|| Stat Page || Updated: Jul/04/16 Experience || 440
Inventory
Weapons Simple Gauntlets
Items Resistance Token || Styling Shears || Display of Power Savior's Hammer
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:19 am
Life Before Tendaji Really there's nothing especially different or even special about Luc's life. Her parents, who grew up as friends in Neued, married while young and moved to start a new family in Sol. Their marriage was one of convenience, not necessarily out of love but out of a long time mutual respect and caring for one another, and the belief that marrying and having children was simply the natural next step.
Growing up, Luc was caught between two differing opinions - her mother felt it was best to retreat into the forests of Jahaur and stay far away from the other races, while her father had an adventurous and friendly spirit, finding himself intrigued with the new lands and its people. Her mother's fatalist nature and ornery disagreement with Luc and her father's outgoing tendencies meant that Luc idolized her father, despite the fact it was her mother who raised her while her father hunted and left to travel for months at a time, starting with Luc was still small. He would come home with tales of travel, treats of foreign Tale nuts and Sauti spices, and amber-colored jewelry for her mother. But by far his greatest gift was when Pabbi came home, sweeping her into his arms and sitting together in a hammock while he spoke of his travels to the far off lands of Sauti and Zena - showing her thick cloaks and things called 'boots'. Inevitably, after a few months' reprieve, he would leave again - and when he was gone it was back to the world of mundane day-to-day life.
Mother and daughter bumped heads starting in adolescence to the present, and Luc's own forward and brash nature only made their differences more apparent and dramatic, compared to her restrained and nervous-natured mother. Luc would rather bound out into the jungles and fight, tooth and nail, against the creatures there, or scrambling up trees, loose-limbed and impetuous; while her mother hoped to groom the wild girl into a proper lady in time, alarmed by her wild nature and uncontrollable emotions.
The largest hurdle Luc has had to face in her life is her own violent emotions and tendency for thoughtless action. She often lands on the wrong side of her peers, especially her mother and those like her. Somehow a violence-prone Shifter with lack of forethought can come across as threatening to a society carefully tiptoeing all out war with a neighboring race. Being the source of many of her family's arguments, about whether or not to retreat deeper into the forest in order to avoid instigating fights has left Luc yearning to strike out from home and find a place of her own, or to emulate her father's example and take to traveling the lands of Tendaji. That and her mother's last ditch efforts to transform Luc into a 'dutiful wife' for a future Shifter man, a fate Luc is more than keen to evade.
However, despite her disagreements with her mother, Luc loves her family very much and wants nothing more than to take care of them. Perhaps she simply needs a shove to get her out the door
Prentice: Meaning of Life Lucijah often escapes into the jungle around her hometown for peace and quiet away from her mother. On one of these outings, she has the luck of seeing an Oban carrying about her business - and thinks to herself that if she can capture this Oban, then she can prove that she is strong enough to protect herself, and will be given permission to travel with her father. Only... when she descends upon the unsuspecting Oban (literally), Lucijah instead is quite taken with her- initially by her appearance (androgynous and so perfectly imperfect), Lucijah instead decides, in the heat of the moment, that she will keep this Oban all to herself.
Any plans are ended by the attack of a radaku - Lucijah is mauled by the creature, but Nera's quick thinking saves Lucijah's life, and together they kill the beast. Nera nurses Lucijah back to health, and the two become fast friends, lovers, and confidants. Retreating back to her home to be healed up, Lucijah eventually escapes back into the jungle, where she builds a nest for Nera to stay in. She knew she couldn't take Nera to town, for risk of her being taken from Lucijah, and decides that the only beasts in Jauhar to fear can be avoided easily if she teaches Nera. However... one day, when she returns to the nest, Nera is gone.
Months pass, and Lucijah is heartbroken by her lover's disappearance. In one last effort to look for her, Lucijah travels on her own to Tale's camp facing the Oban's - and here she, somehow, finds Nera. Only... Nera is changed - she has been captured by a leaf earthling who tortured and branded her, and the once vivid and determined Oban is instead muted and hopeless. After the war, which Lucijah pays little mind to, Lucijah returns with Nera to their nest - making it larger, bigger, determined to protect Nera this time.
But once again, Lucijah can't protect her lover - this time from the growing cold. Unable to survive together on their own, the two decide to part ways - for now - Nera back home to her people, with plans to meet back up come Spring. Lucijah decides to take this time to learn to fight, properly - and with her father's help, her already impressive wrestling skills are sharpened into skilled hand-to-hand combat.
