[hider=Linah]
[center][h2][u][color=875f9a] L[/color]inah [color=875f9a]A[/color]randa [/u][/h2]
[url=https://kaylascribbles.tumblr.com/]Link to the Artist[/url]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/P6yFUvt.png[/img][/center]
[b][center] [color=875f9a]“Whenever you’re down, life likes to kick you, just in case you didn’t get the message. So just keep that in mind, that it can always get worse – somehow. Whenever it gets better or whoever is offering to pick you up? Won’t be for free.”[/color] [/center][/b]

[center][h3][b] 16 | Female | Torragonese | Commoner | 6.8 [/b] [/h3][/center]

[h3][u][color=875f9a]P[/color] E R S O N A L I T Y            [/u][/h3]
[indent]❖ [Driven]
❖ [Observant]
❖ [Crafty]
❖ [Pragmatic]
❖ [Hardened][/indent]
Linah burns with the desire to prove herself as capable, important, and worthy of respect. She’s always believed in herself, regardless of criticisms and secret doubts. Though experience has confirmed her belief, she yet yearns for recognition – not empty praise, but something more tangible. She is both realistic and sensible enough to realize that she will likely never be free of making uneasy quid-pro-quo alliances; no one ever is. She does however wish to stand on equal ground to others, at the very least. For that, she will do what she can, even if it is via exploitation and manipulation. From what she’s seen so far, it’s not as if there’s a way to advance without opportunistic cooperation with those beneficial to her goals or ruthless preying upon those who cannot cover for their weaknesses.

[h3][u][color=875f9a]C[/color] H A R A C T E R    [color=875f9a]A[/color] P P E A R A N C E            [/u][/h3]
Linah stands at 5’4, and is lithe and wiry, if still somewhat thin and gangly due to a recent growth spurt. She has a warm, light brown complexion that gets darker during the summer. Her eyes are hazel, and her hair a deep walnut. She used to wear it short, but had to grow it out as that is supposedly more befitting of a ‘lady’. After years of taking proper care of it, it is thick, lush, and wavy, not at all resembling the mess it’d been in her youth. She has been told that it is deeply unfortunate that a scar mars her face, but she truly does not care. Lin has learned a variety of gaits; confident ‘I belong here’, shuffling ‘Don’t pay me any mind’, slow ‘I’ve no care in the world’ among them. She is not naturally expressive, and does well at regulating her emotions, but enjoys putting on expressions that fit the current situation. As far as clothing is concerned, she now tends toward the kind of attire that a lower or middling merchant could afford. Though, she will sometimes adopt what others may term ‘rags’ if it suits her purposes. As long as it’s practical and not too showy, she doesn’t care much for the style, colour, or cut of her clothing.

[h3][u][color=875f9a]L [/color]A N G U A G E S            [/u][/h3]
Torragonese – mother tongue.
Avincian – upper intermediate, though with a noticeable accent.
Revidian – elementary, learning.

[h3][u][color=875f9a]T[/color] H E    [color=875f9a]G[/color] I F T            [/u][/h3]
Linah has a natural knack for (primarily) the Arcane and (secondarily) the Kinetic schools of magic; she discovered and nurtured the talent herself, if to a limited extent. Because she initially learned on her own, she is an adept Freecaster, and generally forgoes instruments or focus points. Even now, after having studied under another mage, she prefers subtle spells that aid her or disrupt the enemy. In the Arcane school, she is most practiced at blinding an opponent, precisely regulating heat or light to get exactly the intended effect, casting invisibility, and using illusions. As for Kinetic magic, she prioritizes self-empowerment and manipulating sounds so as to confuse opponents. She employs telekinesis when necessary, but isn’t particularly creative with it. While familiar with the very basics of other schools, she has so far taken to certain spells within the Chemical school (Gazes of: Sloth, Terror, Agony, and Deception, Blessings of: Joy, Vigor, and Expulsion), and not much besides.

[h3][u][color=875f9a]B[/color] A C K G R O U N D            [/u][/h3]
Born to commoners down on their luck, Lin was one of the many inhabitants of the slums on the border of a large city. Her parents were both manual laborers hired for cheap, and hadn’t quite planned for a child either. Still, they took care of her as best they could. However, Lin’s mother died while she was young, and Linah has precious few memories of her. Her father grew despondent, but persisted for her sake. Still, he did dip into alcohol more than he’d before, and the older Linah grew, the more she had to fend both for herself and her father. She did what she could and what she had to; begging, stealing, working a ‘job’ as a courier for some seedy folk who were just fine hiring a slum kid, and the like. It was after a failed risky robbery that she spontaneously manifested magic out of a desperation to escape. After that, she dedicated whatever free time she had, even sacrificing some sleep for it, to practice. She discovered she could take heat from another to use it herself, and often did. Whenever she needed a boost to her running speed, or needed to reach just a bit farther to jump onto the roof, she could do that too.

She isn’t sure when, how, or due to whom, but her magic capabilities were discovered. Of course, she had no idea that was the case until she was snatched. After an uncomfortable journey, she was brought before a certain person by the name of Na’ir Yazath. He offered her great things in exchange for her loyalty. Reluctantly, she agreed – on the condition that her father be brought to the estate as well. A few days later, while still settling in, she was informed her father had been found dead. Disbelieving, she ran off to confirm the truth for herself. Her former home (a dilapidated shack shared by several people) had no trace of her father left. Asking around, she was told that after she disappeared, her father had committed suicide. Whether that was true, or whether Yazath’s men had done the deed themselves, it was clear where the blame lay. However, she returned to Na’ir regardless, and accepted his offer. The following several years, she was taught, tutored, and trained in many subjects, magical and mundane. Her patron even attempted to apprentice her to a well-paid Black Rezaindian, though that soon proved to be futile, as Linah resisted being made into a tool for murder, of all things. In the end, it was decided she’d attend Ersand’Enise. Lin doesn’t mind, but is wary as to whatever may come after she finishes schooling.

