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Race: Akontak Gender: Female Age: 49 Birthday: 4th of Spring, 466 AV Birthplace: Mura
Appearance: Ae'lore stands at 6'0'', standing taller than her Konti kin but still not coming close to measuring with the tallest of the Akalak. Her mother's influence on the woman is apparent as her physique has a long way to go to match the toned bodies of her Akalak ancestors, though she prides herself on a lean and strong body nevertheless. Her hair is long and sporting a brilliant white hue to further put her apart from her father, though her deep crimson skin and bright green eyes serve as a constant reminder.
Character Concept
Ae'lore is a restless lady. She has little room for complacency in her life and knows the passage of time all too well to want to spend her days watching the hours slowly pass her by. As a result, she's a woman who desires results above all else and is passionate about her work. Her heart is definitely in the right place, though her direct and sometimes overly persistent approach easily paints her as impatient. When the choice is in her hands, she'll move forward and gladly give existing balance a push as long as she can prompt things to move in the right direction. She'll pick up and shoulder the world if she has to in order to progress it, which leads to her taking a keen interest in her surroundings and the people in it, sometimes imposing on peoples' lives more than they'd like. However, she reasons that her involvement is in their best interests. Unfortunately, as a result of her strong approach, she will easily come across as self-righteous and a bit of a know-it-all.
Rhissa, on the other hand, takes a more laid-back approach, much to Ae'lore's dismay. The darker sister concerns herself more with herself and her desires and happily steps forward to give Ae'lore a much needed break from her obsessive altruism despite her protests, sometimes going so far as to undermine Ae'lore's present or future efforts in a twisted display of sisterly love, reasoning that she's helping teach her sister lessons. Harsh, but necessary. In a sense, Rhissa cares more about Ae'lore than Ae'lore cares about others, though she has awkward and often unwelcomed methods of showing this protective side. She's the first to recognize and acknowledge their limits and chastises her light sister thoroughly and often about them.
Character History
A chance pair-up in Riverfall many years ago resulted in pregnancy. Neither of the parents really foresaw the coming of a child and because of that, the Konti healer Phiara returned to her home in Mura after her duty in Riverfall was done. Reuniting with her mother and daughters after several years away, it didn't take long for one of them to realize the growth of another child in Phiara's womb. As her pregnancy progressed, one of her eldest daughters were sent to deliver the news to the child's father in Riverfall, unfortunately seeing her absent as the curious child was born. An Akontak carrying the blessing of both parents and an absolute joy for the rest of the family.
Ae'lore grew up quickly, told that her birth was a truly blessed occasion and revered by her sisters. However, the more she became truly self-aware, she realized that the world on Mura moved so slowly, it seemed like she was racing through the years in her life. Her mother sat idly by, watching her daughter grow with a silent smile on her lips while Ae'lore grew increasingly frustrated and restless with her place in Mura's society. Her eldest sister and father didn't arrive back in Mura until several years following her birth, her sister carrying with her a child of her own. The father was confounded upon first seeing his strange dark-skinned daughter.
He didn't leave yet in a few years. Ae'lore's future was discussed several times between the two conflicted parents, often out of the way of Ae'lore. The father wished only for the child to be brough to Riverfall to get to know that part of her ancestry, but her mother refused. Ae'lore was too young and needed to spend more time among her sisters; the Akalak society, so dominated by men, was not the ideal place for a girl like her to grow when she could find kinship and understanding among the women of Mura. Or so she reasoned, anyway. Resistant to the decision but reluctant to carry on the argument, Ae'lore's Akalak father remained on Mura for a few years to, at the very least, insert himself as a father figure in Ae'lore's life.
Fortunately, this meant that her father could catch her when Rhissa finally emerged in the child's body. The event was traumatic to Ae'lore, as her mother had failed to explain this duality in-depth to the young girl. Thanks to the presence of her father, Ae'lore was eventually able to come to a sort of understanding with Rhissa, accepting the presence of her soul-sister and beginning their uneasy but nonetheless affectionate relationship. Only after Rhissa finally surrendered control back to Ae'lore for the first time did their father depart from Mura to return to his duties in Riverfall. At this point in time. Ae'lore and Rhissa were barely turning ten years old.
