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The role also includes her elusive dream as well, for those of you are curious about it.
DESCRIPTION:
You see before you an rather unusual looking woman. Flawless, white skin with a slight, bluish tint flows over her 6'2" frame. The unique color of her skin is well accented by the deep-sea-blue hair which cascades down her back, and over both shoulders. As she glides gracefully forward, her long, flowing gown dances about her body in the breeze. The transparency of the gown threatens to reveal more than any respectable lady would allow. Fortunately, her hair prevents any unwanted glimpses of her torso, while the material of the gown takes on a slightly thicker consistency around her hips before returning to transparency at mid-thigh. A slit in either side of the gown climbs up her shapely legs before tapering off at the edge of the non-transparent section. Her slender, delicate hands are adorned with gold dust that, at first glance, appears to be glued into place somehow. However, a second look tells you that she is, in fact, wearing two transparent gloves with the gold dust worked into the material which is so thin that they are almost painted on. The corners of her dazzling, gold-flecked sapphire eyes turn slightly upwards. Combined with her soft, pointed ears, her elven heritage becomes apparent. However, she seems a bit more substantial than most elves, and her features aren't quite as sharp as one would expect from an elf. Apparently, she has some human parentage as well. Oddly enough, an elf like this has never been seen in these lands before, which means that she either comes from lands far away and rarely visited by Therans, or perhaps she is representative of a lost elven sub-race. Despite her unusual heritage, she is breathtakingly beautiful!
ROLE:
Anastrianna was raised on the island of the sirines in the Aryth Ocean. While she does have faint memories of her mother, she knows nothing of her father except that he accounts for her human characteristics. Prior to her life with sirines, she has scattered memories of dancing with a tall, beautiful woman with striking blue hair and eyes (whom she presumes to be her mother); chasing butterflies beside a small brook which wound through an herb garden outside a house formed where the earth had been washed out from between the roots of a large tree; and more disturbing, drifting for what seemed like eternity on a log raft that barely held up to the test of the sea. Sadly, it's those memories of the ocean that haunt her the most. She remembers being so hungry that, at times, the dead gulls fish that floated by looked quite appetizing. Among the worst of these memories is one in which a dead fish floated within reach. Night after night she relives that revolting experience of grabbing the dead fish, and devouring it entirely (save for the bones) out of sheer hunger. Then spending the next several days being so sick she thought she might die. Fortunately, it was not long after eating that fish that she awoke to find herself being gently lifted from the raft, and carried to a warm bed, next to a cozy fire. After that, her memory fades again for what she has been told was several months, and it resumes with her being raised by the sirines, and, aside from the nightmares, having a happy child hood. Aside from those memories, she has no knowledge of her heritage. Despite the obvious turmoil of her journey, she is inexplicably drawn to the sea, and water in general. In addition, she feels a certain amount kinship with the moon, and enjoys gazing at it when time and leisure permit. From early in her life on the island, she displayed a remarkable talent and love for magic. The sirines recognized this, and so, when she came of age they took her by boat to the docks of Hamsah Mu'Taz, so that she could begin upon the path of wizardry that she was destined for. After spending only a few weeks in Hamsah, Anastrianna decided that she didn't care much for the hot dry climate, and so arranged passage with a caravan traveling to the great city of Galadon, where she began studying the Art of Invocation.