Lucijah's plans are delayed by the horrid spring rains - and so she sets out without planning properly, untrained in determining her location or survival. She travels too far west, to Alkidike territory, and flees south - nearly starving to death. Just as she thinks she is doomed to die without seeing Nera again - Lucijah is saved by a Matori, and trained in minor survival techniques out in the jungle.
Now, she only needs to reunite with her lover - in Oba.
Guard: Homecoming
Plots: Meeting back up with Nera. Lucijah will live with her lover in her noble home, overcome with the Oban lifestyle. The two get swept up into something Lucijah is not prepared for - politics, but as long as they're together, Lucijah can stick it out.
scarlett arbuckle Crew
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scarlett arbuckle Crew
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:21 am
massif ☑ 2 Month's Time - May 19, 2015 3 Journal Entries (3000 words) ===☐ ██████████████████████████████ 5 Non-Battle RPs (may be PRPs or ORPs) ===☐ RP 1 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 2 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 3 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 4 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 5 - ██████████ 2 Completed Battles ===☐ Battle 1 - ██████████ ===☐ Battle 2 - ██████████ 1 Completed Class Quest ===☐ ████████████████████
berserk ☐ 2 Month's Time 5 Journal Entries - 1000 words each ===☐ ██████████████████████████████████████████████████ 7 Non-Battle RPs - 10 posts each ===☐ RP 1 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 2 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 3 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 4 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 5 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 6 - ██████████ ===☐ RP 7 - ██████████ 5 Completed Battles ===☐ Battle 1 - ██████████ ===☐ Battle 2 - ██████████ ===☐ Battle 3 - ██████████ ===☐ Battle 4 - ██████████ ===☐ Battle 5 - ██████████ 1 Completed Class Quest ===☐ ████████████████████
Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:22 am
prentice [ PRP ] | "Take No Prisoners" | (Lucijah/Nera) -->-->-->A tense encounter in the jungle results in bloodshed, and a new center of gravity. [ PRP ] | "War Borders" | (Lucijah/Gyuri) -->-->-->You'd think she'd stop wondering off into the woods, especially with her luck. [ Meta ] | "Alliance: Tale Camp" | (Lucijah) -->-->-->Luci is reunited with the love of her life, but she has been... handled roughly during their seperation. [ PRP ] | "Winter is Coming" | (Lucijah/Nera) -->-->-->After a failed attempt of living together in the wilds, Lucijah and Nera come to a somber conclusion.
guard [PRP] | "Reunions" | (Lucijah/Nera) (8/10, finished but no rp credit)
scarlett arbuckle Crew
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scarlett arbuckle Crew
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Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 12:27 am
NPCs Oleksy: A broad shouldered, strong man who works as a merchant throughout Tendaji, Oleksy is Lucijah's father and idol. To her, he was everything she wanted to be - even if his job as a merchant was utterly boring to her. He was a traveler - impressive and strong, though quiet and absent during her childhood. He was a 'good' father when he was home - though he never interfered with Margo's decisions in Lucijah's life. He would rather take a step back, and spoil Lucijah in whatever fashion Margo allowed him. It became clear, early on, that Oleksy and his wife didn't care for one another beyond a mutual respect and Margo's desperate attempts to have him quit traveling, and stay home with her.
As a father, Oleksy spoiled Lucijah with stories of the world beyond Jauhar - telling her of the exciting and beautiful cultures, local stories, bringing her fancy goods from far away that impressed her. She was the apple of his eye, and yet he always acted more like an uncle spoiling a distant family member than a father. Even as a prentice, Lucijah never caught on to this treatment - instead deeming him the 'best parent ever', comparing her mother to him at ever turn. When she insisted on going to Oba (even if he had no idea that was where she was going), Oleksy agreed to train her in combat - and even gifted her her first gauntlets.
Unknown to Lucijah, Oleksy is living a double life - traveling to and from Sauti where he has another lover, who he truly cares for - and a son that is actually a son. Who knows how she'll react when she meets this unknown brother?
