[center][h2][color=#005968][i]Asthylia Elu-Arasté[/i][/color][/h2][img]https://i.imgur.com/fdjlefJ.png[/img][/center][hider][indent][h3][sub][ [color=#005968]♦[/color] ] Bio[/sub][/h3][hr][b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Name:[/b] Asthylia Elu-Arasté.
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Age:[/b] 27.
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Bloodline:[/b] Seraph([u]40%[/u])|Oro([u]30%[/u])|Nayu([u]25%[/u])|Sol([u]5%[/u]).
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Birthplace:[/b] Nero.
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Height:[/b] 5'3.
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Weight:[/b] 157 lbs.
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Physique:[/b] Her features made her challenging to identify such that even were her skin bare, one might never ascertain the essential nature of her ancestry. One might say the blood of Sol was strong in her. After all, her pale flesh possessed a subtle glow, yet it bore a litany of dark ochre markings beset upon by scales. Each mark evoked the harsh lines of some wild beast, all jagged teeth and sinuous movements across her flesh. In the depth of her many-faceted eyes, one might see the influences of the Seraphim, Nayu, or even Lassa, yet none so strong as to distinguish themselves outright. Thus one could only describe her gaze as flawed gold--marred by black-earth brown and all awash with intricately tangled blue-green hues, all aglow with achromatic light. Yet these were not least among her attributes, for her visage was one most fair: angular features curved and smoothed by the gentle hand of femininity. With almond eyes, full lips, and curving, slender brows, which made her most expressive; there was marvel equal to the mystery of her physical persuasion. Bringing this to a close was the fading violet ash of her hair, draped about her countenance, down against her neck, ending before the gentle decline of her narrow shoulders.

Draped about her lithe form rest the exemplar of her freedom: twin wings wrought by the unique artifice of her ancestry. These sky-sworn limbs bear a distinctive likeness--as if avian and draconic features were brought to unity in their making. Where feathers would dominate, scales interlink instead--each writ long and wide--the whole more robust in structure. At her sides, rest hands and forearms marred with an array of vicious scars, oft-hidden by gloves twofold. To protect and complement her visage she wears an ensemble of equal parts fashion and function.

[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] History:[/b] 
[indent][hider= ]Asthylia was born to an exceedingly poor family of Nomads subsisting off of minor trade and manual labor at the very edge of Nero. While she remembers very little from her years there among those of her blood, what [i]is[/i] very clear to her is that they were in hiding and always on the run. Amidst the memories of secretive quests in the dark of night and long stints of hiding and homelessness are those few glimpses of happiness and love shared between Asthylia and her parents. It was a confusing time, and it was made more so when, after finally managing to cross the border, her parents gave her over into the arms of strangers, abandoning her in the process.

In the ensuing years, she was surrounded by things most unfamiliar Asthylia’s only comfort was the familiarity of travel and of her memories. As the months passed her by, she slowly grew used to the presence of those who had taken her from her family, and though a quiet resentment followed her, she came to trust and care for these new people. Eventually, she would come to call them family and thus take on the pride and burden of the Arasté name becoming Asthylia Elu-Arasté. Striving to please her new family, Asthylia did her utmost in all her studies and made sure she trained [i]extra[/i] whenever she could. She took up whatever subject she thought she might be good at, and with such dedication, time, and talent, she managed to pick up and keep a lot of those skills. Yet, as time went on it grew tiring to try and keep up the pace, not to mention that she became more independent, rebelling against some of her elders. Soon it came time for her to leave the nest, with her guardians and tutors believing that keeping her any longer would only stifle her progress.

They were right. Let out into the world, she flourished, exploring at her leisure, getting into trouble here and there, and eventually finding things to do. Eventually, though she grew tired of idle amusements and found that she did wish to repay the kindness of her family, so she set out to find a way to benefit them. At first, she tried subterfuge, then intrigue, and though she had some success, she found the latter unfulfilling and the former downright boring. She moved on to other pursuits, trying her hand at various crafts and coming up with nothing. This went on for some time until she happened upon a job, something about retrieving a valuable item from a dangerous place. It caught her eye and she took it almost without a thought. Gearing up, she set out on what she felt was her next adventure.

