[b]Name:[/b] Madara [b]Ethnicity and species:[/b] Rodorian, half-human, half-palanter (human father, palanter mother) [b]Sex/gender:[/b] Female/woman [b]Age:[/b] 47 (comparable to 30-year-old human) [b]Physical build and appearance:[/b] Standing about 182cm (6') tall, she appears a touch uncanny, but altogether quite pleasant-looking, with waist-long well-cared-for straight black hair, pale skin and eyes that will look amber in strong light and hazel in dim conditions. She speaks in low, almost melodic mezzosoprano and, at rest, moves with an almost rehearsed fluidity. There is overall something very pedantic about her mannerisms out in public, though she usually makes clear she is not adverse to amusement, if it's the sort that pleases her. The sharpness and slightly off proportions of her palanteran heritage tends to, however, lend for the impression that she's just as likely to sink her nails into your flesh with just a slightly too fanged smile as give you a good time. Indeed, her nails are longer, stronger and sharper than those of a human, and when arms are held straight to the sides, her fingertips reach noticeably past mid-thigh, with lean-muscled arms and broad shoulders, strongly protruding collar-bones and deep chest to go with her not so modest bosom, contrasted by an almost disproportionately narrow waist. [b]Languages: [/b] Native Rodorian speaker, can read and write decently enough, though predominantly uses writing just to record business affairs and make trade notes. Has some general knowledge about most of the languages from the surrounding areas and their inscriptions, and may recognize a word or a name here and there, but can't read any of them in a meaningful sense. Would have dictionaries and people to ask back at home, but has no access to such away from home. [b]Magic:[/b] Presumably has enough innate talent to be able to become a passable mage if she seriously dedicated her efforts to it, but has no formal training and next to no experience actively using magic past directing her magical energy into select few pre-prepared spells. She does have knowledge of a fair amount of magical runes, some about spells and types of magical items, be it from encountering them when dealing with alleged or true magical artifacts or otherwise. Keeps an otherwise completely unremarkable notebook on the matter. Incidentally has found out that she has affinity to ice. Current magical power of her soul would be about 0.38kWh. [b]Usual attire: [/b] She has a rather wide assortment of clothes, meticulously fitted to her form, with preference to deep, rich colours in simple one- or two-colour schemes, albeit often with elaborate contrast stitching. Whether her choices are to show off taste and skill or just her personal fancy is anyone's guess, but she is nevertheless not overly willing to sacrifice function for fashion, at least not when traveling or working. Since being on the move tends to rather sharply limit the amount of garments she can carry along without overly inconveniencing herself, her wardrobe is currently cut down to an assortment of white undergarments (3); a long dark green female tunic with a simple, yet elegant cut and decorated with silvery embroidery, along with matching dark pants; a slightly more elaborate female tunic, this one in deep blue and copper, similarly accompanied by pants (albeit more purplish-blue black than dark blue); tall, dark brown leather boots, optionally binding her legs in straps; something akin to slips, likewise optionally bound to her legs; long dark brown leather gloves; and a rather heavy hooded coat, warm, light gray and trimmed in the dense fur of some manner of aquatic creature. Most of the time, she'd have two large, soft leather pouches tied to her hips with a belt, all three pieces embroidered in both green and blue, only the buckle of the belt appearing coppery. The contents of such aren't clear to simple onlookers, though the amount of storage is certainly significant, and in use. The only apparent weapon on her is the dagger attached to the left on the same belt, in a similarly dark brown leather sheathe. The blade appears to be steel, but otherwise quite unremarkable, with a single-fullered 27 cm blade, a bit of a guard barely wide enough to hide a finger behind, a full tang handle wrapped in leather that looks quite similar to the one Madara seems to have in her attire. It's quite possible she has (had) it re-wrapped at some point. The pommel bears some marks that may have been the original maker's signature. There's also a backpack to host anything her pockets can't fit, often left at her current resting spot rather than carried along. [b]Other carried equipment, rations and clothing:[/b] 598 rodlin, securely wrapped and stored in her pockets. "Memory Sphere" spell, permanent. Looks like a small brown leather notebook or a folder with no loose pages. Generates a small spherical visage capable of storing sound and image that