Margo: Lucijah's mother, Margo is a plump but kind faced woman. Once, as a young girl, Margo had dreams of marrying and being a good wife to her dear friend Oleksy. But all her hopes of him loving her back were dashed not long after they married. The man respected her, but it was clear he didn't love her as she loved him. When she became pregnant with Lucijah, Oleksy was distant and somber, acting as if this was the final nail in his coffin. Once Lucijah was born, Margo fell utterly in love with her child instead - and sought to raise her so she would be a 'better' wife, suffering an illusion that she had failed in winning Oleksy's love because she wasn't 'good' enough as a wife.
Because of this, as Lucijah grew into a wild child, unrestrained and chaotic, Margo was at her wits end - and was left alone most of the time when her husband began traveling as a merchant. The more Margo pushed and pushed for Lucijah to just CALM DOWN, and LEARN - the further Lucijah withdrew from her, the more the girl balked at lessons of weaving baskets or clothing or cooking. The two fight almost constantly - except when Oleksy is home. During those times, Margo - still hopelessly head over heels for him, sits back and lets Lucijah spend time with her father, even if all she wants is to weep and crawl into his arms, dreaming that he would actually hold her because he wants to and not out of some sort of duty.
She knows she should let him go - she suspects that he strays on his journeys, even if she doesn't realize just how thoroughly he has, but can't yet face life without him. Her biggest fear - one that has recently been realized - is being left alone when Lucijah moves on and starts to travel.
romance Nera:Love Interest =="She saved my life! I wouldn't be here - or whole - without her, it's that simple!" Lucijah finds Nera, an Oban alone, in the forests of Jauhar - and attacks her. Amidst a sudden passion between the two, they are attacked by a radaku - which injures Lucijah, but cements a bond forged through survival between the two. After the war Nera is much changed, but Lucijah's love grows stronger with each day - as well as her determination to give up anything and everything to stay by Nera's side.
family Juno:half-brother =="..." Juno is Lucijah's half-brother, the son of her father, Oleksy. Oleksy is living a double life - unable to admit to his wife and daughter that he would much rather stay in Sauti.
familiar
Acquaintance | Respect | Friends | Best Friends | Fear/Dislike | Attraction | Love | Significant Other/Family
Once, as a child, Lucijah had thought highly of herself. She had strutted about her town, rolling her eyes at her parents and shrugging off the lessons they taught about life and responsibility - and instead fancied herself a forward thinker. She didn’t need a husband to build a nest for her - and she didn’t really need to study with her elders on how to craft a proper home, or catch food. Not really - how hard could it be? Nearly being gored by a radaku had been enough to rouse her partway to focus, yet not fully - she was no longer immortal or all powerful in her mind, but she had LIVED - and succeeded. Emboldened, Lucijah believed that, with Nera by her side, they could accomplish anything.
And then winter came - the nest she had been building and cultivating since she was young had been laughably inadequate, and she and her partner were laughably unprepared by way of food. It took everything in Lucijah to admit defeat, and bid her lover goodbye - waiting until the winter chill had died down, and waving her lover off to travel south, towards home - while Lucijah returned back home, to her parents’. Which was as much a relief as a bane.
At least, she thought positively, her father was here - returned just in time to be locked in by the sleet. While her father, Oleksy, busily shuffled around the nest, tightening vines and spreading paste into nooks that let sharp, cold air in - Lucijah was at the mercy of her mother, Margo. She had been gone for weeks - disappearing to the final battle months ago, and only now showing up as the trees froze for shelter. “It’s truly no surprise!” Her mother exclaimed breathlessly, tossing her hands, while Lucijah, her tongue pressed to the corner of her mouth in concentration, ground nuts in a mortar, helping her mother cook as some small penance. She only half listened as Margo continued in her usual litany of “This, Luci, is why you need a husband - you’re old enough for children, and yet here you are playing! I thought you’d have learned after… well.” She motioned to Lucijah’s radaku scars, healed from painful gashes but still dark marrs against her flesh.
This time, though, the topic made Lucijah pause, her lips quirking into a frown of thought, bright eyes turning to her mother. Her hands ceased their grinding, and it was more that lack of noise that caught her mother’s attention than the look. “Mama, who said I want to be the wife?” This was nothing new - she’d complained about marrying for as long as she could remember, but this time… this time she followed it up with, “Perhaps I wish to be the husband.”
