Shinorah Nightsbane
Contents
| Lady Shinorah Magarethe Nightsbane | |
| |
| Gender | Female |
| Race | Hyur |
| Clan | Highlander |
| Citizenship | Gyr Abania |
| Age | 30 |
| Place of Birth | Ala Mhigo, Gyr Abania |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Occupation | Adventurer, Elemental Magus, Cartographer |
| Height/Weight | 5 fulms, 11.5 ilms / 162 ponz |
| Orientation | Straight |
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Father, Andreas Nightsbane (very limited contact)
- Mother, Karinn Nightsbane (very limited contact)
- Older brother, Jossen Nightsbane (status unknown)
- Younger brother, Jeffron Nightsbane (status unknown)
- Younger sister, Mihane Nightsbane (deceased)
- Iris Delaroche, close friend
- Yumi Akimori, friend
Norah abandoned any faith in deities when Ala Mhigo collapsed to the empire and then her sister passed away. She'd previously followed the deity Nymeia, the Spinner, though paid lip service to Rhalgr as well. Faith had never been a strong suit for Norah, even living in Ala Mhigo - she is a logical and rational-minded individual, always seeking for explanations and facts rather than things she cannot observe and must accept on faith alone. However, in her anger at losing first her homeland (and by proxy, most of her family) and then being unable to save the one family member who accompanied her, she turned her back on any and all deities, choosing instead to believe only in science and the rational world. When she speaks, she'll usually refer to the Fates, rather than deities - basically what she conceives of as as random luck in the universe's pattern. Her view of the world, and her general approach to understanding it, is very heavily basic on logic, rationality, and reason; any problem can be solved with enough resources, time and data, and any person's behavior can be predicted if you understand what motivates and drives them.
APPEARANCE & PERSONALITY
- Height: Just under six feet
- Build: Strong but slender, with reasonably defined muscles for a mage.
- Hair: Black, with midnight blue highlights. Most of the time, she pulls it back into a very neat ponytail that hangs halfway down her back.
- Eyes: Blue-green, and arguably her best and most striking feature
- Skin: Medium and usually fairly well tanned from her years on the road and the time she spends adventuring and researching terrain.
- Clothing: Varied. She tends to dress fairly modestly and without too much flash when she can - a long, simple skirt and blouse when in the city, or traveler's pants and leather boots. She's fairly shy about exposing too much skin, and favors neutral colors - whites and ivories, blacks, greys, and sometimes darker blues and purples.
Shinorah is a pretty woman, though not especially beautiful - she has high cheekbones and striking eyes, but her jawline is too square and her nose a little bit too large to be a true beauty. She has long, dark brown hair, almost black except in very bright sunlight, which is typically dyed with brighter marine blue highlights and pulled back from her face in a neat ponytail. Her skin is fairly tanned and there are slight lines around her eyes, hinting at her age. She wears a fair bit of eyeshadow at times, outlining vivid aqua eyes, halfway between blue and green. Her right fingertips are often stained with dark ink.
There's a scar below her left scapula on her back, about an inch and a half long. On her right side, just below her collarbone in the front, is an unusual and intricate blue knotwork tattoo of some sort.
Norah is polite almost to a fault, gracious and courteous as much as possible. She's very slow to anger, though once she does become angry it is very difficult for her to come down from it. Her emotions run very deeply, and anything beyond her usual polite and kind demeanor is very difficult to recognize except to those who know her very, very well. She still is very protective, especially of young women or the sick and injured, those instincts that helped her try and keep her sister safe for so long, but she sometimes lacks empathy - especially for those who complain about minor inconveniences. She has a significant amount of trust issues, and is actually quite a loner at this point. She's friendly and welcoming, but getting her to really talk, especially about herself, is difficult, and she gets especially uncomfortable talking about emotions.
