Appearance: Aside from her demonic heritage there are very few things, about Cassandra that would be considered remarkable. To any passerby she would appear as a young, attractive woman. Not especially tall, measuring only a metre and sixty centimetres, nor stunningly beautiful.
Discounting her superhuman strength and agility, she is simply a short and pretty girl, with violet eyes and straight, light brown, hair which falls to her waist. She is a slender thing, with faintly defined muscles all over her body, as evidence of long hours spent walking, running or doing any other sort of physical activity.
In accordance with Cassandra's abilities to alter her appearance, she has a few go-to faces with few differences. These two, along with the primary one, are her most common appearances.
Faction: Unaffiliated
Personality: Free.
That is the one word Cassandra would use to describe herself. Life is meant to be lived, and to tie oneself down in such a way that prevented them, from doing what they wanted is a sin against whoever created the first spark of life.
Cassandra is a whimsical, fun loving girl, whose sense of decorum is buried deep beneath a bubbly personality. Above all else she is a kind individual with an appreciation for life in all its glory, and in any form. However, even a clear sky become covered in dark clouds, and likewise Cassandra is not about anger or irritation. Should anything, or anyone, threaten herself or anyone she cares about, she will not hesitate to fight it.
At first glance she may appear to be childish and incapable of taking anything serious, but if one were to spend some time in her presence, they might learn that she is also perceptive and more than capable of being mature with the situation calls for it - sometimes going so far as to even become philosophical.
Bio: Bonjour Ma Chèrie
My name is Cassandra Fayette Bellerose, and I am a half-démon. Now you might ask, how did the union have a human and a démon come to be? The story, or so my mother tells me, is a surprisingly simple one. She spoke to me of a time when she wandered the world, in search of some new place that she has yet to discover. This search brought her to my father's house in Valenciennes, France.
He was a simple baker, but even if he was not wealthy or had a lot to give, but when a young woman came by and asked for a place to stay, he offered her a room. But that was not all, for when he discovered that she had no coin with which to pay him, he offered to let her work in the bakery in exchange for shelter and food. Over time they grew close, and with familiarity came affection. Four years passed between the arrival of my mother, and the day of their marriage. Barely a year later and their child was born.
I am told that I am one of the few of my mother's children, whom she has actually stayed with and raised on her own. For that I am grateful, or she taught me much of what I know I was there to help me understand who and what I was, when finally my powers matured. My father, bénisse son âme, was both confused and frightened when he discovered the true nature of both his wife and his daughter. I consider myself fortunate that he did not attempt to run for help, or to kill the démons that was his family. I do not remember if the exact words exchanged between the, but I do remember the embrace they shared. My mother, he told me, whether human or not was still the woman he had fallen in love with, and that no father should ever lay a hand on their children.
My mother stayed with him until the end of his days, gifting everything they owned to me, and shortly thereafter went out on her travels once again. From then on I lived my life as society expected of me - as the inheritor of a well off bakery. I married a lovely man named Thomas, and with him I had two children; a son and a daughter. Aveline and Colin, bénissez leurs cœurs, never awakened their powers, and remained ignorant of both their grandmother and their mother's true nature.
When Thomas died, I stayed with my children for a few years before following in my mother's footsteps. Much as I loved my family, I had grown restless in the later years of my life, and so I decided to explore the world. To meet new people, see new places, and experience what life was truly like.
Sometimes I look back and I ask myself if leaving was the right thing to do, and if I should have told Aveline and Colin of my secret. But I didn't, à la vie, à la mort, I suppose.
I suppose that's now you sit back with one final question, no? Ah, yes. My mother's name was Susanne. It is a variance of the Hebrew Susannah, and means "Lily."
À bientôt!
[Combat]
Powers and Abilities:
Demonic Physique
Even if she’s just a Half Demon, Cassandra inherits the superior physical capabilities of all demons, granting her both increased strength, agility, and speed.
Appearance Alteration
Althought far from as good as others, Cassandra has learned enough about shapeshifting to alter her appearance in simple ways: Hair colour, length, eye colour, and other minor things.
Advanced Projection
A level of Projection magic far more advanced than that of her mother’s. Capable of creating multitudes of weapons, and even control them from afar.
Swordsmanship
Thanks to years of practice, Cassandra’s skills with the sword, and many other melee weapons, has reached exceptional heights.
Battle Awareness
While not a special skill per se, Cassandra’s primary fighting style requires great mental flexibility, and as such she is capable of keeping track of multiple things at once.
Devil Trigger
Like all beings of demonic heritage, the ability to tap into ones demonic power comes naturally once realised. Cassandra’s form is surprisingly humanoid, with a few core differences: Her eyes become a solid, monochrome, blue. Tattoos of swirling patterns come to cover most of her skin, coloured a luminous cyan, and from her back sprouts a pair of massive, and vibrant, butterfly-like wings. In this form, she’s capable of hovering and moving through the air, all the while her other abilities are enhanced; becoming more powerful.
Limited Fire manipulation
Some amount of control and creation of fire has passed from mother to daughter, leaving Cassandra with the ability to create and control fire, but only to a very limited degree. At most she can create a ball of flame the size of her fist, or light up a fireplace, and other minor things.
Style:
Lame et Âme [Lvl-1]
A style that revolves around the Projecting and remote control of various weaponry. Relying primarily on skills and numbers, Cassandra seeks to overwhelm her opponent with hails of blows from a safe distance.
In future ranks Projecting minions of various sorts, rather than just weapons, would be possible.
Quadra Vents [Lvl-1]
A style that shirks numbers and range in favour of skill and focused assaults. Cassandra summons four, chrome-coloured blades each sharper and more durable than anything else. With these she fights like they were an extension of herself as opposed to simply tools. With them being mostly controlled by thought, there is often little movement on Cassandra’s part to give away her intentions, making predicting her attacks difficult.
In future ranks these four blades might learn to channel energy, become literal parts of Cassandra herself, or become like an avatar of her.
Equipment:
A backpack filled with books, food, and hiking equipment.
A bracelet with three stones in it: A sapphire, a ruby, and a piece of obsidian.
A sketchbook, charcoal, pens, coloured pens, and other drawing implements.
Techniques:
Lame et Àme
Rho Aias [Lvl-1]
Rho Aias is an ability that allows Cassandra to create shields in various ways: From a barrier of blades to a wall of force.
Tempête Lame [Lvl-1]
A simple yet effective technique consisting of dozens upon dozens of swords, axes, daggers, and more, spinning around Cassandra like a veritable maelstrom of steel and death.
Quadra Vents
Taillade du Vent [Lvl-1]
A powerful slash in the air sending forth a cutting edge of wind, allowing her to cut larger targets far more effectively, as well as send out powerful attacks from a range.
Pas De L'ombre [Lvl-1]
While not yet capable of creating a true avatar of herself, she can make a fragile and stationary copy. If such a copy is created in her own space, the creation of it pushes her out of the way, quicker than she can move on her own. Doing so allows her to dodge attacks that would otherwise hit home. The “Dummy” is hit, and destroyed, instead.
Other Names: Andel Cervenka(Male alter ego), Lady Aneta Montilyet, Daniela Musil, Katerina Myska, Gabriela Novosad, Irena & ‘Little Rose’.
Gender: Female
Age: 19
Rank/Titles/Social Class: Princess of the Underground, Baroness of Thieves, One Who Knows.
Appearance:
Lucie Ružička is one of those rare gems found throughout the world, jealously guarded by overprotective fathers. She has an oval face, skin unblemished, with full, rose lips in a natural pucker, a sharp chin and high cheekbones. She has a small, straight, nose, sat under a pair of bright, amber eyes slanted slightly inwards; equally capable of being warm and kind, as they can be sharp and piercing. Waves of chestnut hair falls down her back and over her shoulders, reaching to the middle of her back, and most often hanging free—Though set up in a variety of intricate designs should the occasion demand it.
Lucie is a tall woman, at 170cm or height, and lithe of build, her body being the evidence of countless hours of training. Though there is no truly chiseled muscles on her body, one does not need to look twice on her naked form to know that she has a strength few other women possess. At the same time she sports a distinctively womanly figure, with wide hips and ample bust. While not quite buxom, she is still well endowed enough that she finds nothing to complain about.
Personality: A meek serving girl, a ruthless head of staff, a quiet observer, and a cheerful drunk. Lucie Ruzicka can be any of these and more, but it is not truly who she is. She is not the easiest person to get close to, preferring to keep people at a safe distance where she feels that they cannot hurt her. There’s always been the risk of quickly losing a friend or acquaintance in her life, and so growing too attached is something of a risk, given that any one of them could disappear without a trace one day, only to turn up in a ditch two weeks later, throat cut. As such she very rarely lets someone know the true her, but in the event that it happens they’ll be someone she will confide in with almost everything. To most, however, she seems self confident to the point of nearly being arrogant, acting aloof in many situations and teasing in others.
She is a rather curious individual, in the sense that her love for books is born out of a wish to see the world outside of what she has found herself confined in since her earliest years. She’s never outright malicious either, actually being a surprisingly benevolent person despite her calling; preferring a way out of confrontations that don’t end in violence, though she won’t shy away from it either, if the only way out is through force. She’s quick witted, and prone to idle banter, with retorts flying from her lips faster than she can sometimes think. She’s not apologetic in such situations, expecting remarks shot her way in return. More to the point, she’s not apologetic very often, mostly resigning to the fact that some people might not like her sharp mind and tongue.
That aside, however, Lucie will be pleasant company to those who are not too easily offended, and are intelligent. Her morals are very much in a grey area, so the ignorant people whose worlds are white and black do not appeal to her, and neither will she appeal to them.
Psychic Talent: Psychometry is a skill that allows Lucie to learn of objects through concentrating on related objects, or by using what she calls ‘Keywords’ when concentrating on a person. If, for example, she uses the keyword ‘Invaluable’ and uses her talent on a person, she’ll receive a brief image of an item the person considers invaluable, as well as whatever room it is contained within. She can also turn this skill to use on people themselves to extract information about them, however this requires physical contact—skin on skin, or through thin pieces of clothing such as a shirt or through silk gloves. When using it on people she doesn’t require keywords unless she wants to learn more specific things, as simply directing the skill at someone will give her their name, age, and gender. Though the latter is very rarely important.
Skills:
Stealth:Lucie is, thanks to her background, exceptionally good at stealth. She excels at sneaking through shadows and lurking along corridors without people noticing her. She moves silently and unseen.
Agility: To say that Lucie is agile would be an understatement. A trained eye will not see that she moves with an ease born only out of years of intense training. She can run, jump, dash, and bend in ways that most people would balk at. Peasants and commonfolk would compare her speed and ease at which she moves to that of a cat or snake: She always lands on her feet, and strikes with deadly precision.
Social Adaptation: In an effort to blend in with any environment, Lucie has learned to apply make-up to look like anything from a Lady to a common street rat, or even an androgynous male. Not only that but she can mimic the dialect and behavior of both the upper and lower class to the point where neither will be able to discern her true origins.
Learned: As a result of her upbringing, Lucie can both read and write, and have even grown quite fond of books regardless of contents and topics. As a result she’s also rather knowledgeable in many fields, but far from an expert.
Memory Frames: Throughout her years, Lucie has learned that memorizing details is a vital part of her ‘job’, and as such she has taught herself to memorize certain scenes or events in near perfect condition as a ‘Picture’ in her mind. It’s not something passive, so she’ll have to consciously do it. Nevertheless, she can commit a short conversation or an event to memory, keeping it as ‘picture’ to draw upon later if need be.
Weapons/Fighting: Being the surrogate daughter of a Crime Lord of a major city such as Prague does not come without training to hold one’s own. As such she is fully capable of defending herself with a variety of weapons, including both guns and more primitive weaponry. A list of what she can use best.
Daggers and Knives. Her preferred weapon, as they do not impair so much on her movement, and allows for sneaking much better than any broadsword ever would.
Firearms. Lucie knows well how to use, load, and clean most basic firearms. She’s no expert as she prefers a dagger in the back should it be absolutely necessary, but it is within her ability to use them.
Poison. A Woman’s Weapon, they say. While a rare skill she employs, she has ways to obtain poison and have used it on a few occasions in the past to take out a target.
Brawling. Lucie is by no means a small girl, and has enough core strength in her body to take down most unarmed opponents, if she does not wish blood on her hands.
Swords. Basic knowledge of sword fighting as a whole, and more skilled with the lightweight rapier.
There are those who live rich lives, filled with luxury and the very best that money can buy taking up every ounce of their time, be it simple food or luxurious events like horse races and the like. Then there are those who toils for every flat coin coming their way, working hard to get food on the table, and make end’s meet. And then there are those in-between: Having neither trouble with money, nor really enough to truly live a life of luxury. What most of these have in common is innocence: A life lead in the sun, and smiled upon by society. The merchant providing food for those who have the coin, and the farmer doing his honest work for honest pay, and even the aloof aristocracy and nobles looking down on the commoners, doing their part to keep society afloat. All of these have one thing in common: Innocence, and ignorance of the going-ons in their world.
