application

[amongrealms]

Player Information
Name: Macha 
Age: 27
Contact: pm, wildstorms @plurk
Characters already in Medietas:
Reserve Link: link!

Character Basics
Character name: Oria
Character Journal: amongrealms
Canon: n/a
Age: 125, looks 25
Icon: link

Original Character Information
Appearance: A slender woman with dark hair, she's a fairly average person in terms of build. Normally adorned in something tied to nature, skins or horns, she's not exactly a modern woman. Notably she has few burn scars along her abdomen, arms and legs as well as milky white eyes that cannot see in the traditional sense.

Setting: Oria's world is set up close to pangea, a mass continent, it is a land that is filled with various clans and creatures. A world that is close to the nordic bronze age and fantasy the world is split among clans. It is legend that that once the gods worked together in unison to create the world and guided the first humans to follow a code. Over time people began to favor certain gods over others thus leading to the world separating into the clans. Each clan has established itself as a follower of certain god or goddess. Their lifestyle and traditions are born from what each deity is tied to. As for the clans and gods they're roughly as followed:

Clans:
Aisling: Those who celebrate Cernunnos. Oria's home clan. Devoted primarily to the natural world it sees its fortune in the bounty of the land. Few among them are connected to magic and those who are find they commune with nature itself in its magic.Their land is primarily forested, with a few areas near their borders that are rolling hills.  
Balle: Followers of Arduinna. On the opposing mountain of the Aisling. They share a lot of similar beliefs towards nature that the Aisling have. They however are more interested in hunting for their food than growing it. Few to follow magic they believer power resides in their own strength and ability to survive any climate. Due to their adaptability to climate they've taken to living in more mountainous regions.  
Craic: Followers of Freyr alone. They are proud and boisterous people who are some of the more industrious people in the world. They are people of more material means and are less inclined to take part in magic. Living in more open flat-lands their towns, that are slowly progressing towards cities, are often lined with guard towers and walls. Their focus in more on their own protection and strength than devoting oneself to nature.
Saoirse: Followers of Elatha. Primarily a female tribe, they grow by working together occasionally with other tribes. Merchant and scholars, they are driven by a thirst for knowledge. While they have more written knowledge than others self-growth is treated as more important than growing their technology. Most of the talented mages in the world have come from this clan. Their land is closer to a tropical desert. Their reliance on progress of magic and technology has made their land more tolerable. 
Foinse: Those who follow Iduna. Much like their goddess they live for the seas. Their land flourishes thanks to their love of the water, sailing and fishing. It's rumored they have met with mystical creatures of the sea but there's been no confirmation from other clans. Their borders are mountainous and their capital set by the ocean. Many of their towns and trade comes from the fact that they're the only ones willing to dare the ocean.

Then there are the gods of the world. The ones who made the world and created humans. The creation of humans was set in motion by a bet between them. That if a creature were to be able to think for themselves in the capacity humans do, have such variety and be left with only traces of their gods power that they will eventually turn on each other. Those gods are as followed:

