Application for Fade Rift

[girlinthebox]

PLAYER

Name: Tempest
Age: 30
Contact: isadiya
Other Characters: Mia Rutherford
Interests: Action scenes, digging into lore, moral choices for characters to weigh in on, and just getting some interesting CR in.

CHARACTER

Name: River Tam
Canon/OC: Firefly (AU)
Journal: girlinthebox
Race: Human
Nationality: Nevarran
Occupation: Apostate
Age: 18

History

River's canon history is here.

In Thedas, she grew up in Cumberland with her brother, Simon, the children of a respectable Nevarran family. Growing up, she and Simon wanted for very little, and were incredibly close. It was something of a scandal when Simon turned out to have magical gifts, but their parents sent him off with grace and composure, meanwhile looking to River as their new heir and full of all their hopes and dreams.

Then, not only did she start to display magical gifts, but she had dreams. Nightmares. She had a rare gift, a Somniari, or Dreamer, who could manipulate the Fade due to her close connection to it. It also meant that she was a beacon for drawing demons, and without training things would become progressively worse. Either she would wind up an abomination, or (more likely) the attempted possession would kill her. Her parents had very little option, and were desperate to find a way to keep this new development quiet, lest they lose all respect amongst the noble houses.

Then an offer came from Tevinter, a chance for River to harness her talents among peers, where she would not be feared, but valued. Where she could learn to grow and contribute in a way the Southern Circles could never have given her. It seemed too good to be true. And it was. No sooner had her parents agreed to send her off than her new teachers turn their interest into harnessing her powers, trying to bolster them, encouraging her to try and tap into the minds of others while waking.

The process broke her mind. She couldn't find a way to filter out the subconcious thoughts that drifted in, echoes from the Fade. Her spiral downward seemed inescapable, and even her coded messages home and to her brother seemed too fruitless to continue.

Until the day Simon arrived, stole her away, and took her South in search of sanctuary for them both.

Personality

River is, above all else, extraordinarily intelligent and intuitive. Prior to the experiments that fractured her sanity she was capable of quickly learning anything she set her mind to. Her aptitude for learning new skills and for understanding the thoughts of those around her has only improved, though her capacity to deal with this new information or express it in terms others can readily understand has suffered greatly. Despite her intelligence and her ability to 'read' people in a very literal sense, River often has difficulty relating what she feels or sees with those around her, or at the very least on a level they can understand. Most of her speech tends to come off as nonsensical, almost lyrical rambling, and she professes to sometimes not even understanding herself what she says.

She is unable to control her emotions or reactions to things, feeling everything without filter or restraint. As a result she can fall into fits of extreme frustration, rage, fear, or joy with very little or no warning. She can kill without conscience or hesitation, and feels no apparent guilt. She also has the need to be in physical contact with things, walking through the ship barefoot, touching the walls and door frames, lying down on or crawling into odd places. For the most part she chooses to melt into the background, quiet and sullen, silently observing the world around her with child-like wonder and desperation. She knows she is different, and she is aware of the negative impact her behavior has on those close to her, particularly her beloved older brother Simon, and at the same time she is completely unable to hold herself in check.

River is highly dependent upon the presence of her brother. He is her world, the holder of an indescribable loyalty and innocent love. As he has risked so much for her sake she would do anything, without hesitation, that she perceives might aid him or protect him. His presence also proves a sort of grounding for her. She is more coherent, or at least easier to calm, in his presence.

In very rare moments of lucidity there are glimpses of River before her mind was torn open. She laughs and smiles, runs through the spaceship on a chase for an apple, dances with local townsfolk, teases her brother and makes fun of Jayne, Badger, and even the captain. She is imaginative, artistic, and playful, as well as being a bit bratty due to her privileged upbringing and knowledge of just how much smarter she is than those around her. But those moments are few, and bring greater despair and frustration when they end.

Strengths & Weaknesses

Somniari: Brief run-down of their powers here. Freaky Fade powers where she senses a great deal more than she should, and can delve deeply into the Fade while dreaming.

Mind-Reading: Basically bleed-over from the repeated experiments on her mind while in Tevinter. She can pick up the thoughts of others, and has trouble filtering them out, as damning as it might be useful.

Mentally Unstable: She has trouble communicating, keeping her emotional flux in check, or remaining lucid. Sometimes she seems to drift into a world other than this one and it can be difficult bringing her back.

Mage: The one good thing her time in Tevinter did was train her, largely in entropic spell trees.

Inventory

Clothes on her back, basically. She doesn't even have a pair of shoes she isn't constantly losing.

Motivation

Currently she's just along for the ride with her brother. She's happy just not getting picked up by the templars, or anyone that might be chasing them, even if she's certain they're bound to follow her and Simon wherever they go.

SAMPLES

Sample One | Sample Two