Obscene Symphony

Scion: Children of Light - Bronze Age Fantasy Magic Academy

I could certainly be interested in this. I'll keep my eye on it.

Council of the Night

I will be soon (I hope), thanks for the wishes ^_^

Council of the Night

@Polyphemus sorry for the delay, been dealing with migraines the past few days 🤬

Obscene's Scratchpad

Council of the Night

The darkness in people’s hearts just seems to come out more than usual when he’s around. Sinners might find themselves a little drawn to him.

@EchoicChamber

Ah yes, Lienna will like this one a lot. Fun fact; one iteration of her was a paranoid mother who dabbled in witchcraft and hid her child away from the world, so I'll be excited to pull out some of the mama wolf instincts, hehehe.

As for familiarity: Even if they don't formally meet as council members, it's likely that some of the older ones know each other at least by reputation, if not having actually met face-to-face in the past for whatever reason. Lienna's been around for a long, long time (and you'll see more of that when I finish her sheet - sorry for the delay, btw!) so it's likely some of the older people know her at least by reputation, for example. But it's also possible someone like Orlok, a recluse, or Impitu, to be unknown because they simply never reached their feelers out.

Council of the Night

@EchoicChamber I bet Lienna would enjoy the pitter patter of little antichrist feet around the castle ^_^

Council of the Night

@Polyphemus Thank you!! Haha what a coincidence, you posted that just as I woke up.

Council of the Night

Which Witch WIP

_{“Her eyes, if they were ever seen, would be neither sweet nor subtle;
no man could read their story;
they would be found filled with perishing dreams, and with wrecks of forgotten delirium.”}

Name:

Her current title is Mater Inclementia. Her peers, however, know her as Lienna.

Inspiration:

OC in the style of The Three Mothers, as well as Thomas de Quincey’s Suspiria de Profundis, which inspired the movies.

Appearance:

Lienna is not what one might picture when they think of an ancient crone bound to sow chaos. Rather, she’s a glowing picture of youth and beauty; her lithe (if short) frame is wrapped in ivory skin that fairly glistens with vigour, long, white hair that shines like fallen snow, and an enchanting set of steely amethyst eyes the likes of which one would struggle to find among mortals. This is, of course, a countenance she carefully engineered herself, meticulously maintained by whatever means necessary, and the secrets of which she guards jealously. Whether she bathes in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth is up for debate, though her bathroom does need scrubbing a tad more often than others.

As for clothing, Lienna sticks to dresses, generally preferring light, delicate fabrics over harsh silhouettes. She’s a great fan of modern manicures, and keeps her nails meticulously shaped and painted in vibrant colours, though nothing so long or flashy as to get in the way. She doesn’t seem to take weather into account when planning outfits except for when she plans to be out in public, and can often be found in inclement weather wearing little more than a lacy gown, not bothered by heat or cold.

Abilities/ Skills:

Lienna possesses a sort of wild magick much more ancient and primal than the master sorceries of Dracula’s fame. Contrasting his careful incantations and deft control, Lienna commands a raw, preternatural power, the rage of nature and unchecked energies of diabolical chaos itself. This power does not follow her every command as a trained pet; no, this is a power which must be bargained with, courted with sacrifice and offering and coaxed to do her bidding. What it lacks in precision, it makes up for in great destructive power, though Lienna can hardly claim to control it; she sees herself less a wielder of magick and more its consort. Such a power can be difficult for one to wrap their head around, but one thing is sure: wheresoever Mater Inclementia goes, suffering and death follows after.

History:

Lienna will burn in Hell for her crimes, if anyone ever manages to send her there.

Goals:

Lienna tires of humanity and would love nothing more than to see their world consumed by chaos and death; ideally, to be inherited and ruled by her precious creatures of the night.

Notes:

While not physically weakened or affected by them, Lienna is incensed by the sight of crosses and crucifixes to the point of distraction; she sees their bearers as the descendants of those who cursed and burned her, and they serve as an unwelcome reminder of the fate that awaits her in the afterlife.