What she found delighted and surprised her, it was a challenge. Finding the item was easy, mind you, but fighting and killing the monster that made the place its home was something else entirely. She reveled in every moment of it and eventually returned victorious. With a deep feeling of satisfaction, she realized that this was it, this was her calling. So it was that she started going on expeditions, some to brave dangerous environments for resources, and others to clear the way of vicious monsters in pursuit of rare resources or priceless artifacts. A few years passed this way, with her bringing both wealth and prestige back to the family, but nothing good lasts forever.

So it was that at the age of 23 she was considering a hunting expedition to capture a truly terrible beast, known as the Withering Beast. Something of an adrenaline junky at this point, she took the job, despite the many warnings of friends and colleagues both. Gear equipped, she headed out, assured of her success. Once she had located the creature and set traps, she lured it her way, expertly avoiding its deadly assortment of natural--and magical--weapons. Yet, as she prepared the final blow, something unexpected happened, something totally outside her realm of experience.

None of her traps worked and, furthermore, anything she leveled the beast’s way fell short of doing it real harm. She became desperate, and those who had accompanied her realized that things were well out of hand, and fled. Betrayed and at a loss, she hesitated a moment too long and the beast struck her down. She regained consciousness in tremendous and constant pain as her companions returned and, horrified, guiltily helped her back to civilization.

Upon her arrival, the Araste were contacted, as well as doctors and healers, but when all was said and done little could be done for her most grievous injuries. Of these, the worst was the damage done to her hands and arms when she’d tried to fend off the beast’s assault. The damage was so uniquely severe that nothing beyond surface healing could be done. The physickers told her that she would never be quite the same, and despite all her efforts from that day forward...they were right. She tried everything from therapy to rare and dubious medicines, but nothing could restore to her what she’d lost. Furthermore, the damage to her arms meant she couldn’t even do her job properly, denying her release...all because of her recklessness...all because of her failure.

In the ensuing months and years, she grew increasingly withdrawn and agitated until she was confronted by an elder of the Araste, telling her that she must move forward or risk the ire of others less forgiving than those who understood her plight. Swallowing her anger and pride, she did what she should have done with those who had warned her, she listened. Attacking her weakness with all the pent up aggression and personal dissatisfaction, Asthylia sought to find a way to reclaim control of her life and after two years with little success, she made a breakthrough. Having dove deep into the arcane arts with the help of her family’s connections in the Magoi Guild, and assisted by her unique insight into magic, she found a way to enable her to once more pursue her passions. So it was that with diligence and cooperation that she set her life back on track.

Yet, despite this success, the thrill and the pure joy of her profession had been sullied by the trauma of her close-brush with death. Gone was much of her arrogance and naivety, but so too was the boundless happiness, the enticing exhilaration of the hunt. For her, while there were both solace and a measure of fulfillment in her work, she could not banish the shadow of doubt that her tremendous failure had set upon her. Now, the hunt was a cerebral task, incredibly engaging for all her faculties, but no longer fun in the way it had been. Of course, her daily doings were affected just as much by her disability as many things were harder for her now, and to use her magic she had to remove the only thing that stood between her and agonizing pain: her gloves.

To this day she secretly hopes and searches for a way to cure her malady, thinking that with its departure, so too will the shame and doubt in her heart be banished.[/hider][/indent][/indent]
[indent][h3][sub][ [color=#005968]♦[/color] ] Personality[/sub][/h3][hr][/indent][indent][indent]
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Motivation:[/b] She seeks the joy and deep contentment she lost to the trauma of her horrific encounter with the Withering Beast. Similarly, she hopes beyond hope that she might find someone to ease the pain she endures daily, and perhaps...that a cure might be possible.

[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Persona:[/b] Asthylia is, outwardly, a confident woman, assured of her place in the world and of her own inherent value. Nonetheless, beneath the surface she is not quite as sure as she might have you believe and though she may be a consummate actress, she is still human--at least as much as any Descendant can be. Specifically the trauma of her childhood separation from her parents has shaped her, cursing her with a deep-set, subconscious, fear of true closeness and emotional intimacy. Though her stride is seldom aimless, the failures of the past few years have bred in her psyche an insidious sense of inadequacy, of weakness. The two together have isolated her from the companionship that might lead her off her current path. All this coupled with constant pain--though muddled--serving as a reminder of her own failings serves to put her in a decidedly negative frame of mind. Where before her actions were measured when not under the thrall of passion, now they are more mechanical as if--even after four years of clawing her way out of depression--she is still barely holding her head above the water. This undercurrent of quiet misery is cut by her efforts to appear normal, to function in her everyday life, and press on in hopes of something better on the morrow. Perhaps, buried beneath the turmoil of her wounded heart there still remains a woman whose inner flame burns with an unkindled conviction, waiting to be stoked.

