Kavala's Plotnotes

by **Kavala** on December 5th, 2011, 11:48 am

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Goal

Kavala wants security, freedom, and love in equal parts with none being more important or less important than the other. I know that sounds a bit quirky and perhaps generic, but its what she truly wants. Kavala NEEDS her day to day and year to year freedom to do what she wants when she wants, rather than the illusion of freedom she currently chafes against in Riverfall. The three things are heavily interwoven to her. Security to her means financial and emotional, a family that surrounds her that is trustworthy and one she fits into. She loves her Drykas family and her roots, but being a Konti in a human world means shes' going to outlive everyone on the Sea of Grass she loves and while they grow old her youth will just be dawning. She needs a different kind of family for that security - one that shares her lifespan and goals - so she can go onward knowing time isn't her enemy in regards to them. Interwoven into that is love. She's lost her heart already and had it broken so part of her security and freedom is also entwined with the fact that she really feels she deserves to find someone who will not just love her in certain conditions, but in all conditions. If that doesn't come in the form of a lover or husband, she's more than willing to accept it in the form of a family for each brings her security and in many ways freedom to be less disquieted about any potential losses that are less guaranteed among her own kind than the certainty of loss by old age among her birth family.

Character Traits

I found the original term 'Character Diamond' a little stupid and wanted to change it, namely because I am heavily into jewelcrafting and anyone who knows gems and gemcrafting knows that diamonds have tons of points on them and couldn't possibly just be restricted to four. In fact, the modern round brilliant (the most popular - think engagement ring folks) consists has 58 facets (or 57 if the culet is excluded); 33 on the crown (the top half above the middle or girdle of the stone) and 25 on the pavilion (the lower half below the girdle). The girdle may be frosted, polished smooth, or faceted. In recent decades, most girdles are faceted; many have 32, 64, 80, or 96 facets; these facets are excluded from the total facet count. Likewise, some diamonds may have small extra facets on the crown or pavilion that were created to remove surface imperfections during the diamond cutting process. The smallest cut you can make for a diamond is a point cut and that has only 8 faucets which is twice the traits the person who coined Character Diamond used. So you see, diamond is totally inaccurate for this, and I'm just calling it Character Traits.

Yes. I'm anal retentive.

This guy in this explanation is just trying to sum up a few key points in your PC so you can have a road map to follow when you are trying to get into character. It's all about the character right? Jen get over yourself. Okay, so here's what he has to say. Create four words. Two that are constant and two that are situational and lean on them when trying to get into character. These aren't things that you can't ever change - sometimes they do - but these are tools hes giving us to add to our character toolbox to use to form up our PC's mentality.

"Finally, these four words should describe pretty much everything there is to know about your character's fundamental personality. The dictionary and thesaurus come in handy here, of course, because your words will need to be generalized enough to cover the whole spectrum of experiences that your character might encounter. If this seems impossible, remember that your character is not "real" in the same sense that you are -- his or her status as a fiction of your imagination means that he or she only experiences those things which are relevant to your roleplaying in the game. "

But but but... she's real to me! Okay, moving on. Traits. Traits are enormously hard to pin down but I think I have a grip on them. I used an usual word and I thought it was also interesting that some of my negatives could be positives and vice versa depending on the situation. Did that happen to you?

Constant Traits

Protective (+) : Kavala can't stand to see people being hurt. In a way this makes her ultimately suitable for Rak'keli's marks. However, it also gives her a drastic character trait in that if she feels someone or something is dangerous, rather than taking them down or injuring them Kavala will time after time go for the kill. She's seen a lot of damaged creatures in regards to their mind and psyche - both sentient and not - and feels like rehabilitation at times is a wasted effort that just buries the damage rather than heals it. This is especially true of people. So if someone is threatening her or her own, she tends to think lethally rather than show compassion for whom she faces. Def'n (adj): giving or capable of giving protection (protecting, covering, sheltering, shielding, safeguarding, insulating, caring, defensive, motherly, fatherly, warm, careful, maternal, vigilant, watchful, paternal, possessive) She is all these things.

