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 Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:17 pm
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:18 pm
The Teller of Tales  Senka Zimakova
Meaning: Her given name means "shadow" in Serbian. Her surname means "daughter of winter" in Belastranan (Russian).
Proper Address: Miss Senka
Gender: Female
Age: About 20
Appearance: On the taller end of average in height and perhaps a little more delicate than usual in build, Senka would not likely stand out for her body alone. It is her unusual coloring that truly draws the eye - there are not very many albino women wandering about, after all. She wears her silken, white hair in various fashionable styles and has a preference for the color grey. Because of the sensitivity of her pale skin, she covers as much of herself as possible to protect it from sunlight.
If one is able to move past the disconcerting red of her eyes, one might notice the mischievous spark that brings them to life. Her expressive mouth is often curled up in a wicked little smile. Her cheerful countenance has been deemed by many to be quite arresting, though there is a certain indescribable edge to it that a discerning onlooker might find disconcerting.
Designation: ???
Age Chosen: ???
Guardian: QUESTING CYGNUS
Companion: Lucius
Origin: She was discovered on a mountain in the North. Her true lineage remains a mystery.
Station: She is a collector and teller of tales - or in proper vernacular, an author. Pen names are such lovely things. It is so much easier to make profit enough to live on when one's readers believe the author to be male.
Spouse: None
History:
One winter morn on a lonely, northern mountainside, a hunter went out searching for game. The weather that day was unseasonably warm and he hoped for a good prize. What he found instead was a young child, barely more than a babe. She was bundled in blankets and furs and tucked under the low-hanging branches, as sheltered from the elements as anyone could be in such a place. There was no hint as to how she had appeared there - no footprint or note; no strangers had been seen passing through the area; or, more grimly, there were no bodies that could have belonged to her parents. Instead, there was only a name sewn on one of her blankets: Senka.
The hunter leaned in close to check the breath on her lips. Imagine his shock when he discovered that the child still lived. Well, what could he do? He took her gently from her little shelter and brought her back to his village where she was given into the care of his grandmother. The old woman took the child from her blankets and furs and saw that her hair was white as freshly fallen snow and her eyes, when the child finally opened them, were red as blood. This caused whispers amongst the villagers, but the old woman ignored them and tended the child.
Against all odds, the child did more than survive. She flourished. When the villagers saw this, their whispers grew louder. Who was this girl? Some insisted that she was a witch-child. Others wondered whether she was actually a spirit in disguise. The most elaborate theory, the one that became most popular, went thus: the child had been given to the mountain for care because her parents could no longer keep her. The mountain agreed to watch over her, but there was a price. In exchange for the child's well-being, she would become a creature of Winter. Whatever color she had was stolen away and she would be forever beholden to Winter.
The truth was likely much more mundane, but there was little else to do in a northern winter but tell tales; and there was not much fodder for their tales as so little of interest happened in an isolated mountain village. Anything new was lavished with great attention, and the villagers latched onto the child's unknown past with relish. They knew, of course, that their stories were wild and unlikely, but they had been told and retold so many times that they became a sort of truth in and of themselves - enough of a truth, at least, to name the child from them. The girl's given name was Senka, if the stitching on her blanket was to be believed, but she had no family name to call her own. As a tribute to her unusual survival, and because she looked like a thing made of snow, they named her Zimakova: daughter of Winter.
Time passed and the child grew. Her laughter became a familiar sound in the village, and her curiosity knew no bounds. Bryanni, the old woman who had taken her in, filled the child's head with stories in an attempt to keep her out of any real mischief. History, literature, folklore, Senka eagerly devoured it all. She was even so blessed as to be able to learn to read and write - not a common skill in such a rural environment. However, as Senka's body grew from child to young woman, so too did her restlessness increase. There was a whole world to be seen! How could she spend the rest of her life trapped in the mountains? And yet...how could she abandon Bryanni, who had raised her as her own?
The choice was soon taken from her. A bad bought of sickness swept through the village, claiming many lives. Bryanni, who was old and already growing frail, was amongst those taken. With her passing, there was no longer a place for Senka in that sleepy little village, not really. As it turned out, no one had really expected her to stay, anyway. They all knew her love of stories, her insatiable hunger for adventure. So, she collected her few meager belongings and departed, never to return.
With the entire world before her, it might seem difficult to choose where to begin, but few things with Senka were as they seemed. There were all of these interesting rumors about a country called Sunderland, you see, and it seemed the perfect place to begin her grand adventure.
Oh, how right she was.
