Niniane held a deep red wine in her hand, admiring the color as it swirled in her glass before she looked up, taking in her surroundings, so unlike anything she had seen growing up. After all, there were not many people on the Isle of Avalon; it was something of a private retreat and the nunnery on the other side of the veil was hardly a place of fetes. She enjoyed the swirl of colors as people moved together in dance, but even more so, she enjoyed watching the people’s interactions. One woman who caught Niniane’s eyes was a blonde with icy blue eyes. Where many women in the room blushed and cowed, this woman talked with men with no airs. She met them eye to eye and laughed with her whole self. Niniane found herself approaching the woman though she wasn’t sure about her reasoning. Before she made her final approach she quickly grabbed a drink from a passerby. “You looked like you could use another drink.”
“You look like you’re having fun!” Chris brandished the drink in his hand, a broad smile on his face. Worried as he had been at the start of the week, he was having a good time at the ball. “I’ve been thinking about whether or not I should find someone to dance with. It seems like a waste if I don’t dance at least once tonight.”
Niniane had been curious about the ball, even a little anticipatory when she had heard about the royal welcome. The event was full of people, something that Niniane had thought would make her feel self-conscious and alarmed; instead, she felt more invisible in the crowd than she had felt since she had come to Loegria, at least until a knight approached her as she chuckled to herself at the oddities of the courting ritual between a young squire and a lady. “Oh, I suppose I do find entertainment in watching the event. Young love does make for quite a scene. I do however suppose that not dancing at a ball however would be considered something of a mistake in form, especially for a knight such as yourself who must be so highly in demand by the ladies present. What is your name good sir so that I may commend you to one of them unless you would rather dance with me?”
“Niniane, His Majesty the King is ready to see you now,” the royal herald declared, waving her into the small throne room where the King was taking his audiences. King Arthur waited upon his throne, the weight of his years starting to show.
Niniane glided softly into the audience chamber of the king of all kings, dropping into an accustomed curtsy as her mother had taught her, all the while her eyes took in her surroundings and the man on the throne in front of her, all the wrinkles that lined his brow and the age spots which had formed on his hands. He was no longer the young warrior king which her mother had seen before she retired to the isle. This was a man who had lived and was feeling the sands of time drifting through the glass. “Your majesty, it is an honor to be in the presence of such a king. Your court is everything the tales have made it out to be.”
Look who just rode through the gates, is that [KATIE MCGRATH]? Hold on, it’s just [NINIANE]. Haven’t you heard? They’re one of [MERLIN AMBROSIUS and NIMUE’S] [ONE] children, I heard they’re [39] years old and [CIS FEMALE]. You know, they say that [SHE] is known to be quite the [MYSTERY]. I don’t know about that, but I heard that they are [DUTIFUL & SECRETIVE], but I guess we’ll find out soon enough, yeah? (betty, 27, est, she/her)
Betty back atcha with Niniane or Nini for short, though one would have to actually get close to her to call her that and other than her mother and other priestesses on Avalon, no one tends to get that close. It isn’t that she doesn’t like people, she just has never been around many of them. She is a curious one and a little at odds with social structures as she’s never really been part of them. If she were in a Hogwarts house, she would for sure be a Ravenclaw with Slytherin tendencies. Otherwise, she’s an ISTP, a Virtuoso.
Strengths include: spontaneity, practicality, and creativity
Weaknesses include: lack of social awareness, reservations, lack of moral guidance.
Important History:
Niniane has only recently come to Loegria and, after spending her entire life on a magic island with very little contact with the outside world, she can seem a little out of place in Arthur’s court. She wears things that suit her but may not be the style and she has very little care about modesty. She will address people by formal titles, however, as her mother made sure she had training in manners and etiquette, even if Niniane thinks most of the traditions are lacking in reason.
Niniane has the power of shape shifting and other types of magic; she has practiced much with her mother over her nearly forty years of life. She is not as talented as Merlin, however, and though she has been told to avoid him, she finds him a great curiosity. She is also curious to meet more magic users outside of Avalon, to learn from them and develop her craft. She is very sensitive to magic and can often feel a tingle if she’s close to magic or a creature of magic. Though she knows there are those with suspicions about magic, she feels that all with magic are more innately connected with earth and therefore, should be protected.
Niniane loves knowledge. Curiosity is one of her driving traits and she rarely tries to temper it. She can often be found with any scrolls or histories she can find. Her drive for knowledge, however, an make her very impatient with ignorance. She cannot abide people who think that women should not be educated, or that anyone should not be educated.
Niniane has had very little contact with men in her youth; she’s found since she came to court that some of them are oddly malleable and she does enjoy a good flirtation. However, she is also just as interested in women for pleasure. She knows it would be fruitless to truly get close to someone or worse fall in love, but she is not immune to the want of companionship every now and again, even if she must change form or shape to receive it.
She has been given impressively little information growing up as to what is moral and what is not; her mother had a very lenient moral compass and Niniane tends to do whatever it takes to advance her to her goals. It is not that Niniane is inherently cruel or cold, she is simply more interested in doing what is “right” than what is good. She would not bat an eye at hexing someone who got in her way or did something she would see as wrong. She knows that morality is subjective and she isn’t as ashamed of that fact as others can be.
She is given to walking around on her own and communicating with animals though she tries to do this in secret. Still, it is not uncommon to see her talking to animals on the grounds. She can seem a bit off or crazy at times, but she just sees more of what is actually there.
Niniane cares very little about who will get the crown after Arthur dies as it does not factor into her plans. She just needs to get close enough to Arthur that she can get him to Avalon after death. The more she speaks with the king, though, the more she pities that he must soon meet his end. There is part of her which wishes that she could help him circumvent his fate, but she has had drilled into her that no one gets past their fate.
Plot points:
Courtly Guide: This person is Niniane’s go to for all the things she could not learn in books or which were not the focus of her studies over the years. In a place where Niniane has been told to trust no one, this person is her rare exception. They do not know everything Niniane knows but they know some things about her, including about her magic, which is more than most can say.
Suspicions: This person, for good or for I’ll, is more curious about Niniane than the sorceress likes. She does not know why they focus on her, but Niniane worries that those sharp eyes catch more than she can allow. She knows she must keep them at a distance but the person is damned persistent and Niniane is starting to get worried.
Magical friend: This person is magical and Niniane knows it immediately so she gets close to them and tries to act as a protector of sorts without giving too many of her plans away.
Important highlights: Niniane is not a bad girl, but she will do “bad” things in service of her duty. She has been taught to keep to herself and keep her true intentions secret. She has never really had friends so it is difficult to gauge where she will place her loyalties. Also, she is not going for the throne whatsoever.
