Special Feature Applications

Name: Castor
Character name: Psiana Skarpurrokk
Feature you are applying for: Half-Siren (Icelandic sub-type)
In order to avoid clashing with other played sirens and what little HP canon there is, my application is that Psiana comes from a northern sub-type of the species, with similarities to Selkie or Nix, with their own clan traditions and slight differences to the way they wield their powers. I do realise that this goes against HP canon in places, however I think it can be assumed that wizards (even Newt Scamander) do not know everything there is to know about the other creatures within their world - especially one as secretive as the clan I am about to describe. So I suppose this is partly a Siren application and partly an original feature application.

Looks: Psiana's looks come almost entirely from her mother's dominant Siren genes. Her pale and unblemished complexion are the trademarks of her Siren clan. Her appearance is one of apparent perfection, able to allure and impress with the underlying, passive magic that fills her.

Personality: Psiana bears all of the signs of her clan's way of rearing their female offspring - she is manipulative and cold, independent and fiercely feminist. She believes that a man's place is firmly beneath her - they are there to be used and controlled. Even for a Siren she has a strong need for perfection and control. Indeed those two things dominate her thoughts and her life - she must get things her own way and she must succeed to her own expectations and standards. Failure or a loss of control would not just be an embarrassment to her, but would shake her to her foundations. She is intelligent and sharp-minded, but her experience is little and she can be narrow-minded, blinkered by the teachings of her clan and the way her society works. While Durmstrang has widened her experience a little over the last 5 years, she remains very ignorant to the wider world, and as much as she takes delight in manipulating and brainwashing others, she herself is the victim of the same manipulation and brainwashing.

Psiana's background and powers alienate her amongst her peers. She is a social person, who ultimately wants to be adored and followed, but emotional connection is something quite alien to her. Even though her mother experienced romantic attraction, this is an absolute sin within the clan and she has not ever spoken to her daughter, or anyone else, about her feelings. Psiana, then, believes that true connection - love, friendship and family relationships - are weaknesses that humans have. Something that she is above. Instead, she believes in hierarchy, control and forced respect, and ultimately finds these things unsatisfying.

As well as the powers that I detail below, Psiana shows natural talent for illusions and runic magic, as these are commonplace within her clan. Nautica also comes easily, although her knowledge of vessels comes more from the wrecked remains that litter the outlying rocks of her island. Skills for actual sailing is something that has been largely theoretical for her, but she loves being out on the sea and has taken to those classes at Durmstrang well. Fast-paced wand magic is something that does not come naturally to her, much to her dismay. She puts effort in, because failure is not an option, but she seems to find it harder to pick up than her peers. But the subject that she really fails at is Flora and Fauna. The island from which she comes is a barren and rocky place, and she is not used to dealing with other terrains, nor the creatures and plants that fill those strange habitats.

Psiana's Clan
While Sirens are more commonly found in the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, some groups made their way north and adapted to the climate there. The home of Psiana's clan, known only as 'The Island' to the Sirens, is off of the northern-most tip of Iceland. It is unmapped to both muggles and wizards alike, due to a mixture of runic enchantments, illusions, and the way that any passing sailors are lured to their deaths, eradicating any who might bear witness to their whereabouts. The island itself is small and rocky, surrounded by sharp cliffs on all sides as well as outcrops of ice. It is exposed to the elements - bitterly cold for much of the year and prone to freezing rain and blizzards of snow. It has been home to the Icelandic clan of Sirens for thousands of years. The clan themselves live in simple buildings half-carved into the rock. Inside they are protected from the weather, although the Sirens here are quite used to the cold temperatures and do not suffer from them in the same way as humans or their warmer cousins do. The pure Sirens here are humanoid in appearance, with legs not fish-tails, but with webbed feet and fingers. They are not shapeshifters, but able to use illusion to change their appearance, giving rise to the 'giant bird' legends in ancient muggle stories. Without the illusion, their natural beauty, aided by an innate underlying power, makes them incredibly beautiful and alluring.

The clan consists mainly of females - a mix of pure Sirens and their female half-breed offspring. Male Sirens are incredibly rare and so the few that exist within this clan are protected at all costs - but in the way one might protect a prized jewel rather than another person. They are kept for breeding purposes mainly, with no voice or standing within the clan. Any male Siren birthed is groomed and brainwashed into the role, ready to serve the females of the clan. Of course, with so few males available, the females often take to keeping human males for entertainment and to breed with. These are kept, much like pets, again without any standing, and usually do not live any longer than a year on the island. Those that manage to survive the harsh conditions are simply killed once their Siren mistress bores of them.

The Sirens are, of course, infamous for their deadly song. The song of one Siren can be dangerous enough, manipulating a sole victim, but when several lift their voices together, they produce a hypnotising chorus that lures any passing sailors, drawing their ships closer to be dashed on the harsh rocks and ice that surround the island. The broken remains of several such ships haunt the Island's coastline, often used as play-areas for the Siren young. The ships are looted and any survivors captured. While some are killed immediately, others are kept for entertainment or to seed halfbreed offspring. With fewer ships passing these days, the Sirens' numbers have dwindled and survivors are more likely to be kept, out of necessity.

Cannibalism, or rather the consumption of human flesh, used to be commonplace within the clan - a way of surviving in a place of few natural resources. In current times, cannibalism is ritualistic only. One man is selected from each wrecked ship, used to seed an elder, and then sacrificed and consumed by the elders of the clan. Instead of relying on nutrition from human flesh, the clan sends a small gathering party out to Iceland from time to time, to buy resources, and perhaps lure a few men back with them. Their interactions with the outside world are limited, but having collected loot from the wreckage of ships for thousands of years, the Sirens have a great deal of kept wealth.

The clan's hierarchy places halfbreeds below pure Sirens, but the purity of their kind has, again, been diluted over the years. While the Sirens cling to their ways, the truth is that they face extinction or the negative results of inbreeding if they do not breed with humankind. Those halfbreeds with wizard blood are sometimes offered a place at Durmstrang, but the clan chooses to only allow the sharpest minds - and those of greatest willpower - to attend. Those that do attend are closely monitored by the clan's elders, to insure that they are not corrupted by the human world and do not fall victim to the beliefs and views of wizardkind.

Wand magic is not commonplace within the clan, although those Durmstrang graduates that return make use of what they have learned. The Icelandic Sirens have a natural inclination to runic magic and illusion. They rely on ritual, chants and runes to cast their protective enchantments and other necessary spells, with the trained skills passed from mother to daughter.

Psiana's Powers
APPEARANCE (passive): Psiana has inherited the Siren appearance that renders logic difficult and lures men (or rather those that are attracted to females). It causes a lustful infatuation which the victim interprets as love and strong desire. It does not effect those unattracted to females.

AURA OF COMMAND (passive, but can be heightened by manipulative behaviour): This is a manipulation of those in her presence, outside of sexuality. The aura of command gently encourages those around her to listen and obey and creates a desire to impress and be noticed and liked. It can be interpreted by the victim as a strong respect or admiration. The effects depend on the victim's willpower and strength of mind. Those weak-willed or tired/ill/old etc. will find it hard to realise the manipulation is there and resist it. Those healthy and strong-willed will recognise it and can fight to resist successfully, although it takes energy. Rational thinkers and analysts find it easier to resist. This power cannot be used to manipulate someone into doing something that goes against their beliefs/personality.

THE SONG (active): Again taking into consideration the state of the victim, the Siren's song is hypnotising and manipulative. The song can be adjusted to suit a certain victim, so knowledge about the victim's likes, dislikes, desires etc. makes the manipulation more likely to succeed. This kind of hypnosis is difficult to detect and therefore harder to resist than the above passive powers.

Psiana, being only half-siren, has lesser powers than those with pure blood, but given the effects that Fleur's quarter-veela-blood had on those around her, Psiana's abilities are powerful enough.

Note on Godmoding: Obviously, these powers come with the potential for controlling other's characters. This is something I would never, ever do. Any plots or threads including Psiana's powers would be fully discussed with the other driver(s) and done only with their permission.

Family Reunion: Psiana has never met her father and does not even know his name. She does, however, have a photograph of him that her mother kept. Her mother fell for the man - something that would have been completely out of the question within the clan. Having kept him as long as was socially acceptable, she could not bear to kill him and so allowed him to escape. That man is about to become Psiana's Nautica professor at Durmstrang. Running into him, completely unexpected, will create many questions and feelings that Psi is not prepared for. Erik is also completely unaware that he has a daughter, and so will not recognise her or be aware of who she is.

Future Choices: Psiana is getting to the age where her peers are dating and thoughts turning to the future. Psi has no idea what shape she wants her future to take. She is expected to return to the island, to use her learned magic to aid the clan and to fit back into the society of the Sirens. But she is starting to feel dissatisfied with that idea. Part of her wants a career, to see the world, to experience more than the life that has been laid out for her. Will she do as the elders bid her? Or will she forge her own future in the wizarding world? Especially now that her father is coming back into the picture, she's going to have ties to the world that the elders forbid.

Soulmates: Sirens are not meant to form emotional attachments to lovers. 'Love' does not exist. It is infatuation and control, foolish weak-minded men shaped and used by the manipulative and dominant females. Sexual pleasure (for the females, of course) and breeding are meant to be all that matters. But Psi has been exposed to a society that believes in more than that and she's starting to crave a proper relationship of her own. Of course, the majority of suitable men that she meets are turned into babbling fools by her powers, and sometimes that feels like a curse that will prevent her from ever finding herself a soulmate. In the meantime, she'll pass the time and amuse herself by manipulating those around her, which could provide entertaining threads where those affected cave in or try to resist her allure.

Confusing Attraction: A thread involving Meike Rosenthal and Psi. Meike is a lesbian, but hasn't thought about it yet, so her attraction and the effect of Psi's charms would be confusing for her. Meike has good self-control so is unlikely to fall victim to Psi's powers, but just being aware of them would cause stress and an interesting situation.

Enemy number one: Yelena Romanova and Psi were 'friends' - that is to say that Yelena was completely under Psi's spell and followed her happily. This lasted until the end of 3rd year, when Yelena disappeared from Durmstrang early, after the events of the war in the UK. When she returned she was different - and wise to Psi's manipulation. She started trying to convince others that they were merely being manipulated by Psi. The two became enemies. Psi sees her as a threat and wants to get her hands on Lena's journal so that she can research her opponent and craft a custom Song for her just in case she needs it for defense.

Oops I'm married: A fun one-off thread with Cezary Kowalczyk in which he and Psi run into each other in Belushya Guba. He totally taken by her powers, forgets he's already married and proposes to her on the spot, with ensuing hilarity (hopefully) - especially when he realises what has happened when Psi is gone and the effects of her charms lift.

Irresistible: A thread, or possibly plot, involving Mika Koskela falling for Psi's charms. She'll take great pleasure in the usually tough Krov going soft around her. He, on the other hand, will be oblivious while she's around, and hate her once she's gone.

A mixture between a whine and a cough caught her attention and she glanced up, coming face to face with a pair of round bright blue eyes. Their owner was pale in the face, soft pink lips parted and twitching as though words were trying to get out but couldn't fully form. Psiana rolled her own pale-grey eyes before glaring at the boy. "Is there something you wanted?" she hissed, although she knew full well she wouldn't get an answer. Just a squeak as the boy pulled a little back, his gaze not breaking.

Even after five years at Durmstrang, she still found it hard to wrap her head around exactly how pathetic boys were. No wonder they weren't kept for long back home. At least back home they were where they belonged and treated how they deserved. Here they were given education, careers... free choice to do as they please. Which was ridiculous. Clearly they weren't stable enough for such things and would be far better off doing as they were told. Except she couldn't say those things because even some of the teachers here were male. Some of them acted the same as the boys, others she knew to hold her tongue in front of. But even those ones - the ones that could resist - if she wanted to, she could sing for them, and they'd be back on their knees where they belonged. Or at least, so she thought. She rolled her eyes again, turning them back to the open book in front of her. Plants stared back at her. Stupid, pointless plants.

But she couldn't shake the fact that she was being watched... and the poor mindless idiot was on the verge of drooling. Her brow furrowed, although it did little to darken her features or cloud her beauty. Even when frustrated, she had a doll-like perfection. Looking up again, she tilted her head slightly and her snarl gave way to a slow, creeping smile. "How are you at Dark Flora?" she asked, her voice smooth like honey and tone pure and innocent. The boy spluttered to answer, insisting that he was the best in his class, that he was worthy of awards, that he was the highest achieving herbotonist in the country, no, the world. She sighed and looked pointedly at his piles of parchment, then, as the boy wasn't moving fast enough for her liking, she simply snatched the relevant paper from the pile and looked it over. His grade was A - Above average. Well, it could be better, but if she suddenly topped the class that would draw suspicion anyway. She flicked through the paper until she found his answers to their current assignment and sat it on the desk in front of her.

"Sit!" she ordered and he, like so many before him, fell over himself to obey. Dipping her quill, she began neatly copying out his answers, changing some of the wording as she went along so that her cheating wasn't obvious. "And don't think this gives you permission to talk. It doesn't."

Name: Inga
Character name: Alla Artyomovna Chaikovskaya
Feature you are applying for: Necromancy

Alla is nineteen years old and graduated from Durmstrang only two years ago.

Her main interests are Necromancy, Russia, poetry, and, of course, her pet skeleton Burmin.
During her time at Durmstrang she has excelled at Necromancy and has even taken extra lessons from Anton Petrovych Knyazyev. However, they did not only chat about Necromancy when they were together. In fact, Alla had something like a secret affair with the headmaster. This was partly a reason why she got so obsessed with Necromancy too. During her school time she already experimented a lot. Trying to expand on what she learned in lessons. She bought a skeleton during a summer holiday and worked on animating it. Furthermore she tried to convince her little sister that it would be a good thing if she tried to possess her mind.

While she is a bit of a freak, being obsessed with necromancy like that, she is, at this point, still a rather friendly young witch who does not see necromancy as dark magic. Actually, Alla is still a little naive, unaware of what she is really getting into.

The Russian, however,  is very eager to stand out as someone special. The girl is ambitious, intelligent and manipulating. When she has set a goal for herself, she tries everything to reach it. Failure to her is only a step on the way to success. That being said, she will pursue her goal of gaining real proficiency in Necromancy until the very end.

These days, she is working at a small funeral parlour in Moscow and, being surrounded by death, she has the perfect job to go on with her creepy little experiments (even if her boss does not approve of this). She copes well with her job and her experiments for now as it's mostly a professional confrontation with death. Seeing how she gave the animated skeleton a name and is treating it like a pet or even like a friend, it is obvious that the girl has not lost her playful side (yet).

Alla has already shown some development since I first created her and I'm eager to let her develop more.

I've been playing Alla as someone who is enthusiastic about necromancy and who wants to learn more and more about it. She has excelled in the subject at Durmstrang and after school she went on studying necromancy in private. As she wants to excel in necromantic magic, she works hard on this goal. She would do almost anything to improve her skills and might sometimes go as far as risking her own health. She loves to do her experiments even though they have led her to the hospital wing during her time at school. Being a studious person, she reads whatever text she can find about the subject and talks to people with more experience than herself. At this point of her life she is happy for every bit of input she can get. While the girl is critical, she is not beyond being influenced by others, especially if she values their opinion and their skill level.

While she is still too young to be a fully fleshed necromancer, I would like this feature for her so that I do not have to wonder about when I cross the line of her just being obsessed with and good at necromantic magic and her being a real necromancer. After all, the feature feels like a natural development for Alla. I would like to play out how she gets better and better at it and how her character changes when she discovers how she can use her skills and how far one can go with necromancy.

For Alla growing up does not only mean that she is becoming a woman and that she is responsible for herself. In the process of growing up, she is discovering dark magic for herself. During her time at school and still for a while to come Alla is mostly seeing necromancy as an academic field she can study and prove herself in. She has a playful approach to the topic, having her animated human skeleton and keeping it as a servant. She is keeping 'Burmin' for a few years now and treating him with affection. However, as she gets a deeper knowledge of this field of magic and as she is getting older, Alla will realise that necromancy is in fact rather dark magic. She will discover that her skills give her a certain power that she will have to learn to use wisely.

Already in the past I've played her as someone who makes experiments that might be too difficult for her. She has struggled in the past and will do so in the future, leading to dangerous situations for herself and others. This leads to many plot opportunities not only with fellow necromancers but also with other characters.

As for possible threads and plots there are some things planned and still a lot more things possible.

Carys is in the process of creating a ghost who will observe most of Alla's work at the funeral parlour. At first the two of them will really dislike each other as Alla will try and animate the corpse of the ghost and thus offend the recently deceased witch. Tara is only a little older than Alla is, they even know each other from school, and naturally Alla will be very curious to learn more about dying and being dead. It's an interesting conflict that Tara has died and does not approve of necromantic magic such as animating corpses while Alla likes to do just that and sees nothing wrong in it.

Alla is also exchanging letters with Dylan's Cezary Kowalczyk, telling him about her recent successes with her necromantic experiments. These two also know each other from school, but living in different countries do not see much of each other.

