Special Feature Applications

This is the place where you can apply for a Special Feature for one of your characters.

H O W   I T   W O R K S

• To be eligible to apply for a Special Feature you must have actively roleplayed on Magical Hogwarts for at least two weeks.
• There are two forms provided for applications. One is for unsorted and one for sorted characters. Please pick the one that applies to you and post a reply with the according information in this topic.
• While we do not expect long applications, you should make sure that you provide enough information and good reasoning as to why your character should have the special ability you're applying for.
• Once you have posted an application, the admin team will take a look at it and inform you as soon as possible whether or not the feature is approved.

H O W   I T   I S   J U D G E D
Special Feature applications are judged by the admin team rather than by just one staff member and there are some aspects that are considered for the decision:

• Roleplay Ability: This is not meant to score your writing style. However, we do look at your IC activity and the general quality of posts.
• Application Quality: Effort and originality are the key to a good application and that's what we're looking for. Please note that quantity does not equal quality. We do not want to see long applications that repeat the same thing over and over again.
• Feature-to-character compatibility: This aspect doesn't apply for all possible Special Features. The werewolf feature, for example, doesn't really fit any character. Yet, you can apply for it. However, if you are applying for an animagus we do look closely at whether this feature and the chosen animal fit your character.
• Future Plots: Last, but by no means least, we will take a look at possible future plots involving your character with the feature. It makes sense to talk to other drivers and work things out prior to submitting an application. If we can see that you are actively going to play out your character's ability we are more inclined to approve an application.

T H E   S P I N E S

1) F O R   E X I S T I N G   C H A R A C T E R S

Name: (your name)
Character name: (name of the character you want the feature for)
Feature you are applying for: (insert the name of the feature here)
Application: (why you want the feature and what you're going to do with it. If it's an original feature you will have to describe it as well.)
Future plots: (tell us about the plots you are going to play if you get the feature)
RP sample using the feature: (show us how you'd play the feature)

Code: [Select]

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Character name:[/b]
[b]Feature you are applying for:[/b]
[b]Application:[/b]
[b]Future plots:[/b]
[b]RP sample using the feature:[/b]
2) F O R   N E W   C H A R A C T E R S

Name: (your name)
Character name: (name of the character you want the feature for)
Feature you are applying for: (insert the name of the feature here)
Description of the character: (we don't want to see a whole sheet here. Just write a summary about your new character)
Application: (why you want the feature and what you're going to do with it. If it's an original feature you will have to describe it as well.)
Future plots: (tell us about the plots you are going to play if you get the feature)
RP sample using the feature: (show us how you'd play the feature)

Code: [Select]

[b]Name:[/b]
[b]Character name:[/b]
[b]Feature you are applying for:[/b]
[b]Description of the character:[/b]
[b]Application:[/b]
[b]Future plots:[/b]
[b]RP sample using the feature:[/b]

Name: Ashton
Character name: Jocasta Callaghan
Feature you are applying for: Occlumens

Description of the character: Jocasta is a very headstrong person with strong morals. However, this does not hinder her from keeping her mouth shut in serious situations or being able to lie to people. I think she would have wanted to learn this obscure branch of magic, she's all about taking risks with her own life, but she wants to make sure all the people she cares about are safe. Jo is an established person among the ministry workers, since her father works there in the Department of Mysteries and she has several other friends and acquaintances that are successfully working there as well. She is a really distrusting person with those she doesn't know, and she can be insecure in risky situations with suspicious personnel. She is calculating and analytical, thinking of all the possible outcomes of one situation. Going along with this is her ability to talk to other people and finding ways around offending them or irritating them because of wrong word choice. Defense Against the Dark Arts has been a strong subject of hers through her whole life, and in school she excelled in it both in early years and when it was time to earn OWLS and NEWTS. This contributes to the amount of pressure and pain she can withstand, especially being an Auror, she knows how to handle certain forms of magic without cracking. All together, she is a very stable person that is capable of learning new things and educating herself with the help of others.

Application: I'm applying for this feature because I think it makes perfect sense for her to utilize this. One of her greatest strengths at Hogwarts was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and this is a very strange form of magic that obviously needs some practice to master. I am not asking for her to be an expert at it, I think she should still be in the process of learning the dynamics of how to use this ability to her advantage. It fits her personality because only extremely able people are able to control this to any extent, and I think she has the capability to withstand major pressure both on herself and to keep secrets. Since she will not have been discovered as an Order member yet, it will be valuable for them to have someone still working in the Auror department and able to access information about Voldemort's next moves and how things are going there. However, if she was to be discovered, the Occlumens feature would help in defending classified information from any semi-skilled Legilimens or capable Unforgivable Curse performer. She is associating with several people in the ministry that are also involved with the Order, and I think she feels it is her responsibility to keep them all safe. Anyone that knows about this kind of magic knows that you can't lie to a Legilimens unless you can counteract it, so I want her to be able to do that so a whole bunch of people don't end up dead on her account. For example, if a Death Eater found out where the Order was currently located and who was in it, Jocasta's dearest friends and family could easily be accessed and killed. Occlumency also helps prevent the effects of the Imperius Curse, which has given the Order some grief before because of flat-out unpreparedness. With this ability, and once she has gotten the hang of it a little more, she can distribute it throughout the Order to give people some defense so they aren't completely helpless against any kind of dark force. All in all, I want this feature not just as a pretty thing to show off, but to spread the wealth a little and to help out the causes she really believes in.

With that said, I will try to make this go in the general direction of canon by just having an NPC that her father knows try and teach it to her around the beginning to middle of her Auror training. I think this will give her at least enough experience to have someone keep practicing with her with it, to strengthen her skill, or practicing on her own to brush up on her skills. There are and will be plenty of situations set in the workplace where she can use this ability, and I think there will be plenty of opportunities to roleplay it out with other drivers as well in many different types of situations.

Future plots: On to the subject of future plots. I'm mostly leaning towards dilemmas with the Order where she'd have to use this, and since she's already paranoid from her current job, it's not going to change her sheet or her personality so much. Really, this SF can be used in any everyday situation with this kind of job because on a normal day, she's out doing something risky basically regardless. However, when the war is over and she is able to return to her normal duties of hunting dark wizards and helping to lock people up, she will still be able to use this. There are many dark wizards that probably are expert Legilimens that aren't involved with Voldemort, so she'll still be able to put these abilities to use even after he's vanquished and all that general stuff.

It's true that there won't be as many Order problems after the war is concluded, but all I'm saying is that it won't be a temporary fling and I will roleplay it out as much as possible to make this entire application and effort worthwhile. There are plenty of different situations that she could use this with, even with people she's come to trust. This feature could create problems with close relationships, which could also lead to some interesting plots. All together, I think I can plot some legitimate ideas with other drivers that will help her character and feature develop even more over time.

I haven't talked extreme specifics with other drivers, but I do have some plots worked out with people that have Order characters where this feature can be put to use. Really, I only think vague plots are needed until I can get her sorted and established and then by all means I'll plot even more with dark wizard/DE drivers so I can utilize this ability in more than one way.

She honestly felt as though the world was ending. After reliving so many horrid visions and memories in her head after that lesson with Mr. Glasby, she just needed to go home and sleep. The things that had invaded her mind and tore open her soul would stay there forever, but Jo reminded herself that she had to be strong and make some sacrifices of her own if she wanted to keep the people she loved safe. The people she loved. Her father, Kendrick, Tolfrey, and all the muggle-borns that she knew were in hiding. Some of them she'd even helped hide. Jo didn't want anyone to die on her account. Die was a strong word, but with the war going on and all that nasty stuff, she wasn't about to take any risks. Jocasta had been goaded, almost tortured during what she and her teacher called 'a lesson'. She had one once every couple weeks, and that was almost too much to handle at times. She smoothed down her black slacks, assuming that the dark circles had reappeared under her eyes. She would've apparated to her office like normal, but then she was positive she would've either thrown up in the wastebasket or all over the floor. Glasby had no intent to hurt her, she knew that, but she also knew that she was going to get hurt regardless. That was just the way the 'sport' of sorts of Occlumency worked.

As painful as it was, Jocasta was aware that it would be worth it in the end. In the end, it would all be over, and everything horrible would be vanquished. Hopefully by the time she was old she would know peace, but sometimes she doubted that. Thinking of possible outcomes was either everyone ended up dead, Voldemort remained in power, or everything changed forever when he was destroyed. If he was destroyed. Part of the reason Jocasta had wanted to join the Order in the first place was to restore control. Everything from the time Harry Potter had entered Hogwarts and onward had been a downward-spiraling mess, and even if it was just a small impact on everything, Jocasta wanted to do something to help. Even the smallest things helped. That was what her mother always told her. How great would it be to prove that someone as unknown as her could make a difference in the wizarding world? That would make her lifetime.

The lesson had been excruciatingly unbearable. Seeing images of good things were almost always dulled down during them, but whenever a bad memory or prediction came up, it seemed like it was a billion times amplified. When those things happened in your head and affected every single one of your senses, it felt like you were being pulled down into a literal abyss. Sometimes it just felt like she couldn't take the strain anymore, but when she thought of her future and the people she loved, it was just enough to push a little further, to keep moving forward. Practicing Occlumency, or rather, shielding your mind and thoughts while someone else tries to break into them, was a tiring thing. It was like you didn't have any privacy in your own mind- which, if you didn't defend very well, you didn't- and it drained your energy for days at a time. Glasby had been reluctant to teach her at first and thought it was a bad idea, but a young Jo had been so determined, so he'd given in.

Finally reaching her office, her black flats dragged across the floor and she tapped the doorknob with her wand, entering her small, cozy office with a sigh of relief. No one was there. Privacy was heaven after the ends of lessons. Jocasta seated herself in the large, cushioned chair and laid her head on the cold wood of her desk. Maybe she would go home later, she thought, as her eyelids began to droop.

Name: Jenny
Character name: Zoé Deveaux
Feature you are applying for: Discipula Garth - Ice Elemental

Description of the character:

Personality:
Zoé is a dreamer and a very idealistic person. She wants to make everyone happy and it's her biggest dream to achieve that no one has to suffer anymore. Although she knows that this is probably impossible, Zoé wants to try nevertheless. Next to that she's a perfectionist who wants to do everything as good as possible and so she would definitely put a lot of effort into her studies as an Ice Elemental.

The problem that comes with her pursuit of perfection is that she can be very critical of herself and others. While it isn't that bad that she's critical of herself, she can sometimes be rather harsh when it comes to criticising others. Anyway, she mostly does it because she has everyone's best interest in mind and she just wants others to improve what they're doing.

Another aspect that's very important for her character, is her love for music and literature, especially poems. She loves it to be creative and to inspire others with her music. Although she's usually rather shy and doesn't like to be the center of attention, it changes when she's playing the piano or guitar.

Moreover Zoé can be considered a very independent girl. She has a mind of her own and although she likes being with her friends, Zo works best when she can complete tasks or solve problems on her own. She likes the affection of others but she isn't dependent on them. Next to being independent, Zo is also a responsible witch who knows that she's the one responsible for her actions which includes everything she does with her Elemental ability as well.

Discovery:
Concerning her history, Zoé grew up in a very loving family. She had had a nice and quiet life until her education at Beauxbatons began. During the first half of her first year she noticed that she wasn't very gifted in subjects that required wandwork. No matter how much she tried to practise wand movements, she couldn't get any better. Being the perfectionist she is, it frustrated the young girl a lot and she didn't know what she should change.

It was during the second half that she discovered that she was different from most other students at Beauxbatons. An older student approached her while she was sitting outside, practising her wandwork. Seeing that she failed at a rather simple spell, he started picking on her. It didn't last long until she was so mad at him and sad at the same time that suddenly his wand, he had gotten out to show her how easy it was to cast the spell, froze within seconds. The boy disappeared immediately and left shocked little Zoé alone.

Coincidentally it happened that Volker Blauvelt was watching her and seeing what she had done, he walked over to her and took her to Peter Alva Tannenbaum. The professor explained that she was an Ice Elemental, just like himself and Volker. At first she wasn't happy about it at all. She didn't want to be different and it took some time until she finally accepted that being an Elemental wasn't bad at all. In fact she even began to enjoy her practising sessions with Peter Alva and Volker.

In her third year it was time for her initialization ritual. Although she was a little scared at the beginning, Zoé was rather proud of herself when the ritual was over. After that she enjoyed practising her abilities even more, the only thing that was still bothering her, was the fact that she had to keep it a secret from her friends. In the middle of her fourth year Zoé had to use her abilities in a fight for the first time. The rogues attacked Beauxbatons and together with the other Elementals she had to fight them.

The whole attack left its' mark on Zoé. For her it was the biggest nightmare to see others suffer because of people who had the same special abilities she had. Moreover all the Elementals at Beauxbatons got exposed during the attack and so she had to cope with weird looks, gossip and people who were whispering behind her back. Till now it has affected her and she often lies in her bed awake at night, wishing that the incident hadn't happened.

Application:
During my time at Magical Hogwarts I've often thought about applying for a special feature. Maybe Animagus for Leah or Illusionist for Leo. In the end nothing would have worked out. The thing is that I don't want a feature just because it's cool to have one. It has to add something to the character and it definitely has to fit. Moreover I'd like to play the feature as much as possible and I think this could work with an Elemental.

The unique feature has always interested me but it didn't fit to any of my existing characters. Moreover I've never wanted to create a character whose primarily purpose is it to be an Elemental, since I think the RP or plot opportunities would be very limited. With Zoé it's the other way around. First of all she is a Beauxbatons student and I would play her as well even should I not get the application approved. She works with the feature maybe as well as without it but nevertheless I think being an Ice Elemental would definitely add something to her character and the way I would be able to play her.

Next to that I really care about the whole Elemental plot and the unique concept. It would be more than great to get the chance to participate in the different Elemental events and it would also be very nice to help thinking about future plots and ideas. Sure, the last aspect can be achieved without having an Elemental but it definitely wouldn't be the same.

I chose the element ice because I think it fits Zoé's personality best. When I've thought about making a Beauxbatons character, there has always been an idealistic and music loving girl in my head. Although I think the other houses are interesting, too, I've always leaned towards Papillonlisse, especially since a Papillonlisse character is rather different compared to my other ones. While I was reading the Elemental guide, I noticed that ice would be the best element for the character in my head.

Zoé is a very responsible girl and she's definitely aware of the fact that with power comes great responsibility, especially since ice is the most powerful element. She would never do anything against the Council and she would definitely never abuse her abilities or use them to harm innocent people. Looking at her character, I think she fits the description a lot and I also think the fact that there are already two other Ice Elementals at Beauxbatons, including the Harbinger, can be very helpful for her character development.

Future plots:
Unfortunately I didn't have a character when there was the rogue plot going on at Beauxbatons. But that doesn't mean that I don't want to play out the consequences. The fact that Zoé's ability got exposed during the battle affected her a lot during the past time and it still is a big part of her life. Most people treat her in a different way now and she doesn't like it. Although she hasn't been that happy about her ability at first, she has learned to love it. Now she doesn't want to miss it anymore and it hurts her that some people are whispering behind her back and treating her like a strange person.

In addition to that the rogue attack led to a very close relationship between Zoé and Lena's Volker. They already were friends before the attack but the fact that quite a few people treated them in a different way after it is the reason why they are even closer now. He was and still is the person she can tell everything. About her fears that the gossip won't stop and everything else that includes their Elemental ability. Moreover they learn to improve their abilities together which can result in quite a few roleplaying/plot opportunities, especially now that they don't have to hide it anymore.