T͘w̕o҉ ͏si͢d͏es ̡t͢o͢ ́eve҉ry͡ co͞i͢ņ
One who has never known the light is Lucie Ruzicka; a child born and raised in blood, coming from a family whose fates are forgotten and unknown. She has lived her life in the Shadow, doing her part to keep the underworld from going out of control, while at the same time bolstering it to new heights. She is the Princess of Thieves, and the Baroness of the Underground, man and woman, and many more names besides.
Her story starts sixteen years prior, in a ditch outside of the Prague. A wail cuts through the night, the crying of a child calling out for someone, anyone, to come to it and help. A middle aged man, clearly in his late thirties, steps out of a nearby horse-drawn carriage, the rider jumping down from the front, holding up a lantern to light the way. The man walks closer to the wailing, eventually coming to a stop besides a bundled up, little girl. She has scrapes all over her body, and one of her ankles looks dislocated.
Her wailing stops as the man nears, the rider’s lantern lighting up his features, showing a grizzled face that, beyond all expectations, shows sympathy. He bends down and looks the girl over, taking her small hand as she reaches out for him. He reaches out for her leg, only for her to shuffle away, shaking her head.
“Foot hurt,” she muttered, sniffling. She had stopped wailing.
“I know,” he replied, smiling gently. “But I can make it better. If you let me.”
The girl looked hesitant at first, but didn’t move away when the man came closer. He reached out for her leg, one large hand grasping her thin calf, and the other her foot. “Now,” he said. “On three. One…” He twisted his other hand, setting the bone back in its place, prompting a loud screech of pain from the child, renewing her crying. It soon subsided, however, and she looked at his smiling face, grizzled as it was.
“It don’t hurt more.” She glanced from her foot to the man, a tentative smile on her face.
This was the first meeting between Lucie Ruzicka and Filip Beran; one of three Crime Lords in Prague at the time. Lucie stayed with him from that day on, being taken care of like he would a child of his own. Her childhood, however, was not a normal one. From as early as he could, he taught her a multitude of skills: How to read, write, act proper and how not to. He taught her how to move quickly and without noise, how to move without being seen, and, most importantly, how to take things without other people noticing. He also taught her how to fight and how to run, should such ever be necessary. He taught her everything a thief, infiltrator, saboteur, and assassin needed to work on his field; The ever-evolving battlefield of the underground world: The Dark side of the Coin. She became a weapon and a tool, someone who owed their loyalty—their life—to him.
Eventually grew up to become a beautiful young woman, having completed enough robberies and assassinations to be known as someone more than just a simple thug, rumours even ran throughout the commonfolk of the city: One of the Crime Lords had a daughter, she was ruthless and uncaring, twisting men around her finger tip with but a dozen words, and so skilled that no one knew what she truly looked like, but they were certain she existed. Though having no known titles given to her from birth, those associated with the darker regions of the city came to know her as the Princess of the Underground, and Baroness of Thieves.
There were even those who claimed that she was not a woman, but an almost equally attractive young man. Somehow the ones who spoke of this particular rumour lent more credence than the others; for they claimed to have seen and heard the very person in question. Even then, however, the titles remained, the gender not entirely known by the commonfolk.
But she was not exactly as the rumours suggested. She was neither uncaring nor heartless, and though she did what her given task necessitated, it was never a pleasant experience when it came to the bloody work. The thrill of avoiding discovery and finding things thought to be unknown by everybody except the owners was something she enjoyed: Thievery, infiltrations, sabotations. Those were things that she enjoyed, finding a joy in that only a few things exceeded. Reading being one of the few things she enjoyed more.
In fact, were truth to be told, she was a caring person who only did what was expected only because the alternative was gruelling to herself; beatings that would not show on her body, and days without food following if she resisted.
During her time growing up, she discovered a special talent of her own that nobody else seemed to possess. She found herself capable of gaining information about people, or objects, by touch or simple concentrating on them and ”asking” the object or person about something; using a single word or keyphrase. She called these prompts ‘Keywords’. She told no one about it, keeping it hidden, though training it when given the chance, which was often given how many jobs she was sent on: Be it simple thievery of sabotaging one of the other two Crime Lords’ operations.
At the age of eighteen, Lucie caught a strange sliver of information from a passerby whom she had used her skill on. She’d let her fingers brush his as he passed, and used the keyword ‘Secret’. The result was a flash; an image of a grand mansion followed by an understanding: Society & Psychic. She received no more information than that, but it was all she needed.
From that day forward she sought more information on this Society, using her gift for both reading and her Psychic abilities to find out as much as she could. She eventually discovered that they were a Secret Society composed of Psychic people like her, and that—in so far as she knew—anyone could join so long as they were upstanding members of it.
What followed were months of preparations, blackmailing, bribing, and more than a little seduction and maneuvering, and Lucie had everything in place. She had acquired a job for an assassination on Alfred Cipris, a member of the aristocracy. The message that Filip Beran received the day after was that ‘His Daughter’ had been discovered in her attempt and executed at gunpoint, her body thrown into the river.
The message had come from one of the guards in Alfred’s manor, a colleague of Lucie’s, and one of the men she had both bribed and blackmailed to tell him the story she had should happen. While more than a little angry that his best tool was now gone, Filip did nothing, instead resuming his work. He had a fortune he wanted to get bigger, and that did not happen when one acted out of anger and frustration.
Word quickly got out, as she had designed, that the Princess of the Underground had passed, lending more credence to the message the guard had delivered. Lucie Ruzicka was now free, and she knew just where to go.
She had set her eyes upon the secret society for psychics, looking to find a use for her skills—psychic and not—that did not require the shedding of blood.
Random: Her alternate names—aside from the first and the latter; the name of her male alter-ego, and a pet-name only one man knows—are in order of rank and title, with Aneta being the name of a fictional baroness she once impersonated to infiltrate a dinner party, then going on to simply being names of fictional ladies from minor houses or other nobles, and finally Irena being the name she uses when being someone without a titles.
Occasionally dresses as a boy her age, using make-up, a binder, and relatively loose clothing to hide her feminine figure.
Name: Lily Gender: Female Age: Two millennia at least. Exact age unknown. Race: Demon (Exact species - Unknown)
Appearance: Lily’s appearance varies wildly depending on her mood, and although she has a preferred appearance she can look in just about any way she likes. Usually, however, she will appear as a normal human woman, with long, lush red hair and emerald green eyes. Her features are delicate, belying her demonic origin with an appearance of an attractive young lady, with an oval face and full lips, and a sharp chin and high cheekbones. She’s rather tall compared to most human women, standing at 180cm in height, with a slender build yet decently voluminous where it counts.
She is most often dressed in a fairly simple fashion, wearing the clothes of humans; jeans, shirts, the occasional dress if she fancies it.
Two defining features of hers are; a tendency to keep her fingernails long, and often filed to a slight point, as if to remind herself—and others—that she’s not just a simple human bumbling about amidst beings whose power she doesn’t comprehend, as well as a scar running vertically across her right eyes, though the eye itself is still intact.
One thing that Lily is never found without, is an old medallion from a time Lily only hints at. A metallic disc the size of a large coin, covered with intricate patterns, decorated with a spherical piece of obsidian inlaid in the middle. A small section of the sphere is cut out, replaced by a piece of a ruby gem and another piece of oval obsidian in that ruby, giving it the illusion of an eye with a black sclera, slitted eyes, red iris.
Faction: Unaffiliated
Personality: Lily is, not only among Angels, but Demons as well, an enigma. No one, neither the highest or the lowest demons or angels, know quite what to make of her. Her demeanor, the way she acts, are atypical for a demon of her caliber.
Unlike most, she is not outwardly cruel or belittling, but rather strange amicable and relaxed. To some demons, this is a travesty, and something that should not be. The number of times demons have sought to “correct” her ways is uncountable. Said track record is littered with blood and broken corpses. For while Lily acts surprisingly like a human, she is by no means one. She still harbors the brutal and relentless qualities of most other demons, enabling her to take lives without remorse.
A deeper look into her personality would reveal someone who cares little for good or evil, regardless of whether it’s the greater good or a greater evil. To describe her, the term “Amoral” comes to mind, in that she cares little for anything but herself and her own goals, as such she has also forsaken the war between heaven and hell, choosing instead to live her life in whatever way she pleases.
But to say that forsaking the war means that she’s a pacifist is as wrong as saying she’s like any other demons. Centuries spent fighting has instilled her with a sense of joy whenever she’s in the throes of battle. She truly does enjoy shedding blood and might, on occasion, lend herself out as a demonic equivalent of a mercenary.
And finally, perhaps the oddest thing about her, is her strange interest in humans. Most consider them inconsequential, but she has found them to be quite the intriguing creatures. So limited, yet so full of potential. They bumble about their lives with no clue as to what’s going to happen the next day, and yet they spend so much time trying to change the future for fear of what’s going to happen. And the fact that they are as capable of evil as Demons such as herself, and as capable of good as the pompous angels, is something that she finds herself both surprised and intrigued by.
What few Demons know of Lily as more than just an oddity and enigma, theorize that her interest in humans once had her fall in love with one, and learn compassion, and is perhaps the source of her even stranger powers.
Biography: Lily doesn’t speak much of her life, and she prefers it that way. To her, it both is, and is not, a game, when it comes to people knowing very little about her. How much can she withhold? How much can they figure out? The finer details of her life are unknown, but what is known to those who have been around her for a while is that she was born well over two millennia ago, almost three. She was born to a minor group of Demons, ones primarily unaffiliated with the going-ons of the bigger Demons such as Mundus or Sheba. While they weren’t exactly the strongest of demons, they did consider themselves to be more intelligent. More manipulative. They had seen that there were ways to rule over the humans that did not involve a violent take-over. The humans were fickle, ignorant, and oh-so-gullible. Go to the surface, find an isolated settlement, and introduce oneself as a God. Ignorant as these short lived humans were, they would believe it although sometimes a show of force was necessary.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of such Demons existed all over the world. Some more successful than others. Lily was one such Demon. She had journeyed to Earth a few centuries before the initial invasion and subsequent war began. She lived amongst the humans of a settlement on a group of islands northwest of the mainland that is now called Europe, up until the time of the war when she was forced to move; either that or get caught in the crossfire.
Before that, she and the group of demons humans might have called her “Family”, attempted as best they could to scramble to a position of power, beating those weaker than them and being shamefully defeated by those stronger. As they were unaffiliated with any of the larger factions, it was difficult to do much of anything on their own. What territory and power they could get their hands on, they did, but it was often taken away from them just as soon as they had grasped it. Centuries passed, and Lily grew frustrated, clawing her way to the surface as opposed to remaining in the constant cycle of winning and losing power and territory down in the Pit.
Come the time of the invasion a few centuries later, Lily did what she could to avoid the fighting. But war isn’t a thing one so easily avoids. It caught up to her, and she regretfully joined in, only to realise the opportunity that it was to her. Were she to just fight whoever and whatever, she could make her way. Allegiance mattered not, but the power—the favours, the renown, the experience—she could get out of it was its own reward. Were she hired by Demons she would fight the humans and angels. Were she hired by humans she would fight demons and angels. And, if she were to be hired by angels—unlikely as it was—she would gladly fight the demons and the humans. To her, it didn’t matter. Only what she could get out of it mattered.
Power and prestige from fighting were all the rewards and payment she demanded. Let her fight, let her grow in power, and she would willingly stand by the side of whoever sought after her.
[Combat]
Powers and Abilities:
Enhanced physical strength - Like any Demon, Lily possesses physical strength and durability superior to any human.
Enhanced speed and agility - Quick and agile, as much a result of her demonic origin as her own training.
Shapeshifting - A unique power not to be confused with Devil Trigger. It allows her to transform it varying chimera-like creatures, mostly half human and half beast, granting her different abilities and specializations whenever she does so, and also allows for a greater variety of humanoid appearances.
Power Form (Draconic Might) - Large increase to raw physical power and endurance.
Speed Form (Grace of Bastet) - Large increase to speed and agility.
Fire Form (Elemental/Sol) - Enables powerful manipulation and creation of fire, along with a few other abilities, as well as flight/hover.
Devil Trigger - Lily grows in size to easily measure three metres, massive, leathery wings sprout from her back accompanied by cloven hooves and furred, digitigrade legs. From her elbows and down her arms and hands are covered in black scales, ending in claw-tipped fingers. A pair of ram's horns grows from her temples as the sclera in her eyes turn black, broken only by her red irises. Her four canines elongate, becoming more akin to fangs, as the rest of her teeth sharpen as well. Sleek and Powerful muscles ripple underneath her skin, only adding to her imposing appearance. From behind her sprouts a sandy-brown tail, scaled, half as thick at its base as she is around her waist, fully prehensile as a fifth limp, and a full metre longer than she is tall as well as covered in numerous, small protrusions akin to spikes. Finally, her hair becomes a fiery orange with an almost translucent quality to it; seeming both fire and hair at the same time.
