[hider=Relyssa Deserine] [center] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f3/66/86/f36686a6dd436692a8d6d5e0dd55c89a.jpg[/img] [color=630460][u][b]Relyssa Deserine[/b][/u] [/color] Female Breton | 30 | The Mage [url=https://open.spotify.com/user/stormyflyx/playlist/48de3ennPttLe9Y5qnnd6d?si=cC2f2WmmRrS0KMb1LALWJQ]Relyssa's Playlist[/url][/center] [u][b] Birthplace [/b][/u] Daggerfall, High Rock [u][b]Appearance [/b][/u] [indent]Relyssa is short of height (approx 5’2”) with a waifish figure. She has no scars, something that surprises her - that she has made it to 30 and never received a scar. Her skin is mostly still smooth and soft, a result of having lived a good life with access to oils and herbs that keep one looking beautiful. In recent years she has found that she has begun to weather, but her face shows the subtle and very early signs of aging, lines appear when she makes certain expressions, something that she absolutely abhors. Unlike the rest of her body, her lips stand out for being full. She has a round, soft face, with high cheekbones. Her ears have that slight signature pointed tip and her eyebrows are arched - both signal to her Elvish ancestry. She has large steel blue eyes, which stand out against her light skin. Her eyes are expressive and to find out how she is feeling, one would only need to look at her eyes to see them bright with happiness, wide with fear, or an eyebrow pointed and raised in disgust. She keeps her waist length hair tied tightly into braids, with only a few strands framing her face. Relyssa treasures her hair, and keeps it groomed with oils and floral essences at all times. The colour is that of her family - a cool ash blonde, that is almost silver in tone. She wears embroidered mage robes (she never did like the plain clothing worn by most mages). She will wear clothes that are either black, violet, or lavender in hue. She does not always dress in mages robes, and will sometimes dress down into more casual attire. Even her 'casual attire' is more colourful and ornate than others. To Relyssa, looking the part of a Lady is important. She is rarely seen without a jeweled headpiece.[/indent] [u][b]Personality [/b][/u] [indent]As a first impression to most, Relyssa would seem soft spoken and friendly. This is all part of a more questionable mirage to lure in those who would need her help. As a healer she swore an oath to heal those who were suffering with disease and injuries - and she treats those who come to her with empathy, understanding, and great respect... If they can afford it. She is incredibly manipulative and calculating in order to get what she wants. She wasn't always this way - at least not so much so. She can weigh people up on the fly, sensing just enough about them to decipher how she should act. Living and traveling in Skyrim of all places has shown her that everyone is out to obtain something, no matter how they present themselves on the outside… Every interaction that she has is pre-calculated, motivated, and for her own gain - to take her one step closer to her goals. The Breton has a remarkable talent at being whoever you want her to be... Relyssa knows that her value as a healer and her level of skill in the art is worth a lot of gold, jewels, and other rare treasures. After all, what is more valuable to the average man than being able to live another day? Definitely not what he looted on his last adventure, the very trinket that he got injured for. When she becomes more comfortable around people, she will begin to drop her initial honey-sweet and fake facade, allowing her temper, harsh personality, and snobbishness to appear. She will often become passionate in her speech. In her life, Relyssa has only met a small handful of individuals who have been able to really get past the walls she has so cunningly built around herself. These are usually the people who call her out on her schemes, and are the very few who see through her. Relyssa also has a snarky and sarcastic way of talking, and remains unbothered about crossing lines and offending people with her lack of tact and sharp tongue. She can be impatient and hot-headed, and will scold those she travels with for errors of judgement, even though she is not the kind of person who would step in to prevent them in the first place. She relies on those 'less fortunate' than herself to do the dirty work on excursions. After all, why should she dirty up a robe when the Nord in front is more than willing to do it to win her favour? Ultimately, Relyssa is on her own journey to fulfill her desire for adventure and to gain power and riches beyond that of normal men, she wants her name to be in books - she wants to be remembered as Royalty. To live as a mere peasant? She would rather die.