Appearance:

Source: http://nixxical.deviantart.com/

Corra is somewhat shorter than average, and has a very slight build. She is thin, though not quite gaunt, with lean muscles that are hardly noticeable. She is extremely pale and has a fair complexion, with waving smoky brown hair that falls to her shoulders and gray green eyes.

Name: Corra Valerrus
Age: 17

Personality: Corra is extremely quick-witted, and while not formally educated in things such as reading or writing, she is extremely intelligent, and a very fast learner. Corra tends to be sarcastic and has a rather macabre sense of humor. She enjoys interacting with others and is usually lighthearted in her mannerisms, but often avoids showing her true feelings. She believes that at their hearts, everyone is only out to help themselves, and tries not to become attached to others. Having lost her mother at a young age, she sees most relationships as temporary, and has trouble forming meaningful connections with anyone. She is very observant, and distrustful. Corra has an easy smile and a talent for lying. She can be very friendly and persuasive, and can blend in or stand out in a crowd as she pleases. At her core she is a survivor, and trusts her own senses. Corra often tries to avoid confrontation when possible, and learned to shut off her feelings when necessary.

Backstory: Corra grew up in one of the poorer neighborhoods of the capital city of Edessa. The child of a sickly herbalist and an unknown father, Corra was accustomed to hard times from an early age. Her mother’s illness made it difficult for her to support her daughter, and like many of the young, hungry children crowding the city’s streets, she soon began picking pockets and stealing bits and pieces from local merchants. Her mother, while physically weak, did her best to ensure that Corra was cared for, and often sang to her when her voice was strong enough. The nights spent falling asleep to her mother’s voice are some of Corra’s most cherished memories.

Corra’s childhood had been one of relative peace if not relative ease, but soon her mother’s condition began to worsen. It was Corra who then sang her mother to sleep, and though she always swore that Corra’s voice made her feel better with every note, no song was enough to stop her mother from dying. She was nine years old at the time, and soon found herself in the city’s worst slums as the landlord kicked her out of the small apartment she had shared with her mother, leaving her nothing but the worn clothing on her back.

The first year was the hardest, and Corra could barely keep herself from starving, stealing what she could and occasionally taking whatever work she could find around the city. It wasn’t until a local gang of thieves took her in that her survival was no longer in such a constant state of doubt. Running with this group of young street urchins like her allowed her to learn a few new skills and improve on some she already had. They taught her how to pick locks, scale buildings, and move unseen through a crowd. Kids like them were practically invisible to the rest of the city, and it meant that they could easily get away with all kinds of small-time theft without much worry about the city’s guards.

When some of the older kids in the gang began to be a bit too ambitious, everything started to go downhill. The jobs they did became riskier and more dangerous, but Corra stayed on. They were breaking into a wealthier merchant’s house one night when everything fell apart. Despite their planning, the group was caught and a fight between the merchant and one of the older kids in the group quickly ended in panic and the merchant’s murder. With the popularity of the merchant among the public, the guards quickly tracked them down, and the gang split up, each kid only concerned with himself. The leaders ended up behind bars, and most of the kids left the city, not wanting to attract any trouble. At fifteen, Corra found herself alone once more. However the city moved on, and she had to as well. She had long since realized that all relationships with other people were only ever temporary.

Corra began to work on her own, breaking into houses and stealing what she could fence quickly. She moved quickly, and worked efficiently. By now her skills were enough that she could get by comfortably enough, and thieving was what she knew. Now seventeen years old, Corra has come to realize that her best chance of surviving means getting out of the city she has lived in for all her life, but she’s prepared to move on if she has to, and thus finds herself among a caravan of refugees.

Skills and Abilities:

professional lockpicking - Corra is very dextrous and has strong senses. With a great deal of practice over the years she has become rather accomplished at getting past most locks, and this skill has been essential to her career as a thief.
accomplished climbing - Corra is light and agile, and has scaled countless building in the city to sneak through an open window, no matter how many stories up it may be.
adept acrobatics - Corra is very agile and fast.
novice hand to hand combat - Corra usually tries to avoid fighting in general, but can be effective when she needs to, and fights dirty.
novice knives - Corra was taught how to fight with a knife by the other children in the streets, and while she has only done so on a few occasions, she can hold her own with a dagger in hand.
adept persuasion - Corra is a talented liar, and very good at understanding and convincing others of whatever she needs.
adept singing - Corra has her mother’s voice, and often sings to feel close to her. She learned to love singing, and can often be found humming quietly to herself as she picks a lock.
adept pickpocket - Corra has a light touch, and has been lifting coin purses and other bits and pieces off of those wandering through the city’s streets since she was very young.