Allows for greater speed, strength, endurance, and even magic than any of her other forms, as well as the ability to use all the various techniques from her other Forms.
Style:
Draconic Might [Lvl-2] - Larger still than her first level of Draconic form, standing at three metres tall--equal to her True form--tail at a quarter longer than her height, thick and powerful. Her teeth have all sharpened to those of fangs, and the claws on both hands and paws becoming more prominent. Like the Dragons of legend, she has gained the ability to breathe fire.
Grace of Bastet [Lvl-1] - Employed only when in her Feline form. This combat style relies on dizzying speed and agility, relentlessly attacking again and again leaving little chance to retaliate or even defend against her relentless onslaught. At higher levels her speed and strength will increase.
Sol [Lvl-1] - Employed only when in her Elemental Form. This combat style relies on mid-to-long range combat, preferring to release torrents or balls of flame at her opponent, seeking to roast them alive before they get close. Using this style she prefers to keep out of melee range, pelting her opponents with as much fire as she can muster. At higher levels this ability will allow for more powerful manipulation of fire, as well as more ways of using them, as well as the use of magma as opposed to solely fire.
Equipment:
Warhammer [Lvl-1] - A giant warhammer as tall as Lily in her human form.
War axe [Lvl-1] - An axe the same size as the warhammer. The head is wide, the design simple. A large spike juts out from back of the axe’s head.
Jian sword [Lvl-1] - A straight, double edged sword, seemingly taking directly from the time of the Han Dynasty in China.
Bladed Tonfa [Lvl-1] - Single edged blade with the handle jutting out from the flat side of the blade, allowing her to wield it so that it goes parallel with her lower arm.
Guan Dao [Lvl-1] - A pole-arm like weapon with a large, curved blade attached at the end.
Techniques:
Unpredictable]
Jack of All Trades [Lvl-1] - There are very few weapons with which Lily is not proficient. Having lived for well over two millennia, and then a couple centuries, she has had time to master the vast majority of weapons in existence. As such, what weapon she brings to bear in a fight is near impossible to determine or predict. She does, however, have favourites, so those are always a good place to start guessing at.
Quick witted, quick hands [Lvl-1] - A fast mind and fast body are necessary tools to make Lily’s way of fighting possible. As such, she can rapidly change what weapon she’s using, taking little more than half a second for a shield to become an axe, and a sword to become a hammer.
Projection [Lvl-1] - This ability allows Lily to manifest weapons of different kinds from thin air using nothing but solidified magic. These weapons aren’t static, and can change depending on whatever she desires to wield.
Draconic Might
Dive Bomb [Lvl-1] - An aerial attack by dropping down on the opponent at high speed.
Sacrificial Defense [Lvl-2] - Uses one of her wings to shield herself from an attack, damaging—or losing it entirely—to negate or highly diminish the damage she would’ve otherwise taken.
Fire Breath [Lvl-1] - Like the mythical dragons, she breathes fire upon her enemies. The intensity of the flames can vary, as can the method: Be it balls, plumes, or cones of dragonfire.
Grace of Bastet
Hail of Blows [Lvl-1] - A preferred attack by Lily when using her Grace of Bastet feline form. She will attempt to land blow after blow after blow, hailing her enemy with attacks to such a degree that retaliation is all but impossible.
Choke [Lvl-1] - Depending on what kind of creature she’s fighting, she can use her tail as a rope, wrapping it around her opponent’s neck in an attempt to choke them.
Flash Step[Lvl-2] - Utilizing short bursts of supersonic speed, Lily can close distances almost immediately, move around too quickly to see for any normal human. While doing so she attacks with different weapons, from a variety of angles, and from varying distances.
Sol
Supernova [Lvl-2] - Lily sends forth a guided projectile of concentrated fire which erupts in a violent explosion either at her command, or once it hits something.
Dissipate [Lvl-1] - Allows Lily to dissipate into nothing but a large orb of fire. After a few moments she becomes incorporeal, rendering her immune to attacks for a few seconds before she’s forced to revert to physical form. Only useable in Elemental Form.
Barrage [Lvl-2] - Creating several orbs of fire around her, Lily sends forth a barrage of fiery missiles at her target, which explodes upon impact.
Combustion [Lvl-2] - A far more violent version of her Shapeshifting, Lily discards her elemental form, resuming another of her Shapes, and in the process lets the flames her body was previously composed of, erupt in a massive shockwave of fire around her. Renders Sol unuseable for the next 24 hours. Now, with a bit more control, she is capable of directing it into a cone; reducing the area of attack and thus increasing the inteisity of it.
Devil Trigger
Cataclysm[Level-1] - Combining the finesse of her feline form and the fiery power of her elemental form, Lily is capable of concentrating the entirety of her fiery power in a fist, unleashing it in a titanic blast of hellfire. Has to be in melee due to the instability of the move, risking it backfiring if used from a range. Incurs the same "Cooldown" as Combustion, rendering fire magic all but impossible for 24 hours.
Trivia:
Her right eye, and its scar, glows whenever she’s about to shift into one form or another. She almost always keeps it visible for reasons unknown.
In accordance with her shapeshifter abilities, she can change her general appearance (hair colour & length, eye colour, height, build, and so on).
The weapons under her “Equipment” list are only her preferred weapons. If she so desired, she could create any weapon in existence, or any object with “Projection”
Lily's voice is very reminiscent of Sarah Kerrigan, although she can change her vocal cords to give her any voice she so desires.
Human Appearance: Lily is roughly 170 high with a somewhat athletic build with a few muscles, but nothing extraordinary, being visible. It doesn’t take two glances to see that Lily has japanese blood in her veins, though mixed with something western. Her hair is pitch black and reaches absurd lengths, going down past her buttocks, though usually held in a braid. Her eyes are a dark brown—almost black—and peeks out from beneath a pair of equally dark eyebrows, a hard glint almost always visible in them, rarely ever absent. Her lips are prominent, with a rosy colour and noticeable pucker. She's nothing extraordinary when it comes to womanly assets either, being medium both up front and behind—perhaps even less than medium.
In her human form one might say that she’s decently pretty, but none would deny the fact that she’s a stunning beauty when she Shifts: Jet black hair the same length as before and kept in a braid as well, although there is enough hair to cover where her human ears would be. Her eyes are a striking summer blue with slitted pupils, giving her a slightly feral—and sometimes mischievous—look. Nine white tails extend from behind her, each about as long as she is tall and covering in soft, silky fur. All four of her canines are elongated, each a good centimetre longer than usual, giving her toothy smiles a bit of a dangerous edge to it all thanks to her fangs. It also makes her bites that much more painful, and potentially dangerous. Another thing that should be noted is that, in this form, she is the epitome of feminine beauty in accordance with the legends, with full lips, long eyelashes and so on; something which she's actually rather fond of, if she had to say so herself.
Where her nails are usually kept short for convenience’s sake, they are quite long when she's shifted, with an ever so slight rounded point to them, and coloured a purple-ish blue. Aside from that her hips become wider, as does her bosom become a fair bit larger. Where before her body had been somewhat tough thanks to her developing muscles and athletic lifestyle, they have now softened; giving her a body devoid of hardened muscles but rich with pleasant curves. Her facial structure also changes as well, becoming more sharper and a little angled; more fox-like as opposed to the roundness it had before.
Abilities: Athletic and flexible, skilled at gymnastics/parkour, and a very fast and agile runner.
Powers: True to the mischievous and trickster nature of the Kitsune in the legends, Lily's magical skills are focused mostly around illusions, enabling her to trick the senses of those around her; create ghost sounds and touches and make them see things that are not there. The more energy she uses the more powerful the illusions.
She also has a secondary magical gift which allows her to drain life energy from the area around her and use it for various purposes ranging from creating a light source to weaponizing it. The amount of energy she draws from anyone depends on how much they are willing to give, or how much more powerful her will is than theirs. She can freely take from plants and smaller animals, though she has to overwhelm the mind of other sentient beings, or larger animals, to drain theirs, though doing so is forbidden—A rule set in place by Ikari, the Kitsune Teacher.
Background: Lily has never had an easy life, not by a long shot. For as long as she can remember she has been on the street, without easy access to food or shelter. She never knew her parents and has been forced to steal to survive more times than she can count. Her early life was spent in the company of an elderly person called Max, also a homeless man. For the first several years of her life he took care of her, sharing what food he had between the two of them. She remembers little about him, save that he was kind and patient, and always soothed her whenever she got sad, or cold. One fond memory from her past is one winter night when he gave up his coat for her so that she didn’t freeze.
Alas, fond though that memory may be, it was also what led to his death. He caught a harsh flu and, without money for medicine and no hospitals in the town, got deathly ill and died by the end of winter. She was six years old back then, and it took several years before she finally stopped blaming herself for his death, and realised that his old age was why he had died and not just because he got sick.
The town where she lived, she later found out, was located somewhere in England. She never really bothered to learn the name of it as her mind was more focused on finding food and a place to sleep each night, but staying unaware of her hometown was not quite possible. The town was Lichfield, a small-ish town with around thirty thousand citizens.
Aside from her time with Max, her life was rather uneventful. She scraped together what food and money she could, stole when money was scarce, and hoarded when she had sufficient.
She was a skilled thief. Quick with her fingers, and even quicker on her legs. There were hardly any roof she hadn’t been on, no alley she hadn’t sped through or hidden in when some gang or other criminal chased her. She lived on those skills, and constantly trained with whatever she had at her disposal to stay in shape; to stay quick and agile. It wasn’t always enough, however, as she was cornered from time to time, beaten up and had whatever food and money she had stolen. Life in a small city was never easy, and the multiple bruises she got was proof of that, and even though she often longed to just rob someone blind, hide the money somewhere safe and live a somewhat decent life, she didn’t. Stealing when she had to was something she was had no reservations with doing, but taking more than she needed… she did look down on that, especially those who stole from others who had so little—She wasn’t completely without morals, after all.
The day came, however, when the war erupted and the Shifter Program was started. She had heard, and noticed, the people going around recruiting everyone who would be willing to be test subjects. Lily initially volunteered, but due to her young age they wouldn’t accept her: A 13 year old was not old enough to become a potential soldier, regardless of her zeal. It was her chance for a proper life, a job, a room of her own. A chance for a life where she didn’t have to wonder if she’d go hungry to bed that night, wonder if she had to run from the police yet again for stealing. But they wouldn’t let her.
Seven years went by with her asking every time they came to Lichfield to recruit, but every time they told her no because she was too young. That was until she turned 20, and they returned to Lichfield after three years of absence. She was finally over 18 and, to her relief, they finally let her join. She didn’t hesitate even once about leaving her old life behind.
She was brought to a facility in Spain, the nearest one at the time, and was immediately subjected to test after test, swarmed by humans and Mythics alike, each of them trying to figure what type of creature she was compatible with. The next day came faster than she realised, and the knews were thrust upon her: She was a Kitsune, or Nine Tailed Fox. She was compatible with a Demon Class, specializing in illusions and speed.
She didn’t care much about the news at first, but all the excited voices of the other applicants talking about what kind of Mythic they were compatible, and how much they wished to be able to test the abilities they would get… It infected her, so little by little she was getting excited as well, wondering how she’d look and how many tails she’d get. One of the things about Kitsune, she’d heard some of the people in the facility say, was that they were one of the few where you could estimate their power by their number of tails. Usually a Shifter only had between four to seven tails, but the occasional eight-tailed Kitsune also popped up. Nine-tailed ones were exceedingly rare, with only a handful having appeared in the past ten years since the Shifters came to be. She secretly hoped for seven or more.
Finally came the day—after all the others had been tested for compatibility—when she would undergo the process of becoming a shifter. The memory is still vivid in her mind, of standing stark naked in that strange, vertical tube with electrodes attached to every conceivable part of her body; from chest to legs, scalp to feet. One might say that she was covered head to toe in electrodes.
The process itself wasn’t painful, as she was knocked unconscious almost the moment a strange, blue-ish liquid started flowing into the tube itself. No, there wasn’t any pain but what happened when she awoke might as well have been for how vividly she remembered it all. The first thing she noticed as she was brought back to consciousness, still stark naked inside that tube, was a heavy weight behind her. A quick glance revealed a multitude of tails. She had counted them, counted every one of them and felt the joy fill her as she counted five and she wasn’t finished counting yet. She had gotten the seven tails she had been hoping for, but… There wasn’t seven.
She was stunned. She could hardly comprehend the fact that she, a no-body from the streets of a small town in Britain, was a Kitsune with NINE tails. The rarest and, supposedly, most powerful of them. That alone made her soar: She was special, she wasn’t a nobody. She was _something_ now, and not just an unwanted rat on the streets. But that wasn’t all, she soon discovered.
They had a large, wall-length mirror installed in the room where the process took place, and when she looked in that she almost dropped her jaw. She had always prided herself on being fairly pretty—at least among the rabble on the street. She had no uneven teeth, no excessive amount of pimples, and she managed to keep relatively clean. But what she saw was beyond her imagining.
