Name: Zenith
Age: 24
Description: Essentially, Zenith is a harpy. She is mostly human shaped, with large wings sprouting from her back and a feathered tail from her hind. She has feathers on select parts of her body, scaled forearms, hands, shins, and feet. Her skin is light brown, while her feathers and scales are dark grey to black. While her feet are entirely bird shaped, her hands are like a human’s, except with small sharp claws instead of nails. That makes running or holding things (without damaging them) a tad challenging, but not impossible. She came to the Undernyth wearing a black corset, cotton underwear, a mint green button-down shirt with some lace, a black leather jacket lined with wool, an aviator helmet with goggles, navy blue knee-high trousers, and a worn brown leather satchel.
Origin: Guidance Flier & Aerial Object Investigator (Scout)
Background: Zenith hails from an ocean world, where most of the landmass was in the form of floating chunks – those habitated termed Sky Islands, the rest considered as either debris or unstable – and a smattering of regular islands. It was a world of magic and dangerous natural phenomena; moving sea whirlpools which could swallow pieces of land, mana pathways in the air which were constantly in flux (and shifted even the positioning of Sky Islands as a result), and Wild Storms, tempests of violently discharging magic. Yet, it was not as if chaos reigned; there was an order to it all, and life was able to develop and persist despite the perilous environment. Among the skies there were winged humanoids, in the seas, a variety of merfolk, and humans both above and below. Besides these, who were sentient, there were also plenty of animals and beasts. All life was magical in some way, and in possession of passive abilities that ensured their survival. Those sentient and certain magical beasts also developed their own ways of manipulating mana actively. In the past few decades, magi tech has become not only viable, but the ‘hottest’ and fastest advancing field. Among others, it has or was in the process of revolutionizing energy development, production, agriculture, transportation, warfare, and more.
Zenith remembers the gist of what her old world and her personal life were like, but a lot of details are missing. She knows she was part of a large family, but can’t recollect her birth name or the name and faces of her parents, siblings, other relatives, or friends. She went through compulsory education, though her time there is all hazy. She recalls flying, the thrill of it, the feeling of wind ruffling through her feathers, which are some of her fondest memories. That despite the fact that one of her siblings was taken by a Wild Storm when they attempted a challenging flying course on a dare. That traumatic event was what led her to join the Advance Flying Corps, a company that, among other matters, worked on recording the positioning and patterns of shifting of all sky-bound objects. Zenith remembers they did that with the purpose of installing Stabilizers – technology that would either prevent all but the most minute movement of aerial objects or enforce them on a stable, predictable movement route. She thinks she was also in training for eventually becoming a navigator, because her reconnaissance work would eventually run out, but isn’t entirely certain if that was truly the case or not. The last thing she remembers before finding herself in the Undernyth, she was on what was supposed to be a regular, low-danger mission for the Corps.
Outlook: As a being of the skies, Zenith loved her home world, and misses it terribly. She would describe it as vast, open, and freeing. Undernyth on the other hand is so much darker, confining, drab, and incomprehensible in the worst of ways. If there was a way for her to go back home, she’d do just about anything for it. However, for now, she sees her time here as an adventure, determined to make the best out of the situation that she can. All the while, she is firmly ignoring that everyone she meets insists this is a permanent residence for anyone brought here.
Personality: Zenith is curious, fun-loving, and daring. On her origin world, she enjoyed travelling, and discovering new locations was one of her favourite pastimes. Since being relocated, however, she has realized that one of the best things about exploration was the return upon home. Now, that she had no home to return to, that does detract from the appeal of being in another world. Even though Zenith prefers to be positive about things, that does not mean she is without her burdens. She’s the type to hide her pains and insecurities, usually, and will share them only with the closest friends and family. Despite being quite affable, it does take time for her to build that deep connection and true trust. Given that she doesn’t appreciate being unloaded on by those who aren’t close to her either, she may seem nonchalant to the issues of others. Of course, she’s fine with some casual venting, but anything other than that, Zenith doesn’t want to deal with for just anyone’s sake.
Though she can easily be mistaken for reckless given her willingness to face dangers, that is not true. Since her sibling’s death – a loss which she still feels keenly, despite not knowing the person who died beyond vague impressions – she has become much more risk-aware. She is practical, and prepares as much as makes sense given the situation. Zenith doesn’t mind retreating if that’s a viable option, but has a bit of a protective streak. So, if anyone else would face potential death by her escape, especially if they’re children or others who could not possibly be expected to defend themselves, Zenith is liable to attempt to protect them or at least help them escape. She is resolved to do good, though is somewhat flexible in her methods. She prefers cooperation when possible, but is not averse to conflict or even violence if it does occur.
Greatest Dream: If returning truly isn’t an option, then Zenith would want to make her life in the Undernyth as palatable as possible. Her goal is (or will be) finding a spacious location, where she could pretend that she isn’t underground, with an established civilization she could fit in. Basically, she’s looking for a second home, familiarity being a key quality she’s seeking. It won’t replace her origin world, but it’s a second best she could settle for.
Greatest Fear: It’s not so much being stuck where everything and everyone is an unknown that scares her, but rather that she could lose her sanity or who she is – and despite the gaps in her memory, Zenith believes that hasn’t changed – due to it. She doesn’t want the Undernyth to get to her, and is terrified it’ll alter her in ways she wouldn’t choose for herself.
Misc: Her personal effects (kept in the satchel) include: a bottle of ink stored in resistance-enhanced glass, quill with a metal nib and engraved wooden handle, two rolls of paper (one partially filled with field notes, the other empty), a grooved key-shaped item (Zenith’s ID, though she’s no way of discerning the information on it), a small pouch of mana crystals (the currency of her origin world), and a handheld sensor/recorder for mana flow.
Zenith has both passive and active magical abilities, all of which pertain to flight. The passive abilities use internal mana, and are instinctive. They work in sync with her physical capabilities to enable (relatively safe) flight. The active abilities use external mana, must be trained for, and require some focus. Zenith can manipulate air, however, the more chaotic/powerful the mana in the environment, the less control she has over it. Of course, if there is no mana in the environment, she cannot use her active ability at all.
