Karuka
06-28-07, 12:30 AM
Updates in blue. Level 1 profile found here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showpost.php?p=57902&postcount=1).
Name: Karuka Tida
Age: 17
Race: Human
Hair Color: Dark red
Eye Color: Ice blue
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 124 lbs (at optimal levels, currently she weighs a bit less)
Occupation: Follower of Dharma.
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. She also has a very deeply-ingrained respect for the supernatural and divine.
Beneath the normally merry exterior, there is a darkness bordering on bitterness and delving deeply into melancholy, but she doesn't tend to allow those emotions to come out when around others.
She has a genuine distaste for combat, and will never actively seek it out. If she is led into it or attacked, she will not back down after she makes a few attempts to peaceably end the fight. She has been known, however, to step in with violence for those less bold and/or less able.
It is also almost impossible to get her angry and keep her that way, since she has a very forgiving nature, even toward those who wish her ill. When she does hate, though, she hates deeply, passionately, and almost irrevocably.
Her religious faith has recently been slightly shaken by the fact that she's been forced to take lives while on her adventures.
Identity:
Karuka's identity (who she is as she finds herself) is wrapped up in her faith. If and as she loses faith, her accent, chipper attitude, and ability to channel divine power (her faith in the ability of the gods to make things happen on her behalf) into spells will likewise fade.
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 vlince traveling outfit she bought in Radasanth and her mother's pendulum around her neck. Beyond her odd coloration, 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 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 is long and pretty much just outlines the quests I felt were spiffy in chronological order for me. Not all of them are even complete, but the ones that aren't will be. Eventually. So, feel free to skim/skip it.
History:
Never before Atid and Faylinn did the magical 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 got no immediate 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."
Karuka grew up learning primarily the Gaelic language of her mother's people and a few "mantras," or prayers from her father in Sanskrit, but the language her parents had most in common was "Anglish," known on Althanas as "tradespeak."
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 man, 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 the Anglish language, 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.
Shortly after she came to Althanas (a moment she has slowly come to view as a rebirth), Karuka was found by Arsenic Ruin, who quickly became her first Althanian friend and brought her to Scara Brae.
There she met a silent and brilliant musician, The Mime, and when Arsenic vanished, the two of them were commissioned by the Count Uyen Barchon to discover the reason for the sudden start in growth of the Liviol trees on the Liviol Sanctum. Joining them on this quest was the handsome sword-for-hire Osato and his Elfen lady Andea. Before heading out, it was discovered that Karuka is terrified of being on boats due to an accident during her childhood. While on the island, the group faced killer will'o'th'wisps and the legendary Cat of the liviol sanctum, *More to be added when quest is complete.*
After this quest, Karuka followed her pendulum wherever it led her -- which was around boats far too often for her taste.
*more to be added as various quests are completed...*
After wandering around a little bit, she made it to Corone, where her pendulum stopped functioning entirely. Not eager to go back on a boat so soon, she started wandering off again, heading north through the dense forests. Unbeknownst to her, she was being hunted by the assassin Madyrn for some transgression against someone she couldn't even remember, and was forced to fight him not far from Underwood. She was very nearly killed in that battle, but survived it, and arrived in northern Akashima just in time to start feeling the first blasts of winter. Starving and dressed in rags, the spunky red-head had all but given herself up for dead when she stumbled across a little fox running away from his mother. When Doji Ki caught up to her kit, the kitsune mother invited Karuka back to her den to weather out the storm. She made a sort of family there at Ki's den, but eventually the time came for her to start wandering again, and she made her way to Jadet seaport, where once more she had to board a boat.
While on the boat, she met a man in brown robes who called himself "Seth," but it wasn't long before a slaving vessel from Salvar attacked during a fierce storm. During the battle that ensued before the passengers and crew were taken prisoner, Karuka killed her first man, and others during the desperate battle for freedom while on the slave ship. ... *more to be added when quest is completed...*
Eventually the boat docked near Radasanth City, and Karuka was drawn into the Citadel for a battle. In the arena, she met one Caduceus Grimaldi, and deciding that they would rather not fight each other, they summoned a bug bear. Karuka got a few of her ribs broken and was invited to travel with him. Those travel plans didn't last long, however.
After being healed, Karuka went wandering through Radasanth, where she found the bazaar, and more importantly, a clothes vendor. As she was leaving, she ran (almost literally) into Manda Logan, who took her on an adventure into Concordia forest where she met Elena and Avery, Queen and King of the Moontae.
