Name: Nettle.
Age: 12.
Gender: Female.
Race: Human (Changed).
Appearance:Her skin is pale unto the point of looking almost undead due to just how little sun one sees when living in Stranglesun Swamp. Despite the vaguely deathly looking state of her skin it is without blemish, smooth and clear with nary a fault. Though she always tends to keep her head down and wear a mild-mannered expression her slim face tends to bring out her eyes that possess a deep dark nephrite green colour. Her hair which hangs down to the middle of her back curves with a modest wave and is a rich yet dark moss green colour.
She is a rather thinly built person. Her physique would make a quail seem buff in comparison. She is not as wholly feeble as she appears but she is no physical powerhouse by any means.
For attire she typically dons long dark brown robes, the darker color being ideal for concealing the many stains it has accrued both in the swamp and throughout her crafts. It has a big hood which is handy in rough weather. Her long abundance of hair is mostly tucked into the back though her front bangs hang out the front of the hood, covering her face for the most part when she has her hood up. For footwear she wears big hide boots that look several sizes too large on her feet. They were a gift from one of her fellow orphans, sewn together from the hide of a giant dead rat that was strangled to death by Stranglebriar Vines. Hanging from her shoulder by a hide strap is a large bag crafted from a portion of the stomach of a massive boar. She typically carries a long crook with her wherever she goes, this wooden tool having been treated with a special resin to keep it from decaying.
Height: 120 cm.
Personality.Having grown up as an orphan in Stranglesun Swamp she was bound to be a strange sort. With thanks to the Caregiver she along with eight others survived in a wild region where close to everything was poisonous and somewhat on the larger scale when compared to species found in tamer wilderness. The Caregiver however was not a being with a terrifying lot in common with more... Common societies. She's been raised with a great knowledge of plants, the swamp and other less tangible presences but in exchange she's learned nearly nothing in regards to civilized society.
What some see as being distant and spaced out others might see as simply being a rather reserved individual. Both would probably be correct to some extent as far as that's concerned. She is quite mild tempered and takes most problems in similar stride. She prefers to think her way through situations rather than power through things. Nettle is not very outspoken either and she tends to remain distant in most matters. This attitude is not out of a fear of confrontation but rather her tendency to get absorbed in her own thoughts, often preferring to dwell on matters that pertain to her pursuits rather than on tangential matters. Some might accuse her of being antisocial but her lack of socialization with others is not out of an aversion to social interaction but rather an unfamiliarity with societal norms.
With having spent pretty close to her whole life in the Stranglesun Swamp she's most at home in the natural world. She's somewhat distrustful of the civilized world given what she's been taught of man by The Caregiver. Even still she's willing to brave any danger should it lead her closer to The Caregiver.
The Caregiver gave her and the fellow orphans care. She will do nearly anything to bring it back.
History:Abandoned as an infant she was found and taken in by a strange entity known only as the Caregiver. She along with eight other orphans were taken and given shelter from the swamp by this being. For most of the day the Caregiver would be absent leaving the children to their own devices. From time to time throughout the day the Caregiver would descend into their reality where it would brew strange stews or tell it's stories to them. It taught them pretty much everything they knew and it's stews bestowed subtle changes upon them. Whenever one of the orphans was hurt or ailing a taste of the brew would heal them right up in short time, leaving them good as new.
After many years on a diet of such stew they found themselves less susceptible to the hazards of the swamp. The new organs that had grown within them mixed their blood with a strange milky yellow sap-like substance that would eat away any unwelcome poisons and diseases that found their way into their bodies. In addition their irides had developed strange properties which made their sight more sensitive to the presence of the spiritual life surrounding them. Evanescent wisps, drifting shadows and ripples on the fabric of reality before them were all hints to a deeper layer of the world that laid before them.
Each of the orphans learned to survive in the swamps, each taking their own path in adapting to the struggles such life offered. In tree houses and home stumps they dwelt, living off the land and practicing their strange magic.
_
The children might not have had an easy life but thanks to the Caregiver they had made the most of what the land had to offer. In truth the children were quite happy with what they had, strange as they might have been. Just as with any tale however change was in the wind. When the orphans were capable of living on their own the Caregiver ceased to appear within it's hut. They were greatly confused and concerned by this.
After all no more Caregiver meant no more of it's tasty stew and no more of it's bizarre but captivating stories but most depressingly of all it meant there'd be no more of it's words of loving care. It was as much of a mother and father to them as they had ever known and now it was gone, nowhere to be found.
After a period of mourning in their respective ways some of the orphans simply returned to living as they did before, albeit with an air of melancholy stealing the spring from their step. Others, Nettle included, did not take the loss of the Caregiver laying down. Each one of them was determined to find a way to bring the Caregiver back so their family could be whole again. Each one of them went about the challenge in their own way. Nettle's way was to set out into the world and seek her answer beyond the swamp's borders.
-----
Level: 20.
Class: Witch.
Profession: Herbalist.
Stats:Strength (STR): E.
Vitality (VIT): F.
Dexterity (DEX): C.
Intellect (iNT): S.
Wisdom (WIS): B.
Charisma (CHA): F.
List of immunities:- Diseases.
- Poisons.
- Parasites.
