Hand of the Mist
Committed
Roleplay posts: 57
Registered: Mar 26, 2021 0:51:23 GMT -5
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Post by Hand of the Mist on Jun 21, 2021 19:34:19 GMT -5
The path is long and filled with danger, but the mystery of what lies beyond spur adventurers forward. Through the forest strange ruins of what once was litter the landscape, beckoning the question: who was here before? |
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
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Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
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Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jun 21, 2021 20:03:52 GMT -5
Katiana stood at the beginning of the trail, which several hunters made to make the trek into the forest easier before they diverged. Her pack was twice as heavy as it had ever been, filled with foodstuffs, a tent, rope, medicinal herbs, a firestriker, flint, and anything else they could manage to take for a long journey. Her bow was unstrung and strapped to the left of her pack, and her axe was strapped onto the right. Several dozen arrows were tucked just behind the bow, and her journal was stuck in a pouch on her belt. Her swollen waterskin was slung over her shoulder. She wore a new pair of breeches and a leather jerkin over her blouse. She strapped her old chestguard over it, scratched from use, but still sturdy. Her boots, knee-high and lined with straps, weren't new but would certainly hold for the duration of their journey and more.
She looked behind her, eyeing Coatl before giving him a wide smile. "Ready for your time off? I can't say it'll be more relaxing than the potato patch, but it'll certainly be more thrilling. Time with me always is, of course." She batted her eyes at him, then lashed her head back in a laugh. She swiveled her head, looking down the road once more.
"The birds are awful down this way, but it's better than the living trees. Who knows what else awaits us."
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143 
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
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Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
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Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
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Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jun 21, 2021 22:37:13 GMT -5
"I'm sure my singing voice will scare away anything that ain't deaf, and my mug'll handle anything that ain't blind."
Oh stop.
Their adventure had just started and already Coatl had lost two battles.
As much as he wanted to be a gentleman and bring a second tent, Katiana insisted they could share. (Cue Cuate: Kekekekeke.). Then she insisted on carrying it herself when he offered to do the heavy lifting.
Quite frankly you should just take that as a victory. And clearly your friend is a strong independent hunter who understands the pragmatic value of cozying up next to a big strong man in the middle of the night.
Not to be outdone, Coatl brought additional supplies to compliment Katiana's. He was especially proud of the latest batch of pemmican to come out of the Imilla clan. It tasted like beef jerky, but sweeter, and could remain fresh for months if properly stored. He also brought spare clothing, blankets, a sowing kit, some bandages, and a powerful slingshot (which he was better with than he was a bow and arrow). Coatl also brought his military pitchfork, which for the moment made an excellent walking stick. Of course he had water on him, but he also though to bring a little flask of wine.
And of course, he had Cuate.
The friendly presence alternated from from side to side, checking their surroundings like an excited puppy. She could sense the general direction they were supposed to go in, but the specifics of their path were still a mystery. She was vigilant for any thieving raptors or signs of man-eating trees.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jun 22, 2021 17:29:14 GMT -5
At this, Katiana laughed again. "I'd refute those claims, but I don't want to give you a big head," she chided with a wink. She tapped the brim of his cap. "You wouldn't be able to fit into your hat anymore."
With a wave of her hand, she spurred them forward into the woods, taking them to the trail. As they walked, she looked into the woods, noticing a familiar spritely ghost moving through the trees. Without stopping, she grinned and looked back at Coatl.
"So it was you!" she exclaimed. "I was never quite sure if it was you or Shyv'Ahna. I never suspected Roxanne, she didn't seem like the type to have a guardian and I never got to see you alone to see if my suspicions were correct. But now I am!" She jumped down from a swollen root, her heels skidding slightly on the crumbling dirt below. "What's her name? Who is she?"
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
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Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
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Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jun 23, 2021 1:50:20 GMT -5
Coatl smirked. "Her name is Cuate, and she's almost as stubborn as you are."
Coatl's hat suddenly leaped off his head and would smoosh itself onto Katiana's, blocking her view. As soon as she pried it off, or at least lifted the brim from her eyes, she'd see it.
It was a translucent outline of smoke and dust, a woman's shape, lean and muscular. The vapor acting as her hair was shoulder length. The smoke was too unstable and vague to lend the sylph-like being a proper face. Her limbs were expressive; they flailed out as she circled around Katiana and pirouetted. Her "feet" didn't touch the ground. The strands of her "hair" flared out as if she was underwater.
"I guess you could say she's the real protector of our clan. I'm something of her host. It's been a few years since I met her back in the old world. She was quite a force of nature back there. But here in this world she's-"
The being swam up perpendicular to Coatl, its face right in his. Her head cocked side to side in an aggressive manner, eyeing different angles of his chin.
Coatl grinned. "Not to be underestimated, is the polite way to put it."