I also talked with Tye about a possible owl mail correspondence. After the rogue attack Zo and Alain spoke for the first time and from that day on they have been something like friends. She likes to get some information about another element and moreover he's a good person to talk to. In general I'd love her to know as many Elementals as possible, so that I'll have enough opportunities to use her Elemental abilities in topics.

RP sample using the feature:
Although Zoé Deveaux wasn't vain at all, she just had to admire herself in the mirror right now. Or well, not herself but rather her pretty new dress. Her mother had sent it to her and she had immediately fallen in love with it. It was light purple with small white flowers on it and it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. She probably shouldn't wear the dress on a normal day like this one but she just had to. Next to being pretty it was one of the dresses which wasn't only beautiful but comfortable as well. After looking at her reflection for the last time, Zo grabbed her bag with her music paper, ink and quill in it and left her dorm.

During the whole night she had had this melody in her head and it was still there. In situations like this one she had to write the notes down, otherwise the song would be stuck in her head forever. Moreover she hadn't written a new song for quite a few weeks now and so she was happy that she had come up with one again. Walking through the school, Zo was humming the quite cheerful sounding melody, earning her a few amused looks from others. When she left the castle, Zo had to squint her eyes to adjust to the bright sun that was shining today. Next to winter, spring was her second favourite season. The weather was nice most of the time without being too hot and moreover it was time for everything to blossom again. A few seconds later her eyes got used to the light and she continued to walk towards the rose garden.

It was one of her favourite places to sit down and relax or play either the guitar or the clarinet. However, today it would be a great location for writing down her song. When she reached it, Zo looked for a bench and after she found one, the witch carefully observed it. Usually she didn't care about getting dirty, especially while she was working in the garden but today she didn't want her dress to get filthy. Deciding that the bench was clean enough, Zoé sat down, laid her bag next to her and got her things out.

The feeling of the beige music paper in her hand was a nice one and she was looking forward to writing the notes in her head down and to showing the song to Jessi or Élodie later on. She already liked it a lot but it was always nice to get another opinion. Still humming quietly, the fifth year dipped the quill into the inkpot and began her work. Music was and had always been her life and so it was no surprise that writing down the melody in her head wasn't that difficult for her.

A few minutes later, the song was almost finished, Zo grabbed the inkpot with her left hand to dip the quill into it again when suddenly a loud unpleasant noise somewhere near her startled her. Immediately the brunette winced which made the inkpot tilt over a little. It wouldn't have been bad, though, if it hadn't been almost full. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw the damage the ink would make and so she reacted instantly. When the ink reached her music paper and dress it wasn't liquid anymore. Instead there was ice laying on the piece of paper and Zo threw it to the ground as fast as possible. It was only now that her movements froze and that she hold her breath. Merde. What if someone had seen her? Looking around in panic Zoé couldn't see anyone but that didn't mean that there wasn't anyone hiding somewhere. Merlin, she hated it to keep her ability a secret. But wait... Sighing, Zoé calmed down again.

Sometimes she still forgot that she and all the others had been exposed last year. The problem was just that almost fours years of keeping it a secret had left their mark on her. She still paid attention to who was around her when she was using her Elemental skills. In addition to that Zo had experienced that not everyone liked her ability. It wasn't easy to cope with the rumours and mostly false stories about her but somehow she had gotten used to it - or at least she thought so. Deciding that it would probably be best to just finish her work, the witch dipped her quill into the inkpot once more, this time without holding it over her stuff, and continued to finish her song.

Name: Ashton
Character name: Jocasta Callaghan
Feature you are applying for: Occlumens

Description of the character: Jocasta is a very headstrong person with strong morals. However, this does not hinder her from keeping her mouth shut in serious situations or being able to lie to people. I think she would have wanted to learn this obscure branch of magic, she's all about taking risks with her own life, but she wants to make sure all the people she cares about are safe. Jo is an established person among the ministry workers, since her father works there in the Department of Mysteries and she has several other friends and acquaintances that are successfully working there as well. She is a really distrusting person with those she doesn't know, and she can be insecure in risky situations with suspicious personnel. She is calculating and analytical, thinking of all the possible outcomes of one situation. Going along with this is her ability to talk to other people and finding ways around offending them or irritating them because of wrong word choice. Defense Against the Dark Arts has been a strong subject of hers through her whole life, and in school she excelled in it both in early years and when it was time to earn OWLS and NEWTS. This contributes to the amount of pressure and pain she can withstand, especially being an Auror, she knows how to handle certain forms of magic without cracking. All together, she is a very stable person that is capable of learning new things and educating herself with the help of others.

Application: I'm applying for this feature because I think it makes perfect sense for her to utilize this. One of her greatest strengths at Hogwarts was Defense Against the Dark Arts, and this is a very strange form of magic that obviously needs some practice to master. I am not asking for her to be an expert at it, I think she should still be in the process of learning the dynamics of how to use this ability to her advantage. It fits her personality because only extremely able people are able to control this to any extent, and I think she has the capability to withstand major pressure both on herself and to keep secrets. Since she will not have been discovered as an Order member yet, it will be valuable for them to have someone still working in the Auror department and able to access information about Voldemort's next moves and how things are going there. However, if she was to be discovered, the Occlumens feature would help in defending classified information from any semi-skilled Legilimens or capable Unforgivable Curse performer. She is associating with several people in the ministry that are also involved with the Order, and I think she feels it is her responsibility to keep them all safe. Anyone that knows about this kind of magic knows that you can't lie to a Legilimens unless you can counteract it, so I want her to be able to do that so a whole bunch of people don't end up dead on her account. For example, if a Death Eater found out where the Order was currently located and who was in it, Jocasta's dearest friends and family could easily be accessed and killed. Occlumency also helps prevent the effects of the Imperius Curse, which has given the Order some grief before because of flat-out unpreparedness. With this ability, and once she has gotten the hang of it a little more, she can distribute it throughout the Order to give people some defense so they aren't completely helpless against any kind of dark force. All in all, I want this feature not just as a pretty thing to show off, but to spread the wealth a little and to help out the causes she really believes in.

With that said, I will try to make this go in the general direction of canon by just having an NPC that her father knows try and teach it to her around the beginning to middle of her Auror training. I think this will give her at least enough experience to have someone keep practicing with her with it, to strengthen her skill, or practicing on her own to brush up on her skills. There are and will be plenty of situations set in the workplace where she can use this ability, and I think there will be plenty of opportunities to roleplay it out with other drivers as well in many different types of situations.

Future plots: On to the subject of future plots. I'm mostly leaning towards dilemmas with the Order where she'd have to use this, and since she's already paranoid from her current job, it's not going to change her sheet or her personality so much. Really, this SF can be used in any everyday situation with this kind of job because on a normal day, she's out doing something risky basically regardless. However, when the war is over and she is able to return to her normal duties of hunting dark wizards and helping to lock people up, she will still be able to use this. There are many dark wizards that probably are expert Legilimens that aren't involved with Voldemort, so she'll still be able to put these abilities to use even after he's vanquished and all that general stuff.

It's true that there won't be as many Order problems after the war is concluded, but all I'm saying is that it won't be a temporary fling and I will roleplay it out as much as possible to make this entire application and effort worthwhile. There are plenty of different situations that she could use this with, even with people she's come to trust. This feature could create problems with close relationships, which could also lead to some interesting plots. All together, I think I can plot some legitimate ideas with other drivers that will help her character and feature develop even more over time.

I haven't talked extreme specifics with other drivers, but I do have some plots worked out with people that have Order characters where this feature can be put to use. Really, I only think vague plots are needed until I can get her sorted and established and then by all means I'll plot even more with dark wizard/DE drivers so I can utilize this ability in more than one way.

She honestly felt as though the world was ending. After reliving so many horrid visions and memories in her head after that lesson with Mr. Glasby, she just needed to go home and sleep. The things that had invaded her mind and tore open her soul would stay there forever, but Jo reminded herself that she had to be strong and make some sacrifices of her own if she wanted to keep the people she loved safe. The people she loved. Her father, Kendrick, Tolfrey, and all the muggle-borns that she knew were in hiding. Some of them she'd even helped hide. Jo didn't want anyone to die on her account. Die was a strong word, but with the war going on and all that nasty stuff, she wasn't about to take any risks. Jocasta had been goaded, almost tortured during what she and her teacher called 'a lesson'. She had one once every couple weeks, and that was almost too much to handle at times. She smoothed down her black slacks, assuming that the dark circles had reappeared under her eyes. She would've apparated to her office like normal, but then she was positive she would've either thrown up in the wastebasket or all over the floor. Glasby had no intent to hurt her, she knew that, but she also knew that she was going to get hurt regardless. That was just the way the 'sport' of sorts of Occlumency worked.

As painful as it was, Jocasta was aware that it would be worth it in the end. In the end, it would all be over, and everything horrible would be vanquished. Hopefully by the time she was old she would know peace, but sometimes she doubted that. Thinking of possible outcomes was either everyone ended up dead, Voldemort remained in power, or everything changed forever when he was destroyed. If he was destroyed. Part of the reason Jocasta had wanted to join the Order in the first place was to restore control. Everything from the time Harry Potter had entered Hogwarts and onward had been a downward-spiraling mess, and even if it was just a small impact on everything, Jocasta wanted to do something to help. Even the smallest things helped. That was what her mother always told her. How great would it be to prove that someone as unknown as her could make a difference in the wizarding world? That would make her lifetime.

The lesson had been excruciatingly unbearable. Seeing images of good things were almost always dulled down during them, but whenever a bad memory or prediction came up, it seemed like it was a billion times amplified. When those things happened in your head and affected every single one of your senses, it felt like you were being pulled down into a literal abyss. Sometimes it just felt like she couldn't take the strain anymore, but when she thought of her future and the people she loved, it was just enough to push a little further, to keep moving forward. Practicing Occlumency, or rather, shielding your mind and thoughts while someone else tries to break into them, was a tiring thing. It was like you didn't have any privacy in your own mind- which, if you didn't defend very well, you didn't- and it drained your energy for days at a time. Glasby had been reluctant to teach her at first and thought it was a bad idea, but a young Jo had been so determined, so he'd given in.

Finally reaching her office, her black flats dragged across the floor and she tapped the doorknob with her wand, entering her small, cozy office with a sigh of relief. No one was there. Privacy was heaven after the ends of lessons. Jocasta seated herself in the large, cushioned chair and laid her head on the cold wood of her desk. Maybe she would go home later, she thought, as her eyelids began to droop.

[dec]~ approved[/dec]

Name: Lady Jedi
Character name:Iuliana Keane
Feature you are applying for: Elemental Zealot First Affinity: Madin Second Affinity: Hor
Description of the character:

Personality

Iuliana is very grounded.  Although she has her own fantasies every once in a while she is very good at separating reality from fantasy. She is very kind yet stern, but she can be demanding of others to do their best.  Over all she is very understanding of other people's problems.  She is a good problem solver, especially when it comes to matters of disagreements between people.  She is very focused and goal orientated, but gets frustrated when things don't go the way she plans them.  She would much rather be in control of a situation. She is pretty smart, but hates complex math problems.  Iuliana tends to get bored with lectures quickly, and will find her mind wandering during them.  She is very intuitive with other people's emotions, but can lose control of her own emotions at times.  She will find herself struggling with her own heart when she can easily assist others about their emotional problems.

Iuliana is a very loyal friend, and always tries to stand up for what is right.  She is a protector by nature, and that is very pronounced with people she loves.  She tries to treat everyone she comes in contact with fairly, and as she would wish to be treated.  Mindful of the policies of the Council, Iuliana does not wish to go against them.  She tries to be as neutral as possible if asked about anything political,  but she really tries to avoid politics all together.  Iuliana tries to avoid personal conflict whenever possible, but is not afraid of defending herself or her loved ones if needed.  She tends to overwork herself on many occasions, and has been known to forget to take care of herself. 

Iuliana can succeed at just about everything she puts her mind do as long as it is not too far out of her skill set.  She will try everything once, but if she did not succeed even a little the first time she tries something she will not likely try again.  She is also not likely to try something she knows she will fail.  Iuliana is a strong woman on the inside, but sometimes a sense of shyness is what is first perceived.  This is usually because she wishes to get a feel for new people before she reveals her true self to them.  She has a very difficult time taking criticism about things she feels she cannot change.   Even when she is angry at something she is likely to cry over it rather then yell and throw a fit.  When she finds herself in a bad situation that she cannot control she can get very frustrated, but in the end she will find a way out of it that leaves her with her dignity.

Discovery And Teaching

Iuliana was discovered as an elemental at a young age.  A Madin Zealot came into her mother's flower shop and saw her making the flowers bloom.  At first she was a little afraid, but upon meeting some of the older elementals she decided it was not to bad.  She started to feel special, and as she grew older she became very proud of what she was.  She started training early, but most of her early training involved learning history and learning Gaelic and the runes.  She did not start spell work right away when she was discovered as she was still young.  By the time she went to Hogwarts she had her runes down, and basic Gaelic.  She had also started on her way to mastering her first year spell. 

She struggled with her wand work during her first year at Hogwarts, and even though she was warned that it may happen she was still upset.  It did help her to make a friend though that would last through her school years and through adulthood.  She struggled with not wanting to tell her friend JJ why she was so bad at those subjects during most of her schooling.  Still she always made time to practice her elemental magic, and during Christmas break of her 3rd year at Hogwarts she was Initialized.  She chose the inside of her left wrist as the place where the stone would be placed so that she was always mindful of what she was.  It seemed to help her keep her emotions in check when she got upset that she was not able to do a spell very successfully.

Not long after Hogwarts was back in session, Amanda, the first year she was tutoring in potions, noticed the scar on her wrist and asked what it was.  Iuliana was very proud of herself, but did not want to be considered different.  She made Amanda pinkey swear that she would not tell anyone about it, but told her about being an elemental.  Luckily for Iuliana, Amanda was a good secret keeper, and no one else found out until Iuliana decided to tell someone again. Durring their 6th year, Iuliana and her friend JJ had taken their relationship to the next level.  Being that she was in a serious romantic relationship with him, she felt it was time she shared her ability with JJ.  He was very accepting of her no matter what she was, and it helped Iuilana gain more confidence.   

Her sixth year was a very important time in her life.  Not only did she have her first real boyfriend, but there was a lot of time spent on figuring out what she was going to do after she left Hogwarts.  She decided that she wanted to spend some time at Inverness.  She was really hoping to not only learn more, but to teach as well.  Working with Amanda over the years had been very rewarding to her.  She knew early on that with JJ wanting to be an auror that it probably would not work very well, but she enjoyed it while it lasted.  She also had gotten very good at morphing.  Her most common form being that of a Holly bush. 


Advocate Years

After her 7th year at Hogwarts, she decided she would like to spend some time at Inverness.  Even though she made it all the way through her 7th year spells she wanted to take time to perfect them.  Sadly that meant splitting up with JJ, but since he had plans of his own she did feel it was the best for both of them.  She spent most of the year right after Hogwarts at Inverness, but it could not last forever.  Iuliana went back to her parents for a little while, and worked part time in her mother's flower shop.  She found she really enjoyed working with the plants.  It let her do something with her hands. 

One of her mother's friends taught her to knit one day when she was over for a visit.  Iuliana took to it like a moth to a flame.  She found that she loved how the wool felt in her hands, and how many useful things she could make with it.  She started to learn more and more about knitting, and even picked up spinning and weaving with the wool.  Soon she was selling some of her wares at her mother's flower shop too.  All the time saving up money she earned so that she could get a place for herself.  She would visit Inverness four days a week to work on her studies and help any other way she could, and the other three days were spent working with her mother.

