Medieval Fantasy. Or pirates. Pirates are always good. When it comes to reading, however, a good steampunk is always great. Above all, however, I would definitely have to say my favorite is Dark Fantasy.
Medieval Fantasy. Or pirates. Pirates are always good. When it comes to reading, however, a good steampunk is always great. Above all, however, I would definitely have to say my favorite is Dark Fantasy.
One would expect for a Kindred/Elf hybrid to be of a normal human height, as a combination of the slightly taller and slightly taller races; such is not the case for Zora. She takes more after her mother, who was short even for her kind, and her father had no extra height to spare for lengthening her measurements. She stands at just 4'9" and around 105 pounds.
Her skin has the sort of dead pallor that sets her mother's people so disagreeably apart from the other races, though her mixed heritage does do her some benefit there, for she is not quite as close the color of bruises and concrete as a full blood Kindred, but rather closer to a fragile paleness of some sun-robbed vampire. She shares the Kindred's common yellow eyes, as well. But at least one thing she has that she can call her own; in an unusual mutation, her hair came out dark rather than fair or orange. She dyes it a reddish color, a happy parallel between her parents' sheens, but does not do so often enough to hide her natural color at the roots.
Her weight is a bit above average, and her short stature makes her seem large boned. Her curves are predominantly found beneath her waist, and there are helped by the muscle she's formed through her extra-religious training exercises.
Physically, what she has most to be thankful to her mother for is her face. There, as with elsewhere, she more resembles her mother, an uncommon beauty, than her father, who, though with features that were pleasant enough on a man, had many undeniably ugly sisters and aunts. She's gifted with large eyes, a strong jaw and chin, and a perfect symmetry of feature that has earned her many a compliment (though nothing more serious than that).
Weapon
Possesses a pair of steel knuckles. They cover the flat area from her first knuckle to the second, with ridges to simulate the structure of the hand. For comfort when punching things, she's put a small layer of cloth between her fingers and the hard, metal surfaces. These are highly ornamented, as they are more of a formal weapon than one meant for real combat.
Also, she has a pair of steel toe caps, that snap onto the outside of her shoe to give her a more effective kick. The edge is a bit sharp, though not to the point of cutting things, merely due to somewhat cheap construction and a conveniently-placed seam. From the same set as the steel knuckles, these share the same ornamentation.
Personality
Zora sports the variety of personality that is well pleasing to almost everyone. She draws happiness from a well within herself, not fond of dwelling on things of a negative nature any more than necessary, and interacts with others in a pleasant manner intended to spread her general good cheer and optimism. She listens well, and provides enough feedback to avoid seeming withdrawn or shy. All together, she is the image of genteel elegance and well-studied manners. She's garnered further refinement and softness in interaction through constant exposure to those wiser and poorer than herself.
Zora's vices lie in her own internal emotions. Hot blood runs through her veins, and though she is not one to show it, she can become insulted easily, and when insulted, she becomes petty. She makes first impressions quickly, and sticks to them stubbornly. Though to people's faces she is pleasant as can be, such pleasantry betrays a double-facedness that makes it impossible to really know what she thinks of someone.
Zora also, coming from a high family if not a high background, does think highly of herself. She takes slights to her person amiably, but not well. Such insults are the fastest way to change her steadfast first impressions.
Magic
Zora is well versed in the theory of the Kindred's racial magic, though her experience with it is limited.
Zora is a general wielder of the elements, able to command fire, electricity, ice, wind, and earth with incantations. Her skill level is above average for an elf; normally one would specialize in one area, or broaden themselves and gain a lesser understanding of two or three. Zora has that lesser understanding for each of the elements. She can throw fireballs, spheres of bouncing lightning, shards of ice, cutting wind blades, and small boulders (Zora enjoys throwing magic, it's kind of her thing). She can create controlled fire for light, small electrical shocks to stun others, ice to combat swelling, swells of wind to knock things away, and small walls of earth behind which to hide. But, as she has not focused on one or two areas, she has not reached the level by which she can cast quickly, without words. She still must go through the motions of entreating the elements quietly before she can command them.
