Rovasha was able to sleep anywhere; the gift of being a street urchin. Myrefall inns were sketchy all-around, no denying it, but it was a familiar type of sketchiness. She didn’t need feel the same desire to clutch the dagger on the night stand first thing in the morning - not immediately, at least. The night before was mostly a blur, consisting of charming the mercenary by the bar, challenging her to a drinking game, and the overpowering scent of cinnamon trailing to a room upstairs. It was a habit she was used to, one of the only vices she allowed herself.
She was a light sleeper. She awoke when Sana pushed her arm away, but she didn’t open her eyes immediately. The morning light seeped in through the windows and she groaned, reaching for the scratchy wool blanket they shared. Her brain nagged at her, on fire. Her mouth thirsted for water. It was too damn bright.
At the sound of the scream, like a bird roosting or the alarm at camp, Rovasha shot her eyes awake. “What the fuck…” she grumbled before registering the face before her - the face of a rodent-like person that stared back at her in horror. She rubbed at her eyes, thinking it surely a dream. A sort of active imagination run wild. Blinking several times, a panic grew in her gut, launching herself off the bed and onto the creaking wooden floorboards below.
The mirror beside the door revealed all the answers. She watched herself comb through her dark curls with her fingers, her pointed ears, her horned growths, nowhere to be found. Where there should be dark fur on her legs was replaced by coarse dark hairs, leading not to hooves, but feet. She reached for her tail and felt nothing but its absence. A phantom sensation out of her grasp. She crawled closer to her reflection, gulping at the realization. It was tangible, unlike the temporary illusion spell she was so used to. She couldn’t stop touching her face. She was human.
A whirlwind of emotions swarmed within her as questions begged to be answered. Shock, confusion, then relief. Why now? Am I in the gods favor? She remembered her father, who ached to rid the family of the curse of their body. He was plagued by shamed, embarrassed to be themselves. There was so much self-hatred inside him. She inherited all of it. She watched a smile grow on her new face as she rose to her knees and turned back to the stranger in bed.
“Sana?”
@roksanas
Sana allowed herself a moment of shock that lasted only as long as Rovasha’s did. She looked over Ro’s shoulder, locking eyes with the unfamiliar face in the mirror. She opened and closed her mouth a few times to make sure the reflection was really hers, and though she was horrified to realize that it was, she had no energy left in her to scream again. It was strange to realize that she couldn’t read the emotions on her own face. Those beady eyes seemed stagnant and unmoved, and her pink mouth seemed to turn upward in a smile by default. If she couldn’t even take herself seriously, how could she expect anyone else to? How could she expect Zari to listen to another word she said ever again?
Oh, fuck. Zari.
The time for being mesmerized by her own reflection was over. Suddenly, it didn’t matter what she looked like at all. When she started to worry about her sister, there was nothing to spare for herself. It’d always been like that; it was the only selflessness in her nature. Her mind reeled drowned in thoughts of her sister. Was she okay? Had this affected her too? What if she was standing in front of an unfamiliar reflection with no answers, without her older sister to rely on? Zari was strong, and responsible, and resilient, but Sana didn’t want her to be any of those things out of necessity - ever. She would bear the weight of this moment a thousand times if it meant her sister would never have to experience it.
“Yes, it’s Sana,” she sighed, trying her best to ignore how foreign and unpleasant her voice sounded. Usually she liked to hear herself speak, but now she was thinking she might have to spend more time being silent. For now, though, she had to speak. She had to make sure Zari was accounted for, and she could wonder about what had just happened - and the permanency of it all - later. “Rovasha, focus. Do you have any way of sending messages to people quickly? Do you know of anyone in Myrefall who could contact someone in Khaggon immediately?”
Sarkesh didn’t hate his new form. More it was general annoyance than a hindrance. He’d been patted on the head by at least six children that afternoon. He wasn’t sure what had happened but after the earthquake he’d woken up, found it strange that his shirt had gotten bigger over night and screamed when he looked in the mirror to shave. Of all the times to be turned in to mouse?….rat?..creature? during a war was the worst. He hadn’t been intimidating to begin with but this was ridiculous. He was absolutely adorable. Who was going to find this scary?
