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Name: Kirsikka (goes by Kirsi)
Gender: Female
Age: Indeterminate, but she's existed for at least several centuries.
Wing Color: A frost blue, tapering to white at the tips.
Physical Appearance: Firstly: Kirsi is a wooden doll. She's about a foot tall, and made of a dark cherry wood. Her body is very simple: her "torso" is a simple cone, leveled off at the top, and her spherical head is attached directly to that. She has two arms and two legs, though each limb ends simply rounded off; she has no hands and no feet. She has elbow joints in her arms and knee joints in her legs. Her "face" is minimal -- all she has are two hollow, black ink ovals for eyes, though these eyes can blink and move, and are very expressive. (she has no eyebrows, but like with cartoon characters, her eyes will slant and shift as if she had eyebrows, to give the impression of emoting.) She wears a tiny pair of fuzzy earmuffs. Finally, she always wears a simple green cloak with the hood up. It is long enough to extend just down past the cone of her body, and is edged all along the border with a triangular yellow pattern.
History: Kirsikka was born of a desperate, hopeful wish. She was the product of dreams, of a dying way of life seeking a way to go on, despite all the odds.
But first, we must backtrack to the man who started it all. This nameless man was a magician, of sorts, though "magician" is really too plebian a word. He was a manipulator of nature, a conjurer of sorts. He was also extremely eccentric and had an absolutely terrible sense of humor, which will be relevant in a moment.
A long time ago, this nameless man came up with an idea. He gathered some wood from the cherry trees native to what is now known as Estonia, and journeyed across the Gulf of Finland into what is now known as Finland. With his dark cherry timber, he traveled up, up, up through this land, a journey of roughly six hundred miles. It took him nearly 20 days, in the middle of a bitterly, viciously cold winter. Yet, despite his advanced age, despite his lack of survival skills, despite his heavy burden and his total lack of supplies, the journey was one of the easier ones he had ever made. How could this be?
Perhaps it had something to do with his destination. Lake Inari, in far, far northern Finland, was a very large lake indeed. In this lake were, and still are, dozens and dozens of small islands. One of them is known as Korkia-Maura, a very special island indeed. For on this island there existed an incredible natural wonder: a cave made entirely of ice, that remained ice all year round, eternally frozen and never melting. It was a place of strong magic.
It was there that the nameless man met his companions. Four they were, for a total group of five; three men and two women all advanced in age, all seemingly too old for jaunts to the far, frozen north in the deep of winter. Yet all were hearty, and healthy, and strong; once more, how could this be?
These men and women, you see, were something special. The simple way to describe them would be "winter mages," though that term is really too simple to express the full range of their powers. Though singly none were of exceptional power, combined they could personify winter; they could control it, embody it, and command it to their wills.
But they were old, now, and eternal life was not a thing any of them sought. However, these powerful mages didn't want to see their magic die. Theirs was an old way of life, slowly fading. A reliance on nature and its magics was giving way to ideas more ... synthetic in nature. Beset on all sides by ideological challenges and truly dangerous enemies, they'd sought refuge in each other -- and in a tiny hope for the future brought to them all on an icy wind by the nameless man.
So they'd decided to come together and meet, for the first time in Lake Inari, to create their legacy. Their own special, little girl: Kirsikka, the frost doll.
We'll name her Frost, said the nameless man. We'll name her Kirsi. Short for Kirsikka!
... but that means Cherry, one of the women had said.
Ah, responded the nameless man. That is why I brought cherry wood.
Once the collective group had overcome this terrible pun, they'd set about fashioning their creation. Kirsikka's construction was in part the "cutting" power of ice magic, and in part old fashioned sweat and labor. Slowly the doll was shaped -- the conical body, the spherical head, the thin, rounded arms and legs. Finally, the nameless man took a coal and sharpened it to a fine point, then used it to draw to simple ovals on the doll's "face" -- which then gave her eyes.
Once the doll was finished, it was time to give her life. And so the short journey was made from their simple wood-built home on a neighboring island to Korkia-Maura, island of the ice cave, to call on their winter magics. The ice cave would present the place of greatest, most concentrated power for the mages: it was the only place in all the world they knew where such a ritual could even take place. Such a place was pure, elemental and fundamental; it was all that Winter was, all that Winter could be.
The nameless man laid down the lifeless wooden doll, and the five gathered round her, joined hands, and focused. The empty doll rose into the air and hovered for a moment, buoyed on a freezing wind -- and then, in an explosive burst of ice, she dropped to the ground, only now she stood on her legs. For the first time, she blinked her coal drawn eyes.
Kirsikka had been born.