Equipment:

lockpicks, steel - Corra always keeps one set on her person, and an extra with her belongings. They are a well-made variety of picks.

dagger, steel, old - this item was stolen from a stranger at a tavern years ago

coil of rope - basic rope kept for a variety of uses

brass knuckles, worn - this cheap weapon was purchased from a local vendor

mask, cloth - this black cloth mask can be worn to cover the bottom half of Corra’s face

Appearance: Gabby was born with a short, broad build, standing at a mere 5'1. Her shoulders are wide, and she isn't exactly the prettiest of women around, but most wouldn't call her "ugly" so much as "plain." She has blonde hair, a red nose, a blotchy complexion, and olive-colored eyes. She's missing two teeth in the middle-left side of her mouth.
Name: Gabriela "Gabby" Varanus
Age: 18

Personality: Clever, sarcastic, and inquisitive make for dangerous traits in Lucenrai, but Gabby nevertheless possesses all three of them. Still, she manages these traits quite well; her clever tongue wags only when she thinks she has an upper hand, and her inquisitive nature is demonstrated through action, not through words. Never one to sit idly by while the world marches on, Gabby prefers to find things out for herself than to "take some blockhead's word for granted."

"People are bad," Gabby believes, "until they prove they aren't." She always believes someone is going to try and cheat her, betray her, or otherwise harm her in some way. So, she always tries to have a way out for herself, be it an excuse to leave a conversation at the table or having a knife in her sleeve so she can gut whatever bastard thinks he can do what he wants to her. Some would call her paranoid. Gabby calls herself prepared.

Gabby is a thrill-seeker, and it so happens that robbery is her favorite game. It's not the money - well, okay, it's kind of the money - that draws her to the profession of a burglar, but the excitement, the danger, and the sweet of victory. Conversely, Gabby doesn't like fighting because bleeding hurts. She knows from experience. Holding a knife up against some fat man's throat and listening to him warble on about the injustice of it all, though, that is precious.

When it comes to her property, the young thief can best be described as "defensive." She knows what's hers, and she'll make certain anyone that gets a bit too close to her things knows, too. The lines blur, however, concerning other people's things. The difference between something she's stolen and something she owns is just a matter of time and place; given a year, that fancy coat may as well be hers, as might that fancy dagger she "justly earned." You know, from some princeling's belt? She stole it. It's hers now.

While Gabby may be a guiltless thief and may enjoy seeing people at her mercy, she doesn't actually want to hurt people. At least, she doesn't want to hurt people that don't deserve to be hurt. The list of "doesn't deserve to be hurt" may be a bit narrow; after all, people are awful until proven otherwise. Still, you can be on the list by adhering to these "don'ts": don't be rich, don't be rude, and don't try to stab or bludgeon or otherwise main her. Oh, and don't try to cheat her. Ever.

Killing is something that Gabby has done... once. She doesn't want to do it again, but she's promised herself that she will if she has to. She hates it, though, and the act of taking the life from another human being isn't one she takes lightly.

Despite her rough past and her "me first" mentality, Gabby is actually a good friend to have... if she trusts someone enough to call them a friend. She's honest to her friends, and she'll fight for them like a mother bear. Gabby does happen to be the one to get her friends into trouble, though, like abandoning them in the middle of a dangerous job. Good call, Gabby. Real good call.

Gabby also is very good at keeping her promises... partly because she only makes them sparingly. To her, a promise or an oath, especially one sworn before the divine, is not to be taken lightly.

Gabby also has a bad habit of giving food and stuff to hungry, poor children. They remind her of when she was a street rat or something. She won't deny it, but she won't tell anyone she did it, either, nor will she make any excuses as to why she did it.

Finally, it's worth noting that Gabby loves winning and being right. Likewise, losing isn't something she takes well.

