AislingUsername: Aphelion
Name: Sophia Skyheart
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Allegiance: Lugere
Weapon: Outwardly, an ornate walking cane is all that serves as a weapon in this fragile girl's hands. The cane itself is intricately carved into the likeness of an Articuno, it's long tail plumes making the length of the cane with it's head staring imperiously at the sky, it's wings outspread as if taking flight. However, the cane is secretly a rapier that she avoids using if at all possible, and will only draw it to defend herself. (picture coming soon)
Appearance: 
Sophia is slim and extremely pale, as if her skin has had very little chance to be graced by the sunlight. Her thick flaxen colored hair reaches the back of her knees, and she normally wears it in a french-braid that her maids have to painstakingly braid every morning, and un-braid every night. She is normally seen in white lacy dresses, or sapphire ball gowns, though she tends to wear more practical beartic fur rimmed coats and boots with sapphire leggings while outdoors. Along her collarbone is the emblem of her House, tattooed on with "faintly glowing sapphire ink." (see story)
Personality: Sophia seems gentle because of her frail body, but a fire burns within this young noble girl's heart: a fire to see that she serves the royal family to the best of her abilities as the Heiress of Skyheart, to bring honor to her lineage. She seeks to make her House proud, but holds a deep self-doubt because of her physical limitations. She will do everything she can to hide her own weakness, but her fragility often gets the better of her.
That being said, while her physical prowess is severely limited, her mind has been honed into an exquisite tool, though she often doubts herself. She will think situations through before delving into unheeded danger, and will concede confrontations if she sees no value in their outcome. Many think she is an airhead or coward because of this.
She gets excited easily and finds fascination in new things and people, she will seek to find the best in everything. She is quick to smile and quicker to laugh, with an innocence about her only gleamed through a sheltered life. She is naive about street-smarts, as most of her intelligence comes from books and theory crafting, but she tries her best to adapt to any new environments. She is often too trusting of people, and is one of the few nobles she knows that doesn't feel unsettled by Morphs - she's very interested in them, actually, seeing them as more amazing than just the average human.
She is set with a wanderlust that tears between her loyalties and her true, innate desires. She wishes to travel the world, seeing every place there is to see, knowing every pokemon there is to know. She wishes to take flight with her pokemon, Neva, and leave behind responsibility, but knows she cannot escape her honor-bound duty.
As far as socializing goes, Sophia is the heart-throb of many other noble boys her age. Whether they seek her power as one of the closest and most influential Houses serving the royal family, or seek her for her supposed pale gentle beauty, Sophia pretends to be oblivious. Beyond this front, Sophia is insanely shy and skittish around boys her age, though her heart has leapt for a boy or two in the past.
Despite all this, she has no true friends, save her pokemon, with only acquaintances among nobles and servants who are fond of her.
Biography: Seventeen years ago when Sophia was born, it was during one of the coldest winters Lugere had seen in a century. A fierce blizzard rattled the Skyheart manor to it's core, and complications arose in her birth, from the cold as well as from other things. Her mother, Elise, nearly died from giving birth to Sophia. Their disappointment when they found out that Sophia was a girl was like an avalanche. For nearly two hundred years, they had, had male heirs, and their house had a steady gain in wealth throughout those years. A female heir was a sign of bad luck: an omen, so they believed with every fiber of their beings. There was talk to give her to a lesser House to foster and for her parents to try for a male heir, which her parents considered just based on superstition. However, they were dumbfounded when the doctors told Sophia's parents that Sophia was the only child that they would be able to have, as Sophia's birth had caused detrimental damage to Elise.
The circumstances of her birth made her time growing up hard, though her parents made sure the servants attended her, they rarely gave her attention themselves, and only then it was her father coming to see her on special occasions. She was confined to her rooms because of her frail body, and only allowed out when the servants deemed it was safe for her. She grew to hate the indoors, and would stare longingly to the skies outside her windows. To keep her mind occupied for lengthy periods of time, she would read. Anything that the servants would, or could bring to her, she would devour. She learned many things, from how to properly raise pokemon, to noble-court politics, to the art of war.
It was many years before her mother came to speak with her. Elise had been grieving her failure to the Skyheart House, but heard peculiar news from the servants. Though her daughter was frail, Sophia was apparently brilliant, years beyond her own age in literature and politics. Elise had disregarded the news for a time, until the servants showed her the essays and journals Sophia had written. This was around the time Sophia was ten, that she finally got to speak with her own mother. Elise was dubious at first, but became more impressed by her daughter the longer they spoke, and her mother realized that Sophia was not a failure to Skyheart, or Lugere, at all. In fact, her daughter could battle in ways that the male heirs of the family could not, and perhaps more cunningly than ever.
Elise put a lot of stock into Sophia, and began to send her in for proper education, in etiquette, pokemon battling, in arithmetic - in anything Sophia showed even the meagerest amount of interest in. Sophia learned to play the violin as a side venture, and became rather good at it, as many nobles have sought her to play in their manors - in any physical arena, however, she ultimately failed, though she did put up an effort in fencing. She still takes fencing to this day, and has gotten considerably better since she started - but she lacks the strength and stamina to keep up prolonged fights. To put it simply, after seven years of regular training she's at the level a normal person would be physically speaking after fencing for a year. She understands the skills and theories better than a person with only a year of training, but her body can't manage them in rapid succession, as would be required in true battle.
When it was clear that Sophia was being groomed into a capable heiress, her father decided to introduce her to the family's guardian, a stoic articuno whose guardianship was passed on from the Head of Skyheart to the next heir on his or her fifteenth birthday in a very secret ritual only known to the Head and his heir. Normally the articuno was seen as lofty, above bothering with the affairs of humans, and would live in the Hoarfrost Temple doing as it pleased. The temple was host to only that which articuno let live there, and is a structure that was said to be crafted by articuno itself, made entirely from seemingly never-melting ice.