Equipment:- A wide variety of herbs for many uses.
- A skin of combustible salamander spit made from it's stomach.
- Magical mushrooms that can cause the one who ingests it to grow large and tall for a time.
- A thin needle-like thorn with a hooked end that's paired with some vine fibers spooled around a wooden rod.
- A blowpipe and twenty wooden blow darts.
- A stone dagger with a sinew-wrapped handle.
- Several wards, charms and dream catchers she's enchanted to ward off malevolent spirits.
- Candles & incense.
- A breathing reed for traveling beneath the water's surface.
- A bladder full of leftover stew from The Caregiver. The stew bestows remarkable healing qualities, even in small doses.
The rest is just basic traveling supplies.
Skills & Spells:|Lancing Thistle| - When cast a jagged dark purple light jets forth from her fingertips. Upon contacting a solid surface a thistle flower will germinate beneath it's surface. Spurred to grow by the magic that bore it the thistle will erupt forth, tearing through said surface and spreading it's roots into it as though it were soil. The process is excruciatingly painful for living creatures afflicted as it's thorns tear through the skin and it's roots dig a shallow distance beneath it. Worse still is the pain and damage incurred trying to remove the thistle once it's taken root.
|Mark of The Serpent| - With this spell Nettle summons forth a snake spirit. At her command it will envenom it's target before returning to it's home. The venom causes damaging necrosis in the living, killing cells as it courses through the victim's body. This will continue until either the venom runs it's course, the curse is broken or the victim dies.
|Rising Briars| - This spell summons forth Stranglebriar Vines when cast. These tough sinewy vines coated with wicked thorns erupt from the earth, winding about until they settle in a large patch of deadly briars. These plants respond to objects moving through them by lashing about violently until their thorns can find purchase in the intrusion's form. Once it's found purchase on it's victim it's lashing quickly turns to constriction as it's tough fibrous length winds about until it's victim is immobilized in it's thorny grasp. It will continue to squeeze, digging it's thorns in to bleed it's victim dry, until whatever it is remains motionless for a long enough period of time before it relaxes.
|Choking Spores| - Nettle closes her hand upon casting this spell. When she opens it the spell summons forth a cloud of fungal spores which expel outwards from her palm and fill a small area with these airborne fungi. While each spore is as fine as dust when dry they swell up when exposed to moisture and warmth. They are very dangerous to breath for should they enter the throat and lungs they will cling to the interior flesh with their fine, hairlike hyphae which coat their surfaces and expand. They are very difficult to cough out due to this and are prone to close off airways and clog lungs in sufficient numbers.
|Concealing Mists| - This spell conjures a dense white mist which fades into existence, obfuscating a large area within it until the wind eventually disperses it. The more still the air in it's area is the longer the mist remains.
|Prayer Unto Htzhasohs Rains| - This is a ritual taught to her to bring about a miracle from the rain spirit Htzhasohs. When cast the skies will start to darken as grey clouds gather overhead. Over many kilometres a downpour will begin, raining heavily in a great storm which will last for hours. This ritual takes about thirty minutes to cast, complete with chanting and a dance.
|Nature's Tongue| - This spell when cast allows Nettle to bypass the need for physical speech, allowing her to communicate directly to the spirit of any beast or plant in her presence. These wild life forms are not required to heed her words but can choose to do so if they are so inclined.
|Ward vs Spirits| - Nettle is able to make special sigils which are imbued with a magical ward against spirits. These wards protect an area within a reasonably wide diameter, barring entry from any spirit, ghost or other variety of spectral entity which fits such classification. She is able to craft charms featuring these sigils and she can also draw them when necessary. Naturally the wards are only as strong as the caster who made them so spirits stronger than her would still be able to break through.
|Wild Life| (Passive) - Nettle has spent most of her whole life in the wilderness. While she is most at home in swamplands she is rarely out of her element in the woods. While traveling through unpaved & untrodden forests she is virtually unimpeded by all but the most untraversable of obstacles like a cliff or a lake. She also has little difficulty in basic day-to-day survival such as finding food or shelter.
|Low Profile| (Passive) - Life in Stranglesun Swamp has taught Nettle that going unnoticed is a key component to survival. She has practiced stealth for a long while, learning how to get around while avoiding detection from a variety of methods. Tracking her in the wild would be a great effort for even experienced trackers. She's less familiar with going unseen in cities but her small stature and light frame still help her evade detection when necessary.
|Gift of The Caregiver| (Passive) - The stews that The Caregiver had fed her and her kin possessed strange properties, bestowing upon those who fed upon it long enough physical changes which, though subtle, alter their biology in unusual yet fairly beneficial ways. Within her body a new gland has grown which secretes large amounts of strange milky yellow sap, pumping the goop all throughout her blood stream. This strange yellow sap binds with harmful substances and organisms, breaking them down so her body's immune system can properly identify and dispose of them. This protects her from all varieties of diseases, viruses, poisons and parasites. In addition her eye's lenses have been altered, allowing her to see spirits & ghosts. While she can perceive them when they'd ordinarily be invisible to anyone else everything else that applies for a spirit or ghost still functions normally.
Custom Class Overview: The Witch class is sort of like a druid but with more focus on spirits and curses.
