#Altherien

[sanarissa]

penumbra | dreams, the fifth

The dark and dreaming city stretched before her, labyrinthine and vast.

Sanarissa had never seen it, never dreamt it, before this moment. Altherien had spoken of it years ago; how the stone seemed to breathe as if flesh, how the darkness pressed in around like a knot around your throat, how everything slept beneath the towers. It was silent, and that was perhaps the most unnerving thing.

For years, she had gone through life with a cacophony in her mind and learned to adapt to it. Now, there was only her own thoughts. Was it strange to feel lonely without the madness?

Her footsteps didn’t echo amidst the streets as they might have elsewhere. The city stretched out, seemingly endless, as she slipped down corridors and streets. The buildings were strange, obelisks and towers - walls of near every surface engraved with strange runes and language.

A moment to examine writing where she could gave no information. It was an old language, something she could have perhaps read. However, everytime she tried to focus her eyes on the texts, they shifted in that crawling way - making trying to understand useless.

She raised a hand, waves of magic cast outwards to try and produce a light.

Nothing.

Sanarissa’s eyebrows furrowed, focusing to her energy and how it traced through her - no, everything was right. But no matter how much she channeled energy forth, nothing came - not even sparks of green energy at her fingertips. Panic set in. How could she fight back if - a pause, she could use shadow. That thought was quickly pushed aside. If she feared using shadow magic elsewhere, using it here was impossible to consider.

There was nowhere to go but forward, unprotected or otherwise; forward into the Dark and the Silence. Anytime that Sanarissa looked back, the city rose up behind her as if she was walking down some unending slope - down

                                                          and down

                                                   and down

                                                                  and down.

By all accounts, she should not have known where she was going - which way to take amongst the tight corners of sprawling structures, strange and jagged in their shapes. It felt instinctual, though, as she came to certain intersections. Left here, right there, forward - though the directions hardly felt as if they could be classified so simply.

          “You make things so difficult, you know.”

The sweet, ethereal tones of Her reached Sanarissa’s ears - floating up from the silence.

          “Trying to keep your little mind from breaking apart isn’t easy when you wade deeper and deeper into the depths. Take the path forward at the next fork.”

“How do you know?”

          “I simply Know.” Her hum echoed, in a way that footsteps and other sounds did not. “You have to open your eyes soon, or else all will be lost.”

It sounded as if she were right over Sanarissa’s shoulder, but a swing of her head earned her nothing. Her features scrunched down into frustration. “I don’t know what that means, you know. Please explain to me what that actually fucking means.”

          “You always get so angry when you’re backed into a corner.”

“Of course I’m angry. I’m don’t know what to do, where to go, how to get back, and I keep having conversations with the voices in my mind - with you, whatever you are, besides an absolute torment. It gets frustrating.”

Silence passed amongst her again. The conversation between them barely seemed to register any change; nothing reacted or moved when Sanarissa’s voice spun through the air. And Her - well, Sana was unsure if Her voice could be heard externally even here.

          “You sit at an impasse, more now than you ever have before. You’ve spent years hiding, weaving shadows when you needed them but always afraid to dive into more for what it did to you - what you became. You have skirted disaster and falling so many times, but They have always clung on. They react to moments of your weakness, when you find yourself angry or hurt; that is what They feed on, and the best way to manipulate you.”

“Fuck the Old Ones.”

          “Recklessly brave, to say something like that here.” She sounded amused, for a moment. “It’s so much bigger than that. You know this. They’re a symptom of something worse, that you have danced along the edge of for so long. It’s finally gotten hold of you, and it will consume. Sanarissa Firewing will be lost, every piece of her swallowed by the Abyss.”

Sanarissa refused to acknowledge that except for a flip of her ears, pressing back flat against her head. The sense of foreboding pressing around her grew with every step forward, deeper into the city. “You keep saying you want to help me, so help me. Tell me what I need to do to get back.”

          “I’ve told you before. You have to open your eyes. Fight back. Stop cowering in corners, afraid to use what has been resting inside of you this whole time. Take the Dark and use it against your tormentors.”

“If I use shadow, it’ll be worse. It’ll make it easier for them to -”

          “Have I ever let Them take you?”

She paused in her steps, head lifting. What did that mean? Sana opened her mouth to speak. A rumbling underneath her feet stopped her. Not unlike anyone earthquake, a reverberating roar that nearly shook her to her knees.

It came as a rush. The presence that had marked Her was gone, filled instead by the overwhelming force - screaming into her mind.

                                                  At last.

