Please feel free to decorate your sheet anyway you like, try to make it look aesthetically appealing and pretty. Love to look at a pretty sheet.
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[Place Your Name Here - The World is Fantastical and Whimsical inspired by Miyazaki Films and Ni no Kuni aesthetic, not story, bright colors, warm world, and when things get dark dark darks]
Age: [Between 10 and 16]
Species: [Human, Neko, Inu, Pixie, Fairy, etc. Place your Species here lore, feats, capabilities, and appearance. Humans gain 1 extra spell slot to start out, while other Species gain a Special Attack their species can perform]
[Character Portrait Here - Spoiler if too big]
Description: Describe anything the portrait doesn’t include about your character. Trinkets, talismans, voice, height, weight. Things that make them special or stand out to others.
Persona
Strengths - These are your characters personality strengths, they are the things people admire, notice, or well liked.
Flaws - These are your characters personality flaws, things are the things they’d like to change, or others dislike, these are the things that make your character make others frustrated with them.
Neutral - These are things your character likes to enjoy, hobbies, passions, likes, and dislikes. These are even their quirks or habits they didn’t pick up from around them.
Skills: None magical, none sorcerer traits. Can they cook, camp, navigate, these are the things they have that support the group outside of combat. In a vast world, and a long adventure, you need to have more than just the knowledge of the spellbook.
Battle Profile
Focal Crystal: Color and location. Do you hold it in your pocket, is it attached to a weapon, a piece of jewelry.
Special Equipment: Allowed 2 Special Equipment. This includes your enchanted weapon or your enchanted jewelry with your Focal crystal. Be sure to explain what your Special Equipment can do. 1 Ability for each item for now.
Equipment: None special equipment, cooking kit, unless you have a magical cooking kit that be a neat idea, alchemy set, unless that’s special too. Anyhoo the idea is that this includes your non enchanted items.
Weapon: Any non enchanted weapon they carry
Special Attack: Any Non Human Species starts off with 1 Special Attack to their own species. But will not gain another special attack upon leveling up the 1st time, 5 to 6. Humans will gain a Special Attack upon level to 6.
Magic Profile
Magic Lv: 5
Spellbook: Describe your spellbook here
School of Focus: Your magical school of focus, this is up to your imagination, light, dark, stars, healing, the sky's the limit. You will start at 1 School of Focus, and gain a 2nd at Level 10.
Spells: 3 Lesser Spells, and 1 Medium Spell
Misc Battle Info: Anything else you may want to add to their battle profile should go here.
Your Tale
This is your tale, this is the sounds, and the tale you tell.
Arrival: This is all I want in this section. Is your arrival, how you found Gertrude, the trial and tribulation you had to go through, how you overcame and how you came to Cosmos city.
Theme Song: What tune do they imbue, what sound does the world hear when they are around
Misc: Anything else you’d like to add in your tale, you may
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This RP will be updated Via Discord and Google Docs
Take a look. Look closely. Here lies your fate and your destiny. One wrought trial and tribulation. Death perhaps. What you see may not be what you get. What you desire may no longer exist. Will you continue to search for it? I see your future. I see your dreams. I leave you with one parting word. She’s not who she seems.
Premise
A long time ago, there as a family of White Witches known as House Clementine. It is said that it is House Clementine and their cousins House Evergreen that helped erect the barrier that now covers Cosmo City in order to ward off evil that resides in the lands of Aelfstan. Where the untamed wilds are ruled by dark, vicious, and primal magic that could have never been controlled by magic alone. It is said that House Clementine owned a tea set, known for something nicknamed the Golden Brew. The Golden Brew was a tea that came out as yellow and as golden as liquid gold, it was imbued with magical properties, and was said to be an witch’s brew used an elixir in all matters. Not only did it cure love aches, heart breaks, spark love, and cure diseases. It said the reason why Cosmos City, Star City, and Galaxy Villa are all working together is because a White Witch from House Clementine had their leaders drink a tea from this set together. Both leaders were able to communicate more effectively and brought peace among the cities.
Magnesia Clementine was the last White Witch to carry the Golden Set. It was her mother who brought peace and prosperity to the great cities. Those of Cosmo City know Magnesia as a kind and compassionate woman, someone who tended and cared for others. While this caring generosity that may bring disaster, or so rumors in the city said. A Dark Witch disguised as a feeble old woman, resided in Clementine’s house when she was alone, in her thirties, her husband to serve the Royal King of Cosmo city.
The Old Woman exposed herself as a Dark Witch and defeated the veteran White Witch, taught by her mother, and her mother’s mother before her. The Dark Witch took the Golden Set, though no one really knows what the Dark Witch has done over the 80 years of acquiring the Golden Set. This never stopped Magnesia’s kind nature as she passed it on to her daughter Gertrude. While Gertrude may have not had the golden set, she kept peace in Cosmos City. As powerful as the many lines that created her, Gertrude lived like a legend among the people of Cosmos City.
She watched over the King’s son the Prince, before he turned to a young man. It is said she solved an issue of diplomacy one evening during a royal dinner. It is said that Gertrude also defended the barrier from invaders who tried to break the city. That is how Gertrude met her husband a Soldier of the Barrier, he fell in love with her magnetic energy. In her twenties she had two children. And in her forties they left her to find their place among the White Witches and carrying the title of House Clementine. Her husband died shortly afterwards due to a disease and Gertrude at fifty was alone. Though not for long.
She opened her estate to orphans of the city. Often ones who came from the untamed lands, or smaller villages without the barriers protection. She sheltered them, cared for them, till she grew old, weak and feeble, She taught them what she knew about magic, of the ones who were apt in magic. She taught them the secrets of the land. Each Orphan feeling indebted to her in some way for her fairness, kindness, and motherliness to them.
Now at her eighties she lie dying in bed. The Orphans have planned to return the Golden Set to her before she passes on. This is their way to repay her for all she has done to them.
Aelfstan and Mechanics
Aelfstan is a world abundant of magic, it was always difficult to tame or maintain and that is why the great cities, Star City, Cosmos City, and Galaxy Villa are considered the great city. Emerging from years of battling and trying to tame and defeat beast with more magic or power than them. And fighting back a forest that fought back as well, the great cities are monuments, testaments really of the people’s resilience. Once the war against the land had been enacted, and the great cities stood, expanding inside their barrier over time, Aelfstan outside of the barriers that surrounded the city grew more wild, overgrown forest where trees trick visitors, wild beast ferocious and not to be persuaded with, meadows more abundant with flora and fauna, and mountains so treacherous that no one has ever been able to fully discover the secrets of Aelfstan.
What is Known
Spell Stones
Ancient stones sit in different areas and regions of Aeflstan if you’re looking. These ancient stones when tapped into them imbue the listener with key knowledge to allow them to create new spells to add to their spellbooks.
The Gems of Aelfstan
Focal Crystal
A Focal Crystal is something all sorcerers, warlocks, and witches use to channel their energy. You can see them attached to staves, inside blades, attached to gloves, or held in the magic users hands stowed in their pockets. Whichever way you use your Focal Crystal the Focal Crystal has various uses to the magical user;
Wayfinder - The Focal Crystal will shine a beam of light towards a waystone. Waystone are ancient stones that sorcerers before the Great City used to guide themselves through the landscape of Aelfstan. It also can call you to any Waystone you have activated with the Focal Crystal.
Magic Up - The Focal Crystal also is a sorcerers main source of power. Upon defeat a creature you will receive their Crux Gem. Your Focal Crystal absorbs this energy and before you know it, you may gain more power in no time.
Spell Stone - The Focal Crystal also will slightly hum when you have come close to a spell stone. Though it won’t specify a particular location as it will the Waystone, it’s a good thing to pay attention to.
Uncovering Secrets - The Focal Crystal will grow brightly if there is any magical secrets, be them items, or invisible messages hidden. The Focal Crystal than can illuminate these invisible walls, invisible messages. It changes color the closer you are to a special item.
Colors of the Focal Crystal, a Focal Crystal is always glowing and blueish clear before it is claimed by a sorcerer. The color of the gem changes in contact with the one who owns the Focal Crystal.
Waystone
Or called Guiding Stones in ancient times, Waystones were pillars made in the center of the ancient cities of the old sorcerers, using the same Gems as the Focal Crystal to connect all their cities together. Back then they had no way of taming the world above, so they built their cities below. Waystones found often in now abandoned ancient cities, with ancient treasures. Some Waystones are asleep, while others lie awake calling to their brothers.
Crux Gems
For whatever reason when a creature dies it releases a gem named a Crux Gems. They are various in shape, color, the way they feel, the way they look. And have various uses. You may take a Crux Gem’s powers to power your focal crystal up. Or Cruz Gems can be crafted into upgrading your weapons, and crafting various things.
Lastly races and species of Aelfstan are various. There will be no limitations as to what you can create in this world. Elves, Drow, fairies, pixies, etc. The only request I ask is if you making talking animals, make them stand upright on all twos, and the same concept with dragons, would be more like dragonborn from DnD.
Mechanics
So how this RP works there will be light equipment management. I suggest posting the Equipment management in the corner of your post. Cruz Gems will be the source of you gaining more power or upgrading your equipment. While Spell Stones will be how you gain new spells, of your own creation. Spells will be held in a spellbook.
The number of spells you can have is dependent on the level of your Magic. Which all starts at 5, which gives you the ability to know 3 Lesser Spells, and 1 Medium Spell. The amount of Lesser and Mediums spells you carry will increase by 2 every time magic levels up. The rate magic levels up will by 1, but what this means is that every time you want to level up you need 10 Cruz Gems or 1 Boss Crux to level up by 1. While Cruz Gems will be distributed among the group at your leisure.
Boss Crux will be handed over roulette style. I will be assigning a number to each of you and that will be the only time Dice are involved in this game.
The number of Crux given is dependent on the creature. Lesser Creatures, which will be marked on the post during the creature encounter, will always hand 3 Crux Gems, Mediums Creatures will always hand 5 Crux Gems, Advance Creatures will always hand 7, and Bosses will always have 1 Lesser Crux and 1 Boss Crux.
How to be Accepted
The Accepted Process in this RP will not be the same as you're use to. While I have the final say. And you are here because I have enjoyed your sheets. You will be Reviewing Each Other's Sheets. Before putting up sheets on the Character Tab, I require all members to review the sheets of their fellow players.
Species: Dhampir: Dhampirs work a little differently than a normal vampire. First off is their ability to withstand sunlight, though it still burns their skin terribly and hurts to stand in for long periods of time, it won't ultimately lead to their demise on its own. But their skin isn't the only thing sensitive to light, their eyes are also sensitive to light, this is both a perk and a hindrance. In the light they find it much harder to see, while in darkness they can see much better. Though their ideal environment is one of low light. Dhampir are also susceptible to any form of celestial magics, and are unable to be healed using celestial magic instead getting hurt by it.
Dhampirs also have very weak empath abilities, getting very weak signals from people when they are in a state of intense emotion. They receive the signals like a faint static, or a fuzzy feeling. The different emotions only have very small differences in the signals they send, making this an ability that can't be used well without a good deal of training. Dhampirs also get slight physical enhancements being a little stronger than normal humans, but these enhancements are hardly noticeable on an untrained body. A Dhampir who's never worked in his life isn't going to be beating any form of laborer in an arm wrestling competition. Lastly comes a Dhampirs slightly enhance healing ability, making them recover from wounds almost ten times as fast as a human, while this healing isn't going to help them in the midst of combat it will make them able bodied and ready to fight again much faster than others.
Description: Archibald Insists on wearing simpler cheap clothes, not getting the whole deal with fancy clothes. Although he's a Dhampir his appearance is on the human side lacking any actual hint of being half vampire. He is a rather small boy for his ages, only being 133.6cms tall and weighs about 20 kilograms. Any trinkets he carries are either on his belt or in his backpack.
Strengths - Archibald is a playful kid, always goofing around with friends and family, though he dose understand that sometimes things need to be taken seriously. He is also very respectful towards older people making sure to behave when around adults. He'll also listen to his elder sibling almost without question. Being around other people is one of the things Archibald love, being a highly social kid. This is also where his love for helping others comes from, because helping others makes them like you, while sometimes even letting you spend time with them, so it's honestly a win win in Archibald's eyes, though some may take advantage of this quality. Archibald is a firm believer that sharing is caring, and Archibald cares a lot about those around him, even total strangers sometimes receive charity from Archibald. He's the kind of boy who would give you a loaf of bread if you were hungry, even if he himself was starving.
Flaws - Archibald isn't the bravest child, in fact startling him is almost too easy most of the time, a simple tap on the shoulder can get him when he's not expecting it. But he's not only jumpy, also being easy to intimidate. Someone who's a foot taller than him could intimidate him if they tried, let alone terrifying monsters of the forest. Archibald is incredibly Naive, he sees the good in everyone and everything, sometimes completely missing obvious bad things or tricks. Offering help to anyone who may need it, sometimes ending in him possibly helping bad people do bad things, not figuring out what's going on until it's too late. Archibald has a tendency to get sidetracked or distracted, sometimes it's by something small like a fly buzzing around him or perhaps a bird off in the distance. Archibald is also kind of. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, his probably not going to be the one figuring out a puzzle in a dungeon.
Neutral - Archibald doesn't really have a hobby, mostly because he can't really sit in one place long enough to find one. Though a good way to stop Archibald moving is to place an animal on his lap, Archibald could sit around for hours simply patting a cat or a dog, or any animal for that matter. There are few things that give Archibald the same sense of wonder or amazement that Animals do. Even magical creatures aren't safe from Archibald's love, though the more scary aggressive ones are avoided for obvious reasons. Another way to get Archibald to sit still is with the delicious promise of food, for a small boy Archibald can eat a huge amount. And Family dinners are the reason he lives and breathes, loving the experience hanging out with his family while also stuffing his face with yummy food. Though he's not a critic when it comes to food, eating just about anything you put in front of him.
Piggy back rides. Doesn't matter if he's receiving one of giving one, piggy back rides never fail to make Archibald smile. Archibald loves throwing his hands into the air as someone runs around with him on their shoulders. And if there is one thing Archibald dreads aside from losing loved ones. It's the day when he gets too big for piggy back rides.
Skills: Archibald has the uncanny ability to start fires. He's mastered the art of raising and maintaining a flame. It could be a campfire or it could be a fireplace, either way he can make the fire just right. But don't expect him to cook or anything, he struggles not burning things. Though Archibald can't do the spinny stick thing, he normally starts his fires using Bang and Spark.
Archibald is also surprisingly good at climbing, though he can't compete with animals he's still pretty darn quick for a kid.
Focal Crystal: Archibald's focal crystal is a half and half crystal, the top half being a vibrant orange and the bottom half being light gray stone. He holds it like a candle when he uses it. Archibald always keeps his Focal crystal on his belt.
Special Equipment: Archibald has a pair of enchanted flint stones called Bang and Spark, now on their own they are nothing special. But when used together they can create small balls of fire, perfect for starting campfires or lighting torches.
Equipment: Archibald doesn't carry many personal item, though he always makes sure to have a spare hoodie and bandanna on him, in case he needs to go outside. He always wears his trusty backpack, it's tough as nails and has clearly gone through many years of love as is clear when looking at it's rather weathered form.
Weapon: He has a boomerang. And using it properly is one of the most impressive thing he can do. It's not enchanted or anything, so if the boomerang doesn't come back then he has to go and retrieve it. Though it is mostly used as a club, or being thrown to trip up a fleeing target.
Special Attack: Bite. Archy has a nasty bite, and if he feels inclined to use it against you, get ready for a deceptively powerful set of teeth powered rather strong jaw. This put together make a bite from Archy a particularly nasty thing, though it's mostly ineffective against armoured creatures like giant Arthropods or crustaceans.
Magic Lv:5
Spellbook: Archibald's spellbook isn't super fancy. It's simple and gets the job done, this is a feature that is fairly common with Archibald in general. It's a well made leather journal, it's sturdy and has taken a lot of loving at this point, how it still remains in one piece is a mystery (Even to Archibald). Archibald keeps it stashed in his bag at all times.
School of Focus: Archibald focus is on water magic. splash
Lesser spells
Tap: The spell tap is very simple, it makes a slow jet of water much like a kitchen sink would. The water can come from any exposed area on the hand, be it just one finger or the entire palm of your hand. It's not intended to be used as a direct attack. It finds much more use in survival situations, like filling a water bottle or a cooking pot. What makes this spell unique is that the water it produces doesn't magically evaporate like most other water based spells, as it's purpose is to provide water.
Water bomb: This spell has a little bit of umph compared to Tap, though it is still very weak. It's just a simple water ball projectile, but water to the face can be mighty annoying for most creatures. It' can be rapidly fired if needed. It's main use is as an annoyance but given the right target it can be very useful.
Bucket:This spell a weak form of hydrokinesis that allows you to control a buckets worth of water. Archy requires a water sauce to pulls from in order to use this spell, so Bucket and Tap make a great great combination.
Intermediate spells
Tendril: Tendril is used to summon tentacle like appendages made of water. They are mainly used to restrain enemies holding them down like watery chains, though they can also strike targets with a considerable amount of force. Though they don't have to be used in combat situations and a creative enough mind could find many different uses.
Misc Battle Info: Archibald isn't much of a combatant normally preferring to be more of an annoyance. This isn't to say he can't damage opponents, he's just not much of a up close fighter and lacks a strong form of ranged attack at the moment.
Arrival:
Some things in this world are never meant to be, frowned upon by society and shunned into the shadows and left there to rot. Archibald is one of those things. Born into a family that was not meant to be, in a place where he'd never be accepted.
Archibald's parents were not meant to be together, at least that's how society sees it so they were forced into hiding their relationship from the rest of the world. Viola Nicodemus was Archibald's mother, and she had fallen in love with a Vampire. But this wasn't the usual case where a Vampire would lure a woman in and prey on her. The love was mutual between the pair. Arcadis Valkyr was the Vampire who'd be bewitched by Archibald's mother, and he was beautiful, even by vampire standards.
They kept their relationship concealed for half a year, till Viola fell with child. The result of their forbidden romance now visible to everyone. In only a week Viola had become incredibly anxious, worried that everyone would somehow find out about her and Arcadis and that not only her life, but that of her child was at risk. Months drifted by as she continued to worry. And no matter what her beloved said she would continue to do so, the child was not even born yet and she worried for its life, it was tearing her apart. But the thought of finally bringing this child into the world was the thing that kept her going.
Then the time finally came to bring the child into the world finally drew upon Viola, she had to make the journey out of town so she could be with her beloved at the moment of their child's birth. The trip was arduous, pushing the pregnant woman far more than was healthy. But meeting up with Arcadis was more than worth the effort. Their meeting should have been something of unimaginable joy, but when Viola got to the meeting place and found Arcadis with a somber look on his face. Her heart sank.
The news he brought threw all of their plans into turmoil, it seemed that Vampires were just as against their partnership as humans were and they now hunted Arcadis for his actions. This presented his parents with a choice. It was either they dragged their child around the land with them as they ran from Vampires and humans alike, or find a safe home for their child. Although the choice broke their hearts, they knew they couldn't drag their child into their situation. The couple only needed to think for a moment before Viola remembered hearing about the charitable Gertrude and the many children she'd given homes. While Viola didn't know Gertrude personally, the tales of her charity had traveled around. And it seemed that if anyone was going to accept their little Archy. It would be Gertrude.
After cherishing the one moment they would ever have as a family, Viola would leave Arcadis so she could quietly creep to Gertrude's mansion. The trip was even more arduous than when she was carrying the babe in her stomach, each step bringing her closer to the time where she'd never see her child again. When she finally made it to the door of the mansion she was in tears. Her hands trembled as she lowered her child onto the doorstep of Gertrude's mansion, her little Archibald was going to be happy here, she felt it. After saying her final goodbye she vanished off into the night, leaving Archibald to be found crying on Gertrude's doorstep.
And a few out of place lines in history. Which I have demonstrated.
The pair had managed to conceal their partnership for the better half of a year, but when the baby started to grow in Viola's belly.
This comes off silly. Nobody would write this beside a small child. This could be better written as I gave given the example of "They kept their relationship concealed for half year, till Viola fell with child." Sounds much nicer and cleaner than belly.
It was either they dragged their child around the land with them as they ran from Vampires and humans alike, or leave him on the doorstep of Granny Gertrude.
You don't explain how they know Gertrude or why this would be an option they would choose. You don't need to have a crazy Arisen history, however, you do needs detail. Which are lacking here.
However! I love everything about Archy and he seems like a great character. Besides those two little gripes of mine which can easily be fixed.
- He needs to have a set of skills or if this was meant to be none then tell us the future skills he is wishing to obtain.
- I noticed that locations for his spellbook and focus crystal were placed in the equipment section which was honestly a bit confusing, at least for the focus crystal since I was reading in a row. I suggest maybe moving these or adding that info into their actual sections as well?
Overall Thoughts
I love that Archy feels very much like a child and is a little more naive but not completely so. I love that he will bring some joy/laughs to the group and maybe a bit of trouble as well with that kindness and caring he gives to all. I love this character so much! <3
The second request above isn't completely needed but since it threw me off a bit, I thought it should be mentioned. You already fixed the history part that Arisen spoke about and now skills would be the most important part needed.