The next few years passed in a warm (so to speak) and happy haze. Kirsi was brought back to the cabin her creators shared, and slowly she was taught everything they could think to impart. Each man and woman in turn impressed their magics upon her, teaching her how to master ice, snow, wind, and storms. It was through wind manipulation that Kirsi learned to "speak" -- by manipulating the wind in very specific ways and in very specific places, she could mimic the sound of a voice. It enabled her to communicate with her five parents verbally, instead of with only her eyes and her limbs. They read to her from books, they taught her letters and numbers, they showed her how to interact with all the life surronding them, flora and fauna alike. They showed her everything they could -- for they knew there wasn't much time.
One day, Kirsi went back to Korkia-Maura to futher her training in the ice magics; it was the easiest place for her to practice. On that day, however, she ended up exploring the cave, overturning rocks and looking into every nook and cranny. She was young, yet, and deeply curious about her world. In this search, she happened upon what looked like a cloak. It was green, edged all around the border in a yellowish gold pattern. And it was tiny, as if made for a very small child... or a large doll. Either way, it fit Kirsi perfectly, and she returned home that day wearing it. It's a thing she's not taken off ever since.
The nameless man and her other guardians showered their little girl with love and devotion. Rarely anywhere could you see a childhood as full of love, care, and fun as Kirsikka's. Her parents adored her, and she them. Though she was a doll and had no need for warmth or softness, every night they would tuck her into bed for her sleep. (For she did sleep, as all living, breathing things must do.) It brought them joy, and it brought her comfort.
The nameless man gifted her with a third name as she grew -- Lahja. My little Lahja. Soon, all her parents called her that. My little gift.
However, no thing, no matter how happy, can last forever. Kirsi's guardians became even older, their bodies slower and more tired. They needed more rest, more sleep, more care. Eventually Kirsi found it was she tucking them into bed, rather than the other way around. All but the nameless man slowly faded, until all could barely function anymore. Kirsikka was deeply distraught, frightened for her parents. She had been taught in the ways of the world and had come to see and know death, but she did not want it to come to those she cared about.
The nameless man decided all had come to an end, and with the last of his own strength, he sat with Kirsikka before the fire in their small home.
Do you know what is happening? he asked her.
Yes, she whispered in his ear, her charcoal eyes unblinking. You are all dying.
We are returning from whence we came, my Lahja. You must go on without us. You must carry our legacy. You must live.
But what must I do? she asked. Fear shivered in the whisper of her voice.
You have become so much more than you were, Kirsikka. You are Frost. You are Ice. You are Wind, and you are Storms. You are Winter, and you must do as Winter does.
But I do not understand what that means, she said, and the fear shivered again in her voice.
You will learn, my child. But above all you must live, and continue on where we cannot. Know that we love you, and we are all proud of you. Now go, and let us old ones die in peace, with dignity. We would not have you watch us die.
Though Kirsikka had no heart and could not cry, she felt a terrible pain when she left her home for the final time that day. When later her spirit grew weak and she tried to return, she was stunned to find her home was gone... vanished, without a trace. Though she searched and searched, she found no sign of her parents, her creators, her guardians. They had simply vanished into the wintry snow.
And so Kirsikka was on her own. She had a few books, kept warm and dry sealed in animal skin in the cave on Korkia-Maura. She had her cloak, and she had one small thing she considered a gift, a tiny remnant of her former life: a thin, long piece of rope, dyed a pretty violet blue by one of her mothers. She used it to keep her books bound, and safe. These few precious possessions were all she ever had to remind her she'd once lived with humans.
For a very, very, very long time, Kirsikka wandered alone. Though initially she stayed within the bounds of Lake Inari, she soon began to venture farther, beyond the shores into the lands beyond, in all directions. Such an adventurous life was not without its challenges. Beyond the borders of her home, K?irsi met dangers she'd known existed but had only heard told of in stories. Great beasts in the shape of wolves who breathed fire from their mouths and sparked it from their eyes once chased her for four days without rest. She wondered if they were enemies sent to kill her, or simply malevolent spirits of the land, born of its anger and malcontent. Perhaps they were sent by humans, or some other strange force. Regardless, eventually Kirsi could run no more, and she engaged the creatures in a great battle that lasted another four days and another four nights. It is said you could see the lights and hear the cracks and booms from their battle miles away, leaving scared, curious, and awestruck watchers to whisper aloud that the gods were fighting.
By the morning of the fifth day Kirsikka had emerged triumphant. But of course; it was only natural. The beasts were simply beasts, and Kirsikka... was Kirsikka. She was Winter personified. No mere beast could dream of defeating her in battle.