Her best friend has often remarked that she's polite and kind, but also rarely forms attachments or lets anyone in beyond the civil and friendly walls to get to know the real woman behind them - that she actually uses manners as a shield between her and the rest of the world. Norah's response at the time was to shut Iris out for a while, until she came around to recognizing the truth in her dear friend's words...though it's one thing to recognize something in yourself, and another thing entirely to change it. She's also very stubborn, but that stubbornness also manifests itself as absolute blind loyalty to those rare few she truly calls friends.
Once you get to know Norah, she can be a fairly warm and charming person - to those patient enough to look past the the polite aloofness of the "Queen of the Slums", as she's been derisively known in and around Ul'dah. She has a warm laugh and a ready smile for her friends, and a habit of acting like an older sister or a maternal figure to many. When she's feeling especially cheerful or in a good mood, she often hums or even sings a bit, in a rich, clear mezzo-sorprano - most often while she's cooking or making something, but also when tending to her beloved chocobo Quee'kweh, working in the garden, or otherwise in an especially happy mood. If she's really comfortable - or just trying to diffuse tense situations between other friends - she'll crack jokes and even do impressions, often making herself the butt of the jokes. It takes quite a lot to get her this at ease though, the sort of person she might have regularly been if she'd grown up in a more stable environment. Too often though, something will come up that reminds her of unpleasant things, and the wall of manners and politeness slams down all too quickly again.
MISCELLANEOUS
■ Misc 1
■ Misc 2
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Weakness | Description. Weakness | Description. Weakness | Description. Weakness | Description. Weakness | Description. |
COMBAT & WEAPONRY
Shinorah began studying the basics of magic and spellcasting theory at an early age in Ala Mhigo, though more from a conceptual basis than a true practitioner. She learned basic cantrips and rudimentary healing, but due to Gyr Abania being a heavily militaristic culture, most of her understanding of magic at this point was theoretical rather than practical. After a few years in the Thanalan desert, she managed to coax her way into a merchant's caravan and enter the city of Ul'dah illegally, making her way directly to the Thaumaturge's guild and offering her research and writing skills in exchange for the ability to study magic there. The guild's clerks agreed, and she began studying thaumaturgy at age eighteen. By the time she was in her mid-twenties, she had mastered most of the core spells and begin training as a black mage. Shortly after her thirtieth birthday, she completed the requirements for promotion to Archmage. Norah prefers fire magic of the various elemental forms, and it is her preferred offensive spell. She's reasonably adept at defensive aetheric wards as well, and often shields friends and allies with these in addition to providing her own considerable skills as a battle mage. Her moods are strongly linked to her spells, and if she's struggling to deal with strong emotions of any sort, one can often feel the surrounding area's temperature begin to fluctuate. When she is angry, anxious or frightened, this manifests as frost magic and the temperature in the area decreases, sometimes to the point of seeing one's breath. When she is excited or elated, the area around her will often heat up slightly; in neither case does it cause harm to those around her as much as something that provides a non-verbal cue. |
After mastering more arcane and thaumaturlurgical magics, Norah began studying celestial aetheric manipulation to keep her mind sharp and to further develop her casting and research skills. She already had a strong foundation in celestial bodies and movements from her time in the desert and extensive knowledge of mapmaking, which she applied to her understanding of the constellations and spellcraft used in Sharlayan Astromancy. While she is still continuing her training, her skills has progressed rapidly from both her previous research skills as well as her strict personal discipline with respect to all things magical. |
Norah has recently been spending more time in Limsa Lominsa, and used some of that to begin research at the Arcanist's guild located there. So far, she's largely restricted herself to conducting library research at the guild itself, though may be nearing the point of beginning to dabble in that type of spellcraft as well. |
Norah is an amateur fighter at best, adopting an extremely defensive and guarded style in any attempts to teach her swordplay. She learned a small bit of knifework and swordplay from a paladin named Valkoinen during her later years in Little Ala Mhigo, and he showed her the very basics of sword and shield fighting, as well as basic armed and unarmed defense. While she generally disdains physical fighting and prefers to rely on her minds and her spells for both offense and defense, she can swing a sword if the situation calls for it - at least enough to survive. That said, her style is very guarded and focuses heavily on defense, using either a two-handed sword or a sword and shield to maintain her safety and those around her, rather than making sweeping, dashing feints and parries as a true swordfighter would. |
BACKSTORY
Shinorah is the eldest daughter and second eldest child of the Nightsbane family, a prominent military and political family in Ala Mhigo. Her father served in the military many years, and upon retirement turned to a career in politics, serving as an advisor and a diplomat. Her mother also served as well, though left the military once her children were born and split her time between raising them and advising the government on social and diplomatic affairs. Growing up in a fairly upper-class home, she was schooled from an early age in the finer points of both politics and social graces herself, and has an extensive education in the liberal arts, including economics, literature, music, languages, and history. Though her family was well to do and of minor nobility, they were very close-knit and had strong bonds of genuine love and familial affection for each other. While some of their peers used governesses to care for their children, Norah's mother insisted on raising all of her children herself; her father was also a very prominent figure in her early life, always putting time aside to listen to his children when they had questions or stories to tell and taking an active role in their education.
