Tortoise
Archetype Zero
Lildear18
Helios
Izurich
Abstract Proxy
Hyperdrive
TrippyNightmare
Mixtape Ghost NHere is profile number 3. Also sent in via PM. @Zhaliora.
Species:
Age:
Nationality:
Loyalty:
Profession:
Hecuba Amaranth
Living EidolonSpecies:
- Human (Elvish Heritage.)
Age:
- Early twenties.
Nationality:
- Ithell
Loyalty:
- High Astronomer Ormoneric
Profession:
- Laboratory Assistant & Busybody
Hecuba stands approximately 1.67 meters in height, with a lithe, nubile build and ivory skin coloration. She has straight, silvery shoulder-length hair. Her face is somewhat rounded, with hints of fair, elvish features. Her eye coloration is golden, and the tips of her ears are slightly pronounced.
As a common-born apprentice at the Grand Observatory of Ithell, Hecuba has little in the way of a documented upbringing and childhood - though, fortunately, the number of records and firsthand accounts that describe her time at the Observatory itself are numerous.
"Hecuba? Let me think for a secon- oh! That girl with the silver hair? Quite easy on the eyes. If ever there was a poster-child for the hereditary benefits of interracial comingling between Humans and Elves, she's it. Er. You know what, forget I said that.
I'll admit I don't know her too well. She's been at the university for around four years I think? And I'm struggling over here, but I am blanking on what her exact area of expertise is...
Oh, well, for example, Astronomer Sorcelin is an expert in the field of Aeronomy, Astronomer Tinelt is an expert in the field of Interstitial Aether Physics, Astronomer Wvvnul is an expert in Celestial Meteorology - that sort of thing.
But like I was saying, I don't recall what her specialization is. I've not seen here in many of the seminars here, but from what I've heard from some of my friends she does lots of field work. Field and mountain surveys, leyline tracing, dowsing expeditions, that sort of thing. I've also personally seen her running errands for some of the Astronomers and Lecturers...
Now that I think about it, is she even an apprentice here? I've never actually spoken to her and she's pretty distant most of the time. Might be because most of the men here drool over her, assuming she's not some frigid shrew. Maybe she's an errand girl employed by the Grand Observatory? We have a few of those, you just don't notice them. It's just she is particularly hard to miss. Like I said, very easy on the eyes."
"That slattern? Oh yes, I know of her. She's a disgrace to the institution, let me tell you. No, she's not an Errand Girl - she's an actual apprentice, but what she has in looks obvious came in trade for intellect. She dropped out of what few seminars she attended, and the rest she got through on her back or on her knees, the little whore.
Yes, I imagine you did. Her diminished faculties are why she takes on so many field placements. Lots of running around getting your hands dirty, very little in the way of actual academics - I don't mean to belittle field placements! They are immensely practical and useful, assuming you have the education and talent to make the most of them. Which she definitely does not. The most cerebral thing she's ever done in those placements is fill out survey logs and charts, and quite frankly it amazes me she is even literate.
Her shameful conduct has only been getting worse over time - she's been the 'personal assistant' of quite a few of the Astronomers here. It would not surprise me if she's been spreading her legs to pay her way. I suppose as professions go that's not unreasonable for unlearned women, but really, the Astronomers here should know better. Then again, maybe they found her particularly hard to resist. She is quite comely, thanks to her filthy mongrel heritage.
It gets worse - just a few weeks ago, I saw her ducking out of the High Astronomer's personal laboratory! Just to make sure I was not going insane, I went out of my way to pass by that way whenever I could thereafter. I've seen her heading in and out frequently since then, so I am forced to conclude she has become the chatelaine of one of the High Astronomer's personal assistants.
High Astronomer Ormoneric...? Never! Such harlotry is beneath his dignity, it's simply out of the question...Although I have seen her speaking with him recently. He was laughing at something she said...Ugh, I'm nauseous even thinking of it. The scandal if she got to him...but no, I'm sure that's not it. Absolutely certain. Gods, please, let enough be enough as far as her licentiousness goes."
"As a matter of policy I am not really supposed to be discussing any of my apprentices with unaffiliated- Ah. Is that so? Hm. Very well.