[h3][u][color=875f9a]M[/color] O T I V A T I O N            [/u][/h3]
As someone who started near the bottom of the social ladder, Linah’s always had to struggle simply to survive. Rather than become satisfied with merely getting by, however, she has become covetous of power – precisely because she herself has so often lacked it. While it is true that she has gained many comforts that she’d only been able to dream about in her childhood, they’ve all come with a price attached; the kind of price that may very well take her years and decades to repay. Yet, Lin doesn’t want to spend her whole life beholden to someone else. She strives to be free; free of those who would use her without (equivalent) recompense, free of unwelcome obligations, and free of being hobbled by desperation.

[h3][u][color=875f9a]I[/color] N V E N T O R Y            [/u][/h3][list]
[*]A short sword, sheathed at her left hip.
[*]A knife, sheathed at her back.
[*]A shiv hidden within a boot.
[*]A pouch with a small sum of coins, resting in an inner shirt pocket.
[*]A [i]decoy[/i] pouch with a [i]smaller[/i] sum of coins (plus a few stray bits and bobs that make a similar jingle, to make it seem a tad more substantial), tied to her belt.
[*]A fine leather travelling satchel, which she usually stores under lock and key (or otherwise hides) whenever she is staying somewhere.
[*] A few sets of clothing, some finer and intended for ‘better’ company, some worn and second-handed for when she’d rather pass as a commoner.
[*]A piece of flint tied to a gray string around her neck (weak enough to tear if someone attempts to strangle her).
[*]An assortment of hair ties; those not used for her hair are often wrapped around her wrists or ankles.
[*]A hooded travelling cloak which can double as bedding and/or a blanket.
[*]A seal of the Yazath family engraved with her name, which she has been granted by her patron, and which she is most paranoid about losing.[/list]

[h3][u][color=875f9a]S[/color] T R E N G T H S  &  [color=875f9a]S[/color] K I L L S           [/u][/h3]
[indent]❖ [i][b]Slum Kid.[/b][/i] A life in poverty meant doing whatever one could to live to the next day. As many children did, Lin turned to thieving. She isn’t one to grow rusty in what is useful, so her aptitude remains. She can walk quietly, blend into the crowds, act unassumingly, choose appropriate locations and targets for her crimes, snatch purses with no one the wiser, and most importantly, run and hide quickly when necessary.
❖ [i][b]Code of Honour.[/b][/i] She will keep to her agreements, and won’t break her promises. She knows fully well what awaits traitors after all. Those who deal with her do have to be aware of what she is promising, however, so as not to get swindled due to ambiguous wording.
❖ [i][b]Light-footed.[/b][/i] She is agile, flexible, and quick to react, her natural athleticism shaped by need during her childhood and diligently honed during her adolescence. Her past on the streets has made her frightfully skilled at navigating urban terrain.
❖ [i][b]Dirty fighting.[/b][/i] A remnant from the occasional physical quarrel between fellow slum-dwellers. Though she’d been tutored later on in the art of sword fighting, her style of dueling (if it could be called that) is considered uncouth, and she prefers knives and short swords besides.
❖ [i][b]Merchant’s Patronage.[/b][/i] Though Lin isn’t exactly fond of her patron, and certainly not obsequious toward him, she appreciates the doors his influence opened. Any and all knowledge that those born into this life take for granted, she is pleased and proud to have acquired. [/indent]

[h3][u][color=875f9a]W[/color] E A K N E S S E S  &  [color=875f9a]F[/color] L A W S            [/u][/h3]
[indent]❖ [i][b]Mistrustful.[/b][/i] She is always questioning the motives of others, especially as to how they might pertain to her. Her heart is closed to others; this makes it difficult to form genuine friendships.
❖ [i][b]Underhanded.[/b][/i] Though she does have a particular (mainly self-serving) manner of fairness, it is a very finicky one. She is willing to trick, steal, lie, cheat, and more if it gets her what she wants – and while she’s now more subtle about it, that kind of thing (if discovered!) may quickly tarnish one’s reputation.
❖ [i][b]Underdog.[/b][/i] Used to getting used, she is very susceptible to being taken advantage of by those with more power than her, even if she detests it. Those unscrupulous enough to wield their influence while disregarding their principles can cow her into submission easily enough – as long as they convince her that she has no viable avenues of opposition, that is.
❖ [i][b]Self-destructive.[/b][/i] Linah truly does value her own life and safety; however, she is willing to gamble with both if she judges the benefits worthwhile enough to take the risks. She is also highly suspicious of kindness, and doesn’t believe there is such a thing as ‘no strings attached’. She is perfectly willing to be as unpleasant as necessary to deter people she views as soft-hearted fools.
❖ [i][b]Class Conscious.[/b][/i] While she has learned how to conduct herself in polite society, she doesn’t feel as if she belongs there. Oh, it is a much more comfortable position compared to her humble beginnings, but she can’t help those pesky twinges of dissonance whenever her memory lingers on the past to compare it with the present. Though she presents a confident façade, the societal hierarchy makes her deeply uncomfortable – she is so much half-this, half-that, it’s almost as if she is in some separate category of her own.[/indent]

[h3][u][color=875f9a]M[/color] I S C E L L A N E O U S            [/u][/h3]
Color code: [color=875f9a]#875f9a[/color][/hider]