When Ala Mhigo fell to the Empire, most of Norah's family stayed behind - officially and as far as anyone outside of the immediate family knows, the Nightsbanes pledged service to the conquering Empire, becoming traitors in many Mhigans eyes. The real truth of the matter (for OOC use only, as you would have to know Norah INCREDIBLY well for her to ever breathe a word of this) is that her entire family is heavily involved in the Mhigan resistance, and the only reason her family stayed behind was to run spy networks and supply lines from the inside of the city, using their political connections and knowledge of the surrounding lands to work towards undermining the Empire. Her father judged that he would have better access and more leeway if he formally affiliated with Garlemald, thus the family openly "betrayed" Ala Mhigo when the city fell. Their true work is a closely guarded secret, as it would mean the death of the entire family if anyone knew. Both brothers are also heavily involved in the resistance, her older brother taking a position in the Garlemald Army but using it to help send messages to like-minded individuals in conquered lands and target senior key figures in the Garlean Army for assassination, and her younger brother helping to run a black-market supply line and information network to keep vital supplies and arms channeling into the city.
Norah and her younger sister were sent away along with some other family friends when Ala Mhigo fell, to get the girls to safety at least while the others stayed behind in the underground resistance. A group of about twenty or so people set off together, composed of two other families, long-time allies and friends to the Nightsbanes who also fought in the civil war, along with their children. They made it to the Shroud safely enough, but there, things became difficult. The underbrush grew thick and heavy, making passage impossible, and the canopy seemed so heavy that even the adults couldn't get their bearings. It's like the forest itself did not want them there, and slowly but surely, the group became separated. They took measures, left marks on trees and tried using signals, but nothing worked - and eventually by the time they made it to the edge of the Shroud, it was only Norah and Mihane left of their group, the others all having gone missing or becoming lost in the dense and dark forest.
Life on the road was hard for Mihane, and unfortunately within six months of leaving, shortly after the girls emerged on the Uldahn side of the Shroud, a group of borderline bandits robbed the two girls of most of their possession and all of Mihane's medication to sell on the black market. Though Mihane was a skilled healer, her condition made casting spells difficult when she had one of her breathing attacks, and the dry heat and the dust of the Uldanian desert only worsened the frequently and severity of her attacks. Eventually, the dust and hardship of life on the run proved too much, and she had an attack from which she could not recover, suffocating as she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. ((OOC note, basically asthma - something easily treated and barely an inconvenience in an urban environment with medicine and doctors, but can be fatal left untreated or in primitive conditions.)) Norah railed against the gods for this final loss, the enormity of losing everyone she loved within a year crashing upon her and hardening her heart both to strangers and the gods.
