Matilda Gray

20

Female

Single

Middling class, father owning a printing shop. They make a fine living but certainly are by no means Rich or Noble.

Flora—This has mostly been seen in her flower boxes out front of the shop. Matilda hasn’t cared much to explore her powers, more interested in her books and her paintings, but she enjoys tending to the flowers and so they have flourished.

Matilda could be pretty enough if she tried. But most of the time she has a vague smile and hair escaping it’s pins, wide blue eyes that often drift up to the clouds as she thinks of something else. A typical build and height, she has fair skin and light blonde hair. Fingers often smudged with ink from the press or the books she is reading, or stained with vivid colors from her paintings.

Matilda owns decent clothes, and while she’s not great about her attention to detail, and at times tends to be a bit wrinkled, she puts on a good appearance. She favors blues and gray shades, and often is seen with an apron covering her front to protect her clothes from her messy work.

It sounds silly but… Matilda has this bad dream… It’s so silly. But she is in front of a crowd of people and they all stop and turn to look at her. With all the eyes on her someone points and laughs. And they all start laughing. And the entire crowd is bawling away at her because they see her for what she is. Laughable, nobody, a stupid girl from a little village that no one has ever heard of. She’s had this dream for years, traditionally during times of stress. No there was never a horrible event that set this off, just the nagging feeling that one day the crowds will turn and point and laugh.

Soft spoken, well read, and a dreamer, Matilda has her head in the clouds and her hands dipped in earth, wrapped around a paint brush or turning the pages of a book. She likes to discuss all manner of things and in general is a friendly girl, if a bit scatter brained at times.

While not overly out going she is neither shy nor opposed to interacting with others. Its more that people often choose not to interface with Matilda due to her wandering gaze and unfocused mind. It’s hard at times to keep a conversation going in one direction with Matilda when she is easily distracted by her whims and random thoughts.

Mother dying when Matilda was fairly young, she lives with her father and younger sister Eliza above the shop. While in knowledge she knew she was supposed to have a mother, never did Matilda feel neglected or as if she was missing something, her father cared so diligently for his family. And being in the printing world Matilda was given the gift of an opportunity to learn to read and write, to think. This was the start to her great love of learning and finding new ways to think and see the world. To explore her creativity.

When the message went out for the Destined to attend the festival Matilda did not even think of her wrist and the mark there, but instead of all the different people coming together and the opportunity to learn and see so much more. Excitement gripped Matilda and she begged to go. Her father agreed knowing Matilda was a good girl, and her sister even insisted Matilda try to meet other Destined. Not for the opportunity to learn more about the world, but to actually find love and a partner. Matilda agreed, but mostly to make her sister happy. Why would she need a Destined soulmate?

Color, Face Claim: is Rosamund Pike.

Color: bc8dbf

Jinayah Torraine

18

Female

Single

Apprentice blacksmith

Earth – The only magic that Jin can actually perform at will is minor feats of magnetism in the form of pushing or pulling metal objects toward her. The metal tools around the forge are always a little lighter than they should be. Jacob Torraine has earth magic himself, and trained Jin enough to keep control of her ability, even under duress. If anyone was versed in the sort of magic that a Marked person is capable of, they may note that Jin has a lot of power that she’s not putting to use. Whether or not this is deliberate or unconscious remains to be seen.

Jin is quite small for a woman her age, with warm brown skin, very dark brown eyes, and black hair kept boy-short and out of the way under a cloth. Her look is clearly from Salahar, and in fact her father's father was from there. She is about five feet tall, and her body is wiry and fairly muscular for a woman. She usually dresses in male clothing, merely because it’s practical when at work, and usually smells very slightly singed. On her right wrist, she usually wears a bandage or some other kind of covering. Most of the time, it can be explained away as a mild burn or other forge injury, but this is a lie. Jin wants to hide her Mark, and really wants nothing to do with it. The whole business of magic has caused her more trouble than anything else, and she’ll be glad for the day she can be rid of her power.

