[ NAME ]
Torbjørn (Tor) Varg

[ AGE ]
24

[ GENDER ]
Male

[ COMMUNICATOR OF ]
Baldur

[ MYTHOLOGY OF BALDR (BALDUR) ]
Baldur is the son of Odin and Frigg. One night he had a nightmare in which he foresaw his own death. When his mother, Frigg, dreamt the same dream, the gods decided to act. Determined to forestall her son’s death, Frigg approached all things living and inert within creation, making them promise never to harm her son. Loki, the trickster god, heard of Baldur’s immunity to harm and found it displeasing. Taking the form of a woman, Loki managed to get Frigg to concede that she had not demanded the oath from a humble sprig of mistletoe. Loki then fashioned a spear made of mistletoe. Knowing that the other gods were hurling spears at Baldur to test his immunity, Loki handed Hodr, Baldur’s blind brother, the spear made of mistletoe. Hodr then hurled the spear and mortally wounded Baldur.

Mythopedia


[ PHYSIQUE ]
Tor is gifted athletically. His shoulders are broad and his limbs are slightly longer than average for his height. Outside of a strong physical appearance, he has two other remarkable features: a jagged scar on his right forearm (a lasting reminder of an attack by a large canine) and a tattoo of Ægishjálmr, or the Helm of Awe, centered on his back between the shoulder blades and approximately 8” in diameter. He has icy blue eyes, dirty blonde hair, and a gravelly voice.

[ HEIGHT / WEIGHT ]
5’8” // ~150lbs


[ PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION ]
Tor is a man of few words. He mainly keeps to himself and can be rather brooding at times. In a nutshell, his personality is that of someone who is an ISTJ:



That being said, if approached with a problem Tor will analyze it objectively and carry out the solution in a steadfast manner. He is able to approach most situations with a level head. Throw someone inexperienced, or, well, just plain stupid into the mix and Tor won’t be afraid to go his own way.

Being a man of few words, he cannot stand loquacious company. Idle chatter is something that has always irritated him. Unless you have something meaningful to say, it’s best to keep it to yourself. But, this can be said about him… just when you think you know how he will react, he will surprise you. You think he might not care when in reality he cares deeply.

[ LIKES / DISLIKES ]
Likes:

• Travel
• Protecting anyone in need (Not always necessarily helping anyone in need, if that makes sense.)

Dislikes:

• Feeling out of control
• Manipulation

[ PLACE OF ORIGIN ]
Bergen, Norway

[ BIO ]
Tor is no exception when it comes to the tragic background story… so, let’s begin. Tor’s mother and father were happily married the first few years of his life. Something changed in his mother, however, and so ended his happy childhood. His mother decided that she did not want to be tied down to a family, unable to do what she wanted at any given moment. Without so much as a hug or a kiss goodbye, mother packed one small suitcase and walked out of their lives forever.

Many years went by and being motherless was just part of life. At about the age of sixteen was when Tor and his father immigrated to America. For the next four years Tor’s father would sporadically open up and date women, however, none of them worked out. Eventually his father’s health began to deteriorate, which Tor would learn was the result of how much his father’s heart ached all these years.

Upon graduating from high school, Tor immediately entered the workforce to help support his father who could not work anymore and is now mute. A few years passed while he attempted to help his father obtain disability and during this time, he had a strange dream. A man who looked a lot like himself appeared and informed Tor that he was chosen to be his ‘communicator.’ It all seemed bizarre. In fact, when he awoke he had shaken the feeling and forgotten most of it. Later that day, while at work he was in an accident… an accident that should have killed him. Other than being knocked unconscious for a period, he was unscathed and returned home that night.

As soon as Tor entered the front door he wanted to tell his father what happened. As he was removing his jacket, his father, whom was sitting in his usual spot in the living room, spoke. He spoke. The voice was foreign. Tor hadn’t heard that voice in years. Suddenly his story about what happened at work wasn’t important at all. His father told Tor about his mother that abandoned them, eyes unfocused and with a voice that was faraway. The news was shocking to say the least. What he learned was that his mother was a very well-known socialite. His father followed her life through the newspapers and now through social media. All these years he was always hopeful that she would return to them. He didn’t care if she apologized or not. He just wanted her to come back home. Then, he fell silent once again.

Twenty some years had gone by without an ounce of hate or resentment toward his mother. As soon as silence filled the room, Tor’s heart filled with rage and bitterness. For all the hate and resentment that wasn’t there, it was revealed that it had been there all along. He knew this woman… he had seen her face in magazines and television. She was always smiling and throwing herself over men from all over the world. An image of this famous woman burned itself into Tor’s mind—an image of her smiling and carefree, nonetheless. He and his father struggled to pay rent from month to month, eating spam and other canned food while she adorned her neck with priceless jewelry. He truly hated this woman with every ounce of his body.

[ REASON FOR CHOICE ]
Baldur saw himself in Torbjørn, not only because of their similar appearance, but because of their equal hatred for their mothers… which Baldur foresaw in a dream of his own. His serious reasons for choice are nothing more than those factors. On the other hand, the not so serious reasons are because Baldur finds humor in Tor's surname and the fact that Torbjørn goes by Tor (Thor).

