Velho

[Velho]

VELHO VALJETA Appearance Race: Kelvic, Magpie Gender: Female Age: Roughly 3 seasons Birthday: Spring 40 516 Birthplace: Wind Reach Appearance: Velho is not a particularly enticing girl in terms of aesthetics. She has dark, almost black, brown hair that really only appears to be the shade that it is under exceptionally strong lighting - it appears black most of the time, as a result. The face is oval, mostly smooth except for acne that appears on the faces of adolescents. Small eyes lacking the favoured double eyelid trait, also such a deep brown that it appears black unless under strong light or peered very closely at. Average eyebrows, a sharp nose and a mouth with lips that are not plump, but not thin either. Perhaps something that resembles a prominent cupid's bow on the best days, and an imitation of a valley on the worst. Her face, while not forever set into a smile, does not fall into the range of a scowl or frown either. It is decidedly neutral - although it is not what one might consider approachable. One might even think of it as barely disdainful and Velho does nothing to disperse such assumptions. It lends her a sort of air that aids in solitarity, which she prefers more often than not. However, she can be quite social and even prone to random bouts of thoughts being spoken out. Layered hair that can easily be tied into a ponytail - often kept neat, although after a day's work, stray strands can be seen all over the place. Velho is short, standing at 5 feet and 5 inches (165cm) at the very most - perhaps 5 feet 6 inches (167 cm) if she tiptoes. Compared to much of the population, she is exceedingly average in everything related to appearance. But then again, when everyone is unique, nobody is, and as common as Velho might seem to be, she would probably stand out amongst a crowd of exotic people. Usually, though, you wouldn't be able to pick her out from the throngs that crowd the streets day in and day out. Her clothes are simple garments that fit to her form but do not cling to her. She prefers pants to skirts and dresses, and long shirts to short ones. Still, she will switch easily enough if the need arises, although she will always appear slightly uncomfortable in typically feminine attire. One will almost always see Velho carry a quarterstaff 7 feet in length. As a magpie, one would not be able to distinguish Velho from the non-kelvic Eurasian Magpies, Pica pica Special Abilities Velho is able to sense approaching danger quickly - there is no magic helping her with this - it is merely her animal's intuition. She has an aptitude for facial recognition also, and she rarely forgets a person once she's met them. Character Concept For all her percieved "average traits", Velho is far from dull in terms of personality. Her mind moves quickly - even as a young, teenaged kelvic she possesses high levels of intelligence, like her animal side does. While she may not know math or how to read, she is quick-witted and learns fast, and her tongue is sharp. It knows how to cut and how to flatter, as well as how to retort and to debate. The girl is often underestimated because of her appearance and her supposed lack of interest in proving that she should not be underestimated in the first place. The truth is exactly the opposite - it is not that she does not wish to prove that she is not "unworthy", but rather the fact that she simply does not care if she is not noticed as much. She believes that it is the foe who escapes notice that is the most efficient, and it is the mouse who thrives in darkness while the lions and the bears lie dead at the feet of a hunter. She hates to be confined and considers herself more of a free spirit than someone content to be stuck doing one thing forever. Velho does not care for conflict and does not actively seek it out. Her focus is towards her studies and bettering herself, particularly in the study of the arcane arts. Character History Velho has the wind in her blood and wanderlust in her veins, and utter confusion at the both of them, mostly. She was born in Wind Reach, to a pair of kelvics. Both had extremely watered down Inarta blood in them, probably a result of an Inarta marrying another race, and so on and so forth. Her parents never really bothered to tell her the details and it did not matter to Velho. She had been told instead to let go of what binded her and pursue what she wanted to do, not meekly follow something prescribed by her blood. So she did, for the better part of months. It is known that not all kelvics live very long lives. It was the same with her parents, a mouse and a hare. An odd pairing, certainly with no bond, for kelvics do not bond with other kelvics - but quaint all the same. Mice have short lifespans, and can be shortened further by accident or chance - Velho's mother died, caught in a trap meant for rats. The hare would be shot dead a few days after she had left home, an accidental victim of a hunt. Before Velho had even made a third of her journey out, her father was dead and she did not know of it. When the news of her mother's death reached them, Velho's father was distraught. Velho, on the other hand, was too young to remember much of it - she remembers tears and wailing, and then nothing. She lived her life most normally, garnering a few strange gazes from the children around her when she grew up so quickly, but she was never harassed. She learned Nari as a first and common language, then picked up Common when she realised that nothing was going to be