[h2][u]New NPCs[/u]__________ ____ ___ __ _[/h2] [hider=Rikard Ambrus][center][h2][color=a187be][u] R I K A R D A M B R U S [/u][/color][/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/8hwA1UY.png[/img][/center] [b][center][color=a187be] A mystery is just a question that doesn't have an answer... [i]yet[/i]. [/color][/center][/b][center][h3][b] 14 | Male | Budesrnish | Noble | 7.74 [/b] [/h3][/center] [h3][u][color=a187be]P[/color] E R S O N A L I T Y [/u][/h3] [color=a187be][indent]❖ [Relentless / Stubborn] ❖ [Inquisitive / Nosy] ❖ [Impish / Pesky] ❖ [Overwhelmed / Fearful] ❖ [Gutsy / Reckless][/indent][/color] Rikard is a paradox in many ways: young and very much wet-behind-the-ears, he often comes across as overwhelmed and a bit fearful, but there are moments when he is possessed of an almost reckless determination. When fixated on something, he is a relentless pursuer of it, and a fiendishly eager student. Not quite so naive as he looks (though not quite as worldly as he wishes), the boy is very much fond of the snappy rejoinder and of experimentation for its own sake. Magic is [i]fun[/i] for Rikard, when he's given some free reign to learn it as he desires. Beyond that, he's... well... [i]young[/i]. His nervousness at being the most junior of students makes war with his impulse to get up to all sorts of mischief, and he can be a pretty slippery character (though not quite as slippery as he likes to think) at times. [h3][u][color=a187be]C[/color] H A R A C T E R [color=a187be]A[/color] P P E A R A N C E [/u][/h3] A barely fourteen-year-old boy on the cusp of puberty, Rikard sports a mop of thick black hair that is consistently just unruly enough to resist attempts at cohesion unless attacked with a comb. His eyes are grey brown and he tops out at about five feet on the nose. He's a fairly handsome kid, but still very much a kid. He is also very much a fan of dressing like a 'real thaumaturge' and goes to some pains on account of it, often throwing in random fashion choices on the rule of 'they look cool'. [h3][u][color=a187be]L[/color] A N G U A G E S [/u][/h3] Rikard is flawlessly fluent in his mother tongue of Budesrnish, as well as Avincian. As a result of learning the second tongue, he is passable in both Revidian and Torragonese as well. His Perrench is strong, though accented, and he knows a few simple phrases and can read Enthish and Belzaggic to some extent. [h3][u][color=a187be]T[/color] H E [color=a187be]G[/color] I F T [/u][/h3] There is little doubt, or so Rikard has been told, that he will pass that magical number of 8.00 in RAS Capacity once he hits his big growth spurt. In truth, he isn't all too worried about that. All that the boy can really concern himself with is the study of magic. He has been a relentless pupil of Magnetic and Kinetic magic and particularly of the synergies between them. He is considered [i]somewhat[/i] (and only [i]somewhat[/i]) of a prodigy in that regard and has also dabbled in the Arcane school. As a distant relative of the legendary Hugo Hunghorasz, there are, of course, other magics potentially at his disposal. He has been seen to be wary of those, however. [color=a187be][indent]❖ Magnetic: Journeyman ❖ Arcane: Apprentice ❖ Binding: Neophyte ❖ Chemical: Neophyte ❖ Kinetic: Journeyman ❖ Atomic: Neophyte ❖ Blood: Neophyte ❖ Temporal: ??? ❖ Dark: ??? ❖ Command: Neophyte ❖ Primordial: lol[/indent][/color] [h3][u][color=a187be]B[/color] A C K G R O U N D [/u][/h3] If Rikard has to hear, one more time, how greatly he reminds people of his famous ancestor, Hugo Hunghorasz, he will kinetically slap whoever says it across the face or pull down their breeches in public. He [i]swears[/i] it. He swears it every time! Sometimes, he actually does it, later on, if the consequences aren't too great. The truth is that, while he's flattered by the comparisons, they just feel weird. For starters, Hugo isn't even his ancestor. He's distantly descended from the recently-deceased paradigm's younger brother, Sandor. Then there's the matter of Hugo's legacy being more or less impossible to live up to. Finally, there are all these people talking as if they really know both him and this great-great-great-uncle