Norah spent her early adult years moving from camp to camp, trying to pick up useful trade skills and learn to survive on her own. Norah became a master of survival, learning basic skills in just about anything and everything she could - swordplay, defense, gathering skills such as fishing, collecting edible plants and herbs, weaving, leatherworking, and rudimentary smithing. She'd by this point learned to neither trust nor rely on anyone - because people can leave you, either through death or war, so she pretty much taught herself to do anything she could for herself. It's left her a Jack (well, Jill) of all trades, though a master only of the arcane arts. Times were hard and her plight grew increasingly desperate, as her upper-class education left her with few to no practical skills for surviving in a trade-based economy in the middle of the Thanalan desert. She was bright and resourceful, but wits only allowed her to get by so long - and she came uncomfortably close to making some very difficult choices for her path when luck finally turned in her favor and she overheard a group of brigands plotting to rob a merchant caravan heading into the city of Ul'dah. Seizing the opportunity before her, Norah snuck out from that camp during the dead of night, taking up a position earlier on the caravan's route and making a bargain with the merchant - she warned him of the attack and could lay out an alternate route into the city, but only if he agreed to take her with and smuggle her through the Gates. The merchant, Brennan, agreed, and once inside Ul'dah she made her way to the Thaumaturge's Guild. There, her aptitude for both theoretical spellcraft as well as practical ability earned her a place on the guild's roster, and thus free passage in and out of the city.
Still lacking a true home, Norah did settle for a time in Little Ala Mhigo once it was established. There, Norah was taken under wing by a blacksmith named Valkoinan and his wife Shandrilarr. They had lost their own daughter in the years after Mhigo fell, and saw in the headstrong woman reminders of their own beloved girl. For about five years, they and their son formed a sort of family unit in Little Ala Mhigo, Norah taking odd jobs to help support them as she could while she studied spellcraft on the side. Eventually her studies in Ul'dah required too much time for her to travel back and forth between Little Ala Mhigo and Ul'dah each week, so she stayed in the student dormitories at the Guild until she could begin affording a room of her own at the Quicksand Inn.
When she was around 24, she met a fellow former noble-turned-adventurer named Iris Delaroche out on a job near Crescent Cove. They became fast friends, both identifying with each other's backgrounds and losses of family at the hands of the Garlean Empire - Norah of her parents and siblings, Iris of her daughter's. They both also shared a desire to improve the plights of those who couldn't, and pooled their very meager resources to buy a ramshackle and decrepit abandoned building. This, they turned through hard work, their own labor, and sheer determination into a sort of safe house for anyone truly in need - runaways, escaped slaves, abused and beaten women and children, or anyone else who seemed to have fallen through society's cracks and appeared in danger of winding up on the streets without any options. Some stayed only for a few nights and moved on, others for longer periods - some even eventually staying on to help Iris and Norah run the place, providing cooking, helping with cleaning and upkeep, or providing security as needed. Yumi Akimori was one of the young women they found in an alley one day, badly beaten and in rough shape - they took her back and managed to fix her up, and she became a loyal and devoted friend to both women. Due to her studies in the Thaumaturge's Guild and other demands on her time, Norah no longer spends as much time directly involved in the halfway house's affairs on site, but she contributes the lion's share of any of her salary and wealth to its continued upkeep and operation. The shelter itself is currently administered by a no-nonsense Roegadyn Sea Wolf named Angharrad Brytehaemer, a navigator and boatswain who gave up her life on the seas to take over the shelter in Norah and Iris's absence.
At this point in her life, she's spent as long on the road or in refugee camps as she did in Ala Mhigo - fifteen years as a citizen, fifteen as a refugee. She's had her fair share of tough knocks and scrapes, but each one has taught her more self-discipline and survival - skills she prides herself on. She keeps a careful journal that she uses to express herself, all those thoughts and dreams and emotions she has trouble expressing to people, and also tends to enjoy drawing or embroidery to calm her thoughts after a long day's work. In private when nobody is watching, she also often sings, dances, or both - another outlet to allow some of those bottled up emotions to express themselves - but does not perform in public nor let others see this. The closest one might find to getting her to sing is that she'll sometimes quietly sing or hum to herself when doing something enjoyable - cooking, gardening, caring for Quee'kweh, or embroidery.
