Safiyah the Dancer

Account: Seidr, replacing Kasakir who is Retiring. 

-Character name: Safiyah Bashir

-Character race: Easterner Human

-Character age: 23

-Character Occupation: Traveler, Fortune Teller, Survivalist, Explorer

-Character description:

Safiyah is on the shorter side, being 5’5”. Her rich brown hair is often worn in a long braid that goes down her back. Her clothes tend to be simple but nice to look at, intended to be worn for long periods of time with some degree of comfort on the long roads, trails, and dunes. She carries no small number of pouches of little trinkets and odds and ends. Her robes are primarily dark cloth but with some reds and yellows thrown in for flare.

Underneath this she might wear suitable traveling clothes, or perhaps something more flashy if she wants to be ready to perform. Regardless, during travel or social outings she took to wearing a deep blue veil to add to her image. People paid more attention to that which was mysterious, after all.

-Character personality and traits: 

Safiyah loves life. She wants to savor every moment she has, and cherish the new experiences so that, in the end, her story to Jyme is a good one. To this end, she loves jokes, stories, and conversing with others. Part of the reason for this is she often travels in isolation, meaning her coming across others is something in and of itself to cherish.

Flirtatious and friendly, she’s not setting out to be a heartbreaker but it might happen regardless. At her core, she prefers honesty over deception and is of the belief that being boldly honest with a degree of tact will serve far better than endless lies. This does not stop her from being coy or mischievous, however. She is of the Tribe of Layl, after all, and all people need obstacles to overcome if they are to grow stronger. She simply hoped they could grow stronger, together.

-Character biography: 

Safiyah was born, as most Easterners are, in the desert. Her family consisted of mercantile types who traveled often, so at a young age certain facts of business were made important to her. There were expectations that she would continue on the business, though alongside this was the lesson behind all others: The purpose of trade was to give and take, never extort. Life was to be made beautiful through this cooperation.

Choice was everything, she was taught. You should strive, always, to be able to have a choice in how things happened. At the same time, this ran the risk of erasing the choices of others. All serve to make up the Dream, and if only one person’s choice matters it is not a very interesting one. And yet, if too many are able to make too many conflicting choices, it becomes a tumultuous thing that grows unwieldy. 

During times of plenty, she was taught, you should ensure plenty is available. Become known as a reliable vendor who favors the wellbeing of others, and they shall come to you during times of struggle. So it was during the long winters where the deserts grew colder than ever that her father, a cheeky man with an easy smile, talked her through the deals he was making. He could charge more, demand more, but in doing so, he would ruin goodwill.

Charity was important, he had said. But, it is also important they feel like they give in turn; few want to feel like a cheat, even if they are a cheater. But you also cannot give all away freely, because someone fearful, or selfish, or perhaps fearful and selfish, might be tempted to hoard. Perhaps the desperate might abstain from lines and rush in to ensure they had their fill before they showed. Perhaps people might be crushed under the many forms vying to sate themselves.

It was cold, those nights, and the margins for profit were thin if not outright sinking. This too was a lesson to have a surplus available. Growing older with her many siblings, most of whom were older but some still were younger, she became aware of the trial of adulthood; to fully become an adult, they would leave the tribe and what they have known to survive on their own for one year. 

The hope was they would explore the world and grow experienced, but the expectation was they would return successful, bringing back worth. Her older brothers had all left one by one, and all but one had returned with many stories and new things to tell about routes and stars and happenings to the West.

She thought often of those who did not return, and decided she would make certain she brought back worth. She knew numbers well, as well as how to buy and sell things. Her face took naturally to smiling even when her hand was a weak one, which did help the aura she had become to accumulate as being one who would know things to come.

To this end, a deck of cards from the kingdom, bought with the coin she’d made from her first trade, was never far from her side. With a confident shuffle and words, the spread of cards across the table granted authenticity to the future, as well as the warning she would impart. It helped that, while the cards were random, or fate, or luck, or random nonsense, she was the one who read them. It was easy to see signs that the weather would turn and it would be better to coral cattle sooner rather than later, or to wait before planting as she noted the sudden cold snap pending release.

She liked the attention, but liked that she could bring others to prosperity as well. Sure, she got a few coins for her efforts, but she saved them much suffering and worry with a few words. In a way, it was funny that her words weighed heavier if they were prophecy. Perhaps that was how all the old ones came to be?

She learned how to perform and dance, taking to wearing a deep blue veil to add to the mystique of her movements, her voice. The day drew near when she would leave on her own trial, and she would not allow herself to be found lacking.

Magic Biography: 

“Wait, go back.” She tugged on her brother’s hand, leaning slightly to reinforce that she really, really wanted him to listen. He sighed in dramatic fashion, relenting as he traipsed back a few steps. She giggled behind her veil, before going to lean in again.

Yes, there was something odd about the glass bird necklace on display. It had something odd about it, like it was trying to tell her something. She’d gotten to be rather in tune when this sort of thing happened, and while oftentimes it was nothing this time felt different. So she kept looking.

The light caught it differently as a breeze blew past, a rarity back home but much more common in Falkvard. The rustling of leaves, the wind whispering in her ear- Wind. This was attuned to Wind. Moderate level. She stared for a few more seconds, grinning just a bit wider as she examined it further- before pulling back. “Thank you, I just wanted to look at it more.”

Her brother simply smiled, humoring his little sister’s oddities. She was at that age, after all. 

Please describe the magic system, including its limitations in your own words: 

A character with the gift is able to cast magic. Now, being able to is different from actually doing it. To actually cast magic in most cases, you need a trinket. With proper training, you can cast at the maximum capability of this trinket. This takes time and is often equated to being like training muscle.

You have 5 spell slots. Casting any of your magics at max level drains a full spell slot, even if you cast weak water and have Strong Earth. Without line of sight, you can only cast through touch. Touch spells tend to be more expensive and less effective.

Exceptions for these rules are rare: Dark gates, for example, only require you to have seen the location before and to be in range. Beastial races, half demons, and half angels can also, with the gift, innately cast their associated aspect up to medium.

Please describe how you would use a weak trinket with your characters first/only aspect: Earth.

Nudge a pebble, make small lines in the sand, wonder what mud is and how you could waste the water to make it.

Extra:

To Your Future

A collection of Tarot cards carefully painted upon waxed vellum, stored in a simple leather pouch. Their theme was primarily that of the forest, but primarily held the same names as normal tarot cards.

Marked on one card, The Wanderer, were words. “I don’t know who you are, but I know you’ll find these useful. I look forward to the day we meet.”