of his. It's just... awkward. Mostly, Rikard's lived an unremarkable life. There's no tragedy here. He's the son of a minor baron, scarcely above landed gentry, but his ancestry earns him respect, and his family's always been pretty good with the Gift. He's a regular sight around town and trains with the sons of knights, merchants, and artisans. He's a proper noble, but doesn't really see the point of looking down on people unless their behaviour warrants it. His family's funds were enough for a practical education and even some of the more airy stuff, and he took to it eagerly. In general, the boy just likes learning... a lot, and by any means necessary. He's known to bite off more than he can chew, and his bold inquisitiveness can flip into equally brazen cowardice on a dime. He tends to be equal parts curious towards and terrified of the more forbidden magics, spending long hours imbibing their theory but precious little on actual practice. Someday, he swears he will just get over the hump and try them in earnest: [i]someday[/i]. [h3][u][color=a187be]M[/color] O T I V A T I O N [/u][/h3] It's a chance to go to Ersand'Enise! Who would ever be dumb enough to say [i]no[/i] to that!? Even if he has to play up his very distant relation to some famous recently dead guy that he met like... twice, it's worth it. There's just so much awesome stuff that happens there, so many secret ancient mysteries and hidden bits of magic, and he doesn't have to wait five more years! Basically, Rikard just wants to milk the school for all it's worth and learn. He wants to go on adventures, discover new magics and magical applications, and blaze a trail that he'll be remembered for. Just... don't expect him to stand front and centre when things get hairy. He's... still working on courage. Also, boobs. Boobs are a motivation. There are girls there he can actually maybe even date. Maybe, if he grows already. Who's he kidding? He still looks like a kid! Why won't he just [i]grow[/i]!? [h3][u][color=a187be]I[/color] N V E N T O R Y [/u][/h3] Rikard believes in dressing like a mage: dress the part, get in the mindset, and be the thing! He's collected plenty of cool 'magical' bits and bobs, supposedly enchanted, of dubious pedigree. He's careful not to slip over into outright garish or tacky and generally has a good sense of it. He's also in the habit of always carrying some coin on his person, but never too much, as well as a pocketknife and some lockpicks, though he never actually uses them. His most prized possession, however, is the wand that his grandfather gave him. It belonged to Hugo himself, and then Rikard's great-great-grandfather, Sandor Hunghorasz. A genuine Hegelan imbued and enchanted item, it boosts his capacity, looks cool, and has some as-yet-unknown enchantments that he's still trying to unlock. [i]Someday[/i], he hopes: someday [i]soon[/i]. [h3][u][color=a187be]S[/color] T R E N G T H S & [color=a187be]S[/color] K I L L S [/u][/h3] [color=a187be][indent]❖ Determined ❖ Resourceful ❖ Clever ❖ Friendly ❖ Learned [/indent][/color] Rikard is an eager student, first and foremost: clever, witty, and often willing to push the envelope, so long as he feels as if he's in control or can assure himself that his attempts to do so won't blow up in his face. He's a decent kid, as well, on top of it, and smart. He doesn't go out of his way to act like a know-it-all unless condescended to or challenged. Don't do it, please. [h3][u][color=a187be]W[/color] E A K N E S S E S & [color=a187be]F[/color] L A W S [/u][/h3] [color=a187be][indent]❖ Young ❖ Cowardly ❖ Immature ❖ Obsessive ❖ Provincial[/indent][/color] What do you expect of a very provincial fourteen-year-old? Honestly, Rikard's the youngest student in the school and he acts it. He gets tongue-tied around pretty girls, overwhelmed by genuine danger or threat, and can be rather socially graceless at times, revealing an immature streak a mile wide. He's often insecure about his age and size and just being talked down to as if he's a child. [h3][u][color=a187be]M[/color] I S C E L L A N E O U S [/u][/h3] This space is reserved for something of import later on. For now, have a... HEX codes: [color=a187be]a187be[/color] & [color=0072bc]0072bc[/color][/hider] [hider=Neki Kaureerah Wenhan][center][h2][color=DEB887][u] Neki Kaureerah Wenhan [/u][/color][/h2] [img]https://i.imgur.com/ZTCHqAC.png[/img][/center] [b][center][color=DEB887] You can sing the songs they write for you, or you can sing your own. [/color][/center][/b] [center][h3][b] 18 | Female | Akrihan | Outcast | 7.01 [/b] [/h3][/center] [h3][u][color=DEB887]P[/color] E R S O N A L I T Y [/u][/h3] [indent][color=DEB887]❖ Creative ❖ Captivating ❖ Social ❖ Bitter ❖ Bold[/color][/indent] Former songstress of the Vermilion Swirl, Moli's Emporium, and a small, remote village in the Eeaiko nation of Akrihan, Neki Kaureerah Wenhan is something of an enigma and would very much like to remain so in the eyes of the land-dwellers who she now finds herself living among. A bold, impulsive, inconsistent young woman, she often finds that it is music, conversation, and creative pursuits that most bring her serenity and joy, and so she throws herself into these. She is also an oddball. On a given day, she may just decide to wear her clothing inside out and see if anyone comments. She might speak in rhymes or with an incongruous foreign accent, and will stick with it for surprisingly long periods, enjoying the challenge. She is one to both give and take dares and to exchange secrets (the more dangerous, the better). Despite her former line of work, she has a stubborn sort of pride and self-respect and, now that she's been freed from the rigid strictures of her society, a... [i]healthy[/i] sexual appetite. Kaureerah is an experience addict, in truth - almost a hedonist. She's not brazen. She understands how to be proper and respectful, but she'll make no apologies either. [h3][u][color=DEB887]C[/color] H A R A C T E R [color=DEB887]A[/color] P P E A R A N C E [/u][/h3] Like most eeaiko, Kaureerah's skin is a pale greyish-blue, smooth and hairless but for the top of her head. Now living on land, though by the seaside, she dyes her naturally black hair a deep, vivid indigo. Her skin, as well, is noticeably darker in tone than it was when she was younger. Large grey eyes - normal for her species but almost cartoonish by human standards - and the soft, blunted nose characteristic of eeaiko complete her face. Tall and slim, she is rather pretty by the reckoning of her people. That nuance is lost upon humans and she is merely seen as exotic: valued for her uniqueness. When entertaining, Kaureerah will play up her foreignness, often twining seaweeed, seashells, feathers, and driftwood beads through her hair. Otherwise, she simply wears it long, though the plants are a common motif. Her clothing goes from sparse when swimming or performing to bohemian, all of the way to rather sharp and classy. While she has considered getting a tattoo, eeaiko skin tends not to take these very well and the act of getting one, like piercings, is considered deeply sacrilegious in her culture. [h3][u][color=DEB887]L[/color] A N G U A G E S [/u][/h3] Fluent in both the Akrihan water and surface languages, she had little knowledge of anything else before leaving her homeland, though she lived along a reef near shipping lanes and picked up a few common phrases, words, and the general sound of major human languages such as Revidian, Perrench, Belzaggic, and Virangish. Since joining the surface world, she has dedicated sometimes hours each day to studying the Avincian tongue, becoming startlingly fluent during that time. Always eager to launch into conversations, accent, grammar, and vocabulary be damned, it is this fearlessness that has allowed her to learn so much in such a short time. [h3][u][color=DEB887]T[/color] H E [color=DEB887]G[/color] I F T [/u][/h3] Kaureerah's RAS Capacity of 7.01 is unusually high by eeaiko standards, and growing up as part of an outcast family taught her to be independent in her magic use to a far greater degree than most of her people. Since finding her way into terrestrial society during her mid-teens, her magical aptitudes have been shaped strongly to serve her interests in performance, art, and illusion. Relying primarily on Chemical to enhance suggestibility and energy sense, she bends, muffles, and