Norah recently set up a workspace out in La Noscea, in an abandoned building attached to an old lighthouse. The site has been refurbished with a fully functioning stove, multiple shelves, a number of tables and work benches, and she's been steadily stocking the shelves with any number of compounds, reagents and glassware for experimentation. The bookshelves are filled with any number of an odd assortment of books - there are a number on aetheric studies, elemental arcanometry, and a few on astronomy. Many others are on subjects such as alchemy, poisons and antidotes, a couple on various types of bladed weapons, a few on anatomy and biology, and one on various types of ships. A few people seem to know what she is working on, and periodically others may come and go from the workshop, but otherwise the door is kept tightly locked and warded when Norah herself is not in residence. When she is in residence, periodically strange noises and explosions can be heard if one is especially close by, but the long expanse of seaward-facing cliffs to the lighthouse's northern shore, the steady sea breezes, and the sound of the surf pounding on the rocks seem to muffle the worst of the noises or acrid smells from any neighbors or wandering persons.
RECENT EVENTS
Shinorah joined an adventuring company called "Aeon" in August, and spends much of her time at their house Cliffperch. After a month or so assisting in odd jobs and keeping a room at the Quicksand, Norah finally settled into the house at Cliffperch herself, claiming room 13 as her own and hanging a neat placard on the door. She's saved up whatever resources she has left after paying for the operations of the Crescent Cove house, and has managed to furnish her room with an assortment of second-hand furniture or pieces she made herself. It's nothing remotely as elegant as what she herself was raised in, but it has a cozy and warm charm nevertheless. At present, both Iris and Yumi stay with her, the three of them coming and going at various points throughout the day. Some evenings if one listens, you'll hear laughter and talking well into the wee hours of the night.
She's kept regular company with her companions in Aeon at Cliffperch, and is also often seen traveling throughout Coerthas astride Quee'kweh, both of them bundled in furs. Unlike most, she loves roaming about in the cold, mountainous regions and will do so for hours or even days at a time. She finds the cold air invigorating, and the snow-covered peaks remind her of her former home in Gyr Abania. She seems to be more at ease as of late than she has been in some time, perhaps a combination of finally putting down roots and starting to feel like less of a nomad, along with starting to make a few friends in her travels.
She's spotted more and more in the coastal city-state of Limsa Lominsa over the last couple weeks, sometimes on her own and sometimes in the company of a corsair dressed mostly in greys and blacks. Often, she'll be found in the Arcanist's Guild library if she's there on her own, though she sometimes wanders the streets aimlessly, almost like trying to learn them. She generally avoids the market area and the docks level, keeping to the upper levels near the Culinarian's guild or by the Arcanist's Guild. If she's with the pirate-looking fellow, odds are they'll just be walking around or spending time leaning against the ropes out on the walkway by the lighthouse, looking out at the sea and the horizon and talking quietly.
COMBAT & WEAPONRY
RELATIONSHIPS
| ♥ Romantic Interest – ♥ Family – ✤ Close Friend – ♦ Friend – ● Colleague/Good Standing – |
- ✤ Iris Delaroche - Iris is an Elezen women that Norah has known for years, and frequently adventures with. Iris shares Norah's determination but also sense of humor, along with a strong sense of curiosity about the world around them. They banded together in a rough port town in Thanalan after fighting off some unwanted advances, forming a small group called Veritas to help protect and provide shelter to runaways, refugees, escaped slaves and any others of society's forgotten and in need. To pay for this, they take whatever side jobs they can, provided they're not inherently unethical.
- ✤ Yumi Akimori - Yumi is a sweet, though painfully shy miquo'te ninja that Iris and Norah rescued from an alley in Horizon. She's become a fast friend and loyal companion to the other women since, though she still struggles in crowds and gets very nervous and anxious in social settings. Yumi moved into Norah's room about a week ago, and when Yumi's around Cliffperch they're often found talking or laughing. Lately, Norah's been spending time with Yumi either in the library at Cliffperch or in their shared room, talking in hushed tones about something.
