[hider=Lanaya] [b]Name:[/b] Lanaya Triskell Dionisa (or to those who know her personally, Lana) [b]Titles:[/b] Duchess of House Dionisa, Magister of the Circle, Magisterial advisor to the High Council, Founder of the Collective. [b]Age:[/b] 27 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Heterosexual [b]Position:[/b] Noble / Magister [b]Personality:[/b] Lana is a woman of many masks. Amongst the majority of company, she maintains the appearance of a proud and knowledgeable Sorceress, cloaked in mystery, beauty and demure smiles. Yet amongst those that she knows share her views, she is quite different. Here, she will discard the facade and let her arrogance and extreme views shine through more readily. Though extremely well practised in concealing her emotions and presenting the exact image she needs to get the most of the people around her, she is not entirely unflappable. When in a very emotional state her mask may slip, and her true face will be revealed. Here she can be extremely biting with her words, or inspired to great emotionally fueled outbursts. She is persistent and prejudiced, holding those without magic in contempt, requiring them to prove themselves before she will consider them even remotely equal to her and swiftly condemning those who make mistakes or work against her… Though it is rare she shows this element of her thoughts openly. When wronged, she is a curious mix of vengeful and ambivalent. Though she is eager to hold a grudge, she understands that she cannot let such things get in the way of her plans, and so will only act on her spite if it will not interfere with her grand schemes. On a personal level, she greatly enjoys travel for the sake of sight-seeing. She enjoys singing, dancing and the primal freedom of motion given to her by her shape shifting. She enjoys tantalising and tormenting men, and is responsible for a number of local superstitions about mermaids, dryads and river nymphs. Most of these encounters are glorified games of hide and seek for her, and she rarely lets them become physical. She very much enjoys her high stakes political games, yet finds the administration and logistics that so often go with them somewhat dull. [b]Weaknesses:[/b] - Lana hates and fears the idea that she might be a pawn in someone else’s plans. She will act quite irrationally if she believes she is being manipulated, and forms grudges with those who succeed in manipulating her. - Lana is extremely arrogant, viewing humans without magic (mundanes) as lesser forms of humanity. She is quite callous with their lives, eagerly sacrificing many mundanes to save a single mage. She is also prone to underestimating them, and thinking the worst of their motives and actions. - Lana despises physical violence and combat of any kind. She has not trained in any form of such combat and would be more dangerous to herself with a blade than any enemy. While she is neither excessively frail or unnaturally weak, she will always be easily overpowered by combat trained individuals. She has no qualms regarding magical violence however. - Though she does not know it, Lana is barren, unable to have children or even get pregnant. She will be the last true blooded Dionisa. - Not entirely herself…. Of late, Lana has not been acting quite herself. She has been irritable, prone to excesses of negative emotion, and far less diplomatic than usual. She isn’t entirely aware of this, and the reason for it remains a mystery…. [b]Appearance:[/b] Lana is of average height (5’6), and low weight, maintaining a slim appearance. She is not particularly curvy, but nor is she unpleasantly lanky. She has pale skin, green eyes and straight copper-red hair stretching down to her waist. However, few have seen her in this natural state. As one of the most skilled illusionists in formaroth, Lana often subtly alters her appearance. Common alterations include more vibrant color in her eyes, hair and lips, and occasionally a very faint glow. She quite often moves about either naked or wearing only underwear, with an illusory dress visually indistinguishable from the real thing as the only thing to cover her modesty. In colder climates, when she expects to be in extremely close proximity to people or when she is traveling, she will wear either a full dress decorated with illusion or warm, simple travel clothes. In addition, she regularly accentuates her appearance with illusory jewelry that rivals what even the high queen would have access to. Finally, she always wears a simple necklace with a large red gem as its centerpiece. It is always present and visible no matter what the rest of her outfit may be. [hider=Lana] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/323125371161542656/538446576964599818/Lana.png[/img] [/hider] [hider=Lana Courtly Dress Example] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/206305273894273024/215261580126846978/Lanaya.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hider=Lana Travel Attire] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/206305273894273024/215287728923738112/Lanaya_Travel_Attire.jpg[/img] [/hider] [hider=Lana Alenius Dress] [img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/206305273894273024/248632314861584384/Lana_Alenius.jpg[/img] [/hider] [b]Background:[/b] Born Lanaya Triskell Dionisa, first daughter of house Dionisa, a minor noble family living in the capital city, Nyhem, Lana’s early childhood was a relatively normal one as far as noble children went. As soon as she was able to speak, her education began, her parents obsessing over ensuring she would be a worthy continuation of the line. Despite this, they still eagerly granted her almost every wish, doting on her in the extreme, particularly when she did well in her classes. Needless to say, this quickly turned her into a spoiled brat who expected to get whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. Near her seventh birthday, everything changed. An abrupt and clear manifestation of magic drastically altered her parents view of her. Suddenly, in their eyes, she would not be able to continue the family in any way. Though it was not exactly a dishonor for her to be a mage, it ruined their carefully laid plans for the future. Though it was not her fault, she was nonetheless blamed for the manifestation of magic. No time was wasted in contacting the Summer Isles to inform the mages they had another child to take. Mere days later, she was collected by mages from the city and sent on her way to the isles. The last expression she remembered on her parents faces as she was taken was one of profound relief. To her, it seemed they were happy she was gone. By most standards, the journey to the isles was a smooth one. To Lana, it was something else entirely. She had never traveled beyond sight of the city before, much less been on a ship. It was terrifying at first, but