redirects sound using the sonic specialties found within the Kinetic school. She is currently working on Arcane magic to further enhance her visual capabilities and for some utility and outright offensive use as well. Kinetic has also proved effective in these pursuits, particularly in boosting her energy levels (in conjunction with Chemical) and mobility on land. [indent][color=DEB887]❖ Magnetic: Neophyte ❖ Arcane: Apprentice ❖ Binding: Neophyte ❖ Chemical: Journeyman ❖ Kinetic: Journeyman ❖ Atomic: Neophyte ❖ Blood: Neophyte ❖ Temporal: Neophyte ❖ Dark: Neophyte ❖ Command: Neophyte ❖ Primordial: Novice[/color][/indent] [h3][u][color=DEB887]B[/color] A C K G R O U N D [/u][/h3] Second daughter and fourth child overall in an outcast family, Kaureerah was raised in the small outlying settlement of Tikarmoorah. Having been declared 'Hemvoorik' (unnamed) for idea theft, her grandfather was expelled from society to live on the distant fringes, and his descendants cursed, for the next three generations, to maintain this ritually unclean status. He always maintained his innocence. As the kingdom of Akrihar expanded, however, the family found themselves in a prime position. Well-established as settlement reached them substantially, they became essential to the survival of the new colonists. Kamvik and Helaurrah's second daughter was raised within the exciting environs of a rapidly expanding frontier settlement, full of new faces, bustling activity, and burgeoning opportunity. Yet, while people came to her prosperous family for help and offered them payment and - sometimes - quiet thanks, they assiduously avoided open association with the unclean 'Hemvoorik' and refused to speak their names in public. She would often play outdoors with her friends, swimming through the kelp forests, racing along the scaffolds and boardwalks, and frolicking in the pounding surf and on island shores. She would make up songs and sing and dance with them. However, when the others were called home or to some special event it was always an understood thing that she could not come. As she entered her teen years and a certain set of biological impulses came to the fore, Kaureerah found that she was forbidden to see the first boy that she liked, and then the next one as well. They were promised to others. She was not to sully their family names with her Hemvoorik. As other members of the community grew to surpass the prosperity of her family, things only worsened. Older men came to the door asking if she might be theirs for a night or perhaps a month - secretly, of course, and for remuneration - for she was clever and beautiful, they said, and they wanted to give her children the chance, at least, to make something of themselves, even if she would never enjoy it. If this period in life is a time of often difficult adjustments for many, it was one of realization for the young Kaureerah. Her talents did not matter. The gifts that the gods had bestowed upon her were all to be wasted. Her parents' hard work was for naught. For the supposed sins of her innocent grandfather, they were all to suffer for the remainder of their lives. Bitterness is a poison pill, but it can be oddly comforting, too. She withdrew into her own world of sad songs and long absences, deeply wounded and nursing a righteous rage against society. Then, shortly after her fifteenth birthday, Makaurroh Wenhan passed away. On his deathbed, he admitted his guilt. All of his granddaughter's burning, justified fury fell flat. The rebuke didn't hold her for particularly long, however. She realized that she was still innocent of any wrongdoing as were her parents, her siblings, and her newly-born nephew. She urged them to challenge the unjust laws of their community, but they would not have it. They would suffer in silence. So, one day, when they woke up, she was no longer there. That fool girl had run off and cursed them to even further ignominy. She had run to the world of the humans, hegelans, and yasoi. The past three years have seen her bounce from one job to the next as performer, artist, and courtesan: an exotic representative of the elusive people from beneath the sea. Kaureerah has made seemingly endless