[/indent][/indent][indent][h3][sub][ [color=#005968]♦[/color] ] Capabilities[/sub][/h3][hr][/indent][indent][indent]
[color=#000000]♦[/color] [i]Affinities:[/i] Divine|Wind|Earth|Darkness|Light.
[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Experience:[/b] Asthylia has received, and requested, training in any number of areas as a result of her adoption into the Araste Family. Among these things, she has learned how to maneuver in the high courts, the various laws in the kingdoms, hand-to-hand combat, persuasion, seduction, manipulation, spycraft, weapons proficiency, the academics, and the arcane. Of these, she has mostly utilized her social skills--and impeccable acting--in addition to her more combat-oriented gifts. It would be very apt to call her a Jack of All Trades, Master of None. Of her various talents and skills, Asthylia is most adept in the Art of Presence, a discipline whose application is many-fold. Essentially, Presence is a primarily combat discipline that enables someone to train both conscious and subconscious aspects of the mind to work in tandem. Those with sufficient skill are capable of detecting, and reacting to, stimuli faster than the conscious mind on its own would allow. Beyond this ability, Asthylia’s understanding of magecraft is significant, and while her skill with individual elements and aspects is only slightly greater than proficient, she has a mechanical understanding that few possess. Of course, despite all her talents and training, there are a few things that she fails in. Most notably is her lacking ability to maintain connections with people due to past trauma. While Asthylia can handle herself against everyday physical threats, she only truly shines when facing off against fauna, both large and small, magical or mundane. Due to her having chosen a profession as a monster hunter and acquirer of rare materials, she has extensive knowledge when it comes to a wide variety of monsters, plants, and though her disability no longer allows it, she has all the necessary knowledge to make and operate traps effectively.

[i][u]Note:[/u] It is worth noting that though she has learned many things, she is not even close to a master in all but a select few. Thus, everything not stated as relevant can be considered proficient with the sole exception of her skills in monster hunting and item acquisition.[/i]

[b][color=#000000]♦[/color] Characteristics:[/b] Due to her mixed bloodlines, Asthylia is a woman of diverse talents. As the most substantial aspect of her ancestry, her Seraph bloodline affords her the most physical traits, making her light, agile, very coordinated, dexterous, and preternaturally sharp. Beyond these traits, her Seraph blood allows her to perceive souls--and to a lesser degree--energies of a more arcane sort. The former perceptual ability is something she must focus to see, while the latter is always present though less distinct, forcing her to focus if she desires any depth of detail from it. Last among her Seraph traits are her wings, which, unlike those of most, are actually a result of her second strongest bloodline intermingling with the first. This interaction between Oro and Seraph blood gives her wings somewhere between that of a bird and those of a more draconic variety, resulting in scale-like feathering and durability in the wings that many might kill to acquire. The make-up of her wings is a significant boon, as the scales can regrow very swiftly, though this does mean she has to groom them daily.

Her Oro ancestry also makes her flesh--though not everywhere--somewhat thicker and more durable, as well as reinforcing her physiology to make her stronger than average, though not as much so as someone with much stronger blood. Last, among her Oro traits, Asthylia has gained a unique variety of wind manipulation, that requires activation and movement, to properly utilize. Essentially, this affinity for wind allows her to gather it about her form, as well as release and guide it in her vicinity, with the quantity of wind and the strength of her manipulations growing greater as she continues to use the ability. A distinct downside to this though, is that the ability taxes her both physically and magically, making it unwise for her to keep up for very long in spite of how strong it can get if she does.

