Samantha Slate

[Samantha Slate]

Samantha Slate Physical Description Name: Samantha Slate Race: Human, Vantha Age: 28 Birthday: The 24th of Summer, 484 A.V. Height: 5'2" Weight: 112 Character Concept Samantha is a woman who has seen far, far too much than she should have ever seen, or so she thinks. After betrayal at a young age and rough treatment from everyone she met, the woman has crawled into an emotional shell of paranoia and hardheartedness. Though people sometimes try to reach out to and befriend her, Samantha turns them away for fear of being hurt or tricked almost out of instinct. She has convinced herself that everyone in the world is selfishly seeking their own gain, and has come to follow that ideal in her own life as well. Because of her distrust, many would call Samantha paranoid. To her, this is just a compliment. Paranoia helps her survive all the evils of the world and she has come to embrace it as an old friend. Through this sense of isolation, Samantha felt it necessary to be able to detect betrayal and harmful intent in others so she could avoid any unneeded hurt. Due to her upbringing in a polymage's home, she had access to a rather large library while growing up and took advantage of it at every opportunity. Despite her perceived troubles, she found solace in learning and the company of knowledge. Now, Samantha is coming to Zeltiva to learn more about the arts--both magical and mundane--that keep her from harm at the hands of others. In Samantha's mind, knowledge is power; if she is strong enough, no one can hurt her. Character Appearance Samantha's garb is fairly simple and unassuming, as she intends it to be. Her blouse is a plain, dark blue with a matching knee-length dress. Both are kept loose to avoid accentuating too many of her curves, lest she draw any unwanted attention. Though these usually look good on her, Samantha's ever-changing eye color sometimes makes them clash with her outfit. Like all those with Vantha blood, Samantha's eyes reflect her emotions and force her to be fairly open about how she feels. For someone with Samantha's sensitivity in this area, that can be a severe disadvantage. The woman inherited her mother's short stature and skin tone, as she stands at just over 5'2" with skin that is just a hint darker than the average human's. This, combined with her flowing, dark brown hair makes her a fairly attractive woman. Her figure is slender, but shapely and it fits her dress well. Samantha wears a pair of tie-on sandals that both allow her to take them on and off at will and still let her run if she needs to. Character History The product of a union between a Vantha artisan and a human polymage, Samantha always stood out from others her age. In Zeltiva, the city of her birth, she had always been shunned somewhat by other children for her strange eyes and eccentric father. To make matters worse, Samantha had never known her mother as, according to her father, she had passed away due to birth complications. With only a detached father for companionship, the girl had taken to spending vast amounts of her free time hidden in the large library in her father's house. Samantha's father was fairly rich, having worked with many of his skills for years and was comfortably able to support both himself and his daughter while still being able to maintain his book collection. Unfortunately, Samantha's father forbade her to enter the library without his supervision, as he knew that many things found in the books would not be particularly safe for a child to know, even if his daughter could not understand them. This never stopped Samantha from sneaking into the room time and time again to read the old books and tomes that her father had procured over his lifetime. Over time, the girl's father began to spend longer lengths of time in his study, often locking himself inside for days at a time and neglecting his daughter entirely. Though he loved Samantha, his first love was his education and knowledge. At first, this delighted the girl. She loved spending time in the forbidden library with what seemed like all the knowledge in the world at her fingertips. Samantha rarely understood most of what she read, only retaining bits and pieces of general information as she read. Eventually however, Samantha began to grow lonely with no one to converse with or ask questions. Every book she read inspired more questions from her, and the only one she knew who could answer them would discipline her if she asked them! Besides that, her father had taken to spending almost all of his time in his study. As she was now a young woman--fourteen years old--she was expected to cook proper meals for him and deliver them to his room. Though she occasionally worried about their money running out because her father never went to work any longer, it did not seem like it would happen. She did not know it, but her father had amassed a tidy sum that could easily keep them both cared for modestly for a few years. This became more and more obvious as the years passed; instead of the nicely-prepared meals their chef had served when Samantha was a little girl, Samantha herself had to put together something every night. More often than not it was some foul concoction that would earn a disapproving frown from her father and the occasional illness if it were particularly poor. On one of her daily trips into her father’s study, a cramped room stacked with books even older than those in the library, Samantha noticed that her father had begun acting differently. Instead of his usual thanks, which Samantha dearly enjoyed as the closest thing to quality time she was able to spend with her father, he simply took it and waved her away with a grunt. The first time this happened, Samantha dismissed it. She had assumed her father was simply in a poor mood. After several days of this treatment, the girl had finally asked her father what was bothering him. Instead of answering in a normal way, whether it be by expelling her from the room or explaining himself, he beckoned her closer. Upon seeing him more clearly, the girl gasped. Her father’s eyes were heavily bloodshot and there was a red stain on his cheeks, as if he had been crying tears of blood some time ago. Though