Azorez "Twin Souls" Alverez
Necromancer, Grave Bell, Witch, Blessed Soul Speaker Valerica (a.k.a. Azorez Alverez)
A being of duality, one physical, the other ephemeral. One tethered to the land of the living, the body, the mind. Set root to grow deep to drink from the vital fluids of the earth, to commune with the stars. She is the certainty, the inevitable path of the sun across the sky, the surety of the moon to rise.
The Other is the ghost, the memory of the past. The whisper of the night, the soul. Ephemeral, the flesh to rot to feed new life. The transience of the forest to grow and die to be replaced by something else. The crush of the wheel as time marches past, to exist beyond the realm of time. Having no meaning to it, is to see the truth. To see the Branches of the Tree, to see the truth behind them. To see the forest through the trees of lost souls, souls to be, souls that never were.
Which is which? Is the body the ghost? Or is the ghost the mind?Physical Description
Apparel & Accessories
If she did not wear the brightly colored Estile styled garments, she would be nearly unrecognizable in a crowd. Plain looking, thin, not much for chest or legs, she is unremarkable physically. Quick to tire, long of rest. However this is her identifying feature: her choice of clothing is what stands out.
Unique from any culture known on the Branches of the Tree. She took the styling of the island dwelling shamens of Estile, where their traditions of farming have given rise to ways to easily recognize eachother in the fields, that being bright contrasting colors (red/blue, red/orange, black/white, blue/yellow, her personal favorites) Accenting each piece with metallic pigments of geometric patterns.
Her single most identifying piece is her hat. While the sterotypical Witches hat used by many covens around the nations, hers is unique. Bosting the same bright color pattern, pink ribbon and all. While not from Estile her world wide reputation of using the Calaveras for the skull on her hat is still widely accepted. She fell in love the with the island it's culture steeped in the ritualistic aspect of honoring the dead and rememberance, and thus appropriated many ideas from their culture. WIth a heady mix of Huronian pragmatisim and Northern Wastes stoic sensibilities.
It should be noted that I don't even know what the species that this skull is from, I found it buried in an abandoned catacomb beneith Casa Del Tabk. It looks familiar to me, you know? I can't explain it, like Martha has shown it to me before, only they were alive at the time.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Her history starts before her eyes ever saw the boundless skies of the Great Tree. While still in her mother's womb, she was one of a set of twins. Her sister died before ever being given a chance to experience the world, while not her mother's fault, she still felt guilty about it. When her sister died, her soul reached out to the void in a subconscious act, before minds formed. A desperate cry to the void, and grabbed her lost sister's soul and held it tightly.
As she formed more completely nested in the safety of her mother, her soul Tethered itself to her sister's. A soul unable to pass into the Shores Beyond, was given the opportunity that few have. For the dead to feel life once more, her soul living vicariously through her sister, becoming inexorably entwined in ancient magics revolving around the soul, mind and divinity. Their souls becoming inseparable, the dead's soul unable to pass until her sister's has as well.
Born to a poor family, they traveled with a wandering Circus that made their way from city to city. Her parents were overjoyed at the birth of their daughter, the Circus Master calling a halt to the grand caravan. Calling for a celebration for their new member of the troupe. As with all the Carnies, they never made much, but the Circus Master always made sure to treat their workers fairly, with only a few dark exceptions.
She spent much of her early childhood having night terrors and speaking to things that weren't there to ordinary eyes. Many think she suffered from some mental condition, or yet blamed her parents for her odd fits of non composure. She had an "imaginary" friend throughout her entire formative years, never having given up on the idea that it was simply that all the way into her early teens.
This "imaginary" friend was named Martha, having always told her parents that her friend told her that was what her name was, pestered by her father to let go of such silly things the entire time. As the Troupe had entered into the States of Huron for the fourth time in one year, off to the capitol city this time. The troupe was very excited to earn a significant amount of money as this event had been planned as a joint venture between the Nations of the Federation. Debuted as a mixing of cultures, a world's fair.