once she realised she was safe, both from the strange mages around her and the road and sea, she began to look upon the wilderness with wonder. After a time, however, she became so eager to see the next grand sight that she became impatient with the slow speed of travel. Fortunately for the mages accompanying her, she only began to act up the day before arriving at the Isles and the Circle proper. The mages identified her as a possible trouble maker early on and did their best to eradicate her attitude, knowing how much of a catastrophe it could be to teach a child with such a mindset how to bend the world to their will. Their success was limited, and by her tenth yeah she had changed from openly demanding to subtly manipulative. Her magical studies went on regardless, though in the first two years they were extremely unfocused. Early on she lacked discipline, and had a tendency to flit between the next most impressive magic on the list, dabbling in the basics of many different kinds of magic. She was a nightmare for the teachers, who could see clear signs of potential and finesse in the basic techniques she learned, but regularly found themselves being informed by the self important young girl that she was going to go learn something else instead. By her tenth birthday, Lana had finally decided on a type of magic to focus on - illusion. For three years she focused exclusively on illusion magic, despite her teachers recommendations that she study more broadly. Her focus within the field was broad, focused both on illusion to create art and illusion to aid in subterfuge. When she was thirteen, the wanderlust of travel began to once again grip her. Initially, she roamed the area near the circle during her downtime, but quickly decided that walking was far too slow. This led to her taking an interest in shapeshifting. By taking the shapes of other creatures, she reasoned, she would be able to travel faster. To the surprise of her teachers, she did not abandon her study of illusion at this point, instead balancing her time between the two pursuits more reasonably. By the age of 15, she had become quite capable with several bird forms, each suited for a different kind of travel. With these new skills, she decided to travel back to the capital city and visit her parents, hoping that perhaps, they might be happy to see her again. Initially, they were. But the initial joy at seeing their daughter again lasted only a short time before they tried to incorporate her into their political machinations once again. For a time, she stayed, hoping to be something other than a playing piece in their political games, but however valuable a piece she was to them, she was never more than that. Three months later, she left once again, returning to the circle, now with knowledge of what it was like to be on the receiving end of manipulation. She decided when she left that she would not be manipulated ever again. Upon her return, she further diversified her magical studies - picking up destruction magics to better defend herself against those who might seek to control her with force. It was only one year later that the Remonnet-Manshrew civil war broke out. Lana did not have the dubious pleasure of taking part, instead watching events unfold from afar, safe on the Summer Isles. Her personal hope for much of the war, was that the Remonnets would be victorious, but that the despotic king Heylot would fall in battle. Safe as she was, however, it was all somewhat surreal, affecting her little until the end came. With the conclusion of the war came news of the fallen. Several of her friends from the circle, older, more battle capable mages, had left to fight in the war - none returned, all sacrificed for some tactical advantage or another at the hands of generals who often did not understand their abilities. As well, she discovered her parents had supported the now dead King Heylot. Whether from fear or greed, she did not know, but as minor as they were, they were not spared the fallout. They were among those to die at the order of Patrick De Reimer, though they were not important enough to warrant his personal presence. The entire affair convinced Lana that the leadership of Formaroth could not be trusted to the political machinations of the mundane, the unwise who held no magic. She kept this opinion to herself at this time, knowing that agitating about it would get her nothing at this time. She requested, and was granted, the chance to study politics and governance within the circle. As with most pursuits she set her mind to, she learned quickly, though not abandoning any of her magical studies. In particular, she was seeking ways to push her newfound agenda without having to become directly involved with any particular family as an advisor. At the age of twenty, she was deemed to be sufficiently capable to leave the circle, however, she was also sufficiently capable in Illusion and shape-shifting by this point to begin assisting in teaching novices in the circle. Thus, she remained on the Summer Isles in the official role of a teacher, while continuing her own studies in fields both political and magical. At the age of 22, Lana decided she had studied sufficiently to try her hand at some real politics. She was able to call in sufficient favors at the Circle to gain the rank of Magister and choose a specific house to become advisor to. She chose the minor House Thale, a once proud Nyhem noble house with a singularly weak leader - Lord Dominus Thale. At first she advised on magical matters only, but within the first year she had influenced Dominus to follow more and more of her recommendations regarding non magical matters. After her third year as advisor, House Thale was totally dependent on her for its running. Five years after her becoming the Thale advisor, Lana was speaking openly for Dominus, having become head of house Thale in all but name. It was then that the last of the Remonnet Kings died, leaving no heir. Lana saw the ensuing Throne War as a great opportunity to further her plans and rise in power, or perhaps even become the High Queen herself by marrying one of the squabbling Kings herself. Though it has cost her much, including her close friend High Magister Aurelia and many of her early followers, Lana has gained much from the war. She has formally founded the Mages Collective, an organisation dedicated to safeguarding those with magical talent beyond the Summer Isles. She has drawn many powerful High Magisters to her cause, and many lesser mages from more prejudiced kingdoms have also flocked to her banner. She has joined the Council of the new High King, Alasdair De Reimer, and restored her family name and privilege to new glory. She has forged a secret relationship with Eli Blackwell, hoping to one day rule Formaroth at his side as High Queen. Yet she is not without enemies. Relations