Since receiving her diamond, she has found the ability to channel these powers into metal to much greater effect, capable of laying traps in metal surfaces and enchanting weapons of any sort (as long as they use metal).
Skills
Can recite all of the prayers to the various gods of her people
Can hold polite conversation to an extent that would tire one who is less familiar with the ways of the gentility
Can read and write
Can perform the duties that would be expected of a wife-to-be, ranging from mending of clothes to cooking to caring for smaller children
Skill in the ancient, almost-religious martial arts of the elves
History
Of all the races, Kindred and Elves get along the least well; so it is reasonable to question how Zora's birth came about. How do two such races, so long at odds with each other, manage to create a hybrid? It certainly is a rarity; by far the most rare happenstance, perhaps only beaten in that category by any occurrence of a hybrid in which a parent is an Esper, though there has been no evidence that such a thing is even possible. How would that work…?
Ah yes, back to the topic at hand: Zora's birth. Most hybrids of her sort are quite sad stories in the making, but hers is perhaps more pleasant than even the average story in which the parents are not so separated by racial boundaries. To understand it, it's important to examine the role of each of Zora's parents.
Zora's mother provided the Kindred half of her genetic makeup. She was a short, lovely young woman of ill repute but unusual beauty. Hers was a complexion not entirely repugnant to the other races, for her skin bore a smidge of color that spoke perhaps of a distant ancestor who was not quite as pure-blooded as her parents insisted. In fact, her color was far enough from the pallor of cold death as to quite confound many a passerby, who could not quite place her racial background. So it was with the elvish man who was soon to be her husband.
Said man was an elf of great repute, taking the family name of D'Rekshilo. It was an old family, full of old money and good blood, and one that had always managed well in looking after their own affairs. Though some accused them of having come from the stock of dwarves (the D'Rekshilo were perhaps a tad too short to be accepted as pure blooded), it was hard to find fault with such an old name, backed as it was by many a legend of past heroics, and by many a mention in the genealogies of many an esteemed high priest. In their present situation, they had managed to elevate themselves still further by wise subservience to their new Protector and Lord. Their lot in life was well, and it was quite possible for them to have a spoiled child or two amongst their vast array of offspring.
Not, of course, that Zora's father was one of those whom had been spoiled. Eldiron, as he was named (a very proper name for an elf, indeed), was highly-esteemed and well deserving of the good words spoken about him. He was good looking, if one ignored his small stature, and a generally helpful young lad, full of vitality and good cheer. His society could never be faulted for any lack of good manners or gaiety, and he was deemed a man of good taste by all.
Therefore, it was a curiosity indeed when he professed that his heart had become quite taken upon a Kindred street girl. His friends attempted to dissuade him of such action, but with rhetorical skill equal to that of the greatest rabble-rouser, he put their minds at ease. Were they not vassals of Roth, an elf well-known to take pleasure in the company of any woman, regardless of race? Had not their esteemed Protector, the one whose name their glorious town stole, much to its advantage; had not this man very carefully, very painstakingly, designed that glorious town in such a way as to mix the races whenever possible? Surely, it would do their Lord great honor for them to follow in his way, were they so inclined, or at least not to object to the morality of such a love were one of their friends to happily happen upon it. His friends, and from there their community at large, could do naught but acknowledge that perhaps he was right, and in this case, knowing Eldiron a devout and loyal and well-intentioned young man, that perhaps it would be best not to object to the match any further.
It really mattered not, though; Eldiron was the sort of man who was in the privileged position to take or leave public opinion as he would, and in this matter, had public opinion been quite against his infatuation, it would not have swayed him in the least bit. His family, at least, he knew he could depend upon; for, though as noted previously he was not a generally spoiled man, in this matter perhaps he was. His family would support him with the same indifference to public opinion with which he himself approached the issue.
So it was that Eldiron plied his charms; and, with the Kindred quite under his spell, he wed her quite happily.
