Karuka
01-15-07, 01:48 PM
Name: Karuka Tida
Age: 16
Race: Human
Hair Color: Dark red
Eye Color: Ice blue
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 124 lbs
Occupation: She'll take almost whatever she runs across. At this point, she's not in a position to be too picky.
Personality: Karuka tends to be fairly chipper as sort of a default emotional setting, but this is in large part a mask. She can be very moody and knows little in the way of discipline. While she can be very broody, she tends to brush it off when asked about it and return to her normal demeanor.
When approached by new people, she is typically willing to talk, and is eager to learn from anyone whatever they might want to teach (sexual exploitation attempts are generally met with fireballs to the face, though).
Appearance: Karuka at first glance seems to be a rather curious collection of colors. Her hair is an almost unnaturally deep red, her eyes an extremely frosty blue, and her skin a rich honey brown. She wears a slightly tattered grey (once white) short tunic and pants of the same color, but this set still exposes the belly-button ring she's had since childhood.
Beyond the odd colors, she has a highly fine bone structure, giving her a long, lean build. Due to circumstances, her diet consists mainly of vegetarian fare, although the only meat she'd really turn down is beef. Because of her natural build, age, and diet, she is fairly lanky, but not boyishly so.
She has two celestial tattoos, one on each wrist. On the right is a sun and on the left is a moon, each the size of an American half dollar.
She has a slender neck set above two delicate collar bones, with a well-shaped head atop that. She has a small, slightly pointy chin, and high cheekbones. Her mouth is small with full lips, and she has a thin nose. Her eyes are almond shaped, and the eyebrows have a natural arch to them. Her forehead is not particularly high, but she doesn't obscure it with bangs. This allows the small red chakra (a dot) in the center of her forehead to be easily seen.
The shoulder-length hair is kept tied back, but not braided.
History: Never before Atid and Faylinn did the magickal traditions of India and Ireland intermingle and procreate. Atid was a brahmin, of the highest class of Indians, of the priests. Before he soujourned from India because of a vision from his god, Lord Shiva, he was one of the cult's High Priests. He traveled west, eventually crossing a thin body of salt water and traveling north. When he had gone as far north as he could, Atid sat upon the rocks and prayed to his god to send him a sign telling him what he was supposed to do.
He was approached by a young Druid woman who wanted to know what an Indian shaman was doing so far north and west, and when he told her his story, she, with her Irish good sense, told him he should come with her out of the rain if he was going to insist on waiting for a sign from an Indian god here where the Celtic pantheon took precedence. So he did, and never got a call to leave.
Forward two or three years. The marriage of Atid and Faylinn was a very happy one, if highly controversial to Faylinn's Druid clan. The leader of the clan was more tolerant than most would be, though, and allowed it to occur. Barely a year later, Faylinn gave birth to a baby girl, whose father, so happy to have her and seeing a great future for her with two magickal traditions to call upon, named her Karuka -- Art of Heaven. He left out the traditional ending -ben at her mother's insistence. "The wee one isnae a Hindu lass, Atid. She's a wee Irish lassie, and I'll nae ha' her called Ben."
For five more years, the family lived very happily. The old leader died when Karuka was three, and was succeeded by his son. Two years later, though, when his daughter was five, Atid stood up when he was meditating. He kissed his wife and daughter goodbye, and told them he had to return to India, and couldn't take them with him. He would never return.
After Atid had been gone a year and a day, he was pronounced dead, and the new leader (who was just a really hateful guy, especially to traditions he didn't understand) forced Faylinn into a marriage.
He didn't allow his new wife to teach her daughter anything but basic rune divination, and even that had to stop with the birth of Karuka's first younger brother, Cael, when she was ten years old. In secret, one of the old women of the clan continued teaching her divination and some basic, single-rune spell casting, but died the same day Karuka's second brother, Artan, was born. The twelve-year-old began spending her time in the moor, playing the little recorder the old woman had given to her and practicing her casts. She had a sword given to her by her father, but it only held a sharp edge on the outer edge. She practiced with it some, but with no one to teach her, it was a child waving around a sharp object.