[/indent] [u][b]Background [/b][/u] [indent]Relyssa was born in 4E175, Daggerfall, to wealthy parents. Two respected Breton merchants and traders of exquisite antiquities. Her mother, Elayne, was an excellent craftswoman too - she made the most beautiful clothing for the ladies of High Rock - embellishing gowns with jewels and coloured threads. She had tried to teach her daughter the ways of her craft, but Relyssa had other ideas - she just wanted to dress in the gowns and would rather read books and listen to her father's stories about all of the hidden artifacts around Tamriel - about the magical items and hidden caches of gold littered throughout the provinces. Relyssa had a comfortable upbringing. She never went without luxuries like great food, fashionable attire, and beautiful jewelry. This is the lifestyle that she grew accustomed too. One day, her Father was holding a golden crown that he had procured for a Lord to present to his Lady somewhere in High Rock. She wasn't really listening, she was too transfixed by the shimmering diamonds set into the crown. Everything fell silent when she gazed upon the treasure. At one point, she even licked her lips. Nothing compared to when she actually held it in her hands. She felt... Power. Her eyes were big as she stared at it, seeing her reflection in those flawless diamonds. She wanted nothing more than to have dozens of these crowns for herself. Her poor Father had to prize it from her hands - when she wasn't holding it anymore she felt an emptiness inside. Suddenly she didn't care what she had to do, how many people she had to climb over and stomp on to get it, she was going to have treasures like this of her own one day. At night, Relyssa would read books on Tamriel, reading about great mages throughout history who had done amazing things, and of adventurers who fought down beasts and enemies to attain magical prizes, and of the hidden secrets scattered through the world. She wanted to be an adventurer, but she didn't really want to get her hands dirty - or put herself front and centre in battle. Such an introverted lifestyle caused her to grow up without very many friends - this was her choice. She didn’t have time for it, there was so much to learn and do instead. Eventually her parents grew tired of her spoilt ways; and perhaps they both sensed that Relyssa also desired for more. Elayne and Alastaire were frustrated. They had an intelligent daughter with aspirations - that they had spent too long coddling and looking after to the point where she would quite happily stay in the family home forever. It was not an ideal situation - the couple had their own plans for the future too and it was very clear that Relyssa was not going to be taking over either of their businesses any time soon. Not to mention that Alastaire was finding it increasingly more difficult to keep his daughter's mitts off his artifacts. She knew how to press her father, and push his buttons into giving her what she wanted. They were left with no choice, no choice but to shift her out and into the real world. They wanted to give her a gentle push in the right direction. The two concocted a plan; they spoke with their friends and found that among their circle of acquaintances, there was a couple in a similar financial situation to them with a son named Lazenne. He wasn't the most attractive or interesting young Breton in Daggerfall. So for that reason, he was perfect. There would be no way that their daughter would wed him, and so it might be the trick to getting her out - to get off her backside and to finally be independent and follow her own path - and more importantly it would seem to her like she was choosing her new life and that she had gotten one over on her parents. When Relyssa met Lazenne, she laughed hysterically in his face. The poor boy had actually thought he was getting himself a prize wife too. There was no way she would be married to such a... weakling. So, following the natural inclination of her race to wield magic, she was finally prompted to request to join a local Synod Chapter in Daggerfall, where she began learning the art of curative and restorative magic. She had been feeling that this Synod was not for her, and instead chose to leave her home of High Rock to attend the College of Winterhold in Skyrim to study her chosen discipline even further (her parents were overjoyed! They would at last have their home to themselves again!) During her time as an apprentice of the College, she faced teasing from her peers for sticking solely to Restorative magic. This made her choose a secondary discipline of magic to study and she chose Conjuration - even if she never particularly paid attention. She made a friend of sorts in Collete Marence at the College, although Collete did find her quite offputting and brash - and could sense that Relyssa's ulterior motives were not so squeaky clean. She was clearly very talented at her craft, and intelligent too, and it's not as if young mages were flocking to the College in droves to learn how to be healers, so Collete continued to mentor her, trying her best to teach the Breton to be softer, more honest, more sincere. As with her growing boredom of the Synod, Relyssa got bored of the libraries and four walls of the College after some years. She grew tired of the bitter cold, the terribly plain food, and the putrid smells which wafted through the corridors and congregated in her chamber of all places. She began to dream of practicing her magic out in the field, going on adventures and making gold. With