Cernunnos : God of the stone and earth. Tends to enjoy disguising himself as a human and going through their lands. His true form is leaves him with fur along his back and shoulders and large spiraling horns from his head. While other gods like to keep their distance he is more likely to listen to his followers than some of the other gods. Unknown to the others he had a child with a human. He took a bet towards humanity destroying itself.  
Arduinna: One of the goddesses of animals and the hunt. Known for her hunting skills and ability to commune with wild animals. Pensive, not very talkative. She is talls and cuts a very athletic figure. Dressed in armor nicer than anything mortals can make she is never without her bow strung over her shoulder and a dagger at her hip. She responds to offerings that are closer to a feast in her name. Her ideals followers hunt and celebrate their hunt by thanking her and enjoying their catch. She believes that humanity will struggle but ultimately come together.
Freyr: God of sunlight and growth. He's more playful than one might think. Despite being the same age as the other gods he retains an oddly youthful look. Slender and a little androgynous looking, he lounges about in robes and likes to try and find ways to make trouble. His followers believe him to be much more strong looking than he really is. He believes humanity is doomed to fail in achieving ever-lasting peace. 
Iduna: Goddess of the rain and tides. She's actually the goddess of all water but she's one of the more humble of the gods. Polite but stern she is akin to Cernunnos in that she likes to reward her followers when they act properly and show respect. On the other hand she is short-tempered and has turned the tides against those who displease her. She has variety of colorful scales on her body as well as fins for ears. She wants to believe in the good of humanity but she has doubts. She bet against humanity achieving lasting peace..
Elatha: Goddess of the moon and stars. Elegant and beautiful, she's a person of little words. She is close to Freyr yet it's not uncommon to find them bickering. More often than not she tries to be a mediator. She wants to treat all fairly, be they human or god. Most of her followers would be happy to dance in the moonlight while chanting her name. She is endeared by people. She believes in humans and like Cernunnos she bet towards humanity being able to achieve peace. 
Ankou: Lord of the dead. None speak his name, all are familiar with him. As lord of the death a commander of great power, little words and takes no part in the game of whether there's hope for mortals or not. He is a being of mostly shadows, with tendrils that drag behind him when he moves like a cloak. He has no bias towards anyone or anything. Even the other gods don't dare cross him.

Many people live simple lives of doing what they're good at whether it's farming, sewing, working with their hands or being a devote follower. There is a heavy expectation to follow in ancestors footsteps. It is why for many clans the head priest or priestess has normally been from the same family line as far back as they can trace. Exceptions can be made as not every person ended up having children. In such cases if it did not go to a relative it went to a person of their choosing. Just as well each clan covers a land closer to a country in size. Clan leaders can place their trust in other members of villages throughout the lands and have them answer any questions, concerns of lawful matters that they wouldn't think worth the chieftains time. Most of the time these people never had a title. The lines between the countries are known due to maps and terms agreed upon in ages past. As well most people being very superstitious believe that if they leave the land of their god for too long and venture to another that they'll become ill. As note a few people of notice/power are also in a this post here.


