Sventisko Gneshgnesh di Bothotlo
Sventisko
When she arrived at the Grove, Sventisko was talkative, playful, deliberately annoying and nosy. A tall girl from the Bothotlo dragon tribe with brilliant turquoise eyes, she met lots of people in that first year, got into some trouble, made some stories. It seemed like everyone knew her.
This only lasted half of her red-robe year. Sventisko had a nightmare and a conversation with Garnet that changed her trajectory. After that she was quiet for a while. Listening. Watching. Learning.
Since then, Sventisko is outspoken and determined. She asks teachers what they're doing to help those outside the academy's protection. She challenges fellow students about the use and purpose of magic. Of all the students in the academy she may be most well informed about what's going on outside the golden sphere. She thinks the faculty's forgotten those living under Infernal rule.
But Sventisko hasn't.
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Wiry, tall.
Facial Features
Sharp chin & defined jaw, striking nose.
Identifying Characteristics
Turquoise eyes, bright copper hair. One strand of literally metallic copper hair.
Physical quirks
She has excellent posture
Special abilities
- Sorcerer (Dragon blooded). Specialties include trickery, illusion, & acid.
- Bothotlo's Gift
Apparel & Accessories
Copper bracelet, blue sash.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
The Gneshgnesh clan made their living traveling the desert, migrating with rain to cultivate and farm patches of wild crops, then leaving when the rains stopped. They didn't have much, only a few turquoise or copper trinkets. Sventisko was born the third of six children, and was loud and vivacious very early on. She occasionally got into fights with her siblings or other children in the clan, but they never got serious--it was always in jest or a misunderstanding, and she was quick to make up with them. More than anything, Sventisko loved being surrounded by her family and kin and was always excited when they picked up stakes and moved on to greener pastures. Whenever they traded with outsiders or shared hospitality with travelers, Sventisko had to be physically separated from them or she'd bombard them with questions. Even then, she found ways to get around it.
When Sventisko turned 8, life had already begun to change. Suddenly soldiers wearing bright gold-marked armor moved through the lands. They didn't want Bothotlo hospitality and they were the ones asking the questions. Even at such a young age, Sventisko was bright enough to know that they were looking for something, and they thought her family had done something bad.
Gneshgnesh began moving more frequently, leaving behind perfectly good seasonal farmlands to get out of the way of the Bronthan soldiers. But they could only move so far. A year later, when Sventisko was 9, a group of Phoenix Knights entered their camp by surprise, announcing their presence with the sounding of trumpets just as they took control. Panic spread through the camp as Gneshgnesh's warriors and sorcerers fought back. The Bronthans demanded that the clan surrender to a search for a supposed Infernal Warlock they were harboring. When Gneshgnesh failed to comply, things got heated, and someone drew steel or let loose a spell, and before Sventisko knew what was happening, violence burst across her nomadic home.
Her younger siblings all hid, but Sventisko went out to find her parents and older sister. She arrived just in time to see blood streaming from her father's hand and her sister's head, and saw a Bronthan blade deal her mother a lethal blow. She screamed out for her mother-- "Dask! DASK!" and drew the attention of the armored figure, sword still stained with Bothotlo blood.
Sventisko's sorcerous gift manifested at that exact moment, and without intending to she concealed herself and her siblings behind a veil of invisibility. The Bronthan searched for the source of the scream, but left without finding them.
In the aftermath, Gneshgnesh buried their dead. Her father and oldest sister were severely injured, bearing scars and chronic pain from that day forward.
