Lyla Erben
03-07-12, 05:34 AM
Name:Lyla Erben
Age: 20
Apparent Age: 19-22
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Hair color: Blonde
Eye color: Green
Height: 5'-4”
Weight: 120 Lb
Appearance (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/tiger80272/ScreenShot134.jpg): Locks golden as the sun flow gently in the twilight ambiance encircling a mage surrounded by glistening orbs. Emerald eyes are hidden behind pale lids as deft fingers dance through the air, plucking invisible strings and vibrating the strands of light flowing from the noonday sun. A moderate bosom is somewhat hidden beneath a cerulean breastplate of studded leather, but her form is still clearly that of a woman thanks to an exposed waist and hips that fill out a womanly figure.
Attitude/Personality: Lyla is somewhat reserved most of the time, typically keeping to herself unless she has something to add to a situation. She does know how to have a good time if necessary and will rarely turn down a chance to do something new or exciting. Once she gets to know someone she will slowly start to open up to them more and more given the chance.
Despite being a former member of the Empowered Priests, she holds no disdain for the arcane, but rather an innate curiosity for things she does not understand. Heresy and its ilk do not bother her, but she will still do what she needs to do should something unpleasant stand in her way.
Skills:
Sharp Mind – Lyla is very bright and picks up new concepts rapidly. This aptitude makes her an exceptional student, but without the ability to apply the knowledge practically, she will forget everything just as quickly.
“The Basics” – Studying for the Priesthood conferred Lyla with a practiced ability to read and comprehend texts, a rather remarkable oratory skill, and mannerisms befitting one who could be expected to appear before a court.
Gone Clubbing – While she relies heavily on magic should she need to fight, Lyla is not defenseless without it. With her scepter or unarmed, she can hold her own quite well against an opponent of average skill.
Abilities:
Unfettered Illumination – This branch of Light magic deals with a “brute force” method to spellcasting. Blinding flares, hovering orbs, or simply deciding that it's entirely too dark and shining like the midday sun are all easily attainable spells from this branch of magic. These spells require little concentration to perform, but come at the cost of being unable to fully control the effects. Be it blinding allies or orbs of light deciding they no longer wish to exist, many side-effects can be expected. If used for offense, each spell could cause at most a mild burn on her opponent.
Insightful Illusions – This branch of Light magic is what distinguishes good mages from great ones. Whether it be altering colors, small details, hiding objects from sight or making something appear to be something else, the main focus of this school is in the art of deception. The illusions come at a much greater mental and magical cost, but the effects can be much more precise, able to alter the appearance of something up to the size of a human. Creatures and people with heightened senses of perception can see through her illusions, but they will still see a ghost-like image of what the magic is doing. This is the stone cutter's chisel to the brawler's sledge.
Binds of Space – Space magic is a tricky thing. Beginners like Lyla are much more limited in their capabilities, but the possibilities are quite vast. In its simplest form, space magic focuses on the connections between things. Connecting one place to another, an item to its owner, that sort of thing. Bending a portion of space slightly can allow the user to see around corners with little effort while twisting space around the eyes can give the ability to see in a full 360 degrees around the user's head.
Sympathetic links focus on finding the connection between an item and its owner, or someone else with a strong link to the item. Picking up the knife used to murder someone would create a trail to the victim and the murderer that a spacial mage could easily follow. Things like distance from the item and time since last connection make tracking in this way much more difficult. Anything over a few hours and a novice mage would only be able to discern a general direction and distance. This school is very taxing on a mage both physically and mentally.
Equipment:
Scepter of Luminosity – A “gift” from the priesthood when she decided to abandon their ranks, the scepter is remarkably sturdy, made of thin strands of iron twisted about each other like vines climbing a tree. The focus of the scepter is an enchanted shard of crystal held in place by the vines. When she uses magic, the focus crystal glows brighter.
History:
Lyla Erben. It's not exactly a name that strikes fear into the hearts of others, but it's a good enough name for someone who just wants to get along with her life. It's the kind of name that doesn't draw attention like Blueraven or Battlecast might. Maybe that was why Alexander and Julia Erben chose Lyla for their first and only child's name.
The Erben house wasn't particularly well-to-do, but they were far from poverty. In a word, they were comfortable. Few luxuries were afforded, but the family of three lived rather pleasantly and in rather good health. For Julia, this was a great blessing. Lyla's birth had suffered complications that left the mother barren, and in turn, rather protective of her beautiful treasure. Unfortunately, things do not always turn out the way people want them.
As Lyla turned seven, things started changing around the Erben household. They were small things, almost unnoticeable at first, but they were there. Items would go missing, or vanish if you looked at them the wrong way. The only person that did not seem to notice the changes was poor Lyla.