The color coordination in this entire profile is amazing. Different colors make my eyes not bleed, since it isn't bright colors ala Neon Blue. Thank you for that.
I enjoy reading the entire profile. It is nice you added somethings that were missing from the other reviewers. It feels like Archibald himself wrote his own profile and gave it to people as, "Here what I do." Minus the part of him being a half-daemon. He's too much of a cutie, which going to probably interact with people really great even though he's a jumpy scaredy cat. XD
I guess the only gripe is, the Tale isn't color coded like all the rest of the profile. But nonetheless you did a great job, with other people's help. Mine won't be as harsh as others, unless there's more people can point out other than what I pointed out.
So far, for me, I've seen nothing that was actually wrong with the sheet or anything that threw me off the beat while reading through it. You've already addressed the others' problems so I think the character's golden now. Don't know about the others though, but it's good for me.
I love him, no doubt about that. I also love the fact that he isn't a combat-oriented kid, fit for his age, and it really adds to the dynamic of the characters. This allows for a lot of interaction and I imagine a lot of added drama which I am looking forward to.
He's also such an innocent child and I look forward to his development throughout the RP!
Species Half Celestial - One of many different types of non-human beings who share the godlike/holy characteristics of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in general, much happier than humans. They tend to live peaceful lives, never staying in one spot long as they love to wander and fight of dark souls that come along their paths to protect others. They grant wishes and miracles to those that are in need though they are rarely seen. Those that have seen Celestials describe them as soft and calming, giving a sense of peace even in the darkest of times to those that are near. Their smell changing to suit each person's senses and always seeming to draw the light to them. They can have up to six wings in total, three pairs each, but each extra set it earned with time and the wings are almost always the palest of colors with accented tips. The most common being white with golden tips.
Description The sounds of a rippling stream echoed through a silent forest. The night air bringing a slight chill from the gentle summer breeze which carried with it the pleasant smell of pine. The shadows danced in the light of the moon as the trees shifted in the wind, fireflies twinkling their own luminescence to chase away any fear of the darkness along the narrow path. The dried needles on the forest floor crunched under each step forward with no destination in hand but the hope for a clearing to appear along the way. As if your prayers had been heard, the illumination of pure moonlight showed ahead which were the telltale signs of an opening in the vast amount of trees that made up this forest. A rush of excitement flooded your being and your pace quickens from the relaxed one that you had been content with earlier. You need only to rush through the bushes to reach the steam but you are stopped, stunned by the beautiful glittering waters in the moon's glow though it seemed more focused unusually in one spot. Yielding to your curiosity, you followed the natural brush along the river's edge until you spotted a young woman standing in water. A sudden feeling that you should not be here is what crawls into your gut but you can't seem to pull yourself away. It is then that you make your choice, ducking down into the bushes, being sure not to be caught. You hide and watch, as she performs a moonlit ritual under the stars.
Platinum blonde hair, like threads of gold spun from a spinning wheel, dipped into the water and creating strands of swirling gold against the clear crystal water. A splash of color stood out against the pale of her hair in the form of turquoise feathers flaring out on each side of her head just like a stylish head dressing. As she held her crystal to the moonlight you continued your gaze upon the delicate softness to her face which gave a feeling of friendliness and serenity. The porcelain ivory of her skin against the platinum blonde hair made it seem like she had a divine glow about her that was comparable to the moonlight itself. It was only now when her eyes began to flutter open that you had even noticed they had been closed in the first place and your breath caught in your throat at the sight. The eyes were a dazzling sky blue that would remind anyone of the sunniest days and they sparkled with such joy, it was mesmerizing. You find yourself standing, walking past the bushes and toward this young woman. You want to be closer, hear her voice, and let her light heal what ails you. You find yourself nearing the water's edge when you stop, shaking your head and debate moving back to your spot. Was it really right to startle her? You find yourself standing by the shoreline, debating on just leaving now while you still have your dignity but instead you stay where you are just a few moments longer as this petite young woman no taller then 5'7 waded through the water, the flowing black wings tipped with turquoise at her hips gliding over the water.
Suddenly, your eyes meet and shock reflected in her eyes for only a moment before they softened and looked you over for a single moment. You feel frozen and curse yourself for continuing such a shameful act all due to curiosity and that feeling of desperately wishing to meet this person in front of you. Her gaze moved along the shoreline, not even a defensive pose showing in her form but certainly, she must be wondering what you were doing and if you are even alone. Those soft doe eyes moved back to you, locked on your form as she made her way to shore and you think for a split moment that you could run into the darkness of the forest and forget this night. Why did you feel the need to stay? It didn't matter, it was too late as she was stepping out of the water and not even bothering to wring anything out as she stepped in front of you. The smell of lavender and vanilla invading your senses which caused you to think it was slightly unfitting for her in your opinion. You thought she would have the scent of rain in the air or fresh cut roses but it was not that disappointing to realize it was something else. It was still pleasant after all. It was in that moment that the smell of lavender and vanilla faded, the comforting smell of rain and roses taking its place which calmed the nerves that were on edge about meeting this young woman and the fact that you had even been caught.
"Are you lost?" a soft and warm voice like melting honey spoke. It was so sweet and smooth that you could easily listen for hours if given a choice. Those sky blue eyes looked to you, concern etched on her features as she waited patiently for an answer. Your words would not come and you find yourself shaking your head 'no'. She looked confused now as if asking with no words, 'why are you here'? It was hard to even start to explain but instead, she graced you with a smile and held out her hand. "If you are alone, please join us for the evening. It will be safer than camping here." You want to reach out, take the offer that was being given but there was no way to tell if the others in her group were as agreeable as she was. You give another shake of your head before giving a small bow to show respect for the young woman that would remain unnamed and continued on your way and this time drawing your blade, taking heed of her warning.
Strengths She is calm in the face of adversity. When presented keeps calm and focuses on the issue. If she feels threatened or upset, she does not let it show even in her body language and tries to get a solution to the problem though she can be stubborn if she thinks her way will be better. Usually, she will hold in her problems or issues to herself and has trouble leaning on others or showing her upset as she does not want them to worry.
Astraea has deep emotions for those close to her and wants to make sure they are cared for. She takes the time to listen and will always help if possible. She cares about those around her even if she doesn’t know them and will give advice or offer assistance if the situations calls for it. She worries and fusses, which can sometimes be seen as negative but it means she cares and loves you.
She is extremely protective. Many see her as quiet and soft but if you ever harm those she is loyal to and care for then you will see a much harder side. She will defend others even at the cost of it meaning pain for her. She has a mothering nature to her which makes her defensive when she feels those she loves are being threatened or in danger.
She is kind to all she meets and is of a positive personality. She is the kind of person that makes you feel welcome and warm in her presence. She is sympathetic with the pain of others and shows the kindness they need in times of hardship. She will not fault those that lash out at her and fights are quickly compromised. She make sure that communication is key. A peacekeeper when times are hard.
She has an abundance of patience and will help guide you to the answers but lets you figure things out in your own time. She can stand many things that might be annoying or unpleasant for far longer than most so if she speaks up, it means many would have given up long before this point and you should listen.
Astraea cannot stand when other people only think of themselves or act like bullies. It makes her feel frustrated that the one person's selfish actions affect everyone but they don’t care. It is all about them and she just can’t see why anyone would do this. She also does not appreciate unnecessary physical cruelty when diplomacy could stop the violence. You do not have to be hateful. There are better ways of doing things.
Flaws Though she is kind and caring, Astraea is actually a very guarded when it comes to herself. She is not open to pasting out information about what she is feeling and hides her pain as to not worry others or inconvenience them. She puts up walls, which makes it hard to be completely close.
She can be far too trusting of others. She believes very much that you are innocent till proven guilty. She is not ignorant of the evils that the world holds but she hopes for the goodness in others. They may seem dark but maybe some good is till in there that can grow if just given the chance. This cannot always be possible and causes trouble.
She is a sensitive soul and does not actually care for much violence. She feels pain when others when they are sad or upset. This makes it sometimes hard to hunt or fight. She does not like seeing cruelty.
She can be extremely stubborn and metaphorically dig her heels into the ground when she feels she is doing the right thing. It is hard to convince her of certain things at times which can be frustrating. It isn’t to say she won’t listen to reason, it is just a difficult process.
She is always busy taking care of everyone else that she forgets to take care of herself. She will always end up serving herself last or if there is not enough then she will try to go without. If she is sick, then she will try to pretend she is fine so she doesn’t slow the group down. If she is hurt then she tries to deal with it herself. She would give up her life if it meant saving someone else which could be scary thought for others.
Neutral Astraea loves walking in the rain. The feel of it in her skin and the way it slicks off her wings. The fresh smell of the earth and the distinct scent that is the rain. The sound of thunder gives her chills as it is unpleasant but it is worth it to see the lightning dance through the sky. She can often be found standing or dancing in the rain with no care of sickness. It is also nice to be in the rain sometimes because no one can see you cry.
She has a love of nature and all the sounds that come with her give her peace. She enjoys sitting around a crackling fire and roughing it. The hike to the perfect spot and setting up camp. The elements against you and surviving through it all. It is as thrilling as it can be peaceful
She loves the day but there is something to be said about the night and watching the sky. The glittering of stars against an inky black night. The way the moon glows and watching the cycle as it fades away only to return again. It reminds her of hope, that light can pierce through the dark.
Astraea has a joy for knowledge and the feeling that books give you. They let you draw away from the world to somewhere totally new. The feelings the story can bring out in you that you weren’t sure you could feel. The ability to enjoy and learn. Words can be a powerful thing.
She loves singing and luckily has the voice for it. She often can be found singing lullabies or humming while she cooks dinner. It makes her happy to have others enjoy her songs.
The feel of rushing water, relaxing and floating in a stream or lake. She jokes many times that maybe she was a mermaid in another life. It is something about water that just makes her feel refreshed and ready to take on the world. She did most of her thinking while swimming.
Her ears are very sensitive to sound and she finds it disorienting when a loud noise suddenly breaks out. It makes her cringe and sometimes just cover her ears altogether. If the noise is continuous, it can even give her headaches.
She loves tastes that are sweet or spicy but when they are bitter she just wants to make a face. She has tried to get past this and try new things but it just is the worse in her opinion.
She doesn’t like her wings touched unless she trusts someone completely. They are delicate and not everyone understands this. It also would be extremely hard to deal with a broken wing in the position they are at. She does enjoy her hair being brush and played with though and does not mind the feather there being touched.
Skills She enjoys cooking new recipes and making favorites that others like. It is calming for her and she has a passion for trying new ideas when possible. New combinations make it always a learning experience and new joys to be found.
Sewing made the most sense to learn this skill so that quick fixes on the road could be made and with any luck, sell some outfits for a bit of extra money. You never know when it could come in handy. It could even come into use when deep wounds were to happen
Big game is not always around to hunt so to make up for this, Astraea has learned how to set traps. She is actually quite good at making them and could actually keep the camp safe from bandits with a few of them. The best part is that she will not have to chase after her target and let it come to her.
Her Mama taught her how to fish at a young age so she would always be able to have food to eat even if she did not have a weapon for big game or if she couldn't trap anything. She is very good with actually spearing fish, knowing how to be patient enough to wait still in the water. The best way to get a lot of fish though is always through the fishing pole route which was also taught to her.
Astraea’s singing can be mesmerizing to some as it is mellifluous and pure. She has amazing range which broadens her horizons in the way of song. This skill is mostly put to work if someone’s music strikes a spark in her or if lullabies are needed to lull little ones to sleep.
Focal Crystal A pale shimmering blue focal crystal was encased in a silver intricate design with a white gold crescent moon looking up to the sky and resting just about the blue crystal. White moonstone gems and clear sparkling crystals dangled from the bottom of the intricate design though the largest clear crystal in the middle suspended a blue star. The same stones trailing the bottom of the necklace weaved into the chain.
Special Equipment Bag of Holding - This bag has an interior space considerably larger than its outside dimensions. The bag can hold up to 500 pounds, not exceeding a volume of 64 cubic feet. The bag weighs 15 pounds max, regardless of its contents. When looking into the bag, items appear smaller than they actually are until pulled from the bag to return to normal size. Living items are not to ever go in this bag or they shall die.
Kindred Bracelets - When two people are wearing one of these bracelets, they are always aware of when the other is in life-threatening danger. This bracelet adjusts in size to fit the wearer.
Equipment As Astraea has a bag that can hold more than most, she has items to hold that are not her own along with her own items. The items that are hers include cooking kit, bowls, plates, utensils, clothes, snare/trap equipment, fishing pole, books for her and some that she knows the little ones enjoy, journal, quill, inkwell, sewing kit, blankets, flint, hairbrush, bandages,breads, dried fruit, nuts, dried meats, dried spices and herbs.
Weapon Chain Whip
Special Attack Miracles - It is what the word Miracle encompass. She can turn a single coin in a purse into a full sack of gold, make an empty water sack full again, and help you be guided on the right path. It's a prayer or a wish. It's wish magic in an essence. It only works for those that are in desperate need of her miracles. Everything has its limits and not all prayers can be answered. No matter if she wanted to bless them.
Magic Lv 5
Spellbook A dark blue book, the spine and edges decorated in complex gold designs looped around pearls. A string of white crystals danced across the front of the book, just under the large round midnight blue gem that made up the main focal point of the cover. When active, the midnight blue gem glows with runic symbols, the white crystals alight and the dark blue of the books cover suddenly glitters with spots of light like stars in the night sky. This is usually stored in her bag.
School of Focus Light
Lesser Spell Sanctuary - Bless oneself or another ally for 1 "turn". That person will not take damage next time they are targeted for an attack.
Miracle's Light - Those in the range of this spell feel stronger and get a boon in strength. Undead and Deamon whenever in Miracle's Light strength are cursed and cause a weakening effect. Miracle's Light shines a radius around the user that reaches up to 10ft circumference. Those in the area need to be in the range of Miracle's Light in order to receive its blessing.
Semblance View - This illusionary magic needs a base object roughly the same size as what you are trying to make appear in others eyes. If you wish to have a coin appear, you would need to find something like a rock that is the same size. This effect only lasts only so long and needs magic to be held in place.
Medium Spell Luminous Smite- This spell does a blast of light that harms those that are undead and deamon by performing a burning effect, but has a "healing" aura to non-undead/deamon. Certain Halflings would be an exception to this rule as it would cancel out both effects.
Misc Battle Info - When in a fight, Astraea is more of a defensive fighter. She will try to keep everyone else healed and protected, this being her main focus but will put up a pretty skilled fight if she needs too. She is not one to be underestimated.
Arrival She knelt down beside the edge of her bed, tears dripping from sapphire eyes as she hung her head in defeat, the wavy blond hair cascading down like a curtain that blocked her view from the world. Would she forever continue to lose those she loved? Monaxía lightly touched the bracelet at her wrist, her heartbreaking more as she knew its counterpart would be placed back in her hands soon with the news of her beloved's death. The twisted gold band of the Kindred Bracelet sparkled in the moonlight, the gift feeling more like a curse in this moment. She had felt when he was in danger and could do nothing while he was away at war. This time she felt no connect and no hum of magic waiting to warn her which meant the danger had not passed this time. She was alone in this world, with not even a child to remember him by. How many times had she lost them? How many flowers marked their graves? Why was life so unfair to her? First, she lost her parents, then she lost her children and now the love of her life. She had finally found happiness with a man that cared not that she had no dowry to her name, that she was of ill health, that she lived on the outer rim of town, and that she would never be able to bare him a child. He loves her for her. The way she was clumsy, the way she loved laying in the grass, the way she played with her hair when she was nervous and the smile that only he got to see. Monaxía had felt blessed to have him in her life and now she had no idea what she would do. She tilted her head up to the night sky, a shooting star passing by. She closed her eyes and prayed for a miracle. Monaxía didn’t want to be alone in this world and she would accept their gift in whichever form they blessed her with should they see fit to grant it. Not all prayers would be answered but she hoped this time, hers had been heard. Pain gripped her, clutching the sheet and trying to breathe as she was asked by the midwives. She was afraid that she wouldn’t make it, that the child she had been blessed with would have her fate to be alone. She felt so weak and she just wanted to rest. No, she wouldn’t let that happen! She had to keep going and think positive. She prayed to her beloved, Kleos, for strength through this trail. It had been hours and all she wanted to hear was her baby’s cry now. She pushed when she was told and after many more hours, she finally was able to relax, her child crying. The midwives were chattering, panic in the air and she was scared for a single moment that something was wrong or perhaps the child was stillborn when they quickly placed the child in her arms. Monaxía has never seen a more beautiful child. Sure, her daughter seemed to have a little deformity at her hips but she could care less because she was holding her daughter. This was a moment she had always waited for and though her beloved would not be rushing in to join her in her joy, she still felt happiness. They would live and she would do everything to always be there for her child. The two sat under the cherry tree, enjoying the bright sunny day after filling the buckets with a good amount of the tasty red treat. Astraea could not wait for her Mama to make her famous cherry pie. Well, it was famous to the little girl at least though she didn’t have others to compare it too. At first people thought she was a freak and laughed, but as her feathers came in they start to treat her bad in other ways so Mama told her they had to keep to their own. Mama told her the story, how the Celestials had blessed her with a child so she could share her life with another and told her of Papa so she knew why he was not here with them. Mama told her it was alright to be different even if everyone else fear what they did not understand. She hoped one day she could show the others she was a good girl and that they would stop hurting Mama’s feelings. Mama always says one day people would understand her but that day seemed so far away.
Monaxía hummed a gentle tone, petting Astraea’s hair and making sure to avoid the feathers that had grown there. She grew more beautiful every day and she was so proud of the sweet girl her daughter was. It had been why she took her away from town, not wanting her to fear the world around her because people were showing how cruel they could be. When Astraea had wandered off at market, she had been more terrified at losing her and cursing herself for not watching more carefully. It was when she found her baby, curled up in a ball while crying and bruises littering her small form that she made sure that Astraea would never be hurt again by these cruel beings. She had hugged her baby, crying for her and anger was bitter towards the town even more now than ever before.
She had started a personal garden that day and started selling her merchandise to the next town over. It would mean more work and trading for awhile but it was worth it in her eyes. The last few months had been so peaceful and things had started to really look up for the two of them. Monaxía sneezed, the motion killing the calm mood she was creating with her humming.
Astraea looked up, a little startled and worry showing clearly on her face. Her Mama just smiled and blamed the spring air but she was worried as it was happening more often lately. She knew how to make a fire and some simple things like tea but she couldn’t feed her Mama if she got sick, at least not the things her Mama made when she needed to feel better. The nice man, already came by a few days ago so he wouldn’t be back till a very long time cause they wouldn’t be able to trade. Her Mama didn’t seem to be pale and wasn’t even coughing though so maybe it was nothing just like Mama said. She sat on the floor, folding each item of clothing as her Mama lay in bed, weakly telling her how to fold and what should go in the pack. She asked Mama if they were going somewhere but all she would get was a sad smile and a ‘I hope not’. She kept getting sicker and the doctors here would not help her. It was all her fault. If she was a normal girl then Mama would be helped but instead, she had been getting worse since that night when some of the townspeople came.
She had been told to stay inside but Astraea had opened the window to hear what was going on. They demanded she be handed over, taken to the Council Seven for judgment and that her Mama had brought shame to this town and would be tried as well if she did not do as she was told. She knew her Mama was not healthy, that even now, just standing before them that she was putting on a show of strength. She told them to be gone and that if the Council had anything to say that they could say it in person. They threatened her to which she gave them a bow to the face with an arrow to make her point known. Blood would be spilled if they did not leave so they left, saying they would be back.
That was days ago and now, her Mama would not be able to stand up to them again. She couldn’t even get out of bed and Astraea had been following her instructions what to do and how. It was very strange that Mama wanted none of her own things packed yet and was focused on getting everything for her packed first. She didn’t mind packing for her Mama if only she told her what she wanted but maybe there was too much and her things were easier to pack. Darkness fell on their little home, no moon to shine its light. A heavy feeling hung in the air, like something bad was about to happen. Neither of the house's occupants could sleep as they lay in bed, the little girl not willing to be far from her Mama’s side as she could need something in the night. It was so silent that not even the crickets dare chirp and it made this nagging feeling even worse. It was in this quiet silence that Monaxía spoke up softly, “Are you still awake my shining star?”
“Yes Mama, do you need something?”
“I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything, just name it.”
“If something should happen to me. I want you to take the bag you packed today and leave this place. Do you understand? Can you promise me this?”
“What are you saying? Why do you want me to leave you?!”
Her Mama weakly and painfully rolled to her side, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked to her.
“I would never want to leave you but it is not safe here and I do not know if I will be strong enough to go with you. I fear that the townspeople will try something horrible and I could not stand it if you were hurt because of me. Promise me, that when I tell you to run, you will take the bag and leave this place.”
“I will, Mama.”
“I need to hear you promise.”
“I promise.”
“That is my good girl.” Her Mama smiled for a moment before pulling the twisted bracelet from her wrist and sliding it onto Astraea’s free wrist, one bracelet on each. “Now Papa and I will always be with you and we will be able to watch over you and anyone you need to protect.”