Jin's biggest fear is that all the secrets she bears will come to light and that she will be eternally branded as a foreigner and a criminal. The family that gave her so much will be shamed, and she will be alone again. She does her best to pretend that she remembers nothing of her past, her parents and her homeland, but she does. She remembers all of it, so that she never forgets to hide the person she was.

Jin is a very matter of fact young woman, with few social graces and little patience for dancing around subjects. She's as blunt as a shaping hammer, and can be equally painful. However, once people get over that aspect of her personality, Jin is friendly and loyal, the sort of person you want beside you if there's trouble. She always seems to know someone somewhere who can get things done, and despite her distinct lack of tact, she does apologize if she hurts someone's feelings in too deep a way. Also, she is always nice to children, and frequently gives some of her pay to beggar's bowls and the local church. Jin thinks the Destined legend is a great story, if you're a child or a wide-eyed idiot. She wouldn't think it real if she didn't have a mark herself. She doesn’t go so far to scoff the Gods, but really only goes to church if her family goes.

Jinayah is the only child of Richard and Jasmine, a happy couple who lived in Riverswalk, a small Galinesian town on the border of Riddenmar. Richard was a town guard, and Jasmine was well-versed in herbal medicines and poultices. Her family was happy, well-fed and content. The war took all of that away. Before there was an “official” conflict between Galinas and Orewyn, there were plenty of small skirmishes that caught up nearby areas. Jin’s hometown was one of them. Her father was “drafted” along with many other able-bodied men, as battles were waged on both sides with groups that could be officially denied as soldiers of the crown. Officially or not, Richard died in battle, leaving the family without him. Jasmine did her best to keep food on the table, but when the war became more real, Riverswalk quickly got caught in the conflict. Many people lost family members, businesses, their homes, and their lives. Because of the amount of people passing through, injured and otherwise, illness swept the town. Whoever could leave, did leave, but Jasmine took ill before being able to get her daughter out. Jin was left orphaned when she was barely entering adolescence.

With nothing left tying her to the town but memories, she left, falling in with the roaming bands of people who followed behind camps of soldiers. Washerwomen, brigands, healers, and otherwise – war drew a crowd of nomads. There was food there, sometimes. There was coin, and there was crime. Jin’s magic started to come to life, and she quickly found a way to keep her pockets full. Coinpurses just seemed to leap into her hand if she reached for them in the right way. This manner of theft kept her going all the way past the border, but things changed when she reached the first large city, Tradewind.

Stealing in a large town was much different than swiping coins from half-drunk soldiers. There was organization, for one, and said organization did not like unknown quantities in their territory. When the caught Jin, they offered a choice. Join the Thieves Guild, or die if she was caught pilfering. The choice seemed obvious at the time to Jin, and she joined without a second thought. She learned fast and well, and would have been content to thieve for the rest of her life, if her magic hadn’t caught the attention of the guild’s leader, Randall Crain, also known as Randy the Rat. Randy thought a girl who could magic coins into their pockets was a rare find, and he quickly took her into his “custody”. She was allowed to keep stealing, but only under his specific command. When she wasn’t working, she was kept close to Randy's side. After a time, it started to become increasingly clear to Jin that Randy wanted more than a coin-attracting meal ticket. His comments about her "growing beauty" and that she'd "learn to enjoy his company" made Jin more fearful every day. Randy had not tried his hand yet, but she certainly didn't want him, and feared his wrath if and when she rejected him. She knew it was time to go, no matter what. It took half a year of planning, and more than a few bribes to escape, but she did. Jin traveled as far as she could for as long as she could, until her money and strength ran out just outside of Elkwood.

She tried to find honest work, but no one was willing to hide a strange girl with no family or friends. Soon, she was reduced to begging for scraps and doing odd jobs. The local blacksmith, one Jacob Torraine, often gave her work to do in exchange for a few coins or a hot meal. Even with five children of his own, an extra pair of hands couldn’t hurt.