She progressed at a steady pace through her studies.  She had perfected her Gaelic by the age of 21, and had started down the path of learning to speak Zhyadad.  She knew that the language would take years and years to learn, but she wanted to learn it.  Iuliana loved the history behind the language, and did not want to see it die.  She also started to teach some of the younger elementals to speak Gaelic if they wanted to learn.  Iuliana picked up her second affinity of Hor towards the end of her Advocate years.  By that time she had also saved up enough money to get a home of her own with a little help from her parents.  It is not a big home, but it is enough for just her.  She wanted to have someone to share her life with, but she had not found the right person.  Iuliana would not compromise for someone who was not a perfect match for her. 

Zealot Years

The day Iuliana became a Zealot was the happiest day of her life thus far.  She felt that all her hard work had paid off, and beyond that she felt she could finally do something to help the council.  Still she was a bit afraid to take on a student of her own at first, and spent her first year or so running errands for the council.  She developed her organizational skills working with the council, and also by helping more with her mother's business.  She continued to teach Gaelic to new students, and was progressing a bit with her own attempts at Zhyadad. 

During her second year as a Zealot, a young new Madin elemental was discovered.  Iuliana felt a connection toward the young girl, and requested to take her on as a student.  Iuliana has enjoyed every second of training her young Discipuli, and when she started at Hogwarts Iuliana was a bit sad.  Still she helped her student in any way possible, including passing on her hobby with the girl.  So pleased with Iuliana for not just teaching their daughter, but also making her happy, they decided to give something back to the woman.  For Christmas they gave Iuliana a pair of sheep.  She fell in love with them instantly, and soon she had a flock. 

When she started to hear the rumors of the Dark Lord's return, Iuliana started to worry a little.  She did not have very many memories of the first wizarding war, but her parents did.  Iuliana has her own personal opinions of the war itself, and hates to see people suffer.  Still she does not wish to do anything that would go against what the council thought.  Thankfully the flower shop was not really a political hotbed, but her life would have to change again.  Her mother was looking to retire, and although Iuliana loved the flower shop she did not want to take it over.  She did not feel that she could do the shop justice, and still keep up all her responsibilities with the council.   

Iuliana's new job came from somewhere she never would have expected.  She knew who the O'Dwyers were from their potions shop, but also had heard the name come up about other businesses.  She decided to apply for the job, and got it.  Her new position as his personal assistant caused her to have to bite her tongue on many occasions about what her views were.  Sometimes it pained her to stay out of any discussions of the political situation, but she did.  She hated being placed in a position where she had to deal with wizarding politics, but it was a good job. 

Now Iuliana is settled into her job with Declan, and worrying about how her student is surviving her 3rd year at Hogwarts given the situation at the school.  She tries to visit the girl at Hogsmead every chance she gets.  She is working on her second Affinity of Hor with a young man of that element named Vance.   

Application: Ever since I joined the site I have secretly wanted to play an elemental.  I was very intimidated by the people who played them at first, but now I feel that I can hold my own amongst them. I have been thinking about applying for an elemental for about a year now.  I originally thought maybe to apply with Sigrid, but decided I was happy with her being "normal."  Then I was thinking about making a 19 year old fire elemental, but seeing as Ivana is such a fire personality I felt that it would be just another copy.  When reading over the guide again I really felt a strong connection with the Earth element.  I myself am a virgo, and I think that my intuition was drawing me towards the element.  Thus Iuliana the earth elemental came about. 

I think that now is a perfect time to apply for this feature as there are many new elementals in the works.  I think that it will allow for many plots in the future for all of us if we start around the same time.  I think that the elemental feature allows for a good deal of depth for a character to have.  There is a lot of dedication that goes into being an elemental, but beyond that they still have to survive in the wizarding world.  Even in the short time that I have been working on Iuliana she has already gone through changes in my thoughts.  At first, I wanted her to be slightly reclusive, but what is the fun of that?  I think that by making the connection to Declan O'Dwyer will allow me to play her in many more situations. 

What surprised me the most about the new person in my head was that she really fit best into Huffelpuff house.  I never thought I would ever end up with a Puff!  Iuliana is very caring and loyal, but she would rather take some time and think of a plan rather then bravely rush into danger.  She is brave, but in her own way.  She is an observer, organizer, and mediator.  I am hoping that with the soon demise of the Dark Lord that we can have an elemental plot that is helping to restore the balance of peace after the void is left.  I think it will be interesting to see how the council deals with the sudden lack of the evil side to battle the good.  Iuliana is they type of person that would try to follow the council's wishes to a T even if it went against her personal beliefs. 

I would like for Iuliana to be a teacher of others within the council.  Right now she is teaching Gaelic to others, and working on her second affinity with Vance.  I would like for her to be teaching a young earth elemental, and it would be really cool if she would be a played character at some point in time.  She loves family, and really wants to have one of her own, and I look forward to making that happen at some point in time of her life.  I can see Iuliana being a character that grows over time, and that I can see playing for a long time.  She has so much potential, and I am truly excited about getting her finished. 
Future plots: I have a few plots in mind.  The first one involves Samuel Dickinson finding out she is an elemental after a few dates by seeing her morph with his Sight.  He is going to think her in trouble and "come to save her."  Second is to have her learning her 2nd affinity of Hor with Brynja.  Along with that goes working with Vance on some of the Hor spells.  Another idea with the three of them and any other Hor or Madin elementals is for them to get together to repair some forest of some sort that was harmed during the war.  I think it would be a nice plot for elementals, and to help restore the balance of good and evil to the area by helping to heal what the evil side did.  I would like her to be one of the council elementals that help teach new students, and one of those things is helping to learn the language of Gaelic.  Since I have given her the job that I did, I also believe I will be able to have many more rps and plots with other characters on MH as well.  I feel that I did not limit her by making her an elemental, and that it in fact opens her up for more plots.

RP sample using the feature:

Something had to be done about this!  It was very obvious in the morning that, yes, the noises she had heard the night before had been a deer in her garden.  She was a little upset that her plants had been trampled and some of them eaten, but she could not blame the creature for just doing what was natural for it.  Still Iuliana sighed, and went back inside to grab a sweater.  It would take a little while to repair the damage, and she would rather not shiver the entire time.  She hated to admit it, but maybe it was time to put up some sort of fencing to keep the deer at bay.  She was getting rather tired of repairing the damage done to her garden every other day.

It was times like these that Iuliana was glad that she had the talents she did.  She took a deep breath, and with a slow wave of her hand the deer tracks smoothed out.  Soon there was no sign left in the dirt of the midnight disturbance, but she still had to work on repairing the plants.  This was not really they way she wanted to start her day.  She had to feed her flock, and then there was an important meeting with Declan, and she had a blind date that night!  Of course something like this would happen on such a busy day.  This was just taking up her time, but she just kept telling herself that it had to be done first.  No that was not true.  The plants could wait, but she could hear the demanding baaing coming from the small barn.

Yes, the plants would still be in the same condition if she took care of her sheep first.  Iuliana made her way over to the barn where he sheep were for the night.  She wondered if her date tonight would like sheep.  Sam was his name her cousin told her.  She trusted Leonard enough to agree to a blind date with the man.  She just hoped she was right in doing so.  It had been a while since she had been on a date, but she liked to blame it on her being busy.  The truth was that she had not even met anyone new in a good deal of time, or rather anyone she wished to go on more then one date with.  She really hoped Sam would be different.  She was getting older after all.  She had always thought she would have a family by now. 

She couldn't dwell on that though.  Her flock's baaing only got more urgent when they caught site of the door opening.  Iuliana laughed as she pushed her way through the sheep.  "You silly animals," she teased knowing that they could not understand her, "How am I supposed to feed you if you won't let me through?"  She made her way through the creatures, scratching a few ears and chins on her way to the grain storage with the most persistent following her the whole way there.  It would not be long before she had to sheer the flock again, and it looked like Una would be ready to have her lamb any day now.

She left the barn doors open after feeding.  She would have to come home to get ready for her date after work anyways.  The flock could due with some do with some sunlight.  Now she had to get back to the task at hand.  She made her way back over to her garden and surveyed the damaged bushes.  It didn't look so bad not that she came back to it.  With the dirt back to where it was supposed to be things already looked a little better.  With the exception of a little pawing at other plants, the deer seemed to have only cared about her hydrangeas.  She frowned a little.  It looked like it had munched on most of the nearly blooming flowers. 

Concentrating on the damaged bush, Iuliana cast the Madin Floreo spell.  Slowly the bush started to sprout buds again, and when some of them started to open she stopped the spell.  She did not want the plant to be much further along then it was before the deer attack!  Iuliana took a few steps back to make sure she had repaired all the damage to her garden.  Satisfied at her work in her garden she took a few deep breaths of relaxation.  It was short lived though.  The clock in her kitchen started chiming the hour.  That meant she only had 20 minutes to get ready before she had to floo to work!  With a start she rushed back inside leaving the bliss of her garden behind her.

Name
Mike

Character name:
Damien Ábendtoux

Feature you are applying for:
Animagus, black ferret with a white underbody, and distinguished with his tattoo in black fur around his neck (.☚▅▆▇♞▇▆▅☛.). It's a ferret because ferrets are swift and agile, which also applies to Damien. He is delicate and has many secret's that he shall not tell, ferrets are also rather dominant. Damien is also, quite dominant.

Description of the character:
Damien is somewhat rather sinister, as he agrees with the Dark Lord's beliefs. He doesn't enjoy causing pain to others, but he swore, as a Death Eater, he would do so if needed. Really Damien is just a normal man, but hidden in the body of a Death Eater. He used to be a mild innocent person, who wouldn't hurt a fly. But then he became a Death Eater, and he started to slowly become bitter. He does however seem to be one of the most, innocent of all the Death Eaters..

Application:
Well I really want this feature so that my character would be useful for Voldemort, and could become a Death Eater. It would make him useful as a death eater as he would be able to sneak around and find out secrets, really this feature completes my character sheet. Without this feature I don't really know how he'd be wanted as a Death Eater.

Damien is a very interesting character to play I think, and with this feature he'd be even better to roleplay with. In order for him to be of some importance, and to be who I imagined him, I need this feature. I think that since we are currently in DH playtime, it would be the perfect time to apply for this. Maybe some pretty cool plots could come out of it?

I'm sure that the other Deat Eaters would be happy to welcome Damien (out of character of course), I'm sure that we could have some fun, distructive times. Overall, I want this feature so that I can create this character. So I can make him complete, and how I imagined him from the start.

Future plots:
Well since he's a death eater, there are a lot of possibilities, and with this feature there would be a lot more. Maybe Damien could be some sort of spy, as he would be able to sneak into small places and find out secrets. This may or may not benefit the other DE's but it would benefit me. I just think that the plots are pretty much open to anything, maybe he could escape from somewhere with extremely valuable information, and then tell The Dark Lord? One I had in mind would be something where Damien goes into Hogwarts and Finds out information, then causes havoc and escapes.

RP sample using the feature:
Damien stood in front of the little shack which had a single candle burning in it, the shack itself was old and rotting. It was raining and Damien's hair started to flatten, his clothes started sticking to his body. But he was on a mission, a mission to get information. Damien knew the plan, get in, get out, no questions asked. He thought that he better find a way he could get in, and started looking around for a hole or an opening. Damien spotted a gutter and followed it, 'The gutter goes into the house.' He thought to himself, 'So I can get in that way.'

Suddenly, Damien turned into a small creature. He had transformed into a black and white ferret, which looked a bit like him even though it was an animal. Swiftly, he jumped up onto a rock, then slid over to a raised bit of grass. As the ferret, Damien moved very smoothly, like a ribbon blowing in the wind. Damien did a tremendous jump onto the roof of the shack and landed silently, leaving little tiny paw prints on the roof in mud.

He looked around for the gutter he had seen a few moments ago, but couldn't see it at first. When he was a ferret, he perceived things differently. Damien found the gutter and swiftly slid down it, with a tiny thud, he hit the bottom of the open tube. He waited a moment to listen in case there were people inside, but there didn't seem to be. Slowly, he poked his tiny head out of the pipe that lead inside. No-one was there, he jumped out and started to look around more thoroughly.

He shifted back into his human form and looked on the desks and walls, there were pieces of paper with certain things on them. Certain things that needed to be found out, certain things that were soon to be revealed. He picked up a letter and began to read it, "Dear Blue,  I have taken your advise, and therefore would like to meet. How does nine o'clock at--" He was stopped by shuffling of feet outside, he quickly folded the letter up and put it in his robes. He then turned into a ferret, and scurried up the pipe he had come through.

Name: Ashton
Character Name: Preita Musel
Feature you are applying for: Discipula Garth ~ Ice Elemental

Description of the character: Preita is a dreamer. She has been this way ever since childhood, since before she can remember. Her life has mostly revolved around hoping and believing, and almost nothing will convince her out of something she is really determined about. On the surface, Preita acts and feels like a carefree person, because she is a pretender. However, beneath the tip of the iceberg at her core lies something she cannot quite describe. There is always a sliver of doubt that only she herself bestowed upon herself and upon her personality. Preita is never completely sure of anything. Part of the reason is because she cares what one might call too much, and another reason is because her mother left her family so many times that she is not able to trust anyone outside her family circle, including her father.

Preita is very simplistic and likes everything laid out for her right in front of her feet. She is not the most humorous person in the world. Yes, she'll laugh at jokes, but she's found that she's horrible at making them. She is almost never sarcastic, she's almost always serious about everything she says. Preita is the kind of person that pays attention to all the little details, for she thinks they are what makes up life. Details. Whenever doing an assignment or analyzing a person, or even during her studies, she pays attention to the details more than the big picture. Preita is a good-natured girl and looks out for everyone's best interest. She does not take most insults to heart, she mostly just brushes them off. Preita is not a confrontational person and cannot stand them unless they are planned beforehand, and even then they still make her flinch.

In truth, Preita is a very sad person deep down even though she tries to keep a smile on her face all the time. Not many people can make her feel better, except those who know her deepest secrets, and not many do. Preita has trained herself not to feel anything, really, in family situations. Most of the time she doesn't even notice when a boy is trying to flirt with her. She is a child in those types of scenarios and most of the time she's not sure what to do. Sometimes, even though she knows a lot for her age, Preita can show a bit of naivete in personal or social situations. When confronted with certain questions, or if she feels like she is verbally attacked, it will often leave her at a loss for words and she won't know what to say or how to handle it.

Unlike most children who think of everything as black and white, right and wrong, Preita believes there are many shades of grey. Sometimes it is hard for her to make decisions because there are so many options, so many choices and outcomes of one action. Preita is afraid of the future, no less, and is a very careful being most of the time. No matter that she is afraid of many things, she is also fearless about others. She is not afraid of dying, in fact, she embraces death with open arms. She knows that she will be ready for it when it comes. Preita is not afraid of anything that happens to her, she just wants the people she loves to be safe. Therefore, over her life's period she has developed a burning, inner strength that comes out whenever it is called for.

That being said, she is a lover, not a fighter. Preita feels extremely uncomfortable in tense or swelling situations. She will often avoid the conflict if she feels threatened enough. Preita cannot exactly be described as a shy person, though she is usually quiet. Preita is much more of a listener than a talker and enjoys helping others out more than unloading her own problems vocally. She prefers to try and attempt to escape the outside world through her training.

Application: Ever since I joined Magical Hogwarts around a year and a half ago, I've always been curious about those who possess elemental characters. Once I read through the guide a few times, I thought maybe I would make one in the future. However, none of the characters I had already or that were a work in progress fit the bill, so I waited. However, when the idea of Preita popped into my head with help from Saxon, I envisioned a shy, quiet girl that had a love for the arts.