with Alasdair have become somewhat more strained of late, and the now dead Lord Dominus Thale’s son Thanatos lurks in the shadows, resenting her for many a slight, both perceived and real. She is poised to become the de facto opposition of the anti-mage Johannia Heretics, and though she still claims allegiance to the Circle of Magic, some amongst its number are growing tired of her agitations, weary of her growing political power, or perhaps both. Despite it all, she has never wielded more power than she does now, be it magical or political. Fueled by ambition, she is poised to seize even more influence and use it to change Formaroth forever. [b] Skills:[/b] [color=630460]Magic:[/color] [color=ec008c]Illusion[/color] - Grand Master Lana is one of the foremost Illusionists in Formaroth. Though there are those in the upper echelons of the Circle that could rival or exceed her, none beyond the Summer Isles can claim that privilege. She can create all manner of illusions large and small. She can create convincing moving illusions. She is especially adept in the long term maintenance of illusions, and smaller illusions such as her illusory clothing cost her almost no mental effort to maintain over the course of an entire day. She is well versed in the art of creating illusions that fit well enough into their environment to be overlooked by all but the most attentive of people. She is equally as adept with sound based illusions as she is with visual ones. Finally, she can also maintain multiple high quality illusions at once, the smaller they are the easier it is to maintain more of them. Her recent research efforts have been focused on tying Illusions to Glyphs, something that she has finally succeeded at after some correspondence with High Magister Barden. As such, she can now create illusions that only trigger when their corresponding glyph is triggered, functioning much like traditional destruction glyphs. In addition, she has seemingly developed a capacity for much larger illusion spells of late. While her upper limit on size was once roughly roomscale, she can now conjure illusions the size of buildings or ships with enough effort. The cause of this sudden boost in magnitude is unknown. [color=00a651]Shapeshifting[/color] - Adept Lana is a decent shape shifter, though with a somewhat limited repertoire of shapes to take on. Her most notable feat in the realm of shape shifting is the ability to shift with not only her clothing but a number of small objects or a small backpack as well. It takes more casting time and effort to do this, but its benefits are self evident. In addition, since acquiring High Magister Drevala Blackwell’s codex and High Magister Aurelia’s notes, she has been investigating many other shapes beyond the ones she has currently mastered. Her current set of shapes are: Eagle - moderately sized, normal plumage with a crimson band around its neck. Owl - small sized, dark plumage. Falcon - small sized, normal plumage with a crimson band around its neck. Tern - moderately sized, normal plumage. Songbird - three different variants, all normal examples of their species, excepting a red band around their neck. Dolphin - Normal sized, normal coloration. [color=9e0b0f]Destruction[/color] - Master Lana is a powerful destruction mage, having studied the school extensively during her time at the Circle. She is particularly focused on dealing with crowds of lesser foes, and has also studied Glyphs extensively. Of particular note is Lana’s ability to change the point from which her spells originate, summoning bolts from the sky or other unexpected vectors. Force - Lana’s grasp of Force magic is strong. She can create both wide and narrow waves of Force, easily enough to knock a man over. She has also studied how to generate such waves from sources other than her hands, and though such spells still require a somatic element, she can bring force down from above or other directions. She can fully integrate Force based attacks into glyphs. Notable Spells include: Glyph Circle of Force - Lana creates a circle of Glyphs around her feet, or around a group of people she is in (though this enlarging requires time to cast instead of being instant) that will detonate when crossed by an object sending a radial wave of force outwards. Suppression Field - Creating a sustained downward force in a wide area around her, Lana can drive weaker individuals to the ground and hold them there as long as she keeps putting effort into the spell. Strong foes, Armored Foes and other Mages will at most be forced to their knees. Fire - Lana’s grasp of fire magic is the strongest in her destructive arsenal, and she is capable of generating incredibly hot fires in bolts, sheets or glyphs. Notable Spells include: Glyph Circle of Forceful Flame - As Glyph Circle of Force but with an added flame element. Insufficient to overcome plate. Spontaneous Immolation - Summons a relatively cool flame from directly beneath the target with almost no warning. Dragons Flametongue - Requiring a pre-existing source of flame larger than a torch, Lana can, after an involved casting process, generate a controllable tendril of fire hot enough to melt narrow holes in steel plate. Ice / Water - Lana’s capability with Ice magic is less than fire, and she cannot generate temperatures much lower than freezing. She can however, create a wide aura of this lowered temperature around herself, as well as the typical ice bolt type attacks. Notable Spells include: Moranion’s Precipitation Avoidance - A fairly simple spell to be cast when it is raining, this will stop Lana from getting wet in the rain. It will make anyone next to her more wet though, as droplets are diverted around her. Localised Rain - If humidity is high, Lana can cool the air enough to make it rain for a short time. This can supply her with water to freeze or use as is. Lightning - Lana’s least capable elemental magic, she is limited to summoning a single directed bolt from her hands, or, if outside and in sufficiently cloudy weather, above. Though not strong compared to what other mages can achieve, she can easily kill with this lightning. Like all mages, she is capable of working with others of her kind to generate larger, more destructive spells. Given her great power and knowledge, she is often elected the leader of such a channeling group when involved in one, though not always. Notable Group Channeled Spells: Ball Lightning - A complex mixture of Fire and Lightning, the group summons a searing ball lightning from the sky above that they can direct. This horrific spell will instantly immolate all it touches, but cannot be maintained for long unless in a large and well prepared channeling group. [color=00aeef]Restoration:[/color] Lana can heal paper cuts. As a known bane of mages the world over, the vile paper cut is something Lana spent the minimum possible