When Karuka was fifteen, her mother gave birth to a third son, Fiachra, and died three days afterward.
Barely was her mother entombed when her stepfather, with no more reason to keep her around, told Karuka to get out of his house and his clan, and so be it if she died on a road in the middle of nowhere.
She has been wandering for some months, living what could be considered an ascetic life and trying to find her way to India to find her father. Her runes told her that he cannot be found, but Karuka decided that she would "nae leave a stone unturned, an' i' he turns up under a tombstone, or i' he turns up on top o' a temple capstone, I will nae rest until I've found him or I've found myself."
One morning while using her pendulum to divine her direction of travel, she was led into a cave. She walked through and came out in a land completely unlike any she had seen before. Unsure that she had gone the right way, she turned, but the cave now had a dead end, leaving her trapped in a place she has yet to understand.
Skills:
Karuka at this point in time can use her pendulum necklace to divine direction and sometimes find things if she wants to.
She can also do rune divinations, but nothing so specific as to be clairvoyant (sort of like tarot). This allows her, at any point in time, to see into the present, some of the past, but not much into the future, and is normally simply used to ask and answer questions about the present. Karuka feels that people will lie, but the runes will not.
She can also use the following runes for magick:
Thorn -- this rune is typically used in forest settings where there are plants with thorns, and the effect can range anywhere from increasing the size of the thorns to getting the plant to shoot the thorns.
Peorth -- this is used to cheat at gambling with dice. It boosts her luck so the dice roll in her favor and not for the other person. She doesn't gamble that often, so it's not typically a problem.
Jara -- this rune's best in conjunction with others, but she hasn't figured that out quite yet. So for now it's used to get fruits off trees when she can't reach.
Ing -- well, if you can't have a baby and really want to, this might have a use, but she doesn't use it in normal combat. Or anything else, either.
Sigel -- The rune represents a sun ray, but it's used to call down a bolt of lightning. Without blood, the most damage it can do (at this point) is sting an opponent. With blood, it can stun. If the opponent is wet, or standing in water, though...it could do serious damage
Lagu -- No single-spell use.
Geoff -- love spell, forbidden magick, she doesn't mess with it.
Ken -- Fire. Light a torch, throw a fireball (1st-2nd degree burns over 5-10 percent of the body without blood, 3rd degree burns over 5-7% of the body with)
Feoh -- This doesn't have a single spell use
Ur -- useful for encouraging drunk men to act stupider. No use in (most) real combat.
Beorc -- Rune represents mother-love, used as a healing spell.
Ansur -- gift of eloquence, enhances normal speaking and communication powers. Can ALSO take normal eloquence away if used upside down
Daeg -- used to help what starts off as a crappy morning end up better by evening, not really useful in single-spells or combat.
Eoh -- No single-spell use
Nied -- In combat, used to give the opponent some OTHER priority than fighting her. Nied is generally a first line of defense. Karuka dislikes combat as she knows she is not good at it, and this creates some minor ADD, like "Did I leave my *whatever* back at camp? I think I did. Crap. You, red-head. You're not worth my time." If she IS worth their time still...well, she tried to avoid combat. This only works on an opponent who has no idea what she's trying to do...meaning it generally only works once.
Mann -- used to enhance a partnership, no good single-spell use.
Wynn -- Happiness, gives a brief feeling of well-being, chocolate works better. No single-spell or combat use.
Hagall -- Call down a brief hailstorm. This really depends on the environment. If it's a clear-skies desert, nada, blood or no. If it's the middle of a snow/sleet storm...tennis ball size ice blocks for 5 minutes (no blood) to 10 (blood). Your typical forest environment would get a 1-2 round (depending on whether she's using blood or not) storm of golf-ball sized rocks.
Yr -- Used to boost an archer's aim, no other single-spell use. This spell can only be used on an archer.