Disquieted (-) : This is the perfect term for Kavala. I searched long and hard for something that would sum up her sense of worry, anxiety, dread, and suspicion that things are usually worse than they outright appear and that danger hides beneath everything. Def'n (n): a feeling or condition of anxiety or uneasiness (upset, worried, disturbed, distressed, troubled, anxious). Yes. That's Kavala in a nutshell. Too much has happened to her for her to ever change having this trait, or at least change any time soon.

Situational Traits

Passionate (+) : Kavala doesn't know how to do anything just half way. She's always bursting with emotion, intense emotion, whether she conceals it or not. Kavala situationally reveals this fact often. She also has her own tiny little konti soap box she tends to drag around and hop on whenever someone needs a good lecture delivered to them. Def'n (adj): 1. manifesting or exhibiting intense sexual feeling or desire (a passionate lover) 2. capable of, revealing, or characterized by intense emotion (a passionate plea) 3. easily roused to anger; quick-tempered (emotional, enthusiastic, hot, loving). She is all those things, so this word really suits her.

Reactive (-) : Kavala struggles each and every day to stop and think before she reacts. Sometimes she succeeds at this when the stakes are not high. But because of her fall from Windsong and her subsequent enslavement where she had no chance to react, it makes her overly reactive because she exercises that privilege daily when she does have a choice even as she trys to dial it back. Def'n (adj): 1. Tending to be responsive or to react to a stimulus.
2. Characterized by reaction (responsive, sensitive). It takes Kavala enormous effort to freeze, think things through and not react instantly. She trains both ways but sometimes it doesn't help and sometimes it does. Situations change. Sometimes instant reactions are needed and this trait has saved her life more than once, but often ... far more often... its a negative trait and caused her to overreact.

by **Kavala** on December 5th, 2011, 4:30 pm

Threads That Will Be Finished
NaNo isn't finished for me until I have the total result of what I started and finished in my chart and all these threads completed. There's more to add too because the last day of the season I went slightly crazing adding in some placeholders. But, I think I know where I'm going with them!

~~The Healing Harvest Of The Earth (Gardening/Herbalism)~~
Starvation Is Not An Option (Cooking)
This Hallowed Ground (Reimancy Initiation & Setting Origins)
~~Inner Strength Outer Strength Part 1 (Shielding)~~
Inner Strength Outer Strength Part 2 (Shielding)
~~Ladies First (Hunting/Weapons/Unarmed)~~
The Darkness In The Light (Raiha/Kav)
I Hope Your Right About This (Bola/Blow Gun)
~~Origins (Dreamwalking & Cytali)~~
Life Is Hauntingly Beautiful (Spiritism)
All The Colors Of The Rainbow (Auristics)
A Thousand Woven Lives (Webbing)
~~A Firm And Steadfast Hand (Glyphing)~~
When Worlds Collide (Morphing)
Iron Will(Poisons/Philtering)
Ghostly Intent (Spiritism)
Where Faith Is Found (Gods & Goddesses and their Gnosis)
~~Plants are Nifty (Herbalism/Gardening)~~
Earning Thy Keep
A Gathering of Gemstones (Leto, Ronan, Kav) (Glyphing and Misc)
The Road Back From Darkness (healing cuga)
Storm Waters and Wind Chill (Cuga)

and Whoot some extras to play with...
? - Stained Glass Window To The Past
? - Brighter Than The Sun
? - A Swiftly Tilting World
? -Basking In The Light of a Crescent Moon
? - Light Fantastic
? -Heart of Stone

In Winter
Ride With The Wind
Raindance

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by **Kavala** on March 10th, 2012, 11:17 pm

For She So Loved The Sea...

One of Kavala's main goals in life is to discover love. I am not speaking of sexual love or the finding of a partner. Kavala is looking for that as well, but in this case, there are things in her life she truly has discovered a love for and thus has in some ways fulfilled part of her life goal. Born on the Sea of Grass, the Suvan was something that her pavilion saw perhaps once a year and only then to gather salt and fish lightly. It had no true part in her childhood and she spent almost no time swimming or exploring the fact that her whole race was born of the sea.

Now that she lives in Riverfall, I'm going to start incorporating more and more sea themed threads into her world and trying to blend both above ground and beneath the waves issues into her day to day existence. This isn't easy unless there are Konti and Akontaks around, which fortunately there are.

