[Verified by Regime] Anja Nightwatcher

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Anja Nightwatcher

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on February 22nd, 2018, 5:01 pm

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Anja Nightwatcher



Face Claim: Marlon Teixeira

Race: Drykas

Date of Birth: Winter 50, 485

Gender: Male

Appearance: Anja is a tall, dark, and intense man. He is a fairly tall man at 6”, and is broad shouldered, well muscled and physically fit. His skin is a naturally dark tan without the reliance of the burning sun, and his hair is nearly shoulder length, curly, and black. Anja nearly always has a beard that he keeps carefully trimmed down, although he doesn’t put a lot of care into the rest of his appearance. His eyes are a deep, dark blue, and have a sunburst of orange radiating out around his pupils.

Anja prefers to primarily wear black, although he will usually be wearing something small and yellow on him somewhere in memory of his old clan. At a glance, Anja’s neutral and dispassionate expression evokes a sense of mystery.

He has two windmarks, the first being a black pattern of fire extending the entire length of his right arm, for his first strider Rivian. The second is a pair of jackals on either shoulder, connected by intertwining tails, for his second Strider Maisa.

Birth Region: Endrykas

Current Location: Sunberth

Character Concept: A solitary drykas horseman in service to the goddess of death, Dira. Anja serves his goddess as a emesary to ghosts in order to help them pass on to the next world, but also will hunt them if they are too violent. Anja’s major quest in life is to exterminate all undead, focusing primarily on the Nuit who killed and took the body of his son.

Personality Merits and Flaws: Anja is cool as ice, and as calm as a windless sea. His close relationship with death has given him an almost dismissive view on lives in general. Why grow attached when one day everything will die? This doesn’t mean Anja is cruel or hateful, nor does it mean that he feels mortals should rush to their end. At his core he is a truly compassionate and kind man, and can and has been a great comfort to the dying or restless and grieving dead. He also has great respect for those who live well to their fullest potential and add on to the complex tapestry of life. He simply remains mostly detached from it all.

Intense emotions do not come easily to him, as in the grand scheme of things it’s pointless to get worked up about anything. He does take a keen interest in others lives, and seeks to prevent suffering however he can. But when death comes, as it does for us all, Anja will make no move to stop it and rarely does he grieve death.

The sole exception to Anja’s apathy is when it comes to undead such as nuit. Anja pursues the destruction of all undead with a fanatical devotion and complete and utter mercilessness. He cannot be swayed by words or actions, and he does not care whether the undead is ‘good' or ‘evil'. All undead are abominations to him who must be put to the sword.

History: Anja’s life is a tattered tapestry scored many times by death but not yet destroyed by it. Anja’s given name was Anja and he was the youngest of two boys, raised in a small budding Pavilion in which his father was Ankal. Savage wildlife brought an end to his father, mother, and brother’s lives at a very young age and Anja and the tattered remains of his Pavilion were brought into a Pavilion belonging to his Uncle Orem.

Deeply depressed by his loss, Anja was comforted by his paternal grandmother, a wise woman who had been wife to the previous Ankal before his death. A talented and valued practitioner of spiritism, the woman taught Anja about the cycles of life and how to not fear death. He soon came to worship Dira primarily. Anja showed a growing interests in ghosts and spiritism, so his grandmother taught him about spiritism and the young man pursued it as a career. In time he flourished in his pavilion, even being chosen by a strider, and found respect in his skills. Eventually his grandmother passed, but when the time came Anja felt a sense of calm and was able to peacefully let his grandmother go.

In his teens, a sverfra slave named Syla caught his attention and the two pursued a relationship. She was eventually chosen by a strider and made her way out of slavery, and promptly afterwards the two married. She taught him the bare basics of fratava, which he learned out of love. Inseparable, the two eventually had a son named Lok.

While away from his pavilion, a group of nuits attacked and killed his family, seizing the bodies of his relatives. Anja found himself forced to kill the nuit inhabiting his wife’s body, although shortly afterwards he was attacked and badly injured by a nuit inhabiting his son’s body, also killing his strider. The nuit then fled.

During his recovery, Anja was approached by the goddess of death, Dira. She made him an offer: if he left the Sea of Grass to pursue the nuit who killed his son, and to slay any undead he found and help ghosts pass on then she would give him her assistance. Anja agreed, and Dira gave him her gnosis mark. In addition, she introduced him to a strider who he immediately bonded to. Anja felt in his heart that the strider was the reincarnation of his grandmother, and named her Maisa.

As a brand new Eiyon, Anja immediately left the Sea of Grass. He spent some time in Syliras where his Common improved to fluent, although his Pavi degraded to only conversational from lack of use. Eventually he moved on to Zeltiva, where he heard rumors of a city seething with the restless dead. Following his goddesses wishes, he booked passage to Sunberth.
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Last edited by Anja Nightwatcher on July 6th, 2019, 7:59 pm, edited 13 times in total.
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Anja Nightwatcher

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on February 22nd, 2018, 5:02 pm