It wasn’t a word she would have used about anyone she just met or saw in passing, let alone herself, but in that moment the only word that came to mind was “Beautiful.” Her eyes were a summer blue, and slitted, as opposed to their usual dark brown. Her face had become more angular, sharper, and more fox-like. What’s more, the toned and athletic body she prided herself on was gone, replaced instead by the well kept and fit body of a gorgeous woman, wide hips and a bust far larger than what little she had had before.
It was the first time in years that she had cried. Just seeing herself like that, seeing, and feeling, that she was worth something. Not just because of her enhanced looks, but also because she knew that with this transformation, she could help others. Selfish though she might have been, she’d learned from Max early on that compassion goes a long way.
The following days brought with them several more discoveries. Among them the fact that her smell, hearing, and sight had been vastly enhanced when she Shifted, as well as her speed and raw physical strength being far above what she had previously had. One of the most annoying changes in her Shifter form, she decided, were the fangs. Sure they looked good and gave her smile a certain level of viciousness, but the amount of times she had to put healing salve on a lip she had punctured was high. Far higher than she’d like.
In the following two years from when she was shipped off to the Academy from the facility in spain, to when she started her final year in said Academy, a lot of things happened. For once, she learned how to fight and utilize her knew powers. She learned how to trick the minds of others, to change reality as she saw fit and how to draw the very life out of plants and trees, small animals and insects. She was forced through tactics classes, dragged through the mud when she didn’t meet the field trainer’s expectations.
She learned a lot, and while she appreciated that there was still one thing she gained that she treasured, and still treasures, above all else: Her girlfriend, Tsukiko, a fellow Demon Class Shifter, and a Bakeneko—a two-tailed Cat-and-Human hybrid with the ability to divide herself into two, one tail staying with each of the ‘copies’. She was a sweet japanese girls, and one of the few who managed to get past her tough exterior, and touch and thaw the frozen heart within her. They hit it off early, and their initial friendship bloomed into something more in the months following their arrival at the Academy.
Now they’re inseparable, spending much of their free-time together and sparring when they get the chance.
As for Lily, so far she’s enjoying her stay at the Academy. For the first time in her life she has a bed and a room for herself. She doesn’t have to worry about food, or how to not get cold during the winter.
If it means that she’ll have to fight and put her life on the line to pay back for all of that, then so be it. At the very least, she spent the last of her life being happy if things go bad.
Personality: As opposed to the kind nature of Ikari, Lily is quite the rough girl. Her life on the streets has made its mark on her, making her aggressive and distrustful. She’s used to having very little, and what little she has has always been in danger of being stolen. As such she’s very possessive and protective, suspicious of anyone she might find near her rooms getting a little too close to the few she cares about—Especially her girlfriend.
Despite this, she can be perfectly friendly and amicable if someone proves to her that they are trustworthy, though it doesn’t get rid of her tough exterior. Some might call her a Tsundere (made even more exasperating due to her japanese roots), and they might be right. She doesn’t open up easy, and she’s stubborn, but she isn’t impossible to befriend. She’s the kind of person you can count on when things go downhill if you have managed to win her over to your side.
Furthermore, she’s somewhat arrogant and a tad narcissistic, as well as being the kind of person who has trouble seeing the difference between right and wrong. That is not to say that has no regards for other people, but having lived a life where taking what you could from an exposed fruit stall or sneak the wallet out of some fat business man’s pocket has sort of made her indifferent to stealing, meaning that she’s not opposed to taking something if she feels that she has a need of it—something her girlfriend is trying to make her stop doing.
Other: - She is very proud of her looks in her Shifter form, and can be caught admiring her naked self in the mirror if you “forget” to knock in the late evening before entering her room.
- She’s a lesbian and has a girlfriend who’s also a Shifter: A fellow Demon Class able to shift into a Bakeneko. Her name is Tsukiko, and she’s born Japanese.
- Her name was given to her by Max. Lily because he thought she was a pretty little girl, like a lily, and Strider because she was quick on her feet and faster than most kids her age.
- Her hair is as long as it is because she never really had a proper chance to cut it while living on the streets, so she just got used to it being so long.
- Lily is being taught Japanese by Tsukiko, and is decent at it so far, able to at least swear at it and do simple shopping in a japanese town. Longer conversations is something she’s still working on.
Name: Lily Strider Alias: Inari Race: Kitsune/Fox Spirit (was once human) Sex: Female Class: Trickster Appearance: As a human Lily might have been described as simply pretty, but following her transformation from human to something with mythological, there is no denying her striking, youthful, beauty. She is a comparatively tall woman, standing at 175cm, built slender and athletic yet with prominent assets, who presents herself with a calm and oftentimes aloof front - standing straight-backed and observant.
While not immediately obvious, closer inspection will reveal and Eastern Asian heritage, mixed with European blood, granting her large, expressive eyes, coloured a brilliant blue - brown, when she was still human - full lips, and a fair, heart-shaped face that gives her a surprisingly gentle look, counteracting the feral nature that her slitted pupils, elongated canines, and large, vulpine ears atop her head, seem to imply. Perhaps most important of all regarding her mythological side, are the nine, snow white, fox tails, growing out from behind her, each almost as long as she is tall and - were she to be a judge - delightfully fluffy and soft.
Of the features she retained from when she was human, her hair is the most noticeable. Hanging free, the cascades of jet black hair, falling down her back, would reach to her thighs; straight and thick. She, however, most often wears it in one thick braid, tied at the end with a red silk ribbon gifted to her by her lover once. Like her hair, she wears her finger nails long and straight, tapering to a softly rounded point at the end, and perpetually coloured a purpleish blue.
While she would enjoy to wear almost any and all kinds of dresses, at any given day, current situation taken into consideration she is most likely found wearing a short, dark jacket over a white shirt, dark leggings and a long, loose skirt.
Equipment: Short of her own clothes, Lily is a fighter without weapons, preferring instead her wits and quick reflexes. She does have with her a pack of food and other necessities.
Abilities: Lily is a quick and agile individual, possessing speed and agility beyond human limitations. Besides various tricks of the trade like pickpocketing, deft and nimble finger, gymnastics, parkour, and the skill to hide almost anywhere, Lily possesses vast magical powers focused almost solely around the illusory and evocation schools.
Thanks to the relatively limited repertoire of abilities her transformation granted her, she has been able to become incredibly skilled in their use in the just ten years that she has had them. These abilities include, true to the the mythology, being able to conjure and control fire and lightning, not to mention vivid and intricate illusions, capable of not only tricking the eyes, but also the other four senses. The power of her illusions, so to speak, is determined by how much her opponent believes them to be true. She could conjure the image of a boulder and let it fall down upon her adversary, and if they believed to be real, they would feel the impact and the pain as if it were real, however they would not be hurt by it, only believe so. Essentially, the more gullible or less thoughtful her opponent is, the higher the chances that her illusions will work as intended.
Until the matter of destructive abilities, she has a total of three types of magic: Fire, lightning, and force. Starting with force, it is the least complicated and most basic use of her magic. She is simply sends forth a wave of nearly invisible kinetic energy at short to medium range. It is a simple cantrip that, none the less, packs enough of a punch to dent a one inch steel plate.
Fire and lightning are somewhat more complex - the friction from her tails moving against each other, creates and stores up electricity for Lily to use, and unleash. This means that, to be observant, rapid movements of her tail is a tell for when she is planning to use her lightning. The range of this is anywhere from melee to long range, as is the voltage and amperage. This means that she can replicate a taser by touching, or creates a veritable lightning strike by unleashing it all at once. More powerful strikes requires more power, and so she needs more time to refuel afterwards.
Fire obeys the same rules as lightning, in that she uses the friction of her tails to generate heat that becomes her foxfire: Blue orbs of flame the size of a tennis ball. The difference here is that she cannot store up "fuel" for these, but has to generate it on the go. Doing so makes number of foxfires materialize in the air around her, moving under her command. She can then fire them at her opponents, resulting in detonations equal to that of small rockets each.
Fighting Style: Lily is a trickster, which means that she is not someone to directly confront an opponent. She has the ability to unleash devastating attacks, but doing so drains her and leaves her vulnerable until she can charge up more electricity. For that reason she utilizes her own craftiness to avoid direct confrontation whenever possible. Instead she uses her illusions to misdirect and mislead her opponent, either tricking them into thinking that she is somewhere that she isn't, or that some attack is incoming when there isn't any. She likes to take her time to analyse her opponent, using the time illusion by her to spot weaknesses and opportunities, and strike at the most opportune moment.
For example, she might simply create an illusion of her standing at X, while she is actually a few steps to the left of that space bending the light around her to render herself invisible, letting her opponent charge at X expecting an easy hit, only for Lily to hit them in their unprotected flank as they pass on by.
She might use lightning to stun of fire to blind, further allowing herself to cause confusion and discord around her opponent. She thrives in misdirection, making her opponent think that an attack is coming from the front, when in actuality she is behind them, ready to zap them.
Against foes that can not reliably be fooled by her trickery, she instead hides and strikes from a distance, setting up illusory traps that, if nothing else, will momentarily confuse her adversary and give her time to set up for a lethal strike.
Personality: Lily is not a kind person.
That is an important thing to remember for those that know her. She grew up an orphan, living alone in the Streets save for one man who cared for her in her childhood. That life has hardened her, leaving little place for a pleasantries and kindness four of those with whom Lilly shares nothing, or very little. That is not to say, however, but she is without compassion, for who knows more about compassion than someone who has experienced it so little? She has not become jaded like everybody else has. She knows what true kindness is, what true compassion is about. Things that so many others take for granted - and neighbour coming by with a slice of their Sunday pie, or the presence of family - are so incredibly precious to her, that she would do anything to protect what she has.
So while she is not kind, that does not mean that she does not sympathise with others in ways that no one else does. And though she usually acts rough and aloof, the shells she has formed around her heart, hides a compassionate soul that understands loss, grief, loneliness, and love in ways that so many others never even consider. To her, love from a family is not something that is expected, but love in general is something that has to be well and truly earned.
Bio: Who ever thought but there would be more than one world in existence? Not planets, but dimensions. A universe like ours only different - key points in time having been altered in such a way, that everything had evolved and changed in new and unimaginable ways. And to live in one where every mythological creature had returned from the legends not half a millennia past?
Lily Strider, street urchin, would never have thought that possible had that not been her reality - living in a world connected to four other realms, different yet similar. Then again her life and everyday was focused around trying to find food and shelter. Dry days were difficult, wet days even worse. Even the hot days, that normal people looked forward to, brought with them their own sets of challenges. Where are cold days made it difficult to stay warm, hot days makes food spoil quicker which can be just as disastrous as being sick in the winter.
Lily lived with a man called Max since the first day she could remember. She had no neither mother or father or siblings, familiar only with the same old alleys every night and, of course, Max. The only person she had to look up to, and the only person she loved. She never knew why she lived in the streets off some suburb outside of London, only that it had forever been her life, and it most likely would for ever be alive. It was here that she learned to pick pocket, steal, run, hide, and use her head to survive as she had no other choice, or go hungry. Max had taught her much, but even his time on this earth would not be eternal.
One winter, when the weather was especially harsh, Max had given her his blanket when she sat freezing one night only to fall sick himself. From that point on it was a downhill road. Max through more and more sick and more sick as the days passed, insisting that Lily should keep what she found for herself, rather than worry about an old man like him, he used to say. She would refuse, citing that she would help him recover however long it took, and he continued to repeat that she ought to look after herself and not him. He continued to say this until he could say it no more, and lay still one spring morning. That was the day Lily closed off her heart.
From that day onwards, Lily Strider lived her life alone, caring for naught but her own survival. A couple of years later, and a war broke out. The four realms that had, until now, lived in peace with each other experienced serious strife for the first time. The largest of the four realms, thought it would be better if they were all governed by the same body. When the preposition was shut down by the leaders of the other three Realms, play directed by effort and more militaristic approach. It quickly conquered the smallest of the realms, arming its soldiers with their own technology and set them unto a war of conquest against the others. The world in which Lily lived was the third strongest, they're only ally now being the second strongest. And efforts to combat the advanced technology of their would-be invaders, they joined forces to create technology which would effectively make a human into one of the mythological creatures their roamed the worlds.
With the aid of some of these mythological creatures, they managed to develop something akin to Gene splicing: Altering a recipient to the point where there was only their personality left of their human past. In some cases, like with Lily's, she's still retained much of her pre-transformation appearance, only that it was enhanced so to speak - making her beautiful when she had been simply pretty.
At the age of eighteen, Lily volunteer to the program. They promised food, shelter, and - to her - exorbitant amounts of money exchange for her services. She was found to be compatible with the nine tailed Fox, and so she became one herself: A once street urchin transformed into living weapon, sent to fight those who would rule over them.
