Welcome to Gaia! ::

Winter Season Entry
(Entry finished and ready for judging)

Dear Diary...

Name:
K'aradhras Freyr (Kara for short)

Likes:
Cold weather and blizzards; she truly loves it when the land is covered in snow. Kara enjoys taking longs walks in the middle of the night, just enjoying the peace and quiet. When winter has come she loves ice skating and starting snowball fights. After a nice walk or maybe a great snowball fight she likes relaxing with a bowl of cranberries and a glass of Frozen Grapes wine. Even though she likes peace and quiet Kara adores jingle bells and always carries a few of them adorning her hair or tied to her waist. (so they can jingle when she walks)

Dislikes:
Summer; she absolutely LOATHS the season. The bright light, the hot weather …yuck. The heat makes her feel tired, grumpy and it gives her a headache. Springs warmth she can handle, but not summer long days and hot temperatures. Another thing that she cant stand are loud noises. A bit of chatter is of with her, but a room full of people talking too loudly will give her a migraine plus she hates crowded places.

Personality
At first sight Kara appears to be quite cold and insensitive, just like the season she worships. However if given the chance she will warm up a bit and others could realize she is actually quite empathic but really doesn’t know how to show what she feels. To those who are close to her she is the motherly type and will make sure they are provided for.
Towards the other priest’s she is polite and will help them if asked without thinking it twice. She doesn’t get along that great with the Summer Priest(ess) but it’s nothing personal really, she just feels a bit weary around him/her.
Kara can be kinds and caring if given the chance however, just like her season, it is better not to make her angry. It’s really hard, almost impossible, to make her loose her temper but if you manage to make her snap… you better get the hell away from there unless you want to end up with a nasty frostbite or an ice arrow/blade pierced through your chest. It is said however that she warns once before exploding so you should have enough time to reconsider and either apologize or get the hell out of her reach

Flaws:
At first Kara could be accused of being blunt, insensitive and cold but it’s all due to her not knowing how to express herself. Well…at least for the insensitive and cold part. Kara is actually pretty blunt and when asked she will answer with the truth without taking emotion into account

Virtues:
Someone once said patience is a virtue….and Kara has it. Winter is a time to rest and take it easy; you will never see her doing anything rash, she always takes her time for thinking before acting. Why rush things if there is plenty of time?
At first it could be hard to notice but it could be said that Kara’s other virtues are her empathy and understanding of others feelings, innocence and a strong sense of justice.

Extras:
-Kara adores bonsai trees but is unable to have one because her frost would kill it.
-She also loves candles. When taking a walk on a moonless night she will take a big candle with her to light the way, she doesn’t mind the molten wax dripping on her skin and is the only hot thing she doesnt hate.
-She has a pet crow.
-She always wears a sash she wove herself and a gypsy belt with crystal jingle bells tied to it.
- K’aradhras was born mute

Mirror Mirror on the wall:

Skin: pale skin with rosy cheeks (kind like when you stay out playing in the snow too long and your cheeks turn bright pink?) maybe some frost covering her skin in some parts.
Hair:----
Eyes: -----
Original kara design: Kara
Kara sketch
Originally Kara is my valkyrie OC. She is the youngest valkyrie from her clan and the only one who was born mute and without an elemental alignment to lighting, instead her alignment is to ice. She was looked down at because of this which lead to her becoming quite introvert.
This one is a different outfit I sketched for her, the sketch on the right is a bell I would really like for her to have. I took the idea from this one

Do you believe in magic?

Alteration of time:
No she cannot travel through time so don’t even ask. (Not that she hasn’t give it a try though) However she can manipulate the flow of time just enough so that she can make herself, something or somebody else move either faster or slower. It takes a great deal of concentration for her to do this ability and if abused it leaves her feeling disoriented.
Ex. Let’s say you knock a vase from the table. Kara can focus on the vase and make it move slower so she has enough time to go over and catch it before it breaks. [ooc idea: Maybe she can help the spring priest to make things grow? From afar of course, or she could cover his/her fields with frost ^^;]

Ice magicks:
as a priestess of winter she has a strong connection to it’s more representative image: Ice. Kara is able to manipulate ice and snow at will. She usually uses this ability to create pretty snow or ice figures, but if needed to she can create walls or weapons of ice to defend herself or others.