- ♥ Kail Gerrad - "Schatzilein", Norah's frequent companion and ongoing source of vexation. They initially spent their first couple weeks since meeting trading verbal jabs and barbs with each other, though over the course of the ensuing month this seems to have evolved into a genuine affection for the rather rough-around-the-edges corsair. While she mostly keeps her own counsel where he is concerned, it's increasingly rare to see her in Cliffperch these days very far from his side when he's not out at sea.
- ♦ Khuja'sae Fashonti - "Kaetzchen" (kitten), as Norah refers to Khuja'sae, has become another friend of Norah's. She finds the young bard sweet and charming, and extends a fond protectiveness over him similar to that which she once showed her younger brother. She also seems to tease Khuja a fair bit as well, especially about girls - but the teasing is always moderated by a genuine concern, and she quickly stops and switches to gentle humor if it seems the sensitive miquo'te is becoming too upset.
- ♦ Reima Awen - Norah is oddly protective of Reima, or "Taube" (little dove) as she calls her. If asked, Norah may mention that Reima reminds her a great deal of her sister. She'll regularly comment that Reima's too naive for her own good....yet she seems to go to great lengths to preserve that innocence, too. She's taken to trying to console or cheer the young woman out of a recent dark spell with pots of tea, biscuits and evenings spend by the fire sharing happy memories and better times.
- ♦ Leon Greymoon - Norah came across Leon from their shared service in the Order of the Stormguard, and he since introduced her to his friends in Aeon. She considers him a friend, though they have very different approaches to the world around them. She seems to enjoy teasing him, and shares a friendly banter with the miquo'te. That said, she often gets fairly exasperated with him for his quickness to resolve of his problem with a blade instead of his wits and at times they'll have clear disagreements about how to handle situations.
- ♦ Aurou Mhirata - Aurou is a recent arrival to Cliffperch, and a fellow scholar that Norah has sought to take under wing. She is quiet and introspective, but bright and a quick study, and Norah often spends evenings either on the front lawn or in the library with Aurou discussing various research ideas and other scholarly topics.
- ●Brynhilde Wulf - Bryn and Norah knew each other from the wars in Ala Mhigo and the Resistance there, and Norah took it as quite the shock to run across her again in Ul'dah. She represents a strong link to home for Norah. They both share a strong fondness for red wine and a determination to protect the weak. Norah feels a kindred spirit in Bryn, though they don't often see each other in person.
- ● Arcian Martell - In the time she has been with Aeon at Cliffpech, Norah has become friends with Arcian, and appreciates her directness. When Norah struggled with some recent changes she'd faced, Arcian (or Arci, as Norah calls her) was steadfast in weathering Norah's reactions and remained with her to try and help her adjust to her new situation. Norah has been absolutely, unswervingly loyal to Arcian ever since, though Arci herself may not know it.
- ● Brave Horizon - Norah doesn't know Brave very well, but as with Arci owes a deep debt of gratitude for Brave's willingness to stand firm during a difficult period for Norah. She enjoys the roegadyn's company, though Brave's blunt directness, especially about personal matters, often leave Norah blushing and stammering awkwardly with embarrassment.
- ● I'shkandar Tia - I'shkandar Tia, or Ace as he's known, is a relative newcomer to Cliffperch. Norah finds his whimsy refreshing and a welcome change of pace from the harsh life of refugee camps, and seems to appreciate having a fellow black mage around to bounce ideas and spellcraft theories. Since seeing her at Cliffperch with her hair down instead of its usual ponytail, he's been acting oddly around her, sneaking glances and seeming to see shadows, almost like he thinks she's someone else...
