Ataraxis
06-02-08, 12:07 AM
[Link to last profile: 'Daughter of Gogmagog' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=11310)]
Additions marked by a ' + '
Edits are in ' Blue'
Name: Lillian Sesthal
Titles and monikers: Lil, Lily, Lollipop, Kid
Age: 16
Race: Apparently human
Hair: Soft and glossy strands of sable silk
Eyes: Eerily blue and frighteningly clear, with a sinister glow
Height: 5’ 4”
Weight: 82 lbs.
Class: 'White Widow'
Occupation: Librarian’s assistant
Personality
Lillian is as quirky as teenage girls can get: her world is a world of books, and even when confronted with reality, she acts as if she were still trekking the Mountains of Zaleiya or enduring the blistering cold of the fictional ‘Steppes of the Ice-Veiled King’. Of course, she is kind and sympathetic, but her shyness tends to overshadow her better qualities; she did live in seclusion for the greater half of her life. She is prone to awkward comments, and could potentially halt the most heated debates with a single sentence. Still, beneath her cheerful countenance lie constant bereavement for her late parents and a longing for a place she could truly feel at home. Ever since leaving Fallien, the girl has been gaining more confidence on an almost day to day basis, and is now capable of speaking her mind to those she has learned to know. The girl, however, still has a tendency to make a mockery of herself in front of strangers. Her travels also seem to have stirred a side of her personality that few have ever seen, so unnervingly cold and remote that some would think her possessed. The girl, however, seems oblivious to the surfacing of this strange behaviour.
Appearance
Lillian is of an average stature, standing at an unexceptional height, yet her lissome figure and comely features are more than enough compensation. An inkfall of darkness tumbles down onto her shoulders, framing her delicate visage, stark white save for florid hues upon her cheeks and the rosy lushness of her lips. She habitually dons an immaculate gown, its hems adorned with soft frills, and is shod in common, auburn ankle boots. However, what clash most with her debonair aspect are the twin pools of coruscant ice that compose her unsettling gaze, eyes that seem to peer deep into one’s mind to find its darkest secrets. Recently, she has discovered budding curves in her silhouette, and her face is slowly taking on a more adult appeal. Oddly, even though she feels healthier than ever, the girl has noticed an unexplained loss in body mass, which has left her quite perplexed. It now reaches a limit that, to any other human, would be considered critically dangerous. Lillian is extremely concerned, for though she may feel no deterioration, she does have the strange impression that her body is slowly changing from within.
History
When the nights wore on and weighed upon her infant’s heart, Lillian would bumble over her modest bunk, clamber upon the bedrail and peer through the small window above. A squint of the eyes was all it took to pull the little girl from her worldly abode, through the glassy scope and into the infinite skies of Fallien. Oft was it all-black and dull to her venturesome mind, but she cherished the times wherein the blazon of dark wore myriad pinpricks of soft white and sparkling blue. Then, her little heart would grow and beat like a festive tambourine at the sight of the desert’s treasured jewel, glowing bright and white as if nurtured by the quiet moonlight; it was the Mother’s Keep, pure and radiant in the dead of night. Lillian would stargaze until the sun dragged itself from the horizon; the image would fade and push her from the ledge of dreams, only to have her wake in the filth-ridden reality of the Outlander’s Quarters.
The girl had grown in the nest of crime, faced with threats upon her life at every waking hour. Her father, a retired warrior turned iron and glass smith, was adamant on her never crossing the bounds of their walls while he was away to craft and barter his wares. She was left to herself, under the watchful eye of her seamstress mother, and turned to the only pastime within her grasp: reading. ‘The Tacky Tales of Tom Tabletop’ were the first stories to ever grace her eyes. With time, she had devoured every piece of her mother’s collection, and had moved on to worldlier scripts, such as ‘The Past of Fallien: After Vadhya’. Needless to say, the fledgling girl had no real understanding of the region’s history, what with being five years old and all.
When she reached a shortage of things to read, she promptly asked her father if he could provide her with more. The man, intrigued, wondered why she could not simply go through them again, since she couldn’t possibly remember the contents of over forty tomes. To his utter and complete befuddlement, she recited obscure passages from ‘The Fallen Rose and the Laughing Corpse’, amusing quotes by Tom Tabletop and facts pertaining to Fallien’s history he himself was not aware of. She had committed everything to memory.
“Plus, I already cycled through them thrice, and didn’t learn anything new.”
Something was strange. Instead of evincing pride and joy in the light of her prodigious mind, his face had turned livid, and little life remained in his sand-withered features. Later, her parents had made her swear to never speak of this again, but at least agreed to purchase new books for her when they could from the Outlander’s Quarter’s only library, ‘The Blades of Knowledge’. Though the ordeal had seemingly passed over them, Lillian could sometimes hear her mother weep at night, calling out her name with much despair.
Why was her soul drawn to Jya’s Keep? She had no wishes of becoming a priestess, and was certain they did not need her; even if they did, how could a foreigner even wish to become an aspirant Jya when she could not even cross the borders of Irrakam’s vestibule? For years had her parents asked for an Exit Pass, but the authorities were stubborn and denied them access to the mainland. No, she was drawn not by eminent titles or wealth and livelihood, but rather by the very beauty of the Keep itself, its magnificent exterior and the feeling that ‘it’ was her home. As much as she loved her parents and this shack they called their home, there had never been a sense of belonging. Worse was when she realized, as she grew older, that the Keep was not the object of her desire either, but a mere simulacrum of what haunted her dreams.
The Exit Pass came, but her parents never returned. They had gone to map their route out of the Quarters, but Lillian had never caught sight of them afterward. ‘We’ll be back in an hour or so’ was all that they said. The hour had stretched to two, then ten and a day. The day had grown to two, then ten and… one does not need to further explain how time wore on and how they would never come back. Long did she sob in her dusty old room, thinning and enfeebled by starvation and sorrow.
With time, the grief of abandonment seemed to recede, though it never truly waned nor faded. It was a method of self-preservation, for she would have died had she not suppressed it. Recalling the name of the library that had produced her precious leather-bound friends, she garnered every ounce of courage she had and valiantly rushed out of her house, bolted aimlessly through the winding and torturous paths until she jarred into a wall. Providence had blessed her, for the first thing she saw as her eyes unsealed was the moon, shining over the signboard of the ‘Blades of Knowledge’. A jingle sounded ahead as the entrance creaked open, and an elderly man, staggering over the sill with his short legs and worn cane, stared at the girl in confusion.
“Whaaat? Is it daaay yet? No, it doesn’t seem so. Then whaaat aaare you doing here, child? We aaare closed for the night. Or haaave you come seeking employment?”
The Story till Level I: 'Maiden Voyage'
Lillian’s first true adventure was at the age of twelve, when she boarded a ship for Scara Brae to follow in the footsteps of her parents. It was quite unfortunate that she started her first venture into the world by almost dying and becoming the meal of a gigantic spider. The trip was, luckily, not an utter failure, as she did befriend a charming, albeit dense boy named Sam and made the acquaintance of the mercenary demon, Ifrit Obsidian, who became her guardian during her stay on the island. She even became aware of a strange being that had lived inside her in secrecy, self-proclaimed the Welkin Body, and of the new healing powers it bestowed upon her. The entity, however, fell into a deep slumber shortly after their meeting, one from which the child could not shake it, no matter what she did. Halfway through the forest, in the village of Greenclough, she was kidnapped by a crime syndicate. During her time of captivity, she learned of her parents’ ties with the leader of her abductors. What followed was as much of a happy ending as she could hope, for the demon returned to save her and saw her safely to Scara Brae. There she recovered a box that once belonged to her mother; though it was locked and without a key, she took it back to Fallien as a keepsake.
Four years later, Lillian was exiled from Fallien for her failed attempt at entering Irrakam without an exit pass. The deed was done by the same man who had denied her parents the same right before their disappearance. The girl had never learned his name, and reckoned she never would; this made her already heartbreaking departure from her homeland that much more frustrating. She found refuge aboard the Peregrine as a stowaway, but was quickly discovered by the captain, a certain Rajani Aishwara. Instead of throwing her into the ocean to feed the sharks, as she had seen done in so many books, the young man took interest in her prodigious mind, and by some strange turn of fate, made her an integral part of his entrepreneurial group.
He sent her on her first assignment, where she was to persuade a monk of Ai’bron in joining their forces to fight against the Illicit Entrepreneurs. With the help of the sword-mistress Doji Ki, the mission had been a success, though she did not leave the Citadel without a few bruises and broken ribs. Her second task was to research the resources of Salvar in the library of Ankhas, a much less dangerous mission than her previous one… or so Rajani thought. There, she inadvertently unleashed a legion of Night Incarnates, who seemed to feast on fear to spread the darkness. After realizing that they had been called away from their home, she helped them return to their realm with the help of an arrogant Drow Summoner, Helviana Erelisstra. A few weeks later, she made her way to Salvar, where she helped her leader diffuse the resources of Althanas with her newly-acquired knowledge. The teenager had not expected the business venture to end with a gentle force blessing the Peregrines on their voyage.
The Story till Level II: 'Perusing the Nexus'
Upon her request, the ship dropped her off at the dock nearest to Radasanth, where she had hoped to spend quality time browsing its world-renowned library. Unlucky as she was, however, she became the murdering tool of a lecher sorcerer, who took over her body to dispose of Devin, heir of the Argente family. Following a violent battle, Lillian was wounded by the boy’s silver katars, but the pain was enough to summon an old power back to the surface. Once more, the Welkin Body rose from an unknown abyss, expelling the intruder from the temple of her mind without difficulty. Devin, remorseful, nursed the girl back to health after hearing her apologetic explanation, but disappeared once the girl had fully recovered. Hoping that she could resume her perusal of the library, she came across information that told of the Unseen Nexus, a special book which contained the locations of the most occult tomes and arcane scripts on Althanas, and perhaps even beyond. Following a trail of two-hundred-year-old clues, she was led to the 'Bawdy Barry', an erotic bookstore, where the said book had been securely stashed for centuries. Alas, she fought over its possession with a purple-haired boy and shoplifted the Nexus by accident. On the streets, she jarred into a political insurrectionist, who also happened to be a most potent fire wizard. With the help of the same boy, she defeated him and his flaming golem, saving innocent bystanders on the streets from what could have been a burning massacre. As a token of his gratitude, the owner of the Bawdy Barry gave them each a copy of the Nexus, though Lillian realized a few days later that he had given her the original by mistake. Concomitantly, Lillian found a new reason to explore the world; to exhume time-lost knowledge all over the world and make it her own.
