Application for Queen of Hearts
Player Information
Name: Enzel
Personal Journal: stormfallen
Contact Info: AIM: Terra in Pyjamas
Other Characters: Xion (mnementomori)
Character Information
Name: Dejana
Age: 38 (1000+)
Setting: Okay, so, this world. It's vaguely-Earth-sized and Earth-shaped. There are several major continents, most of them isolated from the others by large stretches of ocean, allowing different cultures to develop without interference. Once such continent is home to several human nations, as well as a variety of intelligent non-human creatures. (griffins, centaurs, dire wolves, etc.) Coexisting alongside the real world is what is known as the Divine Realm, a separate plane nonetheless permanently bound to the planet.
For thousands of years, a pantheon of gods was worshiped over the surface of the mortal world, as they were allowed to walk around on the earth and pretty much do whatever they wanted. Since seeing is believing, and the gods' power was derived from the amount of worshipers they had, their power was at its height. The most well-known were the Creator-Mother God, Daesus, and her eldest children: Uriel (fire), the twins Syntyche (light) and Shahadi (shadow/darkness), as well as the gods of Earth, Wind, and Water.
There is an old tale that is true but has since become legend, except for those few whose lives are changed forever by it. A woman once begged the goddess Syntyche to be able to fly through the sky like a bird, free. The goddess refused her, appalled by the request, but the woman insisted, returning to her temple day after day to pray. Finally, Syntyche grew angry and said she would grant the wish, but at a price. The woman grew wings, and gained the ability to fly, but she could not stay on the ground for long, or she would be wracked by crippling pain. Despite this, she fell in love. Her descendants are known as angels, and are forced to relive their ancestor's curse. They are sickly children, plagued by phantom pains as they grow up. After reaching adulthood, the process accelerated by any romantic involvement, they begin to show a variety of symptoms--temporary blindness, deafness, the inability to feel, no need to eat, fevers and pain. Eventually, they grow wings. Their body returns to normal for a short time, perhaps a few months, and then they die.
Daesus, feeling this sort of interference in the lives of mortals was far too much, henceforth forbid her children from setting foot on the earth as themselves. Because their true forms had to stay restricted to the Divine Realm, in order to communicate with their followers, the gods would instead inhabit the body of a human (or other race, there are several) from a special bloodline, and speak through them. These people were called "Avatars" and were revered as demigods themselves, more or less.
As they departed, each god split some of their power into five different artifacts, and it was from these artifacts that ordinary humans learned to use magic.
There are three nations on the continent where the story takes place, Sharime, Kinua and Dariat. A rugged mountain range splits the land roughly in two, allowing Sharime to flourish in the west, protected for any major invasion by a natural barrier. Kinua is the smallest land, occupying the northeast, populated by an extravagant, lively culture with a long history of waging war on other nations. Dariat, to the south, is their usual target, as it is almost entirely made up of rolling hills and rich farmland. As such, there is no love lost between the two peoples.
A fourth nation exists far across the sea, where no ship has been able to reach before. They have long since abandoned the gods and turned to technology over magic, but their natural resources have begun to dwindle. Soon enough, they will set out in search of new land...
History: Dejana was born to a farming family in Dariat. Neither rich nor poor, her childhood was happy enough, with two parents that sometimes argued, but got along, and three siblings: one older, two younger. She helped her parents with their trade and occasionally dreamed of a life different from the one that was in store for her since birth--marrying a nice farmer and settling down, having children, just as her parents had. But her village was all she knew, and she never really worked up the courage to do anything about it, eventually deciding to be content with what she had. She had a brief, awkward romance with one of the village boys, a young man named Harvus, before both their parents decided they'd done enough dancing around each other and planned their wedding.
They were married for several years, a quiet life suited to a quiet, hardworking woman and her husband. They never had any children, though not for lack of trying. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse, when the village was attacked by Kinuan raiders. Harvus was killed in front of his wife, and the shock made something in her mind snap. She lashed out and slaughtered every single one of her attackers using raw magical energy, then collapsed as the strain overtook her. She was asleep for weeks, as her troubled mind sorted itself out--not an easy task, because she had suddenly acquired thousands of years worth of memories.