To be frank, Miss Amaranth is an atrocious student. She has attended very few of my seminars and did quite poorly in those that she did. She tended to become very confused. Having spoken with her personally, I have to say she is somewhat dim when it comes to mathematics, physics, chemistry, and many other subjects taught here. Under normal circumstances she likely would have been expelled for deficiency, but there is, thankfully for her, an extenuating fact. Specifically, Miss Amaranth seems to have a peculiar native talent, if you will. Just a few days ago, during a field placement out up top in the mountains, Miss Amaranth managed to sharpen a dowsing gem on elemental starlight using obscura scintilla while she was conversing with my personal assistant about Nocturnal Ornithology.
Pardon me. Let me explain: What she did, off-hand and while distracted, exceeds the technical ability and proficiency of very nearly every single Astronomer employed here, including myself, if they devoted their utter focus and attention to it. That may be a faint exaggeration, I could definitely have done it when I was younger before the demons got to the joints in my hands, but trust me when I say the sophistication of the task is such that it is not something she could have done simply by chance. Many of the Astronomers here have to scout out talent, carefully discriminate and hand-pick, and then personally train younger Adepts for years in order to eventually help them do that sort of thing. And Miss Amaranth made it look as easy as knitting. Not only that, she does so regularly in most of her field placements, if I am to understand the wild stories I have heard from my peers.
Ah, yes, that is rather apt, I am surprised it did not occur to me before. Certainly, idiot savant describes Miss Amaranth almost perfectly. Simpleton would be a little too far, Her logical comprehension is more than adequate and she is a composed conversationalist. I would reckon she simply has some sort of canalized maladaptive cognit- ah. I mean, she may simply not be cut out for the more rigorous aspects of our sciences.
Nonetheless, her ability is far too useful to do without, especially in these times. So it is no surprise she is presently one of the High Astronomer's personal assistants now. He had me personally tutor her for a time. Teaching her was quite elementary; I did not have to impart anything of true substance to her. I essentially just taught her basic trade vocabulary and brushed her up on abstract theory; the essential and basic hows and whys of our studies without having to delve into the complex field equations and scientific rigor normally required in our profession. The former was necessary so she could understand more complex instructions as well as describe experimental results, the latter would have been well beyond her ability to comprehend. She can tell you how to achieve a state of limenflux transcience and what such a state entails, but she cannot incorporate any of the requisite field equations or render the circuitous patternings for it. Which makes her worthless for tutoring other students, regretfully.
Oh no, she'll never be a Magister I'm afraid. Native talent only gets you so far; altogether too many warlocks and demon summoners learn that the hard way. If you don't know the underlying science behind magic, one's magical abilities tend to plateau below the level of expertise afforded to Archmages and their ilk. No amount of gut reflex can let you measure out fractal infinitesimals of Platonic Enanfarar and the like, after all. But she will make a fine laboratory assistant to the High Astronomer. We will not see her like again for decades, perhaps centuries.
...Sexual misconduct? My word. I had no idea- Well, I had suspected with some of the apprentices perhaps, she is quite charming, but amongst the Astronomers?!?
With Me?!?!
I never! I cannot - you disgust me. How dare you presume to levy such an accusation at me? This is not the end of this, you hear me? The High Astronomer will be hearing about this! And my good associate the Duke of West Sul! You will rue this day you cur!
"Hm, last name Amaranth you say? Funny, it should be somewhere near the front of the filing but I don't see it here. Amaranth, Ama, Ama, Ama...not here. Where in the world...Hrr. Here it is - for some reason it was stuck all the way in the back along with poor Zzzyxas. I'll just move it back where it should be when we're done.
How curious. Miss Hecuba here is not listed as being a sponsored apprenticeship, but there are no records of any payments made to the Observatory on her behalf...and her file is marked with a notice of special dispensation. Quite curious. Special dispensation is usually only used for apprentices from Noble houses or else for the exceptionally talented, but her marks are some of the worst I have ever seen - and there is certainly no Noble House of Amaranth I am aware of.
Let's see...joined the Observatory four years ago...no family or next of kin on record...no listed birthplace or country of origin...Presently one of the High Astronomer's personal laboratory assistants? Well that can't be right, with marks like these. Something is very clearly wrong. Thank you for bringing this to my attention; we have to look into this matter immediately. I'm afraid security here at the records department is not what it could be; it would have been trivial for somebody to have broken in and made alterations or forgeries back when this document was issued. This young woman could be a foreign agent for all we know.
