Rose Miller

* Primrose
* Lupa

> *"The safety's on. If I wanted you dead, you already would be."*- Lupa, to Rook
>
>

**Rose Miller**, or better known by her code name **Primrose**, was a member of the Corpus Diaboli, Rubidia's elite mercenary group. She is a master of subterfuge, making use of her symbiotic demon partner Lust to engage in covert operations. After having served for the Corpus Diaboli for the better part of 3 years, she officially quit after witnessing her employer slay a fellow god. In actuality, she had been a double agent the entire time, working under the Shanghai-based tech giant, Shin Dynamics.

## Biography

### The Mercenary Elite

Rose has a bit of mystery surrounding her, leaving her early years unknown. This is likely intentional as given Rose's talents, she wouldn't want her origins to be public knowledge. Rose first appeared on the map sometime after the first Spiral Campaign, where she offered her talents to the Corpus Diaboli. After many rigorous trials, Rose was eventually accepted into the group. There are many rumors surrounding the binding ritual that gives these agents their demon symbiote, but most assume it to be equal parts painful and dangerous. Rose was bonded with the octopus demon known as Lust, and the two have worked together since. In the time between wars, Rose and the rest of the Corpus Diaboli worked odd jobs for different employers.

Upon Jasper's return from the Black Room, the Corpus Diaboli were hired on as close associates, with a contract paid for by Chinese money. What none of them knew at the time was that this particular contract would be far more than they had ever bargained for. Rose was initially wary at first, but sought to prove herself and show how determined she needed to be to complete the tasks set before her. Thus began the longest year of her life.

### The Spiral Campaign

As was her specialty, Rose was quickly assigned on a long recon mission in the capital of Volkeris: Veidle. Initially, her only orders were to standby and take notes, and Rose got to work with laying out the city's infrastructure and creating a rather detailed map in the process. It impressed her, to say the least; she had never witnessed anyone so vain in their lives, yet here they all were, packed behind mighty walls and the dangerous deserts. Part of her envied them, because they were so carefree in their way of living that they didn't seem to worry about a thing. Outside those walls, it seemed that the world was about to tear themselves apart. Yet here, things remained at peace; at least for the time being, anyhow.

Her first real assignment came from on-high; her boss, Helman, contacted her through an encrypted frequency, detailing the events to follow. It was by Jasper's orders that someone special to the Volkerians was to be kidnapped, and the Mad God was hiring another mercenary to do it. The message was vague, but Rose knew enough to be expecting this other mercenary. She hadn't trusted it much, but she'd follow orders. Days passed before the stranger arrived; he was a large, armored fellow calling himself Carnifex, and Rose welcomed him with understandable suspicion. Their target was a known spymaster within the Volkerians' ranks. Rose led Carnifex where he needed to go, but did not join him, as she needed to maintain her cover. The last she saw of the mercenary, he was taking off in a flying ship, with the target in tow.

Rose remained undercover until she was needed again, and this was at the height of the war. Orders from Helman told that the Romans were about to invade the city. Rose was to offer what assistance she could, and provide the invading army with a layout of Versailles. When the Romans finally arrived, they arrived in force and began to siege the city over the course of several days. In the ensuing chaos, Rose attempted to slip out, only to be pursued by a lecherous monk. She played it cool and remained unassuming, until it became obvious that the man couldn't take no for an answer. As Romans assaulted the city walls, Rose hopped said walls, using her demon symbiote to cross the chasm just outside the city. With that, she passed into the burning desert and donned her symbolic headgear, in order to rendezvous with the Roman superior. This Roman was none other than Hadrianus Aquillius, cousin to Titus Aquillius. Accompanying Hadrianus was his own private squad, comprised of elites among the Roman Legion. After introductions were made, the allied parties decided it was best to infiltrate the city and secure it from within, to allow the rest of the Roman Army easy access. So they did; Rose, Hadrianus and the rest of his squad passed through the city under cover of night, reaching all the way to the palace.

