Skai

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interaction/s: @AtomicEmperor

Location/s: Coven's Lair

---

One late night DQ run, nine hours of blissfully uninterrupted sleep, and breakfast sandwich later, Lyss shut her engine off as she watched the Sycamore Coven leave the park. "I have got to be better with my timing." She said with an exasperated huff. "Where are they going, anyways? On a little walk?"

Better late than never, then.

Moments later, Lyss was off her bike and strolling after Auri and the others. From her point of view, she could see some faces from last evening and new faces she hadn't seen in years. Some of them she didn't even recognize. She checked herself in the mirror of her burner phone as she walked down the tree-lined lane. She only noticed the gothic church ahead as she came to the same gate the others had just passed through moments ago. "Huh." She murmured with a soft smirk. "Oddly fitting."

Lyss pocketed her burner as she continued. The group was heading inside without a glance behind them. They're pretty cocky, considering they started a gang war with the wolf bikers last night. Lyss shook her head before casually looking over the empty parking lot and the small forest that surrounded the abandoned church. Something about this place seemed off-putting, and yet Lyss's steps didn't falter. She casually made her way up to the doors and gripped the handle.

"What the fuck am I doing here." She muttered before taking a deep breath. It had been a long while since Lyss stepped inside of a church. Even longer since she'd been in a room with so many former allies. She tried to think of any reason they'd have to shun her, but she figured they wouldn't be mad that she had left without saying goodbye. She couldn't remember any issues she had with any individual, so it wouldn't be hard to greet them any differently than she would a stranger.

The disappointment and frustration she had felt when she left St. Portwell began to bubble up in her stomach again as she opened the door and quietly made her way inside. She remained in the back of the room like a ghost, choosing to observe before she put herself in the middle of it. She turned towards the left corner of the room and leaned against the wall. She was catching bits and pieces of conversation, and was surprised to hear that there weren't any angry words. It just seemed like a lot of shit being thrown Auri's way. Where is all this coming from? They're the ones being difficult. She frowned. And where did Auri go?

A familiar girl with a head of white hair slipped out of the church with Void Heart in tow. Lyss's brows furrowed momentarily. When did he stick his claws into another girl?. Before she could think too much about it, the man who gave a speech followed them out of the door. She realized he was Jack before he even mentioned his name, only because of the way his left sleeve hung from him. Where are those three going?

"Who the Hell is teleporting around here!?"

Leo, right? No... close, but not it. Lyss raised an eyebrow as she looked over at the sudden intrusion. "I'd say it was Jack, considering he just told all of us he's willing to uber us anyplace we need." She said in his direction before noticing Edict behind him. "Hey, Edict."

Her little quip was lost on Leon, unfortunately.

A sudden crash from the other side of the church had her looking behind the two at what had come through the window. "Tear gas! Everyone cover your faces!" She shouted into the chaos before taking her own advice. She snatched a black face covering from her messenger bag, having just enough time to cover her mouth before the gas had filled the entire room. It stung her eyes, and she could already feel it filtering through the fabric at her mouth. She tried her best to keep herself from shutting her eyes as the doors to the church burst open once more. She needed to know who was behind this raid.

The man that entered first caught her attention immediately. He was who she kept her eyes on as he moved into the room. Her peripherals caught several other masked individuals following with assault rifles, but they didn't mean shit to her. The entire moment felt like an extreme case of déjà vu, and he was at the center of it. Like they'd met before, although she didn't know anything about him except for the uniform he wore. Fucking PRA... I'm fucked... Fuck, he looks good in a uniform.

People started getting tazed, which was enough to convince Lyss to go ahead and get on her knees. She still kept her eyes on tall, dark, and handsome, part of her wishing he was the one putting her on her knees.

Get it together, Lyss. How are you gonna get yourself out of this? _{How am I gonna get in his pants.} Damn it all.

A cough interrupted her thoughts as the gas seemed to be burning through her mask now. She turned her head away from the PRA Agents and slowly held up her free hand in a form of surrender. Just play along... There's no trace of you after St. Portwell. You're a ghost, returned to the land of the living. Her eyes burned hot enough to warrant tears, and she shut them before any more gas could make its way into them.

If anyone's cuffing me today, it better be the hot one. She thought bitterly as another coughing fit took over her. Fucking coven bullshit.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Linqian (@Fernstone) and Greyson (@AtomicEmperor).

Flowers and Canvases > Biker Gangs v. The Coven/s Brawl

---

"Sure did, party’s over and all.”

Lyss returned Linqian's unexpected smile with a brief smile of her own. Linqian's response had her caught between disappointment and relief. It would have been great to see the coven back together in one room again, but she couldn't imagine how discordant a meeting would have gone between the group after so many years.

”Auri’s still in there, but the rest of the group went to a stripclub chasing a lead. I was about to join them… You coming along, or you gonna go get Auri to fill you in on all the boring shit you missed?”

Lyss chuckled softly. A Sycamore Tree Coven meeting was probably far off from "boring", but she figured she would get the details from Auri later. It seemed like the Coven was already jumping into action instead of bickering over the past. Lyss could work with that.

"Well God damn, if it ain't Lyss Burns!"

Turning her attention towards Greyson, Lyss smirked in approval. The conman still had his charm.

"I was just about to split; I need to check on some things that I haven't had the chance to yet. Auri ain't leave yet, so like Linqian said, if you wanna get in there and bother her I'm sure she'd be real happy to see, y'know, a face that isn't insane or whatever."

Her eyebrows rose in response to his laugh, yet the edges of her eyes crinkled with amusement. Perhaps the reunion would have been worth the effort to be on time. How much had the other members changed over the years? Would they all greet her with the same enthusiasm?

Greyson was off in a flash, in the passenger seat next to what she assumed was his private chauffeur. He really must have hit the conman's jackpot over the years.