Astraea hugged her Mama tightly, feeling like this was a goodbye. It was a memory she etched in her mind just in case she had to do as she promised and leave but she wanted to remember everything she could about her in this moment. She felt a dry kiss on her forehead and barely even felt the hug around her for how light it was.
It wasn’t long before this moment was broken, shadows of light dancing through the windows as a crowd of people came, torches being held by the Council Seven and others speckled through the crowd. The two looked in terror as without warning, they tossed the fires to the roof of their home and onto the grass. They did not come to speak or give them a chance. They had made the decision to kill them both, cowardly in the night.
“Run! Go now!”
“But Mama!”
“Promise.”
Astraea froze for but a moment before jumping out of bed, coughing as the smoke began to build and pieces of roof fell. She looked back to her Mama, before having to head towards the back door, her heart breaking and tears never stopping. She couldn’t leave without her knowing. She didn’t think her Mama would make it and she felt worse for feeling like she was abandoning her.
“I love you, Mama.”
“I love you too, Astraea. Run.”
She ran straight for the back door, tears burning her eyes among other things as she grabbed the pack of clothes and food by the door. Astraea knocked the door open, not stopping as she ran as fast as her feet could take her. She only took a brief moment to look back once she was at the edge of the Thorned Forest and watched her home engulfed in flames and heard the cheers of joy from the crowd at the horrible crime they had done. Everything she had ever known and loved, gone. She steeled herself, heading into the dark forest. There were tales of the Thorned Forest, all mana of creatures lurking to kill a man at first sight but that would be her fate either way and at least in the forest, she could hide. How long had she been here? She did not know. She hid in caves and dens, fighting off creatures and covering her ears to avoid being lured by others. It didn’t matter how long she wandered, she couldn’t get out. Now she knew why the Council banished people here. You thought you might be saved but it was a lie. The choice was death or death if you did not know how to avoid the creatures as most didn’t. The nice man that visited had told her some tales, they had saved her more than once.
The rain fell, panic and cold filling her being as she had not found a place to stay for the night. The full moons glow not even lighting most of the area as the clouds kept passing by. She scrambled, trying to not run into any danger that was sure to be lurking. She could hear the clomping of footfalls and was now wide open in a clearing. Astraea shivered, the rain pouring down harder than before and making it even harder to see but she didn’t stop moving as the noise got closer. She missed her Mama. She missed home. She wanted out of here.
She cried out, tripping over a loose root and landing into the mud. Astraea tried to push herself up, the sticky goo clinging to her and making her slip about while she tried to stand. A hand grabbed her and she screamed, struggling to get away when a familiar voice spoke out, asking why she was here. She looked up, the nice man that Mama always traded with was looking back down at her. Worry etched on his face, his hand firm on her shoulder while the other one held onto the horse. He picked her up, placing her in his covered cart. He wrapped her up in a blanket, letting her get warm and get some rest as he headed forward.
Nicolas had thought the girl was dead when he found the whole place burnt. The locals had said that lightning had struck, killing the family that had lived there. The little girl in his cart made him think different now. It wouldn’t be safe to take her back but he couldn’t care for her either. The only place he knew that would take in an orphan like this girl would be Gertie’s. It would be her best chance. It was then that he changed course to give this girl a new home and a new chance.
Theme Song
Misc - Astraea’s hometown is named Fort Halloway. - The Thorned Forest surrounds most of the town and they have build spiked walls to protect themselves though some live outside the walls and hunt nearby. - Monaxía sold some of the game she hunted, trapped and fished for. She also crafted, sewed and knitted items for sale to make a good living. She taught some of these skills to Astraea though she did not learn them all.
Species: Half Elf, Idris is the son of Elfreda and Arvid Beorhtric. Elfreda being of the Great Woods of the Aeflstan, belonging a subspecies of Deep Forest Elves. Not be mistaken by the Wood elves who live in the lighter parts of the forest near the meadows and prairies.
Forest Elves were said to be the deepest knowledged of all species, they said they carried and beheld the knowledge of keeping the forest tame that which man could not. Elfreda was widely held by her people with regard for her beauty and her strength and sheer will. But Idris is not a Deep Forest Elf nor is his a Human. He is the byproduct of intermingling of species.
All the knowledge, skill of a Deep Forest Elf, is not blessed upon him. In fact he may not have received much gifts from his Elven ancestry despite being literally half and half of both species. As ordinary as he is Idris still has some gifts from his elven ancestry. That being magic is more quickly bestowed on him, he learns quickly and understands spells because magic does not simple flow from him, but sings to him in a way that it does not to others. He can sense or detect magic with great perception before others, practically tasting the way it hangs in the air. Otherwise, everything else he has obtained is butterfly shaped ears, and bestowed with some of his mothers unearthly beauty.
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A sprightly blonde comes out from hiding in bushes, leaves scattered in his platinum blond strands as he brushes his bangs out of his eyes to share the world blue irises with purplish hue. He smiles and happily dust his clothes off, a pair of riding breeches, with riding boots, a pleated leather shirt dyed purple, paired with a linen multi colored vest with a hood. Shaking out the rest of the leaves of his hair, shows off his butterfly shaped ears hidden by his well maintained,and stylish undercut. A leather belt with a family crest you’ve never seen before as a belt buckle, he waves his hands in front of your eyes to get your attention, him wearing two different gold ring bracelets.
He smiles as you acknowledging him. Upclose he’s not very tall, he stands at 5’5”, 165 cms, yet he already carries a grace and elegance about himself that is very different from that of a human. His long an elegant eyelashes bring him a boyish and youthful charm, He’s prettier than any human boy you would know, but he carries it well with a slender, pensive diamond shaped face he is still firm with his expressions. There is a balance between the beauty and the masculinity of his face that makes him seem like that of noble blood.
Despite his short stature, he is quite thin and wiry. If you had to guess any sense of weight the young man would most likely be on the light side. If you had to take a guess it would be roughly around 115lbs, 52kg. Still the boy gestures at you expressively with his hands.
“I don’t understand, can you talk?” you ask the boy.
The boy huffs expressively, placing his hands on his hips. He blows out a bit of air which makes one of his bangs go up in the air for a second. He points to his ears and slides his finger to his mouth. Nods his head happily, then goes back to smiling, grabbing you by the hand pointing to a store shop. He begins to eagerly guide you, with a slight skip to his step. Airy, but elegant, with light steps. As if walking were more like dancing, fluid, he didn’t like a peasant. But you weren’t so sure about the boy who wouldn’t speak, but simply drag you along to his own beat.
When and if Idris speaks, it’s slow, and sounds like he’s trying to feel out the words on his lips to make sure he’s pronouncing them clearly. It doesn’t sound quite like he knows what or how he sounds, but rather tries to feel how it sounds. He doesn’t talk often and prefers to use gestures, and written messages.
Personality Strength
Anyone who knows Idris knows that he is quite expressive, he often gesticulates excitedly, maybe a little too excitedly at times. Especially when he’s enthusiastic about certain things. Idris has always had a wild spirit, perhaps it is the Elven blood inside of him that makes him seek out things with curiosity and trying to have a sense of understanding things around him. It is why the Deep Forest Elves have had such a grave understanding of the magic around them because it’s their curiosity that drives them as it drives Idris.
Those who know Idris know him as a bold go getter, someone who sees something he wants and takes the actions to go after what he dreams. Idris is not someone who simply says he will do something and sits around never getting to it, never procrastinating and always striding towards his goals. With the understanding that not everything is going to happen instantaneously. Thus he is reasonably understanding of that fact and never getting discouraged simply because things didn’t work out the way they should have.
Idris has a very go with the flow attitude, patiently waiting even when things go awry. It’s something his mother taught him that a true noble is one who is patience, understanding, and doesn’t get lash out negatively towards others. Being a noble to Idris was never about showing off his wealth in some arrogant pompous way or lording over his influence. His father and mother always told him that a true noble is one who is kind, understanding, reasonable, and tries to look at other people’s point of view. Thus Idris tries to live with that in mind.
Of course Idris is also still fifteen and still learning what it means for him to be an adult. He’s brave and will stand up for others whenever they are in a pinch. Those who know Idris know they have a long, trusting, friend. Idris is not the type of person to be cold and off standish, in fact he’s the most accepting and tries to let others in as quickly as he meets them. Inviting them to play, go on small scale adventures with him. He always wants someone to feel accepted, so he tries to be the first to be the role model of accepting those who may be a bit different.
Personality Flaws
Idris has high expectations of himself sometimes, not of others, but himself. He can come off as a perfectionist at times, been known to practice a spell over and over and over again well beyond his own tiredness. Idris is concerned or fixated on redeeming himself, believing himself responsible for feeling some sense of guilt and shame that his city fell because he didn’t defend it. Without the realization that he couldn’t have done anything at the time. Routinely beating himself over the head for not being strong enough to defend the city. Even sometimes believing that he has no reason or sense to reclaim it when those he abandoned will merely only see him as a coward.
He’s ashamed that he fled that night, beating himself over repeatedly about how he shouldn’t have left his parents there. Blaming himself for the fall of the city. These are things that are not often seemed by the other orphans. He demands a lot of himself. To repay for his mistakes. To suffer for his mistakes. Which contradicts the otherwise regal calm he generally has.
While it hard to frustrate Idris there are times when he can be frustrated with others. Often in moments of miscommunication when nothing is going through. Though he usually places the blame on himself. Idris is the type of person who will take responsibility for others actions even when they are the ones who should take responsibility for their own actions.
Neutral
It doesn’t take a lot to make Idris happy, he enjoys adventure, as long as you feed his curious appetite, he usually is settled. Idris is often very content as an individual, he doesn’t necessarily have any standout hobbies that would make him a unique individual to others. Though he appreciates when someone tries to communicate with him and tries to make communication easier. He dislikes those who say something about his race or only point out that he is simply a deaf kid. He’s more than those things and is always determined to show others that he is not simply the mutt deaf.
Skills:
Lip Reading -
While Idris can read other people’s lips, it’s not as accurate as you would think. People mumble, they laugh, they cover their face. And it is difficult to for him to always discern what someone is saying by lip reading. Simply put don’t rely on too much, but he can do so if necessary.
Signing -
Most of Idris communication comes in either gestures he has made up to create his own shorthand of language. It may not make a complete sentence that would make sense to you and I, but the message comes across with his animations and facial expressions. He also knows how to spell the alphabet, if he’s in a more complex conversation with someone he may choose to sign the letters to reply.
Nobility Knowledge -
Unlike someone else, he was taught to remember the names of all the important family houses. Who their leaders were and who their heirs were. He could probably recognize a house emblem and know exactly what house emblem it is from. He can also probably tell you the past history of some houses. Arvid his father always dream of having The Oaken Fort being claimed as one of the great cities, demanded his heirs know this information.
Rune Reading -
Rune magic and rune reading is different, but of the same vein. You need to understand Rune language before you go crafting your own Runic spells. The Deep Forest Elves often used Runic Language as their way of writing spells, or their books. Their language conveyed in universal words that conveyed many things at once the Elvish word Hwesta could mean a breeze or to breathe. This simplistic nature of the Elvish language with their simple Runic transcribing helped Idris learn this language and to read it better without having to learn another complicated language.
Calligraphy -
To cast Runes you have to understand how to write Runes, through the practice of calligraphy. Writing a Rune is not writing a word the way a man may write a letter. It is understand the symbol, each rune that crafts an idea, it is more like a true linguistic art than it is simply writing a sentence.
Focal Crystal: The Eleven Storm, Alagelda, a purple stone sits in a birch staff, shifting in hues of purple, from light to dark, flashes of amethyst like lighting appear and then fade. *See appearance for crystal
The Elven Eye is a unique staff that was gifted to him by his Elven family. They handed him an empty silver birch staff carved for him by his grandmother and told him to place his magic inside of it and that his magic would guide the function of the staffs duties. The chariote like stone in his staff is one of perception, thus the name of the staff was dawned the Elven Eye. His staff ability is one that perceives many things dependent on the weather as forest Elves are dependent on the seasons.
Ability: The Elven Eye perceives many thing, but what it perceives is determined by the weather.
Sunny - on bright sunny days the Elven Eye can illuminate items that the user wishes or desires for. The item often glints like seeing a piece of metal at a distance, or the eye leads a line towards whatever it is the user desire before fading into nothingness. *Clear Evening - on clear evenings the staff faintly glows a soft light. This soft light illuminates things in the light. You hear a snapping twig the staff illuminates a bunny that is faintly glowing on the other side of the brush.
Overcast - when the sun is hidden behind the clouds, the Elven Eye turns a subtle dark purple. When in this state it can illuminate and even cut through some illusions.
Rain/Fog - the Elven eye faintly glows. It continual blinks at different intervolves, illuminating the right path to take when visibly is unclear. The faster the speed of light the more you have strayed from your path than the constant gentle slow chime of light.
Snow/Hail - When the world is blanketed in white or when ice hails from the sky, and visible is too low to even guide on one a straight path or is too dangerous too. The staff begins to ring, and echo locates the nearest shelter that becomes visible at regular intervals as to not lose your way.
“While the way your world works may be different, allow me to illuminate what you may not be able to perceive on your own. Let thy staff I have crafted for you become the staff that guides you, not changes you, but gives you what you adequately lack”
Love Truly - Gwawr
Aelfgifu “Elf gift” - one of the many reasons it is hard to find the Elven secrets, especially of the Old and Deep Forest is because their magic is one about secrets. Elves do not hide their knowledge, wisdom, advice, and magic out in the open in safe storages. Instead they have another plane, or really an item has another purpose. For example a single key decorated in purple and violet butterflies and vines, is not merely just a key you see. Elves, especially the Deep Forest Elves, hide their items within items. An singular orb, could hide a mountain of knowledge and wisdom that no one would find.
Ability: Idris’ key is not merely a key instead hidden within the key is his spellbook. All he needs to do is unlock his spellbook and his key and his book switch places. The key residing in the keyhole and the book free to be openly used, until the time comes again for them to switch places once again.
Equipment: Idris bag has a piece of string that he uses to attach on the front his key, so it’s in a place that is accessible and reachable. His leather satchel might be slim, but he equips with the necessities
World map, because it seemed Idris was the only person would thought about that before setting off. Inkwell, quill, and parchment. As well as a manuscript to translate ruins for the others. Trail mix, some nuts mixed with dried fruits. And some granola treats.
Magic: Lv 5
Spellbook:
“I have a surprise for you,” Arvid’s deep, ringing voice echoes through the library. Edmond the Mentor scowls at Arvid.
“This is a library Arvid, it is not the outside,” Edmond scoffs.
Arvid just laughs deeply, and walks up to Idris and taps the boy on the shoulder. Idris looks up and Arvid smiles. He hands the boy a leatherbound book, with metal clasp. Arvid’s point to the flowers, they are the House flowers. Idris smiles at Arvid getting up to hug the burly man. A keyhole in the center of the book, Idris stroked it to feel the etchings, Edmond fixes his glasses and looks annoyed that the studies have been interrupted for this.
School of Focus: Runic - a unique form of magic that uses the form of written words as traps, imbued with an effect that goes off when triggered. Generally someone steps on it or is within the 5ft circumference of the rune.
Précis Scrawled on the floor or wall is a glittering Rune. Not all Runes are ones to worry about, some of them can be quite helpful. In this case, Idris can mark walls, doors, floors, with a rune that gives quick summarized information. I.e. “Trap Door Ahead”, “Center Dead End”, “Big Threat Ahead”. To name a few ideas of what he may tell his team, if they are ever separated from one another.
Slick Runes are often simple, they have a singular word that conveys the full effects of a more complex spell. Though often they are triggered by movement, someone stepping on them or passing them, is often the trigger. Slick is no different. When a creature passes the word or command Slick, the rune ruptures and breaks the seal covering the ground in a slick oily slimy substance that covers a 15ft range. This substance is slippery, those who run into the mess leftover find themselves slipping and also struggling to keep their footing.
*Bonus Affect - This is not a feature of the spell, but the way the substance interacts with other substances. When touched by flames, the substances begins to harden and anyone stuck in the slime is stuck in place till they break free from it. When touched by water the substance becomes even slicker, tackier, like walking or wading through glue.
Thorns This affect when either attached to the wall or the floors, when the seal breaks, explodes into plant life. As whipping vines burst from the rune itself. These whipping vines sting with jabbing thorns on their thick branches. They spread about 10ft from the actual rune, and anyone who dares pass them be prepared to get whipped by lashing vines.
Whirlwind This rune sits glittering on the floor. Have you ever wondered what it’s like to fly? Well than take a chance and step on this rune. While most ruins are AoE in someway, this spell tends to directly affect those that are directly on the rune itself. The individual who stands on this spell, has a mini tornado wrap around both their ankles and shoots them across the room, well at least 5ft before they land with a hard thud. Anyone else within the range of this spell is merely knocked onto their feet briefly.
Bend Those who step on this Rune at first won’t notice the effect of this spell. It’s not displayed lavishly like vines, or mini ankle tornado rockets. Instead whenever anyone is in a 3ft range of this spell, or has directly stepped or passed the rune on a wall, they’ll notice any non magical items they are carrying, be it weapons or, be it their armor has warped or bend in some way. Try fighting someone with a wobbly sword, you’ll just end up being a laughing stock.
Misc Battle Info: The way Idris is aware of magic, is due to his heightened ability to feel magic as a Half Elf. Idris is aware in battle because he can feel magic on his skin and he is able to taste magic that lingers in the air. Magic is the gathering of energy and thus just like you can feel the electricity in the air concerning lighting storms, he can feel the hair on his skin stand up when someone is preparing to cast a spell. He can discern the type of magic in the air that lingers through its scent and taste. It’s not like a specific taste he won’t say it tasty fruity, but it has different ways it makes his senses tingle or spark.
Born to a silent world, one without the sounds that the world takes for granted. Arvid and Elfreda did not curse their child for his inability to hear, instead they took the news with stride and did their best to educate and get him prepared for nobility despite his limitations. Elfreda and Arvid never considered to punish their child or treat him poorly merely because he cannot hear. He definitely can and will become a Lord, hearing or not. They always encouraged him and made sure that he would be as noble as his brothers and sister.
A celebration could be heard echoing through the mist of the Oaken Fort. A city surrounded by trees as a bailey and wooden buildings in architecture unheard of in most of the Great Cities. This celebration of course was the celebration of Elfreda and Arvid’s fourth child, Idris. This was a long time coming, a plan created by two families a generation ago. By Tlaloc’s Elfreda’s father, and Grand Elder of the Deep Forest elves and Arnulf father to his heir Arvid. Arvid and Elfreda married in her late adolescents and his early adulthood and many awaited how they would receive each other. Over time it was clear to the elves and the humans that Arvid and Elfreda may have actually fallen in love. The unification of two families had been considered a success when Elfreda birthed their first child Hákon. Soon after a year later, they found themselves with child once again their daughter Blodeuwedd, named by their grandmother Gwawr. Two years after Gruffud was born. And now a year after Idris has come to bless the family further.
Arvid paced in the grand halls of the Grand Oak Keep. The midwife came out and smiled at him.
“It’s a boy,” she tells him softly.
Arvid smiles, “And Elfreda?”
“Healthy,” the woman smiles at him.
Blodeuwedd is coming down the hallway, she walks like she is gliding, elegant, graceful, cat like steps, with a bouquet of white flowers at hand.
“Well,” Blodeuwedd ask with curiosity.
“You have a new brother,” Arvid tells her.
Blodeuwedd sighs, “Could have been at least another girl.”
Arvid laughs and places a hand on his daughter's cheek, her skin supple and soft, “Your mother loves those flowers.”
“Yeah, well I feel it’s a waste now because Grandma was so assured we were going to have another girls, boys don’t like flowers,” Blodeuwedd frowns and looks disappointed.
“We don’t like flowers?” Hákon coming from the north end of the wing, with a smile on his face, he looks the most like their father, except the butterfly shaped ears gives him away, “Well I like flowers, so I can use them to flirt with beautiful girls.”
“That’s not the same thing as liking flowers,” Blodeuwedd replies.
“Theoretically, it is the same thing, girls like flowers because they are pretty, he likes flowers because knowing they are pretty he admires them to admire girls,” Gruffud replies, or really Hákon is carrying him in his arms and maneuvering his mouth. Gruffud displeased with this action tries to bite Hákon finger, but Hákon moves it out of the way quickly.
“Thank you Gryf,” Hákon replies.
Blodeuwedd scoffs.
“You see what I have to put up with,” Blodeuwedd complains to their father.
Arvid gives out a hearty laugh, “I think everything will be okay Bloddy.” Arvid ruffles her a bit, she fixes her hair back into the position she had laid it.
Elfreda held Idris in her arms, though he always seemed like a distracted child, ever since he was born. His eyes would wander and he wouldn’t look at her when she spoke to him. She wondered if he regretted being born to her. She’d never let anyone know that she worried about the future of her children being the way they are. Half elves mingling with humans, the thought irritated some elven purest. Holding the twelve month in her hands she tried to call out again to him.
“Idris,” she said softly, “Please my child.”
He finally looks at her, all though it was a few seconds later, only to look at her with a babies expression of confusion.Elfreda huffed in frustration.
