Setting Information
| Sceadwian |
| Thursday, 09 April 2009 21:28 |
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*Name: Sceadwian *Gender: female *Age: 100 *Race: Shade *Physical Appearance: Sceadwian, when she chooses to show herself, takes the Corporeal form of a human female of ancient and withered aspect. The old woman is dressed in the grey, simple garb of a physician’s assistant of the Verre Zon military. Her name was Helia Beryl, or simply Lia, and she was a nurse in the Verre Zon barracks about ten years ago. She is quite tall, bony and thin, and has dull green eyes. Her dark grey hair is generally tied in a bun at the back. Her jaw line is slack, but not in a weak way, and her ears are small and round. Her features are rarely seen, though, as she wears a full hood, extending to below the chin, and her nurse’s coat buttons up to above the chin. She also wears elbow-length, black leather gloves to protect herself from the Law of Convergence. *Personality: Sceadwian is a peaceful being. Quite possibly the most peaceful Shade Verre Zon has ever known. She is happy where she is, and has found a way to spend eternity that is comfortable and rewarding. She might assume another body some time in the future, but it would be a difficult process, and she doubts the value of such an endeavour. Unlike some Shades, who have chosen to become Shades for entirely different reasons, she is caring, helpful, and unobtrusive. She would never harm a living being, directly or indirectly, even were it in an endeavour to protect another living being. She has also endeavoured, with no small success, to separate herself from the Shade caste system. She is not subservient to any Shade greater than herself, and she is content to keep to her little territory, namely, the third floor of the downtown barracks in Verre Zon, where the sick bay is located. Very few knew the real Helia Beryl. She was, beneath her quiet and withdrawn exterior, a turmoil of emotions, always. She lived in eternal fear of judgement, whether it be judgement from some higher power, judgement from her superiors, or judgement from her friends and peers. She spent her whole life seeking to please, and do only good, but it never seemed to help. This sorry state continues to follow her as Sceadwian. *Magics: Realignment Helia Beryl, in her mortal life, was a healer of great distinction, and she continues this practice as a Shade. It is, in fact, the reason she remains a Shade (see history). Her healing technique goes beyond physical healing. It involves moving her hands over the subject’s entire body, without touching it, in order to get the flow of energies aligned. It is almost like having someone massage your entire body, your brain, your heart, and your spirit at the same time, all with an expert and gentle hand. It will leave someone refreshed and feeling like an unscathed newborn. One session will certainly not erase deep hurts, violent insanities, long-time grudges, or mortal wounds, but it can stop things from getting worse, and it can clear the passages for a short time, allowing one to rise above it all and gain a new perspective on things. Multiple sessions will, over enough time, heal the worst of wounds, and Helia has been known even to re-grow missing body parts, and heal the worst traumas resulting from the most abominable murders, rapes, and unspeakable horrors, if given several months. *Strengths/Good Qualities: In the Corporeal form of Helia Beryl, she has skilled hands, and can treat most wounds effectively and quickly. She is known amongst the other Shades of Verre Zon as the Gentle One, and she will often treat the wounds of other Shades that come to her in the night. Sceadwian has gained the love and admiration of the Shades from surrounding territories, and they would not stand idly by if she were being taken advantage of. *Weaknesses/Bad Qualities: One might have heard the phrase “Physician, heal thyself”. Sceadwian cannot. At least, not beyond physical wounds. She suffers a deep neurosis that she herself cannot seem to access, and until it disappears, she will remain a Shade, adamantly seeking her soul’s rest. In her Corporeal body, Sceadwian is old and weak. Helia Beryl died of old age, peacefully, in her sleep, so the body is right on the verge, and she sometimes has trouble walking. Sceadwian is meek and gentle, to the point of letting practically anybody walk all over her. She never learned to stand up for herself, and it is doubtful that she ever will. She is, in this way, at the mercy of her environment, and the benevolence of others. *Character History: Helia Beryl was born poor and orphaned, and remained poor and orphaned her whole life. She always had a natural talent for Realignment, and was asked to come live and study at a school that dedicated its resources to the development and research of this practice. Having graduated with honours, she turned her dreams of helping the sick and needy into reality at the Verre Zon barracks. She worked there for sixty years, retiring at a ripe old age of eighty, and never once aspired to becoming a doctor. The sick ward bureaucracy knew that its parts were kept well oiled by certain patrons of the Advanced factions, and therefore did not approve of her methods of healing. She stayed in training, always, but was continually frustrated by her environment. She saw so much suffering around her, and could do nothing beyond what a nurse normally does. The reason she refrained from transferring to a different hospital was the plight of her friend and co-worker, Gemselia. Gemselia was quite a bit younger than Helia, and she had a difficult home life. Her husband treated her badly, but he was an important political figure, and speaking out about it would have affected the Arcane movement terribly. Her love for her work kept her quiet, because her husband had promised her to try to win over the sick ward and allow the use of magical healing there. Helia saw this dedication, and it broke her heart. She was too meek and indecisive to get directly involved, but every day, she would Realign Gemselia. It was what kept the poor girl going. While she waited for false promises from an abusive tyrant, she learned the ropes of menial nursing quickly, and became a professional at cleaning and stitching wounds, performing midwife duties, and so on. While off-duty, she would often walk the halls of the sick bay, or even the city streets, looking for those in need of her services. This simple way of life continued until her retirement, at which point she was well cared for by the barracks, given living quarters, and an attendant to help her with her daily life. She was visited often by Gemselia, and spent most of her time meditating and practicing her art. In these last ten years of her life, before she passed away peacefully in her sleep, with a book on her face, only one remarkable thing ever happened to her. It was this one opportunity that set her soul at ease, for her only concern in leaving this world was the fate of her dear friend Gemselia. What would the poor girl do without her? Late one evening, when she was a full eighty-nine years old, her question was answered. She was told of Shackling by a man she healed, a man to whom she had poured out her heart and her fears in a rare expression of her inner self. He helped her with the process. For a Shackle, Helia chose the sword that sits on display, encased in glass, in the entrance hall to the downtown barracks. It belonged to a general of social standing, one Hugo Zalz, the founder and benefactor of the sick ward. She had never met him, having been born long after his time, but always admired the stories she heard of him, and admired him more than anyone else. As a Shade, she assumed the name Sceadwian. At first, she suffered some antagonism within the Shade community. She was considered weak, and easily taken advantage of. This, of course, was true. But when her abilities became evident, a general, unspoken consensus amongst the Shades of Verre Zon resulted in her being left pretty much alone. Since the days of initiation, Sceadwian has lived status quo for thirty years, choosing to inhabit, alternately, the home of Gemselia, and the sick bay. Occasionally, she will be visited by other Shades, and is quick to help them in any way she can. It is a convenient arrangement, as Gemselia’s home is right around the corner, and the Shades that inhabit the space between are glad to let her pass in exchange for the occasional Realignment. It has been a delight watching her young friend grow up, but it has also been painful, watching her be beaten senseless, and feeling afraid and powerless to stop it. But she does what she can, for all those around her, as she did in mortal life. |
| Last Updated on Sunday, 12 April 2009 00:57 |