So how to do this? Harvesting food, setting scenes, simply getting exercise. I think Kavala has wanted to learn sailing too for a long time. Raiha has secrets that Kavala needs to know so they can set off together and try to find the lost Akalak city that is beneath the waves. Its a plan Raiha and I's player have dreamed of for a while. Her PC got the info to where it was in a quest and its only a matter of time before my PC catches wind of it. They keep secrets from each other, but not intentionally. It just hasn't come up yet in a thread and we aren't ones to force the issue at all. It will happen when it happens. And when it does the girls can go off and have an adventure - either successful or unsuccessful. Either way its exciting and a really great reason to learn how to sail, of which I know nothing about.

I was in a horrible mood today too, another Saturday lost to having to head to work on day six. I channeled my frustration into photoshop and decided to create an underwater rendition of Kavala swimming. It's her face, on another model, recolored completely with shading, more hair, and light streaming through the water added in. I think it will be enough to inspire me to do more images and talk more about my PC and what I want for her.

by **Kavala** on March 10th, 2012, 11:30 pm

Love Is Fleeting. Love is Complex.

Definition of Love :

Kavala Denusk of the Denusk Pavilion, Sapphire Clan has an incredible array of loves. I'll be exploring some here in these plotnotes. Above, I've talked about a specific love of hers I want to develop more. Here, I want to talk about relationship love: Mind, body, and Soul stuff.

Kavala has a very unusual situation in life. She doesn't own her body or her ability to be with a specific person right now. But that doesn't mean she doesn't need love. She needs a great deal of it. And more importantly, or perhaps just as importantly, she has a lot of love inside her. She physically and emotionally needs not only love given to her but she needs someone or something to lavish love on. I believe that is why she has The Sanctuary and so many misfits that either are animal or people residents.

Kavala's love drives her and all she does is give to others almost at her own expense. And I think more than needing love, Kavala deserves it. She receives it in huge proportions from her horses and her co-workers. It's just in the mate situation that her life gets screwed up.

Both Talvas' that Kavala has had, she's loved, because that's made the whole situation she's in a lot better for her. And they've been men worthy of love, so they've made it easy. I think she has a great and deep capacity to love and that shines through in the situations she's in and in a lot of ways made it easier for Riverfall to take advantage of her situation. She keeps accepting it when she should be fighting it. Fighting it is hard though, because her nature is partially generosity and a deep need to give.

So dealing with Kavala verses love is difficult.

But its also hard to talk about love because she's known so very little of it in her time. Interestingly enough, a teenage girl has taught her more about love than anyone else in the game, and that's been a real interesting journey. I think nothings wrong with the girl, and that's been why Kavala hasn't been spending all her time trying to fix her which she has everyone else in her life she's trying to love.

And to compound matters, she's finally met someone with the kind of heart and mind that's almost left her dumbstruck with its attractiveness to her. But she's in no position to act on it right now. For Kavala is one thing and that is faithful to a fault, both in regards to her religion and regards to her obligations. But that doesn't stop her for dreaming and playing at having the ability to step outside of her life and step back into it.

Love has granted her that.

I think the song Eyes Like Twins sums up the kind of relationship she's found herself in. I'm not sure its fair to call it a relationship yet. I think its a 'recognition' right now that two people could be exceedingly good for one another. Life, however, has other ideas for them currently. Together yet apart. Recognizing something in each other that maybe not everyone else can see, this song fits where they are at. It will be fascinating to see where they are in say a year from now. I know my PC needs love, but the truth of it is, can she handle and accept the kind of love this person she's suddenly found her life interwoven with is capable of giving? I see them as a great deal alike. That's why, in many ways, I picked green for this posting... it reflects his very new presence in her life.