Backstory: Gabby was born to a merchant family with a slowly growing business. They ran a general store in Varya's capital. Gabby's mother would spin clothes to sell while her father handled the store itself; his three employees would get goods from the market for resale, salt meats and make jerky, and peddle unwanted or soon-to-spoil goods in the poorer districts at discount prices. It was a good enough trade to have, and Gabby's father would throw the occasional party for his employees, and he'd subsequently give them bonuses while drunk, but hey: it made them loyal and happy, and it encouraged his men to take him out drinking.

Being a member of the merchant class had a lot of benefits: clean clothes, full bellies, bathing more than once a month, and a bigger house (which, of course, doubled as the store). Gabby enjoyed all of these thoroughly as a child, and she flaunted her possession of these luxuries. She was a nasty little girl. She teased poorer girls about their ragged clothes, made huge gestures and and forced gagging noises as she talked about their smell, and she loved to show them how good she was at reading - something most peasants can't do. Her mother tried to force that behavior out of her, trying everything from beating to pleading to ranting about how the powers-that-be in the heavens would punish her for acting so crass, but nothing really worked. It didn't help that her father thought it was the funniest thing he'd heard, and that he'd engage her in piercing insult contests.

There were a lot of disagreements between Gabby's parents - her father would stay out drinking until morning, for instance, or her mother would angrily destroy something precious of her father's - and those quarrels reached their peak when she was seven years old. Her father found his wife in bed with one of his employees. After much yelling, fighting, and a few broken pieces of furniture, Gabby's mother left the city with the man she'd slept with. Gabby stayed with her father.

It was a destructive experience for her father. He became a bitter man, and he quickly became addicted to gambling. Gabby's father was a horrible gambler, and he quickly found himself owing a lot of money to a band of roguish individuals that let him borrow some money. When he couldn't pay, he started giving them things from his store.

One night, Gabby heard her father talking to a stranger downstairs, so she crept down to the store front to see what was going on. Her father was talking to a large man wearing a hood, and the word "debt" was tossed around a lot. Apparently, her father had gambled away so much money that he'd have to give up the store itself. He refused, however, and the moment he did, his throat was slit with a steel knife right before Gabby's eyes. When she cried out in shock, the man whirled on her and decided to try silencing her. Gabby ran.

It was through this series of disasters that Gabby found herself on the streets of the capital. Her fine clothes quickly became rags. Her belly became thin. She hadn't bathed in months, and she stank horribly. Gabby mused on her mother's old words, and she decided perhaps her mother was right. Perhaps she'd brought all this on herself and her family. She was eight years old.

Gabby might have died on the street if it weren't for a perceptive old codger that caught her nicking a few pieces of fruit from a fruit stall entirely unnoticed. He saw that she had talent as a thief, so he took her under his wing. He was a member of a guild of thieves, and they liked recruiting their members young; as a desperate and malleable child, she was a perfect candidate for membership in the organization.

Gabby spent the next several years living among thieves, some of them child-initiates like her and a lot of them adult members of the guild. She took quicker to the life than expected, enjoying a chance at having nice things once again (namely by taking them), and especially enjoying having other children in her "family." She taught reading to a few of the other children, and she also taught them some some basic arithmetic - the sort a good merchant's daughter would know. She, in turn, became very good at cutting purses, at moving unnoticed, at using a cudgel properly, and also how to use a dagger (though she preferred the mace). Gabby learned quickly, and she also learned to hate the wealthy - those who, she now understood, had so much in their pockets yet wouldn't give an orphan a few measly coins for a meal. Her teachers cheerfully fostered that hatred.

Gabby was thirteen when she started going on real jobs. Some of her peers considered her a liability; she liked to take risks, and she always wanted the bigger prize despite having something in her hands already. She only got caught a few times, however, and by luck or just by her slippery nature she always escaped. She did lose a couple teeth in one escape, but she got over it.

By the age of seventeen, Gabby had been on enough jobs to know the tricks of the trade - at least, enough to stand out among her young peers. She probably would have become a great member of the guild if she hadn't seen one of the Varyan princes strolling down the street one rainy day, the royal lad flanked by a pair of burly escorts. He was a very handsome boy, maybe a year or two older than her, and before she knew it she was following him with a stupid smile on her face. When the prince's guards noticed this behavior, he demanded to know what her business was, and when she mused some ill-worded flirtatious comment, his response was to laugh, step forward and shove her into the mud before suggesting he'd sooner shag a dog.