Souls are part of the essential energies that give sentient beings life. When a person dies, their soul is wiped clean, though it may retain "impressions" from its past life, hence why the idea of reincarnation cropped up. However, in very rare cases, those memories aren't erased, only sealed away--until something strong enough breaks through to them. The soul inhabiting Dejana's body was, in fact, a very old and powerful soul, originally belonging to a young man named Kaeryn. Having lived through hundreds of other lifetimes, retaining all the knowledge from them, he walked a precarious balance whenever his memories were awakened, since the rush of so much information into a human mind could very well drive someone mad. However, Dejana did eventually recover, though she was never the same. She helped rebuild her village, then packed up her few belongings, and left. For a while she traveled, using her lifetimes of knowledge and her power to heal and care for people. Eventually she crossed the mountains over to Sharime, leaving her home country behind, and settled down to live, alone. Every now and then she would travel to nearby villages for supplies, caring for the sick and injured in return for them. Soon enough she gained a name for herself, and people began calling her the Sage.
Nearly fifteen years after she first left home, two young men show up on her doorstep. One is the avatar of the Goddess Syntyche, a timid young man named Gavin. The other is the bastard son of Kinua's king. He is called Aoife, and he is suffering from the angel curse. They bring with them troubling news. Syntyche's twin, the god of Shadow, has been slowly losing control of his power. His avatar, Moira, who is also Gavin's older sister, had been travelling with the two of them and Ishkha, the Avatar of Fire, in order to gather all of the Shadow artifacts and have a chance at setting things right. However, along the way Aoife's symptoms set in. He was now blind. A proud warrior, he refused to admit defeat, and Moira had sent them in search of the Sage, in hopes that she could help.
Dejana agrees to teach him how to use his magic to see instead of his eyes. Stubborn and willful, Aoife clashes with her at first, and eventually wanders off alone. He falls into the nearby river, and Dejana fishes him out, earning his grudging respect. Teacher and student eventually learn to get along, and Dejana finds herself growing fond of her guests despite her own vow not to get close to people she'll only lose in the end. Eventually she begs Syntyche through Gavin to release Aoife from the curse, asking to take it in his place, since she knows she'll just be reborn again once she dies. The goddess refuses. With a heavy heart, Dejana sends Gavin and Aoife off to rejoin their companions.
Several years later, they return. Shahadi has been sealed away, the crisis averted, but a war broke out after the arrival of battleships from the nation far across the sea. Their advanced weapons make short work of the Kinuan forces, and Dariat's meager army as well. Aoife fought and is now a war hero, but was forced to flee when his pain became so crippling that he could no longer wield a sword. Gavin brought him back to the one person he knew would offer them respite: his old teacher.
Soon enough, Aoife's wings grow. His time is running out, and in a final effort to save him, Dejana sets out to gather Syntyche's artifacts together, hoping to break the goddess's power over him. However, the effort is doomed to failure: the last artifact, a necklace Aoife owned, was lost in the war. She returns home, unsuccessful, in time to watch her former pupil die in the arms of his beloved. Heartbroken from the loss of his sister, and now his lover, Gavin loses his grip on reality. Dejana cares for him as best she can, until Ishkha, his old friend and Uriel's Avatar, comes looking for him. She takes Gavin with her, saying she'll do what she can to repair his shattered mind. That is the last Dejana sees of both of them.
Personality: Dejana is old. This is evident in several ways--the constant look of weariness in her eyes, her endless amounts of patience, and the fact that she misses very little. She's constantly observing others whether it looks like it or not, filing the information away. It's a habit from years and years and years spent around people, through different times and different cultures.
First impressions: she always seems to have half a smile on her face, but it's a sad one, a tired one. Her tone is often wry, and she doesn't seem to take things very seriously. She puts up with nonsense without any sign of irritation, unless someone is becoming a danger to themselves or others. Then her demeanor will change instantly to stern and serious.
She's caring, but not in a smothering way. She tends to watch over people from a distance-she’s not too good with physical affection, but she won’t outright reject it. She's usually accepting of people's faults, and is always willing to give out knowledge to those who ask for it. But she usually maintains a certain distance, or tries to. The truth is, she cares very deeply about people. Loves them, even; but to someone who's outlived so many others, caring becomes painful.