Tir -- Enhance from a warrior's skill. This spell can only be used on a melee-type character.
Rad -- Movement, usually used to call up winds or encourage beasts of burden to get a move on.
Eohl -- Provides a brief shield against attack.
Wyrd -- Absolutely no single spell use.
Othel -- No single spell use
Is -- Creates ice. This can range from having snowflake-like crystals form on an opponent's skin, creating limited mobility and discomfort (no blood), to creating a thin ice-bond between the opponent and his/her weapon (blood). The latter creates a sort of ice burn, similar to having played too long in the snow.
NOTE -- some spells can be enhanced by the use of the caster's blood, so she might cut herself or use a cut to do so (runes that take it -- Thorn, Sigel, Ken, Nied, Hagall, Rad, Eohl, and Is)
NOTE ALSO -- she can only use each spell once per day.
Melee -- she might be able to block with her sword, and she throws a mean right hook, but that's about it as far as attacks and swordplay goes.
Defense wise, she doesn't really stick around to be hit. She's lean and agile, and prefers to dodge and tumble rather than pray to Thor that she can block an attack.
She also can play a bit on her flute and dance.
Equipment:
* A rune pouch with 25 runes in it (Thorn, Peorth, Jara, Ing, Sigel, Lagu, Geoff, Ken, Feoh, Ur, Beorc, Ansur, Daeg, Eoh, Nied, Mann, Wynn, Hagall, Yr, Tir, Rad, Eohl, Wyrd, Othel, and Is)
* Necklace with a lodestone crystal in it, used as a pendulum to help define direction. (inherited from mother)
* Curvy sword with one sharp and one blunt edge (belly-dancing sword) This sword is highly ornamental, carried mainly for show and for the crest that Karuka remembers from one of her father's rings. The metal was made to balance well, not fight, and is therefore brittle. If she tries to use it in serious combat, it will break.
* Wooden flute
* Small leather satchel with a water flask, canvas poncho, and a woolen cloak.
Age: 16
Race: Human
Hair Color: Dark red
Eye Color: Ice blue
Height: 5'7"
Weight: 124 lbs
Occupation: She'll take almost whatever she runs across. At this point, she's not in a position to be too picky.
Personality: Karuka tends to be fairly chipper as sort of a default emotional setting, but this is in large part a mask. She can be very moody and knows little in the way of discipline. While she can be very broody, she tends to brush it off when asked about it and return to her normal demeanor.
When approached by new people, she is typically willing to talk, and is eager to learn from anyone whatever they might want to teach (sexual exploitation attempts are generally met with fireballs to the face, though).
Appearance: Karuka at first glance seems to be a rather curious collection of colors. Her hair is an almost unnaturally deep red, her eyes an extremely frosty blue, and her skin a rich honey brown. She wears a slightly tattered grey (once white) short tunic and pants of the same color, but this set still exposes the belly-button ring she's had since childhood.
Beyond the odd colors, she has a highly fine bone structure, giving her a long, lean build. Due to circumstances, her diet consists mainly of vegetarian fare, although the only meat she'd really turn down is beef. Because of her natural build, age, and diet, she is fairly lanky, but not boyishly so.
She has two celestial tattoos, one on each wrist. On the right is a sun and on the left is a moon, each the size of an American half dollar.
She has a slender neck set above two delicate collar bones, with a well-shaped head atop that. She has a small, slightly pointy chin, and high cheekbones. Her mouth is small with full lips, and she has a thin nose. Her eyes are almond shaped, and the eyebrows have a natural arch to them. Her forehead is not particularly high, but she doesn't obscure it with bangs. This allows the small red chakra (a dot) in the center of her forehead to be easily seen.
The shoulder-length hair is kept tied back, but not braided.
