Fantasy Sea of Spells Characters

[Stok]

Name:

Age:

Race/ethnicity: (I could see where one might be part fae, be a changeling, werewolf, etc. No elves, orcs, etc unless you are magically mutated to resemble these creatures. Assume these races existed once in ancient times but are extinct now, if you are to make reference to them)

Magical Discipline: (if at all)

Physical Abilities: (pure fighters welcome)
Bio/History: (please include how your character trained/encountered magic, how they feel about magic in general)

Motivation: why would you character take the chance on starting a brand new crew? Better pay/opportunity? Less people to take orders from? Need a specific crew for a specific job? Running from your previous crew?)

Equipment: (enchanted weaponry welcome)
Other skills: (alchemy, medicine, reading runes/ancient languages)

Port Royal: the roleplay will start in port royal, Jamaica. Please let us know how your character came to be there as well as if they have a home someplace else.

 

[Ayama]

"No one gets what they deserve. If you want something, you have to take it for yourself."

Rafael de Santiago de Asal y Marcón

The Young Summoner

[BASICS]

Name: Rafael de Santiago/Rafael de Asal
Nickname(s): Blue, Spook
Title: The Sailing Spectre
Race: Demi-Fae
Nationality: Spanish
Age: 55 (but looks about 12)
Gender: Depends on the day

Appearance: With jet-black hair, deathly pale skin and sunken, vibrantly electric blue eyes, Rafael's appearance has a tendency to stick out- especially among tan, rugged, tough-looking pirates with generally questionable personal hygiene. He prefers fancy, foppish clothes in black and dark blue that would be more at home in the murky streets of Baltimore and London than out on the open, crystal-clear cerulean of the Caribbean. And as if all this weren't enough, Rafael has a tendency to cross-dress, at which point his clothing is more along the lines of babydoll dresses (stockings, ribbons, and frills all still present), but often in much lighter colors.

[CHARACTER]

Personality: Like all Fae, Rafael is a bit of a trickster and has a tendency towards mischief. He is so good at obfuscating the truth that it doesn't matter that he can't, technically, tell a lie- he is a master of misdirection and intentional misunderstanding either way. He is a very private person and plays everything close to the vest, for he believes to his core that knowledge and secrets are the greatest form of power.

Likes: Girly, frilly clothes and accessories, seafood
Dislikes: Lack of hygiene, dogs, most red meat

Habits: Plays with ribbons when bored
Quirks: Bites his lower lip when nervous

Hopes/Dreams: To travel, have adventures, and become more powerful
Fears/Doubts: Getting stuck in the boring and mundane, getting killed

[BACKGROUND]

Hometown: Sevilla
Family: Don Alvaro y Doña Carmen de Santiago de Asal y Marcón (mother & father), Hugo de Santiago de Asal y Marcón (older brother), Elena de Santiago de Asal y Marcón (younger sister)

Backstory: The Santiagos had been part of Spanish nobility since the Kingdom of León, back in the 10th century. They were very rich, very well-known members of Spanish aristocracy, having moved from Compostella to Seville around the time of the merging between Castille and León. When the Spanish kingdoms began to expand and solidify their reach into the Americas, many such families moved across the ocean to enjoy the wealth of new opportunities this provided and, in the early 17th century, the Santiagos were one of those families.

They built a lavish mansion on a hill overlooking Santo Domingo, established a plantation and a vineyard and, as most of these families did, thrived. Though the Santiagos were, by and large, a tightly-knit family group, they were not without their problems. Hugo, the tall, prototypical heir from Alvaro's first marriage, was the only one of the Santiago children not to possess the astonishing longevity of the Fae. His mother was dead, and though Carmen loved him as a son, there was a closeness between her and her two children that he was never able to experience, and this made him bitter.

Thanks to his wife's magics, Alvaro was longer-lived than the average human, but noticeably old and frail compared to his wife and younger children. Though Hugo ran the household in name, really it was Carmen who was in charge of everything, and he was well-aware that he would die and then leave the house to his Fae half-siblings when his time came. The more time passed, the more resentful he grew, until finally he tried to kill Rafael in his sleep. Rafael was saved only thanks to the intervention of his familiar but, seeing the rage and pain in his brother's face, chose to leave home instead of fighting him for control.

Truth be told, Rafael had little interest in the drudgery of running a small-scale empire and, though he loved his family and enjoyed his aristocratic life, he also longed for adventure. He felt pity for his brother, so out of place in his own family, and saw no problem with ceding his place to him (especially given how short his lifespan was, relatively speaking). He figured he could go out and adventure and learn, and return when he was good and ready, and in the meantime Hugo, his mother, and his sister could manage their lands and estate however they liked (his sister would undoubtedly be head of the house by the time he returned, which suited him just fine).

Port Royal: He boarded a ship across to Port Royal, where he heard that Helena was actually recruiting. Thanks to the wars, many of her ships suffered losses and, now that the ceasefire had begun, even her main vessel, The Harpy, was looking for new hands. He hopes to get hired there to work and learn under the Sea Witch herself, for no one better inspires or exemplifies what he aspires to become.
Motivation: To have adventures and see the world, and learn more about magic to expand his knowledge, power, and skills.