After picking the lock, the polite company infiltrated the estate of the Veidlian governor, only to find it already emptied out. The governor, and all the lights were off. Figuring that they would return soon, Rose, Hadrianus and his squad took cover in various places within the palace, ready to ambush when the queen returned. She returned not long afterwards, bringing the Roman God Albus with her. However, Albus and the Queen were not alone. Other voices were among them: Jasper and Helman. The situation quickly devolved into a fight and by the time Rose and the others realized it, it was already too late. The palace began to crumble above them, and although Rose and Hadrianus barely escaped the rubble, Hadrianus' squad wasn't so lucky. Reaching the palace exterior, a grim truth dawned upon them both; Albus was dead, struck down by his supposed ally. It was with this betrayal that Rose was pushed to her breaking point; she hastily discarded her mask, distancing herself from the men she called comrades. She promptly left with the remnants of the Roman Army, comforting Hadrianus over the loss of his idol figure. Rose wasn't seen again until the war's end.

### Aftermath

In a stunning twist, it was revealed that Rose was in fact never a member of the Corpus Diaboli, only planted there as a sleeper agent by mysterious benefactors in the Chinese province. Sometime in the interim between the siege of Veidle and Jasper's final demise, Rose had managed to sneak into Eisenclast and make away with a powerful object that had been in Jasper's possession; the distilled essence of a god. With this in her possession, she returned to her benefactors, in the shady Chinese metropolis of Shanghai.

### The Job

With the package delivered, Lupa was immediately assigned to another task; watch over a potential recruit, and oversee his initiation into the company. The recruit in question was one Julius Rook, a former member of Jasper's Crimsonhead Militia. With Jasper out of the picture, Rook had made a name for himself by taking odd jobs here and there, typically involving security detail or assassinations. His particular talents had earned the eye of Shin Dynamics, and Lupa was tasked to watch over him. Following his meeting with Ikari Itsuda, Lupa tailed the man all the way to a seedy motel in Shanghai's Vice District. As was her profession, she was exceptional at stealth tactics, easily weaving in and out of the crowds without being seen. Since it was night time, it made things all the more easy for her. Before Rook could even get to his room, Lupa was already waiting for him, pistol in hand. Given her approach, it might have appeared like a hit at first; of course, she could have easily offed him at any point, and had no intention of doing so. A few pulls of her pistol's trigger revealed that the safety was on.

Lupa explained at depth the nature of Rook's given task; he was to carry out an assassination against not one, but seven people. His particular targets were the executive board at Reiko Solutions, a tech firm beneath Shin Dynamics. The task came as no surprise; corporate warfare was normal for Shanghai, and companies fell prey to hostile takeovers all the time. The next few days were spent scoping out the Reiko building, looking for opportunities and entry points wherever they could be found. The infiltration began on the perfect date, where an emergency executive meeting had been called; it would provide the ideal chance for Rook to kill them all at once.

Lupa was already waiting for Rook by the time the mission came, and a swift takedown of a low-grade maintenance worker got them through the back door. Rook disguised himself as the worker he subdued, while Lupa needed no disguise, feeling confident that she wouldn't be seen whatsoever. They soon parted ways, with Lupa heading upstairs towards the security room. They were a few minutes away from the meeting, and time was of the essence. With Rook preparing for the hit, Lupa reached the 20th floor of the Reiko building, and easily snuck past any security cameras within the long corridor. Entering the security office, she effortlessly dispatched the lone security guard there and manned the monitors. It was there that she acted as Rook's mission control, watching with baited breath as he carried out the hit. The entire executive board was slain within the hour, and any footage of the incident erased thanks to Lupa. Before anyone was the wiser, Rook and Lupa left the building.

Just as it had been planned, they were in and out within the hour. The only part left was to return to the Shin Dynamics building, where Itsuda likely awaited their return. Lupa joked in her own morbid fashion, saying how it was a fun date, but her tone grew serious afterwards. A meeting with the boss was inevitable, and it was high time that Rook came face-to-face with the true head of the company.

### The Black Day

Some days after their job, news struck about a supposed terrorist attack down at the local nightclub, Toxin. With the whole city up in panic, Itsuda was forced to play damage control and save face for why Shin Dynamics hadn't been there to control the situation. Despite his calm demeanor, events were already spiraling out of his hands. In an attempt to placate demands placed upon him by the ruling Triad gangs, Itsuda decided to send Rose and Rook down to the police station. Shin Dynamics would personally handle the investigation, as it was a matter of national security. The pair hurried down to the local precinct, hoping to handle the matter personally.