The years continued to pass and Ae'lore felt more and more alien in the Mura society as she grew older. She had assisted her mother in her practice as a healer by learning from her how to tend the gardens around the temple, picking up a few basic tidbits about the medicinal herbs and their application in potions. It took many years before she realized the point of this practice, however, as she was at this point in time fully aware of the practice of the healers in the Opal Temple and failed to see the relevance of the garden if the magic of their goddess could already take care of maladies. Phiara simply stressed that Ae'lore would learn as she got older, which is a phrase she learned to resent after much repetition.
When Ae'lore was approaching her thirties, she was finally fed up. Her frustration reached its peak and the woman cycled into a depression and self-imposed isolation from the rest of the women on the island. As far as she was concerned, she'd fallen between the seats as a child of two worlds; one that she could barely stand and another that she knew nothing about beyond the tales her mother had told her of the magnificent waterfall and the strong protectors of the city of Riverfall, whom she was descended from. Her mother was puzzled for a long time, unsure how to approach her daughter and her grief.
Eventually, Phiara approached Ae'lore and invited her to the Opal Temple together with her. After some persuasion, Ae'lore finally agreed to follow her mother. The pair of women arrived at the temple and after a brief, silent tour of the library and the halls before the healing chambers... Phiara took Ae'lore to visit the tower where she came face-to-face with the goddess Rak'keli for the first time. This fateful meeting left a deep imprint on Ae'lore and her sister, beyond just the brand on her face that she departed with.
After the meeting with the goddess Rak'keli, Ae'lore had changed profoundly. It was like she reunited with her long since realized purpose, finally possessing the power she needed to pursue it. It didn't take long before Ae'lore departed from Mura to travel to her father's home in Riverfall to seek him out and practice her art where it was the most needed; among warriors. Her father rejoiced at his daughter's arrival in his home, inviting her to stay with him and meet her brothers for the first time.
While the colour of her skin matched the men that surrounded her on ever side, Ae'lore continued to feel alien. It was a dramatic change of pace for her to move between Mura and Riverfall; suddenly she was thrust into a fast-paced society as opposed to the slow and tranquil existance she'd endured together with her mother and sisters. While it overwhelmed her at the start, she soon adapted and grew to adore the Akalak society and all its mysteries that she is struggling to this day to uncover in full. She didn't remain in her father's abode for long, however, but moved to her own locale in the city to lay the first stones on the path to the rest of her life.
Konti Gift:Recall As a result of long-term exposure to the vision waters of Mura, Ae'lore has developed an ability to sense forgetfulness in others by making eye-contact. If the individual is at risk of or is already losing touch with a memory, Ae'lore will be subject to brief and abstract visions and emotional responses connected with these memories. The visions grow stronger if it's a repressed, traumatic memory and the trauma is almost replicated in Ae'lore while eye-contact persists. As a result of this gift, Ae'lore herself has developed near-eidetic memory.
Healers can close shallow wounds, cure headaches and common colds, ease strained or tense muscles, and take care of minor rashes, allergies and depression. They can also deal effectively with snake bites, insect bites, and skin irritation due to plants such as poison ivy, and heal minor bruising. Healers with a singular gnosis mark can also purify deeper wounds with their touch, improving sanitation and eliminating the threat of dangerous wounds going septic or developing infection.
Gnosis Acquisition :
498 AV, Winter 24th
There was no end to futility, as far as she was concerned. So many years had passed her by, yet she couldn't find the answers for herself and her yearning had become her innermost torment. It tugged at every part of her being and called to her from far away, yet she found herself at a loss. She couldn't understand her purpose or reconcile with her powerlessness. Curled up among the sheets in her mother's home, Ae'lore stared wide-eyed into the darkness underneath the thick cloth, occasionally squinting to block out the cold daylight that struggled to shine through. Somewhere in the back of her mind, her sister leaned back and listened to the agonized rambling that echoed in their mind. There was no escaping it, to Ae'lore's great sorrow. She'd remained in this position for several bells already. Darkness had been chased away by cold, wintry sunlight outside in the time she'd remained buried in numerous blankets.