*more to be added, blah blah*
After that, they returned to Radasanth, and Karuka went out once more, headed toward the Comb Mountains. She got separated from her traveling companion, and while looking for him, wound up sharing a cave (and another near-slave experience) in a goblins' den with Leon Timyon.
After that, she went to Underwood, needing a drink, and was hired to take care of the skeleton of Tarry Whealer.
Karuka has now been on Althanas for about a year, and is starting to feel comfortable walking it. No longer the ragged, starving thing she was when she arrived, she's become more confident in her own place in the world, although she wishes fervently for a constant companion. Although she has found much to be grateful for on Althanas, she is still an Earth girl at heart, and if she finds a way back to Earth, she wants to go back and find her father.
Skills:
Karuka at this point in time can use her pendulum necklace to divine direction and sometimes find things if she wants to. More often, though, it leads her to places her dharma has set aside for her, whether she wants to go or not.
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 sometimes, but the runes will not.
She can also use the following runes for magic: Karuka's magic is semi-divine in that it requires she believe in the power of the gods she's calling upon to grant her prayers. Her spells MUST be in prayer form, and while they don't have to be in Gaelic, the language has a special bond with her divine beings for Karuka, so she has the best shot at accomplishing her spell's goals in that tongue.
The less Karuka believes, the less chance she has of completing the spell -- strong faith means she will normally get full results (except in spells where an opponent's will can negate the spell's effect), and if she were to stop believing entirely, her magical talents would be non-existent. Since her faith has been shaken, her spells will tend to be weaker and have a higher chance of failing than they did before.
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)
((I've taken away how many times she can use each spell per day/quest/battle. If you'd like a limit on them, I'll do that. I've also removed spells that she doesn't/won't use, and runes that don't have a spell attached to them.))
+ Line-of sight spell. She has to be looking at the target to attack.
~ Touch spell. She must be touching the target for the spell to have a chance at working.
+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.
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. She has also figured out how to use it to pull small objects (10 lb or less) toward the ground.
~/+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 stun an opponent. With blood, it can heavily stun. If the opponent is wet, or standing in water, though...it could be lethal (on PCs and other peoples' NPCs, amount of damage determined by other player). This rune is weather dependent. Without clouds, this spell is impossible. With light clouds, a small bolt can be summoned. During a severe thunderstorm, she can call down a bolt powerful enough to kill.
+Lagu -- A small amount of pre-existing water (one or two cubic feet) may be manipulated within a radius of 15 feet from the caster.
+Ken -- Fire. Light a torch, throw a fireball (1st-2nd degree burns over 7-12 percent of the body without blood, 3rd degree burns over 7-9 percent of the body with)
+Ur -- Ur is the symbol of manliness, and as such is useful for helping inflame tempers or initiate combat. Since Karuka dislikes combat, she doesn't tend to use the spell. (For PCs it's up to the player whether or not the spell works...if she ever drags it out).
~Beorc -- Rune represents mother-love, used as a healing spell. It can currently heal mild to moderate wounds (a deep cut on an extremity at its most powerful) over a period of a few minutes.
Ansur -- gift of eloquence, slightly enhances normal speaking and communication powers.
~Daeg -- used to help improve something minor (like nausea not stemming from real illness, or a sour attitude) over the period of 2 hours or 5 posts. No combat use, can be resisted by any PC or NPC.
+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. Can be resisted by any PC or strong-willed NPC, harder for characters at her level or lower to resist.
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 one-post shower of ice pellets the size of her thumb joint. Without blood the spell has a 50% fail rate.
~Yr -- Used to boost an archer's aim, no other single-spell use. This spell can only be used on an archer.
~Tir -- Enhance a warrior's skill. This spell can only be used on a melee-type character.
Rad -- Movement, usually used to call up winds with a strength of up to 10 lbs/ft^3) or encourage beasts of burden to get a move on.
Eohl -- Provides a shield against attack. This shield lasts for one post and is most effective against weapons at steel strength or lower.
+Is -- Creates ice. This can range from having crystals form on an opponent's skin, creating slightly limited mobility and discomfort (no blood), to creating a thin layer of ice on a person or object (blood). This spell is also weather dependent. It works about 5x as well during a snow storm, and very slightly on a hot and arid day.
Rune Inversions:
In their upside down forms, some runes do things differently from their upright forms.
Runes that can be turned upside down (or backwards) include: Ur, Othel, Ansur, Mann, Eohl, Tir, Ken, Wynn, Feoh, Rad, Lagu, Eoh, and Beorc. ((again, the ones that don't have a use aren't listed.))