Rose and Rook arrived in the midst of an interrogation, where a police lieutenant was grilling one of the suspects for information. The lieutenant was someone all too familiar to Rose; Nashi Paer, an up-and-coming star with a high sense of justice. Shanghai was a place ruled by corruption and greed, and Rose and Nashi often clashed due to their conflicting ideals. It gave Rose no greater joy to inform Nashi that she was off the case, chiding and mocking her almost to the point of her exploding in anger. Nashi was quick to stomp off, reluctantly acquiescing to the demands of her superiors. Left to interrogate the suspect, Rose and Rook quickly took over the investigation, seeking to get to the bottom of what seemed to be a terror plot. Little did they know, things were about to get a whole lot worse.

## Appearance

### Primrose

Rose is a middle-aged woman of decent height, clocking in at 5 feet, 7 inches and an average build. She's a natural blonde, with magenta-colored eyes. Otherwise, her features are rather plain, but likely on purpose due to her ability to blend in well. In her uniform, Rose wears a form-fitting military outfit, beige in color with a plentiful amount of pouches and utility pockets, for storing vital equipment. Like all members of the Corpus Diaboli, Rose wears the company mask, being a white, porcelain mask with a pentagram etched on the surface, and glowing red eye lens.

### Lupa

While Primrose had only been a codename for her undercover work in the Corpus Diaboli, she usually goes by Lupa when tending to actual business for her true employers. Rose ditches her military fatigues in favor of loose clothing, including a raincoat, plaid skirt and leggings all in a navy blue color. To conceal her identity, Rose wears a fox mask; if the origin of her allegiances is anything to be believed, then it can be safely assumed that this mask has similar benefits to the Corpus Diaboli mask.

### Lust

As the symbiotic demon bonded to Rose, Lust takes the appearance of a writhing mass of tentacles fused to Rose's body. The demon's organic mass is uniformally grey in coloration; the underside of each tentacle is light grey, and lined with suction cups. Each tentacle is tipped with a chitinous talon of a deep red color. In various spots upon the mass, visible eyes can be seen, with white sclera and red irises.

## Personality

Rose is the type of person who takes her job very seriously; as long as she's assigned to something, she will see it through to the bitter end, no matter what it costs her. However, her determination only extends so far, as she is still a person of decent morals. There are very few things that can manage to disturb her conviction, but they exist. Despite the fact that she enjoys toying around with people, she is slow to trust and form meaningful relationships with anyone else, which is typically why she works alone. This aligns with her profession as a master of espionage, where she was quick to learn not to trust anyone.

## Abilities

### Rose

Through the service pact with Lust, Rose has several attributes that put her above an ordinary human; superhuman speed and reflexes being among the short list of it. Even before entering the pact, Rose was a very agile and athletic person, able to preform impressive feats of agility and skill. She is a skilled free runner, and is able to chart the fastest course that will take her to her destination. She's also surprisingly adept at cartography, making her the good-to for extended reconnaissance missions. However, her unwavering conviction to her cause often results in her being reckless, to the point of doing things that may injure her. Rose is skilled in several types of weapons, including knives and daggers, and small firearms like pistols.

Rose is an expert in the art of disguise, able to blend in plain sight. She never uses the same disguise twice, and can stay undercover for many months at a time. She's able to manipulate her peers to further her goals, telling a convincing lie if needed. She's fluent in many languages, speaking the most common languages in the Isles.

### Lust

Lust can act independently of Rose, though the former can read the latter's thoughts for more accurate commands. Each tentacle can move separately, able to extend up to 15 feet and latch onto objects with powerful suction cups. Each tentacle is also tipped in a chitinous talon, steeped in a paralytic toxin that can seize an ordinary human's body within seconds. The organic mass that composes Lust's main body can shift as it pleases, covering any inch of Rose's body, or her entire body if need be. Likewise, optical nerves can appear anywhere, relaying visuals directly to Rose through a mental link; in layman's terms, it grants Rose an effective 360 coverage of sight. Like all demon symbiotes, they manifest over the left shoulder, and can disappear and reappear at will, possibly taking refuge within the host's body.

## Relationships

### Marcus Helman

The relationship between Rose and Helman seemed to be one born of a pure professionalism; Helman gives orders and Rose takes them. There seemed to be nothing much beyond that, but given Helman's innate lack of concern for his fellow agents, Rose didn't seem to enjoy his company very much. This assumption is furthered by her sudden departure from the mercenary group, considering the aftermath of their last joint venture together. Whether she hated him or simply disliked him is left to the imagination, as Rose spent most of her time undercover and rarely interacted with Helman in person.