Difference between revisions of "Vagabond"

Vagabond
Player:
[[Image:|300px|]]
"It ain't a personal thing, ya'll. There's just certain things ya'll don't need t'know that ah'll keep t'myself."
Biographical Data
Real Name:	Serenity Barrington
Known Aliases:	Candy-Goth Maga, Southern Belle, Magician Eccentric
Gender:	Female
Species:	Human
Ethnicity:	American
Place of Birth:	Fells, Mississippi
Base of Operations:	Millennium City, Michigan
Relatives:	Tabitha Barrington (mother; deceased)
Characteristics
Age:	29
Height:	5'2"
Weight:	106 lbs
Eyes:	Blue
Hair:	White w/ Pink highlights
Complexion:	Porcelain
Physical Build:	Petite
Physical Features:	Unique Make-Up
Status
Fame:	██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ ██ Unknown
Alignment:	LG LN LE NG TN NE CG CN CE
Identity:	Secret
Years Active:	10
Citizenship:	American
Occupation:	Occult Investigator, Adventurer, Superhero, Ex-Smuggler
Education:	High School Drop Out
Marital Status:	Dating
Known Powers and Abilities
Witchcraft, Con Artistry, Occult Knowledge
Equipment and Paraphernalia
Conventional & Magical Items

Physical Attributes
	Strength			Weapon
	Durability			Armor
	Speed			Reflexes
	Resistance			Stamina
	Dexterity			Agility
	Combat			Regeneration

Non-Physical Attributes
	Energy			Psionics
	Telepathy			Willpower
	Sorcery			Technology
	Intelligence			Knowledge
	Charisma			Bravery
MaekadaBox created by @Maekada

ORIGIN STORY

On June 18th, 1984, in Fells, Mississippi, a witch working as a house-cleaner gave birth to her firstborn daughter, Serenity Barrington. Due to this, the young girl was raised around the occult and fetishes related to her mother's Wiccan religion, carrying over the tradition and values passed down the family for the past three generations. Despite not having a father around and an only child, Serenity never became an outcast to her peers. Quite the opposite in fact; she was very outgoing, social, and a charismatic young woman.

As she came of age, Serenity had learned the ins and outs of the Wiccan religion, and slowly began to develop her own perspective of its doctrines and practices. Though she never fully committed to Wicca, she held its teachings close to the chest. Stemming from this was where she learned to not only be universally accepting of life, but also retain the mindset that not all secrets and knowledge should be presented freely. Everything had become normal and there was no bias towards either good or evil.

Until the age of eighteen, her life had been almost something out of a fairy tail. A senior in high-school, socially accepted by her peers and generally had some value or impact in most people she came across. Serenity was part of the Fells High Cheer-Leading squad, started to date the running-back of the football team, was well on her way to becoming the potential Prom Queen, and won 'Best Personality' in her high school senior year-book. All the way up to this point, life was bright, optimistic reality where magic was but a novelty. Little did she know the darker side of things -- yet.

A mid-winter night in 2002 was the pivotal moment that changed Serenity's life forever. She came home to see things amiss with her home after her time with boyfriend after school, inevitably leading up to finding her mother murdered through the use of knife. It wasn't until much later in the evening that the one who committed the crime came back for her. There she came face to face with the pastor to the Fell's Catholic Church, a man who she once respected to be a devout and almost humble old man. Fearing for her life after escaping her first kiss of death, she turned her back on her former life and hitch-hiked her way to New Orleans, Louisiana.

With a new perspective and reduced to a wandering homeless young woman, she was found by a man who presented himself a friend of her mothers. He claimed that he was sent to find her after he received word from Serenity's mother just before the murder. Weeks passed, and Serenity struggled to fight every urge compelling her to return home. She wanted answers and the man who had taken her under his wing for safety had none. Like him, she was barely getting by before a golden opportunity came to them. The job honestly sounded too good to be true. It was a simple delivery job of some crates to El Salvador. The reward would set them up for years financially. The risks? Entering the highest crime rate country in the world.

During the drive into the smallest country in Central America, they had a long series of dangers and challenges before them, so the man who took her under his wing decided to teach her how to defend herself. As his family had been taught for generations, he was trained in the ways of Apache knife-fighting and delivered the same teachings onto Serenity. Eventually, they came to their destination where the end and beginning of this chapter of her life closed. The delivery was of something they only knew to be called 'Wander', an imported 'psychadelic drug' rumored to carry people into a dream-like state. In reality, it rendered those under it's influence into a half-consciousness where one was easier prey for atavisms to feast and grow stronger. The product of a man Serenity would meet shortly.

