Name: Dureena Lavella
Nickname: whatever nicknames her current master gives her
Age: 18
Height: 5'8"
Weight: 130 lbs
Gender: Female
Race: Human Talent* / Elf
*A human talent is a natural born human (witch, wizard, or sorcerer) with the ability to perform magic. A talent does not need to use spells or incantations to perform their magic. Instead, their magic comes naturally, controlled by their will. These individuals do not get their ability from a cross with other magic beings, such as elves. Dureena’s power comes mostly from her mother, a human talent who dabbled in witchcraft, and is supported from her Elven side but not dependent. In this case, Dureena’s main magical abilities come solely from her own being through thought projection.
Hair Color: pitch black with red highlights
Eye Color: gray-green
Occupation: a witch, wrecker of havoc, faithful servant of the powerful
Physical Appearance:
Dureena possesses fine facial and bodily features that are in all outward appearances human but enhanced with underlying Elven beauty*. She has waist length, silky, pitch black hair that has red highlights. She is medium height, about 5'8", lightweight and slender allowing for smooth, predator-like movements. Her eyes are green/gray and burn with her magic, on command for intimidation, expression of discontent, etc.
Her current travel gear is that of a black silk long-sleeved shirt etched with silver-green thread on the cuffs and other edges. She also wears black silk, conforming leggings with the same etching as the shirt. Knee high leather boots are hidden under her leggings. Over top of her outfit she wears an overcoat down to her knees with a stiff high collar, low neck line, and sleeves slit up to the elbows. To hold the open front together there is thin lacing at the bodice portion and an ordinate belt. Below the belt the coat parts open revealing the leggings. A shawl-like hood covers her head, and a pack is slung across her body.
* Her ears were once pointed like her father's. However, due to her scorn of the kind natured Elves she has long since taken a potion to be rid of the telltale sign that she is of Elven origin.
Equipment/Belongings:
- black-handled dagger poisoned with Solatrum mortale (deadly nightshade), enhanced with anti-healing spells, and etched with silver inscriptions (anti-healing spells) in a plain black leather sheathe at her waist.
- the clothing she wears.
- a black onyx pendent, the stone flecked with green emeralds.
Emerald is used for magical purposes. It can turn curses and hexes back upon the sender. It also stands for beauty, love, and faithfulness.
Onyx, in this case, is a chaos stone and can possess a negative or positive power depending upon the user. It can cause bad dreams and break up relationships but can also symbolize devotion. It stands for midnight.
Together the two types of stone weave their powers together as a befitting resemblance to Dureena herself. Its purpose is mostly aesthetic and symbolic but it sometimes, though only slightly, helps Dureena with her influence.
- a rucksack filled with a little bit of food, some extra clothes, herbs, gemstones, a vial of antidote to the poison on her dagger, and a little money (as she’s hidden her riches from Lord Valen elsewhere). The herbs are used mostly for poison, love, and control potions, and a few merely for cooking. She rarely uses potions because she likes the route of less effort. Potions simply take to long and too much preparation so only important circumstances will cause her to use them. The stones are used for power through the normal properties each possesses (far too many and too complicated to list). She owns mostly all the kinds you would ever need for whatever cause but she rarely ever uses them for any purpose other than binding and protection in which case she will usually use quartz crystals. They are there just in case and because she finds their beauty and natural power a reminisce of herself and, thus, a comfort.
- Anything else she collects along the way.
Pets:
Dureena controls a male black hawk, named Kaelgon, that she sends to gain information through his eyes and ears. When Dureena was younger she was given a black hawk egg that she hatched and raised as her own. Thus, Kael is extremely loyal to her and would die in her services.
Personality:
Dureena is highly intelligent and knows exactly how to get her way. She keeps many of her true feelings hidden beneath a sly façade. Her charm and charisma disorient men and women alike. Dureena sees everything as a game ready to be won. Like a cat playing with a mouse, she enjoys toying with people, inflicting pain and distorting people's minds and morals.