The being nodded and swam in between them, taking the form of a sprite once again.
"She's a benevolent sort. Wouldn't hurt a fly but would tear the earth apart to save one of our kin. Also she's grateful you helped pull me out of a funk after we got off that oversized tin can."
To be honest, I guess I am, too.
Not that you'd ever admit it.~
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jun 24, 2021 19:09:32 GMT -5
Katiana's hands flew up, one grasping the hat tightly to her head, the other pushing up the brim. Her eyes grew wide and her lips parted gently as Caute appeared before her, enchanting the young huntress until she was without words. What ethereal beauty was this? A guardian? The protector of the Imilla. But what did that really mean?
The woman had to laugh as the poltergeist teased the man. "I like her spirit," chuckled Katiana. "She's beautiful."
"I suppose I can feel better about this trip, then! Now that I know it's not just a man with a pitchfork and me with the bow." What with all the sass between the two of them, she had to wonder how the rugged man was going to survive. Especially since she was going to borrow his hat until he made a great big fuss! She did have to pause, though, remembering her first run-in with Coatl. "Me? I did that?" she asked inquisitively. "I thought you were about to throw me to the fish that night! You were in the bar, I think. I had a bit too much to drink? I started singing and I needed a partner."
She left it open for him to recall the next set of events, trying not to smirk.
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jun 25, 2021 20:05:11 GMT -5
Coatl sighed.
Eww, vulnerability.
*mutters in head*
"You know it don't take much to make a big difference. My mother used to teach the youngin's a principle she called the four circles. The first circle is yourself, the second is your family, the third is the community, and the fourth is the world at large. And what happens in one circle can affect the rest. You reach out to a person, even if it's a small gesture, you become part of the circle, and that circle is part of the rest."
He chuckled. "My mother was way too nice. But she had her reasons. She was no dummy."
Coatl scanned the trail, and the path ahead. "Speaking of community, I still feel kinda funny goin' adventuring and leaving the clan behind. Let's try to find something useful to bring back as a gift, maybe some new resources or some such. Those battle axes we're making work a hell of a lot better with different kinds of stones, like obsidian. Maybe we can bring Shyv'Ahna or Roxanne a gift too. Poor Shyv is getting tired of weird barely edible critters tho..."
I thought lemon-flavored ants were a damn good gesture!
Me too, Cuate, me too.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jun 27, 2021 21:45:34 GMT -5
"I've never heard of it quite like that. Similar ideas, perhaps, but not in the separations that still appear whole. Like echoes in a cave, perhaps? Or rather, ripples in the water!" She danced ahead, deliberating the idea. "Was this all your mother's teachings, or are these the Imilla's philosophies?"
Without skipping a beat, Katiana went to answer the next bit of conversation. "Oh! I know just the thing. You all seem in need of clothes! You remember when I was speaking about the plants that seemed as though they'd be good fibers? We'll be going by the field where I saw an awful lot of it! Now that I have a partner, one of us can distract the birds while the other gets several bushels of it. How's that for a present?" Katiana thought it rather brilliant. "The river extends far this way, as well. I wasn't brave enough to stray far from it just in case I was without water, but that means there will be minerals. There are mountains in the distance, but that will make our journey much longer! If you're up for it, I am." The huntress took out her journal and flipped through the pages.
"Edible critters... ah! Nina and I tried some mushrooms when I met her in the forest. Do you believe she enjoys spirit walking?"
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jun 28, 2021 18:45:04 GMT -5
Coatl unconsciously scanned the path beneath Katiana's feet to warn her if her prancing butt was going to trip over something. He didn't want his hat to get all scuffed up. Oh, and her safety of course.
"I guess you could call it a sort of faith we have, something that grounds us whenever we encounter some wacko zealots from some other kingdom looking for converts to their giant daffodil living on the moon or whatever. We were usually poorer than the people we worked for, so we always got missionaries lookin' to give us sad sods meaning. Folks like my mom might have fit right in with them in another life. But as Imilla, she taught us our dignity. We don't need the gods of another kingdom. We're fine people the way we are."
Cuate's sprite form bobbed up and down when she heard Katiana's plan with a bird. "Cuate's already got ideas about making distractions. Should be interesting. But let us save the mountain trek for another expedition. The stream will probably have something useful as is."
Coatl raised an eyebrow at that last suggestion. "Spirit walking? You know, I wouldn't put it past her. Knowing her I'll bet she'll find some use for it, or barter them for something useful."
Not interested in spirit walking, eh?
I've got all the spirits I can handle, thank you.
He says he's got all the spirits he can handle, thank you.
Coatl raised both eyebrows, for apparently Cuate had finally allowed Katiana to hear her voice.