With Bridget I have spoken about Alla getting to know Cecilia Tate. These two will meet when Alla is out with Burmin. They'll start chatting and slowly get to know and trust each other (at least to some degree). Cece will be one of those people who will influence Alla to become darker.

Toya's Amir al-Busuri will be another person who will influence Alla in her development. He will show her the darkest bits of necromantic magic and will even take her as an assistant for his travels which is very exciting for the young witch who has only recently travelled to Britain for the first time and has only stayed in Russia until then.

Other than that I've spoken to Michael. Vincent Neuer is interested in necromancy and Alla will offer him tutoring although she is actually looking for a victim to practise necromantic possession on. When I played her in the past she wanted to try that on her sister. Unfortunately that thread was never ended and so I always assumed her to have struggled badly and have ended up in the hospital wing.

I would like her to try and bribe students into playing her victim. In return she would offer private necromancy lessons, advice of some sort (she would quite enjoy giving love advice in return) or some sort of item.

Then there's always Julie's Anton Knyazyev. They have a shared history, him being the one who first paved the way for her necromantic ambition, and, if Anton is actively played again, I'm sure we will plot some more.

Other than in concrete and planned plots I will play Alla more or less like I did in the past - that is as someone who experiments a lot and who likes to keep her pet skeleton close. I'm sure more plot opportunities will arise, especially as she is getting away from Russia more and more.

Something that would also help a lot with Alla's development regarding the special feature would be if someone adopted her little sister Lyudmila. (I will try to bribe someone into making her.)

Animating a skeleton was something Alla could do easily by now. However, animating a corpse of a recently deceased person was something entirely different. It was more complex and thus a lot more challenging. Working at a funeral parlour, she came across quite a few corpses but to her great displeasure her boss did not like the idea of her practising Necromancy at his parlour. Alla could somehow understand why he disliked it but it was academic research she was doing. There was nothing immoral in that, was there?

Not wanting to jeopardise her job, Alla played the innocent girl during the opening hours, but the thought of all these corpses that just waited for her to bring them back to life was just too appealing. One night, the Russian finally couldn't restrain herself anymore and sneaked back into the funeral parlour, knowing that her boss would be safely at home, sleeping. Even to her it felt a bit strange to be in a dark room with just dead people keeping her company. The silence was overwhelming and, after lightening candles, Alla's next action was to turn on the wireless. She was more than glad to have taken Burmin with her now. While the skeleton was no more alive than the bodies in the mortuary refrigerator, his presence still made her feel more at ease.

She opened one of the compartments in which she knew she would find the body of a young witch who died in a car accident. How ironic that was! A witch dying in muggle surroundings. Muggles were dangerous, after all, creating these terrible machines for transport just because they weren't able to apparate or to use the floo network... She looked at the girl. She was so pretty and after some preparation Alla had done during the day, she looked like she was merely sleeping. "Now look at her, Burmin," Alla whispered in awe. "That girl would make a great friend for you, wouldn't she?"

Taking out the blade she had only recently purchased in London, Alla cut her left thumb and let some blood drop into a tiny bowl. Sealing the cut after she had got enough blood to work with, the girl looked at the scarred thumb. She had cut it so many times by now that she could not heal it properly anymore. However, she was almost proud of this and similar scars she bore by now. They were, after all, proof her Necromantic ambitions.

Whispering incantations and drawing a pattern with her blood on the cleavage of the dead girl, Alla began with the animation. To finish the process she laid her hand onto the forehead of the young witch and closed her eyes, focusing on the incantations she spoke. Only moments later she felt the body below her stir. It had come to life. While Alla felt dizzy, she was more than proud that she had managed this difficult step. "Burmin, where are your manners? Ask her if she wants to dance with you!" She grinned. Controlling Burmin and the body of the witch was more exhausting than she had anticipated though. The girl staggered and sat down on the nearest chair, still trying to let the skeleton and the corpse stand face to face.

Name: Castor
Character name: Psiana Skarpurrokk
Feature you are applying for: Half-Siren (Icelandic sub-type)
In order to avoid clashing with other played sirens and what little HP canon there is, my application is that Psiana comes from a northern sub-type of the species, with similarities to Selkie or Nix, with their own clan traditions and slight differences to the way they wield their powers. I do realise that this goes against HP canon in places, however I think it can be assumed that wizards (even Newt Scamander) do not know everything there is to know about the other creatures within their world - especially one as secretive as the clan I am about to describe. So I suppose this is partly a Siren application and partly an original feature application.

Looks: Psiana's looks come almost entirely from her mother's dominant Siren genes. Her pale and unblemished complexion are the trademarks of her Siren clan. Her appearance is one of apparent perfection, able to allure and impress with the underlying, passive magic that fills her.

Personality: Psiana bears all of the signs of her clan's way of rearing their female offspring - she is manipulative and cold, independent and fiercely feminist. She believes that a man's place is firmly beneath her - they are there to be used and controlled. Even for a Siren she has a strong need for perfection and control. Indeed those two things dominate her thoughts and her life - she must get things her own way and she must succeed to her own expectations and standards. Failure or a loss of control would not just be an embarrassment to her, but would shake her to her foundations. She is intelligent and sharp-minded, but her experience is little and she can be narrow-minded, blinkered by the teachings of her clan and the way her society works. While Durmstrang has widened her experience a little over the last 5 years, she remains very ignorant to the wider world, and as much as she takes delight in manipulating and brainwashing others, she herself is the victim of the same manipulation and brainwashing.

Psiana's background and powers alienate her amongst her peers. She is a social person, who ultimately wants to be adored and followed, but emotional connection is something quite alien to her. Even though her mother experienced romantic attraction, this is an absolute sin within the clan and she has not ever spoken to her daughter, or anyone else, about her feelings. Psiana, then, believes that true connection - love, friendship and family relationships - are weaknesses that humans have. Something that she is above. Instead, she believes in hierarchy, control and forced respect, and ultimately finds these things unsatisfying.

As well as the powers that I detail below, Psiana shows natural talent for illusions and runic magic, as these are commonplace within her clan. Nautica also comes easily, although her knowledge of vessels comes more from the wrecked remains that litter the outlying rocks of her island. Skills for actual sailing is something that has been largely theoretical for her, but she loves being out on the sea and has taken to those classes at Durmstrang well. Fast-paced wand magic is something that does not come naturally to her, much to her dismay. She puts effort in, because failure is not an option, but she seems to find it harder to pick up than her peers. But the subject that she really fails at is Flora and Fauna. The island from which she comes is a barren and rocky place, and she is not used to dealing with other terrains, nor the creatures and plants that fill those strange habitats.

Psiana's Clan
While Sirens are more commonly found in the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, some groups made their way north and adapted to the climate there. The home of Psiana's clan, known only as 'The Island' to the Sirens, is off of the northern-most tip of Iceland. It is unmapped to both muggles and wizards alike, due to a mixture of runic enchantments, illusions, and the way that any passing sailors are lured to their deaths, eradicating any who might bear witness to their whereabouts. The island itself is small and rocky, surrounded by sharp cliffs on all sides as well as outcrops of ice. It is exposed to the elements - bitterly cold for much of the year and prone to freezing rain and blizzards of snow. It has been home to the Icelandic clan of Sirens for thousands of years. The clan themselves live in simple buildings half-carved into the rock. Inside they are protected from the weather, although the Sirens here are quite used to the cold temperatures and do not suffer from them in the same way as humans or their warmer cousins do. The pure Sirens here are humanoid in appearance, with legs not fish-tails, but with webbed feet and fingers. They are not shapeshifters, but able to use illusion to change their appearance, giving rise to the 'giant bird' legends in ancient muggle stories. Without the illusion, their natural beauty, aided by an innate underlying power, makes them incredibly beautiful and alluring.

The clan consists mainly of females - a mix of pure Sirens and their female half-breed offspring. Male Sirens are incredibly rare and so the few that exist within this clan are protected at all costs - but in the way one might protect a prized jewel rather than another person. They are kept for breeding purposes mainly, with no voice or standing within the clan. Any male Siren birthed is groomed and brainwashed into the role, ready to serve the females of the clan. Of course, with so few males available, the females often take to keeping human males for entertainment and to breed with. These are kept, much like pets, again without any standing, and usually do not live any longer than a year on the island. Those that manage to survive the harsh conditions are simply killed once their Siren mistress bores of them.

The Sirens are, of course, infamous for their deadly song. The song of one Siren can be dangerous enough, manipulating a sole victim, but when several lift their voices together, they produce a hypnotising chorus that lures any passing sailors, drawing their ships closer to be dashed on the harsh rocks and ice that surround the island. The broken remains of several such ships haunt the Island's coastline, often used as play-areas for the Siren young. The ships are looted and any survivors captured. While some are killed immediately, others are kept for entertainment or to seed halfbreed offspring. With fewer ships passing these days, the Sirens' numbers have dwindled and survivors are more likely to be kept, out of necessity.

Cannibalism, or rather the consumption of human flesh, used to be commonplace within the clan - a way of surviving in a place of few natural resources. In current times, cannibalism is ritualistic only. One man is selected from each wrecked ship, used to seed an elder, and then sacrificed and consumed by the elders of the clan. Instead of relying on nutrition from human flesh, the clan sends a small gathering party out to Iceland from time to time, to buy resources, and perhaps lure a few men back with them. Their interactions with the outside world are limited, but having collected loot from the wreckage of ships for thousands of years, the Sirens have a great deal of kept wealth.

The clan's hierarchy places halfbreeds below pure Sirens, but the purity of their kind has, again, been diluted over the years. While the Sirens cling to their ways, the truth is that they face extinction or the negative results of inbreeding if they do not breed with humankind. Those halfbreeds with wizard blood are sometimes offered a place at Durmstrang, but the clan chooses to only allow the sharpest minds - and those of greatest willpower - to attend. Those that do attend are closely monitored by the clan's elders, to insure that they are not corrupted by the human world and do not fall victim to the beliefs and views of wizardkind.

Wand magic is not commonplace within the clan, although those Durmstrang graduates that return make use of what they have learned. The Icelandic Sirens have a natural inclination to runic magic and illusion. They rely on ritual, chants and runes to cast their protective enchantments and other necessary spells, with the trained skills passed from mother to daughter.

Psiana's Powers
APPEARANCE (passive): Psiana has inherited the Siren appearance that renders logic difficult and lures men (or rather those that are attracted to females). It causes a lustful infatuation which the victim interprets as love and strong desire. It does not effect those unattracted to females.

AURA OF COMMAND (passive, but can be heightened by manipulative behaviour): This is a manipulation of those in her presence, outside of sexuality. The aura of command gently encourages those around her to listen and obey and creates a desire to impress and be noticed and liked. It can be interpreted by the victim as a strong respect or admiration. The effects depend on the victim's willpower and strength of mind. Those weak-willed or tired/ill/old etc. will find it hard to realise the manipulation is there and resist it. Those healthy and strong-willed will recognise it and can fight to resist successfully, although it takes energy. Rational thinkers and analysts find it easier to resist. This power cannot be used to manipulate someone into doing something that goes against their beliefs/personality.

THE SONG (active): Again taking into consideration the state of the victim, the Siren's song is hypnotising and manipulative. The song can be adjusted to suit a certain victim, so knowledge about the victim's likes, dislikes, desires etc. makes the manipulation more likely to succeed. This kind of hypnosis is difficult to detect and therefore harder to resist than the above passive powers.

Psiana, being only half-siren, has lesser powers than those with pure blood, but given the effects that Fleur's quarter-veela-blood had on those around her, Psiana's abilities are powerful enough.

Note on Godmoding: Obviously, these powers come with the potential for controlling other's characters. This is something I would never, ever do. Any plots or threads including Psiana's powers would be fully discussed with the other driver(s) and done only with their permission.

Family Reunion: Psiana has never met her father and does not even know his name. She does, however, have a photograph of him that her mother kept. Her mother fell for the man - something that would have been completely out of the question within the clan. Having kept him as long as was socially acceptable, she could not bear to kill him and so allowed him to escape. That man is about to become Psiana's Nautica professor at Durmstrang. Running into him, completely unexpected, will create many questions and feelings that Psi is not prepared for. Erik is also completely unaware that he has a daughter, and so will not recognise her or be aware of who she is.

Future Choices: Psiana is getting to the age where her peers are dating and thoughts turning to the future. Psi has no idea what shape she wants her future to take. She is expected to return to the island, to use her learned magic to aid the clan and to fit back into the society of the Sirens. But she is starting to feel dissatisfied with that idea. Part of her wants a career, to see the world, to experience more than the life that has been laid out for her. Will she do as the elders bid her? Or will she forge her own future in the wizarding world? Especially now that her father is coming back into the picture, she's going to have ties to the world that the elders forbid.

Soulmates: Sirens are not meant to form emotional attachments to lovers. 'Love' does not exist. It is infatuation and control, foolish weak-minded men shaped and used by the manipulative and dominant females. Sexual pleasure (for the females, of course) and breeding are meant to be all that matters. But Psi has been exposed to a society that believes in more than that and she's starting to crave a proper relationship of her own. Of course, the majority of suitable men that she meets are turned into babbling fools by her powers, and sometimes that feels like a curse that will prevent her from ever finding herself a soulmate. In the meantime, she'll pass the time and amuse herself by manipulating those around her, which could provide entertaining threads where those affected cave in or try to resist her allure.

Confusing Attraction: A thread involving Meike Rosenthal and Psi. Meike is a lesbian, but hasn't thought about it yet, so her attraction and the effect of Psi's charms would be confusing for her. Meike has good self-control so is unlikely to fall victim to Psi's powers, but just being aware of them would cause stress and an interesting situation.

Enemy number one: Yelena Romanova and Psi were 'friends' - that is to say that Yelena was completely under Psi's spell and followed her happily. This lasted until the end of 3rd year, when Yelena disappeared from Durmstrang early, after the events of the war in the UK. When she returned she was different - and wise to Psi's manipulation. She started trying to convince others that they were merely being manipulated by Psi. The two became enemies. Psi sees her as a threat and wants to get her hands on Lena's journal so that she can research her opponent and craft a custom Song for her just in case she needs it for defense.

Oops I'm married: A fun one-off thread with Cezary Kowalczyk in which he and Psi run into each other in Belushya Guba. He totally taken by her powers, forgets he's already married and proposes to her on the spot, with ensuing hilarity (hopefully) - especially when he realises what has happened when Psi is gone and the effects of her charms lift.

Irresistible: A thread, or possibly plot, involving Mika Koskela falling for Psi's charms. She'll take great pleasure in the usually tough Krov going soft around her. He, on the other hand, will be oblivious while she's around, and hate her once she's gone.

A mixture between a whine and a cough caught her attention and she glanced up, coming face to face with a pair of round bright blue eyes. Their owner was pale in the face, soft pink lips parted and twitching as though words were trying to get out but couldn't fully form. Psiana rolled her own pale-grey eyes before glaring at the boy. "Is there something you wanted?" she hissed, although she knew full well she wouldn't get an answer. Just a squeak as the boy pulled a little back, his gaze not breaking.

Even after five years at Durmstrang, she still found it hard to wrap her head around exactly how pathetic boys were. No wonder they weren't kept for long back home. At least back home they were where they belonged and treated how they deserved. Here they were given education, careers... free choice to do as they please. Which was ridiculous. Clearly they weren't stable enough for such things and would be far better off doing as they were told. Except she couldn't say those things because even some of the teachers here were male. Some of them acted the same as the boys, others she knew to hold her tongue in front of. But even those ones - the ones that could resist - if she wanted to, she could sing for them, and they'd be back on their knees where they belonged. Or at least, so she thought. She rolled her eyes again, turning them back to the open book in front of her. Plants stared back at her. Stupid, pointless plants.

But she couldn't shake the fact that she was being watched... and the poor mindless idiot was on the verge of drooling. Her brow furrowed, although it did little to darken her features or cloud her beauty. Even when frustrated, she had a doll-like perfection. Looking up again, she tilted her head slightly and her snarl gave way to a slow, creeping smile. "How are you at Dark Flora?" she asked, her voice smooth like honey and tone pure and innocent. The boy spluttered to answer, insisting that he was the best in his class, that he was worthy of awards, that he was the highest achieving herbotonist in the country, no, the world. She sighed and looked pointedly at his piles of parchment, then, as the boy wasn't moving fast enough for her liking, she simply snatched the relevant paper from the pile and looked it over. His grade was A - Above average. Well, it could be better, but if she suddenly topped the class that would draw suspicion anyway. She flicked through the paper until she found his answers to their current assignment and sat it on the desk in front of her.

"Sit!" she ordered and he, like so many before him, fell over himself to obey. Dipping her quill, she began neatly copying out his answers, changing some of the wording as she went along so that her cheating wasn't obvious. "And don't think this gives you permission to talk. It doesn't."

[toy]Approved~ maia is excited[/toy]

Name: Inga
Character name: Alla Artyomovna Chaikovskaya
Feature you are applying for: Necromancy

Alla is nineteen years old and graduated from Durmstrang only two years ago.