Powers:
- Possesses a mild version of precognition.
- Moves objects with her mind (telekinesis).
- Senses the likes, dislikes, and emotions of others but not specific thoughts (psychokinesis). She can sometimes see images in a mind if a mind is especially weak or weakened beforehand. Her ability to sense emotions, etc., allow her to create situations to sway people because she can sense their reactions. She can also thought project into another person’s mind to make them do something. Again, this is subject to the strength of an individual’s mind. Strong minds can block her completely. Weaker minds may not be able to block but may be able to fight her control.
- Able to start and contain small flames in her hand that can be harmless and heatless (for light) or real fire that can spread to become a full fledged fire.
- Creates and throws energy and fire if necessary. Most successful when she is angered or with excess energy as it can be draining.
- Can create a shield to protect herself from some magic and weapon attacks, especially from those less powerful than herself. This is subject to her physical state at the time of attack.
- May control weather and the growth of evil, poisonous plants if she feels the need.
- Can light a room with a strange glow from no apparent light source.
- Perform glamours on occasion. A glamour is when a person appears to take on another form or create one separate from herself. It's not a true transformation because it is an image impressed upon any mind present. In this case, glamours have to do with copying the appearance of a person to be used as one of her mind control methods
- Her spells and enchantments are contained to binding and love spells since she has little need of spells and enchantments to control or call up her powers. She enjoys making others fall in love with her and do what she tells them. As such, many have been known to die in her service.
Strengths:
- Precognition through touch allows Dureena foresight, a knowledge of future events. She cannot control her visions.
- Reads/controls minds, thwarting the plans of others. Weak minds are easy targets as are unsuspecting, unprepared minds. Those more powerful than her could fight her off unless caught off guard, at which point it may be more difficult.
- Silent in her movements, thus, seeming to simply appear in places as if she were an apparition.
- Intelligence and sharp senses, inherent of her Elven ancestry, make her a difficult foe to deal with.
- Dureena is trained in archery, sword fighting, and hand-to-hand combat. For a time Lord Valen used her as an assassin.
Weaknesses:
- Dureena sometimes is overly proud, making her susceptible to trickery and fall prey to comments that insult and hurt her pride.
- Dureena is quick to anger when she does not get her way. Her anger makes her reasoning and powers difficult to judge.
- After a vision Dureena is temporarily weakened. Since she gets visions by touch she cannot control them, making them occur often at inopportune moments.
- Without her powers Dureena is nearly helpless, save her fighting ability. She can fight but rarely does so due to her heavy rely on her magic. She would sooner control and disorient than fight, unless she feels in the mood for combat. She also relies on her outward appearance of weakness to keep others from seeing her true power until it is too late.
- Dureena requires the use of her hands to channel her magic. Binding her hands can prevent her from performing most of her magic except for her telepathy.
- Dureena often relies on her eyes and, in more difficult cases, touch to control an individual. Blindfolding her will prevent her from gaining control over another. It will not, however, prevent her from sensing others around her.
- Dureena is NOT impervious to poisons and other substances, such as sleeping drafts, that could nock her out. But she might recognize the smell if it's something she's made before so be sneaky.
- Due to lack of practice, Dureena could be defeated in hand-to-hand combat with a combatant who deals with such fighting on a regular basis. She'll put up a good fight but all in all she prefers the use of her magic. She used to be an assassin and can still be hired as one but she'd need to be re-trained to refresh her muscles and memory.
- Glamours are not full proof. It may be difficult to see through them but smelling through them not so much. Dureena relies on her own sight or the memory of another person to create her glamours. Memories are faulty and don't always include a particular detail such as smell.
- Will NOT raise the dead as she finds it distasteful if not disgusting.
- She's only as powerful as her following. She requires time to build up an army of ‘mind slaves.’
Character History:
As daughter of Ida the witch and Thade the Elf, high expectations were placed on Dureena. However, kidnapped during infancy shortly before the slaughter of her parents, Dureena was raised by Lord Valen, a powerful mage and overlord of her homeland. Valen taught Dureena everything she now knows and, perhaps, a bit more than he bargained for. In her early teens she set into action. These years of careful planning, scheming, and corruption revealed themselves on her 16th birthday….
