Ailikki the Wandering Witch
Physical Description
Name: Ailikki Frostfawn
Race: Human-mix (Regular/Vantha)
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 140 lbs
Age: 20
Birthday: Autumn 65 of 491
Ailikki has an average build, not overly muscular, but athletic enough to sustain rigorous exertion for a good while. Her weight is fairly even distributed, and though she's not overly voluptuous she's still feminine enough to be found attractive by most. She has slightly pale skin which refuses to tan despite her large amounts of time spent outside foraging for herbal supplies, although the sunlight has given her a multitude of small freckles along her shoulders, arms and face.
Her most defining features are her hair and her eyes, startlingly green and generally set in a piercing (though not unkind) stare. Her hair however is easily what makes her stand apart from others the most, for the most part it's dominated by a lustrous shade of gold and interspersed with light shades of brown, overall reminiscent of a wheatfield just prior to harvest. It falls down slightly past her waist in thick, wavy curls.
The clothing Ailikki chooses to wear is often simple and practical, her thick cloak meant to protect her from the elements above all else, her dark vest and undershirt and black trousers meant to allow comfort and freedom of movement, and her belt lined with pouches to store many a curiosity that she finds on her foraging trips.
Character Concept
At first glance Ailikki seems quite two-dimensional. More often than not she's optimistic, witty, and cheerful as can be. Very rarely is she seen without a grin plastered on her face, a feature that leads many to think she's simple. However this could not be farther from the truth. Ailikki inherited an intense desire to learn from her father and much of her life is spent in the pursuit of knowledge, with the subject being of little importance. Ailikki has always been highly optimistic, a notion fueled by the fact that whatever happens, something can be learned from the experience. However this optimism often causes Ailikki to assume the best of people to the point of naivety and can cause quite a few problems for the young woman.
She is rarely seen without Daniel, her hulking Falivan Elk Dog. Ailikki harbors an exceptionally close and caring relationship with her furred companion and either would do anything possible to ensure the others' happiness and well-being.
Ailikki tends to use magic rather frivolously, using projection to reach objects instead of walking or lighting candles with her Res. While more conventional wizards would call such a practice dangerous, Ailikki taught herself much of what she knows and considers her abilities a natural part of her being instead of a dangerous tool.
She finds herself most comfortable secluded among nature. It's not that she doesn't enjoy the presence of people, but rather finds the workings of Caiyha much more interesting.
Sadly her fascination with nature and nonchalant use of magic tend to distance her from most common people and Ailikki is more often than not shunned and labled as a witch. Not that this effects her too greatly. After all, what matters the opinion of a few silly people when the world is so full of untold secrets?
Character History
Ailikki was born on one of the last warm days of the year 491. Although being born in Avanthal, no day could truly be described as warm, but the 65th day of Autumn was pleasant nonetheless. The young girl was the first and only heir to both her mother and father. For generations Ailikki's family had established itself in an honorable position in the Icewatch, and became an influential part of Frostfawn Hold.
This was good news for the newborn girl, for it meant that growing up was easy and her family was devoid of poverty. Freidrick, Ailikki's father, was somewhat of an oddity among the hold despite his lofty status. He was at one point among the highest members of the Icewatch and had spent much of his life training for and participating in combat. Contrary to his prowess as a fierce warrior Freidrick was a man devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. Before Freidrick joined the Icewatch he had traveled to Syliras, where he spent three years learning all he could and collecting tomes on a wide variety of subjects. It was in this city he met Gwendolyn, a woman as beautiful as she was intelligent. She had long bright golden hair, kind blue eyes, and a smile that could charm the rocks into grinning. They married a mere two months after meeting, for their love was extraordinarily passionate. Before long Freidrick returned to Avanthal with his bride and his books to start a family and join the Icewatch, as every other man in his family had done for generations. After three years of steadfast service he had attained a position high enough to support a child, and so Ailikki was conceived.
Freidrick wanted his daughter to grow up well-versed in any subject she would need to know in order to succeed in the world, and as such Ailikki spent much of her childhood studying from her father's books on a wide range of subjects. The topic that most piqued her interest was the history of Mizahar and the Valterrian. Before the age of seven Ailikki was more versed on many subjects than common men would be in their entire lives.
The first decade of the young girl's life would be devoted to scholarly pursuit, with small breaks devoted to caring for the many Frostfawn animals and well as leisurely trips to the city market, where her father would give her small sums of money to spend as she would. Ailikki's life went on in this pattern until the Spring of 502. It was at this point that Ailikki found a book in her father's collection that she had never seen before, a book concerning the practice of magic. After reading this tome detailing the workings of Djed and the main branches of magic from cover to cover twice, Ailikki decided that the research of magic was something she needed to pursue. Her father had recounted stories of a crotchety old drunkard in one of the local taverns who could apparently work fits of magic, and on the very next day Ailikki went in search of the old wizard.
