#* verse;

[hrpyhare]

WITCH OF THE WOOD. ( MAIN )  liridona travels the the world until she decides to settle, and makes a home outside a small, unimposing town that seems to ask very little questions. she lives deep in the forest as their miracle woman, akin to her nickname over the years. she can often times be found wandering, and should you discover her in town, she seems but a lovely, gentle thing opting to restock her salves, brews, and potions. ( she has a daughter, one whom she raises until eight and ten, and should this be set during that time, you will find a much gentler nature. if her daughter is gone, the woman seems far lonelier, and almost distant – longing for something she does not feel she can have. )

WHAT MAKES A QUEEN. ( ROYAL ) liri finds herself thrust into a war amongst the queens’ she treats & heals and the opposing side they fight. during this time, the queen, a known friend – and potential lover – presses a babe into her hands and tells her to raise the girl to be queen, to protect her. as such, liridona takes up the mantle of queen herself, defying the freedom her heart seeks and becomes something akin to a ruthless, prideful queen. she desires, above all else, to protect her daughter and their home, their people – and does so by creating an image of herself so terrifying that none would dare challenge her claim. nor the daughter’s claim she so desperately desires to protect.

GODLESS ALL ALONE. ( CREATURE ) despite the nature of her power, the freedom she basks in, the change that she undergoes changes liridona so completely that – should she spend too long among the wilds, she will begin to lose sense of her own self. as such, liri becomes something more disturbing, angry and violent, with a lack of understanding that the creature had before. her mind can be returned to her, but not easily. ( angst heavy and predatory au ) she is a hunter, a creature of magic and blood, who seeks out basic needs and curiosities. the woman who came before seems lost to this shape. ( TW: BODY HORROR, GORE, DEHUMANIZATION. )

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE ALIVE. ( ORIGINS & TWO )  in origins, she's a highborn lady in denerim that takes a stand against the treatment of the elves in the alienage (you can meet her briefly if you're in the tabris origin). her family had little ties to the chantry, or religion at all, hailing from a small but dense city in orlais that was predominated by a variety of people and beliefs. during the blight, liri's attentiveness to the people around, especially those who are less fortunate, puts her in danger of bigger plans happening. the city is already thick with death and loss, where a spirit slips through and into the waking world. during this time, liri and her family are attacked. her brother murdered. she is brutality murdered, however - this spirit (who had been nearby), came to aid her in her final moments. pitying the woman, it bonded itself to her, changing her drastically. the spirit might have been a powerful one, or perhaps an old one, as it altered her so drastically that she may very well be an ancient elf of old herself - or bears some resemblance to one. perhaps she retains these memories of the ancient elf she's bound to - but she couldn't tell you. she ages far slower than others, as if time had stopped altogether for her. far outliving those around her. this isn't the only change, as she now possess some degree of magic and capability of altering her form. a fair amount of power with even more drawbacks (migraines, going catatonic, outright collapsing, etc). before the war hits its peak, she's on a ship and being shipped off by her family to kirkwall (to which her family all die), and there she can be recruited by hawke.

MOTHER MAIDEN CRONE. ( INQUISITION & VEILGUARD ) aided by the spirit of an ancient elf, liridona becomes that of a sage or wisewoman. she is not an apostate, nor does she recognize herself as a mage, but the woman she was during the 5th blight has slowly seeped into someone foreign and ancient. is she human? is she elf? it doesn't matter. they are two, two is one. liri can be recruited by the inquisitor in matters of politics & as an aide. she offers her services willingly, and may not recognize old faces of those she knew. she may also appear to rook in the crossroads or on their travels, offering aide and assistance alike, though she seems to lose herself a little more to time as it goes on.

HARPY MATRON. ( TES & SKYRIM )  a harpy matron who'd been created and crafted through daedric magic, she exists as the mix of a winged twilight, and it's feral sister, the harpy. despite the lack of understanding of most harpy folk, liri develops a deep intelligence and is taught how to read, write, and plenty more by an old scholar mage. where he originated, she isn't sure - but by the time she's fully grown, the man has passed away and left her to fend for herself. longing for more, liridona sets out to learn and study the world, attempting to gather and collect more knowledge and understanding. she longs to understand her creation, to see why she exists, and why she was created. what purpose? what reason? it lingers in her mind, and she dwells, forever unsatisfied. she is an accomplished mage, as well as a scholar and traveler. alteration magic keeps her capable of concealing the creature that is her true nature. she has lived for several centuries, unnaturally prolonged through time by that which she was created for. what that is, she doesn't know, however. ( in some cases, she works as an advisor. a court mage, if you will, occasionally. )

BY THE MOON'S TALON. ( BALDUR'S GATE 3 )  in which liridona is cursed to lycanthropy. she is cursed to change with the moon & it's phases into a feathered harpy ( a curse that has been with her since her sixteenth name day ), or that of a giant bird that loses all sense of self & humanity. within her exists a curdling hunger and destruction of those around her. that which is animalistic & ugly. companion or TAV of the main quest. heavily work in progress, willing to plot things out regardless. multi class circle of the moon druid + fighter, wields a glaive & magic alike.

THE HOWL OF A WHISPER. ( A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE / FIRE & BLOOD )  old magic. liridona comes from old magic, things lost since the time of old valyria. she is a whisperer, a ghost , a witch. she dwelled in the riverlands, and seems almost mythical. a healer and a shaman – though some simply call her a mad woman. the face she wears is mostly human – most of her magic torn from her as the world grows further and further away from magic itself, and sometimes she adorns other faces to attend to people, assist in matters of court, or just to be a bit nosy. ( plotting heavy! )

[hrpyhare]

this  room  looks  beautiful  when  the  sun  comes  through  the  window.