An opportunity for revenge came when a client came to the guild requesting they steal some sort of heirloom from the royal family. The payment he offered was phenomenal, but the task was incredibly dangerous, so the guild took volunteers to do the job. Soon enough, Gabby found herself in the company of three much more experienced thieves scaling the castle walls. When told to keep watch for them, however, Gabby decided to duck away when her companions weren't looking so she could sneak off to the prince's chambers and steal the dagger from him.

She made it into his chambers just fine. She even took the dagger (and the fancy sheath and belt that came with it) just fine. However, an alarm rose around the castle as her companions (whom she'd abandoned) were discovered. The prince awoke and started fumbling for his sword. Gabby knocked him out with the pommel of the dagger and fled into the night.

It was too late, however. Gabby was a wanted woman; the prince had recognized her, and others had seen her run by as well. Her poster was everywhere. It didn't help that she'd abandoned her guildmates that night; two of them made it back just fine, but another was executed that very morning. Still, Gabby felt the best thing to do was to come forward to her mentors and admit her mistake. At least, she hoped, she could reason with them and explain herself. They wouldn't kill her, would they?

Hoping to find sanctuary among her fellow thieves was a grave mistake. Her guildmatestried to capture Gabby for themselves and turn her in to the authorities. The girl had to kill one of her friends to escape, and she took a nasty wound from a morningstar in the process. She left the Varyan Empire for good.

Gabby has spent the last year in the Edessan capital, trying to hide her identity and keep herself hidden. With the war slowly getting worse and worse, however, Gabby finds herself on the move again, this time traveling with a group of refugees. She doesn't like it, but she also does not like the idea of being caught on the road by orcs... or by Varyan soldiers that just might recognize her.

Skills and Abilities:

Professional Thievery - Gabby is a natural thief, and she's been training as a cutpurse and burglar since she was eight years old. That honed talent is something to be respected.
Adept Stealth - Gabby has a good grasp of how to go unseen and unheard. She may not be one of the greats yet, but she's got the potential to become one... if she can stop trying to flaunt how good she is at being stealthy. Her personality is a bit counter to the concept of "stealth."
Novice Dagger Wielding - Gabby can use daggers, though not extremely well, and they're not her weapon of choice. Still, she can throw daggers and knives, and she knows how to stab things. She just hasn't mastered anything else.
Adept Bludgeon Wielding - Gabby knows there's more to swinging a mace than just hitting things. Maces have momentum that you need to work with; if you can take advantage of their good qualities, they're very good weapons. Gabby realizes that. Maces and morningstars are her weapons of choice, but she can also beat your head in with a club just fine.
Novice Academics - Gabby is a cut above the normal person when it comes to that book learning stuff. She's got a good grasp of arithmetic, knows her history, can read and write... While she's no scholar, she knows enough from her childhood education and books she's "borrowed" along the way to know some useful information.
Novice Investigator - While Gabby is useless out in the wilds, she's got a good intuition when it comes to finding hidden things. Her skill hasn't developed much beyond that, however.
Novice Packrat - Gabby can find fairly good places to stash things so that others don't find them, both on her person and, say, in the ground. She's also good at keeping her gear nicely organized (which lets her carry a little bit more weight than someone her size normally would).

Equipment:

Kirse, Magesteel dagger, light - This ornate and effective dagger is wrought from Magesteel, a material used by Varyan nobility. It has all the beauty and luster of gold while being even more durable than ordinary Varyan steel. While it is expensive to create (an arduous process involving magic, Varyan steel and alchemically-enhanced gold), it is famous for being being easy to enchant. This particular weapon has been enchanted to emit a red light at will from the ruby eyes of its hilt. It was stolen from a Varyan prince, and Gabby has a bounty on her head for that escapade. Lucky her.

Morningstar - A simple morningstar used for pounding someone's skull. Makes you bleed. Yep.

