Orithia Lucidae
Princess of Solassia, Heir to the Empire of Light Orithia Iris Lucidae (a.k.a. Ree)
Physical Description
General Physical Condition
Athletic, fit, wielder of dark magic
Body Features
Tanned olive skin with freckles along her nose, cheeks, and forearms. Long legs but short torso, small bust, lean but curvaceous build. Long, curly auburn hair that falls in natural ringlets (most often wearing a ponytail).
Nimble and agile, she's a fast runner but shit at pacing herself. Can drink half a bar under the table.
Facial Features
Freckles across her nose. A tiny scar under her right ear from when she was nipped by her falcon as a teenager during a falconry lesson.
Full lips. An easy smile, slightly crooked teeth. Long and thin nose. Heart-shaped face with high cheekbones.
Identifying Characteristics
Eyes: Her eyes, a bright, jade green, gain a dark amber streak in her right after her Light Day ceremony. As her powers grow, the streak bleeds out until it covers half of her right iris, giving her sectoral heterochromia.
Scars: A scar under her right ear from when her falcon nipped her. Various scars and scratches all over her shins and arms from training in the woods and getting into trouble (sneaking out of the palace, falling into bramble bushes, getting hit with belts or various glassware as she's chased out of bars as a teenager, gashes from her hiking expeditions or cutting herself with sailing line, etc.)
Hair: She has the "royal's hair" - a glossy auburn signature of the Lucidae bloodline. It is one of her key identifying features, and when she is on the run, she dyes her hair black to go incognito.
Physical quirks
- She can't wink.
- Often raises her eyebrows or quirks a single eyebrow when surprised, confused, or impressed.
- Her laugh is loud and boisterous, and easily draws attention.
- She can beat most anyone at arm wrestling. Except for Vega.
- She can drink. And drink. And drink.
- When she's extremely nervous, she sing-songs her words in an attempt to diffuse the tension
Special abilities
Orithia carries the power of shadow magic. Unable to hold light, Orithia controls the movement of shadows, can walk through shadows to transport herself to other places, and can use shadows to darken any environment of light and sound.
Since darkness is really a lack of light waves - or rather, slow-moving light waves - Orithia can even travel through space-time, or seem to make time or space cease to be. This is called "the Void" and appears only in extreme circumstances of emotional or physical distress as a defense mechanism.
Apparel & Accessories
Orithia, being the sporty person she is, favors riding or athletic clothing - anything she can move easily in. This often includes leather or tight wool riding pants, tight linen shirts, sometimes a leather vest or wool jacket, high-kneed leather riding boots, and a sturdy leather belt. She often wears her hair in any sort of up-do, whether it be braids, a high ponytail, or top bun. In hotter weather, she sports dark linen pants, lace-up sandals, and light, loose linen tops.
When entertaining the royal court, Orithia favors long linen or silk jumpsuits embroidered with various nature themes (flowers, stars, landscapes, or gems). She refrains from any formal jewelry, and prefers a sturdy pair of lace-up sandals to silk slippers. Her princess crown is made up of small silver laurel leaves meeting to cradle an amethyst crystal at its center. Her hair is always down and curling on her shoulders. She wears the lightest touch of makeup, depending on the occasion, but absolutely abhors it otherwise.
Accessories: A leather belt with loops for holding her hunting knife, compass, and flask; another knife hidden in her boot; and a small, delicate jasmine flower necklace gifted to her by Eve before she left the country.
Specialized Equipment
Hunting knives, compass, and her magic powers.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Orithia was born at the stroke of midnight on the eve of New Light Day, the feast celebrating the start of the Era of Advancement and honoring the conquest of Arkanis by her great-great-grandmother, Iris Lucidae. Though her birth was considered auspicious, complications with her birth left Orthia's mother (the empress Aurora) prone to illness and delusions for the rest of her life.