compromises along the way, and sometimes feels as if she has sold her self-respect in selling her body, but she has learned and experienced infinitely more than she ever thought she'd be able to back home, picking up skills, pastimes, languages, and a heightened sense of magic. If she isn't one of these people - even if she will always be foreign - she is at least not an outcast. She no longer feels the sting of rejection every day upon her cheeks. That, in itself, is a species of happiness. [h3][u][color=DEB887]M[/color] O T I V A T I O N [/u][/h3] What motivates anyone? Kaureerah wants what we all want: to flourish. Her version of this most stridently involves finding a sense of belonging and kinship: something that she has always been lacking in one sense or another. She is not a fundamentally good or bad person, though she has enough empathy to skew, most often, in the direction of the former. Beyond this, she is an experience collector, eager to make the most of this terrestrial world that so few of her people really get to see. She will try just about anything once, so long as it's not very obviously cruel or dangerous, and she will try to do so with style. She's a performer and an artist, who searches the world around her for inspiration and looks to contribute to the experiences of others. She wants to bring some beauty to her surroundings, some life, colour, and verve! This is a side of herself that she has fostered more than any other over the past three years, and that she looks to foster further. Ersand'Enise brings all of these motivations together. It's an opportunity to better herself and her craft, a place where exciting and evocative things happen, and a chance to meet interesting new people and become part of a community. How can she [i]not[/i] be here? [h3][u][color=DEB887]I[/color] N V E N T O R Y [/u][/h3] Kaureerah is almost never without her lute: a human instrument that she has spent the past three years mastering. She will usually have water plates as well - an eeaiko instrument that she sometimes makes by hand. Beyond that, she collects beads, coins, and swatches of paint from her travels and visitors. She likes to keep them, but will trade some of the more interesting ones to passing yasoi for a good deal or to gullible humans who believe that they are rare eeaiko cultural artifacts. She feels a bit bad for that. [h3][u][color=DEB887]S[/color] T R E N G T H S & [color=DEB887]S[/color] K I L L S [/u][/h3] [indent][color=DEB887]❖ Musically Gifted ❖ Well-Spoken ❖ Empathetic ❖ Brave ❖ Excellent Swimmer [/color][/indent] At the end of the day, Kaureerah is a talented and charming creative type with a flair for showmanship and wordplay, as well as being an eeaiko made for life in the water. These grace her with the strengths that one would expect in those areas. She's possessed of many of the qualities that people often admire in their heroic figures, but she's just a bit too deferential to [i]truly[/i] want to rock the boat. She would rather stoically take a loss so as not to inconvenience or hurt those she cares about than take a stand if it risks too much damage. She's usually good at gauging situations and moods, and will usually attempt to apply the proper salve if she can. [h3][u][color=DEB887]W[/color] E A K N E S S E S & [color=DEB887]F[/color] L A W S [/u][/h3] [indent][color=DEB887]❖ Dishonest ❖ Thick Accent ❖ Closed off ❖ Slow on land ❖ Impulsive [/color][/indent] Ultimately, a lot of Kaureerah's charm - at least with those whom she doesn't know personally or care about - is shallow and artificial. A born performer, she can be deceptive and exploitative and, though she feels the sting of her conscience for these acts, she's gotten quite good at the mental gymnastics needed to absolve herself of guilt. The world is wild and rough and crazy. She's always landed on her feet. Why can't others? She knows it isn't like that. She knows it's selfish. She [i]knows[/i] and tries not to forget. Then there are the moments when she's reminded that she doesn't belong here. Eeaiko legs just aren't built for the same kind of running that human or yasoi legs are. Her mouth struggles to form the words of their languages, no