Perhaps now is the time to examine the happening from her point, for as repulsive the match was to the elves, so it was to the Kindred. But, to put it in a discrete manner, this woman had already fallen out with her people due to her work (quite an unrespectable and dead-end line, as it was). Eldiron provided an escape which she knew could not but improve her lot in life, and so she accepted. Things were far more simple on her end, though perhaps not as chivalrous and driven by as admirable an emotion as her husband's were.
Both, for many a year, believed themselves happy. Eldiron delighted in his wife even now that he had her, and once wed, she allowed herself to fall in love with him, as well. His attentions were wholly hers to command, and I must say that she did not mature as gracefully under them as one might hope, for soon enough she was very spoiled indeed. Ever the practical woman, she determined it time to entrap him further, and so it was that she became pregnant. Eldiron was surprised but pleased, for he had a large heart for children, and for nine months he paraded his wife around with, if even such were possible, more care and chivalry and attention than before.
The child, though, brought unhappiness to one of them. Not to Eldiron, of course; his constitution was far too great to have his happiness shaken by anything, and regardless, a child was the perfect medicine for whatever ailments of spirit he might have faced then and in the time to come. No, the unhappiness was all for his wife, for Eldiron had finally found the measure of his capacity to love, and as he poured out much of it upon his child, his wife found that she received less. As has been said, the woman had become spoiled something awful, and a reduction of the attentions from her husband did not sit well with her; in fact, she found herself completely fallen out of love now that he no longer pandered to her every moment.
And so she filed for divorce. It was quite a surprise to all involved, of course, but she could not be persuaded to stay. She would take her child with her, she insisted, but that would not do. Eldiron would go without his whole fortune before parting with his daughter, and so his family arranged to pay his ex-wife a comfortable income in purchase of the child's retention. The whole thing turned out splendidly for the wife, as you can see, and she disappeared completely from the scene, except for when she was in need of more money. She had found that she did not like children, anyway.
A lesser man may have been shattered by such a rejection of love, but Eldiron was not a lesser man. He took the situation well, all things considered, and decided that with his wife out of the way, he would instead lavish his love entirely on the child who had come between them.
And so it is that we finally arrive at Zora herself. Her birth itself had been unremarkable, lacking any particular drama or complications that may have made it memorable in a bad way. Instead, she came out healthy, fat, and crying, as all babies really ought. She thrived in her father's love, and in the small attentions that she received from her mother before the woman became entirely tired of her.
From just a few months old, she was without a mother; that didn't do much to suppress her good spirits, though. She perhaps did not take as much after her father's physical features as her extended family might have wished, but that could hardly be held against her, and she was a happy and ingratiating baby. She won the hearts of her grandparents and her aunts and uncles, and was truly without want. It would be a stretch of the truth to say that she much cared that her mother was gone, and the abandonment never meant much to her.
Her family provided her with the best childhood that one could have in these dangerous times. A full education in all things relating to elf kind was, of course, in order; a thorough indoctrination in their religion; a broad encouragement of curiosity and a propensity of books and tutors at her beck and call should something strike her fancy. Her education did justice to her family's position in society, and she had no trouble fitting into their society in a manner that was most becoming.
Thoughts of the danger that constantly surrounded, and sometimes invaded, their town were kept far from her mind in those days. She was assured that the Lord would keep the monsters away, and she was pleased with that explanation.
Her greatest interest soon fixated on the religious and philosophical aspects of her culture. It was, of course, proper that such should happen, gifted in magic as they found her to be, and her curiosity in this, and even in her mother's racial magic, was examined, deemed appropriate, and given a pass. Her father made it so that she might be allowed to assist a priest, and there she began to spend her days, learning the old, deep religions and the stories that were spoken quietly in the back rooms of their religious establishments.
It was there that Zora truly matured; one could only become so wise from censored books in a walled garden. The priests told her stories of the times before and after their so-called Lord, of the division he had brought and the dilution of their people (no offense to her, of course) and their beliefs. And it was these stories that fomented the starts of rebellion within her. Perhaps it is the way of all who have only lived under one system, but to her, the old wistful stories sounded as if they described a better time. Too great was her respect for their religion for her to not realize the blasphemy of Roth's claims to godhood, and with perhaps a bit of biased goading from her tutors, she soon harbored a healthy resentment toward him that was perhaps the most elf-like part of her.
