+- Antarsia (https://www.antarsia-rpg.com)
+-- Forum: Character Information (https://www.antarsia-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=15)
+--- Forum: Character Profiles (https://www.antarsia-rpg.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=16)
+--- Thread: Neri Hollowhearth (/showthread.php?tid=1345)
Neri Hollowhearth - Dizzie - 09-27-2018
Character's Name: Neri Hollowhearth
Nicknames: Hollow Priestess
Age: 412 years old
Gender: Female
Species: Tume Elf
Abilities:
Agility: Neri carries with her the natural agility innate to the Tume elves. This aptitude was honed both as a member of Tume childhood, and out of necessity on her own as an exiled elf. This allowed her the ability to outrun and evade with the skill of someone use to making use of the obstacles around them rather than fighting against them. For this reason, she seems to be better at maneuvering through crowded markets and packed alleyways over open fields.
Martial Technique: A lost person with no family learned to defend themselves quickly, lest they end up dead in a ditch in the land of the demons. Although fighting is never what Neri will want to do first, her natural agility and knowledge of the mechanics of the body allowed her to train herself in a sort of close quarters martial arts based on the joints and balance of her enemies. This style can quickly dislocate limbs, but is largely based around ensuring that both combatants are able to walk away.
Stealth: Before her exile, she lived like any other Tume elf would. She learned to monitor her breathing and slow her heart rate. She learned to roll her steps and keep to the shadows to remain virtually silent, and the best ways to remain hidden. Once she was exiled, this became more than simply a talent instilled in all Tume elves, and more a means of survival.
Healing [Light Magic]: The source of her exile, Neri shows aptitude in magic that allows her to mend the body and ease the spirit. Rended flesh can be pieced back together, pain can be lessened, and the sick can be restored to health. Although this is the reason Neri cannot return to her people, and regardless of the truth of the situation, she sees this ability as a gift from Malina...though she may not understand to what end.
Anatomical Knowledge: In both study and practice, Neri has learned a great deal of the anatomy of the various species of Antarsia. Some of this, in her early years as a healer, came in the unfortunate form of trial and error. Currently, however, she had a fairly intimate knowledge of many species, as well as several tomes she has written over the last century on the subject so as to have a better reference guide for the more rare ones.
Appearance:
Neri is fairly tall and lithe, though her frame is surprisingly toned. Her body's long, slender arms end in long fingers with nails kept relatively short. Most of her body is obscured by long robes in tan and white made of inexpensive flax or linen that flows when she moves, but offers neither a particular level of protection nor a sign of any real wealth. Her face is a long oval shape with almond shaped eyes that tilt slightly down at the side by her ears. Her smooth, serene complexion frames her sad, kind eyes that seem to look at the world in general with a mixture of hope and pity. Her hair is long and a deep black resting against the slightly olive color of her skin, and is usually tied back with a central braid that keeps the hair from her face while either side of the braid's hair is left loose to flow about her body as her robes do.
Personality:
Neri is a calm, quiet soul. These days, she simply wants to do more good than harm, and is looking to make the most of the gift given to her by the Gods. She is very slow to anger, and in times of conflict she is more likely to leave her pride by the wayside if it means no one will get hurt. That being said, she is not someone inclined to let the innocent suffer if she is able to do something to prevent it...even at the cost of her own health and safety. Neri tends to think of those around her has having substantially more value that she does, and because of this she seeks out to help others before herself.
History:
Neri Windwhisper, now Neri Hollowhearth, was born in Kidwe, in a small quarter were the Tume elves of Kidwe tended to keep to their own. Traditions were important, and so her parents taught the lessons of agile movement and stealthy hunting that had kept the Tume elves alive since the time before large cities and markets. She was also taught about the Pure Gods, and primarily of Malina the Goddess of elves.
Neri herself never sought out magic, but rather seemed to have a natural aptitude for Light and Healing. It had started with wounded animals, wherein Neri had placed her hands on a wounded bird with a broken wing, and in a slow rise of light saw the bird take back to the air. Wide eyed, she thanked Malina for the gift that allowed her to mend the body. Traditions had dictated what would happen, but at the same time she believed that not telling her family would be like renouncing the Gods. This was the moment that led to her exile.
Her family did not see her ability to heal as a gift, but a curse. It had been said that death and misfortune followed Tume healers. For the good of their family and society, Neri was stripped of her family's name and sent to the demonic city of the Famine Fortress. Their hope was that if she were to hurt people with her mere presence, it should be the demons. The trip was a long one, and one filled with tearful goodbyes. It was not as if her family did not love her. They loved Neri very much, but it was their fear of the curse she would bring to them that forced their hand.
An adolescent Neri grew up hungry in the Famine Fortress streets. She would sneak about, stealing food to survive, and often times using the city center's hustle and bustle to hide and out-maneuver the guards. One day, however, she had a vision. Well, it might have been a vision, but just as easily could have been a fever dream brought on by a poor diet and starvation. She was still hiding her gift, and she was still wasting what the Gods had seen fit to give her. She was a healer, and she was healing no one.
It started as a simple homeless woman on the streets of the Famine Fortress that happened to be able to keep the loser of a knife fight from bleeding out. Then there were stories of a vagabond in the low district that, for a small fee, could correct a crippled limb. Eventually, over the course of nearly a decade, Neri was able to save enough to purchase a small shack that she converted into a temple. When asked her name, Neri called herself Hollowhearth...as she had no family. The kind healer with the sad eyes came to be known as The Hollow Priestess. A good soul in a dark place, willing to help many a wounded and weary soul in the search for peace.
For the next several decades, Neri patched up the sick and wounded, learning and studying as she went so that she might better understand the mysteries of the body. More complex wounds could be healed. In a city of excess, someone like Neri had an easy time remaining unnoticed save by those seeking someone like her specifically. She wasn't rich. She didn't seek fame, wealth, or status. She was content to live her life in a small shack with a shrine to Malina, surrounded by handwritten medical books that detailed the anatomy of the various species of whom she had mended.
Roleplay Sample:
The day was late, and Neri was just finishing the last of her notes. Quill left paper and was cleaned off before it was returned to the table. It had been a good day. No one had died, and the few whom had come in were mostly just ill with some manner of fever. No poisonings. No stabbings. She set the few soiled linens off to a basket to be washed the next morning while the ink on the pages of the book dried. A small, simple smile kept to her lips, in spite of her slightly saddened eyes. Steps carried a natural grace to them as she walked smooth and even, still nearly silent. There was no reason to abandon old lessons. The dim light of a few candles kept her keen eyes able to set to their tasks.
There was a faint knock at the door to the small shack which caused Neri's head to raise slightly. She wondered who might have come at this late hour before she remembered that blood loss and injury knew no schedule. Moving quickly to the door, which was close thanks in part to the small size of the building itself, the door was eased open with a small creaking sound. Eyes widened ever so slightly and a blink came to her face. Was...was that who she thought it was? No. Why here? What would bring someone like that down to her humble shack?
"Yes, Your Majesty?"
RE: Neri Hollowhearth - Achera - 09-27-2018
Congratulations, your character has been APPROVED!
Your character will be moved to the Character Profile.
Please post your character to the Add Characters to Guide thread to have your character added to the Character Directory.
Thank you, and happy roleplaying!