After reading up on the religion of Ilraeth, the Lady of Ice, Anastrianna came to realize that her personality, ways of life, and mind set all fit the path of Clarity, set forth in the faith of the Ice Lady. And so it was that Anastrianna began to search for the shrine of the Twin Goddesses of Mysteries. When at last she found it, both the Twins were walking Thera openly, and she sat down and prayed. She prayed for a very long time, and, overcome with exhaustion, fell asleep right there in the shrine. Strangely enough, her nightmares did not come to her this time. Something about this place had put her mind so at ease that she slept untroubled for quite a long time. Sometime later, she awoke to find her Great Lady standing over her smiling, and gently shaking her awake. "Come little one," the Lady said. "Let my Sister speak here for a time." Anxiously, Anastrianna followed her Lady. They spoke for what seemed a very long time about many things, including Anastrianna's past. Eventually, that divine meeting came to an end, but as it did, the Lady Ilraeth warned Anastrianna that She would be watching. Only too thrilled to have her goddesses attention focused on her, the young half-elf did not mind in the slightest. She eagerly embraced her Lady, and bounded away down the stairs of the shrine. Upon her next visit to the shrine, Anastrianna met with Annalena, the Preceptor of the Golden Tower, and priestess of Ilraeth. They spoke for a while about Anastrianna's past, and about the application process to the Golden Tower. The conversation was cut short by the water in the reflecting pool moving. Both worshippers watched as a tentacle of water sprang from the surface of the pool. The Preceptor stepped back, but Anastrianna was too entranced and curious to take similar precautions. Suddenly, the tentacle struck at Anastrianna's forehead, knocking her off her feet, and sending sailing her across the room. When she recovered, she reached her hand to where her head was struck, and found that the tentacle had left a very noticeable mark; an icy blue third eye, the mark of Ilraeth. Anastrianna could hardly believe it! She looked at the Preceptor with wide eyes and short, rapid breaths. Annalena just smiled and said, "The goddess works in mysterious ways," then proceeded to show Anastrianna around the rest of the shrine, which was previously off limits to her. She also told her that the followers of both goddesses refer to each other as brother and sister. Having never known a real family before, Anastrianna found that this aspect thrilled her even more receiving her Lady's mark. She suddenly felt very much less alone, and a great weight was taken from her shoulders, and spirit. Some days later, the young half-elf elf spoke with Mealrocan, a Warlock invoker. He agreed to be her mentor in the tower, and the next time Anastrianna met with her new Sister, she was inducted into the Warlocks of the Golden Grimoire.
Throughout her life, Anastrianna has always valued her innocence. To her, it represents the strength that flows through her like a river, cutting through all things in her life that try to restrain her free spirit. However, after joining the Warlocks, and taking an active part in the war against the dark magi, she's found that the killing, and the grim mindset needed to do it are slowly eroding her innocence away. Terrified of what she might become if she loses it entirely she desperately clings to it with every ounce of spirit she can muster. Unfortunately, like a reservoir who's dam has just collapsed, there is nothing she can do to stop it. However, she realizes that when she comes fully to terms with the fact, it only means that her innocence has been lost completely. And so it is that she keeps on lying to herself and others, hiding behind a mask of giggles, childish flirtation, and care-free attitude, only prolonging the inevitable.
After receiving the mark of Lady Ilraeth, and being inducted into the Warlocks, Anastrianna's nightmares stopped for a very long time. However, as she neared the title of hero in the invoker's guild, she began having nightmares again. Unfortunately, they were not about eating the dead fish this time. Now, she dreams about the event that lost her family to her. In her dream, she and her mother are standing in a clearing, bathed in moonlight. As she gazes around the clearing, she takes note of all the other elves standing gathered. Elves with pale blue skin like hers and her mother's. Not all of them have the blue hair, though. Some are have black hair, some have silver, and an occasional few have a pale red. She notes several familiar faces among the gathering, and many unfamiliar. Every elf she can see, though, is completely nude including herself and her mother. While this might be considered odd in the society in which she now lives, it seemed very natural within her dream. As the last few clouds drift away from the moon, leaving it clear and full, Anastrianna hears a drum begin to beat out a rhythm, and feels her heart leap with joy and anticipation. The beat begins to pick up pace, and elves around the clearing begin to dance in a circle around the unlit bonfire in the center. Approximately 1/3 of the elves have started to dance, when more instruments join the music. Together, they fill the air with a Fey music that could lift the soul of the darkest mortals. With this new addition, the rest of the elves let out a cheer and quickly join in the dance. The pace of the dance begins to quicken, eventually reaching such a frenzied pace that any non-elf would think it impossible to keep up. However, not a single elf falls out of step with