[hider=Witch of the Deep Forest] [list][*][u][b]Name[/b][/u]: Alodia Farohildis [*][u][b]Age[/b][/u]: 50, which comes as a surprise to most due to her magically slowed aging and her general demeanour. [*][u][b]Gender[/b][/u]: Female [*][u][b]Race[/b][/u]: Human [*][u][b]Appearance[/b][/u]: [url=https://imgur.com/a/aWemtJC]Stands at about 146cm/4'9"[/url] [*][u][b]Personality[/b][/u]: A good natured witch who tries her best to help others. Alodia is generally cheerful, although she finds it difficult to talk with others due to the vast majority of the social activity in her life being with a single old lady in the middle of the forest. Not to say that's she particularly shy, she just has trouble filtering her thoughts whenever she talks and often says more than she really should or something she really shouldn't have. There's rarely any actual malice behind what she says, it's just she doesn't really think properly before she says it. Despite witches still being the subject of taboos and prejudice, Alodia is proud to declare herself one and is quick to try and share Granny's words of wisdom... Even if she sometimes mangles what Granny [i]actually[/i] said. Even though she's generally a good person, Alodia has a tendency to get a little overenthusiastic when it comes to destructive spells, and may need to be lectured on the concept of "collateral damage" at some point in the future. [*][u][b]Brief Backstory[/b][/u]: Alodia was an unwanted child. The full identities of her parents have been lost to time, but what is known about them is that they were minor nobles from the north of Thaln. The birth of a child should have been a time for celebration, but any joy to be had in her birth was immediately deflated as soon as her parents looked at their baby girl. Even a brief glance was enough for anyone to realize that she did not look at all like her father; those who had been serving her family for the past year would instead notice that her appearance was far more like that of a foreign diplomat who had been staying with them, one whose departure for his homeland was soon followed by her mother discovering she was pregnant. In order to prevent a scandal from breaking out, everyone present at the birth was ordered on pain of death to claim that she had been a stillbirth and that she would instead be raised in secrecy, never to leave the mansion's walls until [i]something[/i] to do with her was figured out. For eight years, this state of affairs was kept in place, until the day of her eighth birthday arrived; her father, who had been incredibly distant from her since the moment of her birth, came to her chambers and asked her if she'd like to see the outside world. For a sheltered girl who had been denied her parents' affections, this was all she had ever dreamed of and without even thinking about it answered in the affirmative. Her father had decided that the best way to deal with her was to simply dispose of her, leaving her lost in the middle of a forest full of wolves and worse so he could at least claim that [i]he[/i] wasn't the one that killed a child. Once he had led her there, he asked her to wait for him like a good daughter, before proceeding to head home with no intention of ever returning to her. It didn't take long for her to realize what was going on, but by that point she was still hopelessly lost and unable to find her father, and the only thing she could do was just sit and wait for the beasts of the forest to devour her. At least, that's what both she and her father had assumed would happen. Whilst he had heard rumours of a witch living in the forest in addition to the ravenous beasts, like everyone who knew of her he had heard she was a horribly grotesque and wickedly evil hag who loved nothing better than eating the flesh of children. Thankfully for the young girl, such tales were little more than the results of superstition and prejudice, for the woman who approached her was a kindly, grandmotherly woman who was [i]disgusted[/i] to learn that someone had left a child in her forest to die. Without even a second thought, the witch took the young girl back to her home, and although it took a while for her to realize that the old woman [i]wasn't[/i] going to eat her she eventually came to see her as her [i]true[/i] family. "Granny", as she came to call her, renamed the girl "Alodia", for she felt her birthname had been tainted by the actions of her father, and due to the young girl's curiosity she soon began teaching her the secrets of witchcraft. Time passed and Alodia grew into a young woman, whilst Granny's age began to catch up to her. Whilst she could have used her magic to extend her already considerable lifespan even more, she had started to regret living so long, wishing to peacefully return to the earth rather than be corrupted by agelessness like some of her fellow witches had become. Despite her initial reluctance, Alodia eventually realized that it was Granny's right to choose her own fate, and that whilst her physical body would be gone her spirit would always be with her. It still took her a while to get over it, though. With Granny having left the mortal coil, Alodia decided that she wanted to at least make sure her name was remembered for the good witch she actually was, and thus began visiting the villages and towns around the forest. From this, she found out that her former family had long since fallen into ruin and obscurity... Not that she really cared what had happened to them, mind you. Soon she became known as the Witch of the Deep Forest, growing in popularity amongst the commoners for providing cheap medicines and taking on various oddjobs and monster slaying requests. However, many years living alone with Granny had led her to not realize when to stop talking about something. One thing Granny had passed down to her in addition to the teachings of witchcraft was her religious beliefs, an animistic system that claimed that the world was governed by elementals and spirits, and that even the so-called "gods" were nothing more than simply exceptionally powerful spirits; that mighty though they may be, they were no more divine than any other being in the world. What got her into trouble was that [i]this included the goddesses Reon and Mayon,[/i] and her talking too much about this ended with her being arrested for [i]heresy.[/i] Thankfully, the judge was somewhat lenient, and knew about Alodia's acts of charity amongst the community. However, this did not change the fact that she was not only a witch but her words (however [i]clearly[/i] misguided they may have been) were still heresy. After much contemplation, it was decided that she would atone for her sin by providing magical aid to the Iron Rose Knights, since not only would it allow her to continue positively contributing to society but would also help teach her the [i]truth[/i] about the goddesses. Thus, she is currently attached to the knights for the time being, even if some of the more religiously devout or superstitious knights aren't too keen on having a heretical witch hanging around the order. [*][u][b]Equipment[/b][/u]: Alodia possesses two magical artifacts inherited from Granny. The first of these, the [i]Staff of Sureban,[/i] is a staff of blessed wood topped by the skull of a powerful demon; not only does Alodia use this as a catalyst for casting spells but it also amplifies her magical power. The second is an ancient tome of magic, [i]The Malveillant Grimoire,[/i] which contains many powerful spells within its pages. However, not only are many of these spells too powerful for Alodia to properly control, but some of them are of the darkest magicks and cause horrifying and unspeakable things to happen to not only the target but also the caster themselves if they are not properly prepared. Due to Alodia's nature, she is very reluctant to even [i]look[/i] at the pages detailing these spells. [*][u][b]Skills[/b][/u]: Alodia has studied witchcraft for several decades now, and whilst there's always something new to learn she's rather adept at it by this point. She is extremely skilled in the arts of medicine and potion making, and is able to easily identify plants and fungi that can be used in making various different concoctions. As for combat skills, Alodia shows great skill at magic utilizing the four elements of earth, fire, wind and water, and is able to weave any of them into powerful spells. However, she shows a notable (and somewhat alarming) preference for fire magic, or more specifically [i]explosion[/i] magic; the way she sees it, if she [i]has[/i] to use offensive magic, she'd rather make sure the target isn't getting back up again than hold back and risk letting them get away.[/list] [/hider]