[OTHER]

Magic: Rafael is a summoner. As a demi-fae, he has a natural affinity for unnatural things, so this felt like an obvious direction for him to go in. He started very young, with minor imps and such things, and steadily and quickly progressed (though he has had about half a century to hone his craft). At the very first, he learned the basics with his mother, though he quickly moved from that to studying on his own (or, occasionally, with his sister- a summoner as well).

He's had a mid-level bonded demon for about a decade now- its main duty is to protect him and follow orders as needed. Since this is a permanent bond, there is substantially less risk to Rafael, though a corresponding lack of power as well.

Abilities: Physically, Rafael is not that strong (both because of his base constitution and his general lifestyle). He's decently agile, nimble and quick, but that's about it.
Skills: Rafael is quite gifted with languages, as well as the art of haggling and persuasion (he's quite the silver-tongue). He also enjoys prestidigitation and magic tricks.
Gear: He carries his talisman (a dark blue ribbon), a dagger, and a deck of cards with him at all times.

Strengths: His intelligence, cunning, and magical acumen.
Weaknesses: His lack of physical strength, and being gullible.

♡design by neon reverie, coded by uxie♡

 

[Stok]

Name: Abel Beckum

Age: 24

Race/ethnicity: Caucasian of British Descent. Human with biological augmentations.

Magical Discipline: Chaos Magic - While Chaos Magic may sound quite powerful and cosmic, in practice it can be benign. It is essentially the magical practice of pulling from many areas of magic you may have an affinity with and suiting them to your purpose. Essentially, every chaos mage practices differently. Naturally, a chaos mage cannot reach the full potential of any area of study. Abel focuses on three main areas of study, and combines them periodically. Tarot cards, biomancy, and hexes.

Spoiler: The Tarot

Traditionally the Tarot are used to fortel the future, or perhaps unforseen circumstances pertaining to your situation. Abel can use them in this way with accuracy. In addition, each card has some battle-tested spell work imbued within. The major arcana cards grant Abel "aspects," which grant him abilities or spell work specific to each card. These bonuses can be physical, magical, or maybe even a one-off spell. The minor arcana cards have effects specific to the four suits, and get more powerful as the numbers rise. When Abel uses a card, that card is destroyed. It cannot be used again until the whole deck is used and Abel buys or makes a new deck of cards.

0 – Fool – 0 When this card is drawn, Abel may copy the abilities of any other aspect in the deck and use them immediately. The source card is not consumed, but the fool is.

1 Magician – I Abel gains access to a more traditional aspect of magic. He can conjure fire, make himself or an object invisible, or summon a familiar in the form of a magical beast. Last a few minutes.

2 High Priestess – II This card can be used to either heal a grievous wound, or throw up a magical ward capable of stopping a massive attack or protect from demonic presence.

3 Empress – III An aspect of pure power. Abel gains supernatural speed for a few minutes. Moving in a blue.

4 Emperor – IV An aspect of pure power. Abel gains supernatural strength. He could rip the mast off a ship in these moments.

5 Hierophant – V

6 Lovers – VI This card can heal two people of their wounds. Additionally, just at the moments before one's death, it can transfer their damage to another.

7 Chariot – VII A fiery chariot of destruction is summoned and ridden by Abel. It can run through stone walls, and it's heat could ignite the deck of a ship.

8 Strength – VIII A minor bonus to one's strength, doubling their physical abilities.

9 Hermit – IX

10 Wheel of Fortune – X A sometimes-useful card. It requires Abel to choose randomly from the major arcana with a shuffle of the deck. This card is not consumed, and it's effects activate.

11 Justice – XI This card links two people together. Any damage inflicted on one, automatically transfers to the other. The same is not true for healing. To activate, Abel must touch the person with the card.

12 The Hanged Man – XII This card foretells one's death, or execution. Damage inflicted on the target of this card becomes more severe by magical effect. Scratches become cuts, cuts become gashes.

13 Death – XIII Death in the tarot represents reincarnation rather than true end. It is the finishing of one story, so another can begin. When used, all of the cards in the deck used up until that point regenerate to be used again. Except the Death card.

14 Temperance – XIV This card grants Abel angel wings made of radiant light. He is able to fly as fast as a falcon during the time they are active. He can also use them to create gusts of wind which knock down common men.

15 Devil – XV Abel gains the aspects of a demon. Claws and fangs which rip through metal. fire coming from his black-toothed maw. Vision which cuts through darkness entirely. In return, holy magic becomes extremely effective in harming him. Exorcism spells dispell this card entirely. Lasts a few minutes.

16 The Tower – XVI Another card representing sheer destruction. A single lightning bolt strikes from the heavens. Or from the card, if underground.

17 The Star – XVII A ball of plasma envelopes the card and rests in the user's palm. The user can throw it up to 100 feet away, once. Alternatively, the ball can be kept in the palm and used as a melee weapon. It behaves as if weightless to the user, but to another would be as heavy as a bowling ball.