One day, she wound up accidentally saving the life of his youngest daughter. Lilian had just learned to walk, and to run soon after that. She toddled her way into the forge and was a breath away from pulling down a tin of nails onto herself. Jin reacted without thought – she stretched her hand forth and simply pushed, and the nails scattered in a perfect ring around the baby, leaving her unharmed. This was in full view of the blacksmith, and after he was done clutching his child in fear and relief, he told Jin he would reward her with anything he had, even a whole month’s profit. Jin simply asked for a hot meal and a bed. That night, Jacob invited her to eat with his family, and they all treated her as an honored guest. Touched by their true warmth and generosity, Jin told them her entire story. Everything from her life in Galinas, to her thieving past, her Mark and magic, and everything in between. To her surprise, instead of kicking her back into the street, the Torraines offered her a place to stay - permanently. For one, they had saved the life of their youngest, and asked for nothing in return. For another, all they saw was a child who had been through more than most adults. Her birthland and past didn’t really matter all that much in their eyes.

Jin cried for the first time in years, that night. She grew up with the rest of the Torraine children. Carolyn, their mother, taught her to cook and sew and to be a girl again, and when she showed promise, Jacob began to teach her blacksmith work along with two of his sons. Jin loves the people who took her in, and wants nothing more now than to live a happy, quiet and uneventful life. Carolyn had to convince her to join the festivities at the Royal City. Jin isn’t going for the romance of the thing, but she’s just too curious to not go, especially if the crown is footing the bill. She hopes to come back full of stories souvenirs.

Anne Gress

22

Female

Single

Courtier/Spy

Light. Anne specializes in illusion and invisibility, bending light around her to make her appear however she wants, if only for a few hours. As with most light elementals, she can create a glow with her hands, but has never trained much in strengthening her generation, or learning healing at all. She completed some very basic training in teleportation, but has only managed to use it once with a good deal of effort and it moved her less than a meter.

Anne could be a beauty, if her face was more disposed to charm than it is sullenness. Her hair is an unusually dark shade of red, and typically harshly restrained in a pinned bun. She has pretty features, a full mouth, high cheekbones, and dark eyes, all wasted on an expressionless face. It is her impassivity that people remember about Anne more than her appearance, or even short height, barely reaching over five feet. Her clothing is easily overlooked, all dark coloured dresses of fine make, but little detail.

Failing either her family or her nation. Everything she's done has been to keep her family from poverty, but since working in Galinas she is all too aware of the threat to her home, and how unprepared it is.

Cold. No one would call Anne a friend. At most others are amused by her, then become frustrated and dismiss her. It isn't that she is socially inept, rather she lacks the patience to wade through the false charm and weak wit that litter noble gatherings. She doesn't confess emotions, and her opinions are always coolly formed around logic, ultimately making her seem inhumane and uncaring for others. Her impassivity comes from both focus, and pride. Both come from the constant iterations that she was her family's only hope. She doesn't bode well with distractions, and multitasking isn't something her perfectionism allows, and ignores direction from those she does not respect. No one would want to work with her, no would she ever ask for help regardless if she ever needed it or not.

Despite her uncaring demeanor Anne isn't cruel or even hateful, only too stubborn and sure she knows what's best for everyone. She loves her family a great deal, despite their failing status and desperate actions. Even her older brother and sister who envied her as a child and grew to hate her as adults, can rely on Anne. She cares a good deal for people of Orewyn, but only as a whole rather than individually.

Anne's parents were social climbers in the Royal City, a former trading family that got raised to the rank of nobles some 80 years before for reasons few remember. The title was only honourary, and came with no lands and no coin, but pride enough for Anne's grandfather to end the family's trade. After selling all their ships and business, the Gress family slowly began working its way into debt. Anne was to be her family's saving grace, a destined child could drag their name back from ruin.

Tutors were brought in for her; worsening their money troubles and earning much resentment from both her older siblings. Elem was the one that stayed with her the longest; a large dark man from Salahar, who taught her meditation and focus. Even with such care, it was impossible for Anne to learn every discipline of her element, and so most attention was spent with illusions and bending light around her. By the time she had learned not only invisibility but how to disguise herself with illusions, her family was forced to present her to court, having run out of lenders. She was 17, and spent the next two years as a courtier, continuing infrequent tutoring with Elem.