Her mother flushed, wide-eyed, and took a quick look around the nest, as if expecting a neighbor to have somehow appeared inside, despite the snowstorm raging outside. Her hand darted out and gripped Lucijah’s wrist, not harshly but firmly, her gaze locking with Lucijah’s. “Lucijah that is -- that talk is… are you seeing an Alkidike?!”
“What-- no!” Lucijah scoffed, biting the inside of her cheek. Margo relaxed, but Lucijah inwardly convinced herself that it wasn’t a lie - she WAS seeing someone, but no bug woman.
“Then the talk is pointless, Luci. Outside of those heathens, if you tried to play husband you would never get with child - and then what would the point be?”
“Children are not a necessity” Lucijah shot back, rolling her eyes, and though her mother made an affronted sound, Lucijah’s arguments didn’t deter her as much as the idea of an Alkidike lover did. If anything she carried on her griping, and Lucijah eventually sighed and continued to grind nuts, looking up to pour them into a bowl. Lifting her eyes, however, Lucijah locked eyed with her father, who stood at the edge of the room, half turned, and observing her with quiet consideration.
The storm lasted another few nights - nights spent tossing and turning, wondering if Nera had gotten along the path safely before the storm settled - if she had gotten back to Oba in one piece. But though the winter didn’t end, the storm abated and she could once more step out of the nest, dropping to the forest floor to stretch her limbs, stealing away to the edge of the village to do exercises. They had been quiet routine for years, building up muscle over her body, but had been neglected after her injury. Now, stretching out and moving tugged at relaxed muscles, and Lucijah, despite the cold, was quickly sweating and panting for breath, lungs stabbed by the sharp, dry air. For weeks this continued - taking what chances she could in the bitter cold to exercise, to push her limits. The hang from limbs by her arms and curl her legs up, until her abdomen burned - punching and kicking at the frozen trees.Then she would return home, where her mother would grow upset at her daughter regaining her muscle, and even putting on more - and her father would watch her quietly. There was something going through his mind, but beyond his stories, Oleksy had always been on his best behavior when home - he needed all the good graces he could with his wife before he disappeared again to travel the world.
Eventually, weeks later, Lucijah was so invested in her exercise routine one day, which consisted of kicks, punches, and lunges to strengthen her legs, Lucijah didn’t hear the crunching of icy footsteps until a figure broke through the clearing - dressed in well worn leathers and furred cloaks from travel, her father Oleksy stepped into view, looking over her with a fond smile. “Is bulking up an attempt at avoiding marriage, Luci?” He asked, voice smooth and curious. Lucijah found herself stopping, panting from exertion, but entirely at attention. Just in a few weeks her body had bulked up and she had taken much more stringent exercises to heart - her body constantly ached, but already new muscle tone appeared on her, and by the end of winter, at this pace, she would have gained enough muscle to truly be a force to contend with.
“Why do you two think it’s all about marriage?” Lucijah scoffed quietly, but her father rarely spoke outside of his stories - if anything, him seeking her out when his books, notes, and memories of places far away often stole his focus meant something.
“Yes or no?” He retorted, simply, and after a long moment Lucijah sighed and turned her eyes away. “No.”
Oleksy nodded and crossed the small clearing to her side, setting his hands on his hips, his form swallowed up by the thick furs which set him apart from all other, shivering leather clad shifters during this winter. Even Margo benefited from snuggling into furs at night, for once pleased at her strange, ever-distant husband’s travels. “You could marry - have a husband who fought and hunted for you, built you a nest and sired children for you. And yet. When you were little… it was endearing that you didn’t fancy it. Your mother and I were certain that you would grow into it.” He paused, looking at her appraisingly - which only made Lucijah realize that even in the course of a few months, she had outgrown him in height, oustripping her father in size by two inches at least.
“But…” He continued, sighing and rubbing a hand over his chin, fingers scritching at the short beard there. “If what you want is to be independent - I’ll teach you what I should have been teaching you all along. Just name it.”
Lucijah blinked, staring at him, then burst into a toothy grin. “What, it’s that easy?”
Her father raised his eyebrows. “Well, if you promise to make up with Mother before you go off.” He laughed as she groaned playfully, then smiled softly.
The two sat, laughing together, but eventually Lucijah sobered, thoughtful. “I want… you to teach me about traveling. Defending yourself on the road - how to be safe in foreign lands. Foreign manners, --” Before she could continue, her father rolled his eyes then nodded, clapping her on the shoulder. “Travel? Your mother is going to kill me -- fine.”