Everything went dark.

[makotokino]

Quick Bio

General information——

FULL NAME: Sanarissa Firewing (art by Nocturyn) NICKNAME(S): Sana most often, occasional more colorful ones come and go. TITLE(S): Emberward of the Sunguard; Lady Firewing. AGE: 243 BIRTHDAY: October 30th (a Scorpio) RACE: Sin’dorei GENDER: Female MARITAL/RELATIONSHIP STATUS: In an open relationship with Ashiserus Redarrow. Physical appearance—— HAIR: Vibrant, dark red. Extremely curly. Often referred to as unmanageable. Reaches her mid back. Worn down often unless working, then twisted up into a messy bun. EYES: Fel green, still show an extreme level of reliance on fel. HEIGHT: 5′6” BUILD: Thin, delicate, with sharp and defined features. DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Dense and dark freckles covering most of face and upper body, including arms. Lichtenberg figures along her arms, neck and face. Both arms sport old and deep series of burn scars. TATTOOS: Perhaps not a tattoo, but her left forearm sports the brand of the Twilight’s Hammer. The skin is raised in the harsh scar, showing her former affiliation with the cult, but she keeps it covered with long sleeves and illusory magic. PIERCINGS: Several piercings on both ears. COMMON ACCESSORIES: She often carries a scythe or staff at her back as a focus. About her neck she wears a purple-jeweled necklace that seems quite important to her. personal information—— PROFESSION: Felmancer, archaeologist, alchemist, and scholar. HOBBIES: Being a bitch, reading, wine collecting, gardening, being extremely anxious and disagreeable. SKILL(S): Being a bitch, study of alternative magics especially fel and void, practical usage of fel magic, herbology and alchemy, restoration and preservation of magical artifacts, translations of texts, historical study, draconic tending. LANGUAGE(S): Thalassian (fluent), Orcish (fluent), Common (fluent), Forsaken (fluent), Darnassian (passable), Zandali (passable), Taurahe (passable), Demonic (passable), Shath’yar (broken), Dwarfish (broken), Goblin (broken), Titan (broken)

RESIDENCE: Firewing Estate, a small estate near the Azurebreeze Coast. BIRTHPLACE: Dawn’s Reach, Quel’thalas PATRON DEITY: None FEARS: Failure, death, absolute darkness, abandonment, loss of her daughter, being forgotten. relationships—— SPOUSE: None current; former spouses are Keriae Altherien Blacksun and Khaeris Blackwhisper CHILDREN: Merriena Firewing (daughter, 6 years old) PARENTS: Veh’thas Dawnwind (father, deceased), Nithroel Dawnwind (mother, deceased) SIBLINGS: Alarinna Dawnwind (sister), Erendriel Dawnwind (brother, deceased) OTHER RELATIVES: None

traits—— • extroverted / introverted / in between. • disorganized / organized / in between. • close minded / open-minded / in between. • calm / anxious / in between. • disagreeable / agreeable / in between. • cautious / reckless / in between. • patient / impatient / in between. • outspoken / reserved / in between. • leader / follower / in between. • empathetic / indifferent / in between. • optimistic / pessimistic / in between. • traditional / modern / in between. • hard-working / lazy / in between. • cultured / uncultured / in between. • loyal / disloyal / in between. • assertive / timid / in between additional information—— — SMOKING:  never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess. extra—— FACIAL REFERENCE(S): Natalie Dormer. ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Neutral/Evil TAGGED BY: @rambleverse TAGGING: @jonathan-nevermore-smith , @trained-trainwreck whoever hasn’t done it yet??? Idk, I was a day late to the party.

[nastyukulele]

>;;] Saigio on Altherien & Fionn on Stela

Saigio on Altherien

Most admirable quality: “She is a brilliant and skilled healer. I greatly respect how dedicated she is to her craft, and while I remain wary of shadow magic, she wields it for a righteous cause, and has proven invaluable to the Champions.”Most attractive physical feature: “Ah, well, she is certainly a beautiful woman. Though, most curious is the expressiveness of her ears. It is a fascinating thing. Not truly attractive, I suppose, unless that is your thing. But interesting.”Most annoying habit: “I have not had the opportunity to spend time with her socially, so I can only assume I have not been exposed to any quirks of her personality that would be bothersome. And while I have issues with her husband, I cannot fault her for the actions of her spouse.”Something they would like to do with them: “I would definitely like to continue to work with her. Additionally, I would not mind discussing her craft, I greatly enjoy talking about magical crafts of all sorts, and I think learning more about all arts is valuable.”