Lyss caught Linqian's eye-roll in her peripherals and held back a smirk. "I'll see you there." She said with a nod. Linqian was off just as quickly as Greyson.

Which left Lyss back at square one. She looked across the street at Auri's flower shop and figured she could at least catch her for a quick hello. Linqian made it sound like Auri was headed to the stripclub too, but it didn't seem like the right place to make a first appearance after so many years. Now that she thought about it, it would be a lot easier to say hello now with the rest of the returning coven members gone. No chaotic personalities to compete with, no awkward tensions between them, and no one to start an argument over something trivial.

It was perfect.

Lyss glanced up and down the street once before making her way across. While she may not have been close with Auri, just as close as she was with any of the others, Auri had been the only one to reach out to her over the years. This time there was a chance that she could make a personal connection to Auri and, well, anyone willing. This tiny spark of hope ushered Lyss to the front door, where she looked inside and immediately regretted her decision.

"Oh, what the-" Lyss sputtered out as she felt her cheeks flush. She quickly turned away from the shop, heading directly to her sportster. "On the counter, Auri?" She huffed a laugh and shook her head. Her chance of chatting privately was not going to happen.

Lyss made quick work with the kickstand and straddled her ride, starting it up with practiced speed. She shook the unwanted image out of her head as she typed in the directions to Veni Vedi-whatever, before she tugged on her helmet. She was gone before anyone had the chance to see her outside, before she had to have an incredibly awkward talk with Auri instead of a greeting.

---

About thirty minutes later, Lyss sat with her sportster idling humming beneath her about a block or two down from Veni Vedi Veni, safely tucked in behind a large truck with a perfect view of the scene ahead. The visor to her helmet was open, and her lips pressed together in a frown. It seemed like she had missed another infamous Sycamore Tree party. This time she was definitely relieved about it. The shitshow she almost rode into was finally settling down, but she couldn't believe just how much had happened in such a short amount of time. The Hound had greeted more than one soul in the fight, even claiming a pale skinned woman she easily recognized as Alizee. It wasn't hard to distinguish her former Coven amidst the masked vigilantes, whom Lyss had no idea who they were, and the biker gang. It was obvious that they were the Wolfpack, considering a few of their members continued to shout the name as loudly as they could.

What really caught her attention was the SWAT van that peeled in to join the melee. Her eyes had narrowed at the agents disguised as St. Portwell police. The moment they displayed their abstractions, Lyss immediately recognized them as the PRA. What the hell had happened to St. Portwell, for it to get like this? It was worse than she expected. Especially when the infamous wolfpack leader - Judas, right? - gave a rather underwhelming entrance with his Curs. The Curs, of course, stole his spotlight. Making him appear rather boring next to them. This isn't the guy Auri thinks is behind the wolf carvings, right? There must have been some type of miscommunication.

To put the cherry on top of the cake, there was even a supernatural kid involved. Lyss didn't even question it, considering he was currently in the jaws of a Cur. Whatever he was, he would either survive it or he wouldn't be an issue to think about for long.

While Lyss considered watching this scuffle come to an end, it seemed like the perfect time to dip out. The Sycamore Tree Coven had made their exit pretty quickly, and she had no business getting caught in PRA affairs. She pulled her phone from her pocket, making sure to keep the current PRA v. Judas battle in the corner of her vision, and sent Auri a quick text.

"I ran into Linqian outside the shop and followed her to the stripclub. Long story short, don't come. Shit hit the fan and they all scattered. Wolfpack and PRA involved. Let me know what the next move is."

Lyss almost mentioned Alizee's death... It wasn't right to say over text. None of this was right, anyways. Lyss wasn't sure what she expected to happen, but it certainly wasn't this. With a huff, Lyss popped her visor back in place and peeled off before the PRA, or Judas's Curs, had a chance to notice her. She sped off, not really sure where to go next, until she felt her stomach rumble. Oh, right. She hadn't eaten since lunch.

Lyss checked the closest food joint open as she sat at a red light. The ticking of the light only added to her irritation. Not even one full day in St. Portwell, and the Coven was already disappointing her. Yet it was becoming more apparent that she was needed here. The checks and balances of St. Portwell were off, and it seemed like an agent of the Hound was needed to fix that. Lyss could only hope that some of the Coven had enough sense to work through their differences and get their shit together. Lyss knew she couldn't do it alone.

The light turned green, and Lyss revved her engine up before taking off. her stomach was practically growling the moment she removed her helmet. She was parked outside the local Dairy Queen, and the smell of ice cream and grease only made her hunger worse. She hopped off the bike and threw her bag over her shoulder before heading to the entrance.

The door chimed as she opened it, and Lyss made quick work to scan the patrons inside. Her eyes stopped on the group of Sycamore Tree's huddled together. The sight only added to her disappointment of the day. How the fuck had Sloane broken her nose and Luca snapped his wrist? Did Lyss miss the memo? Was everyone supposed to fight on their first day back?

Lyss turned her head away and marched up to the counter, deciding to ensure she wouldn't starve if she got caught up in the Coven's BS before she ordered. She made it quick, asking for a chicken tender basket and a small chocolate shake, paying with cash before taking her receipt and stepping aside to wait. She crossed her arms as she leant against the counter. From this point, she could just barely hear the words the Coven members were saying to each other. It would be alright if they didn't notice her. A younger part of her thought that she was better off without their problems anyways.

Ju-V

Frederick (or Fritz, don't stab me bro) "Vorpal" Jackson

@Hound55

I love the nickname

Ju-V

@Lawful Newtral

No worries! I've been busy with family and work as well this week so it will be a while before I get back into things.

I hope everyone has a great New Years :)

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Interactions: Linqian (@Fernstone) and Greyson (@AtomicEmperor).