As the first step of her new quest, Lillian traveled to the esoteric country that was Dheathain. In the swamps of Fiorair, she met Aiden DarkStorm and his son, Chance, though the circumstances of their meeting were somewhat unsettling. By some strange force were they lulled to an old and massive tree, exuding of mysteries and an unshakeable taint. With their help, she contended against an ancient evil that lurked within the sylvan prison, escaping both gruesome rape and agonizing death by its monstrous hands. After this blood-curdling ordeal, she became good friends with the man and the boy, deciding to tag along with them on light-hearted adventures, scouring the rainforest and grasslands for synthesizing ingredients. With her new allies, she fought Algoras, Wyrms and Wyrvens, becoming stronger and hardier with each day spent at their side. Alas, when they set out to rescue Aiden’s wife and daughter, Alaina and Fate, her friend met his dreadful end, and his son was kidnapped by the same man who murdered him, a despicable sorcerer named Ishadin. For months, Lillian grieved. For months, she searched, desperate. But nothing.
After months of silence from the Peregrines, she received a letter that summoned her to Marach Mor, where Rajani was forming a party to explore the ruins of the ancient capital. The news made her cry in happiness, trawling her from her pit of solitude and remorse. At the Great hall, she met a handful of important figures, including the captain of the Peregrines and Seti Dylan, a foul-mouthed architect and the leader of the House of Sora, which allied with his group shortly after the completion of their mutual task; that is to say, the discovery of time-raught artifacts and the repairs of the ruins themselves. For this venture, Rajani had only requested her aid as a scribe, wishing for her to record everything of import that was to occur during the endeavor. Little did he know that a steadfast quill and a faultless memory were not the only things this girl of sixteen would bring to the table. Little by little, the girl had gained respect from those she frequented. Now, however, it is fame that she is gaining.
+ The Story till Level III: 'Reaching Above the Skies'
After her adventure in the ruins of Donnalaich, she was offered a position in the House of Sora as Matriarch of Lodge Vespera, where she would lead a team of scholars on various research projects of both scientific and magic nature. Her first assignment was, naturally, to recruit a team comprised of Althanas' greatest minds. After multiple refusals on her voyage, she dejectedly returned to the island where it all began, Scara Brae. There, she sought the vestiges of her past, the few remaining mementos of her parents had left, before taking roots in Fallien. During a sojourn at the Sea’s Salt that should not have lasted more than a night, she made the acquaintance of a half-elf warrior, Anenfel Saendithas, and of a Drow named Izvilvin, while the port city was attacked by a horde of spider-mounted goblins. In the middle of the siege, the spiders retaliated against their masters, instead uniting as one under the shadow of their God, another spider of gigantic proportions. Their motley team eventually prevailed, and decided to set out on more adventures to the west.
After leaving Scara Brae, she headed out to Raiaera so as to resume her mission, while not forgetting her personal search for knowledge. Using the first few decoded pages of the Unseen Nexus, the girl learned of a set of books called the Red Pharos and the White Calamity, supposedly housed by a dilapidated library in Anebrilith: were they to be reunited under one unsuspecting owner, they would bring about the lands chaos and destruction. She was unfortunately too late, as they had both been rented by a pretty bookworm by the name Maia Kristel, whom she followed to the coast of the port city on a private beach. Unable to purloin the items from her bag, Lillian decided to remain with the bonnie blonde instead, ever on the lookout for any sign of an impending cataclysm. Alas, the influence of the books had already begun to spread on the beach-goers. Luckily, with Maia’s help, they interrupted the clash of the two entities and returned peace to the elven city. Though they took different paths later following these events, they left as close friends.
The following events were a maddening spiral. She was first taken to an alternate dimension where she faced with an alien entity with powers very similar to her own, hell-bent on assimilating the magical powers of those it captured. Its plan failed, and all prisoners had been released with her. Among them was a renowned Raiaeran Bard, Orophin Súrion, who grudgingly recommended that she study at the IstienUniversity. There, she followed the Empirical major, a fledgling program that favoured hands-on studies rather than theories. She was a prodigious learner, but this caused her classmates to avoid her, all save one young man, Io Beauregard, her roommate who soon became her friend. A dark presence lurked on the school grounds, apparently following the girl for shady reasons, but one day she learned that there was much more to him than met the eye and that they shared a strange… kinship.
It was then that an ancient evil resurfaced in Raiaera. Under the rising shadow of Xem‘Zûnd and his undead legion, Eluriand was in turmoil, and all students were ushered out of the University while thousands of soldiers were mobilized. Lillian was among them, but was alas separated from Io in the chaos. Alongside the famous Skie dan Sabriel, a mercenary called Godhand, a battle-scarred warrior named Kross and another student, the ophidian Khalina, Lillian escaped from the walls with the help of a mysterious force that teleported them to Carnelost, already ravaged by the Necromancer‘s army. There, they fought a few risen corpses before withdrawing into Lindequalmë, where they encountered one of the Forgotten’s generals, the Queen of Undeath, Cydonia. To survive, the librarian assimilated the mercenary’s inhuman strength and fought alongside him and Kross, defeating her with her healing powers. When all seemed well, however, Kross revealed his true colors as one of the Dark’s goons, and fled the Obsidian Spire with Skie on his shoulder, while the undead were closing in on the Tower, once a shelter but soon to be their grave.
+ The Story till Level IV: 'Return to the Fold'
Lillian escaped the Obsidian Spire by inadvertently touching the onyx stone on an armour that once belonged to Xem’Zûnd. It sent her flying far away in a dark stream the bore resemblance to a murder of ravens, and brought her to the ruined castle of one of the Dark’s esteemed generals, Sir Anderson Maxwell, the Unbeliever. There, she was kept prisoner for what seemed to be ten days, until she escaped from her cell by breaking the bars, using only a piece of a broken platter and her soaked dress. She ploughed a path through the thin ranks of undead that had not left the castle for patrol, until she jarred into Godhand Striker at the gates. Her defences crumbled at the sight of that old friend, until she collapsed from exertion, malnutrition and excessive happiness. He left her to sleep in his wagon while he quickly dispatched the general using his new magic-cancelling sheathe. However, after being left in the adjacent village, she decided to rush back to the Tower, hoping that there had been survivors – she knew it was highly unlikely. Unbeknownst to the girl, something within her had activated a strange spell, which created a gate that sent her ten days in the past, incidentally a few hours after her teleportation from the Spire. Thus was she able to assist her fellow stranded classmates in fending off the army of the Necromancer.
Following this ordeal, the teenager returned to Ettermire, where she continued to search for fellow scholars who would be willing to join the Vesperan Lodge. By visiting an old friend, Shairin Melarn of the Moru Úr inn, she ran into the Drow Summoner Helviana Erelisstra, the insufferable prick of a friend she had made during the incident in Ankhas. The girl was ecstatic when she heard of their engagement, though not exactly surprised by that turn of events. A few days later, she learned that the Qu’Ellarin Building was being sold off floor by floor, and she struck a deal with the town hall to rent the seventh floor, which thereafter became the headquarters of Lodge Vespera. There, she launched a series of projects with the help of the people she had managed to recruit, including Helviana who worked there part-time. Their first order of business was the creation of a dimension expander that would allow them more room in the cramped space that they had been provided, but Lillian knew that was only be the beginning.
+ The Story till Level V: 'Windows of Opportunity'
Seti Dylan, Patriarch of the House, was last seen in a foreign country on the continent of Kebiras, where raged a violent civil war. Rajani Aishwara, Patriarch of Lodge Peregrine, was said to have been be lost at sea or returned to his home of Avalon. Even with these ill tides, Lillian would not leave the House to die. As such, she formed an interim triumvirate with two other Patriarchs to sustain the group until the return of its missing leaders. During that time, the gears kept spinning in Lodge Vespera: a number of volunteers came to its aid, participating in the search for a number of special components that were necessary to its many projects, such as the retrieval of teleportation gate prototype in the mines of Kachuk and the hunt for a magical power source that could power it. Were they to return successful, she would be able to start the next phase in the expansion of the House throughout Althanas. That being said, she also had an unexpected meeting with an old member of the organization, Caduceus Grimaldi, who revealed to her that he now led the Order of the Golden Dawn and wished to form an alliance with the House. She gladly accepted, knowing full well that the Order was a benevolent association, being well acquainted with one of its other leaders, Dagon Dessalines, whom she had long ago met in the dreadful forest of Luthmor.
However, she had noticed certain changes occurring within her body for some months now, such as an unexplained loss of weight and a resurgence of vivid nightmares and otherworldly voices that haunted her more and more during every waking hour. Fearing that whatever was happening to her might endanger her colleagues, she delegated her work and set out for Fallien, her native land, sensing that her old mentor knew the answers to questions she could still not formulate. The girl did not have the slightest clue that the events that were to follow her return home would change her forever, and in more ways than one.
Skills
Eidetic Memory – Lillian has, quite simply, the ability of total recall. Everything she has ever seen, read, heard, touched or lived through is permanently engraved in her memory, and these memories can be accessed as easily as if they were recent and fresh in her mind. This has allowed her to memorize countless books, be they about nonexistent adventures or cold hard facts relevant to Althanas. This allows her to assimilate information and learn at insane rates, and has already served her well in learning various languages such as Elven, Salvic, Drow, Dwarven, Dheath and even Daemonic. Alas, with the gift of perfect memory comes the curse of never being able to forget, and so she lives on, unable to break free from the sorrow caused by her parent’s departure.
Speed-Reading – The average person reads a little below a hundred pages per hour or more than a page per minute, whereas Lillian can read with full comprehension by simply glancing at a page, technically taking no more than a minute to read through a hundred pages; regrettably, the speed at which she turns pages is on par with that of any commoner, and she is just as prone to paper cuts as the next girl. Still, she would rather take her time and to fully appreciate a novel, and knows better than to skim over the poetic ‘Anthologies of Gwylliam Winterdell’.