He walked in to the inferno he needed a stiff drink after the day he’d just had. Trying to order stuff for the army had proven to be more difficult that he’d thought. For one no one was who Sarkesh had expected them to be. Damien, the human tanner was now Damien the Arakorca. It’d all been too confusing for his litlle fuzzy brown head to handle. Sarkesh Moved out of the way of some drunk patrons and made his way to the bar. He heard a voice that sounded just as squeaky as his and went to investigate.
“Oh I only know a little bit! Uh it’s blue right now so I think it’s sad. Blue’s like a sad colour.”
All of Sana’s interest in the flumphs diminished the second she saw who was giving her an answer. She hadn’t seen another jerbeen since this all started. In fact, the only jerbeen she’d ever met was a tailor that she couldn’t remember the name of. A sense of relief washed over her as she looked into eyes that looked exactly like hers. She hopped to the ground with fervor, the flumphs dispersing when she got a bit too close to them.
“May I ask - and excuse my wording here - what you were before?” The moment she finished speaking, Sana saw the flumphs in her peripheral vision disappear from sight. She turned her attention to where the six of them used to be, letting a small whine escape her lips. They had been pretty cute, and her time with them had been so fleeting. It was a pointless little surge, but now she’d get free drinks for the rest of the night. She supposed it was worth it.
Orphea had been having a terribly unexceptional day. She’d tried to write when she’d first awoken, but the words betrayed her and wouldn’t come. She thought an hour of walking in a cloak of invisibility and people-watching might lighten her spirits, or cause some kind of inspiration to slap her in the face, but in the few minutes that she’d been walking nothing of the sort had happened. It was hopeless. She’d never write again and she’d have to kiss her authorship goodbye and be bored for the rest of eternity.
It was nice to wander the city unknown to everybody, though. Amusement bubbled in her stomach when she knocked shoulders with someone and their gaze darted around for their invisible assailant to no avail. She wandered until she came upon a fountain with two dull looking men chatting—they sat too far apart for them to be intimate partners, she decided. The day was shaping up to be truly boring—
Orphea found herself sprawled on the cobblestone street, her elbow stinging from her fall. She’d collided with something as invisible as she was and the tip of her nose hurt from the impact. With an audible huff she scrambled to her feet, her fingers dancing over her instrument case she had hanging from her shoulder. It felt undamaged and she sighed in relief, unworried about being overheard. She was invisible, but she wasn’t exactly hiding.
The hair on the back of her neck prickled at the whisper and she stepped carefully closer to the sound. “I’m Orphea,” she whispered back, though not nearly as quietly. She let amusement seep into her voice and her lips to curl into a grin. This was exciting! The last thing she’d expected to run into was another invisible person, and here of all the dull places… She waved her arm out in front of her until her fingertips brushed against the thick fabric of a coat or cloak. She latched on to it and tugged lightly, giving the other person a guide to where she was. “Who’re you?” She hissed, her voice nearly getting lost in the spray of the fountain. “Why are you invisible, a bad hair day?” Orphea feigned an astonished gasp. “Are you a spy?”
When something tugged on her jacket, it took everything in her not to attempt another swing. She jerked her arm back defensively, settling only slightly when she heard a soft voice responding to her. Clearly they weren’t trying to attack, but with her good ear facing the fountain it was difficult to hear the exact words being said. “One second,” she whispered. She was almost glad she was invisible for this exchange. No one could see the confusion painting her features, and her invisible acquaintance would never have to know that she tried to harm them.
Sana followed the hand on her cloak all the way up an arm, eventually settling on what could only be a shoulder. She lead them through the sparse crowd of Myrefall, to the street corner adjacent to the fountain. Her eyes were still glued to the men sitting there. She knew she might miss something important if she stayed away from them for long, but it wasn’t every day that an invisible person knocked into her while she was invisible. It was mysterious and exciting enough to distract her briefly.
“I couldn’t hear you over there,” she said, her voice only slightly louder than it was before. She dropped her hand from their shoulder, noting how small this person seemed. If things did go awry, she could easily take them. “Plus, those guys at the fountain can’t know I’m here. You better hope their hearing is as bad as mine. If you blow my cover, I will retaliate.”