While there is significant strength to both her Seraph and Oro ancestry, her latter two bloodlines are drastically weaker, with the first--Nayu--only giving her dark vision, hearing twice as acute as standard, in addition to a strange affinity for darkness. This affinity allows her to blend into places of reduced light. The less light there is, the more like a shifting, indistinct silhouette she becomes until she is challenging to follow or detect with conventional means. While this trait does not require her to activate it consciously, it [i]does[/i] require a degree of focus for it to become stronger, in a similar vein to her wind manipulation. Finally, Sol, her last bloodline, lets her eyes adjust to light more swiftly, with that being where the benefits end.[/indent][/indent]
[indent][b][color=#000000]♦[/color] [u]Skills[/u][/b] 
[indent][hider= ][indent]
[u][b]Presence[/b][/u]
[color=red]-4 Soul | -1 Soul per 2 minutes.[/color]
[indent]The Art of Prescience is a primarily martial discipline in which practitioners are trained to consciously enter and maintain a sort of [I]Flow State[/i]. This unique mental framework uses a small measure of Soul to initiate after which it can be held for long periods of time. Once a practitioner has sunken into this state of mind, their conscious mind cedes a measure of control to the subconscious, allowing the individual to pick up on all the information that the brain typically filters out. Combined with the extensive training regimen, a master of Presence can use their sharpened awareness to improve their overall performance. Their training, in short, teaches them how to use their environment itself as a weapon and how to wield any number of weapons [i]just[/i] well enough that they could pick it up to use if they lacked their own.

The true secret of this Art, however, is that its users have trained themselves to recognize and track the movements of Soul. This ability requires that one be able to at least sense the energy on a significant level, and preferably that one can perceive it as clearly as possible. While the perception of Soul is fairly passive--though frequently requiring focus--the form used by Practitioners are Presence is not, forcing the individual to learn how to sink almost all of their awareness into this sense. To do this, a Practitioner must exert a small measure of their own out into the world and control it just enough that they can have it spread thinly and bond to things. The longer it is in use, the more heightened a practitioner’s perception and predictive ability become. Of course, this comes with its own pitfalls, namely that the exerted essence can be disturbed or their senses warped by the use of magic. This is a double-edged sword though, as while on one hand magic will disperse their senses--and thus ability to effectively react with their extra sense--it will also almost immediately notify them of its presence. It is worth noting that it takes either particularly potent magic--or very densely packed soul to disperse their dispersed soul.

The masters of this art can bind most--or all--of their exerted Soul to themselves, allowing it to move with them. However, someone like Asthylia is only able to bind about 3 meters of exerted Soul to her person, giving her an edge, but leaving her quite open to ranged assaults. As a direct result of this, Asthylia is most effective at mid-close range.[/indent]

[u][b]Deviation[/b][/u]
[color=red]-2 Soul -5 Stamina per 2 mins[/color]
[indent]Asthylia, while already naturally swift, is capable of leveraging all of her abilities at once to surpass her normal movements. To do this she will activate her passive wind magics, eliminating air resistance and causing the wind to assist her movements. This constant wind also allows her to better utilize her wings, giving her more maneuverability and control overall. This can be maintained over a longer period of time without much effort, but if she drastically alters her trajectory or increases her speed explosively using her wind magics, she will expend 3-6 soul depending on intensity.[/indent][/indent][/hider][/indent][/indent]
[indent][b][color=#000000]♦[/color] [u]Spellcraft:[/u][/b] Generally speaking, Asthylia’s spellcraft focuses on using her strongest elemental affinity--Divine--to create spell matrices she calls Formulae. These spells are useful on their own but can be modified by adding additional soul of another aspect.

[indent][hider=Spell Tome]
[u][b]Astral Forge[/b][/u]
[color=red]Variable Soul Cost[/color]
[i]Divine[/i]
[indent]Using divine-aspect soul, Asthylia can conjure a variety of spell matrices, which can take on solid form at will. This ability supplies her with weaponry and--to a more limited degree--tools crafted purely from soul but does have other uses. In order to conjure anything, Asthylia must have either a clear image and understanding of it or have time to work out the kinks. All constructs are static in shape once fully conjured and will never exceed the total size of her own body. Base durability of the constructs is roughly that of iron. Elements can be added in order to enhance constructs in various ways, but doing so will always be a trade-off.
[list][*]Earth increases construct durability to that of steel, but increases apparent weight making them difficult to wield or manipulate.
[*]Wind decreases construct weight and durability but generates shell of wind. The wind shell’s function depends on the object. 
[*]Darkness makes constructs opaque and allows them to briefly become partially or wholly intangible.
[*]Light makes constructs almost invisible but decreases durability to roughly that of bronze.[/list][/indent]