It was during this event that it was discovered the Valerica (as she was known at the time) came to understand that she had quite a few Talents and a very strange mix of them. She had a Domain of Earth, as well as Greater Talents in Life, Astral, and strangely Time. She was exposed to many different casters while working the Circus, many of whom commented on the odd aura that surrounded her.
A few different Priests of both the Sorority of Azu and the College of Welkford (which at the time was run more like a cartel) had attempted to recruit her after witnessing her use these Domains on an injured Carny. She had rushed to help a man who had his arm trapped in one of the gates of the ride.
The steam engine had malfunctioned and his arm was trapped between the heavy steel gate and the incoming carts of ride. The young Valerica had wrenched his arm free just before the carts came tumbling along, and saved him an impromptu amputation, though not without breaking both his upper and lower arm. Without thinking about it, she had begun healing the bones with her magic. A dodgy job, set wrong, healed badly, but it was noticed by both Priests who watched the event transpire.
The man was rushed off to the College proper to heal him in a proper manner, though the Circus Master had come running around the corner to listen to the conversation that followed. Both of the holy men had wanted her to leave the circus and join their faith to further her education in the arcane, though she refused at first. She told her parents of the incident and they agreed she should look into the opportunity, they were further encouraged by the Master.
She was limited in the Troupe, they didn't have many who could teach her. An unskilled caster without the knowledge to deal with such things was a massive liability. Though the Master was loath to lose her, he thought he could always try and get her back when she was more "interesting".
She spent only a single month in the College of Welkford having hated it for it's criminal legacy. Though in an ironic twist of fate, she had left mere months before The Sage of Huron: Emily Von Eule had instituted many of the reforms and restructuring of the College. However, Valerica never returned to continue that aspect of her magic. In time she saw no reason to pursue healing, what place does the magic of life have in the valley of death? To what end could she do with it, you cannot heal the dead in the traditional sense.
She did, however, spend three years with the Sorority. Having gained a large deal of her attitudes and sympathy for life from them. It was here they learned of her real abilities... A particularly rainy year for the City of Huron, with rampant flooding, ruined croplands, and more missing person reports than normal due to frequent mudslides along the Central Mountain range.
Martha had become far more chatty with Valerica than before as if she were speaking to far more "entities" than to Valerica. When she had questioned her imaginary friend about it, Martha had told her. "Oh no no no, dear sister. I speak to those like me, you hear them too, should you quit living in the world of here and now.". Intrigued, she found a quiet room inside the Chapel and focused on her friend. A deep well in her mind, a faint memory shared between them. Old, from before they had eyes to see, hearts to feel, minds to comprehend.
As she delved deep into her mind to truly see what her friend was, she reached out with her Talent of life. However, she erred and used both her Talents for earth and time instead. While she was better with her magic, the Sorority spent more time with religious affairs than teaching her more control. She had bathed the entire area, the whole of the Chapel swam in a strange ephemeral air. In this moment, the Ghosts wandering the city became visible to the living, allowed to speak with the dead.
What had appeared before Valerica however, was Martha, fully. It was here, and now, that something clicked in Valerica's mind. Finally, after hearing her voice for so many years, after so many conversations, she could put a face to voice. It disturbed her, yet filled her with a joy she didn't understand. She looked so much like Valerica, "You're my sister. Aren't you?" She asked the Ghost.
"You already know the answer to that question. Look back further, think back to that memory, and you will know."...
Valerica ultimately was found by the Priestesses, after a multiday affair by the Sorority as well as assistance with the Sorcerers inside the Royal Archives, the uncontrolled necromantic power was brought under Valerica's will. Which led to a much bigger investigation into the nature of her powers. Though now, Martha was freely able to make herself visible to Valerica whenever her name was called, which brought an immense delight to her. As well as an even greater sense of self to Valerica, she wasn't crazy afterall, like the Master of Circus would sometimes call her.