ROKSANA SIRSK -
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
BASICS -
1. Height?
Roksana is 5’4.
2. Eye colour?
Dark brown.
3. Do they need glasses?
Nah baby this human has 20/20 vision and can see in regular and magical darkness for 120 feet. It’s an invocation, but she will claim she’s just more evolved than most humans.
4. Scars and birthmark?
She has quite a few prominent scars on her hands from burns and cuts when she was training as a blacksmith. She also has a long, vertical scar beneath her ribs from a job that went sideways. She almost died before getting to a cleric; she doesn’t talk about it.
5. Tattoos and piercings?
On her right ear she has 3 lobe piercings, an industrial and a forward helix, and on her left she has a helix, a tragus, and 3 lobe piercings. As for tattoos, she has the symbols of Dol Arrah, Milil, Lathander, and the Raven Queen down her left forearm, and the symbols of Dol Dorn, Tymora, Malar, Sune down her right forearm.
6. Right or left handed?
Sana does most things with her right hand, but she’s trained herself to be useful with both in battle.
7. Any disabilities? Physical or mental.
Sana has lost most of the hearing in her left ear, and as such is hard of hearing.
8. Do they have any allergies?
Roksana is allergic to dogs and NO ONE is allowed to talk to her about it.
9. Favourite colour?
Black, or navy blue.
10. Typical outfits?
Sana likes well-made clothing, and most of her spending is on clothes. She wears mostly black and white. A lot of her tops are blouses, often sporting either lace, embroidery, or flowy sleeves. She loves elaborate dresses, corsets worn in untraditional ways, and interesting belt buckles. If she’s on a job, she wears a breastplate underneath a cloak or a powerful-looking coat. She’s also a fan of leather gloves.
11. Do they wear any makeup?
Sana rarely wears makeup, but she can’t resist a bit of eyeliner here and there.
12. What weapon do they use, if any?
She almost exclusively uses Obit, which is both her pact blade and her spellcasting focus. Obit likes to call itself Darthranok, and speaks to her telepathically.
PERSONALITY -
13. Are they more optimistic or pessimistic?
Sana considers herself a realist, which is to say...she’s mostly pessimistic. If she has any optimism left, it resides in Zari, who does her best to see the light in every situation when Sana is focusing on solutions. She doesn’t waste a lot of time on pessimism, but she certainly doesn’t expect anything good from others or from any situation she walks into.
14. Are they introverted or extroverted?
Introverted. Definitely charismatic and a skilled socializer, but she only gains energy when she’s alone or only around people who are close to her.
15. What are their pet peeves?
Most of Sana’s pet peeves are exhibited by her clients. She hates when people explain things slowly when she didn’t ask them to, she hates when people aren’t punctual - particularly with their payments - and she hates when people act like they know her. Above all, she hates being pitied, and even annoys herself when she gets caught up in the habit of self-pitying. Some smaller pet peeves include loud chewers, Zari wearing her clothes, and people standing too close to her.
16. What bad habits do they have?
She picks at her nails, leans back in pretty much every chair she sits in, and leaves loose strands of hair littered about the house. She always thinks she’s right, she consistently asks too much for the jobs she undertakes, and she tries to get to know people without letting them know her.
17. Do they have any phobias?
The most constant fear she has, the one that gives her the most nightmares, is losing Zari. When she’s away from Khaggon, it often keeps her up at night and she’s considering bringing her sister along on all her jobs again.
18. How do they display affection?
Acts of service all the way. She doesn’t get close with many people, but when she does choose to let someone in she’s very all-or-nothing. She will go out of her way to get that person what they need, and loves to provide for the people she loves. She’s not especially physically affectionate, but when she’s exhausted she can’t deny that she likes to cuddle.
19. How competitive are they?
Oh, god. You don’t wanna know. If she gets even the slightest idea that someone’s coming for her job or for her money, she will go to extreme lengths to make sure they never try that again. She also tends to swear and yell a bit too much when playing card games.
20. If they could change one thing about themselves, what would it be?
She’d like to be a bit softer, a bit more trusting, a bit more open-hearted - if she could manage.
