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LOST CLAN CREATION FORM

The Horseman
Name: Jora
Nicknames: Jo
Gender: Female
Age: Presents physically as if mid-20s, mentally 30s

Original Clan: Death

Job Role: Ashen Soldier (former Guardian but lost her priestess, weep)

Personality:

Jora is devout beyond all else — a zealot, through and through. This was instilled in her from a young age by her extremely religious father. She believes that the cultivation and harvesting of Fear is the holiest endeavor a horseman could ever pursue, which is why she worked as an Ashen Soldier for a significant time upon maturation. (She transitioned to Guardian temporarily after being selected by a priestess, previously.) Fear brings power to their cause, and power is key to restoring their society to its former dominance. Her reverence for priestesses, especially the High Priestess, defines the course of her life. Growing up, Jo was utterly devoted to the worship of Death, even carving holy symbols and words of prayer into the skin on her back and arms.

When she experienced the destruction of her homeland, Jo was a guardian to her first priestess, who did not survive. After this particular failure, she fled into exile, dejected and lost and questioning, until she felt she was worthy to return to the Clans. It was the whispers of the latest revelation that have brought her back: that the Old Gods should be the true focus for her devotion, not Death. Now, she prays nightly to the Old Gods and is fully prepared to be a diligent foot soldier for Medea’s vision. Jora believes that proper atonement can only be accomplished through pain, and that any creature may be permanently cleansed through the healing process of dying. And she is more than willing to help them on their way.

Her allegiance is to her belief system first, all else second. Jo, more than anything, seeks a return to the full, empowered glory of the Horsemen and a way to return the Old Gods to their former power. With the Old Gods returned, humankind will be, in her heart, made to suffer for the rest of eternity for the sins they committed. And then, she will have paid back the Clans for her failure to keep her priestess safe.

To say that Jo is guarded would be an incredible understatement. She tries to be single-minded in her purpose and fears the pain of loss of those close to her. Naturally, this leads her to self-imposed isolation that is only broken by her required duty or the incredibly persistent. Her devout nature makes her judgmental of those who she sees as less dutiful, and though she tends to be stoic and silent (even compared to other Death Horsemen), Jo is quick to speak in matters of devotion, purpose, or the cause. Jo sees herself as a tool of the Old Gods, but has a relatively low opinion of her worth beyond that. She believes her role is to support and lay her life down, not to lead or shine.

Her intense focus makes Jo a bit of the stick-in-the-mud who takes herself too seriously and needs to lighten up, basically all the time. Beneath her steely exterior is a good heart, like so many steely exteriors seem to hide, and an overwhelming desire to please the Old Gods, honor her family, and restore the Clans. Though she is a very competent and skilled soldier, Jo lacks real emotional experience (beyond grief) and can quickly devolve into an unsure, naive, almost girlish disposition when confronted with something like someone wanting to be her fiend, someone just wanting to do something for fun, or, god forbid, someone having any romantic interest in her. (She has a sort of Jon Snow Complex.)

Mount Form: A blur of white and gray that at certain angles appears something like this. Jora sometimes refer to this manifestation as Judgment.

Weapon Form: Twin scimitar blades (more like daggers, like one scimitar was melted down into two smaller versions), bone handles set with a single purple stone at the hilt, steel forged by her father and then passed down to her.

FEAR ATTACK:

[Y2] Gambler's Chance -- Judgment Jora whispers a prayer against the blade, kisses it, and then strikes. If the Old Gods heard her prayer, it is effective. If the strike misses, then clearly it was not meant to be.
[Y2] The Eye -- Blessing Jora (or an ally)'s accuracy is increased after appealing to the Old Gods.
[Y1] Swift Strikes -- Shadow Slip Jora is filled with a sudden explosion of energy originating from her desire to protect and aid the Clan, which she uses to deliver repetitive blows while seeming to do attack from all sides thanks to handy dandy acrobatics. She appears to slip into shadows, get a little blurry during this.

Physical Description:

Eye Colour: Highly saturated icy green. Shrewd, cat-eyed, dead expression.
Hair Colour/Style: Faded lilac in color, mostly straight, length to below her shoulders, but it is mostly hidden by her hood.
Skin Colour: A shade of gray that compliments her other coloration.
Clothing Style/Colours: Looking for some CC here. Basic idea would be: a hooded cloak, boots, fitted pants, tunic flowing into a gladiator-style skirt, silver jewelry, white/gray fur accents. But I am flexible here. You are a better designer than me, trust. The vibe should just be mercenary/ranger.
Extra: Markings on her face, something like this. These should appear more like scars/cuts, less like paint.
References: I am not an artist, but I do have ~inspiration~ images that give the general feel:
[x] Good reference for coloring of skin, hair, and eyes. Personality accurate too.
[x] Vibe/overall look.
[x] Coloration, belts, silver accents, fur usage all nice.
[x] Good feel for personality/general vibe.

