![[Unverified]](./images/spacer.gif "[Unverified]")
Race: Symenestra
Gender: Female
Date of Birth: 13th of Fall, 493AV
Height: 5 ft. 4 in.
Weight: 110-130 lbs
Build: Thin, lithe, flexible but not muscular.
Eyes: Deep crimson, almost black.
Hair: A pure, colorless black.
Fashion: Bright silk tunics or dresses with leggings underneath. Easily removed slippers and light sashes for coverup.
Profession: Candlemaker [Pending]
Housing: WIP
Languages: Common (Fluent), Symenos (Basic)
Neely
Racial Abilities
qqqSymenestra are able to see well in poor lighting conditions, dilating their pupils at will. What is murky to human eyes is fairly clear to a Symenestra, and what is pitch black to a human is only foggy to a Symenestra. In the darkness, the pupil will sometimes appear to glow with the eyeshine commonly seen in nocturnal creatures. Neely's recent years above ground have necessitated reading glasses due to the unnatural amount of light. Her dwelling is almost always dark to make up for this.
qqqSymenestra vary from human proportions with their slightly elongated arms and hands, likely to make for easier travel on all fours. They also possess especially strong, black nails that are commonly used as claws. It takes the better part of ten years to grow a usable set of crescent "claws", so most Symenestra are loath to file them down (a difficult process due to the nail's strength). However, the toenails are usually kept filed in order to wear shoes. The most notable aspect of the Symenestra, though, are their long, sharp canine teeth that can dispense a corrosive venom. The teeth are visible only if the Symenestra opens his mouth or smiles. When a Symenestra is riled or about to bite, their canines can extend up to half an inch longer. However, it may take up to a minute for the fangs to retract.
qqqAlso, they can produce a venom dispensed from their fangs. This venom works like a potent stomach acid, breaking down organic structures into liquid form. It begins the process by dispensing an agent that relaxes the body of the prey before beginning the painful process. A humane Symenestra kills their prey before this portion of the venom begins. The strength of the venom is based on how long the Symenestra has gone without eating: the longer between meals, the deadlier the bite. If a Symenestra has eaten with the past two days, then its venom is painful but not fatal. Symenestra can control the dispensation of venom for the most part, but venom tends to be produced involuntarily when the idea of hunger is introduced. However, desire and hunger can trigger it in the same way, so a benevolent Symenestra lover must handle themselves with focus and care. The expression "the Kiss of a Symenestra" is often used to describe a bittersweet experience.
qqqThe strangest ability of a Symenestra is their defiance of gravity. Symenestra can extend a host of microscopic hooks from their skin that enable them to scale seemingly smooth walls. This also allows them to carry more weight than imagined possible due to the distribution of the burden across every inch of skin. In order for a Symenestra to adhere to a surface or object there must be no more than a delicate fabric separating his skin from the object he wishes to scale. For this reason, Symenestra prefer to wear light sandals, easily removed, or nothing at all on their feet. Ranekissra silk is also popular, as the strong fabric still allows for adherence when worn.
qqqThe lightness of their bones gives them speed, but the sort of blows that would break a human will literally shatter a Symenestra frame. As a result, their fighting style revolves around not being caught and long-range weapons. Many are even cautious of jostling crowds.
Personality
qqq"When life gives you lemons, squirt them in your enemy's eyes."
Intense and passionate, Neely can be very magnetic, even wild at times, and have a sense of power and an instinct for survival. Moody, she often draw on the power of the emotions as a hidden resource and release. Neely is intense, passionate and very personal. She rushes past superficialities right to the heart of any matter, a loyal friend but a fanatic foe.
qqqLarger than life, she expects the best, and is open and honest herself. She has a passion for discovery, wanting to see, experience and gain knowledge of everything life has to offer, especially foreign things or things that are 'out of the ordinary'. Neely is confident and vibrant, but emotionally independent, she don't mind a more spartan environment than most. Neely is usually secure in her own actions, and can be a bit impulsive when forming relationships, especially those who give her a challenge.
qqqWhen expressing emotions, she is direct, forthright and honest, preferring a more assertive approach to getting her feelings across. This seriousness, her detached nature, is dependable and others trust that judgement.
qqqNeely is very much involved with all that is non-traditional and revolutionary; Independence above all. Original, different and unpredictable when it comes to emotional reactions, she tends to show emotions suddenly or in unusual ways. It would be hard to deny that Neely prefers being unconventional and nonconformist, she actually gets pleasure out of engaging in forbidden or unauthorized behavior.
qqqDespite her seemingly detached nature, Neely lives for the emotional turmoil of those around her. Inspiring and magnificently compassionate, she tries to entrance others with an ability to draw them into a world of imagination and dreams. Through this, she strives to get to the searing truth of the situation. When she needs to, Neely works to ferret out information and all kinds of secrets.