the music. The pace continues to quicken and the fire spontaneously ignites! A cry goes up from many of the elves, even though they all expected it. As the fire blazes high, the wooden flutes and other wind instruments reach a trilling high note, and hold there as the drums race on. Anastrianna can almost feel the moonlight around reaching deep inside her, to merge with her soul. Others around the clearing obviously feel the same way, as their faces take on a look of pure and utter bliss. Suddenly, the fire and the music go out and stop simultaneously. All elves stop dancing, and stand with their arms outstretched, reaching towards the moon which almost seems to be glowing brighter now than when the dance began. A cloud drifts across the moon but as the moonlight fades out, the clearing remains lit. Gazing around, Anastrianna realizes that the grass, trees, and even many of the elves are actually glowing faintly, emitting a light, much like the moon was. As she looks down at herself, she realizes that she's glowing too! Her faintly glowing mother turns around, smiles down at her, then picks her up. As they embrace, Anastrianna can feel the Fey energies now flowing through each of them. As the glow begins to fade, some of the elves begin to drift off, while others approach the fire (which has been relit through normal means), to sit around and share tales and sing songs. Alloewanna (Anastrianna's mother) and Anastrianna join the revelers around the campfire. Just as they are about to sit down, a tremendous thunderclap shatters the newly forming tranquility followed by a loud roar that fills the air! Elves cry out in alarm all around the clearing, and many begin pointing up and towards the tree line. Anastrianna looks up just in time to see the edge of a gargantuan wave sweep up the tops of the trees. Alloewanna leaps to her feet, and begins casting a spell. As she completes it, a shimmering bubble appears around what is left of the clearing. The wave slams into it with earthshaking force, but the bubble appears to be holding, for the moment. Anastrianna can see the water churning outside the bubble, almost as if it's alive. As she watches in horror, the bubble begins to slowly shrink. Other elves around the clearing begin casting spells as well. Two more bubbles shimmer into existence immediately beneath the one already there. This seems to bolster the first one a bit, but the wave will not be stopped. Alloewanna spins quickly around, and with two quick spells, drenches the fire, then blasts it apart with a gust of wind to make more room for people to stand. The bubbles have been pushed down to a mere 15 foot radius, and appear as if they're about to shatter. As people begin crowding together, several elves scattered through what remains of the clearing begin to chant the words to the same spell. A moment later, all the world is engulfed in silvery-white motes of light, as the elven mass transport spells take hold, and the gathering is whisked away from the clearing to an underground cavern, somewhere beneath the island. As her vision clears, Anastrianna notices several other large groups of elves who have transported here from other parts of the island. The cavern itself is very large indeed. Spanning more than 600 feet across, over a mile long, and 300 feet high, the entire population of this island could fit in here with plenty of room left over. The walls of the cave are covered with a dazzling blue crystal. Suspended in mid-air, in the center of the cavern, pulses a radiant, pale-blue orb. The light from the orb is caught by the crystal-lined walls, and reflected around the cavern, casting a luminous blue aura over everything in sight. A strong feeling of Fey magic permeates the entire area. Alloewanna kneels down beside Anastrianna and tells her that she must meet with the rest of the elders to see how they can keep everyone safe. Anastrianna nods, and hugs her mother, then watches as she strides off in search of the other elders of the island. Scanning the area, she spots another half-elf friend who is about her own age. Her only friend on the entire island. As Anastrianna begins heading to him, a resounding "CRACK!" echoes through the cavern, and water begins pouring through a newly formed hole in the ceiling. Elves begin crying out in alarm all around, as stone and sapphire crystal plummet from various areas of the ceiling, opening up more cracks for water to flow through. Anastrianna runs toward her friend and his parents as hard as she can, but is suddenly stopped by a large chunk of crystal as it drops onto her head, and the world fades to black.
After a moment, a faint light can be seen in her dream. It gets slowly brighter, and after a minute or so, it is recognizable as a full moon. A shape moves across it's surface, and then stops when it reaches the center. The image of an elf, silhouetted against the moon hangs in her dream for a few moments longer, before Anastrianna wakes up screaming in terror! Unfortunately, as she wakes up, her memory of the dream fades, and she is left with no more than a feeling of utter terror, and loss.
After a rather unnerving trip to the realm of dreams (also known as Organia) in which a disembodied voice created by Solmyr's ventriloquate spell took on a life of it's own, taunting the three travelers, Anastrianna began to wonder if it might be possible to use the magic of Organia to recreate her dream, in a way that she could remember it. She has not had the chance to try it, as of yet.
Klaak
Great spirits have always met violent opposition from mediocre minds.
-Einstein
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