[hider=Lycoris Sparks] [center][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjk2LmI3MmFiMC5USGxqYjNKcGN5QlRjR0Z5YTNNLC4wAAAA/pokoljaro.regular.png[/img][/center] [center][img]https://orig00.deviantart.net/deef/f/2017/317/a/0/finished_lycoris_sparks_by_crosswire40-dbtod65.png[/img][/center] [center][center][h2] The Purposeful[/h2][/center] [b]◤≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡≡◥[/b][/center][center][h2][b]18 | Human| Female[/b][/h2][/center] [color=C71585][h1][center][b]◇Physical Description◇[/b][/center][/h1][/color] Lycoris stands 5,7 with pale skin and a light, gaunt figure. At the start of her journey Lycoris had brown eyes and ratty brown hair. However a decade of practicing necromancy, as well as her initial exposure to ambient magical energies released during The Rending, her eyes turned a striking shade of purple and her hair grew into a dark lavender. Always sitting atop her nose are a pair of glasses for her near sighted vision. The pair she has now is her most recent pair, as Lycoris had to scavenge for new glasses over the years as she grew and her sight changed. While at first glance Lycoris might seem like a somewhat sickly, if normal girl, the numerous scars on her body quickly draw the eyes and worry of others. Streaking across the left side of her forehead is a grievous burn scar that settled into the middle. At the center of the scar amidst the pinkish-red tissue is a clump of jagged black rock sticking up out of her skin. This is a fragment of meteorite shrapnel that grazed her ten years prior, embedding itself into her skin and fusing to the frontal bone of her skull from the sheer heat it possessed. It was only thanks to the angle of its entry and sheer luck that it didn’t outright pierce her skull or cook her brains. Her forearms also bare a number of scars, both old and fresh but all seemingly self inflicted. It isn’t what most would jump to the conclusion of however. Lycoris’s necromancy requires blood, requiring her to draw blood from herself. Originally Lycoris tried a couple different methods of getting blood. Needles kept breaking off in her arm, sterile IVs were difficult to find much less keep clean, and extracting and storing blood beforehand proved surprisingly difficult with limited resources. Other solutions proved too time consuming forcing Lycoris to turn to simply cutting her arms to draw blood for spells in heated situations and battle. While effective it’s left her arms horribly scarred and given her a rather unpleasant appearance as a result. Lycoris would enjoy covering her arms to avoid being mistaken for a lunatic or an emo edgelord, but doesn’t want to potentially die because she had to waste time rolling up her sleeves to cast a spell. [color=C71585][h1][center][b]◇Personality Elements◇[/b][/center][/h1][/color][list] [*] Selfish [*] Neurotic [*] Power hungry [*] Callous [*] Eccentric [*] Inquisitive [*] Well Read [*] Intelligent [/list][color=C71585][h1][center][b]◇Biography◇[/b][/center][/h1][/color] Lycoris was born in Australia, the only daughter of an eccentric historian. Growing up she spent most of her time either watched by friends of her father or alone and surrounded by books. From an early age she learned to read and turned to engrossing herself in books to find some kind of comfort. Lacking books for a girl her age Lycoris instead read the books and texts her father kept around the house for research purposes. The books she delved into were all strangely worded, threatening tombs on magic and necromancy. Pages filled with images of dark deeds and esoteric principles of the spirits and demons that supposedly could bend the world to the practitioner's wishes. At 7 years old Lycoris was reading translations of the 15th century [i]Cambridge Book of Magic[/i] and [i]The Heptameron[/i], while her fellow 2nd graders struggled to read Charlotte’s Web. Her teachers were initially concerned by Lycoris's choice in reading material, but once they realized the girl simply wanted to follow in her father's footsteps they calmed down. While overly verbose and intelligent for her age, Lycoris was still a little girl and craved her father’s attention and warmth. Mr. Sparks was a historian, and an expert in the arcane practises of the past. Before Lycoris was born he held a number of theories suggesting that, at one point in time, magic rituals and spells actually worked. This of course turned him into a laughing stock and brought him to the point of financial ruin. Bunched in with people who tried healing basketball sized tumors with crystals and con men who swore they could speak to dead relatives, it became a struggle to find work. Shortly after marrying the women of his dreams she died giving birth to a baby girl. Her father did her best to support Lycoris. Going to great lengths to get work, even denouncing his previous theories and sacrificing what little reputation he had left in order to pay the bills. Lycoris couldn’t help but feel somehow responsible for her father’s misery and misfortune. Wishing quietly that he would somehow be proven right. It wasn’t until the discovery of Earth by the Equestrian’s that she got her wish. Realizing magic was an actual powerful practice