So what about you? What makes you and your kin special? The spirit did a blindingly fast lap around Katiana's head.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jun 29, 2021 22:45:12 GMT -5
"Mountain peak for another time, then..." mumbled Katiana as she scribbled it down in her book, along with all the comments about the Imilla's... philosophy, she decided it was. That would be a rightly long expedition. If so many dangerous birds lived in this forest, what terrors awaited them beyond? "Oh? I imagine if she can at least float a hat, there's a lot more she can do! I'm almost hoping for one of those birzards to pop their head out just so I can see what she has in store! Except that they're awful and I'm not fond of them."
Just as they reached a groove in the dirt that a stream had carved out of the land, Katiana paused on one foot, having heard Cuate speak. Her heel skidded down the edge, but just before she fell into the shallow water she bent her knees and launched herself to the other side. She slid a bit but ended it on her feet and upright. "That surprised me! I never thought you could talk to others," she said, looking around for the spirit. "Special? Well, nothing, really. I believe a few of my relatives could do magic, but they were shunned by our kingdom. My parents hid the fact that they were making spellbooks. That's how I learned leatherworking! My father created the covers for books out of strange, rare materials, usually animals. My mother would bind them and create the paper. It was highly illegal and sinful! But they made a living out of it."
Winding through a few bushes, Katiana continued to think. "We're as human as humans could be. My sister, however, oh, I think you'd love her. She was a fierce one! The most heroic soul I ever knew. Brave to the point of brash, with the skills that held up to it! I just had her back most of the time."
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jun 30, 2021 21:13:56 GMT -5
"Highly illegal and sinful, eh? Can't say I relate but..."
As far as he knew, magic wasn't illegal in his world. Except...
"Only magic I can think of that was banned anywhere in my world was necromancy."
He looked Katiana dead in the eyes, and then shrugged. "If you ask me, it's a lot of work raising undead to use them as weapons. I reckon I can chuck a skull at someone's head pretty hard without any hocus-pocus. And I'd like to see someone with no tendons or ligaments stand up to a good shovel-beating."
Speaking of bones, just wanted to remind you guys we're going in the right general direction... I think.
The wisp did a quick lap around Katiana's flute, which would necessitate it ghosting through Katiana's body, resulting in a brief tingly sensation.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
____________________________________________________
Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
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Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 6, 2021 21:59:52 GMT -5
Katiana's eyes grew wide. "Necromancy would have gotten one killed in my homeland. It was the highest level of heresy. The way they saw it, the dead were to be respected, were to stay where they were laid to rest. In many ways, I agree, but I couldn't hold the same sentiments for all magic. Once, I even saw necromancy used as a way for old souls to reconnect with loved ones... and it didn't seem so bad, used that way." Sheepishly, she shrugged, unsure of how Coatl thought of it. "I do agree with seeing much more use in doing the job yourself, though! You seem fond of unconventional weapons. Is that the Imilla resourcefulness in you?"
The huntress paused when Cuate flew through her, taking the breath from her in a gasp. Her hair stood up as though by static. "The general direction... do you know the path I speak of?" Katana had rough maps, but they were hardly legible by anyone else other than herself and perhaps her sister, who'd gotten used to the chicken scratch coastlines and bizarre symbols she decided to use for landmarks.
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
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Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
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Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
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Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 7, 2021 21:14:30 GMT -5
When I touched the flute, I felt something, a sort of magnetic pull. It's not much. Magical things sometimes just know each other, if that makes sense.
"Well, from what Cuate's taught me about magic, there ain't no such thing as evil magic, kinda like there ain't no such thing as an evil animal. They're all part of the circle of life. The way you describe necromancy reminds me of the element of darkness. It gets a bad rep, but it's just as much as part of magic as light. It's all about the intentions of the wielder."
Coatl sighed and gave a disdainful look at the air around him. "Not that it matters much anymore. Thanks to this island Cuate's at... maybe five percent. Still, we'll do what we can to back you up. Something tells me if we're half as good a partner as you are to your sister, we'll turn out alright." He winked.
Does your sister do cheesy friendship speeches? I've been trying to teach him those.
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Katiana Graves
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 109
Appearance: When you want to hide a tree, you hide it in a forest. Similarly, if you wanted to hide Katiana, you would put her in a crowd of humans. Brown hair, brown eyes, thin features, and an unremarkable height may not set her apart, but the way she manipulates her expressions and gallivants around certainly do. Those who know her are familiar with a particularly mischievous left-sided smirk, above which forms a dimple. Those who have yet to meet her will immediately know her for the way she bounces from one place to the next, holding her skirts in her hands.
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Equipment: A recurve bow made of elm, a small wood-cutting ax, and a skinning knife complete Katiana's non-exhaustive equipment. Being an adventurer who often loses herself in the wilderness, she also favors flint and tinder, rope, medicines, a waterskin, sewing supplies, and food rations.