RUMORS
- "The mage? Seems nice enough, always tips well."- Server in Horizon
- "Ah right, the Queen of the Slums. All prim and proper, even when she's dressed in rags. Who the heck she thinks she is, puttin' on those airs like that?" - Washerwoman in Pearl Lane
- "She and a band of women ran a shelter of sorts out in Crescent Cove for a while - said it was to help the ones what couldn't help themselves. Some of the rougher dock sorts called them all kinds of names, but most of the townsfolk seemed to think right highly of them. Veritas, think they called themselves? Norah there, she was the one who set it all up." - Bartender in Crescent Cove
- "Heard she's taken up wit' some ne'er do well pirate sort. Shoulda figured, prolly just after his money, or him hers or what-not....things like that don't e'er happen if money ain't involved." - Merchant on the Sapphire Avenue Exchange
- "She's always here in the library, looking through old books and things. White magic, black magic, red, blue - doesn't seem to matter, it's like she wants to learn it all." - Librarian in Ul'dah
- "Miss Norah? Oh, she's a sweetheart. Comes in here regularly and sits in that chair on the corner, over yonder. Always orders a bottle of del Sol red and either reads or plays with her card deck. Folks even go over to her to have her read their fortunes, sometimes...she read one for me once, and darn if it wasn't spot on!" - Waitress at the Quicksand
- "Bitch told me my wife ought to leave me, said I don't treat her no good. What the feck's she know about it? Shoulda slugged here one right there, show her her place....but I dunno, something in her eyes went all cold and I decided to walk it off instead. Next time, though..." - Dockhand at Crescent Cove
- "They say her family turned colors when Ala Mhigo fell, and were among the first to swear loyalty to Garlemald." - Wood Wailer in Gridania
- "Heard her brother Jossen's on the lamb now. Word is he's been tied to too many suspicious deaths in the Garlean Army, and they were getting ready to hang him for treason." - Mhigan refugee, Little Ala Mhigo
- "Think she may have found herself in some sort of trouble - doesn't look like much of a fighter herself, but she's been in here snapping up every book on poisons and antidotes we had. Wonder who she ran afoul of, poor thing..." - Receptionist at Alchemist's Guild
- "There's something a little unsettling about that one....all polite manners and grace, but there's a fire burning in her eyes at times that makes my hair stand on end." - Member of Conjurer's Guild
- "That one? Huh. Woman's got to learn there's some magic folks shouldn't be meddlin' in....stare too long at the Void, and sooner or later the Void's gonna stare back." - Instructor at Thaumaturge's Guild
- "The Nightsbanes? This is a hard rumor to come by, but a few people whisper that her family's all with the Resistance, running intelligence operations and smuggling in weapons. Pretty high up, from what I hear." - Trainer at the Sisters of the Edelweiss
- "Rhalgr, did you hear about what happened to that man out in the desert? Hells, she was barely sixteen then, was a long time ago. Didn't even know a girl that age could channel aether like that...I don't know what he did to her, there are rumors of course, but....I was there and I saw it. She looked like a Demon from the Seventh hell, fire swirling around her as she burned him alive with her magicks. It's not just that I don't want to be on her bad side, I want to be as far away from her as I can!" - Mhigan refugee, Little Ala Mhigo
- "Tea Lady Norah? She's a whole world of smart. She could teach a book a thing or two. Did I mention she makes good tea?" - Khuja'sae Fashonti
- "World needs more like Shin, but thats the rub ent it? There'll only ever be one Norah out there." - Kail Gerrad
ARTWORK
OOC NOTES
Sources for character inspiration:
In terms of inspirations for Norah's personality and interactions with the world around her, I like to draw on both real world knowledge and experience, along with other characters from other fictional sources.
