Post by SuperZero on Oct 25, 2012 18:48:08 GMT -5
Sasha, Shifter Warden
Sasha was her parents' only child. Trained to follow in her father's footsteps as a defender of their clan, she proved adept at wielding a variety of weapons. Although it wasn't really a traditional weapon for her people (her father won it from a hobgoblin bandit he defeated) she felt most at ease with the warhammer. Something blunt that didn't necessarily draw blood, because in her youth the concept of actual bloodshed frightened her more than the violence itself. This was probably related to her own connection to living things.
Her sense of the power of life was something that was always with her. As a child she did not realize that it was a special gift, it took her some time to realize that this sense was not something that everybody felt. As an adult, she blames her ancestors' curse.
For all of lycanthropy's horrors, it did perhaps give one special insight into other kinds of living creatures. Or at least it had the power to do so for those who were aware of and in control of their other side. And their shifter descendants inherited that connection without the curse.
Sasha's connection was just especially strong.
Some people to whom she's explained her gift have thought that it means her ability to detect living creatures, or at least instantly tell the living from the dead or undead. It doesn't, exactly. The world is teeming with life, and Sasha can't necessarily distinguish a particular creature's life force unless she knows that creature well.
But she's trying, and her powers are growing. She has learned to draw on the powers of life to empower herself, and she's physically stronger and tougher than she really has any right to be as a direct result of that. Drawing on that magic of life to directly benefit OTHER creatures is somewhat new to her, and it's an ability she's eager to put to real use.
She set out into the world for a few reasons. First of all, because loss of life pains her. Sure, she knows that death is a natural part of life and everything, and she knows that killing is sometimes necessary--she's ended a few lives personally, after all--but she wants to protect against the willful and unnecessary loss of life. Animals don't kill without a reason, and neither do most people... but some do, and so that's what she seeks out.
Besides, some who draw on primal power act like people are something separate from nature, and Sasha knows that's not true. They are as much a part of it as any other creature, and buildings are no more unnatural than beehives and rabbit dens. A city teems with life, it's just a different sort of life than what one can find in a forest or a field. And as somebody who relishes being surrounded by life, that difference is something that she wants to explore.
Yes, she does plan to return home eventually, after she has that experience to draw on. But first she needs to gain it, and Brindol seems as good a place to start as any.
Sasha was her parents' only child. Trained to follow in her father's footsteps as a defender of their clan, she proved adept at wielding a variety of weapons. Although it wasn't really a traditional weapon for her people (her father won it from a hobgoblin bandit he defeated) she felt most at ease with the warhammer. Something blunt that didn't necessarily draw blood, because in her youth the concept of actual bloodshed frightened her more than the violence itself. This was probably related to her own connection to living things.
Her sense of the power of life was something that was always with her. As a child she did not realize that it was a special gift, it took her some time to realize that this sense was not something that everybody felt. As an adult, she blames her ancestors' curse.
For all of lycanthropy's horrors, it did perhaps give one special insight into other kinds of living creatures. Or at least it had the power to do so for those who were aware of and in control of their other side. And their shifter descendants inherited that connection without the curse.
Sasha's connection was just especially strong.
Some people to whom she's explained her gift have thought that it means her ability to detect living creatures, or at least instantly tell the living from the dead or undead. It doesn't, exactly. The world is teeming with life, and Sasha can't necessarily distinguish a particular creature's life force unless she knows that creature well.
But she's trying, and her powers are growing. She has learned to draw on the powers of life to empower herself, and she's physically stronger and tougher than she really has any right to be as a direct result of that. Drawing on that magic of life to directly benefit OTHER creatures is somewhat new to her, and it's an ability she's eager to put to real use.
She set out into the world for a few reasons. First of all, because loss of life pains her. Sure, she knows that death is a natural part of life and everything, and she knows that killing is sometimes necessary--she's ended a few lives personally, after all--but she wants to protect against the willful and unnecessary loss of life. Animals don't kill without a reason, and neither do most people... but some do, and so that's what she seeks out.
Besides, some who draw on primal power act like people are something separate from nature, and Sasha knows that's not true. They are as much a part of it as any other creature, and buildings are no more unnatural than beehives and rabbit dens. A city teems with life, it's just a different sort of life than what one can find in a forest or a field. And as somebody who relishes being surrounded by life, that difference is something that she wants to explore.
Yes, she does plan to return home eventually, after she has that experience to draw on. But first she needs to gain it, and Brindol seems as good a place to start as any.