____________________________________________________
Skills and Abilities: Though not particularly concerned in the art of warfare, Katiana has been a hunter for as long as she could hold a bow, and over the years, she became proficient with it. One could assume that if she needed to point her arrow at a charging warrior rather than a boar, she would have the same chances of hitting it. Years of adventuring have also taught her skills in survival.
Though she has no skills in magic, nothing is stopping her from learning. Katiana's family has a history of mages, though none have been particularly gifted.
Registered: Mar 17, 2021 16:34:46 GMT -5
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Post by Katiana Graves on Jul 8, 2021 22:28:51 GMT -5
"Magnetic... like a compass?" asked Katiana, as it was her only true experience with such things. "Magic knowing magic. A Whittle witch once spoke of something like that, though I can't say I understood very well. I don't think I have the propensity for such things, though my grandmother did. Unfortunately, it was lost on us... except for the items we made for magic folk." She let out a joking, nervous laugh. "So magic is like a weapon? No, a tool." She flipped out her axe, flipping it through the air. "It could be used for murder... but it could also be used to make furniture. Not good, not bad. Certainly demands respect."
Flipping the handle over her hand, she slid the axe back into its pouch. When Coatl mentioned her sister, she paused for a moment, then smiled. Her eyes were distant in that moment, but she gave him a little chuckle, lips pursed.
"She was brave and brilliant, yes... but also brazen. Foolish. I think you'll fill the air in a different way. Your own way." She quirked a brow, then let her eyes wander up to Coatl's face thoughtfully. As she swiped her tongue across her teeth, her lips flipped up into a smile. "And I'm glad for it."
Cuate made her laugh again. "Oh, hers weren't half as good as mine. She was rather demanding, you know. 'Get your ass up or you'll catch dead!' A charmer."
As she swung her gaze forward, the woman paused yet again, this time to eye something in the distance. Perhaps Coatl saw it before she did, but in the distance, a heavy, black flock of birds circled... something. The woods were too dense to see from there.
"Goodness. That's new."
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Coatl of the Imilla
Dedicated
Roleplay posts: 143
Appearance: Skin just a skosh darker than an old clay pot. The shade of his hat occludes black, sun-beaten eyes, wavy, matted hair, and just enough beard to protect his chin. His hands are coarse and leathery, with wiry tendons. His height isn't quite imposing, it's but enough to lend credence to a purposeful stride and posture.
-------
Equipment: An old duster, scarf, and cotton shirt and slacks. A thin brigandine with copper plates and a military-grade pitchfork.
A single candle, a reagent of now forbidden degrees of power.
-------
Skills and Abilities: On his home turf, Coatl could manifest formidable elemental magic. Here the magic is suppressed down to more subtle manipulations. However, the spirit of Cuaté, the "Witch", is still with him.
Coatl is, at his core, a simple farmhand. His experience working on ranches and plantations has earned him a strong physique and a way with animals. When he was a teenager, he also spent some time as a city guard and militiaman, giving him basic competence with a variety of weapons.
-------
Biography: The Imilla Clan were migrant farmers and laborers, selling themselves to wealthier kingdoms. They were a people bound by working shanties, and stories of an Eden from whence their ancestors came. As a youth, Coatl felt they were naive. They possessed the most basic of martial skills and required the aid of capricious spirits with weak magic to protect them.
His suspicions were half true, for when they encountered a malevolent kingdom, they were very nearly enslaved. However, his parent's commitment to peace earned him, and him in particular, the loyalty of an ancestral spirit that was far more dependable.
Using the power of this spirit, Coatl and a few other "chosen ones" helped bring prosperity and safety to their clan, ensuring that no one else would try to enslave them. The golden years of their people came to an abrupt end, however, when the flood waters came...
Registered: Mar 20, 2021 23:42:08 GMT -5
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Post by Coatl of the Imilla on Jul 8, 2021 23:53:47 GMT -5
(Can only be heard by Cuate and Coatl)
She's flirting with you.
Oh stop.
(Can be heard by all)
If you ever want to learn, I find it helpful to treat magic as a living thi-
Coatl paused. They both did. He did in fact notice the birds as soon as they were in line of sight.
"Black birds circling like that. Could be vulture-like things around a carcass."
That could be bad. That many birds suggests a big kill, which could attract the attention of other predators. And we've already had a taste of what this island has to offer. Then again, if we can somehow get closer while staying down wind, that would give us a chance to learn a LOT about the wildlife here.
"It could also give us a chance to get eaten."
I mean, you're not wrong.
Coatl turned towards Katiana. "What would your sister do?" He smirked.
If we can get a little closer, I can scout ahead. I can't stray too far from Coatl though. And if we need to protect ourselves, it's better if I'm right next to him.
Coatl's grip was already tensed around his pitchfork, and his eyes were scanning around them for any movement and sound.
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