After considering applying for an elemental feature for her and re-reading the guide again after the changes, I came to realize that the element ice fit her the best. The first character I had on MH was also a Papillonlisse and she was easy for me to play since I can relate to their persona so much. It is not that I just want the feature to say I have it, I think it will add something to her character development and how she matures throughout her most-likely long lifespan.

Having an elemental character I think will bring out many potential plots and ways to play her, although it will not change the person I originally intended her to be. The reason other than her general personality that I think it fits her is because she has nothing to separate her from her other siblings. She is one of the middle children, and she always sort of blended in and tried really hard to make sure nothing erupted. Being the calm child she is, Preita didn't draw attention to herself, so there wasn't exactly something that set her apart from the rest of her eccentric family.

Ever since she became aware of who her father is, she spends more time in Finland and she loves the snow and the cold. She has always felt very at one with that part of nature, and I think it's a legible reason for that element to be the primary one she practices. Moreover, I not only think it adds something to the character, I think it will give her a sense of individuality that she didn't really have before. It won't change the way I play her regardless of whether I get the feature or not, but it will help.

Future plots: My future plots aren't exactly the most developed in the world but I most definitely have touched on this with other drivers. I have talked to all the drivers who play Beauxbatons elementals, including Jenny, Julie, Carys, and Lena. Since Volker and Zoe are also ice elementals, it will be good for her to bond with them and possibly train with them since they are older and have more experience. I haven't exactly talked much to Julie about plotting with Peter Alva, but I assume that we can talk it over more in depth once we have an idea of how Preita's history will pan out with this feature rather than without it. I talked to Carys about roleplaying Preita with Linnet, since they are counter-elements and to see how they would react to one another's company.

I am adopting this character from Saxon, so I assume there will be lots of opportunities for her to play out her feelings on her own elementalism with her younger brother, now that he has entered Beauxbatons. I also talked to Juliet, who has Vance, and we formulated a plan. We think that since ice and water are friendly with one another and that Vance travels a lot, that he could meet Preita in Finland while she is practicing her element and he is on his way to visit his girlfriend.

I'm sure I could've delved a little deeper into the plots, but I think it will be easier to do so once I know whether this is going to work or not. I have looked over everything I already have written up in her history and there doesn't seem to be any knots with the plans I have for her. All her family life will not get in the way as much because she doesn't even start her practices until after her mother leaves for the last time and they are left in other family members' care, at which time she'll have already started at Beauxbatons. 

Preita's satchel was slung over her shoulder as she made her way to the grounds. In the bag, there was sheet music, her unusable wand, her dagger, and some snacks to eat if she got hungry. Her currently chopped blonde hair bounced around her neck, and her large almond-shaped eyes looked around the corner to see what was there. Her nose wrinkled and she saw an older couple, and Preita immediately left them and went further out nearer to the stables. In her hand was her flute, one of her most prized possessions. Today, Preita was simply getting away from Beauxbatons so that she could practice her elemental skills a little. She had been advancing rather rapidly in her training, and she was almost to the point of mastery with the incantation 'Garth Cubo', as it was nearing the end of the term for her fourth year. Preita was scared that she was almost fifteen. She missed childhood, and it was quickly rushing past.

She'd chosen to wear a flowery, pinkish sundress because the weather was nice and sunny outside, which could potentially distract her and make things a little more challenging. However, she didn't think much of it. She was up for a challenge. Preita rose her flute to her lips, and suddenly, her fingers pulsed and the flute froze solid. Closing her eyes, Preita growled in frustration. She had been concentrating so much that she'd been too focused on her skills and it had just... well, it had just happened. Even though she was aware people knew about Elementalism, Preita still felt uncomfortable to use her skills in front of anyone except her training partners. Even that had taken a little getting used to.

Preita still enjoyed practicing alone the most, that was when she felt the most at one with her element and it was when she could use it with the most ease. Shrugging and finding a random boulder to sit on, she sat the instrument out in the sun so that it would melt. It wasn't a very thick layer of ice and she assumed it would melt pretty quickly, but it was still an inconvenience. Picking grass from the field, she spoke the incantations and froze several blades. Preita giggled and admired her handiwork. Sometimes she liked that she'd chosen the elemental path, and sometimes she felt out of place when her other friends used their wands with such ease. She realized that she had never been that good with her wand anyway, and that she might be able to perform simple spells later on, but when she was very very old.

Preita opened the drawstring on her satchel and twirled the long stick in her hands, feeling the smooth wood and the soft clinking of the magical object inside. Tossing the wand aside next to her flute on the flat surface of the rock she was sitting on, she took out some bonbons and shoved them in her mouth. It had been awhile since she'd indulged in sweets, and Prei rather thought she deserved a little break. Preita looked down her leg, fixing her blue gaze on the rune etched into her inner ankle. It would be there forever, it was a symbolic monument from her initialization that had taken place just about one year ago now. There were some things she regretted, like the fact that eventually she would stop aging and outlive all her family. All in all, though, she was grateful for her abilities.

Looking to the skies, she embraced that life was good.

Name: Helena
Character Name: Brynja Evaldsdóttir
Feature you are applying for: Harbinger Hor ~ Water Elemental

Description of the character:

Brynja is a gentle, elegant soul at heart who prefers to avoid and resolve conflict and promote harmony, often liberally using compromise and reasoning. She is very mild in her opinions and manner of conducting herself. She does, however, have certain convictions that she holds true to. Although she will often back down and accept disadvantages than force a confrontation, select beliefs are incontestable to her. She will also hold firmly if she is asked to mediate a situation on another’s part.

Brynja is quite the analyst, a person who relies upon logic, observation, and information to make the best decisions possible. She is intellectually minded and loves mental challenges. When needed, she uses these tools to become a formidable opponent in an argument; she thinks hard before she acts or speaks and everything she does is always very reasoned out. Brynja does not believe that any knowledge is useless; learning, and passing knowledge onto others, makes her happy and secure.

Although she can seem cold, Brynja is also a kind person, and her first judgment of someone is more than likely to be favorable. It is really to her family, close friends, associations, and studies that she is most devoted to, however. With those who are close to her, she is caring, protective, encouraging, thoughtful, and more; she rarely gets involved in matters outside this small circle of her dedication. If need be she can still disregard these emotions to do what is best when everything is considered, though, which gives her a peculiar sort of strength. She is rarely self-serving and acts for her loyalties more than herself.

She is also a very perseverant person when she has a goal in mind, and can be very focused when working. It is in her nature to be a high achiever, although she doesn’t pursue something to the point of foolishness if it doesn’t work out the way she intends it to. These qualities, along with others listed above, make her very steadfast and strong despite innate gentleness. Her greatest pleasures derive from learning, teaching, solving conflicts, spending time with those she cares for, and spending time on the ocean, as the captain of her beloved ship the Freydís Eiríksdóttir, something she has been raised to from her father, a trader, and her mother, a marine herbologist.

Application:

I can’t exactly say that applying for this feature was not in my mind when I first conceived of Brynja. I’ve always been interested in Special Features as a part of Magical Hogwarts, as I think they add an interesting facet to the site, and the idea of playing an elemental has always been alluring. The concept is fascinating, the structure is laid out well, and I’ve always wanted to contribute to that side of MH. However, an elemental character, in my opinion, is more absorbing than others of the Special Features, requiring more careful planning, detailing, and playing to function well. To create a character and later tack this feature onto them would be extremely difficult to me.

The element of water isn’t originally what I would have picked for a character, as it’s not something I would want for myself, but after reading the guide over a few times, I realized how appealing the element of water really is to me. I’ve always been somewhat of an intellectual type, and that makes it easier to relate. Moreover, characteristics of the water element contrast just enough with my other characters to make Brynja new and original while still being something that I can relate to personally, and it became a perfect fit. Added to that is the nature and history Brynja developed for me as I began to prod her more that only enhances her connection to the water element.

When I first glanced at the SF background, it was always to be “taken mostly into consideration”, that is to make sure she fit the general gist of it but to leave the details up to her. When I got more into her history and personality, then, I was quite surprised to find that most of it matched up, more or less. Being close to her family and close circle of friends and/or students, for instance, was something she possessed before I took a thorough look at the guide after the first skim. And her expanded traits show other qualities often associated with water: implacability, easy adaptability, perseverance, constructivity. The fact that the council is currently lacking the Hor leader and that I had a chance to get more involved in that whole area was, admittedly, a swaying factor as well.

That being said, it is not my intention to play someone whose sole purpose is as an elemental, either. Although it may be important to the character, a feature shouldn’t be the entire character. A good character still needs to have other functions, and I think I’ve developed enough of an interest in Brynja to say that were this feature not approved, I would make some changes to her history/age, a few tweaks to her magical strengths, and turn her to a different purpose, such as Durmstrang’s Nautica Professor. However, I think that being an elemental will, rather than hindering, really boost her opportunities in many ways.

In the first place, as the Harbinger of the water element, Brynja acquires many more responsibilities. Not only would she be involved highly in Council matters, being a Harbinger gives her the opportunity to contact with the other young elementals on the board as well as other characters from all different nationalities and ages. It widens her playable areas considerably to all across Europe, giving her more opportunities to interact with others. Elementalism will also have affected her deeply in her past; as an older woman, she will have been associated with it for a long time and it will have factored in events like her marriage.

Elementalism will have also increased her interests and her ideas in many ways. Originally, for instance, she would never have placed much interest in the subject of Necromancy; but as certain aspects of that are reflected in elementalism, she would have put more effort into it. The same goes for linguistics (started by Gaelic and Zhyadad) and a world view (expanding her interest from Iceland/ the general Durmstrang area to the entirety of Europe). This increase in interests, and therefore, with a character like Brynja, knowledge, gives her more opportunities to be in contact with others who perhaps share an interest in these things or who can be sources of information.

There’s also a personal growth aspect for me. I like to think I’ve grown a lot as a writer and an RPer since I first arrived on MH, as can be traced through posting quality, sheet quality, and my branching out from a character like Ariana who in her first conception was very much like me to Siri who is much darker and less familiar to Kendrick who is much older (not to mention male). With Brynja, I will be branching out again with an older woman who has seen and experienced much. I’d like to be able to explore her as someone who has a whole new aspect of things, institutions, powers, and encounters to handle and explore as well.

Future plots: I've already spoken about some of my ideas about how being an elemental will boost Brynja's threading above. For specifics, there are some other things I had in mind for her in which she will actually use this ability. First off, Brynja is the discoverer and mentor of Discipulus Vance McLaren and the teacher of Discipula Preita Musel; she is also teaching Iuliana Keane about Hor as her second affinity. She will be involved in a later plot planned for after the war involving them and other elementals repairing damages done to forests after the war.

As the Harbinger of her element, Brynja is open to many threads with all elementals at Inverness, which she will be frequenting. One such example is Volker Blauvelt, who she will have met at a council and gotten to be fond of: Lena and I have conceived of a plan to take him, and maybe Vance and/or Preita, on the Freydís Eiríksdóttir for a week. Other threads with Council members can easily be conceived and implemented--and hopefully will.

Brynja gazed out at the surface of the sea from the deck of the Freydís Eiríksdóttir, her beloved ship that Konráð had built for her. As peaceful as it was right now, her intuition, bred from birth and accentuated by her elemental abilities, as well as sharp observation of the patterns of the changing environment of the ocean, told a different story. There would be rain later. While a storm might be discouraging to certain sailors--those that still plied more of a classic craft, that was--the Freydís Eiríksdóttir was well prepared to weather a storm, as was Brynja herself. The older elemental (although she was by no means nearing the end of her life) would welcome the rain.

In fact, it might just give her an opportunity to refresh a few things in her memory before her next meeting with Vance. It had been so long since she'd actually studied certain skills that although she used them instinctively, she couldn't remember how the step-by-step process would seem or feel. Process was very important, she knew: without a clear-cut description of how to do things, all sorts of things might go wrong when the Discipulus tried it. Something was bound to go wrong in any case--everything required practice--and she would prefer not to have any mistakes on her part.

Vance had been her pupil for several years now and what she was teaching him was getting progressively more complicated. She was pleased with his progress. Soon she would be teaching him powerful and sometimes destructive incantations such as Horyspleu and Horyshelix--after he finally got Horys Eternis down, that was; it might still be a while before they got to it. But they were difficult spells in any case, and the situation had to be just right to prevent any damage to people, things, or the natural order of things, which Brynja considered of extreme importance. To use powers to devastate places was anathema to her unless in direst need--which was why she preferred to do such practice in already-unsettled weather.

Glancing towards the horizon, she gave a satisfied nod--dark clouds were in view. Eyes on the sky, Brynja concentrated, feeling the inner connection with her element. Raising a hand out of habit, she directed her focus towards the incantation and its effect and voiced the word. "Horyspleu!" A slight rush accompanied the casting due to its power. Within moments the sky had thickened with clouds, casting dark shadows over the sea and tinging the bright color of its surface with iron-gray. The heavy slap of large, swiftly falling raindrops hitting the water soon followed.

Brynja took a deep breath. The sound and the splatter of the raindrops on her upturned face had a calming effect. Tilting her head, she studied the effects for a long moment. It was interesting to note the different stages of the casting in all the senses, she thought. Brynja could only hope that it helped her young student. Having gathered as much information as she needed, she descended to the cabin to find writing materials to jot down her observations of the casting and the result.

But she left the rain pattering on the deck and the surrounding ocean.

Name: Michael
Character you are applying for:  Kyle Gibbes
Feature you are applying for:  Dicipulus Madin; Earth Elemental
Application:

Since I first joined MH all those many years ago, I always thought it would be fun to play a special feature out. While I still think this is true, I now see how much more a special feature really is. A special feature is a huge responsibility and one that I think I am now ready to handle. I have improved my role-playing immensely since I joined the site many years ago. I thought of applying for a special feature before but never found anything that was a good fit for any of my characters.

I have always tried to be involved in different elemental plots as they are available. I was on hiatus during the Zhyadad procession some years back at Christmas time, but participated in the Rogue attack on Beauxbatons during that plot. I really enjoyed the freedom of the dueling that elementals had and had a great time working with the elemental players as well as creating the duel between my Beauxbatons character and the rogue he was fighting.

Being a feature unique to MH, elementals can be a challenging piece to play in the overall role-playing experience, but I feel as though I can handle the challenge of playing a more complex character with extra facets to his magical development. I believe that by having Kyle as an elemental will allow for not only more depth for my own character, but also allow more openings at Hogwarts as there are several other elementals already at Hogwarts. Elemental plots are always enjoyable and I hope that by having another at Hogwarts, we can open the door to having an elemental plot at Hogwarts.

None of my characters have been created with a feature in mind or even to have a feature necessary for their development at all, but Kyle fits the mold of an Earth elemental very well. He is a hard worker who loves nature and animals. He excels in areas of magic such as Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures while struggling with Charms and Transfiguration. He is simple and loyal and loves to be surrounded by friends and family. There are other Hogwarts elementals around and even one that was on staff while Kyle was a student at Hogwarts. As such it would be possible for him to have been discovered and learn of his powers.

Kyle is a warm and caring person. He is an easy person to get to know and once you know him, you have a friend for life. Kyle makes meaningful bonds with people easily and quickly and develops a strong loyalty to those he considers his friends. Kyle cares very little for blood status or family standing when making friends and has many friends across all houses of Hogwarts as well as many who fled the country when the Muggle registration was taking place. His loyalty makes him a good friend and because he is so unwilling to turn against his friends, he is able to be trusted with people’s most intimate secrets without fear that they will be divulged.