time studying restoration to counter. General Magical Knowledge: Though incapable of effectively casting any other forms of magic, Lana is quite familiar with all forms on a theoretical level, in particular recognising what a spells desired effect is likely to be and methods of countering or mitigating it. This knowledge allows her to accurately advise on all but the most extreme and specialised of magical matters. Her knowledge of general magical theory is also fairly extensive, though often not up to the level of more dedicated Magisters, as she does not dedicate as much time to its study as most of her similarly ranked peers. [color=f7976a]Mundane:[/color] She is a capable dancer, both in typical courtly manner and for performance’ sake. She is a skilled singer, both with her natural voice and that of the songbird form she can take. She is an adept ruler, though focused on magical solutions to problems. She is a master manipulator, unafraid to employ magic in her manipulation but not relying on it. She is a skilled swimmer, having swum with the dolphins near the Summer Isles long enough to learn to take their shape. [/hider] [hider=Drevala Blackwell] [b]Name:[/b] Drevala Blackwell [b]Titles:[/b] Princess of Alenius, High Magister, The Dragonslayer [b]Age:[/b] 27 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Homosexual [b]Position:[/b] Princess, High Magister [b]Personality:[/b] Perhaps the most amicable of the Blackwells, and also the most dangerous. While she is no martial master, the woman has a pleasant air and a friendly smile- disarming qualities on top of a surname that bears nothing but lethal intent. The woman is a far cry from the martial and military prowess presented by her siblings, and is, still, a bit distanced from the statecraft presented by her brother. She is a genuinely amicable woman, with some reservations to those outside her family. She is one who puts faith and trust in her family, and is quick to trust others. She was raised and educated primarily by the mages of the Summer isle rather than her father's brutal manner of raising his children, thus she has drastic alterations from the usual Blackwell harshness. [b]Weaknesses:[/b] The Dragon Slayer is protective of her family to a lethal degree. She'll not throw herself in the middle of a debate or argument, or even into a single combat scenario, but she will throw herself in harm's way to shield her family, and will even sacrifice on objectives and tasks in order to heal and take care of her loved ones. The Dragon Slayer finds trust to come easy. She believes in the good and natural intents of others, and easily finds herself trusting others. Magically Dependant; The Dragon Slayer is dependent upon her shapeshifting and healing magics. Without them she is probably the least martially capable amongst the Blackwell family, which still makes her admittedly a good fighter, but she is one that relies on her natural penchant for shapeshifting to see her through issues from combat to day-to-day travel. She'd feel trapped without it. More Beast than Women. Drevala spends a great deal of time outside her own shape, and it has had an effect. She finds herself more comfortable and at home among the birds and the beasts, rather than the high flying political games of her fellow humans. While not antisocial or shy, she prefers to leave the politics to others, and will never be anything more than a pawn in others schemes. An extremely valuable pawn, but a pawn nonetheless. [b]Appearance:[/b] [img]http://i21.servimg.com/u/f21/16/77/80/76/the_dr10.jpg[/img] A woman with short black hair and an athletic form, whose strength does not lie in her own body. Her skin is soft, unlike her siblings', and her voice is softer still. She does not have the hard gaze that analyzes threats, but rather the inquisitiveness of a natural learner and profound thinker. She has a natural grace that permeates all actions, and despite her plain-ness she has a sort of nobility and serenity about her. Of course, at another moment she may appear to be any variety of creatures. [b]Background:[/b] Drevala is a peculiarity amongst the Blackwell for she bears magical power. This being said, she was not forced into the Old Man's usual test, and was instead sent to study at the Summer Isles- where it was found that she grasped magical concepts with exceptionally quick aptitude. Having chosen the school of shapeshifting, Drevala was quick to attune to the magic and discover its finer nuances. Restoration was but a secondary schooling for her, and she has but standard understanding of its principles. Shape shifting- now that was something Drevala was truly interested in. Studying animals, learning just what made them move and what muscles accomplished which task- it was a deeply liberating experience for the young Blackwell. Learning how to fit into another creature's skin created a deep empathy for others within the woman, as well as a deep understanding of her own body and natural instincts. Tapping into the primal urges that lie within the concept of life itself were what Drevala found to be key in fine tuning her art. Humans, through their construction of civilizations and religions, have distanced themselves from these internal urges- have warded themselves away from their primal instincts of fear and survival in order to reward suicidal and reckless concepts of honor, courage, and bravery. Drevala's acute understanding and belief in natural instinct and animalistic urges are a driving force in the woman's actions and life, and have played into her distinctly singular understanding of the art of shape shifting to extreme efficiency. To put it in the Lay; Drevala is an animal in human's skin, and finds shedding her natural form to come easily to her. Drevala's most notable achievements were during the Blackwell Dragon War, where she gained her title of 'The Dragonslayer' due to her unprecedented display of tenacity and efficiency at the eradication of the great beasts known as dragons. [hider= A tale of the Dragonslayer] She was alone. She was often alone these nights, with naught but her own inconsistent skin as a shield against the chill wind of the mountains. Drevala forsake clothing on nights such as this, and stood bare to the world as she breathed in the chilled air of the high mountain tops. A single breath drew in, then the woman threw herself from the Cliffside and into the air; her body warped and twisted, and she fell for little more than a few seconds before her body now possessed the shape of a great bird of pretty- a monstrously sized falcon. She was on the hunt tonight, and her prey was of a size and power far greater than the falcon's usual prey. [I]Tonight she hunts dragons[/I] The great falcon swam through the thin air, fighting to gain purchase in the high altitude and climb ever so much higher. Soon she was above