Small bag of jewels - Gabby still has a few ill-gotten gems she's saved up over the years. It's nothing special, but it could be used to buy her way out of a bad situation. Maybe.
Really nice backpack - Gabby's backpack is really well made and can help her hold lots of things. You know, like things she "finds." Or someone might just let her hold onto their things for her; I don't know.

Appearance: Gabby was born with a short, broad build, standing at a mere 5'1. Her shoulders are wide, and she isn't exactly the prettiest of women around, but most wouldn't call her "ugly" so much as "plain." She has blonde hair, a red nose, a blotchy complexion, and olive-colored eyes. She's missing two teeth in the middle-left side of her mouth.
Name: Gabriela "Gabby" Varanus
Age: 18

Personality: Clever, sarcastic, and inquisitive make for dangerous traits in Lucenrai, but Gabby nevertheless possesses all three of them. Her tongue wags more than it should; she's prone to making witty, barbed comments and smirking about it while she's at it. She loves cutting people down with her words, and she hasn't had to learn to deal with the consequences of that just yet.

Gabby is by-and-large a pessimist, though tutelage under good old Marius - her mage mentor - has made her grudgingly willing to help people. Still, she won't help without complaint or without compensation of some kind. She is a firm believer that most people will try to cheat you, and those that don't are going to have something unlucky happen to them. Her glass isn't half-empty - she just knocked it over and decided the question was for idiots who want to prove some point about always looking on the bright side. She hates those idiots.

Gabby has an adventurous spirit whose flame hasn't quite been stoked yet. She craves excitement of some kind; she has a strange fascination with the war on her heels, though not enough to make her deaf to reason (like "run away before you get stabbed by Varyans or eaten by orcs"). She'll take gambles other young mages might not.

"I'm standing here; you're standing there," Gabby has told people in the past. "Let's keep it that way." She doesn't like people getting too close to her property (unless they're buying something of course) and she especially doesn't like it when people hover over her shoulder as she's reading or while she works. A friendly embrace is out of the question. Personal space is big to her, and nobody enters it without a glare... or a lot of trust.

Killing is something that Gabby has done... once. She doesn't want to do it again, but she's promised herself that she will if she has to. She hates it, though, and the act of taking the life from another human being isn't one she takes lightly.

Gabby definitely has a "me first" sort of mentality, and she isn't very keen on sharing or generosity or any of that rot. She'll be helpful, of course, when the situation demands. For instance, she has every intent to contribute to the caravan's success because the caravan's success demands it. Stopping to help some stranger along the royal road, however, is not worth the risk to her. People are generally awful after all. This isn't to say that she's heartless; she knows when someone is suffering and she doesn't want people to suffer. She just isn't sure it's worth her resources, her time, or the risk of being grabbed and stabbed repeatedly in the back.

Gabby also is very good at keeping her promises... partly because she only makes them sparingly. To her, a promise or an oath is not to be taken lightly. She tends to swear by her mentor's grave IF she swears.

Finally, it's worth noting that Gabby loves winning and being right. Likewise, losing isn't something she takes well.

Backstory: Gabby was born to a merchant family with a slowly growing business. They ran a general store in Varya's capital. Gabby's mother would spin clothes to sell while her father handled the store itself; his three employees would get goods from the market for resale, salt meats and make jerky, and peddle unwanted or soon-to-spoil goods in the poorer districts at discount prices. It was a good enough trade to have, and Gabby's father would throw the occasional party for his employees, and he'd subsequently give them bonuses while drunk, but hey: it made them loyal and happy, and it encouraged his men to take him out drinking.

Being a member of the merchant class had a lot of benefits: clean clothes, full bellies, bathing more than once a month, and a bigger house (which, of course, doubled as the store). Gabby enjoyed all of these thoroughly as a child, and she flaunted her possession of these luxuries. She was a nasty little girl. She teased poorer girls about their ragged clothes, made huge gestures and and forced gagging noises as she talked about their smell, and she loved to show them how good she was at reading - something most peasants can't do. Her mother tried to force that behavior out of her, trying everything from beating to pleading to ranting about how the powers-that-be in the heavens would punish her for acting so crass, but nothing really worked. It didn't help that her father thought it was the funniest thing he'd heard, and that he'd engage her in piercing insult contests.