The war lasted ten years, but they were able to push back the aggressor, and sealed off access to their Worlds. In those years, Lily changed. She had promised herself never to love again, to never let herself be drawn in with someone only to lose them. Yet she has found herself surrounded with people she considers friends: Sindri Haynes, Alice Blackwood, Lilith Akhtar, Celica Dancer, and finally Tsukiko - a woman born Japanese and the one whose flippant and never-ending happiness and joy in life, cracked the stone around Lily's heart and showed her how to love again. She gave her the courage to be compassionate, and while she still has a long way to go, she is miles ahead from where she started.
Now, Lily comes to the one place where she knows that there is a chance to complete her family. A chance to repay the man, in spite of having almost nothing, still decided to take care of the child that have even less.
Wish: A family - for Max to be brought back to life, to live with her and Tsukiko, her lover, as a family.
Echo: A suburbian area but clean and well maintained house either side of the road, and within each house is a replicate of the rooms where Lily and Tsukiko lived during the war, as well as the abodes of her friends. The gardens are simple and, while not overgrown, are not entirely well kept either. Simple grass lawns, with the occasional small pond or other decorations.
Frenzy: It happens that Lily is overcome by Rage, when something she truly cares about is threatened or ridiculed in front of her. Were such a thing to happen, her Frenzied state would cause her tails and nails to turn black, her irises becoming yellow and feral looking. Not only is her magic empowered, but so is her a physical strength and speed. Before she would avoid physical confrontation, but in this stage she is more than willing to personally introduce another person's face to the ground, tear their throat out with her nails, or be the cause of other kinds of gory mayhem. Her fire turns from blue to black, great explosion becoming something more like hand grenades, does the her lightning require less fuel, allowing for more frequent high-powered attacks. The final, and perhaps most terrifying change, is her illusions. Normally she uses them to distract and mislead, but during her Frenzy she all that oozes eldritch horrors; banshee wails splitting the air, the images of forgotten Horrors creeping out of every nook and cranny, seeking to devour anything living.
I'd like to point out that this character is three years old, and somewhat cheesier and, well, not quite up to par as some of the other, more recent, ones.
Name: Nishino Tsukasa Age: 24 Nationality: Japanese Ethnicity: Asian Sex: Female
Appearance: Long, jet black, and wavy hair reaching down to the middle of her back. Often held in a ponytail when working/tinkering. She’s 160 cm (5’2 ft) tall with a slender build, though pear-shaped body; wide hips and posterior, yet a bosom in the lower end of average… or so she wants people to believe. They are, in fact, rather large but are kept it under wraps - literally: Bandages cover her chest and makes them appear much smaller than they actually are. Her eyes are a dark brown, bordering on black, a typical colour for one of her ethnicity. She typically wears a pair of tight fitting jeans and a tank-top that shows off parts of her toned stomach, although she can be seen wearing armour that looks hundreds of years out of date; it’s light and fairly easy to move around with (a smaller and lighter version of the typical Samurai Armour, created by herself).
Job: Tinkerer/gunsmith. She excels in tinkering around with weapons, finding ways to make them better and stronger. This ranges from rifles to melee weapons; if someone wants something, she’ll do it. Or lose her eyebrows trying.
Biography: Nishino Tsukasa was born 6 years after the outbreak, 3006. Her parents were a couple of old constructions workers and had become enamoured with each other while trying to find a place to settle after the world seemingly went to hell. Nishino’s mother, however, became pregnant after the first six years of the outbreak, and soon gave birth to a girl. They had found a relatively safe refuge during their time trying to escape the initial outbreak, and one thing led to another.
Her early life was nothing special, if one doesn’t take into accounts the few times that some beast made its way into the compounds. She was somewhat sheltered, something which could be easily explained by just looking at the outside world. Her parents knew how brutal it was outside of the walls. She was a bit spoiled, if anything; being the pride and joy of her parents, after all.
When she was around ten, she came across a few books about the age-old japan, the place where she knew her parents came from despite living in the states. She quickly became fascinated with what she learned, especially the Katana and the armour of the age-old Samurai. She studied them extensively, trying to find every small bit of information she could about her homeland for the next five years, be it how to make the swords and armour, the history, of the country, or even the language despite her already having learnt it from her parents. Following her interest in the katanas were the curiosity of other weapons; how did they work? How were they made? That very curiosity drove her to try and tinker with smaller devices herself, from small catapults to fire pebbles with, to a rapid fire slingshot… thing.
Her easy life and childlike innocence wasn’t to last, however, as everything came crashing down one day when the refuge fell in 3021. Monster, for there were no other name for them, broke through the meager defences of the refuge and started tearing everything apart. She and her parents were some of the first to escape, taking everything they could carry as they ran.
It was a few weeks of tough survival before they found another refuge, a small one that was steadily growing. They got the name from one of the workers; The Refuge. They chose to settle down, her parents choosing the help with the construction of The Refuge, and Nishino continued her studies in weaponsmithing and tinkering, enjoying the peace she now had again after the gruelling few weeks of survival.
But even as she had grown accustomed to a somewhat peaceful life again, her world broke apart again only two years later. Only this time it couldn’t be salvaged. She was out and about trying to something to do, perhaps even find some metal scraps that she could try to make a sword -or anything- with. She kept looking for a few hours, at which point she then decided to go home to her parents. What she saw when she entered wasn’t the smiling faces of her mother and father, but the sight of their lifeless eyes staring at nothing as they lay on the floor in a puddle of their own blood. She didn’t even notice the thugs rummaging through their house for whatever food and useful items they had before guards came rushing through the door behind her and apprehended the men.
She found out later that her parents’ murderers had been exiled, and that they had broken in to steal food since they had nothing themselves. She didn’t believe it, or rather she simply didn’t care. The two people closest to her in her life had been slaughtered for food?!
That day, the kind and curious girl disappeared, leaving a shell behind that didn’t seem to care about anything but working on weapons and other devices. She continued her studies in weaponsmithing, trying to find as many blueprints for weapons as she could and learn how to make them blindfolded. She became withdrawn and pushed away most of the people that tried to get close to her, letting only a handful of others know how much her loss had wounded her.
She reasoned that if she had been there with her parents, she could’ve protected them. She knew how to handle a sword; she could’ve kept the men away. Why was she away when they needed their daughter the most?
Weapons, she thought, could protect her. Weapons, she knew, could protect others.
She dove into her work, soon becoming one of the best tinkerers and weaponsmiths of the Refuge.
Skills and Talents: Some skills in hand to hand combat. Extensive knowledge of weapons, both melee and ranged, as well as how to pick them apart and put them back together, and how to use them. She has also dabbled in old-school blacksmithing, using modern tools however. A bit of knowledge of electrical engineering, the main purpose being to use it for her weapons.
Primary Skill: Show her a weapon, of any kind, and she’ll have figured out how it works within a few minutes, and possibly even with one or two ideas of how to improve it at the same time.
Hobby: Blacksmithing. As old-school as it can be; hot coal iron, hammer and anvil. She finds herself using modern piston-hammers often, however, since it’s simply much, much easier. Bomb-making. While her focus is on weaponsmithing, she finds some joy in making things that “Go boom”.
Negative Trait: - Appears somewhat apathetic, as if she cares more about her own survival rather than that of others. It’s mostly true, but she’s simply withdrawn and difficult to get close to. “If I don’t get attached to anyone, I won’t get hurt when they’re gone.”
- Blames herself for her parents’ death.
Gear: - 70 cm Katana - 60 cm Katana - Held in thicker sheath than the other. There is an empty room between the inner and outer “wall” of the sheath which is filled with a highly flammable and long-lasting oil. Small vents inside coats the blade in the oil, and a button on the hilt of the sword ignites a small spark at the base of the blade, igniting the oil and giving her a flaming sword for a minute or two. A safety mechanism makes it so that the button can’t be when the sword is in the sheath.
- 25 cm Wakizashi (a short version of the Katana) - Canteen of Slush x 2 - Canned Food x 3 - Toolkit with spareparts for various weapons & few materials for bombs - Enough materials for 3 more bombs, regardless of which type. - 2 x Frag grenades - 3 x Smoke Grenades - 2 x Incendiary Grenades - Small bag attached around her waist for the bombs. - Long-range Sniper rifle. Incredibly accurate but with a lowered fire-power. - 20 armour-piercing bullets - 40 normal bullets - Semi-Automatic Handgun - Medium fire-power, medium accuracy. Magazine size: 12 - 62 bullets/6 full magazines - 3 x Roll of bandages - 500 ml of the oil for her Flaming Katana - Bagpack for carrying her items. - A pair of rarely used safety goggles
Appearance: There a people whose beauty is comparable to the gods from ancient Greece. There are those whose beauty stems from an excotic combination of colours, and even those whose rough and calloused exterior attracts. And then there is Octavia, a young woman whose appearance does not fit into any of these categories. While an attractive young woman in her own right the main focus of any attention directed at her is the startling colour of her hair and eyes. Locks of wavy purple fall down to the middle of her back, framing a face with a slightly pointed chin, high cheekbones and full lips.
Hours upon hours of exercise has gifted her with a body toned to perfection, with powerful thighs, a toned belly and overall slim build. Subtle muscles can be spotted moving beneath her skin as she moves, never so prominent as to detract anything from her feminine side. While not exactly the epitome of the hourglass figure, she still possesses a modest bust and shapely hips transitioning into round thighs.
To see her without her long nails and lips coloured a purple similar to her hair is about as rare as seeing Santa, some would say. And to a degree it is true; she never goes out without at least those two cosmetics.
Background
Residence: Small apartment in Serenity (former). Well-furnished and cozy room in Bitches’ Brew (current, until she finds something for herself).
Profession: Poledancer & Barmaid in the Bitches’ Brew. Formerly the same in Castalia Casino & Hotel.
Aligned Faction: The Castalia Family, Motum Diversum
Relatives:
Brianne Rowena Gabriele - Mother
Matthew Atalanta Gabriele - Father
The Diary of Octavia Rowena Atalanta Gabriele
23/3-2367
Dear Diary
I’m actually writing in it! It’s my tenth birthday today, and Daddy just got me a diary! I’m so excited! He even bought a pearple purple one!
You write in a diary, don’t you? I dunno what to write… My day? Okay! Mommy woke me up with kisses in the morning. She kissed my cheeks and poked my nose so I woke up. Then she gave me a pretty piece of cake! I felt almost bad for eating it. It was so cute! She said that colours for it was difficult to get, but seeing me smile when I saw it made it worth it. It also tasted really good.
Then she took me downstairs to my dad. We have a big home, they say. They say that a lot of people are jalJellous jealous of our stairs, and wants to have some too. Anyway, we went down to dad and he gave me a present! You! My Diary! He also gave me some dolls he had bought. I liked them a lot but not as much as you, Diary. You’re my favourite colour, and Mom and Dad told me that I can tell you everything, so I am.
But it’s getting late now, and Mom’s calling saying I should sleep. Good night!
~~~~~
8/4-2368
Dear Diary
It’s been over a year now, and I just realised something! I completely forgot to tell you about me! I am so sorry, and I know I should have known better. You probably know a lot about me already, but in case you ever forget I’ll write it down now so that you can remember.
My name is Octavia Rowena Atalanta Gabriele. It’s a long name, I know, and I also prefer to just be called Octavia Gabriele. It’s much shorter but still nice. I was born March the 23rd year 2357. I live in Serenity with my mom and dad. I go to school while they work. My mom makes clothes (I think it’s called a Tailor) and my dad works in the Powerplant. I think he makes a lot of money from that. He never told me how much he gets, but I think it’s a lot.
I like the colour purple. A lot. I also have a lot of friends at school, but I only spend time with a few of them after school. They are my best friends. There is Michelle, Michael, Cassie, and Luna. Luna says that her parents named her after something they found in a very old book, something called a Moon. I have to ask mom and dad what that is.
I also like to sing and to dance. And I dance a lot. Whenever mom has time I like to dance and sing for her. I’m not very good but I practice. I know I’ll become good one day! Mom also says that. She believes in me. Dad just laughs when I dance for him, and then Mom scolds him. Says he has to be nice.
Well… That’s about it about me. I’m a big girl who likes to dance and sing, and I have lots of friends. I hope we continue to be friends, too, Diary. Good night!
~~~~~
30/10-2370
Dear Diary
WOW! I saw something amazing! When I was on my way home I saw some of the older boys go to a bar after school. Luna and I followed them because one of them… Oh he’s so cute! His name is Jake and That’s not important. Luna and I followed Jake and his friends into the bar and we saw something amazing! Or I did. Luna was busy talking to Jake.
I didn’t get to talk much with Jake, but I didn’t care. I saw something amazing on the stage! There was a woman only in underwear dancing! But she didn’t just dance normally. No, she did all sorts of really difficult things with a large iron pole. She held herself up with only one arm, hung upside down, and sometimes only with her legs. The things she did were amazing and looked so cool! I really want to do that too.