that could be accomplished with the right means, countless governments and individuals sought Lycoris’s father for his expertise and knowledge. In a short period of time he became incredibly wealthy and was able to spend more time with his daughter. Though happy to finally have her father’s attention, Lycoris couldn’t escape the feeling her father blamed her for what happened. The man tried to explain he held no ill will towards her and that despite his success, was still somewhat melancholy about the past. He assured her that he would eventually move past the loss of his wife and the years he spent humiliated for his theories. Lycoris did not believe him however and did not see why it was important to move past anything. Magic had been proven to exist and through magic any problem could be solved. Breaking into her father’s office she stole an Equestrian tomb that had been lent to him for research purposes by a foreign government. Cross referencing the tomb with a book on necromancy Lycoris began secret preparations for a ritual. With the influx of money Lycoris’s father had bought a new home and was able to pay to have his wife’s grave moved to their new property. The night it was moved Lycoris snuck out of her room and into the backyard where she dug up and cracked open her mother’s casket. Guided by the moonlight and the foul oils of a long since rotted corpse, Lycoris drew a circle in chalk dust around the open casket. Clouds began to roll overhead and thunder rang out like screams as she stood over the grave and cut a wound into her arm with a kitchen knife. Her blood trickled down into the grave and Lycoris began to chant the words of an incantation. Everything seemed to be going just as planned...when the ground shook and the sky lit up for a brief moment. [color=red][b]The Rending[/b][/color] happened in the middle of her ritual and terrible destruction began to rain down across the world. Lycoris struggled to keep her incantations clear as the ground shook and terrible noises and flashes rang out in the distance. As cities disappeared and countless people died across the globe something began to go horribly wrong with her ritual. Hearing the noise Lycoris’s father ran outside and rushed to her side, just as the festering corpse of his wife rose to its near skeletal feet. Animated by a foul force Lycoris’ mother reached out to grab her daughter’s wrist, only meet the hand of her still living husband. Pulling him into the grave with inhuman strength Lycoris was forced to watch as her ‘resurrected’ mother tore her father apart. Paralyzed by fear and shock all Lycoris could do was stand there, still bleeding from the arm as her mother finished and stepped out of the grave towards her. Lycoris’s life would have been taken then and there had a blistering light not streaked down from the sky. A meteorite. One of many magically conjured to wreak destruction on the land, struck her house and obliterated it. Superheated fragments of rock flew out in all directions upon impact, ripping Lycoris’s animated mother apart and immolating her fragile body in a matter of moments. Lycoris was thrown back by the impact, a small fragment of meteorite grazing her head and leaving a burn painful enough to rob her of consciousness. She woke up hours later with the sun beating down on the smouldering crater that used to be her home. The dead remains of her mother and father still left strewn about the ground near the grave she dug up. With nowhere to go Lycoris simply turned away from the hellish scene and began to walk. The traumatized little girl went looking for help only to find everyone in a panic, looking out for no one but themselves. Operating in a kind of dazed autopilot Lycoris scavenged for supplies as she continued to walk. The little girl walked until night fell and she collapsed upon a hillside outside her home town. It was there in the dark that she broke down in screaming tears as the realization of what happened finally registered. Lycoris blamed herself. The magic had been fine, it should have worked. But it didn’t. And it didn’t because of her. Had she been more skilled in magic her father wouldn’t have died. Her mother would have been returned to life. Perhaps their house could have been saved from the destruction. Haunted by countless possibilities Lycoris lay curled up under the moonlight, swearing between her sobs that she would do everything it took to become an unquestionable master of magic. She would not stop until every element and trivial force of magic bent their knee to her command. Lycoris woke up the next morning exhausted and hungry. Where other children searched for food, shelter, and safety Lycoris searched for books. She broke into libraries and colleges looking for texts, tablets, scrolls, and artifacts. Only ever seeking out her needs when the demand became too great to ignore. Even as the adults began to die and warp into hideous creatures Lycoris continued to travel and research what she could while struggling to survive. When the Equestrian’s arrived and began to round up children, Lycoris put what she learned to use and avoided their detection. Alone Lycoris traveled wandering the outback, crossed the sea, and