The ritual of guardianship took place in the middle of the grand temple, while articuno stared from it's high perch among the icy pillars. When Sophia came into the temple, shivering despite the furs encasing her slim body, articuno stared down at the pair as was expected. Without preamble, father began to prep for the ceremony and was giving her instructions. She was to remove her hood and cloak, which she did obediently, though the cold seeped through her bones and made her shiver all the more.
All of the sudden they heard a loud SHHHRCKK from above, as if ice was shattering, and then an unearthly cry. Looking up, Sophia had no time to brace herself as articuno launched itself off of a cracked pillar and landed in such a gust of wind that Sophia nearly fell over, and would have if her father hadn't caught her. Awed and speechless, her father bowed reverently before articuno. Little did Sophia know, this had been unprecedented in their known history, that articuno would show even the slightest bit of interest in the humans it was supposedly guarding.
Without truly realizing what she was doing, Sophia walked unsteadily forward and placed a hand on articuno's beak. The legendary bird stared at her imperiously, as if taking in her worth. Behind her, her father made guttural noises, as if he were going to choke: he feared that his daughter was insulting articuno. To everyone's surprise, articuno lunged at Sophia's neck and grazed it's beak along her collarbone, all the while letting out a series of beautiful cries. Sophia was too stunned to move, thinking that the legendary bird was going to kill her, but when her father moved to pull Sophia away, articuno screeched at him and flung it's wings protectively around Sophia, the subsequent gust sending her father reeling backwards. Sophia had to assure articuno that it was alright before it would move it's wings out of her way, and let her leave with her father. As she was walking away she noticed in shock that she didn't feel cold, as if she was wearing her fur lined coat, even though it lay in the snow ten feet away.
Articuno came from Hoarfrost Temple to the nearby Skyheart estate when Sophia didn't return the next day, another event that hadn't happened in living memory. Articuno's odd behavior, along with her newly branded emblem, marked her as a truly special to the House, though it took a week or so for her father to calm down enough to let her go to the temple again with the legendary pokemon. The rest of her family, from cousins to aunts and uncles, finally began to recognize her as the Heiress and treated her with more respect than they had in the past.
Her and articuno's friendship was awkward at first, as nobody living knew how to interact with the usually stoic pokemon and Sophia would make mistakes, but with time they began to understand each other. These days, Sophia counts articuno as one of her greatest strengths, and she has nicknamed the pokemon Neva. She seeks to use Neva and the power of her House to aid Lugere in their conflicts with Ayero, as is expected of her, though she doesn't know what to think of the current festering hostilities.
Other:
Sophia is slim and extremely pale, as if her skin has had very little chance to be graced by the sunlight. Her thick flaxen colored hair reaches the back of her knees, and she normally wears it in a french-braid that her maids have to painstakingly braid every morning, and un-braid every night. She is normally seen in white lacy dresses, or sapphire ball gowns, though she tends to wear more practical beartic fur rimmed coats and boots with sapphire leggings while outdoors. Along her collarbone is the emblem of her House, tattooed on with "faintly glowing sapphire ink." (see story)
Personality: Sophia seems gentle because of her frail body, but a fire burns within this young noble girl's heart: a fire to see that she serves the royal family to the best of her abilities as the Heiress of Skyheart, to bring honor to her lineage. She seeks to make her House proud, but holds a deep self-doubt because of her physical limitations. She will do everything she can to hide her own weakness, but her fragility often gets the better of her.
That being said, while her physical prowess is severely limited, her mind has been honed into an exquisite tool, though she often doubts herself. She will think situations through before delving into unheeded danger, and will concede confrontations if she sees no value in their outcome. Many think she is an airhead or coward because of this.
She gets excited easily and finds fascination in new things and people, she will seek to find the best in everything. She is quick to smile and quicker to laugh, with an innocence about her only gleamed through a sheltered life. She is naive about street-smarts, as most of her intelligence comes from books and theory crafting, but she tries her best to adapt to any new environments. She is often too trusting of people, and is one of the few nobles she knows that doesn't feel unsettled by Morphs - she's very interested in them, actually, seeing them as more amazing than just the average human.
She is set with a wanderlust that tears between her loyalties and her true, innate desires. She wishes to travel the world, seeing every place there is to see, knowing every pokemon there is to know. She wishes to take flight with her pokemon, Neva, and leave behind responsibility, but knows she cannot escape her honor-bound duty.
As far as socializing goes, Sophia is the heart-throb of many other noble boys her age. Whether they seek her power as one of the closest and most influential Houses serving the royal family, or seek her for her supposed pale gentle beauty, Sophia pretends to be oblivious. Beyond this front, Sophia is insanely shy and skittish around boys her age, though her heart has leapt for a boy or two in the past.
Despite all this, she has no true friends, save her pokemon, with only acquaintances among nobles and servants who are fond of her.
Biography: Seventeen years ago when Sophia was born, it was during one of the coldest winters Lugere had seen in a century. A fierce blizzard rattled the Skyheart manor to it's core, and complications arose in her birth, from the cold as well as from other things. Her mother, Elise, nearly died from giving birth to Sophia. Their disappointment when they found out that Sophia was a girl was like an avalanche. For nearly two hundred years, they had, had male heirs, and their house had a steady gain in wealth throughout those years. A female heir was a sign of bad luck: an omen, so they believed with every fiber of their beings. There was talk to give her to a lesser House to foster and for her parents to try for a male heir, which her parents considered just based on superstition. However, they were dumbfounded when the doctors told Sophia's parents that Sophia was the only child that they would be able to have, as Sophia's birth had caused detrimental damage to Elise.