+ Parallel Processing – Though it is not an ability Lillian can make use of whenever she wishes, it can manifest in stressful situations that require quick thinking. When it does activate, she is able to manage multiple streams of thought, which substantially accelerate the speed of analysis and problem-solving. Since she is not used to it, continuous use of this ability may eventually cause a painful, painful headache. [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=109109#post109109)]
Night Vision – Either because of her years spent in dimly-lit libraries or her apocryphal lineage, Lillian possesses a highly-developed vision, come night time and dark places. This allows her to see further and clearer what others would wholly omit. However, her daytime vision is no better than any common human’s, and in very bright times, it may become worse.
Bladed Weapons Proficiency – Her father never let himself rust, and his hand had never weaned from the cold warmth of his blade’s haft. In the Outlander’s Quarters, the weak often fell prey to predators, and with a wife and a daughter, he could not allow himself any rest. One day, worry had overtaken him, and he decided to teach his little girl how to defend herself with a sword. She had learned the basics, but was still at a tender age and was utterly incapable of lifting a sword and putting to practice the theories she had been inculcated. Now, Lillian is by far more apt, capable of standing her ground against adversaries of above average skill, with perhaps the slightest of edges. Also, she has extended her martial understanding to other similar bladed weapons, such as knives, daggers, dirks and the like, which she can also throw with impressive accuracy.
Flexible Weapons Proficiency - After months of adventuring in the real world, she realized that to survive, words and daggers were not always the most useful tools. Lillian was often in hackles when she found herself unable to reach distant targets with bladed weapons, and she realized that willingly disarming herself with the throw of her dirk was more detrimental than beneficial in the long run. Because of this, she chose to make an innovative use of her web-weaving abilities: by affixing magical threads to her weapons, she could substantially increase the range of her attacks, without risking the potential loss of her scarce arsenal. With time, she became quite an expert with this skill, to the point that she could rely on it and it alone during a common weapon battle. [Acquired in 'What Happens Now?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=72972)]
Unarmed Combat Proficiency – Lillian is less than an amateur in hand to hand combat, though that is due to a lack of practice rather than knowledge. She knows of multiple combat techniques but, due to her natural frailty, lacks the strength and body mass to execute them correctly. While she is unable to throw a straight punch or kick without tripping herself most of the time, she would be able to execute deadlocks and grapples, were her physical attributes somehow enhanced. This is all, obviously, irrelevant if her strength remains as abysmal as it usually is.
Abilities
Uncanny Hodgepodge – In the slew of books she has read came the occasional grimoires and scrolls of magic. The ink had been washed away in most, while the contents were utterly false in others, but sometimes she stumbled upon the fragments of the keys to unlock powerful magics… but that was what she had, fragments of different keys. With only pieces of knowledge, she did not possess the full understanding of elemental, portal or ethereal magic, but she had glued a key nonetheless, and opened the most bizarre of doors. Whenever she calls upon preternatural forces with her patchwork magic, anything can happen, from bursts of cold fire to gusts of stunning wind, but more often than she wishes, the spell backfires in the most unpredictable ways. Repeated failures have shown that the most likely form of the aforementioned flops is a weak bolt of lightning that descends from the sky to strike her.
White Widow – The very first set of magical powers produced by the Welkin Body's powers. Through assimilation of Giant Spider blood, Lillian has given birth to a unique form of magic, similar in nature to the Uncanny Hodgepodge. The only difference is her greater level of control over her White Widow abilities, which revolve around the creation of black threads that can be controlled through sheer will as long as they do not stretch over fifteen feet in length, with nearly the strength of Dehlar. Any longer and they become as inert as any other inanimate object. By slightly changing the formula of her spells, however, she can add specific properties to her webs. Right now, she can make her threads highly-adhesive, change their color for purely aesthetical purposes, or choose to make them either reactive or conductive to magic. In the former case, the threads can blow up when struck by powerful magic, while in the latter case, they can be imbued or fused with magical energies without danger. Fusing would mean that, if a thread conducts magical fire, it will become a thread made of fire, though after the spell’s effect ends, the thread automatically vanishes. She cannot use spells thrown at her to imbue the threads, only her own spells or those of an ally. (Half of the weaker threads in her possession are automatically upgraded to maximum strength at the end of a quest. As such, it would take two quests to convert all of them.) [Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Web Therapy – Lillian's most prominent use of these threads is the weaving of an impermeable web that accelerates the rate of healing when applied to a wound. By feeding energy into the damaged tissues, the web precipitates cellular division without the risk of long-term degeneration of cells. The web remains affixed until it is fully healed, and is quite useful in stopping hemorrhages, as it stems the flow of blood. Surface wounds like scrapes and cuts take only a few seconds to heal, while fractured bones and burns take less than half an hour to heal. Lillian can now to treat serious injuries, or attempt to heal lethal wounds with a very low success rate, but the exact efficacy of the spell depends on her mindset while sewing the magic into a web. These healing properties can be infused in both active threads (still connected to her body) and inert threads (disconnected from her body). [Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Seamstress of the Sinister – No longer is Lillian limited to weaving only strings and webs. During her years of indiscriminate reading, the librarian has come across much knowledge concerning various forms of craftsmanship, notably that of tailoring and its multiple branches. After hands-on application of her knowledge by practicing every morning, Lillian has become more adept at complex weaves, though she has only recently crafted crude pieces of clothing using her abilities. These items born of her magic usually have no ability, save for their similarity in appearance and properties to spidersilk. However, with more time and effort (a day of assiduous work, perhaps), she would be capable of producing quality textiles a bit weaker than dehlar, while losing little to none of their flexibility. When left untouched for a day, the fabric becomes as any other non-magical material, which means that Lillian cannot make it disappear; as such, it can be enchanted. (Either she can weave two jackets or four shirts of this material in every quest, or spin the equivalent in silk cloth for future use. Must be requested at the end of a quest. Can be sold.) [Acquired in 'Saved' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=75419)]
Gargantua’s Might – The second power produced by the Welkin Body. By sipping the blood of a red-eyed mercenary named Godhand, with his permission that is, Lillian has, on top of gaining nigh-immunity to his specific pheromones, made his sheer physical strength into her own. Though upon the first use of her newfound might, her body was capable of the same extraordinary feats as the man, she is no longer capable of drawing from it at the same level of potency. Under its influence, she can lift up to 3000 pounds and can, with effort, bend dehlar; in this state, her running speed can almost double, and she will also gain impressive stamina. Lillian can sometimes emulate the mindset needed to call upon this power, but fails more than half of the time. It usually activates under situations of high emotional stress or duress and at varying degrees of effectiveness. It is most likely to manifest when her life is endangered, but never lasts very long. When in this state, dark red rings form around her irises. [Acquired in 'Blood Red Blossoms' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8692)]
+ Elder Vespers – Of the many ancient houses of magic, Shadows were the first to have been forgotten, though some would argue that their fall into oblivion was a deliberate act. After all, light has been the bellwether element of the past few eras, and as such no secret has been able to slumber in its heart. Shadows, on the contrary, have harboured the mysteries of the world ever since they vanished from the minds of each and all; in secrecy lies their power, their ineffable importance. Still, an exception was made: Lillian, as a gift for her help in returning a swarm of shadow beings to their realm, received the Treatise on the Spawns of Shadow, which allows those with the affinity to summon such creatures. The librarian managed to call upon Shalim who, after much persuading, finally decided to teach her the fundamentals of ancient Shadow Magic, the Elder Vespers.
+ Shalim, the Child of Dusk – The very same being that she helped in the library of Ankhas, Shalim is a small and swarthy creature that stands at barely two feet tall, with short and somewhat stubby limbs. Its head is rounded, large and disproportionate to the rest of its body, tapering out slightly at the back. It has two wide, glowing white eyes and does not seem to have a mouth. Rather than being bound to Lillian, it acts as the girl’s teacher in the Elder Vespers. It is a powerful being, but it will not fight for Lillian nor will it obey her should she order or command it to do anything (as such, it cannot be used in battles and it will only use its spells for training demonstrations or story-related purposes).
+ Shadow Twist – The bare bones of the Elder Vespers consists in manipulating natural shadows to one’s will, for doing so awakens their latent magical properties. Right now, Lillian can only draw from shades within a three feet radius. With them, she has learned to shroud her body, making herself slightly more unnoticeable than she already is, or she can otherwise create intangibles tendrils that are able to, very slowly, drain away a person’s vitality upon contact. She can make three tendrils at most that each stretch to a maximum of five feet, or a single tendril that can span a little over ten.
Equipment (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=43545#post43545)
Lillian carries a knapsack in which various odds and ends can be found: food rations she has learned to bring along ever since she was too afraid to walk back home, a few blankets, a change of clothing, a wool cloak for outerwear and, obviously, her ‘books of the moment’. She also carries a blank diary (she had thought of writing entries, but realized it was too much of a hassle) and a set of pencils. Moreover, her house is riddled with weapons of her father’s making, notably the tulwar made of an unknown metal he wielded decades ago as an adventurer. Otherwise, she has only the clothes on her back, that is to say a white dress; it was sewn by her mother as a gift for her eighth birthday, which was incidentally the last one they spent together.
+ The Treatise on the Spawns of Shadow – Though it disappeared from one of the underground vaults of Ankhas, it reappeared in Lillian’s backpack, repaired and recharged as a gift for returning a group of summoned shadow creatures to their world. This book currently allows her to summon the Shadow Child, a small being of aggregated darkness with large white eyes. More information on this creature can be found under the ability ‘Elder Vespers’. [Acquired in 'A Study in Black' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=120254#post120254)]
+ The Ode to the Night – A glass-encased vellum on which is written a single spell that has three different effects, each depending on the presence or absence of the moon (Not to be confused with an actual magic item or spell that she will use, as it is solely for storyline purposes). It is carried by Shadow Child, who safeguards it in the dimension locked within its body. [Acquired in 'A Study in Black' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=120254#post120254)]
+Eclipse Pendant (http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/Necathys/ECLIPSEPENDANT.jpg?t=1210814343)– A pendant given to Lillian by Seti Dylan, proof that she is a member of the House of the Sora. Made of refined silver, treated so as to have mirror-like properties, and it is engraved with the solar eclipse, the official sigil of the House. It currently has no ability. Cannot be sold.
