Mistress Dizzy

The Blighted Kingdom

@Liseran Thistle Aw, thank you. It feels so good to do something creative after a long week. Usually I hesitate with first posts, but the words were flowing. Definitely a good sign.

The Blighted Kingdom

Kassandra had to use every ounce of decorum she possessed to not stare around the throne room. She'd often dreamed of being famous enough for a position like this. While she had attented Master Horridan at events in the royal palace, those were few and far between nowadays. Besides...

"Thank you, Master Aborran. It is an honor." She could barely get that sentence out without her voice trembling. To think - she was recieving a spell from THE highest mage in the land. From the look of teh other people in the group, she was teh only one with any idea of the magnitude of the occassion. Oh, what she wouldn't give to spend a day, even just a few hours in this man's prescence - to pick his brain, to learn what he knew... Maybe, if they were successful, she could ask for that. A king was one thing, but you had to work to be such a high ranked mage.

Master Mage Kassandra Fletcher, hero of the realm. It did have a beautiful ring to it.

With her arm still tingling from the spell, she checked her gear and potion bottles almost reflexively. Her staff was buzzing, ever so slightly, at the presence of a spell so nearby. Her clothing, which she thought would have been unusual before she saw the others, was simple, but pristine. And, most importantly, her hood was still on. There had been a bit of fuss when she was being checked over. She'd had to explain over and over, to doctors and nursemaids and mages that she'd been born that way, it wasn't due to illness and she didn't have so much as a cough, thank you very much. She would have dyed it, but doing her brows and lashes were enough of a hassle.

Slowly, she looked over the rest of the assorted strangers recieving the protective spell. While the sturdy, armored warrior types were what she was expecting, most of the others were not. Most alarming was the boy, definitely. He seemed to think this was going to be a grand adventure. She sort of wanted to ask where his parents were, but figured that would be rude. Then there was a girl who seemed a bit younger than she was. She seemed a lot more capable, though - something about her looked poised and dangerous.

The man in the cloak almost escaped her notice. She wasn't bothered by men in robes, but he probably wasn't the magic type. It was the hunch in his shoulders - then, perhaps, couldn't that be too many long nights bent over a textbook?

The woman and the wolf were the most interesting, and she found herself moving toward them without realizing it. Kassandra's memories of her traveling past were limited now, though she still found things remembered, hidden in scents and vivid dreams. Still, she couldn't recall seeing anyone like this before.

Carefully, she cleared her throat before speaking. "Miss, your..." Pet was not the right word at all, she realized suddenly. "Your companion is very beautiful." She paused. "Not in a.. frilly sort of way. Beautiful like animals can be. I saw a trained hawk dive for a rabbit once. That kind of beautiful." She tried not to wince as the words fell haplessly out of her mouth. This was why she had more books than friends.

The Blighted Kingdom

Put my sheet up. I'm reading through everything now.

The Blighted Kingdom

K A S S A N D R A

^{"NO, I will NOT make you a love potion!"}

^{Kassandra Fletcher
♦ 19 ♦ Female ♦ Neutral Good}

Ω O R I G I N S:

Kassandra Fletcher is one of the mages in training serving under
Master Mage Horridan Reese. It has taken her years of schooling to get to where she is, and just as much determination and drive. While she does know the same general magic that all book-learned mages are taught, Kassandra’s specialty is potion work. One would think it’s no different than cooking, but there is a subtlety and complication in the art that many mages overlook for something more straightforward. It’s not just the choice of ingredients that changes, but the amount used, and the amount of magical will infused into the ingredients. The timeframe of brewing, the weather on the day that you begin the potion. Is the room humid or dry? Your hands clean when you stoppered the bottle?

Kassandra adores her potions, and her hard work has garnered many results. She wants to teach others when she becomes of age. Working to stop the plague is not only her Master’s wish, but Kassy’s as well.

Her parents, Kaia and Lenden were nomadic, and she was a very happy child, traveling from city to city. Kaia had a great deal of magic and intelligence, and “Spoke to the dead”. In truth, no one can speak to the dead. Kaia used a combination of cold reading and minor illusion to do what she did, and used it to help others come to grips with loss. Her father had no magical talent of his own, but supported his wife and child with heart and blade. While she was a benevolent woman, not everyone saw her that way. “Unholy” and “charlatan” were among the first complicated words that little Kassy learned as a child, but so were “savior” and “blessed”. What she didn’t learn, was that her mother was essentially a fraud. Some nights when they rushed out in the middle of the night were treated as a fun game, and Kassy never understood that they were being chased. Kassandra will never know if it was sabotage or a spell gone very wrong, but her mother died one evening in the midst of a “channeling”.