the tops of the mountains, and could see for eternity in all directions. Far below her, a great bonfire raged; her family, in its nightly celebrations of survival and of a challenge sought on the morrow. While her family rested, recuperated, and made merry... Drevala went on the hunt. She had learned the weaknesses of the great fire breathing worms through a year of careful study- she had studied scales, bones, teeth, talons, muscle, sinew, tendon, spine, tail...She had studied the creatures in their entirety, and had found their few weaknesses. She had discovered a way to overcome the great dragons with but the power of common beasts. She soared away from the camp and flew for roughly an hour before she came across a dragon. They were beasts, and beasts needed sustenance- thus they could be easily found when hunting. Drevala, being of her instinctual nature, could easily find the places most frequently hunted by Dragons by observing the habitat in a similar fashion as she was now. The dragon was low to the ground, beating its great wings slowly as it powered its almost lazy flight along the forest tops. It was truly a stark and contrasting violence when Drevala's talons blinded the creature a few moments later as she pecked and clawed at its vulnerable eyes and destroyed the creature's primary observational tool. Drevala had but a few moments to do this, but this was a practiced action, and as she beat her wings furiously to arc away from the dragon and laterally towards the ground, the great beast roared with fury and pain as it cascaded downward in its blind flight- its body tearing through the tree line and eventually slamming into the mountainside with a tremendous crash. By this time, Drevala was standing, naked and human once more, on the ground far below and observed the higher ground the dragon had ultimately slammed into. The ground shook, and the mountainside rumbled with an impossible force as stone and rock tumbled downward and cascaded over the still form of the great beast. However, but a short few seconds into this unnaturally caused phenomena, the dragon's fiery breath erupted into the night air as the great creature thrashed and rose from ground, throwing the rubble from its body and roaring. It was wounded and afraid; the words barely registered in the back of Drevala's mind. Rather, she saw this as 'my prey is weakened', and crushed all sympathy she had for the creature. She needed to be a predator, not an equal, in order to beat it. The falcon could cripple the dragon, but she needed the raw power of one of nature's strongest creatures in order to combat it further. And so, with great lumbering steps forward, Drevala once more turned into the great falcon and flew high into the air, skirting the edge of the dragon's furious flames, and alighted atop the cliff above the beast once the rockslide had concluded. She waited for a few moments, reverting back to human skin, until the beast had calmed and fire no longer flew in all directions. Then she shut her eyes tight and slowly slipped down the mountainside, her form changing in the span of a minute to the minute form of a mouse. The mouse was far too small to be detected by the dragon, and far too little to be smelled in the aftermath of the scorched stone. The dragon had no way of detecting Drevala until it was far too late; the mouse, at the dragon's feet, suddenly grew into the iconic guardian of the forest- the form of a great bear. The bear lunged through the air with a roar and brought its full weight down upon the neck of the dragon, forcing its head towards the ground where its fire was nullified by its lack of angular direction. The dragon's body was still a threat, yes, as the bear's claws and teeth could not pierce its scales- but Drevala needed but this one strike to bring her critically wounded foe to its death. As the great bear drove the dragon's head towards the ground and brought the ultimately surprised beast to the ground in a tremendous crash, the bear's body reared up and brought its entire weight crashing down upon the base of the dragon's skull. Caught between unyielding stone and the startling power of a great bear, the dragon's scales held steadfast; however, the dragon's innards- being protected by nearly impenetrable bone and scale- was simultaneously scrambled and destroyed by what usually kept it safe. To put it simply, the impact had smashed the dragon's brain against its own skull and killed the beast. Drevala had, once again, overcome a dragon using naught but simple woodland creatures as skin. This night, it was the roar of a bear that echoed throughout the mountains. [/hider] During the Throne War, Drevala faced many losses and difficult situations. She blames herself for the dire injuries and following radical personality change of her youngest sister Naomi. She also blames herself for the loss of her other sister, Beatrice, who was slain fighting Andriss while her father looked on without acting - a fact she has not forgotten. Though her familial losses have pained her deeply, she also holds hope that Lanaya will join the Blackwell family by marrying Eli, a union she strongly encouraged, for it will bring Lana as close to her as realistically possible. She is very much in love with Lana, but knows that the feeling will not be reciprocated by the completely oblivious Magister, and considers making her a sister the next best thing. In addition, she has joined the Mages Collective at Lana’s request, and as a High Magister sits on its council, though rarely acts beyond supporting Lana. She does not particularly believe in the Collective, especially as her own jurisdiction of Alenius already treats mages with great respect. [b]Skills:[/b] [color=440e62]Magic:[/color] [color=39b54a]Shape Shifting[/color] - Grand Master Drevala is without a doubt the most accomplished Shape Shifter outside of the Summer Isles, and possibly even the world. Her repertoire of shapes is as numerous as there are types of animals, and her ability to shift into larger or smaller variants of those shapes is practically second nature to her. She is able to shift very rapidly into most forms, with only the truly massive forms requiring a longer casting time. She can easily shift with her clothes and weapons, though she has been known to forget this in casual or rushed situations. Her most outstanding accomplishment in this field, however, is the ability to take on the form of a full sized Dragon. This is a secret known only to two other people - Lanaya Dionisa and Giles Blackwell. [color=00aeef]Restoration[/color] - Adept Drevala is a capable healer, able to heal both her own and others wounds, though only for one person at a time. She suffers somewhat in the area of complex organ reconstruction however, and for severe wounds must spend a great deal of time and effort, combined with more mundane medical