My concept for her former priestess is that she was a childhood friend who selected Jora because she trusted her. Jora desperately wanted to be a guardian and so this friend gave her the opportunity. (Both were young, inexperienced.)

Her zealotry was inspiring in some instances, and overbearing at other times. I imagine that Jora was somewhat more rigid about their religion, in some ways, than the priestess. Jora wanted to keep a strict schedule, abstain from all frivolous endeavors, etc. whereas the priestess had a better, more evolved sense of balance. Jora was probably unbelievable pushy and a touch judgmental. The priestess would have to check her attitude every now and then, remind her that there is more to religion than abstinence. So there was a lot of the priestess trying to loosen up Jora, and Jora judging any moment they spent doing anything outside of worship. Over time, the priestess's persistence began to work -- Jora loosened up, started trying to have fun and not take herself so seriously.

However when the priestess died when their homeland was destroyed, Jora blamed herself entirely. She thought that, if she had been more serious, more rigid, less personal, then the priestess might have lived. So if anything, Jora only became more guarded about being, you know, a normal horseman with wants and needs.

1. Her father was a Jewelcrafter who specialized in exceedingly intricate gem inlays in armor. Though the stones were all practical, he was known for creating aesthetically pleasing pieces, which he would always say was never the point. His work was intense labor, and he would sooner destroy a piece than hand over anything that he did not consider perfect. Jora's childhood was spent watching him painstakingly work -- and work he did. He was a tireless, disciplined, deeply religious man. Jora, wanting to please him and always feeling a bit less than because of her half-Conquest blood, absolutely shaped her entire identity with those same ideals in mind. She originally thought she would become a Jewelcrafter too, but her father was incredibly unforgiving of his criticism while teaching her the basics, which steered her in another direction. As an Ashen Soldier/Guardian, Jora holds herself to incredibly high standards and is similarly critical of others but mostly herself.

2. Jora's days are incredibly calculated. Her morning routine is as systematic as a choreographed ballet recital. She practices battle form for several hours a day, eats basically the same meals, wears the same clothes -- it's all the same, all the time. She has a few particular routines. Cleaning her weapon is one of them. Cleaning herself is another. Lots of cleanliness. In terms of rituals, Jora does have one particularly unique (and painful) one. Whenever Jo does something that she feels she must atone for, she does so by intentionally carving symbols into her skin. These are hidden beneath her clothing so very few people, in anyone, know about it. She does still dabble in some jewelcrafting, like her father, but it is solely for personal use and not something she advertises.

3. Jora would occasionally suffer teasing, bullying, or alienation for being not 100% from Death. It was pretty well known that her mother was some scholar from Conquest who wanted nothing to do with her. Kids can be mean, horsemen or not. She would quickly devolve into throwing fists in these situations as it is a particularly sensitive issue for her. Her father would chastise her for allowing people to get the better of her -- both by getting her to react and also by kicking her a** in the fights. He told her that she needed to make an example of one bully one time, and it would be done. So Jora began training for combat initially so she could win these fights. Once she was able to do so, she followed her father's advice and the incidents of teasing quieted down. As an adult, the majority of her battles are internal, save those she gets into in the course of her line of work.

4. At first, running. Jora ran until her body finally collapsed. She had taken almost nothing with her and did not recognize where she was when she woke up. She spent months wandering, falling into small jobs in exchange for food and a place to toss and turn when she could not sleep. After months of aimlessness, friendlessness, and hopelessness, Jora began to slowly work her way through as much of existence as she could. She helped out people in need, like her own self-induced Peace Corps, but always left before anyone could get attached. In her travels, Jora wandered to the edges of all she could searching for a sign that the greater powers had forgiven her. She only decided to end her exile when she heard whispers of what had happened with Medea and Death -- and the truth about the Old Gods.

5. Lots of routine. Wake up before the sun, bathe, pray, light breakfast, pray, check on the priestess, pray, escort the priestess, pray, light lunch, drop off the priestess, pray, train, light dinner, pray, bathe, sleep. Incredibly repetitive. The only variation in her schedule came from other people, such as a visit from her family or a change in plans from the priestess.

6. After she evened out after her grief, it took on the shades of her former schedule -- except with 10x the praying and helping random communities instead of a priestess. The most significant change was her atonement. Prior to the destruction, Jora only had a few symbols carved into her skin. Now, her entire back is covered, her stomach, and portions of her thighs.