Her main interests are Necromancy, Russia, poetry, and, of course, her pet skeleton Burmin.
During her time at Durmstrang she has excelled at Necromancy and has even taken extra lessons from Anton Petrovych Knyazyev. However, they did not only chat about Necromancy when they were together. In fact, Alla had something like a secret affair with the headmaster. This was partly a reason why she got so obsessed with Necromancy too. During her school time she already experimented a lot. Trying to expand on what she learned in lessons. She bought a skeleton during a summer holiday and worked on animating it. Furthermore she tried to convince her little sister that it would be a good thing if she tried to possess her mind.

While she is a bit of a freak, being obsessed with necromancy like that, she is, at this point, still a rather friendly young witch who does not see necromancy as dark magic. Actually, Alla is still a little naive, unaware of what she is really getting into.

The Russian, however,  is very eager to stand out as someone special. The girl is ambitious, intelligent and manipulating. When she has set a goal for herself, she tries everything to reach it. Failure to her is only a step on the way to success. That being said, she will pursue her goal of gaining real proficiency in Necromancy until the very end.

These days, she is working at a small funeral parlour in Moscow and, being surrounded by death, she has the perfect job to go on with her creepy little experiments (even if her boss does not approve of this). She copes well with her job and her experiments for now as it's mostly a professional confrontation with death. Seeing how she gave the animated skeleton a name and is treating it like a pet or even like a friend, it is obvious that the girl has not lost her playful side (yet).

Alla has already shown some development since I first created her and I'm eager to let her develop more.

I've been playing Alla as someone who is enthusiastic about necromancy and who wants to learn more and more about it. She has excelled in the subject at Durmstrang and after school she went on studying necromancy in private. As she wants to excel in necromantic magic, she works hard on this goal. She would do almost anything to improve her skills and might sometimes go as far as risking her own health. She loves to do her experiments even though they have led her to the hospital wing during her time at school. Being a studious person, she reads whatever text she can find about the subject and talks to people with more experience than herself. At this point of her life she is happy for every bit of input she can get. While the girl is critical, she is not beyond being influenced by others, especially if she values their opinion and their skill level.

While she is still too young to be a fully fleshed necromancer, I would like this feature for her so that I do not have to wonder about when I cross the line of her just being obsessed with and good at necromantic magic and her being a real necromancer. After all, the feature feels like a natural development for Alla. I would like to play out how she gets better and better at it and how her character changes when she discovers how she can use her skills and how far one can go with necromancy.

For Alla growing up does not only mean that she is becoming a woman and that she is responsible for herself. In the process of growing up, she is discovering dark magic for herself. During her time at school and still for a while to come Alla is mostly seeing necromancy as an academic field she can study and prove herself in. She has a playful approach to the topic, having her animated human skeleton and keeping it as a servant. She is keeping 'Burmin' for a few years now and treating him with affection. However, as she gets a deeper knowledge of this field of magic and as she is getting older, Alla will realise that necromancy is in fact rather dark magic. She will discover that her skills give her a certain power that she will have to learn to use wisely.

Already in the past I've played her as someone who makes experiments that might be too difficult for her. She has struggled in the past and will do so in the future, leading to dangerous situations for herself and others. This leads to many plot opportunities not only with fellow necromancers but also with other characters.

As for possible threads and plots there are some things planned and still a lot more things possible.

Carys is in the process of creating a ghost who will observe most of Alla's work at the funeral parlour. At first the two of them will really dislike each other as Alla will try and animate the corpse of the ghost and thus offend the recently deceased witch. Tara is only a little older than Alla is, they even know each other from school, and naturally Alla will be very curious to learn more about dying and being dead. It's an interesting conflict that Tara has died and does not approve of necromantic magic such as animating corpses while Alla likes to do just that and sees nothing wrong in it.

Alla is also exchanging letters with Dylan's Cezary Kowalczyk, telling him about her recent successes with her necromantic experiments. These two also know each other from school, but living in different countries do not see much of each other.

With Bridget I have spoken about Alla getting to know Cecilia Tate. These two will meet when Alla is out with Burmin. They'll start chatting and slowly get to know and trust each other (at least to some degree). Cece will be one of those people who will influence Alla to become darker.

Toya's Amir al-Busuri will be another person who will influence Alla in her development. He will show her the darkest bits of necromantic magic and will even take her as an assistant for his travels which is very exciting for the young witch who has only recently travelled to Britain for the first time and has only stayed in Russia until then.

Other than that I've spoken to Michael. Vincent Neuer is interested in necromancy and Alla will offer him tutoring although she is actually looking for a victim to practise necromantic possession on. When I played her in the past she wanted to try that on her sister. Unfortunately that thread was never ended and so I always assumed her to have struggled badly and have ended up in the hospital wing.

I would like her to try and bribe students into playing her victim. In return she would offer private necromancy lessons, advice of some sort (she would quite enjoy giving love advice in return) or some sort of item.

Then there's always Julie's Anton Knyazyev. They have a shared history, him being the one who first paved the way for her necromantic ambition, and, if Anton is actively played again, I'm sure we will plot some more.

Other than in concrete and planned plots I will play Alla more or less like I did in the past - that is as someone who experiments a lot and who likes to keep her pet skeleton close. I'm sure more plot opportunities will arise, especially as she is getting away from Russia more and more.

Something that would also help a lot with Alla's development regarding the special feature would be if someone adopted her little sister Lyudmila. (I will try to bribe someone into making her.)

Animating a skeleton was something Alla could do easily by now. However, animating a corpse of a recently deceased person was something entirely different. It was more complex and thus a lot more challenging. Working at a funeral parlour, she came across quite a few corpses but to her great displeasure her boss did not like the idea of her practising Necromancy at his parlour. Alla could somehow understand why he disliked it but it was academic research she was doing. There was nothing immoral in that, was there?

Not wanting to jeopardise her job, Alla played the innocent girl during the opening hours, but the thought of all these corpses that just waited for her to bring them back to life was just too appealing. One night, the Russian finally couldn't restrain herself anymore and sneaked back into the funeral parlour, knowing that her boss would be safely at home, sleeping. Even to her it felt a bit strange to be in a dark room with just dead people keeping her company. The silence was overwhelming and, after lightening candles, Alla's next action was to turn on the wireless. She was more than glad to have taken Burmin with her now. While the skeleton was no more alive than the bodies in the mortuary refrigerator, his presence still made her feel more at ease.

She opened one of the compartments in which she knew she would find the body of a young witch who died in a car accident. How ironic that was! A witch dying in muggle surroundings. Muggles were dangerous, after all, creating these terrible machines for transport just because they weren't able to apparate or to use the floo network... She looked at the girl. She was so pretty and after some preparation Alla had done during the day, she looked like she was merely sleeping. "Now look at her, Burmin," Alla whispered in awe. "That girl would make a great friend for you, wouldn't she?"

Taking out the blade she had only recently purchased in London, Alla cut her left thumb and let some blood drop into a tiny bowl. Sealing the cut after she had got enough blood to work with, the girl looked at the scarred thumb. She had cut it so many times by now that she could not heal it properly anymore. However, she was almost proud of this and similar scars she bore by now. They were, after all, proof her Necromantic ambitions.

Whispering incantations and drawing a pattern with her blood on the cleavage of the dead girl, Alla began with the animation. To finish the process she laid her hand onto the forehead of the young witch and closed her eyes, focusing on the incantations she spoke. Only moments later she felt the body below her stir. It had come to life. While Alla felt dizzy, she was more than proud that she had managed this difficult step. "Burmin, where are your manners? Ask her if she wants to dance with you!" She grinned. Controlling Burmin and the body of the witch was more exhausting than she had anticipated though. The girl staggered and sat down on the nearest chair, still trying to let the skeleton and the corpse stand face to face.

[toy]~approved for the bby death raiser![/toy]

Name: Vannah Banana
Character name: Cosimo Marconi
Feature you are applying for: Metamorphmagus



When it comes to wandwork, Cosimo is pretty rubbish. He has trouble reading and writing and isn't very good at grasping complicated magical theories, so struggles a lot academically. Instead of focusing on school or wandwork, Cosimo pours his time into his morphing ability. His world revolves around aesthetics; he has a narrow definition of beauty when it comes to people and he's always looking at noses and lips and other features as well as proportions, textures, colours etc. Being in rooms that he considers "ugly" or around ugly animals or people has always made him feel a little uncomfortable too. Cosimo grew up hanging out with the town's riffraff and causing trouble here and there. He's not evil, but does have a tendency to lie, put people down and can be cruel sometimes without seeing that his actions are hurting other people. He's not especially empathetic. On the other hand, Cosimo is also sociable, impulsive and cares about his friends. He likes making people laugh. He grew up in a single-parent household and his mother wasn't around a lot, so the boy usually made up his own fun.

Cosimo's morphy powers are a secret, and he spends a lot of his free time hiding in his dorm looking at a handheld mirror and practising copying features from a collection of photographs he keeps in a locked box under his bed. He likes collecting pictures of people he thinks are beautiful or interesting or have faces he thinks would blend in in a crowd. He sees his appearance as transient, though he wears the same face and body most of the time. He's improving quickly with his ability, though it still takes a lot of work and effort for him to "learn" a new face or feature. He plans on building a repertoire of go-to faces or a mix of go-to features. He's also the nephew of crime boss Giovanni Marconi, though he and his mum weren't really part of the family until a few years ago. Ailsa Garrot is his aunt, but he hasn't ever met her. Not yet, anyway.


This particular feature has always been very appealing to me, and when I had the urge to create a new character recently, the idea of building a metamorphmagus character with a prankster/humour slant wouldn't go away. My hope is that I'll be able to use Cosimo for a bunch of fun, light-hearted threads... along with the character developmental ones. Aside from being fun to play, I'm planning on using this character and his special feature to open up new threading opportunities for me - I've already plotted things with drivers I've never threaded with before, as detailed below.


Whenever I think about applying for a SF or EFB, playability is always at the forefront of my mind. I wouldn't have applied for Gabrielle or Dash's seer feature or Sterling's EFB if they weren't things that were going to seriously affect the characters and my roleplaying. After some thought and reaching out to other drivers, here are some of the more specific plots I have planned for Cosimo and his special feature.

• Ailsa Garrot [Monica] is Cosimo's paternal aunt, though he has never met her as his father didn't really have anything to do with his childhood. They will eventually meet after Ailsa finds him. We're planning for Ailsa to train him and maybe learn more about her own ability. As the only other metamorphmagus he's met, Cosimo will look up to her despite her less-than-pleasant traits.

• He'll also try to impersonate Gaston [Carys], maybe to prank a friend, which will inevitably lead to a lot of detentions when the real Gaston walks in... and also to the reveal of his ability to all BB staff, something which will be pretty unpleasant and completely new for him.

• His relatives Alessandro [Tay's wip] and Luca [Tori] will find things out about his abilities after they're revealed through the family grapevine. Tori and I have discussed Giovanni (head of the Marconi crime family) finding Cosimo's ability potentially useful for the family and wanting to train and one day use him. Giovanni isn't a played character, but this will affect Cosimo's place within his family as well as his character development.

• Cosimo will impersonate Anne [Helena] to trick Tristan [Dylan's wip]. Cosimo is pretty good at lying, but he isn't very smart, so trying to play Anne will be difficult for him (and hilarious for me). This will be part of an ongoing rivalry with Tristan, and a general dislike of Tristan and Anne.

I also have some less specific plot potential, such as pranking (some enemy-ish) relationships with Sylvain [Inga], Theron [Cameron] and Adéle [Olivia], as well as some reveal/discovery thread potential with Dino [Carys], Emma [Jenny] and Rinn and Mickie's wips.



Perched on his bed, with the curtains drawn around tightly, Cosimo stared intently at a plan silver handheld mirror. He was completely focused on the thing, his dark brown eyes fixed on it. A different face stared back at him.

Colours were easy.

The boy had mastered eye colour changes and hair colour changes pretty quickly. Noses were much harder; they required much more focus and work, otherwise his face just ended up like a weird mushed up plasticine model. More than one session of practicing had left him with a face that looked like it had been drawn by a child with a crayon. It was not pretty. This session wasn’t going terribly, but he was having problems with symmetry. Either the two sides of his face were completely different, or they were a little too symmetrical, and it didn’t look real. Cosimo had learned a lot about what looked off when it came to faces.

The boy closed his now-green eyes, focusing intently on the look he wanted to achieve and the hot, almost painful feeling of his skin shifting and moulding into shape. He noted the sensation of his eyelashes growing a few millimeters out of his eyelids. Hair growing always made him uncomfortable. A voice calling his name distracted him from his studies, making him jump. He flailed a little, dropping his mirror onto his bed, catching a glance at himself. Not good, he thought.

“Just a sec,” he called out in a voice that was just a smidge too high to be coming out of his mouth. Cosimo cleared his throat loudly, before repeating, in a much more appropriate tone, “One minute.” He stared at the mirror, silently willing his face to morph back to its usual state. Brown hair, wide jaw. When he was done, the boy took another look in his mirror to make sure everything was in place. Usually he didn’t need to look in a mirror for this particular form, but sometimes he got the freckles just a little bit off. Not for the first time, he was annoyed at himself for committing to a body and a face that was covered in little dots. “Coming!” he called out, throwing his legs off of the side of his bed and swiping the curtain aside.

Name: Toya
Character name: Shiraz Bagratuni
Feature you are applying for: Moontouched (Werewolf-ish)
Application: Shiraz is a newer character in my brain, and more than a touch hostile. Ever since I formed the idea of him in my head, he's been restless. Like he's needed to be made. This special feature was something that I was considering for another character, but it seemed to fit in Shiraz's personality set much better than that character. During the summer leading up to his fourth year, Shiraz and a friend were exploring the woods around the campgrounds that the Eldritch Troupe was stopped at for the week. It was the night leading up to the full moon, and there were werewolves about. The two boys happened to stumble upon a wilder pack of wolves in the beginning throws of the transformation, and were attacked, Shiraz getting the brunt of the pain. His friend managed to drag him back to the campgrounds, and it took a month for them to be sure that Shiraz wasn't going to change. He had all of the symptoms of an infected werewolf, but when the next full moon happened, there was no real transformation, so he wasn't put on the werewolf registry.

This special feature is more of a half of a feature, as it deals with the effects of an untransformed werewolf, similar to what Bill Weasley would have suffered after his werewolf attack.  The strengths and weaknesses that come with the werewolf curse will be present in him, but not as intense as if he were to have a full transformation. For all intents and purposes, Shiraz's body will constantly be at war with the curse. It will not have enough power to completely take over his body and force him to transform, however with it constantly running through his body, his instincts will be on high all of the time. Shiraz will be torn between his regular instincts and the ones of the wolf, which seem to enhance all his good and bad personality traits. He'll be a ton more protective, prone to hugging people so they can smell like him. He'll be aggressive, and a bit antagonistic when he feels threatened. For the most part he'll get along with people, but have a particularly caustic relationship with other creature types outside of other Wolves.

He suffers during the week of the full moon, as the curse of the werewolf did touch him, but its not a complete thing. It's like his body is still fighting off the effects, it it leaves him in pain and restless during the week leading up to and the week after the full moon. He will also go through some sort of psuedo-transformation during the night of the full moon where his body will almost transform and heal multiple times until the moon is risen in the sky. At that point, he'll just be weak and exhausted, and unable to really move until the sunrises because he is in so much pain. This attack has altered him physically, giving him a craving for rare meat, especially closer to the full moon. His metabolism is sky high from constantly fighting against the curse, so he's always eating. His physical appearance doesn't change much other than his eyes sometimes turning a bright amber colour the closer he is to the wolf being in control. His bones are stronger, with focus on his nails and teeth, even two slightly elongated canines growing in his mouth. He will be more dense, and weigh a lot more than it looks like just because of the curse. Shiraz is unable to infect anyone with Lycanthropy, but with exchange of bodily fluids (blood and such) he can infect them with this short term hyperactivity and aggression that only lasts at most 24 hours. Shiraz will be allergic to some of the things that most werewolves are. Wolfsbane has a particularly potentcy for him, causing him severe vomiting and nose bleeds.

Future plots:
Shiraz is a member of the Eldritch Troupe during the summer. During his attack, he was taken care of by @Cindra MacFusty-Toen and maintains an almost sibling like relationship with the woman. His family takes care of some of the more tedious tasks in regards to running a circus, and with that comes constant travel. Shiraz will be available to meet other people outside of school all over the world.

The boy attends Koldovstoretz, where he has formed almost his on pack of people that are important to him. His affliction is one of those open secrets where most of the Koldovstoretz students know about it, but it isn't something thats discussed outright. When they delve into the uncertainty that is Durmstrang, he will go out of the way to make sure they are protected, especially with the Durmstrang students that wish them harm. He will be particularly protective over @Kira al-Sioufi as she is prone to troublemaking, and has a loud mouth.

