Age: 11
Species: Opossum
Opossums are a fairly common species, but they aren’t often seen, as they are nomadic and largely nocturnal (with excellent night vision, naturally). Families of opossums travel between towns, foraging for food along the way, the mother carrying her kids (called joeys) on her back once they get too big to ride in her pouch. It’s not uncommon to see older joeys holding each other’s tails in a line to stay together. Speaking of, opossums’ tails are prehensile and strong enough to be used as a fifth limb useful for climbing trees and carrying things.
Opossums are often stereotyped as cowards, as they prefer to keep to themselves and stay out of trouble. This isn’t helped by their tendency to pass out, or “play dead,” when overly threatened. It’s not intentional, though; it’s an involuntary reflex. While they aren’t particularly strong in offense or defense, they’re built to survive. They have a very strong immune system protecting them from most diseases and poisons, and can eat almost anything, including carrion and bones if necessary.
Description: Maybell looks pretty typical for an opossum, except for her rather small size, even compared to others of her kind. She stands roughly two feet tall, and most of her body mass is made up of fluffy fur. She wears an orange bandana around her neck.
Strengths: Maybell’s best feature is her intelligence. She reads just about every book she can find and thus stores an encyclopedia of fun facts and trivia tidbits in her head. She can figure out riddles and puzzles with ease, and does so quite often (just, you know, for fun). In addition, Maybell has plenty of energy and determination that she pours into whatever she does. If you give her a puzzle interesting enough, she won’t let anything distract her until it’s been solved.
Flaws: While Maybell is book-smart, she doesn’t have a whole lot of sense. She’s not great at navigating social situations, and she has a terrible habit of ignoring signs of danger and running headlong into trouble she has no way of getting herself out of. Her determination isn’t always a good thing either; she often gets tunnel vision and ignores even her own needs in favor of figuring out some puzzle.
Neutral: Maybell loves mysteries. Secrets, codes, conspiracies, if it’s hidden in some way, she’s going to find it. She also has an affinity for… things, for lack of a better term. She collects little trinkets such as shiny rocks, cool bugs, and discarded buttons. Whatever strikes her fancy, really.
Skills:
Sleight of Hand
She has very light hands, good for filching and pickpocketing.
Hiding
She can fit into small spaces and camouflage herself in wooded areas.
Cryptography
She can recognize and decode most known ciphers given enough time and effort.
Focal Crystal: Maybell’s Focal Crystal is pale pink, roughly three inches long, and pointed at the top. When in use, its edges glow bright white. She keeps it in her pouch along with the rest of her equipment.
Special Equipment:
Reihenschieber
Anything written by this pen turns into illegible symbols before the ink dries. Only those marked by the Aryabhata spell can read it.
Obtentus
While Maybell wears this necklace, she will take on the appearance of an average fox until either she takes it off, or an hour passes. Afterwards, the necklace won’t work again until the next day.
Equipment:
A foldable journal where Maybell writes down various codes, ciphers, and keys (all written with Reihenschieber and illegible to anyone else).
A leather pouch full of little trinkets and pretty rocks.
A set of lockpicks.
An inkwell.
Her mother’s bandana.
Weapon: She carries a small knife in a leather sheath. It’s not anything special, but it works for self-defense and practical use.
Special Attack: Playing dead is an opossum’s last line of defense in dire situations. As a reflex, they fall unconscious and release a pheromone that fools predators into thinking they’re dead. Her tendency to play dead causes Maybell a whole lot of embarrassment, but it’s a useful defense mechanism.
Magic Lv: 5
Spellbook: Maybell’s spellbook is a leatherbound book with etched patterns and copper pieces attached to the cover.
School of Focus: Trickery - In her magic, Maybell focuses on illusion, thievery, and encoding (and decoding) messages. Messing with people, hiding stuff, etc. Basically a magic Rogue.
Spells:
Aryabhata (Lesser): Anyone marked by this spell can read text written with Reihenschieber.
Heresco (Lesser): This spell allows Maybell to walk on walls and ceilings for up to five minutes.
Murmur (Lesser): This spell lets Maybell send a short whispered message audible only to its target.
Perplicatus (Medium): For five minutes, the target of this spell becomes confused and disoriented.
Misc Battle Info: Maybell isn’t the type to rush into battle. She’s not great at fighting, so she doesn’t do it often, but she will if there’s no other choice.
“A thimble’s worth of milky moon
Can touch hearts larger than a thimble”
Can touch hearts larger than a thimble”
Once upon a time, there was a family of possums; a mother, a father, and nine joeys. Their lives were an adventure; they would travel from town to town scavenging for food and doing odd jobs for whoever needed help. The youngest joey, Maybell, was precocious and curious; she loved exploring and discovering new things. She had a habit of running off and getting herself lost whenever she saw something interesting.
"And all day long we talked about mercy
Lead me to water, Lord, I sure am thirsty"
Lead me to water, Lord, I sure am thirsty"
Maybell had heard stories of wild monsters that lived in the forests between towns, but she had never experienced them herself, having spent her first few years in civilization. When the time came to leave, Maybell had no idea how dangerous the forests could be.
“And Danger! Danger! Drawing near them was a white coat
And Danger! Danger! drawing near them was a broad boat”
And Danger! Danger! drawing near them was a broad boat”
A few days into their journey, they stopped to rest, and Maybell wandered away from her family to explore. She noticed something unusual. It looked like some kind of plant she had never seen before, moving in a strange way that couldn’t have been caused by the wind. Curiously, Maybell approached it. Before she could get much closer, she heard her siblings calling for her.
“Maybell! Where are you? We’re going to have dinner!”
“Over here! Check out this thing I found!”
Before she could say anything else, Maybell heard a growling noise and the “plant” stood up on clawed feet and lunged at her. She could hear her siblings coming towards her and calling her name. She tried to go towards them, but got disoriented and ended up in a river.
“Why’ve you gone away?
Seven suns, seven suns away”
Seven suns, seven suns away”
Maybell woke up drenched on the riverbed in the middle of the night, all alone. She didn’t find her family’s campsite until the early morning, but it was destroyed and abandoned. All that was left was her mother’s bandana. She figured they must have run away from the monster. Maybell picked up the bandana and what little supplies were left at the campsite and set off to find her family.
(She would tell you that she left immediately, but she actually spent almost an entire day crying first)
Her natural survival abilities helped her live on her own until she reached Cosmos City. By the time she got there, she was dirty, tired, and hungry and was torn between continuing on and just giving up.
One morning, she woke up in her makeshift bed on the side of a road and was approached by a kindly old woman offering her a place to stay.
This is where our story begins…
“Hundred raging waters snare the lonely sigh
Hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia”
Hold your breath and clasp at Cassiopeia”
Theme Songs:
Bridges and Balloons by Joanna Newsom
Sadie by Joanna Newsom
Sprout and the Bean by Joanna Newsom
Cosmia by Joanna Newsom
Cassiopeia by Joanna Newsom
Bridges and Balloons by Joanna Newsom
Sadie by Joanna Newsom
Sprout and the Bean by Joanna Newsom
Cosmia by Joanna Newsom
Cassiopeia by Joanna Newsom