Kyle is both emotional and protective. He has been in numerous fights both before and after leaving his home for Hogwarts. Kyle becomes easily worked up in situations where emotions run high and his decision making often suffers for it. His emotional trigger is slow to click, but extremely dangerous when it does, almost volcanic in nature. Because he understands this and wishes not to have that occur, when Kyle finds himself moving in that direction, he separates himself from the stimulus and attempts to calm himself through some quiet time and meditation as he learned in his elemental training.

Kyle has always been a hard worker, never afraid to pour himself into a task or training situation. This keeps him trying even though he often makes mistakes during his training, especially at first. Kyle will continue to try over and over again until he has either reached the point where he can succeed with his runes or is stopped by his teacher. He rarely stops work on his own to give up. Rune carving was one particular area that Kyle struggled in at first, having a hard time with the precision required to make a usable rune. After months of relentless practice, he finally became decent at carving the symbol without spending hours to get it right.

Kyle is a very active and “outdoorsy” boy, loving to hike and climb through the woods near his home. Kyle loves to be anywhere outdoors during the season of autumn. The colors and the beauty astound him each and every day when he is out and around. There is little that is more relaxing to Kyle than walking or even just sitting under a tree in the woods listening to the sounds of the animals and birds as they live their simple life, constantly envying them for it.

Kyle’s first and second years at Hogwarts were as normal as any other young wizards first two years at a magical school could be. He spent time making friends studying and attempting to learn magic, much to no avail. Kyle had found his weakness and it was about 14 inches long and made of wood. He was a third year who was unable to cast even the most remedial of spells. Frustrated with his inability to complete such a menial task, Kyle spent more and more time practicing, which led him to become more frustrated. In his fit of frustration, Kyle moved out to the greenhouse to spend some time relaxing with the only pieces of the magical world where he fit well, the plants.

While on his way down to the greenhouse, Kyle saw a baby bird, apparently unable to fly, hopping at the bottom of a rather steep hill. As he was heading over to see if there was anything he could do to help the bird find its way back to the next, some rocks from just up the hill jostled loose and began falling toward the baby bird. Fearful for the bird’s life, Kyle broke into a run and dove to catch the small bird. Expecting to feel the impact of the rocks on his arms and back which he had thrown towards them to protect the bird, he was surprised when he stood up a few moments later to see a small barrier of earth had risen out of the ground almost as a shield around him and the small bird. Astounded at himself, Kyle stood fascinated at the wall of dirt, which promptly fell back to the ground when he stood to examine it.

Deciding that it was just due to his continued practice of shield charms, Kyle continued on his way to the greenhouse to work with the plants. It wasn’t until a few days later when he was approached by a girl a year younger than himself asking if he has always been able to make mounds like that. Surprised that anyone had seen him, he casually responded that he had not always been able to do it but that it was nothing special, it was just a simple shield charm. The girl smiled and thanked Kyle for his time. 

A few weeks later, he was approached by a man in his later thirties who introduced himself as Stephen, a “council elemental”, who began to speak of an ancient form of magic involving the elements of fire, water, air, stone, ice and the one he focused on- earth. He explained that certain wizards are able to control these, and explained his suspicions that Kyle was one of these wizards. He explained that the council was a very old group of elementals who strove to keep the balance of the elements and ultimately between good and evil, a group that included almost all the elementals in the world.

Kyle was not sure what to make of this, but after some time spent learning more about the elementals he embraced what it was that Stephen had told him. Stephen told him that after a short time that Kyle would be able to begin his training under him. He explained that this was now his life; he was an elemental and would become a trained one soon, once Stephen had been able to work a few more things out with the elders of the council.

After a few weeks of waiting, Kyle received a letter from Stephen that he was to begin training as an elemental. Words like Discipuli and Advocate were used, but Kyle didn’t really worry much about that, he finally had a place that he belonged. He fit in with what had been explained to him about the elementals. They had the same cares and concerns for nature that he did as well as they explained why he was having problems with wand magic. Kyle was much more receptive and accepting of his power than one may necessarily have thought, but it was simply now that he felt at home in the magical world.

After receiving this letter and beginning his training at the end of his first year, Kyle wrote home to explain what was going on during this trying time in his life. Kyle hoped his parents would be as supportive and accepting of this as he was, unfortunately he was met with some resistance from his father when he revealed what he was. His father was convinced that he was a normal wizard struggling with school work, nothing more. After many angry letters from his father and many calm responses , Kyle finally gained his father’s blessing to begin his training in the elemental arts.

I have already spoken with Lady Jedi about a possible double training session with her and her elemental student she trains IC. This would allow me to play out the elemental training that he would get from Iuliana Keane during these sessions and allow him to practice with Alanna. These would be useful to show Kyle practicing the spells rather than just assuming that he became good at them through non played out practicing, which he will do some of as it is already.

I have also spoken with Lady Jedi and she said that was going to work on a plot to do some restoration of a forest damaged by battles. This would be a good opportunity to have a test of his skills and how far he has come in his 2-3 years of training. He would be supervised by Iuliana and would be in little danger from it but it would allow for some plotting about the exertion of such work and trying to do some good. Since Kyle is so much of a nature lover this would be great for him and he would feel as though he were doing a much greater good by working to restore the forest with some other elementals.

I have talked to Ty and if Ty's character Demeter is approved for the Harbinger of Madin SF the he is willing to work with me and make some plots with Kyle. These threads can be instruction time or practical work that they could do as a group of elementals. This would give Kyle more contacts in the elemental ranks and have someone for him to study under as a young elemental.

Kyle was tired. It had been a long week of school and elemental training and he was worn out. As an elemental, classes were hard enough as the boy struggled with wand-work. His struggles kept him from completing even the most elementary of spells. He had continued his exceptional marks in Herbology and had now begun a new class, Care of Magical Creatures. This course offered him another opportunity to commune with nature and be outdoors, a place he had grown more and more at home with through his constant studies outdoors and his elemental training. As he sat under the shade of a tall tree near the lake, he spun a small rune in his hands. Carving was an elementary skill for him now. It was one he would use to build upon for the rest of his life, without these runes, he was as useless as a wizard without a wand.

These runes had become his life, as a wizard to his wand so Kyle now knew the connection to the magic that existed all around him. He had never felt the full power of magic running through his veins while he carried around only a wand, but now, as he sat beneath the tree spinning the stone in his hands he knew what it was to be powerful, to have the full use of his magic. The early fall weather was calming for Kyle. Trees were hanging on for life as they neared their yearly demise as winter crept slowly closer.

Gathering up his rune and bag, he moved over to a small patch of ground hidden from view by some over growth and vines where he had been doing some training further from the castle walls, secluded from the majority of the student’s wandering eyes. This enclave of elemental magic created for him by his teacher was an opportunity for him to continue his practice while not attracting large amounts of attention to himself. Especially in this current state of the wizarding world, it was unclear as to how some of the students at Hogwarts would view his unconventional and ancient forms of magic, regardless of how little they knew of it. Entering the enclave, Kyle moved over to a patch of soil that he had summoned some time ago, which still remained entirely fertile.

Smoothing out a patch of this soil, Kyle leaned in and placed a few seeds from his back into the freshly summoned earth. After a few days of continued help and some incantations, Kyle would see the beginnings of the fruits of his labour. Kyle saw other attempts of his earlier work, some of which were blooming in patterns or shapes that he had attempted to control. These newly planted seeds however he just left to grow as they would. Blossoms would slowly give way to small berries. Returning to an older plant, Kyle picked a few berries and left to return to his tree. As he left the enclosure, he kneeled down once more and conjured a medium sized bush to block the entry to his practice enclave. As the bush grew to close the enclave, the rune he had formerly been playing with by the lake crumbled into powder in his hand. When he got to the tree, he sat once more and ate the ripened berries. His momentary hunger satisfied and his practice for the day done, Kyle set his mind to returning to the castle to prepare for an unproductive evening of practicing theory of charms, after all it was the only way the boy would ever pass such a class.

Name: Ella
Character name: Nikolaj Lucian Valerius
Feature you are applying for: Discipulus Demin - Stone Elemental

Nikolaj:
When one sees Nikolaj for the first time, one wouldn't think of a typical stone elemental right away, since the first impression he makes is the one of a rather quiet young man. He's very stable in his moods - in conversations with others and even in arguments he stays calm and rational. His emotions are hard to read, even for people who are close to him. This is not only due to a natural reticence but also because he simply doesn't want anyone to know what he's feeling - he thinks it isn't any of other people's business and so he's mostly hiding what he truly feels, remaining cool and almost inapproachable sometimes. Therefore one can rarely see him lose his temper, since he is very slow to anger. Yet if someone accomplishes it nevertheless, it isn't a good thing to happen. Nikolaj then turns into a completely different person. He can be very resentful and vindictive, holding grudges forever and treating the person who incurred his anger with malevolence and sometimes even deliberate cruelty.

Mostly, however, Niko is a very civilized, mannerly young man. He enjoys reading a lot and since it is not only light fiction he's spending his time with, but topics like law or history, one can easily call him a very literate person. The great amount of time he spends with books also gives him a certain eloquence, which he is never opposed to use in a good conversation, especially in an argument - because only because he doesn't get angry very quickly doesn't mean that he can't enjoy a good fight, in which he can prove his intelligence or ability to dominate another person. In those quarrels he tends to be rather bold, but avoids to be crude - vulgarity isn't something he values. Using physical means to gain his ends is thereby a double-edged sword. On the one hand, sometimes a little physical strength used purposefully can substantiate an argument very well, on the other hand using violence without rhyme or reason is in his opinion the doing of a weak person.

Nikolaj mostly knows exactly what he wants and is consistent in his wishes, meaning that he doesn't change his opinion very easily. This also shows in his beliefs - which are often quite conservative and inflexible. But even though he knows what he wants, he doesn't necessarily work hard to get it. Instead he thinks the things should just come to him. In most cases the young man doesn't see the point in putting too much effort in something, especially since it is so much easier to make others to the things for him. With sweet words and a quick tongue this is rarely a hard thing to accomplish, so it isn't often that he actually has to work hard for what he wants. However, if there is no other way, he would indeed exert himself to accomplish his goals and thereby follow the maxim that the end justifies the means - he doesn't even stop short of unethical methods.

Knowing what he is willing to do to get what he wants it is also important to know what he desires more than anything. It is power for what his heart is yearning - power and wealth. He wasn't born into a particularly wealthy family, and although he never had to live without anything he needed, he always wanted more for himself. But the luxury he wants, he wants only for himself - when it comes to others he's greedy and keeps his belongings to himself.

Nikolaj is a very tidy young man, who wants not only his appearance - which is always very neat, from perfectly styled hair to wrinkle-free clothing - but also his surroundings to be in perfect order. He can't stand it if anything is messy - chaos is a concept that almost fills him with panic. In contrast to that, he loves symmetry and tries to keep everything around him as symmetric as possible. Thereby he would, for example, always try to hang a picture in the exact middle of the wall, since everything else would drive him crazy whenever he would have to look at it - since he is also very perceptive when it comes to notice if something is symmetrical or not.

Demin:
To explain the circumstances under which Nikolaj discovered his powers, learns how to deal with them, how he is taught to master them and how his life is influenced by all of this, it is necessary to go further back into the past. The story begins with three students at Durmstrang - two boys and a girl - who became better friends than anyone could wish for. From their first year on and even though one of them - Rafael - was in a different house than the others, they were inseparable, sharing everything, every secret. The hugest and best kept of those was that one of them was special - Rafael was a stone elemental. The three remained friends all their years at school and even afterwards nothing changed. At least at first. But it came like it had to and Alina fell in love with one of the young men - Konstantin - and they got married rather quickly. Not even then their friendship with Rafael fell apart, only when their first son Nikolaj was born, Rafael distanced himself from Alina and Konstantin Valerius and went his own way - they only heard very rarely from their former close friend.

Nikolaj grew up in a very nice family. His father was often quite rigorous, but nevertheless a loving and dedicated father, spending a lot of time with his son. His mother Alina always treated Niko like a special gift, with as much love as a mother was able to offer to her precious child - and even different than his little brother who was born only one year after Nikolaj. As Niko got older he became a rather quiet boy who liked to read and to get to the bottom of things - much different to his younger brother and his father who were both very active and loved to go out and play in the garden or the woods. Yet Konstantin never treated Nikolaj with any less love and affection than his brother Adrian.

At the age of ten, at a day like every other day, Niko had buried himself in one of his books, sitting quietly in a cozy corner of his room, when his father and brother came in trying to animate him to get out and practice a little Quidditch. When Nikolaj refused to go out with them, since he never enjoyed flying on a broomstick, his brother tried to snatch the book out of Nikolaj's hands. The boy clung almost desperately to his book, but felt it slip nevertheless. Then, however his hands suddenly turned rock-hard and into a marbled grey and stone sprouted out of his fingers and over the spine of the book, making it impossible to remove the book from his hands. For Niko this was one of the happiest days in his life - he hadn't shown magic ever before while his brother's first sign of magic had already shown itself years ago. But instead of the happiness he felt himself, he only found a horrified expression on his father's face as he looked up to him with expectation.

The following weeks, Nikolaj's father was rather distanced and the boy often heard his parents fight, although he didn't understand what was wrong. And then his whole life seemed to change. He met his parents' friend Rafael two months after he had first shown his magic - and a man he had never met before explained to him that he was an elemental and thereby very special. He explained to Niko that he would teach him everything he'd have to know about how being an elemental would influence his life, and that he would train him in using his new powers. After a few weeks, in which he saw Rafael almost every day he got to like the man and the relationship to and between his parents came back to normal as well. It would take him until the age of fourteen to understand why Konstantin had reacted in such a way to his new powers and that Rafael was his real father.

Once at Durmstrang he met with Rafael as much as possible to learn and train his elemental skills - meetings he always enjoyed. The life at school wasn't easy for the boy, since he failed in every subject that was related to wandwork and even when his classmates were making fun of him he couldn't tell them that he had other powers they couldn't even imagine in their wildest dreams - even though the proud boy would have loved to, simply to prove that there was more to him than they thought. Yet his mentor Rafael had made him understand that he could never tell and he never doubted the man's words.

During the winter break of his third year at school it was time for Nikolaj's initialization ritual in which he got his own elemental rune which was placed underneath his skin. Only the scars showing the demin rune being proof of what would be Nikolaj's most treasured secret. From then on, he used every possible chance to perfect his skills. For his training he always hid in the woods, trying to get as good as possible - to always have the knowledge that there was something special and amazing about him.

The first question I was asking myself when I came up with the idea of creating Nikolaj was: Why a special feature, wouldn't it be just as much fun to have him without it? But the thing is, I really think it would be fun to play a character with a special feature. Of course every character is unique in their own way, but a special feature can open completely different opportunities of creating a character, of letting them develop and it offers a completely different kind of situation one can work with in the roleplaying process. However, this doesn't mean that it's either Niko the elemental or no Niko at all, I just think, it would give me the chance to add a bunch of exciting facets to him as a person.

Now the question is: Why an elemental? There are a bunch of other interesting special features after all. But to be honest, it was never a question for me. In my opinion, elementalism is the most exciting of all special features, simply because it is especially special. It is something completely different from what I know from my other characters - it is nothing one can learn if only talented enough, it's a birthright - and therefore it will challenge me on a whole new level. In addition to that, or rather because of that, it is a feature which can be built into the normal life of a character particularly well. It is simply something that's going to accompany Nikolaj every moment of every day and which will be a part of his life that makes it impossible to imagine it without it. That's also the reason why I want to create a new character with this feature instead of trying to make it fit to an existing character. It is, after all, something that is influencing his whole life to an extent which makes me think that it would be almost impossible to just add it to an existing sheet, it is something that changes not only the history but also the personality of a character so much that I would end up with a completely different person anyway.