18 The Moon – XVIII The moon's gravity moves the tides from so far away. Similarly, this card allows Abel the control of gravity around him within five feet. He can increase it to twice it's intensity, warp the motion of musket balls, and even increase his own weight by five.

19 The Sun – XIX What is the sun, other than a god of fire. A god of light we have worshiped since earliest man. Likewise, Abel becomes a god cloaked in fire. He burns so intensely he can melt blades and musketfire upon contact. To burn so brightly last so short, however. A mere sixty seconds.

20 Judgement – XX The card transforms into a magical coin. On heads, Abel chooses a victim on which to bestow a hex. On tails, the hex effects him instead.

21 The World – XXI in ancient times humans believed the sun, even the whole universe revolved around the earth. While science has proved this untrue, the concept is steeped in magical thought. Believing and willing the universe to bend to your will. This is the core of magic. Thus, for sixty seconds, Abel can push or pull objects towards or away from himself. Small objects become bullets, large ones like horse carts or cannons could be tossed a short distance. Musket Fire can be bent around his person, up to five or six shots at a time. The world seems to revolve around him, for a time.

Spoiler: Biomancy

Biomancy refers to the magical connection to living tissue, and the ability to manipulate it. Many consider it a cousin to necromancy. Unlike life or plant magic, it does not work in harmony with nature. Any growth it causes is forced, and can appear cancerous. While it does allow one to manipulate living tissue at the cellular level, it cannot create life or animate the dead. Only manipulate what is already there and working. Biomancers can grow new limbs which look and work like old ones so long as they have the raw material, but upon trying to grow a third arm the DNA will become flawed. The more complex or massive the augmentations, the less of a chance they will work correctly. And of course, the need for raw organic material is always a constant. Still, if this need is met a biomancer can mutate and heal wounds similar to one using holy magic. The more wounds they heal on one person, the more the chance of deformity.

When these same healing or augmentation is used on another, the same problems can arise. A wound may be sealed up, but improperly. An extra limb may be weak and be easily broken off, thus leaving an open wound where there wasn't one before. It is more like putting a bandage on the problem than a true healing. Thus, a doctor or proper magical healer should be employed afterwards.

Lastly, a biomancer may copy the biology of other creatures. Perhaps adding venom glands or enhanced night vision to their biology. These are oftentimes more stable than extra limbs and can be sustained for long periods of time. If nature can create it, so can a biomancer copy it into themselves. Some augmentations can be instantaneous, others can take days such as properly working wings.

Additional abilities: protruding bone spikes/bone weapons. Blood manipulation/hemomancy (once it has edited the body of another living host, a dead body, or himself)

Every time Abel uses his growth or healing, it becomes increasingly taxing on his body's natural resources. He becomes depleted of vitamins and electrolytes, dehydrated, and burns through any food in his system. The continued consumption of organic material can prevent this for some amount of time, but eventually this recycling takes its toll as well.

Prepared augmentations:

Venom Glands/hollow teeth: Abel has copied the fangs (placed behind his canines, inflated when used to inject venom) and venom makeup of the coral reef snake. It can kill a strong, healthy human within six hours. To recreate it he had to be bitten by one, which required lots of diving. He can inject up to three times before he goes empty, and takes about an hour to regenerate his supply.

Double Lungs: Abel's lungs are much more efficient than a humans and he can hold his breath up to 20 mins. Mimicking the lungs of a dolphin.

Small Wings: normally, a full size pair (twelve foot wingspan) of wings would take Abel twelve hours to grow. If he prepares a pair of stunted, useless wings beforehand in the same amount of time he can rapidly grow them much larger in a few seconds. Before this, they can be concealed flat against his back. If cut off he must regrow them by consuming a bird or bat raw.

Spoiler: Hexes

Abel has done the least amount of work in this area. Hexes are perhaps the most volatile and malefic branch of spells. Things like conjuring a ball of nails into someone's throat, filling a bag with thousands of man-eating ants, or causing blindness and deafness. Hexes are simple, but effective. The catch is, one has to be coaxed or trapped in a hex. They must wander into a magical circle, have their blood spattered on a dark rune, or speak a phrase determined by the caster. Only one hex may be prepared at a time.

Physical Abilities: Abel is very interested in all forms of melee fighting. Swashbuckling, catch wrestling, pugilism being his most proficient. He often carries multiple flintlock pistols on his person, but isn't particularly skilled with a rifle compared to a proper sniper. Mostly he rules the main deck in a raid, standing in the midst of the fray taking souls from many angles.

Bio/History: Abel was born to a plantation worker on Jamaica. His father and mother being very cruel to the slaves, Abel grew up with more empathy than they and hence ran away. Basically, as soon as he could run. He survived in the jungle, having stolen a flintlock from his father for some months. Until he stumbled onto Port Royal by chance on a hike one day. He saw the rough and lawless lifestyle, and was somewhat thrilled. It had the freedom the jungle afforded him, but just enough civilization to entice him into it. Of course, it came with a certain amount of trauma. There were many nights he was left beaten in an alley but rivals, or had to retreat back into the jungle because of gambling debts. Eventually he became a part of the tapestry of pirates, when he crossed paths with William Kidd. A fast, tough young man was welcome on his decks, especially one with an interest in the occult.