In the year 1216, after months of investigating and testing her ability, she was declared the first Necromancer in the last two hundred years. Huron being Huron held a weeks-long Celebration of being the homeland to the newest Grave Bell. Eventually going on a year-long Journey to be paraded around the Continent to every major city and fortification. Being taught the Necromancer's histories, and their general practices. Though most of what she learned was self taught after she had managed to figure out how to speak with the long past Necromancers of old.
While passing through Estile, she feel in love with their culture. FInding it far more affirming to her nature, the farming nature of the Island had a constant focus on the cycles of life and death. The passing of the seasons, where life ends, death feeds to breathe life anew. One cannot exist without the other, one cannot exist while one does. She loved that death wasn't an end for them, but a remembrance. She loved their welcoming air, and loved even more the patience they showed all. She loved the way they dressed, she loved their aesthetic and artwork.
She spent a few years here over time, having learned many of the local's shamanistic tendencies regarding funerary practices. She would often gather information from the dead to pass on to the living, or allowing ghosts to speak with the survivors of any given family. She earned quite a few names here, a play on the name Huron gave her, being Grave Belle, instead of Grave Bell. She also earned the title of "Blessed Soul Speaker" here as well.
Estile holds Valerica in a very special place in the Nation, bowed to by the locals. Honored among guests, spoken to as if she were a Queen. Granted this is also the same greeting she generally receives while passing through all but the largest cities. By helping the Council of Elder Farmers on numerous occasions, they gifted her a permanent residence in the city Moreoleo, next to the market district.
She made a brief foray back to her original circus troup, reuniting with her aging parents. She allowed the Circus master to display her in a single act for only a day. Though the sheer amount of attention she received from this, also gave her the name she has now. The Circus Master decided that Valerica was too common of a name for a world renowned spirit speaker, introducing her as Azorez "Twin Souls". The name stuck, and she refused to continue with the troupe after this.
As she toured her way through the Kingdom Of Galus, aiding every settlement ranging from Port De Renard to Willowbrook to Fort De Namoux. She heard of, what she thought was another City, asking for her specifically. They had apparently been having trouble with a restless spirit for as long as anyone remembered. When she had told her guard the name of the city they were horrified.
Skjalich was not a destination the vast majority of the Country would call a good idea to visit. Far too many disappearances, far too many reports of strange things, far too many "victims" coming back mutilated and burned. Odd Statues in the woods, not dissimilar to The W’ythryn. She had developed a tendency to not turn anyone away from her aid, if a spirit was refusing to pass along, then she felt it was her duty to help them along.
When she and her guards had arrived at the "gates" of Skjalich, the ruin had seen better days. Since the excursion that first proliferated the air of the settlement, few had seen the inhabitants in some time. The Elder who greeted her had carved innumerable runes on his skin, pale as fresh winter snow, with eyes much larger than that of an ordinary human. This did not deter her, she only greeted them the same way she would anyone, with her now trademark somber smile.
Her guards were not allowed inside, they would have to wait outside. Shrugging it off, they knew full well they were there for show. Despite the Necromancer having a reputation of some hyped-up Shaman who performed seances, she was very much a powerful caster in her own right. They were there to keep honest people honest, she would deal with anyone who meant her harm, herself. They had no fear of allowing their patron into a "dangerous" ruin with a historically odd culture.
The V'heild was not what she was expecting. Not a spirit, not a specter, nor was it malevolent. The Elderman had brought her through a large chamber filled from wall to wall with bones of creatures she did not recognize. Many horned, many winged, many massive, some looked remarkably human, though not quite. When she would wander Necropolis like this under Huron, or through the grave mounds of Estile, or the massive cemetary of the Isle of Mhuzelt. This did not feel the same, this was a site of horror, the air still thick lives ended early, deaths violent and expected.