The circumstances of her birth made her time growing up hard, though her parents made sure the servants attended her, they rarely gave her attention themselves, and only then it was her father coming to see her on special occasions. She was confined to her rooms because of her frail body, and only allowed out when the servants deemed it was safe for her. She grew to hate the indoors, and would stare longingly to the skies outside her windows. To keep her mind occupied for lengthy periods of time, she would read. Anything that the servants would, or could bring to her, she would devour. She learned many things, from how to properly raise pokemon, to noble-court politics, to the art of war.
It was many years before her mother came to speak with her. Elise had been grieving her failure to the Skyheart House, but heard peculiar news from the servants. Though her daughter was frail, Sophia was apparently brilliant, years beyond her own age in literature and politics. Elise had disregarded the news for a time, until the servants showed her the essays and journals Sophia had written. This was around the time Sophia was ten, that she finally got to speak with her own mother. Elise was dubious at first, but became more impressed by her daughter the longer they spoke, and her mother realized that Sophia was not a failure to Skyheart, or Lugere, at all. In fact, her daughter could battle in ways that the male heirs of the family could not, and perhaps more cunningly than ever.
Elise put a lot of stock into Sophia, and began to send her in for proper education, in etiquette, pokemon battling, in arithmetic - in anything Sophia showed even the meagerest amount of interest in. Sophia learned to play the violin as a side venture, and became rather good at it, as many nobles have sought her to play in their manors - in any physical arena, however, she ultimately failed, though she did put up an effort in fencing. She still takes fencing to this day, and has gotten considerably better since she started - but she lacks the strength and stamina to keep up prolonged fights. To put it simply, after seven years of regular training she's at the level a normal person would be physically speaking after fencing for a year. She understands the skills and theories better than a person with only a year of training, but her body can't manage them in rapid succession, as would be required in true battle.
When it was clear that Sophia was being groomed into a capable heiress, her father decided to introduce her to the family's guardian, a stoic articuno whose guardianship was passed on from the Head of Skyheart to the next heir on his or her fifteenth birthday in a very secret ritual only known to the Head and his heir. Normally the articuno was seen as lofty, above bothering with the affairs of humans, and would live in the Hoarfrost Temple doing as it pleased. The temple was host to only that which articuno let live there, and is a structure that was said to be crafted by articuno itself, made entirely from seemingly never-melting ice.
The ritual of guardianship took place in the middle of the grand temple, while articuno stared from it's high perch among the icy pillars. When Sophia came into the temple, shivering despite the furs encasing her slim body, articuno stared down at the pair as was expected. Without preamble, father began to prep for the ceremony and was giving her instructions. She was to remove her hood and cloak, which she did obediently, though the cold seeped through her bones and made her shiver all the more.
All of the sudden they heard a loud SHHHRCKK from above, as if ice was shattering, and then an unearthly cry. Looking up, Sophia had no time to brace herself as articuno launched itself off of a cracked pillar and landed in such a gust of wind that Sophia nearly fell over, and would have if her father hadn't caught her. Awed and speechless, her father bowed reverently before articuno. Little did Sophia know, this had been unprecedented in their known history, that articuno would show even the slightest bit of interest in the humans it was supposedly guarding.
Without truly realizing what she was doing, Sophia walked unsteadily forward and placed a hand on articuno's beak. The legendary bird stared at her imperiously, as if taking in her worth. Behind her, her father made guttural noises, as if he were going to choke: he feared that his daughter was insulting articuno. To everyone's surprise, articuno lunged at Sophia's neck and grazed it's beak along her collarbone, all the while letting out a series of beautiful cries. Sophia was too stunned to move, thinking that the legendary bird was going to kill her, but when her father moved to pull Sophia away, articuno screeched at him and flung it's wings protectively around Sophia, the subsequent gust sending her father reeling backwards. Sophia had to assure articuno that it was alright before it would move it's wings out of her way, and let her leave with her father. As she was walking away she noticed in shock that she didn't feel cold, as if she was wearing her fur lined coat, even though it lay in the snow ten feet away.
Articuno came from Hoarfrost Temple to the nearby Skyheart estate when Sophia didn't return the next day, another event that hadn't happened in living memory. Articuno's odd behavior, along with her newly branded emblem, marked her as a truly special to the House, though it took a week or so for her father to calm down enough to let her go to the temple again with the legendary pokemon. The rest of her family, from cousins to aunts and uncles, finally began to recognize her as the Heiress and treated her with more respect than they had in the past.
Her and articuno's friendship was awkward at first, as nobody living knew how to interact with the usually stoic pokemon and Sophia would make mistakes, but with time they began to understand each other. These days, Sophia counts articuno as one of her greatest strengths, and she has nicknamed the pokemon Neva. She seeks to use Neva and the power of her House to aid Lugere in their conflicts with Ayero, as is expected of her, though she doesn't know what to think of the current festering hostilities.
Other: Species: Articuno
Nickname: Neva (NAY-vuh)
Gender: Genderless (though Sophia sometimes refers to it as he)
Appearance: 
Neva was born generations ago, perhaps at the founding of Lugere, with the emblem of House Skyheart like a birthmark on it's chest (picture of the emblem coming soon). It has been outfitted with carved diamonds on it's talons, inset with sapphires and aquamarines to show off the splendor of House Skyheart. On the top of it's wings, lightweight metal armor with intricate scrollwork designs and diamonds protect them from stray or aimed attacks. On the crown of it's head rests a helmet crafted so that it doesn't impede Neva's sight or movement, curving down to the middle of it's forehead, then back up and away the eyes to the sides of it's head, where it clasps underneath it's jaw with a belt made from elastic material, so it stretches easily.
Personality/History: Neva is usually watchful and stoic, preferring the world of pokemon to the world of humans, and is unusually generous with it's territory for an articuno, letting pokemon of normal, ice, and flying types live in the Hoarfrost Temple as long as they respect the articuno's boundaries. Neva has spent countless years watching the Skyheart family and it's leaders, and prefers the females over the males, though the articuno used to brand any heir, regardless of gender, long ago.