• Invulnerability, except mistletoe. This power can be called upon for a very short amount of time (maybe 10-15 minutes) and about once every couple of days. Perhaps with time it could be used once a day but still for a short amount of time.
• Unable to feel pain… or much of anything else, including pleasure. This too can only be called upon for short lengths of time; however, because it does not include invulnerability, it can be used once a day.
• Enhanced strength—This enhanced strength is nothing Herculean. Large amounts of adrenaline triggers this power. Right now it grants him the strength of two adult men.
• Light manipulation (Perhaps something that can be learned in the future.)

[ RELICS / FAMILIARS ]
Updated after Tor's first IC post: Smooth stone with the Sol rune chiseled into it. Its powers are unknown at this time.

[ INVOCATION ]
Tor is unable to invoke Baldur on command. Baldur instead chooses when to materialize through Tor. Because of their uncanny resemblance to each other, the only way to know when Baldur is acting through Tor is by the appearance of his numerous runic tattoos. Invocation will leave Tor without any strength for a long period.


[ OTHER INTERESTS / SKILLS ]
** wip **


[ BIRTHDAY / SIGN ]
October 22^nd // Libra

[ FAVORITES / LEAST FAVORITES ]
A bit fearful of canines (Only close confidants or keen observers know this.)

[ SEXUAL PREFERENCE ]
Het // Not seeking at this time

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[ NAME ]
Akeno Kudo

[ AGE ]
21

[ GENDER ]
Female

[ COMMUNICATOR OF ]
Takemikazuchi, God of Swords

[ MYTHOLOGY OF TAKEMIKAZUCHI ]
Takemikazuchi is a deity in Japanese mythology, considered a god of thunder and a sword god. When the god of creation Izanagi severs the head of the fire deity Kagu-tsuchi, the blood from his sword splattered the rocks and gave birth to several deities. The blood from the sword-tip engendered one triad of deities, and the blood from near the base of the blade produced another triad that included Takemikazuchi.

When the gods of the heavenly plains contemplated how to execute the conquest of the terrestrial world known as Middle Country, Takemikazuchi was one of the chief delegates sent down to subjugate the terrestrial deities. Setting out with a boat, he reached the shores of Izumo and stuck a sword ten hand spans long upside-down on the crest of the wave, and sat atop it, while demanding the local god Ōkuninushi to relinquish the Izumo province over to them. Ōkuninushi replied he would defer the decision to his child deities, and would follow suit in their counsel. One of these children was easily persuaded, while the other challenges Takemikazuchi to a contest of strength and lost. The hand-to-hand bout between the two deities is considered the mythical origin of sumo wrestling.

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[ PHYSIQUE ]
Akeno is quite tall for a woman at 5’ 11” while also being quite thin, only weighing 138lbs. She has a slender, athletic build which is emphasised by her height as well as her long arms and legs, with toned muscles that are easily noticeable. Her skin is somewhat pale naturally, which contrasts with her dark hair and eyes, but she has a tan on her arms and legs from the type of clothing she wears such as tank tops and shorts, and has facial features that make her Japanese heritage obvious.

Her medium length hair is black in colour and naturally straight; Akeno usually keeps it tied up in a high ponytail at the top of the back of her head, but if she were to leave it loose it would fall to around armpit level. She had a fringe that covers her forehead down to about a half-inch above her dark brown eyes, which she keeps cut to be perfectly straight. Her facial features are generally sharp, with a narrow face, thin nose and high cheekbones, with a mouth held in a thin line that altogether give her a somewhat intimidating appearance. Her eyes are similarly sharp and her eyebrows are thin.

Akeno doesn’t generally dress in a very girly manner, but still pays attention to her appearance. She aims to be neat and well put together rather than fashionable and because of how active she is, is more inclined to wear sportswear or athletic gear than casual clothing like jeans or t-shirts. Shorts, tank tops, tracksuits or running shoes are more her kind of thing. She does have some nicer clothing, including some skirts and blouses, for formal occasions or if she needs to dress up, but these are rarely used. She is also not one for make-up or jewellery.

[ HEIGHT / WEIGHT ]
5’ 11”, 138lbs

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[ PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION ]
- Self-assured – Akeno possesses a confidence in herself and her own abilities that allows her to remain calm in most situations. There is a reassurance to be found in believing that you are capable of dealing with whatever is at hand.
- Laidback – Although she loves to remain active, Akeno is also someone who prefers not to worry about things too much. She will take things at her own pace and tries not to let anything ruffle her feathers.
- Amiable – She is the type of person who tries to get along with everyone, or at least to keep the peace with everyone. Unnecessary conflict is just a waste of everyone’s time and energy.
- Stubborn – However, this does not mean she is a pushover; if there is something she wants then she will go for it. People have tried to stand in the way of that in the past and she fought them over it; there are times when it is worth spending that energy.