Fire is very dangerous to her; in fact, it’s one of the only things capable of killing her. She has all sorts of precautions to take, but… don’t expect her to claim the seat next to the fireplace.

As a consequence of the untamed nature of her power, Lienna doesn’t have a lot of passive control over it. Chaos and suffering cling to her like a cheap scarf, and manifest in such things as outbreaks of famine, illness or even violence and unrest if she stays in one place too long. Thankfully, these effects are less pronounced in areas without much human population (save for some dying plant life and a bit of rabies in the local coyote population) and don’t seem to affect the creatures of the night and their compatriots - though maybe it’s because they were affected already…

Theme

Still working on the sheet, but I was too excited not to post the progress!

I went for a less campy, more old-timey traditional witch vibe for this character, as that's the sort of witches the source material has as far as I know. (I'll admit, I haven't gotten my hands on the actual films yet, but I've been studying up on them).

This sheet is definitely still under construction (and yes, I will definitely put more than that in the history section xD) but if there are any flaws so far that need fixing, please let me know!

Obscene's Scratchpad

Which Witch WIP

_{“Her eyes, if they were ever seen, would be neither sweet nor subtle;
no man could read their story;
they would be found filled with perishing dreams, and with wrecks of forgotten delirium.”}

Name:

Her current title is Mater Inclementia. Her peers, however, know her as Lienna.

Inspiration:

OC in the style of The Three Mothers, as well as by Thomas de Quincey’s Suspiria de Profundis, which inspired the movies.

Appearance:

Lienna is not what one might picture when they think of an ancient crone bound to sow chaos. Rather, she’s a glowing picture of youth and beauty; her lithe (if short) frame is wrapped in ivory skin that fairly glistens with vigour, long, white hair that shines like fallen snow, and an enchanting set of steely amethyst eyes the likes of which one would struggle to find among mortals. This is, of course, a countenance she carefully engineered herself, meticulously maintained by whatever means necessary, and the secrets of which she guards jealously. Whether she bathes in the blood of virgins to maintain her youth is up for debate, though her bathroom does need scrubbing a tad more often than others.

As for clothing, Lienna sticks to dresses, generally preferring light, delicate fabrics over harsh silhouettes. She’s a great fan of modern manicures, and keeps her nails meticulously shaped and painted in vibrant colours, though nothing so long or flashy as to get in the way. She doesn’t seem to take weather into account when planning outfits except for when she plans to be out in public, and can often be found in inclement weather wearing little more than a lacy gown, not bothered by heat or cold.

Abilities/ Skills:

Lienna possesses a sort of wild magick much more ancient and primal than the master sorceries of Dracula’s fame. Contrasting his careful incantations and deft control, Lienna commands a raw, preternatural power, the rage of nature and unchecked energies of diabolical chaos itself. This power does not follow her every command as a trained pet; no, this is a power which must be bargained with, seduced with sacrifice and offering and coaxed to do her bidding. What it lacks in precision, it makes up for in great destructive power, though Lienna can hardly claim to control it; she sees herself less a wielder of magick and more its consort. Such a power can be difficult for one to wrap their head around, but one thing is sure: wheresoever Mater Inclementia goes, suffering and death follows after.

History:

Tell us a little about your character's background. Write as much or as little as you like, just so long as we get the general idea of who you are and where you came from.

Lienna will burn in Hell for her crimes, if anyone ever manages to send her there.

Goals:

Lienna tires of humanity and would love nothing more than to see their world consumed by chaos and death; ideally, to be inherited and ruled by her precious creatures of the night.

Notes:

While not physically weakened or affected by them, Lienna is incensed by the sight of crosses and crucifixes to the point of distraction; she sees their bearers as the descendants of those who cursed and burned her, and they serve as an unwelcome reminder of the fate that awaits her in the afterlife.