So I went home and asked me dad if he knew someone who could teach me. He almost spat out his coffee when I asked him, and my mother looked the same. They said I couldn’t, and they would under no circumstances allow me to do it. I think they’re stupid. It’s just dancing, right? I don’t have to take off my clothes and stand there in only my underwear. Ugh. I barely have any boobs to show yet, so it’s not like I’d show anything important even if I wore only underwear!
Mom did say that she knew someone who was good at gymnastics, and told me that I could do that instead. Well… it’s close to dancing, isn’t it? I can at least practice… something until I am old enough to decide what I want to do myself. I guess I’ll do it. I start next week.
...I’m actually looking forward to it.
~~~~~
18/9-2372
Dear Diary
EEEEEEEEH!!! Jake asked me out today! We’re going on a date tonight! I can’t wait I’m so happy!!!
I used a bunch of my savings on a new dress! It’s going to be so great!
...I wonder if he’ll kiss me. Ah! I have to get ready!
~~~~~
27/3-2373
[The paper is matted with tears]
Dear Diary
Jake wasn’t at all a nice guy. At all. He told me he’d give me a really nice birthday present when it was my birthday. But he didn’t. He gave me a red dress. He was pretty, but… he tricked me. He told me that I owed him for it, and that he wanted… me. I didn’t want to at first, but he told me that I didn’t like him that much, then.
I let him do it, but today he told me that he’s breaking up. It was fun, he said, but I was no longer interesting. He just wanted to have sex. Asshole.
Things are going well. Luna and I had a sleepover last night. It was awesome! Dad got promoted at his work and now oversees like 10 people! He got a raise and, as a present, wanted to let me choose one thing I wanted.
So I chose purple hair dye!
He wasn’t all that enthusiastic, but he let me do it. He’ll get it from some Gaeans in about a week or so, because it’s not something that you just get. It’s made of some plant extract. I don’t know the specifics, but I’m so looking forward to it!
~~~~~
12/8-2374
Dear Diary
My mom’s friend helped me find someone who would teach me pole dancing. It’s been four years since I first saw that woman in the bar. I made her promise not to tell my mom. I’ll be starting tomorrow where I have to normally practice my gymnastics.
I’m pretty good at Gymnastics, so I think I should be able to do well.
Oh! And this hair dye? Amazing! I love the purple colour!
~~~~~
13/8-2374
Dear Diary
This. Isn’t. Easy. Holding myself up on that pole, swinging around and all that stuff is really difficult. But it’s fun, and I’m looking forward to next week!
~~~~~
1/1-2375
Dear Diary
What a new year. Didn’t go quite as I had planned. I’m getting fairly good at this whole poledancing thing, but mom and dad found out. They… weren’t happy. I managed to convince them that all I’m doing is just the same as I did during Gymnastics, just with an iron pole. It also makes me quite a bit stronger!
Also, Luna has started nicknaming me the Purple Wonder. She saw me practicing a week or so ago and thought that all the stuff I did was “wonderful,” as she said. It’s because of my hair, of course (my dad got me another bottle. Should last for at least a year), and I quite like the name. It’s fitting.
~~~~~
29/5-2377
Dear Diary
I got the sniffles. Mom and Dad looked worried. They think it’s the Sickness. I don’t. It’s just a normal cold.
Right?
~~~~~
14/7-2377
Dear Diary
THE SCHOOL BURNED DOWN! We were practicing that “walking in the air” move when all of a sudden the building caught fire! No one knows what happened, but it just suddenly went up in flames!
Luna got hurt. She has a burn on her belly now. It’s not pretty, but it’ll heal. Or so the healers say. I managed to get everyone else out in time, at least those who couldn’t run themselves. Also, I’m getting really good at it! My teacher’s saying I could get a work as a performer!
Also, I don’t have sniffles anymore! Yay! I told mom and dad it wasn’t The Sickness!
~~~~~
15/7-2377
Dear Diary
Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck
FUCK!
I woke up and noticed it. My… My eyes. I love the colour BUT MY EYES ARE PURPLE! Fuck. Fuck my life. Why did this have to happen? Mom and Dad are scared to death when I told them. At first they thought it was some hair dye I had gotten in my eyes, but when I told them that I had used the last of my dye last week they… they know. I know.
I’m an Immortal.
I don’t know what my element is, and I don’t care. I’m scared. What am I going to do? I… Isn’t there some rumours about that family? Maybe… No. It’s a bad idea. I shouldn’t do it.
~~~~~
17/7-2377
Dear Diary
I did it.
I had heard some rumours about the Castalia family having an Immortal in their family. I don’t know who exactly, but if they have an Immortal in the family then… then I should be able to work there. If I work for them, I should be able to hide myself among them. People wouldn’t dare confront me if they knew who I worked for.
So I went to their casino hotel and got hired. I’m now a barmaid and dancer (occasional singer. I’m not the best but I can do well enough. I should start practicing). I’m starting work tomorrow.
~~~~~
2/9-2377
Dear Diary
Holy mother of fuck they pay a lot! I’m just a barmaid and a poledancer, but I get paid almost as much as my mom! I also got a make-up set! Lipstick, nail polish, even some eyeliner and eye shadow. It’s a very small set, but I don’t use a lot. But even then, some of it looks like it’s Old World stuff! Rare and freaking expensive!
I love this job. Seriously. Most people are kind, and I’m not discriminated for being an Immortal! Even my parents have gone back to normal. They still look a little surprised at my purple eyes, but it’s only a little.
Oh! And before I forget, Diary. I learned that I can control fire. I can even make it any colour I want! Heh. Guess which colour I prefer?
P.S Speaking of colour, my hair hasn’t changed! Usually the colour of my hair fades out after about a month, but it’s been over three and the colour is still as vivid as when I first coloured it. Could it be another mutation from me becoming an Immortal?
~~~~~
30/8-2379
Dear Diary
Umm… Oops? I have often said that I’m good at pole dancing and all, but, umm… Hehe. I broke my leg. I was trying a new move I came up with myself and fell. I landed on my leg and… well, let’s just say that I’m sure the entire Casino Hotel heard my scream. That hurt.
Luckily there was a travelling healer in the city. She was an Immortal, too. Her eyes were really strange: Solid emerald colour with slitted pupils, and I even noticed that her canines were far longer than a normal person.
Also. Her tits! Huuuuuuuge~! I only know ‘cause she stayed with me for a day and I saw her take off the bandages in the bathroom. Just… wow. I mean, I think mine are fairly big (32B and proud!) but hers were positively huge! I… Alright. I kinda want mine to be bigger, but still. Hot damn!
I wonder if there’s an Immortal who can change someone’s appearance.
~~~~~
23/8-2381
Dear Diary
The Castalia Family is opening a new settlement in Russell Town. I was requested to join as one of the new employees, and was promised a raise. I need to say bye to my parents, but after that I’m off to Russell town!
I’m honestly looking forward to it. A lot, actually.
This is the last page of this diary. I need to get another one. Anyway, I should get packing. Thank you for always listening, Diary. I’ll see you again soon. For now, I need to go packing!
Ammunition: High Grade Rounds: 45x .45 Super rounds loaded in 15-round magazines Dirty Rounds: 180 .45 Super rounds loaded in 15-round magazines
Purse: Tube of purple lipstick and nail polish, 1911 Longslide, 1 spare magazine, water bottle, and a small make-up set made up of a few old-world and (mostly) Dust manufactured products (gifted as one of her first payments when she started working for the Castalia family).
Immortalis Information
Manifested Phenomena: Fire/Heat
Unique Abilities:
Living Furnace: Octavia simply does not get cold. While still capable of feeling hot and being affected by the sun’s rays, she never feels cold, and even warms up her surroundings if she so chooses.
Thermal Vision: One thing she quickly noticed when first she became Immortal, was that she could sense vague shapes behind solid objects. Over the cause of a couple of years this ability developed into a perfect thermal vision to be used at her leisure.
Fire Manipulation/Creation: The control and creation of fire comes as natural to Octavia as breathing does. At this point in time she’s as comfortable with her powers as she is with her trusty dance partner: Mr. Pole. The range, and amount of fire she can produce using her powers is as of yet unknown. Thanks to this ability she is also completely immune to the effects of fire upon her body.
Strengths:
Mr. Pole’s Gift: As a result of several years of pole dancing, Octavia is significantly stronger and more flexible than the average woman her age.
A Quicky?: A healthy body also means a healthy mind. She’s a quick thinker and does well in stressing situations.
Weaknesses:
Amateur: Octavia has little to no combat experience, knowing only the basics on how to maintain and shoot her gun. Hand to hand combat is an unknown to her, and despite wanting to learn she has yet to find someone who can.
Let’s be friends, Mr Wolf: Perhaps a bit naïve, Octavia is easy to befriend, and slow to suspicion. While not easy to manipulate per se, it’s still not a difficult task to lie to her.
Like a Wildfire: As easy as it is to befriend her, as difficult is it to be forgiven. If she is betrayed or a friend is struck down or wounded she becomes nigh uncontrollable, and will not stop until she feels that justice has been served, or proper reparations is sworn (not promised).
Appearance: A waterfall of fiery, wavy curls falls down past her waist, stopping just below her buttocks, framing a fair and near flawless, oval face, though often held in a high ponytail given its length. Large eyes the colour of emeralds peer out from beneath light brows, a line of freckles covering the button nose above her full lips. She posses an excotic beauty born from the combination of her vivid and rare colours of her eyes and hair, enhancing her many average features to the point where even they shine with a brilliance unseen in most.
She is slim of body, toned, and looks like someone who exercises regularly. Even then, however, she still retains a near perfect hourglass figure, with wide hips and noticeable posterior, as well as a pair of breasts far larger than most any other woman in Dust. She carries herself with a casual air, but is far from ignorant of her surroundings. She appears innocent, and but a quiet and kind girl. She is well aware of how her appearance draws attention, but it is not something she tends to use. She dresses in tight shirts most of the time, with bandages making her bosom appear smaller than it is.
Her exact chest size is unknown, but imagine it as about the size around Tessa Fowler and Merilyn Sakova.
They represents the general style when loose and in a high ponytail, as well as the length. Yes, it is very long.
Background
Residence: None
Profession: - Healer
Alligned Faction: Motum Diversum
Relatives:
Brian Quinn - Father
Sally Quinn - Mother
Michael Jones - Grandfather (Mother’s Side) [Deceased]
Elizabeth Jones - Grandmother (Mother’s side) [Deceased]
Backstory: Born and raised in Parkland, Evelina lived a rather comfortable life. Her parents—Brian Quinn and Sally Quinn—worked as a Winged Guardian and a cook respectively. It didn’t take more than a single glance to see how her father, at least, had fallen for her mother. Sally was, for lack of better word, beautiful. Evelina had inherited both her eyes and her hair, and even her body—only with a bit more than her mother ever had. Men from all corners of her hometown in Parkland had tried to woo her in her teens, but only ever one young man had ever managed to get her attention.
He was neither exceptionally handsome or even very intelligent. He was an average man in all but sincerity, which, according to Sally, had been the reason why she had chosen to marry Brian, as he wanted her, not for her looks, but because of her person. He never made any comments that could be considered lewd, or even hinted at it. More than once had Evelina heard her mother tease her father about how he might stop loving her, if she got a big ugly burn on her face from an accident in the kitchens, at which point he’d fervently deny it, and continuous insisting that he’d never leave her no matter how she looked. That always got both Sally and Evelina to laugh, and had Brian grumbling something about manipulative women.
Her life was a relatively quiet one, and it wasn’t until her early teens that things started to happen. Namely, she started to grow into a woman, and did so far quicker than any other girls she knew. It resulted in bullying and name calling; “cow” being one of the most common names thrown her way. The offers of “comfort” that the boys aimed at her did nothing but pile onto the shame she was starting to feel; shame of her body and how big her chest was becoming. She resorted to isolating herself from any and all contact, with those she once had called friends and acquaintances, and instead buried herself in her own little world where only a select few people were allowed entry; namely her parents and those of their friends who treated her like they would their own nieces.
This went on for a few years until she reached the age of 14, having now already had breasts for 3 years. Now that the other girls her age were starting to grow into an adult body, she attempted social contact once more, albeit with her chest bound tightly by bandages to decrease its size, and make her blend in. It worked to a small degree, with the name calling ceasing entirely. She still didn’t have anyone she’d really call friends, however.
Her life with her parents was much the same it always had been, but her social life had changed dramatically; slowly as it transitioned from being out with friends to staying home or being out alone for periods of time that gradually grew longer. Her parents noticed only after a long period of time, and even then mostly because of how she started hiding her voluptuousness. Only after her father had firmly, but still kindly, pressed her for answers as to , did she finally tell him how she was afraid that the other children would throw more insults at her if she did not hide them.
She didn’t have any friends, she had said, but if she could at least be near them without being reminded of how she was different all the time, then that was enough. Truthfully, Brian Quinn didn’t know what to do. He was a simple man, and what his daughter went through was something he had no experience with. Not only that, but he couldn’t very well punish children he didn’t know who were for making his daughter sad. Sure, he could give a warning to the parents of the children around Evelina’s age that if they didn’t keep their kids in check, the Winged Guardians would pay them a visit, but that would be an abuse of power that he wouldn’t let himself perform. So he tried doing the next best thing: Boost her self confidence by trying to make her feel powerful.