Then diamonds started appearing among the elves. The stories were always told in hushed tones, and were always the same. A wraith-like creature would question the person, the person would take the stone, and in the flood of power that accompanied it, the mysterious child-man would disappear. Zora was not entirely surprised when she noticed him one day, and she took the stone without hesitation. She has been hard at work studying it and her capabilities with in since, and joining the conspiratorial whispers of the others who possess them.
[/fieldbox] I have read the rules and understand them
Medieval Fantasy. Or pirates. Pirates are always good. When it comes to reading, however, a good steampunk is always great. Above all, however, I would definitely have to say my favorite is Dark Fantasy.
Medieval Fantasy. Or pirates. Pirates are always good. When it comes to reading, however, a good steampunk is always great. Above all, however, I would definitely have to say my favorite is Dark Fantasy.
That actually wouldn't be rare. Unusual, perhaps, depending on how one would consider unusual. Like in humans blonde hair brown eyes. Fen has dark hair as well. (Fen)
Possesses a pair of steel knuckles and two metal plates that insert in her shoes. These are highly ornamented, as they are more of a formal weapon than one meant for real combat.
I need more detail. The steel knuckles, are they bare or covered by a leather or cloth? How much surface area of her hand do they cover, is it just the round knickle or is there any hang that might hinder her dexterity? What kind of shoes and in what part is it inserted? (If inserted above the sole of a boot it would be kinda pointless, I want to know to what extend these will truly be useful in a real combat scenario)
To what limit? Since she has Kindred and Elf blood AND a diamond I can assume all of her elements will be well above average, if you need something to reference, for an Elf Belyavor would be pretty average post-diamond, and as a human he is now above average.
That is a looooooong bio. I just found another plus side to having younger characters, shorter bios.
I can't sleep, because I'm too moist. (Now that's a perverted joke)
Actrally it's only because it's hot, and I'm sweating too much to sleep...I'll go sleep in the hot tube I guess...
Medieval Fantasy. Or pirates. Pirates are always good. When it comes to reading, however, a good steampunk is always great. Above all, however, I would definitely have to say my favorite is Dark Fantasy.
It's not really that hot, but my mom won't let me open the window because there are cars outside. She's sleeping in my room cus her bed isn't here yet (so she's sleeping in my bed and I'm on a carpet right now) and then she told me to go sleep in the basement if I'm too warm. Our basement's floor in made out of concret and leaks water. Yeah my mother is secretly a preteen inside.
And yes I'm putting my complains about life here. I-I have no where else to go :(
That actually wouldn't be rare. Unusual, perhaps, depending on how one would consider unusual. Like in humans blonde hair brown eyes. Fen has dark hair as well. (Fen)
It's only unusual because of her parents; her mother is orange haired, her father is blonde. I don't presume to decree what other people's characters' hair should look like ^.^
I need more detail. The steel knuckles, are they bare or covered by a leather or cloth? How much surface area of her hand do they cover, is it just the round knickle or is there any hang that might hinder her dexterity? What kind of shoes and in what part is it inserted? (If inserted above the sole of a boot it would be kinda pointless, I want to know to what extend these will truly be useful in a real combat scenario)
To what limit? Since she has Kindred and Elf blood AND a diamond I can assume all of her elements will be well above average, if you need something to reference, for an Elf Belyavor would be pretty average post-diamond, and as a human he is now above average.
I'm curious what this means. Do you mean that Belyavor is now about as average as an Elf with a diamond, or is he now, post-diamond, about on the level of a normal Elf?
I was vague as I wanted to suss out the power budget that I have. Her combat skills are lacking in other areas, except for a mostly formal/ornamental martial art, but I didn't really know if that bought me any room on the magic side. We don't really have another dedicated mage character for me to base my expectations on.
I was thinking the martial art would be more about controlled movements and spiritual significance than street fighting. In my mind, it's somewhat dancelike. But, as in all martial arts movies, it can still be useful if someone underestimates it :P