She retains many of the personality traits of the different lives she's had, including her original one. Where "Dejana" the farmer's daughter was somewhat meek and resigned, Dejana the Sage is steadfast, calm, with a sarcastic sense of humor. She doesn't let herself get pushed around, but she doesn't usually resort to direct confrontation; she'll get around it in a sneaky way if she can.
An important thing to point out about her is that she dislikes killing. She accepts the hunting of animals for food, but finds the sport distasteful, and war even moreso. She believes human lives are too short for people to cut them off so casually, and because of that, she can be both selfless and incredibly selfish. She will always put the lives of others before her own, seeing it as having little value because she'll just be reborn again. This can drive her to be rather reckless in dangerous situations.
She's not very forthcoming about herself, understandably, because not many people would believe her anyway. She can also come off as a bit of a know-it-all. Sometimes she's aware of it, sometimes she isn't and has simply forgotten that the amount of information she's amassed is slightly ridiculous to a normal person. She still has a sense of curiosity, since learning new things is the only thing that keeps such a long life from getting dull. Unfortunately when she’s feeling particularly inquisitive, that burning desire to know things sometimes takes over her self-control, so she can become blunt, dismissive, even rude to anyone getting in the way without realizing it. This is because she's no longer focusing or even entirely aware of the people around her, and is instead fixated on whatever has caught her attention. She’ll always apologize once she notices, however.
Abilities: To put it simply, she's kind of hax. However, there are rules and restrictions.
Magical ability is innate, connected to the soul and not the body. Therefore, Dejana has access to all of Kaeryn's power, and the knowledge of how to use it. She’s nowhere near the level of a god or divine being, but she is powerful for mortal standards. She can't just snap her fingers and make anything happen. Whatever she wishes to apply her magic to requires effort. That said, it's very versatile.
In order to accomplish something--say, for example, opening a locked door, she would first need physical contact with the lock. Technically she could do it from a distance, but that would require more concentration and effort than would be practical. By placing a hand on the metal, she can use the material as a conductor, sending her power into it and more or less feeling out the mechanics on the inside. She can use this to construct a mental picture of it, figure out which tumblers to turn, and then move them by sending magic into them.
This method can be used to do nearly anything she puts her mind to, from building a sandcastle to healing a wound. How well or quickly the task is completed depends on how much physical material is involved, and the precision required. Healing a living thing is much more difficult than messing with an inanimate object. This also counts for using magic against magic, though that becomes a direct battle of strength between her and the other magic user.
She also uses her power as a sort of sixth sense. This is an unconscious action; she’s been doing it for so long it works in her sleep as well. Since it’s relatively passive, it barely uses any of her strength. What it does is tell her the age and composition of any material she touches, and if she reaches further, anything in the immediate area. She can also sense living things in a certain radius around her (200 feet or so, up to several miles if she concentrates), which makes her very hard to sneak up on.
She can sense magic itself, even if the type is foreign to her, and usually what it can do/what it’s used for/how powerful it is. This ability comes from lifetimes of studying magic, which is pretty much the only thing she gets excited about anymore.
The limits to this are physical ones--though she technically has enough power in her reserves to accomplish more or less anything, it puts strain on her body. Any great use of magic will physically exhaust her, and it takes at least a day, sometimes more, to recover, depending on severity.
To those with the ability to observe souls/magical energy, she's like a beacon at full strength, though she usually keeps a conscious damper on it to appear as less of a threat.
Aside from that, she's physically a normal human being. She's in good shape/has a decent amount of stamina, and is competent at hand to hand and staff fighting, as well as having a decent knowledge of many other weapons. She's also more likely to do things the normal way, and leave her magic for things she can't accomplish with her own two hands.
Sample(s):
[video]
[this woman has her hand on a visible length of the Vine, and is watching the mirror with interest.]
Letting me see if I've changed or not? No...this is connected to somewhere else, isn't it. What a beautiful thing you are.
[she runs her fingers down the length of vine, fingering a leaf gently before letting go. Those watching closely might notice a spark of pale green light at her fingertips, which vanishes almost immediately.]
She put quite a bit of love into you...this place. Didn't she, the Queen. [she looks up at the mirror, her gaze fixing on whoever has appeared there.] What do you think?
[her lips quirk into a smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.]
Love doesn't always get the job done, though.