So having decided that he’d try to make her feel confident, and in power, he found himself leading her towards the shooting ranges as a 15 year old for the first time. Here he taught her how to maintain a gun, as well as how to aim and shoot, how to load, and even how other types of guns and rifles worked; the gun which he taught her how to use was an old model, a replica of a P220 from before the Fall. The first day she had missed just about every shot she fired, primarily because of having her eyes closed. While she had been scared of it at first, she learned to enjoy the act of loading, shooting, and loading again when she ran out of rounds.
The years continued and she reached 17 years of age, and it was about time she started thinking about what she wanted to do with her life. She had, according to her mother, a knack for cooking, who also put forth the suggestion that she could join her as a cook. Her father, however, was of the opinion that she should follow her own path. This lead to Evelina pondering herself about what did she want to do herself.
For weeks she thought and mused, yet no ideas came to her. What did she want? She was reasonably good at cooking, but that wasn’t anything spectacular, and surely it wasn’t good enough to get her a job as a cook anywhere. She did want to do something like what her father did, but she wasn’t big enough, nor skilled enough with a gun or any martial arts to be a useful Winged Guardian.
So then, what?
The answer came to her one day when her mother fell ill and she had to tend to her while her father was out on patrol in the city. She couldn’t protect others from getting hurt like her father, and she didn’t have much confidence in becoming a cook. Perhaps, she thought, she could help them after they got hurt? It felt right, somehow. Having decided on that she started pouring over every book she could find, borrow, or buy about herbal formulas, how to set a bone, how to clean a wound and how to bind it. She did her best to get her hands on everything to do with healing a broken body, whether it be difficult surgeries still far beyond her level, or even the most basic of basic things about CPR. She, much to her own and her parents’ surprise, got so swallowed up in her studies that she completely forgot about the taunts and bullying she had suffered in her early teens.
A few years passed and she had reached her 19th birthday and was starting to get out a bit more. She also started official studies on medicine and healing. Once around people her own age again she suddenly remembered the painful years of bullying, but it wasn’t like that. Not at all. The degrading comments and insult had been replaced by genuine compliments in most cases. To say that she was shocked would have been an understatement, as compliments from people other than her parents was a complete unknown to her.
She started to open up more and become more open and friendly with others. She started to get friends and started joking. She never even thought about romance; having friends was enough. She continued her studies and emerged a fully fledged medic a few years later, excelling in saving the life of idiots who got themselves hurt, as her teacher had told them once. She felt confident—a little.
She worked as a healer in Parkland for several years, and lived well for it. In a world where currency was nothing but what you could do, or what you could give, being able to save someone from the brink of death was as valuable a commodity as any. Perhaps even the most valuable of all.
She moved out into a small apartment of her own at her 21st birthday she still had plenty of contact with her parents and often visited them for dinner or just for social visits.
Her life was good, she thought, and despite a very small number of friends she felt that she had enough: She even started being proud of her body, rather than ashamed of its proportions.
But all good things must come to an end, and so did her happy life.
It all started during the summer of her 24th year, when a distress call for medical help was issued from out in the wasteland.
Evelina was at her home with the sniffles at that point; sore, slight headache, and a little tired. She wasn’t going to let that stop her, however, and upon hearing that someone was in dire need of help she went out immediately. She packed her bag and went out together with a number of other people.
They drove for at least two hours before they reached the appointed destination, and found what looked to be the scene of an ambush, or a raid. There were two people on the scene, one covered in blood but conscious, and the other still sitting in the truck seemingly unconscious. They went about treating the one covered in blood first, but when they got near him he sat up and drew a gun, pointing it at the first medic who got near him. The one in the car stepped out as well, followed by several others from the back of the truck. They were all from the Forsaken Order, as evident by the crest on their clothing, and demanded that they hand over all of their medical equipment.
Most complied but Evelina did not. Being a healer was her pride and joy, and she didn’t want to simply let them take it away from her. A single punch from their biggest guy, as punishment for disobeying them, was all they needed to take her down. She was unconscious almost before she hit the ground.
She never really figured out what happened while she was blacked out, but she assumed that the Forsaken had taken the other doctors back with them, leaving her to die in the wasteland as she was too small to be of any use in the mines, and they—thankfully—had no interest in a sex slave at this time.
She counted herself lucky that at least her headache and sniffles were gone when she woke up several hours later, when the purple light of the twilight hovered in the horizon. Her luck seemed greater than expected when she saw that a bag of medical supplies had been left in their car. It only contained some basic equipment and spare bandages, as well as a mirror, but it was better than noth—she caught sight of herself in the mirror by chance as she rummaged through the back. The angry spot of purple and yellow on her jaw went completely unnoticed, taking the backseat in favour of her eyes.
She had heard of the Immortals, but never actually seen one. She knew that they always had different eyes from normal humans, and that their eyes could look like virtually anything. So her having slitted, cat-like eyes? It could only mean one thing. It was also then that she became conscious of a different feeling in her mouth, something she had chalked up to simply being residual pain from the punch she had received. It was, however, much more than that. A quick check with the mirror revealed that her canines had grown out to be at least an inch long each, and far longer and sharper than usual. She looked more like a predator with those teeth than a human; like she could tear meat from bones with ease.
I’m an Immortal.
The thought raced through her head so quickly that she didn’t realise the truth of it before it had been repeated a dozen times: She was an Immortal, a kind of people who had survived the Sickness without dying.
So that’s what it was… I thought it was only a cold.
She fell to her knees, tears already falling. She felt numb. Numb to the heat, numb to the tears falling onto her lap. The only thing that registered was that of her canines, now conscious of them. They felt so big and clumsy, like they didn’t belong. It… wasn’t her. She wasn’t that. No. She wasn’t—
A monster.
She drew in a shuddering breath and stood up, took the bag, and went into the car. It sputtered and died almost before she had turned the key completely. The bandits had taken the gas from it, of course. It was with almost lifeless movements that she started walking, the sun battering her relentlessly, yet she didn’t feel hot, but that didn’t register until much later.
She arrived at Parkland the following morning, exhausted. She had barely had anything to drink except for half a bottle of water she found in the bag she had taken, and except for that she’d gotten nothing. She neared the entrance to the city and saw a few Winged Guardians coming to meet her—not many travellers came by foot, after all.
The Guardians stopped her about a hundred metres from the city limits, demanding to know who she was. She looked up and, to her surprise, saw a face she was intimately familiar with. The surprise on her own face was mirrored by her father’s as he looked back at her.
“Your eyes,” he said in a stunned voice, to which she only nodded.
“Do you know her?” The second Guardian asked, lowering his gun ever so slightly.
“Of course I do!” Brian barked at his colleague. “She’s my daughter! Evelina, tell me, what happened? You went out to that distress call and now you get back like this. What happened out there? Where are the others?”
“I don’t know,” she replied in a voice devoid of hope. “The call for help was a fake, and we were ambushed. They left me alone after knocking me unconscious—” she pointed at the mark on her cheeks “—and when I woke up I was alone… Dad, do you remember that cold I’ve complained about for the last week?” She chuckled humourlessly. “It wasn’t a cold. It was the Sickness.” She stopped then, gaze falling to the ground. “I didn’t die from it, but… It’s probably worse than that. I’m an Immortal.”
“Immortal? Shi—” The other Guardian raised his gun and almost pulled the trigger, stopped only by Evelina’s father knocking the gun out of his grasp. “What the hell are you doing, man?! She’s an Immortal! Dangerous as fuck if you hadn’t noticed!”
“She is my DAUGHTER!” Brian roared in return, seizing his colleague by the collar. “She’s not some dangerous monster that we have to kill, do you understand, Rookie?!”
The other Guardian was silent for a moment, glancing between Evelina’s slitted gaze and Brian’s furious one. Eventually, he nodded sullenly. “But she still can’t enter the city,” he insisted, massaging his throat with one hand. “Strict orders not to let Immortals get in, even you know that.”
Evelina could see how much it pained him, but he nodded. “Orders are orders, but it doesn’t mean we have to kill them. Now go, get a backpack and fill it with supplies: Water, food, utensils, etc. Everything needed for wandering this god-forsaken wasteland, and survive. Get a bike, too. Oh, and while you’re at it, go to my wife and tell her that I asked for Box 220.”
“But why? She’s just a—”
“DO IT!”
“Yes sir!” And he scurried off, probably heading to get the things he was ordered to.
Father and daughter stood chatting a while, a chat that mostly consisted of the father comforting his daughter as best he could. Everything was going to be alright, he told her. There were people more willing to help her, and there were even rumours of Immortals banding together to form a small town of their own. He told her how sad he was that he couldn’t let her in, and that he would smuggle her in if he knew that he could, but it just wasn’t possible. She couldn’t hide her eyes, nor her teeth. Time would pass an eventually people would find out, and not only would she be persecuted but so would her parents. She… didn’t want that. Some people were so deathly afraid of Immortals that they would react with violence immediately which, in some cases she’d heard, resulted in a violent outburst of power where the Immortal accidentally killed and destroyed everything nearby.
No, she didn’t want that. Not at all. She resigned herself to her fate and toughed it out, trying once more to be daddy’s brave girl.
The colleague returned about an hour later, carrying a large backpack filled to the brim with supplies, dragging a dirty looking bike by the steerings; a long, square box was balanced on the seat of the bike.
“Thank you, now return to your post,” Evelina’s father said, dismissing the rookie. He took the backpack and looked through it, nodding to himself after a while, obviously satisfied. From within he pulled out a belt with several pouches attached to it and handed it to Evelina. “There’s a canteen there, a map and a compass, as well as some match sticks and a lighter if need be. Aside from that there’s food and water in here to last you for at least two weeks and,” he looked back at the bike, only now noticing the two bags on either side of it,” a lot more in those bags. Now,” he took the box from the seat of the bike and handed it to her. Opening it revealed an old SIG P220 Handgun, if what her father had taught her served her right. It was obviously very old, yet well maintained.
“A relic,” he explained. “A very old gun from before The Fall. I found it a long time ago with your mother. There is some 200 rounds for it in the box as well from the same time, which we found with it. They can’t be made anymore so use them sparingly.” She attached the gun and the holster to her belt. “And then there’s this,” he presented to her a sword; a 20 inch blade with an 8 inch handle. It was a relatively short sword with a broad blade and a sturdy appearance. It weighed heavily in her hand and felt… safe, somehow. “It’s reforged using the metal from a similar sword passed down through generations. It hasn’t been used since… before the Fall, I think, but it’s very old. I had it reforged a couple years back, and now I think you should have it. It’s… not much of a weapon in this world, but it may come in handy.” She gave her a sidelong smirk. “Who knows, maybe your new powers will make it a very good thing to have.” She couldn’t deny the possibility.
Despite herself, she giggled. Even in the worst of times her father seemed to make her laugh. “Thank you, dad. It’s… good to have you help me. I’ll try to see if I can find those other Immortals, and if not… then I’ll wait until people are more receptive of us. Tell mom that I said hi, and please… don’t lie to her. I think she’d rather know that I’m alive, but an Immortal, than believe that I either died or was taken prisoner by the Forsaken.” Whatever else she would’ve said was interrupted by a pair of strong arms embracing her.
“I’ll miss you, Evelina. Promise me that you’ll take good care of yourself, and don’t get into unnecessary danger.”
“I’ll do what I can,” she replied, embracing him as well for a short moment, then stepped back. “I think it’s time I go… Wouldn’t want to keep you from your job for too long.” She smiled at him, then, and kissed his cheek. “I’ll be going. Bye dad. S-Say hi to mom.” She brushed past him, taking the backpack and slinging it onto her back. She hopped onto the bike, straddling it. A turn of the keys and another of the handle caused it to emit a deep rumbling like that of a massive beast.
“There should be a fuel tank in one of the bags on its side. There’s a little extra in it, I think,” he said from behind her. “I don’t think I ever taught you how to ride one, but…”
“I’m sure I’ll figure it out,” she said, filling out the silence after his sentence. “It can’t be that hard, can it?” She chuckled, with a tiny sliver of humour actually making its way into her it. She looked back at him, eyes shining with unshed tears, and cheeks wet with those already shed. “I’ll come visit you some day, even if I have to sneak in myself. Bye dad, I l—” the rest of her sentence was lost in the very lady-like squeal she made when she she shot forward, having turned the handle of the bike a bit too much and sent it speeding into the distance.
Brian Quinn chuckled. If she had the energy to squeal like that then there was nothing to worry about. He knew she was scared, and so was he. Her life had been turned on its head, but she was a strong girl and could get through it. But even then, he hated to see her go. He hated most of all that he was powerless to help her.
He sighed and returned to his post, resigning himself to a sleepless night, only the first of many to come. Both he and his wife would worry about her for weeks before they started to calm down enough to sleep soundly.
