[GrangerAirstrike]

The return of the Queen:

SINGLE CHARACTER APPLICATION:
Full name: Cthoria ap Nhil

Birthplace:  Syvisa
 
Physical Description:
Cthoria is thin and about 5’4”. Her skin is milky pale, in stark contrast to her onyx black hair which is typically in a single braid that falls to the small of her back. She wears light make-up save for the accentuated stylings around her eyes in various winged tips and geometric designs depending on what she is feeling for the day. Though she is thin, she exudes a demeanor of strength reinforced by the way her body has changed over the course of her wandering, as the open road has given her a degree of physical prowess along with the tell tale signs of a long journey. She wears simple but practical clothes that befit a traveler, often seen in a tunic or hide jerkin and pants tailored to be form fitting and free of slack. She adorns her simple clothes with a black leather pauldron, arm guards, and leather greaves when moving through rough terrain or dangerous environments.

Recently, since returning to Caer Sidi, she is seen with a pair of gossamer wings made out of a silvery blue light emanating from her upper back- not connected but as if emanating like an aura. She cannot fly with these wings– she doesn’t actually know why they are there or what function they perform, if any at all. The Daughters of Annwn see the wings as a reinforcement of Cthoria being Saint Annwn. Her veins occasionally show black through her skin because she is one of the Kissed– the dwindling number of people who were corrupted by the power of the Chaolich during the Diarchy’s final battle with it.

Possessions/Equipment: 
Cthoria travels light, preferring to utilize the world around her to gather and make 
the supplies she needs. Possessions of note would be her scimitar “Shadesong” which occasionally crackles with blackened energy, her armor, and the broken pieces of the Winter Crown she once wore as Diarch. Other than that her possessions are mundane: a survival knife, a set of tools such as a flint, whetstone, armor repair tools, and a water skin. Shadesong is a magical blade that has the ability to use the chaos within its blade to inflict a wasting poison on those affected by it. It is curable, and most people have access to the ingredients to do so, but left untreated and it will eventually kill.

Skills:
Cthoria has learned a lot on her journey, particularly how to survive in the wilds of the Warrens she’s traveled through. Her martial skills have grown as well, as there has been plenty of conflict on the open road, and she considers herself to be quite adept with her scimitar. Through the practices of the Fae and other travelers that follow her, she has learned a moderate amount of nature based magics which have replaced the abilities she lost when she abdicated the throne. Her reagents are specific ingredients taken from the natural world under certain conditions and through specific ritualized steps. They have to be taken during specific times of the season, and typically require her to perform a Rite of Primal Consecration in which she mixes her blood with the ingredients to make a poultice. This leaves her druidic magic a little wild and sometimes imbued with random effects because of her nature as Kissed.

The power of chaos still flows within her veins, though she does not draw on this power very often- it is powerful, but the reagent is her own body. Every chaos spell she is forced to cast withers away a piece of her, turning her into some manifestation of undeath over time. Which, if she is honest with herself, she knows is already happening with every breath she takes. She reckons that she has about 3-4 more chaos magic spells before she is seriously debilitated or dies.
 
Personality Description:
Cthoria is purposeful in her interactions with those she does not know. Guarded and thoughtful, she is projecting a general demeanor of control. This is an illusion. The chaos that flows in her veins is impulsive and wild, and it takes a great deal of focus to push below the surface. She does not bother to keep this focus when surrounded by those she trusts, nor when she is alone in the wilds on her travels. It’s just too much energy. Those who knew her in the past might see this facade for what it is, but would not recognize her if she lowered it- something primal stirs within her that was not there before. Whether it be the effect of her casting off civilization and embracing the natural world and her natural self or the corrupting influence of her corrupted blood, she is only a few steps above savage on a moment to moment basis. Her anger is a storm and her laughter is vicious. It is often off putting to those that dwell within societal comforts and civilized niceties.

Backstory:
Cthoria abdicated the throne and left Caer Sidi without telling much of the truth to anyone. Including Aynia. She knew this would hurt, both the Summer Queen and her beloved people, but it was necessary. Something stirred inside of her, brought on by her Kissed nature which grew each day and that she felt at times would consume her. She pretended, at least to Aynia and Roran, that her exodus was borne upon curiosity and wanderlust, but she knew better. Whatever was stirring inside her was becoming more and more difficult to fight against and she didn’t quite know what the consequence of giving in, or relinquishing her defenses, could be. So she left.