Ur: Useful for slightly soothing tempers and forcing would-be combatants to try and find a way around the fight. While the spell will affect whoever it is cast upon, the choice to follow the prompt to try and re-settle remains the character's choice. (in other words, will negates)
~Ansur: Can take away eloquence to make target sound slightly stupid(er than they are). Can be easily shunted by the will of a character her level or higher, characters lower than her level will have some trouble resisting the effects.
Eohl: Can break through or weaken an enemy's defenses slightly, leaving an opening for an attack. (Currently it might bypass or damage a level 0's defenses, but level 1 and higher, player will can negate).
Tir: Can detract slightly from an enemy's skill in fighting. Only applicable to melee characters.
Rad: Can make a beast of burden (like a horse or mule) stop.
Beorc: Can undo a minor healing.
Language: Karuka CAN speak tradespeak, she just knows it as "Anglish," and speaks slightly brokenly and with her own quirky accent.
Woodland lore:
Having been raised as a Druid, Karuka can find her way more easily through wilderness than civilization, and can recognize various plants as good for food, medicine, or poison.
Melee --
Swordplay:
When she was a girl she learned enough about swordsmanship to be well below average, and though she carries a sword, it is purely ornamental in nature and would break if used, so she will never draw it in combat save in a last, desperate, attempt to go down fighting. Its outer edge is kept sharp enough to cut such things as rope.
She also throws a fairly decent punch.
Stick-type weapons:
Having picked up mops and branches in combat situations, Karuka has learned that she can fight with sticks and objects that look like sticks. Currently, her skill level lets her swing the thing at her opponent and maybe block. Combined with her agility, it makes her a below average fighter.
Karuka is lean and agile, and in combat situations she prefers to dodge, tumble, and run away rather than pray to Thor that she can block an attack. She's also learned a crude version of pole-vaulting.
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.
[color="blue"]*Bandages: When Karu got her new clothes, she ripped up her old rags and made them into bandages.
*A sturdy clay jug with some ale (maybe a quarter gallon's worth remains) (earned here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=5276&page=2))
*A silver bell that lights up dimly when it sounds
*A dragon scale, toughness of delyn and some magical resistance to fire (both earned here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=4823&page=4))
Name: Karuka Tida
Age: 17
Race: Human
Hair Color: Dark red
Eye Color: Ice blue
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 124 lbs (at optimal levels, currently she weighs a bit less)
Occupation: Follower of Dharma.
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. She also has a very deeply-ingrained respect for the supernatural and divine.
Beneath the normally merry exterior, there is a darkness bordering on bitterness and delving deeply into melancholy, but she doesn't tend to allow those emotions to come out when around others.
She has a genuine distaste for combat, and will never actively seek it out. If she is led into it or attacked, she will not back down after she makes a few attempts to peaceably end the fight. She has been known, however, to step in with violence for those less bold and/or less able.
It is also almost impossible to get her angry and keep her that way, since she has a very forgiving nature, even toward those who wish her ill. When she does hate, though, she hates deeply, passionately, and almost irrevocably.
Her religious faith has recently been slightly shaken by the fact that she's been forced to take lives while on her adventures.
Identity:
Karuka's identity (who she is as she finds herself) is wrapped up in her faith. If and as she loses faith, her accent, chipper attitude, and ability to channel divine power (her faith in the ability of the gods to make things happen on her behalf) into spells will likewise fade.
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 vlince traveling outfit she bought in Radasanth and her mother's pendulum around her neck. Beyond her odd coloration, 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 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 is long and pretty much just outlines the quests I felt were spiffy in chronological order for me. Not all of them are even complete, but the ones that aren't will be. Eventually. So, feel free to skim/skip it.
History:
Never before Atid and Faylinn did the magical 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 got no immediate 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."
Karuka grew up learning primarily the Gaelic language of her mother's people and a few "mantras," or prayers from her father in Sanskrit, but the language her parents had most in common was "Anglish," known on Althanas as "tradespeak."
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 man, 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 the Anglish language, 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.
Shortly after she came to Althanas (a moment she has slowly come to view as a rebirth), Karuka was found by Arsenic Ruin, who quickly became her first Althanian friend and brought her to Scara Brae.