matter how well she knows them. It can be... frustrating, but it's worth it. [h3][u][color=DEB887]M[/color] I S C E L L A N E O U S [/u][/h3] She had a shrimp dog named Puck as a child. She still carries one of his teeth with her on a bracelet. Aside from this, enjoy a... HEX Code: [color=DEB887]DEB887[/color][/hider] [hider=Edyta Łaska][center][h2][color=f26522][u] E D Y T A [/u][/color][color=6ecff6][u] Ł A S K A [/u][/color][/h2] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/564x/c7/47/39/c74739d3be5ce798151e3c7dfc30de8b.jpg[/img][/center] [b][center] [color=f26522]I am but an[/color] [color=6ecff6]instrument of a[/color] [color=f26522]greater will.[/color] [/center][/b] [center][h3][b] 16 | FEMALE | WARLISH | CLERGY | 7.25 [/b] [/h3][/center] [h3][u][color=f26522]P[/color] E R S O N A L I T Y [/u][/h3] [indent] [color=6ecff6]❖ Devout ❖ Polite ❖ Forgiving ❖ Optimistic ❖ Patient[/color][/indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][color=f26522] Superficial ❖ Seething ❖ Rigid ❖ Sadistic ❖ Relentless ❖[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent] Edyta Łaska is a woman of extremes, as her station and duties demand. Dogmatic, ruthless, and relentless in her pursuit of threats identified by the Red Rezaindian order, she is, conversely, generous, kind, and eager to help those in need. This is, perhaps, what one would expect of someone of her background. However, it is not the entire story. Somewhere, on a level that perhaps not even she is aware of, there is fear: a fear that the church is certain it burned out of a little girl named Edyta in turning her into a holy weapon. She dreams, she hopes, and she lusts. The forty-odd years that she is expected to live is all too short a time for her. The joy and laughter that she sees in others is something that she craves for herself. Below all of the layers that she has saddled herself with, she misses her family. She wants to be loved. Yet, she is certain that, for love to flourish, evil must be destroyed. [h3][u][color=6ecff6]C[/color] H A R A C T E R [color=6ecff6]A[/color] P P E A R A N C E [/u][/h3] [hider=Battle Visual][img]https://i.imgur.com/OPAnOZN.png[/img][/hider] Young, fair, and beautiful, with grey-blue eyes and sandy brown hair, Sister Łaska dresses like a nun of her order: conservatively and chastely. Her hair and neck are often covered, as is the rest of her bar her hands and - sometimes - feet. When in battle, she often (though not always) dons the red robes of her order and wields twin scythes of Ahn-Eshiran, representing [color=f26522]fire[/color] and [color=6ecff6]ice[/color]. It is rare to find her wearing anything but her clerical robes. If compelled to dress informally, she favours simple hairstyles or ponytails, and long, light dresses. She will always carry prayer beads on her person somewhere, as well as a pentact. Her weapons remain concealed. [h3][u][color=f26522]L[/color] A N G U A G E S [/u][/h3] Fully Fluent: Warlish, Avincian Semi-Fluent: Enthish, Perrench Rudimentary: Pestian, Revidian Having had no formal education for the first eight years of her life, Edyta Łaska considers herself amply blessed by Shune just to be literate. However, there is no denying the role played by her tireless dedication to learning. If she is only truly master of her mother tongue and Avincian, she is fully conversant in Enthish and Perrench, as well as at least somewhat capable in Pestian and Revidian. [h3][u][color=6ecff6]T[/color] H E [color=6ecff6]G[/color] I F T [/u][/h3][sub][h3]Icevein ❖ Greyborn[/h3][/sub] Level 5 in Arcane ❖ Level 3 in Binding ❖ Level 3 in Kinetic ❖ Level 3 in ??? Trained from her eighth year by the Quentic Church in The Gift, Sister Łaska is seamless and fluent in its use as few others are. Magic is a natural extension of her being, as the Gods intended, her immense blessing employed to its utmost in their service. Most particularly, she favours the thermal uses of Arcane Magic, which are greatly empowered by her Icevein mana type. This is further augmented through her Kinetic talents, carefully honed to allow her to strike from a distance, boost her speed to superhuman levels, and manipulate her environment at will. A