"Oh, Hecka? No, I don't think it would be wise to introduce you to her like that. She's had a lot of bad experiences with boys and men chasing after her or else giving her trouble for some reason or another, she'd probably be put on guard.
Well, she's not a lot of help when it comes to writing up formulations or protocols, but she's easily the best out of all of Master Ormoneric's assistant's in terms of magical technique. She can practically spin straw into gold if you give her a decent taproot, doesn't even need a catalyst most of the time. Which is kind of a double-edged sword, she runs through our rocks real fast. I get that she's not great with math, but come on girl, it's not that hard to-
Actually, you know what, who am I to judge? And I shouldn't be talking about her behind her back like this. Hecka is great, loads of help, fun and sweet when you get to know her.
Well, actually, the High Astronomer seems to deliberately distance himself from her whenever they're both around. He's usually a lot more personal with his assistants - calls most of us by our first names! But he's a lot more formal when she's around. There have been some really nasty rumors going around the Observatory about her - unfairly and for no reason might I add - hopefully he'll warm up a bit more to her once she's been around long enough. In fact, maybe sooner rather than later. I hear she got picked to go on visitation with him to the royal court of Kron-Nesis, so she'll be getting her own catalyst totem sooner than most of us did."
"Y, yeah, I know Hecuba. Uh. Well, know is a strong word, I've...I've seen here around? A lot. She's nice-
No, I don't believe the rumors. She's awfully suspicious of boys really. Won't even give me the time of day... But uh, I admit I have noticed some oddities about her routine. For one thing, I know from taking a peek at the High Astronomer's duty roster that Hecuba is supposed to be all the way in Estorna right now, on an extended field expedition - but she's obviously still here. And it's not the first time that sort of thing has happened. One time, I uh...I may have gone to the docks to see her off...without her knowing I was there...and I actually saw her leave on a carrack, yeah?
Thing is, she was still here at the Observatory the next day. There would be days where I couldn't find her, but she'd be around every once and a while. People would not even act as if anything was wrong; I guess because nobody else knew that she wasn't supposed to be there? Then, just to make sure I wasn't losing my mind to obsession or anything, I was at the docks the day her ship returned and saw her get off of it.
I'm sort of amazed there are no rumors about that going around! I mean, who cares about what she does in her own time? She can practically be in two places at once! That's epic magic right out of legend! I mean, I suppose it's probably just some kind of trick? Or maybe she has a secret sister or something? Gosh, if there were two of her that would be interesting...I mean, uh...
Anyway, I tried to tell some of the other runners about it, and- ergh, it's infuriating, they tried to report her to the Bursar's Office as some kind of foreign agent! And they just ignored the part about her being in two places at once, or else maybe don't really get what I meant? Why does everything have to be so complicated with them?"
"Getting in was easy, but this place is weird. Practically labyrinthine, I swear it has to be larger on the inside than it is on the outside. Not to mention all the security. Lots of wards and runes in place - and all the doors and locks in here are dwarven make. Lots of weird mechanical instruments lying around. I almost set off some kind of tripwire alarm prying open a case in the High Astronomer's chambers.
I also made a bit of a miscalculation. There's some kind of interference of dampening effect inside, all my glamours and charms wore off while I was still inside, hours before they should have. That was a nasty surprise, let me tell you! Getting them all set up cost me a king's ransom, I'm just fortunate I was able to duck into a cupboard so I could reapply everything.
Even that wasn't much of a waste of time. I witnessed some strange arcane ritual. There was an array of mirrors, some kind of giant, fancy tunnel lantern chamber, and an elvish girl with silver hair was manacled inside of it. The High Astronomer pulled some kind of latch, and the whole lantern filled with light! I could have sworn she died, because she seemed to burst up from it into dust and ashes! But a second later the High Astronomer pulled her up from...somewhere. I was sort of disoriented from the light so I must have missed something. And there was a picture of the girl on one of the mirrors, like a painting! Only it was upside down for some reason. There was something else in the mirror as well, but I didn't have the best view from where I was and the mirrors got bundled up and carted out by other assistants.
She didn't seem like she had been a willing participant when she was tied up with the manacles inside the lantern, but she seemed weirdly calm when he pulled her out of thin air. Was talking to him like nothing had happened. Downright weird really. It's not the strangest thing I've ever seen, but it was up there. Thinking of doubling my usual fee.