sciences. General Magical Knowledge Drevala’s general knowledge of magic is broad, but deep only on the topics of most interest to her, namely shape shifting and restoration. Nonetheless, her title of High Magister was not gained by default, and her knowledge rarely fails her in analysing magical matters. [color=f7976a]Mundane:[/color] Martial Skills - Adept Drevala is a capable warrior in her human form, whether armed or not, however she prefers simple weapons such as the spear. Even though she is a mage, she is also a Blackwell, and all Blackwells are born fighters. This statement is perhaps most true of Drevala though, for she fights more through instinctual understanding than learned or practiced art. Strategy Drevala’s grasp of strategy is unconventional but effective. Though she has not acted as a commander in many traditional conflicts, she led the Dragon war, and developed a good understanding of asymmetric combat and guerrilla style warfare there. Education Having spent a great deal of time in Circle of Magic, Drevala’s education on all manner of matters is significant, and her knowledge has only been heightened in Alenius, thanks to her good relationship with her brother Eli, with whom she shares a love of knowledge. [/hider] [hider=House Dionisa] [b]Family House Name:[/b] Dionisa [b]Kingdom:[/b] Nyhem [b]Crest:[/b] A stylised blue Rose on a midnight background. [b]Family Motto:[/b] Persistence Conquers All [b]Relations with other Houses:[/b] House Dionisa, having only recently been restored by royal decree, enjoys both suspicion and admiration from most other Nyhem nobles. It is directly beholden to House De Reimer for restoring it, yet with Lanaya in charge, it is unlikely this debt will be considered. She does, however, ensure good relations with House Blackwell. [b]Family Reputation:[/b] House Dionisa’s recent history is rather tumultuous. Prior to the fall of King Heylot Remonnet, they were a somewhat influential house in Nyhem, held in good standing for the luxury goods they produced. Yet they sided with the Mad King and fell along with him, being declared officially a dead house when Lanaya’s parents were executed. Only recently has the house been restored to existence by High King Alasdair De Reimer, and with Lanaya as its only member. In Nyhem, the nobility is unsure what the resurgence of the house will mean for local politics. On the one hand, they seem favored by the High King, yet on the other hand they just absorbed House Thale in its entirety, despite a legitimate Thale heir still living. Beyond Nyhem, it is unlikely many even know of the House, and if they do, depending on the age of the rumors, they may have all manner of probably wildly inaccurate views. [b]Family Background:[/b] House Dionisa rose to prominence two hundred years ago as a wealthy family of vintners were elevated to full noble status by the High King of the time, allegedly for making ‘the finest drop ever to pass the lips of royalty.’ They grew slowly but surely, eventually becoming a reasonable economic power in the great city, though little known beyond Nyhem. The family itself has always had difficulties maintaining its line, with high rates of infertility among its women, yet a distinct tendency to end up with more daughters than sons. This has been kept a secret, seen as a shame rather than something to acknowledge and perhaps cure with magic. The recent history of the House is bloodsoaked and abrupt. With the family having dwindled to only the Lord and Lady and a single daughter, prospects for the lineage to continue were looking grim. Economic success was great, but it seemed that as more wealth was accrued, more family members died and less children were born. Ultimately though, none would get to see whether nature intended the Dionisa line to die, for the former Lord and Lady sided with King Heylot in the last great war. When the war ended, they were executed for their allegiance, their daughter, Lanaya, spared only by virtue of her being a mage in the far off Circle of Magic. Yet even she had her noble title stripped from her for her parents poor choice in allegiance. So ended House Dionisa. And yet, Lanaya became as skilled a stateswoman as she was a mage, and for services to the new High King Alasdair De Reimer, she had her family name restored to glory, and so began the new House Dionisa. Though this restoration came with some of the Houses old lands, it seemed as though they would have to work their way to wealth once more… Until Lord Dominus Thale of House Thale died suddenly, bequeathing all of his land and wealth to Lanaya. This sudden takeover of a functional noble Houses holdings has ensured that Dionisa is on the path to greatness again, and though still not as wealthy as they were, they now command more land, people and militia than they ever have. Yet Lanaya remains without heir, or even husband, and the House is beholden to her will and motivation, which goes far beyond mere economic dominance of Nyhem. It remains to be seen if the resurgence of the House will last, or merely create a short lived puppet for a radical Magister. [b]House Motives:[/b] House Dionisa consists only of Duchess Lanaya Dionisa, and so the Houses motives are her motives. Yet some distinctions can be made, for she is skilled in statecraft and uses her House as a Noble House should be used, rather than squandering it on whim. The Primary motive of the House is to see to the betterment of mages in Nyhem, and to this end its guard is well trained in specialist knowledge usually known only to the Summer Isles guard. Along with general security, the guard searches the city for young mage talent overlooked by the Circle recruiters, and maintains a bounty for information pertaining to such. A secondary motive is to restore the former economic power of the House. Once well known for their wineries and patronage of seamstresses and lace-makers, the resurgent House Dionisa is a shadow of its former wealth. It seeks to reclaim this lost economic power, and exceed it, a task made easier by the integration of the former House Thale farmlands. Ultimately, it seeks to control the supply of both food and luxuries into Nyhem. [b]Family Members[/b] [b]Name:[/b] Captain Reginald Moros [b]Age:[/b] 39 [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Heterosexual [b]Position:[/b] Dionisa Captain of the Guard Personality: Captain Moros is a dedicated and loyal guardsman. A veteran of House Thale, he was initially confused at the shift to House Dionisa, but believes in the will of the once great Dominus Thale. He also has a healthy respect for Lanaya, thanks to both her teaching and willingness to expend her own wealth on helping the more common people of the city, even if only the common mages of the city. He has a somewhat fatherly, protective streak that often kicks in when he rescues young mages