Over the last two hundred years, Neva got increasingly putt-off by the male-heirs who would come to try to get their brand from it. They were demanding when Neva began being more aloof, and eventually tried to leash Neva so that they could control the articuno as they pleased. Needless to say, Neva got so upset that it killed the potential heir. From then on, it began to stay in it's roost and wouldn't join in the silly rituals of the humans. Neva watched as the ritual slowly began to change, as the men of Skyheart forgot that Neva would brand the heir so they would gain the articuno's protection, that's what the passing of guardianship actually meant. That was, until she came.
Neva felt that it was time in it's very bones that a change was coming, something magnificent. A small figure walked into the articuno's territory, along with the man Neva knew as the current leader, and began the ritual. When the smaller human took off it's hood and cloak, articuno realized this was it. A woman, the very person that the articuno had been dying to brand. In it's excitement, the articuno leapt from it's roost, shattering the ice and claimed the girl that it came to know as Sophia as it's own. It wouldn't let this chance escape it, not ever.
Neva is exceptionally protective of Sophia, perhaps more so than it ought to be. The articuno has been scolded more than once or twice by her for being overly aggressive, but Neva is usually kind to other pokemon, though it has an extreme distaste for fire or electric types. The articuno finds the idea of Morphs extremely unsettling, but will not make any move towards them unless they try to harm Sophia.
Moveset: Hail, Blizzard, Fly, Roost
Ability: Snow Cloak
Neva was born generations ago, perhaps at the founding of Lugere, with the emblem of House Skyheart like a birthmark on it's chest (picture of the emblem coming soon). It has been outfitted with carved diamonds on it's talons, inset with sapphires and aquamarines to show off the splendor of House Skyheart. On the top of it's wings, lightweight metal armor with intricate scrollwork designs and diamonds protect them from stray or aimed attacks. On the crown of it's head rests a helmet crafted so that it doesn't impede Neva's sight or movement, curving down to the middle of it's forehead, then back up and away the eyes to the sides of it's head, where it clasps underneath it's jaw with a belt made from elastic material, so it stretches easily.
Personality/History: Neva is usually watchful and stoic, preferring the world of pokemon to the world of humans, and is unusually generous with it's territory for an articuno, letting pokemon of normal, ice, and flying types live in the Hoarfrost Temple as long as they respect the articuno's boundaries. Neva has spent countless years watching the Skyheart family and it's leaders, and prefers the females over the males, though the articuno used to brand any heir, regardless of gender, long ago.
Over the last two hundred years, Neva got increasingly putt-off by the male-heirs who would come to try to get their brand from it. They were demanding when Neva began being more aloof, and eventually tried to leash Neva so that they could control the articuno as they pleased. Needless to say, Neva got so upset that it killed the potential heir. From then on, it began to stay in it's roost and wouldn't join in the silly rituals of the humans. Neva watched as the ritual slowly began to change, as the men of Skyheart forgot that Neva would brand the heir so they would gain the articuno's protection, that's what the passing of guardianship actually meant. That was, until she came.
Neva felt that it was time in it's very bones that a change was coming, something magnificent. A small figure walked into the articuno's territory, along with the man Neva knew as the current leader, and began the ritual. When the smaller human took off it's hood and cloak, articuno realized this was it. A woman, the very person that the articuno had been dying to brand. In it's excitement, the articuno leapt from it's roost, shattering the ice and claimed the girl that it came to know as Sophia as it's own. It wouldn't let this chance escape it, not ever.
Neva is exceptionally protective of Sophia, perhaps more so than it ought to be. The articuno has been scolded more than once or twice by her for being overly aggressive, but Neva is usually kind to other pokemon, though it has an extreme distaste for fire or electric types. The articuno finds the idea of Morphs extremely unsettling, but will not make any move towards them unless they try to harm Sophia.
Moveset: Hail, Blizzard, Fly, Roost
Ability: Snow CloakUsername: Aphelion
Name: Corivana "Vana" Espada
Age: 25
Gender: Female
Allegiance: Ayero
Weapon: She carries around a little trove of weapons on her person, from her rapier, to her dual scimitars, to her trusty boomerang. She has been trained in the use of all, but excels at dual-weapons combat above all else, but she will adapt as needed. In battle she can be a dirty fighter, as she only cares about the win above the methods, and has been trained in hand-to-hand martial arts to round out her repertoire.
Appearance: 
She loves to play up her appearance as much as possible, almost like an actor on a stage. She typically wears the go-to pirate attire, save for when she swims. During those times, she will wear tight fitting shorts and a brassiere, if given the chance to change. She will wear her short-cut coat slung over her shoulders, rather than actually wearing it through the sleeves. On the left side of her torso is a tattoo spanning from her shoulder all the way down her waist.
Her brunette hair shimmers with faint red highlights, and her amber eye is slightly slanted. She usually has a smirk playing on her lips, and will bow flamboyantly before any lady she deems worthy of her attentions. She walks with swagger only adhered by those who have traversed the open seas, though she will make hers more exaggerated on purpose at times.
While she isn't exactly thin-as-a-rail, she isn't plump by any means. She carries lithe muscle on her body, toned to excellence. The only plump part about her is her bust-line, which is above average in it's girth. She's learned to maneuver around it during combat so it doesn't impede her.
In the pack attached to her belt she carries small bottles of sake, rum and wine along with a deck of playing cards. The deck of cards itself is water-pokemon themed, something she's continuously amused by.
Personality: She's one might expect of a debonair, swashbuckling pirate. She loves to play "games" while she performs her duties, but she will go deathly serious when she feels the occasion calls for it - which isn't often. She is lightly sarcastic, confident and self-assured, and prefers not to take anything too seriously outside of combat, much to the chagrin of her family.