This brings me to the last and most detailed question: Why the element stone? I spent a lot of time studying the Elementalism guide, reading over the descriptions of the different elements over and over again. I would lie if I'd say that Nikolaj already existed in the form he has now and that all I had to do was to pick the matching element. When it comes to the typical character traits, stone and air seemed like the most interesting for me from the start, although even fire seemed somehow exciting for me, from the little I already knew about the boy that was beginning to form in my mind. But somehow, this was frustrating for me, since I simply couldn't decide. That's why I just gave up on it for a while, hoping that I would find a solution if I'd just let some time pass. And of course the one thing happened that we probably all know from the characters that sneak in our mind - Nikolaj started to develop, his personality took on a clearer shape and he became the person he is now. That's what made it clear for me that stone would be the right element for him. I admit that he isn't the perfect prototype of a stone elemental and certainly has some traits that would be perfect for another element - for example he isn't a loud young man, but a very quiet one instead. However, that's not what I was aiming for anyway. Niko simply is the way he is - a unique personality - and I think the aggregate of his traits speaks for itself and shows that the element stone indeed fits him very well.

On a side note, I would like to add, that even though I know that Nikolaj doesn't necessarily have the most pleasant of all possible personalities, he is very responsible and reliable nonetheless and structure and rules are rather important for him. Therefore it was always out of question for me that he would become part of the council and that he would be very committed to it.

Now what do I actually want to do with this character and his feature? Of course there are some general things, I have in mind for Nikolaj and his special feature. For the first playtime year Nikolaj is still going to be a student and therefore the focus will lie on how it is for him to have abilities nobody can know of – how he will take care that nobody finds out, how he protects his secret if confronted with the threat that somebody might find out and how he will take a huge step to actually trust somebody enough to reveal it.

In addition to that I want his feature to be a very important part of his life – something he spends a lot of time with. I want him to be very interested in the matters of the council, partly due to the fact that his mentor Rafael would teach him that it is the right and important thing to do. I want him become an active member of the elemental community and I admit that I hope that there are interesting elemental plots waiting for him and me – plots I would be happy to help to plan. Which brings me to my wish to look for someone who might be interested in playing Rafael, since it would offer a huge amount of roleplaying opportunities and unfortunately there aren't a lot of stone elementals around yet.

As for his future, I'm not completely sure yet which path I want him to take, but there are some things I have in mind. I would really like to let him do something artistic with stone, with gemstones to be precise. However, concerning his personality I think it is going to be more of a hobby for him – he is way too power hungry to become a simple craftsman, instead I think he will do something with law or politics – things of which I believe he'd be very good in.

But what I want to talk about now are the concrete plots I've already discussed with some great drivers on MH – plots of which I think that they address some very different and exciting aspects of Niko's life as an elemental. For example the way he deals with a situation where someone comes close to finding out his secret. His distant cousin, Lena's Pandora Preda, will have become a rather good friend for him very early in school. However, he will never have told her about him being an elemental. But one day she is going to follow him into the woods where he always practices and even though she won't actually see anything, he will be afraid that she did – and will show her his not so calm but in return very mean side. Unfortunately this will only lead her to suspecting that something is wrong – and to trying to find out what. And this will bring Nikolaj in the position of actually having to be really careful about protecting his secret.

Something very different – and in Niko's opinion far more pleasant – will be the plot Neko-chan and I have in mind for Nikolaj and her Leonie Kirschbaum. She is going to be – and I'm barely able to speak it out loud, since it's making me squeak with excitement – his future girlfriend. The initially rather shallow relationship will take an unexpected turn when at a stormy day Leonie will be endangered by a falling tree. The moment he will see her life threatened he will no longer care about keeping his secret and will protect her with his powers. For him, this will be the first time anyone besides his family and other elementals will know about the fact that he is different than others. But what he fears most – that she will tell everyone – won't happen and instead he will learn how it feels to be able to trust someone with his secret, to have someone besides his mentor to talk to about it and someone with whom he doesn't have to pretend to be someone else.

Connected to this plot is the last one I want to mention here. As you may or may not know, Tye's Alain St. Clare will be the boyfriend of Leonie's brother Benjamin. Since the two siblings have a very close connection, it is no wonder that both their partners will meet at some point. And this will be an unpleasant surprise for Nikolaj, since Alain is an air elemental – Niko's counterelement. Yet those two will have to learn to get along with each other and I think this is going to be a very exciting process to play out.

With a sigh Nikolaj softly pushed a  small low hanging twig out of his way before he ducked under a bigger branch from the same tree, continuing his way through the dense forest. He had left the path a few minutes ago, but even though he now had to walk through undergrowth he set every foot without looking at the ground. It would probably not even make a difference if he'd have to walk blind – he had made his way to the small clearing that was his secret hiding place so often in the last six years that he couldn't even count the times anymore. Yet it didn't make the discomfort he was feeling any less present. The dirty ground and the fallen leaves that were sticking to the soles of his shoes still disgusted him and especially on a day like today, on which the forest was still wet from the last rain, he would have preferred to be anywhere but here. A falling drop from one of the leaves above him found its way down his collar, sending a shiver down his spine and making him shudder, almost as if to shake the discomfort away - to keep him from turning around and just hurry back into the school building.

But of course he wouldn't. It was too important for him to stay, too important for him to do what he had come here for. Training was the way to perfection and he somehow felt like today could be the day he would finally accomplish what he'd been trying for months now. The last few times he had come really close to reaching his goal and today he simply knew he would actually do it! Reaching the clearing he looked up, seeing with content that the sun had found its way through the clouds. A ray of sunlight fell on his face and on a drop of water on his otherwise perfectly clean glasses. The drop refracted the light, letting him see the colors of a rainbow on his glasses, forcing him to take them off to wipe them clear. He really couldn't use any distraction right now, especially not something as annoying as this.

Nikolaj took a deep breath of fresh air, closing his eyes for a moment to calm down a little and find his center, chasing away all unwelcome thoughts that could distract him from the task at hand. He would actually have liked to sit down for a while, but the moist grass made it impossible for him, the thought alone making him shudder again. So instead he just stood there with closed eyes for a moment, his chest raising and falling with slow breaths as he focused on the powers that were slumbering deep inside of him. He could feel the presence of the hard rock deep under the soil of the ground, giving him the necessary reassurance for what he did next. The young man gently pushed his left hand into the front pocket of his pants, letting it rest lightly on the spot where the source of his power was buried in his flesh, only given away by the light scars that were still showing on the otherwise smooth skin.

Concentrating  on his element he channeled his powers through the rune, feeling the well known sensation of morphing into stone, yet trying to focus it only on his right hand he held out in front of him, which quickly turned into white marble. At first it had been weird, since he had usually morphed beginning with his torso, but after so much practice, he didn't mind the oddness of the feeling anymore. Now he was able to concentrate with all his mind and might on holding his powers at bay, keeping the stone from spreading over his arm to the rest of his body. He had never talked to Rafael about this, but at some point of his education it had occured to him how useful it would be to morph only parts of his body. The idea alone! He could morph just his fists into granite, being able to break down almost every object, could morph just his skin to protect his body from harm without losing his touch with reality, or anything really. It was simply amazing. And he had done it! Everything of his body except for his hand was still soft flesh, proving that he, indeed, was mastering his element.

A wave of pride and joy rose up in his chest, letting a grin of superiority curve the corners of his lips upwards. This was truly fantastic! However, only this small distraction, the little emotion he allowed himself to show, ruined everything. Nikolaj felt immediately as his powers slipped, the beautiful white marble, which was reflecting the sunlight, spreading over his forearm. As much as he tried he was no longer able to stop the transformation. Within seconds his shoulder and chest became stone and only a moment afterwards his stomach, hips, legs and left arm followed, leaving him only a split second to frown with anger and disappointment before his head, too, morphed. All that was left was a marble statue in midst of the lush green of the forest, as the welcoming arms of his element embraced his mind, letting him forget about his surroundings and worries, finally allowing him to relax.

Name: Charlie
Character name: Alexander Van Helsing

Feature you are applying for:
Wolf Animagus- A brown wolf with wavy fur a little bigger than normal wolves. It will be a wolf because Wolves are strong, brave, and is willing to protect his pack(Family and Friends). Being bigger makes him look threatening, but looking into it’s eyes you can see his human soul inside the fierce creature outside.

Description of the character:
Alex is a somewhat a trouble during his days at Hogwarts. He has been dueling since his first year. But this brave lad had a terrible past. He remembers little from it, but the mostly he remembers seeing his mother murdered by a Death Eater. He dreams of being a powerful Auror like his parents before him. He has friends in both high and low places. On his sixth year at Hogwarts he was offered to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix. But he wants to finish school and find the Death Eater that killed his parents.

Application:
I really want him to be an Animagus because Animagus are wonderful creatures. They can come and go as an animal as they please. Alex is like a wolf, he’s a hunter, a mighty hunter stalking his prey until he will pounce onto his prey and attack. It would he handy for him to change into an animal that fits his heart and soul.

Future plots:
Alex would shift to his wolf form in Hogwarts to help the younger student's to understand the differences between Werewolves and Animagus and he would use it to help on the battle of Hogwarts as he can be a scout for a group of seventh years going ahead and check if it was safe for them to venture.

Alex would turn into his wolf form accidentally in front of a girl that he really liked. He would run off and the girl goes after him telling him that it was normal for an Animagus to lose control sometimes. The fear that Alex has is not losing control it's the fear of the girl treating him differently now she knows his secret.(something like the Twilight Saga). And then a bunch of creatures attacks them and Alex became injured defending the girl he really likes.

RP sample using the feature:
The woods was quiet as a brown wolf laid down and started licking it's paw. After a long night of running through many bushes and creeks a wolf would need to rest from such a run. Alex was getting used to the life of changing from a human then to a wolf. His fur was brown and was wavy. His ocean blue eyes was the only way you can tell that he was an Animagus and that he was bigger from the average wolf would help too.

Alex just laid there as nature around him continued to go into motion. The moon was full and it shinned down into the clearing that he was in giving it's pale light to the wolf with Alex inside of him. The wolf outside couldn't help but to smile as the cool May night wind hits his fur and it was quite comfortable for him to feel something that could cool him off. He went to the lake before but it was to tiring for him swimming for hours and then run back to Hogwarts.

Alex was tempted to stay as a wolf forever and just run free to run as far as he wants without stopping. But meeting one of the beautiful girls at the school made him not want to leave her and he had dreams of being an Auror to continue the bloodline of the Helsing line. He got up and stretched all of his four legs and headed back to Hogwarts at top speed. He howled into the night and other howls were heard wishing him farewell for the night.

Name: Katya 
Character name: Phridae Summers 
Feature you are applying for: Discipula Garth - Ice Elemental 

Description of the character:
First and foremost Phridae is very determined, she feels that she must put everything she has in order for thing to be done correctly. No matter the task she gives everything she has, and does not believe in giving up. She values education and knowing this, she would work hard on her studies as an Ice Elemental. The downfall of her being so determined, it take a lot for her to ask for help. She feels that one can not learn unless they try themselves until they have exhausted any other way but asking to get the job done. Along with not being able to ask questions she is very critical of her work, and at time the work of other. Mosr so herself because she was raised to be the best at everything she does.

Phridae is a dreamer and extremely idealistic. She tends to think about other peoples happiness before her own, believing that despite all the darkness the world should be a happy place. A place in which no one has to ever suffer, though she knows that these thoughts are unrealistic that is not important to her. The vision of what the could possibly be like is.

Even though she was raised in a sheltered home Phridae learned that she is her own person, and her choices affect her before they affect the ones around her. She tends to do things alone, as not to get other people involved not wanting any harm to come to them. Even with this being said Phridae is a responsible young woman, making sure things are done correctly. And if not she would be sure to explain the situation as it occurred, and not in a way that would put fault on other people. Her responsible nature would be applied to her Elementlism, because she would never want to hurt anyone using it by choice or mistake, and if by chance she did she would accept responsibility and or the punishment attached to it.

Last but never least, Phridae loves the arts. Anything that is creative draws her attention, this may have explained why she was so drawn to the piano as a young child. She can be found playing the piano all the time, if not she is writing her own music.

Discovery:
Phridae has not yet been discovered, because she has not shown any signs until recently. She will be a late bloomer so to speak, and will be discovered by Peter Alva Tannenbaum by chance.

Application: 
Ever since I joined MH I have always wanted a special feature. Animagus for Aeric or Precognition for Konny, yet in the end my fear of applying has always held me back. Maybe it was fear of rejection or of knowing that the feature never truly fit the character. I never wanted a feature just because I had the chance to apply for it or because it was cool sounding. I wanted it because ti fit the character. When Phridae appeared the thought of Elemental did not appear at first, it was after she developed as a character that I read through the guide. Even then she had not given off any reason to have the feature, it was some three month down the line that I noticed she fit the Ice Elemental description a bit.

I struggled once again on if I should even think about giving her the feature, I didn't want to base her whole character on the feature it self. And I feared that I would. But I realized that with or without the feature she would be the exact same way. That shy, independent girl, with big dreams. But I believe the feature would add something more to her character.

The feature it self has always been amazing to me, with how unique and rare it is. The fact that the feature is not something that can be learned because you show great talent. It is something you are born with, a birthright. It would be a challenge on a level I have yet to be challenged. To me it a feature that will mold with the character as time passes, become a part of their normal life. This is the reason why I wanted the feature for a new character rather than one that has already been developed. Phridae will have to learn to live with her gift, because it will be there if she wants it or not. It is something that will become apart of her. I feel like as time passes, the feature will mold her as a person. It will teach her far more responsibility and open her eyes to a world she would not see on her own.

The big question is why a feature for Phridae, honestly I have no true reason why she of all my character deserves the feature more. I can say of all my characters she is the only one where the feature does not make her, but works with her. I read the elemental guide over and over again and the only element that fit her was ice. The description fit her to a so closely I wondered if she would work well with the feature. I know that with the feature it would be a possible door to many plots and fun ideas, but that is not why I would like it for her. Yes it would be interesting, but her character design is interesting all on it's on. If she doesn't get the feature I would still play her because she is unique in her own way.

She is a responsible person, taking in account that all her actions affect more than her. She would never abuse her power nor hurt and innocent person. She is a very loyal person and would never do anything against the Council, and she would focus on her studies. She knows that with great power there is always great responsibility and she is ready to fully accept it. 
Future plots:
Since Phridae will just be coming into her abilities she will have to struggle with keeping it a secret. It will be a struggle within itself for her since she tells her cousin Brennan everything. She will also struggle with knowing that she is different from everyone around her in a sense. She has never been the type to want to be different, so I feel that will add to her character development. She will have to learn that she is no different from anyone, she just has an ability she ws born with.

I have talked to The Goblin Queen about Peter discovering her ability, since she will just be coming into it. That would be interesting since when the discussion is first had she may think he is playing a joke on her and deny it all together. I have also spoken to Robyn about Todd and his relationship with Phridae being affected by her new found information. With the knowledge that she may outlive him she will be more hesitant to develop feelings for him, and try every chance she gets to push him away.

I also spoke to Chrissy about Dae possibly being mad and freezing Brennan's arm by mistake. She would struggle with how to actually fix the problem because she will be so afraid of getting in trouble for not keeping her ability a secret. I have also spoken to Lena and Neko-chan about Phridae interacting with their elementals, to give her more social skills. The actual interaction will allow her to realize that she is no different then she thinks she is, because there are other kids just like her. After meeting Volker at the council in the summer, they will begin to exchange letters.