“Why, what have I done?” Elfreda asked Idris, “Why do you hate me?”
Snap!
Elfreda jumped as one of her elven maids Mindra clapped her hands as she entered the room. Elfreda looked at her frustratedly.
“You startled me,” Elfreda told Mindra.
“I’m sorry milady, still no luck with Idris,” Mindra replied.
“He won’t respond to songs, he won’t respond to his name, he won’t respond to me, and Gruffud already talking,” Elfreda sounds tired and exasperated.
“Have you considered he cannot hear, milady?” Mindra asked.
Elfreda took a second. It’s like someone had shown her the way with fairy light. Suddenly things began to click into her head. Why hadn’t she noticed it till now? She got up quickly and Mindra looked at her, Elfreda looks back.
“He didn’t jump when you clapped,” Elfreda responds.
Mindra simply nods her head.
“I must speak with Arvid,” Elfreda says as hurriedly.
“He’s in a meeting milady,” Mindra said.
She didn’t care, handing Idris over to Mindra, who smiled at the child and made silly faces. Idris begins to laugh the more expressive Mindra’s faces were. She should have seen it, how had she not. Quickly rushing out of the room, she soared down the hallway, her green dress following her, until she pushed back the wood doors of the keep, into the counsel room. Where Arvid stood talking to a few lords, ladies,of the lands.
“Lady Elfreda,” they greeted her, though they looked as surprised as Arvid did. Elfreda moved past them all.
“Elfreda, my white blossom, what is it that you need?” Arvid asked greeting her by kissing her hand.
She wasn’t necessarily thinking in this moment, as she blurted out, “He can’t hear.” Noticing watchful eyes she covered her mouth and grabbed Arvid’s hands, “Forgive me Lords and Ladies, I’m stealing him away as we have a touch of a family emergency.”
She drags Arvid off, well leads him out into the hall. Arvid looks at her, his concern for his children great, but his dedication to tending to the matters of the land also great. Arvid looks at her with a soft, but stern expression.
Arvid takes a second. There’s a bit of silence. He looks shocked and then the realization in his face begins to turn. Arvid takes a second.
“It makes sense,” Arvid began to sputter, “I...I hadn’t thought of….I hadn’t considered it. Are we poor parents for not figuring it out? How do we confirm this? Any elven doctors we can speak to?”
“I can get the Shaman Elder to confirm for us,” Elfreda told him, she places a hand on his cheek, “But this does not make you a terrible father. You realize and you’re seeking to assist as quickly as you can. That’s a sign of a good father. Now go back in there to assure our children’s land claims.”
Elfreda smiles and kisses his fingers slightly. Arvid nods kissing her forehead.
“We’ll have a meeting family afterwards,” Arvid tells her before walking back into the counsel room. Now all that was left to do is contact the Shaman Elder.
**
“If Idris can’t hear, can we explain why Gruffud has terrible manners?” Blodeuwedd ask at the dinner table, watching Gruffud decide his fork was too difficult of a task and began to use his hands to eat tonights roast stew.
“Fork,” Elfreda barked at Gruffud, one of the maids placed his fork back in his hand.
“Bloody,” Gruffud hands her the fork.
“I don’t want it, and it’s Blodeuwedd, if you’re going to give me a nickname, it should be one more suitable,” Blodeuwedd scoffs.
“So, if Idris can’t hear, are we not going to get in trouble if we call him a bad name?” Hákon ask curiously.
Arvid gives Hákon a look, “Even if he can’t hear it's still rude and we don’t call our siblings bad names. Instead you’ll get ten times a harsher punishment.”
“Bummer,” Hákon responds.
A hand is placed on the book he’s reading, the glittering runes are slightly etched onto the book, which are nice to the touch. He looks up to Blodeuwedd. She’s talking, he’s watching her lips move faster than a horse drawn carriage. She huffs and he only catches a, -that’s right from her lips-. She points to herself -me-, and then points to him -you-, she points outside to the window -want to go to town?-. Idris stares at the stuffy book he’s been made to read by his Grandmother Gwawr. She’s says things like he has a very special kind of magic she can feel, except that his sister likes to point out she also thought he was a girl. Which Grandmother pointed out he has a distinct feminine energy. He’s not even sure what any of that means.
He also points to the window -To town- drawing a question mark in the air.
Blodeuwedd nods.
He places his hands on the book and huffs, he looks at her. A mild look of an annoyance, a bit of expressive hesitate, looking at her. He looks back to the window, he wants to go, and then he stares at the book he’ll get in trouble.
Blodeuwedd raises her hand in the air and looks like she’s screaming from frustration. Before grabbing his arms and dragging him lightly out of the chair. She points to him sternly -You!- she begins to cradle her arms like a baby -baby-. She points to herself -me- and then looks at the headboard of rules set for them during their instructions. -You’re my baby brother, you listen to my rules-
Idris shakes his head, blonde hair getting into his eyes and he has to brush his bangs back. He couldn’t go. He had to read this chapter. He puts his hands together in praying form -please- and he shakes his head.
Blodeuwedd huffs. Throwing her hands up in the air, she gives up. Storming off. Shaking the bookshelves as she did so. Why wasn’t she studying? Was she shirking her studies, again? She always thinks because she gets it faster that she doesn’t need to study these things. Sitting back down he stares towards the window. Be nice, to figure out where she planned to take him. She seemed really upset with him not going, she also may be trying to get him in trouble though,
Edmond the teacher, he’s the one who gives him lessons. He’s some really funny looking older elf, with white wispy hair, and glasses he wears on the bridge of his crooked nose. If he had disappeared Edmond might have reported back to his grandmother and grandfather. His education wasn’t just handled by his parents, but through them as well. And grandma is scary.
Edmond looks at him. Idris sinks into his chair a bit. Did he notice he moved only a slight inch? Best not give it away that Blodeuwedd tried to take him to town.
Edmond taps to the book, he runs his finger along the chapter he’s reading. Oh he hasn’t changed a page since Edmond left.
Idris looks at Edmond and shakes his head. He places his finger on the paragraph he’s at. Edmond raises a wispy brow. He dismisses him with a hand gesture, sits down and watches. He makes reading very nervous.
Running his fingers along the embossing of the runes, it isn’t necessarily like reading, it isn’t necessarily not like reading either. It conveys a thought rather than it conveys words. To adjust the practice of a rune, one must understand that a singular word conveys the secrets of language. Edmond’s still watching. Maybe he could convince his mother to go to town.
The lights are flickering there are people dancing, though he can’t hear the music, he can feel perhaps the mood. It isn’t just his family around the table, they are outside, and when you look up the tree canopy you can see the faint glittering of stars. Grandpa Tlaloc and Grandma Gwawr is here, though only the nobility seems to be deliberating giving them all dark glares. Idris tries to ignore it, as his father prepared the celebration of his birth with the people of The Oaken Fort. A big community where all caste have come together, though the Family Houses seem to be staring at the elves and peasantry like nobodies or if they are mud on their clothes.
One of the nobles grabs his father’s arm. Arvid smiles. They begin to talk, Idris tries to figure out what they are talking about, though he can’t quite figure it out as the Lord of House Briar is purposely speaking in a whisper so others cannot hear.
Idris moves along, Hákon dancing with a fair girl in town. She seems smitten with him, as do all the other girls. As Hákon moves around the dance floor, he catches Idris eye and puts up a finger for the girl to give him a second. Hákon laughs as he jogs up to Idris with a smile and still slightly dancing, grabbing him, dragging him towards the dance floor. From there Hákon explains to several girls, that he’s his baby brother. He does a cradle motion than points between the both of them as if to make the comparison. He points to his ears, telling them he can’t hear. Hákon smiles at Idris. Though all the girls look up at him with vague intrigue. They seem curious, they have questions. Idris smiles at them and waves.
They look delighted as they run over to him. They are smiling. Some hug him. They look to Hákon, how do they speak to him?
He again waves. Lifting his hand up, H-I. He points to his eye -I am-. I-D-R-I-S. He points to the girl closest to him. -You?- he draws a question mark in the air.
The girls cheers and looks delighted. Idris huffs and looks at Hákon, placing a hand on his hip and scowling. She looks at Hakon, he has to focus to read “Is something wrong?” Hákon waves his hand dismissively -it’s nothing-. He then takes her by the hand again to dance.
Idris allows them to bounce around and do loopy loops together, while he continues to walk around. Gruffud seems to be avoiding the festivities. Idris walks up to him and waves with a big smile. Pointing to the festival and pointing to himself, he then hugs himself tightly. -This big celebration for me, I feel loved-
Gruffud smiles. He moves from brooding by himself to hugging Idris tightly and ruffling his hair the way their father does. Gruffud let’s go and places a hand on his chest and then places the same hand that touched his chest to Idris. -And I love you deeply-
Idris jumps up excitedly and smiles, he tries to drag Gruffud to celebrate. Gruffud shakes his head no. I-T he points to the celebration and expands his hands out. He does an explosion expression around his head and then looks exhausted. -The celebration is too much and makes me exhausted-
Idris nods. He smiles. He points to the sky -Tonight- and points to the celebration. He points between the two of them. -Tonight me and you will celebrate together- he loops his fingers together with a smile. Gruffud smiles excitedly and nods. Gruffud points to his eye. He forms his hands in a box. -I have a gift for you-
Idris looks very excited and grabs Gruffud hands, he smiles happily. Gruffud shakes his head and then gestures for him to have fun. Idris nods and runs off excitedly. His grandmother and grandfather had gifts for him as well. He wondered where Blodeuwedd could be. He should see what she’s up to. Skipping down the wooden architecture of his town, it inspired journeys and the forest called him. There was always a tingling sensation from the trees. Grandmother Gwawr said the forest is alive and that’s how the Elves survive it. Not paying attention where he was going he bumps into someone. It’s Cedric Briar, son of Lord Hendell Briar.
He’s shouting at him. Idris frowns. He points to his ear and slides it to his mouth. He cannot make out anything he’s shouting at. He points to a spot of dirt on his rather nice coat, it must have come from one of the Great Cities. Idris looks shocked. He bows as an apology as he takes out a handkerchief. He uses a gesture to tell Cedric its to wipe his coat. He hands him the handkerchief.
Cedric knocks the handkerchief out of his hand. He looks mad. Idris takes a step back. He points to eye. S-O-R Cedric grabs his hands. He’s saying something to him. Idris watches his lips, T-A-L….”Talk.” He tries to take his hands out of Cedrics. He talks with his hands. Cedric looks upset at him. “I- can’t,” Idris manages to sound the words on his lips, is that right?
Idris tries to pull himself away, now he’s just scared and doesn’t like this person. His eyes are watering. He doesn’t want to cry in front of Cedric, but the situation is starting to sour quickly. Just as he’s about to cry out for help Cedric is distracted by something behind him. Cedric turns around and a fist is shot at his face. Cedric doubles back letting go of his hands. They are grabbed once again and he’s being dragged off down the street into an alleyway. A kid with dark, black, scraggly hair looks over the alleyway and smiles. He looks at his knuckles.
He’s begins talking. When Idris doesn’t respond, he looks perplexed. Idris points to his ear and drags it down to his mouth. He shrugs, takes out a piece of crumpled paper from his pocket and grabs a stick. He lies it on the side of the wall and writes. Handing him a note: Valentino. And I think I am going to get banished or exiled. How cool would that be?
Idris shakes his head. He points to his eye. P-R-O-T-E-C-T and points to Valentino. -I will protect you-
Valentino gives a thumb up.
The two twelve year old boys sat at the bridge’s edge looking at water winding through the city. Legs dangling through the cutouts. Valentino’s hair had gotten longer and it currently was matted in sweat. He smelled of manure from working the stables at the Briar’s, dirt crusted his face, yet he swung his legs happily. Staring at a purple, smooth stone, that glimmered. He takes a second to scribble something down and passes the paper along to Idris.
Idris smiles. Handing it back after he’s finished with his response.
Valentino takes the note. He laughs, his face crinkles when he does so, showing off his dimples. Nods his head.
Idris takes the message and laughs. He covers his mouth real quick. He makes a galloping gesture with his hands and nods. -I can see it-
Valentino takes the reply, though he seems upset by something or sad. He puts the quill to his chin in thinking position and begins to scribble something down with deep concentration. Idris wonders what that could be.
Idris takes the message and looks surprised. He blinks. Me? I did that? He begins to reply quickly.
Valentino nods and Idris leans in to hug Valentino. Valentino squeezes tightly.
A note is passed along as he’s studying one of his magic books. For his thirteenth birthday he received a staff from his grandmother that is meant to be imbued by a Gem Crafter. He wonders if that is what Valentino is talking about. Idris scrunches up his face and shakes his head.
Scribbling down a response he harshly slides it past to Valentino.
He does not like Valentino implying that he simply gets these things for free. Valentino reads it and sighs, he shakes his head as well and begins to write.
This is distracting him from his studies. His next test decides whether or not he actually has earned his staff and if he can get on with more advance lessons of magic with his sister Blodeuwedd. He makes sure Edmond isn’t around before replying.
Valentino snatches the response up and stares at the message. He gives off a smirk, and licks his lips. He’s wearing an impish smirk as he begins to write. Valentino slaps the response onto the table, which makes the table vibrate, with a huge grin on his face.
Idris is quick to reply.
Valentino reads the reply and stands up from his chair. He begins to flap his arms around like a chicken, even bobbing his head side to side like a chicken. He isn’t a chicken.
Idris stands up and waves his hands in Valentino’s face. Gesturing for him to stop. Valentino looks at Idris with a big grin. Waiting for a reply.
Idris huffs and sighs. He shrugs his shoulders. -Fine, okay, you win- Valentino raises his hands up in the air and begins to cheer. Idris is watching him punch the air excitedly.
Valentino points me and you. He does writing. -We need a plan-
**
Late that evening his mother enters his room. She has her hands behind her back and she’s wearing a disappointed look on her face. Had he not done his homework right? She throws a piece of paper on his bed and gestures towards it. She wants him to explain. He quickly snatches it up;
-Meetup at Town Square tomorrow afternoon, late you are a coward -Swap clothes
The list carries on.
His mother W-H-A-T, she points to her head and points to him very sternly. -What were you thinking- He looks at her and he tries to start to explain. He doesn’t know how to explain. He just doesn’t want Valentino to say he is a coward or that he is lucky. He grabs a piece of paper to quickly write down, Hands it to her and looks at her with an exaggerated frustrated look.
She carefully reads it. She puts down the note and looks at him with consideration. She points harshly at him -You- A-R-E V-E-R-Y- she makes a motion with her hands that looks like she is doing an action. -You are very hard working- Idris huffs and scowls. She’s just saying that, isn’t she? Because she’s his mother.
She shakes her head. She points to the both of them at the same time -We-. H-A-V-E V-E-R-Y she takes a second and words “Jobs” slowly to him. She grabs his note and points to Valentino. -We have a very different job than Valentino-
Still he frowns and looks down to the ground. Valentino doesn’t see it that way. He’ll still think he’s a coward. A coward who backs out on his word. Idris places his fist on his chest, forgive him. His mother looks at him sadly and picks his head up.
She points to him and her. -We- W-I-L-L she gestures with her hands from her mouth and drops it low -Speak- T-O she points to Valentino’s name again and puts her fingers together. -We will speak to Valentino together-
He picks his head up. Really? He points to his eye. W-O-R-K he makes a shoveling gesture. -I can work the stables-
She frowns for a second. She points to him and her She makes a gesture, hands over her brow like she’s looking around. -We will see-
He nods excitedly. If his mother comes along than Valentino cannot call him a coward and he has to do what his mother says.
At first the job was hard, mom and dad had always made sure him and his siblings found at least one chore in the Grand Oak Keep to do with the help. What made the job hard was not understanding Lady and Lord Briar despite them being talked to prior. His mother worded it as advance learning. Except Lord Cypris Briar insisted he speak, that was the hard part. Not being able to use his hands. It was frustrating if he was allowed to speak the way he was use to he could be a lot more useful. It got easier over the course of a few weeks, but he was glad Valentino and his days were going to go back to normal. He missed his siblings and his mother. Polishing silverware in the living room for the final celebration between his family and Briars as peace offering between the houses after he stayed in their service for a month.
Cedric walks in, though Idris has learned since living here Cedric is not the apple of Cyrpus’ eye much either. He prefers his daughters Silva and Dahlia. He has seen the arguments, though not heard them. Cedric is already yelling something at him. Then knocks on his head like his head is a door. This part he would not miss being treated like he lacks intelligence. Idris scowls.
“Helllllloooooo” Cedric’s lips sound out. How Idris wanted to hit him right now. While he might be Cyrpus’ favorite, he probably wouldn’t take kind to Idris hitting his son.
“Ca-nn I h-h-elp you?” Idris feels the syllables on his lips, they feel funny even still. He doesn’t know if he’s making the right words, but Cedric laughs. He doesn’t know if he makes him talk on purpose. He’s making fun of him. Idris sinks his head low a little. He promised he wouldn’t cry in front of Cedric, yet it hurts his feelings.
He pushes Cedric back only to run away. It’s the one thing he hates about this job. He never looks forward to dealing with Cedric. He doesn’t know how to do so. Fighting back tears he runs into the only room he has found solace in this house, and it is a damned library. He hesitates as he sees Lord Briar reading a book. Cedric and Lord Cyprus don’t actually look very alike. Cedric got an ugly, bumpy nose, and his features are more rounded and he’s slightly average. Lord Cyprus looks elven, though he doesn’t have the ears like him or his siblings, they look like humans, yet his facial features are pensive and slim. Cyrpus looks him.
“Sss-orry,” his lips try hard to make the S sound he has been so told of.
Cyprus continues to stare at him with sharp violet colored irises. Idris is about to turn and leave when he sees Lord Briar pat a seat next to him. He wants him to sit? Idris hesitates and sits on the cushion next to Lord Briar who is slimmed figured, very slimmed figured.
“I,” Idris begins, but Lord Briar puts up his hand for his silence. Cyprus stands up and rummages in an old desk that doesn’t befit their status. It’s old, beaten up, it’s not polished. Cyprus takes out a piece of paper and walks over with a quill.
He hands him a letter Idris reads it.
At first he doesn’t understand what these words mean. It isn’t that he doesn’t know what they mean, it’s more who they are coming from. He looks at Cyprus with wide eyes, a bit of a shock and tears stain his gaze. Cyprus doesn’t emote anything just hands him his quill and holds the inkwell.
Handing the letter back with shaking hands to Lord Briar, the man nods and carefully reads. He reads a lot longer than it should take, before replying back. Also taking his time. He hadn’t been more impatient in his life to see what Lord Briar meant. Lord Briar doesn’t look at him when he passes along his response.
Idris reads it. Of course he’d forgive him. He said sorry, he seemed genuine despite trying to cover it with a veil of aloofness. Instead of writing a message Idris tried to show him he forgave him in his way by hugging Lord Briar, who instantly tensed up when he did so his whole body went completely rigid. Their family never hugged each other likes this. Lord Briar doesn’t ease up simply pats his head before pushing him off as if even thirty seconds is too much contact.
Itzal the Shadow Hunt’s Messenger, paces across the tree line. Though not in a way that would worry any of his mean. In horned helmets, distinctly elven designs that were shadow, warped, and distorted like horns. Itzal stared upon the Oaken Fort with disgust. He raised a slender ashen hand, with long manicured nails and pretended to grasp it, only to crush it. He turns to the army that lie await in the mist of the forest fog.
“Dad ennas na- mín coth. Hain remmen a gwaur mín agar. Gwaur ha with firen a gwerio i iar gondobar. Sír mín iôl othrondwen in diiâr,” he tells his men, who raise their jagged shaped, curved, elegant, and blacken blades in the air. Silently cheering for the death of the impure blooded. Itzal turns his attention to the town and raises his own blade.
“Ai Eldanor!” he says as trebuchets are released, sailing forward round balls of what look like a mixture of twisted roots, branches, stone, moss, and vines that banned them together. They crashed into the Oaken Fort with a loud explosion sound, the aftershock sent some commoners back into the wall. The ball of wood, branches, and stone began to unfold itself to show arms and legs. They stood as tall as the smallest buildings around 6ft to 7ft tall, with glowing eyes, a magic core inside of them syphoned life through them.
Their feet sent vibrations through the earth as they walked. One of the guards immediately begun to run to the nearest towers, in a hollowed out tree with wooden stairs, he began to grab onto the rope and began to ring the alarm. Ding. Ding. Ding.
**
The family’s sat together eating dinner. It wasn’t quiet, Idris watched as the families exchanged words. He caught words from Cyprus to his father as “enlightening”. His wife, Lady Primrose reminded Idris of a walking pig, she had a button in nose, her hair was always up in a tightly curled bun. She was on the rather bigger side, The only few that exchange words with him were his brothers and siblings, but looks from Primrose and Cyprus meant they didn’t necessarily care for goofing off at the table. Something his parents allowed them. Still things weren’t exactly what he called ideal, yet peaceful. Though that changed as his father and Cyprus both stood up at the same time. They seemed on alert. Idris felt his heart racing, his father seemed worried.