She loves to loaf around, soaking up the sun or swimming in the oceans. Her favorite pass-times are drinking any form of booze, or flirting with the females she encounters - she particularly enjoys sweeping the fair gender off of their feet and making them feel beautiful. Many people have questioned her sexuality, but she's always grinned at them with a tip of her hat and been about her way, with no true reply one way or another. She gets along with men as well, but usually sees them as rivals and will meet them toe-to-toe in any combative arena they choose, from card games, to sword fighting, to fisticuffs.
The one thing she definitively hates is using pokemon as tools in battle. She refuses to use her pokemon as much as possible, another thing her family has come to regret dearly about her. She will do the work herself and let Kyo lounge on the side-lines until she desperately needs the help, which she hasn't let happen often. She will run from overwhelming fights, then turn around to lay traps. That's just the kind of person she is: play smart, not dumb.
Biography: The House of Espada is not quite the typical House as it is a lineage of sea-faring war heroes and generals serving the higher ranking nobility, and royalty, of Ayero. The children of Espada all serve their country in some fashion, whether in battle, in guard, or in farming. They have been called the "House of Guards" or the "Sword of Ayero", and even more rarely, the "Grocers of Ayero" for their plentiful farm lands that they guard with an iron-fist from would-be pillagers. They do not shy away from their given nicknames, and instead take pride in their humble services, but in the last twenty years their house has fallen on some disrepute and decline in wealth. Because of this, they have been pushing their children to take up the banner and restore their house to it's former glory.
Corivana was no exception to this rule, although she was far from the strict and upright personality her House expected of her. She was mischievous, rowdy, and she favored the company of females to a questionable extent, often flirting with the girls around her. Her behavior caused her mentors to be extra hard on her, though she would laugh off their attempts and continue her shenanigans until she was quite thoroughly finished. Her mentors, though they did teach her, were more like her parents and friends as well. The children of Espada were raised in a communal setting, with the elders of the families giving lessons and reprimands in turn to all children till they reached adulthood. All the adults capable of still working their professions focused on their craft, even if that meant hardly seeing their own children. From tradition they knew that their offspring were in esteemed hands of the elders.
Her biggest endeavor of tomfoolery changed everything for her. She was nineteen and her mentors were pushing for her to go into the Queen's Guard, many of them shared the opinion that she was perhaps the best dual-weapons fighter they had seen in many years, when she decided to take her lessons seriously, that is. Corivana fought that notion with every fiber of her being, though she made it look like laziness. She hated the idea of being confined to strict rules and prissy nobles, bowing her head before those who never knew a day's worth of hard work in their lives.
So, to make sure she would never be trusted in such a position, she decided to commit a taboo within her family: she trespassed on the sacred grounds of their patron deity, Kyogre. Commandeering a ship to get to the island was the easy part, finding her way into the center where a massive cove holding Kyogre was said to be was the much more difficult part. She could try to scale the rough mountain on top of the island and pray that a path led down into the cove, or she could try underneath the swirling currents of the ocean to find the cave that supposedly led straight to the legendary pokemon's hidey-hole.
Her heart sang for the challenge this presented her and needless to say she nearly died going underneath the water, with currents pulling her body this way and that as she desperately sought out air pockets so she could gasp in breaths between swimming further on. She found the venture exhilarating as she made her way slowly to where the cove was supposed to be.
Eventually, her head breached the surface where the cove was, and it was unlike anything she had ever seen. The roof far above-head of the cavernous cove was in eternal storm, with an indoor weather-system all it's own. Rain poured, thunder pealed as lightning came down in brief flashes, and in the middle, floating above the water, was the enormous form of Kyogre as it slumbered. All along the sides, where there was land, greenery grew in abundance with the leaves on the plants almost too big to be real, spanning twenty feet or more for each one.
Something told her, in her heart, that this was an unwise plan. Being here was suddenly not something she wanted to do, but she couldn't stop her incorrigible nature to delve into trouble. She swam to just below Kyogre and threw a pebble up at the creature.
Nothing happened.
Corivana was tad disappointed, but she persevered. Instead, she took her boomerang and flung it up at Kyogre, where it slapped against it with a loud, wet sound and came falling back into the water just feet away from her. She gave out an unladylike curse and swam to retrieve the boomerang, but as her hand closed around the curved wood she heard something unusual. Nothing. No thunder, no rain pelting down from the indoor rain clouds, no wind. In the absence of all else, a shadow moved along the water, causing her to look up at where the Kyogre should have been. Near her face was one large, piercing yellow eye as the ancient pokemon stared back at her. She couldn't help it, she gulped audibly and gave the Kyogre a small wave as her hand clasped the boomerang that had just awoken the God of the Sea. Only one thought came to her mind at this point.
"I'm freakin' fishbait."
The events that came after surprised her nearly as much as her mentors back at the Espada estates. Corivana tried to escape by diving back underneath the water to the sea cave leading out, as she expected her rude awakening to piss it off Kyogre royally. Kyogre plunged it's massive body into the water just breathless moments after, coming straight for her.
The moments of that fight or flight situation have been ingrained perfectly into her mind, as if etched into her brain by their intensity. She twisted around as she drew her sword from it's hilt, intent on living even if it meant killing the deity of her family. Kyogre's body began to glow a virulent looking red, casting thousands of different ominous shades of the color throughout the water around them. She lunged as it approached her, her sword aimed for the middle of it's head, but a pulse of water emanated from around Kyogre's mouth and swirled around her body, thrusting the sword out of her hand with such force that it buried itself in the floor of the sea cove. She remained unharmed, if a little bit shell-shocked. Before she could react to it's next action, Kyogre swam with godly speed and came underneath her, then propelled them both out of the waters of the cove.
She made to jump off the back of Kyogre, to escape it's wrath, but the pokemon wasn't finished with her. She felt a building sensation through it's back, as if geyser was about to blow up, then from it's mouth came a huge blast of water, aimed at the roof of the cove. Rocks began to fall, rocks as large and bigger than Kyogre itself, but the pokemon expertly dodged through them, still keeping her on it's back all the while. She knew she was dead in her heart of hearts, but she was thrilled! She had never had so much fun in her life as she had, had riding through that avalanche of boulders.