She was led to a small room on the opposite wall of the necropolis, an inactive portal nexus in the middle of it. Skeletons still standing at attention, weapons drawn, though unmoving. A set of four thrones on the edges of the nexus, many other small thrones behind them. In one sat the V'heild. While she hadn't ever seen a Goblin, her guards spoke of them enough to have a few characteristics stick out to her. Firstly her large ears, and the deep purple eyes were also indicative. She was skeletally thin, eyes sunken, tear stains running down protruding cheekbones.
Show spoiler
The creature waved the Elderman away, looking Azorez straight into the eyes. "I presume... that you can sense a bit more than them?" It asked, voice like a broken song.
"You are no spirit, wraith, or ghost. You feel more like... you smell like a god." Azorez responded slowly. She had met a few of the gods at this point, her favorite being Azu. She was kind and charming. Xelex always wanted to teach, but Bhal was uncouth and rude. Koroth was very selective of his words. Welkford preached endlessly.
The V'heild slowly got up from its seat, walking toward her, flicking an incomprehensibly long tail around her leg. She didn't flinch, for the touch was soft as it wrapped its way around her waist as well. "I cannot leave this room. They will see me, they will know. I am but an infinitesimally small portion of what I once was."
"There is something wrong here." Azorez said, her necromantic magic probing the air around the creature. Seeking any opening to enter it's mind. "Theres..."
"Sweet Shadow Touched Soul, you will find no way into a mind that no longer exists. I am beyond what my children can... your magic will not be able to do anything for me, darling." It said, stopping just in front of her, it only stood up to her mid-torso, short but lithe.
"May I ask you a few questions?" It was always best to have the dead agree before proceeding.
It nodded at her, the air in the room shifted slightly to blow in from the main chamber. "Are you a memory? You're not exactly here, but you're not the same thing."
"I presume you have met those things calling themselves gods then? Preceptive, a genuine understanding. Given wrong information, though observant in her ability." It said, touching a fingertip to hers, to her surprise she felt it. Despite her finger crumbling to mist and smoke at the action.
"I take it you don't feel the same way then. I have met them, a few at least. The reek of divine energy, I've always seen them communing with the dead in a similar fashion to me."
"They smell like that because of me. I don't Feel like that, because I know they aren't."
"This place asked me to allow you to rest. What exactly are they asking me to do here? You're clearly not in the world, at least to me. You're not a ghost, nor are you undead. You reek of divinity, you speak about the gods as if they are enemies. What are you?" Alorez asked, kneeling down to look the desiccated creature in the eyes.
"Kind are they not? Doing as I asked, though the rumors surrounding me are somewhat false. I do not conjure dark things in the night, nor do I steal way young children in the twilight. I do not stalk the dark halls of this morose place, the Shadows do, while they look for me"
"Why don't we start from the beginning?"
Alorez refused to speak of how the V'heild was not seen again in the following years. No matter how anyone asked, she refuses. Simply stated that there are somethings in this world people have no right of knowing right now. There are things in this world too precious to speak out loud. The only thing that anyone has ever gotten out of the Necromancer is this; she once called the V'heild by a different name, Vilorlith.
It was at this point she had received Talia as her reward for dealing with the "spirit". She had set up her life in Skjalich from this point, immensely curious about what had happened in the Necropolis. Pulling on the strings of those left behind to find any answer, while she taught her, what the world would call, servant. Though the denizens of the Ruin always smiled then they saw the pseudo- mother-daught duo together.
The late winter of 1231, just after the Glaician military engaged in a stalemated conflict with the local goblin clan, Azorez communed with one of the fallen goblins. Only it didn't go as she had expected, far more resistant to her methodology than humans he was also able to exert control over her, something she didn't know was possible at the time. But, she had felt the same energy that the V'heild exhibited all that time ago, only far stronger.
She set off to speak with goblins, she needed to know why this 'god' was so inexorably tied to them. She needed to know what the necropolis was, and why the voices still haunting the halls called out to long-forgotten forces. She needed to know why Ilgor's name slipped the lips of both the V'heild and this goblin ghost.