About:
Calling Senka Zimakova interesting is like calling the heart of the sun warm. There are no words truly up to the task of describing the full extent of her nature. Regardless, an attempt must be made. This young woman is a complex creature, to say the least. Exceptionally clever, she is always searching for ways to satisfy her seemingly endless curiosity and keep herself entertained - no mean feat for one as fickle as herself. Generally, her quest for entertainment is fairly harmless: she finds her greatest pleasure in unearthing the stories of every sentient being she comes across, up to and including Guardians. However, exposure to the less savory parts of the world has given her a wicked streak. Senka has made quite the hobby of stirring things up just to see what happens.
Perhaps her greatest flaw is her inability to know when to stop. Once her curiosity is unleashed, she will pursue it relentlessly. She seems to have no sense of self preservation. Danger is not real to her. It goes beyond bravery into the realm of sheer recklessness. It is well, then, that she possesses a silver tongue the likes of which has rarely been heard. This teller of tales can talk her way out of almost any situation, despite her penchant for being very straightforward. Adding to the unfairness of it all, the woman is nearly impossible to fluster. She very rarely reveals anything akin to a temper. What's more, she has an almost unnatural amount of luck. No matter what happens, she always lands on her feet.
There is one other habit that she picked up on her travels: flirtation. Once she left the mountain, Senka discovered the joys of baiting the opposite gender. For better or worse, she can play coy with the very best of them, or perhaps be a little more...direct. This is not to say that she is a loose woman, but neither is she above using her feminine charms to get what she wants, and she does find casual courtship to be a most entertaining pastime.
Beyond her reckless, devil-may-care attitude, beyond even her cleverness and hedonism, there lies a quieter, much more serious facet of this woman. When her trust is earned, she will never betray it. Once her friendship is given, Senka is loyal unto death. Where her respect is earned, she has an exceptionally strong sense of honor and duty. There are few things she takes more seriously than her storytelling. For the love of it, and in honor of Bryanni, she has dedicated her life to the collection and disbursement of stories, both factual and fanciful.
Important People:
• Bryanni: This old woman took Senka in and looked after her until her death. She taught Senka everything she knew about the art of storytelling.
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:22 pm
The Reflection  Lucius
Meaning: It is derived from the Latin word for "light".
Nicknames: n/a
Gender: Male
Age: Adult
Appearance: He is pure white with golden eyes.
Mate: None
Obtained: Advert Contest, Samhain, 2013.
History:
While a certain pale woman was sailing across the sea, learning new songs and tales and languages, while she was learning the culture of the men of the sea and experiencing her first tentative lessons in the art of flirtation, while she was putting ink to paper and planning her next move, a certain pale fox was making his way north. It was an arbitrary direction - unless, of course, it was not. Who could say how much an animal knew, even one as naturally cunning as a fox, even one touched by the unfathomable magics of the Wood. But the fox traveled north and the woman traveled south and the two pale creatures found each other just outside of the port town where the woman had docked.
She had decided upon a walk to quiet her excitement and process all of the information she had accumulated upon first setting foot on Sunderlander soil. During her journey, she had collected many new tales and learned many new things - enough to fill more than one book, and so soon! So, she had bent herself to the task of organizing and committing this information to paper in a manner so impressive that she was certain a publisher of some sort must surely have no choice but to take her work on - after all, an orphaned young woman with no inheritance or support would need some sort of income to live on, and what better way than with her clever words? Now all she had to do was find a trustworthy publisher through which to distribute her work and set up some manner of payment and collection so that she would be free to travel when and where she will. Perhaps some might consider it a daunting task, but she relished the excitement of the challenge.
As she mulled over the best places to look and her manner of attack, as it were, she glimpsed a pale thing flitting through the brush. That there. What was that? Curiosity piqued, she followed it on a merry chase. She did not fear getting lost as perhaps she ought; instead she laughed as they ran deeper into the trees. Eventually, the object of her pursuit seemed to think that she had proved herself and disappeared from sight altogether, only to reappear atop a massive fallen trunk behind her. He yipped, drawing her attention, and the pair stared at each other.
Though their eyes were as different in color as their bodies differed in form, they were as reflections of one another. Two pale, clever creatures who enjoyed their fun. A matched pair in mischief and intellect. A slow smile spread across the woman's lips and the fox matched her with a vulpine grin. Oh, yes. Together, they could go far.
About:
Lucius is a very canny creature. Part of it may be brushed off as training, but the way that he seems to understand just what's going on around him make people whisper that he's positively unnatural. He understands many words and commands, knows when someone is up to no good or means to harm his lady, and is not above putting a stop to such mischief. Of course, he's more than willing to create some mischief of his own, and his excellent night vision and natural stealth do give him a certain advantage.
