Druides
02-17-07, 02:56 PM
Name: Lyrra
Age: 22
Race: Druides
Hair Color: Auburn
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5’7
Weight: 135
Occupation: Scholar
Personality: Lyrra is in love with learning, and her sheltered life allowed her to follow that pursuit without abandon, until recent years. Lyrra wants to uphold the way of her druidism, believing in the power of nature and the innate goodness in men. However, her sheltered life has left Lyrra younger in maturity and society. So she is smart but naïve, and more bookish than brawlish despite her extensive knowledge of formidable spells.
Appearance: Lyrra is of indifferent age, fair skinned and young. Her hair is thick auburn that hangs past her shoulder in rich waves. Bangs curve around her brow in gold wings, and a few curling tresses frame her face. She has grass green eyes, the most notable feature of her youthful face. Her clothes are gray and what one might expect a druid to wear. They are loose robes of gray wool, falling down to her feet with no tight hems or belts. A long, wide scarf of the same wool is wrapped around the tops of her arms and up to her neck, with the rest of the scarf hanging from the back. The sleeves are long and floppy, so only her hands are visible. A white sun with wavy rays is hangs from her neck on a piece of twine. Lyrra often carries a number of rolled up scrolls, and a walking staff carved with runes.
History:
Lyrra didn’t have many memories of her childhood. But she remembered sensations. Warmth, laughter, kind voices. Besides, her ability to memorize everything developed in later years. Her first memories were those of autumn, with the wet chill in the air and the trees crowned gold, red, brown, green, and yellow. She listened to the senseless burbling of the stream, and remembered. She smelled the crisp apples in the air, and remembered. But most of all she remembered her parents and her people.
They lived in a small valley of rolling hills and light woods, fairly inaccessible as it was nestled between tall cliffs and a thick, dark forest. Life there was fairly good. There was good food, many friends and lovers and families to be had, and a great sense of community. They held festivals and parties celebrating the harvest and other such matters.They worshipped all sorts of gods, but most were druids in the oldest sense. They lived thrice as long as a normal human, not so immortal as the elves, but still long-lived. They were denizens of nature, worshipping the sun, moon, the land, the seasons, and far more; and they revered the unseen forces that governed it all.
The people there had been nomads before, and found the valley as a refuge. Others of their kind, sensing the haven there, gathered. They brought knowledge and items and new cultures. The library was one of the favorite places, and no book was un-used. Lyrra especially liked it there, for when she turned ten it was clear that she had the ability to remember all she learned. She could read a book ten times as quickly as anyone else her age, and even at her young age she was rising in authority. Everything taught to her was absorbed at an astonishing pace, and in particular Lyrra was keen to read one book. It was a book of symbols capable of casting spells, but they were to be so intricate and correctly placed, some spells numbering in hundreds of symbols, that most found it difficult to write and impossible to perform without the book. Lyrra singularly well suited to master such a book. For she remembered every symbol, and took up learning the hundreds of pages. Still, like a person who knew how to ride a horse perfectly, she still couldn’t perform them perfectly. But in time...
When Lyrra was sixteen years old, the destruction of her land began. A band of warmongers found their way through the forest and swooped down on the druids with no more reason than malice and cruelty. The people were pacifists, and had no chance to defend themselves. But one of the elders managed to round up a score of the children and had them take refuge in nearby, hidden caves. Lyrra did not know what happened when the elder left, but the children stayed and heard the noises. Burning, screaming, and one of the children grabbed a branch and ran out to help. Lyrra did nothing. And after a sleepless night, the noises died down.
The children emerged and saw a nightmarish scene. The village had been razed to the ground. Most of the bodies were burned to ash, but there were still some, and the prints of many horses and men who had left. A couple of adults emerged from their hiding places, and beat a hasty retreat from the valley lest the invaders find them. So up through the woods and out of the valley Lyrra went, and gradually the wanderers one by one left to live their own lives. For several years Lyrra traveled around and much of her naivete if not all of it melted away. So did her innocence. But she was still as she had been in her home, though she’d seen too much, but now she had to find her own way.
Skills:
Symbol Writing: Lyrra learned how to write enchanted symbols in her library and memorized every single spell they cast. However, her own magical energy grows only with experience in writing these symbols and most of them will not work whether she writes them or not. Her ability to write these symbols improves gradually, but the particular spell performed is further improved. Plus, even if she can write them, the less skillfully the symbols are drawn the more ineffective the spell will be. Activating each symbol(s) consumes Lyrra’s magical power, the more complex/powerful being the more energy-consuming. These symbols can cover any immobile item, from being carved into a tree or written on a scroll. It can be activated only by the person who writes it, and it will activate if touched with the palm of the hand or commanded verbally to activate in an obvious manner (if it’s a scroll that will burst into flame, the command is ‘burn.’) There are four kinds of spells the symbols utilize: offensive, defensive, summoning, healing and changing. Below are the ones Lyrra currently has.
