![[Verified by Ragdoll]](./images/checkmark.png "[Verified by Ragdoll]")
Race: Freshwater Iyvess
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: 23rd of Spring, 406AV
Profession: Pending.
Housing: Pending.
Languages: Common (Fluent), Snake Tongue (Basic), Tukant (Poor)
Snake: Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon pleuralis)
Venom: Anticoagulant which causes the victim to bleed excessively and heightens pain.
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: 23rd of Spring, 406AV
Profession: Pending.
Housing: Pending.
Languages: Common (Fluent), Snake Tongue (Basic), Tukant (Poor)
Snake: Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon pleuralis)
Venom: Anticoagulant which causes the victim to bleed excessively and heightens pain.
Ssezzkero
Physical Appearance
____As a human, Ssezzkero barely stands on the verge of five feet, although she will tell you she is five-two. Despite her size Ssezzkero is very sturdy, muscles ripple under her olive skin. It is not the toned and impressive strength of a body builder, but a subtle bulk of someone used to work and movement, specifically dance. As an Iyvess her strength is one and a half what a human her size might possess, surprising many. Strong and agile, she is a formidable opponent; however she holds no skill in combat, nor does she wish to.
____Large golden-brown eyes have the slit pupils of her snake form, although they are nearly round enough that it may not be immediately noticeable, however it is still unsettling when she forgets to blink for a few minutes at a time. Her reptile traits also show in her strong cheekbones and jaw, when she smiles, the line of teeth are mostly sharp rather than the dull molars of the omnivorous human. Even in this form Ssezzkero must eat only meat, and her body is prepared for it.
____As a human, Ssezzkero wears loose dresses and light shoes. Normally she enjoys intricate patterns and colors, but since coming to Ravok she has adopted the muted dark tones of the city. She wears more trousers and sturdy boots because of her chosen work, but when she dances she retains the flowing skirts and dresses that make her devotion to Makutsi as spectacular as it is.
____It is impossibly rare to see Ssezzkero in her 'true' form, her Iyvess body. Reaching only thirteen feet in length, she is small, even for a viper. The light and dark brown scales of her lengthy tail spill into her human torso, merging naturally with the golden olive skin of her torso. She never covers her human torso in this form, unashamed of her bare breasts, and taking pride in the whole of her true body. Above her collar bone, the rubbery scales resume thickening and sculpting the oval-shaped head of a snake that finishes her Iyvess form.
____She does not possess gills like her sea-faring cousins, however she does have the webbed fingers as well that help with her swimming. As an Iyvess, her muscles are more pronounced and Ssezzkero is nearly twice as strong as she was as a human, and far faster, in the water. She is not as versed on land as she is in the rivers, although she is unmatchable in her skill in swimming. In this form as well as her complete snake form, Ssezzkero can dispense anticoagulant venom that causes intense pain and excessive bleeding in her victims.
____As in the rest of her forms, Ssezzkero is small in her snake form. For those who don't know snakes well may write her off as a large python, without knowing her as a viper. She extends to a length of nearly sixteen feet, but no further. This is truly her most intimidating form, of which Ssezzkero is perfectly comfortable, but rarely uses. Because she prefers the city to braving the wild, she only takes on her full snake form for hunting and hibernation. The defined eyes of her snake form may be recognizable by those who know her by her other forms, however many don't make the comparison to recognize her.
____Her slick scales provide almost no ridge when touched and are built for the water. Her long body ends in a thin, paddle-like tail that compares more to an eel than a snake, yet a snake she is. Even with her beige and brown coloring, the striping of her bright scales are striking to any who see her, and even with her scars, run together in a beautiful pattern across her body.
Racial Traits & Abilities
Being an Iyvess, Ssezzkero is granted with a few natural abilities that differentiate her from other humans:
- ≻ Master swimmer (Similar to Konti or Charoda).
≻ Able to hold her breath up to 3 bells.
≻ Ease of shifting between any of her three forms.
≻ Excellent senses of smell, taste, and hearing, average sense of sight.
≻ Lowlight vision which allows her to see in the relative depths of any pond or river.