Nari all the time. Magic was also an uncommon thing in her life - after the destruction to lands caused by magic, it was something not to be trusted. Something to be afraid of - yet Velho has never seen it that way. Magic is a force that needs to be wielded properly, such as a knife, or a bow, or a baliset. Is a knife evil? It is only as evil as the one wielding it. Such is the same with magic, for magic is never inherently good or bad. For Velho, she managed to scour a hidden magician skilled in various arts. She was old, a devoted sorceress who had spent her lifetime learning them. It was she who taught Velho rudimentary Voiding - not enough to be excellent at it, but enough that she knew how to work with the magic enough not to kill herself. It was a long, tiring, painfully dull process that was only made bearable by the knowledge that it would come to benefit her in the long run. For months she worked as a lowly apprentice, her Mistress's teaching dedicated more to the students who actually had the time to space. Hence her information was limited while her personal sacrifices were greater than she had expected them to be. If anyone asked about what she had done to scrabble for that opportunity, Velho would present a wry smile and a half-hearted sigh and recount her experiences begging. Every day she had cajoled the woman, brought small, shiny gifts - even fallen onto her knees outside the doorstep - waiting for the crone to arrive home or leave her house. Soon it became a predictable routine - the girl waiting for the witch - and the witch doing her best to ignore the girl. If I teach you, will you shut up? the witch had asked, and Velho had nodded enthusiastically as she was able to. She did not teach her complicated things or truly important things for she was doing it purely to keep the kelvic off of her doorstep and out of her life. But Velho learned anyway - she took what she could. For knowledge, Velho had sacrificed family time, the pursuit of better skills, the comfort gained from social life... So much of it was gone, dedicated intstead to the study of the entity that had destroyed the world. Oh, and she paid for it, for what she had gained in devotion to the study of such arts she lost in other knowledge, like glassblowing, or farming. And she sacrificed interest too, for by the fifth lesson the novelty of learning the art had died away and she subjected herself to lesson after monotonous lesson, impatient in her pursuit of the craft. Only the wish to learn kept her there; only the motivation that she could be more than just a scientific experiment drove her to succeed where others might have failed. But it was not all lost; evidently she had learnt something and the crone sent her away when it seemed that she could not derive anything more from the lessons. Or, perhaps, she sensed Velho's wanderlust, her dislike for being confined to a single place and knew that she had to let the magpie spread her wings. As a result of the initiation and training, she learned to appreciate emptiness. And, like any other sensible sorceress, she knew to have a healthy fear of the Void that she worked with. With fear came caution, and with caution came growth. Riding was a secondary interest to the young girl. Perhaps she could not be taught science, or mathematics, or how to read and write. But she could still harness nature and bend it to her will. As a bird, she needed no external wings. But as a human, she was slow, and she could not run as fast as the taller children, or catch the glass just so like an Inarta. Instead, she learned to ride her mount through tricky terrain and cold air, and to leap over thorns and puddling streams. She'd never seen the need for a wing eagle either - of course they were convenient, but she had wings herself, and so she stayed on the ground with horses as her wind and her feet as her motor. Eventually, and as all young birds do, she left the nest to pursue a life outside of Wind Reach where her family had originated from many generations ago. Leaving did not upset her remaining father, nor did it upset Velho herself too much. She was a magpie, chasing after the shiny new world out there until she found herself drawn to a city named Lhavit. Language Fluent Language: Nari, Birdspeak Basic Language: Common Poor Language: N/A Skills   Master N/A   Expert N/A   Competent Riding (Horse) (26): 26SP   Novice Hunting (10): 10RB Voiding (10): 10SP Wilderness Survival (Mountain) (14): 14SP Lores   Location Voiding: Dangers of the Void Voiding: Creating a basic portal   Personal N/A   Magic N/A Possessions   Clothing Simple Shirt (SP) Simple Pants (SP) Simple Undergarments (SP) Simple grey-green cloak (SP) Simple boots (SP)   Backpack Waterskin (SP) Bone comb (SP) Bone brush (SP) Soap (SP) Razor (SP) Balanced rations (1 week) (SP) Eating knife (SP) Flint and steel (SP)   Travelling set Large tent (SP) Large tarp (SP) 100 ft of rope (SP) Flint and steel (SP) 1 Lantern (SP) 2 Torches (SP) Bedroll (SP) Blanket (SP) Fishing tackle and hooks (SP) Compass (SP) Male Frostmarch (SP) Full set of tack (SP) Large set of saddlebags (SP)   Weapons Eating knife (SP) Shortbow && 20 Shortbow arrows Quarterstaff Heirloom: A shortbow, crafted for her. Housing Travel package chosen. Ledger   Winter 516 Purchase | Cost | Total Starting | +100 Kina | 100 Kina 20 Shortbow Arrows | -1 kina | 99 Kina Quarterstaff | -1 kina | 98 Kina Thread List   Winter 516 Shiny Things - Arriving in Lhavit, met Aeod. Hello good-looking! Wintersong - Colt things