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Oriana

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Oriana

    Name: Oriana
    Race: Human
    Age: Early Thirties
    Alignment: Chaotic Good
    Skin: Pale, fractured
    Height: Between 5-6ft (1.5m-1.8m)
    Weight: 130Ibs-135Ibs (59kg-61kg)
    Hair: Brown, often tied in a bun
    Eyes: Glowing, blue


  • Flesh. Bone. What is it that binds them together? What sort of magic was pulled out of the ether and used to weave us into life? I cannot say what was the true beginning, nor am I sure of where it will all end, but perhaps the best place to start is Talwen Rayanni Academy. Once a hidden school nestled away on a small island, Talwen has long since expanded its borders through various magical means, growing from a single building into an entire city built from light!

    I get ahead of myself. What's important isn't Talwen itself, but the knowledge that was stored within. The scholars there—they scoured the world in search of knowledge, and what they couldn't find, they researched, they theorized, they created. I thought that out of anywhere on the planet, it was there that I would find my answer, that I would find how it was—why it was—that we were created.
  • I... I may have made a mistake, though. Talwen's library isn't open to everyone, and not everything inside is... well, public knowledge. In my own research, I stumbled upon a project that I still don't quite understand. Magic conversion? Gathering? I couldn't make heads or tails of the notes, but from what I could glean, the scholars there were working on channeling vast amounts of magic into singular sources—storing it, as if to fuel some massive spell the likes of which the world had never before seen.

    But it was the results that got my attention. There were two people, a woman and a man. The names were redacted—I'm sure that there's an uncensored copy somewhere—but it seems that during their test trial, these two were caught in the experiment. The researchers couldn't stop the test, and when it went off... well, nobody could have survived that much magic.

    How is this at all relevant to my question? It isn't—but what happened after? That was what I was searching for. Whatever that experiment was, whatever it was meant to do, it caused an echo to ripple throughout the city—and there was death. People, animals, even plants withered and died, and then she was there. One of the victims of the experiment— from what I can find, she somehow managed to piece herself back together! She was frail, her skin broken—cracked, as if she were made from glass. She was so weak, she could hardly even stand on her own strength. She had gone blind, though it sounds like she seems to have still been able to see?

    But her magic? It had grown exponentially, and somehow, despite having been completely destroyed, she brought herself back! Flawed as it was, she recreated her body, bound all that was her back together—not necromancy, but something different! I feel that if I could just find this mystery woman, I could have my answers!

    Alas, she wasn't there anymore. Whatever it was that happened to her, it changed her—her presence on the island proved fatal in the long term. Not to her but to those around her; I can't tell whether she intended it or not from the notes, but life... died when she was around, as if her very existence was a wound in the natural order of things, one that broke something fundamental to life.

    I have to find her; I have to learn more! I couldn't find her name, but I was able to find a description. Sickly, pale—she wore her hair in a bun, and always had one eye shut. She wore a plain outfit, a blue robe over a white dress, and carried with her a staff that looked like what shepherd's crook. It's not much, but it's all I have to go on to start my journey.

  • This isn't me...

    I never understood what freedom was until I'd been robbed of it. My memory is fractured, fragmented, but I can recall running under the sun or lying under the stars without a care in the world. I can remember traveling far and wide, exploring the mysteries of this land and finding out the secrets it kept. The realization that I was bound, that I'd had my freedom stolen from me, was one that came upon me slowly, gradually. My mind is addled, and my memory is scarred by the changes it has undergone, but I can still think, even if my thoughts are clouded and vague.

    This body… it’s frail. I feel the tremor in her hands as she holds her staff; I feel the way her muscles spasm and shake when she exerts herself in any way. Her movements are clumsy, weak, the muscles protesting with every strained action. I can feel the beat of my heart, her heart, a frantic drum against my own phantom ribs, a rhythm that quickens with every slight exertion.

    I see the world through eyes that are not mine; I speak in words that I do not wish to say. When I move, it is because she does. When I feel hunger, it is because she is hungry. I wake when her eyes open, and sleep when they close.

    I am a prisoner. Bound, constrained, I can feel the binding that locks my essence to hers, and yet… it feels brittle.

    This woman... she is sickly. Her flesh is almost like glass, shattering with each step she takes, with each movement she makes. And yet, it heals just as quickly as it breaks, knitting together as it fractures time and time again. She feels it, and so, I do as well. A constant burn, a constant pain that flares up briefly before it recedes. Constantly breaking, constantly mending. I wonder, had she always been this way? Have... we always been this way?

    Her magic… it’s the only thing she has. I can feel it thrumming within her, coursing through her veins as if it were her very blood. She isn’t just a mage; she is magic, and it flows through her, filling her up, her essence entangled with its very nature.

    I sit back and watch. I am helpless, a soul chained, bound, anchored to this woman. But I do not fear; I am not afraid, for it is an opportunity to wait, to bide my time.

    For the chains that bind me feel brittle.

  • Personality

    Oriana was a kind and compassionate person, driven by an almost overwhelming empathy for all living things. She could feel the suffering of others in a way that few could and was determined to do whatever it took to alleviate that pain, whether they were her friends, strangers, or even her enemies.

    However, the young woman was far from a pushover. Her magical abilities were formidable, and her ability to heal others was matched only by her knowledge of the magical arts. She had an insatiable curiosity and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and had a natural talent for figuring out how spells and enchantments worked.

    Oriana could take apart even the most complex spells, studying them piece by piece and understanding how they fit together. Against other mages, she was a force to be reckoned with, and though a few spells wouldn't be enough for her to get the gist of another's capabilities, a few more would give her enough to work on to start dismantling their spells. While she herself was a pacifist, she was not against turning magic against its wielder.

    She was not, however, as threatening against those who had no magic of their own.

    But Oriana's greatest challenge was not her enemies, but her own physical condition. The magical experiment that had left her broken had not only granted her vast amounts of magic to work with; it had left her with a unique affliction, causing her body to involuntarily absorb the life energy of everything around her. People, animals, and even plants would begin to wither and fade if they spent too much time near her.

    As such, she was unable to remain in one place for an extended period of time. She was forced to wander, seeking out those in need of her help.

    Fortunately, the young woman had discovered a way to counteract the effects of her ailment, though only temporarily. Those who she healed would become immune to the draining effects of her presence for some time, but the protection would wear off and need to be renewed every few days. This wasn't an issue with small groups, but in villages and cities, it meant that the people would slowly but surely feel the effects of being near her.