History: Never before Atid and Faylinn did the magickal traditions of India and Ireland intermingle and procreate. Atid was a brahmin, of the highest class of Indians, of the priests. Before he soujourned from India because of a vision from his god, Lord Shiva, he was one of the cult's High Priests. He traveled west, eventually crossing a thin body of salt water and traveling north. When he had gone as far north as he could, Atid sat upon the rocks and prayed to his god to send him a sign telling him what he was supposed to do.
He was approached by a young Druid woman who wanted to know what an Indian shaman was doing so far north and west, and when he told her his story, she, with her Irish good sense, told him he should come with her out of the rain if he was going to insist on waiting for a sign from an Indian god here where the Celtic pantheon took precedence. So he did, and never got a call to leave.
Forward two or three years. The marriage of Atid and Faylinn was a very happy one, if highly controversial to Faylinn's Druid clan. The leader of the clan was more tolerant than most would be, though, and allowed it to occur. Barely a year later, Faylinn gave birth to a baby girl, whose father, so happy to have her and seeing a great future for her with two magickal traditions to call upon, named her Karuka -- Art of Heaven. He left out the traditional ending -ben at her mother's insistence. "The wee one isnae a Hindu lass, Atid. She's a wee Irish lassie, and I'll nae ha' her called Ben."
For five more years, the family lived very happily. The old leader died when Karuka was three, and was succeeded by his son. Two years later, though, when his daughter was five, Atid stood up when he was meditating. He kissed his wife and daughter goodbye, and told them he had to return to India, and couldn't take them with him. He would never return.
After Atid had been gone a year and a day, he was pronounced dead, and the new leader (who was just a really hateful guy, especially to traditions he didn't understand) forced Faylinn into a marriage.
He didn't allow his new wife to teach her daughter anything but basic rune divination, and even that had to stop with the birth of Karuka's first younger brother, Cael, when she was ten years old. In secret, one of the old women of the clan continued teaching her divination and some basic, single-rune spell casting, but died the same day Karuka's second brother, Artan, was born. The twelve-year-old began spending her time in the moor, playing the little recorder the old woman had given to her and practicing her casts. She had a sword given to her by her father, but it only held a sharp edge on the outer edge. She practiced with it some, but with no one to teach her, it was a child waving around a sharp object.
When Karuka was fifteen, her mother gave birth to a third son, Fiachra, and died three days afterward.
Barely was her mother entombed when her stepfather, with no more reason to keep her around, told Karuka to get out of his house and his clan, and so be it if she died on a road in the middle of nowhere.
She has been wandering for some months, living what could be considered an ascetic life and trying to find her way to India to find her father. Her runes told her that he cannot be found, but Karuka decided that she would "nae leave a stone unturned, an' i' he turns up under a tombstone, or i' he turns up on top o' a temple capstone, I will nae rest until I've found him or I've found myself."
One morning while using her pendulum to divine her direction of travel, she was led into a cave. She walked through and came out in a land completely unlike any she had seen before. Unsure that she had gone the right way, she turned, but the cave now had a dead end, leaving her trapped in a place she has yet to understand.
Skills:
Karuka at this point in time can use her pendulum necklace to divine direction and sometimes find things if she wants to.
She can also do rune divinations, but nothing so specific as to be clairvoyant (sort of like tarot). This allows her, at any point in time, to see into the present, some of the past, but not much into the future, and is normally simply used to ask and answer questions about the present. Karuka feels that people will lie, but the runes will not.
She can also use the following runes for magick:
Thorn -- this rune is typically used in forest settings where there are plants with thorns, and the effect can range anywhere from increasing the size of the thorns to getting the plant to shoot the thorns.
Peorth -- this is used to cheat at gambling with dice. It boosts her luck so the dice roll in her favor and not for the other person. She doesn't gamble that often, so it's not typically a problem.
Jara -- this rune's best in conjunction with others, but she hasn't figured that out quite yet. So for now it's used to get fruits off trees when she can't reach.
Ing -- well, if you can't have a baby and really want to, this might have a use, but she doesn't use it in normal combat. Or anything else, either.
