Name: Zeiss Calavan
Age: 24
Race: Witch
Faction: Rebel, but is more Neutral if anything
Appearance: Zeiss has a height of 5 feet, 8 inches, weighs about 160 pounds, and has a BWH measurement of 43-36-39 inches. She has messy orange hair that goes down to just below her trapezius. A streak of ultramarine blue across her bangs was caused by a follicle experiment in her school days, in which one of her sorceress friends accidentally created a new pigment gene. Her round, usually half-closed eyes are hazel, and they seem speckled in gold when they are in direct sunlight. Her round, black-rimmed eye glasses stop that most of the time, though she doesn’t need them other than for reading. She doesn’t have a very athletic build but can run a marathon if she feels like it; lots of stamina but not a lot of physical strength. Her tan skin is emblazoned with the pale blue rune of
‘Isa’ on her left shoulder, glowing when she uses her brand of magic.
When she doesn’t plan on doing anything, her clothes tend to be very basic if she’s wearing them at all. To look decent around the house, she wears pink bunny slippers, some big t-shirt, and a grey cardigan, while only wearing underwear to bed.
During work, she’s much more serious. Here usual outfit consists of a white button-up shirt, a blue sweater vest, a copper watch on her left wrist, two gold earrings on each ear, chocolate chip pinstripe pants with a gold buckle on a braided black leather belt, long white socks with black dress shoes, and a covert green overcoat. Her usually messy hair is either put into a bun and tucked under a witch hat, or braided under her overcoat to keep it out of the way.
With friends or simple going outs, she loves to dress up. She has a wide array of clothing in her apartment, from tank tops to cut jeans to simple dresses. She also has a few cosplay sets, particularly witch types as she finds the irony cute.
Personality: At a surface level, Zeiss comes off as a young, confident woman. She’s very bright and open to other’s ideas on the state of magic, and very willing to have fun when she has free time. She loves to dance and drink on the weekends, and enjoys playing with other girls in particular. She’s a little more soft-spoken during her time at work, but you can still imagine the fire that burn in her eyes for the passion she has in her work. Because of the type of work she is in, she has a strong amount of patience and fortitude, willing to play the long game if she has to do so as long as there is a solid stream of progress. However, she doesn’t take to refusals well, and generally takes an aggressive stance on how much the person could gain from accepting her offers.
Delving deeper into her character Zeiss is a bit of loon, but who isn’t when magic saturates your very being. She considers herself a genius in the runic magic that she practices, constantly rewriting the languages in her studies as to create deviations and interesting combinations of spells and enchantments. Because of her inquisitive nature, her scores were nearly perfect and she could’ve been Valedictorian of her class if not for her constant isolated study and pushing of runic norms. Having been considered a genius at a young age has made her arrogant and narcissistic, believing herself to be the one on the forefront of all magic.
Rather than focusing on an array of different types of rune sets (though she has done that plenty during her school days), she works in pursuit of one in particular: Stasis Runic Magic; an unknown rune style that causes an item or person to be locked in place or time. She works for it tirelessly, seeking to put it on display to the world so they could evolve said magic and further its evolution. She wants humanity to know of the Darkworld, not out of a belief that the Council is wrong, but looking at the ideal in the intellectual transparency of knowledge. If everyone knew of magic and the creatures of this world, then it would further intellectual globalization and allow progress to flourish where it would otherwise be barren. It would allow both Darkworld and humanity to evolve beyond what they are now, and allow magic to dig its claws deeper into everyday life. She would then showcase her Statis Magic to the world, get known for her advances, and live life happily under the duration of its patented knowledge, all the while knowing once it expires, the chaotic nature of the magic will make humanity stronger from its own ashes. Her magic might even evolve to the point of a type of immortality.
She dislikes the Rebel Faction’s methods of violence, and how disruptive they are given the war; she’d rather work in the world that they would create rather than have any part in its creation. Still, she wants them to do the best they can do so that she can do the best she could do. Zeiss discusses her ideals fervently with others around her, causing them to believe her part of the Rebels. She fled and moved her workshop into the Rebel Sector, and has been living out her days, working on her runecraft and ostracized by her peers.