Dear Mun post
Thread
Thread
Thread
Name: Enzel
Personal Journal: stormfallen
Contact Info: AIM: Terra in Pyjamas
Other Characters: Xion (mnementomori)
Character Information
Name: Dejana
Age: 38 (1000+)
Setting: Okay, so, this world. It's vaguely-Earth-sized and Earth-shaped. There are several major continents, most of them isolated from the others by large stretches of ocean, allowing different cultures to develop without interference. Once such continent is home to several human nations, as well as a variety of intelligent non-human creatures. (griffins, centaurs, dire wolves, etc.) Coexisting alongside the real world is what is known as the Divine Realm, a separate plane nonetheless permanently bound to the planet.
For thousands of years, a pantheon of gods was worshiped over the surface of the mortal world, as they were allowed to walk around on the earth and pretty much do whatever they wanted. Since seeing is believing, and the gods' power was derived from the amount of worshipers they had, their power was at its height. The most well-known were the Creator-Mother God, Daesus, and her eldest children: Uriel (fire), the twins Syntyche (light) and Shahadi (shadow/darkness), as well as the gods of Earth, Wind, and Water.
There is an old tale that is true but has since become legend, except for those few whose lives are changed forever by it. A woman once begged the goddess Syntyche to be able to fly through the sky like a bird, free. The goddess refused her, appalled by the request, but the woman insisted, returning to her temple day after day to pray. Finally, Syntyche grew angry and said she would grant the wish, but at a price. The woman grew wings, and gained the ability to fly, but she could not stay on the ground for long, or she would be wracked by crippling pain. Despite this, she fell in love. Her descendants are known as angels, and are forced to relive their ancestor's curse. They are sickly children, plagued by phantom pains as they grow up. After reaching adulthood, the process accelerated by any romantic involvement, they begin to show a variety of symptoms--temporary blindness, deafness, the inability to feel, no need to eat, fevers and pain. Eventually, they grow wings. Their body returns to normal for a short time, perhaps a few months, and then they die.
Daesus, feeling this sort of interference in the lives of mortals was far too much, henceforth forbid her children from setting foot on the earth as themselves. Because their true forms had to stay restricted to the Divine Realm, in order to communicate with their followers, the gods would instead inhabit the body of a human (or other race, there are several) from a special bloodline, and speak through them. These people were called "Avatars" and were revered as demigods themselves, more or less.
As they departed, each god split some of their power into five different artifacts, and it was from these artifacts that ordinary humans learned to use magic.
There are three nations on the continent where the story takes place, Sharime, Kinua and Dariat. A rugged mountain range splits the land roughly in two, allowing Sharime to flourish in the west, protected for any major invasion by a natural barrier. Kinua is the smallest land, occupying the northeast, populated by an extravagant, lively culture with a long history of waging war on other nations. Dariat, to the south, is their usual target, as it is almost entirely made up of rolling hills and rich farmland. As such, there is no love lost between the two peoples.
A fourth nation exists far across the sea, where no ship has been able to reach before. They have long since abandoned the gods and turned to technology over magic, but their natural resources have begun to dwindle. Soon enough, they will set out in search of new land...
History: Dejana was born to a farming family in Dariat. Neither rich nor poor, her childhood was happy enough, with two parents that sometimes argued, but got along, and three siblings: one older, two younger. She helped her parents with their trade and occasionally dreamed of a life different from the one that was in store for her since birth--marrying a nice farmer and settling down, having children, just as her parents had. But her village was all she knew, and she never really worked up the courage to do anything about it, eventually deciding to be content with what she had. She had a brief, awkward romance with one of the village boys, a young man named Harvus, before both their parents decided they'd done enough dancing around each other and planned their wedding.
They were married for several years, a quiet life suited to a quiet, hardworking woman and her husband. They never had any children, though not for lack of trying. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse, when the village was attacked by Kinuan raiders. Harvus was killed in front of his wife, and the shock made something in her mind snap. She lashed out and slaughtered every single one of her attackers using raw magical energy, then collapsed as the strain overtook her. She was asleep for weeks, as her troubled mind sorted itself out--not an easy task, because she had suddenly acquired thousands of years worth of memories.