Lenden was never the same. He sunk into his grief, and they spent almost a year travelling and barely making ends meet before they came to the city of Vasilius. There, Kassandra learned that she had an aunt Liriya – her brother’s sister – and that aunt was a minor noble (she married up). Her father dropped her off there, promising to return within 6 months.

Kassandra has never seen him again.

While Aunt Liriya was displeased with the arrangement to say the least, she did clothe and feed and put a roof over Kassy’s head. She even went sure the girl went to school, something 8 year old Kassy did not know existed. Despite being behind the other noble children, Kassy quickly caught up. And then – she began to surpass her classmates through the years.
When she was about 17, when most noble children were going for professions or knighthood, Kassy was offered another choice. All schools of the realm had magic tests to determine a child’s aptitude. Most children didn’t show much more than the usual capacity for spellwork, and were left to general schooling. Some showed more innate talent, and they were given extra lessons to not let the talent go to waste or get out of hand.
Kassandra was offered a place at the Royal Academy of Advanced Intellect – a school where the best and brightest in the kingdom went to learn and grow. She learned where her passions lay, studied with other like minds, and was third in line for an apprenticeship with the Master Mage Reese himself! Within a year, she was moved up the ladder. The first apprentice married, the second apprentice quit, and Kassy was suddenly thrown into the position in the midst of the plague. She is determined to succeed – don’t burn out, don’t get pregnant, and don’t let a little thing like an incurable plague stop her from becoming someone amazing.

Ω
A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:

//ABILITIES:

◼ I Got Bottles | While she does know the same general magic that all book-learned mages are taught, Kassandra’s specialty is potion work. One would think it’s no different than cooking, but there is a subtlety and complication in the art that many mages overlook for something more straightforward. It’s not just the choice of ingredients that changes, but the amount used, and the amount of magical will infused into the ingredients. The timeframe of brewing, the weather on the day that you begin the potion. Is the room humid or dry? Your hands clean when you stoppered the bottle?
So far, Kassy has several potions that she relies on.
Better Than Coffee: This golden-brown potion provides a 3 hour burst of energy that will shake off sleepiness and make up for an all-nighter in the library. Kassandra knows from experience that more than 2 per day is asking for trouble.
Cleanser: This is a strangely clear potion. It’s used to detect poison, or other harmful additives in food or drink. Kassy has made quite a bit of money with this one.
To Your Health!: This potion is bright orange, and can help shake off small sicknesses like colds. This is one that Kassy is constantly working to improve. It doesn’t work well on everyone. For some reason, elderly don’t respond well to it. It is also only for minor illnesses, certainly not a miracle cure.
Purge: This is the only one that could be called a poison. When imbibed, it will make the drinker vomit. Then it will happen in the other direction. Ironically enough, Kassy uses this on herself more than anyone else, as she refuses to let anyone test a potion–in–progress. She’s had to expel failed experiments from her own body more than once.

◼ “Real Magic” | Kassandra’s spells are for function, not flash. While she has many more, the few that she uses on a regular basis are as such:
Light – She casts a circle of light large enough for about 3 people.
Burst – She launches a bubble of force that impacts like a kicking horse. Could break bones if it hit the right place. Could kill if it hit the wrong place.
Detect – Detects the presence of magic around her. Only works on cast spells or magical things or creatures. Since everything’s got a bit of magic, the spell is tuned for what is deliberately there.
Bubble – Burst in reverse. Calls up a localized shield that can cover about 20 feet around.

//SKILLS:

◼ Court Savvy | While technically not a noble herself, she does hold a
position of esteem. As one of Reese’s students, she is expected to be present at certain functions - if
only to be silent at her Master's elbow. She knows the rules, and can manage in high company.

◼ Well-Read |
Kassandra has spent a lifetime either moving from city to city, or nose-deep in books from around the world. She has an intelligence about the world outside. While she doesn’t speak much of her nomadic past, the knowledge she has may come in handy on the journey.

//LIMITATIONS:

◼ Reader, not a Fighter | Kassandra does not like fighting. While certain potions can be used for combat, and Kassy does know how to swing the staff she carries, she will hesitate to jump into battle. In a real fight, that hesitation could be very dangerous.