Skills/Abilities: While she had basic training in other runic magic, Zeiss’ specialty lies in Stasis Magic, the one she is currently researching. Summarizing runes as simply a part of an old language, her style of runic inscription follows a templated format: first is to invoke the power of the gods via their permission, to equate the magic of the rune to something within the physical plane, and to executing using the powers of the words by adding the infinite ability of thought. The basis of the magic relies completely on the rune of
‘Isa’, as without the idea of freezing there is no runic phenomenon of stopping. This type of magic proves itself to be difficult, as the ability to freeze something in spatial place is a power that belongs to higher beings. Usually someone of Zeiss' caliber shouldn’t be able to use Stasis Magic as much as she does, but she has reformatted a majority of her mana preserves to be only used for Stasis Magic via the rune on her shoulder. Because of this, normal magic is extremely taxing on her body. But in the end that didn’t matter; as long as she can further her research she was fine with the outcome. She’s doesn’t have all the kinks out in terms of the writing of the runes, but it has led her to finding new spells that are within the category of Stasis Magic:
•
Rae Isa: written as ‘er pao Runum Ansuz Eihwas Pethro Uruz spyrr Uruz Algiz opendi nam er Ehwaz Isa’, it is the basics of basics with Stasis magic. In its base form, it allows for an object to be suspended in space, unmoving from its position in the Earth’s rotation. Zeiss isn’t sure why it wouldn’t just stay in one set location within the universe, but she speculates that it is because the gods that she drew the power from exist solely on Earth. The suspended object cannot be moved in any way shape or form as a fixed point in time. The object cannot be damaged nor can it do any damage. The incantation has to be written on the object in question (or placed on its surface with an adhesive like tape), physical contact has to be made with the object, and the user has to give it a constant feed of mana or it will not work. The shortened version of this incantation is ‘Rae Isa’; it would then only work for one second and takes as much mana as if it was a thirty second span but it’s faster to spell. With her mana reserves, the maximum time she can keep it steady is half an hour.
•
Ani Rae Isa: written as ‘Ek opandi thá hefir hann bazt, ef hann thegir Nauthiz er Isa, er pao Runum Ansuz Eihwas Pethro Uruz spyrr Uruz Algiz opendi nam er Ehwaz Isa’, is a weaponized version of Stasis Magic, which Zeiss feels it is a major step up from the original enchantment since it is the least taxing on her body. Unlike the original incantation, this one must be filled beforehand, though it takes up a whole day of mana transference to actually be viable. It must be written on an object that can be used to pierce the target, usually directly on the blade or wrapped around the grip with a cloth or tape (though Zeiss finds it is most efficient with it on the blade). Stabbing the object into a target causes the target to be put in stasis, for the maximum of an hour if no other additions are placed on the enchantment. Same rules apply as the original; the target cannot be harmed or damaged, they move with the Earth’s rotation, and cannot move. Once the release command is used and the piercing object is removed from the target, all the mana in the object is lost regardless of the time it was piercing and has to recharge for another 24 hours. If the piercing object is not enchanted steel or silver, the weapon will dissolve into dust.
•
Thalum Rae Isa: written as‘Thurisaz uruz Thorn, Fehu er Wunjo, Laguz er nysta Laguz Mannaz, fell ek aptr thaoan, er pao Runum Ansuz Eihwas Pethro Uruz spyrr Uruz Algiz opendi nam er Ehwaz Isa’, is the only type of mental stasis magic that Zeiss currently has in her arsenal of tricks. This type does not have to be written on the target or does it have to be pierced into the target, a simple touch of this will suffice. However, Zeiss feels reluctant to use it due to it being more of a Disorientation Magic rather than Stasis and how much it drains her for that day. Written onto an object with the ability of ‘reaching out and touching’ (like a glove or a hand) the user must inject the target with a large amount of mana. This causes their target’s thought processes to stop altogether, being unable to conjure up a plan or even recognize what is in front of them. Even their identity becomes unknown to them, and they forget what they were supposed to do for the duration of the magic. This effect lasts for as much mana is put into them, but with Zeiss’ mana reserves it usually lasts for about five minutes at best. She has this magic on a glove that she brings with her to the Wastelands if she happens to need it.
•These runes can be edited to set a different time limit than the default using the
‘Jera’ and
‘Eihwas’ runes, but Zeiss can’t go beyond the limits that are in the spells due to her actual lack of mana reserves. Doing so causes her reserves to overload and put a large mental strain on her brain, causing migraines for at least a few days.