♫ "I recognize that smile
Our winter its oh so cold
You wore your mysterious cloak
Just like a child

No careless words were said
We spoke with eyes instead
We looked into each other like long lost friends
Then you went away
And I never heard
You had a summer heat
You said the ice would kill (echo)
But you were not be caught (echo)

Chorus (*)
We have eyes like twins
Where your last thought ends my next begins always
Just one heart beat away
From everything I mean to say oh
Catch me I'm falling like you
Wish for me I'll come running to save you
Touch me I'm calling for you
Remember me I would never betray you
We have eyes like twins (echo)

I slept a thousand hours
My heart felt cold as a coward
You sent a southern breeze like a forest fire (echo)
I hear those voices too
I dreamed each dream with you
We breath as one together and we share our tears

But then I woke with you
And my dream came true
I'll never hold you here
I know when winter comes that you will disappear (echo)

Chorus

I see red (I see red)
When you're in danger
I see you blue (I see you blue)
When you're crying
All the pictures I believe (I believe)
You are no stranger (you are no stranger stranger oooooo no stranger)

We have eyes like twins
Where your last thought ends my next begins always
Just one heart beat away
From everything I mean to say oh
Catch me I'm falling like you
Wish for me I'll come running to save you
Touch me I'm calling for you
Remember me I would never betray you
We have eyes like twins (we have eyes like twins we have eyes like twins)
Touch me I'm calling for you
Remember me
You are no stranger(we have eyes like twins)
You are no stranger(we have eyes like twins) to me
Just one heart beat away..." ♫

by **Kavala** on March 11th, 2012, 9:16 pm

.

Its about time to discover Kavala's fears. I came into this expecting to make a list, and instead walked away with a real and true insight into her character. Now is that going to stop me from making a list? No. One will be at the bottom of this post. However, the true gemstone hidden in my thought process about Kavala is actually what her greatest fear is. To really understand that, I had to go back to the definition of what fear really means. I love dictionaries. I always have. And its sometimes insightful that we go back and look up true definitions. Urban slang has altered some words, and obfuscated others. Fear is pretty straight forward though until you look at its use as a noun verses its use as a verb. That's where my discovery was made:

Definition of Fear :

So there's two separate things to consider when talking and thinking about fear. There's something you fear, and there's a state of being one can be in. That in itself lead me to an 'Ah hah!' moment with Kavala. Because I'd planned on making a huge list of things she's been afraid of in the past or what's scared her. But... there's always a but... before I even got to that point I was at a dead standstill. I realized almost immediately, in that part of my brain where she resides, that one of her greatest fears is being afraid itself. Because when I was looking at the verb sense of fear, Kavala was going 'Oh no.. no no no.' And her fear of being afraid was hugely tangible. My little Konti is terrified of being afraid. I had to ask myself why... and then I realized because when one is afraid, one can't think straight, one can't move, one has a hard time even being rational. She's suddenly and completely not in control and maybe even paralyzed. And Kavala is all about controlling everything around her in the way that provides for the needs of those she cares about and keeps them safe.

And safety to her is not being in danger. She told me that loud and clear. Because on Mizahar, daily, there is danger. You can't control that and she's not stupid enough or naive enough to think she can. But what she is trying to do is provide a sort of shelter, a place, where people can feel safe. And what are they safe from? Their fears.

The rest, those pesky things I was expecting to list and give all the justification for, mean next to nothing to Kavala and are as fluid as time itself. So I started this exercise off thinking of lists and instead finished it with a very narrow and razor sharp insight into how my character functions and why. Honestly... I didn't know that about her. I didn't even remotely have a clue. Don't you love it when a PC surprises the hell out of you?

.

by **Kavala** on March 26th, 2012, 12:20 am

definition :

Forthcoming...

by **Kavala** on March 26th, 2012, 4:21 pm

Definitions :

So its hard to talk faith without really having a discussion about ethics and morality. Faith dictates a certain set of ethics in some cases, but the two are not interchangeable. So whats the difference? Ethics is the rules for deciding proper conduct. While not absolutely timeless, ethical principles change very little though a pc's life. Morality is the standards for their behavior. Compared to ethics, morality undergoes changes frequently. Compared with ethics, morality is more like a snapshot taken of a pc's life - a frozen point of time. Since the principles of ethics are more fundamental and stable, ethics is bigger than morality. Ethics is able to can call morality into question, and cause morality to change. It's also important to note that ethics do not always dictate a single "moral" course of action, but provide a means of evaluating and deciding among competing options. Individuals should have a code of ethics in order that the individual’s behavior will be right, good, and proper in that individuals own mind. Though I am speaking of individualism here, society also requires ethics in order to provide for order, to prevent or minimize general or large-scale conflicts within society, to reduce strife between individuals, and to provide a basis for settling conflicts between competing values.