Social
Contacts & Relations
After she had dealt with a Wraith that had been plaguing the halls of Skjalich, the inhabitants of the ruins offered her a home there. Should the need arise she could deal with the apparitions the same way she had with the V'heild. An ancient and restless Shadow Touched spirit that had been haunting the halls of the Ruin since the Dawn of Truths. While she would never speak of the incident nor how she dealt with it, the spirit was allowed to rest.
In addition to the inhabitants allowing her to live in the ruins, a fact that had been extraordinary in any written history spanning all the way back to the first expedition. Those living in the ruins had gifted a servant to the Necromancer, a young girl named Talia.
While the Necromancer has made many excursions to the greater world and beyond, she has always brought along this servant girl. Nearly connected at the hip, they have become inseparable over the years. Talia earned herself the nickname of "Little Witch" by the courts and nobility of the realms of the world. Many rumors have been spurred due to this sudden appearance of the servant, ranging from a cruel abduction, to a more carnal nature, even so far as to pose the conjecture that the girl is raised from the grave.
However, all these allegations are false. The truth of the matter is this; Talia was chosen out of compassion. Azorez choose which servant she was to receive and picked an orphan, who happen to have a Talent in healing magics and a a lesser talent for the domain of gravity. Azorez had gifted Talia the opportunity to reconcile with her deceased parents, understanding the full story, the reasons and the circumstances of their deaths.
Talia has been called disturbingly mature for her age. Many think this is the work of the Necromancer, in part this is true, in part that she is in close proximity to the only living Necromancer of the Age. Their relationship is much more akin to Master and Student, but often phases into Mother and Daughter. Azorez takes great pains to ensure that Talia is comfortable at any given moment, well fed and taken care of. In return, Azorez gets to enjoy the company of something that isn't a spirit at all times.
Religious Views
What do you ask someone who has seen the end and returned countless times? What do you say to someone who has met many of the gods and lived to tell the tale? Is it a stoic agnosticism? Atheistic remarks at the fact that souls just tend to disappear when they've calmed down? What does belief and religion hold to someone who has heard the dogma to meet the genuine article?
Her faith is a much more physical one, to live on the Branches till the sands run through. Not tied to any god, it is more of a philosophy of life, to spend so much time in death is to make one appreciate the value of life. She makes it a point to enjoy the small things, to allow others to do the same. She recognizes the gift of life given to them, recognizes even further the divine spark inside the concept that is life.
Religious views are an odd thing are they not? A view of some organized faith? A personal belief in an interpretation that has been told to you? A journey of discovery, to find one's own truth? A simple ideology that one holds to their core?
Mannerisms
A tendency toward letting people speak without ever once interrupting them until several moments have passed before she will speak. This leaves many thinking she wasn't actually listening though this is a habit formed from dealing with the dead for so long. The dead need to be allowed the time and grace to compose themselves and their thoughts, she sees very little difference between the spirits and those that still walk the earth. Conversations with Azorez tend to be somewhat one sided, with the Necromancer really never having spoken all that much.
When she does speak it is with a somber voice that she doesn't notice anymore, sounding as if she were in a melancholy state. Having been asked if everything is alright, she doesn't register it as a question anymore. The same as if responding to "how's it going?" with "it goes."
She has a perpetual soft smile that reaches her eyes. This is simply her natural state, should her smile slip away is to hear the air go still. The silence in the forest, the echo of one's own voice back off the canyon walls.
Current Location
Other Ethnicities/Cultures
Currently Held Titles
Age
34
Children
Current Residence
The Forgeroom of the the Ruins of Skjalich
Sex
Female
Hair
Sandy Blonde, Reaching her mid back and incredibly messy
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale Opalescent White skin. dark blue scar over her bellybutton.
Height
5'9"
Weight
125lbs
Belief/Deity
Holds onto the Sorority of Azu, though she doesn't practice. Holds no belief in the god's as being divine.
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