[ LIKES / DISLIKES ]
Likes
- Karate
- Martial Arts
- Action Movies
- Video Games
- Learning about other cultures
Dislikes
- Having her life dictated to her
- Uncertainty about others feelings or motivations
- Being belittled
- Those who dismiss the hard work of others
- Being inactive

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[ Place of Origin ]
Miami, Florida

[ BIO ]
The daughter of Japanese immigrants, Akeno is her parents’ second child and is the first person in her family to be born on American soil. Her father, Taisei, works at a publishing house as a translator while her mother, Himiko, is a housewife; the pair met while at university and the two were married less than a year after graduating. They were both born and raised in Japan and her older brother, Daisuke, was also born there. Taisei originally worked at a publisher’s in Japan translating books and other texts from English into Japanese, having studied the language at university, but in his mid-twenties he was offered the chance to transfer to one of the company’s branches in America doing the reverse, translating from Japanese into English. He accepted the position and moved with his wife and young, two year old son to Miami in order to take the job. Akeno was born a year and a half later.

Upon moving to America Akeno’s parents tried to bring and hold on to as much of their Japanese culture as they could, intending to pass of much of it as they could on to their children as they raised them. Both Taisei and Himiko were fairly traditional and old fashioned in terms of their beliefs and values and this coloured the upbringing that Akeno was given to the point that, in a lot of ways, she could be said to have been given a Japanese upbringing in America because of this. She and her brother were both taught to speak Japanese as well as English, they both ate primarily Japanese food at home and Akeno became able to handle a pair of chopsticks as easily as a knife and fork. At home Japanese is the only language that Akeno is allowed to speak, with any usage of English being quickly followed by a scolding; her mother is quicker to scold her than her father in this regard, as the latter will simply remind her to correct her language unless she persistently uses English while her mother will always bring out the same, familiar lines about the importance of remembering where they came from and of holding on to their culture. Furthermore, her parents still follow a number of Shinto traditions, though they have had to let several traditions slip away due to the fact that following them is harder in America than back in Japan; Akeno does not consider herself to be religious, mostly because Shinto isn’t a ‘religion’ in that sense, but still follows some of the Shinto traditions alongside her family.

Being both the only son and the first child it was inevitable that Daisuke would receive different treatment than Akeno, her parents displaying a clear favouritism towards him that she became increasingly aware of as she grew older. It didn’t help that the young Daisuke was well behaved, polite and performed well in school, to her parents’ joy, meaning she had a lot to live up to before she was even born; it was always going to be the case that she would fall short in comparison. Even so there was often a marked difference in the way the two were treated that went beyond this simple explanation. On the rare occasions Daisuke misbehaved or performed poorly in school he was usually quickly forgiven or had excuses made on his behalf, while if the same happened to her then she wouldn’t receive nearly the same kind of mercy. If they were both involved in said misbehaviour then more often than not she would receive an undue portion of the blame and punishment while her brother’s involvement flew under the radar. This behaviour was more obvious with her mother, who was always the more expressive and doting of the two, but her father’s stern disapproval still shone through his taciturn demeanour.

Nonetheless, despite the obvious favouritism and the age difference between then, Akeno and her brother somehow managed to maintain a close relationship when they were children. Akeno looked up to and admired her brother, adoring him in the way that little sisters are prone to, while he was more than happy to play with her or teach her things, even helping her with her homework more often than their parents did; though the latter might have been due to the fact that she was more likely to ask him than either of her parents. Together they would play children’s games like hide and seek, board games or video games. However, their play was almost always cut short by one of their parents; this would usually come in the form of either her mother telling her to stop bothering her brother, or her father more subtly pointing out that there were more important things they could be doing than playing. Over time the disparity in how their parents would treat them began to put a strain on the relationship, especially as Akeno grew older and would try to protest against how unfair it was. It was during these moments that Akeno would find that Daisuke was never there to support her, instead immediately bending to their parents’ requests and leaving her to take the fall for defying them; this lack of solidarity lead to a growing sense of resentment on her part and over time her relationship with her brother soured to the point that they no longer spent any time together.

Growing up, Akeno never found anything weird about the way she was raised until she first started attending school. It wasn’t until she started interacting with other girls her age that she began to realise the cultural difference between them; things as simple as never having eaten certain foods, never having heard of certain media, never heard of certain celebrities made it difficult for her to relate to her classmates and her peers. Whenever she spoke to them it just further highlighted how her home life was drastically different to theirs in a way that made her feel isolated; even something as simple as the fact that the lunches she brought to school were different to everyone else’s served to make her stand out. She found it difficult to make friends at first, having little in common with anyone and finding it hard to fit in anywhere, but after sharing classes with everyone for a few months she was at least able to talk to her peers about school and their shared experiences, which gave her a way in towards getting along better with her classmates and even making a small circle of friends for herself.

This led to a phase in which Akeno wanted to be or tried to be more like her friends from school, attempting to become more Americanised in a way in order to fit in. She developed a dislike of anything Japanese, seeing her heritage and the way her parents raised her as the reason she couldn’t fit in and rebelling against it. Among other things she would try to speak English more at home, or ask her mother to make her lunches like her classmates had instead of bentos, or ask why they didn’t go to church on Sundays like other families did, often being yelled out or punished in response. This behaviour was especially problematic for Himiko, who could neither speak English nor make the American food her daughter was asking for even if she wanted to, but Taisei was also not entirely happy with his daughter trying to reject their culture or rebel against them in this way.