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Lores

 
Events
 
Gods
 
Magic
Auristics: A Personal Magic
Auristics: Can be used to see ghosts that haven’t materialized
Auristics: Can change eye color during usage
Auristics: Difficult for an observer to notice
Auristics: Is different for each user
Auristics: Is used to sense a person’s aura
Auristics: Lets senses detect things normally outside their ability to notice
Auristics: Observing Magic in Action
Auristics: One of the safer Personal Magics
Lore: Coin of Stinking
Lore: Feathered Serpent's Egg
The Midnight Gem: Can Create Illogical Structures
Overgiving Effect: Headaches
Overgiving Effect: Hearing whispers urging further use of magic
Overgiving Effect: Metallic Taste on the tongue
Overgiving Effect: Permanent Alterations to your mental state
Overgiving Effect: Psychological Trauma
Overgiving Effect: Physical Pain
Overgiving: The result of using too much personal djed
Pathfinding: Trails of Light From People You Can Follow to Their Source
Pathfinding: Crowds Make it Difficult to Distinguish Trails
Pathfinding: Ghost Trails Are the Same Off-white as Soulmist
Pathfinding: What It Is
Lore: Ring of Emerald Flame
Lore: Rod of Sentience
Spritistim: Calming a Ghost With Comfort
Spiritism: Dealing With An Unorthodox Possession
Spiritism: Expelling a Possessed Spirit From One's Own Body
Spiritism: Giving Ghosts the Lie
Spiritism: How to Make Soulmist
Spiritism: Only magic in Sunberth that isn't actively hated
Spiritism: Reading a Ghost’s Memories Through Possession
Spiritism: Sending a Ghost On by Easing Regrets
Spiritism: Strengthening a Ghost With Soulmist
Spiritism: Using Gathered Soulmist on Objects to Touch Ghosts *Starter Lore
Spiritism: Using Ghost Beads to Make a Location Safe
Lore: Tracker's Lodestone
 
People
Anja: Beginning to Heal Thanks to Logan
Anja: Busy With His Work
Anja: Comfortable With Death
Anja: Good at keeping the peace in a tense situation
Anja: Has Chosen to Leave Sunberth
Anja: Has Orange Sunbursts In His Eyes
Anja: Promised to Look for Lights of Hope
Anja: Prays to Dira and Kihala
Anja & Syla: Have joyful, rowdy interactions on horseback
Azcan: Boy Wonder of the Bolt Hole
Azcan: Marked By a God
Azmere: Scarred Drykas sent to help
Battle: A Brave Warrior
Battle and Sayeth: Protective of Their Food
Drykas: Leave their dead in the open for wildlife to consume
Ebon: Kelski’s Healer Friend
Ghosts: Digging too deep can uncover things they don't want to face
Hannah:Owner of Killroy's Kennels, Location, Personality
Jeb: Eiyon
Jeb: Undertaker of the Dust Bed
Kailani: Marked by Laviku
Kailani: Offered to practice Fratava with him
Kailani: Rescued him and Maisa from a possessed shark
Kailani: Svefra
Kelski: Appearance And Mannerisms
Kelski: Follows Akajia, Marked By Her
Kelski: Gave Him Open Invite For Dinner Anytime At The Gem
Kelski: Haunted By A Man Named Darvin – Afraid He Will Be A Ghost
Kelski: Her History With Darvin
Kelski: Her Unusual Kelvic Features
Kelski: Invited Maisa To Eat The Grass Around The Gem
Kelski: Jeweler of Sunberth
Kelski: Kynier’s Mate
Kelski: Loves Kynier – Is Not Bonded To Him
Kelski: Owns The Midnight Gem
Kelski: Passionate About Gems
Kelski: Sea Eagle Kelvic
Kelski: Will Work Topaz For His Spiritism Needs
Kelvics: Bond To Humans
Konti: Appearance, Location, Seers
Kynier: Gathers information for his employer
Kynier: Gives the impression of not caring, but contradicts that
Kynier: Has dealt with ghosts before
Kynier: Is a Mage
Kynier: Says he intends to use Spiritism for Self-Defense
Light: History, Died, Moved On
Light: The Mother Stray Dog,
Logan Emerich: Personality, Appearance, Career
Logan: Calm in the Storm
Lok: Anja and Syla’s son; 7,
Lok: A contemplative boy
Lok: Indecisive in his Interests
Maisa: A Watchful, Loyal Companion
Maisa: Unsure About Morte
Meriann: Not Violent
Meriann: Passed On
Meriann: Ultimately Kind
Morte: Better At Pathfinding than Anja
Morte: Has a Complicated Aura
Morte: His Magical Skull Helped Him Learn Pathfinding
Morte: Sentient and Capable of Speech
Morte: Smarter Than He Looks
Morte: Sunbursts of Violet in His Eyes
Morte: A Voice of Reason
Moth: Overgrown Hooves
Moth: Part Strider
Moth: Young
Natlana: Runs the Aquillar Hot Springs with Her Husband
Nuit: Characteristics *Starter Lore
Nuits: Don't Have to Rest But Have Other Travel Concerns
Nuits: Have to Be Stealthy About Grabbing Bodies
Orem: Ankal and Anja’s uncle
Rivian: Anja’s strider
Rivian: Golden and Handsome
Sayeth: Quiet and Watchful
Striders: Intelligent Horses
Sergeant and Honey: Logan's Tracking Dogs
Self: Even with a violent ghosts, still wants to give them peace
Self: Impressed with Kailani's calm around the ghost
Self: Watches the Gem Sometimes
Syla: Always the optimist
Syla: Anja's Wife
Syla: Beautiful Svefra
Syla: Had she lived, she may have been marked by Zulrav
Syla: Rode a strider the way the Svefra ride waves
Syla: Skilled archer
Syla: Was more likely to ride into the storm than away from it
Syliran Knights: Dedicated to the Preservation of Peace
Syliran Knights: Noble, Good People
Tall Johnny: Charming and Shrewd
Tieria: The Drykas Handler of Jolly Good Stables
Vanguard: Logan's Horse, Maisa's Friend
 