Fionn on Stela

Most admirable quality: “She doesn’t interfere with my mischief. Her magic is pretty cool. I know Vladislav doesn’t like it, but I don’t think it’s so bad! It has the same source according to that one weird guy with all the wives. She’s gotta be smart to use it. Mages are smart. Also she was really nice and healed me after the skirmish. And she smiled at me.”Most attractive physical feature: “Well, she is certainly a beautiful and striking woman! Definitely not hard on the eyes, if you know what I mean, yeah? Not, you know, not much compared to the ladies of the Isle. But, you know, not everyone can be so fortunate as to be born in such a land. Her hair is certainly something fascinating! Black hair, never saw anything like that back home. It is a curiosity to say the least!”Most annoying habit: *shrug?* “I... hmm. I don’t know. Most of the time I’ve seen her she’s been sorta quiet? She seems a bit close to Vuk. I don’t like Vuk. He’s a bit of a dummy. I dunno why she seems to like him. Does she miss Liviu? I think he helped her out and bought her stuff. Ah well. Wealthy foreign people are odd.”Something they would like to do with them: “Certainly wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. She’s a cute girl, and I would very much like to share a few drinks with her. If, ah, if she’s allowed to visit us, I guess. Not sure what’s gonna happen there.”

[that-green-nut]

While I'm at it, Kalvive on Altherien (Ysra).

Most admirable quality:  Her apparent willingness to treat less humanoid beings as equals.Most attractive physical feature: Probably her hair.Most annoying habit: She isn’t fond of how Ysra seems to apply expectations of human nobility to Dryda’s “court”.Something they would like to do with them: Diplomacy with PGT.

[ventrue]

Your choice! Larrold @ Altherien (Ysra) or Steinar on Lydia

Steinar on Lydia:

Most admirable quality: Steinar, in his short time with her, found her combat prowess to be of well-enough capability, especially given the fact she did not pair it with an insistence that it remain the focus of her efforts.

Most attractive physical feature: He found her smile to be exceptional, despite the fact the flesh that shapes it is dead.

Most annoying habit: The traitor thing, definitely. The fact that she had proven herself a deceiver and capable of treachery at the cost of freedom did not leave a good impression on him.

Something they would like to do with them: If another Thunderwyrm-level catastrophe strikes again, he likely would not mind fighting at her side again – so long she lingers not beyond anyone’s sight for too long.

[yvraine]

Adionus dies suddenly in a battle months (or years) after their divorce and Adrya must comfort the grieving widow Altherien and make her own piece with her ex-husband's grave.

This felt familiar.

More than once, Adrya had stood in a group of people who made her feel alien, mourning a fallen knight. More than once, she listened to a grieving widow weep for a fallen husband, heard a son cry for his father, watched a regiment lay to rest a respected leader. They all looked to her when the time came for speeches, but Adrya found her throat to be dry.

On all sides, her daughters cried for him. Vehirion stood with her tall and strong, but she knew he was crumbling on the inside. He kept a hand on his mother’s shoulder, knowing full well he was the only true support his mother had in the crowd. They didn’t want her there. They did not think she belonged.

“Adionus and I were not friends,” She began almost robotically. The last speech she gave for a dead man started much the same,” We fought alongside each other for many years, and in his kind shadow, I watched him nurture my children with love and light and goodness. He was a good husband to his wife, and they lived well together. He will… always be remembered.”

There was even less she could say to cover up her own feelings at this burial, and so she let it come to pass. Long after others were gone, she stood. She stood not far from Altherien, a woman she envied in some small way, as she watched the woman weep at Adionus’ headstone. She wanted to say she was sorry for what had happened, but would that be true at all?

No.

She came to stand at Altherien’s right, staring blankly at the engraving of her exhusband’s name. The pitiful sniffling of the widow alerted her as Altherien spoke, “Do you miss him, Lady Blackdawn?”

“Every day,” She answered honestly.

“Then… why?”

“So he could be happier than I made him. You did that for him. He died fighting not for me, but for you. For you and for your children.”

“Your children too,” Altherien added, a returned jab of comfort to the ghost of the funeral.

“My girls are still your children, Altherien. Do not flatter yourself to think you aren’t their mother too.”

[skittlemeister]

You guys gotta stop making me do things XD

[nastyukulele]

Altherien on Saigio: "The Knight? I want to see him fight Obarius again... I want to be there to see it really. I'm intrigued at how it will play out, after all, he is a man of honor and duty- and of virtue."