Much of her background post-Ala Mhigo, especially the first five years of her life as a wealthy upper-class girl without a lot of martial skills stuck in refugee camps are based on tragic real-world cases such as those that occurred in the collapse of the former Yugoslavia and what some of the refugees in that area faced during the civil/international wars that spread throughout the Balkans. While her experiences in various camps are not modeled off a single camp or a single episode, they are heavily inspired by real refugee stories, including the sorts of unpleasant things that likely would befall a young teenager in her situation - even in a modern, reasonably developed and civilized region of the world. Tragically, the real world situations are *much* worse than I would ever subject either my character, or others who RP with her, to - for example, there was a large scandal in the region with UN Peacekeepers running prostitution rings with refugee women, you can read here for more info.) The Yugoslav wars and ensuing refugee situation works additionally well since due northwest are Austria and Germany, which in my own personal head cannon is pretty much how I view Gyr Abania anyway (though in earlier periods of history, not in their present incarnations. This seems a good template to base much of her experiences both as a young girl and the terrain where she grew up, the collapse of the state through initial revolution and then external invasion, and the types of plights and issues she would have faced as a sixteen to eighteen year old refugee until some sort of stability was established. (I'm sure there are historic examples that will work better, but due to my day job working with modern day humanitarian situations, I draw my inspiration from cases I'm familiar with, what can I say?)
Her early life in Ala Mhigo, along with her family, are based on accounts of 19th Century Prussia and upper class families during the time period. She would have learned a classic liberal arts education, including extensive history, geography, and economics, and given that Germany was a bit more progressive than some other countries at the time, been able to even study more "masculine" pursuits should she wish, such as chemistry, astronomy, and anatomy. I use much of her conduct and conceptions of "nobility" from this time period as well, playing her as upper class but far more human and boisterous than an Ishgardian. In my head cannon, she's 100% Bavarian - her family is proud, sometimes a little loud (especially if drinking), and devoted to each other. They also probably brag a little more than they should and look a little down on everyone else, too. I also strongly suspect at weddings, regional festivals, or family reunions after prodigious amounts of drinking and feats of strength, this happens - because, Bavarian, that's why!
As far as character influences on her personality, behavior, interactions with others, dress, and other things, I rely on both my own imagination for the character and what drives and motivates her, along with some inspiration from popular media culture - movies, books, etc.
There are definite influences from Princess Leia Organa in Star Wars (original movie content only, don't know enough of the EU to draw on any of that)- someone who is a little bitchy and uppity at times, but is also a true revolutionary who's willing to risk life, limb, family, home, and everything else for a greater good. Much of Norah's interactions with others, her periodic snootiness and sarcasm, condescension of those without causes, and her opposition to the Garlean Empire and desire for a free Gyr Abania come from this. Of all of the influences on Shinorah, I think this is by far the most dominant - in her banter with others, in her protectiveness, her at times condescension (due to noble upbringing), and her driving idealism behind almost everything she does.
She also has a fair bit of Evelyn Carnahan, the librarian from the Mummy movies. Her insatiable curiosity on the world around her as well as her predilection for landing herself into trouble because she first thought of what could be learned and not of the dangers inherent in the knowledge come from this. She's very curious and devoted to studying all forms of magic, and this sometimes interferes with either her sense of self-preservation and placing boundaries on types of magic that shouldn't be studied. (Note - she's not evil by any stretch, any more than Evie - both good people, just sometimes too inquisitive for their own good.)
Another influence on Norah, especially in terms of her use of magic as well as her protectiveness of those around her, is Lulu from Final Fantasy X. Much like Lulu in the games, Norah is very emotionally reserved and guarded around people, especially those she does not know well. She also relies heavily on logic and reason rather than religion to understand the world around her. This also heavily influences her clothing style and choices in game - dark colors and a vague witchiness to her, but again not so much evil (and like Lulu, actually a very good person at heart), just a little unsettling.
Music-wise, I've settled on Amy Lee for her voice, the lead singer for Evanescence. I'd debated a number of others to imagine how she takls/sings, but trying to find the right fit of melodic and beautiful, yet also haunting and a little eerie unsettling with flashes of anger and resentment - this is pretty much spot on. So much anger and lashing out, but also so much beauty, like a really pissed off angel that's just done taking crap and has decided to take matters into her own hands.
THING | WHY YOU SHOULD KEEP IT IN MIND
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OTHER LINKS
- GUILD SITE [rune.enjin.com]