She hadn’t been expecting to be welcomed so easily into the Inquisition halls, as both one of them and as aide to the Inquisitor herself, though she supposed that the latter option was more... subjective. Perhaps it was some trick or misaligned judgement that the woman would think better of eventually, however as it was - Liridona was pleased to admit that this was welcoming enough, if not familiar, to work at a time where the world needed it. The light in the room, as Lanaya had voiced, was beautiful. The half-elf’s lips pulled, warming over as her brows softened.  

“It makes for a lovely study, I should think.” She says softly. Liri can see it now. The beautiful desk that could sit in the room, parallel to the door so anyone entering would be fully able to see the stacks of papers that might adorn it, the quill and ink. The curtains one could decorate the interior of the window with, and the rows of bookshelves that could line one of the halls. There was even nook enough that a bed might fit into one side, partly obscured by the wall from the door. Now, however, it sat empty in it’s entirety. Liridona paces up to the window, overlooking some of Skyhold with a discerning eye.

After a moment or two, cloudless eyes drift to the other woman instead. A Dalish elf, no less, and... Why did looking at her so hard making the woman sad? Liridona shakes her head, resting a hand on the window's sill. “And how are you feeling, Inquisitor? Surely you did not bring me here to… show me an empty room.”

[hrpyhare]

THIS VESSEL IS A LIE, A SHIFTING BEAST. liridona, immortal and traveling across the vastness of the world, has learned how to alter her appearance in attempts to conceal and hide her face & true form from those around her. she standardly keeps some features the same ( height, age, etc ), however, the range of appearance, eye color, & more is subject to change as she sees fit. though she might stick to an appearance for a duration of time while staying somewhere, before ultimately moving on. ( all of this to hide her true form, in which she looks most like a harpy woman or fae of some kind. )

[hrpyhare]

HAZEN EYES THAT UNSEE. over the course of time that liridona spends after bonding with the spirit of an ancient elf, her eyes slowly fade from blue to almost cloudy white. she is still capable of sight, but it is a narrowed - pinpointed vision. alternatively, she may see a large amount through the silvers and pieces of the fade around her, but as it is sealed by the veil - she struggles with most day to day activities. ( note; the bonding with an ancient elven spirit is on par with a hostile take over. she becomes less liri as time goes on, and more this elf. who as of now is unnamed. thinking perhaps halani because I'm basic. )

[hrpyhare]

don't apologize.

It had been some time since she’d felt so… caged.

The underdark was no place for her, even if the journey to Moonrise Towers was said to give some insight to the troublesome squirming within her skull, and provide well needed answers – at least that’s what their local guide had told them. He’d gone as far as to join their band of idiots and unlikely friends, and while she was glad for the help in the trying times of trying to rid themselves of an overgrown worm in their head, Liridona was… worried. It had apparently been warranted enough that, even so far underground, so far away from the light of the moon and with no real choice but to keep themselves in a tight knit group while traversing the land, she – or rather, the curse that dwelled within her blood had demanded. It squirmed and crawled its way up into her throat, paralyzing her with fear that distance would not be enough if she lost herself to the feathered creature that dwelt within.

Dawn, or what would have been assumed to be dawn, broken to the sounds of thrashing and violence – the great beast, with taloned fingers and screeching cries that echoed and bounced off the surrounding rocks, gashing ugly teeth and feathers that obscured almost all but the jeweled and decorated gold that glittered against its ears. Clothes torn and Liri’s tent ransacked, it was apparently that most would assume the worst. This foul mouthed screeching bitch of a creature had killed or eaten their leader – leaving a trail of blood of the bird that fed a human’s carcass, no doubt. In truth, it had been no more than a rat’s. No more than a woodland creature of the underdark that she’d snatched with taloned feet and had returned to her perch closer to camp. Unbeknownst to the sleeping likes of those she’d traveled with thus far.

Whether it was the tadpole that insisted they were friend, not foe, it was apparent almost immediately when Halsin had woken and the great harpy had attacked him with the might of a screeching owl. 

She’d left a long jagged cut along the length of his arm before she’d been subdued, and the curse had run its sentence into the early stretch of the morning. Now, crestfallen and attempting to avoid all that had happened, Liri tended to the wound on his arm with careful diligent hands and a quivering lip. Blonde tresses pulled back and cheek bruised from a nasty hit Karlach had landed on her in the form she’d taken.

“I’m sorry.” She tries suddenly, running stitches through the line until it’s time to tie and cut the thread, before bandaging and wrapping it so that it might heal. He gives her no time to continue however, halting her with his own sudden words that leave her head reeling and heart hammering. “How can you tell me not to apologize? I’ve put the lives of my comrades in danger. I’m a danger to the very friends I’ve made, and I never intended–...” Her words cut off suddenly, head passing midway through a furious shake, and she furrows her brows. Her lips press into a hard line. The woman can hear the hissing of others calling her out for what she is, their voices a littering cacophony that swells behind her mind's eye. A monster, a deceiver, a beast, a foul bitch that's better of alone. As she had been from the start.

Her words ring hollow when she speaks again, lacking both ire and heat but they're firm all the same. A worried line creases between her brows. “I will apologize as I see fit, Halsin, and you will hear it. I could have killed you. This wound could have very easily been a killing blow. As it stands you would all be far safer if I left camp and went off on my own. That way, no one would need to be worried, and no one would get hurt.”