Arvid ran towards the window without a word. What’s going on? Arvid quickly turns and points to his mother, he catches his father’s lips, “take the children.” Their mother gets up quickly and stares at him, and curls her fingers for him to follow. Putting her hands on her lips, she looks to Cyprus. “Escape passage” he says as he walks over to the fireplace. He knew it had a weird energy to it! Cyprus places his hand on the fireplace. It glows blue, the fire inside of it goes out, as the wall splits in half to show a passage. His mother bows.
She grabs his hand especially. His brothers and sister are behind, Cedric, Silva, and Dahlia are also following. Neither of the girls are very pretty. None of them inherited Cyprus looks though Silva is prettier than Dahlia. The passage is closed behind them. What’s going on? He doesn’t have time to ask as his mother is fully sprinting down a passage of stone, will o wisp lights glowing at every step they take. Even if anyone was talking he couldn’t hear them. The stone was blocking it, but he could feel a weird energy. It was palpable. Powerful. Twisted even through the storm. They continued to run. His lungs were going to give and without an explanation.
His mother seemed proper afraid. As they came out from an iron gate, there was the small of firewood burning. The oak in the air. He could taste blood mixed with the smoke of fire. The Oaken Fort is burning. As they ducked out of an alleyway. Bodies lay scattered across the earth. Walls splattered in blood. Idris could feel his heart racing. He felt his body shaking. His mother won’t engage, she won’t tell him anything. She expects them to run. Hákon picks up a sword from one of the guards, who has been ripped into parts. An arm scattered, entrails strewn out. He’s going to vomit.
His hand slips from his mother’s grasp. She looks frightened as they separate. She tries to grab for his hand as he trips on uneven ground. His hands get scuffed up, dirty, he nearly touches the guards dead corpse. The thought alone makes him wretch. Blodeuwedd bends down to grab him. She looks at him, he tries to save face looking away losing dinner. Blodeuwedd I-T W-I-L-L she gives an okay gesture and takes his pink with hers. -It will be okay I pinky promise-
She helps him up.
He holds onto her hand. His mother hand is extended out waiting for him to reach her. When he stops, she turns around quickly. Blonde hair whipping in the air like the flames flickering. A large wolf, with sharp canines comes running at full speed, at such a speed on all fours it loses its grip taking the sharp corner it does. As it leaps from its back legs, his mother raises her hand, a shield forms and pushes the wolf into the wall in front of her. It merely shakes the damage off as it recovers, wobbling. She points to Blodeuwedd. Blodeuwedd nods and grabs his hand, taking him to the other side into another alleyway. More bodies. More blood. The magic in the air is a nightmare. It keeps filling his head with the images of ancient cities. Stone that glittered in magical light. And blood. Hatred. He could feel clinging onto his skin the way sweat might.
Where is Hákon? Idris turns his attention to him engaged in an individual with blacken armor. That’s it, that’s the source of magic. It’s made of a metal no one has seen before. Not steel, not iron, it’s magical, black sleek, shiny. His helmet is elvish, but it looks funny, it looks twisted, warped. Elvish Deamons. Swords clashing. Sparks flying. The black metal vibrating every time it’s struck. Idris calls out to Hákon as someone in black leather, and two daggers jumps from a burning roof to engage with Hákon, “L-O-O-K!” as he does another man in blacken armor engaged with one of their soldiers, turns his attention to them. The soldier sees an advantage, striking the blacken Elven knights in between the plates of his armor. The Elven Dark Knight grumbles and turns his attention to the soldier, taking his blacken, twisted mace into the soldiers neck. The man’s neck gives way.
The knight is coming this way. Gruffud stands in front of Blodeuwedd to block her. He words “Go.” Blodeuwedd nods, holding onto his hand. Her hands are actually shaking. He tries to keep up with her pace. She’s scared. They are trying to get to the Grand Oak Keep, he can see it sitting on a hill overlooking the town. It too is on fire. There are more men in black armor on the drawbridge, riding those wolves. There’s a blast of magic on the drawbridge as Edmond, and some Elven soldiers tried to defend the Keep. They are intermingling with the human soldiers. Swords clashing. Idris is dragged down into rocks, that squeeze between a sewer system and the town mill. Blodeuwedd opens the grate and has him enter the tunnel.
It’s not what he expects actually. Instead of a dingy sewer, which it is, there’s stone steps leading upwards. Blodeuwedd guides him to those steps. The stone here feels different. It’s cool in here and the chaos of the battle seems way up there. The ancient passage his family talked about, though he had never been in here. Only seen the manuscripts. There’s no one here. It’s like the battle is far away down here. They continue to walk through smooth stone tunnels. Till he sees light. He squeezes Blodeuwedd’s hands, he doesn’t want to see her go either. She squeezes his hand tightly too as reassurance.
A soldier in armor stares at the both of them. He’s talking to Blodeuwedd. He’s talking fast. They have laid defenses down here. Their last defense. The soldier has them follow him, there are some soldiers down here. Do they think they will reach down here as well? Blodeuwedd nods and guides him to a wooden door. The Service corridors must connect to the passage as the manuscripts had laid out. She opens the door, to see the maids packing their things in small bags. They say somethings to Blodeuwedd. They smile at him. Nodding. The soldiers are escorting the maids and service out from behind here, that’s what the defenses are for.
Blodeuwedd continues guiding him. He wants to fight too. He tugs at Blodeuwedd hand. She looks at him for the first time in this whole scenario. The smell of smoke is filling the hallways. It’s created a thick fog. He points down the hall. He knows that’s where the armory is. Blodeuwedd nods. They have to be quick, they are already coughing and all that running has made it difficult for his lungs to give much more. They hand down to the armory. She opens the door. She smiles as she grabs her staff, she stops shaking the moment she touches her staff. He looks at his white birch staff, that has been finished more recently, grabbing it, it felt right. Like home. He saw the memories of the Deep Forest Elf from this staff.
She still holds onto his arm though. He tries to pull her back towards the entrance. She turns to face him. She shakes her head no. She continues to force him down the hallway, away from the passage they came from. The smoke is thick and hard to see through. He can feel himself hacking a lung, but his staff is illuminating a faint light. As they get into the grandhall. The steps in front of them, they can hear the keep’s larges doors being slammed against. Soldiers are trying to keep the doors from giving way. Fire is spreading through the throne room. Blodeuwedd creates a little bit of water to break through the path of fire.
His Father’s advisor, Andah is holding the door with his magic. He seems tired. He’s been holding the door for a long time he figures. His sister has him lead up the stairs. Why? What aren’t they telling him? They could be helping them keep the door. The smoke is worse up here, actually most of the top floor is illuminated in orange flames. It’s hot up here. He sees some soldiers bodies, burnt to a cinder, the smell of burnt flesh, and ashen hair threatens to make him throw up again. Expel what he doesn’t have. Blodeuwedd takes him towards his room, she ices the door down with some of her ice magic to repel the flames before shattering the door open. He’s never seen his room like this. Orange. Like the Abyss. Smoldering and burning. Blodeuwedd looks shocked, but grabs a bag that hasn’t been smoldered. She hands it to him. She begins looking through his dresser, that the flames are threatening to.
Now he understood. No. He shook his head at Blodeuwedd who has stopped the flames for now with her water. He hands her the pack. Shaking his head No again. Trying to get her attention, as she’s just shoving whatever clothes aren’t burned into his pack. He waves his hands in her face, and tries to stop her. She pulls her hands away from him. Handing him a full pack.
She puts her two fingers to her eyes and points to him sternly -You see-, and points to the window, then does a gesture with her pointer finger and middle finger. -You see out there, you have to run- No he didn’t want to run. He lifts his staff up and gives her a stern face. I am fighting. He shows her his staff. She shakes her head and points again to the window very forcefully. -Run-
She stops, she looks afraid. She hears something he can’t. She grabs him, hold her breath entering the smoked filled hallway again. She’s walking slower now, having him go down with a simple gesture. They are crawling on all floors on a runner rug that use to be purple, now it’s blacken and turning sooty. She peaks over the edge of the stair railing. They have busted through the door. The soldiers are fighting the Black Knight.
Andah is dead, crushed underneath the weight of the door, alongside some other soldiers. Those wolves are sniffing the air. She grabs his hands and looks at him. She knows he’s scared, she seems scared too, despite hiding it. She looks at him. Her brows furrow, and she seems to question him with a look. Do you see why you have to run? He doesn’t want to run. Doesn’t she understand that? He can help. Tears are coming from his eyes. What if he never sees them again? She looks at him also about to cry. She words very slowly for him to read her lips “Then - I - love - you” she said and drags him into a hug very quickly.
He finds himself breaking out into tears. Trying to be silent. Blodeuwedd looks at him. She points to herself and the stairs. {Heading downstairs} She points to him and points down to the hall. {You run to the passage}
He watches as she heads down the stairs. She begins tapping her staff on the stonewall. The wolves look toward the sound. She gives him one final look. Now. He has to run now. He runs down the stairs. One of the wolves tries to run after him, a bit of his sister ice spikes the wolf. The wolf changes its mind and he sees that two of them are beginning to approach her on the stairs. There’s fire behind her. He’s about to step in. But he sees her look. Go. He feels his heart racing. His body shaking. He begins to bolt down the passage. Turning to see on warg spiked by ice through the belly. Blood begins to run down the ice pillar, before freezing into dollops of ice red. As she’s casting the other warg grabs her leg. Dragging her down to the ground, another wolf noticing the commotion goes to investigate. He can’t look anymore. He’s sorry sister. Goodbye sister.
He continues running down the passage. Fast as he can. He looks behind him to make sure nobody's following. He already sees a Black Knight coming down the hall. He must have noticed him. Idris places down a rune on a ground in front of him throwing out Slick onto the ground. He turns his back and runs faster, even though everything hurts to do so. He runs through the kitchen. He runs through the maid service corridors. Everything is empty now, the door is about to close a soldier is quickly ushering him to come quickly. He runs faster. The soldier taps him on the back and slams the door shut. He can see the way the door jiggles on its frame.
Idris puts a pointer finger up for a second. Placing thorns to a wall next to the door. He follows the soldier down the tunnel.
He almost expected to see his father standing at the grate. Instead a soldier stood, waiting. He hands him a paper. Idris nods his head. Perhaps, his mother and father would make it and meet them at the woods. His brothers too.
Midnight
They hadn’t shown. The forest felt different no longer in the city. A wagon of horses lay beside tree and mostly children and woman, the elderly had been left behind. None of them could sleep he was sure, even if they had all gone into their tents for the night. Ever time he closed his eyes he was brought back to the burning village and Blodeuwedd. Tears streamed down his face. Why hadn’t mother and father shown yet? Then as if this whole entire time they had been in the eye of the storm, Idris felt the magic of the black metal clinging to his skin. The pouring hatred, the burning sense of betrayal. The smell of burning tents. As Idris quickly got out of his camp, tiny tents dotted through the forest were slowly lighting one by one on fire. He saw the Black Knights mounted on the wolves. Saw isn’t the word though he had an image of them in his head by the way their magic felt. Idris looked away as a woman fled out of her tent, a running human silhouette on flames.
He couldn’t look at anymore death. The forest beginning to light quickly to orange. Turning the even dusk into orangish midnight. He grabbed his bag and his staff. He needed to find his grandfather. He wanted to fight, though he knew from these images in his head. That he would not be able to defeat an army. Remembering the look in Blodeuwedd’s face. Run. Go. He saw it in his head. Idris trying to keep his breathing calm as he began to flee. This time not turning to look at the burning tents. He couldn’t continue to watch slaughter and not have the strength to help.
Idris began to wander through the brush. He had only visited his Grandfather’s home once, he was very small and didn’t quite remember the path. His Grandfather said that because of his blood, that he would know the path when he felt it. Idris wasn’t so sure he was in the mood to feel anything else. Something is muddled it clings to his skin, like kindred spirit, yet is warped and corrupted. He looks around someone is here. Someone has found him. He wants to know who. As if understood his command the staff illuminates a figure in the brush. The figure seems to notice they have been found out so they walk out in an iron twisted helm like the black knights. He doesn’t like the way their magic feels. It’s both of the Deep Forest, but it feels more dark than that, cloaked in shadows is the image he gets.
He thinks the individual is talking. They seem confused to why he hasn’t responded. Idris won’t say. Not to this person. They take their runic, dark, corrupted steel sword and raise it up high. He raises his staff to block it and closes his eyes. When he opens it again, a soldier of his fathers’ is holding the individual back with their blade. He uses a moment to gesture for Idris to go.
Idris starts to run again. Why are they after him? Why do they want to kill him? All these messages are fragmented in his head. Their magic is twisted. He just keeps going.
Early Morning
Sun kisses his skin. He opens his eyes. There is blood on his forehead. His ankle is twisted in a root of a tree. Where is he? He’s in the forest. His head hurts. He has to get out of here. Doesn’t matter where. He just has to go somewhere not of the forest. That’s what his instincts tell him. He doesn’t want to. He wants the comfort of family. He has to leave the forest. Idris weeps a little. Why did all of this happen?
He manages to take his leg out of the roots of the tree. Nothing seems broken. He just sits on the root of the tree and cries. He wants all of this to be a bad dream. He doesn’t want to see these images. Blodeuwedd. Gruffud, he didn’t get to tell them goodbye. I love you is stuck in his head. He just wants to go home. He just wants all of this to have not happened. A horrible nightmare, but he isn’t waking up. He isn’t waking up. Mother and father, they never showed up.
He holds onto his knees and sobs into them soaking his breeches with tears.
He lost his bag somewhere along the way. He doesn’t know what day it is. How long had he been wandering the forest? His hair has grown long, dirt sticks to his skin, his hair matted in mud. He limped across the forest, his legs are sore, his head hurts. He’s not hungry. Or he doesn’t feel hunger any more. Using his staff to help lean on. Idris eyes are blurry. Trees are beginning to go double. He just continues on. Not knowing where his destination is. He just knows he can’t go to the Deep Kingdom. He feels he’s suppose to go somewhere. Being drawn to somewhere. He feels sick. He just continues walking. There was an urge to throw up. Idris sees something in the distance glittering. Is it a hallucination? A mirage. He heads into that distraction. It couldn’t be? One of the Great Cities? He had heard stories. It was his father’s dream to turn the Oaken Fort into one of the great cities. He’d have called it the fourth great city. Idris wanted to keep that dream alive. Trying not to remember that night.
He pushed the thought back. He stands in front of a glittering shining barrier. Looking into the blurred visions of bright pastel buildings. They look nothing like the wooden buildings he was use to. A man in a funny looking cloth cloak that didn’t look like it protect him from much of anything carrying a spear stares at him. He’s talking. Idris doesn’t have the strength to tell him he can’t hear. The world is turning into a swirl of pastel colors.
**
When he came around it was in someone’s house. It smelled nice, flowers wafted in through the window and the sheets felt soft. For a second he was lulled into the sense he was back home. He knew he wasn’t, he saw the glittering barrier. The house wasn’t even made of wood.
An woman walks in, she has graying hair, and she is carrying some water in a pot. She says something and he looks at her. He points his ear and slides it to his mouth. She looks a bit perplexed. Idris huffs in frustration. He looks around, and makes a gesture for paper. She grabs some from a dresser that she bumps slightly, hands him a quill. He begins to write. It hurts to do so. His head is sluggish, yet he manages, handing it to her.
She reads a few times. Then nods her head.
She writes down her reply, hand it back.
He carefully reads it. It dawns on him, she’s offering him a place to stay. He recalls bits of that night making that realization. He looks at her sadly, and nods his head.
She smiles at him and places a hand on his shoulder. It reminds him of his mother’s touch. He doesn’t want to cry in front of this woman. He had already done so much crying. He had already done so much walking. He had already seen so much the horror the forest wrought. Idris just nodded and swallowed the sadness down like bitter medicine.
Written by Myself and Akaya
Things were slowly getting easier. There were other kids here and he was trying to assimilate with each one of them. Today, Astraea was his target. Target made it seem like he was going to be doing something bad or horrible to her. He only wanted to get fresh bread for breakfast from the bakery. He liked it piping hot, it brought back memories of doing so back at home. Idris stared at the carpet for a second before approaching the blonde female. She had wings, then again so did another orphan here. Orphan, felt like a funny word to him still. He had a home. He had a mother and father, a sister, and brothers. Now he didn’t, orphan. He tapped her on the shoulders to get her attention first.
Astraea’s head turn, slightly startled that anyone else what up just yet but it was a welcome surprise. She smiled gently, giving a small wave of her hand to let him know she was greeting him. She wanted to see what it is he had to say, wanting to be of help if possible. “Morning, how are you?” she asked, hoping he would be able to read her lips. It would not be the easiest task if the roles were switched but she knew he could read a bit as long as the speech was clear and not quick in pace.
While it did take Idris a second to read her lips, when he did get it he looked a bit like he made a realization. Smiling at her. He stretched out his arms above his head and made a yawning motion. He wiped his eyes as you would when trying to wake up. He then gives her another big grin and gives her a thumbs up. -Good, but waking up-
She nodded in understand before lifting to a simple teapot and point to it before doing the same with the kettle, in her own way trying to ask ‘would you like tea or coffee?’. It was what usually helped her wake up in the morning when the land of dreams was tempting her to go back to bed.
Idris nods his head yes excitedly.Time to see if he can ask this proposal right. He grabs the bread basket that sits a centerpiece and shows it to her. Dancing around the table he’s looking for something to write with. Meanwhile he’s spelling with his hand B-R-E-A-D. He finds a napkin lying around. Uh, he makes the motion to write on the napkin. He needs something to write with.
He looked excited, the bread basket that was the normal centerpiece for the table being the first object to show her. She was a little confused, trying to see where this was going as he spelled out the word ‘bread’ with his hands while his eyes seemed to be scanning for something else. It took a moment for a napkin to be found when he made the motion to write. Astraea quickly moved to one of the kitchen drawers, opening it up to pull out a quill and grabbing the inkwell from the counter before placing it front of Idris. She laid her hand flat, doing a sweeping like motion before looking like she was writing, trying to let him know to please go ahead and use these to write. She wanted to know what it was he was trying to convey and writing was a good way for clearer communication even thought she didn’t mind the hand motions.
Idris nodded and took the inkwell with a smile. He began to write on the napkin, through it probably wasn’t the best because the ink would bleed through a little. Still he managed with excitement and handed it over to Astraea, he thinks that’s her name. He looked at her like an excitable puppy, his whole body is practically trying not to move around too much and his face is jovial, light.
Astraea took the note within her hands, taking a moment to read what it said as it had bled a little bit here and there but nothing too illegible. She smiled brightly, happy that it was her that he wished to go with into town. She gave a nod, motioning to come with her as she headed for the front door with a skip in her step. A heavy cloak on the coat rack by the front door was taken down and quickly wrapped around her shoulders before being tied into place. She gave him a thumbs up before pointing to the door, seeing if he was good to go.
Idris nods excitedly and runs from the table towards Astraea, nearly tripping off the leg doing so and smiling extremely bright. He wanted to show her that he is very happy that she has accepted him, in some fashion of the way acceptance. He grabs her by the hand a little dangling it side to side before trying to eagerly take her out of the door. He always enjoyed company going out to town. His sister or his brother would have went to town with him. Often racing each other to their next destination. He missed them, though he’s trying now to let this new one in. It hurt sometimes they felt like replacements and not individuals of their own degree. Still he points his finger ahead down a path towards town. It is afterall an adventure.
“A-hoy,” Idris spells out with his lips, he tries talking a bit too. Especially for the youngest, he doesn’t seem to understand sign. Idris has no concept of the word, he just assumes it is something adventurers would say. He just wish he knew what it sounded like. Or if she just thought he sounded funny. That be embarrassing.
She almost asked if he was alright when he nearly tripped on the table’s leg but he looked happy that she decided that it was fine leaving that question aside for now and just smiled with him. Astraea hadn’t expected him to take a hold of her hand but it made her feel glad that he was coming around. Idris was always friendly but there seemed to be a kind of distant feeling that reminded her of her own guardedness. He pointed to the distance, drawing her eye to the path ahead and the town now in sight.
“Oh!” Astraea yelled, punching her free hand in the air. She felt a little silly but that was part of the fun. She started to move to lead Idris down the hill and onto the path. She was excited to get to the to town and watch it come to life while they set up or started the day.
She seemed to be having fun already, punching the air, her lips making an O. Wasn’t sure what that was about, but he let go of her hands only to start going down the hill. He finds himself hoping that she understands that he wants to race down the hill. Even taking the position of running, and pointing all the way down.
Her grin grew and her eyes sparkled with delight as she gracefully moved into a racing position. She couldn’t remember a time where she had gotten to do this. The kids in her village had never wanted to be near her or made fun of her for being different and the others at home had never offered. It looked to be fun and she felt childlike wonder and a rush at the thought of racing someone.
The feelings were all the same, as wind rushed through his hair. Legs going, but only really his control taken from him by gravity as the hill pushed him down by itself. He was worried he was going to trip considering the steepness of this hill. He manages to stumble a little to the end, but he made it. Looking around, he searches for Astraea, she’s only a few seconds behind. Idris waits for her and when she’s finally down, looking windstruck, Idris gives her a thumbs up. T-H-A-T W-A-S F-U-N he tells her.