However, the two disagreed about how best to deal with this phase, with Himiko wanted to squash it before it took root and Taisei believing that would only force Akeno to dig in her heels; he instead wanted to let things run their course in the belief that Akeno would soon grow out of it if they left her to it. Taisei won the argument and they let Akeno have her way with some stipulations; they would no longer punish her for speaking English at home but she would still need to use Japanese to speak to her mother, she would be allowed to buy lunches at school but would still eat Japanese food at home.

This ended up being the right answer, as eventually Akeno grew bored of needing to say everything in both English and Japanese and reverted back to speaking in just Japanese and while she still occasionally bought lunch from school and ate more American food in general as she managed to grow closer to the other children in her class she stopped worrying as much about the cultural differences between them. These days Akeno thinks of herself as the most ‘American’ member of her family, which at times puts her at odds with her more traditionally Japanese parents, but at the same time she also enjoys and appreciates certain aspects of her upbringing and heritage.

Academically Akeno was an average to above average student, always managing to pass her classes even if she didn’t excel at anything in particular. While most parents would be content with this, her brother had consistently managed to score near the top of his class at her age and had been allowed to skip a grade; as such she was held to a higher standard that she wasn’t able to meet. At this point in time Akeno was still under the impression that her parents’ favouritism could be overcome if she just matched her brother so when her parents, particularly her mother, pressured her to try and do better, Akeno worked herself as hard as she could in order to push her grades higher. Through this effort, which at times involved studying late into the night, she was able to also place near the top of the class in most subjects and at times even achieved straight A’s. However, even this wasn’t enough to appease her parents who instead simply changed to criticising her studying habits and late nights instead, leaving Akeno despondent.

By the time Akeno was finishing elementary school and starting middle school she was burned out from trying to maintain an impossible standard and had given up trying to please her parents academically or trying to compete with a brother who she had long since stopped adoring. She let her grades drop to their original level, putting in just enough effort to achieve passing grades in her classes and accepted the inevitable condemnation that came as a result. By changing her mind-set in this way and worrying less about pleasing other people she found that she was significantly happier and that her parents’ recriminations no longer held the same sway they used to. With her additional free time she was even able to spend more time socialising and was able to make new friends that made her time at school a more enjoyable experience.

In her final year of elementary school her parents tried to push her towards taking up an extracurricular activity, stating that it would help her later in life for college applications which was something that she would need if her grades continued to be as lacklustre as they were. Her brother had been playing on their schools’ soccer team for year at this stage and had proven to be as talented at sports as he was academically, often competing in and winning tournaments against local schools; her parents likely wanted her to take up a sport of some kind as well, or at least join a club that would look good on applications.

Akeno had attempted to take up a few sports in the past but had failed to display the natural ability that she’d hoped to have and had given up fairly quickly and was reluctant to try again now, nor were there any clubs or teams at school that she wanted to join. Her parents were insistent however and Akeno decided to choose something that they would never approve of in an attempt to get them to drop the issue. She knew that her mother hated the idea of Daisuke doing anything dangerous, even to the point of initially feeling uneasy with him playing a sport that allowed even minimal contact to be made with full contact sports being absolutely forbidden; as such when asked to pick an extracurricular activity Akeno stated her desire to take up a martial art of some kind thinking that the same would apply to her.

Truthfully Akeno came up with the idea because she was a little bit interested in learning a martial art, being a big fan of action movies and specifically old martial arts movies like Legend of the Drunken Master or Once Upon a Time in China that she had seen on TV, but mostly she said it because she expected her parents to refuse. Initially things went as expected with her parents telling her to pick something else, suggesting a variety of safer and less violent sports as alternative, but Akeno was adamant in saying that it was either martial arts or nothing. But to her surprise her father ended up changing his mind and agreeing to her taking up a martial art, with her mother reluctantly agreeing to it as well with the caveat that she wouldn’t actually be fighting anyone.

In was in this manner that Akeno found herself enrolled at a Gōjū-ryū karate dojo that taught traditional full-contact karate as well as a sports karate variant, the latter being what she was to learn. She had only been half serious when suggesting it, but Akeno was forced to take the lessons seriously; otherwise she would have to admit to her parents that she didn’t actually want to learn karate in the first place, which would be a humiliating thing to admit after putting her foot down on the matter. She threw herself into her lessons at the dojo with vigour, if not quite enthusiasm, but had a bit of a rocky start due to her low level of fitness. Keeping up with some of the lessons was difficult and while with other sports she had tried this would be the point at which she quit, here she stuck with it and over time her fitness and her skills began to improve. At a certain point things just seemed to click for her and she found learning new techniques easier now that she had a foundation to build on. Once she had her first growth spurt upon reaching puberty, shooting up in height from someone who was roughly the same size as her female classmates to someone who was taller than her older male friends, things became even easier.

Akeno moved up through the belt grades gradually, gaining her first and second belts within her first year and progressing at a similar pace from there. Despite her usual reasons for joining Akeno was growing to enjoy karate immensely; the lessons were fun and she liked the feeling of improving both physically and in terms of skill even if it was hard work. She had more friends at the dojo than she had at school, even some that were older than her, friends that she had things in common with and who introduced her to new things.