Time to sleep:
The crystal bell Kara always carries is more than just a pretty accessory. By making it ring a few times those who hear it will start to feel very drowsy and at peace. If exposed to the ring long enough those who hear it will fall asleep immediately. (the longer you are exposed to it the longer you'll sleep)

Downside:
Alteration of time:
It takes a great deal of concentration and as stated above, if abused the ability leaves her feeling weak and disoriented.
Ice Magick:
To be able to manage ice without complications Kara’s body temperature is far below zero and unfortunately this leads to her being unable to touch others without causing them frostbite
Time to sleep:
For every person she puts to sleep an hour or so of her own sleep is taken away which means she is no stranger to insomnia and its implications.

Weak against: fire, water, light,
Strong against: thunder, earth, wind

(taken from Pokemon ^^; , yes I am a pokenerd)

the Autumnal Priest

Of Autumn: Autumn is a preparatory period between summer and winter. It isn't exactly mild or exactly rough and has many faces according the time you choose to look upon it. In a sense autumn is much like spring in the aspect that it triggers change in people and in nature. However, where spring is a season of rebirth, autumn is a season of slow death, growing old and withering away as the weather turns colder. Autumn itself changes faces as mentioned before. It arrives dressed in crimson and orange and bright yellow but it slowly sheds its pleasant exterior provided to it by the retreating summer and turns to look much more like winter instead. The cloudy weather and rain of its later part instill a feeling of loneliness, melancholy and nostalgia, making one yearn for the past seasons and the time gone thus also becoming a perfect excuse for introspection, reflection and revision. Its association with death calls for festivals to honour the souls and spirits and one's ancestors. Besides that the season is also one for hard work as the illusion of time being plentiful during summer has faded and people realise that they have too many things to do still and winter is approaching fast. But autumn, however dull in comparison to its predecessors, isn't all that bad after all. The harvest, however tiring, is always rewarding and one needs to prepare for winter's harsh stillness after it has come to pass. For that, people gather and work together to achieve better results. Bonds between people that were nurtured through the early months are now becoming ripe and slowly begin to show their true faces, changing for the worse or simply developing as something much stronger, much like actual crops that grow in this season.

About Akio: Akio is a young male whose full name is Akio Kintoki -with Akio only being his family name- Translated his given name means 'golden soul', however he usually goes by as Akio or Aki for his relation to the season of autumn.

One of many faces: Akio is a rather quiet, lonely individual. He doesn't like associating with others a lot and takes a long time to adjust to people. While staying away from a lot of social interactions he can often be found daydreaming while gazing out of windows or sitting in clearings when he's not working. It's not like he finds other people to be a bother or hates socializing... it's more like he prefers his personal space and his thoughts to gatherings and conversations. He generally prefers actions to words and is a dedicated and efficient worker that can be found doing all sorts of odd-jobs helping out whoever needs his help with anything at any given time. Even so, he doesn't like being praised a lot as it makes him feel awkward. If someone wants to thank him, he kindly refuses saying he's only doing what he has to do.

Akio is kind and forgiving most of the time, shrugging most things off as nuisance and willing to overlook mistakes when he can. His anger is supposed to be terrible when invoked though, however hard he appears to be to anger. The few times he does get angry he comes off as a completely different person, harsh, cruel, insensitive and violent, vengeful and unforgiving, unlike the quiet person people are used to.

Akio himself doesn't treat his 'dark side' as a change to his original persona. He believes that in general people 'don't change' even though one might want them to. Nothing changes, not even nature, not even in autumn that everyone seems to title the season of changes. Everything grows and matures naturally but it doesn't 'change' fundamentally which means that it's just the same only showing a different face of it. Akio believes true change to be a miracle, hard to gain, possibly the highest form of perfection one can achieve, for 'to change' it means to face yourself, confront yourself and that's not the easiest thing to do, really... However he still yearns for it and wishes for other people to achieve it as well as he denies that he has the ability to do this just yet.

The things Akio enjoys the most are warm beverages on cold mornings, the sound of rain as well as taking walks in it and literature, both poetry and prose. He knows how to sew and knit and often makes clothes for others to give as gifts. He also likes gardening and cooking and might also be interested in learning proper flower arranging though he avoids most flowers due to them being fragile and easily destroyed in autumnal tempests. He is often described by others as to having the behavioural patterns and likings of 'an old man' even though he doesn't appear to be much more than a child.