The police had squatted in on the entire illicit exchange and burst into the building it had taken place. The criminal drug lord who had ordered the trade assumed it was fault of Serenity and her companion, which earned the latter's death before much reaction could happen. Serenity ran for cover, knowing what knowledge she had in knife fighting would not do her any good against firearms. By the end of this, the drug lord, her companions, most of the criminals, and some cops had been killed while Serenity was taken into custody by the El Salvador police.

Little did the police know, Serenity had inhaled quite a bit of the drug within it's powdery cloud during the firefight when some of the bags burst from the impacts of bullets. She was half-drifting between the Material plane and the Astral. While most of her focus was in the Astral, she came face to face with a masculine figured draped in a white thick robe which held it's arm out for her. He introduced himself as 'The Architect', and said he had a job proposition for her. Taking the offer, the police only saw the petite young woman's body slowly fade to an intangible gray-scaled replica before disappearing entirely.

PERSONALITY

Serenity, above all else, has stuck to being a pragmatic woman when approaching situations. This has led others into believing she is either more intelligent than her appearance and personality suggests or she is incredibly jaded due to lack of idealistic views. Another defining trait that stands out more on the surface is her welcoming and social disposition. To others, this makes her highly approachable, easy to hold a conversation with, and receptive to saying things in more confidence to receiving positive response.

Beyond this, Serenity is irrationally skeptical about giving information out in the same confidence. Be it driven through paranoia or a natural eccentric personality, she is very "close to the chest" about her personal details. Being self-aware of this habit, she has developed a cunning and exploitative method to her social life. In turn this has left her very capable of abusing trust against her enemies while keeping herself 'morally just' in the eyes of her peers. This is performed through the use of cold-reading brilliance, locating fallacies and contradictions, and the exhibition of "confidence tricks"

Due to a contract with an entity of the Netherworld during her days as a smuggler to escape an unwanted fate, Serenity is not only confident about her appearance, she is also narcissistic. An arrogant egotistical sense of pride can be observed in her actions, manner of speech, and the lengths of which she will go to maintain a perfect physical appearance. As a mystic and a Wiccan, she holds no real prejudices towards any particular group, with the exception of angelic beings (not their respective 'gods'). This stems from an unfortunate chain of events resulting in her holding angel-kind in incredibly low regard, going so far as to demean and become derisive when their presence is noticed.

As an occultist, Serenity believes that not all knowledge should be provided freely and that most knowledge should remain hidden and kept esoteric. It is also why she approaches investigations or other problems from a practical or scientific manner first before switching into a mystical one. To anyone that asks about magic or criticizes her belief as one, she will feed a compromising method as to not show favor towards either side of the ever-present debate.

APPEARANCE

Standing at 5'2", the twenty nine year old woman is eccentric in her appearance as personality. Her hair is black with dark blue bangs in terms of color, but always features neon pink highlighted strands. It is usually styled to form around her facial structure and provide an optical illusion that makes her sky-blue eyes stand out more. Her hair is unfortunately thick, but is decently taken care of. Her make-up theme presents a Gothic yet colorful display, featuring bright neon or pastel blue and pink lips or blush, wispy pitch-black eyelashes, and darkened thick eye-shadow. This, combined with her porcelain baby-smooth skin, and petite size merely accentuates a youthful and delightful face. Below the neck is a very lithe, small, and petite woman, but not devoid of her proportionate share of figure. Absent of any real physical musculature or physical scarring, Serenity seems to retain an unblemished skin conditioning. She has one tattoo however, seen on her lower back with a pentagram as the center piece with the words 'Collective Conscious' on each side.

This feature of Serenity, however, is kept from easy view due to her style of clothing. To go along with her youthful and cute appearance, Serenity Barrington chooses a specific set of clothing during her outings as a Magus. A mix of contemporary and Victorian, she follows a certain Gothic style known as ‘Candy-Goth’, hence one of her nicknames. It all starts with a black, button-up shirts, whose buttons are of a shiny white, and fastened all the way up. Next is a pair of equally black briefs, with fishnets of the very same color covering the rest of her legs. This together forms the very base of her outfit, but more comes over to form a more intricate outfit.

Black thighs high boots decorated by pink lacing, fastened tightly to sculpt her legs in an appealing manner, with the few inches of boosting heels to boot. Of course, one could not go about her without noticing the white frills emerging from the hem of the boots! Over the button up shirt comes a pink, sleeveless vest hugging her form. The vest itself has six white buttons; they come in pairs, horizontally one besides the other, to form three pairs of buttons from top to bottom of the vest. Two pockets along the waist are covered by a small black flap of fabric, and the same could be said about the breast pocket, for a total of three pockets. The Candy-Goth Magus has her hands covered in baby blue fingerless gloves, contrasting greatly with the pink of her other articles of clothing. The same could be said about the same colored ruffles attached to her neck and descending upon the upper region of her chest and collarbones.