Offensive: The symbols are mostly made for elemental magic (light, dark, fire, water, earth, air, etc.) Air – Creates a dome of air surrounding and expanding rapidly around the caster in a five foot radius, with the force of a strong punch that cuts through lightweight fabric and leaves scratches on normal skin. Fire – sends up flames the width and height of an average campfire and burns for ten seconds before rapidly dying. Dark – makes it pitch black in the space of a bedroom for ten seconds before vanishing. This can be altered to last for longer by sacrificing the degree of darkness. Light – the symbols glow for a few moments before emitting a bright, brief flash as blinding as looking at the sun.
Defensive: The scroll lengthens and swirls rapidly around the person for a minute as a shield, hardening to the point of oven-baked clay (a punch is usually deflected, but a sure sword slash will shatter it.) This scroll can be re-used if it fails due to time limit, but each time it will become twice as weak. The scroll deflects physical attacks, both magical and bodily, but has no protection against enchantments.
Healing: These symbols can heal minor cuts and bruises within a minute.
Changing: Material of roughly the same size changes into a piece or rope or a piece of vellum.
Photographic memory: Lyrra remembers everything she learns with great accuracy, but it is not optional nor can knowledge ever be fully forgotten. However, she cannot remember any of her dreams. Her more exceptional knowledge is an excellent grasp of the Elven tongue.
Metal taboo: Metal, especially swords and any steel weapons, are a taboo to Lyrra. Because of her peaceful druidic upbringing, metal will literally burn her if held. While opening a doorknob briefly or holding a fork will only be unpleasantly warm (at first) grabbing a sword will burn her hands far more quickly.
Equipment:
Scrolls: Lyrra has two of each: air, fire, dark, light, changing, and defensive scrolls.
Staff: Lyrra has a walking staff with many runes on it, four same patterns near the top that represent symbols for healing. This staff can be activated, though the symbols can’t be re-used, to perform a minor healing spell on the holder.
Age: 22
Race: Druides
Hair Color: Auburn
Eye Color: Green
Height: 5’7
Weight: 135
Occupation: Scholar
Personality: Lyrra is in love with learning, and her sheltered life allowed her to follow that pursuit without abandon, until recent years. Lyrra wants to uphold the way of her druidism, believing in the power of nature and the innate goodness in men. However, her sheltered life has left Lyrra younger in maturity and society. So she is smart but naïve, and more bookish than brawlish despite her extensive knowledge of formidable spells.
Appearance: Lyrra is of indifferent age, fair skinned and young. Her hair is thick auburn that hangs past her shoulder in rich waves. Bangs curve around her brow in gold wings, and a few curling tresses frame her face. She has grass green eyes, the most notable feature of her youthful face. Her clothes are gray and what one might expect a druid to wear. They are loose robes of gray wool, falling down to her feet with no tight hems or belts. A long, wide scarf of the same wool is wrapped around the tops of her arms and up to her neck, with the rest of the scarf hanging from the back. The sleeves are long and floppy, so only her hands are visible. A white sun with wavy rays is hangs from her neck on a piece of twine. Lyrra often carries a number of rolled up scrolls, and a walking staff carved with runes.
History:
Lyrra didn’t have many memories of her childhood. But she remembered sensations. Warmth, laughter, kind voices. Besides, her ability to memorize everything developed in later years. Her first memories were those of autumn, with the wet chill in the air and the trees crowned gold, red, brown, green, and yellow. She listened to the senseless burbling of the stream, and remembered. She smelled the crisp apples in the air, and remembered. But most of all she remembered her parents and her people.
They lived in a small valley of rolling hills and light woods, fairly inaccessible as it was nestled between tall cliffs and a thick, dark forest. Life there was fairly good. There was good food, many friends and lovers and families to be had, and a great sense of community. They held festivals and parties celebrating the harvest and other such matters.They worshipped all sorts of gods, but most were druids in the oldest sense. They lived thrice as long as a normal human, not so immortal as the elves, but still long-lived. They were denizens of nature, worshipping the sun, moon, the land, the seasons, and far more; and they revered the unseen forces that governed it all.