At 19 and unmarried, her family had all but given up hope when she was summoned to see the king's chief adviser. Shortly thereafter she was sent Corrik, the capital of Galinas, under the pretense of furthering her education. In truth she was sent to watch the nobles or Corrik, and discover any schemes for Orewyn. For three years she did study, ignoring the fine arts she had neither talent or appreciation for, and spending most of her time learning the natural sciences; mostly human anatomy, biology, and chemistry. She did not blend in well with the noblewomen of Corrik, most of whom shunned or at least disdained her. It was a feeling she'd grown accustomed too, except in Galinas it was due to her Orewyn heritage instead of her family's reputation. Other nobles found her solemnity amusing, and kept her around until she caused trouble.

One month before the festival she received word that her elder brother had fallen ill with Typhoid. Two weeks later another latter came with the news of his death. Anne left for Royal City, expecting to stay for no more than a month before returning to Corrik.

Color; FFFACD Faceclaim; Stephanie Cam

Oriana Delaney

18

Female

Single

Farmers Daughter, and Peasant from Elkwood

Oriana is an Air elemental. She has great control over manipulating air. Childhood boredom gave her a lot of time to practice. Though she has not been formally educated, she is a natural at using her ability. She can make a strong enough breeze to shake the trees like a storm. She has yet to learn to manipulate weather, but she can fly a bit if she is going slow.

Oriana has a small round face. Her eyes are a clear cool gray, that sometimes appear more blue. She has long flaxen blonde hair, that is wavy and soft. She wears her hair up wrapped in cloth when she is doing chores, but otherwise she leaves it down and flowing. She owns three dresses, and one gown that was a hand-me-down from her mother. Her clothes are the typical village girl garb, and the have a bit of wear and tare around the hem. She has a nice enough face, but wishes she looked more like her beautiful older sister Maeve who is curvaceous, with red hair and bright blue eyes. She is tall and thin.

Oriana is extremely afraid of being stuck in small confined spaces. She has been claustrophobic ever since she was four years old,
when during a game of hide and seek she accidentally got locked in a chest, and no one found her for hours. She doesn't know why she gets so scared, but as soon as shes in a small tight place she panics and can't breath.

Oriana is a clever, optimistic, and quick-witted girl, with a curious nature. She has a sharp tongue and a direct way of approaching things, thus she is not afraid to speak her mind. Her older sister describes her as being reckless, but caring. As a child she was an energetic, and tomboyish girl filled with life and humor. She is a very unforgiving person. She’s never been a fan of people who treat her like a child or think they're better then her. She wants to be strongly independent, but being so young that's not always possible. She appears afraid of nothing, and is always up for a daring adventure. She is not easily upset or agitated, even in stressful, or difficult circumstances. Oriana is also hard-working and does not place much value in material possessions.

Oriana is a hopeless romantic at heart, and always wished to find her destined to find her. As a child she would dream up a handsome knight in shinning armor who would ride into Elkwood, sweep her up and gallop into the sunset.

Oriana grew up in and around the village of Elkwood. She lived with her parents, two brothers, and three sisters on the family farm. Her father married her mother out of obligation, after she got pregnant by him when she was fifteen. She was never the housewife type, and it became more apparent as the years past. Her father left to fight in the war when Oriana was only two years old, and her mother was four months pregnant at the time. Her brother Seamus was only ten, but he took over the role of parent to Oriana and all her siblings. Five months later her mother gave birth to twins girls, and once she was well enough she started spending most of her time at the tavern, and spending what little they had on fineries for herself.

Two years into the war, her father came home. He had been badly wounded, and it was a miracle he survived the amputation and consequent infection. The once cheerful and hardworking man, came home broken, missing an arm, and full of nightmares. Oriana was a little free spirit, full of energy and no fear. With hardly any supervision, she spent most of her early childhood wounding around the fields, chasing butterflies, and climbing trees. On nights when her father would wake screaming from his nightmares, Oriana and her brother Declan would take their blankets and sneak into Seamus bed. When her father was not consumed with his nightmares and hallucinations he was typically drinking to numb himself and take away the depression.

