[b]Character you have created:[/b] Berenice
[b]Alias:[/b] Siren, Harpy, Bird-lady, assorted other nicknames.

[b]Speech Color:[/b] [color=82ca9d]82ca9d[/color]

[b]Character Alignment:[/b] Hero(mostly)
[b]Identity:[/b] Known, as that's how she introduces herself.

[b]Character Personality[/b]: 
	Berenice would like to be a good person. Trouble with that is that she doesn't know what exactly constitutes a "good" person yet, and just goes by instinct. In fact, much of her thought process is still instinctual. She has the drive to help others in need, but can get in the way because she's not completely aware of what might be the most effective way to go about that goal. She likes children, will defend the helpless, and in general could be described as helpful, but there are some quirks in there. She doesn't understand the concept of pets, and as a carnivore will happily eat a cat, dog, or other small, furry thing, right up until someone tells her it's wrong. She is inquisitive, somewhat bothersome about it, much like a child who asks repeated questions about things because she is, in essence, at a child's level of understanding the world. Her speech is peppered with chirps and other bird noises. She is very magpie like, and will steal shiny objects regardless of intrinsic value. Those few people she has met that she likes enough, she will include in her "flock", and tends to gift them stolen objects and dead animals, at least until they refuse those gifts. She will keep trying until she finds something they like. She also has an annoying habit of trying to perch on those people.

	She has no built in moral compass, really, and has had to develop one as she learns. Since her first real contact with the outside world was children in a poor neighbourhood of West Lost Haven, who had already had contact with strange things and were unlikely to run from a non-hostile bird woman, she has found ample reason to copy and learn from them, so she has become playful, energetic, and rather open-minded. The local parents, having yet to meet the "Bird Lady", have been operating under the assumption that the kids have come up with a community imaginary friend or mascot, and both parties are likely in for a surprise when then meet each other, with variable effects on Berenice's psyche depending on how they react to her presence.


[b]Uniform/costume:[/b] Berenice is just coming to grips with the concept of modesty, so designing a uniform is kind of beyond her. She typically wears very loose-fitting, light tank tops cut to allow her wings, and a sort of draped loincloth over her waist. Other than that, she doesn't own much.

A good approximation of her looks, though her plumage goes all the way up to her navel from her talons and she has a fanned tail like a hawk's:

[hider=]
[url]http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mythology/images/3/30/Harpy-1.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130619202632[/url]
[/hider]


[b]Origin Info/Details:[/b] Berenice is the result of a sorcerer trying to channel ancient Greek magic to create a servant for himself. After researching quite a number of possibilities, he decided to try and make a combination of harpy and siren. Gathering what he thought were the correct materials, including several live birds, a female human singer, spell reagents both ancient and modern, and a good bit of raw magic, he focused his mind and cast the [i]almost[/i] correct enchantment. Berenice was created, but the resulting backlash of energy blew the unlucky wizard apart and caused a psychic reverberation that destroyed the built-in purpose of serving him in his creation's mind. The only remaining vestige of that is the (incomplete) knowledge of the English language and her name.
	
The newly born siren meandered about for a bit, fully formed in an adult and with all her instincts in sharp relief, but with no one to tell her what the world she was born into was like, she has had to figure it out on her own. The mage's lair, a shack built on a rocky promontory just west of Lost Haven, was torn asunder by her creation, but she has converted it into a ramshackle nest and hunts and explores from there. Local neighbourhoods would most likely have begun reporting her appearances, were it not for more spectacular displays that regularly happen in and around the city, though curious people could easily find newspaper articles. When she can get away with it, she has begun playing with local children in parks.

She has also begun experimenting with her mystic powers, which are not developed much yet as she has had no formal education. This has, in addition to acting like a sort of beacon letting people with the right senses know there's an inexperienced spell-caster in the area, caused a number of odd phenomenon near her nest, including a sudden increase in non-native plant growth and a growing numbers of people wandering in the area to have memory loss.

Eventually Berenice will probably grow to be a force for good, but for the moment, she is very much in a precarious state, given the wrong influences or experiences, she could very easily become more like the sirens of ancient legend, cruelly luring people to their doom for her own amusement and feeding. This was actually originally the purpose she was created for, and the seed still remains, even if only as a subconscious trigger point for now.