Burns Home > Flowers and Canvases

---

Lyss stood leaning against her motorcycle with her arms crossed, her face grim as she surveyed the abandoned Burns home. After ten empty years, the house was decrepit and beginning to crumble. The dark green paint had faded grey. The shutters were decayed or missing entirely, along with rotten bits of wooden trimming along the roofing. The frame of the house still held, each wall holding firm with the assistance of the overgrown vines crawling up their sides. One side of the porch had collapsed, it's banister too rotten to support it's roof.

When Lyss left St. Portwell, she never thought that she'd see this home again. On the ride here she'd sworn not to step foot on the property. She was normally true to her words, and yet... here she was. Soiling the good memories she had of her once beautiful home. Well, whatever good memories were left of it. She figured, if she still had all of her humanity, that she would have shed at least a tear or two over it. Instead she felt an ache in her chest. Enough of an ache to make whatever percentage of her soul that remained seem far too much.

How much longer do I have left, before I look at this place and feel nothing? Would it be better, that way?

Best not to dwell on that for too long.

Lyss gave the Burns relic one last lookover before she straddled her bike. She got it started, pulled on her helmet, and began to make her way into the city. The ache in her chest slowly faded the further she was from her home.

The familiar drive into the city opened a floodgate to her memories. Memories she cherished, and memories she wished were forgotten. Places where the Stygian Snake had left scars stood out to her. Even after ten years, the businesses and homes that were built over the wreckage looked brand new and out of place. Portwell was both familiar and alien to her now. The thought made her rev her engine and ride faster. She focused on the streets until she couldn't tell the difference between old and new.

Lyss was hesitant to answer Auri's call a few days ago. The life that Lyss built for herself wasn't all roses and sunshine. Her work was a means to an end. Odd jobs here and there with great rewards. Her partners were sketchy at times, and yet she found some type of fucked up family dynamic with them. They had her back when she needed it most. They knew what had to be done without snide remarks and bickering. Something the Sycamore Coven could learn from.

Yet Lyss couldn't decline the call. It was nice to know that someone from the Coven cared to reach out. Even if it was to deliver grave news. No matter how much Lyss resented the way the Coven disbanded, she knew that they deserved her help. They deserved vengeance. To hear that so many members were missing or had been murdered, including Stone, was enough to convince her to break her oath and return home.

The wolves carved from sycamore trees were messages meant for the Coven directly. Whoever this Father Wolf was, whether it was one man, an apparition, or a coven acting under one name, meant to destroy their Coven. It was already apparent that distance was no issue for them. Lyss would have been roped into this eventually, or she would have been unfortunate enough to find a wolf idol in her apartment and become a martyr herself.

So why not rejoin the Coven? It took one major threat for them to work together, so perhaps this one was doing the same? Maybe they had all grown and matured over the last ten years, and it would be better this time.

With a wolf's knife to their neck, they might be even worse than before. Despite how cynical she felt about it, Lyss smirked to herself. It's going to be just like old times, then.

Lyss slowed as she neared the flower shop's location and it seemed she was right. She knew she was late to the meeting, but she didn't think that it would end within an hour. Her old friends had matured physically, just like she had, and yet she could recognize each of them easily. Lyss pulled her bike into a spot a few down from the entrance to the shop and watched as two groups left the building.

The first group to leave had Drake, Sloane, Luca, Simone, and Kali. Drake looked... well enough for someone who had lost his wife. He looked older than his age, which was a lot to say since she was one year above him. Maybe marriage did that to a person. Sloane was sleek and stylish, and yet she carried herself the same way as she did before. Luca, Simone, and Kali just looked a little taller, and better dressed.

The next group was... unexpected and yet expected. Two extremely tall figures, with others in tow. Sully was a man now, and Lyss couldn't wrap her head around how grown he looked. How much bigger he was. He was a football player back then, right? He must have continued the gig. The other tall figure, well... Lyss hadn't expected to see her here at all. To think that Auri would have called her despite her issues with other returning members was a bit of a shock. Lyss felt no ill will towards Britney, although she'd been disappointed in the decisions she made. To see her with Sully, though, that wasn't a shock at all. Sully stood up for Britney back then. Of course he'd be doing it now.

Lyss watched the two groups head off in separate directions before she removed her helmet. If they were leaving, it was probably best to save their reunions at the next meeting. She came here to meet with Auri after all.

Lyss cut the engine, and was in the middle of getting off her bike when she noticed two figures standing by the shop doors having a cig. It took her a second before she recognized them as Greyson and Linqian. Linqian had not grown much, yet from Lyss's position she could see how her face had matured. She could also see that Linqian's attitude hadn't changed either. Greyson, on the other hand, was sporting a goatee and looked like he had grown into some money. Not surprising, for someone who had unknowingly taught Lyss some tricks she later used in her new profession.

Lyss threw her messenger bag over her shoulder and took a moment to adjust her hair and jacket. Whatever reservations she had, they didn't matter now. It was time to get to work. Hopefully Auri had some answers already, or at least a lead.

Hopefully I won't regret coming here at all. She thought with a deep breath.

She began to walk up to the shop, one hand on her bag's strap, and the other tucked into her jacket pocket. As she neared the entrance to the shop, she gave Greyson and Linqian a brief smile as a greeting. "Did I miss the party?"

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Alyssa "Lyss" Burns

"Am I gonna regret coming back?"

_______________________________________________ Alyssa Burns She/Her | 27 | European-American | 5'9" | 145lbs _______________________________________________ Real _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "I know a thing or two." ___________________________________ [+] [Cooking] ⫻ She learned it all from her grandmother. [Underworld Connections] ⫻ Lyss understands how the shady side of the world works. She has friends there, and they know people who know certain things that helped her in her career. [Weaponry and Combat] ⫻ Even with the ability to summon her own personal army, Lyss has learned that it's a good idea to defend herself without it. She carries a pistol with her, and also a lucky metal bat. She prefers to use the bat first.

Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and get your shit together." Lyss has a sort of unblemished, untouched look to her beauty. Her fair skin is smooth and unscarred. Her most striking feature would be her eyes. They're a green flecked hazel, and they seem to peer through to the soul of anyone she meets. She wears smokey eyeshadow to highlight them. Besides the eyeshadow, Lyss prefers not to wear any other makeup except for her staple lip colors; these colors remain between dark red and mauve. She is rarely seen without any makeup, as it has become a part of her and not just an accessory. Her dark brown hair falls to her middle back. Since she was born, it has always been a sleek, smooth, and shiny straight style. She rarely does anything with it, except to push it back from her face. Her height comes from her long legs, and her figure curves at the right places in an hourglass shape. She stands tall and at ease, as if she is unfazed by most things. This is all a ruse, of course. Underneath her clothes lie toned muscles ready to take action at any moment. When it comes to clothing, Lyss rarely steps out of her general style. Her wardrobe consists of dark colors like black, brown, maroon, or navy. Her jeans are usually a dark washed denim or black. She is not shy to show skin, but she always balances out a tank top with her favorite dark brown leather jacket over top. In regards to shoes, Lyss prefers boots or slip on sneakers to anything with heels.

_{Psychology
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"Life isn't black and white. It's a million grey areas, and I'm trying to find my way through them."

MAIN GOAL ⫻ To carry on her family's name. To survive this messed up world. She wishes to faithfully serve The Hound, and to continue her work until it is her time.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Lyss understands that there is a balance to life and death better than anyone. All things deserve a chance to live their life to the fullest and meet death when they are due. Those that decide to spit on The Hound's role by ending those lives too soon should be stopped.

SECRETS ⫻ Lyss still feels a sense of guilt that so many of her coven were harmed during the battle against the Stygian Snake, as if she could have done more to prevent it. Her one redeeming act is that she was a part of saving Eska from the rubble. After all this time, she feels like it's not worth mentioning.

In the time between the coven's dissolution and their reunion, Lyss had been working in the black market.

Lyss carries a journal containing the Burns spell casting history, taken from her family home after her grandmother's dead. Within it contains simple, well known spells, but also many rare and potentially dangerous ones as well.

SEXUALITY ⫻ On the off chance Lyss ever makes a move, it's on a man that can handle her.

FEARS ⫻ Failure. Heights. Pretty typical stuff. She does not fear death.

REPUTATION IN OLD COVEN ⫻ Lyss had no enemies within the Coven, at least not any that she knew of. She may not have given 100% of her efforts at Coven meetings, but she certainly gave everything she had into their battles. When the coven began to dissolve, Lyss felt as if she was losing another family. So she left before the goodbyes began.

ROLE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE STYGIAN SNAKE ⫻ Lyss's abstraction was an aid against the Stygian Snake. Even so, she could only stand at the sidelines and let her undead to the work for her. Joined by the other necromancers, her undead served as a barrier between many of the Stygian Snake's attacks and her fellow members. They also took on the Snake's monsters directly. She pushed herself to her limits and beyond that day, and fell into a few days long coma. She was never aware that they sealed the Stygian Snake into the Sycamore Tree because of this. By the time she awakened, the coven had already erased their memories and were beginning to fall apart.

FLAWS ⫻ Over the years, Lyss has grown to be quite blunt with her words. She's forgotten the meaning of "white lies" and prefers to keep her words and actions as obvious as possible. She'll let you know when you're wrong. She can also be stubborn once she's made up her mind, and more often than not ends up working alone to satisfying her own goals.

_{Backstory
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I owe it all to my grandmother."

The Burns family name carries meaning. Whether that meaning is looked upon in a good or bad way, the Burn family didn't care. Her mother worked with apparitions and spirits, while her father practiced necromancy like her grandfather. Because of their careers, her parents traveled often. Alyssa was raised by her grandmother, a strong woman who had once been a legend in the Burns family books.

After her grandfather passed, Alyssa's father became absorbed by his work. He soon lost his life to his passion. Alyssa's mother and grandmother weren't sure it it was by his own hands, or by those who opposed his work. At six years old, Alyssa wasn't mature enough to feel the weight of grief. Yes, she missed him, but she didn't know why her mother cried all of the time. Or why her mother left her without a goodbye.

Once Alyssa turned 13, her grandmother handed down the family ring. The same ring that had thrown her family into misery. She was apprehensive at first, but her grandmother insisted that she carry on their family tradition. Her grandmother opened up to her, explaining family secrets, stories, and anything Alyssa could think to ask her. Her training commenced and the two soon discovered Alyssa's affinity for necromancy. Alyssa secretly vowed not to follow in her father's footsteps.

Years later, Lyss was well on her way to mastering her abstraction. The news of the Stygian Snake's appearance reached the Burns house quickly. Lyss's grandmother, a generally stoic and brave woman, shook as she heard the news. The Snake's attacks grew more frequent, and it seemed like more and more lux users were falling to it's teeth. Her grandmother secretly planned their escape, while Lyss began to look for others in the city that were willing to fight. It was when her grandmother perished in an attack on the Burns home that Lyss fully threw herself into defeating it.

She was introduced to the Coven shortly after by Sully McPherson, whom she heard through sources had been recruiting people into a group of other lux users. While she didn't put much effort into socializing in the soon to be coven, Lyss threw herself into working against the Snake. Once the Snake had been defeated, Lyss stayed with the coven because it was all she had. Still, even the coven began to fray at the edges. While she wanted to stay and fight it too, she ultimately made the decision to leave St. Portwell and never look back.

She found a way to get by in a new city, with a sort-of good enough family to fill the void. She hardly thought about St. Portwell in years, until she received a text from an old friend...

_{Abstraction
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I have friends in all places."

