Name: Adela Caflice
Pic: Class: Mage
Race: Human
Personality: Adela fancies herself a magical encyclopedia. She isn't an encyclopedia by any means, but she certainly knows how to cast a spell or two. A little too devoted to continuing her magical studies, she can be likened to that one girl in every class who would smack you with whatever book she's reading if you interrupted her mid-study. She's also very critical of her allies, pointing out their flaws more than their strong points, which makes her seem rude. However, that's just her way of showing she cares. In the unlikely event that one were to actually receive a compliment from Adela, they can be certain that, like everything else she says, it will be straight to the point and not a lie.
Adela also has a fair few social ticks that make most people want to strangle her. First and foremost, in line with her pointing out the flaws of her allies as she sees them, she fails to get that there are some things you just can't tell certain people. She also takes things very literally; if you tell her to go to hell, she'll probably respond with "I already tried, but I need to improve my skills before another attempt if I value my life." However, she'll never lie to others, and assumes what people tell her will always be true. That means it's ridiculously easy to manipulate her, but don't expect a warm reception if Adela finds out she's being lied to.
Physical Description: Physically frail, Adela's general lack of scars and wounds are signs that she avoids battle when possible. There are a few burns and magic-based scars on her arms, but she often wears long-sleeved clothing to keep these covered. Attire-wise, she'll always wear her black hat and usually add a black cloak. These serve to make her already-light skin seem even lighter, with the same effect on her blonde hair, always cut to a very specific length and tied into a ponytail whenever she's awake. Although, there is one other feature Adela keeps under clothing and as secret as possible.
Covering the majority of her back is a massive seal burned into her flesh. This is to keep a summoned demon's spirit bound to her hat, and consists of a large circle with millions of tiny runic letters. These letters are the terms of her contract with the demon. He serves as a booster to her otherwise-mediocre magical power and a secondary source of mana in case Adela's naturally-low supply runs out, but in exchange Adela's soul becomes his property when she dies along with all her knowledge of magic. She'd sooner peel the flesh off her back than let somebody know about the seal.
Background: Hailing from an otherwise-unremarkable city with the foremost academy of the magical arts, Adela's parents were both professors at this academy. It seemed only natural that Adela would have massive magical capabilities on her own, right? Wrong. Actually, she has the weakest magic power in the last five generations of both sides of her family. Her magic strength on its own actually is actually really low for a mage. It was a fact that shamed her to no end, especially when she had two parents who were both so powerful in their respective fields of magic. She needed to compensate for it somehow. She chose knowledge.
Being the daughter of two professors meant Adela had easy access to the academy libraries. Day and night, she would be found there, pouring herself into countless different books, not setting one down until every page had been burned into her memory. From age six onward, Adela did nothing but study. She kept studying and studying, learning so many different things about magic. However, she couldn't find any means of making her own magic more powerful. At least, not that she was willing to take on at a young age. But there were some things even the libraries didn't have on record because they were such heavy magical taboos. Like conjuring demons.
At the ripe age of twenty, Adela enrolled in the academy. Her deep pool of knowledge compensated for her lack of real ability, and her grades soared. Five years passed, until the time came for her final tests. She started getting really nervous about a week before the exams. It took real powerful magic to pass those; the kind of magic Adela would never be able to cast on her own. How to deal with that? She received her answers in a dream three days before the exams. Make a contract with a demon for power. Adela was hesitant at first, given that demon-summoning was a major magical taboo. However, the demon enticed her with the right deal at the right time, and she bound the demon's spirit to her hat. With the power boost he granted her, Adela was readily able to pass her finals. The next year passed relatively quietly, with her aspiring to become an adventurer but not quite having the guts to step out and do it.
Then Chainmail Panties had an opening. Granted, Adela had no reputation at all. Outside of town, nobody even knew her name, or that she even existed. Hell, half the town didn't even know she was there! Still, Deepstead - the demon within her hat - told her to give it a try. His advice hadn't let her down thus far, so she took it and offered to join them. She conveniently omitted the part where there was a demon's spirit hanging out in her hat, as well as the fact that she's never brewed a successful potion.
Talents: Adela is great at problem-solving and boasts a vast knowledge of magic, especially for her age. Most particularly, her talents lie in the manipulations of fire or plants. She's also not a bad summoner, but her natural summoning talent lies almost exclusively in demonology, which she tries to keep secret for fear of being judged.
Flaws: Despite being good with casting spells, Adela is probably the worst alchemist you'll ever meet. Her attempts at even the simplest potions can and will have any kind of adverse effect, but never quite what she's aiming for. She's come close to the desired result a few times, but it would be best to just go to a shop instead of trusting Adela's potions. She's also considerably weaker when her hat is removed.
Quote: "No matter how great that may be, it could still use some improvement."
Treasure: She tries not to brag about it, but Adela does have
one unique item. Her hat. So that she could pass her finals, Adela bound a demon's spirit to her hat as part of a contract. The hat has since adopted the name Deepstead, but he's not very useful as a familiar unless worn. The most he can do unless he's on somebody's head is sit around and gather dust, but he's got a few tricks when on somebody's head. Namely, Deepstead gives Adela's naturally mediocre magic a little more oomph so she can competitively cast, and serves as a better pool of mana than her notably small reserve. He's also capable of talking to whoever wears him and altering their senses, but this can sometimes make the wearer pass of as being crazy since nobody else hears him or is affected by his sensory magic. Most notably, Adela is the only person so far to have "seen" Deepstead's spirit, and often forgets that physical objects will pass right through the walking hallucination.
Magic: Adela's magic is widely varied, but her favorite types of magic involve manipulating plants or fire. Her personal favorite spell is one she crafted as a mix of the two, in which she grows a tree with arms and a mouth that can spray fire. However, this particular trick is very taxing on her mana supply, and as such, it's reserved for desperate situations.
Relationships: Allies: Deepstead the Magical Hat