There she met a silent and brilliant musician, The Mime, and when Arsenic vanished, the two of them were commissioned by the Count Uyen Barchon to discover the reason for the sudden start in growth of the Liviol trees on the Liviol Sanctum. Joining them on this quest was the handsome sword-for-hire Osato and his Elfen lady Andea. Before heading out, it was discovered that Karuka is terrified of being on boats due to an accident during her childhood. While on the island, the group faced killer will'o'th'wisps and the legendary Cat of the liviol sanctum, *More to be added when quest is complete.*
After this quest, Karuka followed her pendulum wherever it led her -- which was around boats far too often for her taste.
*more to be added as various quests are completed...*
After wandering around a little bit, she made it to Corone, where her pendulum stopped functioning entirely. Not eager to go back on a boat so soon, she started wandering off again, heading north through the dense forests. Unbeknownst to her, she was being hunted by the assassin Madyrn for some transgression against someone she couldn't even remember, and was forced to fight him not far from Underwood. She was very nearly killed in that battle, but survived it, and arrived in northern Akashima just in time to start feeling the first blasts of winter. Starving and dressed in rags, the spunky red-head had all but given herself up for dead when she stumbled across a little fox running away from his mother. When Doji Ki caught up to her kit, the kitsune mother invited Karuka back to her den to weather out the storm. She made a sort of family there at Ki's den, but eventually the time came for her to start wandering again, and she made her way to Jadet seaport, where once more she had to board a boat.
While on the boat, she met a man in brown robes who called himself "Seth," but it wasn't long before a slaving vessel from Salvar attacked during a fierce storm. During the battle that ensued before the passengers and crew were taken prisoner, Karuka killed her first man, and others during the desperate battle for freedom while on the slave ship. ... *more to be added when quest is completed...*
Eventually the boat docked near Radasanth City, and Karuka was drawn into the Citadel for a battle. In the arena, she met one Caduceus Grimaldi, and deciding that they would rather not fight each other, they summoned a bug bear. Karuka got a few of her ribs broken and was invited to travel with him. Those travel plans didn't last long, however.
After being healed, Karuka went wandering through Radasanth, where she found the bazaar, and more importantly, a clothes vendor. As she was leaving, she ran (almost literally) into Manda Logan, who took her on an adventure into Concordia forest where she met Elena and Avery, Queen and King of the Moontae.
*more to be added, blah blah*
After that, they returned to Radasanth, and Karuka went out once more, headed toward the Comb Mountains. She got separated from her traveling companion, and while looking for him, wound up sharing a cave (and another near-slave experience) in a goblins' den with Leon Timyon.
After that, she went to Underwood, needing a drink, and was hired to take care of the skeleton of Tarry Whealer.
Karuka has now been on Althanas for about a year, and is starting to feel comfortable walking it. No longer the ragged, starving thing she was when she arrived, she's become more confident in her own place in the world, although she wishes fervently for a constant companion. Although she has found much to be grateful for on Althanas, she is still an Earth girl at heart, and if she finds a way back to Earth, she wants to go back and find her father.
Skills:
Karuka at this point in time can use her pendulum necklace to divine direction and sometimes find things if she wants to. More often, though, it leads her to places her dharma has set aside for her, whether she wants to go or not.
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 sometimes, but the runes will not.
She can also use the following runes for magic: Karuka's magic is semi-divine in that it requires she believe in the power of the gods she's calling upon to grant her prayers. Her spells MUST be in prayer form, and while they don't have to be in Gaelic, the language has a special bond with her divine beings for Karuka, so she has the best shot at accomplishing her spell's goals in that tongue.
The less Karuka believes, the less chance she has of completing the spell -- strong faith means she will normally get full results (except in spells where an opponent's will can negate the spell's effect), and if she were to stop believing entirely, her magical talents would be non-existent. Since her faith has been shaken, her spells will tend to be weaker and have a higher chance of failing than they did before.
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)
((I've taken away how many times she can use each spell per day/quest/battle. If you'd like a limit on them, I'll do that. I've also removed spells that she doesn't/won't use, and runes that don't have a spell attached to them.))
+ Line-of sight spell. She has to be looking at the target to attack.
~ Touch spell. She must be touching the target for the spell to have a chance at working.
+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.
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. She has also figured out how to use it to pull small objects (10 lb or less) toward the ground.
~/+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 stun an opponent. With blood, it can heavily stun. If the opponent is wet, or standing in water, though...it could be lethal (on PCs and other peoples' NPCs, amount of damage determined by other player). This rune is weather dependent. Without clouds, this spell is impossible. With light clouds, a small bolt can be summoned. During a severe thunderstorm, she can call down a bolt powerful enough to kill.