Fire is very dangerous to her; in fact, it’s one of the only things capable of killing her. She has all sorts of precautions to take, but… don’t expect her to claim the seat next to the fireplace.

As a consequence of the untamed nature of her power, Lienna doesn’t have a lot of passive control over it. Chaos and suffering cling to her like a cheap scarf, and manifest in such things as outbreaks of famine, illness or even violence and unrest if she stays in one place too long. Thankfully, these effects are less pronounced in areas without much human population (save for some dying plant life and a bit of rabies in the local coyote population) and don’t seem to affect the creatures of the night and their compatriots - though maybe it’s because they were affected already…

Theme

Of Blood and Magic

> I pointed out the flaws in his logic cuz he assumed I was a fucking moron, apparently he crumples when you raise your voice
> Why do you even care

Aaron almost vocalized his groan that time. Could Max not guess? He hit the nail on the head back in the woods, for stars’ sake. But if he had to explain it, how could he word it so that Max wouldn’t brush him off out of spite and get both Varis and Eris mad at him?

> Believe it or not, Eris’ problems tend to become my problems.
> Besides, it’s… weird. He seems genuinely concerned about you. I honestly didn’t think he had it in him.

There, hopefully that got the message across well enough. It was a hard balance to strike between genuine concern and ‘flippant enough not to freak Max out’, but it was one he’d have to learn to master if he was going to get anywhere with him. Good lord, though; Aaron actually liked Max (albeit for reasons that eluded him) but walking yet another tightrope was a headache he didn’t need.

“Mister…”

As if on cue, a sudden voice made Aaron look up from his phone to see a plump woman with chestnut brown hair in the doorway, dressed professionally in a lab coat and A-line skirt and reading a chart. Squinting at the page, she pulled a set of turquoise glasses down from the top of her head, blinking for a moment before her eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh! Mr. Starag!”

Looking a little bit flustered, she perked up immediately, dropping her clipboard to her side and approaching Aaron’s chair with an outstretched hand. Aaron stood to shake it and she looked a little surprised, smiling brightly up at him. “A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Starag. My name is Dr. Ogden, though most people call me Shelley.”

Aaron returned her smile with one of his own, nodding as they each sat back down in their respective chairs, with the doctor glancing back at her clipboard on the table. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Ogden. Most people call me Aaron,” he chuckled, before quickly clearing his throat. “I hope this doesn’t seem rude, but I usually see Dr. Adad. Does she have the night off?”

“Hmm…” Shelley looked pensive for a moment, tapping the end of a pen on her clipboard before shaking her head. “Oh, no. She only does appointment visits. Otherwise it’s me and Dr. Jameson who do walk-ins.”

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense.” Aaron gave the doctor a nod, making a mental note of the difference. Truth be told, he’d never realized there was a distinction, but he supposed that was yet another pitfall of his upbringing. They were piling up fast, it seemed. He wasn’t sure how comfortable he was making any more people than necessary aware of his medical history, but he supposed it couldn’t be helped.

“Yep! Don’t worry though, I’ll take good care of you.” Shelley gave him a jovial smile and a wink before sliding down her glasses once more and reading down her clipboard. “So… it says here you’re in for a bit of an injury,” she said slowly, before turning back to Aaron. “Let’s take a look at that, shall we?”

“Oh, of course.” Aaron moved to the examination table and pulled off his shirt, revealing the tortoiseshell pattern of welts on his arms and shoulders, the oldest of which were just starting to darken from red to purple. Shelley stood to examine them, looking at them closely and very gently prodding and pulling the skin. An expression Aaron could only describe as ‘mildly troubled’ crossed her face as she backed away a bit, but whatever was bothering her, she didn’t comment on it.

Sitting back in her chair, she raised her glasses and wrote a few notes on her clipboard before turning back to Aaron, hands in her lap. “Well, looks like nothing too serious. We’ll have you fixed up in a jiffy.” She gestured for Aaron to return to his chair, glancing back at her clipboard.

