A Lowly Wretch

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

"Well, it was good to meet you, and I hope we get to talk again soon."

"Until we meet again." It seemed Sophia was a beat ahead on that farewell. The three parted ways, connected in some sense but removed in many others.

With steady pace she had turned and continued down her way, taking the route back to her temporary lodging. For a meeting that should not have happened it seemed to open up a number of opportunities. Had they not met would she not have been made aware of their masked observer? Would he not have shown had she simply been alone?

There were questions that needed answers. The hour was growing late however and while the night was rife with activity she had to consider how long she'd maintain vigil before her rest would become the foremost concern. The need to maintain appearances of a normal life were also necessary as was the need to remain in care. Setting out to participate in this odd ritual designed to keep evil at bay by turning the defenders of humanity against themselves was necessary but at the same time it always held the risk of isolating her if there were an emergency. Away from her parents the possibility of a respiratory attack was no less present. She had a few countermeasures, her phone had emergency responders on speed dial and her chair was equipped with a rebreather attached to an oxygen tank should she experience breathing difficulties. They did not guarantee that she would survive a severe accident should something go awry but it certainly put her parent's minds at ease.

_
Coming into the hotel they were staying at she considered how she'd approach the remainder of this night. Thankfully at this hour the lobby saw little to no traffic so she was more or less alone aside from the desk man manning his station. Calmly she rolled on down the hall where the elevators laid. She passed them by and continued on to the woman's public restroom on the lobby floor. Since nobody was likely to need it in the near future she figured it would serve as a serviceable hideaway. Rolling inside she locked the door behind her and left the lights off bathing her in the perfect darkness of this closed off space. Ultimately this was not a permanent arrangement as stealing use of the restrooms was not something she could maintain for much longer than a couple hours but for this time of night she didn't need it for much more than that anyways. It would suffice.

She transformed into her magical girl guise once again, donning her dark frills and gothic boots once more as she assumed her alternate identity. In the tranquil silence of this closed off room she closed her eyes, reaching out to the darkness that starting to blanket the land. With the sun's light dying in the twilight hours she was able to find more than enough purchase for her ravens to form. Their numbers only grew as the darkness took hold of the land, the restrictions set upon them loosening through the onset of night.

Admittedly however she had narrowed her spectrum of view somewhat. She had more of her ravens set throughout the forest than she did the other areas she surveyed. The question as to where that man had run off to still eluded her and if such a location remained within those woods she wanted to find it. She was not blind to other activities that caught her eye however as both shades and other magical girls drew her attention in equal measure. Her duties to protect people from the shades still stood and her interest in learning more of the magical girls of this area had not waned.

For now she kept watch, flitting from eyes to eyes, from raven to raven.

Nomadic Fist: Radiant Soul (A Fighting Game RPG!)

@Drag - Are we talking ourselves here or who our characters want to punch?

L'Mordryn Academy (Summoner's school RP)

@ShwiggityShwah - I do have mention of the Nidhogen in Nettle's history. A strange being for a strange summoner.

In addition I've got a rough sketch up of Nettle done. I'll be throwing it up on the top of the sheet there.

Nettle Sketch

I may include color at a later date. For now I feel it sufficiently depicts my vision of Nettle.

L'Mordryn Academy (Summoner's school RP)

Nettle is done. I may throw up a rough sketch of her later.

Nettle

Name | Nettle.
Age | 16.
Gender | Female.
Level/Tier | Virtuoso Tier 1.
House | House Phantasma.
Appearance/Attire |

For someone who hasn't seen a comb in her entire life she is surprisingly comely if a bit... Strange.

Her skin is pale unto the point of looking almost undead due to just how little sun one sees when living in Stranglesun Swamp. Despite the vaguely deathly looking state of her skin it is without blemish, smooth and clear with nary a fault. Though she always tends to keep her head down and wear a mild-mannered expression her slim face tends to bring out her eyes that possess a deep dark nephrite green colour. Her hair which hangs down to the middle of her back curves with a modest wave and is a rich yet dark moss green colour.

She is a rather thinly built person. Her physique would make a quail seem buff in comparison. She is not as wholly feeble as she appears but she is no physical powerhouse by any means. As far as height is concerned she stands at a modest one hundred and eighty centimeters.

For attire she typically dons long dark brown robes, the darker color being ideal for concealing the many stains it has accrued both in the swamp and throughout her crafts. It has a big hood which is handy in rough weather. Her long abundance of hair is mostly tucked into the back though her front bangs hang out the front of the hood, covering her face for the most part when she has her hood up. For footwear she wears big hide boots that look several sizes too large on her feet. They were a gift from one of her fellow orphans, sewn together from the hide of a giant dead rat that was strangled to death by Stranglebriar Vines. Hanging from her shoulder by a hide strap is a large bag crafted from the stomach of a massive boar. She typically carries a long crook with her wherever she goes, this wooden tool having been treated with a special resin to keep it from decaying.

Alignment | Free Spirit.

Personality/Habits |

Having grown up as an orphan in Stranglesun Swamp she was bound to be a strange sort. With thanks to the Caregiver she along with eight others survived in a wild region where close to everything was poisonous and somewhat on the larger scale when compared to species found in tamer wilderness. The Caregiver however was not a being with a terrifying lot in common with more... Common societies. She's been raised with a great knowledge of plants, the swamp and other less tangible presences but in exchange she's learned nearly nothing in regards to civilized society.