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Lyss is a Black Lux user with an affinity for necromancy. She understands apparition sealing and warding, but she has never fully completed her training. Her channeler is a ring passed down by her ancestors and given to her by her grandmother.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Lyss's necromancy allows her to perform acts such as:

Reanimation ⫻ Lyss is able to summon the dead to do her bidding by projecting her emotional-field into the ground below her. Her emotional-field then fills the body with energy, enabling it to be controlled. This acts as an extension of her body, with the ability to see through their eyes and hear through their ears. She is unable to feel or smell through them, fortunately enough. If one perishes, she can only feel the loss of her connection to them.

In addition to summoning human bodies, Lyss is able to summon the bodies of dead animals. These animals can be small enough to act as surveillance or large enough to take down enemies.

The Hound's Blessing ⫻ With permission from The Hound himself, Lyss has the ability to summon underworldly beings such as golems and hellhounds.

Golems are constructed using the flesh of the dead. They are usually humanoid, resembling giants, or monstrous if the flesh of an animal has been used. These creatures are bound together into a macabre horror standing up to eight feet tall and weighing about 500 pounds.

Hellhounds are ferocious, terrifying entities that serve The Hound himself. To those able to see magic, they manifest as large, demonic pitbull-like canines, with red eyes and a black-aura around them, making hellhounds appear to be made of shadows. They cannot be killed by conventional methods, yet they will sustain damage from these attacks. The only way to truly kill them is with magic. Along with the invulnerability to human weapons, hellhounds can track any human or apparition once they have the scent of their emotional-field and possess the strength and speed of twenty live canines.

Spirit Summoning ⫻ Lyss is able to summon the spirits of the dead to communicate with them. She does this by using her emotional-field to seek out the traces of soul left in the body, and search for it in the afterlife. Once they have been summoned, Lyss only has to get them to talk. That is, if they agree to speak to her.

LIMITS ⫻

Reanimation ⫻ Lyss is only able to summon up to 100 undead at one time without weakening herself. This includes humans and animals. If she pushes past this limit she is at risk of a coma.

The Hound's Blessing ⫻ Creatures like golems and hellhounds require more energy and focus to summon. If she choses to summon only golems, she can only summon ten at a time. If she choses only hellhounds, she is only able to summon six. When she summons hellhounds, she must remain in complete control of them or else they will run rampant. They answer to her commands alone, and she must remain confident in her commands or she risks losing control of them. This makes them an extreme risk, and Lyss only summons all six if she is in a desparate situation.

Spirit Summoning ⫻ Lyss is only able to summon spirits if she is close to the original body. She is only able to communicate with one at a time, and the longer she keeps their spirit above ground the weaker she becomes. Should the spirit choose to be stubborn with their information, Lyss's frustration may cause her to lose focus, therefore losing her focus on the cast. Additionally, if the soul has become an adjoined apparition, Lyss is unable to summon them due to their attachment to a living soul.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ For Lyss to cast either of her spells, she requires time to concentrate, and that requires her to be stationary. During this time, Lyss can be vulnerable to attack, and her spellcasting can be interrupted. The undead minions are usually slow, shambling, weak against fire, or easily destroyed with magic. Lyss must always be mindful of her minions; otherwise, they will rampage out of control and attack friend and foe (and herself) alike. The Golems are, while durable, large targets and very slow. The Hellhounds are extra susceptible to magical attacks. Lyss has to be careful with using her spells, as over time, she will gradually erode her humanity psychologically. She will lose her ability to feel joy and other positive emotions and find it harder and harder to understand people. Eventually, she'll be a hollow shell that can only obey the Hound.

^{Other
_{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I've got my own ride, thanks."

Lyss drives a Harley Davidson 883 Sportster.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Final edits and additions have been made.

Alyssa "Lyss" Burns

"Am I gonna regret coming back?"

_______________________________________________ Alyssa Burns She/Her | 27 | European-American | 5'9" | 145lbs _______________________________________________ Real _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "I know a thing or two." ___________________________________ [+] [REMOVE THIS. A list of everything your character is good at... just, uh, keep it realistic. If I see one judo black belt with survival skills training, cooking, and rifle training, I'm gonna slap a bitch. REMOVE THIS.] [Cooking] ⫻ She learned it all from her grandmother. [Underworld Connections] ⫻ Lyss understands how the shady side of the world works. She has friends there, and they know people who know certain things that helped her in her career. [Weaponry and Combat] ⫻ Even with the ability to summon her own personal army, Lyss has learned that it's a good idea to defend herself without it. She carries a pistol with her, and also a lucky metal bat. She prefers to use the bat first.

Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and get your shit together." Lyss has a sort of unblemished, untouched look to her beauty. Her fair skin is smooth and unscarred. Her most striking feature would be her eyes. They're a green flecked hazel, and they seem to peer through to the soul of anyone she meets. She wears smokey eyeshadow to highlight them. Besides the eyeshadow, Lyss prefers not to wear any other makeup except for her staple lip colors; these colors remain between dark red and mauve. She is rarely seen without any makeup, as it has become a part of her and not just an accessory. Her dark brown hair falls to her middle back. Since she was born, it has always been a sleek, smooth, and shiny straight style. She rarely does anything with it, except to push it back from her face. Her height comes from her long legs, and her figure curves at the right places in an hourglass shape. She stands tall and at ease, as if she is unfazed by most things. This is all a ruse, of course. Underneath her clothes lie toned muscles ready to take action at any moment. When it comes to clothing, Lyss rarely steps out of her general style. Her wardrobe consists of dark colors like black, brown, maroon, or navy. Her jeans are usually a dark washed denim or black. She is not shy to show skin, but she always balances out a tank top with her favorite dark brown leather jacket over top. In regards to shoes, Lyss prefers boots or slip on sneakers to anything with heels.

_{Psychology
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"Life isn't black and white. It's a million grey areas, and I'm trying to find my way through them."