Learning karate also had the side effect of fostering a greater interest in martial arts in general in Akeno. While she had previously found them cool, her lessons had given her a better appreciation of the work that went into mastering them and also for the philosophy and theory behind them. Alongside learning how to fight her sensei at the dojo would also sometimes tell her about the history and teachings of the Gōjū-ryū style of karate and it was interesting enough that she then decided to do her own research on the origins of karate as a whole, which then led her to learning more about Chinese martial arts like the ones she had seen in movies, which in turn led her to other martial arts from other countries. Doing this changed the way she viewed martial arts in movies and media in general from that point on and she actively began to seek out more movies that featured martial arts of any kind, as she enjoyed being able to recognise which style the actors were using and seeing different fighting styles in action.

The only thing that soured the experience was the way her parents acted whenever her new hobby came up in conversation. Despite being the ones who insisted she take up an extracurricular in the first place, her parents proved less than supportive when Akeno needed something; aside from the monthly subscription to the dojo there was also the fees that needed to be paid whenever she reached a new belt grade and the rides to and from the dojo on the weekends or during the week. Requests for any of these were always met with comments from her mother about how her father always needed to take time out of his day to drive her somewhere or how it would have been easier or cheaper if she had picked a club or team at school like her brother. Her father never complained about either the time or cost involved, but he also never said anything to contradict his wife either. Akeno stayed quiet whenever those comments were made, even though she wanted to point out that such comments were never made when her brother needed driving somewhere.

After a year of training Akeno decided that she wanted to take part in the tournaments that some of the other students at the dojo entered; these were sports karate style competitions where participants sought to score points against their opponent by making contact, rather than trying to knock each other out. While accidents did sometimes happen, there were enough precautions and safety measures that Akeno was confident she might be able to convince her parents to agree to it. Both her mother and father initially objected to the idea as it ran completely counter to the caveat her mother had set at the start where she wouldn’t fight anyone, however her father was surprisingly quick to change his mind once she set out to convince them. Once she told them it was to be point-based, not full-contact and that everyone would be wearing padding he immediately agreed to both drive her to the tournament site and pay the entry fee. Her mother was much harder to sell on the idea, but with her father already on board she had no choice but to agree as well.

In her first tournament Akeno performed poorly, as expected, only managing to finish twentieth out of around thirty competitors in a tournament featuring people from multiple dojos and styles of karate. Despite this she had a lot of fun competing and wanted to continue to do so whenever the opportunity arose. This wasn’t as often as she would have liked, taking part in maybe one tournament every two or three months, but she gradually managed to improve the more fighting experience she gained and began to place higher and higher. After another year and a half after she started competing she was able to consistently reach the top eight or top four of every tournament she entered, yet first place was elusive no matter how hard she tried.

The only issue was the fact that her family seemed almost entirely indifferent to her efforts or her success. Her father, despite supporting her and being the reason she was even able to compete at all, never said anything to her on the drive home from a tournament no matter how well she did in his usual apathetic way. Her mother, who refused to even attend a tournament due to her aversion to fighting or violence of any kind, was still upset that she was even competing in the first place and didn’t even want to hear about them. Finally her brother, who at this point barely spoke to her and vice versa, offered her only polite congratulation when she came home holding her latest ribbon or small trophy. She didn’t compete to please any of them, but it would have been nice if any of them were as pleased when she got second place in a tournament as they were when her brother did well in any soccer game he played.

Akeno kept all of her awards on a bookshelf in her room at first, the closest thing to a trophy case she had, but after a while she put most of them away in her closet when seeing them brought up more bad feelings than good. She still proudly displayed her belt grade certificates however, hanging them on the walls of her bedroom.

When Akeno was fifteen and in her final her final year of middle school, it came time to decide what high school to attend. However, there was really no other choice but for her to go to the same private school that her brother was about to graduate from. The school could be attended either by passing an entrance exam and being granted a scholarship or by paying the high tuition costs; her brother had entered the school with a scholarship but Akeno did not manage to pass the same exams, though after years of middling at best performance academically no one really expected her to including herself. Even so her parents were set on the idea of her learning at the same school and paid the tuition fees for her attendance.

Though she saw it as a waste of money to send her to a private school she didn’t particularly want to attend, at the end of the day it didn’t matter much to Akeno which school she entered and if her parents wanted to send her to a fancy school then she wouldn’t argue. She continued to do what she had done since she was ten, which was to put in exactly as much effort as was needed to pass and nothing more; this was harder to achieve at a school like the one she was at now than it was in elementary and middle schools but she still managed to maintain a C average across the board, drowning somewhere in the bottom third of the schools rankings.

Around the same time that Akeno was entering high school, she had managed to reach third kyu in her school of karate and had competed in a number of tournaments. This meant she was now wearing a brown belt to her lessons and if she continued for another couple of years she could easily manage to get her black belt before she finished high school. However by this point she had started to become disenfranchised with the point-based nature of sports karate. There was just something unsatisfying about the low level of contact involved; the light touches, the focus on landing a hit of any kind over anything substantial, the way she would lose sometimes because the other person looked more convincing to the judges even if they weren’t as skilled as her, or even people faking injuries to earn their opponent a penalty. It was still fun, but also frustrating at times and it was beginning to feel more like a game than a fight.

