Lanya Caliope
Posted: Sat Apr 15, 2006 8:25 pm
Name: Lanya Caliope
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Race: Plain ol' human.
Physical Description: 5'11", red, curly, just below shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes, Amazonian build. Since her line of work is particularly treacherous for a female, she wears a green hooded cloak over men's clothes, in an attempt to draw attention away from her body. Her voice is deeper than most women's, a pure alto when she sings, and has a smokey tone and husky quality. She carries an ornate sapling-wood guitar with an uncanny ability to produce beautiful tones. It never needs tuning and thus far cannot be destroyed, including being crushed or burned.
She had a plain wooden staff topped with a carved robin which she carried everywhere; this staff now seems to be living wood, with leaves sprouting from the top, and the robin now perches on her shoulder as a flesh and blood bird.
The skin just over her womb boasts an ornate tattoo of an oak tree without any leaves - looking as it would in the dead of Winter. This tattoo prevents her from becoming pregnant, should the worry arise due to rape or a lover, and can be deactivated by a magical charm only she and the artist knows (if deactivated the tree will begin to change seasons depending on her inner workings - a tree blooming in Spring while fertile or pregnant, changing seasons through Autumn during gestation and finally back to Winter scene once the baby has come).
Personality: Lanya is a cautious spirit. Despite her red hair, Lanya's temper is long to draw out. She rarely snaps and consciously tries not to raise her voice. Her patience is immense and she prefers to step away from a fight. She's also fiercely intelligent and clever, able to reach the correct conclusions based on limited information. Her intuition is almost always spot-on, but she's not familiar with all races and species so may guess incorrectly because of naivety rather than stupidity.
Weapons and Skills: Unless you count the guitar...her nails, her teeth, her legs, her fists. She doesn't have any particular method when she fights (and as a woman wandering alone, she *has* fought) - she just kicks, punches, bites, scratches, and squirms until the attacker gives up. Her older brothers taught her a few nifty tricks to make a man think twice (pinching tender areas with her nails, etc.), and she uses those when she remembers to. Her One Great Skill is her song - she truly loves to sing and play. She likes to learn and discover things, but she's also very down-to-Earth and sensible; she won't put herself or others in unnecessary danger.
She does own a magical staff, so perhaps she'll learn to use it as a weapon one day. It once had an intricately carved robin on the top which she named Flame - now a living bird. The only power the staff has shown is the ability to light up red at night to help guide her feet.
She used to be able to run really fast. A knee injury has canceled out that ability.
History: She was born the fourth of six children, three older brothers and two younger sisters. Her parents were truly loving but not particularly supportive of her desire to do more than just marry off and become a mother. She left home, taking some of her brother's clothes with her, and wandered for a few years, making her way as a bard and occasional thief.
Her travels have left her with a scar on the palm of her right hand from a deep knife wound, which ironically was an accident while someone was trying to protect her, and the wound of losing her original guitar. It was a treasured family heirloom which was smashed in a bar fight started by none other than Chrishton Riadu. As a result, she would recognize him but can't help but remain cool in temper toward the man. She also gained the previously mentioned magical staff, though she herself has no latent magic within her. Its purpose is a mystery, perhaps forever, but it was topped with a wooden robin she dubbed Flame. The robin normally posed as though about to take flight, but it was actually animated and reacted with a nearly human intelligence. It had no powers besides being able to glide about on its wooden wings and sing lovely songs. Flame to this day can mimic other bird's voices as well as instruments, so his song is never the same twice.
A little later on she met a blind dryad named Dide who accompanied her for several weeks. They became companions on the road, but Dide's past caught up with her and Lanya found herself on the wrong end of a werewolf's teeth. She only barely escaped being ripped apart by her own quick thinking, and Dide, as a consolation gift, gave her Greenfyre, a living wooden guitar fashioned from a sapling. Lanya was grateful for the new guitar since no musician is complete without their instrument of choice, but the guitar has a dark side. It will protect its master at brutal cost.
While shopping downtown, she and Dide happened upon a young girl possessed with a vicious demon. Lanya craved to save the child but the demon attacked, and Greenfyre, in its efforts to save Lanya, detached its strings and strangled the young body, nearly decapitating it. Lanya realized that she had no control over her guitar and tried to rid herself of it, but has found that the guitar will actually track her down should she try to leave it behind. Terrified of what else the thing might be capable of, she fled and has avoided most human contact save for gigs to keep herself fed and clothed.
There was an unspoken witness to the girl's death who only saw a young girl screaming bloody murder and a woman wielding a bewitched guitar. He concluded that a powerful red-haired witch had just slain a child and reported as such to the appropriate authorities. Lanya found herself on the run and fled the city for a fresh one, hopefully where her new reputation wouldn't follow.