The Academy
Some months later, a recruiter from the Muinteoiri arrived to offer Sventisko a place at the Academy. Her father was eager to put her out of harm's way, somewhere her natural curiosity could flourish again, away from the painful reminders of her recent trauma. Sventisko was sad to leave her family behind, but tales of a floating school of magic sparked something with her, something that'd gone out since her mother's death, and she went off to school. In her first year, she was assigned to the Grove, where she met Alyxander Cowles-Blythe, Athalor An'Andarud, Arianna and Garnet Tohsaka. Surrounded by more non-Bothotlo than she'd ever met in her life, Sventisko became absolutely hyper and peppered everyone with questions. Unsure of how to make friends, she fell back on the way she'd interacted with her siblings and fellow Gneshgnesh children--getting into trouble, playing pranks, and breaking rules. Her life changed when the recent violence she'd experienced came back to haunt her. Halfway through the room, she had a dream of Bronthan trumpets, and in a flash she relived the death of her mother all over again. A few sobering conversations with Alyxander and Garnet later, and Sventisko realized that she'd never be able to leave what'd happened to her behind. She started thinking--if all this magic and power existed when the Bronthans attacked her family, why didn't they do something? Why didn't they stop it? Why were so many people still running or hiding from monsters and Infernals? From that moment forward, Sventisko gained focus. She wanted to learn everything about the school and the world so she could understand the suffering and sorrow, and the answers did not make her happy. There was power in Anacra she'd never even dreamed of, and those who wield it were using it to hide and protect themselves. Over time she started talking with other students, arguing about her ideas, finding like-minded peers even at such a young age. It was in her third year that Sventisko met Kepesk--a dragonborn in the refugee settlement surrounding the academy--inside the Causeway. Suddenly, all her ideas made sense. There were adults who agreed with her and were doing something about it. It was time for her to do something as well. Kepesk gave her a blade that could let her slip in and out of the Golden Sphere, and she started sneaking off to talk with him and the others--the Eluitholel. That planted the seeds of her own student organization, the Kisjan, an unsanctioned group of like-minded children who all shared one belief: the Academy was failing the world by hoarding its power. Later that year, the Raveners bore down on the settlement. Sventisko slipped out to help Kepesk and the others protect the people, but on her way she ran into another student--Mason. He was hellbent on breaking out to attack the Knights of Terranimbus, who'd joined the fight against the Raveners. Hearing the fire in his voice and the deep hurt, she urged him to help the innocent instead. The poor are always the most vulnerable, and they don't deserve to suffer for any of this. Mason joined the Kisjan Mason became more than another comrade--Sventisko started relying on him more and more. Despite his moment of pained anger, most of the time he was calm, thoughtful, centered, and Sventisko found she could confide in him. Maybe even more. It took some time for their friendship to develop into a full fledged romance, but the roots were there from the moment they met. In her fourth year, Kepesk told Sventisko secrets about Master Untermauler, and urged her to break into his office. There, she and the other Kisjan would find powerful magical weapons that should be used instead of hoarded. He armed her and the Kisjan with a healthy supply of magical resources, and thusly urged Sventisko plotted a heist, to take place the night of the Green Gala. This is when Mason met Kepesk for the first time. Mason invited her to be his date to the dance, but she couldn't go to a party while so many outside were still in need. Mason helped her plan the logistics of the heist, but she insisted he stay out of it--she didn't want to put him in danger, and if she was caught, she'd need help from outside. The heist was very nearly a disaster, but with unexpected help from Garnet Tohsaka and the others, they managed to pull off a watery escape. It was Sventisko's first major contact with the kids for several years. When the Wrath of Boreas fell upon the academy in their fifth year, Sventisko worked with Mason, Balvarax and the other Kisjan leaders to aid in the defense of the camp. They encountered magical threats on their way there but managed to do some good. After the death of Buta, Sventisko went on the run, and underwent a crisis of confidence. The Kisjan questioned her leadership entirely. Mason remained by her side, and the Kisjan eventually accepted her back, but demanded more egalitarian leadership. Later in their fifth year, Sventisko joined a diplomatic mission, alongside Mason, to the Bothotlo tribe, interceding to prevent an all-out war with Brontha. The mission took all her control and willpower, for she has neither forgiven nor forgotten the harm done to her family.Gender Identity
Female
Sexuality
Bisexual, semi-polyamorous
Education
- Year One: Pottery
- Year Two: Magical History
- Year Three: Alchemy
- Year Four: Draconic Studies
- Year Five: History and Tactics of Battle and Warfare
Mental Trauma
Sventisko's mother died at the hands of Phoenix Knights from Brontha.