The war ended a year later and that’s when the taxes grew too much to bare. They had to sell quite a bit of their land, both horses, and all the pigs in order to keep the farm afloat. All of the workers were also let off, since there was no coin to spare for wages. What was left of the farm quickly fell into disrepair as Seamus just couldn’t do it all himself. Food was scares, but somehow her father found money to drink, and her mother had coin to buy herself silk stockings, and exotic perfume from Salahar. Her parents never loved each other, and the loss of income didn’t help the unhappy marriage. All her mother would do was berate, and yell at her father. Calling him things like lazy, drunkard, cripple, stupid, worthless, and crazy. While he just sat their jaw clenched with shame in his eyes.

Oriana was nine years old when she caught her mother in the barn with another man. Naive to the ways of the world, she thought the man was attacking her mom. So she beat the man off with a broom. The man ran off, and her mother slapped Oriana in the face for ruining her fun. She told her not to say anything to anyone about what she saw. Her mother then started ranting about how she wished her cripple of a husband would have died in the war, and the she never had any ungrateful children. Oriana didn’t stay to hear the rest. She ran off cradling her stinging cheek, and holding back tears. She got it in her mind to runaway, and got halfway to the mountains before she came back home exhausted and hungry. She told her sister Maeve what happened, and the girls never spoke of it again.

Seamus got arrested for smuggling about a year later. Luckily instead of the typical death sentence, he got twelve months hard labor. With him gone, ten year old Oriana quickly became more responsible, helping Maeve around the farm, and making sure the twins didn’t get into trouble. Declan got a job working at the stables in the village, and what he earned was carefully hidden away from his parents. The siblings were counting the days until their brother came home. Oriana even had a tally on the wall next to her bed, and every night before bed she would draw a line in coal.

Oriana was thirteen when Maeve got married to the butchers son, and left to live in Daralt. It was the first time she had seen her big sister so happy, as she said her vows, dressed prettily with flowers in her hair. For Oriana the idea of leaving her parents behind was appealing, but she didn't want to leave her siblings or the farm she loved so much. Her mother had a miscarriage later in the year, which resulted in her being unable to conceive ever again. Father knew the baby couldn't be his, as they hadn't slept together in three years. Yet somehow after she lost the baby, they seemed to reconcile. Her mother, the once selfish spoiled young girl, was now a tired woman with graying hair, and fading beauty. News came right around Oriana's fifteenth birthday, that Maeve had given birth to a baby girl.

Seamus and Declan fixed the crumbling cottage at the end of the farm field, so Seamus could move in with his new bride. Their father got off the booze for the most part, and did his best to run the farm with Seamus. Declan left the village to become a priest. Seeing her brothers and sister succeed in life, and find love made her want to dot the same. The unfortunate thing was every boy in the village knew Oriana was marked, and nobody wanted to risk their hearts on a girl who was destined by the Gods to be with someone else. At this point she had come to the conclusion that she would end up alone, a spinster caring for her aging parents.

When the royals offered to pay for the marked to come to the festival she took the chance. Her mother had high hopes that Oriana would be destined for the prince or someone wealthy. And gave her a purple velvet gown to wear at the ball. Her whole family wished her well, and she was happy. It is her first time on her own, but hopefully she can find her destined, and live the life she always wanted.

Face Claim: Elle Fanning
Color Code: CA97CC
Horse: Buttercup
She doesn't know how to read or write.
She is an expert at riding her horse.
She doesn't know how to swim.

Selice Khouri

24

Female

In a relationship

Captain of the Royal Forces

Fauna: Due to her hardworking nature and incessant training, Selice is quite advanced in her magic training. She is able to empathize with all animals and control them to assist her as well. She is able to also read human minds,
But rarely does it unless there is a good reason for it. These cases are usually for peace treaties as well as military strategy. Selice also cheats a little by reading her boyfriend's emotions to keep her relationship a float. Recently she has begun training in order to transform into animals. Usually people begin by learning common animals such as cows and horses, however, being a military commander, Selice is focusing on more practical animals for her work.