There were a lot of disagreements between Gabby's parents - her father would stay out drinking until morning, for instance, or her mother would angrily destroy something precious of her father's - and those quarrels reached their peak when she was seven years old. Her father found his wife in bed with one of his employees. After much yelling, fighting, and a few broken pieces of furniture, Gabby's mother left the city with the man she'd slept with. Gabby stayed with her father.

Though he was wont to drink his sorrows and anger away, Gabby's father cast the stuff aside at the rousing sermon of a firebrand priest. His new drug became the blessings of the divine, and he spent inordinate amounts of time at the temple. He made donations to the church, too - large ones. His friends joked behind his back that he was still a drunk, just drunk with faith.

Gabby was expected to do as her father did. She went to the cathedral, but her enthusiasm was comparably lacking, and she was inattentive as a worshiper. Her father was greatly displeased, but he felt he could do little to sway her, and so remained disappointed... until, one day, one of the priests at the cathedral noticed her eying some markings on the wall at the end of service. When he asked what she was looking at, she answered "These are meant to keep bad things out, aren't they?" She was right, so the priest found a mage to test her for magical potential - and, oddly, she had it, though her father had no trace of the talent. The mage believed it must have come from her mother.

Her father was offered a sum of cash to let his daughter be taken to be trained as a mage. He accepted, seeing an opportunity to both make a profit and to ensure his daughter had a good education. So it was that Gabby became a mage's apprentice at the age of eight years old.

Her first apprenticeship to a very traditional mage was short-lived; he found her bull-headed and difficult to control. After discussing what to do with her with other mages, another candidate for teaching her was found: a crass old mage with a touch of madness living in a remote Varyan village. This man, Mad Marius, was able to deal with Gabriela's insubordination very easily: he'd simply ignore her or use his magic to punish her in weird ways, like giving her hiccups or pinning her to the wall as he studied some old text. Though unconventional, this manner of punishment was enough to dissuade her antics.

Life with Marius was not easy for Gabby to adjust to. For one, he lived in a woodland cottage near a village full of peasants whereas Gabby was used to having the luxuries of the city and the comforts a little wealth can provide. Secondly, she hated the forest, and she suffered from seasonal illnesses, always growing sneezy and stuffy in the spring. She complained frequently of these concerns and lamented wishing to go home, but Marius would have none of that talk.

Marius had Gabriela perform menial tasks at first: she would purchase alchemical components in town or fetch herbs from the woods; she would clean clothes for hours on end; she would fetch wood for the fireplace; and so on and so forth. Her requests (and demands) to learn magic were quietly and calmly rebuffed each and every time. It wasn't until after several months later that Gabriela was taught her first bit of magic, and by then she was an eager student.

Gabriela seemed to have the most talent for abjuration - the magic of protective wards and warding off evil - so that is what she was taught first. She took to it quickly, and proved even quicker to show enthusiasm when Marius told her she could make a fair profit selling protective baubles to the townsfolk. They started making trips into the village, and longer trips to a nearby city, peddling magical and alchemical trinkets: fireworks, glowing rings, amulets that protected the wearer from bad spirits - small things that were relatively harmless in the hands of the peasantry, so said Marius, and were worth a lot to those without the talent for magic. In this way they made profit, and in this way Marius fostered Gabby's knack for bargaining and persuasion. He also showed her the art of alchemy: how to mix potions, how to identify herbs, how to identify certain poisons, and so forth. Gabby took to this as well, though she had a habit of keeping some dangerous things (like poisonous leaves) for safekeeping.

In time, Gabby's master decided to move to Edessa, having caught wind of the coming troubles and wanting to help. Gabriela did not have such benevolent desires - she only accompanied him so she might learn magic - but as his apprentice she had little choice unless she wished to find a new mentor. She prepared alchemical medicines alongside Marius, created more protective baubles, and started began focusing her studies on more aggressive magics ("Just in case," the old mage told her).

Such lessons continued until Gabriela was sixteen. Her mentor took ill that year, and while he was careful to see a physician as soon as he could, he died of swelling in his lungs, so the physician said. Stricken with grief (and surprised that she was), Gabriela nevertheless chose to stay in Edessa as her master had left her his house on his deathbed. She peddled magical wares on her own for the better part of a year, not quite ready to be mentored by someone else. Making a profit, at least, with her magical skills was a worthwhile way to live until she was ready.