Abel only wanted one thing from magic: more ability. He wanted personal freedom more than anything, and the power to protect it. He learned from those mages available on Kidd's vessels. They were fewer than other fleets, but still had enough knowledge to start Abel off. Eventually he outgrew his position, and formally requested retirement from the crew. Kidd saw him off, with the offer of one more score. With a brand new enchanted sword as a parting gift, and the promise of a sloop to call his own, Abel set about forming his own crew.

Motivation: Jason loves the equality and freedom involved in pirate life. Decisions are made together, loot is split, and life is fair. As fair as life gets, that is. In addition, he wants to free pirates entirely from the oppression of the crown, and to start more pirate colonies like Port Royal where the profession can cement itself in time.


Equipment:
Skull Reaver: this enchanted sword once belonged to a necromancer killed by the Spanish inquisition. Kidd's crew raided the vessel before the inquisitors could destroy the artifact, and he later gifted it to Abel. It has a rune which, when it is thrust through the heart of someone with no magical talent, they are enslaved as a zombie. No other spells may be cast by the user while this is active.

Other skills: Reading eldritch runes, used for hexes. Battle strategy.

Port Royal: Abel was raised in Jamaica as the son of a plantation worker. after escaping for a life of piracy, he came to call Port Royal home. His father and mother returned several times to take him back, but eventually the ruffians of the city accepted and sheltered the young pirate prodigy.

(Wip)

 

[cinnarinn]

Name: Nessa Yaeldrin

Age: 23

Race/ethnicity: Part fae, presents as caucasian human

Magical Discipline:
Green Magick - Green magick is primarily healing magic using herbs and other flora, as well as essential oils. The use of herbs, flora, and essential oils also extends toward crafting herbal remedies for maladies. As a green witch, Nessa keeps Peacesong on her at all times, a grimoire filled with healing magics and herbal remedies, along with personal protection spells. Every spell in her grimoire requires physical components to cast. These components have, for the most part, affinity to the earth. Examples of these include loam, lavender, and hibiscus. Some components do have affinities for other elements, but all are natural. The vessels required may not be, such as a glass vial or a vessel for a charm. Her grimoire also contains more mundane recipes, like herbal teas which Nessa insists have rejuvenating properties. Alongside needing the physical components, Nessa also requires her grimoire for casting. There is only spells she can cast without Peacesong; a personal protection spell against curses, for which she requires a small charm of wreathed flora, earth from her home, and a drop of pure water.

The limitations of her magic is her access to the components required and requirement of her grimoire. In addition, Nessa cannot heal any fatal illnesses or wounds, but it doesn’t stop her trying.

Physical Abilities:
Nessa is competent with a short blade, like a dagger or, in more extreme circumstances, a rapier. She is also capable with close combat fighting, although not as proficient as she would have liked. Her grandmother forced her to learn during the ceasefire; her great-aunt perished at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition, and other coven members at the hands of various other empires.

Bio/History:
Nessa was raised by her grandmother and her father in a small, almost hidden community. The community consisted of others like her - proficient with different magics. Her grandmother and, apparently, her mother before her were both green witches and it seemed Nessa had inherited a natural affinity for the healing magic. She was raised as a well-read child by the women of her community. They taught her literacy, and mathematics, healing and protection magic. Nessa was blessed to be raised in such a supportive community where she was loved. It wasn't until her teen years when her less human traits began presenting themselves that she learned about her mother. Her mother was a fae who had married Nessa's father and sadly passed away during childbirth. The village healers had tried to save her to no avail. Nessa was fortunate to have survived. When being told this truth about her mother, Nessa's grandmother began insisting the young woman learn to protect herself. She was taught the way of the short blade, and how to protect herself in close combat. Unlike with her magic, Nessa was no natural at the combat arts. When she came of age at 21, Nessa was told of a right of passage amongst her coven; to journey the oceans with a crew, be it pirates or an empire’s navy. Considering the current climate, it seemed more likely that she would have to join a pirate crew.

Motivation: Nessa is joining a crew as a right of passage.

Equipment: a concealed, enchanted dagger, component pouch full of herbs common to many of her healing spells. Nessa also carries a doctor’s case of vials and containers, as well as mortar and pestle, other implements, alongside herbs, flora, crystals, a small bottle of pure water,etc.

Other skills: Medicine/Alchemy, baking

Port Royal: Nessa arrived in Port Royal by passenger ship after a journey from her home village on mainland America.

 

[EmperorNorton1]

Name: Sholem "Sebastion Quixano" שלום בן רבקה ופסח הלוי

Age: 26

Ethnicity/Nationality: Jewish, born in Portugal to Marranos hiding their faith.