//WEAKNESSES:

◼ NERRRD! | Kass is not very social, to say the least. While she can happily go on about magical theory, history, and
classical works, she's more than a little out of her league just socializing. Other people her age sometimes find her awkward, or just boring. She is acutely aware of this, and is often hesitant in conversation.

Ω
N O T E S:

◼ Kassandra was born with white hair. She has no idea why, and to the knowledge of everyone she’s ever asked, she has no more or less magical power than anyone else. It may be a birth defect, it may be destiny. Right now, Kass herself just finds it annoying. She usually covers her head with a cap or hood, and wears makeup to darken her lashes and eyebrows.

The Blighted Kingdom

I will try to get a post up tomorrow. I just finsihed hour 50 our of my 40 hour work week, so my breain is coming out of my ears.

The Blighted Kingdom

@Roman Woohoo! I am probably going to post tomorrow, as I am up to 19 out of a 40 hours week and I have 3 days to go. Yaaay fuck overtime woooo.

The Blighted Kingdom

Kassandra Fletcher

K A S S A N D R A

^{"NO, I will NOT make you a love potion!"}

^{Kassandra Fletcher
♦ 19 ♦ Female ♦ Neutral Good}

Ω O R I G I N S:

Kassandra Fletcher is one of the mages in training serving under
Master Mage Horridan Reese. It has taken her years of schooling to get to where she is, and just as much determination and drive. While she does know the same general magic that all book-learned mages are taught, Kassandra’s specialty is potion work. One would think it’s no different than cooking, but there is a subtlety and complication in the art that many mages overlook for something more straightforward. It’s not just the choice of ingredients that changes, but the amount used, and the amount of magical will infused into the ingredients. The timeframe of brewing, the weather on the day that you begin the potion. Is the room humid or dry? Your hands clean when you stoppered the bottle?

Kassandra adores her potions, and her hard work has garnered many results. She wants to teach others when she becomes of age. Working to stop the plague is not only her Master’s wish, but Kassy’s as well.

Her parents, Kaia and Lenden were nomadic, and she was a very happy child, traveling from city to city. Kaia had a great deal of magic and intelligence, and “Spoke to the dead”. In truth, no one can speak to the dead. Kaia used a combination of cold reading and minor illusion to do what she did, and used it to help others come to grips with loss. Her father had no magical talent of his own, but supported his wife and child with heart and blade. While she was a benevolent woman, not everyone saw her that way. “Unholy” and “charlatan” were among the first complicated words that little Kassy learned as a child, but so were “savior” and “blessed”. What she didn’t learn, was that her mother was essentially a fraud. Some nights when they rushed out in the middle of the night were treated as a fun game, and Kassy never understood that they were being chased. Kassandra will never know if it was sabotage or a spell gone very wrong, but her mother died one evening in the midst of a “channeling”.

Lenden was never the same. He sunk into his grief, and they spent almost a year travelling and barely making ends meet before they came to the city of Vasilius. There, Kassandra learned that she had an aunt Liriya – her brother’s sister – and that aunt was a minor noble (she married up). Her father dropped her off there, promising to return within 6 months.

Kassandra has never seen him again.

While Aunt Liriya was displeased with the arrangement to say the least, she did clothe and feed and put a roof over Kassy’s head. She even went sure the girl went to school, something 8 year old Kassy did not know existed. Despite being behind the other noble children, Kassy quickly caught up. And then – she began to surpass her classmates through the years.
When she was about 17, when most noble children were going for professions or knighthood, Kassy was offered another choice. All schools of the realm had magic tests to determine a child’s aptitude. Most children didn’t show much more than the usual capacity for spellwork, and were left to general schooling. Some showed more innate talent, and they were given extra lessons to not let the talent go to waste or get out of hand.
Kassandra was offered a place at the Royal Academy of Advanced Intellect – a school where the best and brightest in the kingdom went to learn and grow. She learned where her passions lay, studied with other like minds, and was third in line for an apprenticeship with the Master Mage Reese himself! Within a year, she was moved up the ladder. The first apprentice married, the second apprentice quit, and Kassy was suddenly thrown into the position in the midst of the plague. She is determined to succeed – don’t burn out, don’t get pregnant, and don’t let a little thing like an incurable plague stop her from becoming someone amazing.