+Lagu -- A small amount of pre-existing water (one or two cubic feet) may be manipulated within a radius of 15 feet from the caster.
+Ken -- Fire. Light a torch, throw a fireball (1st-2nd degree burns over 7-12 percent of the body without blood, 3rd degree burns over 7-9 percent of the body with)
+Ur -- Ur is the symbol of manliness, and as such is useful for helping inflame tempers or initiate combat. Since Karuka dislikes combat, she doesn't tend to use the spell. (For PCs it's up to the player whether or not the spell works...if she ever drags it out).
~Beorc -- Rune represents mother-love, used as a healing spell. It can currently heal mild to moderate wounds (a deep cut on an extremity at its most powerful) over a period of a few minutes.
Ansur -- gift of eloquence, slightly enhances normal speaking and communication powers.
~Daeg -- used to help improve something minor (like nausea not stemming from real illness, or a sour attitude) over the period of 2 hours or 5 posts. No combat use, can be resisted by any PC or NPC.
+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. Can be resisted by any PC or strong-willed NPC, harder for characters at her level or lower to resist.
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 one-post shower of ice pellets the size of her thumb joint. Without blood the spell has a 50% fail rate.
~Yr -- Used to boost an archer's aim, no other single-spell use. This spell can only be used on an archer.
~Tir -- Enhance a warrior's skill. This spell can only be used on a melee-type character.
Rad -- Movement, usually used to call up winds with a strength of up to 10 lbs/ft^3) or encourage beasts of burden to get a move on.
Eohl -- Provides a shield against attack. This shield lasts for one post and is most effective against weapons at steel strength or lower.
+Is -- Creates ice. This can range from having crystals form on an opponent's skin, creating slightly limited mobility and discomfort (no blood), to creating a thin layer of ice on a person or object (blood). This spell is also weather dependent. It works about 5x as well during a snow storm, and very slightly on a hot and arid day.
Rune Inversions:
In their upside down forms, some runes do things differently from their upright forms.
Runes that can be turned upside down (or backwards) include: Ur, Othel, Ansur, Mann, Eohl, Tir, Ken, Wynn, Feoh, Rad, Lagu, Eoh, and Beorc. ((again, the ones that don't have a use aren't listed.))
Ur: Useful for slightly soothing tempers and forcing would-be combatants to try and find a way around the fight. While the spell will affect whoever it is cast upon, the choice to follow the prompt to try and re-settle remains the character's choice. (in other words, will negates)
~Ansur: Can take away eloquence to make target sound slightly stupid(er than they are). Can be easily shunted by the will of a character her level or higher, characters lower than her level will have some trouble resisting the effects.
Eohl: Can break through or weaken an enemy's defenses slightly, leaving an opening for an attack. (Currently it might bypass or damage a level 0's defenses, but level 1 and higher, player will can negate).
Tir: Can detract slightly from an enemy's skill in fighting. Only applicable to melee characters.
Rad: Can make a beast of burden (like a horse or mule) stop.
Beorc: Can undo a minor healing.
Language: Karuka CAN speak tradespeak, she just knows it as "Anglish," and speaks slightly brokenly and with her own quirky accent.
Woodland lore:
Having been raised as a Druid, Karuka can find her way more easily through wilderness than civilization, and can recognize various plants as good for food, medicine, or poison.
Melee --
Swordplay:
When she was a girl she learned enough about swordsmanship to be well below average, and though she carries a sword, it is purely ornamental in nature and would break if used, so she will never draw it in combat save in a last, desperate, attempt to go down fighting. Its outer edge is kept sharp enough to cut such things as rope.
She also throws a fairly decent punch.
Stick-type weapons:
Having picked up mops and branches in combat situations, Karuka has learned that she can fight with sticks and objects that look like sticks. Currently, her skill level lets her swing the thing at her opponent and maybe block. Combined with her agility, it makes her a below average fighter.
Karuka is lean and agile, and in combat situations she prefers to dodge, tumble, and run away rather than pray to Thor that she can block an attack. She's also learned a crude version of pole-vaulting.
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.
[color="blue"]*Bandages: When Karu got her new clothes, she ripped up her old rags and made them into bandages.
*A sturdy clay jug with some ale (maybe a quarter gallon's worth remains) (earned here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=5276&page=2))
*A silver bell that lights up dimly when it sounds
*A dragon scale, toughness of delyn and some magical resistance to fire (both earned here (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=4823&page=4))