“Now, it says here you have a biiit of a dependency on life magic. That won’t be an issue, but it just changes how we handle things a bit. Nothing you need to be concerned about, though.” She smiled. “Is there anything else you want to address before we start? Aches, pains, anything? ‘Cause it’s best if we do it all in one go.”

“A bit of a headache is all,” Aaron replied, “although I do have something for you.” Producing the envelope Varis had given him, he handed it to the doctor, who seemed surprised to be holding something bearing a noble seal.

Breaking it, she took a moment to pull out the letter and read the contents, expression falling as she did. “Uh-huh…”

Aaron tilted his head. “Is something unclear?”

Shelley shook her head, brow knitted together as she read the page a few more times. “Not really, just… a little out of the ordinary,” she replied hesitantly, tossing the letter and envelope in her trash bin like it was something dirty. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment. When she was done, she perked up, wiggling her fingers. “Alright, let’s get this show on the road then. Just do me a favour and relax...”

She wheeled her chair closer to Aaron’s and placed one hand on his shoulder, the other on his forearm, closing her eyes. Immediately Aaron felt a comforting warmth wash over him, a familiar sensation almost like being submerged in warm water. The tension left his shoulders and the throbbing in his arm subsided, his headache melting away along with it. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but he didn’t really care.

He let out a long breath as the doctor did her work, though he was a little disappointed to find that it ended earlier than he expected. “Alright, all done!”

Aaron opened his eyes skeptically, glancing down at his arms. For a moment, he wasn’t really sure what he was seeing; there were still some brownish-yellow shadows where the bruises had been, not nearly as dark as before but still noticeable. For a moment he even thought he might just have been dirty, but that made no sense.

“Pardon me, but… we’re done?” he asked hesitantly, gesturing with his arms.

Shelley looked just as displeased with her work as Aaron was, but she sighed. “Yeah, I’m sorry. It said in the letter to just fade them rather than completely heal them,” she replied, displeasure clear in her voice. “I think that maybe used to be a treatment for dependency, but it’s outdated. Still, rules are rules I suppose.”

Aaron nodded, casting one more exasperated glance at his arms before pulling his shirt back on. He doubted it was an outdated treatment - more likely, Varis didn’t want him to forget his shameful fragility too quickly - but he’d let her believe that. “That’s true,” he agreed.

Standing, he shook the doctor’s hand again, the two exchanging pleasantries until Aaron remembered something. “Oh, my Master did want me to ask about… resistance?”

Shelley raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled. “Um… ‘resistance’?” she asked incredulously, “Is there… something more specific?”

Aaron nearly sighed, knowing what he was about to request was ridiculous. “My Master is curious whether there’s some way to develop ‘resistance’ to things like this,” he explained, shrugging his arms again.

“Ah,” Shelley looked decidedly unimpressed, releasing a nervous laugh before shaking her head. “I think your, um…” she tried, wrinkling her nose in distaste and lowering her voice a bit. “I think maybe he’s overestimating life magic a bit.”

Yeah, no kidding. Aaron could have told him that, but it was better to get the information from authority. He gave the doctor a sympathetic smile, offering her a nod. “No problem,” he assured her. “Good evening.”

He thanked the receptionist on the way out, and turned sharply out the door in the direction of the campus post office. As he walked, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, finally reading a reply from Max.

> He’s making a big deal out of nothing, you’re better off ignoring it

Ha! Aaron almost laughed. Just ignore it? If only anything were that simple!

> Ha, ha. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you I don’t really have that luxury.

Still, it was probably unwise to keep pushing it if he wanted any hope at all of getting on Max’s good side. All the same to him; he didn’t need another headache tonight.

> But, fine. Good luck with all that. Let me know if there's anything I can do.

_{Texting @Scribe of Thoth}