Places
 
Skills
Animal Husbandry: Assuring Puppies Have Been Fed
AH: Bathing Horses
AH: Cleaning Hooves Animal Husbandry: “Come”
Animal Husbandry: Comforting Through Touch
Animal Husbandry: Daily Feeding
Animal Husbandry: Dealing With Dogs Vs. Ghosts
Animal Husbandry: Dealing With Horses Vs. Ghosts
AH: Evaluating Horses (Temperament, Age, Uses)
Animal Husbandry: “Friend”
Animal Husbandry: "Hold"
Animal Husbandry: Morning Care Of a Horse
Animal Husbandry: Petting to Search for Injury
Animal Husbandry: Searching for Fleas
Animal Husbandry: “Sit”
Animal Husbandry: Speaking Softly to Reassure
Animal Husbandry: “Stay”
Animal Husbandry: Training Dogs with Pavi and Grass Sign
Animal Husbandry: Using Food to Tame
Animal Husbandry: Using Touch to Inspire Trust
Animal Husbandry: Whistling for your ride
Falconry: (Attempting to) Feed a Crow
Horsemanship: Calming a Spooked Horse
Horsemanship: Checking Horses For Injury From Travel
Horsemanship: Earning a Horse's Respect
Horsemanship: Guiding a Horse Through Rough Terrain
Horsemanship: Quickly Saddling Your Ride
Leadership: Taking Charge of a Bad Situation
Logic: Reading people and situations together
Medicine: Examining A Horse For Injury
Medicine: Trying To Rehydrate A Drunk
Meditation: Helpful in summoning personal djed
Observation: Relying on Maisa’s Keen Senses
Persuasion: Giving Them What They Want
Persuasion: Leading One Towards a Goal for their Benefit
Persuasion: Sharing Secrets to Relate
Riding: Letting the Horse Do the Leading
Riding: Navigating Sunberths Streets On Horseback
Riding: Riding a Strider without a yvas style saddle
Riding: Shifting Weight to Cause a Horse to Halt
Riding-Horse: Feeling the horse beneath you
Seduction: Showing subtle affections
Socialization: Conveying Vocally What You See
Stealth: Hiding One’s Face
Teaching: Advice On Horses
Teaching: Teaching A Person With No Horse Knowledge Almost Everything A Beginner Needs To Know To Keep A Horse
Unarmed Combat: Hit Them Where It Hurts
Unarmed Combat: A Kick to the Ribs
Weapon: Bastard Sword: Has Good Reach
Wilderness Survival: Acknowledging Hidden Danger
Wilderness Survival: Keeping a Fire Burning
Wilderness Survival: Pacing Yourself During Travel
[tab=Things,#1a001a,white]Bastard Sword: Last Memento of his Father [/tab]
 
Miscellaneous



Penalties:
Cut Hand From Summer 5th 518- Summer 19th 518
Sore Ribs From Summer 23 518 - Summer 30 518



Equipment/Possessions:

Starting Package Items
- A Cream Undershirt
- Dark Hardened Leather Pants
- Brown Riding Boots
- Simple Undergarments
- Black Coat
- Waterskin
- Backpack
- Comb, Brush, Razor, Soap
- Food for a week
- Eating Knife
- Flint and Steel x2
- Family Heirloom: A Bastard Sword Belonging to his Deceased Father
- A full horse tack (yvas style)
- Large Saddlebags
- Four Person Tent
- Large Tarp
- 100 Foot of Rope
- Lantern
- Torch x2
- Bedroll
- Blanket
- Fishing Tackle and Hooks
- Horse

Items
- Crowbar
- Shovel
- Leather Armor
- Spiritists Beads 60ft
- 3 Vials
- Anja Prepares 3 Vials of Soulmist When His Old Batch Has Decayed
- Black Leather Gloves
- Simple Linen Shirt
- Simple Leather Pants
- Simple Pair of Leather Riding Boots
- Yellow Linen Sash
- Summer 518 Worth Horse Feed
- Black Linen Cowl
- Dog Training Book

Ledger:

+100gm Starting Package 100gm
- 60gm Spiritists Beads 60ft 40gm
- 10gm Leather Armor 30gm
- 2gm Shovel 28gm
- 2gm Crowbar 26gm
- 1gm5sm 3 Vials 24gm 5sm
- 1gm5sm Black Leather Gloves 23gm
- 1sm Simple Linen Shirt 22gm 9sm
- 1gm6sm Simple Leather Pants 21gm 3sm
- 2gm Simple Leather Riding Boots 19gm 3sm
- 1sm5cm Yellow Line Sash 19gm 1sm 5cm
- 9gm1sm 1 Season Worth of Horse Feed 10gm 5cm
- 4sm Black Linen Cowl 9gm 4sm 5cm
+ 400gm Weekend Writing Challenge 409gm 4sm 5cm
- 45gm Summer 518 Poor Living Expenses 364gm 4sm 5cm
+ 1092gm Summer 518 Job Wages 1456gm 4sm 5cm
- 18gm 5sm Fall 518 37 Days Poor Living Expenses 1437gm 9sm 5cm
- 270gm Fall 518 54 Days Good Living Expenses 1167gm 9sm 5cm
-9gm 15sm New Year's Eve Costume 1157gm 4sm 5cm
-450gm Winter 518 Good Living Expenses 707gm 4sm 5cm
+1092gm Fall 518 Wages 1799gm 4sm 5cm
+546gm Winter 518 Wages 2345gm 4sm 5cm
-500gm Meraki Guild Join Fee 1845gm 4sm 5cm
-250gm Meraki Guild Donation 1595gm 4sm 5cm