+ Mazzra Medal of Valor – Unlike what could be expected from a decoration with such a distinguished name, it is merely a piece of polished brass in the form of a seven-pointed star. It has no ability. [Acquired in 'A Study in Black' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=120254#post120254)]
+ Vial of the Spider God's Blood (x3)–After defeating the ‘Spider God’ that assaulted the port city of Scara Brae with the help of the Izvilvin and the half-elf Anenfel, Lillian gleaned some of its purple-black ichor for later analysis of the substance, hoping to understand what could have triggered its unnatural growth. [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=109109#post109109)]
+ Eye of the Spider God – At the same time, she pried out from the waterlogged corpse the only eye that was still relatively intact after the fight. It looks like a slightly over-sized crystal ball, opaque and tinted gold. [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=109109#post109109)]
+ Bicycle (http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs6/i/2005/059/b/b/bicycle_by_volkanersoy.jpg) – In actuality, Lillian has finagled a little brass claxon that magically turns into a bicycle when she honks it. For some reason, long rides are not quite nearly as tiring on this one, and it travels a bit faster than the common bicycle for the same effort put into pedaling. [Acquired in 'Yves Montand Sang About It' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=107553#post107553)]
+ Tri-Horned Pendant – The strength potion that Lillian asked to be brewed in the Synthesis Shop somehow turned into a hardened piece of material very similar to amber, though tinted a green hue with dark spots and a Tri-Horned beetle trapped in its core. When activated, the pendant increases the user’s strength to 4 times what it currently is and will last for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Once the effects wear off, the pendant will need roughly 10 to 12 hours to recharge. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=107992#post107992)]
Pocket Watch – A fine timepiece she has carried with her since her trip to Scara Brae. It has no properties other than telling time. Made of refined silver.[Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Silver-Rimmed Glasses – Because of her blue eyes, Lillian is very sensible to sunlight. To remedy this, her mentor, Merkah Baen, gave her a pair of alchemically crafted glasses that filter light without reducing her vision. Strangely, whenever she is blinded by natural means, putting them on helps her recover her eyesight very quickly. Otherwise, they have no properties. She seldom wears them, as most of her time is spent in dim libraries, where her eyes does not suffer one bit.
The Unseen Nexus – Also known as the 'Invisible Bonds of Love', the Nexus was found in the top shelves of the 'Bawdy Barry', an erotic bookstore in Radasanth. Though not a magical artifact, it is of unquestionable value, as its ciphers contain the hidden locations of countless books and grimoires, their lore and underlying powers lost to the times. Lillian is working hard on decoding the texts, but the task reveals itself to be extremely complex, even for the blue-eyed prodigy. Still, Lillian does not capitulate, for she feels that her efforts will soon return success. [Acquired in 'Althanaversary Round 2: Ataraxis vs. Culix' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=4636)]
Anumati, Cillu Dirk – The last work of her father is a Cillu Dirk that he had crafted for a priestess Lillian could never find. Deciding against leaving her country unarmed and without a physical memento of her father, the young girl brought it along for her long trip. With a handle grooved down its length for enhanced grip, a blade bearing the washed pattern on nacre shells and an overall length of nearly fourteen inches (13 6/8”), the weapon’s design is a strange mix of balance and asymmetry in its shape as much as its ornamentation, with embeddings of small Kiramaini beads in the pommel, on the guard and along the flat. Though it was originally meant for use in ceremonial services, the dirk remains a weapon before all, and a remarkable one at that: it has been weighted and balanced to make throwing a viable option, and its sharp edge is still sparkle clear even after the reckless battles it has seen.
+ Vatya, the Desert Gale – After being combined with a number of crystals and scales at the Synthesis Shop, the dirk now finds itself imbued with a power over wind. The enchantment reduces the drag of the wind against the blade, allowing it to travel faster and straighter with less resistance towards its target. Also, by quickly slashing the air in front of its target or targets, it will create a pressure disruption that forms into a crescent-shaped current of sharp and extremely fast moving wind. It is able to slice open skin and cloth, but will dissipate upon impact with most metals, though still doing some damage to materials such as leather. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=107992#post107992)]
Throwing Knives (http://amonyss.freepgs.com/Aiden/knife.jpg)(x3) – They were given to her by Alaina Varia, the wife of a travelling companion of hers, Aiden DarkStorm, upon his death at the hands of the wizard Ishadin. They are simple steel weapons, and have more sentimental value to the girl than anything else. [Acquired in 'Saved' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=75419)]
Dvaita, Prevalida Throwing Dagger(s) – Purchased at the King’s Armory, a small store in a Salvaran fief handled by a warmhearted woman named Erin, this innovative dagger made of Prevalida has helped Lillian out of tough situations quite a few times, thanks to its unusual characteristics. Not only is the blade small enough to fit in her palm, but its edges are sharp and jagged, making it quite hard to remove every time it lodges into something. Three holes are set at the end of the tang in a triangular formation, each large enough for a finger to fit in, making it a good throwing weapon. Its most notable use, however, is its ability to (after enough force is applied to its tang so that the small clamps along it disengage) split vertically into identical pieces, thus becoming two daggers instead of one. Those who know of this particularity find the meaning of its name, Duality, quite fitting. [Acquired in 'Shopping' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=7021)]
+ Samsara, the Wheel of Karma – Lillian had gone to the Synthesis Shop to have the Dvaita enchanted, though the actual nature of its imbuing was left to the Fae’s creativity. Lasair was, however, unaware of the weapon’s particularity when she synthesized it, which resulted in a pleasant surprise for both girls. As it was, the Dvaita had the power to send poisonous bursts of pure magical energy into the system of whatever creature it cut. Though the effects vary with the gravity of the wound and the general amount of energy absorbed within the victim’s body, it can cause from light-headedness and the dulling of the senses to vomiting and possibly fainting. However, its greatest effect is the temporary disruption of magic, which means that a being wounded by the Dvaita may half the time see his spells malfunction, become inoperative or even backfire. Still, the true marvel of the enchantment lies in its effects when the Dvaita is split in two. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=108106#post108106)]
+ Atamas, the White Datura– One of the halves turns from the Prevalida’s clear blue shine to a glossy ivory. It inflicts the most damage against creatures such as vampires, demons and the undead. after stabbing these, the Atamas sometimes causes internal bleeding or disables the opponent’s healing abilities, but it always sends waves of pain throughout the body. On normal or diametrically opposite entities, it deals the same damage as would a normal Prevalida dagger, perhaps even less. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=108106#post108106)]
+ Gahana, The Black Asphodel– The other half of the Dvaita becomes a deep shade of matte onyx, and thus reflects very little light. It deals increased damage to all beings that are said to be attuned with light or allegedly ‘clean’ magic, such as Faes, animated entities and a number of elementals. To these, being stabbed by the Gahana sends a burning flux of pain like acid eating them from the inside, which can become quite crippling over time. On normal or diametrically opposite entities, it deals the same damage as would a normal Prevalida dagger, perhaps even less. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=108106#post108106)]
Sitayamini, Black Spidersilk – Sitayamini, or Sita Silk for short, is the name Lillian has given to the special brand of magical spidersilk that she can create. Whenever she finds the time, Lillian weaves as many of her magical threads as she can, and as such she has accumulated quite a few spools of the dehlar-strong material. One spool is considered the equivalent of one shirt. Two shirts, thus two spools, is the equivalent of a jacket.
4 spools of Steel-strength gained [Acquired in 'Blood Red Blossoms' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8692)]
2 spools Dehlar-strength gained, 2 of the steel-strength spools automatically upgraded to Dehlar-strength [Acquired in 'NWO Vs. Imperial: Group Two' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=117360#post117360)]
2 of the Steel-strength spools automatically upgraded to Dehlar-strength [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8651)]
4 spools of Dehlar-strength lost [Sold in 'Cobwebs in the Flea Market' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=117354#post117354)]
1 spool of Dehlar-strength gained [Acquired in 'For the People who are Still Alive!' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=119048#post119048)]
Total: 3 spools of Dehlar-Strength remaining
The Welkin Body – A sentient artifact buried deep in her complex mind, and the source of Lillian’s bizarre abilities. It is of a nature unknown, its composition a befuddling conundrum on its own while its dimensions are literally out of this world, beyond the comprehension that a dimensional tetrad can provide the likes of mortality. The closest Lillian has ever been to an accurate description of the object is a twenty-faced ideal polyhedron, constituted of a dark, crystalline matter, which contains the glow of a purplish-black light. It has revealed to her that it possesses the capacity of adaptation beyond that of humans, and that their symbiotic relation allows her to tap into this power to create an array of abilities, depending on the nature and urgency of her situation.
Its most notable use, however, is that of assimilation: the Welkin Body can capture the essence of virtually anything that substantially affects Lillian’s mind (as long as it is magic or organic) and absorb a portion of it for processing. The sample is then converted over time into powers related to the substance in question. As of now, a maximum of two essences can be transformed at a time, and it can require several months, if not years, before the procedure is completed. Under rare and specific circumstances, however, the absorption capacities of the Welkin Body can momentarily manifest, even if it already is processing at maximum capacity. A relevant example would be during a near-death experience, though this has not yet occurred. [Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Other Notes:
There are a lot of updates, but keep in mind that I skipped the level 4 update, and that ‘Parallel Processing’ and ‘Shalim, Child of Dusk’ have pretty much zero incidence on her power. Also, the part I added to the Uncanny Hodgepodge isn’t an update, but an elaboration on the way it backfires that I always forgot to add. The Eclipse Pendant is something I should have added at level 1, since that was around the time I joined the House. Either way, it can’t be sold.
And just in case, this is the weapon skill level growth that I go by:
Poor – Amateur - Below Average – Average/Moderate – Above Average – Expert – Master – Legendary
Also, I linked an equipment list to this profile. It’s got exactly the same items, but I’ll be able to edit it as Lillian gets new ones, just so that I can keep track of them more easily. If you or someone with the powers could change the thread’s name to ‘Lillian Sesthal’s Equipment’, I’d really appreciate it!