History:
First life:
-Oria is born by the high priestess of clan Aisling, Arecia, and their patron god Cernunnos. When Oria is born it's late in the night under the full moon. Cernunnos, being a god, is not present for the birth or any of her life leaving Arecia to raise her by herself.
-Oria's birth is also a few days before a harvest festival. Arecia, despite having given birth a few days prior, shows no hesitation in taking care of her duties. All the people from the capital and local villages arrive while they celebrate and ask for their gods love and protection in the coming season. Oria, the newborn baby, is taken care of by other priestesses and cries most of the festival until she passes out.
-Despite being the daughter of a high priestess she lies a relatively normal life. She develops a bond with another girl named Saelline. Oria is also placed into the expectation of becoming the next high priestess though she understands very little of it until she enters her teen years.
-Once she enters her teen years she is placed into the temple to begin her studies. Quickly she becomes enamored by it. She begins to quickly develop a strong bond to the belief and dreams about communing with their god as she believes her mother does. Saelline and her still speak frequently but as Oria becomes more serious in her studies the less time they spend together.
-Oria reaches adulthood and is a priestess of the order of Cernunnos. When she reaches 22 she is sent from the temple to live in the wilds of the land. A task any aspiring high priest or priestess must face. They must be able to survive in the wilds, uphold their own mental and physical well-being as it's believed to help them better commune with the gods. Oria accepts their challenge with confidence.
-While she ventures she is left well and truly alone. No scouts, no one to check up on her. She wanders through the lands over the course of a year and a half. She stops at a few villages but not once does she take any supplies. The speaks with people but believes that if she took supplies from a village she would no longer be qualified. 
-She ends up leaving the lands of her clan and wanders into the lands of the Balle. She considers that she's outside of her home when she begins to realize the area is much more rocky, there's more peaks and she almost feels like she's losing a bit of her strength. It's been months but she doesn't feel like she truly understands how to be a high priestess. She feels like she's still missing something. A few weeks into Balle lands she comes across a hunting party. The hunting party is quick to press information from her of who she is and what village she comes from. She answers truthfully, advocating that she is not here for trouble but merely trying to learn so she can serve at her home.
-The party takes her captive and she goes along peacefully. She is taken to a village where they all speak and she's given a chance to explain herself. It is decided that they shall take her back to the border but she must never speak of this trespassing. As she is guided back to her lands she begins to ask about their religion. It's here that she spends a few weeks hearing of Arduinna and how she provides for her people. She begins to see both patterns in their religion and her own as well as some key differences. She begins to wonder if perhaps when they pray it isn't always their patron god answering them. She keeps her concerns to herself and formerly thanks them for showing her kindness.
-Her trip back to the temple is another few weeks, leaving her gone for a few months over a year. Saelline is happy to see her friend returned and quickly embraces her. Her "sister" at heart they have an hour of talking before she must face her mother. Arecia and Oria speak and Oria truly believes she can face the final trial. Arecia considers denying her as she thinks that Oria has too much arrogance but after some pleading she agrees to arrange for it.
-A month passes while a trial is prepared. Oria is still left wondering if she should try to reach out merely to Cernunnos or if it is possible to win the favor of any of the hods. In the downtime before the ceremony she spends time with her friends, prays and helps with temple upkeep. A few of the newer priestesses ask her how she feels about succeeding her mother. She always remarks that she is merely following the path that has been set before her.
-The trial comes. The trial is the same as it was for her mother. To be able to channel the power of Cernunnos they must be able to bring life to a dying land. There's what was a garden, filled with plants that were struggling to live. Prayer to Cernunnos alone is what should be able to save the plants. Arecia oversees the trial as Oria spends days praying. The first day she prays to Cernunnos alone. The next day she also prays to Arduinna when her mother must step away. The last day she slips up and Arecia hears Oria pray to whatever god will hear her plea. This is unheard of as no one dares cross their god and tradition. The trial is stopped that instant and Oria is imprisoned. Arecia and Aasam begin to argue what to do about this as it's against law to converto other gods, as they believe Oria has.