On she wandered, moving north, south, east, and west as the winds took her. She learned how to use ice to move herself, to glide down slopes and support her body above deep snow. She learned how to use wind to do something akin to flying, though she was not capable of great heights. She brought with her the storms, the shadows of winter, and at first she would terrorize those she passed. But this was not intentional; and as the long years passed, Kirsikka learned to control her powers so finely that she could pass without causing harm, or fear. In fact, she could use her powers to direct wayward travelers lost in the ice and the snow and send them home. She could spare those alone, human and animal, from the ravages of cold and storm.
Winter, people would say, is kind and gentle. Why did we fear such a season?
And Kirsikka learned again to be happy. It brought her joy to commune with the animals of her land, to tend to its plants, and to watch its humans from afar. She met other challenges, other attacks from fire and earth and electricity, but she defended against them all. A simple element, you see, is no challenge for one of the great four seasons. Though living out of contact with humans made her lose her grip on human language, she instead became versed in the tongues of animals. It wasn't long before she could converse in all their many sounds, their roars and their chirps and their barks and their songs. All animals were her friends, and Winter was kind to them.
But even in her happiness, content with her existence, Kirsikka found that something ... was missing. The words of her father, the nameless man, would come back to her again and again in her mind, more like impressions and images now. You must do as Winter does. But what did that mean?
what was her purpose?
Why was she here?
Kirsikka sought her answers in nature, in the forest, in the animals. She sought her answers in the sky and the stars wheeling far, far above. She sought her answers in the human civilizations, though she could only watch from afar. She sought her answers high and low, she sought them south, and west, and north, and east.
Yet she did not feel complete. Though she was happy, Kirsikka felt that something was... missing.
What must I do?
Though little did she realize she'd already fulfilled her purpose -- she'd only ever needed to feel the happiness of those she protected, their warmth and their love for the Winter spirit who treated them so kindly, to truly know -- but never did she sense her true purpose there. She sensed their gratitude and was touched by it ... but she was unable to glean just what it was their gratitude really meant. The nameless man would have smiled and patted her head, had he seen her now.
It was in on one of her many adventures searching for an answer that Kirsi decided to bed one night with a herd of reindeer. The welcomed her, and as Kirsi drifted off to sleep with her eyes on the stars, she found herself stirred with feeling, a hope that soon she would find the answers she sought.
The next day, she woke up somewhere else entirely. And perhaps -- just perhaps -- her prayers had been answered.
Personality: On the surface, Kirsikka can come across as rather stoic, the strong and silent type. This is due in part to her appearance and its minimal ability to communicate emotion; but it is also due to the fact that she often does not express her feelings, unless asked. She was raised in an environment where those who cared for her would ask her how she felt, and she would answer; that became routine. She's not accustomed to simply expressing of herself her thoughts and emotions, since she was so often asked before she could start. This was compounded by spending the rest of her life -- a much longer time than her "childhood" -- in the company of animals and plants, who could not hold complex conversations.
This is not to say Kirsi is actually emotionless or devoid of thoughts. Quite the opposite. Kirsi is Full Of Feelings, and she shows it in other ways. Her eyes, for instance, do all the expressing the rest of her "face" cannot -- she can communicate more expressions with just two charcoal ovals than most can even with hands and mouths and everything else. When engaged, she is animated and lively, and will actually move her arms to demonstrate a point, though the effect can come off rather silly.
Though her speech (when she regains it) is formal and her exterior quite abrupt and blunt, Kirsi is actually a very cheerful and kind sort of girl (for she is a girl, though a spirit and a doll). You might say she has a bubbly sort of personality; she just communicates it in a way that is radically different than one would typically assume with such an outlook.
Kirsikka states what she means, and only that, and tends to be incredibly direct. This leads her to be painfully blunt, in a way that might be hurtful to some people who are not used to hearing the hard truth. Kirsi understands emotional pain, of course, but she is not accustomed to speaking in any other way. She may learn, though.
However, Kirsikka is not all sunshine and smiles. She is Winter, and she knows of winter's association with death and darkness. She can be these things as well, as her enemies found out over the years. If angered, Kirsi will not say anything at all. Instead she will simply destroy, with a power that is both breathtaking and terrifying. When she is angry, she is Death, for what is as deadly as ice and storms and cutting winds and winter? An angered Kirsikka is not to be trifled with.
Though a spirit, she can read and write, and is in fact very smart. She is not exceptionally well read but she was introduced to literature and philosphy, medicine and history. She will devour information if it is presented to her and will seek it out if it is not.
