Storge Character Introductions - Meet Chara!
Race: Avian - one of the bird-people that live in the canyon city near Maaren. They have 4 wings, one large set at their shoulders and another smaller set at their lower backs and are usually a bit taller than the average human.
Occupation: Chara is a recent graduate from the avian’s prestigious university system and works as the apprentice, successor, and heir to the Magistra of Trade within their city-state’s government. While the avians are ruled by a queen, the various Magistras that comprise her inner circle handles all the workings of the city, and when the current Magistra of Trade retires or needs help, Chara is there to fill her role. Avian society is largely matriarchal, and so all the Magistras and their proteges are female Avians. This role comes with power and prestige, but also a great deal of responsibility.
Physical Appearance: She has primarily blue, white, and black plumage though if one looks closely you can see iridescent green on her wings and red about her face. She doesn’t closely resemble any one type of mundane bird, though she’s been likened to a falcon, peacock, and bluejay before - more for personality than looks. Unlike her younger brother, she takes great care in maintaining her appearance, dressing in immaculately pressed loose white gowns with delicate trim and blue and yellow colored sashes to represent her status. She also wears several silver bangles which Acheran made for her as gifts and rubs them for good luck.
Relationships: Chara is a gregarious extrovert who easily befriends and forms close relationships with those she lives and works with on a daily basis. She’s very close with her mentor, Tatiana, and her brother Acheran, and quickly earns the trust of the Laine siblings, especially Enne.
Likes: Clear-cut facts and plans, solving problems, and relaxing with her friends (something she doesn’t do nearly often enough)
Dislikes: Dishonesty, clutter or mess of any sort, and feeling helpless
Mannerisms and Personality: Chara is an extremely driven and determined Avian who will work herself until exhaustion to achieve her goals. She’s a public servant, first and foremost, and her focus is entirely dedicated to helping her city and friends however she can use her power and position to do so. She doesn’t approve of people seeing her shaken and keeps meticulous organization and appearance in order to uphold the facade, even if she’s stressing over her job. Despite being so ambitious, her heart is ultimately with her loved ones. She’s idealistic and prizes fairness and justice in her work. She’s furious when someone tries to undermine her position with ad hominem attacks or uses their own position corruptly.
Chara stood calmly and made her way to the debate floor, being careful not to drag her wings on the floor and holding a neat folder of parchment in front of her for reference. She doubted she would need it – she’d been pouring over these documents for days, carefully committing as much to memory as she could manage. She brought her lower wings around her body, raised her upper wings up and out so they were half extended, and sunk at the knees in the Avian equivalent of a curtsey. When she stood, she took a slow breath and began, voice as sharp as steel.
Character portrait - All my character portraits were done by the amazing Annabel @midnightblueart._ on Instagram! My best friend commissioned all 5 portraits from her and she did an incredible job! Both Avian siblings in particular were really tricky and she was so patient and positive through the whole process. I highly recommend checking her out - she’s a fantastic artist and was really fun to work with!
Other images in the collage - all of these are stock photos from the website upslash.com. They’re all free, creative domain pictures that you can download for whatever reason. All credit goes to their respective posters.
More info about my WIP can be found on my blog’s page and by following the tags #storge and #storgewip. Ask if you want to be added to a tag list! More character intros are coming soon!
Acheran’s bio can be found Here.
