Name: Mother Viveca Age: Approximately 21 Height/Weight: 5’9”, 150lbs Race: Omestrian Appearance: Viveca is a traditionally attractive woman who couldn’t hide her Omestrian roots, even if she wanted to. She has long, sandy blond hair reminiscent of the people who posed for the great statues of her annihilated culture. Her amber eyes are accentuated by thick lashes and a naturally thin brow. Always in her hair, Viveca wears a royal blue ribbon, gifted to her from the Inquisitor who brought her freedom. Her sigil is tattooed on her back (see personal seal), with the trunk of the tree running along her spine and branching out over her shoulder blades. She covers her torso and shoulders with medium-weight plates while flexible leathers protect the rest of her body. Her left forearm is covered by a uniquely reinforced vambrace which provides the defense and support of a shield with less surface area. It requires more accurate blocking, but provides more mobility. Her breastplate is adorned with the well-known red circle. On the back, she has the same circle with three scratch marks through it. Never does anybody see the back of her plate, as it’s always hidden beneath her crimson-gilded coat. [HIDER=Mother Viveca][IMG]https://i.pinimg.com/736x/a7/df/57/a7df57f9891736554b58c5f3f8e445aa--fantasy-images-fantasy-women.jpg[/IMG][/HIDER] Personality: One of Varya’s least respected war-clergy is renown amongst her peers for her adaptability and love of variation. Viveca sees diversity and change as a way to build herself to be a stronger Inquisitor and protector of the people, even if a lot of those people refuse to seek a guardian from Omestris. Strangely enough, the Omestrian Mother doesn’t seem to be bothered much by the opinions of the commonfolk, let alone her fellow Inquisitors. By doing what she can for the people, Viveca can’t help but feel drawn to things lost to time; namely, those of her own people, her parents, and their ancestors. Her memory became hazy with time, but Viveca’s earliest and fondest recollections involve being surrounded by dilapidated statues and half-buried buildings of some of the most gorgeous architecture and art that she’s seen even to this day. Curious at heart, the Inquisitor has a tendency to be perceived as nosy, especially because she’s not the most polite, soft-spoken sweetheart. In fact, Viveca can often be seen as callous or unforgiving. Background: For the first several years of her life, Viveca lived with a pair of nomadic parents, moving from tucked away commune to tucked away commune around the remnants of Omestric. She never knew why they had to trek through the cold for it until they were all three found in the wrong place at the wrong time. These small pockets of Omestrian culture were gradually being enslaved or eradicated under the accusation of being heretics. They wanted nothing more than to live peacefully and free. The deserted cityscapes made hiding surprisingly easy, but after being found, there was no escape. Few in the colony where Viveca’s family was staying knew how to fight and even fewer had the weapons to do so. They were overrun and their consequential imprisonment is the reason Viveca struggles to keep track of her age. Her parents were the first two to go as the Varyan state accused them of conspiring and plotting to escape. Then, one by one the elderly were taken from their holding compound, followed by the adults and teenagers… Then they came for the children, and Viveca got her first true taste of the horrors of mankind. None of the other children were led the same way she was; the small girl was taken to a massive facility full of grown-ups and machines. By the end of that day, she found out where she was, though knew not why. She still can’t get the faces out of her mind… The sunken eyes, gasping for breath, unable to move… The men and women hooked to these disgusting machines were being harvested, and for weeks Viveca shared their fate. To this day, Viveca has no idea how long she was there, but she can never forget the face of the man who saved her. A stout Inquisitor with a gruff voice and covered in scars came to her and explained in simple terms why he was there. He’d heard of an Omestrian girl they’d found who had more ether to tap into than even a typical Omestrian. He came to see if she was truly gifted, even if it pained him so much to walk those halls. He was only given the right to take her away if she was enrolled at Varya’s most horrifying school as soon as she was of age. Through the years, this kind Father of the church found that she was indeed different – she held a particularly strong affinity for Omestrian ether manipulation, though he encouraged her to suppress it. The Inquisitor gifted her a blue ribbon which she has worn since that day, but it was only a few years before the day came when she had to start her training. Though her time