[b]Hero Type:[/b] Supernatural/mystic
[b]Power Level:[/b] City level
[b]Powers:[/b]

[hider=BIIIRDDD GIIIIIRLLL]
	-Magic use: Berenice can, through effort and practise, cause changes in the natural world through the use of mystic forces. These changes include accelerated or decelerated plant growth, attraction and captivation of animals, localised climate variation to make herself more comfortable(very small area of only a few acres), and bewitching weak-willed people into helping her. In addition to those in-born magics, she can learn and utilise written forms of incantations and cast runes and other wards, though she doesn't know any and has no access to them.

	-[i]The Siren's Song[/i]: Just like those legendary beasts, Berenice can use her voice to captivate those around her. Within a clearly audible range(between 100 and 500 feet, depending on local variables), those hearing her sing become entranced with her, wanting nothing more than to help her and defend her, or even just be near her. While this is a magical, psychic effect, it does not give her control over them, save that most of those bewitched in such away would desire to appease her and grant her requests. This will not cause anyone to do anything they wouldn't normally do, nor does it grant them any sort of abilities they wouldn't normally have. For example, while some carpenter would be more than happy to build a house for her, he could not do the plumbing for it, nor would he turn his hammer and go kill someone for her. A poet would write her a sonnet, but could not suddenly play guitar or use a gun unless he already had those skills.
	
	-[i]Harpy's Scream[/i]: As another use of her voice, Berenice can scream. This is extremely loud, noticeable from miles away, and sounds like a hunting hawk's cry. It hits in a flared cone area in front of her, spreading out as the sound waves dissipate and getting progressively less effective the further one is. 
		At point blank range, up to twenty feet, the combination of sound waves, magic, and wind power create a concussive force 	capable of breaking bones, stripping air from lungs, and outright killing normal creatures with no defenses. Even those with some survivability will experience hearing damage, burst blood vessels in vulnerable area like the eyeballs and sinus cavity, difficulty breathing, and gale force winds
		Between twenty and fifty feet, ear-drums are ruptured without protection and the sound levels can induce unconsciousness, while the magic levels may actually cause temporary psychosis or delusional confusion, as well as being pushed back by force of wind
		Between fifty and a hundred feet, the sound levels can cause temporary deafness without protection, and magic effects include dizziness, loss of balance, nausea, and can still knock flying victims out of the air
		Between one hundred and two hundred feet, all other sounds are cancelled out, and the decibel level can still cause swift headaches without protection. Magic effects are minimal at this range, though flight can still be disrupted by the wind energy created.
		Beyond two hundred feet, this is just an exceptionally loud scream.

	This scream will affect any creature that can hear and has no magical defenses against it.
	
	Berenice can keep screaming for astonishing periods of time, up to two minutes with no difficulty. If she goes longer than four minutes, she risks damaging her vocal chords, and after five minutes she can no longer hold the scream and stops, rendering her mute for twenty-four to forty-eight hours while her throat repairs itself.

	-[i]Flight[/i]: Having wings that are mildly magically powered grants her the ability to fly, even if physics says something of her weight couldn't really get off the ground. As an intrinsic magic, this cannot be dispelled or otherwise turned off unless Berenice is killed, though tying or otherwise binding her wings will still ground her.

	-[i]Natural weapons[/i]: Berenice's talons are wicked things, easily as capable of piercing flesh as any other raptor might be. Owing to her size, they are around the same claw length and configuration as an osprey, though her grip strength is actually slightly better. They are also well built for both perching or standing on the ground.

	-[i]Psychic Immunity[/i]: As a magically constructed being of legend with her own pseudo-psychic abilities, Berenice is immune to psychic intrusions of any sort, except those of cosmic or infernal beings. Anyone attempting to read or invade her mind is psychically deafened by birdsong that interrupts all other thought, a cacophony that includes calls of everything from seagulls and crows to parrots and swallows. This assault ceases once they break contact, though it may be disorienting to unsuspecting people just scanning everyone in an area.

	-[i]Inheritance[/i]: Berenice has some of the natural abilities of the birds used in her creation. She has fairly water-proofed feathers, though she cannot dive like a tern. She can imitate the natural calls of any sea bird, black bird(crows, magpies, ravens, etc), song bird, or raptor. She can dive like a hawk, and has the equivalent level of eyesight. And she can maneuver quite well for her size, moving gracefully like a swallow even if she can't quite change direction as fast because of her inertial force. Her plumage is very hunting-oriented, white on the legs and under the wings, brown black and gold on the tops of her wings and tail. She is capable of subsisting on anything from tidbits of food garbage and week old roadkill to fruits and fresh fish, obviously preferring the latter options. While she has no beak, her teeth are very sharp, and she has only minuscule set of molars, but a triple set of canines and very sharp incisors.
[/hider]