Her heart throbbed in her ears when she stood up on the back of Kyogre to shout her excitement, which echoed back across the rocky island and desolate ocean. From underneath her, Kyogre gave it's own cry to match hers. A feeling of warmth and peace radiated from the creature, and suddenly Corivana found herself confused. She thought it was pissed, but it was playing with her! It had thought the whole venture was a game, the boomerang might as well have been her tickling it awake.
When she arrived back at the town, with Kyogre carrying her there above the waters, her entire family was shocked at first, then outraged that she had dared do such a thing. She was practically shunned within her family, this one frivolous and careless action was a step over the edge in their collective opinion, but they couldn't outright ignore that Kyogre chose her as it's companion. They still respected and even worshiped Kyogre. After much thought to how Corivana could pay for waking the slumbering pokemon, they decided that Corivana would serve the royal house of Ayero till her dying breath, with Kyogre as their mascot.
She gained a place in the Queen's Guard, but she hated serving in the palaces and Kyogre was a hindrance with it's large-scale body. They caused many disturbances over the two years that they were there, though none could deny her skill as a combatant, and eventually the Captain of the Guard proposed that she serve her country in a different way: as a Privateer plundering from the ships on the high seas. They reasoned that Kyogre would make for the perfect weapon in that arena, and she could damage trade to Lugere and bring it to their own country all in one decisive action. The higher-ups approved the idea, and Corivana would do anything to escape the strict rules of the palace.
She has been secretly serving the country of Ayero as the Dread Pirate Vana, though only the higher ranking officials and royalty know of her service. On the open seas, she prefers to keep the peaceful pokemon out of the fight against the ships she plunders, often jumping on board and demanding their surrender of valuables instead of using outright force. Kyogre has proven as a good bargaining tool, as they will look at the impressive pokemon and usually surrender without a fight, but it wasn't that way in the beginning. Kyogre and her have had some bloody battles in the past, and she strives to keep up her reputation so that they can avoid needless bloodshed, for the people she's plundering as well as for her kind pokemon. During one such battle she lost her left eye, but she's made it into a strength rather than her weakness.
With her actions, she has brought favor to her family, who still shun her, but she couldn't care a whit for the fools. She has been recently summoned from her duties on the open sea, for what she doesn't know, but she's heard whisperings that the hostilities between her nation and Lugere might break out into war.
Other:
She loves to play up her appearance as much as possible, almost like an actor on a stage. She typically wears the go-to pirate attire, save for when she swims. During those times, she will wear tight fitting shorts and a brassiere, if given the chance to change. She will wear her short-cut coat slung over her shoulders, rather than actually wearing it through the sleeves. On the left side of her torso is a tattoo spanning from her shoulder all the way down her waist.
Her brunette hair shimmers with faint red highlights, and her amber eye is slightly slanted. She usually has a smirk playing on her lips, and will bow flamboyantly before any lady she deems worthy of her attentions. She walks with swagger only adhered by those who have traversed the open seas, though she will make hers more exaggerated on purpose at times.
While she isn't exactly thin-as-a-rail, she isn't plump by any means. She carries lithe muscle on her body, toned to excellence. The only plump part about her is her bust-line, which is above average in it's girth. She's learned to maneuver around it during combat so it doesn't impede her.
In the pack attached to her belt she carries small bottles of sake, rum and wine along with a deck of playing cards. The deck of cards itself is water-pokemon themed, something she's continuously amused by.
Personality: She's one might expect of a debonair, swashbuckling pirate. She loves to play "games" while she performs her duties, but she will go deathly serious when she feels the occasion calls for it - which isn't often. She is lightly sarcastic, confident and self-assured, and prefers not to take anything too seriously outside of combat, much to the chagrin of her family.
She loves to loaf around, soaking up the sun or swimming in the oceans. Her favorite pass-times are drinking any form of booze, or flirting with the females she encounters - she particularly enjoys sweeping the fair gender off of their feet and making them feel beautiful. Many people have questioned her sexuality, but she's always grinned at them with a tip of her hat and been about her way, with no true reply one way or another. She gets along with men as well, but usually sees them as rivals and will meet them toe-to-toe in any combative arena they choose, from card games, to sword fighting, to fisticuffs.
The one thing she definitively hates is using pokemon as tools in battle. She refuses to use her pokemon as much as possible, another thing her family has come to regret dearly about her. She will do the work herself and let Kyo lounge on the side-lines until she desperately needs the help, which she hasn't let happen often. She will run from overwhelming fights, then turn around to lay traps. That's just the kind of person she is: play smart, not dumb.
Biography: The House of Espada is not quite the typical House as it is a lineage of sea-faring war heroes and generals serving the higher ranking nobility, and royalty, of Ayero. The children of Espada all serve their country in some fashion, whether in battle, in guard, or in farming. They have been called the "House of Guards" or the "Sword of Ayero", and even more rarely, the "Grocers of Ayero" for their plentiful farm lands that they guard with an iron-fist from would-be pillagers. They do not shy away from their given nicknames, and instead take pride in their humble services, but in the last twenty years their house has fallen on some disrepute and decline in wealth. Because of this, they have been pushing their children to take up the banner and restore their house to it's former glory.
Corivana was no exception to this rule, although she was far from the strict and upright personality her House expected of her. She was mischievous, rowdy, and she favored the company of females to a questionable extent, often flirting with the girls around her. Her behavior caused her mentors to be extra hard on her, though she would laugh off their attempts and continue her shenanigans until she was quite thoroughly finished. Her mentors, though they did teach her, were more like her parents and friends as well. The children of Espada were raised in a communal setting, with the elders of the families giving lessons and reprimands in turn to all children till they reached adulthood. All the adults capable of still working their professions focused on their craft, even if that meant hardly seeing their own children. From tradition they knew that their offspring were in esteemed hands of the elders.