To their great surprise and joy, it took only a week. A letter arrived with a few sentences scrawled onto a messy piece of paper.
Dad, Mom.
I can manipulate light. It’s difficult to control, but I’m getting the hang of it. I also helped someone today: A kid had broken his leg during a caravan, and with no one else nearby they were desperate for help. I know they only let me help out of desperation, but getting an earnest thanks from that boy even when I’m an Immortal… It made me almost cry.
I’m alright. You don’t have to worry about me. It’s a little lonely, but I’m used to that.
Evelina Quinn, your daughter.
Only a few sleepless nights followed after the letter, and were completely dispelled when a second one arrived the next week. It became a common thing that, once a week, or every two weeks, a letter from Evelina would arrive, even if it only contained a “I’m alright.” She was safe, and that was enough for them.
Evelina herself found herself somewhat satisfied as well. She was lonely, as she had said, but it wasn’t that bad. She met kind people every now and then. As it turned out, not everyone hated Immortals.
That, more than anything, gave her hope.
Equipment
Weapons: - A short broadsword carried horizontally across her lower back/hips. - SIG P220 Handgun
Armour: None
Ammunition: High Grade Rounds: 121 x 10mm rounds
Backpack:
Various herbal remedies & formulas.
Splints, bandages, anesthetics; everything a wandering Medic would need, and more.
Various necessities (food, water, tent, clothes, soap, etc.)
Oils and tools to keep both weapons clean and functional.
Tinted Goggles.
8 magazines for her gun (10mm rounds)
Belt Pouches:
3 magazines for her gun
SIG P220 Handgun (8 bullets loaded)
Compass, Map & Canteen.
Miscellaneous: A bike, and fuel for it.
Immortalis Information
Manifested Phenomena: Has the ability to control light in several different ways, chief among them being her ability to create barriers and ropes, or even send it forth as a beam of heat. - Can turn insubstantial and move with incredible speed for up to 2 seconds before she returns to physical form. - Estimated Speed: 20 metres pr second - Resistant to heat and doesn’t seem bothered by high temperatures. - Immune to flashbangs
Weaknesses: - Not very strong. - Somewhat vulnerable to cold. - Not the largest girl around; rather easily pushed around. - Powers are weakened during the night.
Awakened State
Spark Name: Fianna The Gentle
Awakening Conditions: Emotional stimulus or other. The first time Eveline achieved the Awakened State was when she was in a life or death situation, and had someone in the crossfire whom she felt she needed to save. Fianna and Evelina are on friendly terms, being fully capable of talking together should they feel like it. As such, Evelina can achieve Awakened at almost any point she could want to, simply by asking Fianna to do it. They have, however, made a rule with each other; They are not to ‘Awaken’ unless the situation calls for it.
Innate Awakened Abilities:
Armor of the Spark: Every spark surrounds their host in a black, chitin like shell, or armor. Their host resides within the armor, typically in the fetal position as they do not control their armored state through direct physical movement. Rather, the spark intercepts the neural commands for movement, and manipulates the armor that way. The spark or the host may be in control, but not both. If a spark is only partially awakened, the host will be stuck in whatever partial state they enter, until they are able to fully awaken. Only then may they revert back to their normal self at will. Additionally, heavy damage to the armor will cause it to break and fall off, reverting back to the normal state of the host.
Voice of the Spark: Once awakened, the host and the spark may converse mentally. The Spark can share its knowledge, though since the phenomena is not innate to the spark itself, it can only give ideas and tips for power useage; The spark cannot teach its host mastery over their abilities. The spark can retain memories gathered from their host, recalling things they forget, or even noticing things the host themselves failed to, but only through the host's eyes. Many sparks may know each other, and may recognize other awakened forms. The awakened armor is unique to the spark, which is how sparks may recognize each other, even if the differences between two armor sets are very subtle.
Additional Abilities:
Manifest: Unlike when she's simply an Immortal and only able to create barriers, her Awakened state allows her to Manifest objects, create items and tools out of light. She uses the principle of her barriers, but instead of simply making an outline of something, she makes a full form of condensed light, causing the tool to glow on its own. For this very reason it is also incredibly hot, burning at several hundred degrees celcius. Her own affinity to the element of light renders her all but immune to the effects of the blade, enabling her to wield it without harm.
Additional Strengths:
Impenetrable Fortress: Like all other Immortals, Evelina’s Awakened State surrounds her in a set of armour akin to Chitin, in whatever appearance the Spark desires. Evelina/Fianna’s armour, however, is slightly different than the others. It consist of plates layered upon plates, and looks noticeably thicker than others. In essence, Fianna is far more durable than any other Spark, enabling her to take far more damage than the others before cracking.
The Light Is Everywhere: All of Evelina’s previous abilities have received a boost. Her ‘Light Dash’ has its speed increased to roughly 300 metres a second, as opposed to simply 20. The intensity of her Light Beam has been increased (effectively reducing the amount of time and effort it takes her to charge it up to a certain point), and her barriers and ropes are more durable.
Immortal Strength: Her physical strength has also been increased, allowing her to surpass the limits of human strength. The vast majority of this extra strength is located in the wing-like structures on her back, however. But even then she still surpasses a normal human’s potential.
Additional Weaknesses:
Moonless Night: No matter how powerful Evelina may become, she is still entirely reliant on sunlight to fuel her power as a ‘Manipulator’. This also means that she loses up to 80+% of her power during the night, making her little more than a normal human. She is also unable to use her Awakened form during the night, as Fianna is even more dependent on Sunlight than Evelina herself is.
Curse of Compassion: While not a weakness in terms of strength or speed, Fianna and Evelina are both very compassionate personalities, and so does not wish to take lives unless it is a matter of certain death if they do not. As such, they are hesitant to truly go on the offensive even with their limited offensive capabilities, and would rather restrain or tire out their opponents.
Equivalent Exchange: Fianna and Evelina are a living fortress. They can withstand insane amounts of damage before they are truly in danger. But this Defense does not come at a cost. Even if their superhuman strength and speed allows them to overcome human limits, they still fall behind every other Immortal in offense. At their fullest, they will only achieve an estimate of 55-60% of another Awakened Immortal’s power.
Other:
She is a lover of meat, and has a great dislike for Vegetarians. To her, eating meat (as well as vegetables, etc) is the only right thing to do. She believes that her love for all things once-living-now-food is the cause for her teeth changing alongside her eyes when she became an Immortal.
Isn’t quite sure of her sexuality. Maybe because she never had any “flings” as a teenager, but she’s not sure.
Her skills with a sword are self taught, with her skills with a gun coming from her father.
Title: None Name: Astrid Ava Helgadóttir Alias: Ava Age: 24 Gender: Female Blood Type: B+
Has your character killed?: Not people.
Characters Appearance: In most respects Astrid would be considered an ordinary young woman; Her eyes—blue and bright—do not strike awe into those she meets. Her pale skin, though tanned from her travels, does not carry runic markings or other mysterious symbols. She might be called pretty but she would not be considered beautiful by many. Perhaps the most striking of her ordinary features is her honey-blonde hair, which she most often keeps in a bun or a rolled up braid, and when free falls to her mid thigh. This, however, is where the ordinary stops.
The first thing someone would notice upon meeting Astrid is her excessive height, and at a finger's width shy of two metres—or 6ft 6in—she towers over most every other person she meets. She has been blessed with a figure that allows her a proportionate appearance, rather than gangly and long, and when combined with her advanced musculature born from years of physical labour, Astrid strikes an imposing figure. Her hands are rough and calloused as a result, and a jagged scar on her right forearm leaves a reminder of an old injury.
Her mother's habits having rubbed off on her, Astrid maintains a cleanly and put-together appearance in spite of the physical work she performs. This extends to her clothes, which she takes care to maintain and repair when necessary. They usually take the form of a simple shirt under a coloured vest, and either a shin-length skirt, or a set of functional pants, whichever she feels like or is most useful at the time. She is also, almost always, seen wearing a wide-brimmed hat to shield against the sun.
Notable Skills: Astrid possesses a number of skills relating to, or derived from, her homelife and trade.
Blacksmithing & Metalwork. She is a proficient crafter of all manner of tools and trinkets made of metal, and is able to appraise the value, make, and quality of most any metallic item as a result.
Woodworking. Though to a lesser extent than blacksmithing, she is capable of working wood in a variety of ways.
Archery. A recurve bow is Astrid's weapon of choice, and both her means of hunting and primary means of self defence. Years of practice has afforded her excellent hand-eye coordination.
Special Knowledge:
Metallurgy. In conjunction with her blacksmithing skills, she has gained extensive knowledge about metals, and how they act under certain situations, and how one might manipulate them.
Mathematics & Physics. She is not a savant, and any person with an extensive education would know more, but her work felling and cutting up trees, blacksmithing, and personal interest has required her to learn a great deal of the world of numbers, as well as how the forces of physics might interact.
Powers: As one of the lucky few in this world, Astrid was born possessing a unique and powerful ability: She is capable of conjuring a very faintly glowing, light blue arrow that acts as a compass needle. (This is false/misleading, with her real powers meant to be revealed later. Detailed below.)
Characters Personality: Kindness, patience, and solidarity are three virtues which Astrid's personality is centered around. She always strives to meet people with a smile on her lips, and a kind greeting, and failing that she makes an effort to not be rude. When focused on something people will find her to be driven and not easily distracted, a trait which it could be argued is the reason why she made it all the way to Fortune's End. It also helps her to stay level-headed in stressful situations and able to work under pressure. She is also someone who strives to put neither group nor individual over the other, desiring instead for people to work together and cooperate to reach common goals, and to this end she is always willing to help.
This is not to say that she will never raise her voice or lose her temper, but in her own words such things would only happen in situations that are not silly. As a result of her upbringing, she has become fiercely protective of things that she considers personally valuable—whether people or objects. She will not care if minor things such as her food, brushes, or chisel are taken for they can be easily replaced, but if one dares try to take an heirloom of hers, or touch a person she holds dear, she is prepared to make full use of the size and strength nature has seen fit to grant her.
Motivations: With technology rapidly advancing and making lots of artisan jobs superfluous, her father's blacksmith is having an increasingly difficult time generating income. Even remote as they lived, factory-made tools and other metal-made items were becoming increasingly cheap and easy for the general populace to get, making her father's career more and more replaceable. Her mother's tailoring, however skilled she was, could not keep them afloat forever. Astrid's eldest brother had already left for work elsewhere, hoping to bring back money, which left only Astrid and her younger brother. She chose to head out to Fortune's End—leaving her youngest brother to help her father's blacksmith—hoping that she might bring home enough money that they could move to her mother's home country, and start over; build a business perhaps on novelty items and metallic artistry, more than tool-and-weapon making, or perhaps something else.
A small collection of spare material for metalwork such as; a few small copper, iron, and steel ingots (about 1 kg of each); leather strips, 1 sq-ft of ray skin, and a few pieces of wood.
Woodworking kit. Includes chisel, sandpaper, various carving and whittling tools, a saw, and a woodcutter's axe, etc..
Three several inches long iron needles/nails, used to keep her hair in its bun; each engraved with an arrow on either side.
A recurve bow + about a dozen arrows.
A set of liquid paint, and brushes.
A spare set of clothes, and a spare hat.
Cooking utensils, sewing kit, and other survival necessities, including a compas.
Half a pound of very, very stale bread.
Extra Information:
Born in Iceland, to her Icelandic father (Helgi) and Norwegian mother (Ava). Has two brothers Anton (older) and Magnus (younger).
She is the shortest person in her family except her mother, who is only 5'10.
She is likely to be seen humming or quietly singing to herself, even while working.
Character Quote: "I don't like to try for Perfect. It always gets in the way of good, sound work."
Detailed Powers
Astrid can create/activate Vectors. A Vector is an "arrow", which is either conjured by her power or a physical shape which she channels her power through (a painted arrow, a chiselled one, etc). Range is 10ft for conjured one, and can only create on living things via touch or secondary touch (such as when she hits them with a bat).
She can activate at most two at a time (for now) and/or conjure one vector.
The amount of weight she can move/push with one(1) vector is equal to her body weight. If an object surpasses that weight, it is instead affected by other forces as an object lighter (in the direction of the vector) by an amount equal to Astrid's body weight. If two vectors are applied to one object, the weight limit is doubled. If one pushes against the vector, the effective weight of the object is increased by the same amount.
If a vector is applied to an object in motion, she can double that item's velocity. If multiple vectors affect the same object, their effect stacks multiplicatively (2x to 4x to 8x, etc.)
A conjured vector lasts only for as long as she concentrates on it, up to 10 seconds. A physical vector she can maintain for several minutes.
Arrows she shoot at 225 ft pr second, doubled, and doubled again, to a max of 900 ft pr second. Astrid’s darts are thrown approximately 28 ft pr second, up to 112 ft pr second. Additionally, when not immediately activated, a conjured Vector can be rotated in any desired direction.