the blessing of Colette Marence, she left the College to travel the rest of Skyrim. She found herself frustrated on her travels. Adventurers didn't pay her all that much for her magic, nor did they ever seem to want to share the spoils. She had to think of something else. She had to take matters into her own hands when those she traveled with didn't get any injuries for her to heal or even want to split anything with her. After all, if she didn't have to patch someone up then she definitely wouldn't be getting paid... So began her stint as a Tavern Healer. She would treat adventurers who would stumble into taverns with wounds and ailments. First she would ply them with alcohol and sweeten them up with her charm. She found she was especially successful and buttering up loud and clumsy Nord men. How they loved her petite frame and mane of silver hair. Once they had gotten sufficiently wrapped around her finger, she found it much easier to get them to empty their pockets to her... During these years, she picked up a few new skills from those she travelled with. Until this point in her life she had not really had a need to learn any offensive combat skills. A traveling companion quickly told her that while a spell may keep disease at bay, a dagger or two hidden inside a cloak is likely to save her life. In dungeons and crypts, she would always place herself between the two largest members of the party - the ones that would best be able to defend her. She got used to sizing up new comrades. Finding the weakest link in the chain. Spotting the clumsier ones - they were to be avoided. She could also pick out the ones who were most likely to suss her out. It was usually other women. There was a few times when she found herself in dire situations in the middle of an adventure. One such time stood out to her. Her party became surrounded by Draugr, and something enchanted the room, preventing them from using their Magicks. Surrounded by eight Draugr, she backed up to the wall and let the party fight. The best she could do was throw a rock at the smallest Draugr. She had no use of magic, so could not call upon her familiar to do her bidding. She had been buttering up the Axe-Wielding Nord the night before they entered the crypt - and so the absolute fool got himself in a lick of trouble to stop a bigger Draugr from making a kebab of Relyssa. The Nord stopped the attack, his armour absorbing the hit but Relyssa heard bones crunching and they didn't belong to the Draugr - she could see that the Nord's shoulder had popped out of place. His adrenaline stopped him from noticing right away and he made a mess of the Draugr, before turning to Relyssa with a smile. She was surprised he didn't come out with a "M'lady" for good measure. After that the magicka came back, and she summoned the familiar - but it was quite a bit too late. The Draugr had been bested, and now she had to put her skills to the test to get the Nord back up and running. She firmly held his upper arm with her tiny hands, placing her heel into his side. She wasn't a strong woman by any means, but she could work with muscle and bone with ease. It was just like slotting something back into place. She told the Nord to count to ten - and on five she pushed and clicked his shoulder back into its socket with ease. He absolutely felt it. Then came the "M'lady". During the time of the Dragonborn, Relyssa found herself amongst the aftermath of dragon attacks rather frequently. She would come across the bodies of the burnt. The sight of their armour that had melded to their skin gave them the appearance of steel men, of crumbled statues. There was nothing she could do help them. Some of the scenes she witnessed absolutely traumatised her, giving her an intense fear of fire and flames. She tries to keep this a secret from those she meets, for fear of showing any weakness and vulnerability. It was these events that tainted Skyrim for her, witnessing the carnage and aftermath of Dragon attacks in 4E201 that left an incredibly sour taste in her mouth for the wilds of the province. She’d witnessed so much pain and bloodshed that she knew she needed a break from it. And so, she returned to High Rock and spent four years working as a Merchant with her father, Alastaire . Here, she was able to spend quality time with her parents and learn skills that she hadn’t used before - in particular her speechcraft. At the same time, she continued to practice as a healer in the back room of her father’s shop - trading the taverns for something more comfortable and permanent, and battle bloodied-nords for posh Breton’s with naught but grazed knees and minor illnesses. It wasn’t long until her greediness and power-hungry nature got the better of her, and she started working behind Alastaire ’s back to procure more dangerous items. Hiring mercenary groups to do the dirty work for her and deliver her artifacts, forbidden tomes, and enchanted weapons. Presently, Relyssa is on the brink of her next big adventure - A little bird had informed her that a guest at a banquet in the Kingdom had in his possession a piece of very valuable jewellery that had once belonged to her