[b]Attributes:[/b]
[indent]
Height: 4'1" (124 cm) normally, but if splayed out completely she's around 5'11" (180 cm)
Weight: 96 lbs (43.5 kg)
Wingspan: 12 feet(3.6 metres)

Strength Level: Normal Human
Speed/Reaction Timing Level: Lower than normal walking(awkward), 40 mph flight
Endurance at MAXIMUM Effort: 2 hours
Agility: Below human normal on ground, 5x in the air
Intelligence: Normal human(but uneducated)
Fighting Skill: Untrained
[/indent]
[b]Resources:[/b] Minimal

[b]Weaknesses:[/b]

[hider=Weak bits]
Inexperience is the greatest killer, this holds doubly true for Berenice. While she has the fundamental skills to hunt and fish for herself, she has no formal combat training, and lacks even a basic understanding of most weaponry, having never been exposed to it. This means she will not dodge out of the way of guns pointed at her, though swinging a sword is generally a universal sign of hostility. This translates further than combat, however, and into social areas. She does not understand any normal human social cues of facial expressions. Scowling at her to show displeasure or trying to otherwise use subtle hints of anything will have no effect. Much like a trademarked character fro Guardians, she has no concept of subtleties in speech either, and takes everything quite literally, which can lead to a myriad of errors. This is obviously eventually going to stop effecting her through time.

	What won't go away, even with hard training, is her strong tendency to distracted-ness. While just waving a shiny object may work in short term until she gets more combat experience, any sort of reflective surface can actually cause her to lose track of what she's doing, a hold-over from the spell used to create her. Her creator originally intended to keep her captivated with a silver mirror when he didn't need her doing something, and while she can break away from normal glass mirrors with some effort, silver mirrors will still hold her fast until removed from her sight. This will be doubly difficult, as she will [i]follow[/i] the mirror, trying to stay within arm's length of it and stare into it, until such a time as it is covered or destroyed. Even a shard can do this. Thankfully, this isn't something even she can articulate, and the sourcerer's notes were destroyed, but experimentation could reveal this.
	Music, oddly, can also entrance her, though not to the same extent. While it won't pull her out of combat, playing any sort of rhythmic music will cause her to lose track of time and just sing or hum along, [i]especially[/i] wood winds and harp or bowed strings. She'll snap out of it only when someone actively tells her to get a move on, or she gets hungry enough.
	
	Berenice has [i]absolutely[/i] no defenses against cosmic creatures, and will have to fight them using her own talons, weapons, and magic. Olympian "gods", especially Poseidon, Aphrodite, and Zeus, can command her unrelenting obedience, as they are from her "pantheon". 

	Despite being made of magic, Berenice is a flesh and blood creature, and can be hurt by any and all conventional means. Guns, knives, punches, being hit with a car, etc. If she knew spells for it that could change, but she is not naturally armoured in any way, form, or fashion, with the notable exceptions of having a solid skeletal structure unlike most avians, and the hardened plates of her talons.
	
	Berenice has all of the normal mobility limitations of birds. She can't really walk, having to resort instead the the rolling, hopping gait most birds do when on the ground. This is awkward to move about with, and she is easily caught off balance when landed. Perching doesn't cause nearly as many problems. Taking off from the ground requires several beats and hops to get moving enough, and is much easier from a high place.
[/hider]


[b]Supporting Characters (Does your character have a significant other? A mother? Friend? Who are they, what do they have to do with your character?):[/b] 
	While not having direct knowledge of her, her creator's teacher is [i]very[/i] interested in finding out what the hell happened to his student. He is an exceptional magic user, but the student was studying by himself at an undisclosed-to-his-master location, and the man is having no easy time finding the place.
	The singer used as a sacrifice for the spell that created Berenice can still be seen in her face. Her mind and personality are gone, but any of her former friends, family, or associates will be able to recognise her face if they see her. Attempts to bring back the "real" girl will be useless, but it'll probably cause no ends of problems. The police are also interested in the reported disappearance, investigation of which has yielded evidence of kidnapping and trace amounts of magic. The detective in charge of her case in George Owens, LHPD Missing Persons Unit.

[b]Do you know how to post pictures on RPG boards?:[/b] Not yet, I only really know how to link urls.