MAIN GOAL ⫻ To carry on her family's name. To survive this messed up world. She wishes to faithfully serve The Hound, and to continue her work until it is her time.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Lyss understands that there is a balance to life and death better than anyone. All things deserve a chance to live their life to the fullest and meet death when they are due. Those that decide to spit on The Hound's role by ending those lives too soon should be stopped.

SECRETS ⫻ Lyss still feels a sense of guilt that so many of her coven were harmed during the battle against the Stygian Snake, as if she could have done more to prevent it. Her one redeeming act is that she was a part of saving Eska from the rubble. After all this time, she feels like it's not worth mentioning.

In the time between the coven's dissolution and their reunion, Lyss had been working in the black market.

Lyss carries a journal containing the Burns spell casting history, taken from her family home after her grandmother's dead. Within it contains simple, well known spells, but also many rare and potentially dangerous ones as well.

SEXUALITY ⫻ On the off chance Lyss ever makes a move, it's on a man that can handle her.

FEARS ⫻ Failure. Heights. Pretty typical stuff. She does not fear death.

REPUTATION IN OLD COVEN ⫻ Lyss had no enemies within the Coven, at least not any that she knew of. She may not have given 100% of her efforts at Coven meetings, but she certainly gave everything she had into their battles. When the coven began to dissolve, Lyss felt as if she was losing another family. So she left before the goodbyes began.

ROLE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE STYGIAN SNAKE ⫻ Lyss's abstraction was an aid against the Stygian Snake. Even so, she could only stand at the sidelines and let her undead to the work for her. Joined by the other necromancers, her undead served as a barrier between many of the Stygian Snake's attacks and her fellow members. They also took on the Snake's monsters directly. She pushed herself to her limits and beyond that day, and fell into a few days long coma. She was never aware that they sealed the Stygian Snake into the Sycamore Tree because of this. By the time she awakened, the coven had already erased their memories and were beginning to fall apart.

FLAWS ⫻ Over the years, Lyss has grown to be quite blunt with her words. She's forgotten the meaning of "white lies" and prefers to keep her words and actions as obvious as possible. She'll let you know when you're wrong. She can also be stubborn once she's made up her mind, and more often than not ends up working alone to satisfying her own goals.

_{Backstory
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I owe it all to my grandmother."

The Burns family name carries meaning. Whether that meaning is looked upon in a good or bad way, the Burn family didn't care. Her mother worked with apparitions and spirits, while her father practiced necromancy like her grandfather. Because of their careers, her parents traveled often. Alyssa was raised by her grandmother, a strong woman who had once been a legend in the Burns family books.

After her grandfather passed, Alyssa's father became absorbed by his work. He soon lost his life to his passion. Alyssa's mother and grandmother weren't sure it it was by his own hands, or by those who opposed his work. At six years old, Alyssa wasn't mature enough to feel the weight of grief. Yes, she missed him, but she didn't know why her mother cried all of the time. Or why her mother left her without a goodbye.

Once Alyssa turned 13, her grandmother handed down the family ring. The same ring that had thrown her family into misery. She was apprehensive at first, but her grandmother insisted that she carry on their family tradition. Her grandmother opened up to her, explaining family secrets, stories, and anything Alyssa could think to ask her. Her training commenced and the two soon discovered Alyssa's affinity for necromancy. Alyssa secretly vowed not to follow in her father's footsteps.

Years later, Lyss was well on her way to mastering her abstraction. The news of the Stygian Snake's appearance reached the Burns house quickly. Lyss's grandmother, a generally stoic and brave woman, shook as she heard the news. The Snake's attacks grew more frequent, and it seemed like more and more lux users were falling to it's teeth. Her grandmother secretly planned their escape, while Lyss began to look for others in the city that were willing to fight. It was when her grandmother perished in an attack on the Burns home that Lyss fully threw herself into defeating it.

She was introduced to the Coven shortly after by Sully McPherson, whom she heard through sources had been recruiting people into a group of other lux users. While she didn't put much effort into socializing in the soon to be coven, Lyss threw herself into working against the Snake. Once the Snake had been defeated, Lyss stayed with the coven because it was all she had. Still, even the coven began to fray at the edges. While she wanted to stay and fight it too, she ultimately made the decision to leave St. Portwell and never look back.

She found a way to get by in a new city, with a sort-of good enough family to fill the void. She hardly thought about St. Portwell in years, until she received a text from an old friend...

_{Abstraction
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I have friends in all places."

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Lyss is a Black Lux user with an affinity for necromancy. She understands apparition sealing and warding, but she has never fully completed her training. Her channeler is a ring passed down by her ancestors and given to her by her grandmother.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Lyss's necromancy allows her to perform acts such as:

Reanimation ⫻ Lyss is able to summon the dead to do her bidding by projecting her emotional-field into the ground below her. Her emotional-field then fills the body with energy, enabling it to be controlled. This acts as an extension of her body, with the ability to see through their eyes and hear through their ears. She is unable to feel or smell through them, fortunately enough. If one perishes, she can only feel the loss of her connection to them.

In addition to summoning human bodies, Lyss is able to summon the bodies of dead animals. These animals can be small enough to act as surveillance or large enough to take down enemies.

The Hound's Blessing ⫻ With permission from The Hound himself, Lyss has the ability to summon underworldly beings such as golems and hellhounds.

Golems are constructed using the flesh of the dead. They are usually humanoid, resembling giants, or monstrous if the flesh of an animal has been used. These creatures are bound together into a macabre horror standing up to eight feet tall and weighing about 500 pounds.

Hellhounds are ferocious, terrifying entities that serve The Hound himself. To those able to see magic, they manifest as large, demonic pitbull-like canines, with red eyes and a black-aura around them, making hellhounds appear to be made of shadows. They cannot be killed by conventional methods, yet they will sustain damage from these attacks. The only way to truly kill them is with magic. Along with the invulnerability to human weapons, hellhounds can track any human or apparition once they have the scent of their emotional-field and possess the strength and speed of twenty live canines.