Languages:
Fluent: Common
Basic: Pavi
Poor: Fratava
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Last edited by Anja Nightwatcher on July 17th, 2019, 3:05 pm, edited 46 times in total.
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Anja Nightwatcher (WIP)

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on June 18th, 2018, 7:02 pm

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The Loved, Living and Dead


The Living

 
Maisa
ImageName: Maisa
DOB/Age: Summer 45, 513 AV/6 Years Old
Race: Strider Mare
PoB: Endrykas

Maisa was the companion who came to Anja’s aid when he had lost everyone he loved. The pair are nearly inseparable and completely devoted to one another. While Anja tends to daydream a lot and is deeply introspective, Maisa is sharp as a whip, fiercely observant, and protective. Anja tends to ruminate before acting, but Maisa shows no such hesitation and is often the one to carry Anja into conflict (occasionally unwillingly). Maisa is highly intelligent, and capable of understanding commands given in Pavi, even complex ones. She is independent however, and may occasionally go against her companion’s request if she feels it necessary. The mare is mostly untrusting of anyone other than Anja, particularly when concerning the people of Sunberth. She acts as Anja’s practical guide, and tends to steer the man out of danger when she’s capable of it. She has a fondness for children and small animals, and will usually be more trusting and less suspicious towards them.


The Dead

 
Myrna Nightwatcher
ImageName: Myrna Nightwatcher
DOB-DOD: Spring 36, 424 AV- Winter 67, 502
Age At Time of Death: 78
Race: Drykas
PoB: Endrykas

Myrna lived a long and fulfilling life on the Sea of Grass, despite a number of tragedies that dotted her history. She was married four times, with three of her husbands seeing untimely deaths before she could have children by them. She was passed around from Pavillion to Pavillion and picked up a number of skills along the way and eventually became a talented Spiritist. After her fourth husband’s death, at a time when she was too old to marry or have any more children, she was able to be valued in her skill alone. Despite this she was lonely… until she met Anja. Myrna comforted Anja after his Pavilion’s unexpected death, and taught him how to find comfort in death. Later, she helped foster his growing interest in Spiritism and took him on as an apprentice. Myrna was Anja’s closest friend and confidant through his young life and teenage years, and lived long enough to see him married to his teenage sweetheart. She perished quietly in her sleep at a ripe old age, and left Anja with over a decade of wonderful memories and a career and passion that makes his heart sing.
 
Syla Nightwatcher
ImageName: Syla “Wavewind” Nightwatcher
DOB-DOD: Summer 53, 487 AV- Summer 24, 515AV
Age at Time of Death: 28
Race: Svefra/Drykas
PoB: The Suvan Sea

Syla was born to a prominent Svefra Pod living in and around Kanesh. Fierce, brash, and wild at heart Syla had a love for storms and a temperment to match it, along with a steadfast will and stubborn heart. Although she bore the tell tale blue eyes of the Sverfra, she was not gifted with a Laviku mark at birth as the rest of her family was. Feeling out of place, Syla left her pod and ventured to Kanesh, where she was promptly enslaved and sold to a trader from Riverfall. En route to Riverfall the caravan was attacked by Glass Beaks, killing her master. The slaves she was travelling with were saved by a group of Drykas, one of which happened to be Anja. Anja was instantly smitten with the slave, and spent the better part of two years romancing Syla and working to convince the Ankal of his Pavilion that their Pavilion would benefit from the woman’s skills. In between secret meetings with Anja when their paths crossed, Syla learned Pavi, became a skilled archer, and bonded to a strider, freeing herself from slavery by merit of becoming a Drykas. This was enough to convince Anja’s Pavilion, and Syla was traded for and married to Anja. Several years into their marriage, Syla gave Anja a son. Anja never showed any sign of being interested in more wives, and the pair maintained their whirlwind of romance up until the woman’s untimely death. Syla was murdered by a group of desperate nuits looking for new skins, and Anja was forced to kill the monster wearing his wife’s face. Although Anja speaks calmly of Syla to anyone who asks, his wife’s death weighs heavily on his conscious, and the wound her loss left has not yet healed.
 
Lok Nightwatcher
ImageName: Lok Nightwatcher
DOB-DOD: Fall 25, 504 AV- Summer 24, 515AV
Age at Time of Death: 11
Race: Drykas
PoB: Endrykas

Lok is the first and only child of Anja and Syla. Bright, intelligent and optimistic, he brought joy to his parents Pavillion. Being one of the few children of the Nightwatcher Pavillion, Lok was spoiled mercilessly by his family members, much to Syla’s distaste. However, this didn’t ruin his personality and he spent a lot of time bouncing between different types of skills, often losing interest in a particular job and picking up a new talent later. One of the few things that Lok stayed consistent with was his love of animals, and he could be often found caring for the Pavillion’s dogs. The boy had a close relationship with his father, despite Anja’s frequent forays away from the Pavillion for his job as a Spiritist. Lok was not a fan of Spiritism or ghosts, a matter which Anja was reluctantly forced to accept. Lok lived a mostly peaceful life up until his sudden death at the hands of nuits. His body was taken by a nuit, and his body used to cast magic that attacked Anja, severely wounding the Drykas and killing his then strider. Lok’s body has long since been cast away, but Anja still bears a vendetta against the nuit who slayed his son and escaped.
 