She's come now to Thar Shaddin in the hopes that the city will offer her a new life. But old lives are hard to outrun - especially when brought on the shoulders of a shadowy assassin.
Upon entering the new town of Shim she found herself suddenly and inexplicably befriended by a wolf-like man. He told her that he was defending her against an assassin who had come to slay her. Unsure and mistrusting his words, she hesitantly followed him - only to be convinced when the creature actually attacked the assassin himself, calling the man out.
The creature, Wolfhound, took her to an abandoned warehouse to spend the night, where he revealed his troubled past. She sang him a song of comfort and the two became friends. The next day they took to the streets where Lanya insisted on finding a tavern in order to bathe and rest in a real bed. This would prove to be a mistake.
The assassin himself was in the tavern, speaking with the city guard along with none other than their captain, Camulous. The assassin had been busy convincing the guard of Lanya's wickedness, and Wolfhound immediately called the man to challenge when he spotted the cur. Lanya pleaded with Wolfhound to calm down and simply leave, but to no avail - a fight ensued in which one of Wolfhound's treasured pack mates died (an actual wolf). During the fight, the assassin threw a javelin-like weapon, aiming to run the bard through. Horrified and fearing for her life, she abandoned everything in the tavern in favor of running.
Wolfhound swung her up onto his back to run faster, a gesture which made her a better target - and a knife found its way to her back. Flame flew before the dagger, taking the brunt of the hit as the woman fell from the wolf creature's back. When she reached back to remove the knife she instead found her most precious companion stabbed straight through - lifeless and cold. Her wooden robin was dead.
Sobbing her grief but unable to remove the knife, she stood and ran once more. In the streets she was attacked once more by the assassin in a precarious leap from a high building and hit the ground hard enough to dislocate her kneecap by a few inches - an injury that will never fully heal into old age. Another protector entered her life here, a gypsy by the name of Lucian. Together they escaped into the woods, where he set her knee. She fell asleep. Lucian remained awake, and found himself in the company of an ancient nymph who gifted him with natural focus and ability to commune with the outdoors.
Through the nymph's natural magic Flame was transformed into a real bird. Because of this change, the staff that he perched upon has now also come alive, sprouting leaves from the top which will remain as long as Flame lives. Flame is now immortal unless actually killed, by accident or on purpose.
(story to be continued)
Age: 27
Gender: Female
Race: Plain ol' human.
Physical Description: 5'11", red, curly, just below shoulder-length hair, hazel eyes, Amazonian build. Since her line of work is particularly treacherous for a female, she wears a green hooded cloak over men's clothes, in an attempt to draw attention away from her body. Her voice is deeper than most women's, a pure alto when she sings, and has a smokey tone and husky quality. She carries an ornate sapling-wood guitar with an uncanny ability to produce beautiful tones. It never needs tuning and thus far cannot be destroyed, including being crushed or burned.
She had a plain wooden staff topped with a carved robin which she carried everywhere; this staff now seems to be living wood, with leaves sprouting from the top, and the robin now perches on her shoulder as a flesh and blood bird.
The skin just over her womb boasts an ornate tattoo of an oak tree without any leaves - looking as it would in the dead of Winter. This tattoo prevents her from becoming pregnant, should the worry arise due to rape or a lover, and can be deactivated by a magical charm only she and the artist knows (if deactivated the tree will begin to change seasons depending on her inner workings - a tree blooming in Spring while fertile or pregnant, changing seasons through Autumn during gestation and finally back to Winter scene once the baby has come).
Personality: Lanya is a cautious spirit. Despite her red hair, Lanya's temper is long to draw out. She rarely snaps and consciously tries not to raise her voice. Her patience is immense and she prefers to step away from a fight. She's also fiercely intelligent and clever, able to reach the correct conclusions based on limited information. Her intuition is almost always spot-on, but she's not familiar with all races and species so may guess incorrectly because of naivety rather than stupidity.
Weapons and Skills: Unless you count the guitar...her nails, her teeth, her legs, her fists. She doesn't have any particular method when she fights (and as a woman wandering alone, she *has* fought) - she just kicks, punches, bites, scratches, and squirms until the attacker gives up. Her older brothers taught her a few nifty tricks to make a man think twice (pinching tender areas with her nails, etc.), and she uses those when she remembers to. Her One Great Skill is her song - she truly loves to sing and play. She likes to learn and discover things, but she's also very down-to-Earth and sensible; she won't put herself or others in unnecessary danger.
She does own a magical staff, so perhaps she'll learn to use it as a weapon one day. It once had an intricately carved robin on the top which she named Flame - now a living bird. The only power the staff has shown is the ability to light up red at night to help guide her feet.