Orithia was a vibrant child filled with a tempestuous mischief that stayed with her throughout her life, causing trouble with the courtesans and other royalty as she favored galavanting with the children of the servants and maids more than sitting prim with the royal children. By the age of seven, it was apparent that she would not naturally develop light magic like her ancestors before her, puzzling the High Priestess and the Royal Court. Chalking it up to Orithia's maturity, the Empress and the High Priestess of Light, Galatea, decided to wait until Orithia's twenty-first birthday - New Light Day, where the Ore's power would be strongest, and the age when Orithia would be at her physical peak of early womanhood - to attempt to give her the Gift of Light once more.
Orithia grew up in the lap of luxury, with her rebellious spirit tamed only by her frequent visits to the local village to cavort among the peasantry and escape the prying eyes of courtesans who questioned her behavior and lack of Light power (and thus, questioned her ability to rule).
When the day of her twenty-first birthday arrived, the unthinkable happened. When Orithia touched the Lightstone at the stroke of noon, the power of the Lightstone drained away, and an overwhelming darkness filled the hall. Orithia felt the darkness surge to her and through her, at the same time feeling incredibly powerful and intensely afraid. When the darkness subsided, she awoke to find the Empress, collapsed and the Lightstone shattered in a million pieces.
Horrified by the day's events, the Court of Light held a meeting to discuss Orithia's fate - as they all believed she had destroyed the Lightstone on purpose with her dark powers, and based on legend was the prophesied Shadow Queen who would take over the Empire and drown it in darkness. Orithia, fearing for her life and desperate to clear her name, flees her only home in search of a cure.
Gender Identity
Orithia identifies as a cisgendered woman (she/her/hers).
Sexuality
Orithia grew up without boundaries and with a strong curiosity, and thus is very sexually adventurous. She is bisexual and has had many a peasant lover throughout her early years.
She may exhibit polyamorous tendencies later on, should there be a love triangle/love square.
Education
Growing up in the palace, Orithia had access to the best education the Empire could provide, although she didn't take an affinity to traditional schooling as much as she did to combat training, hunting, horseback riding, sailing, falconry, tracking, and other outdoor or athletic activities.
She always had a strong affinity for astronomy and history, where she soaked up the myths and legends of their magical continent and how to spell their stories in the stars.
Mental Trauma
Orithia has been treated differently from the other royal families living in the palace for her entire life, not just because of her rebellious nature but because of her failed ability to receive the Gift from the Lightstone.
She ignores the weird stares she gets from royals and courtesans and embraces her rebellious nature even more to spite them and their way of life. Orithia instead turns to her lower-class friends and the peasantry, where she feels she is judged not for her lack of power, but for her personality and ability, where she can express herself fully.
But even in the village she is treated differently. The peasantry know she is royal and that her class standing means she gains special privileges, and thus they resent her. Even Orithia's girlfriend, Eve, refuses to run away with her in Orithia's time of need, the ultimate manifestation of Orithia's fear of abandonment and isolation.
When Orithia gains her power over darkness, she is further alienated from everyone and everything familiar as she is forced to walk her path alone. Her deepest insecurity is that she is unwanted, that she is a mistake, a stain on the world that was never meant to survive. This feeds into her fear of intimacy and rejection, where she believes she is unlovable for who she is.
Deep deep down, the fear of rejection comes from her own mother's cold shoulder towards her since birth, and Orithia never knowing why. Thus, Orithia seeks to be the smartest, the wittiest, the strongest, the most confident in every group and situation, placing pressure on herself to be the best for fear her friends will discard her if she is weak, vulnerable, or emotionally available.
Intellectual Characteristics
Orithia is clever and witty, intellectually agile in a way that can ease her out of any sticky situation with a sly wink and a quick comeback. However, this wit can equally as often get her into trouble, such as when she intentionally makes a bad bet or when a flirty situation goes awry.
She is a major flirt, oozing confidence in everything she does - although many would call it outright arrogance. Ruled by her emotions (Desire for adventure and pleasure being the primary), she acts impulsively and leads more with her heart than her head when it comes to conflict.
