time: the morning of february 13th.
location: the halls of sotera's palace
open to everyone.
the echoes of her footsteps rung in the empty halls as asteria's general moved briskly towards her destination. qynna popped the last of a muffin in her mouth, poppy seed and blueberry—not a combination she had ever expected, but one that had the potential to quickly become a favorite. it was surprisingly good. then again, maybe she just liked anything the head chef made. it was certainly a possibility.
as she walked, her mind was racing with to-do lists and memorandums. after the disaster at the masquerade last night, there was so much she needed to do. first on her list, however, was to set up a meeting with her...advisor? who should she even talk to about this? perhaps she could just catch anyone of higher rank than her. no, that had the potential to go horribly wrong horribly quickly. it would be better to find someone that knew more about the thorned things than she did—perhaps someone who had seen them enter, or someone who–
abruptly, qynna's train of thought derailed as she crashed into another person. "oh, do excuse me, my sincerest apologies!" she exclaimed, arms flying up in an effort to catch whoever she'd bumped into and keep them from falling over. "i-i wasn't looking where i was headed, and i was headed there quite quickly. that's—my fault, i swear."
location: the barracks, asteria
time: unspecified day
open starter
since that fateful night at the palace hall, qynna had barely left the barracks. there was so much for her to deal with, and so very little time.
a whole kingdom, hiding right under their noses. how many of her own friends were traitors; filling the royal events of the two with doom and worry? how many of her kingdom's people were lying to her face, expressing their concern and faking smiles just to get at her king? and, above all else, what the hell was a hollow eater, and how was she to defend against something she didn't understand?
the knock at the door startled her from her thoughts, and she spared only a small glance up from her papers. "come in. it's open."
qynna. 28. she/her. the general of asteria. the strategist. –
. – beck. 20. they/them. utc-6.
as a child, qynna was easily excitable, and that never seems to have diminished over the years. she grew up in asteria with her father and younger sibling, running around with her fellow children and playing rough with the boys.
her father was a knight, and trained her in combat from the time she was young. from the minute her hand touched the hilt of a sword, she knew it was what she wanted to do in life. she gravitated towards weaponry lessons and mastered as many forms of combat as she could—swords, bows, shields…
she's always had an affinity with animals, though it didn't really come to light as true power until one day in the middle of winter. qynna was lost in the forest on a hunting trip, trying—and failing—to find her way home. eventually, she came across a deer, and rather than shooting it to fill her already empty pack, she asked it to help her home. it conceded.
eventually, she was appointed general of asteria at the age of 23. she takes her job quite seriously, and it's one of the few times you will see her without a smile on her face. (especially around this time, with this foolish marriage and strange stirrings.)
IC INFORMATION
NAME: qynna astaret
AGE: 28
PRONOUNS: she/her
FC: thaddea graham
CHARACTER TRAITS:
+ cheerful, thoughtful, observant, loves animals, social, bubbly
– optimistic, talkative, can't hide her emotions, confident, emotional
HEADCANONS:
+ qynna is deathly allergic to garlic. garlic flowers, garlic smell, eating garlic; it doesn't seem to matter—she will break out in hives and a rash. it only gets worse from there.
+ she adores music, and knows how to play some small hand string instruments, like the lute or lyre. what she really wanted to learn were wind instruments, but she was told she didn't have the lungs for them, and therefore never got to learn.
+ she is fully trained in combat; her father was a knight and thought it was important for her and her sibling to know how to defend themselves. she loved it, and took to it quickly. despite her preference for non-violent methodology, she still has the reflexes—and the though pattern—of a fighter, and she will use her first impression to subvert expectation. her favorite weapon is a shortsword.
+ qynna loves food. she'll eat almost anything given to her, and even some things that aren't given to her. she can't cook worth a damn, but she doesn't let that stop her from trying.
+ despite her appearance and shortcomings, she is fiercely protective of her armies and her country, and she would sooner give her life for them than let something sneak past her. she is massively observant, and has a tendency to look at problems in ways others don't.
POWERS:
animal communication. she has the ability to speak with animals. most of the time, it's just like talking to humanoids—just like with any language, it takes practice. she can do this at any time, but if she hasn't talked with a specific species before, it is liable to be more difficult—or even impossible—for her to understand them.
+ she is best with four-legged mammals and birds, and fluent in most bird dialects.
– she is incapable of communicating with insects.
animal manipulation. for a short period of time, she can command any animal she can see to do what she wants. only one animal at a time, and larger animals are harder to control.
+ the spell can last anywhere from ten minutes to an hour, and no longer.
– there is a verbal component for this magic, and she has only a basic series of commands she can use, including attack, hide, fetch, follow, come; things of that nature.
– while using this power doesn't exhaust her, the animal will be aware it is being controlled, and is able to react however it likes when the magic wears off.