Additions marked by a ' + '
Edits are in ' Blue'
Name: Lillian Sesthal
Titles and monikers: Lil, Lily, Lollipop, Kid
Age: 16
Race: Apparently human
Hair: Soft and glossy strands of sable silk
Eyes: Eerily blue and frighteningly clear, with a sinister glow
Height: 5’ 4”
Weight: 82 lbs.
Class: 'White Widow'
Occupation: Librarian’s assistant
Personality
Lillian is as quirky as teenage girls can get: her world is a world of books, and even when confronted with reality, she acts as if she were still trekking the Mountains of Zaleiya or enduring the blistering cold of the fictional ‘Steppes of the Ice-Veiled King’. Of course, she is kind and sympathetic, but her shyness tends to overshadow her better qualities; she did live in seclusion for the greater half of her life. She is prone to awkward comments, and could potentially halt the most heated debates with a single sentence. Still, beneath her cheerful countenance lie constant bereavement for her late parents and a longing for a place she could truly feel at home. Ever since leaving Fallien, the girl has been gaining more confidence on an almost day to day basis, and is now capable of speaking her mind to those she has learned to know. The girl, however, still has a tendency to make a mockery of herself in front of strangers. Her travels also seem to have stirred a side of her personality that few have ever seen, so unnervingly cold and remote that some would think her possessed. The girl, however, seems oblivious to the surfacing of this strange behaviour.
Appearance
Lillian is of an average stature, standing at an unexceptional height, yet her lissome figure and comely features are more than enough compensation. An inkfall of darkness tumbles down onto her shoulders, framing her delicate visage, stark white save for florid hues upon her cheeks and the rosy lushness of her lips. She habitually dons an immaculate gown, its hems adorned with soft frills, and is shod in common, auburn ankle boots. However, what clash most with her debonair aspect are the twin pools of coruscant ice that compose her unsettling gaze, eyes that seem to peer deep into one’s mind to find its darkest secrets. Recently, she has discovered budding curves in her silhouette, and her face is slowly taking on a more adult appeal. Oddly, even though she feels healthier than ever, the girl has noticed an unexplained loss in body mass, which has left her quite perplexed. It now reaches a limit that, to any other human, would be considered critically dangerous. Lillian is extremely concerned, for though she may feel no deterioration, she does have the strange impression that her body is slowly changing from within.
History
When the nights wore on and weighed upon her infant’s heart, Lillian would bumble over her modest bunk, clamber upon the bedrail and peer through the small window above. A squint of the eyes was all it took to pull the little girl from her worldly abode, through the glassy scope and into the infinite skies of Fallien. Oft was it all-black and dull to her venturesome mind, but she cherished the times wherein the blazon of dark wore myriad pinpricks of soft white and sparkling blue. Then, her little heart would grow and beat like a festive tambourine at the sight of the desert’s treasured jewel, glowing bright and white as if nurtured by the quiet moonlight; it was the Mother’s Keep, pure and radiant in the dead of night. Lillian would stargaze until the sun dragged itself from the horizon; the image would fade and push her from the ledge of dreams, only to have her wake in the filth-ridden reality of the Outlander’s Quarters.
The girl had grown in the nest of crime, faced with threats upon her life at every waking hour. Her father, a retired warrior turned iron and glass smith, was adamant on her never crossing the bounds of their walls while he was away to craft and barter his wares. She was left to herself, under the watchful eye of her seamstress mother, and turned to the only pastime within her grasp: reading. ‘The Tacky Tales of Tom Tabletop’ were the first stories to ever grace her eyes. With time, she had devoured every piece of her mother’s collection, and had moved on to worldlier scripts, such as ‘The Past of Fallien: After Vadhya’. Needless to say, the fledgling girl had no real understanding of the region’s history, what with being five years old and all.
When she reached a shortage of things to read, she promptly asked her father if he could provide her with more. The man, intrigued, wondered why she could not simply go through them again, since she couldn’t possibly remember the contents of over forty tomes. To his utter and complete befuddlement, she recited obscure passages from ‘The Fallen Rose and the Laughing Corpse’, amusing quotes by Tom Tabletop and facts pertaining to Fallien’s history he himself was not aware of. She had committed everything to memory.
“Plus, I already cycled through them thrice, and didn’t learn anything new.”
Something was strange. Instead of evincing pride and joy in the light of her prodigious mind, his face had turned livid, and little life remained in his sand-withered features. Later, her parents had made her swear to never speak of this again, but at least agreed to purchase new books for her when they could from the Outlander’s Quarter’s only library, ‘The Blades of Knowledge’. Though the ordeal had seemingly passed over them, Lillian could sometimes hear her mother weep at night, calling out her name with much despair.
Why was her soul drawn to Jya’s Keep? She had no wishes of becoming a priestess, and was certain they did not need her; even if they did, how could a foreigner even wish to become an aspirant Jya when she could not even cross the borders of Irrakam’s vestibule? For years had her parents asked for an Exit Pass, but the authorities were stubborn and denied them access to the mainland. No, she was drawn not by eminent titles or wealth and livelihood, but rather by the very beauty of the Keep itself, its magnificent exterior and the feeling that ‘it’ was her home. As much as she loved her parents and this shack they called their home, there had never been a sense of belonging. Worse was when she realized, as she grew older, that the Keep was not the object of her desire either, but a mere simulacrum of what haunted her dreams.
The Exit Pass came, but her parents never returned. They had gone to map their route out of the Quarters, but Lillian had never caught sight of them afterward. ‘We’ll be back in an hour or so’ was all that they said. The hour had stretched to two, then ten and a day. The day had grown to two, then ten and… one does not need to further explain how time wore on and how they would never come back. Long did she sob in her dusty old room, thinning and enfeebled by starvation and sorrow.
With time, the grief of abandonment seemed to recede, though it never truly waned nor faded. It was a method of self-preservation, for she would have died had she not suppressed it. Recalling the name of the library that had produced her precious leather-bound friends, she garnered every ounce of courage she had and valiantly rushed out of her house, bolted aimlessly through the winding and torturous paths until she jarred into a wall. Providence had blessed her, for the first thing she saw as her eyes unsealed was the moon, shining over the signboard of the ‘Blades of Knowledge’. A jingle sounded ahead as the entrance creaked open, and an elderly man, staggering over the sill with his short legs and worn cane, stared at the girl in confusion.
“Whaaat? Is it daaay yet? No, it doesn’t seem so. Then whaaat aaare you doing here, child? We aaare closed for the night. Or haaave you come seeking employment?”
The Story till Level I: 'Maiden Voyage'
Lillian’s first true adventure was at the age of twelve, when she boarded a ship for Scara Brae to follow in the footsteps of her parents. It was quite unfortunate that she started her first venture into the world by almost dying and becoming the meal of a gigantic spider. The trip was, luckily, not an utter failure, as she did befriend a charming, albeit dense boy named Sam and made the acquaintance of the mercenary demon, Ifrit Obsidian, who became her guardian during her stay on the island. She even became aware of a strange being that had lived inside her in secrecy, self-proclaimed the Welkin Body, and of the new healing powers it bestowed upon her. The entity, however, fell into a deep slumber shortly after their meeting, one from which the child could not shake it, no matter what she did. Halfway through the forest, in the village of Greenclough, she was kidnapped by a crime syndicate. During her time of captivity, she learned of her parents’ ties with the leader of her abductors. What followed was as much of a happy ending as she could hope, for the demon returned to save her and saw her safely to Scara Brae. There she recovered a box that once belonged to her mother; though it was locked and without a key, she took it back to Fallien as a keepsake.
Four years later, Lillian was exiled from Fallien for her failed attempt at entering Irrakam without an exit pass. The deed was done by the same man who had denied her parents the same right before their disappearance. The girl had never learned his name, and reckoned she never would; this made her already heartbreaking departure from her homeland that much more frustrating. She found refuge aboard the Peregrine as a stowaway, but was quickly discovered by the captain, a certain Rajani Aishwara. Instead of throwing her into the ocean to feed the sharks, as she had seen done in so many books, the young man took interest in her prodigious mind, and by some strange turn of fate, made her an integral part of his entrepreneurial group.
He sent her on her first assignment, where she was to persuade a monk of Ai’bron in joining their forces to fight against the Illicit Entrepreneurs. With the help of the sword-mistress Doji Ki, the mission had been a success, though she did not leave the Citadel without a few bruises and broken ribs. Her second task was to research the resources of Salvar in the library of Ankhas, a much less dangerous mission than her previous one… or so Rajani thought. There, she inadvertently unleashed a legion of Night Incarnates, who seemed to feast on fear to spread the darkness. After realizing that they had been called away from their home, she helped them return to their realm with the help of an arrogant Drow Summoner, Helviana Erelisstra. A few weeks later, she made her way to Salvar, where she helped her leader diffuse the resources of Althanas with her newly-acquired knowledge. The teenager had not expected the business venture to end with a gentle force blessing the Peregrines on their voyage.
The Story till Level II: 'Perusing the Nexus'
Upon her request, the ship dropped her off at the dock nearest to Radasanth, where she had hoped to spend quality time browsing its world-renowned library. Unlucky as she was, however, she became the murdering tool of a lecher sorcerer, who took over her body to dispose of Devin, heir of the Argente family. Following a violent battle, Lillian was wounded by the boy’s silver katars, but the pain was enough to summon an old power back to the surface. Once more, the Welkin Body rose from an unknown abyss, expelling the intruder from the temple of her mind without difficulty. Devin, remorseful, nursed the girl back to health after hearing her apologetic explanation, but disappeared once the girl had fully recovered. Hoping that she could resume her perusal of the library, she came across information that told of the Unseen Nexus, a special book which contained the locations of the most occult tomes and arcane scripts on Althanas, and perhaps even beyond. Following a trail of two-hundred-year-old clues, she was led to the 'Bawdy Barry', an erotic bookstore, where the said book had been securely stashed for centuries. Alas, she fought over its possession with a purple-haired boy and shoplifted the Nexus by accident. On the streets, she jarred into a political insurrectionist, who also happened to be a most potent fire wizard. With the help of the same boy, she defeated him and his flaming golem, saving innocent bystanders on the streets from what could have been a burning massacre. As a token of his gratitude, the owner of the Bawdy Barry gave them each a copy of the Nexus, though Lillian realized a few days later that he had given her the original by mistake. Concomitantly, Lillian found a new reason to explore the world; to exhume time-lost knowledge all over the world and make it her own.