She found him facedown on a secluded table in the Four Bears Tavern, near the edge of Winterflame Hold. Ailikki walked to the man, undaunted by the stories of his arcane power, and politely asked if he might instruct her how to manipulate Djed. When the old man continued to silently lay sprawled out on his table, Ailikki asked again, tugging his sleeve. This time he replied with a grunt. After many failed attempts to awaken the old codger, Ailikki changed her tactics. She strode to the counter and used her spending money to purchase three pints of the Tavern's finest ale (children were often sent to fetch drinks for their parents), and thumped them down onto the wizard's table. He finally righted himself in his chair and gave her a long stare as if evaluating the young girl in front of him. After a moment he took a pint in his hand, downed it in one long drought, then combed back his disheveled white hair. His stubbled face was well wrinkled and weather worn, making it look as though his skin was made of tough leather. Ailikki couldn't help but look into his eyes which were a dark shade of grey and set deep into hollowed out sockets, making him look as if he had seen the worst the world could possibly offer. He seemed like a man who had lived a life fraught with trouble and sorrow and just wanted to live his last days in solitude with his memories, which would explain his near constant presence in the Four Bears.
"So, you wish to become a magician?" he inquired in gruff voice worn by years of hard drinking. "You have no idea what you're getting into girly."
"Oh, but I do sir!" Ailikki responded in a cheerful tone then began to list every fact she had learned from her father's book. After two minutes it was apparent that she was intent on listing every detail she had learned the old man waved his hands, cutting her babbling short.
"Yes that's all well and good, but do you have any idea what magic can do to a man?"
"I've read of the effects of overgiving if that's what you mean, it's actually quite interes-" The old man leaned toward Ailikki, a visage as grim and serious as death itself plastered across his face.
"This isn't something you can just read about. Djed is not a force to be trifled with. It will destroy you if you don't know what you're doing."
Ailikki stared into the old man's dark gaze, a look of determination replacing her previous grin. They sat like that for a long moment, looking for all the world as two grim statues locked in an eternal contest of wills. Finally, the man heaved a sigh and took the second pint, taking a gulp of ale before addressing Ailikki again.
"You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"
Maintaining her serious demeanor, Ailikki gave a sharp nod. The old man turned away from her and stared into his drink for a long while. Just when Ailikki was sure he would continue to ignore her presence until she left, he bowed his head and muttered something incoherent to himself. Without facing her again he said to the girl:
"Very well. It isn't my place to turn away such determination. Meet me at the Port at noon tomorrow and we'll test your true mettle."
Slightly put off by the man's warnings but determined nonetheless Ailikki thanked the man before leaving the tavern, then prepared for her meeting the next day.
At the agreed time Ailikki found herself standing with the old man once again, this time on the main dock of the massive Port of Avanthal. Without a word the man turned and led Ailikki through the bustling crowds to a less populated section of the port. They soon arrived at an old boat which Ailikki knew without a doubt to belong to the old man, for it was nearly as worn as he was. They boarded and entered the ships cabin, where the man lit a candle before sitting with Ailikki at the ship's small table. The cabin was small, but more cozy than cramped and the single candle easily lit the entire space. The ship was surprisingly organized, with need drawers and cubbyholes containing a multitude of various seafaring instruments and other curiosities.
The ship's inhabitants sat across from eachother, locked in a gaze similar to the one they had shared the previous day. The man eventually broke the silence with a sigh.
"So you're still set on learning your magic are you?" He asked the girl in a slightly friendlier tone than he was yesterday. It was evident that he had sobered up considerably.
"I'm here, aren't I?" Ailikki replied in a playful voice, excited for the wonderful experience she was sure to have learning to manipulate the very fabric of the world.
The man grew serious again. "You enthusiasm is admirable, but this is a serious matter. Save your jokes for after we are finished." Ailikki remained silent, but a slight smile of anticipation still played across her lips.
The rest of the days is a faded blur in the girl's memory. Only vague impressions of what transpired in the ship's cabin remain, first of more serious words from the man, then preparation for some sort of initiation ritual, and then only pain. Great overwhelming pain that dulled all other senses and left a person changed forever, a horrible experience that would remain at the back of Ailikki's mind for the rest of her life.
The young girl returned home tired an subdued. When her father asked what was wrong, she briefly explained that the hunt she had told him she was going on went badly, and he left it at that.