with the man was short, she still owes him her life. She never received the opportunity to ask him why he took her in; perhaps, it was compassion, or pride for his own race. Whatever motivated him to be so kind, Viveca was grateful for him. To this day, Viveca has not been allowed to make a pilgrimage to Omestris or find any familiar faces, nor has she seen her parents since her rescue. Unfortunately, it’s quite likely that they’re dead or fled as far away as possible if they were ever released or let out. Talents/Ethereal Abilities: 1. [b][i]Deep Pockets:[/i][/b] Mother Viveca isn’t known for her power when it comes to ether. She has a lot of it, more than most people ever get to see, because she doesn’t have the most versatile array of skills. Thanks to this, she can expend it passively to increase her endurance more than most. It’s unfortunate, in her eyes, as she would much rather have a different power that she could use less. Instead she can just fight longer because of how little she has to expend the energy on. 2. [b][i]Brilliance:[/i][/b] Considered a minor power, and hardly one that comes in handy outside of lighting a particularly dark room, Viveca can generate light, seeming to glow when she uses the ability. Shadows are swallowed whole and, while it’s not an Aegis-related ability, it creates a modicum of warmth to those in the immediate area. 3. [i][b]Underdog:[/b][/i] Viveca was trained by an Inquisitor from a young age, and thus has a shockingly strong affinity for martial arts in all of their forms. The man was not tall, but he was built with the strength of Stina and Father Gregoroth. Seeing as her formidably massive pool of ether, which only seems larger by her conservative use of it, didn't have much to offer in the way of magic or spells like it does for most, she was trained to use this resource in every moment of her fighting at just the right amount. Coupling this power from a young age with how much time she spent training with a weapons master before her enrollment at the Red Seminary, one might mistake Viveca for a citizen of Lanostre with her wide array of weapons specializations. Her uniform includes a boot knife, a dagger sheathed in the small of her back, and another combat knife strapped over her breast. On her left arm she has a black metal bracer that works like a shield when paired with an enchantment and her natural paling to provide defense. Her main weapon is a falchion sheathed on her left hip. Personal Seal: [HIDER=Seal][IMG]https://openclipart.org/image/2400px/svg_to_png/245611/Azure-Rose-Silhouette-No-Background.png[/IMG][/HIDER] [hider=Viveca's Relationships]As she has not met most of her fellow Inquisitors, many of them will be very brief and based simply on a first impression or from what Father Ragnar has described to Warband Leviathan. Though specifically, I’ll be talking to her fellow Leviathan Inquisitors about possible specific interactions. This list is literally just in order of the Character tab, for simplicity’s sake. Father Rodion: Rodion… He’s that machinist in Phoenix, right? I honestly don’t know what to say about the guy, he’s not too different from the typical Inquisitors, to be honest. At least, in the way he acts; introverted, intelligent, abnormal from the commonfolk. From what I’ve heard, he’s a bit of a genius, but we all have our areas where we excel, don’t we? Father Hasaan: I don’t trust him. Not that I’ve gotten to know him yet, but from what I understand of his etheric talents and how he views himself with them, he doesn’t strike me as priest material. He’d be better suited as part of the common military. However, skill and a perceived faith will get you far in the Seminary… I would know. Mother Astraea: Father Antonin’s star pupil from Warband Phoenix? If there are any students in Varya’s religious war machine that I admire, she makes the top of the list. Such power and grace aren’t necessarily uncommon, but usually one has to lose a part of the triangle to achieve her level. Still, she maintains a humanity that even I fear I’m losing and does so without even realizing it. I’m honored to have her in the mission to El. Father Yerokhin “Stina:” Callous and unwavering, I can say without a doubt that Stina, from what I’ve seen and heard, is a first class prick. And still, he reminds me of a man who nourished the part of me destined for priesthood, and so long as he follows the path he’s on, I know he’ll be more than a great warrior one day. Unless I see him losing sight of that path, I’ll follow him into the very pits of Hell and drag him back kicking and screaming for more. Father Ragnar: Now [i]that’s[/i] what I call an interesting guy. He’s so uncharacteristically bubbly and eager to please. Before meeting most of Warband Phoenix, he shared as much as he could about our sister class. I still can’t tell if that’s a helpful or hurtful thing and hope it