whirling dervish of ice and fire in battle, she is blindingly fast and strikes with colossal power and a surgeon's precision, phasing in and out of reality as a greyborn. Her blessing and curse, this mana type allows her to walk in the space between planes of existence, becoming intangible when she does so. Her allies, however, may not be so slippery and, for them, she is well-versed in the sacred art of binding: mending diseased and damaged flesh with a high degree of competence. Finally, there is the forbidden magic that she has learned, and Edyta has struggled to assimilate it, wracked by feelings of fear and guilt but recognizing its necessity in making her an effective weapon of justice and shield of the innocent. She has trained extensively in this skill, but will not, even under pain of death, speak its name. Sister Łaska understands that, while she is beloved of the Pentad, as are all sons and daughters of creation, it is not for her to make the decisions, but to carry out Eshiran's will. This duty is one that she solemnly accepts with the utmost humility and conviction. [h3][u][color=f26522]B[/color] A C K G R O U N D [/u][/h3] It all began in the village of Bynowice in the south of the Kingdom of Warlisz: a tiny place that doesn't even appear on many maps. The majority of its people never travel further than thirty kilometers from their homes, to attend the monthly market in the town of Tarwałki and the cathedral there on feast days. Edyta Łaska was born there to an unremarkable family of serf farmers, the seventh of ten children and fourth daughter. The first eight years of her life were little different from those of any other girl in any number of villages scattered across the Warlish countryside. Then, shortly before her ninth birthday, she disappeared - literally. Her first time entering the space between planes that greyborn are able to inhabit bordered on traumatic. Some thought that she had died or was a demon. It was during a famine and paranoia ran high. Only the local priest had some idea that she may have manifested a form of magic. When her parents were questioned and admitted to strange incidents like items falling, minor fires starting, or unusual cold drafts in their house, he passed the information on to the bishopric in Tarwałki. It was a warm Stresia, pear and apple trees heavy with white and pink flowers, mud beneath Edyta's small feet, and a constant hollow hunger in her stomach. Within a week - a fitful, frightening period in her young life - representatives arrived from the abbey of St. Karol. Two more passed and her simple parents found themselves summoned to the cathedral in Tarwałki, prostrating themselves before a visiting archbishop of the Rezaindian Order. Edyta was given an education and a future in the service of her faith. Her parents were given a monthly stipend that made them among the wealthiest in their village and food enough to ensure that their children would grow and flourish. She bid them goodbye and promises were made that they would see each other for a handful of weeks each year, during holidays. It didn't happen. Instead, it was prayer, lessons, and training that filled Edyta's life in the coming years. As she approached her teenage years, she grew accustomed to the ways and schedules of the convent that she had come to call home. Then, Father Bartek happened. The only other greyborn within the red Rezaindian order in Warlisz, he became her trainer upon her twelfth birthday. At first, these were merely simple twice-weekly meetings between the two, during which he taught her how to harness the full extent of her powers. Then, he took her to 'ride along with him when sent on assignment by the church. Time and again, the young nun-in-training witnessed, firsthand, the destruction wrought by those with uncontrolled power and few scruples. Villages were ruined or burned, people maimed and killed and, always, were it not for Father Bartek, there would have been no accountability; the demons, sanguinaires, or wildbloods who had caused so much harm would be allowed to walk free for want of anyone able to stop them, only to strike again later. In the cases when it was not one of these, it was