Morality & Philosophy
She understands the privilege she grew up in, but is still too naive and arrogant to fully grasp the gravity of her position when faced directly with class struggles. She has a strong capacity for empathy, and growing up with the peasantry has acquainted her with their personal strife. She is so moved by her desire for justice and equality that she sometimes fails to see the negative consequences of her meddling in others' affairs.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Wants: To clear her name and rid herself of her dark powers and the prophecy.
Needs: To feel wanted/loved and like she belongs somewhere.
Extrinsic Motivators: Orithia exiles herself from her own country and flees in the hope of gathering what power she needs from the other queendoms to destroy the darkness rising within her and her home before it consumes her.
Intrinsic Motivators: Orithia has felt singled out and special in a bad way her entire life. Now, she has a chance to prove not only her worth to the family she could never impress, but prove that she deserves what she receives.
Savvies & Ineptitudes
Orithia is a heavy drinker - borderline alcoholic (maybe not so borderline...) - and loves to challenge people to drinking wagers.
She is shit at any sleight of hand or clever gambling tricks because she has no patience for it. She would much rather settle an argument with a good wrestle or drinking competition.
Orithia has very little patience for anything to do with lying, scheming, or conniving. She is a jock through and through. She also isn't great at telling when people are lying, as she is naturally empathetic and trusting.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes: alcohol, drinking games, flirting, sports.
Dislikes: lectures, snobs, non-functional jewelry, dresses, being dirty for too long, introverts
Virtues & Personality perks
Kind, empathetic, extraverted, witty, confident, smooth-talker, honest, adaptable/flexible, level-headed during a conflict, warm-hearted
Vices & Personality flaws
Arrogant, naive, tactless, inconsiderate, headstrong, rebellious, impatient, low self-worth/esteem, emotionally guarded
Relationships
History
Though Ree and Alis were thick as thieves growing up, once they turned eleven, Orithia’s duties as heir to the empire became more important than running around the castle wreaking havoc with her twin brother. While she was relegated to hours of study on how to run an empire, introduced to the court for what would be the rest of her life, Alistair was left friendless and alone to wander the grounds. As they got older, Ree was present in the castle less and less as she gained her independence, sneaking out to the village at night to dance and drink. On occasion she would bring Alistair to experience the liveliness of the town for himself, until one night when he got so drunk and overwhelmed that he got lost and almost fell into the moat. Since then, Orithia hasn’t invited him on her excursions and the castle guard has locked him down, causing them to grow apart. Orithia still visits him during his study hours but can’t relate to him anymore, considering he is more preoccupied with book smarts while she would rather entertain herself with tangible pursuits. Still, they hold a dear affection for each other, and a twin “empathy” that connects them emotionally to each other.
Nicknames & Petnames
Orithia calls Alistair "Alis." She and Lee are the only ones who can do so. Alistair calls Orithia "Ree."
Commonalities & Shared Interests
Alis and Ree are both very curious and adventurous, with large imaginations and a shared passion for storytelling and exploration.
Shared Secrets
As children, they would share everything with each other, especially their emotions. However, as they grew older and their duties pushed them apart, they too began to drift in their ability to connect with each other on a deeper level.
Shared Acquaintances
Lee is their shared acquaintance, Alistair's tutor and their dear friend of many years.
History
Orithia and her mother Aurora have a tense relationship with one another. Orithia always felt like she was never good enough for her mother's standards, and thus rebels against her at every turn. Aurora, on the other hand, thinks her daughter insufferable and a "blight" upon their family name, especially considering the Empress's condition while she was pregnant with both Orithia and Alistair (being that her pregnancy was filled with suffering and illness). Be that as it may, the two have a professional relationship as heir and ward, and thus are politically intertwined.
Current Status
On a mission to save the Empire by destroying herself
Ethnicity
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Age
21
Circumstances of Birth
Prophesied / Cursed
Birthplace
Daybreak
Spouses
Siblings
Alistair Lucidae
(Twin Brother)
Children
Pronouns
she, her, hers
Gender
Female
Eyes
Bright green
Hair
Glossy, curly, long auburn hair
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale, olive-toned, freckled
Height
5'8"
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