hasn’t given me too many pre-conceived notions about them. However, I know for sure his intentions were good. Still, with that smile on his face and can-do attitude, I can’t help but feel unnerved when I see his eyes. It reminds me of an older pain, the kind which is unshakeable and almost genetic, like an Omestrian’s. I don’t think he’s dishonest, just unnaturally happy. Perhaps the simple fact that it’s so uncommon to be boisterous and excited in our position is what makes me feel it. Father Galahad: On first impressions, he hardly seems to break free from the Inquisitor norm. He’s noble and intelligent, collected and reasonable. This is, of course, far from a bad thing. He tells it like it is; a lot of us live in a kind of… fantasy in our heads that makes us feel a bit more comfortable in whatever world we live in. It’s a survival mechanism. Galahad doesn’t, I can already tell he lives here, now, in this place and time. He’s loyal, and that’s the kind of Inquisitor we need. Plus, he has such a refinement and style about him, like a natural born leader. I can respect that, I don’t have the charisma or sophistication for it. Father Ilya: Visions of grandeur and a lack of self-awareness I’ve never seen anywhere else are the only things that I see inside of Ilya that make him stand out. He’s cocky and abrasive and our years together in Leviathan don’t do anything to make me feel better about him. Mother Indira hated him until we were almost graduated and I don’t care if he handled her trials with Oren and I so well; we had to endure it all and more, he got to live in the comfort for [i]years[/i] before facing her! He’s obsessed with control and scheduling, has no remorse or compassion… he wants to be a hero and yet finds little time or reason to get to know any of us. I don’t respect him any more than I have to, and the thing I hate about him most is one I can’t hide: he idolizes The Ravenous Lord. I would never say it, not even to Mother Indira, but his blind faith and allegiance make me sick. We might be missionaries, but the fact that I’ve had to spend all my time at the Seminary with supplementary lessons on how to ‘hide’ who I am, where I came from, and what I care about makes me bitter to the core that people like Ilya exist. He probably doesn’t even know I feel this way – I haven’t ever let it show as part of my “Omestrian Suppression.” He probably doesn’t even realize it was his family that owned the ether mine that had me imprisoned as a child. Mother Tatiana: She has a kind soul, that’s certain. But from what I understand, she’s a bit… hesitant as a priestess. Her privileged birthplace allows her to have her curiosity, whereas I can’t show that slightest bit of wonder or questioning. I don’t hate [i]her[/i] for it, and honestly I envy her and wish desperately to tell her that I understand what she’s going through. But from me, that’s heresy, so I’ll keep my lips tight and my will forged in Lanostran steel. Mother Ziotea: To be honest, I have mixed feelings on the woman. She shares the blood of my people, and unfortunately for her she’s only half of each. The life of a pure Omestrian is torturous, but at least we have a people and a cause, a culture. Being half-bred means that common society will always see you as an Omestrian, no matter what; conversely, Omestrians will only pity you for that, maybe take you in, but you’ll never quite feel as though you’re one of us. I don’t dislike her, but she has poor control over the fact that she isn’t the dutiful, faithful servant an Omestrian Inquisitor under The Ravenous Lord should be… so I pity her, and respect her, for she has the strength to feel what I dare not, and I pray that she isn’t devoured like a full-blooded Omestrian for her defiance. In battle, however, she is nearly an asset and, considering my own feelings on the non-secular military, I have no problems marching in with her, even if Mother Indira isn’t her biggest fan. Mother Indira: By and far one of the two greatest influences on my life so far, and possibly ever. Mother Indira took in those of us like her, or those of us she wanted to teach our pain, and taught us the things that one would think shouldn’t have to be taught in the Red Seminary. Perception is reality, so the view of our faithfulness and obedience had to be a strong one; citizens don’t realize that even the greatest priests of Varya struggle, mostly because we’re here to be warriors and missionaries who fight for the people from the most powerful place we can. Indira taught me not to hate The Ravenous Lord, she taught me to understand him, even if I don’t believe in his words and desires. Though I had hoped to learn more of our people from her, I see now why that was naïve, she was showing me to conceal that curiosity, not satiate it. I won’t let her down. [i]Deep within me, there is a flame. I must never allow it to go out.[/i][/hider]