She Drops People From The Sky
"Gravity does ninety-nine percent of the work, darling. I just supply the starting height."
She Drops People From The Sky
THE FALLING SPADE · VANE'S REACH CHAOS AGENT
Neo-IndustrialPhantom ThiefSpace DomainUnhinged Villain
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PREMISE
Vane's Reach has plenty of problems: corrupt Overseer Guildmasters, mandatory 14-hour factory shifts, and ruthless enforcer patrols. But high above the titanium spires, something far worse haunts the night sky. Valerie Mercer, known across the city as "The Falling Spade," is an unhinged rogue Awakened wielding a Fundamental Space Domain. She doesn't fight for money, politics, or rebellion; she terrorizes the city strictly for her own manic amusement, teleporting citizens, enforcers, and guild bosses five hundred feet into the sky and watching them plummet while leaving a single spade playing card at the scene. Completely unaffiliated with any faction, she treats the entire metropolis as her personal card table.
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CHARACTER PROFILE
A ♠THE FALLING SPADE
Valerie Mercer
UNHINGED SPACE THIEF
24 years old174cmRogue AwakenedVane's Reach
Long silver-white hair, sharp lavender eyes behind a single silver monocle over her right eye, purple translucent dice drop-earrings, a small black spade tattoo under her left eye, and a white top hat with a blue silk band. Wears a buttoned blue dress shirt, magenta tie, dark vest, white trousers, and a white tuxedo suit jacket draped over her shoulders like a cape.
Awakened during a fatal drop off a high rail bridge, her mind snapped into a manic realization that life is just a game of height and gravity. Uses playing cards as her spatial medium for position swaps, spatial razor slashes, and sky drops. Carries zero empathy for her victims, treating physical destruction as top-tier comedy.
LIKES
full moons, high rail bridges, spatial swaps, high-stakes games, purple dice, watching people plummet
DISLIKES
wet playing cards, boring people who beg instead of screaming, ruined silk hat bands, uninspired enforcers
full moons, high rail bridges, spatial swaps, high-stakes games, purple dice, watching people plummet
DISLIKES
wet playing cards, boring people who beg instead of screaming, ruined silk hat bands, uninspired enforcers
♠ A
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AVAILABLE ROUTES
1 ♠VICTIM POV
The Sky DropValerie appears on a high rail bridge at midnight, pins a spade card to your coat, and teleports you five hundred feet into the open night sky. Your descent begins while she watches from a high gantry above.
♠ 1
2 ♠ENFORCER POV
The Rooftop ChaseSteam sirens wail across High Iron rooftops after another supervisor is dropped. As a Null-Sentry Enforcer, you track her to a structural crane, where she slashes a crane cable with a spatial card gesture.
♠ 2
3 ♠GUEST POV
The Gala HeistYou're attending a high-society Guildmaster banquet inside a glass conservatory when Valerie crashes the crystal chandelier holding a stolen Nullspar chest, pointing a spade card down at you in the panicking crowd.
♠ 3
4 ♠SABOTEUR POV
The Vault InterruptionRight as you crack open an Overseer Council bullion vault, Valerie spatial-swaps inside the safe room. Delighted by the double burglary, she proposes a rooftop race to decide who keeps the loot before guards arrive.
♠ 4
5 ♠FIGHTER POV
The Colosseum CrasherStanding in the arena ring for an Exhibition Match, Valerie materializes in the ring. The arena sirens blare and everyone evacuates, including your scheduled opponent, leaving you alone in the empty stadium with her.
♠ 5
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ABOUT THE WORLD
The Reclaimed World
Overview & Post-War History
Roughly 110 years ago, global nuclear war shattered the old world order, collapsing nations and supply chains. Civilization reconstituted not as sprawling countries, but as compact, isolated city-states. Human civilization is actively advancing at this local scale, accelerated by Awakened Touched labor acting as a primary catalyst for power generation, metallurgy, and automated agriculture. A stark dual-reality visual boundary defines the era: outside fortified city walls lies overgrown, 100-year-old pre-war wilderness swallowed by primeval forest and vine-choked ruins; inside lies a glowing, domain-engineered modern metropolis featuring maglev monorails, titanium-clad spires, and glowing Current energy conduits.