She has an innate distrust of large organizations, and finds comfort in small groups or independence.
qqqNeely is a very deliberate speaker and communicates with great enthusiasm. She has no trouble putting her feelings into words and most of these words pack a wallop. Her ability to get to the point is all but phenomenal. She can talk and put into words areas of the psychological that others wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. She even enjoys it, cherishing whatever is different and out of the ordinary. Emotionally, she rushes into areas and handling subject matter that others would never come near. Vulnerable issues, sensitive areas of the self, and psychology are enjoyable to her, and is the manifestation of her attraction to passion. If anything, Neely tries too hard and tends to force things, many find her various approaches too severe.
qqqThe commonplace and the humdrum are not part of Neely's world. She places herself among friends and surroundings that must be unconventional to the point of being controversial. Neely couldn't care less what others think of her or her people. As a result, the way Neely shows affection may also be unusual, although her friends and lovers are certainly nonconformists as well. Neely sets a high value on being different.
qqqNeely has a strong drive for ideals and missions that she sets for herself, and will not stop until she achieves her goal. When she concentrates, she find the quickest, and most adaptable, route to her goal, ignoring all else. She is anything but "flip" with her more serious ideas, and is a hard, steady worker. Others may find you deep, with a sense of mission and mystery. You are willing to do work others would not go near, quietly bending things to your will, having it your own way. Once her goal is achieved comes the tendency to re-make or re-mold herself in preparation for her next pursuit.
qqqShe can afford to place a high value on her dreams and ideals and doesn't consider them otherworldly or impossible. Magic and mythology are natural to her, accepted in a way that so many people push them away. People who encounter this aspect of Neely's ideals may sometimes feel deceived by her straightforward and honest personality, once they find that she enjoys such controversial ideas.
Faith
qqq
Ionu
qqqOf the few dieties that Neely has taken interest in, she likes Ionu the most. She finds the God's illusions as a sanctuery and enjoys the adventure and chaos that it provides. Not in favor of boredom herself, she reflects Ionu's passion for drama with her own. Although she is not nearly as tricky or clever as some of Ionu's other followers, she is one of hte few outsiders that took the illusions in the city of Alvadas with stride. More than stride even, she is reminded of the God's presence every time she steps out her door, and she was quick to determine it is much easier to play along rather than try to guard against these illusions. But more so than playing along, Neely has recently challenged herself to use the illusions. She doesn't wish to understand them, merely to partake in them in an effort to prove her faith to Ionu.
Other
qqqThere are not many other Gods that Neely cares to commit herself to. Not even Virates, for she thinks she is unworthy of him with no bloodline to call her own. Yet in more recent times she has begun to show an interest in Sagallius, of all the Gods, although her curiosity is not yet probing enough to actually be considered a faith.
History
qqqBorn to a surrogate that no father claimed. She was quickly adopted by the Iridioides Web, where she was raised through infancy. But when the web grew, the Arundina Web took her in as she grew into a child, since they were better able to afford her peculiar interest: Candles. The need for light by fire was unnecessary in Kalinor, but Neely fell in love with the scents and the beauty of the craft, rather than the necessity. However, as she grew to be a teenager, it was expected she find a more. Substantial trade. Yet Neely had no interest in weaving or hunting as her peers did. Instead, the curious Symenestra turned her attention to the notorious Orphine Web. They were a closed family, rarely socializing, and Neely found them fascinating for that reason. She wanted to know what secrets they kept, and after approaching their ancient matriarch, she quickly learned.
qqqNeely didn't catch onto magic quite as easily as her useless hobby for candlemaking. She spent seasons uncovering magics she never hoped to unlock, instead of honing her skills in a worthwhile project, and it caused tension within her web. Her new family didn't want her to socially outcast herself along with the Orphine web, but Neely didn't care. It wasn't until she finally unlocked tow of the magics that she began to truly start to understand the study of magics. But her family would not put up with this. To deter her from spending more time with Lephora, they sent her away on a gleaning. It was perilous getting to Alvadas, where she fell in love with the illusions. She was only a teenager and far more accepting of the strange city than her peers. And when her group had gathered the knowledge they wanted, they prepared to return home, before winter came too near.
qqqBut Neely decided to stay. With much arguing and fighting with her gleaning group, they were eventually forced to leave without her or risk spending another year in Alvadas while they waited out winter. Neely dropped her last name and never looked back.
qqqIt was upon staying in Alvadas that she realized that she had no idea how to take care of herself. Gleanings were important to the Symenestra because most, if not all, of them lead a very sheltered life, and Neely was no exception. She was too old to take refuge with the orphanage, even if she wanted to. And her inattention to learning a practical skill was not helping her in the outside world. It was a season after she ran out of the little money that her peers had left her with, that she turned to begging. For a short time, the young teen nearly sold her body, anything for a roof over her head.
qqqThis was when an old Konti took pity on her. The woman was not well off herself, but she was late in her years and had fulfilled her duty. Like her kind, Elmai was compassionate and incredibly kind. Even though Neely had faced little to no racism as a Symenestra in Alvadas, mostly because people hardly believed she actually was, Elmai was more kind to Neely than she could have hoped. She offered a roof and a full belly to the Symenestra, but could not afford much more. Instead, the old Konti helped Neely put her candle work to use. At least the skill was not utterly pointless to the humans.
qqqDuring the next few years, while Elmai fell into dementia, Neely took care of her. The little money she made making candles for various vendors at the Bazaar went to paying for the herbs that would supposedly allow Elmai to hold onto her sanity. But when Neely passed the age of twenty-two, the old Konti died in her sleep. It took Neely nearly a season to pull herself together. To clean the cottage, sell it, and work towards starting her business.
Relationships
Name
Race: KontiBirthdate: Spring, 273AV
Deathdate: Fall, 515AV
Title/Relationship: Friend
Language: Common
Skills: Fortune Telling (20), Teaching (20), Tactics: Business (10)
Concept: ...
Status: Deceased, Stationary.
Other: This NPC is used for flashbacks only (HD Pending). PM me for use.