Magical Discipline: Sholem follows the thought of Jewish mystic and scholar Rabbi Isaac Luria. the world is a broken place, but every act of good takes strength and power from evil. It is his duty, as a jew and as a person, to do Tikkun Olam, to repair the world. In Jewish tradition, words have power, and numbers correlate with letters, leading to some interesting numerology. for example, Chai, Hebrew for life, adds up to the number 18. so, Sholem uses the language of his people in mostly hidden and smaller, but nonetheless powerful ways. his sword is engraved with the Hebrew word Nokim, which means Avenger, whenever he has to treat a wound, he will inscribe the word life, and wrap the bandage around the wound 18 times, for example. These acts have little obvious effect and are not so flashy, but they work, whether it's speeding up the healing process, warding off infection, or slightly improving aim or boosting strength.

Essentially, certain numbers and words are correlated with each other, and with some small spark of divine being. it is always stronger and easier to give life than to take life, as mitzvot, good deeds, are the act of restoring sparks of the divine to god. the effects are smaller, Sholem cannot just say a word and someone drops dead or returns to life. (Only God can create life). it requires both the written, the number in some way, and the spoken. also, there is the obvious limitation that he cannot let the secret of his faith slip, which means he has to hide the writing and mutter quietly when it is more powerful to bear the words loudly.

At the core of this magic is the same holy magic that the Inquisition uses, but it's spun differently. Rather than damnation and hellfire for those deemed unholy by the pope, this magic, while it can only be practiced by a believing Jew, will work on Jew and Gentile alike.

List of numbers that I have used or will likely use soon:
Tov-Luck-17
Chai-Life-18
Nokim-Avenger-756
Lishon-Sleep-1040
Leheradem-to fall asleep-839

Physical Capability: From his years onboard the ship of Captain Henriquez (Based on, but not the infamous Moses Cohen Henriques), Sholem has grown into an adept pirate. He is a navigator firsthand, but is quite competent with the rapier, though as Sholem is something of a lightweight, he is not skilled at hand-to-hand combat. he has good aim with a rifle, is a quick climber, and knows how to work a cannon.

Other Skills: Sholem speaks, reads, and writes Hebrew, Ladino, Spanish, and Portuguese fluently, and can read, write, and keep up a semi-passable conversation in Arabic and English. He is an excellent navigator.

Equipment: a strange-looking shawl he always keeps folded away, a shortsword with strange letters written in ink on the leather hilt guard. several vials of ink, cotton bandage strips, a few books, one of which is a Spanish-English dictionary, and loads of paper.

Other: woe, bisexuality be upon ye

Bio
The only people that the Spanish Inquisition have tried to stomp out more than magic users are homosexuals and Jews. Sholem, or "Sebastion" as he was christened, was born to Jews whose grandparents had fled from Spain to Portugal after the Spanish Inquisition, only to be trapped and forced to convert on pain of death, not even being permitted to seek refuge abroad, as the Inquisition grew greedier for blood. His mother and father secretly raised their son as a Jew, just as they had, and Sholem keeps his secret, he has not told a soul. when he was seventeen, his parents were discovered to be still practicing, and the fist of the Inquisition slammed down on them. Sholem was barely able to escape, his father's Talit the only possession he still has belonging to his family. his mother and father weren't so fortunate, they were murdered by the forces of the Inquisition. since that bloody night, Sholem has sworn revenge, keeping up his guise as a gentile, and joining a pirate ship, swearing an oath on a sky full of his murdered people that he will end the Spanish inquisition.

Sholem stowed away on a merchant ship that was promptly attacked by pirates, the captain of whom also happened to be a hidden Marrano, who consented to induct the young man into his crew. It was from this pirate that Sholem learned the history of the Jews, as his community has been cut off from the rest of the world's theological debates for the past 200 years. it was onboard this ship that Sholem discovered Kabbala, and with the guidance of a fae who wielded water magic, as well as the captain, and occasionally rabbis when the ship docked in the ottoman empire, studied and developed a talent for the use of magic. Just a third reason for the Inquisition to hate him.

in 1715, he and the Captain parted ways, Sholem now twenty-four, and seeking to live and practice freely. Sholem came to Jamaica, as it was now under British control, and it had a thriving Jewish community that acted as a haven for Jewish refugees. however, the two years on land have not done him well, and Sholem has grown restless, the guilt of abandoning his brothers and sisters to persecution, turning a blind eye and settling down, gnawing away at him. He must return to the sea, return and fight, and end the inquisition.

Motivation: Sholem wants to bring down the Spanish Inquisition once and for all, with whatever means he can.

 

[This Name is unavailable]

Name: Astrid Westergard (She gave up her last name when she left her home.)

Age: 22

Race/ethnicity: Swedish, born on an island hidden away by runic magic, between the coasts of Bornholm, Denmark and Karlskrona, Sweden.

