Annie Moto

**Annie Moto** is the current champion of Aranea, the Vox Falsum, or the Voice of Deceit. She is a vampire whose physical appearance has not changed since she was deemed the victor of the Blood Hunt when she was but a child. Annie acted as the primary antagonist for Arc 2: Blood Hunt and since then, she has been an ally to the main party.

## Description

### Personality

Annie prefers to live isolated, away from any of the politics that may plague the lives of the other Voxes. She views her status as Aranea's champion as a burden that she must carry in order to ensure peace for the dead souls of the Blood Hunt. Though she may not express it, she feels extreme grief and feels responsible for the lives lost during the hunt. Despite appearing as a child, Annie acts as an old soul, often chastising her peers or providing them wisdom. She detests people who look down on others for their misfortunes and people who intentionally hurt others.

### Appearance

Annie appears as a High Elf with blond hair, roughly ten years of age. She does not age physically due to her vampiric heritage. She often wears clothing that makes her fit into the nobility and will often try to obscure her face from plain sight. Despite being a vampire, her fangs are not sharp as she tries to appear as normal as possible.

## History

### Before the Red Death

Annie was born over 60 years ago to a young High Elven couple who lived in the slums of a city in Iselia. The names of her birth parents are unknown. Sometime when she was around five years old, her parents were killed in a brutal murder, leaving her as an orphan. She was ridiculed by the other kids in town and kept to herself for the most part.

She was eventually adopted by Oliver Moto, an Iselian blacksmith and tinkerer, who shooed away Annie's bullies. She grew up with Oliver for five years and viewed him as a true father figure.

When Annie was ten, a Blood Hunt was initiated in the city she lived in. Oliver protected her throughout the Blood Hunt, using his explosive contraptions and ingenuity to outsmart and kill the other competitors of the hunt. Eventually, Oliver became mortally wounded. When the moon was nearly fully eclipsed, Oliver and Annie were surrounded by the last ten survivors of the hunt. In one final gambit, Oliver demanded Annie retreat and trigger a contraption that collapsed the entire building they were in, thereby killing Oliver and the ten others and attributing their kills to Annie, who was turned into a vampire and into Aranea's champion.

Since then, Annie has been traversing throughout the lands of Iselia, refusing to take part in any major conflicts and keeping a low profile lest someone become aware of her true identity.

### Blood Hunt

Annie, along with her hired mercenary troupe consisting of Monker Virgo, Sentinel, Sadge Duela, and Maribelle Terra, made a stop in Lyra during the travels around the time of the Blood Hunt. Apparently during her stay in the city, she was approached by Suris Regala's bodyguard, who pressured her into, "joining their side," with cryptic words threatening to overthrow her position as Aranea's champion. Annie vehemently responded that she wanted to stay out of the politics of the other Voxes and rejected Regala's bodyguard's offer.

Annie first met the party during one of their nights at the Olive Branch in Lyra. After the announcement of Suris Regala's Great Ball, the party attempted to get their hands on a ticket to attend the ceremony. Annie was one of the original people invited to the ball, and therefore held a guest ticket as well. After some antics to prove her worth, Kayn Ka Kanye was given Annie's guest ticket.

During the Great Ball, Annie was approached by Cardin Abbot, who began to intimidate and irritate her. Eventually, Annie was ticked off enough to use a bit of her divine power, triggering the beginning of the Blood Hunt, whose ill omens appeared throughout Lyra in the days prior.

During the Blood Hunt, Annie kept a defensive position, killing any who tried to attack her. She eventually claimed many lives and was one of the last survivors of the hunt. She used her vampiric powers to charm the other survivors into building a barricade in which she could stay safe throughout the hunt. Ultimately, she faced off against the party, who were attributing their kills to Kenshin Ignia. The party broke Annie's captives off of her charms and finally defeated her. Kenshin Ignia, however, rejected Aranea's offer to become the Vox Falsum and spared Annie's life. Annie was declared the victor of the Blood Hunt and she spared the souls of the survivors.

After the Blood Hunt and in her return to Lyra, Annie joined the party in discussing their next course of action with Veela Auriga of the Mages Guild, who was concerned that there was a mysterious organization that was trying to desecrate the various thrones of the Avernals and recruit the Voxes into their ranks. As the party headed out in a journey to Aurum, Annie left to go attend to her own personal matters regarding Aranea's throne.

## Abilities

**Vox Falsum:** As the Vox Falsum, Annie is granted a vampiric heritage. As such, she innately has aptitude for casting illusory magic and has the ability to siphon blood off of her targets. She cannot physically age and in theory, she could live forever granted she is not mortally wounded. She also has increased health regeneration and has the ability to summon a familiar, usually in the form of a bat.