Sorry she's late.

[hider=Gem, female]
[u][b]Astrid Gerd, the Willow's Child[/b][/u]


[hider=Picture]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/364853470907465730/468952373495332865/587eac2447f55970ff47d6d21ced3a47.png[/img]
[/hider]

[b]Race:[/b]
Gem
[b]Age:[/b] 
18
[b]Element(s):[/b]
Air
[b]Height:[/b]
1.7 meters

[b]Bio:[/b]A restless soul, she knows not where she comes from or who her parents are. She was raised by a village of earth gems, who often found her... lightheartedness to be excessive and frustrating. Did the child take nothing seriously? Apparently, she did not. She wandered through the woods outside the village often, listening to nature around her. Playing tag with the children, she learned to climb trees, and even to jump from limb to limb, as squirrels did. She liked hearing the birds sing, and often imitated them. Some wondered if she could speak to birds, and in a way it was true enough. Though she couldn't carry on a meaningful conversation or impart or gather the vaguest of emotions from the exchanges. She became aware of her surroundings in much the same way as much of the wild life, sensing storms that couldn't yet be seen because they had not yet formed, or were sweeping over the ridge of hills that hid clouds from sight until they were over the valley.

As she grew older, her playmates began their studies and she tried to join them... but her thoughts were always wandering. The village asked a merchant, also an air gem to help her learn to use her innate magic. He chuckled and agreed to talk with the child. They spent hours in a field just outside of town, as he demonstrated how to change the winds, or bend them to her will. When she asked why she would want to change them, he laughed and merely said that she would have to discover for herself. He gave her a flute, which demonstrated how to make music with and suggested she practice her magic, by making the wind play the instrument. She found she could more easily replicate the sounds, than actually play the instrument. When the merchant returned the next year, he was amazed at the sounds she wove together to make her music. Though... it had a sadness to it, a loneliness, that seemed to haunt the hearer as the music played. He asked her why she played such a sad song, after commenting on it's beauty. She merely raised her hand and put it over her heart. He didn't press any further, instead showing her new sounds, bells, chimes, horns, stings, and hollow things... all made sounds, many were like others she had heard, but not the same. 

She asked him to sing for her. He thought a moment, then he picked up a lute, and played a song that had no words, though he sang with it all the same. Two of the merchant's companions took up instruments of their own, a fiddle and a drum, and joined in. They also sang, but never once uttered a word. It was a song about a flower, that grew all alone in a field. A bright and beautiful flower, that brought life to a forgotten meadow in an old forest. The forest smelled of old things, rotting things, but this flower was sweet and rich to smell. The animals all loved to stop and sniff at her, or gaze upon her beauty from afar. There were none like her anywhere nearby, but that only added to her beauty and allure. Time passed, rains fell, sun shone, winds blew, but the flower grew stronger and more beautiful with every trial. The flower brought the forest new life, new purpose, and in the end, it seemed to outshine even the sun. The song was long, and moody, but she sat and listened for the duration. Her village watched in awe as the child, well nearly a young woman now, sat in stillness that she'd never been able to display in any of her lessons and for much longer than they'd ever witnessed before. When the song was over, she rose and hugged the merchant. He gave her name then, Astrid Gerd. The earth gems had always called her little willow, but this felt different, it felt like it belonged to her and her alone. 

When the drakken came that year, they were surprised to see the child that had looked frail and sickly to them in years past, now shown with a radiance, and almost haunting beauty. When they called her forward, she smiled and came forward, eager to see what new sounds she might hear in Drakka. She'd always been told it would be different than anything she knew, but how different? Her time in Shadow Worth had been uneventful, she had been the very picture of compliance, though rough handling tended leave bruises. She seemed unaffected by the other's fear, she was too curious hear new sounds, and learn to make new songs, maybe even happy ones eventually. The guards seemed somewhat confused by her, as she was almost eager to go with them, but they didn't dwell on it long. She'd make a nice bride, for a time, though it looked like she wouldn't last long. 

[b]Other:[/b]
Can convey complex emotions with her music, which is produced entirely with magic. She tends to play slightly sad and haunting songs of her own accord, though she can play any song she's heard. She has some understanding of letters, but is better at reading music, and her handwriting is nigh-unintelligible. She has a talent for learning spoken languages.
[b]Adult Content Preference:[/b]
Fade to black.[/hider]

Edits made...