One of his best friends @Nayiri Yazdjian was one of the first people that he told about his attack. He showed her his still healing scars, confided in her his fears, but never once did she show him the effects that the moon had on him. He tried his hardest to hid that from his friends, prefering to be hidden or drugged up during the full moon. It was during the summer that Nayiri came to visit him, and his worst fear happened. He'd been in the throws of a particularly chaotic transformation during the summer when she came to visit him, and she saw the full fledged feralness of his curse. He smelled the foul stench of fear on her, in fear of hurting her, and rage that she didn't accept him, he lashed out at her, causing her to fear him more. He tried to send her letters, but they all came back unopened. Now he's going into a new situation, and she's not there to hold his hand. They will be tested by being sorted in the same house, and one of the few only allies the other will have.

During the school year, Shiraz and @Yelena Romanova will have a confrontation during the full moon. Shiraz will be the closest to a full werewolf that he can be, and will freak her out. They will end up having a confrontation, and she will be the first Durmstrang student that will find out about his wolfy situation.

@Mihaela Lupesco and Shiraz will be friends of a sort. After he gets into a little bit of a spat with another char, and an impromptu makeout session with her, he will end up tainting her with his version of the werewolf curse. This will lead to chaos and trouble making on both of their ends.

@Mila Mosquera will be Shiraz's doctor, as she is the foremost expert in creature medicine. She will be the one testing the affects of the curse on him, and seeing how his lycanthropy affects him.

RP sample using the feature:
FUCK!

Gold eyes flashed open and Shiraz let out a loud growl as he struggled out his tangled sheets. He was drenched in sweat and his muscles spasming and moving. It was like his body was fighting itself as a transformation that would never come ran itself in a cycle. He was disoriented, his vision doubling, and narrowing in focus. For one moment he could see the clearest details on the wood, every curl and whirl, then his vision was hazy. He slipped out of the sheets and fell to the floor of the caravan, too tired and too weak to get out of his fetal position. He cried out as his muscles tense, before letting out a soft noise, akin to a puppy's whimper of pain. Of loneliness. He was by himself, and in this he was always by himself.

How could he have forgotten that it was the night of the full moon? For a week he'd been tense, snapping quietly at his cousins every time they'd gotten too close. He'd all but stuffed himself on meat, the bloodier the better. Shiraz had ignored the quips about it being his time of the month, choosing to push their teasing out of his head, but how could he have forgotten it entirely. It wasn't like it didn't happen once a month, some times even twice. He'd had it on his calendar for God's sake. He screamed through the spasms, the noise echoing in the small space. He wanted to get free, had to get free. His muscles felt so tight, and his spine began to curve as he tried to fight off the pressure.

A ragged howl left dry cracked lips, and he scratched his nails along the wood, digging deep gouges into the wood. He could hear voices, and footsteps running heading towards him, but light eyes looked upwards and he growled, blood dripping down his face from his nose. They would stay away from him. He was in his space. They needed to get out out out. He snarled again when the door opened, and lashed out to the hands grabbing at him. Then a knee was in his back, and hands were pressing him down into the floor. He felt a hand stroking his hair, and he whined softly, struggling to get free. If there was just one, he could have easily been free. But there was a group of them, and as hard as he struggled, he couldn't get free.

He let out a yelp as his head was grabbed upwards by his hair. His amber eyes flashed around and he struggled fiercely, before something shiny was shoved into his vision. He tried to look away, but it was drawing him into its spell. He watched it as it moved, his limbs getting heavy. Shiraz could still hear voices, but they were far away, like he was in a tunnel and the thing in front of him was drawing him deeper into the depths. He let out another soft whine as his eyelids slid shut, and he could feel his arms being freed, only to be tied together behind his back. He fell into a deep sleep, body shaking and spasming as the moon stood tall in the sky.

Name: Vannah Banana
Character name: Cosimo Marconi
Feature you are applying for: Metamorphmagus



When it comes to wandwork, Cosimo is pretty rubbish. He has trouble reading and writing and isn't very good at grasping complicated magical theories, so struggles a lot academically. Instead of focusing on school or wandwork, Cosimo pours his time into his morphing ability. His world revolves around aesthetics; he has a narrow definition of beauty when it comes to people and he's always looking at noses and lips and other features as well as proportions, textures, colours etc. Being in rooms that he considers "ugly" or around ugly animals or people has always made him feel a little uncomfortable too. Cosimo grew up hanging out with the town's riffraff and causing trouble here and there. He's not evil, but does have a tendency to lie, put people down and can be cruel sometimes without seeing that his actions are hurting other people. He's not especially empathetic. On the other hand, Cosimo is also sociable, impulsive and cares about his friends. He likes making people laugh. He grew up in a single-parent household and his mother wasn't around a lot, so the boy usually made up his own fun.

Cosimo's morphy powers are a secret, and he spends a lot of his free time hiding in his dorm looking at a handheld mirror and practising copying features from a collection of photographs he keeps in a locked box under his bed. He likes collecting pictures of people he thinks are beautiful or interesting or have faces he thinks would blend in in a crowd. He sees his appearance as transient, though he wears the same face and body most of the time. He's improving quickly with his ability, though it still takes a lot of work and effort for him to "learn" a new face or feature. He plans on building a repertoire of go-to faces or a mix of go-to features. He's also the nephew of crime boss Giovanni Marconi, though he and his mum weren't really part of the family until a few years ago. Ailsa Garrot is his aunt, but he hasn't ever met her. Not yet, anyway.


This particular feature has always been very appealing to me, and when I had the urge to create a new character recently, the idea of building a metamorphmagus character with a prankster/humour slant wouldn't go away. My hope is that I'll be able to use Cosimo for a bunch of fun, light-hearted threads... along with the character developmental ones. Aside from being fun to play, I'm planning on using this character and his special feature to open up new threading opportunities for me - I've already plotted things with drivers I've never threaded with before, as detailed below.


Whenever I think about applying for a SF or EFB, playability is always at the forefront of my mind. I wouldn't have applied for Gabrielle or Dash's seer feature or Sterling's EFB if they weren't things that were going to seriously affect the characters and my roleplaying. After some thought and reaching out to other drivers, here are some of the more specific plots I have planned for Cosimo and his special feature.

• Ailsa Garrot [Monica] is Cosimo's paternal aunt, though he has never met her as his father didn't really have anything to do with his childhood. They will eventually meet after Ailsa finds him. We're planning for Ailsa to train him and maybe learn more about her own ability. As the only other metamorphmagus he's met, Cosimo will look up to her despite her less-than-pleasant traits.

• He'll also try to impersonate Gaston [Carys], maybe to prank a friend, which will inevitably lead to a lot of detentions when the real Gaston walks in... and also to the reveal of his ability to all BB staff, something which will be pretty unpleasant and completely new for him.

• His relatives Alessandro [Tay's wip] and Luca [Tori] will find things out about his abilities after they're revealed through the family grapevine. Tori and I have discussed Giovanni (head of the Marconi crime family) finding Cosimo's ability potentially useful for the family and wanting to train and one day use him. Giovanni isn't a played character, but this will affect Cosimo's place within his family as well as his character development.

• Cosimo will impersonate Anne [Helena] to trick Tristan [Dylan's wip]. Cosimo is pretty good at lying, but he isn't very smart, so trying to play Anne will be difficult for him (and hilarious for me). This will be part of an ongoing rivalry with Tristan, and a general dislike of Tristan and Anne.

I also have some less specific plot potential, such as pranking (some enemy-ish) relationships with Sylvain [Inga], Theron [Cameron] and Adéle [Olivia], as well as some reveal/discovery thread potential with Dino [Carys], Emma [Jenny] and Rinn and Mickie's wips.



Perched on his bed, with the curtains drawn around tightly, Cosimo stared intently at a plan silver handheld mirror. He was completely focused on the thing, his dark brown eyes fixed on it. A different face stared back at him.

Colours were easy.

The boy had mastered eye colour changes and hair colour changes pretty quickly. Noses were much harder; they required much more focus and work, otherwise his face just ended up like a weird mushed up plasticine model. More than one session of practicing had left him with a face that looked like it had been drawn by a child with a crayon. It was not pretty. This session wasn’t going terribly, but he was having problems with symmetry. Either the two sides of his face were completely different, or they were a little too symmetrical, and it didn’t look real. Cosimo had learned a lot about what looked off when it came to faces.

The boy closed his now-green eyes, focusing intently on the look he wanted to achieve and the hot, almost painful feeling of his skin shifting and moulding into shape. He noted the sensation of his eyelashes growing a few millimeters out of his eyelids. Hair growing always made him uncomfortable. A voice calling his name distracted him from his studies, making him jump. He flailed a little, dropping his mirror onto his bed, catching a glance at himself. Not good, he thought.

“Just a sec,” he called out in a voice that was just a smidge too high to be coming out of his mouth. Cosimo cleared his throat loudly, before repeating, in a much more appropriate tone, “One minute.” He stared at the mirror, silently willing his face to morph back to its usual state. Brown hair, wide jaw. When he was done, the boy took another look in his mirror to make sure everything was in place. Usually he didn’t need to look in a mirror for this particular form, but sometimes he got the freckles just a little bit off. Not for the first time, he was annoyed at himself for committing to a body and a face that was covered in little dots. “Coming!” he called out, throwing his legs off of the side of his bed and swiping the curtain aside.

[rinn]Approved!~

Name: Jared
Character name: Volya Nikolov
Feature you are applying for: Zealot Hor


Description of the character:

Volya Nikolov's life was a quiet and peaceful one while living with his parents Vadislav and Alina, successful Innkeepers by trade. He grew up knowing where hard work and determination could take oneself, owing that to his parents and their successful endeavor. When he was old enough he started working for an allowance in the inn. His parents set him simple tasks: running bags up to the rooms, preparing baths, cleaning tables, and washing dishes.

He did really well at it, except for an incident a few months after his ninth birthday. He had just finished helping his father clean dishes from the evening dinner service, and was just kind of staring at the water sitting in the sink intently. He continued just kind of staring at it more, when suddenly a jet of water spouted up from the middle of the sink. It sprayed him right in the face, which honestly at nine years old he didn't mind at all. His father was taken aback by this sudden burst of water, figuring it to be his son, but wasn't sure what to think about it. He ended up just chalking it up to it being his first "magic" moment.

Volya was quickly put into tutoring afterwards to be prepped for school as his parents wanted him to be the best he could be. Volya excelled with the tutor, being an exceptionally smart and perceptive pupil. He liked soaking up information and knowing as much as he could about a topic, almost to an exhaustive level. His parents were delighted, and thought about what school to put their son into. Vadislav went to Koldovstoretz, a school located in Siberia. It had an interesting curriculum and honestly, it was what their son needed. Not only that, Durmstrang was too purist and high society focused for their liking. They wanted their son to be more sensitive to the plights of others.

Volya wasn't too fussed about what school he went to, so long as he was taught something interesting and he could make friends. Volya was very people-focused because of his involvement in the inn and that he just liked being in the company of other people. Friends were very important to him, and were an anchor to his happiness. It didn't hurt that the young boy had an approachable demeanor and open-minded attitude towards all walks of life despite the political climate.

When it came time for school Volya was pretty excited to set off on his journey to being a Koldovstoretz student. The first stop was to get his school supplies and robes. They went a week before school and the little wizarding shopping area was packed with students and their parents and guardians, pushing against one another trying to get to where they needed to go. Volya had been to this wizarding area before when his father would restock for the inn, so they easily navigated the streets, dipping into their various shops. All shops went along well except for the wand shop. It took the wand shop owner a long time to find Volya his perfect wand. The wand that seemed right in his hand was a 10" Kaya and Kelpie hair wand that seemed rather flexible.

His parents were a bit confused by this, because it didn't take them long to find a wand in comparison. Also the very specific wand wood and core composition was of some intrigue as well. It seemed to further instill a sense of individuality and self-study in Volya, who was interested in what it all meant.

The week went by quite quickly before Volya was sent off to Koldovstoretz for his first year. The young student was nervous, excited, and curious what this school had to offer. Compared to Durmstrang, it was a lot more varied in what it taught. Some interesting classes were on the docket for Volya's first year, like Marine & Forest Animals, Physiognomy & Caster Magic, and Optical Astronomy. He did well in the more book-based classes, but only average in the more practical classes. The young boy was sorted into Rayasov.

In his second year he added two classes he thought really interesting, Water Manipulation and Runic Magic.  He found he did well in both of those subjects, but particularly well in Water Manipulation. His professor pulled him aside one day after a class in which he flawlessly performed a rather difficult spell for his year. The professor commend him on his performance, and explained that they thought Volya was an Elemental, which explained his average performance in other kinds of practical magic, and his knack for Water Manipulation. The professor further explained that they were an Elemental too and they'd help tutor him and tell his parents. It sort of explained everything, and as soon as he came to realize this, he could feel a faint calming feeling coming from the professor, almost like waves were gently washing over him.

He went home for the December holidays with his professor, who wanted to tell his parents in person. They had previously communicated that they had something that needed to be discussed in person. When they both arrived at Volya's home which was next to the inn that his parents owned, the professor was greeted by warm hospitality by the Nikolovs. Despite the potentially troubling news they might receive, the Nikolovs were anxious to hear what the professor had to say.

When the professor expressed their news, Volya's parents couldn't quite believe it. It explained so much of the weird happenstances, but begged so many questions at the same time. The professor quelled their concerns, but cautioned them that Volya was ultimately the decision-maker in furthering his Elemental studies. Volya expressed that he wanted to figure out more about himself by following this path that was set out for him, albeit in much simpler terms. His parents were not put out, but were a bit sad that their first born wouldn't be a full-fledged wizard.

After the conversation with his parents, the professor and Volya went separate ways until the holidays were over, where they started intense training. This training was to ready him for his initialization as an Elemental, which was to be held in Inverness, Scotland at the Elemental Council. The Water Manipulation Professor wished that the boy had been discovered earlier, because they only had two years to ready him for initialization. However, once they started, the professor was instantly impressed by the new Elemental's comprehension of complex concepts such as the elemental languages and the bookwork involved.

It was hard for Volya to balance his intense training with the professor and schoolwork, but he just managed to come away with good marks by the end of his training period. After all was said and done, the Water Manipulation Professor was pretty confident that he would do well in initialization. Volya experienced a change in himself both physically and mentally over the two short years of training. He was more confident in himself, he learned more about the elemental side of things, and was ready to join them in Inverness. It was exciting to find another place where he belonged, and that there were others like him.

When it came time for the initialization, the young man passed and received his marking of Hor on his calf. He was both exhausted and inexplicably happy for himself to have completed such an arduous task. His mentor and professor was proud of him, but told him to keep on working on the next goal of advocate and so on. Volya, the sponge that he was, was raring to learn more if someone was willing to teach him. It was at this point he turned to other Elementals to learn from them.

He was introduced to people from all walks of life, from circus performers to ship captains to male models. Of course, Volya ate this up, this opportunity to communicate with different people, and get a feel of their perspective. Volya made a good listener when he was interested, and later in life would often reference things told to him years ago by these people. His time at Inverness was a good memory he would take with him through the years, especially when he had important years coming up.

It seemed that he was plateauing as a wand-user and was tiring himself out keeping up with the recently difficult task of performing wand magic. As his elemental magic grew ever stronger, the wizard side of him was still there, but was slowly dwindling away. Volya had two grueling remaining years of school as he prepared for his ascension to advocate. He was really trying to feel like he was doing well in school, however as he ascended to advocate mid-seventh year his practical performances in his other classes besides runic magic and water manipulation became lackluster and average compared to previous years. The young man finished the year with his head held high with respectable scores.

He'd been thinking about what he wanted to do for years, and what his element would allow him to do. His first thought was back to his professor, who had a long, fulfilling career of it despite his poor casting ability. It would allow him to not only share his knowledge which he loved, but also give back to the school that had been one of his best growing experiences. Again, he was barreling through both school and training in his next step as an elemental. Fortunately there was more book-work than practicals involved in the teaching curriculum at the college he was going to.

In this time he really got to learn about how the young mind works, and it was fascinating. It was very thrilling to learn how to best cater to the needs of his future students. His time in College was a rewarding one that served the dual purpose of readying himself for teaching regular students at a school and for his duties as a Zealot, teaching new initiates. By the time his time in college was over, he had been a month into being a Zealot, and at twenty-three he felt fairly accomplished.

In the months that followed his long time mentor and old professor passed away, returning to his element at the Hor Shrine. This opened up the Water Manipulation position at Koldovstoretz, and it seemed like the old man had waited for him to finish his studies before passing on. It made him intensely grateful for the opportunity he was given and he seized it, applying as soon as he could. After several weeks of waiting, he received his approval as Professor of Water Manipulation at the Siberia-based school.

In his new position, he was patient, careful and observant. Patient because the combination of magic and runes that Water Manipulation required without an affinity for the element was intensely difficult. Careful because he couldn't obviously do the magic the same way he was teaching. Observant because he was actively looking for elementals as well, and he really wanted them to reach their full potential.

He taught much the way his professor did, albeit with more passion and definitely more fervor. There was almost a soft urge in his actions whenever he would teach, that seemed as if he really wanted them to pass his class. He definitely loved seeing the spark of realization come into the students eyes when they completed a difficult spell or ritual. He absolutely loved his job and would for years to come.