But then war came to Edessa, first from orcs and then from expansionist Varyans. Gabriela was accused rather quickly of being a Varyan spy, so she was tempted to retreat to the Varyan lines; but upon doing so she found herself treated like any other Edessan peasant. She barely managed to escape execution, and she had to kill a young soldier to get away. Now 18 years old, the young mage Gabriela has decided the safest thing she can do is travel away from Edessa and away from the war that is coming. The safety of a caravan, even if her Varyan accent is as clear as day to the others, is something she can ill-afford to walk away from.

Truth be told, though, something in her finds the whole affair exciting.

Skills and Abilities:

Adept Abjuration - Magical barriers and wards against evil are something Gabriela specializes in as a mage. It is a difficult art to master, but she's well on her way to becoming a full-fledged abjurer. She can create shields of magical energy rather easily, and they're strong, sturdy things. She's also believed to be able to keep evil spirits away, but that may just be superstition.
Adept Haggling - Her words may not be honeyed, but Gabby is still is great at driving bargains home. She has a real talent for buying and selling goods at prices others can't.
Adept Alchemy - Wonderful potions, poultices and salves can be produced with the proper application of magical talent and herbal know-how. Gabby possesses both of these things. She can make potions that slow bleeding, pastes that eat through wood, oils that make old ladies' joints hurt a lot less, other such things... And fireworks. She can make fireworks. This doesn't make her good at healing people; it just makes her good at making stuff that can be used to heal people.
Journeyman Academics - Math! Science! Astrology! Gabriela is decently well versed in academia, though it was not the focus of her training like it is with other mages. Still, she's a good reader and knows enough book stuff to be bookish.
Novice Herblore - With the knowledge of alchemy comes a basic expectation to know what plants will help you and what plants will poison you if you chew them. Why would you chew poisonous plants? Yeesh. Gabby knows just enough herb stuff to know what will be good for a potion or salve... (Note: Gabby is meant to be on the lower rung of "novice" in this department.)
Novice Acid Magic - Gabby finds that acid is a wonderful substance to wield. It can melt through wood, stone, and even metal if it's powerful enough, to say little of flesh. She's still working out the kinks of how to wield it properly, but at least she can spray a jet of it or lob an acidic ball at someone's face. It's a start.
Novice Light Magic - Just as useful is the ability to manipulate light. While it can't be used to hurt someone - at least not by a novice practitioner like Gabby - it can be used to illuminate dark places. More experienced practitioners can do so much more, but Gabby isn't one of them.
Novice Bludgeon Wielding - Gabby knows a bit more about clubbing people than your average untrained peasant. Call it a talent, if one that most wouldn't be proud of necessarily. Her talent hasn't been accompanied by much training, however; but she has had some rudimentary lessons in walloping from a local militiaman in Edessa. Just... not much.

Equipment:

Green focus crystal - A shimmering crystal that Gabriela uses as a focus for her magic. She can cast spells without a focus, but it helps to have something of this nature when she needs to quickly throw up a barrier or blast someone with a spray of acid.
Gambeson - A simple, protective padded cloth armor. Gabby bought this just before being forced onto the road. While it's not as effective as leather or chain or pretty much any sort of not-made-of-cloth armor, it's lightweight and only somewhat difficult to get used to. (Image link: http://www.esford.com/Gambeson/AH6074%20gambeson%20front%20lg.jpg)
Traveling clothes - Simple brown pants with a silver-embroidered blue tunic. This outfit has lots of awesome pockets and belts and stuff that make it perfect for carrying lots of things... like alchemical components, money, or just a handful of sand.
Alchemical components - A few basic goods to make some medicinal salves or blinding powder at short notice. Comes with mortar and pestle.
Morningstar - Hey, everyone needs a weapon, right? This is a simple spiked club used to beat people's faces into a bloody pulp. It may not be especially effective in the young mage's hands, but if Gabby runs out of options...
Gardening knife - A tool meant for cutting plants and stuff. Also can peel tomatoes. Rad, huh?
A small cheesecake - No, you can't have it. It's for emergencies.