[u][b]Fortify[/b][/u]
[color=red]5-12 soul[/color]
[i]Divine[/i]
[indent]Initiated faster than most spells Fortify requires that her blood be drawn prior to activation. Once the aforementioned has occurred, energy pours from the wound, sealing minor injuries and spreading a magical facsimile of her own scales over and throughout targets of her choice. Typically this is used on her flesh and clothing, but it can be applied to other items to improve durability drastically. Fortify cannot be used on items bigger than her person--more specifically, things of greater mass than herself and if attempted the spell will only properly reinforce some of the target. Furthermore, she must have contact to initiate the effect and continued focus is required if it is utilized on something other than herself. With additional energy and focus, Asthylia can reorganize the energy of the spell, increasing the durability in some areas at the cost of others. It should be noted that the durability afforded by Fortify is wholesale, affecting the entire target, rather than merely creating a protective shell. 

Adding an additional element will alter the properties of the spell.
[list][*]Earth will increase durability further, reinforcing every physical aspect of a target, but requires that the spell be used only on primarily solid targets.
[*]Wind will make the target lighter, without reducing base durability. It generates a shell of air on target, repelling attacks.
[*]Darkness makes perceiving the target’s exact shape and location drastically more difficult but affords less defense.
[*]Light combines with the divine aspect, giving the user greater resistance to spells, at the cost of any physical defense.[/list][/indent]

[u][b]TripleBlind[/b][/u]
[color=red]3-8[/color]
[i]Darkness|Light|Divine[/i]
[indent]This spell can be described as blindness by isolation, overstimulation, and lack of stimulus, respectively. The dark element completely absorbs all light that would normally reach the eyes--or other relevant organs--then funneling that light into its opposite. Once absorbed, this light is amplified greatly and fed at point-blank range as powerful and continuous flashes to the visual sensory organs. Lastly, the most troublesome aspect of TripleBlind is its Divine aspect, which in addition to facilitating some of the functionality of the spell, also uses both light and shadows cast on the target, imbuing them with a screen of impermeable energy, making it exceedingly difficult to detect magical energies through it. A skilled user such as Asthylia is capable of adjusting the elemental make-up of the spell, enhancing or dampening a given effect to suit a situation. Notably, the most costly aspect of the spell is its divine component. Using all three effects at once is the most expensive usage.

[i][u]Note:[/u] The light aspect of the spell blinds within 10 feet, dazzles within 15, and briefly disorients up to 20 feet away after which it has little to no effect. The Shadow and divine aspects of TripleBlind must to physically strike the eyes or face and their trajectory is controlled/decided by Asthylia. If they don't hit the face the spell doesn't work. The light version of the spell can be used as a projectile in the same manner but will lose its Area of Effect properties, instead, it blinds a single target even with their eyes closed.[/i]
[/indent][/hider][/indent][/indent]
[indent][h3][sub][ [color=#005968]♦[/color] ] Equipment[/sub][/h3][hr][/indent][indent]
[indent][i][url=https://i.pinimg.com/474x/08/a2/ec/08a2ec008ddd9fae4161c0a1d2ca9989.jpg]Enchanted Gloves:[/url][/i] Made of silk and embroidered artfully, these gloves cover the hands all the way up to the elbows and are snug against the skin. The enchantment on them nullifies pain and helps steady the tremors that Asthylia experiences almost constantly as a result of her disability, though not enough to allow her to do precision tasks like writing. She wears these soft gloves under a much less expensive pair of leather gloves depicted far above.

[i]Armored Garb:[/i] Consists of an array of metal segments, cloth, and some leather. Her shoes appear less functional than they truly are, being waterproof and lightly enchanted to resist being pierced or melted too easily. The metal portions of her armor primarily protect her shoulders, knees, shins, back, and chest with most of it being hidden beneath layers of more comfortable baggy cloth. The metal portions of her armor are interwoven with chain-mail links, which are lightly enchanted so as not to fall apart, thus allowing her garb to hold itself together remarkably well. With the use of a small amount of soul (-5) the armor can activate secondary protection that protects the rest of her abdomen with a solid forcefield. This field is about as durable as steel, but will not defend her from magical threats any more than the rest of her armor might.

[i]Hunting Gear:[/i] An assortment of miscellaneous supplies that she packs when going out on any kind of expedition, includes rations, a tent, sleeping roll, and other mundane essentials.[/indent][/indent][/hider]