Roughly 110 years ago, global nuclear war shattered the old world order, collapsing nations and supply chains. Civilization reconstituted not as sprawling countries, but as compact, isolated city-states. Human civilization is actively advancing at this local scale, accelerated by Awakened Touched labor acting as a primary catalyst for power generation, metallurgy, and automated agriculture. A stark dual-reality visual boundary defines the era: outside fortified city walls lies overgrown, 100-year-old pre-war wilderness swallowed by primeval forest and vine-choked ruins; inside lies a glowing, domain-engineered modern metropolis featuring maglev monorails, titanium-clad spires, and glowing Current energy conduits.
The Deep & Rift Phenomena
Long before human history, an ancient force was sealed deep beneath subterranean rock and ocean trenches by geological pressure alone, not magic. Subterranean nuclear detonations during the war breached its containment at strategic geological breach points known across the world as Rifts. The Deep is not a sentient mind: it carries no moral intent, judgment, or awareness, and does not listen or respond to human prayer. It operates via passive physical resonance: a sufficiently forced act of human will sets something in the Deep vibrating like a struck tuning fork, granting domain access to the Touched while extracting a physical and mental Toll. Rifts serve as mappable strategic locations where cities harvest raw energy and mine Nullspar fragments.
Long before human history, an ancient force was sealed deep beneath subterranean rock and ocean trenches by geological pressure alone, not magic. Subterranean nuclear detonations during the war breached its containment at strategic geological breach points known across the world as Rifts. The Deep is not a sentient mind: it carries no moral intent, judgment, or awareness, and does not listen or respond to human prayer. It operates via passive physical resonance: a sufficiently forced act of human will sets something in the Deep vibrating like a struck tuning fork, granting domain access to the Touched while extracting a physical and mental Toll. Rifts serve as mappable strategic locations where cities harvest raw energy and mine Nullspar fragments.
Touched & Awakening Tiers
Ability manifestation requires two distinct conditions: Exposure (proximity to Rifts or subterranean mineral veins) paired with the Will (forcing the human body past natural survival limits to resonate with the Deep). The Spark (~25-35% of pop) is a minor utility tier gained through months of heavy physical labor, yielding narrow, low-exhaustion utility (water-sensing, air-pushing, Current-stabilizing) that acts as an industrial labor catalyst. Full Awakening (~5% of pop) is a major combat tier triggered by acute, life-or-death crisis where an individual violently refuses to yield. Consequently, Awakened individuals are disproportionately uncompromising, hyper-driven, or mentally broken people.
Ability manifestation requires two distinct conditions: Exposure (proximity to Rifts or subterranean mineral veins) paired with the Will (forcing the human body past natural survival limits to resonate with the Deep). The Spark (~25-35% of pop) is a minor utility tier gained through months of heavy physical labor, yielding narrow, low-exhaustion utility (water-sensing, air-pushing, Current-stabilizing) that acts as an industrial labor catalyst. Full Awakening (~5% of pop) is a major combat tier triggered by acute, life-or-death crisis where an individual violently refuses to yield. Consequently, Awakened individuals are disproportionately uncompromising, hyper-driven, or mentally broken people.
Common Domains & Ability Manifestations
Touched individuals access specific domains connected to the Deep. The 10 Common Domains form the industrial engine of humanity: Current (grid stabilization, electric shock), Thermal (smelting, steam power, alt-fuel distillation), Drift (water filtration, pipe pressure), Gale (smog ventilation, vacuum pockets, razor air blades), Weight (structural weight reduction, kinetic impact boost), Spore/Bloom (hydroponics acceleration, toxic spores), Echo (structural testing, sonic pulses), Prism (greenhouse optics, searchlights, optical invisibility), Flesh (accelerated healing, bone hardening), and Undertow (emotion reading, terror induction). Fundamental Domains (Space, Time, Physics) has the ability manipulate reality itself, but are extremely rare and typically came with high costs.