RP sample using the feature:

Her hand rose slowly, to pull the hair from her face as she stood on the porch. The sun cast down on her face for a moment as she stood there thinking of the days that had long since passed. Things were so much more different now, school was over and she was home yet again. Grey eyes dropped down to her feet for a moment, taking in the running shoes before she jogged off the porch. She needed this, the air, the freedom that came with running. Things were going to be truly different, her father had promised her that much. All that had changed was her age and nothing more. She was still his little girl, still the one thing he had the power to mold. She understood that much of her life so far. Her feet pounded against the pavement almost mocking her anger and frustration. She was tired of the constant strain of trying, just trying to please one man.

Nothing she did would ever be good enough, but the running made it all worth it. She pushed herself until her lungs begged for mercy, until her muscles screamed for rest. And then she pushed farther, just enough to be away from all that reminded her of home. Within the woods around her she dropped to the ground, panting. Her eyes closed slowly, as the anger slowly turned into a sadness she had never felt. It struck her soul as the air around her seemed to have cooled. She welcomed the change, it was comforting against the sweat on her skin. Taking a deep breath she let her eyes open, contemplating her future. A future that had never been hers to do such a thing with.

She looked up in slight amazement as the snow fell around her, her hand reaching out almost instinctively to touch the air. It was such a beautiful thing, yet it didn't seem to take the pain of knowing she was living in his world away. Her eyes dropped as she wondered just how the sun and the warm air had suddenly given off snow. The only thing was she didn't mind the snow, she welcomed it as if it had been apart of her. She had no clue what tomorrow had in store, but that one moment was completely perfect.

Name: Inga
Character name: Ernest Cairns
Feature you are applying for: Elemental ~ Zealot Demin

Description of the character: Ernest Cairns is a very power hungry person. He is 178 years old and has spent most of his life as a member of the Council. Although he has been loyal to the Council for such a long time, Ernest wants to break out of the hierarchy in which he won't ever be able to be the leader. He is constantly longing to become more powerful and to give elementals the recognition in the world which he thinks they deserve. Ernest has gained a vast knowledge on different matters in the course of his life and is particularly interested in politics. In his opinion elementals should rule the world as they can control the elements and have a longer life span than other people. This gives them an advantage and the right to rule others. Having a high opinion of himself, he naturally sees himself as a born leader.

When Ernest wants something he'll do anything to get what he wants and doesn't hesitate when it comes to using (and abusing) his powers. In his opinion anything is permitted when he wants to reach his goals. He is a rather witty person who tries to use others for his purposes and when they don't do what he wants he might get livid. While he is a loud and bold person he has learned to control his temper over the years. He can be quite charming and cunning when the situation calls for it. After all, he doesn't like to do everything himself and might, therefore, try to make others do the dirty work for him while he stays in charge of the situation in general. He isn't beyond spreading rumours to unsettle the balance in the Council and to confuse new Council elementals.

In his opinion non-elemental wizards are just unworthy 'wand wavers' that are inferior and should be treated like that. Ernest is obsessed with power and with amassing wealth. He is also extremely greedy and doesn't usually share anything with anyone. Since there have been several situations in which he disagreed with the Council he doesn't show loyalty to anyone anymore. Seeing how the Council disappointed him in some ways as, for example, by supporting muggleborns with the Ward project, he is looking for new directions. The war in the wizarding world was something that instilled the wish in him to demonstrate his power in a fight as well. However, he regarded the battle of the 'wand wavers' as unworthy of his attention.
 

Application: The idea for this applications stems primarily from my wish to offer new big plots to the members of Magical Hogwarts. Since we reached the end of the last Harry Potter book we don't have any big canon plot lines to follow anymore and I believe that this is our chance to start something original, to start independent plots for either the entire board or groups of characters.

Seeing that there were a few elemental applications in the last couple of months, I felt that it was maybe time for us to give the elementals a larger plot so that not only the elemental characters get 'some action' but that also non-elementals can get involved. Ernest is supposed to become a bad guy. He has no conscience when it comes to reaching his own goals and his goal is to amass wealth and to become a very powerful wizard.

I am sure that I can play this character well without abusing his powers. Despite all his power Ernest will have his fair share of weaknesses and, while he is intelligent, he will not always make the best decisions. I believe I have proven over the last years that I'm a very reliable member who enjoys contributing to the roleplay experience on Magical Hogwarts. With Minerva McGonagall I have also shown that I can handle a special feature well.

Now aside from the fact that I want to make this character to give Magical Hogwarts a new plot line, I figured that Ernest would be a new challenge for me as a roleplayer. I've been searching for such a challenge lately and I think I found it here. I have never had a real 'bad guy' or an elemental before and I think that this particular combination is quite thrilling not only for me but also for the whole community.     

Future plots: I have talked to several drivers and discussed possible plots and was actually excited to see that people are indeed up for my idea. I have countless plans for what this character can and will do in the future. However, I will only list a selection of those here which involve concrete other characters.

First of all, I have, of course, spoken to Julie and we agreed that Peter Alva Tannenbaum and Ernest Cairns will become opponents. Ernest disliked a couple of decisions the Council made and thinks that the Council is holding him back. He will, therefore, break with the Council and thus also with Peter and go his own way. We intend to play this out and will that way create a platform for the following plots which Ernest will have.

With Lauren I discussed a connection with Iuliana Keane. When Iuliana came to the Council Ernest was already there and was a powerful zealot who managed to control his element well. Iuliana looked up to him and when he disagreed with the Council's directions he sometimes shared this with her. However, now he will approach her to try and convince her of the fact that the Council is actually restricting them in their development and that it is a better idea to go their own way. She will try to make him stay even though he's set to leave and break with the Council. This will make both characters struggle with what they want and what others think is right. While Ernest is an independent person who doesn't care much for other people's opinions one should not forget that he has spent most of his long life with the Council and, no matter how determined he might be, he might realise that staying with the Council is, in fact, the easiest way. He will have to decide whether he wants to fight for what he wants or whether he wants to lead a comfortable life as a part of a community.

When he leaves the Council he will approach several young elementals / new Council members and try to make them join him. I've spoken to Carys (Linnet Willowsong), Jenny (Zoé Deveaux), Lena (Volker Blauvelt), Katherine (Phridae Summers), Juliet (Vance McLaren), Hannah (Motya Zapashny) and Ashton (Melusine Musel) and they were all up for this plot. Whether or not their characters decide to actually follow him or not is entirely up to them. Ernest would naturally appreciate it if people sided with him. However, he won't back down if these young elementals do not share his views. In the contrary, I think he would be even more determined to leave the Council and pursue his own goals if most of the other elementals don't want to join him.

Other than that Carys and I discussed a plot where Ernest gets into Schull estate as he might be unaffacted by the fidelius charm and thus frightens Dermod and Cliona Morfessa. They might then side with him. Furthermore, Ernest is naturally up for other plots involving 'wand wavers'; that is, non elemental wizards which he considers to be quite unworthy.

His profession might also lead to plot possibilities. Being an architect, Ernest uses his elemental powers to build houses as well as to make them crash. He doesn't care much about hiding his abilities. Actually, he rather prefers to expose them.

In conclusion I want to say thanks to all drivers who were up for plots. Your willingness to throw your characters into a new plot confirmed me that I'm on a good track with this idea. Furthermore, I would like to point out that Ernest will be up for a lot more plots of different size. He will not only have plots with just one other character but also plots in which several other people can get involved.

RP sample using the feature: As he left the Council in Inverness Ernest felt anger boiling up inside of him. Why were the structures figuratively set in stone? It was stupid and actually also pointless to try and hide information about powerful elemental spells from him. He would find a way to get these scrolls of parchment. If they didn't give them out voluntarily he'd use one of the inexperienced acolytes to reach his goal. That shouldn't be too hard, after all. There were quite a few acolytes at the Council that were not powerful enough to withstand him. Thinking about it some more, Ernest came to the conclusion that he might even be able to convince one of them to give him the desired documents without having to use magic. Not every acolyte knew which scrolls they were allowed to give out and which were secret. Maybe one of them would follow his orders without questioning them.

Anyway, Ernest was still livid. The Council was a sad example of how institutions could hinder people from developing their abilities and going their own ways. With the current Harbingers the elementals would never get the recognition they actually deserved. Ernest didn't want to accept that elementals should keep in the background. In fact, he thought that they were existing to live in the spotlight. They should rule the world, actually he should rule it. He believed himself to have the drive, the willpower, and the ability to dominate the entire world.

He had followed the ongoings in the wizarding world over the past couple of years and had been astounded that a fool like this Voldemort had been able to frighten people so much. He was just a pathetic wand waver and thus nobody of any consequence. Ernest had been thinking of getting involved but then again he didn't care enough about the wand wavers to mind their business. However, now that Voldemort didn't hold the wizarding world in breath anymore, Ernest felt that his time was coming.

While these thoughts had crossed his mind, Ernest had walked down a street and hadn't paid attention to his surroundings. Now, however, he felt that somebody was observing him and, as he turned to the side, he saw a woman in the window of a cottage looking at him. He supposed that strangers rarely walked down this street and that she was curious to see what he was doing. Being in an angry mood anyway, Ernest was unwilling to let the woman get away with observing him. His eyes narrowed as he glared at her. Did he see a wand in her hand or was he imagining things? Well, it didn't really matter.

He looked around, checking if anybody else was watching him. While it was of little importance to him if there were witnesses, he still preferred to know what was going on. Once he came to the conclusion that only this woman had noticed his presence, he looked at the cottage again. In a sweet tone, combined with a merciless smile he spoke the incantation and a split second later the house in front of him collapsed. As the stone walls crumbled down and buried the woman under a pile of rocks, a sardonic laugh escaped him. It always felt great when he could use his control over his element and he couldn't really tell whether he preferred it when he could destroy or build things. Both were immensely satisfying. Yet, destroying stone buildings definitely served to release pent up anger.

Seeing the cottage in ruins, he turned around and continued on his way, feeling rather triumphant.

[lau]Approved!  Weeeee!!!!![/lau]

Name: Amy-Freaking-Jace
Character name:   Sophie Tannenbaum
Feature you are applying for:   Elemental: Ice, Garth

Description of the character:

Her hands and feet always feel icy cold to the touch, the rest of her body feeling oddly chilled. Sophie has a pale complexion to the point of appearing ill. When she gets tired dark bags appear beneath her eyes, contrasting terribly with her pasty skin color.  She has plumb lips that are pink with a pale blue hue as though her body was at a low temperature. When Sophie falls ill, her body temperature will reach that of a normal human being, at this point it is safe to assume she has a fever.

She never wears stockings because they are itchy and make her feel warm. She doesn’t enjoy wearing her winter gear because of how warm it makes her feel, though it is certainly better than getting sick. Sophie is rarely seen outdoors without sunglasses on her face to protect her eyes from the sun. She also has a small assortment of hats that she wears if they match her dress. The young girl also has several different pairs of footwear, most of which are sandal style shoes because she rarely feels cold.

Sophie can be described in several words, most people tell her that she is just like her father. She is intelligent and bright. Sophie has no trouble grasping simple concepts and even understands many things beyond her years. Sophie is very good at thinking outside the box and rationalizing what she is exposed to in a logical way. Sophie is currently learning to read, and actually spends much of her time pushing herself to get better. Sophie is a rather self-sufficient child who could manage to do almost anything on her own without assistance.

She enjoys both dancing and drawing, which most would say she is exceptionally gifted at. Sophie also does many puzzles and is constantly requesting more puzzle books to do. She could sit with a glass of ice water in a dimly lit room and a puzzle book for hours and consider herself to be entertained. When Sophie wants something she often uses charm to get it. Not that this works with her father as often as she would like. She knows she’s a cute little girl and will use it to her advantage if she deems it necessary, though she actually finds it humiliating to lower herself to the standards of most children her own age. Sophie is quite observant and actually notices the needs and desires of others around her. Not that those needs may sway her opinions or her own desires.

Sophie inherited Ice Elemental Abilities from her father who is a very powerful elemental. Sophie wishes to aspire to be more accomplished than him and that her powers will some day surpass his own. Therefore, she does not complain too much when she is told to meditate or when she is studying Gaelic. Sophie is pushing her father to teach her the runic alphabet. She understands the designs behind most symbols, however does not yet posses the skill to draw them perfectly, though they are recognizable.


Application: Matching Guide to personality traits showing how the feature fits

     Guide: Ice Elementals are often withdrawn and introverted people, usually interested more than anything in arts and music.

Sophie doesn't like people in general. She doesn't like dealing with people or being around them. She doesn't like showing her real emotions though will fake emotions if necessary, though some people will sense that she is withdrawn. She isn't too sure how to feel love or hatred and isn't positive on how to deal with these emotions when she does feel them. Her slight disconnection from her emotions causes a great amount of inner conflict.

She enjoys both dancing and drawing, which most would say she is exceptionally gifted at. Sophie enjoys coloring for hours, or drawing either things from her imagination or detailed accounts of something directly in front of her. Most consider Sophie to be incredibly artistic, even for her young age. Sophie also enjoys reading poetry, and then taking it a step farther by trying to draw a scene from the poems.

     Guide: Ice Elementals are very creative people that question everyone and everything in the world and do not take anything as given. They are free thinkers and free spirits, usually only limited by their own minds. They are very sophisticated people.

Secretly Sophie enjoys using her imagination as well as delving into the creative thoughts of others. Sophie loves dealing with people smarter than herself even if they make her feel small and unimportant. Her main form of entertainment is learning.

Sophie is an extremely bright child. If something is said to her she can repeat it almost perfectly. Sophie will often fantasises about unrealistic events and even day dream about what could be and will be devastated by the disappointment if these don't come true.

     Guide: They are shy and gentle on the surface but often depressed and dark inside.

She enjoys being the centre of attention and having all eyes on her, but from time to time the young girl enjoys sitting in complete solitude. She will find a dark corner and sit there with a coloring book for several hours just to escape wondering eyes. Sophie also uses seeing her father’s horse as alone time. Sophie can be considered light-hearted, sweet and charming. However, she also occasionally may come out with a statement that is not appropriate for someone her age. For example, she might swear or speak of adult content without even thinking there was something wrong with her verbal transgressions. This little girl sometimes seems withdrawn from others around her. She doesn’t like speaking about emotions, or being touched in any way. She can seem very playful, childish and loving, however, there are few people in this world that Sophie can actually stand to be around for long periods of time, fewer that she genuinely loves.

     Guide: Most ice Elementals learn early that with great power there comes great responsibility. In their early years, they are often idealists, people full of great ideas and visions that usually stick up for revolutionary view points and bring new ideas to the Elemental Council.

Sophie is very good at thinking outside the box and rationalizing what she is exposed to in a logical way.

     Guide: Ice Elemental usually have a way with words and talk very sweetly as they know how to convince people. They are usually very interested in almost every subject and strive to learn as much as they can.

When Sophie wants something she often uses charm to get it. Not that this works with her father as often as she would like. She knows she’s a cute little girl and will use it to her advantage if she deems it necessary, though she actually finds it humiliating to lower herself to the standards of most children her own age.

Sophie is currently learning to read, and actually spends much of her time pushing herself to get better. Sophie loves dealing with people smarter than herself even if they make her feel small and unimportant. Her main form of entertainment is learning. So naturally anyone that can tell her things that she doesn’t already know is alright in her book. She loves to read even though she has great difficulty in the activity. She especially likes books that look at things from a realistic and logical point of view. In other words, Sophie is likely to read a documentary on the native magical creatures of the South. Some of Sophie’s favourite books are: Elementalism, Common Magical Ailments and Afflictions, Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard, Great Wizarding Events of the Twentieth Century, New Theory of Numerology, and the Invisible Book of Invisibility which she has accidentally left on the floor several times, then tripped over it.