Okay, so in thinking about ethics, we know there are types of ethical thinkers. Which type is Kavala?

Types of Ethical People :

So...Kavala is definitely an Emotivist. She doesn't follow the rules and thinks rationally about every situation. I'd say she has a dash of Care Theorist and Relativist in her, but for the most part she's a true Emotivist. Given that, what are her primary morals? They work out to be values and virtues in all actuality. Values are the ideals or standards that people use to direct their behavior; values are what people strive to realize in their lives. Values are the standards we use in making judgments about what is important in life and what is right or wrong in human behavior. We judge ourselves and others in terms of our values. We may not agree with another person’s values, but everyone lives by values – everyone makes judgments about what is important in life through their values. Virtues are character traits or dispositions in a person that embody and express values that are judged desirable or admirable. Not all values lead to virtues and instead lead to vices. So.. in summary even though everyone possesses values, not everything that is a value, if practiced, turns into a virtue. There are things that people value that lead to
vices rather than virtues.

So, what are Kav's Values? I picked out ten which turned out to be twelve. Oddly enough, security and any sort of money isn't involved. They aren't ranked in order of importance, only in alphabetical order. Each are equally important.

Courage - It is important to Kavala for her mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.
Creativity - Having the ability or power to create is an integral part of Kavala's makeup. From Sanctuary's inception to the new breed of Riverfall's horses, she is not going to lay low and let things be as they are. She wants to innovate and create making a lasting positive change on her environment.
Freedom - Kavala wants the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. This is especially true since there has been no single time in her life when she's been acting on her own except maybe when she went to Mura.
Love - Kavala wants to be loved for who she is, and love for who others are, not for what they can give her or what she can do for them.
Responsibility - Kavala wants to be liable to something and to be required to give account, as of one's actions or of the discharge of a duty or trust. Without this, she has no purpose.
Respect for Life - Maintains a large measure of respect for the integrity and wonder of the life around her. This is a core aspect of her virtues.
Self Respect - Kavala needs a feeling of confidence and pride in her own ability and worth.
Temperance - Kavala has a moderation in action, thought, or feeling : self-restraint. She's getting somewhat powerful in her abilities and she wants to keep a humility about that.
Transcendence - Rising above or going beyond the expectation so of both herself and others is very important for Kavala. She has a constant drive and a need to do things better and create situations or things that are an improvement on the normal standard.
Truthfulness - Kavala has always had an inherent sincerity and the quality of being open and truthful; not deceitful or hypocritical. She acts as she demands others to act.
Wisdom - Kavala needs to make the best use of knowledge. She must have the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting and thus have true insight.
Unity - Kavala needs to be a part of a greater whole. She needs to mutual agreement; harmony or concord with others. She's not a solo character that can function well on her own even though she likes to portray herself that way. She instead deeply desires to work in a group and then fit into that group perfectly and especially in a leadership capacity.

So these values make up her morals that in turn drive her ethics. Its pretty simple. I will perhaps be adding more to this list, but for now this is what I have.

by **Kavala** on April 15th, 2012, 5:08 pm

I never planned on Kavala having magic in the traditional sense of a Mizahar Mage. However, I was hopeful that her divine magic in the form of Healing would expand out. When Liminal put her on the path of a Dreamwalker I knew that was where she needed to be. However, along the way there were other discoveries. Shielding, Webbing, Auristics all fell into place. And finally Geomancy became a primary drive for her with her facility definitely needing to go underground.

Magic is rooted in survival on Mizahar. It's a fact we forget about sometimes. Mages learned to harness the elements through need. Fire defended and warmed. Water gave life. Earth sheltered. Air gave breath. All these things are things life needs. This post is to track Kavala's magic and what it means to her. I have them divided by type and listed in order of importance.

Divine Magic

Image	Name	Level	Meaning
	Healing	2 Marks	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Dreamwalking	1 Mark	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Lykata	1 Mark	Meaning Forthcoming.

World Magic

Image	Name	Level	Meaning
	Webbing	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Glyphing	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Spiritism	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.

Personal Magic

Image	Name	Level	Meaning
	Reimancy	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Shielding	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Auristics	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.
	Morphing	Novice	Meaning Forthcoming.