Magical Discipline:
Rune Magic (Elder Futhark/Futhorc): Although Astrid uses her runic magic for things like physical enhancement in battle, runes can also be useful in a variety of different ways, and though many have forgotten the power that they can hold to this day - it was thanks to runic magic that the island Astrid grew up on was kept from discovery during the times that the rest of her people were being converted to Christianity. Runes that had been set up long ago, carved into the very foundation of the island itself, stones/earth were used to protect the island from discovery and also those who would wish to harm her people held within. To this day, the island remains undiscovered, reveling in the fact that the people could still practice a majority of their ancient traditions in peace. Astrid learned everything she could about how the ancient magic worked, how to string together complex runic arrays, to be able to achieve the effect that she wanted to happen. With this an idea was born, to etch these runes into her own skin, hopefully allowing her to rise above everyone else in terms of strength! It was a concept that was already used in battle in the past. However, the effect they got could be described as minimal, and left much to be desired.

Astrid, though, had the idea that perhaps they weren't using the correct medium to set the runes in place. Stone was a part of the earth, magic would inherently seep into it just as magic did with everything, but the flesh of humans was inherently different - magic didn't really settle into a persons skin like it did with the environment. Instead magic was stored within, inside your core, running through your blood! With that thought she would do countless amounts of research before coming up with a method of mixing her blood with the ink she used to etch the runes into her body, along with a ritual to the gods praying for success for good measure, and would rejoice at her success when she found that she could almost double her strength! This came with a draw back though, one she was never able to really work out, just as stone would draw from the ambient air around it. The blood runes would draw their source of magic from within herself, making it so that she couldn't just use this power infinitely. It would extremely tire her out, even causing her to black out with blood dripping from her nose - if she uses it for too long.

Physical Abilities: Astrid was trained to be a shield-maiden. Her training involved every single weapon type that her clan used in battle, swords, shields, knives, bows, spears, unarmed combat, and axes - her favorite, though, being the axe. She was drilled intensively to be the best that she could be, and while there were still some opponents who were stronger than her in physical strength, she was more of a tactician if she had the luxury to be in the heat of battle. She wasn't the best when it came to long range weapons like the bow, or throwing knives, but she could be deadly with throwing axes. While she was above average in using a spear or sword, her real talent manifested itself, when it came to her wielding the axe.

Bio/History: She had grown up on a small island, hidden away from prying eyes that wished ill upon it's land as well as it's people, she was the only daughter of the village chief. Her father, Erik Westergard, had been the oldest in a family that had ruled over that island for generations before him. Her mother, Brynhildr, had grown up being raised by another influential family on the island to be Erik's bride - their union decided long before they were even able to walk. They went on to have four children, three sons, and a daughter. There was the oldest as well as the heir to the entire island, Lars. Followed by the second oldest, Harald. Then there was Astrid, who was then followed by the youngest of them, Ragnar. Due to her growing up with two older brothers, who in their younger years could have been described as a pair of Hel spawn. It was due to this environment that Astrid grew up with a more 'boyish' attitude as her mother called it, constantly fighting with her brothers whenever they tried to pick on her. It was no surprise then that she gravitated towards the battlefield, swearing that she would be a shield-maiden before she had even understood what those words had really meant, and had then begun training just as hard as anyone around her did - maybe even harder than that.

Though her father had no problem with her learning ways to defend herself in case she needed to, it was to his disappointment that he realized that Astrid would never go along with an arranged marriage, even though he had already set one up for her after she had been born. It was his hope that he could strengthen ties with another family by marrying his daughter to their oldest, but then he figured out that it was Astrid's goal to live and die on the battlefield, he knew that he needed to do something. Astrid to him, even though he claimed he loved her, was little more than a ways to strengthen ties in the political aspect of their way of life. So, he tried to come up with a plan, one that would ensure that Astrid would lay down her axe and take up her duty to her people.

It wouldn't work however, as Astrid was able to learn of this plan, it was a fight with one of the strongest fighters within their tribes - if she could not beat him then due to the contract he would trick her into signing, she would be forced to agree to lay down her weapons and take the man her father chose to be her husband. It was because of this that she dove into the research that allowed her to break through with her discovery. For the rest of the months leading up to the fight that was still taking place, even though she had sidestepped the contract at every possible turn, she would add numerous runes to her body that would allow her to come out on top - even though she would be fresh out of training going against one of the best fighters they had.

In a show of disbelief for everyone, except for her of course, she had come out the victor! Though, she knew her father wouldn't let it end at that, and that he would keep trying to use her as a bargaining chip. She made a plan of her own, so right after the fight ended she had raced to her room, grabbing the supplies that she had packed away the day before, and ran down to the docks. There she procured a vessel that she had already fitted with everything she would need for a good long while and with a war cry of freedom she sailed out into the sea before anyone could really notice.

She would spend the next few years travelling where ever she felt, engaging in battles across the land, and would continue to add to her research that she had started all those years ago. She would bounce from ship to ship, becoming what could be considered a mercenary, to those who had the most coin. This would persist until the feeling of wanting a community that she could call her own would overtake her and send her on another journey in search of that destined place.

Motivation: After years of bouncing around from place to place, Astrid is now in search of a place she could call her own, to sail the open seas doing anything that they may and to spend the rest of her days with.