Of powers, of weaknesses...:

Transformation: The act or an instance of transforming, the state of being transformed, a marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.

Akio has the power to trigger the change in himself and others, even though he doesn't realise that or admits to that when brought face to face with it. Through himself, his words and his actions, all inspired by almost divine will, people change, showing their true self to themselves and to him as well, thus becoming the miracle Akio himself seeks but so stubbornly refuses each and every time.

Creation: The act of creating, the fact or state of having been created, the divine act by which, according to various religious and philosophical traditions, the world was brought into existence, an original product of human invention or artistic imagination

Akio was always inventive and loved making things from other things such as small devices to help with his everyday work or things to help resolve people's technical problems. He is very adept in using materials and things he makes are sturdy and hard to break as they are imbued with his magics the moment he makes them.

Wind: Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground, a movement of air generated artificially, as by bellows or a fan.

Akio can whip up strong wind currents at whim, as well as control existing ones making him capable of changing the course of a storm or tornado for an instance.

-----Flight: The motion of an object in or through a medium, especially through the earth's atmosphere or through space, an instance of such motion, the distance covered in such motion, the act or process of flying through the air by means of wings, the ability to fly.

While it isn't considered an actual power, Akio believes that it's the most wonderful thing he can do with the powers he has been given. Making strong, large kites using his ability of Creation and manipulating air currents to stay afloat, he can travel great distances, staying above ground, thus avoiding obstacles and getting tired by walking.

The downside...

Both his ability to trigger Change and Create require additional elements not found everywhere and at any given time and take time to start influencing anything, making preparation beforehand a crucial part of the whole concept as he can't make anything occur spontaneously in regards to them.

As for Wind, his mere association with it makes him extremely sensitive to lightning and thunder magics adding up to create a severe phobia of lightning storms as well. He also needs to stay perfectly focused when invoking his power -not during its overall control however- as the slightest mistake can cause either nothing to happen or yield unpleasant, too powerful to be good results.

Akio and Autumn: Akio's personality reflects in autumn and its changes. The serious personality overtones, misfitting and misleading appearance and overall hobbies stem from the various aspects of autumn as well. As autumn is a season of preparation, he too needs to prepare his powers beforehand to be able to use them and in the same way that autumn brings maturity and growth in nature he does so with helping people mature and achieve personal growth as well.

Reflections: My image of Akio is that of a young boy in his early half of teens -however he has wise eyes that don't fit him very well-. I'll leave his overall interpretation to the artist however, I'd love to see him carrying one of his bird-like kites in any case.

==Winter Priest==

Name: Lael Gelid

Gender: Male

Season: Winter

Personality: Lael is quite social and loves spending time with others. He was a traveling minstrel prior to becoming the priest of winter, and though his newfound duties have forced him to settle in one place, he still enjoys going on walks out in the snow from time to time. Others cannot often follow him out in winter weather, since he is immune to cold exposure, though, so he also takes lots of time to remain in the village crafting paper snowflakes during his season, and generally spending time with his people other times of year. He is calm and kind and patient, particularly with children, to the point that those who do not know Lael well may paradoxically accuse him of being insincere. Though he meets even those who would doubt and insult him with the same polite and gentle attitude as anyone else, however, Lael is finding that, over the years, his heart is growing colder and, while it is in his mortal nature to care for others, it feels more like a duty every winter, and less like something he does out of the kindness of his heart. This may be in part due to his mounting tiredness that he cannot alleviate because he cannot get any deeper into sleep than dreams, however he still feels that his burden to bear as priest of winter is his alone, and he carries out all his rites and casts his magics without complaint - because if he was not the priest of winter, who would be?

He knows winter to be a season of sleep and death, when the world dies off in order to be reborn in the spring. Lael does not wish it to be anything frightening, though - after all, people already tend to gather in groups and take shelter against the cold, so it is also a time of community. The aspect of time is, to the former minstrel and story-teller, a reflection on tales past and application of those lessons in times to come. His magic aside, he loves hearing or sharing a good story inside and away from the cold with others just as much as he enjoys wandering alone. Lael became a bard originally to collect as much experience as he possibly could, and now that he is the Priest of Winter, with duties tied to a specific time and place, he still believes that he can collect tales around the fire. Moreover, his ability to travel in the cold unhindered and his spell to create shelter for others allows him to seek out and rescue other travelers who get lost in the snows.