she did not know it at the time, this was evidence of her father’s consistent over giving in the area of Hypnotism. Samantha’s father had been driven to the brink of insanity and beyond by his desire to garner and control magic of every type. He had begun dabbling in the arts of Hypnotism and Leeching, and had decided that he needed someone he could practice on to improve himself. The obvious choice was his trusting, oblivious daughter; fortunately for her, Samantha’s father still had the presence of mind to understand that he did not wish his daughter to be permanently scarred by his experiments, so he had conceived a plan to both protect her and still give him someone to practice on. For the next six years, Samantha was compelled to learn Shielding, a skill that her father felt was not threatening, so she would have more Djed for her father to sap from her when he felt it was necessary. Her father had used a mix of common negotiation and Hypnotism to convince her to go along with the plan; he offered the girl free access to his library and parts of his study as rewards for working hard at her study of Shielding. This went on for some time, with her being drained of much Djed once or twice a week for her father’s experiments. After some time, Samantha’s father began to become more unstable mentally. If she showed any sign of resistance or any kind of flaw, he would fly into a rage and sometimes even beat her. This hurt her deeply, though Samantha dared not allow it to show. Eventually she came across a book in her father’s study that detailed Auristics and their uses. Upon learning that Auristics allowed one to catch glimpses of another person’s inner thoughts, Samantha immediately began attempts to train herself in the subject. She wanted more than anything to understand why her father had changed so much from the loving, if distant father she had cared for. From the time she was sixteen onward, half of her study time would he devoted in secret to Auristics while the rest went to Shielding. Over time, she began to work harder in Auristics and grow less interested in her Shielding, thinking that her father would not notice. Unfortunately for Samantha, he noticed during one of the times when his mood was particularly volatile. He had found several books on the topic of Auristics in Samantha’s room and stormed into the library, intent on causing Samantha grievous harm. In terror of her father, Samantha fled her home. The man had been using Hypnotism to scare his daughter into submission, though he had overestimated both his own knowledge of his daughter’s mind and his abilities in Hypnotism. Samantha ran hard, not stopping until she had grown too exhausted to continue on farther. For some time, she wept out in the streets, sure that she was doomed to starve. It was nearly a week after her escape from her father that Samantha realized that she could do as her father had, making a living off of her abilities with magic. In this way, she supported herself as an Aurist for two seasons before buying passage away from Zeltiva. The woman spent the next several years studying and living in cities throughout Mizahar wherever she deemed it prudent to do so. Her abilities with both Shielding and Auristics allowed her to make a living wherever magic was deemed a legal profession, and so she rarely wanted for anything. Unfortunately, Samantha’s mental health quickly declined after leaving Zeltiva. Through a series of unfortunate events, combined with the terrible way in which she parted with her father, Samantha grew more withdrawn and became the paranoid, pitiful woman she is today. Soon after turning twenty-seven years old, the woman felt a need to return to her home city. Though she did not relish the possibility of running into her father, Samantha knew that the University of Zeltiva housed some of the most valuable magical knowledge in the world. In her quest to protect herself ever better against betrayal and fear, she knew that she had to return to the city of her birth regardless of the risks. To this end, she purchased passage into Zeltiva through the summer and arrived soon after the beginning of fall. Possessions 1 Set of Clothing -Simple Blouse -Simple Dress -Simple Undergarments -Simple Cloak -Simple Shoes 1 Waterskin 1 Backpack which contains: -Comb (Wood) -Brush (Wood) -Soap -Razor -Balanced Rations (1 Week’s Worth) -1 eating knife -Flint & Steel Heirloom: (50gm worth) 600 Gold Mizas Housing: N/A Ledger Purchase Cost Total Starting +600 GM 600 GM University Classes -90 GM 510 GM Skills, Lores, Magics, Gnosis, Languages Skill EXP Total Proficiency Auristics # 10 RB, # 16 SP. #4 XP 30 Competent Intelligence # 8 SP 8 Novice Shielding # 26 SP 26 Competent Observation #1 XP, #2 XP, 3 XP 6 Novice Negotiation #3 XP, 3 XP 6 Novice Interrogation #2 XP 2 Novice Practiced Languages: Common Fluent Language: Common Recommended Lores: Lore of Basic Vantha Heritage Lore of Zeltivan Culture Cadena Fianza the Summoning Professor Professor Fianza's Temperament Fianza's Familiar: Suiembro Attacked by Suiembro Book: A Treatise on Secrecy Zeltiva: Wright Memorial Library Aaron's Aura (Matthaus) Aaron: A Mage (Matthaus) Aaron's Dorm Room (Matthaus) Accosted by a Drunk Saved by Ignotus Ignotus the Fire Reimancer Ignotus' Aura: Dead Yet Living Ignotus Lives in the University Ignotus the Nuit Ichor: The (White) Blood of Nuits Ignotus' Magical Knowledge: Basic Glyphing Ignotus' Magical Knowledge: Beginner Animation The Feeling of Peace and Security with Ignotus The Magic Knowledge Exchange Deal with Ignotus Thread List Fall, 512 A.V. : 5th Fall - When Shielders Collide - Seven and Samantha meet and learn a few things about each other. (In Progress) 6th Fall - Close Calls - Samantha is saved by Ignotus, and unwittingly falls under his hypnotic commands. (Pending Grading) 9th Fall - A Shopping Trip - Samantha meets a Kelvic and learns a little more about their nature. (In Progress) 11th Fall - Can You Read Me? - Matthaus and Samantha meet for the first time. (Complete) 13th Fall - A Search Party - Samantha organizes a search effort for several missing people. (In Progress) 15th Fall - Sam's Day Off - Samantha is late for her first meeting with the Summoning professor. (Complete)