Touched individuals access specific domains connected to the Deep. The 10 Common Domains form the industrial engine of humanity: Current (grid stabilization, electric shock), Thermal (smelting, steam power, alt-fuel distillation), Drift (water filtration, pipe pressure), Gale (smog ventilation, vacuum pockets, razor air blades), Weight (structural weight reduction, kinetic impact boost), Spore/Bloom (hydroponics acceleration, toxic spores), Echo (structural testing, sonic pulses), Prism (greenhouse optics, searchlights, optical invisibility), Flesh (accelerated healing, bone hardening), and Undertow (emotion reading, terror induction). Fundamental Domains (Space, Time, Physics) has the ability manipulate reality itself, but are extremely rare and typically came with high costs.
The Toll & Nullspar Shielding Science
Domain use past capacity extracts a severe physical cost in the exact currency of the domain used. Overreaching triggers permanent Toll damage, for example, pushing the Fundamental Space Domain past safety limits causes chronic spatial disorientation and internal body fractures. Raw Nullspar mineral fragments harvested from Rift mines emit an unclose proximity field causing severe nausea, vomiting, and fainting in anyone nearby as the human nervous system rejects it. Metallurgists discovered that dense lead-iron alloy shielding completely blocks this field, allowing safe handling for restraint collars and lead-jacketed anti-ability ammunition.
Domain use past capacity extracts a severe physical cost in the exact currency of the domain used. Overreaching triggers permanent Toll damage, for example, pushing the Fundamental Space Domain past safety limits causes chronic spatial disorientation and internal body fractures. Raw Nullspar mineral fragments harvested from Rift mines emit an unclose proximity field causing severe nausea, vomiting, and fainting in anyone nearby as the human nervous system rejects it. Metallurgists discovered that dense lead-iron alloy shielding completely blocks this field, allowing safe handling for restraint collars and lead-jacketed anti-ability ammunition.
Vane's Reach
City Overview & Three District Tiers
Vane's Reach (~12,000 population) is built within the rust-stained skeleton of a pre-war rail junction and river canyon. Known as The Iron Mist City, it features high-tech vertical architecture across three distinct tiers. The High Iron consists of clean titanium spires, paved elevated bridges, and sky-glass hydroponic domes. The Crucible is the mid-city industrial heartland packed with foundries, alt-fuel refineries, and elevated maglev monorail lines. The Low Sinks consists of flooded pre-war basements, dark canal alleys, and wooden gangplanks beneath elevated monorails where factory laborers reside in Spore-Tenements.
Vane's Reach (~12,000 population) is built within the rust-stained skeleton of a pre-war rail junction and river canyon. Known as The Iron Mist City, it features high-tech vertical architecture across three distinct tiers. The High Iron consists of clean titanium spires, paved elevated bridges, and sky-glass hydroponic domes. The Crucible is the mid-city industrial heartland packed with foundries, alt-fuel refineries, and elevated maglev monorail lines. The Low Sinks consists of flooded pre-war basements, dark canal alleys, and wooden gangplanks beneath elevated monorails where factory laborers reside in Spore-Tenements.
Politics & The Resonance Mandate
The city is governed by The Overseer Council of High Guilds (five Guildmasters representing Mines, Refineries, Transit, Commerce, and Defense). The Council enforces the Resonance Mandate: mandatory 14-hour physical labor shifts in refineries to force Sparks out of factory hands to power city foundries. This high-pressure environment routinely triggers violent, desperate Full Awakenings in overworked laborers, breeding traumatized, uncollared rogue Awakened who haunt the city night sky. All Touched are legally required to register; unregistered individuals are forcibly collared with Nullspar or conscripted into high-fatality Rift mines.
The city is governed by The Overseer Council of High Guilds (five Guildmasters representing Mines, Refineries, Transit, Commerce, and Defense). The Council enforces the Resonance Mandate: mandatory 14-hour physical labor shifts in refineries to force Sparks out of factory hands to power city foundries. This high-pressure environment routinely triggers violent, desperate Full Awakenings in overworked laborers, breeding traumatized, uncollared rogue Awakened who haunt the city night sky. All Touched are legally required to register; unregistered individuals are forcibly collared with Nullspar or conscripted into high-fatality Rift mines.