Rivian
ImageName: Rivian
DOB-DOD: Spring 88, 499AV- Summer 24, 515AV
Age at Time of Death: 16
Race: Strider Stallion
PoB: Endrykas

Brillant, charming, clever and handsome, Rivian was a ray of brightness that tore away at Anja’s otherwise gloomy career. Rivian could always make Anja laugh no matter how dark the circumstances with his charming wit and playful demeanor. Anja bonded to his strider late in his teenage years, considerably later than most of his peers. Having faced some judgement in pursuit of his passion for Spiritism, bonding with Rivian washed away any doubts that the Pavilion had of Anja’s capability. In addition, Rivian’s playful and outgoing personality helped Anja to come out of his shell as well, earning him friends and even helping him to assist in the romance of the woman who would be his wife. Much of the sense of humor that Anja keeps to this day is thanks to that of his first strider. Rivian perished in the battle with nuits, blasted by a fireball wielded by a nuit wearing the skin of Anja’s son.
 
Light
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Last edited by Anja Nightwatcher on March 24th, 2019, 4:30 pm, edited 18 times in total.
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Anja Nightwatcher (WIP)

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on June 18th, 2018, 7:03 pm

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The Touch of Death
Anja's Gnosis :
The sea of grass danced in time to the wind, like the waves of the ocean that Anja's Sverfra born wife so often spoke of. The fading Syna cast a red and pink glow over the green and gold, igniting the plains in a flame of colors. Anja had watched Syna fall a thousand times and never tired of it. His grandmother had spoken of the fall of night and rise of day like the eternal death and rebirth of every soul’s venture. As such, nightfall always brought the Drykas a sense of peaceful melancholy, but not an unpleasant one. The man murmured a quiet prayer of acknowledgement to Dira, then, not wanting to be exclusive, added a quick one to Syna and Leth as well. “Just as the night falls and day rises, may you see every soul to their peaceful rebirth,” Anja signed solemnly.

Beneath his legs, Anja felt Rivian shift his weight. Anja knew his strider companion well enough to know that the poor horse was bored senseless; at least if his constant shifting weight and annoyed ears were any indication. Anja patted his companion’s shoulder affectionately, earning a half-annoyed ear tilt. 'What are we even doing here?’ Anja imagined those ears seemed to say.

“We come if we’re asked to,” Anja signed to his companion. “You know that.” Rivian dropped his head in a resigned sulk, ears flat. Anja chuckled, then turned his attention back to the matter at hand.

The group of horses and men making up the Watch Anja accompanied formed a half circle around a collection of wagons hosting traders from lands outside the Sea of Grass. The Rayvekh in charge of this group of the watch argued loudly in Common with a solitary caravanner, his hands occasionally punctuating his statements with instinctual Pavi. The men of the Watch chuckled among themselves, even making eye contact with Anja to add him to the joke. Smiling, Anja made the Pavi gesture for intensity. This caused a ripple of laughter to run through the men gathered.

After a moment, the Rayvekh stormed away from the circle of motionless horses and wagons and towards the group of mounted men making up the small group of Watch, as well as Anja. The drykas didn’t know Harim well, but it didn’t take an intimate knowledge of the man to tell he was a storm cloud threatening to burst.

“That horzpah is giving me the run around worse than any of the other walahk here! We will force our way into that wagon if we must!” Harrim snarled. The man’s pavi was short and clipped, both in gesture and word. Teeth shown in eager grins as the men anticipated the coming action, and Rivian’s ears flicked to attention. The group of men split and rejoined, surrounding the solitary caravanner, much to his spluttering indignation. His fellow caravanners looked on, clearly unhappy but unwilling to interfere. Anja stayed back, until Harim gestured for him to join them.

“Join us, Anja. If there are dead about then we will need you.”

Compliantly, Anja nudged Rivian into the circle of horsemen. The golden dun stallion bounced with anticipation. Anja could feel Rivian preparing to surge from underneath him.

“Not right now,” Anja murmured between his strider’s ears. “Perhaps later.”

Rivian’s ears went back in annoyed protest, but the horse didn’t offer any argument as Anja swung off his back. The drykas patted his companion’s neck, earning an annoyed snort, then walked the rest of the distance to the wagon.
The wagon was covered in a thick brown canvas, but even with it Anja could smell the stink of decay emanating from within. When the scent reached the members of the Watch, they recoiled in horror. Most dead things in the Sea of Grass didn’t have the time to rot to this point before they were consumed by something or another. The scent was unfamiliar and sickening to them. Even as a spiritist, Anja was not well versed in corpses and found even himself repulsed. Steeling himself, he breathed out of his mouth on approach.

“This is an outrage!” shrieked the caravanner in common. “I am transporting these bodies to Riverfall for burial! Your people have no rules against that!”