As the first step of her new quest, Lillian traveled to the esoteric country that was Dheathain. In the swamps of Fiorair, she met Aiden DarkStorm and his son, Chance, though the circumstances of their meeting were somewhat unsettling. By some strange force were they lulled to an old and massive tree, exuding of mysteries and an unshakeable taint. With their help, she contended against an ancient evil that lurked within the sylvan prison, escaping both gruesome rape and agonizing death by its monstrous hands. After this blood-curdling ordeal, she became good friends with the man and the boy, deciding to tag along with them on light-hearted adventures, scouring the rainforest and grasslands for synthesizing ingredients. With her new allies, she fought Algoras, Wyrms and Wyrvens, becoming stronger and hardier with each day spent at their side. Alas, when they set out to rescue Aiden’s wife and daughter, Alaina and Fate, her friend met his dreadful end, and his son was kidnapped by the same man who murdered him, a despicable sorcerer named Ishadin. For months, Lillian grieved. For months, she searched, desperate. But nothing.
After months of silence from the Peregrines, she received a letter that summoned her to Marach Mor, where Rajani was forming a party to explore the ruins of the ancient capital. The news made her cry in happiness, trawling her from her pit of solitude and remorse. At the Great hall, she met a handful of important figures, including the captain of the Peregrines and Seti Dylan, a foul-mouthed architect and the leader of the House of Sora, which allied with his group shortly after the completion of their mutual task; that is to say, the discovery of time-raught artifacts and the repairs of the ruins themselves. For this venture, Rajani had only requested her aid as a scribe, wishing for her to record everything of import that was to occur during the endeavor. Little did he know that a steadfast quill and a faultless memory were not the only things this girl of sixteen would bring to the table. Little by little, the girl had gained respect from those she frequented. Now, however, it is fame that she is gaining.
+ The Story till Level III: 'Reaching Above the Skies'
After her adventure in the ruins of Donnalaich, she was offered a position in the House of Sora as Matriarch of Lodge Vespera, where she would lead a team of scholars on various research projects of both scientific and magic nature. Her first assignment was, naturally, to recruit a team comprised of Althanas' greatest minds. After multiple refusals on her voyage, she dejectedly returned to the island where it all began, Scara Brae. There, she sought the vestiges of her past, the few remaining mementos of her parents had left, before taking roots in Fallien. During a sojourn at the Sea’s Salt that should not have lasted more than a night, she made the acquaintance of a half-elf warrior, Anenfel Saendithas, and of a Drow named Izvilvin, while the port city was attacked by a horde of spider-mounted goblins. In the middle of the siege, the spiders retaliated against their masters, instead uniting as one under the shadow of their God, another spider of gigantic proportions. Their motley team eventually prevailed, and decided to set out on more adventures to the west.
After leaving Scara Brae, she headed out to Raiaera so as to resume her mission, while not forgetting her personal search for knowledge. Using the first few decoded pages of the Unseen Nexus, the girl learned of a set of books called the Red Pharos and the White Calamity, supposedly housed by a dilapidated library in Anebrilith: were they to be reunited under one unsuspecting owner, they would bring about the lands chaos and destruction. She was unfortunately too late, as they had both been rented by a pretty bookworm by the name Maia Kristel, whom she followed to the coast of the port city on a private beach. Unable to purloin the items from her bag, Lillian decided to remain with the bonnie blonde instead, ever on the lookout for any sign of an impending cataclysm. Alas, the influence of the books had already begun to spread on the beach-goers. Luckily, with Maia’s help, they interrupted the clash of the two entities and returned peace to the elven city. Though they took different paths later following these events, they left as close friends.
The following events were a maddening spiral. She was first taken to an alternate dimension where she faced with an alien entity with powers very similar to her own, hell-bent on assimilating the magical powers of those it captured. Its plan failed, and all prisoners had been released with her. Among them was a renowned Raiaeran Bard, Orophin Súrion, who grudgingly recommended that she study at the IstienUniversity. There, she followed the Empirical major, a fledgling program that favoured hands-on studies rather than theories. She was a prodigious learner, but this caused her classmates to avoid her, all save one young man, Io Beauregard, her roommate who soon became her friend. A dark presence lurked on the school grounds, apparently following the girl for shady reasons, but one day she learned that there was much more to him than met the eye and that they shared a strange… kinship.
It was then that an ancient evil resurfaced in Raiaera. Under the rising shadow of Xem‘Zûnd and his undead legion, Eluriand was in turmoil, and all students were ushered out of the University while thousands of soldiers were mobilized. Lillian was among them, but was alas separated from Io in the chaos. Alongside the famous Skie dan Sabriel, a mercenary called Godhand, a battle-scarred warrior named Kross and another student, the ophidian Khalina, Lillian escaped from the walls with the help of a mysterious force that teleported them to Carnelost, already ravaged by the Necromancer‘s army. There, they fought a few risen corpses before withdrawing into Lindequalmë, where they encountered one of the Forgotten’s generals, the Queen of Undeath, Cydonia. To survive, the librarian assimilated the mercenary’s inhuman strength and fought alongside him and Kross, defeating her with her healing powers. When all seemed well, however, Kross revealed his true colors as one of the Dark’s goons, and fled the Obsidian Spire with Skie on his shoulder, while the undead were closing in on the Tower, once a shelter but soon to be their grave.
+ The Story till Level IV: 'Return to the Fold'
Lillian escaped the Obsidian Spire by inadvertently touching the onyx stone on an armour that once belonged to Xem’Zûnd. It sent her flying far away in a dark stream the bore resemblance to a murder of ravens, and brought her to the ruined castle of one of the Dark’s esteemed generals, Sir Anderson Maxwell, the Unbeliever. There, she was kept prisoner for what seemed to be ten days, until she escaped from her cell by breaking the bars, using only a piece of a broken platter and her soaked dress. She ploughed a path through the thin ranks of undead that had not left the castle for patrol, until she jarred into Godhand Striker at the gates. Her defences crumbled at the sight of that old friend, until she collapsed from exertion, malnutrition and excessive happiness. He left her to sleep in his wagon while he quickly dispatched the general using his new magic-cancelling sheathe. However, after being left in the adjacent village, she decided to rush back to the Tower, hoping that there had been survivors – she knew it was highly unlikely. Unbeknownst to the girl, something within her had activated a strange spell, which created a gate that sent her ten days in the past, incidentally a few hours after her teleportation from the Spire. Thus was she able to assist her fellow stranded classmates in fending off the army of the Necromancer.
Following this ordeal, the teenager returned to Ettermire, where she continued to search for fellow scholars who would be willing to join the Vesperan Lodge. By visiting an old friend, Shairin Melarn of the Moru Úr inn, she ran into the Drow Summoner Helviana Erelisstra, the insufferable prick of a friend she had made during the incident in Ankhas. The girl was ecstatic when she heard of their engagement, though not exactly surprised by that turn of events. A few days later, she learned that the Qu’Ellarin Building was being sold off floor by floor, and she struck a deal with the town hall to rent the seventh floor, which thereafter became the headquarters of Lodge Vespera. There, she launched a series of projects with the help of the people she had managed to recruit, including Helviana who worked there part-time. Their first order of business was the creation of a dimension expander that would allow them more room in the cramped space that they had been provided, but Lillian knew that was only be the beginning.
+ The Story till Level V: 'Windows of Opportunity'
Seti Dylan, Patriarch of the House, was last seen in a foreign country on the continent of Kebiras, where raged a violent civil war. Rajani Aishwara, Patriarch of Lodge Peregrine, was said to have been be lost at sea or returned to his home of Avalon. Even with these ill tides, Lillian would not leave the House to die. As such, she formed an interim triumvirate with two other Patriarchs to sustain the group until the return of its missing leaders. During that time, the gears kept spinning in Lodge Vespera: a number of volunteers came to its aid, participating in the search for a number of special components that were necessary to its many projects, such as the retrieval of teleportation gate prototype in the mines of Kachuk and the hunt for a magical power source that could power it. Were they to return successful, she would be able to start the next phase in the expansion of the House throughout Althanas. That being said, she also had an unexpected meeting with an old member of the organization, Caduceus Grimaldi, who revealed to her that he now led the Order of the Golden Dawn and wished to form an alliance with the House. She gladly accepted, knowing full well that the Order was a benevolent association, being well acquainted with one of its other leaders, Dagon Dessalines, whom she had long ago met in the dreadful forest of Luthmor.
However, she had noticed certain changes occurring within her body for some months now, such as an unexplained loss of weight and a resurgence of vivid nightmares and otherworldly voices that haunted her more and more during every waking hour. Fearing that whatever was happening to her might endanger her colleagues, she delegated her work and set out for Fallien, her native land, sensing that her old mentor knew the answers to questions she could still not formulate. The girl did not have the slightest clue that the events that were to follow her return home would change her forever, and in more ways than one.
Skills
Eidetic Memory – Lillian has, quite simply, the ability of total recall. Everything she has ever seen, read, heard, touched or lived through is permanently engraved in her memory, and these memories can be accessed as easily as if they were recent and fresh in her mind. This has allowed her to memorize countless books, be they about nonexistent adventures or cold hard facts relevant to Althanas. This allows her to assimilate information and learn at insane rates, and has already served her well in learning various languages such as Elven, Salvic, Drow, Dwarven, Dheath and even Daemonic. Alas, with the gift of perfect memory comes the curse of never being able to forget, and so she lives on, unable to break free from the sorrow caused by her parent’s departure.
Speed-Reading – The average person reads a little below a hundred pages per hour or more than a page per minute, whereas Lillian can read with full comprehension by simply glancing at a page, technically taking no more than a minute to read through a hundred pages; regrettably, the speed at which she turns pages is on par with that of any commoner, and she is just as prone to paper cuts as the next girl. Still, she would rather take her time and to fully appreciate a novel, and knows better than to skim over the poetic ‘Anthologies of Gwylliam Winterdell’.