It was not easy for her parents to hand their only daughter, and the only child they were capable of having, over to the Church of the Ethreal Sway. Tears flowed, but it was better that the child be put under the watchful eye of the Church than to have her grow up corrupted and evil.
Six years passed. Six lonely years separated from the other children as the priests kept vigilant eyes on Lyla, always watching for signs of corruption. Every time something seemed to vanish, every finger pointed to the child with a penchant for slipping out of view. The punishments for even the unconscious use of her abilities were hard. The budding mage was sentenced to many days of confinement, denied meals, and strapped time and time again.
On the day of her thirteenth birthday, however, things finally took a turn for the better. A missive arrived from the Empowered Priests stating that she was to begin her training immediately. After so much abuse for using her power, she would finally be able to actually practice and master her abilities!
Of course, things don't always turn out as glorious as expected. The priesthood was nothing like what Lyla imagined it would be, and she had absolutely no talent in their brand of magic. Five years passed, five long, arduous years of schooling and training in an art she would never be able to control. By practicing in her chambers away from prying eyes, she managed to fake enough spell effects to be granted apprenticeship to a Senior Empowered Priest by the name of Chzov.
During an investigation into rogue sorcerers in Knife's Edge, the apprentice ran into a rather kind old man. His pleasant demeanor alone was enough to strike up a conversation, and as time passed, the two began to grow as friends. He became the father she never had, she became an adopted daughter to an aging man. They would meet in the evenings after she finished whatever her mentor had her doing at the time and talk about life, the lands, and about her search for the rogue mage in the capital.
One morning, as Lyla was running a rather simple errand for Chzov, the old man pulled her aside and said that it was imperative she leave the capital. As things tend to happen, he was the sorcerer everyone was looking for, and she was likely to be put to death for associating with him. It was the second time she had lost a home, but this time, she wasn't going to leave empty-handed. Of the many things she learned from her mentor, one of the most important was how little he cared for the security of his possessions. By simple fact of his title, no-one would dare step foot in his study, let alone remove an object of importance.
No-one, save a rather cunning and quite indignant apprentice. Night fell, and Chzov retired to his chambers, oblivious to the fact that something wasn't quite right in his study. He had been the one to bring the rogue mage under control after all, no thanks to his worthless apprentice who couldn't smell corruption while standing in a cesspool of debauchery and sin. He never bothered to pick up his scepter. The thought never crossed his mind until morning that no report had been made about Lyla being apprehended, and by the time his scepter was back to resembling the short spear of the other priests, nobody could say that she had been anywhere near his office for days.
Age: 20
Apparent Age: 19-22
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Hair color: Blonde
Eye color: Green
Height: 5'-4”
Weight: 120 Lb
Appearance (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v400/tiger80272/ScreenShot134.jpg): Locks golden as the sun flow gently in the twilight ambiance encircling a mage surrounded by glistening orbs. Emerald eyes are hidden behind pale lids as deft fingers dance through the air, plucking invisible strings and vibrating the strands of light flowing from the noonday sun. A moderate bosom is somewhat hidden beneath a cerulean breastplate of studded leather, but her form is still clearly that of a woman thanks to an exposed waist and hips that fill out a womanly figure.
Attitude/Personality: Lyla is somewhat reserved most of the time, typically keeping to herself unless she has something to add to a situation. She does know how to have a good time if necessary and will rarely turn down a chance to do something new or exciting. Once she gets to know someone she will slowly start to open up to them more and more given the chance.
Despite being a former member of the Empowered Priests, she holds no disdain for the arcane, but rather an innate curiosity for things she does not understand. Heresy and its ilk do not bother her, but she will still do what she needs to do should something unpleasant stand in her way.
Skills:
Sharp Mind – Lyla is very bright and picks up new concepts rapidly. This aptitude makes her an exceptional student, but without the ability to apply the knowledge practically, she will forget everything just as quickly.
“The Basics” – Studying for the Priesthood conferred Lyla with a practiced ability to read and comprehend texts, a rather remarkable oratory skill, and mannerisms befitting one who could be expected to appear before a court.
Gone Clubbing – While she relies heavily on magic should she need to fight, Lyla is not defenseless without it. With her scepter or unarmed, she can hold her own quite well against an opponent of average skill.
Abilities:
Unfettered Illumination – This branch of Light magic deals with a “brute force” method to spellcasting. Blinding flares, hovering orbs, or simply deciding that it's entirely too dark and shining like the midday sun are all easily attainable spells from this branch of magic. These spells require little concentration to perform, but come at the cost of being unable to fully control the effects. Be it blinding allies or orbs of light deciding they no longer wish to exist, many side-effects can be expected. If used for offense, each spell could cause at most a mild burn on her opponent.