began a decade long journey across Asia and into Europe. Years went by and she learned more and more. Her body grew, but her heart remained as cracked and small as it was that night by her mother’s grave. Despite learning necromancy and surviving years on her own in a world polluted with hellish creatures and magical weapons gone rampant, Lycoris still felt weak and unwise. She wondered if she would ever gain mastery over magic when, while passing by an Equestrian settlement, she heard a rumor about a fabulous power rumored to be in a place called ‘Bellbrooke’. Intrigued Lycoris set out for the former British Isles and eventually arrived at the settlement... [color=C71585][h1][center][b]◇Skills and Talents◇[/b][/center][/h1][/color] [u][b]Multilingual:[/b][/u] Lycoris has learned to speak, or at [i]least read and write[/i] in a number of different languages. Several of which are archaic and connected to magical scripts and texts on Earth. It isn’t a perfectly grasp of the languages, her pronunciation and translation are off at certain points. [u][b]Speed Reader:[/b][/u] Books are Lycoris’s meat and potatoes. She loves to read books and can go through them pretty quickly. However her speed reading only applies to scholarly and academic texts. When it comes to story books or works of fiction she can actually be very slow in getting through them. Mostly because Lycoris has to take her time to really grasp the weight of narrative elements and the plights of the characters. [u][b]Survivalist:[/b][/u] Spending a decade trekking across the ruined, monstrosity polluted world has given Lycoris a tremendous amount of first hand experience in surviving harsh situations. She knows how to scavenge for food, hunt, cure hides, preserve foods, treat harsh injuries on her own, make shelter, and much more. [b][u]Rended Expert:[/u][/b] Expert is probably too strong a term, but Lycoris considers herself one on the subject of the Rended. The adult humans who didn’t outright die from the magical energies released from the countless weapons during [color=red]The Rending[/color], slowly lost their humanity and turned into twisted creatures. These beings became known as the Rended and proved a threat to the survivors and the Equestrians who came to help them. Years of witnessing, fleeing from, and fighting such creatures has allowed Lycoris to accrue a large degree of knowledge on the Rended, their behaviors, and workings. [u][b]Intermediate Magic User:[/b][/u] Lycoris has worked hard while surviving to learn as much as she can about magic. Though she’s made impressive progress she is still just an intermediate user with a lot to learn. She has some interesting, if not outright dangerous theories for a magic user however... [color=C71585][h1][center][b]◇Relics, Spells, and Techniques◇[/b][/center][/h1][/color][h2][color=purple][b]Necromancy[/b][/color][/h2] The arcane practice of understanding and manipulating the forces that separate life from death. Through Necromancy spirits may be understood, powerful forces may be harnessed, and the dead themselves can be turned into tools or outright weapons. Lycoris is a practitioner of Necromancy but does so in a style she developed on her own with some experience. Typically traditional necromancy is very stationary and time consuming, but by using blood as not only a sacrificial medium but a focus Lycoris can dramatically simplify spells. By spilling her blood [i](or the blood of another)[/i] and using it in her castings she hastens otherwise time consuming practices. Allowing her to use her Necromancy more offensively and on the fly. While powerful, Lycoris's approach has it's weaknesses. Like most magic associated with the 'dark' her spells are left vulnerable to magic connected to the divine or the light. Her use of blood in her spells also takes a toll on her health as Lycoris must draw her own blood, often through cutting into herself, which risks infection, greater blood loss then intended, and a number of other horrid things. The spells and rituals Lycoris currently know are: [hider=Create Scroll] [u][b]Create Scroll:[/b][/u] Using paper, parchment, or anything sturdy enough to be written on and rolled, Lycoris can prepare certain spells ahead of time by scrawling out the necessary runes in blood to make a scroll. Once made all that is needed is to unfurl the scroll, add additional blood, and recite a brief incantation to activate the scroll. The scroll is destroyed with the activation of the spell, making them single-use only. [/hider] [hider=Will-O-Wisp Fire] [u][b]Will-O-Wisp Fire:[/b][/u] Blue, menacing fire made from concentrated magical essence drawn from the surrounding environment. Though it will not harm the user it burns with an intensity that can flash-heat metal and blacken flesh on contact. To cast the spell Lycoris inscribes runes in blood up the ventral side of one of her forearms until they reach the bottom of her wrist. Once completed Lycoris utters the following incantation; “Oh unspoken flame allow me to grasp you now so others may suffer at the sight of your light!” and a blue flame ignites in her hand. Holding the Will-O-Wisp Fire generates bright blue light and gives Lycoris a certain degree of