Verys [Shaman]
Apr 22, 2012 23:03:54 GMT -6
Post by Verys on Apr 22, 2012 23:03:54 GMT -6
Name: Verys
Class: Shaman
Hair Color: Her hair is so shaggy and entirely resistant to any attempts to tame it that it is hard to discern the exact color, but it becomes boldly red when the light breaches it. She usually covers her head of hair with her traditional headdress, more out of an unwillingness to make herself presentable than out of respect for a childhood culture she had no interaction with in times since.
Eye Color: Verys's eyes are one of her most distinct features, a vibrant and almost unnatural blue. Her gaze is forward and unquivering, but can be unnerving in it's intensity.
Age: 27
Appearance: Verys is hard to miss, accountable to her ethnicity and height (a little over 6 foot). She is fairly dark skinned, and held accountable to a certain amount of consistent dirt and dust that make her appear even darker.
Unique to Sacaen cultures, she wears several layers of cloths, thin canvas, fur, and beaded materials, out of place and seemingly thrown together without structure. Without her Lycian roommate to fight a comb through her hair, hot press her uniform and bother her about tying her shoes, she has lapsed back into her clan's traditional careless manner of dress, and Very was always particularly good at looking unkempt.
Her hair has dreaded together enough to be woven with beads and the unintentional twig, pooling easily out of any ties or clips. The headdress, given to her as a parting gift of good faith, was one of the few items allowed to be worn during free time during her stay at the academy- and it is worn as such, swollen patches and uneven stitching are noticeable across its surface. Verys is hardly seen without it, feeling more comfortable with the shadow drawn across her face. She would rather people see a shadow than be known by those who do not take the time or effort to really look.
Most Lycians just find her a dirty looking outsider as opposed to a woman with exotic appeal.
Born in: Far outskirts of Sacae
Story: Verys was born into a small tribe, the Kaiyek. Entirely unremarkable, was her way of putting it, and they were. The Kaiyek mostly made their living off of favorable trade with the other tribes, and there were whispers that they were perhaps swindlers, shielded behind the unalienable Sacae attributes of honor and responsibility to the people. As a whole, the Kaiyek were not well respected among the tribes and mostly wandered amongst the borders of Sacae, hoping to catch a foreign traveler to take advantage of.
At an early age, Verys had apparent magical abilities. Coming from a clan of few mages and even fewer specializing in her innate, heavy handed abilities of force (as opposed to the common elemental practices), she had to fare with little training, and little handle on her powers. She was rarely out of temper and fairly well behaved, so her magic was simply a handicap. An unremarkable mishap of nature. Her parents were neither impressed or embarrassed by her abilities- at first. They hoped, with the rest of the clan, that she would grow out of the mishaps and her obsession with her abilities, and become a good wife.
But she didn't. Rather than draw in the dirt or braid her hair, she practiced the old magic as she knew how. Small tests of her ability. As she ran for milk, she would stop to see if she could move the sand. Once, she even turned a duskfly to stone, but no one believed her. Her progress upset her. Magic was the only thing, even as a child, that interested her. It was all she could think about. She was often punished for forgetting her duties and doing what was done poorly, but even swirling the sand pathetically was worth that.
When she was 11 she badly hurt a boy. He had said she wasn't a real mage, that she could make things move, but it was because she wasn't good enough to do real tricks or useful things like make fire or make it rain. It made her angry, genuinely angry, potent, seething and dripping with something inextinguishable. She made something bad happen to him- she wasn't sure what, but it was powerful and she felt sick after. She let him cry for a long time before she ran for her mother, who spoke quickly to get the sickhand. She got him too, but by then her father had arrived to pull her by her hair to their camp and threw her so close to the fire she was almost in it.
And she laid her head in the sand, silent and suffering as all Kaiyek horses and children are.
That was 3 incidents and almost 2 months before the Lycian countrymen came for her. She fetched more than fair price that seemed to settle her mother's unruly tears on her child's back. The time before she had taken on her Lycian identity was a blur- not painful or pleasant, but indistinct, lost in a sea of direction and Ryerdan ideals of the proper manner. The shadow of her influential, privileged life in the academy casts far from a life devoid of meaning and parents who value the life of their only daughter below poorly cut jewels and two cows.
Her guardians were temporary ones, only middle men for a larger transaction on the Ryerdan magic academy. They were recruiting unique individuals possessing the innate talent for magic, particularly that of the Elders. Dark magic. They would pay for the education and care of a talented magic kin, in return for 10 years of service to the House, although most, if not all of these indentured pupils chose to pursue a long time position.