Astraea smiled, trying to push her hair back into place with not much luck and wasn’t to disappointed by it. That had been so much fun and she gave Idris a thumbs up before replying back, probably not as smoothly, with a I-T W-A-S. She looked towards the town, waving her hand for him to follow and pointed towards the path. She was really looking forward to getting some fresh bread with Idris and checking out the town.
Idris followed with a nod of his head. This place still felt odd at times. The colorful homes of pastels, the stone streets. It felt like he were in an entirely different world. The barrier glittered and made the blue sky look like stars at times when the sun hit in just the right spot. Tapping her to get her attention.
He points to a building, than to himself. H-O-M-E he spells with his hands and points to a tree. W-O-O-D and he makes a hammering motion with his hand. -My home was made of wood-
Astraea was always dazzled by the pastel colors of the homes, making the town cheery. It was nothing like she knew when she was younger and it was always nice to appreciate them and the feeling of the stone under her feet. She would usually sit outside at Gertie’s place, watching the sky as the barrier shimmered and at times the sun even made it look like glittering stars. It made her wish that her mother could have seen it. A tap drew her out of her thoughts, her blue eyes focusing back on Idris as he pointed to a building and then back to himself, the look of confusion on her face probably being clear as day since he continued by spelling out the word ‘home’. She nodded, understanding what he meant about his home and watching as he continued to explain the rest to her. She smiled and pointed to herself and then to the stone path before pointing at the tree. She was trying to let him know that she lived in a home that was both stone and wood. The roof had been made of simple thatch and straw but the structure was wood and everything else was filled with stone. She wondered what kind of wooden home that Idris had grown up in. She didn’t know much about elves and thus probably would imagine something not even close to reality.
Idris took a second looking between the stone and the tree. What did they have in common? Idris drew a question mark in the air and cocked his head to the side lookings confused as day. He spells T-R-E-E, S-T-O-N-E.
Astraea bit her lip lightly, trying to think of a way to explain without spelling it out but it seemed like that might be the only solution since she hadn’t thought to bring anything to write. She tried one more time by pointing to herself, then the buildings as he had done before making the same hammering motion before pointing at the stone path and then the tree. She spelled out the word W-O-O-D so he wouldn’t get stuck on the fact that she pointed to a tree.
Idris raises his eyes and nods, Ah. He points to the buildings, S-T-O-N-E and points to the tree W-O-O-D. He puts up his thumb. -The buildings were made of stone and wood, got it-. Idris laughed and he looked at Astrea. He points between the both of them and makes a writing gesture. He scratches the back of his head as well, making sure to emphasize the nervousness. -We should have brought paper, haha, oops-
Valentino and him use to exchange letters as they walked. Valentino never bothered to learn proper ways of signing to him. He didn’t mind it. How long had he been reminded of that? Only a year ago. He never had seen the fate of Valentino, though if his family were any amount of evidence it meant nothing too good for him either.
It was painful and exciting at the same time trying to recover. Trying to heal wounds that were still fresh. The woods were so close still. Though the trees told him not yet, not yet. When then? When could he go back? They were so far away. Yet, there was a part him that somehow knew his grandfather was looking for him. He had family. He didn’t like the word orphan. And yet here he was with orphans as an orphan.
He taps her again to gain her attention, before pointing to her. L-I-K-E and he circles around. -Do you like it here-
She returned the thumbs up as it would have been hard to spell a whole sentence out. She noticed that he had the same thought about the paper and quill which made her nod, feeling a little silly that they had even forgotten it. It had been exciting, the thought of going to town. Astraea looked to Idris, about to point at something when she notice the pain and confusion there. She had no idea what he was thinking about but his eyes told a story and it made her look away. She drew her attention to the shops, looking at the merchandise that was for sale. She still got nervous in market places after her childhood even if this place was nothing like Fort Halloway.
Astraea felt a tap and turned her gaze back to Idris before looking around them. Did she like it here? She looked back to him again and nodded softly. The town she had lived in hated her and had killed her mother. This town didn’t make her out to be horrible. They didn’t attack Gertie’s because she didn’t do exactly what they wanted. She then spelled out, Y-O-U, before adding a question mark after since she was curious. Did he miss his home?
Did he like it here? He wasn’t sure. The forest feels distant, despite being a step out of the main gate away. It probably had to do with the barrier. His home was of the woods and the homes were made of trees. The defenses were the trees. The forest gave them everything. He wondered how many people survived that attack. Had he left them behind? Some Prince he was. He left his home burning and the people too. An image he can’t get out of his head. It was the one that repeated in the forest when he walked, walked for so long.
Idris didn’t know how to convey this pain that grasp at his heart. He didn’t know how to convey this sense of lost. This not knowing in his heart. He points to himself, and holds his chest. He makes a gesture like shattering. -My heart is shattered- He looks around at all the buildings. He does a circular motion to convey around here. Pointed to himself again. B-U-R-N. -My home burned- Idris looks away. He abandoned them. It’s all he could feel.
Astraea could have froze at that statement, she felt like she was back on the hill with her bare feet in the grass and taking that last second to look down at her burning home while the town cheered with joy. She didn’t think and just reacted as she gave Idris a gentle hug. She knew it would not take away the pain and it would not fix anything but it was the one thing she had wanted while the world was crashing down around her years ago. She pulled back, waiting for him to look at her before signing, M-I-N-E, T-O-O. He was not alone in his pain of losing others to a fiery death. Yes, he lost more than she had but she understood what it was like to have your heart shatter while everything around you burned.
Idris was startled by the hug at first, though he accepted. It seemed they had something in common after all. Perhaps why he was drawn to her spirit. Was this okay? Was it okay to accept others in? Was he betraying them? He wondered these things a lot. He tried not to look sad when their embrace left. He just smiles a wordless thank you. As if to deter himself from this moment, he taps her shoulder. He puts on a smile. He’s fine. T-A-G he spells with his hand. He points to her -you’re it-
Astraea laughed, before signing a quick N-O-T, F-A-I-R and went to tag him back. She could have thanked him for the distraction in her thoughts. They both had something in common and if they felt the same then she knew the burden of guilt. It now made sense on why he was distant for them a bit. She was still guarded herself whether she wanted to admit it or not. He ran away from her and stuck out his tongue. Have to be quicker than that. He just like the sense of rushing. Rushing wind. Rushing breeze through his hair. It kept him from overthinking. It kept him from the feeling as if he were running away from it, not really Astraea. He didn’t even really consider to play the game he preferred to just keep running from whatever he was running from. Till he stopped at the bakery. He tried to catch his breath. Hoping Astraea was quick enough to catch up.
She quickly rushed after him, making sure to tuck her wings close to her body since there was still a little bit of a crowd and she didn’t want them hurt. This meant that she would be a little slower as she was use to gliding or use them for a little bit of levitation. He kept just out of her reach, every time she went to tag him would just end in her stumbling a bit from missing him by just a hair. When he finally stopped, Idris had arrived at the destination they had planned all along, the bakery. Astraea tapped him, tilting her head towards the bakery door, asking him in a way if he was ready to go in.
He nods enthusiastically dragging her along. After all she is the one who can talk to the baker.
The bell over the door chimed as it signaled the two’s arrival in the shop. The air was filled with so many wonder smells of different styles of bread and it was so comforting. She could have found herself in here for the whole day if it wasn’t weird or didn’t put her in the way. It reminded her of her mother and watching her bake and cook. It is where her own skills came from but she was not good enough to think she could do any of the fancy things that this shop held. The baker’s wife smiled at the counter, greeting them with a friendly welcome and asking the two what they would like. She wasn’t even sure herself. It would depend on how much she actually had in her coin pouch. Astraea looked to Idris, curious on what he wanted to get.
Walking into the bakery shop, the scent of fresh bread instantly hit his nose. It was a smell that took him back honestly. Look at the hearth, burning with coals, and the fresh loafs being taken out on shelves. The building may be made of stone with a pastel coloring, but it reminded him of a time back at home. He use to do this with Blodeuwedd a lot. Even Valentino. Though more Blodeuwedd. They’d go down with the Maid Doddy to the bakery. His parents would never allow them to get away from not helping with the service. You had to understand. You had to have care and compassion. They’d always get the long bread, where Idris’ hand was hovering.
Mom complain. There are other types of bread Blodeuwedd. Doddy would laugh because she’d never give them instructions in picking out bread just overseer them. Back then it seemed happy. Like nothing could happen and their family blessed. Then the unthinkable could happen. What if they were alive? He had only seen Blodeuwedd die. What if? Hakon, Gruffud maybe. His father? Why was he still denying it when they never came back?
All because of the smell of bread. Idris felt tears streaming down his face. Would they forgive him? Could they forgive him?
He turns around and charges out of the bakery store. He doesn’t know where he’s going really. He just hates to cry and he hates this feeling. He hates this feeling of guilt. This feeling of regret. This feeling. This tightening in his chest. He finds himself near a fountain, collapsing on his knees to a crying fit. He didn’t care if strangers were watching him. He just wanted this nightmare to be over. To have vanished. To stop aching.
Astraea watched as he jetted out, excusing them and apologizing to the woman as she exited the building and chased after him. She remembered the feeling, fear and guilt as she ran through that dark forest. She wouldn’t let him be alone while his world started to crumble. He finally stopped near a fountain, knees collapsing and tears spilling down his cheeks. She sat on the edge of the fountain next to him, rubbing his back gently and just letting him cry. She would be there for him if he needed it and at least he could let it out and know that someone was on his side, looking at the crowd to make sure they kept walking. Idris didn’t need on lookers and people judging him while he let go of some of his pain. She wished she knew some elvish songs but sadly she did not so she just started to hum a soft calm tune.
And so the journey begins. To look for the Golden Set, with the other orphans. What things will he find? What adventures will he get into? What dangers will come? We'll find out certainly won't when the told is woven.
Theme Song:
Misc Info:
When it comes to the way Idris communicates. He will have four main forms of communication;
Hyphens will be used to break up sentence structure to communicate or translate his responses and gestures in everyday conversation
In everyday conversation he will fingerspell what he cannot gesture out symbolized by spelling out the letter R-a-b-b-i-t
When Idris needs to convey something quickly, complex, he will usually write down notes, but is not against writing notes in everyday conversation either
In combat I will be breaking up action with brackets { } these tend to convey quick action and gestures. Such as he’d point between him and another party members which is understood as me and you. And he make a circular gesture to the person he’s pointing at {tag, you go around}
Generally when Idris is in everyday conversation, he expresses his meanings through gestures, but also exaggerated gesticulation and exaggerated expression to give people into the tone and insight that he is “speaking” in with his gesture. A stern scowl and a point may be addressed as a forceful You. While a genuinely point with a smile may be a general You.
In Combat his gestures are usually commanding, though not in a forceful or angry way. Though he leads the charge in an assured general way. As if conducting and strategizing a plan of attack.
Idris fifth way of communicating is through “speaking”. It’s his least favorite form because he doesn’t know if he’s saying the right things. He also speaks slowly, he speaks like he lip reads, feeling the letters on his lips because that is the only indicator for him that he may be able to address others appropriately.
Idris is a royal and with his family crest he can claim land in the Deep Forest once again, as long as he has the proof that he is the last of the Beorhtric line.
Idris Bloodline
House Beorhtric
Arvid Bloodline
Beorhtric Exempt
It was Bárðr who opened the Oaken Fort to compromising with the Deep Forest Elves. Becoming good friends with Tlaloc Aldamir in their adolescent. In order to show good faith between the Elves of the Deep and the Human race, Tlaloc and Bárðr decided to unite their clans and heritage through their families. Offering their first born children to be wedded in the near future. Eirian and Bárðr had two sons Hanslett and Arvid and one daughter Margaret. Margaret fled to join a group of Deamon worshipers at fourteen an act of rebellion against her mother and father. Margaret's fate was never known and Bárðr forbid anyone to speak of her. Some say she was devoured by a Deamon. Others say she still lives today. The fate of Bárðr other son Hanslett was more regularly spoken. During the time Elves were brought into the Oaken Fort, Hanslett killed one of the elves and laid a rally against the elven visitors with a group of individuals he had rallied under one flag. Bárðr furious with his actions exiled his son instead, in hopes his fate would be worst than death. Arvid has always been Bárðr blessed son, is what many in Oaken Fort called. He experienced many years of good wealth, fertility, and a happy marriage. If Bárðr had lived through Arvid's accomplishments he would have been proud.
Clan Aldamir
Afon's Line
Clan Aldamir is a name given to a long standing clan that proceeds Tlaloc. It goes back to as far as one of his great great great great ancestors line and it was a name blessed by them by their people to say their beauty was as beautiful as the forest itself. "Tree Jewel" is what it translates to and they are the jewel of the forest with their beauty and grace. Tlaloc has always been a blessed and praised Grand. He has been grandmaster of the Deep Forest Kingdom for several years now, praised by his people to tame the forest in a way others could not. He exudes what the forest is all about Tlaloc says the forest will change, and thus the Elven people must change. A thought that probably occurred to him more during his childhood friendship with Baror. Tlaloc probably would have never mingled with the Human folk if not for Baror's vision of the world. It isn't that Tlaloc didn't like humans, the thought never occurred to him. He says sometimes the Elven people are like trees, they stick in place, but humans are like seeds that are carried by the wind and bring new diversity to the land. Tlaloc welcomes them and adored his Half Elf children, he saw it as welcomed change. As after all the Deep Forest Elves were once Sun Elves who mingled with the Moss Wood Elves. You cannot prosper if you do not change.
Overall, I don't see any real negatives to point out as everything is detailed and in the spots it needs to be. I really love how much thought was put in to let the other players know what symbols and hand gestures which as spelling will go in the RP. It is nice to also have a family tree with faces we can see and know which ones have perished. I really enjoyed that the description of appearance wasn't just a straight up repeat of the picture and that we got a preview of personality before even getting to the chapters. The notes were a really neat idea and I hope those continue! The story and watching the fall of his home really gave me emotions and I feel more strongly for Idris. I love this character you have built and I look forward to seeing how his friendship with Astraea goes in the future.
There was like one small error in the description. It made me go WTF, and like what?
The smell of lavender and vanilla invading your scenes which caused you to think it was slightly unfitting for her in your opinion.
That made me slightly confused, since it should be senses. Unless there's something I am missing.
But I enjoyed the entire Description minus that one hiccup in my brain, saying wtf. It felt like a story book unfolding while reading it.
Persona:
I love your character's strengths, there's no real hiccup in my mindscape that made me go wtf. So that's always a plus.
Your flaws have some hiccups though.
She is a sensitive soul and does not actually care for much violent. She feels pain when others when they are sad or upset. This makes it sometimes hard to hunt or fight. Sh does not like seeing cruelty.
The first one made me think up of Violence and you misspelled She, at the end there.
The rest of the flaws are good.
Now onto the neutral part. I liked the entire section.
The last part, the Skills!
Very good read, it was amazing. smiles
Battle Profile:
The picture definitely shows off your focal crystal very well.
And the description in the focal crystal section was pretty great too.
Special Equipment section, I have to say I still like the Bag of Holding & Kindred Bracelets.
Equipment Section; I like she is very helpful. To the group while traveling.
Weapon section, "Whip it good!" XD
Special Attack Section, I definitely like her special attack. It's pretty too.
Magic Profile:
I like the picture of Astraea Fos' Spell book. And I do like her spell book's description it definitely matches the picture.
Who has the lights? It's Astraea Fos! I hope that pun didn't go over your head. xD
Lesser Spells, pretty spells, I do like all three.
Medium Spell, I wonder what it looks like in combat, it probably pretty. :)
Misc Battle Info, being underestimated is not good in anything. Nice Battle section overall.
Your Tale:
Now onto the story book part two.
Aww, poor Astraea... her mother was murdered by people who were afraid of her daughter. Guess they worshiped daemons... >.<;
I hope all those bad people got their competence because they deserve it...
I love the song, it fits. I like the misc section too. smiles
For the most part I love Astraea I got a sense of her soul when we were writing our collab. The history was well thought of and well detailed and I love the lore you have setup. Your skills and spells are well thought out and I really don't have very many criticisms so I won't force critique that isn't needed. However, I do have 1 minor nitpick and it's two of neutral personalities feel like they belong in her strengths;
She doesn’t like bullies and she definitely does not appreciate unnecessary cruelty. You do not have to be hateful. There are better ways of doing things. Astraea cannot stand when other people only think of themselves. It makes her feel frustrated that the one person's selfish actions affect everyone but they don’t care. It is all about them and she just can’t see why anyone would do this.
And they both seem kind of redundant. Find a way to condense these two sentences together into one thought and move them off to the strength or split them to flaws.
Otherwise, I loved the sheet. Can't wait to see more of the character in the RP.
I love the CS! Astraea is going to be a great big sister! I feel like her and Archy are going to be a troublesome pair. And that's not just because her magic kills him. I feel like they are both going to bee far too trusting of some less than savory people, that should be fun! Also the the emotion that she keep bottled up can't be good for her, hopefully this journey sees her overcome the sadness that lingers inside her.
Damn, I don't know if I'm doing a bad job at finding things that are wrong or if you guys are just really good at making sheets. In any case, here we go. Astraea's a lovely character - might vote her for best big sister thanks to her listening to others' pains and suffering. Though I agree with Nick that bottling all that up isn't good for the health and I look forward to the time it finally spills. The way you wrote her was good, the physical appearance just blew me away.
Spells all look good, the range is specific too so I have no qualms there. It's awesome that we have a healer and a buffer.
I imagine Francis has gone to her once or twice to tell her about his past and then offering her a small Celestial wooden statue.
So, where do I start? Should I start with the fact that that backstory was absolutely heart wrenchingly beautiful? Or the fact that my eyes welled up at the part where Idris was with his sister?
You, my friend, have envoked emotions through simple words to me. And that's difficult since I cry because of background music. Idris was beautifully made, and I look forward to seeing him in action. I didn't find anything wrong with the spells (and I personally love runic spells). I also like his staff and the powers that come from the weather since that'll really help when the group gets lost somehow, which really might as well be all the time if they're being hounded on by monsters.
Nice collab too, good addition.
Overall, I like him and I didn't really find anything wrong. The flow of the sheet was good and it didn't confuse me as I read through it.
As with all of your sheet, it's nice how you weave in snippets of stories rather than making it just a list. It gives us the information we need as well as a good feel for how we will see the character's posts in game.
"As if walking were more like dancing, fluid, he didn’t like a peasant."
I assume you are just missing the word "act" before "like a". It's the only mistake here I noticed, small as it is.
-Personality:
Again I must state your use of examples sprinkled in help to solidify the ideas you present here. He seems like a very well rounded character, in the sense that his traits make sense next to one-another.
"and doesn’t get lash out negatively towards others"
Only critique is another minor grammar thing. Getting rid of "get" so that it reads: "And doesn't lash out negatively" sound better in my own highly questionable opinion.
-Skills:
No problems here, all sound and sensible.
-Battle Profile:
I enjoy the reliance on environmental factors that change your abilities. It will keep things interesting. Also good to have someone leaning more to the sensible side in our party.
-Magic Profile:
In the whirlwind spell "runes" is misspelled as "ruins". It seems the only things I can point out negatively are the tiniest of mistakes haha.
Altogether I like the skill-set given to Idris; It's certainly more colorful than other characters I've seen from similar settings.
-Tale:
"the thought irritated some elven purest. Holding the twelve month in her hands she tried to call out again to him."
Purest I believe should be "purists" and the following sentence misses the word "old" to reference the mother holding a child, rather than a metaphysical span of time lol. Otherwise the stories are lovely, and we get to see a lot of the character in each member of the family.
Kudos to both you and Akaya for the adorable collaboration post. Very sweet.
The pictures created for the written notes are a lovely touch, especially with the different fonts used. It's somewhat like an ARG (altered reality game) which I think is a very cool element to add.
-Misc/General:
To surmise I have nothing to argue on the actual contents of your writing. :D
The only mistakes I could dare point out were small grammar related ones, and therefore you have my seal of approval.
I spoke a tiny bit about the music selection in the discord chat but no harm mentioning it here as well. I agree with your choice of using background noise in a generally "quiet" setting to help convey soundless-ness through sound. It's a sort of awkward concept but I appreciate the dedication. A theme I'm sure will continue through the whole course of this story :)
If I had to choose one word for this soliloquy it would be enchanting. Which pardon my assumption; but I think might be the idea.
If you hadn't made it clear being so bewitching was apart of the characters race, I might have been a little off-put by it, but that's a non-issue so I have no qualms here~
-Personality:
Again all well written and sensible. I agree with what others have said in their review: While remaining unfazed is strength, bottling up one's emotions should be under weaknesses. It's nice we have so many caring characters around; will help solidify them as a family unit in game :D
It's small but the fact she loves rain makes me love her more haha. Rain is my favorite weather so you've found a soft spot in me.
-Skills:
Very glad at least someone on our team is good at actually keeping us alive while traveling. Big plus lmao.
No critique here, just a passing comment~
-Battle Profile and Magic Profile:
Nothing to say here either really, no mistakes or nothing.
All in character and easy to understand.
-Tale:
Very good tone setter.