from the streets. For the most part, he follows the leader of the House without question, but does have enough initiative to question orders if they seem unnecessarily bloodthirsty. [b]Appearance:[/b] Moros can almost always be seen in his guard captain armor - a plate breastplate and pauldrons over a full suit of chain, with the Dionisa tabard. When not in his armor, he usually just wears the padded layers that would be under said armor. His face is worn beyond his years, for he has seen much blood in his time. He has a well kept beard and mustache, though both this and his short hair are beginning to grey. He carries himself as one who values his duty and believes in his Lord, yet a touch of deep weariness can be seen by the end of the day. [b]Skills:[/b] Melee Combat (all typical infantry weapons) - Adept Command - Apprentice Battlefield Inspiration - Adept Anti-mage tactics - Apprentice General Magic knowledge - Novice [b]Weaknesses:[/b] Getting Old - Moros is not as young as he once was, and would prefer to retire with all his limbs attached in five years or so. Accordingly, he is a cautious commander, perhaps overly so, and he will usually avoid engagements with warriors he knows to be far superior to himself. Sick of Massacres - He has seen one too many blood-soaked massacre occur in Nyhem, and is quite sick of them. If he thinks events are deteriorating to the point where another massacre will occur, he may begin to act irrationally or be open to an allegiance change. Protective - Moros never had children of his own, and so he considers the mage children he rescues from the street at Lanaya’s bidding to almost be his own. He will go to extreme lengths to keep them safe, including putting aside his dreams of retirement. [b]Name:[/b] Seneschal Victor Elan [b]Age:[/b] 44 [b]Gender:[/b] Male [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Heterosexual [b]Position:[/b] Seneschal [b]Personality:[/b] A quiet and reserved man, Victor prides himself on accuracy in record keeping. He has little time for those below him in rank and generally prefers to be left alone to focus on his job. [b]Appearance:[/b] Pale skin, a bald head and an elaborate, greying moustache and goatee ensure that Victor is fairly recognisable, despite his usually drab clothing. [b]Skills:[/b] Administration - Expert Espionage - Apprentice Poisoning - Novice Swordplay - Novice [b]Weaknesses:[/b] Survivor - While some may consider it a strength, Victor’s uncanny ability to weather Nyhem politics has more to do with a tendency to always switch to the winning side at an opportune moment than any real talent of any sort. Consequently he can be easy to bribe and corrupt if his current master isn’t doing well. [/hider] [hider= Arianna Zerrikan] [b]Name:[/b] Arianna Zerrikan [b]Age:[/b] 22 [b]Gender:[/b] Female [b]Sexual Orientation:[/b] Bisexual [b]Position:[/b] Tide Master [b]Personality:[/b] Arianna is a fiery and independent woman, resentful of the expectations of greatness placed upon her, yet at home in command of others. A sailor at heart, she tends to be direct and concise in her speech. She is trained in dealing with nobility, but not a natural at it. She is not a schemer, but a strategist, eager to apply military and magical theory to any problem she is faced with. She is stubborn, determined and prone to holding mild grudges. There is little she fears, and that which she does she tends to charge straight at rather than cower away from, often over-estimating her capabilities in the process… She is used to being known by the reputation of her family name, and tends to be aloof and distant when meeting new people, though she enjoys the chance to get to know people who have never heard of her or her father. [b]Weaknesses:[/b] Brash - Arianna is quick to act and prone to solving problems directly, even when such an approach is risky and dangerous to herself or those around her. Untouchable Fantasy - Arianna believes that there is no problem that she cannot outrun or out fight, either directly or through the influence of the Summer Isles and the Navy. She does not realise how tenuous her position is, or how many enemies she already has. Politically Overconfident - Arianna has been trained to deal with Nobles, but she has never truly engaged in politics. She believes she knows what she is doing, but in reality she could not be more out of her depth when dealing with the schemes of the Nyhem court. [b]Appearance:[/b] Arianna is a typical Summer Isles native - with tanned olive colored skin and flowing brown hair that she usually keeps in a neat bun. She has brown eyes and the strong, rugged hands of a sailor. She typically wears practical clothing suitable for life on a ship in the warm Irman sea. She always carries a utilitarian dagger and is often seen with a shortsword at her hip as well. While not unfamiliar with the loose robes of the more scholarly mages, she is fairly unfamiliar with dresses, preferring more practical finery - the sort one could fight or climb rigging in without first having to rip a skirt off... [b]Background:[/b] Arianna Zerrikan, daughter of Arthur Zerrikan, the legendary Admiral of the Summer Isles Zephyr Fleet, is very much defined by her father's shadow. As a Summer Isle’s native and the daughter of two mages, Arianna was tested for magical aptitude from a very early age, and to no-one's surprise, was found to be a mage by the time she was 4. As soon as this was discovered, she was guaranteed a place in the Circle. Arianna’s early life was uneventful. She was middling in her studies, neither excelling nor falling behind. Her most notable attribute at the time was a higher than normal aptitude for summoning magic. Once she had learned the basics of magic, she branched out into Destruction and Summoning almost immediately, supplementing her magical learning with close combat and sailing classes. She was thirteen when her father achieved fame and glory - destroying a grand pirate armada and killing the notorious Akki Noble come pirate lord at its head. Arianna was still too young to truly understand much of what was going on, but as the next generation of the now mighty Zerrikan bloodline, her life was affected in many ways. Her father, despite being at the Summer Isles more often, suddenly had less time for her as he was drafted into frequent lecturing at the isles Naval college and meeting a seemingly endless string of officials, nobles and admirals from the mainland. Her teachers suddenly expected greatness from her in every area she studied. Her classmates varied between sycophancy or avoidance thanks to her new found celebrity-by-association status. Finally, she came under immense pressure to work towards Tidemaster, and later Grand Tidemaster, status and follow in her father's footsteps. While it was always something she had considered, it was now seemingly out of her