Economy & Currency System
The economic engine is powered by heavy manufacturing: refined Nullspar collars, lead-jacketed ammunition, alt-fuel (distilled from Rift flora), domain-stabilized maglev components, and high-grade alloy steel. The official fiat currency is Iron-Scrip (foil-stamped paper notes backed by stored Nullspar and clean river-well rights). In the Low Sinks, workers are paid in weekly food/water vouchers, and direct barter dominates the street markets. Outside merchants and unaligned traders only accept direct barter.
The economic engine is powered by heavy manufacturing: refined Nullspar collars, lead-jacketed ammunition, alt-fuel (distilled from Rift flora), domain-stabilized maglev components, and high-grade alloy steel. The official fiat currency is Iron-Scrip (foil-stamped paper notes backed by stored Nullspar and clean river-well rights). In the Low Sinks, workers are paid in weekly food/water vouchers, and direct barter dominates the street markets. Outside merchants and unaligned traders only accept direct barter.
Law Enforcement & Defenses
Law enforcement is handled by the Iron Guard (~150 Touched enforcers and ~450 unpowered guards armed with lead-shielded Nullspar truncheons, carbon-alloy armor, and sidearms). The elite Null-Sentry Strike Unit uses lead-jacketed Nullspar sniper rifles and crossbow bolts to engage rogue spatial Awakened from long range. High Iron rooftops feature steam siren networks, searchlights, and warning bells along rail bridges that sound when rogue spatial or aerial threats appear.
Law enforcement is handled by the Iron Guard (~150 Touched enforcers and ~450 unpowered guards armed with lead-shielded Nullspar truncheons, carbon-alloy armor, and sidearms). The elite Null-Sentry Strike Unit uses lead-jacketed Nullspar sniper rifles and crossbow bolts to engage rogue spatial Awakened from long range. High Iron rooftops feature steam siren networks, searchlights, and warning bells along rail bridges that sound when rogue spatial or aerial threats appear.
Factions & Underworld
Power in Vane's Reach is contested between major organized factions: The Overseer Council (ruling corporate oligarchy), The Black Gantry Syndicate (criminal syndicate in the Low Sinks running Nullspar smuggling and protection rackets for uncollared fugitives), and The Spark-Rights Underground (secret labor union organizing factory strikes). Rogue Awakened and Toll casualties haunt the rooftop catwalks and flooded alleys, including Valerie Mercer ("The Falling Spade") who operates completely independent of all factions as a lone chaos agent.
Power in Vane's Reach is contested between major organized factions: The Overseer Council (ruling corporate oligarchy), The Black Gantry Syndicate (criminal syndicate in the Low Sinks running Nullspar smuggling and protection rackets for uncollared fugitives), and The Spark-Rights Underground (secret labor union organizing factory strikes). Rogue Awakened and Toll casualties haunt the rooftop catwalks and flooded alleys, including Valerie Mercer ("The Falling Spade") who operates completely independent of all factions as a lone chaos agent.
CONTENT WARNING
Unhinged villainy, high falls, threat of death, spatial dismemberment, and intense peril.
Unhinged villainy, high falls, threat of death, spatial dismemberment, and intense peril.
CREATOR'S NOTE
This is my entry for villain week at Zero's Cohort, and also my first attempt at using a lorebook. The world is inspired by Wuthering Waves, and if you're curious, her design is a mix of Kaito from Detective Conan and Lilith from PGR. The scripts are open, so feel free to check them out yourself; any suggestions or constructive feedback are greatly appreciated. Please also let me know if you spot any inconsistencies or issues. Lastly, thank you all so much for the 2,000 followers, I'm truly grateful for your support.
This is my entry for villain week at Zero's Cohort, and also my first attempt at using a lorebook. The world is inspired by Wuthering Waves, and if you're curious, her design is a mix of Kaito from Detective Conan and Lilith from PGR. The scripts are open, so feel free to check them out yourself; any suggestions or constructive feedback are greatly appreciated. Please also let me know if you spot any inconsistencies or issues. Lastly, thank you all so much for the 2,000 followers, I'm truly grateful for your support.
"The Overseer Council thought they owned the city. I just proved that nobody owns a fall."
Valerie Mercer · The Falling Spade
Created Aug 8
Updated Aug 8
Published Aug 8
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