One important thing to remember about Kirsikka is that, despite all her human traits, she is not human. She is the personification of a season, and it changes her on a fundamental level, permanently separating her from any living, breathing person. Though she has emotions, she does not understand them in the same way a person might. She is ages and ages old, timelessly old, and her preception of the passage of time is much different from that of mortal beings. There is an divide between her and others that is impossible to bridge, and it will sometimes lead her to regard humans in a ... different light. One that is frightening to her, or one that strikes her as malevolent and cruel. After all, Kirsikka is a part of nature, and humans often destroy nature to survive. Though she understands to a point this need, if there is senseless destruction, it will frighten and anger her. There are also certain human emotions she simply cannot comprehend, most particularly greed and envy. Kirsikka is incapable of feeling these things do to her nature -- what could winter possibly covet? -- and is baffled to see them in other living creatures.
Perhaps the single most important difference between Kirsikka and other living creatures is that she cannot feel physical pain. She is made of wood, after all. She has no nervous system; no nerves to react to damage. If she is cut, she does not bleed. If she is broken, she feels nothing. She is capable of very slow self-regeneration, and will freeze cuts and breaks in her body over until they are "healed." But as such, she frequently is puzzled by the physical, daily pains that other creatures go through. She can extend some puzzled, mildly curious sympathy, but little more, as she does not understand how it feels.
Though she does not actually possess the organ, in a more metaphysical sense, Kirsikka has a warm, kind heart. Treat her well, and she will extend the same respect to you and yours.
Strengths: Kirsi's magics are many, but can be broken down to a list:
- Wall of ice (for a barrier or cage)
- Creation of icicles (for traps, deterrents, not really a direct attack method)
- Storms of hail and ice/sudden blinding blizzards (regardless of climate)
- Creation of animal familiars from ice (can move, but do not last for more than a few hours; typically reindeer)
- Ability to freeze/defrost any object given that it is composed of at least 1% moisture
- Creation or destruction of ice architecture
- Creation and manipulation of ice spheres anywhere from the size of a grapefruit to a boulder (used in direct attacks)
- Freeze solid any opponent (surface only; internal structure not affected except by drastic external drop in temperature)
she also has a few more specifically wind-related magics:
- Manipulation of air (speed of molecule vibration) to create a "voice" which she is able to throw and moderate pitch of
- Recreate almost any sound she hears (given practice)
- Create sounds of predators, or loud buzzing, to ward off enemies
- Minimal flight capabilities
She is also able to create and dissipate storms, though there must be at least some precipitation in the air, at least 30%, before she can create a storm. She could not create one from nothing in, say, a very arid climate like a desert.
Mentally, Kirsi is very strong indeed. She survived the deaths of her parents and went on to live a life that was fairly fulfilling, despite being effectively all alone. She's not afraid of pretty much anything -- which is not to say she's exactly brave. Simply fearless, as what has Winter got to fear from the world? Kirsikka knows exactly what she is capable of and knows she is strong, and she cannot die of hunger, or thirst, or lack of sleep, or damage to her body. (Mild to moderate damage, anyway.) Since there's so little that she fears, she can be rather hard to get at, mentally.
Emotionally she has similar strengths, though she's also got her kind disposition. A cruel winter would be a terrible one indeed, but Kirsi enjoys seeing other creatures happy. She takes her strength from their strength. She rather defies the typical winter in being the opposite of doom, gloom, and death. Her personality is really more like Spring... but don't tell her that, or she might give you a puff of icy wind up your shirt for your troubles.
Oh, in addition to her abilities, she will be able to understand language when it's spoken to her, thanks to Luceti.
Weaknesses: She just won't be able to speak it. Having spent many centuries out of the contact of humans, she's completely forgotten how to verbalize human language. She will relearn slowly, over time, but initially she'll only be able to communicate through minimal body language and animal calls, mainly birdsong.
Additionally, Kirsi's powers are weak in very warm or dry environments. Though she is Winter, she cannot simply create winter out of nothing; the conditions must already exist for her to manipulate. So in the middle of the summer, her powers won't be too useful. It's why she lives so far north, where there is constant cold. That means her powers are always on. Luceti will be the first time Kirsikka ever encounters an environment in which she is not the strongest season.
This will affect her, mentally and emotionally. Though she knows how strong she is, she's not yet encountered an environment where she isn't strong, and at first Luceti's warm spring and summer weather will fill her with doubt about who and what she is. If this were picked at, you'd see Kirsi get rather unusually emotional as she tried to work through the strange fears she was feeling.
Finally, though cherry wood is a particularly hard, strong type of wood, it is still wood. Were her body destroyed, by fire or simply chopped or blown to pieces, her spirit would flee, having nothing to hold onto. She can regenerate wounds and damage, but it takes a very long time -- weeks to months, even years for particularly bad wounds -- so if she sustains heavy damage, it will weaken and slow her down.
Kirsi will not lose any of her powers in Luceti. She will still have the full range of her abilities. However, the strength of every one of her powers will be scaled down in accordance with the power cap.