Ω
A B I L I T I E S / S K I L L S:

//ABILITIES:

◼ I Got Bottles | While she does know the same general magic that all book-learned mages are taught, Kassandra’s specialty is potion work. One would think it’s no different than cooking, but there is a subtlety and complication in the art that many mages overlook for something more straightforward. It’s not just the choice of ingredients that changes, but the amount used, and the amount of magical will infused into the ingredients. The timeframe of brewing, the weather on the day that you begin the potion. Is the room humid or dry? Your hands clean when you stoppered the bottle?
So far, Kassy has several potions that she relies on.
Better Than Coffee: This golden-brown potion provides a 3 hour burst of energy that will shake off sleepiness and make up for an all-nighter in the library. Kassandra knows from experience that more than 2 per day is asking for trouble.
Cleanser: This is a strangely clear potion. It’s used to detect poison, or other harmful additives in food or drink. Kassy has made quite a bit of money with this one.
To Your Health!: This potion is bright orange, and can help shake off small sicknesses like colds. This is one that Kassy is constantly working to improve. It doesn’t work well on everyone. For some reason, elderly don’t respond well to it. It is also only for minor illnesses, certainly not a miracle cure.
Purge: This is the only one that could be called a poison. When imbibed, it will make the drinker vomit. Then it will happen in the other direction. Ironically enough, Kassy uses this on herself more than anyone else, as she refuses to let anyone test a potion–in–progress. She’s had to expel failed experiments from her own body more than once.

◼ “Real Magic” | Kassandra’s spells are for function, not flash. While she has many more, the few that she uses on a regular basis are as such:
Light – She casts a circle of light large enough for about 3 people.
Burst – She launches a bubble of force that impacts like a kicking horse. Could break bones if it hit the right place. Could kill if it hit the wrong place.
Detect – Detects the presence of magic around her. Only works on cast spells or magical things or creatures. Since everything’s got a bit of magic, the spell is tuned for what is deliberately there.
Bubble – Burst in reverse. Calls up a localized shield that can cover about 20 feet around.

//SKILLS:

◼ Court Savvy | While technically not a noble herself, she does hold a
position of esteem. As one of Reese’s students, she is expected to be present at certain functions - if
only to be silent at her Master's elbow. She knows the rules, and can manage in high company.

◼ Well-Read |
Kassandra has spent a lifetime either moving from city to city, or nose-deep in books from around the world. She has an intelligence about the world outside. While she doesn’t speak much of her nomadic past, the knowledge she has may come in handy on the journey.

//LIMITATIONS:

◼ Reader, not a Fighter | Kassandra does not like fighting. While certain potions can be used for combat, and Kassy does know how to swing the staff she carries, she will hesitate to jump into battle. In a real fight, that hesitation could be very dangerous.

//WEAKNESSES:

◼ NERRRD! | Kass is not very social, to say the least. While she can happily go on about magical theory, history, and
classical works, she's more than a little out of her league just socializing. Other people her age sometimes find her awkward, or just boring. She is acutely aware of this, and is often hesitant in conversation.

Ω
N O T E S:

◼ Kassandra was born with white hair. She has no idea why, and to the knowledge of everyone she’s ever asked, she has no more or less magical power than anyone else. It may be a birth defect, it may be destiny. Right now, Kass herself just finds it annoying. She usually covers her head with a cap or hood, and wears makeup to darken her lashes and eyebrows.

Waiting on your reapproval.

The Blighted Kingdom

I'm still working on Kassy's update. Aiming for Tuesday/Wednesday. >_< Work really cuts into my ability to write.

The Blighted Kingdom

Good. Got my email from the GM yesterday so I'll be working on that.

Hopefully Sanctuary

Devika exhaled slow, and nodded. "You're very nice, to help. Most of what I have is books, honestly." And that was the truth. Devika had little in the way of possessions. She used to have more, but donated or threw away most of it when she moved away. Clothes and shoes, and lots and lots of books, mostly.

She started to pack. Luckily, she had a lot of old boxes from her initial move-in. Also luckily, the furniture there was more or less rented. Aside from the actual bedsheets and the electronics, most of the cabin was staying in the cabin. Devika packed and worked, unable to say much to the new stranger in her space. Her mind was still too full of possibilities - and fear.

Soon, sundown was sliding through the windows. She had a hall full of boxes and a few more large things.

"Uh, miss Roxy. You can... spend the night here, I guess. I haven't taken the sheets off the beds. They are clean."