From her first year in the academy, Verys always planned to life her life in service in this fashion, more out of a desire for financial cushioning for a lofty education than out of reverence or appreciation. Verys was fairly fond of the family that agreed to house her, despite the few cultural differences that were not as immediately addressed as others- namely sitting on the roof, a habit they never really managed to break her of, and eating everything with her hands. Even at 27, she still takes a long moment of consideration before eating as if she is struggling to resist picking the entire plate up and shoveling it into her food trap with experienced precision.
She started the academy as soon as she was able, and she loved it. As much as Verys could love anything. She had a natural talent, as her recruiter had promised, and the primary courses were very easy for her. Book lessons came less easy, as she hadn't learned the letters, but her roommate had done well on her promises to
teach her that.
Lillianne, daughter of the noble house, was Verys first friend that went beyond casual boundaries. She was smart, fair, driven, and happy to sit in companionable silence. She did not fill the air with aimless chatter and empty talk, and she was just as enthusiastic about magic as Verys. Some of her fondest memories were days spent sparking bolts of static electricity to life, trying to inconvenience the other. She was a great challenge, in magic, oration, and book lessons. Verys always strove to do well because magic was her passion, but Lillianne only drove her further. Verys wasn't very competitive- it was hard to learn competition in a tribe where no one can compare- but she did enjoy lording her talents over Lillianne once in a while.
They were inseparable partners in crime up until the end of school, an awkward hug goodbye and the first unanswered promise- we'll keep in touch. Lillianne went on to bigger and better things- namely, becoming Marquess of the entire territory, while Verys went on to work in her name, and contact was entirely severed. Lillianne was a diplomat, realistically Verys knew she may one day outgrow their relationship, but she couldn't help but be stung even though she made a poor and meek effort on her part to keep in contact.
Verys had heard her husband and died, and out of a lingering sense of bitterness chose not to offer condolences. When she heard of the noble's abrupt upheaval, however, she recanted, although her search was met with minimal results.
Fighting the burden between loyalty to her best friend and loyalty to her state, both objectives intertwining in a confusing ball of responsibilities and adherence, Verys decided to appeal to her younger brother, ask to search for her and insure her safety.
And she was careful to make no mention of any intention to return to Ryerde.
Personality: The primary element of her character is her principle. She seems dignified and admirable, although impersonal and almost abrasively opinionated at times. She has a strong sense of what is right and wrong, if strong can be used to describe a stubborn adherence to, not necessarily a set of morals to admire. Verys sees the world in a primitive sense of black and white, as right and wrong. The end justifies the means. The few may suffer if it means the survival of the many. She sneered at the courts, laughing at them off as in the pocket of the greed and evil. Although her new mentors had attempted to reign in this sense of high ground low ground justice, Verys seemed impermeable.
Her emotions often swayed between something indeterminate and completely overpowering and unmentionable and basic. It always has been very hard for Verys to determine exactly how she feels, only that she does. Lillianne challenged her feelings for years, made her heart sink painfully and Verys never knew why. She made her happy, but made her feel bad. She considered fear- fear of losing her. Fear of the unknown. Pushed to the back of her mind: perhaps, fear of being so vulnerable to someone who could, and had, hurt her so easily.
Verys is very hard-headed, and tends to deadlock before consenting to a incorrect or unmoral path of action. It's easy for the other stubborn and opinionated personalities to find her absolutely infuriating, but she gets along with her peers as a rule If those who work with her could pick a trait besides resolution, it would be a commanding intelligence. She keeps quiet and distant, impersonal in her speech. She thinks before she speaks, and she speaks only that which needs to be said. She is a powerful judge of character, and an intelligent decision maker. She is book smart, but not sheltered. Pain makes you wise, and 11 years as a child of the Sacae makes you very wise.
Verys is brutal and inclined to streaks of cruelty against enemies that greatly infringe her code of justice- and mercy on the evil is not an ideal she has taken to heart. She fights the perceived wicked for the sake of good. She does not believe her purpose to be divine, or her right to claim their bodies god given, but she does as she does for one cause- to better the world around her. When the dust settles, Verys wants to save the world, not punish the evil- but save the good from them. It isn't about criminals getting what they deserve, it's about making the world worth the effort she and her marquess have put into it.
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a bit rough, but it got lengthy. I'm not at all familiar with FE lore so if theres something totally out of place I'd appreciate the help. Also, the Lillianne stuff has been confirmed between the two of us.
Otherwise that would be really weird.