Harim and his men curled their lips in disgust. Unspoken among them was the unnaturalness of such a practice. They couldn’t police other people’s policies, but they didn’t have to like it either.

“If you haven’t done anything wrong, then there is no problem, correct?” Harim replied in common. His voice chirped in an almost friendly way that tried and failed to hide his pleasure at going against this man’s will. The caravanner continued to sputter his protests. Ignoring him, Harim turned to Anja.

“If there is a corpse, there could be a ghost, yes?”

“If they died with regrets, there is always a chance,” Anja replied.

“Then you can lead the way if you don’t mind,” Harim said seriously. “I am good at making things dead, but when that’s done it is out of my hands.”

Anja chuckled good-naturedly, then removed both his bastard sword from his back and a vial strapped to his waist. Anja was doubtful that this caravan contained a ghost, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

The drykas uncorked the vial with his teeth, and shook the gel-like soulmist into his hand. The viscous substance chilled Anja’s hand at the point of contact, and with a slight smile the man smeared it on his blade.

Anja met eyes with Harim, who gave a clipped gesture to continue forward. With a shrug, Anja threw open the canvas. The stink hit the man like a glassbeak, and he saw the Watch behind him stagger back from the force of the stench. In spite of the horrible smell, Anja did not feel the telltale cold tickle of a ghost’s presence. Anja was half ready to call an all clear, but something made the man hesitate. Cautiously he prodded his sword into a layer of filthy blankets lining the bottom of the wagon. A moment later, Anja sprang from the wagon, face pale.

“Harim, there are no bodies in there.” Anja spoke the words in common, and watched as the blood drained from the caravaneer's face.

Harim hesitated only a beat. “Nuits,“ he spat. “Leechers. No wonder the web has been so wrong in this area the past tenday.”

Harrim made a quick gesture with his hands, and his group fanned out to hold the caravan in place, much to the screeching protest of the men and women travelers.

“Harrim, we must find those nuits,” Anja said. He could barely suppress the terrible premonition growing in his chest. “That stink… their bodies are very decayed. I fear they might be looking for new ones.”

Harrim nodded. “Leeching does no favors to their bodies. Fine then. Where would they go? Where are the nearest bodies, if not here?”

Anja could feel his heart tight in his chest. “My pavilion. A hard two hour ride from here.”

Anja watched Harrim’s eyes go blank; the man tapped into the web as only a master could. Effortless and serene. A moment later he came back to himself, frowning.

“The web around your pavilion is damaged.”

Anja swung onto Rivian unthinkingly. His body felt numb. “I must go. My wife and son are there. My family.”

“We will ride together,” Harrim said with a nod. He gestured for half his group to follow, and the seven of them turned as one into a hard gallop towards Anja’s home.

The ride crawled, and the Syna vanished, giving way to the eerie silver light of Leth. Still they rode, their striders pulling at the weaves of the web and sending their gallops at blinding speed. Anja could barely feel his mind holding together, such was his panic. But underneath him Rivian raced like the most single minded of arrows. Whatever anxiety Anja felt, Rivian would have no part in it, and powered onwards.

Smoke marked the approach to the Pavilion, not a gentle white trail that whisked off a cookfire, but heavy, black and ugly. Bright red spots danced in the darkness where the grass had taken and carried the flames. As Anja and his companions galloped closer, the Pavilion came into view. It was a tower of blackened ash, the fire having long burned out, and moved elsewhere. Underneath him, Rivian screamed with rage, an echo of Anja’s own screaming heart that caught somewhere in the back of his throat.

Harrim barked out orders to his men, but Anja didn’t see or hear them. A figure rose from near the pavilion, staggering away from a withered body on the ground. Slack jawed, he looked towards the riders charging towards him. It had been Anja’s cousin, once. The once-Yurik’s face was now decorated in horrible runes, and a look of horror spread across the now undead man’s face. Harrim cried out another order and a volley of arrows buried themselves into Anja’s former cousin, just as his hands exploded with fire.

Horses screamed and men were blown backwards off their horses and slammed into the ground. Anja and Rivian, trailing the charge, did not fall but they both staggered from the slam of force and the heat. Shouts echoed through the smoke and fire. Orders, shouts for injuries. Anja heard none of it. At the edge of the husk of a pavilion, the man swung off Rivian’s back and charged towards a solitary tent nearby. The man knew the location intimately. Even in the smoke, fire and chaos he needed no guide. He ran on foot, Rivian hard breath at his ear a companion in his blind panic.

Anja found a break in the smoke, and spotted the tent through the haze. With shaking hands, he threw open the entrance flap. Clothes, tapestries lay scattered on the ground, the inside of the tent a tattered mess. A cluster of arrows lay sunk into the ground, covered in a strange white substance. The tent reeked of decay. And a pair of bodies lay on the ground. One of them was a rotten and decayed corpse, unmoving. Arrows protruded out of the back of its shoulder and for a brief moment, Anja was filled with hope. The second body stirred and stared him in the eyes and that hope fled to somewhere very far away.

Syla’s once sea blue eyes had a milky white film to them. Unnatural red runes patterned her near-naked body. But most sickeningly, a purple-red bruise blazed on her neck, bearing the shape and pattern of the silver necklace Anja had given her on their wedding day. A necklace she still wore, flecked with blood.