-Misc/General:
Altogether I particularly like the display of your CS. Constant color splashes add to the tone the words are conveying.
Good info on his species, you found a really good image to display the character.
-Personality:
Your explanation of his personality in particular made it easy to imagine him interacting with the others. I saw scenes of him meeting with my character, or others. The sort of relationships they might have.
The last line about fearing growing out of piggy-back rides plucked at a heart string.
-Skills:
Like much of your sheet you did a good job here cementing just how young Archibald is meant to feel as a character. I'm not the first to say it but the thought felt particularly present in my mind here.
-Battle Profile and Magic Profile:
Somehow describing just how lethal he can be makes him all the more adorable.
-Tale:
Concise and telling of the social interaction between the vampire and human groups. You've fixed up any problems here already and all in all you have my total agreement as well :)
-Misc/General:
I honestly feel really useless here haha. I found nothing to criticize as you've already polished up. Excited to play with you.
And now for review: My sheet as well.
Simon Agrippa Lafayette.
Everyone just calls him Simon though.
Age: 14
Species: Bug-Folk. Silk moth variety.
Bug-folk are a varied group, taking after the many genus of insect-like creatures in humanoid form. They most often retain some attributes or abilities of the true insects they draw inspiration from. While the communities of bug-folk can often be rather separate and divisive they have taken to congealing into larger communities despite the food chain their progenitors once belonged to. Bug-folk do not in fact partake in hunting each other in any form of cannibalism, though it was at a point tradition to stay within groups of bug-folk of the same kind. Butterfly-folk with Butterfly-folk and Beetle-folk with Beetle-folk etc etc. As the wilds are harsh and the larger communities of singular species bug-folk have dissolved, most bug-folk stick together among other species to ensure strength in numbers.
The Silk-moth-folk in particular retain abilities of flight, albeit in varying degrees of success. Some also retain the trademark ability to weave silk strands, though much like original silk-moths, this is a trait often lost after the "larval" or youth stages in one's life. While some bug-folk take after specific stages of insect life-cycles like cocoon-folk, Simon in particular is not of the larval variety, and therefore does not have this ability despite his younger age.
Description: Simon stands at roughly 4"9, not being particularity short or tall considering his age. Like many bug folk he is quite light despite his size, weighing somewhere in the ballpark of 90 lbs. His person is often smudged with oil in places. Bumps and scratches appear all over and are promptly covered with an array of colorful band-aids. His voice is slightly awkward in a way that's hard to describe. A little higher pitched then one might expect, with slight accents on certain vowels. His pronunciation of words lean to what he thinks sound good instead of what are etymologically correct. His eyes appear luminous in dark locations, though they are instead reflective; rather than giving off their own light.
Persona
Strengths: A people pleaser, they like to keep everyone happy, and will act like a mediator if troubles arise. They don't get mad easily and are good at keeping quiet if the time is right. Alternatively they are also good at reaching out to others and trying to get a good spirit going. Talkative and inviting they are good if you need a pat on the back or some positivity in general. Supportive to a fault, if he likes you he will believe in you all the way. Likes to joke around, especially it his own expense.
Simon marches to the beet of his own drum, and wavering him from that beat is nigh impossible. Come hell or high-water he will live his way. He isn't the type to give up on things or people, cherishing memories like gold. He will work as hard as he can to uplift his brothers and sisters to his own level, should he feel they are less joyful than he is.
He is incredibly determined, and hard to dissuade off of something he's set his mind to. He's the sort to do something even if it's impossible, because he thinks there's value in trying regardless.
Flaws: A schemer, they may not always mean what they are saying. While not malicious they can be an opportunist. Likes to hear gossip though isn't one for spreading it around; unless it helps them in some way. Generally sort of nosy, they like to be in the know about pretty much anything. His jokes can go too far at times; not in the way of being rude, more so in taking light of a situation. Not a very trusting person, it takes him some time to really open up to others.
Simon is the sort to take a victory and run with it, even if that means seeming the smaller person. He will lord such victories over others, with a sort of "all's fair in love and war" mentality. He is not above cheating, though he often values people's feelings to much to do it in regards to people he is close to. His pride is in constant flow and he might sometimes act rashly for it, while other times throwing it to the wayside. Unpredictable if not well rounded.
He's quite a stubborn person. While this can seem like a good thing at times with knowing what he likes and so on; it's gotten him into hot water before. If he thinks he's right, or even he can't give up on something, he'll stick to his guns. To him information is something that's hard to change once he gets it in his head, and sometimes he finds it hard to do it someone else's way if he doesn't agree with it.
Neutral: Works with a sort of "beat" always tapping their foot or making clicking noises with their tongue; it comes out whenever they focus on something intently.
Should he take a particular attachment to something he will value it to an almost obsessive amount. This could be people or items, or even places. Sentiment and feelings guide him despite his mechanical way of thinking. He would gladly trade all the money to his name if he could buy back something he lost. He's the sort to buy a pretty item, and hide it away so that it never gets tarnished. Protective and self destructive he can sometimes jeopardize the bigger picture in favor of taking hold of whats in front of him.
Skills: Engineer: They pull things apart to put back together, or fix things if asked to. Machinery are the love of their life and they can be found often messing with some contraption. They have a very analytic mind when it comes to handling tasks, and he doesn't give up easy on solving a problem.
Eagle-Eye: Simon is a talented marksman. This wasn't entirely a natural occurrence, but brought on from weeks upon weeks of getting used to his own weapon. His eyesight is sharp and his aim now true. He is good at spotting moving things, or points of interest in a landscape. Such as a good position to set up a sniper camp. He's attentive and good to have on guard, or helpful to lookout for a sign.
Quiet: Despite his somewhat less than pragmatic style Simon is good at switching to silent step. He uses this often to sneak back into his workshop or stay up late reading. He might sneak out to take shots a good distance away or poke around in other's things. He's patient when it comes to avoiding another's gaze and knows when to move to remain unseen. Another talent polished in his strict regiment of self marksman training.
Battle Profile
Focal Crystal: Orange smooth and flat; perfect as a skipping stone. Set into the stock of Simon's custom sniper rifle, it ripples with light from the center every time he fires the weapon.
Special Equipment:
Longshot: Simon's aforementioned rifle and his pride and joy. Holds a moderate capacity of custom bullets per clip. These bullets are fashioned from cruz crystals. The firing mechanism means the bullets are propelled via magic rather than black-powder. The distance at which these bullets travel effectively is at maximum 80 ft. As a custom piece of work this weapon needs to be maintained while on the road, and has it's chances of malfunctions.
Buddy the Tool Box: Simon's enchanted toolbox nicknamed Buddy. It's enchanted effect is to place whatever tool Andy asks for at the ready, it can also places small machine parts at the ready as well. This allows for quick and efficient work even on the road.
Equipment:
Simon keeps an assortment of mundane tools hidden on his person. An alan-key here and a screwdriver there...
Workers Eye: A monocle with a set of different lenses that can be lowered over the eye. They each have a different thickness/bend to them, making some "zoom" in more than others. Good for delicate work.
Turret Parts: The components for small turrets of Simon's design. Each case is about the size of a lunchbox, and weigh 10 pounds each. One is hooked onto each hip. Take ample time to set up are only good in short bursts. Actual abilities described in spell list.
Weapon:
Arclight Spanner: Despite the fancy name it's actually just a rather large bolt-wrench. Good for whackin.
Brass Knuckles: While Simon's punch is less than stellar, it helps to throw some metal into the equation.
Special Attack:
Less an attack and much more so an ability; Simon is able to utilize his insectoid wings to take flight for a short amount of time. While his fly speed is faster than his landspeed, he is not yet the most graceful flyer. If needed to maneuver a complex course he will have great trouble, if being able to succeed at all. His flight time varies depending on how much weight he has on him, but for now his best time is roughly 120 seconds. A full 2 minutes, of linear flight.
Magic Profile
Magic Lv: 5
Spellbook: A small notebook for the breast-pocket. Brown leather-bound with tan vellum pages. Notes and schematics poke out in places, with noticeable loose-leaf papers tucked against it's spine. A shimmering gold gear is emblazoned onto the cover. Smells faintly of oil and lit candles.
School of Focus: WORKSHOP MAGIC
Spells:
Lesser Spells: (3)
Ricochet: Implanting this spell into a bullet, Simon may create a magical "mirror" of sorts. When this bullet reaches a certain distance decided by Simon, it will bounce of an instantaneous reflective surface of magic. Depending on the angle this may allow Simon to hit multiple enemies or make shots that would be impossible by mundane means. The bullet cannot travel farther than it's usual 80 feet, and he has to be able to see the point of reflection on moment of firing.
Double-Time: This spell kicks Simon as well as his weapon into a higher gear. For a short moment they receive a burst of speed, allowing Simon to attack twice in the span of time he would usually attack once.
Brain-Drain: This spell increases the speed at which Simon can comprehend and intake information. He often uses it to speed along the invention or upgrading of items. This can also be used though to take a comprehensive look of a battlefield or collection of enemies in an instant. Continuous use of this spell in a row will cause great headaches, and in the worst documented case even nosebleeds.
Medium Spells: (1)
Animate Arms: This spell allows near instant construction of small clockwork turrets. These are automated turrets running on magical energy. They decide on who is friend or foe based on Simon's perception. They will fire on enemies with rapid needle projectiles within 25 ft. They cannot be moved after created and immediately fall apart after using their ammunition, or after 1 minute. The parts are not created, and Simon must carry them at all times. Cannot create more than two turrets, the turrets must be within 10 ft of each other. They will fall apart should Simon leave a 30 ft radius of either turret. They are not particularity resilient, and will be destroyed with ample force.
Misc Battle Info: Simon fights from the back-lines, supporting his allies with high damaging and precise shots. His style is to be efficient rather than overwhelming; will use his fire to corral enemies towards advantageous positions for his allies. While he lacks many spells or machinery that can do this to start; his plan is to create drones that might take the brunt of damage instead of his friends. All in all he hopes to be the ultimate backbone for his party of ruffians.
Your Tale
"This is your tale, this is the sounds, and the tale you tell:"
A simple tale. Like so many others, it begins at the ending of another. The tale of small family of outsiders, bug-folk not entirely common within the barriers. Mechanically minded people, wanting to bring back something of importance, to where they once called home. Naturally, you can't take something important away without giving up something in return. Something this family learned the very hard way.
A mother and father, with their child; found attempting to move a caravan through the wilds alone. They could not afford protection, and they didn't trust anyone to protect them anyways. Getting out of the city with so many mechanical components was hard enough as it was. Bribing that guard ate up their money, nearly to the bottoms of their pockets.
Now the trio moved slowly, determinedly through a path they hadn't crossed in a long time. The road was harsh and the wilds harsher. The mother was an amazing shot, and the father a talented inventor. Together they could stay alive, if sometimes barely. It was a long road home, having traveled with a large caravan of non-humans in their own childhood, to one of the barrier cities.
On another day like any other, they trudged closer and closer still towards Cosmos city. One of the few stops they'd make on their pilgrimage. Crossing through a particularly dark thicket, the wheel of their components cart was caught between the earth and some powerful tree roots. The dirt giving way doe to a recent rain-fall. The clamoring created something they'd rather avoid much of: Noise.
It's hard to create a comprehensive list of what fills the wilds. No matter where you are, there always seems to be something unknown, yet dangerous. The only things Simon can remember are the claws. Three nails, sharp and jagged, raking across his body. Whatever it was, it was big yet fast; he didn't even see the thing before feeling the scream of pain across his abdomen and face. Just below his eyes, across his chest and above his waist three bleeding streaks sent him flying backwards. Off of the cart, away from mothers protection. His head struck a rock, and he was taken by the blackness of unconsciousness.
He awoke like some others did; in a new home. Among a kindly woman, some other children, and a lot of confusion. She was kind, and she did the best anyone could to break the news of death to a child.
Simon still cried for 3 days and nights. Didn't eat, didn't sit still for new bandages.
He nearly died due to his own distress.
But he didn't, and here he is; roughly 5 year later. A new parental figure slipping out from grasp once again. Something he wouldn't stand for. Not this time.
The Species description for Idris is wonderful, I like his picture. I like the "I will hold strong" in the center.
Description:
His description is wonderful. it shows much character about him. Something going to tell me I'm going to be crying because of the profile at some point. >.<;
Persona:
I love the personality strengths of Idris. Very well made and didn't see any flaws in it.
Now it's onto the personality flaws of Idris. Aww, I feel sorry for him beating himself up for not able to protect the city. This means the personality flaws are done with flying colors.
Now, it's onto the hobbies and other things, ala Neutral. I like the simple nature, he is adventurous and likes to show people he's not a mutt deaf kid. That's quite cute and he is determined kid, I give him that.
The Skills are where you pay the bills, I am failing at trying to create puns here. Unless someone can create a pun for me. xD
I enjoyed his five skills, they were great reads. And it feels like Rune Reading & Calligraphy compliment each other very nicely.
Battle Profile:
I like the little things of *See appearance for Crystal or Staff. That's very useful information. I do like the description for his focal crystal.
I love the description of Brethil Vandl - Silver Birch Staff and its ability is awesome. It is a useful ability nonetheless.
His second special item is pretty, in terms of the picture you picked for his key. And I like its description & ability's description.
The Equipment is very neat and nice, in terms I like he brought a World Map with him. xD
Magic Profile:
Now the School of Focus & The spell book are wonderful. That is pretty adorable, he hugging his father when he was given a beautiful spell book. I do love the picture of the spell book.
Now onto the lesser spells. Very descriptive and I liked the bonus effect on Slick.
Now onto the Medium spells.
Since, [@deadpixel] already helped you fixing my concern in this section. Yays, I definitely like Whirlwind as a runic spell anyway.
Bend is a pretty funny spell. I can see that happen to bandits. xD
Now its onto the misc battle info. Very well done again. I do like the fact its like goosebumps for him in a sense or a lightning storm where your hairs stand up.
Tale:
I like the starting part of the Tale, in terms of the italicized part. Now it's onto the 8 chapters within this tale.
Chapter 1, I love the first chapter, it's a father and mother's 4th child and I like their interactions with their kids. In terms of the family banter. It's always good to have family banter. xD
Chapter 3, I loved the realization of the mother when being told by Mindra saying, he can't hear. It all clicked, it's like she has an idea. I loved the family meeting where the Gruffud was eating with his hands and not a fork. That was hilarious. And Hákon saying bummer when hearing what his father had said.
Chapter 5, That was a cute scene between sister & baby brother ala, Blodeuwedd and Idris anyway. And I have to agree that Idris' grandparents are scary. xD
Chapter 11, Aww, celebrations. They are so cute. I like that he's going to get tons of presents for his birthday more or less. Cedric Briar is kinda of a dick. I did like Valentino punching Cedric in the face. He deserves it. xD
Chapter 13, the messages between the two boys were pretty fun to read, I liked the neigh one. Cedric is a horse, of course.
Chapter 14, Part 1 of Chapter 14 was very cute and I liked his mother's reaction to what her son wrote. Being called a chicken isn't a good thing to be called. xD
This section is about Chapter 14 part 2.
I do like the song you picked for the later half of this part. The Attack on the Oaken Fort.
Though not in a way that would worry any of his mean.
There's an extra letter in the last word, an a decided to appear and disrupt the ball of danger.
Another excellent song choice. I definitely like the blood, death and destruction going on in the Oaken Fort. Even though it is quite depressin' nonetheless.
Oh my... this is depressing. Also great song choice again. I am enthralled by this part so far. Even though it is getting more and more desperate as time passes.
I am further in still of your second part and I must say, it is quite astonishing. And is putting me to tears just reading it. Because of what happened to Idris' sister at the end of that. Being gobbled up by a Dire Wolf is quite terrifying. But at least she killed one of the them.
I am on the Midnight part and I like the song as well, it keeps the action and pacing of this roleplay going.
I just finished the midnight part and damn, someone really likes fucking with their characters. I am grateful Idris is tired of seeing all that death, and the corrupted magic of these monsters that gravely destroyed his family and life.
The ending of Part two is depressing ala the Early Morning scene. I have to say, I feel sorry for poor Idris.
Now onto Part 3 of Chapter 14.
Aww poor, Idris, at least he finally found Gertrude and one of the Great Cities. The realization all that wasn't a dream hit him like a ton of bricks. Cosmo City is definitely different to other cities, pastels and etc.
The Collab between Akaya & AngelofOctober, which is called Chapter 15: A Friendship Twinkling.
I loved the entire chapter 15, collab it was adorable. And lol, at the tag scene, Idris was faster than a Half-Celestial. xD
But it was still sad scene of affairs.
Chapter 16: Short and sweet and will be in the IC proper. xD
Theme Song: Very good. I do like the swamp sounds. I'll probably listen to it fully when I am not being hounded by RL. >.<;
Misc Info, is the last part of the profile I have to look over. xD
I liked the first part of the misc info, mostly the part of his ways of communication.
I like the pictures and the minor histories of each family tree, that ties into Idris' bloodline.
Simon Agrippa Lafayette, is he called, the name rolls right of the tongue. I do like the headshot you drew deadpixel. :)
Species:
I do like the species description of what Simon is and everything, it's very well thought out.
Description:
Onto the Description! I like the description, it's pretty neat, it seems like he gets into fights a lot. xD
I do like the orange color for the categories, its pretty. :3
Persona:
Onto the Persona! Feels like I am playing a video game when I say that, oh wait, Persona series of video games.
Simon seems like a very good person to be around, and is a very cheery silk-moth-folk guy. (The Strengths)
I like Simon's flaws, they are inventive and hilarious. Holding something over someone's head because they got a victory over them. XD
I like his hobbies, in terms of tapping his foot, clicking noises with his tongue. And the obsessiveness of keeping something safe, that is beautiful.
The Skills, Engineer, that's good to know, in terms of having something broken fixed. I wouldn't want to be snipe'd by Simon's Eagle-Eyed precision. Quiet sneaky marksmen are very hard to come by. I do like he's patient.
Battle Profile:
Focal Crystal: I like where the focal crystal sits in his sniper rifle. And the orange smooth and flat feels like a coin of some kind.
Special Equipment: The Longshot - Kinda reminds me of a sniper rifle in a D&D Scenario; ala Critical Role. Still a wonderful weapon nonetheless.
Buddy - That's pretty nifty tool box. In terms of its ability anyways.
Equipment:
I especially likes the Turret Parts, he carries, it kinda reminds me of turrets you see in modern games, but they definitely aren't modern in this.
The Weapons: Wack! knocks out someone. With my massive Bolt Wrench. XD
And Brass Knuckles very nice.
The Special Attack: I like that ability for his species, in terms of 2 minutes of linear flight. Since it feels like an ability that all Silk-moth-folk have, unless I am mistaken. xD
Magic Profile:
Spell book kinda feels like a one of those small books you write notes in, about things, since it fits into a breast-pocket.
Workshop Magic! Friendship is very magical. Sorry I had to make a MLP reference. >.>;
The Lesser Spells.
I do like the three lesser spells in this section. The speed boost, making a bullet bounce in midair without hitting into anything, and Brain Drain sounds quite fun besides the negatives of constantly using it.
The One and Only Medium Spell.
Oo, clockwork turrets, neat. I love the animate arms spell in its totality.
Misc Battle Info, Snipers are usually in the back, with suppressing fire, and that's definitely what Simon is.
Your Tale:
I loved the tale, kinda sad that he lost his parents to some horrible monster. And that he has been living with Gretude for 5 years before the IC started.
The song you picked, fits his engineering background ala Clocks.
Description: Francis lets out a noble aura, as was taught to him ever since he was a child. Standing straight and confident, his strides are long and sure. His movements are graceful but precise. There is nothing in his body language that would reflect the insecurities within. The expression on his face when he isn't with anyone is usually just a neutral face plastered on - often seen as bored or lonely. It is reminiscent of a look that someone has when he's mourning, or when he's remembering something that can be considered as 'sad' or a 'horrible' memory.
Francis has silver hair that is obviously well-maintained and this soft, fluffy hair is often associated with his family, a trait passed down from one generation to the next regardless of gender. He has golden eyes that he often cursed because of its meaning to the Breaux, a curse - the start of their disaster. He isn't fond of people paying attention to it and is likely the reason why he only passes a mirror with only a glimpse because of how much he hates it. "But why hate something so beautiful?" And they watched as the golden eyes turned dark, the beautiful now marred by years of hate and spite.
Francis's clothing is something special, but ever since he has been taken in as an orphan, it has dialed down. A beige shirt and black riding pants with his saber to his side. He does have a blue regal coat that he has with him ever since he came to the orphanage, which was tailored with magic so that it grew with him. Though he seems to be comfortable in any form of clothing you could throw at him - whether it be for royalty or for a commoner. As he would ofen say, as long as he is clothed and is warm during the cold seasons, then it is fine. He always wears black gloves.
Francis stands at a height of 5'10" and weighs around 160 lbs which he carries well. He has a lithe body type, fitting for his fighting style of a fencer. Though underneath all the clothing, it wasn't noticeable. He moves gracefully with a sword in hand, practicing every motion. Even in a fight, he never loses composure - the calm and cold look on his face still ever present. Makes you think if he would still have that face when he's finally facing the same things that have haunted his dreams ever since.