Equipment: Astrid usually carried around a few different weapons on her such as, a sword, a couple of throwing axes, a shield that's strapped to her back, and an axe that she had taken from the battle she had won at her old home - a spoil of war if you may. Over the years she has added a few runes to the things she keep on hand, enchanting the weapons to be more durable, sharper, and would be more accurate. Although her large two handed axe that she calls Logi, due to the fact that for a limited number of uses per day, it is able to unleash the power of fire. This is a weapon that has grown alongside her, as it didn't have that ability when she first came into possession of it, and she feels as though she can almost communicate with it as well but nothing of the sort has happened, yet.

Other skills: She has the general knowledge of how to sail, cook, hunt, fish, as well as how to repair armor and weapons. She is also a very talented blacksmith and enchanter, her enchantments have gotten better with time as she became more in tune with the way runes work and their properties.

 

[cherrycosmos]

Name: Morwena Conant


Age: 22


Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian, Irish Descent


Magical Discipline: Grey Magic - Unshackled by the limitations of practicing only white magic or black magic, grey magic is the affinity for both. Unrestrained and unburdened by the repercussions that those of the Conant Bloodline in the past have suffered when using the opposite magic than they were permitted to use. This, in and of itself, makes Morwena a marvel of their family (much to their displeasure). They rely on many factors for spells and ritualistic magic to work: the blessings of their Gods that is necessary for such nature to be warped, their own blood and energy which is siphoned away a bit or a lot depending on the spell, and the intention pulled from deep within. Given their grey status, Morwena can dabble in any kind of magic, if the Gods permit them to, but they’ve never quite mastered anything in terms of high power. Their spells can pack a punch, their rituals do have a high enough success to say they have a proficiency for them, but they’re nowhere near the level that the legendary witches possessed. And certainly not at the level that their name sake, Morwenna O’Dea, their several times great grandmother who made the original bloodline deal.

Like most of the past users of the Conant Bloodline Magic, Morwena has an natural aptitude for a singular kind of magic – their’s being ritual magic, able to craft spells through the use of ritualistic symbols and, on rare occasions, use the energy of sacrifices to power the circles, relying on the grace and blessings of their Gods. Yet, unlike the past users, they are closer to their Gods than any of those before, barring their namesake.

Spoiler: Power of their Gods

During the Roman Invasion of Dumnonia (Now known as South-West England), Morwenna O’Dea made a deal with the Celtic Gods, the Gods that her and her own worshipped and praised, for access to a way to defend her people. The Gods granted it, so long as she swears to servitude to them until the end of time. That her bloodline must continue and honour her agreement, whoever they choose to possess their magic. Every time she wishes to cast a spell, to use what the Gods gave her, she must receive their blessing as the power of the Gods is not for selfish gains. Morwenna had agreed to a price that held a weight she was unaware of. Her and her descendants, if chosen, are locked in an aeons long contract with a power they will never truly understand. If the magic is taken away again, something that is their life force, the user lose a large part of themselves and will be cursed to spend the remainder of their days a wisp of who they once were.

The magic requires blood, given the nature of how it has come to be, and thus every-time a spell is cast, a sigil is powered, a ritual is perform, depending on the power of the spell, sigil or ritual, blood and energy is siphoned away as a payment. Do too much, and they may die, or slip into a never-ending coma, stuck between reality and a world where mortals – even those with the power of the Gods – do not belong.

The magic also depends on where the user is; when on the sea, the magic relies on the blessings of Lir, (Celtic) God of the Sea. So long as he permits the use of the magic, Morwena can use the magic. When on land, if surrounded by nature, Cernunnos tends to be the ones to answer their pleas of blessing. Sometimes, as the Gods tend to favour Morwena, they may intervene and curse someone for them (though very, very rarely). A lot of the magic is based on the intention of the Gods, though when the spells are manifested into a physical form (such as a fireball, or growing vines) then they are more showy. The showy kind requires more blood and energy from Morwena than the intention based spells.

Spoiler: Spell O’Bags

One-time use spells for an emergency, otherwise known as spell bags. So long as they‘re filled with the right ingredients, like black salt or basil or whatever herbs/spice/natural component is needed for the spell to work, they’re handy for a quick protection or hex once blood is drawn on the front. They’re not strong spells, however, they just do the job when needed. They take time to be made, as Morwena doesn’t tend to have all of the ingredients on hand, nor the special made fabric bags they use for the spell bags.

Physical Abilities: Morwena are better at hand-to-hand defensive combat than offensive, given than they had to learn very early on how to duck and roll, and how to punch back hard enough to make a getaway. They can climb trees, walls, anything that requires scaling, Morwena is capable of doing.


Bio/History: All Morwena has ever known is the towering walls of their family home on the outskirts of Port Royal, built further in land and away from the hustle and bustle that the port offers. They grew up alone, despite having their two uncles and their mother always around, and well as their grandmother, Evelin Conant. Sure, they had their seven cousins, and their two elder sisters, but when the dreams of “otherworldly beings” began and they let that knowledge slip, Morwena was no longer just Morgan to their family, they was the descendant of Morwenna O’Dea, the chosen “blessed of the Gods“ and all that crap.