hands. It took nearly a year for Arianna to adapt, during which time she did poorly in all of her classes. Yet eventually, she did adapt, through a combination of will, rebellious desire to forge her own path, and the lessening of pressure as the magnitude of her father's deeds faded with time. Now largely without any close friends, she threw herself into study, and began taking naval strategy classes as well. She still never excelled in anything quite as much as her instructors seemed to expect, despite becoming an effective summoner very quickly and grasping naval strategy at a very young age… Yet this only seemed to spur her on. At the age of eighteen she was deemed capable enough to join the crew of one of the Summer Isles Catamarans, where her study took on a far more practical nature. At first, the captain and crew were hard on her - believing she had only gotten the position thanks to her father's influence. Which was true, though she did not know it. She quickly found herself volunteering for the most dangerous of tasks and leading the way in combat and investigations both - though often with reckless abandon that got her - and others - injured more than once. It also led to her developing a somewhat aloof attitude towards those she does not know well. Despite this rocky start to her career however, one cannot live on a ship for any length of time without forging a strong bond with ones crew, and within six months her crew had come to respect her, and she them. She took part in several tours of the Irman sea, hunted a few pirate ships and learned a little about every Kingdom bordering the sea. She also spent more time back on the Isles, whenever the ship needed shipyard maintenance or the crew was due any extended leave. She, like most of the magically inclined crew, took the time to visit the Circle again and cram more classes in to heighten her magical power, though she also always made time to update herself on the latest naval theory at the college. Late into her twenty-first year, Arianna was promoted to Tidemaster when the captain of another Catamaran decided to retire… Ahead of several other more experienced candidates and at an age that makes her the youngest Tidemaster to command a Catamaran in the history of the Zephyr fleet. The realities of command have tempered her fiery nature somewhat, but she remains a dynamic and aggressive captain compared to her peers. Her reputation in the fleet is very mixed - the older officers tend to see her as an inexperienced upstart coasting on her family name, but the younger sailors look up to her as an example of what can be achieved by a dedicated, determined student. She is oblivious to the extent of her influence on the fleet in this manner, seeing only a continuation of the isolation she has lived with since her father became famous. Recently, she has become swayed by the rhetoric of Lanaya Dionisa and the Mages Collective, thanks in no small part to seeing first hand the destruction and rampant piracy wrought by the squabbling Kings of the mainland. Yet she is ever the Summer Islander, and prefers a milder interpretation of the concept of mage supremacy, one that doesn’t marginalise her trusted mundane crew members or plunge the Isles into conflict. [b]Skills:[/b] Magic: Destruction - Master Arianna is a well trained, if a little inexperienced, Tide Master. This means a significant focus on Destruction magic of the sort useful at sea. While not the most accomplished war mage in Formaroth, she does have a great deal of training in group cast spells, making a her presence on the battlefield more significant than one might expect for a mage of her youth. She has also trained in Glyphs for combat application. Force - Arianna’s study of Force magic is quite unusual in its focus, though quite normal for a Tide Master. In addition to typical blasts, she has trained in esoteric uses like conjuring winds and applying slow, steady Force on large objects, like ships. These feats require a group to achieve though. Fire - Though not a prime focus for Arianna, the control of fire is nonetheless paramount on a ship. She has focused primarily on controlling existing flames, as well as smothering them magically. Ice/Water - One of the key abilities of a Tide Master is control over water. Arianna is no exception, and demonstrates the ability to control a significant amount of water on her own, going so far as to pull it out of the air in humid environments. She can freeze and thaw large amounts of Ice, allowing her to shape a battlefield with ease. With a group of mages, she is able to move the water around a ships hull in such a way as to propel it forward at incredible speed, or bring it to a complete stop. Lightning - Arianna’s personal favorite among the schools of Destruction. She has trained in manifesting storms of bolts from even mildly cloudy weather. She can chain bolts from her hands to strike up to three additional targets beyond the first and she can fatally electrify small areas of water. With a group, she can conjure lightning at extreme range and of a ferocity easily able to set a ship ablaze. Summoning - Adept Most Tide Masters choose to learn either Shape Shifting or Summoning magic, with the more difficult Summoning being known as ‘The Admirals Choice.’ Arianna has put significant effort into the study of Summoning, and has befriended two shades. Albatross - A somewhat ungainly sea bird of large size, this shade regularly accompanies Arianna when she is at sea, serving as a scout, soaring far above her ship. Orca - This formidable and sizeable shade is seen only rarely, usually manifesting either when Arianna is hunting a large sea creature with her crew or in particularly fierce combat. But when it does arrive, it is a fearsome and intelligent combatant, making the water near her even more of a no-go zone, lest a foe wishes to face many shredding teeth. Alteration - Novice Arianna studies Alteration primarily for a few utility spells. Water Breathing in particular comes in handy for a sailor, though she has been known to employ limited telekinesis for small, intricate tasks like tying knots in rope. Mundane: Sailor - Master One does not become a Tide Master without also mastering the many intricacies of traditional sailing, including more versatile skills such as stellar navigation. This also includes climbing, both with and without ropes, as well as, obviously, swimming. Melee Combat - Expert Arianna is a capable combatant, wielding the kinds of weapons typically found on a ship with skill and precision, though her personal preference is a shortspear. Naval Strategy - Adept While nowhere near the level needed to match a Grand Tide Master, or even live up to the expectations placed upon her, Arianna is still a reasonably capable Naval tactician, having led her squadron to victory on several occasions. [/hider]