In other words she wanted to change from the sports karate she was currently learning to the more traditional, full-contact karate that the dojo she was attending also offered. Doing so had the benefit of allowing her to train in order to enter full-contact tournaments as well as the fact that she would then start learning a more complete version of Gōjū-ryū, which included grapples and joint-locks that were not allowed in most forms of karate tournament. If she wanted to she could easily move from the classes she was currently taking to the traditional karate classes, the only obstacle being the fact that she would once again need to convince her parents to let her do so. This time however she was less than hopeful of being able to do so as there was no getting away from the fact that she was going to be fighting people under a set of rules that allowed hits to almost any part of the body using almost any part of the body. She spent most of her summer holiday after graduating middle school working up the courage to approach her parents to ask for permission, expecting to be completely forbidden from even trying full-contact karate and willing to fight her case in response.

What followed was the longest and loudest fight she had ever had in her life, as she and her mother argued back and forth with no end in sight, neither one of them willing to budge on the matter. The entire time her father stayed silent, sitting quietly in the midst of the storm unmoved, until he silenced them both before siding with Akeno over her mother; he surprised them both by saying that he would support her desire to take part in full-contact tournaments so long as she was sure it was what she wanted. At her next lesson her father made the necessary arrangements for her to transfer to the traditional karate classes.

Her transition to the other class was not as smooth as she expected it to be however. The traditional karate classes placed much more emphasis on her physical condition than her previous classes, her form and technique being less important than being able to make those techniques work and be effective. This was a big departure from just needing to perform the techniques in a clean and snappy manner and she even had to drop a belt grade down from brown belt because her strength and conditioning just wasn’t at the level expected of her. At first she wasn’t able to keep up with the workouts or the intensity of the training, much like when she first started at the dojo, and sparring under full-contact rules was exactly as painful and bruising as she expected, but also much scarier than she had anticipated. She went home from the dojo after each training session aching and battered but also feeling more satisfied than she had been for a while.

Akeno began entering full-contact tournaments as soon as she could, her first being about a week before she had her first day at high school, but initially found the transition from sports karate to be difficult both mentally and physical; it was hard to get used to the idea of punching someone with the intent of knocking them down and even harder to get punched with that same intent, especially since her tall and lean frame was better suited to sports karate. She has since found a balance between the two styles and now entered both sports and full-contact karate tournaments, often taking long breaks when it comes to the latter due to the strain it puts on her body.

Post-high school, Akeno ran into the issue of not having any strong idea of what she wanted to do with her life. She had applied to colleges and was accepted into the University of Miami and was planning on moving into the dorms and away from her parent’s house, but aside from this she didn’t know what her plans for the future were or what kind of career she was striving for; attending college was just a way to appease her parents while she thinks about what she wants to do. For the time being she settled on studying English and Cultural Anthropology, but those were chosen more because of her interest and aptitude for them than anything else. One thing she was certain about was that she wanted to continue to training in karate, having reached her black belt in Gōjū-ryū near the beginning of final year of high school; she wanted to continue training for her second dan, but that’s likely to only ever be a hobby rather than a career path. She could potentially become an instructor and already had some experience teaching as a requirement for her black belt, but it wasn’t something she had given thought to doing long term. It’s was a passion but not something to make a career out of.

One night, during her second year of college, Akeno had a dream. In it she was visited by a man she didn’t recognise, wearing traditional Japanese clothing, who spoke to her of duties and responsibilities that she did not understand, of pacifying the land of evil. He spoke to her of swords and strength, of how he does not grant either lightly, how it has been nearly five hundred years since he has chosen a Communicator because of this. He said he did not consider her worthy, but that he saw the spark of worthiness within her and that he could no longer wait to see if the spark grew on its own.

When she awoke there was a sword sitting at the foot of her bed and despite never holding such a weapon before in her life, she knew how to wield it.

[ REASON FOR CHOICE ]
Though it is latent, Akeno has the spirit of a warrior within her; she is someone who is willing to fight for what they want, to fight for what they believe and to not let others sway them. She is someone who does not shy away from a challenge, but rather relishes them and seeks greater challenge. Yet she also does not use her strength lightly and is aware of the harm recklessness can cause, someone that can be trusted not to abuse power.

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[ RELICS / FAMILIARS ]
Futsunomitama – An ancient Japanese sword, ten hand spans in length, with a straight blade rather than the curved blade that is more commonly associated with Japanese swords. This sword is similar to the one Takemikazuchi granted to Emperor Jimmu to aid in his subjugation of the east, but is not the same sword as that is still enshrined at Isonokami Shrine in Japan. The properties of the two swords are the same however, just as Emperor Jimmu used the sword to save him army from the curse of evil spirits, Akeno can use it to dispel curses and other malignant effects. It also grants the wielder additional strength and vitality, allowing them to fight longer and harder than they would be able to without it.