Something that Volya didn't deny or accept was the fact that he never was interested in women sexually. He didn't find them as appealing as he did the rugged features of a guy. Whenever he was in Scotland at the Inverness Council, he'd fold slowly open, and accept his attraction while he was there. As soon as he left however, he needed to bottle that up, due to the unkind sentiments toward any kind of love that wasn't a man and a woman that was rampant in Russia and some of the most northern of countries in Europe.

For years his parents had been hounding him about when they'd get a grandchild, at least one. He had been single, or to be more frank, hadn't been seen with a woman in years. One year, they got fed up with his seemingly lone wolf life style, and set him up with a woman. The woman in question was much younger, beautiful, and was the eldest daughter of his mother's best friend. He could sense the urgency in his parents to have a child by the eldest son. It was tradition for the eldest son to inherit and his son, and so on. He wanted to have a child too, and didn't mind the company of the younger woman as she was fairly bright and knowledgeable.

He didn't want to disappoint his family, so he agreed reluctantly. Their engagement was almost instantly a distant one as the young woman went to school. She was to be a Healer, and Volya definitely wanted her to keep on her path in life, and not resent him for not allowing her to live her life without him. At the behest of his parents, they sent letters back and forth, making small talk and trying to seem in love with her.

They did this trading of letters between visits to his parents Inn and her parents house for three years until one night his fiancee didn't arrive at his parents' inn for dinner. It was later discovered she was hit by a car and died. Volya regretted not insisting she apparate and also not spending more time with her in person. She became like a good friend to him in the long run, but if he was being honest with his heart there wasn't a romantic attraction.

He is still dealing with the fresh wound of someone close to him dying to this current day, and with his recent appointment to Durmstrang, he's closer to her now than he ever was. He felt a bit guilty letting Koldovstoretz close, but he loved his job too much, he was open to new opportunities, and now he has new minds to mold.

Application:
There are three main reasons I applied for this particular special feature: Character personality, My own personal want for a played elemental of my own, and the joy of getting to play it in a (hopefully) unique way.

I'm applying for this with the sincere notion that Volya wouldn't be Volya if he would have not been an elemental. He would have been an outgoing boy for sure, but he wouldn't be as confident in himself as he is now. The boy wouldn't have had the same enthusiasm towards school and life in general as he didn't get that same spark of wonder in his early years. He definitely wouldn't have gone to Koldovstoretz and been miles away from his family because his family is really important to him. His wand choice would have been something sturdier and little bit generic. Again, his sense of individuality would be non-existent, as he's living with wizards in a wizarding section of town. He doesn't see himself as anything special.

Since his schooling changed he wouldn't have met the professor who changed his life and worked so diligently to help him succeed. He would have probably dated more girls, maybe even convinced himself of his attraction to girls. Eventually, in his relationship with the woman that died, he would have been more clingy to make his parents happy, more earnest and almost possessive. He would have pushed the marriage on the woman, and probably want to try for a child right away. He probably would have still been at the inn since he wasn't so inclined to go to college as he would have been.

My Personal reasons:

I've been wanting to get on the elemental fun for four or five years, but I haven't had a character I've been so intrigued to write one until Volya came along. Volya's journey in my head has been a long and arduous one; there have been many retcons and set-backs. I finally sat down one night and wrote down his information and over half of his sheet flowed out of me as well as his two EFB's. I was honestly lazy when it came time to do his original SF application, and didn't put too much time into just how polar-opposite Volya would be without this particular special feature.

Its pretty startling when I start imaging Volya not as the confident, smart, and worldly person he is now, but as the meek shell he would be without it. I decided then, that Volya must have this special feature, so I must put a lot of effort into this application, and really prove why he needs this feature. Its been a grueling process, but I think I've proven it.

How it'll be played:

Volya is intensely loyal to the council, and really loves both of his jobs. He will use his powers in conjunction with some kind of illusion magic to give the impression that he is doing wand magic. He is very careful to not reveal the words of power he uses, yet makes sure the runic magic and rituals make the same result happen. He has been perfecting the way he teaches for years, so he's almost flawless at his curriculum. Although it is planned for someone to find out about his background, and possibly many nefarious things will ensue.

Future plots:

Phridae:

Volya and Phridae are two people starved for information, a chance meeting in Volya's search for his perfect second element will solidify this watery being's interests in Garth. Phridae and he will do wacky things together, such as decorating the council building and maybe Volya will even lend an ear to Phridae in times of need.

Aiolos:

Volya's and Aiolos' paths have crossed several times over the recent years, and can be considered close friends despite their mentor/pupil past. They will interact as part of the council, do some NC-17 shenanigans and send correspondance to each other. A specific plot I have is for Aiolos to advise Volya on a secoond element.

Alain:

Volya is seeking out something new to teach his students and gets into contact with the Typh runes expert. Volya expresses his concerns to Alain and asks for help on how to create a work around for water manipulation for his students.

Lario:

Volya is tired of always being held at arms length by Incin elementals because he stifles them. He seeks help from the new Harbinger Incin himself on how to help stifle his elemental aura.

Motya:

Volya and Motya have only talked in passing, for very short times. Volya is interested that Kanat and him can stand being by each other. A plot is that Volya sees Motya in a circus act, and that they really get to talking, and some fun ensues!

RP sample using the feature:

A male figure stood barefoot, waded ankle-deep in the ocean water. His arms were outstretched as if he wanted to wrap the ocean in a warm embrace. He breathed in and out deeply, filling nostrils with the scent of the ocean. He was so at peace here, there was no one around but him and the sea creatures and honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way. Especially since he was about to reveal that he in fact wasn't quite a normal human.

He was in fact, an Elemental; a being of ethereal origins. These beings manipulated nature around them to help or harm humankind. Volya Nikolov was one that wanted to help humankind, although today, he would be disturbing the homes of fish with his activities. He felt the waves gently caressing his ankles, as if assuring him he was safe. He spoke then, in an ancient tongue of sorts. The water surrounding him warped up in a small funnel around him. He felt it twist him into it, enveloping him like a blanket.

After all these years, it was a novelty to be able to breath underwater despite having no breathing apparatus. All he had to do it seemed, was make sure there was a small pocket of air around his head at all times. That worried him even less in his ethereal state as he literally became his elemental. After a few moments of doing a sort of a reverse pirouette (and some quiet ancient spell) around in the funnel, the water slowly fell back into place and he descended back into the shallow bit of water he was in before. The man allowed himself to be wet, letting the water soak his shirt and shorts. He walked slowly out of the water, a tired look etched on his face. He flopped on the hot sand of the beach area, tipped his hat over his eyes, and fell asleep.

Although, not really asleep, meditation. He willed himself to transform into his ethereal state, settling as a little orb of water just above the sand. All that was left were the little straw hat, his shirt and shorts. He allowed himself a few hours to recuperate, materializing as a human again. He got dressed, put his hat jauntily on his head, and went back towards town.

Name: Toya
Character name: Shiraz Bagratuni
Feature you are applying for: Moontouched (Werewolf-ish)
Application: Shiraz is a newer character in my brain, and more than a touch hostile. Ever since I formed the idea of him in my head, he's been restless. Like he's needed to be made. This special feature was something that I was considering for another character, but it seemed to fit in Shiraz's personality set much better than that character. During the summer leading up to his fourth year, Shiraz and a friend were exploring the woods around the campgrounds that the Eldritch Troupe was stopped at for the week. It was the night leading up to the full moon, and there were werewolves about. The two boys happened to stumble upon a wilder pack of wolves in the beginning throws of the transformation, and were attacked, Shiraz getting the brunt of the pain. His friend managed to drag him back to the campgrounds, and it took a month for them to be sure that Shiraz wasn't going to change. He had all of the symptoms of an infected werewolf, but when the next full moon happened, there was no real transformation, so he wasn't put on the werewolf registry.

This special feature is more of a half of a feature, as it deals with the effects of an untransformed werewolf, similar to what Bill Weasley would have suffered after his werewolf attack.  The strengths and weaknesses that come with the werewolf curse will be present in him, but not as intense as if he were to have a full transformation. For all intents and purposes, Shiraz's body will constantly be at war with the curse. It will not have enough power to completely take over his body and force him to transform, however with it constantly running through his body, his instincts will be on high all of the time. Shiraz will be torn between his regular instincts and the ones of the wolf, which seem to enhance all his good and bad personality traits. He'll be a ton more protective, prone to hugging people so they can smell like him. He'll be aggressive, and a bit antagonistic when he feels threatened. For the most part he'll get along with people, but have a particularly caustic relationship with other creature types outside of other Wolves.

He suffers during the week of the full moon, as the curse of the werewolf did touch him, but its not a complete thing. It's like his body is still fighting off the effects, it it leaves him in pain and restless during the week leading up to and the week after the full moon. He will also go through some sort of psuedo-transformation during the night of the full moon where his body will almost transform and heal multiple times until the moon is risen in the sky. At that point, he'll just be weak and exhausted, and unable to really move until the sunrises because he is in so much pain. This attack has altered him physically, giving him a craving for rare meat, especially closer to the full moon. His metabolism is sky high from constantly fighting against the curse, so he's always eating. His physical appearance doesn't change much other than his eyes sometimes turning a bright amber colour the closer he is to the wolf being in control. His bones are stronger, with focus on his nails and teeth, even two slightly elongated canines growing in his mouth. He will be more dense, and weigh a lot more than it looks like just because of the curse. Shiraz is unable to infect anyone with Lycanthropy, but with exchange of bodily fluids (blood and such) he can infect them with this short term hyperactivity and aggression that only lasts at most 24 hours. Shiraz will be allergic to some of the things that most werewolves are. Wolfsbane has a particularly potentcy for him, causing him severe vomiting and nose bleeds.

Future plots:
Shiraz is a member of the Eldritch Troupe during the summer. During his attack, he was taken care of by @Cindra MacFusty-Toen and maintains an almost sibling like relationship with the woman. His family takes care of some of the more tedious tasks in regards to running a circus, and with that comes constant travel. Shiraz will be available to meet other people outside of school all over the world.

The boy attends Koldovstoretz, where he has formed almost his on pack of people that are important to him. His affliction is one of those open secrets where most of the Koldovstoretz students know about it, but it isn't something thats discussed outright. When they delve into the uncertainty that is Durmstrang, he will go out of the way to make sure they are protected, especially with the Durmstrang students that wish them harm. He will be particularly protective over @Kira al-Sioufi as she is prone to troublemaking, and has a loud mouth.

One of his best friends @Nayiri Yazdjian was one of the first people that he told about his attack. He showed her his still healing scars, confided in her his fears, but never once did she show him the effects that the moon had on him. He tried his hardest to hid that from his friends, prefering to be hidden or drugged up during the full moon. It was during the summer that Nayiri came to visit him, and his worst fear happened. He'd been in the throws of a particularly chaotic transformation during the summer when she came to visit him, and she saw the full fledged feralness of his curse. He smelled the foul stench of fear on her, in fear of hurting her, and rage that she didn't accept him, he lashed out at her, causing her to fear him more. He tried to send her letters, but they all came back unopened. Now he's going into a new situation, and she's not there to hold his hand. They will be tested by being sorted in the same house, and one of the few only allies the other will have.

During the school year, Shiraz and @Yelena Romanova will have a confrontation during the full moon. Shiraz will be the closest to a full werewolf that he can be, and will freak her out. They will end up having a confrontation, and she will be the first Durmstrang student that will find out about his wolfy situation.

@Mihaela Lupesco and Shiraz will be friends of a sort. After he gets into a little bit of a spat with another char, and an impromptu makeout session with her, he will end up tainting her with his version of the werewolf curse. This will lead to chaos and trouble making on both of their ends.

@Mila Mosquera will be Shiraz's doctor, as she is the foremost expert in creature medicine. She will be the one testing the affects of the curse on him, and seeing how his lycanthropy affects him.

RP sample using the feature:
FUCK!

Gold eyes flashed open and Shiraz let out a loud growl as he struggled out his tangled sheets. He was drenched in sweat and his muscles spasming and moving. It was like his body was fighting itself as a transformation that would never come ran itself in a cycle. He was disoriented, his vision doubling, and narrowing in focus. For one moment he could see the clearest details on the wood, every curl and whirl, then his vision was hazy. He slipped out of the sheets and fell to the floor of the caravan, too tired and too weak to get out of his fetal position. He cried out as his muscles tense, before letting out a soft noise, akin to a puppy's whimper of pain. Of loneliness. He was by himself, and in this he was always by himself.

How could he have forgotten that it was the night of the full moon? For a week he'd been tense, snapping quietly at his cousins every time they'd gotten too close. He'd all but stuffed himself on meat, the bloodier the better. Shiraz had ignored the quips about it being his time of the month, choosing to push their teasing out of his head, but how could he have forgotten it entirely. It wasn't like it didn't happen once a month, some times even twice. He'd had it on his calendar for God's sake. He screamed through the spasms, the noise echoing in the small space. He wanted to get free, had to get free. His muscles felt so tight, and his spine began to curve as he tried to fight off the pressure.

A ragged howl left dry cracked lips, and he scratched his nails along the wood, digging deep gouges into the wood. He could hear voices, and footsteps running heading towards him, but light eyes looked upwards and he growled, blood dripping down his face from his nose. They would stay away from him. He was in his space. They needed to get out out out. He snarled again when the door opened, and lashed out to the hands grabbing at him. Then a knee was in his back, and hands were pressing him down into the floor. He felt a hand stroking his hair, and he whined softly, struggling to get free. If there was just one, he could have easily been free. But there was a group of them, and as hard as he struggled, he couldn't get free.

He let out a yelp as his head was grabbed upwards by his hair. His amber eyes flashed around and he struggled fiercely, before something shiny was shoved into his vision. He tried to look away, but it was drawing him into its spell. He watched it as it moved, his limbs getting heavy. Shiraz could still hear voices, but they were far away, like he was in a tunnel and the thing in front of him was drawing him deeper into the depths. He let out another soft whine as his eyelids slid shut, and he could feel his arms being freed, only to be tied together behind his back. He fell into a deep sleep, body shaking and spasming as the moon stood tall in the sky.

Approved~

Name: Jared
Character name: Volya Nikolov
Feature you are applying for: Zealot Hor


Description of the character:

Volya Nikolov's life was a quiet and peaceful one while living with his parents Vadislav and Alina, successful Innkeepers by trade. He grew up knowing where hard work and determination could take oneself, owing that to his parents and their successful endeavor. When he was old enough he started working for an allowance in the inn. His parents set him simple tasks: running bags up to the rooms, preparing baths, cleaning tables, and washing dishes.

He did really well at it, except for an incident a few months after his ninth birthday. He had just finished helping his father clean dishes from the evening dinner service, and was just kind of staring at the water sitting in the sink intently. He continued just kind of staring at it more, when suddenly a jet of water spouted up from the middle of the sink. It sprayed him right in the face, which honestly at nine years old he didn't mind at all. His father was taken aback by this sudden burst of water, figuring it to be his son, but wasn't sure what to think about it. He ended up just chalking it up to it being his first "magic" moment.

Volya was quickly put into tutoring afterwards to be prepped for school as his parents wanted him to be the best he could be. Volya excelled with the tutor, being an exceptionally smart and perceptive pupil. He liked soaking up information and knowing as much as he could about a topic, almost to an exhaustive level. His parents were delighted, and thought about what school to put their son into. Vadislav went to Koldovstoretz, a school located in Siberia. It had an interesting curriculum and honestly, it was what their son needed. Not only that, Durmstrang was too purist and high society focused for their liking. They wanted their son to be more sensitive to the plights of others.

Volya wasn't too fussed about what school he went to, so long as he was taught something interesting and he could make friends. Volya was very people-focused because of his involvement in the inn and that he just liked being in the company of other people. Friends were very important to him, and were an anchor to his happiness. It didn't hurt that the young boy had an approachable demeanor and open-minded attitude towards all walks of life despite the political climate.

When it came time for school Volya was pretty excited to set off on his journey to being a Koldovstoretz student. The first stop was to get his school supplies and robes. They went a week before school and the little wizarding shopping area was packed with students and their parents and guardians, pushing against one another trying to get to where they needed to go. Volya had been to this wizarding area before when his father would restock for the inn, so they easily navigated the streets, dipping into their various shops. All shops went along well except for the wand shop. It took the wand shop owner a long time to find Volya his perfect wand. The wand that seemed right in his hand was a 10" Kaya and Kelpie hair wand that seemed rather flexible.

His parents were a bit confused by this, because it didn't take them long to find a wand in comparison. Also the very specific wand wood and core composition was of some intrigue as well. It seemed to further instill a sense of individuality and self-study in Volya, who was interested in what it all meant.

The week went by quite quickly before Volya was sent off to Koldovstoretz for his first year. The young student was nervous, excited, and curious what this school had to offer. Compared to Durmstrang, it was a lot more varied in what it taught. Some interesting classes were on the docket for Volya's first year, like Marine & Forest Animals, Physiognomy & Caster Magic, and Optical Astronomy. He did well in the more book-based classes, but only average in the more practical classes. The young boy was sorted into Rayasov.