She used to be able to run really fast. A knee injury has canceled out that ability.
History: She was born the fourth of six children, three older brothers and two younger sisters. Her parents were truly loving but not particularly supportive of her desire to do more than just marry off and become a mother. She left home, taking some of her brother's clothes with her, and wandered for a few years, making her way as a bard and occasional thief.
Her travels have left her with a scar on the palm of her right hand from a deep knife wound, which ironically was an accident while someone was trying to protect her, and the wound of losing her original guitar. It was a treasured family heirloom which was smashed in a bar fight started by none other than Chrishton Riadu. As a result, she would recognize him but can't help but remain cool in temper toward the man. She also gained the previously mentioned magical staff, though she herself has no latent magic within her. Its purpose is a mystery, perhaps forever, but it was topped with a wooden robin she dubbed Flame. The robin normally posed as though about to take flight, but it was actually animated and reacted with a nearly human intelligence. It had no powers besides being able to glide about on its wooden wings and sing lovely songs. Flame to this day can mimic other bird's voices as well as instruments, so his song is never the same twice.
A little later on she met a blind dryad named Dide who accompanied her for several weeks. They became companions on the road, but Dide's past caught up with her and Lanya found herself on the wrong end of a werewolf's teeth. She only barely escaped being ripped apart by her own quick thinking, and Dide, as a consolation gift, gave her Greenfyre, a living wooden guitar fashioned from a sapling. Lanya was grateful for the new guitar since no musician is complete without their instrument of choice, but the guitar has a dark side. It will protect its master at brutal cost.
While shopping downtown, she and Dide happened upon a young girl possessed with a vicious demon. Lanya craved to save the child but the demon attacked, and Greenfyre, in its efforts to save Lanya, detached its strings and strangled the young body, nearly decapitating it. Lanya realized that she had no control over her guitar and tried to rid herself of it, but has found that the guitar will actually track her down should she try to leave it behind. Terrified of what else the thing might be capable of, she fled and has avoided most human contact save for gigs to keep herself fed and clothed.
There was an unspoken witness to the girl's death who only saw a young girl screaming bloody murder and a woman wielding a bewitched guitar. He concluded that a powerful red-haired witch had just slain a child and reported as such to the appropriate authorities. Lanya found herself on the run and fled the city for a fresh one, hopefully where her new reputation wouldn't follow.
She's come now to Thar Shaddin in the hopes that the city will offer her a new life. But old lives are hard to outrun - especially when brought on the shoulders of a shadowy assassin.
Upon entering the new town of Shim she found herself suddenly and inexplicably befriended by a wolf-like man. He told her that he was defending her against an assassin who had come to slay her. Unsure and mistrusting his words, she hesitantly followed him - only to be convinced when the creature actually attacked the assassin himself, calling the man out.
The creature, Wolfhound, took her to an abandoned warehouse to spend the night, where he revealed his troubled past. She sang him a song of comfort and the two became friends. The next day they took to the streets where Lanya insisted on finding a tavern in order to bathe and rest in a real bed. This would prove to be a mistake.
The assassin himself was in the tavern, speaking with the city guard along with none other than their captain, Camulous. The assassin had been busy convincing the guard of Lanya's wickedness, and Wolfhound immediately called the man to challenge when he spotted the cur. Lanya pleaded with Wolfhound to calm down and simply leave, but to no avail - a fight ensued in which one of Wolfhound's treasured pack mates died (an actual wolf). During the fight, the assassin threw a javelin-like weapon, aiming to run the bard through. Horrified and fearing for her life, she abandoned everything in the tavern in favor of running.
Wolfhound swung her up onto his back to run faster, a gesture which made her a better target - and a knife found its way to her back. Flame flew before the dagger, taking the brunt of the hit as the woman fell from the wolf creature's back. When she reached back to remove the knife she instead found her most precious companion stabbed straight through - lifeless and cold. Her wooden robin was dead.
Sobbing her grief but unable to remove the knife, she stood and ran once more. In the streets she was attacked once more by the assassin in a precarious leap from a high building and hit the ground hard enough to dislocate her kneecap by a few inches - an injury that will never fully heal into old age. Another protector entered her life here, a gypsy by the name of Lucian. Together they escaped into the woods, where he set her knee. She fell asleep. Lucian remained awake, and found himself in the company of an ancient nymph who gifted him with natural focus and ability to commune with the outdoors.
Through the nymph's natural magic Flame was transformed into a real bird. Because of this change, the staff that he perched upon has now also come alive, sprouting leaves from the top which will remain as long as Flame lives. Flame is now immortal unless actually killed, by accident or on purpose.
(story to be continued)