Her biggest endeavor of tomfoolery changed everything for her. She was nineteen and her mentors were pushing for her to go into the Queen's Guard, many of them shared the opinion that she was perhaps the best dual-weapons fighter they had seen in many years, when she decided to take her lessons seriously, that is. Corivana fought that notion with every fiber of her being, though she made it look like laziness. She hated the idea of being confined to strict rules and prissy nobles, bowing her head before those who never knew a day's worth of hard work in their lives.
So, to make sure she would never be trusted in such a position, she decided to commit a taboo within her family: she trespassed on the sacred grounds of their patron deity, Kyogre. Commandeering a ship to get to the island was the easy part, finding her way into the center where a massive cove holding Kyogre was said to be was the much more difficult part. She could try to scale the rough mountain on top of the island and pray that a path led down into the cove, or she could try underneath the swirling currents of the ocean to find the cave that supposedly led straight to the legendary pokemon's hidey-hole.
Her heart sang for the challenge this presented her and needless to say she nearly died going underneath the water, with currents pulling her body this way and that as she desperately sought out air pockets so she could gasp in breaths between swimming further on. She found the venture exhilarating as she made her way slowly to where the cove was supposed to be.
Eventually, her head breached the surface where the cove was, and it was unlike anything she had ever seen. The roof far above-head of the cavernous cove was in eternal storm, with an indoor weather-system all it's own. Rain poured, thunder pealed as lightning came down in brief flashes, and in the middle, floating above the water, was the enormous form of Kyogre as it slumbered. All along the sides, where there was land, greenery grew in abundance with the leaves on the plants almost too big to be real, spanning twenty feet or more for each one.
Something told her, in her heart, that this was an unwise plan. Being here was suddenly not something she wanted to do, but she couldn't stop her incorrigible nature to delve into trouble. She swam to just below Kyogre and threw a pebble up at the creature.
Nothing happened.
Corivana was tad disappointed, but she persevered. Instead, she took her boomerang and flung it up at Kyogre, where it slapped against it with a loud, wet sound and came falling back into the water just feet away from her. She gave out an unladylike curse and swam to retrieve the boomerang, but as her hand closed around the curved wood she heard something unusual. Nothing. No thunder, no rain pelting down from the indoor rain clouds, no wind. In the absence of all else, a shadow moved along the water, causing her to look up at where the Kyogre should have been. Near her face was one large, piercing yellow eye as the ancient pokemon stared back at her. She couldn't help it, she gulped audibly and gave the Kyogre a small wave as her hand clasped the boomerang that had just awoken the God of the Sea. Only one thought came to her mind at this point.
"I'm freakin' fishbait."
The events that came after surprised her nearly as much as her mentors back at the Espada estates. Corivana tried to escape by diving back underneath the water to the sea cave leading out, as she expected her rude awakening to piss it off Kyogre royally. Kyogre plunged it's massive body into the water just breathless moments after, coming straight for her.
The moments of that fight or flight situation have been ingrained perfectly into her mind, as if etched into her brain by their intensity. She twisted around as she drew her sword from it's hilt, intent on living even if it meant killing the deity of her family. Kyogre's body began to glow a virulent looking red, casting thousands of different ominous shades of the color throughout the water around them. She lunged as it approached her, her sword aimed for the middle of it's head, but a pulse of water emanated from around Kyogre's mouth and swirled around her body, thrusting the sword out of her hand with such force that it buried itself in the floor of the sea cove. She remained unharmed, if a little bit shell-shocked. Before she could react to it's next action, Kyogre swam with godly speed and came underneath her, then propelled them both out of the waters of the cove.
She made to jump off the back of Kyogre, to escape it's wrath, but the pokemon wasn't finished with her. She felt a building sensation through it's back, as if geyser was about to blow up, then from it's mouth came a huge blast of water, aimed at the roof of the cove. Rocks began to fall, rocks as large and bigger than Kyogre itself, but the pokemon expertly dodged through them, still keeping her on it's back all the while. She knew she was dead in her heart of hearts, but she was thrilled! She had never had so much fun in her life as she had, had riding through that avalanche of boulders.
Her heart throbbed in her ears when she stood up on the back of Kyogre to shout her excitement, which echoed back across the rocky island and desolate ocean. From underneath her, Kyogre gave it's own cry to match hers. A feeling of warmth and peace radiated from the creature, and suddenly Corivana found herself confused. She thought it was pissed, but it was playing with her! It had thought the whole venture was a game, the boomerang might as well have been her tickling it awake.
When she arrived back at the town, with Kyogre carrying her there above the waters, her entire family was shocked at first, then outraged that she had dared do such a thing. She was practically shunned within her family, this one frivolous and careless action was a step over the edge in their collective opinion, but they couldn't outright ignore that Kyogre chose her as it's companion. They still respected and even worshiped Kyogre. After much thought to how Corivana could pay for waking the slumbering pokemon, they decided that Corivana would serve the royal house of Ayero till her dying breath, with Kyogre as their mascot.
She gained a place in the Queen's Guard, but she hated serving in the palaces and Kyogre was a hindrance with it's large-scale body. They caused many disturbances over the two years that they were there, though none could deny her skill as a combatant, and eventually the Captain of the Guard proposed that she serve her country in a different way: as a Privateer plundering from the ships on the high seas. They reasoned that Kyogre would make for the perfect weapon in that arena, and she could damage trade to Lugere and bring it to their own country all in one decisive action. The higher-ups approved the idea, and Corivana would do anything to escape the strict rules of the palace.