In his second year he added two classes he thought really interesting, Water Manipulation and Runic Magic.  He found he did well in both of those subjects, but particularly well in Water Manipulation. His professor pulled him aside one day after a class in which he flawlessly performed a rather difficult spell for his year. The professor commend him on his performance, and explained that they thought Volya was an Elemental, which explained his average performance in other kinds of practical magic, and his knack for Water Manipulation. The professor further explained that they were an Elemental too and they'd help tutor him and tell his parents. It sort of explained everything, and as soon as he came to realize this, he could feel a faint calming feeling coming from the professor, almost like waves were gently washing over him.

He went home for the December holidays with his professor, who wanted to tell his parents in person. They had previously communicated that they had something that needed to be discussed in person. When they both arrived at Volya's home which was next to the inn that his parents owned, the professor was greeted by warm hospitality by the Nikolovs. Despite the potentially troubling news they might receive, the Nikolovs were anxious to hear what the professor had to say.

When the professor expressed their news, Volya's parents couldn't quite believe it. It explained so much of the weird happenstances, but begged so many questions at the same time. The professor quelled their concerns, but cautioned them that Volya was ultimately the decision-maker in furthering his Elemental studies. Volya expressed that he wanted to figure out more about himself by following this path that was set out for him, albeit in much simpler terms. His parents were not put out, but were a bit sad that their first born wouldn't be a full-fledged wizard.

After the conversation with his parents, the professor and Volya went separate ways until the holidays were over, where they started intense training. This training was to ready him for his initialization as an Elemental, which was to be held in Inverness, Scotland at the Elemental Council. The Water Manipulation Professor wished that the boy had been discovered earlier, because they only had two years to ready him for initialization. However, once they started, the professor was instantly impressed by the new Elemental's comprehension of complex concepts such as the elemental languages and the bookwork involved.

It was hard for Volya to balance his intense training with the professor and schoolwork, but he just managed to come away with good marks by the end of his training period. After all was said and done, the Water Manipulation Professor was pretty confident that he would do well in initialization. Volya experienced a change in himself both physically and mentally over the two short years of training. He was more confident in himself, he learned more about the elemental side of things, and was ready to join them in Inverness. It was exciting to find another place where he belonged, and that there were others like him.

When it came time for the initialization, the young man passed and received his marking of Hor on his calf. He was both exhausted and inexplicably happy for himself to have completed such an arduous task. His mentor and professor was proud of him, but told him to keep on working on the next goal of advocate and so on. Volya, the sponge that he was, was raring to learn more if someone was willing to teach him. It was at this point he turned to other Elementals to learn from them.

He was introduced to people from all walks of life, from circus performers to ship captains to male models. Of course, Volya ate this up, this opportunity to communicate with different people, and get a feel of their perspective. Volya made a good listener when he was interested, and later in life would often reference things told to him years ago by these people. His time at Inverness was a good memory he would take with him through the years, especially when he had important years coming up.

It seemed that he was plateauing as a wand-user and was tiring himself out keeping up with the recently difficult task of performing wand magic. As his elemental magic grew ever stronger, the wizard side of him was still there, but was slowly dwindling away. Volya had two grueling remaining years of school as he prepared for his ascension to advocate. He was really trying to feel like he was doing well in school, however as he ascended to advocate mid-seventh year his practical performances in his other classes besides runic magic and water manipulation became lackluster and average compared to previous years. The young man finished the year with his head held high with respectable scores.

He'd been thinking about what he wanted to do for years, and what his element would allow him to do. His first thought was back to his professor, who had a long, fulfilling career of it despite his poor casting ability. It would allow him to not only share his knowledge which he loved, but also give back to the school that had been one of his best growing experiences. Again, he was barreling through both school and training in his next step as an elemental. Fortunately there was more book-work than practicals involved in the teaching curriculum at the college he was going to.

In this time he really got to learn about how the young mind works, and it was fascinating. It was very thrilling to learn how to best cater to the needs of his future students. His time in College was a rewarding one that served the dual purpose of readying himself for teaching regular students at a school and for his duties as a Zealot, teaching new initiates. By the time his time in college was over, he had been a month into being a Zealot, and at twenty-three he felt fairly accomplished.

In the months that followed his long time mentor and old professor passed away, returning to his element at the Hor Shrine. This opened up the Water Manipulation position at Koldovstoretz, and it seemed like the old man had waited for him to finish his studies before passing on. It made him intensely grateful for the opportunity he was given and he seized it, applying as soon as he could. After several weeks of waiting, he received his approval as Professor of Water Manipulation at the Siberia-based school.

In his new position, he was patient, careful and observant. Patient because the combination of magic and runes that Water Manipulation required without an affinity for the element was intensely difficult. Careful because he couldn't obviously do the magic the same way he was teaching. Observant because he was actively looking for elementals as well, and he really wanted them to reach their full potential.

He taught much the way his professor did, albeit with more passion and definitely more fervor. There was almost a soft urge in his actions whenever he would teach, that seemed as if he really wanted them to pass his class. He definitely loved seeing the spark of realization come into the students eyes when they completed a difficult spell or ritual. He absolutely loved his job and would for years to come.

Something that Volya didn't deny or accept was the fact that he never was interested in women sexually. He didn't find them as appealing as he did the rugged features of a guy. Whenever he was in Scotland at the Inverness Council, he'd fold slowly open, and accept his attraction while he was there. As soon as he left however, he needed to bottle that up, due to the unkind sentiments toward any kind of love that wasn't a man and a woman that was rampant in Russia and some of the most northern of countries in Europe.

For years his parents had been hounding him about when they'd get a grandchild, at least one. He had been single, or to be more frank, hadn't been seen with a woman in years. One year, they got fed up with his seemingly lone wolf life style, and set him up with a woman. The woman in question was much younger, beautiful, and was the eldest daughter of his mother's best friend. He could sense the urgency in his parents to have a child by the eldest son. It was tradition for the eldest son to inherit and his son, and so on. He wanted to have a child too, and didn't mind the company of the younger woman as she was fairly bright and knowledgeable.

He didn't want to disappoint his family, so he agreed reluctantly. Their engagement was almost instantly a distant one as the young woman went to school. She was to be a Healer, and Volya definitely wanted her to keep on her path in life, and not resent him for not allowing her to live her life without him. At the behest of his parents, they sent letters back and forth, making small talk and trying to seem in love with her.

They did this trading of letters between visits to his parents Inn and her parents house for three years until one night his fiancee didn't arrive at his parents' inn for dinner. It was later discovered she was hit by a car and died. Volya regretted not insisting she apparate and also not spending more time with her in person. She became like a good friend to him in the long run, but if he was being honest with his heart there wasn't a romantic attraction.

He is still dealing with the fresh wound of someone close to him dying to this current day, and with his recent appointment to Durmstrang, he's closer to her now than he ever was. He felt a bit guilty letting Koldovstoretz close, but he loved his job too much, he was open to new opportunities, and now he has new minds to mold.

Application:
There are three main reasons I applied for this particular special feature: Character personality, My own personal want for a played elemental of my own, and the joy of getting to play it in a (hopefully) unique way.

I'm applying for this with the sincere notion that Volya wouldn't be Volya if he would have not been an elemental. He would have been an outgoing boy for sure, but he wouldn't be as confident in himself as he is now. The boy wouldn't have had the same enthusiasm towards school and life in general as he didn't get that same spark of wonder in his early years. He definitely wouldn't have gone to Koldovstoretz and been miles away from his family because his family is really important to him. His wand choice would have been something sturdier and little bit generic. Again, his sense of individuality would be non-existent, as he's living with wizards in a wizarding section of town. He doesn't see himself as anything special.

Since his schooling changed he wouldn't have met the professor who changed his life and worked so diligently to help him succeed. He would have probably dated more girls, maybe even convinced himself of his attraction to girls. Eventually, in his relationship with the woman that died, he would have been more clingy to make his parents happy, more earnest and almost possessive. He would have pushed the marriage on the woman, and probably want to try for a child right away. He probably would have still been at the inn since he wasn't so inclined to go to college as he would have been.

My Personal reasons:

I've been wanting to get on the elemental fun for four or five years, but I haven't had a character I've been so intrigued to write one until Volya came along. Volya's journey in my head has been a long and arduous one; there have been many retcons and set-backs. I finally sat down one night and wrote down his information and over half of his sheet flowed out of me as well as his two EFB's. I was honestly lazy when it came time to do his original SF application, and didn't put too much time into just how polar-opposite Volya would be without this particular special feature.

Its pretty startling when I start imaging Volya not as the confident, smart, and worldly person he is now, but as the meek shell he would be without it. I decided then, that Volya must have this special feature, so I must put a lot of effort into this application, and really prove why he needs this feature. Its been a grueling process, but I think I've proven it.

How it'll be played:

Volya is intensely loyal to the council, and really loves both of his jobs. He will use his powers in conjunction with some kind of illusion magic to give the impression that he is doing wand magic. He is very careful to not reveal the words of power he uses, yet makes sure the runic magic and rituals make the same result happen. He has been perfecting the way he teaches for years, so he's almost flawless at his curriculum. Although it is planned for someone to find out about his background, and possibly many nefarious things will ensue.

Future plots:

Phridae:

Volya and Phridae are two people starved for information, a chance meeting in Volya's search for his perfect second element will solidify this watery being's interests in Garth. Phridae and he will do wacky things together, such as decorating the council building and maybe Volya will even lend an ear to Phridae in times of need.

Aiolos:

Volya's and Aiolos' paths have crossed several times over the recent years, and can be considered close friends despite their mentor/pupil past. They will interact as part of the council, do some NC-17 shenanigans and send correspondance to each other. A specific plot I have is for Aiolos to advise Volya on a secoond element.

Alain:

Volya is seeking out something new to teach his students and gets into contact with the Typh runes expert. Volya expresses his concerns to Alain and asks for help on how to create a work around for water manipulation for his students.

Lario:

Volya is tired of always being held at arms length by Incin elementals because he stifles them. He seeks help from the new Harbinger Incin himself on how to help stifle his elemental aura.

Motya:

Volya and Motya have only talked in passing, for very short times. Volya is interested that Kanat and him can stand being by each other. A plot is that Volya sees Motya in a circus act, and that they really get to talking, and some fun ensues!

RP sample using the feature:

A male figure stood barefoot, waded ankle-deep in the ocean water. His arms were outstretched as if he wanted to wrap the ocean in a warm embrace. He breathed in and out deeply, filling nostrils with the scent of the ocean. He was so at peace here, there was no one around but him and the sea creatures and honestly, he wouldn't have it any other way. Especially since he was about to reveal that he in fact wasn't quite a normal human.

He was in fact, an Elemental; a being of ethereal origins. These beings manipulated nature around them to help or harm humankind. Volya Nikolov was one that wanted to help humankind, although today, he would be disturbing the homes of fish with his activities. He felt the waves gently caressing his ankles, as if assuring him he was safe. He spoke then, in an ancient tongue of sorts. The water surrounding him warped up in a small funnel around him. He felt it twist him into it, enveloping him like a blanket.

After all these years, it was a novelty to be able to breath underwater despite having no breathing apparatus. All he had to do it seemed, was make sure there was a small pocket of air around his head at all times. That worried him even less in his ethereal state as he literally became his elemental. After a few moments of doing a sort of a reverse pirouette (and some quiet ancient spell) around in the funnel, the water slowly fell back into place and he descended back into the shallow bit of water he was in before. The man allowed himself to be wet, letting the water soak his shirt and shorts. He walked slowly out of the water, a tired look etched on his face. He flopped on the hot sand of the beach area, tipped his hat over his eyes, and fell asleep.

Although, not really asleep, meditation. He willed himself to transform into his ethereal state, settling as a little orb of water just above the sand. All that was left were the little straw hat, his shirt and shorts. He allowed himself a few hours to recuperate, materializing as a human again. He got dressed, put his hat jauntily on his head, and went back towards town.

[rinn]Approved. Please check your PMs~

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Necromancy

Name: Bridget
Character name: Cecelia Tate
Feature you are applying for: Necromancy & Ritual Magic

Description

Description of the character:   

Cecelia Tate, a witch of almost 28 years of age, divides most of her time between sleeping and eating. Uncanny and borderline creepy, she has large probing eyes that are usually darkened by perpetual fatigue. She's small in size, standing at a below-average height, her limbs thin and wispy. She moves with the intention to exert as little effort as possible, and is often silent in her motions. She doesn't speak much, but when she does, her voice is soft and high in pitch, and her language is calculated and almost abnormal. Cecelia was created by the young witches coven she was educated in, where a single, dark, veiled woman formed her into the demented mold she stands in today.

As a child, Cecelia was affectionate and bold. Her mother loved and cared deeply about her, but her father was somewhat dismissive and absent. She spent lots of time playing by herself, as she had no brothers or sisters, and in her sixth year of life, a stranger came knocking at the home of the small Tate family. Cecelia would join a coven of eleven other girls, each one year older than the last and one year younger than the next. In the thirteen years that Cecelia spent in the coven, she learned how to harness and use her magic in ways that were untraditional, age-old, and maybe slightly taboo. Through the instruction of the high-priestess, a woman whose hands and arms were almost always covered by long satin gloves, whose body was seeping blackened blood from the veins to the epidermis, Cecelia became who she is today.

Cecelia was mentored, influenced, and shaped by the woman mentioned previously, who had dark ties and a serious vice: greed. She taught Cecelia everything she knew about Necromancy, because the student pushed the teacher to learn more. Incredibly intelligent, logical, and sharp, Cecelia has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that has followed her to modern times. Today, Cecelia lives in a slim townhouse in Knockturn Alley, where she spends most of her time conserving energy so she can use it to perform different kinds of rituals and spells.

Application

Application:

This feature is something I've been exploring and pondering since before Necromancy was back to being an SF that required an application. However, I think the requirement of the application here is helping me form her character better, so for that I'm thankful. The entire idea formulated together in one big clump of thought, excitement, and inspiration, and without the special feature, Cecelia will likely turn to dust. I hope by outlining the specifics on what these features will bring to her table (and also disadvantage her), I may convince you guys to approve it. Her customer base is small, her services are a niche market, and in most ways, this method of spell casting is more troublesome than it is helpful. However, it is the advantages that make it worthwhile to her.

• Ritual Magic: Cecelia was taught the method of spell-casting in the form of Ritual Magic, after she had already become somewhat proficient with wand-work. Ritual Magic uses symbolic tools (i.e. chalices, crowns, swords/daggers, runic talismans, incense, etc.) to cast magic in more difficult and cumbersome, yet ancient and powerful ways.
  
  A dying art, Cecelia upholds the knowledge given to her by the coven and high priestess. Though she no longer practices magic as part of a group of thirteen, she still uses the spells that can be performed solo. Her work targets a niche market, and the wizards that use her services do so because she can work her magic from her flat, and does.
  
  
  • Benefits: Can cast spells on target without touching them; Ancient art, allows for research and constant improvement (which she enjoys); Keeps a grimoire (she also enjoys this); Difficult to trace; Can charge a high price for her services;
    
  • Drawbacks/Limitations: Reduces ability for traditional wand-cast spells with increased use; Severe fatigue/fainting after casting; Takes toll on health;
  
  
  
  
• Necromancy: Cecelia's knowledge and affinity for Necromancy comes secondary to that of her knowledge of group casting and rituals. It serves as supplementary knowledge to the base of knowledge and skill she has when performing rituals with magical trinkets and tools. She performs necromancy in a way similar to the way that she casts ceremonial magic, but with the addition of blood; unicorn, dragon, or pureblooded witch/wizard.
  
  Cecelia is not interested in the power/glory that comes with her knowledge of Necromancy. She is not interested in creating an army of Inferi or helping people to raise their loved ones from the dead. In fact, will likely completely refuse a request of the sort. Instead, she uses Necromancy to fulfill almost any other reasonable request, though it's certainly up to her discretion, as long as the pay is right. Her use of Necromancy is one that's almost purely selfish; She has delved into the practice of delaying the aging of her body, but will be unlikely to share this with a narcissistic clientele unless they offer her a great deal of money.
  
  
  • Benefits: Ancient art; high-priced service; growth of knowledge; enjoyment and interest in the subject;
    
  • Drawbacks/Limitations: Can blackout; blackening of skin (this has only occurred in her fingers and toes, and she usually takes a break when this starts happening so her body can repair itself); full-body weakness; emotional distress, including hallucinations;

Future Plots

Future plots:     

• Cezary Kowalczyk: The Kronk to her Yzma, Cecelia keeps Cezary around to do her handy work and dirty work. Strong and able-bodied, Cezary often hauls bodies around, whether to her or from her, but serves an even greater purpose despite how essential he is to her work. Cezary is also Cecelia's appointed protector. Given the fact that she has trouble keeping up strength and has become nearly useless with a wand, Cezary stands between Cecelia and the dastardly men and women she associates and does business with. A faithful servant, Cecelia constantly congratulates Cezary with head pats and small gifts, and she allows him to behave how he wants around her as long as he doesn't interfere with her work or waste her resources.
  
  
• Blo S.K.: Cecelia will use Necromancy to help in the transplant of Blo's dying heart, to that of a Re'em heart. Blo will catch wind of Cecelia's services, and appeal to her for help. Though Cecelia's magic with healing is somewhat limited, she will serve in conjunction with a healer through the process, mainly using a combination of her knowledge of ritual magic and Necromancy, being that there will be blood involved. (* This is still in the beginning stages of being planned and isn't set in stone yet.)
  