Souls are part of the essential energies that give sentient beings life. When a person dies, their soul is wiped clean, though it may retain "impressions" from its past life, hence why the idea of reincarnation cropped up. However, in very rare cases, those memories aren't erased, only sealed away--until something strong enough breaks through to them. The soul inhabiting Dejana's body was, in fact, a very old and powerful soul, originally belonging to a young man named Kaeryn. Having lived through hundreds of other lifetimes, retaining all the knowledge from them, he walked a precarious balance whenever his memories were awakened, since the rush of so much information into a human mind could very well drive someone mad. However, Dejana did eventually recover, though she was never the same. She helped rebuild her village, then packed up her few belongings, and left. For a while she traveled, using her lifetimes of knowledge and her power to heal and care for people. Eventually she crossed the mountains over to Sharime, leaving her home country behind, and settled down to live, alone. Every now and then she would travel to nearby villages for supplies, caring for the sick and injured in return for them. Soon enough she gained a name for herself, and people began calling her the Sage.
Nearly fifteen years after she first left home, two young men show up on her doorstep. One is the avatar of the Goddess Syntyche, a timid young man named Gavin. The other is the bastard son of Kinua's king. He is called Aoife, and he is suffering from the angel curse. They bring with them troubling news. Syntyche's twin, the god of Shadow, has been slowly losing control of his power. His avatar, Moira, who is also Gavin's older sister, had been travelling with the two of them and Ishkha, the Avatar of Fire, in order to gather all of the Shadow artifacts and have a chance at setting things right. However, along the way Aoife's symptoms set in. He was now blind. A proud warrior, he refused to admit defeat, and Moira had sent them in search of the Sage, in hopes that she could help.
Dejana agrees to teach him how to use his magic to see instead of his eyes. Stubborn and willful, Aoife clashes with her at first, and eventually wanders off alone. He falls into the nearby river, and Dejana fishes him out, earning his grudging respect. Teacher and student eventually learn to get along, and Dejana finds herself growing fond of her guests despite her own vow not to get close to people she'll only lose in the end. Eventually she begs Syntyche through Gavin to release Aoife from the curse, asking to take it in his place, since she knows she'll just be reborn again once she dies. The goddess refuses. With a heavy heart, Dejana sends Gavin and Aoife off to rejoin their companions.
Several years later, they return. Shahadi has been sealed away, the crisis averted, but a war broke out after the arrival of battleships from the nation far across the sea. Their advanced weapons make short work of the Kinuan forces, and Dariat's meager army as well. Aoife fought and is now a war hero, but was forced to flee when his pain became so crippling that he could no longer wield a sword. Gavin brought him back to the one person he knew would offer them respite: his old teacher.
Soon enough, Aoife's wings grow. His time is running out, and in a final effort to save him, Dejana sets out to gather Syntyche's artifacts together, hoping to break the goddess's power over him. However, the effort is doomed to failure: the last artifact, a necklace Aoife owned, was lost in the war. She returns home, unsuccessful, in time to watch her former pupil die in the arms of his beloved. Heartbroken from the loss of his sister, and now his lover, Gavin loses his grip on reality. Dejana cares for him as best she can, until Ishkha, his old friend and Uriel's Avatar, comes looking for him. She takes Gavin with her, saying she'll do what she can to repair his shattered mind. That is the last Dejana sees of both of them.
Personality: Dejana is old. This is evident in several ways--the constant look of weariness in her eyes, her endless amounts of patience, and the fact that she misses very little. She's constantly observing others whether it looks like it or not, filing the information away. It's a habit from years and years and years spent around people, through different times and different cultures.
First impressions: she always seems to have half a smile on her face, but it's a sad one, a tired one. Her tone is often wry, and she doesn't seem to take things very seriously. She puts up with nonsense without any sign of irritation, unless someone is becoming a danger to themselves or others. Then her demeanor will change instantly to stern and serious.
She's caring, but not in a smothering way. She tends to watch over people from a distance-she’s not too good with physical affection, but she won’t outright reject it. She's usually accepting of people's faults, and is always willing to give out knowledge to those who ask for it. But she usually maintains a certain distance, or tries to. The truth is, she cares very deeply about people. Loves them, even; but to someone who's outlived so many others, caring becomes painful.