She has been secretly serving the country of Ayero as the Dread Pirate Vana, though only the higher ranking officials and royalty know of her service. On the open seas, she prefers to keep the peaceful pokemon out of the fight against the ships she plunders, often jumping on board and demanding their surrender of valuables instead of using outright force. Kyogre has proven as a good bargaining tool, as they will look at the impressive pokemon and usually surrender without a fight, but it wasn't that way in the beginning. Kyogre and her have had some bloody battles in the past, and she strives to keep up her reputation so that they can avoid needless bloodshed, for the people she's plundering as well as for her kind pokemon. During one such battle she lost her left eye, but she's made it into a strength rather than her weakness.
With her actions, she has brought favor to her family, who still shun her, but she couldn't care a whit for the fools. She has been recently summoned from her duties on the open sea, for what she doesn't know, but she's heard whisperings that the hostilities between her nation and Lugere might break out into war.
Other:Species: Kyogre
Nickname: "Kyo" is as much of a nickname as Corivana has decided to give it.
Gender: Genderless (Corivana will refer to it as a she at times)
Appearance: 
Kyo has been outfitted in a practical harness with many bags attached for storing loot that Corivana acquires in her travels, as well as many loops for her to hold on to during flight, or for tricky maneuvering during battles.
Personality/History: This pokemon is peaceful, as if it is pleased by nothing more than flying around the oceans with Corivana as it's playmate and companion. It loves to splash around with her in the water above all else, though it does harbor a mysterious side, perhaps concealing it's true chaotic nature within. When Corivana gets into battles, it watches over her carefully, as she prefers to leave Kyo out of danger - which touched the gentle pokemon's heart. Because of this, Kyogre would never let any real harm come to Corivana.
Kyogre has been long since worshiped by the family of Espada, but they don't truly claim the legendary pokemon as their own and have revered it from afar. It was said that one of the Espada family's ancestors used to travel with the legendary pokemon, but none can seem to remember the ancestor's name for the life of them. It has been laying in slumber for some time, though how long is unknown, perhaps even to Kyogre.
It awoke to a tickling sensation and found a human girl in the water below it. The girl resembled a woman that Kyogre knew, long ago, and that Kyogre was quite fond of. The girl seemed as if she was playing, so Kyo decided to play back. In their journeys Kyo has gotten just as fond of Corivana as the human woman it used to follow. Corivana's personality is something that Kyogre adores, as this pokemon prefers to go with the flow rather than be hard-pressed about anything.
Moveset: Origin Pulse, Surf, Calm Mind, Hyper Beam
Ability: Drizzle
Kyo has been outfitted in a practical harness with many bags attached for storing loot that Corivana acquires in her travels, as well as many loops for her to hold on to during flight, or for tricky maneuvering during battles.
Personality/History: This pokemon is peaceful, as if it is pleased by nothing more than flying around the oceans with Corivana as it's playmate and companion. It loves to splash around with her in the water above all else, though it does harbor a mysterious side, perhaps concealing it's true chaotic nature within. When Corivana gets into battles, it watches over her carefully, as she prefers to leave Kyo out of danger - which touched the gentle pokemon's heart. Because of this, Kyogre would never let any real harm come to Corivana.
Kyogre has been long since worshiped by the family of Espada, but they don't truly claim the legendary pokemon as their own and have revered it from afar. It was said that one of the Espada family's ancestors used to travel with the legendary pokemon, but none can seem to remember the ancestor's name for the life of them. It has been laying in slumber for some time, though how long is unknown, perhaps even to Kyogre.
It awoke to a tickling sensation and found a human girl in the water below it. The girl resembled a woman that Kyogre knew, long ago, and that Kyogre was quite fond of. The girl seemed as if she was playing, so Kyo decided to play back. In their journeys Kyo has gotten just as fond of Corivana as the human woman it used to follow. Corivana's personality is something that Kyogre adores, as this pokemon prefers to go with the flow rather than be hard-pressed about anything.
Moveset: Origin Pulse, Surf, Calm Mind, Hyper Beam
Ability: DrizzleUsername: Aphelion
Name: Lumine Solaris
Age: 26
Gender: Female
Allegiance: N/A for now
Weapon: Her fast-talkin' and negotations
Pokemon Form Species: Scolipede
Pokemon Form Ability: n/a (for now)
Pokemon Form Moveset: n/a (for now)
Appearance:
Lumine is a normal size, normal shape sort of lady. Nothing on her body is particularly toned or muscled to a great extent, but she wears exotic and extravagant looking clothing befitting one of her profession. She is usually seen smoking.
She's a rather large Scolipede, 8'02'' in height and 442lbs in weight.
Personality: A smooth talking lady is what many people are greeted with at first. She is a procurer of rare goods, and totes them around Ayero and Lugere in equal measure. She is all about the sale, and if she can't interest you in any thing she has, she will dismiss you pretty quickly unless being around you is advantageous to her. She will pick up odd jobs on that same note, and has no problem fixing a village's problem for them in exchange for cold, hard cash. Monetary profit and favors are the things she looks for when she gets involved with anything. She doesn't share easily, but will back away from confrontation if it seems unnecessary or difficult to deal with.
Biography: Lumine Solaris, Procurer of Rare Artifacts and Goods, and Helper of the People. She makes sure she is known in some way in every town she visits, and people tend to flock to her when she comes around to see what all she has.
Her true history is unknown to most people, but she claims that she is a descendant of the Everlasting King one day, or from along line of magicians the next, or from a long line of maids who work for nobility another day. She isn't one for sharing the truth, but she is particularly capable at sleight of hand and making things seem more “grand” than they actually are, so she is an excellent performer in that regard.
Other: She owns a self-pulled cart that is decorated just as flamboyantly as she is where all her goods are stored.
Lumine is a normal size, normal shape sort of lady. Nothing on her body is particularly toned or muscled to a great extent, but she wears exotic and extravagant looking clothing befitting one of her profession. She is usually seen smoking.
She's a rather large Scolipede, 8'02'' in height and 442lbs in weight.