"Do you enjoy watching me train?" His voice is melodius, the type of voice that you'd like to listen to even if they're reading off the phonebook. It's charming, captivating and alluring. But something was terribly wrong. The emotions that he's trying to show in his face wasn't being reflected in his voice. It was as if he was still stuck in his training mindset, or perhaps his voice does completely reflect what is inside. An empty voice for an empty shell, fitting isn't it?
~ Persona ~
Strengths - Anyone who has known Francis for more than a month would come to know that he is a hardworking person. He is guaranteed to do a task with everything he's got, exerting his full effort into anything that he must do. That's just how he is and he doesn't like leaving things half-done. It must be perfect, if not at the very least well-done. After all, if you must do something, might as well do it perfectly right? He doesn't doubt that many call him a perfectionist and he doesn't exactly say anything to refute this.
He doesn't let many things bother him, or at least it doesn't bother him anymore. He's just... passive. He doesn't care if someone insults him or someone gets angry at him unless they are close to him. Francis just doesn't feel or care as much as he did back when he was with his family. There's little chance to evoke some sort of anger in him unless you know the specific buttons to push. This attitude has led to him being calm and collected in almost every situation because he's not bothered by the emotions that would often be tapped into when trying to goad someone into a fight.
Once Francis becomes attached or has bonded with someone, he can be protective. While you won't say he would be seen as your typical caring person, he keeps an eye out for those people. He does little things that they like, often going as far as making them something that he thinks they will appreciate. This is how you will know if he's begun to see someone as his friend. He is silent about these sort of feelings so you wouldn't hear him saying that someone is his friend.
Flaws - A perfectionist through and through, Francis doesn't like it when something is done incorrectly or when people do something without even putting an effort in it. He will do it himself if he knows that the other can't do it properly. You will never see him putting anything less than 100%, and he expects others to do so as well.
As explained, Francis doesn't express his emotions very well. After a particularly traumatizing experience, he detached himself from these emotions. He doesn't want to go through the emotional pain he went through before, so he closed that side of him as a need. As a form of protection. This was a bad coping mechanism but it was one he got. He hasn't told any single one of his fellow orphans about this. He isn't sure if people have caught on, but he hasn't told anyone about his past either.
If you can get Francis angry, then it's assured that he would blow up to the point where he might kill someone. There are certain buttons you could push, such as mentioning something bad about his family - adoptive or otherwise. It's hard to get Francis to calm down when he enters this state. You could say that he goes berserk. He hasn't shown this side of him to the other orphans since no one knows what actual buttons to push.
Neutral - Francis enjoys reading books in silence, but can often be bothered to put his book down. In terms of hobbies, he likes fencing or any form of swordplay as well as playing certain instruments such as the piano and the violin. When he isn't doing anything and one of these instruments is nearby, he would prefer playing them rather than reading a book.
Had Francis not been orphaned at a young age, he would have made a fine pianist - which seemed to actually be his passion. If it wasn't a pianist, he would have made a fine craftsman too as his hobby is crafting wooden figures.
It's not that Francis doesn't like crowds and he doesn't mind talking with others, but he prefers to be alone most of the time as it is less likely anyone would pry into his past this way. He doesn't like talking about himself, obviously. He hates being pressured into doing something he really doesn't like.
He often uses formal to semi-formal langauge since he doesn't know anthing else. There is a certain face that he makes - one with a lopsided smile - that he often dons when he is with the other orphans. While others think that this is one of those moments where he is just being polite, he is actually happy.
He fiddles with the hilt of his sheathed sabre when he's simply waiting around. When he's nervous, he has this odd habit of readjusting his gloves even though it's perfectly set on him.
Skills:
Diplomatic: Francis is of noble lineage and he was taught manythings - diplomancy among them. As he is not ruled by his emotions most of the time, Francis can keep a calm head during debates and actually wishes to settle things peacefully rather than by force.
Fencing: One of his many lessons involved fencing, which is his favorite lesson as he is able to move and protect himself. Francis is quite skilled in this art of swordplay, making use of both his lithe body to gracefully fight. Though many have thought that he would never be able to fight using only fencing, but he's been able to fend off quite a few fights using it.
Instrumentalist: Playing the piano and the violin is one of his favorite past times as his mother was the one to teach him this. He cna play them rather well. It's understandable as Francis was set to become a professional pianist.
Enchantment Aura Reading: When Enchanters start to learn how to use their magic, they begin to feel and eventually see the difference between normal objects and enchanted objects. They see enchanted objects with a different aura. As the Enchanter grows older, they would start to be able to discern the different types of enchantment. Currently, Francis is able to discern certain types of basic enchantments, but those that are above his level, he simply sees as a general enchantment.
Crafting: It was more of a hobby than anything but he got into making small things using a small knife and some wood. He first learned how to do it when he and his friends decided to go to town and found a woodcrafting shop. Ever since, he's began crafting when he's not doing anything and it soon became his hobby. He's become quite proficient in it and this is the form it usually takes when he gives gifts.
Memorization: Francis is a beast when it comes to memorizing. Just give him enough time with the information and he will know it word for word by heart. However, when he merely looks at things with one glance, he wouldn't be able to memorize its fine details.
~ Battle Profile ~
Focal Crystal: Crystal Obelisk - The Focus Crystal is akin to an amethyst in color, the color of his family. As expected, he always wears it and it is said that he never takes it off. Though how he came upon the Focal Crystal itself is unclear, the family took it upon themselves to put the Focal Crystal into a pendant. Francis feeds on the Focal Crystal by simply having it near him; hence why he's able to enchant without physically holding his crystal against the object he wishes to enchant.
Special Equipment:
Silver Pendant: It houses his Focal Crystal. It was specially made by his family for him as he had begun to study magic just before his family was torn apart.
The pendant resounds with the Focal Crystal and emits a light hum if ordered. This allows for the pendant to tap into the memories of the person being affected and show them their wonderful memories - memories from a time long past. Essentially, it is made to calm people down or to remind them of where they came from. Unfortunately for Francis, this meant that he would always see memories of his past, making it near unbearable when asleep and can't order the Focal Crystal to not do it. There must be verbal confirmation from the person being affected.
Enchanted Cloak: The cloak itself is something obviously made for nobility, even without the enchantment. Its fabric is top of the line - being both soft and comfortable for anyone who would wear it. It would insulate someone from the cold, but never get too hot that one would need to take it off during the summer. The coat has inside pockets for easy storage, like his spellbook and some small wooden figure he's trying to create.
Ability: The cloak was weaved with extreme precision and magic causing it to be sturdier than most. It also cleans itself and expands or shrinks depending on who is wearing the cloak. It is said to be tied to its first owner, but can be persuaded to serve another. When it serves its owner, it is much more sturdier and will do its hardest to protect them from damage. Francis is the cloak's current owner and it has served him well over the years.
It acts like a sort of chain mail, allowing for more defense against slashing and stabbing from normal weapons as well as some defense against blunt damage. However, it should be noted that well placed hits that the coat does not cover is an effective way to harm the user. The coat can still be damaged, of course, and will lose effectiveness after five well-placed heavy hits. It does gain back the enchantment after some rest time of not being hit.
Equipment:
Knapsack: As to be expected since they are heading out of the barriers, he decided that maybe carrying the satchel wouldn't be a bad idea. Just in case they needed something to be carried. Though it does contain some books about the various plants and monsters that was chronicled.
Books: Francis carries around two books: one about plants and herbs, and the other being about the animals and monsters that could have been jotted down. While he wished he could have brought more, he figured that it might just bog him down. Though he also carries around a blank notebook along with an inkwell and pen.
Crafting Tools: He carries around this small knife whose blade is as big as his pinky. While it can be dangerous if it punctures the throat, it really isn't used as a weapon. Instead, this small knife is used for wood crafting for Francis. He also has several small tools for fine crafting.
Wooden Token: No one is sure what this is or what its definite importance is and Francis doesn't tell anyone about it. It looks like it was made by a novice craftsman as it was simple, with an 'F' etched onto it. He also has another one with a 'C' etched on it.
Weapon:
Silver Sabre: As the name suggests, it is a simple sabre that was forged by the Breaux Family for the usage of Francis. It is light, but durable. Magically compatible so that he may use the arcane arts to utilize it to its fullest potential. The symbol of the Breaux family - an Owl - can be seen on the hilt though Francis's hand usually covers this part.
Hunting Knife: Something he had grabbed as he was escaping. He's brought it along with him. He isn't sure how much it can do against monsters, but it serves as a lucky charm for him.
Special Attack: N/A
~ Magic Profile ~
Magic Lv: 5
Spellbook: A simple brown colored book with sapphire spheres embedded onto it. There's nothing eye catching about it - unless you count the fact that it can change its size at the will of its owner. It can be as small as a pocketbook or as big as a normal-sized spellbook.
School of Focus: Enchantment Magic
Spells:
"If you wish to become an enchanter, understanding the phrases... the feelings of those who have used these spells before you, is the key to it being successful."
Lesser Spells
Fire Enchantment
"Telos Ignis"
When the fire of the heart burns, so shall your weapon against the demons shine.
One must have a fighting spirit to be able to fully take out this enchantment and perform it. The courage in one's heart to fight - for others or for yourself, it doesn't matter. As long as there is fighting spirit in their heart, the fire of the enchantment will ignite.
An enchantment that can be placed in any weapon so long as Francis can run his hand against it and he says the chant to activate it. It adds the element of fire to the blade for a minute, leaving burns when it strikes. The fire is magical in nature, burning any surface it can touch. It is entirely possible for any form of flammable gas to be ignited due to this flame. If not handled carefully, the magical fire may backfire against the user of the weapon so care must be placed when it is used.
Sharpening Enchantment
"Ferrum Aceres"
They say that keeping your wits sharp is all you need. I say keeping both weapon and wits keen will keep you a head above others.
The first user of this enchantment has been an excellent diplomat and duelist. It is not made to be arrogant, but something of a fact. Understanding this, it allows the enchanter to utilize the enchantment to its fullest. Enchanting a bladed weapon with the thought that it helps would fare better in terms of success than to think of it as simply harming something.
An enchantment that can be placed on any bladed weapon so long as Francis can touch the blade of the weapon he needs to enchant. It sharpens the blade to the point where it can cut through normal steel all too easily. This enchantment lasts for fifteen seconds. Of course, this also means that this blade will harm anything it comes in contact with. Care must be in mind when using a blade with this enchantment. You don't want to cut your arm off just because you thought showing off this temporarily enchanted blade was a good idea.
Durability Enchantment
"Vestitus Contego"
If you want to protect someone, you need to learn how to protect yourself first.
The enchantment was originally made by a young enchanter who wished to protect everyone she cared about. However, it soon became apparent that she was hurting herself. And so, to solidify this enchantment, she thought that it would also protect herself from harm. Understanding that this spell was to protect oneself so that they may be able to protect others is the key to making the enchantment work.
An enchantment placed on clothing or armor. Francis has to put his entire hand on the clothing or armor and then chant. It increases its ability to endure attacks and is not easily ripped or deformed. This enchantment lasts for one minute. It must be noted the blunt damage can still harm the wearer of an enchanted armor or clothing but it will lessen the damage. Say, it wouldn't kill you, but you may break some of your bones in the fall.
Medium Spells
Torch
"Lumen Fax"
Lighting the way for others is a difficult job, but it is a job that we must all do for each other.
Ah yes, the most difficult challenge of all. Being the light to someone's life. The guide. The person who can help. No one is sure who made the enchantment. Some say it was a group, some say it was one person. Nevertheless, what you would need to remember with this enchantment is to always know that you can be someone's light, but you are also in need of someone to be your light.
Any object that is stick-like in form can be enchanted with this. It will emit light for over three minutes, essentially acting as a light source for when they need it the most. It can be reapplied for a lesser cost of mana but must be done before the light completely fades.
Bonding Enchantment
"Dictum Meum Pactum"
For who would know you better than the object you have come to love and care about? The one to protect you from the demons that reside within
It is known that any living being gets attached to something - sometimes they are other living beings, but sometimes they are simple objects to be seen around. Some would believe that these objects are capable of creating legitimate bonds with their owners. When the enchanter has bonded enough with an object, they can perform this enchatnment on it. The object must have some form of sentimental value with the object before the enchantment can be successful.
Francis can only make this enchantment for one object with sentimental value, in this case was his weaponry. When this enchantment is placed on an object, it bonds object to user in a sort of invisible chain. This enables the user to 'summon' the bonded object to their hand as long as they are in a four meter radius. However, it is completely useless when the object is farther away. This can be strengthened through the higher forms of this magic.
Misc Battle Info: His fighting style heavily involves enchanting his blade during fights to defeat the monster. However, he can also serve as support with his enchantments going to others instead of himself.
~ Your Tale ~
"I assure you that my tale does not end happily. Though, if that continues, remains to be seen."
Arrival: The Breaux Family is of noble lineage from the Galaxy Villa. They have been in charge of nearly monopolizing the market with their crops and expert dealings. However, their family was still just that - a noble family. They weren't nearly as important as the Royal Family that resides there, and quite honestly, that was fine with the Breaux Family. They still had power though and they planned to manipulate behind the shadows. Though, of course, they had their own secrets to hide from the masses. After all, you can't expect them to be so high in position without having their own secret dealings.
But that was a story for another time.
Let's start with something from way, way back. Before the barriers were erected. A Witch, no one knows if it's a dark witch or a white witch, but there was one who visited the family. She told them that someone has placed a curse on them. When the child with white hair and golden eyes appear, the Breaux Family would suffer great consequences. Consequences that was equal to their sin against the witch. They brushed this warning off, thinking that it was just an old hag rambling on about crazy things and continued on with their life.
Generations later, the Breaux family had grown to what they are now. More powerful than ever. The patriarch became the financial advisor for the royal family and all was well. But then, Francis was born. There were only a few people within the Breaux family who remembered the warning and began to panic. But the others brushed them off. They raised the young noble with the guidance of his mother as his father was too busy with work to care for him. But everything was fine for Francis. All he wanted in life was to keep his mother happy.
He went through all the boring lessons without fail, and did his best. His mother would often reward him for when he did a good job so he became more and more hardworking even if there was no actual physical reward to be given. His want to impress everyone just grew more and more - and this became the reason why he's such a perfectionist. He doesn't want to disappoint anyone.
While Francis wasn't the most social of people, he still grew up with a few friends he had bumped into repeatedly whenever he goes out to the market or simply to walk around - the city safe enough to do so even for someone of his caliber. However, his best friend was the youngest child of the de Vischer household, Wynona. He would often find the time out of his lectures to play with her, or to just hang around her. They got along well, better than you'd expect between two nobles. The two remained completely oblivious to the dealings that were going behind their backs - a union between the Breaux Family and the de Vischer family didn't sound so bad right now. The secret exchange was kept under wraps from the children of both families.
His younger sister came five years after he was born. He had someone to protect and someone to be a role model to. Cadence and Francis grew up close and soon enough, he started taking her to play dates with Wynona and Joan. Francis cares for his sister more than anything and they spend a lot of their time together. Francis often accompanied the young girl to the market along with their maid and butler who were there to help them out if they wanted to buy something.
Francis was eight years old when Joan de Vischer took him and Wynona out - escaping to the forest outside. This was the most they had broken their own kingdom's rules - three young nobles disappearing from the city in its entirety was sure to put everyone on edge. But they didn't care. They trusted Joan - they knew that she wanted to teach them something. After all, she would never put them in danger without a reason. Joan led them further outside, her staff in her hand as she cast a protective spell around them to avoid being detected by monsters. She led them to a clearing where she sat them down. That was Francis' first real interation with the Moss Woods themselves, instead of just watching his father talking with them or them going to the festival.
The day passed by quickly as the Elves allowed them to traverse through the forest and taught them many of their rules which was linked with Galaxy Villa's own rules. Francis learned a lot in a day, more than he thought he could with one day in Ethics class. As the sun started to set, they had to leave. When they got back to Galaxy Villa, the group had been reprimanded heavily with Joan being locked in her house for multiple weeks after that. But they all knew that they gained more wisdom through that experience which they were sure to use when they take over their own house.
At eleven, it was determined that Wynona was to be bethrothed to Francis. It was considered to be official and the two had no choice but to comply. However, they did think that it was better than being married off to total strangers. Joan even told them that it was a good idea. They figured that they would continue as they were, but Francis never really denied that he was feeling attracted to his best friend.
At the age of twelve, he lost his entire family. Galaxy Villa mourned for the loss of a noble family in one day, especially since they were providers of crops. They had decided to create plaques and hammered them onto the mansion that the Breaux Family owned. The plaques contained the names of everyone who lived in that house, regardless of whether they were the nobles or the servants. Their family which only consisted of a few people - the main family of four, branch families of seven and servants of thirteen. They made a trip out of the barrier. One of the reasons why they are sucha a major noble house is because they have a farm outside of Galaxy Villa; hence becoming the leading market for crops. Once every three years, the family goes out to check on the farms and make sure defenses have held up.
Francis remembers the experience vividly well. They had come during the night and broke through the defense all too quickly. The Family tried to fight them back since they were too far from civilization to call for help. It all started with the screams. Guards were shouting and farmers were running away. His uncles were the first to go to the front lines to defeat their enemies - whoever they were. Then their mages. Then their guards.
There were some old folks who yelled at Francis at that time, telling him that he was the harbinger of this massacre. For a young teen who had no knowledge of the curse, this was too much for him to bear. One of their combat maids stepped up to his defense, his long time friend and maid, Luna. After successfully getting the old men off of Francis, she took him and his sister to the back and then placed them on a horse. Her words have forever echoed in his mind as the last words anyone in his family other than his sister told him - and those same words echo in his mind as he sleeps at night.
"Today was the day that had been foretold. But it is not your fault. It will never be your fault. Goodbye, Francis. Take care of your sister. Your mother and father will rest well knowing that you are safe."
Unfortunately, they got lost out in the woods rather quickly. Francis tried very hard to protect both him and his sister. Days passed by and they at least got through it by eating these edible herbs. But Cadence succumbed to a sickness that Francis just can't cure. Cadence had died in her sleep - her face peaceful and serene. He couldn't dig her a grave, but he placed a wooden plank near her and surrounded it with stones as a makeshift grave and then engraved Cadence's name on it. Broken and devastated even more than he was, he trudged on alone until he passed out near a city that he didn't reecognize.
He woke up in Gertrude's care days later, being treated from the same illness that took his sister. Francis hasn't been the same ever since. He kept his distance from everyone though after a few months, he did manage to start becoming acquaintances with them. Though he doesn't express much emotion, he decided to go along with anyone who wanted him to help as long as it wasn't against the rules. He's come to know each of them by name, and had started to memorize their likes and their needs as well should the time come that he needed to step up to help them.
Francis did his best to learn the magic that was chosen for him - enchantments. Quick, precise, and helpful for a melee attacker such as himself. That was his specialty. Four years in the orphanage and he felt indebted to Gertrude. She didn't pry with his life. Didn't question is obviously noble clothing. She just took him in and took care of him. Francis liked most of the kids of the orphanage. Their teases weren't that bad and he honestly didn't mind most of their curiosity. He's become rather fond of them. So when they approached him with the idea of going beyond the barrier to defeat the Dark Witch, he agreed to go with them.
It was time to face his fears and trudge through the same forest that haunted him for years.
Misc: The Breaux Family's untimely slaughter had been on the headline for around a week until they were completely swept under the rug. Through Royal Decree, however, their land has been given to the Royal Family but the main mansion had not been disturbed - a reminder of the old, powerful but dead family. Though, some think that the Royals simply thought that perhaps one of the heirs have survived and is waiting for their return.
- The only thing that threw me off a bit was that every first paragraph/sentence from the strength section down. The reason for this is that it went from a masculine verbiage with 'Simon, his, him' to genderless 'they' and I didn't really see why.
Overall
What I had to say above isn't a really big deal but it just kind of made me have to re-read when it switched between the two. I really love the creativity with this profile and the thought put into the species itself. I like that his magic is centered a main theme of his inventing and that his focus crystal is in one of his weapons. I really love that he got his passions most likely from his parents and that he took their deaths so much that Simon almost let himself die from distress. All around I really love this character and marksmen are great to have! I have a feeling that he will be able to cheer some of the group up and maybe frustrate them a bit XD
I don’t see anything wrong with the profile. I love this character and feel for him because of how locked away his feelings are. It just makes me want to hug him and to stand by his side to make it better. I like that he seems to be a pillar the others could lean on in hard times. He has great leadership qualities and I look forward to the day he opens up more or gets close to someone.
Aside from what Akay has already said, and some misspelling I noticed (it really wasn't anything big), I think there's no problem. I just imagine that the 'short while' for his burst of speed would mean around a few seconds correct? Like, within one or two posts?
In any case, just like the ohters, I love him. And him being a marksman with a sick sniper rifle is an added bonus. I have a soft spot for them. I like his magic and it's a good idea to have a long range user among them since I think most are close-ranged fighters (well, Idris is a trapper but that's a whole other thing) aside from Idris. The spells look good to me aside from that one question I had. I very much look forward to see how he is written in the IC and how he interacts with others.