Around Margo Oleksy was just as quiet as ever, quietly agreeing with her insistence and scolding, but during the day he would train with Lucijah, using a dulled sword against her hands - sparring until they were both exhausted, then sitting as he drew notes in the icy slush of the forest floor, and spoke about the customs of trade in Sauti and Zena, or the safest routes of travel. By the end of winter, as the ice finally began to thaw and the dry, frozen air finally regained its humidity, and Lucijah’s thoughts turned inevitably towards meeting back up with her lady love, Lucijah showed up to the clearing she and Oleksy met at - and found him there, standing with a pair of gauntlets in hand. She stared, open mouthed, and stepped forward, tentatively picking them up from his hands.
“These are-- but how--”
“Traded some furs mid-winter.” Her father explained simply with a shrug and a smile. Lucijah slid the gauntlets on - a perfect fit, and took a deep breath, consumed by emotion and overwhelmed - but as she moved to hug her father, he motioned with her not to, smiling weakly and shrugging his shoulders. “Don’t - don’t thank me for this, you deserved it.” He said simply. There was an emotion in his eyes, one Lucijah wondered at - and yet she couldn’t dwell on it, as instead he backed up a few paces and dropped into a battle stance, lips twisted up in a rogueish grin. “How about another sparring match, kid?”
Once, Lucijah liked her mother. The woman was warm, soft, and caring as she curled arms around her and held the plump girl to her breast. Once, Lucijah had come to HER when she was upset, or scared - huge tears trailing down her cheeks as she reached grabbing fingers for arms that were always open, a face eager to pepper her cheeks with maternal kisses. Once, Lucijah sat and smiled prettily, wiggling in place as her mother hummed and sung softly, brading small crystals and gems from the forest into her white hair. Once Pappi disappearing off into nowhere, leaving a sullen silence and sadder songs, barely phased the girl who happily toddled about, content as long as Mammi was there, and pulling away from her only to snuggle into a hammock with Pappi when he was home, listening to stories.
Once Lucijah would often throw her arms around her mother’s legs and shout her love to the woman who had raised her.
Then things changed. Moons waxed and waned above the canopy, seasons shifted and curves bloomed - breasts filled in, blood began to flow, and Lucijah began her change into a woman. Looking back, Lucijah always saw it as her mother becoming ‘insane’ - nagging, centrally focused.
Days tilting her face as her mother caressed her cheek ended, and instead came the urging to wed - to take advantage of her youth and curves to allure a mate. “My darling girl.” turned into “You are pretty, Lucijah, plenty of boys would eagerly wed you and build you a nest!” The girl who was had turned into a woman who WASN’T, and yet the woman who had been Mammi, and was now Mother, simply refused to see her.
At least that was how Lucijah saw it.
How was she to know that when she packed to disappear into the forest again, her mother gazed out into the rain, mourning one more sweetling that was leaving her again? Who turned their back, and refused the comfort and care she knew no other way of giving? An empty nest, no wealth to pass on, only love that was rejected. As Lucijah drew in for a brief, half-hearted hug, Margo clung to her, briefly, pinching her eyes tightly closed and letting out a shaking breath - emotion missed on Lucijah, who pulled back and beamed, bright and excited for meeting with her lover again - even if her mother had no way of knowing it.
“Just… promise to be safe, dear. Or try, at least.” Margo said softly, offering a packed satchel and recovering from her emotion with a sniff of feigned disdain. Lucijah huffed and rolled her eyes, taking the offered supplies. “That’s the plan. Have fun here, somehow…” Lucijah waved her hand at the nest, brightly colored and decorated(lonely and empty, Margo’s mind thought traitorously).
Lucijah turned and clambered down from the nest as Margo leaned out over the ropes, waving and forcing a smile. “Travel safely - stick to the roads! Come home soon- I love you!” Margo called, throat growing thick. Lucijah didn’t look back - only lifted an arm in a wave, and didn’t call back either. “I love you.” Margo repeated, watching her daughter disappear into the forest, voice catching.
Lucijah was alone in the forests of Jauhar, and the cacophony of sounds surrounded her. The forest was abuzz with the normal day to day sounds of life. A little further into the forest and Lucijah would seem to happen upon a trap with an injured maglardilla trapped inside.
Lucijah hadn't been inspecting it long before she was interrupted by the hunter responsible for the trap.