His work is still touched by death and sleep, though, and he hates to see anything suffer. Lael uses his sleep magic to ease the pain of those beyond his help - he cannot heal mortal wounds, but he can aid those passing on. Though he is a social and extroverted person, his sense of mercy and kindness extends to animals, as well.

Loves: flying kites; white noise like waterfalls; making folded or cut paper crafts; group gatherings, especially if there is food; picnics

Dislikes: competitive team sports; listening to arguments; being alone for too long; sitting too close to the fire; spicy food

---

Magics:
Sleep touch - Winter is a time not just of sleep, but of restful sleep - sleep untroubled by dreams. The whole world falls quiet and rests, often becoming completely dormant, or slipping away into death, to recover in preparation for rebirth in spring. Lael can use the power of winter hibernation to put those he touches into deep sleep. Those affected fall directly into slow-wave sleep without dreaming, and can be awakened with no more difficulty than it would ordinarily take to rouse someone deeply asleep. It takes several seconds for this spell to take effect when Lael touches someone, and so it can be prevented by breaking contact.

Dreamwalker - Lael can visit the dreams of others while he is sleeping, but he gains no rest himself while using this ability. If he spends all night doing this, he awakens essentially without having slept at all, and so he cannot use it very often or for very long without it taking a toll on him. Dreams also exist outside of the normal flow of time, and so Lael can take advantage of this to have lengthy conversations with those sleeping over a very short period of waking time. Alternatively, he can also attempt to utilize this ability to

Oracle - The year traditionally changes over during the winter, and it is a time for reflection on the past and plans for the future. The High Priest of Winter possesses the ability to see into the past and the future through the icy stone of his staff. Using this ability, he can alter the flow of time through the information he gains; Lael cannot change past events, but knowledge of them can change future actions, and, similarly, he can also attempt to prevent the futures he sees.

Scrying takes time and concentration, and so Lael cannot utilize this ability during battle. His visions also come with the caveat that he can only tell others of what he sees while visiting them in dreams. Since he can only force someone into dreamless sleep, in order to communicate, his target must fall asleep naturally. If he attempts to convey his visions to others in the waking world, the information slips from his mind like a dream, and he risks irretreivably forgetting it.

Freeze water - Lael can create an aura of cold around himself to freeze small droplets of water in the air around him, or he can touch a source of water such as a full bowl or a pond in order to freeze that. He can also control the ice he creates, moving or reshaping it at will, but this takes concentration, especially in battle. Lael's ice will remain frozen as long as it is cold enough, but he cannot thaw it, and he cannot create ice if he does not have water available. Ice and snow already frozen can be captured and bent to his will as well, making him quite powerful during the winter, but again, he cannot summon ice from nothing.

Create shelter - Though he does not need it, himself, Lael can construct igloos magically for those who are susceptable to cold exposure. It takes him about five minutes of channeling to build one, and he must have snow handy, but when complete, the igloo can house three people comfortably, or up to five if they do not mind a bit of crowding. Body heat will warm the place up, with no help from Lael, but the summoned shelter will keep all bad weather out. It will remain until it melts, but Lael can turn the snow back into powder to dismantle the igloo if he wishes.

---

Strengths:
Resistant to cold exposure - The spirit of winter protects its chosen high priest, protecting Lael from all but the very coldest weather. He can walk on the surface of snow only leaving faint footprints, and can travel out in winter chill and wind without suffering frostbite or other ill effects of cold exposure. He appears to have died of cold already, though, his skin white and lips and fingernails pale blue, but remains very much alive.

---

Weaknesses:
Thrives only in cold - Warmth or too much warm weather bothers Lael. Sunlight is not exactly his kryptonite, but Lael gets uncomfortable if he spends too much time outdoors in direct sun, especially that of summer. He is willing to go out and about in weather up to about 15°C, but when it is warmer than that, Lael hides out in cool underground places, away from the light. Prolonged spells of hot weather, such as summer heat waves, make him physically ill, as does spending time too close to a fire.

Sleepless - Though he can send others to dreamless sleep, Lael is unable to sleep that deeply, himself. He dreams constantly, getting enough rest to sustain him, but he lacks the level of energy of normal constellations, and tends to tire quickly. He is also a very light sleeper and is easily awakened.