Spirit Summoning ⫻ Lyss is able to summon the spirits of the dead to communicate with them. She does this by using her emotional-field to seek out the traces of soul left in the body, and search for it in the afterlife. Once they have been summoned, Lyss only has to get them to talk. That is, if they agree to speak to her.

LIMITS ⫻

Reanimation ⫻ Lyss is only able to summon up to 100 undead at one time without weakening herself. This includes humans and animals. If she pushes past this limit she is at risk of a coma.

The Hound's Blessing ⫻ Creatures like golems and hellhounds require more energy and focus to summon. If she choses to summon only golems, she can only summon ten at a time. If she choses only hellhounds, she is only able to summon six. When she summons hellhounds, she must remain in complete control of them or else they will run rampant. They answer to her commands alone, and she must remain confident in her commands or she risks losing control of them. This makes them an extreme risk, and Lyss only summons all six if she is in a desparate situation.

Spirit Summoning ⫻ Lyss is only able to summon spirits if she is close to the original body. She is only able to communicate with one at a time, and the longer she keeps their spirit above ground the weaker she becomes. Should the spirit choose to be stubborn with their information, Lyss's frustration may cause her to lose focus, therefore losing her focus on the cast. Additionally, if the soul has become an adjoined apparition, Lyss is unable to summon them due to their attachment to a living soul.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)

^{Other
_{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I've got my own ride, thanks."

Lyss drives a Harley Davidson 883 Sportster.

@Skai

@Punished GN She's finished!

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree Part. 1

Final edits and additions have been made.

Alyssa "Lyss" Burns

"Am I gonna regret coming back?"

_______________________________________________ Alyssa Burns She/Her | 27 | European-American | 5'9" | 145lbs _______________________________________________ Real _______________________________________________ Skills & Talents "I know a thing or two." ___________________________________ [+] [REMOVE THIS. A list of everything your character is good at... just, uh, keep it realistic. If I see one judo black belt with survival skills training, cooking, and rifle training, I'm gonna slap a bitch. REMOVE THIS.] [Cooking] ⫻ She learned it all from her grandmother. [Underworld Connections] ⫻ Lyss understands how the shady side of the world works. She has friends there, and they know people who know certain things that helped her in her career. [Weaponry and Combat] ⫻ Even with the ability to summon her own personal army, Lyss has learned that it's a good idea to defend herself without it. She carries a pistol with her, and also a lucky metal bat. She prefers to use the bat first.

Appearance ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ "Pour yourself a drink, put on some lipstick, and get your shit together." Lyss has a sort of unblemished, untouched look to her beauty. Her fair skin is smooth and unscarred. Her most striking feature would be her eyes. They're a green flecked hazel, and they seem to peer through to the soul of anyone she meets. She wears smokey eyeshadow to highlight them. Besides the eyeshadow, Lyss prefers not to wear any other makeup except for her staple lip colors; these colors remain between dark red and mauve. She is rarely seen without any makeup, as it has become a part of her and not just an accessory. Her dark brown hair falls to her middle back. Since she was born, it has always been a sleek, smooth, and shiny straight style. She rarely does anything with it, except to push it back from her face. Her height comes from her long legs, and her figure curves at the right places in an hourglass shape. She stands tall and at ease, as if she is unfazed by most things. This is all a ruse, of course. Underneath her clothes lie toned muscles ready to take action at any moment. When it comes to clothing, Lyss rarely steps out of her general style. Her wardrobe consists of dark colors like black, brown, maroon, or navy. Her jeans are usually a dark washed denim or black. She is not shy to show skin, but she always balances out a tank top with her favorite dark brown leather jacket over top. In regards to shoes, Lyss prefers boots or slip on sneakers to anything with heels.

_{Psychology
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"Life isn't black and white. It's a million grey areas, and I'm trying to find my way through them."

MAIN GOAL ⫻ To carry on her family's name. To survive this messed up world. She wishes to faithfully serve The Hound, and to continue her work until it is her time.

PHILOSOPHY ⫻ Lyss understands that there is a balance to life and death better than anyone. All things deserve a chance to live their life to the fullest and meet death when they are due. Those that decide to spit on The Hound's role by ending those lives too soon should be stopped.

SECRETS ⫻ Lyss still feels a sense of guilt that so many of her coven were harmed during the battle against the Stygian Snake, as if she could have done more to prevent it. Her one redeeming act is that she was a part of saving Eska from the rubble. After all this time, she feels like it's not worth mentioning.

In the time between the coven's dissolution and their reunion, Lyss had been working in the black market.

Lyss carries a journal containing the Burns spell casting history, taken from her family home after her grandmother's dead. Within it contains simple, well known spells, but also many rare and potentially dangerous ones as well.

SEXUALITY ⫻ On the off chance Lyss ever makes a move, it's on a man that can handle her.

FEARS ⫻ Failure. Heights. Pretty typical stuff. She does not fear death.

REPUTATION IN OLD COVEN ⫻ Lyss had no enemies within the Coven, at least not any that she knew of. She may not have given 100% of her efforts at Coven meetings, but she certainly gave everything she had into their battles. When the coven began to dissolve, Lyss felt as if she was losing another family. So she left before the goodbyes began.

ROLE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST THE STYGIAN SNAKE ⫻ Lyss's abstraction was an aid against the Stygian Snake. Even so, she could only stand at the sidelines and let her undead to the work for her. Joined by the other necromancers, her undead served as a barrier between many of the Stygian Snake's attacks and her fellow members. They also took on the Snake's monsters directly. She pushed herself to her limits and beyond that day, and fell into a few days long coma. She was never aware that they sealed the Stygian Snake into the Sycamore Tree because of this. By the time she awakened, the coven had already erased their memories and were beginning to fall apart.