  
• Alla Chaikovskaya: Alla is a young Durmstrang graduate interested in learning more about the art from Cecelia. Cece won't really like sharing things that are too in-depth, especially not over interceptable Owl post... Maybe someday they'll meet, but for now, the two are essentially introductory necromancy penpals.

RP Sample

RP sample using the feature:   

September 12th, Recollection.

Scratches of the quill against the parchment; a sound that caused a sickening mix of pleasure and unsavory memory. Whether she enjoyed it or not, journal-keeping was vital, basically mandatory nowadays.

Her memory was spotty. She remembered that last night she had performed a spell for a young man, but she couldn't remember what it was or who he was, and she had no idea how or why she had woken up in a bathtub half-full of reddish water. She hadn't the slightest clue where Cezary was, and she couldn't find her set of talismans.

This was her future if she wanted to continue down this road of magic. At this point, her lifestyle was being supported by her skill with ancient magics, and her lifestyle was somewhat exuberant. She didn't know how much longer she could last mentally, and she was physically exhausted as well. Between the random nosebleeds to the patches in memory, the magic was beginning to weigh on her, mind and body. She knew it was because of the dark ties, and she knew the repercussions were a result of her dabbling where she ought not to... As long as she could feel her fingers, she thought it would be alright. But the tips were feeling a little desensitized lately.

She took a break from the writing after her first short paragraph, tired from the minor activity and near exhaustion. Picking up her dress from the edges of the seat, she stood slowly and padded lightly across the room, barely making any noise as she approached the stairs, where she paused to draw a breath before ascending. She needed to have a nap... A nice, long nap...

Name: Chrissy
Character name: Anwen Sawyer
Feature you are applying for: Earth Elemental
Application:

I have been on Magical Hogwarts for about six years and I have never done anything too radical. I have always wanted to try something different considering all of my characters seem to be similar. I have always played it safe and I want to show that I am capable of doing something different. Anwen is the one that has really been the different one and I think she fits really well with an earth elemental. I'm not doing this just to do it, I believe that she really does fit. She has a strong connection with the earth and is far different from the rest of those in her family.

The abilities that she learns as she furthers herself in her training, will help her develop. It will make her feel even more connected to earth. She will, of course struggle the training at first. It isn't easy to control the elements that she is even. But as she works through it, and believe me, she will work at it, Anwen is a hard worker and wants nothing more than to have some sort of magical power.  It will also give her more confidence. She will build more self esteem and will work through her issues of timidness.

Anwen never really fit in with other wizards or witches, especially not her family. She had always been the bright and bubbly one, the one wanting to help the wounded, the flowers/plants and the animals. She has never been good at wand magic. Wen is more interested in watching the plants grow than swinging her wand around. She has always struggled with wand magic and finds the theoretical aspects of magic much more entertaining. This is why she is good at other aspects of magic, such as potions, and runes, that doesn't require her to use her wand.

Anwen has always felt a special connection to the earth, which is why she would rather be naked and go barefoot in the woods then sit in an classroom. As a young girl, Anwen could be found outside, exploring her love for nature and all the earth had to offer. At the age of five, Anwen started to grow an aversion to the taste of meat. When she was old enough to understand why, she told her family that the soft flesh of the earths' creatures tasted like betrayal. Just cutting the meat from her diet wasn't enough, when saw how animals were mistreated on ranches, or how chickens lived in large coops; she stopped supporting the idea of any animal being mistreated and decided to go completely vegan.

Power is believed to come in the from of every tree, plant and flower. Anwen stands behind that one hundred percent, she also believes that nature has a soul. If one should eat that plant or animal, that person would gain the power that it once held. The young woman has a respect for nature and what it holds. She is also a huge animal advocate, she is strong willed and won't give up what she believes in easily.

The girl was raised in a mansion, but the mansion was in the woods. It was far away from pretty much everything, it was the way her family liked it. She spent a lot of her time out in the woods, when she wasn't doing that, she was in the house talking to her family. She loved her family, the family wasn't good at moving on. They spent a lot of time in her room and she spoke with them, trying to calm them, trying to help them 'move' on. But most of them won't or wouldn't but it stop her from trying to make them feel good about themselves. It was the way that Anwen was, she would give up everything at the drop of a hat if someone she cared about needed her. She is the type of girl that has a bigger heart than mind and she protects those she loves.

She is loyal but also gullible when it comes to things she doesn't understand. Anwen loves getting her hands dirty, whether literally or metaphorically. She enjoys working with plants, or helping people. Her favorite thing to do is to play peace keeper, even it involves putting herself in harms way. She would give up everything to help those around her.

Grey Welks-First person she tells about her elemental status. He is her best friend and will hopefully understand what she is going through. While she is trying to show him what she can do, she loses control and goes a bit overboard. She passes out in front of him. It shows both him and her that there are dangers in elemental magic.
Phridae Summers-Ice elemental, new to the power as well, become unlikely friends. Being opposite elemental it may cause some tension between the two but it will be an interesting friendship to see the two of them working together.
Jeremy Edwards- Jeremy will someone that will ask lots of questions about how the elemental magic works. How she controls it and he will be more than willing to talk to plants and help her when she needs it. She will talk to him about how it affects her.
Nazreen Ajay-Nazreen is a herbalist and professor that will help Awnen with her magic. She will give her small projects to help perfect her skills. She will also help her get out of other duties to help her with things. Anwen will be extremely fond of Naz and will probably spend a lot of time with her, learning all she can about plants and what ever else she can learn. She will also help Anwen get out of wand classes by telling the professors that she is needed in the greenhouses.
Basil Stringfellow-He will be her new herbology partner. He will discover her elemental power after they begin to work together. Basil will then share his own secret with her. His ability to speak to snakes, the connection they have with nature will bring them closer together. They will both be interested in each others secret and ask a lot of questions. Basil will view Anwen as a type of earth goddess, a power that Anwen will go into with the help of Basil. He will also help her build up her confidence by being the friend she needs.
Rosaline Bane-She is offered an internship in Rose's green house over the summer. They are trying to cross breed different kinds of plants, magical plants with the cannabis plant to create a more potent hybrid. Anwen will use her elemental abilities to speed up the growth to test it quicker. She uses the cannabis for healing purposes as well as other medical treatments. She also wants to make an oil out of it.
Amaranth Stringfellow-She will find out about Anwen either through Basil himself or through the talk of the snakes, that she is an elemental. When she finds out Amaranth will take Anwen, kidnap her. She will experiment on Anwen to find out what makes her tick. Anwen will be terrified, scared beyond all belief and will only want to go home.
Kanat Zhanalin-He is a water elemental that will make her see Basil for what he really is. She tries to bring him out of his shell and wants to make him feel more free. They will discuss the elementals and even though they aren't really 'friends' they get along okay.

A clear spring day, the clouds had passed by since the rain stopped early that morning. Anwen was outside by the quidditch pitch, waiting to meet with her best friend Turlough. She wanted to talk to him about the Victory Ball that was coming up. It had taken her all day to muster up the courage to ask him if he wanted to attend the ball with her. She liked Tur, she had always liked Tur ever since meeting him the classroom, the day that he was listening to Jazz. It was like they were destined for each other. They were kindred spirits only waiting for the right time to combine their powers together. When he was around, she felt butterflies, when he was around her world brightened.

She saw him approaching from the east and she smiled. As she smiled the flowers that had yet to bloom around her, start to open their petals. The grass seemed to get a little greener and the trees seemed to be singing. "Hello Turlough. I wanted to meet you here, I know you always practice quidditch on Saturday's. I actually know a lot about you." She blushed feeling the nerves as she told him what she felt. "I wanted to see you today because there is something I want to ask you." She bit the edge of her lip and looked down at her feet before taking a deep breath. It was hard to get the words out because she was afraid of what he'd say. She looked back up at him and smiled. "You know the ball is coming up, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me." She let out a sigh as she finished the question. Tur had been looking at her waiting for the question.

When it was out in the open, the words he gave her slapped her in the face. She felt her heart freeze and her body started to tremble. He was taking Emilia. Her breathing shortened and the plant life around her sort of wilted. The grass went back to his normal brownish color and the buds on the trees seemed to retreat back into themselves. "I....Of course.....Right yes. It was silly of me to have asked." She nodded and tried to fight back the tears that burned the back of her throat. The flowers drooped and she heard him ask if she wanted to attend with the two of them. She nodded. "Yes, sure. I have no one else to go with." After stating that, she turned to walk away. "I have to go now...."

As soon as she was far enough away, she felt her heart shatter. The tears she had been fighting back fell to the ground and where the tears fell, little tear flowers appeared. She wiped her face knowing that she would never be good enough for Turlough.

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Necromancy

Name: Bridget
Character name: Cecelia Tate
Feature you are applying for: Necromancy & Ritual Magic

Description

Description of the character:   

Cecelia Tate, a witch of almost 28 years of age, divides most of her time between sleeping and eating. Uncanny and borderline creepy, she has large probing eyes that are usually darkened by perpetual fatigue. She's small in size, standing at a below-average height, her limbs thin and wispy. She moves with the intention to exert as little effort as possible, and is often silent in her motions. She doesn't speak much, but when she does, her voice is soft and high in pitch, and her language is calculated and almost abnormal. Cecelia was created by the young witches coven she was educated in, where a single, dark, veiled woman formed her into the demented mold she stands in today.

As a child, Cecelia was affectionate and bold. Her mother loved and cared deeply about her, but her father was somewhat dismissive and absent. She spent lots of time playing by herself, as she had no brothers or sisters, and in her sixth year of life, a stranger came knocking at the home of the small Tate family. Cecelia would join a coven of eleven other girls, each one year older than the last and one year younger than the next. In the thirteen years that Cecelia spent in the coven, she learned how to harness and use her magic in ways that were untraditional, age-old, and maybe slightly taboo. Through the instruction of the high-priestess, a woman whose hands and arms were almost always covered by long satin gloves, whose body was seeping blackened blood from the veins to the epidermis, Cecelia became who she is today.

Cecelia was mentored, influenced, and shaped by the woman mentioned previously, who had dark ties and a serious vice: greed. She taught Cecelia everything she knew about Necromancy, because the student pushed the teacher to learn more. Incredibly intelligent, logical, and sharp, Cecelia has an unquenchable thirst for knowledge that has followed her to modern times. Today, Cecelia lives in a slim townhouse in Knockturn Alley, where she spends most of her time conserving energy so she can use it to perform different kinds of rituals and spells.

Application

Application:

This feature is something I've been exploring and pondering since before Necromancy was back to being an SF that required an application. However, I think the requirement of the application here is helping me form her character better, so for that I'm thankful. The entire idea formulated together in one big clump of thought, excitement, and inspiration, and without the special feature, Cecelia will likely turn to dust. I hope by outlining the specifics on what these features will bring to her table (and also disadvantage her), I may convince you guys to approve it. Her customer base is small, her services are a niche market, and in most ways, this method of spell casting is more troublesome than it is helpful. However, it is the advantages that make it worthwhile to her.

• Ritual Magic: Cecelia was taught the method of spell-casting in the form of Ritual Magic, after she had already become somewhat proficient with wand-work. Ritual Magic uses symbolic tools (i.e. chalices, crowns, swords/daggers, runic talismans, incense, etc.) to cast magic in more difficult and cumbersome, yet ancient and powerful ways.
  
  A dying art, Cecelia upholds the knowledge given to her by the coven and high priestess. Though she no longer practices magic as part of a group of thirteen, she still uses the spells that can be performed solo. Her work targets a niche market, and the wizards that use her services do so because she can work her magic from her flat, and does.
  
  
  • Benefits: Can cast spells on target without touching them; Ancient art, allows for research and constant improvement (which she enjoys); Keeps a grimoire (she also enjoys this); Difficult to trace; Can charge a high price for her services;
    
  • Drawbacks/Limitations: Reduces ability for traditional wand-cast spells with increased use; Severe fatigue/fainting after casting; Takes toll on health;
  
  
  
  
• Necromancy: Cecelia's knowledge and affinity for Necromancy comes secondary to that of her knowledge of group casting and rituals. It serves as supplementary knowledge to the base of knowledge and skill she has when performing rituals with magical trinkets and tools. She performs necromancy in a way similar to the way that she casts ceremonial magic, but with the addition of blood; unicorn, dragon, or pureblooded witch/wizard.
  
  Cecelia is not interested in the power/glory that comes with her knowledge of Necromancy. She is not interested in creating an army of Inferi or helping people to raise their loved ones from the dead. In fact, will likely completely refuse a request of the sort. Instead, she uses Necromancy to fulfill almost any other reasonable request, though it's certainly up to her discretion, as long as the pay is right. Her use of Necromancy is one that's almost purely selfish; She has delved into the practice of delaying the aging of her body, but will be unlikely to share this with a narcissistic clientele unless they offer her a great deal of money.
  
  
  • Benefits: Ancient art; high-priced service; growth of knowledge; enjoyment and interest in the subject;
    
  • Drawbacks/Limitations: Can blackout; blackening of skin (this has only occurred in her fingers and toes, and she usually takes a break when this starts happening so her body can repair itself); full-body weakness; emotional distress, including hallucinations;

Future Plots

Future plots:     

• Cezary Kowalczyk: The Kronk to her Yzma, Cecelia keeps Cezary around to do her handy work and dirty work. Strong and able-bodied, Cezary often hauls bodies around, whether to her or from her, but serves an even greater purpose despite how essential he is to her work. Cezary is also Cecelia's appointed protector. Given the fact that she has trouble keeping up strength and has become nearly useless with a wand, Cezary stands between Cecelia and the dastardly men and women she associates and does business with. A faithful servant, Cecelia constantly congratulates Cezary with head pats and small gifts, and she allows him to behave how he wants around her as long as he doesn't interfere with her work or waste her resources.
  
  
• Blo S.K.: Cecelia will use Necromancy to help in the transplant of Blo's dying heart, to that of a Re'em heart. Blo will catch wind of Cecelia's services, and appeal to her for help. Though Cecelia's magic with healing is somewhat limited, she will serve in conjunction with a healer through the process, mainly using a combination of her knowledge of ritual magic and Necromancy, being that there will be blood involved. (* This is still in the beginning stages of being planned and isn't set in stone yet.)
  
  
• Alla Chaikovskaya: Alla is a young Durmstrang graduate interested in learning more about the art from Cecelia. Cece won't really like sharing things that are too in-depth, especially not over interceptable Owl post... Maybe someday they'll meet, but for now, the two are essentially introductory necromancy penpals.

RP Sample

RP sample using the feature:   

September 12th, Recollection.

Scratches of the quill against the parchment; a sound that caused a sickening mix of pleasure and unsavory memory. Whether she enjoyed it or not, journal-keeping was vital, basically mandatory nowadays.

Her memory was spotty. She remembered that last night she had performed a spell for a young man, but she couldn't remember what it was or who he was, and she had no idea how or why she had woken up in a bathtub half-full of reddish water. She hadn't the slightest clue where Cezary was, and she couldn't find her set of talismans.

This was her future if she wanted to continue down this road of magic. At this point, her lifestyle was being supported by her skill with ancient magics, and her lifestyle was somewhat exuberant. She didn't know how much longer she could last mentally, and she was physically exhausted as well. Between the random nosebleeds to the patches in memory, the magic was beginning to weigh on her, mind and body. She knew it was because of the dark ties, and she knew the repercussions were a result of her dabbling where she ought not to... As long as she could feel her fingers, she thought it would be alright. But the tips were feeling a little desensitized lately.

She took a break from the writing after her first short paragraph, tired from the minor activity and near exhaustion. Picking up her dress from the edges of the seat, she stood slowly and padded lightly across the room, barely making any noise as she approached the stairs, where she paused to draw a breath before ascending. She needed to have a nap... A nice, long nap...

[carys]Approved![/carys]

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Name: Billie
Character name: Fabien Álvarez
Feature you are applying for: Elementalism -> Madin -> Discipuli

Let's start with Fabien's basic knowledge. Fabien is a second year at Hogwarts, hopeful in the Hufflepuff house. He was born in October, so he'll be thirteen soon. Despite this, Fabien still acts like an eleven year old, especially in the company of his best friend and closest cousin, Tori Cooper, a fellow second year and Hufflepuff. It is important to know that while Fabien is a Scorpio sign, he shows no signs of vindictiveness, ideals of revenge or mysterious natures. This could, if proven significant in his plot lines, change.

The first thing I'd like to point out with Fabien is his soul: he is a genuinely kind soul, never fitting truly into "one box" but in multiple boxes all at once. He is eager to please, and even more eager to make and maintain friendships. Friendships are an important aspect to understanding Fabien -- he grew up in a family, not only his immediate family, but his entire family, as a close knit connection. He thrives on the ability to find, meet and talk to friends, regardless of how long they've been apart. He absolutely thrives on the need to be sociable, and he'll often talk a mile a minute out of excited natures just to talk with friends or even family. Close friends do become his family, and once someone is in that box, it's hard for him to see any other way.