some figure of privilege and there was some sort of excuse on his or her lips. Those ones, she was instructed not to lay a hand on. It was a matter for the Somnians. She learned to hate the Somnians, for they never did anything. Most of them were rich too. She was fourteen when a dragon wildblood wounded her mentor by stabbing him through the shoulder. Edyta didn't have time to fear. She simply acted and earned her first kill. Two months later, she was anointed Sister Łaska and moved to active duty by the order. More enemies have fallen since then. She has gone wherever her unique skillset has been needed. Now, the order needs her in Ersand'Enise, the beating heart of magical practice in the Twin Continents. Big things are happening and she is ever willing to answer the call. [h3][u][color=6ecff6]M[/color] O T I V A T I O N [/u][/h3] Sister Łaska lives to serve... the gods, and Ahn-Eshiran in particular. She derives purpose and meaning from it and tries ever so hard to tamp down on the conflicting voices that emanate from the deepest recesses of her mind: the ones that scream at her that these people took her from her family, the ones that insist that she should have her own purpose, and the ones that say that she is - in truth - a creature of evil as a greyborn. [i]Dami[/i], how she hates the rich! She has pledged not to live in hatred. Each life that she takes is only so that others may be saved, only because its continued existence threatens them. Really, she wants to think that her actions - more than just her martial ones: the good works, the charity, the friendliness - will make the world a better place. It'll make [i]everything[/i] worth it. She's certain they will. They [i]have[/i] to. [h3][u][color=f26522]I[/color] N V E N T O R Y [/u][/h3] Generally, Edyta Łaska lives ascetically. She always carries a small coinpurse, prayer beads, holy water, a flask containing a very potent mana shot, and a utility knife on her person. When able, she can often be seen with the Menana and, when training or headed for potential conflict, her enchanted twin scythes: [color=6ecff6]zamrażanie[/color] and [color=f26522]palenie[/color]. They boost her energy capacity by 32 points and have... other, undisclosed enchantments. [h3][u][color=6ecff6]S[/color] T R E N G T H S & [color=6ecff6]S[/color] K I L L S [/u][/h3] [indent]❖ [b]Tidy[/b]: cleanliness is next to godliness. Sister Łaska is excellent at maintaining the spaces that she inhabits. ❖ [b]Practical[/b]: she is capable, hands-on, and largely unsentimental, able and willing to see any necessary task through. ❖ [b]Excellent Cook[/b]: as a regular kitchen helper at the convent, Edyta eagerly imbibed everything she could. ❖ [b]Vocally Gifted[/b]: always busy singing or humming as a young child and then in a choir, she knows many hymns and folk songs. ❖ [b]Seamstress[/b]: Need clothes repaired? Customized? Made from scratch? She is a virtuoso with thread and needle.[/indent] [h3][u][color=f26522]W[/color] E A K N E S S E S & [color=f26522]F[/color] L A W S [/u][/h3] [indent]❖ [b]Singleminded[/b]: She can't admit to being wrong, because that would challenge the flimsy framework that props up her 'personality'. ❖ [b]Angry[/b]: Deep down, Łaska has anger issues that can erupt. Maybe repressing so many feelings, hopes, and dreams isn't healthy? ❖ [b]Self-deceptive[/b]: She doesn't know herself and wouldn't be honest even if she did. This impacts her ability to read others as well. ❖ [b]Bad lungs[/b]: a childhood bout of illness left Edyta with a faint lingering cough that she has never shaken, or so she claims. ❖ [b]Claustrophobic[/b]: a result of draconian discipline during training. Small, cramped spaces can give her anxiety attacks.[/indent] [h3][u][color=6ecff6]M[/color] I S C E L L A N E O U S [/u][/h3] [indent]❖ She likes to give things nicknames in her head to act as mnemonic devices. Sometimes, these rhyme. ❖ She waffles between being ashamed of her origins and proud of them, but usually more the former. ❖ She still dreams about her family and thinks that she sees them in crowds or random places. ❖ Her HEX codes are [color=6ecff6]6ecff6[/color] and [color=f26522]f26522[/color].[/indent][/hider]