≻ Able Detect vibrations and movement in water.
≻ Possesses a natural awareness of where freshwater is around her.
≻ A powerful anticoagulant venom which, in a low dose, would keep her victim bleeding continuously for hours. In high doses the venom can also and increases sensitivity in her prey's nerves, causing more pain.
≻ Carnivourous Diet
≻ If temperatures are too cold, Ssezzkero often hibernates through the winter.
≻ Night sight by sensing body heat and outlines to the point of being able to create an entire picture out of temperatures.
≻ Sibilant pronunciation and hissing accent.
Personality
____Ssezzkero has a serious manner about her and can come across to others as cool and reserved. Generally, she doesn't speak or act without good reason or intention-- naturally prudent and careful, with good self-control and self-discipline. At times, Ssezzkero can be too serious and given to bouts of discontentment and gloominess. She doesn't suffer fools easily, and is quite conservative when it comes to her personal appearance and communications with others.
____As one gets to know her, they realize that she wasn’t always this way. In the past few years she seems to have hardened, and lost her emotions to the fight of depression. They will find that Ssezzkero had a deep longing for the fantastical side of life, the intangible and the imaginative. She is intuitive and at home with the mystical and the unexplored. There is a deep longing for the fantastical side of life, the intangible and the imaginative.
____Unconventional, independent and drawn to the things that stand out in life, Ssezzkero hates being tied down with the drudgery of routine. She lives with no boundaries between her emotions and her environment, which comes with a strong willpower. She tends to intimidate since her presence is concentrated and very forceful. Not afraid of a good confrontation, she likes to get down to the bare essentials right off. Her intensity is obvious, and some may prefer to keep their distance rather than subject themselves to her laser eye. Nothing is passed over without being turned inside and out.
____Yet, Ssezzkero values her independence above all. Perhaps it is the Iyvess nature in her, but she prefers being unconventional and a nonconformist. She gets pleasure out of unauthorized behavior, the forbidden and the different. But she prefers to do so under the veil of shadows. This does not necessarily mean that all she does is nefarious, but instead that she slips under the eye of those who might want to pay attention to her.
____Ssezzkero used to live in feelings and emotions, becoming most imaginative when with comes to spirituality and psychology. She tends to be unpredictable when it comes to emotional reactions, showing emotions suddenly or in unusual ways. With her depression so relevant, these emotional outbursts are fewer and farther in between. A high floater, and a full-blown dreamer, she connects with others by drawing them into her deep dreams and imaginations. Ssezzkero is happiest when she can spread her affection among peers. Although she has recently tended toward detachment, and avoids involvements which might curtail independence. She remains emotionally suspicious. She is soul-searching and searches for the truth of everyone's words, which makes many not trust her, since they assume she cannot trust them. Ssezzkero has compulsions which are often swayed by cravings and desires. There is a marked tendency to re-make or re-mold herself every so often.
____Others may find her deep, with a sense of mission and mystery. She is a heavy-duty thinker and is willing to do work that others won't go near, quietly bending things to her will, having it her way. She goes out of her way to appreciates fairness. She has a fantastic appetite for detailed work, and can take it all in and still look for more. Ssezzkero pursues responsibilities in the way others pursue pleasure, inviting in obligations. Ssezzkero can be considered "bearish" when it comes to security and seldom makes a move that does not strengthen her position. She doesn't invest in anything that is not tried and tested. She seeks to understand and improve situations, finding new but secure ways to release her creativity. However, her dreams and ideals are very important to her, and she methodically goes about putting them into practice, usually doing so in bold and starting ways that tend to break away from tradition.