It'd been several seasons since the darkness first appeared in the depths of her mind. Rhissa had warned her several times, but she hadn't listened. You're thinking too much, she'd said. This pointless existance on Mura had slowly driven Ae'lore to the brink of her sanity while Rhissa just sat back and enjoyed the show. One of these days, maybe, Ae'lore would come to see her side of things. After all, the suffering wouldn't end until she did. Ae'lore snarled and gripped a tuft of snow-white hair to tug lightly at her scalp, silencing her sister and blocking her out of her mind. ... Or, at least, she made an honest attempt. Rhissa gloated. She could feel it with every fiber of her being.
Ae'lore didn't belong here. Not as she was now. She had nothing to contribute to her mother's practice despite her best efforts to teach her what she could. She felt the desire, but watching her sisters practice their art with such grace and integrity had made Ae'lore feel small. She was gifted and blessed, or so she was told. It was an elaborate lie. Her existance in this place was nothing but friction; she did not possess the gift to mend that which was broken. If anything, she broke it beyond repair in a vain effort to replicate the grace she had observed in her mother and sisters as they practiced at the Opal Temple. Meanwhile, she tended the gardens. Every day, it was the same old story. She assisted them with chores and commited to studies in an effort to reach the same level, all in vain.
She didn't belong. She was a child of two worlds and belonged in neither; the absence of her mother and sisters' blessings only stood in testament to this and reinforced her belief. It was slowly driving her mad.
A subtle rustling not far from her head caught her attention. Before she could emerge from under the blankets, they were pulled back to reveal a familiar face gazing down on her. Her mother's eyes burrowed deeply into her own and Ae'lore thought for a moment that she could spot the traces of tears still clinging to the canals as if afraid of falling. After a few moments' pause, the Konti dove to embrace her strange, dark-skinned daughter. "My dear girl. You are in so much pain, and I am at a loss," she admitted after what felt like an eternity of awkward embracing. Ae'lore couldn't muster enough care to pass a response and just wrapped her arms around her mother in return. This wasn't the first time. Daily, her mother entered the room to announce her sympathies but nothing more ever came of it. Her mother could mend much, but this was a malady she had no clue how to tackle.
"... Please, come..." Now, that was a change. Retreating but seizing one of Ae'lore's hands, her mother tugged gently as if urging her to follow. Perplexed, it took a moment for the Akontak to realize what was going on. "Please. Come now, daughter. I need you to come," she pleaded with a mild undertone of urgency in her voice. It was strange, really. For being such a tranquil and calm woman usually, this sort of behaviour was very out of character for Phiara, the respectable healer. While she couldn't help being suspicious, she had no choice but to follow. This side of her mother had never emerged before as she could remember, and she wasn't taking any chances. It was a change, and Ae'lore had yet to figure out what it would come to mean to her.
Not too long after, Ae'lore and Phiara climbed the steps into the Opal Temple together. Without saying a word, her mother tugged her along through the building and the surrounding facilities. The pair didn't exchange any words, Ae'lore simply watching the sisters of the Order in passing as they studied, took care of patients and mended the halls. She witnessed a rare embrace between two sisters-in-arms, the serpent marks in their faces almost aligning in a manner that made Ae'lore's stomach churn. It didn't last long, however, as the silent pair continued their wordless tour of the temple. Once they'd visited most of the chambers at least once, several bells later, Phiara finally tugged Ae'lore towards one part of the temple she had never set foot in before.
Her mother lead her out into the courtyard. Despite Ae'lore's initial protests, the woman manages to tug her daughter along past the doors of the South Tower cathedral, the Akontak resistant but nonetheless ushered past the threshold. What greeted her inside was, unsurprisingly, white stone. The candles surrounding Rak'keli's statue were snuffed out, possibly from the gust that squeezed through the doors when they entered. Another person appeared to be visiting the cathedral already and Ae'lore was quick to bow apologetically and turn with the hopes of escaping the structure before her gut sank all the way to the cold stone floore.