+ Parallel Processing – Though it is not an ability Lillian can make use of whenever she wishes, it can manifest in stressful situations that require quick thinking. When it does activate, she is able to manage multiple streams of thought, which substantially accelerate the speed of analysis and problem-solving. Since she is not used to it, continuous use of this ability may eventually cause a painful, painful headache. [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=109109#post109109)]
Night Vision – Either because of her years spent in dimly-lit libraries or her apocryphal lineage, Lillian possesses a highly-developed vision, come night time and dark places. This allows her to see further and clearer what others would wholly omit. However, her daytime vision is no better than any common human’s, and in very bright times, it may become worse.
Bladed Weapons Proficiency – Her father never let himself rust, and his hand had never weaned from the cold warmth of his blade’s haft. In the Outlander’s Quarters, the weak often fell prey to predators, and with a wife and a daughter, he could not allow himself any rest. One day, worry had overtaken him, and he decided to teach his little girl how to defend herself with a sword. She had learned the basics, but was still at a tender age and was utterly incapable of lifting a sword and putting to practice the theories she had been inculcated. Now, Lillian is by far more apt, capable of standing her ground against adversaries of above average skill, with perhaps the slightest of edges. Also, she has extended her martial understanding to other similar bladed weapons, such as knives, daggers, dirks and the like, which she can also throw with impressive accuracy.
Flexible Weapons Proficiency - After months of adventuring in the real world, she realized that to survive, words and daggers were not always the most useful tools. Lillian was often in hackles when she found herself unable to reach distant targets with bladed weapons, and she realized that willingly disarming herself with the throw of her dirk was more detrimental than beneficial in the long run. Because of this, she chose to make an innovative use of her web-weaving abilities: by affixing magical threads to her weapons, she could substantially increase the range of her attacks, without risking the potential loss of her scarce arsenal. With time, she became quite an expert with this skill, to the point that she could rely on it and it alone during a common weapon battle. [Acquired in 'What Happens Now?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=72972)]
Unarmed Combat Proficiency – Lillian is less than an amateur in hand to hand combat, though that is due to a lack of practice rather than knowledge. She knows of multiple combat techniques but, due to her natural frailty, lacks the strength and body mass to execute them correctly. While she is unable to throw a straight punch or kick without tripping herself most of the time, she would be able to execute deadlocks and grapples, were her physical attributes somehow enhanced. This is all, obviously, irrelevant if her strength remains as abysmal as it usually is.
Abilities
Uncanny Hodgepodge – In the slew of books she has read came the occasional grimoires and scrolls of magic. The ink had been washed away in most, while the contents were utterly false in others, but sometimes she stumbled upon the fragments of the keys to unlock powerful magics… but that was what she had, fragments of different keys. With only pieces of knowledge, she did not possess the full understanding of elemental, portal or ethereal magic, but she had glued a key nonetheless, and opened the most bizarre of doors. Whenever she calls upon preternatural forces with her patchwork magic, anything can happen, from bursts of cold fire to gusts of stunning wind, but more often than she wishes, the spell backfires in the most unpredictable ways. Repeated failures have shown that the most likely form of the aforementioned flops is a weak bolt of lightning that descends from the sky to strike her.
White Widow – The very first set of magical powers produced by the Welkin Body's powers. Through assimilation of Giant Spider blood, Lillian has given birth to a unique form of magic, similar in nature to the Uncanny Hodgepodge. The only difference is her greater level of control over her White Widow abilities, which revolve around the creation of black threads that can be controlled through sheer will as long as they do not stretch over fifteen feet in length, with nearly the strength of Dehlar. Any longer and they become as inert as any other inanimate object. By slightly changing the formula of her spells, however, she can add specific properties to her webs. Right now, she can make her threads highly-adhesive, change their color for purely aesthetical purposes, or choose to make them either reactive or conductive to magic. In the former case, the threads can blow up when struck by powerful magic, while in the latter case, they can be imbued or fused with magical energies without danger. Fusing would mean that, if a thread conducts magical fire, it will become a thread made of fire, though after the spell’s effect ends, the thread automatically vanishes. She cannot use spells thrown at her to imbue the threads, only her own spells or those of an ally. (Half of the weaker threads in her possession are automatically upgraded to maximum strength at the end of a quest. As such, it would take two quests to convert all of them.) [Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Web Therapy – Lillian's most prominent use of these threads is the weaving of an impermeable web that accelerates the rate of healing when applied to a wound. By feeding energy into the damaged tissues, the web precipitates cellular division without the risk of long-term degeneration of cells. The web remains affixed until it is fully healed, and is quite useful in stopping hemorrhages, as it stems the flow of blood. Surface wounds like scrapes and cuts take only a few seconds to heal, while fractured bones and burns take less than half an hour to heal. Lillian can now to treat serious injuries, or attempt to heal lethal wounds with a very low success rate, but the exact efficacy of the spell depends on her mindset while sewing the magic into a web. These healing properties can be infused in both active threads (still connected to her body) and inert threads (disconnected from her body). [Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Seamstress of the Sinister – No longer is Lillian limited to weaving only strings and webs. During her years of indiscriminate reading, the librarian has come across much knowledge concerning various forms of craftsmanship, notably that of tailoring and its multiple branches. After hands-on application of her knowledge by practicing every morning, Lillian has become more adept at complex weaves, though she has only recently crafted crude pieces of clothing using her abilities. These items born of her magic usually have no ability, save for their similarity in appearance and properties to spidersilk. However, with more time and effort (a day of assiduous work, perhaps), she would be capable of producing quality textiles a bit weaker than dehlar, while losing little to none of their flexibility. When left untouched for a day, the fabric becomes as any other non-magical material, which means that Lillian cannot make it disappear; as such, it can be enchanted. (Either she can weave two jackets or four shirts of this material in every quest, or spin the equivalent in silk cloth for future use. Must be requested at the end of a quest. Can be sold.) [Acquired in 'Saved' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=75419)]
Gargantua’s Might – The second power produced by the Welkin Body. By sipping the blood of a red-eyed mercenary named Godhand, with his permission that is, Lillian has, on top of gaining nigh-immunity to his specific pheromones, made his sheer physical strength into her own. Though upon the first use of her newfound might, her body was capable of the same extraordinary feats as the man, she is no longer capable of drawing from it at the same level of potency. Under its influence, she can lift up to 3000 pounds and can, with effort, bend dehlar; in this state, her running speed can almost double, and she will also gain impressive stamina. Lillian can sometimes emulate the mindset needed to call upon this power, but fails more than half of the time. It usually activates under situations of high emotional stress or duress and at varying degrees of effectiveness. It is most likely to manifest when her life is endangered, but never lasts very long. When in this state, dark red rings form around her irises. [Acquired in 'Blood Red Blossoms' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8692)]
+ Elder Vespers – Of the many ancient houses of magic, Shadows were the first to have been forgotten, though some would argue that their fall into oblivion was a deliberate act. After all, light has been the bellwether element of the past few eras, and as such no secret has been able to slumber in its heart. Shadows, on the contrary, have harboured the mysteries of the world ever since they vanished from the minds of each and all; in secrecy lies their power, their ineffable importance. Still, an exception was made: Lillian, as a gift for her help in returning a swarm of shadow beings to their realm, received the Treatise on the Spawns of Shadow, which allows those with the affinity to summon such creatures. The librarian managed to call upon Shalim who, after much persuading, finally decided to teach her the fundamentals of ancient Shadow Magic, the Elder Vespers.
+ Shalim, the Child of Dusk – The very same being that she helped in the library of Ankhas, Shalim is a small and swarthy creature that stands at barely two feet tall, with short and somewhat stubby limbs. Its head is rounded, large and disproportionate to the rest of its body, tapering out slightly at the back. It has two wide, glowing white eyes and does not seem to have a mouth. Rather than being bound to Lillian, it acts as the girl’s teacher in the Elder Vespers. It is a powerful being, but it will not fight for Lillian nor will it obey her should she order or command it to do anything (as such, it cannot be used in battles and it will only use its spells for training demonstrations or story-related purposes).
+ Shadow Twist – The bare bones of the Elder Vespers consists in manipulating natural shadows to one’s will, for doing so awakens their latent magical properties. Right now, Lillian can only draw from shades within a three feet radius. With them, she has learned to shroud her body, making herself slightly more unnoticeable than she already is, or she can otherwise create intangibles tendrils that are able to, very slowly, drain away a person’s vitality upon contact. She can make three tendrils at most that each stretch to a maximum of five feet, or a single tendril that can span a little over ten.
Equipment (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=43545#post43545)
Lillian carries a knapsack in which various odds and ends can be found: food rations she has learned to bring along ever since she was too afraid to walk back home, a few blankets, a change of clothing, a wool cloak for outerwear and, obviously, her ‘books of the moment’. She also carries a blank diary (she had thought of writing entries, but realized it was too much of a hassle) and a set of pencils. Moreover, her house is riddled with weapons of her father’s making, notably the tulwar made of an unknown metal he wielded decades ago as an adventurer. Otherwise, she has only the clothes on her back, that is to say a white dress; it was sewn by her mother as a gift for her eighth birthday, which was incidentally the last one they spent together.
+ The Treatise on the Spawns of Shadow – Though it disappeared from one of the underground vaults of Ankhas, it reappeared in Lillian’s backpack, repaired and recharged as a gift for returning a group of summoned shadow creatures to their world. This book currently allows her to summon the Shadow Child, a small being of aggregated darkness with large white eyes. More information on this creature can be found under the ability ‘Elder Vespers’. [Acquired in 'A Study in Black' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=120254#post120254)]
+ The Ode to the Night – A glass-encased vellum on which is written a single spell that has three different effects, each depending on the presence or absence of the moon (Not to be confused with an actual magic item or spell that she will use, as it is solely for storyline purposes). It is carried by Shadow Child, who safeguards it in the dimension locked within its body. [Acquired in 'A Study in Black' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=120254#post120254)]
+Eclipse Pendant (http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h158/Necathys/ECLIPSEPENDANT.jpg?t=1210814343)– A pendant given to Lillian by Seti Dylan, proof that she is a member of the House of the Sora. Made of refined silver, treated so as to have mirror-like properties, and it is engraved with the solar eclipse, the official sigil of the House. It currently has no ability. Cannot be sold.