---

Appearance:

Hair from here, #242 (second row, on the far right)

I doodled up a sketch of one possibility for him, but you are welcome to take artistic license with it. I love Asian-inspired styles, layers, and asymmetry 8D~

I was inspired by some of the NPC clothing from Guild Wars Factions and Nightfall: 1 | 2 | 3 (mostly the female designs =3= ) | 4 (possible clothing patterns?)

I picked out these colors, because I wanted deviate somewhat from a predominantly white outfit for Winter, but feel free to add in more white if there is not enough.

Lael also carries a staff, which resembles this one from World of Warcraft, except it is blue, purple, white, and silver.

:: Spring Priest ::

✿Name: Fu
✿Origin: Chinese (means ‘Lotus’)
✿Gender: Male
✿Wick: Spring

✿My Definition of Spring: Spring to me is a season where everything is still ‘waking up’ and is calm and slow. Where I’m from it's hard to tell it's Spring, since it always either rains and is cold, or is unbearably hot. But there’s usually always that break between the two extremes for at least a couple days that’s mellow and, practically, a breath of fresh air. Like a calm before a storm. It’s a time, I think, when everything is trying to happen; good weather, flowers blooming, animals doing the horizontal tango, but isn’t in any hurry to do it.

✿Personality: Incredibly laid-back, peaceful, observant, open and considerably unlucky, but that last bit is more than likely a result of his too laid-back behavior. Fu is open to many new ideas and experiences; however, he runs on ‘Fu Time’, and therefore likes to try these new things at his leisure. He still has to make time for things he’s used to doing, after all. He’s never quick to say that he dislikes something until he’s given it plenty of opportunity, and even if he does end up disliking it, he’ll make sure that something knows that he loves it just the same, and no hard feelings.

✿Likes: The cold (in moderation), breezes, the smell of freshly cut grass, colorful flowers in full bloom. Fu takes pleasure in almost any aspect of life.
✿Dislikes: Harsh winds, violence, and excess rain, or anything that he’s never experienced before that turns out to be painful or unpleasant. Since Fu likes to take things in stride, he doesn’t like being rushed either. Either things run on his time or they don’t run at all, and he’s going back to bed.
✿Hobbies: Reading, growing various kinds of plants, wandering around new and unexplored places, and meditating.

✿Beliefs: Everyone has an importance, a beauty, and a use in the world. No matter what it is that person or thing happens to do, they are valuable. Fu doesn't look down on anyone, or see himself as being better, and he applies that to everything. Every problem should be approached calmly and openly, and discerned carefully without overreaction, or without force. Simply put, Fu is a hippy.

✿Virtues: Accepting, Generous, Helpful, Gentle.

✿Flaws: Extremely Lazy, Against Violence (by any means), Selfish.

✿Extras That Fit Nowhere In Particular: With Fu’s personality, he would probably try to get along with everyone well, regardless of if he didn’t truly like them or not due to his laid-back nature. His personality would also probably come off as inviting or irritating, depending on the patience of whoever he was dealing with. ‘Fu Time’ is usually two hours too late, mentally. So though he would get along with them, chances are the feelings aren’t reciprocated.
Fu is also extremely against any means of violence, he refuses to fight and does not tolerate fighting in the slightest. It comes as a downfall, seeing as it also applies to defending himself and/or others, but there is no circumstance where he himself believes violence to be the answer.

✿Strengths:
- Earth, sun, and rainy weather: Because Fu is so attuned to plants, he works well in the same kind of environments they do. In earthy environments where life is abundant, he feels most comfortable, because he knows where things are and what to do with them.

✿Weaknesses:
- The dark, the cold, and the heat: Fu likes these things in moderation, but too much of them only seem to do more harm than help. Nothing can grow in these kinds of conditions, so Fu feels disoriented and lost (more so than usual) when exposed to that kind of environment. It also makes it hard for him to regenerate his own strength in these uncomfortable conditions.

✿Powers/Abilities:
- Medication: Fu knows quite a bit about herbs and plants, and what they can do to and for you. He should, anyway, since Spring is all about ‘healing’. He’d be able to mix up one mean concoction that could really do your body good (or kill you).