21. Do they have any obscure hobbies or routines?
She loves making her own knives, especially ones that are just for display with elaborate handles. For the past five years, she’s had an omelette for breakfast every morning that she hasn’t been in the wild or otherwise incapacitated. She reorganizes her closet and jewelry once or twice a month, just for kicks. She likes to gamble.
BACKSTORY -
22. What are the names and ages of their close family members? Parents, siblings, etc.
Zari, her sister, is thirteen. Esfir, her mother, would be fifty-two, and her father, Ashkin, would be fifty-one. Roksana was also close to her maternal grandmother, Shirin, who would be eighty-five now.
23. Is their family alive and are they still in contact with them?
Esfir and Ashkin have been dead for almost three and thirteen years respectively, and Shirin has been dead for eight years. Her sister is very much alive, and very much in contact with her.
24. Where are they from? City, nation?
Runswick born-and-raised, though she currently lives in Khaggon.
25. Did they have a childhood best friend?
Ever since she can remember, Sana’s best friend has been a girl named Evangeline. She’s a wealthy merchant’s daughter, and has recently started a family in Runswick. They rarely see each other anymore, but they do still write to each other.
26. Have they had any pets?
The only pet she had growing up was a cat named Stinky. She found him as a stray when she was ten, and he had an incredibly pungent smell. Since then, she always wanted a dog, but their fur gives her hives and their dandruff stuffs her up - so, instead, she got Zari a gray tabby. (Zari’s always liked cats better, anyway.) Her sister named him Quincy, and though Sana is sure he’ll never be as great as Stinky, she is glad that Zari has company when she’s away.
27. Did they grow up rich or poor? What were their living conditions like?
Sana lived in a small home, and had very little excess in her upbringing. Her parents were both righteous and honorable, and usually found that justice was all the payment they needed for their adventures. They did, however, provide Sana and Zari with what they needed, though some months were pretty tight.
28. What is their educational background?
Sana was taught by Evangeline’s governess until she was fifteen.
29. As a child, what did they want to be when they grew up?
Until her father died, she thought perhaps she would be a paladin just like her parents. Then she wanted to be a blacksmith, of course.
30. What advice would they give to their younger self?
Honestly, she’d probably try to dash her hopes earlier in life. She’d tell herself to get used to things not going right. She’d probably be a badder bitch if she let go of childish dreams earlier on. This, however, is far from any advice she’d ever give to Zari.
31. Growing up, were they ever bullied or were they the bully?
She probably made fun of a boy here and there, but she was never bullied. In fact, after her father died, she was treated with so much pity that it makes her gag thinking about it. Even the children in her neighborhood acted like she was fragile.
32. Who do they look up to/who is their role model?
Herself, tbh. But also Zari, because she’s extremely emotionally intelligent and good at a lot of things that she struggles with.
PRESENT -
33. Do they currently have a place of residence?
Yes, she has a small home in Khaggon that she paid for in coin.
34. What is their most treasured possession?
If not Obit, then this particularly sharp and rad dagger that she made herself with a raven’s head as the hilt.
35. What is their drink of choice?
Any sort of liquor. She likes shots.
36. Which king/queen are they loyal to, if any?
Rolland, if she has to choose. She surely doesn’t trust him, but Hegaehend is her home, and she won’t side with anyone who’s trying to invade it.
37. Have they ever killed anyone?
Oh, yeah. She’d never call herself an assassin, but she has been paid to kill specific marks, or paid to finish jobs that had no restrictions on who was left dead or alive. Her sword also feeds on life force, and she doesn’t want to know what will happen if it gets too hungry.
38. What was their last promise and did they keep it?
She promises Zari that she’ll be safe every time she leaves, and she hasn’t died yet, so she considers that a promise kept.
LOVE -
39. What was their first kiss like, if they’ve had one?
Sloppy, gross. She was thirteen and had a crush on the guy for an entire year, and then everything good she’d ever thought about him disappeared when he shoved his tongue down her throat. He tasted like ham.
40. Are they in a relationship/have a love interest?
Nope. She has friends with benefits scattered here and there, but she wouldn’t consider them love interests.