Selice's Salaharian decent is clearly seen from her appearance. She has the dark black hair as well as dark brown eyes and a dark complexion. She has a bit of a resting bitch face that can intimidate the new recruits, but when she smiles and laughs her daunting presence becomes more amiable. Selice's body is not made for laborious work. She's a relatively short, 5'5" with thin shoulders and a lean body type. Her muscles aren't bulging as one may expect from the military leader, but what she does have is toned muscles that she's learned to control very well. Her hands and feet are usually calloused from all her training.

Selice's clothing choice is based on practicality first and foremost. Therefore, she wears male clothing that she can easily move around in. During difficult training and hot days, Selice is not afraid to shed some clothing. Anyone other than her boyfriend caught looking at her wrong will be meeting a bruising punch to the face. When dealing with business, Selice prefers to wear armor. However, her preferences lean towards maneuverability rather than thick, heavy armor.

Selice fears failure. She has worked so hard to achieve her current position and fears loosing all that she has worked for years on. With this comes smaller fears that would lead to this. Things such as loosing her magic and being unable to do as the king requests.

Selice is extremely hard working. She dedicates herself to a single task, ignoring all other aspects of her life. This usually includes her health and relationships. She is also quite competitive. She feels the need to be the best in everything, especially since she is a female in a "male job". One particular dislike is being told what she can and can't do, making her work even harder to prove that person wrong. Her loyalty to the royal family is unmistakable. She is forever grateful to have been allowed to rise up to her position. Her sense of justice is through the laws passed by the Queen.

Among the knights of the royal family, Selice is very much a leader. She leads through example and is good at encouragement through bluntness and advice. The men under her respect her, but also enjoy breaking her usual stoic nature by making her laugh or poking fun at her. They especially enjoy teasing her and her boyfriend, Aeneas. Aeneas is the perfect boyfriend, he is patient and understanding of Selice's position. Unfortunately, they have a hard time finding time to spend together. Occasionally, she will feel bad for never giving back to Aeneas for all that her does, but the two persist in their relationship. There are times that Selice has a hard time believing that he's real. However, she does hate the fact that he's not her destined.

Selice doesn't like the idea of being Marked and having a preordained future set out for her. Instead, she found someone she loves without the mark. At first, she set out to simply find someone without the mark, but eventually grew to love Aeneas. Now, she hopes and prays that the birthmark on her wrist is only a coincidence and that she is not in fact Marked.

Selice's parents were both from Salahar. It's where they met and got married. In fact, Selice was even born the the country. However, soon after, her parents moved to Orewyn to lead a more prosperous life. Growing up in Orewyn, Selice learned and followed Orewegian culture. However, since she was clearly Salaharian, she felt pressured to be perfect for fear of her entire country being judged by her inabilities. So, she learned to work hard and be at least proficient in everything that she could.

Selice lived in a relatively large town in the country, her childhood fairly normal. When she first told her parents that she wanted to become a knight for their local lord, they were uncertain of her decision and a bit scared for her safety. However, since she showed that she was more than capable of handling herself, her parents relented. At first, it was difficult. Many of the other knights looked down on her for being a female or not being a "real Orewegian". Her loyalties were doubted on many occasions, but she never let this deter her. In fact it made her work harder to prove them all wrong and shove it in their face when she became commander of the lord's army at the young age of 18. She was mainly an archer and strategist which suited her abilities best at the time.

Eventually she became a knight of the royal army at age 21, and needed to adapt to the competitive environment. She began training in hand to hand combat and learning how to wield a dagger. Selice captured the attention of the commander at the time due to her hardworking nature and uniqueness. She used this as an advantage and learned all she could in a short amount of time from the commander. When she was 23, the commander retired and named her the next commander of the royal forces. This shocked everyone including Selice. She didn't feel ready for the job, but didn't want to turn down the opportunity. It was around this time that she met Aeneas who helped her with the stress of it all.

It has been almost a year since then, and she has made significant changes to the environment of the royal forces by making it less competitive and adding more camaraderie. She still has yet to prove herself as a commander, but Selice is very good at adapting and has made no significant errors as of yet. At the moment, she is trying to prepare the security of the royal city for the festival of destinies. She plans on focusing more on her duties at this time, so as not to mess up and ignore the issue of her own mark.

Faceclaim: Ayisha Hart
Color code: 992b21