She retains many of the personality traits of the different lives she's had, including her original one. Where "Dejana" the farmer's daughter was somewhat meek and resigned, Dejana the Sage is steadfast, calm, with a sarcastic sense of humor. She doesn't let herself get pushed around, but she doesn't usually resort to direct confrontation; she'll get around it in a sneaky way if she can.
An important thing to point out about her is that she dislikes killing. She accepts the hunting of animals for food, but finds the sport distasteful, and war even moreso. She believes human lives are too short for people to cut them off so casually, and because of that, she can be both selfless and incredibly selfish. She will always put the lives of others before her own, seeing it as having little value because she'll just be reborn again. This can drive her to be rather reckless in dangerous situations.
She's not very forthcoming about herself, understandably, because not many people would believe her anyway. She can also come off as a bit of a know-it-all. Sometimes she's aware of it, sometimes she isn't and has simply forgotten that the amount of information she's amassed is slightly ridiculous to a normal person. She still has a sense of curiosity, since learning new things is the only thing that keeps such a long life from getting dull. Unfortunately when she’s feeling particularly inquisitive, that burning desire to know things sometimes takes over her self-control, so she can become blunt, dismissive, even rude to anyone getting in the way without realizing it. This is because she's no longer focusing or even entirely aware of the people around her, and is instead fixated on whatever has caught her attention. She’ll always apologize once she notices, however.
Abilities: To put it simply, she's kind of hax. However, there are rules and restrictions.
Magical ability is innate, connected to the soul and not the body. Therefore, Dejana has access to all of Kaeryn's power, and the knowledge of how to use it. She’s nowhere near the level of a god or divine being, but she is powerful for mortal standards. She can't just snap her fingers and make anything happen. Whatever she wishes to apply her magic to requires effort. That said, it's very versatile.
In order to accomplish something--say, for example, opening a locked door, she would first need physical contact with the lock. Technically she could do it from a distance, but that would require more concentration and effort than would be practical. By placing a hand on the metal, she can use the material as a conductor, sending her power into it and more or less feeling out the mechanics on the inside. She can use this to construct a mental picture of it, figure out which tumblers to turn, and then move them by sending magic into them.
This method can be used to do nearly anything she puts her mind to, from building a sandcastle to healing a wound. How well or quickly the task is completed depends on how much physical material is involved, and the precision required. Healing a living thing is much more difficult than messing with an inanimate object. This also counts for using magic against magic, though that becomes a direct battle of strength between her and the other magic user.
She also uses her power as a sort of sixth sense. This is an unconscious action; she’s been doing it for so long it works in her sleep as well. Since it’s relatively passive, it barely uses any of her strength. What it does is tell her the age and composition of any material she touches, and if she reaches further, anything in the immediate area. She can also sense living things in a certain radius around her (200 feet or so, up to several miles if she concentrates), which makes her very hard to sneak up on.
She can sense magic itself, even if the type is foreign to her, and usually what it can do/what it’s used for/how powerful it is. This ability comes from lifetimes of studying magic, which is pretty much the only thing she gets excited about anymore.
The limits to this are physical ones--though she technically has enough power in her reserves to accomplish more or less anything, it puts strain on her body. Any great use of magic will physically exhaust her, and it takes at least a day, sometimes more, to recover, depending on severity.
To those with the ability to observe souls/magical energy, she's like a beacon at full strength, though she usually keeps a conscious damper on it to appear as less of a threat.
Aside from that, she's physically a normal human being. She's in good shape/has a decent amount of stamina, and is competent at hand to hand and staff fighting, as well as having a decent knowledge of many other weapons. She's also more likely to do things the normal way, and leave her magic for things she can't accomplish with her own two hands.
Sample(s):
[video]
[this woman has her hand on a visible length of the Vine, and is watching the mirror with interest.]
Letting me see if I've changed or not? No...this is connected to somewhere else, isn't it. What a beautiful thing you are.
[she runs her fingers down the length of vine, fingering a leaf gently before letting go. Those watching closely might notice a spark of pale green light at her fingertips, which vanishes almost immediately.]
She put quite a bit of love into you...this place. Didn't she, the Queen. [she looks up at the mirror, her gaze fixing on whoever has appeared there.] What do you think?
[her lips quirk into a smile, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.]
Love doesn't always get the job done, though.
Dear Mun post
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