Intellectual Characteristics
Insatiable curiosity combined with focused discipline.
Morality & Philosophy
- Those with power have an obligation to those who don't.
- Authority that doesn't use its authority to help others, is no authority at all.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Use magic to protect the weak and unseat the powerful.
Social
Contacts & Relations
- Strained friendship with Garnet
- Allies with members of the Kisjan
- Hates Alyxander
- In a relationship with Mason (Mantra)
Family Ties
Born to the Gneshgnesh clan of the Bothotlo tribe. Third of six siblings.
Religious Views
Was never particularly spiritual, but recently encountered the Dragon God Bothotlo.
Social Aptitude
Sventisko is a fiery and passionate speaker who's gathered a group of loyalists around her.
Wealth & Financial state
Has a supplier somewhere outside the Academy who provides magic items.
Tall with turquoise eyes and braided hair, Sventisko transformed from a curious and persistent child to a focused activist. A sorceress from the Bothotlo tribe of Okarthel, she attends Ioth Academy and started out in the Grove lodge.
Character Location
Current Status
Attempting to stop a war between Bothotlo and Brontha
Current Location
Species
Ethnicity
Age
15
Date of Birth
6847
Children
Current Residence
Pronouns
She/Her
Gender
Female
Eyes
Turquoise
Hair
Copper
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Olive
Height
5'7"
Belief/Deity
Bothotlo
Aligned Organization
Related Plots
Sventisko's Second Year
6859
Orange Robes was the year when Sventisko turned her attention outward once again. She said goodbye to Arianna, became more outspoken about her beliefs, and took a Magical History course to learn more about the arcane heritage of her people, the Dragon Tribes of Okarthel.
She started wearing copper bracelets in honor of the Bothotlo dragon tribe and scored excellent marks in her classes. This was the year the seeds of the Kisjan were planted, though it wouldn't reach its full form until the next year.
Second Year Summary
* Academics: Strong performance * Social Life: Made new friends, but only those who share her passion and views * Elective: Magical History * End of Year Project: An argument for three major post-Demonic Imperium battles that could have been swayed by the intervention of the Academy.
Sventisko's First Year
6858
That tall girl who talks a lot, with olive skin and turquoise eyes. The blood of copper dragons flows in her veins. She's full of energy, mischievous, loves jokes and riddles, stands up straight with her copper hair back tight in a neat braid. She always has to be involved in everything, and has an opinion on what you should do--whatever will be the most interesting or scandalous, usually.
Starting out with a bunch of strangers, she tries to enmesh herself in the lives of the people she's sat next to at the opening ceremony. All this magic and enchantment, all this glitz and glamor, but she's most interested in people, and what they're talking about. They don't warm up to her immediately but that's alright, she's nothing if not persistent.
She fidgets in class and asks questions out of turn, whispers whatever comes into her head to her classmates during lectures, especially if she thinks it'll make them giggle. She's good at sitting still and straight but her mind keeps racing even when her body's not in motion. Those four kids are sticking together and she thinks she's one of them, even when she's being rude and prying, even when people scowl at her for getting in their business. As far as she's concerned they're already friends.
But then there's the field trip into the deep forest, along the rivers, the water cycle's been acting strangely. Something happened out there and she's not involved, she doesn't get to see it, they bring in all sorts of teachers and those four--those three, really, Arianna wasn't a part of this--they were at its heart, but they won't talk about it. Fine, she'll figure out one way or another, she hates being left out.
That night, the horns--the trumpets--the fires burning, the swords flashing, the coppery tang of blood, magic tearing the air apart--she awakens with a scream. "Dask! DASK!" The others don't speak draconic, not yet. Mother! MOTHER!
Any change of sleep is shattered. And the next morning, Alyxander, Athalor and Garnet are gone. But Garnet tells her to make something of herself, to take her fears and focus them, and become worth something.
She's going to focus. She's going to be worth the world. She'll never let it happen again.
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