Not unlike his mistress, he often seems to be laughing - more often at people than with them. However, he also has a way of looking at people like he's staring straight into their soul. He is not always comfortable to be around, though he is perfectly capable of looking and acting like a sleek, handsome (if somewhat exotic) companion for a young lady. This fox has many tricks in his bag.
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:23 pm
The Great Beginning
If there was one thing to be said for Senka's relentlessness, it was that it was very rare for her to fail at a task she had set before herself. With her new friend by her side, she found a publisher in the Sunderland's capitol that was more than willing to print her books - historical, cultural, contemplative, or comparative, it mattered not. At least, he was willing after a little persuasion. He could not deny that her work would sell, only suggested that it would sell better if she used a male pseudonym. That was fine with her. The more money she could make to finance her travels, the better.
It was inevitable that she had to spend some time in Sunderland to sort out her new business affairs and accumulate enough coin to really get started on her grand adventure, but she did not mind. This was a new country for her, and everything was fascinating. Particularly the bits about Guardians - what fantastical deer, were they truly spirits? - and hedge witches, and most especially the whispers of strange magics and darker things lurking in the shadows. Such intriguing whispers they were, too. But it seemed they were determined to remain as such for the time being. She would have to wait and see what more would come of it. In the meantime, there was an entire world out there waiting to be explored.
Together with Lucius, she made for the continent. They spent years exploring new countries and places and peoples with all of their histories and legends and cultures. There was more to say than even she could write - at some point she really would need to stop just to get everything down that she did not presently have time to impress upon the stacks of manuscripts that she kept steadily flowing back to her publisher in Sunderland. There was always more, so much more.
So for years they discovered new things, refined skills heretofore unexplored. Senka collected languages like a child might collect pretty stones, reveling in the challenge of dissecting the mechanics and memorizing the vocabulary, relishing the moment when she discovered she was competent enough to toy with the semantics of the language as though she were born to it.
This was her paradise. Though there were dangers to be circumvented and perhaps more close calls than a young lady ought to have, Senka had never been happier in her life than she was in those years. She could imagine no greater pleasure. And yet, nearly four years after she had first set out on her grand adventure, more rumors met her ears. Rumors all the way from Sunderland.
When questioned, her contacts wrote that there had indeed been strange happenings in the country. Fantastical things. Things that could not be explained by any conventional means. This was it. Senka felt it in the depths of her soul. This was the time. The whispers she had heard were finally coming to out into the open. There was history about to be made and she wanted a front row seat. It was time to return to Sunderland.
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:25 pm
The Missing Piece
 Cygnus
Meaning: It is Latin for swan. The name is shared by a constellation.
Nicknames: n/a
Gender: Male
Stage:
Appearance:
Chosen: Senka
Mate: None
History:
???
About:
A creature of elegance and poise, Cygnus is a sight to behold. He evokes the image of mighty stags of old - enigmatic creatures out of fairy stories who have been known to lead the worthy forward on their destined path. Although he carries himself with a regal bearing, he holds within him a deep well of tranquility. His very being seems to radiate a kind of sublime gentleness that soothes those who stand in his presence. He walks through life with deliberate, serene purpose. Yet despite being capable of great benevolence, he holds himself aloof, preferring to remain apart from the world at large.
It is not that the world does not interest him - indeed, he studies it most keenly. Instead, it is that he sees most clearly from a distance. As a creature meant to protect - his Chosen first and foremost, but other worthy humans, as well - he finds that the advantage of such clarity is preferable to becoming clouded by fits of emotion. For indeed, Cygnus knows his purpose well. He is a Guardian. He will guide those whom he deems worthy of his attention, assist them on their path. He will protect them should the need arise When the time comes, he will fight the Wolves and he will see them meet their end.
Cygnus, you see, deals in absolutes. Though he understands the many shades of grey that his mistress so adores - and indeed, he even contemplates them and incorporates them in his calculations - he only acts with resolute purpose. He does not try or hope; he simply does or does not. From his objective viewpoint slightly to the side of life, he uses careful calculation to consider every action, weighing its merits and faults. Yet if he does decide to act, then it is a forgone conclusion that the act will be carried through to its completion. As such, he never regrets that which he does - what need, when he has already weighed the action and deemed it worthwhile?
Important People:
•
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Posted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:26 pm
The Tales
Color: default
Log:
Come. Give me your story. Share with me your darkest secrets. I will listen to you. I will treasure your tale always.
• Please Stop Following Me: Logan & Senka (In Progress)
• A Long Awaited Return: Senka & Ferdinand (In Progress)
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