What some see as being distant and spaced out others might see as simply being a rather reserved individual. Both would probably be correct to some extent as far as that's concerned. She is quite mild tempered and takes most problems in similar stride. She prefers to think her way through situations rather than power through things. Nettle is not very outspoken either and she tends to remain distant in most matters. This attitude is not out of a fear of confrontation but rather her tendency to get absorbed in her own thoughts, often preferring to dwell on matters that pertain to her pursuits rather than on tangential matters. Some might accuse her of being antisocial but her lack of socialization with others is not out of an aversion to social interaction but rather a disinterest towards mundane matters.

With having spent pretty close to her whole life in the Stranglesun Swamp she's developed a definite affinity for plants. Her herbology is quite replete and she tends to work a great deal in all sort of natural substances. Be it medicines, poisons, venoms, psychotropics or anything not implicitly contained within the aforementioned branches of the natural world she's probably dabbled in it either back in her home terrain or in her studies in L'Mordryn Academy.

Outside of plants themselves her knowledge seems to cover many aspects of the natural world and even things less rooted in the realm of the logical.

Background |

Abandoned as an infant she was found and taken in by a strange entity known only as the Caregiver. She along with eight other orphans were taken and given shelter from the swamp by this being. For most of the day the Caregiver would be absent leaving the children to their own devices. From time to time throughout the day the Caregiver would descend to their reality where it would brew strange stews or tell it's stories to them. It taught them pretty much everything they knew and it's stews bestowed subtle changes upon them. Whenever one of the orphans was hurt or ailing a taste of the brew would heal them right up in short time, leaving them good as new.

After many years on a diet of such stew they found themselves less susceptible to the hazards of the swamp. The new organs that had grown within them mixed their blood with a strange milky yellow sap-like substance that would eat away any unwelcome poisons and diseases that found their way into their bodies. In addition their irides had developed strange properties which made their sight more sensitive to the presence of the spiritual life surrounding them. Evanescent wisps, drifting shadows and ripples on the fabric of reality before them were all hints to a deeper layer of the world that laid before them.

Each of the orphans learned to survive in the swamps, each taking their own path in adapting to the struggles such life offered. In tree houses and home stumps they dwelt, living off the land and practicing their strange magic. Even before she made it to L'Mordryn Academy Nettle had gained knowledge of the art of summoning. She had made links with a fair selection of the plant life and even with a strange entity known as the Nidhogen.

_
The children might not have had an easy life but thanks to the Caregiver they had made the most of what the land had to offer. In truth the children were quite happy with what they had, strange as they might have been. Just as with any tale however change was in the wind. When the orphans were capable of living on their own the Caregiver ceased to appear within it's hut. They were greatly confused and concerned by this.

After all no more Caregiver meant no more of it's tasty stew, no more of it's bizarre but captivating stories and most depressingly of all no more of it's words of loving care. It was as much of a mother and father to them as they had ever known and now it was gone, nowhere to be found.

After a period of mourning in their respective ways some of the orphans simply returned to living as they did before, albeit with an air of melancholy stealing the spring from their step. Others, Nettle included, did not take the loss of the Caregiver laying down. Each one of them was determined to find a way to bring the Caregiver back so their family could be whole again. Each one of them went about the challenge in their own way. Nettle's way was to set out into the world with her companion Nidhogen and seek the answer beyond the swamp.

Amidst her travels she heard of the L'Mordryn Academy, a school dedicated to the art of summoning. It occurred to her that it may be possible for her to reach out and contact the Caregiver by becoming a better summoner. With this in mind she applied for the school and joined the ranks of many up-and-coming summoners. Having some prior experience with summoning already combined with her innate gifts helped her in excelling in class.

She continues to excel as she moves up in the ranks. Her standing amidst her peers means little in comparison to her true task: To find the Caregiver.

She may be a little strange. I did try to not make her too bizarre.

L'Mordryn Academy (Summoner's school RP)

Just a note to those curious I'm about two quarters through the creation of my summoner and I'm working with Shwiggity while I hammer out details for the remainder of the CS.

@Artifex Just to ascertain quickly I saw the expected age and yearly progression of summoners. While I know that the minimum age is fifteen are the listed year progressions through each rank required or is it just the average guideline? Are younger summoners able to progress faster through ranks based on a greater knowledge and ability regarding summoning or is it just something that proceeds at a fixed pace?

L'Mordryn Academy (Summoner's school RP)

@ShwiggityShwah - I'd be happy to discuss ideas with you regarding that concept if you'd like.

L'Mordryn Academy (Summoner's school RP)

@Artifex - What would a summoner who conjures largely nature based spirits and plant entities fall under?: House Bestia or House Phantasma? House Bestia seems to deal largely with animals while House Phantasma deals with spirits and elementals.

My idea is to create a summoner who hails from a deadly swamp. She'll be summoning largely plant based things and it seems like House Phantasma deals with things closer to what she specializes in than house Bestia so I'm just curious as to what each one's connection to nature is.

L'Mordryn Academy (Summoner's school RP)

You have my interest. I shall be looking at this one for more details.

Tabrasa\- Born of Chaos.

I'm personally just waiting on Duoya to get a response. I've got some material written up for the introduction into the world.

@Duoya - Just a friendly mention to ask regarding an ETA on a Hayim post.

Mahou Shoujo no Hex Night: A Magical Girl Battle RP

@LuckyBlackCat - Got my post up. I had considered keeping them together longer but when I read up on Noriko's reasoning for heading off I figured it'd be prudent for Sophia to want to try and take up a more defensive position during shade happy hour when she's likely to draw shades to her like flies to honey.