Their family were no longer their family but their prison guards. They were forced to learn the art of their family’s magic; the white kind, and after not seeing the blackened veins appearing on their body at the use of white magic, they was declared to be the right chosen. The kind of all that is good and light, no harming but rather healing. Morwena disagreed with the assessment, and one night, at the age of fourteen, they snuck into their grandmother’s study to find the other kinds of magic that were to offer. They wanted to be more than healing herbs and salt baths, of banishing bad luck and making protective charms; they wanted to connect deeper to the Gods, to harness every kind of magic they could. They soon came across the O’Dea Grimoire, which surprisingly to their grandmother, opened for them, and as the world seemed to become vibrant around them, and the birds sang louder than before, they knew they were destined for a life beyond their home walls. They were destined for magic beyond what their family wanted. One day, they’d escaped.

Morwena’s “blessed” status caused animosity between them, their sisters and their cousins; jealousy and strife left them an outsider in their own home. Their personal collection of herbs and spice for spell making would be tainted or missing, their written processes for specialised rituals burnt to ash. Their dinner would be messed with, made inedible whenever the adults weren’t looking. Their sisters, Tegan and Aveline, would send them poisonous glares if they happened to cross paths. Not to mention the distain their sisters’ husbands would openly show. And as the family grew bigger, so did the gaping wounded desire to flee and start anew. Especially when their grandmother passed just before Mowena’s eighteenth birthday.

On the rare occasions that they were allowed to accompany someone into Port Royal, they figured out their plan of escape. They listened to the whispers in the shadows that the heart of the occult spoke of, about the legends of the pirate wars, of the magic that flourishes both in the Port, and out at sea. And they wanted in. On the eve of their twentieth birthday, they scaled a wall and fled into the Port, with the clothes on their back, the grimoire of the family, and thirst for an adventure on the sea.

Spoiler: About Evelin Conant

Morwena’s grandmother, Evelin Conant, had been the last known ”blessed” of their bloodline (prior to Morwena) and after being almost married to a cruel, English Nobleman, at the order of her non-magical believing father, she had fled on a trade ship to wherever her Gods may lead her. Without the support of her mother, of whom the O’Dea, now Conant, bloodline ran through, she no longer had the choices that the Conant family could grant; though given that she was the last surviving member of the bloodline at the time, she made the choices now. Her Gods had led her to Southern Jamaica, and with it, to Port Royal. Fearful of her life, Evelin adopted a new identity, Enith Sellar, a simple fisherman’s daughter from Cornwall who had lost her father at sea when he wished to try for a new life. She donned that identity as a mask to separate the crushing loneliness that her new life entailed. She survived in anyway she could, trusting that her Gods would never lead her astray. And then she caught the eye of a wealthy landowner, James Harwood, who found her dismissive nature towards his flirtations amusing and wished to know her more. Evelin let her guard down after a few years and eventually married him by the sea.

And then the pirate wars began, the witch-hunts too, and a horrible revelation came to light; her sweet James that she had married had a part in the witch-hunts. He despised any type of magic and swore to eradicate any and all users of “devil’s power”. With that revelation came a grievous understanding of what she must do; her already born children, or the child she was expected could very well be chosen by her Gods, or even a grandchild of theirs, and her family’s bloodline was more important than pretending she was someone she had never been before. So she waited for the perfect moment to enact her plan, and begged her Gods for their blessings to strike him down. She casted a flame circle in the center of James’ home, one to be lit when he, and only he, crossed the sigiled line, and left with the clothes on her back, her bloodline’s grimoire, her two young sons, and the child she was expecting. With her husband’s money that she was granted as the widow, Evelin built a walled off home on the singed lands that were once owned by James, and created a safe haven for herself and her family, and for the future blessed of the bloodline.

Motivation: After years confined and sheltered from the world, Morwena wants to escape from Port Royal and get a taste of true freedom on the sea, no matter the cost.


Equipment:
- The O’Dea Grimoire, passed down through generations of the bloodline.
- A satchel filled with jars of the most important and common herbs, spices and objects used when needed to craft either a spell bag or create a ritualised spell.
- A jewelled dagger passed down through the bloodline, rumoured to have been given to them by their Gods for rituals, makes for a handy weapon.
- A handful of different spell bags; one for a protection spell, two hex bags (one for boils, another for bad luck) and three quick spark fire spells.
- A clay pot full of homemade itching powder, used for a quick escape when thrown on an opponent, making them break out in a severe itching fit as the powder burns their skin.


Other Skills: Morwena is a quick thinker, able to figure out a needed plan on the edge of panic. They have a sleight hand, something they learned quick while living in the heart of Port Royal – how else could they feed themselves?
On a more mundane, every day scale, Morwena has a knack for sewing, but not embroidery. They can patch holes but not sew little colourful flowers on a piece of fabric.


Port Royal: They grew up on the outskirts of Port Royal, further in land, on the old Harwood land that now served as the Conant Ancestral Home. They end up in the heart of Port Royal after running away from home. They notice the fight and the thirst for adventure begins anew.