family. Using her silver tongue, she found herself a way to get to the banquet to procure it once more, and has hired the help of a new mercenary group to obtain it. [/indent] [color=630460] [center][b]Capabilities[/b][/center][/color] [u][b]Attributes [/b][/u] [indent]Major: Intelligence Minor: Personality[/indent] [u][b]Skills [/b][/u] [indent]Expert - Restoration (Healing) Adept - Medicine, Alchemy, Speech, Conjuration Novice - Lockpicking, Dual-Wield (Blade - dagger)[/indent] [u][b]Weaknesses [/b][/u] [indent][i]Physically Weak[/i] Relyssa is by no means a fit and strong woman. She has never needed to be, with the ability to manipulate others into taking on responsibilities for her. She cannot fight against enemies in a way that a trained fighter can. She has daggers for desperate situations, but she prefers to never have to be in a desperate situation. Such low strength also means that Relyssa’s stamina leaves little to be desired. She is barely athletic and so can be outrun by pretty much anyone. [i]Pyrophobia[/i] She has a phobia of wild fire, and will shrink in the face of destruction mages and be unable to act - reminders of Dragon attacks hold many traumatic memories for her. She can sit around a campfire, and feels safe by a hearthfire - but fire Magicka scares her terribly. [i]Abusive Bigmouth[/i] She’s a gossip, basically. Her words will often come back to bite her, and yet she continues to play people - it’s in her nature. But she will often have to face the consequences of her mind games. Such a personality trait means she can have difficulty forming genuine relationships and being trusted by others. [i]Pride Before a Fall[/i] Relyssa is the very definition of Pride. She is entirely preoccupied with herself and would cut off her nose to spite her face. She is incredibly vain, and will opt to forgo armour and practical clothing if she can get away with it.[/indent] [u][b]Spells[/b][/u] [indent]Fast Healing Healing Hands Greater Ward Heal Other Close Wounds Grand Healing Conjure Familiar[/indent] [u][b]Tactics [/b][/u] [indent]Relyssa is an incredibly skilled healer who has developed her own methods using lesser known techniques like meditation and deliberate breathing to be precise in her control of her Magicka. Despite her greed surrounding much of her motivations as a healer - she takes incredible pride in her work and will never let anyone leave with a scar or without being in the finest health. She is arrogant in her abilities too, she knows that she is the best at what she does and has the skills to back it up - and she will let you know that too. She will stay out of the line of fire, retreating to the back and giving out Wards to those in front. In dire circumstances she will conjure her familiar, the Wolf, who acts in tune with her emotions. If she is scared, the Wolf will be far more aggressive and direct in its attack, if she is hurt or injured it will move to a position of strong defense. As well as her conjuration, she carries on her person spell scrolls of Destruction for situations in a pinch. She would have people believe otherwise, however. That they are to sell and make a profit from. [/indent] [u][b]Relations & Affiliations [/b][/u] [indent] - Alastaire Deserine - Father (Alive) - Elayne Deserine - Mother (Alive) - Colette Marence - Teacher/Mentor (Alive) - College of Winterhold - Ex-Student [/indent] [u][b]Opinions [/b][/u] [color=630460][center][b]Inventory[/b][/center][/color] [u][b]Cash [/b][/u] [indent]178 Septims[/indent] [u][b] Keys & Lockpicks[/b][/u] [indent]3 x lockpicks[/indent] [u][b] Tools & Crafting Materials [/b][/u] [indent]Small Knife and Bowl[/indent] [u][b] Clothing & Armor [/b][/u] [indent][i]Casual[/i] A deep violet boned sleeveless jacket of embroidered jacquard streaked with golden thread. Worn with a pair of gold and cream cropped trousers. A ruby amulet around her neck, and a headpiece with a ruby set into the centre. A pair of two-pronged heeled metal sandals that would be entirely impractical for anything other than indoor work. [i]Armour[/i] *Light Armour A black tunic dress held in place by a thick leather belted corset, with a fringing over the short skirt to cover her thighs. The dress is worn off the shoulder, but has long sleeves tucked into gloves. Leather thigh high boots complete the simple look.[/indent] [u][b] Weapon & Ammo [/b][/u] [indent]2 x Steel Dagger[/indent] [u][b] Potion & Arcane Supplies [/b][/u] [indent]2 x Potion of Minor Restoration 1 x Potion of Minor Magicka [b]Destruction spell scrolls[/b] Scroll of Chain Lightning Scroll of Lightning Bolt Exploding Shock Spider[/indent] [u][b] Jewelry & Valuables [/b][/u] [indent]Amulet of speech Silver Ruby Ring Ruby Crown/Headpiece[/indent] [u][b] Books & Documents [/b][/u] [indent]Letter from parents A basic alchemy journal[/indent] [u][b]Food/Drinks/Ingredients [/b][/u] [indent]Small cloth pouch full of dried blue mountain flowers, lavender sprigs, and other flowers[/indent] [u][b] Load Bearing Equipment [/b][/u] [indent]A leather satchel, medium sized[/indent] [u][b]Other [/b][/u] [indent]A journal in which she writes her thoughts Quill and ink[/indent] [/hider]