+ Mazzra Medal of Valor – Unlike what could be expected from a decoration with such a distinguished name, it is merely a piece of polished brass in the form of a seven-pointed star. It has no ability. [Acquired in 'A Study in Black' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=120254#post120254)]
+ Vial of the Spider God's Blood (x3)–After defeating the ‘Spider God’ that assaulted the port city of Scara Brae with the help of the Izvilvin and the half-elf Anenfel, Lillian gleaned some of its purple-black ichor for later analysis of the substance, hoping to understand what could have triggered its unnatural growth. [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=109109#post109109)]
+ Eye of the Spider God – At the same time, she pried out from the waterlogged corpse the only eye that was still relatively intact after the fight. It looks like a slightly over-sized crystal ball, opaque and tinted gold. [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=109109#post109109)]
+ Bicycle (http://fc01.deviantart.com/fs6/i/2005/059/b/b/bicycle_by_volkanersoy.jpg) – In actuality, Lillian has finagled a little brass claxon that magically turns into a bicycle when she honks it. For some reason, long rides are not quite nearly as tiring on this one, and it travels a bit faster than the common bicycle for the same effort put into pedaling. [Acquired in 'Yves Montand Sang About It' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=107553#post107553)]
+ Tri-Horned Pendant – The strength potion that Lillian asked to be brewed in the Synthesis Shop somehow turned into a hardened piece of material very similar to amber, though tinted a green hue with dark spots and a Tri-Horned beetle trapped in its core. When activated, the pendant increases the user’s strength to 4 times what it currently is and will last for anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Once the effects wear off, the pendant will need roughly 10 to 12 hours to recharge. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=107992#post107992)]
Pocket Watch – A fine timepiece she has carried with her since her trip to Scara Brae. It has no properties other than telling time. Made of refined silver.[Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Silver-Rimmed Glasses – Because of her blue eyes, Lillian is very sensible to sunlight. To remedy this, her mentor, Merkah Baen, gave her a pair of alchemically crafted glasses that filter light without reducing her vision. Strangely, whenever she is blinded by natural means, putting them on helps her recover her eyesight very quickly. Otherwise, they have no properties. She seldom wears them, as most of her time is spent in dim libraries, where her eyes does not suffer one bit.
The Unseen Nexus – Also known as the 'Invisible Bonds of Love', the Nexus was found in the top shelves of the 'Bawdy Barry', an erotic bookstore in Radasanth. Though not a magical artifact, it is of unquestionable value, as its ciphers contain the hidden locations of countless books and grimoires, their lore and underlying powers lost to the times. Lillian is working hard on decoding the texts, but the task reveals itself to be extremely complex, even for the blue-eyed prodigy. Still, Lillian does not capitulate, for she feels that her efforts will soon return success. [Acquired in 'Althanaversary Round 2: Ataraxis vs. Culix' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=4636)]
Anumati, Cillu Dirk – The last work of her father is a Cillu Dirk that he had crafted for a priestess Lillian could never find. Deciding against leaving her country unarmed and without a physical memento of her father, the young girl brought it along for her long trip. With a handle grooved down its length for enhanced grip, a blade bearing the washed pattern on nacre shells and an overall length of nearly fourteen inches (13 6/8”), the weapon’s design is a strange mix of balance and asymmetry in its shape as much as its ornamentation, with embeddings of small Kiramaini beads in the pommel, on the guard and along the flat. Though it was originally meant for use in ceremonial services, the dirk remains a weapon before all, and a remarkable one at that: it has been weighted and balanced to make throwing a viable option, and its sharp edge is still sparkle clear even after the reckless battles it has seen.
+ Vatya, the Desert Gale – After being combined with a number of crystals and scales at the Synthesis Shop, the dirk now finds itself imbued with a power over wind. The enchantment reduces the drag of the wind against the blade, allowing it to travel faster and straighter with less resistance towards its target. Also, by quickly slashing the air in front of its target or targets, it will create a pressure disruption that forms into a crescent-shaped current of sharp and extremely fast moving wind. It is able to slice open skin and cloth, but will dissipate upon impact with most metals, though still doing some damage to materials such as leather. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=107992#post107992)]
Throwing Knives (http://amonyss.freepgs.com/Aiden/knife.jpg)(x3) – They were given to her by Alaina Varia, the wife of a travelling companion of hers, Aiden DarkStorm, upon his death at the hands of the wizard Ishadin. They are simple steel weapons, and have more sentimental value to the girl than anything else. [Acquired in 'Saved' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=75419)]
Dvaita, Prevalida Throwing Dagger(s) – Purchased at the King’s Armory, a small store in a Salvaran fief handled by a warmhearted woman named Erin, this innovative dagger made of Prevalida has helped Lillian out of tough situations quite a few times, thanks to its unusual characteristics. Not only is the blade small enough to fit in her palm, but its edges are sharp and jagged, making it quite hard to remove every time it lodges into something. Three holes are set at the end of the tang in a triangular formation, each large enough for a finger to fit in, making it a good throwing weapon. Its most notable use, however, is its ability to (after enough force is applied to its tang so that the small clamps along it disengage) split vertically into identical pieces, thus becoming two daggers instead of one. Those who know of this particularity find the meaning of its name, Duality, quite fitting. [Acquired in 'Shopping' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=7021)]
+ Samsara, the Wheel of Karma – Lillian had gone to the Synthesis Shop to have the Dvaita enchanted, though the actual nature of its imbuing was left to the Fae’s creativity. Lasair was, however, unaware of the weapon’s particularity when she synthesized it, which resulted in a pleasant surprise for both girls. As it was, the Dvaita had the power to send poisonous bursts of pure magical energy into the system of whatever creature it cut. Though the effects vary with the gravity of the wound and the general amount of energy absorbed within the victim’s body, it can cause from light-headedness and the dulling of the senses to vomiting and possibly fainting. However, its greatest effect is the temporary disruption of magic, which means that a being wounded by the Dvaita may half the time see his spells malfunction, become inoperative or even backfire. Still, the true marvel of the enchantment lies in its effects when the Dvaita is split in two. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=108106#post108106)]
+ Atamas, the White Datura– One of the halves turns from the Prevalida’s clear blue shine to a glossy ivory. It inflicts the most damage against creatures such as vampires, demons and the undead. after stabbing these, the Atamas sometimes causes internal bleeding or disables the opponent’s healing abilities, but it always sends waves of pain throughout the body. On normal or diametrically opposite entities, it deals the same damage as would a normal Prevalida dagger, perhaps even less. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=108106#post108106)]
+ Gahana, The Black Asphodel– The other half of the Dvaita becomes a deep shade of matte onyx, and thus reflects very little light. It deals increased damage to all beings that are said to be attuned with light or allegedly ‘clean’ magic, such as Faes, animated entities and a number of elementals. To these, being stabbed by the Gahana sends a burning flux of pain like acid eating them from the inside, which can become quite crippling over time. On normal or diametrically opposite entities, it deals the same damage as would a normal Prevalida dagger, perhaps even less. [Acquired in 'The Wild Hunt Ends' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=108106#post108106)]
Sitayamini, Black Spidersilk – Sitayamini, or Sita Silk for short, is the name Lillian has given to the special brand of magical spidersilk that she can create. Whenever she finds the time, Lillian weaves as many of her magical threads as she can, and as such she has accumulated quite a few spools of the dehlar-strong material. One spool is considered the equivalent of one shirt. Two shirts, thus two spools, is the equivalent of a jacket.
4 spools of Steel-strength gained [Acquired in 'Blood Red Blossoms' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8692)]
2 spools Dehlar-strength gained, 2 of the steel-strength spools automatically upgraded to Dehlar-strength [Acquired in 'NWO Vs. Imperial: Group Two' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=117360#post117360)]
2 of the Steel-strength spools automatically upgraded to Dehlar-strength [Acquired in 'Into and Out of Hiding' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=8651)]
4 spools of Dehlar-strength lost [Sold in 'Cobwebs in the Flea Market' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=117354#post117354)]
1 spool of Dehlar-strength gained [Acquired in 'For the People who are Still Alive!' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=119048#post119048)]
Total: 3 spools of Dehlar-Strength remaining
The Welkin Body – A sentient artifact buried deep in her complex mind, and the source of Lillian’s bizarre abilities. It is of a nature unknown, its composition a befuddling conundrum on its own while its dimensions are literally out of this world, beyond the comprehension that a dimensional tetrad can provide the likes of mortality. The closest Lillian has ever been to an accurate description of the object is a twenty-faced ideal polyhedron, constituted of a dark, crystalline matter, which contains the glow of a purplish-black light. It has revealed to her that it possesses the capacity of adaptation beyond that of humans, and that their symbiotic relation allows her to tap into this power to create an array of abilities, depending on the nature and urgency of her situation.
Its most notable use, however, is that of assimilation: the Welkin Body can capture the essence of virtually anything that substantially affects Lillian’s mind (as long as it is magic or organic) and absorb a portion of it for processing. The sample is then converted over time into powers related to the substance in question. As of now, a maximum of two essences can be transformed at a time, and it can require several months, if not years, before the procedure is completed. Under rare and specific circumstances, however, the absorption capacities of the Welkin Body can momentarily manifest, even if it already is processing at maximum capacity. A relevant example would be during a near-death experience, though this has not yet occurred. [Acquired in 'The Demon and the… Librarian!?' (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=66983)]
Other Notes:
There are a lot of updates, but keep in mind that I skipped the level 4 update, and that ‘Parallel Processing’ and ‘Shalim, Child of Dusk’ have pretty much zero incidence on her power. Also, the part I added to the Uncanny Hodgepodge isn’t an update, but an elaboration on the way it backfires that I always forgot to add. The Eclipse Pendant is something I should have added at level 1, since that was around the time I joined the House. Either way, it can’t be sold.
And just in case, this is the weapon skill level growth that I go by:
Poor – Amateur - Below Average – Average/Moderate – Above Average – Expert – Master – Legendary
Also, I linked an equipment list to this profile. It’s got exactly the same items, but I’ll be able to edit it as Lillian gets new ones, just so that I can keep track of them more easily. If you or someone with the powers could change the thread’s name to ‘Lillian Sesthal’s Equipment’, I’d really appreciate it!