can be sent (at roughly double messenger pigeon speeds) to a designated destination to replay it, optionally with additional conditions to its activation. Actual small brown leather notebook. Copper quills. Ink. Distilled spirits. Soap. Bandages. Set of various threads, in a small linen pouch. Set of various needles, in leather. Set of scalpels, hooks, and other implements, rolled in leather. A dozen small bottles with various liquids, rolled in leather. Two dozen small vials, also stored in slits cut in leather and rolled up. Flint and iron. Small whetstone. Knife and sheath. A small mirror. A small hairbrush. Tea, herbs. Salt, spices. A copper mug. Dried venison, about 4kg. Folded waterproofed fabric, usable as tent. Half a dozen beeswax candles. A blanket. Three small jars with some kind of ointments. One slightly larger bottle with some kind of thin, mildly scented oil. A flask of water. Embroidery set. [b]Social status and family ties:[/b] Palanteran mother (Ayera) presumed alive at the age of 87, human father (Roger Bennett) presumed dead, though she has no contact with either after moving out of their original village in Seclyr. No known full siblings, though Madara knows her mother did have at least two additional daughters from a full-blood palanteran father. Madara herself might have a 25-year-old quarter-palanter son (Hara) somewhere from her Seclyr days, left behind with a dear friend of hers (Derek Rand) when her lover and son's father (Grant Whittler) was killed. Current status and whereabouts of her son are unknown. For the last twenty-three years, she has been running a shop in a small Nemhim town of roughly eight hundred remaining inhabitants, comprised mostly of palanteran tradesfolk and human farmers. One might call it a moderately well-off quaint little place that has greatly benefited from the transit between Nemhim City and Wenal City. In particular, being on route between the much larger settlements has facilitated additional variety and quality of services in the town, though more recent years have seen it through the same hardships that plague the rest of Rodoria. The streets have grown quieter, the humans weary and distrustful, and the palanters restless. Madara's a seamstress and occasional surgeon of some local recognition, as well as an opportunistic vendor of various magical and otherwise uncommon wares. As long as it's not outright illegal or provably stolen, she will consider dealing in it. Recent years have changed the trade, but one way or another, people still need things and services; she has about six times as much as she carries in straight rodlin and other coin, and double that yet again in various wares. Her store (and home) takes up about a center third of a wooden two-storey structure on a main-adjacent street, recently whitewashed and with three six-pane glass windows on the lower floor. Sandwiched between a toolsmith and a shoemaker's front, Madara's window displays a green dress, though the plaque above the door also specifies she deals in sewing up people as much as she does with clothes. The bottom floor of her section only has three rooms - the front counter, a storage room, and what was once probably a kitchen but now could be considered her surgery (albeit it currently also hosts a third inhabitant); the top floor, accessed by a set of narrow stairs behind the counter, is Madara's and her assistant's living quarters. While Madara's away, her assistant is in charge of the two more obvious trades. [b]Additional notes on abilities and skills: [/b] Naturally, she is well-versed in clothing design and materials, and good at sewing and embroidery, and that's a lot of what she spends her time doing when she isn't researching whatever item has caught her interest, dealing with a client of any type, or out for more resources. She can disappear for weeks when doing the latter; her assistant is used to it. On the other side, she is most familiar with palanteran physiology of any form, being half of one herself and, ultimately and bluntly told, palanters just tending to be much harder than humans to bleed out, so they have the ability to show up at her doorstep in much worse condition than you could hope to find most true humanoids alive in, and subsequently permit her to practice which tendon goes exactly where. The other people in need have been mostly human farmers, as well as a couple deigan and, somewhat to Madara's dismay, a few of their animals. But if good relations mean that she needs to reconstruct ambulatory food for food of other food, then so be it... All in all, she believes she could work on pretty much any humanoid, beast or other mammal- or reptile-adjacent being. They're all mostly the same bits, anyway. Figuring out which substance is toxic to what animal, though... That's trickier. So if not dealing with a palanter, human or deigan, a fair amount of her chemical or herbal aids would be off-limits if there's still something to lose.