41. Have they ever been in love?
Yes. When Sana was twenty-one, she fell head-over-heels with a half-elf named Mikas. They’d grown up in the same social circle, and he had a tendency to flirt with everyone in that social circle. But after a long night out and a talk under the stars, things were different between them. They were inseparable for a year, and it was a good year, but after that year came two more years that were much less enjoyable.
42. Have they ever had their heart broken?
Of course. She gave her all in the relationship with Mikas. It was the most vulnerable she’d ever been with someone, and he probably still knows her better than anyone. But he still didn’t want to be with her. After that one good year, he stopped trying. He stopped finding time to spend with her, stopped making her feel heard, and then he left her for some girl he hardly knew. Now, she won’t accept anything less than 100% effort from a romantic partner - not that she particularly wants one.
SPIRITUALITY -
43. Do they follow a god, if so who?
Nope! She has those religious symbols tattooed on her mostly as a joke. Probably insensitive, but she likes to keep people guessing about what her religious background is. She’s also still pretty bitter about gods and what they expect of their champions.
44. What do they think happens to them after death?
Regardless of her religious beliefs, she likes to believe in an afterlife. She’s seen ghosts and other kinds of spirits, and she likes to believe that if someone deserves to live on past their mortal life, then they will. It helps her sleep at night to think that the people she kills will live on if they deserve to, and that if they don’t deserve to, then she did the world a service.
45. What is their spirit animal?
Listen I know I said lion for Avi, but she’s a Leo so how can I not say lion…….otherwise maybe a raven or smth.
date: may 25th
time: early morning
location: a myrefall inn
status: closed for @rovasha
Roksana had never been a very heavy sleeper, so a small tickle on the nose was all it took to toss her into half-consciousness. She scratched at it lazily, noticing only as she went to rub her eye that her face felt rather soft. Wait - soft? Her eyes snapped open in an instant, and a tail came into focus: long, tan, with black and white feathering out at the tip. She reached out to grab it, and watched as a small, spindly hand took hold of it. She felt it as though it was the fifth limb she’d always been missing, like she was simply holding her own arm, and the shock of the sensation caused her to jump.
Shocked into silence, Sana slid Rovasha’s arm off of this tiny body that didn’t belong to her. She turned on her back and stared at the ceiling, breathing air into these new lungs. It took a moment, but she identified the feelings overcoming her as shock and disbelief...and fear. She hated being afraid, but she’d found that a healthy dosage of fear could bring out the best in her. She turned to her other side, saw Rovasha’s newly human face, and screamed bloody murder. This certainly wasn’t a healthy dosage of fear.
date: may 28th
time: late evening
location: the inferno
status: open
The past few days had been a nightmare. Roksana had just finished a job the night after the earthquake; she’d had her sights set on home the following morning. But then she woke up as a fucking mouse. How was she supposed to return to Zari like this? She spent the entire day looking for someone to contact Zari, to make sure she was safe and unaffected by all of this, and the following days were spent willing herself to turn human again. At this point, she wasn’t sure she would turn back. She hopped onto a bar stool, her jerbeen feet balancing gracefully on the edge of it. She’d head home soon, human or not. She just needed a drunken night out first.
It was nearly impossible to get anyone to take her seriously when she looked like this. Damn these fuzzy cheeks and these gigantic ears. Damn this tiny, squeaky voice of hers. No one heard her over the cacophony of conversation that flooded the bar, and she wasn’t sure the bartender saw her beady little eyes peaking up past the counter. Damn it all, she thought, I should leave tonight. Then again, if she’d taught Zari right, returning home with this unrecognizable face could be dangerous. Perhaps she should have mentioned the race-shift in her message.
The moment Sana had given up on flagging down the bartender, a dark blue energy crackled at her fingertips. It looked like the beginnings of any spell she cast, except she hadn’t been aware of casting anything. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again there were six small tentacled creatures floating around her. They seemed to shake as they looked at her, their blue tentacles veering away. The applause that followed couldn’t have helped. “Flumphs!” Someone a few seats away from her shouted, and a few others echoed them. People clinked their drinks and laughed as though the strange occurrence had happened to them.
