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Name: Eleanor “Nora” Darby
Age: 23
Gender: Female
Race: Human
Appearance:
Magic: Adept. Nora has gained the ability to transform into a deer. This makes her, both in her deer-form as well as in her human-form, fast, nimble, and agile. This way she can move a lot easier, not only moving quicker, but she can also reach places she hadn’t been able to reach before. Nora found out that in her deer-form she seems to have a soothing effect on both humans and animals, but mostly animals. She can also call out to other deer for help, and later she will be able to call out to other animals as well. This way she can cause a stampede of animals and trample that which is threatening her.
Equipment: A Swiss army knife, for practical use mostly. She also often carries her camera with her.
Personality: Nora is somewhat serious and slightly reserved, but often loosens up after a few drinks at the bar. She is friendly to most and likes helping people out. Nora loves being outdoors, mostly hiking and taking pictures of the scenery. After a long day of work, be it her job as a general practitioner or be it hiking, she likes to sit down and relax, either at the bar, or at home, reading a book or sometimes writing something herself. She is also a bit of a dreamer.
History: Nora grew up rather happily on the countryside together with her father and older sister. Her mother had died a few days after giving birth to Nora, so sadly they never got to know each other, and thus she doesn’t remember a single thing of her. Nora only has an old photo of her, standing next to her father. Years later she would find a box with dozens of photos her mother had taken, which inspired her to start taking photographs as well.
Growing up on the countryside, Nora’s father learned her from a young age how to take good care of herself. She would often help out her father doing his daily tasks, but even more often she would be playing outside with her older sister. As she got older she got less playful and more serious. When she graduated from high school she decided she wanted to go study medicine, for which she needed to move to the city. She moved into a small flat and focused on her study, rather than socializing a whole lot. Over time she started to miss the countryside though, so when she was done with her study and had earned a bit of money working as a general practitioner, she moved back, buying a not too spacious, but still big enough place for herself on the edge of both rural and urban region. It was close to nature, yet also not too far from her job.
One day when she was about to head home, one of Nora’s colleagues asked her to visit a patient who had called and who lived in the direction of her home, just a bit further. Nora accepted the request and got into her car.
After a few hours of driving she found herself completely lost. Although the residence of the patient wasn’t supposed to be much further than her own home, she appeared to be in an isolated area. She stepped up a hill and peered into the distance. Not a single sole could be seen for miles.
Suddenly, she heard a soft rustling which originated from the bushes. Cautiously, she reached for her Swiss army knife. A tawny figure jumped from out of the green shelter. Nora flicked her knife open, defensively reaching it out in front of her, only to face the dark eyes of a deer. Surprised it didn’t run off, she stared into its calm eyes, as if enchanted. Not wanting to scare it, she slowly retreated her knife. The doe stood still for another moment, before gently stepping aside, but keeping eye contact. The animal made another few steps, then paused and looked ahead, as if it were to run off any moment. But once again, it looked at Nora, as if it didn’t want to leave her. Or maybe... as if it wanted Nora follow her? Now Nora didn’t believe in fairy tales and all that, but having no other options, she couldn’t think of a reason how following a deer could do any harm. She would switch on the headlights of her car so that, were she to get lost, she could find her way back. As she approached the animal, it leaped forward, nimbly touching the ground beneath its feet, and came to a stop a few meters ahead. Nora started to run after it, almost stumbling over the rocks and twigs, scattered over the mossy soil. The deer continued its way, stopping every now and then, as if to make sure Nora was still following. And she did. She followed the deer, its every step, its every movement, almost entranced. Then abruptly, she lost sight of the doe. Bewildered and panting she looked around, trying to get a glimpse of where the animal had gone, when a large cabin caught her eye. She paused for a moment, trying to catch her breath, before walking up to the door. She rang the bell. She could hear footsteps from inside drawing near. An elderly man opened up. “Are you the doctor?” he asked her in a soft voice. It took Nora a moment before the words of the man got to her. She was perplexed. “Yes, yes, I am,” she answered and got inside the man’s house.
Half an hour later she had done her job and was back inside her car again, on her way home. By now, the sun had started to set, and the patches of clouds that partly covered the sky had become of a warm shade of pink. Staring at the road in front of her, Nora thought over the strange event. As she pondered about it, she lost track of what was going on in front of her, when suddenly her headlights caught the flash of an animal crossing the road. She slammed her brakes on but it was too late; the last thing she saw right before she shut her eyes tightly was the vision of a deer. Then came the loud thud.
As she slowly opened her eyes, a bright light was the first thing that welcomed her. From out of the brightness, a dark figure stepped forwards, approaching her. She squinted her eyes, trying to focus her sight, but it didn’t work. She wanted to stand up, but she felt too weak. Her body hurt. The figure leaned in. A young woman with ginger hair and mist green eyes. Her eyes widened and she could now fully perceive the person in front of her; herself. She looked down at her body and saw hoofs. Her vision became blurry again, before everything turned black.
The next morning she woke up and found she was still in her car, on the same road. In front of her, no deer could be seen. Not a sign. Drowsily, she stretched a bit, before finally going home. When she arrived, the first thing she wanted to do was take a shower. She looked and felt like a mess. As she stripped down, she noticed odd markings on her thighs. She looked in the mirror. White spots. She looked down at her leg again, inspecting the markings. As she looked up again her heart skipped a beat. In the mirror was the reflection of a deer. She looked down at her legs and saw that indeed it was her.
As soon as she had turned back to her human state she called in sick. She needed to find out what this was all about, but more importantly, she needed to control it. It took her two weeks to manage to fully master it.
Not much later Nora stumbled across the abandoned bar by accident, and found relief in the people that came there. She now frequently comes to the bar after work for a sip and a chat.