Sophie has a thirst for knowledge rivalled by few others. Recently she has been making a point of attending at least one of her father’s classes a week simply because she is curious.

     Guide: Ice Elementals, however, usually do not follow leader and like to do their own thing. They see through most things, knowing that only they are responsible for what they do. They are unique and independent people, usually do not need confirmation and approval from others to do what needs to be done. Because ice elementals can become very old they often get jaded and dark with age.

Sophie is a rather self-sufficient child who could manage to do almost anything on her own without assistance. Sophie is quite observant and actually notices the needs and desires of others around her. Not that those needs may sway her opinions or her own desires. Sophie is extremely stubborn and often won’t give up a fight or argument until she wins because 'losing is for losers'.

     Guide: Seeing their dreams and visions destroyed, seeing that on the grand scheme of things their influence does not change much makes them prone to join splinter groups such as the Rogue. However most of them return to the rightful path in time once they realize what devastation their powers can cause.

Sophie will often fantasises about unrealistic events and even day dream about what could be and will be devastated by the disappointment if these don't come true.

     Guide: With this realization, usually they become very quiet and grave people, preferring not mixing much with other unless they need to. Often since they grow very old, they never find a life partner knowing they will outlive the other.

Sophie doesn't like people in general. She doesn't like dealing with people or being around them. She finds them irritating and annoying and often will completely and rudely disregard them if they bore her to the point that she no longer finds being polite in her best interest.

     Guide: Usually, they have little personal contact and are avoiding to bond with anyone as the hurt inevitably comes. They are often described as overly cold, unimpassioned and withdrawn.

She doesn't like showing her real emotions though will fake them if necessary, though some people will sense that she is withdrawn. Sophie can be considered ill-tempered because of her ability to lash out at someone who has struck a nerve with her. She isn't too sure how to feel love or hatred and isn't positive on how to deal with these emotions when she does feel them. Her slight disconnection from her emotions causes a great amount of inner conflict.

Future plots:

For the distant future there is a numerous amount of plots available for Sophie due to her elemental abilities. However for now she will simply be experiencing the effects of her oncoming abilities. A strong dislike for the hot weather that she is exposed to in France. Sophie also will have an innate curiosity for those like her, so she will be spending quite allot of time with other Elementals at the school. She will also attempt to learn as much as she can from them about her heritage and what she will soon come to experience. Sophie has a naturally curious perdonality so she will be spending an awful lot of time with her father asking questions and reading about their abilities. Sophie also will be spending time meditating every single day in preparation for when the skill will become handy to her. At this point she is learning how to properly draw runic symbols that she will some day become a part of her every day life. Sophie also will spend holidays away from the school and enjoys traveling north, as far north as she can to get away from the heat. She will literally beg her father to take her somewhere cold, and will often stick close to him because of the cold that radiates from him. Sophie's favorite food is ice cream and pop-sickles so she will often be asking for it. As a footnote, if Sophie cannot be found anywhere, it is likely that she accidentally locked herself in the fridge-box again.

I have spoken to Zoe and Volker and Vance about plotting posts to do with elemental abilities, as well as Sophie practically interigating them on what might happen for her.


RP sample using the feature:

Sophie stared around Peter's empty office with her big blue eyes. Her little hands subconsciously smoothed the front of her white and soft pink dress. Sophie had worn her baby pink coat today because she felt that it properly complemented the colors of everything she was wearing. Unfortunately, it wasn't the most comfortable of outfits to be worn in this horrid heat. Sophies hand flickered lightly through the air to create a small breeze against her pale cheeks. The heat of the spring months were some of the hardest, this year seemed to be one of the most unbearable yet. That was a part of Sophie's mission today, find peter and beg him to take her somewhere cold for the summer. The first part of her task was to actually find him, more for the sake of the cool air that followed the man where ever he went.

Most girls felt comforted by the soothing tones of their mothers, the way their mothers would hold them or sing to them. Sophie wasn't most girls, she didn't have a mother. All little Sophie had was Peter. He was the only person who could actually comfort her, though not using words or comforting strokes of fingers through hair. Peter made things cold. Her father was an elemental, and apparently so was she which made this horrible heat somewhat more tormenting. Sophie pulled her coat off and hung it over her right forearm then broke into a soft cough. She covered her mouth with her coat before readjusting herself. Sophie hated coming across sick, even when she was. The child blinked away the tears from her slowly darkening blue eyes.

A few droplets of sweat glistened across her forehead making small strands of dark brown hair curl with the moist. She pulled the door closed with her left hand as she backed her way out of the office. She started coughing again, covering her mouth with her forearm as she leaned back against the closed door. Sophie's breaths came in harsh gasps for air as she stood there panting uncontrollably, fighting the urge to keep coughing.

Once her breathing was under control Sophie began to make her way down the corridor, staggering. Dragging her feet, her shoes scuffed against the marble floor rather than clicking against it. Sophie made her way to her fathers classroom. He wasn't at home, and he wasn't in his office. Sophie stared groggily at her watch for the time. Nine in the morning. He should be in class. She stared up and down the hallway, noticing but not registering that the halls were practically void of human life. She closed her eyes and grabbed the wall with her sweat soaked palm to catch her balance. Sophie definitely had a fever, she was sure of it. The heat was worse than normal, she was dizzy and just wanted to curl in a ball and cry.

When Sophie made it to the classroom, it was empty. She felt tears fill her eyes as she moved into the room. The heat was so thick that it made it almost impossible to move. Her legs muscles were tight and knotted, her back in painful spasms from the tension of the fevers. She climbed onto her father's chair and curled into a ball, her chin resting on the arm of his chair. She looked up at the board, Friday's notes were still on there. It was Saturday! Sophie was finally giving up on finding him. Her eyes closed tightly as tears rolled down her cheeks. He wasn't even at the school. She was left here to suffer in a fever of heat and pain, and her father was off at some meeting or something.

"Quote: I have cookies and ice cream!"

Name: Ashton
Character Name: Hazel Norton
Feature you are applying for: Metamorphmagus

Description of the character: Hazel is a very complicated witch that takes awhile to get to know, and in most cases, it takes quite a lot to earn her trust. Considering that she had a rocky childhood, she is able to be emphatic for others and put herself in their shoes to better understand their standpoint. She is introverted to the point where she will not tell about herself, but she's extroverted in the way that she will give her opinions to others about their situations and give them advice if they ask for it. Hazel doesn't like to talk about herself because she thinks it's selfish when there are others having a harder time than she is. Hazel is normally an intuitive person and she can tell when one is having a hard time. Going with this, she is also insightful and can pick out underlying problems a lot of the time, but this really only applies to other people. She is a conflicted human being and she doesn't exactly know how to live after all that's happened to her. She is afraid of the future the most and what lies ahead, which makes it hard for her to trust people. After her father left her at four years old, she's been unable to really and truly open her heart to many.

Hazel is a very courteous person and likes it when other people are satisfied. She feels that politeness is a necessary social skill to make it big, and if a person is unwilling to be courteous to others, then they will have a hard time and not have many friends. Hazel is a feminine person in the fact that she loves to dress up and shop and make herself attractive. She also enjoys feminine colors like purple, pink, turquoise, and other pastel hues. She is a colorful person and likes to dress in wild colors, which is part of how she expresses herself. Hazel loves animals of all types and enjoyed Herbology and COMC in school, but most of all she enjoys the company of cats.

Hazel does not take anything at face value and therefore assumes that there is always an underlying meaning for everything. This especially goes for negative things, as she has a hard time believing that what anyone says is really what they mean. Generally, she is a passive person and has a hard time saying what she actually means to, which is why she assumes everyone else is also like this to some degree. Being passive can also give others the wrong impression and can lead to arguments from the other end, which she doesn't exactly enjoy participating in. Hazel tends to ignore the other person's bad attitude and will simply refuse to participate in their negative behaviors or actions. She will, most of the time, wake up in the morning and dress into an outfit that showcases what/how she's feeling. The only person Hazel really trusts is her mother, because she has been through most of the same things she has.

Most of the time, Hazel is an optimist. She is not, by any means, an idealist and this is mostly because not a whole bunch of things in her life have really turned out ideal. She really wants to be successful in life and she will do pretty much anything to achieve her ends that doesn't affect others in a negative way. Even if she doesn't particularly like someone, she doesn't think anyone should really have to suffer. A lot of the time, she can get inwardly jealous of other people and what they have. Not necessarily materialistic things, but the way some are able to open up to others and love so freely. Hazel has been convinced her whole life that if her father really had loved her, he wouldn't have left. Hazel wants to believe the best about people, but she sometimes finds it hard because of the event of her father's departure.

Hazel puts her heart and soul into anything she does, and she will try wholeheartedly to achieve whatever her goal is with anything she does. With her theater, for example, most of the time she goes home drained because of all the time and energy she uses up for it. She is also conscientious and doesn't do anything she feels is not morally right. Usually, she tries not to lie to people, but more to beat around the bush and leave it to them to figure things out. If she outright does something wrong, she'll overthink things and confess a couple hours later.

Application: When the idea of creating this character popped into my head, I'll be honest, I didn't think of applying for this feature at first. However, the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of making Hazel a metamorphmagus. This would add more to her work life and her social life in several ways. Hazel isn't exactly the type to approach people in social situations, so I think this would help her to get socialized a little as her ability would peak lots of people's interest. Even before this idea came to mind, I knew I wanted her to do something involving theater, acting, costume design, that sort of thing. General show business stuff. Not many young actresses and designers are able to get themselves off the ground, but Hazel is a motivated young woman and I think this feature will really be a leg up and help her with getting somewhere when she starts out in the workplace after graduation.

I have been an avid member for about a year now in August, actually joining around two years ago, and I already have two other characters with special features. I don't play Jocasta's feature a lot, I'll admit that, but I am working to get her more active and involve her more with things that go on at the Ministry in which she'll use her ability - keeping in mind that she's really still in training and by no means an expert at it yet. I play Melusine's special feature regularly and I enjoy it thoroughly - it is everything I hoped for and it certainly helps with plot opportunities and character development, which is what I'm searching for when I apply for this feature for Hazel as well. I've shown that I can handle a special feature and that I intend to use them when I apply for them. I think this feature will help Hazel in her adult life, because this feature could be considered an advantage in the professions she's looking to enter and stay in.

I have always been fascinated with metamorphmagi, and when I thought of this character, the idea of playing a metamorphmagus was exciting to me and I knew it would present lots of plots. I've never played a character with a personality or interests similar to Hazel's, and I think it will be a good experience for me to be able to play someone that is an adult and has such a big special feature that can be used in the everyday life of the character. Mel is still a child, so she hasn't been given the opportunity to use her feature for a job, but with this character, she can use this for pretty much everything. Besides creating plots for only myself, I've created plots for other people as well. As there aren't many metamorphmagi, I do intend to associate her with the other played ones on Magical Hogwarts and allow other characters to interact with her and get to witness such abilities. 

All in all, I really believe that most of the reason this fits Hazel is because of her personality. I really think it reflects how conflicted she is and how she's still going through the phase of finding out who she really is. I think this feature will help her to really find herself and I intend it to be something she really enjoys being gifted with. It's going to help her to make a statement the only way she wants to and has ever known how, through her appearance. Hazel is extremely passionate about appearance, because that's how she's always expressed herself and probably always will. I have either extremely off-the-wall characters or very introverted ones, and so with Hazel I am seeking a happy medium that will allow me to play all sides of the emotional ups and downs of being a young adult.

Future plots: My future plots for this character are quite busy. I've spoken with several drivers about what kind of plot opportunities they would be up for. First, I spoke with Jams, who has Saskia. Since Saskia is in need of new clothes and costumes once in awhile, I'm going to have Hazel design for her. It's an interesting dual plot, as she'll both get to create costumes for someone that appreciates the work she does and she'll also get to associate with someone who's like her. I had lots of drivers eager to talk with me about arranging things for this character, which sort of informed me that I should really go for it and keep doing what I'm doing with the ideas for this character.

I have lots of plots for her to be able to play out her feature in the workplace as well. When I spoke with Dylan about creating this character, we came up with the idea of creating a theater in London. There she'll be able to showcase her abilities when she acts and performs, and she will also be able to do the things she loves, like costume designing and directing, and this way I'll actually be able to play the job out - that was a lot of the reason I thought about applying for the feature.

I spoke with Lady Jedi about getting her a second job in Diagon Alley, so she'll waitress there to bring in more money. I also just recently talked to Toya about involving her in a third job where she could use her ability, so she'll also be working at the Pleasure Pit during the nighttime. Theoretically, there could be a different bartender every night, so that could present some interesting plots with people who come into the bar, wondering how on earth they gather so many employees.

This feature will honestly help Hazel to make friends in the future, and I know this because I've spoken to several people about that. When I spoke to Samantha, who will eventually be playing George Weasley, she told me he would be very interested in her ability and probably approach her because of it. It would give her a chance to inform people about what exactly she can do, and how she uses it. I plan to talk to Lena and Hanhan, who have the other two metamorphmagi in the Hogwarts area, about possible plots that we could concoct. To conclude, there won't be plots that are just an advantage for this character, but she'll present lots of opportunities for other drivers that they will enjoy as well.

Hazel stood in front of the mirror, looking at herself in her pajamas. What to wear today? There were lots of choices, but it was only work. She didn't want to stress herself out too bad, but she was still fairly new at this job, and she didn't want to creep her boss out yet. This wasn't her theater job she thought of, but her third job that she'd just gotten hired for at a nightclub. Hazel was sort of interested to bartend, and she wanted to look the part, so she supposed she would go for long dark hair and maybe some darker clothes as well. Standing sideways now and staring, the length of her hair grew a little bit, and the natural curl disappeared - it was now straight as a ruler. That looked modern enough. Hazel made sure the bangs that cut straight across her forehead were nothing less than completely even all the way across. She slimmed her body a little so it was lankier and a couple inches taller than normal. Smiling, she scanned her body again. There, that would do just fine. Hazel would stay with her natural black hair, but the blue eye color seemed too out of place to fit the identity she was going for, so she changed them to a light brown that looked almost yellow. Satisfied, Hazel turned to her closet.

There were plenty of options in there as well, but she wanted to dress in black. Since it was color-coded, it wasn't much of a problem to find all her black things. A pair of leather pants would have to do, and maybe one of those corsets would work as a top. Hazel wriggled into the clingy pants and then cinched up the corset in the back, turning back to her mirror to assess her appearance again. The behind was a little loose, so she changed the size of her behind to accommodate with the pants. Hazel had lots of different sizes of things in her closet, most of them being her actual size, but other articles of clothing were ones she didn't fit into normally but just had to have. Other ones were ones she designed for herself, or ones that were unfinished for other people. Saskia was one of the people that ordered the most from her, and she was also a metamorphmagus - they talked often and Hazel was rather fond of the woman. Hazel ran a hand through her hair, pursing her lips. There was something missing.

Scanning the contents of her extensive walk-in closet again, Hazel found the perfect missing piece. Her leather jacket with the metal studs she'd sewn in herself would be the perfect addition to the outfit, and it would create a certain demeanor for this new job she had at the night club. Squatting onto her knees, the young woman selected a pair of black boots that completed the outfit. She wouldn't take a bag with her, that would be too risky to take to a club. Hazel exited the closet, smoothing her clothes and standing in front of the mirror again. Maybe she needed to add a little color to her lips, so she didn't look like she was attending a funeral. Agreeing with this recent thought, she resolved on brightening the tint of her lips to a redder hue. Grinning to make sure she liked the effect of the red, she did. It seemed to brighten her teeth and her eyes. "Okay," she muttered, preparing to give herself a pep talk before she left her flat. "You can do this. You were hired. You look great."