Over the following Summer, Ailikki learned all she could of her newfound abilities. When she went back to the man, whose name she now knew to be Roderick, he explained that he had put her through the initiation ritual to become a Reimancer. Every opportunity Ailikki could find to take leave of her studies she went to Roderick to learn to control her Res, along with other information concerning the manipulation of Djed. From the start of this venture Ailikki had decided to keep her investigation into magic a secret from all but her mentor, worried that knowledge of her practice would endanger her father's position with the Hold.
At the beginning of Autumn, just before her eleventh birthday, Ailikki found herself very confident with her new powers. It became a favorite passtime of hers to venture to a secluded part of the forest that surrounded Frostfawn Hold in order to practice her Reimancy. These trips allowed to become more familiar not only with her magical abilities, but with the workings of the forest she practiced in. More often than not she spent hours simply watching and studying the life around her. Her increasing love and fascination with the natural world was redoubled on her fifteenth birthday when she was given responsibility for a newborn Falivan Elk Dog pup from a family friend. The pup soon became her inseparable companion as she helped him grow.
For three years Ailikki's life returned to a sense of normalcy and continued without major disruption. She continued her studies and secret practice of magic as before, the only difference being the near constant presence of the increasingly larger dog, which she had named Daniel. However, Ailikki became steadily more restless and a desire to travel and experience what the world had to offer began to work its' way into her mind. Before long she decided that once she came of age she would leave her home and venture into the world in order to learn all she could on every subject possible. On her eighteenth birthday she announced her decision to her family. It had become obvious that she was no longer content to remain at home, so the announcement had not produced much surprise. Within a few short days all of the supplies needed to venture into the world were gathered and packed and Ailikki found herself standing in front of the Icewall gates with her family. Freidrick surprised her with a decision to give to her Gautrekr, his favored weapon and a precious family heirloom.
"You are my only heir. It is fitting you should have this, be you daughter or son." He had explained with unexpected ease. Ailikki bade her family a final tearful, though not melancholy farewell, and ventured out of the gates with a fully grown Daniel at her side.
Within a day she found herself among a group of merchants on their way to Kalea, who had agreed to let her travel with them. The following voyage led to many exciting experiences, including many a night spent listening to stories around the fire and an encounter with an energetic young magician who taught Alikki the basics of Projection. She eventually found herself in The Spires, where the merchants stopped in order to purchase more supplies. Ailikki found the verdant city to her liking and chose to stay rather than continue to Kalea.
She used what money she had to purchase a small building on the edge of the market, which she established as a small shop from which she sold various herbal products as well as more conventional medicines. Ailikki spent much of her time roaming around the trees with her furry companion and studying local flora and fauna, much of which Ailikki converted into products to sell. For two years now Ailikki has lived in such a way, content for now to stay among the Jamoura and learn what she can about her coniferous haven.
Possessions
1 Set of Clothing
-Simple black vest worn over white long-sleeved linen undershirt
-Slightly baggy black linen trousers held up by a leather belt covered in various pouches
-Simple Undergarments
-Thick timber wolf hide cloak
-Dark Leather Boots
1 Waterskin
1 Backpack which contains:
-Toiletries (Brush, comb, soap)
-Balanced Rations (1 Week’s Worth)
-1 eating knife
-Flint & Steel
Heirloom: Gautrekr, an age worn but still sturdy iron waraxe handed down the Gyllenblom family for generations. Both the head and the shaft are forged of the same piece of iron and the handle is coated in rough black leather. On the head are inscribed many ancient Vani runes for good fortune and prowess in battle.
100 Gold Mizas
Housing:
Small two-story building of wood and vines near the edge of the market. The first story serves as Ailikki's shop and contains a large counter as well as many various shelves and cubbyholes for storing the shop's goods. The second story serves as a livingquarters and contains a small bed, a hearth, a small wooden washtub, a small chair and a small table.
Ledger
| Purchase | Cost | Total | | Starting | +100 GM | | | Falivan Elf Dog | -50GM | 50GM |
Skills, Lores, Magics, Gnosis, Languages
| Skill | SP | EXP | Total | Proficiency | | Herbalism | 10 | | 10 | Novice | | Medicine | 7 | | 7 | Novice | | Wilderness Survival | 10 | | 10 | Novice | | Animal Husbandry | 8 | | 8 | Novice | | Reimancy (Fire) | 5(SP)+15(Racial) | | 20 | Novice | | Projection | 5 | | 5 | Novice | | Philosophy | 5 | | 5 | Novice |
Practiced Languages:
Common
Fluent Language: Common
Basic Language: Vani
Poor Language: Jamouran
Lores:
Lore of Mizahar History
Lore of Medicinal Flora of Taldera |
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by Ailikki on April 4th, 2012, 3:19 am 
