Karissa "Kaz" Lockwood

16

Female

Human

Fun-sized and totally not short, Kaz is five feet nothing (and a half!) of trouble. There are days when she forgoes sleep and food, and she's on the skinny side because of that. She likes to put her red hair up in a braided ponytail to keep it out of her face when she's working, which is most of the time, but when it's down, it cascades past her shoulders in messy waves. Her eyes are expressive, windows to her soul and all that, and one can easily glean her mood from them. They're usually twinkling with unbridled excitement and curiosity, but they darken considerably once she enters her more manic state.

Not the most fashion-conscious, Kaz likes to dress in whatever's comfortable. She's rarely seen without her loose yellow jacket, however. It's something of a security blanket for her.

In her small village, jaunty and good-humored Kaz has risen from the ranks of lowbrow infamy and has become an official public menace, and rightly so. According to the villagers, she's something of a mad genius (okay, so she tacked on the 'genius' part), and she has been tinkering with and inventing things for as long as she can remember. Her innovations aren't always 100% infallible, and they are usually of the kaboom variety (that's where the public menace part comes in), but there's no denying her mechanical prowess. Kaz is completely enamored with the lost technology of her ancestors' world, and has spent most of her life learning about and trying to replicate them.

Being so passionate about her craft isn't always a good thing, however, and her ingenuity is definitely a double-edged sword. On one hand, she is particularly brilliant. Her out-of-the-box way of thinking allows for unconventional but effective solutions to problems that may otherwise seem impossible. She looks at a situation with an open mind and adapts to it, relying on quick thinking and improvisation to get by. Kaz may be distressingly clueless in all other areas (societal norms, politics, things that normal people consider common sense), but when it comes to machinery, nothing can beat her.

On the other hand, her single-minded fascination with technology oftentimes come to the detriment of everything else, especially her health. Kaz likes picking things apart to find out how they work and can pore over a book from cover to cover in one sitting. She is prone to obsessing over new things and will relentlessly pursue her current obsession until it is appropriately satiated. Once her curiosity is properly piqued and her switch is turned on, she can go for days on end without eating or sleeping, too absorbed in her work to worry about anything or anyone else. In the same light, she is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish a goal she is set on. It's usually best to stay clear of her way when she gets like this.

Disregarding her crazy, obsessive side, Kaz can almost pass for a regular teenager (though not really). She's excitable and goofy, amused by even the simplest things. There's very little that offends or perturbs her, and she is literally up for whatever shenanigans anyone is cooking up. She takes insults against her person very lightly, and although she fires back with snark, it's usually done with affection. Kaz is also not very conscious of danger; she dives headlong into any circumstance, especially even ones that are potentially life-threatening, just because she thinks it could be fun and interesting.

Long story short: for someone who's supposed to be smart, she actually does a lot of idiotic things.

Nimble and surefooted, Kaz is capable of fast maneuvers that allow her to run across from place to place with utmost haste. She's not as physically strong as the others (look at those skinny arms and legs!), and therefore relies on magic and erratic but strategic movements instead.

But before all that, she's a mechanic. Tinkering and thinking her way out of things is her strongest suit. More often than not, she'll narrowly escape a predicament thanks to an unorthodox idea, coupled with some cheap tricks.

Kaz's incredibly unimposing stature doesn't just make her look feeble. She doesn't pack as strong a punch, and against a formidable Heartless, her strikes might as well be a tap on the shoulder. Her energy is akin to fireworks—explosive but ultimately fleeting. Lika a sprinter, she has to move in bursts and take rests in between because that's all her stamina can handle.

Her penchant to obsess over things can make things difficult for others. She can be stubborn and hard to dissuade; even if you tell her about the dangers lurking, she'll ignore them all if she gets to see something fascinating.

And does curiosity count as a weakness? Because Kaz would definitely be the metaphorical cat in most scenarios.

In the heart of the Dark Forest is a small village rooted in the past, its inhabitants resolutely clinging onto the last vestiges of their ancestors' world. The village has since dwindled in population, losing many to the allure of the bustling Haven, and only the dedicated have remained to preserve the stories and knowledge of their ancestors' lost world. None are more so intrinsically tied to this history than the Lockwoods, who have long been designated as Knowledge's keeper of records.

Little Kaz grew up surrounded by relics and books, all within a step-ladder's reach, and there was nothing she left untouched. She was born a tinkerer, blessed with an unquenchable curiosity and deft fingers that constantly itch to take things apart and put back together. The inner workings of these lost technology was nothing short of fascinating, boggling her with its self-sustaining attributes. Technology in Sanctuary was vastly different, with magic was at its core, but these relics had only wirings and mechanisms that existed nowhere else.

She spent her childhood making things (and inadvertently destroying some, mainly parts of their village), trying to recreate machinery that were recorded in the books--like this amazing vehicle that used electromagnetically-suspended wheels--or using the lost world's concepts to enhance Sanctuary technology. Mostly, she made things that have a tendency to explode and the people of her small village did not take to that at all.

Even though she is an only child, and thus de facto future record keeper, the village as a whole schemed to send her away after yet another incident. The village has kept to itself most of the time, and they reasoned that it was time they started to branch out engage with the rest of the plane. They elected her as their 'ambassador'; as a Lockwood, they said it was her duty to gather knowledge of the outside world and bring it back to them. Of course, Kaz knows they're really just kicking her out—far, far away so she wouldn't accidentally ruin their precious relics, but she was curious about the inner rings anyway.

Still, Kaz, for all the genius she claimed to possess, would never have known that an entirely different path awaited her beyond the woods of the Dark Forest.

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Circuit Breaker
It glows! The entire blade is a sleek obsidian, about a meter in length and slightly shorter than average (story of her life), and has a rounded base and hilt with a solid grip in the middle. Although its default glow accent is a neon blue, Circuit Breaker changes color to correspond with her current mood. There's a faint electrical hum that emanates from the blade, soothing and familiar.
Light and wieldy, easy enough for her to carry around. It augments magical abilities by focusing energy and releasing it with pinpoint accuracy.
Doesn't offer much defense, and because it is lightweight, its striking power is considerably less effective.
Works best with Kaz using it to fire projectiles, using her magical energy as ammunition.