I still haven't found that spear I was hired to pinch, and I feel like I have a cold coming on for some reason. I'll need a couple days to study the mapping I got done anyway, I can use that time to recover."
Talents
- Abstraction Scholar:
Hecuba has received a wide amount of education and tutoring pertaining to abstract magical theory and natural philosophy. She is well informed as to the nuances of most realms of magic and natural sciences and can identify most magical effects on-sight.
- Peerless Adjuvant:
Hecuba has an impressive native talent for highly intricate and sophisticated spellweaving. She can eschew most or all requisite catalysts, as well as somatic and verbal components for most spells, and requires nearly zero stamina and endurance to cast any given magical effect. This impressive degree of talent does not extend itself to the need for both knowledge and power - Hecuba still requires sufficient magical energy for every spell she casts, and it goes without saying that she still must comprehend the functional aspects of a spell in order to cast it.
Detriments
- Idiot Savant:
Hecuba has an abysmal grasp of the more arduous and practical aspects of mathematics, physics, and chemistry - which drastically limit her competence as a mage.
- There Shall Come A Reckoning:
She shall be broken upon Kalpa. What returns will be terrible beyond imagining. Let the tally be marked, grieve upon her loss, and despair at her return.
As an apprentice of the Grand Observatory of Ithell, Hecuba wields a broad swath of utility-oriented light-based magics. These are not, however, garden variety magical light abilities - she does not weave illusion and does not bedazzle the senses. Her magic is of a kind that calls upon the sky and stars, evokes the sun and moon, that charts paths and shapes destiny - amongst other things.
Hecuba may call upon primordial, cosmic magic to reveal, discern, and unravel the nature of the world. In battle she may assist allies and hinder enemies, while out of it her powers lend themselves handily to a wide variety of tasks and purposes.
Hecuba may call upon primordial, cosmic magic to reveal, discern, and unravel the nature of the world. In battle she may assist allies and hinder enemies, while out of it her powers lend themselves handily to a wide variety of tasks and purposes.
- Heartmetal Tine & Rod:
A curious brass-colored mage's wand, at least at first glance. It has a short handle that splits into two long cylindrical prongs. Hecuba has indicated it is properly called a 'Resonance Fork' and that it is made of a material called Heartmetal. It does not seem dissimilar from steel; it is reasonably sturdy and has decent flex to it. It produces a very pronounced, ringing tone when struck by an accompanying rod. You have seen it catch and turn daggers and blades before, but the scratches and marks in its surface seem to fade over time, as though the metal healed. Hecuba appears to use it both for self-defense as well as a dowsing rod - rigid materials exposed to the tine's ringing tone seem to rapidly become more and more brittle until even light impacts can sunder them.
- A Mysterious Carboy:
A double-wax-sealed, brass cylindrical container about as tall as your head. You cannot see within, but from its weight and the way it handles it likely contains some kind of viscous fluid.
- A Hand-Mirror:
A small, hand-held flip-case hand-mirror made of brass with the emblem of the Grand Observatory on the back. It does not seem enchanted, but as it is actually connected by a thin chain to a metal band along Hecuba's wrist you get the impression it is more important than it looks.
- Scrapbook:
A cheap booklet filled with scrap parchment. From the looks of it, it has gotten some use and there is evidence of several dozen pages having been ripped out. You have seen Hecuba writing out observational logs and records, but those pages always seem to be missing the next time she opens the book.
- Writing & Rite Materials:
An ink quill and pot, charcoal, chalk, even a small lump of wax, all neatly bundled together. There are also several top-wrapped bowls with various salts, and small cigar-like leather wraps with numerous powders therein. Alchemical and magical materials, most likely.
- Dusken Marbles:
These look exactly like children's marbles that have been painted black. They sting your skin faintly when you hold them, and are heavier than they look. Hecuba has been tight-lipped about what they are for, as opposed to her usual coy demeanor when withholding information. She keeps most of them separated in groups of three, in individual hand-sized brass trays rather than heaping all of them together. They seem to attract and adhere to each other if you let them with a fairly powerful force. Hecuba looked like somebody had walked over her grave when she saw six of them from two of the trays all bunched up together.
- Silver Dagger:
A silver dagger, not altogether too different than the sort an apprentice with the mage's guild might carry. Hecuba assures you that silver daggers are staple tools of magecraft, and so of course you have never seen her use it.