Around her hips, a black leather belt with a big, metallic gray buckle comes to secure her briefs into place, which also comes over her button-up shirt and vest. Another article of dark color comes attached to this belt; a flapped pouch. What is inside, however, will remain as mysterious as the woman wearing it… To finalize her looks, Serenity Barrington wears a long coat made out of leather, also black colored, which she wears opened. Popping out from the sleeves of the jacket and around her delicate wrists were of course – a second pair of white ruffles!

CANDY GROVE

A magical sanctum created by Serenity Barrington condensed into a small smooth and circular stone notched into the center of her pentagram necklace. A five hundred yard circumference pocket dimension that represents an abundance of the five elements: air, water, earth, fire, and spirit. The boundary of this sanctum is represented by a thick bundling of trees that incline towards the center of the grove. Unlike some other pocket dimensions, the concept of time is still attuned to flow as natural as the Material World, which introduces the day and night cycle and even weather conditions.

In the center of this sanctum is a two story Victorian style house surrounded by a five foot tall white-picket fence. The exterior walls of the house are color pastel pink with white window frames and pastel blue decor. The roof is of black shingles and there is a multi-layered garden behind the house. A slight hill that has pebble-stone walkways between rows of orchards that grow an assortment of candy. In front of the house to the left is a section cut off from the rest of the yard by a small creek that extends into the forest that surrounds the grove. A small bridge gives access to a small white roofed gazebo. Within the gazebo are five chairs, each a different color to represent the five points of the Pentragram. The centerpiece is a round altar. Between the chairs are various items, such as a chalice, dagger, and other ceremonial objects to suggest high magic. The rest of the yard has haphazardly placed trees that grow candy.

Surrounding the grove, which takes up fifty yards of the pocket dimension, is a dense forest that shifts and moves as if it were a living creature. There are three oasis placed within the forest, each having special quality. The first has water that seems to glow in the dark, caused by the neon algae that resides in the water and waterfall. The second oasis seems more swamp-oriented than the others. The third oasis is the most floral-oriented and has the clearest, purest water of the three and a waterfall. Behind this waterfall rests a cave that offers dimly lit ever-burning torches that has what appears to be what one could expect to find in a genie's lamp. Soft cushions litter the floor and lead to a slightly elevated platform where a large bed with transparent pink drapes dangle from the frame. Within the cave is a magical cool fog.

While Magic Grove is ultimately bent to Serenity's will, it is not without it's special occupants. The most notable being her personal sprite companion she has named Gumdrop. Gumdrop is a small winged gummy bear that also serves as her familiar in the Material Plane. She has house servants that come in the form of dwarf-sized gingerbread men and the orchard is watched by sentient garden gnomes. Throughout the forest are animals and other spirits, each of which change at random depending on the inhabitant(s) imagination.

POWERS

• Evocation and Invocation: As a witch, the art of calling or summoning the spirits or other supernatural agents is paramount to her magic. This is to draw inspiration, do the bidding of her Will, or provide insight or knowledge based upon what is needed. Usually, the success of evoking such entities involves a brief symbiosis, bargain, or threat. The higher the level of the spirit called upon, the higher the risk or cost. Usually, the success of invoking such entities involves pleading, offering an exchange, and reciting a prayer in its name. This ends with 'contracts' or deals being agreed, and the cost of breaking such agreements can have dire consequence.
• Ceremonial Magic: Often referred to as 'high magic' or 'learned magic', this encompasses a wide variety of long, complex, and elaborate rituals. In Serenity's case, this is centralized through the use of sigils; be them glyphs, circles, or anything that represents a Gnostic articulation. Once in place, these become her personal nexus points for interaction with the spiritual world. Archaic symbols, runes to inscribe specific entities names or the elements involved with them, material components in sacrifice, and - when necessary - items to represent symbolism are used in order for these to work.
• Parasol of Appeal: The 'Candy-Goth Maga' can not be complete without this trusty unassuming parasol, respectively named out of it's effects both on her own psychology and those it's magic is directed towards. Serenity gained this arguable boon out of a contract with a demon that resides in the Netherworld during her days as a smuggler. The demon gains a direct symbiosis to feed upon Serenity's vanity, which is directly coerced out of her through contact of the parasol - a feature Serenity foolishly overlooked in her young years. Serenity gains a magical effect of people trusting her or being more receptive to her presence than normal when it is cast behind her.
• Wander Capsules: The inspiration behind her self-given name came out of the contact with a psychedelic drug with magical properties known as 'Wander'. Having become addicted to them over the years-long abuse, 'Vagabond' had the powdery substance laced into Pez candy, allowing her inconspicuous use while appearing to simply eat candy. They are carried around in her favorite pez dispenser; a pastel pink shaft where the candy rests with a white bunny-shaped head top featuring a baby-blue bow-tie on its left ear. The effects of 'Wander' allow Serenity (or other users) to travel between planes or dimensions.