- Regeneration: Spring is about 'regeneration' as much as it is about 'healing', so naturally when Fu is injured, he'll be able to heal a little faster than others might. However, how quickly he does manage to heal all depends on his environment. If he's among his own element, it's easy, but if he's somewhere cold, dark, and damp, it might take a long time for him to be back to full strength (if not only because he'll be grumpy and complain so much there wouldn't be any time for his body to heal). It takes quite a bit of effort and focus for him to regenerate completely, as well, which can be exhausting (then again, just putting out the effort at all could probably be considered exhausting to Fu).

- Plants: Obviously he's good with plants, his docile and nurturing nature is exactly what makes the flowers spring out of the ground, bright and new. As long as Fu is calm, so is the nature around him, but if Fu loses his temper he also loses control of that 'calm', which will result in the plants around him growing and acting in a more hostile way. It's a constant struggle within himself to try and remain calm and unfazed by things so that he can avoid causing harm.

✿Design: My main motivation was 'hippy', since that whole calm, style, and one-with-the universe-ness seems to fit what I tried to express for Fu and Spring (plus, 'flower-child', d'ya get it, ha ha ha /lamejoke). Artistic liberties are encouraged, since everything I've ever drawn in my life is crap, and way girlier looking than I had wanted it to look, but I like to give visual examples:
All my doodles plus the images that stuck out the most in what I had in mind for his overall design.

The Basics~

----------Name: Étaín
----------Origin: Gaelic/Irish
----------Meaning: Depending on the source it means 'jealousy,' 'sparkling,' 'shining,' 'the fairest and gentlest'

----------Gender: Female
----------Wick: Diamond Solitaire

----------Winter and It's Guardian ||
Étaín sees winter as a time of solitude, an opportunity for renewal and the rebuilding of strength. Nature withdraws into herself: after having shared her bounty during autumn and needs to sleep and recuperate before she can sustain the arrival of spring. The conditions are not ideal and without strength and preparation, it is difficult to survive the cold times. Étaín respects strength of both the body and will, and she is frustrated and somewhat confused when other spiritkind whine and complain about the harshness of the season. They simply need to plan better and grow stronger. As a child, Étaín would have admitted winter was not her season of choice; but she has grown to see the wild and majestic beauty of the cold season and she dismisses those who are too close-minded to discover that for themselves.


Personality~

Étaín would probably be described by those who encounter her as cold, detached, or remote. She would tell you that she is fair, disciplined, and pragmatic... she would also be thrilled to hear that people find her intimidating. She dislikes the company of others, but is entranced by the various make-up of spirit-kind. She studies them in the way she'd study a brilliant new color; something utterly fascinating but out of the realm of her understanding. She has developed a coldly polite, but oddly pleasant façade for when she needs to deal with social interaction. As she is happiest wielding her strengths, she gracefully sees to petitioners seeking help---revelling in being able to show off her abilities; but she will not suffer fools. The lady of winter is clever, but she will not match wits with anyone unless she is certain she can win. If she is not winning, the one who is quickly finds they are experiencing a frigid glare or shoulder.

----------Virtues ||
o dedicated :: Étaín takes her commitments very seriously. She was taught to always keep her word and is exceedingly careful to only give her word when she is certain she can do so.
o powerful :: Étaín has power, and she is not ashamed to share this fact. She is comfortable in her abilities and makes use of them to help others; no matter how little she likes dealing with them .
o confident :: Above all else, Étaín knows she can rely on herself. It gives her strength and that is why she likes to see this quality cultivated in others.

----------Flaws ||
o ambitious :: Étaín seeks to better herself, to gain even more power and control that she has little issue with using to her own gain.
o poor player :: Or poor loser, if that is clearer... Étaín plays to win and usually only plays if she knows she can win.
o distrustful :: Trust is not something that comes easily to Étaín. There are various reasons for this, none of which she will share with you. The warmest regard you can generally win from her is her respect.

----------Likes ||
o music :: Probably Étaín's favorite thing in existence. She is quite musical herself, but would die [of embarrassment] before letting anyone witness that. She sings once in a while when she knows she is alone and always carries a small pipe or ocarina in her pocket.
o colors :: As the priestess of a dull season, [where colors are concerned] bright, bold jewel tones fascinate Étaín. She has a very secret, very passionate love affair with brilliantly colored clothes and baubles. Or she thinks it is secret anyways... hard to keep a secret like that!
o knowledge :: Knowledge tends to translate eventually to power. Étaín likes power and knowing how to use it makes having it even sweeter.