control over its intensity. When confronted by an enemy or obstacle the fire can be thrown. Once the flame leaves the user’s hand another will ignite to take it’s place. This can be done up to four times before the spell must be re-done. [/hider] [hider=Raise Lesser Zombi] [u][b]Raise Lesser Zombi:[/b][/u] Through necromancy it is possible to restore the body and soul of an individual who has passed from the world. At least in theory. Doing so requires tremendous effort, preparation, and vast arcane knowledge. Even when done correctly a ritual can be utterly ruined by difficult to sense or otherwise unseen factors. The more offencive abilities of necromancy were born largely out of easy to recreate ‘mistakes’ of trying to return the dead to true life. One of the most basic, yet difficult spells in necromancy, is raising the dead. There are a number of ways to raise the dead and many forms they can take. The most basic of which is a “Zombi”. The oversaturated Human media of the 21st century depicted zombies as disease created abominations, brain dead husks driven by instinct to feed. This is largely incorrect as proper Zombis are not merely biological entities but temporary spiritual ones. To create a Lesser Zombi, Lycoris places a corpse (either fresh or dessicated) inside a blood circle adjusted to the size of the body being used. Once inside the circle she clasps her hands and uses the circle as a focus, chanting an incantation several times to draw the ambient magic from her surroundings to a single point inside the corpse. There a sort of Promethean flame is lit. A crude, temporary, artificial ‘soul’ is created that animates the zombi. Doing so actually restores some flesh and mass to the zombi’s dead body. Ensuring it is sturdy enough to carry out the wishes of it’s master and weather the blows it will suffer trying to do so. Lesser zombis are sluggish, motivated only by the weak magical energy binding their body and the will of their master. However they are capable of great feats of strength and unable to feel pain. Unlike what the human movies suggest, destroying the brain of a lesser zombi will not kill them or even slow them down. Only a few things can properly put a zombi down which include: [list] [*] The total destruction or immobilization of their physical form (blowing them to a red mist or chopping off and then pulverizing each extremity. [*] Dissipation of the magic binding them through other kinds of magic or magic dispelling seals or items. [*] Feeding the zombi salt or covering in it. [/list] Lesser zombis may carry out simple tasks given to them but lack the intelligence or consciousness to handle anything too complex. They are easily dispatched by those knowledgeable in the creature’s weaknesses and are repelled by a number of means (salt circles, charms, wards, etc). Once a circle is down Lycoris can repeat the process of raising lesser zombis in relatively little time. Allowing for her to make and deploy Lesser Zombis in numbers (provided she has a supply of bodies). Unless steps are made to ensure otherwises Lesser Zombis will only remain animated for a few hours under typical circumstances. [/hider] [hider=Raise Totenkopf] [u][b]Raise Totenkopf:[/b][/u] In legends and stories there are different tellings of skeletons, stripped of flesh, rising to attack the living. In Necromancy these creatures are sometimes called Totenkopfs and are a kind of undead. Where Lesser Zombis are reanimated corpses bound by temporary souls, Totenkopfs are far darker and malicious creations. They are the bones, the mere core of a living creature, held together and strengthened by the residual feelings of hatred and anger left behind by their death. A Totenkopf is more akin to a demon then a simple undead and can be just as dangerous to the necromancer themselves as their enemies. To make a Totenkopf, Lycoris requires the skeleton or the bones of a creature. If a skeleton is not available Lycoris can take a corpse and start from there. Starting a fire Lycoris casts the bones (or corpse) into the flames and makes an incision in her arm, drawing blood and letting it run into the fire. As her blood and the flames mix she chants, calling upon the negative energies and wounded spirits to take refuge in the bones so that they may do her will. After a few moments a skeleton rises from the flames. Bleached and tempered by the heat. Ready to serve and to kill at her command. With no dead tissue to weigh them down Totenkompfs are incredibly agile will still possessing formidable strength. They have no vital organs to destroy, no blood to lose, or muscle to tear. Reduced to what amounts to a wire frame of bone Totenkompfs become difficult to hit with precision ranged attacks. Arrows, crossbow bolts, or bullets often miss or go right through them. as they have less hit surface then a full flesh and blood zombie. They are highly resistant to injury and will only ‘die’ if their form is shattered. This is most easily accomplished with powerful physical blows with a blunt weapon or rending damage accomplished through explosives or powerful magic. When armed with a melee weapon Totenkopfs become terrifying close quarters combatants, slicing and pulling apart their adversaries as they suffer mere chips and cracks in their body. A Totenkopf is faster and more motivated than a mere zombie, able to attack quickly and with more ferocity due to the hatred that controls them. However it is this hatred that also threatens the necromancer, as a Totenkopf can potentially escape their control and go wild. Killing everything in sight.