And she traveled throughout the Warrens.

Little is known about her travels to anyone but her and her followers, but there are a few things that are apparent. For one, she has changed. No longer the inquisitive and excitable Syvisan noble of her birth, Cthoria’s warmth has waned in favor of a cold and primal instinct. She was forced to survive on her own skills in the wild, learned druidic magics from a coven of lost Fae, and slowly let the Chaos inside of her seep in. She found it… controllable, but only just. Her veins are much more visible through her skin and she knows her body rots from the inside out, but she continues to travel in search of some way to fully contain the chaos inside of her.

She does occasionally speak of the places she’s visited. A vast desert where she ruled as Pharaoh for a short time, a hub of warren travel controlled by a brotherhood of assassins in service to an Overseer cloaked in shadows. In one warren she found the Anuin, a group of druids who she stayed with for some time before journeying forth. Their bond was so great that the Anuin bestowed upon Cthoria the title of Annwn and pledged their service to her as she traveled throughout the warrens. These are the Daughters of Annwn.
Now her travels have brought her back to Caer Sidi because she believes that the answers to her questions remained here all along. Now if only she can do so without attracting too much attention…

The Daughters of Annwn:

Group Name:
Daughters of Annwn

Group Purpose:
Nomadic cult that follows Cthoria on her travels throughout the Warrens. They are the Annwin that she met on her travels through the Warrens who bestowed upon Cthoria the title of Annwn and taught her the druidic powers that she now employs. They revere her as one would a saint and believe that she will go on to perform miraculous feats of wonder. What these feats will be do not matter– they worship the primal magic of creation even if it does not align with the “pretty” and “benevolent” forces of existence. 

Group Population:
Roughly 28 in total. Some occasionally join, some occasionally leave. All female. 
Sluagh - 15
Human - 9
Sidhe (From Caer Sidi) - 4

Group Description:
The Daughters of Annwn are a small cult of all female worshippers of Cthoria as the Saint Annwn. They believe her to be the embodiment of the cycle of life and death, largely due in part to her nature as one of the Kissed. The believe she has the capacity to perform miracles and that she will one day perform a miracle so potent that it will change the Warrens forever. Cthoria does not stoke the flame of their devotion, and in fact tries her best to discourage it– she is no Saint and does not have any power to perform miracles. They obstinately refuse this and follow her anyways. Cthoria has become very close to them in her travels, and they set about the open road as a group. A community of travelers that depend on the lands they venture across rather than the world of money and power that surrounds civilization.
Each of them have access to druidic magic, practiced in the same way that Cthoria practices hers and utilizing the same process for creating reagents. In fact, they are the ones who taught her druidry in the first place, though she quickly rose above them in terms of power and capability. They use this knack for natural magic as another piece of evidence that Cthoria is their Saint Annwn. Much to her dismay.

Group possessions or equipment: The Daughters of Annwn travel light as well, utilizing their druidry and their survival skills to forge their path across the Warrens with Cthoria. Each of them wears similar light leather armor and utilizes mundane weapons such as swords, scimitars, bows, or daggers. They also have access to the same tools Cthoria has, simple survival tools and the like. Each carries with them a backpack, bedroll, and waterskin.

A Note On The Sluagh:

The Sluagh are a type of Fae that come from the Warren that Cthoria met the Annwin in. They are Fae, and closely resemble human and Sidhe. Close enough to where they may have shared a common ancestor, but with a few very different characteristics as well. The Sluagh are drawn to dark places of gloomy rot and dank ruin, the intricacies of secrets and mystery, and the despair of death and corruption. They are the embodiment of decay, even so unto their appearance as they often have sunken eyes, brittle nails and hair, and pale skin that looks as if they are wasting away of consumption. The Sluagh revel in this form as it is of their true nature-- but they do not share their truths with everyone.

Be it through cosmetics or light glamour magics, the Sluagh obfuscate who and what they are when they are around strangers. This is taxing, however, so they prefer to spend most of their time alone or with other Sluagh. The ones that follow Cthoria do practice this misdirection unless she asks them not to, for their devotion to Saint Annwn is above their desire for secrecy. Often they tend mushroom gardens if stationary or collect specimens of decay if they are traveling. A considerable number of Sluagh spread lies about their people, like that they created the first nightmare or that they manifested from fear itself. This isn't true, but they tell the tales so convincingly that sometimes people believe it is.

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