Windervina Zenoftuir
AKA
Windy Goldfingers
Entry Point: Book 1, Druid's Coven.
Age
87
Sex
Female
Race
Half-gnome
Appearance
Full-sized image here. Credit goes to my good friend,
Val, for custom-made character art.
Height: 4'8'' |
Weight: 65 lbs
Strengths
Magic Lyre
When Windy plays her lyre, whichever song she is playing at the moment will summon a tidbit of magic. It can be used to aid allies (inspire them, help conquer their fear) and can be used against foes (discourage them, amplify their fears). In rare occasions where Windy might be in a life or death situation, her desperation can summon a bit more magic to create illusions – however, those take a lot of energy and she would not be able to perform more than 1 high spell without a long rest, maximum of 2 low spells after 1 high spell. Between short rests, Windy can perform up to 6 low spells.
Ooh Shiny Blade
While on a pirate ship, Windy became proficient in most short-blade weapons (short sword, rapier, scimitar, daggers…) but her favoured weapon is a scimitar. It has been passed down generations in her friend's Yagerry's family, it has foreign symbols and writings on the pommel but she does not know what it means.
Gnome heritage
Despite her silliness and light-heartedness, Windy is extremely intelligent and can discern stealthy magic users and is not easily phased by magic. She also possesses dark vision – though because she is half-gnome, she can see 30 ft in pitch-dark instead of 60 ft.
Veteran entertainer
For several decades, Windy has travelled many lands, and has connections and loyal acquaintances in almost every major city. She is well-liked by most of the crowds, as her music can send even the most stoic of soldiers into a comforting, gentle lull.
Out of sight, out of mind
Because of her small size, Windy can easily slip away without being noticed. She carries a set of random disguises and when she has the time, she can disguise herself and perform. She can also imitate various accents on commonly used phrases.
Weaknesses
Worldly Traveler
Because Windy has traveled a lot, she does not have a permanent home and has no "permanent" friends or connections. By nature, she is not a solitary person but ends up being alone most of the time. This also causes Windy to live one day at a time, since she has no stable source of income (she makes good coin anytime she performs).
Exhaustion
Because magic saps her energy, and every time she plays her lyre a little bit of magic is performed and despite her many decades of performance, Windy still cannot fully control the flow of magic through her lyre. She can still join in combat, but she will be a bit more sluggish and won't be as effective.
Gnome heritage
Her small size (though above-average for regular gnomes) prevents Windy from being fast-paced, and she has below-average human strength. She can also be physically over-powered by almost anyone. In regards to being affected by magic, this also means healing magic will not have its full effect on her compared to others.
Wisdom in age
Despite being almost a century old, Windy is not very wise (compared to her above-average intelligence) and has a tendency to rush into things instead of thinking them through.
King's Rangers or Kiune the Druid?
King's Rangers
Biography
Windy was born to a gnome mother and a human father. Until she was 35, she lived in a village in another kingdom with her mother. Her father was just a passing pirate or sailor, depending on which drunken story her mother told her. Her childhood was quiet but she faced a lot of discrimination because of her larger size – most gnomes are no taller than three feet and a few inches, but she grew up to be much taller than everyone she knew. Her mother had also been a bard, a long time ago, and so Windy inherited the family lyre. It was beautifully crafted, from a magic tree many centuries ago.
When Windy left her home behind to go on adventures (as pressed by her mother), she decided she needed to see more of the world and embarked on a journey on a pirate ship. She had never heard of a gnome ever leaving their mountains, and was well aware that their race was slowly dying. She trekked many days until she reached a coastal town. She worked in the local tavern for a year or two, enough to amass a nice sum of coins to finally embark on her lifetime's adventure. There she learned a lot of the human culture, of the other, more populated land, until she finally met a bunch of pirates who accepted to bring her on board, so long as she kept them motivated and happy with her magical music. Another year or so went by, and despite not being a pirate herself, Windy found herself enjoying her new life and decided that her mother had been right: she needed to be out there, to meet strangers and learn new songs and stories. She learned swordplay, how to handle daggers without cutting off fingers, and the art of deception. This is also where she stopped being "Windervina" and became "Windy". Once she reached a new world, having nowhere to go and basically being a very visible foreigner, she stuck around another female pirate, Yagerry.
Yagerry became Windy's first and only true friend. Together, they traveled in merchant caravans and paid their fare with their earnings from taverns. Windy would play music and enchant the crowds, and Yagerry would flatter men until they took her into their inn rooms. They both mastered the art of disguise and entertainment. For over a decade, they roamed the coast of the new continent, Windy not looking a year older than when she had left, but Yagerry slowly aging like any regular human. Despite neither of them wanting to settle down, soon Yagerry was about 45, they agreed that it was time for them to take a break. They settled in a large city, and they would live off Windy's wages from performing. The half-gnome missed their more upbeat life, but she could see her friend's body could not keep up. Barely a year after they stopped travelling, Yagerry became increasingly sick, coughing blood and bleeding at odd times during the months. Windy, carefree as she was, shrugged it off to Yagerry's promiscuous lifestyle. But she never got better – and as Windy turned 53, Yagerry passed away painfully in a sea of red. Her ancestors' scimitar was passed on to her only family left: Windy.
For the next thirty odd years, Windy travelled alone and promised to herself she would not befriend anymore humans. Leaving the coasts, she went through many great cities, staying until she felt she was getting too attached to the patrons of taverns in which she performed. She became known as Windy Goldfingers, and it was during a rather quiet night that she first heard the full myth of the princess Kouri, retold by a local jester. Slowly, over the course of two years, Windy remained in the same city but frequented all the taverns and pubs, almost becoming obsessed with fascination for this mythical princess. She needed something to fill the void of her existence – what else can someone do when they are almost 90 years old, and still have a lot of time left? Go on another adventure, of course!
She was about to give up ever finding out more about her, when she heard a couple of drunk men talking about her. They weren't referring to the myth – but to the princess herself. Desperate, Windy worked her magic lyre on them for hours and made them talk. She learned they were some sort of rangers, and so she convinced them to recruit her. Barely a few days later, she got the notice that she would be joining on the princess's gang of misfits. Packing all her things, Windy Goldfingers left with her heart filled with the hope of, finally, her lifetime's adventure.
Motivation
Windy yearns for a new adventure, perhaps her last but greatest one. She wishes to witness the mythical princess's journey to greatness and be the one to sing about it across the lands.
edit; Kouri plushies ;D