-During her imprisonment a stir begins in the city. People are confused as to what happened to the future high priestess as no official statement has been made by Aasam. Saelline is left without her closest friend and Oria only spend the time in prison wondering if she was wrong to believe there is more to life than the simple traditions that guided her. She continues to question her faith as her fate is decided.
-Finally, her fate is sealed. She is proclaimed to be a blasphemous schemer who seeks to convert people away from their lord. Many don't believe it but elders and Arecia are quick to continue this rumor until it is considered truth among the townspeople. For her "crime" she is brought to the town square and burned to death. She dies slowly, painfully, and wishing she could understand why.
-After her death she does not go into any divine realm, no other world that everyone believes exists after you die. Instead she is still on her world but instead of towns it's as if man never existed. There are other spiritual creatures there more fantastical than the ones she had seen in life. For years she wanders aimlessly through this land as she can't find a single other human spirit. She begins to wonder if she was in fact cursed in her death or if her doubts have trapped her.
-After a decade of living among this spiritual realm she is finally approached by Cernunnos. When he first shows himself he strides up to her, the proud giant he is, and asks her what she's doing in this realm. She explains she has no idea. She didn't know this is what came after death. The situation, unknown to her, troubles the god. AS he is both god and father he ends up taking her under his wing.
-Decades pass. She learns of the flow of energy and life in the world. She learns of how man is more of game for the gods which on more than one occasion she burst out enraged that she and everyone she loves are playthings. When she acts out the god simply vanishes and leaves her to wonder in silence. Despite rough spots she comes to realize that Cernunnos is a wise and just god. She asks about the other gods and while she never meets them he is happy to share small stories of them each here and there. She also forges bonds with many of the spiritual creatures living there, including a forest wolf. She ends up calling the creature Hasya and the two spend a lot of time together, especially when Cernunnos is away.
-In the real world though clans were beginning to face war. Clan Craic is growing bloodthirsty and it takes more than skirmishes and hunting to sate their bloodlust. Seeing this rise in violence Saoirse ends up devoting themselves more to their magical studies than ever. Foinse begin trying to build sturdier ships so they can travel longer and fight from the seas if they have to. Aisling and Balle however do not sway and continue trying to uphold peaceful traditions. During this time, Craic attacks into Aisling lands and begins to wipe out villages one by one. The army pushes up into the center of their territory, their home and kills everyone they can. They destroy the temple of Cernunnos and claim the land for their own. Meanwhile, Saiorse ends up slowly converting those in Balle lands. Those who were not converted were wiped out by a mysterious "plague" that they created to get rid of any who might oppose them. Like Craic, they wipe out the temple of Arduinna.
-Shortly after his temple has been destroyed he has spent a hundred years teaching Oria. Spirits do not age but he has noticed that she carries herself with more maturity and kindness than before. With his temple destroyed and humanity reaching for war he comes up with a plan to tip things towards his favor. He offers Oria a second chance. She may return to the living world to set right all the wrongs that went into motion as people have become fanatical. He wants her to be a voice of reason. At first she declines him because she could not convince her own mother that she was not trying to shun their lord. After a discussion about the fate of her mother, who died while cursing out every other clan and trying to turn people radical, Oria agrees if only to make the mistakes of her mother right.
Second life:
-Cernunnos grants her life once more. This comes at a cost. To ensure she can help guide humanity he brings out some of the power that lies within her thanks to being his child. She becomes greatly attuned to the world, nature and the spirits but to do so she can no longer be allowed to see the world with her eyes. She must see with her spirit that had so grown over their time together.
-She is brought back in the ruins of her home. The temple and village were a mix of blood, rot, scorch marks and general desecration. Not knowing the power Cernunnos brought out of her at first she's completely overwhelmed by what's happening. She sees glimmers of what happened. The destruction, the death, the screaming. She's brought to her knees almost shaking in confusion and the agony of those who died.
-It takes nearly an hour before she gets to her feet and makes her way through the rubble. She notices that nothing seems quite right when she looks at it. Death marked the land making everything appear darker even though it's the middle of the day and she can feel the sunlight. It's then she hears Cernunnos tell her that has imparted a gift to her. Her eyes, useless, but now she will see with better clarity than any human could. All she needs is time and focus.
This is going to be the last thing she does before arriving at medi. 