Insightful Illusions – This branch of Light magic is what distinguishes good mages from great ones. Whether it be altering colors, small details, hiding objects from sight or making something appear to be something else, the main focus of this school is in the art of deception. The illusions come at a much greater mental and magical cost, but the effects can be much more precise, able to alter the appearance of something up to the size of a human. Creatures and people with heightened senses of perception can see through her illusions, but they will still see a ghost-like image of what the magic is doing. This is the stone cutter's chisel to the brawler's sledge.
Binds of Space – Space magic is a tricky thing. Beginners like Lyla are much more limited in their capabilities, but the possibilities are quite vast. In its simplest form, space magic focuses on the connections between things. Connecting one place to another, an item to its owner, that sort of thing. Bending a portion of space slightly can allow the user to see around corners with little effort while twisting space around the eyes can give the ability to see in a full 360 degrees around the user's head.
Sympathetic links focus on finding the connection between an item and its owner, or someone else with a strong link to the item. Picking up the knife used to murder someone would create a trail to the victim and the murderer that a spacial mage could easily follow. Things like distance from the item and time since last connection make tracking in this way much more difficult. Anything over a few hours and a novice mage would only be able to discern a general direction and distance. This school is very taxing on a mage both physically and mentally.
Equipment:
Scepter of Luminosity – A “gift” from the priesthood when she decided to abandon their ranks, the scepter is remarkably sturdy, made of thin strands of iron twisted about each other like vines climbing a tree. The focus of the scepter is an enchanted shard of crystal held in place by the vines. When she uses magic, the focus crystal glows brighter.
History:
Lyla Erben. It's not exactly a name that strikes fear into the hearts of others, but it's a good enough name for someone who just wants to get along with her life. It's the kind of name that doesn't draw attention like Blueraven or Battlecast might. Maybe that was why Alexander and Julia Erben chose Lyla for their first and only child's name.
The Erben house wasn't particularly well-to-do, but they were far from poverty. In a word, they were comfortable. Few luxuries were afforded, but the family of three lived rather pleasantly and in rather good health. For Julia, this was a great blessing. Lyla's birth had suffered complications that left the mother barren, and in turn, rather protective of her beautiful treasure. Unfortunately, things do not always turn out the way people want them.
As Lyla turned seven, things started changing around the Erben household. They were small things, almost unnoticeable at first, but they were there. Items would go missing, or vanish if you looked at them the wrong way. The only person that did not seem to notice the changes was poor Lyla.
It was not easy for her parents to hand their only daughter, and the only child they were capable of having, over to the Church of the Ethreal Sway. Tears flowed, but it was better that the child be put under the watchful eye of the Church than to have her grow up corrupted and evil.
Six years passed. Six lonely years separated from the other children as the priests kept vigilant eyes on Lyla, always watching for signs of corruption. Every time something seemed to vanish, every finger pointed to the child with a penchant for slipping out of view. The punishments for even the unconscious use of her abilities were hard. The budding mage was sentenced to many days of confinement, denied meals, and strapped time and time again.
On the day of her thirteenth birthday, however, things finally took a turn for the better. A missive arrived from the Empowered Priests stating that she was to begin her training immediately. After so much abuse for using her power, she would finally be able to actually practice and master her abilities!
Of course, things don't always turn out as glorious as expected. The priesthood was nothing like what Lyla imagined it would be, and she had absolutely no talent in their brand of magic. Five years passed, five long, arduous years of schooling and training in an art she would never be able to control. By practicing in her chambers away from prying eyes, she managed to fake enough spell effects to be granted apprenticeship to a Senior Empowered Priest by the name of Chzov.
During an investigation into rogue sorcerers in Knife's Edge, the apprentice ran into a rather kind old man. His pleasant demeanor alone was enough to strike up a conversation, and as time passed, the two began to grow as friends. He became the father she never had, she became an adopted daughter to an aging man. They would meet in the evenings after she finished whatever her mentor had her doing at the time and talk about life, the lands, and about her search for the rogue mage in the capital.
One morning, as Lyla was running a rather simple errand for Chzov, the old man pulled her aside and said that it was imperative she leave the capital. As things tend to happen, he was the sorcerer everyone was looking for, and she was likely to be put to death for associating with him. It was the second time she had lost a home, but this time, she wasn't going to leave empty-handed. Of the many things she learned from her mentor, one of the most important was how little he cared for the security of his possessions. By simple fact of his title, no-one would dare step foot in his study, let alone remove an object of importance.
No-one, save a rather cunning and quite indignant apprentice. Night fell, and Chzov retired to his chambers, oblivious to the fact that something wasn't quite right in his study. He had been the one to bring the rogue mage under control after all, no thanks to his worthless apprentice who couldn't smell corruption while standing in a cesspool of debauchery and sin. He never bothered to pick up his scepter. The thought never crossed his mind until morning that no report had been made about Lyla being apprehended, and by the time his scepter was back to resembling the short spear of the other priests, nobody could say that she had been anywhere near his office for days.