Dureena sat comfortably in the Lord Valen’s throne, located in the high chambers of the guild. Her legs dangled over the right arm, one leg extending as she admired the new gold finished shoe on her foot. Slamming double doors shook her out of her revelry, a frightened, caught-in-the-act look crossing her face. When her quick eyes caught the once happy now scornful expression on Lord Valen’s face, her own face relaxed into the sly, slightly shy grin she often gave him. He watched as she quickly got up and turned to smooth the cushions seemingly for him. Approaching the throne he asked, “What do you think you are doing, my darling?” ‘My darling’ sounded more threatening than endearing. He grasped her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye. He had been growing suspicious of her these last few days and seeing her in his chair simply did not help his mood. She answered sweetly, “Only keeping it warm for you my lord.” A confiding smile crossed her face. “It’s been so cold in here lately.” Dureena allowed concern to transform her face. “Why else would I sit there? It is yours after all. You know I only think of you and your well being,” she continued as Valen release her and sat down carefully. She began backing off the raised platform. “After all you’ve done for me, it is the least I could do…”
Valen regarded her with an odd expression. Gazing around at his guard he knew that something was wrong. All stood at the ready, hands on pommels, all eyes watching him. Casting his eyes back upon Dureena he noticed the slow, mischievous smile spreading across the vixen’s face. Lord Valen made as if to get up, uncertain, his hands gripping the arms of the throne. His eyes narrowed on Dureena as she spoke. “You’ve been so busy lately, and you look terrible! Why don’t you get some much needed rest. I’ll take care of everything that should arise.” Smiling a pleasant grin Dureena backs out of the room and begins closing the double doors. The uncertainty she held him riveted with broke. Still facing him she saw exactly when he broke free. He stood angrily, heading for the doors and shouting her name. The doors shut and the lock clicked in place. Waving a hand at the door she raised an impervious charm. She watched as the doors shifted with the force of a half cast spell on the other side. Backing up she listened to the sounds of a battle ensuing in the chambers beyond. Crossing her arms she smiled slyly, turning shortly after to continue on to dinner alone.
Thus, at age 16 she overthrew her master. To Dureena, Lord Valen had become old and weak, not worthy of the position he held. Ruling in Valen’s stead she wrecked havoc on the surrounding lands, experimenting on the locals with her powers. Finally, at age 18 she became bored and decided to move on. On a black night the skies glowed red as green-gray eyes watched the flames eat away what was left of the guild. Two henchmen at her heals, Dureena turned to the east, making her way toward new lands … and new potentials….
Other useful facts:
- Dureena likes to get close to those in power, especially those stronger than she, serving them as a faithful servant and learning from them in the process. If at any time she feels her master becomes weak or falls below her standards she may try to overthrow them out of disgust of their weakness.
- The poison on Dureena's blade is called deadly nightshade. It may be cured medically, herbally, or magically, or through a long lay out to clear the system. The reason for this is the symptoms shown here:
Take note of the bolded section. Symptoms and difficulty in curing will change depending upon how badly wounded someone is (a scratch vs. a violent stab). Yet, the effects of the deadly nightshade on the blade are only temporary as there is not nearly enough to cause a coma or long lasting effects. Slight tremors may occur a few days after but will wear off with time. A wound will result in sickness with fever, vomiting, hallucinations and tremors. However, the inflicted may be knocked out for a few minutes due to the enhancer spells on the blade.In toxic or deadly doses, the symptoms of poisoning with deadly nightshade are, rapid pulse, thirst, dry mouth, difficulty in swallowing, restlessness and fatigue, headache, dry hot skin, difficulty in micturation, iris almost obliterated, near vision very blurred, hallucinations, convulsions, ataxia and coma.
For more info about deadly nightshade's poisonous effects you can check out this link:
Nightshade