"No, stay." The voice that rang behind her was new, yet strangely familiar to her. Gentle, yet managing to carry itself with full volume and clarity across the massive cathedral. The words repeated in Ae'lore's ears several times before she finally turned around, abandoning her attempts at escaping. At this point, her mother relinquished her grasp on her daughter's wrist and stepped slowly and with reverence towards the third presence. She stopped half-way, simply bowing down and dipping her head respectfully. ... Not knowing what to do, Ae'lore followed her mother's example, at least to the point of approaching.
When she dipped her head, she felt a pair of warm hands on her shoulders. Picking her head up again, the face so reminiscent of the statue's stared back at her with the softest smile she had ever seen. "Your mother has spoken of you many times," Rak'keli begun, giving Ae'lore's shoulders a light squeeze before releasing her and retreating slowly, turning to face her own statue. "The prayers never fall on deaf ears. I always listen. Many of the healers come here to recount their efforts at the temple. Sometimes, if I'm lucky, someone returns with stories of their exploits abroad."
She was smiling, still. Ae'lore couldn't see it since she was turned away from her, but she could tell from the warmth in her tone. Dumbfounded, the Akontak stood wistlessly in the middle of the cathedral with her wide eyes locked between the goddess' shoulderblades. "It's not the exploits themselves that interest me," Rak'keli continued. "It's the glow in their eyes as they talk about them. They go through so many trials in their travels, yet there is so much love and warmth beneath their weariness and sorrow. It's a beautiful thing to see."
Turning towards Ae'lore, Rak'keli's smile faded slowly. "... There is sorrow aplenty in your heart, child. Don't look so offended--your mother told me." Ae'lore blinked, straightening her face and reaching up to feel it for any traces of a scowl in a moment of absent-minded daze. Phiara and Rak'keli shared a chuckle before the goddess continued. "It's not an easy life I bestow upon the healers, but the miracles they return to the world makes it worthwhile. The world and its people are still broken and there are forces who continue to try to tear it apart at the seams even in its wounded state. Tragic, really..."
"All you need is the desire. That's the foundation for a healer. You don't need me or my power to set out and help mend the world and its people." A chunk of ice sunk in Ae'lore's tummy. Rhissa made a vain attempt to catch it and lift it back up, to no avail. "But... of course..." Rak'keli's smile returned as she closed the distance between her and the frozen-solid Akontak. Again, her warm hands landed on the woman's shoulders, pushing warmth and and life back into Ae'lore as she stood there with her breath caught in her throat. "Walk with my blessing. The desire burns in your chest and it'd be an awful waste if I didn't take advantage of it, no?"
"All I need from you is a promise. Like I said before... the life of a healer isn't easy," Rak'keli continues. "You will face many trials and many are going to fall around you despite your best efforts. But I need you to swear to me, child," she says while locking her eyes deep in Ae'lore's own. "Swear to me that my gift will not go wasted. Let not your judgement divert you from your path. Everyone deserves your help and you mustn't turn away from anyone. Do you understand?" ... Nodding slowly, Ae'lore swallowed before wordlessly mouthing 'yes, I do'.
Ae'lore sipped a bated breath when a wave of cold washed over the left side of her face. Initially it spread over it like a cold handprint but concentrated in a narrow shape under her eye. She couldn't see it, but a small voice at the back of her head told her that it could only be one thing. "There. What are you waiting for?" Rak'keli's words quickly pulled Ae'lore back down to the floor before her mind wandered off elsewhere. "You have a purpose. Pursue it. Go on."
She didn't waste a moment. Dipping her head in respect and heartfelt gratitude to the goddess, the Akontak wordlessly turned and sprinted out of the cathedral. Once her daughter had finally departed, Phiara turned her gaze upon Rak'keli and allowed her tears to roll at last. "... Thank you."
Language
Fluent Language: Kontinese Basic Language: Tukant Poor Language: Common
![[Verified by Fallon]](./images/checkmark.png "[Verified by Fallon]")
Ae'lore 
by Ae'lore on July 24th, 2014, 7:41 am 
