[hider=Marea] 
[center][b][h1][i][b]M[/b]area[/i][/h1][/b][color=6ecff6][b]“Though rivers rarely flow straight, they always find a way to reach the ocean.”[/b][/color]
[hider=image][img] https://img00.deviantart.net/d5cb/i/2017/028/7/2/lux_elementalist_ice_by_maiulive-dax1xaf.jpg [/img][/hider][/center]
[b][u]Name[/u][/b]
Marea (Wayfinder)

[b][u]Age[/u][/b]
18

[u][b]Gender[/b][/u]
Female

[b][u]Home Sea[/u][/b]
Imperial Sea

[u][b]Aether Sign[/b][/u]
Moon

[u][b]Aether Abilities[/b][/u]
[hider=]Aether Infusing - Used as a way to safely use her powers, Marea channels Aether into objects and people to give them temporary enhancements such as coating a person in a layer of protective ice or creating blades on shoes for skating.

Frost Lance - A simple attack in the form of creating a frozen projectile and launching it at a target.

Mother Ocean's Grace - By imbuing a living being with Aetheric energy, wounds begin to close and stamina is restored.

Glacial Prism - Used to protect individuals, it entraps them into a thick block of ice until it is melted, broken, or dispelled.

Sculptor's Touch - A general ability that allows for simple, mostly harmless tricks through freezing of water and manipulation of ice.[/hider]

[b][u]Personality[/u][/b]
[hider=]Like a still lake, Marea is a calm, collected individual. Though willing to share her thoughts on matters, she keeps problems to herself and maintains a steady composure. While her expression rarely betrays her thoughts, she is nonetheless a caring individual and is more than willing to intervene on behalf of others with the same fervor of more energetic individuals.

Marea tries to find beauty in all hand-made crafts. From a simple dish prepared by another to the labor and resource-intensive Ironclads.

Her favorite food are mussels, having become enamoured with them when they were the first food she had eaten after gaining her freedom. In a way, they remind them of herself with their strong, protective shell.[/hider]

[b][u]History[/u][/b]
[hider=A Proud Imperial Citizen]Though born in the Imperial Sea, Marea would call it a home only in that she was born there. Her parents were both soldiers for the Empire, raised on its virtue and divine decree that its borders should blanket all of Aruth. Serving together on the same ship, they grew close to one another during their tour until one fateful day in the Frozen Sea, the sky was blanketed in beautiful, green light that seemed to dance and swirl like the ocean their ship coasted along. It was on that night that they united to create a child they would never know.

After their duties were complete, the lovers returned to their homeland to settle down and pursue a life suited to raise a child. However, as the mother's pregenancy developed, she began suffering from increasingly detrimental health as all the energy she once had started to seep away for seemingly no reason. Eventually, they were approached by the Imperial Military not for recruitment, but for the child the mother carried. The mother could be saved, but they needed to act quickly and cut the child out before she was entirely drained of life force. If they agreed, the child would be taken from them, but she would live.

With little choice, they both agreed and the operation. Marea was ripped from her mother's womb and taken away to live a life mandated by the Empire. The many symptoms her mother was exhbiting were investigated, and it was found that Marea had an immensely potent connection to Aether. Their plan was to mold her into a powerful weapon they could use to conquer their rivals with the powerful Aether magic she could wield. For a time, the process went well for the Empire. The child was trained almost daily to wield the Aether, and her prowess with it rapidly grew.

Unfortunately, while excellent trainers, her overseers were poor caretakers. Constantly pushing the child beyond her limits, they had little patience for anything but perfection and progress. Most days, after the sessions were complete, Marea would instantly pass out in her simple bed before being sent back into the grinder. The only times she truly got rest was when she would collide with the very limits of her body and pass out for several days at a time. She hated her life in Galma, trapped within the walls of her facility.

Eventually, Marea's growth began to stagnate. No matter how hard or long they pushed, she simply did not seem to improve. Drastic measures were taken to try and force a breakthrough. The young girl was placed into live combat with an elite officer with the hopes that the stress would cause her to tap into that latent might she carried. They got what they wanted, but not quite how. Marea was no match for the battle-hardened veteran and beaten down over and over again, only to be healed up and sent back in.

She pleaded, begged for them to stop, but each time she was forced back to the arena until finally, she snapped. The stress and desperation forced an explosion of Aether Magic. Ice erupted from Marea and tore the facility apart. The connection it had to the rest of Galma was destroyed, and the entire place was sent sinking deep into the ocean. Comatose and encased within a jagged block of ice, Marea drifted out of the ruined building before being carried off by the tide.[/hider]



[hider=A New Home]A warm light pierced Marea's darkened vision, and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

"...Wh-Where?"

"A child, encased in ice and floating through the sea? Can't say We've fished up something like that before."

As her eyes refocused, the blue-haired girl found herself within a large, wooden building kept lit by a pleasant fire in the center. People were all around her, staring with curious expressions at what had been dragged from the water. Right in front of her, though, was an older man adorned in attire much more decorated than the others. He spoke calmly to the mysterious child.

"I am glad to see you are okay, young one. I do not know where you are from, or why you are here, but I will not turn some lost child away."

The man looked over his shoulder and barked out an order, "Marlowe! Get some food for the girl! Surely, you can at least get that right!"

As a brown haired youth ran off to fulfill the request, Marea's new life began. Though unable to forget her taskmasters, she was free from them. Though he never learned her past, Talu Wayfinder took Marea in as his own and raised her well while encouraging her to live and grow at her own pace.

In this strange, foreign land, she had a place she truly could call home.[/hider]


[hider=Family]Marea stared at Marlowe, bent over slightly as she used her elbows to keep herself propped up against a window sill. Watching the boy swinging his inherited blade around as he tried to mimick the movements he saw Divers performing. It was clumsy and slow, but at least he didn't accidently send the weapon flying into a tree this time.

A voice broke the hazy, peaceful afternoon and caused the girl to jump, "Marlowe! Have yo-"

Quickly spinning around on her heel, Marea cut off the chief in her usual calm voice, masking the surprise from his sudden outburst, "It's already taken care of. I helped out, so we got it done quickly."

Talu eyed his daughter incredulously for a moment, seeing straight through her lie before giving a long exhale as he decided to let it be. Leaning up against the window, the chieftan joined her in spectating the training.

Eventually, the man's gaze fell back onto the girl as he said, "You shouldn't just do all his duties for him so he can slack off. Marlowe is a man now, and he should start acting like one."

"I suppose so," Marea responded while looking up at her father "but he wants to become like his hero. Helping him reach that dream is just how I want to repay him for finding m-"

A sudden, metallic thud loudly echoed out followed by a pained groan. Both of the Wayfinders snapped their attention out the window, spotting Marlowe laying on the ground with a bright red mark forming on his forehead and his blade on the ground next to him.

They both stared at the young adult for a few seconds before they both just shook their heads. Marea started moving to go heal the minor injury before she felt her father's hand rest on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Take care of the lad. We don't need that blade delivered here again. I owe his mother that much."

The girl had a moment of pause, mulling over her caretaker's words, before giving him a nod and hurrying off to go heal that fresh bruise.[/hider]

[b][u]Gear[/u][/b]
[hider=]Clothing - Of higher quality than most members of the Free Islands, they are befitting of a chieftan's child, even if adopted.[/hider]

[/hider]