“Oh no,” the creature whispered in common. It held up its hands placatingly. Its face was terrified. Desperate. It seemed not even strong enough to stagger to its feet. “She was dear to you wasn’t she?” the creature murmured with Syla’s voice. “Yes, I can see it in your face. W-well this is just our nature! You wouldn’t fault a glassbeak for hunting, would you? We would have died had we not!”

Anja’s bastard sword was in his hand. He didn’t remember drawing it. “And what difference does that make to me?” said Anja with an unnatural calm. “You killed my wife.”

“She may be dead!” the nuit said desperately. “But her body can live on with me! I’ll take care of what is left of her!”

“You don’t know the Drykas very well,” said Anja. “But you especially don’t know me. Dira can take you.” Anja’s arm moved with speed, and the undead shrieked and fell, as white poured from its wound and finally it fell still.

Anja stepped from the tent, unfeeling, numb. There was something inside him struggling to escape, but it wasn’t quite there yet. Anja looked at Rivian and placed a hand on the horse’s neck. Rivian’s entire body was tense. Before Anja could question his companion, the horse surged forward with a scream.

“Petcher!” screamed a familiar voice. “You killed her!”

A spike of ice flew from the darkness, impaling the still charging Rivian. The horse screamed and thrashed, and Anja slammed to the ground from Rivian’s kick. Gasping on the ground, a second shard of ice buried itself into Anja’s body. In the light of the flickering fire, Anja saw a familiar face, rage filling his now dead eyes. Anja’s son. Lok. Anja tried to speak, but no words came.

A moment later, battle cries filled the air. Anja saw his once-son turn away and flee into the darkness to the sound of the Watch’s pursuit, as slowly the world turned grey and dark.

Time moved strangely in Anja’s unconscious state. Grief must have found him somewhere because several times he half awoke to his own screams, only to be soothed back into unconsciousness by unfamiliar voices. When he finally awakened fully, he found himself tucked into a strange bed, with Leth’s light gently illuminating a dark figure through the open flap of the tent.

Even if she hadn’t been flanked by a black and a white jackal, Anja would have known who she was. “Has my time come, lady?” he asked calmly.

The goddess of death smiled faintly and shook her head. “Not yet Anja,” she said. Her voice, although naturally pragmatic, had a kind and almost affectionate lilt to it. “Truth told, you did me a favor today. Those nuits have been causing me trouble for a good while. The men you brought to the pavilion with your sharp thinking killed all but one of them. And I’m not so self-centered as to not recognize your sacrifice.”

The two of them were quiet for a long moment. Only the quiet breaths of Before and After filled the space. Anja drifted.

“Could I ask a favor?” Dira said finally. “That nuit who took your son is still out there. And there are others like him. I do my best works through others you know. All gods do. Could I rely on you to go after him, and to hunt others like him? You are a good spiritist, and even faced by such a trial, you didn’t falter. I need your aid beyond the Sea of Grass. There are many restless undead, and they need to move on.”

“My pavilion?” Anja asked after a long, painful pause.

“All gone, I’m afraid.”

“Then there's nothing else left for me here. I will go.”

Dira spanned the space between them in three graceful, elegant steps and kneeled down beside where Anja lay. She delicately took the Drykas’ hand in hers and brought his palm to her lips. There was a flash of ethereal light, and Anja’s vision blurred and twisted before finally settling. A sense of peace settled on the man like a shroud. It was difficult, in that moment, for Anja to explain precisely why. In part, it was a sense of purpose that had materialized, filling that empty gaping hole that had appeared the instant he knew Syla and Lok were dead. Secondly, it was the emergence of a strange awareness that now filled his senses. There in that tent, and further, beyond the Sea of Grass and through Cyphrus and further still stretching to the ends of Mizahar and to the bottoms of the deepest and darkest ocean, there was no place that Dira’s touch couldn’t reach. She was omnipresent. Everywhere. It was a dark kind of companionship perhaps, but something Anja found comfort in.

Anja looked at his hand. There in the dim light an image of a scythe stretched across his right palm.“There is no greater honor than to be able to serve you,” Anja told her.

Dira smiled again, and straightened from her spot beside him.

“I have another gift for you,” she said. “Although I rather think that she would have found you even without my intervention.”

Anja gave the goddess a questioning look, which she answered by nodding at the entrance to the tent. Following Dira’s gaze, he heard a nicker of greeting. In the shadow of Leth’s light, Anja saw a beautiful strider mare, a pale white that shone in the moonlight, accented by dark legs, mane, and tail.

“I would not expect you to be alone in this,” Dira said lightly. “Especially considering the bonds you Drykas share with your striders.”

The mare crossed through into the tent and put her head forward into Anja’s hands. He knew his grandmother at once, even in her new horse skin. She was the woman who had taught him about death, about spiritism. There was nothing more fitting.

“I’m counting on you Anja. Do me proud.” With that, the goddess and her two jackals vanished into the darkness.

Anja was quiet as himself and his new companion reaquainted themselves. A sharing of scents and touch.

“Jackals I think, for the windmark,” Anja signed to her. “Two, on each shoulder. And then we go. Yes Maisa?”