[ POWERS ]
Kashima Shintō-ryū – There was once a Samurai by the name of Tsukahara Bokuden, a famous swordsman of the Sengoku period and one who was described as a sword saint. After completing his first pilgrimage of Japan he retreated to the shrine at Kashima and isolated himself for one thousand days, during which he practised the sword and prayed to the shrine. At the end of the thousandth day he received a dream and was visited by Takemikazuchi and was taught the swords techniques that would later be called Kashima Shintō-ryū as well as being made his Communicator. These techniques made Tsukahara nearly unbeatable with a sword, but could only be passed along to one person at a time and when war claimed the lives of everyone Tsukahara had taught them to and Tsukahara himself died to old age they disappeared from the world.

These techniques have been reborn in Akeno; not just being taught to her, but being engraved within her body. Despite never holding a sword in her life she is now a master swordswoman, on par with the sword saints of old.

Embodiment of Swords – Even without a weapon in hand, ever since she dreamed of meeting a god Akeno has found herself sharpened in a way that she can’t explain. She is stronger than she used to be, faster and more resistant to pain. Her reflexes are more acute and she finds herself noticing small details that she could never have seen before. But even beyond this, there are times when Akeno feels like she would be able to cut things even without a sword or knife in her hand if she could just sharpen her focus enough; she hasn’t been able to do this yet, but she thinks that if she keeps at it they’ll be a day when she doesn’t need a weapon at all.

[ INVOCATION ]


The god of swords looks human, albeit with an anachronistic sense of fashion, yet has a presence that is anything but. Though wielding a blade almost as tall as he is, he hardly needs to draw it to cut someone to pieces and even his gaze resting upon you feels like the edge of a thousand blades pressing against your skin.

[ OTHER INTERESTS/SKILLS ]
- Karate – even before becoming a Communicator Akeno was an adept martial artist, one who has competed against others dozens of times and tested herself against them. She is no stranger to fighting, even if the stakes were never this high before.
- Cooking – despite her best efforts to avoid it, her mother was able to force her to learn some cooking skills before she left home. Most of what she knows how to cook is Japanese food, which she doesn’t make often, but if she needs to she can prepare a decent meal.

[ NAME ]

Fianna Knyght

Nickname: Fia

[ AGE ]
25

[ GENDER ]
Female

[ COMMUNICATOR OF ]
Abnoba, the Celtic goddess of the forest and rivers

[ MYTHOLOGY OF Abnoba ]
Her main symbol is the Black Forest, which is a large mountain range located in Baden-Würtemberg, in Germany. However, her symbols also include all forests and rivers. She was worshipped in the Black Forest area, beside river banks, in the shrines devoted to her, and atop the mountains within the Black Forest. She has been revered as the goddess of the Black Forest itself, the goddess of Abnoba Mountain located within the Black Forest, and the goddess of childbirth. She is the protector of woods, springs, rivers, and wild animals.

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[ PHYSIQUE ]
Fianna is petite and curvy but in a muscular way with a little bit to squish. Her love of nature fuels her need for hikes in the wilderness, thus answering why her cheekbones are frequently, pink and warm from the sun. She has long delicate fingers, soft feminine hands that can also pack quite a punch. True Celtic fashion, she is a redhead and freckles littering her body. Normally, is wearing some form of jeans, upcycled T-shirt, and a jacket with a hiking backpack filled with essentials. Her hair is usually in a braid or ponytail.

[ HEIGHT / WEIGHT ]
5'3", 160 lbs.

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[ PERSONALITY DESCRIPTION ]
Fianna has an overall sweet disposition that fools many to believe that she is younger than she truly is. Sometimes, the young woman will space off into her own little world especially if she's basking in nature. Occasionally, the comments that come out of her mouth are rather silly, almost in a mad-hatter sort of manner. She normally wouldn't hurt a fly but sometimes her redheaded temper gets in the way, most don't expect a shy, but bubbly girl to spew curses at them after they have angered her.

Fia is a very bright girl that loves nature and, in fact, will wander forests for hours on end with a journal and a charcoal pencil to sketch plants, scenes, and creatures that she comes across. She also likes to be barefoot and feel the earth between her toes, and also enjoys foraging and gardening for food.

Fianna firmly believes in treating others how you want to be treated. She will try her hardest to help those that are in need and is loyal to the ones she deems as family.

[ LIKES / DISLIKES ]
Likes:
-Drawing
-Reading
-Camping
-The smells of cinnamon, peppermint, and evergreens
-Gardening/foraging

Dislikes:
-senseless hunting (like trophy hunting)
-people thinking rather highly of themselves
-littering

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[ Place of Origin ]
Monhegan, Maine

[ BIO ]
Fianna was born in the home of a Games and Parks Officer and a former flower child. Her parents were caring and attentive, giving Fianna as much as they could with the money that they had, which wasn't much. They lived outside of Monhegan on a little homestead with chickens, goats, and a milk cow with a huge garden that Fia spent hours in as a child. Sometimes her father would bring in orphaned wildlife for Fianna to help raise and release back into nature. Her mother believed that nature provided all that one could need to survive and taught Fianna everything she knew.