----------Dislikes ||
o crowds :: A combination of cacophonous noise and a tight press of other 'Lore is a recipe for a very UNhappy Étaín. Chaos is the antithesis of the discipline and order Étaín prefers, crowds tend to be an embodiment of chaos. The lady of winter makes an effort to stay far, FAR away.
o skepticism :: Questioning the actions of this Constellation is most likely not the smartest thing one can do. So far, Etain has not killed anyone... but it is entirely possible she has it in her to do so. When questioned, she will typically ignore the skeptic and continue on her way ...if they're lucky, that is.
o extreme cold :: Étaín did not start her existence as an ice elemental, so the magic of ice is, in a way, unnatural to her. She is NOT immune to the cold; and while she has some protection against cold temperatures, it is not as much as one would expect from a more traditional ice elemental.

----------Étaín's Quirks ||
o She had a pet rock as a child; a clear, shiny stone she found in a stream with her mother. It is still kept on her person at all times.
o She absolutely despises it if anyone enters her home without wiping their feet.
o She is terrified of rabbits. Something about blank stares and twitching noses... though, they make excellent trim.
o She does not drink. She cannot handle alcohol well and refuses to let this weakness be known.


Appearance~

I was trying to avoid the ice elemental look, since I have plans with her backstory with don't involve copious amounts of ice. She manipulates ice, yes, but it was not her original element, so Étaín is not OF ice. I was aiming for an 'exotic beauty'

----------Skin: deep, golden tan
----------Hair: lots of long black hair with deep blue highlights
----------Eyes: brilliant indigo [ some favored shades ]

I'm also envisioning flowing, layered robes that are slightly darker and bluer than her eyes, made of soft fabrics, maybe with some sort of fur-lining. She has a fondness for wearing jewelery and subtly weaving strands of gems into her hair as well. I was thinking loose, tumbling curls for the hair, but if something straight or an up-do would look better, I would trust the discretion of the artist. A lot of her is up to artist interpretation ^_^;


Winter Magics~

While Étaín is fastidious about training herself in all facets of her magic, her ice lore is her strongest, followed by time, and then sleep.

----------Ice ||
Manipulating ice is a learned, not a natural skill for Étaín. She still treats ice as though she was a water elemental, making her use of ice magics far more fluid that many manipulators of the element. She can make rigid weapons and projectiles, but a coiling whip of ice is far more fun in her mind. She tends to use ice and the surroundings against her opponents. If there is water, she can make ice and make it dangerous.

---------- She MUST have water present to be able to manipulate ice. Even just atmospheric moisture will work, but she is unable to create ice out of sheer willpower alone. If there is only a tiny bit of water, she has only a tiny bit of power.
---------- While she can make any shape she wants with the ice, she is not presently capable of fighting with all the weapons she can create. That is what she is working to improve in her ice lore; she just loathes the idea of having to find someone to train with.

----------Time ||
While she can to a small extent actually manipulate the flow of time, her true abilities in time magics come from her scrying the flow of time. She can, through intensive meditation skim across the flow of time; seeing events past, present, and future and how they all fit together.

---------- This cannot be used for herself, [so she considers it a downfall] because she is outside the flow of time as she is skimming it, her actions are not visible to her.
---------- This is highly disorienting for her. She loses all sense of present time and self and could very easily lose herself entirely to her meditation. So it is not something she will do for just anyone.

----------Sleep ||
Étaín is unable to grant sleep, presently... she's always working on it. But she can manipulate the type of sleep you experience. She doesn't really have any 'sleep magics' at all, she simply is creative with her abilities over time. She can extend the amount of time one dreams or extend the deepest point of their sleep so they do not dream at all.

---------- The manipulation of time is exhausting and in order to give time to another, it must be taken from herself. She can still sleep, but she will never reach the deepest stages of sleep if she has given that time to another.
---------- This is an easy ability for her to abuse, as she could theoretically snatch more deep sleep time [by giving light sleep away] for herself. It is unknown if or how regularly she chooses to do this.

(( I... totally took an almost 3 hour nap between typing this and hitting send ...orz ))