Maisa blew her agreement. Around them, the Sea of Grass swarmed with death. But now, for Anja, there was nothing left to fear. Death could take him when it would. Until then, there was work to be done. And the first task would be finding the monster who took his son.
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Last edited by Anja Nightwatcher on July 25th, 2018, 3:54 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Anja Nightwatcher

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on June 18th, 2018, 7:03 pm

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Thread List
_________________________


Summer 519
Date Thread Name Completed? Graded?
1st Welcome to the New Reality No No
8th An Unclaimed Dance No No
16th Unknown Dangers No No
35th Honing a Herder's Instincts Yes No
42nd Of Floating and Friends No No
56th Dead in the Water No No


_________________________

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Spring 519
Date Thread Name Completed? Graded?
1st, 26th Talk Around the Table No No
9th Of Eating and Evoking No No
10th A Race to Remember No No
14th Creature Comforts No No
15th The Thing About Mules... No No
25th The Shadow of Those Who Remain Yes No
67th Trails Yes Yes
70th Setting Sail for a New Life No No


_________________________

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Winter 518
Date Thread Name Completed? Graded?
15th As Above So Below No No
25th Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Ghost? Yes Yes
40th Night of Masks No No
55th A Murder at the Hanging Oak No No
92nd The New Years Eve Costume Party No No
92nd Fortune for the New Year No No
92nd Pray to Ovek and Roll the Dice! No No


_________________________

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Fall 518
Date Thread Name Completed? Graded?
1st No Friend is Too Low Yes Yes
7th On Faith and Futures Yes Yes
10th Night Flight Yes Yes
22nd A Tale of Drowned Men Yes Yes
24th Welcome to the Sun No No
25th Turtle Haven Yes Yes
36th Guiding Light Yes Yes
37th, 6th Bell Never Forgiven, Never Forgotten No No
37th, 18th Bell A Place to Belong Yes No
45th Chasing History Yes No
70th Broken Spirits No No


_________________________

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Summer 518
Date Thread Name Completed? Graded?
5th, 8th Bell The Thousand Soul Lament Yes Yes
5th, 20th Bell Spiritism 101 Yes Yes
15th Elegy For the Lost Yes Yes
23rd Quiet Down Up There Yes Yes
24th Questions and Curiosities Yes Yes
63rd Takin' a Knee to the Face Yes Yes
78th Light a Fire and Watch it Burn Yes Yes
91st You Can't Fix Everything All the Time Yes Yes


_________________________

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Flashbacks
Date Thread Name Completed? Graded?
Spring 13, 512 I Believe There's a Storm a-Brewin' Yes Yes
Summer 50, 515 A Spiritist's Kin Yes Yes
Winter 35, 515 The Price of Peace I Yes Yes
Winter 48, 515 The Price of Peace II Yes No
Winter 78, 515 The Price of Peace III Yes No


_________________________

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Last edited by Anja Nightwatcher on September 10th, 2019, 8:34 pm, edited 47 times in total.
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Training Skill Points and Abilities WIP

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on June 18th, 2018, 7:03 pm

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Training, Skill Points and Abilities



Gnosis Marks

Eiyon: First Mark

Languages
Fluent: Common
Basic: Pavi
Poor: Fratava



Skills

Skill Points Proficiency Points Earned
Observation 60 Expert 1+4+1+3+3+5+2+3+5+5+5+3+2+5+2+3+5+3
Socialization 57 Expert 3+2+2+3+1+5+3+5+5+5+5+2+2+2+2+4+3+3
Riding: Horse 27 Competent 10RB+2+2+1+1+1+1+1+1+1+4+1+1
Spiritism 39 Competent 26SP+1+4+1+1+3+3
Animal Husbandry 21 Novice 5+1+1+3+2+1+1+2+1+2+2
Auristics 2 Novice 1+1
Climbing 1 Novice 1
Deduction 2 Novice 1+1
Endurance 2 Novice 1+1
Falconry 1 Novice 1
Horsemanship 14 Novice 9SP+2+2+1
Hostessing 1 Novice 1
Interrogation 12 Novice 4+1+5+2
Intimidation 2 Novice 2
Investigation 8 Novice 2+1+2+3
Leadership 6 Novice 4+2
Logic 9 Novice 1+3+3+1+1
Medicine 3 Novice 1+1+1
Meditation 8 Novice 1+1+1+1+4
Negotiation 3 Novice 1+2
Pathfinding 5 Novice 5
Persuasion 14 Novice 1+5+2+5+1
Philosophy 2 Novice 1+1
Planning 5 Novice 5
Praying 1 Novice 1
Rhetoric 3 Novice 3
Seduction 3 Novice 2+1
Stealth 1 Novice 1
Swimming 1 Novice 1
Teaching 19 Novice 4+5+5+1+1+1+2
Tracking 3 Novice 1+2
Unarmed Combat 3 Novice 3
Weapon: Bastard Sword 18 Novice 15SP+1+1+1
Wilderness Survival (Forest) 3 Novice 3


Resolve
30

Resolve Calculation :
Base Resolve = 26
Interrogation: Novice +1
Meditation: Novice +1
Leadership/Persuasion/Seduction: Novice +1
Endurance: Novice +1
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Last edited by Anja Nightwatcher on July 6th, 2019, 7:37 pm, edited 13 times in total.
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Anja Nightwatcher (WIP)

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on June 18th, 2018, 7:05 pm

WIP
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes

Anja Nightwatcher (WIP)

Postby Anja Nightwatcher on June 18th, 2018, 7:05 pm

WIP
User avatar
Anja Nightwatcher
Ghost Hunter
 
Posts: 262
Words: 298384
Joined roleplay: February 15th, 2018, 3:26 pm
Race: Human, Drykas
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes


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