Fia was homeschooled up until junior high and had a hard time fitting in. She was often bullied at school, being labeled weird for overly enjoying plants and animals. She did have a few friends but even they were hesitant when she would get over-excited in public about her nature drawings or scientists discovering a new plant or animal.

Fianna was taught by her parents to be peaceful and kind, but after so long, she snapped. It was her junior year of high school and Fia had caught a group of boys torturing a stray cat outside the school. Fianna told them to stop bothering the poor thing and one of the boys turned and began to pick on her. Telling her that hand-me-down clothes were like rags and she always smelled of outside.

Fianna just looked at him and said, "I may smell like that but at least I don't have a face like an ass and no amount of Axe Body Spray can help you with that."

That boy kicked her legs out from underneath her, but she was going to take him down with her and grabbed him by the shirt before they fell down some cement stairs. Fia ended up with scrapes covering her knees, fractured forearms, and a black eye. After she was healed, the same boy tried to bother her again and she ended up punching him square in the nose, breaking it clean. She ended up getting suspended.

After high school, Fianna decided to follow in her parents' footsteps (somewhat) and wanted to become a wildlife biologist with a minor in botany.

[ REASON FOR CHOICE ]
One summer Fianna had landed a job working as an intern for a national park. She loved the job, she got to work with injured animals and help rehabilitate them to survive as well as study various natural ways to help keep invasive plants from overtaking the park. Sometimes she had to help with the Game Officers when they were short-staffed.

This park had a hard time keeping poachers out during the non-hunting seasons. One night, Fianna was covering for a coworker and had to respond to a report of shooting down by an off-stream area that many of the deer bedded in during the fawning season. Now, Fianna didn't have the training to actually arrest anyone, so she always had to wait for backup.

When she went to check things out, Fianna caught a local politician and his friends poaching many of the deer in a clearing, leaving the does dead and sawing the antler racks off of bucks. While Fianna tried to wait for backup, her temper got the best of her and she told the men to freeze, game officers were on their way to arrest them.

The politician chuckled at the feisty redhead and said, "No one is coming out here, little lady."
Then he decided to play 'The Most Dangerous Game' with Fia. The politician and his buddies ganged up on Fianna and ripped her clothes until all she had on was her underclothes. They had chased her told her that she had a five-minute headstart before they would hunt her down and make a real woman out of her before taking her life. Fianna's bare feet ran as fast as she could go. She stepped on sticks and sharp rocks that cut at her feet, tripped over tree roots, and split open her shins when she tried to climb a small rock wall.

The men chased her for miles, taunting her, as they hooped and hollered at what a great trophy she would be. Fianna couldn't stop, she wouldn't let them have the satisfaction of catching her so easily but they did. They caught her and proceed to do the most unsavory things to her before they threw her off a nearby cliff.

While she laid bloodied and broken on the forest floor, a woman in a white aura came to her aid. The woman was kind and warm, she laid a gentle hand on Fia's cheek and gave the girl a gentle smile. She offered Fianna the chance to live and take revenge on those who have wronged her in exchange for being her vessel. Fia filled with anger, accepted and became Abnoda, the goddess of the forests, rivers, and streams, servant and protector of all that the goddess holds dear.

And as for that politician and his buddies, they never returned back to camp that night. Only Fianna knows what happened and she isn't going to tell.

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[ RELICS / FAMILIARS ]
Fèidhgeal

A giant, young, white, ghost-like doe, with a few light tan spots on its back, like it was taken before its time.

[ POWERS ]
-Perfect aim with a bow and arrow: Fianna prefers not to use violence if she doesn't have to or until she hits a breaking point.
The goddess Abnoda gave her a special bow and quiver. Any arrows that are let loose of the bow end where ever Fianna targets them.
-Sleath: She is able to walk in the forest without a sound.
After all, how can she hunt those that have done crimes against nature loudly? The downfall is that she must be barefoot in order to use her stealth accordingly.
-Can control/communicate some aspects of nature.
Fianna has the ability to bend plants and animals to her will and make them do her bidding. She is limited to how much control can be bestowed upon a creature. For example, she can control mice with a snap of her finger because of their tendencies to be conditioned easily but she has convince an ancient willow tree that she will be respectful and kind to them in order to use their branches for aid. Another instance is that she can cause a flower to bloom in winter but needs to earn the respect of a bear to be able to control them.

[ INVOCATION ]

Abnoda, goddess of the forest, rivers, streams, and the hunt
[ OTHER INTERESTS/SKILLS ]
-Can grow just about anything in the soil aided with some water
-Has primitive survival skills; meaning that she can create shelter and a somewhat comfortable life with what nature gives her
-Has knowledge of medicinal plants that grow in the wild
-Has a wonderful singing voice

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[ BIRTHDAY / SIGN ]
November 25th, Sagittarius

[ FAVORITES / LEAST FAVORITES ]
Favorite food: She likes pretty much all food but wild strawberry jam with fresh, homemade bread tops everything
Favorite music: folktale music like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXu1U-sTQ_w&list=RDMMsXu1U-sTQ_w&start_radio=1
Favorite book: her mother's nature journal that describes medicinal properties of wild plants.

[ SEXUAL PREFERENCE ]
Heterosexual

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