Personality: 
Oria is a woman who wants peace, both for herself and the world. In her youth she was passionate about doing what was right and was unyielding in her ideals. For many people are first glance he comes off as shy. Erring more towards formal than informal she isn't a person who spends a lot of time making crude jokes at the expense of others. She strives to be a thoughtful and patience woman as she believes that is the kind of person that is best suited to serve the gods. She started in her life brimming with devotion and unwavering confidence. She has since had time to truly look at herself and wonder if the person she was and the person she could become would ever line up. Could she truly serve while holding onto her own ego? Between her father mentoring her, her mother and own people turning against her, and the struggle of living once more she has a lot to try and sort through to become the person she wants to.

But that's just the thing. She is a person who holds onto ideals and chases after them. While there are those who are loud and passionate while going after what they want she does so with a more quiet enthusiasm. A person who believes that by doing so she's going to be granted better understanding and inner strength, she handles things as if she is the only one who can. Her people, her problems, anything under her control she truly thinks she should be able to handle alone. While it might be grounds for making progress it also creates a divide between her and people. It's harder for her to truly connect with people when she doesn't believe speaking of her troubles will make her stronger. She thinks highly of bonds and friendship but has this flawed idea that they can only exist when things are positive.

In that sense she is very naive about what forges bonds and how to count on others. She wants to be able to forge bonds and to live and love. The idea of having something between people is beautiful to her. She has no idea how to really do that.  Her one friendship was built at such a young age she hasn't yet formed a lasting bond with another person yet. Even the relationship with her own mother took such a drastic turn that she is left uncertain how to achieve the joys of friendship.

For her life is about understanding, about being empathetic to others so that there can be peace. She hasn't figured out yet that those traits can make for a great person. She's far too humble to consider herself anything special anymore. In her mind she's lucky, maybe weird but nothing special. She doesn't have the backbone to be a leader. Her devotion is unquestionable when she finds a cause or person to devote herself to. Devotion is perhaps her greatest strength. Devotion however means ideals fitting into what she believes and means that when there's true facts that challenge it she struggles greatly. Even her own mind has brought forth doubts in whether she's in the right or wrong with her beliefs.

Ever curious she strives to better understand the world around her and its people. Knowing that humans are more playthings to gods than followers she lives to better people if she can. If she can understand them and help them grow than she's doing exactly what she should with her second chance at life. She is aware that she's somehow supposed to be able to help people and fix the wrongs of the past. She isn't a genius and she can't place how but she truly believes if she does what's right that things will start to fix themselves. She doesn't want to take part in violence, chaos or strife. The idea of being dragged into a fight scares her more than she cares to admit. She won't even admit that she's still troubled and upset that she was put to death over a difference of opinion.

That's what she does. Her negative feelings very much exist. A sense of betrayal that her own mother would turn against her and make her look like a criminal haunts her even in her second life. To her negative emotions that her own are something that she shouldn't place upon others. It goes back to wanting to strength her mind and emotions for the sake of others. She strives to be selfless and throwing her baggage onto other people goes against her ideals. It greats a burden on her mind and emotions. It sometimes leads her to seem more withdrawn than she means to be.

Oria in a woman who strives to be some ideal of peace and perfection. She wants to spread peace, freedom and knowledge when she can. She does understand that she is but one person. She knows that maybe she won't be able to change people. It may upset her but she does understand that everyone has their ways. The path to being a selfless helper isn't an easy one but she's positive that's got to be the true path for her so she's going to keep walking, doing everything that she possibly can to grow into that person.

Powers/Abilities/Talents:
Soul Sight: Oria is techincally blind. Her vision isn't done with her eyes and more with her senses and spirit. Thanks to the gift of rebirth and the blood of a god she can still see with a vision that's very close to normal vision. The difference being that her vision is prone to changing depending on people. People filled with rage often appear larger, their colors leaning towards an aggressive color scheme instead of simply seeing them as they normally are. She doesn't have control over how that works and at times it causes her to be confused by someone since her first impression of them may be them at the peak of an emotions that paints them in a different light. Because her vision is also based off her bloodline and spirit she sees in the dark as though its day. She can't however see things that are not living or beyond the orbit of a planet. As such she can't see any stars or planets in the sky. Since she's still adapting to the vision when she arrives at medi she is still getting used to being able to see non-living things such as buildings. 

Geomancy: Simply put, it's the ability to control the earth and nature. She's a natural at it given that she's the child of Cernunnos. Normally it means the ability to twist and bend it the earth to new forms. For Oria she can also produce life and bring it back to plants. She can move plants to her will and somewhat re-imagine them. Somewhat because without traditional eyesight she can only work off what she can think or what she remembers. This allows her to create peaceful gardens if she wants or bring rare plants back to life. It isn't powerful enough to move mountains nor can she mobilize a forest. This is also the only power that she had practiced when she was a spirit. Though as a person it's going to be harder to connect she's still decent at it. 

Visions: Oria's rebirth gave her the ability to see flickers of the past and the future. At the time she'll be arriving it's no more than a few seconds and doesn't always show the correct future. Rather she can see what might be instead of what will be. It also gives her the ability to see and speak to the dead. On occasion she has seen glimmers of the past but in those situations there has been a great tragedy and emotional scarring left on the land itself. As it's a relatively new, out of control power, it's likely not going to effect her in medi.