The people there had been nomads before, and found the valley as a refuge. Others of their kind, sensing the haven there, gathered. They brought knowledge and items and new cultures. The library was one of the favorite places, and no book was un-used. Lyrra especially liked it there, for when she turned ten it was clear that she had the ability to remember all she learned. She could read a book ten times as quickly as anyone else her age, and even at her young age she was rising in authority. Everything taught to her was absorbed at an astonishing pace, and in particular Lyrra was keen to read one book. It was a book of symbols capable of casting spells, but they were to be so intricate and correctly placed, some spells numbering in hundreds of symbols, that most found it difficult to write and impossible to perform without the book. Lyrra singularly well suited to master such a book. For she remembered every symbol, and took up learning the hundreds of pages. Still, like a person who knew how to ride a horse perfectly, she still couldn’t perform them perfectly. But in time...
When Lyrra was sixteen years old, the destruction of her land began. A band of warmongers found their way through the forest and swooped down on the druids with no more reason than malice and cruelty. The people were pacifists, and had no chance to defend themselves. But one of the elders managed to round up a score of the children and had them take refuge in nearby, hidden caves. Lyrra did not know what happened when the elder left, but the children stayed and heard the noises. Burning, screaming, and one of the children grabbed a branch and ran out to help. Lyrra did nothing. And after a sleepless night, the noises died down.
The children emerged and saw a nightmarish scene. The village had been razed to the ground. Most of the bodies were burned to ash, but there were still some, and the prints of many horses and men who had left. A couple of adults emerged from their hiding places, and beat a hasty retreat from the valley lest the invaders find them. So up through the woods and out of the valley Lyrra went, and gradually the wanderers one by one left to live their own lives. For several years Lyrra traveled around and much of her naivete if not all of it melted away. So did her innocence. But she was still as she had been in her home, though she’d seen too much, but now she had to find her own way.
Skills:
Symbol Writing: Lyrra learned how to write enchanted symbols in her library and memorized every single spell they cast. However, her own magical energy grows only with experience in writing these symbols and most of them will not work whether she writes them or not. Her ability to write these symbols improves gradually, but the particular spell performed is further improved. Plus, even if she can write them, the less skillfully the symbols are drawn the more ineffective the spell will be. Activating each symbol(s) consumes Lyrra’s magical power, the more complex/powerful being the more energy-consuming. These symbols can cover any immobile item, from being carved into a tree or written on a scroll. It can be activated only by the person who writes it, and it will activate if touched with the palm of the hand or commanded verbally to activate in an obvious manner (if it’s a scroll that will burst into flame, the command is ‘burn.’) There are four kinds of spells the symbols utilize: offensive, defensive, summoning, healing and changing. Below are the ones Lyrra currently has.
Offensive: The symbols are mostly made for elemental magic (light, dark, fire, water, earth, air, etc.) Air – Creates a dome of air surrounding and expanding rapidly around the caster in a five foot radius, with the force of a strong punch that cuts through lightweight fabric and leaves scratches on normal skin. Fire – sends up flames the width and height of an average campfire and burns for ten seconds before rapidly dying. Dark – makes it pitch black in the space of a bedroom for ten seconds before vanishing. This can be altered to last for longer by sacrificing the degree of darkness. Light – the symbols glow for a few moments before emitting a bright, brief flash as blinding as looking at the sun.
Defensive: The scroll lengthens and swirls rapidly around the person for a minute as a shield, hardening to the point of oven-baked clay (a punch is usually deflected, but a sure sword slash will shatter it.) This scroll can be re-used if it fails due to time limit, but each time it will become twice as weak. The scroll deflects physical attacks, both magical and bodily, but has no protection against enchantments.
Healing: These symbols can heal minor cuts and bruises within a minute.
Changing: Material of roughly the same size changes into a piece or rope or a piece of vellum.
Photographic memory: Lyrra remembers everything she learns with great accuracy, but it is not optional nor can knowledge ever be fully forgotten. However, she cannot remember any of her dreams. Her more exceptional knowledge is an excellent grasp of the Elven tongue.
Metal taboo: Metal, especially swords and any steel weapons, are a taboo to Lyrra. Because of her peaceful druidic upbringing, metal will literally burn her if held. While opening a doorknob briefly or holding a fork will only be unpleasantly warm (at first) grabbing a sword will burn her hands far more quickly.
Equipment:
Scrolls: Lyrra has two of each: air, fire, dark, light, changing, and defensive scrolls.
Staff: Lyrra has a walking staff with many runes on it, four same patterns near the top that represent symbols for healing. This staff can be activated, though the symbols can’t be re-used, to perform a minor healing spell on the holder.