respect.
=== Freezerburn#4077 ===
Krystal and Violet frequented video gaming as a competitive pastime, and Krystal's username on the Xbox platform became one feared in more games than anyone dared count. Although her skills may not have been as developed as other players due to a lack of time for practice, her venomous remarks during matches were enough to silence even the brattiest of teenagers. Internet forums eventually turned her username into a meme after two competitive players quit during a live-stream, inferring that anyone who was "Frostbitten" (forced to quit due to her crude remarks) was forbidden from playing that particular game ever again. 
==Relationships==
Although there were rumors aplenty due to Krystal's openly-sexualized style, she was highly selective of her partners and only had romantic partnerships involving sexual activity with four women. Even this basic fact is known only to a few, although enough bar fights with overly-zealous men made her comments regarding being openly lesbian known to much of the city. While one of her partners was Rachel, who Krystal never had much of an issue speaking of, her other two partners before her marriage to Amy remained a mystery to most. In a "Wine and Bitches" meeting, Krystal mentioned her involvement with a woman who used Krystal for her money and standing while having no real interest in a long-term relationship. The third woman was not discussed, as the conversation shifted away from the topic and has never again been mentioned by Krystal. When asked by Andrea Scott several years after the events of Despair in a group hangout, she refused to acknowledge the question, let alone provide even a vague answer. Although few people suspect who it may have been, none have been able to confirm the third woman in Krystal's past. 
The only significant relationship in Krystal's life was with Amy, who professed her love after the same "Wine and Bitches" meeting mentioned previously. Confused, alarmed, and paranoid about her parents, Krystal had a great difficulty in accepting the proposition until Amy's powers unveiled Krystal's repressed emotion, exposing that their friendship ran deeper than either one of them had known. Hesitant, Krystal gave into Amy's wishes and became her first and only partner. After the Battle at Washington, D.C. and the events of Despair, the two were married by Valterius and lived prosperous, happy lives. 
In 2054, Alice revealed that she had been working on a project within a think-tank that gained FDA approval to utilize two female eggs to conceive a child in vitro rather than require a sperm donor. While Amy and Krystal were equally as ecstatic as they were terrified at the thought, they accepted with Amy agreeing to carry the child. In 2056, she gave birth to a daughter, Lilith Rose Kane, who was born a Vampyre due to Krystal and Amy both having the New Dawn Mutagen that allowed them to remain as Vampyres. 
== Expanded Universe - Epilogues ==
Krystal and Amy were formally married by Valterius (who completed a ministerial course in honor of Jared) on September 13, 2039. Krystal took the role of First Lady of the United States seriously, learning the art of diplomacy from Valterius and Amy, but maintaining a reputation as a fierce and unrelenting negotiator during times of tension. Krystal was viewed by the public as a strong female figure of empowerment, as she often showed no regard for unnecessary formality, but kept a calm sense of tranquility in the face of impossible odds. Since she was not an elected official, Krystal didn't engage directly with national affairs unless she encountered an issue that was easily rectified, and spent much of her time at the Kane-Hudson Center for New Dawn Vampyrism (formerly the Kane-Hudson Charity Teaching Hospital), providing moral support for young men and women willing to make the transition to Vampyrism in order to serve and further their country. 
Krystal aired a series of humorous commercials in 2057 intended for parody which met the legal requirement for announcement as a Presidential Candidate, and was subsequently sworn in on November 5th, 2058 as the second female President (Amelia decided not to run for the 2058 presidency, as she wanted to stay at home and care for Lilith in peace and quiet). A documentary series was created about their lives, aired on a multitude of streaming services and regarded as a historical account of America's tenacity and resilience. Krystal served four terms as President, and one of her most notable accomplishments was the creation of the Eastern Nations' Union Agreement (ENUA), which united both North and South Korea into one prosperous and successful nation, and encouraged more open, honest, and free trade with the United States from China and Russia. During her last year as president, NATO and ENUA were dissolved to create the International Free Nations Organization, uniting the world in a never-before-seen move of unilateral world peace.
Krystal and Amy's daughter, Lilith, graduated high school with honors in 2074 and obtained baccalaureate degrees in Business and Political Science, finally graduating from college Summa Cum Laude in 2081 with a Masters degree in Psychology.