The good thing about this with Fabien is that he never sees the faults in others, not even of himself. He never sees "bad people" as that -- and he'll give everyone three, four, sometimes up to ten chances to "fix mistakes" or to "try again." Fabien sees weaknesses and mistakes as learning opportunities to grow as a person, and to grow in a friendship. Fabien, despite what his parents tell him, is far too trustworthy -- he's so trustworthy that, by default, he'll trust even the weirdest, darkest people in the universe. By doing this, his trustworthy ideals are often manipulated (and, in the long run, makes it easier for him to get used for various purposes, both good and bad). But, despite this, that's one of the things that Fabien hates: being used and manipulated. He's a little blind to the fact that he's often used this way, and when he realizes it, he gets unnaturally angry. He'll ignore whomever has been manipulating him, but give it a few days: he'll forgive them and the process will start over. That's one of the beautiful things about Fabien: he is forgiving to a fault that even if he gets hurt, he never thinks about his own feelings.

One of the beautiful things about Fabien, too, is his heart and dedication. Fabien excels in Potions and Herbology, and alike his older sister, Fabien wishes to harness those skills and help people in a medical sense. Maybe, for example, not as a mediwizard, but perhaps as a potioneer, or medicine man. Fabien's heart to helping people, despite good or bad, is the biggest strength of his. He loves helping others; whether it's with chores, homework or just general life things, he'll help. He doesn't even need to be asked. Fabe is sensitive to how other people feel, and never -- if rarely -- do things to hurt others or to make them feel lesser than they are.

Despite Fabien's love for learning, he isn't the smartest or the quickest learner. It takes him months to years to learn the basics that friends his similar age know how to do. This isn't because Fabien is stupid -- no, he's just not the most interested in school work. Rather, he'd breeze through learning about cultures, histories and languages via hands on experience such as travel to really get that knowledge. The more hands on a class is, the quicker Fabien will learn. Casting spells isn't necessarily the easiest for him, especially when it comes to classes such as Defense Against the Dark Arts in which sometimes dueling is necessary.

I think it's important to focus not on my muse for a moment, but on myself. This part is critical to understanding exactly why I want this special feature, and how I will utilize it to my fullest.

As a mun / driver / whatever you want to call it, and as an avid story teller, I'm always looking for ways to expand on my abilities to write. The ideals behind playing such a mystical type of special feature such as an Elemental gives me a freedom to explore both my writing style, and to challenge myself as a write. I am always looking for a new way of challenging myself, and my fellow writers, by expanding outside of my box. I have played assassins; I have played the sickly-sweet bad boy; I have played a murderer who can't see straight even though he thinks he is straight. But the thing is, I have never played a muse with the ability of an element.

By writing outside of my comfort zone, I can harness the ability to become a better role player, and a better writer in general. It also allows me to make mistakes, and to learn from those mistakes. By creating mistakes, even little ones, I am able to learn, and am able to dedicate myself to becoming better. That's all we want in role playing, anyways, right? To become better. To have fun. To make ourselves different by pushing our comfort zones, and break out of our boxes?

Lastly, I know I'm still relatively new, just ending my third week here on Magical Hogwarts (as I write this, that is). Therefore, by allowing a special feature to grace my relatively small character collection (whether Fabien will be my second character or my third is unknown at this moment), it will give me more opportunities to plot outside of the several people I've already plotted with. I like to expand my writing abilities to not just stagnate into one or two little "groups" of people, but at least write with everyone once or twice, just to say that we've had a connection. By having an Elemental, I'd be able to role play with people from other houses, as well as adults that I wouldn't be able to do until Christmas break in game, or if you guys do another summer program at Academy Athena.

As Fabien becomes an "established" character, and equally, becomes more involved with other people, these plots will expand, and become more concrete. Without mentioning a bajillion and a half names or many other characters (except for the ones that will eventually play a key part in Fabien's developments), this is a good, solid outline of future plots and future development that I would love to do with Fabien:

First off, there is the matter of his discovery. Fabien has only just started his second year of Hogwarts, which gives him plenty of years to become discovered. Ideally, I'd like Fabien to be discovered no later than the middle to end of his year at Hogwarts -- anywhere between Christmas break and May of 2001. Leading up to his discovered, Fabien's grades will start to steady dwindle, especially in classes such as Transfiguration, which he is extremely good at. His wand won't stop working completely (the magic will dwindle, obviously, once he's authentically started his training as an Elemental), but the magic will start to become harder for him to cast, and will often fail more than not.¹ This will lead Emmett Markham into aiding him in trying to figure out what's wrong. It will finally be Linnet Willowsong², an older Hufflepuff and a fellow Madin Elemental, who will realize that Fabien is, indeed, an Elemental.

This alone will not stop. This will allow Fabien to grow as a person, and be more open with himself. This will trigger a potential character development between Fabien and the way he looks at magic, his family, his friends, and the world. He will grow to idolize almost all Elementals whom are older than him, and will crave the knowledge to read more, to practice and to try harder. By doing this, he is triggering an act of self discovery. This act of self discovery is absolutely important, because it will show Fabien that he is not "weird" or "awkward" but unique, and he will happily embrace this with all of his heart, and will try to get others to believe it himself. This will prove vital when it comes to his view on the world, as he will be more open and accepting to other people's faults (while he is already pretty accepting about things, there are things he still cannot see or understand, and this will open a whole new world to him), and to offer sympathy and empathy about what is can or can't be.³

As Fabien grows into his new Elemental power, he will absolutely adore learning about it. This will spark conversations with not only family, but with other Elementals that will gain his pique and interest, and will gradually turn into a growth of independence. With the discovery and knowledge of Elementals outside of just the particular one that he has, he will be armed with the knowledge that there are more than just what he sees, and that people harbor more than just one or two little things. He will actively try to befriend anyone and everyone of Elemental status, whether Madin or not. He will go out of his way to make strong friendships with people. One of these friendships will, eventually after his own discovery, be Hinterikki Peura⁴, a current first year from Durmstrang. This is going to be a vital friendship down the line for Fabien, as it will cross language barriers, schools, and distance, and will become one of his best and trusted friends.


¹ This plot with his wand does not involve magic actually stopping from working, as Fabien is undiscovered. In fact, it is quite the opposite. As Fabien's first year is all basic spells and basic learnings, he is a pro at being able to master this work, especially wand work. As second year progresses, especially in Transfiguration, which is one of her better classes, his work will go from outstanding to poor. This is because the more complex the spells become, the harder it is for Fabien to cast. As a result, as Fabien realizes that he is an elemental, especially after his discovery, he will look for newer, more creative ways to pass his classes.

² One of the things that Fabien is going to do with Linnet is find her as a role model. Fabien easily idolizes people, mostly his older sister, Taylor, so having someone outside of his family to idolize will be absolutely perfect for him. Likewise, with Linnet, Fabien will be able to ask about Elemental situations, as well as go to her for guidance, even if it's just a general "I can't get it, please try and help me?" type of thing. Furthermore, Linnet and Fabien will create a strong friendship that will not end at the end of the 2000-2001 school year, but will continue via owls and the occasional meet up once Linnet graduates.

³ One of the ideas I would love to play would be a continuation on the rogue plot, whether or not it happens. If it happens during October, which probably wouldn't affect any of the Hogwarts students because of the dome, there is still ample opportunity for someone to kidnap Fabien. Since he'll be discovered after the plot is set, he will still be fresh-faced and eager to please, and would go willingly with almost anyone if they even said that they were an Elemental. This will make Fabien question himself, slightly, on the idealism of trust and loyalty, although he wouldn't think more than this. This can further span to an act of dark self discovery in which Fabien learns more about the darker parts of himself. This would be a gradual difference, a gradual change in his persona.

... Bonus points if everything seemingly stays the same in Fabien's life, but slight changes are apparent or happen at once. For example, he can still go to school (because all his friends), but get owls from the person who kidnapped him / got into his head telling him and reminding him of his place, where he belongs. I really hope to one day lead him down a dark hole of self-destruction, in hopes that this will grow him as a person, and cut out some of the stupid parts of his personality that he has.

⁴ Ikki Peura is important to plot with because he and Fabien will, after meeting during the summer somehow (probably either at Inverness or at Academy Athena), they will bond. They are both in a similar situation (first/second year age range), be new to the Elemental power of Madin at roughly the same time, and will share similar characteristics. It is equally important to note that Fabien will learn Finnish just to communicate with his new best friend, while also attempting to visit as often as he can. This also opens up opportunity to meet other Elementals, adults and students from around the world that he wouldn't meet anywhere else. In the long run, Fabien and Ikki are going to plan an International Study Abroad between Hogwarts and Durmstrang and try to get it up (at one point, but nowhere near the close future), as well as follow their dreams together.

By befriending Ikki, Fabien will become more confident and more independent within himself, and be able to feel comfortable stepping more and more outside of his comfort zone. He will also be able to hone and practice his elemental spells with a friend who is similar in stage alongside him once they've become friends, and this will make Fabien more dedicated and more practiced to wanting to better himself and his ability.

RP sample using the feature: A sigh of disappointment escaped the thirteen year old's mouth, and a look of irritation crossed his face. Stormy grey eyes studied the palm of his hand for a long moment, before it turned over and they studied the backside. It was as if Fabien was staring at an alien of a hand; not his own, but of someone else's. It was as foreign as another country was, or someone who didn't speak English in the United Kingdom was. For a long moment that seemed to drag on, Fabien seemed to not realize that his hand wasn't going to change, even though everything around him was. Another labored, heartfelt sigh escaped the soft lips before they thinned out, becoming two straight, little lines against the pale skin and underneath the bridge of a freckled nose. What was he doing wrong? Why couldn't he do it? Other people did it so easily. Then again, these other people had years upon years of experience and training and what was it with him? He was just starting. He was just learning. But even then, it was a little frustrating.

"Let's try it again," Fabien spoke to nobody besides himself. His voice was cool and collected, despite the agitation that he felt. He didn't feel this frustrated since he realized his wand no longer worked like it did with the more complex spells in Transfiguration, and that he was, most likely, going to fail that class. He knew it was impossible to fail if he put his mind to it, but it was still apparent. It was still at the back of his head. He worked too hard to try and fix something of himself, but he knew that it was really only a matter of time. "Slow and steady. This isn't a race, and this will happen. Do not judge, for he who judges oft fails.

"Madin."

He said the word with such dictation and such power and such fluidity that the word seamlessly rolled off of his tongue, out of his mouth, and into the air. But even though he had felt like he was solid as he spoke, nothing happened. No plants started to grow, and the ground didn't shake. He could barely get the spell to work, even with his hardest effort put into it. Another look of irritation crossed the usually happy face, and his head tilted, hair falling slightly into his eyes. What did he do now? How did he go about it? Maybe there was something he was missing. Maybe there was something lacking -- it was like a potion, he realized. He didn't read about everything he needed, so he must have been forgetting something.

And it was then that Fabien decided that he he would need to find someone to talk to about this situation. His face lit up, and he straightened himself to his awkward teenage height. Hands brushed eagerly through his hair and he looked around. Perhaps trying it once more wouldn't hurt. He could always say he tried multiple times -- plus, who liked to give up. With his renewed effort and thought process, he attempted it again. Once again, the words slipped from between his lips like two perfectly placed syllables, "Madin."

Again, Fabien waited with bated breath, hoping something -- anything -- would happen. Again, there was no little plants that sprouted underneath the clove of his hand, and the earth didn't miraculously shake and tumble with fear. Perhaps he wasn't cut out for this. Perhaps they even lied to him when they said he was an Elemental. After all, why would they say he could do this, but clearly, he couldn't.

Name: Chrissy
Character name: Anwen Sawyer
Feature you are applying for: Earth Elemental
Application:

I have been on Magical Hogwarts for about six years and I have never done anything too radical. I have always wanted to try something different considering all of my characters seem to be similar. I have always played it safe and I want to show that I am capable of doing something different. Anwen is the one that has really been the different one and I think she fits really well with an earth elemental. I'm not doing this just to do it, I believe that she really does fit. She has a strong connection with the earth and is far different from the rest of those in her family.

Anwen never really fit in with other wizards or witches, especially not her family. She had always been the bright and bubbly one, the one wanting to help the wounded, the flowers/plants and the animals. She hardly ever uses wand magic and when she does, it isn't the strongest. Wen is more interested in watching the plants grow than swinging her wand around. She has always struggled with wand magic and finds the theoretical aspects of magic much more entertaining. This is why she is good at other aspects of magic, such as potions, that doesn't require her to use her wand.

Anwen has always felt a special connection to the earth, which is why she would rather be naked and go barefoot in the woods then sit in an classroom. As a young girl, Anwen could be found outside, exploring her love for nature and all the earth had to offer. At the age of five, Anwen started to grow an aversion to the taste of meat. When she was old enough to understand why, she told her family that the soft flesh of the earths' creatures tasted like betrayal. Just cutting the meat from her diet wasn't enough, when saw how animals were mistreated on ranches, or how chickens lived in large coops; she stopped supporting the idea of any animal being mistreated and decided to go completely vegan.

Power is believed to come in the from of every tree, plant and flower. Anwen stands behind that one hundred percent, she also believes that nature has a soul. If one should eat that plant or animal, that person would gain the power that it once held. The young woman has a respect for nature and what it holds.

The girl was raised in a mansion, but the mansion was in the woods. It was far away from pretty much everything, it was the way her family liked it. She spent a lot of her time out in the woods, when she wasn't doing that, she was in the house talking to her family. She loved her family, the family wasn't good at moving on. They spent a lot of time in her room and she spoke with them, trying to calm them, trying to help them 'move' on. But most of them won't or wouldn't but it stop her from trying to make them feel good about themselves. It was the way that Anwen was, she would give up everything at the drop of a hat if someone she cared about needed her. She is the type of girl that has a bigger heart than mind and she protects those she loves.   

Anwen always felt out of place, underrated and like she wasn't strong enough for magic. She watched as her brother did amazing wand work as he grew up, but when she arrived at Hogwarts, she felt like she wasn't good enough to be there. However, she was excited to be there and perhaps it was just practice and training that she needed to feel like she was a real witch. Halfway through her first year, she realized she was different but it wasn't until Vance McLaren, a fifth year elemental, told her that she was different. 
Vance McLaren- One to discover her at Hogwarts, her first year his fifth year.  introduces her to the earth harbringer who will train her. Will console, help her during her struggle through school.
Turlough Gorman-First person she tells about her elemental status. He is her best friend and will hopefully understand what she is going through.
Phridae Summers-Ice elemental, new to the power as well, become unlikely friends. Being opposite elemental it may cause some tension between the two but it will be an interesting friendship to see the two of them working together.
Jeremy Edwards- Jeremy will someone that will ask lots of questions about how the elemental magic works. How she controls it and he will be more than willing to talk to plants and help her when she needs it. She will talk to him about how it affects her.
Nazreen Ajay-Nazreen is a herbalist that will help Awnen with her magic. She will give her small projects to help perfect her skills. She will also help her get out of other duties to help her with things. Anwen will be extremely fond of Naz and will probably spend a lot of time with her, learning all she can about plants and what ever else she can learn.

A clear spring day, the clouds had passed by since the rain stopped early that morning. Anwen was outside by the quidditch pitch, waiting to meet with her best friend Turlough. She wanted to talk to him about the Victory Ball that was coming up. It had taken her all day to muster up the courage to ask him if he wanted to attend the ball with her. She liked Tur, she had always liked Tur ever since meeting him the classroom, the day that he was listening to Jazz. It was like they were destined for each other. They were kindred spirits only waiting for the right time to combine their powers together. When he was around, she felt butterflies, when he was around her world brightened.

She saw him approaching from the east and she smiled. As she smiled the flowers that had yet to bloom around her, start to open their petals. The grass seemed to get a little greener and the trees seemed to be singing. "Hello Turlough. I wanted to meet you here, I know you always practice quidditch on Saturday's. I actually know a lot about you." She blushed feeling the nerves as she told him what she felt. "I wanted to see you today because there is something I want to ask you." She bit the edge of her lip and looked down at her feet before taking a deep breath. It was hard to get the words out because she was afraid of what he'd say. She looked back up at him and smiled. "You know the ball is coming up, and I wanted to know if you wanted to go with me." She let out a sigh as she finished the question. Tur had been looking at her waiting for the question.

When it was out in the open, the words he gave her slapped her in the face. She felt her heart freeze and her body started to tremble. He was taking Emilia. Her breathing shortened and the plant life around her sort of wilted. The grass went back to his normal brownish color and the buds on the trees seemed to retreat back into themselves. "I....Of course.....Right yes. It was silly of me to have asked." She nodded and tried to fight back the tears that burned the back of her throat. The flowers drooped and she heard him ask if she wanted to attend with the two of them. She nodded. "Yes, sure. I have no one else to go with." After stating that, she turned to walk away. "I have to go now...."

As soon as she was far enough away, she felt her heart shatter. The tears she had been fighting back fell to the ground and where the tears fell, little tear flowers appeared. She wiped her face knowing that she would never be good enough for Turlough.

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