•For all stasis magic, the release command is
‘Dagaz Othala Mannaz’ on a humanoid and
‘Dagaz Othala Fehu’ on animals. The words for Lycans in particular is
‘Dagaz Othala Ulfheoinn’ and for vampire/undead it is
‘Dagaz Othala Draugr’. Inanimate objects simply need the first two words. As Zeiss does not believe she will ever meet a Darkling in her life, she hasn’t put much research into how to release them if the time comes.
Enchanted Objects/Equipment: She has a handbag filled with stuff for when she goes to the Wastelands for either Raids or simple exploration, most of it being tape with magical runes placed across its surface for the usage of quick casting. She has several rolls of both the base magic and its offensive variant, along with some empty rolls of tape in case she decides to write up a new spell on the fly. Her primary weapon is an enchanted silver dagger, which she gained from a dealer since it was becoming annoying having people try to kill her for what she thought. She also has an assortment of normal knives as expendable weapons for her Offensive Stasis Magic. Maybe even a Sphere of Mystery, just for the fun of it. Other than that, a notebook and pencil for writing, some snack rations, and water.
Background: Even at a young age, Zeiss was a girl who got all that she wanted. While her father is German, her mother was English, and they lived up in Maine where the sea could be seen from their patio. Her mother was wealthy and an experienced stock broker that kept the family running at a consistent rate. Her father worked down in the fishing industry, and happily made acquaintances with all the locals. Her life is one of economic privilege, and she no trouble having a good amount of friends in the private schools she went to. She became knowledgeable of magic at the young age of 8, having her father read her scriptures of the Old Norse language. Turns out she came from a long line of witches and warlocks, her father using his Norse runic magic to further his fishing business while her mother had a basic grasp of charisma-based Celtic rune magic. She became friends with Darkworld and Human denizens alike, seeing both as equals from a young age. Her parents were strict in their way of teaching her not to divulge their magic secrets, but in the back of her mind she always wanted to be open about it.
While she had the natural talent at the inscriptions, her abilities were limited. Unlike her parents, she was born with limited mana reserves, and grew tired easily from even the simplest of spells. This was her first obstacle, and like many others she brute forced her way through with intellect and natural prowess. She trained every day to expand them, fill them with mana, stabilize it, and expand them again until her mana reserves were just above her parents. It was painful at first, but the grit and determination continued when she entered the educational institute for magic, where her abilities were put to the test. The second obstacle came from the fact that while her mana reserves were fine, her stamina to use it waned. Still, it didn’t stop her; again and again she pushed through, crawling through the dirt to make it to each landmark until she reached the top, nearly becoming Valedictorian if not for all the loops she had to jump through to become average. Still, it gave a sense of accomplishment to say that despite it all, she was able to vanquish her problems.
She learned about the war from her parents, and left Maine to be at the epicenter of all the hustle and bustle, Meridian. There, she found a wide, diverse amount of people to converse with, both open and close minded. Stil, she found a majority of them stuck in their old ways and resolved to revolutionize the system. At 22, she got a grant from the Council to continue studying the Stasis rune magic as long as it could further their goals. A year later, she was branded a “traitorous Rebel” for even arguing the idea of sharing magic beyond the Darkworld. Her family wasn’t hunted down by the Council though; after all, they didn’t actually divulge any information to humanity. Still, she was kept on watch.
Six months later, she was given a Ward Key by a friend who shared her ideas but lived elsewhere, who told her that if she ever needed a place to be free, the Rebel Faction was the way to go. Initially, she pushed the idea aside, believing that killing simply for speaking out was ludicrous. But it did happen. Again and again and again. Finally, when she couldn’t take the annoyances of radicals trying to kill her for her ideas, she ran into the Rebel Sector and continued her work there, with her funding now coming from the fortune that her parents amassed due to how restrictive her contract with the Council actually was. Again, the Council by its own laws didn’t have any account of her divulging her information outside of the Darkworld, and her kin were outside the war zone so they were left to be. She still sometimes comes back to the Mage Sector for familiar friends and comrades, keeping them in the dark of where she relocated, but the air now stung with an air of fear and danger; she was no longer safe there, their eyes boring into her like drills through the Earth. And so she works in the center of Meridian, waiting for the day when she can expose her knowledge to the world, Dark and human alike, while technically joining neither side. But she will have to choose and join the fight, one of these days…
Other Information: While she is proud of her tanned skin (due to it being a product of her constant use of magic affecting her melatonin), she is a bit uncomfortable with her bust size. She’d rather be more functional when it comes to both her work and leisure time, so it’s problematic even if it allows her to attract attention.
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