FLAWS ⫻ Over the years, Lyss has grown to be quite blunt with her words. She's forgotten the meaning of "white lies" and prefers to keep her words and actions as obvious as possible. She'll let you know when you're wrong. She can also be stubborn once she's made up her mind, and more often than not ends up working alone to satisfying her own goals.

_{Backstory
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I owe it all to my grandmother."

The Burns family name carries meaning. Whether that meaning is looked upon in a good or bad way, the Burn family didn't care. Her mother worked with apparitions and spirits, while her father practiced necromancy like her grandfather. Because of their careers, her parents traveled often. Alyssa was raised by her grandmother, a strong woman who had once been a legend in the Burns family books.

After her grandfather passed, Alyssa's father became absorbed by his work. He soon lost his life to his passion. Alyssa's mother and grandmother weren't sure it it was by his own hands, or by those who opposed his work. At six years old, Alyssa wasn't mature enough to feel the weight of grief. Yes, she missed him, but she didn't know why her mother cried all of the time. Or why her mother left her without a goodbye.

Once Alyssa turned 13, her grandmother handed down the family ring. The same ring that had thrown her family into misery. She was apprehensive at first, but her grandmother insisted that she carry on their family tradition. Her grandmother opened up to her, explaining family secrets, stories, and anything Alyssa could think to ask her. Her training commenced and the two soon discovered Alyssa's affinity for necromancy. Alyssa secretly vowed not to follow in her father's footsteps.

Years later, Lyss was well on her way to mastering her abstraction. The news of the Stygian Snake's appearance reached the Burns house quickly. Lyss's grandmother, a generally stoic and brave woman, shook as she heard the news. The Snake's attacks grew more frequent, and it seemed like more and more lux users were falling to it's teeth. Her grandmother secretly planned their escape, while Lyss began to look for others in the city that were willing to fight. It was when her grandmother perished in an attack on the Burns home that Lyss fully threw herself into defeating it.

She was introduced to the Coven shortly after by Sully McPherson, whom she heard through sources had been recruiting people into a group of other lux users. While she didn't put much effort into socializing in the soon to be coven, Lyss threw herself into working against the Snake. Once the Snake had been defeated, Lyss stayed with the coven because it was all she had. Still, even the coven began to fray at the edges. While she wanted to stay and fight it too, she ultimately made the decision to leave St. Portwell and never look back.

She found a way to get by in a new city, with a sort-of good enough family to fill the void. She hardly thought about St. Portwell in years, until she received a text from an old friend...

_{Abstraction
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I have friends in all places."

TYPE ⫻ Adept

ABSTRACTION ⫻ Lyss is a Black Lux user with an affinity for necromancy. She understands apparition sealing and warding, but she has never fully completed her training. Her channeler is a ring passed down by her ancestors and given to her by her grandmother.

ABSTRACTION DESCRIPTION ⫻ Lyss's necromancy allows her to perform acts such as:

Reanimation ⫻ Lyss is able to summon the dead to do her bidding by projecting her emotional-field into the ground below her. Her emotional-field then fills the body with energy, enabling it to be controlled. This acts as an extension of her body, with the ability to see through their eyes and hear through their ears. She is unable to feel or smell through them, fortunately enough. If one perishes, she can only feel the loss of her connection to them.

In addition to summoning human bodies, Lyss is able to summon the bodies of dead animals. These animals can be small enough to act as surveillance or large enough to take down enemies.

The Hound's Blessing ⫻ With permission from The Hound himself, Lyss has the ability to summon underworldly beings such as golems and hellhounds.

Golems are constructed using the flesh of the dead. They are usually humanoid, resembling giants, or monstrous if the flesh of an animal has been used. These creatures are bound together into a macabre horror standing up to eight feet tall and weighing about 500 pounds.

Hellhounds are ferocious, terrifying entities that serve The Hound himself. To those able to see magic, they manifest as large, demonic pitbull-like canines, with red eyes and a black-aura around them, making hellhounds appear to be made of shadows. They cannot be killed by conventional methods, yet they will sustain damage from these attacks. The only way to truly kill them is with magic. Along with the invulnerability to human weapons, hellhounds can track any human or apparition once they have the scent of their emotional-field and possess the strength and speed of twenty live canines.

Spirit Summoning ⫻ Lyss is able to summon the spirits of the dead to communicate with them. She does this by using her emotional-field to seek out the traces of soul left in the body, and search for it in the afterlife. Once they have been summoned, Lyss only has to get them to talk. That is, if they agree to speak to her.

LIMITS ⫻

Reanimation ⫻ Lyss is only able to summon up to 100 undead at one time without weakening herself. This includes humans and animals. If she pushes past this limit she is at risk of a coma.

The Hound's Blessing ⫻ Creatures like golems and hellhounds require more energy and focus to summon. If she choses to summon only golems, she can only summon ten at a time. If she choses only hellhounds, she is only able to summon six. When she summons hellhounds, she must remain in complete control of them or else they will run rampant. They answer to her commands alone, and she must remain confident in her commands or she risks losing control of them. This makes them an extreme risk, and Lyss only summons all six if she is in a desparate situation.

Spirit Summoning ⫻ Lyss is only able to summon spirits if she is close to the original body. She is only able to communicate with one at a time, and the longer she keeps their spirit above ground the weaker she becomes. Should the spirit choose to be stubborn with their information, Lyss's frustration may cause her to lose focus, therefore losing her focus on the cast. Additionally, if the soul has become an adjoined apparition, Lyss is unable to summon them due to their attachment to a living soul.

WEAKNESSES ⫻ (DO NOT FILL THIS OUT, I WILL PROVIDE IT FOR YOU)

^{Other
_{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}
"I've got my own ride, thanks."

Lyss drives a Harley Davidson 883 Sportster.

Recollections: Under The Sycamore Tree (Witch/Surreal Urban Fantasy)

Put me down for a tbd baddie