Sample Post:

[hider=Sample]
Detective George Owens was not having the best night of his career, though he did have to be thankful that these people were at least more rational than most he saw when working missing persons cases. Looking across the interview table, he took them in again, in more detail than he had when they had first approached his desk. They were obviously young, a male and female in their very early twenties. The guy had a short mohawk that he had left down for the day, though the vibrant pink was defintely still distracting. The girl had a pixie cut in vivid blue, and Owens had already mentally filed them as "The Bubblegum Kids". Both had a multitude of piercings and wore torn up jeans and t-shirts declaring some quite rude things about authority figures, which did nothing to endear them to him. According to his notes, they were from a band in Portland known as "Raccoon's Stank", apparently some two-piece punk outfit.
	"So," he said, pondering the evidence so far. "While you two had some hostile interactions with Ms. Graves, you say no one ever got violent?"
	The girl nodded. "Yeah, she was always super bitchy about our music, y'know? Always actin' all superior an' shit. But we always just yelled at each other." The boy grinned. "There were some things I woulda liked ta do, but they weren't violent, y'know?"
	Owens repressed a shudder. Creepy little kids. "Neither of you happen to know of anyone she might have ticked off, made enemies with? She didn't appear to have powers, right?"
	The boy shrugged this time. "Not that I know of, man. She acted all Stevie Nicks, so I dunno how many people she mighta pissed off. As far as I know everyone here's freaks, but I never saw her do anything weird."
	"Alright, thanks for your time. See the desk sergeant if you need anything." Owens got up, let them out of the interview room, and made his way back to his desk. Slouching into his chair, he flipped open the case file and sighed. he picture of the victim was fairly good, a recent picture of a girl with a long and pointed chin, arched eyebrows, and a cheery smile under a dainty nose, all framed with wavy golden brown hair. He hated cases like this. On the surface it was a clear-cut break in, with signs of a struggle everywhere. Couch flipped over, glass from picture frames over the floor, door busted in despite the deadbolt. But then the Sniffer had caught whiff of magic and everything went topsy-turvy. 
	Normally, he'd call it as a kidnapping with purpose for either human trafficking or some sick bastard doing the usual assault stuff, but magic made everything more complicated. The Mystics Unit detective had thrown all sorts of terms at him he didn't understand and had cleared everyone out while they got a "signature", but that had come up empty. Trace elements told them that some sort of enchantment and necromancy had taken place, but matched no known profile, so that was mostly a dead end. While the were following leads, their office was swamped almost as bad as the Meta-Crimes Department, so who even knew when they'd get back to him with something he could go on?
	In the mean time, he had had to make the most traumatic call in any of these cases, the dreaded next-of-kin notification. After the usual hysterics, the parents had calmed down enough to give him relevant information. The victim, one Gloria Julianne Addams, age nineteen, had worked as a waitress locally while going through music school, and was a sophomore at the local community college and performed as a singer in a garage band that did some shows in the local region, though was nowhere near big enough for an obsessed fan theory. Both workplace and school had only turned up mild leads which went nowhere, and the band members were genuinely devastated to learn of their vocalist's disappearance. Leaving Owens with nothing to work with.
	He was tired of this sort of crap. He had considered transferring to another unit, he thought idly as he scratched his chin and stared at a photo of a bar. But honestly, he enjoyed the occasional big win when they found and rescued someone, rare as it was. And that right there sparked the slight hint of recognition in his mind. There, in the photograph, was a mage. The photo was taken from behind the band during one of their performances at a local dive bar, out into the crowd, and there in the lower left corner halfway into the crowd was a face he recognised from a couple of other similar case files. He stood out of his chair and shuffled his coat on awkwardly, keeping a grip on the photo and not moving it from his view, memorising every detail of the bastard's face, a sallow and waxy looking man of maybe late thirties. [i]Got you now, you son of a bitch![/i] he thought, the rising excitement of finding a lead growing in his chest. Maybe, just maybe, here was another win for his team.
[/hider]


[b]Additional Notes:[/b] Berenice has a bad habit of talking to herself to remind herself of things, resulting in an almost constant stream of low-grade muttering if she's thinking hard. She also does not understand toilets. At all. Or really any sort of personal hygiene not directly related to washing of leavings of meals and keeping her feathers well-groomed, thus her hair is a tangled mess and she does [i]not[/i] smell pleasant.

[b]Additional Comments:[/b] I would really appreciate collaborating with some people on Berenice's introductory arc, specifically the NPC parents of kids and potentially their calling in of heroes to deal with Berenice if they panic, which I personally think is the best way to intro her? Or if you've got other ideas. I dunno