Sigel -- The rune represents a sun ray, but it's used to call down a bolt of lightning. Without blood, the most damage it can do (at this point) is sting an opponent. With blood, it can stun. If the opponent is wet, or standing in water, though...it could do serious damage
Lagu -- No single-spell use.
Geoff -- love spell, forbidden magick, she doesn't mess with it.
Ken -- Fire. Light a torch, throw a fireball (1st-2nd degree burns over 5-10 percent of the body without blood, 3rd degree burns over 5-7% of the body with)
Feoh -- This doesn't have a single spell use
Ur -- useful for encouraging drunk men to act stupider. No use in (most) real combat.
Beorc -- Rune represents mother-love, used as a healing spell.
Ansur -- gift of eloquence, enhances normal speaking and communication powers. Can ALSO take normal eloquence away if used upside down
Daeg -- used to help what starts off as a crappy morning end up better by evening, not really useful in single-spells or combat.
Eoh -- No single-spell use
Nied -- In combat, used to give the opponent some OTHER priority than fighting her. Nied is generally a first line of defense. Karuka dislikes combat as she knows she is not good at it, and this creates some minor ADD, like "Did I leave my *whatever* back at camp? I think I did. Crap. You, red-head. You're not worth my time." If she IS worth their time still...well, she tried to avoid combat. This only works on an opponent who has no idea what she's trying to do...meaning it generally only works once.
Mann -- used to enhance a partnership, no good single-spell use.
Wynn -- Happiness, gives a brief feeling of well-being, chocolate works better. No single-spell or combat use.
Hagall -- Call down a brief hailstorm. This really depends on the environment. If it's a clear-skies desert, nada, blood or no. If it's the middle of a snow/sleet storm...tennis ball size ice blocks for 5 minutes (no blood) to 10 (blood). Your typical forest environment would get a 1-2 round (depending on whether she's using blood or not) storm of golf-ball sized rocks.
Yr -- Used to boost an archer's aim, no other single-spell use. This spell can only be used on an archer.
Tir -- Enhance from a warrior's skill. This spell can only be used on a melee-type character.
Rad -- Movement, usually used to call up winds or encourage beasts of burden to get a move on.
Eohl -- Provides a brief shield against attack.
Wyrd -- Absolutely no single spell use.
Othel -- No single spell use
Is -- Creates ice. This can range from having snowflake-like crystals form on an opponent's skin, creating limited mobility and discomfort (no blood), to creating a thin ice-bond between the opponent and his/her weapon (blood). The latter creates a sort of ice burn, similar to having played too long in the snow.
NOTE -- some spells can be enhanced by the use of the caster's blood, so she might cut herself or use a cut to do so (runes that take it -- Thorn, Sigel, Ken, Nied, Hagall, Rad, Eohl, and Is)
NOTE ALSO -- she can only use each spell once per day.
Melee -- she might be able to block with her sword, and she throws a mean right hook, but that's about it as far as attacks and swordplay goes.
Defense wise, she doesn't really stick around to be hit. She's lean and agile, and prefers to dodge and tumble rather than pray to Thor that she can block an attack.
She also can play a bit on her flute and dance.
Equipment:
* A rune pouch with 25 runes in it (Thorn, Peorth, Jara, Ing, Sigel, Lagu, Geoff, Ken, Feoh, Ur, Beorc, Ansur, Daeg, Eoh, Nied, Mann, Wynn, Hagall, Yr, Tir, Rad, Eohl, Wyrd, Othel, and Is)
* Necklace with a lodestone crystal in it, used as a pendulum to help define direction. (inherited from mother)
* Curvy sword with one sharp and one blunt edge (belly-dancing sword) This sword is highly ornamental, carried mainly for show and for the crest that Karuka remembers from one of her father's rings. The metal was made to balance well, not fight, and is therefore brittle. If she tries to use it in serious combat, it will break.
* Wooden flute
* Small leather satchel with a water flask, canvas poncho, and a woolen cloak.