Sana took the opportunity to wave the bartender over. “Two shots of your strongest spirit,” she shouted, her voice still sickeningly soft and adorable. The bartender nodded, and Sana finally allowed herself to sit back in her stool and relax. She reached out to one of the flumphs, and it cowered away from her. “Anyone know anything about flumphs?”
date: may 23rd
time: 12:45
location: myrefall
status: closed for @orphea-ourobora
Sana had a lot of talents - all of which she was quick to boast about, especially to those who looked particularly well-off - but listening was not one. Her left ear had never been the same after an explosion on-the-job a year ago, and she lost interest exceptionally quickly. It was why she preferred a more straightforward approach, whether that be a clever manipulation of words or a clever manipulation of her blade. Unfortunately for her, today’s client had been very specific about her remaining unseen. She was to gather intel, and nothing more. She just wished the person who had this intel was a bit more interesting to watch.
Supposedly, the man Sana was ordered to watch was a supplier. He was to meet with someone to discuss a shipment of fey mushroom around noon, and all Sana had to do was be invisible and listen. Well, he had met up with someone around noon, but if they were meant to talk about a shipment of drugs, they hadn’t gotten the memo. They sat around this fountain and talked their wives, and then about mutton, and then about rash treatments. Maybe they were speaking in code - but for this long? Surely her invisibility would fade soon, and she’d be left with nothing to bring back to her client.
Frustrated and rather bored, Roksana slipped carefully from her seat on the edge of the fountain. She wasn’t sure what the men were saying now, but they didn’t seem to notice as she paced back and forth in front of them, weighing her options. Maybe it would just be easier to wait until one of them left and then disguise herself as them, returning to the other’s side and feigning poor memory. Or maybe it would -
Roksana’s thought was interrupted by an invisible force, something too weak to bruise but still entirely startling. It felt like something connected with her jaw, and she resisted the urge to curse as she stumbled backward. After a brief moment of frantically waving her arms she managed to steady herself. Luckily, the supplier and his friend seemed too enthralled in conversation to notice that there were now two unseen beings before them. Sana allowed her attention to stray to whatever was in front of her. She didn’t know who - or what - it was, but it was tangible and it had hurt her. That was enough reason, she thought, to send a fist in its direction. When her fist didn’t connect with anything, a dejected sigh fell past her lips. “Who’s there?” She whispered, the sheer volume of the supplier’s laugh enough to drown her out from anyone she didn’t want to hear.
LABEL: Vantablack.
NAME: Roksana “Sana” Sirsk.
AGE: 27 years old.
RACE: Human.
CLASS: Pact of the Hexblade Warlock.
RELIGION: None.
ALIGNMENT: True Neutral.
GENDER: Female.
FACECLAIM: Medalion Rahimi.
STATUS: Vantablack is an original character.
Roksana is the daughter of two paladins, champions of Dol Dorn and Dol Arrah, both destined to die for their gods. She grew up on stories of their self-written prophecies and lessons of duty and honour. However, she didn’t know that duty was the most important thing to them until she was fifteen when her father died leading a crusade. Her sister was less than a year old, and her mother seemed more motivated by the death than heartbroken. She began to work harder than ever, chasing her own honourable death, and Roksana stayed home with her sister. Ten years later, her mother finally reached her destiny, and Roksana was left with an eleven-year-old and enough coin to last them a month. She immediately got to work, taking to the bounty board in her hometown of Runswick and finding that the small jobs weren’t enough to support her and her sister. So she scraped together some courage and took a job all the way across the country. She had to embellish her skills and accomplishments to get the job, but it seemed easy enough: venture into a coastal cave and return anything she found there. Roksana still doesn’t know if her client had meant for her to retrieve Darthranok - an ancient and rather talkative sword - or if they knew that she would be bound to it, and she doesn’t intend to find out. Roksana never returned to her client to finish the job, opting instead to embrace the powers Darthranok gave her and find higher-paying jobs elsewhere. Given that she’s now an accomplished mercenary with an income steady enough to provide her sister with a good life, she can’t help but think she made the right choice.