History
____Like most Freshwater Iyvess, Ssezzkero grew up without her parents. She never knew anything of her father, but she was only aware of her mother leaving her brothers and her as soon as they could squirm away. Decades lasted and Ssezzkero and her two brothers, Ssezzalta and Ssezzkha, lasted in the wild. They joined a nest of Talderan vipers, thinking they were like them and unaware of what they were. It became apparent as they grew that they were not normal snakes. Far larger than any of their kin, it didn't take the trio of siblings long to find their true Iyvess forms and then their human ones. Curiosity burned through Ssezzkero at these new ways of living. She wanted to find more of her kind and so she ventured into the Spires, intending to find more of her race, or humanoids in general. It did not take her long to find that she was completely alone and utterly lost in the civilized world. Unable to speak even the common tongue, and surrounded by the Jamoura that paid little attention to her, Ssezzkero retreated into the wild again. She took refuge with her brothers, who had not been so rash, thankful she had not entered civilization in her Iyvess or even snake form.
____But Ssezzkero could not contain her curiosity. She had to know what civilization was like. She wanted to learn of the hairy creatures and their strange tongues with a passion that far surpassed her two sibling's interest. And so she returned to the Spires with the company of Ssezzalta. Together they struggled to learn the language and mannerisms of the Jamoura. As she learned the ways of the Spiran society, Sszzkero learned that she would never be understood in her true form. She rarely spoke, fearful that her obvious lisp would give her away as an Iyvess. It was only a few more decades when Ssezzalta decided to leave the Spires. Although Ssezzkha was not so apt towards discovering civilization as his siblings, the trio eventually agreed to leave the Spires. They had already outlived two generations of their fellow snakes and were fearful of how the Jamoura would react to them.
____But before they could leave, her mother found them. Zzusssalissezz was the one woman who could easily slice through the bond the siblings shared and she became the reason Ssezzkero abandoned her brothers. The woman swept into her children's lives like a tornado, causing emotional havoc wherever she touched. Although not fond of the woman, Ssezzkero loved her as much as she thought children were supposed to love their mothers. But it was only a few years which her mother stayed. She taught her children of their culture, of their rarity and of the danger of the outside world. But it didn't take Ssezzkero long to resent her mother, a Raindancer who had lost her mark, and it left the siblings' bonds shattered and messy. After Zzusssalissezz' departure, years passed before Ssezzkero built up the confidence to move on, leaving her brothers and heading south.
____She kept quiet in the cities she stayed in, remaining on the outskirts and keeping a human façade. She abandoned her Iyvess form, an almost impossible decision, and rarely turned to her snake form. But the Iyvess could not uphold her façade for long. Sooner or later she would grow paranoid. Someone had taken interest in her, maybe someone had picked up a hint that she wasn't quite human. And so fear propelled her to the next city. There she would begin anew, masking her accent, living on the outskirts and keeping out of the social light. But soon Ssezzkero would grow worried again, dropping whatever she had in the city she was in, and flee again, determined to never be found. And yet throughout her life of constantly moving, she seemed to be searching, not running. She was looking for something, or someone. She wanted to find another like her, she knew there had to be others, but she had never found them and didn't know where to begin. Until she reached Riverfall.
____But after only a year in the city of her dreams, Ssezzkero discovered that Riverfall was not meant for her. So Ssezzkero returned to Alvadas, where she felt safe hiding within the city's illusions. It was there that she came across her brother, Ssezzkha. He shared with her the fate of Ssezzalta and the rumor that their mother, Zzusssalissezz was in Nyka. Ssezzkero shared with him that their mother was dead, recounting the vision she had seen, but decided to continue on towards Nyka to find answers of their last brother Ssezzalta.
____In Nyka, Ssezzkero quickly learned of the fate of her brother, having made the mistake of openly sharing with the city who he was, and found his ultimate demise because of his foolish decision. More than discovering the death of her mother, the death of her brother saddened her the most. This news, and the knowledge that Ssezzkha would surely disappear again, for the siblings shared their paranoia of discovery, she was alone again. The Iyvess she had met in Riverfall had disappeared again. The loneliness of this seemed all that more impeding than before, now that she had to continue on without the idea of finding others or reconnecting her family. Now she must continue on with the knowledge that she will forever be the only freshwater Iyvess. Unable to stay in Nyka with the death of her brother looming in the public forums, Ssezzkero moved further east, towards Ravok. To the dark city of Rhysol, she moved, leaving behind morals, and dragging her depression with her.
Timeline :
Currently, Ssezzkero is renting a single room at the