What 4 items would you like your character to have with them on the island during their stay? 1 headdress, 1 horned wolf companion (only the size of a german shepherd. name: Haysa. haysa's only "power" is being a spirit so she can fade in and out of existence), a dress and small collection of paint for facial painting  

Samples - Can be linked
First Person:

[ When the device comes to life Oria isn't staring directly at it. Her eyes are focused ahead. Given the angle and what little of the background is visible she seems to be the ocean, pacing back and forth along the shoreline. Her lips twist into a small frown for a second before she return to a neutral expression. ]

Where I come from some of us have our fates decided for us upon our birth. What we shall do, who shall marry who, where shall we go in our lives, all of these are predetermined for some of us. Not everyone. The more...common people have a certain measure of freedom. I have wondered what's more important. 

Do you believe in traditions or do you believe in breaking them and trying to reform? I have seen many people struggle against fate while others merely want the way forward painted out for them. I am curious as to what you think.

Third Person:

Oria did not enjoy the uncertainty that came with the new "home". She had walked quietly along the shorelines and didn't feel the presence of any god she knew of. Cernunnos was nowhere to be found. She couldn't reach out to her mentor. It was odd to her that the distance made her heart ache as though she was a child upset that she couldn't reach their parent. A silly thought. Gods made humans and maybe she was just a bit of amusement for the god. Maybe she wasn't since he had placed some hope in her. Hope that was now wasted. She looked at the house someone had guided her to. Locals were nice enough and she appreciated their kindness. A few people had glowed brightly along the way. She hadn't asked if it was because there was something wrong or they had a sort of power that stuck out to her. "This ones yours." The young man, a local with shaggy hair and clothing she didn't quite understand, gestured towards the building.

She could only see that it was tall. She couldn't see the color of it, no windows or doors though she was sure they existed. She looked at the ground and could see the steps that must have led up to the door. With a smile and nod of her head towards the boy she headed up to the house. Uncertainty continued to rack her mind as she opened the door and stepped inside. She couldn't see anything. She had no idea where exactly anything in the home was or if there was anything to walk into. Carefully she took a few steps in and quickly she was comforted by a familiar howl. Haysa came bounding towards her, jumping up onto Oria and knocking them both to the floor. "You're here! Oh thank the gods I'm not alone." She ruffled up the fur and leaves along Haysa's body while she got her cheek licked. Haysa wasn't an answer but she was a huge relief to Oria. 

"Come on girl. Want to help me figure this place out?" The wolf spirit took a few steps back and sat down with another howl. Oria could barely keep herself from grinning. It didn't feel right to be on a different land, apart from the gods and everything she knew. She tried to think that it was like her death. This was another chance to learn and become a better person. "If you can help me see this place I'll make us dinner." Haysa was responsive, nudging the woman to get up and with the help of her dear friend Oria was going to be comfortable while she figured out this new home. Haysa was comfortable guiding her to the kitchen where she felt around. Metal and other materials. Designs that she never felt before. "I...may take that back. Do you think people use these?" The wolf looked to the side as if to tell Oria that she had no opinion or idea.

Then she was brought over to the chair where she was nuzzled into it. Oria leaned back into the chair with a sigh while haysa sat at her feet and rested her head in her lap. She started giving the wolf spirit some gentle ears scratches. As she did so she kept trying to focus in her vision. Surely she should be able to see whatever else was in the area. Yet no matter how much she squinted or tried to focus she had no idea what a lot of the features of the home was. Without knowing them she had no way to see them. "I wonder if we can enlist any help here. The locals appear nice. I hope the same can be said of others in our situation." At least she knew where the floor was and with her friend here she wasn't worried about having to sleep alone or sleep on the ground. Both were welcome familiars in a strange new world. 

Finally, out of the 4 words, pick one: Chimes, lake, gravel, or sun? Sun