[/hider] [hider=Spirit Sight and Speech] [u][b]Spirit Sight and Speech:[/b][/u]Drawing blood Lycoris spreads it around her eyes and down her throat in runic patterns. Once applied she closes her mouth and eyes and recites an incantation. “Spirits gone forever more whose sight and words escape my own. Rend this veil that separates us so I may see and share your words.” Upon opening her eyes Lycoris will be able to see spirits and manifestations of the dead who still haunt the material world. She can hear them and they can hear her, allowing Lycoris to communicate and extract information from the dead. Of course this isn’t without it’s dangers but it is a useful spell that lasts an entire day once cast. [/hider] [hider=Invisibility Ritual] [u][b]Invisibility Ritual (Crude):[/b][/u] When one cannot fight, they must hide or die. To disappear from sight is a skill Lycoris found the value of very early on in her career as a Necromancer. Seeking invisibility she discovered what she was looking for in ghosts. Spirits cannot normally be seen by the naked eye unless they wish to be seen or the seeker has magical assistance. Through practice and several instances of disastrous trial and error, Lycoris developed the means to emulate the makeup of a spiritual entity. Spilling blood and using it to draw runs across her forearms, Lycoris presses her arms together and slowly spreads them apart while chanting. Ambient magical energy is pulled from her surroundings and focused through her arms, creating a thin magical membrane of sorts as her arms spread apart. Like a bubble blown from a bubble wand, the membrane is eventually freed from her arms becoming a nearly invisible shroud she can drape over herself. While overtop of her Lycoris is almost completely invisible, able to move and operate out of sight. However the shroud isn’t perfect and refracts light in odd, awkward ways at times. Meaning if someone looks hard enough they can spot the faintest of silhouettes as she moves. On top of that that shroud is very easy to damage and can become covered in dust or sand in unsanitary environments. [/hider] [color=C71585][h1][center][b]◇Gear◇[/b][/center][/h1][/color] [u][b]Wild Clothes:[/b][/u] Having spent the majority of her life traveling Lycoris has burned through quite a lot of clothes over the years. Wear and tear, not to mention growing out of clothes, has left her rather accustomed to finding or making new things to wear. During her journey to Bellbrooke she did scavenging and found articles of clothing from before The Rending to make an outfit. Lycoris’s current attire is made of a purple hole ridden undershirt, shorts that once used to be jeans, panty hose, tattered steel toed military boots, and a dirty white overcoat with the sleeves cut or fallen off completely. They provide the minimal warmth needed for the season and the region while being lightweight and comfortable. Lycoris’s wild clothes possess no protective properties from physical or magical attacks, and aren’t even that sturdy. [u][b]Leather Backpack:[/b][/u]A sturdy leather backpack that has served Lycoris well over the years. It can hold quite a lot and its leather, although old and worn, is still surprisingly strong. The straps that go over her shoulders also have a knife sheath for her ritual blade and a short chain to attach books to so she doesn't drop and potentially ruin them. [u][b]Ritual Knife:[/b][/u] Originally an everyday kitchen knife, the steel blade eventually broke after a few years of heavy use. Lycoris managed to replace the blade with a smaller, but sturdier knapped obsidian blade that she fixed and lashed to the handle of the kitchen knife. It works almost like a scalpel, excellent for use as a weapon and for rituals. [u][b]Sterilized Bandages:[/b][/u] Crude, but sanitized bandages made from old cotton cloth sterilized in an even older oven. Lycoris learned to make them when she was young and currently has a roll on hand for stopping any excessive bleeding she may experience. [u][b]Personal Tomb:[/b][/u] A large leather bound pook with hundreds of parchment pages. It’s filled with countless entries dating all the way back from the start of her journey. The book has a number of details, notes, theories, spell instructions, and information on countless magical schools that Lycoris has recorded over her travels. Some of the information is very dark and holds great potential for abuse in the wrong hands. [u][b]Bag of Salt:[/b][/u] Inside a crude hide sack with a leather drawstring Lycoris keeps a healthy supply of salt on her person at all times. Just in case... [u][b]Bag of Rat Bones:[/b][/u] Lycoris goes to great lengths to hide a bag full of rat bones in the event that she is ever captured. With the bones she can raise a small, skeletal rat and send it out of any cell she might be thrown in to free her. [/hider]